Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / Organisations are continuously involved in the process of selection, prioritisation and execution of projects in order to achieve some stated objective, within the constraints of a finite set of resources. The problem that many organisations face is how to go about making the decisions to maximise the value of the investment in these projects. Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is a management concept that facilitates and support the decision-making processes to ensure that the optimal mix of projects in a portfolio supporting a particular organisational objective. However, there is no generally accepted standard definition of PPM. This absence of an accepted definition can lead to confusion when organisations implement PPM. A well-defined, accepted standard supported by qualifying criteria will thus enable organisations to make informed decisions about the application of PPM. It will also lead to a better understanding of the PPM value proposition. The purpose of this report is to define exactly PPM entails. It recommends a standard definition that will enable an organisation to understand the use and benefit of PPM. The author reviewed the many different definitions of PPM from different perspectives namely: academic literature, industry bodies, popular press, software vendors and consulting groups. A critical review of the literature was performed to clearly define the concept. All of the different definitions were reviewed and compared within, and amongst, the different perspectives. The final definition of project portfolio management is presented as follows: Project Portfolio Management is a strategic management concept with the objective of ensuring that the portfolio of projects is aligned with and support the organisational strategy. This is done through the integration of strategic and operational management levels within the organisation. An important insight of the research is that projects, and portfolios of projects, can be considered as change initiatives and investments the organisation has made, or plans to make in future. Within this context PPM is positioned on a strategic management level within the organisation to assist in bringing about the change in the correct manner. PPM involves a dynamic decision-making process (defined in this report) where the selection and prioritisation of projects to be executed is done within the constraints of a limited pool of available resources. The selection and prioritisation of projects is determined by a defined set of criteria discussed in this report.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001 / Is Management or Leadership ability a prerequisite for a successful project Supervisor/facilitator? Management and Leadership: In traditional thinking managers requires certain competencies to be able to plan, organize, direct and control the allocation of human, material, financial and information resources in the pursuit of organisational goals. Management is therefore a technical discipline of applying and administering authority over others, which is given through a formalised structural arrangement of the organisation. Leadership is about vision and influence, ie. the ability to obtain followers. Leaders are also seen as people who communicate effectively, which leads to recognition, which in turn leads to influence. Leadership is therefore a quality of obtaining results from others through personal influence. The distinction between leadership and management is perhaps in the fact that the former focuses more on setting the vision and relying on softer skills such as interpersonal skills to communicate the vision and generate commitment and enthusiasm to make it happen, while the other concentrate on the harder more functional issues of planning and controlling. Project management: Project management is a structured but flexible process for producing a new end result. Its success depends on the application of a two-step sequence: First plan - then produce. Success from a project management perspective requires being on time, within budget and meeting requirements. However, from a project perspective, a successful project is clearly one in which the 'customer' ends up satisfied. Optimum project management success is therefore obtained when both success dimensions are achieved simultaneously. Project Success is dependent on the nature of the organization (sector, activities, structure), the nature of the project, nature of the project work (complexity, scale, stature), but most importantly the personality of the project manager. Hence, must the project manager be a manager or leader? The various authors generally agree that leadership is important to the success of a project because leadership is essentially about motivating people. Also, what may be characterized, as "managership" is equally important because this is about getting things done. To get a project started off right, the project manager must become a leader. However, the style of leadership does need to change as the project progresses through its life cycle. Indeed, there comes a point in time when "managership" may be more important than "leadership. Failure to match an appropriate style to project circumstances can lead to unsatisfactory project results. Project management style classification: Having stated that the style of leadership needs to change as the project progresses we base our classification on the work done mostly by R. M. Wideman, whose research focused on four project leader profiles, namely: The Explorer: entrepreneur type project leaders have a vision of the future being bold, courageous and imaginative, constantly searching for opportunities and improvements. The Driver: distinctly action-oriented, hard working, hard driving, pragmatic, realistic, resourceful and resolute. The Coordinator: have a more independent and detached view of their surroundings and responsive to the views of project team members. The Administrator: recognizes the need for stability and optimize productivity through maximizing repetition, information assembly and analyzing, scheduling, trade-ofts to resolve conflicts and problems, in advance. Although experienced and skilled project managers often find themselves 'shifting gears' to suit current circumstances during the course of a project, the literature suggest that it is unusual to find all four traits in a single person. The study also discusses research done into the availability of people suited to various roles in project work. The research concluded that the Explorer (entrepreneur) type makes up only about 1-2% of the population, some 5-10%, are of the Driver (marshal) type, some 5-10%, are of the Coordinator (catalyst) type and 25- 30% are of the Administrator (stabilizer) "professional" types. Another 20-25% of the population is probably more suited as "followers". That still leaves about a third of the population who are most likely uncomfortable and unsuited to working on projects at all. If these statistics holds true, then the rate of unsatisfactory projects should come as no surprise considering the scarcity of people naturally suited for project management.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to understand the strengths and challenges of a coaching intervention for managers in Botswana, as no research seems to have been conducted on coaching interventions in this country of Africa. The main research question was divided into three sub-questions, to study the strengths and challenges in relation to (1) the coaching outcomes, (2) the coaching process, and (3) the coaching relationship. The research approach employed to answer the research questions was qualitative research methodology, based on practitioner research. A coaching intervention was conducted by the practitioner-researcher as the coach in a listed, professionally-managed private sector company engaged in financial services in Botswana. The participating company selected seven managers for the coaching programme consisting of five coaching sessions over three months (May, June and July, 2014). For credibility and trustworthiness in this research, triangulation was used to collect data from three independent sources – interviews from the coachee sample, interviews from the coachees’ superiors, and the practitioner-researcher’s field notes and observations. Data analysis was carried out using thematic analysis techniques. The strengths and challenges related to outcomes, process and relationship found in this study generally confirmed corresponding themes in the literature reviewed. This research makes a positive contribution to the body of knowledge, specifically to coaching in Botswana where no previous research studies on coaching are available. The finding that most coachees in this study had a preference for a non-directive coaching style was different to findings in other African countries. In terms of the identified strengths, a key perceived benefit was receiving coaching during organisational change involving restructuring and possible retrenchments. In terms of challenges, the lack of coachee readiness in some coachees seemed to link with other challenges identified by the same coachees; that is, slower progress and change, their preference for a directive style of coaching, and the need for longer and more frequent coaching sessions. The main finding was that the coaching, as a development intervention for managers, has an inherent strength in helping them to actualise their desired development outcomes. This was evidenced by positive responses from the coachees and executives of the company, for whom this intervention was a first time experience of coaching. However, certain challenges were experienced in the process of conducting the intervention. The primary onus, therefore, is on the coach to conduct the coaching practice effectively by being versatile and skilled in dealing with the variety of issues that may arise. The overall conclusion was that this coaching intervention demonstrated more inherent strengths than challenges. The challenges were felt mostly by the coachees, offering insights to the coachees’ organisation on how to support the coaching process.The practitioner-researcher recommends that further research be conducted with a larger sample, using a longer-term coaching intervention of six to eight months. The research interviews should be conducted three to six months after concluding the coaching to establish sustainability of the outcomes. Using an independent interviewer may eliminate researcher bias.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

<p> Literature review verifies the fact that business profitability depends upon various factors. It also emphasizes the importance of the role microbusiness as employment generators. They will improve countries&rsquo; economies if they are effectively and efficiently managed. To be effective and efficient, microbusiness need specific skills and knowledge. </p><p> In Puerto Rico, microbusiness represent more than 50% of its entrepreneurial businesses. The results of this investigation weakly validate the proposed business profitability dependable factors: entrepreneurial attitudes, entrepreneurial orientation, enterprise resources, management knowledge, and external environment. They also validated the proposed model and statistics. That is, microentrepreneurs from the southern region of Puerto Rico do not know the factors which determine business profitability. On the other hand, they do know the profitability margin are important for their business decisions. </p><p> The most important factor is enterprise resources, been the financial factor the most relevant. If they do not have the capacity to acquire financial resources, how can they contribute to the local economy? How can they improve their business profitability? In conclusion, microentrepreneurs need to improve their business knowledge and skills in order to outperform in their profitability. </p>

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This thesis examines the characteristics of practical one dimensional trim loss problems. As a result of the wide range of these characteristics, previous scheduling methods have only had a limited range of applicability. A heuristic approach is proposed, based on pattern enumeration, which can be used to develop scheduling methods for a reasonably wide class of trim loss problems. The effectiveness of the approach depends on its ability to avoid the intractable residual problems which normally arise towards the end of a heuristic scheduling procedure. The approach is used in three case studies, and the efficiency of the schedules generated is compared with that yielded by other methods.