GSTM Top 2020 Masters Research Awards

Posted on March 30, 2021

In a stimulating and well-attended online session, held on the 24th March 2021, three top Masters students from the Graduate School of Technology Management were recently honoured for their outstanding mini-dissertations, submitted as part of their degree requirements.

The mini-dissertation is an important concluding module to the GSTM Masters programmes.  Under the guidance of a study leader, the students undertake a research project in an area aligned to their degree and their career interests or aspirations.  The three students, one each from the core programmes of Asset Management, Project Management, and Technology and Innovation Management, received the highest rating in a roundtable process involving the members of the GSTM academic staff.

At the event, the students presented their work, answered questions from the audience and then received their certificates.  Each project was noted for its important contribution to the respective research field.  Ms Sharlini Coopasamy began the presentations with her study of the most appropriate management styles for the adoption of digital technologies, more broadly referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in South Africa’s petrochemical sector.  She noted that in the early stages of adoption, her respondents recommended that an “authoritarian, bureaucratic and task-orientated” leadership style was more relevant.  In the transition and mature phases, however, greater emphasis should be placed on democratic, transformational and charismatic styles respectively.

Ms Keshani Subramani then presented her work on the effect of multiple team membership (MTM) and multiple geographic locations on team performance and learning.  MTM is increasingly being used in companies to optimise employee productivity and make full use of the available human resources.  Surprisingly, the impact of this trend on team performance and learning has been largely unexplored.  In a quantitative study, Ms Subramani showed that a broader diversity of location has a positive impact on team learning.  She concluded that companies should invest in technologies to enhance collaboration across multiple sites in order to fully realise this benefit.

Finally, Mr Andre Schwan investigated how companies can mitigate the tension between a culture of entrepreneurship, requiring flat hierarchies and delegated authority, and a control culture that is necessary to ensure compliance with the needs of normal business operations.  Known as the paradox of corporate entrepreneurship, the conflict between control of operations and freedom to innovate has been previously studied and a number of resolution strategies have been recommended.  Based on mixed-methods research, Mr Schwan found that the common approach is to adopt a layered strategy through which companies can alternate between different organisational structures depending on the level of innovation.  He concluded, however, that an optimal framework was yet to be developed.

Congratulations to the three students for their excellent work.  Indeed, congratulations also to the 118 Masters students that graduated from the GSTM in 2020.  Despite the challenges of the year, it has been another milestone in your careers, and we wish all the students the very best for their futures.

 

- Author Prof David Walwyn

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