Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The 21st century is marked by unprecedented changes in technology, political and
economic systems, and societal demands, that call for leadership that can develop
an organisation's human capacity, structure and functions to perform effectively in a
highly dynamic environment. Ever more organisations are required to combine
operational effectiveness with strategic flexibility, and organisations with hierarchies,
bureaucracies, and many levels of review and approval seem to be incapable of fast
response to the new business needs. Information technology (IT) offers additional
variables that, when combined with considerations of structure, people, and tasks,
can help design more responsive organisations. However, few organisational
leaders know how to correct the situation when their organisations are not working
well.
This study presents IT as the greatest driver of organisational and societal change.
Information technology can support different forms of organisational design to cope
with the increasing complexity and conflicting demands of today's dynamic business
environment. The onus is on management to align the organisational structure with
its strategy to improve organisational performance. However, organisations and
workplaces differ, and consequently their appropriate work organisation technologies
differ.
The changes in IT and market structures have shifted the competition from a single
organisation to a network scope, resulting in a need for new organisational strategies
and structures. Traditional forms of organisation are often deemed inefficient, but
this research suggests that leaders should be willing to learn from the past, such as
the nature of control issues in work, the importance of infrastructure and design, and
that both traditional and new forms are necessary to adapt to the conflicting demands
of today's business environment. Most organisations today are still hierarchical with
some form of top-down structure, but it remains essential that some people are
leaders and others are followers to prevent anarchy in an organisation. Simply
eliminating hierarchical structures does not result in more responsive organisations,
and thus "healthy hierarchies" should be designed to allow flexibility within a
hierarchical structure. Emerging concepts and models of organisation thus rarely completely replace earlier ones, but instead try to create a richer context within which
to reinterpret the earlier concepts and their role in a broader, more complex
framework.
Organisations cannot be represented as "pure" forms, but should be seen as
dynamic systems that consist out of clusters of segments, where each segment can
be represented as a pure form of organisation. Organisations should be able to gain
a competitive advantage if management is able to combine difficult-to-combine
attributes, and to design an organisation with different forms to face internal and
external challenges.
A framework is presented to help practitioners to design or redesign their
organisations according to best practices. The framework incorporates the influence
of IT on the business environment and the organisation, the concept of a "healthy"
hierarchy, the commitment of the key stakeholders to organisational change, and
tests to design an organisation according to four fit drivers (product-market
strategies, corporate strategy, people, and constraints) and five good design
principles. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die 21ste eeu is gekenmerk deur ongekende veranderinge in tegnologie, politiese en
ekonomiese stelsels, en sosiale eise. Leiers moet dus 'n organisasie se menslike
kapasiteit, struktuur en funksies kan ontwikkel om effektief in 'n hoogs dinamiese
omgewing te kan opereer. AI hoe meer organisasies word vereis om operasionele
effektiewiteit met strategiese buigsaamheid te kombineer, en organisasies met
hierargieë, burokrasieë, en baie vlakke van hersiening en goedkeuring blyk nie in
staat te wees om vinnig te reageer op die nuwe besigheidsvereistes nie. Informasie
tegnologie (IT) bied addisionele veranderlikes wat kan help om beter reagerende
organisasies te ontwerp met inagneming van struktuur, mense, en werk. Min leiers
weet egter hoe om die situasie te verbeter wanneer hulle organisasie nie goed
presteer nie.
Hierdie studie stel IT voor as dié grootste drywer van organisatoriese en sosiale
verandering. Informasie tegnologie ondersteun verskillende vorms van
organisatoriese ontwerp wat voldoen aan die stygende kompleksiteit en teenstrydige
vereistes van vandag se dinamiese besigheidsomgewing. Die onus rus egter op die
bestuur om die struktuur van die organisasie in lyn te bring met sy strategie van
verhoogde prestasie. Organisasies en werksplekke verskil, en gevolglik sal die
toepaslike tegnologieë vir die organisasie van werk ook verskil.
Die veranderinge in IT en markstrukture het kompetisie verskuif van 'n
enkelorganisasie na 'n netwerk toe, wat 'n behoefte vir nuwe organisatoriese
strategieë en strukture tot gevolg gehad het. Tradisionele vorms van organisasie
word gereeld as ondoeltreffend bestempel, maar hierdie studie stel voor dat leiers
moet gewillig wees om uit die verlede te leer, soos die aard van beheerkwessies by
die werk, die belangrikheid van infrastruktuur en ontwerp, en dat beide tradisionele
en nuwe vorms nodig is om aan te pas by die teenstrydige vereistes van vandag se
besigheidsomgewing. Die meeste organisasies is vandag steeds in een of ander
vorm hierargies gestruktureerd van bo na onder, maar dit bly nietemin noodsaaklik
dat sekere mense leiers is en ander volgelinge om anargie in 'n organisasie te
vermy. Deur slegs hierargiese strukture te verwyder sal nie tot 'n meer responsiewe
organisasie lei nie, en dus behoort "gesonde hierargieë" ontwerp te word om buigsaamheid binne 'n hierargiese struktuur toe te laat. Opkomende konsepte en
modelle van organisasie vervang gevolglik selde die voriges, en probeer eerder 'n
ryker konteks te skep, waarbinne die vorige konsepte en hulle rol in 'n breër, meer
komplekse raamwerk geherinterpreteer kan word.
Organisasies kan nie as "suiwer" vorms voorgestel word nie, maar eerder as
dinamiese stelsels bestaande uit groepe segmente, waar elke segment 'n suiwer
vorm van organisasie verteenwoordig. Organisasies behoort dus 'n mededingende
voordeel te trek, as die bestuur in staat is om moeilik kombineerbare eienskappe te
kombineer, en 'n organisasie met verskillende vorms te kan ontwerp wat interne en
eksterne uitdagings trotseer.
'n Praktiese raamwerk word voorgestel om organisasies te ontwerp en te herontwerp
volgens beste gebruike. Die raamwerk inkorporeer die invloed van IT op die
besigheidsomgewing en die organisasie, die konsep van 'n "gesonde" hierargie, die
verbintenis van alle sleutelinsethouers tot verandering van die organisasie, en toetse
om 'n organisasie te ontwerp volgens vier pasdrywers (produk markstrategieë,
besigheidstrategie, mense, en beperkinge) en vyf goeie ontwerpbeginsels.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/50244 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Bohme, Heinrich Martin |
| Contributors | Denton, M., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic & Management Sciences. Graduate School of Business. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 195 p. : ill. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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