The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is profoundly transforming organizational landscapes, significantly influencing work practices and triggering cultural shifts. This study explores the role of AI in reshaping organizational work practices and examines the resulting cultural transformation. Through a systematic literature review, this study synthesizes existing research to provide a comprehensive understanding of AI’s impact on organizational landscapes. A systematic literature review was conducted, analyzing peer-reviewed articles, books, and conference papers to identify key themes related to AI-driven changes in work practices, including automation, decision making, and employee roles. It also explores how these changes influence organizational culture, particularly shifts toward innovation, agility, and continuous learning, alongside challenges like resistance to change and ethical concerns. While AI adoption promises benefits such as enhanced efficiency, productivity, and innovation, it also presents significant challenges related to cultural alignment, employee resistance, ethical concerns, and leadership communication. Effective leadership, transparent communication, and investments in skills development emerge as pivotal strategies for overcoming these obstacles and ensuring successful AI implementation. The findings offer insights into the complex interplay between AI adoption and cultural transformation, highlighting gaps in the current research and suggesting directions for future studies. This study serves as a valuable resource for academics and practitioners seeking to understand the broader implications of AI on organizational structures and culture.
28 April 2023 in SA Journal of Human Resource Management
Orientation: South Africa is currently going through a graduate unemployment challenge. Calls exist for research that addresses this challenge.Research purpose: This research study aimed to establish social media tools’ role in addressing employability challenges faced by graduates after completing their tertiary education.Motivation for the study: Calls exist in the literature for nuanced ways of addressing challenges youths face after completing their studies. The role of social media in this remains an area of inquiry with noted importance.Research approach/design and method: The study utilised an interpretivist philosophy relying on a qualitative research approach using interview data with a sample of 15 experts within the human resources field. Thematic analysis was used as a means of data analysis.Main findings: Two primary outcomes emerged from the research study. Firstly, a need exists for unemployed graduates to use social media as a marketing utility for their skills and abilities. Secondly, social media can also be used as an information utility to enhance awareness about labour market issues.Practical/managerial implications: The findings offer insights into addressing the employability challenges faced by graduates when seeking employment opportunities. The role of social media in mitigating graduate challenges is proposed. Through the findings, graduates have the potential to enhance their portfolios to improve their integration into the labour market.Contribution/value add: The study proffers insights into how social media helps increase the employability prospects of graduates entering the job market.
17 May 2024 in Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning
Purpose: This study examined the influence of social media use on graduateness and the employability of exit students in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach: The study used quantitative and descriptive research designs to test the proposed hypotheses. An online survey was used to collect the data from a study sample. A sample of 411 respondents was received, with structural equation modelling (SEM) being used to assess the model fit. Findings: The study found that the direct effect of social media use on graduateness skills is significant. Secondly, the direct effect of graduateness skills on perceived employability is also significant. The results also showed existence of support for the mediation of graduateness skills on the relationship between social media use and perceived employability. Research limitations/implications: The study provides empirical evidence to the proposed model and infers the potential role of social media in addressing issues related to graduateness and the employability of exit students. Practical implications: In addressing the challenge of unemployment, the use of social media can potentially aid in matters of skills acquisition. Originality/value: The results demonstrate how technology through the use of social media potentially fits within enhancing graduateness and employability skills.
30 September 2023 in International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research
Over the past decade, there has been a growth in the usage of new technologies, such as WhatsApp applications, for teaching and learning in educational settings. This study investigates how the WhatsApp platform influences teaching and learning in tertiary institutions. It focuses on tertiary institutions where WhatsApp platforms have become essential for online learning. Connectivism learning theory is applied as a conceptual framework to analyse the influence of the WhatsApp platform on teaching and learning at tertiary institutions. Using a qualitative methodology, a scoping analysis was conducted of 13 academic publications published between 2018 and 2023, which focused on the use of the WhatsApp platform as a learning tool. The study found a notable growth in the usage of WhatsApp as a teaching and learning tool in higher institutions. In addition, the study established that no clear policy guides the use of WhatsApp platforms in teaching and learning in tertiary institutions. Nevertheless, adopting WhatsApp in higher education has several advantages, including improved connections between lecturers and students. The study suggests utilising WhatsApp platforms to improve instruction in higher education facilities and a policy must be developed that speaks to the formal use of WhatsApp in teaching and learning. Future studies should concentrate on the effects of further use of new technologies on teaching and learning in tertiary institutions.
The advent of technology has necessitated that tertiary institutions incorporate learning management systems tools into academia for teaching and learning activities. However, there is a slow adoption of these tools. This research study aimed to establish the challenges academics face when using technology in tertiary institutions. The technology acceptance model was used as the theoretical foundation in this study. The study utilised an interpretivist philosophy relying on a qualitative research approach using interview data with a sample of fifteen academics. Thematic analysis was used as a means of data analysis. The findings offer insights into addressing the challenges faced by academics when using technology in teaching and learning, and the role of technology in enhancing the throughput rates. Tertiary institutions’ management should support and prioritise the use of technology to enhance throughput and address the critical skills shortage in the higher education sector. The study, therefore, recommends that lecturers receive continued training as they are not technology savvy and that students be offered continued support throughout their studies at tertiary institutions.
2 January 2024 in Innovations in Education and Teaching International