Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)
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Item The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the future of jobs in the South African automotive sector(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Setati, PortiaThis report attempted to provide insights on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the future of work in the automotive industry. The aim of this paper was to identify the potential benefits and challenges of AI adoption in the automotive sector and to develop strategies to maximize the benefits while mitigating the risks. South Africa, a significant player in the global automotive market, faces unique challenges and opportunities as AI integration progresses.The study employed a qualitative method approach and conducted semi-structured interviews to gather data. By examining current trends and future projections, the research interprets how AI technologies are reshaping traditional automotive manufacturing processes and workforce dynamics.Findings suggest that while AI adoption promises enhanced productivity, efficiency, and product quality, it also poses challenges in terms of workforce displacement, skill gaps,and job redefinition. The South African automotive industry, characterized by a diverse workforce and socio-economic disparities, must navigate these changes with a strategic approach to ensure inclusive growth and equitable distribution of opportunities.This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the transformative impact of AI on the future of work in the South African automotive industry, offering insights into the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead and proposing strategies for harnessing AI's potential for inclusive and sustainable growthItem Construction Professionals’ Awareness of Automation and Robotics in South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Mbhalati, Kurisani Luther; Jenika, GobindIn South Africa, the construction sector, which accounts for approximately 3% of the GDP, is essential for economic growth but struggles with issues such as falling productivity, quality concerns, and safety risks. The adoption of robotics and automation could address these challenges, offering more reliable and precise quality, boosting productivity, cutting costs, and increasing safety by automating dangerous tasks. This cross-sectional study aimed at assessing the awareness of automation and robotics among South African construction professionals through a quantitative survey. Additionally, the research sought to capture the professionals' opinions on the benefits these technologies could offer to construction projects and identify the barriers to their wider adoption as perceived by these professionals. Findings indicated a varied level of awareness among construction professionals, with high familiarity in technologies like Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and lower awareness in emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR). Moreover, the professionals acknowledged the benefits of adopting these technologies, notably highlighting increased productivity and safety as key benefits. They also identified significant barriers to adoption, citing high acquisition costs and socio-economic concerns over job displacement as major obstacles, particularly in a context of high unemployment rates. Considering the construction industry's role in economic growth and recognizing the dip in productivity, alongside the industry's reluctance towards innovation, the study recommends focused educational initiatives and promotional activities for robotics and automation. It further stresses the need for policy changes to ensure the safe and efficient implementation of these technologies. Moreover, from a governmental standpoint, the study suggests providing incentives to businesses to encourage the adoption of robotics and automation in the construction industryItem Investigating the relationship between automation and productivity in a South African firm(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Zvoushe, NobertSouth African manufacturing industry productivity has been declining over the last 10 years. Automation intervention driven by advancement in manufacturing technology is becoming increasingly popular and is being touted as critical to reversing this trajectory and ensure the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry is sustained. However, in South Africa where high levels of unemployment and low-level of skills, automation interventions in the labour- intensive manufacturing industry draw mixed views due to the fears that it will lead to massive job displacement. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between automation and productivity in a South African manufacturing firm. It does so by critically evaluating the automation intervention of a production process by a manufacturing company. The study interrogated firm level production data looking at performance before when manual production was in use and after automation was implemented. The literature review by the researcher found that there are limited studies in South Africa evaluating automation of manufacturing process. As a result, the success of automation in South Africa has been constrained by the limited empirical evidence demonstrating the effectiveness and merits of such an intervention. Hence, an experimental study like this one is a valuable contribution to literature and addressed the contextual knowledge gap. The manufacturing industry is critical to the country and very labour-intensive. As such, understanding how automation of the manufacturing processes in the industry relates to issues such as productivity and costs is critical. The study draws from the secondary data from the company data base. The study showed that automation is an effective strategy to improve productivity, quality and reduce production costs. In addition, the immediate displacement of workers was notable, and this would have negative implications on the drive to create employment in the countryItem Factors influencing robotic process automation adoption in the South African insurance industry(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Kunene, Namdipha; Lee, GregoryRobotic process automation (RPA) is fast becoming a key instrument in the digital transformation journey of the insurance market. This software technology presents a wide range of benefits to an insurance organisation, from driving operational efficiencies to improving customer experience. However, despite the vast use cases of RPA evidenced in the global insurance market, the South African insurance industry has proven to be a laggard in adopting RPA. In understanding the slow uptake of RPA by SA insurers, it was important to gain insights on RPA adoption from the perspective of RPA vendors as well as South African insurance professionals. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted to investigate the antecedents and factors influencing RPA adoption within the South African insurance industry. This study is based on the exploration of multiple ICT adoption frameworks existing in literature, such as user acceptance models used at an individual level and diffusion theories used at an organisational level adoption. A conceptual framework integrating the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework, diffusion of innovation (DOI) and technology acceptance model (TAM) was created and used to identify the factors. The empirical findings of this study were based on twelve (12) semi-structured interviews conducted with senior managers within the insurance industry and in the RPA vendor space. The study reveals that relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, management support, competition pressures and vendor support were perceived to have a positive influence on the acceptance and adoption of RPA. The study also suggests that strategy and government regulations have a non-significant influence on the adoption of RPA, whereas skills in the organisational context were perceived as a negative influence. Interestingly, two new factors emerged from the thematic analysis conducted: while perceived costs were viewed as a negative influence, change management was perceived as a significantly positive influence on the adoption of RPA within the SA insurance industry. The study provides recommendations to leaders to ensure a seamless RPA adoption process.Item Digital transformation and human capital in retail banking in South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-03) Lediga, Katlego; Appiah, Erasmus KofiThe digital transition is disruptive because it brings great change along with it. The banking business is being reshaped by powerful forces like but not limited to expectations from customers, technological abilities, legislative requirements, demographic trends, and economics. These are all combined to create a pressing need for change. Banks must anticipate these problems and retool in order to succeed in the future age. Banks must not only meet today's demands but also drastically innovate and restructure themselves in order to be competitive in the future. In the banking industry, digital transformation is a continual process involving both the micro and macro environment through revamping internal procedures and systems. Digital transformation occurs for a variety of reasons, including serving rural areas without branch locations, differentiating from competitors, and lowering operational expenses. In any event, there are many reservations about digital technologies' acceptability. Most people's computers or mobile phones are now used to conduct a substantial proportion of banking transactions. The variety of options, as well as the time and cost savings, and the ease of use of these applications, ensure that they continue to outperform traditional banking channels like bank branches. (Kitsios & Giatsidis, 2021) The purpose of the study is to ascertain how human capital in the form of business units and line managers within retail banks responded to the technological disruptions within the South African context. The objective of this research is to provide an overview of the shift from a workplace that does not rely on technology to one that is heavily reliant on technological integration to achieve operational needs. It will examine the repercussions of process automation migrations, as well as how this affects attrition rate and retention as human capital tries to adjust to such a radical changeItem The influence of automation on employment in the South African manufacturing industry(2021) Mathebula, Nkhensani NancyOrientation: 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 statisticsItem The influence of automation on employment in the South African manufacturing industry(2021) Mathebula, NkhesaniOrientation: 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.Item Artificial Intelligence-driven transformation of risk management function in the South African Telecommunications Industry(2022) Ramatar, NiteshCurrent Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions focus on improving business operational processes and specific applications within the risk management fraternity. AI enables organisations to accelerate processes rapidly. However, this fast pace introduces new risk exposures that require proactive risk management. Therefore, this study explored whether AI should be utilised within the risk function of a telecommunications company, to make the function proactive. The research adopted an exploratory approach that involved conducting face-to-face interviews with risk management professionals within the telecommunications environment. The respondents’ feedback was consolidated to identify and analyse findings. Findings noted that risk functions should adopt AI to help them transition from a reactive to a proactive function. However, key challenges, such as budget constraints, poor stakeholder buy-in, and limited access to AI skills and appropriate use cases, prevent risk functions from adopting AI. Establishing change management initiatives is recommended to create a culture that can overcome these challenges.Item The adoption of intelligent robot automation by auditors within South Africa(2021) Naidoo, EvaashanTo automate, or not to automate, that is the question? The use of disruptive technologies has changed, and in many instances, has replaced traditional business operations and models. The auditing profession has been burdened with high costs and reputational damage as a result of false results due to a high dependency on manual tasks that are susceptible to errors or manipulation. The use of robots to help minimise these errors, achieve efficiencies and reduce costs, provides a convincing theoretical case to automate. The objective of this research is to apply the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to understand the views of audit professionals determine the factors that would influence organisations to use robot technology for performing audits in South Africa. The study adopted a quantitative approach, where a survey questionnaire consisting of 39 questions, aligned with the UTAUT model, was used to gather data. The sample comprised 59 auditors and 26 non-auditors who were involved in audits performed in South Africa. The non-auditors comprised of a Chief Information Officer, Finance Managers, Heads of Product, and various Senior Risk Management Professionals. A purposive sampling technique was used to select individuals who had an understanding of the capabilities of robots, and the potential use of robots to support business operations. The results of the study highlighted that performance expectancy and facilitating conditions were the key factors that influenced the adoption of robots in audits. Auditors and clients were more likely to use robots if they felt it would improve their performance. The respondents were more likely to use robots if it enabled the quicker completion of tasks, reduced errors, increased the number of tasks that could be completed and delivered better value than manual processes. The study also highlighted that sufficient investment and management support would be provided to ensure that an enabling environment is established for using robots to perform audit tasks. This would include acquiring management support as well as finding hardware, software, and skills to support the robotics development initiatives. The study provides more insight on how leaders and management in the auditing field can use insights attained through this study to successfully influence and support the use of robots to perform audits. Furthermore, the study contributes to an increased used of robotics in auditing which could improve the quality and efficiency of the auditor’s work. The study contributes towards the body of knowledge in the accounting and robot fields of study