Investigating the factors influencing the effectiveness of the task teams of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber
- Authors: Schultz, Lizle
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , Organizational effectiveness -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8896 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020915
- Description: Business Chambers worldwide strive to promote trade and investment. These chambers act on behalf of businesses in an effort to enhance economic growth and development. The Port Elizabeth Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PERCCI) was established in 1994 with a view to fostering, encouraging, promoting, protecting, developing and establishing commercial and industrial enterprises within the Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage Metropole (now Nelson Mandela Bay). Thus PERCCI has since changed its name to Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber (NMBBC). The NMBBC focuses on the provision of services to business in the form of information, communication, seminars, task teams, networking functions and a strong international trade focus. Lobbying, representation and strategic interventions are also key focus areas, with the objective of facilitating an environment which is conducive to economic growth. The vision of the NMBBC is to be a leading and dynamic business chamber that contributes effectively to the economic growth of Nelson Mandela Bay. The vision, mission and objectives of the NMBBC are delivered through the following task teams, each its own specific mandate: Crime Task Team, Corporate Social Investment (CSI) Task Team, Environment, Health & Wellness, Human Capital Development, Industrial Development Strategy, International Trade & Investment, Mentorship Programme, Service Excellence, SME Task Team, Strategic Projects/Infrastructure, Strategic Resources Forum, Tourism Task Team and Transport Task Team. Currently, only four of these task teams are in operation and the effectiveness of their functioning is currently not well established. Therefore, the present study investigated the factors which influence the effective functioning of the task teams, with a view to improving their performance and overall contribution to the organisation. A literature study was conducted on factors influencing the effectiveness of teams and a hypothesized theoretical model developed. Thereafter, an empirical study was conducted within a positivist paradigm using primarily a case study approach. Initial focus group interviews with 17 task team members were followed up by a questionnaire survey distributed amongst 75 NMBBC task team members. The factors investigated were: Clear Purpose, Clear Roles, Open Communication, Shared Leadership, Motivation and Commitment and their influence on team effectiveness. The empirical results indicate that relationships exist amongst all the factor variables investigated with the most significant relation found to be between commitment and motivation. The results further indicate that all the measured factor variables exert an influence on the effectiveness of the task teams with commitment being the most influencing variable and motivation the least. The study concludes that while the task teams are making a significant contribution to the performance of the NMBBC, they are nonetheless not functioning optimally. As there is room for improvement, the study makes a number of recommendations to the NMBBC in an effort to increase the effectiveness of their task teams.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Schultz, Lizle
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality , Organizational effectiveness -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8896 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020915
- Description: Business Chambers worldwide strive to promote trade and investment. These chambers act on behalf of businesses in an effort to enhance economic growth and development. The Port Elizabeth Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PERCCI) was established in 1994 with a view to fostering, encouraging, promoting, protecting, developing and establishing commercial and industrial enterprises within the Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage Metropole (now Nelson Mandela Bay). Thus PERCCI has since changed its name to Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber (NMBBC). The NMBBC focuses on the provision of services to business in the form of information, communication, seminars, task teams, networking functions and a strong international trade focus. Lobbying, representation and strategic interventions are also key focus areas, with the objective of facilitating an environment which is conducive to economic growth. The vision of the NMBBC is to be a leading and dynamic business chamber that contributes effectively to the economic growth of Nelson Mandela Bay. The vision, mission and objectives of the NMBBC are delivered through the following task teams, each its own specific mandate: Crime Task Team, Corporate Social Investment (CSI) Task Team, Environment, Health & Wellness, Human Capital Development, Industrial Development Strategy, International Trade & Investment, Mentorship Programme, Service Excellence, SME Task Team, Strategic Projects/Infrastructure, Strategic Resources Forum, Tourism Task Team and Transport Task Team. Currently, only four of these task teams are in operation and the effectiveness of their functioning is currently not well established. Therefore, the present study investigated the factors which influence the effective functioning of the task teams, with a view to improving their performance and overall contribution to the organisation. A literature study was conducted on factors influencing the effectiveness of teams and a hypothesized theoretical model developed. Thereafter, an empirical study was conducted within a positivist paradigm using primarily a case study approach. Initial focus group interviews with 17 task team members were followed up by a questionnaire survey distributed amongst 75 NMBBC task team members. The factors investigated were: Clear Purpose, Clear Roles, Open Communication, Shared Leadership, Motivation and Commitment and their influence on team effectiveness. The empirical results indicate that relationships exist amongst all the factor variables investigated with the most significant relation found to be between commitment and motivation. The results further indicate that all the measured factor variables exert an influence on the effectiveness of the task teams with commitment being the most influencing variable and motivation the least. The study concludes that while the task teams are making a significant contribution to the performance of the NMBBC, they are nonetheless not functioning optimally. As there is room for improvement, the study makes a number of recommendations to the NMBBC in an effort to increase the effectiveness of their task teams.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
The interrelationships between meaning(s), form, cinematic technology and surrealist ideology in Luis Buñuel's, Un Chien Andalou (1929)
- Kritzinger, Christiaan Cornelius
- Authors: Kritzinger, Christiaan Cornelius
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Surrealism in motion pictures , Motion picture producers and directors -- Spain , Photography , Myth , Semiotics
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech (Photography)
- Identifier: vital:8495 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1007847 , Surrealism in motion pictures , Motion picture producers and directors -- Spain , Photography , Myth , Semiotics
- Description: This study sets out to determine the interrelationship between meaning(s), form (specifically framing and composition), cinematic technology and the surrealist ideology with specific reference to Luis Buñuel’s film, Un Chien Andalou (1929). The study utilises a semiotic framework to analyse the seminal film, as well as the researcher’s short film Facebrick (2012). The semiotic reading is conducted according to key surrealist tenets namely, spatio-‐temporal disruption, the use of free-‐association and the inclusion of cultural, religious and sexual symbols as a revolutionary tool. Gillian Rose’s (2007) semiotic framework underpinned by James Monaco’s (1977) schema for analysing the moving image, was utilised to read the selected film texts. A comparative analysis reveals that although the researcher employed different cinematic technology to construct the short film than that available to Buñuel in the 1920s; similar cinematic techniques could be recreated, as the analysis shows, through the use of key surrealist characteristics. Not only did this allow mere reproduction of these techniques, but rather a full appropriation of these techniques within a contemporary context. Thus the techniques, communicate the surreal, both aesthetically and intellectually. The theoretical study provides the foundation for the practical output, creating a conceptual framework that guides the creation of a short film. The practical research component relies on the parameters identified in the semiotic reading. This was facilitated by the characteristics of Surrealism: the disruption of time and space, the inclusion of archetypal symbols and the use of free association. The short film, Facebrick (2012), follows a voyeur obsessed with gazing at three characters. The film explores the human condition in an urban environment drawing from themes such as Jean-‐Paul Sartre’s gaze theory as well as Freudian themes of identity and sexuality.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Kritzinger, Christiaan Cornelius
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Surrealism in motion pictures , Motion picture producers and directors -- Spain , Photography , Myth , Semiotics
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTech (Photography)
- Identifier: vital:8495 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1007847 , Surrealism in motion pictures , Motion picture producers and directors -- Spain , Photography , Myth , Semiotics
- Description: This study sets out to determine the interrelationship between meaning(s), form (specifically framing and composition), cinematic technology and the surrealist ideology with specific reference to Luis Buñuel’s film, Un Chien Andalou (1929). The study utilises a semiotic framework to analyse the seminal film, as well as the researcher’s short film Facebrick (2012). The semiotic reading is conducted according to key surrealist tenets namely, spatio-‐temporal disruption, the use of free-‐association and the inclusion of cultural, religious and sexual symbols as a revolutionary tool. Gillian Rose’s (2007) semiotic framework underpinned by James Monaco’s (1977) schema for analysing the moving image, was utilised to read the selected film texts. A comparative analysis reveals that although the researcher employed different cinematic technology to construct the short film than that available to Buñuel in the 1920s; similar cinematic techniques could be recreated, as the analysis shows, through the use of key surrealist characteristics. Not only did this allow mere reproduction of these techniques, but rather a full appropriation of these techniques within a contemporary context. Thus the techniques, communicate the surreal, both aesthetically and intellectually. The theoretical study provides the foundation for the practical output, creating a conceptual framework that guides the creation of a short film. The practical research component relies on the parameters identified in the semiotic reading. This was facilitated by the characteristics of Surrealism: the disruption of time and space, the inclusion of archetypal symbols and the use of free association. The short film, Facebrick (2012), follows a voyeur obsessed with gazing at three characters. The film explores the human condition in an urban environment drawing from themes such as Jean-‐Paul Sartre’s gaze theory as well as Freudian themes of identity and sexuality.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Increasing the competitve advantage of the smaller short-term insurance intermediary
- Authors: Stumke, Francois
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Insurance -- South Africa , Insurance companies -- South Africa -- Finance , Financial services industry -- Marketing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:9372 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012447 , Insurance -- South Africa , Insurance companies -- South Africa -- Finance , Financial services industry -- Marketing
- Description: In a fragmented and competitive industry, it is likely for the smaller roleplayer to be challenged in terms of competitiveness and market share. It is, therefore, important for the smaller organisation to etch its position in the market, by increasing its competitive advantage. In a milieu where there is a shift in distribution dynamics and the balance of power, and an increase in consumerism, the need to react is a pressing issue to be addressed by the smaller player. In the context of this study, the small and medium-low-impact intermediary in the South African short-term insurance industry is under pressure from, among others, direct distribution models and the increasing volume of the medium-high and high-impact intermediaries. It is determined in this study that the intermediary is challenged by all five market forces, as postulated by Porter in the model of “the five forces that shape industry competition”. The intermediary organisation must adopt positioning strategies, and differentiate its offering, in order to stay relevant in the industry. The short-term insurance intermediate industry is classified as a service industry; and therefore, it has unique factors to attend to. The positioning and differentiation strategies must be implemented without compromising the service quality levels. Furthermore, in the development of positioning strategies, it is essential to investigate the traditional marketing mix, while amplifying the mix with contemporary views of the subject. These form the basis of the positioning strategy; and from there, differentiation offerings can be shaped. A survey analysis of the product suppliers aims to identify the most important strategies for success. The study relies on the industry knowledge of the executives of these organisations, to steer the positioning strategies of the intermediary to fit in with their own positioning in the marketplace.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Stumke, Francois
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Insurance -- South Africa , Insurance companies -- South Africa -- Finance , Financial services industry -- Marketing
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:9372 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012447 , Insurance -- South Africa , Insurance companies -- South Africa -- Finance , Financial services industry -- Marketing
- Description: In a fragmented and competitive industry, it is likely for the smaller roleplayer to be challenged in terms of competitiveness and market share. It is, therefore, important for the smaller organisation to etch its position in the market, by increasing its competitive advantage. In a milieu where there is a shift in distribution dynamics and the balance of power, and an increase in consumerism, the need to react is a pressing issue to be addressed by the smaller player. In the context of this study, the small and medium-low-impact intermediary in the South African short-term insurance industry is under pressure from, among others, direct distribution models and the increasing volume of the medium-high and high-impact intermediaries. It is determined in this study that the intermediary is challenged by all five market forces, as postulated by Porter in the model of “the five forces that shape industry competition”. The intermediary organisation must adopt positioning strategies, and differentiate its offering, in order to stay relevant in the industry. The short-term insurance intermediate industry is classified as a service industry; and therefore, it has unique factors to attend to. The positioning and differentiation strategies must be implemented without compromising the service quality levels. Furthermore, in the development of positioning strategies, it is essential to investigate the traditional marketing mix, while amplifying the mix with contemporary views of the subject. These form the basis of the positioning strategy; and from there, differentiation offerings can be shaped. A survey analysis of the product suppliers aims to identify the most important strategies for success. The study relies on the industry knowledge of the executives of these organisations, to steer the positioning strategies of the intermediary to fit in with their own positioning in the marketplace.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
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