Suchergebnisse

South Africa has unfortunately inherited a work environment based on an economic system characterised by deprivation, political instability, adversarial labour relations, cheap migrant labour, and massive income and wealth disparities. The world of work is also characterised by an appalling systematic discrimination against Blacks, women, and people with disabilities. Affirmative action has been the only policy instrument used by the Democratic South Africa to redress the past imbalances. In line with the Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998, the beneficiaries of this action are mainly African women (Blacks, Coloured, and Indians including disabled people). This has been justified by the fact that they were subjected to innumerable forms of discrimination and bias in the past. The policies of Affirmative Action are a system of political tools used to level the playing field. They focus on policies and strategies needed to redress past racial imbalances in the workplace, education, gender equality, and the like. This paper examines the strategy of Affirmative Action in South Africa harnessed to redress past wrongs and its effectiveness in so doing.

Private higher education institutions (PHEIs) are important role players in the South African higher education landscape. Unlike their public counterparts, PHEIs receive no financial support from the government. These organisations are thus reliant on sound strategic management principles to ensure their long-term survival in a competitive industry. Modern marketing philosophy suggests that the consumer and the satisfaction of his or her needs should be the reason for the existence of any organisation and it should thus be the main driver for strategic decisions. This warrants the need for PHEIs to gain a thorough understanding of their clients (students) needs and behaviour. Very little research exists on the needs and behaviour of students registered at PHEIs in South Africa. The aim of this study was to determine the relative importance of various factors that influence students in their choice of a PHEI. In addition to an extensive literature study of the higher education landscape and its peculiarities, as well as student choice behaviour, a quantitative survey was conducted on 600 full-time students at three different PHEIs. It was found that, in contrast to numerous other studies, safety and security conditions constituted the most important choice factor amongst the respondents at the three PHEIs. Comparable to numerous international and local student choice studies, academic reputation and reasonable class fees were consistently identified as being very important choice factors. These findings should alert PHEIs to the important factors that should be considered in planning student offerings. This study contributes to existing student choice theory, and may serve as a launching pad for future student choice studies at PHEIs