Hrm in South Africa

An analysis of current HRM practices in the Republic of South Africa

This study will investigate and explore two to three aspects of HRM practises within the Republic of South Africa. In order to gain an insight into how the country functions, it will be important to understand the various internal and external factors that may have influenced current HRM practices. South Africa is a multicultural country with a rapidly growing economy, and is widely seen as one of the most stable democracies in Africa, having recently emerged from the infamous apartheid era. The South African economy is the largest in the continent, and the 28th largest in the world.

The country lobbied heavily, and was eventually invited to join the economic and political organisation BRICS in 2011 (Smith 2011), and has just successfully hosted the annual BRICS conference (2013) for the first time. Concerns have however been expressed over whether South Africa deserves its place among the BRICS, as the country has the lowest levels of government spending, life expectancy, and literacy rates within the group, while the South African GDP comprises just 2. 5% of that of the combined BRICS’s GDP (Smith, 2013).

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In addition, while the populations of India and China stand at over a billion people, South Africa has a population of 50 million of which almost a quarter are unemployed and live on less than ? 1 a day (Seria & Cohen, 2009). This high poverty level is a major contributor to the crime rates in South Africa, with Johannesburg being infamous for its high levels of crime (Diseko, 2010). The most concerning crime considered to be the extent of rape and violence against women in South Africa. With two rapes occurring every minute (Itano, 2003), a typical South African woman is estimated to have a 40% chance of being raped (Middleton, 2011).

Domestic violence is also reportedly high, with statistics suggesting that one woman is killed by her husband/partner every eight hours in South Africa (Faul 2013). The practice of ‘corrective rape’ is a major problem, which is based on the incorrect belief that the rape of lesbians can ‘cure’ them of homosexuality (Mufweba, 2003). The South African government is well aware of all these problems, and has made a number of attempts to tackle them head on, including the amendment and strengthening of laws that deal with sexual offences.

The government notes that the problem “is reflective of deep-seated, systemic dysfunction in our society” (Government Gazette South Africa, 2007). Diseko (2010) argues that the high crime levels have had a massive impact upon the South African economy, with recent research showing that the country has been experiencing a brain drain (Kok, 2006). Moolman (2012) highlights cases of high numbers of skilled engineers and other professionals emigrating to MDRs (More Developed Regions) such as Australia and North America.

Dreyer, cited in Moolman (2012) argues that while South Africa holds 80% of the world’s chromium, manganese, gold and platinum reserves, the shortage of skilled workers means that costs are becoming too high for the industry to be profitable. The statistics for 2001 show that only 181 managers or skilled professionals immigrated to South Africa from MDRs, with 645 going the opposite way (Statistics South Africa 2003, cited in Kok, 2006). These statistics highlight the struggle that South Africa faces with regard to the attraction and retention of talented skilled workers to help keep its economic growth on an upward trajectory.

However, Diseko (2010) argues that this phenomenon is reversing, and cites South Africa’s rapidly growing economy and political stability have seen it once again become a ‘net importer’ of skilled workers. He claims that South Africa now appears an attractive proposition to South African expatriates as well as foreign skilled workers, and argues that this ‘net import’ of skilled workers is driven by economic factors such as the recession within MDRs, such as Europe and North America. Cultural factors are also vitally important within the business environment, as they affect the context of business and social interactions.

References

1. Diseko, L, (2010), “South Africa’s brain drain generation returning home”, Available at: [http://articles. cnn. com/2010-11-18/world/south. africa. migration_1_south-africans-violent-crime-job-seekers? _s=PM:WORLD], Accessed on: 15/03/13
2. Erasmus, B, Van Wyk, M, Schenk, H, (2003), “South African Human Resource Management - Theory & Practice (3rd Edition)“
3. Formeset, Epping, Cape Town Faul, M, (2013), “South Africa violence against women rate highest in the world”, Available at: [http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2013/03/08/south-africa-violence-against-women_n_2837804. tml], Accessed on: 03/08/13
4. Government Gazzette South Africa, (2007) [Online], “Criminal law (Sexual offences and related matters) Amendment Act 2007”, Available at: [http://www. info. gov. za/view/DownloadFileAction? id=77866], Accessed on: 12/03/13
5. HRPractice, (2011), [Online], “Findings from a pilot survey”, Available at: [http://www. hrpractice. co. za/newsletters-online/200907. html] Accessed on:12/02/13
6. Itano, N, (2003), [Online], “South Africa begins getting tough on rape”, Available at: [http://womensenews. org/story/rape/030224/south-africa-begins-getting-tough-rape

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