Communicating affirmative action in three South African organisations
Problems associated with the management of communication (in the broadest sense of the word) are a recurring theme in both Corporate Communication Management and Human Resource Management literature and in research on the implementation of affirmative action1 as part of the Employment Equity Act2 i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Johannesburg
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Communicare |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1770 |
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| _version_ | 1832593769350823936 |
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| author | Anné Leonard Anské Grobler |
| author_facet | Anné Leonard Anské Grobler |
| author_sort | Anné Leonard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Problems associated with the management of communication (in the broadest sense of
the word) are a recurring theme in both Corporate Communication Management and
Human Resource Management literature and in research on the implementation of
affirmative action1 as part of the Employment Equity Act2 in the South African context.
Therefore, the following research question was formulated: “How do South African
organisations manage communication about affirmative action (against the backdrop
of employment equity3)?”.
This article provides an overview of some dimensions of an exploratory qualitative study
that investigated this research question. The ever-increasing strategic importance of
organisational performance regarding the EEA highlights the need for research in this
area. This study is one of only a few empirical studies in the field of Corporate
Communication with the emphasis on topics related to the management of communication
in this specific transformational context.
Since this study focused on aspects that had not been researched previously (or verified
empirically), an exploratory approach had to be followed, with the purpose of gauging
possible current trends related to the management of communication about AA in a
selection of South African organisations. A case study comparison of three organisations
yielded the following results on four sub-questions derived from the overarching research
question. The organisations researched (1) comply with their legal duty to inform and
consult with stakeholders about the process of EE as stipulated in the Code of Good
Practice for the EEA (Department of Labour, 1999); (2) the management of EE is viewed
as a transformational change process, as opposed to a once-off incident; (3) the
management of communication in this context is viewed as a critical success factor, but
a disparity exists between the emphasis placed on strategic external and internal
communication efforts; and (4) leaders at all hierarchical levels have different
communication responsibilities in relation to this transformational process.
Based on the results of this study, the major recommendation for the management of
affirmative action communication pertains to the need to address the perceived gap
between internal and external communication efforts. Since strategic internal
communication is not only viewed as critical for the dissemination of information, but
also as the vehicle through which transformation is facilitated, the value thereof should
not be underestimated.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4dc4d6fa19424dd6b5f60f55c36f9928 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0259-0069 2957-7950 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | University of Johannesburg |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communicare |
| spelling | doaj-art-4dc4d6fa19424dd6b5f60f55c36f99282025-01-20T08:51:26ZengUniversity of JohannesburgCommunicare0259-00692957-79502022-10-0124210.36615/jcsa.v24i2.1770Communicating affirmative action in three South African organisationsAnné Leonard0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4033-6919Anské Grobler1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0361-7239University of PretoriaUniversity of Pretoria Problems associated with the management of communication (in the broadest sense of the word) are a recurring theme in both Corporate Communication Management and Human Resource Management literature and in research on the implementation of affirmative action1 as part of the Employment Equity Act2 in the South African context. Therefore, the following research question was formulated: “How do South African organisations manage communication about affirmative action (against the backdrop of employment equity3)?”. This article provides an overview of some dimensions of an exploratory qualitative study that investigated this research question. The ever-increasing strategic importance of organisational performance regarding the EEA highlights the need for research in this area. This study is one of only a few empirical studies in the field of Corporate Communication with the emphasis on topics related to the management of communication in this specific transformational context. Since this study focused on aspects that had not been researched previously (or verified empirically), an exploratory approach had to be followed, with the purpose of gauging possible current trends related to the management of communication about AA in a selection of South African organisations. A case study comparison of three organisations yielded the following results on four sub-questions derived from the overarching research question. The organisations researched (1) comply with their legal duty to inform and consult with stakeholders about the process of EE as stipulated in the Code of Good Practice for the EEA (Department of Labour, 1999); (2) the management of EE is viewed as a transformational change process, as opposed to a once-off incident; (3) the management of communication in this context is viewed as a critical success factor, but a disparity exists between the emphasis placed on strategic external and internal communication efforts; and (4) leaders at all hierarchical levels have different communication responsibilities in relation to this transformational process. Based on the results of this study, the major recommendation for the management of affirmative action communication pertains to the need to address the perceived gap between internal and external communication efforts. Since strategic internal communication is not only viewed as critical for the dissemination of information, but also as the vehicle through which transformation is facilitated, the value thereof should not be underestimated. https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1770management of communicationCorporate Communication ManagementHuman Resource Managementaffirmative actione Employment Equity ActSouth African context |
| spellingShingle | Anné Leonard Anské Grobler Communicating affirmative action in three South African organisations Communicare management of communication Corporate Communication Management Human Resource Management affirmative action e Employment Equity Act South African context |
| title | Communicating affirmative action in three South African organisations |
| title_full | Communicating affirmative action in three South African organisations |
| title_fullStr | Communicating affirmative action in three South African organisations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Communicating affirmative action in three South African organisations |
| title_short | Communicating affirmative action in three South African organisations |
| title_sort | communicating affirmative action in three south african organisations |
| topic | management of communication Corporate Communication Management Human Resource Management affirmative action e Employment Equity Act South African context |
| url | https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1770 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT anneleonard communicatingaffirmativeactioninthreesouthafricanorganisations AT anskegrobler communicatingaffirmativeactioninthreesouthafricanorganisations |