3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The effect of leadership on job satisfaction(2018) Govender, ShivaniLeadership, even though very difficult to define, is a process by which an individual tries to influence others to achieve a holistic organisational goal. Literature categorises leadership into three common styles namely, transactional, transformational and laissez-faire leadership, with transformational leadership and transactional leadership being the most domineering. Literature also proposes that leadership styles influence job satisfaction. The first objective of this study was to determine the leadership style within FNB Business: Projects and Operations and thereafter to investigate the effect of that leadership style on job satisfaction within the business. A descriptive research study using qualitative and quantitative methods was done. Questionnaires were distributed to all employees and the results were analysed. The results of Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire showed that a transformational leadership style, specifically inspirational motivational, prevailed within the department. The MLQ also showed that employees were very satisfied with their jobs. The Job Satisfaction Survey outlines the specific factors, namely, supervision and nature of work that lead to employees being satisfied in their work place. Finally, the Minnesota Satisfaction Survey solidified the high job satisfaction rate within FNB Business: Projects and Operations highlighting minimal variance between extrinsic and intrinsic satisfaction. The results, however, challenge the initial problem statement stating that there was job dissatisfaction due to leadership. This could be due to employees being afraid of being honest, employees not taking the survey or employees moving teams. Therefore, a recommendation is that the survey should be executed again and tracked at a team level. For example, respondents should answer which team they belong to. This field should also be a multiple-choice question as opposed to free text. In this way, leadership style and responses from individuals would be traceable to a specific leader. This would highlight the outliers for more accurate results and actions post this research survey.Item The role of entrepreneurial orientation in the South African food manufacturing sector(2018) Sole, Mosiuoa MThis study set out to evaluate and assess the relationship between Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), manufacturing capabilities and organizational performance in the South African Food Manufacturing industry (SAFM). The SAFM industry is a highly concentrated sector that is key to the growth of the South African economy. This study suggests that EO is the mechanism through which manufacturing capabilities are linked to market needs. Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) represents the processes and practices that provide a basis for entrepreneurial decisions and actions in an organisation. The related dimensions of EO are: innovativeness, risk taking, proactivity, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy. Manufacturing capabilities are measured with reference to the cost, flexibility, quality, and delivery of production goals, while organisational performance is measured in reference to market and financial goals. EO and manufacturing capabilities are well established concepts in entrepreneurship and operations management literature. Both constructs along with their impacts on organizational performance, have historically been studied independently, and little research has been performed to bridge the knowledge gap between operations management and entrepreneurship research. Further knowledge gaps exist around understanding how EO is manifested in concentrated markets as well as, insights on research techniques for highly concentrated industries. The majority of current studies that focus on the South African food manufacturing sector are either technical government strategy reports, or reports that focus on food as a commodity and not on the manufacturing of food. Limited empirical research is characteristic of highly concentrated environments as they are usually closed and secretive environments. Furthermore, there are limited empirical studies that focus on the manufacturing in South Africa let alone the African continent. This study has contributed in addressing these gaps. The conceptual framework in this study has been tested using quantitative research methods (survey) based on a positivist approach. 75 senior, middle and executive managers from the top ten revenue generating companies in the SAFM iii industry were surveyed. Secondary data on industry performance collected from Statistic South Africa online repository. The hypotheses were tested by performing Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA).The reliability and validity of the survey results assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Multiple regression analysis - ordinary least square (OLS) and correlation analysis were used to test the hypothesized relationships. This study has three key findings. Firstly, this study found that the manufacturing capabilities of quality and cost are entry conditions for market participation in the South African food manufacturing industry, and that the capabilities of delivery and flexibility have a negative correlation on financial performance. Secondly, the study found that entrepreneurial orientation as a multidimensional construct had a moderate positive relationship with financial performance in the South African food manufacturing industry. Thirdly, it found that a negative co-relationship correlation exists between manufacturing capabilities and the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation. The findings of this study, suggest that the food manufacturing industry in South Africa lacks competitiveness and that the drivers of performance in the entire industry are subsector specific. When investigating the specific subdivisions of the food manufacturing industry, descriptive analysis offered different insights i.e. firms that perform well in quality and delivery, perform poorly in flexibility and cost. Due to limited data, these relationships were not analysed further. Research on entrepreneurial orientation and manufacturing capabilities in the SAFM, could be improved through studies focusing on particular subdivisions e.g. milk, grain etc., using non-linear regression techniques.Item Generation X and generation Y: the moderating effect of transformational leadership on resistance to change and psychological empowerment among employees in Johannesburg(2017) Kemeng, Heidie Seipati JosephineThe purpose of the study was study to investigate relationships of employee psychological empowerment, transformational leadership and resistance to change among employees in Johannesburg, South Africa. There were 51 male participants and 57 female participants. Participants voluntarily participated in the study. The instruments used to collect data were the Multifactor Leadership questionnaire, resistance to change scale and psychological empowerment questionnaire. Data were analysed using correlations and multiple regression analyses. The results showed that employee psychological empowerment and resistance to change, age and resistance to change were the only significant results. Future studies can focus on factors that influence the readiness for change in South Africa which could include the opportunity to participate in the planned change projects, demonstrating the need for change and employee psychological empowerment. In addition, Future studies could also address the interest gap between generation X and Y in terms of implementing rigorous programmes which foster the empowerment of the workforce in organisations for both generations and reduce resistance to changeItem How South African businesses design and execute transformation initiatives: implications for coaching(2017) Prinsloo, HeatherThe body of knowledge on transformation is growing and previous researchers have set a foundation by focusing on different aspects of B-BBEE and legislative redress. Scientific research on coaching as a tool to facilitate legislative redress is emerging. The objective of the research was to add to the emerging body of knowledge and uncover how South African businesses approach transformation, what processes and resources they use and what best practices are applied and if opportunities existed to introduce new concepts and frameworks, such as Coaching. The study used qualitative research methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two employees in four different organisations, four technical signatories in two verification agencies and four B-BBEE consultants. The organisations who participated in the research qualified as level, one, two and three contributors to B-BBEE. It was assumed that the B-BBEE level would indicate the extent of transformation in the organisations. Transformation in South Africa remains a contentious issue for business and employee responses to redress range from positive to negative. Organisations have been slow to respond to the people aspects of transformation. From the research, it was evident that organisations, verification agencies and consultants interchanged B-BBEE and transformation, implying that in South Africa, the concepts were similar, if not the same. Organisations’ responses to B-BBEE were still very reactive and at the time of the interviews, the respondents all expressed varying levels of concern to the gazetting of the amended B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice. The view held, was that the amended codes would require organisations to take a more strategic view of transformation. Only one of the four organisations interviewed confirmed that they had a transformation strategy. As for the other organisations, the strategies could be described as emerging Best practice is beginning to emerge and on some elements of the scorecard, improvements can be seen as organisations adapt approaches to yield a return on investment. Coaching as a resource to facilitate transformation was approached with caution even though the respondents recognised that third party interventions were necessary. The research builds a case for coaching as a tool to embed learning and development as organisations shift from a tactical response to B-BBEE to a more progressive or authentic goal.