Abstract
This study assesses managerial perceptions of the management of cultural diversity and workplace transformation in three production companies in Gauteng. A sample comprising 668 employees was drawn from a population of 1 259 (53% response rate) using simple random sampling and data were collected through self-developed questionnaires and personal interviews. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicate that whilst the South African Transformation (SAT) Agenda has propelled change in the political and economic spheres, similar developments have not been realised in the South African labour market. Hence, based on the findings, recommendations are made to enhance the management of cultural diversity and workplace transformation, and the need for urgent government intervention, through legislative amendments, is emphasised.
Highlights
The legacy of apartheid and the colonial conquest has conferred on South Africans the dubious status of being a society with one of the highest levels of inequality in the world
The results indicate that issues of cultural diversity are not taken seriously by companies and there is little understanding from South African employees of what workplace transformation should entail and what the management of cultural diversity is all about
Systems and structures All three companies selected for the study had average mean scores, which indicated the limited, nonexistent or ineffective systems and structures that had been put in place by these companies to advance the South African Transformation (SAT) Agenda
Summary
The legacy of apartheid and the colonial conquest has conferred on South Africans the dubious status of being a society with one of the highest levels of inequality in the world. According to Bendix (1996), the new democratically elected government, led by the African National Congress (ANC), had to place poverty and inequality in South Africa at the top of its priorities. These identified factors were deeply disturbing phenomena that needed to be addressed, but racial, gender, religious and cultural discrimination in the workplace clearly exacerbated these problems and the government was duty-bound to redress the wrongs that had been done. The Schenfelter (1973) approach, cited in Zulu (2001), suggested several avenues through which the South African government might have addressed the problem of discrimination in particular and transformation in general in the workplace. The third and most obvious means of dealing with discrimination was through direct government intervention
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