Good corporate governance has, in recent years, been placed on centre stage worldwide and several frameworks have been put in place to enable organisations as well as higher education institutions to adhere to effective IT governance with regards to IT service delivery and support. At the same time, demand from users for access to corporate resources with their own personal devices other than desktop or laptop computers and options such as cloud computing, social media and mobility have converged into a renewed driving force influencing all IT decisions regarding service delivery and support, whilst higher education institutions attempt to comply with governance regulations. The aim of this study was to investigate whether ITIL as an IT governance framework is still applicable and relevant to a changed service delivery context in IT service delivery departments in the higher education sector in South Africa. Higher education in South Africa has not been excluded from adhering to good governance and the draft Regulations for Reporting by Higher Education Institutions have been updated with the recommendations of King III which, for the first time, addressed IT governance and insisted on management to implement an IT governance framework. ITIL is one of the most widely used governance frameworks, however its position as a technology on the Gartner Hype Cycles for Education for 2011 and 2012 displayed a move backwards from being widely understood to a display of waning interest amongst institutions in the education sector worldwide. Exploratory research found that ITIL is still valued as a governance framework in higher education in South Africa however staff members in IT support departments displayed a resistance to change and also found it difficult to implement ITIL processes. This is, however, not primarily due to a changing IT service delivery context. Findings also indicated that ITIL should be considered as a set of guidelines and best practices and not a governance framework as such. Recommendations towards a paradigm shift regarding ITIL as a governance framework per se as well as a proposal towards a possible alternative conceptual IT governance framework incorporating only ITIL guidelines and best practices as well as COBIT for risk management were put forward. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The relevance and reliability of annual financial reports as a basis for making decisions about an organisation came in dispute after a series of corporate collapses. Sustainability reports have similarly suffered weaknesses and stakeholders are unable to form a comprehensive picture of an organisation’s performance and its ability to create and sustain value. Integrated reporting incorporates concise and material information from financial statements and the sustainability report and other sources to enable stakeholders to evaluate the organisation’s performance and to make an informed assessment about its ability to create and sustain value. The focus of this study was to investigate the opinion of employees as stakeholders of a South African bank and their perception of the relevance of the elements in an integrated report, if they had to assess the ability of an organisation to sustain value in the future. A literature study was conducted to address the concept of integrated reporting and the integrated report as well as relevant aspects. Based on the literature study, integrated reporting should enable stakeholders to assess the ability of the organisation to create and sustain value over the short-, medium- and long-term. Special attention has been given to the elements to be included in an integrated report as suggested by the IRC SA’s framework and employees as stakeholders of organisations. The latter has been used as basis of the empirical study that was conducted. The empirical study focused on the opinion of employees regarding the relevance of the eight elements in an integrated report as stakeholders of a South African bank and it was conducted by means of a self-completion questionnaire. The internal consistency and reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by calculating Cronbach alpha coefficients and it had acceptable reliability. Frequency distributions, mean values and standard deviations were calculated as well as independent t-tests and Anovas to determine the differences between the means of different groups within the selected demographic variables and the constructs. Furthermore, effect size values (d-values) were used to indicate if there were practical significant differences between any demographical variables regarding the constructs and individual questions. In the final chapter, conclusions were drawn based on the literature and empirical study. It was evident from the empirical study that most of the respondents found the elements to be either moderately or totally relevant to be included in a report, if the ability of an organisation has to be assessed to sustain value in the future. Recommendations were provided on three elements (business model, remuneration policies and analytical commentary) and the report was concluded by recommending possible future research that could be conducted based on this study. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Good corporate governance has, in recent years, been placed on centre stage worldwide and several frameworks have been put in place to enable organisations as well as higher education institutions to adhere to effective IT governance with regards to IT service delivery and support. At the same time, demand from users for access to corporate resources with their own personal devices other than desktop or laptop computers and options such as cloud computing, social media and mobility have converged into a renewed driving force influencing all IT decisions regarding service delivery and support, whilst higher education institutions attempt to comply with governance regulations. The aim of this study was to investigate whether ITIL as an IT governance framework is still applicable and relevant to a changed service delivery context in IT service delivery departments in the higher education sector in South Africa. Higher education in South Africa has not been excluded from adhering to good governance and the draft Regulations for Reporting by Higher Education Institutions have been updated with the recommendations of King III which, for the first time, addressed IT governance and insisted on management to implement an IT governance framework. ITIL is one of the most widely used governance frameworks, however its position as a technology on the Gartner Hype Cycles for Education for 2011 and 2012 displayed a move backwards from being widely understood to a display of waning interest amongst institutions in the education sector worldwide. Exploratory research found that ITIL is still valued as a governance framework in higher education in South Africa however staff members in IT support departments displayed a resistance to change and also found it difficult to implement ITIL processes. This is, however, not primarily due to a changing IT service delivery context. Findings also indicated that ITIL should be considered as a set of guidelines and best practices and not a governance framework as such. Recommendations towards a paradigm shift regarding ITIL as a governance framework per se as well as a proposal towards a possible alternative conceptual IT governance framework incorporating only ITIL guidelines and best practices as well as COBIT for risk management were put forward. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The relevance and reliability of annual financial reports as a basis for making decisions about an organisation came in dispute after a series of corporate collapses. Sustainability reports have similarly suffered weaknesses and stakeholders are unable to form a comprehensive picture of an organisation’s performance and its ability to create and sustain value. Integrated reporting incorporates concise and material information from financial statements and the sustainability report and other sources to enable stakeholders to evaluate the organisation’s performance and to make an informed assessment about its ability to create and sustain value. The focus of this study was to investigate the opinion of employees as stakeholders of a South African bank and their perception of the relevance of the elements in an integrated report, if they had to assess the ability of an organisation to sustain value in the future. A literature study was conducted to address the concept of integrated reporting and the integrated report as well as relevant aspects. Based on the literature study, integrated reporting should enable stakeholders to assess the ability of the organisation to create and sustain value over the short-, medium- and long-term. Special attention has been given to the elements to be included in an integrated report as suggested by the IRC SA’s framework and employees as stakeholders of organisations. The latter has been used as basis of the empirical study that was conducted. The empirical study focused on the opinion of employees regarding the relevance of the eight elements in an integrated report as stakeholders of a South African bank and it was conducted by means of a self-completion questionnaire. The internal consistency and reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by calculating Cronbach alpha coefficients and it had acceptable reliability. Frequency distributions, mean values and standard deviations were calculated as well as independent t-tests and Anovas to determine the differences between the means of different groups within the selected demographic variables and the constructs. Furthermore, effect size values (d-values) were used to indicate if there were practical significant differences between any demographical variables regarding the constructs and individual questions. In the final chapter, conclusions were drawn based on the literature and empirical study. It was evident from the empirical study that most of the respondents found the elements to be either moderately or totally relevant to be included in a report, if the ability of an organisation has to be assessed to sustain value in the future. Recommendations were provided on three elements (business model, remuneration policies and analytical commentary) and the report was concluded by recommending possible future research that could be conducted based on this study. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

As the King III code has been described as the future of corporate governance the question has to be asked whether corporate South Africa is able to translate this international best practice document into best practice implementation. The purpose of this research was to assess how companies and industry experts have interpreted the requirements of King III – Governing Stakeholder Relationships – and to see if there was a change in focus by companies and their boards ‘to stakeholder engagement and reputation management’. Through qualitative interviews the objective of the research was to: • find out to what extent companies had adopted the recommendations on governing stakeholder relationship (King III); • confer with industry experts as to what companies are expected to report on when they adopt King III principles on governing stakeholder relationships; and • ascertain if there was a common understanding of the adoption of King III – Governing Stakeholder Relationships – from a company and industry perspective? For business leaders who have accepted that the sustainability of the system depends on delivering wealth creation and economic return for shareholders and stakeholders, sustainably and responsibly and who have placed stakeholder trust at the heart of their companies’ strategy adopting governing stakeholder relationship – governance element eight – recommendations is in synch. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Climate change is undoubtedly a serious challenge facing the world today, and as a result the preservation of the environment is at the top of the agenda for the international community and national governments. Integrated reporting is a global phenomenon driven by the necessity for better information for shareholders and stakeholders. Sustainability reports in South Africa have gained momentum since King III was released in 2009. The purpose of this study is to determine if Ferroalloy manufacturers disclose their carbon emissions in their integrated reports. A literature study was done and content analysis was used to analyse the integrated reports of Ferroalloy manufacturers. On average the integrated reports of Ferroalloy manufacturers comply 41% according to GRI requirements. Governance related points measured complied on average 51%, while internal standards measured 71%. 86% of organisations make use of external standards to report their emissions on. Direct emissions obtained on average 42% as per GRI G4 requirements, while indirect emissions obtained a score of 50%. Emissions that may occur as a result of the usage of organisations products were reported on at only 11% according to the GRI G4 requirements. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Climate change is undoubtedly a serious challenge facing the world today, and as a result the preservation of the environment is at the top of the agenda for the international community and national governments. Integrated reporting is a global phenomenon driven by the necessity for better information for shareholders and stakeholders. Sustainability reports in South Africa have gained momentum since King III was released in 2009. The purpose of this study is to determine if Ferroalloy manufacturers disclose their carbon emissions in their integrated reports. A literature study was done and content analysis was used to analyse the integrated reports of Ferroalloy manufacturers. On average the integrated reports of Ferroalloy manufacturers comply 41% according to GRI requirements. Governance related points measured complied on average 51%, while internal standards measured 71%. 86% of organisations make use of external standards to report their emissions on. Direct emissions obtained on average 42% as per GRI G4 requirements, while indirect emissions obtained a score of 50%. Emissions that may occur as a result of the usage of organisations products were reported on at only 11% according to the GRI G4 requirements. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Thesis (MAcc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Due to the integration of IT into all aspects of modern-day businesses, it is vital that the risks associated with IT are governed as an integral element of enterprise-wide corporate governance. The Third King Report on Corporate Governance (King III) was issued by the South African Chapter of the Institute of Directors in September 2009 and becomes operational on 1 March 2010. This marks the first time that the King Report has specifically addressed IT governance. King III will apply to all corporate entities. Such entities could benefit from applying an IT governance framework to ensure that they adequately address all aspects of IT governance, as required by King III. One of the comprehensive frameworks available is COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology) issued by ISACA (previously known as the Information Systems Audit and Control Association). King III mentions the fact that COBIT could be used to assess and implement IT governance within an entity. The aim of this research is to determine whether the use of COBIT ensures compliance with King III’s requirements relating to IT governance. It was found that the main requirements in King III relating to IT governance and the processes of COBIT are well aligned, and, as a result, COBIT could be used effectively to ensure compliance with King III in relation to IT governance. However, an entity would still have to pay attention to certain King III-specific requirements. Furthermore, it was found that the application of the principles in COBIT could further strengthen the IT governance of an entity, as COBIT also addresses the more detailed activities, such as the implementation and operation of the IT system, which is not specifically addressed by King III.

Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / In June 2009, there were 56 244 not-for-profit organisations registered with the Department of Social Development in South Africa. In addition, there are about 100 000 informal (non-registered) not-for-profit organisations in South Africa. The budget allocation of these organisations varies from R100 thousand to R20 million. The South African not-for-profit sector comprises of three types of organisations, namely the Section 21 companies, trusts and voluntary associations. The Non Profit Organisations Act, No. 71 of 1997, came into effect on 1 September 1998 to assist and guide the not-for-profit sector in improving its governance practices. Globally and in South Africa, we see a shift in the focus of governance in the not-for-profit sector. In 2005, a broad forum of South African organisations, donors and government representatives developed a code of good governance for not-for-profit organisations. The forum focused on the need of profit-motivated organisations to invest in community and social developments that exhibit good governance practices. Corporate governance in South Africa has its foundation in the first King Report of 1994. This report, King I, was the result of the work of a committee, formed to address a code of good practices for corporate governance. Its purpose was to promote the highest standard of governance in South Africa, and it is not enforceable by law. In 2009, the third version of the King Report, King III, was released to enhance the current set of governance practices. In the South African context, the King Report is the key piece of best practices that drives governance in the for-profit sector. The not-for-profit sector in South Africa is transforming and adapting to the changing external environment. There is a requirement to have good governance practices in the sector. The size and nature of the organisation would determine the areas of governance that the organisation would apply. The “apply or explain” principles of King III provide each not-for-profit organisation with the flexibility to apply good governance practices.

The objective of this research was to perform an explorative study to identify the position of Human Resources (HR) departments in companies in South Africa as custodians of the King III code; their knowledge and understanding of the King III code; and their role within corporate governance. The HR department has the responsibility to manage corporate governance by using the King III code as guideline. The main research questions were: Does HR management know, understand, apply and have the ability to use the King III code in terms of ethical decision making and what role does the HR department play within corporate governance? A random sample of available HR managers, senior HR consultants and HR directors was taken and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The results indicated that the respondents did not know, understand or use the King III code. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013