Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Globalisering, tegnologiese vooruitgang, die Internet en veranderinge in Suid-Afrika vanaf 1994 het bygedra tot die huidige nuwe ekonomie. Indien organisasies wil oorleef in die nuwe ekonomie sal hulle moet aanvaar dat die nuwe ekonomie ‘n aantal nuwe uitdagings te weë gebring het tot die manier waarop besigheid gedoen word in Suid-Afrika en in die res van die wêreld. In die nuwe ekonomie moet organisasies takties te werk gaan om volgehoue sukses te verseker. Besluitnemers moet die impak wat die nuwe ekonomie op hulle besigheid en hul stand in die betrokke mark het analiseer en strategiese beplanning doen oor hoe die organisasie gaan aanpas in die nuwe ekonomie om oorlewing te verseker in ‘n mark wat aanhoudend verander. Verwantskappe met interne en eksterne belangegroepe en deelhebbers is van kardinale belang in die nuwe ekonomie. Organisasies moet hul fokus plaas op verwantskappe met belangegroepe wat deel is van die besigheidsproses en sodoende deelhebbers beïnvloed tot voordeel van die organisasie. ‘n Aantal nuwe toetreders tot die mark (klein tot medium ondernemings en internasionale organisasies wat investeer in Suid-Afrika) het ‘n beduidende toename in mededinging veroorsaak. Die toename in mededinging het op sy beurt gelei tot ‘n groter veskeidenheid aanbiedinge wat beskikbaar gestel word aan verbruikers en ander belangegroepe. Die reputasie van ‘n organisasie, sy produkte en sy werknemers speel ook ‘n baie belangrike rol in die nuwe ekonomie aangesien belangegroepe en deelhebbers verkies om geassosieer te word met geloofwaardige en suksesvolle organisasies, produkte en dienste. Dit is dus belangrik dat indien ‘n organisasie will oorleef in die nuwe ekonomie moet die organisasie homself onderskei van ander en seker maak dat hulle ‘n plek in die gedagtes van hulle belangegroepe en deelhebbers toe eien. Die enigste manier om ‘n mededingende voordeel binne die nuwe ekonomie te bewerkstellig is om die besigheid takties in die gedagtes van alle belangegroepe en deelhebbers te posisioneer. As gevolg van die uitdagings en veranderinge wat die nuwe ekonomie te weeg gebring het kan ‘n organisasie nie langer net staat maak op tradisionele bemarkingsbeginsels om hulle self te posisioneer nie. ‘n Posisionerings- (of plasings-) strategie moet ontwikkel en toegepas word deur ‘n stelsel benadering te volg waar die hele organisasie betrokke is in posisionering. Die navorser het hierdie studie aangepak omrede ‘n handleiding te ontwerp en daar te stel vir besluitnemers in organisasies wat hul betrokke organisasies takties wil posisioneer in die nuwe ekonomie. Om die konsepsionele model vir posisionering (of plasing) van ‘n organisasie in die nuwe ekonomie daar te stel het die navorser kwalitatiewe navorsing gedoen wat ‘n studie van gepaste vak-inhoud, teorieë, beskikbare studiemateriaal, opinies van deskundiges en ‘n inhouds-analise van steekproef onderhoude ingesluit het. Die resultaat van die studie is ‘n goed geformuleerde teoretiesie model vir posisionering van ‘n organisasie in die nuwe ekonomie wat enige organisaie wat dit toepas in sy geheel sal bevoordeel en sy posisionering sal versterk. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Globalisation, technological enhancements, the Internet and changes in South Africa from 1994 led to the current new economy. If a company wants to survive in the new economy it will have to realise that the new economy brings a number of challenges to the way that business is conducted in South Africa and abroad. Companies need to work tactically in the new economy business environment to ensure sustainability. Decision-makers are to access the impact that the new economy has on the company and its position in the market and strategise how to adapt to the new economy in order to survive in an ever changing market. In the new economy relationships with internal and external stakeholders have become more important and companies need to focus on the relationships within its value chain in order to influence its stakeholders to the benefit of the company. Competition has increased due to a number of new entrants to the market (small to medium enterprises and international companies investing in South Africa) which led to a vast amount of offerings being available to consumers and other stakeholders. The reputation of a company, its products and its employees also play an important role in the new economy as stakeholders want to be associated with a credible and successful company, product or service. It is thus important that if a company wants to survive in the new economy it needs to differentiate themselves from others and make sure to own an area in the minds of their stakeholders. The only way to create a competitive advantage in the new economy is to position a company tactically in the minds of all stakeholders. Due to the challenges and changes that the new economy brought about a company can no longer only use traditional marketing principles to position themselves. A positioning strategy needs to be developed and implemented from a systems point of view where the whole company is involved in its positioning. The researcher embarked on this study to create a tool for companies that will assist decision-makers in the tactical positioning of their companies within the new economy. In order to create a conceptual model for positioning of a company in the new economy qualitative research was conducted, that included a study of content, theories, available material, views from experts as well as a content analysis from sample interviews. The outcome of the study was a well formulated theoretical model for positioning of a company in the new economy that will benefit and enhance the positioning of any company that applies it in its entirety.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2010. / The research undertaken in this paper explores the strategy formulation practices of large financial services organisations in South Africa. Following a review of academic sources, it was concluded that strategy formulation comprises three distinct but interdependent activities. The first is that of foresight development, followed by strategy development and finally strategic or business planning. In addition, a variety of approaches to stakeholder engagement are possible. A review of similar research identified primary research into foresight practices in Europe and the professional experiences of two South African chartered accountants of strategic or business planning. No research on strategy development was identified. Thus, the researcher chose to conduct primary research in the form of a survey to interrogate each of the strategic activities. This focused on the level of resourcing applied to each activity, the tools used, the time horizon adopted and the breadth of stakeholder engagement. A review of the South African financial services industry suggested that banking, short-term insurance and long-term insurance needed to be included in the sample. An analysis of the respective organisations‟ market share for most key products was completed. This produced a sample of twelve organisations which had a market share in excess of 10per cent as at 31 December 2009 with the exception of those selected based on total life insurance premiums, which were based on December 2008 data due to information availability. Of the twelve organisations identified 66per cent (or eight) responded to the survey which was conducted using an online survey tool. Three respondents chose to respond telephonically when contacted by the researcher. The respondents for the respective organisations were either senior managers, in several cases members of the executive team, or people involved with strategy formulation at a corporate or group level. In order to increase the response rate, the survey was conducted anonymously, thus limiting comparison been organisations and industry sectors. The result of the analysis highlighted two key dimensions on which organisations differed. The first is the time frame used. Only two organisations regularly look more than three years ahead. The second is that of stakeholder engagement. Half of the respondents are interactive and include employees in the strategy formulation process, while the other half is autocratic limiting strategy formulation activity to management and often senior management only. This lead the researcher to conclude that while a wide array of strategy formulation tools are applied, many South African financial services organisations have opportunity to improve their strategy formulation practice by being more inclusive and adopting a longer and more holistic approach to scanning and foresight as part of the foresight development activity.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The publication of the Value Added Statement should be seen as an attempt to introduce financial results to all the stakeholders of an organisation that aided in its wealth creation process. However, the current practice to present Value Added Statements in a variety of ways is not conducive to financial analysis and users of the information find it difficult to compare company results. The information on the Value Added Statement provides useful knowledge of the contribution of employees and fixed assets, the relative relationship of dependency and control between the organisation and its suppliers and the long-term requirements of the organisation to meet market demands. This study project aims to determine if value added-based ratio analysis could be used to measure company strength and be useful as a tool in corporate strategy formulation. The areas of investigation included productivity of production factors, reinvestment in capital and overall business control. The measures used to determine productivity also provided insight into the capital and labour intensity of companies and sectors. The model that was developed in this section indicates how companies differ in terms of their intensity and how productive their production factors are. It was found that although some companies were able to exert high value added to sales ratios, they did not perform as well when their productivity levels were measured. This is an indication that an imbalance exists between the current production factor proportions and management should try to find the optimal solution for increased productivity. The search for the optimal point between labour and fixed assets could convince management to reduce employee numbers or fixed assets to increase their productivity ratios. This is not a favoured approach as companies are dependent on their production factors for continuous growth and prosperity. The aim is to determine if companies have the means to invest in their production factors to increase their levels of productivity. Reinvestment in capital refers to fixed assets, as well as investment in training and development of current employee skills. The investigation revealed that many companies have the ability to reinvest, while others appear to be in a less favourable position. The last section was an attempt to measure the overall business control of companies when their margins on sales and value added were compared. These ratios provided insight into the ability of companies to add value through their own production skills or by command of lucrative contracts with suppliers. Those companies that are able to show high values on both ratios are said to display a high degree of overall business control. In conclusion it was found that value added-based ratio analysis could be used to identify problem areas in corporate strategy. Management's reaction to those areas and their continuous drive to improve value creation in the organisation would eventually lead to increased national wealth creation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die publikasie van die Staat van Toegevoegde Waarde moet gesien word as 'n poging om finansiële resultate aan alle belanghebbendes van 'n organisasie, wat bygedra het tot die proses van welvaartskepping, aan te bied. Die huidige praktyk om die Staat van Toegevoegde Waarde op verskeie maniere aan te bied is egter nie bevorderlik vir finansiële analise nie en gebruikers van die inligting vind dit moeilik om maatskappy resultate te vergelyk. Die inligting op die Staat van Toegevoegde Waarde verskaf waardevolle kennis oor die bydrae van werknemers en vaste bates, die relatiewe verhouding van afhanklikheid en beheer tussen die organisasie en sy verskaffers en die langtermyn behoeftes van die organisasie om aan markverwagtinge te voldoen. Hierdie studieprojek poog om vas te stel of toegevoegde waarde gebaseerde verhoudingsanalise gebruik kan word om maatskappyvermoë te bepaal en of dit 'n nuttige instrument in korporatiewe strategieformulering kan wees. Die areas van ondersoek het die produktiwiteit van produksiefaktore, herinvestering in kapitaal en algehele besigheidsbeheer ingesluit. Die maatstawwe wat gebruik is om produktiwiteit te bepaal het ook insig gegee oor die kapitaal- en arbeidsintensiteit van maatskappye en sektore. Die model wat ontwikkel is in hierdie afdeling wys hoe maatskappye verskil in terme van hul intensiteit en hoe produktief hul produksiefaktore is. Dit is gevind dat, alhoewel sommige maatskappye in staat was om hoë waardes vir die toegevoegde waarde tot verkope verhouding te openbaar, hulle nie so goed gevaar het toe hul produksie vlakke gemeet is nie. Dit is 'n aanduiding dat 'n wanbalans bestaan tussen die huidige produksiefaktor verhouding en bestuur moet probeer om 'n optimale oplossing te vind vir verhoogde produktiwiteit. Die soeke na die optimale punt tussen arbeid en vaste bates kan bestuur oortuig om werknemer getalle of vaste bates te verminder ten einde hul produktiwiteitsverhouding te verbeter. Dit is nie die aangewese benadering nie aangesien maatskappye afhanklik is van hul produksiefaktore vir volgehoue groei en welvaart. Die doel is om te bepaal of maatskappye die middele het om te investeer in hul produksiefaktore ten einde hul vlakke van produksie te verhoog. Herinvestering in kapitaal verwys na vaste bates, sowel as investering in opleiding en ontwikkeling van bestaande werknemer vaardighede. Die ondersoek het openbaar dat baie maatskappye wel oor die vermoë beskik om te herinvesteer, terwyl ander blyk om in 'n minder gunstige posisie te wees. Die laaste afdeling was 'n poging om die algehele besigheidsbeheer van maatskappye te bepaal wanneer die marge op verkope en toegevoegde waarde vergelyk word. Hierdie verhoudings bied insig oor die vermoë van maatskappye om waarde toe te voeg deur hul eie produksievaardighede of deur middel van winsgewende kontrakte met hul verskaffers. Maatskappye wat in staat is om hoë waardes vir beide verhoudingsgetalle te openbaar word beskou as maatskappye met 'n hoë algehele besigheidsbeheer.

There are numerous government and private sector initiatives aimed at supporting micro business in South Africa, yet there seems to be a lack of coercion, synergy and harmony in these endeavours to assist such businesses. A common perception about government is that all of its business programmes, have a string of protocols, red tape and intermediaries resulting in delays and inefficient support. Efforts to access this assistance is burdensome for micro-business. There is loss of time and resources in the process. This research paper sought to establish what business management strategies are employed by the micro-business owner in the Pinetown area, as a means to survive and grow. Business management strategies have been discussed in light of their strength to help the business survive and grow. The effectiveness and the efficiency of these management strategies is measured based on the classification of micro- business and the research methodology chosen. Questionnaires have been self administered to the micro-business owners to obtain their response on strategies practical for their survival. The area of study selected has been the Pinetown Area located within the Ethekwini Municipality, and part of the Province of KwaZulu- Natal. Findings from literature have highlighted constraints limiting micro business growth in South Africa. Findings have also highlighted major survival strategies viewed as the main motivating factor for micro-business owners to survive. Two key findings emerged from the study; firstly the need micro business owners to be financially prudent and to manage their business better. The second major finding was the existence of collaborative savings (stokvel), utilized as a traditional investment strategy. Recommendations based on these are the provision of financial management skills to micro business, through mentorship and financial assistance programmes by government agencies. This would benefit the micro-business owners realize their dreams of substantial and extensive business expansion. / MBA. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2012.

M.Tech in Business Administration (MBA) / The literature shows that most of these entities are run by their founders or by a small management team and very few such operators have proper succession planning in place. The lack of proper succession planning can have the direct effect of causing the collapse of these businesses especially when key players leave the business upon retirement or in pursuit of other options. The loss of knowledge and experience, and the consequences thereof for business is well-documented. The exit or exodus of key stakeholders can make a business vulnerable and diminish its worth as investors will not invest in a business that is unsustainable. Succession planning was identified as one of the most pressing issues for small, micro and medium enterprises in the corporate governance sphere.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-03T18:32:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nilson_Roberto_Niero.pdf: 1221015 bytes, checksum: 221e2841448b9a2dca7b835f0cf166d9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004-08-05 / This piece of work main objective is to investigate the dynamics of the engineering sector, inside the Brazilian competitive context, mainly focusing on the identification of different factors influencing the strategic repositioning of companies working with engineering and industrial project management. Under a systematic point of view, this work comprises the identification of changes, occurred over the past three decades, in the engineering and industrial project management services sector, as far as the management of complex operations of the companies and their respective adaptations to the competitive environment are concerned. In terms of methodology and during the period of analyses, the work has been based on explanatory, documentary and bibliographical historical research, and developed with one of the most representative companies of the sector. Semi-structured interviews with open questions have been carried out with those main businessmen who have lived the history and the changes of this company. The work has been divided into five parts. Objectives and methodology are in the first chapter. The second chapter presents the main characteristics and the evolution of the service industry in Brazil. Chapter 3 deals with competitive positioning concepts and its objective is to supply the fundamentals for the case study in chapter four. Finally, main conclusions and considerations are presented. / Este trabalho tem por objetivo realizar uma investiga????o a respeito da din??mica do setor de engenharia e gerenciamento de projetos no contexto competitivo brasileiro, procurando identificar os diferentes fatores que influem no re-posicionamento estrat??gico das organiza????es atuantes nessa ind??stria. O trabalho contempla, dentro de um enfoque sist??mico, a identifica????o das transforma????es ocorridas na presta????o de servi??os de engenharia e gerenciamento de empreendimentos industriais no Brasil, no per??odo de 1974 a 2000, quanto ?? gest??o de complexas opera????es dessas empresas e suas respectivas adequa????es ??s mudan??as no seu ambiente competitivo. Metodologicamente, o trabalho envolve pesquisa hist??rica de natureza explicativa, documental e bibliogr??fica realizada junto a uma das empresas mais representativas do setor no per??odo de an??lise. Foram realizadas tamb??m entrevistas semi-estruturadas de quest??es abertas com os principais executivos da empresa, que vivenciaram sua hist??ria e transforma????es. O trabalho est?? dividido em cinco partes. No primeiro cap??tulo, est??o apresentados os objetivos e a metodologia utilizada. O segundo cap??tulo trata das principais caracter??sticas e da evolu????o da ind??stria de servi??os no Brasil. O terceiro aborda os conceitos de posicionamento concorrencial com o objetivo de fundamentar o estudo de caso contemplado no quarto cap??tulo. E, ao final, est??o apresentadas as principais conclus??es e considera????es sobre a pesquisa realizada.

Small business owners contribute 39% of Canada's gross domestic product and account for 67% of new jobs created, but only 50% survive beyond the first 5 years of existence. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore what strategies some small business owners in Halifax, Nova Scotia used to sustain their business operations beyond the first 5 years. The study population consisted of 6 small business owners of professional firms located in Halifax, Nova Scotia who had succeeded in business beyond the first 5 years. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was the systems theory. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, a review of company documents, and archival records. Member checking of interview response data was used to strengthen the credibility of the findings. Based on the methodological triangulation of the data collected and the van Kaam process, themes that emerged after the data analysis were networking, product-advantage, business-centric approach, and human capital. The data and application of the findings from this study may contribute to social change by providing essential strategies for small business owners to ensure business success that could potentially lead to the prosperity of the community and Halifax economy.

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This dissertation revolves around the topic of office decentralisation. The literature review chapter first discusses a systems approach to planning, and how it is the relationships between the objects within a system that makes the system as a whole useful. This chapter also discusses theories relating to city planning with reference to Kevin Lynch in terms of city elements as well as city planning typologies. Edmund Bacon’s theory of how movement systems of cities become powerful forces in terms of how the city is used and viewed is also discussed. Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City concept is discussed due to its intentional decentralisation but also for the manner in which nodes are linked. New Urbanism is touched on because many sprawling cities are turning this type of development in attempt to reduce the outward push of low density developments. Seeing that Apartheid city planning was informed by Modernist city planning, both of these concepts are looked at critically in relation to one another. This is to form the background on what impact office decentralisation has had on South African cities, and whether the locations of such decentralised office nodes have been in the correct locations in order to provide access to jobs to those who were marginalised during the years of Apartheid. With this background, office decentralisation is discussed in general, touching on office building typologies, the effect transportation technologies had on city planning, what causes office decentralisation, and the issue of office decentralisation in South African cities. Examples of how office decentralisation has been used as urban renewal projects have been discussed because it is of the opinion of the author that this needs to occur more often, especially in South Africa. Precedent studies of three cities which have undergone office decentralisation have been discussed in the next chapter. One is a South African city; one is another African city; and one an international city. This chapter discusses briefly their past, and the issues decentralisation is causing for the cities, as well as their solutions to the issues. Durban is used as a case study in the next chapter where decentralised office nodes have been identified and analysed. The challenges this decentralisation brings to the city are then discussed and possible solutions drawn from the abovementioned precedent studies have been suggested. These solutions were tested in a questionnaire which was sent to a selected group of working people. The results of which are discussed and analysed in chapters 5. / Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA), Business Studies Unit, University of Technology in the Faculty of Commerce, 2007 / Entrepreneurship, business knowledge and skills within micro and small businesses play an important part in the economies of countries across the globe by being the drivers of economic growth, as well as, creating employment. The role of micro and small businesses is matching that of big business and in some countries contributes up to ninety per cent of revenue. The difficulties from supply and demand perspectives are receiving increasing attention from government and academic institutions and researchers, and the purpose of this study is to establish to what degree the presence of entrepreneurship is present in the region concerned, as well as, investigating the extent of knowledge and skills within the sample of micro and small business owners. The study uses descriptive statistics drawn from a questionnaire survey, to achieve its purpose. One hundred and seventy micro and small businesses were drawn using a stratified random sampling method. Businesses surveyed were grouped into the following categories: services, manufacturing, hardware, clothing and food. Entrepreneurial traits were found present in the micro and small business owners, however certain behavioural aspects argued against this presence. In terms of knowledge and skills, the extent was found to be limited in terms of both academic qualifications, and business acumen. Growth rates of the businesses in the survey seem to be low and the presence of real entrepreneurship would need further investigation.