Published Article / The important impact of an organisation's cultural orientation is often not fully comprehended by management and staff. Organisational culture as the 'soul' of an organisation forms the basis of all decisions that are taken in organisational context. In the Knowledge Age, where service delivery has become a crucial consideration organisations must be creative in dealing with its internal and external customers. In a competitive international environment organisations may find it difficult to apply the cultural principles that correspond with that of the Knowledge Age. This paper argues that in order for organisations to adapt successfully to the challenges of the Knowledge Age, they need to comprehend the fundamental influence of organisational culture, and how a focus on both internal and external stakeholders, could benefit the organisation. The arguments of this paper are based, in part, on an investigation of the organisational culture of a major private security company in South Africa.

The globalised world of business is driven by a complex mix of communication technology, consumerism and social, economic and political change. In pursuit of the latest technologies, processes and systems, managers often tend to neglect their business’s organisational culture. Traditional assets and strategies can easily be copied. A business’s organisational culture is much more difficult to reproduce and can be a competitive differentiator. Businesses which deliberately manage their organisational cultures, outperform similar businesses that do not. The performance culture in a business depends largely on the effectiveness of managers to establish an attitude of performance among employees. To achieve high performance, managers need different competencies to engage workers’ hearts and minds, as well as take advantage (in a positive way) of their physical labour. Managers who are able to create and sustain a performance culture and react to rapid change in markets and technologies, can maintain exceptional service and product quality levels despite of unpredictable business environments. Some managerial competencies are more conducive and prone to managerial effectiveness and the subsequent enhancement of a business's performance culture. Only a few businesses worldwide are managed by the notion that a performance culture equates outstanding profits and little research exists pertaining to managerial competencies that allow managers to motivate employees, win their commitment, and ultimately enhance the business’s performance culture. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the role of managers in enhancing performance culture. Knowledge and current perceptions of first-line managers and middle-level managers regarding the business’s performance culture (in terms of the associated business practices and employee characteristics), as well as certain related managerial competencies (such as communication, planning and administration, teamwork and emotional intelligence) were obtained. With regard to research methodology, the study used descriptive research in the form of quantitative, self-administered questionnaires. Two questionnaires were developed and uploaded on the Survey Monkey website. Subsequently, all first-line managers and middle-level managers (employed at Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI), the soft drink division of The South African Breweries (Pty) Ltd) were informed of the survey via an e-mail containing a cover letter as well as the hyperlink to the relevant questionnaires. The target population in this study was obtained by means of a census. Of the 438 respondents identified for the census, 186 viable questionnaires, comprising of 73 middle-level manager and 113 first-line manager respondents, were used for statistical analysis. Data entry, tabulation and statistical analysis were done by the Statistical Consultation Services of the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus). The results of this study indicate that organisational culture places considerable pressure on employee behaviour and influences businesses in several ways. Every business has a unique organisational culture and an organisational culture that is not conducive to the performance culture of the business, needs to be addressed. In their efforts to enhance performance culture, managers need to display certain managerial competencies. It is recommended that, in order to assess a business’s performance culture and the degree to which managers display the associated managerial competencies, employees’ perceptions are taken into consideration, as practically significant differences pertaining to gender, qualification, age as well as managerial levels exist between different groups of respondents. The creation of a performance culture should be viewed as a continuous effort and it is suggested that managers investigate certain best practices in this regard in order to differentiate their businesses from competitors. In addition, managers may gain from training or coaching in order to develop and/or improve managerial skills related to the communication, planning and administration, teamwork and emotional intelligence managerial competencies, and subsequently practicing these in order to enhance the business’s performance culture. / MCom (Business Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

One of Kumba Resources’ strategic objectives is to create a high performance culture amongst its employees. The Hay-group identified through worldwide studies that leadership style has a 70% influence on organisational culture, which in turn explains a 28% increase in revenues and profits. In view of the fact that leadership can have a positive influence on the bottom line it was identified as one of the key drivers to enhance performance. Thabazimbi iron ore mine implemented this leadership model to impact on the culture to move towards a ‘high performance’ culture. Thabazimbi developed an organisational culture model that is aligned to the foundational values (caring, accountability, fairness, integrity and respect) of Kumba Resources. Thabazimbi is in the process of building a strong organisational culture by creating an environment for its employees to perform in. The latest Organisational Culture Assessment that was conducted during November 2005 indicates that Thabazimbi’s culture is a ‘moderate high performance’ culture.

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Organisational culture is one key phenomenon that was investigated both in comparative ways as well as an influence on various management mechanisms and systems, in academic and practitioner literature. Talent management is one such mechanism that has attracted debate in practitioner domains, although academic research is lacking. This study investigates the effect of organisational culture on employee talent management, taking the case of Malta based ICT companies. It includes a review of literature about organisational culture and structure, agency and talent management, exploring gaps in literature that call for further research. In addressing one such gap, this study reports the findings established in research conducted among identified stakeholders who are related to the Maltese ICT sector. It presents the views discovered through qualitative interviews among senior and middle management in ICT firms. These views are compared and contrasted against the findings made from a quantitative investigation involving a self-completion survey, in which, 79 managers and 128 employees engaged in ICT firms in Malta participated. The main findings suggest that most organisations do not have a culture built around a clear set of values. Secondly, there is no talent structure based on HR practices that feeds into the business strategy. Thirdly, this research found no evidence of measurement of the return on investment of talent among the Maltese ICT firms participating in this study. These findings support some of the theoretical issues presented in the literature review that show the lack of guiding principles around talent and the impact of organisational culture on the management of talents. The recommendations presented in this study show how organisations can embrace a culture focusing on creating a talent “mindset” for effective talent optimisation that enhances performance and productivity.

One of Kumba Resources’ strategic objectives is to create a high performance culture amongst its employees. The Hay-group identified through worldwide studies that leadership style has a 70% influence on organisational culture, which in turn explains a 28% increase in revenues and profits. In view of the fact that leadership can have a positive influence on the bottom line it was identified as one of the key drivers to enhance performance. Thabazimbi iron ore mine implemented this leadership model to impact on the culture to move towards a ‘high performance’ culture. Thabazimbi developed an organisational culture model that is aligned to the foundational values (caring, accountability, fairness, integrity and respect) of Kumba Resources. Thabazimbi is in the process of building a strong organisational culture by creating an environment for its employees to perform in. The latest Organisational Culture Assessment that was conducted during November 2005 indicates that Thabazimbi’s culture is a ‘moderate high performance’ culture.

This study is motivated by the growing influence in organisational research on the perspective of culture as a toolkit of resources from which individuals can draw on to develop strategies of action. Research has established that ambidextrous organisations succeed both in incremental and discontinuous innovation. However, there remains a scarcity of study on how managers orchestrate ambidexterity. This thesis extends the ambidexterity research by investigating how managers orchestrate ambidextrous strategies and how these strategies are shaped by elements of the organisational culture in high technology firms. An interpretive case study approach was used to achieve the aims of the study. Focusing on two engineering projects, 55 interviews were conducted alongside documentary reviews and participant observation for 6 months at Brush Electrical Machines Ltd, UK. Analysis of the findings is conducted using thematic analysis to identify common themes and NVivo was used to draw out patterns until relationships among the emerging themes became clearer. The thesis makes important contributions to the organisational ambidexterity literature by providing useful empirically-driven insights and deconstructing the roles of middle managers in facilitating ambidexterity. The findings of the research indicate that most of the middle managers demonstrated ambidextrous behaviours. These middle level managers enabled their behaviours through diverse cultural resources selected from the organisation s cultural toolkit. Thus, important contributions are made to the literature on organisational culture, specifically on the toolkit perspectives. The thesis takes the perspective that organisational culture should be viewed as heterogeneous and not homogeneous. The study concludes by suggesting that middle management ambidextrous behaviours shaped by cultural resources may be vital for the realisation of improved or sustained competitiveness in organisations.

This study was interested in assessing whether any disparity between formal policy and employee experience exists within a South African organisation. Specifically, the research identified the images and metaphors presented within an organization’s formal policy documents on diversity and then assessed the extent to which those images reflect a culture of diversity within the organisation. The researcher made use of qualitative methods in the form of content and discourse analysis and in-depth interviews. The results suggest that while the images and metaphors found in policy documents do in fact represent a culture of diversity in its stated intentions, practically, as experienced by employees, a culture for diversity remains limited.

The study is located within a Scottish human service context, with human services being defined as predominantly work directly with people (service users; patients; volunteers; clients) across public and third sector settings. It draws on narratives from six distinct disciplines including social work, education, police, community learning and development, educational psychology and nursing. Whilst participants reflected on their journeys to becoming a professional, they explored how opportunities, both given and taken to lead throughout their careers, may have influenced their understanding and experience of professionalism, professional identity and leadership. Narratives frequently identified participants’ overwhelming desire to enter and remain within human service professions being driven by a social justice agenda, with an inherent desire to ‘make a difference’. Participants articulated how leadership opportunities had provided them with greater confidence and an ability to improve standards within their field, often from an early stage in their career. This in turn had often strengthened their sense of professional identity. Findings suggest participants made very strong connections between the concepts of professionalism and leadership, particularly when leadership was understood as distributed throughout the organisation. Distributed, dispersed, collaborative or ‘leadership at all levels’ are terms often used interchangeably to describe ‘a pooling of ideas and expertise to produce services and leadership energy that is greater than the sum of individual capabilities’ (Patterson, 2010:6). This type of leadership therefore, not only recognises the ability of people within non-traditional positions of power or who are not at the top of their organisational hierarchy, to become leaders, but also recognises the collaborative nature of such interactions. Based on the findings, a key recommendation suggests that within human service contexts, a re-conceptualisation of professionalism, which incorporates models of distributed leadership, should be adopted. This would have the capacity to unleash latent leadership potential within professionals who want to ‘make a difference’ and would be like ‘pushing on an open door’. It is further argued that such a consideration could support the development of leadership strategies in human services although the author cautions that organisational cultures can both promote or inhibit effectiveness and impact.