Thesis (M.B.A.: Business Studies Unit)-Durban University of Technology, 2007. 127 leaves / Retailing no longer involves just growth or expansion into new product, consumer segments or geographic areas. Organisations are now learning to shift their emphasis to managing under conditions of modest, zero or for some organisations, under negative growth. This is to a large extend has been the result of changing consumer behaviour, the emergence of new competitors, global economic recession, and rapid technological advances in the retailing industries. These pressures of business today make many people think that the only thing that counts is financial success, i.e. being the investor of choice. In successful organisations everyone's energy is focused on the "Triple bottom line" as the target. That is, if the organisation has been built the right way, it will be the Provider of Choice, Employer of Choice, and Investor of Choice. The leaders of these organisations believe that people, their customers and business partners are as important as their bottom line. These companies realise that profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivated environment for your people. Despite its importance, this topic has been given little attention in the academic literature. In the case of retailing, services are designed more to augment the core offering or add value rather than represent the core offering itself? The limited and fragmented research on retail services focuses on specific areas such as quality issues and store image. Thus given this void in the literature, the bases of the study would be to approach retail services as a strategic perspective by focusing on the service orientation of a retailer's business strategy. If a retailer decides to strategically augment its products with services, it is essential that the retailer make this change systematically with a long-term orientation. The study would involve examining one level of service orientation, i.e. individual level. In this research stream, a service orientation is treated as a personality measure whereby certain people are more service orientated than others. / M

Thesis (M.M. (Business Executive Coaching))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, 2017 / The body of knowledge on transformation is growing and previous researchers have set a foundation by focusing on different aspects of B-BBEE and legislative redress. Scientific research on coaching as a tool to facilitate legislative redress is emerging. The objective of the research was to add to the emerging body of knowledge and uncover how South African businesses approach transformation, what processes and resources they use and what best practices are applied and if opportunities existed to introduce new concepts and frameworks, such as Coaching. The study used qualitative research methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two employees in four different organisations, four technical signatories in two verification agencies and four B-BBEE consultants. The organisations who participated in the research qualified as level, one, two and three contributors to B-BBEE. It was assumed that the B-BBEE level would indicate the extent of transformation in the organisations. Transformation in South Africa remains a contentious issue for business and employee responses to redress range from positive to negative. Organisations have been slow to respond to the people aspects of transformation. From the research, it was evident that organisations, verification agencies and consultants interchanged B-BBEE and transformation, implying that in South Africa, the concepts were similar, if not the same. Organisations’ responses to B-BBEE were still very reactive and at the time of the interviews, the respondents all expressed varying levels of concern to the gazetting of the amended B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice. The view held, was that the amended codes would require organisations to take a more strategic view of transformation. Only one of the four organisations interviewed confirmed that they had a transformation strategy. As for the other organisations, the strategies could be described as emerging Best practice is beginning to emerge and on some elements of the scorecard, improvements can be seen as organisations adapt approaches to yield a return on investment. Coaching as a resource to facilitate transformation was approached with caution even though the respondents recognised that third party interventions were necessary. The research builds a case for coaching as a tool to embed learning and development as organisations shift from a tactical response to B-BBEE to a more progressive or authentic goal. / MT2017

A Research Report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Commerce in Accounting in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at The University of the Witwatersrand September 2016 / Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) or Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) is an important means by which the South African government aims to address the social injustices of the past as well as eliminating inequalities between white capital and the black majority (Fauconnier and Mathur-Helm, 2008). The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has been tasked with overall responsibility for instituting and monitoring the laws that govern BEE. Since the introduction of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act no. 53 of 2003 (Ferreira and Villiers, 2011) and the codes of good practice of 2007, a number of amendments were made in response to deficiencies identified, the most material being the Amended Codes of Good Practice of 2013, which were effective from 1 May 2015. This research paper sought to investigate the impact and cost implications of the 2013 amendments to the BBBEE Codes of Good Practice (new codes) on companies within the industrial goods and services sector of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). This was done relative to the 2007 BEE Codes of Good Practice (old codes). The main purpose of the study was to explore the impact and related costs of implementing the changes in the BBBEE codes on a sample of JSE listed companies obtained from the Empowerdex Top 100 2015 survey. The sample selected was those companies in the industrial goods and services sector. The methodology used was an exploratory study using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with the executives responsible for BBBEE or transformation, as it sometimes called, in each company. While an interview questionnaire was used, the questions asked were fairly open-ended which allowed the subject to be explored fully in each setting. This enabled the researcher to also understand the practicalities of implementing the BBBEE codes within each company and each industry. The results of the study indicated that most companies found it difficult to maintain their BBBEE ratings, with indicative ratings showing a likely overall average drop of three levels. In addition, further discounting in the rating may result from not meeting the sub-minimum levels of the three priority elements. These elements are; ownership, skills development as well as enterprise and supplier development (ESD). Overall, in terms of the impact and challenges in implementing the new codes, companies found that the new codes were onerous, complex in some instances, vague in others, with a potential for misinterpretation and possible manipulation. ESD was found to be the most challenging of the new elements to implement and likely to have the most impact on companies, whereas skills development, which has been doubled from 3% to 6% of the payroll leviable amount, had the biggest impact in terms of cost as assessed on the new codes. Notwithstanding the perceived challenges, companies acknowledged that BBBEE was not only a moral imperative (Fauconnier and Mathur-Helm, 2008), but also a business imperative (Arya and Bassi, 2009) and a licence to trade in South Africa. The study had four main limitations. Firstly, that companies investigated were selected from the Empowerdex Top 100 most empowered companies 2015 survey, completed in May 2015. Within those, only the ones in the industrial and services sector were included in the study. Secondly, that all companies interviewed, regardless of sector, responded to the questions with respect to the generic scorecard, as no sector charters were enacted at the date of writing the research report. Thirdly, the ability to secure the appropriate number of interviews was key, which may affect the quality of the responses and conclusions reached. Finally, because the new codes were implemented on 1 May 2015, which is less than a year from the date of this research report, there is a limitation that limited information is available on the new codes. The effective implementation date of the new codes, means that very little research is likely to have been conducted on the new codes; or the likely impact they could have on companies; or the critical changes between the old codes (2007) and new codes (2013). The researcher hopes this study will enable greater understanding of the codes and assist listed and other companies in strategic decision-making (Horwitz and Jain, 2011) and implementation of transformation initiatives. Furthermore, issues raised as contentious, confusing or due for improvement can be further researched and possibly used by policy-makers as input to future changes in the codes. Further research can also be conducted three to five years from now when the amended codes have been in place for a period that allows implementation by companies. This can either be conducted using a case study that tracks the BBBEE strategies, initiatives and ratings over that period within one company. Alternatively, the researcher can select any one of the five elements and investigate how it has been implemented in different companies over a specific period. / MT2017

Thesis (M.B.A.: Business Studies Unit)-Durban University of Technology, 2007. 127 leaves / Retailing no longer involves just growth or expansion into new product, consumer segments or geographic areas. Organisations are now learning to shift their emphasis to managing under conditions of modest, zero or for some organisations, under negative growth. This is to a large extend has been the result of changing consumer behaviour, the emergence of new competitors, global economic recession, and rapid technological advances in the retailing industries. These pressures of business today make many people think that the only thing that counts is financial success, i.e. being the investor of choice. In successful organisations everyone's energy is focused on the "Triple bottom line" as the target. That is, if the organisation has been built the right way, it will be the Provider of Choice, Employer of Choice, and Investor of Choice. The leaders of these organisations believe that people, their customers and business partners are as important as their bottom line. These companies realise that profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivated environment for your people. Despite its importance, this topic has been given little attention in the academic literature. In the case of retailing, services are designed more to augment the core offering or add value rather than represent the core offering itself? The limited and fragmented research on retail services focuses on specific areas such as quality issues and store image. Thus given this void in the literature, the bases of the study would be to approach retail services as a strategic perspective by focusing on the service orientation of a retailer's business strategy. If a retailer decides to strategically augment its products with services, it is essential that the retailer make this change systematically with a long-term orientation. The study would involve examining one level of service orientation, i.e. individual level. In this research stream, a service orientation is treated as a personality measure whereby certain people are more service orientated than others.

Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Technology (Business Administration) Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / New Black business entrants into the South African fishing industry are confronted with a range of challenges on the road to full sustainability. In addition to the need to compete with established white commercial companies with vast resources, most of the successful applicants who won rights ended up with nothing but a paper quota because most do not have their own boats to either catch their allotted quota, or they lack the facilities to process their catch. In this thesis an organisational needs analysis of a select number of emerging fishing enterprises was undertaken with a view to determine their specific needs for support services in order to make recommendations with regard to a customised support programme to assist them in their quest for business sustainability. The research indicates that the majority of the emerging enterprises are first-generation novice businesses with a need for a comprehensive range of support services. They not only lack a full understanding of the inherent risks of their industry, but most have failed to do any sort of risk planning. This lack of understanding not only constrains their engagement with fishing policy processes but also contributes to a situation of dependence on external consultants for the preparation and submission of their rights allocation applications. Furthermore, most of the current crop of business leaders have a low level of formal education and did not receive any business training prior to venturing into the industry. This vicious cycle of general ignorance of the risky nature of their sector, lack of understanding of industry process, and low education levels, has resulted in limited understanding and knowledge of the various forms of financial and other assistance available to emerging businesses. The researcher recommends intervention in all of the areas mentioned above as critical if the stated objective of the South African government, namely the promotion of black economic empowerment, is to be achieved.

This research is concerned with the development of independent contractors within the Working for Water Programme over a twenty-four month period. The meaningful participation of previously disadvantaged South Africans fall within the ambit of black economic empowerment. The Government Gazette (1997: No. 1820) defines black economic empowerment as a deliberate programme to achieve the meaningful participation of disadvantaged South Africans in the mainstream economy as managers, owners of capital and employees. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the contractors within the Western Region of the Eastern Cape, in order to assess how they have developed as independent contractors within the developmental framework provided by the Working for Water Programme. This developmental framework takes place over a 462-day period or roughly 24 months. The evaluation aimed to determine whether the two-year development period sufficiently prepared contractors for competition in the open market and if contractors had acquired the necessary skills to run a successful business. A formative programme evaluation was used as a tool of analysis to identify areas of weakness and establish priorities for improvement. A qualitative research approach was followed, guided by an adapted version of the Context, Input, Process and Product approach to evaluation (Parlett and Hamilton cited in Calder, 1995, p.25). Using structured interviews comprising of closed and open ended questions, data was gathered from thirty contractors, five managers and one Senior Executive Officer within the Western Region of the Eastern Cape. An interview was also conducted with the Regional Programme leader of the Eastern Cape. Further data collection techniques included documentary research. Data was analysed using qualitative data analysis techniques described by Thorne (1997, p.118), as relying on inductive reasoning to interpret and structure the meanings that can be derived from the data. Passages of interest were marked so that the data could be reduced to a manageable size as described by Seidman (1991, p.91-1 01) and various categories were developed that had commonalties and thematic connections. The Working for Water Programme aims to exit contractors successfully after a twenty-four month developmental period. The Working for Water Programme has formalised its development framework through a training matrix in which the required training at contractor level is outlined. The finding of the research is that the current contractor development programme do not adequately prepare contractors for independence and entrepreneurship in a competitive market. There is no co-ordinated development of predetermined skills. Contractors are not able to articulate what their plans are after exit from the WFW Programme. No concrete evidence of actively pursuing alternative contract opportunities was evident from contractors who were about to exit the Programme and there is no person to champion the cause of meaningful post exit opportunities. The main recommendations from this research are that contractors be selected via an application system rather that appointment through steering committees. Selected contractors must be medically fit and at least have a matriculation certificate. Contractors should be assessed on a 6-monthly basis and contractors not achieving a minimum competency level must be removed from the programme. Managers should also have basic competency levels in order to facilitate skill transfer through a mentorship process. The charge out rate of equipment should be revised every six months. The charge out rates should also be increased significantly to cater for the harsh conditions under which contractors are operational. A "champion" needs to be appointed which will actively seek exit opportunities for trained contractors. This person will also seek to develop functional partnerships with various private and government institutions to create opportunities for exited contractors.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) not only aims to readdress the racial imbalances of the apartheid era, but also seeks to promote social responsibility and empowerment of historically disadvantaged South African (HDSA) communities (Esser & Dekker, 2008). The transformation journey within the South African Liquid Fuels Sector has been a difficult and lengthy one. The South African Liquid Fuels Sector was amongst the first to receive its own Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) sector charter (Liquid Fuels Charter) in 2000. Although numerous transformation milestones have been achieved, the sector has been criticised for its slow pace in advancing transformation, which has in part contributed to the amendment of the B-BBEE Codes in 2013. The argument of slow transformation can be attributed to obstacles faced by those in industry tasked with implementing B-BBEE. There has been a deficiency in studies that have investigated transformation and the implementation of B-BBEE within the sector. As a result, the central objective of this study was to explore the B-BBEE implementation challenges faced by companies within the liquid fuels sector. A qualitative approach was employed for the collection of primary data and involved interviews with eight top and senior management representatives of Chevron South Africa (Pty) Ltd. The results emanating from the study revealed numerous implementation challenges. The study together with literature reviewed, highlights the need to address these challenges in order for B-BBEE implementation to yield the desired results for all stakeholders within the South African Liquid Fuels Sector. The study concludes that a lack of understanding of B-BBEE policy; alignment of internal party interests; overcoming internal biases; skills shortages and lack of experience by Black individuals; involvement of senior management in implementation process; co-ordination and structure required in B-BBEE implementation execution; communication within organisations; diversity/cultural awareness; and B-BBEE policy issues and skills attraction and retention are some of the issues impacting B-BBEE implementation within the South African Liquid Fuels Sector.

This study presents the research of an investigation into communication challenges that affected the implementation of Black Economic Empowerment and the communication strategies/policies used to inform and communicate with employees in businesses. To achieve this aim questionnaires were administered to seven BEE compliant organizations in KwaZulu-Natal. Mersham’s communication model for development provides a basis for evaluation of the BEE communication challenges. This study reviewed theories and literature relevant to the implementation of Black Economic Empowerment and Communication Strategies. The perceptions gained from the literature review were used to interpret the results which were obtained through a qualitative paradigm. The findings revealed that communication is a pivotal pillar in any organization and both employers and employees need to maintain the strength that binds these pillars and brings the organization together. South Africa has faced many challenges since the apartheid era. The BEE policy therefore, aims to iron out unfair practices in businesses, which is why communication is extremely important to this process. / M

Thesis (DTech(Tourism and Hospitality Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011 / This study reports on the findings of research that was conducted amongst tour operators in South Africa in an attempt to determine the level of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) in the sub-sector as well as to determine measures that will expedite BEE. The survey method was deployed to generate primary data from this target market and the Chi square method used to determine causality between the size of enterprises and the support for BEE in principle. This method was also used to determine if the size of an enterprise influences the propensity to support and apply BEE in tour operating enterprises as well as the utilization of incentives.The research indicate that the vast majority of tour operating enterprises in South Africa are small businesses with 62,3% indicating a turnover of R2,5million or less per annum and 63,9% indicating that they employ two or less full time employees. In terms of ownership, 14,3% of respondents indicated that they are 100% black owned. The fact that these enterprises are small makes it difficult to attract investment or involvement from Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDI’s) although 72% of respondents indicated that they support BEE in principle. However the application of BEE in these enterprises are only supported by 61,8% of respondents and the degree of implementation vary according to the different components of the tourism scorecard. In terms of the seven pillars of the tourism scorecard, the procurement and social investment pillars achieved the best results.In order to grow this sub-sector and create opportunities for BEE expansion, government needs to provide training and education interventions as well as dedicated incentives to assist tour operators in gaining access to markets and capital goods. The suitability of all the pillars in the tourism BEE scorecard is questioned due to the nature of small businesses and further research needs to be done on the other sub-sectors in tourism to determine a scorecard that can be effectively implemented.A model for business growth is proposed to enhance the BEE efforts and to create opportunities for fast growth and new start-up businesses. The model consists of interventions aimed at the following four areas:  Enterprise level (new start-ups and fast growth enterprises)  Sector specific environment  Economic growth in the external environment, and  New target markets A recommendation to the National Minister for Tourism during the course of this study has resulted in the provision for a national tourism database in the Tourism Bill (2011).

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Magister Technologiae: Marketing in the Faculty of Business at the: CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, 2009 / Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) aims to enable Black people in South Africa (SA), as legislatively classified, to make a noteworthy contribution to the local economy by irreversibly altering the racial profile of ownership, management echelons and all employment levels of existing and new organisations. This ambitious strategy hopes to encourage economic transformation by eliminating unfair discrimination; applying affirmative action (AA) policies; empowering Black women and facilitating access to land, infrastructure, economic activities, ownership, as well as training and skills development (SA. DTI, 2004a:4-5). The transformation process in SA has been a lengthy and complex one, with the government slowly enacting enabling legislation. The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Codes of Good Practice was gazetted on 9 February 2007 and this significant piece of legislation has provided a framework to guide and measure transformation activities. The advertising industry has been criticised for its slow empowerment advancement, which led to two parliamentary hearings in the early 2000s to investigate allegations of racism and poor transformation progress. The Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) gave full cooperation during the parliamentary hearings and has been a main driving force of transformation within the advertising industry. The ACA’s dedication resulted in the Marketing, Advertising and Communication (MAC) sector charter being gazetted on 29 August 2008 (Jones, 2008). There are few studies that have effectively investigated transformation and BEE progress within the South African advertising industry over recent years. Of these, none has yielded rich qualitative BEE data. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to explore progress made by advertising agencies towards transformation in the Cape Peninsula, as well as the challenges and benefits that result from implementing BEE measures in terms of BBBEE ownership and Employment Equity (EE). These elements have been thoroughly examined by utilising a multiple case study approach and by interviewing the top twelve traditional full-service advertising agencies through use of a semi-structured interview guide, which primarily generated in-depth qualitative data. Cape Town based advertising agencies readily provided a wealth of data, which illuminated numerous previously unexplored positive and negative BEE issues. Recent BEE internal advertising agency documents, literature, surveys and other research studies were used to corroborate and verify the findings in order to reach a consensus, compromise or disagreement in the subsequent discussion. The advertising industry has employed a multitude of innovative BEE strategies to facilitate transformation progress and to address a number of inherent problems. This has resulted in several success stories and numerous benefits as Cape Town based advertising agencies have embarked on their varied transformation journeys. The recommendations of this study would be useful to the national advertising industry, other sectors and government to assist in streamlining the transformation process in SA.