Employee empowerment is a strategy that small business managers can deploy to add value to the business. This strategy is aimed at cultivating the power and ability of employees in their jobs. A business is a business by people working in it though they differ in many ways their contribution to the success of the organization is very important. However, these people are not often recognized as value contributors in the success of the business and for this reason they do not intend to add value to the business and they become demotivated to do their jobs properly. People are the business storehouse of knowledge and they are central to the organization's competitive advantage. Well educated, coached, and highly motivated people are critical to the development and execution of strategies, especially in today's fast-paced market, where top management can no longer assure the business competitiveness in isolation. In the business world, almost all businesses are doing the same, small businesses should strive to do things differently, and the only way that they can achieve that uniqueness is through instilling frankness and liberty to employees so that they act as if the business also belongs to them. The reason behind this success is the strategy the business is using to get into the heart of its customers, and this strategy is “employee empowerment”. People are the business's most underutilized resource; involvement in an organization is no longer a one-way road. In today's corporate environment a manager must work towards engaging the organization forcefully enough to achieve its objectives. New knowledge-based enterprises are characterized by flat hierarchical structures and a multi-skilled workforce. Managers assume more leadership and coaching tasks and work hard to provide employees with resources and working conditions they need to accomplish the goals they have agreed to. In brief, managers work for their staff, and not the reverse and this makes employees feel valued. Small business owners should tap into a new dimension of utilizing employee empowerment strategies in their businesses as these are proficient and are not costly. This paper investigates employee empowerment strategies that can be used by small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME's). An important reason for this investigation is that small businesses have incompetent skilled labour force due to the fact that they operate under a limited budget from which it would be difficult to get skilled workers who will demand higher salaries, as a result they need to put their energies rather on equipping and educating their employees through empowerment, which could at the end make them feel valued and part of the business. It is imperative to firstly assess the current situation of small business commitment to employee empowerment strategies; to what extent do they use employee empowerment strategies in their businesses In terms of the empirical study it was determined that small businesses were not aware of the concept of employee empowerment, but are in actual fact practicing employee empowerment strategies that have been theoretically revealed, according to the researcher’s observation, they were not aware of the impact of employee empowerment in the organization and that they can be implemented into the business. Therefore, by introducing the concept of employee empowerment and the strategies that can be used in small businesses, SMME's can enhance their services to customers, increase productivity and contribute to the welfare of employees to add value to the individual, the business and the country.

Mid-level leaders are often expected to implement employee empowerment initiatives, yet many do not have a clear understanding of how to empower employees. To address this issue, a model of empowering leadership was developed. The model presents specific, actionable behaviors that a leader should perform in order to empower employees. The model comprises 13 factors built around the areas of ability, accountability, and authority. First, leaders must ensure employees have the ability to be empowered. To do so, they must (a) build employee organizational knowledge, (b) provide access to pertinent information, (c) assure employees have the necessary skill set, and (d) identify and provide needed resources. Second, leaders must create systems of accountability for employee outcomes by (e) setting a standard of continuous improvement, (f) recognizing and rewarding good work, (g) regularly evaluating employee efforts, and (h) providing continuous feedback on employee efforts. Third, leaders should provide employees with the authority to be empowered by (i) serving as advocates of employee efforts, (j) providing an environment that is conducive to empowerment, (k) setting a clear and consistent direction to guide employee efforts, and (l) building systems and structures to support employee empowerment. The thirteenth factor of the model is a constant focus on the work, because without the work there is no real reason for empowerment. A review of the existing literature suggests a need for empirical research on empowerment concepts. This dissertation empirically investigated empowering leadership with two studies. The first focused on development of measures, while the second focused on model development. The measurement study supported the three general areas of ability, accountability, and authority, although the accountability area was weak. Results of the model examination study indicated that the model largely behaved as expected, but did require some modification. Based on the model exploration, four of the original 13 dimensions (set a standard of continuous improvement, provide continuous feedback on employee efforts, set a clear and consistent direction to guide employee efforts, and focus on work) were removed. Finally, the study revealed that a relationship does exist between employee empowerment and empowering leadership.

An action-orientation within the workplace is often sought out by organizations as a source for competitive advantage. Organizational leaders are increasingly reliant on independently driven employees that will take action without being instructed to do so. Toward this effort, proactive personality has become increasingly popular within the literature as a personality trait associated with an employee's propensity to take charge of situations and demonstrate initiative to make a positive impact. In identifying potential variables that will moderate the effects of proactive personality, a highly relevant construct is empowerment. Proactive personality is thought of as a trait, whereas empowerment can be thought of as the contextual counterpart. In this study, I research both psychological empowerment as an employee interpretation of organizational conditions, such as feelings of self-efficacy, control, and flexibility for action (Arnold, Arad, Rhoades, & Drasgow, 2000) and structural empowerment as the influence of situational workplace context (Kanter, 1977). Despite the theoretical overlap between proactive personality and empowerment, very little has been done to integrate or investigate these variables together to evaluate their relative influences on important outcomes. Given that limited concentration has been focused on boundary conditions of proactive personality, employee political skill is hypothesized as a moderator that will encourage the attainment of important organizational outcomes (i.e., job task performance, job satisfaction) and minimize negative outcomes (i.e., occupational stress and strain) from proactive personality and empowerment. This study is a more complete investigation of proactive personality that not only provides a meaningful theoretical examination, but also informs applied practice. Despite a number of theoretical links between proactive personality and empowerment, the two constructs have been investigated in isolation from one another. Therefore, the relationship between empowerment and political skill is largely unknown. It is unclear whether empowerment and political skill are both necessary to realize optimal results or whether being high on both leads to exponentially better outcomes. This study included 252 nurses from union organizations in Oregon, Florida, and Missouri that registered and were invited to participate (53%). They were surveyed across two points in time, 176 participated at Time 1 and Time 2 and 76 participated in only Time 1. Results did not show support for my hypotheses that improvements would be observed for those high on any two research variables: proactive personality, empowerment, and political skill. However, results consistently support a compensatory model. In general, task performance, perceived effectiveness, and satisfaction with quality of care improved when nurses were high on either proactive personality or empowerment (either structural or psychological). Those high on either proactive personality or political skill had higher levels of task performance and satisfaction with quality of care. Similarly, those high on either structural empowerment or political skill had higher levels of task performance and satisfaction with quality of care. Only when a nurse was low on both variables in the model did they show reduced benefits. Several clear practical solutions are readily apparent based on study results. Given that empowerment can be manipulated within an organizational culture and proactive personality can be integrated with selection systems, the results are important for organizational leaders and organizational development consultants. Similarly, this research adds greatly to the literature on political skill, an area that is relatively new. By examining the moderating influence of political skill, this adds to the theoretical advancement of the three constructs while also informing practitioners regarding potential selection, training, and organizational design. Political skill has been seen as an attribute with the capacity to change over time with training, experience, and mentoring (Ferris, Perrewé, Anthony, & Gilmore, 2000). Therefore, the practical implications for organizations are clearly evident. Further, given that both proactive personality and empowerment have received limited evaluation into their boundary conditions, an evaluation of potential moderators helps advance into the understanding of the processes related to action within the workplace.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Providing basic local administration has become one of a vast variety of priorities for all municipalities within the South African context. Municipalities need to be instrumental in South Africa’s socio- economic upliftment against issues like poverty and underdevelopment because government policy requires municipalities to play a developmental role. Taking cognizance of the transformational changes within the South African government, the local government, within its three categories, inherited growing responsibility for basic service delivery. This was primarily because the democratic South Africa has inherited a public sector marred by fragmented and gross inequalities at all levels of government activity (Mathekga & Buccus, 2006). The effectiveness of good local governance may rely on the capacity of local government structures, participative of municipal leadership and employees, to provide an integrated development approach to social and economic development issues and to supply essential services congruent with the needs and desires of the local communities (The Institute for Democracy in Africa, 2010). Municipalities need to be in a position to identify and prioritise local needs, determine adequate levels of services and allocate necessary resources to the public (COGTA, 2009c). The role of local government in, amongst other things, is to promote a better life for all by creating jobs, alleviating poverty, which is imperative in achieving a prosperous civilization. The transformation of local government, as it stood during the apartheid period, was aimed at removing the racial basis of government and making it a mechanism for the integration of society and the redistribution of municipal services from the rich to the poor. Thus, local government is the key site of delivery and development and is central to the entire transformative project of the new South Africa. In order for any municipality to be accountable for delivering a basic human right towards local communities, as stipulated in the Constitution of 1996, it is imperative that the relationship between the internal stakeholders of the local municipality is sound. The test would be to see how the municipal employees’ perception of trust influences the trust relationship between employees and managers in the local government sphere. Taking cognizance of the manner in which local government mechanisms and its related structures are administered, the research will aim to establish how important the vertical trust relationship between municipal employees and managers is, as a contributing factor for effective service delivery to its communities. Attention will focus on the conceptualization of vertical trust between employees and managers within local government in South Africa as well as to determine whether municipalities’ performance indeed have a link with vertical trust relationship between the relevant employees and managers. This will be explained within a broader perception by focusing on relevant theories of trust, which include the theories related different types- and dimensions of trust, and influence of the trust relationship within the local government sphere. The research focused on the performance of a Category B municipality within the geographic area of the Western Cape, and how the vertical trust relationship between employees towards managers and the subsequent performance of the municipalities would influence effective service delivery. A Category B municipality within the Eden district was identified as an institution that, within the broader government sphere, has been complimented and accolade due to continuous improvements in service delivery over the last few years. Five dimensions were examined by conducting a survey in order to establish the perceptions of municipal employees relating to the dimensions of job satisfaction, employee empowerment, communication, management reporting and performance management. These perceptions were assessed by interpreting the responses of (N = 205) respondents from the Category B municipality. The main finding was that the respondents were very negative towards how they experience the five dimensions within the Category B municipality. Based on the internal consistency of the five dimensions, the results of the research were of concern as a significant part of the respondents portrayed some sort of animosity towards how they perceived and responded to the statements. This is contrary to the Category B municipality’s continuous and improved financial performance and non-existent service delivery protests, as compared to other municipalities within the geographical area of the Western Cape. This research highlighted that, although the attitudes towards most of the statements were negatively experienced by the respondents, the Category B municipality still managed to get accolades for continuous and improved financial performance and non-existent service delivery protests. The revelations from the respondents highlight a sense of effective and efficient performance by the category B municipality with a mainly negative workforce. This poses a concern as to the proposition of this research in terms of how significant the role of such trust between affected parties play within the dynamics of this Category B municipality. The primary reason for this observation relates to the researcher’s view that it has become critical for management to get personally involved in managing the emotional part of its employees, in order to ignite a sense of belonging to the municipality where employees will put renewed emphasis on the trust towards all levels of the organizational hierarchy. It can be concluded that, in order for vertical trust to be of significance within the dynamics of this Category B municipality, the concept of vertical trust relationship can be nurtured by employing a working environment based on mutual respect, dignity, cooperation and honest communication. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Providing basic local administration has become one of a vast variety of priorities for all municipalities within the South African context. Municipalities need to be instrumental in South Africa’s socio- economic upliftment against issues like poverty and underdevelopment because government policy requires municipalities to play a developmental role. Taking cognizance of the transformational changes within the South African government, the local government, within its three categories, inherited growing responsibility for basic service delivery. This was primarily because the democratic South Africa has inherited a public sector marred by fragmented and gross inequalities at all levels of government activity (Mathekga & Buccus, 2006). The effectiveness of good local governance may rely on the capacity of local government structures, participative of municipal leadership and employees, to provide an integrated development approach to social and economic development issues and to supply essential services congruent with the needs and desires of the local communities (The Institute for Democracy in Africa, 2010). Municipalities need to be in a position to identify and prioritise local needs, determine adequate levels of services and allocate necessary resources to the public (COGTA, 2009c). The role of local government in, amongst other things, is to promote a better life for all by creating jobs, alleviating poverty, which is imperative in achieving a prosperous civilization. The transformation of local government, as it stood during the apartheid period, was aimed at removing the racial basis of government and making it a mechanism for the integration of society and the redistribution of municipal services from the rich to the poor. Thus, local government is the key site of delivery and development and is central to the entire transformative project of the new South Africa. In order for any municipality to be accountable for delivering a basic human right towards local communities, as stipulated in the Constitution of 1996, it is imperative that the relationship between the internal stakeholders of the local municipality is sound. The test would be to see how the municipal employees’ perception of trust influences the trust relationship between employees and managers in the local government sphere. Taking cognizance of the manner in which local government mechanisms and its related structures are administered, the research will aim to establish how important the vertical trust relationship between municipal employees and managers is, as a contributing factor for effective service delivery to its communities. Attention will focus on the conceptualization of vertical trust between employees and managers within local government in South Africa as well as to determine whether municipalities’ performance indeed have a link with vertical trust relationship between the relevant employees and managers. This will be explained within a broader perception by focusing on relevant theories of trust, which include the theories related different types- and dimensions of trust, and influence of the trust relationship within the local government sphere. The research focused on the performance of a Category B municipality within the geographic area of the Western Cape, and how the vertical trust relationship between employees towards managers and the subsequent performance of the municipalities would influence effective service delivery. A Category B municipality within the Eden district was identified as an institution that, within the broader government sphere, has been complimented and accolade due to continuous improvements in service delivery over the last few years. Five dimensions were examined by conducting a survey in order to establish the perceptions of municipal employees relating to the dimensions of job satisfaction, employee empowerment, communication, management reporting and performance management. These perceptions were assessed by interpreting the responses of (N = 205) respondents from the Category B municipality. The main finding was that the respondents were very negative towards how they experience the five dimensions within the Category B municipality. Based on the internal consistency of the five dimensions, the results of the research were of concern as a significant part of the respondents portrayed some sort of animosity towards how they perceived and responded to the statements. This is contrary to the Category B municipality’s continuous and improved financial performance and non-existent service delivery protests, as compared to other municipalities within the geographical area of the Western Cape. This research highlighted that, although the attitudes towards most of the statements were negatively experienced by the respondents, the Category B municipality still managed to get accolades for continuous and improved financial performance and non-existent service delivery protests. The revelations from the respondents highlight a sense of effective and efficient performance by the category B municipality with a mainly negative workforce. This poses a concern as to the proposition of this research in terms of how significant the role of such trust between affected parties play within the dynamics of this Category B municipality. The primary reason for this observation relates to the researcher’s view that it has become critical for management to get personally involved in managing the emotional part of its employees, in order to ignite a sense of belonging to the municipality where employees will put renewed emphasis on the trust towards all levels of the organizational hierarchy. It can be concluded that, in order for vertical trust to be of significance within the dynamics of this Category B municipality, the concept of vertical trust relationship can be nurtured by employing a working environment based on mutual respect, dignity, cooperation and honest communication. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: An African leadership paradigm: The missing link for productivity and empowerment in Business - The case of Lesotho is a study done in response to socio-economic problems facing Lesotho due to a lack of, or an out-of-step kind of leadership prevailing in the business sector in that country. This study is a mixture of theory and application. The chronological framework of production, empowerment and leadership practices in Lesotho is presented so as to create the context within which the study is conducted. The examples of leadership practices and theories explaining the leadership behaviour of past and contemporary African leaders are also presented because an African leadership paradigm relies more on skills and wisdom than on techniques and specific knowledge. Explaining this paradigm therefore has to be done through presenting real experience, not through a list of principles. This study takes the position that there is a need for leadership transformation in Lesotho business. This transformation should represent a fundamental shift in the relationship of business with individuals and the society as whole. This implies therefore that Lesotho businesses have to reconnect with the people that comprise them. The African leadership paradigm described in this study is argued to be an appropriate approach that would help realize this shift because it emphasizes collaboration, open lines of communication in all directions throughout the company, and advocates creativity and innovation. Furthermore, the organizational structure advocated by the African leadership paradigm is seen as a means to achieve objectives, not an end in itself. The structure is flatter, formed around teams and task forces. It has also been observed that the view of business leadership in Lesotho is currently a mechanistic one, and it is now time to replace this mechanistic view with a more organic one. The latter would recognize the biological nature of business and the sanctity of individual human life. Moreover, today business has become a very different place. International boundaries have faded as business takes on a more global perspective. The technology of the information age has contracted the time it takes to communicate and make decisions. The African leadership paradigm takes a panoramic view of this change and finds its place in it. The integration provided in this study describes an African perspective framework for leadership, thus placing the African leadership paradigm firmly in perspective and linking the entire framework to actual leadership practices. It is argued in this study that an African leadership paradigm should be used as a guiding approach in the business sector in Lesotho. This would help in determining how this approach fits into the total organizational picture. It is believed that a balanced effort to improve leadership qualities would yield the most effective motivational climate in the business sector. It is also argued that an African leadership paradigm should not be regarded as something extreme over and above the duties of leaders, but rather as a way of leadership, a way of doing better what is done now. It is an approach to increase the effectiveness of the business and to fully utilize human resources in solving work problems. Forces of change such as globalisation and smart partnerships and how they transform the way business is done, are also observed in this study. These forces have a major influence on whether a business could either succeed or go down in flames. The study suggests that the focus of Lesotho business during this transition period should be to find or create partnerships that would provide profitable business relationships and raise competitiveness. This is because the world is increasingly becoming a global market where integration across traditional borders is evident in almost every dimension of life. Therefore the focus should be on getting beyond organizational boundaries to more profitable, more desirable relationships such as smart partnerships. These partnerships enlarge the pie and in doing so let each party emerge as winner. The partners open up the borders between their companies and this enables them to tap into the productivity that lies between their establishments, and as a result they make substantial mutual gains. Lesotho business leaders are therefore urged to transcend boundaries in order to survive. It is also observed that globalisation poses ethical challenges for business and hence the call for business ethical codes and philosophical moral reasoning such as utilitarianism and deontology for business in Lesotho. This compels Lesotho not only to adapt to the globalisation of the world economy but to a new leadership paradigm that would facilitate ethical business behaviour, that is, the proposed African leadership paradigm. In a nutshell this study assumes that leadership in Lesotho should have exposure to effective principles of leadership and that they need to acquire skills and attitudes advocated by the proposed African leadership paradigm. The emphasis should be on motivation, communication, personal effectiveness, collaboration, decision-making and coordination of functions. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: 'n Afrika-Ieierskapsparadigma: Die ontbrekende skakel nodig vir produktiwiteit en bemagtiging in Besigheid - Die geval van Lesotho is 'n studie wat gedoen is in reaksie op die sosio-ekonomiese probleme wat Lesotho in die gesig staar as gevolg van die afwesigheid van, of die onbevoegde soort leierskap wat die besigheidsektor van daardie land karakteriseer. Hierdie studie is 'n mengsel van beide teorie en toepassing. Die kronologiese raamwerk van produksie, bemagtiging en leierskapspraktyke in Lesotho word voorgehou met die oog daarop om die konteks waarin die studie gedoen word uit te spel. Voorbeelde van die leierskapsgebruike en teorieë wat die leierskapsoptrede van eertydse en kontemporêre Afrikaleiers verduidelik, word voorgehou omdat 'n Akrika- leierskapsparadigma juis afhanklik is van vaardighede en wysheid, eerder as van tegnieke en gespesifiseerde kennis. Hierdie paradigma word dus verduidelik deur die weergee van werklike ervaring, eerder as om 'n lys van beginsels voor te lê. Die studie neem die posisie in dat daar die behoefte bestaan aan die transformasie van leierskap in Lesotho-besigheid. Hierdie transformasie behoort 'n fundamentele verskuiwing in die verhouding van besigheid tot individue in die samelewing in die geheel te behels. Dit impliseer dus dat Lesotho besigheid weer moet skakel met die mense wat hulle in die eerste plek uitmaak. Die Afrika-leierskapsparadigma wat in hierdie studie beskryfword, word voorgehou as 'n toepaslike benadering wat sal help om hierdie verskuiwing mee te bring, juis omdat dit klem plaas op samewerking, oop kommunikasie kanale in alle rigtings deur die maatskappy, as ook omdat dit kreatiwiteit en innovasie aanmoedig. Verder word die organisasiestruktuur wat deur die Afrika-leierskapsparadigma voorgehou word gesien as 'n middelom 'n doel te bereik en nie 'n doelop sigself nie. Die struktuur is as't ware plat en gesentreerd om spanne en taakgroepe. Dit word gestel dat die huidige sienmg van besigheidsleierskap in Lesotho meganisties van aard is, en dat dit nou tyd is om hierdie meganistiese siening met 'n meer organiese siening te vervang. So 'n siening sal die biologiese aard van besigheid en die onaantasbaarheid van die menslike lewe erken. Boonop is die hedendaagse besigheidswêreld 'n heel ander wêreld. Internasionale grenslyne vervaag soos wat besighede 'n meer globale perspektief begin aanhang. Die tegnologie van die informasie-era het die tyd wat dit neem om te kommunikeer en om besluite te neem ingekort. Die Afrika-leierskapsparadigma neem vanuit 'n panoramiese blik op hierdie veranderinge sy posisie daarteenoor in. Die intergrasie wat deur hierdie studie voorgestel word, beskryf 'n raamwerk vir leierskap vanuit 'n Afrika-perspektief en plaas die Afrika-leierskapsparadigma in perspektief deur die hele raamwerk in te skakel by werklike leierskapspraktyke. Die studie hou voor dat 'n Afrika-leierskapsparadigma as 'n riglyn-benadering in die besigheidssektor van Lesotho gebruik behoort te word. Dit sal help om vas te stel hoe hierdie benadering by die oorhoofse organisatoriese prentjie inpas. Dit betoog dat 'n gebalanseerde poging om leierskapskwaliteite te verbeter die mees effektiewe motiverende klimaat in die besigheisektor sal vestig. Dit argumenteer ook dat 'n Afrika -leierskapsparadigma nie as 'n uiterste, bo en behalwe die gewone pligte van leiers, beskou behoort te word nie, maar eerder as 'n nuwe manier van doen vir leiers, 'n manier van doen wat beter is as wat tans die geval is. Dit is 'n benadering om die effektiwiteit van besigheid te bevorder en om menslike hulpbronne ten volle te benut in die oplossing van werksprobleme. Veranderingskragte soos globalisering en "smart partnerships" en die wyse waarop hulle besigheidspraktyke beïnvloed word ook ondersoek in hierdie studie. Sulke kragte het 'n wesenlike invloed op die sukses van 'n besigheid, al dan nie. Die studie stel voor dat die fokus van die Lesotho besigheidssektor tydens hierdie oorgangsperiode daarop gemik behoort te wees om samewerking te vestig wat winsgewende besigheidsverhoudinge sal verseker en wat meedingendheid sal aanwakker. Die rede daarvoor is die neiging in die wêreld na 'n globale mark waar integrasie oor tradisionele grense heen 'n kenmerk word van byna alle aspekte van die lewe. Die fokus behoort dus te wees daarop om verbyorganisatoriese grenslyne te strek na meer winsgewende, meer gesogte verhoudinge soos "smart partnerships." Hierdie verhoudinge verseker groter opbrengste en elke party tree by wyse van spreke as wenner na vore. Die betrokke partye dra daartoe by dat die grense tussen hulle maatskappye vervaag en dit stel hulle in staat om voordeel te trek uit die produktiwiteit wat tussen hulle instansies lê en om sodoende substantiewe, wedersydse wins te maak. Daar word gevolglik 'n beroep gedoen op Lesotho se besigheidsleiers om grense te transendeer om hulle eie voortbestaan te verseker. Daar word betoog dat globalisering etiese uitdagings vir besighede inhou en juis daarom word daar 'n beroep gedoen om besigheids-etiese kodes en filosofiese morele redenering soos die utilitarisme en die deontologie vir die besigheidsektor van Lesotho. Dit moedig Lesotho aan om nie net in te val by die huidige globaliserings neiginge van die wêreldekonomie nie, maar om 'n nuwe leierskapsparadigma daar te stel wat etiese besigheidspraktyke sal fasiliteer, dit wil sê, die voorgestelde Afrikaleierskapsparadigma. In 'n neutedop saamgevat begin hierdie studie by die aanname dat die leierskapsgarde van Lesotho blootgetsel behoort te word aan effektiewe leierskapsbeginsels en dat hulle nodig het om die vaardighede en ingesteldheid wat in die Afrikaleierskapsparadigma voorgehou word, te bekom. Motivering, kommunikasie, persoonlike effektiwiteit, samewerking, besluitneming en die koërdinasie van funksies behoort benadruk te word.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Governments and organisations focus their efforts and resources on physical production factors and the skills of their employees. However, in order to focus the resources and skills of an organisation on a specific outcome there needs to be a common and binding set of values. Many empowerment efforts in South Africa have not succeeded and the reasons cited for their failures, concomitantly, have been based on physical production factors and lack of skills. This study will investigate whether a misalignment of values may be the real problem of which the physical production factors and skills were mere symptoms. The Mckinsey 7s Model will be used to structure the analysis and to determine whether the reconstruction, development and empowerment organisations, both successful and unsuccessful, had shared values. The result was that the reconstruction, development and empowerment organisations that were successful had shared values and that the reconstruction, development and empowerment organisations, that were unsuccessful did not have shared values. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Regerings en privaat organisasies fokus hulle insette op fisiese produksie faktore en die vaardighede van hul werknemers. Om die insette en aksies van 'n organisasie te fokus op 'n spesifieke uitkoms, moet daar 'n gedeelde en samebindende stel waardes wees. Verskeie bemagtigingspogings in Suid-Afrika was nie suksesvol nie. Die redes wat vir hierdie mislukkings aangevoer word, is gebaseer op die fisiese insette en die gebrek aan vaardigheid van die deelnemers. Die navorsing in hierdie studie is daarop gemik om te bepaal of die gebrek aan gedeelde waardes nie dalk die werklike probleem is nie, en dat die fisiese produksie faktore en vaardigheidsvlakke slegs simptome hiervan is. Die Mckinsey 7s model sal aangewend word om struktuur aan die studie te verleen. Die Mckinsey 7s model sal ook aangewend word om te bepaal of die heropbou-, ontwikkelings- en bemagtigings organisasies, beide suksesvol en onsuksesvol, gedeelde waardes gehad het al dan nie. Die resultate van die studie het daarop gedui dat al die heropbou-, ontwikkelings en bemagtigings organisasies, wat gedeelde waardes gehad het suksevol was en al die heropbou-, ontwikkelings- en bemagtigings organisasies, wat onsuksesvol was nie gedeelde waardes gehad het nie.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the light of the emphasis on the decentralization of school management in South Africa, the empowerment of all role players to be involved in decision-making has became crucial. My concern is with the experience of the process of empowerment by leaders in education. The implications of empowerment or the lack there-off for the school culture and climate, as well as the underlying role played by the leadership approach of educational leaders, are examined. By engaging in an interpretative analysis of data (questionnaires which contains the views of various role players) I examined the relationship between empowerment, school culture and climate, as well as transformational leadership. Empowerment is not a simplistic concept which is clear from the mutual coherence between the school culture and climate and the particular role assumed by the transformational approach. The particular interaction between transformational leadership, empowerment and the school culture and climate implies greater clarity from all role players about the impact of empowerment. In this way participative management can realise in a spontaneous manner and can change be seen as a unique opportunity to improve teaching and learning. KEY WORDS Empowerment, school culture and climate and transformational leadership. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die lig van die klem op die desentralisasie van skoolbestuur in Suid-Afrika is die bemagtiging van alle rolspelers tot effektiewe deelname in besluitneming onontbeerlik. My besorgdheid is met die belewing van die proses van bemagtiging deur onderwysleiers. Die implikasies van bemagtiging of die gebrek daaraan vir die skoolkultuur en -klimaat, asook die onderliggende rol wat die leierskapbenadering van die onderwysleiers in die verband speel, is ook ondersoek. Verbind tot 'n interpretatiewe data-analise (vraelyste met die menings van verskeie rolspelers daarin vervat) het ek die verband tussen bemagtiging, skoolkultuur en -klimaat en transformatiewe leierskap ondersoek. Bemagtiging is nie 'n simplistiese begrip nie dit blyk onder meer uit die onderlinge samehang daarvan met skoolkultuur en -klimaat en die besondere rol wat die transformatiewe leierskapbenadering veronderstel. Die besondere wisselwerking tussen transformatiewe leierskap, bemagtiging en skoolkultuur en -klimaat vereis 'n groter duidelikheid by alle rolspelers oor die impak van bemagtiging. Sodoende realiseer deelnemende bestuur spontaan en word verandering as 'n besondere geleentheid beskou om onderrig en leer voortdurend te verbeter. SLEUTELWOORDE Bemagtiging, skoolkultuur en -klimaat en transformatiewe leierskap