Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The discussions on leadership and strategy have attracted considerable interest from academics on one hand and business practitioners on the other. Much of the interest lies in claims that both leadership and strategy are linked to business performance. This research report examines the nature of the relationship between different leadership styles and organisation performance. The research study hypothesised that either authoritative leadership style leads to achievement of the business strategic plan (hypothesis 1) or that participative leadership style leads to achievement of the business strategic plan (hypothesis 2). The research was a quantitative study; data was collected by means of interviews and telephone questionnaires which were administered on 38 randomly selected business owners and senior managers. A linear regression method was used to test the hypothesis. The regression analyses revealed that participative leadership style and performance and authoritative leadership style are not related. These two variables each explain less than one per cent of the variance in performance. As a result, both null hypotheses were not rejected. This research concludes with a number of implications for further research studies. Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za

published_or_final_version / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

<p>This study focused on understanding inter-organizational relationships (IOR) of a dynamic nature. A dynamic process that has repetitive sequences of negotiation, commitment, and execution stages is central to inter-organizational relationships. The dynamic process is a tool that is used by management through collaboration, co-operation, and coordination to engender formation, governance, and performance of inter-organizational relationships. This report looked into how the resource-dependency theory gives insight into the formation of an inter-organizational relationships and how the transaction-cost theory contributes to the understanding ofinter-organizational relationships governance.</p>

This study examined the extent to which organizational conditions that promote ministry team effectiveness are present in multi-staff churches. The case was made for the need for effective teamwork in the church organization. Five influential and contemporary models of effective teams were examined and through those models a shift in thinking from examining team characteristics toward creating and leading organizational conditions was presented. Finally an integrative effective team model was presented and five key organizational conditions were presented as a synthesis of the components from the five effective team models. Those five organizational conditions are: an environment of trust, a focus on performance, team stability over time, a supportive structure and context, and good team leadership. Based on the five organizational conditions the Team Effectiveness Survey was developed with the assistance of an expert panel. The survey, which examined perceptions of organizational conditions, was distributed electronically to 1165 multi-staff churches. The results collected allowed for the comparison of responses between senior pastors and associate staff. Data collected showed a positive perception among pastoral staff as to both the effectiveness of ministry teams and the presence of the five organizational conditions within their churches. Statistical analysis also displayed agreement in perception between senior pastors and associate staff in each of the five organizational conditions. Two conditions, however, did show a slight divergence in perception. Those conditions were the areas of trust and a focus on performance. Analysis of the data was accomplished primarily through descriptive statistics and was displayed through the use of tables and charts. Implications and applications of the research were also presented. Some of the research implications involved the primarily positive views of pastoral staff regarding how their organizations support ministry team effectiveness, the reality that there is room for improvement in helping teams be more successful, and the agreement that senior pastors and associate staff had regarding team effectiveness and the existence of the five conditions. Research applications were suggested in the areas of continued communication among pastoral staff, the need to continue to improve in setting goals and objectives for tasks, and the need for leaders to shift their thinking from influencing individual team effectiveness to influencing the culture of an organization in order to promote team health throughout the organization. Finally, suggestions for further research were proposed.

D.Comm. / The point of departure of this study is that South African manufacturing organisations are far from being competitive in world-class terms, and that lean thinking has become a strategic necessity for many South African manufacturing organisations that want to compete successfully in today’s globalised economy which is characterised by fierce competition. However, even amongst the pioneers and advocates of lean thinking there is uncertainty as to the reasons why lean sometimes fail or do not achieve the same results as is the case at Toyota, the organisation that pioneered lean thinking as a business management strategy. Given the former stated problem the primary objective of this study is to identify the critical success factors for the successful implementation of lean thinking in South African manufacturing organisations. The literature study conducted identified the theoretical critical success factors, the independent variables in this study, as mindset and attitude; leadership; ordinary employees; strategic driver; basic stability; promotion office; lean tools and techniques; and integration. The indicators of lean thinking success, the dependent variables of this study, were identified as cost reduction and customer satisfaction. A convenient sample was used to collect primary data by means of a self developed questionnaire or measuring instrument. A factor analysis of the data yielded 5 critical success factors, which were labelled as philosophy and principles; people or soft issues; basic stability; strategic driver; and promotion office. The research further revealed that lean thinking has a very low success rate in South African manufacturing organisations (thereby justifying the reason for this study); that senior leadership has the biggest impact or influence on the sustainable success of lean thinking; and that trade unions are considered to have a limited positive impact on successful lean implementation. The emerged factors were interpreted and operationalised, and translated into practical recommendations for the successful implementation of lean thinking in South African manufacturing organisations. The most important recommendations relate to the role of people and leadership in a lean transformation; finding of an experienced facilitator; and lean thinking as a strategic driver. Recommendations for further research include the role of, and skills required by the human resources function and practitioners in a lean thinking organisation; and lean thinking training on tertiary level in South Africa. The study thus has theoretical, practical and methodological value for successful lean thinking implementation in South African manufacturing organisations.

Dissertation submitted in compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Business Administration, Durban University of Technology, 2008. / Increasing competitive pressure from global markets and technological developments has resulted in the continual demand for business improvement philosophies and methodologies to address this challenge. The LSS approach to business improvement has emerged in both the practitioner and academic literature as having a significant role in this area. In 2006, The Valspar Corporation embarked on a LSS initiative as a way to improve the business globally, to achieve sustained profitable growth and to enhance customer value. Valspar (SA) found the implementation of LSS a challenge because the organisation could not afford the appointment of a full-time Black Belt to manage the programme locally. Green Belts were appointed to lead LSS projects part-time. Management wanted to know if they have applied the LSS methodology correctly within the scope of the business, especially since not all organisations were successful in the implementation of LSS. The objective of this study was to determine the critical factors that affect the successful implementation of LSS at Valspar (SA) and to assess the degree to which these critical factors exist at Valspar (SA). In a census, the researcher used the questionnaire to gain information about the current views of employees on the LSS programme at Valspar (SA). The research highlighted the critical success factors for LSS implementation and the results of the evaluation revealed both the positive and negative aspects of the LSS programme at Valspar (SA). / Valspar Corporation / M

A qualitative case study was conducted to determine whether major donors to an institution of higher education that existed to prepare ministers and missionaries were perceived by the institution's leaders as motivated by organizational effectiveness, financial efficiency, or evaluations by donor watchdog agencies. The case study was conducted with the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics. The interview process was utilized to gain information individually from the president, a development consultant, an academic dean, and a former development director. Each participant was asked a series of 19 questions during the interview process. The results indicated that the leaders perceived that organizational effectiveness was a philanthropic motivator for major donors and measured it by the accomplishments of those who were trained at the institution. The results also indicated that the ministry preparation institution's leaders perceived financial efficiency to provide philanthropic motivation to major donors, though to a lesser degree than organizational effectiveness, and measured it by stewardship of funds. The results further indicated that the ministry preparation institution's leaders perceived that donor watchdog agency evaluations, specifically those of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and Guidestar, provided philanthropic motivation for major donors. Additional research recommendations included studying how to report about organizational effectiveness in a manner meeting the needs of major donors and what motivates major donors of other education and nonprofit organizations, organizational effectiveness and/or financial efficiency.

A research report submitted to the faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation (MMENVC) Wits Business School, 2016 / In order for developing countries like South Africa to not only compete in business at an international level, but to also establish a sustained competitive advantage in this increasingly integrated global business economy, a radical change in thinking is required. Technological innovation, knowledge and its application, which holistically explains an enterprise‟s technological innovation capability, are absolutely essential for modern firms looking to develop strategic and operational prowess on a global scale. Research in this field has largely highlighted the lack of technological innovation capabilities in developing regions around the world, and more recently the need for nations and firms to increasingly invest heavily in fostering technological innovation as a means for national economic growth. The same notion goes for the practice of corporate entrepreneurship, which has been internationally recognised as an integral aspect of firm survival, growth and relevance in all sectors and industries around the world. However, while several researchers agree that the relationship between technological innovation capabilities and corporate entrepreneurship is not clear, it is also vague as to the effect this relationship consequently has on organisational performance. Therefore, this research aims to delineate these relationships, specifically between technological innovation capabilities and corporate entrepreneurship, between technological innovation capabilities and organisational performance, between corporate entrepreneurship and organisational performance and through these constructs, shed some light on the investment capability of firms in these concepts in the context of the South African Media and Entertainment Industry. The research looks at the seven dimensions of technological innovation capabilities, the four dimensions of corporate entrepreneurship and a minor dimension on investment capability, all in relation to firm performance. This research employs both a regression and multi-correlation analysis to demonstrate the relationships between the two constructs and their individual relationships to firm performance. / GR2018