Organisations and job content will continually change irrespective of the employee or job context. The ability to understand, initiate and manage change is therefore, an essential skill for any change agent. The general aim of this research was to investigate the impact of change management on role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction. "Change management", "role conflict", "role ambiguity" and "job satisfaction" were conceptualised. This change process was described and the effect of change management on role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction was determined. Instruments for measuring these concepts were administered among 116 employees who have been subjected to extensive organisational change within a large transport organisation. It was found that change management has a significant impact on role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction. The change management process used in this research potentially enables Human Resources managers and change agents to reduce role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction during large scale organisation change. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology)

The aim of this study was to explore the role of feedback in managing resistance to organisational change. A general systems theoretical model of individual resistance to change was developed. It describes the origin, function and outcomes of individual resistance to planned organisational change. The role of feedback within this process was identified as a central one and feedback was therefore identified as an important point of leverage in managing resistance to change. The survey feedback approach was adopted in a retail organisation undergoing significant change. Staff were asked to respond to a survey on their experience of the change. Results were analysed and then fed back to them during group discussions. The process was repeated. It was concluded that the survey feedback approach significantly contributed to a reduction in resistance to change and that both survey feedback approach and the model of individual resistance to change merit further investigation. / Industrial Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Key terms in English and Afrikaans / Die doel van die studie was om organisasietraagheid as stremmende fenomeen te konseptualiseer en die manifestasie daarvan te ondersoek binne 'n tipiese werkorganisasie. Aandag is gegee aan organisasietransformasie binne die raamwerk van 'n diagnostiese model vir organisasie- en individuele ontwikkeling. Die empiriese studie bevestig die manifestasie van organisasietraagheid ten opsigte van die teikenorganisasie. Resultate bevestig dat respondente ten gunste is van veranderingsinisiatiewe, maar ondergeskiktes toon 'n emstige behoefte aan leierskap. Dit blyk ook dat die organisasie nie die vermoe het om vinnig op omgewingsveranderings te reageer nie. Gesonde bestuurspraktyke word nie gevolg nie en kreatiwiteit word nie aangemoedig nie. By ondergeskiktes bestaan ook twyfel oor veranderingsagente se vermoe om verandering te fasiliteer. / The purpose of the study was to conceptualise organisation inertia as a retarding phenomenon and to investigate its manifestation within a typical work organisation. Attention was given to organisational and individual development within the framework of a diagnostic model. The empirical study focussed on the manifestation of organisational inertia within the target organisation. Results confirmed that respondents are in favour of change initiatives but that the stimulation thereof do not exist. Subordinates are not encouraged to show creativity. The organisation demonstrates an incapability to respond to environmental changes and reflects a non-existence of healthy management practices. Little trust exists in the capability of change agents to facilitate change. / Economics and Management Sciences / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

What usually goes unaddressed in the consultancy literature is an exploration of how consultants make sense of their contributions in particular when they come to work in politically laden contexts. Resulting conflictual debates with clients and colleagues severely influence how their advice is responded to. Against this background, consultants’ ability to determine and predict future outcomes of their work is hardly problematized. Additionally, consultants are mutually dependent on both colleagues and clients. This dependency underpins power differentials and the struggle which arises when these are contested can often take violent forms, such as misrecognition, humiliation or public shaming. The central argument put forward in this thesis is that tolerating (the potential for) misrecognition and/or for violence when goals are not met or when power fluctuates is an important, yet rarely mentioned, aspect for being recognized as a consultant. These aspects deserve as much attention as the often ideal-typical forms management consulting is said to take in the mainstream management literature because they speak to the irremediably incomplete and rather probabilistic nature of consultants’ advice, and the multiplicity of (often not anticipated or undesired) meanings their work evokes. In order to make sense of the flux and flow of organizational activity, the plethora of responses such activity calls out and its attendant ambiguities are considered and critically reflected upon. The theory of complex responsive processes of relating (Stacey, 2007, 2010; Griffin, 2002; Shaw, 2002), theories of recognition, (Honneth, 1994, 2008; Kearney, 2003; Ricoeur, 2005), Hegelian dialectics and neo-pragmatist thought (Bernstein, 1983, 1991) are provided as non-orthodox views on human organizing. A perspective is proffered which pays attention to the inchoate, ambivalent and indeterminate dimensions of organizing as a way to make sense of how these simultaneously and paradoxically order, regularize, and normalize human activity. Particular attention will be paid to negotiations which take place in microinteractions to exemplify that it is not pre-planned human cooperation but the intermingling of intentions of people who are mutually dependent on one another which paradoxically gives rise to regular population-wide patterns and spontaneous change. To make sense of what these insights mean for a practising consultant a view is offered where our reflections (thought) on our interactions (practice) at once form and are being formed by one another. An attempt is made to move beyond the practice/theory dualism by taking a pragmatist view which claims that thought and action only ever arise together, thus rendering an understanding of consultative intervention in which thought comes before action idealized and rather dubious. It will be argued that the most important contribution consultants can make is to try to stay radically open, and to try to keep on exploring as long as possible the multiplicity of narratives which constitute the differing perspectives of organizational reality.

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of appreciative inquiry (AI) on the development of organisational culture after a merger. The empirical study was con-ducted among the employees of a telecommunications company in South Africa. AI was conducted after a merger of teams within a department of the organisation to assist in the development of a new and combined team culture. Interactive qualitative analysis (IQA) was used to determine the impact of AI on the new culture. The sample size for the study was 35 for the AI session and 20 for the IQA. A qualitative approach was adopted in this study in order to understand and explore the experiences of individuals who had recently been a part of the change process. The research design was based on IQA, a structured approach which constructs a systematic representation of the experience. It was found that AI allowed the teams to gain a new understanding of and insight into what it meant to work together as a unit. A significant difference was noted in the IQA facilitation that was performed six months after the AI session. This re-search therefore confirmed that the AI had a significant positive impact on the culture of the organisation under investigation. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Organisations and job content will continually change irrespective of the employee or job context. The ability to understand, initiate and manage change is therefore, an essential skill for any change agent. The general aim of this research was to investigate the impact of change management on role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction. "Change management", "role conflict", "role ambiguity" and "job satisfaction" were conceptualised. This change process was described and the effect of change management on role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction was determined. Instruments for measuring these concepts were administered among 116 employees who have been subjected to extensive organisational change within a large transport organisation. It was found that change management has a significant impact on role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction. The change management process used in this research potentially enables Human Resources managers and change agents to reduce role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction during large scale organisation change. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology)

The aim of this study was to explore the role of feedback in managing resistance to organisational change. A general systems theoretical model of individual resistance to change was developed. It describes the origin, function and outcomes of individual resistance to planned organisational change. The role of feedback within this process was identified as a central one and feedback was therefore identified as an important point of leverage in managing resistance to change. The survey feedback approach was adopted in a retail organisation undergoing significant change. Staff were asked to respond to a survey on their experience of the change. Results were analysed and then fed back to them during group discussions. The process was repeated. It was concluded that the survey feedback approach significantly contributed to a reduction in resistance to change and that both survey feedback approach and the model of individual resistance to change merit further investigation. / Industrial Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Key terms in English and Afrikaans / Die doel van die studie was om organisasietraagheid as stremmende fenomeen te konseptualiseer en die manifestasie daarvan te ondersoek binne 'n tipiese werkorganisasie. Aandag is gegee aan organisasietransformasie binne die raamwerk van 'n diagnostiese model vir organisasie- en individuele ontwikkeling. Die empiriese studie bevestig die manifestasie van organisasietraagheid ten opsigte van die teikenorganisasie. Resultate bevestig dat respondente ten gunste is van veranderingsinisiatiewe, maar ondergeskiktes toon 'n emstige behoefte aan leierskap. Dit blyk ook dat die organisasie nie die vermoe het om vinnig op omgewingsveranderings te reageer nie. Gesonde bestuurspraktyke word nie gevolg nie en kreatiwiteit word nie aangemoedig nie. By ondergeskiktes bestaan ook twyfel oor veranderingsagente se vermoe om verandering te fasiliteer. / The purpose of the study was to conceptualise organisation inertia as a retarding phenomenon and to investigate its manifestation within a typical work organisation. Attention was given to organisational and individual development within the framework of a diagnostic model. The empirical study focussed on the manifestation of organisational inertia within the target organisation. Results confirmed that respondents are in favour of change initiatives but that the stimulation thereof do not exist. Subordinates are not encouraged to show creativity. The organisation demonstrates an incapability to respond to environmental changes and reflects a non-existence of healthy management practices. Little trust exists in the capability of change agents to facilitate change. / Economics and Management Sciences / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Ce travail de recherche porte sur la modélisation mathématique des principaux procédés sidérurgiques en suivant une approche systémique. L’objectif est d’élaborer un outil de modélisation de l’ensemble de la filière destiné à l’optimiser du point de vue énergétique et environnemental. Nous avons développé des modèles physico-chimiques du haut fourneau, de la cokerie, de l’agglomération et du convertisseur. Ces modèles ont ensuite été reliés entre eux sous forme d’un diagramme de flux unique en utilisant le logiciel ASPEN Plus. Dans une première partie, nous nous sommes particulièrement intéressés au haut fourneau à recyclage, une variante innovante du haut fourneau dans laquelle les gaz de gueulard sont recyclés et réinjectés aux tuyères après capture du CO2. Nous avons testé une réinjection à un niveau (aux tuyères) et à deux niveaux (tuyères et ventre). Les résultats ont été comparés avec succès à des données expérimentales issues d’un réacteur pilote et montrent que le recyclage permet une baisse de plus de 20 % des émissions de CO2 du haut fourneau. Le recyclage à deux niveaux ne semble pas plus performant que celui à un seul niveau. Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons simulé le fonctionnement d’une usine sidérurgique intégrée dans son ensemble. Différentes configurations ont été testées, pour un haut fourneau classique ou un haut fourneau à recyclage, en considérant un éventuel recyclage du laitier de convertisseur à l’agglomération, et en étudiant l’influence de la teneur en silicium de la fonte sur toute la filière. On montre notamment qu’il est possible de réduire le prix de revient de la tonne d’acier en substituant et recyclant différents sous-produits / This research study deals with mathematical modeling of the main steelmaking processes following a systems approach. The objective was to build a modeling tool of the whole steelmaking route devoted to its energetic and environmental optimization. We developed physical-chemical models for the blast furnace, the coke oven, the sintering plant and the basic oxygen furnace. These models were then linked together in a single flow sheet using the ASPEN Plus software. First, we focused on the top gas recycling blast furnace, a novel variant of the blast furnace in which the top gas is recycled and re-injected into the tuyeres after CO2 removal and capture. We tested both a reinjection at one level (tuyeres only) and at two levels (tuyeres and shaft). The results were successfully compared with experimental data from a pilot reactor and demonstrate that recycling can lower the blast furnace CO2 emissions by more than 20%. Recycling at two levels does not seem more efficient than at a single level. Second, we simulated the operation of an entire integrated steelmaking plant. Different configurations were tested, using a conventional blast furnace or a top gas recycling blast furnace, considering a possible recycling of the converter slag to the sintering plant, and studying the influence of Si content in the hot metal on the entire steelmaking plant operation. We show that it is possible to reduce the cost of producing steel by substituting and recycling various by-products

Depuis la première révolution industrielle, « l'innovation » a été mentionnée à de nombreuses reprises. Ce terme a souvent été associé à « l'innovation technologique ». Récemment, un nouveau type d’innovation, l’innovation managériale, ainsi que son processus d’adoption sont au coeur de l’attention. Dans de nombreuses études sur les innovations organisationnelles, l'innovation technologique reste un sujet dominant et il convient de sortir des limites des études d'innovation technologique. Récemment, des thèmes diversifiés sur les innovations managériales ont été étudiés, montrant l’attrait particulier des innovations managériales pour les chercheurs dans ce domaine. Les chercheurs dans ce domaine ont exploré avec soin les processus de l'innovation managériale, en particulier la génération, la diffusion et l'adoption (avec ou sans adaptation) de l'innovation managériale. Cependant, les études sur l'adoption de l'innovation managériale semblent être négligées. En outre, l'adaptation mutuelle entre les innovations managériale et les organisations adoptantes doit également être étudiée. De manière plus concrète, il est essentiel d’étudier la tension qui peut apparaître lors de l’introduction d’une innovation managériale dans une organisation ainsi que de la pression mutuelle entre l’innovation managériale et l’organisation lors du processus d’adoption. Néanmoins, les études empiriques sur cette question restent encore insuffisantes. Par conséquent, nous nous concentrons sur les processus d'adoption d'une innovation managériale et les tensions entre cette innovation managériale et son organisation d'accueil pendant le processus d'adoption. Chaque innovation managériale comprend une philosophie de gestion alors que chaque organisation concerne certaines représentations. Par conséquent, les tensions potentielles pendant le processus d'adoption peuvent être considérées comme l'harmonie imparfaite entre la philosophie de l'innovation managériale et les représentations dominantes au sein de l'organisation « hôte ». À partir de cela, trois sous-questions importantes se dégagent : (1) comment identifier la philosophie d'innovation managériale et les représentations organisationnelles, (2) comment expliquer leurs accords / désaccords de valeurs pendant le processus d'adoption et (3) comment éviter les désaccords potentiels qui pourraient interrompre ce processus. / Since the first industrial revolution, “innovation” has been mentioned in numerous occasions. This term has often been associated with "technological innovation". Recently, a new type of innovation, management innovation, and its adoption process have been at the heart of attention. In numerous studies on organizational innovations, technological innovation is still a dominant subject and there is a need to go outside the limit of technological innovation studies. Diversified topics on management innovations have been studied, showing a particular attraction of this subject for scholars in this field. Management innovation processes have carefully been explored, in particular the generation, diffusion and adoption processes (with or without adaptation). However, the studies on management innovation adoption seem to be neglected. In addition, the mutual adaptation between management innovations and adopting organizations also need to be studied. In a more concrete way, it is essential to study the tension that can appear when introducing a management innovation into an organization as well as the mutual pressure between them during the adoption process. Nonetheless, the empirical studies on this issue still remain deficient. Consequently, we focus on the adoption processes of a management innovation and the tensions between this management innovation and its adopting organization during the adoption process. Every management innovation comprises a management philosophy while every organization pertains to certain representations. Consequently, the potential tensions during the adoption process can be viewed as the imperfect harmony between the management innovation philosophy and the dominant representations within the “host” organization. Hence, three important sub-questions emerge: (1) how to identify the management innovation philosophy and the organizational representations, (2) how to explain their agreements/disagreements of values during the adoption process and (3) how to avoid potential disagreements that can interrupt this process.