What factors differentiate an effective employment equity implementation strategy from an ineffective strategy in South African organisations and how does this impact on employees' perceptions of organisational justice?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that differentiate an effective employment equity implementation strategy from an ineffective employment equity implementation strategy within South African organisations. This study made use of both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and drew upon existing South African literature around the Employment Equity Act to construct four dimensions which could be used to determine the overall efficacy of an organisation s employment equity strategy. Four South African organisations participated in this study and were measured against the four constructs, which were developed from literature review, to determine whether their employment equity strategy was effective or ineffective. The analysis of organisational justice perceptions of employees within each of the organisations was one of the four constructs examined. The organisations which were identified as having an effective employment equity implementation strategy was then compared with organisations identified as having an ineffective strategy to determine and identify the key areas of differentiation. The findings indicate that there are clearly identifiable thematic differences between organisations that had an effective employment equity strategy in comparison with organisations that had an ineffective strategy.