IOP4867
Assignment 04
Due 04 August 2025
, IOP4867
ASSIGNMENT 04
Due 04 August 2025
Analysis of a Major Strategic Change Initiative
Executive Summary
This analysis examines Telkom SA SOC Ltd’s “Business Transformation
Programme”, launched in 2022 to reposition the partially state-owned
telecommunications giant within South Africa’s competitive digital market. The study
outlines the organisation’s context, highlighting its operational scale, political-regulatory
complexity, and strategic necessity to integrate agile, customer-centric models amidst
market pressures. Using Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model (1996) as the analytical
framework, the report assesses the change process, identifying positive outcomes such
as improved digital product development cycles and operational cost savings. However,
challenges emerged, including union resistance, middle management pushback, and
initial morale dips, reflecting deeper cultural and structural tensions. Recommendations
emphasise continuous agile capability development, proactive middle management
engagement, and integrated feedback systems, while cautioning against over-reliance
on structural changes without addressing cultural adaptation. The reflection
underscores that organisational change is a complex interplay of strategy, power, and
human dynamics requiring tailored, context-sensitive approaches. Literature integrated
includes Kotter (1996), Beer and Nohria (2000), Burnes (2004), Sutherland and
Schwaber (2013), and Telkom’s Integrated Report (2023), ensuring academic rigour
and relevance to real-time South African business transformation.
Assignment 04
Due 04 August 2025
, IOP4867
ASSIGNMENT 04
Due 04 August 2025
Analysis of a Major Strategic Change Initiative
Executive Summary
This analysis examines Telkom SA SOC Ltd’s “Business Transformation
Programme”, launched in 2022 to reposition the partially state-owned
telecommunications giant within South Africa’s competitive digital market. The study
outlines the organisation’s context, highlighting its operational scale, political-regulatory
complexity, and strategic necessity to integrate agile, customer-centric models amidst
market pressures. Using Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model (1996) as the analytical
framework, the report assesses the change process, identifying positive outcomes such
as improved digital product development cycles and operational cost savings. However,
challenges emerged, including union resistance, middle management pushback, and
initial morale dips, reflecting deeper cultural and structural tensions. Recommendations
emphasise continuous agile capability development, proactive middle management
engagement, and integrated feedback systems, while cautioning against over-reliance
on structural changes without addressing cultural adaptation. The reflection
underscores that organisational change is a complex interplay of strategy, power, and
human dynamics requiring tailored, context-sensitive approaches. Literature integrated
includes Kotter (1996), Beer and Nohria (2000), Burnes (2004), Sutherland and
Schwaber (2013), and Telkom’s Integrated Report (2023), ensuring academic rigour
and relevance to real-time South African business transformation.
