ANALYSIS OF BASIC ASSUMPTIONS AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
6.2 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS UNDER THE MKHIZE LEADERSHIP
6.2.2 Assumption 2: 'Leaders in conservation'
This belief is clearly linked to the ideas discussed under 'devotion to state subsidy' earlier. Some of the interviewees sent one message, which in a paraphrased sense can read thus: 'we are a conservation agency, not business people and our focus should be on the skills of wildife conservation not business'. In short, EKZNW faces a particular challenge in ensuring that its commercialism principles are not seen to encroach upon the conservation and public service philosophies which seem to unite a lot of the staff.
Failure to overcome this challenge could easily inhibit change. However, officially, the organization has embraced the commercialism agenda as attested to by an institutional refocus towards commercialization, new investments, appointments and the recognition of the opportunities for commercialization as reflected in the quotation below:
There is enormous potential to generate additional and more substantial profits from existing eco-tourism operations, and from conservation assets, and reduce both the cost to government and the reliance on state support (EKZNW undated: 7)
Overall, the notion of being a publicly funded entity blended with the moralistic views about conservation to create images of uniqueness about EKZNW. Most respondents saw their organization's existence as being good for the province. The goals they espoused and sought to accomplish were to be viewed as being of a higher order than those of a strict commercial operation. This, it was argued is what should distinguish a conservation agency established within the public domain and associated with an altruistic cause from pure financial considerations.
... the board's (NPB) reputation as an authority that was clearly different soon attracted resource managers, biologists and other scientists, all of whom have played a pivotal role in developing the board's management skills and policies (Hughes 2001: 33).
This assumption was arguably driven by perceptions that conservation could continue playing a leading role in an endeavour that was central to KZN's identity and socio- economic development. While the desire to motivate the employees may have been the primary motive for coining the slogan 'Leaders in Conservation' behind the assumption, three 'shadow' beliefs came to be associated with it: pride, arrogance and insularity.
Pride
The organization prides itself on being a successor in title to what many perceive as a very impressive conservation effort56. Accolades have also been given in this regard at the international level, for example, Sheppard (cited in Buthelezi 2002). Study participants exhibited faith in the organization's historical skills and expertise and their relevance, as well as in the current innovations:
Some of the innovations of our predecessors like game capturing and the sea turtle programme were simply unparalleled in their times. In our era, we have promoted initiatives such as conservancies - an initiative that has spread throughout the country and helped to expand the conservation constituencies. Other innovations such as community levy and the formation of local boards are simply a marvel — they are a remarkable achievement of
having full legal participation of our neighbouring communities (EKZNW interviewee # 9).
Even formally, EKZNW perceives itself as an important player in the field of biodiversity conservation, not just locally but also globally:
The organization [Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife] is also a global player in the field of biodiversity conservation and has won accolades in this regard. As a result, the organization's strategic posture has to recognize its role in meeting international and transfrontier conservation obligations (EKZNW 2002: 3).
Arrogance
During the tenure of Hughes after amalgamation, the organization retained the former NPB slogan 'Leaders in Conservation' in its logo. Mixed feelings were expressed about the use of the slogan. While some saw it as a corporate attempt to unite the employees, some felt that there was also a sense of arrogance associated with the slogan:
http://www.kznwildlife.com/our_org.htm
We knew we were an acknowledged player in the conservation industry but we were arrogant enough to even tell the world about it. I think that was unacceptable (EKZNW interviewee #17)
I think that was one of the biggest faults of the NPB is that we became very arrogant. And I qualify that by saying that yes we believe that we did a good job, but we were arrogant enough to say that no new ideas were acceptable. ...we need to be very careful with that. ...
what we would like to believe is that we deliver the best conservation product in terms of world best practice ... that is what that should mean, and not to say that we are above everybody else ...I think we are trying to follow world best practice and deliver the best possible product for the province. It is a very dangerous statement because it can be very
arrogant (EKZNW interviewee # 6).
Attempts to establish how the slogan was discontinued revealed different responses.
These two quotations help demonstrate the lack of clarity as to what might have happened although the respondents were seemingly comfortable with the development:
Actually, I am not sure. But it made the organization sound arrogant; just as well we discontinued its use (EKZNW interviewee # 7).
We needed to depict our core functions [conservation, partnerships and eco-tourism] in the logo. I suppose we ran out of space to squeeze it [slogan - Leaders in conservation] in, and I guess that is how it was abandoned. (EKZNW interviewee # 15).
But it would seem that the 'leaders in conservation' notion has continued to be used in the organization, though in a less conspicuous manner:
... positioning Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife within Province as a leader in conservation, partnerships and eco-tourism. There is a need to improve the organizational image, entrench the new "Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife" brand, and broaden the market focus (EKZNW 2002: 11).
Insularity
While some of the respondents were concerned about arrogance, others were worried about the historically based insularity, reportedly a characteristic that had for so long epitomised the conservation sector in the province (Joubert 1995). The concern was that whereas KZN had been associated with some important conservation initiatives undertaken in the past, there was a potential risk of ignoring events and developments outside the province as well as of complacency:
... the NPB was historically run by and for itself. Operating in a rather benign environment and with very little competition, it basically did nothing to engage others for a long time. The problem was the entrenched belief that arose - that the NPB knew what was best and went ahead without consultation and stakeholders were kept on the periphery (EKZNW interviewee # 1).
Everybody knows that in the former NPB we reached a stage of unacceptable arrogance.
Alternative views in the field of conservation were deemed irrelevant. We do not want this stance to continue in the restructured organization. Worse still, we may just be paying for all the missed opportunities during the era when we exhibited arrogance and insularity. If we can open up and make a turn around, there is a lot we can learn from others (EKZNW interviewee #16).
The above sentiments demonstrate that there is at least some recognition of the external environment. Here, the respondents show their disapproval of the previous approach whereby the NPB was largely obsessed with itself and its own ethic. This presents opportunities for an outward looking orientation in terms of strategy. This changing 'organizational self-perception' and recognition of environmental developments is further demonstrated in the next assumption below.