Thesis (MBA) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / Knowledge management is an important component of any organization. It includes knowledge creation, knowledge sifting and knowledge sharing. Thus every organization has a way of creating, disseminating and preserving its own knowledge. Organizations that thrive in the 21st century are those that have realized the significance of managing knowledge and have systems in place to encourage creativity. Most organizations often overlook the aspect of putting time aside for employees to share knowledge and expertise from their different fields. Knowledge, if well managed, has a direct bearing on the growth and development of an organization. Gone are the days when organizations succeeded only on the basis of working hard; the emphasis now is on working smart. Technology has made life easy and simple and more innovative. It has, on the other hand, together with globalization made the world to be smaller. For instance, sales can take place at any place at anytime in the world. Distances, as well as meridian differences, are no longer a barrier in terms of growing a company. Hence, there are virtual companies. Companies should take it upon themselves to appoint people who are capable of uplifting their knowledge base and enhancing their organization’s intellectual property; they should appoint people who are in a position to learn fast and who can as well adjust to internal as well as to external forces of change. Thus, training and development should form part and parcel of a company that is prepared to move ahead of its competitors. Through the right channels of addressing constant changes that are taking place in the market, the company should have a special way of doing business and of possessing special knowledge that will put it ahead of its competitors. Special knowledge and expertise has a capability of generating more revenues for the company. Revenues are no longer only determined by the production factors but also by the competitive knowledge that the company possess. Therefore, this implies that for the company to do well, knowledge has to be well managed as it is used to compete in a global economy. The global economy is affected by a number of dynamics which have to be addressed by smart companies in order for them to stay in business. Knowledge at that level transforms fast, is transmitted at a high level and can quickly become obsolete. Thus companies have to keep abreast of what is taking place in the markets and also become the trendsetters in their area of operation. This is because competition in a v global market is stiff; companies face competitors from various conglomerates at local and international levels. Therefore this study focuses on how knowledge is being transformed and managed at Thuto Ke Lefa for competitive advantage and as well as for economic benefits. Thuto Ke Lefa Training Company is a national company that is based in Polokwane; it has other branches in Mpumalanga and Gauteng Province. The company specializes in providing service to the public through developing the skills of the workforce in the public as well as in the private sector. The company was founded in 2003 by Mr Mashakobo Johannes Moja and his wife Eunice Moja. Thuto Ke Lefa Training Company is a registered company which is accredited by the Education, Training and Development Practitioners Sector (ETDP SETA). A case study of Thuto Ke Lefa revealed that the company is well resourced in terms of technology even though some areas have to be beefed up. Various search engines are available for staff to access and create knowledge. However, knowledge is not well coordinated as there is no knowledge manager and there is no centralized place for dissemination and storage of knowledge. Employees do not have the resource person or office that overlooks the creation of knowledge. The fact that knowledge is not well coordinated at Thuto Ke Lefa makes the company to perform below its actual potential as some of the important knowledge can be under utilized. Therefore, this makes it difficult for the company to measure its capability and its capacity in terms of knowledge. With this being the case, knowledge is not fully used to the advantage of the company. It was therefore recommended through the research that Thuto Ke Lefa should have a knowledge management office or resource person who will coordinate and manage knowledge. This will enable the company to use its knowledge resources competitively. Literature review has also indicated that knowledge is less managed in the training sector as compared to the other sectors. It will therefore be imperative for the management of Thuto Ke Lefa to inculcate the culture of knowledge creation, knowledge sharing and knowledge storage through the correct devices. Incentives and rewards should be given to those individuals who work tirelessly to create knowledge. Time should also be set aside for the sharing of knowledge. Experts in different fields should be in the position to know what is going on in the other projects of the company so as to make meaningful contributions.

Submitted by Lara Oliveira (lara@ufersa.edu.br) on 2017-04-24T21:34:04Z No. of bitstreams: 1 AdrômidaMSCG_DISSERT.pdf: 2921731 bytes, checksum: 24df6afa0ee1d3c9c0e0e964a52e15dd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-24T21:34:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AdrômidaMSCG_DISSERT.pdf: 2921731 bytes, checksum: 24df6afa0ee1d3c9c0e0e964a52e15dd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-01 / This research has as object of study a mall opened in 2005 has 67 million square feet of gross leasable area and currently generates 6,500 direct and indirect jobs. An approach about theories of social and environmental corporate responsibilities focused on the competitive advantage and value creation organizational image was made. This study seeks to identify whether the perception of direct and indirect customers of the organization's social responsibility actions constitute a factor of differentiation. It is an explanatory and exploratory research, as qualitative and quantitative data are addressed with the content analysis of the interviews applied to shopping managers researched and medium tests and analysis of frequency data collected by questionnaires from the shopkeepers customers and end users / buyers/visitors. The results showed that the managers interviewed have social actions taken by shopping as tools that benefit society and at the same time generate benefits for the organization's image. Since the social responsibility of the company searched seek generate benefits its image before the society in which is inserted and its direct and indirect customers, the result of this research positively supports the differentiation strategy of this company, because the direct and indirect customers samples surveyed, mostly perceive the existence of social and environmental responsibility actions taken by shopping and have them as extremely important / A presente pesquisa tem como objeto de estudo um shopping inaugurado em 2005 que conta com 67 mil metros quadrados de área bruta locável e gera atualmente 6.500 empregos diretos e indiretos. Foi feita uma abordagem acerca de teorias sobre responsabilidades social e ambiental empresarial voltadas para o diferencial competitivo e a geração de valor a imagem organizacional. O objetivo deste estudo busca identificar se na percepção dos clientes diretos e indiretos da organização as ações de responsabilidade social constituem-se em um fator de diferenciação. Se trata de uma pesquisa de caráter explicativo e exploratório, visto que são abordados dados qualitativos e quantitativos, com a análise do conteúdo das entrevistas aplicadas aos gestores do shopping pesquisado e testes de médias e análises de frequências dos dados coletados por aplicação de questionários junto aos clientes lojistas e aos clientes finais/compradores/frequentadores. Os resultados apontaram que os gestores entrevistados têm as ações sociais praticadas pelo shopping como ferramentas que beneficiem a sociedade e ao mesmo tempo gerem benefícios para a imagem da organização. Visto que as ações de responsabilidade social da empresa pesquisada buscarem gerar benefícios a sua imagem, diante da sociedade na qual encontra-se inserida e dos seus clientes diretos e indiretos, os resultado dessa pesquisa sustenta positivamente a estratégia de diferenciação da referida empresa, pelo fato das amostras de clientes diretos e indiretos pesquisados, em sua maioria, perceberem a existência das ações de responsabilidade social e ambiental praticadas pelo shopping e tê-las como extremamente importantes / 2017-04-24

O mundo moderno tem exigido das empresas uma força competitiva que deve se moldar aos diferentes segmentos de mercado e tipos de organizações. Vários são os exemplos de empresas que posicionam as suas operações no centro da estratégia competitiva, qualificando-as como uma força capaz de levá-las a modificar a seu favor a estrutura de mercado em que competem. Assim, tomando-se por base que a competitividade empresarial está diretamente associada à capacidade da organização de entender e atender as expectativas dos clientes, e que isto pode ser conseguido, em especial, pelo setor de operações, por meio da produtividade e da qualidade, por meio de sua eficiência interna e externa, o objetivo do presente trabalho é estudar as estratégias operacionais e refletir sobre a maneira como elas podem contribuir para conduzir as empresas à liderança de mercado ou funcionar como uma barreira contra a ameaça de novos entrantes. Mediante estudo exploratório da situação das empresas brasileiras, por meio dos casos das empresas Brasilata S.A. Embalagens Metálicas e Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A., a Tese demonstra que é possível posicionar as operações de forma a obter a desejada vantagem competitiva. / The modern world demands from companies a competitive force that must mold itself to different market segments and types of organizations. There are various examples of companies that position their operations in the center of competitive strategy, qualifying them as a force capable of allowing them to modify in their favor the market structure in which they compete. Thus, given that entrepreneurial competitiveness is directly associated with the organizational capacity to understand and satisfy customers’ expectations and that this can be achieved by the operational sector, by means of productivity and of quality and by means of internal and external efficiency, the aim of the present work is to study the operational strategies and the way in which they can contribute to conduct companies to market leadership or function as a barrier against the threat of new entrants. Through an exploratory study of the situation of Brazilian companies, using the cases of Brasilata S.A. Embalagens Metálicas and Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A., this thesis shows that it is possible to position the operations in such a way as to obtain the desired competitive advantage.

O mundo moderno tem exigido das empresas uma força competitiva que deve se moldar aos diferentes segmentos de mercado e tipos de organizações. Vários são os exemplos de empresas que posicionam as suas operações no centro da estratégia competitiva, qualificando-as como uma força capaz de levá-las a modificar a seu favor a estrutura de mercado em que competem. Assim, tomando-se por base que a competitividade empresarial está diretamente associada à capacidade da organização de entender e atender as expectativas dos clientes, e que isto pode ser conseguido, em especial, pelo setor de operações, por meio da produtividade e da qualidade, por meio de sua eficiência interna e externa, o objetivo do presente trabalho é estudar as estratégias operacionais e refletir sobre a maneira como elas podem contribuir para conduzir as empresas à liderança de mercado ou funcionar como uma barreira contra a ameaça de novos entrantes. Mediante estudo exploratório da situação das empresas brasileiras, por meio dos casos das empresas Brasilata S.A. Embalagens Metálicas e Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A., a Tese demonstra que é possível posicionar as operações de forma a obter a desejada vantagem competitiva. / The modern world demands from companies a competitive force that must mold itself to different market segments and types of organizations. There are various examples of companies that position their operations in the center of competitive strategy, qualifying them as a force capable of allowing them to modify in their favor the market structure in which they compete. Thus, given that entrepreneurial competitiveness is directly associated with the organizational capacity to understand and satisfy customers’ expectations and that this can be achieved by the operational sector, by means of productivity and of quality and by means of internal and external efficiency, the aim of the present work is to study the operational strategies and the way in which they can contribute to conduct companies to market leadership or function as a barrier against the threat of new entrants. Through an exploratory study of the situation of Brazilian companies, using the cases of Brasilata S.A. Embalagens Metálicas and Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A., this thesis shows that it is possible to position the operations in such a way as to obtain the desired competitive advantage.

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