Organisational culture factors impacting on strategy implementation in a South African mining company

Abstract

The aim of the research was to determine the organisational culture factors that facilitate strategy implementation in a South African mining organisation. In order to address the research questions a case study approach was used with a mixed method research design involving a document search, questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The most dominant cultures in the organisation were hierarchy and market cultures with an emphasis on stable mining operations and control. The current culture was found to be incongruent with the perceived culture type for driving strategy implementation, except where the criteria of success was concerned. This incongruence was also observed in the results of the correlation analysis between the organisational culture types and performance results. In support of other research, flexible cultures were perceived as highly relevant for strategy implementation. The main facilitating factors identified in the organisation included, communication and engagement; care and trust; change leadership and an emphasis on employee knowledge and competence.