Negotiating identities in post-apartheid South Africa : black African managers' experiences in an English-speaking university

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dc.contributor.advisorDe Wet, Jacquesen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorNgazimbi, Xolani Sharonen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-01-05T06:44:04Z
dc.date.available2015-01-05T06:44:04Z
dc.date.issued2006en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis is a study about the subjective experiences of black African managers working in an English-speaking university in post-apartheid South Africa We investigated the adaptation strategies they employ as they navigate borders and boundaries between their home and work worlds, and how they negotiate identity in an environment dominated by Eurocentrism in one of the oldest English-speaking universities in South Africa. The theoretical framework was informed Berger & Luckmann's (1966) "Social Construction of Reality", in particular, their concepts of subjectivity and intersubjectivity; and Phelan, Davidson and Yu's (1993 & 1998) "Multiple Worlds Typology". The theories proposed by these writers acknowledge that individuals move between multiple worlds as they go about their daily lives. We adopted a typology from Phelan et al. (1993 & 1996) based on whether or not the "worlds" are congruent and what adaptation strategies individuals use in their transitions across borders and boundaries. We used a qualitative approach which involved face to face in-depth interviews with six black African managers using a semi-structured interview schedule. This, importantly, meant we allowed the respondents' subjective voices to emerge. The six respondents fell across four out of six types of transitions and we were able to construct their profiles which represent identity clusters showing how different individuals deal with common experiences and the variety of strategies they employ. The four types were Congruent Worlds/Smooth Transitions, Different Worlds/Border-crossings Managed, Different Worlds/Border-crossings Difficult, and Different Worlds/Borders Resisted. The strategies for negotiating identity in the workplace included conforming to the institutional culture, integrating or "plugging in" selected values of the African home culture into that of the company, resisting the dominant culture of the company and leaving the company altogether.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationNgazimbi, X. S. (2006). <i>Negotiating identities in post-apartheid South Africa : black African managers' experiences in an English-speaking university</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Sociology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11339en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationNgazimbi, Xolani Sharon. <i>"Negotiating identities in post-apartheid South Africa : black African managers' experiences in an English-speaking university."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Sociology, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11339en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationNgazimbi, X. 2006. Negotiating identities in post-apartheid South Africa : black African managers' experiences in an English-speaking university. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Ngazimbi, Xolani Sharon AB - This is a study about the subjective experiences of black African managers working in an English-speaking university in post-apartheid South Africa We investigated the adaptation strategies they employ as they navigate borders and boundaries between their home and work worlds, and how they negotiate identity in an environment dominated by Eurocentrism in one of the oldest English-speaking universities in South Africa. The theoretical framework was informed Berger & Luckmann's (1966) "Social Construction of Reality", in particular, their concepts of subjectivity and intersubjectivity; and Phelan, Davidson and Yu's (1993 & 1998) "Multiple Worlds Typology". The theories proposed by these writers acknowledge that individuals move between multiple worlds as they go about their daily lives. We adopted a typology from Phelan et al. (1993 & 1996) based on whether or not the "worlds" are congruent and what adaptation strategies individuals use in their transitions across borders and boundaries. We used a qualitative approach which involved face to face in-depth interviews with six black African managers using a semi-structured interview schedule. This, importantly, meant we allowed the respondents' subjective voices to emerge. The six respondents fell across four out of six types of transitions and we were able to construct their profiles which represent identity clusters showing how different individuals deal with common experiences and the variety of strategies they employ. The four types were Congruent Worlds/Smooth Transitions, Different Worlds/Border-crossings Managed, Different Worlds/Border-crossings Difficult, and Different Worlds/Borders Resisted. The strategies for negotiating identity in the workplace included conforming to the institutional culture, integrating or "plugging in" selected values of the African home culture into that of the company, resisting the dominant culture of the company and leaving the company altogether. DA - 2006 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2006 T1 - Negotiating identities in post-apartheid South Africa : black African managers' experiences in an English-speaking university TI - Negotiating identities in post-apartheid South Africa : black African managers' experiences in an English-speaking university UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11339 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/11339
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationNgazimbi XS. Negotiating identities in post-apartheid South Africa : black African managers' experiences in an English-speaking university. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Sociology, 2006 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11339en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Sociologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherIndustry, Labour and Organisational Studiesen_ZA
dc.titleNegotiating identities in post-apartheid South Africa : black African managers' experiences in an English-speaking universityen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMSocScen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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