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Against the backdrop of the interconnected global marketplace and the resulting decrease in consumer-firm information asymmetry, an increasingly prevalent assumption is that consumers are "empowered" and "savvy". However there are contrary findings that consumers are not empowered but feel "trapped", "victimised" and "manipulated" in interacting with firms. Additionally, while the notion of a growing base of increasingly competent consumers has captured the collective imagination, it is important with any social trend to consider variance that may occur due to individual characteristics. With the aim of establishing the truth-status of "consumer savvy" this study addresses the following questions: (1) What are the dimensions of consumer savvy? (2) Is savvy invariant across genders and age groups? (3) Does savvy affect consumers' approach to the consumer-firm interaction? (3a) Does it relate to desire for co-creation? (3b) Does it relate to perceptions of value in interacting with the firm? (3c) Does it increase the likelihood of consumer activism activities? (4) Are the effects of consumer savvy moderated by: (4a) the hedonic-utilitarian characteristics of products? or (4b) the technological innovativeness of products? In addressing these questions, the initial emphasis is on establishing a conceptualisation of the characteristics of the savvy consumer. These characteristics are operationalised as a six dimensional "SAVVY" scale which becomes the focus of validation, assessment and application. The new scale's factorial (item-level) measurement equivalence is established for gender. However, measurement non-invariance is found for Gen X versus Baby Boomer consumers, hence caution is required when using it as a generational profiling tool. A vignette experiment to test the scale's predictive validity found that high-savvy consumers have significantly greater desire to engage in co-creation, are significantly more likely to perceive value in the interaction, and are significantly more likely to engage in word-of-web, but are not more likely to complain, than low-savvy consumers. The findings have implications for researchers and practitioners interested in the potential for consumer-centric marketing approaches. The two key contributions are the development of a framework for conceptualising consumer savvy and the operationalisation and validation ofthe SAVVY scale as a tool for prediction and population profiling.

Thesis (MPhil)--AUT University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (x, 221 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.) in the Archive at the City Campus (T 381.1770993 ABD)

Thesis (MEconSt.) - University of Queensland, 2002.

Thesis (M.S.)--Kutztown University. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2709. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-77).

M.Comm. / The primary objective of this dissertation is to perform an analysis of supplier relationship management practices in Eskom. Currently, Eskom is facing pertinent challenges such as a diminished reserve margin, increased unplanned generation plant outages as well as coal supply and quality constraints coupled with ever-rising primary energy costs. Since 1994, the demand for electricity has grown significantly on the back of robust economic growth. As a result, Eskom’s power system has an inadequate reserve margin which is at an all time low of around 8% and this does not compare well with the international standard of 15%. It is therefore evident that, as a national asset Eskom cannot overcome the current challenges successfully without strong partnerships with key suppliers. Impact of global expansion in the power sector has seen increased demand for utility specific commodities, and the resultant implication is the increased pressure on utilities to secure supply. Significant energy pressures are impacting on traditional procurement systems; as supply tightens it is vital for Eskom to intensify their efforts to build and sustain long-term collaborative relationships with key suppliers. With a more strategic view of procurement, companies are increasingly finding that different types of supplier relationships should be managed differently to achieve maximum value. Supplier relationship management has become increasingly sophisticated; buyer and supplier preferences are driven by circumstances in any relationship. The relationship portfolio analysis as explained by Cox, Sanderson and Watson (2000) demonstrates that buyer and supplier relationships centre on power, interdependence, and independence and they agree that relationships can be of an arms’ length, adversarial and collaborative nature depending on the power and style of management. Electricity is an important sector in the South African (SA) economy, despite its relatively small share of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Eskom has a capital expenditure budget of R800-billion for the next 20 years (Venter, 2007). An overview of the electricity industry in SA covering key highlights on the evolution of thinking on energy developments in the country and the resultant implication for supplier relationship management is discussed. Eskom supplies about 95 percent of South i Africa's electricity, and the recent power crisis had far-reaching implications for the economy. Some economists say that Eskom’s power crisis could slice two percentage points off SA’s growth rate, sending it below 3% for the first time in a decade.

M.Sc.

Factors such as globalisation, intense competition and ever-changing rules make change a must. What used to be traditional markets have been eroded and competitors have flooded most of the markets. This brings new challenges. Organisations that seek growth and survival keep up with the changing environment. Organisations that ignore the changing environment choose to do so at the risk of failure because what works today is not guaranteed to work in future. For an organisation to achieve its objectives, everyone in that organisation needs to contribute and pull in the same direction. As such, leaders and employees are important to the change process. Management’s understanding of where the organisation must go and how it could get there is crucial to take the whole organisation through the change process. Managers have to learn new skills as operational skills are often not enough when it comes to leading people. Leaders have a critical role to play to ensure effective change management. The study is aimed at establishing how the change process is managed at Eskom. This is explored through finding out the leadership style applied at Eskom in effecting change. Quantitative research was done within Eskom by means of e-mail survey to a random sample of employees at middle management. 980 questionnaires were sent out with a response rate of 21.5%. Having identified issues affecting effective leadership and change management in the organisation certain deficiencies or areas of possible improvement will be identified. Recommendations will be made on addressing leadership and change management process to create an environment for facilitation of change efficiently given the stress, discomfort and dislocation associated with change. “Change is a very fickle mistress. No sooner has one fresh new idea swept through the business world, than other better way of doing things is hot on its heels”. Anonymous / Mr. T.F.J. Oosthuizen

Supply Chain Management (SCM) has an overwhelming impact on firms as it directly impacts on sales and costs. Therefore, it must be a core competency for any organization and thus SCM expertise is highly valued in organisations. Procurement of goods and services has a major impact on the successful execution of the project. Procurement can help the business, ensuring that all the goods and services they buy will be of the right quality, quantity and price, and they will be delivered ‘just in time’. The application of procurement policies and practices, using fair and open procedures, is crucial not only for attracting efficient contractors and suppliers, but also to safeguard the principle of accountability and the cost-effective use of funds. Before awarding a tender, there is a substantial amount of work to be undertaken by the project manager, contracts manager, end user, buyer, and authorising committees. Commitment from personnel involved in contract awarding is not adequate. Furthermore, the Eskom governance process sometimes contributes to delays in awarding a contract. before the enquiry and tender documentation is sent out to the suppliers on the tender list, the core team involved in the procurement process verifies that the enquiry is complete and correct. Should there be contractual or legal issues during the execution of the project in the form of say a contract that has been issued with unsuitable clauses, solving the problem becomes difficult. Contractors will sometimes use contract clauses to suit themselves, and take advantage of the employer, causing cost overruns due to the difficulties in managing the contract. Eskom’s commercial activities are governed by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and Constitution of South Africa, which states that an organisation such as Eskom should have in place “an appropriate procurement and provisioning system which is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and cost-effective.” This can eliminate irregularities in contracts, since they can have a serious economic impact, interfere with fair competition, and destroy confidence in the integrity and functioning of public administration Such irregularities may lead to costs overruns on projects where incompetent contractors are awarded a contract. Incorrect financial forecasting is a very serious issue, and needs to be addressed in order to help strengthen the cash flow and forecasting within Eskom. This research strategy is intended for quantifying observations of human behaviour, with the emphasis on exact measurements. The primary data for this study was generated through the administration of a structured questionnaire survey conducted among engineers, project managers, contract managers, and forensics personnel. The secondary data for the present study was gathered from literature in the form of open ended questionnaire from the same personnel. Poor commitment of buyers and chain approval meetings being shifted affect the delays in awarding of contracts. Lack of training of contract managers, absence of legal representative’s advice and squad checking meetings not being represented properly contributes to contracts being awarded with unsuitable clauses. Managers specifically forcing contracts to be awarded to a specific contractor, nepotism or favoritism, politics and contractor greediness, relate to irregularities in contracts. Lack of experience, revision of scope (unclarified scope), project delays, less effort being made when forecasting and unforeseen circumstances, such as strikes, and forces of nature, relate to incorrect financial forecasting. Continuous training and commitment of all personnel involved in the project environment is important, therefore Eskom personnel in the project environment should work as a team in an integrated way. Adequate time should be spent, and thorough checks made, to ensure that documents sent out for tendering conform to requirements. Involvement of all the supporting functions must be maximised. Code of ethics training and application is very crucial in the project environment, and the current governance policies should be adhered to by all stakeholders in the project.

M.A. (Business Administration) / The government is busy with the privatisation of all the parastatals. This is done in stages with the intention to better the lives of all South Africans through the exposure to global competitors, technology, economic markets and strategic alliances. This report looks at privatisation in general, the different definitions and the different models of privatisation that can be applied by South Africa. It then looks at Eskom as it undergoes privatisation and tries to establish if there are benefits that ensue from that and how do the stakeholders feel about privatisation. The Eskom method and policies supporting Black Economic Enterprises are visited. The questionnaire is circulated to stakeholders in Eskom to gauge attitude towards privatisation. The results are then statistically analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science II to arrive at the conclusive deduction. The researcher tries to see the positive things about privatization to encourage stakeholders to take advantage of the process and thereby securing all the possible benefits from privatization. The psychological perspective is that the government is going to implement privatisation to conform to the requirements of the international communities anyway, they are not asking for concerns to influence the decision whether to privatize or not to. The questionnaire circulated indicated that stakeholders think alike when it comes to different issues surrounding privatization. What is good is that there is a fair balance between those who are positive about privatization and those who are negative. The final recommendation of the report is that Eskom should privatize for pragmatic reasons using the French Model of Privatising whereby the total control of the enterprise still rest with the trusted members of the community.