M.Comm. / The aim of this study was to determine the level of capital and labour productivity in the South African manufacturing industry and their impact on the industry's level of competitiveness on the international markets. It was established at the outset that there is an important link between productivity and competitiveness. Before a quantitative analysis of South African manufacturing and that of some of this country's major international competitors could be done, it was first necessary to examine the theoretical foundations behind the concepts of productivity and competitiveness. It was found that international competitiveness can be judged in terms of the ability of industries to generate wealth more rapidly than their international competitors. It was established that the main driving force for achieving these goals is growth in the productivity of input factors. This, in turn, is determined by growth in human capital, research and development, government policies and economies of scale. Various macroeconomic measurements of productivity and competitiveness were examined. At the domestic level these included growth in domestic investment as a necessary requirement for increasing the capital stock and capital-labour ratio, as well as measurements of the level of domestic education. In order to make international comparisons unit labour costs; terms of trade; the real effective exchange rates and growth in exports were examined. The level of efficiency of the utilisation of input factors, capital and labour, was found to be critical to productivity performance. In the context of the Cobb-Douglas production function marginal productivity and the marginal rate of technical substitution were examined. That the ultimate aim of a production process is the optimal combination of input factors was highlighted and the efficiency criterion as a technique was discussed. The optimal utilization of the budget outlay was established as a test of whether or not economic waste occurs, and the methodology for establishing whether economies of scale exist was examined. The quantitative analysis of South Africa's international level of competitiveness at the macroeconomic level showed that South Africa's expenditure on research and development compares poorly with those of its competitors. Domestic savings as a percentage of GDP in South Africa is consistently below 20%, compared with 30 - 40% for Korea. In terms of growth in investment, South Africa did not fare too badly since the beginning of the 1990's compared to the industrialised countries. However, South Africa's investment level below 20% of GDP was far below that of Korea which was nearly 40% of GNP. It was found that South Africa's expenditure on education at about 20% of government expenditure was high in comparison to its competitors. However, the education level was shown to be inadequate, indicating that monies are not spent efficiently.

D.Litt. et Phil. / The problem addressed in this study is to determine whether information is recognized as a resource in South African manufacturing enterprises and whether these enterprises use information to their competitive advantage. The role of information as a resource for competitive advantage is discussed and it is shown that the competitive position of enterprises can be strengthened on the strategic level if the information resources are efficiently managed. As a result of the lack of knowledge on the information management situation in manufacturing enterprises, an empirical investigation was necessary and a questionnaire was sent to enterprises in the Guateng province. South African manufacturing enterprises were grouped according to the strategic types identified by the Miles and Snow typology. Of the 172 respondents 21,5% were classified as Prospectors, 36,6% as Analyzers, 29,7% as Defenders and 12,2% as Reactors. The majority of the respondents pointed out that they frequently scanned the environment, but formal environmental scanning systems existed at only 20% of the enterprises. The majority of South African manufacturing enterprises are currently in Strategic Management Phase 2. Attention is paid to the strategic management of products with the emphasis on market growth and market share in comparison to those of competitors. The way in which information is managed in manufacturing enterprises relates to the management typology applied in these enterprises. Information is managed very fragmentally in South African manufacturing enterprises and integrated information management systems exist at only a small percentage of enterprises. The majority of enterprises are in Development Phase 2 of information management, that is, the management of corporate automated technology. Formal information management departments are found more regularly at Prospectors and Analyzers than at Defenders and Reactors. Prospectors and Analyzers make more use of information management systems. The proportion of personnel involved with information management is higher at Analyzers than at any of the other strategic types. Analyzers also apply records management more frequently than the others. More than half of the respondents evaluated their investments in information management resources periodically in order to determine practical use and value. Employee development was encouraged with 94,9% of the respondents and 9,9% of the enterprises were classified as learning organizations. It is concluded that information management is applied in South African manufacturing enterprises but that it is not used to the competitive advantage of these enterprises. It is recommended that South African manufacturing enterprises integrate information management with the other enterprise functions and that information management be a strategic management function. Manufacturing enterprises should strive to reach the Strategic Management Phase 4 as well as Phase 5 of information management. Guidelines are provided on how information management can be implemented as a strategic management function within enterprises classified as Prospectors, Analyzers, Defenders and Reactors. Unstableness and change are the main characteristics of the South African manufacturing industry and this changing environment makes it necessary to react appropriately in order to obtain competitive advantage. South African manufacturing enterprises should therefore strive towards a new management typology called Renewers or learning organizations.

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the fastest growing and developing industries in the world today. With the ever advancing technology and manufacturing techniques, quality assurance has become the focus of regulatory bodies all over the world. The implementation of quality management systems (QMS) that ensures that quality is built into every step of the design and manufacturing process has been the focus of many pharmaceutical companies. With the implementation of quality systems, employee’s perception of those systems and overall quality standards of the organisation is very important in establishing the quality culture of the organisation. To benefit from sustainable quality systems the organisations must ensure that employees understand the importance of the systems and that employee’s take personal responsibility for ensuring that their functions are performed correctly the first time. FKMSA has invested in a QMS that seeks to integrate all quality issues. The quality system includes documentation, deviations, corrective and preventative action (CAPA), change controls and quality risk management (QRM) in the entire facility. This system is administered by the quality control department, but each department takes ownership for their quality issues with support and guidance from the quality unit. FKMSA also firmly believes that quality cannot merely rely on the quality control test results; every step of the production process has a quality aspect built in to ensure that quality standards are adhered to. Every employee is trained, assessed and deemed competent before they can perform their duties; this is to ensure that human errors are kept to a minimum. Employee’s perception of quality is an integral part of quality assurance and it is important for the organisation to know what the employees believe to be the company’s standards of quality.

Globalisation has changed the world economy. Manufacturers face vigorous competition in both local and export markets and need to have a genuine competitive advantage in order to prosper and grow. South Africa is still predominantly a resource based exporter with high aspirations of developing trade in value-added products. The government has recognised the importance of developing national manufacturing capacity as a means of increasing employment and reducing poverty. To this end the government provides substantial support to both the manufacturing and exporting sectors. The government also negotiated the Southern African Development Community (SADC) agreement which leverages some powerful competitive advantages for South African manufacturers exporting into the region. However, since ratification of the SADC agreement in 2008 there has been no perceptible increase in export activity to the region when compared to other markets. This research study was conducted to determine why this is the case and what factors are influencing the process. A literature review was undertaken encapsulating three principal themes; namely, export barriers, the role of the South African government in the export process, and the SADC agreement. Based on the findings of the literature review a research questionnaire was constructed and subsequently completed by a cross section of manufacturers in the Eastern Cape. It was found that export barriers do not pose a major obstacle to trade into the SADC region. The role the government plays was less conclusive with some successes noted, but on the whole the impact is not meaningfully positive. On the other hand the SADC agreement and the dynamics prevailing in the free trade area do have a positive impact on exports to the region. The level of awareness with regard to the government support initiatives was disappointingly low. The government offers a number of helpful support initiatives which are unknown to more than half the response group. The awareness level of the dynamics prevailing in the SADC region are an improvement but are still surprisingly low. South African manufacturers enjoy significant competitive advantages within the region that are going largely unnoticed. It is recommended, inter alia, that the government consolidates some of its support initiatives, as well as provides a dedicated SADC support desk. Management should adopt an export culture and re-evaluate the opportunity to trade with the SADC region.

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

D.Comm. / In recent years, the criticality of increased productivity and competitiveness has accelerated in step with global trends towards privatisation, marketisation, and democratisation, coupled with a more highly educated, more vocal and more demanding consumer market. At a time when the technological gap between South Africa, North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim is shrinking, competitive boundaries are expanding and, as a consequence, consumers have a growing range of products from which to choose. Quality increasingly guides produce selection. Consumer spending patterns have also changed to reflect increased concern for durability, partially as a response to environmental concerns. Increasing recognition of the inadequacies of traditional quality control functions to address the demand for higher quality products and services has launched a seminal transition to a more comprehensive, integrated approach to quality management. Total Quality Management (TQM) refers to the implementation of a "continuous improvement" process to address inefficiencies at all levels of the organisation. There is no single theoretical formulation of the TQM approach nor any definitive short list of practices that are associated with it. It is the product of the work of such quality experts as Crosby, Deming, Juran, and Ishikawa. The writings of these Gurus, as well as characteristics typical of most successful TQM processes. TQM is best viewed as a management philosophy which combines the teaching of Deming and Juran on statistical process control and group problem-solving processes with values concerned with quality and continuous improvement. TQM is endorsed as a powerful vehicle in the transition from the traditional price focus to quality strategies driven by customer expectations. Improving quality and adopting a customer focused orientation are so fundamental that they must take root in the very essence of the organisation. To achieve ambitious quality goals, the TQM philosophy must permeate all aspects of organisational functioning, underscoring the criticality of human resource excellence to total quality processes. The TQM approach is frequently endorsed by the impressive results attributable to it. Marked improvements in productivity and efficiency, profits, customer satisfaction, management-employee relations, job satisfaction, morale, and reductions in costs, inventory, defects and inspection requirements are among an array of reported benefits to be derived from TQM initiatives. The positive relationship between quality and productivity may be largely rooted in the involvement of all employees to execute quality agendas. The benefits of employee involvement from increased productivity, job satisfaction and performance to reduced absenteeism and turnover are well documented. Great emphasis is placed on including all employees in the TQM culture. Employees are expected to take responsibility for quality in two important respects. They are expected to call attention to quality problems as they do their normal work. Perhaps more important, they are expected to accept the continuous improvement culture and look for ways to do their work better. They are also expected to look for ways in which the overall operation of the organisation can be improved to enhance customer service. The most important overall focus of employee involvement concerns locating decisions at the lowest level possible in the organisation. This approach consistently advocates a bottom-up approach to management. Jobs or work at the lowest level are thought of as designed best when individuals or teams do a whole and complete part of an organisation's work process. In addition, it is argued that the individuals or teams should be given the power, information, and knowledge they need to work autonomously or independently of management control. The task of management is seen as one of enabling and empowering individuals or teams to function in an autonomous manner. Management is an enabler, culture setter, and supporter rather than a direction of employee action. This study focuses on the development of the TQM philosophy, and the development of a TQM model to be used as reference in the design of a TQM process in a manufacturing environment. It also endeavours to formulate an implementation process that can be used as guideline for implementing TQM in an organisation. Research has been based on literature studies, extensive experience in the workplace, and interaction with a wide variety of practitioners in the TQM environment. The study concludes that South African organisations can address the issues prohibiting real economic growth by continuously improving every product and service produced through the involvement of an empowered workforce, operating in teams, with the objective of achieving optimum customer satisfaction in the long-term.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. 19 September 2016. / High manufacturing competitiveness in South Africa has the potential to contribute towards mitigating the poor economic performance and high unemployment rate prevailing in the country. However, manufacturing competitiveness is lacking, majorly due to labour productivity issues that are idiosyncratic to South Africa. One of the dilemmas is how to increase manufacturing productivity without major capitalisation, as doing so usually leads to redundancy and retrenchment of employees. A possible solution is to implement manufacturing performance improvement programmes without major capital investment (or capital-labour substitution). Although various programmes exist and are successful elsewhere in the world, these have been found to fail in South African firms due to implementation challenges. This study assesses the results from implementing a manufacturing performance improvement programme called Integrated Work Systems (IWS) in a South African factory of a multinational company (ABC). IWS has already proven successful in the multinational’s factories in other parts of the world. The study aims to determine the critical success-factors and develop a framework for the successful implementation of such a programme in South Africa. Implementation of IWS in ABC SA’s factory was found to be successful in delivering breakthrough results in efficiency and throughput. Critical success-factors established through surveying relevant employees and management in ABC SA were related to the timing and planning of the programme, standardisation of work, regular reviewing and use of leading KPIs, having specific implementation resources and the nature of leadership involvement. The critical success-factors found in ABC SA’s implementation were used as a basis for presenting a framework to guide practitioners in implementing manufacturing improvement programmes that aim to deliver higher levels of sustainable performance and improved shop-floor culture. / MT2017

The research problem that this study sought to address stemmed from a lack of knowledge about South African organizations and a dearth of empirical, quantitative research into organizations, organization structure and organization climate in this country. Five research hypotheses were formulated to address this problem and its attendant subpriJblems. A comprehensive review of the related literature and research was c~trried out and Organization Theory was traced to its earliest beginnings. A number of schools hased on Max Weber's bureaucratic ideal type were described and contrasted. Much attention was paid to the work of the Aston group m the United Kingdom and to their efforts to operationalize Weberian concepts and to incorporate them into a replicable body of quantitative research. Points of departure were re-examined and some new twists to Systems Theory and Structural Functionalism were considered. It was established that the demographic characteristics of both the sample and the population were similar enough for the results of this study to be generalised to the population with some degree of confidence. Much care was taken to test and validate each of the scales that comprised the questionnaire, and item analyses and factor analyses were carried out for every variable and group of variables. The measures developed in other parts of the world and by other researchers performed very well in a South African setting - as did the measures developed specifically for this study. Statistical associations and causal relationships between the various sets of variables, both at the sector level and at individual industry subgroup level, were sought by means of multiple regression analyses. Broad support was found for a 'culture-free hypothesis' that there are a number of stable relationships between organizations and their context; and these relationships will be constant in direction and strength regardless of differences in structures, or in contexts of structures between societies. Importantly, there were also a number of significant differences between this study and the findings of other studies which reflected South Africa's unique blend of developed and developing cultures and value systems. These differences provide fertile ground for future research in the field of Organization Theory. / Business Management / DBL

Companies in South Africa who have implemented the ISO 14001 environmental management system have claimed that it offered benefits such as an improved environmental performance and a business advantage. However, to date the commercial benefits associated with ISO 14001 in South Africa have not been quantified so the claims of a financial advantage cannot be verified. This study therefore sought to assess the financial benefits accruing to various manufacturing enterprises in Kwa-Zulu Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape provinces of South Africa who have implemented ISO 14001. There was a particular focus on determining the cost savings and return on investment which resulted from the purchase of „environmentally friendlier‟ raw materials; the reduction of process waste (by the reuse, reduction and recycling of waste) as well as the more efficient use of resources such as electricity, water and fuel. Data was collected by means of a questionnaire survey sent to key decision makers in the selected organisations, as well as follow-up in-depth interviews with selected individuals within each organisation. The results of the study showed that the benefits of ISO 14001 certification included improved environmental awareness among employees; enhanced responsibility for environmental concerns by employees; better data management; reduced operational and production costs; and new income streams linked to re-use and recycling initiatives. Consequently it can be said that the long-term financial benefits justify the relatively high cost; the time intensive obligations and the human resource requirements of ISO 14001 certification. That said, it was also found that smaller companies face relatively more financial hurdles in implementing an EMS, and thus, it is recommended that tax incentives for such firms to implement and EMS be considered. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

The research problem that this study sought to address stemmed from a lack of knowledge about South African organizations and a dearth of empirical, quantitative research into organizations, organization structure and organization climate in this country. Five research hypotheses were formulated to address this problem and its attendant subpriJblems. A comprehensive review of the related literature and research was c~trried out and Organization Theory was traced to its earliest beginnings. A number of schools hased on Max Weber's bureaucratic ideal type were described and contrasted. Much attention was paid to the work of the Aston group m the United Kingdom and to their efforts to operationalize Weberian concepts and to incorporate them into a replicable body of quantitative research. Points of departure were re-examined and some new twists to Systems Theory and Structural Functionalism were considered. It was established that the demographic characteristics of both the sample and the population were similar enough for the results of this study to be generalised to the population with some degree of confidence. Much care was taken to test and validate each of the scales that comprised the questionnaire, and item analyses and factor analyses were carried out for every variable and group of variables. The measures developed in other parts of the world and by other researchers performed very well in a South African setting - as did the measures developed specifically for this study. Statistical associations and causal relationships between the various sets of variables, both at the sector level and at individual industry subgroup level, were sought by means of multiple regression analyses. Broad support was found for a 'culture-free hypothesis' that there are a number of stable relationships between organizations and their context; and these relationships will be constant in direction and strength regardless of differences in structures, or in contexts of structures between societies. Importantly, there were also a number of significant differences between this study and the findings of other studies which reflected South Africa's unique blend of developed and developing cultures and value systems. These differences provide fertile ground for future research in the field of Organization Theory. / Business Management / DBL