Investigating the role of leadership in managing change at Riskflow Group: a case of Riskflow Group.
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Date
2018
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Abstract
Organisational change is a sophisticated and challenging process and as a result, many
organisations that embark on change initiatives fail to achieve their intended goals, and
sometimes change also lead to significant costs which undermine its benefits. However,
despite these challenges, it is becoming increasingly important for organisations to
embrace change for their survival and success owing to the dynamic and rapidly changing
business environment. The aim of this research is to investigate the role of leadership in
managing change at Riskflow Group. The study deployed a qualitative approach and
drew a sample of 10 participants who are department managers, and these candidates
perform managerial and leadership responsibilities. The study deployed a purposive
sampling and used a thematic analysis to analyse the data. Change management has
received a significant attention in the past and similarly, leadership concept has also been
extensively studied in various disciplines, but there is little empirical evidence that
discusses the tasks or the role of leadership in managing change. In addition, most of the
research on change management has focused more on employee resistance to change,
employee reaction to change and the psychological effect and emotions caused by
change. This study is therefore attempting to respond to the leadership aspect in change
management which has not received much attention. The study further seeks to
determine the effect of leadership in the change management process and further
examine how leadership can effectively implement change initiatives. To provide a deeper
understanding, the research discusses different change models that have been
advocated for and that are also widely used both by other researchers and by many
organisations. Additionally, this research evaluate the different leadership styles which
include among others transformational leadership, servant leadership and transactional
leadership. The findings of the study suggested that leadership plays a fundamental role
in change management and the leadership roles that were established includes,
motivating employees, creating a vision for change, communicating change, planning for
change, creating a conducive environment for change, getting employee’s buy-in and
leading by example as role models. The study recommended that to address the
challenges of managing change in organisations in the new economy authentic
leadership is an alternative approach.
Description
Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.