Background: Considering high merger failure in the process of strategy implementation, there is a need to elaborate on strategic consensus building during this major organizational change. Purpose: To gain understanding about the strategic consensus building process in a merged organization from a teleological perspective. The premerger influence and the intervening circumstances are expected to affect the process of consensus building. Methodology: A single case study approach was taken by interviewing twelve senior managers from two hierarchical levels as well as five managers from the corporate strategy department of a merged organization to gain a comprehensive understanding of the research topic. Findings: The empirical findings indicated that consensus on strategic priorities is essential for further development of a merged organization. In addition, this study has identified three strategic consensus building facilitators vertical communication, transparency, and agility.

The focus of this research is to understand the relevance of the Human Resource Development Strategy for the functioning of South African Public Service and its implications for the Emerging Management Development Programme (EMDP). One of the main challenges of the Human Resource Development Strategy (HRDS) is its translation into well designed training programmes that are aligned with the goals and objectives of the strategy. The Emerging Management Development Programme (EMDP) is meant to be the translation and interpretation of the HRDS for public sector training and development on emerging management level. The intention of this study is to evaluate, analyse and understand the alignment of the EMDP with the Human Resource Development Strategy for the South African pubic service and subsequently suggest proposals for the possible improvement of emerging middle management development. The objectives of the research will be stated in the form of two critical questions:  What are the main directives in the Human Resource Development Strategy for the Public Service regarding management development in general, and the gaps in the design and development of the Emerging Management Development Programme (EMDP) in particular?  How does the design and development of the current EMDP meet the strategic vision for management development as envisioned in the Human Resource Development Strategy for the Public Service? The research methodology applied in this study, is a qualitative research approach. This approach focuses on phenomena that occur in natural settings, i.e. in the real world and involve studying those phenomena in all of their complexity which is used to gather data. This data is preserved in descriptive narratives. A qualitative research approach also uses mainly the constructivist-interpretive perspective. The key finding is that as much as the EMDP is comprehensive, it is however not yet aligned with the Human Resource Development Strategy of the South African Public Service. The recommendation is that the conversion of the objectives of HRDS-SA into the learning outcomes of the EMDP in order to provide a framework for a comprehensive base of competencies that inform the curriculation of the EMDP is important. This will ensure that the learners are able to benefit from a multitude of skills development activities in the programme and, in so doing, render them more purposeful to improve their impact on the skills challenges of the country. / Public Administration and Management / M. Tech. (Public management)

This item contains the agenda, minutes, and attachments for the Faculty Senate meeting on this date. There may be additional materials from the meeting available at the Faculty Center. / Minutes originally posted on Dec. 3rd, 2013; correction made to minutes and reposted on Feb. 3rd, 2014.

The focus of this research is to understand the relevance of the Human Resource Development Strategy for the functioning of South African Public Service and its implications for the Emerging Management Development Programme (EMDP). One of the main challenges of the Human Resource Development Strategy (HRDS) is its translation into well designed training programmes that are aligned with the goals and objectives of the strategy. The Emerging Management Development Programme (EMDP) is meant to be the translation and interpretation of the HRDS for public sector training and development on emerging management level. The intention of this study is to evaluate, analyse and understand the alignment of the EMDP with the Human Resource Development Strategy for the South African pubic service and subsequently suggest proposals for the possible improvement of emerging middle management development. The objectives of the research will be stated in the form of two critical questions:  What are the main directives in the Human Resource Development Strategy for the Public Service regarding management development in general, and the gaps in the design and development of the Emerging Management Development Programme (EMDP) in particular?  How does the design and development of the current EMDP meet the strategic vision for management development as envisioned in the Human Resource Development Strategy for the Public Service? The research methodology applied in this study, is a qualitative research approach. This approach focuses on phenomena that occur in natural settings, i.e. in the real world and involve studying those phenomena in all of their complexity which is used to gather data. This data is preserved in descriptive narratives. A qualitative research approach also uses mainly the constructivist-interpretive perspective. The key finding is that as much as the EMDP is comprehensive, it is however not yet aligned with the Human Resource Development Strategy of the South African Public Service. The recommendation is that the conversion of the objectives of HRDS-SA into the learning outcomes of the EMDP in order to provide a framework for a comprehensive base of competencies that inform the curriculation of the EMDP is important. This will ensure that the learners are able to benefit from a multitude of skills development activities in the programme and, in so doing, render them more purposeful to improve their impact on the skills challenges of the country. / Public Administration and Management / M. Tech. (Public management)