The aim of this research was to assess the business processes development and management practices as practiced in South Africa. This study applied a multiple case studies research strategy. It used the qualitative research method as its research approach, and used the grounded theory technique as its data analysis method. The participants were senior business processes developers from different business organisations with experience ranging from six to thirty-two years. Based on the participants' views, this study found that the need for effective and well defined business processes exist as long as business organisations exist. This is because business processes create harmony and ensure control of different actions and activities of different stakeholders internal and external to the organisation to ensure that organisations produce quality products and services that satisfy the needs of their customers (internal and external) and at the same time ensure that the vision, mission, and objectives of these organisations are achieved. This study also found that effective business processes can be developed only if the organisations apply the tested best practices and principles. Including a better understanding and mastering of the environmental factors that interact with business processes such as the vision, mission, and objectives of the organisation. The understanding and involvement of people (users and executives managers) within the organisation, the understanding of the needs and requirements of the business and its external stakeholders, the ability to select proper management framework (s) and other related tool (s) to be adapted or entirely used to develop the processes that satisfy the identified needs. It is also important to mention that this study identified the ability to establish proper measurement units (such as KPAs or KPIs) to assess the performance of business processes and proactively develop strategies to deal with challenges and quality requirements when developing and managing business processes are key activities toward successful development of business processes. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2011

Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2011

South African Police Service (SAPS) is mandated by act no 68 of 1996 to ensure a safe environment for all people living in South Africa. Like any other government department in South Africa, SAPS utilises public funds to perform day to day duties and to provide better service to the community in the form of a secure environment for all people living in this country. South African Police Service is regulated by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA act 1 of 1999) in utilising the public funds. PFMA act requires that accounting officer be appointed in terms of section 36 (1) of the act and furthermore, requires that the accounting officer should ensure in terms of section 38 (1) (i) that the department has and maintains effective, efficient and transparent systems of financial and risk management and internal control. It also requires in terms of section 38 (1) (iii) that accounting officer ensures and maintains an appropriate procurement and procurement and provisioning system which is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective. According to the reports by the Auditor General in the previous three (3) financial years (2008/2009 - 2009/2010 - 2010/2011) financial management within SAPS has been unsatisfactory. The Auditor General pointed out same problem year on year of fruitless and wasteful expenditure which in many instances are caused by the penalties for not paying license fees in time. These suggested that control and measures were not in place to eradicate the problem . The report of 2008/2009 by the Auditor General revealed that "the accounting officer at SAPS did not ensure that the department has and maintains an effective, efficient and transparent system and internal controls regarding performance management. The information gathered from the study undertaken in SAPS North West from employees working at Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Finance at Potchefstroom, Rustenburg and Mafikeng revealed that finances while managed well, more needs to be done to ensure the effective utilisation of the finances. Fruitless and wasteful expenditure was blamed on management for not following the plan in place and procedures when procuring goods and services. Incompetent employees were also found to be contributing to the rise in fruit less and wasteful expenditures. / Thesis (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2012

<p> The primary aim of the following research was to investigate the impact of holding company corporate misconduct on subsidiary-employee attitudes regarding organizational commitment and job satisfaction, as well as how differing ethical integration strategies may moderate these relationships. This study relied on a quasi-experimental, vignette research design to elicit (and examine differences in) participant responses on a series of online, self-report survey measures. Manipulations within four conditions were used to test hypotheses related to subsidiary-employee perception of a parent company&rsquo;s ethical conduct. Specifically looked at was how the influence on job satisfaction and organizational commitment, the impact of subsidiary control over ethics policies following an acquisition and whether a greater reliance on social media may strengthen these relationships. Analyses revealed many significant main effects related to perceptions of ethical stance and policy control, however little support was found for the potential moderating effects of policy control or social media use. Nevertheless, there are many important implications which can be drawn from this research as well as additional questions which may necessitate a closer examination of contemporary acquisition strategy. </p>

The tension uncovered during this study is between two worlds: the very pragmatic and enormously challenging world of managing in a rapidly changing and highly competitive global market, and the scientific world of strategic management thinking and the concern that contemporary strategic management is unable to deal effectively with the modern dilemma of globalisation. This dilemma is as a result of change; before a current scenario can be solved, the next evolution of scenarios is upon the business community. In today's turbulent world, globalisation is sweeping away the market and industry structures that, historically, have defined competition. Swept away with them are the classic approaches to strategic management, nearly all of which mistakenly assume that a predictable path to the future can be paved from the experiences of the past. The solution: Strategy should be dynamic and should change constantly in order to contend with external turbulences. Organisations should brace themselves for a future of hyper-competition. They should respond to these rapid changes in the business environment by adopting a new approach to strategy, one that combines speed, openness, and flexibility. Organisations need: an ability to sense changes in their environment; an ability to understand the impact, of this change, on the whole; a willingness to adapt to change; and an ability to adapt. Experimenting with new strategies is also important. Constant testing, adaptation and building on what is found to be successful with customers is the way ahead, especially when one is trying to re-invent the value provided, or the way in which it is produced and delivered. The overall purpose of this experimental strategic learning and management process is to establish which strategic options or elements thereof are robust across the possible competitive scenarios, and use the healthiest elements to develop your strategic intent - your core strategic focus or theme.

<p> Stakeholders are increasingly insistent that companies increase firm value. The problem is that stakeholders of financial services firms are unable to accurately determine firm value. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the accuracy of 4 valuation models in predicting the market value of equity of commercial finance companies. Study participating companies were 8 listed U.S. or Canadian commercial finance companies. The theoretical constructs of the study included the accuracy of valuation models, modern portfolio theory, and the correlation of book value of equity to market value of equity. Financial information on participating companies obtained from public filings were input data in 4 valuation models. Multiple regression analysis of valuation model results and book value of equity (the predictor variables) were used to determine the accuracy of the models in predicting the market value of equity (response variable). The findings of the study showed that all 4 valuation models in combination with the book value of equity were statistically significant predictors of the market value of equity of the participating companies at the <i>p</i> &lt; .05 level. However, the dividend discount model (DDM) and residual income model (RIM) were statistically more accurate without the combination of book value of equity (<i>p</i> = .000 and <i>p</i> = .000, respectively) than the discounted cash flow and risk-adjusted discounted cash flow valuation models (<i>p</i> = .371 and <i>p</i> = .904, respectively). The results of this study contribute to positive social change by providing business leaders an ability to measure the effectiveness of their actions in creating firm value. Corporate social responsibility activities correlate to value creation for firms that engage in promoting employee welfare and other stakeholder welfare.</p>

<p>Cougars (<i>Puma concolor</i>) are difficult to census due to their large home ranges, low densities, and cryptic nature. The conventional &ldquo;gold-standard&rdquo; method for estimating cougar abundance entails the capture and radio-tagging of individuals in a study area in an attempt to acquire a direct enumeration of animals in the population. While this method provides an accurate abundance estimate, it is logistically challenging and prohibitively expensive. Noninvasive survey techniques may offer the ability to both accurately and inexpensively monitor cougar populations. While noninvasive techniques have been used on cougar populations, there remain questions on their accuracy and comparative efficacy. We estimated the density of a cougar population in Northwest Wyoming using direct enumeration, and used this estimate as a reference with which to evaluate the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of three types of noninvasive surveys performed between 2010 and 2014. The noninvasive methods included two annual mark-recapture sessions of: 1) remote camera trapping, 2) winter hair-collection transects, and 3) scat detection dog surveys. </p><p> We GPS tracked 13 adult cougars (males = 5, females = 8) over 3 annual periods (Sep 2010&ndash;Sep 2013). We used proportional home range overlap to determine density in a 1,570 km² area. The average density was 0.82 cougars/100 km² (&plusmn; 0.10 SD; n = 3 years). The remote camera surveys produced a mean density of 0.60 cougars/100 km² (n = 2 years; relative SD = 56.5%). The scat detection dog surveys produced an average density of 2.41 cougars/100 km2 (n = 2 years; relative SD = 12.6%). The winter transects failed to produce a sample size large enough for an abundance estimate. Due to the inclusion of non-adults in the scat sampling, and the fact that the reference estimate was essentially a minimum count of adults, we believe that the scat-based estimate was more accurate than the lower estimate produced by remote cameras. Additional analysis indicated that individual identification of cougars in photographs may not be reliable, challenging the validity of photo-based abundance estimates of cougars. On a cost-per-detection basis, scat detection dogs were the most cost effective method (scat detection dogs = $341; remote cameras = $3,241; winter transects = $7,627). </p>

The vulnerability of the Gulf Coast to inundation poses a real threat to both national security and the regional economy due to the concentration of the nations energy infrastructure throughout the waterways of the southeastern United States waterways. Mitigation efforts thus far have been qualitative and fail to provide raw, quantitative data to aid in the successful management of flooding liabilities. This paper proposes a novel approach to analyzing infrastructure susceptibility by means of a component-based approach to consequences posed by water-borne incursions. Systems are simplified to collections of components, each with a lowest-member elevation, thereby identifying the benchmark for vulnerability. Further, the maintenance efforts required to return these systems to processing capability are integrated into the component database, identified by available repair and replacement tasks. Simulations for site-specific flood information are analyzed through National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency data, which provide the expected inundation levels for the five separate categories of tropical events on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. These levels are applied to the elevations determined in the component analysis, thereby producing a legitimate estimate, measured in manhours, for reconstruction efforts following a flood event. These manhours are then used to calculate cost within a labor database composed of technical laborers and supervision, yielding a labor cost. Material costs based on historic pricing, equipment costs based on current market rates, and company overhead costs, composed of site project management, are aggregated to realize a total direct cost as a result of inundation at a specified flood depth. From this total direct cost, decisions at the owner level can be made concerning acceptable risk with quantitative data to support mitigation and prevention strategies.

Most research focused on housing costs has noted a paucity of empirical cost data for residential construction, and researchers have suggested that collecting these data for individual metropolitan areas is ideal. The goal of this study is to obtain these data and compare them to national average sources to determine how well national data represent local costs. Data collection included obtaining prices from big box stores and through a survey of local Baton Rouge residential contractors for material, square foot and assembly costs for the major components of a house (i.e. foundation, wall, roof). From the material cost data evaluated, the results suggest that the average difference between RS Means and locally collected material cost data is minimal; however, RS Means costs were higher than locally collected costs for 67% of the evaluated items. RS Means assembly costs were found to be statistically different from local cost data for 64% of the assemblies tested. Average square foot costs for new residential construction in East Baton Rouge Parish were found to be in the range of $106-$108/SF, excluding the cost of land. NAHB percentage of construction cost data were not statistically different from Baton Rouge percentage of construction costs for the majority of construction stages. Average costs for wind mitigation in the Baton Rouge area were found to be $1.06/SF to increase the roof nailing pattern, $2.34/sf to apply secondary water resistance, and $3.97/SF to install engineered floor-to-wall connectors. These results provide insight into housing cost data for new construction; conceptual budgets for architects during the design stage; quick estimates by those not actively engaged in the construction industry, including homeowners; and provide data for hazard-related loss calculations and future housing economics research.

<p> The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has Division I, Division II, and Division III athletic levels, and the role responsible for the athletic programs at Division I, II, and III colleges and universities are the Athletic Directors (ADs). The title of ADs is the same at all three levels, but research shows that the job description of the ADs at all three levels remains different. From the number of programs offered to the amount of tuition a student athlete is allowed to receive, there are many differences that the AD must be cognizant of because these stipulations can have an impact on the success of the student-athletes. Research on roles and job descriptions of the ADs at all three levels has been limited in regards to providing pertinent information. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to compare the roles of the ADs at the Division I, Division II, and Division III level of the NCAA and the effects on student athletes. This study included a minimum of 10 ADs from an eastern state in the U.S. who are engaged in the daily programs and procedures of an athletic department within the past year. Through interviews, ADs were interviewed to gain further insight on how the various levels of the NCAA structure effect the ADs and student athlete experiences and the effect on the school sports programs. In addition, curriculum writers for institutions will need to understand the differences of the athletic directors&rsquo; role at each level and adjust their coursework accordingly. School administrators and the NCAA need to understand the differences in the roles of the athletic director at each level and the potential impact these roles will have upon the success of student athletes that attend the schools that correspond to the three levels of NCAA competition.</p>