Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)
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Item Effects of Restructuring on Technical and Vocational Education and Training College Lecturers(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Molaudzi, Bellinah; Pillay, PundyThe aim of this study was to describe the effects that the restructuring (function shift process) of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges had on lecturers at the South-West Gauteng TVET College. The study sought to answer the main research question, namely, “What are the effects of the restructuring of TVET colleges on lecturers at the South- West Gauteng TVET College?”. A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with lecturers at the college as well as officials at the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). The data was analysed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged from data analysis and these are trust in the process, communication of the process, participation and support, and effects/impact of the restructuring. This study showed that restructuring can have adverse effects on academic staff when their interests and well-being are not being recognised by those that are implementing the change process. The study also found that senior managers at the college that were the focus of this study were not actively involved in the implementation of the function shift process. The role of college senior management was blurred, hence their minimal involvement in the functionshift process. Therefore, the study recommended that there is a need to conduct in-depth research into the effects of lecturers’ work interests on the outcome of the change process. The study further recommends future research that should investigate the effects of TVET College senior management during restructuring. Lastly, it is important to research the role that College senior management can play in ensuring that DHET change initiatives are speedily implementedItem Factors driving the adoption of platform-based solutions in rural/underserved markets(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-03) Nhlapo, Palesa; Magida, AyandaRural to urban migration causes an increase in economic activities, however, this trend also leads to a strain on urban infrastructure such public and private services e.g. transport, energy and health care infrastructure. The migration trend was overlaid with the platform business model such as online platform services which attempt to assist in addressing the infrastructure issues caused by the urban migration. There are factors which intervene in the migrant’s decision to either move from the rural area to the urban areas which is typically their place of work. Where the rural area provided more benefits, which caused the potential migrant to remain in the area, the factors are described as pull factors. If the rural area provides less reasons for the migrant to remain in the rural area, these factors are seen as push factors – which drive the migrant to move the urban area. These movements are largely pushing migrants to urban areas which causes a strain on urban infrastructure. Globally, online platforms services (e-commerce, e-government,social media, fintechs) are gradually becoming a key part of communication, job productivity, and daily living activities for both employers and customers. Locally, factors which drive migration to urban areas were also being influenced by online platform services which are becoming more accessible in the daily facilitation of life by both the employers and employees. In the studies reviewed, there has not been much done to evaluate whether technologies such as online platform services could aid in addressing the urban migration issue. There are polarities in thought that observe that while urban migration causes an increase in rural economic activities, it also causes strain on urban infrastructure as the population increases beyond the capacity of the urban infrastructure. The study investigated whether factors such as family, employer, employee, and online platforms caused an effect in the reduction of urban migration. Employers were found to be typically located in urban areas. The hard lock-down enforced due to the covid-19 pandemic helped satisfy that employee, employers, family and online platform services can be used to maintain productivity remotely (away from urban areas). The study found that (1) the employee was likely to migrate to urban areas based on their level of education and their province of origin, (2) the employers used online platform services to enable 2 productivity and there was adoption and lastly (3) there was low family influence on the decision to migrate. A recommendation for future research would be to investigate the migration efficiencies created in the context of the employer or the rural/underserved economy by the adoption of the online platform services.Item Factors affecting enterprise resource planning migration: the South African customer’s perspective(2021) Mushayi, Precious REnterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are a crucial and strategic component of most organisations’ information systems (IS). The advent of the digital economy has pushed traditional ERPs to evolve into intelligent ERP systems that are built to integrate with smart technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. There is a need to understand how the digital economy has affected the design of ERP systems and how customers in developing countries are adapting to these changes. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence the decisions of ERP customers in developing countries on whether to adopt intelligent ERP technologies such as SAP S/4 HANA. The technological-organisational-environmental and institutional theory frameworks were used as the foundation upon which the factors that influence intelligent ERP adoption were studied. The study focused on adopters and non-adopters of SAP S/4 HANA in the South African context. Guided by the positivist paradigm, a questionnaire-based survey was developed using theoretical constructs from existing studies of technology adoption and distributed to a sample of 95 companies, which were selected through purposive sampling. Nine factors were hypothesised to have an impact on intelligent ERP adoption, namely information, communication and technological (ICT) infrastructure, the availability of cyber-security systems, technical skills, organisational size, top management support, coercive pressures, mimetic pressures, normative forces and governmental regulations. Based on the responses received from 84 organisations, four factors out of the nine initial factors were found to have a significant impact on intelligent ERP migration, namely ICT infrastructure, the availability of cyber-security systems, mimetic forces ,and normative pressures. This study may be useful to ERP vendors with customers in developing countries, to understand existing and potential customer perceptions of intelligent ERPs. It will also give insight to academics who seek to build on their understanding of technology adoption in developing countries, especially in this era of digital transformation.Item Application of South African VAT on e-commerce transactions(2017) Xaba, Nduduzo JustifiedThe present study sought to investigate self-selection among internal and international migrants in Gauteng by making use of the Gauteng City Region Quality of Life Survey data. The present study also sought to disentangle the effects of observed and unobserved characteristics in the self-selection of migrants by conducting Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition on overall employment and self-employment outcome variables. Preliminary descriptive statistics indicated that international migrants experienced markedly higher levels of employment than both locals and internal migrants driven by higher rates of informal and self-employment. System GMM analysis of pseudo panel data confirmed these results and showed that international migrants had a higher probability of employment and self-employment. Oaxaca Blinder decomposition indicated that unobserved characteristics explained the greatest share of the differences in the rates employment and self-employment of locals, internal migrants and international migrants. These results provide evidence for the positive selection of international migrants to Gauteng on unobservable characteristics relevant to the region’s labour market. Key Words Self-Selection; Migration; Self-Employment; EmploymentItem Caught in a gap? An examination and human rights assessment of immigration detention laws and practices in South Africa(2013-03-19) Tay, RoannaAbstract: This study examines the laws and practices relating to immigration detention in South Africa. It provides an in-depth examination of the legislation, with reference to known state practices and cases where migrants have been subjected to prolonged and repeated periods of immigration detention. The study highlights gaps in South African law that contribute to certain categories of migrants being especially vulnerable to immigration detention. Four categories are identified: (1) asylum seekers; (2) persons with difficulty obtaining travel documents; (3) stateless person; and (4) persons subject to other prohibitions against refoulement. The study offers recommendations for legislative reforms to fill the gaps in the law that contribute to these migrants’ vulnerability to immigration detention