A critical analysis of the role of strategic communication in strategic planning : a case study of South African universities
- Authors: Hadji, Mutambuli James
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Communication in management Business communication Strategic planning
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8209 , vital:31978
- Description: The debate on how the communication function can contribute at a strategic level to organisational success is an on-going one because communicators still need to prove their relevance at the top management level. In general, the contribution of communication as a management function in corporate strategy is not known. It is either considered an afterthought or as an element within other functional departments. In this regard, the purpose of this study was to analyse critically the role of communication in strategic planning at the selected South African universities. To achieve this main objective, institutional theory was applied, as it seeks to affirm the role of communication in decision-making with the intention to be legitimised. In-depth interviews were conducted with senior communicators and strategy planners at six universities on how they approach strategic planning in their respective universities. Significant from the findings was the fact that the South African universities follow the same process for strategic planning. Regarding the role of strategic communication, the findings confirmed literature in the sense that communication practice at functional level has been institutionalised but not at the top management level. It was this study’s finding that university reputation and positioning did not prominently feature in the strategic planning processes. Furthermore, this study found that communicators should play a leading in environmental scanning to identify society, industry and commerce with a view to fine-tune the university’s qualification mix. That is, communicators should provide intelligence on changes in the environment which serve as the basis of the development of university strategies. In other words, they should provide vital information to top management to enable them to take informed strategic decisions. Lastly, it was this study’s finding that communicators should conduct evaluation research to assist top management in comparing the set strategic objectives with actual performance. In addition, the communicators should assist top management in determining corrective actions if need be. In view of these findings, this study developed guidelines that will empower communicators to make a more meaningful contribution in the strategic planning process. Given the paucity of research evidence of strategic communication in a university context, the study provides a better understanding of the theory and practice thereof.
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- Date Issued: 2016
Transformative potential of social protection in fragile contexts : a case study of the social cash transfer pilot scheme on child wellbeing in Bomi County of Liberia
- Authors: Ngwerume, Christopher
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Economic development -- Social aspects Political development -- Social aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/13631 , vital:39686
- Description: The topic of social cash transfers is often viewed with scepticism. In the context of fragile states, questions of misuse, inaccessibility of social services, dependency and sustainability are often raised. This study sought to examine the transformative potential of social cash transfers on child wellbeing in fragile contexts through a case study of the social cash transfer pilot scheme in Bomi County of Liberia. The study specifically set out to to assess the relevance of cash transfers in the context of child wellbeing; determine how the wellbeing of child recipients of cash transfers had transformed; and analyse the determinants of the transformative effects of cash transfers on child wellbeing. The study adopted a quasi-experimental, mixed method, and cross-sectional research design. It utilised existing household survey datasets of the mid term and end term evaluations of the Bomi County pilot social cash transfer scheme conducted in Liberia in 2012 and 2015 respectively. A sample size of 224 (about 12percent of the sample frame) was used where Confidence Level was 95percent and P=0.5. This sample size was divided equally between households receiving cash (experimental group) and households with the same characteristics although not receiving cash transfers (control group). For the qualitative method, 66 participants were purposively sampled. A total of 34 participants participated in the indepth interviews, 32 children were sampled for focus group discussions. These were divided into 16 children from the experimental group and 16 children from the control group. Quantitative data sets were analysed in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and qualitative data was analysed through thematic analysis. The findings from the study provide a persuasive case for the transformative potential of social protection in fragile contexts. The study confirms the relevance of social cash transfers in promoting child wellbeing through empowering families to address children‘s physical and dependency-related vulnerabilities and institutional disadvantage. The study also confirms the transformative effects of social cash transfers on child health, food consumption, education, housing conditions, household assets, and child labour. In addition, the results indicate that social cash transfers mitigated gender based institutionalised disadvantage, created safe and protective environments for children and positively impacted on the local economy. However, the study also showed that, to a limited extent, social cash transfers had unintended impacts, particularly increase in child labour, where children were requested to sell in family petty businesses, and instances in which recipients misused the cash. The transformative effects of social cash transfers on child wellbeing were dependent on the size of the transfer, priorities in the use of cash, decision-making dynamics, and fairness of the selection process. The study proffers a Child Sensitive Transformative Social Cash Transfer Model based on the determinants of the impact of social cash transfer. The study ends by highlighting the critical role of social protection in infusing a transformative dimension to social work practice in fragile contexts, with a view to addressing equity, gender equality and child rights through confronting child vulnerabilities and institutionalised disadvantage.
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- Date Issued: 2018