3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Archaeology of the industrialisation and social development at a Silver Mine in the greater Pretoria region from 1889 to 1927(2019) Reeks, Graham WalterSouth Africa is a land in which mining has played a pivotal role over the last one hundred and fifty years. Silver was one of the metals prospected for and mined during the 1885-1895 period. There were a few silver mines that developed into very successful operations and produced large tonnages of argentiferous lead or copper and the largest of these, and the primary focus of this thesis, was the mine now referred to as the Argent silver mine. This thesis is about the development of mineral beneficiation technology, coupled with excavations and the analysis of the lifeways of the black mine workers at the Argent mine. I intend to follow the trend taken by some archaeologists over the last ten years for such sites in both the UK and the USA and combine an industrial archaeological study with the social or historical archaeological study. This holistic multi-disciplinary approach to industrial or mining sites and their communities helps to provide a more integrated analysis of humans and technology at a particular site (Norris 2009; Ford 2011; Tumberg 2012; Cowie 2015). The Argent Silver Mine appears to have been at the forefront of new and developing mining beneficiation technologies, both in the 1890s and the 1920s. This thesis will show how many of the new beneficiation technologies were apparently employed at the Argent mine before being brought into more general use in other mining industries, such as gold, in South Africa. The social development of South Africa’s black people, from the late nineteenth century, has been one of repression and enforced living conditions. From a formerly agrarian and rural lifestyle they became cogs in the wheels of industrialisation and foremost in this industrial jump, was the mining industry. Mining began in the 1870s with diamonds at Kimberley and gold at Pilgrim’s Rest in eastern Mpumalanga. It was, however, the finding of gold on the Witwatersrand that opened up so many mining industries, of which silver mining was but one, coupled with ancillary engineering support industries. It was this industrialisation that was to change black lives forever and to create the urban black populations of South Africa today. The results of this thesis provide evidence of their lifeways and potential employment positions on a silver mine.Item Assessing challenges in the implementation of performance monitoring systems in Department of Public Works(2018) Motsoeneng, DineoThe 1990s saw a shift in public service organisations that required that there be more accountability and a service delivery orientated public sector, this brought about the new public management theory. This meant that the challenges faced by organisations would not only be limited to budget spending but would increase accountability and the efficient use of allocated resources (Umashev and Willett, 2008). Performance monitoring systems gained prominence in South African government in 2006 after the launch of the Government-wide Monitoring and Evaluation System. This meant that should the implementation of this programme go well it would assist government in achieving its policy outcomes and overall impact. However, Cloete and Coning (2011) point out that the presence of a policy does not necessarily mean there will be effective implementation. The department of Public Works has received findings over the quality of performance information and the ineffective performance monitoring system. Therefore, the research intends to assess the challenges in the implementation of performance monitoring system in the national department of Public Works. The paper seeks to detail the problem and identify the knowledge gap; we further establish a conceptual framework that will assist in the interpretation of the research findings. The research proposes to carry out this research using a qualitative research strategy, using a case study design administered through an interview schedule, which will assist in gathering data to assess the challenges within the department.Item Losing its lustre - a narrative of the gold mining communities of the western Witwatersrand focusing on the impact of post 1994 legislation and its ability to transform these communities into flourishing towns or reduce them to ghost towns in the context of a declining gold mining industry(2018) Breitenbach, DanetteSouth Africa became a democracy in 1994. The new government faced the task of transforming the country from one where the majority of the population had been discriminated against to one where everyone shares in the benefits of the country. One of the biggest culprits of discrimination pre-1994 was the mining industry. No more was this more evident than in mining communities. To change this, legislation was passed, specifically is the Mining Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) of 2002. At its heart it transferred ownership of mining rights to the State (previously mining companies owned mining rights). To be awarded a mining right, the mining company needs to satisfy a number of criteria, one of which is the submission of Social and Labour Plan (SLP) which addresses the socio-economic development projects the company will undertake and by when for mine workers and the host mining community not only during the life of the mine but also following mine closure. This “system” has been in working for 16 years. This research examines how that legislation has impacted mining communities, specifically in the West Wits region where gold mining towns were established as early as the discovery of gold. These towns experienced the heydays of gold up to the late 1980s. Today, however, the mines are a far cry from these glory days. It is in this context that the SLP as mechanism to mitigate years of a system that discriminated against most South Africans, including mining communities, is examined. The findings are a mixed bag of an amalgam of success and failure, and of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. This report consists of two sections; the first is a narrative writing style presenting research in a long-form narrative. The second is the method document which sets out the academic research supporting this work, how the research was conducted and why.Item The influence of enterprise architecture maturity on business value: a perspective from the South African financial services environment(2018) Bachoo, AvsharnEnterprise Architecture (EA) is viewed as a source of business value and competitiveness due to beneficial outcomes such as reduced system complexity, business-information technology (IT) alignment, and improved system integration. However, challenges exist in understanding the relationship between EA and business value at different maturity levels. This research focused on the connection between the EA maturity of an organisation and the business value associated with it in the South African (SA) financial services environment. This study analysed dominant EA frameworks, maturity models, as well as various explanations of the term business value from literature. The resource-based view of the firm (RBV) was used as the underlying theoretical framework to structure this research, by examining EA as an intangible resource, and maturity as a source of heterogeneity. This study further contributed to the RBV operationalisation debate, by using the Architecture Capability Maturity Model (ACMM) as a supporting theory to operationalise EA from a qualitative perspective. The critical realism philosophy, which states that mechanisms generate events, shaped this research by creating focus on the underlying EA mechanisms that led to business value, as well as insights into the opportunities and challenges organisations experience as they progress to higher levels of maturity. This study built a middle range theory using a qualitative approach. Moreover, characteristics of descriptive, exploratory, and explanatory research were used within this investigation. A case study strategy, comprising of semi structured interviews and artefacts was employed to collect data for this study. The results were subsequently examined using thematic analysis techniques. This study established that within level 1 maturity, minimal EA practices driven by a few staff members were in place. Forms of value such as hardware cost savings, software cost savings, and visualisation were experienced. Most of the business units fell within level 2 maturity, indicating that EA practices were still under development. Forms of value such as increased revenue, improved development time and reduced complexity were attained. Business units within level 3 had simple EA practices in place with clear target states. Process improvements, improved risk management and improved customer service were experienced. Within level 4 maturity, EA was fully integrated into the culture, with EA metrics defined. In addition, forms of value such as improved decision-making, innovation and enhanced customer insights were also experienced. None of the business units were rated within level 5 maturity. This study found that EA was generally implemented at a coarse granularity of refinement across levels 1 and 2 maturities, at a medium granularity within level 3, and a fine granularity within level 4 maturity. Further, this study demonstrated that EA is a source of both tangible and intangible forms of value.Item Business model innovation in the South African ICT and financial services sector(2017) Motjolopane, IgnitiaThe only constant is change itself. The purpose of this research study was to investigate how companies manage business model innovation to compete effectively in a changing business environment. In the business environment the winds of change are generated by factors such as increasing competition, changing customer needs, deregulation and technological advancement that includes the network-era. Despite theories that companies compete effectively by adopting one of the three generic strategies of cost leadership, differentiation and focus there are prominent business model innovation examples that illustrate the value of business model innovation for gaining competitive advantage. As business model innovation supports companies gain competitive advantage differentiating business models in ways that are hard to replicate for incumbents and new entrants. In addition business model innovation is linked to company growth and financial performance with the fasted growing companies as those that undertake business model innovation. Such is the importance of business model innovation that a mediocre technology commercialised with a good business model is of a greater value than a great technology supported with a mediocre business model. Despite these explicit potential benefits of business model innovation and growing interests from both research and academic community research in business model innovation is still in its infancy with need for research in areas such using the business model concept to anchor identification of information systems impact, the business model innovation process and on how companies manage business model to compete effectively in a changing business environment. This research study is an effort to contribute in the research gap by investigating how companies manage business model innovation to compete. A pragmatism approach that strive for to a problem solving approach that takes into account existing knowledge and experience in business model innovation both from theory and practice to fuel best practice in business model innovation. Six case studies were selected from companies in the Information Technology Communication and financial services sectors in South Africa. The key findings from the study is a conceptualisation of managing business model innovation to compete in a changing environment is a complex activity with interrelated concepts of business model innovation drivers, process and business model components that are redesigned. These conceptualisation is used to develop a business model innovation framework that contributes to theory and practice in business model innovation. Furthermore, the research study identifies the importance of both entrepreneurial and inspirational leadership and quality of staff as important conditions under which the proposed conceptual framework would most likely support companies in managing business model innovation to compete in a changing business environment. As the proposed conceptual framework As such the proposed conceptual framework could serve as a basis for further empirical research that is both qualitative and quantitative. Such future work could assist in evolving and validating theoretical coherence, practical relevance and applicability of the conceptual framework elements in manging business model innovation to compete effectively in a changing environment. In terms of contribution to practice proposed conceptual framework with the detailed analysis of the business model innovation drivers, process and business model components may a useful guideline in undertaking a business model innovationItem Strategic management practices as a catalyst for SMME performance in the Gauteng province(2018) Tseka, Chidikwane MiddahThis study explores the prospect of strategic management practices in stimulating SMME performance. In a country were the SMME failure rate is 75% and one of the highest globally, avenues need to be explored to improve the performance and sustainability of SMMEs’. The research aims to investigate the relationship between SMME performance and aspects of strategic management: scanning intensity, locus of planning, planning flexibility, planning horizon and strategic nonfinancial and financial controls. Hypotheses are created based on the performance relationship with each of the strategic management dimensions. The study followed a quantitative research methodology. Data was collected from 99 respondents via a structured questionnaire, the respondents targeted were owners and managers of SMMEs’ in the Gauteng province. The findings of the study supports the hypotheses proving that there is a positive relationship between performance and 5 of the strategic management practices and 1 negative relationship as hypothesised. The practical implications of the study are that owners and managers of SMMEs’ can adopt effective strategic management practices that can lead to performance improvementItem Towards a value-based theory of sustainability framing(2017) Loskutova, TetyanaThe goal of this research was to develop a comprehensive theoretical perspective on values and framing of sustainability in the context of strategic transformation in an organisational field. This perspective aimed to address the gap in understanding of the role of values within and across framing levels in the sustainability discourse. The goal of this research was accomplished in two stages. Firstly, a conceptual review of the previous research was used to develop an initial model of the valuebased framing of sustainability. Secondly, a case study based on framing analysis was conducted to verify the model. To accommodate the diversity of framing sources, a framing analysis methodology was developed based on the previous methodologies of value elicitation and framing research. The results confirmed the usefulness of the framing analysis in understanding the meaning construction and the outcomes of change, conflict, or resistance to change in strategic transformation. Additional insights from the empirical case revealed both value-framing divergence and convergence and the influence of the roles of frame actors in such processes. The framing analysis also indicated that some values might be associated with silencing sensemaking. The original contribution is three-fold. Firstly, an integrated model was developed based on the conceptual synthesis and the case study. The model differentiates sensemaking, sensegiving, and silencing sensemaking as sub-processes within the framing mechanism of sustainability transformation. The model clarifies the role of values as inputs, outputs, and strategic devices. The model outlines the processes of value-framing divergence and convergence. This model forms the foundation for the value-based theory of sustainability framing. Secondly, a new approach to framing analysis was developed that facilitates analysis of diverse communication styles in a comparable way. Thirdly, this research resulted in the development of an agenda for the advancement of the value-based theory.Item Strategic alignment of information technology and business(2016) Coetze, Maarten Jacobus PetrusThe importance of information technology (IT) strategic alignment with organisational goals is considered and discussed. Internal and external factors that affect this alignment are identified. A method to strategically align business and IT is developed. A case study methodology was used, which relied on both quantitative and qualitative methods. The focus of the case study is the School of Mechanical, Industrial and Aeronautical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. The research identified current IT alignment barriers and the special requirements of this domain by conducting interviews, using questionnaires and focusing on relevant strategic documentation. Data from the case-study environment was used to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The researcher identified a lack of commitment on the part of management both within the School and in the broader University to the University’s strategic objectives as the main obstacle to IT and business strategic alignment. A revised IT strategic plan is developed for the School.Item Physical asset management maturity in mining: a case study(2016) Mona, Bonginkosi JohanSuccessful implementation and execution of asset management strategy is found to be a critical element in driving value, which depends on physical assets’ performance. This paper shows that strategic asset management targets measured as AM Maturity are often not attained. This study identifies key issues that prevent mining organisations from attaining the desired level of Asset Management Maturity. A qualitative methodology was utilised on a single case study design in order to investigate a particular phenomenon which is Asset Management Maturity at A-Coal site. The study revealed revealed the following key issues: lack of strong Asset Management leadership; lack of a favourable organisational structure which will provide Asset Managers with credibility and the authority to make decisions in support of organisational objectives; no leadership support; and a lack of training obviate the benefits that can be realised from improvement initiatives which motivated, committed and enthusiastic employees will be delivering. In addition to these challenges are organisational culture and a certain level of employees’ competitiveness in the field of asset management.Item Strategic options for professional firms(2016-08-17) Botha, Faith ElizabethThe purpose of this thesis were to investigate the effective strategic options aVailable to professional service orgtanizations in the face of the challenging and changing south African environment. Since these organizations are viewed as integrated archetypes of organizational form, strategy and the personal Characteristics, perceptions and values of their top management, they were researched from this perspective. The professions are also viewed as progressing along a continuum of industrialzation, as theoretically defined, and the progress of the organizations along this route was examined to establish their position as a predictor of possible future trends.A model of the effectiveness of professtional service organizations in the face of the environmental challenges is also tested. The research was conducted with the assistance of the partners and clients of 56 prominent organizations from six professions in south Africa, covering three different industrial sectors, the commercial sector, the building and construction sector and the health care sector. Theory indicated certaint possible adaptive options aVailable to organizations in general, but due to the lack of speCific theoretically researched models for professional organizations, an inductive approach was taken to the research problem. In this way, the research findings would dictate the eventual correspondence to the theory. Multiple operationalism was used as a research approach in different stages of the research process, as was triangulation of research methods to arrive at the research results. The findings indicate that there are five groups of professional organizations representing different configurations of adaptation to the South African environmental circumstances. Using the model developed in the research to measure organizational effectiveness, it was found that three of these groups appear to be effective, while the other two are less effective. Some of the attributes of these five groups were contingent on the type of industry and the type of profession. The profiles of the partners provided a particularly fertile area of theory development and a number of propositions were generated which can be tested in future research. It was concluded that an integrated typology Of five groups of strategy, organization and the profile of the top management team did exist and that three of the options proved to be more effective that the other two. Further guidelines for the management of professional organizations, included the examination of the consequences of co-operative strategies, particularly in the light of a possible increase in consolidation within the industries, are given.