Intergroup conflicts are rife in public schools and often the bone of contention is promotional posts. These conflicts can affect the quality of teaching and learning if the focus of the teachers moves from the primary purpose of teaching to contesting senior posts. In addition, such contestation often splits the teaching staff into groups or factions. One such split is between the group made up of teachers belonging to the politically-aligned union and the group of teachers from non-politically aligned teacher unions or those not unionised at all. The School Governing Body parent-wing is often caught in conflict between these two groups as it has the legislative power to recommend appointment to the District Director. It is within this context that this study explores the perceptions of stakeholders in selected schools in Diepkloof with regard to intergroup conflict and investigates whether cadre deployment plays a role in this conflict. The findings of this study reveal stakeholders' perceptions that politically-aligned unions tend to exert influence to have their members promoted and, in the process, often overlook better qualified educators.

The lean manufacturing system that evolved in Japan since World War II has leapt across the globe to North America and Europe. The secret success of Japan’s manufacturing machine has been shared. In Europe and America, lean has been identified as a manufacturing best practice that should be adopted to ensure competitive manufacturing efficiency. Many success stories have been told of American companies adopting the Japanese lean tools and techniques. Now, South African manufacturers are implementing the lean manufacturing philosophy, some with more success than others. This research paper explores lean manufacturing implementations at two South African automotive component manufacturers and identifies the critical success factors that have driven the implementation process forward. Commitment from top company executives, extensive training, worker empowerment and other critical success factors for implementing lean manufacturing into a South African environment are identified as a result of the research conducted.

M.Phil. (Engineering Management) / Total Quality Management (TQM) as a management philosophy is driven by top management with employee participation. This encompasses all facets of an organisation, with the aim of producing products and services which meet the customer’s needs.TQM was adopted by project-based organisations in the 1990s in response to increasing global competition. Process engineering design firms are operating in a competitive, global business environment where outsourcing of process engineering design services from other countries is not an uncommon practice. It is argued that TQM is crucial for an organisation’s success and survival. Although various quality management techniques exist, TQM offers the holistic approach necessary to adequately manage design quality. The study investigates the effects of Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation on process engineering design firms. Secondly, the study investigates the extent of TQM adoption by South African process engineering design firms. Lastly, the study investigates the perceived importance of TQM principles. The research questions are: i. What is the effect of TQM on the performance of process engineering design firms? ii. To what extent has TQM been adopted by South African process engineering design firms? iii. What is the perceived importance of TQM principles in process engineering design? The first research question was answered by conducting a literature survey. The author was unable to find studies relating specifically to process engineering design firms. As a result, the literature study was done for engineering firms in general. The study indicates that TQM adoption has a favourable effect on engineering firms. The study reveals that TQM implementation improves employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and financial performance while providing a vision that channels the entire organisation towards improvements in product quality and customer-related performances. The second and third research questions were answered with the use of a questionnaire survey, which measured importance and adoption utilising a 5-point Likert scale. The study reveals that 70% of the firms which participated in the survey have formally adopted TQM while 30% have not. Eighty five per cent of the organisations that have adopted TQM are ISO9001 certified. An adoption rate of 70% indicates an above-average adoption of TQM by South African process engineering design firms. An ISO9001 certification of 85% indicates that South African process engineering design firms are conforming to international quality standards. The adoption of the TQM principles ranges from 66% to 80% (moderate to high). Customer Involvement and Management Commitment are the most highly adopted, while Supplier Quality Management and Continuous Improvement are the least adopted. The firms which have formally adopted TQM report 77% implementation rate, while the firms which have not formally adopted TQM report a 63% implementation rate. Although the firms which have not formally adopted TQM are implementing TQM principles, they have not been able to implement the principles as well as the firms which have formally adopted TQM. The perceived importance of the TQM principles ranges from 78% to 92% (“important” to “very important”). The most important principle is perceived to be Customer Involvement, while Continuous Improvement and Supplier Quality Management are perceived to be the least important. The firms which have formally adopted TQM rate the principles more highly in the importance scale (86%) compared to the firms which have not formally adopted TQM (80%). The results indicate that the firms which have formally adopted TQM find value in doing so. The mean score for the importance of TQM principles is 84%, while the mean score for the adoption of TQM principles is 73%. It is evident from the data that there is a gap between the perceived importance and adoption of the TQM principles. The data suggests that the policies and strategies of the organisation have not achieved full implementation of TQM and have room for improvement.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this study Portfolio Opportunity Distributions (PODs) is applied as an alternative performance evaluation method. Traditionally, Broad-Market Indices or peer group comparisons are used to perform performance evaluation. These methods however have various biases and other problems related to its use. These biases and problems include composition bias, classification bias, concentration, etc. R.J. Surz (1994) introduced PODs in order to eliminate some of these problems. Each fund has its own opportunity set based on its style mandate and constraints. The style mandate of the fund is determined by calculating the fund’s exposure to the nine Surz Style Indices through the use of Returns-Based Style Analysis (RBSA). The indices are created based on the style proposed by R.J. Surz (1994). Some adjustments were made to incorporate the unique nature of the South African equity market. The combination of the fund’s exposures to the indices best explains the return that the fund generated. In this paper the fund’s constraints are based on the regulation requirements imposed on the funds in South Africa by the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act No. 45 of 2002 (CISCA). Thousands of random portfolios are then generated based on the fund’s opportunity set. The return and risk of the simulated portfolios represent the possible investment outcomes that the manager could have achieved given its opportunity set. Together the return and risk of the simulated portfolios represent a range of possible outcomes against which the performance of the fund is compared. It is also possible to determine the skill of the manager since it can be concluded that a manager who consistently outperforms most of the simulated portfolios shows skill in selecting shares to be included in the portfolio and assigning the correct weights to these shares. The South African Rand depreciated quite a bit during the period under evaluation and therefore funds invested large portions of their assets in foreign investments. These investments mostly yielded very high or very low returns compared to the returns available in the domestic equity market which impacted the application of PODs. Although the PODs methodology shows great potential, it is impossible to conclude with certainty whether the PODs methodology is superior to the traditional methods based on the current data. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studie word Portefeulje Geleentheids Verdelings (“PODs”) bekendgestel as ‘n alternatiewe manier om die obrengste van bestuurders te evalueer. Gewoonlik word indekse en die vergelyking van die fonds met soortgelyke fondse gebruik om fondse te evalueer. Die metodes het egter verskeie probleme wat met die gebruik daarvan verband hou. Die probleme sluit onder andere in: die samestelling en klassifikasie van soortgelyke fondse, die konsentrasie in die mark, ens. R.J. Surz (1994) het dus Portefeulje Geleentheids Verdelings (“PODs”) bekendgestel in ‘n poging om sommige van die probeleme te elimineer. Elke fonds het sy eie unieke geleentheids versameling wat gebaseer is op die fonds se styl en enige beperkings wat op die fonds van toepassing is. Die fonds se styl word bepaal deur die fonds se blootstelling aan die nege Surz Styl Indekse te meet met behulp van opbrengs-gebaseerde styl analise (“RBSA”). Die indekse is geskep gebaseer op die metode wat deur R.J. Surz (1994) voorgestel is. Daar is egter aanpassings gemaak om die unieke aard van die Suid-Afrikaanse aandele mark in ag te neem. Die kombinasie van die fonds se blootstelling aan die indekse verduidelik waar die fonds se opbrengs vandaan kom. In die navorsingstuk is die beperkings wat van toepassing is op die fonds afkomstig uit die regulasie vereistes wat deur die “Collective Investment Schemes Control Act No. 45 of 2002 (CISCA)” in Suid-Afrika op fondse van toepassing is. Duisende ewekansige portefeuljes word dan gegenereer gebaseer op die fonds se unieke groep aandele waarin die fonds kan belê. Die opbrengs en risiko van die gesimuleerde portefeuljes verteenwoordig al die moontlike beleggings uitkomste wat die fonds bestuurder kon gegenereer het gegewe die fonds se unieke groep aandele waarin dit kon belê. Die opbrengs en risiko van al die gesimuleerde portefeuljes skep saam ‘n verdeling van moontlike beleggings uitkomste waarteen die opbrengs en risiko van die fonds vergelyk word. Hierdie proses maak dit moontlik om die fonds bestuurder se vermoë om beter as meeste van die gesimuleerde portefeuljes te presteer te bepaal. Die aanname kan gemaak word dat ‘n bestuurder wat konsekwent oor tyd beter as meeste van die gesimuleerde portefeuljes presteer oor die vermoë beskik om die regte aandele te kies om in die portefeulje in te sluit en ook die regte gewigte aan die aandele toe te ken. Die Suid-Afrikaanse Rand het heelwat gedepresieer tydens die evaluasie periode en daarom het fondse groot porsies van hul beleggings oorsee belê. Die beleggings het dus of heelwat groter of heelwat kleiner opbrengste gehad in vergelyking met die opbrengste beskikbaar in die plaaslike aandelemark en dit het die toepassing van PODs beïnvloed. PODs toon baie potential, maar dit is egter onmoontlik om met die huidige data stel vas te stel of dit ‘n beter metode is.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for Doctor of Philosophy in Management Sciences, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / The aim of this study was the development of an Exploratory Framework of Human Capital linked to Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management for the Durban University of Technology as a case study. The main problem revolved around the lack of an integrated road map for the identification, management and operationalisation of an integrated framework for the Durban University of Technology (DUT) in the UoT Sector, focusing on Human Capital capabilities, Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management, which emphasised the need for this study. The three main objectives of the study were to investigate the importance and contribution of Human Capital at the DUT operating in a highly dynamic Knowledge-based Economy, to formulate strategies for the Institution to meet its Human Capital demands in the competitive Knowledge-based Economy and to develop an Exploratory Framework of Human Capital linked to Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management for the Durban University of Technology. The research design adopted was the quantitative paradigm with a pre-coded structured close ended questionnaire comprising the 5 Point Likert Scale that was used to administer the instrument to the selected sample respondents. The questionnaire comprised of 5 Sections, each under a specific main theme related to the research topic. The target population comprised of 1874 employees at the Durban University of Technology. A computerised tool called the Excel Functionality Program was used to generate the random numbers for the sample selection for each group. The sample of 320 employees was selected using simple random sampling without replacement for both the Administrative and Academic staff members at the DUT. A total of 280 questionnaires were returned by the sample respondents. However, 8 questionnaires were discarded as they were incomplete and the final questionnaire returns equated to n = 272, namely, (118 questionnaires from the Academic Staff grouping and 154 questionnaires from the Administrative Staff). This represented a high response rate of 85% which was largely attributed to the researcher using the personal method of data collection. After the study was completed, the researcher solicited the services of a Senior Librarian to run the TURNITIN Program to test the entire thesis for plagiarism which proved useful. In the main, the analysis of the data involved the use of robust non-parametric tests for the empirical analyses using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 for Windows. A variety of non-parametric tests were also used to test some 71 hypotheses formulated for the various sections and components of the study as well the tenability of the Exploratory Framework (Figure 4.1) developed. Some significant findings emerged from the comprehensive statistical analyses which were also corroborated by national and international studies conducted by various researchers who also showed their concordance or discordance with the current findings and were referenced accordingly. It should be noted that the recommendations cannot be generalised to other UoTs in the HE Sector, as this was an in-house investigation involving the DUT as a case study. The main empirical findings of the study, inter alia, included the following: The value of integrating Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management into strategic planning at the DUT, the importance of developing an operationalised Human Capital Scorecard to address the different functions of the Academic and Administrative groups respectively at the DUT and a strong emphasis and role of Strategic Human Resource Management at the DUT. Thus, the Exploratory Framework developed as a model for the DUT within the UoT Sector concomitant with the outcomes and recommendations of the study may prove beneficial for future goal oriented strategies by top management of DUT. The study concludes with suggestions for further research in this emerging field of endeavour. / D

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2006 133, [5] leaves / Project Management is the wave of the future. This discipline and its evolution continues to be one of the principal means by which operational and strategic changes are managed in the enterprise. The importance of Project Management for organisational success will expand, rather than wane, in years to come. Projects, particularly large scale complex ones with multiple stakeholders, are failing at alarming rates despite a wide spectrum of efforts to solve the problem. The lack of meaningful results and outcomes is due, in part, to the fact that organizations tend to operate on a set of unproven assumptions concerning project objectives, business requirements, user expectations, motivations, agendas, schedules, costs and time frames. The management dilemma is that Transnet has committed R 65 billion to projects in the hope of developing its core businesses to that of world-class standards as a logistics service provider in South Africa. Transnet’s capital project division, Protekon, is responsible for managing the projects committed to this R 65bn capital expenditure. Transnet’s perception of Protekon’s failure to successfully deliver projects could result in appointments of external consultancies such as Hatch McDougal and Guba (HMG – an engineering consultant firm). Whereas, previously, Protekon was the monopoly service provider of engineering and project management skills within Transnet, Transnet’s sub-divisions appear to be utilizing outside consultancies more frequently. The reason for procuring engineering and consultancy services external to Transnet, among others, is the perception that Protekon is performing poorly in delivering successful projects. The outsourcing of work, fuelled by the negative perception of Protekon’s performance, directly impacts on the profitability of Protekon in the short to medium term. The objective of this dissertation was firstly to investigate the effect of Protekon’s involvement in Transnet’s project success; and secondly, to recommend strategies to improve the rate of project success, that could be applied within Transnet and Protekon. / M

M. Tech. Civil Engineering / South Africa is categorized as a water stressed country and it is forecasted to experience physical water scarcity by the year 2025 with a yearly water availability of less than 1000m3 per capita. Continuous pollution of the available water resources from the sources, and the high population growth and its attributes will increase pressure on the available resources and probably resulting in increased conflicts over allocations and more stress resulting in water scarcity. The overall aim of the study was to develop tools and strategies for Water Demand Management in Mabopane, Garankuwa and Winterveldt, which are the areas supplied by Sandspruit Works Association.

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2006 133, [5] leaves / Project Management is the wave of the future. This discipline and its evolution continues to be one of the principal means by which operational and strategic changes are managed in the enterprise. The importance of Project Management for organisational success will expand, rather than wane, in years to come. Projects, particularly large scale complex ones with multiple stakeholders, are failing at alarming rates despite a wide spectrum of efforts to solve the problem. The lack of meaningful results and outcomes is due, in part, to the fact that organizations tend to operate on a set of unproven assumptions concerning project objectives, business requirements, user expectations, motivations, agendas, schedules, costs and time frames. The management dilemma is that Transnet has committed R 65 billion to projects in the hope of developing its core businesses to that of world-class standards as a logistics service provider in South Africa. Transnet’s capital project division, Protekon, is responsible for managing the projects committed to this R 65bn capital expenditure. Transnet’s perception of Protekon’s failure to successfully deliver projects could result in appointments of external consultancies such as Hatch McDougal and Guba (HMG – an engineering consultant firm). Whereas, previously, Protekon was the monopoly service provider of engineering and project management skills within Transnet, Transnet’s sub-divisions appear to be utilizing outside consultancies more frequently. The reason for procuring engineering and consultancy services external to Transnet, among others, is the perception that Protekon is performing poorly in delivering successful projects. The outsourcing of work, fuelled by the negative perception of Protekon’s performance, directly impacts on the profitability of Protekon in the short to medium term. The objective of this dissertation was firstly to investigate the effect of Protekon’s involvement in Transnet’s project success; and secondly, to recommend strategies to improve the rate of project success, that could be applied within Transnet and Protekon.

Payment for services has been a challenge for municipalities for sometime in South Africa. This has caused municipalities to employ a number of strategies to assist in the collection of revenue. The methods of collection that have been used in the past mostly focused on the stick approach where your services would just be cut until you make the payment. Methods like Masakhane tried to explain why ratepayers needed to pay but fell short as the emphasis was on payment for services and not on the obligation for the municipalities to provide quality services as well. Loyalty programmes are used widely by the private sector and are proving worthwhile in getting customers to become loyal. The purpose of this study therefore is to find out the effectiveness of the municipal payment incentive scheme as a loyalty programme in the City of Tshwane- Soshanguve. Relationship building, the researcher found, is an important component in establishing loyalty amongst customers. This study follows the conceptual framework for modelling customer lifetime value and building customer equity. Soshanguve which is a township was chosen as an area of focus. Soshanguve is one of the biggest areas in the City of Tshwane area. The sample had to be representative of such a big population of about 88 000 households. The study used a stratified random sampling method of 375 Soshanguve households. The results attained from Soshanguve can be applied to other townships found in the City of Tshwane as they have similar characteristics. Structured interviews were conducted with 375 respondents who were drawn from ten different wards that are billed by the municipality to represent households. The questionnaire had both open ended and closed ended questions. The data that was collected was analysed using content analysis from the computer and open ended questions were self analysed. Secondary research was done using City of Tshwane documents and its website. The researcher found that municipalities and government departments have not used this kind of a loyalty programme to encourage payment; City of Tshwane is the first in South Africa to employ such a strategy. The study found that respondents believe the City of Tshwane should offer affordable services and improve service delivery as part of improving payment for services. The incentive scheme, although in its early stages was found to be a motivating factor for the majority of the respondents to pay on time because they want to qualify to win and get the cash back rewards and prizes offered by the scheme. The study found that there was a need to use local merchants that can be accessible to a large number of people. The researcher also found that the marketing and visibility for such a scheme was of utmost importance. On the overall the respondents were happy and proud to have such a programme, for them the municipal incentive payment scheme showed a caring side of the municipality for those meeting their obligation. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

The provision of goods and services by aquatic ecosystems plays an important role in socio-economic development and livelihoods in the southern African region. Water resource management in South Africa developed from an agrarian and pastoral focus up to 1956 to also supporting mining and industrial activities. This led to the introduction of the resource water quality objectives and pollution prevention approaches, which balanced the needs for development and protection. Prior to 1994, access to water resources was limited to riparian property owners and a minority of the population who controlled industrial and mining activities. The establishment of a democratic government amplified the need for accelerated socio-economic development, with equity, efficiency and sustainability being the principles of such development. New approaches were needed, which could achieve these development objectives and secure the resource base for future generations. An overview of the scientific process highlighted a risk based approach as potentially supporting the much needed balance between development and protection. The aims of this thesis is to develop a framework and process for the application of ecological risk assessment to water resource management in South Africa, to use case studies to draft guidelines for ecological risk assessment and to assess the degree to which ecological risk assessment can contribute to effective water resource management in South Africa. The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s guidelines for ecological risk assessment were identified amongst international best practice as meeting the requirements for local application. A framework was drafted for ecological risk assessment in South Africa, with the main phases being to agree on objectives, formulate the analysis plan, analyse information, characterise risk and manage risk. Modifications from the Environmental Protection Agency’s process include the order of activities in the first phase, the explicit testing of hypotheses and clarification of the evaluation of existing data or collection of new data. An industrial effluent case study was used to assess the applicability of the proposed framework. The case study dealt specifically with the assessment of risks posed by current conditions and long term licence conditions. The framework was found to be useful to identify weaknesses in the established monitoring programme and to evaluate lines of evidence to assess the degree to which the stated conditions would have unacceptable consequences. The study highlighted several weaknesses in the suggested framework, of which the most critical is the interpretation of the risk hypothesis as a testable null hypothesis. It became clear that cause-effect relationships should be stated as the risk hypothesis, whereas the assessment should evaluate expressed or expected conditions against a risk profile for a given stressor to benefit fully from the risk assessment approach. Changes to the framework terminology were suggested as well as nested feedback loops to allow for iterative processes where new information becomes available. The proposed guidelines incorporate the learning from the case study application as well as feedback from a peer review process. The guidelines incorporate the suggested actions under each phase as well as notes providing the rationale for each step. Three case study outlines were provided to assist users with the interpretation of the guidelines in different applications. The proposed guidelines are applied in an ecological Reserve determination case study, which specified the ecological water quality requirements. The study found that a risk-based approach was followed in the development of the water resource management policy, but the Reserve determination method is generally hazard based, with site specific modifications of the target values being allowed on a conservative basis. The case study highlighted a lack of readiness of water resource managers to accommodate scientific results expressed as probability distributions in support of management decisions. The thesis is concluded with a discussion of the key learning points of the ecological risk assessment development process. The evaluation highlights the move from stating and testing a null hypothesis to stating the risk hypothesis and evaluating the stated conditions against a risk profile. Several implementation challenges are highlighted, with specific recommendations made for adopting the proposed guidelines.