Leadership and the implementation of strategic plans
Date
2012-10-04
Authors
Masufi, Dilahloane Monica
MASUFI, DILAHLOANE MONICCA
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Abstract
People around the world have basic needs that have to be met; one of
those needs is the need for protection. People need to feel safe and
secure in their environments and in their homes. In South Africa the South
African Police Service is tasked with the responsibility to ensure that
people are, and feel, safe. To realize this need of protecting the people, a
strategy that will detail how the citizens will be protected is necessary. To
implement the strategy, capable leadership is necessary to ensure that the
strategic plan is successfully implemented. Leadership style and personal
relationships play a vital role in implementing the strategy. The type of
leadership at each station will determine whether the station succeeds or
fails in operationalizing the strategy, hence a distinction in the province
between the poor performing stations and the best performing stations.
There are also leadership strategies for consideration in the
implementation of strategic plans in SAPS. For example, the leadership
has to give serious consideration to the issues of the structure, police
culture, resources, to ensure that there is proper alignment between the
resources and the structure, over and above the leadership style and type.
This study investigates the leadership style at the Rabie Ridge Police
Station and how their leadership style impacts on the implementation of
the strategic plans as well as challenges encountered when implementing
the strategic plans, to ensure that the citizens are, and feel, safe. This
was explored from the transfomational Leadership theory perspective.
The study employed a qualitative approach and designed a semistructured
questionnaire for in-depth interviews with the intention to solicit
responses. The research demonstrated that there is team work and
commitment by the members at the station in implementing their strategic
plans, hence their good performance as demonstrated by the SAPS
performance chart. The study also showed that there is a challenge incommunication as most respondents seldom meet with their leadership. It
is therefore recommended that there be enhancement of communication
skills to ensure proper communication as well as the encouragement of
open door policy for members to share any dissatisfaction with their
leadership
Description
MM thesis - P&DM
Keywords
Leadership, South African Police Service, Strategy