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Transformation as an aspect of leadership : implication for school effectiveness

  • Authors: Sukati, Sipho Eleck
  • Date: 2012-09-04
  • Subjects: Leadership , Schools -- Evaluation -- Research , Competency-based education
  • Type: Mini-Dissertation
  • Identifier: uj:3496 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6886
  • Description: M.Ed. , Following the coming into power of the new democratic government in 1994, the South African education authorities have undertaken widespread efforts into transforming the education system. The key principles underpinning the new approach centre round transforming the education system that is characterised by hierarchical and authoritarian structures and cultures, into a more participatory and reflective system. The new approach emphasises learner-centred, outcomes-based pedagogy and continuous assessment supported by participation, setting goals and frequently assessing whether those goals are met. Viewed in this light, this research argues that transforming the South African education system to meet the expectations of the new frame of reference, will depend largely on transformational leadership. The research deals with transformation as an aspect of leadership within the context of school effectiveness and examines the perceptions educators hold about their leaders.
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Self-transcendence as the highest form of self- actualisation : a personal and professional leadership perspective

  • Authors: Du Toit, Christina Susanna Magdalena
  • Date: 2012-02-06
  • Subjects: Self-actualization (Psychology) , Transcendence (Philosophy) , Leadership
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:1986 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4341
  • Description: M.Phil. , The hypothesis of the research essay was that people experience a lack of meaning or purpose in their lives. The general aim of this research essay was to define why self-transcendence is an important component in a balanced person's life and how it can contribute to adding meaning to a person's life. The contribution of Personal and Professional Leadership to the development and/or improvement of self-transcendence, was also investigated. The research methodology used in the research essay includes hermeneutic and descriptive strategies. The research methods that were used include a word and concept analysis, in order to clarify concepts central to the title of the research essay. A literature study was also conducted, to clarify self-transcendence from the perspective of various philosophers and their theories, within an existential and Personal and Professional Leadership paradigm. The following were important findings of the research essay: • Self-transcendence refers to the desire within a person to give more of himself to others. This will not only have an influence on the legacy that he leaves behind, but also on his own perceptions, self-awareness and potential platform. • The key elements of self-transcendence are: the ability to make a free choice with one's own free will, self-awareness, true north values, selfactualisation; and to have service-orientated relationships with others. • Self-transcendence plays a very important role in a person's life, by influencing a person's quality of life, legacy and ultimately the meaning of his life. • Personal and Professional Leadership plays a very important role in improving and developing self-transcendence, by creating an awareness of the continuous growth process towards enhancing selftranscendence. This could assist a person in becoming more proactive, by wanting to become more self-transcendent. • Servant Leadership can play an important role in self-transcendence. • Self-transcendence can enable a person to gain greater control over his life, which in turn will create a sense of meaning. • Self-transcendence can give a person a sense of belonging and purpose in his life, and also give a feeling that after his death, a part of him will continue to live on. • The research essay concludes by indicating that self-transcendence can, therefore, play a very important role in giving meaning to a person's life.
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Understanding the emotional reflexivity process of leaders

  • Authors: Ramsey, Patricia Myrna
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Leadership , Leadership - Psychological aspects , Emotional intelligence
  • Language: English
  • Type: Doctoral (Thesis)
  • Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/372252 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/246380 , uj:25542
  • Description: Ph.D. , Abstract: The aim of the study was to engage in the joys, the challenges, the successes and all the significant moments in the life and leadership of a loved, admired and respected South African leader. This doctoral journey involved delving into undiscovered and fiercely protected ambiguities involving this leader’s emotional experience of his life and leadership career. I explored his childhood passions, fears and anxieties and his desires for his future. I questioned his actions and motives and uncovered his deepest feelings about the people, experiences, challenges and situations that had touched or impacted him and contributed to the leader and the man he became. Using an interdisciplinary, life story framework that incorporated leadership development, psychology and sociology, I strove to unearth, interpret and understand this leader’s emotional reflexivity process. Conducting eight, three to four-hour, in-depth semi-structured interviews, I unravelled and explored how his thoughts and emotions had connected with and influenced his life and leadership decisions and actions. One of these interviews included his wife as a means of verifying our interpretations of his emotional meaning making and behaviours. In addition, I travelled to his birth place and interviewed his sister in order to triangulate and add to the data. Applying Straussarian grounded theory methodology throughout the data analysis, I engaged in rigorous comparative (thematic) analysis in order to identify themes, develop and allow categories to...
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The relationship between negotiations success and leadership style

  • Authors: Senoamadi, Phatelang William
  • Date: 2011-10-03T07:32:06Z
  • Subjects: Negotiation in business , Leadership , Success in business
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/387699 , uj:7223 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3860
  • Description: D.Phil. , Both leadership and negotiations constitute key success factors for organisations. Previous studies on leadership suggest that leadership effectiveness differentiates successful organisations from others. Equally, negotiations success constitutes a key distinguishing factor separating developed countries from the developing and the under-developed ones. A perusal of available literature and previous research on leadership and negotiations reveals a historical tendency by writers and theoreticians to deal with these topics separately. Thus, while the two topics have each been researched extensively, the number of studies dealing with leadership and negotiations as concomitant variables in the same study is limited. The current study investigates the relationship between negotiations success and leadership style. The study postulates that there is a positive relationship between negotiations success, which is defined as negotiator satisfaction levels with negotiated outcomes, and leadership style. Specifically, the study postulates that the use of the Blake and Mouton team leader style would account for counterparty satisfaction levels with the negotiated outcomes. The study involves the application of two questionnaires to 156 negotiators with a history of involvement in annual wage and other negotiations. The first questionnaire tests the respondents’ leadership style in terms of the Blake and Mouton Leadership Grid. The second questionnaire is the Subjective Value Inventory (SVI) questionnaire developed by Curhan and colleagues. The SVI is also a self-report questionnaire and measures negotiator satisfaction levels with negotiation outcomes. The multiple regression results from the analysis of variance (ANOVA and MANOVA), and other multivariate tests indicate leadership style as a strong predictor of negotiations success. This research is one of a small number of studies that have investigated and revealed statistically significant relationships between negotiations success and leadership style.
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The potential link between brain dominance and temperament, learning and personality styles : a personal and professional leadership perspective

  • Authors: Bester, Elsa Dorothea
  • Date: 2010-11-23T05:46:29Z
  • Subjects: Brain functions , Personality and intelligence , Personality assessment , Leadership
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:7026 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3532
  • Description: M.A. , The purpose of Personal and Professional Leadership (PPL) facilitating is to bring about intrapersonal, interpersonal and professional change and development in trainees. In order to ensure that these changes occur, trainees should be addressed on emotional as well as rational level -whether by means of PPL counselling and I or a PPL course. Personal and Professional Leadership development therefore focuses on constant growth and change. Growth is a prerequisite for change, which in turn necessitates learning. A common problem that hinders change and growth is that participants in a training group normally hail from heterogeneous backgrounds. This implies different personality traits, values, perceptions and belief systems, which influence directly how a person learns and processes information during a course. Consequently, the need exists to gain insight into the personality types and learning styles of groups in order to make adjustments in the activities of the course package. The preliminary literature study revealed that insightful similarities exist between different temperament, learning and personality styles on the one hand and brain dominance on the other hand. The need arose to research a suitable instrument within the PPL field with a rich interpretation, being simple, quick to complete and easy to interpret. The preliminary literature study confirmed that this could be achieved by using the Neethling Brain Instrument (NBI) as a brain dominance assessment instrument. The following research question was asked: Should brain dominance be used as an assessment instrument, would an enriched interpretation be possible by means of investigating temperament, learning and personality styles? The central objective of the research is to investigate the potential link between brain dominance and temperament, learning and personality styles, in order to facilitate the compilation of a personal portrayal profile of the group through interpretation from literature. This personal portrayal profile will give the facilitator insight into the different learning, personality and thinking styles of the group that will ensure a better understanding of the training group before training commences. This insight will help the facilitator to initiate change and growth. The research design for this study may be regarded as an exploratory and descriptive literature research study. The phenomenological method of research was applied. By means of logical deduction (i.e. logical arguing about the acceptability of certain essential characteristics), the different temperament, learning and personality styles were evaluated (inter-subjective evaluation) for the applicability on brain dominance, in order to draft the personal portrayal profile.
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'n Fasiliteringsfilosofie vir persoonlike en professionele leierskap

  • Authors: Dempsey, Minnette
  • Date: 2012-08-16
  • Subjects: Leadership , Education -- Philosophy
  • Type: Mini-Dissertation
  • Identifier: uj:9477 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/5909
  • Description: M.Phil. , Research for this study was done within context of the field of Personal and Professional Leadership (PPL) and specifically focuses on the principles of successful PPL-facilitating. 'Personal and Professional Leadership (PPL) aims to raise the individual's awareness of and guide him/her towards a lifelong process that purposely focuses on personal growth and development. PPL also deals with mastering the self, personal freedom of choice, greater self-knowledge and obtaining a balance in terms of the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical, social and financial dimensions of life. Harmony between external success and inner-happiness, a feeling of contentment, emotional stability and maturity, creativity and an exciting lifestyle are all needs of modern man which have led to the creation of PPL. Successful transfer of the PPLcontent and the skills to meet these needs is the defining characteristic of this field of study. The role of facilitator resembles that of a leader. Leadership implies the successful influencing of people and a PPL-facilitator would therefore have to be skilled in this fine art. But which principles are valid for effective influencing?
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Leadership presence as experienced by executive women

  • Authors: Sokhela, Bongiwe Z. R.
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Leadership , Businesswomen , Executive coaching
  • Language: English
  • Type: Masters (Thesis)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/292083 , uj:31736
  • Description: MPhil. (Leadership Coaching) , Abstract: This study indicates, through the application of a qualitative methodology to understand the experiences of women executives’ leadership presence, that there are specific areas of focus that executive coaches can put more emphasis on in order to enhance the coaching of executive women leaders, to enable improved leadership effectiveness. A sample of eight executive women was purposefully selected to participate in this study. There was a fair representation of racial demographics. A semi-structured interview process with four broad questions was used to explore how the executive women leaders experience their own leadership presence, with an aim of extrapolating deep meaning from their personal leadership experiences. The thematic analysis of the interviews led to the identification of a set of ten themes that deductively emerged, within the constructivism and interpritivism paradigms, to highlighting key areas of focus in the development of executive women’s leadership presence. The strong emergence of the gender identity consciousness of the participants was one of the core themes that emerged from the data. This finding supports recent literature suggesting the need for gender-sensitive coaching, which is a perspective that is currently underexplored in academic literature. The other common themes included the need to enhance enablers to support the growth of female leaders into executive positions, specifically, areas dealing with expertise, influence, confidence, connecting with others, authenticity, preparedness, effectiveness, and the ability to appear in control and be inspirational. Some of these themes are supported by other leadership presence coaching models investigated in literature. The ten themes were integrated into a pragmatic systems coaching approach, to show the application of these themes in typical coaching conversations. The emergence of specific themes relating to executive women leaders’ presence and the application of these themes into a coaching framework suggest that leadership coaches can begin to demonstrate sensitivity to the developmental needs of women executives. This study therefore advocates for gender-sensitive approaches to coaching, especially in the enhancement of leadership presence of female executives. The study proposes to make contributions to the body of...
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'n Ontleding van enkele ondernemingskomponente nodig vir strategie-implementering

  • Authors: Van Stryp, Gisela Christine
  • Date: 2012-08-16
  • Subjects: Strategic planning , Leadership , Corporate culture , Organizational change
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:9561 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/5986
  • Description: M.Comm. , The environment in which a South African business operates are distinguished by change. Businesses must on a continuous basis adopt to the demands of change in their environment. This study focus on the unseen or invisible components of a business, such as the structure, culture, leadership and human resource compliment, which enable the business to implement the formalised strategy, which in turn assist the business in adopting to the change in environment. Chapter two contains a short summary of strategy formulation and implementation. As soon as the strategy has been formalised and implementation of strategy must take place, the emphasised is moved to the unseen components of business. From Chapter three to six a iscussion on the resources required to support and manage the implementation of strategy, follows. In these chapters the following is raised: the structure that is required to ensure that strategy objectives are achieved; the required leadership, with emphasis on the role of leaders vs managers in a business; the relationship of strategy and culture; and the optimal composition of the human resource complement to ensure the implementation of the strategy. A summary of the recommendations of the study are the following: develop a suitable structure to support the strategy of business and tend to move to flatter organisational structures; obtain and develop leaders in the business; build and encourage a strong corporate culture; and Top Management must ensure and commit them to obtain the required human resource compliment in the business. In conclusion a recipe to the successful implementation of a strategy "Be customer focused and get the basis right.
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Measuring leader reputation within the South African business context : a study in two financial industry organisations

  • Authors: Lumadi, Ndamulelo Innocentia
  • Date: 2015-05-06
  • Subjects: Leadership , Industrial management , Leadership - Executive management
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:13591 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/13734
  • Description: M.A. (Strategic Communication) , In today’s increasingly competitive business environments, one of the greatest challenges that continue to face organisations extends beyond financial performance, market share, and attracting and retaining employees and customers, to now include the reputation of the individual that heads up or leads the organisation – in most instances the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The leader’s reputation has become increasingly important for a number of reasons, one of which includes customers making purchasing and contracting decisions based on the reputation of the CEO and no longer on the products and services offered by organisations only. It is no surprise then that leaders who have a solid leadership stature, reputation or ‘personal brand’, attract more customers. The CEO’s reputation impacts on all aspects of organisational existence – from internal communication to branding, from customer service to the external image and reputation and media exposure. The aim of this study was to develop a measurement scale with which to measure leader reputation in the South African business context by using two high profile organisations in the financial industry. In order to do so, a conceptually relevant set of leader reputation criteria were developed from a comprehensive review of available literature. Eight key dimensions of leader reputation were developed, which served as the framework for measuring leader reputation within the South African business context, namely; Individual Accountability, People Alignment, Brand Citizenship, Communication Competence, People Management, Personal Charisma, Ethical Leadership and Adaptability. This study adopted a quantitative research design which used a survey questionnaire, descriptive analysis and multivariate research techniques. The survey questionnaire was completed by 122 respondents from two financial industry organisations. The results of the statistical analysis suggest that the survey questionnaire was a reliable and valid instrument, and that there are very few differences between various subsets (based on biographical data) of the sample.
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Fast-tracking authentic leadership development by means of a programme

  • Authors: Wulffers, Tineke , Bussin, Mark , Hewitt, L. M. M.
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Organizational effectiveness , Leadership , Conduct of life
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/226789 , uj:22938 , Citation: Wulffers, T., Bussin, M. & Hewitt, M. 2016. Fast-tracking authentic leadership development by means of a programme. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 14(1):1-13. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v14i1.764. , ISSN: 2071-078X (Online) , ISSN: 1683-7584 (Print)
  • Description: Abstract: While there is considerable literature on the definition and impact of authentic leadership (AL), there is a research gap regarding the effectiveness of AL programmes. Research purpose: The focus of this article is on the proximal programme effect of an AL development programme on executive leaders within a period of 3 months. Motivation for the study: AL has been identified not only as the root construct of positive forms of leadership but also equates to the highest level of leadership effectiveness. Leadership authenticity can take a life time to develop, and organisations need positive and ethical leadership now. An appropriate AL programme could considerably shorten the development period of a such leadership Research design, approach and method: A longitudinal qualitative programme evaluation approach was used. The participants comprised a primary group of a 10-member executive leadership team who were the AL programme participants and their respective secondary (senior, peer and subordinate) participants who provided pre- and post-programme data on the leadership authenticity of the primary participants. Main findings: The outline of the AL programme is presented with an indication of how it adhered to specific guidelines offered for development of such programmes. Findings indicate that the programme had a proximal effect of increasing AL; starting with the development of personal followed by interpersonal and professional leadership. Practical/managerial implications: An appropriate and effective AL programme could thus considerably shorten the development period of such leadership.
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Predicting managerial talent by means of Lawlers expectancy model

Logo-leadership development : a role-orientation perspective

  • Authors: Scholtz, Frances
  • Date: 2014-05-05
  • Subjects: Leadership , Total quality management
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:10930 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/10503
  • Description: M.Com. (Business Management) , The primary aim of the study was to ascertain whether an intervention relating to leadership and linked to the life and teachings of Viktor Frankl, eminent logo- therapist, would affect the way aspiring leaders construct leadership in terms of meaning. The research participants comprised 20 students registered for a Master’s degree in Business Management (M.Com. Business Management) at a metropolitan university in Johannesburg. The majority of the participants were male (80%) and between the ages of 31- 40 (70%), working in a wide range of industries. A qualitative approach was followed. The data was collected in three steps by means of (1) a questionnaire investigating leadership role-orientations, (2) a leadership development intervention, consisting of a presentation on the life, teachings and work of Viktor Frankl, and an appreciative inquiry (AI) on leadership with meaning, followed by (3) the same questionnaire that had been completed pre-intervention. For establishing possible change on an extrinsic (explicit) level the data was analysed using the framework analysis method (Ritchie & Spencer, 1994). For establishing possible change on an intrinsic (implicit) level, a comparative method was followed. The main finding of this study suggests that a meaning-centred leadership development intervention, using the example of the life and teachings of Viktor Frankl, may have an impact on the leadership role-orientation of aspiring leaders, changing from a predominantly career leadership role-orientation to that of a calling leadership role-orientation. The indication, however, is that this effect largely took place on an explicit (extrinsic) level and to a lesser extent on an implicit (intrinsic), internalised level.
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The effect of transformational leadership on organisational culture

  • Authors: Van Tonder, Hendrik
  • Date: 2014-02-10
  • Subjects: Denel Aviation , Corporate culture - Management , Leadership , Strategic planning
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:3749 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/9127
  • Description: D.Com. (Business Management) , World wide both the military and general aviation markets have undergone drastic changes. The major reasons for the decline in the military aviation market was the advent of peace on the macro level, when the cold war between the Western coalition of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) stopped abruptly (IngersolI Engineers, 1994:27). The formidable military-industrial complexes built up during the cold war years now switched their attention to the general aviation markets, which at the time were already on the decline. This caused even more hardship in the markets and the whole industry slipped into a major recession throughout Europe and the United States of America, characterised by low capacity utilisation, high unemployment and very low profit margins (IngersolI Engineers, 1994:34). South Africa, with its relatively small aviation industry, was similarly affected, forcing the few organisations still in the market to either diversify or to move into the global market (Ingersoll Engineers, 1994:46)...
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Organisational culture and strategic leadership for success : a case study

  • Authors: Van der Westhuyzen, Petrus Johannes
  • Date: 2012-09-12
  • Subjects: Corporate culture - Case studies , Strategic planning - Case studies , Leadership
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/390734 , uj:10181 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7558
  • Description: M.Comm. , Many aspects of the success, or lack of success, of a business can be accurately measured. Revenues, profit and loss, return on assets, share price, price equity ratios, market share, customer satisfaction and many more aspects can be measured and often managed. Apart from the measurable something else is needed: a successful organisational culture. The culture of an organisation is often easier to experience than to describe. The objectives of this study are find a workable definition for culture, tools to measure the culture of groups and leadership skills needed to manage or change the culture of organisations. Various definitions of organisational culture and culture measuring tools are studied. The most promising definition of culture and measuring tools are put to the test in a case study to forni an opinion of the usefulness of such tools for management. Results of this study indicate that the concept culture, as described in the double s cube model, is a very useful tool for managers. It provides a quick and easy entry point to the culture management of an organization. Firstly, the tools that are available to measure culture provide results that could be used to position a company in the double s cube model. Secondly, the results of the culture measurement could be used to formulate and decide on the best course of action when it is necessary to change culture. Culture management is done by manipulating the sociability and solidarity levels in an organisation and by ensuring positive contribution of these elements to business successes. The clear leadership guidelines to achieve this manipulation could be very useful for managers. By using the concept of culture, managers could establish competitive advantages for their businesses. Culture management could be the secret key to open a situation whereby it is possible to improve business performance and at the same time create an environment where people are happy to achieve these goals.
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A psycho-educational programme to facilitate the development of community leaders in an informal settlement

  • Authors: Basson, Gert Johannes
  • Date: 2009-03-31T09:21:21Z
  • Subjects: Leadership , Community leadership
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:8234 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/2346
  • Description: D.Ed. , Communities in any given society are made up of individuals. As individuals are different and unique, so are communities unique in character. Different leaders play different roles in communities and have obtained leadership responsibilities in a variety of ways. Leaders act as leaders because they are appointed by a structure or system like the government. Other leaders act as leaders, because the people just ‘see’ them as their leaders or they are “self-appointed” leaders. The question that arises is what is the role of leaders in a given community? To what extent are they responsible of leading towards and creating a better future? What are the expectations of the community from the leaders whom they have appointed or who act as self-appointed leaders? How does the community experience the ‘leadership’ of their leader? How do the leaders experience their leadership responsibilities? The aim of this study was the description, implementation and evaluation of a psycho-educational programme to facilitate the development of community leaders within an informal settlement (Zandspruit). From a methodological point of view a qualitative research design was utilized to make the purpose of the study a reality. Phenomenological research was conducted whereby leaders from the community of Zandspruit were interviewed by asking them an open-ended question, namely: how is it for you to be a leader xii in this community? The results and data were analysed by open coding and the themes and categories were identified. A literature control was done and a programme was designed based on the research findings. The research indicated that leaders lead with feelings of “incapable of leading” their community. The leaders are preoccupied with their lack of leadership or facilitation skills related to the complexity, expectations, perceptions and challenges of this community. In general, the research has shown that leaders don’t feel they know ‘how’ to lead their community. It also surfaced in this research that this specific community is complex. Although every community are facing challenges to overcome, it seems that in this community the leadership challenges and “stakes” are even higher. Subsequently a leadership development programme was developed. The programme was developed out of themes and categories from the research findings. The intent was to ‘invite’ leaders to embark on a lifelong journey of growth and development. Secondly the programme has the intention to equip leaders in order to become ‘leader of leaders’. The programme was implemented, evaluated and adjusted according to the recommendations and findings. xiii The research therefore puts a leadership development programme in place that will facilitate the development of community leaders within an informal settlement. The intention and hope is that the programme will enhance the personal development of leaders, as well as skills needed in this specific context, that will eventually contribute towards their mental health and wholeness.
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Leieridentifikasie en -ontwikkelingsprojekte

The validity of world class business criteria across developed and developing countries

  • Authors: Parker, Andre John
  • Date: 2008-06-26T08:57:19Z
  • Subjects: Organizational change , Industrial management , Business enterprises , Business planning , Leadership
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:9953 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/734
  • Description: The impact of globalisation continues to divide economies around the world into fast and slow moving economies. The former are producing wealth at an exponential rate whilst the latter continue to lag in their wake. The pace of change and challenges of the 21st Century have left business organisations no choice but to attain levels of operational excellence and fitness to compete with their counterparts in a demanding boundaryless global arena. Irrespective of whether they are global or local, organisations ascending to world class have a ‘global mindset’ which means that they see the rest of the world as their benchmark. These organisations know that good is never good enough and that the glory of being ahead in the race is but a fleeting moment in time. The performance gap between South Africa, classified as a ‘slow’ Developing economy and that of ‘fast’ Developed economies continues to widen. Organisations in Developing countries like South Africa have been slow to embrace performance-enhancing Criteria practised in world class organisations, and where they have been embraced, the success rate has not been encouraging. The motivation for the study was to provide relevant guidelines to organisations in developing countries, in particular South Africa, towards the design and implementation of organisation interventions that will find traction and are sustainable to become world class - and in so doing, the variables making up the contextual backdrop which constrain or enhance an organisation’s pursuit of becoming world class would be assessed for relevancy and improved understanding. Furthermore the study would re-direct and re-channel the study of world class Criteria in driving high performance in Developing countries as being unique in need, combination and formulation. Authors on what constitutes this ‘global mindset’, with few exceptions, adopt the view that the world class Criteria that make good organisations great are the same around the world. The problem propositioned and addressed in this study is that what is understood and practised as performance-enhancing world class Criteria, may not apply equally and may not be equally successful in Developed and Developing countries respectively. Restated as a research question, The validity of world class business Criteria across Developed and Developing countries was re-formulated as follows: Firstly, how do world class Criteria which result in high performance in Developed countries differ from those applied in Developing countries? Secondly, what can organisations in Developed countries, in particular South Africa, learn from these differences to embrace best Practices that work and are sustainable for their respective environments? The research objective was to identify world class Criteria that are unique to Developing countries and to add value to organisations in Developing countries to ascend to world class by developing ‘road maps’ for continuous improvement that are valid within Developing country context. The direction of the research process and methodology was determined by the choice of the researcher between a quantitative, qualitative, or a combined qualitative-quantitative approach. Complete and objective data related to the research question within the research domain needed to be collected from individual participants in business organisations across the divide of countries and cultures. Uniformity and control of the data collection method were necessary to minimise the likelihood that different cultures within different business organisations within different country cultures could interpret the survey data differently. A uniform quantitative research approach which presented the same qualified statements in a consistent manner with a consistent response methodology was therefore chosen to ensure that all respondents were likely to understand the survey in the same way. The Proposition tested is that the Criteria for organisations to ascend to world class differ across the divide between Developed and Developing countries. The implications of this Proposition are that whilst there are world class Criteria that are universal across global boundaries, world class organisations in Developing countries, with particular reference to South Africa, have evolved their own set of world class Criteria that are unique to Developing countries. By ignoring the contextual backdrops within which Developed and Developing countries operate, appropriate learning for organisations in Developing countries to ascend to world class competitiveness is constrained. A web-based touchbutton survey questionnaire was designed for instant internet access to assigned and authorized respondents. Organisations considered world class in both Developed and Developing country context were approached to participate in the survey. Participants up to four reporting levels from the president/chief executive officer of the organisation were nominated by an appointed person in a participating organisation responsible for the survey. Email addresses provided by participating organisations were used to log participants on to the survey. Progress was monitored electronically on a daily basis. Since the survey design required that participants complete each part of the survey before proceeding to the next part, the possibility of incomplete data was eliminated. Data capturing took place in real time on a dedicated web site on an MS Office Excel spreadsheet as respondents responded on line. Five surveys completed on paper were fed manually into the data base. All data was therefore complete and ready for analysis at the time of closing the survey for further participation. The biographic data on individual respondents contained the following key features: 41% from 3rd reporting level in their organisations; 65% having more than 3 years’ experience in their organisations; 83% having been with their organisations for more than 3 years and 79.2% having a tertiary qualification. The qualifications and overall experience of the majority of respondents provided for a reasonable assumption that the sample could be relied on to provide well informed and therefore highly valid data. An overall individual response rate of 427 out of a possible 560 respondents was achieved, constituting a percentage response of 76.3%. Developed countries constituted 29% of the responses against 71% from Developing countries whilst organisation response ratio constituted 50 % (20) and 41% (14) respectively. The individual response rate from Developing countries was twice that of Developed countries. The response rate at organisation level presented a more balanced ratio of 59% Developed and 41% Developing country ratio. Organisations and respondents over Developed countries were well spread over several countries. Primary and secondary organisations were closely balanced within Developed and Developing countries respective responses. Countries surveyed were Belgium, France, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, Ireland; Italy, Namibia, Netherlands, Portugal, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the USA. An equal number of 11 organisations from Developing and Developed countries respectively qualified for analysis. This amounted to 22 companies surveyed in all. In the exploratory part of the study the difference between Primary and Secondary sector organisations was found to be small and it was decided to abandon this distinction for any further analysis. An Exploratory Factor Analysis identified the relationships between the underlying Factors in their own right, ignoring the prior literature-based theoretical structure of 7 world-class Criteria with their related Practices. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis sought to confirm whether the extent to which the 7 world class Criteria and their related Practices as reported on in the literature review, and built into the survey instrument, actually did exist. Eighty-five point seven per cent of the Practices in the study could be confirmed in the literature reviewed, leaving 14.3% of the Practices unconfirmed. The implications of this finding are that not all world class Practices are applied consistently all the time by all organisations purported to be world class or who are ascending to becoming world class. Three Schools of Thought about the validity of world class Criteria over Developed and Developing countries emerged, each with its own set of implications and results. School of Thought One postulated that One size of world class criteria fits all, irrespective of Developed or Developing country context. However, no evidence could be found to support this ‘absolute’ School of Thought. Consequently this School of Thought had to be rejected. School of Thought Two postulates that Combinations of Criteria and their associated Practices are exclusive to Developed and Developing Countries In support of this postulate, two Exploratory Criteria (Performance and reward driven people and Customer-centric, shared vision driven leadership) and two Confirmatory Criteria (Ongoing stretch and future-driven strategising and An enabling and empowering people philosophy and practice) showed significant differences between Developed and Developing countries. In all instances of difference, the extent of practice in relation to each Criterion favoured Developed country organisations. The implication of this finding is twofold: Firstly, is that the School of Thought propagating that Combinations of Criteria and their associated Practices are exclusive to Developed and Developing Countries had to be accepted. Secondly, is that Developed Country organisations embrace the identified Criteria to a greater extent than their Developing country counterparts. This finding has a further implication in that it provides a notable explanation why organisations in Developed countries on the whole, outperform their counterparts in Developing countries. The practical significance of this implication has been built into a proposed empirically reconstituted world class model with ‘road maps’ for organisations in a Developing country like South Africa . Further to School of Thought Two, Extent of practice by importance revealed that the Practices: Leadership driving continual change; Core capabilities that enable business processes are built through ongoing learning; Innovative ideas born by working close to customers and suppliers are more important to Developing than Developing Countries: The implications of this evidence, and the reasons given, are that at practice level these three Practices are more important in Developing countries more as a matter of necessity and survival in a Developing Country context than groundbreaking forward-forging ways of doing business. , Prof. Theo H. Veldsman
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Sense-making of trauma through leadership development

  • Authors: Olivier, Cindy
  • Date: 2012-06-05
  • Subjects: Leadership , Loss (Psychology) , Trauma
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:2432 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4891
  • Description: D.Phil. , The world we live in is characterised by daily trauma, crisis and tragedy. The media, which are everywhere nowadays, expose us to the hurt and suffering of thousands of people, as well as to our own, and too often this creates the impression that only negative events are taking place. One cannot help but wonder whether the human race has not lost control over itself and the environment it has created. Are we victims of external events, or can we still make a difference or a positive contribution to our lives and those of others? This kind of question makes us curious about the human condition, and at the same time makes us aware of the different ways in which people deal with similar situations. Some people cannot function under difficult circumstances, while others cope quite well, and some even flourish! This gives rise to questions such as: What causes people to react so differently under equal circumstances? Why do some people become conquerors and others go to pieces? What can we learn from victors or survivors? Is it possible to teach people to become victors, instead of victims, in testing times? The researcher’s search for answers to these and other questions gave rise to this study. The focus of this study was to determine the possible key factors which led to the researcher’s friend becoming a survivor in the face of a life-threatening disease, breast cancer, and how the researcher herself managed to cope with the trauma of the disintegration of her marriage. More particularly the researcher wanted to explore how the ordeals they had gone through influenced their lives. How did their experience of trauma influence them, and what have they learned from these experiences? Questions which came to the fore at the outset of the study were the following: • How did the two women deal with loss? • Did the trauma influence their sense of purpose and meaning? • What role did their relationships with friends and family play in dealing with the traumatic events? • How did their ordeals affect their careers, and what was their employers’ reaction towards them? • How did trauma affect the various dimensions of their lives? • What advice could they as survivors offer to other people who are going through such traumatic experiences?
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Entrepreneurial leadership as a critical success factor in the sustainability of non-governmental organisations

  • Authors: Dube, Zakhele V.
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Entrepreneurship , Leadership , Non-governmental organizations - South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Masters (Thesis)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/292065 , uj:31734
  • Description: Abstract: The non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector in South Africa has witnessed an increase in the number of emerging NGOs, particularly within the last decade of democratic dispensation since 1994 and has been perceived as reliable entities that support the government in addressing the socio-economic issues. The nature and composition of NGOs have transformed into a high-paced, highly threatening and increasingly global environment. Economic pressures and increased competition for funding are some of the challenges that have an impact on NGO’s performance and sustainability. The government’s gradual inability to provide high quality public services continues to create a vacuum in the delivery of public services that NGOs strive to fill, and these are some of the main contributing factors resulting in the emergence of NGOs in the developing economies. The study was based on a quantitative methodology. The adopted methodology allowed the researcher to utilise obtained data to explore and examine the relationship between variables and provide responses to the research questions and objectives. A descriptive and correlation research design was adopted, which focused on describing the variables and examine the relationship between the variables. The literature findings of the study indicated that the creation of collaborations and partnerships with multiple stakeholders resulted in the birth of public-private partnership models, which has benefited the NGO sector through improved financial, technical and operational strengthening. Furthermore, the study revealed a strong relationship between Entrepreneurial Leadership, Entrepreneurial Orientation and NGO Sustainability (performance). No evidence was found to support the relationships between Entrepreneurial Leadership and the number of years in the particular organisation, nor was there any evidence found that there is a relationship between Entrepreneurial Leadership and the number of years in the NGO sector. The study also revealed that there was no statistical significant difference between age groups and gender for the Entrepreneurial Leadership scores. , M.Phil. (Management)
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Ubuntu as bestuurstyl vir die nuwe Suid-Afrika

  • Authors: Van der Merwe, I.P.
  • Date: 2012-09-05
  • Subjects: Management - South Africa , Leadership , Decision making - South Africa , Communication in management - South Africa , Corporate culture - South Africa
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:3551 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6936
  • Description: M.Comm. , Political changes and many other factors have forced South Africans from different backgrounds and cultures to work together and live together. These changes do not influence only the community life but also the organisations in South-Africa. As affirmative action is enforced and implemented by government and the business sector, people from African cultures are thrown in at the deep end in business life and people from the western cultures are not at ease working with African people because of a lack of understanding of the African culture. An important part of the African culture is called ubuntu. PURPOSE The purposes of this study are to identify and explain the different values of ubuntu, to illustrate how it can be applied in South African business and to identify the differences between western management practices and ubuntu management practices. METHOD OF STUDY A study was made of the relevant literature. FINDINGS The heritage that comes through traditional African roots is ubuntu: morality, humaness, compassion, care, understanding and empathy. It is one of sharing and hospitality, of honesty and humanity. Simply put, it is the ethic and interaction that occurs in the extended family. In Africa, it draws in all of the people. In this 'family' there is a community of shared values. Ubuntu is best described through the expression: a human is a human through other people. The ubuntu values described in this study are solidarity, the role of stories in ubuntu, compassion, respect and dignity, conformity and interconnectedness. Each of these attributes can be applied in South African businesses. The differences between western management and ubuntu management are discussed by looking at the differences in leadership, decision making, communication and corporate culture. Certain ubuntu values can be used in South-African business, such as group solidarity, respect and dignity, stories and the way the ubuntu culture deals with nature. Certain values cannot be used, such as the way Africans experiences time, because it would lead to low productivity. It seems as if ubuntu values have been lost with urbanisation, but there are still ubuntu values practised in townships, such as group solidarity that exists between tribe members, although the definition of a tribe has changed.
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