After many years of being overlooked as a game ranching area and tourist destination in favour of more established areas, the Eastern Cape, in terms of game ranching and tourism has ‘come of age’. It has become a huge industry in the Eastern Cape. Income was initially generated from commercial hunting, followed by non-consumptive eco tourism. As the industry expanded, the true value of game was discovered coupled with games inherent ability to survive with limited human interference has made it an attractive business. These factors and others have encouraged more and more farmers to convert from other forms of farming to game ranching. With this came the desire to restore their properties back to or as close as possible to its original state. Resulting in ‘emergence’ in the form of ‘resistance to power lines’, because they were seen as hideous and an unnecessary visual intrusion which impacted negatively on tourism and property values etc. The purpose of this dissertation was to surface the underlying causes for the resistance to power lines. A systems thinking approach was used, which emphasised multiple causes, and by means of systems diagrams gained an understanding of the various issues and arguments that relate to the placing and managing of power lines in rural areas. Key focus areas were motivational theories, mental constructs and factors that contribute to people’s perspectives and worldviews that ultimately influence their behaviour. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

This study set out to examine whether the Eastern Cape Tourism Board (ECTB) had the capability to cope with change. The tourism industry is very dynamic and for the organization to survive, it must be able to adapt itself in a constantly changing environment. The research question was derived from a study done by Human and Horwitz (1992), in which they examined how South African companies cope with change. They developed a model and a questionnaire to measure the capabilities of coping with change. Their model and questionnaire were based on the following four dimensions: strategic orientation, control orientation, social focus and institutional focus. This model classified organizations into four types, namely: the Boardroom organization, the Technocracy organization, the Hardhat organization as well as the Missionary organization. These typologies are discussed in Chapter 2. A modified version of the Human and Horwitz questionnaire was used to conduct this research. The original questionnaire has 32 items, and the questionnaire used in this study has the same number of items. The modification was done to nine questions, to ensure that they were of specific relevance to the organization being researched. The questions were slightly modified taking care to ensure that they still fit within the original dimensions measured by Human and Horwitz (1992). The questionnaires were distributed within the organization, particularly to those employees in the Tourism section, as the organization also had a Conservation section. The Conservation section was excluded due to the fact that a policy decision had already been taken to separate the two sections, thereby creating two organizations. When the questionnaires were returned, they were analyzed using 'Statistica' , a computerized statistics program. The results showed that the ECTB does not have the capability to cope with change as it lacked the critical strategic orientation that Human and Horwitz (1992) suggest is a key requirement for coping. The profile of the organization showed that the ECTB could be classified as primarily being a Technocracy organization, and secondarily a 'Hardhat' organization. (See details in Chapter 4). Human and Horwitz (1992) suggest that an organization to be able to cope with change, must be a 'hybrid' of these four types. The implications of these results suggest that the organization is lacking in the dynamism brought about by having a strategic orientation. Human and Horwitz argue that the profile of an organization coping well with change should show a 'balance' in terms of orientation (strategic orientation and control orientation). The ECTB's profile does not show this balance, and can therefore be said not to have the capability to cope with change. The results of the profile are discussed in Chapter 4.