This dissertation investigates factors that influence efforts by lower-level employees to initiate organizational change and innovation from the bottom up. Specifically, I attempt to reconcile competing theories regarding the effects of structural and social integration on individual innovation efforts. One theoretical view posits that integration provides information, ideas, and motivation necessary for innovation. An alternative view is that integration constrains individuals and routines, and thereby hinders innovation efforts. Drawing on both theoretical perspectives, I predict the effects of distinct types of structural integration (e.g., centralization, cross-unit integration, boundary spanning) and social integration determinants (e.g., geographic dispersion, decision process involvement, workplace network size) on the likelihood of individual innovation efforts among lower-level employees. I also consider the effects of interactions of social and structural integration with individual characteristics (i.e., personality, and experience) on innovation efforts. I test these predictions using survey data collected from interns and supervisors in the context of MBA and undergraduate internships. Analyses demonstrate that several aspects of structural integration do influence the levels of individual innovation efforts. For example, centralization and boundary spanning levels of the work unit have inverse U-shaped / text

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This research on Sappi Kraft (Pty) Ltd, focuses on the Health and Safety Programme that is in implementation. The programme is expected to entrench the Health and Safety Culture by encouraging acceptable Behaviour Based Safety, continuous staff Training, encouraging interactive communication and housekeeping to be adopted by all employees. The documented study is based on the participation of the staff and management influence to ensure organisation behavioural changes to Safety are challenged. To verify the impact of the analysis, a questionnaire was distributed to the shop floor staff. Interview sessions were conducted on Sappi Management members. Analytical tools such as SPSS and Excel spreadsheet were used to demonstrate the research trends. The analysis findings are detailed in Chapter 5. The study considers the Health and Safety of employees as crucial. In this instance, the secondary recorded statistical data serve as a trigger to further research to the cause of increasing Lost Time Injuries and a proportional increase in serious injuries sustained. This record became a trigger for Sappi Management to implement initiatives to reduce the number of serious injuries being sustained. Such initiatives are implemented to avoid high loss control, continual losses of life and Safety Disasters. The disasters that occurred at Foskor, formerly known as Indian Ocean Fertilizers and Chrome Chemicals in Merebank, are still fresh in industrial news. Sappi Kraft management's commitment to the programme emphasizes the cultural change and acknowledgement of the conditions under which it operates, for the manufacturing of different paper grades. Management takes Safety objectives seriously with the understanding that attributes such as improved health; safety and production performance would be sustained. It must be noted that previous strategies and measures have been implemented to improve safety. The major challenges for Sappi Kraft to the recent strategy are to improve safety through staff participation in continuous risk assessment training, behaviour based safety and interactive communication. The research study period is limited to report on the full objectives to be fulfilled, but the progress towards success is documented. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

Many organizations are using ergonomic principles and its applications to improve and optimize the current levels of productivity, safety and health. This can be achieved by carefully examining the current management and work practices with the view of finding alternative ways to perform these tasks. In view of the above this research examines the current management and work practices of three small manufacturing engineers, with the purpose of providing inputs, to improve their current status through the application of ergonomic principles. The study is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the review of current literature on ergonomics and specifically discusses issues such as anthropometry, cumulative trauma disorders, manual material handling, and ergonomic based management systems. The second part focuses on an assessment and identification of existing problems and areas of weaknesses in the workplace. This was accomplished through in depth interviews, observation and questionnaires. The final part presents the research findings followed by the discussion and proposed recommendations. The study has revealed that there is a fundamental lack of knowledge of ergonomics and its relationship to productivity, safety and health. Currently most work practices are guided by what has been learnt and internalized over the years. The researcher proposes that in order to successfully implement an ergonomics programme, ergonomic awareness, training and education, self help training, management commitment and work force participation are essential. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

Employee participation is the process whereby employees are involved in decision making processes, rather than simply acting on orders. Employee participation is part of a process of empowerment in the workplace. It is important for employees to participate effectively in decision making, and strengthen their level of influence to all existing structures. The main aim of the study was to ascertain the impact of participation in decision making at Engen and whether employees are satisfied with their current participation in the organization. The study used non-probability sampling and the sample comprised of one hundred respondents who are employees at Engen in Durban office, KwaZulu-Natal. This office was selected because it was convenient for the researcher and respondents were easily available and accessible. Of the sample, 34.2% of respondents are Sales staff and a total of 28.9% of respondents worked for 0-5 years for the company and 23.7% have worked for 6-10 years. The results of the study revealed that 55.3% of respondents do participate in decision making within the organization, 57.9% of respondents find direct participation more effective. A salient finding of the study was that 55.3% of respondents feel employee participation is important in decision making and considering everything 47.4% of respondents are satisfied with employee participation. The recommendations to South African employees are to be equipped with enough relevant information to enable them effective participation in organizational affairs. South African employees must improve skills and competencies required for effective employee participation. Organization need to develop and enact Participation in decision making policies and procedures that are aligned to Labour Relations Act. Management must sufficiently acknowledge the contribution made by employees to participation in decision making process. The government must promote the concept of employee participation in all work places. This could be done through workshops, seminars and information dissemination amongst all employees and trade unions. The Labour Relations Act 66 (1995) be written in simplified English and be translated in all other official languages so that it can be easily understood by all stakeholders. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

This thesis is about the role that shop floor workers play in organisational change. In particular, it investigates the manner in which a distinct group of worker-level leaders and change agents affected the generation and implementation of change and helped to shape the change process in an organisation undergoing planned change. The data for the thesis were obtained from a three-year, longitudinal case-study of organisational change in a medium-sized automotive components manufacturer, Moving Metals Limited (MML). Data were collected at MML during a move from traditional mass production to lean production and the research was conducted using processual action research, while the researcher adopted the dual roles of researcher and consultant to the company. The research identified a distinct group of workers, with no supervisory capacity, who were able to shape the change process in the organisation. These workers are referred to as workers of influence. This group of workers emerged as central characters in the process of organisational change and as leaders and change agents in the organisation. Drawn from the empirical data, criteria for identifying workers of influence are developed in this thesis, based on the authority vested in them by the workforce and their access to management decision-making. A taxonomy of workers of influence is developed in this thesis using these criteria, as well as the duration of tenure of influence. In much of the literature, shop floor workers are portrayed as either passive participants in, or active resistors of organisational change. This research provides evidence of some workers acting as leaders and change agents in an active and influential manner. The research examines issues of power, influence, autonomy and control and their impact on workers' capacity to participate in change. In so doing, this research identifies and opens up an important area of study with implications for organisational theory, literature and the implementation of planned interventions in organisations. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Department of Social Inquiry, 2000.

M.B.A. / The importance of a free market in a post apartheid South Africa has been acknowledged. The benefits should be spread so that all individuals may be able to share in the wealth generated by the people within the country. Privatization is one mechanism for redistributing the wealth of the State, and the use of an Employee Share Ownership Participation Scheme (E.S.O.P.S.) is away in which the wealth can be spread over a large proportion of the population. This was a basic policy of Thatcher's Government in the U.K. The same rationale is apt for the South African situation. An E.S.O.P.S. is similar to a profit sharing or a pension plan, and may be group with various holistic empowerment strategies. There are however two fundamental differences from these two traditional plans: • It invests only in the equity of the employer • The E.S.O.P.S. provides the organization with an increased finance tool, through an increased ability to borrow. One of the business trends, in the U.S.A. and the U.K. and more recently in South Africa has been to extend the ownership of shares to employees. This secures a stake in the company, an avenue for retiring owners, and as protection against hostile takeover bids. Other motives that have been used are, as an educational experience and also as a part of participative management philosophy. The author heads the Department of Mining Engineering in the new University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Engineering and the Built...

This study investigated the factors that influence the adoption of ESOPs in Nigeria. Furthermore, the study investigated the influence of the adoption of ESOPs on organisational performance, employee retention and employee commitment. The study results reveal that trade union responsiveness, reforms, awareness of employee benefits and taxation implication positively influence the adoption of ESOPs based on transparency. The results in this study further reveal that trade union responsiveness, takeovers, reforms, awareness of employee benefits and taxation implication effectively influence the adoption of ESOPs based on two-way communication. In addition, the study results reveal that trade union responsiveness, takeovers, reforms, awareness of employee benefits and trust positively influence the adoption of ESOPs based on empowerment. The study further reveals that adoption of ESOPs based on transparency, two-way communication and empowerment leads to organisational performance, employee retention and employee commitment. This study, being the first of its kind in Nigeria, filled the gap that existed in the Nigerian literature in respect of the awareness and adoption of ESOPs. This study provides literature and theoretical model that can be used as a foundation by organisations and the government to start up the adoption of ESOPs. This study showed that ESOPs is beneficial to boost the economy, enhance desired organisational outcomes (organisational performance, employee retention and employee commitment) and meet the financial and retirement needs of employees. However, for organisations and employees to enjoy the full benefits of ESOPs, underlying forces such as, trade union responsiveness, takeovers, reforms, awareness of employee benefits, trusts and taxation implication must be taken into account. Furthermore, the adoption, implementation and operations of ESOPs will be successful management, trade union leaders and employees utilise strategies such as, transparency, two-way communication and empowerment.

The purpose of this study was to document and assess the consequences of implementing employee involvement in a manufacturing setting. Using a quasi-experimental design, the study utilized information from various sources of data including archives, interview, and questionnaire data for a three to four year period. Time series comparisons were used. The results indicated that production increased initially, but then dropped back to original level. Quality of products increased and continued to improve gradually. The highest rate of improvement was observed in safety. An attempt was made to measure current level of commitment at the plant but was unsuccessful due to a low return rate of questionnaires. Overall, data collected partially support the hypotheses. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.

This research focused on collaborative ties in innovating teams in a research and development (R&D) environment of a technologically innovative R&D intensive manufacturing company. The purpose of the study was to determine the relative impact of, respectively, the strength of ties and the breadth of ties on the innovativeness of teams. Significant research has been carried out on strong and weak ties, and on ties related to social networks. The diversity of networks and their corresponding impact on innovation has also received attention. There has however been little focus in the academic literature on the simultaneous functioning of the strength of ties and breadth of ties and their impact on team innovation in the same study. This research has employed an innovative approach to data collection and a fairly novel and recent methodology for the modeling of the simultaneous configurations of the strength and breadth of ties in enriching the understanding of their contribution to team innovation. The innovativeness of work teams was determined through a team innovation survey administered to the heads of the groups in R&D and independent evaluators knowledgeable about the innovation activities of the teams rated E-mail reports on engagement between teams were used to develop measures for both tie strength and tie breadth. Tie strength for an individual was determined by counting the number of repeated interactions firstly with one's own team, secondly with the rest of teams in own R&D, thirdly with the rest of teams in the organization and finally with teams outside the organization. Tie breadth was determined from a count of the number of different people with whom communication took place for each individual. The same categories for tie breadth were created as for the tie strength for interactions above. Hypothesised relationships were tested through fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. The results showed that team innovation is mainly supported by tie strength within the organization. In terms of the simultaneous functioning of tie strength and tie breadth, the strongest results were obtained for the combinations of tie strength with the rest of own R&D and the organization, and tie breadth with the rest of own R&D and the organization. These interactions supported the hypothesis that a combination of strong ties and multiple ties provided the most conducive environment for optimal team innovation. These findings taken together supported the broad view that in mature industries dependent on highly technological processes, interaction within teams and within the firm would predominate, because a shared understanding of a specific strategy and technology base was required. In such a context, cross-divisional interaction also had utility for innovation, as was confirmed by the statistical analysis. It was the combination of many strong ties that produced optimal team innovation. Total external interactions (tie breadth) showed a weaker impact alone. In summary, this has shown that tie strength has a greater impact on innovation than tie breadth. These findings were derived from an R&D intensive mature industrial manufacturing context and variations in utility are likely to be context-dependent. However, should the company diversify its products or adopt newer technologies even in its mature state, then more external interaction has the potential to add value to the innovation process, as the literature suggests. Thus the study suggests indicated that internal collaboration is a key factor impacting positively on the innovativeness of teams. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / pagibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / PhD / Unrestricted