Understanding the causes for a low success rate of technology- prompted change: a case study of Toyota South Africa.
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Date
2016
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Abstract
Technological advancements are inevitable if a business wants to remain competitive,
however, in addition to the multiple benefits there are also numerous difficulties
associated with the implementation of new technology and automation. This study
delves into the perspective of the semi to low-skilled workers, with the viewpoints of
management being investigated to draw a comparison.
The research was carried out at Toyota South Africa Manufacturing in Durban, with
the respondents comprising of 315 semi to low-skilled workers, and six managers. The
semi to low-skilled workers were issued questionnaires, while the managers were
interviewed, hence a mixed methodology was used. The literature review provides the
basis of the study, which outlines the factors affecting resistance to change. Firstly,
the acceptance of technology was assessed to ensure that the respondents were
indeed receptive to new technology. Once this was established, the next step was to
look at the factors affecting the resistance to change, such as, fear, trust, job wellbeing
and self-acceptance. The status quo bias was adopted to bring these factors together
to show that, even though the respondents were open to using new technology, if it
was not administered correctly the initiatives would fail.
The study not only developed a framework that could be incorporated when applying
new technology, it also found certain improvements that could be incorporated.
Amongst other recommendations, this study put forth the notion that the semi to lowskilled
workers should be incorporated into the change process from the inception of
the technological advancement processes, with diverse forms of communication being
used so as to ensure that the different groups that exist within the company would
have a proper understanding of the processes. It also highlighted the perceptions that
management had of the employees and the actual insight of the workers.
The study concludes with limitations of the study and future research that could be
done to enhance the findings.
Description
Doctoral degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.