Original Research

Psychological capital, a requisite for organisational performance in South Africa

Yvonne Du Plessis, Nicolene Barkhuizen
South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences | Vol 15, No 1 | a122 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v15i1.122 | © 2012 Yvonne Du Plessis, Nicolene Barkhuizen | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 14 October 2010 | Published: 16 March 2012

About the author(s)

Yvonne Du Plessis, Univeristy of Pretoria, South Africa
Nicolene Barkhuizen, University of Pretoria, South Africa

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Abstract

Scholars argue that to address the social, economic and political challenges facing South Africa since 1994, organisational managers/leaders should adopt a positive approach, based on sound organisational behaviour. This study administered the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) to determine whether human resources practitioners (N=131) as custodians of change and positive behaviour in organisations in South Africa embrace core elements of Positive Organisational Behaviour (POB). Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a three-factor model for the PCQ, renamed the Potential South African PsyCap (PSA-PsyCap) instrument. All dimensions displayed acceptable reliabilities. Statistically significant differences exist in the POB of demographic groups, relating to age, marital status, home language, seniority and qualifications. This research reveals that South African HR practitioners and managers should fully embrace psychological capital to effectively create caring workplaces taking cognizance of the broader economic and social issues affecting employees and their performance.

 


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