THE IMPORTANCE OF INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR IN THE ORGANISATION
...t in organisations that also treat women as individuals (as is the case with men) and create equal opportunities for them is likely to attract and keep efficient and loyal women. Whether an individual chooses or rejects a particular organisation depends to an extent on how attractive the organisation is. Aspects organisations use to make them more attractive as prospective employers, are for example, by paying higher wages, making jobs more interesting, encouraging the formation of cohesive groups, and being more flexible in designing work arrangements (Lawler, quoted by Erasmus & Sadler, 1999). The following examples serve to illustrate the extent to which companies are prepared to accommodate the special needs of women in order to attract and retain them as valued employees. 1) International example: Daimler-Chrysler has established a “lactation room” for female employees who wish to continue breast-feeding after having babies. Such female employees could go to the lactation room to extract and preserve breast milk. Inadvertently, the lactation room also provided an excellent opportunity for these employees for informal networking across the various company departments. Thus a strong cross-departmental network was established, as strong as any within the company, which provided the women with invaluable knowledge, insight and contacts to perform better in their jobs (Logue, 2001). 2) A South African example DeLoitte & Touche is a consulting firm specialising in accounting and management consulting. They have a formal pregnancy policy in order to accommodate the needs of female employees before and after childbirth. Firstly, they offer four months’ paid maternity leave. They also offer more flexible work arrangements in order to cater for family obligations. These include: (a) Flexi time - e.g. a person could work between 07:00 and 13:00 and again from 20:00 – 22:00. This would enable her to pick up the kids at 13:30 from school, spend some time with them in the afternoon (bussing them around most probably!) and after they have gone to bed at around 20:00, again attend to work matters (e.g. finishing a report). (b) Shorter work hours - a person could negotiate with her manager to work only 6 out of the 8 hours workday and then receive a 6/8 part of her salary. (c) Reduced workload – employees can negotiate to reduce their workload in order to avoid overtime and thus have more time available for family obligations. Although these options are open to both men and women employees, mainly women make use of them. The main problems being experienced with this system is that employees using these options tend to be treated by fellow workers as being full-time employees, with the same time demands. In this regard, especially women who have difficulty with being assertive regarding their time, and those who battle with their own time-management, tend to become over-burdened and stressed. (De Beer, 2001). 3) More South African examples The birth of a child can be stressful for working mothers, who have to choose between their jobs and their babies. As a result, some quit work, while others hire alternative childcare whilst doubting whether their offspring will get the love they deserve. In order to address these problems being experienced by female employees, various South African companies have opened in-house crèche facilities, for example the Liberty Group (Braamfontein), Nedcor’s information technology department (Sandton), Vodacom (Parkmore), Arthur Andersen (Hyde Park) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR, Lynnwood). Experience have proved that such in-house facilities create a more supportive environment for female employees, help raise productivity, reduce the loss of skills and provide effective solutions when overtime is necessary. These companies have also found that establishing a crèche is a lot cheaper than not doing it. Usually the savings generated by retaining one or two valuable middle management employees more than adequately covers capital costs. Maternity leave can have a significant impact on the operating profit of many businesses, particularly in industries where female employees predominate. Added to this situation is the possibility that the employee may still resign after maternity leave because of the difficulty of finding quality care for her infant. Thus companies that established in-house crèches have found that such facilities helped them to retain valuable human capital and also to attract new employees (Adams, 2001). These examples indicate that companies increasingly value their female employees. Through their human resource policies and practices, more progressive companies are showing a willingness to adapt the world of work to accommodate the special needs of female employees in order to retain their services. Through innovative and creative solutions and modern technology companies wishing to attain or retain the competitive edge through a diverse work force can create a more supportive work environment for women. 2.2 Addressing cultural diversity in South African organisations South African society consist of a myriad of cultures – a truly rainbow nation. Unfortunately, because of apartheid, all the peoples in this nation have not been able to equally take part in or contribute to the wealth of the nation. In order to begin the process of redress in this regard, the South African Government has enacted the Employment Equity Act in 1998 to promote representivity in the work place. The Employment Equity Act coerces organisations to participate in correcting historical imbalances without prescribing too specifically how this should be done, thus leaving companies with the flexibility to address the issue themselves. At first glance, employment equity is making great strides in the South African business world – 74 % of all new appointments are black people. But companies are bleeding black people almost as fast as they are taking them on – 67% of all service terminations are also of black people, which means that in real terms only 7% remain in service in a particular organisation for a full year (Bennett, 2001). This fall-out rate becomes worse as staff reach higher levels within an organisation. It appears there is still a lot of lip service paid to employment equity. Tokenism and a lack of cultural sensitivity are primary reasons for black staff leaving, according to research by Global Business Solutions (Bennett, 2001). Companies are bringing black people into an environment, which is still a white, male dominated domain. There is a sore lack of cultural awareness programs – only 24% of companies have implemented a diversity management program to complement the employment equity process. Many companies are also guilty of tokenism. In some cases black people are taken on as token appointments, and are not being fully integrated into companies. They are not given real decision-making authority and real responsibility (Bennett, 2001). Compounding this issue is South Africa’s skills shortage. Black staff is poached often – companies pay a premium for high caliber people. Thus the ability of South African companies to achieve demographically representative work forces within the medium term will inevitably be slowed by the critical shortage of managerial level skills in South Africa. At present this shortage makes it difficult for companies both to attract and retain suitably qualified, skilled and experienced black executives, managers and supervisors (Westcott, 2001). Naturally a person who is uncomfortable in his/her job will also be more open to moving to another organisation than one who feels at ease culturally. It’s not just about how much money the person earns – the softer issues of staff retention are crucial. In contrast to the above, some South African companies’ response to diversity in the work place reflects sensitivity to these “softer” issues with a measure of success. An example is SA Breweries – a highly successful South African company that has recently won several international awards, inter alias: · Castle Lager – best international bottled lager at the Brewing Industry International Awards (beating 200 breweries in 40 countries); · Excellence in Practice Citation award for performance improvement from the American Society for Training and Development; · One of seven exemplary practice partner nominations from the Society for Human Resource Management for strategic people resourcing and talent management. What has enabled this company to achieve these accolades on a regular basis? According to its managing director, Norman Adami, it is because of the way that SA Breweries nurture and manage the “soft” issues, notably the people issues, in their business that makes the difference. He explained, “every brewery has access to the best ingredients, the best equipment and the world’s leading technologies. But it is the way we harness all the various elements through our diverse people that gives us that winning combination” (Adami, 2000). This positive attitude to people and diversity as the key business element is reflected in the following goals of SAB’s human resources strategy: · To reflect optimally the demographics of the society and utilise diversity as a positive business strategy; · To maintain a reputation as the preferred employer in SAB’s markets, enabling SAB’s capacity to attract and develop, reward and retain the best people; and · To value people as a core element of SAB’s success and competitive capability (Adami, 2001). In practical terms, this strategy comes alive though the value system SA Breweries lives by. Elaborates Corporate Affairs Director, Vincent Maphai: “…these values start with respect, dignity and equal opportunity whereby we treat each other with trust and respect, giving everyone the same chance to reach their goals in the organisation. We encourage all our employees to participate in solving the problems of our organisation and taking effective decisions through individual and team empowerment” (Adami, 2001). That this human and diversity orientated business strategy is working excellently for SA Breweries, is further illustrated by the fact that SA Breweries have 98% of the beer market and 55% of the alcohol market in South Africa (Adami, 2001). An example of the practical steps that South African companies can take to promote diversity in an organisation can be found in the diversity recruitment and development practices of DeLoitte & Touche, a leading consultancy firm. This company has initiated an active recruitment drive for individuals from previously disadvantaged groups. Current personnel, who are able to recruit effectively high caliber people from these designated groups, even receive a financial reward for doing so! However, the strategy does not stop with recruitment: a process for fast- tracking culturally diverse/black employees with leadership potential in place. Talented employees receive accelerated needs-based training, more opportunities and preferential treatment for development, extra attention and more support generally in terms of their development in the organisation. Whilst a general counseling program is in place for all employees, a voluntary mentorship program is also available for talented employees being fast-tracked. This entails that such employees can choose a mentor from any of the available management staff, if they decide it will be beneficial to them. DeLoittes changed the mentorship system to a voluntary program in view of the intensely personal nature of such a relationship, and because it should preferably benefit both parties (De Beer, 2001). From the above it is evident that successful companies understand the needs and aspirations of workers as well as market and industry dynamics. They understand how to mobilise diverse people, technology and products to create value for shareholders. Where managers can move away from stereotyping towards assessing people on job-related criteria, a move towards genuine employment equity can begin to take place. A manager who understands what is required for the effective management of diversity is more likely to begin to – · take personal responsibility for effective interaction; · control his/her expectancy communication and create a dignified and respectful environment in which employees are treated as individuals rather than as representatives of specific groups; · provide constructively critical performance feedback on the basis of job performance rather than “writing people off” on the basis of one particular weakness or mistake; · jointly identify training needs on the basis of individual strengths and weaknesses rather than on assumed group training needs; · base agreed career planning decisions on individual strengths and preferences and develop succession plans to motivate and retain competent individuals; and · interact socially with those with similar, as opposed to assumed, interests. This orientation to managing people ensures that competent members of designated groups are motivated, developed and retained (Human, 2000). How does this new force affect leadership in South African businesses? 3. CULTURE AND GENDER INFLUENCES ON BUSINESS LEADERSHIP IN SOUTH AFRICA Historically, men held the majority of senior positions in organisations. In this regard, some people still think that the not...