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Faculty of Management Sciences

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Change management

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    Organisational change management framework for hospitals : a comparative case of St Mary’s, Marianhill, South Africa and St Joseph’s, Adazi-Nnukwu, Nigeria
    (2024-05) Anusi, Happiness Ifunanya; Mutambara, Emmanuel
    Change management in healthcare organisations is a complex task considering the continuous changes in global demography, technology, strategies, clinical communication, information transfer, and disease burden. The current global pandemic highlighted the need for healthcare organisations to continue implementing measures that adequately respond to health challenges towards patient satisfaction. Many organisations find it difficult to implement organisational change successfully. Unsuccessful change programmes can be attributed to the lack of employee training and development, poor leadership, inadequate communication, poor organisational culture and inadequate resources (Mosadeghrad & Ansarian, 2014). However, change programme implementation and its impact depend largely on the ability of managers to adopt and adapt the change programme techniques in their organisations. Agboola & Salawu's (2010) identified that the introduction of change produces a variety of reactions due to the intrinsic uncertainty or the alteration of employee behavioural patterns, including status quo, anxiety and lack of tolerance, amongst others. The greater the impact on the existing culture, the greater the amount of resistance likely to emerge and the more difficult it will be to implement change. The study of Organisational Development (OD) can serve as a learning paradigm for academic research by enhancing student knowledge about how change management can enable hospitals to create effective responses to changes. The main purpose of this study was to explore organisational change management practices in hospitals in Nigeria and South Africa and proposed a conceptual framework for the change management process for hospitals in a developing context. Employees are one of the most critical elements in any organisational change. Research objectives guided this study to determine the influence of driving forces of change on employee performance in St Mary's Hospital, Marianhill and St Joseph's Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu; to examine the impact of organisation culture on the practical implementation of change in St Mary's Hospital, Marianhill and St Joseph's Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu; to determine the influence of practical implementation of change on patient satisfaction in St Mary's Hospital, Marianhill and St Joseph's Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu; and to establish if drivers of change influence resistance to change during the implementation process in St Mary's Hospital, Marianhill and St Joseph's Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu. This study provided information on resisting forces and stakeholder attitudes towards the change. And thus, assisted in restructuring the health system for greater efficiency through structural reforms that bring healthcare closer to the people, foster greater accountability and promote community participation. A case study research design was adopted for this study. An explanatory mixed-method approach was adopted with the observed hospitals. The target population and sampling frame were the employees and management from different organisational levels at both hospitals. The total number of employees and final sample size for the study was 132 for St Joseph's Hospital and 150 for St Mary's Hospital. The researcher designed two sets of questionnaires for all employees, a survey for quantitative and an open-ended questionnaire for qualitative. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 28.0 and NVivo 12 were used to analyse the data. The analysis results for objectives one, two, three and four revealed a significant relationship between drivers of organisational change and employee performance. Organisational culture significantly impacted the practical implementation of change. Practical implementation of change showed a significant relationship with patient satisfaction. However, a non-significant association was found between drivers of change and resistance to change. The study found that both hospitals were successful in their change programmes. This can be attributed to proper employee training and development, good leadership, effective communication, strong organisational culture and adequate resources. Technology and organisational policy have been documented as key drivers of organisational change and performance. The study recommends that the management of the two healthcare organisations continue to implement technological changes with appropriate and required training. Management should continue to improve the adopted communication system, participative leadership and motivation system to enhance the implementation of change and promote team-building exercises to improve staff attitudes.
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    The effects of idealised influence on the dimensions of employee resistance to change at the automobile dealerships in the eThekwini region of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
    (Center for Strategic Studies in Business and Finance SSBFNET, 2023) Chukwuma, Nonye; Zondo, Robert Walter Dumisani
    The effects of idealised influence as one of the four components of transformational leadership serve as a critical dimension of leadership style. Others include inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and gaining the admiration, trust, and respect of the followers. However, this study focuses on the context of employee resistance to change and its varying dimensions about the role idealised influence plays as a mediator in mitigating resistance to change and facilitating a successful change implementation at selected automobile dealerships in eThekwini Region of KwaZulu-Natal. Idealised influence refers to the leader’s ability to act as role model and gain the admiration of employees and by so doing, positively influence employee’s resistance to change. The study examines the effects of idealised influence on employee resistance to change at the automobile dealership organisations in the eThekwini Region of KwaZulu-Natal. The study investigates the mediating role of idealised influence on employee resistance to change at the automobile dealership organisations in the eThekwini Region of KwaZulu-Natal. Assessment was based on the effect of this leadership style component and its impact on employees’ willingness to accept or resist changes introduced at the selected organisations. Of the 270 staff members identified for participation, 196 questionnaires were returned and analysed using the convergent data analysis as well as the Structural Equation Model (SEM). The study revealed that the idealised influence is positively associated with the staff quick acceptance of change. The study improves the existing framework with regards to understanding how leaders with idealised influence can facilitate change management acceptance of employees by embracing and inculcating the essence of idealised influence. The results can help managers and change management interventionists formulate human resource development to improve change management planning programmmes.
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    Examining how accounting is influenced by industry 4.0 in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
    (2023-02) Oluka, Alexander Markey; Kader, Abdulla
    The study aimed to examine how accounting is influenced by Industry 4.0 in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Grounded in the interpretivism paradigm and a phenomenology research design, the study aimed to gain a deeper understanding of accounting firms’ response to the implementation of Industry 4.0. The target population were accountants in KwaZulu Natal. A sample size of 13 accounting executives participated and completed the study. Data for the study was collected through in-depth telephone interviews with the purposively selected participants who were accounting executives. The qualitative data from the interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. The study findings show the dearth of academic research on Industry 4.0 in the accounting sector in South Africa. The findings reflected that accounting firms have a history of being hesitant to adopt modern and innovative technologies and as a result, their practices are increasingly incompatible with the expectations of their clients who may prefer the flexibility and speed brought by Industry 4.0. The findings indicate further that Industry 4.0 is influencing how financial statements are prepared, presented, stored, and communicated to stakeholders. In addition, the study revealed that Industry 4.0 enabled financial information to be collected and processed in real-time which supports effective and efficient decision-making. The study found that resistance to change, lack of skilled staff and organisation's resources present a challenge to Industry 4.0 technology adoption. Findings showed that it's the responsibility of firm leadership to create the vision, plan and communicate to communicate the Industry 4.0 vision and goals to all stakeholders. The study found that cybersecurity breaches have severe economic and reputation implications for accounting firms. In addition, the findings revealed that management experience stress when dealing with the aftermath of a cybersecurity breach. The study recommends that accounting firms consider investing in cyber insurance policies to lessen the costs associated with cybersecurity breaches. Universities and other institutions of higher learning must consider introducing data analytics and advanced accounting systems in the accounting curriculum. The study further recommends that businesses periodically back up their data and have safeguards in place to secure client information. Findings from this study can inform policy, research, and practice in South Africa's accounting sector in terms of Industry 4.0 adoption.
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    Conceptualizing transformation in the post-merger and incorporation environment era: A case of the Durban University of Technology
    (Emerald Group Publishing, 2016) Ngcamu, Bethuel Sibongiseni
    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to gauge the knowledge of the university leaders at the Durban University of Technology on transformation. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches guided by a structured survey questionnaire and in-depth interviews with the university leaders. The questionnaires generated the reliability coefficient α of 0.947, indicating a high degree of acceptance and consistency of the results. Findings – The study findings reveal the highest percentage of 70 per cent regarding the belief that transformation refers to restructuring the institution more than commonly anticipated variables such as race (56 per cent) and redressing the past injustices (59 per cent). Research limitations/implications – The limitation of the study was the scarcity of published material on the sub-dimensions of the study of transformation (transformation as referring to attracting qualified employees). Another limitation which was observed included the paucity of data regarding discipline and knowledge of transformation variables. Practical implications – This study suggests transformation in higher education institutions is defined through internal (operational and core) and external factors with a direct influence. Originality/value – This paper could potentially enrich the meaning of transformation, derived from the context and experience of South Africa.
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    Change management in the higher education landscape: a case of the transition process at a South African University
    (Virtus Interpress, 2016) Govender, Vaneshree; Rampersad, Renitha
    The South African Higher Education system in the post-apartheid period had to respond to the various discriminatory practices that existed during the apartheid era. This entailed responding to inequalities in the education system at various levels. With respect to Higher Education there was an imperative to serve society that was based on the principles of equality, equity and inclusivity. One such response was to merge higher education institutions such as ML Sultan Technikon and Technikon Natal to form the Durban Institute of Technology now referred to as the Durban University of Technology (DUT). This paper is concerned with the process of change in the Higher Education context and examines a South African case study. The study was conducted within a quantitative paradigm and the sample population was 400 administrative and academic staff from across the seven campuses. In order to satisfy the research objectives of the study, a self-administered location based survey was distributed and data was analyzed using SPSS. The study revealed that living and coping with change in the work environment is a fact of life for organisations and individuals. The success of any change programme depends on the organisation’s ability to communicate effectively with its employees; therefore internal communication plays a pivotal role in any change programme.
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    Leadership and transformation in a South African university
    (Business Perspectives, 2015) Ngcamu, Bethuel Sibongiseni; Teferra, Damtew
    Politicized South African higher education institutions (HEIs) have influenced leaders to be indecisive, error free, fearful of taking risks, marginalizing resisters, emotional and failing to recognize their personal weaknesses while working well with leaders beyond the university. This study interrogates leaders’ capabilities that have the potential to drive transformation at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) in the post-merger and incorporation era. The researcher undertook this study to highlight the prevalence of leadership incapability in the post-merger and incorporation era at DUT which has mainly been caused by leaders failing to take transformative decisions. This study employed a quantitative approach guided by a structured survey questionnaire to a target population of 191 with a response rate of 70%. The questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS generating the reliability coefficient alpha of 0.947 indicating a high degree of acceptance and consistency of the results. The study findings revealed the highest percentage of the research participants who held opposite views regarding the statement that leaders learn from their mistakes (32%) and that they understand their personal weaknesses (27%), with the highest percentage being undecided (46%). Another major highlight of the study was the highest percentage of the respondents who had a view that leaders work well with other leaders beyond the university (55%) as compared to internal stakeholders (49%). Researchers mention leadership capabilities as only being applicable to higher education institutions in general. This study provides information on leaders’ incapability, post-merger and incorporation, which could be of benefit to the university change management specialists in the design of relevant and specific interventions of change with the aim of filling the gaps or preventing bottlenecks identified by the findings. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge in developing countries as there is a dearth of published studies investigating leadership capabilities mishaps in the post-merger and incorporation era at the Universities of Technology.