A case study of factors contributing to discipline problems of security officers : Eskom distribution centres, KwaZulu-Natal North Coast region

Abstract

Private security forms part of a key strategy component in South Africa in terms of the alignment of the safety and security sector. Both private and public sector businesses in South Africa depend on private security systems to safeguard their assets. Although the growth in the private security sector has not provided for outstanding qualities and high levels of qualification criteria for employment in the sector, this quiet transformation of South Africa’s every day security landscape has potentially wide-ranging concerns. It raises important questions about the accountability and responsibility of security companies in providing their clients with disciplined security officers. There are reasons for concerns at Eskom because of the disciplinary problems experienced by security officers. These disciplinary problems create an environment of instability and uncertainty, which impacts on the core purpose of Eskom which is to provide sustainable electricity solutions to grow the economy and improve the quality of life of people in South Africa. Accordingly, the main purpose for the deployment of security officers to Eskom centres is to create a safer environment for Eskom and to safeguard its assets. Currently, disciplinary problems in the workplace constitute one of the most basic problems facing employers in both the public and private sectors. Therefore, developing and maintaining a disciplined security workforce is a priority that should be on the agenda of all private security companies. The objectives of this research included the following:  Examine which factors contribute to disciplinary problems;  Determine what the causes of these factors are that contribute to disciplinary problems; and  Identify what solutions can be used to address the factors contributing to disciplinary problems. A qualitative research approach was used in this study, in that verbal non-numerical data was collected from people in their natural environments who experience xiv everyday situations in the workplace in order to gain a more complete understanding of the problem area. The main method of data collection was by means of face-to-face interviews between the researcher and the interviewees which took place according to a standardised interview schedule. Thirty (30) respondents drawn by means of probability and non-probability sampling processes and were individually interviewed by the interviewer. Accordingly, this study has examined issues as to why security officers do not reliably uphold the discipline that is required of them in the provision of security services at the Eskom centres. The problem of poor discipline at Eskom centres compromises security, which impacts negatively on profitability when a site experiences losses and theft because security officers do not adhere to Eskom’s security requirements while they are deployed at Eskom centres. It is important for any institution to first examine and identify the disciplinary problems experienced by its employees before those problems can be addressed successfully. Accordingly, the nature and extent of disciplinary problems by security officers were examined within this study to assess the effectiveness of security management practices within the private security companies supplying a security service to Eskom. This study, therefore, examined disciplinary problems at Eskom centres (on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal) to identify the specific problems which the security officers have been experiencing and to indicate how effective their company management systems were in dealing with those problems. The study also assisted with formulating adequate recommendations with regard to managing the disciplinary problems at Eskom centres.