Reward Utete

Introduction: Decentralised medical training has become a strategic approach for strengthening primary healthcare, expanding clinical training capacity and addressing health workforce shortages in South Africa. Despite its growing adoption, limited research has examined the governance, leadership and organisational conditions required for its successful implementation. Guided by Transformational Leadership Theory and Servant Leadership Theory, this study explores the governance structures, leadership practices and institutional readiness necessary to support sustainable decentralised medical training within a South African medical school. Methods: An exploratory qualitative research design was adopted employing semi-structured interviews with 16 participants from a university and affiliated Department of Health clinical training sites in KwaZulu-Natal. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to recruit participants and data were analysed thematically using NVivo 12. Results: The findings demonstrate that effective implementation of decentralised medical training depends on collaborative governance, transparent communication, stakeholder engagement and distributed leadership. The results further highlighted the need for curriculum transformation, faculty development, adequate infrastructure, sustainable funding and strong partnerships between universities and the Department of Health. Organisational readiness was perceived as a multidimensional construct extending beyond the expansion of clinical placement sites. Discussion: The findings demonstrate that decentralised medical training is a complex organisational transformation requiring the integration of effective governance, adaptive leadership and institutional capacity. The study extends existing scholarship by proposing an integrated governance and leadership framework that combines Transformational Leadership and Servant Leadership. The findings offer practical guidance for universities and policymakers seeking to strengthen decentralised medical training and improve the responsiveness and sustainability of health professions education in resource-constrained settings.

Introduction: While there are numerous claims that women entrepreneurship is in a precarious state after the recent upheavals, the situation of their businesses has not been sufficiently examined. Despite the subject's pertinence, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the existing literature gives scant attention to the current situation of women entrepreneurs in South Africa in the post-pandemic era. Grounded in Resource-Based Theory and Institutional Theory, this study empirically investigates the current state of women entrepreneurs in Durban. Methods: Adopting the quantitative research approach, data were collected using a closed-ended questionnaire, of which 349 SMEs' responses were subjected to both descriptive and inferential analysis. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using Principal Axis Factoring with Promax rotation identified the underlying constructs, followed by reliability and multiple regression analyses. Results: Entrepreneurial Constraints (EC), Entrepreneurial Support (ES), Entrepreneurial Participation (EP), and Business Environment and Regulatory Climate (BERC) emerged as the key constructs. The findings reported low satisfaction with entrepreneurial support, particularly financial, infrastructural, training and guidance support. EC was the most prominent challenge, with inadequate capital, skills deficits and low profitability being highly reported. Regression analysis showed that ES and BERC were positively associated with EP, while EC was negatively associated with EP. Collectively, the predictors explained 46.3% of the variance in EP. Discussion: The findings indicate that women’s entrepreneurial participation is shaped by the interaction of resource availability and institutional conditions. Strengthening financial assistance, skills development, mentorship, infrastructure, guidance and the regulatory environment may address the multidimensional barriers affecting women entrepreneurs.

Introduction: Enforcement of governance quality meticulously cultivates an array of economic and social benefits, and emerges as a major determinant in addressing maldevelopment and contemporary social ills especially in rural areas. However, while different public sector stakeholders are expected to uphold professional excellence and competence, sustaining governance quality is emotionally taxing and intellectually demanding. Despite increasing interest in the quality of public governance, existing studies on its linkage with service delivery performance in South African rural setting remain fragmented and inconclusive. Hence, through the theoretical lenses of public value theory, the study explores the perceived influence of governance quality on service delivery performance in rural setting. Methods: Grounded in qualitative research approach and purposive sampling technique, the study utilised semi-structured interviews with 17 local government officials and practitioners in a South African rural municipality. Results: Using thematic analysis, the study identified three key significant governance challenges, namely failures in financial oversight, political interference, and insufficient coordination between municipal departments and traditional authorities. The study proved irrefutable evidence that promotion of governance quality improves service delivery performance. Discussion: The study extends beyond merely corroborating previous research by demonstrating that the challenges to good governance are woven into the local governance framework and persist across various municipalities. This indicates that they are not isolated occurrences but rather pervasive challenges within South Africa’s municipal governance system. The study concluded that financial oversight mechanisms are insufficient; a commitment to enforcing audit recommendations and an ongoing review process that extends beyond annual evaluations is necessary. The study provides evidence-based, actionable strategies for the municipality to enhance governance quality and subsequently improve service delivery performance.

Purpose: Currently, there is a great interest in the growth of the rural economy through the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Despite inundated calls for interventions in rural businesses, the shocks experienced by rural SMEs from the COVID-19 crisis remain inconclusive, thus spurring attention from researchers. Although studies were conducted on COVID-19 and SMEs in South Africa, they focused on urban areas, overlooking rural areas. Drawing from resilience theory, the current study sought to investigate the business success level of rural SMEs during the COVID-19 crisis. Design/methodology/approach: Utilising the quantitative research approach and descriptive research design, the data were collected from 171 participants located in the Mtubatuba rural area, South Africa. Findings: The findings indicated that although the crisis brought opportunities to rural SMEs to sell health-related products that were in demand, the challenges that came with it had dire detrimental effects. By leveraging the Relative Severity Index (RSI) and Structural Equation Modelling tests, the results painted a bleak picture as they revealed the key challenges that erode the business success of rural SMEs, which include financial constraints, workforce dilemmas, operational problems and adherence to stricter COVID-19 regulations. Originality/value: The need for empirical studies, particularly in South African rural areas, cannot be over-emphasised. While several studies have been conducted on SMEs and the COVID-19 pandemic in urban areas, few studies have examined the rural setting. Hence, the study adds to the current corpus of entrepreneurship literature by focusing on the South African rural setting.

Orientation: The current business environment is highly competitive, and organisations use reward strategy as a strategic tool to motivate employees to remain in the organisation and exceed set performance standards. Therefore, keeping them would require sound reward strategies, which may come as competitive pay-for-performance. Research purpose: Informed by the expectancy theory, the study sought to critically investigate the relationship between pay-for-performance and turnover intention. Motivation for the study: While the need for a sound compensation system cannot be over-emphasised, the debate on the relationship between pay-for-performance and turnover intention remains inconclusive. Hence, spurring the attention of researchers. Research approach/design and method: Using a quantitative research approach, data were collected from 176 participants utilising a closed-ended questionnaire. A convenience sampling technique nested in a non-probability method was employed to select participants from the largest bank in Lesotho. Main findings: The regression analysis results indicated that pay-for-performance has a significant relationship with turnover intention. The findings indicated that pay-for-performance helps in minimising turnover intention. Practical/managerial implications: Management should strengthen the reward strategy for long-term pay-for-performance. The management should allow employees to participate in the development of pay-for-performance, so that, from the outset, they understand the difference between outstanding and acceptable performance. Contribution/value-add: The study contributes to the scarce empirical evidence on the interplay between pay-for-performance and turnover intention, filling a gap in the existing literature by focusing exclusively on the unique dynamics in the banking sector.

Various public entities across different developing countries are plagued by poor service delivery, which predominantly stems from poor governance. Innumerable citizens are experiencing inadequate access to essential housing services. Despite the growing literature on good governance and service delivery, empirical studies on citizens lived experiences of the subject are still unavailable, particularly in South Africa. Thus, this study strives to empirically fill the gap by exploring the citizens lived experiences of the effects of good governance practices on housing service delivery. The study adopted a qualitative research approach and data was solicited from traditional leaders at four local municipalities in South Africa using semi-structured interviews to accomplish the study’s objectives. Qualitative usable data from 14 participants were thematically analysed. The study revealed that citizens lived experiences confirm the positive influence good governance practices have on service delivery. The results revealed that adherence to governance principles such as transparency and accountability is fundamental to ensuring that governance practices translate into tangible improvements in service delivery. The practical implication of the study is that management must ensure that all municipality officials and councillors abide by the principles of good governance daily. Another key implication of these findings is that municipalities should invest in the training and development of municipal staff about transparency practices, which is necessary to improve service delivery.

Although women entrepreneurship is indispensable to ameliorate the social and economic development of countries around the globe, in South Africa, only accounts for 19,4% of business owners. Women entrepreneurs still face taxing times as they bear the brunt of unparalleled constraints, which are predominantly linked to gender-related biases. While the issue of women employment has been extensively researched, women entrepreneurship is empirically inconclusive, fragmented, and theoretically limited, leaving the subject underexplored. It is prudent not to cede further unremitting inequality space. Hence, the overarching purpose of this study is to investigate the constraints women entrepreneurship face in South Africa. The review integrates the burgeoning literature to investigate the personal complexities faced by women entrepreneurs in South Africa and to explicate the external impediments encountered by women entrepreneurs in South Africa. The study used a systematic literature review of the available literature from 75 studies over the period 2013–2023 to scrutinise the challenges associated with women entrepreneurship. The study used the PRISMA strategy to search Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases. The findings also revealed various personal and external challenges encountered by women entrepreneurs. The study provides both theoretical and practical implications.

Introduction: Despite the cumulative increase in counterproductive work behaviour in various organisations which have ripple effects on general organisational performance, little is known on how employee engagement relates to counterproductive work behaviour. The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between employee engagement and counterproductive work behaviours of employees at the leading university in South Africa.Methods: The study employed qualitative approach and structured interviews were used to gather data from the both academic and professional services staff. The collected data from fifteen (15) respondents were analysed using thematic analysis, leading to the identification of key themes and patterns.Results: Based on the findings, it became evident that there is an inverse relationship between employee engagement and counterproductive work behaviour. The study also revealed lack of an effective probationary period, unequal treatment of academic and professional services staff in terms of retention strategies, and insufficient attention given to employee engagement were among the primary factors contributing to disengagement within the institution.Discussion: The study concluded that there is a pressing need for change and the implementation of new systems to enhance employee engagement at the organisation. Management should also establish a probationary period for new employees, providing sufficient time for them to acclimate to their roles and allowing line managers and HR to identify and address training needs. Management should enhance communication and feedback channels between employees and management to foster a sense of inclusiveness and ensure that employee concerns are heard and addressed.