Introduction: There are many components that are required for an organisation to be successful in its chosen field. These components vary from corporate culture, to corporate leadership, to effective protection of important assets. These and many more contribute to the success of an organisation. One component that should be a definitive part in the strategy of any organisation is information security. Information security is one of the fastest growing sub-disciplines in the Information Technology industry, indicating the importance of this field (Zylt, 2001, online). Information security is concerned with the implementation and support of control measures to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronically stored information (BS 7799-1, 1999, p 1). Information security is achieved by applying control measures that will lessen the threat, reduce the vulnerability or diminish the impact of losing an information asset. However, as a result of the fact that an increasing number of employees have access to information, the protection of information is no longer only dependent on physical and technical controls, but also, to a large extent, on the actions of employees utilising information resources. All employees have a role to play in safeguarding information and they need guidance in fulfilling these roles (Barnard, 1998, p 12). This guidance should originate from senior management, using good corporate governance practices. The effective leadership resulting from good corporate governance practices is another component in an organisation that contributes to its success (King Report, 2001, p 11). Corporate governance is defined as the exercise of power over and responsibility for corporate entities (Blackwell Publishers, 2000, online). Senior management, as part of its corporate governance duties, should encourage employees to adhere to the behaviour specified by senior management to contribute towards a successful organisation. Senior management should not dictate this behaviour, but encourage it as naturally as possible, resulting in the correct behaviour becoming part of the corporate culture. If the inner workings of organisations are explored it would be found that there are many hidden forces at work that determine how senior management and the employees relate to one another and to customers. These hidden forces are collectively called the culture of the organisation (Hagberg Consulting Group, 2002, online). Cultural assumptions in organisations grow around how people in the organisation relate to each other, but that is only a small part of what corporate culture actually covers (Schein, 1999, p 28). Corporate culture is the outcome of all the collective, taken-for-granted assumptions that a group has learned throughout history. Corporate culture is the residue of success. In other words, it is the set of procedures that senior management and employees of an organisation follow in order to be successful (Schein, 1999, p 29). Cultivating an effective corporate culture, managing an organisation using efficient corporate governance practices and protecting the valuable information assets of an organisation through an effective information security program are, individually, all important components in the success of an organisation. One of the biggest questions with regard to these three fields is the relationship that should exist between information security, corporate governance and corporate culture. In other words, what can the senior management of an organisation, using effective corporate governance practices, do to ensure that information security practices become a subconscious response in the corporate culture?.

Corruption and unethical management is a legitimate global economic concern as it can have a direct and substantial impact on the longevity and the economic success of an organisation, an industry and a country. As a result of individuals having more readily available access to information, much attention has been given to unethical behaviour and organisational ethical violations over the last decade. Recent events have indicated that business ethics is an organisational concern with mammoth implications for business. For example, Esterhuyse (1999, p. 27) reports that South Africa has lost astronomical amounts of money due to office or white-collar crime. Organisations’ attempts to become globally competitive will be hampered by the behaviour of employees who are unethical at work. Therefore, it is imperative that organisations implement measures to increase ethical awareness and behaviour in their employees. This research study deals with business ethics in the automotive cluster of the Eastern Cape Province and proposes a model that can assist an organisation in improving its ethical culture. The main question that this research study addressed was: To what extent do the strategies of human resource departments contribute to establishing and maintaining an ethical organisational culture? To answer the above question it was necessary to address the most universal characteristics of ethical organisations. To this end the role of the human resource department in attempting to develop and sustain an ethical organisational culture is discussed. Thereafter, various ethical models are outlined and evaluated. Lastly, the proposed ethical model for establishing an ethical organisational culture is presented. Based on the theoretical findings of the literature survey which outlined the characteristics of ethical organisations and the interventions required to improve the ethical functioning of an organisation, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to organisations within the automotive cluster in the Eastern Cape Province. The empirical results obtained from the survey indicated dominant consensus regarding the model (see Chapter Four). The main findings from this research are that 74.7 per cent of organisations that participated in the empirical study had implemented a code of ethics. However, the majority of these organisations had not implemented the identified critical and optional interventions (see to Chapter Four) required to operate as an ethical organisation. The study also revealed that 49.4 per cent of respondents believed that the human resource manager is responsible for organising and coordinating an ethical initiative within the organisation. Respondents in this study stated that the benefits of operating ethically are the improved financial position of the organisation (76.5 per cent), the enhanced morale of employees (95.3 per cent), positive stakeholder perception (93 per cent), better long-term strategic sustainability (94.3 per cent) and superior social responsibility (85.9 per cent).

Organisation faced with competitive market pressures and those that are looking at sustaining their market position may adopt collaborative product design as a strategy to improve quality, increase market share, increase efficiencies and reduce the time to market for their products. Conversely, in a design environment engineering changes are unavoidable and need to be effectively coordinated because they may become costly for a company in product recalls and reputational damage. They can however be viewed as a cost benefit as contributors to optimisation of product quality. In this study, engineering changes were examined as enablers to collaborative product design where the study was undertaken in the land systems sector of defence in South Africa. The sector is faced with defence cuts resulting in direct and indirect job losses across the supply chain. An exploratory study was conducted where the constraints to design performance were evaluated. The applicability of the data and process orientated information exchange models were explored on the extent they influence the speed of engineering changes. The outcome was a model that can be used as an evaluation and decision making tool for companies conducting collaborative strategy with emphasis on engineering changes and information flow. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / ccgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

D.Comm. / Work-related identities have a major influence on employee behaviour, as specific identities are evoked in response to certain social situations. As part of a larger research project, this study systematically investigated the relationship between work-based identity and selected subjective and objective work outcomes. Based on the research findings, it can be stated that work-based identity plays an important role in determining employees‟ work outcomes, for example, task performance. These work outcomes are important (e.g., labour turnover and task performance) for organisations, as they have cost implications that impact on the organisation‟s financial bottom line. Research purpose: The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether work-based identity is related to the selected subjective consequences personal alienation, burnout, organisational citizenship behaviour - helping behaviour (H-OCB) and work engagement, and the selected objective consequences turnover intention as a proxy for labour turnover, and task performance. The possible mediation effect that the subjective consequences may have on the relationship between work-based identity and the objective consequences were investigated. It was also investigated whether the selected predictors (including work-based identity with the subjective consequences) can predict turnover intention and task performance. In addition, the possibility of the selected biographical and demographic data having a moderating effect on the relationship between the predictors (i.e. work-based identity and the selected subjective consequences) and objective consequences were investigated.

M.Com. (Business Management) / The study was conducted with the purpose of finding a thorough understanding of the importance of the implementation of change within the context of the existing organizational culture. The culture of an organization can lead to a strategic myopia where leaders underestimate the changes in the external environment due to strongly held common beliefs. The paradox of planned organizational change is that the need for change develops at all levels in the organization, but the responsibility for implementing change rests with management who in themselves resists change and acts as guardians at the existing organizational culture. Managers must realize that the existing culture and the competitive needs of the organization may be in conflict, as a result of changes in the environment. Faced with pressures for change, managers will be likely to deal with the situation in ways which protect the culture from challenge. This raises difficulty when managing strategic change for it may be that the action required is outside the scope of the culture and members are required to change core beliefs and values. The findings of this study confirm the importance of the role of the existing organizational culture in the implementation of change. The lack of compatibility between the existing culture and strategic change leads to resistance to change programmes.

M.Comm. / The purpose of this study was to investigate whether storytelling can be used as a strategy to uncover organisational culture. This investigation was prompted by a debate between scholars on whether a quantitative or qualitative approach should be adopted to assess culture. Based on Schein’s (2009) perspective on culture assessment a qualitative approach was adopted. Schein suggests that culture is unique and therefore cannot be assessed using a survey as surveys have predefined constructs that may not uncover certain critical cultural elements. The research methodology was informed by the interpretivisim paradigm. Conducted in a Consulting Firm semi-structured interviews were conducted with six senior members in order to gather their stories. For the data analysis and interpretation, thematic analysis was the chosen technique. Here themes were first extracted according to common stories, archetypes and behaviours identified. These were then interpreted for shared underlying assumptions which were uncovered when common behaviours observed could not be explained by espoused values or other artifacts. The interpretation of results uncovered six core underlying assumptions and five secondary underlying assumptions. The core underlying assumptions operate at the deepest level of the organisations unconscious and are “Sales Orientated,” “Dominance,” “Client First,” “Innovation,” “Adaptability and Nimbleness,” and “Individualism.” Secondary underlying assumptions are enablers of the core underlying assumptions and are “Work Centricity,” “Role Variety,” “Opinion Based Reward,” “Technology Consulting Identity” and “Global versus Local Skill.” The outcomes of the interpretation revealed patterns of underlying assumptions that drive organisational behaviour. To conclude, this study has managed to reveal important elements of the Consulting Firms culture and therefore is in support of a qualitative approach to assess culture. There are limitations of the study; most noticeably the limited number of participant’s interviewed. It is therefore recommended that future culture assessments consider storytelling as a strategy to uncover culture but that an increased number of participants are utilised.

Successful enterprises are those that consistently create new knowledge, disseminate it widely throughout the enterprise and quickly embed it in new technologies and products. These ‘knowledge-creating’ enterprises understand what knowledge is and what they should do to exploit it. In other words, they successfully manage and share their knowledge throughout their enterprise. When launching a knowledge management initiative, it is important to identify which knowledge management processes are most relevant to the enterprise’s environment and systems, and steps should be taken to support these activities and integrate them into daily operations. Broader elements and issues should also be identified and recognised for the influence they have on the knowledge management process. For example that enterprises should encourage individuals to interact, to work together on projects, or to share their ideas on an informal basis and systems are needed to codify the knowledge of individuals so that others can use it. Applying these elements involves: information technology; formal and informal structures; and specific knowledge management tools. Another important factor in the success of a knowledge management project is to ground knowledge management and knowledge sharing within the context of the enterprise’s business strategy seeing that the intranet can assist in the creation of economic value and competitive advantage for the enterprise. The knowledge sharing or knowledge contribution part of the knowledge management process seems to be the most difficult for enterprises. Knowledge sharing often takes place in enterprises via employees’ informal networks. Knowledge management could turn this informal, ad hoc process into a more systematic process. Creating a corporate culture where knowledge is valued and shared effectively is a challenge. Part of the solution could be for an enterprise to be aware of their specific corporate culture and how it influences their behaviour and attitude towards knowledge sharing. Because the employee’s behaviour determines the sharing of knowledge, leadership has an important role to play and they could use various motivational practices to encourage knowledge sharing. Leadership should commit to creating an environment, within which employees are able to share, assess and experiment with new knowledge gained. The corporate intranet could be used as such an environment, but employees need to be trained to use their knowledge management IT tools, making it as easy as possible for employees to contribute to the enterprise knowledge base. Effective intranet usage should be embedded in the enterprise’s general corporate and knowledge sharing culture. The intranet should be seen as an essential part of the enterprise’s knowledge management system and should be designed to suit and enhance the enterprise knowledge sharing activities and culture. It is also important that intranets should be evaluated regularly to determine its current contribution to as well as future potential of the knowledge sharing capability of the enterprise. The importance of evaluating and measuring the enterprise intranet and various measurement tools were discussed in depth, which consequently led to the formulation of an intranet evaluation tool in the form of a questionnaire. The prototype questionnaire was compiled by using measurement tools developed previously. The questionnaire brought together the concepts of knowledge management, knowledge sharing cultures and intranet functionalities. The evaluation tool was then applied to measure the effectiveness of a management consulting business’s intranet in enhancing the enterprise’s knowledge sharing culture. Recommendations were made to enterprises use the questionnaire when using the questionnaire in similar environments. An intranet represents a tool of potentially high value to any enterprise, but in order to realise this value, the intranets should be properly measured and managed and every employee needs to take ownership and buy into the concept of the intranet as a knowledge sharing enabler. This calls for an employee to be motivated to participate in knowledge sharing, so that they can experience the value they could add and receive by using the intranet for knowledge sharing activities. / Prof. P.A. van Brakel Mnr. J.A. Kok

Ph.D. (Human Resource Management) / Orientation: Employee retention remains an ongoing challenge for South African organisations. As a vehicle for aiding employee retention, reward and more specifically reward preferences, are not fully understood. Occupational culture and occupational group is suggested as a practical segmentation approach in researching employee preferences. Occupational culture relates to the shared values, meanings, and behaviours of occupational groups and impacts on employee preferences. In researching employee reward preferences from an occupational culture and occupational group perspective, organisations may be better positioned empirically to differentiate their reward strategies along occupational group lines. In this way reward strategies may better meet the needs of the organisation and employees and maximise the employment exchange relationship. Research purpose: The main purpose of the study was to research reward preferences from an occupational culture perspective with the view to shedding empirical light and practical evidence on the influence of occupational culture on the reward preferences of specific occupational groups in South African organisations. The primary objective of the research was to propose and evaluate a structural model of the relationship between occupational culture dimensions and reward preferences of specific occupational groups in the South African context. The additional influence of Occupational Group, Race, and Gender on the reward preferences in a model that already contains occupational culture main effects was considered as per the secondary research objectives.

The aim of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between organisational commitment (OC) and employer branding (EB). The purpose was to Identifying whether employer branding effects organisational commitment (affective, normative and continuance commitment) and how significant that effect may be. Questionnaires were personally distributed by the researcher directly to employees under study. Non-probability sampling was used in the form of judgement sampling. The sample consisted of 124 employees from various retail outlets throughout Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape. Five hypotheses were set for evaluation. A practically significant relationship was established between organisational commitment (OC) and employer branding (EB). A small practically significant relationship was found between gender and normative commitment. A medium practically significant relationship was found between gender and training and development as well as between gender and work/life balance. Statistically significant relationships were discovered with regards to age and leadership and also between age and rewards and recognition. A statistically significant difference was established between age and overall employer branding (EB). These findings suggest that a more positive employer brand will lead to improved organisational commitment (OC). More so, retail organisations aiming to improve on organisational commitment should incorporate those employer branding (EB) factors which employees’ place greater emphasis on, within their employer brand, which in turn will lead to greater organisational commitment.

Mergers have been described as the most complex business process that an organisation can be faced with, requiring executives and other stakeholders to discharge the promise of a more successful merged organisation. However, several studies have highlighted the factors that led to the demise of the merged organisations. One of the often quoted and frequently blamed aspects related to merger failure has been the lack of effective post-merged organisational culture integration and alignment. Where mergers have been successful, it was attributed to a structured approach to integrating and aligning all aspects related to organisational culture thus ensuring the creation of a high performing organisation, conducive to effective performance management. The main research problem in this study centred around the identification of strategies that could be used to design an integrated model for creating a post-merged organisational culture which is conducive to effectively managing performance. To achieve this objective, the following approaches were adopted: A literature study was conducted with the view to identifying the challenges facing merged organisations in general and post-merged South African Higher Education institutions in particular. The researcher also conducted interviews with senior HR practitioner at the institutions participating in this study to gain insights into their experiences of performance within their merged institutions. The institutions involved in this study were Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT and Durban University of Technology (DUT). The insights gleaned from these interviews were incorporated into the survey questionnaire. The literature study also concerned itself with the identification of strategies that merged organisations could use in its pursuit of organisational culture alignment and integration. These strategies included conducting critical pre-merger assessments or due-diligence studies, adopting structured approaches to dealing with resistance to change, employee engagement, the design, implementation and communication of monitoring and evaluation of merger success measures as well as several other moderating variables referred to in figure 1.2. In terms of sub-problem six of the study, the findings of sub-problems one, two and five were used to develop an eight-step integrated theoretical model to create an organisational culture conducive to effective performance management in a post-merged environment. The model served as a basis for the design of a survey questionnaire. The questionnaire was used to ascertain the extent to which respondents from the three participating institutions (NMMU, CPUT and DUT), perceived the various strategies as being important in establishing a post-merged organisational culture conducive to effective performance management. The results that emerged from the empirical study showed a strong concurrence with the strategies identified in the literature study and included in the integrated theoretical model. The quantitative and qualitative results from the empirical study where incorporated into the integrated theoretical model, which lead to a refined Eight-Step Integrated Post-merged Organisational Culture Creation Model as depicted in Figure 7.1 with associated details in Figure 7.2.