The effects of affirmative action on the motivation of employees at Durban University of Technology.

Abstract

Higher Education Institutions face an ongoing challenge to respond to many challenges that arise from their environment. Universities are affected by internal as well as external forces. They have to comply with the legislation of the country for example the South African Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998 and affirmative action, at the same time they need to retain motivated employees. In response to these challenges, Universities need to implement the laws of the government in order to be responsive, effective and efficient. This study has drawn heavily on secondary data, which has been treated in the chapter of literature review. Concepts and theories covering affirmative action and motivation have been considered. Information has been obtained from various books and respondents. Concepts such as affirmative action, employment equity, preferential treatment, designated group, non-designated group, motivation, recruitment, selection, communication, promotion, compensation, disciplinary procedure have been used in this study. The data for this study was collected by means of survey questionnaire. The survey questionnaire provided data on effects of affirmative action on the motivation of employees. Survey questionnaires were pilot tested among a sample of 10 employees composed of both academic and non-academic staff. This was followed by distributing one hundred questionnaires to the employees, who were willing to participate in this study as respondents. The data collected was subjected to statistical processes to ensure reliability and validity. The research findings of this study revealed the employees thoughts about the implementation of affirmative action and the motivation of employees at Durban University of Technology. The collected data also revealed that many employees were demotivated as they don’t see affirmative action being implemented effectively. Although the study highlighted the impact of affirmative action on the motivation of employees at Durban University of Technology, this study was limited by its sample size. Recommendations have been made for greater commitment of the top management team towards any change process.