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<p>During the amalgamation of the seven substructures within the City of Cape Town specific problems arose around employment equity issues and consequently the City of Cape Town has introduced an Employment Equity Plan. This study investigated the perceptions held by managers regarding the barriers that can mitigate againsst the successful implementation of the Employment Equity Plan.</p>

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Engineering, May 2016 / The South African Private Equity Industry collects billions of Rands from investors locally and abroad and utilises this cash to purchase controlling shares in companies operating within Africa. Within 5 to 10 years of purchase, these companies are purposefully altered, upgraded and moulded prior to resale. Each Private Equity firm has different growth targets, but the generally expected result should be a multiplication of the funds invested over that time. The mechanism by which these firms accomplish such a result was of strategic importance for business people whom wish to decode the route to success and apply the same actions in their organisations, or those they wish to evaluate for purchase. This research aims to bridge a particular aspect of this process by acknowledging that the choice of company to purchase was critical to the overall ability to grow and dispose of the company in the allotted timeframe. In the run up to purchasing a company, Private Equity will contract external firms to delve into a potential Target Firm. These Service Firms will report into the Private Equity client on particular aspects of operations, finance and legality that would affect future running and risk profiles. These reports would inform the buying decision, potential pricing structures and legalities of ownership transfer right up to the point of sale. The evaluation stages are graphically modelled as three distinct but sequential Phases at the end of an extensive literature review. This Conceptual Model is tested against the results of a series of semistructured interviews held with industry experts. The opinions of local Private Equity and Service Firm respondents are sorted, refined and presented as a more detailed Modified Model at the end of the report. It was found that through substantial refinement of disconnected data, the available literature largely agreed with expert opinion in practice. The research concludes that the proposed evaluation Models constitute a useful starting platform from which to conduct future research into specific aspects of Private Equity activity. / MT2016

This paper explores the distinction between ‘equity’ and ‘liabilities’ in financial reporting in order to assess the merits of the current system of accounting for share-based payment transactions. It applies an interpretive methodology. Data were collected from a series of interviews with purposefully selected experts. Criticisms of and support for the current accounting regime are interpretively analysed and used to identify key themes or principles for evaluating the merits of three models proposed in the academic literature: the strict liability, narrow equity and ownership-settlement models. The study finds that the strict liability approach remains supported on the grounds that it provides decisionuseful information with which users are familiar. The other models are rejected as they are perceived as diminishing the usefulness of financial reporting. The study also identifies support for an obligation-centric approach, not fully developed in the literature, which may require detailed consideration by standard-setters. Overall, these findings will be useful for both practitioners and academics grappling with the difficulty of defining ‘equity’ and ‘liabilities’. In addition, the research makes a valuable contribution by addressing the need for interpretive-inspired financial reporting research. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this thesis is also the first South African study to investigate the appropriate classification criteria for instruments such as share-based payments and provide normative recommendations for the International Accounting Standards Board.

Neste trabalho analisam-se os modelos conceituais e operacionais de brand equity baseado no cliente apresentados na literatura acadêmica. Sendo essa a alternativa para explorar o tema: documentar os modelos de brand equity, bem como as diferenças conceituais e empíricas entre os modelos de brand equity, pela ótica do cliente. Neste contexto, surge o seguinte problema de pesquisa: Os modelos existentes na literatura (teórico-práticos) de brand equity, baseado no cliente, podem compor um modelo de mensuração aplicável à realidade brasileira? Para isso faz-se uma pesquisa descritiva com o intuito de apresentar e enumerar os modelos de brand equity baseados no cliente, constantes entre os autores em ciências sociais aplicadas. Os resultados dessa parte do trabalho são tabelas resumo da literatura, apresentadas em capítulo específico, bem como as interpretações provenientes dessas análises. Elabora-se, então, uma pesquisa empírica para verificar a relação existente entre as dimensões que compõem o brand equity baseado no cliente e o mix de marketing organizacional. É desenvolvido análise da literatura, análise de confiabilidade, regressões, e modelagem de equações estruturais. Nessa pesquisa empírica encontra-se as análises de confiabilidade (Alpha de Cronbach´s), onde verificou-se que as dimensões propostas inicialmente por Aaker (1998) e Keller (1993) têm alta confiabilidade de escala. O patrimônio total da marca e a percepção dos preços, propostos por Yoo, Donthu e Lee (2000) também têm alto poder de confiabilidade na escala em português. Na análise das regressões completa, tradicional, e confiável do brand equity, baseado no cliente, houve uma semelhança de resultados. Apesar de algumas diferenças nos números e valores de R2 e de erro, esses foram muito próximos deixando as três equações propostas com mesma significância e valor de predição. Esse valor de predição para as três equações de regressão são moderados/baixos, demonstrando uma predição da variável dependente em grau leve pelas variáveis independentes, propostas nos modelos de regressão. Seguidos das análises de ajustes, verossimilhança, e significância da modelagem de equações estruturais m.e.e. Os objetivos do trabalho, propostos inicialmente, foram alcançados de forma clara e apresentados melhor no decorrer deste trabalho. Essa pesquisa empírica foi replicada para o Brasil, utilizando-se como base o trabalho de Yoo, Donthu e Lee (2000), sendo uma investigação agora desenvolvida nacionalmente. Tendo como alvo da pesquisa o setor de sapatos esportivos de uma grande marca mundial Adidas. / In this paper examine the conceptual and operational models of based-client brand equity presented in the academic literature. This being the alternative to explore the theme: documenting models of brand equity, as well as differences between the conceptual and empirical models of brand equity, through the eyes of the customer. In this context, there arises the following research problem: The existing models in the literature (theoretical and practical) of based-client brand equity can make a measurement model applicable to the Brazilian reality? For this it is a descriptive research in order to present and list the models of basedclient brand equity, listed among the authors applied social sciences. The results of this study are part of the summary tables of literature, presented in separate chapter, as well as interpretations from these tests. It elaborates, then, empirical research to verify the relationship between the dimensions that comprise the client-based brand equity and organizational marketing mix. It is developed literature analysis, reliability analysis, regression, and structural equation modeling. In this empirical research is the analysis of reliability (Cronbach\'s Alpha), where it was found that the dimensions initially proposed by Aaker (1998) and Keller (1993) have high reliability scale. The total equity of the brand and the perception of prices, proposed by Yoo, Donthu and Lee (2000) also have high reliability in the power of scale in Portuguese. In the analysis of complete regressions, traditional and trusted brand equity, based on the client, there was a similarity of results. Despite some differences in the numbers and values of R2 and error, these were very close to leaving the three equations with the same significance and value prediction. This predictive value for the three regression equations are moderate / low, showing a prediction of the dependent variable in mild by the independent variables proposed in the regression models. Followed by analysis of settings, likelihood and significance of structural equation modeling s.e.m. The objectives of the work originally proposed, were reached in a clear and better presented in this all paper. This empirical research has been replicated in Brazil, using as basis the work of Yoo, Donthu and Lee (2000), an investigation now being developed nationally. Targeting the research sector of athletic shoes of a great global brand - Adidas.

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The current study explored the relation between the self-perceived leadership practices of Portland Metro area high school principals (N = 28) and the achievement levels of Hispanic and non-Hispanic White high school students on the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) high school math test. The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) self-report was used to measure frequency of leadership practices. Differential performance across categories of race and ethnicity were analyzed and compared against high school principal self-reported scores on the LPI. This study expanded on existing research by connecting principal leadership practices to student achievement by subgroup with a focus on achievement of Hispanic and non-Hispanic White students at the secondary level. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were computed to assess the relation between the self-reported leadership practices of high school principals and student proficiency category percentages. Multiple regressions were used to determine the relative predictive nature of the practices of an exemplary leader in relation to the percentage of Hispanic and non-Hispanic White students who exceeded, met, or did not meet standards on the 2010-2011 OAKS high school math test. School demographic factors of percentage of students of color, percentage of students receiving free or reduced price lunch (FRPL), and percentage of students enrolled in English Language Learner (ELL) programs were also analyzed to determine if these contextual factors had an impact on leadership practices. Results support no predictive nature of student achievement on principal self-assessment of leadership practices nor do they support a relation between school demographic factors and principal leadership.

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The area of Brand Equity has received considerable attention during the past twenty years. The importance of a brand emanates from the fact that brand recognition and positive associations with it create value for companies and consumers. This value is called Brand Equity and translates into monetary value. Until now, there is scant research on brand equity for online retailers to test whether theoretical frameworks developed for offline companies apply to online businesses. The study is an attempt to bridge this gap by developing and testing a comprehensive brand equity model with selected drivers (customer support and a mix of functionality and fulfilment marketing efforts) and sources (awareness, association of value and trust, and loyalty) of brand equity. Grounded in a traditional offline consumer-based brand equity framework, a research model (at the aggregate level) for assessing brand equity of online companies is developed and tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). Several key findings are reported: First, a measurement model based on dimensions of awareness, associations of value and trust, and attitudinal loyalty seem to fit the data well. Measures have adequate reliability, convergent and discriminant validity. Secondly, from the SEM application, only value association and loyalty are potent determinants of brand equity. Third, awareness, trust and value associations contribute indirectly to create brand equity. Fourth, the hierarchical hypothesized relationships between the sources of brand equity are confirmed. The final best-fitting (calibrating) model derived from the subjects that had bought from the online businesses under study was validated across a sample of subjects. Simultaneous model comparison using structural equation (by means of Chi square difference) confirms the tenability of the calibrating model. To test for the probability than an incorrect model will be rejected, power analysis was calculated. The results indicate that the likelihood of rejecting the hypothesis of exact and close fit equals 1.0. The second phase of the study involved brand analysis at the individual level. According to the calculations Amazon obtains slightly higher brand equity than eBay and puts it in first place, eBay is in second place, followed by Dell in third. CDNow is the worst performer and obtains consumer-based brand equity below average. The study offers contributions to both academia and business in several ways.