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Thesis (MSc (Industrial Engineering))--Stellenbosch University, 2010. / Please refer to full text to view abstract.

This research investigates the relationship among the stakeholders during the strategic planning process in an airline company. The concept of involving stakeholders in strategic planning is based on the assumption that engaging stakeholders in a meaningful way will increase the benefits for both the organization and the stakeholders. The growth trend of the company investigated has resulted in complexity due to the growth of its internal and external stakeholders and the influence that their relationships can have on strategic planning. Whereas studies have identified a number of factors that can influence stakeholder relations, it has also been suggested that relationships could further be influenced by host of other stakeholder-related attributes. It is in this context that the study answers the following research questions: (1) how do stakeholders understand their responsibilities in strategic planning?; (2) how do they perceive the importance of communication and coordination to their relationship during the planning process?; and (3) how do the stakeholders‘ expectations shape the challenges faced by the company and their relationship during strategic planning? The study employs the qualitative method of research using the interview technique to collect data to gain insights into how the participants perceive and make sense of their relationships during strategic planning in their company. The conceptual dimension of the study is premised on the two streams of meaning of relationships and the dynamics of stakeholder relations during strategic planning projected in the literature. The methodological dimension is premised on the importance of lived experience as a significant source of knowledge. In this respect, the study draws on phenomenology using narrative analysis and inductive content analysis in the treatment of data. Accordingly, the study found that stakeholders bring to the table a plethora of responsibilities which have significant upward and downward influences during strategic planning. There is a consensus among stakeholders on the general importance of the relational benefits of coordination and communication. Real time coordination and communication with external stakeholders is differentially perceived within the range of poor to excellent. Likewise, there is differential perception of the relational importance of communication in terms of organizational context. Whether the coordination among stakeholders is perceived as excellent or poor, the bottom line is that stakeholder relations in the company remains a challenge. Stakeholders have multiple expectations of the company strategic plan and the strategic planning process which further raises multi-faceted challenges to the company. Based on the findings the study came up with a model that highlights the streams of thought pursued in the study. The findings affirm the view that relationships result from what transpires, happens, or occurs during strategic planning. Likewise, the inherent connectivity that results from the social nature of individuals involved in the planning process is affirmed. The former is on account of the responsibilities of the stakeholders and the latter on account of the inherent value that stakeholders place on strategic planning. The quality and extent of stakeholder relations however is moderated by extent and quality of coordination and communication before and during the planning process.

The study explores the role that the CEO plays in the facilitation of the Strategic Management Process (SMP) within the small and medium sized companies on the JSE with a turnover between R10 to R80 mil. In answering the question “Is the facilitation of the SMP vested in the CEO alone or does he/she share the overall responsibility with Executives, Functional Managers, Supervisors or Consultants? In response to this question the findings purport that the majority view (69%) strengthen the CEO’s influential role in the facilitation of the SMP. This was evident within the launching and growth phase of the company, where the owner plays a big role as the visionary and as there is no formal distinction between the facilitation and the SMP. In contrast, we have to acknowledge the minority view (31%) of CEO’s who engages Executives, Functional Managers, Supervisors, Consultants and other selected personnel in strategic discussions, in ways to leverage their perspective and insights and create shared meaning and ownership. This could be used to develop skills in facilitation, reaffirm team norms and develop agility to respond timeously and strategically to rapid change. This bridges the transition from the higher growth phase and lower maturity phase of the company. For that reason this will enhance decision making, creativity, collaboration, enumerate core values and stimulate growth within the company.

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No description available.

This study was undertaken to find out what problems the Administrative Operations Division was encountering in the absence of a job description plan. Many employees in the division were not aware of their actual job functions. They have only been giver a class description of their jobs by the Bureau of Personnel, which is not the actual job functions. They have only been given a class description of their jobs by the Bureau of Personnel, which is not the actual description that they are entitled to from the division in which they are employed. A class description is a stigmatization of general duties performed by employees assigned to that class. A detailed job description is a listing of the specific and everyday duties of an employee assigned to that poison The study found that this is indeed a problem in the Administrative Operations Division. This paper recommends that the problem be corrected by developing detailed job descriptions for each employee in the division, and specific recommendations are made toward that end.

The aim of my thesis is to critically evaluate the set of management tools used in the student organization AIESEC Praha. The issues discussed are the organization's mission and strategic management, especially using the system of Balanced Scorecard. Furthermore, terms of critical success factors and key performance indicators are defined and are being investigated in various stages of development of the strategic map of Balanced Scorecard of AIESEC Praha, with emphasis on their annual change, consistency and coherence with other instruments of the organization, its internal development and the development of the external environment. In conclusion I describe a draft of qualitatively better system of management tools of AIESEC Praha with regard to described objectives. Emphasis is also placed on the conditions of usage of the system of management tools and the factors that influence its further development.

Corporate diversification continues to be an important phenomenon in the modern business world. More than thirty years of research on diversification suggests that the degree of relatedness among a firm's business units is a factor that can affect firm performance, but the true effect of diversification relatedness on firm performance is still inconclusive. The purpose of this dissertation is to shed more light on this inconclusive association. However, attention is focused on the performance implications of individual diversification actions (e.g., acquisitions and joint ventures) rather than on the overall performance of firms with different levels of diversification. A non-experimental, longitudinal analysis of secondary data was conducted on over 450 unique acquisitions and on more than 210 joint ventures. Results suggest that even when individual diversification actions rather than entire business portfolios are examined, an inverted curvilinear association between diversification relatedness and performance is likely to emerge. This pattern is observed in both acquisitions and joint ventures. However, the association between diversification relatedness and performance in acquisitions is moderated by the level of industry adversity, though factors such as corporate coherence and heterogeneous experience do not moderate the association between diversification relatedness and performance. This study augments the body of knowledge on diversification and adds refinement to the traditional curvilinear finding regarding relatedness. By studying acquisitions and joint ventures independently, the results reveal differences in both slope and inflection points that suggest the relative impact of relatedness may vary depending on the mode of diversification.

Underpinning the elements of strategy design and execution are assumptions, norms and beliefs which can be broadly characterised as strategic management practices. These strategic management practices are in evidence in all schools of strategy academic theory. Whilst there has been a great deal of work conducted into the processes of strategy design and execution, there is little study of strategic management practices. This research sought to uncover the contemporary strategic management practices in evidence at a select number of leading organisations through qualitative analysis of secondary data in the form of case studies and other publically available material. A nascent content based definition for the concept of strategic management practices was developed from the literature review and tested against the evidence uncovered. Additional themes uncovered from the data were incorporated into the proposed definition and a synthesised version developed based on the strength of the evidence uncovered. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted