This study is an exposition of research into the effect of operational efficiency to global competitiveness, with the Richards Bay Dry Bulk Terminal (DBT) being the case study. The Richards Bay DBT is the main dry bulk terminal in the South African ports, operated by Transnet Ports Terminals (TPT), which is a division of the state-owned Transnet Ltd. Because of the strategic position of the DBT as the main dry bulk terminal of the country and also that it is a state owned entity, its competitiveness or otherwise is a reflection of South Africa the country as a trade destination. The research seeks to investigate the problem of the declining volumes handled by the DBT, which is traced to the possible operational inefficiencies and is likely to impede competitiveness of the DBT. While this study will not propose the ultimate solutions to the DBT’s problems, it will identify the root causes and symptoms of the problems, which will ultimately guide what needs to be tested as a better solution. Based on this, it is argued that this topic should generate a lot of interest to the stakeholders both locally and internationally.

The study examines the importance of competitive advantage and change in a dynamic environment. The purpose of the study is to explore how AAI could remain relevant and competitive in the market and examines how regularly changing its approaches to programme delivery could be used to meet needs of the community. The study also focused on the impact of AAI’s pace of change and how the pace impacted on the organization’s effectiveness and quality of programmed delivery. AAI relied on its past successful programmes to address the need of communities in many new countries. However, previously successful programmes did not prove popular when rolled in new markets. AAI programmes are suffering substantial withdrawals from beneficiaries. Beneficiaries are withdrawing from AAI programmes, complaining that the programme delivery approaches were not competitive and innovative. Many new organizations being formed are competing not just for beneficiary markets, but for financial resources (funding), skills and new ideas of delivering programmes. Traditional government type donors are being overtaken by a new crop of donors that is in favour of funding competitive and innovative organizations. Traditional aid organizations are losing market share to smaller agencies. The organizational structure of AAI appears not to support effective and efficient delivery of programmes. With no senior manager at the helm of the department, coordinating activities, sustaining competitive advantage and managing change within the programme department remained a challenge for the organization. A frastruated staff compliments exacerbated the situation. Employee turnover at the key and tactical levels resulted in the department operating without adequate staff and key personnel. This made coordination and cooperation amongst units very difficult. Various programme units operated in silos and mixed messages were sent to community resulting in the community being unhappy with AAI. Community felt that AAI did not consult with them when deciding on how to meet their needs. Community members felt that AAI was taking unilateral decisions and did not care about their feedback and the quality of the programmes delivered. This study further examines how AAI has suffered due to its inability to respond to the needs of community and its failure to adapt to the changing business environment. It reveals how innovation and adaptability is critical for retaining competitive advantage. It reveals how capabilities once built can be eroded by competition through copying. It concludes by revealing the importance of dynamic capabilities in sustaining competitive advantage as well as the need to change in response to the market. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / (M.B.A.)

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North America is the world’s largest pulp and paper producing region as well as the largest consuming region. An understanding of market integration is critical for designing relevant policies since it is important to improve national welfare and ensure long-run competitive market equilibrium. In addition, it is crucial for the Canadian industry to maintain the competitiveness for its pulp and paper products in the world market, because any deterioration in the performance of the Canadian pulp and paper industry will have negative social and economic impact on the well-being of Canada and affect Canadian balance of payment. This thesis contains three essays that investigate the market integration of the combined markets of Canada and the US, and the competitive position of Canadian pulp and paper products in the US market. The first essay presents an econometric analysis of spatial integration of the US and Canada newsprint markets as reflected in newsprint prices. It applies the Johansen multivariate cointegration procedure to test the law of one price for five regional markets (British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, US east, US west) of newsprint using monthly data for the 1988 to 2004 period. Preliminary data analysis shows that all price series are non-stationary I(1) processes. The hypothesis that the Law of One Price (LOP) holds for all five regional newsprint markets simultaneously was not supported by the Johansen multivariate test. The LOP was also tested for national markets, and it was found to hold between US west and US east newsprint prices. The results suggest that there is a single newsprint market in the US, whereas there are several distinct newsprint markets in Canada. The second essay examines the degree of market integration among US import markets for three pulp and paper products, and further analyses the dynamic interaction between US domestic and US import markets. Persistence profile results show that long-run equilibrium exists in the US import markets for three pulp and paper products of interest; moreover, given a system-wide shock, a new equilibrium could be reached in a relatively short period. Forecast error variance decomposition suggests that US markets are critical since shocks to domestic US prices for relevant pulp and paper products explain a substantial amount of movements in import prices. The third essay studies substitution between main categories of imported pulp and paper products and between imported and domestic pulp and paper products in the US market. A restricted translog subcost function approach was employed to derive the elasticity of substitution. The results suggest that Canadian pulp and paper products are still competitive and have maintained their competitiveness in the US market. However the consecutive demand decline for pulp and paper in the US has brought hard times to Canada. It seems that if Canadian pulp and paper industry wants to retain a dominant position in the world market place, it will have to create global reach and develop new markets.

The purpose of this study was to construct a theory of sports competitiveness which would (1) contribute to a greater understanding of competitiveness as an aspect of human behavior affecting sports performance, and (2) serve as a source of hypotheses for experimental research and as a framework for interpretation of the results of experimental studies of competitiveness.

An investigation into whether the colour red has more impact or leads to common perceptions about the price or value of retail products in advertising. / ABSTRACT Colour is often an important non verbal cue in advertising. Much research has been dedicated to the creative aspects of advertising generally and to factors affecting consumer response in relation to marketing, advertising and pricing. This study looks at the colour red and investigates whether use predominant use of red in sale promotions print advertising is justified on the basis of its ability to impact cognitively or affectively. The study comprises of two experiments, one for awareness and one for price perception and purchase intent. In each experiment, red is compared to other colours in order to establish any significant differences. The second experiment goes further to examine whether the intensity of colour, verbal cues or demographic differences have an impact on the results. The literature review begins with an examination of price theory and the role of sales promotions in organizations. It considers advertising response models with focus on the persuasive hierarchy AIDA model. The impact of colour is then considered along with consumer psychology and behavior as well as theories relating to demographic and cultural responses to colour in advertising. Argument from the sources is then put forward to suggest that research into the effects of colour in advertising is underexplored and that the role of colour in affecting response is complex and is over oversimplifies by advertising practitioners. The research results are presented revealing few significant differences between red and alternative colours for awareness, price perception or purchase intent. The result for awareness is blurred by research limitations, but red does not emerge as a candidate for exacting higher levels of awareness than a number of other colours. In the second experiment, red is found to be inferior to blue in affecting purchase intent. Red at 50% saturation is shown to have a more positive impact on purchase intent that a red hue at full saturation. Demographic splits do not show conclusive results, but it is suggested that a larger sample size would induce a better price perception of red for the black community than for other racial groupings. Discussion and recommendations follow. In this study, red shows no qualities to justify its predominant use in price promotion advertising and more benefit might be obtained for the brand by differentiating through use of alternative colours that may stand out in a sea of red over traditional sale periods. The principle recommendations are, firstly, the need to acquire a deeper understanding of the effect of colour in advertising. In the more complex, competitive global marketplace competition for customer attention is high and the margin of error for irrelevant advertising appeals are low. Secondly, the argument is made for colour usage to be built around long term branding concerns rather than short term requirements for advertising response.

Business in the twenty-first century has become global and being able to deal effectively with others who are culturally different has become a business necessity (Thomas & Inkson, 2004). Understanding and working with and across cultures is nowhere as prominent and as important as it is South Africa. This is particularly so because of the various cultures within South Africa combined with the challenges introduced by the ending of apartheid in 1994. To be successful, organisations have started realising that people’s differences can be their strength, if only leaders could perfect the skill of combining their qualities and ideas, whilst still valuing them and each other as very different and unique individuals. For centuries now the concept of the “melting pot” in which everyone embraced the same culture and values (DuPont, 1997) has worked well. However, the boundaries to trade and business within the twenty-first century have undergone vast adaptations with these boundaries to business being lifted and individuals across and within nations being given equal opportunities, no matter what nationality, race and / or gender group one represents. Arguing that organisations merely comprise bricks and mortar and that it is about the individuals within an organisation and their behaviours, one would then suggest that, to mobilise and equip an organisation in the twenty-first century, leaders would have to change the behaviours and thought processes of those individuals within and representing the organisation. As an opening statement the challenge to business in the twenty-first century, becomes apparent when one start to delve into the arsenal of skills required to - 4 - meet this challenge. For centuries leaders have been following the same recipe and consistently added the same ingredients as described in the metaphor of the “melting pot” without any real consideration for difference. Leaders have long known that interacting effectively with others is probably one of the most important skills a leader needs to have. Thomas and Inkson (2004) argue that for the foreseeable future, cultural differences will remain a key factor in these interpersonal interactions. Thomas and Inkson (2004) add two very distinct points. • Leaders who do not keep their skills up-to-date run the risk of losing out. • The key leadership competency for the twenty-first century is cultural intelligence.

The South African government has recognized tourism as a key development priority and an important contributor to the South African economy. Numerous global lifestyle and travel trends impact the nature of tourism, changing it from consisting of mass standardized travel options to more customized niche offerings. Globally adventure tourism has been recognized as one of the fastest growing niche travel market segments. Whilst South Africa has enormous potential for adventure tourism, it is fast becoming a highly competitive sector with many countries competing for a share. For the South African adventure travel product to grow and prosper, it needs the support of South African Tourism (SAT) to successfully market and promote it to the appropriate target market.

The goal of a project is concept of strategical change for Beach centre in České Budějovice and analysis of competitor field. The centre provides variety of Beach sports and will be open from May to September. The Beach centre will expand by indoor beach voleyball court that is still missing in České Budejovice. The first part of the project includes basic theory about strategic managment process and the second part is focused on inner and outer environment of a company.

This study investigates the jewellery industry in South Africa from about the 1920s when the industry operated as a cluster in Johannesburg, to the more contemporary period of 2003. The industrial cluster approach to industrialisation forms the theoretical background for discussing the evolution of the jewellery cluster in this period. Various factors or “turning points” influenced the course of the cluster’s development and ultimately culminated in the demise of the jewellery cluster in Johannesburg. The study pays specific attention to the role of government in first resisting and then promoting the growth of jewellery manufacturing in South Africa. In recent years the jewellery industry has been the focus of both government and private sector initiatives to enhance its competitiveness globally. The result of these initiatives is discussed in the context of the internal and external constraints that affected the industry in the past and continue to play a role in the present.