Striving towards service excellence, a public entity can embark on various service and product delivery strategies as well as functional management strategies or management tools. The primary objective of this study is to indicate to what extent a public entity such as Gerotek can meet the different approaches to economically viable service delivery to the government and commercial environments respectively, where different rules, regulations, means and ways of contracting apply. In order to realise this objective, the characteristics of public entities and those of private entities competing in the same market were explored and comparisons made between the different entities to indicate the level of success each one is able to achieve. Public-Private Partnerships, Project- Partnering and Management, as well as Black Economic Empowerment involvement, as different forms of partnership agreements or other forms of business models, were investigated to distinguish best practice in service and product delivery strategies. The effectiveness of various management tools was discussed, such as the South African Excellence Model, Total Quality Management, and the Balanced Scorecard, which can be applied to assist management in improving service delivery. Interviews were conducted according to an interviewer-administered questionnaire to obtain information pertaining to the literature study of the above, in order to determine the effectiveness of service delivery within a public entity competing in government and commercial environments. The respondents agreed that a public entity could meet best practice to deliver economically viable services and products to both environments, with the reservation that continuous improvements should be made. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Striving towards service excellence, a public entity can embark on various service and product delivery strategies as well as functional management strategies or management tools. The primary objective of this study is to indicate to what extent a public entity such as Gerotek can meet the different approaches to economically viable service delivery to the government and commercial environments respectively, where different rules, regulations, means and ways of contracting apply. In order to realise this objective, the characteristics of public entities and those of private entities competing in the same market were explored and comparisons made between the different entities to indicate the level of success each one is able to achieve. Public-Private Partnerships, Project- Partnering and Management, as well as Black Economic Empowerment involvement, as different forms of partnership agreements or other forms of business models, were investigated to distinguish best practice in service and product delivery strategies. The effectiveness of various management tools was discussed, such as the South African Excellence Model, Total Quality Management, and the Balanced Scorecard, which can be applied to assist management in improving service delivery. Interviews were conducted according to an interviewer-administered questionnaire to obtain information pertaining to the literature study of the above, in order to determine the effectiveness of service delivery within a public entity competing in government and commercial environments. The respondents agreed that a public entity could meet best practice to deliver economically viable services and products to both environments, with the reservation that continuous improvements should be made. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, the International Federation of Air Traffic Control Associations, the International Air Transport Association and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation agree that professionals in the Air Navigation Services Provider Sector require successful organisational leadership to facilitate and manage transformation within the highly regulated Air Navigation Services Provider Sector. Detailed organisational leadership requirements and associated leadership training and development needs are, however, not specified by the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation. An opportunity therefore existed to investigate leadership traits and behaviours within a specific context. This research project is contextualised within a safety-conscious, highly regulated and technology-driven industry (the South African Aviation Industry), a safety-critical sector (Air Navigation Services) and specifically the Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company. It was found that little academic research has been done to address the role of followers in the leadership process and to determine what followers expect and require from their leaders. The research problem statement, in response to this research necessity, is: “How can follower experiences and expectations of leadership behaviours in a safety-critical commercial environment be collected, analysed, understood, structured and utilised to aid leadership development?” An ethnographic research case study approach allowed the researcher to investigate the multifarious phenomena that constitute the current views (experiences and expectations) held by followers with regard to leadership behaviour qualities. A mixed methods approach was followed. Data collection was facilitated by means of individual interviews, focus group interviews, field notes and a structured questionnaire. Qualitative data were inductively analysed to identify the recurring patterns and common themes and quantitative data were deductively analysed to assess the nature of existing conditions and relevance. Data and method triangulation was implemented to determine whether multiple sources of data agreed, and to obtain better, cross-checked insights. Findings from this research study provided academic, industry, process and methodology insights into views held by followers regarding leadership and followership constructs. Definitions and perspectives held and reported by followers regarding leaders and leadership, characteristics of preferred and undesired leadership styles, relational and emotional bonds between followers and their leaders acknowledged the presence, value and influence of follower mental models. In this case followers contextualised leadership roles and responsibilities and suggested a transformational leadership style as a desired state. Findings also emphasised a need to appreciate the importance of the social exchange and social contingency theories of leadership in order to create a better understanding of leadership by emphasising the importance of context when studying leaders and leadership from a follower perspective. Obtained follower insights resulted in a structured leadership training and development needs analysis process framed within the specific context. Future research efforts in this regard may be aimed at determining the necessity to educate followers to critically appreciate and evaluate leadership performance and creating a better understanding of how followers’ mental models internally represent complex, dynamic systems and how these representations change over time. / Business Management / DBL

The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, the International Federation of Air Traffic Control Associations, the International Air Transport Association and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation agree that professionals in the Air Navigation Services Provider Sector require successful organisational leadership to facilitate and manage transformation within the highly regulated Air Navigation Services Provider Sector. Detailed organisational leadership requirements and associated leadership training and development needs are, however, not specified by the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation. An opportunity therefore existed to investigate leadership traits and behaviours within a specific context. This research project is contextualised within a safety-conscious, highly regulated and technology-driven industry (the South African Aviation Industry), a safety-critical sector (Air Navigation Services) and specifically the Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company. It was found that little academic research has been done to address the role of followers in the leadership process and to determine what followers expect and require from their leaders. The research problem statement, in response to this research necessity, is: “How can follower experiences and expectations of leadership behaviours in a safety-critical commercial environment be collected, analysed, understood, structured and utilised to aid leadership development?” An ethnographic research case study approach allowed the researcher to investigate the multifarious phenomena that constitute the current views (experiences and expectations) held by followers with regard to leadership behaviour qualities. A mixed methods approach was followed. Data collection was facilitated by means of individual interviews, focus group interviews, field notes and a structured questionnaire. Qualitative data were inductively analysed to identify the recurring patterns and common themes and quantitative data were deductively analysed to assess the nature of existing conditions and relevance. Data and method triangulation was implemented to determine whether multiple sources of data agreed, and to obtain better, cross-checked insights. Findings from this research study provided academic, industry, process and methodology insights into views held by followers regarding leadership and followership constructs. Definitions and perspectives held and reported by followers regarding leaders and leadership, characteristics of preferred and undesired leadership styles, relational and emotional bonds between followers and their leaders acknowledged the presence, value and influence of follower mental models. In this case followers contextualised leadership roles and responsibilities and suggested a transformational leadership style as a desired state. Findings also emphasised a need to appreciate the importance of the social exchange and social contingency theories of leadership in order to create a better understanding of leadership by emphasising the importance of context when studying leaders and leadership from a follower perspective. Obtained follower insights resulted in a structured leadership training and development needs analysis process framed within the specific context. Future research efforts in this regard may be aimed at determining the necessity to educate followers to critically appreciate and evaluate leadership performance and creating a better understanding of how followers’ mental models internally represent complex, dynamic systems and how these representations change over time. / Business Management / DBL