Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It is normally very difficult for an entrepreneur to start a new business. One of the most difficult things is to raise capital from financial institutions or venture capitalists. This mini study project shows the importance of a well thought-through business plan. The business plan not only concentrates on the positives, but will also indicate the risks involved. This will show financial institutions that the entrepreneur is serious about his idea and positive about its chances for success. In the business plan a lot of emphasis are put on the importance of a successful marketing plan. The marketing plan will determine the success of a new business. It is however very important not to loose site of the importance of a very thorough financial and economic review. There will always be risks involved in starting a new business. Entrepreneurship is all about risk-taking by individuals willing to pioneer new paradigms. A successful business plan will however remove some of the risk and make it more attractive to financial institutions. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Dit is normaalweg baie moeilik vir 'n entrepreneur on 'n nuwe besigheid te begin. Een van die struikelblokke is die verkryging van kapitaal by finansiële instansies. Hierdie mini werkstuk wys die belangrikheid van 'n wel deurdagte besigheidsplan. Die besigheidsplan konsentreer nie net op die positiewe punte nie, maar wys ook alle risiko's betrokke. Dit wys aan finansiële instansies dat die entrepreneur ernstig is oor sy idee en die kanse vir sukses. In die besigheidsplan word daar baie klem gelê op die belangrikheid van 'n suksesvolle bemarkingsplan. Die bemarkingsplan sal die sukses van die besigheid bepaal. Dit is egter baie belangrik om nie die belangrikheid van 'n volledige finansiële en ekonomiese ondersoek te vergeet nie. Daar sal altyd risiko's betrokke wees by die begin van 'n nuwe besigheid. Entrepeneurskap in essensie is die neem van risiko's deur individue wat bereid is om nuwe paradigmas te ontwikkel.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The idea of deliberately planning and measuring the work of congregations does not settle easily with many church leaders and theologians. This study suggests that churches are becoming increasingly socially ineffective because they do not understand and apply scientific management knowledge and methods. Strongly held ideologies and dichotomies characterise the milieu of this topic. There remains a very real social problem concerning the role of churches. That is what this study has based its relevance on. The study is encouragingly supported by its finding that 90% of church leaders surveyed, disagreed with the notion that the church has no responsibility to society at large for its actions. 92% of respondents further agreed that the role of the church is the well-being and upliftment of its communities and not just to create converts. This study presents evidence that questions the success claims of the Church Growth body of knowledge. Evangelism world-wide has recently experienced the most extraordinary acceleration in the number of conversions in the history of the Church, but research in the countries where this phenomenon has been more prevalent, has found little equivalent growth in church membership. The work of researchers in the USA has repeatedly drawn attention to the alarming levels of "unchurched" Christians and the falling away of Pentecostal churches. This study confirms the trend in South Africa and reveals our unchurched level to be 53%. Analysis of congregational development interventions attempted by the sample reveals an almost three times greater success rate reported by churches that did not apply the church growth principles or combined them with management methods. The aim is to present explanations and solutions for the difficulties churches are having both in the areas of managing their own development and in retaining committed members for a nobler purpose than to laud their size over smaller, but possibly more caring and socially effective churches. An objective of this study is to present existing knowledge and methods from the field of management science as a conceptual framework for systematically fitting disconnected elements of contemporary Church Growth Theory into a holistic and integrated development approach that goes deeper than a mere mechanistic extrapolation of theoretical ideas and praxis from one context into another. The survey found a 74% support base from the South African church leaders surveyed for a synthesis of the best of both Church Growth and business management methods in fulfilment of its mission. The most compelling finding that this research contributes to social knowledge, however, is that local churches found to have reported significantly more externally focused growth such as evangelism, community work and church planting, applied strategic thinking, formal planning and management methods to their development without compromising the Gospel message that the Church is called bring to society. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie beweer dat kerke word meer sosiaal oneffektief omdat hulle nie wetenskaplike bestuurskennis verstaan en metodiek toepas nie. Dit is waarop hierdie studie se relevansie gebaseer is. Die studie is bemoedigend ondersteun deur die bevinding dat 90% van die kerkleiers wat aan die ondersoek deelgeneem het, nie met die mening saamstem dat die kerk geen verantwoordelikheid teenoor die gemeenskap in sy geheel het en daartoe bydra nie. 92% van die respondente het ook saamgestem dat die rol van die kerk is om by te dra tot die opheffing en welgesteldheid van die gemeenskap, en nie net om bekeerlinge te skep nie. Hierdie studie lewer bewys wat die sukses-aansprake van die Kerkgroei Beweging teenspreek. Wereldwye evangelasie het onlangs 'n buitengewone versnelling ondervind in die aantaI bekeerlinge in die geskiedenis van die kerk, maar navorsing toon dat in die lande waar hierdie verskynsel die sterkste voorgekom het, baie min ekwivalente groei in kerklidrnaatskap plaasgevind het. Hierdie studie bevestig die tendens in Suid Afrika en wys dat ons vlak van ongekerktes op 53% staan. Ontleding van die gemeente se ontwikkellings-intervensies wat deur die kerke in die proefskrif onderneem is, wys dat kerke wat nie kerkgroei beginsels toegepas het nie, of hierdie met bestuursmetodes kombineer, amper drie maal groter sukses behaal het. Die doeI is om verduidelikings en oplossings aan te bied vir die probleme wat kerke in beide die areas om hul eie ontwikkeling te bestuur asook die toegewyde lede te behou vir 'n meer eerbare doel as om af te kyk op kleiner, maar moontlik meer sorgsame en sosiaaI effektiewe kerke. 'n Doel van hierdie studie is om bestaande kennis en metodes in die bestuurswetenskappe as 'n konseptuele raamwerk aan te bied vir die sistematiese passing van ontwrigtende elemente van kontemporere Kerkgroei Teorie binne 'n holistiese en geintegreerde ontwikkelingsbenadering wat dieper gaan as sIegs die meganistiese ekstrapolering van teoretiese idees en praktyk van een konteks na 'n ander. Die navorsing het 'n ondersteuningsbasis van 74% bevind onder die Suid Afrikaanse kerkleiers wat aan die ondersoek deeIgeneem het, vir 'n sintese van die beste van beide kerkgroei en besigheidsbestuursmetodes in vervulling van die kerk se missie. Die mees afdwingbare bevinding wat hierdie navorsing bydra tot sosiale kennis is egter dat plaaslike kerke wat aansienlik meer in eksterne areas van evangelasie, gemeenskapwerk en kerkplanting groei, het toegepaste strategiese denke, formele beplanning en bestuursmetodes aangewend sonder om die Evangeliese boodskap waarvoor die kerk geroepe is om aan die gemeenskap te bring, te kompromitteer.

Study project (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The exponential growth of the Internet in the 1990's has seen the advent of buying and selling products and services over the Internet. While buying and selling over the Internet has grown dramatically, so has been the failure of ventures that were started to sell goods or services over the Internet. To make sense of the confusion, the challenge is to assess the strategic thinking behind business on the Internet, and to examine how a successful implementation of e-business could be related to the classic strategic analysis tools of Michael Porter. To make the study more relevant to the South African situation, the main objective of the study is to arrive at a practicai set of guidelines that managers of South African companies can use to assess the strategic impact of e-business on their company. To realise the main objective, and to arrive at a sound theoretical background to the research problem, a literature study presents the worldwide view of researchers regarding the strategic impacts of e-business. The findings are as follows: • E-business leads to more intense competition. As more transactions take place electronically, transaction costs as well as profits are expected to decrease. As a result of decreased margins, higher levels of market competition can ultimately lead to cost cutting strategies and the need for increased production efficiency. • E-business allows companies to save communication cost and to improve the efficiency of the value chain. This impacts the relationship with suppliers and customers, and cost savings are found especially in procurement, distribution and seiling. • Improved linkages in the value chain can result in cooperative, long-term relations, ana ultimately strategic relationships, integrated processes and outsourcing. The role of intermediaries is redefined as a result, towards the areas of matching, facilitation and regulatory functions. An empirical field investigation is conducted, where the competitive forces and value chain modeis are quantified as a set of ordinai levei attributes. Based on the literature study, the impact of e-business is then defined as a set of expected changes to the attributes of the two models. A survey questionnaire is designed, where respondents indicate the impact of e-business on their company as a set of increases and decreases to the constituents of the five forces and value chain models. Finally, responses to the survey are compared with predicted values to determine the impact of e-business on South African companies. Empirical research reveals that industry attractiveness is not materially affected by ebusiness: Surprisingly, the threat of new entrants is decreased, and the bargaining power of buyers can be also be reduced in certain conditions, but other competitive forces yieid no positive result. The rules of competition are therefore not impacted to the extent that there are new sources of competitive advantage, although the overall result is more favourable than expected. Systematic increases to the value add and outsourcing of value chain activities, on the other hand, show that e-business can enhance the eXisting competitive advantage of a business by improving process efficiency and reducing communication costs. The results of the empirical research are used to provide some practical conclusions and recommendations. In brief, e-business should be seen as a channel that enhances an existing offering, and not as a new source of competitive advantage. From an operational perspective, e-business can make processes more efficient, and reduce communication, information gathering as well as transaction costs. Rapid feedback and real-time information can increase the rate of innovation and differentiate services, especially through partner networks. Keywords: E-business, Internet, strategy, information, technology, competition, competitive forces, value chain. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die eksponensiële groeitempo van die Internet in die 1990's het die koop en verkoop van produkte én dienste op die Internet meegebring. Terwyl handelop die Internet dramaties toegeneem het, het die hoeveelheid mislukte besighede ooreenkomstig gestyg. Ten einde sin te maak van dié verwarrende prentjie, is die uitdaging om die strategiese denke onderliggend aan besigheid op die Internet the bepaal, en dan af te lei hoe die implementering van 'n suksesvolle e-besigheid verband hou met die klassieke strategiese analise-modelle van Michael Porter. Om die studie meer van toepassing op Suid Afrika te maak, sal die hoofdoel wees om praktiese riglyne te vind wat Suid-Afrikaanse bestuurders in staat sal stelom die strategiese impak van ebesigheid op hulle onderskeie maatskappye te bepaal. Ten einde die hoofdoel te verwesenlik, en om 'n grondige teorietiese raamwerk vir die navorsingsprobleem te bewerkstellig, word die werk van navorsers regoor die wêreld in 'n literatuurstudie aangebied om 'n algemene indruk te kry van waar ebesigheid die aard van kompetisie sal beïnvloed. Die bevindinge is soos volg: • E-besigheid lei to verhoogde kompetisie. Soos meer transaksies elektronies plaasvind, word verwag dat transaksiekoste sowel as winste sal afneem. Laer winsgrense kan lei tot hoër vlakke van mededinging, wat uiteindelik strategieë van kostebesnyding en verhoogde effektiwiteit tot gevolg kan hê. • E-besigheid stel maatskappye in staat om op kommunikasiekoste te bespaar, en om die effektiwiteit van die waardeketting te verhoog. Dit lei tot nuwe verhoudings met verskaffers en kliënte, en uiteindelik tot kostebesparings veral in aankope, verspreiding en verkope. • Verbeterde koppelings in die waardeketting kan samewerking en langermyn besigheidsverhoudings tot gevolg hê, en gevolglik tot strategiese verhoudings, geïntegreerde prosesse, sowel as ontbondeling van sekere besigheidsaktiwiteite lei. Die rol van tussengangers word as gevolg hiervan herdefinieer, en beweeg stelselmatig daarna om bloot kopers en verkopers te verbind, sowel as om fasilitering en regulatoriese funksies te vervul. 'n Empiriese veldondersoek word uitgevoer, waar die kompeterende kragte en waardekettingmodelle gekwantifiseer word as 'n stelordinale elemente. Gebaseer op die literatuurstudie, word die impak van e-besigheid dan gedefinieer as 'n stel verwagte veranderinge in die elemente wat die twee modelle verteenwoordig. 'n gestruktureerde vraelys word daaruit ontwerp, waar respondente die impak van ebesigheid op hulle maatskappye aandui as 'n stel verhogings en verlagings van die elemente van die kompeterende kragte en waardekettingmodelle. Die uiteinde is 'n statistiese vergelyking van die antwoorde op die vraelys met die verstekwaardes aangedui deur die werke in die literatuurstudie, wat dan gebruik word om die impak van e-besigheid op Suid-Afrikaanse maatskappye te bepaal. Empiriese navorsing dui aan dat die aantreklikheid van 'n industrie nie veel beïnvloed word deur e-besigheid nie. Verbasend genoeg word die bedreiging van nuwe kompeteerders verlaag, en in sekere gevalle kan die onderhandelingskrag van kopers ook verlaag word, maar die oorblywende kragte lewer nie 'n positiewe resultaat nie. Die reëls van kompetisie word dus nie tot die mate beïnvloed dat daar geheel en al nuwe vorme van kompeterende voordeelonstaan nie, hoewel die algehele uitkoms meer positief is as wat in die literatuurstudie aangedui is. Sistematiese verhogings in beide die waardetoevoeging en ontbondeling van waardeketting-aktiwiteite, aan die ander kant, dui aan dat e-besigheid die bestaande kompeterende voordeel van 'n maatskappy kan verhoog deur die effektiwiteit van prosesse te verhoog en kommunikasiekoste te verlaag. Die voorafgaande empiriese resultate word gebruik om sekere praktiese gevolgtrekkings en aanbevelings te maak. Kortliks behoort e-besigheid gesien te word as 'n nuwe kanaal wat 'n bestaande produk kan verstewig, en nie as 'n totaal nuwe bron van kompeterende voordeel nie. Operasioneel kan e-besigheid prosesse meer effektief maak, en ook kommunikasie, inligtinginsamelings- en transaksiekoste verlaag. Vinnige terugvoer, sowel as oombliklike toegang tot inligting, kan die innoveringstempo verhoog en dienste differensieer, veral deur 'n netwerk van vennote. Sleutelterme: E-besigheid, Internet, strategie, inligting, tegnologie, kompetisie, kompeterende kragte, waardeketting.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: With each passing year and the intensification of competition, strategic management becomes more important. In an ever-changing business environment, management, and especially strategic management, becomes increasingly crucial. This empirical study attempts to conduct a literature study of strategic management in order to develop a strategic planning model. A simplified model is proposed as a framework on which a practical application can be made. Boland PKS, a division of the Board of Executors, has been elected as the organisation to whose strategic management the model will be applied. Boland PKS will be applied to the model in an effort to accept or reject the following statement of the problem: The author is of the opinion that strategic planning is not being applied in Boland PKS. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Jaarliks toenemende kompetisie maak strategiese bestuur toenemend belangrik in hedendaagse besigheid. In 'n snel-veranderende wêreld word bestuur, en veral strategiese bestuur, kardinaal. Hierdie empiriese studie poog om 'n literatuur studie in strategiese bestuur te doen ten einde 'n strategiese beplanningsmodel te ontwikkel. 'n Eenvoudige model word dan voorgestel as 'n verwysingsraamwerk vir die praktiese toepassing van die model. Boland PKS, 'n afdeling van die "Board of Executors", is gekies as die organisasie waarop die model toegepas sal word. Die model sal op Boland PKS toegepas word in a poging om die volgende probleemstelling te aanvaar of te verwerp: " Die skrywer is van mening dat Boland PKS nie strategiese beplanning toepas nie."

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Strategic management and planning is essential to local government. It provides the framework against which the quality of life of the community and economic development are supported by local government. The strategic plan is the framework used to determine whether local government supports the National Government's objectives in respect of the Reconstruction and Development Program and complies with the requirements of the legislation in respect of local government. The purpose of the research is a critical evaluation of the Port Elizabeth Municipality (PEM) strategic planning process. The aim is firstly to determine whether the PEM Strategic Plan is in compliance with the requirements of the Integrated Development Plan as prescribed by legislation, and secondly to determine whether both the PEM strategic planning process and the integrated development planning process are in compliance with the academic literature requirements of the conventional strategic planning process. The evaluation results in the formulation of conclusions and recommendations in respect of deficiencies that affect the success or failure of the PEM Strategic Plan. The research demonstrates that the determination of meaningful strategies in order to satisfy a specific objective is critical for the successful implementation of the PEM Strategic Plan. The deficiencies that were identified during the implementation phase of the PEM Strategic Plan, confirm the necessity of having in place an appropriate organisational structure and culture that supports the strategies. The research also indicates the necessity of having frequent and thorough communication of implementation results, human resource management and the buy-in and acceptance of the strategic process by motivated staff in order to promote the achievement of the vision and the mission statement of PEM. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Strategiese bestuur en beplanning is van kardinale belang vir plaaslike owerhede. Dit verskaf die raamwerk waarvolgens die lewensgehalte van die gemeenskap verhoog en ekonomiese ontwikkeling deur die plaaslike owerheidsektor bevorder word. Die strategiese plan dien as die metingsraamwerk waarvolgens bepaal word of plaaslike owerhede die doelwitte van die nasionale regering se Heropbou en Ontwikkelingsprogram ondersteun en aan die vereistes van die wetgewing, wat daarop van toepassing is, voldoen. Die doel van die navorsing is 'n kritiese evaluasie van die Port Elizabeth Munisipaliteit (PEM) strategiese beplanningsproses. Eerstens word bepaal of die PEM Strategiese Plan voldoen aan die vereistes van die Geintegreerde Ontwikkelingsplan soos wat deur die " wetgewing voorgeskryf word, en tweedens of beide die PEM strategiese beplanningsproses en die geintegreerde ontwikkelingsbeplanningsprosesse voldoen aan die akademiese vereistes verbonde aan die konvensionele strategiese beplanningsproses. Die evaluasie lei tot die maak van gevolgtrekkings en aanbevelings ten opsigte van die leemtes en probleme wat die sukses of mislukking van die PEM Strategiese Plan beinvloed. Die navorsing toon dat die bepaling van verstaanbare strategiee, ten einde 'n spesifieke doelwit te bereik, van uiterste belang is vir die suksesvolle implementering van die PEM Strategiese Plan. Die probleme wat tydens die implementering van die PEM Strategiese Plan gei'dentifiseer is, bevestig die noodsaaklikheid van die daarstelling van 'n toepaslike organisasiestruktuur en -kultuur wat die geformuleerde strategiee behoorlik kan ondersteun. Die navorsing dui ook aan die noodsaaklikheid van gereelde en behoorlike kommunikasie van implementeringsresultate, menslike hulpbronbestuur en die inkoop van gemotiveerde personeel tot die strategiese proses ten einde die suksesvolle bereiking van die visie en die missiestelling van PEM te bevorder.

This study focused on the possible determinants of operational efficiency at the University of Venda, which was premised on the extent to which stakeholders are involved in the strategic planning of the institution. The aim of the study was to establish the stakeholders’ involvement in the strategic planning of the University of Venda. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data during August and October 2011. The study was conducted at the University of Venda, Vhembe District in the Limpopo Province. A non-probability sampling procedure was used to select respondents. The results revealed that whilst the stakeholders seem to be involved in the process of the strategic planning, the extent of stakeholders’ involvement has largely remained contentious. The results further indicate that not all stakeholders are involved in the strategic planning process at the University of Venda. Although stakeholders are invited to participate, the process of strategic planning is absolutely dominated by the management cadre, reducing the rest participants into the doldrums. Those who are directly affected by the strategic plan are least involved in the process of the planning. Because of the lack of involvement and communication regarding the strategic planning process, the findings reveal that the majority of stakeholders were de-motivated in that regard, culminating in their lack-lustre approach towards the implementation of the orchestrated plan. The resultant lack of buy-in by the affected stakeholders, essentially the internal stakeholders (staff members and the student community), eventually hamper the actualisation of the targeted goals of the strategic plans. These results suggest that the strategic plan review should be an on-going process in order to update and involve the university community of the strategic planning processes. Proper feedback and communication on strategic planning processes should be implemented. More importantly, the stakeholders’ involvement and consultation on the strategic planning should be galvanized, since most of the staff members and students seem to be unaware of the strategic planning process at the University of Venda, let alone its contents and aspirations. / Business Management / M. Tech.(Business Administration)

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2006 133, [5] leaves / Project Management is the wave of the future. This discipline and its evolution continues to be one of the principal means by which operational and strategic changes are managed in the enterprise. The importance of Project Management for organisational success will expand, rather than wane, in years to come. Projects, particularly large scale complex ones with multiple stakeholders, are failing at alarming rates despite a wide spectrum of efforts to solve the problem. The lack of meaningful results and outcomes is due, in part, to the fact that organizations tend to operate on a set of unproven assumptions concerning project objectives, business requirements, user expectations, motivations, agendas, schedules, costs and time frames. The management dilemma is that Transnet has committed R 65 billion to projects in the hope of developing its core businesses to that of world-class standards as a logistics service provider in South Africa. Transnet’s capital project division, Protekon, is responsible for managing the projects committed to this R 65bn capital expenditure. Transnet’s perception of Protekon’s failure to successfully deliver projects could result in appointments of external consultancies such as Hatch McDougal and Guba (HMG – an engineering consultant firm). Whereas, previously, Protekon was the monopoly service provider of engineering and project management skills within Transnet, Transnet’s sub-divisions appear to be utilizing outside consultancies more frequently. The reason for procuring engineering and consultancy services external to Transnet, among others, is the perception that Protekon is performing poorly in delivering successful projects. The outsourcing of work, fuelled by the negative perception of Protekon’s performance, directly impacts on the profitability of Protekon in the short to medium term. The objective of this dissertation was firstly to investigate the effect of Protekon’s involvement in Transnet’s project success; and secondly, to recommend strategies to improve the rate of project success, that could be applied within Transnet and Protekon. / M

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2001 / Refer to ducument

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2006 133, [5] leaves / Project Management is the wave of the future. This discipline and its evolution continues to be one of the principal means by which operational and strategic changes are managed in the enterprise. The importance of Project Management for organisational success will expand, rather than wane, in years to come. Projects, particularly large scale complex ones with multiple stakeholders, are failing at alarming rates despite a wide spectrum of efforts to solve the problem. The lack of meaningful results and outcomes is due, in part, to the fact that organizations tend to operate on a set of unproven assumptions concerning project objectives, business requirements, user expectations, motivations, agendas, schedules, costs and time frames. The management dilemma is that Transnet has committed R 65 billion to projects in the hope of developing its core businesses to that of world-class standards as a logistics service provider in South Africa. Transnet’s capital project division, Protekon, is responsible for managing the projects committed to this R 65bn capital expenditure. Transnet’s perception of Protekon’s failure to successfully deliver projects could result in appointments of external consultancies such as Hatch McDougal and Guba (HMG – an engineering consultant firm). Whereas, previously, Protekon was the monopoly service provider of engineering and project management skills within Transnet, Transnet’s sub-divisions appear to be utilizing outside consultancies more frequently. The reason for procuring engineering and consultancy services external to Transnet, among others, is the perception that Protekon is performing poorly in delivering successful projects. The outsourcing of work, fuelled by the negative perception of Protekon’s performance, directly impacts on the profitability of Protekon in the short to medium term. The objective of this dissertation was firstly to investigate the effect of Protekon’s involvement in Transnet’s project success; and secondly, to recommend strategies to improve the rate of project success, that could be applied within Transnet and Protekon.

The aim of this research was to develop a substantive grounded theory describing the process of change and the management of organizational inertia, or resistance to change, by strategic leaders transitioning churches from a programme-based to a cell-based model. The grounded theory was developed using the conventions of the Straussian version of the grounded theory method, and relying largely upon the collection of incidents through interviews with leaders of churches that embarked upon the cell-church transition. In all, 38 interviews were conducted with leaders of churches representing a range of denominations located in a number of provinces in South Africa. Based on the premise that substantive theories are contextually bound rather than context free, the contextual characteristics of this study are highlighted. Drawing from organizational theory, it is recognised that churches can be conceptualised as solidary organizations, normative organizations, congregations and voluntary organizations or associations. Viewing churches as solidary organizations highlights the role of solidary rewards in the change process, while viewing them as congregations, emphasises their religious character. Furthermore, the context of the study is embedded in the nature of the specific type of change being embarked upon, as represented by the cell-church transition. Drawing on concepts derived from the change management literature, the type of change I investigated, I classified as intangible, episodic, teleological, second-order change, highlighting the importance of social interaction. The grounded theory that was constructed describes the phases of the change process, and how the actions of leaders interact with the sense of community of the church. Three effective patterns of leadership were identified (i.e. the freewheeler, the focused-pioneer and the reflexive-accommodator) along with their ineffective counterparts (i.e. the static non-leader, the rigid combatant and the popular people pleaser). It was argued that effective leadership involves balancing the three effective patterns over time, and that a failure to achieve this balance produced an ineffective pattern. Furthermore, ineffective leadership damaged the credibility of leaders, as their actions harmed the sense of community. A loss of credibility compromised the leader’s ability to lead change. A number of approaches to understanding organizational inertia or resistance to change were examined in an attempt to locate the grounded theory in the literature and to use the literature to shed light on the findings of this study. While this literature did provide some useful insights and confirmations, no single theoretical perspective seemed to supply a comprehensive explanation. Instead, social capital theory offered a more encompassing explanation, and as such, showed much promise as a body of literature that can be used to develop an understanding of organizational change. Finally, recommendations are made for future research and the value of this research is discussed.