Explore the evidence.
Understand the reach.

The integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education has the potential to enhance teaching and learning; however, several barriers hinder its effective adoption in South African schools. The paper reports on the study that examined the barrier to sustainable integration of ICT in Pietermaritzburg public secondary schools. The study used qualitative interview technique to collect data from 20 teachers. The Technology Organisation Environment (TOE) framework was used as a theoretical framework. The findings reveal that a lack of technological pedagogical content knowledge among teachers, high ICT infrastructure support costs, resource constraints, resistance to change, and theft and vandalization of ICT equipment significantly impact ICT adoption. Many teachers lack essential ICT skills, which affects their confidence in integrating technology into their teaching practices. Financial constraints further limit schools from maintaining ICT infrastructure, and resistance from experienced educators impedes change. Additionally, frequent theft and vandalization of ICT resources pose a serious risk, further hampering implementation. To address these challenges, the study recommends capacity-building initiatives to enhance teacher training, increased financial and technical support for schools, leadership-driven encouragement of ICT adoption, targeted awareness campaigns to mitigate resistance, strengthened security measures to protect ICT infrastructure, and equitable distribution of ICT resources to bridge the digital divide. A strategic and collaborative approach is essential to overcoming these barriers and ensuring effective ICT integration in South African schools.

This study investigates the intricate dynamics of migration in Africa, emphasising its implications for sustainable development. The background highlights that Africa faces significant migration pressures driven by socio-economic challenges, political instability, and environmental changes, particularly high unemployment rates among youth and the adverse effects of climate change. Despite the continent's potential to harness migration for development, a notable gap exists in comprehensive migration policies that adequately protect migrants' rights and leverage their contributions to economic growth. The aim of this study is to explore the complex dynamics of migration in Africa, focusing on identifying both the challenges and opportunities that migration presents for sustainable development. A desktop study approach was employed, synthesising existing literature, policy reports, and secondary data to identify critical themes. Findings reveal that economic motivations are the predominant drivers of migration, while remittances play a crucial role in stabilising local economies and alleviating poverty. The research underscores the importance of regional cooperation in managing migration effectively and addressing shared challenges. The study recommends the development of rights-based migration policies that foster safe migration pathways, investment in local economies to create job opportunities, and initiatives to promote the productive use of remittances. Enhanced collaboration among African nations is essential for optimising the benefits of migration and addressing common challenges. Furthermore, ongoing research is necessary to adapt to the evolving landscape of migration trends in the region.

This integrative review explores the intricate and interconnected issues of workplace bullying, quiet quitting, and turnover intention—three pressing challenges that have a significant impact on organizational performance and employee well-being. The review highlights workplace bullying as a significant precursor to employee disengagement, often exemplified by quiet quitting, where employees diminish their discretionary efforts while remaining in their positions by synthesizing literature from organizational behavior, psychology, and management studies. This disengagement subsequently contributes to an increased intention to leave the organization. The review employs Organizational Justice Theory as a framework to elucidate how perceived disparities in distributive, procedural, and interactional justice contribute to this detrimental cycle of behavior. The findings indicate that unresolved bullying not only deteriorates organizational culture but also diminishes employee motivation and elevates the risk of voluntary resignation. Consequently, the review underscores the critical necessity for proactive organizational strategies, such as implementing anti-bullying policies, fostering supportive leadership, and monitoring employee engagement, as effective interventions. It also suggests avenues for future research, recommending longitudinal and cross-cultural studies to deepen the understanding of the causal relationships and variances in these dynamics across different organizational contexts.

The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between SMEs tax knowledge and tax compliance in Durban, South Africa. The self-assessment system was introduced in 2001 by the South African Revenue System sought to make is easier for individuals and organisations to file their declarations and pay their taxes, without the interactions with tax authorities which were seen as inefficient. However, non-compliance among businesses continues to be high, particularly among SMEs, with numerous factors such as a lack of professional guidance, knowledge, and resources cited as a key factor contributing to poor compliance. This research study adopted a quantitative approach, using survey questionnaires to collect data from SME managers and owners. A total of 93 responses were collected and analysed to identify trends in tax knowledge and compliance behavior among these enterprises. The results showed that although SMEs have a good knowledge of taxpayer responsibilities and value-added tax, they have poor knowledge about turnover and payroll tax. Moreover, there were no statistically significant relationships were found between their level of tax knowledge and tax compliance. The findings suggest a need for targeted education and training programs to improve tax knowledge among SMEs. Simplifying tax processes and enhancing the accessibility of tax information could lead to higher compliance rates, thereby benefiting the South African economy through improved tax revenue. This study contributes to the existing body of tax literature by highlighting the importance of tax knowledge in ensuring compliance among SMEs. It provides practical recommendations for policymakers and tax authorities to enhance SME tax compliance through improved education and simplified tax systems.

This paper investigates how work-life balance affects job satisfaction and organisational commitment among academic and non-academic personnel in higher education institutions in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.  Increasingly, in recent years, institutional pressures and professional expectations have come under fire for their influence on the well-being and motivation of university staff members.  Though work-life balance affects job happiness and organisational commitment in the higher education sector concurrently, few empirical research in South Africa have looked at this in light of the worldwide movement towards employee health.  Rooted on the interpretivist paradigm, this study uses a qualitative, descriptive approach.  Ten academic and administrative staff members at the Richfield Institute of Graduates were interviewed semi-structured to gather data.  Long working hours, administrative pressure, and lack of personal time were identified by the study to harm worker satisfaction and impair organisational commitment.  Many of those who answered said they felt emotional tiredness and work-related stress, which led to lower motivation and performance.  Employees showed more job satisfaction and greater emotional connection to the company where institutions encouraged flexible work policies, management assistance, and team-oriented workplace cultures.  The research shows that a good work-life balance increases general well-being among employees as well as more organisational loyalty and drive.  It advises universities to adopt unambiguous rules and support systems meant to enhance staff work-life integration.  Inclusive settings that assist personnel holistically help to sustain human resource practices and improve institutional performance.  This study adds to the larger conversation on human resource management in academia and provides useful ideas for university administrators, legislators, and HR experts trying to promote better working conditions in South Africa's higher education scene.

There is inadequate literature on research comparing the motivations of Generations Y and Z, especially for non-academic university staff. Therefore, this research compared the motivation of the two generational cohorts amongst non-academic staff at the Zimbabwe Open University. Two sub-objectives guided the research: first, to compare the intrinsic motivation of the two generations and the extrinsic motivation of the two generations. The generational theory guided the research, elaborating that generational cohorts have different preferences. The supplementary theory was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which shows how employees are motivated by the provision of needs from basic to fulfillment needs. The study was quantitative, using descriptive statistics to compare the motivation of Generation Y and Z. The research utilised closed-ended questionnaires, which were distributed to 196 respondents. SPSS version 30.0 was used for data analysis. Reliability, validity, and data normality tests confirmed the data. The findings show that both generations are motivated intrinsically, but preferences on the intrinsic motivators diverge. The research found that Generation Y is more extrinsically motivated than Generation Z. The research recommends using intrinsic motivation for Generation Z employees and using both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for Generation Y employees.

Investigations into establishing a framework for incentivising non-academic personnel in universities have been scarce. The research sought to establish a paradigm for motivating non-academic personnel in institutions. The study was informed by Herzberg’s two-factor theory and Adams’ equitable theory of motivation. The research employed a quantitative methodology, wherein a sample of 216 non-academic personnel at the Zimbabwe Open University filled out closed-ended questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted with SPSS version 30.0. The resulting framework details the obstacles, intrinsic motivators, extrinsic motivators, and performance outcomes of university non-academic personnel. The report advises colleges to utilise the framework to create motivational programs for non-academic personnel.

Developing countries are experiencing significant governance challenges in the form of corruption, fraud, and mismanagement of public funds. These issues are most pronounced at the local government level, where municipalities are particularly affected. In South Africa, the persistent failure of mechanisms intended to hold public servants accountable for maladministration and unethical conduct has been evident. This has contributed to weakened governance structures and compromised service delivery. Numerous instances of unethical behaviour have gone unpunished, highlighting the absence of effective consequence management and posing ongoing threats to sustainability in local governance. The purpose of this research paper is to examine and evaluate the role of effective oversight mechanisms in strengthening accountability and promoting appropriate consequences for misconduct within local government systems, with an emphasis on improving public service delivery. A qualitative desktop research methodology was employed, relying on existing literature and data to explore the topic under investigation. The findings revealed that, despite the introduction of several accountability initiatives, these have not succeeded in holding local government officials responsible for their actions. Significant gaps in monitoring, enforcement, and the application of sanctions for unethical conduct have undermined progress. As a result, essential services continue to suffer. The review recommends the implementation of robust and participatory oversight mechanisms to foster a more enforceable and inclusive accountability model that supports improved governance and service delivery outcomes at the local level. This research provides insight into the persistent weaknesses of local government oversight systems and emphasizes the need for more effective accountability frameworks to achieve sustainable service delivery and governance in South Africa.

Machine efficiency and performance are crucial for attaining company objectives economically. High-tech industries, marked by substantial expenditures, can adapt to swift changes and consumer demands within their established operational parameters and available resources. Providing high-quality products at competitive prices has posed a problem for machine-driven manufacturing organisations. This study investigates the implementation of mechanisation to enhance quality in a chosen automobile assembly company in South Africa. The study employed a quantitative methodology to investigate the production and associated experiences of a chosen automotive assembly organisation that implemented a mechanised system for quality enhancement in its Deck Tailgate process within the welding facility. The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model was employed to analyse data using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The corporation functions within the eThekwini Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa. This research examines the influence of mechanisation on product quality, defect rates per unit, and operational downtime inside an automotive assembly firm in South Africa. Analysis of pre- and post-mechanisation quarterly data using OLS regression indicates that mechanisation substantially enhances product quality; however, no significant effects were seen regarding defects per unit and downtime. This study reveals the advantages and disadvantages of mechanisation inside this automotive assembly organisation in South Africa. 

In South Africa, productivity is crucial for individual livelihoods and business performance.  A workplace that fosters employee engagement and participation is a means to cultivate an environment that attracts motivated teams for enhanced productivity.  This perspective supports the notion of employee engagement.  This study investigates the impact of employee engagement on enhancing labour productivity in South African automobile parts manufacturing firms.  Employee involvement denotes the degree of commitment and participation that employee exhibits towards their organisation. The study goals were fulfilled by analysing the production and associated experiences of the automobile parts manufacturing organisation that implemented an employee involvement strategy to enhance labour productivity.  The corporation functions within the eThekwini Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa.  The study was conducted by gathering pre- and post-quarterly data on absenteeism, spoilage, and attained production targets.  Nevertheless, findings indicate that the employee participation ideology lacks the capacity to enhance labour productivity within the automobile parts manufacturing sector in South Africa.  There is no correlation between absenteeism and spoiling rates, nor with the production standards attained, in connection to labour productivity following the implementation of the employee involvement strategy. This study reveals the advantages and disadvantages of employee engagement on labour productivity within automobile parts manufacturing firms in South Africa.