A framework for business leadership in Africa
- Authors: Whitley, Elwyn
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Leadership -- Africa Success in business , Management -- Africa Business Industrial management -- Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/45814 , vital:39219
- Description: In a fast moving, rapidly changing and highly competitive world the importance of strong leadership in both government and business cannot be over emphasised. The realisation that leadership is necessary for the organisation’s success and is key for the organisation’s survival (Alimo-Metcalfe and Alban- Metcalfe, 2008) is evident in the increasing focus on the concept over the last three to four decades. As the world becomes more of a ‘global village’ adapting to doing business in this new environment will require a leader who not only has the traditional skills set but also has the additional knowledge, skills and “mindset to navigate through the complexities brought on by moving beyond one's traditional borders” (Cohen, 2010. p. 3). This is of particular importance to Africa with the influx of foreign investors attracted by the growth opportunities that Africa offers, looking to expand their markets and in doing so imposing western norms and standards on local operations, in complex environments. Unfortunately Western leadership theories have not always been successful as Africans have found that in order to embrace Western ideals they need to relinquish some of their own beliefs. This highlights an opportunity to explore a possible hybrid leadership approach that harmonises the Western approach that is based on facts, logic and the nature of reality with the African humanistic orientation. The main aim of this study is to research the concept, principles, and characteristics of a small sample of business leaders in Africa in order to identify the factors that contribute to the leader’s success in a global business operating in Africa. By applying qualitative research methodology which includes an individual narrative written by each Managing Director, semistructured interviews and focus groups, a framework for business leadership in Africa was developed.
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- Date Issued: 2014
A sustainability reporting framework for South African Higher Education Institutions
- Authors: Bosire, Samuel Mobisa
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Sustainable development reporting -- South Africa , Business intelligence -- South Africa , Universities and colleges -- South Africa , Corporate governance -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DBA
- Identifier: vital:8798 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016126
- Description: Sustainability has gained prominence globally among nations, regions and organisations as a result of factors such as the effects of climate change on the environment, diminishing natural resources and rising population growth with their concomitant impact on economies and social systems. South Africa is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) that promotes international principles and best practices on sustainable development. Sustainability Reporting is one such best practice. Sustainability Reporting is imperative for good governance and organisations are now expected to support sustainability issues, risks and performance in a balanced and reasonable way. The United Nations and other global bodies have been in the vanguard in promoting guidelines for sustainability reporting with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) being the most Prominent Sustainability reporting guideline. The South African Higher Education Institutions generate a number of reports in the course of any given academic year. As has been the case in the global corporate world, failures in governance in some South African universities point to weaknesses in their governance, especially when it comes to oversight of the operations of institutions. Considering this, it is important to critically examine strategic planning processes to understand the aspects that are important for the survival of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and therefore they should be regularly and closely monitored. The study begins by exploring literature relating to strategic planning, governance, sustainability reporting practices and Business Intelligence (BI) technologies in Higher Education. The primary objective of the investigation is to propose a sustainability reporting framework for Higher Education Institutions in South Africa. It is argued that with the aid of appropriate BI tools, the proposed Sustainability Reporting framework would be useful in tracking progress in the implementation of strategic plans and at the same time strengthen governance in institutions. The study identified elements of Sustainability Reporting that are important for strategic planning. To develop the proposed framework, an empirical investigation was undertaken. Four online questionnaires were completed and returned by 108 participants comprising of Registrars and Information Managers at 23 South African Higher Education Institutions as well as to Information Managers in selected International Higher Education Institutions and Managers at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). The online questionnaires were developed to elicit information to include in the proposed framework. To analyse results, both descriptive and inferential statistics such as Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used. Results from the surveys revealed that Higher Education Institutions globally and in South Africa are grappling with the same issues. When it comes to Sustainability Reporting, factors such as information culture and Business Intelligence maturity levels were not found to be very different among the various institutions. In the case study at NMMU, correlational analysis confirmed that variables such as Management buying and the availability of BI reports were positively related to effective strategic planning and vice versa. Similarly, a strong correlation was observed between reporting guidelines and strategic planning. Moreover, the study highlighted the critical role of management and leadership in a university in creating an environment that supports Sustainability Reporting. In conclusion, it was recommended that efforts should be directed at creating awareness and at training staff on aspects that promote sustainability. It is incumbent upon the institution to take advantage of and promote technological tools and techniques to enable the easy flow of data and information in understandable and usable formats to all its stakeholders. Finally, a Framework for Sustainability Reporting for Higher Education Institutions (FSRHEI) and guidelines for implementing Sustainability Reports are proposed.
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- Date Issued: 2014
An examination of Christian values and correlated concepts in small business practices in South Africa
- Authors: Van den Berg, Ruan
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Business -- Religious aspects , Business ethics , Capitalism -- Religious aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DBA
- Identifier: vital:8919 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021094
- Description: The purpose of this research project was to establish in what way Christian entrepreneurs, in this case owner-managers of small and medium-sized enterprises, drew on their Christian faith – as an identity-creating construct – in the day-to-day running of their businesses. Religion was identified as one of the significant contributing elements that form part of individuals’ underlying values that are used to make numerous value-based decisions. Because SME owner-managers that adhere to the Christian faith constitute a fairly large segment of society in the Western World, a study of this nature can be regarded as a worthwhile undertaking that provides valuable insights related to how and to what extent this particular group of economic actors merge religious convictions with business operations. The research was set up in such a way that SME owner-managers in South Africa, who were self-proclaimed Christians and broadly defined as members of the Protestant tradition, constituted the sample participants. The methodology regarded as most suitable was a qualitative, grounded-theory approach whereby interviews were conducted along the lines of a semi-structured interview schedule. An openended exploratory strategy was adopted that allowed respondents to convey their thoughts and ideas pertaining to the research phenomenon from their personal perspectives. A number of conceptual and linguistic frames offered by the respondents – that gave language to the way they rationalised their faith in the context of managing their businesses – were recorded. A total of sixteen major themes and an additional eight sub-themes emerged from the data. The themes recorded and analysed were: faith, grace, calling, stewardship, kingdom, holiness, discipleship, discernment, love, relationship, anointing, inseparable dimensions of life, the Christian life journey, money, cultural perspectives and biblical principles, including the centrality of the Bible, integrity and honesty, sowing and reaping, humility, forgiveness, power of the tongue, importance of prayer and the centrality of Christ. The research findings revealed that a correct understanding of the Christian identity as well as a correct application thereof is crucial in successfully incorporating Christian ideals in the market. Full integration of the Christian identity plus an internalisation of God’s purposes and principles create an inner sense of direction that is less focused on external moral guidelines and codes of conduct – the phrase living from the inside out’ seems appropriately fitting to describe a group of economic actors who pursue their business careers with a sense of calling coupled with a belief that their commercial whereabouts are distinctively linked to a transcendent objective. In addition, general business administration guidelines, where the issue of religious affiliation per se is of no particular consequence, allow for the integration of the value concepts uncovered through the study by way of the corporate governance framework as contained in the King III report – particularly with reference to business practice interventions related to the formulation and implementation of core organisational values and moral codes.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Assessing the optimal size and composition of public debt in Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mupunga, Nebson
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Debts, Public -- Management , Debts, Public -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8977 , vital:26448
- Description: This study provides an analysis of public debt dynamics with a view to assess the optimal size and composition of public debt in Zimbabwe that is consistent with maintaining public debt at sustainable levels. The analysis was performed by applying public debt data for Zimbabwe over the period 1980 to 2012. Robustness checks were conducted, using data for selected low income countries in the sub-Saharan Africa. The study was motivated by the public debt management concerns caused by the 2008/09 global financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis as well as the external public debt overhang experienced by Zimbabwe since the year 2000. The findings of the study complement existing research findings and information on public debt management of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other researchers. The major contribution of this thesis is the determination of optimal public debt thresholds for Zimbabwe. The optimal public debt thresholds were estimated from a joint analysis of the macroeconomic variables that affect public debt and the reaction of fiscal policy to changes in debt. The classical linear regression and Bayesian Vector Auto Regression (BVAR) models were applied to examine the drivers of debt accumulation and to assess the sensitivity of debt to macroeconomic shocks. The information from the drivers of public debt accumulation, together with the fiscal response mechanism was used to calibrate the long-run stable (optimal) public debt target. The optimal public debt threshold was also determined by assessing the link between public debt and economic growth. This assessment was carried out to establish the tipping point beyond which public debt adversely affects growth. Such a tipping point provides valuable information on the optimal size of public debt. The study also applied simulation approaches to determine the optimal composition of public debt. The results show that public debt dynamics in Zimbabwe largely comprised extensive stock flow adjustments emanating from extra budgetary expenditures to meet social and political related needs. The results of the assessment on the sensitivity of public debt to macroeconomic shocks show that Zimbabwe‟s public debt has been more vulnerable to economic growth, exchange rate and interest rate shocks. The significant influence of these variables highlights the role of automatic debt dynamics in public debt management. The results from the fiscal reaction function show that government has been responding positively to increases in public debt. This analysis also shows that government‟s policies are a-cyclical; as explained by the negative and insignificant response of the primary balance to the output gap. The dynamic stochastic simulation analysis suggests that Zimbabwe‟s public debt could follow an array of potential paths depending on the policy stance implemented by government. The simulated risk to public debt dynamics is larger, with an upper bound public debt to GDP ratio of 100 per cent and a lower bound public debt ratio of 32 per cent. The simulated lower bound provides a measure of a natural debt limit, which the government could adopt without fearing the risk of default. The results suggest that the main risks to public debt sustainability lie in growth shocks, whose volatility have been high for the period under study. The results from the analysis of growth and debt confirm the existence of an optimal growth maximising public debt ratio depicted by an inverted U-shaped relationship between public debt and economic growth. The optimal size of public debt was found to be at public debt levels of between 45-50 per cent of GDP. This means that higher public debt ratios have been associated with lower economic growth rates at debt levels above 50 per cent of GDP. The results are consistent with empirical findings for low income countries which suggest the existence of a debt laffer-curve. The results from an analysis of an optimal composition of public debt show a trade-off between a debt composition with more external concessional debt and one with more domestic debt. While a composition with more concessional borrowing was found to be desirable from a cost perspective, it proved to be less desirable from a risk perspective after taking into consideration stock flow adjustments due to changes in cross exchange rates. The findings of the study point to a need for the Zimbabwean government to swiftly respond to increases in public debt to control the swings in debt dynamics caused by macroeconomic shocks. The inverted U-shaped relationship between debt and growth suggests that government borrowing must be done in a way that simultaneously entrenches debt sustainability and ensures sustained economic growth rates in the medium to long-term. The study also highlights the need for counter-cyclical macroeconomic policies to avoid explosive debt dynamics emanating from frequent changes in the business cycle, and to minimise the interest/growth rate differential to ensure sustainable public debt dynamics. There is also a need for authorities to ensure a true balance between external and domestic borrowing to minimise the volatility in debt service costs caused by macroeconomic shocks. Generally, the findings from this study can assist in informing the policy agenda to address the imperatives of debt resolution, fiscal consolidation and economic growth acceleration.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Business, state and society in the Western Cape from 1960 to 1990
- Authors: Wood, Robert Jameson
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Industrial policy -- South Africa. , Apartheid -- South Africa -- 1960-1990 , South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1960-1990 , South Africa -- Economic policy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:9125 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018502
- Description: This research examines the relationship between business, the state and society in South Africa -- particularly the Western Cape -- over the period from 1960 to 1990, viewed against the background of economic conditions in this region, South Africa and the world. Utilising a development history approach, it is based on an extensive study of primary and secondary documentation, supplemented by a panel of in-depth interviews and observation. This study finds that the relationship between business and apartheid incorporated both functional and dysfunctional elements, although over time the benefits diminished and the costs multiplied. The latter, Regulation Theory suggests, is true for any institutional order, but it could be argued that, under apartheid, the particularly fragile and contradictory nature of the institutional arrangement made inevitable crises more rapid and more pronounced. On the one hand, apartheid restricted the economic development of the country, as a result of a range of factors from skills shortages to the visible waste of resources on grand ideological projects and security; as suggested by Resource Curse Theory, minerals windfalls tend to encourage irresponsible behaviour by governments. On the other hand, certain businesses prospered, notably the Afrikaner business sector. All business benefited from the overall growth of the 1950s and 1960s, whilst niche players often did quite well even during the 1980s. Further, the South African businessmen, both English- and Afrikaans-speaking, were skilful in adapting to the difficult conditions brought about by apartheid, and in many cases they prospered. As highlighted by Business Systems Theory, embedded social ties and informal relations may help either support or compensate for formal regulatory pressures. Many of these general trends were particularly accentuated in the Western Cape. The fact that business protests against government policies were often more motivated by concerns as to future property rights and of social disorder, rather than human rights, does indeed raise serious moral issues. However, in helping encourage political reform, they may have made a positive contribution. This study is founded on three related strands of thinking within the political economy tradition, Resource Curse Theory, Regulation Theory and Business Systems Theory, with the emerging common ground between these three bodies of thought being highlighted. As suggested by Resource Curse Theory, non-mineral producing regions tend to be particularly adversely affected in mineral rich countries, and there is little doubt that the region bore all the costs of the collapse of the gold price in the 1980s, and lacked the deeper capital base of the now Gauteng region to cushion the shock. Whilst apartheid may, as we have seen, have served conservative sectors of agriculture and mining quite well for many years, it also involved large costs incurred through social engineering experiments and the increasing demands of the security establishment. Resource Curse Theory suggests that national economies become dangerously dependent on the vagaries of commodities markets, and that the process of institutional design and evolution is hampered by assumptions of easy money which may temporary resolve the negative consequences of any institutional shortcomings. The poor price of gold in much of the 1980s brought about a crisis in the system, and, there is little doubt that this contributed to the demise of the order. As suggested by Resource Curse Theory, the experience of the Western Cape, a region of the country poor in minerals, was often one of inefficient and wasteful state intervention, coupled with increasingly poor performance of non-mineral related industries. Indeed, the effects of the recession of the 1980s were most pronounced in non-mineral producing areas of the country, particularly in the Western Cape. Regulation Theory highlights that no set of institutions and practices is ever totally coherent and functional, but at specific times may work to promote both certain types of economic activity and overall growth. It is wrong to suggest that because an order only works for some players at specific times it is simply dysfunctional or does not work properly at all. However, over time, internal contradictions mount and the benefits diminish. A particular feature of the apartheid order was that some of its core benefits at its height were particularly concentrated on some players (segments of Afrikaner commerce and industry, mining and agriculture), whilst the costs were shared across a wider range of players, with a disproportionate burden being borne by the black majority. A further feature was that the costs were often indirect and spread over many years if the benefits were sometimes immediate: this would include the persistent dysfunctionality of much of the South African education system and the criminal ecosystem that was nurtured through sanctions busting. Internal contradictions and spreading dysfunctionality rarely leads to a conscious and coherent period of institutional redesign, but rather an incoherent, experimental and contested process, such as characterized late apartheid reforms, and, indeed, the post February-1990 negotiation process. Finally, again at a theoretical level, as Business Systems Theory highlights, it is important to take account of the formal and informal ties interlinking firms in different sectors in the region, and firms and government, and the extent to which regions within a particular country may follow very distinct developmental trajectories. The benefits and the costs of the system diffused unevenly in the region, giving many players both a stake in the existing order, and an interest in some or other type of reform.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Chinese tourists' intentions to visit South Africa: an extended model of the theory of planned behaviour
- Authors: Han, Xiliang
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Market segmentation , Tourists -- Attitudes , Sustainable tourism -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: vital:9325 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020945
- Description: The South African National Department of Tourism has recently initiated the National Tourism Sector Strategy aimed at developing a sustainable tourism economy, and making the country a Top 20 global tourism destination by 2020.China is one of South Africa’s major non-African sources of tourist arrivals. To ensure a growing share of this booming market, South African tourism scholars and practitioners have to pay close attention to the behaviour of Chinese outbound tourists, particularly their destination choice behaviour. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB)– an extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)– can serve as a basis for researching destination choice. According to the TPB literature, intention is the most immediate and important determinant of behaviour. Three direct predictors of intention, namely, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived control, are functions of latent behavioural, normative, and control beliefs, respectively. The TPB is parsimonious but open to the inclusion of additional predictors if there is evidence that these predictors may explain a significant proportion of the variance in intention and behaviour after the basic predictors (attitude, subjective norms, and perceived control) have been accounted for. The current research successfully extended the TPB model for predicting potential Chinese tourists’ intentions to visit South Africa by adding two additional variables: travel motivation and travel constraints. The push-pull motivation framework discussed in the study postulates that people travel because they are pushed by internal forces (inner needs) and pulled by external forces (destination attributes). Typical barriers to travel include intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints. The new model makes an important contribution to the literature on destination choice, and provides South Africa’s destination marketers with suggestions for attracting and serving Chinese tourists. In addition, the research shows that both travel motivation and travel constraints can be used as bases for segmenting the outbound Chinese tourist market interested in visiting South Africa. A survey approach and a structured questionnaire distributed electronically to the online panel members of a Chinese market research company were instrumental in collecting the empirical data for the study. The questionnaire was originally written in English and translated into Chinese (Mandarin) via a blind translation-back-translation method. Attitude, subjective norms, perceived control, and visit intention were all operationalised as unidimensional and used scales adapted from previous studies. New scales were developed for travel motivation and travel constraints– both operationalised as multidimensional. Quota sampling, used to identify respondents aged 18 or older and living in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, resulted in 630 usable questionnaires obtained from 1,510 sent invitation e-mails, yielding a response rate of 41.7%. The raw data collected were prepared through the sequential steps of editing, coding, and filing, and then analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive analysis suggested that broadening personal horizons, viewing the natural scenery, and seeing something different were the top motives for visiting South Africa, while language, fear of crime, and lack of travel companions were the top barriers to visiting South Africa. According to the factor analysis, travel motivation had three underlying dimensions – learning, escape, and aesthetics and appreciation, while operational, risk and fear, and social barriers were three underlying dimensions of travel constraints. Regression analysis showed that the proposed extended TPB model had higher predictive power for visit intention than both TRA and TPB models; the basic predictors – attitude, subjective norms, and perceived control – all had a significant impact on visit intention; and in terms of the additional predictors, learning, operational constraints, and social constraints had a significant impact on visit intention. The analysis of variance indicated that travel frequency and age were the most profound background factors with an influence on the extended TPB model. Finally, cluster analysis resulted in two market segments with distinct profiles, that is, High-Motivation/ Low-Constraint (HMLC) tourists and Low-Motivation/High-Constraint (LMHC) tourists. Based on the theoretical and empirical findings of the current research, it is recommended that destination marketers in South Africa: advertise specific benefits of touring South Africa, namely, increasing knowledge, relieving stress, and enjoying high environmental quality, to advance Chinese residents’ perceptions of the country; develop tourism experiences that can be taken in a week or shorter to cater for the unique annual leave and public holiday policy in China; launch a media relations campaign in China to ensure that the facts about South Africa are communicated without distortion; collaborate with other destination stakeholders such as government and businesses, to actively attract and retain Chinese tourists for example by educating the public about Chinese culture and training employees to improve the quality of service; target the HMLC tourists via the Internet (particularly the social media) and by developing holiday packages that include activities related to cultural tourism, rest and relaxation, and nature-based tourism; and target the LMHC tourists by cooperating with local travel agencies and by developing holiday packages that highlight the diversity of tourism activities and offer value-added products/services.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Customer relationship management in small to medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs) in the Eastern Cape Province
- Authors: Vallabh, Dinesh
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Customer relations -- Management , Small business -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9322 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020797
- Description: The role of entrepreneurship in small to medium tourism enterprises is well recognised and acknowledged as a significant contributor to economic development and employment opportunities. Worldwide, small to medium tourism enterprises play a dominant role in the tourism industry. These businesses are often vulnerable to external economic forces and find it increasingly difficult to transform their strategic and operational management to face the challenges placed upon them. This study focuses on small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape Province, which is economically the poorest province of South Africa. To ensure the growth and sustainability of small to medium tourism enterprises, owners need to make efficient and effective business decisions regarding the challenges their businesses face. The study examines the factors impacting customer relationship management in the context of small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape. Customer relationship management, that is, building relationships with customers, has become of pivotal importance to many organisations as businesses strive to be competitive and profitable. While large organisations practice customer relationship management to enable them to better target profitable customers, improve customer services, enhance customer retention and ultimately improve business performance, small businesses often need assistance in understanding and effecting this complex relationship. The factors that could impact customer relationship management in the organisations are the focus of this study. Three major factors were identified, namely, strategic, operational, and organisational factors. The study furthermore examined the extent to which these factors are present in the tourism and hospitality sector of the Eastern Cape and investigated the relationships between these factors. Quantitative research was deemed appropriate for this study. Systematic random sampling was employed to select a sample of 332 respondent organisations from the 2012 database of the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency consisting of formally registered small to medium tourism enterprises. A total of 310 usable questionnaires were finally obtained. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the study. Descriptive statistics were computed to reflect the organisations‟ and respondent managers‟ general characteristics and to summarise their measurement scores. Using inferential statistics, the study further investigated relationships between customer relationship management factors, as well as demographic factors. Data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis and both the validity (refer to section 2.10.1) and reliability (refer to section 2.10.2) of the research instrument was assessed. The relationships between customer relationship management variables were also investigated (refer to section 2.11.4). The research results support an overall significant association between customer relationship management readiness and business strategy, customer strategy, touch points and competencies, skills and technology. Relationships were also explored among customer relationship management factors and demographic characteristics. Significant results were found between perceived business performance and the gender of managers, family businesses and gross annual turnover. The most salient contributions of this research can be summarised as follows. The overview of the importance of tourism and the role of small to medium enterprises in the tourism and hospitality industry of the Eastern Cape will benefit researchers and potential owners who have an interest in this sector. The study contributes to an improved understanding of the factors that should precede customer relationship management. The study established a profile of the small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape which can serve as a basis for future research. A measuring instrument for assessing respondents‟ views on the existence of the strategic, operational and organisational factors in their organisations was developed. This instrument showed good internal validity and reliability and can serve as a basis for the same purpose in contexts other than the tourism and hospitality sector. This research has made a contribution toward a largely under-researched area concerning customer relationship management in small to medium enterprises. Recommendations for managers and consideration of future research included the following. Managers need to have a strategic vision and a strong customer-centric focus. Through understanding customers and their needs, offerings can be tailored to maximize the overall value of customers, thereby, improving business performance. Through efficient operational processes in place, enhanced customer service levels can be attained in the organisations. Managers need to effectively manage customer information through data warehousing and technology. Top management commitment is a crucial element for ensuring improved customer services. Managers need to train staff with respect to customer services, thus enhancing CRM. Future researchers can conduct a longitudinal study and investigate the same factors which could impact customer relationship management. A verification of the usefulness of the measuring instrument in examining the determinants of customer relationship management and the level of development regarding other small businesses is suggested. It is recommended that this study be replicated abroad in an effort to verify to what extent the determinants of customer relationship management are evident in small businesses of other countries.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Factors affecting strategy implementation in state corparations in Kenya
- Authors: Kiboi, Anne Wanjiru
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Government corporations -- Kenya , Strategic planning -- Kenya , Industrial management -- Kenya
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9326 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020963
- Description: The purpose of this study was to develop and empirically test a hypothetical model of factors impacting strategy implementation in state Corporations in Kenya in order to establish their statistical significance. To achieve effectiveness and efficiency in strategy implementation in state corporations, change is needed. Due to the rapid changing global environment and increasing demand for service delivery, continuous change is needed. Changes have been taking place in the Kenyan state corporations since 2003 and this has been as a result of corporate strategy implementation. However it is not enough to develop a good strategy, good strategies can fail during implementation. The state corporations in Kenya, like in most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, have been characterised by slow and bureaucratic processes that retard corporation‟s performance. Employees and managers in these corporations have been perceived as not performing as they should. Kenyan state corporations are important to the economy of the country. They provide social and essential services to the Kenyan population. There is therefore a need to investigate ways to improve strategy implementation in state corporations, collectively viewed in this study as factors affecting strategy implementation. The study investigated and analysed how the independent variables (internal-, market- and external) impact strategy implementation (dependent variable). The study reviewed literature in the areas of internal-, market- and external factors supported by Louw and Venter‟s (2006), the planning context environmental scan (2010), Zaribaf and Hamid‟s drivers for implementation outcomes (2010), and the Nortel network external environment (2010) models as presented in section 1.5 of chapter one. The hypothetical model developed was based on the models mentioned. The study sought to establish the perceptions of Kenyan state corporation‟s managers and utilised the quantitative research paradigm. A survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to managers in state corporations in Kenya. The final sample comprised 485 respondents. Data was collected between October, 2012 and February 2013, that is, a period of five months. The returned questionnaires were subjected to several statistical analyses. The validity of the measuring instrument was ascertained using exploratory factor analysis. The Cronbach‟s alpha values for reliability were calculated for each of the factors identified during the exploratory factor analysis. In this study, correlation and exploratory factor analysis, the KMO measure of sample adequacy, Bartlett‟s test of sphericity, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality, multi-colinearity diagnostic and regressions were the main statistical procedures used to test the appropriateness of data, correlation and significance of the relationships hypothesised between the various independent and dependent variables. The study identified twelve independent variables as significantly impacting the strategy implementation (dependent variable) of state corporations in Kenya. Five statistical significant relationships were found between the internal factors: organisational structure, human resources, financial resources, leadership, communication and strategy implementation in state corporations in Kenya. Three statistical significant relationships were found between the market factors: customers, suppliers, labour market and strategy implementation in state corporations in Kenya. Four statistical significant relationships were found between the external factors: social-cultural, technology, ecological, global forces and strategy implementation in state corporations in Kenya. The study also found three statistically insignificant variables. It was found that managers in state corporations in Kenya should be encouraged to study and clearly understand the culture of their state corporations in order for them to believe that organisational culture could have a significant impact on strategy implementation and that the culture of their corporation needs to be compatible with the strategy being implemented, because where there is incompatibility between strategy and culture, it can lead to high organisational resistance to change. The managers should also be made to understand that organisational culture shapes employees behaviour, guides strategic decisions and accommodates proposed changes and that When culture influences the actions of employees to support current strategy, implementation is strengthened. Managers should strive to achieve competitive advantage by offering distinctive or unique products or services that clearly add value to the customers. They should be made aware that the strategies of competitors who offer unique service to the customers could derail their strategy implementation. State corporation managers should acknowledge that severe competition results in pressure on prices, margins and profitability for all state corporations. There is a need for managers to ensure that the state corporation strategies are supported and aligned with government policies, directives and programmes. They should actively lobby with government to enact good policies and directives that support strategy implementation. The study has provided general guidelines at internal environmental level on how to implement strategies effectively and efficiently in state corporations in Kenya. Furthermore, general operational guidelines at market level for improving strategy implementation have been given for such corporations to become and remain competitive in the global market place. The study has also highlighted general guidelines regarding managing external environmental factors to assist in improving strategy implementation in state corporations in Kenya.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Perceived value creation in technology-based entrepreneurial businesses
- Authors: Van den Heever, Thomas Stanley
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: New business enterprises , Entrepreneurship , Technological innovations -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9329 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021047
- Description: Small entrepreneurial businesses are widely regarded as important contributors to the economic well-being of countries all over the world as they create value for both the entrepreneur and the economy in which they operate. The value creation process in these businesses often differs from what commonly happens in larger established businesses. Resources available to the entrepreneur are normally much more restricted and decisions are often based on limited information. This thesis focuses on the value that is created by technology-based entrepreneurial businesses, the leveraging of limited resources and the decision-making orientation they adopt during this process. Given the importance of technology-based entrepreneurial businesses in contributing to economic growth and job creation in most global economies, as well as the limited previous research conducted amongst these businesses, the purpose of this study was to identify the human and social capital factors influencing value creation in technology-based entrepreneurial businesses. With this purpose in mind, the primary objective was to identify, investigate and empirically test the relationships between the various identified factors and Perceived value creation in technology-based entrepreneurial businesses, taking into account their decision-making orientation, as well as the uncertain environment under which they operate. This study uses the Resource-Based View of the business as the basis of its theoretical orientation. The literature review revealed five main categories of constructs, namely Knowledge and skills, Experience, Networks, Decision-making orientation and Perceived environmental uncertainty influencing the dependent variable Perceived value creation in technology-based entrepreneurial businesses. Knowledge and skills, Experience and Networks were identified as independent variables while Decision-making orientation was identified as the mediating variable and Perceived environmental uncertainty as the moderating variable. Six demographic variables (type of industry, age of business, number of employees, age of entrepreneur, academic qualifications of entrepreneur and the number of previous businesses started by the entrepreneur) were also identified as potential influencing factors. Various hypotheses were formulated to be tested during the empirical investigation. Each construct was clearly defined and then operationalised. Operationalisation was done by using reliable and valid items sourced from tested measuring instruments used in previous studies, as well as a number of self-generated items based on secondary sources. A structured questionnaire was made available to respondents identified by means of the convenience snowball sampling technique, and the data collected from 313 usable questionnaires was subjected to various statistical analyses. An Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) was conducted which confirmed the different variables, and Cronbach-alpha coefficients were calculated to confirm the reliability of the measuring instrument. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was the main statistical procedure used to test the significance of the relationships hypothesised between the various independent, mediating, moderating and dependent variables. A number of different models were tested, and the results discussed and explained. The main finding of the study was that technology-based entrepreneurial business can create financial and non-financial value by adopting a decision-making orientation in the business of co-creating the future with other stakeholders. The most important human and social capital factors that influence the decision-making orientation of these businesses are Knowledge and skills, Unstructured networks and Structured networks. The main limitations of the study were firstly the convenience snowball sampling technique used to collect responses, secondly the dependence of reporting on organisation issues by individuals, and thirdly the limited number of influencing factors included in the models. Future research should address these limitations, and could include qualitative analyses. This study has added to the empirical body of knowledge on entrepreneurship research by investigating a particularly important segment of the literature, namely technology-based entrepreneurial businesses. By identifying and developing various models that outline the most significant factors that influence perceived value creation in technology-based entrepreneurial businesses, this study offers recommendations and suggestions for managing these businesses in such a way as to improve the creation of financial and non-financial value in them. It further provides recommendations for business teaching programmes to enhance curriculums by focusing on alternatives to the format of formal business planning.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Sustainable governance management systems: a practical approach for Water Boards in South Africa
- Authors: Ntili, Tseliso Paul
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: South Africa. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry , Water-supply -- South Africa -- Management , Water quality -- Government policy -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/9185 , vital:26472
- Description: This research study explored the appropriate sustainable governance management systems for South African socio-economic conditions. This was achieved by investigating the current governance and management of water boards in performing their business and water services provisioning at municipal level. Municipalities are the third sphere of government in South Africa and are found at local levels of governance. They are businesses that provide running water as legislated by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Water boards are public institutions established in terms of the Water Services Act, 108 of 1997 (WSA) and listed as Schedule 3 part B: National Government Business Enterprise in terms of the Public Finance Management Act 29 of 1999. They are accountable to the national government through the Department of Water Affairs. Their responsibility is to support municipalities where water-provisioning challenges are eminent. They report annually to national parliament on their performance within a specific financial year. Water boards are currently able to perform their operations in selected jurisdictions as contracted by municipalities. They are struggling in managing and governing their water business while striving to achieve improvements in water service coverage, operating efficiency and service delivery. The aim of the research study was to investigate areas affecting the sustainability of governance management systems for water boards in relation to the improvement of service delivery in South Africa. The analysis of age and gender factors and the conditions affecting governance are explored. The research used the qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse the research questions. Prior to the commencement of the study, the researcher performed an intensive desktop study involving the use of dated and recently published material related to governance and management of the water institutions in developed and developing countries. During the desktop study, national and international accredited journals were prioritised to obtain related and relevant similar information to the water governance and management of water institutions. In addition, a case study was undertaken in Ficksburg in which water boards provided an intervention in resolving the water crisis, since the provision of water is a basic service at local government. This area experienced both water shortage and a poor quality of water. With regard to qualitative methodology, participatory forums were used to delineate the research context and premise. The study population consisted of individuals who were in the business of water boards with special reference to water management and board of directors for a population of 1 000. Of the 500 questionnaires sent out, 419 were returned. The data were analysed using the statistical software package, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results and recommendations are presented based on the identified objectives of the study. The study’s findings provide information for transformation and improvement in the performance of water boards in South Africa when striving for sustainability in management and governance. The findings reveal the need for improvements in the involvement of females in the business of the water boards. The findings confirm the outcomes of previous studies regarding the slow implementation of affirmative action and transformation processes as required by legislation. Furthermore, the results reveal that the factors and conditions affecting sustainability of the water boards need to be prioritised to improve the management and governance aspects of water boards. These include the appropriate selection of members of the boards of directors, water boards' committees that are guided by legislation in their operations and the maintenance of proper financial management (collection of revenue, implementation of appropriate financial strategies and striving for positive clean audit). Water boards are encouraged to strengthen their intergovernmental relations in order to make their mandate known across all spheres of government. Service delivery should be approached “from source to tap and tap to source” to promote high-quality provision of water. The water boards should be accountable to the municipalities for the provision of delegated operations. The Department of Water Affairs exercises an oversight role to ensure the sustainable provision of the services. However, the study concludes that without a strong management and a sustainable governance approach, water boards will not be able to carry out its water developmental mandate. The practical framework that was developed in this study provides management and governance tools for sustained provisioning of water to advance transformational and developmental needs and the application of legislations. The results in the study have a direct impact on the codes of practice and regulations on employment equity in implementing the Employment Equity Act of 1998, Intergovernmental Relations Act of 2005, Companies Act of 2008, National Water Act of 1998, and Water Services Act of 1997. Therefore, the practical implementation of this framework will enhance water as a transformational and developmental feature in addressing the social, environmental and economic services.
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- Date Issued: 2014
The development of a financing model for agricultural production in South Africa
- Authors: Oberholster, Jacobus Hoon
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Agriculture -- South Africa -- Finance , Agricultural productivity -- South Africa , Agricultural industries -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/3041 , vital:20389
- Description: The world agricultural industry, despite numerous supply and demand challenges, has to significantly increase its production capacity to satisfy the increased demand for food and successfully address the issues surrounding food security. Access to credit is however a key enabler in this regard, while a lack of it limits the adaptive capacity of agricultural producers. The financing needs of agricultural producers however vary and are influenced by the different production systems which have different investment, revenue and risk patterns. The sector is unique in that the risk and uncertainty in agriculture are increased by the nature of agricultural production systems, which is in many cases driven by unpredictable external factors such as adverse weather conditions. In addition agricultural production systems also function within the total food system which consists of a number of interrelated subsystems, each presenting agricultural producers with a unique set of risk factors that need to be taken into account. The development of new and innovative financing solutions for the sector therefore requires a thorough understanding of the multidimensional nature of agriculture and the unique characteristics of the sector. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the development of new and innovative financing solutions for the agricultural sector in South Africa.
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- Date Issued: 2014
The impact of economic freedom on economic growth in the SADC
- Authors: Gorlach, Vsevolod Igorevich
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Free enterprise -- Africa, Southern , Economic development -- Africa, Southern , Africa, Southern -- Economic conditions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DCom
- Identifier: vital:9030 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020786
- Description: The role of institutions – economic freedom – is a critical determinant of economic growth, yet the global distribution of economic freedom is skewed. Economic freedom focuses on personal choice, the ability to make voluntary transactions, the freedom to compete and the security of property rights. The SADC is attempting to alleviate poverty and achieve sustainable development and economic growth. This thesis illustrates that economic freedom, in aggregate, and on an individual component basis, drives economic growth. The annual data for the 12 SADC counties from 2000 to 2009 are used to construct a panel data model to conduct the empirical analyses. Cross-sectional effects, as well as time (period) effects, are valid; and thus, a two-way error-component model is estimated. The Hausman test showed the regressors to be endogenous and correlated with the error term. The Pesaran CD test, suitable for dynamic panels, determined that cross-sections are interdependent; and the cross-correlation coefficient indicated a relatively weak, yet substantial, correlation. The LSDV two-way error-component model is re-estimated using the Driscoll and Kraay standard errors and time-demeaned data to correct for cross-sectional dependence. Given the endogeneity between the idiosyncratic disturbance term and the regressors, the presence of heteroskedasticity and serial correlation, as well as the interdependence amongst the cross-sections, the econometric model is then estimated using the two-step system general method of moments with forward orthogonal deviations – instead of differencing. The results meet all the post-estimation diagnostic requirements: the Arellano and Bond test for second-order serial correlation fails to reject the null hypothesis of no autocorrelation; theSargan test for over-identification fails to reject the null hypothesis that the over-identification restrictions are valid, and the difference-in-Hansen test fails to reject the null hypothesis that the instrument subsets are strictly exogenous. The empirical results confirm the a priori expectations. Economic freedom is a positive and significant driver of economic growth. Investment and economic openness are positively related to growth, whereas government debt decreases growth. Government consumption is an insignificant driver of a country’s growth. The Granger causality test confirmed the direction of causality; economic freedom precedes economic growth; and it is possible for the SADC to improve their growth rates by becoming economically freer. The coefficient of adjustment derived from the error-correction model indicates that the dynamic system takes approximately two years to adjust to the long-run structural level. The Koyck Transformation indicates that the relationship between economic freedom and growth is intertemporal, requiring a lag structure. An impulse-response function shows that a permanent, positive ‘shock’ to economic freedom results in an increase in economic growth, although the extent differs for each country, as well as for the different freedom components. The five individual economic freedom components are all highly significant and positive drivers of growth; however, the magnitude of the elasticity parameters varies. The causality amongst the components indicates that bidirectional causality is present. Therefore, improving economic freedom in one area improves economic freedom in another, creating a multiplier effect.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Tourism management in selected municipalities in the Eden District: a theoretical study
- Authors: Lamont, Andrew John
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Sustainable tourism -- South Africa , Tourism -- South Africa -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , DPhil
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/8025 , vital:24460
- Description: For attainment sustainable tourism requires the growth of tourism‟s contribution to the economy and society as well as the sustainable use of resources and the environment. The achievement of both relies on dependable and sound understanding, appropriate development and management of the tourism demand. As demand patterns and economic structures change, no industry, and in particular no industry at the national or regional level, could or should assume that there is a constant or increasing flow of demand for its outputs and thus focus solely on resource issues (Butler, 1996). According to Elliot (1997:19) local government plays an important role in tourism, as it is only governments that have the authority to provide political stability, security and the legal and financial framework which tourism requires. Connell et al (2009) argue that one of the more important roles of local government is the development and implementation of community planning, legislation and policy. However, while tourism-related developments are usually integrated with economic development or official community plans, often there is no guiding policy framework or identified area of responsibility for tourism, which can be problematic for effective and sustainable tourism development. The effectiveness of local tourism governance in achieving the goals of sustainable tourism depends on the effectiveness of institutional structures and processes, and the rational resources and skill sets available (Healy, 2006). This study examines the arrangements of selected municipalities and the effectiveness of their local tourism governance and its relevance to sustainable tourism.
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- Date Issued: 2014