The Nature and Implications of the concept of Micro-inequities at a South African company

Abstract

Organisations can not realize their business objectives without employees. This means that employees are the most critical asset which organisations should be focusing on with much attention to their effectiveness. The work environment is considered to play a critical role in ensuring employee effectiveness which is supported by factors such as behaviours and actions of employees and the way they treat each other. These forms of behaviours and actions are classified as micro-inequities in this study. Currently there is no evidence of the prevalence of micro-inequities in South African organisations. The study examines the existence and nature of micro-inequities in a South African organisation.

The study was conducted among eight employees of a global South African organisation based in Johannesburg South Africa. Qualitative data was collected by means of conducting semi-structured interviews which were recorded by using an audio recorder and written notes. The data provided broad insight on the experiences and perceptions of participants with regard to micro-inequities in the organisation. Thematic coding was used to identify themes as provided by participants.

Based on in-depth analysis of the data on Social constructivist grounded theory guidelines, it is evident that micro-inequities do exist in the South African organisation. The existence of micro-inequities was underpinned by the experiences and perceptions as provided from the participant’s responses during the interviews. The results of the study indicate support for the reviewed literature on the types of micro-inequities existing in organisations. The results further demonstrate that micro-inequities have a negative impact on the effective functioning of employees. The study has created a foundation for further research, particularly in organisations in South Africa.