Research Paper Example: Inclusive Development in South Africa

Introduction

Most communities languish in poverty, whereas public and private sectors actively run large financial projects within these communities without involving the locals (Osborne et al., 2002, p.6). Most financial projects often attract labor from the external community who are more technically informed, thereby leaving the locality without opportunities in their backyard projects. This is attributed to advanced technical know-how or experience required for a project (Bellgran and Safsten, 2009, p.26), imbalanced policy in community engagement (Burns and Heywood, 2004, p.22), or failure to acknowledge the place of community in projects (Dzimbiri, 2008, p.72). Also, both the private and public sectors have done very little to improve Society's social and economic relationships (Osborne et al., 2002, p.6). As development keeps spreading across the country, very minimal consideration is given to how the resources generated should be shared, and the locals (Waweru, 2015, p.13). No clear policy is evident that illustrates how a sustainable relationship can be developed so that the country solves unemployment and poverty and advances its economic growth. The focus is on local communities who live in low economic levels while the country's GDP is rising.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Economic inequality has an immediate demobilizing effect on organizational collaboration in countries with low-income inequality (Norris et al., 2015, p.16). Engagement is the fastest way to empower communities and reduce economic inequality. The need to empower communities has been linked to a nation (Pulla and Mamidi, 2015, p.144). It is argued that the current unsustainable growth in the economy that leads to a small number of super-rich individuals in a sea of poverty threatens stability, human rights, and peace. Such growth in the economy creates social inequalities that destabilize a nation (Pulla and Mamidi, 2015, p.144). To date, most South Africans face poverty and unemployment, while projects worth billions are continuously being launched within the country (Frasman and Yu, 2019, pp.50-79). Lack of government planning and uncertainty of opportunities have caused panic among jobless societies (Bayrak and Tatli, 2018, pp 231--248), especially in various states. It is identified that the youth’s unemployment is 52% implying that the child forms the highest percentage of low-income earners (Buheji, 2019, pp. 93-105). The country's unemployment rate was reported to be 28.18% % in the year 2019, which has increased over the past decade from 23.54%. In contrast to the high unemployment rate and low economic empowerment among youth, its investment rate has grown over the same period, with an average estimated $15.3 billion direct foreign investments annually (Masipa, 2018). This massive investment increase has not translated to a rise in the hosting community's job opportunities implying that the Society (youths) are inadequately involved.

Problem Statement

There is ample research on the need to include communities in development plans by the public or private sector. The studies have established that communities in developing countries do not benefit directly from projects being undertaken within them, a situation that creates diverse economic and social inefficiencies. From a regional perspective, the principal hurdle facing South Africa arises from considerable and absolute inequality in the development and distribution of resources (Saunders et al. 2013). Better information on how cash income is distributed within a society is critical to addressing increasing equality concerns. Such information implicates policies by highlighting the importance of circumstances in a nation for various programs' success. Also, data on more homogeneous groups is essential in bridging gaps between low and high-income earners. In South Africa, many studies have been devoted to the need for community engagement (Hall, 2010), and a few resulted in success (Waterton and Watson, 2013, p.39). Recent studies have also indicated the need to engage the youths in community development (Oosterom, 2018). However, little research is available on how youths should be engaged in the technical development of plans to improve the employment ratio within the community and have the community not only acquire low-end jobs. Developed countries have established tremendous steps in having their citizens run technical parts of projects and receive high-end income. In contrast, less developed countries like South Africa have their youths earn the country's lowest wages. Failure in South Africa has been attributed to flawed policies, racism, and lack of political goodwill.

According to the South Africa Department of Employment and Labor (DEL), there are approximately 3,000 significant investments across the country with over 15,000 high-paying positions created by this investment. Notably, a tiny fraction of the Society within which these investments occupy the high-paying jobs. It is important to note that most of these high-paying jobs require qualifications that most parent societies do not possess. If not all, most projects import technical labor out of the company, leaving humanity to scramble for inconsequential vacancies with low pay. Since 2015, there has been a push to benefit communities from the projects they host; still, less to no improvement has been realized in having the locals steer the plans. Unfortunately, the poverty index of the communities surrounding the multi-billion project has surged up. South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) reported that about 15 million people qualified in various technical areas. Further study indicates that most of the registered individual qualifications do not meet current market quality demand, and most of them lose out to imported labor.

Rationale and Significance of the Study

The existing knowledge does not effectively champion for youths to gain better positions at work. The consideration of youths should not be limited to temporary and unsustainable opportunities (Bond, 2002, p.82), an economy based clearly on sustainable human well-being and the promotion required by youths (Costanza et al., 2013 p.14). The most critical task facing South Africa today is creating a society with a common sustainable and desirable vision that can provide permanent prosperity fairly and equitably to all citizens. To achieve a desirable and sustainable economy, they must create a shared vision detailing how they should be absorbed in reasonable jobs.

Most studies have established that local communities miss out on opportunities presented by investments in their locality; ways to engage the locals in the project have developed from these previous studies. Our study will enhance prior studies' effectiveness by providing courses in which Society can get involved in a project's technical areas within their area. This study's recommendations will result in more locals getting an opportunity in high-paying projects, thereby improving both the poverty level and unemployment index in a society. The course will benefit youths who form a higher percentage of the unemployed group and always settle for low-paying jobs. The positive relationship between community and organizations improves efficiency in a company's operation, which amounts to success. This study's findings will also help industries develop a mechanism that will promote their host community, both in employment and high salaries. In practice, when more people in a society are employed in the top positions of organizations, Society's economic status increases; also, the community benefits from empowered human resources.

Aim and Objectives of the Study

One of the research goals is to develop partnerships between companies and communities and establish a platform on which future consortia and agendas could be built. The research document discussed many problems, such as low networks, little cooperation between institutions that create their projects from local resources, and significantly few government policies to increase the nation’s economic power and respond to the thousands of poor citizens across the country. The value of collaboration, consortia, networks, and community support has been highlighted in the work environment for a long time. The research will involve the collection of employment data from individuals and policy statements from organizations to achieve the following objectives:

• Study the level of involvement by a society in projects which are undertaken within their locality.
• Identify factors that result in low absorption of society members into top-paying positions in projects and its consequences on Society's dwindling economy.
• Determine how effective engagement of the Society in the project can improve the performance of the organization.
• Suggest practical ways for improving income level and unemployment rate using available projects in Society.

Research Questions/Hypotheses

.The need to involve Society in companies' projects has caused a heated reaction among groups who feel their problems are directly associated with the lack of opportunity from the organizations within them. Several researchers indicated results that support the claim by showing how organizations systemically offer poor incentives to youths. From a regional perspective, the principal hurdle facing South Africa arises from considerable and absolute inequality in the development and distribution of resources (Saunders et al. 2013, pg.). Our study will answer the following question:

1. What is the contribution of systematic exclusion of the society/youths from top-paying positions in organizations in encouraging poverty and unemployment among communities in rural South Africa?
2. What policy exists that ensures that youths are not left out of opportunities presented by projects in their neighborhood, and how efficient are the systems, in ensuring that the youths get fair appointments?

This study is based on the assumption that the rate of employment and poverty in South Africa is solely affected by the non-inclusion of the Society in large infrastructure projects and that involving the community, as recommended in the study, will improve the economic class of citizens in the country as well as establish better operations.

Literature Review

I have found good literature representing the need for collaboration among the Society and organizations and a few outlines of the advantages so far registered in such partnerships (Bruns, 2012, pp. 815-835). Some studies have pointed out how exploitative organizations are to their host society, citing inconsideration and low rewards as standard practices towards the locals. However, little details are written on how the association can assign community top-paying positions in a scheme and create a sustainable relationship that will ensure South Africa realizes Socio-economic growth. Engaging the community, especially the youth, in development programs should begin by having open communication to understand a community's needs. Residents, businesses, and groups must all be consulted to get a level of understanding of each requirement and vision. Such engagement should entail informing, consulting, involving, collaborating, and empowering the target group. Most studies have established that local communities miss out on opportunities presented by investments in their locality; ways to engage the locals in the project have developed from these previous studies. Our study will enhance prior studies' effectiveness by providing courses in which Society can get involved in a p...