Navigating Complexity: The Dynamics of Organisational Culture during a Merger

Despite enthusiasm for the South African Constitutional obligation of 1996 to redress inequities in the public education sector, the integration of previously advantaged and disadvantaged colleges has realised enormous challenges and the progress has been slow. Many of these challenges are manifeste...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dayaram, Kandy
Format: Journal Article
Published: School of Management, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia and the Singapore Human Resources Institute 2005
Online Access:http://rphrm.curtin.edu.au/2005/issue1/complexity.html
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/29818
Description
Summary:Despite enthusiasm for the South African Constitutional obligation of 1996 to redress inequities in the public education sector, the integration of previously advantaged and disadvantaged colleges has realised enormous challenges and the progress has been slow. Many of these challenges are manifested in values, attitudes and behaviours which are rooted in traditional cultural baggage. This paper will focus on the dilemmas and enigmas encountered by participants in education contexts that are undergoing sea change in mindsets and work practices. Specifically, this paper employs a case study to delineate the major challenges that arise when contemporary transformational initiatives clash with traditional rigid and inflexible college cultures. The implications for human resource management (HRM) practices and policies in public sector institutions contemplating similar revitalisation are discussed.