An assessment of corporate entrepreneurship in the alloy mining environment / S.S. Scheepers

This study highlighted the influence of the 13 corporate entrepreneurial constructs on the entrepreneurial climate in corporate organisations. The primary objective of this study was to assess the level of corporate entrepreneurship in the South African alloy mining environment, with specific reference to Xstrata Alloys and to make recommendations on the encouragement and promoting of a climate conducive to corporate entrepreneurship in Xstrata South Africa (Pty) Ltd - Alloys. The empirical study was conducted by means of a self-completion questionnaire administered to middle managers in Xstrata South Africa (pty) Ltd - Alloys. The questionnaire was distributed to 252 middle managers by e-mail or in hard copy format. 103 usable questionnaires were gathered from middle managers in Xstrata South Africa (pty) Ltd - Alloys. Cronbach's alpha coefficient values were used to determine the internal consistency amongst items in the research instrument. In only three of the constructs' alpha values of less than 0.80 were calculated, indicating a relatively high level of internal reliability of the research instrument. The 13 constructs of an entrepreneurial climate in an organisation, as well as five factors evaluating the perceived success of an organisation were investigated. The relationships between the demographic variables (being male and female; and black and white) were discussed for the 13 constructs as well as for the factors measuring the perceived organisational success in order to identify statistically significant variances in perceptions. An assessment of the corporate entrepreneurial climate in Xstrata SA (Pty) Ltd ­Alloys was conducted and the average mean for the study calculated. The means of six constructs were lower than the average mean (x = 3.556) while seven constructs were ranked higher. The two constructs with the highest mean were Vision and strategic intent (x = 3.882) and Entrepreneurial leadership (x = 4.066).Recommendations and practical ways in which a corporate entrepreneurial climate could be enhanced and maintained in Xstrata SA (pty) Ltd - Alloys was discussed. It was recommended that systems and processes should be revisited and adapted to ensure adherence to the requirements of a corporate entrepreneurial climate. Procedures must be simplified to facilitate the rapid implementation of new processes. An action plan to facilitate the fostering of corporate entrepreneurial constructs in the organisation was proposed. The action plan included actions such as: • Give feedback to top management on findings of study and recommendations made. • Revisit corporate values and get buy-in from employees. • Develop a strategic plan to ensure incorporation of corporate entrepreneurial constructs. • Develop a procedure and process outlines for allocation of resources. • Revisit rewarding system to recognise and reward entrepreneurial behaviour. • Recognition for corporate entrepreneurs. • Develop procedures and processes regarding tolerance for risks, mistakes and failures. • Revisit the organisational structure of the organisation. • Establish a communication strategy. • Implement the mentoring process in all departments, focussing on departments with entrepreneurial potential. • Build strong multidiscipline teams. • Ensure rapid implementation of new processes. • Align the following goals to each other as well as to the organisational strategy. • Staff development. • Assessment and evaluation system revisited to incorporate corporate entrepreneurial behaviour patterns. The report concluded by addressing the achievement of all the objectives, and by recommending possible future research that could be undertaken based on this study.