M.B.A. / Franchising systems in South Africa have experienced high and sustained growth over the last decade. The South African government has recognised and supports business format franchising as a low risk way of creating jobs, transferring skills and creating wealth. At the forefront of this growth, is the fast food franchising industry, which is made up of a mix of global brands and a significant few, highly successful, locally founded, franchised operations based on Portuguese or American cultures. The fast food industry in South Africa also consists of a number of successful "non franchised" Indian fast food operations, founded by South Africans of Indian descent. None of these entrepreneurs have taken the next logical step and developed their businesses into national franchises. This study sought to uncover the factors inhibiting the franchising of Indian fast food stores in South Africa and to determine whether there was a market for Indian fast foods amongst a sample of consumers. The findings were that the independent entrepreneurs lacked the skills and knowledge to enter franchising as the franchisor. In addition, there was a general mistrust of the franchising system and doubts as to whether there was sufficient broad appeal of Indian fast foods. The results of the consumer survey however suggested that Indian fast foods were popular across a cross section of the population. Consequently, the report recommended that existing Indian fast food entrepreneurs develop strategies to exploit the market opportunities presented and suggested that it is the entrepreneur who franchises first, that will gain first more advantage through pre-empting real estate and shaping customer preferences and tastes.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to (1) investigate whether variations in corporate and business level strategies have any impact upon post merger integration practices of firms acquiring food service organizations; and (2) to develop some preliminary explanations as to any relationships that may exist between the two. Four factors which have significantly influenced the development of this study included (1) the current high volume of merger activity; (2) the high degree of merger failures which could be attributed to poor management practices after a firm had been acquired; (3) the increased significance of the service sector within the United states economy; and (4) the high degree of merger and acquisition activity involving foodservice organizations. Although the empirical and conceptual literature on mergers and acquisitions is quite voluminous, very few studies have specifically addressed postmerger integration practices. The relevant empirical literature, derived mainly from manufacturing firms, does suggest that parent firms, engaging in horizontal or highly related mergers do tend to exert a great deal of control and influence over their new subsidiary, while parent firms engaging in concentric, conglomerate or unrelated mergers do not. To investigate this issue in a service sector setting, three sets of conceptual and operational hypotheses depicting different dimensions of corporate and business level strategies and eight post merger managerial decisions were developed and tested. The population for this study consisted of all firms acquiring a foodservice organization during the period from 1976 to 1981. The data were collected via questionnaires sent to executives in the parent organizations. Chi square was used to test all conceptual and operational hypotheses. The results of this study, utilizing service firms in the sample, were quite consistent with the past merger and acquisition literature and the strategy-structure literature. Each suggested that for parent firms engaging in a horizontal or highly related acquisition, a high degree of integration usually took place, while for parent firms engaging in concentric, conglomerate or unrelated acquisitions, a low degree of integration usually took place. This study provided no evidence to suggest that service firms are treated different from manufacturing firms when it comes to integrating a new acquisition. / Ph. D.

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Cooking extrusion is becoming an essential processing step in a number of food processes. Modeling of extruder performance is the first step towards the ultimate goal of prediction of product properties and quality based on governing extruder characteristics and operation. The purpose of this study was to develop a numerical model of the cooking extrusion process. This involved. many facets of investigation. A 50% added moisture soy flour dough was selected as the material of study. The material properties for this 50% added moisture dough were then determined. The viscosity of this material was found to be both shear and temperature dependent in addition to exhibiting a yield stress. Both thermal conductivity and heat capacity were determined to be constant over the temperature range of investigation. Finally, although it was discovered that a reaction associated with cooking was present in the system, it was determined that it did not occur under the extrusion processes tested which were to be modelled and hence would not have to be accounted for in the model. These material properties were then incorporated in the three-dimensional finite element program, FIDAP, to model the flow of the l 50% added moisture soy flour dough through an extruder and die assembly. These numerical simulations yielded limited results. Only one case out of the multiple conditions which were attempted converged to a viable solution. As more success was found with a two-dimensional model, it is suggested that the problems of convergence could be due to mesh size and discretization of the three dimensional model as well as the difficult power law index of the material. Suggestions as to methods to overcome these problems are included. / Ph. D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on December 18, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / This study examines and identifies evidence of employees’ perception of their supervisors’ influence on role stress, performance and job satisfaction. This study provides an opportunity to understand how the extent of influence is impacted by the elements of role stress: ambiguity and conflict, performance and job satisfaction. Evidence of employees’ perception was elicited using a quantitative survey instrument and administered to 300 respondents from participating stores. The responses were analysed using the Statistical package SPSS (version 19). The study found evidence of influence on elements of role stress (significant – ambiguity, but not-significant – conflict): with both job satisfaction and performance (significant). These findings contribute to the understanding of the perceived supervisor’s influence over role stress, job satisfaction and performance. The study concludes that although there is evidence of supervisor’s influence on role stress, performance and job satisfaction, the influence on role stress is balanced significantly between ambiguity and conflict compared to job satisfaction and performance. The role of employees is depending on the employees social and economic context and could determine ambiguity and conflict level without a supervisor. It would be incumbent on the supervisors to moderate their supervisory function according to the employee’s role and responsibility for an improved performance and satisfaction outcome.

This dissertation addresses the history of antibiotic use in British and US food production between 1950 and 2013. Introduced to agriculture in the 1950s, antibiotics underpinned the 20th-century revolution in Western food production. However, from the late 1950s onwards, controversies over antibiotic resistance, residues and animal welfare began to tarnish antibiotics' image. By mapping both the enthusiasm and the controversies surrounding antibiotic use, this dissertation shows how distinct civic epistemologies of risk influenced consumers', producers' and officials' attitudes towards antibiotics. These differing risk perceptions did not emerge by chance: in Britain, popular animal welfare concerns fused with new scenarios of antibiotic resistance and drove reform. Following 1969, Britain pioneered antibiotic resistance regulation by banning certain feed antibiotics. However, subsequent reforms were only partially implemented, and total antibiotic consumption failed to sink. Meanwhile, scandals and public pressure forced the American FDA to install the first comprehensive monitoring program for antibiotic residues. However, differing public priorities and industrial opposition meant that the FDA failed to convince Congress of resistance-inspired bans. The transatlantic regulatory gap has since widened: following the BSE crisis, the EU phased out growth-promoting antibiotic feeds in 2006. The US proclaimed only a voluntary and partial ban of antibiotic feeds in December 2013. In the face of contemporary warnings about failing antibiotics, the dissertation shows how one group of substances acquired different meanings for different communities. It also reveals that the dilemma of antibiotic regulation is hardly new. Despite knowing about antibiotic allergies and resistance since the 1940s, no country has managed to solve the dilemma of preserving antibiotics' economic benefits whilst containing their medical risks. Historically, effective antibiotic regulation emerged only when differing perceptions of antibiotics were broken down either by sustained regulatory reform or large crises.

No description available.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / INTRODUCTION: This research report investigates the feasibility of an innovative food outlet in Cape Town called HOME CHEF. The food and groceries industry is continuously changing to suit the needs of individuals and to respond to current economic and health trends. Charles Darwin observed, “It‟s not the strongest nor the most intelligent creature that survives. It's the one that is most responsive to change” (Goodreads). HOME CHEF is a new business concept with a unique approach to assist people with the acquisition of their groceries and the preparation of their home-cooked meals, whilst providing a variety of different meal options for a typical family. With Darwin‟s theory in mind, HOME CHEF will respond to the changing environment by taking advantage of evolving food and retail trends. HOME CHEF will target a large market that includes the typical fast food, online retail and grocery segment. Because of the demographic variety of the customer base and due to the innovative nature behind the HOME CHEF concept, little information regarding, market trends, operations and existing strategies was available. Innovative approaches had to be used to acquire the information required for a suitable business plan.