M.Comm. / The average life expectancy of a multinational corporation is somewhere between 40 and 50 years, according to Arie de Geus, author of "The Living Company: Habits for Survival in a Turbulent Business Environment" (De Geus, 1997) In fact, one-third of the companies listed on the 1970 Fortune 500 had disappeared just 13 years later, thanks to mergers, acquisitions or being broken apart. Like the single-cell amoeba, which continually changes its shape and direction based on external influences, long-lived companies are sensitive to their environment and know how to adapt and evolve to fit ever-changing conditions, (Caudron, 2000:54). While adaptability is a key contributor to corporate longevity, there are other factors that help companies live long, healthy and profitable lives. In his book, "The Living Company", Arie de Geus explores the factors that allow large companies to thrive over a long period. After studying 27 long-lived companies, he reveals that four common factors explain their success: Long-lived companies were sensitive to their environment. Whether they had built their fortunes on knowledge or natural resources, they remained in harmony with the world around them. As wars, depressions, technologies and political changes surged and ebbed, they always seemed to excel at keeping their feelers out, tuned to whatever was going on. They did this despite the fact that there was little data available, let alone the communications facilities to give them a global view of the environment. Long-lived companies were cohesive, with a strong sense of identity. No matter how widely diversified they were, their employees, and even their suppliers at times, felt they were all part of one entity. Long-lived companies were tolerant of activities, experiments and eccentricities that kept stretching their understanding of possibilities. Long-lived companies were conservative in financing. They were frugal and did not risk their capital gratuitously. They understood the meaning of money in an oldfashioned way; they knew the usefulness of having spare cash. Having money in hand gave them flexibility and independence. They could pursue options that their competitors could not. They could grasp opportunities without first having to convince third-party financiers of their attractiveness. More than anything else, managers in adaptable companies realize they can no longer conduct business the old-fashioned way. Gone are long-range plans, task-oriented job descriptions, rigid functional divisions and top-down decision-making. (Caudron, 2000: 54) Instead, in adaptable companies: Employees are given more freedom. The primary source of adaptability in organizations is the employees. For this reason, adaptable organizations treat people differently. They allow greater participation from employees and give them the freedom to decide how they will react to change. Management sets broad goals and objectives. Because executives in adaptable rganizations recognize that employees are capable of making good decisions, the executives themselves make far fewer day-to-day decisions. Executives in adaptable companies may articulate a direction for the organization, but they don't dictate what needs to be done. By setting broad goals and objectives, as opposed to determining specific tasks, these executives allow employees the room to respond to an opportunity in a way that makes the best sense for that opportunity at that time. The trick with setting broad goals instead of defining specific tasks is that executives must know how to maintain the balance between complete control and total unpredictability. Adaptable executives must learn to provide enough guidance so that people aren't floundering, but not so much guidance that employees lose their creativity and initiative. Executives regularly conduct scenario planning. Companies used to be able to plan projects five and 10 years ahead of time and then outline the specific steps needed to make those projects happen. But this is no longer possible in today's business environment.

M.B.A. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This research investigated technology change management at Bridgestone/Firestone in the Port Elizabeth metropole. From a manufacturing organisation’s point of view it is clear that technology change is a constant force that determines competitiveness. The thesis outlines the specific requirements needed for utilising the concept of technology change management at Bridgestone/Firestone. The literature survey was aimed at placing the concept of technology change management and the correct organisational structure and organisational focus points in perspective to ensure successful technology change and its implementation at Bridgestone/Firestone. The purpose of the empirical study was to test managements perseptions of technology change management at Bridgestone/Firestone and to contribute useful information to the organisation. From the findings improvements and recommendations were suggested as guidelines for any tyre manufacturer to follow to improve technology change management. The empirical study results show that there is room for improvement. The responses to statements outlined areas that need improvement and those that do not according to the views of Bridgestone/Firestone’s management.

The retention of employees, especially talented ones, is a topic that is mainly discussed between HR practitioners, but is also a cause for conversation around the boardroom table. Researchers have recommended numerous policies and best practices that should be implemented to reduce employee turnover and improve employee morale. This study was conducted to find if a relationship exists between numerous independent variables and retention rate. A quantitative study was conducted via a self-administered survey questionnaire that was sent to 6 802 HR managers, owners, senior managers and executives. Constructs identified in the literature were used to design the questionnaire survey, and data were analysed from 247 completed survey questionnaires. A positive relationship exists when HR reports to senior management and where HR has the autonomy to spend on training. The presence of an HR department, the existence of retention strategies, and the involvement of senior managers in the implementation and management of retention strategies, does not have an influence on a high retention rate. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

D.Phil. (Leadership in Performance and Change) / The aim of this study was to develop a clearly defined organisational change management model to facilitate effective change leadership within Group Payment Systems. one of the departments of a South African bank A modernist qualitative methodology, with casing as research design and grounded theory as research strategy, was employed to develop a substantive model ...

D.Phil. / The aim of the study was to explore and understand the emerging leadership challenges in order to further enhance the development of leadership and management in the information technology industry in South Africa. A combined casing and life-story approach in this modernist qualitative research study was employed. Selective sampling, as described by Plummer (1983; 2001) as part of his critical humanistic approach, was employed to select the CEO, Mr X, from a particular South African information technology company. Data were obtained mainly from solicited sources, but also some that were unsolicited. This resulted in a life story containing rich descriptive data obtained at first hand from Mr X’s professional career and associated areas of his life. The life -story of this storyteller was organised manually as well as with the aid of ATLAS-Ti 5.0, a computer-based software package suitable for this type of study. The leadership landscape model of Veldsman (2004), a local expert in the area of leadership, together with key theoretical concepts found in the literature, were used to construct an enhanced leadership model. Appropriate qualitative guidelines were used to ensure a study that attends to both academic rigour and aesthetics. The resultant constructed leadership model offers important, if not unique, insights and findings regarding the leadership environment, individual psychosocial dynamics, competencies and capabilities, as well as leadership roles, modes, styles and processes that contribute to personal leadership effectiveness. The thesis illuminates and offers recommendations for a number of methodological and theoretical implications regarding local and global leadership studies, as well as for practice and policy regarding leadership and managerial development.

M.Comm. / The global environment is changing drastically and companies need to respond to this change in order to survive. The concept of shared services has seen its boom in the market as one of the measures to adapt to the ever changing global environment. With the strengthening of the global economy, corporations implement shared services to enhance their competitive advantage. Shared services are implemented for various reasons inclusive of quality, cost, time and economies of scale. The result is changes in processes, technology and culture / people. Change is not easy. People resist as it impacts on culture i.e. the way they currently operate. The introduction of shared services is no different. The changes it leads to create a sense of discomfort thereby leading to resistance. It is, thus, of critical importance to manage the transition of people from the current to the future culture. It has been evident that the softer side of change (people) is the most neglected area when managing change. The study focuses on change management to transform people’s attitudes and behaviours from a functional culture to a service oriented culture. The researcher identified this transition as not successful when introducing shared services, and this forms the research problem. The study is qualitative and exploratory in design with the aim of identifying change management tools and techniques in the implementation of shared services. Various tools have been identified with communication being the most critical tool in managing change. The conclusion drawn is that focus should not only be on the technical areas of change, but involve people as well. No change can be successful without the involvement of the people that are expected to implement it, no matter how sophisticated the processes or technology is.

The research used a change management approach to analyze the restructuring of the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital from a tertiary to a central hospital. The study was underpinned by two objectives. Firstly, to analyze the restructuring of the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital from a tertiary to a "central" hospital using the Core Elements Framework of change management developed by Antwi and Kale (2014). Secondly, to use the knowledge gained through literature review combined with the experiences of the managers at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital to inform future healthcare reforms in general and particularly in the restructuring of hospitals. The Core Elements Framework by Antwi and Kale (2014) identifies six fundamental change elements from both emergent and planned change management approaches. The six elements are regarded by theorists from the two different schools of thought i.e. emergent change and planned change as key for successful change. The Core Elements Framework by Antwi and Kale, (2014) demonstrates the strength of not viewing the two approaches to change management as mutually exclusive but as complementing each other when the other is falling short. The study identified the following: ■ The change was prompted by clearly identifiable external factors more than internal factors. ■ There was notable lack of organizational harmony which may have negatively impacted the change process. ■ The Private Public Partnership (PPP) funding model which was aimed at delivering the central hospital collapsed, after a study discovered that it benefited the private sector more than the public sector. ■ There was no proper consultation of major stakeholders for preparation of the change. ■ Resources in all material forms were not made available for the change to take off, this means that there was no organizational capacity to execute the change. The study draws the conclusion that lack of organizational capacity, organizational harmony and a proper consultation process for stakeholders are the main reasons why the restructuring of the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital is not yielding the desired results. The study recommends that organizations should implement a multidimensional approach for any change initiative to be successful and that organizations must ensure the availability of the necessary resources when embarking on change.

The general purpose of this study is to investigate and identify the relationship between transformational and leadership personality preferences. The aim of the study is therefore to establish an empirical link between transformational leadership and certain aspects of personality preferences in order to verify if these leaders can be distinguished from others by means of their personality preferences. The transformational leaders’ ratings as identified by use of the Multifactor questionnaire are compared with personality preferences indicated on the scales of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator®. Given the research literature an expectation exists that a statistically significant difference will be found between aspects of personality preferences of transformational and non-transformational leaders. Therefore transformational leaders will be identifiable from non-transformational leaders by their personality preferences. The research group was a convenience sample that consisted of 66 leaders chosen from two organisations in the financial and entertainment industries at the level of team leader or in a supervisory capacity. The statistical procedures utilised in the analysis of the data included analysis of frequencies, ttests and cross tabulations. Firstly, the transformational leaders in the selected organisations were identified successfully. As far as determining the personality preferences of the identified transformational leaders and establishing any possible links between the transformational leadership style and chosen personality preferences, the only significant difference was found between the introversion and extroversion preferences. A significant difference between introversion and extroversion in terms of the Intellectual Stimulation rating on the MLQ was found as well as in terms of the Average and Inspirational Motivation ratings. No other statistically significant differences or interdependencies were found between the personality preferences as identified by the MBTI® and any of the ratings on the MLQ. The third objective of determining whether personality preference can be utilised to predict transformational leadership is therefore answered. From the findings of this study it seems as if personality preferences cannot be utilised to predict transformational leadership in for instance a selection process in a company. As this research group was highly selected and not representative of the general population, it is not possible to generalise the findings of this study. Although the research group was not representative, the findings of this study matched with those of other studies, and the deduction is therefore made that if this study was to be repeated, similar results would be found. / Prof. S. Kruger

M.Com. (Business Management) / "In the three short decades between now and the twenty first century, millions of ordinary, psychologically normal people will face an abrupt collision with the future. Citizens of the world's richest and most technically advanced nations, many of them, will find it increasingly painful to keep up with incessant demand for change that characterises our time." (Toftler, 1983:18.) More than ajlecade and a half has passed since Alvin Toffler wrote his best seller, Future Shock. The year 2000 is less than 10 years away. Future shock is something each of us lives with every day. Things change around us constantly - from there the saying: "the only constant in life is change". As individuals, our lives become more and more complicated. As managers, we face increasing pressure and uncertainty (Manning, 1987:1). One of the most important skills a manager can have in his of her repertoire these days is the skill to manage change (Burke et a/.,1991:87). Managers must manage today's business effectively while creating a new and radically different kind of business for tomorrow. It's a daunting task, but it's one that cannot be postponed - the future simply won't wait (Manning, 1987:1). Within the South African context great challenges face management. South Africa is faced with addressing major political, economic and social imbalances. Traditionally, the business community has often been reluctant to play an upfront role in the political realm. The business of business is business, was a commonly heard adage. In 1988, the formation of the Consultative Business Movement was a small sign that business was starting to take seriously it's role in a changing society (Eloff, 1992:12).