The effects of implementing Lean has been widely studied within the context of discrete manufacturing, where it originated, but much less so within the process industry. Within discrete manufacturing there are major benefits to implementing Lean with a focus on respect for people and human aspects, particularly on employee health and organisational culture, but does the same hold true in the process industry? The purpose of this thesis is to look into this question. In order to do so, a case company within the process industry, which was working with a consultant firm to implement Lean, was contacted. The primary method of gathering data was through semi-structured interviews, further backed by KPIs provided by the case company. The data from the case company has been analysed and compared with theories and ideas gathered from literature, and then discussed. The results indicated that there had not been enough time to see the full extent of benefits or issues on employee health or organisational culture in relation to implementing Lean, only minor effects could be observed. However, better contact between employees, increased motivation, but also increased stress could be seen. In order to gain a broader understanding of the human aspects within the context of process industry while implementing Lean, future research could look at more long-term effects, or the generalisability through a quantitative approach.

Although behavioural security constructs have received extensive scholarly attention, the unpredictability of human behaviour has continued to add to the complexity of deploying effective countermeasures. Cross-cultural behavioural approach aimed at improving security compliance and practice have equally remained under-researched, a gap in literature this thesis addresses. This thesis argues that in order to establish a sound and efficient organisational security practice, it is necessary to integrate the various interdisciplinary component in a socio-cultural context. The goal of the thesis, therefore, is to examine the role of culture in cybersecurity development and organisational security practice. The study first used a group comparism approach, classification and examination of archival data from International Telecommunication Union (ITU), International Organisation of Standards (ISO), and Hofstede cultural score and further deployed structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyse data from a case study of 122 employees from three public sector information technology organisation in Nigeria. Drawing evidence from the case studies, an emergent conceptual model was developed from the traditional human behaviour and organisational security practice. The model contribute to information security management by by identifying organisational triggers related to cultural and cognitive dynamics in information security practice. The model was developed by combining three theoretical frameworks. The out- come of the case studies demonstrates that accountability to specific security practice is a product of integrated management of employee cognitive and cultural dynamics and by dimensionalising organisational culture, the individual capacity to respond to emerging security threats also evolved, while targeted security programs to enhance the efficiency of organisational security practice is achieved. This research, by exposing the underlying institutional drivers and ideational dynamics on individual security behaviour contribute to theory building of behavioural security research within organisational context. The research reports on the theory of integration as a demonstration of explanatory flexibility not normally associated with behaviour security models thereby providing a sound theoretical and ideational support for incorporating different theoretical frameworks into a single model. This is an original endeavour and s such makes a number of contribution to the scholarship. The findings in this research have implications for policymakers and practitioners by elevating the importance of cultural and cognitive dynamics by enhancing operational clarity in organisational security practice and presenting opportunity to develop a creative and robust solution to the challenge of organisational security in line with cultural peculiarities.

This master thesis explores how sexual harassment is handled and managed in organisations and to what extent bystander intervention is known and seen as a potential prevention mechanism. Ten interviews have been conducted with HR managers and other leading department heads working in private organisations in Germany. The purpose of this thesis was to gather knowledge on how sexual harassment is perceived and dealt with in those organisations under consideration of the concept of organisational culture and its impact. Bystander intervention has been discussed as a potential prevention strategy. Leadership behaviour and dominating power relations have been uncovered as significant impact factors shaping organisational culture and enabling space for sexually harassing behaviour to happen. Based on the findings this thesis offers implications for transforming organisations towards becoming more gender equal in the future such as creating awareness and enabling spaces to talk about it openly and educating people on forms and harms of sexual harassment as well as possibilities to act as a bystander.

Organisational culture is a complex phenomenon that has received a lot of attention in research. Nevertheless, most of the studies on organisational culture concern the traditional organisation and there is a lack of research on how organisational culture is perceived in a start-up. Therefore, this study aims at examining the stories of organisational members working in a start-up operating seasonally. The study reveals that flexibility is perceived as a main principle of the organisation, and dives deeper into what flexibility represents for this type of the business. The flexibility is two-fold and is perceived as favourable but the organisational members also acknowledge disadvantages of flexible working and identify chaos and stress as the main disadvantage. This qualitative immersive study explains why flexibility as the principle of the business might sabotage the growth of the organisation. The study contributes to deeper understanding of organisational culture and its influence on effectiveness, understanding of what it means to be a start-up, and provides insights on challenges that start-ups operating seasonally need to deal with.

Yes / This article argues that older age inequality within and across working life is the result of vampiric forms and structures constitutive of contemporary organizing. Rather than assuming ageism occurs against a backdrop of neutral organizational processes and practices, the article denaturalizes (and in the process super-naturalizes) organizational orientations of ageing through three vampiric aspects: (un)dying, regeneration and neophilia. These dimensions are used to illustrate how workplace narratives and logics normalize and perpetuate the systematic denigration of the ageing organizational subject. Through our analysis it is argued that older workers are positioned as inevitable ‘sacrificial objects’ of the all-consuming immortal organization. To challenge this, the article explicitly draws on the vampire and the vampiric in literature and popular culture to consider the possibility of subverting existing notions of the ‘older worker’ in order to confront and challenge the subtle and persistent monstrous discourses that shape organizational life.

Yes / While few recent studies have paid attention to the relationship between organizational culture (OC) and individual readiness for change (IRFC), there is still a lack of systematic and empirical studies regarding the influence of all OC types on the IRFC components within the change management literature. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature by empirically examining the influence of all four organizational culture types of the competing values framework (CVF) on the components of IRFC regarding TQM implementation, within the context of manufacturing organizations operating in Syria. A total of four hypotheses were proposed for testing. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 350 Syrian manufacturing organizations (SMOs) in order to measure the level of IRFC and to identify the cultural profiles and characteristics of these organizations. The analysis of the data collected shows that certain types of organizational culture are conducive to fostering IRFC. In particular, the findings of an empirical investigation revealed that group culture and adhocracy culture are the most supportive culture types for IRFC. This paper contributes to the existing literature of change management by providing empirical evidence leading to advancement of knowledge and the understanding of the relationship between OC types and IRFC components. Furthermore, the paper adds value via its contextual originality; being the first study that empirically examined the Syrian cultural context, and hence contributing to the scarce body of literature of both OC and IRFC, and in particular the developing countries.

No / This research is an attempt to identify the kind of culture which is needed for a major transnational company to become a circular economy based organization based on the guidelines of Ellen McArthur Foundation. It aims to identify and learn from organizations with the relevant culture on the particular traits which may assist other organizations foster the culture required to implement a circular economy strategy. The information gathered is expected to contribute empirical information on culture management for circular economy strategy and an attempt to fill in the literature gap on strategy, mind-set shift and culture change, especially in transitioning towards sustainable business practices. The thesis mind-map and outline of chapters have been provided. Literature pointed out that alignment between organizational culture and strategy ensures successful implementation. The development of a more sustainable economic model, the circular economy, has triggered organizations to look into their business strategies and adjust accordingly. This research is an attempt to identify and learn from organizations with relevant culture on the particular traits which may assist other organizations foster the culture required to implement a circular economy strategy. The researchers applied Johnson’s (2001) cultural web and other relevant literatures on organizational culture, leadership, collaboration, and form constructs for an exploratory case study. Several management qualities have been mentioned namely the development of cross-functional teams, establishment of relationships beyond transactional partnerships, a risk oriented learning environment, entrepreneurial organization culture and structure, and empathetic leadership.

It is essential for the survival of the mining industry to look at the effective streamlining of organisations that can survive in the downturn in the gold cycle and meet the state demands placed on the industry. This study outlines challenges in South African gold mines and investigates the fit of the strategy implementation with the theory of implementing strategy on through the combined organisational design approach of looking at organisational structure, strategic and management control systems and organisational culture as well as corporate governance and strategic leadership. The research focus is on the implementation of generic strategies in South African gold mines pertaining to general industry issues such as strategies to address profitability and sustainability, dealing with the regulatory framework in terms of state intervention in the minerals sectors (SIMS), the Social and Labour Plan (SLP) and the Minerals and Petroleum Development Act of 2002, amended 2013 (MPRDA) and socio-economic concerns through the mining charter and wage demands. The purpose of the research is to explore how management perceives the implementation of strategies in general, without specific attention to the strategies developed for the organisation. The research will explore strategy implementation in South African gold mines and test the theory for the implementation of strategy. The research design is a qualitative study with individual semi-structured interviews. Participants were purposefully selected based on their experience in management roles in South African gold mines. The results of testing the developed theory-based strategy implementation against the practical application of strategy implementation shows an acceptable match in terms of corporate governance and strategic and management control systems. Gaps are identified in terms of organisational structure and culture. Strategic leadership and the strategic implementation plan show larger gaps compared to the theory, which is a concern. Though sound strategies may be in place, implementation fails. The absence of strategy implementation plans is noticeable and not linked back to strategic leadership. / MCom (Business Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

It is essential for the survival of the mining industry to look at the effective streamlining of organisations that can survive in the downturn in the gold cycle and meet the state demands placed on the industry. This study outlines challenges in South African gold mines and investigates the fit of the strategy implementation with the theory of implementing strategy on through the combined organisational design approach of looking at organisational structure, strategic and management control systems and organisational culture as well as corporate governance and strategic leadership. The research focus is on the implementation of generic strategies in South African gold mines pertaining to general industry issues such as strategies to address profitability and sustainability, dealing with the regulatory framework in terms of state intervention in the minerals sectors (SIMS), the Social and Labour Plan (SLP) and the Minerals and Petroleum Development Act of 2002, amended 2013 (MPRDA) and socio-economic concerns through the mining charter and wage demands. The purpose of the research is to explore how management perceives the implementation of strategies in general, without specific attention to the strategies developed for the organisation. The research will explore strategy implementation in South African gold mines and test the theory for the implementation of strategy. The research design is a qualitative study with individual semi-structured interviews. Participants were purposefully selected based on their experience in management roles in South African gold mines. The results of testing the developed theory-based strategy implementation against the practical application of strategy implementation shows an acceptable match in terms of corporate governance and strategic and management control systems. Gaps are identified in terms of organisational structure and culture. Strategic leadership and the strategic implementation plan show larger gaps compared to the theory, which is a concern. Though sound strategies may be in place, implementation fails. The absence of strategy implementation plans is noticeable and not linked back to strategic leadership. / MCom (Business Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The main purpose of this study was to determine the positive relationship between transformational leadership and organisational culture using a sample of 238 employees of a military organisation. A secondary objective was to determine whether individuals from different race, position and age groups differ significantly in perception regarding transformational leadership and organisational culture. The instruments used in the study were the Leadership Profile Inventory and the Organisational Culture Inventory. The results of the empirical study indicated that there was a significant statistical positive relationship between transformational leadership and the constructive dimension of organisational culture. The findings also indicated that demographic groups differ significantly in perception regarding transformational leadership and organisational culture. It is recommended that interventions aimed at leadership development and organisational culture change take into consideration the relationship between transformational leadership and organisational culture. This study is concluded with recommendations for industrial and organisational psychology practices and further research. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Admin. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)