Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management

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    Effectiveness of graduate programmes in assisting graduates to become work ready
    (2014-01-14) Seima, Boledi Audrey
    The purpose of this qualitative study is to evaluate the effectiveness of graduate programmes in assisting graduates to become work ready. The objective of the graduate programme that the research focused on was to accelerate the development and competence of new graduates to become value adding employees on completion of the programme. The business case for graduate programmes is instigated and supported by the dynamic and competitive nature of the contemporary workplace, which has resulted in a widening gap between knowledge gained through higher education and the requirements of the workplace. A purposive sample of 16 respondents consisting of eight graduates and eight managers were interviewed and a content analysis carried out. The graduate respondents included graduates from two of the latest and largest Deloitte intake groups, the groups of 2007 and 2008. The manager respondents included project managers who were involved in the management of the graduates as well as business analysts on completion of the programme. The key findings of the study revealed that both the managers and the graduates believe that the Deloitte Graduate Programme leads to work readiness. However, both parties felt that the programme can be further enhanced by controlling and measuring the on-the job experience that the graduates get exposed to, to ensure that meaningful learning can be guaranteed for all graduates. The respondents also felt that the design of the Enterprise Resource Planning qualification could be modified to cater for the different career path interests of the various graduates instead of only focusing on ERP modules. The results of this study confirm that graduate programmes have a key role to play in closing the gap between higher learning and the workplace if designed and managed appropriately.
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    Constraints to employment growth within the South African Automotive Industry
    (2013-10-10) Burger, Elsje Emerentia
    The research study set out to understand the factors constraining employment growth in the South African Automotive industry. This was particularly relevant in the context of the South African government’s renewed focus on growing employment, which has been shown to be the single best way to reduce poverty and increase economic participation by all classes in the South African economy (Briscoe 2000). As a key manufacturing sector, the South African Automotive Industry has the potential to drive employment growth, create sustainable, decent employment opportunities and aid in critical skills transfer and development. Identifying and classifying the impact of constraints on the industry would provide valuable guidance to government institutions mandated with growing employment by supporting this key sector. The information derived from the study would enable these institutions to prioritise projects and allocate limited resources and funding to the greatest effect. The research design was based on collecting in-depth, qualitative data through semi- structured interviews with selected key decision makers and experts in the industry. This allowed the researcher the ability to identify any additional constraints not highlighted in the original literature review, as well as to explore perceptions and reasoning behind responses provided during the interview. The study found the impact of key identified factors to be perceived differently for OEMs and component manufacturers, and the classification of constraints therefore had to distinguish between these sectors. For OEMs, raw material, as well as the cost of infrastructure was identified as significant constraints, while funding, labour skills and regulation were perceived as low constraints due to the OEM’s ability to leverage assistance from government and its global production network to mitigate these factors. Government policies and regulation was highlighted as a supporting factor in creating and sustaining employment. While raw material and infrastructure cost were also highlighted as significant constraints for the component manufacturing industry, the industry highlighted other factors, including export capability and labour skills as additional high impact ii constraints to the component industry. Contrary to OEMs, manufacturers viewed government policy as a constraining factor to employment, especially following changes made to policies under the MIDP and APDP. It is clear from the study that the majority of these bottlenecks often constitute structural constraints that could be addressed through relevant support and policies. This leaves substantial scope for translating correctly aligned policies and support into actual employment stability and growth. Identifying and prioritising these constraints will enable better coordination among government institutions and better application of limited funding and resources to achieve the greatest impact on the South African economy.
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    Adjustment challenges of South African expatriates working in Africa
    (2013-10-08) Dhrampal, Sharmintha
    With globalisation, expatriate assignments to developing locations such as Africa are increasing. The purpose of this research was to investigate the adjustment challenges of South African expatriates working in Africa and used a qualitative methodology. It is based on the Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991) framework of international adjustment and applied to an African context. The findings indicate that expatriates experienced adjustment challenges with regard to adapting to local living conditions, ability of family to adjust to new environment, adapting to a new culture and language, interacting effectively with host country nationals, lack of support from organisation, adapting to work related challenges, inadequate preparation prior to departure and had crime, corruption and security concerns. The study found that Pre-departure preparation, organisational support, family-spouse challenges, cross-cultural training, interacting with host country nationals, adapting to a foreign culture and language are all general aspects that expatriates have had adjustment challenges with. However, South African expatriates working in Africa, expatriates faced many location difficulties in one or more of a following areas: limited housing options, limited education options, rudimentary medical facilities, climate and physical conditions, Infrastructure, communications, disease and sanitation, physical remoteness, political and social environment, recreation facilities, availability of goods and services, heightened exposure to bribery and corruption, crime, safety and security issues. Expatriates face intensely challenging living conditions and quality of life issues. South African companies need to have a greater appreciation for the conditions endured by expatriates in African countries and offer better support.
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    RETENTION FACTORS AFFECTING ARTISANS IN THE HEAVY MOTOR VEHICLE INDUSTRY
    (2012-02-13) White, David
    The heavy motor vehicle industry in South Africa is reliant on artisans for the maintenance and servicing of vehicles. There is a perceived shortage of skills as the industry has shown significant growth during the past decade. However, a similar increase in the supply of adequately trained artisans has unfortunately not occurred. This perceived shortage, together with changes in the employer/employee relationship has increased the mobility of artisans. The result is increased competition amongst companies as they try to attract and retain the best talent. The purpose of this research has been to determine the key retention factors that artisans consider being the most important. A structured questionnaire was used to conduct the research, and both quantitative and qualitative data was collected. The sample comprised 50 artisans from ten organizations, they represented a wide range of demographic groupings. Content analysis was used to determine the results of the qualitative section, while the quantitative section was analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques. Based on the data collected, the researcher was able to determine the top five push and pull factors affecting the retention of artisans. In addition to these retention factors, the research yielded the top career needs that artisans consider important in their jobs. It was found that the retention factors and career needs differed significantly according to both race and age. An artisan retention model was developed, providing a diagnostic tool for organisations wishing to improve the retention of their artisans
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    SMEs AS VEHICLE FOR PROMOTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT: BEDCO CASE STUDY
    (2011-05-16) MASUPHA-KHABO, MPINANE
    Youth unemployment is one of the major challenges in many countries in the world and much more acute in Lesotho in particular. The focus is on the Basotho Enterprise Development Corporation (BEDCO) as a case study which is mandated with promoting employment creation and economic growth through the establishment and development of SMEs. The study assessed the extent to which the government of Lesotho through BEDCO curbs youth unemployment through SME development. In particular, the study examined the contribution of BEDCO in terms of facilitating creation of new businesses and the expansion of the existing small businesses as part of employment generation, especially for the youth. The research results indicate that the contribution of BEDCO to SME development and thereby employment creation for the youth, leaves much to be desired. BEDCO has a minimal impact in terms of developing business skills of entrepreneurs to start new businesses and to enable them to manage their finances and effectively market their businesses once established. As a result, the businesses fail to grow and graduate to higher levels in order to have a multiplier effect in terms of generating even more employment opportunities. Despite being in operation for a several years, the businesses on the sample were largely stagnant and not graduating. In fact some of them were even registering negative employment growth. This was, among others, mainly due to the poor industry conditions, small and saturated markets, lack of proper and demand-driven training in general and financial management and marketing, inadequate follow-up support from BEDCO, as well as lack of financial support to facilitate and stimulate business growth.