This study centred on factors contributing to the perceived organizational effectiveness within
an educational service provider. The guiding assumption of this research was that the general
public supports effective organizations because they are perceived as rendering an effective
and efficient service. This results in a reciprocal relationship between the organization and
its clients. The Kip McGrath Education Centres was studied since it is an organization that has
been rendering educational service in South Africa since 1996. There are to date thirty-five
centres operating in the country. However, while there has been phenomenal growth in terms of
geographical expansion, no studies have been done to establish what has contributed towards
this organization's perceived effectiveness. Literature sources informed this study of the
indicators that characterize effective organizations. Some of these indicators of effectiveness
were used in this research to determine whether the organization under study can be viewed as
one such effective organization. The theoretical underpinning of this study is that there are
inherent contradictions within models of effective organizations. As such, effectiveness should
be determined according to a given model and relevant indicators. This study surveyed
perceptions of the major stakeholders on matters pertaining to the organizational effectiveness
of the Kip McGrath Education Centres at Newholmes. Both the qualitative and quantitative
methodologies were used. That is, questionnaires were used to obtain information from large
samples of educational stakeholders and interviews schedules and check-lists were used to
collect qualitative data from small samples and observations of facilities and activities at
the centre. The findings revealed that the organization under study was rendering an effective
service that clients seem to have valued. This consequently led to their support of the
organization which led to its growth in size, judged by student numbers. The conclusions
derived from these findings were that an effective organization is one that is able to develop
because it possesses salient features necessary for delivering an effective and efficient
service to its clients, thus ensuring their continued support. A major finding was that parents
were willing to pay for the services offered by the Newholmes KMEC because they felt they got
their money's worth. This leads to the conclusion that when the public has confidence in an
education provider, the public is willing and able to pay for the services. A recommendation
arising out of this would be to determine the extent to which perceived effectiveness
translates into genuine effectiveness judged by the quality of programmes offered by a number
of private education providers. This would offer evidence and support for the role of the
private sector in educational provision which can guide government policy and practice. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ukzn/oai:http://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za:10413/3040 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Ramnath, Linda Pearl. |
| Contributors | Kaabwe, E. S. M. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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