The relevance of integrated reporting for companies to attract investors within the construction sector in the KZN region
- Authors: Ebrahim, Shanaaz
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Financial statements Investments , Construction industry -- Finance Corporations -- Accounting
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/15545 , vital:28268
- Description: Since the global financial crisis of 2008, attracting investment in a public company has not been a simple task (Krzus, 2011). Public trust in organisations was lost as a result of the crisis, owing to the lingering economic uncertainties that prevailed (Krzus, 2011). Through the full disclosure of all aspects that affect the operations of an entity, investors will be assisted in making an informed decision prior to making an investment in a publicly traded company (Singh, Wei, & Kaur, 2012). Integrated reporting provides investors with the necessary details, by making full disclosure of all aspects that affect the operations of an entity, including both financial and non-financial information, in a single report. Such information will enable investors to make a more informed assessment of the future prospects of the organisation in which they intend to invest (Singh et al., 2012). The purpose of this research effort, therefore, was to determine the relevance of integrated reporting to professional investors when making investment decisions, focusing specifically on JSE-listed construction companies. Grounded theory was used as a research design method. Grounded theory summarises data collected from empirical sources into categories. The data collected were based on the subjective perceptions of the participants in response to investigative interview questions. The researcher focused on a single context, namely an investment made by professional investors in JSE-listed construction companies within the Durban metropolitan in KZN. Non-probability, purposive sampling was used as the findings were not generalised to the entire population but were limited to the opinions and perceptions of professional investors in the Durban metropolitan area. The research effort resulted in valuable insight into how integrated reporting can be a useful decision-making tool for professional investors when undertaking investment in listed construction companies, in an attempt to attract investment in the sector. The researcher experienced a lack of responses from professional investors within the industry who were contacted for interviews. This lack of response could be considered to be a limitation in validating the outcome of the study. “Investors and integrated reporting” was identified as a theme that is material to the current state and potential future development of integrated reporting. Accordingly, this theme was used as a basis for this research effort that will enhance companies’ awareness of the benefits of compiling integrated reports as a tool to attract investors. This will assist in obtaining finance that can be used to develop and grow organisations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Ebrahim, Shanaaz
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Financial statements Investments , Construction industry -- Finance Corporations -- Accounting
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/15545 , vital:28268
- Description: Since the global financial crisis of 2008, attracting investment in a public company has not been a simple task (Krzus, 2011). Public trust in organisations was lost as a result of the crisis, owing to the lingering economic uncertainties that prevailed (Krzus, 2011). Through the full disclosure of all aspects that affect the operations of an entity, investors will be assisted in making an informed decision prior to making an investment in a publicly traded company (Singh, Wei, & Kaur, 2012). Integrated reporting provides investors with the necessary details, by making full disclosure of all aspects that affect the operations of an entity, including both financial and non-financial information, in a single report. Such information will enable investors to make a more informed assessment of the future prospects of the organisation in which they intend to invest (Singh et al., 2012). The purpose of this research effort, therefore, was to determine the relevance of integrated reporting to professional investors when making investment decisions, focusing specifically on JSE-listed construction companies. Grounded theory was used as a research design method. Grounded theory summarises data collected from empirical sources into categories. The data collected were based on the subjective perceptions of the participants in response to investigative interview questions. The researcher focused on a single context, namely an investment made by professional investors in JSE-listed construction companies within the Durban metropolitan in KZN. Non-probability, purposive sampling was used as the findings were not generalised to the entire population but were limited to the opinions and perceptions of professional investors in the Durban metropolitan area. The research effort resulted in valuable insight into how integrated reporting can be a useful decision-making tool for professional investors when undertaking investment in listed construction companies, in an attempt to attract investment in the sector. The researcher experienced a lack of responses from professional investors within the industry who were contacted for interviews. This lack of response could be considered to be a limitation in validating the outcome of the study. “Investors and integrated reporting” was identified as a theme that is material to the current state and potential future development of integrated reporting. Accordingly, this theme was used as a basis for this research effort that will enhance companies’ awareness of the benefits of compiling integrated reports as a tool to attract investors. This will assist in obtaining finance that can be used to develop and grow organisations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Workplace violence among professional nurses in a private healthcare facility
- Authors: Schlebusch-Marie, Linda
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Violence in the workplace -- Nursing -- South Africa Nurses -- Violence against -- South Africa , Health facilities -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCur
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/12801 , vital:27122
- Description: Workplace violence is an international problem and has negative consequences for individuals, organizations and communities. For individuals, the effect includes symptoms of fear, stress, irritability, feelings of isolation, insecurity, and low selfesteem. Healthcare organizations incur increased cost due to litigation due to poor quality of care, high staff turnovers and absenteeism, and their brands are negatively affected. Community members, who are the recipients of care, are placed in danger and are indirectly the victims of such workplace violence, which in turn affects their trust in private healthcare organizations or professions to provide the quality health care that they expect and deserve. Workplace violence takes many forms such as incivility, horizontal violence and bullying to name but a few. The perpetrators of such violence are doctors, nurses, patients and relatives. Workplace violence takes place in South Africa however, paucity in research was found by the researcher. The aim of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of professional nurses regarding workplace violence in a private healthcare facility in order to develop guidelines to address workplace violence in such a facility. A qualitative, explorative, contextual and descriptive study was conducted, using the Critical Social Theory as the paradigm. Data were gathered from professional nurses that have experienced workplace violence utilizing narratives. Fourteen narrative interviews were done until data was saturated. The data was transcribed verbatim and Tesch’s method of thematic synthesis was used to analyse the data. The three themes that emerged from the data were: Professional nurses acknowledge the existence of workplace violence where they work, Participants described the effect of workplace violence on themselves, others and the work environment, and Participants discussed their views regarding management of violence in the workplace. A thick description of the data with a literature control was provided. Thereafter inferences were made regarding the main themes of the guidelines and these focussed on: Preventing and addressing workplace violence by Nursing Service Managers; Preventing and addressing workplace violence by Nurse Unit Managers and Empowering professional nurses to address workplace violence. To ensure rigour and trustworthiness of the study, the researcher used Lincoln and Guba’s criteria namely: credibility, dependability, conformability and transferability. To protect the right and dignity of the participants and to safeguard the integrity of the study the researcher complied with the following ethical principles: beneficence, non- maleficence, autonomy, justice, veracity, privacy, and confidentiality. The limitations of this study were that data was collected from only one category of nurses and only one private healthcare facility was used. Recommendations from this study include implementation of the guidelines to establish their effectiveness. The findings of this study can be used to empower professional nurses to deal with workplace violence and to prevent the short and long term effects of workplace violence on the individual, the organization and the community. Nursing education institutions can also incorporate workplace violence into their curriculum to increase the awareness of students regarding this phenomenon.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: Schlebusch-Marie, Linda
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Violence in the workplace -- Nursing -- South Africa Nurses -- Violence against -- South Africa , Health facilities -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCur
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/12801 , vital:27122
- Description: Workplace violence is an international problem and has negative consequences for individuals, organizations and communities. For individuals, the effect includes symptoms of fear, stress, irritability, feelings of isolation, insecurity, and low selfesteem. Healthcare organizations incur increased cost due to litigation due to poor quality of care, high staff turnovers and absenteeism, and their brands are negatively affected. Community members, who are the recipients of care, are placed in danger and are indirectly the victims of such workplace violence, which in turn affects their trust in private healthcare organizations or professions to provide the quality health care that they expect and deserve. Workplace violence takes many forms such as incivility, horizontal violence and bullying to name but a few. The perpetrators of such violence are doctors, nurses, patients and relatives. Workplace violence takes place in South Africa however, paucity in research was found by the researcher. The aim of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of professional nurses regarding workplace violence in a private healthcare facility in order to develop guidelines to address workplace violence in such a facility. A qualitative, explorative, contextual and descriptive study was conducted, using the Critical Social Theory as the paradigm. Data were gathered from professional nurses that have experienced workplace violence utilizing narratives. Fourteen narrative interviews were done until data was saturated. The data was transcribed verbatim and Tesch’s method of thematic synthesis was used to analyse the data. The three themes that emerged from the data were: Professional nurses acknowledge the existence of workplace violence where they work, Participants described the effect of workplace violence on themselves, others and the work environment, and Participants discussed their views regarding management of violence in the workplace. A thick description of the data with a literature control was provided. Thereafter inferences were made regarding the main themes of the guidelines and these focussed on: Preventing and addressing workplace violence by Nursing Service Managers; Preventing and addressing workplace violence by Nurse Unit Managers and Empowering professional nurses to address workplace violence. To ensure rigour and trustworthiness of the study, the researcher used Lincoln and Guba’s criteria namely: credibility, dependability, conformability and transferability. To protect the right and dignity of the participants and to safeguard the integrity of the study the researcher complied with the following ethical principles: beneficence, non- maleficence, autonomy, justice, veracity, privacy, and confidentiality. The limitations of this study were that data was collected from only one category of nurses and only one private healthcare facility was used. Recommendations from this study include implementation of the guidelines to establish their effectiveness. The findings of this study can be used to empower professional nurses to deal with workplace violence and to prevent the short and long term effects of workplace violence on the individual, the organization and the community. Nursing education institutions can also incorporate workplace violence into their curriculum to increase the awareness of students regarding this phenomenon.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
Determination of the effects of sunlight and UV irradiation on the structure, viability and reapplication frequency of the biopesticide cryptophlebia leucotreta granulovirus in the protection against false codling moth infestation of citrus crops
- Authors: Mwanza, Patrick
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Cryptophlebia leucotreta -- Effect of ultraviolet radiation on , Natural pesticides
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/6346 , vital:21075
- Description: Cryptophlebia leucotreta granulovirus (CrleGV-SA) is a baculovirus specifically pathogenic to the citrus pest false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta. CrleGV- SA is formulated as a commercial biopesticide, Cryptogran® (River Bioscience, South Africa). The virus has a stable, proteinaceous crystalline occlusion body (OB) that protects the nucleocapsid. The major limitation to the use of baculoviruses is their susceptibility to the ultraviolet (UV) component of sunlight, which rapidly and greatly reduces their efficacy as biopesticides. The UVA and UVB components are the most destructive to biological organisms. To date no publication has reported the effect of UV on the structure and virulence of CrleGV, or the effectiveness of the OB as a UV protectant. In this study the effect of UV irradiation on the structure and infectivity of pure CrleGV-SA and Cryptogran® was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, qPCR, and bioassays. The project included laboratory and field studies. In the laboratory, CrleGV-SA and Cryptogran® were exposed to either UVA or UVB for periods of 24 hours to 7 days before analysis. In the field, Cryptogran® was applied to trees in a citrus orchard with young fruit. The fruit were collected from 24 hours to 28 days after application and bioassays conducted to assess the effect of sunlight over time on virus structure and efficacy when applied to the northern or southern sides of the trees. No surface morphological changes to the virus were detected using SEM. However, small compositional changes were detected by Raman spectroscopy. qPCR and bioassays demonstrated that UV irradiation damaged the viral DNA, greatly reducing the infectivity of pure CrleGV-SA and Cryptogran®. Exposure to UVB reduced the virulence of the virus more than UVA. The field studies revealed that the activity of CrleGV-SA decreased more on the northern side of the trees than on the southern side.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mwanza, Patrick
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Cryptophlebia leucotreta -- Effect of ultraviolet radiation on , Natural pesticides
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/6346 , vital:21075
- Description: Cryptophlebia leucotreta granulovirus (CrleGV-SA) is a baculovirus specifically pathogenic to the citrus pest false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta. CrleGV- SA is formulated as a commercial biopesticide, Cryptogran® (River Bioscience, South Africa). The virus has a stable, proteinaceous crystalline occlusion body (OB) that protects the nucleocapsid. The major limitation to the use of baculoviruses is their susceptibility to the ultraviolet (UV) component of sunlight, which rapidly and greatly reduces their efficacy as biopesticides. The UVA and UVB components are the most destructive to biological organisms. To date no publication has reported the effect of UV on the structure and virulence of CrleGV, or the effectiveness of the OB as a UV protectant. In this study the effect of UV irradiation on the structure and infectivity of pure CrleGV-SA and Cryptogran® was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, qPCR, and bioassays. The project included laboratory and field studies. In the laboratory, CrleGV-SA and Cryptogran® were exposed to either UVA or UVB for periods of 24 hours to 7 days before analysis. In the field, Cryptogran® was applied to trees in a citrus orchard with young fruit. The fruit were collected from 24 hours to 28 days after application and bioassays conducted to assess the effect of sunlight over time on virus structure and efficacy when applied to the northern or southern sides of the trees. No surface morphological changes to the virus were detected using SEM. However, small compositional changes were detected by Raman spectroscopy. qPCR and bioassays demonstrated that UV irradiation damaged the viral DNA, greatly reducing the infectivity of pure CrleGV-SA and Cryptogran®. Exposure to UVB reduced the virulence of the virus more than UVA. The field studies revealed that the activity of CrleGV-SA decreased more on the northern side of the trees than on the southern side.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Factors affecting the usage of banking products and services by low income and under-banked consumers
- Authors: Giwe, Mbunwe Belter
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Banks and banking , Bank facilities , Bank customers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:9334
- Description: A fundamental idea of this study was that the formal financial institutions have an essential role to play in the process of assisting financial inclusion of South Africa's low income and under-banked consumers. Financial inclusion is important for consumers to have access to affordable basic financial products and services. An increase in the number of financially included consumers is important for growth of home ownership, positive savings habits among low income consumers and mitigating risks with insurance products. Consumers have access to financial products and services but are not equipped with the basic knowledge to fully benefit from the use of these financial products and services. As a result, the construct of financial inclusion and the measures being taken by South African financial institutions to optimise financial inclusion was investigated in this study. There is a broad consensus that under-banked consumers face a myriad of factors that may prevent them from having effective access and usage of banking products and services. The effective usage of banking products and services not only promotes an inclusive society but also consumers' ability to take full advantage of the benefits of having access to suitable financial products and services. The influence of these factors on the usage of banking products and services by low income and under-banked consumers was under investigation in this research study. The influence of these factors on the usage of banking products and services by low income and under-banked consumers was under investigation in this research study. To achieve this, the researcher identified a number of factors that have a relationship with usage. These include Financial Awareness, Trust, Fees, Simplicity and Appropriateness of banking products and services. Consumers' usage of banking products and services were tested using primary data collected from low income and under-banked consumers in the NMB. This study only focused on five influencing factors. The investigation of other possible factors contributing to the usage of banking products and services is necessary. Making use of a larger sample and an improved model with other pertinent influencing factors might bring to light the significant factors involved in the decisions made by consumers in the usage of banking products and services. The significant factors presented in this study reveals that of the five proposed relationships, only two were found to be significant (Financial Awareness and Appropriateness). The findings of the study show that the usage of banking products and services can be increased through increased Financial Awareness about various available banking products and services, changing the unrealised need of the consumers into a realised need for banking and providing affordable products and services for various sections of the population. Appropriateness also reported a positive significant influence on Usage. This means that consumers are likely to access their bank account at different locations. With banking institutions offering products and services that meet their needs, consumers can achieve their financial goals and improve lifestyles by doing all transactions via the bank account and having more control over their personal financial affairs. Recommendations where suggested based on the empirical results to help improve the banking institutions ways of attracting and retaining consumers to effectively use their products and services. It was recommended that banking institutions should tailor their marketing campaigns towards low income and under-banked consumers in order to improve the level of financial awareness of consumers about banking products and services they consume. Seek to improve their communications strategies by adopting techniques that effectively transmits their ideas between the banking institutions and low income and under-banked consumers. And also focus should be on the creation of innovative design systems to ensure that banking products and services will effectively address the needs of low income and under-banked consumers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Giwe, Mbunwe Belter
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Banks and banking , Bank facilities , Bank customers
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:9334
- Description: A fundamental idea of this study was that the formal financial institutions have an essential role to play in the process of assisting financial inclusion of South Africa's low income and under-banked consumers. Financial inclusion is important for consumers to have access to affordable basic financial products and services. An increase in the number of financially included consumers is important for growth of home ownership, positive savings habits among low income consumers and mitigating risks with insurance products. Consumers have access to financial products and services but are not equipped with the basic knowledge to fully benefit from the use of these financial products and services. As a result, the construct of financial inclusion and the measures being taken by South African financial institutions to optimise financial inclusion was investigated in this study. There is a broad consensus that under-banked consumers face a myriad of factors that may prevent them from having effective access and usage of banking products and services. The effective usage of banking products and services not only promotes an inclusive society but also consumers' ability to take full advantage of the benefits of having access to suitable financial products and services. The influence of these factors on the usage of banking products and services by low income and under-banked consumers was under investigation in this research study. The influence of these factors on the usage of banking products and services by low income and under-banked consumers was under investigation in this research study. To achieve this, the researcher identified a number of factors that have a relationship with usage. These include Financial Awareness, Trust, Fees, Simplicity and Appropriateness of banking products and services. Consumers' usage of banking products and services were tested using primary data collected from low income and under-banked consumers in the NMB. This study only focused on five influencing factors. The investigation of other possible factors contributing to the usage of banking products and services is necessary. Making use of a larger sample and an improved model with other pertinent influencing factors might bring to light the significant factors involved in the decisions made by consumers in the usage of banking products and services. The significant factors presented in this study reveals that of the five proposed relationships, only two were found to be significant (Financial Awareness and Appropriateness). The findings of the study show that the usage of banking products and services can be increased through increased Financial Awareness about various available banking products and services, changing the unrealised need of the consumers into a realised need for banking and providing affordable products and services for various sections of the population. Appropriateness also reported a positive significant influence on Usage. This means that consumers are likely to access their bank account at different locations. With banking institutions offering products and services that meet their needs, consumers can achieve their financial goals and improve lifestyles by doing all transactions via the bank account and having more control over their personal financial affairs. Recommendations where suggested based on the empirical results to help improve the banking institutions ways of attracting and retaining consumers to effectively use their products and services. It was recommended that banking institutions should tailor their marketing campaigns towards low income and under-banked consumers in order to improve the level of financial awareness of consumers about banking products and services they consume. Seek to improve their communications strategies by adopting techniques that effectively transmits their ideas between the banking institutions and low income and under-banked consumers. And also focus should be on the creation of innovative design systems to ensure that banking products and services will effectively address the needs of low income and under-banked consumers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
An analysis of change and transformation strategies: the Department of Home Affairs, Province of the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Biyase, Sibongiseni Nobert
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: South Africa -- Department of Home Affairs , Civil service reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Social change -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: vital:8329 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020373
- Description: The South African public sector is important for the sustainable growth and development of the country. One of its major responsibilities is to ensure that all citizens have access to and receive the services they need. The manner in which public sector institutions are structured has an impact on the delivery of effective and efficient services to citizens.Achieving a high degree of productivity is an important objective of public service organisations across the world given the pressure to deliver quality public goods and services within the limits of ever-increasing resource constraints. The South African Public Service is no exception to this global phenomenon. The focus on the public service is therefore continuously to improve performance to meet citizens’ needs. Where as performance is directed at measuring outputs achieved, productivity goes an important step further by measuring the relationship between the resources used to achieve outputs. The focus of this study is the analysis of change and transformation strategies in the Department of Home Affairs, Province of the Eastern Cape. The primary purpose was to assess the current state of service delivery in the Department of Home Affairs and to ascertain how continuous monitoring and evaluation could be factored in to enhance the delivery of services. The target population was the employees and clients of the Department of Home Affairs. Employees were selected randomly and asked to participate in the study. The sample was a convenient-purposive sampling and a quantitative research questionnaire was used.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Biyase, Sibongiseni Nobert
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: South Africa -- Department of Home Affairs , Civil service reform -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Social change -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: vital:8329 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020373
- Description: The South African public sector is important for the sustainable growth and development of the country. One of its major responsibilities is to ensure that all citizens have access to and receive the services they need. The manner in which public sector institutions are structured has an impact on the delivery of effective and efficient services to citizens.Achieving a high degree of productivity is an important objective of public service organisations across the world given the pressure to deliver quality public goods and services within the limits of ever-increasing resource constraints. The South African Public Service is no exception to this global phenomenon. The focus on the public service is therefore continuously to improve performance to meet citizens’ needs. Where as performance is directed at measuring outputs achieved, productivity goes an important step further by measuring the relationship between the resources used to achieve outputs. The focus of this study is the analysis of change and transformation strategies in the Department of Home Affairs, Province of the Eastern Cape. The primary purpose was to assess the current state of service delivery in the Department of Home Affairs and to ascertain how continuous monitoring and evaluation could be factored in to enhance the delivery of services. The target population was the employees and clients of the Department of Home Affairs. Employees were selected randomly and asked to participate in the study. The sample was a convenient-purposive sampling and a quantitative research questionnaire was used.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Infection control practices for the prevention of surgical site infections in the operating room
- Authors: Opadotun, Olukemi
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Surgical wound infections -- Prevention , Wounds and injuries -- Nursing , Operating room nursing , Surgical nursing , Evidence-based nursing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCur
- Identifier: vital:10050 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1017195
- Description: Infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality during the post-operative phase of patients’ recovery. Wound infections are the second most commonly encountered type of nosocomial infection. Because wound infections can be introduced by not applying infection control measures and sterile technique principles in the operating room, the implementation of infection control principles is an imperative. The aim of this study was to explore and describe infection control practices related to the prevention of Surgical site infections in the operating rooms in a public health care sector in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The findings were compared with practices, as indicated in an evidence-based guideline. The research design was quantitative, explorative, descriptive, comparative-descriptive and contextual in nature. The research sample consisted of all the professional nurses, in the operating room. The data were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used to present the data in the form of tables and graphs. Based on the analysis of the data, some recommendations were made for the implementation of infection control practices, in order to prevent Surgical site infections in the operating room.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Opadotun, Olukemi
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Surgical wound infections -- Prevention , Wounds and injuries -- Nursing , Operating room nursing , Surgical nursing , Evidence-based nursing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCur
- Identifier: vital:10050 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1017195
- Description: Infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality during the post-operative phase of patients’ recovery. Wound infections are the second most commonly encountered type of nosocomial infection. Because wound infections can be introduced by not applying infection control measures and sterile technique principles in the operating room, the implementation of infection control principles is an imperative. The aim of this study was to explore and describe infection control practices related to the prevention of Surgical site infections in the operating rooms in a public health care sector in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The findings were compared with practices, as indicated in an evidence-based guideline. The research design was quantitative, explorative, descriptive, comparative-descriptive and contextual in nature. The research sample consisted of all the professional nurses, in the operating room. The data were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used to present the data in the form of tables and graphs. Based on the analysis of the data, some recommendations were made for the implementation of infection control practices, in order to prevent Surgical site infections in the operating room.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
An investigation into a natural language interface for contact centers
- Authors: Sankar, Gopal Ravi
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Call centers -- Management , Customer services -- Management , Telephone selling
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10468 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/890 , Call centers -- Management , Customer services -- Management , Telephone selling
- Description: Contact centres are the first point of contact between a company and a customer after the purchase of a product or service. These centres make use of contact centre agents to service customer queries. In the past contact centres hired as many agents as they could in order to service customers, which have led to an increase in personnel costs causing contact centres to become costly to run. Automation techniques were introduced to decrease personnel costs and one such technique is the Interactive Voice Response (IVR). The usability of IVR systems is, however, dismal. Customers would rather speak to a contact centre agent than navigate through the menu structure found in these systems. The menu structure has come under scrutiny because it is difficult to use and navigate, is often not aligned to caller usage patterns, and the menu options are long and vague. This research investigated whether a Natural Language Interface (NLI) could alleviate the problems inherent to IVR. NLIs, however, come with their own disadvantages of which the main ones are ambiguity and the loss of context of a conversation. Two prototypes were implemented, one of which resembled an IVR and the other an NLI (using ALICE concepts). An evaluation of two prototypes confirmed the advantages and disadvantages of these concepts in accordance to theory. A Hybrid prototype was proposed with the aid of two models. The model which proposed an NLI using a rule base was chosen for implementation. The Hybrid prototype was then evaluated against the NLI and IVR prototypes to deduce which prototype was the most effective, efficient and satisfying. The evaluation through the aid of descriptive and inferential statistics showed that the Hybrid prototype was the most usable prototype. The evaluation of the Hybrid prototype confirmed that a Hybrid approach could limit the shortcomings of IVR through the elimination of the menu structure found in these systems, thereby allowing users to state their queries in natural language. The incorporated rule base provided the Hybrid system with long term memory, eliminating one of the main disadvantages of NLIs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Sankar, Gopal Ravi
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Call centers -- Management , Customer services -- Management , Telephone selling
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10468 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/890 , Call centers -- Management , Customer services -- Management , Telephone selling
- Description: Contact centres are the first point of contact between a company and a customer after the purchase of a product or service. These centres make use of contact centre agents to service customer queries. In the past contact centres hired as many agents as they could in order to service customers, which have led to an increase in personnel costs causing contact centres to become costly to run. Automation techniques were introduced to decrease personnel costs and one such technique is the Interactive Voice Response (IVR). The usability of IVR systems is, however, dismal. Customers would rather speak to a contact centre agent than navigate through the menu structure found in these systems. The menu structure has come under scrutiny because it is difficult to use and navigate, is often not aligned to caller usage patterns, and the menu options are long and vague. This research investigated whether a Natural Language Interface (NLI) could alleviate the problems inherent to IVR. NLIs, however, come with their own disadvantages of which the main ones are ambiguity and the loss of context of a conversation. Two prototypes were implemented, one of which resembled an IVR and the other an NLI (using ALICE concepts). An evaluation of two prototypes confirmed the advantages and disadvantages of these concepts in accordance to theory. A Hybrid prototype was proposed with the aid of two models. The model which proposed an NLI using a rule base was chosen for implementation. The Hybrid prototype was then evaluated against the NLI and IVR prototypes to deduce which prototype was the most effective, efficient and satisfying. The evaluation through the aid of descriptive and inferential statistics showed that the Hybrid prototype was the most usable prototype. The evaluation of the Hybrid prototype confirmed that a Hybrid approach could limit the shortcomings of IVR through the elimination of the menu structure found in these systems, thereby allowing users to state their queries in natural language. The incorporated rule base provided the Hybrid system with long term memory, eliminating one of the main disadvantages of NLIs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Key factors required to be classified as a world-class supplier from a South African automotive industry perspective
- Authors: Cook, Gavin Trevor
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9335 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/935 , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa
- Description: Over and above the fact that South African automotive business firms do not have the advantages of a major domestic market and are far removed from the major world markets, they face the challenges of operating in a tough and ever-changing environment. This environment is characterised by a global recession, aggressive global competition, high inflation and more demanding customers. To overcome these obstacles and to ensure their continuous success and existence, these domestic firms need to create a competitive advantage. The establishment of such a competitive advantage is dependent on a number of factors which mainly include sourcing from a world-class supplier base in terms of price, quality and service delivery. The main objective and central theme of this study is to determine the factors that are required by a supplier in the South African automotive industry to be classified as a world-class supplier. In support of the main objective, it was necessary to source the reasons why a firm would find it important to trade with a world-class supplier base, and to determine whether the current levels of supplier performance as experienced by buying firms in the Eastern Cape automotive industry, could be regarded as world-class. Furthermore, the study set out to determine the consequences to customer firms of inferior supplier performance, as well as the actions currently taken and support programmes in place to bring suppliers in line with world-class standards. As a starting point to the study, a literature review was undertaken which revealed the definite interdependence between a business firm and the environment in which it operates. The review underlined the need for environmental scanning as a means to proactively manage the impact of environmental changes on a firm. Porter’s value chain and business process re-engineering, as discussed in the study, are also perceived as means to manage environmental changes. The literature study further revealed some of the latest business trends followed by automotive business firms, as well as the expected supplier buy-in to ensure success. A statistical analysis on the quantitative data gathered, grouped specific items (questions) that relate to the study’s main objective with three respective individual supplier performance areas. A confirmatory factor analysis which focused on the three factors, namely quality, pricing and service delivery was carried out to assess the validity of the questions used for gathering the research data. The Cronbach Alphas determined for the three factors portrayed the reliability of the research instrument as acceptable. The empirical study revealed a few main factors that automotive business firms strongly perceive as being key to the establishment of a world-class supplier base. These factors are: a culture of continuous improvement; consistently meeting delivery deadlines by being able to respond to customer schedule changes; quoting fair prices and having respect for business ethics; as well as the consistent application of a quality policy which leads to conformance to specifications and subsequent high levels of product reliability. The empirical study also identified the following benefits enjoyed by customer business firms when trading with a world-class supplier base: Firms are able to be more flexible to customer schedule changes; they receive products that meet specifications; and they are able to operate at lower costs. The empirical findings with regard to the current level of supplier performance in the Eastern Cape Province automotive industry highlighted mainly three problem areas. These are late deliveries; the inability of suppliers to respond to customer schedule changes; as well as a lack of continuous improvement. Late deliveries which lead to production stoppages, with its resultant high costs, as well as the receipt of below-par quality products, were revealed as the main consequences when dealing with suppliers whose performance are not world-class. The main actions taken and programmes or incentives offered by automotive business firms to bring inferior suppliers more in line with world-class performance, include the rewarding of good suppliers by granting them more business; applying formal supplier performance evaluations; and having regular supplier audits.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Cook, Gavin Trevor
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:9335 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/935 , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa
- Description: Over and above the fact that South African automotive business firms do not have the advantages of a major domestic market and are far removed from the major world markets, they face the challenges of operating in a tough and ever-changing environment. This environment is characterised by a global recession, aggressive global competition, high inflation and more demanding customers. To overcome these obstacles and to ensure their continuous success and existence, these domestic firms need to create a competitive advantage. The establishment of such a competitive advantage is dependent on a number of factors which mainly include sourcing from a world-class supplier base in terms of price, quality and service delivery. The main objective and central theme of this study is to determine the factors that are required by a supplier in the South African automotive industry to be classified as a world-class supplier. In support of the main objective, it was necessary to source the reasons why a firm would find it important to trade with a world-class supplier base, and to determine whether the current levels of supplier performance as experienced by buying firms in the Eastern Cape automotive industry, could be regarded as world-class. Furthermore, the study set out to determine the consequences to customer firms of inferior supplier performance, as well as the actions currently taken and support programmes in place to bring suppliers in line with world-class standards. As a starting point to the study, a literature review was undertaken which revealed the definite interdependence between a business firm and the environment in which it operates. The review underlined the need for environmental scanning as a means to proactively manage the impact of environmental changes on a firm. Porter’s value chain and business process re-engineering, as discussed in the study, are also perceived as means to manage environmental changes. The literature study further revealed some of the latest business trends followed by automotive business firms, as well as the expected supplier buy-in to ensure success. A statistical analysis on the quantitative data gathered, grouped specific items (questions) that relate to the study’s main objective with three respective individual supplier performance areas. A confirmatory factor analysis which focused on the three factors, namely quality, pricing and service delivery was carried out to assess the validity of the questions used for gathering the research data. The Cronbach Alphas determined for the three factors portrayed the reliability of the research instrument as acceptable. The empirical study revealed a few main factors that automotive business firms strongly perceive as being key to the establishment of a world-class supplier base. These factors are: a culture of continuous improvement; consistently meeting delivery deadlines by being able to respond to customer schedule changes; quoting fair prices and having respect for business ethics; as well as the consistent application of a quality policy which leads to conformance to specifications and subsequent high levels of product reliability. The empirical study also identified the following benefits enjoyed by customer business firms when trading with a world-class supplier base: Firms are able to be more flexible to customer schedule changes; they receive products that meet specifications; and they are able to operate at lower costs. The empirical findings with regard to the current level of supplier performance in the Eastern Cape Province automotive industry highlighted mainly three problem areas. These are late deliveries; the inability of suppliers to respond to customer schedule changes; as well as a lack of continuous improvement. Late deliveries which lead to production stoppages, with its resultant high costs, as well as the receipt of below-par quality products, were revealed as the main consequences when dealing with suppliers whose performance are not world-class. The main actions taken and programmes or incentives offered by automotive business firms to bring inferior suppliers more in line with world-class performance, include the rewarding of good suppliers by granting them more business; applying formal supplier performance evaluations; and having regular supplier audits.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
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