The learning organisation and productivity : a case study of the Athlone detective service

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The transformation of the South African Police Service (SAPS) did not simply brought abouta change in name; it meant a different new style of policing. A completely new concept ofhow a police service should function within a democratic society, had to be developed andlearnt. One of the significant changes was the transformation of the old South African PoliceForce into the SAPS. Included in this process was the amalgamation of the eleven policeagencies into one organisation.The transformation process had a major impact on productivity in the different components ofthe SAPS, as evidence suggests that change is difficult and that resistance may be expectedwhenever change involves a significant impact on the traditional behaviour, power, authority,culture and structure within an organisation. The objective of training is to achieve a changein the behaviour of those employees who are undergoing training. The SAPS therefore had tostart using training programmes to ensure that all employees accept the change process easier.The researcher attended the Station Management Programme (SMP) at StellenboschUniversity in 1999. The first module presented at the SMP comprised the concept of alearning organisation. After successfully completing the SMP, this management mechanismwas implemented at Athlone Detective Service. This detective service is one of thecomponents at the Athlone po lice station, which in turn forms part of 1096 po lice stations inSouth Africa. The high volume of cases on hand was one of the main reasons why it wasdecided to experiment there with the five disciplines of the learning organisation, as proposedby Peter Senge, at the beginning of July 1999.In Chapter one the research problem is identified, namely whether a learning organisation canbe used to improve productivity at detective services. The objectives of this study are firstlyto prove how the five disciplines of a learning organisation were implemented at Athlonedetective service in order to increase productivity. Secondly, this study will give guidance tothe other detective services in the SAPS on how to improve their own productivity.Related literature is reviewed in Chapter two, and these references are made applicable on theSAPS, and more specifically on the Athlone detective service in Chapter three. Thegathering, analysis and interpretation of data are discussed in Chapter four. The data for thisresearch has been gathered by means of computerised data, which has been collected from theCriminal Administration System (CAS) of the SAPS, and by means ofa questionnaire, whichwas distributed among the personnel at Athlone detective service. The collected data isanalysed statistically and interpreted in this chapter to establish whether the disciplines of alearning organisation had an impact on productivity.The main focus points of each chapter are firstly summarised, while recommendations aremade on the effective management thereof in Chapter five. A conclusion is also given in thislast chapter.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University