Executives and managers are required to develop the required competencies to ensure the long term success of their organisations. In the competitive and dynamic business environment organisations are faced with, strategic management and planning has gained momentum as a management science which aids managers and executives in circumventing the challenges that such a dynamic environment can present. Strategic management and planning is, however, of no consequence unless the strategic plan is deployed and implemented in an organisation and the implemented plan is evaluated in action. Many organisations find the process of strategy implementation much more of a challenge than the process of strategy formulation. Consequently, many of these organisations have utilised project management to assist in the strategic management implementation process. The competitive and dynamic business environment also requires organisations to constantly develop and execute more innovative business strategies to remain competitive. In order to do this, many organisations have started to explore the alignment between business strategy and project management strategy. Various commentators note that successful implementation of strategy is challenging, especially considering the 70 per cent execution failure rate. It is further noted that organisations only realise 60 per cent of the potential value of their intended strategies due to failures in planning and implementation. Consequently, projects are often chosen as vehicles to implement these business strategies. The primary objective of this research is to improve the implementation of strategic management initiatives within organisations. This was achieved by investigating whether Shenhar’s strategic project leadership elements (i.e. organisational structure, process definition, implementation metrics, implementation tools and organisational culture) have an impact on the successful implementation of strategic management initiatives. The study also aims to investigate whether age, gender, race, designation, education, industry experience and tenure at Eskom Telecommunications, have an impact on the perception of the following variables under investigation: Implementation metrics; Implementation tools; Organisational structure; Organisational culture; Process definition; and Strategic management implementation. If the correlation between strategic management implementation and Shenhar’s strategic project leadership elements is established, it would assist organisations in the implementation of successful strategic management initiatives, by aiding an understanding of how these independent variables affect the implementation process. Improved implementation of strategic management initiatives would assist management teams in organisations to overcome the unique challenges that change in an organisation’s internal and external environment cause. The scope of this study was limited to be conducted in Eskom Telecommunications only. The study is concluded with a number of recommendations that Eskom Telecommunications could implement to improve strategic management implementation and a synopsis of this study’s contribution to theory is provided, in addition to recommendations for future research.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the role of theatrical interventions in developing community change. The study explores the work of one theatrical outreach department known as Encompass, with reference to the five key themes of individual and collective change, space and play, co-production, communication and catharsis. This thesis argues that the work of Encompass can be seen as successful in facilitating change for community members both individually and collectively. Furthermore, this thesis suggests that the five key themes explored are interlinking and as such are combinable components in pursuit of change. An ethnographic approach underpinned by an interpretivist paradigm was employed during this study. Data collection was completed via semi-structured interviews, participant observations, document analysis and photography. This thesis suggests that theatrical outreach departments have the potential to make real and sustained contributions to the lives of individuals and communities. Creative methods such as Cultural animation are shown to have significant impacts in bringing together diverse sets of individuals to work on shared community problems, while also improving participant confidence. The study offers insight into the consequences of such work for theatrical practitioners, while also offering a new theoretical model illuminating the potentially interdependent relationships of the key themes explored within this thesis in relation to achieving individual and collective change. This thesis adds to the existing literature on how theatrical interventions can facilitate community change. The thesis also has the potential to benefit theatrical practitioners attempting to develop their work within their local communities, and individuals contemplating participation in Encompass projects.

The central problem in this thesis is the study of the effect an organization objective has for managerial control. We have hypothesized: l) to the extent that an objective is possible, workable, and operational, that is, feasible, it will more probably be accepted by relevant organization members; and 2) to the extent that an objective is feasible arid accepted by relevant organization members, it is probable that the initiating group will assume control over its direction. The notion of organizational acceptance holds special problems. The initiating group in gaining acceptance from other organizational members usually must sacrifice some of its control over the formulation and/or implementation of its proposed objective. This introduces the concept of bargaining as a goal-setting device. We have attempted to test these propositions using mainly interview data collected in a large and diversified steel tube manufacturing operation. The central management group of this vast concern ten years ago introduced a research project into "getting involved in the use of computers". Development of this imprecise organization objective has progressed to the point where the firm has now committed itself to a third generation "real-time" computer for the purposes of achieving integrated data processing throughout the fourteen companies involved in the manufacturing complex, and the eventual establishment of a centrally administered integrated control system. There are three major groups involved in the computer application - an individually organized computer unit, the central coordinating administrative body, and the companies. We have analysed the data relating to this organizational objective with the help of a cyclic model that we devised. During the development of an objective, various processes occur. These are: 1) search - the process of looking for alternative courses of action, their consequences, and attempting to arrive at a "satisfactory" conclusion; 2) consolidation - the process whereby a proposed objective becomes relatively stabilized and formalized as a result of interest group and subgoal formation; and, 3)conflict/change or change/conflict - the process whereby the balance of costs and benefits is disrupted such that conflict occurs and change is implied, or, the process where internal or external events cause change in the established relationships sufficient to incur conflict. Because we believe these processes to be recurring, we have used this cyclic model as a means to describe and explain the development of the organization objective. The findings of our research tend to corroborate our hypotheses. Following are some of our main conclusions: l)the search process becomes more focused and well defined as the objective develops through successive cycles; 2)the "perceived" workability of an objective presents as great a pressure for acceptance as does its "actual" workability; 3)interest group and subgoal formation caused by specialization of function tend to create difficulties in communication and thus endanger a "successful" implementation of the objective; 4)the process of bargaining increases in conflict and change situations; 5)conflict acts as both a control over and a stimulator of change; and, 6)the tighter the desired control, the more precise must be the objectives. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate

ID 1975 the British Columbia Fish and Wildlife Branch implemented the Management Unit system for controlling and monitoring wildlife harvests in the province. This change in management boundaries should have been accompanied by an intensified data handling system, so that accurate and reliable management indices could be produced for each M.U. This thesis describes a data system that was developed in response to Region 1 blacktailed deer management needs and offers a new approach to wildlife data system management. The proposed system integrates field contact and hunter questionnaire data, and allows managers to monitor the effects of their policy decisions. Management strategies can be tested by manipulating exploitation parameters, such as bag limits and season lengths, to determine their effect on specific wildlife populations. In addition, the system restores and upgrades obsolete data files, thus allowing past harvest trends to be applied to new management zones. Flexibility, for both anticipated changes in resource stratification and unanticipated data needs, is also preserved. Biologists require management estimates for specific areas within M.U.s to manage wildlife effectively at the M.U. level. Each of the 15 M.U.s in Region 1 have been subdivided into between 5 and 32 subunits, depending on area and geography. The total 246 subunits attempt to partition large unmanageable wildlife resources into separate populations of manageable size. A location list or computerized gazetteer was used to automatically assign hunt location descriptions to appropriate M.U.s and subunits. Hew techniques for hunter sample estimates are proposed in this thesis. Mark-recapture methods for determining sampling intensities and the partitioning of large resident areas into resident M.U.s can improve estimates. Different methods for treating multiple mailing stage data are also presented. The data system described in this thesis consists of two parts; 1) the establishment of master data files and 2) the retrieval of data from those files. Five subsystems of PORTBAN computer programs control the input of Fish and Wildlife harvest data and manipulate them into master data files. The information retrieval is accomplished by standard statistical packages, such as SPSS. A hierarchial file structure is used to store the harvest data, thus most wildlife management data requests can be answered directly. The 1975 Region 1 blacktailed deer harvest data were used to test the sampling assumptions in both the hunter sample and field contact programs. Significant differences between resident M.U.s were found for hunter sample sampling intensity, percentage response, percentage sampled, and percentage of hunters among respondents. Significant differences were established in the percentage hunter success in different resident M.U.s and for different mailing phases. The 1975 field contact program produced a non-uniform distribution of contacts with respect to M.U.s. Highly significant differences between the percentage of licence holders checked from different resident M.U.s were also found. Kills for field checked hunters who also responded to the hunter sample questionnaire were compared to kills reported on the questionnaire. Numerous irregularities, including unreported kills, misreported kills, and totals exceeding bag limits, were found and a minimum error rate of about 20% was calculated. Known buck kills were generally (87.9%) reported as bucks, while does were only reported correctly 74.% of the time, and fawns only 48.0%. The format of the 1975 deer hunter questionnaire is suspected to have influenced those error rates. Successful and unsuccessful hunters had different probabilities of responding to the hunter questionnaire. Only 48.0% of unsuccessful hunters responded, while 59.6% of successful hunters reported. Hunter sample harvest estimates using different estimation methods were compared to known kills in two Vancouver Island subunits. During the 1975 season, 88 deer were shot in subunit 1-5-3 Nanaimo River), while 140 were estimated to have been shot in subunit 1-5-7 (Northwest Bay), all estimated kills were considerable higher than the known harvest, with the marked success-phase mailing estimation method producing the lowest estimates — 170 deer (193%) for subunit 15-3 and 179 deer (127%) for subunit 1-5-7. Although the total estimated deer kill for Vancouver Island remained relatively constant from 1964 to 1974, the same data when analysed by M.U. and subunit showed decreasing harvests in some M.U.s and subunits which were balanced by increasing kills in others., The data system proposed in this thesis provides an opportunity for B.C. wildlife management to develop an effective management framework for B.C.'s valuable wildlife resources. However, to do so the proposed system or one with similar capabilities must be implemented and supported by the B. C. Fish and Wildlife Branch. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

M.Ing. / The emphasis in this dissertation will thus be to apply a case study to project initiation, implementation and termination theoretical steps and practically apply these steps to a brick making plant environment so as to guide project managers in systematic steps of nmning their own heavy industry project. To familiarise the reader with the following issues is the main objective. Vital components include project planning of works, project time and cost control, monitoring and control of designed work, monitoring and control of on and off-site work, quality control and expediting operational commissioning. These issues will be discussed under the abovementioned headings of project initiation, implementation and tennination. The appendices contain a practical application and set format that could be used to run a project of small scale and adjusted to suite larger projects. The format and plmming tools of the case study has been developed by the author and is free to be used if so needed.

Successful innovations have been assumed by prior literature to ultimately be adopted by all competitors within an industry based on social explanations or economic rationale specific to the efficiency of the innovation. However, capabilities possessed by a firm can enhance or inhibit the adoption based upon their similarity to those used in the innovation. In categorizing a firm's capabilities as complementary, substitutive, or neutralizing to the innovation, this study provides an economic explanation for the role of internal capabilities in adoption decisions. Using a sample of professional football teams adopting the West Coast Offense, I find that capabilities influence the decision process in favor of adopting for organizations with complementary and substitutive capabilities. The role of knowledge from the innovator is highlighted in adopting the innovation, but fails to moderate the relationship between adoption and firm performance. I also illustrate how adopting firms with complementary capabilities outperform those organizations with similar capabilities that elect not to adopt. Finally, I demonstrate that firms with neutralizing capabilities are better off not adopting the innovation based on comparative performance of adopters and non-adopters. The overall results suggest a greater emphasis on internal capabilities of the firm in innovation adoption and reconsideration of theories stating that innovations should be adopted throughout an industry.

The global purpose of this research is to further the study of leader-member exchange (LMX) by using a new, and primarily unused multidimensional measure. The large majority of prior work on LMX has examined the construct using unidimensional measures. However, investigations are needed that examine the four dimensions of LMX, affect, contribution, loyalty, and professional respect, using the new LMX-MDM measure (Liden & Maslyn, 1998). Role theory and social exchange theory were used to develop a conceptual model of antecedents and outcomes of the different LMX dimensions. Additionally, theory-based hypotheses were developed that examine interactions between different dimensions. Data were collected from 193 matched supervisor-subordinate pairs. Unfortunately, the results from both the leader's and member's perspectives were disappointing as few hypotheses were supported. A discussion of these findings and potential reasons for the lack of supported results are provided, as well as strengths, limitations, and directions for future research. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2004. / June 23, 2004. / Leader-member Exchange, Leadership, Multidimensional / Includes bibliographical references. / K. Michele Kacmar, Professor Directing Dissertation; Charles Kacmar, Outside Committee Member; Gerald R. Ferris, Committee Member; Pamela L. Perrewé, Committee Member.

Accountability is an important organizational phenomenon that has been recognized by both academicians and practitioners as a fundamental element in the successful operation of organizations (Tetlock, 1985; 1992; Ettore, 1992). However, the current state of accountability research is such that scholars understand certain aspects of accountability but lack a complete understanding of the accountability phenomenon overall (Frink & Klimoski, 1998). Using the phenomenological approach (Tetlock, 1985, 1992), Frink and Klimoski (1998) made a call for models of accountability that examine both external (to the person) and internal conditions, objective and subjective factors, and formal accountability mechanisms (e.g., accounting procedures) and informal accountability mechanisms (e.g., norms and culture). However, to date, scholars have yet to offer a comprehensive model of felt accountability in organizations. This dissertation seeks to address this void by proposing a comprehensive model, and testing a portion thereof, which addresses each of these fundamental components of the accountability process. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2005. / March 28, 2005. / Stress, Accountability, Ethics / Includes bibliographical references. / Gerald R. Ferris, Professor Directing Dissertation; Charles Hofacker, Outside Committee Member; Ceasar Douglas, Committee Member; Jack Fiorito, Committee Member; Wayne A. Hochwarter, Committee Member; Pamela L. Perrewé, Committee Member.

With a growing number of pension plans switching from defined benefit to defined contribution, it is becoming increasingly important that individuals understand the risk and rewards of investing and diversification. Educating plan participants and understanding how they influence one another is critical for furthering that goal. Understanding that not all participants view risk similarly, and that targeted education may be needed to address financial knowledge deficiencies will help plan administrators aid their participants in their investing process. This dissertation hopes to add to the knowledge by study the roles of race, gender and peers in investment preferences. This research should shed light on how differences among participants drive their investment choices and what role participant interaction plays in the process. Using a unique matched panel data set that combines detailed demographic information from the Florida Department of Education's annual survey of school districts with investment information from the Florida State Board of Administration for 2002 – 2008, this dissertation is able to examine the investment preferences of plan participants at a level of detail not available with many publically available data sets. Chapter 2 looks specifically at the roles of gender and race in investment preferences. The analysis shows that women and Blacks invest more conservatively than men and Whites, respectively. It is also shows that despite similar outcomes, the route which Black men and White women take differs. Black men, like men in general in this study, take a more active approach to their investments, while women tend to default into more conservative investments. Black women are shown to be the most conservative, with an expected return 5.5% lower than White men, which, assuming 30 year investment horizon, returns of 7.5% and steady real wages, yields a final portfolio value ratio of .919. This is a considerable difference in wealth which is yet to be justified through explanatory variables. Chapter 3 looks for the presence of peer effects in the panel data. The regression analysis uses both pooled and first differenced observations to study the effects. In general, the pooled regressions do not seem to adequately account for the peer effect, especially at the district level where measured coefficients lose magnitude and significance once district fixed effects are included. The first differenced regressions, however, measure how participants react to changes in their peer group. This method accounts for time-constant unobservables in both the participant and the peer group and better reflects the true peer effect. The analysis also concluded that choosing the appropriate peer group is critical to the results. The results of the analysis were strengthened with falsification tests to show that the results do not occur with random pairings. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Economics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2009. / August 13, 2009. / Risk Preferences, Defined Contribution, Participant Risk / Includes bibliographical references. / Tim R. Sass, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; David A. Macpherson, 1960-, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; G. Stacy Sirmans, Outside Committee Member; Patrick Mason, Committee Member.

Only in the last couple of decades have scientists begun to delineate the nomological web of constructs that relate to the entrepreneurial process. The task is far from complete. In fact, many of the most exciting individual-level linkages are only just being discovered (Baron, 2010; Baum & Bird, 2010; Grégoire, Corbett, & McMullen, 2011; Haynie, Shepherd, Mosakowski, & Earley, 2010; Lanivich, 2011; Vengrouskie, 2011; Zhao, Seibert, & Lumpkin, 2010a; Zhao, Li, Lee, & Chen, 2010b). Yet, to adequately measure the variables for generalizable results, the concept of entrepreneurial success is reviewed and an alternative, multi-dimensional approach to operationalizing the construct is offered and implemented in research design. Investigation results reveal evidence for additional viable constructs for inquiry in the context of entrepreneurship by validating relationships between cognitive factors and entrepreneurial success. Also, by exhibiting how the boundary conditions of the cognitive relationships in entrepreneurship function within, a clearer picture of what is affecting entrepreneurs is gained. Furthermore, it is especially important for a developing field of research to distinguish itself with distinct and testable theory and constructs (Kuhn, 1962; Mullen, Budeva, & Doney, 2009; Sutton & Staw, 1995). Results of incremental validity tests revealed the resource-induced coping heuristic (RICH) as a robust predictor of arguably the most important entrepreneurial outcome, success. This dissertation promotes the field of entrepreneurship as a remarkable, researchable division of organizational and psychological science by demonstrating predictive validity of newly developed constructs for use in the investigation of the entrepreneurial process. The implications of the contributions listed above, along with the strengths and limitations of the study, are discussed, and recommendations for future research are offered. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2011. / March 22, 2011. / Entrepreneurship RICH Entrepreneurial Success Resource Conservation COR Theory, Coping, Heuristic, Stress, Strain, Cognition, Entrepreneur / Includes bibliographical references. / Gerald R. Ferris, Professor Directing Dissertation; Larry Giunipero, University Representative; Annette L. Ranft, Committee Member; Chad H. Van Iddekinge, Committee Member; F. Randy Blass, Committee Member.