Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
29 October 2018
Making the workplace humanised again
From left: Acting Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Prof Philippe Burger; Acting Vice-Rector: Academic, Prof Hendri Kroukamp; Prof Tina Kotzé, and Prof Helena van Zyl. Director: UFS Business School.

In a rapidly changing world, companies are increasingly being evaluated on the basis of their relationship with employees, customers, communities, as well as their influence on society at large. Gone are the times when institutions and corporates were assessed purely based on financial performance and product-quality.

Relationships matter

Prof Tina Kotzé, an industrial psychologist and professor at the University of the Free State (UFS) Business School presented her inaugural lecture on The Voices of the Workplace: A Social Systems Perspective on Leadership on Thursday 11 October 2018 at the Bloemfontein Campus. She mapped a path that leads to organisations becoming more human-centred in their operations.

Social systems and leadership

In her argument, Prof Kotzé problematises the concept of hierarchies, given their tendency to exert too much structure and control. She also touched on the importance of taking into consideration factors such as the underlying assumptions and expectations of the various voices that influence the workplace.

“Leaders need to look at their organisations from a social-system perspective, critically examine the DNA, underlying assumptions that drive the thinking, decisions and actions in organisations. To do this we need to think differently about leadership,” she asserted. 

Overcoming resistance to change

Transforming organisations from a hierarchy to a social-systems model is a challenge due to their inclination to develop a pre-determined order which often replicates itself by reinforcing assumptions and old thinking styles.

Some of Prof Kotzé’s proposed solutions to navigating the complexities of organisations include shifting the mechanical way workplaces are viewed, discarding hierarchies, inflexible reporting lines, and challenging the unquestioned underlying assumptions that drive the strategy, structure and policies in organisations. 

News Archive

Almost there…
2012-11-12

First-year students Lindokuhle Sibisi, Zamokuhle Zule and Tabisa Tandathu are looking forward to start their vacation. The last date for exams is 17 November 2012 and students writing the additional opportunity exams will still be on our Campuses until 8 December.
Photo: Amanda Tongha
12 November 2012

The Year-end exams will come to an end this week, with more Kovsie students returning home to start their vacation. The final date for exams is 17 November 2012. Students who were unable to write at the first opportunity due to illness or other obligations, as well as those wanting to improve their marks, will have another opportunity with the supplementary opportunity exams starting on 26 November 2012. The final date for these exams is 8 December 2012.

Ian Hartley, a third-year student in Social Sciences, is one of the students who are still on the Bloemfontein Campus. Ian writes his final paper on Friday and says he is looking forward to the holidays. He will leave for Port Elizabeth in December to attend the South African Universities’ cricket tournament.

Ntheboheng Mopeli is also still on Campus. The third-year LLB student will write her two final papers this week.

Tabisa Tandathu, a first-year BSc student, wrote her final paper this week and will still be on Campus for another week before returning to her home town in the Eastern Cape. “I look forward to spending time with my family.”
 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept