The neoclassical "sources-of-growth" approach is applied to derive total factor productivity (TFP) growth measures for manufacturing industries in South Africa. Although South Africa's recorded industrial TFP growth measures have been persistently low in absolute terms, this performance is not significantly worse than the industrial TFP growth performance of other developing countries. In some periods there is evidence of a significant variability in TFP performance across industries. The measures also indicate that TFP growth has worsened in the 1980s, particularly in the intermediate-capital intensive and labour intensive industries. However, there are various problems with interpreting neoclassical TFP growth measures as indicators of production efficiency. In fact, as TFP growth is derived as a residual, it may measure many factors besides production efficiency. Alternative growth theories are used to assess the fundamental determinants of productivity growth. These provide a more plausible conceptualisation of the process by which productivity growth is generated than the neoclassical growth theory does. However, this analysis also provides little empirical evidence of which underlying factors have had the most influence on productivity growth in South African manufacturing. Hence, the relative importance of possible candidates can only really be assessed qualitatively and on the basis of micro evidence. However, these assessments, and the assumptions underlying the postulated causal connections (between the identified factors and productivity growth), have a major impact on policy design. In this respect, on the basis of the framework provided by the evolutionary and other recent growth theories, various policy implications are drawn, and these are contrasted with the policy proposals of other South African analysts. This thesis concludes that policies need to be designed with the central objective of enhancing the technological capabilities of South African firms. Trade policies will not be sufficient for achieving this objective. Education and training policies, technology, competition and labour market policies are also crucial. However, since the fundamental causes of productivity growth remain somewhat of a mystery, there is a need to be sceptical of simple policy prescriptions. In this respect, this thesis is highly critical of the World Bank's position that productivity gains will be reaped from the exposure of firms to international competition that trade liberalisation policies entail.

The "Physical Distribution Concept" is being increasingly recognised as a vitally important business philosophy for those firms for which efficient physical distribution is critical to marketing success. Manufacturers of products which are perishable, easily substitutable; and/or quickly obsolescent are some which fall into this category. In a competitive business environment, factors such as the " availability" of the product, and not simply its price or quality, begin to exert a significant influence on the purchasing decision. The "Physical Distribution Concept" comprises three elements, namely, consumer orientation; organizational integration and profit orientation. "Physical Distribution Orientation" refers to the predisposition of the firm and its employees to these three elements. For the Physical Distribution Concept to serve as an effective guide to management action, a physical distribution orientation on the part of all those concerned with marketing and physical distribution-related activities in a firm, is a pre-requisite. The chief executive, in particular, should adhere to this business philosophy, regardless of the functional route he followed to his position. In his leadership role, theory holds that he exerts considerable influence on his subordinates, and consequently on his firm's way of doing business. This thesis is concerned with an analysis of the Physical Distribution Concept. It focuses on the chief executives of firms manufacturing consumer convenience goods, as well as consumer shopping goods. As such, it is primarily concerned with determining the extent to which the chief executives are physical distribution oriented and whether there is a statistically significant relationship between their extent of physical distribution orientation and their companies' performance. The thesis is also concerned with the extent to which any pattern of organizational arr angements for physical distribution exists.

M.Com. (Business Science) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Comm. (Business Economics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract.

M.Comm. / Economic growth is the key to wealth creation and competitiveness. The purpose is to improve the welfare of society and upgrade the standard of living of all citizens. The most important element to any nation seeking growth and stability is economic growth - and the key to this is a high level of productivity. Sustained growth transforms the lives of poor people. It makes higher output and income possible, which raises the productivity of their work. However, South Africa's productivity record is disappointing and has fallen behind that of its main trading partners. Productivity growth has slowed down since 1970 and is poor compared to world standards. This contributes to the poor economic growth and a decline in competitiveness. Despite strong capital investment, productivity growth in South Africa has been weak and even negative for a long time. South Africa's lack of economic growth is further accentuated by high unemployment, labour unrest and high goverment expenditure. South Africa, competing with developing countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Greece and Mexico has lagged behind these countries in terms of economic growth. Real incomes rose steadily in the 1960's, but dropped during the 1980's. South Africa was also the only country where output per person was lower (8%) in 1994 than in 1970. The next worst performer, Argentina, reported output per person of 13% higher in 1994 than in 1970. Brazil performed the best with over 80% higher output in 1994. The challenge facing the Goverment of National Unity is sustained productivity-growth. Firstly, the economy must grow faster to provide the basis for human development in the long run. Secondly, growth must benefit everybody. The economy must be stimulated to increase job creation to help alleviate poverty. In an attempt to stimulate the local economy and focus on productivity growth, incentive-based schemes are more widely being used to increase productivity. The use of incentives and "gainsharing" is recognised by management as an effective and one of a few successful methods to help raise productivity levels. In the process, a "win-win" solution is created. Ultimately, productivity gains translate into benefits for all the stakeholders. The aim of this study is thus to investigate the problems regarding productivity, methods of improving productivity in general with the emphasis on incentive schemes and "gainsharing" with a specific focus on the insurance industry in South Africa. The study begins with a thorough literature study regarding productivity, productivity improvement techniques and incentives to increase productivity. Following this is an imperical study to investigate certain specific factors which influence productivity, and methods to improve productivity through incentive schemes.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering, 2017 / Productivity is an important topic within the mining industry and advances in productivity open up opportunities to make the best possible use of South Africa’s mineral wealth. The report uses publicly available data to assess trends in productivity in the SA coal mining industry since the 1980s and to compare SA’s performance with that of the US and Australia. It is found that between 1980 and 2003, productivity growth in the SA coal mining sector was primarily driven by capital deepening. However, productivity growth has been negative from 2004 onwards, despite continued capital deepening. Possible explanations include resource depletion, investment lags, deteriorating worker quality, increased complexity, more stringent safety regulations and adverse labour market conditions. The report highlights skills development and investment in innovation as possible ways of addressing declining productivity performance in the SA coal mining sector and recommends improvements to the availability of data for productivity research purposes. / CK2018

M. Tech. Business Administration (MBA) / With the opening of the telecommunications market to any telecommunication entity with an Electronic Communications Network Service licence, the sustained profitability of well-established telecommunications operators such as Telkom SA and Neotel is under threat. As the telecoms market has reached saturation point due to a variety of economic growth factors, immature business practices and strategies have been opted for to reduce operating costs. However, it does seem that current market demands do not favour a focus on profitability only. The concept of teleworking has spread throughout the world in the effort to increase productivity while decreasing operating expenses. Teleworking implies that staff can "work from anywhere and at any time except in a fixed office". The objective of this study was to assess to what extent teleworking could increase productivity at Telkom SA.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Economics))-University of Pretoria, 2005. / Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Human Resource Management in the Faculty of Business at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / This research examines staff perceptions of the recruitment and selection processes in a tertiary education setting in South Africa. It aims to determine if there is a correlation between these perceptions and the productivity of staff. The benefit of this research lies in the fact that tertiary education institutions are at the last rung of the ladder of any nation’s human capacity development initiatives. Thus, if the processes by which they recruit and select their staff are perceived to be flawed, the consequences in the fulfilment of their afore-mentioned mandate would be compromised. There are many tertiary educational institutions in the Western Cape province of South Africa. These include traditional universities, comprehensive universities, a university of technology and FET colleges. This study focuses on one particular tertiary institution in the Western Cape. Due to the position taken by the institute in the current study on privacy issues, the said institution will be referred to as “Institution X”. The research adopted a quantitative data collection and analysis approach because it was deemed to be the most effective, objective and unobtrusive in the circumstance. Data was collected from the population of academic and non-academic staff of an identified faculty within a campus of the institution. The population of this study was 370 staff and the actual sample size represented 30% of the population. Unfortunately the final actual sample size was 106 and not 111 as originally planned. The sample technique that was used for this study was a systematic sample. Therefore, every tenth name on the list that represented the population was selected. The data collection instrument was a researcher-developed, self-administered questionnaire (a Likert-type attitude scale). Ethical clearance was obtained from the institution. Furthermore, a clear statement of informed consent was contained in the questionnaire that was distributed to participants, in addition to clear instructions on how to complete the questionnaire with assurances of strict anonymity and confidentiality of the process. The research revealed that there is a relationship between employee perceptions of recruitment and selection and organisational productivity. Further studies can be initiated to investigate what strategies may be used for recruitment and selection in order to increase productivity, ways in which tertiary educational institutions can increase productivity using recruitment and selection processes and identify challenges and benefits of recruitment and selection processes with regard to productivity. Further studies can also evaluate the impact of recruitment and selection processes on an institution of higher learning.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Technology: Quality, Durban University of Technology, 2011 / The manufacturing sector, considered to be an important industry in any country, is often plagued with a significant degree of competition due to global marketing. In order to cope with this challenge, organisations attempt to improve their manufacturing operations by using different tools and techniques to reduce costs while remaining profitable. This study investigated the existing lean production system of an automotive manufacturing organisation in Durban. The objective of the study was to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current lean manufacturing process in an attempt to improve quality and productivity. An empirical study was conducted, using a survey questionnaire with an assessment score ranking to gather and evaluate employees’ responses pertaining to lean application in the production environment. The quantitative method of research was adopted. The results of the study showed evidence of misalignment and inconsistencies for lean adoption in the organisation. There were significant relationships established between departments and job positions. The analysis demonstrated that operators within production showed the highest sentiment of disagreement for certain lean principles. The validity of the operators’ responses was significant as operators are the frontline of all processes and were in the best position to rank the extent of lean adoption. Several important findings on the implications of lean activities that affect manufacturing performance were revealed. The study concluded that a significant gap exists between the actual adoption of lean principles on the shop floor to those that are documented. It is recommended that organisations develop structured follow up procedures in order to have more control of the production system and thus ensure sustainability. Future research should focus at incorporating better and more efficient lean assessment tools to identify gaps in the production system and to replicate this study to track other South African organisations that claim to manufacture lean.