M. Com. (Business Management) / The media and the Auditor General have extensively reported on the ineffective and unethical conduct of public sector employees regarding the procurement of goods and services. The Auditor General’s report demonstrates that there is evidence that public sector procurement processes are less than adequate to achieve constitutional procurement goals, which are to conduct processes that are fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective The delivery of services through staff and the procurement of goods and services from suppliers should take place on the basis of proper strategic leadership and management processes. Inappropriate planning and budgeting, failure to identify priorities, under-spending of budgets and ineffective procurement form part of the root causes of poor service delivery to the public, as ineffective procurement leads to the misallocation of resources and restricts the movement of resources to the right places at the right time The impact of improper procurement practices on society is very serious, as it delays the delivery of basic services and development. The money that could have been used to build schools and hospitals, improve sanitation, and many other infrastructure projects is wasted as a result of ineffective and inefficient procurement and management practices. The objective of the study is to ascertain the extent to which public entities comply with leading procurement practices as identified through literature review. This study focused on public entities. Proper procurement management processes in public entities will lead to better public service delivery, reduction in public resources wastage and increased public wealth. The literature study consist of two components, firstly, the study identified leading procurement practices and procurement objectives in the public sector, secondly, the study further determined leading management practices from two recognised sources of authority to establish the comprehensiveness and robustness of the leading procurement practices. Furthermore, a survey questionnaire was used to determine the extent to which the public entities apply leading procurement practices. Procurement is not just the purchasing of an item but a multifaceted process that includes information technology, risk management, business strategy and operations and legal compliance. All these activities should be coordinated to deliver organisational needs and goals. The procurement function objectives and activities should be directly linked to organisational goals, management plans and stakeholders’ expectations. The leading public procurement objectives, as determined by the literature review, are value for money, ethics and values, competitiveness, transparency, accountability, equitable (unbiased and fair dealing) and preferential procurement. The eight leading procurement practices determined through a literature review are procurement strategy and leadership (which include customer focus), procurement processes and policies, human resource management, procurement information technology, supplier management and procurement performance management. The study made use of questionnaires seeking information on current procurement practices in the public entities. The questionnaire was based on leading practices identified through this study. Respondents were asked to assess the extent to which their public entities apply these leading procurement practices. The three most applied leading procurement practices were indicated as leadership, process management and strategic planning. The study has identified that the public entities possibly apply five out of the eight leading procurement practices to a “lesser extent”, implying that they are being applied but not nearly as often or consistently as best practices would dictate. The study thus indicated that, although some of the leading public procurement practices are applied in the entities under review, these practices are often applied inconsistently and frequently not to the extent that they should be applied. The study thus provided a clear indication that public entities still have a long way to go if they are to achieve the procurement objectives set out for them in terms of the country’s Constitution.

The world is experiencing an era which has been termed the “knowledge age” or the “knowledge economy”. In this new context, knowledge is the primary commodity, and knowledge flows are regarded as the most important factors in the economy. The management of knowledge flows within organisations has become a crucial activity because many of the activities of organisations and the broader economic and social life today are knowledge-driven. In recent years, this managerial activity has become known as Knowledge Management. Equally important are the associated Knowledge Management implementation strategies. Driven by a need expressed by the South African Motor Vehicle Industry for a knowledge management implementation strategy tailored to their needs, this research aimed to develop a knowledge management implementation strategy suited to the needs of this industry. Following an extensive literature survey and a study of the target industry using Duffy’s Knowledge Benchmarking Questionnaire, a model of knowledge management implementation is proposed that is suited to the needs of the South African Motor Vehicle Industry. The model consists of three main interlinked components: Knowledge Management of the Organisation, People, and Infrastructure and Processes. Furthermore, the model recommends a holistic approach to managing knowledge. The critical success factors of the model were tested by means of a survey of industry opinions that validated certain aspects of the model and motivated for changes in others. Additionally, despite the focus of the model on the target industry, it is considered sufficiently appropriate for use by other organisations.

Striking the balance between managing a successful organisation and paying attention to environmental sustainability requires excellent leadership. There are several benefits associated with being an environmentally sustainable organisation such as improved image (reputation and brand), increased customer loyalty, improved bottom line, attracting skilled experienced staff and improving the relationships with local communities. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the change leadership qualities needed to drive environmental sustainability in the South African landscape to reduce global warming reduction. The qualitative paradigm was utilised to investigate the change leadership qualities needed to affect create environmental sustainability, with focus on global warming reduction actions in the workplace. A literature review was conducted on environmental sustainability, change leadership, and leadership qualities necessary to effect change. A survey was conducted among 13 participants using an interview schedule in the Gauteng, Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa in both private and public organisations in various business sectors. Data was collected in 2013 over a four–month period by conducting face-to-face, telephonic and email interviews. The returned questionnaires were subjected to constant comparative, content and grounded theory analysis. Biographical profiles of the respondents and participating organisations were presented as case studies. Trustworthiness of the data was ascertained using data triangulation. Data was analysed in terms of the issues of environmental sustainability and change leadership. In-depth analyses were also conducted by means of provincial, business and employment sector comparisons. It was found that environmental sustainability was being addressed by the selected organisations, specifically relating to GHG emissions, energy and water saving actions. Change leaders should implement specific environmental sustainability strategies to assist in the reduction of global warming, create awareness, focus on employee involvement, report on their sustainability results and put and incentives in place to encourage environmental sustainability. In order to effect such changes, change leaders need to set targets to measure their sustainability progress. Green campaigns should be conducted internally to educate employees on the effects of global warming, and externally to inform the public about their commitment to environmental sustainability and to advise the public on courses of actions to assist in the quest to reduce global warming. It would be advisable for organisations to appoint a specific environmental sustainability team to drive these efforts. It was found that in order to bring about such changes, certain qualities were needed by change leaders to enable them to act as a change agents. Associated change leadership styles were also addressed. Change leaders should be knowledgeable in order to effectively communicate the importance of environmental sustainability. They should adopt a blend of leadership styles to drive environmental sustainability depending on the extent of change actions planned. Organisations should identify, appoint and mentor female leaders as they have the nurturing qualities that could successfully drive environmental sustainability actions. Change leaders should also preferably be personally involved in environmental sustainability as their personal values together with their job role at top leadership level could contribute towards successful implementation of environmental sustainability actions in the workplace. The study has provided general guidelines on the environmental sustainability issues necessary to address global warming reduction as well as guidelines on the change leaders qualities necessary to drive environmental sustainability actions in the workplace.

South Africa’s transition to democracy in 1994 has heralded a re-entry into the global economy. This has meant that for the first time in more than 40 years of isolation because of “apartheid” policies, South African companies are facing global competition. The South African automotive industry has undergone major changes over the past few years. All the assemblers are now either wholly or partially owned by overseas parent companies. Under globalisation, foreign ownership of locally owned suppliers has also been escalating. The Behr strategy and values were examined to determine whether they are consistent with companies operating in the international environment. The literature study was conducted by using textbooks, periodicals and the internet. The empirical study was conducted by means of a questionnaire addressed to the Behr executives. The results of this empirical study were then directly correlated to the theoretical aspects. Distinctive competences, market growth and product development strategies were identified and comparisons made with theory.

The objective of this study is to determine the best SARS customs strategy that can be implemented as a tool to assist the facilitation of trade and Regional integration in SADC Region because the process of integration is facing many challenges. A literature review of scholarly literature was conducted on regional integration of SADC that offered an international perspective on the experiences of other countries who have undergone similar experiences of integration and trade facilitation. With a historical background of Regional integration with the demonstration of SARS customs strategy that can be adopted to facilitate the process of trade and regional integration and, proposed future model and strategic plans to achieve the future goals. Research methodology and design was done through the combination of the four research types classification in their order of sophistication except the predictive research. These are namely exploratory, descriptive, and analytical or explanatory researches and include deductive research. The compilation of data through questionnaires was employed. The findings discussed in Chapter Five indicate that there are some gains that can be achieved by SADC members through free trade agreement. Recommendation from the study is that progression towards deeper integration requires the participation of the stakeholder and ownership at national level. The national and regional institutions require good governance.

The purpose of this study was to develop and empirically test a hypothetical model of factors impacting strategy implementation in state Corporations in Kenya in order to establish their statistical significance. To achieve effectiveness and efficiency in strategy implementation in state corporations, change is needed. Due to the rapid changing global environment and increasing demand for service delivery, continuous change is needed. Changes have been taking place in the Kenyan state corporations since 2003 and this has been as a result of corporate strategy implementation. However it is not enough to develop a good strategy, good strategies can fail during implementation. The state corporations in Kenya, like in most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, have been characterised by slow and bureaucratic processes that retard corporation‟s performance. Employees and managers in these corporations have been perceived as not performing as they should. Kenyan state corporations are important to the economy of the country. They provide social and essential services to the Kenyan population. There is therefore a need to investigate ways to improve strategy implementation in state corporations, collectively viewed in this study as factors affecting strategy implementation. The study investigated and analysed how the independent variables (internal-, market- and external) impact strategy implementation (dependent variable). The study reviewed literature in the areas of internal-, market- and external factors supported by Louw and Venter‟s (2006), the planning context environmental scan (2010), Zaribaf and Hamid‟s drivers for implementation outcomes (2010), and the Nortel network external environment (2010) models as presented in section 1.5 of chapter one. The hypothetical model developed was based on the models mentioned. The study sought to establish the perceptions of Kenyan state corporation‟s managers and utilised the quantitative research paradigm. A survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to managers in state corporations in Kenya. The final sample comprised 485 respondents. Data was collected between October, 2012 and February 2013, that is, a period of five months. The returned questionnaires were subjected to several statistical analyses. The validity of the measuring instrument was ascertained using exploratory factor analysis. The Cronbach‟s alpha values for reliability were calculated for each of the factors identified during the exploratory factor analysis. In this study, correlation and exploratory factor analysis, the KMO measure of sample adequacy, Bartlett‟s test of sphericity, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normality, multi-colinearity diagnostic and regressions were the main statistical procedures used to test the appropriateness of data, correlation and significance of the relationships hypothesised between the various independent and dependent variables. The study identified twelve independent variables as significantly impacting the strategy implementation (dependent variable) of state corporations in Kenya. Five statistical significant relationships were found between the internal factors: organisational structure, human resources, financial resources, leadership, communication and strategy implementation in state corporations in Kenya. Three statistical significant relationships were found between the market factors: customers, suppliers, labour market and strategy implementation in state corporations in Kenya. Four statistical significant relationships were found between the external factors: social-cultural, technology, ecological, global forces and strategy implementation in state corporations in Kenya. The study also found three statistically insignificant variables. It was found that managers in state corporations in Kenya should be encouraged to study and clearly understand the culture of their state corporations in order for them to believe that organisational culture could have a significant impact on strategy implementation and that the culture of their corporation needs to be compatible with the strategy being implemented, because where there is incompatibility between strategy and culture, it can lead to high organisational resistance to change. The managers should also be made to understand that organisational culture shapes employees behaviour, guides strategic decisions and accommodates proposed changes and that When culture influences the actions of employees to support current strategy, implementation is strengthened. Managers should strive to achieve competitive advantage by offering distinctive or unique products or services that clearly add value to the customers. They should be made aware that the strategies of competitors who offer unique service to the customers could derail their strategy implementation. State corporation managers should acknowledge that severe competition results in pressure on prices, margins and profitability for all state corporations. There is a need for managers to ensure that the state corporation strategies are supported and aligned with government policies, directives and programmes. They should actively lobby with government to enact good policies and directives that support strategy implementation. The study has provided general guidelines at internal environmental level on how to implement strategies effectively and efficiently in state corporations in Kenya. Furthermore, general operational guidelines at market level for improving strategy implementation have been given for such corporations to become and remain competitive in the global market place. The study has also highlighted general guidelines regarding managing external environmental factors to assist in improving strategy implementation in state corporations in Kenya.

M. Comm. / The primary purpose of this study was to consider the components of each pillar of competitive advantage, how leadership influences each pillar and to determine whether this in turn influences customer satisfaction and/or sustainable competitive advantage leading to the survival of the organisation. The literature review was used to accomplish the secondary objectives of discussing strategy, strategic leadership, sustainable competitive advantage and its pillars. The literature review was also used to model the interconnected relationships present in the industry. An overview of the event management industry was provided by means of the research that was conducted.

M.Com. (Business Management) / In February 1990 the State President of the Republic of South Africa unbanned the political organisations that were previously banned. This set the scene for full and free elections. It also brought new role players to the fore. Parastatal institutions, including Eskom, now faced the problem of having to adapt to the new environment. or face the possibility of serious intervention from a new Government. During 1990 Nedcor and Old Mutual formed a team of experts, including one specialist from Eskom, to seek alternative paths that South Africa may embark on in an attempt to foster an environment that would enhance the possibility of a successful transition to a democratic South Africa. The team produced a scenario, which became known as the "change of gears" scenario. One of the cornerstones of this scenario is a kick-start of the economy, inter alia through supplying with electricity those citizens who do not yet have access to electricity. With a view to this the Nedcor/Old Mutual scenario suggests an electrification rate of one million houses per annum. This figure was criticised because of the negative effect it would have on the balance ofpayments. The Nedcor/Old Mutual scenario was presented to many parties, including the Cabinet and the ANC Executive. Although criticism was expressed against this scenario, it served a meaningful purpose in that it was probably one of the impetuses for the ANC's national meeting on electrification and the creation of other scenarios, such as that of Van der Berg. as well as other studies such as this dissertation. This dissertation, comprises an environmental scan of the needs and wants of the parties affected by electricity and electrification. These parties were identified as: Eskom; the local authorities; the people who currently do not have access to electricity; the central government; the unbanned political parties; and the consumers ofelectricity. It has been ascertained that South Africa, in the form of Eskom, has an excess power generating capacity of approximately 25 percent; that 65 percent of the population does not have access to electricity; and that the price of electricity is low as compared to that ofthe rest ofthe world. It has also been established that in South Africa the percentage ofhouseholds (ii) electrified is approximately twice as high as that of any other country on the sub-continent. From this it was concluded that the issue of electrification is a political one, nevertheless an opportunity to improve the economy. The views of the interest groups were studied, with particular emphasis on the views expressed at the ANC's first national meeting on electrification. The views of the parties were reduced to a list of sixteen requirements/expectations. These were divided into two groups, these on which there are a high degree of consensus and those on which agreement would have to be obtained. The latter included the pricing issue for prepaid meter customers versus the other small power users; the effect of poor load distribution on the price paid by black local authorities; the gross underutilisation ofmanpower in the industry, due to the fragmented structures; the redistribution of wealth; strong Government intervention; and the question of the level ofprofits in the industry. From this follows the recommendation that the electricity supply industry be onsolidated under the Eskom structure and that the issue around electrification be depoliticised.It is also recommended that a stable rate of electrification of approximately 250 000 houses per annum be maintained.

M.Com. (Enterprise Management) / South African managers will in future be more exposed to the turbulent environment as experienced by their overseas counterparts. The application of the strategic management process by competent management could enhance the organisation's chances to succeed. A number of local studies have proven that South African managers are lacking experience in the strategic management process. Few organisations can afford the losses that may arise through bad decisionmaking by inexperienced managers. The only alternative is to supply quality management training and development programmes. Management training for South African managers of the nineties should be adapted for local conditions without losing sight of internationally applicable principles. At the same time alternative methods of training and education should be investigated. Computer Based management simulations can be cost effectively applied in the preparation of management for the nineties. The purpose of this study is to determine the requirements for an appropriate computer based management simulation for the training of South African managers in the strategic management process. The process of strategic management and the identification of the strategic issues relevant to the South African manager are specifically addressed

Orientador: Antonio Batocchio / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T16:55:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Calado_RobisomDamasceno_D.pdf: 10324575 bytes, checksum: bd7eff1020aca7d34e222fde5fbd037d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: O objetivo do trabalho é diagnosticar e identificar pontos fortes e fracos da gestão da produção em empresas de diferentes segmentos, visando fornecer subsídios de auxílio nas decisões de investimento, informações estratégicas e oportunidades de melhoria nos processos através da abordagem Lean. A condução do Método de Diagnóstico de Empresa (MDE) deuse através de questionários, entrevistas e Mapeamento do Fluxo de Valor (MFV) no chão de fábrica, permitindo planejar ações para melhor gerenciamento da capacidade dos equipamentos, bem como orientar o Planejamento Hoshin e o Gerenciamento Estratégico de forma mais integrada e sustentável. O estudo resultou em uma avaliação quantitativa do grau de maturidade organizacional da empresa, sendo considerados os conceitos relacionados a Mapeamento de Fluxo de Valor, Produção Enxuta, Gerenciamento da Capacidade, Sistema Grey e Benchmarking Industrial. O estudo visa criar condições para auxiliar as decisões de médio e longo prazo através das definições de processos, projetos e ações alinhadas ao Gerenciamento Estratégico da organização e a abordagem Lean / Abstract: The objective of this work is to diagnose and identify strong and weak points on production management of companies from different segments, to provide help on investment decisions, strategic information and opportunities for processes improvement by the Lean approach. The conduct of the Business Diagnostic Method (BDM) was done by the use questionnaires, interviews and the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) on the factory floor, allowing both the planning of actions to better manage the capacity of the equipment and the guiding of the plan of policy deployment (Hoshin Kanri) in a more integrated and sustainable way. The study resulted in a quantitative assessment of the organizational maturity degree of the company, being considered concepts related to the Value Stream Mapping, the Lean Production, the Management Capacity, the Industrial Benchmarking and the Grey Systems. The study aims to create conditions to support decisions of medium and long term by the definitions of processes, projects and actions allied to with the organization's Policy Deployment and the Lean approach / Doutorado / Materiais e Processos de Fabricação / Doutor em Engenharia Mecânica