| Summary: | Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. === In 1999, a study was conducted by Christo Nel within the People
Management and Leadership domain. His research was based on
responses to a questionnaire regarding the application of people
management practices as a means of competitive advantage. The study
was implemented to investigate and elicit opinions and reasons vis-a-vis
the importance of specific people management practices to globally
competitive organisations.
In early 2001, building on Nel's research, Bekker and de Villiers
embarked on a comprehensive study of literature regarding the nine
people management practices within organisations. This was done by
exploring each of the specific people management practices with a view
to gleaning information about programmes that best-in-class
organisations have implemented to ensure that employees are aligned
with the following factors:
Knowledge development (or knowledge management) - How to best
"partner technology with a corporate culture and business processes,
and using this as a vehicle to manage and deliver the business
information and expertise of fellow workers to the most fundamental
driver of business growth: the knowledge worker." Service excellence - Ensuring that organisations are fully accountable to
their customers and providing a strong level of service.
Focus on goals - Ensuring that organisations are emphasising the
conversion of overall organisational objectives into specific objectives for
organisational units or individual members (i.e. a process whereby
objectives are "cascaded" down the organisation).
Participation Encouraging employees to "take ownership and
responsibility for business results," through programmes such as ESOP
plans, representative participation and employee empowerment.
From the vast amount of information that has been synthesised
pertaining to the topic, a clear thread runs through the dissertation:
Agility! An agile firm manages change as a matter of routine. By
combining a competitive vision with internal and external initiatives, and
the application of technology, an enterprise can deliver on the four key
competitive priorities - cost, quality, dependability, and flexibility.
The proposed model suggests that being focused on organisational goals
is central to effectively utilising an organisation's biggest asset, namely
its people. By linking goals to all the other people management
practices, an organisation becomes increasingly agile and more adept at
outperforming its competition.
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