A case study of role conflict experienced by change champions during organisational change
- Nakani-Mapoma, Xoliswa Faith
- Authors: Nakani-Mapoma, Xoliswa Faith
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Organization change , Organization change -- Management , Role conflict , Organizational behavior -- Case studies , Corporate culture -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96848 , vital:31337
- Description: A change champion has been defined as a person from any level of the organisation who is skilled at initiating, facilitating and implementing change, and who can effectively champion organisational changes. From a review of the literature, it was anticipated that change champions may experience role conflict, due to the multiple roles that they needed to fulfil simultaneously. Informed by organisational role theory, this research investigated the change management programme of a specific public entity as a case study, and analysed the nature of the role conflict that change champions experienced during a specific organisational change. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four change champions, the change coordinator and the Executive Director Corporate Services. The organisational documents that relate to change management were also consulted with a view to providing background information and an overview of the change management programme. A deductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. A coding framework was developed prior to the collection of data, and was used for the identification of theoretical codes and themes in the data. The following codes were developed and explored as types of role conflict: role ambiguity, person role conflict, role strain, role overload and role incompatibility. In terms of the findings, this study confirmed that change champions did experience role conflict during organisational change, mainly due to various expectations that come from different role senders. In the light of these findings, it was recommended that senior managers could reduce the incidents of role conflict by training change champions, introducing an orientation programme for new change champions, consider their personal values when appointing them, and allocating sufficient time for change champions to fulfil this additional role. This study has contributed to the body of knowledge by drawing on role theory and applying it to change management, in order to provide insight on the role of change champions during the organisational change, and in particular the role conflict that they experienced.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Nakani-Mapoma, Xoliswa Faith
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Organization change , Organization change -- Management , Role conflict , Organizational behavior -- Case studies , Corporate culture -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96848 , vital:31337
- Description: A change champion has been defined as a person from any level of the organisation who is skilled at initiating, facilitating and implementing change, and who can effectively champion organisational changes. From a review of the literature, it was anticipated that change champions may experience role conflict, due to the multiple roles that they needed to fulfil simultaneously. Informed by organisational role theory, this research investigated the change management programme of a specific public entity as a case study, and analysed the nature of the role conflict that change champions experienced during a specific organisational change. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four change champions, the change coordinator and the Executive Director Corporate Services. The organisational documents that relate to change management were also consulted with a view to providing background information and an overview of the change management programme. A deductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data. A coding framework was developed prior to the collection of data, and was used for the identification of theoretical codes and themes in the data. The following codes were developed and explored as types of role conflict: role ambiguity, person role conflict, role strain, role overload and role incompatibility. In terms of the findings, this study confirmed that change champions did experience role conflict during organisational change, mainly due to various expectations that come from different role senders. In the light of these findings, it was recommended that senior managers could reduce the incidents of role conflict by training change champions, introducing an orientation programme for new change champions, consider their personal values when appointing them, and allocating sufficient time for change champions to fulfil this additional role. This study has contributed to the body of knowledge by drawing on role theory and applying it to change management, in order to provide insight on the role of change champions during the organisational change, and in particular the role conflict that they experienced.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi as a bio-indicator of soil health under agricultural management practices in South Africa
- Authors: Sekgota, Wendy Maphefo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Soils -- Quality -- South Africa , Soil fertility -- South Africa , Fungi in agriculture -- South Africa , Mycorrhizal fungi , Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas , Fungi -- Spores , Soils -- Agricultural chemical content
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72161 , vital:30011
- Description: This study investigated the activity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi as a potential biological indicator of soil health under conventional and conservation agricultural management in South Africa. An experimental trial consisting of three replicates plots under conventional and reduced tillage subdivided into twelve treatments of six crops and two fertilizer inputs was assessed over four growing seasons for various AM fungal parameters such as spore density, most probable number (MPN) of propagules percentage root colonisation and easily extractable glomalin (EEG). Cropping combinations were maize monoculture; maize soybean rotation; maize cowpea rotation; maize cowpea intercropping; maize oats intercropping and maize vetch intercropping. Resident AM fungal spore numbers and EEG protein levels were very low and no root colonization was recorded in the first two growing seasons. These findings prompted the need for the inoculation of the study site in the third growing season with a commercial AM fungal product (MycorootTM). Spore numbers, EEG concentrations and percentage root colonisation increased 8 weeks after inoculation but were significantly reduced in the fourth growing season that was not inoculated. MPN infectivity increased with inoculation particularly under conventional tillage and maize monoculture. Resident spore taxa were morphologically identified into three genera Gigaspora, Scutellospora, and Glomus. For the first two growing seasons, the maize roots were heavily colonized by a pathogenic fungus after mycorrhizal inoculation no evidence of pathogenic fungi was observed. In the fourth growing season which did not receive inoculation, root colonization started to decline. Reduced tillage, high fertilizer input combined with maize cowpea rotation (MC) and maize hairy vetch intercropping (Mv) had a significant effect (P = 0.01) on AM fungal spore numbers. Cropping systems and high fertilizer input had a significant effect on EEG concentrations in the second growing season. Overall, fertilizer application and crop type had implications for mycorrhizal activity. The soil health status in this study site was deemed low as measured by the impaired mycorrhizal activity due to agricultural management practices. Field inoculation combined with classical and molecular tools could provide a more realistic assessment of the effect of agricultural management practices on AM fungi as potential bioindicators of soil health. Therefore, AM fungi could be used as bioindicators of soil health under agricultural management practices in South African soil conditions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Sekgota, Wendy Maphefo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Soils -- Quality -- South Africa , Soil fertility -- South Africa , Fungi in agriculture -- South Africa , Mycorrhizal fungi , Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas , Fungi -- Spores , Soils -- Agricultural chemical content
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/72161 , vital:30011
- Description: This study investigated the activity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi as a potential biological indicator of soil health under conventional and conservation agricultural management in South Africa. An experimental trial consisting of three replicates plots under conventional and reduced tillage subdivided into twelve treatments of six crops and two fertilizer inputs was assessed over four growing seasons for various AM fungal parameters such as spore density, most probable number (MPN) of propagules percentage root colonisation and easily extractable glomalin (EEG). Cropping combinations were maize monoculture; maize soybean rotation; maize cowpea rotation; maize cowpea intercropping; maize oats intercropping and maize vetch intercropping. Resident AM fungal spore numbers and EEG protein levels were very low and no root colonization was recorded in the first two growing seasons. These findings prompted the need for the inoculation of the study site in the third growing season with a commercial AM fungal product (MycorootTM). Spore numbers, EEG concentrations and percentage root colonisation increased 8 weeks after inoculation but were significantly reduced in the fourth growing season that was not inoculated. MPN infectivity increased with inoculation particularly under conventional tillage and maize monoculture. Resident spore taxa were morphologically identified into three genera Gigaspora, Scutellospora, and Glomus. For the first two growing seasons, the maize roots were heavily colonized by a pathogenic fungus after mycorrhizal inoculation no evidence of pathogenic fungi was observed. In the fourth growing season which did not receive inoculation, root colonization started to decline. Reduced tillage, high fertilizer input combined with maize cowpea rotation (MC) and maize hairy vetch intercropping (Mv) had a significant effect (P = 0.01) on AM fungal spore numbers. Cropping systems and high fertilizer input had a significant effect on EEG concentrations in the second growing season. Overall, fertilizer application and crop type had implications for mycorrhizal activity. The soil health status in this study site was deemed low as measured by the impaired mycorrhizal activity due to agricultural management practices. Field inoculation combined with classical and molecular tools could provide a more realistic assessment of the effect of agricultural management practices on AM fungi as potential bioindicators of soil health. Therefore, AM fungi could be used as bioindicators of soil health under agricultural management practices in South African soil conditions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
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