Browsing by Author "Putter, Andries Petrus"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Knowledge management for the South African Department of Defence
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Putter, Andries Petrus; Theletsane, Kula Ishmael; Jansen Van Rensburg, Johannes Lodewikus; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Science. School for Organisation and Resource Management. Dept. of Management [Mil]
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this research is to respond to the limited stock of knowledge about military Knowledge Management (KM) and specifically South African Department of Defence (SA DOD) KM. A world in the knowledge era, struggling with data/information saturation, requires KM as an advantage driver and multiplier. The SA DOD is still entrenched in the information era, practising information management as a primary enabler for decision-making, action, effects and advantage. The SA DOD does not seem interested in KM as a primary advantage driver. The research problem and aim of this dissertation are to clarify the extent to which coherent and integrated KM will be beneficial to the SA DOD and what SA DOD KM fundamentals are. The research scope is inclusive of a broad literature review and documents analysis of both the published material on USA military KM and SA DOD legislation and policy, supplemented with questionnaires to a selected sample of SA DOD senior managers. The researcher has a relativist worldview (ontological assumption), calibrated with a constructivist paradigm, favouring a qualitative research methodology and case study research approach/design that will render the rich description of the phenomenon using techniques such as questionnaires and document analysis. A deductive reasoning approach and case study research design was used to structure the research. Document analysis was the primary research method. The secondary research method was questionnaire data collection and analysis to provide insight into the level of interest in KM by the SA DOD and possibly supporting evidence to the findings of the document analysis. The combination of the research philosophy, methodology, design, and methods assisted the researcher in the quest to extract new meaning and propose new solutions for consideration by the SA DOD. A universal definition void for knowledge and KM remains a practical challenge for organisations and a major obstacle to coherence and integration. Literature and business recognise the importance of KM as an advantage multiplier. Even military organisations such as the United States of America (USA) military recognise the importance if KM. The USA military is currently a military KM leader. In contrast, the SA DOD does not recognise the advent of the knowledge era and the importance of KM yet. The SA DOD’s disinterest in KM is based principally on the analysis of legislative, policy and doctrine voids; leadership aspects; information era entrenchment; various levels of misunderstanding; KM policy and doctrine vacuum; and extensive construct dissonance. It is imperative that the SA DOD adopt knowledge era thinking and practice supporting survival and advantage. As a lead department in RSA securing national security, the SA DOD should lead the RSA government in a transition to the knowledge era and KM. Knowledge and KM are fundamental to organisational survival, gaining and sustaining advantage and as enablers to decisions, actions and effects. Public service organisations’, such as the SA DOD, KM motives are typically related to effectiveness and efficiency, economies and risk mitigation. To cope with a world saturated by ubiquitous knowledge continuum artefacts, complexity, and discontinuous change; and fundamental to the decision, action, effect enablers and advantage a KM Capability (KMC) and coherent and integrated KM are recommended by this dissertation for the SA DOD (and probably the entire SA government). SA DOD knowledge is defined by this dissertation as evolving meaning in the form of intellectual capital (IC) that capacitate understanding, decision-making, action, effect and advantage. SA DOD KM is defined by this dissertation as the integrated process transforming organisational IC into evolving meaning to capacitate understanding, decision-making, action, effect and advantage. These definitions are fundamental to a future SA DOD KMC and KM. The dissertation proposes the expansion of KM to Knowledge Continuum Management; within the framework of acknowledging knowledge as a continuum and supporting the continuous requirement for integrated management of divergent approaches, processes and enablers. The dissertation argues for the review of current legislation and the Defence Review 2015 for alignment with the knowledge era. The dissertation argues further for coherent use of constructs such as leadership, IC, capstone military knowledge categories, types of SA DOD knowledge, KM leadership philosophy, and a knowledge continuum (amongst others). Recognition is required for the time-value of the knowledge continuum artefacts, discrepancies in SA DOD policy, doctrine and existing military capability expressions and knowledge security (amongst several others). This should illustrate the importance of knowledge and KM and to recommend possible solutions to a future SA DOD KMC and KM implementation.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Strategic business levers for bilateral defence technology and industrial partnership between South Africa and Bric states.
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-12) Putter, Andries Petrus; Theletsane, K. I.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Military Sciences. School for Defence Organisation and Resource Management.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: central to the defence and security complex, economic growth, new technology development and foreign policy of South Africa. Yet, the SA DTIS is in disrepair due to economic pressure and global defence technology and industrial market dynamics, fuelling perceptions that the SA DTIS (typically the State Owned Enterprises) is an economic, defence and security liability. Reversing this situation, from a BRICS perspective, requires a detailed understanding of the prevailing strategic defence technology and industrial business environment, policy approaches and strategic business levers used and preferred internationally and amongst the BRICS States to unlock relationship building and capability development thrust. As such, the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 called for research on BRICS partnership building. Thus, this thesis focuses on BRICS DTIS bilateral relations, specifically - which strategic business levers are prudent to establish bilateral defence technology and industrial partnerships between South Africa and the BRIC States? A qualitative research methodology and case study research approach/design, calibrated by a relativist worldview and social constructivist paradigm, was used to render rich description. Using questionnaires (open-ended inquiry) allowed eighteen DTIS-related experts participation in the study and rigour to the findings of the thesis. The SA DTIS role in the BRICS DTIS ecosystem is described as being a gateway to the African DTIS market segments and a possible collaboration - and supply chain partner for niche technologies-, product systems- and integration services development. Bilateral collaboration was found to be the preferred level of inclusion, based on the discretionary and securitised nature of each DTIS. In the quest for self-sufficiency and/or domination, the strategic motive for bilateral DTIS collaboration is to attain competitive/comparative advantage within a competitive timeframe. The crystallisation of bilateral DTIS partnerships from multilateral alliances such as BRICS is calibrated significantly by the level of asymmetry between prospective partners, national interest, the quest for foreign policy flexibility and military autonomy, national DTIS policy objectives, technology and products niches, and preference for strategic business levers. BRICS States were found to all subscribe to liberal (at least a hybrid) DTIS development approach that allows for a dynamic mix of the facets mentioned above. Within these dynamics possible drivers of bilateral partnerships are the adoption of an idealist approach and liberal/hybrid DTIS policy, continuous investment in the DTIS and militaries, nurturing Tier 1 and/or 2 industrial capabilities, promoting the use of strategic business levers (joint ventures (JVs), technology transfer, foreign direct investment and mergers and acquisitions), recognising the role of Government in developing the DTIS, overlapping market segments, respect for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), amongst others. BRICS DTISs share the ambition to be self-sufficient. Some are ambitious to be dominant also. These drivers and ambitions provide short- to medium-term SA DTIS collaboration development opportunities in the quest for BRIC self-sufficiency/dominance ambitions. Bilateral partnerships barriers relates to asymmetry, differences in approaches to arms control and associated governance, funding asymmetries, a gradually deteriorating SA DTIS contrasted by a rapidly developing BRIC DTISs, divergent national policy frameworks, the short-term nature of SA DTIS opportunities, abuses of IPR (typically China) – all problematic considering the current state of the South African economy and its DTIS. In the short- to medium-term JVs attracted preference as a strategic business lever for bilateral BRICS DTIS partnerships - primarily with Brazil and India. This said, it should not be assumed that bilateral DTIS partnerships between South Africa and the individual BRIC States will be mutually beneficial, no matter the strategic business levers employed, due to the complexity of international DTIS collaboration.