Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / The ability to bring products to market which comply with quality, cost and development time goals is vital to the survival of firms in a competitive environment. New product development comprises knowledge creation and search and can be organised in different ways. New product development requires the close collaboration of virtually all functions within a company. The existence of an effective cross-functional team, with clearly-defined objectives, is thus critical to the successful development of any new product. Furthermore, the success of new products depends mainly on the new product development process. The purpose of this research study is to review literature on new product development processes and the effect it has on organisational performance and also to take a critical look at the new product development and implementation (NPD & I) process applied in Telecom Namibia (TN). This study also provides insights to various TN stakeholders, particularly senior management and relevant individuals involved in product development, enabling individuals to recognise the role product development plays towards sustainability of the company. The study also provides a working guide for managers to identify opportunities for improving the new product development (NPD) process. The primary research objective is to critically audit the effect of new product development processes on TN’s performance. The secondary research objective is to develop frameworks and methodologies for guiding the development of effective strategies that have been tested in numerous businesses. A major finding of this study is that the success of new products depends mainly on the new product development process and that it has a major impact on organisational performance.

Thesis (MBA) -- University of Limpopo, 2010 / Refer to document

Thesis (MBA) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / Higher performing organizations are characterized by their effective implementation of their strategies and goals. The Mpumalanga Department of Education is one organization which has not performed to its maximum potential because of several factors. The purpose of this research study was to critically analyze some of the factors which affect the implementation of strategies. The following are some of the factors which are perceived as affecting the implementation of strategies and cause performance problems in the department. • Lack of effective organizational communication of strategies to all employees, • Shortage of relevant and competent human resources, • Lack of resources to support the implementation of departmental programs, • Shortage of appropriate policies and procedures to regulate implementation process, • Organizational structure which is not supportive of strategies, • Lack of influential leadership, • Lack of commitment by most officials, • Unproductive organizational culture prevailing in the department, • Negative attitude displayed by senior and middle managers towards strategic planning processes, The focus of the study was to develop strategies to deal with challenges as raised. Chapter 5 provided recommendations which are believed to be the cornerstone towards achieving better results and improve performance.

Organisations are often faced with many challenges when they attempt to implement an entire workforce to a technologically advanced and complex platform that will alter the skill-set requirements for performance. Training can be ä very effective intervention strategy to implement this organisational change. However, theorists have proposed that training can also enhance organisational effectiveness, and it is believed that individual outcomes from training that emerge upward to achieve organisational objectives vertical transfer would strengthen the link between training effectiveness and organisational effectiveness. Using these theories as a foundation, this case study examined the effectiveness of an organisation's training to achieve performance objectives. Expansion from these theories was possible as this case study presented the multiple influences involved during successive interdependent team training to support the performance of safety-critical operations for a new working platform. In achieving interdependent team vertical transfer in emergency management during this training, results have revealed that training must first focus on individual level skill proficiency and collective enabling process skills horizontal transfer as they are a critical antecedent to ensure cohesion in interdependent team performance. Findings have further identified that the training content and methods must both support and determine the achievement of individual required skills. While simulation training that reflected the working platform benefits both learning and performance. Conclusions can also be drawn from this exploratory case study that the efforts by individuals upward through to teams and across teams has enhanced training performance outcomes. This empirical case study has shown that a multitude of factors and cumulative events that occurred prior to training and during training influenced the effectiveness of team training from multiple levels. Thus, this case study has been able to verify and expand current postulated models to provide foundation support for the design and delivery of interdependent training.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Organisations find themselves in a world of ever-increasing rate of change. Increasingly organisations operate in what is known as the edge of chaos—that zone which paradoxically might lead to paralysis and disaster or to creativity and innovation. In this area of uncertainty, organisations rely on their ability to create new organisational knowledge. What is unclear is exactly how new knowledge comes into being under these conditions and what would count as new organisational knowledge. The thesis tries to shed light on the process by which new organisational knowledge comes into being by considering the context of complexity as an environment that demands innovation while at the same time being the catalyst for knowledge creation. The debate on the nature of organizational knowledge is revisited and contrasted from individual knowledge. A review of the mainstream theories of organisational knowledge creation led up to Boisot’s Social Learning Cycle as the benchmark theory that is used in the rest of the argument. Thereafter the work of Weick on Organisational Sensemaking is discussed. It is argued that the condition of complexity leads to an increase in occasions that activate and heighten organizational sensemaking processes. Parallels are noted between the process of sensemaking and parts of the Social Learning Cycle. It is shown that under conditions of comlexity, organisational knowledge creation processes and sensemaking processes are not only similar, but that organisational sensemaking can be seen as the mechanism whereby new organisational knowledge is created when organisations operate at the edge of chaos. This has a number of implications. The theory of organisational sensemaking is applied to an area of organisational life where it has not been seen as applicable, organisational knowledge creation processes are shown to be much more fundamental phenomena than the literature suggests, and combining Boisot and Weick leads to greater theoretical elegance.

The research aims to establish a framework whereby performance management systems can be assessed in terms of its effectiveness. The industry in which research is conducted is the call centre industry in South Africa. / The field of Performance Management is receiving more attention today than ever before. This is due to the fact that many companies are becoming more and more frustrated by the ‘disconnect’ that exists between formulating their strategy and successful delivery against it. The aim of this research is to determine how performance is managed in organisations, but more importantly, how it should be managed. To this end, this research considers the total endeavour required to manage performance as a system, and wishes to contribute towards specifying how this system must ‘hang together’. This research is conducted against the backdrop of the call centre industry in South Africa. The call centre industry is an area of potential growth in South Africa and in need of evaluating and improving their performance results to meet or exceed the international benchmarks. This level of global pressure makes call centres an appropriate subject of analysis on a topic such as Performance Management. The nature of this research was mostly exploratory, by firstly reviewing existing theory and literature relevant to this subject. Subsequent to this, two assessment instruments were used to assess the desired situation with regards to Performance Management Systems in South African call centres. The one instrument was developed as a result of the theory and literature reviewed during this research project (the PMSAI). Another, existing, instrument, the PMA®, (De Waal, 2004) was also used to provide a different view and provides an opportunity to triangulate this project. It also addresses the current status of Performance Management Systems in South African call centres to highlight shortcomings as a basis to review and improve these systems. The main findings of this research are that a successful Performance Management System should take cognisance of a number of factors in- and outside of the organisation as well as the interplay between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ elements in the system. Examples of these factors are the industry and focus of the organisation, as well as what the Performance Management System must be used for. Examples of ‘hard’ vs ‘soft’ elements are responsibilities for performance targets (hard) and the level of buy-in to achieve the targets (‘soft’). In the end, a perfect ‘answer’ to Performance Management is elusive and is likely to remain so mainly due to the inherent complexity and level of variety that this system must cater for.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / Achieving organisational effectiveness and sustainable growth is the ultimate goal of organisations in their quest to deliver the services required by society. The achievement of organisational effectiveness is not a random event; organisations rely on their employees' ability to go the extra mile by exhibiting some organisational citizenship behaviours. In order to elicit organisational citizenship behaviours, organisations need leaders who can cultivate some commitment in employees which can arguably lead to the enactment of organisational citizenship behaviours. The culture of an organisation is often determined by the beliefs, values and behaviour of the leader. A paternalistic leadership style is likely to create a culture in which caring for subordinates is crucial, moral integrity is greatly esteemed and authority is respected. When this type of culture is evident in the organisation certain desirable behavioural patterns will come forth from the employees. The purpose of the current research study is to answer the question, "Does paternalistic leadership have a significant influence on organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour among employees working in selected organisations in the Western Cape?". In order to answer the research question explaining the hypothesised relationships, the manner in which paternalistic leadership affect organisational commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour was discussed culminating in a theoretical model which was developed and tested in the present study. The study was conducted using employees drawn from selected organisations in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The participants were asked to complete three questionnaires comprising the Paternalistic Leadership questionnaire developed by Cheng, Chou and Farh (2000); an adapted version of the Organisational Commitment questionnaire by Allen and Meyer (1991) and the Organisational Citizenship Behaviour questionnaire Podsakoff, Mackenzie, Moorman and Fetter (1990). Out of 300 questionnaires that were distributed to the employees, 230 (n=230) completed questionnaires were returned. Item and dimensionality analyses were conducted on all of the dimensions using SPSS version 23. Subsequently, confirmatory factor analysis was executed on the measurement models of the instruments used. The proposed model was evaluated using structural equation modelling (SEM) via the LISREL version 8.80 software. It was found that both the measurement and structural models fitted the data reasonably well. The results indicated positive relationships between benevolent leadership and organisational commitment; authoritarian leadership and organisational commitment; moral leadership and OCB; and organisational commitment and OCB. There was, however, no significant relationship between moral leadership and organisational commitment; benevolent and OCB. Due to the fact that a few studies on paternalistic leadership exist in South Africa this study adds to the board of knowledge on paternalistic leadership and how it affects employee commitment and OCB. The practical implications of the study and limitations are discussed as well as the direction for future studies.

To achieve effectiveness and efficiency in public enterprises, change is needed. Due to the rapid changing global environment and increasing demand for service delivery, continuous change is needed. Changes have been taking place in the Kenyan public sector since 2003. The public enterprises in Kenya, like in most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, have been characterised by slow and bureaucratic processes that retard organisational performance. Employees and managers in these enterprises have been perceived as not performing as they should. Kenyan public enterprises are important to the economy of the country. They provide social services to the Kenyan population and employ about 654 200 people. The latter translated in a wage bill of 84 378 million Kenyan Shillings (Ksh 80 = 1 US dollar). There is therefore a need to investigate ways to improve individual and organisational performance, collectively viewed as organisational effectiveness in this study, in these enterprises. It is generally accepted that leadership and organisational culture play a critical role in managing the effectiveness of enterprises. In this study, leadership style (transactional and transformational), leadership personality (Machiavellianism, narcissism, masculinity, femininity, individualism and collectivism) and organisational culture (entrepreneurial and market-orientation), strategic management, corporate ethics are investigated determinants of organisational effectiveness. A survey approach was used to collect data from 670 senior executives from 134 Kenyan public (state) enterprises. Two hundred and fifty-six (256) useful survey responses from 53 public enterprises were received. Structural equation modelling (SEM) statistical technique was used to test the hypothesised relationships between the above-mentioned determinants and the dependent variables (individual performance intention and organisational performance). The descriptive statistics of the raw data were also analysed to ascertain the managers’ perceptions about these determinants in the public enterprises. The empirical results revealed that transformational leadership exerts a positive influence on both organisational performance and individual performance intention; that self-deceptive narcissism motivates individual performance intent but decreases organisational performance; that an entrepreneurial, market and strategic management orientation positively influences organisational performance; and that strategy implementation positively influences individual performance intent. In view of these findings, the study concludes that it is critical that leadership styles and leadership personalities be taken into account in leadership recruitment and development process in Kenya public enterprises. Kenyan public enterprises will also improve their organisational performance if they implement entrepreneurial, market and strategic management principles.

Background and Aim: Most organisations today operate in a globally complex environment that is dynamic, highly competitive and extremely unpredictable (Tarique & Schuler, 2010). Other than the external circumstances, these authors further maintain that organisations are facing various global challenges: talent exiting organisations, managing older mature workers versus managing younger workers and a scarcity in the required competencies for the specific requirements of the positions within the organisation. As mentioned by Bersin (2011) “We are entering a new era of unparalleled talent scarcity which will put a brake on economic growth around the world, and fundamentally change the way we approach workforce challenges.” The challenge arguably presented to many organisations is that they have to think globally and at the same time manage their human capital in a systematic manner in an attempt to gain and sustain future competitive advantage (Tarique & Schuler, 2010). The Talent Mindset of leaders plays an important role in the effective implementation of Talent Management practices. Talent management is a construct that evolves around the concept of leadership mindset (McArdle & Ramerman, 2008). Talent management involves the implementation of integrated human resource strategies to attract, develop, retain and productively utilize employees “with the required skills and abilities to meet current and future business needs” (Kontoghiorges & Frangou, 2009). It is a culture that contributes to and unleashes passion, commitment, and performance of people which in turn contributes to the organisation achieving its mission, vision, and business goals (McArdle & Ramerman, 2008). This means that the leaders of an organisation need to apply a talent mindset and the outcomes thereof on employees and the organisation as a whole. According to Schiuma, Mason and Kennery (2007) leaders have the task of unleashing organisational energy which in turn can have a significant impact on the well-being of employees (Derman, 2009). Managing talent and organisational energy thus means managing the sources of energy dynamics and creating a thriving work environment in which individuals will experience both a sense of vitality and a sense of learning at work (Schiuma et al., 2007; Spreitzer et al. 2005). Individuals who feel a sense of vitality and aliveness are more likely to be mentally and physically healthy (Keyes cited in Spreitzer et al. 2005). The overall purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between Talent Mindset, Organisational Energy and Work Wellness of employees in a multi-national company. This study aimed to describe, explore and understand the concepts Talent Mindset, Organisational Energy and Work Wellness and the interrelationships between them. Research Method: A quantitative approach was used to gather the data by means of three questionnaires namely the Talent Mindset Index (TMI), the EnergyScapes Profile (ESP) and the Shirom – Melamed Vigour Measure (SMVM). The questionnaires were distributed among a convenience sample of employees (N=485) in a South African multi-national company operating in the financial industry. The data were analysed by means of descriptive statistics, and factor analysis, which were followed by multiple regressions and Manovas/ Anovas to test each hypothesis. Results: The regression analysis conducted showed that talent mindset is a significant predictor of organisational energy and work wellness. Organisational energy is a significant predictor of work wellness and organisational energy mediates the relationship between talent mindset and work wellness. The results showed a statistically significant difference between age and the Talent Mindset dimensions but there was no statistically significant difference between gender, home language, race, years in the company, job level and basis of employment. The results further indicated that there is no statistically significant difference between organisational energy and the different biographical variables. It also indicated a statistically significant difference between gender and the SMVM dimensions, but not between marital status, home language, age, years in the company, geographical region, job level and basis of employment. Practical Relevance: This research highlighted the importance of a leader’s Talent Mindset and the impact thereof on individual outcomes such as organisational energy and individual well-being. This research clearly showed that Leaders who apply Talent Management practices sufficiently in organisations enhances employees’ perceptions of organisational energy which in turn have a positive impact on their wellness in the workplace. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Human Resource Management / Unrestricted

Due to many adverse consequences of poor decision making in organisations there is a need to focus on the quality of information and knowledge. This research focuses on how to obtain and use, or “harness” knowledge from information in improving organisational decision-making in a civil protection/security organisation to become effective and enter an organisational wide learning spiral. This is necessary in order to gain a high degree of intuitiveness and intelligence and to be effective. The researcher explores how information-knowledge can be processed and converted into deeper level knowledge, while at the same time how to get decision makers to codify knowledge in order to help them to externalise it. In order to achieve this, the “information-space” model was used to show the information-to-knowledge dynamic journey. The research involved using quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative approach is used to obtain computable results from key decision-makers, such as senior workers, and test a model derived from the literature. Seventeen hypotheses were proposed based on theory to evaluate the proposed model. Primary data was collected during the empirical phase of the research from 135 respondents. A structural equation model was used and included exogenous and endogenous latent constructs. On the other hand, a use of qualitative research helped to obtain deeper insights into the use of information and knowledge in decision making. It was underpinned by several propositions and its aim was to expose the role of information-knowledge and the creation of a learning organisation. The results of the quantitative approach revealed that twelve hypotheses are positively significant. Two hypotheses have a significant negative impact on other constructs. Additionally, three hypotheses are non-statistically significant. The results reveal some very interesting insights, such as that demographic factors, such as age, level of education, gender, work experience and level of authority, have a significant impact on problem solving and decision making. In terms of type of information, the proprietary and common sense information types have more significance for solving problem and decision making. But, much to the researcher’s surprise, the public information and personal information played a very minor role. On the other hand, the results of the qualitative data collection show how key decision makers made decisions and gained a certain degree of intuition from it. Therefore, this research has met its objective in helping towards improvement in a civil protection/security organisation to become a learning organisation and help it to enter a learning spiral and make continual improvement. Hence, the researcher succeeds in making suitable recommendations to a number of different stakeholders, in particular the civil protection/security organisations to (i) to develop their management and specialist personnel, and, (ii) to have the necessary information management strategy in place that would harness information and help towards (iii) creating an effective and robust knowledge management strategy.