Assessing availability of managerial employment opportunities for disabled persons in Omusati Town Councils
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Date
2022
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Namibia
Abstract
This study assessed the employment opportunities at management level for persons with
disabilities at town councils in the Omusati Region. This was with a particular focus on
examining organisational factors of importance for the employment of persons with
disabilities and assessing the effects of these factors on town councils' hiring practices. The
study used the convergent parallel mixed methods research design employing both
quantitative and qualitative methods to collect the data. Simple random sampling was used
to select 92 staff members to complete the questionnaire, whilst purposive sampling
method was used to select 4 Human Resources Managers/Officers to participate in the in depth interviews. The questionnaires were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS) software while qualitative data from interviews was summarised using
Microsoft Office. The major finding of this study is a non-representation at management
level and a low representation at the entry level for persons with disabilities at the four
participating town councils. In addition, the study revealed that town councils do not have
in place, workplace diversity policies or plans for the inclusion of persons with disabilities
and no reasonable accommodation is provided to persons with disabilities. However, the
study noted a positive perception towards persons with disabilities as well as knowledge of
disability legislation among participants. The inferential statistical results do not show any
significant effect of organisational factors on the employment of persons with disabilities.
The study recommends that town councils should establish and execute diversity
management policies and initiatives to improve the recruitment, promotion and retention of
employees with disabilities. Town councils should further identify positions that can be
reserved for persons with disabilities and collaborate with disability recruitment agencies or
the Namibian National Disability Council to determine if suitably qualified people with
disabilities can be placed in these roles
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Business Administration (Public Sector Management)
Keywords
Employment, Inclusion, Persons with disabilities, Workplace diversity, Omusati Town councils, Namibia, University of Namibia