M.A. / Contemporary organisations and the people working within these organisations are currently facing a high degree of change which is having an adverse affect on the employer-employee trust relationship. This study examines the nature of this change and, in so doing, considers the issue of the post-industrial and the post-modern as an indicator of the arrival of a new era. The conclusion is reached that the grand narratives are inadequate as explanations for the arrival of a totally new era and that they rather refer to what may be seen as a transformational process. In this regard, attention needs to be given to more narrow theories. With this in mind emphasis is placed, not only on the continuities within society, but on social discontinuities and, in particular, on the erosion of employer-employee trust. The issue of trust as a factor in organisational success is discussed in some depth while attention is given to contemporary theories of trust and the apparent lack of synthesis amongst these theories. An attempt is made, based on some of the theories discussed, to develop a comprehensive model of trust. This model deals with both the conditions that lead to the onset of trust and those factors of trustworthiness which may enhance or erode trust within an existing relationship. The impact, of what appears to be the emergence of a new epoch and in particular the changing nature of work, on the notion of organisational trust is also discussed. Such issues as job losses, reduced opportunities and increasing work loads, changing job structures, changing employee values, organisational diversity and the rise of individualism are considered. This leads on to the conclusion that, within an increasingly competitive world, trust plays a central role within an organisation. For this reason it is argued that it is important for employer and employee to address the erosion of trust, and for the sociologist to become involved by taking an active role, as both researcher and facilitator, in the process of improving the employer-employee trust relationship.

M.Cur. / Following the democratic elections that took place in 1994, South Africa is undergoing transformation. This transformation was initiated by the external and internal driving forces, of which, the political forces are the most significant. This political transformation led to the promulgation of the Constitution of the country, which impacted on the transformation of the health system, to ensure accessibility and equity. The promulgation of the Constitution was followed by many legislative and policy changes, such as a new Higher Education Act. The South African transition from apartheid to democracy, necessitated that all the existing policies, institutions and practices should be transformed and revised, according to the demands of the new era. With the new political dispensation of the country, many regional, national and local policies have changed. These changes have had an inevitable impact on higher education, which in turn impacts on nursing education. The change in the higher education system required the restructuring and rationalisation of nursing colleges in all the provinces. The need for the transformation of nursing colleges is unavoidable because of the development of the new legislation to readdress the imbalances of the past. Following the new political dispensation, it was however necessary to transform these nursing colleges through rationalisation/integration. The focus of this study is on the transformation of nursing colleges in Gauteng, which poses many challenges to the directors in terms of the management of transformation. The transformation process impacts directly on the directors of nursing colleges. This study is based on the transformation management of selected nursing colleges in Gauteng. The study is conducted in two phases. Phase one explores and describes the experiences and perceptions of directors regarding the transformation of nursing colleges in Gauteng. Phase two describes the formulation of transformation management standards which consists of two phases of standards formulation, namely, the development phase and the quantifying phase.

M.A. / Changes in South Africa's political, socio-political and economical environments are putting pressure on local organisations to move towards a non-racial, democratic and fully representative internal organisation environment. In an attempt to accelerate the process, companies are embarking on programmes such as affirmative action and black empowerment for the employment and development of previously disadvantaged groups in order to assimilate them into the organisational culture. At present, however, the results of these efforts still leave a lot to be desired and the management of diversity in South Africa is viewed with interest as well as scepticism. The link between the success of diversity management and a supportive organisational culture has been made in the literature on the subject, but not explored extensively in terms of the elements contributing to the culture, especially language and the processes involved in sharing meaning. It has been proven that a well-planned strategic approach to diversity management should have communication as its pivotal point, making language and meaning the next logical field of study. The literature overview thus systematically explored the ways in which the process of sharing meaning can perpetuate the status quo or act as a change agent in the process of transforming an organisational culture to be receptive and supportive of diversity.

Extensive research suggests organizations have unique guiding principles, called core values, which play a central role in strategic decision making, sustaining high-performance cultures, and guiding organizational culture change. Although the Competing Values Framework (CVF) has been widely used to identify a standardized set of core values, it has not been used to identify unique core values at a given organizations. Unique core values help to distinguish organizations and drive market success. The present research focused on development of a technique to extend the application of the CVF to identify the core values unique to a given organization. The CVF-based Core Values Identification Technique (CCVI) was developed and empirically tested at three companies. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, review of documents, participant observation and the standard CVF-based Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). The data analysis employed grounded theory methods in conjunction with the standard OCAI analysis. The primary research result is the iteratively developed and empirically tested tool, the CCVI Technique. Secondary research results include the identification of unique core values at each of the three participating companies. Lessons learned and the rationale for making modifications to the technique based on the case studies, along with best practices for utilization and opportunities for informing organizational change efforts are discussed.

Mergers have become a common feature for South African organisations since the dawn of democracy in 1994. There are several studies completed internationally and locally on how to handle mergers in general. There is limited research however on the role played by communication in this process. In this regard, this study aims to analyse the role of communication during a merger in an information communication technology (ICT) organisation, underpinned by Nudge’s Change Theory, which asserts that employees should be involved in the merger process, thereby making it possible to take their views into consideration. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed in this study to gain insight on the role communication plays before, during, and after a merger. Primary data was collected from employees based at the organisation’s Head Office in Pretoria, through online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Results of the study show that communication with employees before, during and after merger was poor, resulting in high levels of uncertainty among employees. Furthermore, management did not provide adequate feedback to employees during the process. This caused panic among employees and a lack of confidence in the success of the merger. Based on these findings, it is recommended that top management investigates ways of enhancing channels of communication to ensure that communication with employees during mergers is not only meaningful but effective. The findings confirm recommendations made by Nudge’s Change Theory of the need to equip both management and employees during times of uncertainty. In this regard, further research to be conducted with different companies in the sector on the role employee communication plays during mergers to see if similar perceptions are maintained or changed. / Communication Science / M. A. (Communication)

Thesis(MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The determination of what the concept ‘sustainable competitive advantage’ means within a service environment and the consequent establishment of key resources within Pam Golding Properties and the role that leadership and the creation of a learning organisation play, formed the core of this study. The case study was therefore undertaken to glean relevant information from reality in order to determine which resources that can be described as intangible assets and competences contribute in a sustainable manner to the organisation’s competitive advantage in a dynamic and changing business environment. Existing and historical resources including leadership and learning within the organisation were identified by means of semi-structured interviews with a range of company executives. These resources were then assessed by means of questionnaires that were distributed to a wide range of stakeholders within the organisation in terms of value for the client, sustainability and transferability. These outcomes, in turn, provided the basis for conclusions and recommendations for future utility in order to maintain competitive advantage that would ultimately lead to sustained superior performance on all fronts. The findings that were made, culminated in a visual representation of leadership and organisational learning that form the core of the organisation and simultaneously illustrating their interdependence with the other key resources, namely organisational culture, the Pam Golding Properties brand, reputation, teamwork, relationships, systems and procedures, managers and agents. These resources form the essence of the organisation. The organisational culture within Pam Golding Properties that is representative of the core values of integrity, honesty, sincerity and service delivery was found to be the overall resource that provides the organisation with sustainable competitive advantage. This was closely followed by the value of the brand and reputation, teamwork and inter-personal relationships, the utilisation of efficient systems and procedures and the recruitment and retention of competent managers and agents. Organisational leadership was found to instil confidence in the organisation. A common, shared vision that is understood and underwritten by all employees is however lacking and change needs to be managed in such a way that the organisation’s core ideology is not compromised, but an envisioned future should be communicated throughout. The brand carries out the promise of the culture and core values, but can be tarnished if the reputation for service excellence is not upheld and it can lose credibility if expectations are not met. The brand thus needs protection from within and this can only happen if the people in the organisation share in the process of and toward an envisioned future. It was established that meaningful change presupposes continual improvement in a dynamic, yet sustainable organisation. It was therefore also recommended that a concerted effort be made to actively promote and strive towards the company becoming a true learning organisation in order to sustain its culture, brand, reputation and other intangible assets and competences. In the event that these and other recommendations in terms of resources are seriously considered and strived for by company leaders, this organisation should be an example to the rest of the world regarding sustainable competitive advantage. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die bepaling van wat die konsep ‘volhoubare mededingende voordeel’ beteken binne ‘n diensomgewing en die daaropvolgende vasstelling van sleutelhulpbronne binne Pam Golding Eiendomme en die rol wat leierskap en die skep van ‘n leerorganisasie speel, het die kern van hierdie studie gevorm. Die gevallestudie is dus onderneem om toepaslike inligting vanuit realiteit te werf, om sodoende vas te stel watter hulpbronne wat as ontasbare bates en bevoegdhede beskryf kan word, op ‘n volhoubare wyse tot die organisasie se mededingende voordeel bydra in ‘n dinamiese en veranderende sake-omgewing. Bestaande en historiese hulpbronne insluitend leierskap en leer binne die organisasie is geïdentifiseer by wyse van semi-gestruktueerde onderhoude wat met ‘n aantal uitvoerende lede van die maatskappy gevoer is. Hierdie hulpbronne is daarna deur middel van vraelyste wat aan ‘n breë reeks insethouers binne die organisasie versprei is, geëvalueer in terme van waarde vir die kliënt, volhoubaarheid en oordraagbaarheid. Hierdie uitkomste het weer die basis verskaf vir afleidings en voorstelle wat gemaak is ten opsigte van toekomsbruikbaarheid om mededingende voordeel te behou wat uiteindelik tot volhoubare superieure verrigting op alle fronte sal lei. Die bevindings wat gemaak is, het in ‘n visuele voorstelling van leierskap en organisasieleer gekulmineer, wat die kern van die organisasie uitmaak en tegelykertyd hul interafhanklikheid illustreer ten opsigte van die ander sleutelhulpbronne, naamlik organisasie-kultuur, die Pam Golding Eiendomme handelsnaam, reputasie, spanwerk, verhoudings, stelsels en prosedures, bestuurders an agente. Hierdie hulpbronne maak die essensie van die organisasie uit. Die organisasie-kultuur binne Pam Golding Eiendomme wat verteenwoordigend is van die kernwaardes van integriteit, eerlikheid, opregtheid en dienslewering het as die oorhoofse hulpbron uitgestaan wat die organisasie van volhoubare mededingende voordeel verseker. Dis gevolg deur die waarde van die handelsnaam en reputasie, spanwerk en inter-persoonlike verhoudings, die benutting van doeltreffende stelsels en prosedures en die werwing en retensie van bekwame bestuurders en agente. Daar is bevind dat organisasie-leierskap vertroue in die organisasie skep. ‘n Gemeenskaplike, gedeelde visie wat deur al die werknemers verstaan en onderskryf word, kom egter kort en verandering behoort op só ‘n wyse bestuur te word, dat die organisasie se kern-ideologie nie onder verdenking gebring word nie, maar ‘n gevisioneerde toekoms behoort deurgaans gekommunikeer te word. Die handelsnaam dra die belofte van die kultuur en kernwaardes uit, maar kan skade opdoen as die reputasie vir diensuitnemendheid nie onderhou word nie en dan kan geloofwaardigheid ingeboet word indien daar nie aan verwagtinge voldoen word nie. Die handelsnaam moet dus van binne uit beskerm word en dit kan slegs gebeur indien die mense in die organisasie aan die proses van ‘n gevisioneerde toekoms deelneem. Dit is bevind dat betekenisvolle verandering aaneenlopende verbetering in ‘n dinamiese, dog volhoubare organisasie veronderstel. Daar is dus ook voorgestel dat ‘n doelbewuste poging aangewend word dat die wording van ‘n ware leerorganisasie aktief gepromoveer en nagestreef behoort te word om sodoende die kultuur, handelsnaam, reputasie en ander ontasbare bates en bevoegdhede vol te kan hou. Indien hierdie en ander voorstelle ten opsigte van hulpbronne ernstig deur die maatskappy se leiers bedink en nagestreef word, behoort hierdie organisasie vir die res van die wêreld ‘n voorbeeld van volhoubare mededingende voordeel te wees.

M.Cur. / It is explicit that the change in the South African government since 1994 accompanied by the transformation of nursing services with its new policies and practices is inevitable, and poses challenges for the nursing service managers in Gauteng hospitals. The transformation of nursing services can be a difficult process creating a period of fear, uncertainty, stress and role ambiguity for the nursing service managers. The transformation has been so extensive that the nursing service manager's role responsibilities have changed to such an extent that they are now required to manage grossly reduced levels of resources, multicultural societies with different values, beliefs and attitudes and increased numbers of patients, resulting in overcrowded hospitals. The transformation of nursing services demands the demonstration of appropriate nursing service management. The abilities of the nursing service managers are critical to the effectiveness of the future. Most nursing service managers are unprepared for their new roles and the present concern is for the quality of the management of the transformation process. No written standards for transformation management in a nursing service are available in Gauteng public hospitals. Consequently, nursing service managers find themselves making major decisions about nursing service transformation with little information about the effectiveness of alternative approaches. The experiences and perceptions of the nursing service managers regarding transformation of nursing services in selected Gauteng hospitals are also not known. Understanding the nursing service managers' experiences and perceptions will provide a basis for the formulation of standards for transformation management in a nursing service.