Much has been said and written about the reasons for the slow progress of the Black Economic Empowerment interventions in South Africa. This research paper aims to explore the meaning of empowerment in the South African context, with the objective of uncovering what real and holistic empowerment means given the particular history of the country. Apartheid, through its social re-engineering intervention, targeted the minds of both whites and blacks to send an unequivocal message to each racial group about their superiority and inferiority as a race, respectively. Suffice to say; to have a nation whose majority still harbours feelings of inferiority would not only impede the progress of BEE interventions but pose a serious restraint to economic growth. It requires directed and deliberate effort to reverse a habit or to renew a mind-set; to that end this research assesses whether the current BBBEE policy is an adequate antidote to the effects of Apartheid on the minds of blacks. This study concludes that psychological empowerment is a necessary condition for economic empowerment; indicating that the current BBBEE policy is less efficacious as it does not address the essence of psychological disempowerment. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters of Recreation and Tourism degree in the Department of Recreation and Tourism at the University of Zululand, 2010. / According to Mkhabela (2009a) it is generally acknowledged that since 1994 the government of South Africa has adopted progressive policies that sought to ensure that the economic advancement of the previously disadvantaged people, is catered for. Concepts such as transformation, spatial development framework, Black economic empowerment [BEE], job creation, employment equity, affirmative action and preferential procurement have become a regular feature in our statute books and day-to-day discussions (Mkhabela, 2009a). These government policies, be they in economic advancement in general, or in tourism development in particular, need to be well planned and executed so as to effectively benefit the broader society in any business environment. Municipalities have the national mandate to formulate spatial development frameworks [SDFs], promote tourism development within their areas with a bias to enhance Black economic empowerment. The application of such principles is particularly needed in the iLembe District Municipality mainly for addressing of basic needs, equity and redistribution of tourism wealth for the benefit of the previously disadvantaged communities. This research investigation is fundamentally about assessing such SDF-related policies and their implementation. The main purpose of this study, therefore, is to advocate for the utilisation of tourism opportunities to their maximum degree for the historically disadvantaged individuals. The thrust of investigation and analysis of the present tourism related SDK and Black economic empowerment in the iLembe. District Municipality, is based on some pertinent objectives. Some of these objectives focus on the identification of tourism business opportunities around the study area. The core objectives of the study are: (a) To establish the extent to which Black people in the study area understand the meaning and importance of tourism and tourism empowerment. (b) To indicate the levels of Black participation in SDF and BEE-related tourism business opportunities in the study area. (c) To ascertain whether the SDF and BEE policies contribute towards tourism economic empowerment within the iLembe District Municipality. (d) To reveal the perceived SDF and tourism management practices that contribute to Black Economic Empowerment in the study area. (e) To determine the extent to which the local community benefits from the SDF and BEE related tourism activities in the study area. The methodology for collecting data comprised a stratified sample size of 138 respondents, which was distributed in the iLembe District Municipality as follows: sample consisting of Black service providers [18], tourism and municipal officials [10], domestic tourists [22], local community [88]. The findings indicated that local people have sufficient understanding of the meaning and importance of tourism and tourism empowerment in the study area. There were revelations that tourism participation levels were low in the area, as well as that tourism policies were not contributing significantly to BEE-related opportunities. Other findings were that stakeholders on average perceived the tourism management practices in the study area to be poor and based on uncertainty. The skills development practice or strategy was seen as the most needed in the area. Finally, the study revealed that tourism and BEE-related community benefits were non-existent for the local communities in the study area. Furthermore, the majority of respondents were very circumspect about the high-level benefits from BEE-related tourism opportunities in the study area. In conclusion the study, based on the negative outcomes established, has proposed and recommended that a management plan be instituted, with the view to facilitate the review, re-planning and restructuring of the BEE-related tourism policy-initiatives, so as to benefit the local communities more effectively. It is anticipated that with the remodelling of policy and practice, the delivery of tourism opportunities would become an attainable reality in the study area.

I och med att globalisering ökar i världen, kan det vara av vikt för företag att se över sitt ar-bete med frågor som går under begrepp så som Global Compact och Corporate Social Re-sponsibility (CSR) samt att ha kunskap i hur samarbete kan ske på olika nivåer i företaget med hjälp av Non Governmental Organizations (NGO). Denna uppsats har valt att tolka be-greppet CSR utifrån de tio principerna i FN:s Global Compact. När ett företag arbetar enligt dessa principer ställs krav på rapportering av hur principerna tillämpas och vilka effekterna blir, vilket skapar goda normer för hur andra företag bör arbeta med dessa frågor. Det finns olika sätt att mäta detta arbete på.Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att ta reda på hur företag i Sydafrika arbetar och agerar vad gäller frågor relaterade till CSR. För att uppfylla syftet ställdes följande frågor; på vilket sätt arbetar företag i Sydafrika med frågor som omfattas av begreppet CSR samt vilka är de främs-ta hindren för att Sydafrikanska företag skall kunna fortsätta implementera CSR i sin verk-samhet? En kvantitativ studie med kvalitativa inslag har genomförts. Fem företag svarade på ett frågeformulär med dels frågor med fasta svarsalternativ men också öppna frågor där re-spondenterna hade en möjlighet att utveckla sina åsikter. Frågeformuläret som delades ut till företagen är av deskriptivt karaktär vilket innebär att frågorna är utformade för att kunna ge en beskrivande bild av företaget.Den genomförda studien visar att de tio punkterna i Global Compact är viktiga principer. Dock var inte alla företag i studien eniga om vilka principer som var viktigast, men de var mer eller mindre överrens om att principen som omfattar mänskliga rättigheter är en princip som är ytterst värdefull. En anledning till detta kan vara att Sydafrika nyligen kommit ut ur en era då apartheid rådde i landet och det skulle även kunna vara en anledning till att responden-terna i studiens undersökning har valt att svara fåordigt på frågan om vad de anser om Black Economic Empowerment (BEE).Två av studiens företag försöker arbeta med frågor relaterade till CSR genom att fokusera på barnen i Kapstaden, genom att ge dem en mer uthärdlig tillvaro. Alla fem företag i studien arbetar med olika sociala frågor som relateras till CSR och Global Compact men ingen av studiens tillfrågade företagen har ett direkt samarbete med NGO:er när det gäller dessa frågor, vilket kan bero på att kunskapen om vilka fördelarna är om ett samarbete inleds med en eller flera NGO:er. saknas. Endast ett av företagen i studien berörde de ekonomiska och miljömäs-siga dimensionerna av CSR.De svårigheter som kan identifieras i denna studie är främst att fokus i CSR ligger på sociala frågor samt att miljö och ekonomifrågor får mindre uppmärksamhet. / With the increasing globalization of the world, it might be good for companies to review their work with issues that go over concepts such as the Global Compact, CSR and also have knowledge of how cooperation can occur at different levels within the company with the help of NGOs. This study has chosen to interpret the concept of CSR from the UN Global Com-pact, the ten principles. The purpose of this study was to find out how companies in South Africa acts and works on issues related to CSR. To be able to fulfill this purpose following question was asked: how do companies located in South Africa work with the matters covered by the concept of CSR? Which problems can be identified as barriers to meet the require-ments of CSR in South African companies? To fulfill the purpose a quantitative survey with qualitative elements was conducted, data were collected through a semi structured question-naire. Five companies represent data collected in this study. The questionnaire that was distri-buted to the companies is of descriptive nature, which means that the questions are designed to provide a descriptive picture of the company.

D.Phil / The Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act of 2003 and the Employment Equity Act of 1998 have disrupted the labour market in South Africa by accelerating the need to appoint senior black managers in organisations. There is at the same time an undersupply of candidates meeting the requirements because of the education system and job reservation policies under the apartheid government. One of the outcomes of the operating environment is a perception that there is an abnormally high job mobility rate among senior black managers. The South African Employment Equity Act of 1998 defines blacks as Coloureds, Indians and Africans. The biggest challenge facing corporate South Africa is to retain senior black skill. The research problem the study attempts to solve is to understand factors that lead to senior black managers‟ mobility. Little research has been done in this regard. The objective of the study is to present a model that can assist in better retention of senior black managers. The model will present solutions for any sub groups that may emerge. This study also investigates the perceptions of senior black managers with regard to factors that influence their decision to change jobs.

M. Tech. (Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / The influence of measuring Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) is becoming a vital issue in organisations simply because it affects the organisation in different ways. Organisations seek ways to improve their B-BBEE status level in order to be conducive when conducting business and they believe that B-BBEE is necessary. The B-BBEE verification agencies are responsible for carrying out a factual, thorough evaluation of a measured entity’s B-BBEE status and, based on the result, for determining a B-BBEE score. The overall aim of conducting verification is to give confidence to all parties that rely upon the score set out in the verification certificate that the information on which the certificate is based has been tested for validity and accuracy. The study provided more information on how verification agencies can improve their competencies and how this affects the Department of Trade and Industry and the verification agencies. The study focused on educating the verification agencies and the Department of Trade and Industry about the importance and processes of developing a competency framework. Its purpose was to develop a competency framework for verification agencies. A survey consisted of about 300 verification practitioners employed by 80 verification agencies. Data was collected using the consensus sampling technique. All of these practitioners constituted a ‘universe’ or ‘population’ and 87 respondents were utilised. The Social Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and AMOS software packages were used for descriptive and factor analysis. Finally, the findings for the study are highlighted and the conclusions, implications and recommendations drawn.

The post-1994 South African government has introduced multiple initiatives, programmes and passed various legislations which were aimed at assisting previously disadvantaged individuals to participate in the mainstream economy. These interventions by government are aimed at advancing mass participation in the economy by all groups of the society. Because of the laws during the apartheid regime, blacks in particular found themselves excluded in business opportunities and thus prohibiting them to actively participate in the economy. This study was therefore aimed at considering the impact made by BEE procurement policy on the BEE entrepreneurial activities in Fezile Dabi District. Fezile District is one of the four District Municipalities within the Free State province. The study aims to assess the impact of procurement policy as one of the elements towards BEE entrepreneurship activities. The study used both literature review as well as the empirical study to come to the conclusions revealed in the last chapter. The empirical study which was conducted using the questionnaires surveys over the four local municipalities within the District revealed that small business owners agree and believe that the BEE procurement policies introduced by government are very good instruments to enable them to enter the business sector and participate actively in the economy. However the challenge acknowledged by the small businesses is that despite this good legislation the implementation at the Fezile Dabi District is not properly executed. Lack of transparency and favouritism in awarding contracts and tenders were revealed as the biggest challenges facing the District. Practical recommendations were made to address these challenges and improving the system. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The post-1994 South African government has introduced multiple initiatives, programmes and passed various legislations which were aimed at assisting previously disadvantaged individuals to participate in the mainstream economy. These interventions by government are aimed at advancing mass participation in the economy by all groups of the society. Because of the laws during the apartheid regime, blacks in particular found themselves excluded in business opportunities and thus prohibiting them to actively participate in the economy. This study was therefore aimed at considering the impact made by BEE procurement policy on the BEE entrepreneurial activities in Fezile Dabi District. Fezile District is one of the four District Municipalities within the Free State province. The study aims to assess the impact of procurement policy as one of the elements towards BEE entrepreneurship activities. The study used both literature review as well as the empirical study to come to the conclusions revealed in the last chapter. The empirical study which was conducted using the questionnaires surveys over the four local municipalities within the District revealed that small business owners agree and believe that the BEE procurement policies introduced by government are very good instruments to enable them to enter the business sector and participate actively in the economy. However the challenge acknowledged by the small businesses is that despite this good legislation the implementation at the Fezile Dabi District is not properly executed. Lack of transparency and favouritism in awarding contracts and tenders were revealed as the biggest challenges facing the District. Practical recommendations were made to address these challenges and improving the system. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL

To integrate the previously disadvantaged population that suffered from the apartheid in South Africa, the government has implemented policies to let them participate in the country’s growing economy. These policies are called the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies and are affecting both local and international businesses. Through a qualitative research method with a deductive approach, the research creates a deeper understanding of how Swedish firms adapt and commit as an effect of the BEE policies. Through already established internationalization theories, we created a theoretical framework as a platform to gather and analyze the empirical data. The theoretical implications show how the BEE policies can disrupt and challenge the commitment that is characterized in different entry modes. It also challenges previous research and brings up Swedish companies’ willingness to adapt with the policies and commit their resources in order to overcome the obstacles of BEE and benefit the growth of South Africa.

Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL