CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH DESIGN, METHODOLOGY AND
4.4 HOW THE RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED 164
In Chapter Three it was suggested that the current interest in organisational culture stemmed from research into national cultures and organisational climate.
The current focus on diversity management therefore also reflects a perception that people are the most important elements in organisations and the realisation that social factors need to be taken into account by frameworks for understanding organisational performance. The researcher realised that diversity and diversity issues were social factors it was therefore imperative to identify a non-interfering data collection strategy in order to discover the natural flow of events and processes and how participants interpret them.
The qualitative approach was deliberately chosen as it was felt that the topic of this research was behavioural and therefore was not easily quantifiable or reducible to scientific measuring instruments. Leedy (1993:139) confirms the axiom that the nature of the data and the problem for research dictate the research methodology. He continues to state that one of the academic areas for which the qualitative approach is the most logical methodology is that of race and gender studies (Leedy 1993:142), because this area of research is concerned with human beings, their personal values, beliefs, feelings and experiences.
Having identified college managers as potential respondents of the study, and having studied the relevant literature, the researcher started to develop the semi- structured interview schedule.
4.4.1 Development of a semi-structured interview schedule
Since the population was widely and thinly spread, the researcher had to travel to nine central offices of FET colleges to meet with participants. This is supported by Fox and Bayat (2007:86) when they state that for researchers opting to do interpretive research, interacting with people in their naturalistic, everyday settings is required. Many researchers such as Borg and Gall (1989), Leedy (1993), Schumacher and McMillan (1993), and Terre Blanche and Durrheim (1999) concur that interpretive researchers want to make sense of feelings, experiences, attitudes, opinions, perceptions, and social situations or phenomena as they occur in the real world, and therefore want to study them in their natural setting.
A semi-structured interview schedule intended for middle managers in FET colleges was developed in advance. This interview schedule was developed because the gist of this study comprises experiences, feelings, attitudes and understandings of FET college middle managers with regard to diversity management in their colleges. The middle managers in FET colleges occupy a major position which allows them to interact easily and naturally with senior managers, other employees as well as stakeholders. The college middle managers are in the forefront of any operational activity in colleges. They perform a functional activity and cannot be left out of a research project that concerns them directly. Above all, they are in a position to answer many questions with regard to diversity and diversity management in their workplace.
A standard set of questions were prepared in advance, guided by the general principles suggested by Borg and Gall (1989), Schumacher and McMillan (1993), Fox and Bayat (2007), Henning, van Rensburg and Smit (2008) and Boeije (2010). These authors suggest that semi-structured questions should be phrased to allow unique responses for each subject, and that regardless of the type of question, the responses should be coded, tabulated, and summarised numerically. The semi-structured interview schedule used in this research has
two sections (see Appendix A). The questions/statements used in the first section were to determine the demographic variables within the middle management personnel in the FET colleges. The questions therefore requested the respondents to indicate, using a cross (x), their gender, race, home language, age group, academic qualifications, position held, as well as years of experience in the position. The second section of the semi-structured interview schedule was aimed at revealing the actual experiences, feelings, understanding and implementation of diversity management policy in FET colleges.
A personal request was made to the Superintendent-General of the KwaZulu- Natal Education Department for permission to collect data from FET colleges in the province (see Appendix B). After permission was granted (see Appendix C), the researcher wrote a similar letter for permission to the rectors of the nine public FET colleges to conduct the research in their colleges.
4.4.2 Administration of the semi-structured interview schedule 4.4.2.1 Pilot study
Pre-testing was done with twelve school managers around Dundee District during the first week of May 2010. This was done in accordance with Leedy‟s (1993:143) observation
“All questions should be pre-tested on a small population…Every researcher should give the questions to at least half a dozen friends or neighbours to test whether there are any items that they have difficulty in understanding or that may not ask exactly what the writer of the question is seeking to determine”.
Leedy (1993:143) maintains that pilot studies are important to identify problems with proposed research, using small sample of respondents before the main study is conducted. The pilot study assisted the researcher to ensure that no offensive language was contained in the questions, check the clarity of instructions and questions, administration time, layout, and data input, and conduct preliminary data analysis.
Through the use of pre-testing the researcher was satisfied that the questions asked were meaningful because clear responses were received from the respondents and hence, on the basis of the feedback received, no adjustments were made. A final semi-structured interview schedule was prepared for distribution to nine public FET colleges (see paragraph 4.4.2.2).
4.4.2.2 Final administration of the semi-structured interviews
During the first week of June 2010, the researcher travelled to the nine public FET colleges to conduct interviews (see Appendix D). After requesting and receiving permission from the rectors to start with interviews, the researcher welcomed and thanked the participants who made themselves available for interviews. The researcher assured the participants of anonymity and the confidentiality of their responses to questions. Permission was sought from the participants to use the audio tape but the participants refused, stating that discussion of racial and cultural differences at your own workplace was a sensitive issue and tape recordings might severely compromise the racial and cultural relationships in their working environments. It was therefore agreed that the researcher had to go through all the interview questions as well as follow-up questions and the participants had to give written responses in confidentiality.
Table 4.1 is the schedule of visits to the central offices of the different FET colleges by the researcher
Date Name of FET College No. of participants 25 May 2010 Thekwini FET College 18 middle managers 25 May 2010 Coastal KZN FET College 14 middle managers 26 May 2010 Elangeni FET College 16 middle managers 27 May 2010 Esayidi FET College 14 middle managers
Date Name of College No. of participants 28 May 2010 Umfolozi FET College 15 middle managers 31 May 2010 Mthashana FET College 16 middle managers 01 June 2010 Majuba FET College 18 middle managers 02 June 2010 Mnambithi FET College 14 middle managers 03 June 2010 Umgungundlovu FET College 17 middle managers Table 4.1 Schedule of visits to FET Colleges by the researcher.
The researcher discussed the interview questions as well as follow-up questions and the respondents were accordingly given a period of fifteen days to respond and return the interview instruments. The researcher employed Deputy Managers to collect the interview instruments in their respective colleges. After the participants had responded to the questions, they had to return them to Deputy Managers, who in turn returned them to the researcher. The participants whose colleges are near the Provincial Education Department Office where the researcher is employed, were asked to return the completed interview instruments to the researcher.
The completed interview instruments began to arrive before the end of June , and the responses received by the 30 June 2010 were 46 (a response rate of 32%). On 12 July 2010, the researcher used a follow-up method in the form of a postcard reminder (see Appendix E). This was done because the responses were anonymous and the researcher did not know from which participants the received responses had come. The follow-up was reasonably effective and finally increased the response rate by 51%. The responses received thereafter were as follows
F E T College participants
No. of instruments delivered
No. of instruments received
% of instruments received
Middle managers 142 118 83
Table 4.2 Final responses received from participants
This represented a satisfying response. Concerning the non-response, the researcher gained the impression that since it was the end of the semester, some participants might have been pre-occupied with examination administration and therefore forgot to respond to interview questions, it is possible that they ignored the appeal to respond because of lack of interest. This is evidence that
“…response is correlated with interest in the subject of survey” (Borg & Gall, 1989:331).
Having outlined the methodological procedures adopted in the interpretive investigation, the following section is directed at an analysis of the data obtained in connection with the formulated questions.
4.5 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA 4.5.1 Introduction
The semi-structured interview schedule is divided into Section A and Section B (see Appendix A). Section A has seven items intended to determine the demographic variables in the management structures of the nine public FET colleges. The questions/statements therefore requested the respondents to indicate, using a cross (x), their gender, race, home language, age group, academic qualifications, position held as well as years of experience in that position.
The first step the researcher took was to give each response an identification number. The second step was the development of a distribution table. After the distribution table was formulated, it was completed by hand and an extra check was done by a colleague. Rechecking is recommended by Babbie and Mouton (2005:418) when they state that it is advisable to have at least one other person as a reliability check. After the responses were entered into the distribution table, the results were systematically transferred to a summary data sheet. This was done without the aid of a computer because there were a limited number of subjects. This method is also supported by Babbie and Mouton (2005:414), if the population size is not large, if a limited number of variables are involved, and if relatively simple statistical analyses are to be performed, the use of a calculator may be the most efficient approach.
Presented below is the statistical table drawn up from the replies to Section A of the semi-structured interview instruments. It should be noted that before 1994, there was no co-ordination between the previous apartheid education departments with regard to strategic planning and targeting of priorities for human and economic resource development. This resulted in under- representation of racial groups other than whites in management positions in technical colleges (see Table 2.1). The fact that the new further education and training system inherited racial and gender inequality makes it important to determine whether the issue of under-representation has been addressed. The researcher is of the opinion that methods of recruiting and developing previously disadvantaged groups will need to be examined if managing diversity is to be effective in FET colleges.
A brief overview is given of the analysis and interpretation of the racial and gender composition of deputy managers, assistant managers, campus managers and deputy campus managers at public FET colleges in the province of KwaZulu- Natal.
4.5.2 Demographic composition of middle managers
Table 4.3(a) reveals that 55% of college middle managers are male, while African female managers form 16% of the total allocation. It is appropriate to relate the promotion of female staff to the previous scheme of posts allocation.
The earlier findings (see paragraph 2.5.2) indicated that during the apartheid era there were no black staff managers on the traditionally white technical colleges there were, however, many white managers employed in the traditionally black technical colleges. This might have negatively hindered any attempts by the technical colleges to promote African females into management positions as they might lack the necessary skills and experience. This indicates a clear need to create structures through which managers could be developed for the system.
4.5.3 Racial composition of middle managers
Table 4.3(a) reveals the following percentages of racial composition of middle managers in public FET colleges African = 47%; Coloured = 8%; Indian = 23%;
and whites = 22%. These percentages indicate that after 1994 (see Table 4.3(b)) there has been an increase in the number of previously disadvantaged groups who had been promoted to management positions. The earlier findings (see paragraph 2.5.2) made it clear that under-representation of racial groups other than whites was predominant in all technical colleges. The increase in the representation of racial groups, particularly African female managers, is an indication that there is a move on the part of FET colleges to seek demographic representation through recruitment drives, preferential treatment, and quota systems. Hence, the above statistical profiles are central to demonstrating the symbolic worth of affirmative action policy.
4.5.4 Representation according to language group
Table 4.3(a) reveals the following percentages according to home languages Afrikaans = 13%; English = 41%; and IsiZulu = 46%. Kraak and Hall (1999 : 72) indicate that language and language usage are important manifestations of
corporate culture. One of the components here is that certain language groups have certain values and customs. Linguistic difficulties meant that the managers had to be careful and self-conscious about what they said. Table 4.3(a) indicates that IsiZulu language speakers are fast becoming a majority group in the management structures of colleges. This might be attributed to the implementation of affirmative action policy in FET colleges.
4.5.5 Representation according to age group
Table 4.3(a) does not reveal huge differences in the age range amongst middle managers. The youngest managers form 17% and the oldest managers represent 8%. The majority of middle managers (75%) fall between the age range of 36 and 55 years, which is acceptable considering the fact that occupying a management position requires that the incumbent should have acquired experience after training. It is also an indication that colleges might be able to identify and develop employees who still have some years to contribute to the sector. It nevertheless needs to be noted that out of the 8% aging managers, 6% of these are white male managers. This might be a cause for concern around the implementation of diversity management, particularly because Table 4.3(b) reveals that only 0,8% of young white males have entered the ranks of management.
4.5.6 Qualifications of middle managers
Table 4.3(a) reveals that the majority of college middle managers (40%) hold bachelors degrees. The other remaining managers are distributed as follows diploma = 19%; honours degree = 24%; masters degree = 15%; and doctoral degree = %. Given the fact that M+3 is the minimum requirement for college employees to be promoted to management positions, it is highly likely that most college managers might not be motivated to acquire further qualifications as long as they meet the minimum requirement. Only 2% of the college middle managers had pursued their studies to a doctoral level.
4.5.7 Positions held
Table 4.3(b) reveals the distribution of managers from different racial groups across the different categories of the college management hierarchy. This distribution indicates that there is an attempt by most colleges to adjust their recruitment and selection procedures to meet legal requirements as well as to promote equal opportunities for all employees, as a means of redress and development, through a strategy of planned recruitment policy. If that is correct, it can be maintained that the FET colleges have started to implement HR policies and recruitment strategies that will enable them to attract, motivate and retain skilled and committed people from all sectors of society. This will also assist to promote nation-building and democratisation by enabling people to contribute to society as autonomous, responsible and tolerant citizens. This is a requirement if the diversity management component is to be added to the affirmative action component (see paragraph 3.3.2.3).
4.5.8 Years of experience
Table 4.3(b) reveals that the majority of middle managers (53%) fall within the bracket of 1 and 5 years of experience in the positions they hold, which means that their age range is between twenty-five and forty-five. This can be attributed to the fact that most of the management posts in colleges are new, and there is a probability that colleges might have recruited and selected younger managers.
This implies that the newly promoted managers might be in a position to develop effective diversity management skills. It is thus important for colleges to support these managers so that they are developed and have the opportunity to grow in their new jobs.
4.5.9 The interview schedule
The second section of the semi-structured interview was aimed at revealing the actual beliefs, feelings, attitudes, experiences and understandings of diversity management in FET college middle managers. In keeping with the objectives
outlined in this study, the researcher marked different sections of the data as being of one or more of the study objectives. Each objective was assigned to its own category. A body of data was broken down into labelled, meaningful pieces, with a view to later clustering the bits of coded material together under the code heading and further analysing them both as a cluster and in relation to other clusters. A brief overview is given of the analysis and interpretation of data from those responses that were received from the FET college middle managers. The findings are presented with sufficient interpretation to clarify meaning.
4.5.9.1 Approach to data analysis
The researcher was committed to understanding human phenomena in context, as they are lived, using context-driven categories. The researcher therefore tried to understand the respondents‟ experiences of diversity in the workplace through the phenomenological perspective. In supporting the phenomenological perspective, Boeije (2010:76) maintains that this approach enables the researcher to understand why something is happening rather than being able to describe what is happening. In trying to achieve this, the researcher categorised data according to the objectives of the study (see Table 4.4).
The study has six objectives (see paragraph 1.4) arranged according to their significance to the study. The researcher developed a semi-structured interview schedule comprising of twenty-six main questions (see Appendix A), as well as a number of follow-up questions to give more clarity to the main questions. Each question was intended to assist the researcher to describe and analyse participants‟ social actions, beliefs, feelings, experiences, thoughts, and perceptions about differences and diversity issues in their workplaces. It should be noted that when the semi-structured interviews were conducted, questions were not asked in a rigid manner as they appear in the schedule, but the discussions determined the sequence that had to be followed. It was for this reason that the researcher had to mark different sections of the collected data as being of one or more of the responses to the study objectives. Each objective
was thereafter assigned to its own category and a body of collected data was broken down into labelled pieces with a view to clustering the bits of coded material together under the code heading and further analysing the clustered data in relation to other clusters. Table 4.4 presents the six objectives of the study together with the main questions that were used by the researcher to reveal the actual beliefs, feelings, attitudes, and experiences of the participants regarding the research problem.
Objectives of the study : Main Questions Objective 1 To find out if the
management and administration personnel of merged FET colleges were capacitated to address issues of diversity.
Questions What are the goals of diversity training? Who provides funding for diversity training? How is the diversity training perceived by the employees? Did the college capacitate the managers to deal with aspects of diversity management? How many diversity workshops have you attended? How do you deal with racial and cultural conflicts?
Objective 2 To determine the extent to which the diversity management concept is integrated into strategic objectives of FET colleges.
Questions What do you understand by the term “Diversity Management”?
What do you understand by the term
“Affirmative action”? What types of diversity training programmes are there for the college? Does the college have an action plan for the role of management? Does the college management distinguish between