Wits Business School (ETDs)

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    Exploring employee perceptions on the adoption of 4IR-driven job automation in the South African Food Manufacturing Industry
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Maphosa, Grant
    The Fourth Industrial Revolution (or 4IR in short) is characterised by the latest technologies that mostly serve as solutions for automating tasks. Examples include the internet of things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence with machine learning and robotic process automation. The food value chain is no exception to this automation. All processes involved in converting the raw agricultural produce into finished goods for sale and consumption are expected to eventually integrate the 4IR technological advances, which automate job functions. In the South African Food manufacturing industry, these traditionally manual tasks are performed by a high number of employees, many of which perform lower-occupational level manual functions. The study’s purpose was to explore the South African Food manufacturing industry’s employee’s perceptions of this 4IR phenomenon, with the technologies that will be possibly automating their job functions or overall employment. This is to intentionally address the main research problem of not knowing the employee’s views on the subject, in addition to not being able to track the policymakers and employers’ efforts in managing the transition to 4IR-adoption in the industry. The research study was conducted through interviewing 14 participants who are employed by the South African Food manufacturing industry. They were expected to share their perceptions by answering open-ended questions, and their responses were analysed qualitatively. Their responses were coded and grouped to themes, and findings led to recommendations such as accelerating the change management process to identify upskilling requirements sooner.
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    Digitalization of banking services and financial inclusion in Botswana
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mpowe, Emmanuel; Odei- Mensah, Jones
    The purpose of the study was to evaluate the level of digitalization of banking or financial services in Botswana. The study also sought to understand the association between digitalization and financial inclusion Furthermore, the research also studied the association of macro level determinants of financial inclusion such as GDP per capita and employment to adult population with financial inclusion. The study used secondary data collected mainly from the reserve bank of Botswana’s reports published on their website, Central Statistics Office and annual report of a selected commercial banks. Annual spending on ICT by commercial banks was used as a proxy for digitalization. The study used time series data from 2006 to 2020. Regression and correlation techniques were performed on the selected variables with financial inclusion as a dependent variable. The result from the analysis suggested that there is a significant positive association between ICT spend or digitalization of banking services and financial inclusion. This findings were in support of the hypothesis formulated from the existing literature which also suggested that digital financial services are more likely to increase the level of financial inclusion. The study also evaluated the impact of GDP and employment rate on financial inclusion. The findings suggested that both variables have a positive correlation with financial inclusion.
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    The influence of automation on employment in the South African manufacturing industry
    (2021) Mathebula, Nkhensani Nancy
    Orientation: There are emerging uncertainties that automation causes job losses, especially in the manufacturing industry because it is a labour-intensive industry. Motivation of the study: The beverage manufacturing sector is essential because it contributes to the GDP of developing countries, as it is one of contributors of job creation. Purpose of the study: This study aims to identify the influence of automation on the South African beverage manufacturing industry, the objective is to investigate whether automation creates jobs, or it causes job losses. Methodology: This was a qualitative study, where seven semi-structured virtual interviews were conducted to collect data. Purposive sampling was used, the population for this study were employees who are working in the beverage manufacturing industry in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa. Thematic analysis was used to analyse and interpret collected data. The key findings of the study: The results of this study shows that automation creates new jobs for skilled workers, however, the study revealed that low-skilled workers who do repetitive work are vulnerable to losing their jobs when automation is introduced in the beverage manufacturing industry. The findings of the study also show that, employers upskill and train low skilled workers and old aged workers as a retention plan to reduce job losses workers whenever automation is introduced in the industry .The results of this study show that automation increases production and revenue for beverage manufacturers. Practical and theoretical contribution: Automation should be embraced in the beverage manufacturing industry because it creates jobs, and it increases production and revenue for beverage manufacturing firms. Conclusion: Adoption of automation can be a threat to low skilled workers, although it is able to create new jobs for skilled workers in the industry. Automation enables the beverage manufacturing industry to grow revenue as a result of an increase in production. Recommendations: In accordance with the literature reviewed and the findings of this study, it is recommended that automation be embraced by the beverage manufacturing industry in South Africa since automation would lead to an increase in production and returns in revenue for the manufacturers. It is further recommended that employees in the manufacturing sector be less anxious or less worried about the adoption of automation because automation presents new opportunities to learn new things and it creates new jobs. Based on the findings of this study it is recommended that employers should continue to train and up skill workers whenever automation is introduced in the beverage manufacturing industry in order to preserve jobs across their human resource spectra and affect positively the South African unemployment statistics
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    The influence of automation on employment in the South African manufacturing industry
    (2021) Mathebula, Nkhesani
    Orientation: There are emerging uncertainties that automation causes job losses, especially in the manufacturing industry because it is a labour-intensive industry. Motivation of the study: The beverage manufacturing sector is essential because it contributes to the GDP of developing countries, as it is one of contributors of job creation. Purpose of the study: This study aims to identify the influence of automation on the South African beverage manufacturing industry, the objective is to investigate whether automation creates jobs, or it causes job losses. Methodology: This was a qualitative study, where seven semi-structured virtual interviews were conducted to collect data. Purposive sampling was used, the population for this study were employees who are working in the beverage manufacturing industry in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa. Thematic analysis was used to analyse and interpret collected data. The key findings of the study: The results of this study shows that automation creates new jobs for skilled workers, however, the study revealed that low-skilled workers who do repetitive work are vulnerable to losing their jobs when automation is introduced in the beverage manufacturing industry. The findings of the study also show that, employers upskill and train low skilled workers and old aged workers as a retention plan to reduce job losses workers whenever automation is introduced in the industry .The results of this study show that automation increases production and revenue for beverage manufacturers. Practical and theoretical contribution: Automation should be embraced in the beverage manufacturing industry because it creates jobs, and it increases production and revenue for beverage manufacturing firms. Conclusion: Adoption of automation can be a threat to low skilled workers, although it is able to create new jobs for skilled workers in the industry. iii Automation enables the beverage manufacturing industry to grow revenue as a result of an increase in production. Recommendations: In accordance with the literature reviewed and the findings of this study, it is recommended that automation be embraced by the beverage manufacturing industry in South Africa since automation would lead to an increase in production and returns in revenue for the manufacturers. It is further recommended that employees in the manufacturing sector be less anxious or less worried about the adoption of automation because automation presents new opportunities to learn new things and it creates new jobs. Based on the findings of this study it is recommended that employers should continue to train and up skill workers whenever automation is introduced in the beverage manufacturing industry in order to preserve jobs across their human resource spectra and affect positively the South African unemployment statistics.