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Theses and dissertations (Management Sciences)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/14

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Has files: YesSubject: search.filters.subject.Leadership--Moral and ethical aspects

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    Ethical leadership and service delivery : a case of Mangaung Metropolitan area
    (2024-05) Kganyape, Obakeng; Lekhanya, Lawrence Mpele
    The study assessed the ethical leadership impact and service delivery challenges in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (MMM), in the Free State province of South Africa. An interview and open-ended questionnaire were used to gather in-depth information from individuals, allowing participants to voice their own opinions and ideas. The study provided inductive reasoning; as a result, holistic results can be interpreted. The sampling size was drawn from five ward committees consisting of 10 members, with two members from each ward selected as participants. Ten randomly selected residents from Mangaung and two senior managers from MMM were also considered for interviews. Therefore, a total of 10 ward committee members, two senior managers and 10 selected residents were used as a means of gathering data through interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire. The findings of the study reveal poor compliance with legislation, ineffective policy implementation, and shortage of skills required for Local Economic Development (LED), as well as poor ethical leadership, resulted in slow service delivery provision. The study also showed financial constraints are a significant problem in MMM. It was, furthermore, revealed that MMM is currently placed under national administration, and the researcher noted the unhappiness of the Mangaung community with the poor service delivery and unfair job appointments in MMM, which resulted in service delivery protests around Mangaung. The findings highlight that certain ward committees believe residents are deprived of services in Mangaung due to political (dys) functionality and failure of employees to execute their duties efficiently. The study results will be highly beneficial to researchers, scholars, policy makers, and MMM officials, as well as CoGTA, SALGA and other relevant stakeholders. Generalisation of the research findings ought to be undertaken with care; however, further research is encouraged and could focus on other municipalities and Metropolitan municipalities in the country.
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    Ethical leadership and service delivery : a case of Msunduzi Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal Province
    (2021-03) Mbandlwa, Zamokuhle; Dorasamy, Nirmala; Fagbadebo, Omololu M.
    Leadership ethics in the South African government has been a challenge, especially in a democratic government. South African government leaders have paid less attention to leadership ethics but mainly focused on reducing corruption, which is the result of poor leadership ethics. Poor public service delivery by various government institutions shows that there is a lack of leadership ethics by those entrusted with a responsibility to lead government institutions. Good leadership ethics are important for all spheres of government. The overall aim of the study was to explore and examine the challenges of ethics in leadership at a local government level and the impact of ethics on public service delivery using the case study of Msunduzi local government. The study examined the extent to which ethical leadership affected public service delivery at Msunduzi Municipality. It also investigated the perceptions of employees and executive managers of the Municipality regarding the disposition of the leadership towards ethical behaviours. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection and analysis. The study obtained its data from interviews, questionnaires, public documents, and existing literature. The study found that a lack of leadership ethics affected the public service delivery in the Municipality, and its attendant effects on the economic and social services. Leaders who do not have regard for ethical conduct have no passion for public service delivery. Lack of leadership ethics in government institutions affected the operation. The study discovered further that the lack of leadership ethics at the local government institutions disrupted national and provincial government plans to provide effective public services. Msunduzi municipality has experienced several challenges, which include the mismanagement of public funds, corruption, and poor administration. This municipality had qualified audits for more than three consecutive years, and it was placed under administration. The researcher developed an ethical behavior model that can be used to improve leadership ethics in government institutions.
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    Benevolent leadership and its implication for management education in South Africa
    (2021) Bhagwan, Dharmesh Natvarlal
    Benevolence is related to strong ethical behaviour, respect for all, trust, kindness, harmony, integrity, justice, interconnectedness with others, and care and concern for the community, corporate social responsibility, and the natural environment. Benevolent leadership has been defined as the process of creating a virtuous cycle of encouraging, initiating, and implementing positive change in organisations through: a) ethical decision making and moral actions, b) developing spiritual awareness and creating a sense of meaning, c) inspiring hope and fostering courage for positive action, and d) leaving a legacy and positive impact for the larger community (Karakas 2009: 1). This study was undertaken to investigate the characteristics, attitudes, and behaviours of benevolent leaders at business organisations in South Africa; to examine how benevolent leadership impacted organisational performance; to understand the extent to which university education prepared managers for benevolent leadership; and to make recommendations on what content related to benevolent management could be included in management education. The study was guided by a quantitative research approach, with a cross-sectional survey research design. Purposive and snowball sampling was the strategy used to identify participants for the study. Three hundred and fourteen (314) participants were recruited from the Western Cape, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal. A structured survey instrument adopted from Karakas (2009: 1) was used as the data collection instrument in the study. Data was analysed using SPSS version 2.0. The study found a high level of benevolent leadership qualities and characteristics amongst the sample. A majority of the participants showed that they are highly ethical, demonstrate care and compassion for their subordinates, and are very open to creating change in their work environments with a belief that through change and innovation they can create positive results. Participants also showed high levels of concern for the community and support for charitable causes. Consequently, this influenced organisational performance in the areas of employee morale, productivity, and corporate social responsibility. The study also found a high level of support for the introduction of benevolent leadership in leadership education.
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    Investigating the relationship between leadership and employee work ethics at eThekwini Municipality Libraries and Heritage Departments
    (2019) Madlala, Kwenza; Mutambara, Emmanuel
    Leaders play a key role in respect of providing a healthy employee work ethic and influencing behaviour across all organisations, particularly within the public sector. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between leadership and the work ethic of employees within the public sector, with reference to eThekwini municipality’s libraries and heritage department. This area of focus is in light of the serious complaints from the public that senior management should be blamed for the unethical conduct of certain employees over the years. The study employed a quantitative methodology where a questionnaire was used to gather data from a sample of 230 employees, selected from a population of 2300 using the systematic random sampling technique. Data was analysed using SPSS version 20 and excel. The major findings of the study indicate that there was no significant relationship between leadership and an employee’s ethical behaviour. However, employees were aware of what was expected from an ethical point of view, in addition they were also aware of the importance of ethics. The study revealed that employees viewed unethical practices as a serious matter leading to such practices being reported by colleagues. The study highlighted that behaving in an ethical manner was not rewarded by the organisation. The study recommended that the need to consider rewarding employees who display the appropriate ethical conduct, furthermore a position of “ethics” officer should be created to ensure that ethical behaviour and standards are part and parcel of municipal obligations. It is important to be mindful of the fact that the study focused on a single department – the library and heritage, the study recommended further studies be undertaken across the other departments, encompassing the entire municipality in order to have balanced views of ethics at eThekwini Municipality.