The global workforce is stressed. Only one in seven employees. There is an emergence of an employee that seeks greater meaning and personal development, this has put employers under pressure to meet these expectations. The employer’s search for value and the individual’s search for a greater meaning has created a disconnect. Consequently, there’s a growing movement premised on the positive psychology paradigm which argues that individuals and organisations should focus their people development efforts on maximising individual’s strengths instead of fixing weaknesses. The research report presents the findings of an empirical study in the use of Strengths-Based Development practices in large South African businesses collected through a web-based survey. The study found that Strengths-Based Development practices are underutilised South Africa. The most important predictors of Strengths-Based Development practices are Human Resource practices, organisational design and positive psychological orientation. Immediate Bosses were found to have positively impacted the use of SBD practices. The implementation of SBD practices has had a positive impact on desirable business outcomes. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) and its antecedent black economic empowerment (BEE) remain highly emotive terms in South Africa today. There is a school that firmly believes that BEE is a tax placed upon businesses and that its only effect is to reduce competitiveness. This form of institutionalised racism points to the ANC wanting to “take over everything whites have built up” (de Lange, 2002). On the other hand, the economic and social transformation of South Africa is seen as key for the future of our country and remains a fundamental goal of the democratic government, as the majority of black South Africans continue to operate outside the parameters of the mainstream economy. For this part of the population, BEE has not been implemented nearly as steadfastly as possible. Add to this the acknowledgement that “SMEs will play a prominent role in the second decade of our democracy and beyond as we seek to accelerate economic growth, reduce unemployment and bridge the gap between the first and second economies,” (Mpahlwa, 2005) and we have a hodge-podge of popular opinion. This paper aims to enrich this debate by providing empirical evidence of how the various elements of BEE legislation are experienced by SMEs and whether or not BEE is perceived to be value-adding. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This research identifies modes of market entry and strategies adopted by South African companies doing business in Tanzania. Data was collected through one-onone semi-structured interviews with South African company executives in banking, retail, manufacturing, financial services, and hospitality and engineering construction sectors. The study found that the mode of market entry was related to the degree of commitment of resources irrespective of the industry sector. The mode of market entry for the banking sector was influenced by the degree of politicisation as this is highly regulated. Acquiring state owned firms in privatisation partnership with government had the obvious advantage of being close to the pulse of policy thinking. Business in Tanzania thrived on relationships, partnering with locals using joint ventures or acquisition as modes of market entry mitigated risk. Greenfield investments in the retail sector were largely unsuccessful due to a lack of knowledge about retail supermarkets by locals, a fragmented sector and fierce informal market competition. Tanzania is as an entry point into the wider EAC that includes Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Malawi and Sudan. Regionalism has resulted in significant gains for SA companies in Tanzania. Operational challenges in Tanzania were similar with what the literature proposes on emerging market economies: lack of skills, exchange rate volatility, corruption, regulatory burdens, poor infrastructure, thriving informal markets, and lack of law enforcement, thefts and anti-SA sentiments all adding to the cost of doing business. This study further proposes a model that SA companies can consider as part of their strategic planning process for internationalisation of business in the East African Community. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The main purpose of this research was to establish the critical success factors that impact project success for major projects in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. The motivation was that South African companies were geographically well positioned to expand into this region which holds some of the world’s untapped natural resources with potential for high returns. However the business environment presented unique challenges due to lack of institutional capacity, infrastructure and a weak private sector. This resulted in a dominant role of government as well as community concerns in project execution. Sasol’s project, commissioned in 2004, to bring natural gas from Mozambique to South Africa was selected as a case study. The project team, business clients, contractors and independent consultants were interviewed on what were the critical project success factors. The results indicated that the leadership role of the sponsor and an experienced and committed team were critical to project success. The roles of the country manager and the performance of contractors were also highlighted. External to the business organisation were the role of government and the involvement of the community. Government’s role on institutional and physical infrastructure development was highlighted. The importance of alignment of all project stakeholders was emphasised as critical. Further, additional time and resources spent on alignment and the initial planning phase were critical to an efficient implementation phase. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

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There are many reasons to believe that budgeting lies at the heart of business management. Gray et al (2001:324) states that ―budgetary planning and control is the most visible use of accounting information in the management control process. By setting standards of performance and providing feedback by means of variance reports, the accountant supplies much of the fundamental information required for overall planning and control. However, Gray et al (2001:324) point out that capital budgeting decision is limited by the intricacies of the international business environment, which is characterized by economic, social, political, and cultural diversity. Therefore, decisions of capital investments and budgetary controls are more problematic (Gray et al., 2001:14). One of the defining characteristics of the globalization of the world economy in the past two decades has been the spread of multinational corporations' activities across countries, and, as a result, significant increases in global foreign direct investment (FDI) outflow in the 1990s (from R233 billion in 1990 to R1, 379 billion in 2000). For example, the total stock of Chinese direct investment abroad nearly tripled over the 1990s (from $2.2 trillion in 1990 to $6.3 trillion in 2000) as Chinese multinational corporations generated an increasingly large share of world GDP (6.8 percent in 1994 and 8.6 percent in 2000). Multinational corporations have become an important conduit in the global allocation of investment funds. However, the business environment in international markets has been considered volatile; there is no reliable and accurate method to aid 2 multinational corporations about decisions about the international environment. Thus, multinational corporations have encountered risk and challenge. Given the development and challenge of the international environment, this study have been considered to plan over a longer time horizon, develop formal mechanisms to set aside funds for preserving existing facilities, increase automation of the process, and link capital planning decisions to statewide performance goals and strategic plans. This research draws upon existing theoretical determinants of capital budgeting and empirically tests the hypotheses across a sample of multinational corporations in China. Although the sample is from China, the results have important implications for multinational corporations based in other countries. This paper is composed of four parts. The first part briefly gives both a theoretical and practical overview of multinational capital budgeting analysis. The second part discusses the data collection techniques and the questionnaire design used in this study. The third part provides some important findings of this research. The last section offers some conclusions from this study.

Family businesses constitute between forty five and ninety percent of gross domestic product world wide. Research shows that within the next five years over fifty percent of executives will retire, highlighting the significance of successful family business successions. Family businesses founded in the “baby-boom” era are of immediate concern to researchers who are working to understand the dynamics around the succession process and ultimately the criteria preventing or enhancing successful successions. The purpose of this study was to better understand the development of successors in family businesses. A detailed literature study was conducted on family businesses and in particular the factors which both positively and negatively affect family business successions. A single case study approach was used to test whether six dynamic variables applied to this case or not. Three sibling brother successors, a sibling sister and their parents were each separately interviewed and the interviews voice recorded. They were asked questions which could be later analysed and used to uphold or negate whether the six dynamic variables applicable to successful family business succession were upheld or rejected. The data was meticulously analysed and similar answers grouped together. Answers which varied from the norm were reported separately. It was found that in all six of the propositions the responses received from the case study respondents upheld the propositions. Thus, families businesses seeking succession, may well understand and take action regarding the six dynamic variables relating to successful family business successions

Despite the demand for ICT skills, businesses are experiencing an ICT skills shortage. Constantly changing ICT technologies require business leaders to find qualified ICT professionals to implement new business strategies and business processes. The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector is experiencing a continued skills shortage and various initiatives have been launched to address the problem. Businesses continually struggle to find qualified and suitably skilled ICT personnel. As a result businesses have had to outsource their ICT requirements off-shore to obtain the required ICT skills and maintain their competitive advantage. In a country desperate for job creation, entrepreneurial inclination and start up of new businesses may play a pivotal role in the economic development and well being of individuals able to capitalise on the availability of ICT opportunities. Entrepreneurship is a critical factor in promoting innovation, creating employment opportunities and generating social and economic wealth in a country's economy. Sectors such as Information and Communication Technologies can be seen as archetypal entrepreneurial industries and can consequently play a key role in economic development. In the research that follows the author identifies an ICT skills shortage in South Africa. This is followed by an exploratory study that investigates the influence of psychological traits and socio-cultural variables on the entrepreneurial intent of selected ICT SMME’s in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Area. The findings revealed that both psychological traits together with socio-cultural variables influence an individual’s intention to start up a business. The predominant psychological trait discovered during the research was perseverance. Family environmental issues were the dominant socio-cultural variable influencing entrepreneurial intention amongst the case study subjects.

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No description available.