The purpose of this study was to explore the strategising practices of chartered accountants (CAs) in the South African mining industry. Few studies have dealt with the practical skills CAs employ when they engage in strategising practices and, in particular, a gap could be identified on how CAs engage with strategy tools during strategising. Approximately two thirds of all directors in South Africa are CAs and only 11% of directors who are CAs also hold master‟s degrees in business administration. The question then arises of how do CAs engage with strategy tools during strategising? This study applied key concepts of social practice theory to explore the strategising practices of CAs from a strategy-as-practice perspective. The strategy-as-practice perspective entails studying strategy practitioners within their social constructs. The context of this study was the South African mining industry, a landscape seen as an essential part of the South African economy. An exploratory qualitative research design was applied whereby one-on-one interchanges during individual interviews provided rich, detailed descriptions of how CA strategists use strategy tools when they engage in strategising practices. The social nature of the practices and praxis of strategy practitioners from a strategy-as-practice perspective constantly changes. As such, the current study was conducted from a constructivist paradigm to describe the narrative reality of the strategy practitioners as they engage with strategy tools. The findings of the study portrayed participants as bricoleurs of strategy tools, i.e. craftspeople who adapted and interpreted strategy tools from an accounting perspective to serve the requirements of the situation they face. / Financial Accounting / M. Phil. (Accounting Sciences)

This study set out to explore the strategising practices of middle managers and thereby expand the body of knowledge in terms of middle management practices in strategising in general, and makes an original contribution at the frontiers of middle management practices in a university context in South Africa. Although some research has been done on middle managers and strategy, a knowledge gap still exists, especially regarding strategising in emerging economies, such as South Africa. More specifically, the actions of middle managers at universities are open for exploration. Universities are increasingly exposed to new challenges in a competitive environment due to declining state funding, changing student demographics, new technological developments and increased market pressures. The sustainability of universities is also threatened by changes inside the universities, such as the drive for corporatisation and a changing internal focus. The way universities respond to and pre-empt dealing with these challenges will influence the sustainability and competitiveness of the university and subsequently the nations it serves. However, very little is known about the university managers who are powerful in terms of the administrative systems and decision processes. In order to understand strategy work viii and to know what enables or constrains it, it is necessary to look at middle managers at universities. This research puts forward three main arguments: firstly, strategy is dispersed throughout the entire organisation and includes middle managers’ strategising activities. Secondly, a need exists for practically relevant research founded in the organisational realities. Thirdly, universities present a relevant context within which to study strategising practices. An exploratory qualitative case study was followed to answer the research questions. Findings indicate that university middle managers, who operate within a machine bureaucracy, create systems within systems in order to cope with the organisational demands. Middle managers are mostly responsible for strategy implementation and the support role of university managers is prominent. Findings also indicate that the strategy loses its meaning and in an environment where the strategy textual artefacts and talk are abundant. In such an environment compliance takes precedence over buy-in. Finally, this study identified the enablers of and constraints on the strategy work of university middle managers. This research confirmed that strategy and strategising are human actions and confirmed that knowledge of what people do in relation to the strategies of organisations is required. / Economics / D. Com. (Business Management)

The purpose of this study was to explore the strategising practices of chartered accountants (CAs) in the South African mining industry. Few studies have dealt with the practical skills CAs employ when they engage in strategising practices and, in particular, a gap could be identified on how CAs engage with strategy tools during strategising. Approximately two thirds of all directors in South Africa are CAs and only 11% of directors who are CAs also hold master‟s degrees in business administration. The question then arises of how do CAs engage with strategy tools during strategising? This study applied key concepts of social practice theory to explore the strategising practices of CAs from a strategy-as-practice perspective. The strategy-as-practice perspective entails studying strategy practitioners within their social constructs. The context of this study was the South African mining industry, a landscape seen as an essential part of the South African economy. An exploratory qualitative research design was applied whereby one-on-one interchanges during individual interviews provided rich, detailed descriptions of how CA strategists use strategy tools when they engage in strategising practices. The social nature of the practices and praxis of strategy practitioners from a strategy-as-practice perspective constantly changes. As such, the current study was conducted from a constructivist paradigm to describe the narrative reality of the strategy practitioners as they engage with strategy tools. The findings of the study portrayed participants as bricoleurs of strategy tools, i.e. craftspeople who adapted and interpreted strategy tools from an accounting perspective to serve the requirements of the situation they face. / Financial Accounting / M. Phil. (Accounting Sciences)

The purpose of this study was to explore the strategising practices of sustainability champions at Transnet, a South African state-owned enterprise (SOE). The study set out to discover what these micro-strategising practices were and what strategic outcomes they had for the organisation at the corporate level of strategy praxis. The problem that this research sought to address was the need for greater progress towards corporate sustainability and the lack of research into the role, contributions and practices of sustainability champions in formal sustainability roles within relatively large organisations. This exploration was carried out in the form of a qualitative single-case study which drew on serial interviews (two per participant) and case documentation as sources of evidence. The data were analysed using Applied Thematic Analysis (ATA) in the CAQDAS software Atlas.ti. The study answered the research questions and found that sustainability champions engaged in seven sets of strategising practices with seven corresponding strategic outcomes. While it was not the intention of the study to develop a conceptual model, the process of synthesising the main findings resulted in a model termed the web of sustainable strategising. The study concludes that sustainability champions are strategists who aid their organisation in the pursuit of corporate sustainability while influencing the direction of macro-institutional arrangements towards sustainable development. These results cannot be generalised, but they are transferrable to similar contexts. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

This study set out to explore the strategising practices of middle managers and thereby expand the body of knowledge in terms of middle management practices in strategising in general, and makes an original contribution at the frontiers of middle management practices in a university context in South Africa. Although some research has been done on middle managers and strategy, a knowledge gap still exists, especially regarding strategising in emerging economies, such as South Africa. More specifically, the actions of middle managers at universities are open for exploration. Universities are increasingly exposed to new challenges in a competitive environment due to declining state funding, changing student demographics, new technological developments and increased market pressures. The sustainability of universities is also threatened by changes inside the universities, such as the drive for corporatisation and a changing internal focus. The way universities respond to and pre-empt dealing with these challenges will influence the sustainability and competitiveness of the university and subsequently the nations it serves. However, very little is known about the university managers who are powerful in terms of the administrative systems and decision processes. In order to understand strategy work viii and to know what enables or constrains it, it is necessary to look at middle managers at universities. This research puts forward three main arguments: firstly, strategy is dispersed throughout the entire organisation and includes middle managers’ strategising activities. Secondly, a need exists for practically relevant research founded in the organisational realities. Thirdly, universities present a relevant context within which to study strategising practices. An exploratory qualitative case study was followed to answer the research questions. Findings indicate that university middle managers, who operate within a machine bureaucracy, create systems within systems in order to cope with the organisational demands. Middle managers are mostly responsible for strategy implementation and the support role of university managers is prominent. Findings also indicate that the strategy loses its meaning and in an environment where the strategy textual artefacts and talk are abundant. In such an environment compliance takes precedence over buy-in. Finally, this study identified the enablers of and constraints on the strategy work of university middle managers. This research confirmed that strategy and strategising are human actions and confirmed that knowledge of what people do in relation to the strategies of organisations is required. / Economics / D. Com. (Business Management)

The purpose of this study was to explore how the middle manager implements strategy at a South African government department. This study was conducted in response to the call for more research to be done using the strategy-as-practice perspective to explore the involvement of middle managers in a South African government context with regard to strategy. The current study sought to identify the roles that the middle manager undertakes with regard to strategy implementation, inclusive of the barriers that they face on a daily basis. The study aimed at providing feedback on how the middle managers implement strategy, overcome the barriers they face and some changes that participating middle managers proposed to the current practices in strategy implementation in a government context. A single case study, utilising an exploratory qualitative research design, was undertaken at a government department in South Africa. The data was gathered using semi-structured interviews. The researcher used the interviews to provide rich, detailed descriptions of how strategy is implemented by middle managers. The study portrayed the participating middle managers as playing an integral role as interpreters, communicators and implementers of the strategy within the government context. Findings confirmed that most of the middle managers were not involved in the crafting of the high level strategy of the government department. The participating middle manager fulfilled eight key roles in the implementation of the strategy: leadership role, management role, implementation role, monitoring role, reporting role, supporting role, communication role and information-sharing role. The participating middle managers dealt with many barriers with regard to strategy implementation on a daily basis, such as lack of understanding of government work, monitoring, support, skilled personnel, skill development, funding and information. The participating middle managers were found to be innovative and creative in utilising strategy tools to overcome the barriers they faced. Although these results cannot be generalised but may be transferrable to similar contexts. / Business Management / M. Com (Business Management)

Abstracts in English and Southern Ndebele / “We tend to think of the mind of an organisation residing in the … top management …but… [strategic] intelligence is not organised in a centralised structure but much more like a beehive of small simple components… ” Kevin Kelly, (1994: 166283). From the quote above, it is implied that the strategising practices of, among others, top managers, are the ‘small simple components’ that build towards the overall strategy of an organisation. The overall strategy of any organisation directly influences the performance thereof. As strategists, top managers use their thinking styles to influence the new strategic practices they endorse and those that are discarded, thereby impacting the competitive strategy employed by the organisation and ultimately organisational performance. This study investigated the rapport between the strategising practices used by top managers and their thinking styles. Based on a single illustrative case, this study utilised mixed data obtained from of 33 interviews and 79 questionnaires to describe the possible relationship between thinking styles and strategising practises. The results show that at the case organisation, thinking styles of top managers differ depending on the situation in which they find themselves. A possible relationship between thinking styles and strategising practises, at the case organisation, is further implied. / “Se taele go nagana ge monagano we mokhadlo lo o hlala e tulu, mara lehlelo le go hlaganepha le ga bekwa ge Ndlela le ngore esekhathi, mara kgulu go fana ne lekhaya le tenosi le le le gase bodese le lengane.” Kevin Kelly, (1994:166283). Go leso setsopolwe e tulu, era gore tedlela te go hlela, go leto te khona, baphathi ba se tulu, geto tedo te tengane leto te gase bodese le to te akha lehlelo gemoga le mokhadlo. Lehlelo gemoga le mokhadlo o monye na o monye le dlolela e go etene ge tedo. Jene ge bahleli, baphathi ba setulu ba beregesa tedlela tabo te go nagana, go tshwaetja tedlela te tetsha leto ba te vumelago na leto ba te kganago. Ge go eta jalo te thella lehlelo lelo le phalesanago lelo lele beregeswe mokhadlo, e maphellweni na leso mokhadlo o se yetago. Go bala lokhu, go ete gore go be ne go vesesana e khathe ge tedlela te go hlela leto te beregeswa mbaphathi ba setulu ne Ndlela leyo ba nagana gayo. Go beka nnye ye tedlela leto ba te beregeselego, go beregeswe tedaba leto te phoma go 33 ye bado labo be ba butiswa go kereya leso be ba fona go seva ne mebotiso e 79 leyo e hlalosa nkgonagalo ye go talana e khathe ge mehuda ye go nagana ne ndlela leyo go hlelwa gayo. Mephomela e bonesa gore lapho e mekhadlweni, Ndlela ye go nagana ge baphathi ba setulu e ya phabana go ya ge gore ba te kereya ba se sejamweni se se jane. Nkgonagalo ye bodlelwano e khathe ge Ndlela ye go nagana ne lenaneo le le le ladelwago e tedweni te nhlagano, te beregeselwe. Mave e bohlogwa: Bophathi ba setulu, bakgoni be go hlela, baberegi be go hlela, tedlela leto go hlelwa gato, Ndlela leyo go naganwa gayo; go khetha, mekgwa ye go nagana ge botalo, tedlela te go suga endabeni ennye goya go ennye. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Abstract in English, Afrikaans and Tswana / The study responds to calls for research within wider contexts. In particular, it is positioned within the South African non-profitable sector – non-profitable organisations (NPO) – in social care. The non-profitable sector is also called the Third Sector, and this research adopted the strategy-as-practice perspective to explore the strategy in this sector. The study investigates how managers and leaders of these NPOs strategise to sustain their organisations and services in a changing and demanding environment. The survival of NPOs is affected by a range of constraints linked to personnel, finances, resources, volunteering, and continuous increase in demand for social care. These constraints require managers and leaders of non-profitable organisations to devise strategies and practices to ensure success and sustainability. The findings of this study confirm the need for resilience to survive over the long term. The findings indicate that NPOs need to adapt to the external and internal environments constantly. Leadership drives resilience through governance and maintains services that are fit-for-purpose for the ever-changing needs of the society they serve. Adapting practices should react to changes through training and retraining, meticulous reporting to partners and other financiers, and complying with their governing entities by applicable legal statures and strict financial control. Adapting is amongst the most important practices identified through this study. A leadership style that enables sustainability was specifically highlighted. Through semi-structured interviews, the researcher uncovered strategic practices of longstanding NPOs to identify the strategies that contribute to long-term survival. Leaders in different management positions shared detailed descriptions of their practices, which served as the data for this research. The data provided the opportunity to research the strategy from a practical perspective, and were confirmed by secondary documents. Using the strategy as practice paradigm, the researcher identified strategic practices within drivers of value and found them to be contributing toward sustainability. The strategic practices were then organised in themes and assertions toward the theory of sustainability regarding these service organisations. The practices influence the stages of the organisational life cycle in a collective system of practices, leading to identifying a phase within the life cycle that contributes to resilience and renewal to aid survival and sustainability. Implementation strategies in the organisations provide good governance inclusive of reporting adequately. They also provide good leadership to ensure stable personnel committed to working together as a team and establish a culture of fit-for-purpose in service delivery. Most important is adapting towards resilience in the short term and developing resources to provide financial stability. / Hierdie studie is in reaksie op die oproep om navorsing in breë kontekste onderneem. Dit is in die Suid-Afrikaanse sektor sonder winsoogmerk – organisasies sonder winsoogmerk (OSW’s) – in maatskaplike sorg onderneem. Die sektor sonder winsoogmerk word ook die Derde Sektor genoem. In hierdie navorsing word die strategie-as-praktykperspektief gevolg om strategieë in die sektor te verken. Die strategieë wat bestuurders en leiers van OSW’s formuleer om in ʼn veranderende en veeleisende omgewing hulle organisasies volhoubaar te bedryf en dienste te lewer, word ondersoek. OSW’s het met allerlei beperkings te kampe waaronder ʼn gebrek aan personeel, finansies, hulpbronne en vrywilligers benewens die immergroeiende vraag na maatskaplike sorg. Weens hierdie beperkings moet bestuurders van organisasies sonder winsoogmerk strategieë bedink en bepaalde praktyke toepas sodat hulle organisasies suksesvol en volhoubaar bedryf word. Die bevindings van hierdie studie bevestig die noodsaak van veerkrag om op die duur te oorlewe. Die bevindings laat blyk dat OSW’s hulle voortdurend by die eksterne en interne omgewing moet aanpas. Bestuurders openbaar veerkrag in die wyse waarop hulle hul organisasies bestuur en doelgemaakte dienste volgens die immerveranderende behoeftes van die samelewing lewer. Praktyke moet deur opleiding en heropleiding volgens veranderings aangepas word. Voorts moet noukeurig verslag gedoen word aan vennote en finansiers, en bestuurders moet aan die wet voldoen en streng finansiële bestuur toepas. Aanpasbaarheid is een van die belangrikste praktyke wat in hierdie studie aangetoon word, en nadruk word gelê op ʼn leierskapstyl wat volhoubaarheid vooropstel. Die navorser het halfgestruktureerde onderhoude oor die strategiese praktyke waaraan organisasies hul oorlewing te danke het, met gevestigde OSW’s gevoer. Leiers in verskillende bestuursposte het hulle praktyke uitvoerig beskrywe. Hulle beskrywings was die data vir hierdie studie. Die geldigheid van die data word in verskeie sekondêre dokumente gestaaf. Die bestuurspraktyke is uit ʼn praktiese oogpunt ondersoek. Volgens ʼn praktykparadigma is strategiese praktyke in waardedrywers aangetoon wat op grond van die bevindings tot volhoubaarheid bydra. Daarna is die strategiese praktyke volgens tema en stellings oor die volhoubaarheidsteorie rakende hierdie diensorganisasies gerangskik. Die praktyke beïnvloed die stadia van ʼn organisasie se lewensiklus in ʼn kollektiewe praktykstelsel. Gevolglik kan ʼn stadium in die lewensiklus geïdentifiseer word wat tot veerkrag en vernuwing bydra met die oog op oorlewing en volhoubaarheid. Die strategieë van die organisasies in hierdie studie kom neer op goeie bestuur en behoorlike verslagdoening. Bestuurders openbaar goeie leierskap, die bestendige personeel werk as ʼn span saam, en ʼn kultuur van doelgemaakte dienslewering heers in hierdie organisasies. Afgesien van aanpassing met die oog op veerkrag in die kort termyn, is die aanpassing en ontwikkeling van hulpbronne vir finansiële stabiliteit van die allergrootste belang. / Thutopatlisiso e tsibogela boikuelo jwa gore go nne le dipatlisiso tsa bokao jo bo anameng. Tota tota, thutopatlisiso e theilwe mo lephateng le le sa direng lotseno la Aforikaborwa – ditheo tse di sa direng lotseno (NPO) – mo tlhokomelong ya loago. Lephata le le sa direng lotseno le bidiwa gape Lephata la Boraro, mme patlisiso eno e tsere molemo wa togamaano-jaaka-tiragatso go tlhotlhomisa togamaano mo lephateng leno. Thutopatlisiso e batlisisa ka moo batsamaisi le baeteledipele ba diNPO tseno ba logang maano ka gona go tsweletsa ditheo le ditirelo tsa bona mo tikologong e e fetogang le e e lopang go le gontsi. Go tswelela go nna teng ga diNPO go amiwa ke ditlhaelo di le mmalwa tse di amanang le badiri, ditšhelete, ditlamelo, boithaopo, le go koketsego e e tswelelang pele ya topo ya tlhokomelo ya loago. Ditlhaelo tseno di tlhoka gore batsamaisi le baeteledipele ba ditheo tse di sa direng lotseng ba dire ditogamaano le ditiragatso go netefatsa katlego le go nnela ruri. Diphitlhelelo tsa thutopatlisiso di tlhomamisa botlhokwa jwa kgotlhelelo go tswelela go nna teng mo pakeng e e telele. Diphitlhelelo di supa gore diNPO di tlhoka go nna di itlwaetsa seemo sa kwa ntle le sa ka fa gare. Boeteledipele bo bona kgotlhelelo ka taolo le go tsweletsa ditirelo tse di maleba tsa ditlhokego tse di nnang di fetoga tsa setšhaba se bo se direlang. Ditiragatso di tshwanetse go tsibogela diphetogo ka katiso le katisosešwa, dipegelo tse di matsetseleko go balekane le batlamedi ba bangwe ba ditšhelete, le go obamela ditheo tsa taolo ka melao e e maleba le taolo e e tsepameng ya ditšhelete. Go itlwaetsa seemo go magareng ga ditiragatso tsa botlhokwatlhokwa tse di supilweng mo thutopatlisisong eno. Go sedimositswe thata boeteledipele jo bo kgontshang go nnela leruri. Ka dipotsolotso tse di batlileng di rulagane, mmatlisisi o upolotse ditiragatso tsa togamaano tsa diNPO tse di sa bolong go nna gona go supa ditogamaano tse di tshwaelang mo go tsweleleng go nna teng mo pakeng e e telele. Baeteledipele ba ba mo maemong a a farologaneng a boeteledipele ba neetse ditlhaloso ka botlalo malebana le ditiragatso tsa bona, tseo di dirileng jaaka data ya patlisiso eno. Data e tlametse ka tšhono ya go batlisisa togamaano ka mogopolo wa tiragatso mme e tlhomamisitswe ke dikwalo tse dingwe. Ka tiriso ya togamaano ya molebo wa tiragatso, go supilwe di tiragatso tsa togamaano mo ditsamaising tsa boleng mme go fitlhetswe di tshwaela mo go nneleng leruri. Morago go ne ga rulaganngwa ditiragatso tsa togamaano ka meono le dipolelo go ya kwa tioring ya go tswelela go nna teng malebana le ditheo tseno tsa tirelo. Ditiragatso di tlhotlheletsa magato a sediko sa botshelo jwa setheo mo thulaganyong e e kokoantsweng ya ditiragatso, mme di lebisa kwa goreng go supiwe mo sedikong sa botshelo, legato le le tshwaelang mo kgotlhelelong le ntshwafatsong go thusa go tswelela go nna teng leruri. Go diragadiwa ga ditogamaano tse di fitlhetsweng mo ditheong tsa thutopatlisiso eno di tlamela ka bolaodi jo bo siameng jo bo akaretsang go dira dipegelo ka tolamo. Gape go tlamela ka boeteledipele jo bo siameng go netefatsa gore go nna le badiri ba ba tsepameng e bile ba itlamile go dira mmogo jaaka setlhopha go tlhama setso se se siametseng tlamelo ya ditirelo. Sa botlhokwatlhokwa ke go itlwaetsa kgotlhelelo mo pakeng e e khutshwane le go itlwaetsa le go dira gore go nne le ditlamelo tsa tsepamo ya ditšhelete. / Business Management / Ph. D. (Management Studies)