Browsing by Author "Jano, Rukhsana"

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    Career indecision amongst undergraduate university students at an academic institution in the Western Cape
    (University of the Western Cape, 2012) Goliath, Dané; Jano, Rukhsana
    One of the most important decisions adolescents are confronted with in the transitioning period from high school to tertiary institutions, is making career decisions. Young adults and adolescents may experience high levels of stress when they are expected to make decisions pertaining to a desired career. The stressful period may be too overwhelming for them.As a result it may have adverse implications on the quality of their career choice. The applicability of career indecision amongst undergraduate university students is considered an inability to choose a university major or occupation (Brogan & Hiebert, 2006).According to Creed, Patton and Prideaux (2006), career indecision is linked to issues related to career development and problems in making career related decisions, society’s expectations and perceptions, as well as the role of the family which may have an impact on the student’s ability to make career choices. In a study conducted by Creed and Patton (2003) it was revealed that age, gender and career indecision were predictors of career maturity knowledge. Joordan, Smithard and Burger (2009) postulate that career indecision influences career related thoughts and career decisions and plays an important role in the way individuals formulate career goals. Gordon and Meyer (2002) are of the view that it is not atypical for individuals to experience a certain level of developmental career indecision, this may be resultant to not having adequate experience and sufficient knowledge pertaining to the world of work. Developmental career indecision amongst students is viewed as a wholesome state which may ultimately prompt the student to explore careers and set goals (Feldt,2010).Brown, Brooks and Associates (1996), delineate that a career choice is an act which replicate an individual’s motivation. This action compels the individual to work toward their goals and to achieve it. As students venture on attaining their goal (career choice) they are confronted with many challenges, some of which include the transition from secondary school to tertiary level and the adaptation to an academic environment.This emphasizes the importance of career guidance, and that it should not be neglected. Stead and Watson (1999) conducted a study on first year university students in the Western Cape which revealed that students from disadvantaged schools were unable to choose study directions at tertiary level due to negligence of not providing career guidance at school level.Resultant to this, students were not afforded the opportunity to make informed decisions pertaining to career choices. Brown et al. (1996) presume the more informed an individual is about career choices and their abilities, the more likely they are to make career choices as they are more prepared to do so.The current study aimed to examine career indecision experienced by undergraduate university students at an academic institution in the Western Cape. The study examined the differences in career indecision based on gender and age, it also examined the relationship between a lack of information and career indecision and lastly access to a career counsellor and career indecision. A biographical questionnaire and the Career Decision Making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ) were administered to undergraduate university students. The sample (n = 224) consisted of first, second and third year male and female undergraduate commerce students. The results indicated that there are significant differences in career decision making based on gender and age. In addition, the results revealed that there is a moderate relationship between lack of information and career indecision and findings also indicated a significant relationship between access to a career counsellor and career indecision.The results of the current study should however, be interpreted with caution as a convenience sampling strategy was utilized thus limiting generalizabilty to the broader population of students. Furthermore limitations are put forth and the study concludes with recommendations for further research and for academic institutions for consideration.
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    Dual-career couples’ perceptions of career barriers
    (2010) September, Lynn; Jano, Rukhsana
    Research indicates that approximately fifteen years ago there were over three (3) million dualcareer couples representing 20% of dual-worker couples. It is expected that the amount of dual-career couples will continue to increase, as most college students, both men and women, anticipate participating in a career as well as in a family (Spiker- Miller & Kees, 1995).Individuals and organizations are confronted with a hyper turbulent environment and individuals are also faced with a myriad of challenges and adversity in their work and personal lives. Due to the economy and the changing needs of individuals, today very few families reflect the configuration of a typical family (a husband who worked outside the home, a wife who fulfilled the duties of homemaker and child-carer), as both partners are normally employed. The dual-career couple phenomenon has added to the pressure of managing multiple demands and has a considerable impact on the nature of people's careers(Greenberg & Baron, 2003). Dual-career couples‘ career advancement is largely affected by the career barriers they perceive to encounter. The perceptions of career barriers encountered differ from one couple to another based on factors such as: age, race and parental demand(children). Differences may also exist between partners in a dual-career relationship based on their gender.Most studies that have been conducted have looked at work-life balance of dual-career couples or have focused on the problems dual-career couples face solely from the woman‘s perspective. The aim of this study is to look at dual-career couples not only from female‘s perspective and to tap into their perceptions regarding career barriers encountered in the workplace. The findings could help organisations realize the importance of assisting dualcareer couples and how they could improve their career development. Dual-career couples therefore warrant attention as a special group seeing as the career salience, strategies and transitions of one partner inevitably affects those of the other, which could also have repercussions for their employers (Smith, 1997).A self-developed Demographic Questionnaire and the Career Barriers Inventory (Revised) was used to gather the data. The research was conducted within a large retail organisation. The sample comprised of men and women, permanent and contract employees within the following departments: Human Resources, Marketing, Logistics, Finance, Group Merchandise Procurement (GMP), Buying, Sourcing, Audit, Planning and Group Services.The sampling procedure that was utilised was non-probability sampling. Statistical analyses involved descriptive statistics (Frequencies, Means and Standard deviations) and inferential statistics (T-Test and Analysis of variance). The study revealed that the most highly rated career barriers which respondents perceived to experience or which affected their career advancement were multiple-role conflict, decisionmaking difficulties, sex discrimination and racial discrimination. Whilst, the career barriers which were rated the lowest by respondents included disapproval by significant others, disability/health concerns and discouraged from choosing non-traditional careers.Furthermore, the findings indicated that the perceptions of dual-career couples based on gender regarding career barriers in the workplace is partially accepted because there are statistically significant differences regarding the perceptions amongst females and males in terms of lack of confidence as a career barrier. The hypothesis proposing that there are significant differences in the perceptions of dual-career couples who have and those who do not have children, is partially accepted, as there was a statistically significant difference regarding disapproval by significant others. The findings for the perceptions of dual-career couples based on race regarding career barriers in the workplace is partially supported because significant differences were found for the following career barriers: difficulties with network/socialisation, lack of confidence and race discrimination based on employees‘ race.Lastly, significant differences in the perceptions of dual-career couples based on age regarding career barriers in the workplace was rejected, as no significant differences regarding career barriers based on employees‘ age were found.Amongst others, a limitation of this study is evident. The study may lack generisability as the sampling procedure used was non-probability sampling and only included those employees who were easily accessible. Additionally, a quantitative study was used by making use of questionnaires, but no observation or interviews were used. The present study also only focuses on the differences in perceptions of dual-career couples, based on biographical factors such as; gender, age, number of children (parental demands), race and age. Ideally all research should have a broad speck of people or participants, to ensure higher generalizability.In an effort to deal with the limitations of the current study, the following are recommended, future research should use a large proportionate stratified random sample as this would allow the findings to be reliably generalised to the population. A combination of both quantitative and qualitative methodology would help to develop detailed understanding of dual-career couple‘s and their differences in perceptions of career barriers.It is important for organisations to have continuous negotiations with employees in order to integrate the demands of the organisation and the career needs of its employees. Furthermore,they should respond to the shifting demographics by adopting voluntary policies such as alternative work schedules and child and elder care assistance to help workers meet family needs, which in turn will be beneficial to the organisation by attracting and retaining the best talent.
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    Factors influencing the career choice of undergraduate students at a historically disadvantaged South African university
    (IP Publishing, 2015) Abrahams, Fatima; Jano, Rukhsana; van Lill, Burger
    During the apartheid years in South Africa, career guidance amongst disadvantaged learners was largely absent and, for many, career choices were limited and governed by politics. Despite South Africa having celebrated 20 years of democracy, this situation has improved only slightly. Therefore, the aims of the study were to determine the factors that influenced students' career choice and to ascertain the possible barriers that impacted their decision. An adapted version of Myburgh's Career Choices Questionnaire (2005) was administered to 721 undergraduate students. The results showed that parents and loans or bursaries were the largest sources of financial support and that anticipated benefits influenced the students' career choice, with the potential for personal growth and development, for future high earnings and for promotion to the top of the organization the most important among these. Furthermore, participants rated visits from lecturers and brochures as the most prominent sources of influence.
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    The relationship between transformational leadership, employee engagement and intention to quit among employees at a selected organisation
    (University of the Western Cape, 2020) Swartz, Natasha Lizette; Jano, Rukhsana
    Organisations should focus their attention on strategies that mitigate the intention to quit of employees, this can be achieved through creating an environment that is favourably disposed to an efficient and engaged workforce and by driving transformational leadership approaches.