M.Comm. / The aim of this study was to determine the level of capital and labour productivity in the South African manufacturing industry and their impact on the industry's level of competitiveness on the international markets. It was established at the outset that there is an important link between productivity and competitiveness. Before a quantitative analysis of South African manufacturing and that of some of this country's major international competitors could be done, it was first necessary to examine the theoretical foundations behind the concepts of productivity and competitiveness. It was found that international competitiveness can be judged in terms of the ability of industries to generate wealth more rapidly than their international competitors. It was established that the main driving force for achieving these goals is growth in the productivity of input factors. This, in turn, is determined by growth in human capital, research and development, government policies and economies of scale. Various macroeconomic measurements of productivity and competitiveness were examined. At the domestic level these included growth in domestic investment as a necessary requirement for increasing the capital stock and capital-labour ratio, as well as measurements of the level of domestic education. In order to make international comparisons unit labour costs; terms of trade; the real effective exchange rates and growth in exports were examined. The level of efficiency of the utilisation of input factors, capital and labour, was found to be critical to productivity performance. In the context of the Cobb-Douglas production function marginal productivity and the marginal rate of technical substitution were examined. That the ultimate aim of a production process is the optimal combination of input factors was highlighted and the efficiency criterion as a technique was discussed. The optimal utilization of the budget outlay was established as a test of whether or not economic waste occurs, and the methodology for establishing whether economies of scale exist was examined. The quantitative analysis of South Africa's international level of competitiveness at the macroeconomic level showed that South Africa's expenditure on research and development compares poorly with those of its competitors. Domestic savings as a percentage of GDP in South Africa is consistently below 20%, compared with 30 - 40% for Korea. In terms of growth in investment, South Africa did not fare too badly since the beginning of the 1990's compared to the industrialised countries. However, South Africa's investment level below 20% of GDP was far below that of Korea which was nearly 40% of GNP. It was found that South Africa's expenditure on education at about 20% of government expenditure was high in comparison to its competitors. However, the education level was shown to be inadequate, indicating that monies are not spent efficiently.

For business firms to continue as going concerns, productivity is a primary goal. In order for the firms to remain productive, it is imperative that managers continuously explore ways of improving productivity and employee performance. Employee productivity, in particular, is the measurement of performance and competitiveness in any business firm. A competitive advantage enables a business firm to, amongst others, survive financially, expand its operations and grow its market share. Creativity and innovation are fundamental sources of competitive advantage. In order for a business to retain its competitive edge, it must effectively enhance employee productivity, creativity and innovation. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate a creativity model that could contribute to the enhancement of employee productivity. More specifically, the study investigated how employee productivity (the dependent variable) was influenced by the independent variables rewards, a climate conducive for creativity and innovation, employee creativity, self-esteem and performance intent. The sample consisted of 82 blue-collar employees from various manufacturing firms in Port Elizabeth. The empirical results revealed that the firms’ rewards for performance and their climates for creativity and innovation were positively related to the creativity of their employees. The creativity and self-esteem of their employees were positively related to their employees’ performance intentions, while collectively these three variables were positively related to their employees’ productivity. The managerial implications of these and other findings are discussed in the study.

This treatise investigates the underlying factors influencing productivity at Ford Struandale Engine Plant.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. Johannesburg, 2017 / The primary objective of any mining business unit is to make profit by extracting, processing and selling minerals from a particular mineral deposit. It is important to optimise the extraction of the mineral resource given time, space and resource constraints. The mineral extraction process is often associated with uncertainty due to variable technical and human factors. Technical factors such as grade distribution, ground conditions and equipment reliability influence the performance of the mining production system (MPS). The performance of the MPS is also impacted by human factors such as employee skills, health and attendance. Uncertainty associated with technical and human factors often leads to planned output being different to actuals obtained. Therefore an in-depth analysis of the significant causes of deviations from the planned outcomes becomes a very important exercise. This research investigated the empirical relationships between inputs and outputs in a MPS in order assist management in directing efforts at key production drivers. A literature review revealed that production output is an end result of a chain of processes dependent and directly linked to each other, often referred to as the Mining Value Chain. The processes can be seen as milestones to be achieved within a production project. The process requires technical and human factors as resources. The literature review also highlighted that the production stage is the most obvious stage for investors to realise their return on investment. The production stage which constitutes a MPS was chosen as a relevant research area for the reason mentioned. Once a MPS has been empirically characterised, more effort and resources can be focused on the key decision making variables (DMVs) in order to meet the planned outcomes. A production function was developed accordingly, based on the production logic and historical data. The research concludes that for a typical platinum mine the face advance, face length mined, number of teams, and team size (independent variables) have a statistically significant relationship with the centares (m²) (dependent variable / response variable) produced which is a key performance indicator (KPI) for a platinum mine. A statistically significant regression equation with a coefficient of determination R2 = 0.99835 was obtained for the MPS. The production function can be used to align the physical, technical and human factors together to predict the optimal output level. The production function also highlights that the most significant production lever of the MPS is the face advance, contrary to a commonly held sentiment that lost blasts are the most significant. / MT 2017

Organisations are spending a large sum of capital by investing on physical assets in order to improve productivity and gain competitive advantage. It has become imperative that business leadership turn their attention to the development, implementation and sustenance of physical assets management strategies in order to eliminate operational and reliability risk.