How do successful white managers develop black talent in South Africa?gsblibrary.uct.ac.za/researchreports/2009/Botha.pdf · · 2010-07-02How do successful white managers develop

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How do successful white managers develop black talent in South Africa?

A Thesis presented to the

In partial fulfilment

of the requirements for the Masters of Business Administration Degree

by David Botha

December 2009

Supervisor: Professor Tom Ryan

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MBA Research Report Page 2

This thesis is not confidential. It may be used freely by the Graduate School of Business.

Acknowledgements

I thank my family for the endless support and for helping to make my studies possible. Special thanks to my girlfriend Cassie for her encouragement and belief in me during a very trying and busy year, in which we were unable to spend much time together due to my study commitments.

I would also like to thank Professor Tom Ryan for the many hours he spent guiding me and the other four members of the group, who signed up to what has been a momentous final hurdle to this MBA.

Finally, I would like to thank the people who agreed to give up their valuable time to be interviewed by me and who shared their many years of experiences freely and openly. Their input was invaluable and I learnt very much from what they told me.

Plagiarism Declaration

I certify that the thesis is my own work and that all references used are accurately recorded.

Signed:

David Botha

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Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................... 2

PLAGIARISM DECLARATION .................................................................. 2

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................... 5

STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION .................................................... 7

1 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH ............................................... 7

1.1 RELEVANCE OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM ..................................................................... 7 1.1.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 8 1.1.2 SITUATION BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................ 8 1.1.3 RESEARCH CONCERN ................................................................................................................. 9 1.1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION AND SCOPE .............................................................................................. 9 1.1.5 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 10

1.2 IN SUMMARY - VALUE OF THE RESEARCH .................................................................... 10 1.2.1 OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS ................................................................................... 11 1.2.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................... 11 1.2.3 THE VALUE OF THIS RESEARCH ................................................................................................. 12

2 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................. 13

2.1 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS OF REALITIES AFFECTING MY RESEARCH QUESTION .................. 13 2.1.1 UNDERSTANDING THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT ....................................................................... 13 2.1.2 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION ................................................................................................................ 14 2.1.3 IMPORTANCE OF TALENT ........................................................................................................... 15 2.1.4 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 16

2.2 KEY CONCEPTS ......................................................................................................... 17 2.2.1 SLOW PACE OF CHANGE ........................................................................................................... 17 2.2.2 BLACK TALENT IN SOUTH AFRICA .............................................................................................. 18 2.2.3 WHITE MANAGERS ...................................................................................................................... 20 2.2.4 THE ROLE OF CULTURE................................................................................................................. 21 2.2.5 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................. 22

2.3 OVERVIEW OF FINDINGS ............................................................................................ 22 2.3.1 CULTURAL COGNIZANCE ........................................................................................................... 22 2.3.2 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ........................................................................................................ 23 2.3.3 DIFFERING DEVELOPMENT NEEDS ............................................................................................. 24 2.3.4 HISTORICAL FAMILIARITY ........................................................................................................... 25 2.3.5 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 25

3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................ 26

3.1 THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF MANAGEMENT RESEARCH ..................................................... 26 3.1.1 MANAGEMENT RESEARCH ............................................................................................................. 27 3.1.2 THE PURPOSE OF MANAGEMENT RESEARCH ..................................................................................... 27

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3.1.3 RESEARCH ETHICS ....................................................................................................................... 27

3.2 PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATION ......................................................................................... 28 3.2.1 ONTOLOGY AND EPISTEMOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 28 3.2.2 SYSTEMS THINKING AND PRACTICE ................................................................................................. 32 3.2.3 RESEARCH QUALITY CRITERIA ....................................................................................................... 32

3.3 RESEARCH FRAMEWORK ................................................................................................ 34 3.3.1 CRITICAL REALISM....................................................................................................................... 35 3.3.2 GROUNDED THEORY ..................................................................................................................... 35 3.3.3 SYSTEMS METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................. 37 3.3.4 DATA COLLECTION ...................................................................................................................... 38 3.3.5 TRIANGULATION ......................................................................................................................... 39

3.4 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 40

4 RESEARCH RESULTS .................................................................... 40

4.1 DATA COLLECTION ....................................................................................................... 40

4.2 GROUNDED THEORY PROCESS ......................................................................................... 41 4.2.1 LEVEL 1 CODING ......................................................................................................................... 41 4.2.2 LEVEL 2 CODING ......................................................................................................................... 43 4.2.3 .................................................................................................................................................... 45 4.2.4 THEORETICAL SAMPLING .............................................................................................................. 45 4.2.5 SATURATION .............................................................................................................................. 45 4.2.6 THEORY DEVELOPMENT................................................................................................................ 45

4.3 EMERGED THEORY ....................................................................................................... 49

5 CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION................................................. 58

5.1 IMPLICATIONS ............................................................................................................. 58

5.2 TRUSTWORTHINESS ...................................................................................................... 61 5.2.1 CREDIBILITY ............................................................................................................................... 61 5.2.2 DEPENDABILITY .......................................................................................................................... 61 5.2.3 CONFIRMABILITY ......................................................................................................................... 62 5.2.4 TRANSFERABILITY ....................................................................................................................... 62 5.2.5 ETHICS ...................................................................................................................................... 63

5.3 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 63

5.4 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS ................................................................................................ 64

5.5 FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS ...................................................................................... 64

BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 65

6 APPENDICES ................................................................................. 69

6.1 LIST OF INTERVIEWEES .................................................................................................. 69

6.2 LIST OF CONCEPTS FROM THE DATA AND THE INITIAL CATEGORIES .......................................... 69

6.3 EXCERPTS FROM 07/08 ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE COMMISSION OF E/E .................................. 78

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Abstract

The majority of managers in corporate South Africa are white. This is in stark contrast to the demographics of the country where about eighty percent of the population is black and only nine percent is white.(2007 population census) The country is currently regarded as having one of the most forward thinking constitutions in the world, with freedom and equality for all, as its hallmark. The reality though, is that democracy only arrived in South Africa in 1994, with the coming to power of the African National Congress (ANC). For roughly fifty years before this, the country was ruled by an apartheid regime which had, as its central policy, the segregation of white and non-white South Africans. This government ensured that control of the economy was in white hands and they also devised a separate educational system for non-white South Africans. Due to the educational system for the non-whites being far below the standard of the white system, a disparity between the races, based on their level of education, developed and the remnants of this reality are still very present in modern day South Africa.

Since the ANC came to power, a central theme of their policies has been a more equitable representation of the demographics of the country across all levels within organisations. This was recognised as essential to avoid societal unrest and racial tension, as well as an essential component in the aim to redress the imbalances of the past. This began with Black Economic Empowerment initiatives which are still ongoing and evolving today, and was passed into law in the form of the 1998 Employment Equity Act. This Act placed the responsibility for achieving a demographically representative workforce, directly on the management of the organisations, and employment equity has been an essential component of the strategic goals of most organisations since then. However, the reality is that, the pace of transformation into a demographically representative workforce has been slow. This is especially true of the more senior levels of organisational management. (See Appendix 2)

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Due to the dominance of managerial roles by whites, the crucial components in the development of black talent in South Africa are these white managers. It is they who play the major role in the development of black talent.

Because of this, the research was undertaken to identify what white managers, who have been successful in the development of black talent, believe has improved their success in this regard. The purpose of this is to produce a theory which ideally, could be used to up-skill white managers who play a role in the development of black talent. This would facilitate an increase in their success as developers of black talent and ultimately speed up the realisation of the goal of achieving a demographically representative workforce.

A grounded theory approach was used for this research and in-depth conversational type interviews were completed with a total of eight white managers, from four different South African organisations. From the research process it emerged that there were four drivers in the success of these white mangers in the development of black talent. They are the level of emotional intelligence, the level of historical familiarity, the level of cultural cognizance and the ability to recognize differing development needs of black talent. A systems thinking approach was then used to develop these drivers into a theory with practical implications and the result is graphically presented in the causal loop diagram below.

Intensity of black talent development

Size of the pool of black talent

Representation by blacks at management level

Emphasis on the development of black talent

Level of emotional intelligence

Level of cultural cognizance

Level of historical familiarity

R1

B2

Ability to recognize differing development needs

Ability to develop black talent

O

S

S

S

S

S

S

S

SS

S

S

S Research Question:How do successful white managers develop black talent in South Africa?

Research Answers

Concern:The underrepresentation by blacks at management level and the problems this causes.

Theory as a Causal Loop Diagram

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Structure of the Dissertation

The dissertation is structured in the following manner. In chapter one the relevance and utility of my research is explored. In chapter two a literature assessment of the important concepts which relate to my research is presented. This is to place the research question as it relates to the existing body of knowledge and also to identify the main drivers in the answer to my question as they are understood in the greater body of knowledge. In chapter three the framework for the research, which includes the philosophical foundation with which the research was approached and the methods used for the collection and analysis of the data are described. This chapter is concluded by the theoretical analysis of trustworthiness and ethics. In chapter four the results of the research are presented, beginning with the stage by stage example of how one of the drivers of my answer emerged from the data, through the grounded theory process. This is followed by a brief description of the drivers and then an in-depth analysis of the different links within my answer by means of a causal loop diagram, which constitutes my hypotheses.

In chapter five the practical implications of my research as well as a conclusion to the research process is provided. Along with a discussion on how I maintained trustworthiness and went about the research process in an ethical manner. Finally the limitations of my research and possible future research directions are given.

1 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH

In this chapter the relevance and utility of my research and findings are reviewed in a broad manner so as to provide an understanding of the context in which the research was conducted. The development of the research question from the context and the answer to the research question is also discussed.

1.1 Relevance of the Research Problem

This section of the chapter will establish the relevance of the research question as it relates to the situation from which it arises. It will then describe why this is a concern in the present

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situation and how the development of the research question has progressed from the concern.

1.1.1 Introduction

My personal interest in this subject comes from my experience as a white manger playing a role in the development of talented black employees. My previous role within an organization was as a manager whereby I was partly responsible for the strategic goals of the organization, which included the development of black talent into more senior roles in the business. The business operated in the retail sector and ninety percent of the total workforce was made up of black people. The majority of the lower level positions were held by black employees but the bulk of the managerial roles were filled by white employees, including my own. I was involved in the development of black talent into more senior roles for the duration of my three years at the organization and achieved a mixed level of success. I discovered, through my experiences, that which helped to better develop black talent and that which served to stymie the process. I believe that as I gained more and more experience, I had improved my ability to successfully develop black talent.

These personal experiences have motivated me to pursue my research into this area of management research, and to ask the specific research question of; “How do successful white mangers develop black talent?”

1.1.2 Situation Background

After the first Democratic election in South Africa in 1994, the apartheid based policies were abolished and a number of change processes were instituted to unite the previously segregated races of South Africa. This was an economic and societal imperative because of the massive imbalances in wealth between the white and black populations. The societal implications of such continued imbalance would, most likely, have resulted in major unrest throughout the country and this could have been tragic. (De Beer, 1998)

One of the goals of the various Black Economic Empowerment Initiatives implemented by the ANC was to speed up the integration of the previously disadvantaged citizens of South Africa into the mainstream economy. The Employment Equity Act of 1998 placed the responsibility

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of a demographically representative workforce on the organisations themselves, thus ensuring that the issue of employment equity became a serious objective in most organisations. This process of integration has however been criticized for the slow speed of transformation at managerial levels within organisations. As a result of this, government have become increasingly focused on growing the representation by previously disadvantaged groups at all levels within organisations. (Horwitz, Jain, & Mbabane, 2005) (Booysen, 2000) (Mbabane, 2007)

1.1.3 Research Concern

Partly due to the history of South Africa, white managers still hold the majority of managerial roles in organisations across South Africa (See Appendix 2), and this dominance means that they have a key role to play in the development of black talent in South Africa. (Jinabhai, 2004)

“The lack of a black managerial class is partly a function of a now defunct political dispensation” (Horwitz, Bowmaker-Falconer, & Searll, 1996, p. 135)

A concern in present day South Africa is how to achieve a more demographically balanced managerial level in organisations, at a faster pace than at present. This needs to be approached with a plan which will have as little negative effect on the rate of growth of the country as possible. The key element in achieving this is the white managers, who because of their positions in organisations play a pivotal role in developing black talent for roles in management. Therefore, my research concern relates to how white mangers could be assessed in their abilities to develop black talent. Furthermore, how can these managers, who are able to successfully develop black talent, be aided and empowered so as to increase the role they play in the successful development of black talent in South Africa.

1.1.4 Research Question and Scope

Within this context of dominance by whites in the managerial roles in the organisations of South Africa and keeping in mind the slow pace of transformation, the question needed to create an understanding as to how these managers could be assisted to develop the skills necessary to develop black talent.

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The following quote from (De Beer, 1998, p. 75), also helped to direct me to my research question. “Very few, if any verified or tested sources are available on the history of black employee development. The untested sources are usually politically biased and do not provide a balanced picture of how development took place.”

The final research question was then formulated to identify what could be learnt from successful white mangers and the following question seemed to frame my concern.


I contend that this question is very relevant to the present situation in the country as has been mentioned and when answered through the research process, will be able to be answered in a theoretical framework. This framework is actionable and could be applied to the concern in the context from which it is derived, to assist in addressing the concern.

The scope of my research is limited to the area of black talent development by white managers. The interviewees are limited in their diversity by the nature of the topic which specifies white managers and this study makes no effort to include the perspectives and views of other possible stakeholders.

1.1.5 Conclusion

In conclusion, this subsection of the chapter has presented an understanding of the relevance of my research question as it relates to the context in which it was formulated.

It is quite apparent that there is a very real need for research such as this, which has relevance and an end result, which is immediately actionable. The particular situation within South Africa is plainly a concern and my research question has been carefully chosen to be able to be a useful addition to the greater body of knowledge within which it is found.

1.2 In Summary - Value of the Research

This chapter seeks to establish the utility of my research. I will present a brief overview of my research findings and the research methodology which was used during the course of the

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research process. Finally, a brief assessment will be given of the practical value arising from my research findings

1.2.1 Overview of the Research Findings

The findings of my research are the core drivers which facilitate the successful development of black talent by white mangers. These core drivers are the level of emotional intelligence, the level of historical familiarity, the level of cultural cognizance and the ability to recognize differing development needs of black talent. The findings are presented in the framework of a causal loop diagram which can be seen below the abstract section of this thesis.

The research findings have answered the research question by identifying the aforementioned drivers as those that are necessary for the successful development of black talent by white managers. This deals with the research problem via an increased understanding of what could be addressed to increase white managers’ ability with regards to the four drivers. If these were actioned, then over time, an increased ability of white managers to develop black talent would be reflected by the increased pace at which the managerial levels of organisational South Africa becomes more demographically representative.

The findings of the research are described in detail in chapter four and the practical implications of the research are discussed in detail in chapter five.

1.2.2 Research Methodology

The research methodology used in my dissertation is that of grounded theory and systems thinking within a critical realism paradigm. I used grounded theory to gather my data as I believe that there is much to be learnt by the people at the coal face who are called upon to develop black talent in their daily working lives. Due to the relatively recent political changes and ongoing governmental framework adaption’s to counter the previous imbalances, I decided to interview people with a proven track record of developing black talent over the past decade or more. I got in touch with senior human resources personnel at four South African corporations with a reputation of being successful in the development of black talent. The human resources department then did some research to assist in identifying who their

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top white managers were who had been especially successful in the development of black talent.

I interviewed six of the managers initially, using the conversational interviewing technique. During the interviews I asked them to share their experiences in what they believed had made them especially successful in the development of black talent. I took notes and recorded the interviews and followed the grounded theory method, rigorously applying myself to the different levels of coding and constant comparison. Once I had formulated my categories I conducted two further interviews to further establish and densify my categories through theoretical sampling. I achieved saturation of my categories using the last two interviews as well as doing a selective literature review to further define and saturate my categories.

The next stage was the construction of an interrelationship diagraph which revealed the core drivers. Once the core drivers had been established, I used some systems thinking methodologies to formulate a causal loop diagram which graphically presented my theory and which answered my research question. The research methodology as well as the philosophical foundation is described in greater detail in chapter three.

1.2.3 The Value of this Research

This value of this research is that it provides a clear framework of four drivers which are necessary for the successful development of black talent by white mangers to occur. This clear and easily understood framework adds immediate value because it is actionable and therefore able to aid in addressing the concern from which it was derived.

For any value to be derived it needs to be applied in the business world. This could take place by businesses using the findings to assess their white manager’s abilities in the four drivers. Those managers who show a high level of ability could be further trained and then redeployed to play a more focused role in the development of black talent. Another approach would be for businesses to train all of their white mangers who are in a position to develop black talent in the areas of the four drivers. This would substantially increase the levels of success which the business achieves in the development of black talent. Alternatively an individual white manager could make use of the research findings and up-skill himself to be

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better able to develop black talent and thus increase his skill set and make him a more valuable employee.

The true value which would be derived from the application of the research findings would be an increased ability in the dominant white male mangers to develop black talent. This would, overtime, increase the speed at which black talent is developed and ultimately augment the rate of transformation towards a truly demographically representative workforce across all organisational levels in South Africa.

However, the true value of this research will only be realised once the theory, which is the product of all the research efforts, is put into practise.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

In chapter one the relevance and utility of my research was explored.

In this chapter a literature assessment of the important concepts which relate to my research is presented. This is to place the research question in relation to the existing body of knowledge and also to identify the main drivers in the answer to my question, as understood in the greater sphere of knowledge.

2.1 Situational Analysis of Realities Affecting my Research Question

This section of the chapter presents a theoretical assessment of the key concepts which relate to the broader situation from which my question arises. The section serves to develop an understanding of the unique situation from which the research question and concern arises.

2.1.1 Understanding the South African Context

For forty six years South Africa was governed by an apartheid regime, which was institutionalized in 1948, whose policy was to develop blacks and whites in different

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geographical areas. This regime was characterized by segregation based on racial groups with the minority white population governing and controlling the other racial groups, the majority of which were black. The country’s mainstream economy was controlled by whites and black South Africans were either left out or confined to minor roles within the economy. The policy of apartheid was enforced through a separate educational system for blacks and whites, with the system for the blacks being characterized as far below the equivalent level of the white system. In the workplace there were limitations on the level of seniority which blacks could achieve in the companies of South Africa and they mostly participated as labourers or lower level workers. If they wanted to progress to the upper levels of business they could only do so in the black homelands which had been established by the government. The reality though, was that a negligible number progressed as managers. (Tangri & Southall, 2008) (De Beer, 1998) (Mbigi & Maree, 2005)

In the 1980’s the majority of the legislation inhibiting the career advancement of black workers was removed. This did open the doors for black employees to progress to the managerial levels of organisations; however the reality was that their advancement into such roles was very slow. After the first democratic election in 1994, the ANC came to power in South Africa, and the policies of apartheid were removed and replaced with a constitution based on equality. It is regarded as one of the most forward thinking in the world, with freedom and equality for all, as its hallmark. (De Beer, 1998)

2.1.2 Affirmative Action

With the advent of democracy in South Africa the ANC had, as one of its goals, the assimilation of the previously disadvantaged races into the mainstream economy. The new government was very much aware that the continued control of the economy by whites would most likely create racial as well as societal tensions and that this could be disastrous for the country. In response, the government introduced a number of different Black Economic Empowerment initiatives which achieved mixed success and have been continually revised and updated over the past fifteen years. (Tangri & Southall, 2008) (Kamoche, Debrah, Horwitz, & Muuka, 2004)

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In 1998 The Employment Equity Act was gazetted and this required employers to prepare and implement employment equity plans to rectify imbalances with regards to the company’s workforce and the demographics of the country’s national and regional economically active population. This placed employment equity as an essential element of management’s strategic planning agenda. The effects of this were an increased focus on the development of black talent within organizations, usually through developmental programmes to meet employment equity targets. Another standard tool, used by many companies, is to encourage employment equity through the use of targets for people in managerial roles to be judged by and bonuses are partly based on their performance with regards to these criteria. (Boonzaier & Boonzaier, 1993)(Interviewee’s A.F, G and H)

Of the many definitions of what affirmative action entails, the most appropriate for this study is the definition offered by the Black Management Forum as cited by (Jinabhai, 2004). “Affirmative action is a planned and positive process and strategy aimed at transforming socio-economic environments that have excluded individuals from disadvantaged groups, in order for such disadvantaged groups to gain access to opportunities, based on their suitability.”

Some of the barriers to employment equity are mentioned in the following quote by (Booysen, 2007, p. 1). “Lack of communication and shared understanding of Employment Equity, white male dominated organisational culture; low leadership commitment and inconsistency in Employment Equity implementation are major barriers to effective Employment Equity implementation and retention of black workers.”

2.1.3 Importance of Talent

“We would propose that a sound talent strategy is just as critical as a marketing or finance strategy.” (Accenture, 2009)

Talent development in organisations has been elevated to the level of importance which reflects its influence on the long term success of organisations. The reality though is that the belief is still dominant amongst directors that lack of leadership development in an

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organization does not pose a similar threat to that of accounting errors or unachieved earnings. Also, many executives are still of the opinion that leadership development is still the responsibility of the human resources department. Studies have shown that companies which are good at growing leaders have operating managers and not human resources at the forefront of development and planning to this end. (Cohn, Khurana, & Reeves, 2005) “Managers should be co-responsible for talent management.” (Booysen, 2007, p. 67)

A challenge for talent development and identification is to ensure that development programmes are widely available within an organization, as talent is not only recognizable in traditional ways. Managers also need to recognize that early promise of talent within individuals may not be fulfilled. Therefore they need to maintain constant vigilance to ensure a steady stream of talent into their talent pipelines. (Cunningham, 2007)

With highly talented individuals comes a new set of problems, as due to the importance of talent within organisations, highly talented individuals are often lured into other organizations with larger opportunities and rewards., “The stars of the business world usually change jobs or companies so frequently that they have difficulty finishing what they started. They don’t stay in one place long enough to learn from mistakes, master the right skills, or gain the experience needed for sustainable performance.” (Charan, Drotter, & Noel, 2001, p. 5)

2.1.4 Conclusion

It is quite apparent from these discussions that the situation in which South Africa exists is unique and there are a myriad of issues and realities to bear in mind when considering why the advancement of black talent is important. The emphasis on a representative workforce through the policies of affirmative action has resulted in a more equitable representation. However, the pace of transformation is slow and needs to be approached in a different manner to further encourage and promote the development of black talent into senior roles.

The importance of talent development within all organisations has been described and the awareness of this importance is growing. With eighty percent of the population of the country being black, according to the 2007 population census, it stands to reason that there is an

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enormous amount of black talent waiting to be developed. South African companies with the ability to find and develop these talented individuals will in time develop a superior and talented workforce. “Those who build great companies understand that the ultimate throttle on growth for any great company is not markets, or technology, or competition, or products. It is one thing above all others: the ability to get and keep enough of the right people.” (Collins, 2001, p. 54)

“We have to get the right people on the bus” “get the wrong people off the bus” “we’ll figure out how to take it someplace great” (Collins, 2001)

2.2 Key concepts

The key concepts which need to be understood in conjunction with the research problem and question are reviewed in this section of the chapter.

2.2.1 Slow Pace of Change

The first key concept concerns the slow pace of change in the demographics of the managerial level, across the organisational landscape of South Africa. There has been considerable emphasis on achieving representation, however these initiatives have met with mixed success, as can be ascertained by the findings of (Hughes, Bonita Patterson, & Bradford Terrell, 2005), which shows that the assimilation of black talent into the senior and managerial roles of corporate South Africa is slow and far from meeting the targets set by government. The rate of change is an essential indicator as described in the following quote from (Horwitz, Bowmaker-Falconer, & Searll, 1996, p. 150). “The rate of change is a more important indicator of affirmative action than current staff composition.”

The following quote reflects the increasing emphasis on a representative workforce. “Changes in the South African business environment are placing South African business organisations under increasing pressure to move towards democratic, non-racial and fully representative organizational structures.” (Dombai & Verwey, 1999, p. 104)

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There have been a number of reasons attributed to this slow rate of transformation, such as a limited pool of skilled black talent and the unwillingness of business to transform, however both of these are contentious issues.

Because of the dominance by whites in managerial roles, the approach of this research has been to identify how successful white mangers have developed black talent, in the aim of providing a theory which can be implemented to improve the ability of white managers to successfully develop black talent.

In summary, the pace of change at managerial levels has been too slow in the country.

2.2.2 Black Talent in South Africa

The second key concept is the understanding of black talent in the uniquely South African context. This is vital as the research revolves around the emergence of a theory which can be used for white managers to better manage black talent. As to the wording of the concept, black is in reference to the skin colour of the majority ethnic group in South Africa, and the concept of talent is defined by the online Oxford English Dictionary as, “A special natural ability or aptitude, usually for something expressed or implied; a natural capacity for success in some department of mental or physical activity.”

The previous circumstances of black talent in South Africa were due to the previous political dispensation. These antecedents are, however, still a part of the realities of black talent today. They generally had a far smaller chance of access to the better facilities of schooling and tertiary education than other ethnic groups, especially whites, coupled with the inequalities of the previous political environment. This general lack of quality education has impacted on their development as employees and thus the overall rate of advancement within organisations. These reduced opportunities have limited their chances of being promoted to positions of leadership and management in organisations dominated by white managers.

The importance of the realization of the issues resulting from the differences in race is thought to be important, as highlighted in the following quote by (Nkomo, 1992, p. 488), “The silencing of the importance of race in organisations is mostly subterfuge because of the overwhelming role of race and ethnicity in every aspect of society.”

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However there are conflicting views about the consideration of people based on racial categories, such as that of Mbatha (1992:17) as cited in (De Beer, 1998). “By being involved in black development programmes the blacks are reduced to objects. They are these hapless creatures, unable to do anything for themselves and just waiting for Whites to save them. There is no correlation whatsoever between skin colour and competence. There is no such thing as a black and white manager. There is only a manager.”

As can be ascertained from these two quotes, the issue of race is a highly sensitive one and this needs to be taken into consideration when evaluating the importance of achieving a demographically representative organization.

Due to the legislative requirements for companies to achieve employment equity targets, and the limited number of skilled black talent available, these skilled individuals are currently very highly sought after. The current reality is that, due to many variables, the pressure is on companies to do what they can to retain their black talent. “Many South African corporates are doing innovative things to attract and retain black talent and it is not surprising that these companies usually appear somewhere near the top of the list of the top companies to work for in South Africa.” (Cruz, 2006, p. 25)

Because of this competitive market for skilled black talent, companies offer high salaries to try and lure employees away from other organizations and the skilled black talent have come to be thought of as people who do not stay in an organisation for a long time. However there are contradictory findings from different studies. A study by the Unilever Institute at the University of Cape Town concluded that 65% of black professionals had changed their job within the last three years. (Wilenius, 2006) However, there was a study done more recently by (Khanyile & Maponga, 2007), which found that white employees were more likely to have worked for a different organisation since they had started working, than black employees.

Black talent in South Africa has been studied to try and identify why they would be encouraged to change employers. The findings of a study of South African talent by (Birt, Wallis, & Winternitz, 2004), were that great importance was placed on intrinsic variables, in decisions by employees to leave their organisations and that market opportunities were also considered highly significant in these decisions.

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Some believe the low ability of some managers to manage talent serves to encourage these talented individuals to leave the organisations. “Retention barriers which were identified in this research were the general lack of talent management, especially black talent management.” (Booysen, Barriers to employment equity implementation and retention of blacks in management in South Africa, 2007, p. 68)

The perception is that black talent has different expectations to those of white employees and corporations are not offering that which is needed to attract and retain black talent, which is emphasised by the following quotes. “There is a significant disjoint between what young black talent in South Africa wants and what most corporates are delivering.” (Cruz, 2006, p. 24)

“Understanding what is really driving the black middle class in South Africa will help corporates to recruit and retain talented individuals.” (Cruz, 2006, p. 24)

In summary, black talent make up the majority of the population, yet they are not the majority in managerial roles.

2.2.3 White Managers

The third key concept is the white or Caucasian managers, the antecedents of the dominance of white males across senior organisational roles across South Africa, is a remnant of the past political system. (Denton & Vloeberghs, 2003)

A manager is defined by the online Oxford English Dictionary as, “A person who manages (a department of) a business, organization, institution, etc.; a person with an executive or supervisory function within an organization.” Our use of the concept in this study will also attribute the role of the manager to include the development of the talents of the employees which he or she manages. To this effect, “The input of line managers into the human resources planning process is critical” (Boonzaier & Boonzaier, 1993, p. 25)

The research question seeks to identify how the abilities of these white managers to develop black talent can be improved, so as to increase the rate of transformation, thereby addressing the research concern. The data source for the research was white managers with a track

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record of successful black talent development. Therefore the understanding of white managers and the role they play is one of the cornerstones of the research.

In summary, white managers play a pivotal role in the development of black talent, due to their occupying the majority of managerial positions in South Africa.

2.2.4 The Role of Culture

The fourth key concept is the role of culture within organizations. The importance of culture in the business world has been advocated in a number of studies. It is especially relevant in this research due to the differences in African based culture to that of the white Westernised culture and there are numerous thoughts on how the Western based culture of South African organisations need to adapt to better suit the Africanised culture of the black employees. “If South African organisations are to survive, the dominant Western management paradigm thus needs to change towards valuing both the Western and Afrocentric management systems alongside each other as equally important.” (Booysen, 2000, p. 10)

Cultural competence, or the ability to understand and grasp different cultures, is becoming a critical element of organizations success. “Cultural competence is tantamount to the ability to develop internationally successful products based on the utilization of cultural capital.” (Wilenius, 2006)

In South Africa, the progress of employment equity is not at the level it is thought it should be, because of management’s emphasis on numerical goals instead of creating organisational cultures and workplaces that value diversity as key to competitive advantage. (Kamoche, Debrah, Horwitz, & Muuka, 2004)

Within organizations, poor intercultural communication can result in low morale and a whole range of counterproductive behaviours (Taylor, 1998). Culture also affects our interpretations of signals or messages since we communicate in different ways. In addition, people from different culture have different needs and different expectations from their work (Ready, Hill, & Conger, 2008).

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In summary, culture plays a major role in the success of organization. Yet, it has not been fully appreciated in South Africa. Achieving high levels of cultural competence can be a valuable source of competitive advantage.

2.2.5 Conclusion

The four key concepts together make up the answer to the question of what the research is about. These concepts are; the pace of change at managerial levels has been too slow in the country; black talent make up the majority of the population, yet they are not the majority in managerial roles; white managers play a pivotal role in the development of black talent, due to their occupying the majority of managerial positions in South Africa, culture plays a major role in the success of organization. Yet, it has not been fully appreciated in South Africa. Achieving high levels of cultural competence can be a valuable source of competitive advantage. The four key concepts together make up the answer to the question of what the research is about.

2.3 Overview of Findings

This section of the chapter presents a theoretical assessment of the core drivers which emerged during the research process. The section serves to present an overview of the drivers and how they answer the research question.

2.3.1 Cultural Cognizance

To understand this driver in the context of the findings of my research I have made use of the definition by (Wilenius, 2006) “Cultural competence is cultural literacy; it is the ability to read the signs and symbols of our culture as well as those arising from other cultural traditions."

This driver plays an integral role in answering my research question because of the differences in culture between the majority of black and white South Africans. It has already been identified that this is an imperative in the context of South African business, as can be seen in the following quote by (Booysen, 2000, p. 1).“It is recommended that South African

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leaders need to understand the different cultural expectations of all its people, and leadership needs to ‘South Africanize’ in order to mobilise people effectively.”

Cultural cognizance as a core driver is concerned with the ability of white mangers in being able to understand the cultural differences of the black talent and how the manager should be aware of showing respect and appreciation for the cultural differences. Furthermore it relates to the elimination of misunderstandings which may occur due to the differences between the cultures.

2.3.2 Emotional Intelligence

The understanding of this driver as it relates to my research findings, makes use of the definition in Carter (2006) from the journal article by (Parthasarathy, 2009), which summarizes emotional intelligence as “self awareness, self-motivation, empathy, management of relationships, and management of one’s emotions” as well as that of (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002) which defines it as “how leaders handle themselves and their relationships”.

These attributes have very little to do with formal education or analytical skills and are developed over time, based on an individual’s experiences and natural ability in these areas. Empathy, which forms a component of emotional intelligence as defined above, is defined as, “understand, be aware of, be sensitive to, and vicariously experience the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of another,” by Webster’s (1993) dictionary, as quoted from (Hughes, Bonita Patterson, & Bradford Terrell, 2005).

Research conducted on emotional intelligence by Feist and Baron (1996), resulted in them stating that, “emotional intelligence is four times more important in determining professional success than that of the cognitive intelligence measurement of intelligence quotient”, as quoted in (Parthasarathy, 2009). Another experiment which was quoted in the same article was that of Damasio (1994) which discovered that the thinking part of the human brain does not work in isolation from that of the emotional part of the brain.

The results of the different experiments described above combine to leave no doubt that emotional intelligence forms a major component in a person’s successful dealings with people. This provides the answer as to why this driver is an essential component of my

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hypotheses. The development of black talent is achieved through relationships and when a higher level of emotional intelligence is present, it is easier to develop better relationships, as emphasised by this quote from (Gratton, 2004, p. 85). “Emotional capital brings the integrity and self-awareness to build open and trusting relationships, which underpin the creation of relationships.”

2.3.3 Differing Development Needs

This driver does not easily lend itself to a definition within the existing literature which was assessed during the course of the research process. It is concerned with the ability of managers to identify the differing development needs of black talent. This is largely in connection with the historical cognizance and cultural drivers and it refers to the different development needs which a talented black individual may have. From the cultural side it refers to the development requirements he or she may have because their culture may not have equipped them in a certain area, which could place the individual at a disadvantage in some aspect of their work career. Similarly, the historical realities which an individual may have been a part of could also be a factor in the person requiring unique development aspects to prepare them for the higher positions within organizations.

Essentially this driver is primarily concerned with the ability of white managers to identify, out of the ordinary development needs, which may or may not have been identified during the normal testing and skills assessment processes, but would need to form a part of the skill set of a successful work career.

The final aspect of this driver is of tailoring a personal development programme based on the unique needs of the individual so as to ensure that development takes place in the areas which are most important. The following two quotes from the literature shows that this is a feature in the modern day approach to talent development. “Offer targeted development opportunities to support their individual personal and career growth.” (McGrath, 2008)

“The approach companies take to management of their talented individuals is a tailored approach to each of the individuals to provide every opportunity to develop their talents and

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ultimately make use of these talents to ensure the long term success of the organization. (Reilly, 2008, p. 384)

2.3.4 Historical Familiarity

This driver does not easily lend itself to a definition within the existing literature which was assessed during the course of the research process. It refers to the level of knowledge of the historical occurrences within South Africa. It emerged during the research that an understanding of the history and how it has or could have affected black talent, is an essential aspect that plays a role in the ability of a white manager to successfully develop black talent.

This driver plays an integral role in answering my research question because of the historical occurrences within the country which have played a major role in the majority of black South Africans lives. Awareness of these occurrences, and the possibility of prejudices as a result of them, needs to be maintained.

The following quote from (Mbigi & Maree, 2005, p. 11) gives a good summary of what the historical cognizance driver is based on.

“Effective adaption of management principles and practices in South Africa will only take place if the collective experience of the majority of South African black workers is taken into account.”

An important aspect of historical cognizance is that the influence of historical cognizance as a driver in the development of black talent by white managers will become less important as time progresses and the black talent has less memory of and connection with predemocratic South Africa. There is already a generation of young black South Africans who are beginning to enter the market place that have no experience or recollection of racial discrimination and pre-1994 South Africa. (Walker, 2005)

2.3.5 Conclusion

The four drivers of the successful development of black talent by white managers have been described above. They have been identified during the research to provide the answer to the

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research question. The research problem was identified as the slow transformation of managerial levels within organisations to represent the demographics of the country. If the causal loop diagram, of which these drivers play the primary roles, is used to good effect by organizations within South Africa in the ways described in chapter five, the research problem will be addressed and there should be an increase in the pace of transformation. This will be due to the increased ability of the white managers to develop black talent, as they play the biggest role in this regard, due to their dominance of the managerial levels of organizations in South Africa.

3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In chapter one the relevance and utility of my research was explored. In chapter two a literature assessment of the important concepts which relate to my research was presented. This was to place the research question in relation to the existing body of knowledge and also to identify the main drivers in the answer to my question, as they are understood in the greater body of knowledge.

This chapter provides a detailed account of the processes and approaches I have used to perform my research. A research framework is generally composed of the research paradigms and methods as well as suppositions regarding the acquisition, understanding and source of the data. My research framework is constructed to ultimately produce a theory which answers my research question and can be communicated simply and easily, to add value to the existing body of knowledge around management research. To ensure the validity of my research results I have ended this chapter with a discussion on some concerns that emerge from this research, as well as ethical considerations.

The methodology adopted for this study is based on both the research problem and the research question.

3.1 The Nature and Purpose of Management Research

The nature of management research is unique in some ways to that of other types of research, in that management research should connect with both practical considerations and theoretical knowledge. Also, the research makes use of knowledge from a range of different

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disciplines which can facilitate the discovery of new insights, which may not have emerged from each of the separate disciplines. This area of research is also different as people are heavily involved, because they are seen as sources of data. (Weijun, 2008)

3.1.1 Management Research

Research in general is undertaken to find out information using a structured approach. In management there are three things which are defined by Easterby et al (2002) quoted by (Weijun, 2008), which combine to make business and management a distinctive focus for research. They include the manner in which mangers and researchers make use of information developed by other disciplines; the reality that managers tend to be busy and unlikely to permit research access unless there is opportunity for them to realise personal or commercial gain; the requirement for the research is to have some practical consequence either taking into account the practical outcome of the research findings, or containing potential for some type of action.

3.1.2 The Purpose of Management Research

The purpose of management research is different to that of other research. This is because it is not only required to produce findings which add to the knowledge pool, but it is also required to address business concerns and managerial problems of a practical nature. (Weijun, 2008)

I am aware of the anomalies of management research and it is in this respect that I believe my answer to my research question provides an addition to the broader body of knowledge while addressing practical business concerns.

3.1.3 Research Ethics

The four main ethical issues in research according to Diener and Grandall which are quoted in (Bryman & Bell, 2007) are summarised as follows; whether there is a lack of informed consent; whether there is any harm to participants; whether deception is involved; whether there is an invasion of privacy.

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To locate this research in an ethical stance I obtained informed consent from all the people I interacted with during the course of the research. This was done by giving as much information as was necessary, directly to each person concerned, so that he or she was able to make a well informed decision as to whether or not they were comfortable to participate in my research.

I did not use covert observation at any stage during this study, therefore every person with whom I interacted was given the opportunity to refuse to participate.

To further minimise any ethical concerns I checked with each individual that they were there of their own free will and had not been instructed or unfairly encouraged by anybody in agreeing to be interviewed.

To ensure that I did not become guilty of invading anyone’s privacy, I informed each respondent that they were able to withdraw from the interview process at any stage of the proceedings and in addition mentioned this to them at various stages during the course of the interviews. I also made certain that I did not make use of any form of deception during the gathering of my data during the research process.

My MBA studies are in no way financed by any business and thus I do not currently have, nor have I had any affiliation to direct or endanger the credibility of my research or any of the organisations playing a role in my research. I also agreed to nondisclosure agreements with the interviewees as well as the organisations which allowed me access to their staff members. This was to further ensure that I do not pass on any information which may compromise their ability to remain competitive and independent in the market place.

3.2 Philosophical Foundation

My assumptions on how I perceive the world and how I make sense of it are explained in this section of the chapter.

3.2.1 Ontology and Epistemology

It is crucial to state the paradigm in which I see the world as it has a bearing on my outlook regarding my manner of enquiry and needs to be identified before conducting research.

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“A paradigm is a cluster of beliefs and dictates which for scientists in a particular discipline influence what should be studied, how research should be done, how results should be interpreted.” Quoted from (Brymann 1988a:4) in (Bryman & Bell, 2007)

Guba and Lincoln (1994) identified four different paradigms as positivism, post-positivism, critical theory and constructivism, as cited in (Schoepp, 2003), which constitute the competing paradigms, as reflected in the diagram below.

The diagram further illustrates the differences in approaches from the one extreme of positivism where hard science is used for enquiry, to the other where constructivism makes use of knowledge which is seen as socially constructed. The two paradigms which lie within these two extremes are post-positivism, which is a modern positivism and includes the use of qualitative techniques as a method of enquiry and critical theory, which values the lived experience and represents alternative inquiry techniques, which contrast with those of positivism.

Research Paradigms, (Schoepp, 2003, p. 4)

There are two main forms of realism, empirical realism and critical realism. I declare that I see the world in a critical realism paradigm as I value the lived experience and will take a practical approach to research. I have specified my beliefs so as to establish my outlook on the world and to allow users to know my perspective on the modes of inquiry. A critical realist

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MBA Research Report

approach is one of seeing the world as made up of three differing levels, the empirical world, the actual world and the real world as p

Three Levels of Reality,

I will be making use of an Interpretivist approach to my qualitative research as I will be unable to immerse myself totally in a setting due to my time consinformation sources’ internal view rather than imposing any external view points on them. (Mason, 2002)

“Interpretivism does not have to rely on “total immersion in a setting” therefore, and can happily support a study which uses interview methods for example, where the aim is to explore people’s individual and collective understandings, reasoning processes,and so on.” (Mason, 2002, p. 56)

“Interpretivists are concerned with understanding the social world people have produced and which they reproduce through their continuing activities. This everyday reality consists of the meanings and interpretations given by the social actors to their actions, other people’s actions, social situations, and natural and humanly created objects. In short, in order to

approach is one of seeing the world as made up of three differing levels, the empirical world, the actual world and the real world as portrayed in the diagram below.

Three Levels of Reality, (Ryan, 2009)

I will be making use of an Interpretivist approach to my qualitative research as I will be unable to immerse myself totally in a setting due to my time constraints. I will be seeking my information sources’ internal view rather than imposing any external view points on them.

“Interpretivism does not have to rely on “total immersion in a setting” therefore, and can happily support a study which uses interview methods for example, where the aim is to explore people’s individual and collective understandings, reasoning processes,

“Interpretivists are concerned with understanding the social world people have produced and which they reproduce through their continuing activities. This everyday reality consists of the

etations given by the social actors to their actions, other people’s actions, social situations, and natural and humanly created objects. In short, in order to

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approach is one of seeing the world as made up of three differing levels, the empirical world,

I will be making use of an Interpretivist approach to my qualitative research as I will be traints. I will be seeking my

information sources’ internal view rather than imposing any external view points on them.

“Interpretivism does not have to rely on “total immersion in a setting” therefore, and can happily support a study which uses interview methods for example, where the aim is to explore people’s individual and collective understandings, reasoning processes, social norms,

“Interpretivists are concerned with understanding the social world people have produced and which they reproduce through their continuing activities. This everyday reality consists of the

etations given by the social actors to their actions, other people’s actions, social situations, and natural and humanly created objects. In short, in order to

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negotiate their way around the world and make sense of it, social actors have to interpret their activities together, and it is these meanings, embedded in language, that constitute their social reality.” (Blaikie, 2000, p. 115)

I will be using a grounded theory approach in this research, as I wish to produce an inductive theory out of my research, which will have practical value and I believe that this method will best enable me to answer my research question. “The grounded theory approach is a general methodology of analysis linked with data collection that uses a systematically applied set of methods to generate an inductive theory about a substantive area.” (Glaser, 1992, p. 16)

The ontological position of constructivism will also be incorporated into my perspective for this research. This is due to my role in the research process which will, due to my own accounts of the social world, present a specific version of social reality instead of one which could be regarded as definitive. (Bryman & Bell, 2007)

After having identified the paradigms with which I will approach my research I need to decide between the two different approaches to my data analysis, namely whether I will be making use of a quantitative or qualitative perspective in my research.

“Qualitative analysis means any kind of analysis that produces findings or concepts and hypotheses, as in grounded theory, which are not arrived at by statistical methods.” (Glaser, 1992, p. 11)

“In qualitative research, decisions about design and strategy are ongoing and are grounded in the practice, process and context of the research itself.” (Mason, 2002, p. 24)

As can be ascertained from the quotes above which seek to explain the different approaches, my research question does not lend itself to a quantitative approach, as it relies on data being collected in small samples in which I will be focusing on people as the source of data. I will therefore be using a qualitative approach which lends itself to my research, as I seek to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of the people which I interview during my research.

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3.2.2 Systems Thinking and Practice

Systems’ thinking involves a way of thinking about the world which is focused on the different parts and their relationships as an entire system. In this approach, understanding and working together with the complex interplay between the component parts or variables is considered crucial if one wishes to be able to improve a system. The challenge with systems thinking is that one has to develop an understanding of the individual components of the system and then how they interact as a whole and thus how they affect each other. The reality is that the normal course of action is to study one aspect or piece of the system in depth and not its place in the entirety of the system. This is far from ideal due to the dynamic nature of systems, in that they are “emergent, self organizing and sustained by feedback”, this approach presents a number of limitations. (Sherwood & Brealey, 2002)

For my research I have made use of some aspects of systems thinking to complement my grounded theory approach to the answering of the research question.

I will make use of interrelationship diagraphs and causal loop diagrams in the process of answering my research question. In causal loop diagrams there are three kinds of loops which are vital for an understanding of systems. The first is the feedback loop, which has no discernible beginning or end and each component drives the one in front of it. Secondly, there are reinforcing loops which is when a single component in the loop dominates the loop and forces the entire loop to spin faster and faster as it becomes more powerful. Thirdly, there is the balancing loop which is when an occurrence stops the feedback loop from spinning. All loops can only have two types of action which are represented by the letters S and O. The letter S represents the action of “more of the causal factor leading to more of the effect factor” and O represents the action of “more of the causal factor leads to less of the effect factor.” (Sherwood & Brealey, 2002)

3.2.3 Research Quality Criteria

This subsection of the chapter introduces all the criteria which are to be considered to ensure the quality and rigour of the research is up to the standard that it should be.

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a. Trustworthiness

According to (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 411), the issue of trustworthiness as it applies to research consists of four different criteria namely, “Credibility”, “Transferability”, “Dependability” and “Confirmability”, these are further elaborated on individually below.

i. Credibility

Credibility is defined by (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 411) as, “The establishment of the credibility of findings entails both ensuring that research is carried out according to the canons of good practice and submitting findings to the social world who were studied for confirmation that the investigator has correctly understood that social world.” This part of trustworthiness deals with the acceptability of my findings to others. A threat to the credibility of my study would be very closely linked to my being unable to accurately grasp that which my interviewee’s tell me. To this end I made use of the method of respondent validation. This was done by asking the interviewees to check my written notes to ensure that I had accurately grasped what they were trying to tell me. Another purpose was served by this process which was to redress any power imbalance created by the interview, by allowing the respondent a degree of authority in checking my notes. So as to eliminate the prospect of censorship, I did not give any specific groups within the organisations the opportunity to validate my findings. (Bryman & Bell, 2007)

ii. Transferability

Transferability refers to the possible transfer of findings from one context to another. Due to the reality of the small group of subjects used in qualitative research it is a common trait that the data is highly specific to a small segment of the social world. The external validity of my study may pose a problem due to the limited number of interviewees, yet I hoped to minimise this possibility by making use of four different companies. This variety should serve to make this study more valid across similar settings. This generalizabilty will however in all likelihood, be limited to South Africa, due to the location of the collection of the data and the nature of the research question. (Bryman & Bell, 2007)

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Consequently care must be taken in generalizing the transferability of this study and its findings, with another group of respondents in a different setting, as the data may not be valid upon transfer. Because of this, it will be important for any future duplicate studies to carefully consider the social setting at this present time in South Africa. If anybody would seek to replicate this study, they might well need to adopt a similar social role to that adopted by myself.

iii. Dependability

This is chiefly concerned with the keeping of records and the subsequent auditing of these records to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the records being kept. During this study I made use of a study journal which was available to be audited by my supervisor to ensure proper records had been kept. I did not provide a list of the candidate’s names within this dissertation due to my non-disclosure agreements with the sources of my data. I did however present a list of the subjects to the examining body for their records. (Bryman & Bell, 2007)

iv. Confirmability

“Confirmability is concerned with ensuring that, while recognizing that complete objectivity is impossible in business research, the researcher can be shown to have acted in good faith; in other words it should be apparent that he or she has not overtly allowed personal values or theoretical inclinations manifestly to sway the conduct of the research and findings deriving from it.” (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 414) The above quotation provides a comprehensive explanation of the issue of Confirmability and in this vein I have done my utmost to minimize the possibility of any such issues becoming a reality in my research.

3.3 Research Framework

This section of the chapter will explain the details of the different pieces of my research framework and how they will build on each other to answer my research question.

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3.3.1 Critical Realism

My research will be framed in using the critical realism approach which sees the world as being made up of three differing levels, the empirical world, the actual world and the real world as portrayed in the diagram below.

My reason for this choice, is that this approach can be used in the attempt to answer the unresolved dilemmas within the philosophy of both natural and social science. We naturally operate in the empirical world but we cannot ignore the underlying causal mechanisms. Therefore, as my research is aimed at uncovering the underlying causal mechanisms which relate to my research question, I believe this approach to be best suited.

The methodological point of the critical realism approach is defined by (Mingers, 2006) as, “the retroductive approach of hypothesising generative mechanisms that would explain our experiences and then trying to confirm or deny their existence.” This is in line with the grounded theory and systems thinking approach which I will be using in this research.

3.3.2 Grounded Theory

Grounded theory is an inductive approach to research whereby the theory emerges from the analysis of the data. Grounded theory is defined by (Strauss and Corbin 1998: 12) as, “theory that was derived from data systematically gathered and analyzed through the research process. In this method, data collection, analysis, and eventual theory stand in close relationship to one another.”

Grounded theory has two central features which are that the collection and analysis of data proceed at the same time and constantly refer back to each other. This is due to its focus of developing theory from data. (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 585)

There are according to (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p. 510), five strategies which grounded theory makes use of during the course of the research. They are, “simultaneous collection and analysis of data, a two-step data coding process, comparative methods, memo writing aimed at the conceptual analyses, sampling to refine the researcher’s emerging theoretical ideas, and integration of the theoretical framework.”

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Coding forms part of the most inner processes of grounded theory and consists of giving specific names to parts or categories of data and thus is an integral beginning step in the formulation of theory. (Bryman & Bell, 2007)

Through this process of the categorization of data into codes a complete theory will begin to emerge and the data is then revisited and further data collection done, if necessary. This coding process has been distinguished by Strauss and Corbin (1990) quoted in (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 586) as consisting of three. These are really the different levels of coding which occur as the categories, in grounded theory, are further refined. (Bryman & Bell, 2007)

“Open Coding”

– “The process of breaking down, examining, comparing, conceptualizing and categorizing data” (1990:61).

“Axial Coding”

– “A set of procedures whereby data are put back together in new ways after open coding by making connections between categories,” (1990:96).

“Selective Coding”

– “The procedure of selecting the core category, systematically relating it to other categories, validating those relationships, and filling in categories that need further refinement and development,” (1990:116).

The constant comparison of data is one of the two central features of the grounded theory process. “Attention to the procedure of constant comparison enjoins the researcher constantly to compare phenomena being coded under a certain category so that a theoretical elaboration of that category can begin to emerge.” (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 586) The process of constant coding requires the following approach from the researcher, as written by (Glaser, 1992, p. 19), “The researcher has to be continually coding, comparing, analyzing and memoing while asking the sole question of data: What category or property of a category does this incident indicate?”

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Both quotes which follow are from (Glaser and Strauss 1967:45 and 62) and cited by (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 459) and serve to define and explain the concept of theoretical sampling. “Theoretical sampling is done in order to discover categories and their properties and to suggest the interrelationships into a theory.” “Theoretical sampling is the process of data collection for generating theory whereby the analyst jointly collects, codes, and analyzes his data and decides what data to collect next and where to find them, in order to develop his theory as it emerges.”

The process of theoretical sampling is continued until a category has been saturated by data and is explained by the quote from (Strauss and Corbin 1998: 212) in (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 460). “You carry on sampling theoretically until a category has been saturated with data. This means until (a) no new or relevant data seems to be emerging regarding a category, (b) the category is well developed in terms of its properties and dimensions demonstrating variation, and (c) the relationships among categories are well established and validated.”

3.3.3 Systems Methodology

My research framework will also include some aspects of systems thinking, namely that of the causal loop diagram and the interrelationship diagraph.

An interrelationship diagraph will be used after the final level of coding and will make use of the categories derived from the open coding process and affinity diagram, by grouping them to better show their relationships and also which are the drivers and which are the outcomes. (Bryman & Bell, 2007)

I will then construct a causal loop diagram which will represent my theory which emerged from the research process. The purpose of this is to visually display the causal linkages between the “core category” and the other pieces of the theory. The interrelationship of the categories is displayed by arrows and the diagram provides a useful summary of the complete theory.

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3.3.4 Data Collection

People will form my primary sources of data in this research, so I will use interviews to extract the relevant data from the life experience of the managers whom I will be interviewing, using the generic conversational format. “In a deductive fashion, the researcher derives predetermined themes and issues from the theory of interest, and develops at least some specific questions before interviewing begins.” (Lee, 1999, p. 1) This form of interviewing is further described as to how it will suit my research in the following quote from (Conrad & Schober, 1999, p. 9), “Conversational interviewing leads to more consistently correct question interpretations than does standardized interviewing, particularly when respondents situations are atypical.”

Because of the unstructured nature of conversational interviews I approached the interviews with a decent amount of clarity regarding certain concepts which related to the topic and did this by doing some basic research so as to be able to converse on a suitable level regarding the research question and thus establish credibility with the interviewee. “Demonstrate credibility and thereby encourage the interviewee to offer a more detailed account of the topic under discussion” (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2003, p. 255)

My selection of interviewees was a “criterion based selection” as quoted from (LeCompte & Presissle, 1993, p.69.) by (Maxwell, 2005) which also adds that, “particular people are specifically interviewed as the information cannot be obtained as well from other choices”. My main criteria will be a successful track record in the development of black talent, however this perception of success was determined by the contacts I had in the various companies which I had access to during the course of the study.

There are generally nine interrelated types of interview questions as noted by Lee, but due to my conversationalist approach to the interviews I did not use them all and they were in random order.

1. “Introductory questions”

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2. “Follow-up questions”

3. “Probing Questions”

4. “Specifying Questions”

5. “Direct Questions”

6. “Indirect Questions”

7. “Structured Questions”

8. “Interpretive Questions”

9. “Silence” – Though not technically a type of question, its use can be quite effective at eliciting comments. (Lee, 1999, p. 4)

3.3.5 Triangulation

“Triangulation entails using more than one method or source of data in the study of social phenomena.” (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 412)

This was somewhat difficult to do in my research, hence I made use of the approach used by Kantor (1937:337) as quoted in (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 413) “I used each source of data, and each informant, as a check against the others.”

I used my preceding interviews as a check against the next interview for any major differences. This obviously limited the effectiveness of triangulation which many data sources would have provided, yet I did not come across any major contradictions during my interviews. If I had experienced this I would have scheduled further interviews with the individual, so as to get more data and analyze it to ascertain the reason for the contradiction.

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3.4 Conclusion

This chapter has explained all the various paradigms and positions with which I have approached my research as well as the pieces of the framework which I used during the process. I have explained the theory behind all of these approaches and how they lend themselves to the answering of my research question within my research context. I have presented the various criteria which will be utilised to ensure sufficient rigour and trustworthiness of my research process and thus the answer to my research question.

4 RESEARCH RESULTS

In chapter one the relevance and utility of my research was explored. In chapter two a literature assessment of the important concepts which relate to my research was presented. This was to place the research question in relation to the existing body of knowledge and also to identify the main drivers in the answer to my question, as they are understood in the greater body of knowledge. In chapter three the framework for the research, which includes the philosophical foundation with which the research was approached and the methods to used for the collection and analysis of the data is described. This chapter was concluded by the theoretical analysis of trustworthiness and ethics.

In this chapter the results of the research are presented, beginning with the stage by stage example of how one of the drivers of my answer emerged from the data through the grounded theory process. This is followed by a brief description of the drivers and then an in-depth analysis of the different links within my answer causal loop diagram, which constitutes my hypotheses.

4.1 Data Collection

I used interviews to gather the data for my research via the conversational interviewing style. My interviews were between one and one and a half hour in duration and took place at the offices of the interviewees. I interviewed six individuals initially and then another two to complete the data collection process in line with my research approach.

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The interviewees where all white males working in South Africa and had at least a decade’s worth of experience each, in developing black talent. The assessment of their ability was based on the perceptions of various individuals within the organisations and I am forced to rely on their opinion as being accurate. This is because of my lack of knowledge about the history of the interviewees and their track record in black talent development.

The interviewees were drawn from four different organisations. This was to present a more diverse data source, so as to minimize any organisational culture bias which would have been a worry had they all had the same employer. The organisations which played a part in my research were chosen at random, but they all had to be located near Cape Town due to my inability to travel and unwillingness to conduct interviews via phone or other means.

I took notes during the interviews, but also recorded all of the interviews and listened to them during the research process. This was to ensure I did not miss any valuable data and did not stem the flow of the interviewee while taking detailed notes.

4.2 Grounded Theory Process

This section relates my experiences and findings with regard to the grounded theory research approach, as was described in detail in chapter three. It deals with each step of the structured process to show the gradual emergence of the final theory, which answers the research question and is summarized in the form of a causal loop diagram. To show the manner in which I applied the research framework, I have presented the emergence of the level of emotional intelligence as a driver for the example.

4.2.1 Level 1 Coding

This was done during and after the interviews whereby pieces of data were captured from the interviews and identified. I also performed this coding while again listening to the recorded interviews to ensure I did not miss any valuable or relevant data. Finally, it is also made up of my own ideas, stimulated by one or a number of interviews. The listening to the recorded interviews proved invaluable for my level one coding. This was largely owing to my limited ability to take highly accurate notes, due to not wanting to stem the flow of data during the

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limited time of the interviews. My level one coding resulted in the identification of two hundred and eighty pieces of data.

To show how I made use of each of the stages, I will show the development of the level of emotional intelligence driver. This is to present an understanding of the manner in which I coded and categorised my data and how the emergence of a driver progressed during my research. The left hand side of the table below shows all the different concepts, which eventually resulted in the emergence of the level of emotional intelligence as a driver.

Table Showing Concepts Which Were Grouped Together To Become a Driver

Understand what makes that person tick e.g. financial reward, and focus on that.

Develop a relationship

We is the basis for a conversation not I Develop a relationship

When developing people you need to be very much more relationship based.


Deal with individuals and not cultures at work Develop a relationship

It is important to understand people's personal ambitions


Make sure you can engage on a personal level during personal time, build a bridge through that.


It needs to be a reciprocal learning process to lead to a happy management pairing


Happiness at home and happiness at work/ work, life balance Ensure happy staff If people’s needs and aspirations are met they will stay true to the organisation Ensure happy staff Make sure the people are happy in their job Ensure happy staff Make sure they feel a part of the team Ensure happy staff Make sure they find their job interesting and satisfying Ensure happy staff Give recognition Give recognition They will not stick their head out to try and fight for the recognition to get promotion Give recognition Recognise people's contribution and acknowledge it Give recognition Recognise the individual Give recognition

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Do not patronise people Respect employees Respect for the person Respect employees You can only empower people if you respect their values Respect employees

4.2.2 Level 2 Coding

The level two coding process entailed the categorisation of the concepts from the data, into categories. I initially had about sixty categories and then through a very intensive process of reflection and constant comparison I ended up with thirteen categories. (See the complete list of final categories and corresponding concepts from the data in appendix 8.2)

For the level of emotional intelligence as a category, the four initial categories which are shown in the right hand column of the table above were eventually grouped together into the single higher level category during this coding stage. This was helped by the ongoing process of constant comparison and putting much thought into the meanings the interviewees where trying to divulge while they were being interviewed.

The table below shows the entire list of both the initial and final categories which emerged during this level of coding.

Table of Initial and Final Categories

Initial Categories Final Categories

Employee developmental planning Level of career management Talent pipeline

Different development needs Ability to recognise differing developmental needs

Good Communication Adaptive management approach Ability to adapt management style

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Appropriate task allocation Level of duty allocation ability Give opportunities Develop a relationship Level of emotional intelligence Ensure happy staff Give recognition Respect employees Teach delegation Training Level of talent development Attract talent Attracted by Career progression Intensity of talent procurement CSI Attracts talent Premium remuneration Awareness of different circumstances Level of historical Familiarity Understanding of transformational processes Awareness of possible prejudices Cultural awareness Level of cultural cognizance Inoffensive supervision Culture of Ubuntu Do not compromise on performance Level of equality at work Transparency Induction training Enforcement of Organisational culture Genuine organisational commitment to diversity Empower people Level of talent empowerment Give talent space to develop Provide support Level of guidance Coaching Mentoring Identify talent Discover Talent Attitude Organisational fit Methodical recruitment

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4.2.3 Theoretical Sampling

For this stage of the process I interviewed two more managers to ask questions around the categories I had established during the level two coding process. I focused the interviews around these categories to establish whether there were any new concepts to be gained from their data and if so what I needed to change. What worked well in trying to complete this step of the process was to get them to answer questions which were more defined and less generalized in nature. Some of the difficulties I experienced were in trying to steer some of the interviewees in the direction of the categories.

4.2.4 Saturation

The saturation process served to further densify the different categories. As a result of the nature of the MBA course, I completed my data saturation using written theory as well as the last two interviews, which I also made use of to help saturate my categories. On the whole however, they stayed the same and I was satisfied that I had done sufficient interviews, given the aforementioned constraints, to arrive at a point where nothing new was emerging from the data.

4.2.5 Theory Development

After the saturation of the categories was complete, the next step was the construction of the interrelationship graph which is seen below. This lengthy and thought provoking process served to establish the inter relationship of the different categories and thus revealed the drivers.

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Interrelationship Diagraph

From this process it emerged that the level of emotional intelligence was, according to my findings, one of the significant drivers in my research, as well as level of historical familiarity, level of cultural cognizance and the ability to recognize differing development needs of black talent. I then did selective sampling of the literature to further saturate these categories which can be seen in the literature review section. A description of the four drivers is provided to expand on their meaning.

Emotional intelligence is a very broad concept and in my research it was mainly in the direction of understanding of human beings and their emotions specifically to make them feel valued and respected and to develop relationships with them. Due to this impeding on all that we as humans do, it was more dominant than all the other categories in my diagraph. The general consensus among all of my interviewees was that emotional intelligence was absolutely essential in maintaining the relationship with and commitment of the talented black individual. Interviewee F recounted his experience of how he had been promoted within a company to take over a badly performing department which consisted primarily of black talent. He told how he had seen the approach the previous manager had had with his staff, where he did not try and build relationships with them at all and was merely concerned

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with their work output. Interviewee F’s approach had been to build relationships with all the employees and get to know them well and it had resulted in that department becoming one of the top performing departments in the company. Furthermore, the department had seen three talented black individuals promoted to management positions within a year after he had taken over.

Historical familiarity refers to the political history of South Africa and the relatively recent large scale developments which have occurred here. This refers mainly to being aware of these past happenings and the prejudices and imbalances in the level of development of black talent and how these still impact today. The emphasis of the data which emerged from the research was levelled at keeping these things at the forefront of one’s mind when dealing with black talent so as to appreciate the vast array of historical actions which may have impacted on any talented black individual. The other emphasis was based on the understanding of the transformational processes of present day South Africa and being up to date with the dynamic solutions to counteract these past human rights inequalities. Interviewee B shared his experience of how as a manager he had used his historical familiarity to adapt his recruitment techniques because they did not assist him when identifying talented black people, who had been educated under the apartheid system.

Cultural cognizance refers to the differences in culture between the majority of the black and white people of South Africa and gaining an understanding of these differences, which play out within and between people while at work. These early cultural platforms, which can be very strongly represented, depending on the person, are a major part of his or her understanding of who they are in the world. These need to be responded to with awareness and respect.

The diversity in cultures in South Africa is reflected in the workplace and can be very different and unusual to that of the white manager. To counteract this the unanimous consensus among the interviewees was that there should be a major focus on cultural diversity training in the workplace to minimise any misunderstandings based on cultural differences. Interviewee H recounted a story of how in the 1980’s when he was running a factory with 700 Zulu workers, his white female manger in charge of human resources was an

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“honorary Zulu maiden” and used to come to the staff Christmas party dressed in full Zulu maiden regalia. The “cultural cognizance” of this woman which was merely presented as an example but permeated her approach to the staff, was a major factor in the factory having the best productivity and commitment from their staff as measured by a number of different quantitative measures.

Interviewee H also recounted his experience of hitting a Zulu employee who had run up and kissed him on his cheek after he had scored a goal during a company soccer match. He described the major backlash of his actions which were purely as a result of him being unaware of the culture of the man who had kissed him. The reality was that the man was merely trying to celebrate his manager’s achievements in the manner he was accustomed to.

The final driver is the recognition of the different development needs of black talent. The data which emerged from the interviewees was that due to the cultural differences between the average black South African and the dominant western based management styles of corporate South Africa, coupled with the general level of inequality there were, on average, different development needs for blacks compared to other races. Interviewee E recounted his experience of a previous talented black employee who had been sent for computer training. She had been more than proficient in her duties at work and he had wanted to up-skill her for possible future promotion. After her first day of training she did not report back to finish the course and he had wanted to discipline her for wasting the organisations money by not attending the course. What eventually came out was that the lady had not learnt to write very well at school, which the manager was unaware of. On the first day of the training course they were required to write on a board in front of the class. Her attempt at this had resulted in an inappropriate comment by somebody on the training course and people had laughed and as a result, the employee had felt too ashamed to return to the training and was also too embarrassed to tell her manager.

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MBA Research Report

4.3 Emerged Theory

My final theory which is representeduring the research process, as the answer to the research question.

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S

S

Research Answers



The links between each and every part of the causal loop diagrbelow.

This is the research question of my research and where I will begin the analyses of my

My final theory which is represented below as a causal loop diagram is what has emerged during the research process, as the answer to the research question.






R1

B2

Ability to recognize differing Ability to develop black talent

O

S

S

S

S

S

SS

S

S

S

The links between each and every part of the causal loop diagram are explained in detail

This is the research question of my research and where I will begin the analyses of my causal loop diagram.

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d below as a causal loop diagram is what has emerged


S

S

Research Question:How do successful white managers develop black talent in South Africa?

am are explained in detail

This is the research question of my research and where I will causal loop diagram.

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MBA Research Report

An increase in the ability of white managers to develop black talent results in an increase in the intensity of black talent development. This is due to the current emphasis on black talent development which is well documented and widely accepted. The recSouth Africa have also added further pressure on organisationsdevelopment. It could be argued that the ability of white managers would have increased significantly in the past fifteen years of democracy and that this has not led to a major increase in the intensity of black talent development. However, the reality is that the majority of the large organisationstime now, that a signifibonus they pay out, are based on their employees performance related to employment equity targets.

The intensity of black talent development increases two variables, the one on the inner reinforcing loop increases fastecounteract the inner loop.

As the intensity of black talent development increases, so does the size of the pool of black talent. Due to the lag period for people learning all there is at the varyibusiness which increases in duration the further up the management structure they go, the size of the talent pool will grow relatively quickly at the lower levels. The greater need for people at the lower levels of management at which there ar

An increase in the ability of white managers to develop black talent results in an increase in the intensity of black talent development. This is due to the current emphasis on black talent development which is well documented and widely accepted. The recent adaptations to the BEE legislation of South Africa have also added further pressure on organisations to increase the pace of black talent development. It could be argued that the ability of white managers would have increased significantly in the past fifteen years of democracy and that this has not led to a major increase in the intensity of black talent development. However, the reality is that the majority of the large organisations in South Africa have, and have had for some time now, that a significant percentage of the performance bonus they pay out, are based on their employees performance related to employment equity targets.

The intensity of black talent development increases two variables, the one on the inner reinforcing loop increases faster than the external balancing loop which will eventually counteract the inner loop.

As the intensity of black talent development increases, so does the size of the pool of black talent. Due to the lag period for people learning all there is at the varyibusiness which increases in duration the further up the management structure they go, the size of the talent pool will grow relatively quickly at the lower levels. The greater need for people at the lower levels of management at which there are more positions available, will also add to the

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An increase in the ability of white managers to develop black talent results in an increase in the intensity of black talent development. This is due to the current emphasis on black talent development which is well documented and widely

ent adaptations to the BEE legislation of South Africa have also added further pressure on

to increase the pace of black talent development. It could be argued that the ability of white managers would have increased significantly in the past fifteen years of democracy and that this has not led to a major increase in the intensity of black talent development. However, the reality is that the majority of the large

in South Africa have, and have had for some cant percentage of the performance

bonus they pay out, are based on their employees performance related to employment equity targets.

The intensity of black talent development increases two variables, the one on the inner reinforcing loop increases

r than the external balancing loop which will eventually

As the intensity of black talent development increases, so does the size of the pool of black talent. Due to the lag period for people learning all there is at the varying levels of business which increases in duration the further up the management structure they go, the size of the talent pool will grow relatively quickly at the lower levels. The greater need for people at the lower levels of management at which

e more positions available, will also add to the

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MBA Research Report

development of the black talent pool. It is natural for people to want to achieve the senior management level as fast as possible, yet due to the massive experience requirement at this level coupled with thethe business world, it is only natural to envision the size of the pool of black talent increasing due to the increased intensity of black talent development. Others are of the opinion that if this were true there would be demographically representative management level within organisations after fifteen years of government encouraged intensity. But the possibility is strong that there are a number of other factors which would have affected this process and it has resulted

As the size of the pool of black talent increases so will the ability of white mangers to recognize the differing development needs of black talent. This is based on the premise that things become easier with more experience. This wasinterviewed who said their ability in this area increased substantially as they became more experienced in the development of black talent. Some may disagree with this claim because otherwise all the older people would be the best at everything. However all of the interviewees mentioned that as their organisations develop more black talent, they are more able to identify the training courses and other things which would work better than others, in the

development of the black talent pool. It is natural for people to want to achieve the senior management level as fast as possible, yet due to the massive experience requirement at this level coupled with the limited number of such roles in the business world, it is only natural to envision the size of the pool of black talent increasing due to the increased intensity of black talent development. Others are of the opinion that if this were true there would be demographically representative management level within organisations after fifteen years of government encouraged intensity. But the possibility is strong that there are a number of other factors which would have affected this process and it has resulted in some changes.

As the size of the pool of black talent increases so will the ability of white mangers to recognize the differing development needs of black talent. This is based on the premise that things become easier with more experience. This was substantiated by all of the people whom I interviewed who said their ability in this area increased substantially as they became more experienced in the development of black talent. Some may disagree with this claim because otherwise all the older people would be the best at everything. However all of the interviewees mentioned that as their organisations develop more black talent, they are more able to identify the training courses and other things which would work better than others, in the speeding up of the development of black talent.

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development of the black talent pool. It is natural for people to want to achieve the senior management level as fast as possible, yet due to the massive experience requirement at

limited number of such roles in the business world, it is only natural to envision the size of the pool of black talent increasing due to the increased intensity of black talent development. Others are of the opinion that if this were true there would be a demographically representative management level within organisations after fifteen years of government encouraged intensity. But the possibility is strong that there are a number of other factors which would have affected this

in some changes.

As the size of the pool of black talent increases so will the ability of white mangers to recognize the differing development needs of black talent. This is based on the premise that things become easier with more experience.

substantiated by all of the people whom I interviewed who said their ability in this area increased substantially as they became more experienced in the development of black talent. Some may disagree with this claim because otherwise all the older people in a company would be the best at everything. However all of the interviewees mentioned that as their organisations develop more black talent, they are more able to identify the training courses and other things which would work better than

speeding up of the development of black talent.

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This variable is increased by the intensity of black talent development, but is on the outside loop due to it taking a longer time than the increase in the size of the pool of black talent. This is due tomore and more time at the different levels of management to be able to adequately acquire the skills needed to operate at the next level. All the interviewees made a strong point that it takes time to develop managcorporate levels. It can be argued that those with the exceptional levels of ability in the leadership department could progress faster along the corporate ladder. Interviewee A argued against this point saying that one of the bipushing them too fast and not allowing them to fully develop into the best leader or manager. This is in line with the general acceptance that experience plays a massive role in being a leader and being

The emphasis on black talent development has an opposite relationship to the representation by blacks at management level, whereby the emphasis decreases as the representation increases. This is as a result of the success of the emphasis on black talent deinevitable refocusing attention onto other new objectives. This is the natural and accepted business cycle where focus shifts as time progresses. It could be argued that due to the slow increase in representation level over the last fifteen years of democracy there will never be true demographic representation and the emphasis on black talent will remain. However, the government seems to disagree with this when they put a time

This variable is increased by the intensity of black talent development, but is on the outside loop due to it taking a longer time than the increase in the size of the pool of black talent. This is due to the widely accepted belief that it takes more and more time at the different levels of management to be able to adequately acquire the skills needed to operate at the next level. All the interviewees made a strong point that it takes time to develop management skills at the higher corporate levels. It can be argued that those with the exceptional levels of ability in the leadership department could progress faster along the corporate ladder. Interviewee A argued against this point saying that one of the biggest failings in the development of black talent is pushing them too fast and not allowing them to fully develop into the best leader or manager. This is in line with the general acceptance that experience plays a massive role in being a leader and being accepted by your peers as such.

The emphasis on black talent development has an opposite relationship to the representation by blacks at management level, whereby the emphasis decreases as the representation increases. This is as a result of the success of the emphasis on black talent development achieving its goals and then the inevitable refocusing attention onto other new objectives. This is the natural and accepted business cycle where focus shifts as time progresses. It could be argued that due to the slow increase in representation by blacks at management level over the last fifteen years of democracy there will never be true demographic representation and the emphasis on black talent will remain. However, the government seems to disagree with this when they put a time limit

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This variable is increased by the intensity of black talent development, but is on the outside loop due to it taking a longer time than the increase in the size of the pool of black

the widely accepted belief that it takes more and more time at the different levels of management to be able to adequately acquire the skills needed to operate at the next level. All the interviewees made a strong point that

ement skills at the higher corporate levels. It can be argued that those with the exceptional levels of ability in the leadership department could progress faster along the corporate ladder. Interviewee A argued against this point saying that one of

ggest failings in the development of black talent is pushing them too fast and not allowing them to fully develop into the best leader or manager. This is in line with the general acceptance that experience plays a massive role in

accepted by your peers as such.

The emphasis on black talent development has an opposite relationship to the representation by blacks at management level, whereby the emphasis decreases as the representation increases. This is as a result of the success of the emphasis

velopment achieving its goals and then the inevitable refocusing attention onto other new objectives. This is the natural and accepted business cycle where focus shifts as time progresses. It could be argued that due to the

by blacks at management level over the last fifteen years of democracy there will never be true demographic representation and the emphasis on black talent will remain. However, the government seems to

limit on the lifespan

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of their employment equity policies, and even though this date has been shifted a number of times, it has never been eliminated.

This concept is one of the answers to the research question. The reasoning for this relationship is due to the logicargument that an increase in white male managers ability to identify the differing development needs of black talent will then result in an increased ability to develop them because they will know what their developmental needs are. This was also a commbetter at black talent development, the manager had to be able to identify the differing needs of the employee. It may be argued that this ability will not necessarily translate into an ability to develop black tneed to be put into practise by the individual manager. However, it would be fair to assume that the ability would be put into practise if the manager were encouraged via a large part of his or her performance bonus being bsuccessful black talent development, as it does in many organisations

of their employment equity policies, and even though this date has been shifted a number of times, it has never been eliminated.

This concept is one of the answers to the research question. The reasoning for this relationship is due to the logicargument that an increase in white male managers ability to identify the differing development needs of black talent will then result in an increased ability to develop them because they will know what their developmental needs are. This was also a common thread between the interviews that to be better at black talent development, the manager had to be able to identify the differing needs of the employee. It may be argued that this ability will not necessarily translate into an ability to develop black talent, because the ability would need to be put into practise by the individual manager. However, it would be fair to assume that the ability would be put into practise if the manager were encouraged via a large part of his or her performance bonus being bsuccessful black talent development, as it does in many organisations.

This driver which was described earlier, impacts on two other drivers, namely cultural cognizance and emotional intelligence.

The increase in the historical familiarity of a white manager increases his emotional intelligence, as without a fully developed understanding of the hardships and the well documented government driven policies, blacks in South

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of their employment equity policies, and even though this date has been shifted a number of times, it has never been

This concept is one of the answers to the research question. The reasoning for this relationship is due to the logical argument that an increase in white male managers ability to identify the differing development needs of black talent will then result in an increased ability to develop them because they will know what their developmental needs are. This

on thread between the interviews that to be better at black talent development, the manager had to be able to identify the differing needs of the employee. It may be argued that this ability will not necessarily translate into

alent, because the ability would need to be put into practise by the individual manager. However, it would be fair to assume that the ability would be put into practise if the manager were encouraged via a large part of his or her performance bonus being based on successful black talent development, as it does in many

This driver which was described earlier, impacts on two other drivers, namely cultural cognizance and emotional

a white manager increases his emotional intelligence, as without a fully developed understanding of the hardships and the well documented government driven policies, blacks in South

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MBA Research Report

Africa were subjected to, the emotional intelligence will be unable to fully appreciate the deep-seated issues which could occur in blacks. Emotional intelligence is increased by the knowledge of all these things and allowing them to enter into the awareness of the managers when dealing with black talent. Some may disagree that intelligence could be increased by such a concept as historical familiarity, but it is fair to assume that if one understands the history of a person then your emotional intelligence would be more able to appreciate the issues and needs of that person’s psyche.

Cultural cognizance will also be increased by historical familiarity as the cultures of the blacks have been impacted by the history of the country and need to be considered in conjunction with the culture. Adaptations in culture because of historical occurrences and the results thereof can be seen quite easily in South Africa. It is quite evident when you see the way people live in the vast squatter camps outside many cities of South Africa, which are remnants of historical occurrences, comtraditional black homelands like the Transkei. Some may disagree and think that historical realities should already be represented in the cultures, yet because of the major changes and ongoing challenges as a result of the past, the cultures are likely to still be adapting and it is very likely that this can be better understood by a superior historical familiarity.

This driver is increased by historical familiarity as already described and it increases both the concepts of cultural cognizance and the ability to recognize differing

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Africa were subjected to, the emotional intelligence will be seated issues which

could occur in blacks. Emotional intelligence is increased by the knowledge of all these things and allowing them to enter into the awareness of the managers when dealing with black talent. Some may disagree that emotional intelligence could be increased by such a concept as historical familiarity, but it is fair to assume that if one understands the history of a person then your emotional intelligence would be more able to appreciate the issues

Cultural cognizance will also be increased by historical familiarity as the cultures of the blacks have been impacted by the history of the country and need to be considered in conjunction with the culture. Adaptations in culture

historical occurrences and the results thereof can be seen quite easily in South Africa. It is quite evident when you see the way people live in the vast squatter camps outside many cities of South Africa, which are remnants of historical occurrences, compared to the traditional black homelands like the Transkei. Some may disagree and think that historical realities should already be represented in the cultures, yet because of the major changes and ongoing challenges as a result of the past, the

re likely to still be adapting and it is very likely that this can be better understood by a superior historical

This driver is increased by historical familiarity as already described and it increases both the concepts of cultural cognizance and the ability to recognize differing

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development needs.

Cultural cognizance is increased by emotional intelligence because it is through the use of a person’s emotional intelligence that one can make more use of cultural cognizance and make it a valuable commodity when developing black talent. Interviewee C stated, “Without emotional intelligence one cannot use your knowledge of other cultures to the best of its ability.” It is generally accepted that it is emotional intelligence which allows us to express ourselves to other human beings in the best possible manner throughout a variety of situations. Then to adequately make use of information about how people interact and adapt our interactions or thinking to accommodate this we would need to make use of emotional intelligence. Another possible view is that emotional intelligence relates purely to the emotions of a person and therefore it could not increase cultural cognizance. However, seeing that cultural cognizance relates to a better theoretical understanding of another culture’s emotional reactions, it could be assumed that this theoretical knowledge would be added to by emotional intelligence providing an added perspective on cultural cognizance.

The ability to recognise different development needs is increased by emotional intelligence as it plays the major role in the understanding of people and this understanding would help to recognize differing needs in others. The majority of the needs which were mentioned by the interviewees where giving more support, more recognition and good communication and it can be generally accepted that emotional intelligence would play a major role in helping to identify differing development needs such as

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these. Emotional intelligence is accepted to play the major role in the competence of a person for human relations. Others may think that emotional intelligence has very little to do with a person’s ability to recognize the differing development needs of an employee, yet due to the accepted view of the complex nature of humans, it can be accepted that emotional intelligence would enhance the capability to identify any such differing needs.

Cultural cognizance is one of two answers to the research question and was elaborated on earlier in this chapter.

In the one relationship, cultural cognizance increases the ability of white male mangers to recognize the differing development needs of black talent, as it enables them to better understand the way they grew up and their way of life, customs and values. All of the interviewees mentioned that there should be a greater emphasis on cultural training in their organisations, as this would improve thunderstanding of the different development needs as a result of the differences in culture. Interviewee G gave a specific example about talented black individuals he had previously helped develop. The individual’s cultural based management approach was that of a consensus based style of decision making. Interviewee G’s cultural cognizance enabled him to identify the different development needs of that particular individual and teach him about other styles of management which would be necessary for him to progress into a position which would require him to be proficient in other ways of managing, to handle matters not suited to a consensus styled approach. A counter argument might be based on the belief that a skills audit could

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these. Emotional intelligence is accepted to play the major role in the competence of a person for human relations. Others may think that emotional intelligence has very little

rson’s ability to recognize the differing development needs of an employee, yet due to the accepted view of the complex nature of humans, it can be accepted that emotional intelligence would enhance the capability to

ultural cognizance is one of two answers to the research question and was elaborated on earlier in this chapter.

In the one relationship, cultural cognizance increases the ability of white male mangers to recognize the differing

talent, as it enables them to better understand the way they grew up and their way of life, customs and values. All of the interviewees mentioned that there should be a greater emphasis on cultural training in their organisations, as this would improve the understanding of the different development needs as a result of the differences in culture. Interviewee G gave a specific example about talented black individuals he had previously helped develop. The individual’s cultural based

hat of a consensus based style of decision making. Interviewee G’s cultural cognizance enabled him to identify the different development needs of that particular individual and teach him about other styles of management which would be necessary for him to progress into a position which would require him to be proficient in other ways of managing, to handle matters not suited to a consensus styled approach. A counter argument might be based on the belief that a skills audit could

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uncover the differing development needs of employees without any cultural cognizance. But since the standardisation of tertiary education qualifications it is accepted that the skills of employee’s with the same qualifications are roughly equivalent. The differences in, for example a person’s approach to work, which stem from a person’s culture, could quite possibly be very difficult to assess without cultural cognizance.

Cultural cognizance increases the ability of white male mangers in corporate South Africa to develop black talent because, the differences between the races are largely cultural, as was stated by all the interviewees. Accepted logic which substantiates this relationship is that the greater one understands another human being, the greater ability that human being would have in adapting his interactions with that individual to better influence any relationships with him or her. Therefore the white manager who understands more about his black employees, of which culture is accepted to be a major part, it is likely that the better will be his ability to develop the talent of that employee. Others may think that cultural cognizance would not increase a white manager’s ability to develop black talent because an increase in ability comes from practical experience. But, it would be fair to think that, at the very least, it would add to the body of knowledge within a person’s brain which will be accessed when trying to develop black talent, which would be more likely to add value.

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5 CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION

In chapter one the relevance and utility of my research was explored. In chapter two a literature assessment of the important concepts which relate to my research was presented. This was to place the research question in relation to the existing body of knowledge and also to identify the main drivers in the answer to my question, as they are understood in the greater body of knowledge. In chapter three the framework for the research, which includes the philosophical foundation with which the research was approached and the methods to used for the collection and analysis of the data is described. This chapter was concluded by the theoretical analysis of trustworthiness and ethics. In chapter four the results of the research were presented, beginning with the stage by stage example of how one of the drivers of my answer emerged from the data through the grounded theory process. This was followed by a brief description of the drivers and then an in-depth analysis of the different links within my answer causal loop diagram, which constitutes my hypotheses.

In this chapter the practical implications of my research, as well as a conclusion to the research process are provided. Along with a discussion on how I maintained trustworthiness and went about the research process in an ethical manner. Finally the limitations of my research and possible future research directions are given.

5.1 Implications

The causal loop below is the visual summary of my answer to the research question. The links represented by the arrows were explained in detail in chapter four, as were the drivers. This section of the chapter describes the practical uses of my research findings for organisations or individual white managers.

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My research has established that emotional intelligence needs to be of a high level within a manager to be able to successfully develop black talent. For this reason companies who have been below average in their success with the development of black talent, could begin to test their managers levels of emotional intelligence, for which there are a number of tests available. Once they have then established which of their managers have high levels of emotional intelligence, then they could begin to assess which of these managers had a higher ability to recognize different development needs of black talent. For those unable to establish their own test to establish these levels, they could try and compare the ability of their most successful developer of black talent, in identifying differing development compared to the test subject. This could take place by placing the same black talent under the management of the same two people and after a week interview the two managers to establish which manager had identified what and how many development needs the black talents required. This could then be verified by interviewing the black talent to establish which manager was the most correct and had identified more development needs. If the manager being tested showed a superior ability to identify differing development needs of black talent, then he or she could begin training in all aspects of the cultures of the people they would be working with. At the








R1

B2


Ability to develop black talent

O

S

S

S

S

S

S

S

SS

S

S

S Research Question:How do successful white managers develop black talent in South Africa?

Research Answers


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same time they could be enrolled in another specially developed programme to increase their historical knowledge, and once these were completed, the manager could be placed into positions which played a greater role in the development of black talent within that organisation.

My research could also be used by white managers who wish to improve their ability in the management of black talent. The approach they could use would be to honestly assess their abilities and knowledge in the different drivers and establish a plan of action to develop their ability in the skills based drivers and increase their understanding of the knowledge based drivers. This could even be used by experienced managers of black talent to give them a reminder of what they should always be aware of when developing black talent.

Another practical step which could be taken by business is to train their staff in the cultural cognizance of the different people within the organisation, or at least the people with which they interact with. All of the people I interviewed during the research process specifically mentioned that there should be more training of employees on the different cultures present within their organisations. This training would enable people to understand people from different cultures better and foster a more united workforce, better able to interact and relate to each other.

There is an important aspect of the level of historical cognizance as a driver, which must be mentioned and kept in mind for any future white managers of black talent. This is that the influence of historical cognizance as a driver in the development of black talent by white managers will become less important as time progresses and the black talent has less memory and connection with the pre-democracy South Africa. There is already a generation of young black South Africans who are beginning to enter the market place that have no experience of racial discrimination and pre-1994 South Africa. The reality is, that for an ever increasing number of graduates and school leavers, historical cognizance will play an ever decreasing role in the ability of white managers to develop black talent. (Walker, 2005)

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5.2 Trustworthiness

I contend that my research process and therefore my research results are valid and trustworthy. The validity of my results is justified by the robust and rigorous tools and frameworks which I have made use of during this research.

I have critically analysed my research approach and the experiences I have had during the course of conducting this dissertation and I will reflect on them as they pertain to the different parts of which trustworthiness is made up of, namely credibility, dependability, confirmability and the transferability of my research.

5.2.1 Credibility

I maintained the credibility of my research by asking each interviewee to validate that the points which I had recorded during the interview were correct and that they truthfully reflected what they had wanted to say. However, as the people I interviewed were quite busy I cannot be certain that they checked all that I had written. Another point is that I used the recording of the interviews to gather further data which I may have missed. During this stage of the process the possibility exists that I may have taken some aspect of what they said during the interview to mean something other than what they had meant it to mean. But, I think that there is very little chance that that happened, because I put a lot of thought into the data collection and research process.

Due to the relatively small number of interviews I made use of during the course of my study the credibility needs to be assessed within the limited scope of my thesis.

5.2.2 Dependability

For the dependability of my research I need to mention the fact that I am a white male South African and therefore may have unwittingly been biased in some way as the people I interviewed for my data collection were also white male South Africans. Having said this, I do not believe that this would detract from the trustworthiness of my research, as my approach was that of purely obtaining the opinions of the white managers that I interviewed. The interviewing method I made use of, namely conversational interviewing, also assisted me in

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minimising the possibility of bias, as I asked as few questions as possible to try and generate long answers. Also, during the research process I was aware of possibly selecting data which stood out for me because of my personal bias.

I also kept a research journal and this was available for my research supervisor to audit during the research process. My complete list containing all the details of the people I interviewed during my research, were submitted to the examining body for record keeping and are not displayed here due to confidentiality agreements.

5.2.3 Confirmability

I claim that the neutrality of my position can be reasonably assessed by my attention to detail in explaining the answer to my research question. In addition, the documents which form a part of the thesis, which reflect the information I have used at the different stages of the research process and how that has resulted in the answer to my research question, help to add to the Confirmability of my research. I have presented the different links which form part of my causal loop diagram using the Toulmin model of argument. I have provided references to my major sources of literature in the bibliography and have methodically referenced all information which I have extracted from these sources. Ultimately, I have endeavoured to provide sufficient evidence in my thesis to prove validity, as the following quote concurs. (Maxwell, 2005, p. 112). “In the final analysis, validity threats are ruled out by evidence, not methods.”

5.2.4 Transferability

Due to the nature of the research process used, whereby a relatively small segment of the population was interviewed, the transferability of my research needs to be carefully considered. The nature of my research question also needs to be kept in mind when considering the transferability of my research as it is highly specific to a South African context. This context is uniquely South African and must be assessed when considering the transfer of its results to situations specific to other countries.

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5.2.5 Ethics

I maintain that I gathered the data in an ethical manner from willing participants who agreed to be interviewed by me. I provided the interviewees with my research question before the interview to ensure they were willing to discuss their experiences regarding my research and I reminded them during the interview process that they were free to withdraw, so as to further confirm that they were willing participants. I committed to confidentiality agreements with all of my interviewees and have therefore not disclosed their names or the names of their places of work anywhere in my research or to any third party. I have however given a list of their names to my examiner, to be maintained in strictest confidence.

5.3 Conclusion

The research sought to identify the character traits of white managers who have been successful in the development of black talent in South Africa. The question was derived from the situation of the slow pace of black talent progression into managerial roles. The results of the research proved that the level of emotional intelligence, the level of historical familiarity, the level of cultural cognizance and the ability to recognize differing development needs of black talent are the core drivers which make white managers successful in the development of black talent.

A grounded theory approach was used for this research and in-depth conversational type interviews were completed with a total of eight white managers, from four different South African organisations. A systems thinking approach was then used to develop these drivers into a theory with practical implications and the result is graphically presented in the causal loop diagram below. All the issues which impact on trustworthiness have been mentioned and I am confident that I have followed all the rules and procedures to ensure the validity of my answer. The next step in the process is for this research to be put to use, to increase the ability of white managers to develop black talent. Thereby speeding up the development of black talent in South Africa and consequently decreasing the time it will take before a workforce, which is representative of the economically active demographic of the population, becomes a reality.

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5.4 Research Limitations

The major limitation of my research is due to the one sided perspective of my data sources who are all white males who live and work in Cape Town.

Secondly, in my research I was presented with a list of the people who could be considered successful in the development of black talent by senior people within the companies I approached. I could not personally verify nor confirm the interviewee’s track records of success in their development of black talent.

Thirdly, I did not interview any of the talented black people who the interviewees had helped develop. Therefore I could not confirm that what the interviewees believed had aided these people’s development, was also thought by the people themselves, to have aided them in their development.

Fourthly, due to the research methods I used, specifically grounded theory, whereby a researcher interprets the data he obtains, the research is limited by my personal realities.

Fifthly, due to the nature of the paradigm of critical realism within which this research was undertaken, there are unavoidably inherent limitations in the research and its results.

Lastly, the 2007/08 Labour Report which has been used as a reference for the statistics of labour representation in South Africa has been challenged on its accuracy by the trade union Solidarity in a report by (Calldo, 2009).

5.5 Future Research Directions

In accordance with some of the limitations I have mentioned, I believe there would be much value to be derived from research which explores the beliefs of black talent which have achieved at the upper echelons of business, as to what impacted positively on their development. Then if there were some white managers who had played a role in their development, these managers could be interviewed and then the results compared. This

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would identify whether or not there are any differences in their understandings of what aids the development of black talent

Similarly, future research could be undertaken to ascertain what black managers in South Africa had done to successfully develop black talent and compare it to the results of my study, to establish what, if any, were the differences between their experiences.

Finally, during my research I came to appreciate that there are a number of white graduates in South Africa who are unsure as to where their careers are going. This is due to the strategic imperatives for companies to redress racial imbalances and attain a workforce which is demographically representative of the country. Therefore I suggest that research is conducted into the area of how white graduates in South Africa see their future career prospects in South Africa and what can be done to overcome any negative perceptions to ensure they remain in the country.

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6 APPENDICES

Appendix 1 – Research Instruments

6.1 List of Interviewees

The complete list of all the interviewee’s details was presented to the administration department of the UCT GSB, but is not revealed here due to the conclusion of a confidentiality agreement with all the interviewees.

Interviewee Code Date

Informed Consent

Duration of Interview

A 13 October 2009 Yes 1.5H B 13 October 2009 Yes 1.25H C 15 October 2009 Yes 1.15H D 16 October 2009 Yes 1H E 16 October 2009 Yes 1H F 19 October 2009 Yes 1H

G 03 November

2009 Yes 1.15H

H 03 November

2009 Yes 1.15H

6.2 List of Concepts from the Data and the Initial categories

Need a different management approach to all the different people who you manage Adaptive management approach It’s about understanding what works for one individual but not the other Adaptive management approach Manage each individual to their strengths and weaknesses Adaptive management approach The reality is how to manage diversity Adaptive management approach You cannot treat everyone the same Adaptive management approach The same principles as managing a scarce talent pool e.g. actuary Adaptive management approach Bring the guys in at the appropriate level for their qualifications and experience Appropriate task allocation

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Extend them to where they are slightly uncomfortable - so they can grow and develop and become comfortable in the role Appropriate task allocation Give a guy a realistic job and help him grow Appropriate task allocation If a person is put in a position which is to advanced for him then he will be insecure and unhappy Appropriate task allocation have their C.V.'s on hand Appropriate task allocation If you extend them to where they are too uncomfortable they will start blaming the company and turn around and find another job Appropriate task allocation The trick is to put that talent in the correct place Appropriate task allocation Most common mistake is promoting to early Appropriate task allocation Peter Principle, "people rise to their level of incompetence" Appropriate task allocation Need to understand what make people successful in certain roles Appropriate task allocation If you over promote for window dressing you cannot backtrack Appropriate task allocation Attitude is the biggest impresser for advancements Attitude Do they have the attitude to be successful in what they do Attitude International travel and work opportunities are very influential Attract talent latest cell phone Attract talent Must make your company seem attractive to attract people Attract talent The younger generation is more interested in what they can get from the company Attract talent travel, even maybe local Attract talent Once the team is more diverse it is easier to bring in people of the same cultural background Attract talent Smart car Attract talent A good reputation of the company helps Attract talent Career progression is very important to black talent Attracted by Career progression Career progression and the way careers are managed are hugely important Attracted by Career progression Have an honest discussion with people around their career development to understand where they want to go Attracted by Career progression He offered an employee to move back to Johannesburg where he was more at home and he decided to move back because he felt it was a backward step for him Attracted by Career progression Job promotion opportunities are important Attracted by Career progression Offer the people a future in the org Attracted by Career progression Status i.e. title is important to black talent Attracted by Career progression Because of the past social circumstances the black manager previously got on the same bus with the people he was disciplining to go home Awareness of different circumstances Generally, their parents did not teach them higher level stuff from young age Awareness of different circumstances They have to educate their family about their unfamiliar work requirements Awareness of different circumstances Be aware of touchy issues Awareness of possible prejudices

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Be aware of your employee's possible prejudices towards you Awareness of possible prejudices When people have their backs to the wall they fight, and they fight dirty Awareness of possible prejudices You will be called a racist Awareness of possible prejudices Protect yourself as a manger Awareness of possible prejudices Protect yourself by having a witness present when you do a dressing down Awareness of possible prejudices Be constantly aware of how you are seen to be when dealing with black talent Awareness of possible prejudices An external coach is a better sounding board to give an outside in insight Coaching Coaching Coaching Coaching Coaching Coach them with theory and practical examples about consensus management Coaching The availability of key managers to advise and develop the lower level mangers Coaching coaching partner need to be properly matched Coaching Coach them to be able to do that which comes unnaturally Coaching CSI is a big draw card for black talent CSI Attracts talent CSI Programmes CSI Attracts talent Any senior manger should be immersed in the cultures of the people he employs Cultural awareness Genuine understanding of the culture is very important Cultural awareness Get to understand the culture Cultural awareness The culture's have a very different approach to work Cultural awareness The extended family can make many demands on your talented black employees Cultural awareness The skill set is the same because they pass the same exams, but the difference is the culture and the historical reality Cultural awareness They will pick up flak from their family Cultural awareness To be able to manage talent you need to understand the diversity of that talent Cultural awareness Understand fully the cultures of the people you employ Cultural awareness Understand how they view the way they work in a multi-cultural environment Cultural awareness Understand the cultural differences and their impact on the business Cultural awareness Understand the cultural diversities Cultural awareness Understand the culture when making judgements about people Cultural awareness Understand the culture, e.g. Standing surety for all the extended family members Cultural awareness Understanding the differences in the culture Cultural awareness It's about cultural management Cultural awareness Manage them according to their cultural background, philosophies and values Cultural awareness These values and beliefs are similar to our own as white male but how does that relate to someone of a different set of values and Cultural awareness

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beliefs

Understand where the people come from Cultural awareness Western management style does not work with everybody Cultural awareness culture Cultural awareness The challenge is to identify people's different approaches to work Cultural awareness they have a community based value system which they bring with into management Cultural awareness They employ a far more consensus based management style Cultural awareness background, families, where they come from Cultural awareness Be sensitive to the background of the person Cultural awareness Black managers come up through a culture of Ubuntu Culture of Ubuntu Sense of community is important to black talent, same for white Culture of Ubuntu Their culture is very much about community Culture of Ubuntu Ubuntu encompasses their approach Culture of Ubuntu Understand what makes that person ticks e.g. financial reward, and focus on that Develop a relationship We is the basis for a conversation not I Develop a relationship When developing people you need to be much more relationship based Develop a relationship Deal with individuals and not cultures at work Develop a relationship It is important to understand people's personal ambitions Develop a relationship Makes sure you can engage on a personal level e.g. soccer fan, during personal time build a bridge through that Develop a relationship It needs to be a reciprocal learning process to lead to a happy management pairing Develop a relationship Significant amount of time is required to empower them Different development needs Sit down with them on a frequent basis to guide and coach them through their development Different development needs Initially need a bit more hand holding on promotion or employment Different development needs It takes a lot more conversation on an ongoing basis Different development needs Lots of hand holding at first Different development needs Spend more time developing them Different development needs Need communication of direction more frequently Different development needs Play a more supportive role for black talent Different development needs They need a pat on the back a little bit more often Different development needs Specialised communication dependant on the culture you are managing Different development needs Communication barrier Different development needs Have to talk to the guy to let him know where his bread is buttered Different development needs Make sure the people understand what you have communicated Different development needs

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One cannot assume what is going on Different development needs Pay more attention to the black talent as sometimes their understanding of what is required needs to be confirmed Different development needs They do not like to be confrontational and like to say yes so we need to ensure they have in fact understood properly Different development needs Dialogue is key to solving and understanding problems Different development needs Black talent is given inside lane but performance is the ultimate judge Do not compromise on performance Building blocks of performance in an organisation cannot be compromised Do not compromise on performance Do not compromise on standards, it invariably fails Do not compromise on performance Does not pay to drop standards Do not compromise on performance Black talent is given benefit if candidates are equal, but then the culture which is one of performance takes over Do not compromise on performance Ensure performance standards are equal across all levels Do not compromise on performance Internal policy's to maintain strict requirements Do not compromise on performance Never compromise on performance standards Do not compromise on performance Have set performance standards Do not compromise on performance Make sure he feels he is going somewhere Employee developmental planning Development plans for people Employee developmental planning Tailor the development processes to the abilities of the person Employee developmental planning Their own self development Employee developmental planning Have a program to up skill and develop them in their ability Employee developmental planning people development is a key cornerstone of the business Employee developmental planning People development processes Employee developmental planning put action plans in place to accelerate development Employee developmental planning Thorough development programme Employee developmental planning Facilitate their development in their own management style Employee developmental planning Trainee development programmes Employee developmental planning Take the person on a development path Employee developmental planning He insures they are involved even if they can't really contribute make sure they are a part of the important things as they then feel a bigger part of the company Empower people Empower people to make decisions Empower people Empower them to be able to do this which comes unnaturally Empower people All employees are expected to adopt the organisational culture while at work Enforcement of Organisational culture Do not be too sensitive, be understanding and fair but create a united and focused culture within an organisation Enforcement of Organisational culture He interviews every candidate at first to explain only what the company is about and what will be expected of them if they want to work there Enforcement of Organisational culture It’s impossible to create space for 150 cultures at the work place Enforcement of Organisational culture

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Discipline must be universal Enforcement of Organisational culture Happiness at home and happiness at work/ work, life balance Ensure happy staff If people needs and aspirations are met they will stay true to the organisation Ensure happy staff Make sure the guy is happy in his job Ensure happy staff Make sure they feels a part of the team Ensure happy staff Make sure they find their job interesting and satisfying Ensure happy staff

Has a role to play to address imbalances Genuine organisational commitment to diversity

have good frameworks/management practices Genuine organisational commitment to diversity

A tick box exercise approach will not work Genuine organisational commitment to diversity

Culture of the organisation needs to be right Genuine organisational commitment to diversity

Diversity needs to be valued Genuine organisational commitment to diversity The top people have the opportunity to shape and mould the entire organisation to accept diversity Genuine organisational commitment to diversity The manner in which you get everybody's understanding of the rules and regulations must make use of the cultures Genuine organisational commitment to diversity The org needs to be designed to be able to handle the cultural differences Genuine organisational commitment to diversity Top down commitment to E/E not just lip service and manipulate numbers Genuine organisational commitment to diversity You need to be able to create an acceptance of diversity in an organisation Genuine organisational commitment to diversity Have structure and process to address diversity in the processes and procedures Genuine organisational commitment to diversity If the existing staff do not believe in an equity programme they will make it fail Genuine organisational commitment to diversity

The system cannot be compromised for the sake of E/E targets Genuine organisational commitment to diversity

Tokenism does not work and is very expensive Genuine organisational commitment to diversity

Window dressing does not work Genuine organisational commitment to diversity Black appointees want to be involved in issues which really matter Give opportunities Open mindedness about people Give opportunities Give them opportunities Give opportunities Give them opportunities Give opportunities Give them training opportunities Give opportunities The guys grasped their opportunities with both hands Give opportunities Leadership development programmes and management trainees Give opportunities More a case of giving them the opportunities Give opportunities

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Only way of seeing if they will be great is to try (can take a horse to water but you cannot make it drink" Give opportunities Give the talent a chance Give opportunities Give recognition Give recognition They will not stick their head out to try and fight for the recognition to get promotion Give recognition Recognise people's contribution and acknowledge it Give recognition Recognise the individual Give recognition This is a process whereby they then need to handle themselves eventually and on a senior level they are completely accountable Give talent space to develop When developing you need to give them space to learn by themselves Give talent space to develop If you wait till later you will have to attract via cash etc. Identify talent Provide learner ship opportunities for diploma students to id talent and introduce them to the company Identify talent Identify exceptional talents Identify talent Identify future leaders to develop pipeline for when positions become available Identify talent Identify leadership skills and groom them Identify talent Identify Sparkle in the eye, intelligence and attitude Identify talent Identify the top % of the youngsters to offer positions Identify talent Identify top 10% from which talent comes from Identify talent If talent is identified a plan is made to get them into the business even if there is no position available Identify talent The guys who volunteers info in a constructive manner Identify talent The key is to identify key talent as hiring the wrong people is failure Identify talent The real art is the ability to spot talent Identify talent You can teach someone everything about management but you cannot teach leadership so need to identify them Identify talent People who take on responsibility and are prepared to give their opinion Identify talent Realising their opportunities, worked hard, studied hard, took on extra stuff Identify talent Bring through constantly but try and keep hands on the top 10% Identify talent The key competitive advantage they have is the quality of their employee Identify talent Develop a structured process to identify talent and then develop it Identify talent Top quality black talent has a network which can be made use of Identify talent Bridging processes Induction training Explain to them very clearly what their role in the organisation is induction training State the conditions of employment at your org upfront so that the people understand what they are getting themselves into Induction training Take them through all the various processes to ensure they buy into them Induction training make sure they understand their performance requirements Induction training

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Teach them about their requirements at work- no phone at work do not abuse cell phone Induction training Learn to check in an inoffensive manner Inoffensive supervision Face is important in the black culture Inoffensive supervision Contact with more senior people through mentoring Mentoring Formal mentorship from a superior Mentoring Guidance and mentorship Mentoring Identify a mentor who has exceptional talents in the areas which the employee is not very strong Mentoring The mentor and employee need to click as people for it to work Mentoring The mentorship need to take place because of a true belief in the individual Mentoring Myers Briggs linked mentoring Mentoring Mentoring Mentoring Sometimes the best place for someone is in another role which the company does not have Mentoring Mentor and guide people in their particular approach Mentoring Do extensive reference checks Methodical recruitment Be prepared to let Recruitment process takes a very long time to ensure the right person fills the position Methodical recruitment Exceptional recruitment processes Methodical recruitment The highly paid guys who do not have the skills their CV.S Portray will normally be the first to go Methodical recruitment Use psychometric testing Methodical recruitment Very thorough screening process Methodical recruitment Have a very rigorous recruitment process Methodical recruitment Look at the individuals C.V. for job hoppers Methodical recruitment Make use of contractors until you identify the right talent for the role, do not make rush decisions Methodical recruitment Recruitment process needs to be very structured Methodical recruitment Cultural fit to the organisation is very important Organisational fit Do the people fit into the organisation, values wise Organisational fit Find the individuals whose personality fits that of the company Organisational fit Only employ people who will fit into your businesses set of values Organisational fit Project bonuses work well Premium remuneration Long service rewards e.g. increase leave in 5th year. Premium remuneration Compensation packages are transparent, but for top talent recommend salaries can be exceeded Premium remuneration If a black talent performs very well they will give an extra big bonus Premium remuneration Share scheme for middle and senior e/e employee's Premium remuneration

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We pay a premium for black talent Premium remuneration They do what they can to avoid losing black talent on the grounds of remuneration Premium remuneration Pay 10 to 15% above the going rate for black staff Premium remuneration Because of a shortage of black talent you tend to manage them as if they where star employees, even if they not at the absolute top level Premium remuneration Black talent is in very high demand Premium remuneration Mistake = once promoted there is no support for the individual Provide support The person needs a senior person to believe in his ability Provide support You need to be there to give help when things go haywire, but do not take the monkey Provide support Do not patronise people Respect employees Respect for the guy Respect employees You can only empower people if you respect their values Respect employees Ensure a pipeline of talent Talent pipeline Identify and engage with the individuals straight after Matric i.e. learnership development partnering with education institutions Talent pipeline Succession planning Talent pipeline Highflyers cannot be held onto forever Talent pipeline Hire talent while in 2nd or last year of university Talent pipeline They are starting to think to really utilise the power of their employees networks to get employees, even their high school kids or an internal reference from staff - incentivise them Talent pipeline Long term approach to talent Talent pipeline Long time to fully develop the best talent Talent pipeline Look at people with potential and create the top level skills within that individual over time Talent pipeline Role of developing the future leaders Talent pipeline Scholarship programs Talent pipeline Advise them why they must delegate Teach delegation Sometimes need to spell out what they need to delegate Teach delegation Teach the art of delegation Teach delegation Teach them the formal performance management techniques Training It’s their cultural belief not to challenge and they need to be taught to challenge Training Teach them the necessary skills to manage in other ways Training Short courses Training Sit down and teach them the theory behind consensus management Training Subsidise training e.g. MBA Training Huge focus on training Training

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up skill them to identify when a more authoritative approach is needed Training Teach black talent to manage in a multicultural environment Training Teach the art of management Training teach the customer supplier relationship Training Teach the labour law Training As they progresses provide short course training then possibly mba etc. Training All processes need to be transparent Transparency Be careful to ensure there is always transparency Transparency The performance standards need to be the same to maintain credibility Transparency Transparency and de-centralised decision making ensures fairness Transparency Transparency, transparency!!! Transparency Transparent standards and procedures Transparency KPI's are transparent Transparency Make the processes and requirements for promotion, public Transparency Measurements across the board are the same and transparent Transparency Preferential treatment is patronising Transparency They do not want to hear they are receiving preferential treatment Transparency

Understand what your position will be in 5 years time Understanding of transformational processes

Understanding of your role in the process of BEE Understanding of transformational processes Role in the company will change because of BEE, (Sideways step career wise and mentoring and groom someone into his current role) Understanding of transformational processes

6.3 Excerpts from 07/08 Annual report for the Commission of E/E

The following excerpts are taken from the 07/08, 8th Annual Report of the commission for Employment Equity and are provided as detailed further evidence of the current race distribution across the various employee levels in South Africa. (South Africa. Department of Labour, 2007-2008)

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(South Africa. Department of Labour, 2007-2008)

Documents

How do successful white managers develop black talent in South Africa?gsblibrary.uct.ac.za/researchreports/2009/Botha.pdf · · 2010-07-02How do successful white managers develop