Fusing Organisational Change and Leadership Into a Practical Roadmap for South-African Organisations
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T Blom 70425655 – DBL Thesis Fusing organisational change and leadership into a practical roadmap for South-African organisations by TONJA BLOM Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DBL at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: DR RC VILJOEN MAY 2015 i T Blom 70425655 – DBL Thesis DECLARATION I, T. Blom (Student number: 704 256 55) hereby declare that “Fusing organisational change and leadership into a practical roadmap for South-African organisations” is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. __________________________ _______________________ SIGNATURE DATE (Mrs T. Blom) ii T Blom 70425655 – DBL Thesis ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to the following people for their invaluable assistance in this research project: To my husband: Jan Blom. Thank you for your endless patience and support. I would not have been able to do this without you by my side. To my academic promoter: Dr Rica Viljoen. Thank you for you. With your guidance, wisdom and expertise this was a most enjoyable journey. I do not believe we have reached the end yet. Your energy is contagious! To the SBL librarians: Ms Lorraine Grobler and Ms Megan Scheepers. Thank you for your commitment, dedication and willingness to assist. I would like to acknowledge Ms Moya Joubert for assuming the role of editing and proofreading of this document. To everybody who responded to all my questions. Thank you for the insights gained through our conversations. I am grateful to everybody who assisted me on this journey. Thank you for your prayers, thoughts, laughter, tears and well-wishes. iii T Blom 70425655 – DBL Thesis ABSTRACT The intention of this study was theory creation in the field of organisational change, directed towards the creation of a conceptual change framework. A qualitative research approach was followed and a grounded theory methodology adopted. This study involved a theoretical investigation of organisational change and leadership within South African organisations, although insights gained could be transferred across contexts or settings. The primary aim was to create a practical change framework to ensure sustainable organisational change. Secondly, to determine the impact of leadership on successful organisational change. Thirdly, to establish whether any fundamental elements can be identified as essential for inclusion in such a change framework. Fourthly, to identify non-negotiable success factors that can ensure successful change. Fifthly, to determine the human elements that should be included in order to minimise negative outcomes such as resistance and non- compliance. The final aim was to ascertain what meta-insights can be gained from organisational change and leadership. The research findings concluded that the first perception when speaking about change is fear, anxiety and increased stress, resulting in impaired functioning. Organisations struggle to handle increased stress levels during periods of change and require improved methods of dealing with stress to ensure optimal individual functioning. Only through reduced stress levels will individuals be able to engage with organisational change initiatives. Alternative intervention technologies were suggested which could assist the individual change journey through reduced stress and/or increased consciousness. These alternative intervention technologies were suggested because of the paucity of current literature. It practically aids organisations on how to deal with the stress dilemma. This research introduced the concepts of anti-leader and anti-manager. These concepts depict the negative characteristics of leadership and management which invariably increases individual stress levels. Emotions elicited by the anti-leader and/or anti-manager could potentially split, divide and fragment a workforce. iv T Blom 70425655 – DBL Thesis The ideal organisational approach should be designed by the people, be inclusive of all, involve, empower and allow individuals to make the required decisions. As organisational change can only be effected through individual change, this thesis places the individual in the centre. Without individual change, vicissitude and sustainable organisational change become highly unlikely. Key terms: Alternative intervention technologies; anti-leadership; anti-management; communication; emotional intelligence; human niches; human reaction to change; leadership; Neuro-leadership; organisational change; organisational change framework; stress; vicissitude. v T Blom 70425655 – DBL Thesis TABLE OF CONTENTS DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS.………………………………………………….......... xvi ABBREVIATIONS………………………………………………………………………. xix PREFACE……………………………………………………………………………….. xx CHAPTER 1: GENERAL ORIENTATION…………………………………………… 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………. 1 1.2 BACKGROUND…………………………………………………………….. 2 1.3 CLARIFICATION OF TERMS AND CONCEPTS……………………….. 5 1.3.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………….. 5 1.3.2 Organisational Change…………………………………………………….. 5 1.3.3 Vicissitude……………………………………………………………………. 6 1.3.4 Perceptions………………………………………………………………….. 6 1.3.5 Resistance…………………………………………………………………… 7 1.3.6 Spiral dynamics……………………………………………………………… 7 1.4 RESEARCH PROBLEM……………………………………………………. 9 1.4.1 Research aims………………………………………………………………. 9 1.4.2 Research questions………………………………………………………… 10 1.5 ROLE OF THE RESEARCHER……………………………………...……. 10 1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS STUDY………………………………………… 11 1.7 THE USE OF LITERATURE IN THIS STUDY…………………………... 13 1.7.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………... 13 1.8 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY……………………………………………….. 14 1.8.1 Ontology……………………………………………………………………... 14 1.8.2 Epistemology………………………………………………………………... 17 1.8.3 Logic………………………………………………………………………….. 18 1.8.4 Ethics…………………………………………………………………………. 19 1.8.5 Methodological assumptions…………………………………………........ 19 1.8.6 Conclusion………………………………………………………………….... 21 1.9 RESEARCH STRATEGY…………………………………………………... 21 1.9.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………... 21 1.9.2 Research design……………………………………………………………. 22 1.9.2.1 Population and sampling……………………………………………….. 24 1.9.2.2 Data collection methods….…………………………………………….. 25 1.9.3 Data analysis………………………………………………………………… 27 1.9.3.1 Open coding…………..…………………………………………………. 28 1.9.3.2 Axial coding…………………………………………………………........ 29 1.9.3.3 Selective coding……………………………………………………........ 29 1.9.4 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………….. 29 1.10 ENSURING QUALITY DATA…………………………………………........ 30 1.11 UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION OF THIS RESEARCH……………………… 32 1.12 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS…………………………………………….. 35 1.13 DELIMITATIONS……………………………………………………………. 35 1.14 CHAPTER LAYOUT………………………………………………………… 36 CHAPTER 2: ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE……………………………………….. 39 2.1 INTRODUCTION………….………………………………………………… 39 2.2 ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE THEORY………………………………… 39 2.3 CURRENT CHANGE MODELS…………………………………..……..... 42 vi T Blom 70425655 – DBL Thesis 2.4 CHANGE CATEGORIES...…………………………………..…………….. 55 2.5 CRITICAL FORCES DRIVING CHANGE…………………………….….. 56 2.6 IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP ON ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE…….... 58 2.7 RESISTANCE TO CHANGE………………………………………………. 59 2.8 BEHAVIOUR RELATING TO ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE…………. 62 2.9 COMMUNICATION…………………………………………………………. 64 2.10 THE ETHICS OF CHANGE……………….……………………………….. 66 2.11 PERCEPTIONS ON CHANGE………….…………………………………. 68 2.12 LEADERSHIP……………………………………………………………….. 70 2.13 INTEGRATION……………………………………………………………… 75 2.14 CONCLUSION..…………………………………………………………….. 75 CHAPTER 3: HUMAN NICHES …………………………………..………………….. 77 3.1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………. 77 3.2 INTRODUCTION TO SPIRAL DYNAMICS ……………………………… 78 3.3 SPIRAL DYNAMICS AND HUMAN NICHES…………………………….. 81 3.4 vMEMEs……………………………………………………………………… 84 3.5 HUMAN NICHES……………………..…………………………………….. 92 3.5.1 Description of the different human niches…………………………......... 93 3.5.2 The first-tier human niches ……………………..……………………….... 94 3.5.2.1 BEIGE: The first-level human niche; “survival” …………………….. 94 3.5.2.2 PURPLE: The second-level human niche; “our people” ……….…. 94 3.5.2.3 RED: The third-level human niche; “visible risk”…………………… 98 3.5.2.4 BLUE: The fourth-level human niche; “stabiliser”…………………… 99 3.5.2.5 ORANGE: The fifth-level human niche; “calculated risk”………….. 100 3.5.2.6 GREEN: The sixth-level human niche; “inclusive”…………………... 101 3.5.3 The second-tier human niches …………..……………………………….. 102 3.5.3.1 YELLOW: The seventh-level human niche; “systemic/functional”… 102 3.5.3.2 TURQUOISE: The eighth-level human niche; “integral-holonic”….. 102 3.6 INTEGRATION OF HUMAN NICHES AND ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE…………………………………………………………………….. 103 3.7 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………. 105 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………………………………………. 107 4.1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………. 107 4.2 RESEARCH STRATEGY.…………………………………………..……… 107 4.2.1 Qualitative research approach…………………………………………….. 108 4.2.2 Grounded theory……………..……………………………………………… 109 4.3 SAMPLING DESIGN…………………….…………………………………. 111 4.3.1 Theoretical sampling…………………….…………………………………. 111 4.3.2 Sample size……………………………………………………………......... 113 4.4 PURPOSE OF VARIOUS DATA GATHERING METHODS..………….. 115 4.4.1 Case study…………..………………………………………………………. 115 4.4.2 In-depth interviews……………………………………………………......... 118 4.4.3 Focus group sessions………………………………………………………. 119 4.4.4 Solicited data………………………………………………………………… 120 4.4.5 Field notes and observations……………………………………………… 121 4.5 DATA CODING AND ANALYSIS………………………………………….. 122 4.5.1 Data coding outline…………………………………………………............ 122 4.5.1.1 Open coding……………………………………………………………... 123 4.5.1.2