The objective of this study was to investigate best practices regarding implementing and sustaining formal mentoring programmes in three South African organisations. The purposeful sampling method was used to involve designated representatives responsible for overseeing the implementation and management of the mentoring programmes in each of the three companies in the research. A qualitative content analysis technique was applied to infer meaningful explanations to the research questions. The findings indicate that the three organisations rely on a variety of systems and practices to sustain the effectiveness of their mentoring programmes. The implications of the findings are discussed

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expectations and perceived challenges of mentees and mentors regarding a formal mentoring programme within the South African work context. The convenience sampling method was used to identify respondents (N = 12). Qualitative methods were used to collect and analyse data on the respondents’ views on the formal mentoring programme. The results suggest that male and female mentees differ in terms of their expectations and the challenges they perceive in the formal mentoring relationship. The expectations of mentees also appear to be different from those of mentors regarding the formal relationship

Political, economic, technological and cultural changes are having a profound impact on the world of work and are bringing new challenges to the management of people in the workplace, particularly the planning and managing of careers. Organisations worldwide are increasingly staffed by diverse groups of employees (Aryee & Debrah, 1993;Baruch, 1999;2004;Furnham, 2000;Greenhaus, Callanan & Godshalk, 2001). In the South African context, historically disadvantaged South Africans (Africans, Coloureds, Indians and women) are climbing the corporate ladder and it is clear that only effective management of the diverse workforce will ensure a competitive edge (Grobler, Warnich, Carrell, Elbert & Hatfield, 2002).Mentoring is a valuable resource for individual and organisational learning, and for coping with an unstable and dynamically changing workplace (Kram & Hall, 1996;Siegel & Reinstein, 2001). To cope effectively with change requires a different process of learning -one that mentoring can provide. Kram and Hall (1989) assert that mentoring helps to ease stress during times of "corporate trauma" when an organisation is downsizing, for example. Mentoring can also be used to help employees to take ownership of their careers and thereby navigate their careers successfully (Baruch, 1999;Hay, 1995). According to Clutterbuck and Sweeney (2003), very few people now have linear career paths -that is, where it is possible to see several steps ahead. The reality for most people is that they need to both maximise the potential for learning in the job they have now, and constantly be alive to opportunities to gradually move into new roles. Managing both the major and the minor transitions becomes a lot easier when one has a dispassionate but well-disposed mentor, who can take a broader view and help one to think through the options and implications of each opportunity.A mentor is often described as a senior, experienced employee who serves as a role model, and who provides support, direction and feedback to the younger employee in terms of career plans and interpersonal development (Baruch, 1999: 441; Finkelstein, Allen & Rhoton, 2003:249; Noe, 1988:458). Although older mentors paired with younger mentees may still be the norm, changes encompassing today's workplace, such as multiple lifetime career paths and a protean approach to career development (Baruch, 2004;Hall & Mirvis, 1995), will likely increase the occurrence of similar-age (that is, peer mentoring) and reverse-age (that is, mentor younger than mentee) mentorships (Allen, McManus & Russell, 1999;Finkelstein et al., 2003;Klasen & Clutterbuck, 2002;Kram, 1996). Mentoring appears to work best when the need is the acquisition of wisdom. Clutterbuck and Sweeney (2003) refer to wisdom as the ability to relate what has been learnt to a wide spectrum of situations, and to achieve insight into and understanding of the issues discussed. In this regard, mentoring is regarded as one person's off-line help of another towards making significant transitions in knowledge, work or thin...

Doing a PhD is for most scholars a demanding and emotionally strenuous experience, frequently resulting in potentially promising researchers succumbing to despair soon after embarking on the journey. However, those who complete their doctoral studies recollect subsequently both the frustrations and exciting experiences encountered. This article describes one researcher's ruminations to make sense of the extensive systematic analysis utilised in a quest to obtain a PhD and to understand the academic essence of the scholarly contribution of her PhD. Using the seven fundamental properties of Weick's (1995) sensemaking theory as the theoretical lens, the researcher reflects on the experiences and observations faced en route to completing her PhD.The seven properties form the backdrop of the researcher's qualitative sensemaking methodology in which she formulated three key phases to illustrate her sensemaking road, namely Mapping the Journey, Travelling the Road, and Reaching the Destination. This article reinforces the extent of the challenges a PhD study holds and provides detail of and insight into the application of the sensemaking theory that may be useful to postgraduate researchers and supervisors involved in qualitative inquiry.

This edition is about mentoring in the South African organisational context. Although extensive literature exists on the topic of mentoring, the current state of mentoring in the South African organisational context is under-researched and not yet well explored, particularly in the context of employment equity. This special edition on mentoring therefore aims to provide an overview of current research, practices and experiences regarding mentoring in the multi-cultural South African organisational context