newsletter of the DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
December 2014
• Our new Bachelor’s
of Human Resource
Management (BHRM)
• WE SALUTE THE RECIPIENTS
OF OUR 2014 LIFELONG
ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
• EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
ACROSS CULT URES
CHALLENGES IN PEOPLE
MANAGEMENT GLOBALLY –
WHAT IS EXPECTED OF HR
PROFESS IONALS TODAY
BEING DIRECTED AND GUIDED
BY AN INSPIRATIONAL STAR:
WHAT MODE OF TRAVELLING
MUST INFORM OUR QUEST?
As People Professionals we are travellers on
a journey, whether scientific and/or practical
in intention, towards a desired future with
respect to the world of work – our field of
science and practice. The ultimate purpose
and meaning of our journey are represented
in the lasting, worthy legacy we wish to bring
about in order to leave the world of work, and
the world in general, a better place for future
generations. This legacy represents the ‘Why’
of our journey. Without such an intended
legacy, our journey and, by implication, our
professional contribution become senseless
and directionless.
In combination, the journey and destination
represent the quest we as professionals are
pursuing passionately, analogous to heroes
in real life (e.g. the knights/crusaders in the
Middle Ages either seeking the Holy Grail or
saving the lady in distress; Columbus’s search
for a passage to the new world; Mandela’s
dream of South Africa as a non-racial society)
or in the fictional and mythological worlds
(e.g. Odyssey of Homer; Don Quixote;
Dorothy and friends in The Wizard of Oz;
Frodo Baggin in The Lord of the Rings).
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Theo H Veldsman,
Head of Department
A quest revolves around the bringing
about and/or acquisition of something
of value that can be brought home – the
conquest. A quest is about exploration,
discovery, insight, learning, change,
transformation, victory or failure by and
in the traveler; the reality the traveler
is engaging with; and the outcomes
attained. Hence, the quest by its
very nature is infused by ambiguity,
uncertainty, unpredictability, dilemmas,
danger, obstacles, temptations, risks,
ordeals, turmoil and stress.
Our intended legacy has to be translated
into a dream: an inspiring vision of what
the desired future world of work will
look like once this legacy has become a
reality. The dream as the destination of
our journey gives concrete substance
(= content) to our legacy as ultimate
purpose and meaning. The ‘Whereto’ of
our journey thus finds its expression in a
legacy-linked dream. Through the dream,
we bring the future into the present, and
give real time meaning to the present
where the dream has to be actualised.
I have argued before that the lasting,
worthy legacy of People Professionals
regarding the world of work – the
destination of our quest – is made up
of the triple bottom line of: (i) high
Performance Organisations that create
and distribute significant wealth for
all of their stakeholders (i.e. share
owners, employees, suppliers, clients,
communities and society at large); (ii) high
Authentic Organisations that nurture and
care for all of their people, such that they
become ‘better’ and more ‘fulfilled’ people;
and (iii) high Responsibility Organisations
that act as trusted stewards of society’s
assets entrusted to them, to be used in a
sustainable manner while unlocking value
and creating wealth.
Our envisioned legacy metaphorically
represents the inspirational star, which
we use within the world of work, to
navigate our journey by. The inspirational
star represents the compass setting
that should direct and guide all of our
thinking, deliberations, decisions and
actions as People Professionals. It gives
assurance that we are on the right track
and provides light to and energy for our
journey into the ‘darkness’ of the unknown
territory of the seemingly inconceivable,
improbable and impossible as we aspire
to extend, deepen and broaden our field.
The journey towards our envisioned
legacy embraces the conversion of the
‘What is’ state, the current reality, into the
‘What should/must be’ state, the future
desired reality. Between the ‘What is’ and
‘What should/must be’ states, another
state exists: the ‘In between’ state. This is
the state of transition and transformation:
the time/space during which and where
our journey occurs and unfolds towards
the envisioned legacy. Within the ‘In
between’ state, the ‘What is’ state is
increasingly becoming ‘unreal’, while in
tandem the ‘What should/must be’ state is
becoming ‘real’.
A critical question now surfaces:
How must we, as travelling People
Professionals, conduct our journey
between the present and future realities?
Put differently, what mode of travelling is
appropriate in our quest as directed and
guided by our inspirational star? What
key considerations must inform our style
of travelling? The purpose of this article
is to explore some of the more important
crucial travelling considerations that we
as People Professionals must give due
regard to in our journey to actualise
our envisioned legacy. Figure 1 gives an
overview of what is believed to be the
most mission critical considerations that
need to frame our mode of travelling.
A futuristic perspective will be taken to
these considerations.
Legacy:
Context: Where
Why
sS
pas
ng
etti
Com
Solution: What
Attitude:
Vantage Point:
Where from
Style
Delivery: How
Participants: Who
Dream:
Where to
Timing: When
Journey: From “ What is” to “ Should Be/Must Be”
Figure 1 – Key considerations informing the People Professions’ mode of travelling in
actualising an envisioned legacy
According to Figure 1, at least seven
interdependent considerations are
mission critical in structuring People
Professionals’ mode of travelling in our
quest, aimed at actualising the envisioned
legacy: Attitude (‘Style’); Vantage point
(‘Where from’); Context (‘Where’); Solution
(‘What’); Delivery (‘How’); Participants
(‘Who’); and Timing (‘When’). Each of
these considerations will be explored by
offering some insights on how they could
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be addressed appropriately. The focus of
the discussion will oscillate between the
People Professional’s roles as scientist
and practitioner.
traveling. What then is the right attitude
that we have to adopt towards our
journey as People Professionals in the
quest of our envisioned legacy?
Attitude
I believe that being directed and guided
by our inspirational star will require
“attitude” in capital letters if we are to
make a truly, value-adding difference.
This attitude is not a noun, not a onceoff event, but a verb: an ongoing mode
of engagement, requiring a certain
In the first instance, travellers need a
journey-fit predisposition, the ‘right’
attitude in engaging with their journey.
This attitude infuses all of the other travel
considerations with a certain style of
posture with respect to the strenuous,
risky journey across dark plains of the
unknown, improbable and impossible. I
would like to call this difference-making
attitude to be adopted by future People
Professionals as being an ‘Adventurous
Explorer’.
Why an Adventurous Explorer? Because
in navigating between chaos and order
of the emerging new world order (further
discussed below) at the perilous edge,
the new has to be conceived and made
real; boundaries have to be shifted and
defined, thereby incorporating previously
unknown/unexplored territories; the
improbable and impossible have to be
made attainable in the face of what is
believed to be insurmountable odds;
major risks and big bets have to be
taken by going upstream against and
around accepted traditions and ruling
conventions; dynamic tensions have to
be fused; dilemmas and paradoxes have
to be juggled; as well as future directed
experimentation, innovation, learning and
teaching have to occur incessantly.
All of these actions require a number of
crucial, attitudinal attributes in terms of
Believing, Sensing, Thinking and Feeling
that make up the Adventurous Explorer.
These attributes are given in Figure 2.
BELIEVING ATTRIBUTES
SENSING ATTRIBUTES
• Challenging/Craziness
• Questioning/Inquisitive
• Trusting in themselves (i.e.
believing in/being committed to)
• Futuring
• Opportunity seeking/status quo
destroying
• Intuitive
ADVENTUROUS
EXPLORER
THINKING ATTRIBUTES
• Convergent, systemic (i.e.
seeing the world as a whole)
• Agile/Flexible
• Dialectical (i.e. dealing with
opposites synchronously)
FEELING ATTRIBUTES
• Courageous
• Passionate
• Persevering
Figure 2 – The attitudinal attributes of the Adventurous Explorer
Vantage point
The People Professional has adopted the
right attitude. Now he/she has to choose
a vantage point. The vantage point, the
‘Where from’ travelling consideration,
pertains to the set of glasses we as
People Professional decide to put on to
constitute, understand and deal with
the reality that we must engage with in
realising the envisioned legacy. In other
words, an explicit, personal choice of a
fundamental interpretative framework.
This framework is made up of the basic
assumptions, beliefs and values held
about the reality to be engaged in:
the world of work. As Archimedes put
it thousands of years ago, “Give me a
fixed point, and I will move the earth”.
Each People Professional must explicitly
consider, choose and have clarity on
the fixed point he/she will use to ‘move
reality’: his/her vantage point with respect
to reality.
A vantage point consists of at least
five, interdependent groupings of
assumptions, beliefs and values that make
up a People Professional’s interpretative
framework overall, as depicted in Table 1.
Table 1 – THE MAKE-UP OF OUR SET OF GLASSES
GROUPING
MAKE-UP
Scientific
• Ontology – What is the essential nature of reality in terms of its make-up, dynamics and evolution?
• Epistemology – How does one gain true/good knowledge about reality?
• Anthropology – What is my role and contribution as knower in the knowing process?
Disciplinary
• Foundational – What are my fundamental views regarding the basic concepts of my discipline? In the case of
the world of work, particularly Work Psychology: society, human, the human psyche, and human work?
Practical
• Praxeology – How does one affect and bring about lasting change with respect to reality?
Ethical
• Axiology – What ultimately is right/wrong, true/untrue; beautiful/ugly; important and unimportant about
reality?
Ideological
• Ideology – What are my ultimate answers to the why, where from and whereto of reality?
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For example, chaos/complexity
theory is at present a widely accepted
ontology, part of the scientific
grouping. Adherents of this ontology
see reality as an interconnected whole
of reciprocally influencing, interacting
variables, characterised by the ongoing
resolution of dynamic, opposing tensions
manifesting themselves in self-organising
and self-destructing patterns that form
virtuous or vicious cycles – expressive of a
limited number of underlying organising
rules – as the interconnected whole
moves through successive states of chaos
and order.
During the journey, the People
Professional’s chosen vantage point
must enable and empower him/her to
‘move’ the world of work significantly and
effectively towards an envisioned legacy
because his/her interpretative framework
contains the appropriate assumptions,
beliefs and values about reality. His/her
framework rings ‘reality true’.
Important to realise is that one’s chosen
interpretative framework acts as the
frame of reference of all of the travelling
considerations to be discussed below.
For the sake of the discussion to follow,
I will use chaos/complexity theory as an
ontological stance.
Context
The context, the ‘Where’ travelling
consideration, relates to how the People
Professional conceives his/her chosen
domain of action with respect to the
world of work, as constituted by his/
her vantage point: the nature, qualities
and dynamics of the everyday world
faced with respect to which the People
Professional aspires to realise his/her
envisioned legacy as inspirational star.
In the first instance, a chosen domain
of actions comes with a certain
contextual complexity. For example,
as one moves from a local to a global
context, contextual complexity
increases commensurately. Hence, as
People Professionals, we must act in
correspondence with the contextual
complexity of our chosen domains of
action. The key travelling consideration
here is: have I matched, in my thinking,
decisions and actions to the contextual
complexity of my chosen domain of
action with respect to the world of work?
In the second instance, People
Professionals must align their thinking,
decisions and actions to the qualities of
the context they are dealing with. Or,
expect to deal with. Going forward, we are
facing a significantly different, emerging
playing field, game plan and rules
compared to the recent past. The playing
field has moved from being relatively
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stable, simple, orderly, predictable
and localised to one of discontinuous,
radical change, heightened complexity,
snow- balling chaos, growing diversity,
deepening ambiguity, and widening
seamlessness (or boundarilessness). The
new game plan centres on the new order
of mathematics of “Respond twice as
fast, deliver twice as much at twice the
speed, at half the cost within half the
accepted product/service life span, and
doing all of the aforesaid on an ongoing
basis, everywhere, anytime, anyone,
anyhow, anything”. Ever shifting goalposts
regarding critical success criteria, the
rules of the game, of co-operation/
competition, responsiveness, innovation,
speed, flexibility, value-add, quality, and
cost effectiveness are forcing individuals,
teams, organisations, communities
and societies to make the seemingly
impossible possible if they wish to
succeed sustainably.
Whatever the contextual complexity of
their action domain, it is my contention
that People Professionals must regard the
world as a boundariless, interconnected,
dynamic whole because it has become a
global village, physically and virtually. We
thus must follow the widely propagated
guideline of ‘Thinking globally, and
acting locally’. We need to think and
act generically and specifically, with
a high sensitivity to cross-cultural
differences across locations and/or
parties involved. For example, the Globe
(= Global Leadership and Organisational
Behaviour Effectiveness) study of strategic
leadership has demonstrated clearly how
leadership excellence criteria differ in
significant ways across cultures.
Solution
In our endeavour to realise an envisioned
legacy, People Professionals have to find
solutions for (or answers to) challenges,
issues and problems within the world of
work, the ‘What’ consideration of mode
of travelling. These solutions can take on
the form of a knowledge object, such as a
paradigm, concept, theory, model, policy,
methodology and/or practice. We need
to give careful, deliberate thought to the
characteristics of the solutions we are
crafting for the world of work, if they are
to make a real difference in actualising the
envisioned legacy. We must therefore be
clear on the design specifications of our
solutions.
I would like to contend that our solutions,
at present and going into the future,
must meet at least the following set of
interdependent, key design specifications
if we were to travel successfully as People
Professionals towards our envisioned
legacy:
• A clearly, explicated Interpretative
Framework, demarcating the solution’s
generalisability and applicability. All
solutions come wired, packaged and
wrapped in implicit assumptions,
beliefs and values, an innate
Interpretative Framework as already
explicated above. If a solution, like a
performance management process,
assumes a mechanistic reality of linear
causality, it will be unable to function
effectively if the ‘true’ reality is one
of chaos/complexity, made up of
dynamically, non-linear, self-organising
and self-destructing patterns, virtuous
or vicious. Hence, the Framework
framing and informing a solution must
be made explicit, allowing everyone
to be clear under which conditions the
solution will have the highest likelihood
to ‘work’. Therefore, what is the
solution’s fundamental generalisability
and applicability?
• Contextual fit. A solution, furthermore,
has to ‘work’ within a certain context,
now and going into the future. To
be effective, the solution must be
matched to the nature and dynamics
of context in which it has to and will
be used if it is going to make a lasting
difference. Thus, if the emerging world
order as described above, quality
wise, is one of discontinuous, radical
change, heightened complexity,
snowballing chaos, growing diversity,
deepening ambiguity, and widening
seamlessness, commensurate with
certain mathematics and critical
success criteria, then the solution
must fit these qualities and success
criteria. For example, a mechanistic
organisational design will compromise
an organisation’s ability to deliver, given
this context. An organic organisational
design would be a more appropriate
fit. Furthermore, given the guideline of
‘thinking globally, and acting locally’, a
generic (read global) solution must be
sufficiently malleable to be customised
in order to be effective across different
local contexts. So, can the organic
organisational design in the case of
a global organisation be customised
across different locations?
• Requisite complexity. The solution
must meet requisite complexity
requirements. What are the twofold
Level of Work and Contextual
Complexity requirements the solution
has to meet? In the first case: At what
Level of Work is the consumption of
the solution aimed, Level 7 – Corporate
prescience (i.e. global systems) through
to Level 1 – Daily operational delivery,
whether the consumption is for
scientific understanding or practical
application? For example, regarding
scientific understanding, adopting a
multi-level research design regularly. In
the second case: What is the degree of
contextual complexity of the context
within which the solution has to
deployed, and hence has to comply
with? For example, a local organisation
with a narrow scope (in terms of
markets, clients/customers, products/
services) with little internal variety
(everything can be done in the same
way across the organisation) vs a global
organisation with a wide scope and
high internal variety?
• An outside-in perspective. The design
of the required solution must start
in an open ended fashion with the
need to be addressed, an ‘outside-in’
perspective, and not an ‘inside-out’
perspective. The former perspective
forces a multi-disciplinary, holistic,
user view. The latter perspective
typically functions from a narrow,
parochial, expertise, uni-disciplinary
base. The proverbial saying of ‘Having a
hammer, the world needs hammering’
applies in this case. An outside-in
perspective will also minimise the risk
of a means-end reversal, where the
means (read solution) becomes the
end. Simultaneously, in the crafting
of the solution from an ‘outside-in’
perspective, account has to be taken
of the type of change the solution is to
affect: tuning, adapting, re-orientation
or recreation. The change to be brought
about needs to be built into the
solution. Only by adopting an ‘outsidein’ perspective, relevant, fit-for-purpose
solutions will be crafted, content and
change wise.
• A systemic, integrated, holistic solution.
This design specification relates to the
qualities that must infuse the solution.
The systemic quality specifies that the
variables (or building blocks) making up
the solution, with the interrelationships
and interdependencies between
them, must be mapped, into a
systemic, dynamic whole, reflective of
the real reality of the world of work.
Metaphorically speaking, a ‘Google’
map showing the relative location
of towns and interlinking roads
within the landscape. In this way, an
understanding is created of the internal
make-up and dynamics of the solution,
but also its external connectivity with
the total landscape. For example, where
does employee engagement fit into
the total organisational landscape? The
integrated requirement necessitates the
seamless bringing together of science
and practice: science informing practice
– science-based practice, and practice
informing science – practice-referenced
science. Again, employee engagement
can serve as a case in point: what do our
science and practice concurrently say
about this phenomenon? The holistic
requirement demands that the solution
draws on any relevant discipline(s)
beyond the core solution discipline that
can enrich the solution to make it more
reflective of the multi-dimensionality
of the real world of work. For example,
using Group Dynamics from Sociology
to enrich our understanding of teams.
Or, Anthropology to deepen our
insight into multi-culturality in global
organisations.
• Intelligence linked. The aim of a
solution is to contribute to the quest of
the envisioned legacy, our inspirational
star. Put differently, to add value by
making a real difference. Thus a solution
is tended to bring about certain
outcomes with an associated impact.
As illustrated in Figure 3, outcomes are
multi-dimensional and interdependent
in nature: Intended/Unintended,
Positive/Negative and Tangible/
Intangible. Accompanying a solution,
an outcome measurement model with
metrics must thus be built to monitor
and track the full range of potential
outcomes, in this way providing
intelligence with respect to the impact
of the solution, scientifically and
practically. The measurement model’s
Figure 3 – The multi-dimensionality of solution outcomes
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‘radar screen’ and ‘bandwidth’ must
be broad enough to pick up the full
dimensionality of solution outcomes
as indicated above, especially enabling
one to deal rapidly with Unintended,
Negative Outcomes, both Tangible and
Intangible. History is rife with examples
of solutions which with the best of
intentions created havoc and chaos
because these downside outcomes
were not been detected early enough.
Delivery
Delivery pertains to the ‘How’ of the
People Professional’s mode of travelling,
covering both the crafting of the solution
and its day-to-day delivery. What are
some of the key delivery principles,
against the backdrop of the already
discussed, informing our mode of
travelling?
As far as the crafting of the solution
is concerned, at least the following
principles appear to be important,
especially given the design specifications
discussed above: adopting a multidisciplinary approach; using multiple
design methodologies/methods;
moving seamlessly between science
and practice while crafting a solution;
on an ongoing basis testing whether a
solution meets the necessary contextual
fit and requisite complexity requirements;
and continuously interacting with and
involving all stakeholders in real time
to confirm the relevancy, utility and
value-add of the progressively, emerging
solution.
In terms of delivery, I would like to
contend that the solution must meet the
following principles (inter alia based on
ideas contained in a book entitled “Future
Perfect” by Stan Davies, a futurist): it must
be easy to customise and localise the
solution because it is malleable; delivery
of the solution anywhere, anytime,
anyway, anyhow, to anyone; ensuring
that the solution improves after every
use, i.e. learn from every application
of the solution; the ‘consumer’ of the
solution must get smarter every time
they use the solution; let the consumer
set a value (or ‘price’) on the solution;
generating outcome intelligence for every
application of the solution, which must be
aggregated across applications in order to
draw a composite picture of its real time
impact.
If these delivery principles holds equally
for scientific and practice solutions,
major implications flow from them for
our current mode of travelling as People
Professionals. Space constraints prevent
me from exploring these implications
to the fullest. Perhaps one implication
as illustration: how do we educate our
students to think and do things in a more
multi-disciplinary way? How do we as
practising People Professionals work more
multi-disciplinary?
Participants
Participants pertain to the make-up of the
party, the ‘Who”, travelling together on
our journey directed and guided by our
inspirational star, our envisioned legacy.
From the discussion up to this point, it
should be clear that the travelling party
must be inclusive, diverse in all respects
(= disciplinary, culturally, individually)
and represent the multiple voices of
all stakeholders. In other words, our
quest must be a truly shared journey.
For example, having the ‘Haves’, ‘Have
Nots’, governments, business, different
academic disciplines and professionals,
jointly exploring solutions to the
worldwide, spreading cancer of growing
income disparities, and the increasing
concentration of wealth among fewer
people, a time bomb ticking away. This
is a good example of one of the ‘wicked’
problems faced by the world.
Though led by People Professionals, the
full range of stakeholders having a stake
in an emerging/validated solution must
participate and be involved, both in the
design, roll out and use of solutions for
the world of work. This will demand of
People Professionals to find new ways
of involving stakeholders, analogous to
the currently available real time, largescale change methodologies. It will also
demand different ways of connecting, like
through the social media.
Timing
CONCLUSION
This travel mode consideration is about
timing our solutions right, the ‘When’ of
our journey. It pertains to exercising a
wise judgment about the right time for a
solution. Ideally, such a time is one minute
before it is needed, scientifically and
practically speaking.
As People Professionals we are travellers
on a journey towards an envisioned
legacy. Critical for us is to question, in
a fundamental and radical way, the
appropriateness of our mode of travelling
in our quest. Is it enabling or sabotaging
our journey? The purpose of this article
has been to suggest what could be an
appropriate mode of traveling as futurefit People Professionals by discussing
the considerations of Attitude (‘Style’);
Vantage point (‘Where from’); Context
(‘Where’); Solution (‘What’); Delivery
(‘How’); Participants (‘Who’); and Timing
(‘When’). Are you as a People Professional
future journey-fit in pursuing your quest?
Against the backdrop of the above
discussion, the ‘Why” travel consideration,
affecting our mode of travel, has at least
three journey requirements. Firstly, that
we as People Professionals become
dedicated and masterful, future time
travelers to explore and discover as yet
undetected needs as per our ‘outside-in’
perspective. Or, to confirm the growing
invalidity and irrelevancy of current
solutions. Our time engagement mode
needs to be future-into-the present, and
not present-into-the-future. Secondly,
that we accelerate the speed at which
we design, roll out and institutionalise
our solutions in order to ensure that
they are just-in-time. Thirdly, that we are
able to produce timeous and accurate
intelligence about the outcomes, and
hence impact, of solutions so that we can
rapidly enhance/disregard solutions in
real time.
In our quest, we will have to spend much
more time in the future, and bring that
desired future wisely into the present in
order to transform the present at the right
time. Only then will we become architects,
and not victims, of our own destiny as
contained in our envisioned legacy, which
of course must also be future validated.
“Knowledge is
knowing a tomato is
a fruit. Wisdom is
not putting
it in a fruit salad”
(Miles Kington)
NEW FROM OUR DEPARTMENT
Our new Bachelor’s of
Human Resource Management (BHRM)
Roslyn de Braine
The new three-year BHRM, which is
scheduled to be introduced at UJ in 2016,
was conceived as a result of numerous
discussions and debates that colleagues
of the Department’s HRM programme
had among themselves and with HR
industry experts, students, and the SABPP.
Our aim was to enhance and merge our
current BA HRM and the BCom HRM
through the development of one single
HR qualification that would help to cater
for the future HR needs of the private and
public sector.
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The graduate profile of the students
who complete this Qualification is to be
able to operate as an intermediate HR
transactional practitioner, whereby they
will work with details in a precise manner;
follow clear procedures to diagnose and
solve people problems; use knowledge
and experience to interpret information;
and conduct face-to-face supervision. The
aim of the redesigned Qualification is to
produce well rounded and best futurefit BHRM graduates who will be able to
successfully implement operational and
management strategies in the rapidly
evolving, competitive and professional
future HR environment.
Students who take this Qualification will
be required to take Human Resource
Management and Industrial Psychology
as their major subjects. In addition,
they will also be required to take either
Public Management and Governance or
Business Management as a third major
subject from their second year onwards
as the context in which they will have to
practise HRM. Other subjects included
in the curriculum are Basic Mathematics
and Applications in Business & Economics;
Analytical Techniques; Introduction to
Labour Law; and Project Management.
The inclusion of these additional subjects
serves to supplement the learning
and to develop the necessary learning
competencies needed to perform well in
their major subjects.
More specifically, in terms of the HRM
subjects, the students will be exposed
to both theory and practice across the
entire HR value chain over the three
years. In their first year, the students will
be exposed to the HR field and value
chain, HR resourcing, remuneration and
conditions of service. In the second year
they will learn about HR performance
management, human resource
development, employment relations,
wellness and safety. Following this, in
their third year they will be exposed to
HRIS, analytics and metrics and apply it to
the HR value chain. In the second half of
the third year the students will participate
in and be assessed using an Integrated
Simulated HR project, in which they will
use the HR knowledge that they have
gained over the course of their degree
in a simulated work-integrated learning
project representing a functioning HR
Department. Our aim from this simulated
HR project is to aid students to be better
prepared for the workplace by bridging
the gap between theory and practice.
Upon completion of this Qualification, the
students may articulate to an Honours
Degree in HRM.
Our rebranded Continuous Education
Programme: Academy@Work
The launch of our rebranded Continuous Education Programme as the Academy@Work on 18 November 2014 was an amazing, mind
boggling event of which our Department can be so immensely proud, after about two years of creativity, out-of-the-box thinking,
careful planning, hard work and relentless dedication. Enjoyed by 80 participants from industry, the total experience (not an event)
was totally infused by and breathed the Academy’s new brand: “The courage to see the world differently, and the power to do
something about it”. A special edition of the Cognoscenti in the near future will deal with our rebranded Academy@Work exclusively.
VITAL 2013/4 DEPARTMENTAL
STATISTICS
Modules delivered
Our graduates
• We offered 155 modules of which 117 were lectured in
three Programmes and four Continuous Development
Academies, making up our Academy@Work,
across three campuses.
• Calendar year 2013 (awarded in November 2013
and in 2014)
Curriculum graduates: 1 160 years of
development investment
Undergraduates & BTech: 337;
Honours: 64;
Master’s: 29;
Doctorates: 8
38 cum laude students: 17 undergraduate & BTech,
21 postgraduate (9% of all students)
Our students
• Of our own students, we served:
- 1 692 curricular students, of whom were
98 Master’s and 52 Doctoral students; and
236 Professional Development students
- Total number of students served: 1 928
- “Bums on seats”: 10 464
Our academics
• 76 academics taught in our Department: - 28 permanent
- 45 contract/guest lecturers
- Visiting Professors
• ably supported by 17 Administrators
• 72% of our permanent academic staff have doctorates
Page 7
Continuous Education Programmes:
Whole Qualifications: 136 graduates
Short Learning Programmes: 342
Our 2014 Research Output
•
•
•
•
Articles in accredited journals: 22
Accredited conference proceedings: 20
Books: 3
Chapters: 1
Total: 46 (about 25% of Faculty’s research output)
CRAFTING THEIR IDENTITY:
THE OTHANDWENI JOURNEY
For a number of years, our Department has been involved with the Othandweni Family Care Centre, Soweto, under the passionate
leadership of Cookie Govender of our Department.
Recently, Prof Freddie Crous facilitated an enquiry process at the Centre to explore the identity of the Centre: Who are we?; What do
we stand for?; and What is our dream?. The posters below were the visual outcome of this inspiring process.
Page 8
WE SALUTE THE RECIPIENTS OF OUR 2014
LIFELONG ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
At our 2014 Top Achievers Function on 12 November 2014, Lifelong
Achievement Awards were made for the second time. Lifelong Achievers
are retired academics who, over their careers, have consistently made
significant contributions to our field, nationally and/or internationally,
and have left behind a worthy legacy. The citation on the Award
Certificate reads: “In public recognition of the invaluable, significant
contributions you have made to our field over the whole span of your
professional career. The worthy, lasting legacy you have left behind is
gratefully acknowledged by all past, present and upcoming professional
colleagues, students, clients and other stakeholders in our field. We are a
better science and profession because of you.”
“Real knowledge is to
know the extent of one’s
ignorance.” (Confucius)
This year’s Award recipients were: Profs Luther Backer, Gert Huysamen and Dr Jopie
van Rooyen. Their respective tributes are given below.
Prof Luther Backer: A Tribute by Prof Theo Veldsman
It is indeed a great honour and privilege
to introduce Prof Wolhuter Backer,
generally known as Luther Backer,
as a recipient of our 2014 Lifelong
Achievement Award in acknowledgement
of how he as a pioneer has pushed and
extended the boundaries of our field
over many years, in particular the field of
Employment Relations. As an interesting
aside, Luther holds two doctorates: in
Psychology and in Industrial Psychology.
He is also an accomplished organist and
baritone singer.
Firstly, being in touch with people
management at the coalface, Luther
realised early in the 1960s and 1970s
that the practice of people management
was of a low standard, and did not meet
the requirements of a true profession
in SA. People management had to be
professionalised through building proper
Page 9
competence. Secondly, significant trend
breaks occurred in 1980s in the SA labour
dispensation, triggered by the Wiehahn
Commission into labour relations. The
commission recommended, inter alia, the
legalisation of trade unions, which was
accepted by the then government. Luther
had the insight to realise that Industrial
Psychology was not prepared for this new
dispensation of formally recognised trade
unions, with the consequential knockon effects on employment relations
in SA. At that time, the labour arena
was dominated by labour law experts.
There was an absence of people experts
specialising in employment relations.
As a pioneer, driven by a relentless spirit
of innovation, Luther was way ahead
of his time in the manner in which he
engaged with these significant trend
shifts through:
• The adoption of a multi-disciplinary
perspective to the challenges faced by
our field. He realised that solutions to
challenges in the practice of people
management had to be multidisciplinary, hence his integration of
Industrial Psychology, Human Resource
Management and Labour Law in
dealing with employer-employee
relations holistically. In the process, he
became one of the founding fathers of
the formal sub-disciple of Employment
Relations in our field in SA.
• The seamless fusion of science (= the
academic world of teaching/research)
and practice (= the world of action)
in order to make a real difference.
During his whole career, he moved
with ease between these two worlds
by holding professorial and executive
positions and in the process enriching
and uplifting both worlds. So he really
practised what he preached: practiceinformed theory, and theory-based
practice. For him, the world was not
to be siloed into two independent
domains.
• Thinking globally, and acting locally. In
the 1970s and beyond, Luther already
saw the world as a globally connected
village, in contrast to the prevailing
attitude at that time of ‘local is OK’ (or in
Afrikaans, ‘…..is lekker’). He undertook
numerous overseas tours together with
his students, across the world, and on a
regular basis presented at international
conferences. He also formed cooperative, working relationship with
several overseas academic institutions.
• An outside-in engagement logic. He
firmly believed in either starting with
the needs of practice, and finding
solutions to those needs through a
sound academic input, or, applying
academic knowledge to enhance
practice. Hence, he developed many
short learning programmes, delivered
through distance education (also
pioneering at that stage), and videos
aimed at enhancing and facilitating the
professionalisation of the practice of
people management. He also designed
and implemented formal Employment
Relations academic programmes: a
certificate, honours and master’s for the
discipline at the then RAU. For 16 years,
he had a column in a leading national
Sunday paper, the Rapport, dealing
with employment relation queries and
issues. He was a fervent protagonist
and practitioner of articulated,
integrated research/practice informed,
teaching, learning, development and
intervention.
• Leaving a lasting, worthy legacy.
Luther’s passion was to make a real
difference at the southern tip of Africa,
a future emerging economy. To leave
the world a better place for future
generations, the generally accepted
definition of sustainability nowadays.
The professionalisation of people
management was non-negotiable for
him, since his pro-active insight was
that people were central to the success
of organisations, and would become
even more so in the future. Hence,
his drive to establish Employment
Relations as a formally recognised
discipline because of his insight that
employer-employee relationships were
at the centre of people effectiveness in
organisations.
The above five modes of engagement,
adopted by Luther during his career, are
now the generally accepted ways of doing
things – the leading/best practice. Hence,
Luther was really ahead of his time. We
salute a courageous, innovative pioneer
on whose cutting edge contributions we
can built, and on whose shoulders we
can stand to see further. And do we not
now desperately need the likes of Luther
in a world where employer-employee
relations are under tremendous stress and
strain. We only have to think about the
tragic Marikana event in our own country.
Prof Gert Huysamen: A Tribute by Prof Deon de Bruin
I had the privilege to meet Prof Huysamen
in the early 1990s when I worked at the
University of the Free State as a student
counsellor and he was a Professor in the
Department of Psychology. Of course his
name was known to me – he was one
of the most well-known psychological
researchers in South Africa. His books
on measurement and statistics filled me
simultaneously with excitement and
dismay. The excitement part was that I
wanted to be able to write like he did. His
ability to connect complicated statistical
formulas with human behaviour was just
too awesome for words. The dismay part
was that I had to climb the academic
equivalent of Mount Everest before I
could reach that goal. I am still climbing.
accuracy. He devoted his career to the
teaching of research methods, statistics
and psychometrics to generations of
(often unwilling) students. His many
books on psychological assessment,
research design, general research
methodology and statistics contributed
to the education of tens if not hundreds
of thousands of South African students.
These books hold an honorary position
on my and many other empirically
oriented psychologists’ bookshelves. For
the most part, his books were published
in English and Afrikaans. In this sense,
Prof Gert made a massive contribution
to the development of the Afrikaans
literature on psychometrics and research
methodology.
Prof Huysamen is a legend. Among
psychologists his name evokes words
such as excellence, quality, precision, and
He matriculated in 1960 at Hoërskool
Aurora in the Piketberg district in the
Western Cape. He was one of six or seven
Page 10
matriculants. He obtained a BA Honours
(Psychology) at Stellenbosch in 1964 and
his MA degree at UPE in 1967 under the
supervision of Prof Deo Strumpfer with
a dissertation entitled: A factor analytic
study of human figure drawings. His first
article was published in the following year
in the Journal of Individual Psychology.
He obtained his PhD in Measurement
and Statistics in the Department of
Educational Psychology at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison in 1974 under the
supervision of T Anne Cleary. Upon his
return to South Africa, he briefly worked
at the NIPR from August to December
1974, and then started as a Senior
Lecturer in the Psychology Department at
UNISA the following year. He joined the
University of the Free State in the early
1980s, where he also served as Head of
the Department for a term. After retiring
in 2003, he moved to Stellenbosch.
He was appointed as an Extraordinary
Professor at Gibbs where he taught
research methodology on the doctoral
programme until the end of 2012.
Inspection of his publications shows a
long standing interest in psychometrics,
research design and statistical analysis. In
the mid-1990s, his attention shifted to the
selection of university students and the
prediction of academic performance.
Prof Huysamen is one of the South African
psychologists that I admire most. One
other was Prof Johann Schepers. Prof
Schepers had the highest respect for
Prof Huysamen and his work. To my mind
there can be no higher praise than that.
Dr Jopie van Rooyen: A Tribute by Dr Aletta Odendaal
Budget Evaluation of State Expenditure,
to name a selective few.
I am indeed honoured, but at the
same time extremely humbled, by the
opportunity to introduce you to Dr Jopie
van Rooyen as recipient of the Lifetime
Achievement Award of our Department.
A receiver of the Award is nominated
by peers in recognition of a lifetime of
excellence, achievement and distinctive
service in their respective fields.
Dr Jopie’s remarkable career spans
over 65 years and, true to her identity
as researcher, I received her CV clearly
structured into four stages of personal
growth and three well-established
careers. Allow me to do a few giant leaps
across her career. Born on 28 July 1930 in
a family of entrepreneurs and educators,
she matriculated at Pretoria Girls High
School in 1947 and started her studies
at UP in 1950, followed by an honours at
Unisa and a Master’s in Psychology from
Wits in 1964, after which she registered
as Industrial Psychologist and later also
as Research Psychologist. I did some
private investigation and was informed
that true to the ’50s and ’60s, Jopie loved
dancing and wearing lipstick. She married
a Minister. True to the times, her dancing
was frowned upon. She reluctantly
stopped dancing, but kept her lipstick
that became a reflection of her personal
and professional style right through her
career. Rumour has it that she even milked
cows with style and different brightly
coloured lipsticks when they stayed on a
farm in Dannhauser.
The first phase of her career was therefore
strongly anchored in the development of
her professional identity in psychology.
Jopie was the first generation in her
family to study psychology. We have the
privilege to share this Award event with
Page 11
the second generation of psychologists
in her family, her daughter Jopie de Beer,
and the third generation Janie, that also
completed her master’s degree in our
Department.
Dr Jopie’s presence in the profession is
clearly noted in her membership and
active participation in different national
and international professional bodies
since 1975. In 2007, she was awarded
Honorary Membership by SIOPSA for
distinguished and meritorious service to
Industrial Psychology in South Africa.
Over a period of 43 years, Jopie
proceeded to establish herself as
remarkable researcher: 26 years with the
CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research) from assistant researcher to
chief specialist researcher and DeputyDirector, followed by nine years with
HSRC (Human Sciences Research Council)
as Director and Acting Executive Director.
Colleagues, I think we all experience
the pressure of publishing research
output and we can therefore give due
recognition for the dedication and focus
to have more than 150 publications,
including research reports, articles, book
chapters and manuals to your name. In
addition, she has presented 169 papers
at national and international conferences
and has received recognition as a leader
in the field of Female Leadership and
Creativity, Gender and Occupational
Power, Corporate Climate and Culture
as well as Managerial and Leadership
assessment and entrepreneurship.
She also acted as advisor and worked
professionally on different legal and
professional task groups, including the
Wiehahn Commission of enquiry on
Labour Legislation, and Task group for
It was in 1993 that I met Dr Jopie for the
first time as a master’s student conducting
research in the field of corporate culture.
I came across some of her publications
in the field and contacted her directly to
obtain access to a study conducted under
her supervision. I was pleasantly surprised
to be invited to meet her personally. I met
a distinguished researcher, passionate
about the field and open to discuss
research outcomes even with a novice
in the field. Not only did she provide me
with additional articles, but also gave me
access to her private library and several
hours of discussing the outcomes and
implications of my research. As many
before and after me had experienced,
she passionately invested her own time
in the growth and development of the
profession.
In 1993, at the age of 63, Jopie retired
from research – may I refer to this as
the first retirement – but true to her
entrepreneurial spirit, she started her
business career and registered Jopie van
Rooyen & Partners with her daughter
Jopie de Beer as the second founding
member. This required a change of focus
from management and leadership in
a research and academic environment
to creating, structuring, marketing and
managing a personally funded business
– the success of which many of us know
and closely work with. The business
not only established itself as a leader
in the field of assessment, but also as a
consulting psychologists working in all
the registration domains of psychology
strongly grounded in scientific practice
and research.
In 2006, Jopie retired for the second
time at the age of 76 and moved to
Bloemfontein. However, true to her
passion for the development of women
and her experience with research and
training, she again became actively
involved in the community in activities
that included:
• Evaluation and judging of the Business
Women Association’s regional Business
Women of the year achievers;
• Conducting talks, lectures and
workshops on female entrepreneurs,
barriers facing female leaders and
insights into the nature of female
executive intelligence.
Remarkably, Jopie is also currently
working on three publications: the early
days of psychology in SA; 25 years of
using MBTI in SA; and leadership focusing
specifically on gender and emotional
intelligence.
Renowned poet of ‘Phenomenal Woman’,
the late Maya Angelou once said:
passion, compassion, humour and style.
One isn’t necessarily born with courage,
but one is born with potential. Without
courage, we cannot practice any other
virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind,
true, merciful, generous, or honest”.
“My mission in life is not merely to survive,
but to thrive and to do so with some
The Lifetime Achievement Award
to Jopie speaks directly to these
inspirational words. It is my absolute
pleasure to present this Award, on behalf
of the Department, to a remarkable
psychologist, researcher, successful
entrepreneur and business woman with
a passion that fuels her energy and keeps
her going …To a phenomenal woman –
Dr Jopie Van Rooyen.
Esteemed Colleague Award to Prof Jos
Coetzee: A Tribute by Prof Anita Bosch
And I now read feedback received
about Jos from our team members, my
colleagues:
“He is a man with a free spirit, ready and
willing to appreciate and accommodate
diversity. His greetings and smiles are
genuine and contagious.”
“I personally enjoyed his direct support
for me as an innovative leader.”
“He was my first contact person at
Bunting. He welcomed me in typical Prof
Jos style and suggested that I enrol for my
PhD, as there was no time like the present.
Prof has been an inspiration, a pillar of
support and continues to be a legend.”
I have the honour of introducing
Professor Jos Coetzee as a recipient of our
Department’s Esteemed Colleague Award.
The award is made in recognition of a
colleague who, through his thinking,
talking and actions, has served as a visible
and inspiring role model of what we as
a Department stand for, believe in, and
aspire to. To a person that inspires us to
“Be the Best” by showing us the way.
In preparation for the presentation,
I asked myself how one esteemed
colleague might be distinguished from
another. Being interested in gender
relations, I also pondered the interaction
between the individual receiving the
award and the person that has for a
lifetime supported the recipient – in fact a
few days ago Prof Jos reminded me of the
fact that no individual was able to reach
their full potential without a little help
from their friends.
In this vein, Jos is married Tina and
together they have three children
and eight grandchildren. They form
a magnificent team. Those of us who
work with Jos may not be aware that he
already excelled at sport at school where
he received provincial colours in cricket,
Page 12
rugby, soccer and hockey. His leadership
abilities were already well established
when he became a teacher and Captain
of the former Western Transvaal Cricket
Team.
On all accounts Prof Jos certainly meets
the measureable criteria that distinguish
him from the rest. His numerous PhD and
Master’s students laud him as a wonderful
study leader, a strict but motivating
task master. He has received numerous
awards for his engaging teaching and his
contributions to organisations. Clover
recognised his exceptional contribution
to organisational development and the
establishment of a new corporate culture
in 2003. Jos’s teaching contributions
include engaging with 1 800 students
at first-year level and managing large
classes, with the comparable ease of Lewis
Hamilton driving his Mercedes.
A true professional.
But as Cameron so eloquently put it –
“Not everything that can be
counted counts.
Not everything that counts
can be counted.”
It is in that which cannot be counted that
Jos is truly deserving of this award.
“Prof Jos is always supportive,
inspirational and wants to see the best
in people. I personally wish Prof Jos
could have another 20 years to go as an
academic in our Department.”
“He never gave the impression that he
was an academic of great stature, but he
made me feel that I was important and
could make a contribution to academia.
His sense of humour is infectious – I love
laughing with him. He is truly a man that
I respect.”
“Prof Jos is a special person that touches
everyone’s heart and can lend magic to
every situation.”
“Hy was teenwoordig in my onderhoud en
ek dink hy het ‘n groot aandeel gehad om
my aangestel te kry – Hy het seker ‘n baie
GROOT goeie woord vir my gedoen!”
In conclusion:
“He is the leader we all look up to and
have come to respect so deeply, as he
is a man of his word, he always acts in
the interest of others. He is a person you
can trust, not only as a colleague, but
also as a friend. He is the colleague we
all have been so lucky to work with, and
someone whom we would personally like
to emulate.”
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
ACROSS CULTURES
Magda Hewitt
For organisations with the intent to
start, acquire or conduct businesses
in Emerging Market Economies (EME)
it is imperative that they gain a good
understanding of the new context
in which they intend to conduct
business and with whom. Without this
understanding, they run a risk of losing
their investment and steer towards
business failure.
Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive
Chairman of the World Economic Forum
(WEF), in his foreword of the 10th edition
of the Global Risks Report sketches a
rather depressing picture of the world of
today. The release of the Globe Risk Report
goes hand-in-hand with the 45th World
Economic Forum Annual Meeting that
will take place in Davos, Switzerland from
21 to 24 January 2015. The Davos agenda
focuses on Emerging Market Economies
(EME). EME representatives flock to the
WEF and developing countries send their
best politicians and executives to seek
opportunities and to have an ear on the
ground. None of them want to make
decisions they will regret a few years from
now (Bloomberg, 2015). Klaus’s vision is
that this Davos would serve as a starting
point to build global trust among the
attendees (Mathuros, 2015).
The Davos theme of 2015 is “The New
Global Context” and it explores the
context in which businesses globally
operate nowadays. Notable aspects
that appear on the Davos agenda
for discussion are: employment skills
and human capital; gender equality;
infrastructure and development;
environment and resources; food
availability; international trade; future
of the Internet; social inclusion; and
future of financial systems. Indeed
depressing themes. Talent acquisition and
development of the workforce are critical
tasks for global organisations, so critical it
“I love the things
I will never
understand”
(Amélie Nortomb)
Page 13
deserved an agenda point on Davos 2015.
The phrase ‘Emerging Market Economies’
first emerged in 1981 and was used by
economists at the International Finance
Corporation (IFC). EME is characterised
by high unemployment, socio-political
instability, and low per-capita incomes.
They are on the agenda of all multinationals who want to boost their sales
and businesses everywhere else but in
the west. Weir (2010) believes 72 per
cent of the EME is situated east of the
Mediterranean seas. Many business
opportunities are embedded in the
EME, like China, Indonesia, the Arab
world, India and Africa. These economies
are open to technology, global capital
and their business environments have
drastically changed. This has led to a
rise in middle class and the creation
of new markets for the multi-national
organisations in developed countries that
are struggling to attract consumers in
their own oversaturated markets. This has
also led to multi-national organisations
recognising the unique opportunities to
move their plants to these countries for
the untapped talent, cost effective labour,
and markets.
Khanna and Palepu (2010) argue that
EME must not be distinguished from
only developed countries but also from
each other. Each EME is characterised
by a unique market structure that is a
product of specific individual historical,
legal, economic and cultural forces.
They alerted western companies to
adopt a focused strategic approach
when conducting business in EME. They
define business success in EME as how
well you as a seller can get into contact
with your buyers. Unlike in western
countries, the EME customers lack
infrastructure, and communication; there
are language barriers, slow post office
services, reluctant law enforcements and
government regulatory interference. If
the organisation does manage to expand
its business, the high illiteracy rate
and unskilled labour hamper business
activities and growth. Companies further
incur higher cost to establish themselves
in EME compared to their home countries.
One can thus deduct that the leadership
required to lead a workforce in an
EME is complex and not without risk.
Often the leadership of multi-national
organisations will apply the same
way of conducting business in EME as
what they are accustomed to when
conducting or expanding business in a
western equivalent. The GLOBE (Global
Leadership and Organizational Behaviour
Effectiveness) research report (2014)
acknowledges the importance of cultural
contingencies in determining desirable
leadership attributes. However, it also
points out that many of the current
leadership theories developed tacitly
assumed that leadership processes
and theories generically applied to
all cultures. Triandes (1993) identified
societal culture as an important
moderator and suggested that leadership
researchers had to revisit cultural
variations as moderators or constraints of
these theories.
New approaches to leadership styles,
business models and leadership
development are therefore required
when desiring to conduct business
across cultures. Contemporary theories
should include variables such as religion,
language, ethnic background, history and
political systems which might uncover
new relationships (GLOBE Report, 2014).
There are, of course, two sides to the coin:
leaders in EME should also learn how
to conduct business with their western
counterparts who seek to conduct
business in their markets.
Leaders in South Africa are accustomed
to lead a diverse workforce from different
cultural backgrounds. Added to this
is the migration of a multi-national
workforce into the workforce. Crosscultural intelligence is becoming a must
for them. The 2014 Globe Report reminds
leaders of the importance of showing
an understanding of different cultures
by demonstrating leadership styles that
reflect that understanding of local social
conventions, values and traditions.
PRIZE FOR POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH
IN PSYCHOMETRICS
Our Department has a proud history
of high quality research in the field of
psychometrics. No one played a bigger
role in establishing this reputation than
Prof Johann Schepers over his illustrious
career. In recognition of his important
contribution, JvR and Associates decided
to sponsor an annual prize for the best
postgraduate research in psychometrics.
The prize for 2014 was awarded to
Sebastian Clifton for his master’s
dissertation entitled “Dimensionality of the
Neuroticism Basic Traits Inventory Scale”.
His research focused on the bifactor
structure of the Neuroticism scale of the
Basic Traits Inventory. The results provide
evidence that the interpretation of a
total Neuroticism score and separate
facet scores of Depression, Anxiety, Selfconsciousness and Affective Instability
is justified. The research was conducted
under the supervision of Prof Deon de
Bruin.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE WHERE IT MATTERS:
AN ALUMNUS MAKING US PROUD
Dean Retief, one of our Department’s
alumni, was awarded the 2013 Chief
Learning Officer (CLO) Award from
Knowledge Resources for his contribution
to People Development in SA. Dean is
the HR Executive: People Development
at Nedbank. His unwavering focus
and valuable contribution to People
Development stood him in good stead
to win the CLO award. He is also a
passionate speaker about Leadership
and Development.
Dean Retief joined Nedbank Group
Human Resources on 1 October 2009 as
the HR Executive of People Development
(Chief Learning Officer). He has over 19
years working experience in Human
Resources, most of which have been
spent at Nedbank. He holds a BA Honours
in Human Resources from the UJ and has
completed the AMP at Duke University.
Currently, Dean is concentrating on
achieving his Master’s degree in Personal
and Professional Leadership, also t
hrough UJ.
Initially, Dean was part of the Nedbank
Home Loans area, where he was General
Page 14
Manager of Human Resources, Training
and Communication. His achievements
there included the re-organisation/
realignment of the Human Resources
Division in Retail; starting a Training
and Development Unit for Retail Credit
from a strategy, structure, capacity
and implementation perspective; and
being selected as part of the Accenture/
Nedbank project team during 20022004 to work in the culture and values
work stream as part of the Nedbank
turnaround strategy. Under his leadership,
from 2009 to date, Job Family Learning
Academies have been launched; Graduate
Development Programmes have been
built and implemented; DTI Skills
Development achievement has been
accelerated; and a coaching capability for
Bank has been established.
Under Dean’s leadership, Nedbank
scooped the prestigious BANKSETA
award for Skills Development.
Congratulations Dean, you have made us
proud in being ‘the Best’!
VOICES OF OUR STUDENTS
We have received a very positive email
from one of last year’s students in
the Master’s Programme in Industrial
Psychology, Angie Patricio.
“I am writing this email just to provide a
little positive feedback on the Master’s
programme. As much as last year was
completely exhausting and extremely
stressful, I must admit (yes, I can’t believe
I am actually admitting this) the UJ
programme has really equipped me for
the working environment. Working now
as an intern, it is easier than the Master’s
programme because I am so used to a
greater amount of work. It has been so
interesting to speak to the other interns
and realise how much more I was able to
understand in my Master’s year, and how
my thinking has changed. As much as
we hated the dreaded reflections, it has
actually equipped me to find reflecting
during my internship year a breeze. So
I am sending this email just to give the
Department an applaud on their Master’s
programme; it has even been recognised
by other university interns.”
CHALLENGES IN PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
GLOBALLY – WHAT IS EXPECTED OF HR
PROFESSIONALS TODAY
Address delivered by Sinenhlanhla Mkhize, Sasol Senior Vice-President
for Group Human Resources, at our Annual Top Achievers Awards
Function on 12 November 2014
Let me first start by congratulating the
top achievers this evening. I am sure
tonight is the result of hard work and
dedication which you will take into your
careers in the future. I am delighted to
be here to address this group of inspiring
achievers whom I have no doubt will
go on to make a positive impact on the
Psychology and People Management
professions.
I believe it was Charles Dickens who
wrote in the Tale of Two Cities: “It was the
best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age
of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity, it was
the season of Light, it was the season of
Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was
the winter of despair, we had everything
before us, we had nothing before us, we
Page 15
were all going direct to Heaven, we were
all going direct the other way…“
This indeed is the most exciting but
also the most daunting time for People
Professionals across the world. As the
world around us changes more rapidly
than we ever imagined, we are expected
to not only address the challenges inside
our organisations but to contribute
far more significantly to addressing
socio-economic challenges as well as
enabling our organisations to meet
key stakeholder requirements. I am
tempted to ask the question: who of you
anticipated the Arab spring, Marikana,
EFF being in parliament, and the
significant dip in our economic growth
rate despite having the NDP in place, who
anticipated the Ebola epidemic?
When we look at socio-economic changes
and trends around us it is clear that
they have not only impacted on how
companies and countries do business but
also on how they operate and what it is
they prioritise. At the top of the list are
people with the right skills – the talent to
deliver on finding innovative yet fit-forpurpose solutions to unique problems.
While this, one may argue, is nothing
new, what is different now is the manner
in which this war for the right talent and
skills – which is across geographies –
has intensified as well as changed how
organisations worldwide now manage
people. This has necessitated a fresh
approach to HR strategies and tactics as
companies seek to attract and retain top
talent, and be regarded as employers
of choice in a bid to remain innovative,
relevant and competitive.
While one may argue that companies
must be spoiled for choice given the high
number of unemployed people as a result
of the global changes I have referred to,
the opposite is actually very true. In South
Africa for instance, which has one of the
highest unemployment rates in the world,
finding and developing the relevant
skills to help businesses achieve their
objectives and the country to improve
its global competitiveness is a major
challenge. While we have thousands of
graduates and experienced professionals,
the majority of these possess skills that
are not in line with the country’s labour
needs. This has further intensified the
war for talent across industries, even
more so for those who possess skills that
are relevant for new emerging roles in
organisations that are critical.
The advent and the growth of social
media in particularly platforms such
as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook
have also brought about a different
dimension to HR, presenting challenges
and opportunities. These social media
platforms have made it that much easier
for employees to sell themselves and
find new employment opportunities
across geographical boundaries. Unlike a
decade ago, today people with the right
type of skills and experience can find
new jobs at a heartbeat. This has added a
new dimension to people management.
On the positive side though is that the
very same platforms are presenting HR
professionals with newer and alternative
avenues for acquiring talent.
And then there’s the millennials or the
so-called ‘Born-Frees’, if one uses the
South African lingo. This generation of
employees is a different kettle of fish
altogether. Individualistic in their thinking,
‘Born-Frees’ do not believe in hanging
on to the same jobs for long. They are
looking for an experience and not just
jobs or careers. Evidence is the constant
ranking of Google as the number one
place to work for among young people
under 35. This is because working at
Google is an experience unmatched by
many companies including those in the
technology field.
So what do HR practitioners need to have
and do to succeed today? The simple
answer to that would be they need to
think globally and be externally focused
yet act locally so that they do not miss
critical waves of social change. Let me
expand on that.
The next frontier: Attracting
and retaining talent
Looking at talent acquisition, which is
by far the fastest changing aspect of HR
today, this now goes beyond filling key
positions within an organisation and
ensuring that those persons are decently
compensated for their services. That just
gets you into the game.
Today’s employees – and this is the
trend globally – are looking for jobs that
have meaning; are rewarding and not
just financially; and most importantly
are enjoyable. Added to this list, is that
employees today want to feel valued and
engaged by their leaders, employers and
the governments who serve them
HR practitioners must adapt to
accommodate and attract this new
breed of employee. Interventions should
include taking a more holistic approach
to managing them, which takes into
consideration people’s diverse needs
Page 16
based not only on what skills they have
but which communities they come from
and what values they hold dear. For
example, a missed opportunity continues
to be in coming up with innovative
benefits that encourage high potential
women to remain in the fold.
Therefore, you can understand how
surprised I was when I learned that
Facebook and Apple have announced
that they will from now on be covering
the cost of freezing eggs for those female
employees who choose to do so now
so that they can focus on their careers
without having to worry about the
clock ticking. Unorthodox perhaps, the
announcement signals a revolutionary
step in how companies should now start
tailoring their employee benefits to attract
and retain top talent. By introducing this
aspect to their HR policies, Facebook and
Apple are recognising the predicament
that many talented woman professionals
face: having to eventually choose
between their career ambitions and
starting families. While many juggle the
two, very few have done so successfully.
Culture diversity: another
aspect that HR professionals
have to increasingly focus on
South Africa is a melting pot of different
cultures and traditional practices. While
this is our daily experience, globally
managing and maximising the benefits
of diversity in workplaces continues to
be a major challenge for organisations.
A company’s culture is the one factor
that truly differentiates it from its peers.
It is Google’s culture, which is a result of
the working environment its founders
have created, that makes it the most
sought-after employer in the world. There
are many technology companies which
probably offer the same, if not better,
remuneration packages than Google. But
these fail to attract the same amount of
interest, enthusiasm, and loyalty from
their employees as Google does.
Given the amount of pressure that
employees face on a daily basis, building
a working environment that allows them
to be themselves; and is conducive for
people to excel; be creative and even
entrepreneurial in their approach and
thinking, is a major challenge for HR
professionals. And yet it is a key requisite
for companies to excel and remain
competitive.
Adding to the challenge is the now
multi-generational nature of many
workforces as well as the increase in
cultural diversity in general. This diversity
covers every respect – gender, religion,
tradition, skill set and sexual orientation.
Indeed, in future – and this is beginning
to show – it will be those companies that
have invested in creating diverse and
accommodating organisational cultures
which will succeed.
In tandem with this trend, is the focus
on the need to build solid pipelines of
diverse leaders who possess the business
acumen, talent and emotional intelligence
to lead their organisations into the new
frontier. The development of the right
leaders to take their organisation to the
next level of performance while positively
contributing to the socio-economics of
the environments in which they operate is
a critical role that HR has to play into the
future.
In closing
Looking at these challenges, it is clear that
HR practitioners must now step up to the
challenge and embrace their evolving
role and function. Gone are the days
when we were protectors of company
interests and screeners of persons. The
changing world of business requires that
we become planners and catalysts of
change not only inside our companies
but also in the environments in which
we operate. We have to be abreast of
socio-economic trends if our value and
role in organisations is to continue to be
recognised and appreciated.
While in Europe and other developed
regions, their challenges include
managing ageing populations. In Africa
we are fortunate in that we have a
predominantly young population that can
still be moulded to produce the skills we
need to drive our economic growth and
prosperity.
We need to take this opportunity and
responsibility very seriously. We have
an opportunity to ensure that we do
not produce a lost generation of young
people who, because they could not be
absorbed into the mainstream economy
due to lack of critical or relevant skills, are
now left in the periphery. This will have
both social and economic consequences,
and will result in the widening of the
already large gap between the Haves
and the Have Nots. This, as the recent
Oxfam report revealed, will lead to more
civil unrests as we saw two years ago in
Marikana, and other social ills we can ill
afford.
As you move towards the future, I do
hope you take it upon yourselves to come
up with solutions that will reform the
profession and its practices, but also assist
governments, companies and educational
institutions to prepare a workforce that
is ready to take on the challenges of the
future.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR
2014 TOP ACHIEVERS
Recently, our Department recognised the
outstanding work and performance of
the Class of 2014 at a dinner evening. This
prestigious event is the highlight on the
Department’s annual calendar, and took
place at the Johannesburg Country Club
on 12 November 2014.
Apart from the top achievers, Prof Daneel
van Lill (Executive Dean, Faculty of
Management), Prof Jane Spowart (ViceDean Academic, Faculty of Management),
Prof Gert Roodt (Vice-Dean Research,
Faculty of Management), Sinenhlanhla
Mkhize who was invited as guest speaker,
doctoral graduandi, various special guests
as well as academic and administrative
staff were present at the function.
Altogether the function was attended by
about 145 people.
Students must have obtained distinctions
for their qualifications to be considered
for a Top Achievers Award. The following
students were recipients of the Best
Page 17
Student Awards in the following
categories.
Continuous Education
Programmes:
• Diploma in Human Resource
Management (Joint award): Kgololo
Andries Mokala and Nicolette Barrett
Undergraduate
Programmes:
• National Diploma in Human
Resource Management: Xolani
Perseverence Zwane
• BA/BCom Human Resource
Management: Fortunate Masvinge
• BCom Industrial Psychology:
Olivia Logan
Postgraduate Programmes:
• BTech in Human Resource
Management: Yulanda Hlobisa Dludlu
• Honours in Industrial Psychology:
Candice Natasha Anne Karam
• Honours in Human Resource
Management: Danielle Uitzinger
• Master’s in Industrial Psychology:
Sebastian Clifton
• Master’s Programme in Leadership in
Performance and Change:
Gerrit Jacobus Lotz
• Master’s in Personal and Professional
Leadership: Daphna Sharon Horowitz
• Master’s Programmes by Dissertation in
Human Resource Management:
Kajal Harsukhlal Kotecha
A special word of
congratulations to our
2014 Doctoral Graduandi:
Dr NA Buys; Dr GA Du Plessis;
Dr CH Du Toit; Dr J Gobind; Dr A Janse Van
Rensburg; Dr WJP Labuschagne;
Dr LWJ Matlhape; Dr MA Mdletye;
Dr M Nobre; Dr JG Swart; Dr AR Wort;
and Dr MCC Wulffers.
RHYTHM AS STRATEGY
IN PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
Albert Wort
It is within our daily routine that the
biggest challenge is what we are
trying to do, and not who we want to
become. Becoming and growing into our
purpose and goals at work begins with
reclaiming our priorities and schedules
(dougsmanagementmoment.blogspot.
com). In the context of leadership
everything rises and falls with the
management of rhythm in one’s life. To
not only survive, but to thrive, within
the post-modern leadership landscape
the leader not only has to understand
rhythm but also incorporate it within
daily routines and schedules (Loehr &
Schwartz, 2003:30).
“You tend to learn a lot more from
someone who is very different from
you. It’s those differences that make
us aware of who we are, of our
strengths and weaknesses”
(Carlos Ghosn)
Dimensions of life
Loehr and Schwartz (2003:31) state that
within a rhythm the oscillations represent
the pulse of life. The rhythm represented
in the oscillations is functional in all
dimensions of life as per accompanying
table.
INNER LIFE
DIMENSIONS
EXTERNAL
LIFE
DIMENSIONS
• Physical
• Social
• Mental
• Career
• Emotional
• Financial
• Spiritual
• Ecological
The reality of the post-modern challenge
is in keeping a balancing act across these
life dimensions. Fact is, however, that
the balance is always one step away
because we get up each morning with
a litany of things to do in all the above
dimensions and managing crisis to crisis,
elevating stress, and not improving
quality of life (Minnaar, 2007:135).
Most of us experience a daily struggle
with busyness, crisis management and
forthcoming stress. Within this reality we
need to put actions in place to live with
even greater balance.
Balance?
This is but a moment in time, a few
seconds of balancing out present reality,
a few days of self-created bliss, the search
for a next system or a technique that will
deliver superior results or just to keep
Page 18
us afloat. As leaders the daily priority is
walking the beam, making sure that each
priority gets the specific amount of time
and attention. Out of the results, balance
is so-called attained and claimed.
Within biomechanics, balance is seen as
the ability to maintain a line of gravidity in
the mass of a body supported with a base
negotiation movement from the centre
point (Nevin & Wulf, 2002:187). Within
the context of a personal leadership
balanced living, the object is to balance
one’s life within all dimensions with work
as being the support on which it sways. A
greater value focus on only efficiency has
the tendency to spill over into other life
dimensions (Kofodimos, 1993:12).
The seeking of efficiency in other
dimensions does not necessarily
make a difference but rather becomes
problematic. It results in the over
extension of getting a balance in all and
across life dimensions. Higher control and
seeking all round efficiency lead to the
demise of serendipity. It is evident that
the aspiration towards work-life balance
may even undermine us to attain more
fulfilling lives (Caproni, 1993:46).
Most of us are in search of a more
meaningful and fulfilling life. The search
for greater effectiveness drives many
to extreme levels of negative stress,
anxiety, sleep disorders and depression.
It is evident that the search for this
effectiveness through balance in a
developed world leads to a dead end.
Balance conveys the midpoint, average it
is. However, in life we strive for something
more than average (Miller, 2009:20).
Rhythm as an alternative
When people are asked, life is not
perceived as static, uniform or linear. It
is a constant movement, an exchange of
energy, and pulsating movement with the
generating of energy.
It is always a marvel to see rhythm
manifested in and around us. From the
roll out of the sea waves in rhythmic ease,
which in its own moves are in perfect
rhythm to the moon. The rhythm that
plays out day and night, linking up with
the seasonal changes with direct impact
on the human being. The manifested
rhythm within the human body through
the cardiovascular system. Brainwaves
moving rhythmically in different
wavelengths over the brain according to
the array of human dimensions (http://
www.achev.biz/index.php?option=com_
content&task).
In human behaviour the rhythm to the
action makes it all seems so simplistic,
even not picking up on the harmony
presented within the rhythm. In the same
vain leadership excellence is represented.
Attuned leaders move gracefully to the
rhythm displayed within the organisation.
This behaviour is the direct product
of authentic leadership adding value
(Cashman, 1998:20). Rhythm is nestled
within Transcendental Leadership
centring on honours leadership
excellence and the sacrifice required for
achievements, still giving the leadership
space for renewal (Miller, 2009:25).
Within leadership four specific areas of
importance need to be recognised and
practised.
• At an athletic meeting my son was
desperate for advice then he asked me:
“Dad, when do I need to go for it in this
race”. He was talking about a 400 m
sprint. As we all know: the last place is
not the place you want to be no matter
what the circumstance. My advice was:
“Watch the field, when the second one
kicks on the reaction of the one leading,
then you just give everything”. He
attained a very good second position!
He judged right when to step in and
even when to step out of it.
• As leaders we need to know intuitively
when to step in and to step out, using
our contextual intelligence. This is
the wisdom complemented with
knowledge, an authentic engagement
with the context to know when to STEP
IN and when to STEP OUT.
• I do believe that leadership is expressed
all around us. My preferred choice of
observation is those with whom I stand
in close relationship. My wife came to
me a few months ago with a challenge
she faced. Being in an organisation with
great success, as well as a history of
success, it was quite challenging for her
to engage with her reality as it was. At a
specific point of engagement she asked
me: “When can I say or do something”.
• Within my understanding of rhythm I
had a simple answer: “When the wave
goes out and the resistance is least,
establish your position in the flow and
go for it!” Sounds simple? No definitely
not. It is the understanding of the
rhythm within the “wave”. If the power
of the wave is too powerful it will wash
you over. But if you have established
the rhythm in the waves you will
understand when to STEP IN.
• In leadership there is sometimes
just the one moment that you have
to understand and then to STEP IN.
Those are the STEP IN rhythms where
a moment is ready for the leadership
engagement relevant to the context.
• The next two phases are a bit more
challenging. The core of leadership
rhythm is to be fully in synchronicity
with people and the context. In a
previous vocation, a youthful and
energetic leader approached me with
the exuberance of the young lioness.
Giving the context, immediately all the
alarm bells sounded and the reaction
was ... Get OUT… NOW!
• There are leadership challenges in
Page 19
which we want to go forward with the
drive of pride but the fight is not worth
the losses. In leadership rhythm this
would be the simple one, GET OUT …
NOW!!!!! Youthful exuberance and at
time leadership tenacity will win the
fight but the cost will be too high. The
war will be lost. Step Out, calculate the
risk, reassess and then set up a strategy
in which the ultimate vision will not be
at risk.
• Music has been recognised not only
for its astonishing rich melodies or
harmonies but perhaps more for the
grounding of harmony and melody
within rhythm. If all the variables are
not ticked in the boxes, you might just
set yourself up for a symphony that will
forever be forgotten or remembered for
all the wrong reasons.
At my own detriment, I offer the next
example. As a rugby player and enthusiast
I played in a high level match. As a
backline player it was my function to
identify attacking opportunities and then
to set up the next phase for players to
take the attack forward. In the moment
it just happened that the moment of
personal glory opened up and I identified
it. I could feel and even taste that
moment of crossing the goal line and
the congratulations. It was, however, also
the fact that if I had passed the ball, the
honour would be to the team and not me.
What did I choose?
made a better choice? I went for the gap,
not realising that the surface we played
on was a rugby and cricket pitch. As I
crossed the pitch area, the goal line lay a
begging. But then the surface changed to
a rugby pith and I lost my footing. Yes, the
try was not scored! Why? Because I did not
know when to step back and pass the ball.
In leadership we need to know that it
is not about the individual scoring the
goal or try but the team making that
crucial inroad. As leaders functioning in
rhythm we need to have the wisdom and
leadership knowledge when to step out.
The team will score, but on the scoring
sheet your name will not appear, but the
victory! So, discern when the time is right
to Step Out for someone else to Step In.
Conclusion
Let us pull everything together. In
the leadership rhythm, you need to
understand and practise when to:
1. Step In and Step Out
2. Step In
3. Step Out
4. Step Out and Step In
Grow your wisdom regarding rhythm as
a leader. Also have the wisdom of the
rhythm of those in your team. This will be
decisive in obtaining the much desired
victory!
Please do tell me that you would have
“If you work with your hands,
you’re a labourer. If you work with
your hands and mind, you’re a
craftsman. If you work with your
hands, mind, heart and soul,
you’re an artist” (Native American metal
artist in the movie “America’s Heart and Soul”)
POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS: OUR PRIDE!
Receiving a doctoral degree is certainly a milestone in anyone’s academic or research
career, but it is also the pride and joy of any academic department. Endowed with a
dedicated and motivated team and students of a calibre that allow the Department to
face the future with confidence, the IPPM Department has reason to be proud of the
three doctoral degrees that were conferred on our postgraduates at our September 2014
graduation ceremonies, bringing the total for 2014 to 23 master’s and seven doctoral
degrees. This is but a partial reflection of the significant research output contribution
that our Department is making in keeping our body of knowledge at the forefront. Since
postgraduate research is seen as a critical activity of the Department, here follows a short
overview of the research by our doctoral students who graduated during September 2014.
Swart, Jacobus Gerhardus (DPhil)
Title of doctoral thesis: Understanding and managing the human side of
acquisitions
Gerhardt holds a Master’s in Industrial Psychology and a Master’s in Business
Administration (North-West University), as well as Diplomas in Advanced Labour
Relations and Advanced Labour Law (University of South Africa). He is a registered
Industrial and Counselling Psychologist.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are a popular strategic organisation initiative. The
current knowledge regarding the critical success factors of M&As is fragmented
and conflicting. The key research question directing Gerhardt’s study was: How can
businesses manage the human side of acquisitions more effectively? Gerhardt set
out to gain a deep understanding of the real-time dynamics of acquisitions together
with the people management practices they require. By combining evocative and
analytical auto-ethnography, he integrated the real-life, personal stories of three
managers involved in acquisitions (himself being one), with the current literature on
acquisitions and other related theoretical concepts. Personally, he experienced that
auto-ethnography unveiled how acquisition dynamics can be harmful to one’s career
and reopen personal emotional scars, considered before to have been healed. Based on
his research, he proposed a Human Acquisition Transition People Management Model
for M&As. The model offers important, even unique, insights into the psycho-social,
legal and commercial dynamics of M&As, at individual and group levels, and the roles
of stakeholders and management. His proposed model would enable managing the
people side of M&As more effectively.
Supervisor: Prof WJ Schurink
Gobind, Jenika (PhD)
Title of doctoral thesis: Evaluation of an HIV/AIDS prevention programme at a
South African University
Jenika Gobind holds a Master’s in HIV/AIDS Management (US) and a BProc Law (UKZN).
Currently Jenika is a Lecturer in the Department of Industrial Psychology and People
Management, Faculty of Management, University of Johannesburg.
HIV/AIDS is a general workplace concern. The university environment is no different.
Jenika’s study aimed to scientifically evaluate the effectiveness of an HIV/AIDS
prevention programme at a SA university by comparing the programme against the
Higher Education and Training HIV/AIDS Programme (HEAIDS) framework. A mixedmethod approach was adopted. In order to ascertain programme effectiveness,
stakeholders were questioned on their experiences and perceptions of the university’s
HIV/AIDS programme. Three criteria were used to determine programme effectiveness:
stakeholder awareness, perception and knowledge of the programme. The findings
revealed that stakeholder attendance and awareness of Voluntary Counselling and
Testing (VCT) were confused with knowledge of the programme. First-year students
entered the university HIV negative, and in some instances exited HIV positive.
Academics were less conversant with the programme. Their lack of interest posed a
concern.
Page 20
The recommendations following from Jenika’s study included a need for more
comprehensive HIV/AIDS programmes, increased stakeholder involvement, improved
visibility and awareness of programmes, and the need for ongoing research in the area
of HIV/AIDS programme effectiveness. These recommendations will alert HIV/AIDS
programme co-ordinators to the weaknesses in programmes, and how to address them
effectively.
Supervisor: Prof WI Ukpere
Wulffers, Martina Christina Catharina (PhD)
Title of doctoral thesis: Evaluating a leadership authenticity programme
Tineke Wulffers obtained a BCom in Computer Sciences (UPE), and a Master’s in
Professional Coaching (cum laude) (University of Middlesex, UK).
Currently, there is a global call for renewed attention to what constitutes authentic
leadership, given the challenging times faced by organisations. Tineke’s study, from
a scientific-practitioner perspective, set out to research the value of leadership
authenticity development programmes. Two research objectives with reference to a
leadership authenticity programme informed her research: firstly, to evaluate (i) the
proximal programme effect on leadership authenticity, and (ii) the distal programme
effect on inter-relational trust, as well as individual and team leadership effectiveness;
and, secondly, how specific programme components contributed to its outcomes.
Consequently, a theory for authentic leadership development programmes was
proposed. In her longitudinal empirical study, Tineke used a pragmatic, mixedmethod, programme evaluation approach. The findings indicated that the programme
had a direct effect on increasing leadership authenticity; and an indirect effect
on increasing inter-relational trust and leadership effectiveness. All programme
components successfully contributed to the intended outcomes. Based on these
findings, an authentic leadership development programme theory was proposed. The
major contribution of her study is to be found in the use of her proposed theory to
significantly shorten the time needed to develop authentic leadership.
Supervisor: Prof MHR Bussin
Co-Supervisor: Dr LMM Hewitt
MASTER’S GRADUATES WITH THE TITLES
OF THEIR MINOR DISSERTATIONS
Name of student
Supervisor
Degree completed
Title of minor dissertation
Reid, RM
Prof HG Pretorius
MCom (IP)
The lived experience of men accused of sexual
harassment in the workplace
Jones, NLK
Dr C Henn
MCom (IP)
Personality and job satisfaction. The moderating
effect of psychological wellbeing
SEPTEMBER 2014
Dr C Hill
Mazibuko, TP
Prof JS Uys
MCom (IP)
Quality of work life: a generation y perspective
Bokako, POM
Dr AJ Parker
MPhil (LPC)
Leadership traits required for leading
organisations in South Africa
Mahlangu, SR
Dr C Govender
MPhil (LPC)
Management competencies required in the
transition from a technician to a supervisor
Molteno, L
Dr C Govender
MPhil (PPL)
Understanding the potential of adult “third
culture kids” as talents in multinational
corporations
Page 21
UJ PSYCHOMETRIC INTERNS
HAS A HEART FOR CHILDREN
Gerhard Niemann, Psychometric student
On 14 November 2014, the UJ
Psychometric Interns visited the Malaika
Orphanage in Johannesburg. As their
community project, the interns decided
to spend the day with the children. The
aim was to treat the children by showing
that the world was not all bad and that
there were people in the world who loved
and accepted them. Each intern made a
contribution to school stationery or gave
treats or clothes; and spent quality time
with the children.
Malaika Orphanage was founded by Juma
Sebichwn along with fellow community
workers in 2007. At present, they house
75 children ranging from 3 to 17 years
of age. They are currently also running
two projects. The first project is to train
children to play brass instruments in a
Brass Band. Anna Petersen from Denmark
donated brass instruments to the band.
The children are trained by local musicians
who volunteer their services on a regular
basis. The second project is run by Lindie,
a dance instructor who offers dance
classes to the children. Malaika is funded
by some regular donors. Their main
contributor is Cash & Carry Fordsburg.
What did the interns experience at Malaika?
Charlene Lundt
The trip to the orphanage proved to
be eye opening. Upon entering the
house, the realisation of the poor living
conditions became evident. The house
was not maintained and there was a
foul smell in the air. When assisting the
children with the packing away of the
groceries, it was noted that the cupboards
were bare. The younger children were very
excited to see us and although not many
of them seemed to understand English
they appeared to enjoy interacting with
us. The teenagers arrived later in our visit
and did not seem too pleased to see us.
It was heart breaking to see so many
children living in those conditions and we
can only hope that continuous assistance
will be provided to them in future.
Kirsten Sacks
As I drove up the roads leading to the
orphanage, I was struck by the poverty
of the area in which the orphanage is
situated. Walking through the entrance
once again reinforced the poor conditions
of the physical environment in which
Page 22
these children spend their days. Once in
the orphanage itself, I was overcome by
the warm and enthusiastic response I got
when the children saw new faces. The
welcome that I received was filled with
enthusiasm and happiness. Although the
conditions were poor, they did not have
any influence on the warm, light hearted
and happy atmosphere that was present
within the orphanage.
Yeshanka Naranswami
We gave the children clothing, stationery
as well as sweets, which were accepted
with much appreciation and gratefulness.
We spent the rest of the afternoon playing
games and interacting with the children.
The whole experience of the visit to this
orphanage made me conscious and aware
of my own personal blessings that I am
fortunate enough to have. The poverty
and underprivileged situations in which
these children find themselves have put
a whole lot of my own life circumstances
into perspective. What stood out for
me the most was the gratitude and
contentment which these children
display, despite the misfortune they
are experiencing.
All in all it, was a day of true experience.
Interns learned that practising
psychometry moves beyond that of being
an assessor of people. It also implies to
be someone who can and must impact
on people’s lives positively and that even
the small things we do can make a big
difference! To touch people’s lives is part
of the study of Psychology!!! We as a
class hope that we can continue making
a positive contribution in the South
African society, even if it is one person
and one assessment at a time, and also
to put a smile on a child’s face by giving
something small.
The orphanage was a really different
experience. It makes you realise how to
be grateful for what you have and also
how much a person has to offer others.
Just a simple smile, hug and time
can make a huge difference. This has
encouraged me to be successful in my
field of work to make a difference.
PROF CAROLYN ELLIS’S WORKSHOPS
AND THE SECOND ANNUAL
JOHANNESBURG SEMINAR ON
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
Prof Willem Schurink
The Centre for Work Performance at our
Department hosted Professor Carolyn
Ellis, a Distinguished Professor, the
Department of Communication, South
Florida University, from 29 September to 1
October 2014. She presented two training
workshops and was the keynote speaker
at the Second Annual Johannesburg
Seminar on Qualitative Research Methods.
The first workshop for master’s and
doctoral students took place on Monday
29 September. The title of the workshop
was “Autoethnography and intimate
interviewing”. Prof Ellis discussed issues,
ethics, and considerations in doing
interviews with others about sensitive
and emotional topics. She looked in
detail at a small portion of her interviews
with a Holocaust survivor. In addition,
she outlined how to do collaborative
research with story tellers and the various
forms in which one might present this
work, including literary short stories. It
was a wonderful opportunity to work
through some of the issues of doing
autoethnographlc research together with
an expert in the field.
The second workshop, presented
the following day, was earmarked
for academics and study supervisors.
The theme was about writing and
mentoring autoethnographic studies.
Prof Ellis presented a brief history of
Page 23
autoethnography and discussed the
premises in autoethnographic writing.
Participants had to read a story written
by her, “Maternal Connections”. They
were invited to give their reactions;
share their personal stories evoked
by this reading; and raise issues that
emerge, such as ethics, vulnerability, and
effective and evocative writing. Lastly,
there was a discussion about mentoring
autoethnographic studies, including
evaluation and publishing outlets.
Participants found it very valuable not
only to work through the writing and
mentoring process under Professor Ellis’s
guidance, but also to meet colleagues
doing similar work in the country. The
workshop created an important place
for cross-disciplinary collaboration in
autoethnographic research in the South
African context.
The Second Annual Johannesburg
Seminar on Qualitative Research Methods
was attended by a broad and inclusive
spread of students, lecturers, mentors and
study supervisors from various disciplines,
universities and business schools. The
seminar was opened by Prof Deon De
Bruin of the Centre for Work Performance,
welcoming the speakers, panel members
and the delegates. The day’s programme
was contextualised by Prof Willem
Schurink, also from the Centre.
The opening address entitled: “A
perspective on issues in commerce
education arguing for activism in
promoting qualitative research” was
presented by Prof Daneel van Lill,
Executive Dean: Faculty of Management
at the University of Johannesburg. He
underlined the difficulties of addressing
the human condition in a global and
fast-changing world and the importance
of lived experience and storytelling by
relating some of his life experiences to
strategic management. He emphasised
that the challenge faced by universities
today is to prepare students as global
citizens and to generate new knowledge
to build on the scientific body of
knowledge necessary to successfully
address the human condition. In this,
cutting-edge qualitative research has a
definite role to play. This presentation
provided an excellent platform for the
other speakers who demonstrated
some of the creative ways in which
autoethnography could be used to
address the human condition.
The keynote address delivered by Prof
Ellis was entitled “Living and relating
after the Holocaust: a survivor and
researcher collaborate in compassionate
storytelling,” After a brief overview of
her autoethnographic approach she
showed the 45-minute film, “Behind
the Wall”. In this film she accompanies a
Holocaust survivor, Jerry Rawucki, as he
returns from the US to Poland, his home
country, for the first time in almost 70
years. They visited Warsaw, Jerry’s home
town of Plock, and Treblinka, where his
mother and sister were murdered. This
video showed Mr Rawicki’s past and
current feelings about and forgiveness
towards his homeland, and his in-depth
exploration about his own recollections
and reflections on the working of
memory.
This address was followed by Professor
Garth Stevens, Co-assistant Dean:
Humanities of the University of
Witwatersrand outlining the Apartheid
Archive Project. The archive is an
international research initiative revisiting
South Africa’s history through the storied
lives of ordinary citizens living in the
Apartheid era. It aims to understand
the continued impact of our past on
our present social, subjective and
psychological realities.
The next speaker was Professor Wilhelm
Jordaan, Distinguished Professor at the
University of Pretoria with: “Beavers build
dams, spiders weave webs and humans
tell stories”. In this presentation, Professor
Jordaan demonstrated the importance of
storytelling in our lives and how stories
could help people to forgive and bring
healing. He emphasised that stories
are an integral part of being human.
Telling stories is the oldest way to convey
knowledge and experience from one
generation to the next. Gradually over the
course of history, science and scientific
methodology, two ways of knowing and
gaining knowledge have developed,
namely subjective storytelling and a
structured form of “story telling” based
on objectivity and the rules of proof and
logical deduction. He argued that both
these forms of storytelling had scientific
value. They should therefore not be seen
as opposing ways of gaining knowledge
but as complementary endeavours.
Next was Dr Lauren Dylle-Myklebust of
the Centre for Communication, Media and
Society of the University of KwaZulu-Natal
with her presentation entitled: “Traversing
reflexivity, autoethnography and narrative
in Kalahari research terrains: observations
and approaches from within rethinking
indignity”. Questions were explored
about the methodology, subjectivity and
identity used in 22 years of researching
indigenous peoples such as the !Xoo
and Khomani Bushmen. The focus of
her presentation was on the difficulties
and contradictions of relationships
between Self and Other, researchers and
researched, and observer and observed.
Page 24
Prof Freddie Crous from our Department
presented: “Collecting art as storytelling”.
He revealed his Self through his art
collection, explaining that he marked
major events in his life by buying specific
art pieces symbolising the different
events.
Finally, Professor Willem Schurink of the
Centre for Work Performance facilitated
a panel having informal interactive
discussion of autoethnographical research
undertaken by the Department. The panel
consisted of Professors Ellis and Jordaan
and successful doctoral candidates in the
autoethnographic field. The panel shared
views on the criteria of autoethnography
focusing on the importance of emotion
and science; the activist orientation of
leading to insight into one’s own and
other’s pain; and the understanding of
differentness and potential healing. The
panellists agreed that autoethnography
was a human science not only about
people, but for people. The panel
discussion concluded with comments and
questions from the audience.
Finally, Professor Ellis proposed some
suggestions for the way forward.
She remains committed to promote
autoethnograpy in any way possible
in South Africa such as assisting with a
special issue of a journal and acting as
a consultant for a book on the seminar
proceedings and the studies undertaken
by PhD students. She also proposed
that the Centre for Work Performance
organise an international conference
on autoethnography and establish an
association for autoethnography in South
Africa that could serve as a network for
inter-institutional collaboration.
On the whole, the enthusiasm for
autoethnography was overwhelming.
The feedback from attendees as well as
the speakers was most positive. Not only
was the presentation and discussions
inspiring, thought stimulating and
enriching, but the seminar also presented
an excellent opportunity to network and
learn from other researchers involved
in autoethnographic research. This
seminar certainly breaks new ground
for autoethnographic research in South
Africa. Congratulations to the Centre for
Work Performance of our Department
for taking the lead to introduce
autoetnography to the local academic
community in such a poignant manner.
Delegates expressed the hope that this
would become an annual event.
INTERNATIONAL
VISITORS TO OUR
DEPARTMENT
Prof Carolyn Ellis, Distinguished
University Professor of
Communication at the University
of South Florida, USA
Prof Ellis presented a workshop for Master’s and Doctoral students as well as
a workshop for lecturers and supervisors during September 2014. She also
delivered the keynote address entitled: “Living and relating after the holocaust: a
survivor and researcher collaborate in compassionate storytelling” at the Second
Annual Johannesburg Seminar On Qualitative Research Methods on 1 October
2014. Carolyn Ellis has established a national and international reputation for
distinguished contributions to the narrative and ethnographic study of human
communication. Her work is extensively cited across the human sciences. She
is widely recognised as an originator and developer of autoethnography – a
reflexive approach to empirical research that connects the autobiographical and
personal to the cultural, social, and political – and an innovator of collaborative and
documentary approaches to representing how loss and trauma are experienced
and communicated over the life course. As a qualitative researcher who works at
the intersection of social science and humanities, she seeks to convey a cultural
way of life through the presentation of stories about particular lives, and to
document the moment-to-moment, concrete details of a life story. Her focus is
in the areas of emotions, health and illness, trauma, grief and loss, aging, and
relationships. Along with her colleagues, Carolyn has developed research and
writing procedures that reflect the ways
people cope with intense experiences
and relate to close associates in everyday
life. Her goal is to humanise social science
projects; evoke emotional responses;
and open up conversations about lived
experiences and qualitative research.
Prof Peter W Dorfman,
Emeritus Professor of
Management at New
Mexico State University,
USA
investigator for Mexico; a member of
the GLOBE coordinating team for overall
coordination of the project; an executive
board member; and an editor of the
award winning book Culture, Leadership,
and Organizations: The GLOBE study of
62 Societies. Prof. Dorfman continues
to engage in research, publishing,
and presenting lectures in numerous
countries.
He is an author of the latest GLOBE book
titled Strategic Leadership across Cultures:
The GLOBE Study of CEO Leadership
Behavior and Effectiveness in 24 Countries
(Sage 2013). The focus of this book
is on leadership at the top echelons
of firms across the world. Survey and
interview data were obtained from more
than 1 000 CEOs along with more than
5 000 top management team members
(TMT) reporting to these CEOs. The
study provides evidence that leadership
matters, executive leadership matters
greatly, and that societal cultures
influence the kind of leadership that is
expected and effective.
Chicago School
International Psychology
PhD students
A one-day workshop was held with our
Industrial Psychology Master’s students
and the Chicago School International
Psychology PhD students on Monday,
18 August 2014. After the session, they
took a tour to Soweto and visited an SME
at Carlton Centre, an SME at Maborite
Conference/Skills Development Centre
at Freedom Park, UJ Soweto Campus,
Freedom Square in Kliptown, Othandweni
Children’s Home, Vilakazi Street, and
viewed Bishop Tutu’s house, the Mandela
House and the Hector Peterson Memorial.
“Real knowledge is to know
the extent of one’s ignorance.”
Prof Dorfman presented three workshops
in November 2014. The titles of his
workshops were: “A 20 Year Effort to
Study The Relationship Between Societal
Culture, Leadership, and Organizational
Effectiveness”; “Perspectives on Effective
Leadership from the GLOBE Project” and
“Strategic Leadership across Cultures: What
do the Very Best CEOs have in Common
with Each Other?”. Prof Dorfman until
recently held the Bank of America
Professorship in the Department of
Management at the New Mexico State
University. He is currently Chairman of
the Board of Directors and President
of GLOBE (Global Leadership and
Organizational Effectiveness Foundation).
His articles on leadership, crosscultural management, and employee
discrimination have appeared in
Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Applied
Psychology, Academy of Management
Journal, Academy of Management Review,
Journal of Management, Advances in
International Comparative Management,
Journal of International Business Studies,
and Advances in Global Leadership, among
others.
Dr Dorfman’s current research involves
investigating the impact of cultural
influences on managerial behaviour
and leadership styles. He has been
co-principal investigator of the two
decade-long Global Leadership and
Organizational Behavioural Effectiveness
(GLOBE) Research Project. As part
of GLOBE, he has been a co-country
Page 25
(Confucius)
Ryan Ross (Vice-President, Global Alliance) and
Darin Nei (consultant) from Hogan
Ryan and Darin presented two Hogan talks on Friday 15 August 2014. The topics were:
High Potentials – Are you doing it Wrong? and Creativity – It’s a process, not an outcome.
Ryan has more than 20 years of experience across a wide range of industries. He has
worked in numerous practices at Hogan over the last 14 years, including the selection
and development practices, as well as working with Hogan’s strategic alliances
and partners around the world. Ryan has developed and implemented large-scale,
multilevel selection programmes domestically and internationally, consulted with
organisations on selecting people into new jobs, and on the use of personality based
and future oriented job analysis. Ryan also has vast experience in validating and
defending the use of personality assessments in the pre-employment context.
Darin is a consultant on the Global Alliances team, and works to develop and maintain
relationships with domestic partners and international distributers. “After spending
several years in the lab conducting research, I was interested in a change of pace and
decided I wanted to move into applied psychology. Hogan was the obvious choice.”
Darin holds a PhD from the University of Oklahoma. The sessions were arranged by our
Department in conjunction with JvR Consulting.
NEW ON THE SHELVES
FROM OUR ACADEMIC TEAM
A legacy of perseverance:
Nafcoc 50 years of leadership
in business
Author: Kwandi Kondlo
Published by: KMMR
In 1964, amidst a climate of oppression and intimidation, arose an entity that
would become a giant of Black South African empowerment – the National
African Federated Chamber of Commerce & Industry (NAFCOC). In the 1940s,
with the need for an organisation for informal black traders, the Orlando Traders
Association was formed. However, it was not until after the Sharpeville uprisings,
that NAFCOC was formed despite vehement objections by the government to the
formation of a multi-ethnic chamber of commerce in South Africa.
NAFCOC, as the voice of black business, became a vehicle for economic prosperity
for a generation relegated to the side lines of economic development by an
unjust apartheid government. Black people were so marginalised that they were
limited to operating subsistence-type businesses outside the mainstream of the
economy. It was only in 1979 that black businesses were allowed to operate in
designated black areas only, due to concerted efforts by NAFCOC.
The book aims to track the history of NAFCOC. This book is not just a celebration
of 50 years of NAFCOC. It is also tracks the fight for political and economic
freedom, long before the reality of a democratic government in 1994. It tells
how NAFCOC enabled black business. How black business not only survived, but
thrived against a backdrop of an unequal racist society.
Future-fit Leaders
Author: Theo Veldsman
Published by: Knowledge Resources
Future-Fit Leaders is no ordinary leadership handbook. It is a real-time leadership
diary. It is structured around the action learning process of: Exploration; Discovery;
Action; Learning and
Reflection.
It endeavours to enable leaders to turn their Experiences as leaders into
Information, and their Information into Knowledge; and their Knowledge into
Wisdom.
The aim of this book is to act as a Leadership Diary to direct and guide leaders’
daily leadership journey. It belongs on their desks at all times as an immediate,
handy reference and a means to reflect on and keep a record of their leadership
journey.
The diary covers various themes and each theme comes with questions for
reflection; and space to record one’s leadership journey with respect to that
theme. Themes covered in the diary: Theme 1: The imperative for leadership
excellence going into the future; Theme 2: What is leadership all about?; Theme
3: What is the profile of future-fit leaders?; Theme 4: What are the critical qualities
of future-fit leaders?; Theme 5: Answering the ultimate leadership excellence
questions; and Theme 6: My pledge as a future-fit leader.
Page 26
2014 Annual SA Board of People
Practices Woman’s Report
Author: Anita Bosch
Published by: SABPP
In this report, authors expand on themes related to women’s reproductive health.
The topic may seem strange but the authors are of the opinion that the topic is
long overdue and very often skirted around in the workplace. The 2014 Report is
important to those who are serious about women’s workplace participation as it
introduces topics that should form part of organisational strategy in specifically
attracting and retaining women employees. This year’s report contains the
following chapters: Women’s reproductive options: Career- and HR implications
(Prof Anita Bosch); Women’s fertility and work (Dr Merwyn Jacobson); Becoming
a single mother by choice (Ms Bernice Lits & Ms Tanya Rubin); HIV/Aids and
pregnancy: Let us be positive (Dr Jenni Gobind); Breastfeeding at work (Ms Monica
Badenhorst) and Childcare in South Africa (Dr Linda Biersteker).
Conceptualising and Measuring
Work Identity: South-African
perspectives and findings
Authors: Paul GW Jansen & Gert Roodt
Published by: Springer
Against the backdrop of the process of the transition the SA society is
undergoing, this trendsetting book sets out to explore work identity of
employees: what am I (are we) at work? The book contains original research that
sets out to answer this question in depth. The book is divided into four parts:
• Concept and theory: the concept; the process, antecedents and consequences of
work identity and identity work;
• Exploratory analyses: exploratory empirical tests of work-based identity
antecedents and consequences;
• Testing for causality: work-based identity model testing; and
• Conclusions, implications and recommendations.
A worthwhile read if one is interested in work identity.
ALETTA ODENDAAL: A
“ A career is wonderful, but you can’t
curl up with it on a cold night”
(Marilyn Monroe)
Page 27
PROMINENT INTERNATIONAL ROLE
Aletta has served as elected Council
Member on the International Test
Commission (ITC) from 2010 in a capacity
as Chair of the Conference Committee
and Chair of the Capacity Building and
Outreach Task group. At the Annual
General Meeting on 4 July 2014 at the
9th ITC Conference in San-Sebastian,
Spain, she was elected to the Executive
of Council as Secretary-General for the
period 2014 – 2016. What an honour for
Aletta, our Department, Faculty and UJ.
The ITC is a non-profit association of
national psychological societies, test
commissions, publishers and other
organisations committed to promoting
globally effective testing and assessment
policies and to the proper development,
evaluation and use of educational and
psychological instruments internationally.
ITC facilitates the exchange of information
among members and stimulates their
cooperation on problems related to the
construction, distribution, and use of
psychological tests and other psychodiagnostic tools across the globe.
The ITC is the most important body
internationally, overseeing psychological
assessment globally.
TEAM MEMBERS ON THE MOVE!
Appointments
Dr Crystal Hoole
Crystal joined our Department as full-time Senior Lecturer in the Industrial Psychology Programme
in December 2014. Crystal has more than 15 years of experience in academia, business and
professional services. Her professional interest lies within the field of human capital and
organisational behaviour and specifically how organisations can perform better through people.
To understand how organisations operate, every employment opportunity was chosen to give me
a better understanding of the world of work, and to allow me to create value for the organisation
and to empower people to excel within their environments.
Having served in various positions and leadership roles and working across various industries,
she has been exposed to many aspects of business, both from an operational and a strategic
perspective. She has been involved in many start-ups of new business units and programmes,
and served in numerous leadership and executive roles. Her goal has always been to return to
academia once she has obtained significant business exposure.
Resignations
• Byron Adams has resigned to take up a two-year, full-time NRF
Postdoctoral post at the Tilburg University, Netherlands. In
his full-time role, Byron has made a solid contribution to our
Department over many years. Thank you, Bryon. Byron will still
have a relationship with our Department through teaching and
research. He has been appointed as Senior Research Associate
in our Department.
• Brandon Morgan has resigned to take up a position at JvR, the
assessment and consulting organisation in Randburg. Thank
you for your sterling contribution, Brandon, especially our
online research design/process course that is and will take our
research to greater heights! Brandon has been appointed as a
Research Associate in our Department.
Page 28
Colleagues
furthering their
qualifications
• Jenni Gobind’s doctorate was conferred
at the graduation ceremony on 23
September 2014. Congratulations on
achieving this major milestone in your
academic career.
• Byron Adams defended his PhD thesis
on 24 September 2014 at the University
of Tilburg, Netherlands with success
and was officially bestowed with his
PhD. Also warm congratulations, Byron.
Promotions
Madelyn Geldenhuys was promoted to
Senior Lecturer from 1 October 2014.
International
Conferences
The following staff members presented
papers at international conferences
during the second semester of 2014:
• 4th Organisational Governance
Conference, Bucharest, Romania,
September 2014: Prof Adele Thomas
and Renjini Joseph
Personal Snippets
Two babies were born during the second
part of 2014. Congratulations to Lusanda
Sekaja on the birth of their baby boy,
Tokiso Lelam Sekaja on 17 July 2014
and to Kwandi Kondlo on the birth of
their baby girl. We congratulate the
families, with the hope that the little ones
will bring them lots of love and happy
moments.
TRAILBLAZING POSTGRADUATE
STUDIES TO PUT YOU ON THE
HIGH ROAD TO SUCCESS
Today’s challenging work context with its
unprecedented demands requires people
professionals who are outstanding leaders,
both professionally and organisationally.
The mission of the Department of Industrial
Psychology and People Management,
University of Johannesburg is to develop
outstanding people professionals fit for
a radically different future and emerging
countries. The Department offers
postgraduate studies in three programmes:
Industrial Psychology, Human Resource
Management and Leadership. With our
trailblazing, best in class postgraduate
programmes, the Department’s aim is to
ensure that its postgraduate education
and research is focused, nationally and
internationally relevant, and at the cutting
edge. Our Department’s postgraduate
programmes will make you a leader in any
of the above fields.
OUR OFFERINGS
We have numerous offerings on both
Master’s and PhD levels. The Department
excels in research by concentrating on a
select number of research focus areas.
These are:
• Work and Organisational
Well-Being (WoW)
• Globalisation, Human Resources and
Talent Management
• Organisational and Professional Ethics
• Reward, Remuneration and Performance
• Psychological Assessment in CrossCultural Context
• Leadership Excellence
• Work Identity
• Human Capital Metrics and Analytics
• Women in the Workplace
You may choose any of these research foci
in your postgraduate Master’s degree or
PhD in one of the following fields:
• Human Resource Development
• Human Resource Management
• Industrial Psychology
• Leadership in Performance and Change
• Personal and Professional Leadership
• Leadership in Emerging Countries
• Employment Relations
• Leadership Coaching
If you are interested in becoming a winner
in undertaking postgraduate studies, you
are invited to contact any of the following
of our Qualification Leaders:
• Industrial Psychology Dr Madelyn Geldenhuys
(Tel 011 559 3079/2858,
Email: [email protected])
• HRM, HRD, Leadership Performance and
Change - Prof Adele Thomas
(Tel 011 559 3124, Email: [email protected])
• Leadership in Emerging Countries Dr Magda Hewitt (Tel 011 559 5051/2557,
Email [email protected])
• Personal and Professional Leadership Dr Albert Wort (Tel 011 559 2557,
Email [email protected])
• Leadership Coaching Dr Aletta Odendaal (Tel 011 559 3190,
Email [email protected])
Application closing date:
before 30 September each year
We believe that our publication makes a unique contribution to our readers and we would like
to invite you to participate. Please write to us and let us know what you would like to see in our
newsletter. Send all contributions for consideration to Rochelle Niemand,
Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, PO Box 524, Auckland Park, 2006
or email her at: [email protected].
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