M.Phil. / Within the South African context a government of national unity has been elected. Before and after the election, mention was made of the corporatisation and/or the privatisation of state owned assets and parastatals such as Eskom, Telkom and Spoomet. The corporatisation and/or privatisation of these state assets would result in an increase in funds for the government to spend on the Reconstruction and Development Programme, as well as lead to the increase in efficiency of some of these state owned assets. Every day more comment is being made on the possibility of Eskom corporatising. This research proposed to study certain current management philosophies and methodologies being used within Eskom's Technology, Research and Investigations (T-R-I) with a view to corporatisation. This was done by comparing current management practices found in T-R-I, to both literature and prominent engineering companies in South Africa. Topics included the concept of engineering management, marketing, organisational structures, project management and change management. A literature review on strategic planning was also performed and this lay the foundation for personalised interviews with managers in prominent South African engineering companies. The interviews were conducted by means of a structured questionnaire and a statistical analysis, and comparisons of the various methodologies in terms of strategic planning within these engineering companies, were subsequently performed. A visit was also undertaken to Australian utilities which have already been through the corporatisation process. Here, first hand knowledge of the various experiences of corporatisation was obtained. T-R-I is a multi-disciplinary engineering consulting organisation which undertakes investigations, studies, applied research and testing for Eskom and other companies. It employs 308 technical people in modem laboratories. T-R-I operates in an engineering environment and following from the literature search, it is believed that T-R-I should apply the principles of engineering management. A comprehensive overview of marketing and all the aspects associated therewith was performed. It is recommended that T-R-I develop a marketing intelligence system and one comprehensive marketing plan. T-R-I also needs to develop a decision support system that will assist in making better analyses and decisions as far as product development and entry into the market is concerned. Competitors also need to be studied in more detail. Three organisational designs were investigated, i.e. the functional organisation, the product organisation and the matrix organisation. Since all of T-R-I's work is based on projects, it is recommended that T-R-I follow a matrix type structure for the effective execution of its projects. Six key activities for successful change implementation were highlighted in this study. Strategic planning was analysed by means of what literature promotes as an effective business plan. The purpose of the vision, mission, philosophy, environmental analysis and goals was discussed and comparisons were made between the literature studies and T-R-I's business plan. A structured questionnaire was developed in order to facilitate interviews with managers of five prominent South African engineering companies. A detailed statistical analysis of the resultant discussions is presented in the thesis. The questionnaire extracted information on organisational nature, organisational principles of operation, people development, management aspects and strategic planning. By comparing T-R-I's current methodology and detailed contents of the business plan to these five engineering companies, it was found that T-R-I acknowledged and responded to all of the main issues and methodologies. The Australian electricity industry has already been corporatised. A visit to five utilities in Australia was undertaken to discuss how corporatisation has affected them. What was very clear in the discussions, was that T-R-I will not survive as an "Eskom only" service provider but that it needs to expand its market. T-R-I cannot take it for granted that it has a captive market in Eskom. All of the Australian utilities visited, however, indicated that they believed that corporatisation was well worth it. It is, however, recommended that comparative studies be performed in order to evaluate what companies did to transform from parastatals or military supporting companies to successful companies in the private sector (eg. Denel, Sentech and the Atomic Energy Corporation). In-depth studies focusing on these organisations will add to the identification of those inefficiencies within T-R-I that would enhance its capabilities, should they be positively addressed, in order to sustain itself in the future and be a successfully corporatised entity.

The point of departure of this study is that first-line managers play a pivotal role in the facilitation of change initiatives in organisations world-wide. Resistance to change is one of the primary reasons why change interventions fail or why success is not achieved in the change process. More specific, the inability of first-line managers to deal with resistance to change has been cited as a primary cause for change projects to fail. There is no evidence that any research has been conducted on the competence requirements for first-line managers to deal with resistance to change. The identification of these competencies can enable organisations world-wide to deal with resistance to change at the organisational level that is primarily responsible for products and services. In this literature study the researcher defines first-line managers as those managers responsible for achieving results through and with operational employees to ensure that market needs are met and/or exceeded. The research suggested that first-line managers can be described through a broad spectrum of people and that the nature of organisations in this modern era will place higher demands on first-line managers as the complexity and diversity of tasks to be performed by operational employees will increase. Considering the complexity and diversity of tasks and the importance of first-line managers in ensuring results through and with other people, it is suggested that the appointment of first-line managers be based on careful consideration of the required competencies which will enable the first-line manager to manage those areas where the business is measured on a daily basis. The role of the first-line manager in change is becoming increasingly important. Organisations will benefit from acknowledging the role of first-line managers in change and investing in their development in order to prepare them for the important role that they have to play during change efforts. Research on the competencies required by first-line managers to manage change effectively proved that the ability of first-line managers to deal with resistance to change is of critical importance. Organisation-specific competencies can be used as dynamic factors mediating between the potential capacity of the individual and the requirements of the job in a stable and dynamic environment. Organisation-specific competencies can also be used effectively to develop first-line managers dealing with resistance to change. Change manifests itself in various forms in organisations. Whatever the type of change, first-line managers have a critical role to play in the successful facilitation of change in their respective areas of responsibility. The most difficult aspect of the change effort lies in changing the people. Change invariably leads to resistance. In order to facilitate successful change, first-line managers should be able to deal with resistance to change in an effective and efficient manner. First-line managers should be able to make use of an integrated approach to manage change on their levels. They should also be able to cascade organisational change strategies to their areas of responsibility. This disproves the traditional views that first-line managers are not able to operate on a strategic level in the organisation. Although various models of change management can be used in organisations, there is not one single change model which is necessarily better than another. The researcher favours change management models which recognise the emotions that people experience during change as well as the fact that change objectives need to be achieved. The research highlighted seventeen requirements for successful change. It was evident from each discussion that the first-line manager can perform an integral role in the facilitation of successful change. This suggests that first-line managers can potentially fulfil an integral role in supporting organisational growth and sustainability, with the outcome of roles that impact beyond the traditional roles of first-line managers. Considering the potential roles that first-line managers can perform in facilitating successful organisational change, it can be argued that the selection criteria and competencies required for first-line managers as currently suggested in literature needs to be reviewed. Focusing on the purpose of this research, competent first-line managers can perform an integral role in minimising resistance to change. The primary objective of this research is to determine which specific units of competence will enable first-line managers to deal proactively with resistance to change. To reach the research objective the units of competence dealing with resistance to change, identified by Lombard & Crafford (2003), will be tested empirically. For this study a census group consisting of all first-line managers in Unilever Channel Management, Smollan Sales and Marketing and Tiger Diversified Food Services were used. The total census comprised 194 participants from an organisation in the service industry. The majority of the respondents are white, male with an even distribution of participants younger and older than thirty years. The researcher developed a questionnaire for the purposes of this research. The questionnaire was based on the units of competence formulated by Lombard & Crafford (2003, pp. 46-51). These units of competence formed part of the suggested competence framework required by first-line managers to deal with resistance to change. These competencies were obtained by means of a literature study and the applications of a functional analysis as suggested by Fletcher (1997). The rationale for this approach was to obtain as much as possible data from secondary, documented historical sources. (Burton, 2000, pp. 343 – 345). The questionnaire contained the biographical data required for the research, the instructions to complete the questionnaire, as well as 15 competencies that were simplified into 38 singular questions making use of a Likert-type, 5-point scale. The data set was built from data gathered from the three major business units of Smollan Holdings. The information was gathered by means of supervised groups and through the administration of electronic mail. The information was gathered to determine how important the units of competence are to first-line managers to deal with resistance to change in their work environment and also to what extent each unit of competence will contribute to their personal effectiveness in dealing with resistance to change in the work environment. The particular statistical procedures were selected for their suitability to test the research hypotheses of the study. These procedures include factor analysis, analysis of variance paired samples t-test, independent samples t-test and multiple comparisons (Post Hoc tests). In respect of factor analysis a procedure developed by Schepers (1992) was followed. This procedure includes first as well as second level factor analysis. The Statistical Consultation Service of Rand Afrikaans University conducted the analyses. All calculations were done by means of the SPSS-Windows programme of SPSS – International. One of the central premises of this research was that first-line managers leading others through their resistance to change do not merely require a singular competence of dealing with resistance to change. Resistance to change requires a holistic and integrated approach. The results of the empirical research clearly support this assertion. The analysis of the results of the samples t-tests indicate that the respondents were of the opinion that all the units of competence are important in enabling first-line managers to deal with resistance to change. The empirical research proved that none of the units of competence of Lombard & Crafford are of limited importance or of no importance in enabling first-line managers to deal with resistance to change. It could be inferred that the units of competence identified by Lombard & Crafford (2003) reflect an integrated and holistic approach to enabling first-line managers to deal with resistance to change. First-line managers who are able to demonstrate the behaviours associated with the fifteen units of competence would be recognised by subordinates, peers and superiors as good role models and effective managers of resistance to change. The secondary objective of the empirical research is to determine whether the units of competence could contribute to the personal effectiveness levels to deal with resistance to change. The outcome of the analysis proved that all the units of competence are important for contributing to the personal competence levels of first-line managers to be able to deal with resistance to change. It can be inferred that not one of the units of competence is viewed as of limited importance or of no importance in contributing to the personal competence levels of first-line managers. The research proved that there is a correlation between the units of competence identified by Lombard and Crafford (2003) and the contribution of the units of competence to the personal competence levels of first-line managers. From a theoretical perspective it is recommended that further research be carried out in the identification of specific elements of competence (for example skills and knowledge) for each unit of competence, the entrepreneurial roles of first-line managers in organisations, and the profile of the modern first-line manager. From a practical perspective it is recommended that an assessment instrument be designed with measurable standards to determine individual development needs of first-line managers for dealing with resistance to change. From a methodological perspective it is suggested that a seven-point Likert-type scale with more specific options of selection on the important and non-important scales to facilitate a more exact reflection of mean scores is designed. It is further suggested that qualitative approaches and methods, including the facilitation of focus groups and interviews should also be included to supplement questionnaire surveys. / Dr. J. Zaaiman

M.Comm. / In our ever-changing, fast paced world, competitive relationships can shift quickly when organizations respond too slowly to increased competition in their industry group. Succeeding in such a competitive and changing environment demands that organizations be reshaped to meet the challenges and competitive realities. The changes organizations are being forced to make merely to stay competitive are so fundamental that they must take root in an organization's culture and be managed. The idea of managing organizational culture is still quite new to most managers - at best they have a vague sense of what it means. They lack insight into the concept organizational culture, the complexity of integrating organizational culture and strategy and the managing of organizational cultural change. The lack of managerial insight can be attributed to the fact that organizational culture wears many cloaks and the fact that various definitions are being used to describe the concept. A clear conceptual understanding of the terminology is essential if the role and influence of organizational culture in the change process is to be understood, therefore various definitions are being focused on. Due to the changes taking place in the environment in which organizations operate, managers will increasingly find that they are confronted with major questions of how to position their organizations in a new business environment and how to change fundamentally the organizational culture. The interaction that takes place between organizational culture and organizational strategy in formulating and implementing organizational strategy is discussed. Whether organizational culture can be changed successfully has led to a debate among researchers. In order to implement strategic change the organization needs to manage cultural change to achieve congruency between culture and strategy. Organizational leadership is a critical factor in the change process and is analysed with reference to the role to be played by management in the creation of shared patterns of beliefs and values. Various managerial systems exist for achieving change within the organizational culture and it is essential that managers use a combination of these systems. Systems such as communication, reward systems and human resource management are discussed to establish their role in the process. The aim of the study is therefore to gain a clear insight in the concept organizational culture, the interaction of organizational culture and strategy and the change of organizational culture in the ever-changing business environment by focusing on various factors which are present in the afore-mentioned processes.

M.Comm. / Business process reengineering seeks radical rather than merely continuous improvement. escalates the efforts of just-in-time and total quality management to aUkI e process orientation a strategic tool and a core co petence of the organisation. Business process reengineering concentrates on core business processes. To quote Michael ammer, "The job of business reengineering is to rip the guts out of an organisation and reassemble them in the context of today's changing business worl 99 (An ews, 1994:1). Correctly implemented, business process reengineering should considerably improve profits, as well as strengthen and revitalise an organisation. Business process ree gineering is the fundamental) re-design of business processes to achieve dramatic improvement. Reengineering is about finding or inventing better ways to give customers what they want while simultaneously achieving huge gains in performance and productivity. The focus is on finding the best, most effacient way to deliver to customers what they want - and this focus lands squarely on core processes. Core processes create a product or service of value to external customers d are a key source of competitive advantage. Reaping the benefits of massive reengineering efforts are not easy. Successfully challenging and changing existing paradigms take skilful leadership which focuses on two entwined aspects of reengineering - the technical side and the human side. The technical side addresses the steps to reinvent the process. The human side addresses the creation of an organisation in which the reinvented process ca i thrive. ecause of the drastic nature of change in reengineering efforts, the human side is particularly important. A successful reengineering project requires the perfect marriage of the technical and the human elements. this study, the concept of business process reengineering, with reference to the different stages and the human side of the process, are dealt with

Purpose - The objective of the research was to align the 3-part habit routine to intended organisational change initiatives that use discrete methodologies like Lean Six Sigma to achieve outcomes that are more successful than change initiatives deployed only from a technical systematic approach. Design/methodology/approach – An infield quantitative experiment designed to measure the longitudinal effects of mindfulness, organisational routines, and job satisfaction. Findings – This study does not provide empirical proof that the outcome to intended change initiative have improved with contextual cues over the predetermined time horizon. Research limitation/implications – The results suggest the 20-day time horizon of the study was insufficient to establish automaticity. The language used in the assessment tools chosen, posed a challenge in the context of a South African services organisation. Not including considerations for affective and behavioural factors into intended change programmes will continue to influence the effectiveness of change agents, and practitioners. Originality/value – Within the context of intended organisational change, this study aimed to amend embedded routines and/or automatic behaviours by providing contextual cues at a specific time of day. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / pagibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

D.Comm. / The successful implementation of organisational change is the theme of this study. It has been found that the majority of change initiatives fail, mainly due to poor conceptualisation and planning, and the lack of proper integration of the people and business dimensions of change (which will be referred to respectively as the systematic and interactive aspects). This leads to change resistance and increases the chance of failure. Little practical guidance is available on how to overcome this and to integrate the two aspects of change across the organisation(s), throughout the entire change process, from conceptualisation through to change completion. The purpose of the study is to develop a practical model for implementing a successful change program. The model will be designed using a combination of readily available skills and techniques, and is intended to be sufficiently generic to enable its use across all change projects and types of organisations. Accordingly the objectives of the study are: • To capture the challenges faced by organisations in integrating the systematic aspect of change management (such as system design) and the interactive aspect (such as people empowerment, buy-in). • To develop and test the Facilitative Project Management Model for Integrated Change, over three case studies. The model draws upon the disciplines of project management, which provides a structured "no surprises" approach to the management of change. This mostly addresses the systematic aspect of change. To properly incorporate the critical interactive aspect of change the project management discipline is combined with the powerful techniques of neutral facilitation, which provides a psychologically safe environment for team participation and ownership. This combination forms a model which through the case studies is shown to support an integrated change effort and aid successful change outcomes.

M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology) / A substantial number of factors play a role in an individual’s acceptance of organisational change. Individuals experience a personal transition process when organisational change occurs, and as part of that process they react to organisational change in different ways. Individuals also form perceptions based on the factors that influence the acceptance of organisational change. This study focused on the manner in which organisational change is communicated to employees. Specific attention was paid to the level of detail versus the vagueness of the communication, and the reactions and perceptions as a result were explored. The sample population consisted of 36 Call Centre Consultants, selected from a Financial Institution, who were divided into three groups. Participant views on organisational change, the communication thereof and their emotional stance were assessed, after which two treatment groups received a written change announcement varying in specificity of information. Following, the views concerning the organisational change described in the written memorandum and emotional responses, as a result of the announcement were assessed. The study found that the specificity vs. ambiguity of a change communication does impact employees and influence their perceptions and emotional experience of the change. However, the nature of the change communication is not necessarily the only contributor to the employees’ acceptance of change. Further research is necessary to facilitate understanding of the contribution by other factors and the extent of each contribution.

Factors such as globalisation, intense competition and ever-changing rules make change a must. What used to be traditional markets have been eroded and competitors have flooded most of the markets. This brings new challenges. Organisations that seek growth and survival keep up with the changing environment. Organisations that ignore the changing environment choose to do so at the risk of failure because what works today is not guaranteed to work in future. For an organisation to achieve its objectives, everyone in that organisation needs to contribute and pull in the same direction. As such, leaders and employees are important to the change process. Management’s understanding of where the organisation must go and how it could get there is crucial to take the whole organisation through the change process. Managers have to learn new skills as operational skills are often not enough when it comes to leading people. Leaders have a critical role to play to ensure effective change management. The study is aimed at establishing how the change process is managed at Eskom. This is explored through finding out the leadership style applied at Eskom in effecting change. Quantitative research was done within Eskom by means of e-mail survey to a random sample of employees at middle management. 980 questionnaires were sent out with a response rate of 21.5%. Having identified issues affecting effective leadership and change management in the organisation certain deficiencies or areas of possible improvement will be identified. Recommendations will be made on addressing leadership and change management process to create an environment for facilitation of change efficiently given the stress, discomfort and dislocation associated with change. “Change is a very fickle mistress. No sooner has one fresh new idea swept through the business world, than other better way of doing things is hot on its heels”. Anonymous / Mr. T.F.J. Oosthuizen

M.A. / Transformation in the social welfare arena implies new developments and changes in social work education. The past decade has seen various changes in social work in South-Africa. Changes in the international social welfare context are also reflected in the South-African scenario and educators need to be aware of these changes and influences. The study aims at the development of an understanding of the current trends that have an influence on effective social work education. Although the South-African trends are the main focus of the study, it is important to also take the global trends into consideration. The researcher identified the White Paper on Social Welfare (1997), changes in the South-African Education Context as determined by the SA Qualifications Act (58/1995), the Council for Social Service Professions, international trends and the changing South-African environment as the major contributors to the need for urgent change in Social work curriculum. The researcher utilizes qualitative methodology to identify the variables influencing transformation in social work. The mentioned variables were described by means of specific themes relevant to social work education. The description is practice-relevant since the information was collected from academic faculty members and social work students. The data was collected by means of focus groups and interviews guided by a structured interview schedule. A theoretical framework was used to describe the context of social work transformation and relevant influences. A small scale meta-analysis of the current trends in social work literature guided the researcher towards an understanding of the current trends relevant to social work education. Deductive reasoning was used to combine the main moments of the theoretical framework and the themes derived from the collected data. The data were analyzed by a process of categorizing and coding as suggested by De Vos (1997). A protocol was developed in order to analyze the data in a consistent and structured manner. Guba’s model (1990) on trustworthiness was used to validate the themes. Finally, methodological and contextual conclusions were formulated. The conclusions and themes formed a basis for the formulation of recommendations which can contribute to social work education in South-Africa. / Prof. W.A. Mitchell Prof. C.B. Fouchè

M.Comm. / The aim of this research is to determine the difference between Ericsson South Africa and Ericsson Sweden in terms of wave management, leadership and management style, culture and change management. The research proposes to determine what behaviours are exhibited in Ericsson South Africa versus the behaviours exhibited in Ericsson Sweden and how this affects the organisation. This will then be used to provide the management team of Ericsson South Africa with feedback in terms of what the current issues are in the organisation and the proposed changes. A thorough literature study of wave management, leadership and management style, culture and change management was undertaken. The study revealed that there is a distinct difference in 2nd wave and 4th wave organisations in relation to leadership and management, culture and change management. It emphasised that organisations in 4th wave are far more advanced in all the elements which allows the organisations to be very successful. The research was conducted by a using qualitative approach. The benefit of qualitative research is that it allows for a greater understanding of the concept as well as to learn more about the concept. A questionnaire was used which was sent out to employees in Ericsson South Africa and Ericsson Sweden. The data was then analysed which allowed for certain conclusions to be drawn. It raised some pertinent issues that the management team in Ericsson South Africa need to focus on. The research has indicated that currently Ericsson South Africa is a 2nd wave organisation and that the key focus areas for the organisation is the leadership and management style, culture and change management.