M.Tech. Construction Management / The delivery of low income housing in South African Public Subsidized Schemes is plagued with quality issues, inevitably leading to poor levels of client and more importantly, end-user satisfaction. The characteristics of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) contractors who operate in this sector, together with external factors in the operating environment, all contribute to poor quality. Quality Management (QM) practices among the contractors are not widely documented hence, this study aimed to explore these practices in the Gauteng low income residential sector. Therefore, the objectives of the study aimed to establish the following: current QM practices; adequacy of such practices; barriers to effective QM practices and the presence of critical success factors for effective QM practices...

This study was undertaken to explore the barriers to the sustainability of the spaza shops in Atteridgeville (wards, 51, 62, 63, 68, 71 and 72) and to identify the support strategies necessary to assist these shops to grow into sustainable businesses. The study was motivated by the role and contributions of these stores in creating jobs for the majority of the previously disadvantaged people, particularly in the black township areas of South Africa. The study was exploratory, descriptive and qualitative in nature. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain data from 18 spaza shop owners. The findings from the research indicated the following barriers to be responsible for the failure of the spaza shops: lack of financial support, lack of business management skills, expensive transportation, limited trading space, crime, negative competition among spaza shop owners, and lack of cooperatives among spaza shop owners. The study recommends that spaza shop owners should ensure that they have enough savings before embarking on business and that they should also attend training in business management to equip themselves. Spaza shop owners also need to establish collaborative ventures among themselves to enable them to voice their concerns as a collective, rather than as individuals. Government, in partnership with private sector, should improve the effectiveness of its support strategies, for example by assisting spaza shops in forming cooperatives and facilitating training in business skills. It is also recommended that the government, through the Department of Trade and Industry, should continue to find out better ways to aid these stores financially. It is the researcher’s opinion that if these recommendations are followed, they could lead to the success of these stores. / Development Studies / M. A. (Development Studies)

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Arts, Culture and Heritage Management, 2017 / Arts organisations have found it difficult to survive in an economic climate that offers limited resources towards the arts. Vansa points out that Corporate Social Investment (CSI) funds have become limited thus this has prompted arts organisations to look for funding elsewhere (http://vansa.co.za). This paper explores how arts organisations can benefit from Cause Related Marketing (CRM) as a possible alternative and solution to the problem of funding. Through empirical evidence from a case study of the SHOUT campaign, sponsored by Kia Motors, this research outlines the distinct features of CRM & CSI and also the roles of both arts organisations and corporates in the collaboration. The main findings of this research highlight that there isn’t a clear definition of CRM in a South African context. This poses as a challenge for the development and implementation of the technique in a South African context. Furthermore, some arts administrators were reluctant to implement CRM due to the fear of compromising the integrity of the artistic product. There are vast possibilities for both arts organisations and corporates to benefit from CRM. However it is important for these CRM partnerships to clearly align their products in order to fully benefit from the advantages of CRM. / XL2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Management: Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation Johannesburg, 2015 (March 2015) / The purpose of this research is to investigate human capital and social capital as determinants to access to finance for women SMME owners in South Africa. The study focuses on Human capital which encompasses social capital and looks at access to finance within the South African context. It does not include all other factors discussed in entrepreneurship theory. The major theories underlying this research are Social Network theory and Human capital theory. Human capital theory is viewed as formal education, skills attained and knowledge gained through informal knowledge such as prior work experience, industry experience and apprenticeship opportunities. These variables are assessed to see if they determine access to finance; which is a barrier to entrepreneurship in South Africa for SMME owners. This constraint is stressed in all The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) reports from 2009 to 2014. This paper focuses on a single gender; females and assesses these capital factors as determinants to access finance for their entrepreneurial activity. Social capital as a factor is studied as a component of Human capital and two variables are assessed: strong ties and weak ties. Access to finance is evaluated as both debt and equity for entrepreneurs. Bivariate analysis was used to test the theories for results. The results showed an importance of human and social capital for entrepreneurs in running their businesses however not all human and social capital factors were confirmed to entirely determine access to finance for the women entrepreneurs. This study can potentially assist SMME owners within South Africa, financial institutions, policy makers and support organisations for women-owned businesses with insight into what determines accessing finance for business. / MT2016

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce University of the Witwatersrand, October 2017 / Biodiversity is a serious concern for companies using natural resources in their operations and should be examined closely in order to assess how these companies are reporting their biodiversity related impacts. This thesis evaluates the biodiversity disclosures reported by companies in the South African fishing industry. The integrated and sustainability reports of these companies were examined over a three year period for the quantity and quality of their biodiversity related disclosures. This involved the examination of the extent, location, and quality of such disclosures by South African fishing companies. The thesis finds that there is a distinct lack of biodiversity-related disclosures in the South African fishing industry. This thesis highlights the operation of organised hypocrisy in an industry which relies on the availability of natural resources and the state of biodiversity in order to continue its operations. It was found that a possible reason for limited biodiversity disclosures by South African fishing companies was to avoid public scrutiny of their biodiversity impact. The thesis contributes to the evaluation of a country, and more specifically an industry, that is heavily reliant on the state of biodiversity. / GR2018

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / The ANC government relaxed a great many restrictions enforced by the apartheid regime. The restrictions included the illegal status of the spaza shops which operated in the townships. Faced with the challenge of unemployment, the present government crafted policies and programmes to support and promote the creation of Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises or SMMEs. However, despite all of these initiatives, the small grocery shops which are commonly known as spaza shops, and particularly those owned by South Africans, are faced with a number of obstacles with respect to the establishment, operation and growth. This study was undertaken in order to determine the factors which affect the startup and growth of locally owned spaza shops in the Gugulethu and Nyanga townships in Cape Town, and to identify the support strategies necessary to assist these shops to grow into sustainable businesses. The study was motivated by the growing informal economy which, if it is effectively taken advantage of and made use of, can, to some extent, create employment opportunities, particularly for the previously disadvantaged people in both the Gugulethu and the Nyanga townships. The study employed an exploratory and descriptive research design, and a quantitative empirical research approach, through the use of a self-administered questionnaire. The findings of the research study revealed that there are significant challenges which adversely affect South African-owned spaza shops, and that obstacles are encountered during the startup and growth phases. Although the factors which affect the spaza shops adversely are many, it is important to single out the most significant ones. The significant factors evidence from the study were a lack of startup and expansion capital, load shedding, the lack of a network to buy cheaply in bulk, competition from non-South African entrepreneurs, crime, costs incurred by transportation of stock, a lack of collateral security to obtain finance from lenders, inadequate ability to handle financial records, a lack of management skills and a lack of information concerning government services.

Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2010 / Financial Management is one of the critical principles in the business enviromnent. This study was conducted to assess the impact of the use of financial statement by SMMEs on to the success of their businesses. ln Chapter one of the study, the researcher gives the background to the research problem. The objectives of the study are also discussed. The research questions are highlighted and the key concepts that are used in the study and defined. The researcher gave the fonnat of the study and concluded the chapter with summary chapter. Chapter two focused on the review of related literature where different sources who explained about the financial management in SMMEs were consulted. The research objectives were restated and intensely discussed. The researcher outlined the challenges he encountered during the research process. The chapter was concluded with a summary chapter. Chapter three discussed the research design and methodology. The rationale for the study was explained in this chapter. The research design, types of research, target population, sampling and the research instruments were all explained in this chapter. The questionnaire construction and questionnaire items were also outlined. The research process was explained in full and the chapter was concluded with a summary. Chapter four discussed the data analysis, where the differences between qualitative and quantitative data analysis were discussed. Findings from other documents were also discussed. The chapter was concluded with a summary. Chapter five summarized all the chapters by the giving conclusion and recommendations.

Thesis (M.Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / The main focus of this study was to investigate the contribution made by SMMEs towards local economic development (LED) in Mankweng Township. To this end, specific working objectives were formulated as follows: to study the nature of SMMEs, to identify the challenges they face, to analyse the theory of local economic development and lastly, to study the role of SMMEs in local economic development. A variety of data collection methods were used in this study such as literature review, semi-structured questionnaires and observations. The study revealed that SMMEs represent a vital component of the local economic development process in Mankweng Township, and their contributions in terms of employment, income and poverty reduction is well acknowledged. However, SMMEs are constrained by a number of challenges such as lack of access to appropriate technology, limited access to markets, government regulations, lack of management skills and training, all of which hamper their development. Lack of access to finance remains the utmost constraint for most of SMMEs. In an attempt to enable the SMMEs sector to perform effectively and efficiently, a number of support initiatives were introduced by the South African government. This ranged from government institutions, private sectors, parastatals and NGOs. Conversely, access to these support initiatives remains a challenge for most entrepreneurs, as most of the SMMEs in Mankweng Township operate within the informal sector and they lack awareness of the support initiatives and structures provided by these institutions.

M. Tech. Business Administration / The aim of this study is to determine whether there is a higher performance in the academic results of those pupils who had been assisted by the educational corporate social responsibility intervention and the academic results of those pupils who had not participated in the educational intervention.

Thesis (M.Tech.: Business Administration)-Durban University of Technology, 2006 vi, 70 leaves / One of the major problems facing SMME’s in the South African clothing industry is the surge of clothing imported particularly from China, which negatively impacts on the ability of local firms to survive in business. Despite this challenge within the volatile business environment some SMME’s within the clothing industry have been resilient and have remained in business. This survey focused on the existing business strategies of SMME’s within the clothing manufacturing sector of Kwa-Zulu Natal. The main aim of the research was to establish the underlying factors of competitive advantage of SMME’s and to determine the strategic action taken by businesses in order to combat the impact of the sale of imported clothing in South Africa. In addition, an evaluation of the success of these strategic choices was carried out so that future business strategies for SMME’s can be developed to ensure sustainable competitive advantage.