This study covers an investigation into project management best practices in Southern Africa. The purpose of the research was to determine which of the current accepted project management tools and techniques are seen as critical in the region. It also focuses on determining any external or internal factors that hamper effective development of project management in the Southern African region. The study further tries to determine whether there are any noticeable differences between accepted project management practices in the developed world and practices used in the region. The study was conducted using a survey with a mix of open and scaled questions and was sent out to a number of companies selected because they employ established project managers. A total number of 400 questionnaires were sent out and 42 completed questionnaires were received from respondents. The study found that there are no significant differences between the techniques used for project management in Southern Africa and techniques used in the rest of the world. There are, however, several factors influencing project management development in the region that are unique to the region including a severe shortage of skilled people and infrastructure problems. There is also a lack of knowledge about project management practices amongst respondents and amongst other members of their organizations including senior management. This lack of knowledge combined with the shortage of skilled people can result in serious problems with the execution and management of projects in the Southern African region. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL

This study covers an investigation into project management best practices in Southern Africa. The purpose of the research was to determine which of the current accepted project management tools and techniques are seen as critical in the region. It also focuses on determining any external or internal factors that hamper effective development of project management in the Southern African region. The study further tries to determine whether there are any noticeable differences between accepted project management practices in the developed world and practices used in the region. The study was conducted using a survey with a mix of open and scaled questions and was sent out to a number of companies selected because they employ established project managers. A total number of 400 questionnaires were sent out and 42 completed questionnaires were received from respondents. The study found that there are no significant differences between the techniques used for project management in Southern Africa and techniques used in the rest of the world. There are, however, several factors influencing project management development in the region that are unique to the region including a severe shortage of skilled people and infrastructure problems. There is also a lack of knowledge about project management practices amongst respondents and amongst other members of their organizations including senior management. This lack of knowledge combined with the shortage of skilled people can result in serious problems with the execution and management of projects in the Southern African region. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL

This study examines the disclosure of forward-looking information in annual reports of companies listed on Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE). It aims to determine if ZSE listed companies disclose forward-looking information and if they do disclose, how helpful the information is to the intended users of the annual report for decision making purposes? The factors proposed for the investigation are therefore disclosure and effectiveness of the forward-looking information. Since the annual reports represent the main source of voluntary disclosures of forward-looking information, the investigation uses a disclosure index based on an analysis of the statements made by management in annual reports of the companies listed on ZSE. In this study, the level of forward-looking information disclosed in the annual reports of the firms is examined in three broad categories namely, (a) context, nature, objectives and strategies, (b) drivers of development and performance, and (c) financial position, analysis and explanations . We find that companies do disclose forward-looking information. However, 9 out 10 companies sampled reflect that the level of disclosure lacks the critical detail and clarity necessary for decision making by its intended users. On average, excluding Old Mutual that is listed on the London and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges and has the highest score of 4 (i.e. above average disclosure - information is rich and detailed and contains key information), ZSE companies disclosed below average forwardlooking information insufficient to give a clear understanding of the position and performance of the company. The findings also suggest that companies disclosed forward-looking information without fully understanding the implications of the disclosure of such kind of information. This is evident in that, except for Old Mutual, no disclaimers or any notes were made by companies to cover themselves from litigations that could arise as a result of such disclosure. This could also suggest that Zimbabwe is not a litigious country in as far as reporting by companies is concerned. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL

“Outsourcing has been touted as the ideal way for organisations to reduce cost, focus on core business processes, improve services, enhance skills, reduce time-to-market and increase overall competitive advantage,” (Power, Bonifazi and Desouza, 2004). A pertinent question is therefore ‘Can South African companies in the pharmaceutical industry remain competitive by outsourcing, what is driving these companies to outsource and how effective has the initiative been?’ The purpose of the study is to identify the extent to which various key factors play an influential role in motivating pharmaceutical companies in SA to outsource. South African pharmaceutical companies as part of the global arena, have to continually assess the feasibility of manufacturing their products in-house or allowing contract manufacturers to manufacturer and or pack on their behalf. The research questions posed in this research were: why are companies outsourcing, what is outsourcing and what is happening amongst the South African pharmaceutical companies? The results of this qualitative rich study have shown that outsourcing in SA is not just about cost savings or reduction in product costs but that this process is able to afford the contract giver the ability to tap into additional capabilities (facilities, technology and skill) of their outsourcing partner. Outsourcing has enabled the contract manufacturers in SA to assist the contract givers in numerous areas such as cost reduction, cost saving, reduction in capital investment, increased flexibility and allowed the contract givers to focus on their core competencies. The implementation of off shoring may result in South African contract givers incurring additional ‘hidden costs’ which may be attributed to quality problems, reduced flexibility of transport, product write-offs (due to large volumes ordered), currency fluctuations and additional resources that may required (technology transfer, documentation review, and validation). The responses from the research questionnaires indicate that the key drivers of outsourcing in South African are aligned with those identified in global ii marketplace by Jiang and Qureshi; Copestake and Lau and Zhang (2006). The main drivers being profitability increase (cost reduction, cost saving and capital reduction), strategic considerations (focus on core competence, increased flexibility and to facilitate market penetration) and access to knowledge and skills. The key for the South African outsourcing service providers lies in ensuring that their clients are kept satisfied so that they can minimise the threat of offshore providers. The results of the study are line with Momme and Hvolby (2001) suggestions in which they advocate that organisations only outsource when suppliers have a comparative advantage and that an organisation proactively have a stronger focus on its internal core business areas. In SA governmental changes in regulations/ laws such as those addressing parallel importation, patents, foreign investors and trade would impact on the countries national competitive advantage. However although outsourcing is highly beneficial, organisations need to carefully manage the process, identify hidden costs, risks and initiate preventative measures to ensure success. This study was the first step towards conceptualising the impact of the key drivers, decision making and strategic issues on the South African pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL

“Outsourcing has been touted as the ideal way for organisations to reduce cost, focus on core business processes, improve services, enhance skills, reduce time-to-market and increase overall competitive advantage,” (Power, Bonifazi and Desouza, 2004). A pertinent question is therefore ‘Can South African companies in the pharmaceutical industry remain competitive by outsourcing, what is driving these companies to outsource and how effective has the initiative been?’ The purpose of the study is to identify the extent to which various key factors play an influential role in motivating pharmaceutical companies in SA to outsource. South African pharmaceutical companies as part of the global arena, have to continually assess the feasibility of manufacturing their products in-house or allowing contract manufacturers to manufacturer and or pack on their behalf. The research questions posed in this research were: why are companies outsourcing, what is outsourcing and what is happening amongst the South African pharmaceutical companies? The results of this qualitative rich study have shown that outsourcing in SA is not just about cost savings or reduction in product costs but that this process is able to afford the contract giver the ability to tap into additional capabilities (facilities, technology and skill) of their outsourcing partner. Outsourcing has enabled the contract manufacturers in SA to assist the contract givers in numerous areas such as cost reduction, cost saving, reduction in capital investment, increased flexibility and allowed the contract givers to focus on their core competencies. The implementation of off shoring may result in South African contract givers incurring additional ‘hidden costs’ which may be attributed to quality problems, reduced flexibility of transport, product write-offs (due to large volumes ordered), currency fluctuations and additional resources that may required (technology transfer, documentation review, and validation). The responses from the research questionnaires indicate that the key drivers of outsourcing in South African are aligned with those identified in global ii marketplace by Jiang and Qureshi; Copestake and Lau and Zhang (2006). The main drivers being profitability increase (cost reduction, cost saving and capital reduction), strategic considerations (focus on core competence, increased flexibility and to facilitate market penetration) and access to knowledge and skills. The key for the South African outsourcing service providers lies in ensuring that their clients are kept satisfied so that they can minimise the threat of offshore providers. The results of the study are line with Momme and Hvolby (2001) suggestions in which they advocate that organisations only outsource when suppliers have a comparative advantage and that an organisation proactively have a stronger focus on its internal core business areas. In SA governmental changes in regulations/ laws such as those addressing parallel importation, patents, foreign investors and trade would impact on the countries national competitive advantage. However although outsourcing is highly beneficial, organisations need to carefully manage the process, identify hidden costs, risks and initiate preventative measures to ensure success. This study was the first step towards conceptualising the impact of the key drivers, decision making and strategic issues on the South African pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL

This study examines the disclosure of forward-looking information in annual reports of companies listed on Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE). It aims to determine if ZSE listed companies disclose forward-looking information and if they do disclose, how helpful the information is to the intended users of the annual report for decision making purposes? The factors proposed for the investigation are therefore disclosure and effectiveness of the forward-looking information. Since the annual reports represent the main source of voluntary disclosures of forward-looking information, the investigation uses a disclosure index based on an analysis of the statements made by management in annual reports of the companies listed on ZSE. In this study, the level of forward-looking information disclosed in the annual reports of the firms is examined in three broad categories namely, (a) context, nature, objectives and strategies, (b) drivers of development and performance, and (c) financial position, analysis and explanations . We find that companies do disclose forward-looking information. However, 9 out 10 companies sampled reflect that the level of disclosure lacks the critical detail and clarity necessary for decision making by its intended users. On average, excluding Old Mutual that is listed on the London and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges and has the highest score of 4 (i.e. above average disclosure - information is rich and detailed and contains key information), ZSE companies disclosed below average forwardlooking information insufficient to give a clear understanding of the position and performance of the company. The findings also suggest that companies disclosed forward-looking information without fully understanding the implications of the disclosure of such kind of information. This is evident in that, except for Old Mutual, no disclaimers or any notes were made by companies to cover themselves from litigations that could arise as a result of such disclosure. This could also suggest that Zimbabwe is not a litigious country in as far as reporting by companies is concerned. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL

The main purpose of the study is to determine strategies for retaining valuable current customers and acquiring attractive new customers for Corobrik; therefore, the problem to be investigated is the reason for Corobrik’s inability to gain significant market share in the brick market over the last five years. Although there has been tremendous growth in the building industry, Corobrik has not been able to fully capitalise on the situation despite increasing its own capacity. A competitive-strength evaluation will form the basis of this study in order to determine customer preferences, as well as competitor performance relating to these preferences. The study will be limited to the Gauteng Province owing to the enormous number of customers in South Africa as well as to time constraints. The market in Gauteng is substantial enough to yield a fair representation of what is to be achieved with the study. A questionnaire will be distributed to Architects, Contractors and Distributors, which represent the different market segments, and the data will be collected by means of telephonic interviews. McDonald & Dunbar (2004) expounded on a method of competitive-strength evaluation, entailing a method of understanding the customers’ preferences and understanding their views of competitor performance in relation to the customers' own preferences. Based on this method, a questionnaire was drafted which will be distributed to role players in the market in order to collect the required data. This research study can be seen as exploratory, since future research tasks could be discovered during the study. This study will be a ‘snapshot in time’ because of time constraints, and could possibly yield different results if repeated at any other time. The questionnaire is such that the data could be analysed and certain propositions could be compared with the ratings. Therefore, a semi-quantitative study is possible, i.e. people’s perceptions can be measured. It is important that the study be done in a ‘field setting’ to reflect what would occur under actual conditions. In addition, exactly the same questionnaire was used for all respondents, minimising the possibility of the respondents or the researcher manipulating the ratings reflected in the survey. The main findings revealed that sales to Distributors and Contractors constitute approximately 85 per cent of the total product sales of Corobrik and that Distributors and Contractors perceived Corobrik as expensive, Price being rated as their most important DBC. Architects rated Quality and Aesthetics as the most important DBCs and they rated Corobrik the best performer in these categories. This finding implies that Corobrik manages to satisfy Architects’ most important needs; however, Price was also Corobrik’s worst performing DBC in terms of the Architect ratings. Corobrik does satisfy the needs of Architects fairly well; however, this study was limited to the brick industry and did not attempt to compare face bricks with rival materials such as glass, aluminium, wood, plaster and paint and others. Consequently, Corobrik’s performance was not compared with that of the manufacturers of these rival products with regard to the relevant DBCs. It is, therefore, recommended that such a study be conducted in order to determine how well Corobrik performs in comparison with the rival companies. In addition, Corobrik should consider a marketing objective of developing new products for existing market segments (Architects), i.e. products that are able to compete with glass, aluminium and other rival materials, or that could even be used to compliment one another. This initiative could lead to increased market share, not only in the brick market but also in the bigger construction market. It appears that Corobrik has to date followed the marketing strategy of supplying existing products to new segments such as the residential market, and the researcher’s impression is that this new segment does not really want the product because of its affordability. Therefore, Corobrik needs to consider developing new products for the relatively new residential market, but with the emphasis on affordability. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / M.B.L.

The main purpose of the study is to determine strategies for retaining valuable current customers and acquiring attractive new customers for Corobrik; therefore, the problem to be investigated is the reason for Corobrik’s inability to gain significant market share in the brick market over the last five years. Although there has been tremendous growth in the building industry, Corobrik has not been able to fully capitalise on the situation despite increasing its own capacity. A competitive-strength evaluation will form the basis of this study in order to determine customer preferences, as well as competitor performance relating to these preferences. The study will be limited to the Gauteng Province owing to the enormous number of customers in South Africa as well as to time constraints. The market in Gauteng is substantial enough to yield a fair representation of what is to be achieved with the study. A questionnaire will be distributed to Architects, Contractors and Distributors, which represent the different market segments, and the data will be collected by means of telephonic interviews. McDonald & Dunbar (2004) expounded on a method of competitive-strength evaluation, entailing a method of understanding the customers’ preferences and understanding their views of competitor performance in relation to the customers' own preferences. Based on this method, a questionnaire was drafted which will be distributed to role players in the market in order to collect the required data. This research study can be seen as exploratory, since future research tasks could be discovered during the study. This study will be a ‘snapshot in time’ because of time constraints, and could possibly yield different results if repeated at any other time. The questionnaire is such that the data could be analysed and certain propositions could be compared with the ratings. Therefore, a semi-quantitative study is possible, i.e. people’s perceptions can be measured. It is important that the study be done in a ‘field setting’ to reflect what would occur under actual conditions. In addition, exactly the same questionnaire was used for all respondents, minimising the possibility of the respondents or the researcher manipulating the ratings reflected in the survey. The main findings revealed that sales to Distributors and Contractors constitute approximately 85 per cent of the total product sales of Corobrik and that Distributors and Contractors perceived Corobrik as expensive, Price being rated as their most important DBC. Architects rated Quality and Aesthetics as the most important DBCs and they rated Corobrik the best performer in these categories. This finding implies that Corobrik manages to satisfy Architects’ most important needs; however, Price was also Corobrik’s worst performing DBC in terms of the Architect ratings. Corobrik does satisfy the needs of Architects fairly well; however, this study was limited to the brick industry and did not attempt to compare face bricks with rival materials such as glass, aluminium, wood, plaster and paint and others. Consequently, Corobrik’s performance was not compared with that of the manufacturers of these rival products with regard to the relevant DBCs. It is, therefore, recommended that such a study be conducted in order to determine how well Corobrik performs in comparison with the rival companies. In addition, Corobrik should consider a marketing objective of developing new products for existing market segments (Architects), i.e. products that are able to compete with glass, aluminium and other rival materials, or that could even be used to compliment one another. This initiative could lead to increased market share, not only in the brick market but also in the bigger construction market. It appears that Corobrik has to date followed the marketing strategy of supplying existing products to new segments such as the residential market, and the researcher’s impression is that this new segment does not really want the product because of its affordability. Therefore, Corobrik needs to consider developing new products for the relatively new residential market, but with the emphasis on affordability. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / M.B.L.