This dissertation reflects the results of a study during which the 2006 annual reports of the top-40 JSE listed companies, were assessed for their disclosure of the required corporate governance statements. Content analysis was used to identify the information. The results obtained indicate that the majority of the JSE's top-40 listed companies adhere to good corporate governance disclosure practices. However, there are areas in which the non-disclosure of information was prevalent. These include the disclosure of information on the selection of external auditors and whistle blowing. Future research, employing sources such as SENS announcements, press releases, trading updates, cautionary announcements and websites together with annual reports should be conducted. / Financial Accounting / M.Com. (Accounting)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership among senior leaders in a South African financial services organisation. The sample consisted of 973 participants. A convenience sample was used, as the leaders were part of a strategic organisational initiative and completed measurement instruments as part of this process. All participants completed the Bar-On EQ-i, in order to measure emotional intelligence, whereas the leadership data were obtained from an organisation-specific multi-rater which accessed self-ratings, peer and subordinate ratings as well as manager ratings in terms of leadership behaviours linked to organisational worldviews of leadership effectiveness. The results show that there was a statistically significant relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership among the leaders, but that there was poor predictive strength between these variables. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / MCom (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Text in English / Global and South African business challenges necessitate an increased focus on the need for effective leadership. The leaders of South African public listed organisations need to investigate new business solutions to enhance and sustain organisational effectiveness. Public listed South African organisations on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) were selected as the organisation type for this study. This study was motivated by the need for public listed South African organisations to explore organisational leadership as a means to assist in differentiating their organisations from competitors, thereby enhancing organisational competitiveness. The primary research objective of this study was to investigate and establish an organisational leadership brand concept model for public listed South African organisations. The discussion of the literature covered the global and South African business context, the concepts of the nature of organisational leadership, brand and organisational leadership brand, and emminated in an exploratory conceptualisation of organisational leadership brand for public listed South African organisations. The pragmatic paradigm was used as the foundation of this study. The study adopted an exploratory, sequential mixed methods research approach, combining a qualitative emphasis and supportive quantitative research approach to conduct the exploratory research. The qualitative findings proposed the concepts: the nature of organisational leadership and organisational leadership brand, including stakeholders and these concepts served as the basis for designing the quantitative survey questionnaire. The quantitative results indicated reliable questionnaire items, and based on the exploratory statistical analysis of the multivariate linear regression equation, described the organisational leadership brand (OLB) concept exploratory model with the best fit. An integration of the qualitative findings and quantitative results provided the empirical support to achieve the primary research objective. The OLB concept model integrates the concepts of organisational leadership and organisational leadership brand. The study contributed across the methodological, theoretical and practical domains as follows: the nature of organisational leadership for South African public listed organisations was conceptualised; the elements comprising the concept of OLB for public listed South African organisations was described; the OLB concept model for public listed South African organisations describes the development of organisational leadership brand equity through four levels of organisational leadership brand equity development; and the OLB concept model for public listed South African organisations may assist by providing guidance for the senior leadership of organisations in establishing organisational leadership brand equity. Furthermore, the study’s research approach provides support for the use of a mixed methods research approach in the study of organisational leadership within the pragmatic context of business organisations / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Consulting Psychology)

The South African economic landscape changed for ever after the first democratic election of 1994. The change heralded an era of inclusion, the economic landscape became open to people from all races, whereas before economic power was centralised in the hands of a minority group due to Apartheid legislation. Exploring the relationship of diversity of board members on the corporate governance of small, micro and medium enterprises (SMME’s) in South Africa has become imperative. Understanding the relationship, if any, which exists can aid SMME’s in board selection and corporate governance alike. Data for the study was collected through a self-enumerated questionnaire completed electronically and followed-up by interviews with heads of boards surveyed. Both the questionnaire and the interviews focussed on corporate governance, which included different components of governance such as the general principles of governance followed in the enterprise, the stakeholder focus exerted by the board of directors and the functioning of the board of directors. This resulted in a score for the enterprise which can be expressed as a percentage. This governance indicator was related to questions on the diversity of board members. The findings were in many cases contradictive when a single variable was observed against the score an enterprise achieved for governance. When taking a more holistic approach and evaluating multiple variables, it became evident that it is rather a combination of variables which displays some relationship with corporate governance. This study found that board diversity does have a relationship with corporate governance. The magnitude of this relationship could not be ascertained and warrants further research in a wider spectrum of the South African economy and also with a larger group of subjects. / Business Management / M. Tech. (Business Administration)

Orientation: Over the years, the increase in executive remuneration in both the private sector and state-owned entities (SOEs) has been the subject of intense discussions. The poor performance of some SOEs with highly remunerated executives begs the question whether chief executive officers (CEOs) in South African SOEs deserve the high levels of remuneration they receive. Research purpose: The main purpose of the study was to determine whether there is a relationship between CEOs’ remuneration and company performance in South Africa’s Schedule 2 SOEs. Motivation for the study: A greater understanding of the relationship between CEO remuneration and organisational performance would expand knowledge when developing optimal CEO remuneration systems to ensure sustainability of SOEs in the South African context. If a relationship exists, it could justify the high remuneration received by CEOs. Research design, approach, and method: This quantitative, longitudinal study, conducted over a nine-year period, collected secondary data from the annual reports of 18 Schedule 2 SOEs. The primary statistical techniques used in the study included were OLS multiple regression analysis and correlational analysis on a pooled dataset. Main findings/results: The primary finding was that there is a relationship between CEO remuneration and company performance (mainly an inverse relationship), with no consistent trend between the constructs. Turnover appears to be an important component, as it was the most stable measure of company performance during the study period. The results indicate that the CEOs’ remuneration continued to increase, even when the SOEs were performing poorly. Practical managerial implications: Since the study focused on the relationship between CEOs’ remuneration and company performance, it may aid policymakers in forming new rules and regulations that would help improve the country’s economic performance while attracting international investors. Contribution/value-add: The study provides new knowledge to the limited research available on SOEs in South Africa. Further, this research focused on three different components of CEOs’ remuneration, thereby shedding more light on the relationship between their remuneration and company performance. / Business Management / PhD (Management Studies)

Global and South African business challenges necessitate an increased focus on the need for effective leadership. The leaders of South African public listed organisations need to investigate new business solutions to enhance and sustain organisational effectiveness. Public listed South African organisations on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) were selected as the organisation type for this study. This study was motivated by the need for public listed South African organisations to explore organisational leadership as a means to assist in differentiating their organisations from competitors, thereby enhancing organisational competitiveness. The primary research objective of this study was to investigate and establish an organisational leadership brand concept model for public listed South African organisations. The discussion of the literature covered the global and South African business context, the concepts of the nature of organisational leadership, brand and organisational leadership brand, and emminated in an exploratory conceptualisation of organisational leadership brand for public listed South African organisations. The pragmatic paradigm was used as the foundation of this study. The study adopted an exploratory, sequential mixed methods research approach, combining a qualitative emphasis and supportive quantitative research approach to conduct the exploratory research. The qualitative findings proposed the concepts: the nature of organisational leadership and organisational leadership brand, including stakeholders and these concepts served as the basis for designing the quantitative survey questionnaire. The quantitative results indicated reliable questionnaire items, and based on the exploratory statistical analysis of the multivariate linear regression equation, described the organisational leadership brand (OLB) concept exploratory model with the best fit. An integration of the qualitative findings and quantitative results provided the empirical support to achieve the primary research objective. The OLB concept model integrates the concepts of organisational leadership and organisational leadership brand. The study contributed across the methodological, theoretical and practical domains as follows: the nature of organisational leadership for South African public listed organisations was conceptualised; the elements comprising the concept of OLB for public listed South African organisations was described; the OLB concept model for public listed South African organisations describes the development of organisational leadership brand equity through four levels of organisational leadership brand equity development; and the OLB concept model for public listed South African organisations may assist by providing guidance for the senior leadership of organisations in establishing organisational leadership brand equity. Furthermore, the study’s research approach provides support for the use of a mixed methods research approach in the study of organisational leadership within the pragmatic context of business organisations / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Consulting Psychology)

The South African economic landscape changed for ever after the first democratic election of 1994. The change heralded an era of inclusion, the economic landscape became open to people from all races, whereas before economic power was centralised in the hands of a minority group due to Apartheid legislation. Exploring the relationship of diversity of board members on the corporate governance of small, micro and medium enterprises (SMME’s) in South Africa has become imperative. Understanding the relationship, if any, which exists can aid SMME’s in board selection and corporate governance alike. Data for the study was collected through a self-enumerated questionnaire completed electronically and followed-up by interviews with heads of boards surveyed. Both the questionnaire and the interviews focussed on corporate governance, which included different components of governance such as the general principles of governance followed in the enterprise, the stakeholder focus exerted by the board of directors and the functioning of the board of directors. This resulted in a score for the enterprise which can be expressed as a percentage. This governance indicator was related to questions on the diversity of board members. The findings were in many cases contradictive when a single variable was observed against the score an enterprise achieved for governance. When taking a more holistic approach and evaluating multiple variables, it became evident that it is rather a combination of variables which displays some relationship with corporate governance. This study found that board diversity does have a relationship with corporate governance. The magnitude of this relationship could not be ascertained and warrants further research in a wider spectrum of the South African economy and also with a larger group of subjects. / Business Management / M. Tech. (Business Administration)

This cross-sectional qualitative study explored and described the role and contribution of operational level employees towards corporate entrepreneurship (CE) in the long-term insurance sector in Johannesburg, South Africa. Individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews took place with 13 operational level employees. Data analysis was done through thematic analysis where themes and sub-themes emerged. The findings indicate that operational level employees acknowledge that CE positively influences their entrepreneurial activity within the organisation. While operational level employees implement the CE strategy, they emphasise non-engagement in the CE initiatives as one of the main barriers to contributing to CE. This study concludes that management should focus on the antecedents of CE such as management rewards/reinforcement, work discretion, organisational boundaries, organisational structure and organisational culture. / Applied Management / M. Com. (Business Management)