MBA & MM Theses
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Alternatively contact Patience Mpitsa via email : Patience Mpitsa or Tel (W) : 011 717 3635
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Item Organisational challenges in the formulation process of a Mineral Resource Management Systems Strategy in South Africa(2011-11-22) Andersen, Donovan CedricA case study conducted on the challenges encountered during the formulation process of a systems strategy to facilitate an organisational change within the mining environment. With the economic climate of 2009 many mining companies felt the threat of inefficiencies. Anglo Platinum was no exception. With the introduction of a new CEO and new practises, the company had the task of managing the change for the benefit of remaining cost effective. The data was collected throughout the entire process formulation period, by means of individual observations conducted during the group sessions and with an unstructured interview using the participants of the process. Pertinent to the process there are significant amounts of challenges that were highlighted. Research however, went a long way in identifying the generic aspects of group dynamics, diagnosing, planning and implementing change, change management and institutionalising change. The case study itself proved to be lively and challenging and no amount of prereading prepares the manager or participant for the reality, as every case is unique and sometimes the solutions even more soItem STAFF TURNOVER CHALLENGES IN THE TEACHING PROFESSION IN LIMPOPO PROVINCE(2011-11-22) Ramakgolo, MatomeThe teaching profession in South Africa continues to experience an exodus of teachers; a trend which impacts negatively on service delivery and matric results. In a country faced with persistent unemployment, poverty and acute skills shortage, effective education becomes an important tool for remedying the situation. Attracting and retaining talented teachers is vital in building the capacity required to improve teaching and learning as well as educational policy outcomes. The purpose of this research was to analyse the challenges contributing to staff turnover in some schools in Capricorn district municipality in Limpopo province. The study found that adverse working conditions and lack of support were the major contributory factors to the problem of staff turnover in the province. The study recommended that talent retention strategies be integrated with operational plans in order to minimise the exodus of suitably qualified teachers in the provinceItem Measuring Customer Service Quality in a South African Industrial Automation Company(2011-11-22) Sali-Ameen, MohammedThe study will be demarcated as follows. Chapter One has provided a background of some of the issues facing Honeywell Automation South Africa and some of the industry challenges. Pressure from competitors in the South African market is also discussed in this chapter. Chapter Two will review literature on the work of several authors on the generic determinant of service quality. A comparison of the factors identified reveals common elements. Some criticism is levelled against SERVQUAL, and the alternative INDSERV model is introduced. Chapter Three outlines the research design and methods for conducting this study. The data analysis techniques are explained and consideration given to the limitation/delimitation of this study, as well as issues relating to confidentiality, validity and reliability. Chapter Four and Five present the response data. The results of the study are integrated with the objective of this research, literature review and management models presented in the previous chapters. Chapter Six Conclusions have been drawn from the survey results and recommendations made for improving service quality at Honeywell Automation South Africa. A theoretical framework has been developed within the scope of this study to assist the company in improving customer service levels in order to gain competitive advantageItem Enhancing the Implementation of the National Waste Management Strategy in Greater Sekhukhune(2011-11-22) Masemola, Seporo Sam AddisonThis research was conducted with the aim of finding out why medical waste that is often found illegally disposed of and who is responsible for it. Such waste poses a danger to people, animals and the environment. The researcher has visited health care waste generators (and the landfill site) in the area under review and conducted a number of interviews with different stakeholders. The findings indicated that hospitals in the area were found to be the main sources of illegal dumping. The research recommends a continuous intensive health education process for all personnel working with medical waste management. Private commercial providers should also be organised into jointly contracting a service provider who will collect their medical waste and dispose of it appropriately. The researcher highly recommends that all medical waste generators in the area be registered and a collection method be jointly found to rid the area of the dangers of incorrectly handling and disposing of medical waste. Public-Private Partnerships can also be explored to help sustain the medical waste management strategy.Item THE ORIGINS OF FINANCIAL PROVISIONS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS ACT(2011-11-22) Bembe, Nomfundo PatienceThis research investigated the emergence on of financial provisions in the South Africa Schools Act (SASA). This was motivated by the need to understand key issues that helped to shape education policies in postapartheid South Africa and specifically to analyse the bottlenecks and factors that affected the policy transformation phase. The purpose of this research is to understand key issues that helped to shape education policies in post-apartheid South Africa and to examine factors that affected the policy transformation process. The research used qualitative methodology in order to collect in-depth information from various respondents. The research employed both qualitative interviews and document analysis as a way of data collection techniques. The research shows that the circumstances during the formulation of SASA do not support the notion that neo-liberal ideologies have direct implications for policy development in South Africa. It was recommended that further research could be undertaken on how these policies could best be improved to achieve desirable outcomesItem Strategic Planning as a Change Management Intervention in the Eastern Cape Education Department(2011-11-22) Chigume, RichardTransformation is at the heart of policies adopted in South Africa in 1994 after the demise of apartheid. The White Paper on Education and Training (1995) became the blue print for transformation for the education sector. At a provincial level the Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP) (2004 – 2014), which sets out the vision of sustainable growth and human development, espoused the transformative goal. In these policy frameworks education and training was not only seen as a means to address the social ills of the past but also a means to provide the country with the competitive edge necessary to sustain itself in a world that is fast evolving into a knowledge economy. In its response to these imperatives the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE) adopted its own Transformation Agenda (2005) with the strategic intent of providing quality education in the province. More than a decade after the White Paper, and more than 5 years after the adoption of both the PGDP and Transformation Agenda the Department continues to be in the limelight, often for the wrong reasons: poor learning outcomes, backlogs on school infrastructure, poor audit findings and perceptions of rampant corruption. Some analysts as well as management of the Department have suggested that the root cause of the Department’s woes can be traced to poor planning. While there is anecdotal evidence that seems to suggest that this may be true, there has not been any research that assessed the validity of this claim. The current study is an attempt to address this gap. In pursuing this objective, assessing the planning frameworks used in the public sector in the country became inevitable. The study reveals that strategic planning as a function has not been accorded a significant status in the Department, despite the fact that the Presidency has elevated this function to play a leading role in guiding the decision making processes and improving effectiveness in service delivery. The overall approach to planning in government needs to be re-evaluated to take into account the complex nature of the purpose of the Department which requires an integrated approach to strategic planning across all state and non-state institutions. Furthermore, the complex nature of the political terrain in the Province has resulted in leadership instability that in turn impacts negatively on the Department’s long term strategic thrust. This study confirms the assertion that strategic planning models that are influenced by managerialism have limited value in the South African public sector as demonstrated by the case of the Eastern Cape Department of Education. The complexity of the purpose of public sector institutions, their political contexts, and the resources envelop needed to implement a strategy are all factors that not only distinguish the public sector from private sector but also affect the applicability of managerialism-type of strategic planning. Going forward, while strengthening systems that support strategic planning will be vital for the Department, there is also a need to explore planning models that appreciates the unique circumstance of public sector institutions such as the Eastern Cape Department of EducationItem CRITERIA FOR TOP PERFORMING SERVICE BRANDS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SOUTH AFRICA(2011-11-22) Parsard, NishanaThis study focused on identifying criteria for top performing service brands in the Public Secondary School Sector. While it is significant that the White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery (1997) fore-grounded ‘transforming service delivery’ as the key transformation priority, of the eight identified transformation priorities, it did not elaborate on what effective service delivery entailed or how to achieve it. Improving service delivery in education has been prioritised at both the national and provincial levels in the last year following the African National Congress (ANC) Manifesto released in 2009. Significantly low literacy and numeracy achievements by learners, recorded in national and international assessments and tests in comparison to their international counterparts, have signalled the need to improve service delivery in schools. Focus group interviews were conducted with three groups – School Management Team (SMT), School Governing Body (SGB) and learners - in four top performing schools in the Johannesburg Central District. The findings were useful in deriving criteria for top performing school service brands. Firstly, it was evident from the responses that the basics of learning, teaching and support had to be in place. Teacher and learner commitment, leadership, discipline, and effective forms of communication were attributed to all four school brands as key drivers of their high performance. Secondly, responses reflected how effective and interactive relationships among learners, teachers and parents, as well as, community support of the school, strengthened the implementation of the schools’ operational activities. Thirdly, strong and tested service routines were emphasised by respondents as contributing to the school’s success, specifically providing feedback on learner performance, establishing performance benchmarks, implementing their own and supporting other intervention programmes for learners and rewarding learner performance. It was indicated how the holistic development of the learner was strived for at each of the four schools. Finally, challenges the school faced, that hindered service delivery, were identified by the respondentsItem THE IMPACT OF INFLATION TARGETING ON UNEMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA(2011-11-22) Pretorius, Jenean AnnAmidst an environment characterized by stark inequality, average economic growth, structural unemployment and high levels of poverty, South Africa has adopted an inflation targeting monetary policy. Whilst some view this as a necessary prerequisite for growth, unemployment and poverty alleviation, others have condemned it as conservative and counter-productive to the economic policy goals of South Africa. This report draws conclusions from a wide range of literature together with data analysis from key expert in the field and data drawn on specific macro-economic variables between the period 2000 and 2009Item Significance of Project Identification and Formulation to Sustainable Capacity Development Interventions(2011-11-22) Boelen, Martijn G.J.Capacity Development interventions can lack effectiveness if the intervention is not aligned with the abilities of the receiving organisation. Triggered by the personal experiences of the researcher, this research paper explores which issues must be dealt with in the identification and formulation phase of a Capacity Development project. The purpose of this study is to come up with an overview of these issues to assist all practitioners in this field to formulate potentially effective and sustainable project plans. From the literature review it was concluded that the issues can be grouped in three categories: the vision of the receiving organisation and issues internal and external to this organisation. It appeared that particularly the learning culture and the abilities of management to change the organisation and lead the staff are very important issues that must be properly sorted out before the project can start. From the field research it appeared that weaknesses in the receiving organisation with regards to the issues that came out of the literature review had indeed a negative effect on the results of the researched project. One of the most important conclusions of the research is that the identification and formulation phase should not be underestimated and that the success of the project depends largely on a proper and thorough approach in this stage. The most attention must be paid to all circumstances surrounding the actual technical capacity that will be developed. Main recommendation for the target group of this research is therefore to take enough time to gather information in this phase and adapt the project to the abilities of the receiving organisation which should become clear as a result of this information. It might even be necessary to have a project to strengthen these abilities preceding the actual Capacity Development interventionItem ENHANCING ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES IN SWAZILAND(2011-11-22) BUKUTU, JOHN J. F.It is increasingly being accepted that entrepreneurship support offers a new model for poverty alleviation and the ensuring of job creation and economic growth. There is also an observable causal relationship between entrepreneurship, the support thereof, economic development and poverty alleviation. The impact of entrepreneurship support and growth is and would be greater in developing countries like Swaziland. This study explores how entrepreneurship support initiatives can be enhanced in Swaziland, during this momentous period for entrepreneurship in Swaziland. Entrepreneurship support is an emerging concept in Swaziland, characterized by the increasing emphasis on small and medium enterprises development by the government. Entrepreneurship development programmes and initiatives can be an effective tool to add to this policy direction of the government. However, unless these programmes achieve their stated objectives of developing the Swazi entrepreneur, there will be continued wasteful commitment of resources. This report explores ways and means that can be applied to enhance entrepreneurship development programmes and initiatives in Swaziland. This was done through a qualitative research, which employs a case study approach. The findings of this study are quite instructive. They reveal that there are factors that are critical to the support for entrepreneurship. This is important, particularly in the case of Swaziland, where entrepreneur support programmes are an emerging concept. The findings also have implications for the theoretical understanding of the relationship between successful entrepreneurship and external support. Most of the literature reviewed during the study has quite a lot on the internal characteristics of entrepreneurs and the success or failure of their enterprises. It is hoped that this study will contribute to the dialogue between the view that entrepreneurial success is informed by the internal characteristics of the ii entrepreneur and that external nurturing and support leads to entrepreneurial success.