Change in any form can become painful if individuals are not equipped with the necessary coping mechanisms. The transformation in the educational arena over the last few years has resulted in increased stress levels for school principals. This study investigates the role and impact of a stress intervention programme, the Art of Living workshop, using controlled breathing techniques, on the functioning of primary school principals in the Phoenix Circuit, Durban. A combined quantitative and qualitative research approach employing structured questionnaires and semi-structured individual interviews was used to compare the principals’ stress levels before and after the stress intervention programme. The findings revealed that the intervention programme was successful in reducing principals’ stress levels. A lack of resources, increased workloads, learner discipline, educator attitudes, indifferent parents and resolving conflicts created stress for principals. Benefits of the Art of Living workshop included the ability to remain calm and relaxed; and improved sleep patterns, increased energy levels and improved human relation skills. / Educational Leadership and Management / MED (ED MNG)

Knowledge management (KM) has been cited as a strategic asset and a source of competitive advantage for organisations. While the issues of KM have been widely discussed by many researchers, there is a paucity of studies pertaining to the role of KM in enhancing organisational performance, especially in the banking sector. The focus of this research was to investigate the role of KM in enhancing organisational performance in selected banks of South Africa. The objective was to find out how knowledge was identified, captured, organised and retained in order to enhance performance of the banks. There is uncertainty about whether the use of KM could partly solve the banks‟ approaches to improving their quality of service to their communities in the modern information environment. Though KM has been implemented in commercial and business environments towards operational advantages and financial gains, KM survival principles and tools might help South African banks improve performance and fulfil their mandate. Knowledge, when properly managed, can significantly enhance an organisation‟s performance. The research design that was used in this study was an embedded case study design. Quantitative data were collected from a sample of middle level managers with the aid of a survey whilst interviews and document analysis were used to collect qualitative data. The findings of this study indicated that KM concepts were not universally understood at selected banks. The findings showed that collaboration between banks and the communities in creating a meaningful and relevant knowledge environment was essential for the survival of organisations. The banking industry practices were not deliberately based on KM but the study established that they were amenable to KM practices. The recommendation was to perform a knowledge inventory which could help develop appropriate institution-wide policies and practices for proper and well-organised methods of integrating work processes, collaborating and sharing (including the efficient use of knowledge technology platforms), and developing an enabling institutional culture. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Consulting Psychology)

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The ability of organisations to be successful in the current global business environment will ultimately be dependent on their ability to be innovative. However, creativity and innovation will not take place spontaneously in any team setting and will be the result of meticulous planning and implementation efforts on the part of the team’s members. The current global business environment is characterised by constant change and this makes leadership more important than ever before as leaders are considered the drivers of change and ultimately responsible for organisational success. Leaders within organisational team settings have an essential role to fulfil in stimulating and facilitating innovative behaviour in their subordinates. The fact that some leaders manage to successfully stimulate and facilitate innovative behaviour in their subordinates, while others fail to do so, might well be contributed by some to a number of simplistic variables– but this is not the case. The fact that some leaders manage to successfully stimulate and facilitate innovative behaviour in their subordinates can be attributed to the fact that these leaders possess specific competencies based on different sets of knowledge, skills and attitudes. The innovation process consists of four distinct phases (idea generation, idea screening, feasibility and commercialisation) and innovative outcomes for a team will only result if team members successfully progress through each of these four phases. The reality, however, is that the innovation process itself is filled with challenges that will need to be overcome by team members if innovation is to flourish. Accordingly leaders should apply specific sets of knowledge, skills and attitudes during each of the phases in the innovation process to help guide subordinates successfully through the innovation process. It should hence be clear that being aware of the specific leadership competencies that will stimulate and facilitate innovative behaviour in subordinates will be of immense value to any organisation who wishes to act more innovatively. The primary purpose of this study was consequently to design a psychological measurement instrument that would provide a measure of the specific competencies leaders should possess to stimulate and facilitate innovative behaviour in subordinates. This instrument would enable management to customise training and development programmes to meet the specific needs of leaders and hence develop the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes on their part. A pilot study was conducted with the experimental version of the ILQ to obtain information regarding the psychometric properties of the instrument. Results obtained from the pilot study provided evidence that the ILQ instrument possesses high levels of internal reliability and satisfactory levels of concurrent validity. It can therefore be claimed that the ILQ instrument would serve as a valuable diagnostic tool for organisations who wish to improve their innovative capabilities. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die mate waartoe organisasies suksesvol sal wees in die huidige globale besigheidsomgewing sal bepaal word deur hul vermoë om innoverend op te tree. Dit is belangrik om daarop te let dat kreatiwiteit en innovasie nie spontaan sal plaasvind binne ‘n spankonteks nie, maar eerder die resultaat sal wees van doelbewuste praktyke en gedrag deur spanlede. Die huidige globale besigheidsomgewing word gekenmerk deur konstante verandering en lei daartoe dat leierskap belangriker as ooit geag word vanweë die feit dat leiers beskou word as die dryfkrag vir verandering en verantwoordelik is vir organisasie sukses. Spanleiers in organisasies moet ‘n essensiële rol vervul met betrekking tot die stimulering en fasilitering van innoverende gedrag in hul ondergeskiktes. Die feit dat sommige leiers dit regkry om suksesvol innoverende gedrag in hul ondergeskiktes te stimuleer en te fasiliteer, terwyl ander leiers misluk om dit reg te kry, word deur sommige individue aan ‘n klein aantal eenvoudige veranderlikes toegeskryf – dit is egter nie die geval nie. Die feit dat sommige leiers dit regkry om suksesvol innoverende gedrag in hul ondergeskiktes te stimuleer en te fasiliteer, kan toegeskryf word aan die feit dat hierdie leiers oor sekere bevoegdhede beskik gebaseer op spesifieke stelle kennis, vaardighede en houdings. Die innovasieproses bestaan uit vier onderskeie fases (idee-generering, idee-evaluering, bepaling van uitvoerbaarheid en kommersialisering) en werkspanne sal slegs innoverende uitkomstes behaal indien hulle suksesvol vorder deur elkeen van hierdie vier fases. Die realiteit is egter dat die innovasieproses inherent gevul is met uitdagings wat oorkom sal moet word deur spanlede indien innovasie enigsins sal floreer in die spanne. Dit is dus noodsaaklik dat leiers ‘n spesifieke versameling kennis, vaardighede en houdings sal aanwend om die pogings van ondergeskiktes suksesvol te bestuur deur die verskeie fases van die innovasieproses. Om kennis te dra omtrent die spesifieke leierskap-bevoegdhede – gebaseer op kennis, vaardighede en houdings – wat innoverende gedrag in ondergeskiktes sal stimuleer en fasiliteer, sal van onskatbare waarde wees vir organisasies. Die doel van hierdie studie was gevolglik om ‘n meetinstrument te ontwerp wat die bevoegdhede sal meet waaroor leiers moet beskik indien hulle beoog om suksesvol innoverende gedrag in hul ondergeskiktes te stimuleer en te fasiliteer. ‘n Meetinstrument van hierdie aard sal organisasies en hul bestuur in staat stel om opleiding en ontwikkeling programme nommerpas te maak en sodoende spesifieke bevoegdhede in hul leiers te ontwikkel. ‘n Loodsstudie is vervolgens uitgevoer om inligting rakende die psigometriese eienskappe van die instrument te verkry. Die resultate het getoon dat die ILQ oor hoë vlakke van interne betroubaarheid beskik, asook bevredigende vlakke van samevallende geldigheid. Die aanspraak kan gevolglik gemaak word dat die ILQ as ‘n waardevolle diagnostiese instrument vir enige organisasie sal dien wat beoog om hul innoverende vermoë uit te brei.

The general purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in self-perception between male and female leaders. The sample group included male and female leaders in a few companies (e.g Fluor, Human Dynamics, The Munt, Rand Merchant Private bank etc) companies. Each manager's self-perception was tested against the way in which others (managers, peers, subordinates) perceive him or her. The difference between the self-rating and that of the others was measured to establish the difference in perception between self and others. The results showed that men were slightly more self-aware than the females. It is recommended that it would be beneficial to find ways in which the environment can be prepared to limit the impact of gender differences on the implementation of the 360 feedback system (or any other performance management system) and to investigate variables such as cultural differences, age and the concept of self-perception. / Indust and Org Psychology / MA(IND AND ORG PSYCHOLOGY)

The 21st century is characterised by globalisation, turbulent change, an information explosion and an electronic revolution. The result is organisations with decentralised structures, increased employee empowerment and growth alliances. This changing landscape calls for a more holistic, collaborative outlook on leadership, placing the emphasis on relationships, context and transformation where leadership occurs at multiple levels in organisations. While organisations work towards future sustainability in response to the demands of this landscape, leaders are faced with their own personal transition within their roles. Leadership is a socially constructed process that is co-created amidst pressure from self-expectations, follower expectations and organisational requirements. Leadership as a boundary-keeping role that functions on the periphery between the organisation and the external environment, evokes anxiety. The researcher sought to explore, describe and analyse the lived leadership role experience of 21st century leaders as it plays out above and below the surface of consciousness. At the conscious level, the normative role refers to job description and content. At the unconscious level, the existential role deals with the role in the mind of the individual, while the phenomenal role relates to what others perceive and project onto the individual fulfilling the role. The level of congruence between these three roles and its consequent impact on the individual leadership experience were explored. Hermeneutic phenomenology, using the systems psychodynamic perspective as a theoretical framework, enabled the researcher to apply in-depth description and interpretation. A case study research approach was adopted where individual cases were analysed and then consolidated into a cross-case analysis of findings. The study revealed the underlying mental activity and irrational behaviour relating to anxiety, conflict and defences that manifest for 21st century leaders. By integrating the findings with both systems psychodynamic literature and leadership literature, nine themes emerged, namely anxiety, leadership identity, boundaries, authority, role, task, containment, valence and perceived performance. These themes culminated in a research hypothesis about the constant evolution of the leadership role in the context of the current business landscape. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Consulting Psychology)

The association between leadership, influence and power is well developed in the literature. However, there is a notable lack of research on youth leadership development, especially as it pertains to their exercise of influence. This paper was borne out of the need to explore how youth - emerging adults’ males in particular - exercise influence as a leadership competency within their voluntary leadership positions. Using semi-structured face-to-face interviews and the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), the research primarily focused on influence tactics and how they were employed. This included assessing the related power bases and principles of influence that were manifest, as well as the learning and development that occurred when reflecting on the outcome of the influence process. Data was analysed using an open coding procedure. Incidents explored in the study were primarily interpersonal in nature. This was reminiscent of lateral influence that characterised the peer to peer contextual environment of the study. The study found that in their influence pursuits, emerging adults followed a rational approach to influence. The distinguishable power bases and their relative importance in application were context dependent (Krause and Kearney, 2006:59-86). In addition, various proactive influence tactics were employed with a leaning towards those perceived as positive, honest and non-manipulative in application, which was congruent with Head Student role expectations and the culture of the organization. The utilization of social media as a communication platform from which various tactics could be launched was a novel and notable finding. Consequently, the results were presented primarily under two themes, exploring how tactics of influence are used face to face and via the social media platform. In addition, the study emphasised the ethical implications of the exercise of influence in both of these platforms and related to this, the challenge of influencing friends or close associates, without undermining leadership integrity. Overall, the various influence incidents presented and their outcomes, evidently shaped leadership development by reinforcing tactics which worked and stimulating continuous reflection and learning, adaptive strategies and the development of new means to deal with resistance and non-compliance. All of these are critical to shaping future influence behaviour. Primary recommendations include the need for a proactive approach to educating youth on leadership and influence through formal programmes, if they were to be empowered with tools to develop and maximize their leadership potential. Equally, practitioners need to be sensitized to the significance of their role as catalysts in nurturing youth leadership development. In addition, the novel use of social media as a leadership influence platform was recognised as significant and as such, a candidate for further research. Beyond the limited scope of this study, other angles worthy of further research include, factoring in elements such as gender, cross-cultural differences and the aspect of voluntary versus incentivised (or paid) leadership positions. The research is presented in an academic paper format, and is structured in three sections. These sections are written up as relatively independent sections, but are complementary in covering the full scope of the research. Section One, which is essentially a paper in a format of an academic journal article, represent the primary section and covers the results of the study, together with discussions and recommendations. This is followed by a literature review (i.e. Section Two), which delves into all the relevant literature explored. Section Three covers the methodology, research design and research procedure pursued. As part of the addendum, a comprehensive summary of the incidents explored is presented. This gives insight into the nature of the various incidents, the influence tactics preferred, power bases and influence principles manifested, together with the outcomes of the incidents. Furthermore, lessons drawn in reflection are noted, which participants viewed as critical, in that they shaped the way they now intend to exercise influence and thereby reflects their personal leadership development.

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)

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Technology: Information Technology in the Faculty of Informatics and Design at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / The alignment between business and information technology (IT) strategies has been a challenge for many years. Strategic alignment models and enterprise architecture methodologies and frameworks have been developed to assist business and IT managers with improving alignment between business and IT strategies. The business analyst, systems analyst and project manager are key role players in delivering the information systems (IS) needs of business and therefore key in aligning business and IT strategies. Despite literature and research suggesting a positive influence of emotional intelligence on occupational performance in various industries, the development of emotional intelligence of the business analyst, systems analyst and project manager is neglected by software development organisations. Emotional intelligence is neglected in industry IS competency models as well as documented standards for the business analysis and project management profession (BABOK and PMBOK). Emotional intelligence is not addressed in strategic alignment models and enterprise architecture methodologies and frameworks. Emotional intelligence is equally neglected in IS literature. Systematic research investigating the impact of emotional intelligence on occupational performance of IT professionals remains sparse. The purpose of this study was to determine which emotional intelligence competencies are needed to improve the occupational performance of business analysts, systems analysts and project managers in delivering business information system needs. The study took the form of a multiple interpretive case study. Qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from 20 software development organisations utilising the roles of the business analyst, systems analyst and project manager. Quantitative data was collected using the Genos Emotional Intelligence Inventory with the aim of identifying the patterns of emotional intelligence visible in the sample of business analysts, systems analysts and project managers assessed. The study suggests emotional intelligence has a role to play in alignment between business and IT strategies. It is proposed that industry IS competency models as well as the standards for the business analysis and project management profession as documented in BABOK and PMBOK include specific emotional intelligence competencies. The study also proposes that higher education institutions in IT/IS such as universities of technology, as well as training providers focusing on business analysis, systems analysis and project management, should focus not only on technical skills but emotional intelligence skills as well when developing the supply pipeline of business analysts, systems analysts and project managers. Keywords: Emotional intelligence, business – IT alignment, information technology, enterprise architecture, business analyst, systems analyst, project manager, competencies, non-technical skills.

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)