Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Symbolic leadership'

Förändringar är vanligt förekommande i dagens organisationer. En strategi som kan nyttjas för att öka lönsamheten och nå målen är förändring av organisationskulturen. Dessa är svåra att genomföra eftersom omedvetna antaganden måste synliggöras och ifrågasättas samt förändringen i sig är tidskrävande. I socialt samspel formas och omformas kulturen av individerna och enligt symbolisk interaktionism sker då överföring och tolkning av symboler. Genom att utföra en kvalitativ intervjustudie på en specifik stödenhet inom en organisation kan de faktorer som behöver tas i beaktande i en kulturförändring belysas däribland symbolbegreppet. Syftet med studien är att utifrån ett ledarperspektiv få djupare förståelse för förändring av organisationskultur och hur ledarna anser sig vara viktiga i förändringsprocessen. I studien tas hänsyn till organisationens internmaterial kring förändringsarbetet och för att besvara forskningsfrågorna genomfördes åtta samtalsintervjuer med ledare inom stödenheten. Behov av samsyn, mätning, stöd från organisationen samt högsta ledningen och ledaren som symboler är enligt ledarna de bidragande faktorerna i kulturförändringsprocessen. Ledaren anses i synnerhet vara viktig då denne fyller en central funktion i överförandet av organisationskulturen. Ifall ledaren anses vara en symbol kan denne påverka kulturförändringen genom att synliggöra den önskade kulturen i sitt agerande.
Changes are common in today's organizations and change of organizational culture is one strategy that can be used to improve profitability and achieve objectives. Changes in organizational culture are difficult to implement because of the unconscious assumptions that must be made visible and challenged. The change itself is time consuming. In social interactions individuals shape and reshape culture. According to symbolic interactionism transmission and interpretation of symbols occur through the social interaction. The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of what contributes to a change in organizational culture and how the leader may be important in this change. The qualitative interview study takes into account the organization's internal material about the change process. There were eight interviews with leaders in the support unit in order to answer the research questions. Contributing to the change according to the leaders is: consensus, measuring, support from the organization, top management and leaders as symbols. The leader is considered to be particularly important because the leader has a central role in the transfer of organizational culture. If the leader is considered to be a symbol, the leader can affect cultural change by acting according to the desired culture.

Thesis (M. Arch.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2004.
Thesis research directed by: Architecture. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.

Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Leadership, 2004.
Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [3], x, 166 p. : ill. Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-142).

Inledning: Kontinuerlig organisationsförändring förekommer allt oftare i dagens organisationer, och kännetecknas av att förändringsprocessen inte har någon början ellerslut. I samband med att kontinuerlig organisationsförändring genomförs i organisationer kan det bidra till att anställda upplever en förvirrande och mångtydig känsla, eftersom förändring sker hela tiden. I dessa situationer är meningsskapande en avgörande faktor, vilken är en central aspekt inom symboliskt ledarskap. Studien undersöker därför symboliskt ledarskap i detta sammanhang, och fokuserar främst på hur chefer använder symboler och meningsskapande för att dämpa den tvetydighet som uppkommer. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att utveckla en förståelse för på vilket sätt chefer använder symboler och meningsskapande vid kontinuerlig organisationsförändring. Metod: Genom att använda oss av en kvalitativ forskningsmetod har vi genomfört enfallstudie med en abduktiv ansats. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer och från inspiration av en etnografisk studie. För att skapa en utvecklad förståelse för hur cheferna arbetar i den dagliga verksamheten är studien hermeneutisk. Slutsats: Studien har kommit fram till att symboler används av cheferna för att skapa mening men även för att förmedla samhörighet, trygghet och en gemensam syn. Symbolerna används genom kommunikation, synlighet och genom att arrangera diverse tillställningar. Meningsskapande blir viktigt eftersom det får anställda att känna mening inför de arbetsuppgifter som ska utföras.
Introduction: Continuous organizational change is increasing in today's organizations, and is characterized by change having no beginning nor end. In liaison with the ongoing organizational change being implemented in organizations it can cause employees feeling confused and ambiguous, since change occurs all the time. In these situations, sensemaking constitute an essential factor, which is a key aspect of symbolic leadership. The study therefore examines symbolic leadership in this context, and focuses on how managers use symbols and sensemaking to reduce the ambiguity that arises. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to develop an understanding of in what way leaders practice symbols and sensemaking during continuous organizational change Method: By using a qualitative research method, we conducted a case study with an abductive approach. The empirical material was collected through semi-structured interviews and from the inspiration of an ethnographic study. In order to create a developed understanding of how managers are working in the daily activities, the study use a hermeneutic approach. Conclusion: The findings of the study has concluded that symbols are utilized by managers in order to create meaning, but also to transmit togetherness, security and a mutual vision. The symbols are utilized through communication, visibility and by organizing various events. Sensemaking is thus important since it mediates how employees can feel meaningfulness for the tasks to be executed.

This interpretive research study examines peer leadership in a distributed online MBA community of practice at New States University (NSU pseudonym, based in USA). It explores ways in which faculty members in a global business course, NMBA616 (pseudonym), negotiate relationships, meaning and identity in their efforts to be effective teachers and address their own needs for professional growth and development. The research participants provide insights about community formation and function in a virtual domain where they work together at a distance without meeting face-to-face. The study appears to be a new application of culture code methodology, symbolic interactionism and social learning theory as they conjoin on social, psychological and organizational levels. To my knowledge it is the first study of an MBA virtual community of practice. Research interviews were conducted primarily by distance using web-based technology, teleconferences and email, as well as some face to face discussion. The central questions are: 1) To what extent does a distributed faculty team in an online global business management course constitute a community of practice? 2) What is the nature of faculty relationships in the online global business management course? and 3) What are the leadership issues in a virtual practice setting? Findings reveal that online community practitioners are resourceful in creating peer leadership that is embedded within the group and its relationships. The study is motivated by my personal interests and professional experience, as well as by the quest of online colleagues for ways to assess, support and improve themselves and their practice. Building on personal experience as an online business communications instructor, the thesis presents an example of peer leadership in a virtual global business community of practice and in its completion stands as a case study.

The field of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) traditionally encompasses care and education for children aged from birth to eight years. In this study, the focus is specifically on the field that provides services for children in prior to school settings, that being the birth to five sector. This sector is highly feminised and has emerged over the last century from philanthropic roots. Despite considerable work into leadership in other areas, until recent times, attention to aspects of leadership has been limited within the ECEC field and much of the research undertaken has focused heavily on centre-based leadership. This study investigated how personnel, from a range of services, understand and enact leadership. In terms of data analysis it draws heavily on symbolic interactionism as a methodological tool and engages standpoint feminist theory to inform the analytical process. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with twenty-six participants who also identified artefacts, which they considered influenced and supported their understandings of leadership. In addition, two focus groups were conducted to explore themes emerging from early analysis of the data. Findings indicate two categories, which emerge as relevant to how leadership is understood and enacted by participants. The first of these is the concept of interpreted professional identity, which reflects participants' interpretations of who they are as early childhood professionals informed by their own views and the views of others. How individuals interpret their sense of self (manifest in their professional identity) is influential in the secondary category, which is interpreted leadership capacity. This category reflects participants' leadership activity or inactivity. The analysis reflects a complex interplay between how participants interpret their professional sense of self (interpreted professional identity) and their capacity and willingness to enact leadership (interpreted leadership capacity). Individuals in the formation of their professional identity interpret factors, both internal to the ECEC field and external (through social expectations). The culture of the ECEC field (internal factors) includes competing elements such as a discourse of niceness juxtaposed against examples of horizontal violence. Factors external to the field suggest there are lingering social associations between heroic male images and leadership, which make women as leaders problematic. Within a highly feminised field such as ECEC, this study brings new perspectives to understandings of leadership and its enactment.

Idag är skolan ofta föremål för debatt i massmedia. Ett vanligt förekommande ämne är den bristande ordningen i klassrummen och hur den leder till försämrade resultat. Den allmänna uppfattningen är att hårdare disciplin är lösningen.           Studiens syfte är därför att skildra hur fem förstelärare gör för att skapa ordning i sina klassrum. För att uppnå syftet utfördes kvalitativa intervjuer med utgångspunkt i en vinjett, vilken våra informanter fick ta del av. I analysen användes framför allt symbolisk interaktionism och ledarskapsteori som teoretiskt ramverk.           Resultatet visade att inga av informanterna var för metoder så som skrämsel, kvarsittning, utkastning eller andra former av bestraffningar. Samtliga informanter uppvisade ett demokratiskt ledarskap och menade istället att trygghetsskapande är den bästa metoden i skapandet av en god arbetsmiljö. Ordningsregler och tydliga ramar menar de ska skapa trygghet och förebygga eventuella beteendeproblem hos eleverna, medan samtal ska hjälpa eleverna att förstå vad de gjort, om de trots allt skulle uppträda opassande. Detta för att hindra att eleven beter sig likadant igen.           Vår förhoppning är att kunna bidra med tips och idéer till andra lärare om hur ordning kan skapas i klassrummet.
Today, school is often the subject of debate in the media. A common topic is the lack of order in the classroom and how it leads to poorer results. The general consensus is that tougher discipline is the solution.           The aim of this study is to describe how five “förstelärare” create order in their classrooms. To achieve the aim, qualitative interviews based on a vignette were conducted, which our informants were presented with. To analyze the results different theories like symbolic interactionism and leadership theory were used.           The results showed that none of the informants was positive to methods such as intimidation, detention, ejection or other forms of punishment. All informants reported a democratic leadership and instead argued for establishing of assurance as the best method, to create a good working environment. They mean that standards of conduct and clear instructions will provide assurance and prevent students’ behavior problems, while dialogs will help students to understand what they have done, so that they do not repeat their behavior.           Our hope is to give other teachers tips and ideas on how order can be created in the classroom.

With the highest representation of female parliamentarians in the world, Rwanda is a frequently reoccurring case when studying the impact of increased female representation. In this debate, little attention has been given to symbolic representation and particularly to the concept of the Role Model Effect. To bridge this gap, the purpose is to provide insights to how the Role Model Effect operates in a rural, non-quota context, separated from high politics. Consequently, the thesis seeks to examine how female board members in Rwandan agricultural cooperatives affect the willingness of female members to obtain board positions. The data was collected through a qualitative field study where 44 respondents in three different cooperatives in Rwanda were interviewed. Respondents were chosen through a combination of strategic selection and snowball sampling. The thesis found that the Role Model Effect required two conditions to be fulfilled before it could be manifested: geographical proximity and trust. If these criteria were met, both female board members and female leaders of lower ranks were found to explicitly and implicitly increase the willingness to obtain leading positions among female members, thus altering ruling gender roles.

This dissertation, submitted in article format, explores how the physical movement theories of Anne Bogart's Viewpoints may lead to a liberatory setting, one which echoes the theories of Paolo Freire, for college theatre students. It examines whether Viewpoints is effective in creating a studio classroom culture and whether the Viewpoints exercises can lead to a heightened clarity in individual performance, with a much more satisfying and involved learning experience for students of the theatrical arts. In addition, this dissertation applies the theory of Mead's symbolic interactionism to the discoveries that students make while using Viewpoints exercises. Research methods include autoethnography, analysis of case studies, and examination of interview data from three college directors and thirteen student actors who have trained and used Viewpoints in rehearsal.

Att vara ung kvinnlig chef är ett outforskat område som behöver belysas. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka vad det innebär att arbeta som offentligt anställd ung kvinnlig chef. Urvalet bestod av fyra unga kvinnliga chefer verksamma inom en stor kommun i Sverige. Med en etnografisk metodansats utfördes åtta deltagande observationer inklusive en fokusgruppsintervju. Resultatet påvisade att cheferna ansåg att faktorer som ålder och kön inte spelade roll när det gällde ledarskap. Trots detta uppfattades en känsla av ambivalens i synen på betydelsen av sin ålder och kön genom att man gjorde skillnad på sina medarbetares ålder och kön. Då ansåg cheferna att yngre, äldre, manliga och kvinnliga medarbetare behövde olika bemötanden. För att förstå studiens resultat i sin helhet användes teorier med inspiration från Charon och den symboliska interaktionismen som betonar att vi blir till i den sociala interaktionen med andra. Systemteori användes även för att synliggöra hur cheferna påverkas och påverkar den samhälleliga bilden av chefsrollen.
Being a young female manager is an unexplored area that needs to be highlighted. This study therefore aims to explore what it means to work as a young female public servant manager. The sample consisted of four young female managers in a large municipality in Sweden. With an ethnographic research approach, eight participating observations including a focus group interview was performed. The result showed that the managers felt that factors such as age and gender did not play a role in their leadership. Despite this, we perceived a sense of ambivalence in the view of the importance of age and gender by making a difference in their employees’ age and gender. The managers considered that younger, older, male and female employees were needed different treatment. To understand the result of the study in its entirety, theories inspired by Charon and symbolic interactionism was used which emphasizes that we become us by the social interaction with others. Systems theory was also used to show how the managers are affected and also affecting the society’s image of the general management role.

This study is an exploration of a change management intervention tool described here as the Hypothetical'. This tool is not described in organisation literature, but many of its functions and features can be found in theories relating to, for example, organisational communication, change management, leadership and team dynamics. The Hypothetical does, however, appear as a discussion forum in the popular media. In the 1980s and 1990s, the high profile television program, Hypotheticals, hosted by Geoffrey Robertson QC, dramatised decision making processes, and teased out some of the moral dilemmas inherent in social and political problems, utilising high profile panelists from the social, political and business elites. In the 1990s, the Hypothetical made a transition from the television screen to the management meeting room and the executive suite. The researcher of this study has similarly used the Hypothetical in his capacity as a communications consultant for a number of public and private client organisations. With this background, this study was undertaken to explore the Hypothetical and to identify those functions and features that define its appropriateness as an intervention for organisational communication and change. The findings from this study are founded on two aspects a review of relevant organisation literature, and data from the presentation of a specific Hypothetical intervention to the public organisation Centrelink Queensland. The Hypothetical tool, as identified in this study, is a one-off, 90 minute performance involving a facilitator, audience, and members of a panel who represent the organisation in which semi-fictitious storylines are meant to symbolise elements in the cultural life of the organisation. The study also identifies a Hypothetical process in which research methods that are applied, before and after the intervention performance, help to identify the functions and features of the intervention. The features of the Hypothetical, as an intervention are viewed through the lens of Goffman's 1959) classic theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism, where the organisation is conceptualised as 'theatre', and the motivations and actions of its members are interpreted through the symbolism of theatrical performance and interaction. The study also draws on symbolic convergence theory to explain what happens inside an organisation through the language, conflicts and shared cultural experiences of its members. The Centrelink Hypothetical in this study reflects aspects of the shared organisational culture, and presents its fictitious storylines in the context of dialogues between its panelists. The panelists are representatives of their organisation and are heard reflecting the values of that organisation's culture. Consequently, the analysis of text through the Hypothetical transcript the deciphering of shared narratives, mindsets, motivations and visions of the future, and so forth forms a significant aspect of the study for conceptualising Centrelink organisational culture, and for identifying how problems of communication and change have become embedded in that culture. More specifically, it is through the Centrelink Hypothetical that this study seeks to identify the functions of the Hypothetical and to determine how they may contribute solutions to Centrelink's management problems. The literature consulted for this study reveals that the Hypothetical is closely allied, as an intervention process, with the relatively new management practice of scenario planning. It scenario planning that attempts to build a generative learning capability within organisations a continuously looping process of deep learning that takes place within each organisation's unique strategic conversation. This study draws on scenario planing to identify similar performance features within the Hypothetical process stimulating the organisation to be responsive to, and to embrace, change; finding appropriate methods of communication; identifying and modifying mental models. This study also highlights a significant difference between the scenario planning process and the Hypothetical. Emerging literature in management psychology asserts the importance of the emotionally intelligent team, which demonstrates its social skills and empathy. However, the driving force behind scenario planning is 'the business idea', or the organisation's mental model and what drives it, and there is little or no attention paid to the importance of emotional capabilities in the scenario planning literature. Findings from the Centrelink case demonstrate that a significant dimension of the Hypothetical experience is the impact of symbolically convergent scripted roles and the related capacity to utilise emotional intelligence. Consequently, this study recommends that suitable emotional frameworks be employed throughout the Hypothetical process to help discern appropriate members' behaviours and suggest how the combination of such behaviours may be used to enhance the organisation's future generative learning process.

L’avènement de la démocratie de type libérale a entraîné un reconditionnement des mythes et images du leader politique, en Roumanie. Les événements de 1989 ont entraîné un besoin endémique de créer une nouvelle scène et un véritable imagier des figures politiques roumaines. Cependant, la communication des leaders politiques postcommunistes est soumise à l’héritage de leur passé communiste et des traces laissée par Nicolae Ceausescu dans l’imaginaire collectif. Tributaire de ce lourd héritage, les leaders politiques roumains répondent à un mécanisme qui semble contradictoire au premier abord : ces leaders construisent le terrain politique de la Roumanie contemporaine en même temps qu’ils se construisent eux-mêmes. En cela, ils sont le produit d’une société dont ils semblent être, eux-mêmes, les architectes. Cette double participation à la vie du pays rend donc le cas des leaders politiques roumain très particulier. Toutefois, l’instrumentalisation des mythes et des images permet aux représentants politiques de forger l’archétype du leader démocrate roumain et contribuent à la construction d’un espace politique stable en Europe Centrale et Orientale
In Romania, the rise of democracy has contributed to modifying political leaders’ myths and images. The 1989 events have led to the vital necessity of creating both a new political landscape and a new set of images attached to political leaders. However, political communication has been influenced and shaped by the Communist past of the current political leaders as well as by the image of Nicolae Ceausescu in collective memory. At first sight, such a heavy legacy seems to have had a contradictory influence on political leaders who have been constructing themselves while building Romania’s contemporary political area. They are both the products and architects of Romanian society. This dual involvement in the country’s life has placed them in a very complex situation. However, the instrumentation of myths and images has given them the possibility not only of building the archetype of Romania’s democratic leaders but also of creating a steady political environment in Central and Oriental Europe

The abuse of power, dominance of certain shared perspectives, and reduction of personal values into so-called organizational core values are problems that plague traditional organizational direction setting. The purpose of this study was to explore how power intersects with the knowledge formation process, shared perspectives, and participatory processes within organizational direction setting. The study used an ethnographic case study approach to focus on a church that went through a yearlong direction setting process. The church had lost its senior pastor and wanted to determine its direction before hiring a new pastor. The researcher was a participant in that process. His field notes and other documentation provided one source of data. The researcher also interviewed 20 people who participated in the process. In terms of the intersection of power and knowledge formation, the study revealed that the discursive practices of the facilitator along with the voices of those in privileged groups, the outspoken, and those who had engendered trust in others carried considerable weight during the process. At the intersection of power with shared perspectives, there were two major perspectives representing subgroup cultures: a traditional perspective that resisted change and a progressive perspective that wanted change. The progressives dominated the church’s privileged groups and exerted extensive influence on the direction setting process. The organizational symbols of church staff and worship music style served to galvanize some people in the battle over which perspective would prevail. Transparency functioned as a bridge that brought some on either side of the conflict closer together. The research revealed two major types of power related to the intersection of power with participatory processes: the power of pain and intimidation. Both minimized the participation of some women, youth, and traditionalists. All three intersections featured deployments of power that influenced the construction of directional knowledge. This knowledge helped to inform the rules of “appropriate” conduct within the organization’s emerging truth regime. The study revealed that, in this case, robust directional knowledge would have accommodated personal, subgroup, and widely shared values in a state of dynamic equilibrium. The researcher concluded with a discussion of implications for organizational leaders.

Leadership represents a diverse and dynamic area of study, occupying a vast area in sociological literature. However, the nonprofit sector is somewhat neglected in literature that examines leadership as a performance. Heightened demand for accountability, funding shortages and other challenges in the nonprofit sector have spurred recent trends such as coalition-building and business-like practices. Nonprofit leaders must satisfy multiple internal and external stakeholders with opposing values and expectations. This creates a rich and yet incomplete area in which to study impression management. This thesis employs an interpretivist perspective, specifically utilizing symbolic interactionism to understand how the participants create and maintain impressions. By employing Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical metaphors, this thesis addresses how the participants use symbolic representations of leadership in order to create desired impressions. It also explores the strategies used by the participants in order to present a front of competent leadership during the interviews. Lastly, the research asks the participants to reflect on their impression management activities. To address these questions, 19 leaders were interviewed at 11 different nonprofits in Canada and in Egypt for approximately one hour each, using face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Simple observation was also applied. A combination of purposive, snowball and convenience sampling was used to select the organizations. iv The research offers a number of significant findings. First, the manner and appearances of the leaders and the design of their office space provides avenues in which to convey leadership, financial and organizational messages, as well as information about the leaders’ roles and statuses. For example, visual cues may be used to express their participative approach to leadership, convey organizational frugality or success and create a corporate culture. Second, the participants commonly self-identified as benevolent and humble “servant leaders” by attempting to appear as mentors. They downplayed their authority and claimed to integrate staff feedback into the organization. They also claimed to employ a benevolent form of discipline that focuses on learning. When discussing mistakes, the participants claimed to respond in an ideal way, by apologizing and learning from their errors. However, they claimed to, at times, act authoritatively and convey “professionalism.” The leaders displayed their authority during the course of the interview and laid claim to qualifications that made them especially suited for the job. These kinds of inconsistencies suggest that impression management is not static or flawless, but rather a series of performances fraught with contradiction and tension. Third, about half of the participants admitted to consciously changing their behaviour, language and appearances in situations in order to build trust with stakeholders. This involves at times appearing “professional” while at other times self-humbling in order to build a shared-identity with others. The participants struggle to appear sincere, but recognize that their impressions are sometimes met with suspicion. There are limitations to the sampling technique and research design. A larger sample that interviewed a group of leaders from one region would be preferable to this small, cross-national one. In this thesis it is impossible to know whether the participants’ claims are warranted. Longitudinal participant observation would enable the researcher to see inconsistencies and also to understand how others interpret the leaders’ impression management attempts. However, the research has many benefits; in addition to contributing to the literature and providing examples of Goffman’s dramaturgical metaphors in the context of nonprofit leadership, this thesis may assist leaders in their goals. This thesis could lead to increased self-reflexivity or sharing of impression management techniques and could potentially assist nonprofit leaders with their tenuous missions.

According to the available literature, schools with a positive organisational culture are more effective and will probably achieve better results. This study investigates the way in which a positive school culture is formed. It focuses on the role of the leadership of the principal in developing an organisational culture of an independent school. This qualitative study scrutinises one specific school in a group of several independent schools in South Africa and compares the school culture of the original school (between 1971 and 1974) to the current school culture as manifested in the last four years (2009- 2012). Data was gathered through interviews with the founder of the school, interviews with current teachers and the current principal, document research of artefacts as well as observations made by visitors to the school in a professional capacity. The data recorded was analysed in terms of a "levels of culture" model proposed by Edgar Schein (1985) by looking at what “the school” said about itself, what “the school” and the principal did, and what things look like. Furthermore, a study was made of what is seen as acceptable behaviour and unacceptable behaviour followed by what is regarded as important and not important in the school. The answers to these questions were used to determine the assumptions that members of the school community hold about the nature of the school. The analysis of the school’s culture aimed to determine how this school’s past is living in the present and what role the leadership of the principal played in shaping the school’s culture. All of this was done to determine how school culture is formed, so that other schools can also use the methods identified in this study to identify their own school’s culture and find ways of changing it. The researcher concludes that the formation of a school culture can be controlled and manipulated towards a positive outcome and ways of doing this are identified. It is also found that the culture of the specific school in this study seems to have been well-defined and positive throughout its history and that the leadership of the principal plays a significant role in the success of the school.
Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
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Education Management and Policy Studies
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Text in English with abstracts in English, Afrikaans and Venda
In this qualitative study, the research objective was to present a theoretical framework for the phenomenon of interpersonal leadership relations (denoting both the dyadic relationship between two leader/followers and the leadership communication taking place in the dyad) in knowledge-based organisational contexts. It is posited that the interpersonal leader-follower dyad (LFD) may be viewed from a systems theory perspective as a system consisting of two system parts (individuals). These individuals are labelled ‘leader/followers’ to emphasise their mutual interdependence, and to indicate that these roles may be interchangeable, based on the knowledge needs in a particular situation (in line with the tenets of shared leadership). The dyadic system is influenced by its environment, the organisational context. However, the primary focus of this study is on interpersonal leadership communication as symbolic interaction between the leader/followers in the LFD. These three systemic levels are represented as major themes in the model resulting from this study: Theme 1 – an organisational environment that supports constructive interpersonal leadership relations (ILR); Theme 2 – symbolic interaction in the LFD; and Theme 3 – personal attributes that enhance ILR. The data were collected from two convenience samples. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants in Sample 1, while questionnaires were used to collect data from Sample 2. In both cases, thematic analysis was used to analyse and interpret the data. The major contribution of the study is the resulting theoretical framework of ILR, which comprises a theoretically based definition of ILR; a generic model of ILR; and current guidelines for fostering constructive ILR in knowledge-based contexts, with reference to the three systemic levels. The following definition was phrased based on the study: Constructive interpersonal leadership relations (ILR) in a knowledge-based organisational context is a dyadic process of symbolic communication between two expert leader/followers who mutually influence each other and share meaning to strengthen their relationship and to collaboratively transfer and apply knowledge to achieve organisational goals. In terms of the environment, it was found that organisational leaders should actively model and promote the following: a collaborative leadership concept, workplace spirituality, cultural inclusivity, and adaptation to advancing communication technologies. Regarding symbolic interaction in the LFD, the following communication practices were found to be central to constructive ILR: active listening, supporting followers as unique individuals, respectful communication, considering followers’ input, facilitating constructive redefinition of the other leader/follower’s self, role-taking (taking the perspective of the other leader/follower’s role), awareness of attribution, conflict management through non-threatening, respectful and preferably face-to-face discussion, facilitating a sense of meaning or purpose at work for the other leader/follower, and fostering constructive relationship properties such as trust. It was found that ILR may produce system outputs into the organisation that contribute to the organisational culture and climate, job performance, employee morale and engagement, and staff retention. Personal attributes were organised into personal values and competencies that support ILR. The most important personal values were identified as honesty, love or supportiveness, respect, relationships or engagement, trust, and professional excellence. Essential competencies were identified as listening skills, emotional communication competencies (particularly self-awareness, self-reflection and attending to others’ emotions), engagement skills, conflict management skills, and multicultural competency (including generational skills).
In hierdie kwalitatiewe studie word ’n teoretiese raamwerk voorgelê vir die verskynsel ‘interpersoonlike leierskapsverhoudings‘ (verwysende na beide die diadiese verhouding tussen twee leier/volgelinge en die leierskapskommunikasie wat in die diade plaasvind) in kennisgebaseerde organisatoriese kontekste. Die uitgangspunt is dat die interpersoonlike leier-volgeling-diade (LVD) vanuit ‘n sisteemteoretiese perspektief beskou kan word as ‘n sisteem wat uit twee sisteemdele (individue) bestaan. Hierdie individue word ‘leier/volgelinge‘ genoem om hulle wedersydse interafhanklikheid te beklemtoon; en om aan te toon dat hierdie rolle uitruilbaar mag wees, afhangende van die kennisbehoeftes in ’n gegewe situasie (met verwysing na die teorie van gedeelde leierskap). As ’n sisteem word die LVD ook deur die omringende omgewing of organisatoriese konteks beïnvloed. Die primêre fokus van hierdie studie is egter op interpersoonlike leierskapskommunikasie as simboliese interaksie tussen die leier/volgelinge in die LVD. Hierdie drie sistemiese vlakke word in hierdie studie deur die hooftemas in die studie verteenwoordig en ook as sulks in die voortvloeiende model uitgebeeld: Tema 1 – ’n organisatoriese omgewing wat konstruktiewe interpersoonlike leierskapsverhoudings (ILV) ondersteun; Tema 2 – simboliese interaksie in die LVD; en Tema 3 – persoonlike eienskappe wat ILV bevorder. Die teoretiese raamwerk van ILV bestaan uit die volgende: ’n teoreties gefundeerde definisie van ILV; ’n generiese model van ILV; en ’n raamwerk van huidige riglyne vir die kweek van konstruktiewe ILV in kennisgebaseerde kontekste, met verwysing na die drie sistemiese vlakke van omgewing, diade en individuele leier/volgelinge. Die volgende definisie is op grond van die navorsingsresultate geformuleer: Konstruktiewe interpersoonlike leierskapsverhoudings (ILV) in ’n kennisgebaseerde organisatoriese konteks is ’n diadiese proses van simboliese kommunikasie tussen twee kundige leier/volgelinge wat mekaar wedersyds beïnvloed en betekenis deel om hulle verhouding te versterk en kennis samewerkend oor te dra en aan te wend om organisatoriese doelwitte te bereik. In terme van die organisatoriese omgewing is bevind dat organisatoriese leiers, veral senior leiers, die volgende aktief moet modelleer en bevorder in die organisasie: ’n samewerkende leierskapskonsep, spiritualiteit in die werkplek, kulturele insluiting, en aanpassing by vooruitgang in kommunikasietegnologie. Met verwysing na simboliese interaksie in die LVD is die volgende praktyke bevind as sentraal tot konstruktiewe ILV: aktiewe luistergedrag, die ondersteuning van volgelinge as unieke individue, respekvolle kommunikasie, die inagneming van volgelinge se insette, die fasilitering van die konstruktiewe herdefiniëring van die ander leier/volgeling se self, rol-inneming (die inneem van die rolperspektief van die ander leier/volgeling), bewustheid van attribusie, die bestuur van konflik deur nie-bedreigende, respekvolle en – waar moontlik – aangesig-tot-aangesig bespreking, die fasilitering van ’n sin van doel of betekenis by die werk vir die ander leier/volgeling, en die kweek van konstruktiewe verhoudingseienskappe (vertroue, uitruilbare leier/volgeling-rolle en wedersydse invloed is geïdentifiseer as belangrik). Dit is ook bevind dat ILV sisteemuitsette in die organisasie mag genereer wat bydra tot die organisatoriese kultuur en klimaat, werkprestasie, werknemers se moreel en betrokkenheid, en personeelbehoud. Persoonlike eienskappe is verdeel in waardes en vaardighede wat ILV ondersteun. Die belangrikste waardes is geïdentifiseer as eerlikheid, liefde, respek, verhoudings, vertroue, en professionele uitnemendheid. Die volgende vaardighede is geïdentifiseer as noodsaaklik: luistervaardighede, emosionele kommunikasievaardighede (met spesifieke verwysing na selfbewussyn, selfrefleksie en aandag aan ander se emosies), betrekkingsvaardighede, konflikbestuursvaardighede, en multi-kulturele vaardighede (wat generasievaardighede insluit). Die date is ingesamel uit twee gerieflikheidsteekproewe. Indiepte-, semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude is gevoer met Steekproef 1 (kundiges op gebiede verwant aan ILV in kennisgebaseerde kontekste), terwyl vraelyste gebruik is om data te verkry by Steekproef 2 (leier/volgelinge in kennisgebaseerde kontekste). Tematiese ontleding is in beide gevalle gebruik om die data te ontleed en te interpreteer.
Kha iyi ngudo ya u tandula ‘qualitative’, ndivho ya ṱhoḓisio yo vha u ṋetshedza mutheo wa thiyori kha sia ḽa vhushaka ha vhurangaphanḓa vhukati ha vhathu (zwine zwa amba vhushaka ha tshumisano vhukati ha vharangaphanḓa/vhatevheli vhavhili na vhudavhidzani kha vhurangaphanḓa vhune ha khou bvelela nga kha tshumisano yeneyo) kha nyimele ya tshiimiswa yo ḓitikaho nga nḓivho. Zwo sumbedziswa uri tshumisano ya murangaphanḓa-mutevheli vhukati ha vhathu (leader-follower dyad (LFD)) i nga lavheleswa u bva kha sia ḽa sisiṱeme ya thyori sa sisiṱeme ine ya vha na zwipiḓa zwivhili (vhathu). Vhathu avha vha vhidzwa ‘vharangaphanḓa/vhatevheli’ hu u itela u khwaṱhisedza u ḓitika havho nga muṅwe, na u sumbedza uri mishumo iyi i nga imelelana, zwo ḓitika nga ṱhoḓea dza nyimele yeneyo. (zwi tshi tevhedza vhatevheli vha vhurangaphanḓa uvho). Sisiṱeme ya tshumisano i ṱuṱuwedzwa nga nyimele yayo, nyimele ya tshiimiswa. Fhedziha zwa ndeme kha ngudo iyi ndi nga vhudavhidzani ha vhurangaphanḓa vhukati ha vhathu sa tshiga tsha tshumisano vhukati ha vharangaphanḓa/vhatevheli kha LFD. Maga aya mararu a sisisṱeme a imelelwa nga ṱhoho khulwane kha nḓila yo livhisaho kha ngudo iyi: Ṱhoho 1 – mupo/nyimele ya tshiimiswa i ṱuṱuwedzaho vhushaka ha vhurangaphanḓa vhu vhuedzaho vhukati ha vhathu (interpersonal leadership relations (ILR)); Ṱhoho 2 – Tshiga tsha tshumisano kha LFD; na Ṱhoho 3 – Vhuvha ha muthu vhune ha konisa ILR. Data yo kuvhanganywa u bva kha sambula dzine dza vha dza tsinisa. Mbudziso dzo ṱanḓavhuwaho, dzi sa langiho kufhindulele kha vhavhudziswa dzo itwa hu na vhadzheneli kha Sambula ya u thoma (1), ngeno khwesheya dzo shumiswa u kuvhanganya data kha Sambula 2. Kha nyimele dzoṱhe ho shumiswa ṱhaṱhuvho i re na vhushaka na ṱhoho u itela u ṱhaṱhuvha na u ṱalutshedza data. Zwine ngudo iyi ya vhuedza khazwo ndi mvelelo ya mutheo wa thyori wa ILR, ine ya vha na ṱhalutshedzo yo ḓitikaho nga thyori ya ILR, nḓila ya u angaredza ya ILR; na tsumbanḓila dza zwino u itela mbuelo ya ILR kha nyimele yo ḓitikaho nga nḓivho, zwo lavhelesa kha maga a sisiṱeme. Ṱhalutshedzo i tevhelaho yo vhekanywa zwi ḓitika nga ngudo: Vhushaka ha vhurangaphanḓa Vhuvhedzaho vhukati ha vhathu (ILR) kha nyimele ya tshiimiswa yo ḓitikaho nga nḓivho ndi maitele a tshumisano ya tshiga tsha vhudavhidzani vhukati ha vharangaphanḓa/vhatevheli vha re na nḓivho vhane vha ṱuṱuwedzana na u kovhekana zwine zwa amba u itela u khwaṱhisa vhushaka havho khathihi na u fhirisa na u shumisa nḓivho u itela u zwikelela zwipikwa zwa tshiimiswa. Zwi tshi ya nga nyimele, zwo wanala uri vharangaphanḓa vha tshiimiswa vha tea u vhumba na u ṱuṱuwedza zwi tevhelaho: muhumbulo wa tshumisano kha vhurangaphanḓa, zwa tshimuya mushumoni, u katela zwa mvelele, na u ṱanganedza u shumiswa ha thekhinoḽodzhi ya vhudavhidzani. Maelana na tshumisano nga tshiga kha LFD, maitele a vhudavhidzani a tevhelaho a wanala a one a ndeme kha ILR ire na mbuelo: u thetshelesa nga vhuronwane, u tikedza vhatevheli hu na kupfesesele kwa uri vhathu vho fhambana, vhudavhidzani ha ṱhonifho, u dzhiela nṱha mihumbulo ya vhatevheli, u ṱuṱuwedza u ṱhalutshedza nga nḓila yo fhambanaho i vhuedzaho ya vhaṅwe vharangaphanḓa/vhatevheli vha shumaho u ya nga vhone vhaṋe, u dzhia dzhenelela (u vhona nga nḓila ine vhaṅwe vharangaphanḓa/vhatevheli vha vona ngayo), u tangnedza nḓivho, ndaulo ya phambano nga kha nyambedzano i sa shushedziho, ya ṱhonifho, nga maanḓa nga nyambedzano vhathu vho livhana zwifhaṱuwo, u ṱuṱuwedza nḓivho ya ṱhalutshedzo kana ndivho ya mushumo kha vhaṅwe vharangaphanḓa/vhatevheli, u ṱuṱuwedza zwithu zwi fhaṱaho vhushaka vhu vhuedzaho u fana na u fulufhedzana. Zwo tumbulwa uri ILR i bveledza sisiṱeme ya mvelelo u vha tshiimiswa tshine tsha dzhenelela kha mvelele na vhuḓipfi, kushumele kwa mushumo, u ṱuṱuwedzea na u dzhenelela ha vhashumi, nauri vhashumi vha sa ṱuwe. U ṱanganedzea ha muthu zwo vheekanywa zwi tshi ya nga mikhwa ya muthu ene muṋe na vhukoni zwine zwa tikedza ILR. Mikhwa ya muthu ya ndemesa yo topolwa sa u fulufhedzea, lufuno, ṱhonifho kana u dzhenelela, fulufhelo, na vhukoni kha zwa phurofeshinaḽa. Vhukoni ha ndeme ho sumbedzwa sa vhukoni ha u thetshelesa, vhukoni ha vhudavhidzani ha muhumbulo (nga maanḓa u ḓiḓivha, u ḓilingulula/sedzulusa na u dzhiela nzhele vhuḓipfi ha vhaṅwe vhathu), vhukoni ha u dzhenelela, vhukoni ha ndaulo ya phambano, na vhukoni ha u dzhenelela kha mvelele nnzhi (zwi tshi katela vhukoni ha zwa murafho).
Communication Science
D. Litt. et Phil. (Communication)

Text in English with abstracts in English, Afrikaans and Tswana with keywords in English and Tswana
Displacement in the South African context is a complex and diverse phenomenon which is under-researched, particularly from the point of view of post-resettlement stress. The Meetse-a-tala community from Groenwater, Northern Cape, was resettled in 1964 and returned in 1999 to their ancestral land after a 25 year struggle to do so. The community anticipated that the land would present all the natural resources they had in 1964, but unfortunately, when they returned, the outlook seemed a lot different.
Verskuiwing in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks is ‘n diverse en komplekse verskynsel wat nog nie voldoende nagevors is, veral vanuit die oogpunt van post-hervestigingsstres nie. Die Meetse-a-tala-gemeenskap van Groenwater in Noord-Kaap is in 1964 hervestig en het in 1999 teruggekeer na die land van hul voorouers na ‘n 25 jaarlange stryd om dit te bewerkstellig. Die gemeenskap het verwag dat die gebied weer al die natuurlike hulpbronne sou aanbied wat hulle in 1964 gehad het, maar ongelukkig, met hul terugkeer, het die vooruitsigte heel anders gelyk.
Tiragalo ya go fudusiwa ka dikgoka mo bokaong jwa Aforikaborwa e tlhagisa marara a a farologaneng ka ntlha ya dipatlisiso tse di lekanyeditsweng malebana le kgatelelo ya maikutlo e e amanang le morago ga go fudusiwa. Baagi ba Meetse-a-tala go tswa kwa Groenwater, kwa Kapabokone, ba itemogetse tiragalo ya go fudusiwa ka 1964 mme morago ga go kgaratlha dingwaga tse 25 go boela kwa lefatsheng la badimo ba bona, ba boetse ka 1999. Baagi ba ne ba solofetse gore lefatshe le tlaa ba neela ditlamelo tsotlhe tsa tlholego tse ba neng ba na natso fa ba tsamaya ka 1964, mme ka bomadimabe, e rile fa ba bowa, ba fitlhela le lebega le farologane thata.
Anthropology and Archaeology
M.A. (Anthropology)