3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions

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    An examination of the extent to which State-Owned Entities disclose their strategy, in their integrated reports
    (2020) Matlou, Karabelo
    The increase in corruption within State-Owned Entities (SOEs) and the recent headlines about State-Owned Entities failing to fulfil their mandate and having to constantly require financial assistance from government, have brought the need for SOEs to be accountable tot he general public to the fore. This is attributed to the fact that, members of the public are both the financiers of these organisations (through taxes) and they also utilise services provided by these organisations. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the extent to which SOEs are accountable to their stakeholders, which includes members of the general public and specifically looking at strategy which is an important factor to consider in determining whether the entity has a plan for the future and also enables stakeholders to make informed decisions. In order to be able to meet the objective of this study the following research question was addressed: To what extent do state-owned entities disclose their strategy in their annual reports? The study can be applied by standard setters specifically in the public sector and will also be valuable to the public sector governance overseers, as their main mandate is to ensure accountability by State-Owned Entities and this study highlights key elements of accountability. The main contribution of this study is for the benefit the general public, as SOEs affect the lives of all citizens directly and indirectly. A quantitative research methodology was used in conducting this research and data was collected by analysing the annual reports of the SOEs. The findings of this study revealed that SOEs disclose, at the maximum, sufficient information on their strategy although they do not provide a well-defined and comprehensive disclosure of this strategy which could be due to preventing competitors to imitate their strategy and to maintain their competitive edge
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    The implication of corporate reporting practices on the quality of integrated reports: a study of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange
    (2018) Malola, Arson
    The value relevance of integrated reporting is an ongoing debate. On the one hand, reporting entities may take a value relevant substantive approach to integrated reporting and report on actual organisational reforms and results. While on the other, a symbolic approach to integrated reporting can be adopted where the report is used to create the illusion of corporate responsibility. The objective of this paper is to determine if the adoption of three reporting practices, namely: 1) the use stand-alone CSR reports; 2) reporting framework adoption and 3) CSR assurance, are associated with a substantive or symbolic approach to integrated reporting. The investigation was performed by first measuring IR quality and then performing a Spearman’s rho to determine the significance of the relationship between the variables. IR quality was disaggregated into quality surrogates and individually captured. The dimensions of quality identified were: how much information was disclosed (quantity); the relative proportion of CSR information (density); the type of information (measurement); the “spirit” of the information (value relevance) and the user ease of use (acceptability). The results suggest that the only substantive practice is the use of a stand-alone CSR report. There was limited evidence supporting the fact that this practice is associated with a higher quality report. Both the adoption of reporting frameworks and CSR assurance had no significant associations with IR quality and its surrogates. In conclusion, the evidence suggests adopting a framework and CSR assurance are in line with obfuscation and legitimacy theory. Providing a separate CSR report appears to be a substantive practice that is associated with an IR with enhanced quality.
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    Managing demand variability through information sharing: a case study of imperial cold logistics
    (2018) Subiah, Amanda Renelle
    Supply Chain Management (SCM) aims to improve coordination among the various members of a supply chain (manufacturers, distributors and retailers) to increase transparency and reduce the impact of demand variability. The supply chain is currently struggling with the classic symptoms of a mismatch between supply and demand, low sales forecast accuracy, high and aging inventory, as well as low customer service. Because of fluctuating demand and complex interactions among various organizations in the supply chain, the management of the supply chain becomes increasingly challenging. Variability is one of the costliest problems in supply chains, particularly when it amplifies as it flows up the chain. This phenomenon is known as the Bullwhip Effect (BWE) and has drawn much attention in the study of SCM. Anything that is done to stabilise the flow of demand across a supply chain will improve the performance and will result in substantial advantage over chains that must cope with higher levels of variability. The focus of this research was the management of demand variability through information sharing, with a specific focus on Imperial Cold Logistics. As this was an exploratory case study a variety of sources were used to gather information. As part of the study the impact of the BWE across a three-stage supply chain was quantified consisting of a single manufacturer, a single distributor and a single retailer. The results of the study demonstrate the improvement that information sharing has on service levels resulting in improved financial results to all members in the study. The benefits have been quantified for the parties in the supply chain. The study proposes several information sharing mechanisms that can be applied across supply chains.
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    Optimisation of key performance indicators along a value chain
    (2018) Ferreira, Daniel Jorge
    The purpose of this research is to determine a single measure of performance for a supply chain model. Furthermore, the supply chain was modelled using simulation techniques. The supply chain model chosen is the coal corridor in South Africa. Various frameworks were evaluated and the performance of the supply chain model was done using an adapted model originally suggested by Aronovich et. al 2010. The results from the adapted framework show that the Transnet supply chain model performed at 45% for the 2014 year. Improvement scenarios were then formulated based on the worst performing phases in the supply chain: rail transportation and shipping distribution. The rail element of the supply chain model was simulated using the Anylogic simulation package. Discrete event simulation methods were used. It was found that if Transnet Freight Rail upgraded the single track at Overvaal, utilised 100 wagon trains instead of 200 wagon trains and eliminated Ermelo as a hub they could increase their throughput by 20%. Furthermore, recommendations were made suggesting that the framework should be further adapted to include the need for multiple suppliers and the simulation model should incorporate the transport of coal via trucks.
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