O Sistema Agroindustrial (SAG) das frutas é um dos mais importantes do Brasil. Ele envolve os segmentos frutas frescas, frutas secas, frutas congeladas, como também seus subprodutos: polpas, sucos, geleias, entre outros. Estima-se que a movimentação financeira na cadeia das frutas foi cerca de 5,8 bilhões de dólares anualmente com frutas frescas, atingindo um patamar de 12,2 bilhões de dólares, incluindo castanhas, nozes e produtos processados (IBRAF, 2010). No que tange à importância socioeconômica do setor, vale considerar o seu grande potencial empregador e de geração de renda. Atualmente a fruticultura brasileira oferece cinco milhões de postos de trabalho, ou seja, 2,8% dos brasileiros trabalham na fruticultura (IBRAF/IBGE, 2010). Contudo, no que se refere à exportação de frutas e derivados, se forem considerados os volumes exportados para a maioria das frutas, excluindo a laranja, quando analisado o coeficiente de exportação sobre a produção, raramente resultam valores acima de 3%. Assim, mesmo com números que parecem ser expressivos para algumas frutas, o país ainda é marginal no comércio mundial de frutas frescas, pois participa em apenas 0,5% do comércio internacional. São poucas as frutas cuja exportação é representativa em relação à produção. Diante desses entraves para a internacionalização do setor, o objetivo do estudo é propor um planejamento estratégico que possa ser aplicado na fruticultura brasileira, de modo a ampliar a competitividade do setor no mercado internacional. A pesquisa realizada tem caráter qualitativo exploratório, utilizando o método Gesis Gestão de sistemas agroindustriais. Para isso, foram realizadas entrevistas com base em um roteiro semiestruturado. A análise dos resultados foi feita por meio da análise de conteúdo das entrevistas, bem como pelo cruzamento dos resultados obtidos com a teoria estudada. Espera-se, como resultado da pesquisa, poder identificar as principais necessidades, barreiras e fatores críticos de sucesso pelos diferentes portes de empresas. / Agroindustrial System (SAG) of fruit is one of the most important in Brazil. The agribusiness system involves the segments of fruit, fresh fruit, dried fruit, frozen fruit as well as its by products: fruit pulps, juices, jams and others. It is estimated that the financial transactions in the chain of fruit was about 5.8 billion dollars annually on fresh fruits, reaching a level of 12.2 billion dollars including nuts, nuts and processed products (IBRAF, 2010). Regarding the socioeconomic importance of the sector, it is important to consider is the potential employer and income generation. Currently, the brazilian fruit offers five million jobs, or 2.8% of brazilians working in the fruit (IBRAF/IBGE, 2010). However as regards the export of fruit and their products, if we consider the export volumes for most fruits, excluding oranges, when analyzing the coefficient on export production, rarely result in values above 3%. Thus, even with numbers that seem to be significant for some fruit, the country is still marginal in world trade in fresh fruits, as participates in only 0.5% of international trade. There are few fruits whose export is representative in terms of production. Given these barriers to the internationalization of the sector, the objective of the study is to propose a strategic plan that can be applied in the Brazilian fruit trees in order to expand the sector\'s competitiveness in the international market. The survey is a qualitative exploratory, using the method Gesis Management of agribusiness systems. To this was based on interviews with a semi-structured. The analysis of the results was done by content analysis of interviews as well as by merging results from the theory studied. It is expected as a result of the research to identify the main needs, barriers and critical success factors for different sizes of companies.

D.Com. (Business Management) / World wide both the military and general aviation markets have undergone drastic changes. The major reasons for the decline in the military aviation market was the advent of peace on the macro level, when the cold war between the Western coalition of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) stopped abruptly (IngersolI Engineers, 1994:27). The formidable military-industrial complexes built up during the cold war years now switched their attention to the general aviation markets, which at the time were already on the decline. This caused even more hardship in the markets and the whole industry slipped into a major recession throughout Europe and the United States of America, characterised by low capacity utilisation, high unemployment and very low profit margins (IngersolI Engineers, 1994:34). South Africa, with its relatively small aviation industry, was similarly affected, forcing the few organisations still in the market to either diversify or to move into the global market (Ingersoll Engineers, 1994:46)...

M.Comm. / Many aspects of the success, or lack of success, of a business can be accurately measured. Revenues, profit and loss, return on assets, share price, price equity ratios, market share, customer satisfaction and many more aspects can be measured and often managed. Apart from the measurable something else is needed: a successful organisational culture. The culture of an organisation is often easier to experience than to describe. The objectives of this study are find a workable definition for culture, tools to measure the culture of groups and leadership skills needed to manage or change the culture of organisations. Various definitions of organisational culture and culture measuring tools are studied. The most promising definition of culture and measuring tools are put to the test in a case study to forni an opinion of the usefulness of such tools for management. Results of this study indicate that the concept culture, as described in the double s cube model, is a very useful tool for managers. It provides a quick and easy entry point to the culture management of an organization. Firstly, the tools that are available to measure culture provide results that could be used to position a company in the double s cube model. Secondly, the results of the culture measurement could be used to formulate and decide on the best course of action when it is necessary to change culture. Culture management is done by manipulating the sociability and solidarity levels in an organisation and by ensuring positive contribution of these elements to business successes. The clear leadership guidelines to achieve this manipulation could be very useful for managers. By using the concept of culture, managers could establish competitive advantages for their businesses. Culture management could be the secret key to open a situation whereby it is possible to improve business performance and at the same time create an environment where people are happy to achieve these goals.

M.Comm. (Strategic Management) / The volatile and politically challenging climate in which business has to operate during the period of transition to representative government and a subsequent non-apartheid political dispensation in South Africa calls for a new innovative approach towards corporate social involvement. The challenge posed is no less than to make a visible and adequate contribution towards the socio-economic and socio-political reconstruction and development ofthe country. The ultimate purpose of this involvement by business in development is to create an environment which will be conducive to economic growth and profitable business. The socio-economic realities of the South African society dictate the focus and direction of corporate social involvement programmes, but the perceptions and opinions of the major stakeholders in development including the political and social role players within the recipient domain - are also to be recognised. For a social involvement programme to be effective and efficient, three major areas of involvement have been identified. As a corporate citizen a company has a responsibility to assist in the maintenance of society through grants and donations to non-governmental organisations and development agencies. It also has an obligation to render support to existing development projects and to create appropriate support mechanisms and programmes to facilitate development. In the process the private sector provides a delivery system for the transfer of technology from its source to appropriate recipients. One of the most significant obstacles preventing accelerated development is, however, is the lack of institutional capacity within local communities. The private sector, therefore, must also focus on people centered development and the establishment of appropriate processes to enhance socio-economic as well as socio-politlcal development. With all the resources vested within the company - not in the corporate social involvement function only, but also in other disciplines - business has a substantial contribution to make. This study focuses on the development of an integrated approach towards corporate social involvement, including the integration of internal and external resources within the influence sphere of the company. It also endeavours to develop an integrated development process to bring about synergy between traditionally opposing sides of the socio-political arena in South Africa. It departs from the central premises that people who depend on each other for economic survival and growth, have to co-operate, regardless of the political, cultural or religious differences between them. Research has been based on experience in the workplace and interaction with a wide variety of practitioners in the corporate social involvement field. The study concludes that South Africa needs to address the issues prohibiting real economic growth, including the socio-economic and socio-political deficiencies, with vigour if the country is to become a strong contender in the world economy. The private sector can only make a substantial contribution through its social involvement programmes if an integrated approach is followed to empower the programme. This does not imply unnecessary increases in social budgets during periods of economic decline. Through the integrated development process which is developed in the study, the expertise, organisation, financial resources and facilities of all the role players external and internal to the company - are mobilised to accept joint responsibility and ownership for the development of their own destinies.

M.Ing. (Engineering Management) / It is apparent that understanding the link between the role of innovation in competitiveness and economic development is essential. This is because innovation ultimately holds the key to addressing the most pressing social and human challenges of nations. In the past, some organizations viewed research and development (R & D) as an intangible process that is difficult to manage and measure. However, the upsurge in enabling technologies such as the internet is changing such perceptions of managing R & D processes, which is now moving from a technology-oriented model to one that is more interactive and collaborative. Moreover, organizations that have a clear understanding of R & D management have great successes in exploiting it to speed up the commercialization of new technologies that enable them to achieve numerous competitive benefits such as first-to-market advantages, greater market shares for their innovations, premium prices and dominant designs relative to their counterparts. While it is evident that there is increased focus on fine-tuning R & D management processes, the majority of these efforts were confined to the USA, Europe, Asia and other developed economies, with limited developments in the less developed economies like those in Africa. This dissertation explores the five generations of R & D management practices and attempts to predict the best practices that managers will adopt in the R & D sixth generation. The findings suggest that the sixth generation will be characterized by greater multi-disciplinary approaches emphasizing cross-functional communication, collaboration, as well as greater inclusion of stakeholders such as suppliers, customers and partners in the full life cycle of R & D process.

M.Com. (Financial Management) / During the last decade, options, which are financial instruments used for trading and hedging, have shown greater development than any other financial instrument over the same period of time. Because option dealing is perceived in the market-place as an instrument which is technically advanced, innovative and, complex, many potential option players do not take part in trading. This process' of withdrawal is fuelled by constant negative publicity given to option trading, but very seldom are reports written on success stories relating to option trading. Current option-trading participants are also constantly reminded by the press; other companies, senior management, board members and shareholders that they run the risk of losing vast sums of money and could take the company down with one reckless transaction. What is unfortunate is that they will not be able to prevent or detect transactions that could lead to such losses. Trading risk is further increased by the fact that quality risk management staff are also very difficult to acquire as this function is perceived to be not as glamorous as being an option dealer. Given the above scenario of what is really happening out there in the world of option trading, the question arises whether option trading activities should be embarked upon by Institutions who have never dealt in options and whether current option trading participants should continue trading or should discontinue trading activities as soon as possible.

M. Comm. / South Africa finds itself in the midst of a turbulent environment. Organisations are seeking ways and methods to achieve better results for its stakeholders by being more competitive through for example addressing customer needs. Furthermore, organisations are focusing on adapting to the changing economic and social environment. Suddenly, after many years where the political dispensation only provided protection and benefits to certain groups, organisations now have to comply with the requirements of new legislation such as the Labour Relations Act, the Basic Condition of Employment Act, the Skills Development Act and the Employment Equity Act. Although the influence of these Acts are not under the discussion their existence do have an impact on the way South African organisations do business. Words and phrases such as empowerment, transparency and equal opportunity have quickly and almost unnoticeably become part of the South African vocabulary. Furthermore, South Africa has now also become part of the global arena. Its global competitiveness therefore might be the single most important factor in ensuring South Africa's survival. Information technology has opened up a world of e-commerce and a large number of foreign companies have now moved their focus to the so-called emerging markets of which South Africa is one, bringing along more companies to compete with in the limited local market. Organisations in South Africa therefore have to empower themselves in adapting to the new challenges and the changing environment. Possibly the best way will be to gear itself for continuous change. However, South Africa's top management teams will have to take cognisance of factors that will ensure successful strategic organisational transformation. Here, the role of leadership, learning and culture will proof significant to enable strategic organisational transformation in the South African organisation. With this study it is hoped that some findings will assist organisations faced with the reality of change, to understand the important determinants in organisational change.

M.Com. (Business Management) / In articles, research papers and books, the concept of managing logistics as an intergral part of total business - an interconnected pipeline of information, activities and materials from source to final destination - has been widely touted as an idea whose time has come. Integrated logistics management, provides senior executives with the tool to supervise and manage the logistics activities as an intergrated system that spans traditional organisational lines. This study provides an overview of logistics with emphasis on the intergrated logistics management concept and how to administer it. It concludes with a case study, using the concept to optimize an export logistics chain.

A framework for information services strategy using the application of strategic planning processes to library information services is described in this study. A survey was carried out in Thailand in order to examine the internal and external environments of the Thai library and information society. From the survey findings, it was found that misunderstanding of the full implication of information services by library and information professionals is the major obstacle to service provision in Thailand. The lack of relationship between user surveys and service provision create the missing link in effective information service provision and use. Improved interpersonal communication skills and the application of strategic thinking are needed in the information services process. A proper understanding of the communication chain relating to service elements is essential for future planning of information services. The development of an information society in Thailand depends on library and information professionals understanding their role better and appreciating the full potential for access to infonnation. The study of the application of strategic planning processes to one function of the library / information system, information services, is an early attempt to reflect its potential to improve the whole system.

There is considerable evidence that the strategic use of Information Systems can lead to a competitive advantage. There is however, a marked lack of understanding of the options available, as well as the smooth coordination of Information Systems strategy with Business strategy. This paper provides insight into the role of Information Systems and its link with business strategy. It focuses on Information Systems strategy options, and explores the criteria needed for successful Information Systems strategy and Business strategy alignment. The paper presents and examines the results of a study of strategic alignment at Volkswagen of South Africa. Data was obtained from business and Information Technology executives. The result of the study enables Volkswagen not only to benchmark themselves, but also provides direction to enable successful business/IT alignment. It identifies specific actions necessary to ensure that IT is being used to appropriately enable or drive the business strategy.