The research problem that this study sought to address stemmed from a lack
of knowledge about South African organizations and a dearth of empirical,
quantitative research into organizations, organization structure and
organization climate in this country. Five research hypotheses were
formulated to address this problem and its attendant subpriJblems.
A comprehensive review of the related literature and research was c~trried
out and Organization Theory was traced to its earliest beginnings. A
number of schools hased on Max Weber's bureaucratic ideal type were
described and contrasted. Much attention was paid to the work of the Aston
group m the United Kingdom and to their efforts to operationalize Weberian
concepts and to incorporate them into a replicable body of quantitative
research. Points of departure were re-examined and some new twists to
Systems Theory and Structural Functionalism were considered.
It was established that the demographic characteristics of both the sample
and the population were similar enough for the results of this study to be
generalised to the population with some degree of confidence.
Much care was taken to test and validate each of the scales that comprised
the questionnaire, and item analyses and factor analyses were carried out
for every variable and group of variables. The measures developed in other
parts of the world and by other researchers performed very well in a South
African setting - as did the measures developed specifically for this study.
Statistical associations and causal relationships between the various sets
of variables, both at the sector level and at individual industry subgroup
level, were sought by means of multiple regression analyses. Broad support
was found for a 'culture-free hypothesis' that there are a number of stable
relationships between organizations and their context; and these
relationships will be constant in direction and strength regardless of
differences in structures, or in contexts of structures between societies.
Importantly, there were also a number of significant differences between
this study and the findings of other studies which reflected South Africa's
unique blend of developed and developing cultures and value systems. These
differences provide fertile ground for future research in the field of
Organization Theory. / Business Management / DBL
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/17596 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Raubenheimer, William Henry |
| Contributors | Murphy, J. J. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xvii, 315 leaves) |
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