An evaluation of a strategy of lean manufacturing as a means for a South African motor vehicle assembler to achieve core competence
- Authors: Maritz, Louis Wiehahn
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Automobile industry and trade -- Management , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Manufacturing industries -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10834 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/26 , Automobile industry and trade -- Management , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Manufacturing industries -- Management
- Description: South African businesses are facing unforeseen opportunities and threats following the country’s remarkable political transformation that culminated in its first non-racial, democratic elections in April 1994 (Krüger, 1997: 138). The objective of this paper was to understand what core competences a South African motor vehicle assembler requires to survive this era of declining protectionism and increasing competition. It is argued in this paper that organisations that want to compete with the best in the world market needs to adopt lean manufacturing principles. This paper is concerned with the core competences of an organisation and how an organisation identifies and utilises these in order to become a lean enterprise. The qualitative research method was identified as the most appropriate for the study. Two methods of data collection were used i.e. interviews with senior and middle management and a detailed literary study on the subject. The senior management interviews were aimed at identifying what they perceived to be the core competences a motor vehicle assembler requires in order to be a world-class lean manufacturing enterprise. The literary study was the base for the understanding of core competence and lean manufacturing. Finally, a second round of interviews with middle management was conducted to obtain clarity on the perceived role of middle management in the selected organisation’s quest to be a lean manufacturing concern. This paper concludes that if an organisation wants to survive it needs to identify and assess its core competences. These competences need to be developed or discarded in the organisation’s aims to be a lean manufacturing enterprise by eliminating all forms of non-value added activity. The programmes or projects that the selected organisation embarked on were primarily driven from the top down, placing middle management in the centre with the resistance coming from the lower levels in the organisation. Middle management should be given the necessary tools to overcome the resistance and assist the company to make smooth transitions.
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- Date Issued: 2000
Development of a Human Resource development strategy for the Border-Kei motor industry cluster
- Authors: Maritz, Andre
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Manpower policy , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Automobile industry and trade -- Management , Personnel management -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10832 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/23 , Manpower policy , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Automobile industry and trade -- Management , Personnel management -- South Africa
- Description: DaimlerChrysler’s investment of R 1.4 billion in its East London Plant has resulted in the formation and development of an industry cluster, with DaimlerChrysler as the main industry driver. The rest of the cluster is made up of suppliers to the motor industry, as well as organisations involved in attracting and stimulating economic development in the region. The investment by DaimlerChrysler signalled the entry of DaimlerChrysler South Africa (DCSA) into global markets, supplying right-hand drive C-Class vehicles to the rest of the world. As a global player, world-class quality standards are expected of DCSA and, in turn, their suppliers. World-Class skills are therefore expected of the employees from all of the organisations within the cluster. This factor poses a challenge to South African organisations who are subjected to and challenged by the legislation that seeks to address and correct the societal imbalance of the past. The research problem addressed in this study was two-fold. The first objective was to determine whether or not there was a competitive advantage to be gained by being part of an industry cluster. The second objective was to determine how suppliers to DCSA from within the cluster developed world-class skills despite the constraints imposed upon them by South African legislation. To achieve these objectives, a theoretical study was conducted on existing conditions within clusters worldwide, as well as on methods being implemented by global organisations to develop world-class skills. An empirical study, covering the topics of competitive advantage and developing world-class skills, was developed and sent to suppliers of DCSA to test the degree of concurrence between methods implemented in the Border-Kei Motor Industry Cluster and global organisations elsewhere in the world. The results of the empirical study indicated a strong concurrence in many of the factors, and essentially only differed in instances where a cluster was more developed.
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- Date Issued: 2000
Development of a model of factors promoting team effectiveness in the automotive component industry
- Authors: Hutton, Timothy Strathearn
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Teams in the workplace , Automobile industry and trade -- Management , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10833 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/24 , Teams in the workplace , Automobile industry and trade -- Management , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa
- Description: The research problem addressed in this study was to determine what makes a work team successful. To achieve this objective a theoretical model of factors promoting team effectiveness was developed, using relevant literature in which models for team effectiveness are described. The theoretical model consisted of the following factors: Individual background factors; Facilitation; Team Factors; Synergy; Team effectiveness; Organisational factors. Each factor of the model was broken down into dimensions that were then analysed using literature identified during the literature study. The theoretical model was then used to develop a questionnaire to test the degree to which managers working for automotive component manufacturers in the Port Elizabeth /Uitenhage magisterial district and falling under Chapter III of the Bargaining Council for the Motor Industry concur. The empirical results obtained indicate a strong concurrence with the theoretical model of factors promoting team effectiveness that was developed in the study. This resulted in the theoretical model being confirmed and being accepted as a model of factors promoting team effectiveness.
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- Date Issued: 2000
Strategic analysis of the South African motor manufacturing industry's changing business environment
- Authors: Stockwell, Cecil
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Automobile industry and trade -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech
- Identifier: vital:10840 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/36 , Automobile industry and trade -- South Africa , Automobile industry and trade -- Management
- Description: Introduction: The South African economy has shown very little economic growth and car sales declined steadily from 1988 till they increased slightly in 1999. 2000 saw the economy recovering from a recession, and motor vehicle sales increasing. In order for the South African motor manufacturing industry to remain viable, the manufacturers, who must operate within the framework of the Motor Industry Development Plan, face increasing international competition as the large motor firms from around the world strive to gain a foothold in Africa in anticipation of an “African Renaissance.” South African manufacturers have to develop appropriate strategies to ensure profitability and survival in the new millennium. This entails a thorough analysis of the changing business environment the industry finds itself trading in.
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- Date Issued: 2000