Teams have increasingly become the means for completing tasks in many organisations, and organisations have turned to teams as a better way to use employee talents. Many South African companies have established work teams to solve both complex and minor problems, and some companies’ performance has increased due to the implementation of work teams. The fact that organisations are using teams does not necessarily mean they are always effective, there are many factors that contribute to team effectiveness in an organisation, and these factors need to be identified and managed properly so that the team can remain effective and produce the results that are expected. Management of most companies is unaware of the factors that contribute to group and team effectiveness, and most teams are ineffective because of the lack of focus on the factors that improve group and team effectiveness. This is the reason or objective why this study was conducted at Transnet Engineering, to identify the factors that are critical to improving team effectiveness. The researcher conducted a literature review in order to determine the factors that improve group and team effectiveness. Some of the factors deal with organisational culture, motivation (monetary and non-monetary motivation), diversity in teams, size of teams, formulation of teams, team leadership, team goals, team structures, team member training, trust in teams, etc. An empirical study with the use of a questionnaire was also conducted to determine the perceptions that supervisors, superintendents, foremen and managers have at Transnet Engineering with regards to factors that improve group and team effectiveness. The research instrument was grouped into five categories; organisational context, individual context, team context, management support and team effectiveness. More than 50 percent of the respondents agreed with the organisational and individual context factors that were tested, around 75 percent of the respondents agreed with team context factors that were tested, almost 60 percent of respondents agreed with management support factors, and more than 60 percent of respondents indicated that their teams are effective. Although there is general agreement between most factors identified in the literature study and the empirical study, the following will need more focus:  Offering of team resources  Leadership support from executive committee members (EXCO)  Proper reward and recognition systems  Conducting research to identify employee satisfaction levels  Team development  Diversity management  Talent management  Team size

M.Comm. / This study was conducted with the purpose of illustrating the necessity for and complexity of the process identifying the factors that determine and influence organizational success. Organizations are entering a stage in history where change is the only constant. Authors use words like "earthquake", "revolution", "storm", "turbulence", "future shock", "explosion", "frenzy" and "change spiral" in an attempt to begin to describe what lies ahead for organizations of today. There is no escaping change. The cliché saying, "adapt or die", has never been more relevant than it is now. The type and extent of the changes awaiting organizations could mean either tremendous opportunity or tremendous threat. The shaping of an organization's future implies the successful management of the internal change process needed to fit the organization to its changing environments. The factors that will ensure, or at least positively influence, organizational success must be identified and addressed in a proper manner. The factors present themselves in four dimensions, namely the external environment, the internal environment, the people and the management of the organization. The findings of this research confirm the existence of particular factors in these three dimensions which will determine and definitely influence organization success. These factors range from macro economic trends, like the formation of international trading areas, to the micro redesign of individual jobs to liberate the entrepreneurial potential of people. It highlights the importance of the customer as the most important external factor and the employee as the most important internal factor, both of which are human factors without which there is no activity. The management of organizations has always been a key factor. This research employed in this study showed however that there are several new dimensions coming to the fore that managers will have to take cognizance of, since these aspects will increase their chances of being instrumental in attaining success. These include a need for visionary, strategic thinking, not just strategic planning. Leadership skills, rather than management skills, will also be required as well as an ability to rally people behind them. The general management and functional management functions have therefore all changed in their focus and application. Strategic planning must be replaced by a less ritualistic strategic management process that includes all employees. Participative management must be underpinned by co-ownership schemes. Change management and navigation will become core competency requirements. Marketing management must now involve the whole organization. Information technology must be viewed as a means to an end and not an end in itself. Integrated logistic management must be widely introduced. Human resource management must become a professional support function and production management must be integrated with the rest of the business functions and processes.

M.Com. (Business Management) / Many organisations in today’s business environment are failing to achieve their stated strategic objectives. This is largely reported as a failure to effectively execute the planned strategy. Against this backdrop, this dissertation aims to analyse the strategic process followed by a private education provider which operates as a standalone division of a large financial services organisation. The study combines an exploratory literature review with survey research conducted in the subject organisation. A cross sectional survey, which focused on strategy formulation and implementation, was designed and implemented to assess employees’ knowledge and perceptions of the organisation’s internal strategic process. The results of the research revealed high levels of uncertainty surrounding the current strategic objectives, which suggest difficulty on the part of the organisation in effectively realising the intended strategy. A course of action was recommended to rectify this situation, which will serve as the blueprint for further research into the development of a well-rounded generic model for improving the strategic process in an organisation.

M.B.A. / Organisations today face increasing challenges and operate in climates of increasing turbulence, complexity and surprise (Manning, 1998: 27 - 35). Some of the realities that paralyse managers of organisations in these turbulent times are: • Socio-political and economic uncertainties threaten the unwary • Competition is escalating rapidly • The power of many stakeholders is increasing rapidly • Technology is transforming the way products and services are created, delivered and bought The aim of this research is to determine the effective human resource management practices applied by organisations that have sustainable competitive advantage.

Dissertation submitted to the School of Economic & Business Sciences in fulfilment for the requirements of award of the degree: PhD Business Sciences (Human Resources Management) in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand. / Many organisations claim that Human Resources are their critical resource. However, what is most critical is not merely the human resources but how the Human Resources are managed. Human Resource Management is achieved through practices that the firm implements; these give the firm sustained competitive advantage. Many studies have found positive and significant relationship between HR management and firm performance. Previous studies have also studied reverse causality investigating whether organisational performance affects HR management policies and found significant positive relationship implying that it is good performing organisations that can afford adopting HRM practices. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether organisational performance motivates how employees behave at work in the reverse causality in the agricultural manufacturing firms in Malawi. To achieve this purpose a survey design was adopted using quantitative research strategy. Data were collected from a probability sample of 77 managers and 308 employees totalling 385 participants. Descriptive and inferential statistics using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) were used to analyse and test seven hypotheses. The proposed relationships were tested using a number of statistical methods. Adequate reliability was achieved on all measurement scales. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the content and structure of the measured constructs and were confirmed necessary. Reasonable fit was achieved for all the refined measurement models. A Lisrel based SEM was applied to examine whether the model fitted the data obtained from the sample and test the relationships between latent variables. Consistent with previous research; results of SEM revealed that Human Resource Management (HRM) practices are significant correlates of organisational performance. Further results showed positive relationships between business strategy and HRM practices; HRM practices and organisational performance. Significant negative relationship was found between employee attitudes and employee behaviour and employee behaviour and organisational performance. / TL2019

This article examines the appropriateness of applying the South African Excellence Model for Public Service Performance Excellence in developing a strategy for the South African Military Health Service (SAMHS) to enhance Military Health Service delivery and performance excellence. The need for a strategy to improve Military Health Service delivery and performance excellence was theoretically, empirically and practically informed by different strategic imperatives. The production of the White paper on the Transformation of the Public Service by the South African Department of Public Service and Administration highlighted one of the main reasons for undertaking a study of this nature. The White Paper provided a framework to enable public services to develop performance excellence strategies. The results achieved by the application of the South African Excellence ModeI for Public Service Performance Excellence Self-assessment Questionnaire provide potential benefits for the SAMHS to enhance Military Health Service delivery and performance excellence. The Excellence Model identifies SAMHS strengths and areas for improvement based upon well-established internationally accepted theoretical frameworks and recognised criteria for performance excellence. From this study it is inferred that determining Military Health Service performance excellence continues to be a challenge. It became evident that applying the South African Excellence Model for Public Service Performance Excellence as an integrated self-assessment framework within the SAMHS as a public service health care organisation could be the starting point for a regular strategic planning process within the organisation and could ensure continuous improvement in the performance excellence levels of Military Health Service organisations. / Prof. J Uys

Many authors have argued that social capital is positively related to economic prosperity, regional development, collective action, and democratic governance. But it alone can not explain all of these phenomena in societies. The concept of trust can not be neglected in the social capital literature. Considerable confusion exists concerning the relationship between social capital and trust, namely whether trust is a precondition of social capital or a product of it. This paper begins to explore their relationships by tracing the origins and development of the concept of social capital. It then discusses the relationship between social capital and trust by comparing their origins or sources. Finally, these two ideas are placed in organizational context to develop an analytical distinction between trust and social capital while clarifying and exploring the implications of these two primary perspectives on organizational effectiveness. The paper concludes that trust and social capital are mutually reinforcing -- social capital generates trusting relationships that in turn produce social capital. / Master of Public and International Affairs

The relatively new science of complex emergent processes is being applied to many fields including the study of organizations. There are many different models of the organization in current use, each with its own benefits. However, the science of complex emergent processes is able to deal with situations that conventional models have not been able to adequately describe. Wolfram's A New Kind of Science describes a comprehensive conceptual framework and scientific methodology which enables the study of organizations from a new perspective. These techniques create new ways of thinking about organizations and provide new insights into organizational behaviour. A particular class of complex emergent models are the cellular automata (CA). This thesis makes use of very basic cellular automata models described in Wolfram's A New Kind of Science to examine organizational behaviour. These models produce a variety of interesting patterns which can be easily interpreted and which graphically describe various characteristics of organizational behaviour. A variety of common types of organizational behaviour are examined and the organizational cultures which bring these behaviours about are investigated. The usefulness of using this method is considered. These techniques are then used to examine the reconstructing of Iraq in the period from the US led Coalition invasion in 2003 through to mid 2004. Several types of organizational behaviour are examined and the models are then used to examine various potential scenarios concerning the Iraq reconstruction process. The modelling outcomes about the Iraq reconstruction process are found to be comparable with the opinions of subject matter experts. Although limited in scope and only making use of a very limited class of models from all of those available in Wolfram's A New Kind of Science, this thesis demonstrated the usefulness of using such an approach in the understanding of organizational behaviour. The techniques used in this thesis, were able to demonstrate: the complex emergent properties of organizations; how organizational behaviour can be viewed as resulting from the interaction of individuals; the 'phase transitions' between different major classes of organizational behaviour; how different types of organizational behaviour are robust or otherwise to change; and how organizational behaviour forms naturally into certain common types. / Master of Science (Hons)

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2003. / "MBA professional report"--Cover. Thesis advisor(s): Cary Simon, Mary Malina. Includes bibliographical references (p. 39). Also available online.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1987.