Non-profit organisations are of great importance in community development. These organisations often take up those issues of concern in communities, which profit making organisations are not interested in pursuing. Many South African non-profit organisations remain dependent on sources of revenue such as subsidies, donations or grants (if available) from the government or the private sector. As times have changed in the country whereby such revenue sources are limited, non-profit organisations focus on becoming more efficient in the management of these organisations. Managing non-profit organisations is in many cases carried out by participants on a voluntary basis. Projects and programmes can ensure meaningful outcomes if Strategic Management principles and processes are applied efficiently in the initial phases of development. Some examples of non-profit organisations in communities are evident in the form of educational institutions, social and welfare organisations, environmental community forums and organisations representing the business sector. / Prof. N. Lessing

Preliminary desk researches suggested that strategic planing and management needs empirical evidence to broaden itsapplication to different industries, The purose of the study is to examine the practical framework for the plannng and development of strategy and strategic plans from the current practice of retail operations in Thailand. Theoretical reviews were carred out at early stage of the research on strategic decision making, planning systems, strategy and retailing to build a framework for research objectives and to form research questions. The main objective of the research is, therefore, to examine forms of strategy development process and the influence of marketing concepts to the planning processes of selected organisations. Fieldwork was planned to investigate at several modern retailers in Thailand, where retail competition has been intensive. Five retailers allowed their co-operation, and several methods of data collections, such as different types of interviews, observations and the analysis of achieval record, were employed to generate five case studies. The main conclusion drawn from the study would indicate that the term "strategic planning process", together with budgeting and long-range planning systems, are embedded in yearly periodical planning systems that react to external environment challenges only in the short term. The yearly periodical planing system together with an administrative system forms an on-going planning cycle. The strategic management process, on the other hand, is future-oriented planning process that has a time-span of more than a year. Strategic decisions generated by the strategic management process together with the outcome of other strategic decision-making are the inputs to both components of the on-going planning cycle. Therefore, short-term and long-term strategy development processes are distinct processes that require different approaches. However, the two processes are linked and both should be embedded within the overall strategic development process. The study also suggests that Thai retailers have to strengthen their strategy development process to be able to encourage learning and understanding of key business environments, business concepts and strategies before generating their own "winning formula". The outcome from the thesis is, therefore, a practical framework for the planning and development of strategy and strategic plans from the current practices of retail operations in Thailand that can be applied as a checklist for monitoring and evaluation in large-to-medium sized retailing organisations in similar trading environments.

M.Com. / In this treatise, research is done into the various theories with regard to the business phenomenon and the various phases of the business cycle according to various economic indicators. A characteristic of the South African economy as well as other capitalistic systems, is that business indicators have a unstable tendency. Times of prosperity are followed by times of recession when unemployment, production, prices, profits and economic welfare, decline. The recession is again followed by times of prosperity which are characterised by increases in job opportunities as well as rising prices, profits and living standards. This wave like movement in economic activity is known as the business phenomenon. There are certain forces which directly affect the business cycle - some of them force it upwards while others force it downwards. The direction of the business cycle depends on the dominant forces. As soon as the forces are exhausted, a turn in the cycle results. The series regarding the business cycle are classified according to specific schools of thought in order to investigate their development as well as the main causes of the wave like motion in economic activities. A simple classification can be made by dividing the theories into those which preceded the publication of J.M. Keynes' General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money in 1936 as the Classical or Pre-Keynesian, and those which form the Keynesian school of thought and which appeared since the thirties as the Post-Keynesian theories. Firstly the Pre-Keynesian business cycle theories are discussed with reference to amongst others the demand theories, supply theories, the monetary theories and. the impulse theories. Thereafter the Post-Keynesian business cycle theories are discussed, that is those of Hicks, Kalecki, Goodwin and Duesenberry. An examination of the different phases of the business cycle implies a study of the movement of economic data in a upward and downward direction. Four phases can be discerned within the business cycle namely: the upward phase, the upper turning point, the downward phase and the lower turning point. The position of the various indicators will determine in which phase a country's economy finds itself. Economic activities are never stagnant, with the result that a period of prosperity may be followed panicking or a pez'Lod of depression. Several economic indicators may indicate this sequence, for instance unemployment, declining output and profit margins, and the resulting loss of income on the national level. As soon as the lower turning point is reached, the economy starts to recover and a period of prosperity again follows. It can thus be argued that the business cycle is a result of interaction between demand and supply. The business cycle has a significant result on the economy as a whole. It influences the prosperity of the country and even that of the undertaking, its manpower position, its capacity occupation and its factors of production. Every individual is effected to the extend that his disposable income is directly determined by the position of the business cycle. The phases of the business cycle and the inclining and declining motion of economic data contains the nucleus of the effect of the external environment on the undertaking.

M.Phil. / The important role that research and development (R&D) plays in the economic well being of a nation, and by implication the profitability of a business enterprise, has long been recognized. In this era, in which the world live in turbulent times, technology advances at an ever-increasing pace and customers needs are constantly changing. Global competition has reached unprecedented levels. Globalisation brings new economic powers and opportunities constantly. The global marketplace has emerged as a battlefield of the world, were many competitors are fighting for a share. These factors urge the need more than ever for new products, processes and services to be able to enter this battlefield and emerge as a victorious. The way to these new products, processes and services is the adaptation of an effective program of R&D. It is therefore important to appreciate the many aspects of the R&D function, which is the subject of this work. This research stresses the benefits that R&D brings to the nation and what measures that nation can adopt to promote R&D programs. The work also stresses the importance of R&D to private firms, and how the performance of such firms is linked to their use of technology and to the intensity of their R&D programs. Firms sustain economic growth and secure a competitive position by creating new products and new services, and these are the natural results of the R&D process. In the course of executing their R&D programs, firms are faced with many barriers and constraints that impede successful R&D activities. Many barriers have been identified and classified into different categories. Firms function in different environments, have different sizes, and different affiliations, hence it is difficult to suggest that there is a fixed set of R&D management practices that will fit all kinds of firms. In this research many general R&D management practices are recommended, which if implemented may lead to a successful R&D results. R&D is one of the important functions of the business; hence its strategy should be a natural extension of the business and should support this strategy. The concept of business strategy and why firms need to develop business strategy are discussed. Also elements needed to develop a best R&D strategy are recommended.

Thesis (M.M. (Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2013. / Purpose Volatility in the external environment increases the level of risk for organisations. Therefore organizations have to adapt to the environment by being entrepreneurial through adoption of entrepreneurship strategies. It is therefore the purpose of this study to determine the perceived value of entrepreneurial orientation and the type of corporate entrepreneurship strategies that are used in the mining industry when firms operate in volatile environments. Data collection For the purpose of this study online questionnaires were utilised. The questionnaires were emailed to the participants through the CEO of the company, the CEO then distributed via email to the targeted managers within the organisation. Response was minimal with only sixteen responses by mid February. The questionnaire was then sent to members of the Chamber of mines, to which there was no response. Questionnaires were then printed out and handed to respondents physically in order for them to fill out. In total 50 responses were obtained, of which three were incomplete. Key findings Key findings of the study are that junior mining firms are entrepreneurial and have a positive perception towards entrepreneurial orientation. Because these firms are entrepreneurial they differ from firms that are not entrepreneurially orientated by manifesting characteristics such as innovation, risk taking and proactiveness. Entrepreneurial orientation is used as a cushion against uncertainty in a volatile environment. Furthermore, entrepreneurially oriented firms also engage and utilize corporate entrepreneurship strategies such as corporate venturing and strategic entrepreneurship.

El objetivo general de la investigación es demostrar como el balanced score card optimizará el planeamiento estratégico para Maccaferri de Perú S.A.C. periodo 2016-2017. Para la investigación el tipo de estudio fue descriptivo. Se utilizó el método deductivo-explicativo. Entre los resultados más importantes resaltan: que; la comunicación de estrategias en forma clara que proyecta ejecutar Maccaferri S.A.C para el periodo 2016-2017 influye significativamente en permitirle cumplir con su visión institucional The general objective of the research is to demonstrate how the balanced score card will optimize the strategic planning for Maccaferri of Peru S.A.C. 2016-2017 period. For the investigation, the type of study was descriptive. The deductive-explanatory method was used. Among the most important results stand out: that; The communication of strategies in a clear form that Maccaferri S.A.C plans to execute for the 2016-2017 period has a significant influence on enabling it to fulfill its institutional vision.

The combination of entrepreneurship and strategy is gaining increasing recognition as a pathway for growth within both individual organisations and national economies. Hence the benefits emerge from both a micro and macro economic perspective. Essentially, however, research on strategic entrepreneurship, being the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategy remains in the early stages. While the benefits of combining entrepreneurship and strategy are well established, specific details and underlying elements of strategic entrepreneurship as a concept remain under-developed and unsubstantiated. Prevailing models of strategic entrepreneurship are limited in number, conceptual in nature, and do not yet have practical or empirical support. Thus the question arises as to what constitutes strategic entrepreneurship?In order to address this issue a preliminary framework of strategic entrepreneurship is derived from the literature on both entrepreneurship and strategy, in order to identify the intersection of the two. This framework is then examined in the context of activity which is recognised as both entrepreneurial and strategic within three state-owned enterprises. Thus the research question addressed is:What constitutes strategic entrepreneurship in both theory and practice in the context of SOEs?Based on this examination, six elements are identified as central to strategic entrepreneurship, being opportunity identification, innovation, acceptance of risk, flexibility, vision, and growth. Additional findings uncovered inductively from the data reveal a number of supporting elements which foster strategic entrepreneurship, including strategy, culture (encompassing both people and confidence), branding, operational excellence, cost efficiency, and transfer and application of knowledge.Thus, an enhanced understanding of strategic entrepreneurship as a concept is obtained, being activity which is both entrepreneurial and strategic in nature, and characterised by the integration of the six core elements. Findings indicate strategic entrepreneurship is a concept not bound by context, and thus, may be applied to various forms of business. Such businesses which do create strategic entrepreneurship activity and are able to maintain a balance of the core elements over time have the potential for both competitive advantage and wealth creation.

Strategy offers regional stakeholders an opportunity to collaboratively influence the future direction of their region’s economy. However, limited research has been undertaken with respect to strategy processes that are being used by regional economic development organisations. While there are suggestions for the ideal content of regional economic development strategies, the processes by which these organisations develop and implement strategy have not been investigated. This thesis documents an exploratory research project that utilises a case study methodology to identify and consider the processes applied in three different regional economic development organisations. In order to appreciate the context of regional strategy development, theory on regions, collaboration and strategy is integrated to develop a detailed theoretical framework of twenty seven elements that are thought to contribute to implementation. The presence or absence of these elements in each of the three cases is explored deductively through a review of internal documents and semi-structured interviews with a mix of regional stakeholders. Elements are investigated within cases to understand how strategy is being applied within each particular context. Analysis across cases is documented, identifying both similarities and differences in the presence and absence of elements. The research found that relationships were important to the continuing future of the organisations. Long term planning was absent in all cases and this absence was attributed to contextual factors such as a dynamic external environment, and a dependence on government funding leading to short term planning cycles. There was also a lack of clarity regarding organisational goals. The processes utilised in all cases most closely matched Mintzberg and Waters’ (1998) umbrella strategy, however, all organisations lacked a strategic approach. A tentative model was developed to depict elements thought to be the most significant to collaborative regional strategy implementation. These elements are: leadership on strategic planning; good member to member relationships; realism; long term goals; performance measures tied to long term goals; ongoing review and updating of the strategic plan; relevance of the strategic plan; and consistency of activities with the strategic plan. The need for further research to investigate these potential relationships was indicated.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2004. / Supervisors: Milena M. Head, Yufei Yuan. Includes bibliographical references (p. 133-144). Also available via World Wide Web.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.