Evaluating middle management's perceptions of the strategic management process within Ezemvelo.
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Date
2015
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate middle management’s perceptions of the strategic
management process within Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, a provincial public entity located
in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. The decision to embark on such research was
due to the fact that the literature on strategic management processes thus far has focused
primarily on top management and front-line staff.
The performance of the South African public sector remains of great concern, despite
the various strategic management models available and research that proves that good
management of organisational processes (involving development, execution, monitoring
and evaluation) invariably produces improved performance. Hence, this research further
aimed to understand how middle management at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife as a public
entity view the organisation’s strategic management process, the business model, and
their role within the strategic processes; which factors are most important to that level
of management; and what their level of satisfaction with those factors is.
Based on the reporting criteria used, 126 middle managers were identified and the entire
population was invited to participate in the research. A quantitative research method
based on postpositivist assumptions was selected, and a survey with a questionnaire
containing a set of predetermined questions was administered.
Four important results emerged. Firstly, middle management had a low level of
knowledge on the organisation’s strategy. Secondly, middle managers considered the
organisation’s business model to be unsuitable, and did not believe that value was being
created and delivered efficiently, effectively and economically. Thirdly, while the
majority of middle managers agreed that the strategic management process assists in
focusing and improving performance within the organisation, they were unsure of their
role. Finally, while middle managers identified team work across the organisation as the
most important factor, it was in relation to team work that they experienced the least
satisfaction.
The main recommendations were to increase middle management’s knowledge of
organisational strategy, clarify their roles, and promote team work within and between
the organisational structures.
Description
Master of Business Administration. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville 2015.
Keywords
Strategic planning--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal., Management--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal., Business planning--South Africa--KwaZulu-Natal., Theses--Business administration., Strategic management process., Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife.