Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters/MBA)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/37942

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Organisational Performance

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Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    The impact of artificial intelligence capabilities on organisational performance: an empirical study in the South African retail context
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Cronjé, Dylan Christo
    Developing the ability to undergo digital transformation with Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly crucial for retail organisations, given the rising occurrence of AI-driven activities within their organisations. This underscores the need to understand how retail organisations should structure themselves to leverage AI effectively and in what ways value can be attained. Within this context, this thesis investigates how AI capabilities can enhance organisational performance by prompting changes in critical organisational activities. Through a survey-based research approach, data was gathered from individuals within retail organisations in South Africa to explore the indirect impact of AI capabilities on organisational performance. A total of 145 participants from South Africa's retail sector were surveyed, and their responses were analysed using structural equation modelling with AMOS/ SPSS. The results indicate that AI capabilities positively influence process automation, cognitive insight generation, cognitive engagement, and innovativeness. While both process automation and innovativeness positively correlate with organisational performance, it was observed that cognitive insights and cognitive engagement do not significantly affect organisational performance. These findings explain the essential resources comprising an AI capability and highlight the consequences of nurturing such capabilities on critical organisational activities, thereby influencing organisational performance
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    The Relationship Between Talent Management Practices and Organisational Competitiveness in South African Law Firms
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mbuqe, Sinomtha; Appiah, Erasmus Kofi
    The globalisation of legal services has massively amplified competition among professional service firms in South Africa and globally. To compete more effectively in the present-day environment, characterized by increased competition and enhanced customer expectations, sustaining high performance is critical. Due to scarcity of talent, law firms compete for the same pool of human resources to acquire and retain to increase growth in profitability and service. Literature has identified talent management practices (“TMP”) such as talent identification, selection, retention, and development as sources of sustainable competitive advantage. Despite talent management and its practices being established concepts in literature and in practice, there is an apparent lacuna in research on TMP in the context of South African law firms and whether such practices enhance their competitiveness. The objective of this study was to ascertain the relationship between TMP and organisational competitiveness in South African law firms operating within the Gauteng province. A quantitative study was undertaken, with statistics gathered from employees of law firms located in Gauteng, South Africa. A random sampling technique was used and data was collected from 56 participants using a semi-structured survey questionnaire. Quantitative data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. The empirical findings indicated that all constructs associated with TMP, namely talent attraction, talent development, talent retention and reasons for using these practices, were positively correlated with organisational competitiveness. However, statistically, talent development increased an organisations competitiveness. The findings thus indicate that talent attraction, talent development and talent retention are important and have an impact on organisational competitiveness. These findings will enable law firms to apply talent development towards continuous organisational competitiveness, which further aids the sustainability of the organisation
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    Combined Assurance and its Role in Organisational Performance: A Case Study on Risk Professionals’ Perspective in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Kekana, Lebogang Nkhokhola; Sieff, Grant
    South Africa has been in the spotlight for its poor governance practices even though various laws, regulations, and frameworks are in place to guide how business should be conducted. Oversights committees, especially the board of directors are tasked with the governance of risk and achievement of organisational goals. Combined assurance is used as one of the tools to promote efficient risk management and mitigate against poor control environment and governance processes. Regardless of legislation and governance frameworks providing direction and tasking the three lines of defense with clear assurance responsibilities, the South African public and private sectors are in shambles. This study aimed to understand combined assurance and its role on organisational performance from the second line of defense perspective. The impact of combined assurance on organisational performance, as well as the influence of combined assurance drivers and the three lines of defence on organisational performance has been assessed in this study. The research project followed a quantitative research design. Data was collected through a structured survey questionnaire using Qualtrics. The survey questionnaire was distributed to risk professionals within South African boundaries in both the public and private sector via e-mail.44 participants (37%) of the targeted 120 risk professional have responded to the survey. The study found that the alternative hypothesis being that effective combined assurance seems to contribute positively to organisational performance is accepted. In addition, the study found that the alternative hypothesis being that the drivers of combined assurance seem to be associated with positive organisational performance is accepted. The study further revealed that the alternative hypothesis being that effective three lines of defense contributes positively to organisational performance. The study contributed to the body of knowledge by providing the perspective of the second line of defence on combined assurance and how it impacts organisational performance
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    The influence of Digitalisation on Strategic Agility of a South African Mining Company
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mosena, Nthabiseng Nicolene; Solo, Mills
    A profound transformation in the way economic activities are perceived and controlled is currently unfolding. This transformation is primarily propelled by the advent of a flexible technological platform that serves as the foundation for the development of new business value chains and ecosystems. Digitalisation, which acts as the gateway to accessing this state-of-the-art infrastructure, carries profound implications for how organisations strategically evolve in response to changing environmental factors. Strategic agility has increasingly become a central factor in ensuring business survival within this context. While digitalization is an undeniable reality for businesses and plays a role in generating value, few studies have examined its impact on strategic agility and thus improving organisational performance in the mining sector. The role of digitalisation as a facilitator of strategic agility has sparked debates and discussions among scholars and industry professionals. Although some research indicates that digitalisation is the foundation of strategic agility, other perspectives dispute this assertion. Recognizing this disparity, the primary aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between digitalisation and strategic agility. In order to draw conclusions regarding this observed relationship, primary data was collected from individuals at the management level within a South African company, which was then meticulously prepared and analysed. The analysis was conducted using quantitativedata analysis. The study found that digitalisation empowers organisations with the tools, insights, and capabilities to enhance their strategic agility. By leveraging digital technologies, organisations can sense and respond to changes rapidly, make data-driven decisions, streamline operations, innovate, and deliver superior customer experiences. Embracing digitalisation has become essential for organisations to thrive in today's fast-paced and highly competitive landscape. After conducting an extensive examination, this research establishes that digitalization is positively associated with strategic agility and that collectively the variables are important predictors of organisational performance. The study concludes that organizations should adopt an iterative approach to digitalization, with clarity of purpose, strategically in order to efficiently attain control over their intended impact on strategic agility
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    Combined Assurance and its Role in Organisational Performance: A Case Study on Risk Professionals’ Perspective in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Kekana, Lebogang Nkhokhola; Sieff, Grant
    South Africa has been in the spotlight for its poor governance practices even though various laws, regulations, and frameworks are in place to guide how business should be conducted. Oversights committees, especially the board of directors are tasked with the governance of risk and achievement of organisational goals. Combined assurance is used as one of the tools to promote efficient risk management and mitigate against poor control environment and governance processes. Regardless of legislation and governance frameworks providing direction and tasking the three lines of defense with clear assurance responsibilities, the South African public and private sectors are in shambles. This study aimed to understand combined assurance and its role on organisational performance from the second line of defense perspective. The impact of combined assurance on organisational performance, as well as the influence of combined assurance drivers and the three lines of defence on organisational performance has been assessed in this study. The research project followed a quantitative research design. Data was collected through a structured survey questionnaire using Qualtrics. The survey questionnaire was distributed to risk professionals within South African boundaries in both the public and private sector via e-mail.44 participants (37%) of the targeted 120 risk professional have responded to the survey. The study found that the alternative hypothesis being that effective combined assurance seems to contribute positively to organisational performance is accepted. In addition, the study found that the alternative hypothesis being that the drivers of combined assurance seem to be associated with positive organisational performance is accepted. The study further revealed that the alternative hypothesis being that effective three lines of defense contributes positively to organisational performance. The study contributed to the body of knowledge by providing the perspective of the second line of defence on combined assurance and how it impacts organisational performance.
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    Executive coaching as a vehicle to enhance organisational performance and culture in a mining company in the Northern Cape
    (2021) Nkomombini, Sipho
    This qualitative study explored executive coaching as a vehicle to enhance organisational performance and culture. The study was undertaken in an open cast mine in the Northern Cape, the mine is part of a bigger multinational mining group. The mine experienced a few leadership challenges when it came to holding leaders to account in driving high performance and to shape the requisite organisational culture. The key motivation of the study was that the study will help better understand the role of executive coaching and its impact on organisational performance and culture in a mining context. The main purpose of the study was to examine executive coaching as a vehicle to enhance organisational performance and culture within a mining company. The data was collected by means of face-to-face semi-structured open-ended interviews. The sample consists of 20 senior managers who have all undergone executive coaching within the company. The key findings of the study were that executive coaching plays a significant role in driving high performance and culture in organisations. The study contributes to an existing body of knowledge and positions executive coaching as key driver of high performance and culture in an organisation. In conclusion the study found that it is beneficial for companies deploy executive coaching as a leadership development tool. The results show that organisations that implement executive coaching have a high-performance culture and this will ultimately positively impact the organisations culture and strategy. the study has practical and theoretical implications for the leadership of the organisation, coaching practitioners, and coaching bodies because it outlines the role executive coaching played in leadership development. The study makes detailed recommendations for future research in the field of executive coaching