Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)
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Item The Adaptation of the Shadow Corpse Belief System for Change Management in Corporate Organisations(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Chazuza, Richard G.; Maier, ChristophThis thesis examines how the use of an African natural idea and practice, Mumvuri loosely translated in English to the Shadow on the Corpse Belief System can be adapted and used to understand change management in corporate organisations. While the talk of Ubuntu and other African ideas has received a lot of prominence in organisations and academia of its potentially untapped value in management, few to non-existent African ideas and practices are known to realistically permeate and guide management thinking and practices in corporate organisations. This thesis is informed and guided by the interpretive paradigm. It adopted and followed the qualitative approach where the basic interpretive qualitative research design was used. In-depth, semi-structured, open ended and thematised interviews were used to collect data from 35 carefully selected experts that were placed into 3 homogeneous groups. Thematic analysis was used as the data analysis method aided by ATLAS ti version 8 software package, a computer assisted data analysis software package (CAQDAS). The evidence from the research revealed that Mumvuri is a known and commonly practised African socio-cultural belief system. Even though it is rooted in the Karanga ethnic culture of modern day Zimbabwe, its traces are found in other African cultures. Despite the prevalence of Mumvuri in African culture, it has not been adapted and used in corporate organisations. The main contribution was the development of a conceptual framework for change management in corporate organisations and the accompanying guidelines of implementation for executives and practitioners. These guidelines outline the process of adaptation of Mumvuri as an African idea, belief and concept in management. The thesis makes an empirical, methodological and practical contribution. Further research is suggested in testing this conceptual framework in corporate organisations.Item Examining the technologies and practices that can help SA mining industries meet carbon blueprint reductions(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Lakhna, Adheesh; Oro, Ufuo OroMining has always been regarded as a black sheep due to its legacies of environmental accidents, pollution, and safety incidents. However, for economies to grow, they need energy and energy requires metals to generate, transmit and store power. These metals are mostly sourced from mining and so as the world changes to cleaner and greener energy options, it is only fitting that mining equipment also becomes more environmentally friendly and keep up with the times. Heavy mining equipment such as ultra class dumptrucks and face shovels have 2-3MW diesel engines which can easily burn hundreds of litres of diesel per hour (Komatsu, 2022). Diesel has been the fuel of choice for many years due to its developed supply chains, ease of storage, high energy density and reliable engines. High fuel consumptions coupled with increasing fuel prices and deepening mines means that in addition to increasing expenses and pressure from environmental organisations, South African mines are becoming more and more carbon intensive. In December of 2015, at the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris, an international treaty on climate change was adopted by 195 parties. This treaty also known as the Paris agreement was a landmark agreement since this was the first legally binding treaty aimed at fighting climate change (United Nations Climate Change, 2015). The Paris agreement covered many items but these are some of the most crucial ones; Long-term temperature goals with the aim of restricting global temperature increases to below 2 degrees Celsius or even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius; National Adaptation Plans which outlines plans and actions for different nations based on their needs and priorities; Finance, technology and capacity-building support that addresses developed countries providing financial assistance to less endowed countries for adaption and accelerating technology developmentItem The perception of the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the production in South African mines(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Ledwaba, SolomonThe aim of the study was to explore the perception of Fourth Industrial Revolution(4IR) strategies and practices in relation to production process performance in the mining industries at selected mines in South Africa. The study followed a quantitative research methodology, and a sample of 110 employees at the selected mines in South Africa, consisting of 60 mine workers, 10 information technology employees, 10 middle managers, 10 operations managers, 10 health and safety personnel, and 10 executive officers were drawn using a simple random sampling approach. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire with a 5-point Likert Scale. Data were analysed using the SPSS version 4.1. Findings from the study reveal that employee level of awareness of the concept of 4IR and associated technologies had a significant impact on how employees perceived the current 4IR strategies. Though findings show that a high percentage of employees were involved in the 4IR strategy development process, most believe that the current 4IR strategies and practices did not fully represent the interests of all stakeholders. While some were of the perception that the strategies and practices were designed to improve productivity and reduce employment costs, others believe that it puts workers’ jobs at risk, as mines had started replacing humans with 4IR technologies such as robots and drones. However, findings reveal that the adoption of the 4IR technologies according to the perception of employees, has improved health and safety within the mines