MBA & MM Theses

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    Factors that Inhibit the Development of Organisational Social Capital
    (2011-10-14) Singh, Terence
    The purpose of this research was to identify the major factors that inhibited the development of social capital between the different divisions of a corporate bank insofar as it related to the sharing of client-specific knowledge. This was investigated using a combination of both qualitative and quantitative data, the latter in the form of a survey instrument. The primary conclusions reached were that there were three main inhibiting factors, viz. Culture, Structure and Incentives. Culture was regarded as the most important factor with the remaining two factors being of lower but of approximately equal importance. The effect of demographics was found to have a weak influence on each of the above inhibiting factors. Only two significant differences were noted, viz. Incentives influenced PDIs (non-white) people more than Whites and that Structure was more important to females. It was also found that there were five clusters of respondents and that the racial profile was the point of significant difference in terms of demographic variables, between these clusters. To address these inhibiting factors, it was suggested that the relative importance of these be taken into account, i.e. that changing of Culture be addressed on a divisional and organisation-wide business. Further, the focus on incentive schemes is one that is short-term and needs to be considered very carefully since it may only serve to decrease, rather than increase, social capital in the long term. Finally, Structure is the easiest factor to address in that fairly simple interventions can be initiated to increase socialisation between divisions as well as physically cluster divisions that should work together more often by changing the layout of these within a building
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    Forced migration, gender, social capital and coping strategies in Western Tanzania.
    (2011-06-24) Wambugu, Lydia W.
    This exploratory qualitative research systematically analyses the coping experiences of a group of refugee women from Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), rsiding in the western Tanzanian region of Kigoma nd Kagera. The literature reviewed points out that whilest there are still many identified gaps and aspects yet to be documented, it is evident that refugee women are among the social groups most affected by the phenomenon of forced migration and displacement. The study explores the kind of coping strategies refugee women adopted under difficult circumstances, and how the women responded to experiences that they frequently described in terms of concrete and material realities...
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    SOCIAL CAPITAL IN WOMEN LED
    (2011-05-05) ZONGE, PATIENCE
    This study explores the implications of social capital for micro and small enterprises owned by women in the rural district of Chimanimani in Zimbabwe. With entrepreneurial activity being recognized as largely socially embedded, the aim of the study is to unravel the gender dimensions to social capital and how these manifest on rural women owned small businesses. A qualitative approach was taken in this study, the study site being Chimanimani, a rural district in the east of Zimbabwe. With social capital being associated with social networks, norms and values, the findings of this study suggest that there are gender dimensions to social capital which determine women’s access to, the level of and quality of their participation in social networks. This in turn influences the outcomes accruing to them as a result of their social capital. The existence of gendered norms and values in the community under study that largely constrain women’s choices and freedoms was concluded as confining women to smaller networks, which are dense and not diverse enough to be able to attract wider resources towards enhancing their enterprises. Women’s network activity was also seen to be limited with access to more powerful networks and positions of influence within networks largely seen to be the preserve of men. This again was seen as contributing to limited opportunity broadening for women led enterprises. Thus in as much as popular social capital literature widely acclaims the beneficial nature of social capital in enhancing economic activity; this study strongly suggest that social capital experiences and outcomes are amongst other things a function of gender with women’s participation in network activity not necessarily translating to the accrual of net benefits for their enterprises