MBA & MM Theses

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Categorisation of actions by leaders in South Africa in terms of the Head, Heart and Hands model .
(2014-09-03) Burger, Ronél
ABSTRACT This research investigates how leaders categorise their actions in terms of the Head, Heart and Hands model (Goleman, Boyatzis & McKee, 2004) and which one of the three sections is perceived to be most important and why, along with a view on whether the model is an appropriate framework to recommend to future leaders for categorisation of their actions. A qualitative approach was deemed suitable as it is particularly concerned with understanding multiple perspectives of different individuals (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005; Williams, 2007). It utilised semi-structured interviews with a number of respondents, all effective South African leaders, who have demonstrated successful leadership and have at least five years executive management experience. The intention was to develop an understanding of the respondents‟ perspectives as to which of their daily actions they consider to have contributed to their efficacy, and how these activities are categorised into the Head, Heart and Hands model (Goleman, et al., 2004). Each of the respondents spontaneously categorised their top three activities under each of the three elements of the head, the heart or the hands, despite being informed that they could place more than one in the same category. It was difficult for the majority of respondents to put their top three activities in order of preference, however a tally after the first and second choice was nominated, showed all respondents choosing the heart as either a first or second choice. The head was chosen as a first or second choice by 10 of the respondents and the hands by only two. Although it seems that the Head, Heart and Hands model (Goleman et al., 2004) could be considered as a good model to categorise the actions of an effective leader, there is no clear indication of which element is considered to be most important or indispensable to exceptional leaders as the scoring was very similar for the heart and the head elements. In future a larger sample would ensure better generalizability and aid in the building of a model to adopt when embarking on the journey towards effective leadership.
XENOPHOBIA AND THE LEADERSHIP FACTOR IN ALEXANDRA
(2014-02-19) LIPHOKO, MOTHEPANE ELIZABETH
South African townships were dominated by a storm of violence in 2008. The attacks in Gauteng Province started in Alexandra Township on the 11 May 2008. The violence was inflicted on foreign nationals by South Africans. The communities and the authorities worked hard to normalise the situation and by late 2008 the situation had normalised. Some foreign nationals returned to their countries of origin while others decided to bite the bullet and return to the same areas they were ejected from during the attacks. These attacks erupt every now and then and the recent one was in Alexandra where residents alleged that houses were issued to foreign nationals while South Africans could not get any whatsoever. Some research-based reports emerged following the 2008 xenophobic violence, indicating how different leaders of different social institutions served as the responding agents and sites of future conflict resolution efforts. These findings opened doors for more research on the role of leadership in dealing with xenophobia in Alexandra. Leadership has been there and is still there to deal with xenophobia in the area, what is not known is what are the leadership factors in dealing with xenophobia on the part of the locals in Alexandra, what leadership trends are being followed in dealing with xenophobia. The purpose of this research was to gain deeper and better understanding of the factors leading to the perceived lack of Alexandra leadership in dealing with xenophobia in Alexandra from the community members and community leadership of Alexandra. The study analysed and recommended leadership strategies which can be considered in dealing with xenophobia in Alexandra. The findings and recommendations of this study may assist with the strategies that can be applied to prevent xenophobic attacks in South Africa as well as internationally. This qualitative research method used one-on-one interviews as a method to collect data. The results of the study suggest that the leadership is still using the traditional methods of leadership. The issue of communication is still not up to standard given the findings from the study on poor flow of information. Information is flowing from top-down only and there is no free flow of information to all levels of the organization’s hierarchy. The way information is flowing raises a challenge of community members being unable to provide feedback to leadership. This is an indication of lack of interaction and relations. The leadership style adopted by leadership in Alexandra is more threatening to community members than being corrective and developmental. 5 It is therefore recommended that leadership move away from using the traditional way of leadership and evolves to new sciences leadership. The leadership in Alexandra, in dealing with xenophobia, must consider the leadership strategies such as cconsultation with community in planning implementing and monitoring activities/ projects that are related with xenophobia. For people to change from being xenophobic to being tolerant is a process which needs continuous intervention. Activities aiming at addressing change are therefore supposed to be continuous and not once off. The support provided to people need to not only emphasise the plans and strategies but also look into a human element. The plans are not undergoing change but the human being is.
LAND RESTITUTION AND STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP IN MPUMALANGA
(2014-01-21) MADUNGANDABA, BILLY EDWIN
The study explores the land restitution and strategic leadership in Mpumalanga Province (MP). South Africa’s land reform programme was designed to address the past imbalances in land ownership. Progress thus far has been perceived as being very slow and considered to be failing the beneficiaries. Whereas the land had been return to their rightful owners lack of strategic leadership impedes any progress in the farms project. The purpose of the study was to investigate factors leading to the lack of strategic leadership in land restitution. The findings show that most respondents confirm that indeed a lack of strategic leadership contributed to the failure of projects in the farms in Mpumalanga Province.
Leadership of a Diverse Workforce within a South African Municipality
(2014-01-14) Corner, Laurence Benidict
Creating and effectively leading workforce diversity is crucial for sustainable development and economic growth in not just South Africa but also in the rest of the world. The purpose of this study was to investigate the state of diversity and leadership thereof within the South African public sector. The democratic South African government had been able to rigorously drive greater racial and gender diversity within the public sector. In depth one on one interviews were conducted with a small diverse group of municipal employees. The main themes and findings that emerged from these interviews were synthesised to formulate an overall view of diversity and the state of diversity leadership within the organisation. The main findings of the research were that employees did not perceive the municipality to be effective in creating and leading diversity. The failure to fully embrace programmes such as affirmative action and equal employment programmes were of concern.
Strategic Leadership in the Department of Labour in Gauteng
(2013-10-14) Maseko, Siyabonga Joseph
The Labour Market Information and Statistics business unit of the Gauteng provincial office of the Department of Labour experiences challenges due to the lack of strategic leadership. This research was aimed at exploring these challenges in the execution of the Gauteng Department of Labour’s provincial office merger with regard to the implementation of the Labour Market Information and Statistics business unit. Using a qualitative approach and qualitative interviews, the factors that lead to the lack of strategic leadership in the Labour Market Information and Statistics business unit were investigated. The findings reveal that the merger of the former North and South Labour Market Information and Statistics business unit of the Gauteng Province affected the functioning of the business unit. This was found to be as a result of the lack of an updated strategy of the business unit. These results in managers in the unit not to being able to play their strategic leadership role, as planning, communication and strategic understanding affected the implementation of the unit’s strategy
LEADERSHIP FOR ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE IN THE MPUMALANGA DEPARTMENT OF WATER AFFAIRS
(2013-10-04) Wadan, Alpha
The study explored leadership challenges associated with organisational change in the Mpumalanga Department of Water Affairs. Challenges associated with organisational change in the Mpumalanga Department of Water Affairs are often not adequately addressed by those who occupy leadership positions in the Department which ultimately lead to the provision of poor service delivery. The purpose of the study was therefore to explore the challenges that leaders in the Mpumalanga Department of Water Affairs face in association with organisational change, present the findings on leadership challenges and recommend measures for addressing change challenges. The study employed the interpretive paradigm approach which enabled an in-depth description of the change challenges that leadership in the Department face. Qualitative data were collected using interviews employed at the Mpumalanga Provincial office of the Department of Water Affairs. The thematic content analysis approach was applied in analysing the data. Evidence from the data confirmed that change challenges encountered by leadership in the Mpumalanga Department of Water Affairs were; communication, the inadequacy of support structures for implementing change programmes and political interferences. The study concludes that the overriding change challenge leaders in the Mpumalanga Department of Water Affairs encounter is communication. The study recommends that leaders in the Department should incorporate strategic management practices in change programmes and as well ensure strict transparency in the information they provide when implementing change programmes.
Effective leadership behaviors in the sales functions of consumer driven business in South Africa
(2013-10-04) Hughes, Steven
Leadership as a topic provides an extensive challenge in that its scope is significant and no ‘one size fits all’ approach exists. Within leadership, there are various theories and styles. Potential leaders all have a natural style of leadership that they gravitate towards; nevertheless, it does not mean that leaders cannot grow. They have the ability to learn to lead more effectively by practising, observing and adjusting their behaviour where necessary. This research report aims to identify business leaders’ perceptions of the key behaviours that determine effective leadership within sales functions of consumer driven businesses in South Africa by using Nicholls’ (1994) Head, Heart and Hands framework, which allows for differentiation between various types of behaviour. A themed content analysis was conducted on the responses and information (interview transcripts) gathered from 16 critical incident interviews involving 16 respondents with current or recent sales director experience, thus meeting the research criteria. The common factors identified across all respondents led to a deeper understanding of the issues, resulting in a list of themes, categories within those themes and key behaviours of effective leaders relative to behaviours of effective leaders within sales functions of consumer driven businesses. The most significant feature of the research was that provided a leader leads by example and treats people in the manner in which they would wish to be treated, it would be difficult to make fundamental leadership mistakes. By being authentic in their leadership style, and being themselves they will ‘always’ do the right thing and make the right decisions. Therefore, sales directors and aspiring leaders within the sales function of consumer driven industries can learn and apply the key behaviours of a leader, which is significantly easier to change and adapt than characteristics of a leader. Furthermore, the literature review revealed that leadership behaviour plays an extensive role in the performance and general productivity of the work force. The results of the research study have identified key behaviours of effective leaders within the sales functions of consumer driven businesses in South Africa.
Leadership Challenges Facing South African Expatriates Working in Africa
(2013-10-04) John, Natasha Jayshree
The increasing trend of globalisation has implications for companies wanting to do international business as well as for their global talent management approach. As greater interest concentrates on doing business in developing countries, research into leadership challenges associated with this comes under the spot-light as a priority. For this qualitative study fourteen (14) semi-structured interviews were conducted, the findings of which have been categorised into ten (10) interdependent and multi-dimensional themes, covering both personal and professional challenges, thus demanding an integrated and multi-dimensional approach to addressing them. To this end, fifteen (15) recommendations have been proposed to holistically address these leadership challenges, in the form of the proposed “Who-What-How-WOW!” integrated response framework, which, in keeping with the principles of African leadership, prioritises partnerships and collaboration. This study can help different stakeholders better understand their roles in addressing the leadership challenges of South African expatriates working in Africa. This study has also revealed a lack of current research and information to help South African expatriates adjust personally and professionally in other countries in Africa. More research is thus required such that, going forward, it makes a meaningful difference to addressing the leadership challenges facing South African expatriates working in Africa thereby improving their overall experience
Strategic Leadership for Performance Management in the Mpumalanga Legislature
(2012-12-03) Mthunywa, Lidec
The purpose of the research is to examine the Mpumalanga Legislature’s performance management for politicians and administrative support staff and the extent to which purposive strategic imperatives can enhance such performance. The lack of an appropriate performance management tool in the Legislature would lead to citizens’ apathy towards government services since the Legislature would be unable to demonstrate its interventions on the implementation of government policies. The paper argues that keeping strategic leaders focused on the topic of performance management can prove difficult and undermine their ability to envision, anticipate and position for the future. The stakeholder model of organisational leadership has been proposed as an appropriate performance management model for the Legislature since it embraces the collective sense of the leadership’s efficacy based on the perception of multiple stakeholders. This is contrasted with the public service performance management model which is used for service delivery purposes and is inappropriate to be customized to the legislatures. The view of the study is that strategic leaders who are socially complex have more developed and complex knowledge structures regarding people and situations, and a greater understanding of critical social organisational problems.
Executive leadership qualities in the South African banking industry
(2012-11-21) Rwigema, Kirenga
The South African banking indusry has fared exceptionally well in the face of the global recession compared to its international counterparts. Aside from the National Credit Act there are arguably other softer reasons to account for this fact such as the leadership within the banks. The purpose of this study is to identify the leadership qualities required for executives in the South African banking industry.... The key findings presented by the study show a resurgent female contingent in the executive demographic. This combined with an ever decreasing average age of executive shows differences in opinion between the younger/female demographics and the previously dominent older male demographic. The study recommends an emphasis on service delivery, coupled with a departure in focus away from strategy toward personal qualities.

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