Dr Nasima Carrim wins best paper award

Dr Nasima Carrim from the Department of Human Resource Management at the University of Pretoria attended the Eighth Academic Research Conference on Global Business, Economics, Finance and Social Sciences, which took place in Greece during July 2017, where she received the best paper award in the management/talent and knowledge management track for her paper 'Attraction and retention of information technology graduates in IT organisations: A racial identity perspective'.

The aim of Dr Carrim's study was to investigate what attracts and retains information technology (IT) graduates in the South African context in information and communication technology (ICT) companies from a racial identity perspective. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was used to examine the attraction and retention factors as related to previously disadvantaged black graduates. The findings of the study indicate that previously disadvantaged black graduates who experience micro aggressive behaviour in the workplace tend to leave such organisations within a short period. Organisations that embrace diversity are more likely to attract and retain quality black graduates.

The conference addressed various themes related to global business, economics and sustainability; finance and accounting; banking and risk management; marketing; management; tourism; and social sciences. The conference, themed 'The future is today! Powering growth!', was hosted by Global Business Research Journals in conjunction with SDMIMD, a prestigious management school in India. 

Reflecting on her conference participation, Dr Carrim said: 'Research is hard at the beginning, messy in the middle, but fruitful at the end when it is presented to an audience that appreciates it.'