M.Com. (Business Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Com. (Business Management) / During August 1991, Kanhym Fresh Meat, Northern Transvaal, and Sams Meat (Pty) Ltd, Pietersburg, merged their activities in the Northern Transvaal to form a joint venture. The name of the new company is Pietersburg Abattoir (Pty) Ltd, trading as Meatcor. Because of the different cultures and the clashes between them, this project was undertaken to try and help create a new, strong corporate culture. The first section of this paper gives an in-depth discussion of the theory on corporate culture. It is very important that the people involved in the management of the company have a clear understanding of what a strong corporate culture is before any actions can be taken in trying to build such a culture. The next step was to make an assessment on the state of the current culture that exists in the company, as well as to define the desired culture of the middle and top management of the company. To be able to do this, a culture audit questionnaire was used. The questionnaire was answered by all middle and top management, as well as the directors of the company. The results of the questionnaire were plotted on various graphics. These graphics were used to assess the current culture within the company and also to define the desired culture of the various respondents. These results were then used to determine and define the gap between the current culture and the desired culture. The questionnaire tested 32 dimensions of culture and the results were given in these 32 dimensions, which were grouped into five main groups. The last part of the paper consists of an action plan to bridge the culture gap and to enable management to establish a new, strong corporate culture. The strategy to develop and establish a new, strong corporate culture is discussed under the five main dimension groups. I firmly believe that this paper, if used by management, would make an enormous contribution towards establishing a new, strong corporate culture which in the end will have a positive effect on the productivity and profitability of the company.

M.Com. (Accounting) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Please read the abstract in the 00front part of this document / Thesis (DBA (Business Administration))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Business Management / unrestricted

D. Phil. (Leadership in Performance and Change) / The business environment is constantly changing. This appears to be the only certainty in the business world. Since the business environment has a bearing on the performance of organisations it is important to study such change influences. In the fast-changing business environment it would be beneficial to know what enables organisational growth and success. As with each living organism, it is postulated that organisations possess a Genetic Code that is shaped by many factors and held together by organisation's architecture. It is generally' believed that the development of a Genetic Business Code for growth will assist in understanding the problem of change and will dispel the cloud of confusion of what makes an organisation successful. The first aim of this study was to identify a Genetic Business Code for Growth. Based on scientific beliefs related to both positivist and humanistic philosophical assumptions, the second aim was to develop an appropriate methodology to built a Business Code. The third aim was to use the results of this study as a departure point to explore the possibility of developing an assessment tool to assess organisations, determine their current "Code", and identify gaps for renewal interventions. A quantitative methodological framework, supplemented by a qualitative approach, was used in this study. The Repertory Grid technique was used to interview 22 Chief Executive Officers and Executive Managers in the Transport Industry. In this data collection process a total of 231 constructs were developed. Through a developed data-analysis process these constructs were reduced to 89 constructs in an integrated profile of first- and second-order constructs with opposite poles. Deductive and inductive strategies were applied in the classification of constructs. The result ofthis study was the identification of a Genetic Business Code for Growth. The Genetic Code for all known organisms has two strands and is therefore referred to as the "double helix". However, the Genetic Business Code for Growth consists of three "Strands", namely Leadership, Organisational Architecture and Internal Orientation. Based on this information an integrated model was developed with the Internal Orientation Strand in the center of the "triple helix". The study's conclusions confirmed the value of identifying a Genetic Business Code for growth in the Transport Industry.

M.Com. (Business Management) / The crisis that business face regarding the constant change in the environment will not go away. Therefor business will have to go on with transformation to help the business adept to the changing environment. Business in the United States of America has develop a business transformation model to guide business during the process of transformation. In South Africa we face the same circumstances but with a few differences. We arc: nota developed country and the economic objectives of the new South Africa do not allow business to use the same business transformation model. Research in the risk management department in Spoornet during a transformation process has shown the following differences to transformation in America and Europe: • South African companies need to take the economic objectives of the new South Africa into account when transforming the business and it's processes. • Need to include an employment control and management function into the transformation model. '111e research has also found that business. management and employee's are not prepared for the transformation process as their fellow businesses in America and in Europe. Business docs not understand the value and importance of transforming the business. Most managers and employee's think it's a process to automate business and a quick fix process to help the business tobecome more productive and effective. Companies in South Africa do not have the choice between transformation or not. If they want to adapt to the changing environment in South Africa and the rest of the world, they need to transform the business. To survive the severe competition of other companies in South Africa and the rest of the world transformation is not a question to consider.