Zugl.: Sankt Gallen, Univ., Diss., 2005

Zugl.: Braunschweig, Techn. Universiẗat, Diss., 2008 u.d.T.: Tiberius, Victor: Netzwerkwandel, Prozesse der Entwicklungsdynamik in und von Netzwerken.

Zugl.: Wuppertal, Univ., Diss., 2008

Zugl.: Kassel, Universiẗat, Diss., 2008.

July 1st 1993 witnessed the creation of UNISON, with 1.3 million members, the largest trade union in Britain. The thesis analyses the effects of this merger between NUPE, NALGO and COHSE on the grassroots activists of the union. Much valuable industrial relations research exists on the causes and consequences of trade union mergers at the macro-level of the movement and at the meso-level of the individual union. The thesis complements and builds on this knowledge by focusing on the experiences and feelings of the lay activists at two UNISON branches over a two-and-a-half-year period following the amalgamation of their former union branches. Although also drawing on secondary data, the study is based primarily on a qualitative analysis of empirical data. In identifying that few theoretical and analytical constructs currently exist in trade union literature to study the implications of merger at the micro-level, the thesis employs theories and concepts drawn from the field of organisation studies. In this way, the thesis also offered an opportunity to test the efficacy of applying analytical tools to an organisation seldom considered in organisation studies. Specifically, the thesis utilises perspectives of organisational culture to analyse the aspects of consensus, conflict and ambiguity that arose out of the merger. Furthermore, in order to consider the subjective elements of a merger for the individual activist, the thesis draws on the theoretical and analytical concepts of ideology, metaphor, power and identity. The thesis demonstrates that only through the utilisation of such tools and theories of organisation analysis can the experiences and feelings of the lay activists with respect to the merger become more fully understood. The thesis further highlights the centrality of the values and beliefs an activist draws from their trade union ideology, the role conflict that they must often manage, the importance of knowledge acquisition for the individual, and the strategies of identity construction individuals undertake when confronted by an organisational change such as merger.

The strategy and change management fields have developed new perspectives in recent years. Studies show that a high percentage of strategic change efforts fail and it was argued that one problem was the unsuccessful communication of the vision and strategy to employees. This exploratory research studied the use of graphic facilitative methods within the context of an organisation's strategic change process. Phase one of the explorative study was carried out using the combination of interview data, workshops and literature to identify emerging themes and to develop a conceptual model. Phase two of the study was again exploratory but more focused on the themes that had emerged from the preliminary study. Data was collected through interviews, observational methods, survey and a more focused literature review. Through the combined findings of the preliminary and focused study and from the literature, the author established an understanding and theory of how the methods contribute to improved strategy communication. The research has re-enforced the view in literature that the strategy communication process will be more successful by ensuring the strategy is driven by the right people and the strategy development is realistic. The use of graphics, metaphors, stories and dialogue, in combination, can help to improve the strategy communication process by conveying a clear strategic message, by facilitating an interactive strategy communication process, by encouraging communication in an open and safe environment, and because they are new, innovative and different.

M.Com. (Business Management) / Global competition, changing markets and new technologies, challenge the traditional view of the business organisation. Markets are undergoing rapid and constant change as a result of customers becoming more specialised in their needs and demanding higher quality products and services. Improved internal performance is forced upon organisations as the wave of globalization dissolves customary boundaries, increasing world trade and competition. This turbulent business environment demands of organisations to constantly monitor and interpret change within its external context as it unfolds so as to constantly align the pace at which the organisation can move through substantial and continuous evolution. The move of organisations in synchronism with their environment is becoming increasingly difficult. Business transformation, evolving from business process re-engineering to extending the original business and then redefining it to create new business creates a means of increasing business performance and continuous alignment with changing market needs. (Davidson, 1993 :65).

The likelihood of organisational change success is commonly held to be dependent on how resistance to the change is planned for and managed. Stakeholders who resist change are seen to hold various levels of power or influence over change initiatives, and this power can originate from multiple different sources. There is extensive research literature considering the aspects of stakeholders, power and resistance, but little is evident relating the dimensions to each other to consider the architecture holistically. This research aims to form an exploratory study into the interrelationships between the three dimensions. To acquire data, an exploratory research approach was undertaken comprising face-to-face, in-depth expert interviews with fifteen professional change agents from three different sample groups. A range of qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques were applied to determine common trends and relationships across the three key dimensions and sub-categories identified from the literature which related to each dimension. A number of interesting and useful relationships were uncovered within and between the key dimensions and extend the current literature in this field. It was discovered that the higher the magnitude of power held by a stakeholder the more likely it was that they would show resistance. Further findings confirmed links between the types of behaviour (active or passive, overt or covert) and revealed multidimensional influences such as that certain types of stakeholder could be expected to have higher levels of power and thus resist more and in the course of enacting that they would behave more actively and overtly. These relationships allowed for the development of a stakeholder-power-resistance model as shown in Figure 17 which can be used by managers and change practitioners to understand, anticipate and respond to stakeholder resistance in change initiatives. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / mngibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

M.Comm.

Business has often been accused of being conspicuous by its absence in addressing socio, political and environmental concerns which are exacerbated within a developing market context like South Africa. Over the past decade, the evolving concept of corporate sustainability has aided in increasing the expectations of companies to incorporate these issues more systematically into their core strategic and decision making processes. This research sought to understand how companies have successfully been able to address this through implementing change management interventions within their organizations. Of specific significance were Beer and Nohria’s (2000) theory of strategies for change, Kotter’s (1996) theory of implementing change in organizations and Bass’s (1999) theory of authentic transformational leadership. The qualitative approach utilised in this exploratory study, employed two research mechanisms including semi-structured interviews as well as an analysis of secondary data to conduct the two phases of this research. Experts were interviewed in the first phase to obtain their views on corporate sustainability as well as to list companies that they considered successful in having implemented corporate sustainability change management interventions. The second phase comprised of interviews with sustainability managers from the top ten companies that were identified by the experts. The results of the research are mostly aligned with the core theories of the research and have confirmed the role that context and leadership play in successfully implement corporate sustainability interventions within organisations. The disparities between the rhetoric and practice bring to light the complex and multidimensional nature of corporate sustainability. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted