COPYRIGHT AND CITATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR THIS THESIS/ DISSERTATION
o Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
o NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
o ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
How to cite this thesis
Surname, Initial(s). (2012) Title of the thesis or dissertation. PhD. (Chemistry)/ M.Sc. (Physics)/ M.A. (Philosophy)/M.Com. (Finance) etc. [Unpublished]: University of Johannesburg. Retrieved from: https://ujcontent.uj.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Index?site_name=Research%20Output (Accessed: Date). THE ROLE OF LABOUR BROKERS IN ATYPICAL EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP
by
THABANG ENIEL MARULE
Thesis
Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor in Philosophy in Employment Relations Management
Faculty of Management UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG
Study leader: Prof. W. J. Schurink Co-Study leader: Prof. W. I. Ukpere
2017
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The sound mind and specific talents come from the Almighty God who provided the space for me to contribute to society both through this study and in other ways.
My father, Size Phushuku Marule, who inculcated the values that helped me to navigate the journey of life, make appropriate choices and trust in my capabilities.
My mother, Alley Bampotsang Marule, who raised her family in despite a system that sought to separate husbands from their wives and children
My study leaders, Prof W. J. Schurink and Prof W. I. Ukpere, who provided me with such patient guidance throughout the research journey. Much of my familiarisation with certain research methods happened as the study unfolded. Fortunately, my study leaders were there; advising on the best approaches and methods.
My wife (left), Reshoketswe Dorcus Marule, who offered solid support and comradeship during the research journey. Also, our colleague and prayer partner, Trixie Sibongile Lekhuleni, who provided spiritual support during the career challenges I experienced throughout the study.
i My children who remained strong during my ordeal and provided a reason for me to remain focused on the bigger goal.
Refilwe Audrey (left), Innocent Dineo (right) and granddaughter Vanita Ally
Sibusiso Mashaba, a provincial office bearer in the Food and Allied Worker Union (FAWU), who suggested strategies that assisted me to gain access to the research participants.
Senior Commissioner, Glen McCormack for providing insights into the CCMA approaches in his dealing with disputes in the labour broker environment.
Nthabiseng Makhajane of the COSATU national office, for advising me on how to download electronic secondary material of COSATU campaigns.
Dr C. F. Smuts, Director of Administration; for offering positive encouragement and adjusting my work schedule and thereby enabling me to finalise the thesis in time.
ii ABSTRACT
Aim: The aim of the study is to explore and describe the views and work experiences of temporary employee services (TES) employees situated in settings in four economic sectors; with the aim of understanding what TES means to a vulnerable segment of employees. Key objectives included
Developing an apt qualitative research approach to capture and unravel the experiences of TES employees working in settings in four sectors of the South African economy. Studying the work of prominent scholars in relevant study field and extrapolate theoretical constructs by means of which the experiences and perceptions of TES employment contracting may be understood. Developing a substantial theory of TES.
Methodology: A multiple case study was selected, driven by qualitative approach. Grounded theory was used as data analysis method for cases involved as sources of data. Participant observation and interviews were used as techniques for data collection. In line with the grounded theory tradition, literature was applied during and after data collection; to shape the direction of further sampling strategy and analysis.
Key findings: Four key themes emerged namely the push factors, service conditions, the preferred future of TES phenomenon and the coping mechanisms of TES employees. The outcome of the study suggested that policy makers and business entities should introduce baseline protective measures including bridging the gap in conditions of service between permanent full-time employees and employees contracted through alternative work arrangements.
Implications: For employees, role of TES is to offer stop-gap employment contracts to job seekers as cost-saving measure by client firms looking for workers to perform tasks of seasonal and time-bound nature and, in some instances, to help the workers to transition from temporary to permanent jobs. Regarding employment relations and business ethical considerations; the findings pointed to the need for role players (government, business and organised labour) to ensure compliance to ethical principles of both human resources and industrial relations (HRIR) nature. Regarding human resources procurement and stakeholder management practices, an
iii appropriate balance should be determined in order to cater for the interests of all relevant/interested parties.
Contributions: theoretically, by integrating the research participants‟ concrete constructions with human resources and industrial relations ethical principles a substantive theory of temporary employment service was constructed. A model of TES employment contracting developed from the themes. Methodologically, both a multiple case study and a grounded theory strategy were applied in an attempt to unravel and describe the social world of TES employees in South Africa. The conceptual framework adopted in this study may serve as a platform for further research into temporary employment service, for example, integrating it with the Expectancy-value theory of Feather, (1992) the sequential model of Soelberg (1967), and the Integrative Conceptual model of Van Hoye, Van Hooft and Lievens (2009) on job-seeking.
Practically, HR practice should give fair exposure to workplace skills training, to facilitate TES employees avoiding entrapment in temporary, low wage jobs. It is advisable that HR practitioners should develop programmes to enable TES employees to benefit from the opportunities reserved for permanent staff members.
iv Table of contents
DECLARATION ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... i ABSTRACT ...... iii Table of contents ...... v List of figures ...... vii List of tables ...... vii ABBREVIATIONS ...... viii DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS ...... ix SECTION A CONTEXTUALISING THE STUDY AND THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...... 1 CHAPTER 1 ...... 2 CONTEXTUALISING THE STUDY ...... 2 1.1 BACKGROUND ...... 2 1.2 KEY DEFINITIONS ...... 5 1.3 CURRENT KNOWLEDGE VOIDS ...... 6 1.4 THE RESEARCH PROBLEM ...... 6 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS...... 7 1.6 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ...... 8 1.7 PERSONAL INTEREST ...... 8 1.8 ANTICIPATED CONTRIBUTIONS ...... 9 1.9 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ...... 9 CHAPTER 2 ...... 12 RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY ...... 12 2.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 12 2.2 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ...... 12 2.3 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY ...... 14 2.4 THREE KEY ISSUES ...... 17 2.4.1 Using the literature ...... 17 2.4.2 Converting research findings to theory ...... 19 2.4.3 Research ethics ...... 21 2.5 CASE STUDY AND GROUNDED THEORY AS GENERAL STRATEGIES ...... 23 2.5.1 Case study ...... 24 2.5.2 Grounded theory ...... 26 2.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...... 31 2.6.1 Locating field settings and selecting research participants ...... 31 2.6.2 Establishing researcher roles ...... 36 2.6.3 Data collection ...... 37 2.6.4 Recording and managing data ...... 42 2.6.5 Data analysis ...... 45 2.7 PRESENTING THE RESEARCH FINDINGS AND WRITING STYLES ...... 49 2.8 ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF THE STUDY ...... 52 2.9 IN SUMMARY ...... 57 SECTION B THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT SERVICE ...... 58 CHAPTER 3 ...... 59 LITERATURE STUDY ...... 59 3.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 59 3.2 MY USAGE OF THE LITERATURE ...... 59 3.3 ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT (AE) ...... 60 3.3.1 The philosophical aspects of AE ...... 60
v 3.3.2 Key features of alternative employment ...... 62 3.3.3 Approaches to the study of alternative employment ...... 64 3.3.4 The global impact of AE...... 70 3.4 SUMMARY ...... 79 CHAPTER 4 ...... 81 INTRODUCING THE RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS, ORDERING AND CODING THE DATA ...... 81 4.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 81 4.2 A PROFILE OF THE RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS ...... 81 4.3 ORDERING AND CODING THE DATA: APPLYING GROUNDED THEORY (GT) ...... 84 4.3.1 Coding...... 86 4.3.2 Theoretical coding ...... 99 4.4 SUMMARY ...... 100 CHAPTER 5 ...... 102 TOWARDS THE BUILDING OF A MODEL FOR TES EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTING ...... 102 5.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 102 5.2 RELATING KEY FINDINGS TO THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTS ...... 102 5.2.1 Push factors ...... 104 5.2.2 Conditions of service ...... 108 5.2.3 The future of TES ...... 118 5.2.4 TES employees‟ coping mechanisms ...... 123 5.3 TOWARD A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF TES ...... 127 5.4 SUMMARY ...... 136 SECTION C IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY ...... 137 CHAPTER 6 ...... 138 PRÉCIS, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 138 6.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 138 6.2 PRÉCIS...... 138 6.3 KEY DISCOVERIES ...... 141 6.3.1 General discoveries and insights ...... 141 6.3.2 Key findings and insights ...... 144 6.3.3 Implications ...... 147 6.4 THE VALUE OF THE STUDY AND ITS CONTRIBUTIONS ...... 151 6.5 ASSESSING THE STUDY...... 153 6.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ...... 156 6.7 RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 157 6.8 PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ...... 158 6.9 CONCLUDING NOTE ...... 158 REFERENCES ...... 159
ANNEXURES ...... 198 Annexure A: Research story ...... 198 Annexure B: List of topics covered during first, life history phase ...... 263 Annexure C: List of questions in the second round of interviews ...... 264 Annexure D1: Methodological strategies to ensure and improve the quality of qualitative research . 266 Annexure D2: Interpretive strategies to ensure and improve the quality of qualitative research ...... 270 Annexure E: Affidavit ...... 274
vi List of figures
Figure 1.1: The contextual issues encompassed in the research questions ...... 7 Figure 3.1: The TES Employment Relationship...... 63 Figure 3.2: Framework for analysis of alternative work arrangements. Source: Adapted from Mitlacher (2008, p. 448) ...... 65 Figure 3.3: Increasing Differentiation in the Workplace ...... 77 Figure 4.1: Example of highlighted key words and phrases ...... 88 Figure 4.2: Mind map of coding process ...... 98 Figure 5.1: Hierarchy of the Building Blocks of Theory...... 128
List of tables
Table 1.1 Western Ethical Approaches to Employment Relations ...... 3 Table 2.1 Common paradigms in qualitative research...... 15 Table 2.2. Contrasting Views in the Literature Review on GT ...... 18 Table 4.1. Profile of Research Participants ...... 82 Table 4.2. Memos Related to Codes and Categories ...... 90 Table 4.3. Spread sheet of Coding Linked to Concepts ...... 93 Table 4.4 Overview of Evolving Categories and Themes ...... 95 Table 5.1 Themes and Relevant Scholarly Views ...... 102 Table 5.2. Categories of TES Orientation or Perception ...... 132 Table 5.3. Model of TES Employment Contracting Behaviour ...... 134
vii ABBREVIATIONS
AE Atypical employment AWA Alternative work arrangements BCEA Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 ER Employment relations GT Grounded theory HR Human resources HRIR Human resources and industrial relations HRM Human resources management OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development RP Research participant SA South Africa TE Temporary employment TES Temporary employment service
viii DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS
Casualisation: a trend in employment contracting which has manifested in a movement away from permanent to atypical forms of employment contracting.
Family responsibility: relationship status in the context of position and responsibilities in the family unit.
Insecurities: the ease of losing one or a set of basic conditions of employment.
Primary income earner: spouse or life partner bringing in the larger portion of income and carrying a larger burden with regard to sustaining the family.
Privatisation: the process of selling state-owned assets to the private sector, resulting in the ownership of assets or the business moving from the government to the private sector.
ix
SECTION A
CONTEXTUALISING THE
STUDY AND THE
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
1 CHAPTER 1
CONTEXTUALISING THE STUDY
1.1 BACKGROUND
“… there is one and only one social responsibility of business – to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud” (Friedman,1970, p. 55).
Bearing in mind the abovementioned quotation, this study explores the views and work experiences of TES employees in relation to the way in which business organisations continuously compete in managing their escalating production costs. All these organisations form part of the globalised economic environment. The strategies that organisations have introduced in order to curb these costs have tended to favour atypical employment (AE) arrangements. Such arrangements include employing temporary agency workers, direct-hire temporary employees, migrants, stand-by workers, contract workers and contractors or consultants (Connelly, Gallagher, & Webster, 2011; Gumbrell-McCormick, 2011; Mitlacher, 2008). The study therefore examined the views and experiences of employees working in the AE environment.
AE arrangements have given rise to entrants to the world of employment and organised labour being faced by precarious employment. Up to this point this issue had received scant, if any, attention (Addison & Surfield, 2006). Given the increasingly precarious state of work, the International Labour Organisation (ILO, 2009) formulated specific, ethical benchmarks that stipulated the minimum requirements of a decent job. Noting the fact that this study was grounded in the field of employment relations (ER) and, in particular, the overall framework of precarious employment, the study also incorporated applicable ethical frameworks as point of departure. These will now be examined in detail.
2 Ethical frameworks for human resources and industrial relations (HRIR)
Budd and Scoville (2005) proposed a useful ethical framework for human resources and industrial relations (HRIR). They differentiated two theoretical streams for ER, namely, the four Western theories (ethics of duty, fairness, virtue and care) and the three non-Western ethical frameworks (Muslim HRIR ethics, Hindu HRIR ethics and Confucian HRIR ethics). Table 1.1 (below) summarises the four Western theories.
Table 1.1. Western Ethical Approaches to Employment Relations Ethical framework Central element Unethical actions HRIR applications (founders)
Utility Welfare or utility Inefficient or welfare- Using HR policies (Jeremy Bentham, maximisation through reducing behaviour. solely for efficiency John Stuart Mill) cost-benefit analysis. “union-free” strategies based on cost-benefit analysis. Liberty Negative right of Forcing individuals to Employee right to (John Locke) freedom and liberty use themselves or participate in trade from non-interference their property against union processes through strong their will (including based on property property rights. taxation for rights and free redistribution). speech. Duty Respecting the human Treating others in HR policies and labour (Immanuel Kant) dignity by adhering to ways you would not standards based on the Kantian want to be treated; employees as human categorical imperative treating people only as beings and not solely a means and not also as a means to an end. as an end Fairness Justice manifested as Placing efficiency Concerns with (John Rawls) liberty, no above liberty, no inequalities between discrimination and discrimination and workers with respect accommodating the concern for the very to income, health very poor members poor members insurance and other through the veil of compensation ignorance and the elements. difference principle. Virtue Moral or good Actions contrary to HR policies based on (Aristotle) character aimed at virtue (vices) which excellence, integrity achieving flourishing prevent flourishing. and personal growth. through virtues and community. Care Nurturing personal Failing to develop Union initiatives to (Carol Gilligan) relationships through special relationships; organise workers by caring for people. relationships based on developing special exploitation, relationships with the disrespect or injustice. workers, especially in female-dominated occupations. Source: Adapted from Budd and Scoville (2005, p. 10)
3 As indicated in the table, business and, by implication, employment relations are guided by a number of ethical principles, ranging from unregulated competitive markets (laissez-faire)1 to the creation of a caring environment (Budd & Scoville, 2005).
As propagated by various authors, the six ethical principles presented in the table operate like interlocking bricks. These principles supplement each other for the common good of society and its working sectors. In this context the feminist theory, which maintains that “caring (is) not about something but caring for someone and nurturing that person‟s well-being” (Budd & Scoville, 2005, p. 13), plays an important role. Such relationships are characterised by sharing practices, mutual respect, compassion, warmth, understanding, value transmission, dialogue and negotiation (Hall, Du Toit, & Louw, 2013). As business organisations compete to lower their production costs, debates arose on adherence to the general ethical benchmarks. Such debates concerned the extent to which society‟s freedom is either aided or hindered; and the extent to which fundamental human rights are protected by the actions of the respective parties (Delaney, 2005, p. 206).
Non-Western theoretical ethical framework
In addition to the Western ethical framework, a non-Western theoretical ethical framework highlighted certain common principles such as equity and justice in business and employment practices. The foundation of Muslim principles is the Islamic teachings and this has implications for both ER and business practices (Scoville, Lawler, & Yi, 2005, p. 94).
According to Confucius, ethics are relative and therefore operate according to societal norms where the scale equilibrium is achieved by the extent to which roles are performed (Gibbs, 2012). Accordingly, the acceptance of the conduct of parties to the employment relationship, for example, is derived from the understanding of virtue issues constructed within the particular relationship.
1 The six ethical frameworks are outlined in table 1.1
4 In order to fully appreciate the polarised positions in terms of temporary employment service, it was deemed necessary to look at important terms or definitions which were referred to above.
1.2 KEY DEFINITIONS
Atypical employment (AE)
AE is the opposite of typical or normal work. The latter entails a permanent employment contract, full-time work carrying compulsory social insurance contributions and corresponding pay (Keller & Seifert, 2005). On the other hand, the main characteristics of AE include the following: practices in the form of alternative work arrangements (AWA); namely, consulting, contracting, on-call work, temporary work and temporary agency work (Addison & Surfield, 2006; Brosnan & Bagdanskis, 2011; Jahn & Bentzen, 2012).
Temporary employment service (TES)
The point of departure of Temporary Employment Service (TES)2 is AE. TES entails a three-sided employment set-up in which an employment agency employs a “temporary worker for the purpose of placing him or her at the disposal of a third party, the user business entity, for temporary assignment” (Connell & Burgers, 2002, p. 272). In terms of this arrangement, the TES maintains an employment relationship with the employee (Adgaonkar, Yewale, & Mule, 2012; Baccaro, 2011; Piasecki & Wolnicki, 2004; Sheik, 2010; Ukpere 2011).
Globalisation
While globalisation is difficult to define, there is nevertheless broad consensus that it entails a form of integration of markets and supply which results in the expansion, deepening and acceleration of integration in all aspects of life namely culturally, economically, financially, spiritually, including combating crime (Vos, 2009). In addition, globalisation refers to world-wide changes in economic, technological and political processes and in communications that, increasingly, impact on social life both within and across nations and societies (Evans, Pucik, & Bjorkman, 2011;
2 The terms “temporary employment service” and “temporary employment agency” are used interchangeably.
5 Schwandt, 2007). Globalisation creates a world without boundaries in which information, capital and goods move easily across national borders (Ukpere, 2011; Ukpere & Slabbert, 2009; Wheeler, 2005). Inevitably, the speed of technology and information affects the way in which work is done, thus giving rise to AE arrangements.
1.3 CURRENT KNOWLEDGE VOIDS
The main focus of scholars in terms of TES is, firstly, on the flexibility of triangular ER, i.e. enabling employers to reduce their costs on recruiting, labour and training. Secondly, it is mainly on the effects of agencies, for example low wages that are accompanied by minimal benefits, negligible job security, little capacity building effectively resulting in no job prospects (Klerck, 2009; Mitlacher, 2008). There are no systematic CCMA reviews or Labour Court judgments that are readily available in order to assess the trade union claims that labour brokers have as an outcome, the violation of labour laws. Alternatively, that the prohibition of labour brokers may have a negative impact on sectors such as infrastructure and telecommunications, and thereby harm the economy (Botha, 2009; Burmeister, 2010). In particular, the views of this vulnerable segment of employees (TES) have, to the extent I was able to check, not been investigated. Current debates in the South African context approach the issue of temporary agency work from polarised positions.
1.4 THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
The emergence of triangular ER poses a substantial challenge to labour law, trade unionisation and ancillary aspects of the labour relations system. According to Delaney (2005), the problem is further compounded by the dilemmas surrounding the HR role in the globalised business environment arising from lack of general consensus regarding the way in which to comply with ethical standards in labour relations. According to Vosko (2009), even the adoption of the policy interventions such as the Directives on Temporary Agency Work of (2008), signified a setback for TES employees‟ protection because this Directive contextualises equal treatment by deviating from the overall framework of protective measures provided by the EU for similar forms of precarious work. Essentially, Vosko (2009)) maintains that the
6 Directive threatens to dilute the gains made at the national level in many of the fifteen member countries constituting the EU over the last decade.
More research is needed in order to unravel the mechanics of the relationships between employment insecurities and triangular employment relationships (Botes, 2013; Kallenberg, 2000; Theron & Godfrey, 2002). Theron (2003) proposes that, since current TES research is limited to the nature of AE, its effects, policy options and legislative definitions, it would be appropriate to approach TES and the triangular employment relationship as a specific body of research. Against this background, I formulated the following problem statement:
Unregulated TES in South Africa leads to the subversion of core labour and social security measures as enshrined in both the country‟s constitution and in other subordinate legislation.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Research questions must be formulated in such a manner that they guide the researcher‟s efforts (Eisenhardt, 1999). Thus, research questions must answer questions such as what, why and how (Butler-Kisber, 2010, p. 26). The contextual issues encompassed in the research questions are presented in Figure 1.1.
Issues of interest/debate Resultant research questions
What What are the views and experience Purpose, Level What is the nature of of temporary employment service characteristics and 1 temporary employment employees with regard to the challenges service? nature of employment contracting? Why What is driving the employees of Level Why is temporary Debates, individual temporary employment service to 2 employment service on the choices and goals seek temporary agency jobs? increase? How does the temporary How International Labour employment service uphold the Level How is the temporary Conventions, ethical principles of human 3 employment service mitigating steps, resources management and viewed? career and legislation business practice?
The underlying assumptions in developing a framework for atypical employment policy Figure 1.1: The contextual issues encompassed in the research questions Source: The researcher
7 These research questions guided me in formulating the research objectives which are discussed below.
1.6 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
While I derived a number of objectives as I was planning the research, the following objectives were milestones in the execution of the study:
Developing an appropriate research approach for the purpose of capturing and unravelling the experience and views of TES employees working in settings in four sectors of the South African economy. Studying the work of prominent researchers in the relevant study fields and extrapolating theoretical constructs by means of which TES employees‟ experiences and views of job seeking could be understood Developing a conceptual model of TES employment contracting behaviour
1.7 PERSONAL INTEREST
The fact that my master‟s dissertation had been published on the internet inspired me and I felt that I could develop myself further. I also read with interest, the intense public debates (Mail & Guardian, 2011) on the desirability and impact of temporary employment agencies as a contracting practice, and wished that I could contribute to the development of an appropriate policy.
In view of the fact that the world of TES is largely unexplored in South Africa, I developed a curiosity about it, as well as a desire to understand it better. During informal discussions with shop stewards, TES operators and government employees I gained insights into some of the polarised positions and divergent views regarding the impact of AE and TES, in particular. Discussions with my colleagues, fellow students and study leaders deepened my interest and I decided to undertake my doctoral research into TES.
8 1.8 ANTICIPATED CONTRIBUTIONS
The study aimed at adding value to theory, methodology and policy.
Theory
By applying scholarly constructs pertaining to the experiences and views of TES employees who were seeking jobs, I believed the study could serve as building blocks for relevant theory (Mouton, 1990) by offering a theoretical framework for TES job-seeking. In particular, aiming to integrate first-order concepts of the TES employees and their experiences of job-seeking with theoretical constructs (second- order constructs) (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p. 35), I envisaged developing a conceptual framework.
Methodology
Local studies provided an overview of the TES industry in South Africa while case- law interpretations highlighted misconceptions and facts regarding TES (Botha, 2009; Theron, 2003). As far as I could establish, no qualitative studies in the field had been conducted. Accordingly, I anticipated that, by conducting a qualitative study and, in particular, making use of a formal analytical method such as grounded theory (GT), I would make some contribution to research methods, particularly in the area of TES.
Policy
I anticipated that the research findings would inform industrial relations policy as well as the design of requisite management practices in employment contracting. In addition, this study may lead to the inclusion of measures that could be implemented to protect basic employment standards and ethical practices.
1.9 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS
This report is made up of three sections with a total of six chapters.
Section A
The first chapter presented a context for the study, defined key concepts, and set out the problem the research intended to address. It also outlined the requisite
9 research questions guiding data collection and described the research objectives. The chapter also highlighted my particular interest in the research subject, specified the anticipated contributions of the enquiry and delineated the structure of the report.
Chapter 2 describes the design of the enquiry, the methodology used in the study and also the analytical methods applied to interpret and make findings from the data collected. The remainder of the thesis comprises three sections – as outlined below.
Section B
In Chapter 3 the GT principles of data analysis are applied. The chapter then introduces the research participants and discusses the respective memoirs, as well as the analytic techniques applied to the memoirs of the eight cases. This exercise proceeds in Chapter 4 which discusses the experiences and views of the research participants, and the ordering and coding of data. Chapter 5 offers a roadmap towards the building of the theoretical model for TES employment contracting3 studied and the drafting of a conceptual model of employment contracting behaviour based on both the eight cases and the insights gained from the review of relevant literature.
Section C
The thesis concludes with Chapter 6, which offers a précis of the study as well as the implications of the findings and recommendations for further research. In particular, the chapter discusses the implications of the research findings for stakeholders such as business, organised labour and government who formulate policy and, as already stated, offers recommendations for further research.
Section D
This section contains some reflections and provides detailed narrative of my research experience. Apart from introducing myself to the reader and sharing my experiences, hopes, challenges and fears, I take the opportunity to reflect on the whole exercise. In so doing the reader is taken “behind the curtain” in a reflexive manner. This section also includes supporting annexures which contain the
3 Table 5.3 provides a schematic representation of contextual factors operating in the TES work environment.
10 categories of data sources, a list of the topics covered during the data-collection exercise, the strategies used for ensuring and improving the quality of both the qualitative research as well as the narrative of my research story.
11 CHAPTER 2
RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
2.1 INTRODUCTION
In this chapter I present my approach and the methods I used in the course of the research. Firstly, I discuss the research approach I opted for. Secondly, my key philosophical beliefs are outlined. Thirdly, I deal with the strategic questions I had to address. Fourthly, the two broad research strategies I employed are discussed. Fifthly, I point out the important decisions I took during the process of the research. Sixthly, I contextualise how I presented both the research findings and the qualitative writing styles used and, finally, the strategy I took to enhance the standard of quality regarding the methods applied in this research.
In order to answer the research questions, I required a research paradigm and approach suitable for exploring and describing the social construction of temporary employment services as a form of employment contract. I also needed to achieve the key research objectives, namely, capturing and unravelling some experiences and thoughts of people employed by temporary employment services (TES).
Qualitative research is ideally suited to exploring and describing phenomena in respect of which our knowledge is limited. In addition, it offers a variety of methods that are fluid, flexible, data-driven and context-sensitive (Thomas & Magilvy, 2011). Accordingly, I deemed it to be the ideal research style with which to unravel the innermost experiences of people affected by temporary employment strategies.
What does qualitative research entail? In the next section I offer an answer.
2.2 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH (QR)
Despite recent gains in acceptance amongst scholars, QR still pose challenges of definitions in literature. Schwandt (2007, pp. 247–248) describes QR as follows:
“Qualitative is a not-so-descriptive adjective attached to the varieties of social enquiry that have their intellectual roots in hermeneutics,
12 phenomenological sociology and Verstehen tradition. Many scholars use the phrase qualitative enquiry as a blanket designation for social enquiries that rely primarily on data in the form of words; including ethnography, case study research, naturalistic enquiry, ethnomethodology, life-history methodology and narrative inquiry. To call a research activity qualitative inquiry may broadly mean that it aims at understanding the meaning of human action”.
As is abundantly clear from the literature on qualitative inquiry (see, for example, Bogdan & Biklen, 2003; Bryman & Burgess, 1999; Hennink, Hutter, & Bailey, 2011; Yin, 2011), the diverse views involved in understanding exactly what qualitative research is poses challenges for defining it. However, Toloie-Eshlaghy, Chitsaz, Karimian, and Charkhchi (2011, p. 107) regard qualitative research as a “collective term referring to several research strategies that share certain characteristics. The data generated by qualitative studies have been termed soft data, and entail richness in the description of people, places and language. The analysis of such data is not easily conducted by numerical procedures”.
Various characteristics of qualitative research emerge from the relevant literature. The following features are often listed by qualitative researchers:
Qualitative research takes place in natural settings (Babbie & Mouton, 2004; Creswell, 2003; Schurink, 2004b). Qualitative research focuses on a process rather than an outcome (Bryman & Bell, 2007; Babbie & Mouton, 2004). Qualitative research methods enable the researcher to understand people in their social and cultural context (Babbie & Bell, 2007; Babbie & Mouton, 2004; Myers, 2011). The collection of qualitative data is done during prolonged contact between researcher and research participant (Ritchie & Lewis, 2003). Qualitative research seeks to understand the experiences, perspectives, circumstances, inclusive of histories of the participants (Ritchie & Lewis, 2003). Qualitative research approaches social phenomena holistically (Creswell, 2003)
13 Qualitative research is emergent rather than prefigured (Creswell, 2003). Qualitative researchers systematically reflect on their role and demonstrate sensitivity to their personal biographies and how these personal biographies shape their research (Creswell, 2003). Qualitative research explains or interprets reality in terms of the meanings people bring to it (Durrheim, Painter, & Terre Blanche, 2006; Ritchie & Lewis, 2003; Schurink, 2004b).
At this point one should realise that the underpinnings and nature of qualitative research are situated in various paradigms and research philosophies. Furthermore, that when embarking on qualitative research, it is essential to take into account certain important philosophical concepts. Accordingly, I next outline my position with regard to the two key philosophical concepts.
2.3 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY
“At the minimum, the exploration of philosophical concepts assists you in specifying your overall research design and strategy. These will in turn set the directions for your research, how to proceed from your research questions to the conclusions. You will need to make a decision about the type of empirical data that you will collect, how you will analyse it, rules about how to interpret the analyses, and ideas of how to present your conclusions. The exploration of philosophical concepts will also help you in making decisions about the issues that all have effect in your research design: what kinds of question do you ask in your research, and in what ways can you answer these questions with your research” (Eriksson & Kovalainen, 2008, pp. 11–12).
It is clear from the literature on qualitative research methodology that two concepts, namely, ontology and epistemology, are key considerations. Ontology encompasses one‟s views about the nature of reality. This reality may consist of a variety of phenomena such as social actors, minds, emotions, beliefs, views, rules, belief systems, institutions, organisations, structures, cultures, stories and narratives (Mason, 2005; Schurink, 2005). Thus, ontology is concerned with the natural world
14 and its existence i.e. it describes the nature of the phenomenon under study and what may be known about it.
Cohen and Crabtree (2008) maintain that there are three basic ontological paradigms that influence qualitative research, namely, (i) positivism, (ii) realism and (iii) interpretivism. Their summarisation of these qualitative research paradigms is presented in Table 2.1 below.
Table 2.1. Common paradigms in qualitative research.
Paradigm Assumptions
Positivism “There is a real world of objects apart from people”. “Researchers can discover this reality and use symbols to accurately describe, represent and explain it”. “Researchers can compare their findings against this objective reality. This allows for prediction, control, and empirical verification”.
Realism “There are real-world objects apart from people” “Researchers can only know reality according to how they understand it”. “We cannot remove ourselves from what we know; however, objectivity is an ideal that researchers strive for through careful sampling and specific techniques”. “It is possible to evaluate the extent to which objectivity or truth is attained. This can be achieved by using generally accepted evaluation criteria”.
Interpretivism “Reality as we know it is constructed inter-subjectively. Meaning and understanding are developed socially and experientially”. “We cannot separate ourselves from what we know. Who we are and how we understand the world are linked”. “Researchers‟ values are inherent in all phases of research. Truth is negotiated through dialogue”. “Findings or knowledge claims are created as an investigation proceeds and emerge through dialogue and negotiations of meanings among community members (both scholars and the community at large)”. “All interpretations are located in a particular context, setting, and moment”. Source: Cohen and Crabtree, 2008, p. 333
Each qualitative paradigm has its own views on ontology, epistemology, methodology and methods. For example, positivists see reality as external to people‟s consciousness; that is, they believe that only people constitute the world of objects (Tracy, 2013). Positivists accept that researchers may study reality and use symbols for the purposes of accurately describing, representing and explaining it. In
15 addition, positivists assert that researchers should compare their claims against reality; that is, predicting, controlling, and empirically verifying these claims. In this context it is incumbent on the researcher to maintain a detached and objective stance when studying social reality. This stance is also predominant in the quantitative paradigm.
Realists, on the other hand, believe that reality may be created only through the empathetic understanding of the meaning that the research participants ascribe to their life worlds and by using specific research strategies. Realists maintain that, while it is not possible for researchers to separate themselves from what they know, they should study social phenomena by applying specific techniques (Bryman & Bell, 2011, p. 17). Accordingly, researchers are able to know reality only from their perspective of it. Rationality, truthfulness, reality, rightfulness, goodness, as well as norms, are therefore concepts relative to a particular conceptual scheme, theoretical framework, thought paradigm, the nature of life, a type of society, or a prevailing culture. In contrast to the realists, interpretivists believe that reality is co-constructed, socially or inter-subjectively, within a particular context. As Khan (2014, p. 225) puts it, “an interpretivist view of the world is subjective, where individuals form their own reality of the world in different contexts through interactions with others”. In this context, the actions and behaviours of individuals are unpredictable.
I believe that people create social reality through social interaction. Therefore, in my view and particularly in the context of this study, reality entailed the meaning which parties operating within the labour broking environment attached to their life worlds. Accordingly, I strove to discover this reality through the views and experiences which the research participants shared with me. From this perspective, my approach to reality was subjective in that all the interpretations were formed in a particular setting and a specific point in time. Furthermore, I believe that it is not possible to separate ourselves from what we accept as real, our identity, and the meanings we attach to our social settings. In addition, because every phenomenon is linked together we must consciously attempt to maintain some distance from our research participants by being critically aware of, and by constantly reflecting on our own perceptions.
To what does epistemology refer? Schwandt (2007, p. 87) maintain that “epistemology…is the study of the nature of knowledge and justification”. Such a
16 study includes the researchers‟ assumptions regarding the nature of knowledge and how it may be created (Myers, 2011; Yin, 2008). In the words of Mertens (2013, p. 187), epistemology has to do with both the “nature of knowledge and the relationship between the researcher and the participants in the study”. As is the case with ontology, researchers need to decide whether social reality may, and should be, studied by applying the principles and procedures used by researchers in the natural sciences, thus, positivism (see for example, Bryman & Bell, 2003).
Finally, I adopted a realistic paradigm as I believe that a real world (truth) exists which may be discovered by means of a systematic, interactive methodological approach.
In addition to these philosophical considerations, it is imperative that qualitative researchers come to terms with three critical questions, namely: (i) how and when they should use the literature, (ii) how theory and research should be linked, and (iii) how they may best protect their research participants and ensure adherence to research ethics.
2.4 THREE KEY ISSUES
This section firstly discusses the use of literature in qualitative research, followed by a discussion of how I dealt with the relationship between theory and research. Finally, I discuss the challenge of research ethics.
2.4.1 Using the literature Table 2.2 below provides a summary of prevailing opinions. These views range from the creation of the original grounded theory (GT) to more contemporary views on the place of literature in the study.
17 Table 2.2. Contrasting Views in the Literature Review on GT Arguments in favour of prior literature Arguments against prior literature review review “…literature seems more likely to come after the “You need to know what is already known in presentation of new research than in connection with your research area” (Bryman & anticipation of it” (Wolcott, 2001, p. 73). Bell, 2011, p. 103). “… the researcher cannot provide a theoretical “… you need to read only enough research and framework , as the intention of grounded theory theory to make sure that you are not doing is to generate theory” (Delport, Fouché, & research that has already been done” (Shank, Schurink, 2012, p. 305). 2006, p. 117). “An effective strategy is, at first, literally to ignore the literature of theory and fact on the area under study” (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p. 37).
“… grounded theory requires the researcher to “The open-mindedness of the researcher enter the research field with no preconceived should not be mistaken for the empty problem statement, interview protocols, or mindedness of the researcher … the student or extensive review of literature” (Holton, 2007, p. researcher who is ignorant of the relevant 269). literature is always in danger of doing the equivalent” (Coffey, & Atkinson, 1996, p. 157). “literature most relevant to the research may not actually be known at the outset, and so “ the idea that any researcher undertakes a conducting a time-consuming, extensive review study without some level of prior knowledge or of publications in a specific substantive area ideas is simply unrealistic” (Cutcliffe, 2000, p. may be wasteful and inefficient ” (Dunne, 2011, 1480). p. 115). “it is impossible to achieve this idea of a clean theoretical slate” (Eisenhardt (2002, p. 12). “Rarely do researchers totally abandon prior substantive or methodological knowledge in the pursuit of understanding a complex social phenomenon” (Kools, McCarthy, Durham, & Robrecht, 1996, p. 315) Source: The researcher's adaptation of contrasting grounded theory approaches
It is clear from both the table above and the literature on qualitative research methodology that there are divergent views on the use of existing literature in qualitative studies. Shank (2006, p.116) summarises this situation as follows:
“What is the role of the literature review in qualitative research? Do we need to do a literature review to find a research question, much as we do in many forms of qualitative research? Once we find a research question or a target area, do we turn to the literature to help refine our questions or frame our approach? Or do we avoid the literature altogether, and let the world of experience lead us directly? These and similar questions are important to address. How do you take the information that you have gotten from other researchers and theorists and use this information to set up your own
18 research questions? That is, how do you use the literature to support your research? Whether we realize it or not, a literature review is an argument, and every argument is built by the use of reasoning. But we know that qualitative research emphasizes different reasoning skills and strategies. How does this affect the nature of the literature review in qualitative research?”
Shank (2006) offers a useful discussion on two schools of thought on the desirability or not of the review of scholarship/literature in qualitative research, namely, the ignorance-is-bliss school and the literature-is-valued school. Advocates of the former school believe that data must be collected and treated uncontaminated and that researchers must ignore subjective preferences and thereby avoid imposing meanings on data. However, this is no easy matter. “One way to make this job harder is to go out and do a lot of reading on the topic beforehand. In this fashion, you are just adding more stuff that you will have to set aside” (Shank, 2006, p. 117). On the other hand, proponents of the literature-is-valued school regard reading, reviewing and understanding the research topic prior to the collection of the requisite data as important.
As I point out elsewhere, I engaged intermittently with literature during the course of the study although the following two stages stood out.4 I firstly drew on literature as and when I needed it such as developing the research proposal, explaining the gap in knowledge, developing theoretical sampling and analytic methods (Wolcott, 2001; Dunne, 2011). Secondly, a comprehensive literature review on GT was conducted last. I opted for this literature strategy for purposes of using the final themes that emerged from data analysis as guide to derive second order constructs.
2.4.2 Converting research findings to theory “When we do qualitative research, the question of theory is not simple. In one sense, we respect the notion of theory as an overarching perspective that helps us coordinate a wide range of findings and understandings. But the scientific role of theory, where theory is used to settle questions of meaning, often impedes genuine qualitative inquiry. This is because the
4 The detailed account of my approach to literature in this study is provided in section 3.2 of this report.
19 primary focus of qualitative research is, front and centre, an examination and inquiry into meaning” (Shank, 2006, pp. 7–8).
Bryman and Bell (2011) point out that converting findings to theory is more ambiguous in qualitative research than in its counterpart, that is, quantitative research. While various issues are at stake regarding the nature of the research findings–theory relationship, Bryman and Bell (2007, p. 7) highlight the following two considerations:
“First, there is the question of what form of theory one is talking about. Secondly, there is the matter of whether data is collected to test or to build theories.”
Regarding the nature of the theory, it is important to distinguish between grand theories operating at the high abstract level, and theories of the middle range (Maschner, 1996), which offer an explanation of behaviour in a particular setting or context. According to Bryman and Bell (2007), these middle range theories typically guide research in management and business studies. In my view they would also be particularly useful in the field of industrial relations. Substantive theory, as found in grounded theory, and as opposed to formal theory, is particularly important in terms of theory type.
The second point, namely, (i) that theory occurs after data has been gathered and analysed, and (ii) whether theory is deducted from the relevant literature or generated from empirical findings, represents the two basic aspects of inquiry in research. Such aspects of inquiry are deduction and induction. There are several expositions of these models of social science research in the literature on methodology and I consider the following exposition by Eriksson and Kovalainen (2008, pp. 22–23) very useful:
On the basis of what is known about a phenomenon theoretically, the researcher is able to deduce one or more hypotheses. The hypotheses are then subjected to empirical study. The process of deduction is linear, following the logic of proceeding from theory to empirical research. The certainty in theory development is gained through the hypothesis testing in empirical scrutiny …
20 When you take the relationship between theory and empirical research as inductive, you follow the logic of proceeding from empirical research to theoretical results. In other words, the research process develops, starting from empirical materials, not from theoretical propositions.
It is clear from the literature that qualitative researchers are increasingly applying both induction and deduction. This is often referred to as abduction. As will become clear in subsequent chapters I moved iteratively between induction and deduction in this study.
2.4.3 Research ethics It is obvious from the literature that people hold different views on what ethics entail. Fujimoto (2012, pp. 257–258) attributes the divergence of views to the “kinds of values and morals an individual or society finds desirable or appropriate”. Concurring, Myers (2011, p. 45) maintain that the “fundamental moral standards prescribed involve focussing on what is right and what is wrong.” Thus, ethics provide a basis for understanding how, as a human being, one should make morally decent choices in conduct or behaviour. Three objectives of ethical conduct in research is to protect human and animal subjects from harm, protecting the interests of individuals, groups, society and to examine the research activities against existing ethical codes.
Strydom (2012, p. 114) defines ethics as
“a set of moral principles which is suggested by an individual or group, is subsequently widely accepted, and which offers rules and behavioural expectations about the most correct conduct towards experimental subjects and respondents, employers, sponsors, other researchers, assistants and students”.
Notwithstanding the variety of definitions, the central feature appears to be that ethical codes provides a set of rules or principles guiding the researchers and subjects in making decisions. Such decisions reflect the choices made between right or wrong and good or bad when facing particular situations, such as in a research study.
21 With regard to research we are “morally bound to conduct our research in a manner that minimizes potential harm to those involved in the study” (Bloomberg and Volpe, 2008, p. 76). In practical terms, researchers should apply moral principles in planning, execution and reporting the results of research studies (Myers, 2011). In short, involving human beings as objects in social research gives rise to pervasive and complex problems. In dealing with such problems, researchers have to balance their commitment to expanding knowledge, on the one hand, with the cost to their research participants on the other.
Various codes emphasising the compliance criteria developed by social science institutions are available to researchers (Christensen, Johnson, & Turner, 2011; McBurney & White, 2004; Walliman, 2011). It is therefore advisable for researchers to study the principles and prescribed procedures in order to ensure the credibility of their studies (McBurney & White, 2004; Strydom, 2012). However, while these codes offer important guidelines, ethically responsible research hinges on the integrity of the researcher and his or her values (Schurink, 2010). Yin (2011, p. 41) writes as follows about integrity in qualitative research “research integrity means that you and your word(s) can be trusted as representing truthful positions and statements. Although research does not demand that you take an oath, as in other fields, people must know, through your actions, demeanour, and research methods, that you are striving to produce research that is truthful, including clarifying the point of view being represented”.
Research integrity, therefore, is considered very important in qualitative research. Given the higher flexibility of designs and procedures inherent in execution of qualitative research, readers would be interested to see that qualitative researchers have done everything possible to adhere to research protocols accurately and fairly. Accordingly qualitative researchers should be ready and willing to be challenged or even to have their earlier thinking on a matter being revised.
Given the fact that this study was undertaken under the auspices of University of Johannesburg (UJ) and in the Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management (IPPM), I did a careful study of their procedural ethics protocol. I noted the following guidelines in particular: (i) sensitivity to and respecting the right to privacy of participants; (ii) protection of research participants from harmful practices;
22 (iii) achieving objectivity and maintaining integrity of methods applied; (iv) recording and disclosing research findings fully; (v) following ethical publishing practices; and (vi) being accountable to society.
While I took heed of these principles, I also paid special attention to the protection of human subjects. I found the advice of Bloomberg and Volpe (2008, p. 76) useful, where he wrote that “As researchers, we are morally bound to conduct our research in a manner that minimizes potential harm to those involved in the study.”
Noting the importance of making sure that the rights of human subjects are protected and since informed consent plays a role in this in this regard, I drew up an informed consent form5 with the assistance of Prof Schurink.
During the research process and before interviewing the research participants, I (i) explained the aims and nature of the study; (ii) emphasised that taking part in the research was not compulsory (voluntary) and that they could withdraw at any time if they wished to do so, (iii) explained what I would require from them during the interviews, (iv) outlined my role as researcher and (v) assured them that their names would not be used and that any information that could reveal their identities would be removed from the thesis.6
I believe that by continuously keeping the call in mind made by Maylor and Blackmon (2005) and Myers (2011, p. 46), namely, to “treat others as you yourself want to be treated and provide benefit to the organisation and individuals involved in your work,” I managed to navigate the ethical minefield successfully.
Having outlined philosophical and broad ethical questions, I now turn to the two genres or types of qualitative research I employed in the study.
2.5 CASE STUDY AND GROUNDED THEORY AS GENERAL STRATEGIES
As Marshall and Rossman (2011) point out, various qualitative methodologists have, over the years, attempted to organise the various approaches or genres found in qualitative research into categories or strands; for example, Creswell (2003), Patton
5 See section 3.2.6.1 of Annexure A. 6 “Research participant” (RP) is used in the thesis to refer to the 5 TES employees and 3 ex-TES employees who participated in the study.
23 (2002) and Denzin and Lincoln (2005). In line with the said approach, Bloomberg and Volpe (2008) point out that such organising provides direction to both the intent and the design of the study. Situating one‟s project according to strategies, types or models of qualitative research (case study, ethnography, phenomenology, life history, grounded theory, participant observation, or content analysis), while not necessarily prescriptive, is useful. I resolved that, while there was some overlapping, I would adopt case study and grounded theory as overall research strategies in the study.
2.5.1 Case study In view of the research problem, I was convinced that a literature study alone would not succeed in answering the research questions adequately. In other words, I required a research strategy that would look deeply into the mechanics of the phenomenon under study. Toloie-Eshlaghy et al. (2011, p. 120) advocate for the use of the case study due to its compatibility with GT methods, as well as its ability to reconcile library theory or literature and field work. I also believed that a case study would guide me in realising the study objectives because it offers the following possibilities (as outlined by Aaltio & Heilmann, 2010): (i) in the case study the researcher‟s role is easy to define, (ii) in case studies the function of the research context is simply to describe, especially in connecting the research setting with existing theory, (iii) various methods may be employed which enhances reliability throughout the research process (iv) case studies are idiographic in the sense that individual cases are explained and understood within their own unique contexts, (v) case studies are well-equipped to answer the “how” and “why” question about contemporary real-life phenomena which are beyond the control of the researcher, (vi) case studies are suitable for generating theory with regard to phenomena of which we have little knowledge and (vii) case studies may assist in resolving contradicting findings/conclusions. In addition, Foley (2010) added that case studies may reveal limitations in existing theories.
Arguably the significant aspect of a case study is that (regardless of whether it involves one or more cases) it refers to one unit of analysis or case, and aims to provide knowledge about that particular case (Schwandt, 2007). Accordingly, where the boundaries of the phenomenon require clear determination, a case study is the
24 appropriate strategy. In this study, I singled out the TES phenomenon from a range of employers involved in labour broking employment arrangements. It is for this reason that Stake (2005, p. 23) maintains that a case is a “bounded system of interest, either a single or multiple case, over a period of time”. The case could take the form of a single event, a chain of events, an occurrence, programme, an individual or a number of individuals.
Notwithstanding the various definitions of a case study, I observed certain significant features common to the case study, namely:
It provides for deep study of the phenomenon instead of extensive studies It focuses on a special subject and not on general subjects It emphasises relationships and processes as opposed to emphasising results and products It features a general and synthetic view instead of a synthetic situation It is compatible with multiple or overlapping methods of collecting data as opposed to a single method of data collection (Toloie-Eshlaghy et al., 2011).
A number of different types of case study exist. Marshall and Rossman (2011) differentiate between explanatory; exploratory and descriptive case studies. They assert that exploratory studies aim to describe complex situations for which there is little or no theory. Therefore, case studies are suitable to identify important categories and generate hypotheses for further research.
Noting that case studies may possess different features, Yin (2003, p. 5) and Levy, 2008) highlight three broad classifications of case studies, each undertaken with a specific purpose in mind. These are the (i) exploratory case study whose objective is defining the questions and the hypothesis in a study, including evaluating procedures used in the study; (ii) a descriptive case study that offers a complete contextual description of a phenomenon and (iii) an explanatory case study which presents data explaining the manner in which events occurred; thereby reflecting a relationship between various stages of the event.
25 My study resembled an exploratory multiple case study. However, as soon will become clear, it was not unbounded, that is, it was not conducted at a particular site or organisation.
2.5.2 Grounded theory Taking cognisance of the fact that grounded theory offers a formalised approach to theory generation I employed it in addition to the case study in order to develop a conceptual framework, or a substantive theory, of temporary employment services employees.
Grbich (2007) points out that GT emerged in the mid-1960s when grand theories and large-scale quantitative studies were the dominant forms of research. Developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967):
Grounded theory was seen as a way of shifting researchers from theory directed to theory generating research using observations of reality to construct both meaning and theories which were relevant to the mid twentieth century rather than those which had been developed for the late nineteenth century. The primary focus then became the investigation of the context of the setting within which the day to day lives of people were occurring – their interactions, their behaviours and their constructions of reality which were further reconstructed through researchers‟ frames of reference. A secondary agenda for Glaser and Strauss involved exposure of the processes of qualitative data analysis in order to demonstrate that these were close in meticulous practice to those of the quantitative tradition and, therefore, as worthy of consideration (Grbich, 2007, p. 71).
Together with other scholars they (Glaser and Strauss) criticised in-advance theorising based on the ungrounded assumptions i.e. not derived from empirical reality. Before-the-fact theorising allows for a limitless number of theories to be generated. However, these theories require empirical testing before their usefulness and value may be proved. As opposed to a priori theorising, GT focuses instead on developing theory from data and using the constant comparative method for analysing the data (Hallberg, 2006).
26 GT has become the most widely used, formal, strategy for data analysis in contemporary research projects. Nevertheless, for a number of reasons it is not easy to provide a conclusive description of grounded theory (Bryman & Bell, 2011). Arguably one of the most important reasons for this state of affairs stems from the fact that, after the publication of their book titled “The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research (1967)”, Glaser and Strauss parted company and developed different GT approaches (Grbich 2007; Urquhart. 2013). The separation, in turn, offer different ways of looking at problems and social issues. Today, these applications are referred to as the Glaserian and the Straussian modes of GT (Gephart, 2003). Ultimately, the respective approaches of the two co-founders of GT are embodied in two books titled “Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques” by Strauss and Corbin (1990, 1998) and “Emergence vs. forcing: Basics of grounded theory analysis” by Glaser (1967). .
While it is not appropriate to the purposes of this study to provide a substantive exposition of grounded theory, it was, nevertheless, necessary to provide some context. In outlining the key features of GT I used the useful tools and outcomes framework of Bryman and Bell (2011, pp. 585–588). The tools are used to treat data such that the resultant theory is directly linked to solid evidence.
Tools
The enabling tools unique to GT are theoretical sampling, coding, memos, theoretical saturation and the constant comparison method. I discuss each tool briefly next.
Theoretical sampling
Theoretical sampling is
“the process of data collection for generating theory whereby the analyst jointly collects, codes, and analyses his data and decides what data to collect next and where to find them, in order to develop his theory as it emerges” (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p. 45). In this technique, the process of data collection is controlled by the emerging theory, whether substantive or formal,
27 Coding
Coding is central feature of grounded theory and entails “breaking down data into component parts, which are given names” (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 585). Charmaz (2006) describe this process as asking analytic questions of the data gathered and defining what it means. This is done by studying interview transcripts and field notes or other types of data collected. There are varied stages of coding data. Of particular importance is Strauss and Corbin‟s (1990) coding typology differentiating between open, axial and selective types of coding. Through open coding, discreet parts of data are developed and then compared and brought together to reveal the emerging categories and sub-categories by identifying central characteristic or phenomena. This latter step is known as axial coding as it establishes the basis for the next level of coding (Strauss & Corbin, 2008; Wicks, 2010). Once the concepts have been determined, the core category is selected and this core category is systematically related to the other categories in order to distinguish relationships and, where necessary, identify categories that require further refinement and development by means of selective coding (Flick, 2006; Matthew & Price, 2010).
Unlike Strauss and Corbin, Glaser (1967) emphasised open, selective and theoretical coding. Theoretical codes specify possible relationships between categories developed in lower level coding; thereby playing an integrative role. By explicating relationships between individual constructs, theoretical codes create inferential or predictive statements often in the form of hypotheses about the phenomena (Myers, 2007). “These codes may help you tell an analytic story that has coherence” Charmaz, 2006, p. 63).
Memos
In GT, memos are notes that field workers might record for both themselves and for those with whom they work concerning elements of grounded theory as coding or concepts. They serve as reminders about what is meant by the terms being used and provide the building blocks for a certain amount of reflection (Bryman & Bell, 2011). Memos, therefore, play an important role in the process of theory construction. It is advisable that researchers should compile such memos as they collect and analyse data.
28 The afore-mentioned tools entail that there are various types of memos involved in GT. By using code memos, the researcher identifies code labels and their meaning. Theoretical memos are used when the researcher critically ponders the aspects and deeper meanings of the concepts whereas methodological or operational memos take the form of reminders and instructions as the analysis unfolds.
Theoretical saturation
“Saturation refers to the situation in which no additional data may be found which the researcher may use to develop the properties of the category in question. In view of the fact researcher is seeing similar instances over and over again, the researcher becomes empirically confident that a category is saturated” (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p. 61).
The saturation process encompasses two stages. The first stage entails coding data until reaching a point at which it does not make sense to continue to review data in order to establish how well it adds to concepts and categories that have been generated. The second stage is theoretical saturation and is linked to the data collection. In practice, once a concept or category has been constructed, the researcher continues to gather data in order to establish its full characteristic features but then reach a point where new data are no longer illuminating the concept (Bryman & Bell, 2011, pp. 442–443).
The constant comparison method
This method assisted me to construct theory. Through literature review and guided by theoretical framework, I could show where and how the ideas of other scholars illuminated my theoretical categories and how theory extended, transcended or challenged dominant ideas in employment relations field. In grounded theory the researcher constantly compares the phenomena that he or she analysed under a particular category so as to ensure that the theoretical elaboration of that category is facilitated (Urquhart, 2013).
I furthermore noted that while this method is prominent in GT method, it would appear that it is used implicitly rather than explicitly in contemporary grounded theory. Constant comparison is, therefore, an enabling tool in terms of which the
29 researcher compares concepts carrying empirical indicators with each other; with a view to confirming or rephrasing the definition of the concept together with its properties.
Outcomes
Grounded theory results in a number of products. The following are the most important of these products:
Concepts refer to labels assigned to discrete phenomena and serve as the building blocks of theory (Corbin & Strauss, 2008).
Categories operate at a higher order of construction than a concept and may consist of two or more concepts which may in turn cluster around a core or central category (Merriam, 2009). Categorising entails selecting certain codes as having overriding significance or abstracting common themes and patterns in several codes into an analytic concept.
Properties refer to the unique attributes of a category while hypotheses entail initial assumptions about the relationships between concepts.
Theory is a generalization about a phenomenon, an explanation of how or why something occurs.
“a set of well-developed categories that are systematically related through statements of relationship to form a theoretical framework that explains some relevant phenomenon” (Corbin & Strauss, 1998, p. 22).
As I have already pointed out, two types of theory may be distinguished, namely, substantive theory and formal theory.
Substantive theory refers to
development of a substantive or empirical area of sociological inquiry, such as race relations, delinquency, or research organisations. Formal theory refers to the development of a formal or conceptual area of sociological inquiry, such as deviant behaviour, socialisation or consumer activism (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p. 32).
30 Both these types of theory may be considered as middle range.
Having discussed the two broad research strategies I employed, I will now discuss the research methodology I used.
2.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
According to Bloomberg and Volpe (2008, p. 73), methodology is defined as “…how research proceeds and encompass a range of logistical, ethical, and credibility issues. Therefore the term methods commonly denote specific techniques, procedures, or tools used by the researcher to generate and analyse data”.
A number of key decisions must be taken during the flexible, cyclical qualitative research process. However, it is not possible to set a standard format for such decisions nor is it possible to indicate the various stages which may be executed consecutively (Fouché & Schurink, 2012).
The next sections focus on the following key decision taking steps, namely, locating field settings and selecting research participants, establishing my role or stance as the researcher, collection of data, recording, managing the data, analysing the data, data presentation and writing styles, and strategies aimed at enhancing the trustworthiness of the study.
2.6.1 Locating field settings and selecting research participants Bloomberg and Volpe (2008, pp. 78–79) maintain that “…typical delimitations refer to selected aspects of the research problem, the time and location of the study, the sample selected…” Early in the study I asked myself the following questions: Which data sources will be regarded as rich in information? How would I obtain the relevant data? To whom should I direct my request for assistance? Which settings should I go into? Which combination of data collection techniques should I apply? Who should I approach for peer reviews? As the study proceeded, I experienced what Urquhart (2013) pointed out, namely, that the nature of questions such as these changed. Typical questions then included: What data is the TES firm or client business concealing? Which data sources may confirm or challenge my understanding?
31 In search for data, qualitative researchers turn to people in real-world situations. As Yin (2011) points out, there are a variety of institutional and everyday settings in which people perform real-life roles.
First, field settings can include small groups of people who share a common bond, such as a gang or a work group. Second, they can cover residents of the same small geographical area. Third, field settings can focus on institutional scenes. Everyday life in many different kinds of institutions, such as clinical settings or schools, can be the topics of study.
Fourth, field settings may be defined as unrelated groups of people. They may share some common condition, such as a similar health problem or medical ailment, but they do not interact as a group, reside in geographically proximal areas, or serve as members of similar institutional settings. This fourth definition has been prominent in grounded theory research (Yin, 2011, pp. 111–112).
In view of the fact that I did not know any persons who were in temporary employment service, I set out to identify potential sites where potential research participants could be recruited. Guided by the concept of triangular employment relationship inherent in the TES phenomenon, I located a number of sites. Such sites included a hospitality entity in Hazyview, a public service institution, a retail business and a bakery in Nelspruit. While it was convenient to select settings in Nelspruit and Hazyview because of cost effectiveness, accessibility and time, being mindful that convenience alone has been considered the least desirable sampling strategy (Suri, 2011) and is neither purposeful nor strategic (Patton, 2002).
The retail entity comprised a large grocery chain shop while the manufacturing entity was a food manufacturing outlet. The public service institution was a provincial government department with a lengthy record of recruiting temporary employees. I also took advantage of my work commitments in Pretoria to locate other possible RPs. My colleagues referred me to one ex-TES employee who was working in a banking institution in Pretoria at the time of the study and this individual, in turn, put me in touch with a RP who was working in a state-owned communication setting in Pretoria.
32 Thus, I used primarily purposive sampling (Foley, 2010; Suri, 2011) to identify access points or settings where I could find people involved in temporary employment service. I was also persuaded by Patton‟s (1990, p. 169) contention that “the logic and power of purposeful sampling lie in selecting information-rich cases for study in depth. Information-rich cases are those from which one can learn a great deal about issues of central importance to the purpose of the inquiry, thus the term purposeful sampling”. Studying information-rich cases, therefore, yields insights and in-depth understanding rather than empirical generalizations.
In fact, I combined purposeful sampling with snowball sampling (see, for example, Patton, 2002; Suri, 2011) as I requested informants, contacts, colleagues and friends to provide me with the names and contact information of people they thought could be willing to participate in the study. According it is the referral sampling technique where existing participants recruit future participants from among their acquaintances. As Suri (2011, 69) defines it, “Snowball sampling involves seeking information from key informants about the details of other information-rich cases in the field.” I noted the caution against the “expert bias” involved in snowballing but, nevertheless, I proceeded as the cases identified were selected more for their inside knowledge than their expertise.
Gaining access to potential research participates constitutes the next critical step in the process of data collection (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005. This was not easy! After the lack of success of my initial attempts to gain access via TES firms and client business organisations, I was fortunate to make contact with potential research participants after I had approached certain trade unions for information about appropriate settings. I regarded the difficulty I had encountered in persuading the TES firms and client business organisation to grant me permission or to participate in the study as a challenge. I got a strong impression that there is something I could discover that was rich enough for answering the research questions in this study.
I interviewed labour representatives, the Department of Labour administrative centre manager, and Commissioners at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) for information about people involved in temporary employment and where I might be able to locate them. In addition, I acquired valuable information during participant observation with some TES employees. In order to obtain a
33 broader contextual understanding, I gathered information on the dispute resolution processes pertaining to TES employees from the regional office of the CCMA. Also, interviewing the Department of Labour administrative centre manager provided valuable insights into the monitoring and enforcement of compliance with labour- related policies and regulations.
I identified potential participants according to their experience and knowledge of the triangular nature of the employment relationship inherent in TES. In addition, in view of the complexity of the phenomenon, I deemed it appropriate to sample from multiple settings to gain a wider perspective of the impact of TES as had emerged from current debates between various stakeholders as well as the preliminary research I had undertaken. I intended testing the assertion that TES employees were motivated particularly in accepting TES employment; such as job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and turnover intention (De Cuyper & De Witte, 2008; Burgess & Connell, 2006). Accordingly, I opted to use theoretical sampling. Finally, I took heed of Krueger and Cassey (2009) who emphasise that when sampling the purpose of the study should be taken into account.
While there is no consensus among qualitative researchers on the size of the sample inclusion in a qualitative research, there does appear to be agreement that this is determined by the study‟s purpose and also that the samples in a qualitative study are usually relatively small. Ritchie and Lewis (2003) cite three reasons for this state of affairs. Firstly, if the data analysis is to be conducted properly, the sample should make it possible for the researcher to reach a point where additional cases do not provide any new insights. In other words, the principle of data saturation determines sample size. Secondly, as statistical analysis is not required in qualitative research, sample sizes do not have to be statistically valid. Finally, since qualitative data is rich in detail and facilitates description, relatively small samples provide sufficient information to justify the conclusions reached. In fact, even one case is justified when the case is critical for confirming a premise, when it is rare or extreme, or when it provides unusual access for the purposes of academic research. In these circumstances, Mason (2010) and Suri (2011) concluded that in a nutshell, sample size in qualitative studies is determined more by the researcher than data saturation per se.
34 I considered the fact that sample size is critically important for researchers who needed statistical power to generalise. However, for qualitative research context is more important than numbers. A small number of interviews would result in shallow and inconclusive contributions. At the same time, a large number of interviewees would result in an unworkable amount of data, which would make transcription very difficult and insightful interpretations doubtful.
Silverman (2005) observes that sample size may need to be changed as a study progresses and the researcher applies theoretical sampling. Broadly speaking, specific new cases are selected based on the insights emerging during the study. For example, it may be necessary to increase the size of the sample in order to learn more about the emergent concept, or else the researcher may seek out “deviant cases” – cases which differ from what has been found up to that point. In addition, the researcher may include some cases at a certain point and other cases at other points during the study. For example, Johnson (1998) analysed thirteen cases in order to build his theory and then added another six “negative” cases.
Carson, Gilmore, Perry, and Gronhaug (2001) and Bowen (2008) support the view that cases should be included until the researcher reaches theoretical saturation. The decision as to the point at which this point is reached should be left to the discretion of the researcher. They (Carson et al.) furthermore suggest that if the researcher is not able to justify the use of a single case, 2 to 4 cases should be the minimum with 10 sufficient, and 15 the absolute maximum.
When I approached leaders of organised labour to identify the abovementioned setting, i.e. where employees were deployed in a triangular relationship set-up, the first person with whom I had contact provided me with the contact details of all his fellow TES employees. This made it easy for me to approach them directly.
Sustained interaction with the participants made it possible for me to eventually develop the TES employee conceptual framework. I first used convenience sampling as I searched for the most obvious cases of TES, that is, persons whose work settings were identified by organised labour. As I developed categories from the data
35 obtained from these participants, I applied purposeful sampling. Finally, focusing on cases essential to the emerging theory, I utilised theoretical sampling.7
Initially I had thought that an in-depth interview of a sample of 5 participants would be sufficient for the purposes of the study. However, guided by Silverman‟s advice (2005) to “theoretically” include cases as the study progressed, I ended up with eight cases.
In setting the criteria for the research participants I made use of practitioners with expert knowledge in the field of ER and dispute resolution in South Africa. They were required to (i) engage in peer discourses on the research topic, (ii) preside over labour disputes (iii) monitor the enforcement of labour and environmental law, and (iv) be involved in the deployment to a client business organisation by a TES firm.
Particularly important was who to include in in the sample. I also noted the views of Kirkevold and Bergland (2007, pp. 70–71), namely, (a) being a member of the population or group under investigation; (b) having the ability to articulate experiences in respect of the phenomenon or situation under investigation; (c) being in a state of health that permits participation in study; and (d) being willing to share one‟s experiences.
Finally, I similarly decided that participants had to be (i) 18 years or older, (ii) able to understand and read either English or an African language, (iii) in a position to provide informed consent, (iv) currently or previously employed at a TES firm, (v) able to participate in an interview, and (vi) willing to speak about their experiences. My sampling strategy complied with the inclusion criteria as suggested by Kirkevold and Bergland (2007).
2.6.2 Establishing researcher roles In qualitative research, researchers typically take on roles that fluctuate between observing people and participating in their world. In ethnographic, action and case study research, it is quite common for the researcher to meet the research participants regularly over a prolonged period of time, and also for the researcher to develop a relatively close relationship with participants (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007;
7 Please see Section 2.3.2 (i).
36 Schurink, 2009a). Such a close relationship implies that the distance between the researcher and the participant fades away because of increased familiarity while, among other things, (i) the participant is regarded as the expert on the subject under investigation, thus allowing him or her a voice as the representative of a particular social world, and (ii) the researcher is seen as the primary instrument of the study.
Specifically with regard to his or her role in the research as the research instrument the researcher should consider the following:
The extent of his or her intrusion in the lives and cultures of the participants. Performing an interactive social role when performing various activities of data collection such as observing, conducting interviews and interacting with the research participants in order to obtain data that will allow him/her to interpret, validate, and reconstruct the social reality in question. Being alertto and avoid bias. Being aware of and managing his or her own experiences and viewpoints and reflecting on them in memos, projected lifespan, internal audit trail and natural settings (Schurink, 2005).
In view of my close involvement with the participants, I did all I could to achieve what Mason (1995) terms controlled subjectivity and reflexivity, that is, maintaining a critical self-examination role.
2.6.3 Data collection Eriksson and Kovalainen (2008) and Schurink (2005) maintain that qualitative data typically entails using words, telling stories, relating oral histories, inspecting photographs and/or diagrams but rarely involving numbers. In order to collect such data, qualitative researchers usually apply multiple methods. By mixing data collection sources I ensured that the quality of research was improved. For this purpose, Bloomberg and Volpe, (2008) advise as follows:
Qualitative researchers are concerned about the validity of their communication. To reduce the likelihood of misinterpretation, we employ various procedures, including redundancy of data gathering and procedural challenges to explanation. These procedures, called triangulation, are
37 considered a process of using multiple perceptions to clarify meaning (pp. 72–73).
In this study, I used participant observation, interviewing, and documents. These will now be discussed next.
Participant observation
I used participant observation primarily, but not exclusively, at the beginning of the fieldwork when I immersed myself with people who were carrying out temporary employment service at restaurants and hotels in various locations in Mpumalanga and Gauteng.
Participant observation involves not only observing people carrying out activities but also participating to some extent in these activities as well. The main purpose is to talk to people and interact with them in an attempt to gain an understanding of their beliefs and activities from the inside (Myers, 2011, p. 139).
This provided me with the ideal opportunity to observe how they went about their tasks and also to discuss their experiences and perceptions of temporary employment service with them. There were even times when I saw them arriving at work and leaving for home in the late evening hours.
Another setting which provided me with valuable information was my own workplace (government department) at which small business enterprises render catering and event management services using TES employees. Here, I often had the opportunity to take part in conversations with people who were temporarily employed about their fears about the tenure of the employment. In addition, I also took advantage of the opportunity to share views with my colleagues on the phenomenon of temporary employment.
I also frequently observed people seeking temporary jobs at public venues such as theatres, retail shops, banking institutions, a food manufacturing plant, and a construction site. Finally, I was provided with the opportunity to observe first-hand the live dispute resolution process and how the processes between the TES
38 employees, TES client employers, and a TES firm unfolded when the office of the South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union in Nelspruit invited me to attend a live dispute resolution process. The precariousness of the TES employees‟ job struck me when the employee struggled to identify his or her real employer. At that time the recent legislative changes to labour laws had not yet taken effect. I found the CCMA Commissioner‟s explanation of how, at times, the favourable remedy entails reinstating the employee on the TES firm‟s books particularly insightful. This situation had arisen when the client business entity had maintained that it no longer required the services of the employee.
Interviews
I noticed from literature that the most appropriate way of enquiring how people feel and think is by talking to them. The interview is recognised as one of the requisite techniques at the qualitative researcher‟s disposal. In fact, a large proportion of data used in social science research is gathered by means of interviewing (Bryman & Cassell, 2006). It is small wonder that various qualitative researchers (Al-Yateem, 2012; Rowley, 2012; Uhrenfeldt, Patterson, & Hall, 2007) advocate this as a powerful tool with which to gain an understanding of people. Whether undertaken face-to-face or in groups, the interview is among the oldest and most frequently used methods of data collection and has been used extensively in case study research.
Concurring with the aforementioned scholars, Rowley (2012) and Greeff (2012) describe interviews as verbal exchanges during which the researcher attempts to get information and gain an understanding of another person, namely, the interviewee. In situations like these, the interviewee or custodian of data is invited by the researcher to a face-to-face discussion for sharing his or her own attitudes, beliefs, behaviours or experiences as an employee, user or consumer of a product, or citizen. In this context, the interviewee represents a primary source of data.
At the conclusion of my review of the literature on qualitative methodology I decided to conduct interviews for the following reasons: (i) they offer a flexible interview structure; (ii) they entail interactive discussions on the topic; (iii) they provide one the opportunity to use combination of techniques in order to extract rich data (e.g. by probing, penetrating, exploring and explaining phenomena); (iv) they facilitate the
39 creation of new knowledge and insight as the interview progresses and (v) they entail face-to-face events (Greeff, 2012; Ritchie & Lewis, 2003).
I had to make a choice between different sorts of interviews which I was advised could be classified into three basic types, namely: structured, semi-structured, and unstructured interviews (Bryman & Bell, 2011; Myers, 2011; Yin, 2011). Yin (2011, pp. 134–135) delineates the following ways in which unstructured interview differs from conducting structured interviews:
The researcher role between the agent and the data source is not rigorous. Despite the fact that the interviewer has “a mental framework of study questions” no questionnaire is used. The verbalized questions “… posed to any given participant will differ according to the context and setting of the interview. The interviewer does not attempt to approach every interview in a uniform way. The interview entails a conversation, facilitating “a social relationship of sorts, with the quality of the relationship individualized to every participant ... This controversial mode … presents the opportunity for two-way interactions, in which a participant even may query the researcher …” Also that participants enjoy the freedom to choose their verbal expressions, being candid at some topics but reserved in respect of others, and researchers need to know distinguish the two The interviewer “tries to have participants use their own words, not those predefined by the researcher, to discuss topics.”
The mode of interviewing I used could be described as controversial. The interviews with the research participants provided me with personal accounts of their experiences and views of temporary employment service. However, I did use more structured interviews when I required the interviewees to expand on something they had shared with me, and also when I wanted them to comment on my findings and insights and to perform member checking.
In the process of the interviews I requested the participants to talk around a particular theme/idea. In addition, I adapted my questions and the order of the questions in accordance with what the interviewee said (see Condie, 2007). In general, I followed Greeff‟s (2012, pp. 343–346) advice on ensuring that the thrust of
40 the interview remained centred on the original research question posed. I also encouraged the research participants to talk about issues that they considered important to them.
Telephonic interviews
Despite debates around the value of email collected data, such method has recently gained prominence as a form of data collection (Reid, Petocz, & Gordon, 2008; Greeff, 2012). The distance between research participants 5 and 6, who were based in Gauteng and me, residing in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, ruled out the possibility of conducting face-to-face interviews with them. Accordingly, I had to make use of both telephone discussions and email. I discussed the broad discussion topics to be used during the interviews with the two participants telephonically and did follow-up by email correspondence and we then discussed their views and experiences during the telephonic interviews8. In view of the fact that RP5 was a frequent visitor to Nelspruit we took advantage of this and were able to conduct follow up, face-to-face interviews in order to discuss the information she had shared in her emails.
The interviews were conducted in phases. During phase 1 I used unstructured interviews to pave the way, introduce the study, and set the scene.9 At this stage, I aimed at obtaining a general understanding of temporary agency work arrangements and, specifically, TES, and verify what I knew about the phenomenon and had observed, especially in the hospitality and catering settings I frequented. Following the guidelines of Schurink (2004b) and that of Krueger and Casey (2009), I developed a 15-point interview guide10 which consisted of 64 topics. Ten questions formed the core of the interviews, which, in turn, formed the basis of the GT analysis. Phase 2 entailed in-depth interviews which focused on substantive aspects of the participants‟ views and experience.
Phase 3 entailed re-affirming important points which had emerged from the data as well as verifying both my findings and insights and the emerging theory. The interviews were conducted at convenient venues, for example a coffee shop or a
8 Annexure B explains the manner of invitation and agenda points informing the form of subsequent interviews. 9 See Annexure B. 10 See section 3.2.6.2 of Annexure A for the research story.
41 participant‟s home and varied between 45 minutes and 1 hour 18 minutes – the average length was 50 minutes.
The interviews with the commissioners of the CCMA and the manager of the Department of Labour were not recorded and, thus, I made notes of our discussions in my note book.
Documents
Solicited personal documents are those produced at the request of the researcher (Draper & Swift, 2010). This kind is illustrated by the person telling his story to a researcher in a series of open-ended interviews. In solicited personal documents, the researcher actively participates in the production of the document and must consequently employ special techniques and procedures. On the other hand, in unsolicited personal documents, the researcher makes use of documents that already exist. Unsolicited documents are created by the researcher either for his or her own use (a personal diary) or at the request of some other party. His or her task is confined to the selection, location, analysis, and presentation of such documents (Bogdan & Taylor, 1975). In this study, I made very little use of documents but obtained some pictures from COSATU trade union federation. I was aware that had a need arose, I could have requested access to letters, minutes, official records, films, videos and photographs, etc. which are available to qualitative researchers from various sources.
For purposes of gaining a better understanding of TES employees I contacted COSATU House in Johannesburg. I enquired about their position on TES in general, and whether they had accumulated documents about TES. I was referred to a shop steward manager in the same office to whom I sent an email. He, in turn, provided me with useful material.
Finally, I used solicited essays where I asked the research participants to write about their experiences and views and e-mail these to me.
2.6.4 Recording and managing data In view of the fact the data generated by qualitative methods is, in the main, voluminous (see, for example, Patton, 2002), it follows that researchers must capture
42 and store the material collected about a social setting/s and the experiences and perceptions of the research participants safely. In order to capture data I used audio tape recording, tape transcriptions, field notes, and my research journal or personal diary.
Audio recordings
While some of the interviewees were not willing for the interviews be recorded, where interviewees did agree to recordings being made I made use of a Sony ICD- PX312.
Transcripts
Typed interviews are known as transcripts (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007; Greeff, 2012). According to Silverman (2011), qualitative researchers typically transcribe a few informative interviews in detail and analyse them. Thereafter a researcher decides which of the rest of the interviews require detailed transcription. Bailey (2008) points out that while on the surface, transcription appears to be a simple process, it requires judgment about the amount of detail to be captured in the final transcript.
I listened to the tape recordings, captured my reflections on the interviews and then transcribed the parts I deemed to be important. Hereafter I obtained the services of a Gauteng based, reputable transcription service provider to transcribe the interviews I conducted with RP2 and RP3. I scanned the tape recordings for assessing the suitability of the quality sound based on the software used. While the service provider performed the actual transcribing service, I did some quality assurance work on the transcripts; which meant comparing transcripts with the audio files and checking for typing and errors in spelling (Moore, 2009). The interviews were transcribed verbatim, but I made sure that words that added no value such as “um's, aah's, oh's”, and superfluously repeated phrases for example “you know”, and interruptions and pauses were suppressed. I ensured that the transcription was kept representational (Moore, 2009, p. 37), for example that it “reflected amongst other things, talk, time, nonverbal actions, speaker/hearer relationships, physical orientation, multiple languages and translations”.
43 The issue of confidentiality was addressed by deleting all references to the research participants‟ names in the excerpts. The transcripts as well my memos enabled me to include verbatim excerpts in the thesis. In this regard, I factored in the advice of notable scholar who indicated that
It is a good idea to include some supporting quotations from those who were interviewed. Quotes that are verbatim bring the case to life. The general idea is that you need to include sufficient evidence such that your argument makes sense and is plausible (Myers, 2011, p. 85).
Field notes
Field notes constitute an integral part of qualitative research and may, as Myers (2013, p. 96) points out, “include observations, impressions, feelings, hunches, questions which emerge, and so forth”. Such notes should supplement audio and video recording in order to ensure the improvement of the quality of the data collected.
Bogdan and Biklen (2007, p. 123) expanded on the way in which reflective notes enhance the credibility of qualitative research. According to them, a study should include the following four reflective quality strategies, namely, “(1) reflections on analysis (2) reflections on method used (3) reflections on ethical dilemmas overcame and (4) reflections on the observer‟s frame of mind”. I provide a full account of my reflections in Annexure A of this report. I believe that it is clear to the reader/evaluator what the research participants have done and said.
I compiled field notes of all the interviews, my observations, and the comments made by the various role players on job-seeking behaviour. As for the notes relating to the interviews, I compiled them within seven days after the interviews.
I found theoretical memos to be particularly useful. I agree with Charmaz (1996) that such memos ensure that one does not become lost in mountains of data and unable to make sense of the data. I noted the details of what I heard, saw and experienced and what had struck me in the process of collecting the data. For purposes of convenience and economy, I decided to keep on file both descriptive notes (that is,
44 describing the sites, people contacted, actions and conversations with them), as well as reflective notes in order to track my frame of mind, ideas and concerns.11
Research journal
It is advisable for qualitative researchers to keep a personal diary or journal in which they continuously make entries about their feelings and thoughts on the project. As part of my audit trail, I noted the recommendations of notable scholars who held that “In qualitative research, such a journal can play an important role. Because you, the researcher, are likely to be the main research instrument, any introspections and insights into your reactions or feelings about on-going fieldwork (or the study as a whole) may later reveal unwanted biases. Keeping a journal also can surface your own methodological or personal tendencies over time. You may not have been aware of such tendencies, but acknowledging them may lead to useful thoughts about how to approach your later analysis” (Yin, 2011, p. 175).
My reflections on the research activities, thoughts, hunches, feelings, etc. and; which I intermittently entered in my journal did, indeed, allow for valuable self-examination. In addition, these musings proved to be indispensable in the compiling of the research story.12
In addition to the above I also took heed of the advice of Draper and Swift (2010) that the researcher should “develop a manageable system to be followed in collecting interview data”. This provided me with a clear record of when and who was interviewed. More specifically, I created an electronic and paper filing structure which, together with all materials, I stored at my two homes, as well as at a secure locking facility at work.
2.6.5 Data analysis The objective of analysing qualitative data is to organise individual statements into themes that produce new understanding at higher level (see, Cohen & Crabtree, 2008). Myers (2011) and Patton (2002) add that in qualitative study, the dividing line between collecting data and analysis of data is not clear-cut with data analysis being considered as an organic whole that begins at the stage of data collection and
11 See Chapter 4. for the account of the researcher‟s field work 12 See the account of research story in section 3.2.4 of Annexure A.
45 continues until the compiling of the report is complete. I soon discovered that analysis is not about restricting the researcher to any particular approach or set of techniques; instead, it is imaginative, requires artfulness, flexibility, and reflexivity. In this regard Schurink et al. (2012) said:
There are informal and individualised methods by which researchers order, sort, systematise and make sense of the materials they collect, and more formal strategies (for example, analytical induction and grounded theory) which were developed over the years and include specific procedures related to a chosen qualitative design or strategy (p. 401).
At the same time, qualitative data analysis should be methodical, scholarly, and intellectually rigorous and, thus, requires both methodological knowledge and intellectual competence. A failure to demonstrate this may result in the entire study being questioned (Mutch, 2006). Therefore qualitative study should be conducted with quality criteria in mind. Qualitative data analysis not only entails a process of organising and analysing the data considered to be important, but it also takes into consideration the characteristics of the spoken and written language. This extends to the creation of categories of elements, establishing how different pieces of data relate to each other and the understanding of the meaning of the text or action (Babbie & Mouton, 2004; Grbich, 2007).
Data analysis occurs throughout the different stages of the study. For that purpose, Grbich (2007, p. 16) distinguishes between preliminary and thematic analysis. Preliminary data analysis serves to summarise emerging issues and to “identify further questions which need to be asked in order to complete the picture”. On the other hand, thematic analysis is used when the data collection has been completed.
Concurring with Grbich (2007), Evers and Van Staa (2010 p. 751) point out the particular importance of keeping qualitative analysis continuous, “thus enabling the researcher to go back to the field and refine questions, develop theories and pursue new areas of inquiry in greater depth”.
Given the huge volume of data collected, I had to employ a variety of strategies for analysis. The strategies meant sorting data, organizing ideas, reducing the data to something manageable and then exploring ways to
46 reassemble the data in order to interpret them. Sorting and organizing required comparing, contrasting, and labelling data. This initial step was necessary to bring some order to the largely undifferentiated mass of data that I had generated from observations and interviews. Sorting can involve making frequency counts of the data, developing categories or typologies to account for all the data, selecting concepts that define relationships among categories, and/or formulating working hypotheses or assertions that explain the data (Schwandt, 2007, p. 7).
Consistent with Buckle and Waring (2008) I applied the analytic principles of GT; thereby presenting a distinct approach to generating theories about substantive areas of TES, for which very little has been explored. What was the reason for this choice? I found GT suitable for providing an analytical framework for letting facts speaking for themselves (inductive), compatible with emic approach to data analysis. In GT, data is made from the ground up. The researcher begins from memoirs of individual participants and from moments reflected in the data, and these develop incrementally into more abstract categories and ultimately, theories. “Researchers continually return to the field and strategically sample data that fill in the blanks and the weak spots of the emerging theory” (Tracy, 2013, p. 30).
Coding is key to the process of qualitative data analysis; particularly to studies following GT. Codes are labels that highlight different themes or foci within data. Expanding on this view, Zikmund (2003, p. 457) and Dey (1993) refer to coding as a process of selecting and classifying ideas expressed by participant using either a numerical score or other descriptive concept. Various writers (Corbin & Straus, 2008; Esterberg, 2002; Henning, Van Rensburg, & Smit, 2004) advise on adopting a two- stage coding process, namely, open coding and focused coding (theme identification). Open coding provides a general sense of what the data is saying as it involves detailed reading of lines of text or sections and paragraphs and attaching codes to the data. Thus, analysis stays very much open (Urquhart, 2013). In other words, open coding accounts for every word, line-by-line analysis and interrogating the data for the purposes of identifying concepts for further codes and categories which may then be dimensionalised (broken apart further). Strauss and Corbin (1990) consider the stage of open coding as a precondition for the success of
47 subsequent coding stages. It is during this stage that the data is sorted into separate and distinct parts, closely examined and contrasted, simultaneously examining the nature and characteristics of the phenomena under study.
I considered applying computer-assisted, qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) realising that such a package helps one to manage the entire data source and facilitates quick data retrieval. However, I was dissuaded upon learning at the same instance that “the advantage of a software package lies in data management, rather than data analysis per se” (Urquhart, 2013, p. 101). In view of the fact that I neither wanted to insert a machine between me and the data nor did I wish to set time aside to familiarise myself with a particular software package, I decided not to make use of such software.
In making sense of the data I applied GT‟s constant comparison and narrative analysis in tandem in order to assign codes to the research participants‟ key experiences and views. I also made use of analytic induction and, in particular, Johnson‟s approach (1998) of employing negative cases in refining codes. Lastly, I related theoretical concepts, for example, the socio-psychological factors influencing atypical employment arrangements that I had derived from the literature. These steps ultimately enabled me to develop a conceptual framework of employees‟ experiences of temporary employment.
I followed Rowley‟s (2012) advice on how to start with the data analysis. At the earliest convenient time after I had completed the interviews, I made time to ponder on what the interviewees had shared with me. I also made notes of what I believed was important as well as what may have affected the interviews which I needed to be aware of in subsequent interviews. As I listened to the interview recordings and considered the key points the research participants had made, I started to become familiar with their perspectives.
Finally, I took the following important steps:
Reducing the data to a workable format. I worked through the interview recordings and transcripts, the notes I had made after completing the interviews, including my field notes regarding my observations. After identifying patterns in the data, I assigned codes. This resembled the
48 open coding stage associated with grounded theory. Following the advice of grounded theorists I also compiled memos about my thoughts and ideas as I worked through the data. Searching for and sorting verbatim quotes from the interview transcripts and field notes. Presenting the research findings by using tables and diagrams, and incorporating the actual words of the research participants in the text.
I now offer a discussion of the way in which I presented my research findings as well as the writing styles I used.
2.7 PRESENTING THE RESEARCH FINDINGS AND WRITING STYLES
Qualitative writing is receiving increased attention from the literature on qualitative research (see, for example, Ellis, 2004; Sparkes, 2002; Van Maanen, 1995; Wolcott, 2001). It is therefore necessary that the researcher informs the reader about the writing styles adopted in the research report. Essentially, style means the manner in which a text in the report is written. Eriksson and Kovalainen (2008, pp. 279–280) write:
A central issue for many qualitative researchers is that qualitative writing differs from what we call scientific writing, which is closely related to the positivist research tradition. Whereas scientific writing aims to be objective by using impersonal pronouns and the passive voice, qualitative writers allow themselves to be present in their writing. It is also common in qualitative research that the authors reflect on their writing process and choice of style in their research report. In addition, qualitative writers often rely on vivid description, storytelling, and metaphorical language to carry meaning and hold their readers‟ attention.
It is generally accepted today that, apart from taking into account their audiences, qualitative researchers should display some competence in the level of their writing, namely, the manner in which they write their reports, how they project their presence in their accounts, and the writing styles they use. Myers (2011) even believes that writing up research report is equally important as executing the research study itself.
49 Having surveyed the evolving landscape of qualitative research, Sparkes (2002) lists a number of tales or writing styles. Let us take a look at those that I employed.
Scientific tales
The scientific tale is the dominant form of writing used by researchers. This tale typically reflects an external and privileged reporter who merely reports what he/she found. Scientific tales generally involve writing in either a positivistic or an objective manner (Sparkes, 2002). The voice of the “other” or research participants tends to be presented in determined form only, with verbal answers to questions being translated into researcher categories which facilitate numerical analysis and presentation. These tales produce researcher or author generated texts; placing the author everywhere in the report – a disembodied and abstract presence (Sparkes, 2002). Finally, in attempting to portray objectivity, scientific tales tend to be compiled in the third person. However, when used in qualitative research, it is common practice that researchers project themselves in the first person i.e. I, me etc.
Realist tales
While similar to the scientific tale, in that realist tales also exclude the voice of the author and are written in the third person, they foreground the participants‟ voices. In attempting to help the reader gain an insight into the life-world of the research participant, they include extensive, excerpts from, for example, interview transcripts. Also, in the realist writing style, the author tries to use the quotations to illustrate theory (Sparkes, 2002). Van Maanen (1988, pp. 46–47) provides a good description of the purposes of realist writing saying:
The fieldworker (researcher), having finished the job of collecting data, simply vanishes behind a steady, descriptive narrative … The narrator of realist tales poses as an impersonal conduit who … passes on more or less objective data in a measured intellectual style that is uncontaminated by personal bias … A studied neutrality characterizes the realist tale …The presence of the author (researcher) is relegated to very limited accounts of the conditions of the fieldwork …
50 I employed this writing style particularly in Chapter 5 where I presented the research findings. However, in all the chapters I also used the scientific tale in summaries and to support arguments. In addition, mindful of Caulley‟s (2008) observation that long quotations may result in “boringness”, I supplemented realist writing with scientific writing.
Confessional tales
The confessional writing style the voice and concerns of the researcher are expressed prominently. In this manner, the researcher reveals in detail what took place in areas the reader could not see and unveils the full spectrum of processes and different stages of methodological choices and challenges so often provided in realist stories (Sparkes, 2002). Naidoo (2011) writes that confessional tales (i) remove the mysteries associated with fieldwork by “letting everything hang out” regarding what actually happened in the fieldwork from the beginning to the end of the research process, and (ii) include the hardships the researcher endured and accounts of what they did to the researcher.
Confessional writing is meant to show how each particular work came into being and to reveal the critical moments and tensions that formed part of the process. This writing style focuses on the fieldwork experiences generally i.e. the process and problems of discovering the facts; rather than the findings. Thus, the hidden voice of the realist story is superseded by the personal account of the author, announcing, “Here I am. This happened to me and this is how I felt, reacted, and coped…” (Sparkes, 2002, p. 59). Walk in my shoes for a while.” This is an important move as there readers are placed in the researcher‟s shoes, apart from portraying the road travelled. Schurink (2011) points out that confessional tale forms part of the so-called research story.
Auto-ethnographies
Auto-ethnographies portray some features of confessional tales, for example, the author foregrounds his or her role in the research (Tracy, 2013). As Ellis (2000) indicates to students studying auto-ethnography, (i) you take your personal life as a point of departure, (ii) you study your soul, (iii) you apply systematic sociological introspection and emotional recall (frustrations, breakthroughs, disappointments,
51 cultural etc.) and try to understand some experience you have lived through, and then (iv), you write your experience as a narrative/story. For example, you may want to study your personal experiences of doctoral research. Writing a story about your doctoral journey may reflect what she (Ellis, 2004) terms reflexive ethnography. In ethnography “Reflexive/narrative ethnographies exist on a continuum ranging from starting research from one‟s own biography, to the ethnographies where the researcher‟s life is actually studied along with other participants‟ lives, to confessional tales where the researcher's endeavours become the focus of investigation” (Ellis, 2004, pp. 49–50).
I used the scientific tale in Chapter 5, where the tables, findings, etc. simply speak for themselves with the aim being simply to present instead of writing the findings. I used the realist tale in Chapters 1, 3 and 4 where the researcher‟s voice is largely absent from the narrative. Chapters 2 and 6 and Annexure A embody the confessional tale where my voice and concerns are prominent.
The final topic in this chapter discusses how I ensured quality research.
2.8 ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF THE STUDY
Three decades ago, Lincoln and Guba (1985) asked, “How can an inquirer persuade his or her audiences that the research findings of an inquiry are worth paying attention to (p. 290)?” Concurring, Rolfe (2006) points out that, after a quarter of a century of debate on how best to judge qualitative studies, academics are no closer to agreement on the topic. I also battled with the feeling of doubt because I always had a nagging feeling that perhaps my research project could be found as wanting. As Eriksson and Kovalainen (2008, p. 290) put it: “One of the challenges confronting you as a qualitative researcher is how to assure the readers of your report about its scientific nature, its quality and trustworthiness. Adopting explicit evaluation criteria increases the transparency of your research and provides you with the means to highlight the strengths and limitations of your research.”
Over the past decade however, qualitative scholars have provided important insights into best practices for ensuring the quality of qualitative research.
52 Values to ensure quality, such as all social knowledge, are not static and, in addition, are contextual and reflect current conversations.
The multiplication of concepts regarding qualitative best practices strongly illustrates that the methodological nature of the qualitative paradigm is complex. The mix of distinct concepts stands in marked contrast to the relative consensus prevailing in the quantitative community that good research aims for validity, reliability, generalisability and objectivity. However, the vast number of criteria prescribed for qualitative research may scare those new to the field, and may also reflect the challenges that qualitative methodologists had in making their ideas respected.
In this regard, Schurink (2009b) points out that at least three distinct thought paradigms on evaluating the quality of qualitative research are presented by scholars. These paradigms held that: (i) qualitative and quantitative research should be evaluated using similar criteria, (ii) qualitative research should be evaluated by standards that have been specifically developed for it, and (iii) completely abandoning measures to assess qualitative work. Notwithstanding the afore-going paradigms, Bloomberg and Volpe (2008, p. 77) maintain that the focus in qualitative research is now “on how well the researcher has provided evidence that her or his descriptions and analysis represent the reality of the situations and persons studied”.
However, Schurink et al. (2012) believe that the focus of the quality of qualitative research debate has now shifted from “fundamental, epistemological and philosophical levels to more concrete and practical levels of research” (p. 422).
In their pioneering work, Lincoln and Guba (1985) proposed “trustworthiness” as a substitution for reliability and validity when assessing qualitative study. According to them, trustworthiness comprises four aspects namely: credibility of researcher and results, transferability of findings, dependability of procedures, and confirmability of outcomes. As Eriksson and Kovalainen (2008) point out, it “does not rely on realist or critical conceptions of the social world” (p. 294).
What do these criteria entail and how did this study meet such criteria?
53 Credibility
In parallel with validity, credibility “…refers to whether the participants' perceptions match up with the researcher's portrayal of them. In other words, has the researcher accurately represented what the participants think feel and do?” (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2008, p. 77). I conducted the study in line with what is generally deemed to be sound research practice, and made use of the strategies Lincoln and Guba (1985) propose in order to ensure credibility. In particular:
I spent considerable time with the research participants and in research sites. I continuously pondered the possible effect of my subjectivity as research instrument; on the research process and how to minimize the influence of my biases in my reflective research journal and field notes. In the field notes I pondered the potential effect of what is sometimes called, observation effects (Mouton & Marais, 1990), or reactive effects (Bryman and Bell (2011) I applied triangulation by making use of multiple strategies and methods. I made use of used formalised analytic methods, namely, grounded theory and analytic induction, including deviant case analysis, to verify my interpretations. I obtained feedback from research participants, or member validation, on my interpretations of what they shared with me. This was done via email and telephone. I sent emails to three research participants who had access to information technology and requested them to indicate if they agreed with the TES typology and if not, to make suggestions on to adjustments. I telephonically discussed my preliminary findings with the other five research participants who had no access to email facilities13 I employed peer debriefing. This refers to a researcher‟s in-depth discussion of his or her critical interpretations and conclusions with
13 See Packer (2011); Bryman & Bell (2011); Koelsch (2013) on talking with people, including telephone discussions as standard methods of validating data Member checks were also conducted as part of the normal course of observation and interviews.
54 peers (academics, subject experts, and study leaders). I held regular discussions with my peers who assisted me in making sense of my observations and interpretations. In addition, I also received valuable contextual inputs with a former work colleague and a Senior Commissioner of the CCMA.
Dependability
Dependability refers to researcher‟s responsibility to demonstrate to the reader with a logical, traceable and well-documented exposition of the different stages of the research process. Bloomberg & Volpe (2008, p. 78) maintain that the study is dependable where one can track the process and procedures used to collect and interpret the data. Amplifying the afore-going assertion, Cohen & Crabtree (2008) held that unlike the positivist concept of reliability, the aim of a qualitative study is not to demonstrate an unchanging universe (social world) that is capable of replication; but to articulate the contextual assumption that the social world is a reconstructed world. For that purpose, the researcher should keep some audit trail of all activities. Schurink et al. (2011, p. 422) describe an audit trail as follows:
An auditing trail is a systematically maintained, documentation process of the researcher‟s continuous, critical analysis of all decisions and actions taken during the entire research process. The auditing trail displays the interaction between us and our subject (s) in such a way that the research can be understood not only in terms of what was discovered but also how it was discovered The advantage of this is our interpretations can be better understood and validated by readers who are informed about the position we adopt in relation to the study and by our explicit questioning of our own involvement.
In an attempt to ensure dependability, I presented in the thesis a comprehensive discussion of both the study‟s research approach and also the major decisions I took in addressing challenges arising during the research process.
55 Transferability
This criterion may be regarded as a contrasting concept to external validity or generalisability, or as Eriksson and Kovalainen (2008, p. 293) state: in some way to extend a particular study's findings into a wider context. This ideal is problematic in qualitative research. Noting the said problem, Bryman and Bell (2011, p. 398) wrote:
As qualitative research typically entails the intensive study of a small group, or of individuals sharing certain characteristics (that is, depth rather than the breath that is a preoccupation in quantitative research), qualitative findings tend to be oriented to the contextual uniqueness and significance of the aspect of the social world being studied.
It is, nevertheless, expected of the qualitative researcher to provide sufficient information or a database (Guba & Lincoln, 1985) to enable the reader to check the degree to which current findings may be transferred to other research settings. I provided a comprehensive description of 8 TES employees and their experiences so as to enable my readers to establish whether “some sort of similarity could be found in other research contexts” (Eriksson & Kovalainen, 2008, p. 294).
Confirmability
This construct is a contrast to the concept of objectivity. In order to pass the rigour of scrutiny, the researcher should show that the outcome of the study was not manufactured. Confirmability refers to the idea that the data and interpretations of an inquiry are not just imagination of the researcher (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2008; Tobin & Begley, 2004). Therefore there exists the need to determine whether the findings of a study could be confirmed by another study. Hence, the researcher should provide evidence that corroborates the findings and interpretations by means of auditing (Schurink et al. 2011, p. 421)
The auditing trail that I kept and which I have already alluded to, played an important role in ensuring confirmability. As suggested in the preceding concepts, researcher integrity and rigour are important when assessing quality. Research integrity carries special importance in qualitative research. Because the designs and procedures for doing qualitative research are potentially more flexible than doing most other kinds of
56 research, people will want to know that qualitative researchers have gone to great length to conduct their research accurately and fairly (Yin, 2011, p. 41). One way of demonstrating research integrity is to disclose conditions that may have influenced the execution of the study. As indicated in this report, a number of factors affected this study.
Qazi (2011) and Tracy (2013 emphasise the fact that rigour is an important criterion; arguing that it provides the means with which to show integrity, competence as well as the legitimacy of the research process. It is concerned with whether a study has been carried out in a logical, systematic way and focused on the following concepts:
Transferability, which relates the findings to other settings, Auditability, which refers to the ability to audit the research process, Credibility, meaning the verification of the data collection methods and practices by both the research participants and by theory.
In my criticism of my own study, I applied the rigour criteria of Fossey, Harvey, McDermott, and Davidson (2002).14 In their approach to qualitative rigour, Fossey et al. (2002) classify rigour criteria into two types, namely, methodological rigour and interpretive rigour. They also cite the elements to consider for each of these two types of criteria.
2.9 SUMMARY
I presented my research approach and methodology in this chapter. In particular, I discussed (i) qualitative research, and why I had decided to use this type of research, (ii) my ontological and epistemological beliefs, (iii) three strategic questions and how I addressed them, (iv) my application of the case study and grounded theory as research strategies, (v) important decisions I had to take during the execution of research procedures, (vi) writing styles I used in the thesis, and (vii) the strategies I utilised in order to enhance the study‟s quality.
14 See Annexures D1 and D2 of the research story for different quality criteria used to check the validity of this study.
57
SECTION B
THE SOCIAL
CONSTRUCTION OF
TEMPORARY
EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
58
CHAPTER 3
LITERATURE STUDY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter aims to achieve two objectives. Firstly, I outline how I applied information from literature in the study. I then present my review of literature on the impact of alternative work arrangements with specific reference to temporary employment service.
3.2 MY USAGE OF THE LITERATURE
As noted previously qualitative researchers, in general, and grounded theorists specifically, hold divergent views with regard to how literature in qualitative research15 could be used.
During the course of the study my interaction with relevant literature may best be described as intermittent. Furthermore, it could be divided primarily into two phases. During the first phase and at the outset of the study I conducted selective literature review in order to develop the research proposal as required by IPPM. My aim was to identify a topical research problem, formulate relevant research questions and to hone not only the direction of the research but also my approach, including sensitising myself in respect of the key decision taking steps the study would require.
The other stage took place after I spent some time at the research sites and interviewed some of the research participants. During this period my engagement with relevant literature was ongoing. The literature reviews I conducted during this stage enabled me to compare and contrast the emerging themes and insights I derived from interview data; with the viewpoints of scholars and the findings of prior research studies. At the conclusion of data collection, my awareness of constructs by prominent scholars and the findings of researchers enabled me to integrate the
15 See section 2.4.1 in Chapter 2 for contrasting arguments on the use of literature
59 participants‟ everyday experiences and views of temporary employment service with scholarly work, and finally, to develop a substantive theory of TES.
Glaser and Strauss (1967) pointed out that focusing on the lived experiences of research participants ensures that the researcher is drawn closer to how they attach meaning on the reality of their settings; i.e. their everyday, concrete experiences and perceptions of the phenomenon under study. Thus, the participants‟ experiences guide both the processes of collecting data and the subsequent analysis thereof. (see, for example, Charmaz, 2012).
Since I believe that any research should be based on a solid empirical foundation, during the fieldwork I had a good understanding of the TES phenomenon. For that purpose, I occasionally reviewed relevant literature in order to incorporate relevant abstract constructs into my theoretical framework. In particular, I aligned closely with Charmaz (2009) who states that grounded theorists compare different sets of data, different sets of analytical codes and respective categories including their finished analyses with relevant theoretical and research literatures.
With regard to specifically building theory, I took heed of Eisenhardt‟s (1999) strategy and also that of Glaser and Strauss (1967), namely; to compare the concepts, hypotheses or theory emerging from the data with existing literature. More specifically, I positioned my literature review around the emergent concepts. This enabled me ultimately to formulate a substantive theory of TES.
Now that I have outlined my engagement with the literature we will discuss the relevant literature.
3.3 ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT (AE)
In this section, I present a brief account of the philosophical aspects of AE. It also presents the key features of AE, including different approaches to the study of AE. The section concludes with a discussion on the global impact of AE.
3.3.1 The philosophical aspects of AE AE is a sub-product of globalisation while TES is an extended form of AE. No consensus currently exists regarding the impact of globalisation on workers
60 worldwide. To a significant degree the diverse viewpoints resulted from various conceptualisations around the phenomenon of „globalisation‟. Bowles (2010) distinguishes three dimensions of globalisation, namely, “neoclassical liberalism, anti-neoliberal globalism and multi-centred statism”. As stated above the first paradigm is the neoclassical liberal paradigm; which is steeped in Ricardian trade theory. This paradigm argues that globalisation offers greater economic benefits to society; derived from greater specialisation of methods of production and skills than would otherwise have been the case. The logic of this argument, therefore, restricts focus to the main policy issue namely; how to prevent the minorities from limiting the spread of globalisation and what strategies should be adopted to minimise the negative effects on affected minority groups.
The second dimension is the anti-neoliberal globalism. The main thrust of this paradigm is that by design, there is a shift of economic power to monopoly capital and therefore out of reach by workers and the state. This dimension is rooted in the theory of exploitation as propagated by Karl Marx. This theory maintains that workers are exploited if the amount of wages received is less than the efforts they exert on their jobs; which is the difference representing the lost value of labour power (Veneziani & Yoshihara, 2011). In this context, they (Veneziani and Yoshihara) regard the definitions of exploitation as contextual; while indices for exploitation have been developed in an attempt to broadly apply the fundamental Marxian theorem to economies attempting to reduce labour costs through labour mechanisation. The third dimension; that of multi-centred statism, argues that globalisation is a process driven by several factors for the benefit of a number of states, including non-Western states. The theory argues further that mitigating steps would require socio-economic measures to ensure that the average worker receives a fair share of the benefits of economic growth.
It is clear from the above that the notions of exploitation are relative. Matsuo (2008) proposed a subjectivist approach to understanding exploitation, stating that individual worker preferences determine consumer behaviour. Furthermore, that workers are exploited fundamentally if their purchasing power remains weak due to their wages being smaller than the amount of labour effort expended in exchange for such wages. Noting the lack of consensus on the notion of exploitation, the objectivist
61 approach uses the indices of individual and aggregate exploitation to determine the existence of exploitative elements within the economic system. Some scholars (Duménil & Foley, 2008) have suggested the so-called new Interpretation in terms of which workers are considered to be victims of exploitation if their share of wages as a proportion of national income is less than one percent of the value of goods and services produced in a country. The normative approach would accordingly interpret exploitation as a measure of the relative bargaining power of both labour and employers in an imperfect market economy.
There is also an element of commonality between anti-neoliberal globalism and politics, with labour politics playing important part in formulation of ER. Thompson (2003) maintains that work patterns over the ages have always been an expression of power relations, with employers forcing labour costs down while employees strive to achieve decent work standards. In addition, in the absence of protective baselines, employers compete with each other to institute cost-saving measures (race to the bottom). The incapacity of labour organisations to organise TES employees fits the said pattern of power relations. These philosophical arguments led me to consider defining the features of alternative employment. These are discussed in the next section
3.3.2 Key features of alternative employment Once again no consensus exists as to the key concepts of alternative employment. Some scholars use the benchmark of the existence of career ladders or opportunities for career mobility as signifying the difference between the good formal employment and bad non-standard sector of the job market. Other scholars16 classify non-standard employment as flexible working practices, flexible staffing arrangements, contingent work, market-mediated arrangements, part-time and fixed- time work, temporary agency work or, simply, as AE, which manifests itself in different forms of phenomena such as part-time work, self-employment and informalisation (Kallenberg, 2000; Nyenti, 2007, Saloniemi & Virtanen, 2005). The simplest point of departure in defining atypical or AWA is to define standard employment. Van der Riet (2010, p. 2) describes standard employment as “full-time
16 Polivka and Nardone (1989); Abraham (1990), Brewster et al (1997); De Grip et al. (1997), and Polsky (1997).
62 employment of an indefinite duration, under the control of the employer and mostly at the employer‟s workplace”. Thus, AE may be said to refer to the opposite of standard employment (Addison & Surfield, 2009a). In proposing an impact-based definition, May, Campbell and Burgers (2005, p. 1) state that casualisation refers to the “spread of bad conditions of work such as employment insecurity, irregular hours, intermittent employment, low wages and an absence of standard employment benefits”. This contrasts with labour consultants who bridge the gap between formal recruitment and selection processes and accelerate entry into workplaces in a flexible work environment. Figure 3.1 depicts a triangular employment relationship.
Figure 3.1: The TES Employment Relationship Source: Adapted from Hǻkasson, Isidorsson & Kantelius (2012, p. 154)
There are diverse theories on the rise in alternative working arrangements (AWA) characterised by weak protective measures. Such theories range from temporarily replacing permanently employed staff who are absent due to sick leave. Others refer to avoiding compliance with costs of contract termination in countries applying strict legislation on protection of employment. Some look at offering lower wages to temporary workers and gaining managerial flexibility by adjusting the numbers of employees in response to the volatility of the economic cycle; changes in legislation to the weakening bargaining power of employees (Biggs, Burchell, & Millmore, 2006, p. 192). The recruitment agency takes over these personnel functions and buttresses scarce HR staff. The abovementioned theories may be regarded as primarily routine
63 HR responses (Jahn & Bentzen, 2012). While some scholars argue that the TES employment practice is strongly linked to the fluctuating economic cycle, the increasing body of research17 has determined differently. The alternative view maintains that the AWA developed from the phenomenon of globalisation as business organisations scrambled to adjust to the threats and opportunities that accompanied the spread of globalisation.
The only area of consensus is that the trend towards AWA appears to be unstoppable. In fact, the cost saving notion inherent in globalisation responses is such that countries are guided by unique conceptualisation in their responses to the challenges of globalisation (Bowles, 2010; Von Holdt & Webster 2008; Vos, 2008). It is clear that AWA has represented the dominant nature of employment practice over several decades (Buschoff & Protsch, 2008; Joona & Wadensjö, 2008; Keller & Seifert, 2005) and is likely to remain a feature of future employment contracting.
3.3.3 Approaches to the study of alternative employment There are divergent approaches to the question of how to conduct a study of the extent and impact of TES. Saloniemi and Virtanen (2005, p. 13) established that the majority of studies on the impact of TES on decent work were grounded primarily in two lines of reasoning, namely, theoretical reasoning and empirical analysis. They concluded that, for Europeans, the de-standardization of labour represented clear evidence of an emerging precarious worker community and the treatment of labour as cheap commodity. This approach is consistent with Addison and Surfield (2006) who identified two strands of analysis of AWA – one focusing on the features of AWA including such jobs on one hand and the issues of longer-term employment stability on the other.
Job quality is an important factor for determining the employee‟s status in industrial societies. However here also, there is no agreed standard job quality scale. Some scholars18 argue that bad jobs have a tendency to cluster around specific sectors, thus indicating a stratified job market composed of a primary market reflecting good jobs on the one hand and a secondary market constituted by bad jobs on the other (Mitlacher, 2008). He furthermore maintain that to date, no standard criteria of job
17 Piasecki and Wolnicki (2004); Baccaro (2011); Ukpere (2011); Adgaonkar, Yewale, and Mule (2012). 18 Addison and Surfield (2006); Vosko (2006); Gumbrell-McCormick (2011).
64 quality and the desirability of a job has been developed, economists rank jobs according to pay but overlook the non-monetary benefits that could raise the costs of certain jobs. Accordingly, psychologists look at job quality by assessing workers‟ subjective satisfaction (e.g. very good for one employee as opposed to being very bad for another). Generally, they have not tried to rank jobs on the basis of objective characteristics.
Ultimately, attempts at quality criteria showed that job quality is determined in terms of three dimensions; which may also be applied for evaluating the quality of agency jobs. These dimensions include (i) the nature of work and the work environment e.g. employee health and well-being, social relations, integration into the organisational culture etc., (ii) future job prospects such as career advancement, access to training opportunities as well as job security and sustainability and (iii) remuneration and the kind of benefits payable to employees. The three dimensions are depicted in Figure 3.2 below.
Dimensions of quality criteria Quality outcome
Nature of work
Integration into HR systems. Feeling of trust and identification with business entity.
Existence of framework to build social relations. Extending cover on health and safety issues.
Job prospects Quality of TES jobs
Opportunities for personal development Job security for all employees Long job duration
Compensation and benefits
Recognition of pay differentials
Access to fringe benefits
Additional awards for service excellence
Figure 3.2: Framework for analysis of alternative work arrangements. Source: Adapted from Mitlacher (2008, p. 448)
65 De Cuyper, De Witte, and Emmerik (2011) maintain that an alternative trend in the study of AWA discards the good/bad label. Instead, it focuses on how good temporary employees feel about their jobs and whether they perform optimally on the one hand, and how an organisation promotes commitment and productive behaviours on the part of the group of temporary workers, on the other.
As already indicated, business organisations provide varied reasons for adopting short-term, ad-hoc and long-term strategies for survival. However, in reality, neither public policy nor organisational strategy may solve all challenges in relation to temporary work and HRM. I believe, therefore, that the variables guiding decisions could include the levels of skill on the part of temporary employees, their demographic characteristics and their unique reasons for accepting temporary job. Similarly, there are also different motives in client business organisations preference for temporary employees
The growing tendency for longer deployment for temporary employees has significant HRM implications for client business organisations. Particularly, strategies must be adopted on how to manage the attitudes of temporary workers, who are sometimes regarded as sub-ordinate to their permanent counterparts and therefore less valuable. AE workers should not be regarded as belonging to a second class group of employees as this attitude may result in unnecessarily high turnover among such temporary workers. Foote (2004, pp. 963 - 973) identified the following factors that may lead to the early termination of a TES assignment namely “inadequate socialisation into the client organisation, unchecked perceptions of organisational injustice, exclusion from decision-making activities that affect their work lives, low expectations for a permanent job in the firm, relatively low age and tenure compared to permanent employees, relatively low tolerance for perceived inequity compared to permanent employees and relatively low levels of commitment toward the firm compared to those of permanent employees”.
How do authors define and measure atypical employment? There are also differences in the approach to the definition and measurement of atypical employment. Yu (2012) noted that as a result, every country has adopted a unique manner of approach, guided by the three most common approaches cited in the
66 literature, namely, the enterprise, employment relationship and worker characteristics.
Looking at whether outsourcing HR function represents a strategic HR focus, a strategy of cutting HR costs or both, Delmotte and Sels (2008) found that there was no difference between organisations adopting a strong focus on HR cost-cutting and organisations with a weaker focus on HR cost-cutting. Their analyses, however, found a positive correlation between a strong focus on strategic human resource management (SHRM) and the level of HR outsourcing. Thus, it would seem that HR outsourcing carried clear advantages for the HR department. In particular, HR outsourcing also freed up HR professionals to focus on strategic HRM. However, Foote (2004) advises that, given the prevailing lengthy deployments of temporary employees, the HRM system prioritise addressing the potential for a predisposition toward early contract termination occasioned by a greater risk for low commitment to remain employed at the client business organisation.
Issues around TES are not limited to deployment in third party business organisations. Focus also shifted to the role of HRM function in triangular employment relationships. Up until the late twentieth century, there were insignificant amount of literature addressing HRM ethics. During that period, the prevailing and dominant ethical framework justified HRM policy in terms of its promotion of absolute loyalty to the business organisation. However, at the same time a “conviction arose that key developments in contemporary HRM were threatening employment standards” (Winstanley, Woodall, & Heery, 1996, p. 5). In fact, over time emphasis on themes of strategy and fit were expected of top management as prioritised objectives; including coordination of planning across organisational units comprising dominant HRM ethic. In practice, HRM systems were handled as management control tools; regulating the behaviour of employees towards output targets (Payne & Wayland, 1999). Some scholars associated this approach with a radical perspective, where the role of HRM “…served either to confer legitimacy on forms of managerial control or on adapting to it …” (Payne & Wayland, 1999, p. 302), rather than questioning the existing structures of authority in line with the conventional perspective. The types of undesirable HRM changes (Winstanley, Woodall, & Heery, 1996, pp. 6-8) took the following forms:
67 Insecurity and risk. This addresses the bounds of responsibility of the ethical employer such as whether it is legitimate for employers to require employees to assume an increasing burden of economic risk simply because it is possible and profitable to do so, or should organisations, frequently large and well-resourced, accept responsibility for the promotion of employee wellbeing. This concept also seeks to debate the undesirability of financial houses transferring risk from themselves to their employees. Surveillance and control. This refers to the right of the employing organisation to intrude into the privacy of the employee and to scrutinise and manipulate. This right is often taken for granted but displays scant regard for the autonomy of employees. In addition, a workplace regime of long hours and sometimes intrusive supervision may lead to excessive stress and ill-health. Deregulation. The desirability of the management prerogative to respond to market signals without hindrance is questioned as is the tendency of line management to manipulate HR practice to business needs. Such a can do management attitude leaves little scope for employee participation in the workplace. Rhetoric and deceit. Management is viewed as lacking integrity; which fact arises from the contradiction between an invitation regarding the moral involvement to employees on the one hand, and the adoption of a relentlessly instrumental orientation to the employment relationship on the part of employers, on the other.
Based on afore-mentioned areas of undesirable changes, I sought to understand the benchmarks which are applicable for determining that the said HRM changes are undesirable. Those issues are discussed next.
Winstanley et al. (1996, p. 9) provided the following four benchmarks to mitigate the problems identified:
Basic human, civil and employment rights. Check if the HRM function provides security of employment, provide feedback from competency tests, exercising openness in consultations over matters
68 affecting employees, applying the criteria for decision making in a transparent manner, protecting whistle-blowers against persecuted and avoiding scapegoating employees for organisational poor performance. Social and organisational justice. Does the HRM function apply the procedural principles of distributive justice e.g. opportunities and benefits to all employees, narrowing income gap, equity and equality of opportunity in staff, recruitment, performance management and remuneration?19 . Universalism. Borrowing from the Kantian principle, universalism considers whether the HRM function treats all individual employees as an objective in themselves and not merely as tools in the process of production of goods and services. Community of purpose. Moving from focussing on the individual, does the HRM function adopt a consider employees as members of the worker community organisation (communitarian view), or at least promote the interest of all stakeholders instead of narrow shareholder view of the business organisation, setting time aside for constructive debates, respecting and tolerating one another as primary virtues; such as when assessing strategies for downsizing and phasing out organisational hierarchies?
Next, I sought to understand what, if any, were the ethical obligations of HRM practitioners. While there are divergent views on the ethical role of HRM (Payne and Wayland, 1999, p. 300) focus on the areas such as discriminatory practices, psychological tests, anti-union activity, job designing, employment security, workplace disciplinary systems, maintenance of confidentiality, safeguarding employee privacy, technology-induced job losses and negotiating practices. In addition, they noted that HRM professionals regarded the “most serious ethical situations facing them as favouritism in hiring, training, promotion, pay and discipline as a result of friendships with top management; sexual harassment; inconsistent discipline practices; not maintaining confidentiality; sexual discrimination in promotion, compensation and recruitment; non-performance factors used in
19 Rawlsian theory of fairness is outlined in detail in section 1.1
69 appraisals; and arrangements with vendors or consulting agencies and leading to personal gain” (p. 300).
3.3.4 The global impact of AE The increasing use of information communication technology exacerbated the spread of globalisation. The effect has been that in the majority of the developed economies in the Western world, “youth, gender, low occupational status, a low level of education and a fragmentary work history tend to increase the probability of TES in both the public and private sectors” (Saloniemi & Virtanen, 2005, pp. 1–2). At the same time, part-time work, casual jobs, fixed-term contracts and individual self- employment have increased significantly in many European countries (Buschoff & Protsch, 2008). To varying degrees, European countries have taken active measures to provide health insurance to AE workers. Similarly the growth of AWA has become a major issue globally and is reflected by the European countries, New Zealand, South Africa, Latin America, and China (Tokman, 2008; Yang, 2004). The global impact of AE will now be discussed.
The European experience of atypical employment arrangements
The size of triangular employment relationships (TES) in Europe indicates that, in 2005, in Germany for example, tri-angular employment arrangements accounted for 1.4% of total employment while the figure had reached 2.6% in the United States of America by 2001. It is worth noting that, in Germany, TES work was used primarily in the industrial sector, in contrast to the USA where this category of workers dominated the service sector (Mitlacher, 2007). Vosko (2006) highlighted that TES numbered between 0.2% and 3.4% of total employment in the fifteen nations of the European Union with Spain holding the larger share at 3.4% followed by the Netherlands and France at 3.0% and 2.2% respectively.
Regarding career development issues, the study by Mitlacher (2007) revealed a grievous lack of growth prospects; so much so that the issue did not even feature in the agendas of meetings of the business organisations concerned. The finding supports the findings of Zeytinoglu and Lillevik (2005, pp. 1–3). While some studies have found higher poor health conditions in TES employees compared to fixed-term and permanent employees, others have found it as easy for TES employees to find
70 alternative jobs as workers in standard employment (Bardasi & Francesconi, 2004; Olsen, 2006).
As Head and Lucas (2003) noted, the British experience in the hospitality sector indicated no career transition as business organisations tended to apply extreme measures to management of employee relations: “Such an approach entails the imposition of zero hour contracts which act as a psychological device to reinforce a feeling of impermanence to the employment relationship” (p. 15). Expanding on this argument, Lewchuk, De Wolff, King, and Polanyi (2003, p. 23) conclude that subjecting employees to psychological uncertainty appear to expose employees to “lower job satisfaction, exhaustion and depression and, in the long run, to stress- related illness, including cardiovascular disease”. I notice that the HRM systems applied in these cases run counter to the mitigating options outlined in Winstanley et al. (1996) above. Here, employees were simply treated as means to an end.
The common thread emerging from these studies is that the rationale for casualisation is to be found in the search for a workforce of a perfectly variable size and one that fluctuates in synchronisation with the level of customer demand for consumer goods and services (Golden & Appelbaum, 1992). The emphasis on efficiency factors supports the findings of Segal and Sullivan (1997) that the increase in the participation of women in the overall employee numbers is not the main contributing factor behind the rise in the level of temporary agency employment. In fact the main driving force behind the staffing preferences of business organisations is to achieve numerical and wage flexibility. In this way temporary employment fits the employer strategy of creating a shock absorber for full-time employment as temporary employees carry a higher risk to be cheaply dismissed when the economic performance is slow compared to full-time employees.
Other reasons for offering TE include identifying potential standard employees prior to making any kind of employment commitment; a staffing strategy combined with the heterogeneous individual preferences for nonstandard work; reducing overall labour rates, thus increasing organisational profitability by substituting lower paid contingent workers for the organisation‟s standard workers; limiting the long-term financial commitments of organisations to workers in the form of health insurance, pensions, and other benefits; the access of organisations to unique functional skills
71 and expertise for short periods of time and limiting the costs of recruitment and selection, including training. TES are better equipped at quickly finding job seekers with the required competence, particularly in respect of jobs in small firms. In addition, employing the services of TES enables the client business entities to by- pass legislation and collective agreements that prescribe dismissal terms which are costly for employers to reduce the size and composition of their staff complement. (Leschke, 2009; Rosendaal, 2003; Wenger & Kallenberg, 2006).
The impact of atypical employment on Latin America and Asia
Latin American economies have been pursuing three main ideologies; in their response to the rise in atypical employment, namely, embracing globalisation, increasing privatisation and liberalisation in their programmes of structural adjustment (Tokman, 2008). Although the impact of globalisation was not similar to western countries, Latin American countries became more open economies where the formerly dominant state participation in the economy adopted a supportive role and relaxed policy directives for individual business organisations to play significant role. For example, in Argentina and Brazil, the average working hours per week declined as a result of the increase in part-time work (ILO, 1995) while Mexico and Chile recorded increases in weekly working hours from 43.4 to 46.4 and 43.6 to 45.3 respectively. Post 1980, the pressure imposed by globalisation forced a drastic revision of labour laws, thus following the international trend of lowering the cost of labour as the point of departure (Tokman, 2008). The reality described above triggered the adoption of strategies to mitigate the effect of globalisation by increasing competitiveness through cost reduction and value add to production; alternating according to trade union density. Such strategies took the form of payroll intermediaries, labour broking, informalisation of work and the expansion of the informal sector. In effect these strategies constituted ways in which to operate legally outside of labour regulations (Tokman, 2008).
Although temporary employment became an issue of major concern in the previous decades, the impact of temporary agency employment on employees and organisations remains to be established because of several variables that may affect the observed outcomes (Martínez, De Cuyper, & De Witte, 2010). Notwithstanding this situation, these scholars established that the average job permanence in
72 Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru was 5.9 years; thus reflecting a greater incidence of transition to AE than was previously the case. In response, social protection for TES workers in Latin America has been made fairly extensive and involved social protection coverage for AE workers, including expanding the eligibility for social security benefits and the adoption of new intervention strategies such as unemployment benefits and other special measures for the benefit of uninsured workers.
The pervasive nature of globalisation prompted China, India and Pakistan to take measures to address the effects of globalisation. Limited studies on temporary agency work in China found that government policy prescribed labour policy and that foreign firms recruit their HR from TES. Furthermore, that the TES was the preferred vehicle for getting retrenched workers back into formal employment apart from being a fall-back strategy during periods of economic recession (Li, Liu, & Shi, 2012). Li, Liu, and Shi (2012) noted a unique staffing configuration that differed from the Western-propagated differentiation of core versus periphery staffing arrangements. In other words, temporary agency workers are frequently employed in both core and peripheral positions similar to standard employees. Finally, four HR configurations were conceptualised namely:
(a) Combined HR configuration, where temporary agency workers are mixed with their standard peers in the same core or peripheral positions.
(b) Coordinated configuration, where a different set of HR practices is formulated for temporary agency workers. Standard employees remain in the majority.
(c) Penetrating HR configuration, where a mixed staffing system is used for stationing temporary agency workers in either core or peripheral positions where temporary employees are in the majority.
(d) Segmented HR configuration, where temporary agency workers are employed exclusively in peripheral positions for the purposes of doing support and maintenance tasks.
Adgaonkar, Yewale, and Mule (2012) characterise India as a tale of winners and losers. While economic sectors such as information technology experience
73 significant growth, the agricultural sector has shrunk, taking the majority of the population to new low levels of poverty. The resultant incidence of liquidations plunged farmers and workers into more debt and landlessness. Sheikh (2010) noted the rise in payroll payment arrangements in Pakistan, which enabled business organisations to outsource their responsibility in terms of employment benefits under the pretext of applying flexible employment practices.20 Unlike the TES, recent research findings determined that such payroll agencies existed mostly on paper such that the paymaster remained hidden from the employees. Nevertheless, the rapid integration of the country into the global economy triggered the sale of state enterprises as a strategy to attract foreign investment capital. With the creation of the industrial and export processing zones new business firms could conveniently avoid direct staffing systems, preferring the temporary employment agencies option.
The African experience of atypical employment
The manifestation of AE in Africa has not been well documented. Wood (2008, p. 330) maintains that
“very little literature exists on the prevalence and impact of TES phenomenon in Africa”.
He attributes this situation to the consequences of poorly resourced tertiary institutions of learning as well as insignificant formal employment standards. In addition, some scholars noted that the “systems of ER are a product of manipulated labour dispensation” (Branine, Fekkar, & Fekkar Mellahi, 2008, p. 408). In such set- ups, the “undemocratic system of labour dispensation persists despite evidence of a positive link between unionisation and declining poverty levels” (Fajana, 2008, p. 369).
Notwithstanding the poor research in this field, Gadzala (2010) noted some negative outcomes arising from the infrastructure investment taking place in some African countries. According to him, while Chinese infrastructure projects could possibly facilitate trade where none previously existed, such benefits also carry negative outcomes such as the increase in unemployment rate in many formal sectors;
20 See section 5.2.2 for more details
74 thereby driving more workers to informal sectors. The aforementioned situation resulted in restricted opportunities for income and employment as well as sustainable livelihoods.
Furthermore, in Namibia, nonstandard jobs are based on the exemption of the triangular employment relationship from statutory protective measures of a collective nature (Klerck, 2009). Consequently, the increased use of TES allowed management to evade and where impossible, dilute the protective measures that ordinarily protect permanent employees from competitive pressures in the labour market. A different scenario applied to the situation in Botswana and Swaziland where the suppression of wages in the two countries was the result of both the low skills of the indigenous populations and the deliberate policy decisions by the local authorities (Wood, (2008). Significantly, the TES played no big role in the two scenarios due to the fact that wage suppression took place as policy initiatives.
The South African experience of non-standard employment
South Africa was not spared the greater effects of globalisation. As far back as the 1990s, South Africa lost competitive advantage as an investment destination for reasons such as the collateral growth of militant labour movements, the restructuring of the global financial markets, and the emergence of the rapidly and greatly expanding economies of China and India. This occurred due to the fact that the South African economy was more advanced and integrated to the global economy than other African countries. However, the study of poverty in South Africa has been done with the historical legacies of apartheid as major reference point, namely, racial oppression and discrimination (Nyenti, 2007; Omomowo, 2011). Accordingly, the poverty discourse revolves broadly around socio-economic inequality and access to income, social amenities and infrastructure as well as the manner in which these concepts are defined by race, gender and space (Omomowo, 2011). This poverty discourse takes place against the divergent views on how to define atypical employment in South Africa. Similar to world patterns, atypical work in South Africa is a survivalist strategy for a labour force with low skilled human capital, namely people who have little opportunity of finding formal employment, after losing their jobs in the formal economy.
75 As a result of globalisation and attendant economic decline or the state addressing the bottlenecks in the production of goods, some people left the formal workplace voluntarily because atypical work allowed them to balance home and income- generating responsibilities, or entrepreneurs who prefer to run their business operations atypically so as to avoid regulations; including taxation imposed on formal enterprises (Yu, 2012). He however, maintains that crime, lack of access to finance, poor infrastructure and training and insufficient government support to promote micro-enterprises remain serious barriers to reducing the prevalence of atypical employment. These barriers hamper government‟s efforts to extend labour law protection to the TES employees as resources are diverted to address the said problems. A further complicating factor is the insufficient data on employees of TES.
Compounding the afore-mentioned impediments is a common assumption in South Africa that unemployment is the main cause of poverty, and that job creation would solve all problems related to poverty, with inadequate attention being paid to the types of jobs that should be created or the extent of restructuring existing jobs (Barker, 2003). In the meantime, more workers are pushed to the socio-economic margins of society. In a nutshell, the choice has to be made between more or better jobs, which he (Barker) links to flexibility and the debate on regulation.
Some of the current debates centre on the size of the TES sector in South Africa where the absence of statutory regulation makes an estimation of TES difficult (Benjamin, 2009, p. 5). Regarding the size of atypical labour, STATS SA (2009, p. 16) estimated the number of non-standard workers in 2007 across different sectors to be 2.6 million (28.19%), excluding the household sector which comprised 1.2 million. Formal employment size was put at 9.4 million. These figures indicated that, apart from the unemployed, atypical jobs constituted over 41.47% of the active labour force. Figure 3.3 below depicts the findings of the related study by Von Holdt and Webster (2008), which estimated the combined figure of non-standard jobs and the unemployed at 13.7 million out of a potential labour force of 20.3 million in 2003. It is interesting to note that the split between the externalised/casual employees and core/full-time employees was 5.3/6.6million respectively. This translated into a 45% precarious job rate – 3.53% over the 2007 figure. The employment trends reflected a drift away from full employment to peripheral types of jobs.
76
Note: The arrows represent the movements of workers between the core, non-core and the periphery; with movement from the periphery and the non-core into the core difficult to achieve Figure 3.3: Increasing Differentiation in the Workplace Source: May and Meth 2004: Presidency 2003
Quoting the Confederation of Associations in the Private Employment Sector (CAPES), Van Zyl and Ruud (2010, p. 34) maintain that the TES sector in South Africa “managed one million TES employees at any given time through a network of 7000 offices spread across the country”. A similar survey conducted by The National Employers Association of South Africa (NEASA) (2012) showed that the TES was the fastest growing employment sector in the South African job market; valued at R44 billion and employing approximately 19 500 full-time staff and more than one million agency employees in the country. Accordingly, the weight of evidence points
77 to the ever-increasing tendency of TES as a port of entry into the formal labour market.
The on-going trend of subcontracting work in the new political dispensation transferred the burden of upkeep of living standards from the formal sector to the family or household because of poor wages accruing to increasing number of temporary employees (Von Holdt & Webster, 2008). In addition, the emerging workplace configuration, which divides workers as core, non-core and peripheral workers accommodates some, while excluding other workers. Furthermore, the said workplace configuration weakens trade unions bargaining power; thereby creating a problem of lowering living standards that in turn, result in low wages that pushed families to the margins of the labour market. This situation confirms what Theron (2003) and Cowley (2001) noted; namely that the current system of labour regulation in South Africa is premised both on the existence of a standard employment relationship and also the fact that economic insecurity is shaped in part by departures from the said employment relationship.
The post-1994 political dispensation brought about great expectations on the part of the majority of South Africans as many foresaw improvement in their socio-economic life. However, fifteen years into democracy and a third general election later, many feel that government has not met their expectations. As a result of unfulfilled expectations, some express their frustration through violent means, as demonstrated by the several, large-scale strikes which have taken place since 2006 (Pons-Vignon & Anseeuw, 2009). In their study of three economic sectors, namely, mining, forestry and agriculture, they (Pons-Vignon & Anseeuw) found that the democratic political order has witnessed an increase in the number of workers employed in precarious jobs. While sharing similar views with the abovementioned analysts, a dissenting view regards this labour instability as a manifestation of social tensions triggered by the perception that the divisions in society have now taken the form of economic class; away from racial divisions of the old political order. (Bassett & Clarke, 2008)
The challenges of unemployment and poverty have prompted trade unions to adopt strategies that went beyond worker issues. COSATU members resorted to playing an active role in party political forums, such as parliament and the municipal councils, with the believe that such involvement in politics would provide them with
78 more bargaining power for the benefits of the workers (Buhlungu, 2008; Jamerson, n.d.). Both Jamerson (n.d.) and Buhlungu (2008) noted further that this political relationship also poses a contradictory role for the labour movement in terms of both embracing privatisation and also blaming it for precarious jobs at the same time. Nevertheless, despite the contradictory role played by labour, the marginalisation of labour and a process of union revitalisation have taken place, resulting in organised labour making significant gains.
In explaining the need for legislative protection TES workers, Fourie (2008, p. 272) maintains that “the more the informal economy increases, the greater the need for labour and social protection”. These contradictory forces place the government in an unenviable position of having to please competing interests – giving incentives for business profitability on the one hand and improving the conditions of vulnerable workers on the other. The South African experience is consistent with international trends in terms of which it is accepted that changes in technology have hurt the labour market prospects for workers possessing lesser skills (Card & DiNardo, 2002; Yu, 2012).
While the research into the effects of AE on HRM practices in South Africa remains insignificant, the number of studies in this area has gradually increased. In their comparative study of flexible work practices (FWP) in Australia and South Africa, Odendaal and Roodt (2002 p. 1) found “variables that are strongly associated with the adoption and successful implementation of FWP” in both countries. They described organisational flexibility as the ability to respond immediately to changing economic situation, namely, varying the size and deployment of employees. With regard to the effect of remunerative policy on organisational performance, Bussin (2014) highlights the “role of technological break-through and pressure of global competition” as triggers for radical new people management approaches, including the approach to remuneration. He found that the retention of key staff; financial results and organisational strategy were key drivers of remuneration policy.
3.4 SUMMARY
This chapter described how I used the available literature for the purposes of the study and discussed the impact of alternative work arrangements, with specific
79 reference to temporary employment service. As technology collapses the borders between sovereign countries, AWA is on the upward trend.
The fact that global efforts to define and measure non-standard employment remain unresolved is likely to impact negatively on efforts to formulate joint strategies aimed at mitigating the effect of AE. Meanwhile the increase in technological innovation is likely to drive more employees into the atypical employment. While the European Union is taking definitive steps to mitigate the negative effects of AE, similar intervention strategies appear to be remote in Africa. It would seem that the poor state of the economies in the developing countries is bedevilling the efforts of policy intervention in the area of AE.
Overall, the literature review highlighted the fact that an increase in technology is invariably accompanied by precarious employment. It would appear to be a standard norm that; as economies develop technologically and some segments of society are lifted out of poverty, it is essential to adopt protective measures in order to cushion the negative effects of such new technological advances in the work environment.
The contrasting benefits of globalisation are bound to increase the debates on appropriate models of economic growth. Sovereign states have to make difficult choices between the pursuit of decent jobs, on the one hand, and more average jobs on the other. The next chapter introduces the participants in this study and discusses how data was ordered and coded.
80 CHAPTER 4
INTRODUCING THE RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS, ORDERING AND CODING THE DATA
4.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter firstly introduces research participants or cases; secondly, I present the step-by-step process I used to analyse the data, that is, to order the experiences and perceptions of the TES. I furthermore describe the codes, concepts and categories, and formulate a working analytical framework and, finally, I present the coding levels, including the evolving categories and themes.
4.2 A PROFILE OF THE RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
Eight TES cases took part in the study. In Table 4.1, I present the profiles of these participants (RPs) in terms their personal attributes (Martin & Sinclair, 2007) as well as the sourcing methods used.
As depicted in Table 4.1 four of the research participants were male and four female; two worked in a retail shop, two were involved in food processing (manufacturing), one worked in a bank, one in telecommunications, one in hospitality, and one in public service.
RP1 was firmly established in TES. He was middle-aged and valued relationships, which may strangely explain his inclination to remain long in his current employment context. In the main, he was level-headed and talked in measured tones. He was a caring individual, who focused on achieving what he set out to do. He relished the opportunity to be the first RP in the study and displayed the confidence of a seasoned employee. Although measured in his language, he was outspoken and demonstrated a definitive stand on the issues of employment contracting. He had been exposed to trade union activism, thus making him one of more experienced cases to participate in the study. He regarded himself as resilient, as manifested by his length of service in this particular type of employment.
81 Table 4.1. Profile of Research Participants RP
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Employment TES TES TES TES Ex-TES Ex-TES TES Ex-TES status Marital status Married Single Married Single Single Single Single Married Gender Male Male Male Male Female Female Female Female Family Responsibility/ Parent No Parent No Parent Parent Parent Parent Parent
Income status Supple- Primary Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes mentary Secondary No No No Yes No No No No Occasional No Yes No No No No No No Property ownership Private No Private No Rented Rented Rented Private Grade 12 Grade 12 Grade 12 Educational plus plus Grade 12 Grade 12 Grade 12 Grade 12 plus Grade 12 status financial secretarial diploma diploma diploma Current Stores Field Client Bank Mixing employment adminis- marketer- services accounts House- baking Dispatch Admin clerk responsibility tration (retail stock adminis- reconcilia- keeping ingredients (supervisor) controller) trator tions Note: Purposive and theoretical sampling strategy used in all cases. Source: The researcher
RP2 was a young male in his mid-twenties. He was ambitious and aspired beyond his current employment. He was a responsible person and had contributed to the family household expenses from a young age. He was focused and had formulated strategies to overcome his poor background. He was eager to take on new opportunities as they arose.
RP3 was established in the TES work environment. He was in his late thirties and considered himself to be independent, motivated and focused employee. He had been part of the culture of the business entity for which he worked and foresaw a better future by utilising the skills and experience gained working through the entity. He was looking to a more significant relationship with the entity, particularly the opportunity to exit TES employment in future. He considered himself to be responsible; both as a parent and an employee.
82 RP4 had assumed parental responsibilities for his siblings at a very young age as he had lost both his parents. He was a strong person and committed to family values. He did not shy away from responsibilities. He placed the interest of others above his own interests and focused on the bigger picture as regards the issues of life. Although compelled to remain in his current situation in order to assist his siblings, he was not proud of the nature of his current employment. He was analytical and had noted the impact of TES employment on his relationship with his employer.
RP 5 was a credit controller in a banking entity. Her family both worked and lived in Mpumalanga Province. She demonstrated a positive view of the issues affecting her work life. She was objective in her analysis of the issues of employment, having succeeded in transitioning from TES to full-time employment. She was proud of her previous employer who had provided her with a platform to find permanent employment. Overall, she realised the merit in the need to take advantage of emerging work opportunities in the face of the scarcity of jobs.
RP6 appeared to be very ambitious. She did not foresee herself remaining much longer in a TES environment and was looking beyond her current position in a marketing department of a telecommunications entity. She was of the opinion that a job was a job for as long as it fulfilled her expectation and values.
RP7 had had the shortest period of service at the time of the interview. Although he had much still to learn in the world of work he, nevertheless, had a clear vision. He was thankful that he was able to earn a living in a tight labour market. Despite his short period of service, he displayed a defined understanding of the contrast between agency work and direct-hire, permanent employment. He was categorical in his negative perception of TES.
I anticipated that the current TES employees would share their experiences and perceptions over a considerable period, with me. In addition, TES employees represented the bulk of the workforce in the food processing sector and I believed that their insider knowledge would contribute significantly to my research findings. On the other hand, ex-TES employees (RP5, RP6 and RP8) would provide a dual/contrasting experience of work life both during and after the TES career.
83 4.3 ORDERING AND CODING THE DATA: APPLYING GROUNDED THEORY (GT)
In ordering the information which the research participants shared with me and the field notes I had compiled, I made use of steps suggested by O'Connor and Gibson (n.d.), Merriam (2009) and Gale, Heath, Cameron, Rashid, and Redwood (2013).
Data organising
It is essential to focus on the interview guide and to identify and differentiate between the questions/topics you want answered/covered, as well as others included in the interview guide which you do not necessarily regard as essential.
Conducting a multiple case study poses challenges of management of large data, particularly if no field workers/assistants are involved. To simply matters for myself, I divided data into four blocks namely, first phase which entailed the introductory part and ice-breaker. The second block contained in-depth interviews as guided mainly by theoretical sampling approach. The third block which involved member checking. The fourth and last block contained unsolicited data obtained as inputs from role players in the field of employment relations management.
In organising data, I took note of White, Oelke and Friesen (2012, p. 251) cautioning that “data overload, fatigue, and the potential for the researcher to get lost in the data” posed real challenges for the analysis of the large amount of data collected for this study. Following this advice, I created data sets on excel sheets in respect of individual RP. Using these data sets made manual coding easy21
Finding and organising ideas and concepts
During this stage one looks at the various ideas emerging from a particular response, for example you may find specific expressions or ideas may keep recurring. It was essential for me to make notes (i.e., compile a list) as I read through the responses. According to Merriam (2009), the aim of this step is category construction. By just noting the words the research participants use to express themselves, one learns about their perceptions, attitudes, and feelings about the phenomenon under investigation. I selected the words and expressions they use
21 For detailed manual coding exercise, see Annexure A
84 frequently and which are different from the words and expressions I or others would use to express something.
I was mindful of the fact that, in addition, one should be on the lookout for points indicating a particular direction in which a participant seems to be going; that is, taking a new or unexpected direction. O'Connor and Gibson (n.d.) call these situations rich points which may prove to be particularly valuable. Finally, the researcher should check whether subsequent data reveals similar categories. By the time saturation has been reached your mode of thinking would have moved from inductive to deductive reasoning (Merriam, 2009, p. 182).
Building over-arching themes
Each response category typically contains related units of data that give a deeper meaning to the data. Gale et al. (2013) make mention of developing a working analytical framework. In this sense, different categories may be grouped under one main over-arching theme. Being a novice researcher, I recognised the possibility of inadvertently mixing categories. I took care not to randomly borrow a classification scheme which has applied in other studies as this could hinder the generation of new categories.
In applying GT, I tended more towards Glaser‟s (1967) method of conceptualising compared to the more rigid coding steps of Strauss and Corbin (1998); namely open, axial, and selective coding techniques. Accordingly, I studied the transcripts and field notes very closely while at the same time, applied theoretical sampling for determining the next participant and relevant data. I carefully compared incidents within the developing conceptual framework with the emerging concepts. Admittedly, I embarked upon this meaning making process equipped with the level of knowledge, insight and understanding that I had derived from documents and personal observation, as well as my views on the interactions with my informants and the preliminary literature study I had conducted. My insights deepened up to the point at which theoretical saturation took place. In an attempt to saturate the data22 I used the method of constant comparison in terms of which new data was compared with older data. Similar incidents were categorised and re-categorised continuously.
22 As outlined in Chapter 2, data saturation in a category occurs when no new information provides further insights into that category.
85 Throughout the process I made use of memos to write down all the insights I gained as I gathered the data. The remainder of the chapter focuses the various phases of the data analysis and how these were applied (Eriksson & Kovalainen, 2008).
4.3.1 Coding Corbin & Strauss (2008, p.198) define coding involving
“breaking the data apart and delineating concepts to stand for blocks of raw data”.
In particular, I adopted a reflective reading of text i.e. word against word and line against line; in order to code and categorise the data. To a large extent the analytic framework presented by Merriam (2009) and Gale et al. (2013) assisted me in organising the data. They all urge iterative method, identify and differentiate between the questions/topics one wants answered/covered as well as those that you included but that may appear not to be essential. This exercise involved a lot of going back and forth through the transcripts.
This entails thinking inside the box or following prescribed method. Once the initial questions have been answered, you focus on further emerging ideas and themes (surprises) that have arisen from the data. You then study these in terms of the way in which they relate to the questions and also in terms of further research considerations. This entails thinking outside the box as this allows you to carefully consider the answer to each topic and specific question, thus enabling the researcher to identify patterns in responses and selecting themes than may otherwise have been the case (Gale et al., 2013). Once the concepts have been organised you move onto the next step, namely, selecting ideas and concepts and organising them into categories (O'Connor & Gibson, n.d.).
Each of the response categories revealed one or more associated themes that gave a deeper meaning to the data. As Gale et al. (2013) maintained, it is necessary that I should develop a working analytical framework. Following such framework, different categories were collapsed under one main, over-arching theme. I took care to meet the following criteria for category construction as originally proposed by Merriam (2009):
86 Categories should be responsive to the purpose of the research. A clear linkage should exist between the categories and the questions driving the research (Dey, 1993, p. 102). Categories should be exhaustive with all important and relevant characteristics being accounted for in the analysis process. Categories should be mutually exclusive and thus any overlap of characteristics should be eliminated i.e. a particular unit of data should fall into the same category (De Vos & Strydom, 2012). Categories should be sensitising with regard to their contents. In other words, the name of the category should be as reflective as possible to what is contained in the data. Categories should be conceptually in alignment with the same level of abstraction characterising all other categories at the same level.
In line with the suggestions of O'Connor and Gibson (n.d.), Merriam (2009) and Gale et al. (2013) for the construction of categories, I examined the various responses to particular questions and, in this way, I identified specific words and ideas that kept recurring. As I read through the transcripts I noted and listed different ideas. In this way, I identified from the transcripts, the words and expressions used frequently by the interviewees. As I interviewed more of the participants I continuously checked whether subsequent data revealed similar or different codes.
The coding procedure described below applies to all cases. I combined Wolcott‟s (2001) approach of highlighting specific data and Huberman and Miles‟s (1994) approach of writing notes in the margin. The initial data analysis phase commenced with the coding process which entailed identifying concepts and then formulating categories and themes. Figure 4.1 below illustrates the procedure I used to reach an overview of key codes in respect of all the RPs‟ transcripts.
I am staying at x location where I am residing in my house with my family – three children and my wife. I live at 6120, that‟s where I am living, Ka- Nyamazane. I finished matric in ‟92 at Ka-Nyamazane High School I attended a farm school where my grandparents lived, at Hamlock. I started 1980, I finished in ‟92, I dropped only one year. Characteristics of decent work? It is a work for which you must study, you go to school, and you
87 obtain qualifications, then they hire you or they employ you with those qualifications that meet your needs and that provides money to meet your needs. That‟s a decent work that you can do, but you have done, maybe, a three years diploma or a degree, then you can go to work – that is a work that can meet your needs. But finishing matric and going to a work, it is not enough, unless you improve on your studies.
Someone told me there was an interview and they needed people. Because of (name deleted) I have obtained customer service certificate, certificate of achievement at (name deleted), and then those certificate have enabled be to work at (Name of TES deleted). Yes, when I get there, they interviewed me, it was the last, I remember it was July 2003, I was the last person to be interviewed by that regional manager. The regional manager said if he had known me he would have taken me first – that‟s when he started take me as an employee of (TES name deleted) up until today. Yes, you know, if you are a man and you don‟t know where to go, you just get into whatever and you get used to that situation. Then you just accept it, you know, for me there was no any other way to do it other than going there and working, and, even if it‟s difficult, you used to that situation. They say when you are in Rome, you must do what Romans do. Ok, I will start with the advantages. I am working as a field marketer – if you are a field marketer they give you stores that belong to you, then you have to do stock ordering, you have to do stock, all those retail things, you have to do returns, then you are in charge for that stores, you are not being followed each and every day, they trust you, To be honest and fair, labour brokers, there is nothing wrong, although the law that is applied with the employer in the labour broker should be changed because, looking forward, there are no jobs in South Africa. If they ban it, companies will not employ and that will lead to the unemployment rate going higher.
Figure 4.1: Example of highlighted key words and phrases
Coding gives one a general sense of what the raw data is saying as it involves meticulously going through the transcript and field notes; assigning codes or labels
88 to raw data but remaining open to review as much as possible (Urquhart, 2013). As Figure 4.1 indicated, I coded each time new data was collected (Grbich, 2007). In line with tradition of qualitative study using GT method, collecting and analysing data occurred simultaneously, thereby generating concepts, categories and themes while at the same, guiding both the next round of collecting data and the process of developing theory (Charmaz, 2012)
As indicated in Figure 4.1 I went through the transcripts, word by word, examining the data in order to identify concepts for further codes and categories which could then be dimesionalised or broken apart (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). In order to avoid simple paraphrasing the answers, I applied the following theory questions to the text: What is the issue to be addressed in this particular question? Who are involved in this occurrence? What roles do the identified people or bodies play? How are the role-players interacting? When was the participant appointed? How long did the research participant work in a TES employment arrangement? Where is the research participant deployed? How much time do they spend working in a day? How strongly does the research participant feel about the fate of TES? Why or what reasons are being given or may be deduced for staying in TES employment setup? By what means are the research participants coping with their challenges at work? (Böhm, 2004, p. 271).
The writing of memos, as I alluded to previously, is essential in the process of generating code because it assists the process of analysis by making it possible to follow all categories, concepts, ideas as well as reflexive questions that evolve from the development of a theoretical framework. Memoing therefore, provides a way of building a theoretical framework. However, it should be noted that memos are not restricted to identifying ideas but where deviant cases emerge, memos could be involved in the formulation and revision of theory. (Bryman & Bell, 2011)
As I gained important insights from the interviews I compared each set of memos with the previous memos. Table 4.2 presents some of my personal observations.
89 Table 4.2. Memos Related to Codes and Categories
CODES AND CATEGORIES MEMO
Poor circumstances and opportunities Memo 1 (20/09/2012) Poverty In spite of the fact that many of the participants Limited or no opportunities for further education came from poor backgrounds with few opportunities they overcame their difficulties Had to support family and completed the matriculation examination. Had to find a job The two respondents whose parents provided More protected background and opportunity to for their schooling adequately had had an study opportunity to study further as full-time students
Not able to study further: Memo 2 (20/09/2012) Frustration Most of the research participants had wanted to study further to enable them to find decent jobs but, because of financial constraints and family responsibilities, they had not been able to do so
Motivation for applying for a TES job Memo 4 (20/09/2012) Scarcity of permanent jobs Because of the high unemployment figure job Desperation to have an income seekers find it difficult to find permanent jobs and have to rely on temporary work. It is easier Businesses themselves are employing fewer to find a job through labour brokers since there employees is a tendency for businesses to employ less Registering with TES increases the possibility of people directly and, instead, to make use of finding a job TES.
Job Memo 5 (20/09/2012) No career path/mobility I sensed that TES employees felt frustrated and Induction only trapped because, despite the fact that they worked hard, they lead a low standard of living No further skills training with no employment benefits or career path or TES employees are exploited prospects for further skills training. As a result No employee benefits of their current qualifications and the high Les control over decisions (pace or choice) in unemployment figure they were not able to job environment escape from this entrapment. TES employees reacted differently to this entrapment – some Low standard of living with no expectations of felt angry and frustrated while others felt improvement hopeless. All of them were of the opinion that Feelings of being trapped the new political dispensation had not changed Expectations of a better standard of living not anything for them. One of them even accepted fulfilled the fact that things would never be different. No Some employee benefits (vacation) matter how long they had worked at the same businesses their jobs were still temporary. TES as stepping stone Some even felt exploited and referred to TES Implications of low pay and no employee employees as profit generating. Those who had benefits managed to find full-time employment enjoyed Low living standard better employee benefits and a higher standard Exploitation of living than previously. They had tended to see the use of TES as a stepping stone for Expectations of better standard of living not better full-time employment. realised It would appear that these vulnerable Frequency of contracting employees are not aware of their rights Difficulties in to understanding whom the although they may, in fact, have no contract employer is thus making it easier for them to terminate their Employer identity confusion services.
90 CODES AND CATEGORIES MEMO
Job (cont’d) Memo 5 (20/09/2012) – (cont’d) Multiple names of employer My initial understanding was limited to the Confusion over responsibility for injury triangular employment arrangement and not multilateral relationships as alluded to by No compensation for injury RP3. No medical aid Occupational health emerged as an area of insecurity Many TES employees are probably not registered as employees. TES are often selective about the labour legislation they choose to comply with.
Platform for career change Memo 6 (20/09/2012) Long working relationship Describing career development: Remain trapped in TES Apart from two RPs who had managed to Move within TES structure secure permanent jobs, most were trapped in a situation with no prospects of career Alternative odd jobs with less security. development. The only way that TES Different employers and managers employees could secure a better job with a Pride in job higher salary was to request a transfer from TES – as RP2 had done.
Perceptions of TES as employer Memo 8 (20/09/2012) TES does not create jobs Perceptions of TES: No advantages for the employer Most of the TES workers had had an induction Low pay period when they had started working. TES workers felt exploited and frustrated as, apart No benefits from leave, they received no employee benefits Low job security such as pensions, bonuses or further training. No protection against death or injury They also had no job security. However, they Slavery were unwilling to express their grievances or join strike actions for fear of losing their jobs. Job pride and loyalty of employee Despite feeling exploited by TES, RP3 TES trusts the employee with important displayed a sense of pride in his position responsibilities and the contribution he was making to the TES has no loyalty success of the business entity. Confusion regarding the employer Avoiding contractual responsibility Exploitation No job security Minimum control over work
Future of TES Memo 11 (20/09/2012) Increase in unemployment Only two of the RPs was of the opinion that Helps people to survive TES should not be banned but that strict regulation was necessary. The main reason for TES must stay but strict laws must apply this was the fear that unemployment would Banning will increase unemployment escalate. However, the majority of the TES Government and unions must play a role respondents stated that TES should be banned Law must change so as to avoid strikes outright since it exploited and robbed the workers. They maintained that all TES jobs Ban TES should be converted into permanent Exploiting long term employees employment with full-time benefits. This view Dishonesty of some TES firms operating as was strongly held buy long-term workers. syndicates I found it surprising that a TES employee
91 CODES AND CATEGORIES MEMO
Future of TES (cont’d) Memo 11 (20/09/2012) – (cont’d) Current legislation does not favour permanent (RP3) could defend the TES in such employment categorical terms. It appeared the sense of All TES jobs should be converted into independence in carrying out a job and the permanent jobs trust bestowed resulted in a strong employment relationship. This is one of Strict regulation particular areas that had triggered my embarking on this study. Perhaps because of his length of service, RP3 had the ability to articulate the causal relationship between events. It became apparent that RP3 was pragmatic in the expression of his views. Despite the criticism expressed about specific practices in TES, he had resigned himself to the fact that the situation was irreversible. RP3 saw a clear link between TES job and survival; and acknowledged this as a valid reason for the continued existence of the TES (RP3).
Contrast between TES and permanent Memo 12 (20/09/2012) employees Describing the contrast between Definite distinction categories of employees, TES and Exploitation permanent employees: Profit RP3 was aware of the ethical dilemma in which TES employees found themselves in Insecurity employment relationship. They felt that Paid to do specific job employees were disposable inputs in the Scared to lose jobs if they strike process of generating profit. At the same Interests of the full-time employees promoted time, he was powerless to change his situation. The contrast between categories Limited training to be able to do the job and for of manifested itself in different ways, safety purposes including the degree of respect and space Helplessness in which to work without being followed. No promotion for TES
Grievance resolution Memo 13 (20/09/2012) TES undermine efforts of TES employees to Explaining the internal dispute complain by hiding their identities resolution mechanism at the workplace: Employer not known It is extremely difficult to follow the Channels for dispute exist grievance procedure because of the fear of losing your job and not knowing who your Unions are not functioning successfully employer is. The right to strike Implications of striking Memo 27 (20/09/2012) Recognises the collective power of employees in this environment but laments the lack of unionisation Most of the TES indicated that they were too scared to strike as they could lose their jobs.
92 CODES AND CATEGORIES MEMO
Interventions Memo 28 (20/09/2012) Inadequate laws for protection. In general, the RPs were disappointed with the Laws must be changed radically to protect TES legal structure as well as with the protection employees afforded by government and the unions. They did not think that the proposed new labour law Union regulations poor would really change anything. Low expectations for change in labour dispensation Current legislation does not protect TES employees Government is not doing enough
I wrote memos in detail throughout the entire process of analysis in order to identify concepts, uncover associations between emerging categories and do theoretical reflections related to such categories (Hallberg, 2006). Theoretical memos on the major codes, categories and themes that emerged as well as those I felt should to be followed up enabled me to reflect continuously. In addition, the theoretical memos allowed me to maintain my distance from the data (Böhm, 2004). This made it possible for me to keep the golden thread running throughout the data. Memos therefore, enabled me raise data to higher theoretical level through a continuous process of comparing and conceptualising ideas.
After some time the continuous coding from the transcripts may become very difficult because data could be either lost or skipped. Accordingly, I created a spread sheet and captured the participants‟ main views in terms of both categories and sub-topics (see Table 4.3).23
Table 4.3. Spread sheet of Coding Linked to Concepts TES Early Family Marital Fate of RP Education experience Economic sector days responsibility status TES (years) 1 Poverty Grade 12 Primary 13 Married Ban Retail
2 Poverty Grade 12 Secondary 3 Single Ban Food processing
3 Poverty Grade 12 Primary 9 Married Regulate Retail Food processing 4 Poverty Grade 12 Secondary 2 Single Ban
23 At this stage the categories identified were still a work in progress.
93 TES Early Family Marital Fate of RP Education experience Economic sector days responsibility status TES (years) Protected National 5 Primary 6 Single Regulate Telecommunication childhood diploma Protected National 6 Primary 10 Single Regulate Banking childhood diploma 7 Poverty Grade 12 Secondary 0.3 Single Ban Hospitality Grade12 Protected plus 8 Secondary 9 Married Regulate Public service childhood secretarial diploma Note. All participants found their employment by “walk-in”, which means the curriculum vitae or job application was personally delivered. Source: The researcher‟s fieldwork
In answering the research question(s) one develops concepts, typologies or theoretical constructs. The emphasis is typically on: What is happening? What are the subjects doing? What does it mean to them? What are their experiences? (Schwandt, 2007, p. 7). The following five key questions provided me with direction as to further analysis: (i) which factors do employees consider when deciding on the choice of employer? (ii) How does the experience of employees shape their views towards this form of employment practice? (iii) In the face of a shrinking labour market, what benchmarks do employees consider in classifying a job as decent? (iv) Why would the same class of employees hold different views about the future of the same employer or phenomenon? (v) Why do some employees able to make a transition in their careers while others do not? As the storyline evolved, these questions became vitally important to answer. I built the views and experience of one case on the next and gained a better understanding of the differences and similarities that existed between the interviewees.
I narrowed the 178 original codes down to 77 and then to nine categories and four themes (see Table 4.4).
94 Table 4.4 Overview of Evolving Categories and Themes
Codes Categories Themes
Family responsibility Poor circumstances and Push factors Poverty opportunities Limited or no opportunities for further education Frustration Had to support family Had to find a job Scarcity of permanent jobs Motivation for applying for Desperate to have an income a TES job Businesses themselves are employing fewer people Registering with TES would increase chances of finding a job No career path/mobility Job setting Conditions of Induction only service No further skills training TES employees are exploited No employee benefits Minimum control over decisions (pace or choice) in job environment Job security Low standard of living with no expectations of improvement Some employee benefits (leave) TES as a stepping stone Implications of low pay and no employee benefits Definite distinction between treatment of TES and other employees Exploitation Profit generating Insecurity Scared to lose jobs if they strike Interests of the full-time employees promoted Limited training to be able to do the job and for safety purposes No promotion for TES No exit point Platform for career Long working relationship change Remain trapped in TES Move within TES structure Different employers and managers Pride in job
95 Codes Categories Themes
TES does not create jobs Role of TES Job satisfaction No advantages for the employee Stepping stone Helps employees to survive Alternative odd jobs with less security. Low pay Perceptions of TES as No benefits employer Low job security No protection against death or injury Slavery Pride in job and loyalty of employee TES trust the employee with important responsibilities TES has no loyalty Confusion regarding the employer Employer and TES avoiding their responsibility Exploitation No job security Minimum control over work Feelings of being trapped Expectations of a better standard of living not fulfilled Helplessness Help people to survive Changes in policy Future of TES TES must remain but strict law must apply Banning will increase unemployment Interventions Government and unions must play a role Law must change to avoid strikes Ban TES Exploiting long-term employees Dishonesty of some TES firms operating as syndicates Current legislation does not favour permanent employment All TES jobs should be converted to permanent jobs Grievance procedure exists TES undermines efforts of TES employees to complain by hiding their identities Employer not known Channels for dispute exist Unions are not functioning effectively The right to strike Implications of striking Laws must be changed radically to protect TES employees Union regulations are poor
96 Codes Categories Themes
Low expectations of change in labour dispensation Interventions (cont‟d) Future of TES Current legislation does not protect TES (cont‟d) Government is not doing enough
This table illustrates how, gradually, the categories and themes arising out of my interpretation of the data emerged as I understood it from application of both modification and confirmation (iterative process) throughout the data gathering process.
The categories and themes made it possible for me to interpret the raw data at a higher level than may otherwise have been the case, for example starting with the childhood years of the RPs through their experiences as TES employees to the preferred fate of TES as an employment practice.
As is clear from the analysis l conducted the coding manually – a tedious task. I firstly checked and compared the notes I had compiled in respect of the informants and, thereafter, I focused on the documents solicited from the RPs and my own memos. The long, draft memoirs comprised 103 pages carrying different verbal expressions of which some had been used for the same concept. Once I had finished coding the transcripts of the respective RPs I had a much clearer picture of what I should look for in subsequent interviews. Table 4.4 illustrates the process I followed.
In order to make sure that the concepts shared the same meaning, I defined and linked them back to each of the documents. I then compared the categories with each other and also to facilitate the search for new categories that could possibly be identified. Categories were then clustered together to form themes. More specifically, throughout the process:
I read and reread all the transcripts. I labelled and manually coded the data that assisted in providing answers to the research question.
97 I grouped the coded data into higher level categories. After coded and labelled as such, the data of all the research participants with similar characteristics was therefore categorised into the same group. I clustered the categories to form themes.
The details in Figure 4.2 illustrate how the process unfolded.
Figure 4.2: Mind map of coding process Source: The researcher
98 The figure represents a mind map; depicting the processes of both the first and second-level coding; including the formation of categories and themes. For example, I linked the minor concepts (e.g. job scarcity, no choice, desperation) to broader concepts in order to form a category, namely: motivation factors, and a theme; namely: push factors. Thus, through the grouping of codes and concepts I managed to move to a higher level of coding, namely, theoretical coding.
Throughout the coding process, I had to ensure that a clear link is kept between data and resultant theory. This is in line with the argument of Corbin and Strauss (2008, p. 266) that: “The core concept and other concepts come from the data but „theory‟ doesn‟t just build itself; in the end, it is a construction build by the analyst from data provided by participants.” Having generated core categories, it was proper to link them together with their sub-categories. This is presented in the next chapter in the form of relating the stories about the career experiences of the eight individuals against the wider experience of TES phenomenon as described in the literature.
4.3.2 Theoretical coding The final stage in the analysis involved connecting and integrating the core categories by exploring how they relate to each other. This comparison is known as theoretical coding. Theoretical codes grow out of the development of open codes and recorded theoretical memos. Theoretical codes create a new storyline about the phenomenon from bringing together codes generated through the first phase of coding namely; the process of open coding. The fractured codes are integrated by making connections between a theme and its categories. The core categories are critically examined for their interrelationships and further developed into higher–order categories, thus moving towards an emerging theory (Goulding, 2002).
The afore-going process of generating theory is what Charmaz (2012), refers to as an inductive exercise operating as a spiral that starts by collecting chunks of data in a substantive area of enquiry. Echoing support, Baxter and Jack (2008, p. 554) put is as follows: “Each data source is one piece of the puzzle, with each piece contributing to the researcher‟s understanding of the whole phenomenon”. Accordingly, I collected data and analysed it for a particular purpose.
99 The finalisation of theoretical coding culminated in a story line concerning the operations of the TES. In this context a story is simply a descriptive narrative about the central phenomenon under study while the story line is the conceptualisation of this story (abstracting). When analysed, the story line then becomes the core category. Accordingly, a core category must be the centre point, standing in orderly systematic relationships to its sub-categories. In developing a storyline, I took cognisance of the benchmarks provided by Myers (2011, p. 167) namely; “(i) it must be abstract; that is, it is possible to relate all other major categories to it and placed them under it; (ii) it must appear frequently in the data. This means that within all or almost all cases, there are indicators pointing to that category; (iii) it must be logical and consistent with the data. There should be no forcing of data; (iv) it should be sufficiently abstract so that it may be used to conduct research in other substantive areas, thus leading to the development of a more general theory and (v) it should grow in depth and explanatory power as each of the other categories is related to it through statements of relationship”.
Through the refined coding process, I developed the following core themes:
push factors conditions of service future of TES coping mechanisms of TES employees
The following statement was formulated to describe these themes:
A meaningful regulatory framework is required; prescribing the role and responsibilities of TES in such a manner that the object of a caring state is realised.
4.4 SUMMARY
This chapter discussed the coding process that I had followed within the scope of the grounded theory research strategy. Firstly, through a process of reflective accounting for each word and sentences, I fragmented the data by delineating concepts to represent the raw data and then coded the transcripts and memos of the RPs. Secondly; I narrowed down the coding concepts into categories. Thirdly, I selected
100 the categories, determined the theme and positioned it within a working analytical framework and performed the theoretical coding. Finally, by integrating the data in new ways I developed a storyline and thus moved towards the development of a theory by linking together the strands of data in new and unique ways (Baxter & Jack, 2008).
101 CHAPTER 5
TOWARDS THE BUILDING OF A MODEL FOR TES EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTING
5.1 INTRODUCTION
After concluding the data analysis processes, the next step involved integrating the study findings with relevant literature. Within the context of grounded theory, this entailed the final coding phase, namely, theoretical coding. Firstly, in this chapter, I relate the study findings to the scholarly perspectives contained in the literature on alternative employment (AE), including TES. Secondly, I discuss the analytical tools or instruments used to illuminate what has been researched (see, Mouton & Marais, 1990) and, finally, I apply these tools in order to offer a typology and a substantial theory of TES.
5.2 RELATING KEY FINDINGS TO THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTS
In line with grounded theory I now discuss the themes which emerged from the accounts of the research participants and how these themes relate to scholarly perspectives. The themes are outlined in Table 5.1.
Table 5.1. Themes and Relevant Scholarly Views
Theme category Literature sources
Push factors Primary income earners‟ family obligations and commitments; the need for extra or secondary earnings (Casey & Alach, 2004; Marler & Moen, 2005; Tan & Tan, 2002).
… out of concern for the well-being of the (potential) recipient… provide some form of insurance to each other (Haider & McGarry, 2008, p. 207). “…opportunity to learn from different jobs and organisations or to explore the labour market and future career opportunities (the capability of moving self-sufficiently through the labour market) over job security, freedom to pursue non-work related values” (De Cuyper & De Witte, 2008) “Employability-enhancement through training schemes promotes commitment and productive behaviours among temporary workers including a desire for freedom and independence” (De Cuyper & De Witte, 2011)
102 Theme category Literature sources
Push factors (cont‟d) “… transition to permanent employment is more likely for individuals who hold any type of temporary contract than for the unemployed …” (Berton, Devicienti & Pacelli, 2011, p. 879). Inability of finding permanent employment (Tan & Tan, 2002). Conditions of service “… by imposition of zero hour‟s contracts which act as a psychological device to reinforce a feeling of impermanence to the employment relationship” (Head & Lucas, 2003, p. 15). Signing fixed-term or indefinite time period employment contracts (Sheik, 2010; Bagdanskis, 2011). “… spending up to three years; a good proportion had been with the same “employer for six months or more ... some up to five years” (Stanworth & Druker, 2006, p. 176). Pursuing career development aspirations, or a desire for freedom and independence (Kroon & Freese, 2013, p. 900). “The stepping-stone function of temporary employment: anticipation of job security” (De Cuyper et al., 2011, p. 106). “…aggravated lack of growth prospects on career mobility” (Head & Lucas, 2003, p. 15). “… dead-end careers that trapped workers indefinitely more than serving as a stepping-stone towards more stable forms of employment” (Zeytinoglu & Lillevik, 2005, pp. 1–3). “Part-timers can be brought in for specific hours, and their flexible work schedules can be better adapted to strong variations in the amount of work at different times” (Rosendaal, 2003, p. 475). “… many agency workers lack access to internal training leading to reduced mobility options and to lower job quality of agency jobs” (Mitlacher, 2008, p. 450). Job satisfaction The prevailing attitude that temporary workers are somehow less valuable than their permanent counterparts, i.e. that they are second class employees of a sort (Foote, 2004). “Coping strategies for perception of being unappreciated by supervisors and co-workers entails adoption of negative behaviours such as personal aggression manifested in arriving late, using work hours for personal tasks, calling in sick when not actually ill, quitting before the end of an assignment and deliberately but covertly working slowly in order to extend the number of billable hours or sabotaging work process (Connelly, Gallagher & Webster, 2011) “…reduction of recruitment costs; recruitment of individuals for short-term positions; alleviation of managing workers; ease of dismissal; and reduction of employee costs” (Biggs, Burchell, & Millmore, 2006, p.192). Temporary employees form a reserve army in teaching field (Burgess & Connell, 2006).
“Part-timers can be brought in for specific hours, and their flexible work schedules can be better adapted to strong variations in the amount of work at different times” (Rosendaal, 2003, p. 475) “… career development aspirations, or a desire for freedom and independence” (Kroon & Freese, 2013, p. 900). “The stepping-stone function of temporary employment: anticipation of job security” (De Cuyper et al., 2011, p. 106). Aggravated lack of growth prospects on career mobility (Head and Lucas, 2003, p. 15)
103 Theme category Literature sources
Job satisfaction “… dead-end that trapped workers indefinitely more than serving as a (cont‟d) stepping-stone towards more stable forms of employment (Zeytinoglu & Lillevik, 2005, pp. 1–3). “… many agency workers lack access to internal training; leading to reduced mobility options and to lower job quality of agency jobs” (Mitlacher, 2008, p. 450). In OECD countries, the 2002 OECD report presents a high level of mobility from temporary to permanent employment where between 21% and 56% of temporary workers switched to permanent contracts within the first year and after two years, these rates increased to 34% and 71%. (Martínez et al., 2010) Future of TES “Accordingly, the likely scenario would entail that labour broking is recognised, albeit with strict regulation protecting the vulnerable position of workers placed in the triangular relationship” (Van Eck, 2010, pp. 59– 60). Profit-generating tool “This often results in difficult processes of enforcement or conflict or exploitation resolution and judicial construction of an implied contract of service with the end user of an employment agency, partially as a response to the failure to establish the agency as the appropriate employer. The real question is not whether the agency worker has employment status but who should have primary responsibility for this worker” (Wynn & Leighton, 2009, pp. 5–43). “… are precluded from taking industrial action ... as they had different employers” (Stanworth & Druker, 2006, p.176).
Source: The researcher
5.2.1 Push factors In constructing this theme I used the verbal expressions the participants used to describe the factors that had necessitated their acceptance of a TES job as the preferred form of employment contracting. In constructing the theme I also took into consideration their socio-economic backgrounds.
The TES employees who participated in the study were dispersed across several economic sectors, including retail (RP1, RP2, RP3, RP4), hospitality (RP7), finance (RP6), telecommunications (RP5) and the public sector (RP8). However, it would appear that all economic sectors make use of agency workers in one way or another.
Scholars such as Buschoff and Protsch (2008) and Connelly, Gallagher, and Webster (2011) have revealed marked differences in the type of vacancies for which TES is the most extensively used, including the category of workers dominating the TES jobs. Manufacturing, services and hospitality are predominant sectors (Connelly et al., 2011), while women, low-skilled workers, young people (aged 15–29), older people (aged 55–65) predominate (May, Campbell, & Burgess, 2005).
104 Job seekers pursue different goals in life. These goals, in turn, inform people‟s choices. Whereas the reasons for job seeking found in this study reflected a forced reason in respect of the choice of TES employment, the literature does also indicate voluntary reasons. For example, TES employees may be motivated by (i) the opportunity to make meaningful career choices from their exposure to different jobs and organisations, (ii) the opportunity to explore what is on offer on the labour market and what future career opportunities to plan for, and (iii) a desire for freedom and independence (De Cuyper & De Witte, 2008). Notwithstanding the afore- mentioned factors, it appeared that the overriding factor in the job seekers‟ decision to take up a TES job was the employee‟s perception of his or her position within the framework of his or her hierarchy of needs.
The factors pushing the respondents to apply for a TES job often resulted from a life of poverty and also the scarcity of job opportunities. As poor individuals the research participants represented a vulnerable group of people struggling to obtain education. As RP4 explained:
My parents passed away some years ago. I was compelled to drop out of school and seek job opportunities early to support myself and sister sibling.
With the exception of RP5, who had completed a secretarial course and RP6, who had passed the matriculation examination at a technikon, most of the research participants had wanted to further their studies in order to obtain a decent job. However, due to financial constraints and family responsibilities they had not been able to do so.
Interesting facts emerged in respect of the status of the RPs as income earners. In their difficult economic circumstances and with few or no opportunities available the study found that individual TES employees tended to assume a particular role in terms of the income they brought home. Research participants 1, 3, 6 and 8, owned or leased fixed residential property were primary income earners, while others who were living with parents or relatives were supplementary income earners. Regarding the reasons why they provided financial assistance to family members, the RPs‟ views were in line with those of Haider and McGarry (2013), namely, (i) out of concern for the well-being of their close family members or as part of a mutually
105 beneficial arrangement (RP2, RP4 and RP7) (ii) a compensatory top up for the lower income earner, (iii) the size of the income earned the financial assistant/contributor enabled him or her to offer support (RP1, RP3, RP5, RP6, and RP8), and provide some form of insurance to the others, and (v) the alleviation of financial liquidity constraints. In a nutshell, three key categories of motives determine reasons for acceptance of atypical employment namely; deciding voluntarily to accept atypical employment, being forced to accept atypical employment (involuntary motive), and preparing for career transition (De Jong, De Cuyper, De Witte, Silla & Bernhard- Oettel (2009).
Due to lack of income, research participants had to find jobs to help their families to survive. However, finding a job was no easy matter in view of the high unemployment rate.
It was clear from the literature that workers who elected to make use of TES were more likely to be employed within a shorter time compared to those who continued their job search outside of the TES environment (Addison & Surfield, 2009b; May et al., 2005). In this regard RP6, an ex-TES employee, had the following to say:
My entry into the world of work did not follow a direct route to full-time employment. Towards the completion of my studies I realised that business organisations were hiring less employees directly and made increasing use of TES as suppliers of HR. From the start, I never saw myself staying long in the TES work environment.
Temporary agency jobs assist job seekers gain rapid entry into paid employment notwithstanding the fact that such jobs are mostly brief in nature. The constrained job market makes it difficult for new entrants to exercise proper choice of first-time employment opportunities (Autor & Houseman, 2010). This finding was borne out by the views and experiences of the RPs in this study. For example, RP4 stated:
It is difficult to secure full-time jobs these days. I had no choice but compelled to approach the TES. I realised that business organisations were hiring less employees directly and made increasing use of TES as suppliers of human resources. Had I not approached the TES, it could have taken me much longer to secure employment or I would still be searching. It took me
106 four months job search and I started working in April 2011 with my current employer.
The majority of the research participants pointed out that their expectations of having a better life under the new political dispensation had not been realised. They regarded their TES jobs as part of their survival strategy in a shrinking labour market. Applying for a TES job presented an opportunity to enter the labour market more easily than it would have been to enter formal employment. RP1, P2, RP3 and RP4 had been so desperate to earn an income that they had been willing to accept any job offer as a means of earning an income to sustain both themselves and their dependants. Although the participants did not view TES as an ideal way of earning money, at least it was a way to “put some food on the table” and to “meet your responsibilities in a decent manner”.
Yes, if you are a man with no idea where to go, you just get into whatever and you get; get used to that situation then you just accept it, you know, for me there was no any other way to do, rather go there and work and, even if it‟s difficult, to get used to that situation (RP3).
The study found that once the research participants had become part of TES it was not easy to leave the temporary services structure unless they had the opportunity to improve their skills. However, as RP3 explained, this was extremely difficult to do:
So it‟s not easy to work for a labour broker. But the reason why you end up with many managers, you obtain many advisors and you are only one, it‟s not easy to decide properly, for those nine years for me, it looks like it‟s a lot of years, but I‟m used to it now, there is no any other way I can do.
It was clear from the study that the changing nature of work was impoverishing workers who were being marginalised in the labour market (Cowley, 2001; Theron, 2003). The participants had had no other choice but to resort to labour brokers to find a job. Thus, in this sense, it may be said that the participants had been “forced” to take up work in the TES structure. This finding of forced choice was, however, in stark contrast to the literature which cited a range of reasons which could be regarded as voluntary choices in respect of TES employment. For example, the findings in the literature revealed that some TES employees were motivated by (i)
107 the quest for exposure to different jobs and organisations, (ii) embracing the opportunity to explore and assess the labour market, including future career opportunities, and (iii) a desire to safeguard job-seeker‟s freedom and independence (De Cuyper & De Witte, 2008).
5.2.2 Conditions of service This theme encompassed the existence of opportunities for employee development and also protection, which determined either the positive or the negative nature of the job. I determined the viewpoints regarding the conditions of service in existing TES jobs by ascertaining the participants‟ perceptions of a decent job. The disparity in the conditions of employment and the benefits that existed between those of TES employees and those of permanent employees formed part of this theme. This disparity included the words used to describe the formalities of entering into an employment relationship, such as the what, and how the disparity manifested itself, the duration of contracts, and the frequency of contract renewal as well as the identity of the employer.
In the majority of developed societies in the West, youth, gender, low work status, low level of skills, and multiple short-term work history increase the probability of TES in both the public and the private sectors (Saloniemi & Virtanen, 2005, pp. 1–2). As indicated earlier, individual job seekers pursue different goals in life. Such goals, in turn, inform the motives for particular choices. Similarly, various reasons exist for business making use of alternative working arrangements. As Golden and Appelbaum (1992) noted, the rationale behind TES is closely linked to the need for a workforce of a variable size – one that may fluctuate in accordance with the level of customer demand for goods and services. Thus, temporary employment may suit the employer‟s strategy of creating a barrier for full-time employment, thus making it easier for business entities to reduce the number of temporary employees during a recession. The main driving force behind business organisations‟ decisions to make use of labour brokers is, therefore, to achieve numerical and wage flexibility (Head & Lucas, 2003; Van Jaarsveld, 2006; Wenger & Kalleberg, 2006).
Other reasons why businesses utilise TES organisations range from identifying potential standard employees prior to making any type of employment commitment; applying a staffing strategy to responding to heterogeneous individual preferences
108 for AWA. Other reasons include a reduction in overall wage rates, increasing profitability by substituting lower paid contingent workers for a firm‟s standard workers; limiting the long-term financial commitments of organisations to workers in the form of health insurance, pensions, and other benefits. Further reasons talk to the firms‟ needs for unique functional skills and expertise for short periods of time, including limiting the costs of recruitment and selection, as well as training.
Another important reason why TES firms are used to recruit workers includes the fact that such firms have often proved themselves to be efficient in finding people with the required competences. In South Africa (and in other countries), a country with strict enforcement of specific conditions stipulated in the labour laws, client business entities making use of their services do not have to carry the burden of adhering to these laws. One practical example is the need to adhere to a quota system or when they need to reduce their workforce. Despite high recruitment costs in some instances and the expenditure involved, using TES employees appears to remain the preferred option to meet the need to fill a post quickly. The overriding rationale for this is HR and operational issues that need safeguarding namely, business viability/profitability, business strategy, unique skills and competencies, and time (Manthorpe, Cornes, & Moriarty, 2012).
However, despite the advantages of TES for business organisations, there may also be disadvantages. For the client organisation, there are HR related risks accompanying the increase in the number of the temporary agency employees. Such risks take the form of exclusion from standard employment benefits such as leave, housing allowance, occupational insurance and from an organisation‟s internal employment relations issues. Such ER issues are skills development and career paths, arbitrary employment termination, and relegation into a cycle of temporary employment over a long period of time (Burgess & Connell, 2006). Furthermore, organisational disadvantages may take the form of hidden hierarchies created thereby producing new sources of tension and conflict within and across organisations in such a way that standard employees are forced to adjust their approach to their work when nonstandard employees are introduced. An important implication for clients is that they are still responsible for the induction, training and performance management of temporary workers. Moreover, the risk of less
109 productive work increases because temporary workers spend more time learning new tasks.
Further pressure on client business firm takes the form of managers having to spend more time routinely adjusting the numbers of staff in accordance with the changing workloads. An added conflicting factor is the animosity on the part of permanent employees towards temporary agency workers arising out of the extensive use of such workers; particularly if they suspect their employer is planning to replace them with the sais category of workers (Biggs, Burchell, & Millmore, 2006; Druker & Stanworth, 2004). The TES employees, on the other hand, may become so disgruntled with their current working situation that they may organise a concerted strike action which (given the size of this labour force) could have a devastating impact on the economy. As RP3 explained:
If it is a labour strike, we have no problem if there is a certificate that states that we are going on strike, like with any other employer in South Africa, we have got the right, my contract that they have given to me, … said you have got the right to join, you have got the right to strike. But … if employees of the TES could organise a concerted strike action the impact would be huge. It would hit South Africa very badly because some employees service four different employers at a time. I am telling you, should there be a strike, the whole of South Africa; it‟s going to be a major disadvantage. I believe that one day there will be a strike taking place; it‟s going to hit hard because we are selling straight to consumers, and the consumer is every individual in South Africa.
One of the major difficulties encountered by TES employees was on a contractual level and more specifically, interpreting the complex and conflicting set of obligations applicable to performance of the employee on the one hand and reporting relationship contracts between agency and business entity on the other. This conflicting set of obligations often results in difficult processes in the enforcement of the terms during conflict resolution. Such problems are often exacerbated by a vague contract of service at the level of client business, which leaves much confusion regarding the true identity of the employer. My initial understanding of TES was limited to triangular employment arrangements and not multilateral relationships.
110 I then learned that this type of multilateral relationship was confirmed by Sheikh‟s (2010) study of paying employees through agents. Through this payroll agency system, the employer merely pays workers through an agency. This arrangement represents a triangular employment relationship through which employers bypass statutory obligations concerning workers‟ benefit entitlements and trade union rights. My observations during the data collection stage confirmed that some TES may be fake entities. By their reluctance to participate in this research, I got an impression that some agencies constituted a sham employment arrangement; thus proving false, the notion that temporary agency work was a natural and inevitable response to changes in the economy. RP3 explained a multilateral relationship as follows:
Right now, (X) appears on my salary advice, they said it‟s (Y), but there is another name they are using; I forget the name., They say we are valued employees … we make a lot of money for them … They can do whatever, it‟s easy for them to get rid of you but, if you know what you are doing, they will do nothing, they will keep on paying you, they will give you whatever it is but, what is a disadvantage, you don‟t know who exactly is your employer. They are all running away when you want to know who employs you because, if you ask these ones, this one says this one, you don‟t exactly know.
Though overall, RPs knew who their paymaster was, the important question regarding who is taking primary contractual responsibility for the TES employee remains unanswered (Wynn & Leighton, 2009). This was also the issue in the case of the contract between a labour broker and one of the research participants. I found that, until 2014, there was no standard or measure regulating the length of the employment contract. However, in 2014 the period of employment as a TES employee was reduced through legislative amendments. It emerged from the data collection that the participants‟ periods of work ranged from a few months (RP7) to thirteen years (RP1), with varying periods of contract renewals. RPs 1, 2, 4 and 7 claimed that they had indefinite contracts. This was in line with both Bagdanskis (2011) and Sheik (2010) who maintained that TES signed open-ended employment contracts with employees and client business entities. In terms of the outsourced payroll system, workers were employed by the client business organisation on a long
111 term basis, often an indeterminate period of time similar to permanent employees (Sheik, 2010).
The central issue in this study was the unequal conditions of service related to both employee benefits and protection against unfair labour practices such as unfair dismissal. The research participants believed that, although they were doing the same job as permanent employees, they were, nevertheless, arbitrarily treated in a different way by the system.
I was disappointed that there existed no career path/mobility in the TES employment relationship. The nature of tasks assigned to me was stable such that no random assignments applied to my workplace. My daily task involved customer service … There were no opportunities offered for improving these skills. Regarding my self- perception of (the) role of TES employees, I held the view that TES employees were being exploited, making money for the business organisation and TES instead of promoting their interest as well. No employee benefits existed; neither was there job security. I had very low control over work-life, neither being in a position to determine the pace of (my) work nor adjusting the job flow to match (my) requirements of work-life balance. I knew that the TES was my employer because I received my salary from them (RP5).
There is a very big difference, very big difference, you know if you are working in a labour broker, they turned you into someone who is making the profit, and permanent employers, they don‟t care with profit, if you are a labour broker employee, they looking at you, you must produce profit, if you don‟t do profit, then your job is finish, but the permanent employers, they are just writing, just clocking on for the day and no one can follow them and ask them what is what, but if you are a labour broker you are there for profit, if there is no profit then (RP3).
There is nothing good about working for labour brokers. We do not receive good pay, pension, bonus, training and other benefits. I regard these as features of decent job. I only get wages and funeral plan benefits (RP2).
112 Studies on the career prospects of TES employees have yielded mixed results. Unlike the TES employees in this study, professional workers consciously make choices as to whether or not to follow a traditional/bureaucratic career path either within or outside of the client organisation. They tend to leave standard employment for reasons such as (i) being drawn to self-employment (e.g. freelance journalism) by labour market factors (refugees); (ii) seeking to strike a balance between work with other needs (e.g. home) on specific terms; (iii) positive disposition towards entrepreneurial work or the opportunity to regain some autonomy in their careers (missionaries), or (iv) cherishing self-employment (converts) (Mallon, 1998). How does the scenario look like for non-professional employees?
Berton, Devicienti, and Pacelli (2011) present a different scenario; they maintained that, for non-professionals employees, compulsory training and more regulatory measures on the use, extension and renewals of internship arrangements increase the chances of obtaining a standard job within either the same or another firm. It is therefore advisable that temporary contract should be taken seriously from the point of view of accelerating the transition to full-time permanent employment, for employees who secured any type of such temporary contract than for the unemployed. This observation broadly confirms the existence of TES as port-of-entry for acquiring full-time job. De Cuyper et al. (2011) supported this argument, stating that workers who acquired skills on the temporary job may feel more satisfied and also get motivated to perform optimally through being employable and getting promoted faster than inexperienced employees. RPs 5, 6 and 8, who had exited the TES employment relationship through permanent employment, confirmed the employable model.
Furthermore, empirical evidence indicates that in the countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2002) there is a high level of career transition from temporary to permanent employment (Martínez et al., 2010). In fact, TES employees possessing post matric qualifications switched to permanent contracts within the first year of employment while, after two years, these rates increased to even higher. This rate of job transition took place more frequently in Denmark, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom but less frequently in Belgium, France and Spain.
113 The contrast applies in this study. Five of the eight TES employees provided no evidence of increasing mobility. In view of their lack of education and the weak protection by labour laws, TES employees are not able either to exercise career choices and to transition from atypical to standard employment (Omomowo, 2011). In support of this view, COSATU (2012b, p. 19) argues that labour brokers “just recycle youth every 6 months through their books”. Effectively TES employees reflect a dual-organisation employment structure (Connelly et al., 2011) while workers believed that both employer and labour organisations share some responsibility for the actions of the other. Most of the participants felt captive and exploited by their current work situations as well as helpless to improve their bargaining power unless they could move to a permanent job:
Before I joined the Public Service, I felt powerless about lack of capacity to improve my wages or improve conditions of work as shop stewards focussed their energies to promoting the interests of full-time employees to the exclusion of TES employees. As employee of the state, I now have entitlement to employee benefits like medical aid, pension, house allowance, study bursary as well as leave benefits. There are also opportunities for promotion. These employment benefits did not exist at my former employer, the labour broker (RP8).
It is a service without end point. It takes employees very long time to exit the TES employment setup (RP1).
The research participants regarded the defining elements of a good job as good pay, pension benefits, bonus pay, leave benefits and training opportunities. This view is supported by Mitlacher (2008), who found that TES jobs were unfortunately linked to low wages, weak employment benefits, very little security of employment, insignificant training and all translating to minimal prospects of securing full-time job.
The participants had also experienced material disadvantages in terms of the level of income and employment benefits they earned as compared to their counterparts in full-time employment. They were all critical of the prevailing lack of career opportunities at their workplaces and felt hopeless to change their work situations. RP1 and RP2 had the following to say:
114 We are treated as tools for generating profit for the client business organisation while we get very little ourselves … I support the banning of labour brokers because … regarding the pay, it would be fair if we both took 50% each but now they are taking up to 75% and we take 25% – you will see it on your payslip (RP2).
TES operates as a middleman, making millions of rands at the expense of employees. The business organisation creates jobs; then contracts with the TES for supply of people to perform the tasks. The effects arising from the constraints of low income are as follows: my standard of living is low; I cannot afford further education, I cannot afford transport, furniture, clothes, and school fees (RP1).
The negative feelings and frustration voiced by the participants were in accordance with Saloniemi and Virtanen (2005, pp. 9–17), who found in their study that TES employment was a “dead-end that trapped workers indefinitely instead of serving as a stepping-stone towards more stable forms of employment”. Naturally, this situation is frustrating. Studies (Connelly et al., 2011, p. 181) reveal that the strategies adopted to cope with the perception of being unappreciated by supervisors and co- workers entail adopting negative behaviour such as (i) arriving late, (ii) using work hours for personal tasks, (iii) calling in sick when not actually feeling ill, (iv) quitting before the end of an assignment, and (v) deliberately but covertly working slowly in order to extend the number of billable hours or sabotaging work processes. In addition, property-related workplace behaviour towards client organisations could take the form of business sabotage through damaging or sabotaging equipment, theft of supplies and wasteful use of materials while workers may also falsify their time cards and thereby claiming wages they are not entitled to.
However, nothing about these negative coping strategies emerged from the interviews. The participants, however, did express their intentions to resign from the TES situation and “hope for the best”. This resignation strategy is associated with what Martínez et al. (2010) refers to as:
The stepping stone hypothesis. Temporary employment serves as the first step into the permanent working market.
115 Impression management. Management uses different tactics to convince their employers to regard themselves as valuable entities of the organisation (ingratiation, self-promotion, exemplification, supplication, intimidation)
Research participant 3 was clearly caught in this trap of impression management when he stated that felt he felt he was a trusted employee who doing an important job:
I am working as a field marketer. If you are a field marketer they give you stores that belongs to you, then you have to do stock ordering, you have to do stock, all that retail things, you have to do returns, … you are in charge … you are not … followed each and every day, they trust you, they brought you there. You are the eye of the company so you make sure that every everything is perfect … as soon as you make sure everything is perfect, they build trust on you, but the disadvantages is if you do not do your work, if they do not trust your work, if you don‟t love your job ... They will see to it that you are not doing well, then they will get rid of you, then they will fire you,
Both the current TES employees and the ex-TES employees shared a deep desire that the working conditions of TES employees should improve. In their view, this could not be brought about by the internal grievance procedures as the labour brokers were not really interested in the employees. In addition, employers go under different names which make it difficult for the employee to identify the employer responsible:
The procedure prescribes that you tell your HR; you go to (the) department (of) the specific company you are working for; you call (a) meeting, you tell them your grievance then that employer or that regional manager comes down and deals with it. But there the reality remains; the difference in labour broker. They want us to make money for them and nothing else. They can … do whatever but when it comes to money, they are very, very strict. (This) is where we must raise a grievance, but … your efforts are undermined as you don‟t know who exactly your employer is (RP3).
The interviewees were of the opinion that TES workers were not treated fairly as they received no training opportunities nor did they enjoy job security. This is also
116 reflected in the literature (Manthorpe et al., 2012) which indicates that agency workers are given complex or heavy caseloads (usually on the unpopular tasks) despite not receiving the same level of support and supervision as the permanently employed colleagues. The often repeated rationale is that they are agency employees.
I feel helpless about (the) lack of bargaining power for TES employees. To improve conditions of work … shop stewards focused their energies on promoting the interests of full-time employees and thereby serving them better. Security of employment did not exist as termination took place without prescribed procedure (RP6).
I would not join any industrial action for fear of being dismissed. For full-time employees, there is a working relationship agreement and workplace forum for discussing problems. There is nothing for TES employees (RP1).
The current and ex-TES employees did not plan to stay long in TES employment, instead their decision to stay longer was by circumstances they could not change With the exception of RP2, neither pride nor self-image issues had played a role in the respondents accepting the TES job and, instead, the participants had needed to find work in order to support financially; their families and close relatives.
There was a strong feeling among the interviewees that permanent employees enjoyed benefits while TES employees were not protected by either the government or by the unions.
We are treated as tools for generating profit for the client business organisation while we get very little ourselves. The government and trade unions are not doing enough to assist (in improving) our problems. If I could help it, I would have resigned (RP2).
This was especially true in the case of injuries – as explained by RP3:
You know in labour broker work, there is no safety; that is the first thing, because you are working (for) too many types of companies in one place, there is no safety. For me there will be no safety; (with) too many people I
117 have seen nothing happens when (they are) injured. No one pays them; no compensation, nothing. (It) is a very dangerous … working for (a) company in labour brokering, there is no such safety. If you got injured it is up to you. When direct-hire employees are injured, they have what they call … medical aid to assist them, (thus) treatment is different.
Many of the research participants had not participated strike situations at their workplace. However, by their not participating in strikes out of the fear of losing their jobs, they had experienced a form of alienation from the full-time employees. A related problem for them was the fact that the unions did not function efficiently:
there are a lot of … dismissed employees (who go) to their union. We also got unions, but they are not functioning well, comparing to the other companies, they … take the issue to the dispute and CCMA or whatever, just carry on like each and every worker in South Africa, it‟s a normal procedure (name of the union removed) (RP3).
The Senior CCMA Commissioner, with whom I held discussions, agreed that there was a lack of legal protection for TES employees.
5.2.3 The future of TES This theme addresses words used by the interviewees to express their views on the future of TES as form of employment contracting. The RPs responded to questions on their awareness of debates on the desirability of TES or what they thought about the efforts of both government and trade unions to address the plight of TES employees, and the perceived effectiveness of such efforts. Finally, I prompted the research participants to indicate, as TES employees, their‟ readiness to engage in industrial action or other any actions in order to negotiate improved service conditions and also the implications of such actions.
On the whole the participants were of the opinion that no positive contribution had been made by TES to the job market because, according to them, no new jobs had been created by TES. This viewpoint supports the findings of the study by Autor and Houseman (2008, p. 318) that “such jobs tend to be temporary and generally do not lead to permanent positions”. However, they (Autor and Houseman) acknowledge
118 that such jobs may provide experience and skill to those with little prior work experience while, at the same time, acknowledging the superiority and benefits of permanent jobs. Echoing the views of the participants who took part in this study, the ILO (1995) recognises that the nature of the jobs being created has no connection with TES. Instead, such jobs resulted from increased working time flexibility, shift work, compressed weeks schedules, annualised hours, hours averaging schemes, staggered hours, overtime and flexi-time work groups.
At the commencement of this study, neither the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 nor the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 had provided for the regulatory framework for the TES at the time of the study (Van Eck, 2010). While acknowledging the need for the protection of non-standard employees, there is no consensus among the role players on appropriate strategies to achieve this objective. Current arguments range from banning TES to calls for increased regulation. In this regard the study found that, in the main, the less experienced research participants expressed strong views on the banning of TES as compared to those had been involved in a TES relationship for longer as well as ex-TES employees who indicated their preference for more regulatory measures. The following statements reflect these conflicting views:
To be honest and fair to labour brokers … the law that applies to the employer in the labour broker should be changed because looking forward, there is no job in South Africa, if they ban it, companies … will not employ (workers) and that will lead to increase in unemployment rate …. It should not be banned, the law inside the labour brokers must be … changed to be better, and who must do that, it is our union, it is the government that must change (RP3).
Strictly speaking, there is no need for legislation around TES; they should be banned outright. Some TES firms have no fixed office address. TES will be banned at some stage. I know of TES employees at my workplace who have been working for fifteen years (RP2).
Overall, there appeared to be very little confidence with regard to the capacity of the law and unions to protect vulnerable employees. The participants did not expect
119 atypical employment (AE) to be outlawed soon or that TES employees would be permanently employed. However, they appeared not be worried about losing their jobs if TES were banned.
The current legislation is very disappointing. It does not protect job seekers. My expectation regarding the possible impact of the proposed new labour laws was very low; but I hope for improved working conditions and benefits for those still working under the system of TES (RP5).
With the exception of RP3 the participants believed that banning TES would not lead to job losses. They maintained that it would not be possible to phase out TES firms as client business entities had not created them in the first place. Mahlakoana (2015) maintains, however, that in practice some workers have in fact lost their jobs with employers insisting on offering new TES contracts whereas legislation prescribes transition into permanent employment. As the CCMA acknowledged the problem is complicated by different interpretations.
The literature (see, NEASA, 2012; Van Eck, 2010) tends to take a unanimous stance on the fate of TES with the preferred scenario being that TES be recognised, but regulated strictly to protect the precarious position of workers employed in triangular employment relationships. Consenting, Stone (2006) identified the nature of protective measures (American experience) as prescribing minimum wage levels and maximum working hours permissible, rules for occupational health and safety, policies promoting equality, family responsibility leave and medical entitlement benefits, insurance cover for retrenched employees, compensation for injuries occurring at work places, collective bargaining rights and financial benefit schemes for retired employees. I was then struck by the question: given the prevalence of precarious jobs and respective responses, what do different countries understand regarding precarious job?
In their studies of responses to precarious work in Europe, Schömann and Guedes (2008) and Bagdanskis (2011) noted the absence of a legal definition of precarious work. Accordingly, different countries reflected different levels of awareness of the type of legislative intervention in responding to precarious work i.e. awareness differed in terms of the category of respondent; with trade union representatives
120 displaying the greatest awareness of the role that national legislation could play while employer representatives were less aware of the role of such legislative intervention. Nevertheless, some measures related to precarious work do exist such as:
Reducing the limits imposed by fixed-term contracts in Sweden, Poland, Germany, Italy, and Spain Adopting regulatory framework of temporary agency contracts in Netherlands; the United Kingdom; France and in Poland Extending the welfare benefits to atypical work contracts: Italy Changes to protective rules on dismissal from work: Italy, Spain; and Latvia Incentives measures promoting part-time work as an unemployment solution in Netherlands (June 2009 – July 2011) Adopting stronger regulations affecting internships in France and Greece Creating rules aimed at reducing TES work in Latvia Adopting benchmark wage levels payable in Greece; Sweden and Ireland Establishing labour inspectorate and enforcement mechanisms in Ireland, United Kingdom and the Netherlands Adopting minimum pay targeted at specific economic sectors: Sweden Outlawing zero hours employment contracts in Ireland Extending exemptions based on age for young workers: Spain and Greece Introducing retraining schemes for older workers in Latvia Integrating disabled people into broader society in Spain
Drawing parallels between the Namibian and South African experiences, Van Eck (2010, pp. 59-60) foresees constitutional litigation in South Africa arising from the banning of TES. Accordingly, the probable scenario will entail labour broking being recognised, but with stricter regulatory framework to protect the vulnerable position of workers in the triangular relationships. In South Africa, the 2014 amendments to
121 the Labour Relations Act (1995) may be seen as the first serious attempt to impose restrictions on triangular employment relationships.
One of the reasons why I undertook the study was the fact that legislative intervention in South Africa lags behind that of other countries (Department of Labour, 2014). Attempts at providing labour and social protection are being stalled by differences in the policies of the various stakeholders (Bassett & Clarke, 2008, p. 790; Mail & Guardian, 2011). In principle, there is consensus with regard to the need for a protective labour framework that would ensure that workers employed under atypical arrangements receive adequate minimum protection while employed in decent working conditions. Such conditions complying with the country‟s obligations in terms of international labour standards rights enshrined in the Constitution such as the right to fair labour practices. Such labour rights should extend to engaging in collective bargaining, recognition of the right to equal treatment, protection from unfair discrimination in the workplace. To ensure effective protection of such rights, the effectiveness of primary labour market institutions such as the Labour Court, the CCMA, the Essential Services Committee, the labour inspectorate should be promoted. Furthermore, that the anomalies are rectified including the clarification of uncertainties that arose from the interpretation and application of labour legislation. (The South African Constitution, 1996).
I have no doubt that the debates on the desirability and impact of TES will remain hotly contested. The conflict of interest on the part of some members of the legislative bodies complicates the issue. For example, COSATU‟s article in the Mail and Guardian newspaper (2011) criticised senior ruling party figures for their ownership of shares in TES operating companies. The COSATU (2012a) journal article responding to Loane Sharp‟s article titled “SA‟s trade unions; the biggest obstacle to job creation” which was a leader point in the Business Day (May 25) further highlighted the argument. Nevertheless, regardless of the debates, various parties involved in the South African context are in agreement with the study‟s finding that employees involved in TES do not enjoy similar labour rights afforded to permanently employed employees.
122 5.2.4 TES employees’ coping mechanisms This theme reflects how TES employees perceive themselves with regard to the client business i.e. the extent of their appreciation for employees‟ efforts. The perception includes the degree of autonomy or discretion accorded to the employee in performing his or her daily tasks. It determined the stability or otherwise of routine task allocation during work sessions. It was against this background that I derived this theme.
Confirming Voss et al. (2013), employees generally appreciated the fact that TES jobs provided a means of income to employees with a low qualification and with insecure trajectories alternating between temporary agency jobs, odd jobs and unemployment. It is therefore, reasonable to argue that TES could be a convenient entry point for young people leaving school and who wish to obtain job training or to acquire job experience. Also, it could provide a bridging platform for foreign workers where temporary agency work offers a means of better social and professional integration (Berton, Devicienti and Pacelli, 2011).
Whereas some individuals are for various reasons24 attracted to alternative work arrangements such occurrences applied mainly to the highly skilled and professionals (De Cuyper et al., 2011). In this context, TES provided a convenient work set-up to integrate work commitments with other private life pursuits. In this study however, the push factors are without exception forced; the level of education of the participants is low; limiting their options regarding TES. Accordingly, career trajectory represents one push factor as most of them stayed trapped in TES, and performing tasks that provided no significant skills transfer and earning lower pay. This situation confirms Addison and Surfield‟s (2009b) argument that atypical employment has largely attracted the jobless; who had to revert to menial jobs.
Furthermore, there is a real danger that skill deprivation of TES employees could become reinforced as these employees are left further behind due to limited skills. However, some employees always maintained a positive outlook, taking TES job as a means to a greater end. The fact that they were born in poverty and occupied the lower end of the educational scale was accepted as a challenge to overcome. Faced with serious choices, the research participants were pragmatic by accepting that the
24 Push factors are outlined in Table 5.1
123 quality of jobs would always differ and that one should make decisions based on a set of facts available at a particular time Being employed in the secondary segment of the labour market was better than being totally shut out of employment. This triggered the question: what motivate employees to accept triangular employment relationships?
Literature highlighted a three segment typology of temporary employees, arranged according to the motives for accepting the TES employment setup namely (i) involuntary temporary workers (Bernesak & Kinnear, 1999; Casey & Alach, 2004; Tan & Tan, 2002), (ii) voluntarily motivated workers (Hardy & Walker, 2003; Morris & Vekker, 2001), and (iii) the stepping-stone motive workers (Kunda, Barley, & Evans, 2002). Expanding on this typology, the Tan and Tan (2002) typology emphasises reasons that are related to (i) the need to support the family financially, (ii) the desire for secondary earnings, (iii) the quest to improve the level of skill acquired, (iv) dissatisfaction with permanent jobs and the need for more work-life balance, (v) stepping stone reasons and (vi) lack of alternatives or inability to find permanent employment. In a nutshell, the aforementioned motives, may further be distinguished into two categories of reasons namely, involuntary reasons and voluntary reasons (Tan & Tan, 2002). The involuntary reasons denote a forced choice while the voluntary reason; by choice. A basic assumption of this classification, which was borne out by this study, is that jobs accepted involuntarily are associated with overall unsatisfactory employment outcomes while jobs accepted voluntarily were associated with favourable outcomes.
Irrespective of the individual preferences and terminology used in various studies, I am persuaded that the most important motive for accepting TES work displays the dual extremes of forced/by choice, push/pull and economic/non-economic, with the stepping-stone motives in the middle. Highlighting the issue of gender, Marler and Moen (2005) and Casey and Alach (2004) note that, compared to men, women tended to cope better with TES employment for reasons related to their status as secondary income earners who were required to balance work with child-bearing responsibilities.
The involuntary, captive element applied to all research participants who, throughout their lives, had few opportunity or choices. All the participants were black and came
124 from disadvantaged backgrounds in the context of South African Employment Equity legislation. Growing up in rural areas they had limited exposure to good education and had no alternative but to find employment in order to meet their family responsibilities.
The study found that the research participants had reacted in different ways to their involuntary involvement in TES. Some had spent several years working uninterruptedly in TES environment. Although they did not like the mode of employment, leaving was not a possibility. Therefore, putting the interests of their families and relatives first became a strong coping mechanism. This was mainly because of their fear of not finding another job; hence fear becoming a further coping mechanism. While it may be argued that, in view of their experience and integrity in the workplace, the participants should have been able to find permanent jobs relatively easily. Interestingly, it seemed that the longer one is involved in TES, the more difficult it becomes to leave, despite dissatisfaction with this type of employment. RP3 in fact, enjoyed the recognition and independence his work gave him so much that leaving was not uppermost in his mind. The love for the job was a greater coping mechanism. This may be perceived as accepting one‟s plight of being captive in TES. Through their years of experience they had come to understand that TES was about profit for the labour broker. However, some appeared to cope with this captive situation by accepting that they sold their hours of employment for remuneration, and they did not expect anything more. Psychologically, they resigned themselves to the situation; accepting that half a loaf is better than no bread at all.
We are treated as tools for generating profit for the client business organisation; while we get very little ourselves (RP2).
Even worse, they seemed to expect no loyalty from TES:
They will see to it that you are not doing well, then they will get rid of you, then they will fire you, they can do whatever. It‟s easy for them to get rid of you, but if you know what you are doing, they will do nothing, they will keep on paying you, they will give you whatever it is, but what is a disadvantage, you don‟t know who exactly is your employer. They are all
125 running away when you want to know who employs you, because if you ask these ones, this one says this one, you don‟t exactly know (RP3).
Other participants had reacted to this situation of being trapped by becoming highly frustrated and angry because of their lack of capacity to bargain for better conditions of service. Compared to their more accepting counterparts, they were more radically inclined and expressed a totally different viewpoint, stating outright that TES should be banned. I received the impression that, the shorter the period of service, the more radical the views.
All labour brokers should be banned. They are robbing the workers. They are also not training us or promoting us. The wages are very low and there are no benefits (RP1).
Finally, some participants regarded TES as a stepping stone toward permanent employment. Research participant 5, an ex-TES employee, expressed no regret at having left her TES job. She had managed to achieve a career transition from TES to full-time employment where she enjoyed the security and employment benefits that come with a full-time job. She felt empowered in the sense that she was able to negotiate and conclude contracts because of her status as a permanent employee.
I took a keen interest in the views of the ex-TES employees (participants 5, 6 and 8) as they had work experience both inside and outside of the TES work environment. I was struck by their firm view that they would not ever accept TES employment again, irrespective of the nature of improved work benefits that may be on offer.
Despite the fact that they rarely socialised with each other a sense of bonding among the TES employees was apparent. They relied on each other for sharing the frustrations and challenges associated with TES employment. On the other hand, the link between the research participants and shop stewards was very weak. In addition, there was no noticeable tension between the TES employees and permanently employed staff members. The staff members did not appear to see the former as posing a threat to their jobs.
126 In conclusion:
The participants clearly would welcome a change of employment, even if it meant a minimal salary rise. They were divided into two categories, namely, TES and ex-TES employees. As a result of their lack of career development and training opportunities, on the one hand, and their fear of losing their jobs if they dared to complain, on the other, the TES employees felt powerless to improve their situations. This feeling of being trapped was exacerbated by the fact that they all had family responsibilities and also the scarcity of permanent employment. Compared to the TES employees who felt trapped in their employment status, ex-TES employees felt relieved and grateful at having being able to secure permanent employment. For them TES had been a transitional stage to a job with better conditions and prospects.
In the final part of the chapter I offer a typology and theory of employees‟ construction of temporary employment services by integrating the concrete, daily construction of the research participants‟ work life with key scholarly constructs in this field.
5.3 TOWARD A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF TES
Before presenting the conceptual framework, I deemed it is necessary to examine the tools for analysis I applied in making sense of the phenomenon under investigation. Figure 5.1 presents the analytical tools applied in this study.
Mouton and Marais (1990) maintains that concepts are regarded as the constructions or objects by means of which one categorises reality. One uses these “pigeonholes” to separate unstructured, empirical experiences. From a different perspective, concepts may be regarded as those symbolic constructions by means of which people create understanding and give meaning to their particular situations. A concept is a symbol of meaning (Mouton & Marais, 1990. 126). According to Anfara and Mertz (2006), concepts entail the words which we assign to events in
127 order to distinguish between such events. Finally, concepts are often clustered to create higher-order unit of thought or mental construction.
Models
Theory Theory Typologies Conceptualframework
Proposition Proposition Proposition Definitions andDefinitions hypotheses
Construct Construct Construct Construct
Scientific building blocks Construct Statements
Concepts Concepts Concepts Concepts Concepts Words
Figure 5.1: Hierarchy of the Building Blocks of Theory. Source: Adapted from Mouton & Marais (1990, p.125)
Statements refer to “sentences that make a specific knowledge claim concerning an aspect of reality. Statements are sentences in which a demonstrable epistemic claim is made. It follows from this (fact) that statements have to be either true or false” (Mouton & Marais, 1990, p.131). Mouton and Marais (1990) point out that, when we integrate statements into conceptual frameworks, we deal with typologies, models and theories.
A typology is used to classify a phenomenon in terms of the characteristics which the phenomenon in question shares with other phenomena (Mouton & Marais, 1990). Thus, a typology presents no more than a fixed image or ordered layers of specific class of events. Albertini (2012, p. 188) proposes the following features of a typology:
128 (i) The foundation unit of a typology is the particular type or ideal type – identification of the typical through a process of abstraction, moving from the concrete level of experience to higher levels of abstraction; (ii) The outcome of the process of abstraction is that no type is exact duplicate of all the characteristics of a phenomenon – the relationship between the type (construct) and the phenomenon is one of estimation; and (iii) The criteria of good classification of typologies are exhaustiveness and mutual exclusiveness.
Though ambiguous in the social science vocabulary, a model has a heuristic function (Mouton & Marais, 1990). A model is therefore used to show the basic shape of a phenomenon by displaying the interaction between its constituent elements in a smaller scale. In short therefore, a model is a simplified shape of phenomenon e.g. TES, bargaining council etc. which simply corresponds with the phenomenon it represents. Emphasising a similar understanding, Albertini (2012) points out that a model represents a copy, replica or analogy that stands in the place of the real thing in some way. Accordingly, models take different sizes and shapes. Expanding this point, De Vos and Strydom (2011, p. 36) held that
Other models may be full size … but may not be complete in every detail, including only those features of the real thing that are necessary for the modeller‟s purpose. A social science model is one that consists mainly of words, a description of a social phenomenon, abstracting the main figures of the phenomenon without an attempt to explain it or predict anything from the description
A model assumes greater significance if presented alongside a theory supporting it. Unlike a model which is used deliberately in order to simplify and abstract, a theory assumes real relationships between real phenomena or variables and must therefore be empirical (Mouton & Marais, 1990) Also, “where the criterion of a good model is situated in its heuristic potential (rather than in its accuracy) the criterion of a good theory is associated with its ability to explain: the ability to explain actual relationships between phenomena” (Mouton & Marais, 1990, pp. 143–144).
In concluding this brief overview of analytical tools it is relevant to note the concept of frameworks which is often associated with models and theories in particular.
129 Schwandt (2007, p. 121) points out that “a framework is a configuration of an interrelated set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that comprise a way of viewing reality”. Accordingly, theories and models do not operate in a vacuum but within a conceptual framework.
Having outlined these typical social science constructs, I will now discuss the conceptual framework which I constructed.
I started the analysis process by sorting data into concepts, leading to formation of categories which I merged into over-arching themes. This process took concepts as the basic building blocks. I refined and integrated these categories further in the process of developing propositions, a typology and a theory of TES.
Atypical employment (AE) is a reality arising from the rapid expansion in technology; ultimately leading to AWA. As indicated earlier in this report, this growth in AWA is being driven by employer needs such as the filling of vacancies; reducing administrative costs and providing access to skills and labour flexibility. These are forces from the demand side. Keller and Seifert (2005) and De Cuyper et al. (2011) added that temporary agency employment is prevalent; which fact requires regulatory measures to reconcile the conflicting expectations of employees and employers. This scenario will further affect careers in future; which are likely to be short term, intermittent and unpredictable. The international trend indicates that temporary agency employers justify their extensive use of casual employment by citing the availability of work dependent upon demand from user business organisations. Added pressure is therefore exerted on law-makers to intervene and reverse the creation of the working poor (Gumbrell-McCormick, 2011; Underhill & Rimmer, 2008).
As stated earlier, the extensive use of contingency work is now prevalent in South Africa; where CAPES pointed out that more than 500 000 temporary agency workers spread across all economic sectors are employed by labour brokers each day. If the law does not protect vulnerable workers from being exploited by these type of practices where no provision is made for training, health insurance, pensions and other employment benefits, these workers will not be able to improve both their livelihood and by extension, the standard of living of their families. Moreover, they
130 will become the welfare poor as they will in the end depend on the State for their survival.
With regard to the way in which the temporary employment service measures up to the ethical principles of human resources management and business practice, the following emerged.25
Utility: The motive of business organisations is profit at all costs, hence it was not surprising that the research participants were treated as profit-generating tools for exploitation. By deferring employment-related insecurity and risk to employees (for example, easy dismissals), fair HR ethical principles are compromised. The views of the research participants were negative. In view of their perspective that their welfare of the participants was being undermined, the RP preference tended towards the banning the TES.
Liberty: The participants did not enjoy even minimal levels of freedom regarding choices in their work environment and, therefore, they perceived themselves as nothing more than profit generating tools.
Duty: Work rules were seen as highly prescriptive with conditions of work imposed unilaterally, thus rendering the employees captive.
Fairness: With limited opportunities for growth, the employees‟ responsibilities towards their dependents and, by extension, society, were compromised.
Virtue: In the world of business, where the primary motive is profit, issues of social goodness were perceived as insignificant. However, the motives for accepting TES employment may be argued from both a negative and a positive perspective.
Care: In the minds of the average business organisation, caring for vulnerable employees is not at all important, therefore the urgent need for stricter regulation of TES.
Overall, the TES measured negatively on the HRIR ethical framework.
25 Refer to Table 1.1 for description of these concepts
131 TES employees reacted differently to their feelings of powerlessness of not being able to change their working conditions as compared to the ex-TES employees. Each of the categories of the various reactions to and rationalisations used by TES employees to justify their unfair, captive and exploitive situation could be classified into a group with unique characteristics, thus representing a typology.
My typology of the reactions to the captive work situation of the TES employees resulted from the development of relevant dimensions, describing the similarities and differences between the perceptions of TES employees. I then grouped the different cases based on the various perceptions which emerged from the study. I then identified meaningful relationships between the different groups and analysed and described the constructed types in terms of their attributes (Kluge, 2000). I followed Johnson‟s (1998) example and determined that the participants‟ orientation towards TES could be classified in three main categories (see Table 5.2).
Table 5.2. Categories of TES Orientation or Perception
Orientation category Underlying views
TES realists Atypical employment is the prevailing form of employment Embarking on strike action is risky for TES employees The job market is very tight for new job seekers TES sceptics Tri-angular employment relationships are not exploitative in nature Government and new legislation will improve the plight of TES employees Trade unions promote the interests of TES employees TES cynics Banning of TES will lead to an increase in unemployment TES firms create job opportunities Source: Adapted from Johnson, 1998
By applying GT as outlined in Chapter 4 and by further refining the propositions made and the preceding typology, I was able to develop a substantive theory explaining TES. As should be clear, I also made use of the work of authors and research findings. More specifically, I used the HRIR ethical framework of Budd and Scoville (2005)26 as well as the prevailing HR principles in the global business environment.
26 See Table 1.1 in Chapter 1 for description of the ethical foundations and applications
132 Table 5.3 explains the TES employment contracting model, which is a framework through which TES employees gain entry to their work situation through to the competing workplace expectations, and the choices or lack of choices that shape their understanding of themselves and their employment. I will now discuss the relationships between the various elements of the model.
The theory presented in Table 5.3 below introduces a pre-determined or given realty framed around four pillars, namely, the socio-economic environment, globalised business environment, business and HRM ethics, and legislative framework. Entry into the world of TES work occurs against a poor socio-economic environment with very few prospects for permanent employment and, thus, with TES being used as a forced entry vehicle into the world of work. Different employer organisations subscribe to different philosophical principles informing their attitude to the type of employment relationship they establish with employees. Conflicting motivational factors may drive parties to adopt employment relationship arrangements which result in a relationship that may be either cordial or adversarial. The HR function occupies the middle arena (between top management and TES employees) and determines the final form of remuneration and other conditions of service. Having entered the workplace with a set of expectations, TES employees soon experience discrepancies in terms of what they receive in exchange for their work. Different TES employees attach different meanings to their situations and these translate into different outcomes.
133 Table 5.3. Model of TES Employment Contracting Behaviour Business and HRM ethics
TES
employee perception
HRM career career Ethical Ethical factors factors Central Context element Individual categories job market TES themeTES Conflicting Bad foundations of HRIR and motivational Good classification Entry intoEntry the Significance of Rejection of The Captives work and work future role Utility: ethics Welfare or Profit- utility Maximisation of generating tool Universalism maximisation profit vs decent X or exploitation through cost- work Deferring benefit The Go-getters/ analysis New job insecurity and creation risk to Transitionalists employees Liberty: Negative right of freedom and Implementation Employee liberty from of compulsory Reverting to surveillance X non- overtime vs TES and control interference leisure time
through strong property rights
Temporary Duty: Respect Employment for human Prescriptive The Dead- Service dignity through work rules vs Internal Consultation X setters (atypical the Kantian consultative remedies employment categorical arrangements contracting) imperative Fairness: Platform for environment
Justice X X Justice as career change ic liberty, equal Social and Prioritise Responsibility
opportunity organizational X Legislative framework business status and concern justice efficiency for the least issues vs well-off opportunities Basic human, through the for personal civil and veil of Service period X X The Radicals
Socioeconom growth employment ignorance and rights the difference principle Virtue: Moral character/good Non-existence Push factors ness to X X of coded ethical Equal achieve guidelines vs opportunity flourishing clarity of policy and diversity through virtues guidelines Internal and remedies X community Establishing Care: work Stricter Nurturing relationships regulation Social welfare personal based on X relationships exploitation vs Community of Profit- through caring constructive purpose generating tool for people work or exploitation relationships Globalised business environment Source: The researcher
134 I must immediately point out that this theory represents an extension to job-seeking models such as the expectancy-value theory of Feather (1992), the sequential model of Soelberg (1967) and the integrative conceptual model of Van Hoye, Van Hooft, and Lievens (2009). The focus of these three models is primarily the pre- employment phase and, therefore, the models articulate little on on-the-job experiences of employees.
Despite reluctance of business organisations to provide input into the study, based on the implied views of the participants, some key HRM ethical frameworks emerged from this study.27 For the purposes of providing a holistic shape to the theory, I relied on Winstanley et al. (1996), who provide four benchmarks to mitigate the problems of narrow utility (pursuit of profit at all costs) to the organisation.
According to them (Winstanley et al., 1996), the HRM adherence to ethical standards is evaluated in terms of the following benchmarks:
(i) basic human rights, civil and employment rights such as providing job security as well as being transparent and consulting employees in those matters which affect TES, (ii) social and organisational justice through the application of shared obligations, equitable sharing of wealth, equity and equal opportunity in situations such as evaluating systems for pay setting, (iii) universalism, by treating each individual as an objective to be achieved and not just as a tool to achieve certain objectives, and (iv) adopt a view regarding every employee as member of the family, or at least adopt an approach that cares for the interests of all parties.
The range of TES employee experiences mirrors what Payne and Wayland (1999) term a management control system in terms of which the HRM confers legitimacy on forms of managerial control instead of challenging existing authoritarian structures. The theory of HRM ethical role includes the position of the HRM in relation to the right of the management to violate the privacy of employees; including scrutinising, manipulating or falsifying the HR business or remuneration data. The triangular employment relationship should therefore be regulated through legislative bodies
27 The activist role the HRM function should adopt addresses areas indicated in section 3.3.3
135 that monitor the impact of this form of employment practice and adopt appropriate policies.
5.4 SUMMARY
In line with grounded theory, I presented and discussed the study findings in relation to relevant literature in this chapter. I related the findings to scholarly views contained in the literature on alternative employment (AE), including TES. In addition, I discussed the analytical tools or instruments, which are used to illuminate what is researched (see Mouton & Marais, 1990). Finally, I applied these tools to generate both a typology and a substantial theory of TES.
136
SECTION C
IMPLICATIONS OF THE
STUDY
137 CHAPTER 6
PRÉCIS, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
Having reached the last chapter of the report, I was confronted with the question: How should the researcher conclude a qualitative study? My discussions with my study leaders confirmed my conviction that you do not seriously consider abandoning the notion that the chapter must lead to a conclusion or that the account must build toward a dramatic climax. Also, I was cautious not to go beyond the boundaries of my material and exceed its limitations. I noted Wolcott‟s (2001) advice that anyone new to academic writing should be restrained in their closing statement that reviews in detail what efforts have gone into the study, the learning experience achieved, and what new questions the study has raised. It was important to recognise and refrain from the temptation of drawing dramatic conclusions that raise issues that have not been addressed in the research. I paid particular attention; knowing that the beginnings and endings received extra attention from the reader.
I decided to follow Wolcott‟s (2001, pp. 120–123) advice on alternatives to writing a formal conclusion and accordingly decided to include summaries, recommendations and implications as well as a statement of personal reflections. I start off by summarising the study.
6.2 PRÉCIS
In Chapter 1, I introduced the TES phenomenon and indicated my motivation for undertaking the study. My preliminary review of the existing literature on temporary employment service (TES) reflected a clear gap in scholarly knowledge with regard to the views and experiences of this vulnerable sector of employees, especially in the South African context. In attempting to fill this gap, I formulated the following questions:
What are the views and experience of TES employees with regard to employment contracting?
138 What is driving employees of temporary employment service to seek temporary agency jobs? How does temporary employment service measure up to the ethical principles of human resources management and business practice?
In order to answer these questions and also to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on temporary employment, I indicated the following research aim and objectives.
Aim
To explore and describe the views and work experiences of TES employees situated in settings in four economic sectors with the aim of understanding what TES means to a vulnerable segment of employees.
Key objectives
To develop an apt research approach in order to capture and unravel the work-related experiences and views expressed by TES employees working in settings in four sectors of the South African economy. To study the work done by prominent scholars in the relevant study fields and extrapolate theoretical constructs by means of which the experiences and perceptions of job seeking of TES employees may be understood. To developing a substantial theory of TES.
Chapter 2 contains my philosophical, theoretical and methodological assumptions and considerations in conducting the study. More specifically I:
Outlined key features of qualitative research. Explained why I had selected this research approach. Indicated my key philosophical beliefs, namely, that people create social reality through social interaction and that there is a real world (truth) out there which may be discovered by means of systematic, interactive, methodological strategies. Therefore, in my view, social reality, in the context of this study, entails the meaning which role
139 players within the labour broking environment attached to their life world. Discussed strategic questions which I needed to address, that is, my approach regarding literature, theory, and research ethics. With regard to the latter I conducted research with people who could be regarded as a vulnerable segment of the labour market and thus I had to balance my need to gather data with the negative implications the study may have had for them. Accordingly, I took special heed of ethical codes and the procedural ethics protocol of the Faculty of Management of the University of Johannesburg. Explained the two broad research strategies I employed, namely, case study and grounded theory. Cognisant of the fact that grounded theory offers a formalised approach to theory generation, I employed it in addition to the case study approach for the purpose of collecting information-rich data in and also developing a conceptual model of TES contracting. Discussed the key decisions I took during the various steps of executing the research process; which included the selection of research participants, the role of the researcher, data gathering and data analysis. Outlined the different writing styles I applied in the thesis. Discussed the strategies implemented to enhance the quality of the study.
In Chapter 3 I presented a literature review. The aim of reviewing literature was, firstly, to gain some insight into the impact of atypical employment, with specific reference to the TES phenomenon globally. Secondly, the type of the literature reviewed focussed on the global environment broadly; with minimal focus on South Africa. I discussed philosophical aspects, key features and the various approaches to alternative employment.
In Chapter 4 I introduced the eight research participants, after which I outlined the step-by-step process of grounded theory data analysis and its outcome. Firstly, through a process of reflective, meticulous data analysis namely GT, I made sense
140 of what the raw data was telling me. Secondly, I narrowed down the coding concepts into categories. Thirdly, I selected the categories, determined the themes and positioned such themes within a working analytical framework; that is, I performed theoretical coding. Finally, by integrating the data in new ways, I developed a storyline and thus moved towards the development of a middle range theory by braiding together the strands of data in new and unique ways (Wolcott, 2001). Middle range theory is used to guide empirical research by linking grand (untested abstract propositions) with practice theory (Smith, 2008). This theory therefore, refers to propositions that connect the space between the empirical observation (such as this study) and broad, abstract, general or high-level theories.
In introducing the research participants, and ordering and coding the data (Chapter 5) using the core themes, I applied the analytical tools of Mouton and Marais (1990), as well as Schütz‟s (1962, cited in Aspers, 2004; Blaikie, 2007) first-order and second-order constructs typology. This enabled me to relate the literature on alternative work arrangements and, particularly TES, to the study findings and in turn led to the development of a theory on TES employment contracting behaviour. Thus, this conceptual framework represented an integration of the eight research participants‟ concrete views and experiences (first order concepts) with abstract, theoretical concepts and existing research findings (second order constructs).
The key discoveries which emerged from the study are discussed next.
6.3 KEY DISCOVERIES
The discoveries I made cover general constructs, on the one hand, and constructs unique to the theme categories, on the other.
6.3.1 General discoveries and insights The following general constructs were particularly important:
Awareness. This refers to people‟s consciousness of the prevalence of TES, which, in turn, leads their reconciliation with the employment situation. Affected employees cope better in situations that they believe they are able to change as opposed to those who feel helpless to change the status quo.
141 Poverty. As socio-economic situation, poverty limits people‟s choices regarding acceptable jobs.
Education. While there exists a link between an individual person‟s level of education and his or her chances of either exiting or remaining in a TES employment relationship, these chances were equal only until they first got employed. The higher the person‟s level of education, the better his or her chances of exiting TES.
Decent job. Employees need work opportunities that are productive and which provide for a fair income, protection measures against insecurity at the workplace, health insurance for employee‟s families. Employees cherish opportunities for education and training and integration into the organisational structure and work culture. Employees would prefer the existence of platform to articulate grievances, involvement in decision-making processes affecting their lives. Although the job title attached to a particular job evidently did not matter, the above-mentioned issues were clearly of prime importance to the research participants. Accordingly, it is incumbent on regulatory bodies to set minimum job standards for these job quality criteria.
Autonomy. The latitude to perform and to exercise some discretion indicates a sense of trust between employer and employee. The absence of autonomy deprives employees of a sense of pride. In addition, employers should acknowledge that an atypical employment job is equally important in the mind of TES employees compared to a typical employment job.
Relationship. Overall, the employment relationship typical of TES is characterised by employment insecurities which place a strain on the relationship. The length of service of TES employment could result in either a positive or a negative relationship. Employees with many years of service tended to defend the triangular employment arrangement; citing clear advantages. Any measures that may be taken to regulate TES should take into consideration these positive views
Communication. As is to be expected clear and direct communication is essential for the attainment of set goals. In a triangular relationship, it is very difficult to optimise communication. While TES firms dictate the conditions of employment, the
142 business organisation operates on the basis of routine directives. There was obvious frustration on the part of the TES employee and this resulted in negative outcomes.
Contracting. The duration of contracts and the frequency of their renewal as well as the identity of the employer were problematic. The often complex and conflicting relationship contracts between parties in a tri-angular working/business relationship left ample room for the exploitation of TES employees. Critically, triangular employment contracts overlook issues of transiting to permanent employees but prioritise the client business entity saving on financial obligations to workers; in the form of health insurance and pensions. As the identity of the employer often not being known it is difficult for TES employees to launch grievance actions.
Task consistency. Despite the precarious nature of TES jobs there was no evidence of the random assignment of tasks.
Occupational health. TES employees had to deal with the risks of occupational incidents themselves.
Trade unions. TES employees provide a fertile ground for recruitment by organised labour. However, I was surprised to discover that TES employees held a very negative opinion of the role of trade unions in their work life.
Strikes. Collective bargaining is a weapon which employees use in order to gain concessions from the employers. While taking note of their potential to make an impact, it appeared that the exercise of collective power by TES employees remained an untapped resource due to the lack of trade union leadership.
Role of government. As the legislative authority the government plays an important role in creating a positive environment for employment relations. In view of the perception that it is a beneficiary in the TES employment set-up, the spotlight is on government; especially the type and magnitude of legislative intervention.
Faking TES. The unregulated TES environment provides a fertile ground for the proliferation of dubious TES operations. The cloak of secrecy under which these firms operate under raises questions regarding registration and tax obligations. In
143 addition, under such circumstances, levels of abuse of TES employees go unchecked.
Conflict of interest. Where key leaders in government retain ownership of or have a stake in TES firms, the chance of robust state intervention in order to improve the working conditions of TES employees drops significantly. Clearly, political and labour leaders should declare their interest in this regard.
Frustration. Government, business, organised labour and civil society should take note of the frustration experienced by both vulnerable employees and job seekers. The creation of the working poor leads to a cycle of poverty and, by extension, frustrated job seekers who are faced with social ills such as crime, drug addiction, gangsterism, alcohol abuse, and family conflict. Vulnerable employees endlessly trapped in low paying jobs are a time bomb waiting to explode. Unless individual are highly skilled, TES jobs contributes to the creation of the working poor and thus transfer poverty to the next generation. Targeted policies should be adopted in order to break the cycle of poverty.
Lack of structured monitoring mechanisms. Once deployed at specific business settings, TES firms do not monitor either the performance or the work environment of employees but defer the responsibility to an in-house HR unit. The grey area thus created leaves employees vulnerable to abusive practices.
The study‟s key findings and the insights which I gained are discussed in the next section.
6.3.2 Key findings and insights The following key findings related to the core themes I derived:
Push factors premised on the availability of job opportunities
TES firms are not necessarily attractive to job-seekers. However, in a tight job market, despite the little control over these firms, every employer‟s recruitment strategy targets such firms in order to meet staffing needs. Accordingly, the high rate of unemployment makes it difficult for first-time employees to choose jobs they would
144 prefer. Vulnerable employees often do not need flexible working arrangements but require a permanent job.
The study participants belonged to different age groups and the degree of their family responsibilities differed with some being primary and others secondary income earners. In addition, some of them had been thrust into an early parental role which threatened to keep the entire family in the poverty trap. Against the background of the HRIR ethical principle of care, it is imperative that regulatory bodies intervene to address the socio-economic situations which arise from such employment insecurities.
Service conditions
The organisation of TES may result in employees either serving a relative short period or being absorbed into permanent jobs. However, long period employees in TES work situations foster the exploitation of TES employees. Clearly, strict time limits are required to ensure that employees are not trapped in static, precarious jobs indefinitely.
The deploy-and-forget practice of TES firms should be avoided. There should be a genuine interest in the daily situation of TES employees. In addition, the parties to the triangular employment relationship should establish clear internal procedures for resolving disputes that may arise.
Irrespective of the level of education of the participants they all wished to exit TES employment. This scenario clearly compromises the quality of TES. The conditions of the TES employment environment should thus be improved so as to offer attractive alternatives to those employees who would like to leave permanent jobs for atypical employment. This would also mean that TES firms should rebrand themselves.
The future of TES
It is difficult to understand how TES contributes to the creation of new jobs. Essentially, these firms link job seekers to existing vacancies. Thus, the numbers of
145 employees on TES books are just statistics that have no bearing to job creation. Clearly, this is one of the weakest aspects of TES.
Should the TES be banned or not? Overall, the participants indicated that they perceived the phenomenon of TES as undesirable. The lack of the business or HR input points to a need for the better regulation of TES. This study clearly showed that the prevalence of alternative work arrangements, globalisation and the constitutional imperatives are driving South Africa towards the stricter regulation of TES firms.
Coping mechanisms of TES employees
The TES employees perceived their relationships with either the firm or business organisations in different ways and accordingly respond differently to their daily work experience.28 The TES employers, business organisations and employees should develop mechanisms in terms of which to manage issues. A positive relationship climate would recognise the constructive contribution of all concerned parties, resulting in a possible readiness to support each other.
To expand coping with the challenges of globalised business environment, the parties to the triangular employment relationship should not wait for the state to intervene before establishing either progressive measures or measures that go beyond the minimum regulatory framework. Unless the current wide income gap is addressed, it is likely to continue to undermine efforts to improve TES firms and their image. Client business organisations should also increase their efforts to make TES employees feel valued and appreciated at their respective places of work.
While TES does offer the opportunity for transition to permanent employment, it would appear that some business organisations are happy to maintain the temporary status of employees indefinitely. Business organisations should offer avenues for a quick transition into permanent status, in conformity with the spirit embodied in the South African Constitution to build a caring society.
I will now explain the implications of the findings and the insights which emerged from the study
28 See section 5.2.4 for different coping strategies
146 6.3.3 Implications The most evident implications include the following:
The meaning of TES for its employees
The study has important implications for vulnerable employees such as TES employees. TES employees fall within the category of vulnerable employment; which is a measure of workers who are employed under insecure circumstances.
Regardless of whether employees are students on vacation or full-time job-seekers, the study showed that the role of TES is to offer employment contracts of temporary nature to job seekers by deploying them to client business entities which needed workers to do work. Although such work is time-bound, in part, it helped the workers to transition from temporary to permanent jobs (Amuedo-Dorantes, Malo, & Muñoz- Bullón, 2007; Voss et al., 2013). This role entails bridging the gap between joblessness and income derived from employment. In particular, low/unskilled entrants to the job market often have no choice but to accept the job on offer and, thereafter, consider issues relating to job satisfaction or employment benefits.
Employment relations and business ethics
This study showed that, apart from the constitutional objectives of the RSA constitution, namely, the creation of an inclusive and caring society, business practices and employment relations contracting should uphold ethical standards, irrespective of the ethical divide (Western or non-Western). The overall perception emerged that TES and client business organisations are driven by a strong profit motive. The triangular relationship is underpinned by the suppression of the aspirations of TES employees and this, according to ethical principles, is exploitative. For client business organisations, it would appear that the need to respond to the effects of the globalised business environment and to make a profit renders ethical considerations unimportant. Accordingly, business survival strategies take precedence over issues of utility, liberty, duty, fairness, virtue and care29.
29 First order constructs in Chapter 5, outline real life experiences of TES employees at their respective workplaces..
147 Against the background of the RSA Constitution, HRM and business ethical principles,30 TES, as an employment practice, is primarily utilitarian, thereby undermining the standards of care. The need for the HRM function to adopt an activist role is also borne out, particularly in view of the decision of the client business organisations not to participate in this study.
This study also established that, in the environment of a shrinking job market, job seekers possessing little or no specific skills are the most vulnerable to exploitative employment practices. This finding, therefore, highlights an obligation on the government to develop a legislative framework which will give effect to the spirit of the Constitution as well as to ethical principles.31 The legislative authority occupies a unique position which allows it to make effective changes, particularly in view of challenges faced by organised labour faces in bargaining on behalf of this category of vulnerable employees.
Since business derives huge benefits from temporary employees, it is unlikely that business will transform itself. However, I believe that legislative changes such as the recent measures introduced, will influence business policy. This issue is discussed next.
Business
Business is part of society and, therefore, it is influenced by the ethical principles operating in society. In fact “a firm that is acting ethically serves to insulate itself from instability caused by this external force because its conduct is already in accord with existing socio-cultural norms” (Gallagher, 2005, p. 57). The current human resource management function should move from control mode to advocacy stance, thereby bridging the divide between management and employees. Operationally, the findings outlined in this report will strengthen the current move towards the professionalisation of the human resource management function. A professional function would ensure a place for ethical business the agenda of management, including what to do with “permanent temporary work” and the creation of the working poor.
30 See the HRIR ethical framework in Table 1.1 in Chapter 1. 31 The description of enshrined labour rights was offered in section 5.2.3 and problem statement in section 1.4 .
148 In terms of the themes developed, client business organisations, especially big business organisations, should take the lead in promoting the socio-economic status of their employees. The common thread running in both Western and non-Western ethical principles is that no undue risks should be deferred to employees. I believe in the adoption of ethical codes of which the central message is equity and justice. Accordingly, the study‟s findings could be used by business, organised labour and government in order to shape relevant policy.
Human resources procurement and stakeholder management practices
In order to reposition the role of the temporary employment service, the appropriate balance should be determined in order to cater for the interests of all relevant/interested parties, namely, business, government and organised labour. Policy makers should select the intervention measures in the new labour dispensation to reflect the preferences of all those affected by TES. It was clear from the study‟s conceptual framework that no employee accepted a TES job as a professional trajectory and thus HR managers should establish measures, based on ethical HRM principles, to accelerate the transition of TES employees to permanent employment status. Such measures would reduce the incidence of employees alternating between TES employment and unemployment.
The Captives category of TES employees should be potential targets in the formulation of national policy as they are trapped in the cycle of poverty created by the design of current alternative work arrangements. One of the objectives of such policy should be to phase out the working poor. Such policy measures would, then, be structured in such a way that the Captives could become permanent employees (with full employment benefits) within a defined period of TES employment. The Go- getters category is less impacted by intervention measures compared to the Captives as they tend to exit the triangular employment relationship situations within a shorter period of time. In addition, their better skills render them more mobile in terms of career changes. In line with the views expressed by the Go-getters, South Africa should follow the example of the global community and retain TES, but within a regulatory system. Significantly, one of the most important disadvantages of banning/outlawing TES would entail costly legal action.
149 Some of the TES employees in this study saw room for retaining the triangular employment relationship; depending on the improvement of the conditions of work. By design, however, it would appear that TES firms and client business organisations are incapable of conforming to the minimum standard of employment, thereby rendering the ideal employment environment difficult to achieve. In order to ensure compliance, law enforcement agencies such as the Department of Labour would have to establish dedicated inspection service units in order to regulate the business organisations involved in triangular employment relationships. Furthermore, business organisations and TES firms should be compelled by law to provide regular reports on the recruitment, deployment and exiting of TES employees. The dedicated inspection service would also ensure that all TES firms were registered.
The global experience on alternative work arrangements makes the position of the Radical category of TES employees (banning TES) not only extreme but also unlawful. Accordingly, it is not advisable for policy-makers to consider banning TES and they should instead confine themselves to tightening the regulatory framework.
Policy makers
Both the study findings and the literature indicated that legislative authorities are lagging behind other countries in the area of regulating TES and thus it is failing to institute meaningful protective measures. Although recent legislative amendments have addressed some of the employment insecurities as identified as first order constructs, the argument of organised labour in favour of a total ban on TES continues. However, this categorical approach to squeezing TES out of the market goes against the international trends. Overall, the difference between TES and personnel agencies has been narrowed to the extent that it has become non- existent, thus implying that TES or agencies must exit the triangular employment arrangement within a very short space of placing employees with client business organisations. Going forward, the classification of TES employees as Captives has almost been eliminated. Accordingly, the recent legislative amendments have prescribed strict minimum conditions of employment to avoid the abuse of employees by the other two parties in the triangular employment relationship.
150 In the context of South Africa, both literature and feedback from the Captives, the Go-getters, the Dead-setters and the Radicals show that the TES environment had been largely self-regulating and that the consequences of this for both affected employees and the intended caring society are extremely negative. For example, should the on-going creation of the working poor remain unchecked, the government would have to shoulder the burden of social services such as housing, education, social grants and health indefinitely.
It is significant to note that the stakeholders in South Africa have to make a choice between adopting an inclusive society or responding to social upheavals which would establish their own agenda.
Next, I outline the value and contribution of the study to existing theory.
6.4 THE VALUE OF THE STUDY AND ITS CONTRIBUTIONS
The value of the study lies in its understanding of atypical employment, in general, and the socio-economic needs of temporary employment service employees, in particular. While not inherently negative, TES does give rise to employment insecurities across several dimensions.
What are the study‟s contributions? As will be discussed these contributions are on a theoretical, methodological and practical level.
Theory
In view of the paucity of research conducted in South Africa on TES, I believe that focusing on the social world of TES employees has added to the existing body of knowledge in this regard. By integrating the research participants‟ concrete constructions with human resources and industrial relations ethical principles a substantive theory of temporary employment service was constructed. This conceptual framework may serve as a platform for further research into temporary employment service, for example, integrating it with the expectancy-value theory of Feather (1992), the sequential model of Soelberg (1967) and the integrative conceptual model of Van Hoye et al. (2009). The focus of these studies was on the pre-entry search strategies (Power & Aldag, 2005). In fact such further research on the views and experience of marginalised members of society is increasingly gaining
151 acceptance (Mertens, 2013). The study, therefore, took place at appropriate time in terms of the direction of current research on vulnerable members of the society. Given the rising unemployment figures, which alone are cause for concern, the study highlighted the plight of a section of a large majority of people who perform work that is non-decent and offering neither living wages nor minimal social protection and limited access to rights of employees. To appropriately address the universality and dimension of this problem, this study may contribute to integrated and decisive action by the international community (ILO, 2009b). By recognising the need for caring in the workplace the present conceptual framework encompasses the following:
An interpersonal view. TES employees draw strength from each other in coping with their challenges as well as in their relating to full- time employees. An intrapersonal view. Individual TES employees recognise that the onus is on them to improve quality of their work-life. A professional view. Notwithstanding the profit motive of business organisations, workplaces should, nevertheless, be viewed as places in which skills are transferred. Factoring HRIR ethics into business plans may inspire organisational managerial excellence as well as investment in people who in turn will receive exposure to career growth and the maximisation of their potential.
Methodology
As far as I could establish, no qualitative research applying both a multiple case study and a grounded theory strategy in an attempt to unravel and describe the social world of TES employees in South Africa has been conducted. It would appear that local research focuses primarily on leadership and the impact of policy on this area of TES in South Africa.
This combined multiple case and grounded theory study gave a voice to vulnerable employees. While the study may, at best, be regarded as explorative-descriptive it, nevertheless, extends the current knowledge base on temporary employment service from the TES employee perspective. More specifically, in applying GT
152 methods, this study offers some significant theory of temporary employment service by integrating the first order constructs of vulnerable employees with relevant scholarly, or second order, TES constructs in the global business environment within an ethical framework of employment.
Practice
In a work environment in which the expectations of the respective parties in an employment relationship are in conflict, the achievement of harmonious labour relations remains a challenge. This fact, among others, places the spotlight on the purpose of HR function namely; either as agent of change or as a tool of the business organisation. It is essential that these interpersonal conflicts are resolved if business organisations are to succeed in a competitive environment while, at the same time, subscribing to the principle of building a caring society (Budd & Scoville, 2005).
Clearly, by not being given fair exposure to workplace skills training, TES employees remain trapped in temporary, low wage jobs. HR practitioners should, therefore, develop programmes to enable TES employees to benefit from the opportunities reserved for permanent staff members.
It is practice in contemporary qualitative research to offer a self-assessment of your study – mine follows.
6.5 ASSESSING THE STUDY
As I have already pointed out, assessing the trustworthiness and credibility of qualitative research is a contentious issue.32 Small wonder that Tracy (2013) writes that no generally agreed upon criteria for quality or good research are to be found among qualitative researchers today.
In assessing my research study, I adopted the assessment approach of Fossey, Harvey, McDermott, and Davidson (2002, pp. 724–725). Their approach to
32 See Section 2.8 on enhancing the quality of the study.
153 assessment emphasises two categories of quality criteria, namely, methodological rigour and interpretive rigour.33
Methodological rigour
I did my best to ensure that I presented the experiences and perceptions which the research participants shared with me. As far as possible, I provided sufficient space for giving prominence to their voices by including direct quotations from the interviews. I believe that I managed to gain the trust of the TES employees and that they felt free to express their experiences and perceptions of controversial matters affecting them honestly.
I believe I upheld the quality criteria of transferability, dependability, confirmability and credibility as espoused by Lincoln and Guba (1999). In addition, applying a multiple case study and grounded theory strategy as well as using more than one data gathering method facilitated triangulation.
I took specific steps to ensuring that the execution of research was carried out rationally, supported by documents and proper audit trail; thereby enhancing the dependability of the research procedure. The researcher role which I had adopted enabled me to refrain from imposing abstract, scholarly ideas on the participants. Overall, the requirements of confirmability, that is the verifiable link between the memoirs of the research participants on the one hand and my interpretation and representation of such views on the other, was demonstrated by my employing member checking.
In her application of grounded theory, Charmaz (2006) suggests a reflexive GT practice, namely, posing questions which facilitate the theoretical rendering, but not an exact picture of the phenomenon in question. Following this reflective practice, I managed to reconstruct the social reality of the work lives of eight TES employee participants; including deriving categories of TES employees‟ orientation or perception34 of TES and to construct a substantial theory of TES.
33 See Annexures D1 and D2 for more detail of quality criteria. 34 See table 5.2 for categories of TES orientation or perception. The individual employee psychological orientation contributed to shaping the different coping strategies indicated in section 5.2.4 of this report.
154 Interpretive rigour
Taking advantage of the strengths of qualitative research approach, I believe that it was appropriate to study the murky world of TES firms dealings with employees of which we know very little. I did so by employing both a case study and grounded theory in order to scrutinise a small number of TES employees in depth. My avoidance of a substantive review of relevant literature before embarking on the fieldwork and applying reflection continuously made it possible for me to explore the TES employees‟ world without any particular theoretical lenses while, at the same time, retaining a distance
In terms of interpretive rigour, I applied open coding in order to develop the categories. I compiled memos and observational notes to make sense of the participants‟ accounts. Together with verbatim excerpts from their accounts I developed thematic categories. I did this by employing the coding system of GT. Open codes led me to axial codes in terms of which I developed themes that identified the relationships between the categories. I succeeded in putting back together the raw data in new ways by making linkages between the categories using conditions and contexts under which certain behaviours were adopted, interactional strategies and themes or end results (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). I portrayed the range of concrete perceptions of the research participants by means of data sets.
I made every effort to minimise bias during the analysis process and to record the data in a way that was as close as possible to the meaning of the TES employees. Finally, I verified the analytical categories, interpretations and conclusions informally during the interviews and formally by means of member checking, that is, taking the provisional findings back to the research participants for their scrutiny (Cohen & Crabtree, 2008, p. 334; Koelsch, 2013).
Criteria for qualitative case studies
Lincoln and Guba (1999) listed the following criteria for qualitative case studies, namely: resonance, rhetoric, empowerment and applicability.
155 Resonance. I grounded the study on HRIR ethical principles, particularly the principle of care. In addition, there was clear fit between the thesis and my beliefs and values. Rhetoric. I would like to believe that my presentation and structuring of the case study was well organised, that it enhanced the key idea of ethics, and that it revealed unity, simplicity and skill. Also, I would like to believe that, despite a number of obstacles I encountered, I demonstrated emotional and intellectual dedication in executing the study. Empowerment. I believe that the reporting is fair, suggests actions that may be taken, and is educative. Applicability. I presented my findings and insights with regard to TES and I trust that the reader may be able to apply these findings and insights to his or her or own environment.
6.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Despite careful planning and execution of a study, it always has some limitations and it is the researcher‟s prerogative to acknowledge them. There are obviously various circumstances and situations that give rise to limitations in a study, for example, a restricted sample, employing certain methods for gathering the requisite data and factors related to researcher‟s subjective assumptions and the demeanour of the participant. According to Bloomberg and Volpe (2008, p. 79), in pointing out a study‟s limitations, one should intend
“… to show the reader that you understand that no research project is without limitations, and that you have anticipated and given some thought to the shortcomings of your research. Stating the limitations also reminds the reader that your study is situated with a specific context, and the reader can make decisions about its usefulness for other settings”.
A major shortcoming of the study was that I did not conduct in-depth interviews with representatives of all the role players involved with temporary employment service, for example the management of TES firms, leaders of organised labour, and government officials. It is particularly important in the light of the study‟s findings that
156 tri-angular work arrangements keep employees on the periphery of an on-going employment relationship.35 This situation poses a challenge for human resource managers to address.
A further shortcoming of the research study is in relation to the perception that the researcher is an agent and also the attendant risk of subjectivity in the decision- making processes (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2008). Despite having applied reflexivity to the best of my ability, I will never know the extent to which I influenced the participants.
6.7 RECOMMENDATIONS
While this research study may, at best, be regarded as explorative-descriptive, I believe that it is possible to make the following important recommendations based on its findings and insights:
Vulnerable employees and employment insecurity
Additional research is required into the South African work-life experience of vulnerable employees of society. In particular, the following merits attention:
Verify and refine the substantive theory of TES. Explore the views of TES firms and business organisations on their experiences in triangular employment arrangements. In terms of closing the wage gap, investigate the level at which the minimum wage level should be pegged and the mitigating steps that should be taken to support small business. Introduce mechanisms to convert workplaces into both income generating and skills transfer settings. Investigate corrective mechanisms for dealing with the management of TES employees. Explore the efficacy of current policy interventions in triangular employment relationships.
35 In some instances, there is no end to the detachment from benefits of full-time employment, (Burgess & Connell, 2006).
157 The business entity
In light of the ethical work debates, it is essential that those running TES firms and the senior managers of business organisations pay attention to the concerns of TES employees regarding the following:
The range of employment insecurities affecting the employees Proposals for improving the quality of their work life The role that regulatory bodies should play in shaping the mutually- beneficial relationship between the parties in a triangular employment relationship Incorporating the ethical principles as discussed into the respective workplaces.
6.8 PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
This doctoral journey was not easy from the start, particularly as I had to build new relationships with new study leaders several times. In addition, the challenges and obstacles I experienced during my work life also did not make matters any easier. However, sheer determination and the patient support of my study leaders gave me the confidence to reach this final stage. Although I had never encountered TES during my work career, this study has substantially deepened and broadened my understanding of this phenomenon.
With the little insight with which I commenced my study of GT principles and qualitative research methodology, I look with profound envy on over-served provinces such as Gauteng and the Western Cape and I wonder why the planning of tertiary educational facilities has gone so wrong in terms of access for the average student. The journey was long and difficult but finally rewarding.
6.9 CONCLUDING NOTE
As I look back in reflection of my experiences during this journey, I cannot help but confess with a grateful heart:
“Every word of every promise I make, will come to pass.” 1 Kings 8:56
158 REFERENCES
Aaltio, I., & Heilmann (2010). Case study as a methodological approach. In A. J. Mills, G. Durepos & E. Wiebe (Eds.), (pp. 66-76) Encyclopedia of case study research, volume 1. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Albertini, E, (2012). Integrating spirituality into leadership development. A doctoral thesis. University of Johannesburg: Johannesburg.
Anney, V. N. (2014). Ensuring the quality of the findings of qualitative research: Looking at trustworthiness criteria. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 5(2), 272–281.
Abbott, P. (2011). Human resource management in the South African socio- economic context (Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the degree Doctor in Philosophy in Leadership in Performance and Change). Faculty of Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Abraham, K. G., & Taylor, S. K. (1996). Firms‟ use of outside contractors: Theory and evidence. Journal of Labour Economics, 14(3), 394–424.
Abuznaid, S. A. (2009). Business ethics in Islam: The glaring gap in practice. International Journal
of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, 2(4), 278–288.
Addison, J. T., & Surfield, C. J. (2006). The use of alternative work arrangements by the jobless: Evidence from the CAEAS/CPS. Journal of Labour Research, 27(2), 150–162.
Addison, J. T. & Surfield, C. J. (2009a). Atypical work and employment continuity. Industrial Relations, 48(4), 655–683.
Addison, J. T., & Surfield, C. J. (2009b). Does atypical work help the jobless? Evidence from a CAEAS/CPS cohort analysis. Applied Economics, 41, 1077– 1087.
159 Adgaonkar, G. S., Yewale, D. A. & Mule, P. M. (2012). Impact of globalization on the Indian economy. Golden Research Thoughts, 1(8), 1–4.
Allen, C., & Brosman, P., Horwitz, F., & Walsh, P. (2001). From standard to non- standard employment. International Journal of Manpower, 22(8), 748–763.
Al-Yateem, N. (2012). The effect of interview recording on quality of data obtained: A methodological reflection. Nurse Researcher, 19(4), 31–35.
Amuedo-Dorantes, C., Malo, M. A., & Muñoz-Bullón, F. (2007). The role of temporary help agency employment on temp-to-perm transitions. Retrieved November 28, 2015 from: http://ftp.iza.org/dp2177.pdf
Anfara, V. A., & Mertz, D. (Eds.). (2006). Introduction. In V. Anfara, & D. Mertz (Eds), Theoretical frameworks in qualitative research (pp. xiii–xxxii). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Asmussen, K. J., & Creswell, J. W. (1995). Campus response to a student gunman. Journal of Higher Education, 66, 575–591.
Aspers, P. (2009). Empirical phenomenology: A qualitative research approach (The Cologne Seminars). The Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology. Retrieved April 02, 2009 from http:// ajol.info/index.php/ipjp/article/viewFile/61109/ 49294.pdf
Aspers, P. (2004). Empirical phenomenology: An approach for qualitative research. Retrieved October 24, 2015 from http://www.lse.ac.uk/methodology/pdf/ qualpapers/aspers-patrik-phenomenology04.pdf
Atherton, A., & Elsmore, P. (2007). Structuring qualitative enquiry in management and organization research: A dialogue on the merits of using software for qualitative data analysis. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 2(1), 62–77.
Babbie, E., & Mouton, J. (2004). The practice of social research. London: Oxford University Press.
Baccaro, L. (2011). Labor, globalization and inequality: Are trade unions still redistributive? Research in the Sociology of Work, (22), 213–285.
160 Bagdanskis, T. (2011). Implementation of EC Directive on Temporary Agency Work into Lithuania legislation. Jurisprudence, 18(3), 1035–1053.
Bailey, J. (2008). First steps in qualitative data analysis: Transcribing. Family Practice, 25: 127–131.
Banet, G. A., Jeffe, D. B., Williams, J. A., & Asaro, P. V. (2006). Effects of implementing computerized practitioner order entry and nursing documentation on nursing workflow in an emergency department. Journal of Health Information Management, 20(2), 45–54.
Bardasi, E., & Francesconi, M. (2004). The impact of atypical employment on individual wellbeing: Evidence from a panel of British workers. Social Science & Medicine, 58, 1671–1688.
Barker, F. S. (2003). The South African labour market. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Barker R. L. (2003). The social work dictionary (5th ed.). Washington, DC: NASW Press.
Barnard, G., & Fourie, L. (2007). Exploring the roles and contributions of industrial psychologists in South Africa against a multi-dimensional conceptual framework. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 33(2), 45–53.
Bassett, C., & Clarke, M. (2008). The Zuma affair, labour and the future of democracy in South Africa. Third World Quarterly, 29(4), 787–803.
Becker, H. S. (1998). Tricks of the trade: How to think about your research while you‟re doing it. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Begoray, D. L., & Banister E. M. (2010). Reflexivity. In A. J. Mills, G. Durepos, & E. Wiebe (Eds), Encyclopedia of case study research (pp. 789–791). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Belak, J., & Rozman, M. P. (2012). Business ethics from Aristotle, Kant and Mill‟s perspective. Business Ethics, 41(10), 1607–1624.
Benecke, G. (2006). Synergy in a globally diversified organisation (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
161 Benjamin, P. (2009). Labour law and the recession. In New Challenges: Shifting Power in Uncertain Times. A paper delivered at 2009 Annual Labour Law Conference, 01July 2009 to 03 July 2009. Butterworth's: Durban.
Bernasek, A., & Kinnear, D. (1999). Workers‟ willingness to accept contingent employment. Journal of Economic Issues, 33(2), 461–469.
Berton, F., Devicienti, F., & Pacelli, L. (2011). Are temporary jobs a port of entry into permanent employment? Evidence from matched employer-employee. International Journal of Manpower, 32(8), 879–899.
Beyleveld, A. (2008). Constructing a leadership model: Derived from a South African business leader‟s life story (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Biggs, D., Burchell, B., & Millmore, M. (2006). The changing world of the temporary worker: The potential HR impact of legislation. Personnel Review, 35(2), 191– 206.
Blaikie, N. (2007). Approaches to social enquiry (2nd ed.). Malden, UK: Polity Press. Retrieved from October 24, 2016 from https://books.google.co.za/books?id =a8LAIqk0-IC&pg=PA92&lpg=PA92&dq=Schutz+first+order+second+order& source=bl&
Bloomberg, L. D., & Volpe, M. (2008). Completing your qualitative dissertation: A roadmap from beginning to end. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Bogdan, R., & Biklen, S. K. (1998). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Bogdan, R., & Biklen, S. K. (2003). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson Education.
Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods (5th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Bogdan, R. & Taylor, S.J. (1975). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A phenomenological approach to the social sciences. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
162 Böhm, A. (2004). Theoretical coding: Text analysis in grounded theory. In U. Flick, E. Kardoff, & I. Steinke (Eds), A companion to qualitative research (pp. 270–275). London: Sage.
Bonner, P., Hyslop, J., & Van der Walt, L. (2007). Rethinking worlds of labour: Southern African labour history in international context. African Studies, 66(2– 3), 137–168.
Botes, A. (2013). The history of labour hire in Namibia: A lesson for South Africa: PER/PELJ, (16), 1.
Botha, J. (2009). Unions war against labour brokers lacks research and facts: labour (Abstract). Management Today, 25(10).
Botha, L. R. (2010). Brief excursions into reflexive writing as a method. Fourth World Journal, 9(2), 1–29.
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Naturalistic inquiry and the saturation concept: A research note. Qualitative Research, 8(1), 137–152.
Bowie, N. E. (2005). Kantian ethical thought. In J. W. Budd, & J. G. Scoville, (Eds) The ethics of labour of human resources and industrial relations (pp. 61–87). Champaign, IL: Labor and Employment Relations Associates.
Bowles, P. (2010). Globalization‟s problematic for labour: Three paradigms. Global Labour Journal, 1(1), 3–27.
Branine, M., Fekkar, A. F., Fekkar, O., & Mellahi, K. (2008). Employee relations in Algeria: A historical appraisal. Employee Relations, 30(4), 404–421.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101.
Brennan, C., Eulberg, J. E., & Britton, P. J. (2011). Improving awareness of vulnerabilities to ethical challenges: A family systems approach. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 30(3), 73–85.
Brewster, C. M., & Tregaskis L. O. (1997). Flexible staffing in Europe. Journal of World Business, 32(2), 133–151.
Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2003). Business research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
163 Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2011). Business research methods (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bryman, A. & Cassell, C. (2006). The researcher interview: A reflexive perspective. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 1(1), 41-55.
Bryman, A., & Burgess, R. G. (Eds.). (1999). Qualitative research, Vol. 3. London: Sage.
Budd, J. W., & Scoville, J. G. (2005). Moral philosophy, Business ethics and the employment relationship. In J. W. Budd, & J. G. Scoville (Eds), The ethics of labour of human resources and industrial relations (pp. 1–21). Champaign, IL: Labor and Employment Relations Associates.
Buhlungu, S. (2008). Gaining influence but losing power? COSATU members and the democratic transformation of South Africa. Social Movement Studies, 7(1), 31–42.
Burgess, J., & Connell, J. (2006). Temporary work and human resources management: Issues, challenges and responses. Personnel Review, 35(2), 129–140.
Burmeister, S. (2010). Landelahni recruitment says: Banning labour brokers could damage the economy – Market perspectives. Civil Engineering, 17(8).
Buschoff, K. S., & Protsch, P. (2008). (A-)typical and (in-)secure? Social protection and “non-standard” forms of employment in Europe. International Social Security Review, 61(4), 51–72.
Bussin, M. (2014). Remuneration and talent management: Strategic compensation approaches for attracting, retaining and engaging talent. Randburg, Republic of South Africa: Knowres Publishing.
Butler-Kisber, L. (2010). Qualitative enquiry: Thematic, narrative and arts-informed perspectives. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Buzdugan, R., Halli, S. S., &. Cowan, F. M. (2009). The female sex work typology in India in the context of HIV⁄AIDS. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 14(6), 673–687.
164 Byrne, D., & Ragin, C. C. (Eds). (2009). The SAGE handbook of case-based methods. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Carcary, M. (2009). The research audit trial: Enhancing trustworthiness in qualitative inquiry. The Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 7(1): 11–24
Card, D., & DiNardo, J. E. (2002). Skill-biased technological change and rising wage inequality: Some problems and puzzles. Journal of Labor Economics, 20(4), 733–783.
Carson, D., Gilmore, A., Perry, C., & Gronhaug, K. (2001). Qualitative market research. London: Sage.
Casey, C., & Alach, P. (2004). Just a temp? Women, temporary employment and lifestyle. Work, Employment and Society, 18(3), 459–480.
Cassell, C., & Symon G. (2006). Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: Ten years on. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 1(1), 4–12.
Cassell, C., & Symon, G. (2011). Assessing „good‟ qualitative research in the work psychology field: A narrative analysis. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 84, 633–650.
Caughlin, J. P. (2003). Family communication standards: What counts as excellent family communication standards and how are such standards associated with family satisfaction? Human Communication Research, 29(1), 5–35.
Caulley, D. N. (2008). Making qualitative research reports less boring: The techniques of writing creative nonfiction. Qualitative Enquiry, 14, 424.
Charmaz, K. (1983). Invitation to grounded theory. Retrieved September 18, 2015 from http://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/ 9548_017586ch1.pdf
Charmaz, K. (1996). The search for meaning: Grounded theory. In J. A. Smith, R. Harré, & L. van Langenhove (Eds), Rethinking methods in psychology (pp. 27– 49). London: Sage. Retrieved September 18, 2015 from http://www.sxf.uevora.pt/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Charmaz_1996.pdf
165 Charmaz, K. (2005). Grounded theory in the 21st century: Application for advancing social justice studies. In N. Denzin, & Y. Lincoln (Eds), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 507–695). London: Sage.
Charmaz, K. (2012). The power and potential of grounded theory. Medical Sociology Online, 6(2–3).
Chenitz, W., & Swanson, J. (1986). From practice to grounded theory. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley.
Christensen, L. B., Johnson, R. B., & Turner, L. A. (2011). Research methods: Design and analysis (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Chrysler-Fox, P. (2010). Foundational assumptions in selecting human capital metrics (Magister Commercii dissertation in Human Resource Management). Faculty of Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Claasen, G. (2004). Male menopause and decision-making: A qualitative study (Doctoral thesis). University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Cloete, N., Bunting, I., & Sheppard, C. (2010). Diversity in higher education in South Africa: From inequality to differentiation. Paper presented at the SANTED conference, Auckland Park, 22 November.
Coffey, A., & Atkinson, P. (1996). Making sense of qualitative data: Complementary research strategies. London: Sage.
Cohen, D. J., & Crabtree, B. F. (2008). Evaluative criteria for qualitative research in health care: Controversies and recommendations. Annals of Family Medicine, 6(4), 331–339.
Collier, D., Idensohn, K., & Adkins, J (2010). Income inequality in executive remuneration: Assessing the role of law and policy in pursuit of equality. South African Journal of Labour Relations, 34(2), 84–109.
Condie, J. (2012). Beyond rationalisations: Improving interview data quality. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, 9(2), 168–193.
166 Connell, J., & Burgers, J. (2002). In search of flexibility: Implications for temporary agency workers and human resource management. Australian Bulletin of Labour, 28(4), 272–283.
Connelly, C. E., Gallagher, D. G., & Webster, J. (2011). Predicting temporary agency workers‟ behaviors: Justice, volition, and spill-over. Career Development International, 16(2), 178–194.
Corbin, J., & Nicholas, L. H. (2011). Grounded theory. In B. Somekh, & C. Lewin (Eds), Theory and methods in social research. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (3rd ed.). London: Sage.
COSATU. (2012a). Worker issues. The Shopsteward, 21(2), April/May.
COSATU. (2012b). Economy. The Shopsteward, 21(3), June/July.
Cowley, A. C. (2001). Atypical labour: The role, function and effects of labour broking as an employment practice (Masters dissertation). University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Creswell, J. W. (2003). Qualitative enquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.
Cuntlife, A. L. (2003). Reflexive enquiry in organisational research: Questions and possibilities. Human Relations, 56, 983–1003.
Dauber, S., Hogue, A., Paulson, J. F., & Leiferman, J. A. (2009). Typologies of alcohol use in white and African American adolescent girls. Substance Use & Misuse, 44, 1121–1141.
De Cuyper, N., & De Witte, H. (2008). Volition and reasons for accepting temporary employment: Associations with attitudes, well-being, and behavioural intentions. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 17(3), 363–387.
De Cuyper, N., De Witte, H., & Van Emmerik, H (2011). Temporary employment: Costs and benefits for (the careers of) employees and organizations. Career Development International, 16(2), 104–113.
167 De Grip, A., Hoevenberg, J., & Willems, E. (1997). Atypical employment in the European Union. International Labour Review, 136(1), 49–71.
De Jong, J., De Cuyper, N., De Witte, H., Silla, I., & Bernhard-Oettel, C. (2009). Motives for accepting temporary employment: A typology. International Journal of Manpower, 30(3), 237–252.
Delaney, J. T. (2005). Ethical challenges in labour relations. In J. W. Budd & J. G. Scoville (Eds), The ethics of labour of human resources and industrial relations (pp. 203–228). Champaign, IL: Labor and Employment Relations Associates.
Delmotte, J., & Sels, L. (2008). HR outsourcing: threat or opportunity? Personnel Review, 37(5), 543–563.
Delport, C. S. L., & Fouchë, C. B. (2012). The qualitative research report. In A. S. De Vos, H. Strydom, C. B. Fouché, & C. S. L. Delport (Eds), Research at grassroots (4th ed., pp. 424–430). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Denzin, N. K. (1989). The research act: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Denzin, N. K. (1994). The art and politics of interpretation. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 500–515). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 1–29). London: Sage.
Department of Labour (2014). Investigation into a national minimum wage in South Africa. Retrieved September 22, 2016 from http//www.labour.gov.za
De Vos, A. S., & Strydom, H. (2012). Scientific theory and professional research. In A. S. de Vos, H. Strydom, C. B. Fouché, & C. S. L. Delport (Eds), Research at grassroots (4th ed., pp. 27–44). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
De Vos, A. S., Strydom, H. Schulze, S., & Patel, L. (2012). The sciences and the professions. In A. S. De Vos, H. Strydom, C. B. Fouchë, & C. S. L. Delport (Eds), Research at grassroots (4th ed., pp. 3–26). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
168 Dey, I. (1993). Qualitative data analysis: A user-friendly guide for social scientists. London: Routledge.
Draper, A. & Swift, J. A. (2010). Qualitative research in nutrition and dietetics: data collection issues. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 24, 3–12.
Druker, J., & Stanworth, C. (2004). Mutual expectations: A study of the three-way relationship between employment agencies, their client organisations and white collar agency 'temps'. Industrial Relations Journal, 35(1), 58–75.
Duménil, G., & Foley, D. K. (2008). The Marxian transformation problem. In S. N. Durlauf, & L. B. Blume (Eds.), The new Palgrave: A dictionary of economics. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Dunne, C. (2011). The place of the literature review in grounded theory research. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 14(2), 111–124.
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1999). Building theories from case study research. In A. M. Huberman & M. B. Miles (Eds), The qualitative researcher‟s companion (pp. 5– 35). London: Sage.
Ekstein, H. (2000). Case study and theory in political science. In R., Gomm, M. Hammersley, & P. Foster (Eds., pp. 119 – 164), Case study method. London: Sage.
Ellis, C. (2000). Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity: Researcher as Subject. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 733–768). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ellis, C. (2004). The ethnographic I: A methodological novel about auto-ethnography. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.
Ellis, C. (2008). Beyond measure: The role of stories, conversations, and personal narratives in quality of life research. Journal of Medicine and the Person, 6(3): 104–112.
Erikson, F. (1986). Qualitative methods in research on teaching. In M. C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed., pp. 119–161). New York: Macmillan.
169 Eriksson, P., & Kovalainen, A. (2008). Qualitative methods in business research. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Esterberg, K. G. (2002). Qualitative methods in social research. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
Evans, P., Pucik, V., & Bjorkman, I. (2011). The global challenge: International human resource management (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Evers, J. C., & Van Staa, A. (2010). Qualitative analysis in case study. In A. J. Mills, G. Durepos, & E. Wiebe (Eds), Encyclopedia of case study research, volume 2. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Fairclough, N. (2003). Analysis discourse. Textual analysis for social research. London: Sage.
Fajana, S. (2008). The Nigerian informal economy: Instigating decent work and pay, and national development through unionisation. Employee Relations, 30(4), 372–390.
Feather, N. T. (1992). Expectancy-value theory and unemployment effects. Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, 65, 315–320.
Flick, U. (2006). An introduction to qualitative research (3rd ed.). London: Sage.
Foley, J. R. (2010). Conceptual argument. In A. J. Mills, G. Durepos, & E. Wiebe (Eds), Encyclopedia of case study research, volume 1. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Foote, D. A. (2004). Temporary workers: Managing the problem of unscheduled turnover. Management Decision, 42(8): 963–973.
Fouchë, C. B., & De Vos, A. S. (2012). Formal formulations. In A. S. De Vos, H. Strydom, C. B. Fouché, & C. S.,L. Delport (Eds), Research at grassroots (4th ed., pp. 89–99). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Fouchë, C. B., & Schurink, W. (2012). Qualitative research designs. In A. S. De Vos, H. Strydom, C. B. Fouché, & C. S. L. Delport (Eds), Research at grassroots (4th ed., pp. 307–327). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Fossey, E., Harvey, C., McDermott, F., & Davidson, L. (2002). Understanding and evaluating qualitative research. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 36, 717–732.
170 Fourie, E. (2008). The informal economy, social security and legislative attempts to extend social security protection. In R. Blanpain, W. Bromwich, O. Rymkevich, & S. Spattini (Eds., pp. 271-293). The modernisation of labour and industrial relations in a comparative perspective. Alpen: Kluver.
Fox, W., & Bayat, M. S. (2007). A guide to managing research. Cape Town: Juta.
Francis, J. J., Johnstone, M., Robertson, C., Glidewella, L., Entwistlec, M., Eccles, P., & Grimshawe, J. M. (2010). What is an adequate sample size? Operationalising data saturation for theory-based interview studies. Psychology and Health, 25(10), 1229–1245.
Franzosi, R. (1998). Narrative analysis – or why (and how) sociologists should be interested in narratives. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 517–554.
Friedman, M. (1970). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. Retrieved December 07, 2016 from World Wide Web https://philosophia.uncg.edu/media/phi361-metivier/readings/Friedman- Increase%20Profits.pdf
Fujimoto, E. O. (2012). Hiring diverse faculty members in community colleges: A case study in ethical decision making. Community College Review, 40(3), 255– 274.
Fuller, S., & Vosko, L. F. (2007. Temporary employment and social inequality in Canada: Exploring intersections of gender, race and immigration status. Retrieved May 19, 2010 from http//www.springfield.com/ujlink
Gadzala, A. W. (2010). From formal- to informal-sector employment: Examining the Chinese presence in Zambia. Review of African Political Economy, 37(123), 41–59.
Gale, N. K., Heath, G., Cameron, E., Rashid, S., & Redwood, S. (2013). Using the framework method for the analysis of qualitative data in multi-disciplinary health research. BMC Medical Research Methodology. Retrieved October 20 from http://download.springer.com/static/pdf.
García-Serrano, C., & Hernanz, V. (2010). Mind the gap, please! The effect of temporary help agencies on the consequences of work accidents. J Labor Res, 31,162–182.
171 Gayton, C. M. (2008). Business ethics, restrictions on employment and knowledge management. The Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, 38(2), 174–183.
Gephart, R. P. Jr. (2003). Grounded theory and the integration of qualitative and quantitative research. Multi-level Issues in Organizational Behavior and Strategy Research in Multi-level, 2, 113–125.
Gibbs, G. R. (2009). Analysing qualitative data. In U. Flick (Ed.), The Sage qualitative research kit (pp. 1–3), Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Gibbs, P. (2012). Role virtue ethics and academic ethics: A consideration of academic freedom. International Journal of Educational Management, 27(7), 720–729.
Giddens, A. (1999), Runaway world: How globalization is reshaping our lives. London: Profile Books.
Gillham, B. (2003). The research interview. London: Cornwall.
Glaser, B. G. (2003). The grounded theory perspective II: Description‟s remodeling of grounded theory methodology. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago, IL: Aldine Press.
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (2008). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New Brunswick: Aldine Transaction.
Golden, L., & Appelbaum, E. (1992). What was driving the 1982–88 boom in temporary employment? Preference of workers or decisions and power of employers. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 51, 473–494.
Goldenberg, S. (1993). Analytic induction revisited. The Canadian Journal of Sociology, 18(2). Retrieved September 2, 2012 from http://www.udini.proquest.com/read/doc:5043856bdafd75d3afbab2bf/
Goulding, C. (2002). Grounded theory. London: Sage.
Grbich, C. (2004). New approaches in social research. London: Sage.
Grbich, C. (2007). Qualitative data analysis: An introduction. Los Angeles: Sage.
172 Greeff, M. (2012). Information collection: Interviewing. In A. S. De Vos, H. Strydom, C. B. Fouchë, & C. S. L. Delport (Eds), Research at grassroots (4th ed., pp. 341–374). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Greenfield, T. (2002). Laboratory and industrial experiments. In T. Greenfield (Ed.), Research methods for postgraduates. New York: Arnold.
Guba, E., & Lincoln, S. (2005). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions and emerging confluences. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 191–215). London: Sage.
Gumbrell-McCormick, R. (2011). European trade unions and „atypical‟ workers. Industrial Relations Journal, 42(3), 293–310.
Haider, S. J. & McGarry, K. (2013). Recent trends in resource sharing among the poor. A paper prepared for the National Poverty Center project, Working and Poor: How Economic and Policy Changes are Affecting Low-Wage Workers. Retrieved October 12, 2016 from http://www.esri.go.jp/jp/workshop/ 130301/data/siryo1_2.pdf
Haig, B. D. (1995). Grounded theory as scientific method. In Philosophy of Education: Current issues (pp. 281–290). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
Hall, D., Du Toit, L., & Louw, D. (2013). Feminist ethics of care and Ubuntu. Obstetrics & Gynaecology Forum, 23, 29–33.
Hallberg, L. R-M, (2006). The “core category” of grounded theory: Making constant comparisons. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well- being, 1, 141–148.
Hammersley, M. (2008). The critical case of analytic induction: Critical essays. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Hammersley, M. (2010). Aristotelian or Galileian? On a puzzle about the philosophical sources of analytic induction. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 40(4), 393–408.
Hardy, D. J., & Walker, R. J. (2003). Temporary but seeking permanence: A study of New Zealand temps. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 24(3), 141–152.
173 Hay, C. (2007). Does ontology trump epistemology? Notes on the directional dependence of ontology and epistemology in political analysis. Politics, 27(2).
Head, J., & Lucas, R. (2003). Employee relations in the non-union hotel industry: A case of “determined opportunism”? Personnel Review, 33(6), 693–710.
Hennink, M., Hutter, I., & Bailey, A. (2011). Qualitative research methods. Massachusetts: Sage.
Henning, E., Van Rensburg, W., & Smit, B. (2004). Finding your way in qualitative research. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Hesse-Biber, S. N. (2007). Teaching grounded theory. In A. Bryant & K. Charmaz (Eds), The Sage handbook of grounded theory (pp. 311–338). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Hinckley, C. (2005). Sample of a research proposal: Exploring the use of television for guidance to expectant fathers. In K. Maree (Ed.), First steps in research. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Hollander, H. (1982). Class antagonism, exploitation and the labour theory of value. The Economic Journal, 92, 868–885.
Holton, J. (2007). The coding process and its challenges. In A. Bryant & K. Charmaz (Eds), The SAGE handbook of grounded theory (pp. 265–289). London: Sage.
Hughes, M. (2002). Interviewing. In T. Greenfield (Ed.), Research methods for postgraduates. New York: Arnold.
Huysamen, G. K. (1996). Methodology for the social and behavioural sciences. Johannesburg: Thompson.
International Labour Organisation (ILO). (1995). Working time, employment and protection. Conditions of Work Digest, 14, 34–51. Retrieved August 23, 2011 from http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1101& context=globaldocs
International Labour Organisation (ILO). (2008). Declaration on social justice for a fair globalization. Retrieved December 27, 2010 from http:// www.cinterfor.org.uy/public
174 International Labour Organisation (ILO). (2009a). Decent work & vocational training: Inter-American centre for Knowledge Development. Vocational Training. Retrieved December 27, 2010 from http://www.cinterfor.org.uy/public
International Labour Organisation (ILO). (2009b). Guide to the new Millennium Development Goals employment indicators including the full set of Decent Work Indicators. Retrieved December 24, 2013 from http// www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/dgo/download/dg_announce_en.pdf
Jahn, E. J., & Bentzen, J. (2012). What drives the demand for temporary agency workers? Labour, 26(3), 341–355.
Jamerson, L. (n.d.). South African labour and government: Compromise or conflict? Social Policy, 35(1).
Jawad, S., & Ali, A. J. (2010). Principles of employment relations in Islam: A normative view. Employee Relations, 32(5), 454–469.
Johnson, P. (1998). Analytical induction. In G. Symon, & C. Cassell (Eds), Qualitative methods and analysis: A practical guide. London: Sage.
Johnson, P., Buehring, A., Cassell, C., & Symon, G. (2007). Defining qualitative management research: An empirical investigation. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 2(1), 23–42.
Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (1996). Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14–26.
Jones, R., & Noble, G. (2007). Qualitative research. Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 2(2), 84–103.
Joona, P. A., & Wadensjö, E. (2008). A note on immigrant representation in temporary agency work and self-employment in Sweden. Labour, 22(3), 495– 507.
Kallenberg, A. L. (2000). Nonstandard employment relations: Part-time, temporary and contract work. Annual Review Sociology, 26(1), 341–365.
Keller, B., & Seifert, H. (2005). Atypical employment and flexicurity. Management Review, 16(3), 304–323.
175 Kerlinger, F. N. (1986). Foundations of behavioural research (3rd ed.). New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Khan, S. N. (2014). Qualitative research method: grounded theory. International Journal of Business and Management, 9(11), 224-233.
Kidder, L. (1981). Qualitative research and quasi-experimental frameworks. In M. B. Brewer, & B. E. Collins (Eds), Scientific inquiry and the social sciences: A volume in honour of Donald T. Campbell (pp. 226–56). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Killen, R. (2010). Teaching strategies for quality teaching and learning. Claremont: Juta.
Kirkevold, M., & Bergland, A. (2007). The quality of qualitative data: Issues to consider when interviewing participants who have difficulties providing detailed accounts of their experiences. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 2, 68–75.
Klerck, G. (2009). Rise of the temporary employment industry in Namibia: A regulatory. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 27(1), 85–103.
Kluge, S. (2000). Empirically grounded construction of types and typologies qualitative social research. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 1(1), 1–11.
Koch, T., & Harrington, A. (1998). Reconceptualising rigour: The case for reflexivity. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 28(4), 882–890.
Koelsch, L. E. (2013). Reconceptualizing the member check interview. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 12, 168–179.
Kools, S., McCarthy, M., Durham, R., & Robrecht, R. (1996). Dimensional analysis: Broadening the conception of grounded theory. Qualitative Health Research, 6(3), 312–330.
Kraus, U. (1982). Heterogeneous labour and the fundamental Marxian theorem. Review of Economic Studies, 48, 173–178.
Kroon, B., & Freese, C. (2013). Can HR practices retain flexworkers with their agency? International Journal of Manpower, 34(8), 899–917.
176 Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A. (2009). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research (4th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Kunda, G., Barley, S. R., & Evans, J. (2002). Why do contractors contract? The experience of highly skilled technical professionals in a contingent labor market. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 55(2), 234–257.
Lapan, S. D., & Quartaroli, M. T. (2009). Research essentials: An introduction to designs and practices. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Laufer, W. S., & Robertson, D. S. (1997). Corporate ethics initiatives as social control. Journal of Business Ethics, 16(10).
Layder, D. (1998). Sociological practice: Linking theory and social research. London: Sage.
Laws, K., & McLeod (2003). Case study and grounded theory: Sharing some alternative qualitative research methodologies with system professionals. Unpublished article. Retrieved October 16, 2016 from http:// www.systemdynamics.org/conferences/2004/SDS_2004/PAPERS/220MCLEO. pdf
Leedy, P. D., & Ormond, J. E. (2005). Practical research: Planning and design. New York: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
Leighton, P., & Wynn, M. (2011). Classifying employment relationships: More sliding doors or a better regulatory framework? Industrial Law Journal, 40(1), 5–43.
Leisink, P. (1999). Introduction. In P. Leisink, (Ed.), Globalisation and labour relations (p. 1–35). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Leschke, J. (2009). The segmentation potential of non-standard employment. A four- country comparison of mobility patterns. International Journal of Manpower. 30(7), 692–715.
Letiche, H. 2009. Reflexivity and affectivity. Culture and Organization, 15(3–4), 291– 306.
Levenstein, A. (2012a). 31 essential quotes on analytics and data. Retrieved October 25, 2012 from http://www.analyticshero.com/2012/10/25/31-essential- quotes-on-analytics-and-data/
177 Levenstein, A. (2012b). Analytics and data. Retrieved April 12, 2014 from http://www.analyticshero.com/2012/10/25/31-essential-quotes-on-analytics- and-data/
Levy, J. S. (2008). Case studies: Types, designs, and logics of inference. Conflict Management and Peace Science, 25, 1–18.
Lewchuk, W., De Wolff, A., King, A., & Polanyi, M. (2003). From job strain to employment strain: Health effects of precarious employment. Just Labour, (3), 23–35.
Li, X., Liu, X., & Shi, B. (2012). Insiders or outsiders? Adoption, staffing pattern, and HR configuration of temporary agency workers in the Chinese context. Journal of Chinese Human Resource Management, 3 (1), 33-48.
Lieven, M., & Martin, G. (2006). Higher education in a global market: The case of British overseas provision in Israel. Higher Education, 52, 41–68.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1999). Judging the quality of case study reports. In A. M. Huberman, & M. B. Miles (Eds), The qualitative researcher‟s companion (pp. 206–214). London: Sage.
Lindstead, S. A. (2010). Postmodernism. In A. J. Mills, G. Durepos, & E. Wiebe (Eds), Encyclopedia of case study research, volume 2. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Llewellyn, S., & Northcott, D. (2007). The „singular view‟ in management case studies. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 2(3), 194–207.
Locke, K. (2001). Grounded theory in management research. London: Sage.
Lunenburg, F. C., & Irby, B. J. (2008). Writing a successful thesis or dissertation: Tips and strategies for students in the social and behavioural sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Lynch, J. (2011). An observational study of print literacy in Canadian preschool classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38, 329–338.
Macduff, C. (2007). Typologies in nursing: A review of the literature. Nurse Researcher, 14(2).
178 Mahlakoana, T. (2015, 08 April). Change in labour broker law hits workers. Retrieved May 30, 2015 from http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/change-in-labour- broker-law-hits-workers-1.1841959#.VWng0UYpq1k
Mail & Guardian (2011). COSATU & Labour brokers. Retrieved January 27, 2014 from http://mg.co.za/article/2011-01-07-cosatu-lashes-new-labourbroking-law
Mallier, T., & Bailey, M. (1997). How students search for vacation employment. International Journal of Manpower, 18(8), 702–714.
Mallon, M. (1998). The portfolio career: Pushed or pulled to it? Personnel Review, 27(5), 361–377.
Manthorpe, J., Cornes, M., & Moriarty, J. (2012). Considering the safeguarding risks presented by agency or temporary social care staff: Research findings and recommendations. The Journal of Adult Protection, 14(3), 122–130.
Marler, J., & Moen, P. (2005). Alternative employment arrangements: A gender perspective (abstract). Sex Roles, 52(5/6), 337–349.
Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (2011). Designing qualitative research (5th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.
Marshall, M. N. (1996). Sampling for qualitative research. Family Practice, 13, 522– 525.
Martin, J. E., & Sinclair, R. R. (2007). A typology of the part-time workforce: Differences on job attitudes and turnover. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 80, 301–319.
Martínez, G., De Cuyper, N., & De Witte, H. (2010). Review of temporary employment literature: Perspectives for research and development in Latin America. Psykhe, 19(1), 61–73.
Maschner, H. D. G. (1996). Middle range theory. In B. M. Fagan (Ed.), The Oxford companion to archaeology. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press, Boise State University. Retrieved October 30, 2015 from http://sspa.boisestate.edu/anthropology/files/2010/06/article08_middle-range- theory_oxford-reference-online.pdf
Mason, J. (2005). Qualitative researching. London: Sage.
179 Mason, M. (2010). Sample size and saturation in PhD studies using qualitative interviews. Qualitative Social Research, 11(3). Retrieved October 16, 2016 from http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fuss/article/viewArticle/ 1428/3027
Matsuo, T. (2008). Profit, surplus product, exploitation and less than maximized utility. Metroeconomica, 59, 249–265.
May, R, Campbell, I., & Burgess, J. (2005). The rise and rise of casual work in Australia: Who benefits, who loses? Retrieved November 19, 2010 from http//www. apo.org.au/research
Maylor, H., & Blackmon, K. (2005). Researching business and management. New York: Palgrave.
McBurney, D. H., & White, T. L. (2004). Research methods. Wadsworth: Thompson.
McGinn, M. K. (2010). Credibility. In A. J. Mills, G. Durepos, & E. Wiebe (Eds). Encyclopedia of case study research, Volume 1. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
McKinney, J. C. (1969). Typification, typologies and sociological theory. Social Forces, 48(1), 1–12.
Mcleod, J. (2013). Increasing the rigor of case study evidence in therapy research. Pragmatic Case Studies in Psychotherapy, 9(4), 382–402.
Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to research and implementation. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
Mertens, D. M. (2013). Navigating the terrain of social justice: Multiple voices in mixed methods research. In N. K. Denzin & M. D. Giardina (Eds), Global dimensions of qualitative inquiry (pp. 181–193). Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira.
Metcalfe, M. (2003). Author(ity): The literature review as expert witnesses. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 4(1).
Meyer, M., Bushney, B., & Ukpere, W. I. (2011). The impact of globalisation on higher education: Achieving a balance between local and global needs and realities. African Journal of Business Management, 5(15), 6569–6578.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1984). Qualitative data analysis: A sourcebook of new methods. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage.
180 Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Mills, J., Bonner, A., & Francis, K. (2006). The development of constructivist grounded theory. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(1), 25–35.
Mitchell, J. C. (2000). Case and situation analysis. In R. Gomm, M. Hammersley, & P. Foster (Eds), Case study method. London: Sage.
Mitlacher, L. W. (2007). Temporary agency work and the blurring of the traditional employment relationship in multi-party arrangements: The case of Germany and the United States: University of Mannheim, Germany: International Journal of Employment Studies, 15(2), 61–89.
Mitlacher, L. W. (2008). Job quality and temporary agency work: Challenges for human resource management in triangular employment relations in Germany. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19(3), 446–460.
Mogalakwe, M. (2008). The making of a foreign “labour aristocracy” in Botswana. Employee Relations, 30(4), 422–435.
Moodie, G. (2007). Changing higher education. Minerva, 45, 73–84.
Moore, N. (2006). How to do research: A practical guide to designing and managing research projects. London: Facet.
Morishima, M. (1974). Marx in the light of modern economic theory. Econometrica, 42, 611–632.
Morris, M. D. S., & Vekker, A. (2001). An alternative look at temporary workers, their choices and the growth in temporary employment. Journal of Labor Research, 22(2), 373–390.
Morrison, M., & James, S. (2009). Portuguese immigrant families: The impact of acculturation. Family Process, 48(1), 151–166.
Morse, J. M. (2009). Tussles, tensions and resolutions. In J. M. Morse, P. N. Steyn, T. Corbin, Bowers, K. Charmaz, & A. E. Clarke (Eds), Developing grounded theory: The second generation (2nd ed., pp. 13–19). Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
181 Morse, J. M., & Mitcham, C. (2002). Exploring qualitative-derived concepts: Inductive-deductive pitfalls. International Journal of Qualitative Methods.
Mouton, J. (2009). How to succeed in your masters and doctoral studies: A South African guide and resource book. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Mouton, J. & Marais, H.C. (1990) Basic concepts in the methodology of the social sciences. Pretoria: HSRC.
Murphy, L. (1995). A qualitative approach to researching management competences. Executive Development, 8(6), 32–34.
Mutch, C. (2006). The art and craft of rigorous analysis and authentic (re)presentation. Qualitative Research Journal, 6(1), 51–68.
Myers, M. D. (2011). Qualitative research in business management. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Naidoo, V. (2011). The alignment of internal and external branding in a leader group (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Johannesburg. Johannesburg: South Africa.
NEASA (2012). Interesting article regarding labour brokers: A fine line to maintain with regard to labour brokers. Retrieved May 30, 2015 from http://www.driversinc.co.za/index.php/latest-news/11-interesting-article- regarding-labour-brokers.html
Neuman, W. L. (1997). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Neuman, W. L., & Kreuger, L. W. (2003). Social work research methods: Qualitative and quantitative research methods. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Nilges, Z. M. (2004). Ice can look like glass: A phenomenological investigation of movement meaning in one fifth-grade class during a creative dance unit. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 75(3), 298–314.
Nixon and Wild (n.d.). Methodologies for assessing and demonstrating data saturation in qualitative inquiry supporting patient-reported outcomes research. Retrieved September 6, 2012 from http/www.oxfordoutcomes. comlibraryconference_materialpdf
182 Nyenti, M. A. T. (2007). Labour flexibility and the protection of non-standard workers in South Africa. Centre for International and Comparative Labour and Social Security Law (CICLASS) University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Retrieved December 27, 2010 from http/www.issa.int
O'Connor, H., & Gibson, N. (n.d.). A step-by-step guide to qualitative data analysis. A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health 1(1). Retrieved September 18, 2015 from http://www.pimatisiwin.com/uploads/1289566991.pdf
Odendaal, A., & Roodt, G. (2002). Australian and South African perspectives on the implementation of flexible work practices (FWP). (A Joint Exploratory Study at Programme Group Human Resource Management). Technikon SA and Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg, South Africa.
OECD (2002). OECD employment outlook. Taking the measure of temporary employment. Retrieved October 23, 2016 from https://www.oecd.org/employment/emp/17652675.pdf
Olivier, M. (2008). Extension of labour law and social security. In R. Blanpain, W. Bromwich, O. Rymkevich, & S. Spattini (Eds), The modernisation of labour and industrial relations in a comparative perspective. Alpen: Kluwer.
Olsen, K. (2006). Atypical employment: Bad jobs? Tidsskrift for Samfunnsforskning, 47(3), 387–412.
Omomowo, K. E. (2011). The changing nature of work: The creation of a „working poor‟ population in post-apartheid South Africa. Development Southern Africa, 28(5), 613–626.
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Leech, N. L., & Collins, K. M. T. (2011). Innovative qualitative data collection techniques for conducting literature reviews/ research synthesis. In M. Williams, & W. P. Vogt (Eds), The Sage handbook of innovation and social research methods. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Oosthuizen, D. J. (2009). Constructing a job-seeking behaviour model to guide decision-making in dark marketing (Unpublished doctoral thesis in Philosophy in Leadership in Performance and Change). Faculty of Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
183 Packer, M. (2011). The science of qualitative research. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Palys, T. (1992). Research decisions: Quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Toronto: Harcourt Brace.
Parker, A. J. (2007). The validity of world-class business criteria across developed and developing countries (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Parker, I. (2004). Criteria for qualitative research in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 1, 95–106.
Parker, L. D. (2008). Interpreting interpretive accounting research. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 19(6), 909–914.
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Payne, S. L., & Wayland, R. F. (1999). Ethical obligation and diverse values assumptions in HRM. International Journal of Manpower, 20(5), 297–308.
Piasecki, R., & Wolnicki, M. (2004). The evolution of development economics and globalization. International Journal of Social Economics, 31(3), 300–314.
Plummer, K. (2001). Documents of life 2: An invitation to a critical humanism. London: Sage.
Polivka, A. E., & Nardone, T. (1989). On the definition of contingent work. Monthly Labour Review, 112(12), 9–16.
Polsky, D. (1997). Job stability in the United States. Journal of Labour Economics, 15(2), 206–233.
Pons-Vignon, N., & Anseeuw, W. (2009). Great expectations: Working conditions in South Africa since the end of apartheid. Journal of Southern African Studies, 35(4), 883–899.
184 Power, D. J., & Aldag, R. J. (1985). Soelberg's job search and choice model: A clarification, review, and critique. Academy of Management Review, 10(1): 48– 58.
Mathew, T., & Price, M. (2010). Crucial time for SA universities as higher education goes global. Sunday Times, 14 October, 7.
Qazi, H. A. (2011). Evaluating goodness in qualitative researcher. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science, 10, 11–19
Reid, A., Petocz, P., & Gordon, S. (2008). Research interviews in cyberspace. Qualitative Research Journal, 8(1), 47–62.
Remenyi, D., Williams, B., Money, A., & Swartz, E. (1998). Doing research in business and management: An introduction to process and method. London: Sage.
Republic of South Africa. (1995). Labour Relations Act. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Richards, L. (2005). Handling qualitative data: A practical guide. London: Sage.
Ritchie, J., & Lewis, J. (2003). Qualitative research practice. London: Sage.
Rizk, R. R. (2008). Back to basics: An Islamic perspective on business and work ethics. Social Responsibility Journal, 4(1/2), 246–254.
Robinson, W. S. (2000). The logical structure of analytic induction. In R. Gomm, M. Hammersley, & P. Foster (Eds). Case study method. London: Sage.
Robson, C. (2012). Real world research (3rd ed.). London: Wiley.
Roemer, J. E. (1981). Analytical foundations of Marxian economic theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rolfe, G. (2006). Validity, trustworthiness and rigour: Quality and the idea of qualitative research. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 53(3), 304–310.
Roscigno, V. J., & Hodson, R. (2004). The organisational and social foundations of worker resistance. American Sociological Review, 69(14), 15–39.
Rosenau, P. M. (1992). Post-modernism and the social sciences: Insights, inroads and intrusions. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
185 Rosendaal, B. W. (2003). Dealing with part-time work. Personnel Review, 32(4), 474–491.
Rousseau, D. M. (1990). New hire perceptions of their own and their employer‟s obligations: A study of psychological contracts. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 11, 389–400.
Rowley, J. (2012). Conducting research interviews. Management Research Review, 35(3), 260–271.
RSA. (2012). Labour Relations Amendment Bill. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. (2001). Research methods for social work (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2005). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Rule, P., & John, V. (2011). Your guide to case study research. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
SABPP. (2011). Ethics in HR management: A guide for HR professionals and line managers. Parktown: SABPP.
Salmi, J. (2009). The challenge of establishing world-class universities: Directions in development. Human Development. Washington: World Bank.
Saloniemi, A., & Virtanen, P. (2005). Bad jobs or not? A follow-up perspective on temporary employment: does the rise in non-standard employment mean a decline in the quality of work? In I. U. Zeytinoglu (Ed.), Flexibility in workplaces: Effects on workers, work environment and the unions. Geneva: IIRA/ILO. Retrieved November 19, 2010 from http://www.newunionism.net/library
Samkin, G., & Schneider, A. (2008). Adding scientific rigour to qualitative data analysis: An illustrative example. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, 5(3), 207–238.
Schömann, & Guedes, C. (2008). Temporary agency work in the European Union. Implementation of Directive 2008/104/EC in the Member States. Report 124. Brussels, Belgium: European Trade Union Institute.
Schurink, E. (2009a). Qualitative research design as tool for trustworthy research. Journal for Public Administration, 44(4.2), 803–823.
186 Schurink, E. (2009b). The internal audit as tool to enhance the quality of qualitative research. Journal for Public Administration, 44(4.2), 788–802.
Schurink, E., & Auriacombe, C. J. (2010). Theory development: Enhancing the quality of the case study as research strategy in qualitative research. Journal of Public Administration, 45(3), 435–455.
Schurink, W. (2004a). Qualitative research: Introducing key features of a humanistic approach to social science research. Lecture Ten: Data analysis. Johannesburg RAU, 27–28 February.
Schurink, W. (2004b). Qualitative research: Introducing key features of an interpretive approach to social science research. Lecture Three: Considerations when choosing a qualitative style of research. Johannesburg RAU, 27–28 February.
Schurink, W. J. (2004c). Lecture 11A. Analytical induction. Doctoral Programme on Leadership in Performance and Change, Department of Human Resource Management, Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg, 27–28 February.
Schurink, W. J. (2005). Qualitative research design. Doctoral Programme: Leadership in Performance and Change, Department of Human Resource Management, University of Johannesburg, 17–21 January.
Schurink, W. J. (2007). Qualitative research design: Part 2. Doctoral Programme: Leadership in Performance and Change, Department of Human Resource Management, University of Johannesburg, 17–21 January.
Schurink, W. (2010). The research process. A lecture presented at a Just-in-time Workshop for Master‟s and Doctoral Students. University of Johannesburg, 11 September.
Schurink, W. (2011). Brief notes on writing styles to my students. Email notes to M- and D-students. Silver Lakes, Pretoria.
Schurink, W. J. (2012). Some focal points when designing and executing qualitative research. Email notes to M-and D-students. Silver Lakes, Pretoria.
Schurink, W., Fouchë, C. B., & De Vos, A. S. (2012). Qualitative data analysis. In A. S. De Vos, H. Strydom, C. B. Fouchë, & C. S. L. Delport (Eds), Research at grassroots (4th ed., pp. 419–422). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
187 Schwandt, T. A. (2007). The Sage dictionary of qualitative inquiry. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Scoville, J. G., Lawler, J. J., & Yi, X. (2005). Non-Western ethical frameworks: Implications for human resources and industrial relations. In J. W. Budd, & J. G. Scoville (Eds), The ethics of labour of human resources and industrial relations (pp. 89–114). Champaign, IL: Labor and Employment Relations Associates.
Segal, L. M., & Sullivan, D. G. (1997). The growth of temporary services work. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11, 117–136.
Shank, G. D. (2006). Qualitative research: A personal skills approach. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Sheikh, A. Z. (2010). Outsourcing of employers‟ responsibilities in the false name of flexibility. Employee Relations, 32(5), 495–508.
Shredl, M. (2013). Criteria for evaluating empirical research articles: A reply to Curtiss Hoffman‟s “Research articles in dreaming: A review of the first 20 years.” American Psychological Association, 23(4), 287–290.
Silverman, D. (2005). Doing qualitative research: A practical handbook (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
Silverman, D. (2011). Qualitative research (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Simon, A., Sohal, A., & Cowan, E. (1994). Generative and case study research in quality management. Part I: Theoretical considerations. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 13(1), 32–42.
Simons, H. (2009). Case study research in practice. London: Sage.
Singleton, R. A., Straits, B. C., & Straits, M. M. (1993). Approaches to social research (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Skocpol, T. (1979). States and social revolutions: A comparative analysis of France, Russia, and China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Smelser, N. J., & Baltes, P. B. (Eds). (2001). Analytic induction: Methodology. Retrieved in December 21, 2014 from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/ faculty/katz/pubs/Analytic_Induction.pdf
188 Smith, D. (2010). Guidelines for a non-empirical theoretical research-based manuscript. A lecture presented at a just-in-time workshop for masters and doctoral students. University of Johannesburg, 11 September.
Smith, M. C., & Liehr, P. R. (2008). Disciplinary perspectives linked to middle range theory. In M. J. Smith, & P. R. Liehr (Eds), Middle range theory for nursing (2nd ed., pp. 13–20). New York: Springer.
Smith, R. (1995). Logic. In J. Barnes (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Aristotle. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Soelberg, P. O. (1967). A study of decision- making: Job choice: Carnegie-Mellon University.
Solomon, P., & Miller, P. A. (n.d.). Qualitative study of novice physical therapists' experiences in private practice. Physiotherapy Canada, 57(3), 190–198.
Somekh, B., & Lewin. C. (Eds). (2011). Theory and methods in social research. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Sparkes, A. C. (2002). Telling tales in sport and physical activity: A qualitative journey. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Sparrow, P. R., & Cooper, C. L. (2003). The employment relationship: Key challenges for HR. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Stake, R. E. (1995a). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Stake, R. E. (2000). The case study method in social enquiry. In R. Gomm, M. Hammersley, & P. Foster (Eds), Case study method (pp. 54-65). London: Sage.
Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative case studies. In N. K. Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 443-466)). Thousand Oaks CA: Sage.
Stanworth, C., & Druker, J. (2006). Human resource solutions? Dimensions of employers‟ use of temporary agency labour in the UK. Personnel Review, 35(2), 175–190.
STATS SA. (2008). Quarterly Labour Force Survey. Retrieved August 02, 2013 at http://www.statssa.gov.za/Publications/P02111/P021112008.pdf
189 STATS SA. (2009). Labour Force Survey Historical Revision: March Series, 2001– 2007. Pretoria: Government Printer.
Stone, K. V. W. (2006). Legal protections for atypical employees: Employment law for workers without workplaces and employees without employers. Berkeley Journal of Employment & Labor Law, 27(2), 251–286.
Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. M. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Strydom (2012). Ethical aspects of research in the social sciences and human service professions. In A. S. de Vos, H. Strydom, C. B. Fouchë, & C. S. L. Delport (Eds), Research at grassroots (4th ed., pp. 113–130). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Strydom, H., & Delport, C. S. L. (2012). Writing the research report. In A. S. de Vos, H. Strydom, C. B. Fouchë, & C. S. L. Delport (Eds), Research at grassroots (4th ed., pp. 376–389). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Suri, H. (2011). Purposeful sampling in qualitative research synthesis. Qualitative Research Journal, 11(2), 63–75.
Swarts, I. (2008). Organizational practices enhancing positive job attitudes of expatriates on international assignments (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Syed, J., & Ali, A. J. (2010). Principles of employment relations in Islam: A normative view. Employee Relations, 32(5), 454–469.
Szalkowski, A., & Jankowicz, D. (1999). The ethical problems of personnel management in a transition economy. International Journal of Social Economics, 26(12), 1418–1427.
Tan, H., & Tan, C. (2002). Temporary employees in Singapore: What drives them? Journal of Psychology, 136(1), 83–102.
190 Taylor, S. J., & Bogdan, R. (1998). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource (3rd ed.). New York: John Wiley.
Terre Blanche, M., Durrheim, K., & Painter, J. (Eds). (2006). Case study research. Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press.
Terre Blanche, M., Durrheim, K., & Painter, J (Eds). (2009). Research in practice: Applied methods for social sciences (2nd ed.). Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press.
The Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996). Government Gazette, No. 17678.
The free dictionary. (2012). Typologies. Retrieved September 10, 2012 from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/typology
Theron, J. (2003). Employment is not what it used to be. Industrial Law Journal, 24, 1247.
Theron, J., & Godfrey, S. (2002). The labour dispute resolution system and the quest for social justice: A case study of the CCMA, unfair dismissals and small business. South African Journal of Labour Relations, Autumn, 21–64.
Thomas, E., & Magilvy, J. K. (2011). Qualitative rigor or research validity in qualitative research. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 16, 151–155.
Thomas, G. (2011). How to do your case study: A guide for students and researchers. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Thomas, G., & James, D. (2006). Reinventing grounded theory: Some questions about theory, ground and discovery. British Educational Research Journal, 32(6), 767–795.
Thompson, C. (2003). The changing nature of employment. Industrial Law Journal, 24, 1793.
Tobin, G. A., & Begley, C. M. (2004). Methodological rigour within a qualitative framework. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 48(4), 388–396.
Tokman, V. (2008). From the consensus reforms to reforms for protected and inclusive employment. IDS Bulletin, (39), 2.
191 Toloie-Eshlaghy, A., Chitsaz, S., Karimian, L., & Charkhchi, R. (2011). A classification of qualitative research methods. Research Journal of International Studies, 20, 106–121.
Toren, C., & De Pina-Cabral, J. (2009). What is happening to epistemology? Social Analysis, 53(2), 1–18.
Tracy, S. J. (2013). Qualitative research methods collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact. Oxford: Wiley.
Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (1999). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. New York: Wiley.
Trimikliniotis, N., Gordon, S., & Zondo, B. (2008). Globalisation and migrant labour in a „rainbow nation‟: A fortress South Africa? Third World Quarterly, 29(7), 1323– 1339.
Uhrenfeldt, L., Patterson, B. & Hall, E. O. C. (2007). Using video recording to enhance the development of novice researchers‟ interviewing skills. International journal of qualitative methods, 6 (1), Retrieved October 16, 2016 from https://sites.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/6_1/uhrenfeldt.pdf
Ukpere, W. I. (2010). Labour exploitation and division of labour: A meta-analysis of divergent ideological perspectives. African Journal of Business Management, 4(10), 2037–2041.
Ukpere, W. I. (2011). Globalisation and the challenges of unemployment, income inequality and poverty in Africa. African Journal of Business Management, 5(15), 6072–6084, 4 August.
Ukpere, W. I., & Slabbert, A. D. (2009). A relationship between current globalisation, unemployment, inequality and poverty. International Journal of Social Economics, 36(1/2), 37–46.
Underhill, E., & Rimmer, M. (2008). State protection of temporary agency workers: Australian developments. In R. Blanpain, W. Bromwich, O. Rymkevich, & S. Spattini (Eds), The modernisation of labour and industrial relations in a comparative perspective. Alpen: Kluver.
Unknown. (2014). Research methodology: An introduction. Retrieved January 30, 2015 from http//www.limat.org/data/research/Methodology.pdf
192 Urquhart, C. (2013). Grounded theory for qualitative research. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Urquhart, C., Lehmann, H., & Myers, M. D. (2006). Putting the „theory‟ back into grounded theory: A framework for grounded theory studies in information systems. (Unpublished working paper). Department of ISOM working paper series, University of Auckland.
Van der Riet, H. (2010). Labour brokers: The future? Unpublished paper presented at SASLAW workshop on 23 March 2010, Johannesburg. South Africa.
Van Eck, B. P. S. (2010).Temporary employment services (labour brokers) in South Africa and Namibia. Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal, 13(2), 107–124.
Van Hoye, G., Van Hooft, E. A. J., & Lievens, F. (2009). Networking as a job search behaviour: A social network perspective. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 82, 661–682.
Van Jaarsveld, D. D. (2006). Overcoming obstacles to worker representation: Insights from the temporary agency workforce. New York Law School Law Review, (50), 355–384.
Van Jaarsveld, Z. G. 2004). Finding meaning in the workplace (Unpublished dissertation in Psychology). University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.
Van Maanen, J. V. (1995). Representation in ethnography. Massachusetts: Sage.
Van Maanen, J. V. (1998). Qualitative studies of organizations. Massachusetts: Sage.
Van Wyk, B. (n.d.). Research design and methods: Part I. Retrieved January 09, 2015 from https://www.google.co.za/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=6fHMVKG_ Eo6p8wfupoGYCA&gws_rd=ssl#q=research+design+and+methodology
Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., De Witte, H., & Feather, N. T. (2005). Understanding unemployed people‟s job search behaviour, unemployment experience and wellbeing: A comparison of expectancy-value theory and self-determination theory. British Journal of Social Psychology, 44, 269–287.
193 Van Zyl, Ruud & Associates (2010). New developments in the labour broking debate and other categories of non-standard employment. Paper presented at the Labour Brokering Workshop 12 May 2010, Boksburg, South Africa.
Veneziani, R. (2004). The temporal single-system interpretation of Marx‟s economics: a critical evaluation. Metroeconomica, 55, 96–114.
Veneziani, R., & Yoshihara, N. (2011). Strong subjectivism in the Marxian theory of exploitation: A critique. Metroeconomica, 62(1), 53–68.
Von Hippel, C. M., & Kalokerinos, E. K. (2012). When temporary employees are perceived as threatening: Antecedents and consequences. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 33(2), 200–216.
Von Holdt, K., & Webster, E. (2008). Organising on the periphery: New sources of power in the South African workplace. Employee Relations, 30(4), 333–354.
Vos, K. J. (2008). Globalisation and social protection. In R. Blanpain (Ed.), The modernisation of labour and industrial relations in a comparative perspective. Alpen: Kluver.
Vosko, L. F. (2009). Less than adequate: Regulating temporary agency work in the EU in the face of an internal market in services. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 2, 395–411.
Voss, E., Vitols, K., Farvaque, N., Broughton, A., Behling, F., Dota, F., Leonardi, S & Naedenoen, F. (2013). The role of temporary agency work and labour market transitions in Europe: Institutional frameworks, empirical evidence, good practice and the impact of social dialogue. A policy paper presented at the 22nd International Labour Process Conference 5–7 April, Amsterdam. Retrieved October 05, 2014 from http://www.eurociett.eu/fileadmin/templates/eurociett/ docs/Social_dialogue/Transitions_project/Report/2013.02.08
Vough, H. C., Broschak, J. P., & Northcraft, G. B. (2006). Here today, gone tomorrow? Effects of nonstandard work status on workgroup processes and outcomes. Research on Managing Groups and Teams, 7, 229–257.
Wall, S. (2006). Auto-ethnography on learning about auto ethnography. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(2), 1–12.
194 Walliman, N. (2011). Your research project: Designing and planning your work (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Ward, K., & Kerry, C. (2010). Reliability. In A. J. Mills, G. Durepos, & E. Wiebe (Eds), Encyclopedia of case study research, volume 2 (pp. 800-802). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Waring, S. M. (2010). The social studies methods course: What do teacher candidates know and want to know about teaching social studies? Educational Research and Evaluation, 16(5), 437–449.
Welman, J. C., & Kruger, S. J. (2003). Research methodology (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Wenger, J. B., & Kalleberg A. L. (2006). Employers‟ flexibility and employment volatility: An analysis of the US personnel supply industry, 1972–2000. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 65(2), 348–382.
Wheeler, H. N. (2005). Globalisation and business ethics in employment relations. In J. W. Budd, & J. G. Scoville (Eds), The ethics of labour of human resources and industrial relations (pp. 115–140). Champaign, IL: Labor and Employment Relations Associates.
White, D. E., Oelke, N. D. & Friesen, S. (2012). Management of a large qualitative data set: establishing trustworthiness of the data. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 11(3), 244-258.
Whitehead, P. C., & Carpenter, D. (1999). Explaining unsafe sexual behaviour: Cultural definitions and health in the military. Culture, Health and Sexuality, 1(4), 303–315.
Wicks, D. (2010). Coding: Axial coding. In A. J. Mills, G. Durepos, & E. Wiebe (Eds), Encyclopaedia of case study research, volume 2 (pp. 153-157). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Wienfield, P. W., Bishop, R., & Porter, K. (2004). Core management for HR students and practitioners. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Williams, R., & Van Dyke, N. (2007). Measuring the international standing of universities with an application to Australian universities. Higher Education, 53, 819–841.
195 Winstanley, D., Woodall, J., & Heery, E. (1996). Business ethics and human resource management: Themes and issues. Personnel Review, 25(6), 5–12.
Wood, G. (2008). Introduction: Employment relations in Africa. Employee Relations, 30(4), 329–332.
Wolcott, H. F. (2001). Writing Up Qualitative Research. London: Sage
Wynn, M. (2009). Regulating rogues? Employment agency enforcement and sections 15–18 of the Employment Act 2008. Industrial Law Journal, 38, 64–72.
Wynn, M., & Leighton, P. (2009). Agency workers, employment rights and the ebb and flow of freedom of contract. The Modern Law Review, 72(1), 91–115.
Yang, R. (2004). Openness and reform as dynamics for development: A case study of internationalisation at South China University of Technology. Higher Education, 47, 473–500.
Yang, S., Xiao, H., & Yeung Tse, C. (2011). Leisure in an urban environment: A perspective of university students. Journal of China Tourism Research, 7, 168– 183.
Yates, S. J. (2004). Doing social science research. London: Sage.
Yin, R. K. (2008). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Yin, R. K. (2011). Qualitative Research from start to finish. New York: Guilford. Retrieved, October 16, 2016 from https://www teddykw2.files. wordpress.com/ 2012/05/qualitative-research-from-start-to-finish.pdf
Yoshihara, N. (2007). An axiomatic approach to the fundamental Marxian theorem. IER: Hitotsubashi University.
Yu, D. (2012). Defining and measuring informal employment in South Africa. Development Southern Africa, 29(1), 157–175.
Zeytinoglu, I. U., & Lillevik, W. (2005). Flexibility in the workplace: Determinants and consequences of occupational stress among Canadian female non-standard workers in the retail trade. Retrieved December 27, 2010 from http://www.newunionism.net/library
196 Zikmund, W. G. (2003). Business research methods (7th ed.). Mason, OH: Thompson.
197 ANNEXURES
Annexure A: Research story
INTRODUCTION
In this annexure I share my research story. Firstly, I shine the spotlight on myself as a person and thus I share my biographical details as well as the key events and experiences which took place during my research journey and which characterised me as the research agent. Secondly, I elaborate on and give my reasons for conducting this study.
I outline the activities undertaken and discuss the key players I approached in order to start the process. Where possible, I provide excerpts of communications between both the key informants and my study leaders. Thirdly, I explain each segment of the study and describe how I ensured the quality of the study. In doing so, I present the audit trail as the record of my research process as well as the theoretical, methodological, and analytical choices I made.
An audit trail provides evidence of the interaction between the researcher and his or her research participant/s in such a way that the research may be understood not only in terms of what was discovered but also how it was discovered. The advantage of providing this audit trail is that my interpretations may be better understood and validated by readers who are informed about the position I adopted in relation to the study and by my explicit questioning of my own involvement (Schurink, 2009b, p. 795). Finally, an audit trail is created to explicate the steps and document the decisions taken moving from the raw material to the final interpretation of the data so that the process of theory development becomes both visible and verifiable (Bowen, 2009). Fourthly and finally, I address the examination of this report and review of my journey.
I believe this study is trustworthy. Carcary (2009) and Schurink (2009b) suggest that, in the main, a study‟s trustworthiness is established if a reader is able to audit the events, influences and actions of the researcher, thereby assuring quality in qualitative studies. This “behind the scene account” presents the natural history of the study.
198 I use mainly the confessional tale of Van Maanen (1995, cited in Myers, 2011). The confessional tale foregrounds the voice and concerns of the researcher so that the reader is taken behind the scenes of the study processes and often provided as direct narrative (Sparkes, 2002). In realist tales empirical data is used to illustrate theory. Such theory is derived from giving prominence to the participants‟ voices “... in a coherent text, and with specific points in mind and persuades the reader of its credibility” (Sparkes, 2002, p. 55). Going behind the scene takes away the mysteries associated with fieldwork by presenting a comprehensive account of what happened; including the challenges encountered in the fieldwork process as well as the impact of the fieldwork on the fieldworker.
I present a personal account which represents, to some extent, the auto- ethnographic stance of Ellis (2004). Personal stories about my life provided an experience-based approach to understanding quality of life in terms of the whole person and that person‟s support network – an understanding that includes emotions, reflections, conversations, spiritual beliefs and actions (Ellis, 2008). While noting the difficulty of summarising what auto-ethnography entails, Bryman and Bell (2011, p. 707) regard the concept as involving “…the writing of highly personalised text in which the personal is related to the cultural and the political in a way that claims the conventions associated with literary writing”. Denzin and Lincoln (2003) refer to highly personalised revealing texts in which authors tell stories about their own lived experiences. In the process of such writing, the boundaries of genre separating art and science are blurred. They (Denzin and Lincoln) furthermore put is as follows:
“In telling these stories, the writers call upon such fiction-writing techniques as dramatic recall, strong imagery, fleshed-out characters, unusual phrasings, puns, subtexts, allusions, flashbacks and flash-forwards, tone shifts, synecdoche, dialogue and interior monologue” (pp. 512–513).
I recognise that I brought my assumptions into the fieldwork and, in addition, I recognise that some unforeseen factors may influence the outcomes of research. In order to ensure that the research process was as objective as possible, I used reflexivity. According to Guba and Lincoln (2005, p. 210), reflexivity is the process of reflecting critically on the self as researcher – “the human instrument”. It involves
199 critically assessing the multiple identities with which researchers engage their research contexts, using the very methods whereby they create these selves and the relations around them (Botha, 2010). Thus, reflection is a necessary component of knowledge product as a result of experience with different aspects: cognitive, emotive and dialogic.
Reflexivity is important since it forces us to acknowledge that the observer, researcher and writer, however hard they may try, are never really able to justify the rules of their own game (Letiche, 2009). Accordingly, sound qualitative research must make provision for the researcher's on-going critique of and critical reflection on his or her own biases and assumptions and how these have influenced all stages of the research process. Reflexivity, therefore, plays a role in establishing the quality/validity/trustworthiness of findings, in ethics, and in addressing power imbalances in a case study. Researchers are, therefore, advised to declare their stance pertaining to the research topic and to the participants. This includes laying bare their preconceptions and biases to enable readers to consider the findings in light of the researcher‟s particular situation in his or her life story and its circumstances (Begoray & Banister, 2010).
Despite being criticised in academia for originating within the self, reflexivity eliminates most of the subjectivity in the research process. It is a thoughtful, self- aware analysis of the dynamics between the researcher and the researched (Cuntlife, 2003). Expanding this view, Plummer (2001) maintains that reflexivity entails much more that the researcher being self or socially aware and it extends to the researcher as a holistic being; the environment in which the research is conducted; and events and experiences during the research process.
The aforementioned views echo Becker's (1970) natural history that represents the narrative of the various steps and, thereby, assists the reader to establish the study‟s credibility. Stating these thoughts entails an account of studying people “in their environments and to the researcher‟s informed relationship with his or her subjects (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007, pp. 4–5). Theory resulting from qualitative research is context based, thus highlighting that researchers understand actions best when they are observed in the setting in which they occur.
200 INTRODUCING THE RESEARCHER
Generally known as Marule, I am a 57 year old, first born male and father of four – a devoted family man and a career public servant. One of three siblings, two boys and a girl, I grew up in a family which was torn apart by the migrant labour system of the nineteen sixties. My sister (the second born) died when I was very young but continues to occupy a special place in our minds. Though popularly classified as black, I consider myself as an African and South African citizen. I grew up in a family characterised as poor socio-economic background. I believe I hold conservative values which were influenced by my Christian upbringing. However, I am also outgoing, I enjoy a social life and I have travelled in the world, although not extensively. In short, I am a dedicated father of four, a career public servant and an ambitious senior student.
Photograph No. 1: Thabang Eniel Marule in the mayoral office in New York, 2011
201 I belong to the broader Pedi ethnic group and to the Mapulana sub-clan. My poetic name is Mokutswe (plural Bakutswe) and includes the following surnames:
Marule Mokoena Nonyane Sedibe Malatole
Different clan groups have different poems and, although ours remains undocumented, it reads as follows:
Ke Marule ntšwelane, bana hlabanang ka dilokwa
Gobane marumo a hlola dillo
Ke tšwa Shakwaneng
Ke ga feta kgomo o sware motho;
Motho le kgomo go phala eng?
Go phala motho ba sa jego; kgomo ke mallelateng
Agee Mokutswe wee!
This poem reflects the core belief system of my clan, namely, rejecting weapons of war as a form of dispute resolution. The origin of the clan (Shakwaneng) is depicted as a place where the priority is always to preserve human life over material possessions.
Early childhood
My childhood started on a farm known as Versailles located midway between the towns of Bushbuckridge and Graskop. At that time, my grandfather lived a self- sufficient life – keeping both small and large livestock as well as tilling the surrounding lands. At that time we had no refrigerators. However, we always kept our milk fresh by not milking the cows and goats. With no access to transport and the nearest health facility situated approximately 50 km away, the average homestead relied on self-medication – the most common of which was known as Serokolo and which could provide relief for many common ailments.
202
Photograph No. 2: Serokolo
We missed no opportunity to eat a variety of morogo (vegetables), some of which grew wild and were called Baatsane, Lehwehlane and Moshitša. Together with other women on the farm, my mother worked the land, producing traditional staple food types such as mealie crops, Marope, Motumbula. Some of these are pictured below.
Photograph No 3: My mother and I, holding Lehudu and Motsho; the traditional tools used to produce mealie meal from maize crops.
203
Photograph No. 4: Marope,
Photograph No. 5: Motumbula
Teenage and school years
The life continued until 1966 when forced removal from the Versailles farm took us to Wales village in Bushbuckridge. I became a shepherd around this village which was in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains.
204
Photograph No 6: Part of Wales village with the Drakensberg Mountains in the background
For the boys and men, early breakfast meals were, in the main, unnecessary then as a result of the abundance of wild fruits such as ditshidi, dihlalabu, dihlo, mabilo, matlepo, mangwaba and many others. Culture dictated that I undergo initiation rituals in 1971. Competent and experienced caregivers ensured the safety of the initiates. The loss of a few weeks of formal education was considered to be a reasonable sacrifice. I have never seen any initiates in my village die as a result of the initiation ritual. The homecoming is characterised by song, feasting and dance. Young boys and girls grow up looking forward to undergoing the initiation ritual, particularly as society did not respect the uninitiated (mashoboro)
Photographs No 7 and 8: Girls (right) and boys (left) graduating from initiation school
205 Annually, the period between the end of June and early August is filled with the euphoria of dikoma (initiation schools). Occasionally there is singing and dancing and soft stick fighting among the males.
Photograph No 9: Dancing mothers during the mid-term initiation schools
It is, however, important to note that celebrating culture is not limited to the days of initiation schools. Cultural festivities follow a determined year calendar and rotate between the traditional leaders. Such events keep the youth firmly in touch with cultural values, thereby assisting in the fight against the scourges of crime as well as alcohol and drug abuse.
In addition to the routines and sporting activities (football, swimming, hide-and-seek, ensnaring birds and evening bare fist fights) the main activity was looking after the goats and cattle. I cherished those years when any parent in the village was entitled to mete out discipline to any teenage boy or girl
Photograph No. 10. July 2015 – Cultural festival at Moreipušo traditional offices
206 without fear of negative consequences. However, a lack of sufficient grazing space resulted in the gradual reduction of our livestock and economic priorities shifted to subsistence agriculture.
Exposure to formal education
We grew up not knowing what we missed in terms of social amenities. There were no kindergartens and mothers and close relatives served this purpose. From the age of six I walked to primary school, five kilometres away, barefoot and mainly on an empty stomach but I did not, however, complain. There was no free primary health care or basic education in the late sixties; neither was there a feeding scheme at our primary schools. The pupils left home having had little or nothing to eat, spent the school day on an empty stomach, waiting for the final bell to ring, and returned home to the same depressing situation. Although barely literate themselves, my parents understood the value of formal education and encouraged me to continue, despite the odds stacked against me. I expected to progress no further than Standard 10 (Matriculation).
Truant pupils were fetched from home as a routine exercise. Free education was unheard of. We made our secondary school life more interesting and improved our language skills reading magazines and comics performed by interesting characters such as She, Devil Bat, Cha, Chunky, Cool and Super Max. In my small circle of friends we stopped using our first names and started using the nickname “Mr Porter” the nickname emanating from the drama play of Tobias and the Angel which we found fascinating and from which we quoted. I consider myself to be a by-product of apartheid education – a political system that prepared black people for an adult life for subservience. There was absolutely no contact between us and our fellow South African children from coloured, Indian or white racial backgrounds.
I lost my father in 1989, a few years after he had retired. At the ripe old age of 91 my mother is still fairly healthy.
207
Photograph No. 11: My daughter and I after her Photograph No 12: My wife and I in Phuket graduation ceremony Thailand June 2016
Culturally, when my father died, I was obliged to assume the role of family figurehead. I was thirty years old.
Family life
Photograph No.13: My wife and I on holiday in Photograph No. 14: My wife and I on a tour of the Eastern and Western Cape, October, 2014 Thailand, June, 2016
I married my wife, Reshoketswe, in 1991. We have had 24 years of a fulfilling married life and have travelled extensively together. We are both Christians and we enjoy exploring the world.
I met my wife in Seshego, a designated Black township outside Polokwane. It was during the days of Lebowa self-government or homeland in terms of the then political dispensation of the South African Government. The children comprise of one boy
208 and three girls. The eldest daughter (innocent) is a professional Nurse, the second (Kgoerano) a credit controller in a large banking institution in Pretoria, the third (Refilwe) works in retail chain store and my son employed in a mining firm.
Photograph No. 15: My son and I Photograph No.16: My wife and grandchildren Oratile and Vanita at Waterberg Game Park, November 2012
My wife is the fifth of eight siblings, comprising eight girls and one boy. Six of them are teachers in professions and one a professional nurse. My brother works in the Department of Justice in Bushbuckridge.
Work life
Upon completion of Matriculation certificate in 1979, my school career stagnated due to lack of funds. I took up temporary employment at a local retail shop while seeking permanent employment. In April 1980, I took up permanent employment as Administration clerk at the Magistrate Office, Mapulaneng. The burning desire to study further remained alive. In 1982, I took up an eighteen months in-service training course at the University of Zululand and completed in 1985. It was a very difficult period of frequent student unrest and frequent closures.
209
Photograph No 17: My daughter, Kgoerano and her son (Oratile), Pretoria
In March 1986, I was transferred to the Seshego offices of Lebowa Department of Justice, which offices also served as the headquarters of the then homeland of Lebowa. I was placed in the human resource component. In 1989, the office relocated to the newly-built office complex at Lebowakgomo, Chuenespoort. My wife and I bought our first house there. By early 1997, I felt I have seen enough of Polokwane and needed some change of location. I looked forward to a transfer to Pretoria as a result of the rationalisation of the departments. To my horror, I was offered a post in Mmabatho in North-West province. Fate intervened, however, and I was offered a similar position in Mpumalanga Province in late 1997. In February 1998, I was placed in the newly-established Labour Relations Component. We were a four-man dynamic team, travelled the province, shared regular light moments and generally enjoyed our work.
The labour disputes that arose from amalgamating the former administrations of Ka- Ngwane, Kwa-Ndebele and Transvaal Provincial Administration were formidable but
210 manageable. Our team was shook emotionally by the untimely passing of our colleague, Mr. Zane Maartens in 2002. No-one expected that a healthy looking Mr. Maartens would not recover from a simple hernia operation.
Photograph No 18: The team of negotiators and I in the auditorium at a briefing session in Australia
My work in the employment relations environment was quite eventful. My first flight occurred in 2002; heralding a period of regular travel between provinces. In 2005, I co-led a team of negotiators in the Public health and Social Development Sectoral Bargaining Council on two-week tour of Australia and New Zealand. It was a study tour of benchmarking the collective bargaining and dispute resolution in the two countries.
Experiences in the collective bargaining environment
My typical work day involved planning for a week and month ahead, reviewing the progress and outcomes of dispute cases, assigning tasks to colleagues, engaging with organised labour or trade union representatives, updating top management in the situation in my organisational component as well as attending to routine correspondence. Delayed or no mandates from the principals are the most frustrating part of my job. We occasionally intervened in labour unrest situations and applied our skills in negotiating the amicable resolution of staff grievances.
Apart from issues pertaining to collective labour law, we also dealt with matters pertaining to individual labour law. Without the privilege of outsourcing misconduct case management, we had to handle the processes of disciplinary cases involving
211 our colleagues – presiding over such cases and prosecuting our colleagues. It was a no win situation as any party who lost a case would vent his or her anger on my team.
At the same time, I observed the demeanour of the TES employees, how they interacted with the permanent staff members and how they raised issues with their supervisors. Apart from the differences in the conditions of pay, it was not easy to discern any differences between the two groups. Nevertheless, from our discussions it was clear that that the TES staff would welcome an early exit from the TES employment arrangements.
Study tour of the Americas: 2011
A follow-up study tour took us to Chile and the United States of America (USA), again learning about collective bargaining and dispute resolution. The level of labour deregulation in Chile and the USA was staggering by South African standards.
Photograph No.19: Sdumo Dlamini (COSATU President), Mkhululi Mtuyedwa (employer negotiator) and I in front of the Chilean state legislature in Santiago, Chile, 2011
While collective bargaining was recognised in the USA, it was very weak in Chile where most employment contracts and benefits were individualised. One of the striking features of the public health care system in USA is that the cities and towns are the centres of the provision of the health services.
212
Photograph No.20: Me in the City Council Photograph No.21: Sdumo Dlamini (COSATU Chambers, Chicago President) and Jabu Sibiya (General Secretary of the PHSDSBC) and I in the foyer of Ground Zero in New York
My workplace difficulties started after the conclusion of this study tour. I will relate the story at this point for the reasons of the sequence of events and timing only.
Study interruption
During December 2011 to March 2013 I suffered a serious work-related setback as a result of identifying and highlighting a risk related to the then on-going systematic looting of the overtime budget at a particular hospital. The effects of this setback extended to 2013 registration year, setting my research programme one year back. However, despite my woes, I seized upon 2012 as the opportunity to conduct interviews with the first five cases and I prepared to analyse the transcripts. I drew strength from both family members and friends to survive this personal test. However, in order to keep my research project on track, I realised that I required something extra. I recalled the tutorial notes which Professor Schurink had issued to his students on 05 February 2012; entitled Notes on key decisions when deciding to enrol for doctoral study. I will quote a few extracts below:
People may decide to undertake a doctoral study for various reasons. As Mouton in How to succeed in your master‟s & doctoral studies (2001, pp. 4– 5) correctly points out the following could be on your list: (i) to increase your knowledge in a particular field of study; (ii) to become an expert in a particular area; (iii) to increase your career prospects or enhance your chances for promotion; (iv) to retrain and pursue a different career path; (v)
213 to embark on an academic or research career; (vi) to pursue something you are inquisitive about, and (vii) to overcome being bored. … However, what is crucial is that as doctoral candidate you should be interested to pursue knowledge …
Since at least two but realistically 3 to 5 years are required to complete a doctoral study one needs to consider whether this is something you want to do and whether you can do it. It is very important to realize that you are entering the academic research world that differs from your previous studies and in particular your Master‟s study. Moreover, while as doctoral candidate you will still have access to the staff of the university department this will be limited and you will soon discover that you are now responsible for your progress yourself. Matthiesen and Binder (2009, pp. 10–11) in How to survive your doctorate write: “there may be times when nobody is there to help or push you. This is because most people will neither understand nor care about what you do – it sounds harsh but is true – it is a bit like talking to an outsider about your undergraduate degree or current job; there are not a lot of people you can keep interested too long. Therefore, you need to bring along a good portion of motivation and curiosity, as well as the discipline and initiative to carry out what is requires for you to achieve your goal and finish your research successfully. Over time you will realize that it takes more determination than brilliance to complete your doctorate successfully and on time. In addition, you need to be flexible and constantly develop further, growing with your field as well as the research”.
It is well-known that many people enrol for a doctoral degree but never finish. There are many reasons for this sad state of affairs. According to Mouton (2001, pp. 7–8) who drew on empirical research writers generally agree that the following factors prevent the successful completion of theses: (i) poor planning and management; (ii) methodological difficulties; (iii) writing up; (iv) isolation; (v) personal problems, and (vi) inadequate supervision.”
I reflected deeply on my situation. I eliminated poor planning as a possible cause of my failure. Although I considered the other factors to be problematic I convinced
214 myself that I enjoyed sufficient support and guidance to prevent me from giving up easily.
I considered myself sufficiently motivated to pursue the study. However, it was clear that I would have to adopt desperate measures and strategies in order to conduct the in-depth field work required. The fact that I had already submitted the structure of my interview points to Professor Schurink enabled me to overcome adversity as I was able to proceed. My family rallied around me, helping me focus on the opportunities that arose and not exclusively on the problems
Photograph No. 22: My prayer partners – my wife and Trixie (Finance Manager)
215 However, nobody is exempt from adversity, not even our study leaders. On 04/02/ 2013 I resubmitted a copy of my approved research proposal to Professor Schurink who had lost his laptop (see below).
From: Willem Schurink Sent: 2013/02/04 05:35:58 To: Thabang Marule
Subject: Research proposal Good morning, Thabang, I trust you are well. I have wanted to ask you to please forward me your final research proposal. I lost my lap top and various documents, including your proposal. Take care, Prof Willem
My relentless fight and determination to see to its conclusion this project saw the sponsorship reinstated in 2014 and my work career back on track. The dark cloud started clearing with the dismissal and removal of some senior managers from my headquarters. The reconfiguration of competency areas between departments saw the responsibility of skills development funding shifted to a different entity, thereby making my unimpeded access to funding easy. Despite the said occupational setback, I proceeded with the data gathering throughout 2012 and 2013, thereby saving this study project. The guidance and support I received during the early stages was immensely useful. I was grateful when I received confirmation from Professor Ukpere that I had been granted one year study extension to compensate for the time lost.
From: "Ferreira, Amanda" Sent: 2013/03/06 11:47:04 To: Thabang Marule
Subject: Dear Amanda, I think we can give this student a grace period of one year to complete, since there was a study interruption owing to circumstances beyond his control. Prof Schurink has been putting
216 great efforts towards the student’s research. I hope the student can register next year, for 2014. Many thanks and God bless. Kind regards, Wilfred.
From: Kasoojee, Fozia Sent: Monday, May 20, 2013 1:33 PM To: Ferreira, Amanda
Subject: TE MARULE Dear Amanda This serves to inform you that Study Interruption for the above student has been approved for 2013 by the Committee at a FHD Meeting held on the 15th May 2013 at 09:00 in A-Ring 1. Kind Regards www.uj.ac.za/management Fozia Kasoojee Senior Faculty Officer (Postgraduate) Faculty of Management
OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
My study was divided into distinct phases. In the first phase I sought to acquire a general understanding of the temporary agency work arrangements, specifically the TES phenomenon. My early understanding derived from observing the behaviour of TES employees in a few hospitality and catering settings in an attempt to understand the context in which agency work occurs. In addition, I conducted explorative discussions and completed a brief reading of the existing regulatory and policy frameworks.
Solicited material
COSATU is at the forefront of campaigns to ban TES as a form of employment practice. I telephoned the research desk of COSATU House in Johannesburg, enquiring about the status of the national discourse on TES in general, including specific articles dealing with TES. I was referred to the Shop Steward Manager. I
217 followed up with email correspondence to demonstrate my interest in the TES phenomenon.
From: Thabang Marule Sent: 2013/01/31 15:57:58 To: ntabiseng
Subject: REQUEST FOR ELECTRONIC PICTURES: COSATU MARCH AGAINST LABOUR BROKERS Good afternoon Nthabiseng My name is Thabang Marule, a part-time student at University of Johannesburg. I spoke to you this afternoon regarding the above-mentioned material, which I desperately need for my study. I send you this email to minimise risk of the system failing us. You can attach the pictures to the return email. Regards Thabang
From:Thabang Marule Sent: 2013/01/31 11:06:13 To: nandipha@…
Subject: REQUEST FOR ELECTRONIC PICTURES/PHOTOS OF MARCHES AGAINST LABOUR BROKERS: MARULE Dear Nandipha My name is Thabang Marule, Cell no. 0824132027). I am a doctoral student at the University of Johannesburg doing research study on labour brokers. I attach supporting letter in support of my request. This email serves to REQUEST ELECTRONIC PICTURES/PHOTOS OF MARCHES AGAINST LABOUR BROKERS. It is a requirement of qualitative research (quality assurance) that footage material be included where possible. Please note that I would be prepared to pay if COSATU so wishes. Thank you Thabang Marule
I received important campaign material and also advice on where to access COSATU periodical articles
218
Photographs No: 23 and 24: Campaigns against labour brokers
Unsolicited material
Besides the COSATU engagement process and as part of my familiarisation process at the CCMA offices in my hometown, I was invited to observe the live dispute resolution process to experience the way in which processes between the TES employees, TES client employers and TES firm unfold. CCMA Commissioner X (name deleted) explained how, at times, the best remedy entailed reinstating the employee on the TES firm‟s books. The photograph below depicts a sitting in the CCMA arbitration process. The commissioner is hidden for professional and ethical reasons.
Photograph No. 25: CCMA participant observation: Parties to the dispute and me (consent given). I sit on the extreme left
219
The aforementioned discussions and observations confirmed the relevance of my study.
During the second phase of the study I developed an in-depth understanding of the theoretical and methodology approaches underpinning qualitative research. I also studied recent applications of these approaches in order to acquire an understanding of relevant theoretical constructs. While familiarising myself with grounded theory, I incidentally noticed a unique data analysis method known as analytical induction. In view of the existence of some clear commonalities between grounded theory and analytical induction, I was tempted to apply both. My study leader confirmed that he had previously supervised a doctoral student and discussed with me broad approaches to and methodological aspects of analytical induction. However, my lack of background knowledge of analytical induction dissuaded me from according it any prominence in this study.
With the guidance of my study leaders, I became convinced that a qualitative research approach could be successfully employed in employment relations studies. It was at this stage that I chose qualitative research as the approach to my study and the multiple case study as suitable research strategy.
During the third phase I interviewed role players in the labour inspectorate and dispute resolution field in order to obtain the prevailing regulatory perspective. I proceeded to interview my research participants, who included both TES and ex- TES employees, and I compiled field notes. During the interviews I focused on aspects such as why the research participants were attracted to TES work, why they held certain views about the desirability or otherwise of the phenomenon, what their coping mechanisms are for remaining attached to this form of employment contracting and the future they foresaw for it. I interviewed eight research participants, six living in Mpumalanga while two lived in the Gauteng. Upon completing the interview and analysis of the transcripts including field notes, and in compliance to GT principles, I applied literature to the findings. My theoretical assumptions fluctuated with the data I obtained from each RPs. The analysis of the
220 data obtained from RP8 concluded the data collection process. I was then in a position to draw some conclusions.
During the fourth phase I conducted an in-depth literature study and used current theory to “test” the findings, including the typology that arose during the case analysis. I factored into the approach to literature review the cautionary aspects I discussed in Chapter 2. I discussed the role of literature in this study and delimitated a broad outline of the areas covered in the literature review. I then touched on the philosophical aspects of AE as well as the defining features of AE. This led to a description of the approaches to the study of the phenomenon of AE, in general, and TES, in particular. I considered it appropriate to start by presenting the global impact of AE, the new people management approaches and how ethical theory impacts on the field of HRM. Nevertheless I briefly discussed the theoretical approaches to new people management in order to highlight the fact that it is not possible to separate TES employment contracting from HRM. Thereafter I presented the categories of meaning as developed from the typology. This served as the main focus area of the literature review. I was then in a position to develop a contextual model of TES job- seeking behaviour.
Finally, I summarised the research findings and discussed their implications for theory, practice and policy on TES employment contracting behaviour. In addition, I deemed it suitable at this stage to elaborate on how I had executed the study and to share my reasons for embarking on a doctoral study, including the factors that had influenced me during the course of the project.
Reasons for embarking on this journey
Although I was born rich into a poor family I arrived into this world with my own character and talent. My career was may almost be said to have been decided by a default education system. My exposure to Mathematics and Science was limited and neither did I receive any clear career guidance on what the world offered in terms of job opportunities. I was inclined towards doing something people related. My admission in 1980 to study for a B.A. degree at the University of Limpopo (formerly University of the North) fell through as a result of a lack of funds. I ended up doing clerical work in a government department. Nevertheless, my dream of obtaining a
221 post-matriculation qualification remained alive and was realised in 1994 when I obtained a B.A. Degree through distance learning at the University of South Africa.
I continued with this distance mode of study because there was no university campus in my home province of Mpumalanga. My colleagues encouraged me to pursue post-graduate studies before I lost the forward momentum. Having been born and grown up in the deeply rural area, I had no role model who had obtained a doctoral qualification. I enrolled for a post-graduate Diploma in Human Resources Management and completed it in 1997. By this time my career in the Public Service had become entrenched in the field of ER. My interest in ER deepened when I became aware of a study programme being offered at post-graduate level, also through distance learning. I obtained a B.A. (HONS) degree in ER Management in 2004. Further enquiries revealed that the University of Johannesburg offered a module-based, masters level study programme in ER management. After registering, it realised that this required evening class sessions two days a week. As I was employed full-time in Nelspruit, 400kms away from Johannesburg, it was highly impractical from the point of view of both finance and work commitments to pursue a module-based course. Thus, it appeared that my preference to learn through discussions, debates and interactions with fellow students would remain an unattainable dream. I successfully applied to switch to a full dissertation mode of study. I obtained a Master‟s degree in 2007. My dream of becoming the first person in my immediate family to carry the title of doctor grew tantalisingly near.
Throughout my tertiary study life, I had not had the opportunity to experience full- time tertiary education. Nevertheless, I made the most of orientation workshop and contact sessions the university conducted every year. One day, as I was searching the internet for articles on ER, I found my Master‟s dissertation published on the Ujdisgispace webpage: https://ujdigispace.uj.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10210/3041/ Marule%20-%20%20Final%20.pdf?sequence=1. It struck me that I was perhaps underestimating my potential. I applied for admission to the doctoral level study and my selection in late 2009 confirmed to me my potential. The assurance from my employer that I would be released to enable me to participate in the study activities of this study programme further encouraged me.
Execution of the study
222 In this section I look back on the course of my journey and I realise anew how long the journey was. I emphasise some specific moments.
Early days
The course started with a week-long orientation school for all the new masters and doctoral students from 25 to 29 January 2010. I met both fellow students and the lecturers, I learned more about the programmes offered and I was introduced to important research considerations. I had expected to meet Professor. Charles Allen-ile, but he did not attend. I had intended to discuss with him the choice of a study leader.
It made no sense to me why Prof. would not be available at such an important event. I felt disappointed that, having travelled so far from Mpumalanga, I would return not having achieved all I had wanted to achieve. Nevertheless, for me, the January orientation school was an ideal opportunity to conduct some in-depth discussion of my intended field of study. However, at the end of the week I felt that, perhaps, it was too early to start worrying and I shifted my focus on the next assignment.
Nevertheless, I took advantage of the opportunity presented to me and I learned as much as possible from various presentations by heads of department. Our faculty head, Professor Veldsman, gave insightful overviews of aspects of qualitative research. The change of curriculum from a directive degree to a normal doctoral degree consisting of a comprehensive thesis had no significant impact on me as I had already conducted comprehensive field work at the Master‟s degree level. At that stage, it appeared to “business as usual”, or so I imagined.
As the week progressed, the central message stood out that a doctoral student is expected to contribute to the existing body of knowledge with his or her research study project. I had no specific research topic in mind except that the field of study would be ER. I opted to do my study from the industrial psychology and people management perspective. Somehow things fell into place: My field of interest is industrial relations; South Africa‟s labour relations dispensation was undergoing transformation within a volatile environment and one of the 2009 selection panel members, Professor Charles Allen-ile, saw some merit in this field of study as there was considerable debate underway in this area. I, therefore, saw my study as having
223 public policy value and, by extension, commercial and business value. I left relieved, knowing that we had a few days in which to prepare a five page, preliminary research proposal for evaluation. However, as part of the feedback on my full research proposal, I learned that Professor Allen-ile was medically unfit.
I was staggered at the news, particularly in view of the fact that it was possible that Prof. could take quite some time to recover from his illness. I had looked upon Prof as a possible study leader and experienced anchor in the field of my study. I feared I may have difficulty in locating relevant literature on my own, given the distance of my hometown from the university
Selecting a study leader
Living in Nelspruit, 400kms away from Johannesburg, I approached my study with no specific study leader in mind. I had very little knowledge about possible study leaders, hence my expectation that Prof. Allen-ile would guide me. I ended up leaving it to the University to provide the necessary connection. Incidentally, I had met Prof. Willem Schurink in Johannesburg, in 2006, but under different circumstances explained next.
I had experienced certain weaknesses with the supervisory aspect of my master‟s level study, so much so that I had almost not been able to complete it. Despite Prof. Schurink not being my study leader, we had spent some time at University of Johannesburg campus discussing, informally, the nature of my study and he had provided me with some methodological guidance (qualitative).
In view of the theoretical orientation (atypical employment relationships) of my study, on the one hand, and the approach (qualitative), on the other, two co-study leaders were suggested to me. I met Prof Willem Schurink and Prof Schalk Theron in a restaurant in Hatfield, Pretoria East in order to refine my research proposal and, in particular, the intended approach and method. A follow-up session took place at Silver Lakes, Prof Schurink‟ s residence. At the conclusion of the contact session, I was advised to summarise the interaction of this meeting between us. A summarised version is presented below.
224
225 NOTES ON MEETING WITH JOINT STUDY LEADERS: AUTHOR: MR. T.E. MARULE DOCTORAL STUDENT 1. INTRODUCTION The meeting took place on 17 December 2010 at the residence of Prof. Schurink in Pretoria. Prof. Theron was also in attendance 2. PURPOSE The purpose was for the student to receive guidance and advice on his research proposal before presenting it to university panel in February 2011. 3. DISCUSSION The following issues were discussed during the meeting: 3.1 Research topic The topic was regarded as a sound research topic and relevant to current urgent issues in respect of which new knowledge would be uncovered. 3.2 Theoretical literature The literature on the experience of TES employees was not sufficient and the study would add value in this area. However, a few more journal articles on industrial relations and HR issues would improve the quality of the existing literature further. 3.3 Ontology The detail philosophical stance of the researcher should be addressed in the proposal 3.4 Research method The complexities around the mixed method were discussed. It was acknowledged that the researcher had the discretion to make the final choice of method. Should the qualitative method be adopted, the research setting could be within the my province, taking into account the costs involved. It was felt that challenges in respect of a representative sample could arise should quantitative the method be adopted. 3.5 Additional reading material The study leaders suggested a few more text books for the research student to consider buying. The joint study leaders would email to the student a few completed articles as well as the and names of graduates who had completed studies in related fields or who had adopted similar methods to those under consideration; 4. CONCLUSION
226 The research student would inform the joint study leaders within a short time of his final choice of research method. MR. T.E. MARULE 30 DECEMBER 2010
My final choice of the qualitative approach led to more follow up meetings during which Prof. Schurink shared some of his research experiences with me and patiently elaborated on qualitative research, including providing pointers to relevant literature. Some of the points emphasised were that the research study should extend the existing body of knowledge and also make a clear contribution to practice, method and theory. This meeting not only provided greater clarity but also the realisation that I would need the support of a study leader well versed in qualitative research.
Looking back at where I had come from academically and the lack of tertiary academic institutions in Mpumalanga, I experienced a feeling of anxiety that this was an area I would not be able to win. In addition, I did not think courage and motivation would be enough to see me through.
Photograph No. 26: Prof. Schurink and I discussing literature and research approaches at his home in Silver Lakes
Access to literature
I downloaded the majority of the peer reviewed journal articles on EbscoHost, Emerald and Ujoogle. As Prof. Schurink had indicated, electronic resources alone were insufficient and I required library books in order to study methodology and approaches. The nearest tertiary institution I considered suitable was the University
227 of South Africa (UNISA) in Pretoria. UNISA library could save myself 60 kilometres to Johannesburg in view of the fact that distance between my home town, Nelspruit, and the University of Johannesburg was 410km. Accordingly, I registered at UNISA in 2010 as an external library user.
However, during my attempt to borrow study material I found that this option was of insignificant value because UNISA library rules prevented me from taking out any books. I had to be registered as a student at UNISA to enjoy this book loan benefit. Once again the reality of Mpumalanga Province as an underserved region in terms of access to tertiary education struck me forcibly.
Photograph No. 27: External student access card to the UNISA library
My heart sank at the realisation that the UNISA library did not provide a solution to my problem. I needed cheaper access to relevant literature but the UNISA library meant long distance travelling. I pondered my option and wondered whether my dream was evaporating in front of my eyes. Would the situation improve if I postponed studying for a few years? I did not foresee a tertiary institution offering research studies being built in Mpumalanga anytime soon. However, I was not going to turn back and I was determined to press on. There was more to gain from perseverance than from giving up.
228 I was forced to reconsider the first option, namely, the University of Johannesburg.
Compiling the final research proposal
In view of the constraints imposed by both the distance and travelling costs, we configured the frequency of our meeting in order to overcome this challenge. We adopted a strategy of holding bi-monthly meetings, supplemented by telephonic and electronic interaction with Prof. Schurink. I developed a good relationship with him. Unfortunately, as a result of my work schedule and travel programme, I was forced to wait until 12 May 2011 to complete my final research proposal and present it to the departmental forum. The committee approved my proposal and, shortly after, the department sent me the following letter:
229
Tel. 011 559-3065 Fax: 011 559-2710
12 May 2011
Mr. T Marule …@….
Dear Mr Marule
Regarding our meeting on 12 May 2011 during which your research proposal for a PhD (ER) - degree was discussed; I would like to inform you that your proposal has been conditionally accepted by the departmental panel. Congratulations on your exceptional work.
You have taken note of the specific recommendations from the committee for the improvement of your proposal, and can discuss the matter further with your study leader Prof SW Theron and co-study leader Prof WJ Schurink.
Your final proposal, after being approved by your study leader, has to be sent electronically to Mrs Fozia Kasoojee at …@….
Fozia Kasoojee MRS F KASOOJEE RESEARCH PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY & PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
Prof SW Theron Prof WJ Schurink
Copy for your information
230 I read this letter repeatedly but with mixed feelings. I saw it as confirmation that my project was to enter another phase, on the one hand, and with despair, on the other. A small voice whispered to me: “Take yourself as case study.” and forge ahead.
I received follow-up tips from Prof. De la Rey, who suggested two options for proceeding with my study: (1) literature study then identify gaps or controversies and present my argument or (2) identify a setting and participants locally and conduct the field work. I could proceed confidently with my study. I was directed to Prof. De la Rey by Prof. Theron in the email below.
From: Schalk Sent: 22 June 2011 06:41 PM To: thabangm Cc: rdelarey
Subject: Alterations to Proposal Dear Mr. Marule Please contact Prof. de la Rey about the alterations to your proposal as suggested by him. Sincerely Prof. S. W. Theron
I decided on the empirical approach as I wanted to hear the views of those who were living the experience on a daily basis
Developing an initial understanding
This stage constituted the first phase of my journey, essentially the foundation of the study. Chapter 1 of this thesis contains the detail of where and why the journey had to commence. The changing world of work impacts on people in different ways. I started formal employment immediately after high school and, throughout my career, I had had a single employer. A poor financial background had forced me to meet a series of contractual obligations arising out the financial sponsorship I had received from my employers. My exposure to atypical employment had happened in 1998 when I had observed the TES phenomenon in practice. As the process of integrating the various government services had gained momentum, short-term labour had been
231 procured for the purpose of transporting movable assets, cleaning and secretarial services. In addition, my travelling schedules provided me with even more exposure to AWA in the hospitality and catering services.
My interest in AWA had been triggered by matters outside of my sphere of work. An increasing number of newspaper articles had appeared, debating these types of employment set-ups. With the intensification of outsourcing and sub-contracting as strategies for conducting business, I had noticed a corresponding increase in industrial action across all economic sectors, often highlighting the negative effects of TES and calling for an end to such employment practices. I had had no difficulty in working out, broadly speaking, why business organisations preferred atypical employment arrangements but had had no idea why people would be attracted to working under TES with its seeming poor reputation. I set out to understand the dynamics at play but approaching it from the point of view of the affected employees. It became apparent from my initial discussion with some of the TES employees that the choice of TES employment was not an acquired behaviour and neither could its effects be reversed through a rehabilitative intervention.
It surprised me to learn that, for the majority of people to whom I spoke and who happened to be new labour market entrants, that the choice of TES employment had been almost automatic. Discussing the life-world of TES employees during social functions was not easy as we all had our busy daily schedules. The best opportunity normally presented itself during my stays in hospitality settings because there was often periods of time in which to conduct discussions with housekeeping and restaurant staff.
I considered myself ready to venture into the field.
Gate keepers
The extent of the TES industry, as well as the effects thereof (as articulated from the organised labour point of view), were very informative. Based on the said interaction, I obtained the gatekeepers I required to access selected research participants. I commenced making arrangements to meet the managers of TES firms in my hometown. I made personal visits and addressed telephonic requests to them. I sent the following to relevant gatekeepers.
232 From: Thabang Marule Sent: 2014/05/30 13:52:35 To: sandrag Subject: STUDENT INFORMATION REQUEST: MARULE T. E. UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG Dear Ms. A My name is Thabang Marule. I am a senior research student from the University of Johannesburg. I called your office today; trying to set up a meeting or, if you wish, check your availability to provide inputs into the issues related to staff recruitment and employment contracting, particularly employees deployed by labour brokers. Y, Nelspruit branch, referred me to your office for assistance. I attach a confirmation letter from the University. Research protocol relating to CONFIDENTIALITY, ANONYMITY etc. is hereby guaranteed. A copy of issues for discussion is attached Thank you for your assistance Thabang Marule
I personally met local TES firms X (24/04/2012), Y (25.04/2012, 03/05/2012 and 10/05/2012) and Z (07/05/2012), requesting access to their employees, but to no avail. Email follow-ups produced similar disappointing results.
Thabang Marule Sent: 2012/05/07 09:04:47 To: anishah Subject: RESEARCH STUDY: T.E. MARULE Good morning A I have been advised by N to direct my request to you. I am a senior student at the University of Johannesburg. My request is in relation to your role as gatekeeper for the research project I am doing. In short, I am requesting you to put me in touch with some of your employees who are deployed to clients around Nelspruit and White River in Mpumalanga Province. I have also attached the supporting document and template for easy reference. Regards Thabang Marule
233 I found the apparent closed-door policy puzzling and I noted in my diary:
26 April 2012
Note: Why strict confidentiality? Is there something to hide?
03 May 2012:
Note: Surprise! Could the reluctance signify anything significant? The trend is interesting.
The following photographs depict an extract from my diary.
Photograph No 28: Extract of diaries of entry strategy
The reluctance (or rather refusal) on the part of TES firms to participate in my study triggered an even greater interest on my part.
At the back of my mind, I asked myself: how I would be able to conduct the study if I were denied access to participants. Fear crept in. I saw my study reaching a dead- end. I felt powerless to remove the barriers. Valuable time was slipping away. I interpreted the situation as gatekeepers withholding information pertaining to both themselves and their employees. I thought of alternative ways of gaining access without violating research ethics but were afraid of overstepping the boundaries
I then implemented an alternative plan. In view of the polarised debates around TES, I deemed it necessary, on 29 October 2012, to speak to the Manager directly and the Senior Commissioner of the CCMA in order to obtain some perspective on the
234 dispute resolution. This would include attending a dispute resolution session. I also talked to the manager from the inspectorate division of the Department of Labour to gain insights into the prescribed labour standards. The breakthrough came after some provincial leaders of organised labour agreed to facilitate my contact with TES employees. These leaders revealed the location of TES employees. I spoke to shop stewards on the bakery site and was provided with the names and contact details of potential research participants working there.
Photograph No. 29: Random list of potential participants received from organised labour
For reasons of economy and time, I selected research participants from a food retail entity, banking, telecommunications, hospitality and public service – all with experience of service under TES. The mix of the work background of the research participants added to the element of quality and helped to counterbalancing the data sets. Some of my informants were vulnerable employees, thus making the issues of trust and readiness to talk a bigger challenge than I had expected. I started convenience sampling and gathering the requisite data at the end of May 2011.
Meanwhile, with the earlier support and guidance received from Prof. Schurink and Prof. Theron, I drafted chapters 1 and 2 and presented for review. My preparations on the theoretical side stalled when I learned that Prof. Theron was no longer available as he had retired from the student leadership programme due to ill-health
235 and old age. Prof Wilfred Ukpere was introduced to me on 11/10/2012 as co-study leader who would focus on the theoretical aspects of the study project.
Photograph No 30 and 31: Prof. Schurink, Prof. Ukpere and me discussing the project plan and strategy
One particular question that I asked concerned the identities and location of peer reviewers and how the peer review process unfolded
I completed the day assured that guidance would be available throughout the journey
Understanding qualitative research
The second phase of my study involved the methodological aspects of the study namely; developing an in-depth understanding of qualitative research in general. Although I had completed a masters level degree via the full dissertation option two years earlier, my confidence that I would be capable of successfully completing this study project was admittedly less than my ambition to do so. I had to make a choice between using the mixed-method approach of quantitative-qualitative, which I had employed at Master‟s Degree level, and an exclusively qualitative approach. The in- depth discussion with my co-study leaders had convinced me that I should adopt the qualitative approach and I set out to learn more about the evolving fundamentals of this approach. I immediately realised that the debates around the nature and effects of AE arrangements included an ethical element and I was interested to see how I could integrate this ethical element into my study. As I studied the application of AI as a data analysis method on other settings, I realised that it was not a
236 straightforward method. I, nevertheless, became interested in applying this method to an employment relations studies.
I was further encouraged by the fact that in qualitative research, I would be able to different roles in both the data gathering and in the reporting styles. During this phase I finalised and presented the formal research proposal, formulated my research plan and completed draft Chapter 2 of my thesis. This field work draft reports processes started in January 2012. I then understood the rationale for having joint study leaders for my project. Regular contacts with my study leaders guided me in identifying relevant theoretical resources and strengthening the methodological aspects of the study. Between May 2011 and December 2012, I completed a significant amount of the field work, particularly the first and second stages of the interview process.
The formal data gathering exercise is discussed next.
Data gathering
This constituted the third phase of the project. Based on the fact that the GT method was guiding the enquiry process, it was logical that multiple rounds of interviews would be involved. These multiple rounds were necessary in view of the intended use of constant comparison in the coding process to identify categories emerging from data. I discuss this phase under different subheadings.
Selection of research participants
The triangular nature of the employment relationship in the TES sector presented me with a challenge. How would I obtain the views of the TES firm or client business organisations in an effort to include the data from the side of the employer? Furthermore, how would I include the views on the dispute resolution agency? I immediately realised that including many role players would complicate my sampling strategy. I had to decide on the limits of my sampling frame. I obtained a confirmatory letter from Amanda Ferreira, Administrator Co-ordinator for Postgraduate Studies in the Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management at the University of Johannesburg to present to the gate-keepers of the research settings identified.
237
Photograph No. 32: Amanda Ferreira and I during one of the peer review sessions
238
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
Auckland Park Kingsway Campus Corner Kingsway & University Road PO Box 524 Auckland Park 08 March 2012 Johannesburg, 2006
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
CONFIRMATION OF STUDIES: MR. T.E MARULE
This is to confirm that Mr. T.E Marule (920201864) is a registered senior student with this University, studying towards a Doctorate Degree in Employment Relations Management. (PHD: ERM). The theme of the study focuses on the changing world of work in general and how the employees procured through labour broking experience their work life in particular.
He has completed a research proposal (preliminary study) which has been approved by the University. In executing his research project, Mr. Marule will have to do extensive field work, conducting interviews, reviewing relevant theoretical literature and presenting the report.
Research study at this level is highly intensive and requires dedicated effort. In compliance with established ethical norms, the requirements of confidentiality will be strictly observed. It will be appreciated if you could provide the necessary support.
Kind Regards
A Ferreira Amanda Ferreira Admin Co-Coordinator for Postgraduate LPC.HRM.HRD. DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG Auckland Park Kingsway Campus Corner Kingsway & University Road PO Box 524 AUCKLAND PARK 2006
239
Informed consent
INFORMED CONSENT AGREEMENT
This agreement serves to confirm that the research subject (participant) mentioned below gave his/her consent to participate in a qualitative study on how the employees procured via labour broking experience their work life. The research participant agrees to provide the researcher with information on his/her experiences and views of the area of research to the best of his/her ability.
The undersigned participant understands the purpose and nature of this study and understands that his/her participation is voluntary and that he/she may stop the interview or the compilation of solicited essays/memoranda at any time. The participant further grants permission for the data collected to be used in fulfilment of part of the requirements for the DPhil degree, including a report, an article to be submitted for marks at the Department of Industrial Psychology and Human Capital Management at the University of Johannesburg and any future publication.
The data collected will be used for research purposes only. The researcher undertakes neither to disclose the identity of any of the participants, nor the origin of any of the statements made by any of them. However, the undersigned participant understands that, in terms of the premises of the study‟s methodology, the researcher is obliged to make use of verbatim statements from the transcribed taped interviews and/or excerpts from solicited essays and/or any other visual material (e.g. photographs) in order to illustrate the world of the research participant and his/her perspectives in the research report.
The participant grants permission for the audio recording of interviews and that the researcher may make notes of his/her views and experiences. The participant undertakes to give a true representation of his/her perspective and/or his/her experiences.
I, (Research Participant), the undersigned participant, agree to meet at mutually agreeable times and duration(s) or to engage in other means of communication, e.g. email, as may be reasonably necessary to enable the researcher, Thabang Marule, to gain a thorough understanding of the research information. I further acknowledge that I received a copy of this agreement and that I may contact any one of the under mentioned persons if I have any subsequent queries.
Signature of research subject: ______
Signature of researcher: ______
Title, initials and surname of research subject: Title: ______Initials: ______
240 Surname: ______Date: ______Research supervisor/study leader: Researcher: Prof. Willem Schurink: Cell: 082 779 2294
The refusal of the TES firms and client business organisations approached to put me in contact with their employees provided a pointer regarding the direction of my search for data sources, namely organised labour.
Sampling strategy
I decided to apply linear purposive sampling, combining convenience sampling, opportunistic sampling and theoretical sampling at different stages during the collection and analysis data until data saturation occurred. Accordingly, the research participants were included in the process on an on-going basis.
The research question must be relevant and explicit to and focused on the aim of the study (Qazi, 2011). Accordingly, I clearly stated the background and perspectives of as well as the motives for the study. In addition, I also described how these research questions would be dealt with throughout the research process. I consider that the methods selected were appropriate to both the aim of the study and the research questions. The sampling strategy was also clear, justifiable and congruent to the research questions. This strategy was explained by presenting the sample characteristics as well as the context and setting of the study. In Chapter 1 presented an adequate theoretical frame work of the study which was in line with the aim of the research. In Chapter 3 of the thesis I provided clarity on procedures and principles of data analysis. The derivation of the codes and categories was explained; that is, whether they were derived from pre-conceptions in advance or driven by the data. Before the interpretation of the findings I also presented a theoretical validation of the study and discussed the measures I had taken to ensure rigour in the study. Accordingly, the findings of this study are relevant to the aim of the study and provided a new insight into the phenomenon in question. Significantly, the presentation of the findings was supported by quotes of the participants to ensure that the findings were data driven and did not emanate from my preconceptions. I believe that the study also addressed the issues of both internal and external validity together with reflexivity. I drew from different studies to enable
241 appropriate conclusions to be drawn. factored into the study the limitations of the study and discussed these limitations together with appropriate choices that I had made. Finally, I compared the findings
Theoretical saturation was achieved when new cases did not add any new insights. As indicated earlier in this section, I followed the GT approach and applied codes in order to determine categories. Through constant comparison, I was able to establish similarities and differences with variations in the data being explained so that cases in other categories could function as a control group for those cases in the categories under analysis. In this respect I borrowed briefly from the analytical induction analysis method of Johnson, (1998).
I was also aware that the TES phenomenon was not restricted to one economic sector. Accordingly, I selected my sources of data in order to ensure a wide range of perspectives across economic sectors while, at the same time, being on alert for opportunistic cases. I conducted the first, formal round of interviews with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd cases on 28 August 2012, 09 September 2012 and 20 September 2012 respectively. Soon thereafter I followed up with interviews with the 4th and 5th cases. The purpose was to further illuminate emerging concepts. The purpose of these interviews included the following:
To introduce myself to the two research participants whom I had not met before; To explain to all the research participants what the study was about; To ensure that they would be available for further interviews; and To obtain life history sketches of all the research participants.
The categories and location of the data sources are contained in Table 4.1 while a full list of the topics covered in the first round of interviews is provided in Annexure B of this report.
Having established the rapport I needed, I decided that current TES employees would be able to provide me with information from their own experiences. I soon realised that current TES employees represented the bulk of the workforce in the food processing sector and that their insider knowledge would contribute significantly
242 to my research findings. In addition, ex-TES employees would provide a dual/contrasting experience of work-life both during and after the TES career.
I telephoned trade unions on 23 March 2012 introducing myself and explain the purpose of my study. By this time I had already convinced myself that the only viable way in which to gain access to RPs involved going through the leaders of organised labour. It would have been almost impossible to hold initial discussions with random RPs because (1) I would not have known either them or their workplaces and (2) even if I had known them it would have been difficult for me to win their trust and ensure their willingness to participate in the study. Two of the RPs selected worked in Pretoria, one of whom was available on the telephone only after I had emailed short discussions points to her. The two RPs represented the two categories, namely, the Go-getter and the dead-setter.
Second round interviews and peer review
My interview strategy was linear; moving from the structured to the unstructured format.
I followed the guidelines of Krueger and Casey (2009, pp. 35-41) who provided some useful benchmarks on determining whether the interview questions were sufficiently sound, namely:
Evoke a conversation: create and maintain an informal environment. Use words the participants would ordinarily use when talking about the issue. Avoid acronyms, jargon and technical language. Ensure words are easy to say. Make use of written questions because there is then no danger of stumbling over words or phrases. The clarity of the questions. Participants should understand what you are asking. No preambles. Compile short questions. It must be easy to interpret the meaning of the questions. Open-ended questions should be used. They elicit explanations, descriptions or illustrations. One-dimensional questions should be used.
243 The discussion points are presented below:
The questions posed during this phase were arranged in terms of the 14 dimensions which are outlined below.
NB: The term labour broker also refers to temporary employment service (TES)
1. Job seeking behaviour following the completion of schooling. 1.1 What is the highest level of your qualifications? (1)
1.2 Would you please share the nature and extent of personal and family responsibilities? (2) 1.3 How long did it take you seeking employment? (3) 1.4 What form of job search did you adopt – newspaper advertisements, labour centres, internet search, friends, etc. (4) 1.5 How did you come into contact with the labour broker/temporary employment service? (5) 1.6 What influenced you to take labour broker/TES employment? (6) 1.7 Would you share with me your feeling or opinion regarding the length of the period you served as a TES employee? (7)
2. Career mobility 2.1 Based on your experience, would you outline the growth opportunities available at your TES place of employment? (8) 2.2 Could you mention other TES jobs you have had in your career? (9) 2.3 What is the length of your employment with the last three TES clients? (10) 2.4 What was the reason for leaving such employment? (11) 2.5 What would you recommend regarding the future of TES? (12) 2.6 Is there a difference in the manner in which full-time employees are treated in comparison with their TES counterparts and in what way? (13) 2.7 If you were offered full-time employment elsewhere, would you turn it down in favour of your current TES job? (14)
3. Functional insecurity 3.1 Tell me about the grievance procedures in place at your place of work (15) 3.2 If you feel your job were unfairly terminated, who do you consult? (16)
244 3.3 Can you describe the formalities, if any, you have undergone upon assumption of duty? (17) 3.4 Who do you regard as your employer? (18) 3.5 Are there direct-hire employees in your workplace? (19) 3.6 Have you noticed any differences in the way in which TES employees are treated relative to direct-hire employees? (20) 3.7 Which work practices would you like to see to improve at your workplaces? (21) 3.8 Which work practices do you find are positive at your workplace (advantages)? (22)
4. Working-time insecurity 4.1 Could you outline what you understand by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act? (23) 4.2 Would you share with me the nature of your working hours? (24) 4.3 What would you like to see an improvement in your working hours? (25) 4.4 What would you regard as a safe working environment and the way in which such an environment relates to your current workplace? (26) 4.5 In which way would you regard your working environment as better as or worse than that of your fellow workers? (27) 5. Income insecurity 5.1 Would you share with us the level of your income? (28) 5.2 Would you share with me the frequency with which you are paid? (29) 5.3 Could you outline the level and frequency of your income as opposed to that of other employees? (30) 5.4 Share with me your experience of what you are able to do (capabilities) and what you are not able to do (limitations) linking to your current level of income (31) 5.5 How do you perceive yourself as a TES employee in the context of the client business organisation? (32) 6. Representational insecurity 6.1 Would you share with me your views on trade unions? (33)
245 6.2 What mechanism do you use to raise issues around your wages and other conditions of employment? (34) 6.3 How would you characterise the working relationship between yourself and your employer? (35) 6.4 In which way would you regard the current state of representation or lack thereof as assisting you? (36) 6.5 Would you please outline what you do/ not do during a strike situation (37)
7. Benefit insecurity 7.1 Tell me about your leave and pension arrangements at work (38) 7.2 Could you outline what you understand by the purpose of the Labour Relations Act, Basic Conditions of employment Act and Skills development Act? (39) 7.3 Have you become aware of any work-related risks associated with TES employment? (40)
8. Skills reproduction insecurity 8.1 Would you share with me the learning opportunities available at your workplace? (41) 8.2 Of which skills categories are you aware at your workplace or sector? (42)
9. Employment insecurity 9.1 Have you ever been dismissed from work? If so, who informed you and how? (44) 9.2 How do you find out that your services are no longer required? (45)
10. Awareness of identity of employer. (46) 10.1 Who were you told is your employer (47) 10.2 Please describe the system in place, if any, for managing grievances or dispute resolution. (Question 48)
11. Motivation for acceptance of TES employment 11.1 Would you please briefly outline your motivation for accepting TES employment? (49)
246 11.2 Could you share how you are coping with challenges associated with TES employment? (50) 11.3 What nature of support do you receive as regards attempts to change your job seeking behaviour (51) 11.4 Would you share with me your perception of internal control or the lack thereof in your situation? (52)
12 Coping strategies of TES employees 12.1 What risks factors would you discuss before accepting another TES job (53) 12.2 In which way have trade unions influenced a change (if any? in your job seeking behaviour? (54) 12.3 What influenced you to change the contracting behaviour referred to above? (55) 12.4 What role did legislation and regulations play in changing your behaviour? (56)
13. Prospects for a better dispensation 13.1 Do you feel let down by the current labour dispensation and, if, how? (57) 13.2 What are your views in the current debates on TES? (58) 13.3 What could you tell us about the current legislative changes to TES employment? (59) 13.4 Would you support the banning of TES and, if so, why? (60)
14. Psycho-social perspective on the job-seeking behaviour 141 What do you consider as constituting a quality job? (61) 14.1 Would you please share your views on the role of TES in job creation? (62) 14.3 Under which circumstances would you consider accepting an offer of TES employment (for ex-TES employees (63)
247 15. Paradigms Please indicate whether you agree/do not know/disagree with the statement/s below (64) Atypical employment is a prevailing Agree Do not know Disagree feature of today‟s employment contracting Government is not doing enough to Agree Do not know Disagree address the plight of TES employees Organised labour is not doing enough Agree Do not know Disagree to address the plight of TES employees I will retain my job if labour brokers are Agree Do not know Disagree banned/outlawed
I chose to analyse data each time I completed field work (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007, p. 160). However, I then confronted a dilemma as I had to decide on the coding principles which I would adopt in making sense of the data. I noted that this, as a case study, would require either within-case coding or cross-case theme analysis or both. I also had to decide on the extent to which I should factor in the GT coding principles of open-axial, selective, linear coding (Creswell, 2013).
Third round interviews
By this stage a clear pattern of responses or views had emerged. However, I needed to test further whether a reverse attraction to TES employment still existed both for those who had left the TES employment set-up and for those who were still trapped in it but could imagine themselves exiting it. Consequently, I then added the following questions in to test such possible attraction:
1. Should you exit your current TES job, would you consider accepting a job offer from another TES firm?
2. If no, what would need to improve first or make it attractive for you to accept such a job offer?
248 As opposed to the first (preliminary) round of interviews, I recorded the second round of interviews both manually and using digital voice recorder. Important elements of the first round interviews were captured in this round for the purposes of seamless continuity. The second round of interviews with the first five cases took place between 21 August 2012 and 28 October 2012. The second round interviews followed the same procedure as the first round of interviews and lasted, on average, approximately seventy five minutes. I recorded the interviews, listened to the recordings, captured my reflections on the interviews and transcribed the selected parts. The type and purpose of the questions posed in this round of interviews are indicated in Annexure C of this report. Concurrent with this exercise, I attended a peer review session on 11 October 2012 at the University of
Johannesburg.
249
Photograph No. 33: Peer review meeting
Valuable tips were provided during the peer review session, including, but not limited to, tips on data collection and management, the integration of relevant literature and the sequencing of a research report. The peer review session continued on 12 October 2012 at the residence of Prof Schurink at Silver Lakes Estate, Pretoria.
Photograph No. 34: Prof. Schurink and I during a follow-up review session
At this meeting Prof. Schurink and I discussed options to purchase specific literature that not readily available at the resource centre as well as the electronic accessing of certain book chapters. I found the interaction with the study leaders to be very timely as it coincided with the data collection phase of the study.
The second group of research participants also included one current TES employee (RP7) and two Ex-TES employees (RP6 and RP8). In view of the fact that the phenomenon under study was not an addiction or a behavioural issue, the age criterion was not a factor in the selection of respondents. Even after the follow-up interviews I conducted, not one of the RPs had changed category status during the process of data collection.
250 The purpose of the third round interviews was to test the preliminary conclusions which had been drawn in respect of first five cases. As already stated, the last three participants I interviewed included two Ex-TES employees and a current TES employee. I interviewed each respondent only once but covered an extensive list of topics based on the same list I had used for the other participants. However, at this stage of the data capturing I had already formulated the initial categories based on my analysis of the first five cases (theoretical mode of interview). My questions were, therefore, aimed at clarifying my understanding of the research topic and verifying the initial conclusions I had drawn. The interviews followed a more structured approach as I had to test specific conclusions against the views and experiences of these participants. I conducted these interviews on 02 January 2013 and 02 November 2013. During this period I also conducted another interview with RP1 to check whether any substantive changes in the data provided could be found. I found no change.
As the interviews progressed it emerged that these two main categories of TES employees (current and ex-TES employees) could be sub-divided further into the Captives, the Go-getters, the Radicals and the Dead-setters, depending either on the views and experiences or both of the respondents. I noticed that the Captives showed, how, over time, a positive relationship may develop between the TES and the employees while the Go-getters showed how it was possible to use TES employment as stepping stone to better career opportunities. On the other hand, the Radicals showed how a shorter period of employment was a significant factor in radicalising the views or attitudes towards TES while the Dead-setters indicated that, irrespective of the length of the period of employment, strong negative attitudes could remain strong, to the extent that even improvements in the conditions of employment under TES employment arrangements were insufficient to change these negative attitudes. On order to obtain a sense of the degree to which it was possible for the views of TES to shift, I introduced a new question dealing with the prospects of accepting another TES job offer after exiting the TES contracting arrangements. The responses to this question helped me gain a clearer picture of the categories of meaning reflected in the final typology.
Follow-up on data
251 I used e-mails and telephone calls to follow up with RP5, RP6 and RP8 and to tie some loose ends. Follow up in the case of the three ex-TES employees who had access to emails was easier compared to the five other RPs whom I had to telephone more than once to tie up the loose ends. I made these telephone calls at what I considered to be suitable times, mainly after hours and when the respondents were off duty. It was necessary to check the categories of meaning with the individuals who had provided the data. Based on their comments, I formalised the categories and descriptions in a final format.
Data analysis and conclusion
The data analysis in a qualitative study involves a coding exercise. I indicated in Sections 2.13 and 3.3 of this report that I used a combination of coding techniques, namely, open coding analysis (line-by-line, section by section), axial coding (central patterns) and selective coding (deliberate choice of core categories). I conducted the data analysis while I was gathering the requisite information (theoretical coding). I managed to transcribe in-depth the applicable parts of two (RP2 and RP3) of the interviews using a reputable service provider based in Gauteng. I transcribed the other six memoirs myself within seven days after the interviews and identified data trends as I worked through the information. I also considered using a software package in line with the advice of Urquhart (2013, p. 101) that such package help the researcher to manage the entire data source and also facilitate quick data retrieval. Significantly, I also noted the fact that the advantage of software package lay mainly in data management, rather than data analysis per se I contended with the double load of the need for familiarisation with the software. However, I did not want a machine interposed between the data and me and thus I opted to do the coding manually.
As my focus extended to establishing the frequency of certain words and phrases, CAQDAS would add little; which I anyway achieved manually. I started capturing the interviews in a chapter format after concluding the interview with the fifth research participant.
252
Photograph No. 35: Me developing the analytical codes
Photograph No. 36: Developing first and second order codes through constant comparison
As the similarities and differences between the first five cases emerged, I was able to formulate the initial categories. I then proceeded to test the categories against the
253 last three cases during the third round of interviews, compared the results with the previous results, and changed the categories where necessary. I used the data from the e-mails and telephone conversations with the respondents to review the categories. I was initially not able to make sense of what the differences in the categories of meaning /perception signified. Accordingly, I re-examined the research questions and research aims to assign the interpretation from the findings provided by the participants‟ responses. In addition, I went back to the literature on methodology to further confirm the methods I had used. The findings revealed that the RPs held different views and experiences about both the TES phenomenon and themselves as employees. I realised that this classification of TES orientation conformed Johnson (1998), termed realists, sceptics and cynics;. At this stage I had established from the data that sufficient correlation existed between TES and employment insecurities as identified by the RPs as well as the fact that compliance with HRM and business ethics fell well below the standards described in the said ethical codes described in HRIR. The theoretical aspects that supported the study are discussed.
Theoretical exploration
I completed the in-depth theoretical exploration in June 2014. By this time, I had already compiled sufficient draft notes in respect of Chapters 1 to 4. I had done this during the workplace challenges I had experienced between 2011 and 2012. However, no actual drafting had taken place as yet. Upon the recovery of my sponsorship and the resumption of my working career, I had to decide the effort that was required to ensure that the project was completed in time. Upon reregistration in 2014, I received confirmation from the University that, in fact, I had received a further extension of one year in which to complete my research project with 2015 being the new deadline:
254 From: "Ferreira, Amanda" Sent: 2013/03/06 11:47:04 To: Thabang Marule Dear Amanda, I think we can give this student a grace period of one year to complete, since there was a study interruption owing to circumstances beyond his control. Prof Schurink has been putting great efforts towards the student’s research. I hope the student can register next year for 2014. Many thanks and God bless. Kind regards, Wilfred.
Despite the fact that I was still facing the challenges of long distances and costs (some library books could not be taken out at all, while others could be loaned out for five days only), I grasped this lifeline with both hands. I could feel new life flowing into me.
I applied for periodic release from work to focus on my studies although this proved to be very difficult due to work commitments. As I reviewed the literature, I noticed that, contrary to previous research, I was giving a voice to the vulnerable employees in respect of the phenomenon under study. The issues which emerged from the findings guided the classification of the literature sources e.g. the driving force behind AE arrangements, the global experience of AE arrangements, the new people management approaches, the analytical frameworks for ethical HRM, the Western and non-Western ethics of business and ER, different categories of meaning of TES experience and the defining features of TES employment. From these sources I obtained a clearer understanding of what other researchers were saying about the phenomenon in question and which areas merited future research. I adopted a GT approach in deciding the sequencing of literature review. I incorporated my impression in this regard into the advice I had received from my study leaders. I spent six weeks writing the literature review chapter, applying relevant literature to the individual categories.
The completion of the typology and literature review presented an opportunity for reflection on the journey I had travelled and the experience I had gained. In addition, less business travel and periodic release from work afforded me the time in which to reflect deeply. The difficulty I had encountered in trying to persuade the TES firm and
255 client business organisation to grant access to their TES employees or to participate in the study had been daunting. I then appreciated that narrowing the participants to TES employees had been a helpful strategy. I was surprised at the length of time some of the cases had spent as TES employees and the fact that these cases defended the existence of TES as an employment practice. I was equally surprised at the determination of the TES firms and client business organisations to avoid taking part in the study in view of the controversies surrounding the TES phenomenon.. I submitted the draft of the four chapters to my co-study leaders in February 2015 for their input. I soon received feedback from my study leaders
From: Willem Schurink Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2015 1:10 AM To: Thabang E. Marule
Subject: RE: Revised Chapter 1 Importance: High
Good morning Thabang, Thanks very much for chapter 1. You have worked hard and included everything expected of such a chapter. The opening chapter of a thesis is arguably its most critical; everything that follows hinges on how well it is written. Therefore, it is crucial that what one wants to convey comes across clearly from its introductory section/opening paragraph to its conclusion; the thesis structure. Key here is to remember from the outset that you are reporting on a qualitative research project which emphasises an active and rather personal writing style. Therefore you need to find a way (your way) here and do your best to engage the reader and ensure that your writing is not predictable, which readers often find boring. However, at the same time, you need to be very clear in presenting your arguments that the reader doesn’t get confused. I suggest that you don’t open the first chapter with informing the reader precisely what you will be offering him/her. Sure, you must consider carefully what it is that you need to offer here and in what sequence but don’t make this implicit (this is different with regard to subsequent chapters). Simply start off with providing the context; that is, introduce the research by providing background that sets the stage of the gap in knowledge you want to address – the research problem. Following from this, outline how you will go about addressing the problem. Offer one or two research questions that will shed light on the problem you introduced (and will guide your study). In addition, formulate a research aim and a few research objectives (often there are 3), I suggest somewhere here, if not indicated already, outline key terms/definitions found in the relevant scholarly work (literature) and you used in the study that the reader needs to know about. Hereafter, since your study represents a doctoral thesis and needs to demonstrate your expertise in a particular area as well as your ability to make a contribution
256 to the existing body of knowledge, outline the contribution/s you anticipated. Conclude the chapter by presenting the structure of the thesis. This way of structuring the opening chapter contains at least some surprise element. I read the chapter twice, pondered about it and, finally, having my examiner's hat on, I scrutinised it, and following the above I restructure it while also trying to put sentences more actively and personally. I believe this will give you a pretty good idea as to how to approach the other chapters. Study the revised chapter and closely check where I changed carefully – not having been closely involved in the study I could easily have made a mistake – complete uncompleted sections as indicated. Once you are satisfied forward the chapter to Mr Nel. How are you doing with Chapter 2? Please let me have the next revised Chapter 2 as soon as you can. Take care, Prof Willem Schurink H…, Moreletapark, 0181 012… 082…
Earlier feedback from study leaders
11/08/2014 Dear Thabang, Thanks again for the draft thesis you sent us. At this point I believe it appropriate to explain Prof Ukpere's and my process of feedback. While we welcome the entire draft thesis it brings along some challenges. First and foremost, not having heard anything from you for a very long time requires that we have to orientate ourselves to your study from scratch. Also, there is the practicality of our respective work schedules. For example, we have to work on your work while, at the same time, attend to other students' work which have been paced well; we are receiving chapters consistently. In order to be fair to these students but, at the same time, put time quality time aside for your work we broke the draft thesis up in workable chunks. We each work through a part as our respective schedules, after which I integrate our views and suggestions as best as possible. You will appreciate that this is not easy and rather time consuming.
257 Doctoral research requires a candidate demonstrate making a contribution to a particular field of study. This is done by presenting a well-argued thesis. Not only must the candidate explain how he/she conducted the research but he/she must contextualise the work, formulate a relevant research problem and questions, discuss and relate related literature; existing research and theoretical concepts to his/her research findings and, most importantly, offer an integrated argument illustrating a CONTRIBUTION, or advancing scholarly knowledge in a particular field of study. This is far from easy and requires excellent skills demonstrated by the student. Therefore, both of us have put on our examiners' hats in working through your draft. However, to assist you in addressing shortcomings and to put a thesis on the table that is at the level where we and IPPM would feel comfortable to submit to the three extern examiners, we also offer our views, comments and suggestions. This is by means of track changes and pieces in brackets (in yellow) Study our views and suggestions carefully and don't hesitate to contact us if anything is not clear. Kind regards, Prof Willem Schurink
First and second-order constructs
I chose as the guiding theory the notion of the vulnerability of employees in atypical employees. This guiding theory assisted me to identify the aspects of the topic that were relevant to my study as it would not have been possible for me to study all the first order constructs relevant to this topic. This empirical study enabled me to understand the actors‟ own meaning levels on the basis of which I was able to develop second order constructs (Aspers, 2009). Noting Schϋltz (1962), Aspers maintained that the thought objects constructed by the social scientists have to be founded upon the objects of constructed by the common-sense of men (TES employees in this study), living their daily life within their social world. Thus, the constructs of the researchers are constructs of the second degree; that is constructs of the constructs made by the RPs in the social scene.
My second order constructs were derived from the views of the RPs in this study and, where possible, I provided direct quotations (Miles &Huberman. 1994).
258 Ensuring the quality of qualitative research
I took into account the recommended method of ensuring quality in qualitative studies and am convinced that I applied the necessary elements of rigour. I followed the advice of Fossey, Harvey, McDermott, and Davidson (2002) in this regard. Details of this quality assurance are reflected in Annexures D1 and D2 of this report. In conclusion of the quality assurance exercise, I compiled an affidavit which is attached as Annexure E
Conclusions and implications for theory, practice and policy
I was not sure whether I succeeded doing what I intended to achieve as indicated in Chapter 1 of this report.. The inputs made and guidance given showed that I was generally on track. Chapter 6 of this study deals with the implications and recommendations arising out of the study. I also discuss the contributions of my study and measures to ensure the quality of the study and compliance with ethical standards. I submitted the last chapter to my study leaders in June 2015 after which we reviewed the work intensively. The next email depicts feedback of July 2015.
Dear Thabang, 18 July 2015 I am glad to send you my comments on the last chapter. We have both worked very hard the last couple of days and you are so right we should be careful of putting on too much pressure. I am happy that you take things a bit slower; perhaps if you feel like it try and go through everything and make notes of things you find not clear or what we have overlooked and then we have a final two hours or so either this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Let me know what you decide. Have a good, warm morning... Prof H…, Moreletapark, 0181 012… 082…
Feedback letter from Prof. Schurink
I effected the changes in line with the inputs of the study leaders and completed the thesis on December 2015.
259 Examination of the thesis
I received the final feedback on the Chapters in 23 September 2016, and commenced with a lengthy revision which, due to work commitments, took me through to December 2016. The final peer review earlier engagements that necessitated a change in analytic method.
This exercise happened after an intensive four day peer review session of 15/07/2015 to 19/07/2015 held at Prof. Schurink‟ s new residence Moreleta Park, Pretoria.
Photo No. 38 and 39: Prof. Schurink, his wife Evanthe, his son Evan and me, at their residence in Moreleta Park, Pretoria
On 18 August 2015 Prof reminded me again that we did not have much time and that I should resubmit the annexure on the story behind the scenes in order to ensure that it was properly aligned to the main body of the report.
260 From: Willem Schurink Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2015 6:34 PM To: Thabang E. Marule Subject: RE: Title Importance: High Dear Thabang, It is good to hear from you. I find writing the letter somewhat awkward since I don't know what precisely we want to convey to Mr Mdluli. Please have a look at an example of what I usually do and adjust it according to what is relevant to your case. If you send it to me this evening or early tomorrow I can adjust it and send it to him within an hour. I know you are busy with the 'research story' but we please need to get this done within a week or so. I am a bit concerned that you spend too much time on this. While information on you and your world is crucial to understand how you performed as research instrument as well as how you experienced the doctoral journey we need to keep balance in mind. Therefore, let me have this 'story' quite soon so that I can have a look and that you can return to the adjustments required in the respective chapters. Take care, Prof Willem Schurink H…, Moreletapark, 0181 012… 082…
Upon receipt of this reminder, I felt reassured that I enjoyed such resolute support. It was clear that my study leader was taking a particular interest in my effort and keeping watch to ensure that the final product was successfully delivered.
I discussed with Alexa Barnby and Gerry Barnby who would conduct the final technical editing and formatting. We discussed the layout, colour schemes, how the table of contents should look and the different figures; then proceeded to do all the technical corrections and final layout during September-October 2016. I received the final version from Alexa on 14 October 2016 and immediately engaged Gerry to embark on technical formatting. This was actually the first time that I could see and feel the end result in physical format! I referred the final draft to my Prof. Schurink on the 31 October 2016, when we conducted a final review of the thesis. He made a few suggestions which I implemented and after running the draft thesis through a Turnitin tool, I then proceeded to print and bind hard copies for the three examiners.
261 TERMINATING THE STUDY
It was a great relief when the research report was finally confirmed and study terminated formally.
262 Annexure B: List of topics covered during first, life history phase
1. Ask for background of participant's life and explore areas such as: * Childhood days * University/college * College/university 2. Explore nature of family relationships (as a child and now) 3. Explore significant life challenges encountered and how such challenges were overcome. 4. Explore career expectation in the post 1994 South Africa 5. Explore personal beliefs and values 6. Explore role and contribution played in the family 7. Explore social relations 8. Explore the views of changing world of work 9. Check if career expectations are fulfilled now 10. Explore views on concept: decent work 11. Explore convenient meeting times 12. Discuss tools/techniques of data gathering and ethical aspects of the study Source: The researcher
263 Annexure C: List of questions in the second round of interviews
Introduction Re-cap on previous interview and illuminate current phase of interview. To grant the participants opportunity to add something regarding their life history that they may have forgotten to mention during the first interview Explain purpose of this interview: To explore their perceptions and roles in the TES environment in the context of the current democratic labour dispensation To explore the family responsibility of each participant Topics on Explore the role and responsibilities in the family personal attribution Enquire into the level of education of TES Explore the marital status of the participants employee To inquire into the property ownership patterns of the participants To explore the factors motivating the participants into taking particular decisions To check level of educational qualifications Topics on To inquire into the length of the work experience overall contracting experience To establish knowledge of identity of primary employer as TES To explore understanding of triangular nature of employment relationship employee To explore relationships with fellow direct-hire full-time employees To inquire into motivating factor for choosing TES employment over direct-hire employment To establish in which areas of conditions of service the TES employee perceived some insecurities To explore the existence and nature, if any, of career development opportunities within the TES or client business organisation To establish the degree of stability or randomness of tasks To inquire into the daily coping strategies of TES employees To explore the nature of socio-economic constraints that TES employees experienced arising out of the TES employment To inquire into the understanding of elements of decent job To possible breaches of ethical issues as seen by the participants To inquire into the understanding of TES firm in the context of job creation To explore the frequency of individual TES contract renewal To explore the length of service as TES employee To establish if TES employee perceived any advantages or disadvantages arising from their position as TES employees To explore how TES employees perceive their role within the tri-angular employment relationship To explore what, in their opinion, underpins the rise of AE and TES in particular To inquire if any of the TES employee held multiple jobs To explore TES employment contracting against HRM ethical obligations To explore the perception on the possible impact of banning of TES on job security
264 Topics on To explore the standpoint of TES and ex-TES employees on the debates to ban contracting the TES as employment practice experience as TES To establish the expectation regarding the proposed labour dispensation on employee improvement of working conditions of TES employees? (cont’d) To inquire perception regarding the impact of trade unions intervention on improving the work life of TES employees Source: The researcher
265 Annexure D1: Methodological strategies to ensure and improve the quality of qualitative research
Conventional Element and Strategies to increase Description of quality criteria associated questions rigor application Research design The report itself should Chapter 1 discussed the be concise and provide contextual issues of the a clear and adequate overall research Does the chosen description of the questions. The research methodology (i.e. research question, design and strategy philosophical/theoretical background and were outlined in section approach) „fit‟ the contextual material, 1.8, chapter 2, 3 and 4 research issue? study design (e.g., study participants, how they were chosen, how data are collected and analysed), and rationale for methodological choices. (Fouche & Delport, 2012, p.66; Cohen & Crabtree, 2008, p. 333; Cassel & Simon, 2011, p. 640) Do the methods used Exercise a constant In answering the what, „fit‟ with the chosen interplay between the how and why questions, Congruence methodology? researcher and the data qualitative research (Morse, 2009, p. 14; approach was adopted Urquhart, 2013, p. 9). with multiple case study as strategy. The set of methods and strategies are described in section 2.5 and Chapter 4 Is the study conducted Indicate your belief Sections 2.3 discusses in a way that is system, explain the ontological and congruent with the ontology (nature of epistemological beliefs stated methodology (i.e. reality,/how social of the researcher. philosophical/theoretical reality should be looked Section 4.3 outlines the approach)? at), epistemology approach to theoretical (relationship between constructs that reality and the researcher) and methodology (techniques used to discover that reality (Fouche & Schurink, 2012, p.309) Emergent research A case study has ability I outlined on the design to adapt to a wide range strengths of case study of methodological and method of frameworks such as life adaptation is explained Was the research history, in section Responsiveness design developed and phenomenology, 2.5 to social context adapted to respond to grounded theory, real-life situations within ethnographic research the social settings in (Bogden & Biklen, 2007, which it was p. 59; Fouche & conducted? Schurink, 2012, p. 320).
266 Conventional Element and Strategies to increase Description of quality criteria associated questions rigor application
Sampling, data A research participant is Theoretical sampling gathering and selected for his or her strategies, data analysis potential to contribute or collection and relevance to the management were research questions explained in section Did the researcher (Schurink, 2009, p. 816, 2.3.2 engage with Welman & Kruger, Responsiveness participants, and 2003, p. 63; Strauss & to social context became familiar with the Corbin, 1990, p. 176). (cont‟d) study context? Mixed methods of data recording help in verification of facts and by extension, quality assurance (Bryman & Bell, 2011; Bogdan & Biklen, 2007, p. 115). Sampling Qualitative researcher Competing will use theoretical or considerations and purposive sampling factors for sampling Were the sampling methods by identifying strategies were strategies suitable to access points (settings explained in 2.4.1 identify participants and where subjects could be sources to inform the more easily reached) research question being and selecting especially addressed? informative subjects Appropriateness (Suri, 2011, Foley, 2010) Data collection The most popular style Interviews were used of doing qualitative extensively to collect social research“….to data, given the nature of Were suitable data interview a number of research questions I gathering methods used individuals….” (Packer, sought to answer. Data to inform the research 2011, p. 42). Make use collection activities were question being of recording device described in section addressed? 2.4.3 Sampling sources of When the sample is Section 4.2 introduces information very heterogeneous… the research the population is likely participants, who are to be very varied. When current and former TES Have sufficient sources it is relatively employees. of information been homogeneous … the sampled to develop a amount of variation is full description of the less (Bryman & Bell, issue being studied? 2011, p. 189) Adequacy Is a detailed description A case study therefore Section 4.2 describes of the people who “…provide an the profiles of participated, how they alternative vehicle for participants. The profile were sampled, their thick description” of the included aspects like levels and types of setting and the marital status, property participation provided? phenomenon under ownership and family study (Geertz, 1973, responsibility status. cited in Lincoln & Guba, Section 2.4.1 outlines 1999, p. 206) the selection of research participants.
267 Conventional Element and Strategies to increase Description of quality criteria associated questions rigor application
Data gathering and The researcher must Detailed description of analysis keep in mind the range data gathering activities of evidence he/she described in sections must collect as well as 2.4.3. Sections 3.6. Is there a detailed the techniques relevant Chapter 4 explains the description of the data for such purpose coding processes gathering and analytical (Rowley, 2012, p. 263). processes followed? There must be some type of transcription, indexing and coding process (Babbie & Grbich, 2007, pp. 74-79; Mouton (2004) To what extent did Generally the study‟s Section 4.5 provides an analysis inform purpose determines the account of subsequent subsequent data number of cases to be data collection and gathering in a cyclical included, although it is analysis. (iterative) manner usually relatively small during the research (Ritchie & Lewis (2003). process? Were multiple Three levels of coding, methods and/or sources namely open, axial, and of information weighed selective coding may be in the analysis? used in data analysis Adequacy (Yang, Xiao & Yeung (cont‟d) tse, 2011) Were methods of data Sample inclusion Direct quotations were gathering and criteria are (a) being a provided in several recording/ documenting member of the instances e.g. chapter 5 data sensitive to population or group participants‟ language under investigation; (b) and views? having the ability to describe experiences with the phenomenon or situation in focus; (c) being in a state of health that permits participation in study; and (d) being willing to share one‟s experiences (Kirkevold & Bergland, 2007) Were corroborating, It is not unusual to Competing and illuminating, and rival interview people with corroborating data was accounts gathered and diverse and competing described and reflected analysed to explore points of view especially in chapter 4 multiple aspects of the if the problem being research issue? addressed is complex (Greeff, 2012, p. 342)
268 Conventional Element and Strategies to increase Description of quality criteria associated questions rigor application
Written report The researcher should The research report is keep in mind the well structured into 6 requirements of Chapters; covering the Is the description of the research report such as aims and questions the methods detailed organisation, accuracy, study sought to answer; enough to enable the consistency, clarity and the relevant design and reader to understand communication, methodology; analytic the context of what is Adequacy conventionality, techniques; applicable being studied? (cont‟d) conciseness, relevance literature; summary and and objectivity (Strydom recommendations as & Delport, 2012). well as the research Writing in the first story. person should be the rule rather than the exception” (Wolcott, 2009, p. 17) Data collection and The criteria for good A typology was analysis classification are developed to exhaustiveness (all accommodate possible characteristics) competing How were and mutual psychological rival/competing exclusiveness. orientation towards TES accounts dealt with in Exclusiveness means in Table 5.2 the analysis? that any overlap of characteristics should be eliminated) (De Vos & Strydom, 2012). To what extent do the In line with the positivist The researcher- processes of data tradition, the outsider participant role is Transparency gathering and analysis perspective was explained in section give privilege to considered optimal for 2.4.2. The participants participants‟ its “objective” and were given the knowledge? “accurate” account of recognition as custodian the field, while insiders, of privileged who possessed deeper information. insights about the people, place, and events, (socialised into the community) were believed to hold a biased position that complicated their ability to observe and interpret (Chavez, 2008). Note: The dimensional quality criterion used throughout was methodological rigour Source: Adapted from Fossey, Harvey, McDermott & Davidson (2002)
269 Annexure D2: Interpretive strategies to ensure and improve the quality of qualitative research
Conventional Element and Strategies to increase Description of quality criteria associated questions rigor application
Presentation of The study should Participants' own voices findings and accurately reflect the were incorporated in the interpretations participants meaning research findings and and experiences and interpretations- refer to simultaneously sections 5.2.1 of this Are participants‟ views incorporating report presented in their own researcher‟s goals voices, that is, are (Schurink, Fouchѐ & De verbatim quotes Vos, pp. 419-420). presented? Are a range of voices Contribution is made by The study captured a and views (including presenting voices that range of differing views dissenting views) have never been heard refer to section 4.2 of represented? (Bogdan & Biklen 2007, this report p. 217) Would the descriptions The aim of qualitative Multiple settings were and interpretations of research is to explore a selected to enrich depth data be recognizable to problem or describing a of views. Research those having the setting, stating clear setting is described in experiences/in the parameters, a process section 2.4.1 Authenticity situations described? or social group The account of CCMA (Schurink, Fouche & De Commissioners and Vos, pp. 419-420). organised labour representatives resonate with the findings. Annexure A (research story) provides some insights into the demeanour of stakeholders operating in the TES environment. To what extent were “Data, analytic I used member check power relations in data categories, as opportunity for collection and analysis interpretations, and research participants to taken into account, for conclusions are tested influence the nature of example, were with members of those findings. Member check participants involved in groups from whom the was conducted as part documenting, checking data were originally of on-going research or analysing data, or obtained …" (Cohen & and analysis exercises reviewing the analysis? Crabtree, 2008, p. 334). Presentation of The hallmark of I presented data and findings and grounded theory studies analysis in chapters 3 interpretations consists of the and 4, deriving findings researcher deriving his and developing a or her analytic typology. The Do the findings „fit‟ the Coherence categories directly from contextual model of data from which they the data, not from TES employment are derived, that is, are preconceived concepts contracting is depicted the linkages between or hypotheses in section 5.3; Table 5.3 data and findings (Charmaz, 1996, p. 32). plausible?
270 Conventional Element and Strategies to increase Description of quality criteria associated questions rigor application
What proportion of the Some editing is Transcription and data is taken into desirable, however, it preparation of data for account? should not take away analysis is described in the essence of the story section 2.4.6. I used a or data (Henning, Van combination of Rensburg & Smit, 2004; transcription service Marshall & Rossman, provider and the manual 2003) transcription was done by me. Have the perspectives TES is a convenient The research project Coherence of multiple researchers entry point for young was executed by me as (cont‟d) (e.g. research team) people leaving school solo researcher. Due to been taken into wishing to develop their the small scale of the account, e.g. are professional training or project, it was deemed corroborating and to acquire a first unnecessary to deploy competing elements professional experience a team. considered? (Voss, Vitols, Farvaque, Broughton, Behling, Dota, Leonardi, Naedenoen, 2013; (Addison & Surfield 2009b; May, Campbell, & Burgess, 2005) Data analysis, Member validation As the study findings and entails, taking “the progressed, I invited the interpretations provisional report (case) research participants to back to the site and make input on the subjecting to the findings and my To what extent were scrutiny of the persons interpretations. Regular processes of who provided input and guidance from conducting/reviewing information” (Koelsch, my study leaders the analysis/negotiating 2013, p. 170). ensured the quality of the interpretations the research product. Reciprocity shared with participants? Written report The interview is not a Participants were not static event, but an involved in presenting active, dynamic, the study; however Were participants process where both the member check was involved in presenting interviewer and the conducted to influence the study? interviewee are co- content of the report. constructing meaning (Bryman & Cassell, 2006).
271 Conventional Element and Strategies to increase Description of quality criteria associated questions rigor application
Written report Research findings Case-to-case based on a case study transferability was not cannot be applied demonstrated but What claims are made universally; these constant referral to (1) for generalisability of findings can still be checking the research the findings to other used to understand findings against relevant bodies of knowledge, phenomena within a scholarship and (2) populations, or specific area or set of multiple research contexts/settings? Typicality conditions. Qualitative settings, including reports should have talking to argumentative dialogue knowledgeable as well as case-to-case practitioners was done. generalisation to ensure external validity (Denzin,1978; Smaling, 2002)
Findings and From a constructionist- To maintain the interpretations interpretative required researcher perspective, the distance, I adopted an grounded theory emic stance; acting as Is the researcher‟s role researcher must then an outsider looking in. transparent in the study the meanings, Through reflexivity, I interpretive process? intentions and actions of was able to control the research subjectivity. My participants - whether researcher role is he or she observes explained in section them directly, constructs 2.4.2 life histories with them, engages them in Permeability of intensive interviewing or the researcher‟s uses other materials intentions, such as clinical case engagement and histories or interpretations autobiographies (Charmaz,1996, p. 32) Did the study QR designs “…allow for The secretive nature of develop/change the deviations and surprises the internal mechanics researcher‟s initial during the research of the TES understanding of the process in the data phenomenon triggered social collection and analysis some surprise issues. worlds/phenomena as well as changes in Seeing some studied? the research setting employees defending during the process” the existence of the (Schurink, 2009, p. 26). TES gave me some balanced understanding.
272 Conventional Element and Strategies to increase Description of quality criteria associated questions rigor application
Written report Epistemology, ontology, The objective of the values, theory and study, personal interest practical considerations and questions are Are the researcher‟s influence the conduct of reflected in sections 1.6, intentions, research. There is 1.7 and 1.8. Section 2.5 preconceptions, values, growing recognition that discuss the place and or preferred theories it is not feasible to keep use of literature in this revealed in the report? Permeability of the values that a study the researcher‟s researcher holds totally intentions, in check (Bryman & engagement and Bell, 2011, p. 29) interpretations (cont‟d) Is the researcher‟s Case studies are often I describe my personal personal experience the preferred method of experience and account during the research research because they of research audit trail in process made explicit? may be my research journey as “epistemologically in reflected in annexure A harmony with the of this report researcher‟s experience (Stake, 2005, p. 19) Note: The dimensional quality criterion used throughout was interpretive rigour
Source: Adapted from Fossey, Harvey, McDermott & Davidson (2002, pp. 724-725)
273 Annexure E: Affidavit
274