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Start date: 2022Subject: search.filters.subject.Leadership

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Factors influencing innovative leadership in mobilising small and medium enterprises (SMEs) towards smart manufacturing in Pietermaritzburg
    (2023) Maphumulo, Sydney Dumisani; Nyide, Celani John
    Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are regarded as effective drivers of inclusive economic growth and expansion in South Africa and globally. After noting the significance of SMEs and their contribution to the economy, it is helpful to observe how their growth and sustainability is being maintained through the adoption and utilisation of smart manufacturing techniques and innovative leadership. Consequently, this study highlighted the significance of SME adoption of innovative leadership in smart manufacturing. The main aim was to critically examine factors influencing innovative leadership in mobilising SMEs towards smart manufacturing in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. A quantitative research approach was adopted with census sampling; 102 manufacturing SMEs registered in the Msunduzi Municipality database participated. The data was analysed using the latest version of SPSS V 29.0.1. The findings of this research indicate that the use of robotic technology among manufacturing SMEs is very limited. Moreover, the adoption of internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence technologies is still very low. Therefore, the general finding is that the utilisation of smart manufacturing processes by SMEs in the manufacturing sector in Pietermaritzburg is still in its infancy. This study also found that there is substantial evidence supporting the presence of innovative leadership practices in SMEs operating in the manufacturing sector. This provides an opportunity for these companies to advance the smart manufacturing agenda through effective leadership. The study found a number of factors that had an impact on the use of smart manufacturing processes and innovative leadership.
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    Bottlenecks faced in administering and managing student leadership development programmes at a selected University of Technology (UOT) in South Africa
    (2024) Mfeka, Kholeka; Ngibe, Musawenkosi
    The primary objective of this inquiry was to educate student leaders about crucial administrative processes and challenges associated with political clubs at UoT’s. We aimed to advocate for specific changes within the Department of Student Governance and Development (DSGD) to facilitate the development of policies and eliminate obstacles hindering political clubs’ initiatives in fostering student leadership programmes. To guide our investigation, we adopted the social change model for leadership, which helped shape our study literature and interview questions. The investigator chose this framework because it nurtures potential leaders who share similar values with specific organisations and society, thus enhancing student learning. The research focused on assessing how streamlining administrative procedures could enhance the efficiency of political clubs and their leadership programmes. The investigator successfully demonstrated that a better understanding of administrative procedures could help UOT’S adhere to administrative standards, thereby upholding the credibility of student-associated programmes. To achieve this, the investigator employed a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to gain insights into the bottlenecks associated with administering student development programmes. In this investigation the philosophy of pragmatism was embraced, allowing for the flexibility to select methods, techniques, and procedures that best suited the research goals in exploring the correlation between leadership programmes and bottlenecks. The study had two distinct populations: student leaders responsible for managing and administering student development programmes, and employees from the DSGD. The study primarily focused on assessing student leaders responsible for programme administration from 2018 to 2020. The aim was to understand the challenges these elected student leaders faced during this three-year period. For data analysis, we utilised the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 to analyse the surveys. This software employs both inferential and descriptive statistics to present study findings. In the case of interviews, we employed content analysis to analyse the collected data. Thematic analysis enabled us to extract meaning from participants’ views, knowledge, opinions, experiences, and values, considering both written and spoken data. The findings were presented by means of both numerical and nonnumerical formats to highlight the differences in findings between students and university participants. To establish trustworthiness, the research employed triangulation to validate the findings; this involved cross-referencing information from various sources, including participants, academic articles, and various data structures, among others. Additionally, the study utilised detailed notes from diverse authors’ research to draw comparisons in terms of research context and methodologies. To maintain the study’s reliability, an audit trail was maintained, encompassing comprehensive documentation of the data collection, analysis, and interpretation procedures. The study's findings recommended that student leaders advocate for substantial institutional changes aligned with the goal of reducing administrative obstacles. To facilitate this, the model endorsed ongoing assessment and feedback to enhance collaboration in simplifying procedures and policies. Student leaders were encouraged to evaluate results and adjust their programs based on the evaluation's conclusions, which would facilitate effective reporting on implemented programs.
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    A survey on benevolent leadership and its influence on organisational performance in the South African context
    (iVolga Press, 2023-10-31) Bhagwan, Dharmesh Natvarlal
    Corporate scandals, the deepening global financial and environmental crisis as well as other societal ills have compelled leaders to rethink leadership styles. Recently benevolent leadership has emerged as a contemporary leadership style with promise to advance business ethics, corporate social responsibility, positive organizational building and workplace spirituality. Guided by quantitative research methodology, with a cross-sectional survey research design, 314 leaders were recruited across South Africa, to investigate the characteristics of benevolent leaders and how their leadership style influenced organizational performance. The study found a high level of benevolent leadership qualities and characteristics, amongst the sample, which consequently influenced their organizational performance in the areas of employee morale, productivity and corporate social responsibility.
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    The relationship between previous leadership theories and ethical leadership in a South African context : a narrative review
    (Center for Strategic Studies in Business and Finance SSBFNET, 2022) Bhana, Anrusha; Sachin Suknunan
    Leadership theories have underpinned significant leadership studies and practices which span decades. Despite the plethora of research on different leadership theories and styles, there is minimal research exploring the relationship between previous leadership theories and the ethical leadership style. Previous research has shown that the ethical leadership effect goes above and beyond other leadership styles and theories as the latter lack an exclusive ethical focus. Therefore, this paper aims to address the identified gap from a preliminary perspective of previous leadership theories as compared to the ethical leadership style. In addition, ethical leadership is the ‘only’ leadership style that is part of the King IV code and report on Corporate Governance in South Africa. The study is built on previous research conducted on leadership theories in relation to ethical leadership and corporate governance as per the King IV report. The method employed involved conducting a historical narrative review of research from more than 60 relevant sources obtained from different databases and search engines on this topic. The paper found that a relationship exists between historical and contemporary leadership theories, contemporary theories and ethical leadership style, and ethical leadership and corporate governance. Stemming from these results, a conceptual model of the relationship between leadership theories, ethical leadership style, and Ubuntu ethics is shown. It is hoped that different types of organizations in South Africa will benefit from this review paper since most need to comply with the King IV report and code. The focus should be on ethical leadership as it promotes better employee performance and positive organizational outcomes.
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    Role-modelling, decision-making and conflict resolution : impact of leadership and management on academic and administrative employees at a South African higher education institution
    (Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd, 2022-09-01) Bhana, Anrusha; Suknunan, Sachin; Bayat, Mohammed Shaheed
    The study aimed to address the management and its impact on the age and tenure cohort at a higher education institution. An overview of what constitutes the characteristics of managers as well as a discourse between leadership and management skills is provided. The study adopted a mixed method design comprising a quantitative approach for employees and a qualitative approach for line management leadership and executive management leadership. The total population for the quantitative method constituted 1874 academic and administrative employees with a targeted sample of 420. The study obtained a response rate of 312 out of 420 employees. The qualitative data collection tools for the management were semi-structured interviews and open-ended interviews of 12 out of 18 being the realised sample size. The study showed evidence of poor leadership and management qualities in relation to support, role-modelling, trust, critical decisions, and self-management which may have a negative effect on younger and new employees. The study made an original contribution to this area as it depicted a clear indication of poor role-modelling and decision-making that managers lack, conflict management skills and its implications thereof.