Resumen

VAN HOEK, L  y  SCHULTZ, CM. Importance and improvement of manager-employee relationships in a natural resources mining company in Africa. JCMAN [online]. 2014, vol.11, n.1, pp.385-405. ISSN 1815-7440.

The mining industry in Africa faces very specific challenges, relating to different cultures, beliefs, standards, geographical areas, remuneration, ethics, communication and management relationships. Mine management and employees are therefore challenged on a daily basis to manage these challenges, something which is even more difficult in a global economic and competitive environment. The purpose of this study was to confirm the importance of the manager-employee relationships and the improvement thereof in a natural resources mining company in Africa. The population included professionals and specialists in fields such as engineering, technical services, geology and human resource management. Different commodities are mined and consist of copper, cobalt, coal, platinum, fluorspar, bauxite and other non-ferrous divisions. The countries under study were Malawi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa. A total of 784 questionnaires were distributed to the different mines via the SurveyMonkeyTM website with a response rate of 51%. A principal axis factor analysis was conducted to determine the most important factors concerning the manager-employee relationships. The results confirmed the importance of the manager-employee relationships in the successful operation in the mining companies in Africa. Suggestions are outlined to improve the manager-employee relationships.

Palabras clave : employee engagement; manager-employee relationship; organisational culture; organisational ethics.

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