MBA & MM Theses

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An assessment of the effectiveness of the governance arrangements of the Thusong Service Centres.
(2010) Wenhold, Marece.
The problem which this thesis addresses concerns the effectiveness of the governance arrangements of the Thusong service centres, which are intended to provide integrated services to communities. This research on Thusong conducted an empirical analysis using a field survey approach to determine what factors impact on Thusong’s effectiveness. This research is conducted by means of qualitative and quantitative research methods. The constituent parts of the thesis jointly contribute to an assessment of the effectiveness of the governance arrangements of Thusong as an integrated services centre. In other words, how effective are Thusong’s governance arrangements to promote these centres as integrated services centres? The first chapter contextualizes the problem statement of this research. The second chapter frames integrated services centres in terms of theory. The third chapter provides a literature review of the governance arrangements of Thusong, based on the theoretical framework on integrated services centres. The fourth chapter explains the research methodology of this research. The fifth chapter presents the findings of the research on Thusong, whilst the last two chapters constitute an analysis of the findings and a summary of the answers to the research questions. Primarily, the research findings recognize that the measures of effectiveness used for this research reflect that Thusong’s governance arrangements are not effective to promote it as an integrated services centre. Secondly, the research indicates that Thusong can do more to enhance the capacity of its service providers to solve problems and serve clients. Lastly, there is not enough evidence in order to conclude that the institutional arrangements of Thusong contribute to the efficient and effective delivery of services as a collective.
Electricity interdependence of memebers of the Southern African Development Community.
(2010) Mokhethi, Keketso E
The SADC region has been experiencing power shortages since 2007 and this has been more pronounced in South Africa, the biggest generator and consumer of electrical energy in the region. The power shortages have been primarily blamed on SADC governments‟ failure to invest in new power stations. In 2008 Eskom was forced to request its key customers (including those beyond the borders) to reduce their consumption by 10% in an effort to reduce electricity demand. Load shedding was also introduced as a way of Demand Side Management (DSM). Eskom is a major contributor in terms of supplying other countries with electricity in the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). Therefore, any supply challenges it is facing will inadvertently affect the SAPP community. The SAPP is considering establishing a competitive cross-border electricity market where a buyer will have the freedom to purchase electricity from a supplier of their choice at a spot market rate. The study examines the extent to which SADC countries depend on each other for their electricity needs and the potential for a competitive cross-border electricity market given the current supply situation. A qualitative research methodology was used. Data collection was based on a questionnaire with the same questions asked to each respondent. The study found that SADC countries that participate in the SAPP depend on each other quite extensively for their electricity needs. The research also revealed that Eskom is the main player in the region as it trades electricity with many countries some of which depend on the South African utility for more than 50% of their domestic electricity needs. Another revelation of the study is that the SAPP utilities need to invest in generation and transmission capacity before a successful competitive cross-border electricity market can be operational. Security of supply and a reliable transmission network are crucial to the success of any power pool.
Bridging the digital divide in South Africa and the possible role of municipalities
(2011-03-10) Andrews, Don
The digital divide presents all under-developed communities with a challenge. Not to participate in the Internet revolution will leave whole communities behind. To be able to deal with this divide, it is necessary to understand it fully, and to understand the roles of the current players in the telecommunications market who are expected to deliver the tools to the whole population to enable them to keep pace with this new global revolution. This study examines a South African perspective of the problem, and particularly why incumbent operators do not successfully bridge the digital divide, and whether the municipalities which are entering the telecommunications arena might contribute positively to a solution. The study explores the connectivity, skills, confidence and beneficial usage aspects of the digital divide in depth, and then compares these parameters of the digital divide against the strategies and goals of the major telecommunications operators in South Africa for a match. It appears from such comparison, that the major operators are strongly focused on conventional business, and beyond the connectivity component, do not appear to address the digital divide in its totality. Many municipalities are investing in telecommunications networks, based on their existing electricity and water management backbones, and are entering the public telecommunications operator space. Municipalities have a mandate to deliver to provide services to residents and businesses, on perhaps different bases from conventional telecommunications operators. In this respect, their goals and strategies in this field appear to suggest that municipalities might go further in bridging the digital divide than the conventional operators.
The impact of brand equity and product augmentation on purchasing industrial commodities.
(2011-03-10) Alexander, Nicholas Stewart
The purpose of this research was to establish the impact of brand equity and product augmentation on purchase decisions involving industrial commodities. The field of investigation was that of industrial tyres in the South African open cast mining industry and the sample was extracted from buying centre members who purchased tyres for earthmoving equipment for use on coal mines in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. Literature pertaining to commodity products, brand concepts and consumer brands forms the basis of the literature review; whereafter specific study on industrial branding and the buying centre were explored. The research method used was a conjoint analysis experiment which was constructed following a series of pilot studies to determine the key factors in industrial tyre procurement. The findings were that brand was indeed considered of primary importance in tyre procurement, demonstrated by each buying centres' willingness to pay a premium price for their preferred brand of tyre. Product durability and price were second and third in importance respectively. The augmented product attributes of delivery lead time and technical support were considered least important of the five attributes. These results have important implications for mining company procurement departments as well as tyre suppliers. Mining companies may be paying premium prices for tyres which are a considerable cost element in running expenses for heavy machinery. On the other hand, well known tyre supply companies may be able to expand their market share and improve profitability through the use of this information.
Transformation as a catalyst for development: the SARS case
(2011-03-10) Adesanya, Adeola
Pre-1994, the politics of exclusion manifested itself as apartheid and permeated South Africa (SA) both organisationally at micro-level and nationally at macrolevel. Post 1994, several attempts have been made at correcting this inequality and injustice and this precipitated the adoption of a new agenda of transformation, at both organisational and national levels. Transformational change was necessary in order to vigorously address the exclusionary legacy of apartheid.The purpose of this study was to determine if transformational change is developmental. Its focus is the South African Revenue Services (SARS). SARS was chosen as a case study because the process has matured a great deal and SARS has recorded success in exceeding targets set by the Finance Minister. The transformational process at SARS happened in phases with a series of small steps of success rather than leaps and bounds. One of the key findings of the study is that transformational change results in development but also that the process of transformational change is in itself developmental. In the case of SARS, there was an effort to develop required competencies of staff that remained after transformation. It was also established that despite the developmental nature of transformation, staff retention is a challenge at the end of the process because people are quite dynamic and therefore fluid in nature. To that end the study recommends that any process of transformation should pay attention to staff and their needs, in order to retain them after the process. If staff members are multi-skilled in the process, their newly acquired skills should be maximised by providing the necessary enabling environment in every manner (physical et al) that constantly challenges the staff members for growth.
The effect of input commodity price movements on the earnings of South African gold mining companies.
(2011-03-10) Adams, Laurence P.
Commodity producers in general typically have a commodity driven cost base as well as commodity price driven revenue stream. The research report investigates the correlation between input commodity price and gold price for gold mining companies, and how commodity price behaviour could potentially have been harnessed in managing the earnings of South African gold mining companies. The research is performed via a regression analysis to gain insight into how much of the underlying gold price is explained by movements in the input commodity costs. Furthermore a representative South African Gold mine is used to understand the earnings effect of simultaneous commodity input price and gold price hedging. The quantitative analysis confirms a sympathetic movement in gold mining commodity input price and the gold price. Furthermore, the research report has found that for the representative South African gold mining company, simultaneous commodity input and gold price hedging would have increased earnings for the years 2005 to 2008. To this end it is recommended that the comovement in commodity prices be instrumental in the price risk management of gold mining companies.
Financial services firms' criteria for differentiating betweem emerging markets in sub-Saharan Africa
(2011-03-10) Antrobus, Francis
As local legislation and market saturation curtail their growth and profitability, South Africa financial services companies are looking for new markets in Sub Saharan Africa at an astounding rate. This research looks at key attributes of markets within Sub Saharan African countries and analyses how the decision makers within financial services firms priorities these attributes when making expansion decisions in this regard. The research has two main purposes. Firstly, to empower corporate decision makers to quickly analyse all possible markets using readily available data, and in so doing, build a short-list of possible target investment destinations. Further, it aims to guide policy makers for these same countries to create meaningful frameworks that encourage foreign direct investment. Charalambous‟ 2006 qualitative study was used as a basis for this quantitative study. A subset of five of the ten attributes used by Charalambous (2006) were used and an additional attribute recently cited in similar literature were tested in a conjoint study. Convenience sampling with a snowball element was used to gather the respondent data. The questionnaire which was designed on the basis of choice-based conjoint analysis was first subjected to a qualitative pilot phase in which personal interviews were conducted by the researcher in order to screen and validate the questionnaire. The questionnaire was then published on the internet and response data was gathered electronically. There were a total of 30 valid responses. Respondent‟s demographics were widespread across various sub-sectors of the financial services industry. It therefore transpires that some demographic groupings were small in size and hence some caution must be exercised when extrapolating the findings to the population. Data was analysed using Sawtooth™ and NCSS software, interpreted and presented. Key findings from this research include: the top three scoring attributes account for seventy percent of the decision process when financial services firms evaluate iii foreign markets. These attributes are: market size and demand conditions, country governance and political risk, and economic environment and macroeconomic performance. All of these attributes contribute more than twenty percent to the decision. If policy makers want to attract FDI in this sector, favourable policy should be drafted in this regard to ensure maximal attractiveness to the foreign investors.
Strategy communication effectiveness in the South African banking industry.
(2011-03-10) Alagbaoso, Manessah O.
In the business environment of South African banking industry, informed and committed employees are a source of competitive advantage. More than ever before, organisations’ strategies need to be effectively communicated, understood at all levels, and effectively implemented. The purpose of this study is to examine factors responsible for the effective communication of strategy between the head office and the network of a South African banking organization using the face-to-face medium. The data for this study was collected via a questionnaire and statistically analysed using Descriptive Statistics, Factor Analysis, Cluster Analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). A five-factor solution was obtained and the factors are: 1. Interpersonal Communication; 2. Change and Improvement; 3. Employee Involvement in Strategy Formulation; 4. Stability; and 5. Vertical Communication. Of these five factors, the first three are deemed significantly important to strategy communication effectiveness and factors one and five are specifically important to effective strategy communication through the use of the face-to-face medium. The Cluster Analysis resulted in six clusters named: 1. Best of both worlds; 2. Specialists; 3. Elitists; 4. Bureaucrats; 5. Salesmen; and 6. Ostriches. The research confirmed the importance of the involvement of all levels of managers in strategy formulation and the predominant use of the face-to-face medium for effective strategy communication. Other key recommendations include the use of managers that have been in the organisation for more than six months and less than ten years for policies related to strategy communication, and the specific use of middle managers to oversee policies related to strategy communication using the face-to-face medium.
Conflict early warning systems: The case of the Republic of Benin
(2011-03-10) Agossou-Aguenou, Horace Gbehossou Lewis
Conflict early warning systems are being implemented by regional economic communities in Africa amidst major challenges in regard to the methodology of and mechanisms for conflict prevention and management. This study is an exploration of the potential and need for country-specific models and indicators within regional early warning systems such as ECOWARN. The study develops an understanding of conflict early warning systems through an investigation and description of indicators and models suitable to the socioeconomic and political dispensation of the Republic of Benin. The findings of the research point to the value of a country-specific and layered approach to conflict early warning, and make recommendations as to the use of such an approach in addressing the unique nature of tensions prevailing, or those that may arise in West Africa.
Validating the corporate entrepreneurial assessment instrument in South Africa
(2011-03-10) Alcock, Simon
The Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (CEAI) was developed in North America to measure the attractiveness of the internal environment of companies to corporate entrepreneurs. The objective of this research was to validate the Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument in South Africa. Data from a study of South African middle managers was analysed to assess the CEAI’s reliability and validity. While the CEAI is reasonably reliable, there are problems with its validity in South Africa. Some of the factors of the CEAI were correlated, contradicting one of the assumptions made by the original authors. Some items did not appear to contribute significantly to any of the factors, while others were ambiguous. The data was examined further, and several options for improving the CEAI were proposed. These included changing the number of factors, changing the number of items in each factor, rewording or removing some of the items, and adding new items.
Provision of universal service in the South African telecommunications market.
(2011-03-10) von Aulock, Carl Andre
While telecommunications costs are a common topic of public comment in South Africa, the provision of services to those areas and communities which have been historically neglected also is a focus for commentators in the industry. This research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the universal service policy and programmes which are in place in South Africa by evaluating the different perspectives of both the regulatory and private sectors. The research furthermore was undertaken with a desire to determine what could be done to advance Universal Service in the country. The approach taken was firstly to analyse the relevant documentation, such as licences, annual reports and legislation, to determine the formalised status and then to interview different respondents from the industry as a whole and obtain their perspectives on the different focal aspects. The responses and the secondary research were analysed as a whole to enable the researcher to establish the underlying themes which are evident in the industry at the moment as related to the topic. Overall, the findings and interpretation identified the primary themes of Direction and Delivery. These themes essentially outlined the general intentions that exist for providing service and that service provisioning is successful in some aspects. There is an overall shortage, however, of strategic direction with regard to what the policy should achieve, a need for greater co-operation and alignment within the industry and lack of sufficient and relevant skills and resources to actually drive the implementation of policy effectively.
Factors influencing the selection of environmental inpact services in South Africa
(2011-03-10) Simpson, Ainsley
The environmental consulting industry in South Africa is still in a growth phase, and the dominant service offering is that of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA). Understanding consumer behaviour in the purchase process of environmental services will enable service providers to effectively target and service their desired markets. This research examined factors influencing the selection of EIA Consultants in South Africa, specifically in the pre-purchase phase. This included determining the nature of the service offering and the related perceptions of risk as well as the information sources consulted and criteria used as risk reducing strategies. The research was conducted by means of a structured written survey, which was completed by 77 respondents across South Africa. The research revealed that EIA’s are experience offerings, that is, they are easy to assess after the service has been rendered. It was also determined that the major factor contributing to the selection process is the multi-faceted nature of the service, as this can lead to negative reputation-based consequences. One such facet of EIA’s is the length of time required to complete the process. Temporal risk was found to be the most dominant concern, followed by financial risk, specifically the incurrence of unforeseen costs. It was established that consumers consult personal non-marketer controlled information sources as a method of reducing risk; most notably, consultants known to the developers through previous experience. Reliability, represented largely by tangible criteria, and reputation, comprising less tangible criteria, were found to be the factors underlying the evaluation of environmental consultancies. The research highlighted the need for EIA Consultants to understand the buying behaviour of their target market to effectively understand and manage perceived risks. Tangible indicators of reliability and reputation that address these risk areas must be a central theme in any direct marketing strategies developed. Furthermore, continuous improvement of processes and systems is essential such that a healthy reputation, based on sound experience, can be developed and maintained well into the future.
Marketing financial services to the previously excluded in South Africa
(2011-03-17) Arthur, Theo Donavon
Limiting access to a company’s services or discouraging the demand coming from certain customers is not an uncommon practice. Suppliers of services and goods often select a target market that would provide a minimum expected value and exclude the rest. In the financial services sector the lower income segment have always been excluded on the basis that they do not provide this minimum expected value (Sharma, 2003). In South Africa, however there is a renewed interest in targeting this lower income sector. This renewed interest in targeting the lower income sector in post apartheid South Africa is not just because there is value and benefits to companies who target this market (Prahalad, 2004), or the recognition that financial service development causes growth and poverty alleviation (Porteous, 2004; Beck, 2004), but it is also in place to address the imbalances caused by an apartheid system. Although South African financial service providers find themselves with similar challenges of a developing economy, the South African environment is a unique one. Practices of exclusion have not just segmented on the basis of income, minimum value expectations, education and status but also on race. In reentering this market, many providers are finding themselves unprepared for the challenges of this once excluded sector. Whilst cost, accessibility, insufficient discretionary income and literacy have been identified as the key factors that hinder the consumption of financial services, the Financial Sector Charter of 2003 identified that the South African financial sector had failed to increase participation of the previously excluded and limited access to its services (Crotty, 2005; Prahalad, 2004; Barr, 2004; Sharma, 2003). By committing to the targets of the Charter many of these financial institutions, which include banks, long - term insurers, short - term insurers, re-insurers, collective investment schemes, investment managers, retirement funds and licensed exchanges, find themselves targeting a market which they previously excluded. A further challenge to financial service iii providers in South Africa is that little research has been conducted on the unique situational variables that impact the South African economy. The purpose of this study is therefore to identify and explore the challenges that the previously excluded market presents to financial service providers who wish to re-enter this market in South Africa. It also investigates the appropriateness of segmentation tools and assesses how best to target this market. The research methodology employed focussed on a literature review which aimed to identify the factors that influence financial service consumption. It then discusses the various segmentation models and the best strategy to target this market. Focus groups were used to gain insight and understanding of this market. Data was then collected and analysed. The findings and discussion highlight that it is imperative to understand the changing demographics, social and cultural influences and the impact of historical practices prior to providing financial services to a market that was previously excluded. Factors that are unique to South Africa i.e. self exclusion, crime, non traditional market instruments and costs were also identified. These factors are discussed in this study. It is hoped that this study will assist providers of financial services in formulating strategy that would increase consumption of its products and services and in so doing contribute to the growth of the economy whilst addressing the imbalances of the past.
Perceived Benefits of Habitat for Humanity
(2011-03-17) Bakhshandegi, Djam
Non-governmental Organisations are increasingly being scrutinised and have been the target of frequent criticism about their impact on reducing levels of poverty, which seemingly have failed to decrease since the formal identification and rise of non-profit organisations in the 1950s. In the highly competitive world in which these organisations develop – internationally operating NGOs are numbered at 40,000 (Anheier et al, 2001), while national numbers are even higher, in many instances in the millions – they are increasingly required to promote their programs and vision through effective, transparent and accountable marketing and communication frameworks and tools that reflect the reality at ground level and not some naive vision of a better world. To enable such a culture of transparency and ethical correctness, organisations need to grapple with their identities and fully understand what their objectives, their vision and mission are to become more effective instruments of development. And in turn be able to clearly translate and communicate that message to their partners, be it communities, donors, partner organisations and government institutions. The purpose of this research report is to investigate factors affecting the perceptions of stakeholders within one program offered by Habitat for Humanity, the Global Village programme. These perceptions and attitudes all have implications for the successful communication of the organisation’s mission and its objectives in creating such a program. Although the scope of this report was limited to one country, the results of the research were supported by the perceptions of professionals managing such a program both at the level of another country and at regional level. Propositions were made that the program although delivering on certain aspects of its marketing, did not in fact address the gap between volunteers and communities through effective education on the mission and objectives of the program. Recommendations include the incorporation of systematic and monitored advocacy on the mission of the organisation to all its stakeholders; strongly communicating its identity as a partner instead of a charity; and balancing the expectations of all its stakeholders through processes of education, communication and control.
The impact of credit rating changes
(2011-03-17) Barnard, Brian
The study inquires whether ratings and rating changes in particular have any impact on bond prices. In doing so, the price data of a number of corporate vanilla bonds were investigated over corresponding rating change event periods. For various reasons, the South African Bond Market could not deliver a large sample of plain vanilla bonds that experienced a rating change. Therefore, to complement the study’s main sample, a small sample of callable corporate vanillas was also studied. In both cases the eventual sample sizes necessitated an investigation based on single issues. Neither of the samples contained “serious” rating changes; the lowest rating studied was of lower-medium investment grade quality and none of the rating changes was by more than one notch. Stationarity and unit-root tests were conducted on the non-callable and callable issues’ individual price series to determine whether the issues experienced significant price impacts in response to their respective rating-change announcements. Based on the test-results, only a number of non-callable issues experienced significant impacts. The number shrunk considerably after contamination could be proven in some cases, and when the directions of the yield spread movements were taken into consideration. An even smaller number of callable issues registered significant impacts. Contamination was not that customary in the case of callable issues, but direction of movement still played a role. Overall, out of the ten non-callable issues, none appear to have been impacted by their respective rating changes; out of the nine callable bonds, only one may have been impacted by a rating change, conditional on the issue’s call option. In some cases the rating changes were preceded by rating warnings – whether rating outlooks or rating watches; the study did not investigate whether the market responded to these warnings. The study also concludes that issue-specific characteristics play an important role in determining whether ratings can potentially impact prices. With regards to this – ii Time-to-Maturity is a good example. Additionally, it appears as if rating data should be a lot more issue-based - as opposed to being issuer-based - in order to be of any use, at least in the case of bonds that is. Under the Literature Review, enormous attention is paid to bond price determinants, the impact thereof on credit ratings, and thus the resultant ability of credit ratings to impact bond prices. The review manages to unravel the correlation between credit ratings and bond prices, to some extend. In addition, the study offers new insights into the pricing of risky bonds, particularly through an alternative modelling of default losses.
Financial derivatives in the South African mining industry
(2011-03-17) Josef, Avichay
The purpose of this research was to identify factors which influence the decision to use financial derivatives in the South African mining industry and then to establish their importance to the industry. The research incorporated both qualitative and quantitative primary research phases. The qualitative survey formed the questionnaire framework for the quantitative phase. The quantitative survey formed the bulk of the analysis, and both mean rank tests and factor analysis were employed to interpret the data. Thirteen factors, influencing the decision to use financial derivatives, were identified. However, statistically significant mean rank tests (where p < 0.05) indicated that, out of the initial thirteen factors, the South African mining industry viewed the following to be the most important: 1. Change the Volatility of Cash Flows 2. Improve Value of the Firm 3. Change the Volatility of Accounting Earnings 4. The Size of the Firm 5. The Perceptions of Derivatives Use by Investors, Regulators and the Public iii It was also found that combinations of factors, rather than individual factors, influence the decision to use derivatives. Therefore, a factor analysis was conducted to identify these various combinations. The analysis yielded seven broadly defined combinations of factors which incorporated the top five factors and were able to explain most of the variance observed from the original thirteen factors. These seven combinations were:  Perceptions and External Finances  Cost of Capital and the Value of the Firm  Volatility of Accounting Earnings  Size of Firm  Availability of Information  Financial Distress  Political and Country Instability Furthermore, outputs indicated that the use of financial derivatives and the relative importance of factors in terms of derivative usage may be influenced by factors other than those discussed in this research.
talent management in a South African Non-profit organisation.
(2011-03-17) Awitty, Carolyn Awuor
Effective talent management within an organisation will simultaneously facilitate the identification and successful nurturing of those individuals who have historically been identified as the enhancers and differentiators of all organisational value, high corporate performance, and sustainable competitive advantage. Given this context of the critical and strategic value of any organisation’s talent, the purpose of this research was to analyse the application of talent management processes within a South African non-profit organisation and deduce the factors that promote the successful performance of talent management imperatives. A single case study was conducted at Right to Care yielding results on the organisation’s recruiting, developing, managing and retaining of suitable talent. The specific activities that constitute the talent management practices at Right to Care were compiled and results from twenty-four interviews were analysed and evaluated against the theory findings from the literature review. The case study findings indicate that Right to Care applies effective talent management processes and has not only identified but also invests in the factors that promote the successful performance of talent management imperatives. The elements of talent management identified through this study are defined in the report and illustrated in Figure 17. The fundamental factors that promote the successful performance of talent management imperatives are suggested in Table 14 along with recommendations to non-profit organisations management and workforce. Recommendations are also suggested to the Right to Care management and staff on the basis of the research findings. To achieve extraordinary organisational performance and sustain a source of enduring competitive advantage for the organisation, the key message from this study is that non-profit organisations require excellent talent management which has to begin with the leadership and then filter through the entire organisation.
Standard Bank's entry strategy into Africa
(2011-03-17) Armstrong, Gareth
Emerging markets offer atractive business opportunities to international companies. This is due to their high margins, as a result of the risk-reward trade-off and the large customer base that can realise economies of scale in a short period of time. Concomitantly, South African banks are following their clients into Africa in order to provide them with corporate financial servies. In addition, a largely under-serviced local population provides an ongoing customer base for retail banking offerings. Standard Bank has the largest presence of any South African bank in Africa, conducting business, as it does, in seventeen African countries. The current research has identified economic and political factors in emerging markets that are likely to have the most significant impact on Standard Bank's operations in Africa. Additionally, the implication that these conditions hold for the choice of entry strategy was also investigated. The finidngs indicated that Standard Bank's corporate strategy for Africa plays a larger role than do the emerging market conditions when deciding on acquisition versus greenfield entry into a particular markets. Standard Bank also derives a first-mover advantage (FMA) in both the corprate and retail banking spaces in new markets.
The role of government support programmes in SMME development in South Africa
(2011-03-17) Archary, Byren, M.
The previous Minister of Finance, Mr Trevor Manuel, once stated that small business represents an important vehicle to address the challenges of job creation, economic growth and equity; given the appropriate enabling environment, it can make an indelible mark on the South African economy. This report set out to determine the role of government support programmes in developing the SMME sector in South Africa. To address this problem, the research was segmented into the following critical questions: · What is the prevailing opinion on the impact of government support programmes thus far in promoting small business development? · In the face of the prevailing enabling landscape, which factors continue to influence the development of small businesses in South Africa? This exploratory research used a qualitative approach to collect data. The sample consisted of an official from a government department, four representatives of small business support agencies and 31 small business owners. In total the sample consisted of 36 participants. Although a qualitative approach has been criticised for being anecdotal and lacking both the means to reproduce and generalise the outcomes, multiple data streams were used to ensure the integrity and reliability of the results. Two interview schedules were developed and used during the semi-structured interviews to collect the primary data. The first schedule was developed specifically to solicit responses from government and small business support agencies. The second schedule was used when interviewing small business owners. iii To counter the threat of an illogical and poorly constructed interview schedule, this research ran a pilot study as part of its verification exercise. The interview schedule was sent to five policy beneficiaries (i.e. small business owners) for comments and suggestions on improving it. These five small business owners did not form part of the final sample. Based on the balance of evidence, the market regarded the impact of the government support programmes as ineffective and having done little to develop and grow the sector. The prevailing opinion was that policy and strategy seemed effective only in theory. Furthermore, support agencies were regarded as ineffective and seen to be operating in isolation of each other and government. Officials from these agencies were not adequately trained to assist small business owners with queries and advice. Equally discouraging, the research uncovered that historical factors limiting the growth potential of small businesses persisted. This means, that although government has promulgated several pieces of legislature such as the Small Business Development Act and the Integrated Strategy on the Promotion of Entrepreneurship and Small Enterprise to improve the small business landscape, it has failed to address the basic problems of finance, training and development needs, shortage of scare skills and improving business skills sets. The role of government support programmes is therefore proving to be ineffective because of several reasons: · Poorly trained officials that offer ineffective advice and information to small business owners; · A lack of dynamic and sustainable marketing campaigns that draw public attention towards the support programmes available; · A lack of a central repository of information related to the small business sector; · Tedious and bureaucratic processes that offer neither acknowledgment of receipt of applications nor notification of awards; iv · Small business support agencies working in isolation of government programmes and at times offering contradicting information with regard to the tender application processes; Addressing these pitfalls and ensuring proper implementation and synergy strategies will ameliorate the impact of government support programmes in developing the small business sector in South Africa. This report concludes by making some recommendations on how these pitfalls may be overcome.
Attaining Alignment Across Autonomous Profit Centres
(2011-03-18)
Many large companies are creating decentralised business models where strategic business units are autonomous and empowered. For related-diversified firms to succeed, a certain amount of alignment is necessary to obtain synergy and create shareholder value. Interventions and processes are required to facilitate alignment and collaboration between Strategic Business Units (SBUs), without undermining the benefits sought by decentralisation. This study aims to identify and evaluate the methods used. The research method used was a qualitative case study conducted in the interpretive paradigm. The case site, FirstRand Bank, provides an opportunity to examine a contemporary phenomenon in a real-life business context. The study found that cultural interventions were more effective in enabling and inducing alignment across business units than structural or other methods. The research also revealed that the methods used are most successful where the SBUs are independent. Where interdependence between units exists, methods to achieve alignment need to change. The study may be useful to other organisations with similar challenges. In addition, as the study provides insight into the FirstRand Bank Group, it will be useful to FirstRand stakeholders seeking to understand the company.

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