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A system approach to enterprise organization with an application to Telkom
The argument of this dissertation is that some of the dilemmas faced by enterprises today are a consequence of the 'authoritarian mode'1 in which enterprises are organized. The 'authoritarian mode' of organization has the assumptions of the mechanistic world view (paradigm) as its basis. These assum...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Mechanical Engineering
2016
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| _version_ | 1867613254893699072 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Acton, Mark |
| author2 | Strümpfer, Johan |
| author_browse | Acton, Mark Strümpfer, Johan |
| author_facet | Strümpfer, Johan Acton, Mark |
| author_sort | Acton, Mark |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The argument of this dissertation is that some of the dilemmas faced by enterprises today are a consequence of the 'authoritarian mode'1 in which enterprises are organized. The 'authoritarian mode' of organization has the assumptions of the mechanistic world view (paradigm) as its basis. These assumptions are however not relevant in fast changing and complex environments such as that which enterprises must deal with today. It is argued that an alternative paradigm is required to resolve the dilemmas faced by enterprises organized in the 'authoritarian mode'. The dissertation presents an 'empowerment and alignment' 2 mode of organization which has the social systems paradigm as its basis. The social systems paradigm has a significantly different set of assumptions about the nature of reality compared to the mechanistic paradigm. It is proposed that this more appropriate set of assumptions will resolve the current dilemmas which mechanistically organized enterprises are experiencing. A real world organization (namely Telkom Network Build) is used to practically demonstrate the above mentioned ideas. It is argued that Telkom Network Build is operating in the 'authoritarian mode' and that this is the underlying cause of a number of dilemmas of organization. A proposed conceptual design for the organization of Telkom Network Build division in the 'alignment and empowerment' mode is presented. The proposed design has the assumptions of the social systems view of reality as its basis. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20199 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:13.838Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| publisherStr | Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20199 A system approach to enterprise organization with an application to Telkom Acton, Mark Strümpfer, Johan Engineering Management The argument of this dissertation is that some of the dilemmas faced by enterprises today are a consequence of the 'authoritarian mode'1 in which enterprises are organized. The 'authoritarian mode' of organization has the assumptions of the mechanistic world view (paradigm) as its basis. These assumptions are however not relevant in fast changing and complex environments such as that which enterprises must deal with today. It is argued that an alternative paradigm is required to resolve the dilemmas faced by enterprises organized in the 'authoritarian mode'. The dissertation presents an 'empowerment and alignment' 2 mode of organization which has the social systems paradigm as its basis. The social systems paradigm has a significantly different set of assumptions about the nature of reality compared to the mechanistic paradigm. It is proposed that this more appropriate set of assumptions will resolve the current dilemmas which mechanistically organized enterprises are experiencing. A real world organization (namely Telkom Network Build) is used to practically demonstrate the above mentioned ideas. It is argued that Telkom Network Build is operating in the 'authoritarian mode' and that this is the underlying cause of a number of dilemmas of organization. A proposed conceptual design for the organization of Telkom Network Build division in the 'alignment and empowerment' mode is presented. The proposed design has the assumptions of the social systems view of reality as its basis. 2016-07-04T08:44:21Z 2016-07-04T08:44:21Z 1998 Master Thesis Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20199 eng application/pdf Department of Mechanical Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Engineering Management Acton, Mark A system approach to enterprise organization with an application to Telkom |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | A system approach to enterprise organization with an application to Telkom |
| title_full | A system approach to enterprise organization with an application to Telkom |
| title_fullStr | A system approach to enterprise organization with an application to Telkom |
| title_full_unstemmed | A system approach to enterprise organization with an application to Telkom |
| title_short | A system approach to enterprise organization with an application to Telkom |
| title_sort | system approach to enterprise organization with an application to telkom |
| topic | Engineering Management |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20199 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT actonmark asystemapproachtoenterpriseorganizationwithanapplicationtotelkom AT actonmark systemapproachtoenterpriseorganizationwithanapplicationtotelkom |