In today’s upstream oil and gas industry, employees are encouraged to develop digital competencies to support their organisations’ digital transformation initiatives. However, there is limited understanding from the employee viewpoints, of what influences their motivation to support digital workforce transformation in the context of upstream oil and gas companies’ organisational culture. This study proposes the need to comprehend the relationship between organisational culture and employees’ motivation to develop and use digital competencies from the employees’ viewpoints rather than from managers and business leaders only. Building on the digital workforce transformation and employee-driven innovation literature, the aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of employees who are required to develop and use digital competencies in their companies. Specifically, the guiding principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis were adapted in a qualitative approach to explore the employees’ experiences. Data was collected from sixteen employees selected from across four of the five international oil and gas companies in Nigeria. The findings show that three core modalities of the organisational culture (Digital Transformation Messaging & Resource Availability; Leadership and Management Styles; and Employee Mindsets & Change Management Inertia) are important considerations for the motivation of employees to develop and use digital competencies. The findings contribute to understanding the dynamics of employee mindsets regarding digital workforce transformation and highlight the relevance of incorporating employee viewpoints in the planning and implementation of change management initiatives required for digital transformation. Theoretically, the contribution from this study is a demonstration of the use of a qualitative interpretive approach to update the digital workforce transformation body of knowledge.

Studien undersöker anställdas röst ur ett organisationskulturellt perspektiv. Anställdas röst avser den kommunikation som sker när en anställd är missnöjd med sin arbetssituation och vill förbättra sin egen och/eller organisationens välbefinnande. Det är på så vis viktigt för en organisations möjlighet till utveckling, vilket i sin tur är en central del för organisationer i dagens konkurrerande samhälle. Organisationskulturen har en stor inverkan på individers beteenden. Ofta undviker anställda att göra sin röst hörd vilket är ett problem som många inte känner till. Mer kompetens och forskning inom ämnet är därför viktigt. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer med ÅF:s (Ångpanneföreningens) anställda, Carneys abstraktionsstege och Scheins kulturnivåer, undersöker vi hur en organisationskultur kan påverka anställdas röst. Studien utgår från tre frågeställningar där vi genom de två första urskiljer ÅF:s kulturnivåer och genom den sista svarar på hur ÅF:s organisationskultur främjar respektive hämmar anställdas röst. Resultatet visar att kulturnivåerna och deras interrelation indirekt och direkt påverkar anställdas röst. Om de är främjande och/eller hämmande beror på kulturens underliggande element. Kulturelement med positiv koppling till välvilja, prosocialt beteende och utveckling har visat sig vara viktiga främjande faktorer för anställdas röst. Kulturen visar sig även vara en viktig faktor i vad som anses vara tillräckligt relevant information för att göra sin röst hörd. / The study examines employee voice from an organisational cultural perspective. Employee voice refers to the communication that occurs when an employee is dissatisfied with its work situation and wants to improve its own and/or the organisation's wellbeing. Employee voice is important for an organisation's potential for development, which in turn is central for organisations of today's competitive society. The organisational culture has a major impact on individuals' behaviour. Employees often avoid voice, which is a problem that many do not know. More expertise and research in the area is therefore important. Through qualitative interviews with ÅF’s (Ångpanneföreningen) employees, Carney’s abstraction ladder and Schein’s levels of culture, we investigate how an organisational culture influences employee voice. The study is based on three questions, where we through the first two discern ÅF’s cultural levels. The third question answers how ÅF’s organisational culture is promoting and/or inhibiting employee voice. The result shows that the cultural levels and their inter-relationship have indirect and direct effects on employee voice. The effect depends on the culture’s underlying elements. Cultural elements that positively links to kindliness, prosocial behaviour and development, have proven to promote employee voice. The culture also appears to have an effect on what information is considered relevant enough for employee voice.

The general aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality traits and team culture, establish whether this relationship changed over time and determine if there were significant differences between the research groups in their personalities and team cultures from a before to an after assessment. The study was conducted on a sample from the South African Police Services and assessments utilising the Basic Traits Inventory (BTI) and the Team Emotional and Social Intelligence survey (TESI) were analysed at the onset and completion of the participants' training. The results indicated a slight relationship between personality and team culture and significant differences were detected from the before to after phases of the study. The findings of the study contribute to an understanding of personality as amenable to a specific occupational setting and of team culture as a more stable variable, which is established early in the team‟s development. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Research report presented to the Graduate School of Business Leadership, University of South Africa / The main purpose of this research is to investigate the interactive effect of executive leadership national cultures, the organisational culture and Angolan culture at Toyota de Angola.

The aim of the study was to determine whether there is a relationship between organisational culture and occupational health. The General Health Questionnaire and the South African Culture Instruments were used for this purpose. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used for this purpose. The study focused on clarifying the two concepts and their impact on the organisation. The effects of general health factors were determined in the organisation under investigation. The existing organisational culture was also investigated. In conclusion, the assumption that occupational health can have an impact on organisational health, or vice versa, was confirmed. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / MCom (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

In this quantitative study, undertaken in a South African information and communications technology (ICT) company, dimensions of organisational culture (measured by the South African Culture Instrument) were correlated with the dimensions of work engagement (measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Survey), to determine whether employees’ perceptions of organisational culture are related to their levels of work engagement. Structural equation modelling confirmed the factorial model of both measuring instruments, with most fit indices indicating the data to be a good or acceptable fit to the hypothesised model. Correlational analyses revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between each of the dimensions of organisational culture and work engagement respectively. Regression analyses showed that leadership, management processes, and goals and objectives make the strongest statistically unique contribution in predicting the dimensions of work engagement. Since work engagement has been shown to relate to several positive work outcomes, it makes sense for organisations to increase levels of work engagement by improving their organisational culture. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / MCom (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Fraudulent behaviour by management has become a global problem that cuts across cultural and ideological divides. Therefore, given the high incidence and cost of fraud internationally and locally, as well as the fact that stakeholders, including shareholders, governments and non-governmental organisations, are increasing the pressure on organisations to manage unethical behaviour more effectively, it is astonishing that fraud per se has not attracted more research efforts. Enron, WorldCom and Arthur Andersen, among others, have underscored the fact that the current modes which are governing companies are not sufficient to protect investors and public interests, because it is easy for otherwise honest people to be swept along in a climate of corruption. The aim of this study was to propose a model to predict potential risk of management fraud based on the organisational climate of the organisation. An interpretative framework was used to develop a conceptual model. Analytical induction and Lawshe’s content validity ratio were applied to validate the conceptualised model. The conceptual model assumes that there are certain organisational climate factors (determinants and dimensions) within an organisation which could indicate the direction of climate within the organisation. The determinants are leadership style, managerial values, trustworthiness, and organisational values. The following dimensions were identified: level of individual autonomy, reward system of organisation, degree of open communication between employees and management, perceived individual pressure, and fairness and innovation. The conceptual model further assumes that, although employees’ acceptance and/or tolerance of unethical behaviour might be high, not all managers will engage in fraud, as the various aspects of the fraud diamond also impose a form of constraint on the organisation. The level of individual constraint as imposed by the fraud diamond is moderated by an individual’s gender, tenure, education and age, which form part of an individual’s capability and comprise the acquired traits of an individual. Apart from these biographical traits, the model includes personal traits that will also have an impact on an individual’s capability. The limitations, practical implications and recommendations for future research are also discussed. This study, not only augments fraud literature, but also contributes to industrial/organisational psychology by studying individual deviance from an organisational perspective. / Psychology / D. Phil. (Consulting psychology) : illustrated (some colored)

This study is within the field of Industrial and Organisational Psychology. It focuses on the relationship between diversity management and organisational climate dimensions. The literature review indicates that most of the research conducted on these two concepts, diversity management and organisational climate investigated the concept diversity, not diversity management (Cox, 1993; Hicks-Clarke & Hies, 2003). This study specifically explores diversity management in a retail organisation. The empirical component of the study includes confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis and a correlational study investigating the relationship between diversity management and organisational climate. It was found that there is a positive and strong relationship between diversity management and organisational climate. Diversity management seems to correlate highly with the following climate dimensions: policies and procedures, discrimination, gender issues, equality in conditions of employment and employment equity. The results indicate that younger employees have more positive views regarding diversity management, and middle aged employees have less positive views regarding diversity management. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Admin (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Escalation of Commitment (EoC) behaviour occurs when a Decision Making Unit (DMU), such as an individual or group, continues with a course of action despite receiving negative feedback about it. Much research exists, within multiple disciplines, which attempts to explain why DMUs continue with failing courses of action. To date however, there has been very little critical inquiry of such research. Using a historical research approach, this thesis reviews and critically assesses all existing EoC behaviour research and concludes that a number of serious issues exist. These include the use of multiple labels by authors to describe the phenomenon; the considerable uncertainty that exists regarding which DMUs are subject to EoC behaviour; the existence of multiple, concurrent definitions for each ‘theory label’ and important EoC behaviour concepts, such as escalation, DMU, resource, success, failure and commitment, not being adequately defined. It is contended that these and other issues exist primarily because of the scope of the phenomenon and the resultant high quantity and complexity of research; all of which impair research technique. However, independent, pre-existing research technique issues are also proposed as reasons. Ultimately, it is argued that the state of EoC behaviour research is poor. It is considered that the mere recognition of the issues raised in this thesis will assist in the improvement of the research. Yet this aspect in isolation is deemed inadequate. In response, a prescriptive technique is developed which is bifurcated between resolutely defining the important concepts related to EoC behaviour research and creating an ‘integrated framework’ which includes all existing EoC behaviour determinants from all research disciplines. The proposed framework also identifies a number of new potential determinants of EoC behaviour, including the Autoepistemic Sunk Cost Effect (ASCE), the age of the DMU and anthropomorphic revenge motives. It is suggested that these two prescriptive responses will also promote focussed future EoC behaviour research, designated in the thesis as research direction. This thesis contributes to existing knowledge by not only recognising research issues that have not previously been acknowledged but also by prescribing for these issues through a complete concept exploration, coupled with a complete collective framework.

<p>There are voices in the research field suggesting that universities should become learning organisations in order to be more competitive and efficient. However, the proposal is mainly based on theoretical and normative discussions rather than on empirical research. Therefore, this study has explored and reviewed in what way a university organisation has organised its inner life and illuminate in what way its local organisation matches the characteristics of a constructed theoretical model of a learning organisation. The study has furthermore explored in what way the organisational characteristics interact with one another in order to find out whether they support or hinder organisational learning.</p>