Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019 / Municipal firefighters face a number of risks and much stress at work. In the South African context, the quality of work life (QWL) is impacted considerably by high stress levels and work-related demands. Currently, firefighting organisations face serious challenges that hamper the QWL among municipal firefighters. These challenges include physical and mental challenges, and the element of work which negatively affects the job performance among the firefighters. The primary research objective has been to identify the key factors that impact on the QWL of municipal firefighters in the Western Cape, South Africa. In addition, this study explores a common approach for measuring the QWL and determining an effective way to maintain a better work life for the firefighters. The quantitative research method was employed. This study measured and analysed the key factors that had impacted on the QWL of municipal firefighters in the Western Cape, South Africa. A questionnaire was used to collect data from a group of 120 municipal firefighters from the Goodwood Fire Department. This study used the ethical principles of informed consent, the right to privacy and honesty, and confidentiality/anonymity in the research process. The quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings and results provide insight into and guidance to management and employees in a practical way to improve the QWL among municipal firefighters. The fire department should upgrade the QWL of its workers so as to hold them and get its very own vital needs. The fire department should develop and keep up QWL programmes. Support from ranking employees are basic to a useful QWL programme. In addition, unmistakable upper level management contribution is one of the critical factors in the procedure accomplishment.

All countries have their own national culture, with their own norms, beliefs, attitudes, and values. Every organisation in the world also has their own organisational culture, just like any other social group. Because of the increased globalization throughout the world, more companies are becoming multinational corporations. This means that they go through a market entry process when they enter a foreign market. This can lead to their already established organisational culture being affected by the national culture in the foreign country. The effect of national culture on organisations is a well-researched area. However, the research on how the organisational culture is affected by national culture as an organisation goes through international market entry leaves much to be discovered.  The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how, and if the organisational culture of Swedish organisations is affected by national culture when they establish themselves on the United States market. It was also investigated how Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture can aid in the explanation of the potential organisational culture change, and if the index scores of the five dimensions for Sweden and the United States correspond to the differences later indicated by our research. The effect of leadership and market entry strategy on the organisational culture was also investigated. The qualitative data collection in this thesis comes from semi-structured interviews with companies who help Swedish companies in their market entry process, managers of Swedish companies who have established themselves on the United States market, and one human resource manager within a Swedish company which has moved to the United States. This data lays the basis for the results of this study, and we identify themes relevant to the purpose and research question of this study.  The conclusion of this thesis shows that the organisational culture of all the companies we have interviewed has been influenced by national culture to some extent. The factors which are identified to have had the largest impact on the organisational culture of these companies are market entry strategy, leadership, and the newly found themes; culture-carriers and laws and legislation. It is also concluded how Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions within organisational culture are affected by the national culture.  In the conclusion of this thesis, the importance of the cultural knowledge and awareness of the factors which influence organisational culture possessed by managers is emphasised. Practical and theoretical implications are also provided both for organisations and future research.

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in big changes in the working life for everybody. These changes have been extra hard on people with disabilities and individuals within marginalised groups. This group of people are more often hired by non-profit organisations over organisations that seek profit. Two factors that may have affected how organisations have coped with the pandemic is the organisational culture within the organisation as well as their incorporation of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The aim of this study is to examine how an understanding of organisational culture can help explain the actions of a non-profit organisation with a core in corporate social responsibility. Previous research points to the fact that nonprofits have handled the pandemic better than profitable organisations. Work related stress and anxiety, which has increased during the pandemic, can be mitigated by different organisational actions. Through qualitative interviews conducted at one non-profitable organisation in Spain, this study has concluded that a strong organisational culture, where employees are prioritised before profit, might be why the organisation studied in this thesis has been successful concerning crisis management and employee satisfaction.

Thesis(M.Com.(Human Resource Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / The general aim of this study is to determine the relationship between organisational culture, job satisfaction and turnover intention at an institution of higher education in South Africa. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was used in which self- administered questionnaires were utilised to collect data from a convenience sample of 198 participants. The respondents comprised mainly of the academic employees of the institution. Descriptive and inferential statistics including correlation and regression analyses were conducted. The data was collected using three different structured questionnaires. The findings indicated that there is a positive relationship between the dominant organisational culture and job satisfaction. There is a significant negative relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention. This study recommended that every institution should figure out the effective retention strategies which may have the most impact on their employees and find ways to improve employee job satisfaction. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

The fundamental nature of the research question for this study was centred on the functions of internal communication. It was within this context that functionalism as theoretical approach was selected for the study of internal communication within the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) in South Africa. Functionalism’s interest in the structure and function of communication is evident in its major assumption, namely that the phenomenon of mass communication is a system that is a whole consisting of several interrelated and interdependent parts. In addition two related theories, systems theory and classical management theory, were employed as departure for the study. Related literature on internal communication bears evidence that the flow of internal communication differs from one environment to the other. This depends on the type of information that has been communicated and the type of organisation in which the internal communication occurs. Managing employees effectively requires communication and the quality of communication amongst the people that comprise an organisation is a crucial variable in determining organisational success. This requires a common understanding of the role and structure of communication and its functions. Internal communication is the strength of any organisation. Communication scholars such as Verwey and Du Plooy (2003), Kitchen and Daly (2002), Gibson and Hodgetts (1991), Murabe (1990) and numerous others already demonstrated the overwhelming importance of internal communication in today’s business environment. Internal communication creates a platform for participative decision making, employees’ interaction, information sharing, creativity and innovation, as well as an environment that fosters productivity and creates a sense of organisational ownership.A comprehensive internal communication system is required to unambiguously translate the vision, mission and strategic objectives of any organisation into reality. Furthermore effective internal communication has a potential to build and sustain social interaction within the organisation and most importantly to drive a service delivery message to all employees. Effective communication and service delivery have recently become issue of exceptional importance in government departments in South Africa, particularly in government agencies. Factors such as organisational culture and leadership style have an influence on internal communication. Organisational culture defines and describes what the organisation stands for. Leadership is very critical for internal communication as it informs the organisation’s vision. If the leadership is negatively inclined, there is no way in which the internal communication will thrive. It is always advisable to strike a balance between organisational culture, leadership and internal communication. The findings of this study indicate that management and employees of the GCIS perceive the function of internal communication differently; that both management and employees have inadequate general understanding of the communication channels and communication structure within the GCIS and reveal that though there are numerous communication channels available, only few are used and preferred within the GCIS. The selection and the understanding of communication channels within the organisation are critical elements for internal communication. Therefore, the communication department or division should ensure broader consultation with all key stakeholders within the organisation. It is regrettable to have communication channels within the organisation that are not understood by the majority of employees and to discover that out of the twenty that are implemented, only five are mainly used and two preferred by most of the management and the employees. / Dissertation (MPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / hb2013 / Marketing Management / unrestricted

Denna studie belyser hur samspelet mellan ledarskapet och organisationskulturen har påverkat Lean-implementeringen i två företag genom en komparativ fallstudie. Lean har flera definitioner och kan betraktas som ett koncept inom verksamhetsstyrning i syfte att minska slöseri, genom att eliminera icke-värdeskapande aktiviteter inom organisationen. Ett flertal studier poängterar vikten av ledarskapet där forskare menar att det är ledarskapet som formar en organisationskultur som stödjer Lean genom att uppmuntra och skapa förståelse bland medarbetarna. En annan viktig faktor att ta hänsyn till vid införandet av Lean är organisationskulturen eftersom den påverkar hur engagerade medarbetarna är i Lean. Denna studie bygger på en kvalitativ studie vilket var lämpligt att använda då den ger djupgående beskrivning av det valda forskningsproblemet. Vidare har det genomförts semistrukturerade intervjuer, där totalt 14 respondenter från både operativa nivån och ledning-nivån har intervjuats. Resultatet från denna studie visar att både ledarskapet och organisationskulturen har påverkat Lean implementeringen och att det krävs ett samspel mellan dessa faktorer för att få en lyckad Lean-implementering. I företag X kan det konstateras att ledarskapet har varit centralt, där ledarskapet förespråkar Lean men möter ett motstånd från organisationskulturen. Företag Y poängterar å andra sidan vikten av att bygga en kultur som stödjer Lean och menar att detta leder till ett långsiktigt Lean-tänkande. Samspelet mellan ledarskapet och organisationskulturen har varit avgörande för en lyckad Lean-implementering i båda organisationerna då dessa faktorer är ömsesidigt beroende av varandra. / This study emphasizes how the interaction between leadership and organisational culture has influenced Lean-implementation in two companies through a comparative case study. Lean has several definitions and can be considered a concept in business management aimed at reducing waste by eliminating non-value-added activities within the organisation. Several studies highlight the importance of leadership, where researchers argue that it is leadership that shapes a culture that supports Lean by encouraging and creating understanding among employees. Another important factor to consider when implementing Lean is organisational culture because it affects how engaged employees are in Lean. This study is based on a qualitative study, which was appropriate to use as it provides a comprehensive description of the selected research problem. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews have been conducted, where a total of 14 respondents from the operational and management level have been interviewed. The results of this study suggest that both leadership and organisational culture have influenced the Lean-implementation and that there is a need for synergy between these factors to achieve a successful Lean-implementation. In company X, it can be stated that leadership has been central, where leadership advocates for Lean but encounters resistance from the organisational culture. Company Y, on the other hand emphasises the importance of building a culture that supports Lean and argues that this leads to a long-term Lean-thinking. The interaction between leadership and organisational culture has been crucial for successful Lean-implementation in both companies, as these factors are mutually dependent on each other.

Organisational culture is a long debated research field, one that is greatly influential in modern day workspace, possibly deeply affecting organisational performance. This thesis is a case study on Blizzard entertainment from 1997 to 2005, where Blizzard North and Blizzard South, two organisations, existed and worked on some of the company’s most influential games. The authors analysed and inspected the unique culture of each of the organisation, intending to understand the effect of organisational culture on video game development. The analysis is conducted utilising multiple organisational cultural theories and models. Both of the studios' organisational culture is explored in this study and the study aims to show the effect of these organisational cultures in the game development process. The importance of this research lies in studying the connection between organisational culture and the gaming development process. This research is for an audience which takes interest in starting their own company or working in one, people who want to understand how companies work and people who are interested to see different behaviours in different situations. The key findings of this study are about how organisational culture affects different aspects of game development such as design, approaches and relationships between peers.

Thesis (M. Com. (Human Resources Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / This study investigated the relationship between organisational culture and workplace bullying among non-academic staff at a South African University. A quantitative research method was adopted and a sample size of 200 non-academic staff was randomly recruited. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire which consisted of questions from the Negative Acts Questionnaire and the Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The hierarchical culture was found to be the dominant organisational culture and that workplace bullying incidences occurred weekly within the organisation. Regression analysis results showed a significant negative relationship between clan culture and workplace bullying while a positive and significant relationship was established between hierarchical culture and workplace bullying. Conversely, the link between adhocracy and market culture with workplace bullying was found to be insignificant. University top management was recommended to design internal policies with clear reporting procedures to eliminate workplace bullying incidences.

This master thesis explores how sexual harassment is handled and managed in organisations and to what extent bystander intervention is known and seen as a potential prevention mechanism. Ten interviews have been conducted with HR managers and other leading department heads working in private organisations in Germany. The purpose of this thesis was to gather knowledge on how sexual harassment is perceived and dealt with in those organisations under consideration of the concept of organisational culture and its impact. Bystander intervention has been discussed as a potential prevention strategy. Leadership behaviour and dominating power relations have been uncovered as significant impact factors shaping organisational culture and enabling space for sexually harassing behaviour to happen. Based on the findings this thesis offers implications for transforming organisations towards becoming more gender equal in the future such as creating awareness and enabling spaces to talk about it openly and educating people on forms and harms of sexual harassment as well as possibilities to act as a bystander.

There are increasing demands on businesses to take responsibility for sustainability, which raises the issue of how companies practically implement sustainability into their everyday operations. Previous research has indicated a need for further studies of the implementation of sustainability considering the application of organisational change and influential factors of leadership and organisational culture on the change process. However, studies of sustainability implementation in organisations have previously focused on either large and multi-national companies or studies of small enterprises. The aim of this study is to explore the organisational change process of sustainability implementation, and the influence of organisational culture and leadership, in ten medium sized companies in Sweden. The study employs a qualitative methodology using semi-structured interviews with multiple sustainability leaders to gather their perspectives on the change process of implementing sustainability. Thematic content analysis and a theoretical framework adapted from Kotter’s theory of organisational change, integrated with Schein’s three levels of organisational culture and a systems leadership perspective is used for analysis. Key findings indicate that the change process of implementing sustainability is continuous and includes an initial process of converting external demands to internal need and urgency within the company. The change process needs to be continually supported by top management and fostered through trust building as well as continually anchored in cultural values and identities. Based on the findings of the study, a model is developed for analysing the sustainability implementation process in medium sized companies through organisational change with culture and leadership.