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Recent Submissions

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    Benevolent leadership within the context of management education : content areas for inclusion in curricula
    (Russian Journal of Agricultural and Socio-Economic Sciences, 2025-12-1) Bhagwan, Dharmesh Natvarlal
    Benevolent leadership has shown great promise in supporting employees wellness, whilst addressing societal and environmental ills. This study sought to explore the extent to which benevolent leadership was considered in management education and to gather data related to which specific content areas need to be included in a course on benevolent education. Through the use of professional contacts, 350 managers with benevolent leadership qualities, were invited to participate in the study, by completing a self-administered survey questionnaire. After 314 questionnaires were received, the data was analysed using a quantitative statistical analysis package (SPSS) to analyse the data. The study found a significant gap related to the inclusion of benevolent leadership in management education. It further found huge support for the development of a course that would cover benevolent leadership in education. Specifically, there was significant support for aspects such as ethical decision making, personal and organizational integrity, corporate sustainability and work and family to be included in the design of this module.
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    A survey on benevolent leadership and its influence on organisational performance in the South African context
    (iVolga Press, 2023-10-31) Bhagwan, Dharmesh Natvarlal
    Corporate scandals, the deepening global financial and environmental crisis as well as other societal ills have compelled leaders to rethink leadership styles. Recently benevolent leadership has emerged as a contemporary leadership style with promise to advance business ethics, corporate social responsibility, positive organizational building and workplace spirituality. Guided by quantitative research methodology, with a cross-sectional survey research design, 314 leaders were recruited across South Africa, to investigate the characteristics of benevolent leaders and how their leadership style influenced organizational performance. The study found a high level of benevolent leadership qualities and characteristics, amongst the sample, which consequently influenced their organizational performance in the areas of employee morale, productivity and corporate social responsibility.
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    Quality education for what, how, who, and why in the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
    (University of Johannesburg Press, 2024-8-31) Kehdinga, George Fomunyam; Khoza, Simon Bheki; Kehdinga, George Fomunyam
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    Engineering education and the strive for quality at a South African university
    (2024-10-25) Kehdinga, George Fomunyam
    Since 1997, South Africa's Department of Higher Education and the Council on Higher Education have collaborated to enhance the quality of higher education. While some commend these efforts, believing that educational standards have progressively improved, others argue that institutions are still falling short in delivering quality education. This study investigates the engineering program to assess the quality of education students receive. Employing a qualitative case study approach, data was collected through open-ended questionnaires and subsequently coded into three themes: decolonised education, responsive education, and employability. The findings revealed that 30.70% of participants perceived their education as high quality, whereas 69.30% felt it was lacking. Participants cited innovation, throughput rates, employable skills, and responsiveness as indicators of quality or its absence. In response to suggestions for improving education quality, three additional themes emerged: decolonisation, marketability, and contextual responsiveness. This research follows a 2017 study aimed at evaluating improvements in educational quality. The study concludes that the Engineering Council of South Africa and educational institutions must review their programs to ensure they develop the skills necessary for the evolving workplace, particularly in light of the transformative changes brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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    Acceptance and usage of learning management system amongst academics
    (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2017-01-01) Dlalisa, Sizwe Frances
    Universities across the globe have invested heavily in a Learning Management System (LMS); however, the adoption and usage is hindered by a number of factors. Recently, a University of Technology (UoT) in KwaZulu-Natal embarked on a major re-circulation drive to embrace student-centred learning. However, this process was stalled by slow maturity use of LMS. Therefore, this paper evaluates the acceptance and usage of an approved LMS amongst academics at a UoT. An e-survey in which 111 academics participated, all having teaching designations, was superseded by semi-structured interviews. A significant finding of the technology acceptance model (TAM) was impugned, in reflecting the gap between low actual usage and high acceptance. Assessments seemed to be given lowest priority, with aspects such as communication and course management receiving highest priority. Little utilized were collaboration tools. Such include blogs, wikis, and a discussion forum. Dedicated training on features of the learning management system, covering its educationally progressive aspects, is of the essence. TAM may require closer scrutiny to account for successful LMS usage at universities.