A case study of organisational change in an employee wellness company and its effects on job satisfaction and organisational climate
- Authors: Kassiem, Wahib
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Organizational change -- South Africa -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:844 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016404
- Description: The modern era has brought the phenomenon of organisational change closer to the average person. With the recent financial crisis placing more strain on businesses, organisations are always under pressure to review their business models in order to deliver a sustainable operational model and as result, hopefully a sustainable competitive advantage. In order to remain competitive, the leadership team has to constantly seek ways of differentiating their organisations from others with similar product offerings. When these changes are initiated, there is no doubt that the leadership gave extensive thought prior to execution. However, their motives are not always clear to their most important constitution, their employees. Often when these changes are implemented, employees believe that they’ve been left out of the decision making process. Furthermore, post change review with employees are also not given enough thought and are often not done. This research used qualitative research methods to establish how employees experience job satisfaction and organisational climate subsequent to changes that transpired within their work environment. Semi-structured interviews and document analysis were used to collect data. The interviews were constructed by expanding upon well-documented quantitative dimensions of these behavioural variables. Questions were developed focusing on these dimensions in line with the changes experienced. The sample consisted of nine employees at an employee wellness organisation in Roodepoort, Gauteng. There is evidence to show that in this short period of two years (May 2012 to June 2014), by implementing various changes, the new leadership has improved the financial viability of the organisation. However, insights from the interviews point to a number of areas where the leadership and management structures have to exert more effort. Communication processes have to be reviewed, especially to lower levels. As there exists limited opportunities for promotion, investigations into expanding existing roles, again at the lower levels may assist in raising job satisfaction levels. Employees felt that support structures are severely lacking when significant changes affecting them are implemented. A climate for innovation and risk taking has to be considered which, if instituted, could aid the organisation in setting the pace for the organisational wellness industry. The structure adopted for this research consists of three sections. Section one follows the evaluation report format, with the literature review and research methodology sections following thereafter. By making use of established literature as a basis, the findings and recommendations are therefore not exclusively applicable to this organisation. Hence other organisations intending similar change initiatives could benefit from this research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Kassiem, Wahib
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Organizational change -- South Africa -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:844 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016404
- Description: The modern era has brought the phenomenon of organisational change closer to the average person. With the recent financial crisis placing more strain on businesses, organisations are always under pressure to review their business models in order to deliver a sustainable operational model and as result, hopefully a sustainable competitive advantage. In order to remain competitive, the leadership team has to constantly seek ways of differentiating their organisations from others with similar product offerings. When these changes are initiated, there is no doubt that the leadership gave extensive thought prior to execution. However, their motives are not always clear to their most important constitution, their employees. Often when these changes are implemented, employees believe that they’ve been left out of the decision making process. Furthermore, post change review with employees are also not given enough thought and are often not done. This research used qualitative research methods to establish how employees experience job satisfaction and organisational climate subsequent to changes that transpired within their work environment. Semi-structured interviews and document analysis were used to collect data. The interviews were constructed by expanding upon well-documented quantitative dimensions of these behavioural variables. Questions were developed focusing on these dimensions in line with the changes experienced. The sample consisted of nine employees at an employee wellness organisation in Roodepoort, Gauteng. There is evidence to show that in this short period of two years (May 2012 to June 2014), by implementing various changes, the new leadership has improved the financial viability of the organisation. However, insights from the interviews point to a number of areas where the leadership and management structures have to exert more effort. Communication processes have to be reviewed, especially to lower levels. As there exists limited opportunities for promotion, investigations into expanding existing roles, again at the lower levels may assist in raising job satisfaction levels. Employees felt that support structures are severely lacking when significant changes affecting them are implemented. A climate for innovation and risk taking has to be considered which, if instituted, could aid the organisation in setting the pace for the organisational wellness industry. The structure adopted for this research consists of three sections. Section one follows the evaluation report format, with the literature review and research methodology sections following thereafter. By making use of established literature as a basis, the findings and recommendations are therefore not exclusively applicable to this organisation. Hence other organisations intending similar change initiatives could benefit from this research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Evaluating entrepreneurial traits and business practices of SMEs in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Klaas, Matthew Thamsanqa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Entrepreneurship New business enterprises
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/11103 , vital:26885
- Description: Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) are considered a vital catalyst for economic growth and a source of job creation. In South Africa, with the high levels of unemployment, the contribution made by SMEs is of particular importance. However this sector of the economy is plagued by a high rate of business failure. In an effort to improve the current situation, this study sought to identify which business practices and entrepreneurial traits are present in SMEs in the Eastern Cape that may enhance business performance. The research was carried out amongst SMEs in the Eastern Cape however the results and recommendations of the study can be applied to SMEs in other parts of the country. The research methodology employed in this study was a quantitative approach. A web-based survey was distributed to potential respondents. The criteria used in identify potential respondents for the purpose of this study was that, the SME had to have less than 200 employees and been in business for more than three years. A combination of snowball and convenience sampling was used to select the sample. The researcher developed a conceptual framework using the literature as basis. The survey was distributed to 40 potential respondents. A total of 21 responses were received which translates to a 51 percent response rate. Data analysis was performed by means of descriptive and inferential statistics. The study confirmed the existence of a significant relationship between the independent variables being human resource management, accounting, technology, internal controls and entrepreneurial traits and the dependent variables being business performance. The study affirmed the notion that certain business practices and entrepreneurial traits should be prevalent in a SMEs business in order to enhance business performance. The findings of this study are such that these business practices should be present however the variables highlighted here are not absolute as there are other business practices that are of equal importance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Klaas, Matthew Thamsanqa
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Entrepreneurship New business enterprises
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/11103 , vital:26885
- Description: Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) are considered a vital catalyst for economic growth and a source of job creation. In South Africa, with the high levels of unemployment, the contribution made by SMEs is of particular importance. However this sector of the economy is plagued by a high rate of business failure. In an effort to improve the current situation, this study sought to identify which business practices and entrepreneurial traits are present in SMEs in the Eastern Cape that may enhance business performance. The research was carried out amongst SMEs in the Eastern Cape however the results and recommendations of the study can be applied to SMEs in other parts of the country. The research methodology employed in this study was a quantitative approach. A web-based survey was distributed to potential respondents. The criteria used in identify potential respondents for the purpose of this study was that, the SME had to have less than 200 employees and been in business for more than three years. A combination of snowball and convenience sampling was used to select the sample. The researcher developed a conceptual framework using the literature as basis. The survey was distributed to 40 potential respondents. A total of 21 responses were received which translates to a 51 percent response rate. Data analysis was performed by means of descriptive and inferential statistics. The study confirmed the existence of a significant relationship between the independent variables being human resource management, accounting, technology, internal controls and entrepreneurial traits and the dependent variables being business performance. The study affirmed the notion that certain business practices and entrepreneurial traits should be prevalent in a SMEs business in order to enhance business performance. The findings of this study are such that these business practices should be present however the variables highlighted here are not absolute as there are other business practices that are of equal importance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Audit committee effectiveness in an Eastern Cape provincial department
- Authors: Koranteng, Isaac
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Audit committees -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/4045 , vital:20507
- Description: The discussion on the extent to which audit committees perform the oversight function of financial governance is important. This is particularly so in the Eastern Cape where the implementation of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) of 1999 has not significantly improved financial management. The deteriorating financial management environment of provincial departments impacts negatively on service delivery and is therefore a matter of great concern to the political administrators at both national and provincial levels. The objective of this study is to determine how effective audit committees are in Eastern Cape provincial departments and how this translates into good financial governance and, ultimately, improved service delivery. To achieve this objective, a literature review of the link between audit committee effectiveness, accountability and corporate governance in the public sector was conducted. It was found that audit committees in the public sector have similar responsibilities to that of the private sector and lack of accountability in the public sector impacts negatively on service delivery. A second literature review was conducted to highlight the current state of public financial management in South Africa and how this has had an impact on financial management in Eastern Cape provincial departments. A qualitative research methodology was applied because the researcher is of the opinion that the research question asked is more interpretive than predictive. An interview survey was conducted in which senior management officials were selected from provincial departments and interviewed using semi-structured questions. The research study concluded, that provincial departments in the Eastern Cape have all established audit committees in line with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) National Treasury regulations. These committees are however ineffective. Ineffectiveness is as a result of, among other factors, lack of stability in accounting officer and chief financial officer positions. Secondly, senior management have not been made to account for the persistent negative audit outcomes in their departments. The research recommends that the political leadership of the province should ensure stability in leadership, particularly in the position of accounting officer and the chief financial officer.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Koranteng, Isaac
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Audit committees -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/4045 , vital:20507
- Description: The discussion on the extent to which audit committees perform the oversight function of financial governance is important. This is particularly so in the Eastern Cape where the implementation of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) of 1999 has not significantly improved financial management. The deteriorating financial management environment of provincial departments impacts negatively on service delivery and is therefore a matter of great concern to the political administrators at both national and provincial levels. The objective of this study is to determine how effective audit committees are in Eastern Cape provincial departments and how this translates into good financial governance and, ultimately, improved service delivery. To achieve this objective, a literature review of the link between audit committee effectiveness, accountability and corporate governance in the public sector was conducted. It was found that audit committees in the public sector have similar responsibilities to that of the private sector and lack of accountability in the public sector impacts negatively on service delivery. A second literature review was conducted to highlight the current state of public financial management in South Africa and how this has had an impact on financial management in Eastern Cape provincial departments. A qualitative research methodology was applied because the researcher is of the opinion that the research question asked is more interpretive than predictive. An interview survey was conducted in which senior management officials were selected from provincial departments and interviewed using semi-structured questions. The research study concluded, that provincial departments in the Eastern Cape have all established audit committees in line with the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) National Treasury regulations. These committees are however ineffective. Ineffectiveness is as a result of, among other factors, lack of stability in accounting officer and chief financial officer positions. Secondly, senior management have not been made to account for the persistent negative audit outcomes in their departments. The research recommends that the political leadership of the province should ensure stability in leadership, particularly in the position of accounting officer and the chief financial officer.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Factors influencing employee engagement during change
- Kubheka, Praise-God Ntandokayise Mandla
- Authors: Kubheka, Praise-God Ntandokayise Mandla
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Management -- Employee participation , Organizational change -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3135 , vital:20402
- Description: A lot of attention over the years has been focused on understanding employees resistance to change. A few researchers have provided insights into the reasons why some employees remain positive and engaged during times of uncertainty and changes in the organosation. To help build this knowledge area the study was aimed to investigating the factors that drive employee engagement during change. One-hundred-and-twenty employees, across a cross-section of jobs at a specific bank in South Africa, were surveyed. The empirical results obtained from the survey showed that independent variables such as dialogue, organisational culture and a clear4 career plan were congruent with the expected results. In other words these vriables displayed a significant association with the de[endent variables (e.g. job involvement, organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour.).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Kubheka, Praise-God Ntandokayise Mandla
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Management -- Employee participation , Organizational change -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3135 , vital:20402
- Description: A lot of attention over the years has been focused on understanding employees resistance to change. A few researchers have provided insights into the reasons why some employees remain positive and engaged during times of uncertainty and changes in the organosation. To help build this knowledge area the study was aimed to investigating the factors that drive employee engagement during change. One-hundred-and-twenty employees, across a cross-section of jobs at a specific bank in South Africa, were surveyed. The empirical results obtained from the survey showed that independent variables such as dialogue, organisational culture and a clear4 career plan were congruent with the expected results. In other words these vriables displayed a significant association with the de[endent variables (e.g. job involvement, organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour.).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The influence of online travel agent performance on customer satisfaction levels at a selected hotel
- Authors: Le Roux, Ignus
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Consumer satisfaction , Travel agents , Tourism -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3105 , vital:20399
- Description: Tourism is an international industry; constant evolution is taking place in the marketing of tourism products and the expectation levels of hotel guests. Online Travel Agents have become more dominant in recent years. This dominance has been assisted by travellers’ more frequent use of the internet to search for information, by the bundling of heterogeneous products and by these agents’ use of the social media. Guest satisfaction levels and expectations are impacted by changes in lifestyle, reasons for travel and the information accessed prior to making their reservations. The basis of this study was establishing the impact of the information supplied by Online Travel Agents on guest satisfaction levels at The Monarch Hotel. The evolution and function of the tourism distribution channel and the factors affecting guest satisfaction and its measurement were explored.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The influence of online travel agent performance on customer satisfaction levels at a selected hotel
- Authors: Le Roux, Ignus
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Consumer satisfaction , Travel agents , Tourism -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3105 , vital:20399
- Description: Tourism is an international industry; constant evolution is taking place in the marketing of tourism products and the expectation levels of hotel guests. Online Travel Agents have become more dominant in recent years. This dominance has been assisted by travellers’ more frequent use of the internet to search for information, by the bundling of heterogeneous products and by these agents’ use of the social media. Guest satisfaction levels and expectations are impacted by changes in lifestyle, reasons for travel and the information accessed prior to making their reservations. The basis of this study was establishing the impact of the information supplied by Online Travel Agents on guest satisfaction levels at The Monarch Hotel. The evolution and function of the tourism distribution channel and the factors affecting guest satisfaction and its measurement were explored.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Developing a performance measurement tool to monitor the performance of a public sector agency : a balanced scorecard approach
- Authors: Lisani, Ncedo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: South Africa. Economic Development Department , South Africa. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism , Performance -- Measurement , Performance -- Management , Public administration -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:848 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017515
- Description: The world has seen unparalleled pressure put on the public sector to improve the speed and quality of service delivery, whilst simultaneously employing measures to cut the costs. South Africa and the Eastern Cape have not been immune to this as there have been complaints and demonstrations from various national and provincial stakeholders demanding more and improved services. The Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT) in particular has employed the services of public entities in its quest to realise government’s socio-economic developmental objectives and ease some of the service delivery pressures. These agencies are unfortunately struggling to deliver and the Department is unable to play the oversight role it is legislatively mandated to carry out. The main reason for this seem to be the lack of the capacity to objectively track and measure the performance of these agencies. As they say “you cannot manage what you cannot measure”. This is despite the fact that there is a shareholders’ compact and many other measures in place to enable performance monitoring. Also, the public sector is known to have inherent and unique performance management challenges like broad and vague objectives which lead to too many measurements, a propensity to focus on the “easy to measure” but often irrelevant indicators at the expense of critical outcomes and a short-term orientation that is usually fuelled by political expediency. Against this background, this study sought to make use of a comprehensive and dynamic performance monitoring framework, namely the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), to explore its potential use in assisting government to monitor the performance of public agencies, in particular the Development Finance Institutions (DFI) in South Africa. The proposed framework helps government to focus on the performance drivers of future value, and what decisions and actions are necessary to achieve critical outcomes. The aim of the study therefore is to develop an adjusted BSC framework to monitor the activities of a public sector agency and thus demonstrate how a BSC framework could be used to monitor a public agency by the government department. The study is evaluative in nature and is divided into three sections. Section one is presented as an Evaluation Report. It sets the scene, discusses briefly the key theoretical concepts, outlines the research methods used and presents the findings followed by a discussion and recommendations. Section two delves into the literature in more detail, providing a more extensive review of the literature that informed the investigation, whilst section three provides a more extensive description of the research methodology employed in the study. To achieve the aims of the study, the research drew from the work of various authors in the field including that of Bigliardi, Dormio and Galati, 2011; Bititci, Garengo, Dörfler, and Nudurupati, 2012; Julyan, 2011; Kaplan and Norton, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2001, 2004 and 2006; Niven, 2003 and 2008 and Northcott and Taulapapa, 2012. Also, five BSC perspectives - including the programme specific “equity” perspective - were used to develop an interview schedule. These were used to formulate the key performance objectives and indicators, based on the stakeholder’s responses. These respondents have experience within the programme as administrators, beneficiaries and funders. The research employed purposive sampling with semi-structured in-depth interviews and document analysis as primary and secondary instruments for data collection. In essence, five officials from the agency, one from DEDEAT and two co-operatives participated in the research. The results indicate a general appreciation of and gravitation towards outcome based measures, even though the government culture of focusing on outputs is still prevalent. The results of the study indicated that, generally, a government - public agency BSC based performance monitoring framework would have the following features: Customer objectives and programme mission as the main goal and this will provides clarity at all levels on who the customers are and what are their primary requirements. Clear, visible and stringent financial controls as the agency is administering public resources. Few carefully selected processes and systems that have a direct and positive impact on the customer objectives. Deliberate and consistent efforts to promote the participation of designated groups in the economy of the country. Comprehensive indicators on capacity building as “mission based-organisations rely heavily on skills, dedication and alignment of staff”. Overall, the study concludes that the make-up of the BSC is beneficial to the public sector and in monitoring the public sector agencies for the following reasons: It helps the agency to focus on customers and their needs. It forces the agency to engage and communicate strategic intention with both internal and external stakeholders and thus synchronize competing stakeholder needs. It forces the agency to limit the number of indicators and therefore select the few value adding measures that are aligned to customer outcomes. Through its cause and effect relationship, the agency is compelled to align all the resources, activities and processes to the main goal of the entity. All these help to minimize the principal agent problem, as the use of the BSC can bring clarity on strategy and expectations, provided it is supported with regular communication.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Lisani, Ncedo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: South Africa. Economic Development Department , South Africa. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism , Performance -- Measurement , Performance -- Management , Public administration -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:848 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017515
- Description: The world has seen unparalleled pressure put on the public sector to improve the speed and quality of service delivery, whilst simultaneously employing measures to cut the costs. South Africa and the Eastern Cape have not been immune to this as there have been complaints and demonstrations from various national and provincial stakeholders demanding more and improved services. The Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT) in particular has employed the services of public entities in its quest to realise government’s socio-economic developmental objectives and ease some of the service delivery pressures. These agencies are unfortunately struggling to deliver and the Department is unable to play the oversight role it is legislatively mandated to carry out. The main reason for this seem to be the lack of the capacity to objectively track and measure the performance of these agencies. As they say “you cannot manage what you cannot measure”. This is despite the fact that there is a shareholders’ compact and many other measures in place to enable performance monitoring. Also, the public sector is known to have inherent and unique performance management challenges like broad and vague objectives which lead to too many measurements, a propensity to focus on the “easy to measure” but often irrelevant indicators at the expense of critical outcomes and a short-term orientation that is usually fuelled by political expediency. Against this background, this study sought to make use of a comprehensive and dynamic performance monitoring framework, namely the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), to explore its potential use in assisting government to monitor the performance of public agencies, in particular the Development Finance Institutions (DFI) in South Africa. The proposed framework helps government to focus on the performance drivers of future value, and what decisions and actions are necessary to achieve critical outcomes. The aim of the study therefore is to develop an adjusted BSC framework to monitor the activities of a public sector agency and thus demonstrate how a BSC framework could be used to monitor a public agency by the government department. The study is evaluative in nature and is divided into three sections. Section one is presented as an Evaluation Report. It sets the scene, discusses briefly the key theoretical concepts, outlines the research methods used and presents the findings followed by a discussion and recommendations. Section two delves into the literature in more detail, providing a more extensive review of the literature that informed the investigation, whilst section three provides a more extensive description of the research methodology employed in the study. To achieve the aims of the study, the research drew from the work of various authors in the field including that of Bigliardi, Dormio and Galati, 2011; Bititci, Garengo, Dörfler, and Nudurupati, 2012; Julyan, 2011; Kaplan and Norton, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2001, 2004 and 2006; Niven, 2003 and 2008 and Northcott and Taulapapa, 2012. Also, five BSC perspectives - including the programme specific “equity” perspective - were used to develop an interview schedule. These were used to formulate the key performance objectives and indicators, based on the stakeholder’s responses. These respondents have experience within the programme as administrators, beneficiaries and funders. The research employed purposive sampling with semi-structured in-depth interviews and document analysis as primary and secondary instruments for data collection. In essence, five officials from the agency, one from DEDEAT and two co-operatives participated in the research. The results indicate a general appreciation of and gravitation towards outcome based measures, even though the government culture of focusing on outputs is still prevalent. The results of the study indicated that, generally, a government - public agency BSC based performance monitoring framework would have the following features: Customer objectives and programme mission as the main goal and this will provides clarity at all levels on who the customers are and what are their primary requirements. Clear, visible and stringent financial controls as the agency is administering public resources. Few carefully selected processes and systems that have a direct and positive impact on the customer objectives. Deliberate and consistent efforts to promote the participation of designated groups in the economy of the country. Comprehensive indicators on capacity building as “mission based-organisations rely heavily on skills, dedication and alignment of staff”. Overall, the study concludes that the make-up of the BSC is beneficial to the public sector and in monitoring the public sector agencies for the following reasons: It helps the agency to focus on customers and their needs. It forces the agency to engage and communicate strategic intention with both internal and external stakeholders and thus synchronize competing stakeholder needs. It forces the agency to limit the number of indicators and therefore select the few value adding measures that are aligned to customer outcomes. Through its cause and effect relationship, the agency is compelled to align all the resources, activities and processes to the main goal of the entity. All these help to minimize the principal agent problem, as the use of the BSC can bring clarity on strategy and expectations, provided it is supported with regular communication.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Impact of poaching on the marketability of safari lodges in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Loader, Rory James
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Safari lodges -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Marketing , Poaching -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Ecotourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Wildlife crimes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:845 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016405
- Description: This research is presented in three sections. Section 1 presents the research report in an academic paper format. Section 2 provides a comprehensive literature review and Section 3 describes the research methodology and methods employed during the research. The tourism industry is the fastest growing sector within the South African Economy, with over 2.6 million foreign tourists visiting South Africa each year. Wildlife, landscapes and scenery are cited as the primary attractions for visiting the country, with over 45 percent of tourists visiting at least one wildlife or nature reserve during their stay in South Africa (Kerley et al., 2011:2). Sixty percent of those tourists travelled for leisure purposes, with 643,883 of the tourists utilising safari lodge accommodation during their visit (Ruggles-Brise, 2013). The Eastern Cape achieved 3.1 percent; of those tourist arrivals, with a bed-night contribution of 734,339, compared to the 16.8 percent (1.9million) and 10.5 percent (1.07million) for Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces respectively (Ruggles-Brise, 2013). The Eastern Cape lodges represent less than half the bed-nights achieved by Mpumalanga and Limpopo lodges. Due to the number of possible bed-nights available to lodges in the Eastern Cape, it is increasingly important for individual lodges to provide a unique experience, in order to be competitive in attracting guests (Saayman, 2013:81). This was used form part of the foundation to this research in determining the marketability of three lodges in the Eastern Cape, which was derived from the attractiveness of the lodges, determined by guests visiting the lodges. This research follows on from four previous surveys commissioned by INDALO, the Eastern Cape Private Nature Reserve Association in 2004 Sims-Castley et al. 2004), 2006 (Langholz et al., 2006), 2008 (Snowball et al., 2008) and 2011 (Kerley et al., 2011). Part of the research was to identify the main attractions of the reserves. These previous surveys provided a foundation for this research to follow on investigating guest motivations for visiting the three sample lodges and to determine visitor perception of poaching and whether it would impact their motivations for visiting the reserve. In order to address the goals of the research qualitative data was gathered during survey interviews conducted at the three sampled reserves. Seventy five (75) guests were interviewed, equally over the three reserves. Quantitative data was also gathered during the interview surveys, utilising Likert scale questions, prompting guests to choose their top attractions, from which basic descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data being able to determine possible trends amongst respondents and lodges. Results verified guest motivations from the previous surveys, confirming that game viewing, especially the “Big 5” remained the most important attraction for visitors to the reserves while the availability of natural scenery and landscape, high end accommodation and service, the proximity to the garden route and being located in a malaria free area were also see as attractive attributes of the lodges as per the previous surveys. Where the gap in the research was indicated based on guests perception of poaching and whether it would impact their motivations for visit these lodges, impacting that lodges marketability (attractiveness). Results indicated that if they were unable to view the iconic ‘Big Five’ at the reserve due to the extent of poaching. Respondents indicated that the impact would likely and very likely impact their decision to choose the reserves over another reserve that could. Indicating the potential impact that poaching would have on lodges if they were to lose their iconic species which would spell the loss in attractiveness and therefore marketability.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Loader, Rory James
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Safari lodges -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Marketing , Poaching -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Ecotourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Wildlife crimes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:845 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016405
- Description: This research is presented in three sections. Section 1 presents the research report in an academic paper format. Section 2 provides a comprehensive literature review and Section 3 describes the research methodology and methods employed during the research. The tourism industry is the fastest growing sector within the South African Economy, with over 2.6 million foreign tourists visiting South Africa each year. Wildlife, landscapes and scenery are cited as the primary attractions for visiting the country, with over 45 percent of tourists visiting at least one wildlife or nature reserve during their stay in South Africa (Kerley et al., 2011:2). Sixty percent of those tourists travelled for leisure purposes, with 643,883 of the tourists utilising safari lodge accommodation during their visit (Ruggles-Brise, 2013). The Eastern Cape achieved 3.1 percent; of those tourist arrivals, with a bed-night contribution of 734,339, compared to the 16.8 percent (1.9million) and 10.5 percent (1.07million) for Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces respectively (Ruggles-Brise, 2013). The Eastern Cape lodges represent less than half the bed-nights achieved by Mpumalanga and Limpopo lodges. Due to the number of possible bed-nights available to lodges in the Eastern Cape, it is increasingly important for individual lodges to provide a unique experience, in order to be competitive in attracting guests (Saayman, 2013:81). This was used form part of the foundation to this research in determining the marketability of three lodges in the Eastern Cape, which was derived from the attractiveness of the lodges, determined by guests visiting the lodges. This research follows on from four previous surveys commissioned by INDALO, the Eastern Cape Private Nature Reserve Association in 2004 Sims-Castley et al. 2004), 2006 (Langholz et al., 2006), 2008 (Snowball et al., 2008) and 2011 (Kerley et al., 2011). Part of the research was to identify the main attractions of the reserves. These previous surveys provided a foundation for this research to follow on investigating guest motivations for visiting the three sample lodges and to determine visitor perception of poaching and whether it would impact their motivations for visiting the reserve. In order to address the goals of the research qualitative data was gathered during survey interviews conducted at the three sampled reserves. Seventy five (75) guests were interviewed, equally over the three reserves. Quantitative data was also gathered during the interview surveys, utilising Likert scale questions, prompting guests to choose their top attractions, from which basic descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data being able to determine possible trends amongst respondents and lodges. Results verified guest motivations from the previous surveys, confirming that game viewing, especially the “Big 5” remained the most important attraction for visitors to the reserves while the availability of natural scenery and landscape, high end accommodation and service, the proximity to the garden route and being located in a malaria free area were also see as attractive attributes of the lodges as per the previous surveys. Where the gap in the research was indicated based on guests perception of poaching and whether it would impact their motivations for visit these lodges, impacting that lodges marketability (attractiveness). Results indicated that if they were unable to view the iconic ‘Big Five’ at the reserve due to the extent of poaching. Respondents indicated that the impact would likely and very likely impact their decision to choose the reserves over another reserve that could. Indicating the potential impact that poaching would have on lodges if they were to lose their iconic species which would spell the loss in attractiveness and therefore marketability.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Evaluation of microinsurance distribution strategy at the bottom of the pyramid by Liberty Life Swaziland
- Authors: Lukhele, Mlungisi Reginald
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54474 , vital:26568
- Description: This is a qualitative study which focuses on how Liberty Life Swaziland distributes microinsurance to the bottom of the pyramid within Swaziland. Using stratified purposive sampling, this study identified 5 managers within Liberty Life and 4 managers from brokerages and affinity partners who had a minimum of 3 years’ experience in distribution of microinsurance. Semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted by the researcher with these managers. Interviews were stopped when there was data saturation. To induce emerging themes from the data, open-coding and constant comparison technique was used. Findings in this study reveal that to distribute microinsurance to low income households, Liberty Life objectives are to; (1) provide relevant solutions in a cost effective manner, thus keeping premiums as affordable as possible, (2) provide simple products which are easy to understand by customers, (3) make services accessible, and (4) make doing business easy. In this regard, Liberty Life distribution strategy is to partner with bulk retailing entities that have a client base they already service and benefit from nationwide presence and infrastructure. Lastly, the perspectives of both internal and external stakeholders in microinsurance are discussed to evaluate the challenges and successes experienced in implementing the distribution strategy. This study is valuable to critically understand the current distribution strategy from the viewpoint of key intermediaries, but also pinpoint how efforts to achieve microinsurance distribution objectives can be enhanced. Lastly, the study recommends that; a selection criteria be set for distribution partners, partnership with mobile network operators, investment in continuous training of distribution partners and knowledge sharing between Liberty and intermediaries to cease the opportunity at the bottom of the pyramid.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Lukhele, Mlungisi Reginald
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/54474 , vital:26568
- Description: This is a qualitative study which focuses on how Liberty Life Swaziland distributes microinsurance to the bottom of the pyramid within Swaziland. Using stratified purposive sampling, this study identified 5 managers within Liberty Life and 4 managers from brokerages and affinity partners who had a minimum of 3 years’ experience in distribution of microinsurance. Semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted by the researcher with these managers. Interviews were stopped when there was data saturation. To induce emerging themes from the data, open-coding and constant comparison technique was used. Findings in this study reveal that to distribute microinsurance to low income households, Liberty Life objectives are to; (1) provide relevant solutions in a cost effective manner, thus keeping premiums as affordable as possible, (2) provide simple products which are easy to understand by customers, (3) make services accessible, and (4) make doing business easy. In this regard, Liberty Life distribution strategy is to partner with bulk retailing entities that have a client base they already service and benefit from nationwide presence and infrastructure. Lastly, the perspectives of both internal and external stakeholders in microinsurance are discussed to evaluate the challenges and successes experienced in implementing the distribution strategy. This study is valuable to critically understand the current distribution strategy from the viewpoint of key intermediaries, but also pinpoint how efforts to achieve microinsurance distribution objectives can be enhanced. Lastly, the study recommends that; a selection criteria be set for distribution partners, partnership with mobile network operators, investment in continuous training of distribution partners and knowledge sharing between Liberty and intermediaries to cease the opportunity at the bottom of the pyramid.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
A needs analysis of an employee wellness programme : the case of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Swaziland
- Authors: Madlopha, Sboniso Charles
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Financial Services Regulatory Authority (Swaziland) , Employee health promotion -- Swaziland , Needs assessment -- Swaziland , Absenteeism (Labor) -- Swaziland , Employee morale -- Swaziland , Contracting out -- Swaziland
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:857 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018912
- Description: In 2010, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Swaziland noticed a significant increase in employee absenteeism which they discovered was related mainly to: poor health (sick leave), personal and financial stress (garnishee orders were increasing), and low staff morale, the consequence of which was low productivity and missed deadlines (FSRA, 2010:7). High levels of absenteeism meant that a sizeable number of employees were unable to complete their daily tasks (FSRA, 2010:7). Consequently, in 2011, the FSRA Human Resource Department started a wellness programme for all employees in the organization in an attempt to respond to the human resource challenges reported in 2009/10 financial year. By the end of 2012, FSRA management reported that the introduction of the EWP had not yielded the expected results. This therefore prompted management to request an evaluation of the FSRA employee wellness programme. The aim of this research was to identify and prioritize the needs of employees in terms of requirements of a wellness programme and how it should be delivered. The specific objectives of the study are as follows: to identify the wellness needs of employees, to identify employee preferences in terms of the type of interventions to be included in a wellness programme, to identify the preferred mode of delivery of the wellness programme and to make recommendations to management on the design of a wellness programme. Questionnaires with closed ended questions were used to collect data for this survey. The questionnaire used is attached as Appendix A. By means of a needs analysis survey, this research was designed to assess the FSRA employees’ needs in terms of an employee wellness programme, as well as the preferred EWP delivery methods. About 70 percent of FSRA employees participated in the survey. The respondents completed the questionnaire and submitted it online over a period of 10 working days (2 weeks). This report is structured into three sections, namely; section one, which is the evaluation report that gives details of the importance of the study, highlights research methods and then present the results, discussions and recommendations. Section two deals with the literature review while section three reports on the research methodology, research design and procedures and the limitation of the study. In light of the findings on the wellness needs of employees, 72 percent of the respondents felt the current wellness programme was very inadequate and a further 10 percent added that it was inadequate in addressing their wellness needs largely because the needs were not known. The most important wellness needs identified included: exercise, nutrition, personal hygiene, disease awareness and treatment of illness, coping with stress, coping with workload, ventilation, safety, bereavement, personal debt, and retirement planning. The most preferred wellness interventions that respondents proposed include Flexible Work Schedule, Safe Workplace, Improved Ventilation, Retirement Planning Advice and Gymnasium. Further analysis done using correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between the wellness needs and the wellness interventions. Concerning the delivery of the wellness programme, most of the employees indicated that outsourcing certain services was better than having them in house. The highest ranking of the services for out sourcing were nutrition education and medical checkups that ranked between 82 percent and 75 percent respectively. The respondents indicated that they want almost all the chosen interventions to be outsourced. Time slots should also be taken into consideration to ensure employee participation in the wellness programme services. The respondent FSRA employees seem to prefer interventions of an educational nature to be during the lunch hour. These include Nutrition Education, Health Education, Hygiene Education and Medical Check ups and Treatment, whereas Gymnasium was preferred to be after working hours.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Madlopha, Sboniso Charles
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Financial Services Regulatory Authority (Swaziland) , Employee health promotion -- Swaziland , Needs assessment -- Swaziland , Absenteeism (Labor) -- Swaziland , Employee morale -- Swaziland , Contracting out -- Swaziland
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:857 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018912
- Description: In 2010, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Swaziland noticed a significant increase in employee absenteeism which they discovered was related mainly to: poor health (sick leave), personal and financial stress (garnishee orders were increasing), and low staff morale, the consequence of which was low productivity and missed deadlines (FSRA, 2010:7). High levels of absenteeism meant that a sizeable number of employees were unable to complete their daily tasks (FSRA, 2010:7). Consequently, in 2011, the FSRA Human Resource Department started a wellness programme for all employees in the organization in an attempt to respond to the human resource challenges reported in 2009/10 financial year. By the end of 2012, FSRA management reported that the introduction of the EWP had not yielded the expected results. This therefore prompted management to request an evaluation of the FSRA employee wellness programme. The aim of this research was to identify and prioritize the needs of employees in terms of requirements of a wellness programme and how it should be delivered. The specific objectives of the study are as follows: to identify the wellness needs of employees, to identify employee preferences in terms of the type of interventions to be included in a wellness programme, to identify the preferred mode of delivery of the wellness programme and to make recommendations to management on the design of a wellness programme. Questionnaires with closed ended questions were used to collect data for this survey. The questionnaire used is attached as Appendix A. By means of a needs analysis survey, this research was designed to assess the FSRA employees’ needs in terms of an employee wellness programme, as well as the preferred EWP delivery methods. About 70 percent of FSRA employees participated in the survey. The respondents completed the questionnaire and submitted it online over a period of 10 working days (2 weeks). This report is structured into three sections, namely; section one, which is the evaluation report that gives details of the importance of the study, highlights research methods and then present the results, discussions and recommendations. Section two deals with the literature review while section three reports on the research methodology, research design and procedures and the limitation of the study. In light of the findings on the wellness needs of employees, 72 percent of the respondents felt the current wellness programme was very inadequate and a further 10 percent added that it was inadequate in addressing their wellness needs largely because the needs were not known. The most important wellness needs identified included: exercise, nutrition, personal hygiene, disease awareness and treatment of illness, coping with stress, coping with workload, ventilation, safety, bereavement, personal debt, and retirement planning. The most preferred wellness interventions that respondents proposed include Flexible Work Schedule, Safe Workplace, Improved Ventilation, Retirement Planning Advice and Gymnasium. Further analysis done using correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between the wellness needs and the wellness interventions. Concerning the delivery of the wellness programme, most of the employees indicated that outsourcing certain services was better than having them in house. The highest ranking of the services for out sourcing were nutrition education and medical checkups that ranked between 82 percent and 75 percent respectively. The respondents indicated that they want almost all the chosen interventions to be outsourced. Time slots should also be taken into consideration to ensure employee participation in the wellness programme services. The respondent FSRA employees seem to prefer interventions of an educational nature to be during the lunch hour. These include Nutrition Education, Health Education, Hygiene Education and Medical Check ups and Treatment, whereas Gymnasium was preferred to be after working hours.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An evaluation of change communication in ensuring the sustainability of change at Barclays Africa's first "green" building
- Authors: Magubane, Nokuzola
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Barclays Bank , Sustainable buildings -- South Africa -- Johannesburg , Organizational change -- South Africa -- Johannesburg , Communication in organizations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:849 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017517
- Description: The purpose of the study was to conduct an evaluation on the effectiveness of the change communications distributed to the occupants of Barclays Towers West, Barclays Africa‟s first green building, in ensuring the sustainability of the change after the move into the building. In addition, recommendations are made to improve the change communications directed towards the building occupants to ensure the sustainability of the change and for future moves to green buildings. The research paper is made up of the following three distinct sections: Section One – Evaluation Research Report: this section outlines the organisational and research context for the study, the objectives of the research and rationale for conducting the research. A brief overview of the key theories and models on change communication that were utilised in the study are discussed, and definitions of important terms are presented. The research methodology is also described which includes an explanation on the evaluation research approach utilised as well as the use of both qualitative and quantitative data in the study. In addition, the results from the research conducted are presented, based on three data collection methods utilised: document analysis, semi-structured interviews and a survey. The results are then analysed and discussed in relation to the literature reviewed on change communication. Recommendations are made on improvements that can be made to the change communications to ensure the sustainability of the change. Section Two – Literature Review: the literature, theories and important concept definitions of organisational change management, change sustainability, change communication and green buildings which are relevant for the research topic and have been used as the theoretical base of the study are explored in this section. A key component of the literature review is the description of the change communication theories and models: communication theory, Armenakis, Harris and Field (2007) Model, and the Barrett (2002) Model. An understanding of the theories and models is imperative, as the effectiveness of the change communications after the move into Barclays Towers West is assessed based on the elements of the change communication theories and models. Section Three – Research Methodology: the research methodology for the study is described in this section. Specifically, the research aims and objectives, the research paradigm, the population and sampling, data collection, data analysis and ethical considerations are outlined. A key component of the section is the explanation on how the data was collected and analysed in the study and the sequence. The post move communications and artefacts and meeting presentations were collected first. The qualitative data was analysed and used to determine the questions for the semi structured interviews. Semi-structured one on one interviews were then conducted. The qualitative data and the change communication theories and models used in this study were used to determine the questions for the online survey. An online survey tool was used to administer a predominantly five point Likert scale questionnaire with an invitation to participate emailed to the building occupants. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistical analysis. Research Findings: The key research findings revealed that the messages communicated to the occupants after the move into the building have been mainly focused on operational matters and rarely on educating occupants on the green aspects of the building. A large majority of the survey respondents were aware of the building facilities, details and required behaviour. However it was found that the occupants, Line Managers and Senior Management are not displaying the required behaviour for a green building and do not know how to use some of the building facilities. A major gap was found in communicating with people moving into the building. In addition it was found that some of the information communicated to occupants is outdated. Written communications are used extensively and face to face communication is rarely used to communicate with the occupants. As a result, a number of changes are required to improve the effectiveness of the change communications to the occupants of Barclays Towers West. The improvements include communicating to new occupants; utilising additional communication channels; focusing communication messages on educating occupants on the strategic objectives for the building; rationale for building features and facilities; how to use the facilities and the impact of their behaviour on the building objectives being achieved.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Magubane, Nokuzola
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Barclays Bank , Sustainable buildings -- South Africa -- Johannesburg , Organizational change -- South Africa -- Johannesburg , Communication in organizations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:849 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017517
- Description: The purpose of the study was to conduct an evaluation on the effectiveness of the change communications distributed to the occupants of Barclays Towers West, Barclays Africa‟s first green building, in ensuring the sustainability of the change after the move into the building. In addition, recommendations are made to improve the change communications directed towards the building occupants to ensure the sustainability of the change and for future moves to green buildings. The research paper is made up of the following three distinct sections: Section One – Evaluation Research Report: this section outlines the organisational and research context for the study, the objectives of the research and rationale for conducting the research. A brief overview of the key theories and models on change communication that were utilised in the study are discussed, and definitions of important terms are presented. The research methodology is also described which includes an explanation on the evaluation research approach utilised as well as the use of both qualitative and quantitative data in the study. In addition, the results from the research conducted are presented, based on three data collection methods utilised: document analysis, semi-structured interviews and a survey. The results are then analysed and discussed in relation to the literature reviewed on change communication. Recommendations are made on improvements that can be made to the change communications to ensure the sustainability of the change. Section Two – Literature Review: the literature, theories and important concept definitions of organisational change management, change sustainability, change communication and green buildings which are relevant for the research topic and have been used as the theoretical base of the study are explored in this section. A key component of the literature review is the description of the change communication theories and models: communication theory, Armenakis, Harris and Field (2007) Model, and the Barrett (2002) Model. An understanding of the theories and models is imperative, as the effectiveness of the change communications after the move into Barclays Towers West is assessed based on the elements of the change communication theories and models. Section Three – Research Methodology: the research methodology for the study is described in this section. Specifically, the research aims and objectives, the research paradigm, the population and sampling, data collection, data analysis and ethical considerations are outlined. A key component of the section is the explanation on how the data was collected and analysed in the study and the sequence. The post move communications and artefacts and meeting presentations were collected first. The qualitative data was analysed and used to determine the questions for the semi structured interviews. Semi-structured one on one interviews were then conducted. The qualitative data and the change communication theories and models used in this study were used to determine the questions for the online survey. An online survey tool was used to administer a predominantly five point Likert scale questionnaire with an invitation to participate emailed to the building occupants. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistical analysis. Research Findings: The key research findings revealed that the messages communicated to the occupants after the move into the building have been mainly focused on operational matters and rarely on educating occupants on the green aspects of the building. A large majority of the survey respondents were aware of the building facilities, details and required behaviour. However it was found that the occupants, Line Managers and Senior Management are not displaying the required behaviour for a green building and do not know how to use some of the building facilities. A major gap was found in communicating with people moving into the building. In addition it was found that some of the information communicated to occupants is outdated. Written communications are used extensively and face to face communication is rarely used to communicate with the occupants. As a result, a number of changes are required to improve the effectiveness of the change communications to the occupants of Barclays Towers West. The improvements include communicating to new occupants; utilising additional communication channels; focusing communication messages on educating occupants on the strategic objectives for the building; rationale for building features and facilities; how to use the facilities and the impact of their behaviour on the building objectives being achieved.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Improving knowledge sharing at an automotive component manufacturer
- Authors: Makanda, Ziphozihle Marius
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Knowledge management , Organizational learning
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/6579 , vital:21118
- Description: In this study the survey was conducted at an automotive component manufacturer to examine the theory about what influence knowledge sharing within an organisation. The evaluation would assist in improving knowledge sharing by indicating which strategies are appropriate for management to enhance knowledge sharing within the organisation. Organisations lose expertise and knowledge because of employee movements and old employees that have retired. The literature review was done as a guidance to test what influences employees to share their knowledge. Based on the survey and literature study that was conducted it was concluded that by making resources available, employee personality traits, giving employee recognition, encouraging better social environment within the organisation and job design that would make it easy for knowledge to flow amongst employees that will elevate knowledge sharing within the organisation. The conclusion and recommendation were formulated for management at the end of the study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Makanda, Ziphozihle Marius
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Knowledge management , Organizational learning
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/6579 , vital:21118
- Description: In this study the survey was conducted at an automotive component manufacturer to examine the theory about what influence knowledge sharing within an organisation. The evaluation would assist in improving knowledge sharing by indicating which strategies are appropriate for management to enhance knowledge sharing within the organisation. Organisations lose expertise and knowledge because of employee movements and old employees that have retired. The literature review was done as a guidance to test what influences employees to share their knowledge. Based on the survey and literature study that was conducted it was concluded that by making resources available, employee personality traits, giving employee recognition, encouraging better social environment within the organisation and job design that would make it easy for knowledge to flow amongst employees that will elevate knowledge sharing within the organisation. The conclusion and recommendation were formulated for management at the end of the study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Staff motivation and job performance in the Frere Hospital maternity ward
- Authors: Makapela, Lunathi Brian
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Employee motivation -- South Africa -- East London , Employees -- Rating of -- South Africa -- East London
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8769 , vital:26428
- Description: The topic of motivation continues to command substantial attention in the field of industrial or organisational psychology. Motivation has always been an essential factor in managing personnel and is a crucial variable in creating a high performance organization. Public administration research has largely ignored motivation as a topic, contrary to research of private sector management. Nurses represent one of the biggest profession group in South Africa's health care services and forms the vertebrae of the Primary Health Care in South Africa. South Africa has experienced large numbers of nurses immigrating to other foreign countries due to poor working conditions in South Africa. Government has a responsibility of ensuring that there is always a motivational climate in the institutions where nurses work. Several investigations have been conducted by various organisations regarding the state of South African Health Care System, due to a high rate of reported deaths in South African hospitals. Dispatch investigation team in 2005 revealed a number of findings that related to various motivational issues at the Eastern Cape Frere Hospital maternity ward. These motivational issues included but not limited shortage of nurses and doctors; use of interns on night duty without qualified doctors and anaesthetist; a cleaner confirmed to have been seen delivering a baby in the labour ward while wearing a doctor‟s coat, as well as accessing and dispensing medicine; no security to prevent people from wandering the labour ward and the entire maternity section; deaths due to negligence; inappropriate appointment of personnel, a situation causing problems for the nurses; employees complaining of work overload; absenteeism and sick leave leaving one nurse on duty at night in the nursery; lack of equipment like oxygen points, suction catheters, CPAPs and CTG machines, alleged by some nurses to be directly responsible for a number of avoidable deaths; staff shortages thus forcing inexperienced nurses to carry duties beyond their experience; detrimental shortages of labour beds; a general assistant dressed in a green nurse‟s gown rinsing blood-soaked linen before dishing up for, and serving food to patients, still wearing the same clothing. Since the Dispatch investigation and the subsequent investigations by political parties and the National Department of Health, no scientific research or investigation has been done around challenges at Frere Hospital maternity ward. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the levels of staff motivation and staff motivation levels' impact on job performance in the Frere Hospital maternity ward. In conducting this study the researcher explored five motivation theories which are amongst a group of motivational theories that have shaped worker motivation in both the public and private sectors. The study explored Maslow hierarchy of needs, Herzberg two factor theory, Vroom's expectancy theory, Locke's equity theory and Festinger‟s goal setting Theory. These theories were used with a view of gathering an understanding of staff motivation and job performance. The reasons for the researcher to choose these five motivational theories is that they are amongst the most popular theories used by scholars to measure staff motivation and performance both in the private and public sectors. These theories were also used due to their relevance to the organisation investigated. This study followed a quantitative approach and empirical study was conducted using a questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. The empirical results from the nine sections researched showed some distinct findings, from which the following recommendations were drawn: management should consider employees' involvement during goal setting in the department; management should work towards building in job motivators into the employees’ jobs; management should ensure that there is a reputable performance reward and recognition system in place that is agreed upon with staff, instead of imposing the system; management should support nurses in ensuring that their working conditions and salaries and benefits are improved; and It is therefore the responsibility of managers to ensure that staff are always kept motivated in order to increase job performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Makapela, Lunathi Brian
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Employee motivation -- South Africa -- East London , Employees -- Rating of -- South Africa -- East London
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8769 , vital:26428
- Description: The topic of motivation continues to command substantial attention in the field of industrial or organisational psychology. Motivation has always been an essential factor in managing personnel and is a crucial variable in creating a high performance organization. Public administration research has largely ignored motivation as a topic, contrary to research of private sector management. Nurses represent one of the biggest profession group in South Africa's health care services and forms the vertebrae of the Primary Health Care in South Africa. South Africa has experienced large numbers of nurses immigrating to other foreign countries due to poor working conditions in South Africa. Government has a responsibility of ensuring that there is always a motivational climate in the institutions where nurses work. Several investigations have been conducted by various organisations regarding the state of South African Health Care System, due to a high rate of reported deaths in South African hospitals. Dispatch investigation team in 2005 revealed a number of findings that related to various motivational issues at the Eastern Cape Frere Hospital maternity ward. These motivational issues included but not limited shortage of nurses and doctors; use of interns on night duty without qualified doctors and anaesthetist; a cleaner confirmed to have been seen delivering a baby in the labour ward while wearing a doctor‟s coat, as well as accessing and dispensing medicine; no security to prevent people from wandering the labour ward and the entire maternity section; deaths due to negligence; inappropriate appointment of personnel, a situation causing problems for the nurses; employees complaining of work overload; absenteeism and sick leave leaving one nurse on duty at night in the nursery; lack of equipment like oxygen points, suction catheters, CPAPs and CTG machines, alleged by some nurses to be directly responsible for a number of avoidable deaths; staff shortages thus forcing inexperienced nurses to carry duties beyond their experience; detrimental shortages of labour beds; a general assistant dressed in a green nurse‟s gown rinsing blood-soaked linen before dishing up for, and serving food to patients, still wearing the same clothing. Since the Dispatch investigation and the subsequent investigations by political parties and the National Department of Health, no scientific research or investigation has been done around challenges at Frere Hospital maternity ward. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the levels of staff motivation and staff motivation levels' impact on job performance in the Frere Hospital maternity ward. In conducting this study the researcher explored five motivation theories which are amongst a group of motivational theories that have shaped worker motivation in both the public and private sectors. The study explored Maslow hierarchy of needs, Herzberg two factor theory, Vroom's expectancy theory, Locke's equity theory and Festinger‟s goal setting Theory. These theories were used with a view of gathering an understanding of staff motivation and job performance. The reasons for the researcher to choose these five motivational theories is that they are amongst the most popular theories used by scholars to measure staff motivation and performance both in the private and public sectors. These theories were also used due to their relevance to the organisation investigated. This study followed a quantitative approach and empirical study was conducted using a questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. The empirical results from the nine sections researched showed some distinct findings, from which the following recommendations were drawn: management should consider employees' involvement during goal setting in the department; management should work towards building in job motivators into the employees’ jobs; management should ensure that there is a reputable performance reward and recognition system in place that is agreed upon with staff, instead of imposing the system; management should support nurses in ensuring that their working conditions and salaries and benefits are improved; and It is therefore the responsibility of managers to ensure that staff are always kept motivated in order to increase job performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Knowledge management strategies in engineering organisations
- Authors: Makhaba, Thembile
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Knowledge management , Organizational learning
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3579 , vital:20444
- Description: Engineering is believed to be one of the oldest professions and it is estimated that engineering existed 10 000 centuries B.C (Before Christ). Engineering plays an important role in making the environment safer, making daily lives more convenient and also contributes to countries’ economic developments. Engineering has advanced in such a way that it is difficult to survive without some kind of engineering these days. The same as engineering, knowledge management also dates back to biblical times just after creation. Knowledge management is not only applied in organisations, but also within communities, societies, and families. Engineering organisations rely the most on past discoveries and product information (knowledge) in order to solve engineering related problems. Due to globalisation of markets and products, shortage of skills and technological advancement, knowledge has become one of the main competitive factors of many organisations. Therefore engineering organisations need to have knowledge management strategies if they are to stay competitive. Different engineering organisations might have similar knowledge management strategies or different knowledge management strategies depending on organisational size, structure and culture and service offered or product offered. Against this background, this study sought to discover what knowledge management strategies are currently implemented in engineering organisations and recommend on strategies that can be implemented and how they can be implemented. The study is based on a review of literature on engineering, engineering organisations, knowledge and knowledge management and a structured questionnaire on knowledge management in engineering organisations. The population for the study was all engineering organisation employees and the engineering organisations in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa were sampled for the survey.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Makhaba, Thembile
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Knowledge management , Organizational learning
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3579 , vital:20444
- Description: Engineering is believed to be one of the oldest professions and it is estimated that engineering existed 10 000 centuries B.C (Before Christ). Engineering plays an important role in making the environment safer, making daily lives more convenient and also contributes to countries’ economic developments. Engineering has advanced in such a way that it is difficult to survive without some kind of engineering these days. The same as engineering, knowledge management also dates back to biblical times just after creation. Knowledge management is not only applied in organisations, but also within communities, societies, and families. Engineering organisations rely the most on past discoveries and product information (knowledge) in order to solve engineering related problems. Due to globalisation of markets and products, shortage of skills and technological advancement, knowledge has become one of the main competitive factors of many organisations. Therefore engineering organisations need to have knowledge management strategies if they are to stay competitive. Different engineering organisations might have similar knowledge management strategies or different knowledge management strategies depending on organisational size, structure and culture and service offered or product offered. Against this background, this study sought to discover what knowledge management strategies are currently implemented in engineering organisations and recommend on strategies that can be implemented and how they can be implemented. The study is based on a review of literature on engineering, engineering organisations, knowledge and knowledge management and a structured questionnaire on knowledge management in engineering organisations. The population for the study was all engineering organisation employees and the engineering organisations in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa were sampled for the survey.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Future technological factors affecting unmanned aircraft systems (UAS):a South African perspective towards 2025
- Authors: Marope, Tumisang
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Drone aircraft -- Control systems , Drone aircraft pilots -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/2939 , vital:20371
- Description: The fact that pilots are not physically situated in the aircraft for UAS operations makes the current standards applicable to manned aircraft not suitable for UAS operations (FAA, 2013). FAA (2013:18) states that ―removing the pilot from the aircraft creates a series of performance considerations between manned and unmanned aircraft that need to be fully researched and understood to determine acceptability and potential impact on safe operations in the NAS. According to ERSG (2013), not all technologies necessary to ensure the safe integration of civil UASs into civilian airspace are available today. The extrapolation that can be made based on the above arguments is that advancement of UAS technologies will more likely have a significant bearing on the safe integration of UASs into civilian airspace. Therefore, as an identified research gap, the research/main objective of this research is to identify future technological factors affecting Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Republic of South Africa leading towards the year 2025.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Marope, Tumisang
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Drone aircraft -- Control systems , Drone aircraft pilots -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/2939 , vital:20371
- Description: The fact that pilots are not physically situated in the aircraft for UAS operations makes the current standards applicable to manned aircraft not suitable for UAS operations (FAA, 2013). FAA (2013:18) states that ―removing the pilot from the aircraft creates a series of performance considerations between manned and unmanned aircraft that need to be fully researched and understood to determine acceptability and potential impact on safe operations in the NAS. According to ERSG (2013), not all technologies necessary to ensure the safe integration of civil UASs into civilian airspace are available today. The extrapolation that can be made based on the above arguments is that advancement of UAS technologies will more likely have a significant bearing on the safe integration of UASs into civilian airspace. Therefore, as an identified research gap, the research/main objective of this research is to identify future technological factors affecting Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Republic of South Africa leading towards the year 2025.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Strategic thinking during a period of turbulence : a case study of the BancABC Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mberi, Mary-Jane
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: BancABC (Zimbabwe) , Strategic planning -- Case studies , Strategic planning -- Zimbabwe , Inflation (Finance) -- Zimbabwe , Problem solving -- Zimbabwe , Crisis management -- Zimbabwe , Decision making -- Zimbabwe , Critical incident technique
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:861 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020603
- Description: A review of strategic thinking literature indicates that research has tended to focus on experiences contributing to strategic thinking, the strategic thinking perspectives that executives are likely to follow based on the environments in which they have developed their strategic competencies, and examining executives’ cognitive maps within the context of strategic management (O’ Shannassy 2003; Kutschera, and Ryan, 2009; Meyer, 2007). As an expansion of these principles and foundations of strategic thinking, this research was a study of the extent to which strategic thinking perspectives are utilised during macro environmental turbulence. According to Cravens et al. (2009: 31) volatility, reinvention, and fundamental changes in markets present unprecedented challenges to researchers and executives. “Unfortunately, too often traditional conceptual models and theories fail to provide adequate insight for coping with this new and rapidly changing business environment. Traditional market perspectives and conceptual logic may even blind researchers and strategic decision makers to the real threats present in the changing competitive landscape and new market space, and to opportunities for added value which can be uncovered and exploited” Cravens et al. (2009: 31). Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe was a major problem from 2003 to April 2009, when the country suspended its own currency and for the next five years the country continued to struggle with various macro environmental challenges. It is this backdrop that makes this research intriguing, where the soundness of any organisation is said to be crucially linked to the soundness of the macro environment, including macroeconomic policies as well as internal governance, market discipline; regulation and supervision (Louw and Venter, 2010). The research was a case study of BancABC Zimbabwe and focused on the period 2009 to 2013. BancABC Zimbabwe is a subsidiary of ABC Holdings Limited which is listed on the Botswana and Zimbabwe stock exchanges (BancABC, 2012). The aim of the study as the first key activity was to explore and describe how the BancABC executives responded to the critical macro environmental incidents identified, at a management or executive team perspective, and secondly, whether the rational reasoning or generative reasoning perspective was dominant during the period of turbulence. The goal is to gain insights of the strategic thinking process followed by executives during a period of macro-environmental turbulence. Literature defines strategic thinking concept as the cognitive process undertaken by executives in relation to problem solving in the business context. Two main perspectives are discussed: Strategic thinking as a science (rational thinking) is the prescriptive, structured nature of strategic thinking; arguments are that it is a less complex perspective for executives to adopt. Strategic thinking as an art (generative thinking) is the perspective that allows the strategist to think outside the box and be more creative about solving strategic problems. The discussion presents how the two perspectives can be used to complement each other and provide a more robust strategic thinking framework. The multi-perspective approach to strategic thinking recommends the right balance between analysis, intuition and creativity can be used to create new frameworks and innovative solutions. The ability to balance these strategic thinking perspectives enables executives to solve strategic problems (Linkov, 1999). The research findings highlighted the effect of time and availability of information on the strategic thinking perspective adopted by executives during times of uncertainty. It was noted that when time and information were available, executives appeared to use the rational strategic thinking perspective, while if there was limited time and information to solve problems the generative thinking perspective was dominantly used. Further the importance of integrative strategic thinking which facilitates the use of both intuition and analysis when solving strategic problems in a turbulent macro environment was also highlighted. The research thesis adopted the structure of a case study, relying on the critical incident technique to create the context of the study; and can be used to explore and discuss strategic thinking for teaching purposes. The results of the study can be recognised as a contribution towards the development of strategic thinking particularly in times of turbulence. It can also form the basis for future studies in the context of strategic thinking.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mberi, Mary-Jane
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: BancABC (Zimbabwe) , Strategic planning -- Case studies , Strategic planning -- Zimbabwe , Inflation (Finance) -- Zimbabwe , Problem solving -- Zimbabwe , Crisis management -- Zimbabwe , Decision making -- Zimbabwe , Critical incident technique
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:861 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020603
- Description: A review of strategic thinking literature indicates that research has tended to focus on experiences contributing to strategic thinking, the strategic thinking perspectives that executives are likely to follow based on the environments in which they have developed their strategic competencies, and examining executives’ cognitive maps within the context of strategic management (O’ Shannassy 2003; Kutschera, and Ryan, 2009; Meyer, 2007). As an expansion of these principles and foundations of strategic thinking, this research was a study of the extent to which strategic thinking perspectives are utilised during macro environmental turbulence. According to Cravens et al. (2009: 31) volatility, reinvention, and fundamental changes in markets present unprecedented challenges to researchers and executives. “Unfortunately, too often traditional conceptual models and theories fail to provide adequate insight for coping with this new and rapidly changing business environment. Traditional market perspectives and conceptual logic may even blind researchers and strategic decision makers to the real threats present in the changing competitive landscape and new market space, and to opportunities for added value which can be uncovered and exploited” Cravens et al. (2009: 31). Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe was a major problem from 2003 to April 2009, when the country suspended its own currency and for the next five years the country continued to struggle with various macro environmental challenges. It is this backdrop that makes this research intriguing, where the soundness of any organisation is said to be crucially linked to the soundness of the macro environment, including macroeconomic policies as well as internal governance, market discipline; regulation and supervision (Louw and Venter, 2010). The research was a case study of BancABC Zimbabwe and focused on the period 2009 to 2013. BancABC Zimbabwe is a subsidiary of ABC Holdings Limited which is listed on the Botswana and Zimbabwe stock exchanges (BancABC, 2012). The aim of the study as the first key activity was to explore and describe how the BancABC executives responded to the critical macro environmental incidents identified, at a management or executive team perspective, and secondly, whether the rational reasoning or generative reasoning perspective was dominant during the period of turbulence. The goal is to gain insights of the strategic thinking process followed by executives during a period of macro-environmental turbulence. Literature defines strategic thinking concept as the cognitive process undertaken by executives in relation to problem solving in the business context. Two main perspectives are discussed: Strategic thinking as a science (rational thinking) is the prescriptive, structured nature of strategic thinking; arguments are that it is a less complex perspective for executives to adopt. Strategic thinking as an art (generative thinking) is the perspective that allows the strategist to think outside the box and be more creative about solving strategic problems. The discussion presents how the two perspectives can be used to complement each other and provide a more robust strategic thinking framework. The multi-perspective approach to strategic thinking recommends the right balance between analysis, intuition and creativity can be used to create new frameworks and innovative solutions. The ability to balance these strategic thinking perspectives enables executives to solve strategic problems (Linkov, 1999). The research findings highlighted the effect of time and availability of information on the strategic thinking perspective adopted by executives during times of uncertainty. It was noted that when time and information were available, executives appeared to use the rational strategic thinking perspective, while if there was limited time and information to solve problems the generative thinking perspective was dominantly used. Further the importance of integrative strategic thinking which facilitates the use of both intuition and analysis when solving strategic problems in a turbulent macro environment was also highlighted. The research thesis adopted the structure of a case study, relying on the critical incident technique to create the context of the study; and can be used to explore and discuss strategic thinking for teaching purposes. The results of the study can be recognised as a contribution towards the development of strategic thinking particularly in times of turbulence. It can also form the basis for future studies in the context of strategic thinking.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Best practices in dealing with substance abuse in the workplace
- Authors: Mboniswa, Hlangalwethu
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Substance abuse -- Prevention , Alcoholism and employment -- South Africa , Employee assistance programs -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8542 , vital:26404
- Description: The research study was to identify what strategies could be used by organizations in managing or containing substance abuse in the workplace. In solving the research problems, the following actions were taken: A literature study was conducted to identify the scope and impact of substance abuse in the workplace; A literature study was also conducted to identify the strategies to prevent and contain substance abuse in the workplace;The findings from the literature studies were integrated into a model of best practices for the management of substance abuse in the workplace; The model was used as a basis for the development of a survey questionnaire to determine which strategies and wellness activities the surveyed companies were using. The questionnaire survey was administered at 25 companies in Port Elizabeth. The empirical results revealed that substance abuse was common at all organizations and the size of the organization had no bearing on the extent of the substance abuse problem. The majority of the participants in the study indicated that they experienced substance abuse problems in their organizations with alcohol consumption being the main problem at these organizations. The results also revealed that companies were not doing enough in terms of education and awareness campaigns. The lack of campaigns and education material could pose a difficult challenge to deal with and could result in companies experiencing adverse performance. Another contributing factor in the prevalence of substance abuse in the workplace was that alcohol and tobacco were referred to as socially acceptable substances.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mboniswa, Hlangalwethu
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Substance abuse -- Prevention , Alcoholism and employment -- South Africa , Employee assistance programs -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8542 , vital:26404
- Description: The research study was to identify what strategies could be used by organizations in managing or containing substance abuse in the workplace. In solving the research problems, the following actions were taken: A literature study was conducted to identify the scope and impact of substance abuse in the workplace; A literature study was also conducted to identify the strategies to prevent and contain substance abuse in the workplace;The findings from the literature studies were integrated into a model of best practices for the management of substance abuse in the workplace; The model was used as a basis for the development of a survey questionnaire to determine which strategies and wellness activities the surveyed companies were using. The questionnaire survey was administered at 25 companies in Port Elizabeth. The empirical results revealed that substance abuse was common at all organizations and the size of the organization had no bearing on the extent of the substance abuse problem. The majority of the participants in the study indicated that they experienced substance abuse problems in their organizations with alcohol consumption being the main problem at these organizations. The results also revealed that companies were not doing enough in terms of education and awareness campaigns. The lack of campaigns and education material could pose a difficult challenge to deal with and could result in companies experiencing adverse performance. Another contributing factor in the prevalence of substance abuse in the workplace was that alcohol and tobacco were referred to as socially acceptable substances.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An evaluation of the implementation of Mercedes Benz production system (MPS) and the employee change readiness at Mercedes Benz commercial vehicles South Africa
- Authors: McAllister, Rozane Ronardo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft , Organizational change -- South Africa , Organizational behavior -- South Africa , Employees -- Attitudes , Continuous improvement process -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:850 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017518
- Description: The evaluation report section describes the evaluation of the implementation of Mercedes Benz Production System (MPS) at Mercedes Benz Commercial Vehicles, which is a division of Mercedes Benz South Africa’s manufacturing plant situated in East London. The section evaluates the changes the implementation of MPS brought to the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’S) of the division and evaluates the change readiness of the employees in the division prior to the change. The change implementation was initiated by the management of MBCV as a strategic organisational change to bring about continuous improvement to the KPI’s of the organisation. These KPI’s are Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost and Morale (SQDCM). The reason behind the change at the time was deemed critical to MBCV in order to meet the annual KPI targets and remain cost competitive and sustainable. The evaluation report further describes the results of the change with regards to the organisational KPI’s and the level of employee change readiness which was conducted through a questionnaire survey. A brief literature review is included in the Evaluation Report under section one describing key concepts about Production Systems, Lean Manufacturing and Change Management. The evaluation section includes recommendations based on the results of the research findings and ends with a conclusion. The literature review section explores the literature that supports production systems, lean manufacturing and change management concepts, its definitions, importance and benefits. The literature review describes and critiques key concepts of the research such as productions systems, MPS in particular, lean manufacturing concepts and related change management topics relevant to the research. The literature review defines production systems and the concepts of lean manufacturing, highlighting the benefits of the concepts to enhance organisations’ manufacturing capabilities. An integrated part of lean manufacturing is people and the implementation of lean manufacturing into an organisation requires change management theories therefore key understanding in this particular research was to discuss change management concepts, in particular, employee change readiness. The literature will discuss different tools to assess employee change readiness and from this develop an employee change readiness tool. The change management concepts evaluated change readiness and the consequences if organisations are not ready for change. The research methodology section describes how that the research was conducted in two phases, one to evaluate the implementation of MPS with regards to the organisational KPI’s (SQDCM). This was assessed through reports from projects and presentations made by the project teams on improvements of the organisational KPI’s. The second phase evaluated the change readiness of the employees prior to the implementation of MPS. This phase of the research was intended to retrieve quantitative data with an adapted questionnaire which was distributed to employees. To evaluate the change readiness, a change model known as ADKAR was used as an evaluation instrument. The modified ADKAR questionnaire was distributed to employees in hard copies and completed during a weekly team meeting. The results were summarised and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the final results. Microsoft Excel (2010 version) was used to illustrate and display the graphs. Section three discussed the research methodology in more detail. The study shows that although there were some positive changes that came from the implementation of MPS in MBCV, especially to the following KPI’s (Safety, Quality, Delivery and Cost), real consideration should be given to employee morale and the level of change readiness of MBCV employees.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: McAllister, Rozane Ronardo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft , Organizational change -- South Africa , Organizational behavior -- South Africa , Employees -- Attitudes , Continuous improvement process -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:850 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017518
- Description: The evaluation report section describes the evaluation of the implementation of Mercedes Benz Production System (MPS) at Mercedes Benz Commercial Vehicles, which is a division of Mercedes Benz South Africa’s manufacturing plant situated in East London. The section evaluates the changes the implementation of MPS brought to the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’S) of the division and evaluates the change readiness of the employees in the division prior to the change. The change implementation was initiated by the management of MBCV as a strategic organisational change to bring about continuous improvement to the KPI’s of the organisation. These KPI’s are Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost and Morale (SQDCM). The reason behind the change at the time was deemed critical to MBCV in order to meet the annual KPI targets and remain cost competitive and sustainable. The evaluation report further describes the results of the change with regards to the organisational KPI’s and the level of employee change readiness which was conducted through a questionnaire survey. A brief literature review is included in the Evaluation Report under section one describing key concepts about Production Systems, Lean Manufacturing and Change Management. The evaluation section includes recommendations based on the results of the research findings and ends with a conclusion. The literature review section explores the literature that supports production systems, lean manufacturing and change management concepts, its definitions, importance and benefits. The literature review describes and critiques key concepts of the research such as productions systems, MPS in particular, lean manufacturing concepts and related change management topics relevant to the research. The literature review defines production systems and the concepts of lean manufacturing, highlighting the benefits of the concepts to enhance organisations’ manufacturing capabilities. An integrated part of lean manufacturing is people and the implementation of lean manufacturing into an organisation requires change management theories therefore key understanding in this particular research was to discuss change management concepts, in particular, employee change readiness. The literature will discuss different tools to assess employee change readiness and from this develop an employee change readiness tool. The change management concepts evaluated change readiness and the consequences if organisations are not ready for change. The research methodology section describes how that the research was conducted in two phases, one to evaluate the implementation of MPS with regards to the organisational KPI’s (SQDCM). This was assessed through reports from projects and presentations made by the project teams on improvements of the organisational KPI’s. The second phase evaluated the change readiness of the employees prior to the implementation of MPS. This phase of the research was intended to retrieve quantitative data with an adapted questionnaire which was distributed to employees. To evaluate the change readiness, a change model known as ADKAR was used as an evaluation instrument. The modified ADKAR questionnaire was distributed to employees in hard copies and completed during a weekly team meeting. The results were summarised and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the final results. Microsoft Excel (2010 version) was used to illustrate and display the graphs. Section three discussed the research methodology in more detail. The study shows that although there were some positive changes that came from the implementation of MPS in MBCV, especially to the following KPI’s (Safety, Quality, Delivery and Cost), real consideration should be given to employee morale and the level of change readiness of MBCV employees.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Assessing law enforcement's ability to fight cybercrime in South Africa
- Authors: Moleko, Tsepo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Computer crimes -- South Africa Law enforcement -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/11470 , vital:26929
- Description: Cybercrime is the use of technology to support or directly facilitate a criminal activity, with logon credentials being the main information asset targeted during a cybercrime. The one time passwords used by banks to protect their clients from cybercrime are also under attack by cybercriminals. The Internet has made it easy to commit cybercrime, with perpetrators experiencing virtually no risk with huge returns. Individual cybercrime cases are sometimes small in nature, which means that the police can be reluctant to commit the resources necessary to investigate every incident. There is a distinct lack of resources, skills, knowledge and training in relation to identifying, understanding and responding to the growing threat of cybercrime. This research addresses how to solve these issues in South Africa in order for cybercrime to be tackled effectively and for perpetrators to be prosecuted.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Moleko, Tsepo
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Computer crimes -- South Africa Law enforcement -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/11470 , vital:26929
- Description: Cybercrime is the use of technology to support or directly facilitate a criminal activity, with logon credentials being the main information asset targeted during a cybercrime. The one time passwords used by banks to protect their clients from cybercrime are also under attack by cybercriminals. The Internet has made it easy to commit cybercrime, with perpetrators experiencing virtually no risk with huge returns. Individual cybercrime cases are sometimes small in nature, which means that the police can be reluctant to commit the resources necessary to investigate every incident. There is a distinct lack of resources, skills, knowledge and training in relation to identifying, understanding and responding to the growing threat of cybercrime. This research addresses how to solve these issues in South Africa in order for cybercrime to be tackled effectively and for perpetrators to be prosecuted.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The exploration of influence as a leadership competency amongst emerging adult males
- Authors: Munyai, Pfarelo Pardon
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Leadership , Leadership -- Psychological aspects , Influence (Psychology) , Control (Psychology) , Social media , Executives -- Training of , Executive ability , College students , Young adults , Educational leadership , Executive coaching , Male college students , Leadership -- Study and teaching (Higher) , College student government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:852 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017520
- Description: The association between leadership, influence and power is well developed in the literature. However, there is a notable lack of research on youth leadership development, especially as it pertains to their exercise of influence. This paper was borne out of the need to explore how youth - emerging adults’ males in particular - exercise influence as a leadership competency within their voluntary leadership positions. Using semi-structured face-to-face interviews and the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), the research primarily focused on influence tactics and how they were employed. This included assessing the related power bases and principles of influence that were manifest, as well as the learning and development that occurred when reflecting on the outcome of the influence process. Data was analysed using an open coding procedure. Incidents explored in the study were primarily interpersonal in nature. This was reminiscent of lateral influence that characterised the peer to peer contextual environment of the study. The study found that in their influence pursuits, emerging adults followed a rational approach to influence. The distinguishable power bases and their relative importance in application were context dependent (Krause and Kearney, 2006:59-86). In addition, various proactive influence tactics were employed with a leaning towards those perceived as positive, honest and non-manipulative in application, which was congruent with Head Student role expectations and the culture of the organization. The utilization of social media as a communication platform from which various tactics could be launched was a novel and notable finding. Consequently, the results were presented primarily under two themes, exploring how tactics of influence are used face to face and via the social media platform. In addition, the study emphasised the ethical implications of the exercise of influence in both of these platforms and related to this, the challenge of influencing friends or close associates, without undermining leadership integrity. Overall, the various influence incidents presented and their outcomes, evidently shaped leadership development by reinforcing tactics which worked and stimulating continuous reflection and learning, adaptive strategies and the development of new means to deal with resistance and non-compliance. All of these are critical to shaping future influence behaviour. Primary recommendations include the need for a proactive approach to educating youth on leadership and influence through formal programmes, if they were to be empowered with tools to develop and maximize their leadership potential. Equally, practitioners need to be sensitized to the significance of their role as catalysts in nurturing youth leadership development. In addition, the novel use of social media as a leadership influence platform was recognised as significant and as such, a candidate for further research. Beyond the limited scope of this study, other angles worthy of further research include, factoring in elements such as gender, cross-cultural differences and the aspect of voluntary versus incentivised (or paid) leadership positions. The research is presented in an academic paper format, and is structured in three sections. These sections are written up as relatively independent sections, but are complementary in covering the full scope of the research. Section One, which is essentially a paper in a format of an academic journal article, represent the primary section and covers the results of the study, together with discussions and recommendations. This is followed by a literature review (i.e. Section Two), which delves into all the relevant literature explored. Section Three covers the methodology, research design and research procedure pursued. As part of the addendum, a comprehensive summary of the incidents explored is presented. This gives insight into the nature of the various incidents, the influence tactics preferred, power bases and influence principles manifested, together with the outcomes of the incidents. Furthermore, lessons drawn in reflection are noted, which participants viewed as critical, in that they shaped the way they now intend to exercise influence and thereby reflects their personal leadership development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Munyai, Pfarelo Pardon
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Leadership , Leadership -- Psychological aspects , Influence (Psychology) , Control (Psychology) , Social media , Executives -- Training of , Executive ability , College students , Young adults , Educational leadership , Executive coaching , Male college students , Leadership -- Study and teaching (Higher) , College student government
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:852 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017520
- Description: The association between leadership, influence and power is well developed in the literature. However, there is a notable lack of research on youth leadership development, especially as it pertains to their exercise of influence. This paper was borne out of the need to explore how youth - emerging adults’ males in particular - exercise influence as a leadership competency within their voluntary leadership positions. Using semi-structured face-to-face interviews and the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), the research primarily focused on influence tactics and how they were employed. This included assessing the related power bases and principles of influence that were manifest, as well as the learning and development that occurred when reflecting on the outcome of the influence process. Data was analysed using an open coding procedure. Incidents explored in the study were primarily interpersonal in nature. This was reminiscent of lateral influence that characterised the peer to peer contextual environment of the study. The study found that in their influence pursuits, emerging adults followed a rational approach to influence. The distinguishable power bases and their relative importance in application were context dependent (Krause and Kearney, 2006:59-86). In addition, various proactive influence tactics were employed with a leaning towards those perceived as positive, honest and non-manipulative in application, which was congruent with Head Student role expectations and the culture of the organization. The utilization of social media as a communication platform from which various tactics could be launched was a novel and notable finding. Consequently, the results were presented primarily under two themes, exploring how tactics of influence are used face to face and via the social media platform. In addition, the study emphasised the ethical implications of the exercise of influence in both of these platforms and related to this, the challenge of influencing friends or close associates, without undermining leadership integrity. Overall, the various influence incidents presented and their outcomes, evidently shaped leadership development by reinforcing tactics which worked and stimulating continuous reflection and learning, adaptive strategies and the development of new means to deal with resistance and non-compliance. All of these are critical to shaping future influence behaviour. Primary recommendations include the need for a proactive approach to educating youth on leadership and influence through formal programmes, if they were to be empowered with tools to develop and maximize their leadership potential. Equally, practitioners need to be sensitized to the significance of their role as catalysts in nurturing youth leadership development. In addition, the novel use of social media as a leadership influence platform was recognised as significant and as such, a candidate for further research. Beyond the limited scope of this study, other angles worthy of further research include, factoring in elements such as gender, cross-cultural differences and the aspect of voluntary versus incentivised (or paid) leadership positions. The research is presented in an academic paper format, and is structured in three sections. These sections are written up as relatively independent sections, but are complementary in covering the full scope of the research. Section One, which is essentially a paper in a format of an academic journal article, represent the primary section and covers the results of the study, together with discussions and recommendations. This is followed by a literature review (i.e. Section Two), which delves into all the relevant literature explored. Section Three covers the methodology, research design and research procedure pursued. As part of the addendum, a comprehensive summary of the incidents explored is presented. This gives insight into the nature of the various incidents, the influence tactics preferred, power bases and influence principles manifested, together with the outcomes of the incidents. Furthermore, lessons drawn in reflection are noted, which participants viewed as critical, in that they shaped the way they now intend to exercise influence and thereby reflects their personal leadership development.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The effect of occupational health and safety programmes in the growth of small businesses in Gauteng province, South Africa
- Authors: Myeni, Sibongiseni Selby
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Small business -- South Africa -- Gauteng -- Growth , Industrial safety -- South Africa -- Gauteng
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8846 , vital:26435
- Description: Introduction: Managers in small businesses are faced with a dilemma of meeting the requirements of health and safety legislation and trying to grow their businesses. It is important that they understand the business value of occupational health and safety programs. For them to allocate resources to occupational health and safety programs they need to understand if there are any economic benefits attached to such programs. Thus this study was designed to investigate the benefits of occupational health services on economic performance and growth of small businesses in Gauteng, South Africa. Method: This was a descriptive quantitative study. A self administered structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to 200 small businesses in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Thirty completed questionnaires were received back, representing a response rate of 15%. Data was analysed by the NMMU Unit for Statistical Consultation, using STATISTICA. Results: Economic performance moderately correlated with the presence of occupational health and safety professionals. It moderately correlated with the categories of occupational health and safety professionals in a small business. The level of knowledge, awareness, attitude and perception on occupational health and safety was rated high. Eighty three percent (83%) of the respondents had a clear understanding of their responsibility in terms of the health and safety function at work. The level of employee engagement was rated high with seventy six percent (76%) of respondents reporting that they get recognition for their work, and eighty six percent (86%) indicated that they were happy with the relationship they had with their boss. There was a difference between managers and employees in terms of how they view economic performance and growth of their companies. Conclusion: The presence of occupational health and safety professionals as well as different categories of occupational health and safety professionals are factors of importance in the economic performance and growth of small businesses in Gauteng, Republic of South Africa. The weak correlation between economic performance and growth of small businesses requires a further study with a bigger sample size.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Myeni, Sibongiseni Selby
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Small business -- South Africa -- Gauteng -- Growth , Industrial safety -- South Africa -- Gauteng
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8846 , vital:26435
- Description: Introduction: Managers in small businesses are faced with a dilemma of meeting the requirements of health and safety legislation and trying to grow their businesses. It is important that they understand the business value of occupational health and safety programs. For them to allocate resources to occupational health and safety programs they need to understand if there are any economic benefits attached to such programs. Thus this study was designed to investigate the benefits of occupational health services on economic performance and growth of small businesses in Gauteng, South Africa. Method: This was a descriptive quantitative study. A self administered structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to 200 small businesses in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Thirty completed questionnaires were received back, representing a response rate of 15%. Data was analysed by the NMMU Unit for Statistical Consultation, using STATISTICA. Results: Economic performance moderately correlated with the presence of occupational health and safety professionals. It moderately correlated with the categories of occupational health and safety professionals in a small business. The level of knowledge, awareness, attitude and perception on occupational health and safety was rated high. Eighty three percent (83%) of the respondents had a clear understanding of their responsibility in terms of the health and safety function at work. The level of employee engagement was rated high with seventy six percent (76%) of respondents reporting that they get recognition for their work, and eighty six percent (86%) indicated that they were happy with the relationship they had with their boss. There was a difference between managers and employees in terms of how they view economic performance and growth of their companies. Conclusion: The presence of occupational health and safety professionals as well as different categories of occupational health and safety professionals are factors of importance in the economic performance and growth of small businesses in Gauteng, Republic of South Africa. The weak correlation between economic performance and growth of small businesses requires a further study with a bigger sample size.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015