- Title
- The development of a continuous improvement culture causal framework to enhance effectiveness in a South African port environment
- Creator
- Schoeman, Nicole Therese
- Subject
- Continuous improvement process
- Subject
- Organizational change
- Subject
- Corporate culture
- Date Issued
- 2024-04
- Date
- 2024-04
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/64786
- Identifier
- vital:73908
- Description
- Significant competition challenges confront South Africa's port sector. The sector is also essential to the Eastern Cape Province's economic and social standing. This study was conducted with the objective of helping the port industry in South Africa apply the continuous improvement (CI) philosophy more successfully. The formation of an organisational culture that was conducive to CI was accomplished via the identification of key leadership practices and behaviours. The principal objective of the study was to ascertain, examine, and conduct an empirical examination of the potential impact of diverse leadership practices and behaviours on the culture of the organisation. As a result, the goal of the study was to combine well-researched theories and findings about general organisational culture with more recent findings and firsthand knowledge about CI culture and its significance for the effective execution of CI methodology. Formulating a causal framework for CI culture was the main objective of this work. A literature study was conducted on organisational culture, CI principles, and the port industry. This assessment clearly supported CI as a proven strategy for port industry improvement. One of the main reasons why so many organisations are unable to properly deploy CI is the misalignment of their organisational cultures. Furthermore, there was proof of the crucial part that the conduct and behaviour of leaders might play in the formation of a CI culture. Based on the research study, a framework was created to direct these activities and behaviours. The research methodology used to ultimately create the framework was through an empirical study using a quantitative approach. This quantitative approach was used to evaluate eight hypotheses of this study. Additionally, the validity and reliability of the study was also assessed. The eight major types of leadership actions addressed in this framework, and was tested through the hypotheses, included supportive leadership, process management, employee empowerment, organisational values, reward system, external interaction, customer focus, and future orientation. The association between the eight criteria and the existence of CI culture was then investigated empirically using a structured questionnaire. After this, the data was extensively analysed and statistically scrutinised. The findings showed a substantial positive correlation between the degree of CI culture that was presently in place (dependent variable) and four of the eight categories (independent variables). The four categories were external interaction, process management, organisational values, and supportive leadership. After illustrating these connections, the study's recommendations and conclusions were presented in accordance with the data. The recommendations include improving the framework even more by giving additional information about the precise leadership behaviors connected to each variable and increasing the scope of the study to more than just one sample from one port in South Africa.
- Description
- Thesis (MEng) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, School of Engineering, 2024
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (xiii, 142 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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Collections
NMU School of Engineering
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Schoeman, NT.pdf | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |