Personeel van 'n tersiere instelling se belewing van transformasie

Abstract

Tertiary institutions in South Africa are currently undergoing transformation, in order to accomplish a better fit with the needs of a changing South African commercial and societal environment. The effect of organisational transformation is that personnel within these institutions are constantly confronted with changes, which impact significantly on the execution of their daily tasks. The personnel are the instrun1ents by means of which transformation takes place. It is therefore important to implement the transformation in such a way that organisational effectiveness is retained. The general purpose of this research was to determine employees of a tertiary education institution's experience of transformation and to determine whether the experiences of personnel members and managers differ. Organisational transformation, its most important trigger mechanisms and factors which could influence individuals' experiences of transformation were studied in the literature. A qualitative research design, based on the phenomenological paradigm, was used. Twelve members of the personnel were identified randomly from the total staff of a tertiary institution's satellite campus. All the managers from the campus were involved in the research. Interviews were used to determine the personnel's experiences of transformation. Content analysis was used to analyse the interviews and to quantify and to interpret the research results. The results of the empirical study showed that the personnel and managers evaluated external factors, such as changes in client base and legislation and regulation by government, as trigger mechanisms for organisational transformation. Internal or organisationally linked factors such as management and leadership, communication and feedback, organisational culture and organisational effectiveness also play a role during transformation. It seems that the dynamic interchange between external trigger mechanisms and internal factors, influences individuals' experiences of transformation on a cognitive, affective and conative level. Similarities and differences, regarding management and personnel's expenencmg were found. Recommendations for future research are made.