"Barriers-to-change" in a governmental service delivery type organisation
- Authors: Coetzee, Coenraad Johannes Hendrik
- Date: 2011-11-21
- Subjects: Organizational change , Organizational change management
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:1714 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4057
- Description: D.Phil. , One of the principal reasons people form organisations is to focus attention and energy on a selected goal - this goal being the provisioning of products and/or services to clients. Due to forces demanding change, organisations are required to change to be able to continue their existence, making change unavoidable and part of the organisation's life cycle. The premise is that if change is unavoidable, it needs to be managed to serve the best interests of the organisation, thus the need for change management. Research indicates that 50 to 75% of all major corporate change efforts fail and that resistance is the "little-recognised but critically important contributor'' to the failure of change efforts, and central to the change problem. Also, central to the change problem and successful change management lie the following factors: • The reality that people tend to resist change. • The issue of measurement for change management intervention purposes. Research Objectives The objectives of this study are divided into literature and empirical research objectives, each posing primary and secondary objectives. The primary literature review objective is to create a theoretical frame of reference for the interrelated concepts of change, change management and barriers-to-change. The primary empirical research objective is to apply Barriers-to-Change Questionnaire (BCQ), developed in meeting the literature review objectives, to a Governmental service delivery type organisation with the purpose of determining which barriers-to-change is evident in such an environment. Literature Research A review of the literature revealed that there is no integrated view on change and barriers-to-change, but it also revealed that the concept of barriers-to-change has been prominent in organisational and management literature for quite some time. However, no evidence could be found of a measuring instrument focused on measuring barriers-to-change as a whole. During the literature research the concepts of organisational development, organisational change, change management, resistance to change and barriers-tochange were investigated, clarified and reported upon. The above-mentioned concepts were integrated into a theoretical frame of reference called the SCM, which served the purposes of providing a framework from where barriers-to-change can be understood, explained and managed as well as providing a firm base from where the BCQ was developed to measure barriers-to-change in a specific environment. It was concluded, for the purposes of this study, that barriers-to-change can be grouped into two types of barriers, being hard and soft. It was also concluded that there are four causes (or groupings) of barriers-to-change, being barriers inherent to the change project, people barriers, organisational barriers and barriers from the environment, each with specific sub-dimensions. Each sub dimension is supported by an appropriate number of questionnaire items, contained in the BCQ, which were administered to the target organisation.
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Academic's experiences of a merger in higher education
- Authors: Goldman, Geoff A.
- Date: 2010-03-10T06:27:36Z
- Subjects: University of Johannesburg , Vista University , Technikon Witwatersrand , Universities and colleges' mergers , College teachers' attitudes , Organizational change management
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:6668 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3073
- Description: D.Phil. , The restructuring of the South African Higher Education landscape in postapartheid era has been the scene of vast organisational change as numerous mergers between Higher Education Institutions have typified this transformation. One such a merger is the merger between the Technikon Witwatersrand, the Rand Afrikaans University and two campuses of Vista University (namely the East Rand and Soweto Campuses) into the University of Johannesburg. Announced on 31 May 2002 and intended to be effective as of 1 January 2005, this merger represents the birth of the largest residential university in South Africa and presents the opportunity of studying the effects of all-encompassing change on employees first hand. In terms of organisational change – with mergers representing a specific type of organisational change – it is apparent that the effect of change on staff members is not only a widely overlooked matter in practice, but also in organisational change literature (and in mergers and acquisitions literature in particular). This study explores the merger experiences of academic staff at the University of Johannesburg and also examines the role leadership has played in these experiences. Using an Interpretive, case study design, 40 academic staff members were interviewed. These research subjects were selected on a purposive basis from all faculties across all campuses. Using the Strauss and Corbin application of Grounded Theory, the collected data was analysed to construct the reality of academic staffs’ merger experiences and perceptions of the merger at the University of Johannesburg. In terms of the University of Johannesburg, findings indicate that institutional predisposition is a major contributor to shaping research subjects’ initial attitude toward the pending merger. Furthermore, the interim phase that the University found itself in directly after merger the date, was a cause of great discontent amongst academic staff and was seen as the greatest debilitating factor to the successful roll-out of the merger. The study indicates that academic staff relay their experiences and perceptions of the merger in three discernable time frames, or perspectives, each with its own unique dynamic. Collectively, these three perspectives constitute the Reflective Experience of Mergers (REM) theory, which examines how the merger experiences of academic staff shape their perceptions of and attitudes toward the merger over time. The REM-theory reiterates the temporal nature of change; it is a phenomenon that evolves over time in discernable stages. Furthermore the REM-theory also underscores the effect change has on the emotional and psychological well being of individuals over time. The REM-theory also highlights the important role leadership plays in a merger as, in the case of the University of Johannesburg, research subjects tended to be far more critical of deficiencies in leadership as opposed to deficiencies in management.
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Change dynamics and related leadership competencies: leading people through change and uncertainty
- Authors: Von Eck, Claudelle
- Date: 2008-06-24T13:18:27Z
- Subjects: Organizational change management , Personnel management , Leadership
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:9817 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/721
- Description: Change is a topic of crucial concern to all organisations in the present turbulent business environment. Leaders are constantly faced with the challenge of determining whether environmental factors will exert pressure which may cause harm or change to the organisation. Some of the major challenges that accompany change include a) the constantly changing environment has created an unpredictable future as the marketplace has lost its predictability b) leaders that are not able to predict what type of change the organisation is going to be faced with c) the uncertainty around the outcome of change d) no clear relationship exists between the scale of the change and the scale of its impact within an organisation and e) the risk of failure. Therefore, in dealing with change the mindsets of the organisation’s leaders, regarding the complexity of change, are the most critical factor. In this context, the main topic expanded on in this study is that change in organisations requires leadership and leadership in turn requires certain competencies. Central to the concept of leadership and change is the leadership-followership relationship as leaders have to lead people through the change and the ensuing uncertainty. In order to do so successfully leaders need to have a set of competencies that enable them to lead people through change and uncertainty. The purpose of this study was to develop a framework containing a set of competencies required for the major change types. It compared the views of managers and employees, in the financial services sector, on the importance of those competencies as well as the degree to which managers display the competencies. Ten leaders participated in the qualitative phase of the study and 60 managers and 74 employees responded to the survey. The major outcomes of the study included the competency framework as well as the competencies where statistically significant differences between the managers’ and employees’ views on, a) the degree to which the managers display the competencies as well as b) the importance assigned to the competencies, were found. , Dr. Anton Verwey
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Change management in the implementation of shared services
- Authors: Ntsunguzi, Nomihlali
- Date: 2010-03-10T06:23:44Z
- Subjects: Organizational change management , Shared services (Management) , Employees' attitudes
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:6661 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3067
- Description: M.Comm. , The global environment is changing drastically and companies need to respond to this change in order to survive. The concept of shared services has seen its boom in the market as one of the measures to adapt to the ever changing global environment. With the strengthening of the global economy, corporations implement shared services to enhance their competitive advantage. Shared services are implemented for various reasons inclusive of quality, cost, time and economies of scale. The result is changes in processes, technology and culture / people. Change is not easy. People resist as it impacts on culture i.e. the way they currently operate. The introduction of shared services is no different. The changes it leads to create a sense of discomfort thereby leading to resistance. It is, thus, of critical importance to manage the transition of people from the current to the future culture. It has been evident that the softer side of change (people) is the most neglected area when managing change. The study focuses on change management to transform people’s attitudes and behaviours from a functional culture to a service oriented culture. The researcher identified this transition as not successful when introducing shared services, and this forms the research problem. The study is qualitative and exploratory in design with the aim of identifying change management tools and techniques in the implementation of shared services. Various tools have been identified with communication being the most critical tool in managing change. The conclusion drawn is that focus should not only be on the technical areas of change, but involve people as well. No change can be successful without the involvement of the people that are expected to implement it, no matter how sophisticated the processes or technology is.
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Constructing a leadership model: derived from a South African business leader's life-story
- Authors: Beyleveld, Arnold
- Date: 2010-02-23T10:28:35Z
- Subjects: Leadership , Information technology , Information technology management , Organizational change management
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:6635 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3036
- Description: D.Phil. , The aim of the study was to explore and understand the emerging leadership challenges in order to further enhance the development of leadership and management in the information technology industry in South Africa. A combined casing and life-story approach in this modernist qualitative research study was employed. Selective sampling, as described by Plummer (1983; 2001) as part of his critical humanistic approach, was employed to select the CEO, Mr X, from a particular South African information technology company. Data were obtained mainly from solicited sources, but also some that were unsolicited. This resulted in a life story containing rich descriptive data obtained at first hand from Mr X’s professional career and associated areas of his life. The life -story of this storyteller was organised manually as well as with the aid of ATLAS-Ti 5.0, a computer-based software package suitable for this type of study. The leadership landscape model of Veldsman (2004), a local expert in the area of leadership, together with key theoretical concepts found in the literature, were used to construct an enhanced leadership model. Appropriate qualitative guidelines were used to ensure a study that attends to both academic rigour and aesthetics. The resultant constructed leadership model offers important, if not unique, insights and findings regarding the leadership environment, individual psychosocial dynamics, competencies and capabilities, as well as leadership roles, modes, styles and processes that contribute to personal leadership effectiveness. The thesis illuminates and offers recommendations for a number of methodological and theoretical implications regarding local and global leadership studies, as well as for practice and policy regarding leadership and managerial development.
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Cultural integration : the aftermath of a merger between Gallo TV (Pty) Ltd and Nu Metro Home Entertainment
- Authors: Ischner, Fay Amanda
- Date: 2012-01-25
- Subjects: Organizational change management , Corporate culture , Consolidation and merger of corporations management
- Type: Mini-Dissertation
- Identifier: uj:1959 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4317
- Description: M.Comm. , The majority of mergers and acquisitions result in loss of value or failure, with the main reason for this failure cited as lack of attention to the cultural differences between the businesses and an effective integration strategy. A critical component of the integration process must be change management, although there is little or no reference to change management processes in the literature on mergers and acquisitions. This study encompasses a literature review of the merger process with particular attention to the integration process, organisational culture and change management. This is followed by a review of a South African case study in the entertainment industry, which clearly illustrates the dangers of the lack of cultural due diligence and attention to the integration of the two cultures. Throughout the case study review it is apparent that the change in environment and culture was resisted by all concerned, with one of the most highlighted areas lacking being communication. After the merger was completed and the acquired company reached rock bottom from a staff morale and performance perspective, management of Nu Metro became integrally involved and began to actively integrate the businesses. Through communication and participative involvement, this has been achieved to a degree. This case review is then supported by research into the current state of the business through the eyes of the staff of both entities, GTV and Nu Metro Home Entertainment. The results of the qualitative and quantitative research will direct the final efforts to integrating the business and highlight the gaps within the business between what is preferred and observed in the organisational culture overall. From this case study, the research and the literature review, it can be induced that further research into the value of change management processes as applied to the merger integration process would be of merit. The case clearly shows that the change as forced upon the businesses through the merger was not well received by either business unit and the resistance went a long way to almost destroying the acquired business in totality. Through communication, a clear vision and strategy, participation and continued re-evaluation, some of the elements of a change strategy are clearly implemented towards the successful turn around and integration of GTV and Nu Metro Home Entertainment. The study makes suggestions for further steps toward integration and recommends future research into the application of change management techniques in the merger integration process. "Change leaders create "wave after wave of change until the vision is a reality"': (J. Bennett, The Sunday Times Careers, 20 October 2002: 2).
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Facilitative project management : a model for integrated organisational change
- Authors: Hodgson, Veronica Jacqueline
- Date: 2012-01-24
- Subjects: Organizational change management , Project management
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:1949 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4308
- Description: D.Comm. , The successful implementation of organisational change is the theme of this study. It has been found that the majority of change initiatives fail, mainly due to poor conceptualisation and planning, and the lack of proper integration of the people and business dimensions of change (which will be referred to respectively as the systematic and interactive aspects). This leads to change resistance and increases the chance of failure. Little practical guidance is available on how to overcome this and to integrate the two aspects of change across the organisation(s), throughout the entire change process, from conceptualisation through to change completion. The purpose of the study is to develop a practical model for implementing a successful change program. The model will be designed using a combination of readily available skills and techniques, and is intended to be sufficiently generic to enable its use across all change projects and types of organisations. Accordingly the objectives of the study are: • To capture the challenges faced by organisations in integrating the systematic aspect of change management (such as system design) and the interactive aspect (such as people empowerment, buy-in). • To develop and test the Facilitative Project Management Model for Integrated Change, over three case studies. The model draws upon the disciplines of project management, which provides a structured "no surprises" approach to the management of change. This mostly addresses the systematic aspect of change. To properly incorporate the critical interactive aspect of change the project management discipline is combined with the powerful techniques of neutral facilitation, which provides a psychologically safe environment for team participation and ownership. This combination forms a model which through the case studies is shown to support an integrated change effort and aid successful change outcomes.
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Leadership as a tool to support change management.
- Authors: Lekganyane, Dorcus Makosha
- Date: 2008-04-23T10:39:32Z
- Subjects: Organizational change management , Eskom (firm)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:8577 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/283
- Description: Factors such as globalisation, intense competition and ever-changing rules make change a must. What used to be traditional markets have been eroded and competitors have flooded most of the markets. This brings new challenges. Organisations that seek growth and survival keep up with the changing environment. Organisations that ignore the changing environment choose to do so at the risk of failure because what works today is not guaranteed to work in future. For an organisation to achieve its objectives, everyone in that organisation needs to contribute and pull in the same direction. As such, leaders and employees are important to the change process. Management’s understanding of where the organisation must go and how it could get there is crucial to take the whole organisation through the change process. Managers have to learn new skills as operational skills are often not enough when it comes to leading people. Leaders have a critical role to play to ensure effective change management. The study is aimed at establishing how the change process is managed at Eskom. This is explored through finding out the leadership style applied at Eskom in effecting change. Quantitative research was done within Eskom by means of e-mail survey to a random sample of employees at middle management. 980 questionnaires were sent out with a response rate of 21.5%. Having identified issues affecting effective leadership and change management in the organisation certain deficiencies or areas of possible improvement will be identified. Recommendations will be made on addressing leadership and change management process to create an environment for facilitation of change efficiently given the stress, discomfort and dislocation associated with change. “Change is a very fickle mistress. No sooner has one fresh new idea swept through the business world, than other better way of doing things is hot on its heels”. Anonymous , Mr. T.F.J. Oosthuizen
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The learning organisation : a literature synthesis to show the link between learning and performance
- Authors: Loedolff, Dané
- Date: 2012-01-25
- Subjects: Organizational change management , Organizational learning
- Type: Mini-Dissertation
- Identifier: uj:1955 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4313
- Description: M.Comm. , The world is changing. That is the one thing that managers can be sure of Business oftoday will not be the same the next day. Amidst these changes, organisations struggle to survive. Many of them will not see the tomorrows. Many have failed, and the ever-increasing unemployment rates and crime rates in South Africa are the sad testimony to this fact. Managing change is not an easy task. It is complex, and managers need to consider many things at the same time. It is however critical. Some managers confess that they do not know what to do or how to manage change. There is a need for a management idea consistent with human nature that will help organisations face change and adapt to the turbulent business world in order to maintain their competitive advantage and survive into the 21st century. Learning and the capacity to manage change are directly related. Could learning be the one strategy that will help organisations to stay competitive and to survive? This study shows that learning and performance of organisations are related and finds a management idea to apply learning in an organisation that will achieve the desired effect on the organisation's performance. Learning is a natural human activity that cannot take place without action or without experiencing the results of action. Empirical evidence in literature shows the established link between learning and performance. A variety of definitions for the concept of a learning organisation appear in academic and business writings. Writers define the concept of a learning organisation at different levels. From merely defining a learning organisation as the sum of the learning of its members, or defining a learning organisation as an organisation that focuses on improving its processes, products and services, to defining a learning organisation as an organisation able to create what it desires.~ ..... Senge' s learning organisation is then described. What Senge calls the fifth discipline is at the heart of the idea of the learning organisation. The fifth discipline is systems thinking, 4 which is described as a discipline for seeing wholes. The other four core disciplines of building a learning organisation are personal mastery, mental models, shared vision and team learning. Managers often want to know if their organisations could be classified as learning organisations. They also want to know what they must do to tum their organisations into learning organisations and what they must avoid in the process. Chapter 4 states research that developed a model for determining to what extent an organisation is a learning organisation. It is concluded that all organisations could be classified as a learning organisation to some extent. There are things that an organisation can do to become more of a learning organisation, or to become a Learning Organisation with capital letters, the five discipline variety. They are discussed in Chapter 4. In the conclusion of this study a few areas that could benefit from further research are identified. The lack of comprehensive empirical research confirming the relationship between learning and improved performance, the opportunity for developing a measuring instrument that could measure learning and the performance of learning organisations, to clearly define learning and the learning organisation, and the possibility of a structured development tool to help organisations become learning organisations.
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The role of leadership in change management during mergers and acquisitions in the chemical industry
- Authors: Ntobongwana, Lungelo
- Date: 2012-06-05
- Subjects: Organizational change management , Mergers and acquisitions , Executive leadership , Chemical industry , Henkel South Africa
- Type: Mini-Dissertation
- Identifier: uj:2420 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4880
- Description: M.Comm. , The purpose of the study was to identify whether leaders in a chemical organisation consider issues pertaining to change management and their implications during a merger or an acquisition. A literature study was conducted to understand current and future trends in issues of change management and the role of leadership during mergers or acquisitions. Research interviews were then conducted as per the questions formulated based on the literature review or best practises. The population of Henkel South Africa executive and management team of the adhesive business comprised of 36 employees who were affected by the merger or acquisition, five executives and 31 middle managers. The sample comprised of 29 respondents. Reasons for not interviewing the balance of the seven managers included: managers availability; departure of an executive during the research and the decline by middle managers to participate in the study. One hour structured interviews were conducted with the 29 respondents using semi-structured questionnaires over the period of one month. Content analysis was performed to analyse the qualitative data collected. Major findings of the study include the following: Lack of communication from top management; human resources department and middle management; lack of an integrated plan before the change process was initiated was one of the findings and a lack of a process followed by human resources staff during the integration process. It is eminent that for an organisation to succeed in undertaking a merger or an acquisition, organisational leadership needs to play a role in establishing goals and objectives to be achieved. These goals and objectives need to be communicated throughout the organisation. An integration plan needs to be formulated before the deal iv is approved so as to outline various mechanisms that need to be in place to ensure success of the change process. Top management must communicate the share vision and mission of the new organisation to all employees.
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The safe mindset of managers, shiftbosses and miners on a platinum mine in South Africa
- Authors: Jansen van Rensburg, Nicolaas
- Date: 2010-10-26T07:21:12Z
- Subjects: Organizational change management , Employees' attitudes , Employee empowerment , Platinum mines and mining , Platinum mines and mining safety measures , Industrial safety , Industrial relations , Mine safety in South Africa
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:6941 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3451
- Description: M.Phil. , The mining industry in South Africa is in a process of transformation, which can be ascribed to various influences. First and foremost is the process of the conversion of mineral rights, employment equity and black economic empowerment. The ethnic distribution of mining employees at the time of the study reflected that Managers were predominantly white, the majority of Shift bosses were white and Miners were predominantly black. Central to the transformation process is maintaining and improving production output in a safe manner. Leadership in addition also impacts on health and safety in the workplace and the process to transform the organisation to world- class status commences with leadership. Transforming health and safety in the organisation to world-class status is a leadership imperative. The fatality rates in South African mines are continuously being addressed not only through initiatives from the Chamber of Mines of South Africa, but also through the various mining houses. The introduction of the Mine Health and Safety Act and Regulations 29 of 1996 made a profound impact on health and safety management on South African Mines. The introduction of blasting certificate holders replaced the scheduled person (contract miner). Various mining houses grasped the opportunity and trained their own miners from previously disadvantaged communities. This also assisted in achieving transformation objectives. The fatalities on platinum mines in South Africa since 1995 have remained constant up to 2007 although a slight decrease is reported. Nevertheless, injuries and fatalities in South African mines are attracting negative attention from society and the investment community. This is not in the interest of the mining industry. Research indicates that unsafe behaviour contributes 87% and more to incidents and injuries (including fatalities) on mines. The study of behaviour as a contributing factor in organisational safety is a relatively young science since the first reported studies in the 1980's. Research in this domain strives to develop an understanding of behaviour as a contributing factor in organisational safety.
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The transition from second wave to third wave management with specific application in corporate South Africa
- Authors: Claassen, Cornelis Johannes
- Date: 2011-11-24
- Subjects: Corporations , Organizational change management
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:1727 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/4077
- Description: M.Comm.
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