"Sustainability of behaviour" : a qualitative study of employees in a financial services organisation
Master Thesis
2004
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University of Cape Town
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Abstract
In the currently competitive business environment, organisations are placing an everincreasing emphasis on their employees as a source of competitive advantage. It is believed that they possess a level of skills, knowledge, attitudes or behaviours upon which the organisation can draw as it grows and develops. Paradoxically, employees cannot always sustain the competencies that dictate an organisation's success in the contemporary work environment due to the significant levels of change that exist. This research explores sustainability of behaviour in an organisational setting, and develops a conceptual framework for understanding this phenomenon. The research follows an exploratory, qualitative design. Data was collected through in-depth and semi-structured interviews with fourteen employees in a large financial services organisation in the Western Cape. The data was analysed using techniques of analysis provided by grounded theory. Results indicate a multi-dimensional relationship between certain causal conditions, intervening conditions, contextual conditions and action/interaction strategies which all influence whether or not behaviour is sustained in the workplace. These findings have implications for human resource practices in the contemporary organisation.
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Bibliography: leaves 108-129.
Reference:
Wilkinson, M. 2004. "Sustainability of behaviour" : a qualitative study of employees in a financial services organisation. University of Cape Town.