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From memos to messages: WhatsApp as a strategic internal communications tool in the South African public service
Mini Dissertation (MPhil (Corporate Strategy))--University of Pretoria, 2025.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613522057232384 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Toefy, Tracey |
| author_browse | Toefy, Tracey |
| author_facet | Toefy, Tracey |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2025 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Mini Dissertation (MPhil (Corporate Strategy))--University of Pretoria, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/109222 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:37:28.861Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/109222 From memos to messages: WhatsApp as a strategic internal communications tool in the South African public service Toefy, Tracey ichelp@gibs.co.za Maphumulo, Mandulo UCTD Mini Dissertation (MPhil (Corporate Strategy))--University of Pretoria, 2025. This study examines the shifting dynamics of internal communication in South African public service organisations, focusing on the rise of WhatsApp as a strategic communication tool. Traditionally, organisational communication in the public sector has been dominated by memos and circulars that reflect the bureaucratic, top-down nature of government institutions, privileging hierarchy, formality, and control. However, the widespread adoption of WhatsApp has introduced a faster, more interactive, and more informal mode of communication that blurs organisational boundaries and challenges established hierarchies. Against this backdrop, the study investigates how WhatsApp is utilised to convey and interpret strategic objectives in the public service, and what this means for organisational coherence, authority, and inclusivity. The research is framed by Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), which provides a lens for unpacking how language use in WhatsApp reflects and reproduces power relations, while sense-making theory is used to illuminate how employees interpret, negotiate, and reframe strategic messages in digital contexts. Data for the study includes organisational WhatsApp group communication from six government departments and entities which are analysed to reveal patterns of authority, resistance, and reinterpretation in the circulation of strategic objectives. Findings suggest that WhatsApp not only accelerates communication but also creates a discursive space in which strategic directives are contested, re-articulated, and normalised through everyday interactions. This has significant implications for both theory and practice. Academically, the study extends scholarship on digital internal communication by contributing to CDA-based understandings of mobile messaging and sense-making in South African public organisations. Practically, it provides insights for public servants and communication practitioners, in particular, on how to harness WhatsApp effectively, balancing its speed and accessibility with the need for clarity, accountability, and alignment in strategic messaging. The study therefore highlights both the opportunities and risks of digital messaging platforms in shaping the future of public service communication. Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) MPhil (Corporate Strategy) Unrestricted Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions 2026-03-23T09:42:53Z 2026-03-23T09:42:53Z 2026-05-05 2025 Mini Dissertation * A2025 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/109222 en © 2025 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD From memos to messages: WhatsApp as a strategic internal communications tool in the South African public service |
| title | From memos to messages: WhatsApp as a strategic internal communications tool in the South African public service |
| title_full | From memos to messages: WhatsApp as a strategic internal communications tool in the South African public service |
| title_fullStr | From memos to messages: WhatsApp as a strategic internal communications tool in the South African public service |
| title_full_unstemmed | From memos to messages: WhatsApp as a strategic internal communications tool in the South African public service |
| title_short | From memos to messages: WhatsApp as a strategic internal communications tool in the South African public service |
| title_sort | from memos to messages whatsapp as a strategic internal communications tool in the south african public service |
| topic | UCTD |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/109222 |