This study is mainly concerned with the developmen~ of a disequilibrium model for a small open economy and its application to the Greek manufacturing sector over the period 1962- 1982 using quarterly data. The economy defined comprises two sets of agents: firms and households, operating in two markets: goods and labour. Firms, which are profit maximizers, produce a non-storable good and demand labour while consumers, which are utility maximizers, demand goods and supply labour. Prices (and wages) are considered fixed in the short run and agents perceive quantity constraints. Taking into account the spill-over effects from the one market to the other, one can determine the appropriate effective demand functions for employment and imports. In the present case, the economy will alternatively belong to three different unemployment regimes; namely the classical, the keynesian and the repressed inflation. Actual output and exports which are endogenous in this model, are given by the production function and the foreign demand for the domestic product, respectively. However, actual employment is determined by the minimum of notional (Walrasian) demand for labour, effective demand for labour and the supply of labour, while actual imports are conditional to the regime ciassification obtained in the labour market. The equations of the model appropriately extended to reflect the dynamics and the specific characteristics of the Greek manufacturing sector were estimated by both least squares and maximum likelihood methods. Specifically, the former was applied to t~e production, imports and ex?orts functions, whil~ the'latter to the employment function. The construc-· tion of several time-series and the use of quarterly data for a period of 23 years made it possible to exploit the shortrun properties of the model. . It is found that this approach produces theoretically acceptable and plausible results.

No description available.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / The pharmaceutical manufacturing sector operates within a highly regulated environment, with companies accountable to South African statutory bodies. The responsible pharmacist (RP) is responsible for their company’s adherence to the legislation requirements. Whilst the Pharmacy and the Medicines Acts outline the RP’s, there is no mandatory training requirement prior to registration as an RP, nor thereafter. This study investigated the role and competencies required of newly registered RPs in meeting their professional responsibilities in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector. An online survey questionnaire elicited responses from RPs (n=102) about views and perceptions pertaining to their role and responsibilities. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with statutory (n=3) and non-statutory representatives (n=5). Survey findings indicated that the majority (89,5%) of RPs felt competent and that they possessed the necessary skills and training. Almost two-thirds of respondents (63,2%) were experienced RPs who shared some reservations, that RPs may be excluded from far-reaching decisions with potential consequences for the company and patients. They added that RP performance monitoring was not regular, which may indicate that some companies view the RP as an appointment of convenience. The majority of respondents (89,5 %) were in favour of the development of training guidelines Findings from the semi-structured interviews indicated that RPs were not fully aware of their scope of duties and the implications thereof. The interviewees were also concerned that some companies, by not giving the RP role the level of importance and authority it required, were practicing tokenism. Further, that not all RPs had the necessary in-depth knowledge of the applicable laws, regulations, guidelines and codes. A competency framework for newly appointed RPs is needed to streamline their roles and responsibilities in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector

Thesis (M.M. (Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2014. / The establishment and growth of Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in most economies have been attributed with a corresponding need and desire for these SMEs as catalysts for economic growth, unemployment reduction, etc. Various factors are also impacting on how SMEs can become competitive and one of these enablers is the adoption of ICT by SMEs to improve performance. The purpose of this research was to establish the perceived relationship between the adoption by SMEs of Information Communication Technology (ICT) usage in the manufacturing sector in South Africa and its perceived impact on firm performance. The intended objective was to assess whether the perception of ICT adoption usage within SME’s operating within a manufacturing sector will either have a positive or negative performance outcome. The research methodology adopted was a quantitative approach which was guided by a positivist paradigm. The population targeted were SMEs in the manufacturing sector in South Africa but deliberately excluded SME manufacturers involved in the production of computers, electronics, etc. A combination of an online survey and paper questionnaire was utilised to gather data. The adoption of ICT and the perceived impact on performance within SMEs in manufacturing in South Africa revealed some findings consistent with existing literature in terms of the overall accepted perception that ICT adoption has a perceived positive impact on firm performance, including but also not limited to market share, products and service innovation, etc. as measured in the research. A deeper analysis is required to understand why the respondents in the research did not overwhelmingly state that ICT adoption has a perceived positive impact on performance, market share, product and service innovation etc.

A major challenge for supply chain managers is how to manage sourcing relationships to ensure reliable and predictable actions of existing suppliers. The extant research into sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has suggested the transactional (e.g. monitoring and auditing) and collaboration (e.g. supplier development) as the main two approaches by which buyers can sustain an acceptable level of suppliers' internal social performance. A successful implementation of such approaches, and hence improving suppliers' social performance, often requires a level of cooperation that can be difficult to establish, particularly on the part of suppliers. Despite the recent proliferation of SSCM research, little efforts have been devoted to exploring the factors that increase the effectiveness of the two approaches. This research aims to examine the individual and combined effect of socially sustainable transactional practices (SSTPs) and socially sustainable collaboration practices (SSCPs) on supplier's internal social performance and buyer's operational performance. The study also sets out to examine the moderating effects of social capital dimensions (i.e. relational, cognitive and structural) on the relationships among SSTPs, SSCPs and supplier's internal social performance. A mail survey was administered to 1,250 stratified randomly selected large manufacturing companies operating in the UK. An analysis of 119 responses using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation modelling (PLS-SEM) revealed that SSTPs are ineffective in driving supplier's internal social performance, whilst SSCPs are more effective. Moreover, although the interaction effect of SSTPs and SSCPs is non-significant, the data suggested that the simultaneous implementation can be detrimental to supplier's internal social performance. Furthermore, social capital dimensions were found to play different roles on the implementation of SSTPs and SSCPs. Relational capital plays a unique role by increasing the effectiveness of both SSTPs and SSCPs, while cognitive capital is critical for SSCPs, and structural capital is vital for SSTPs. This study contributes to SSCM literature by exclusively focusing on the social dimension of sustainability, examining the joint implementation of SSTPs and SSCPs and featuring the centrality of social capital in the implementation of SSCM practices. The study sets a foundation for new research avenues in the SSCM context and provides a set of managerial implications that support informed decision-making by supply chain managers.

Currently, there is a large percentage of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Peruvian textile market that show economic loss because of the payment of penalties to customers, which are incurred owing to the delay in the delivery of order batches. This is due to poor production management and a lack of focus. The manufacturing sector is essential because of its high contribution to the country's gross domestic product. Currently, SMEs do not employ methodologies that help improve production and process management as they do not realize how important and necessary the methodologies are, in addition to how complex these may be. Therefore, this paper will propose a production management model designed for SMEs in this sector, based on Lean methodology where the objective is time reductions and production increases as well as exerting changes to the organizational culture. Thus, this model will help organizations to avoid incurring economic losses because of the payment of penalties for orders not delivered on time. To validate the present model, a time simulation was performed in the manufacturing area of a textile company. The result of this project was positive, since there was a 25% increase in productivity and a 20% reduction of takt time with respect to the initial data.

<p> With fluctuations in energy price and the uncertainty of energy supply, particularly in the past decade, it has become increasingly important to forecast energy requirements. It is useful to know the response of energy demand to changes in both energy price and supply. In addition, the amount of substitution possibilities would allow forecasting demand for individual energy types. </p> <p> This study focuses on changes in energy intensities in the manufacturing and service sectors from 1962 to 1982. Trends for the sectors as a whole, and individual industries within each sector are analyzed on the basis of significant changes in; total consumption patterns and specific energy types. These trends are helpful in acting as a base for analyzing future energy needs in Canada. </p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

This research explores the nature and extent of training and development (TD) provision, as well as top managers' and TD personnel's attitudes towards the TD function within the medium and large-size private manufacturing organisations of Saudi Arabia. Extensive details of the TD situation are provided and assessed for their adequacy, covering among other elements a descriptive analysis of the main characteristics of the organisations concerned, an evaluation of their TD plans and policies, and a review of their budget allocation and funding. The research then proceeds to describe and discuss the extent to which such organisations are applying a systems approach to TD, both in terms of its design and implementation. Thereafter, the main factors impeding the effectiveness of TD programmes are examined, followed by a consideration of the future challenges that are likely to increase the importance of TD for the organisations in question. The research has adopted a mainly descriptive approach and uses both quantitative and qualitative analytical methods. The required data were gathered through a combination of semi-structural interviews with a number of top managers, and survey questionnaires addressed to the persons responsible for TD within the targeted organisations. The sampling strategy was disproportional stratified random sampling. In total 16 senior executives, 132 medium-size organisations and 94 large-size organisations took part in the study. The findings reveal that although attitudes towards the value of TD are generally favourable, in practice in the majority of cases TD is under-resourced, unplanned and patchy, hardly the ideal features of a systematic model of TD that will enable private manufacturing business to successfully meet the challenges of the future ahead. The research ends with a number of specific and practical recommendations intended to improve the effectiveness of TD in the private manufacturing sector of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as a number of suggestions for further research.

M. Tech. (Human Resource Management, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / The main purpose of the study was to examine the level of job satisfaction and intention to quit, by employees in a steel manufacturing company. The research methodology used to conduct the study was a combination of a literature review and an empirical study. Due to the small size of the population, no sampling was done although a census had been drawn. The primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The measuring instrument contained 25 items. For the main survey, data from 181 respondents were collected and analysed. Participants in the study involved engineers, operators, technicians, artisans, administrative staff and safety, health and environmental specialists in the steel manufacturing company. Data were analysed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the measuring instrument were computed to establish construct validity. Content validity of the scale was ascertained by pre-testing the questionnaire with employees in the steel manufacturing company. Factor analysis was conducted for variables in Section B of the research instrument. Analysis was done using descriptive statistics on the demographic information of respondents. The results were also interpreted through the factor analysis and correlation analysis. The findings regarding employee’s perceptions or feelings about job satisfaction and employees’ intentions to quit their current organisation revealed that the supervision variable is positively correlated with job variable while it is negatively correlated with intention to quit. In addition, job variable is also negatively correlated with intention to quit. This means that effective supervisors are likely to improve employees’ job satisfaction hence decrease their intentions to quit their current organisation and vise versa. In addition, when employees are satisfied with their job environment, this will decrease their intentions to quit their current organisation and vise versa. Judging from the results from respondents, it is clear that when employees are provided with a job that rewards them for their effort and provides opportunities for advancement, they will be satisfied and therefore more likely to stay in the organisation. Hence, the employees at Babcock Ntuthuko Generations are satisfied and they are not intending to leave the organisation. The research information collected through this study can be used to encourage Babcock Ntuthuko management to continue providing employees with a conducive working enviroment to ensure that current and new employees are retained.

Several studies and theories have linked economic growth to finance and further posit that a well funded and supported manufacturing sector could transform the economic fortunes of nations. However, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has complained of paucity and unfavourable terms of funding from the Nigerian banks. This study is motivated by the concerns of the industry stakeholders on the need to evaluate the contributions of bank funding on economic growth of Nigeria. Therefore the main aim of the study is to investigate the impact of bank funding on the growth of Nigeria's manufacturing sector. To achieve this aim, the objectives of the study are to contribute to knowledge and practice, examine causality relationship in the funding-growth nexus and assess the impact of bank funding on the growth of the nation's manufacturing sector. Others are to identify factors that affect bank lending to the manufacturers and make recommendations that can improve lending practice. The research is anchored on the endogenous growth theory and underpinned by the realist philosophical paradigm thereby employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches in data seeking, gathering and analysis. The study identified the lending banks, the regulators and the manufacturers as the three majorstakeholders and administered structured questionnaires on 227 bank operators and 213 manufacturers covering the six identified domains of factors that affect bank funding. The causality and impact tests established that there is a bidirectional relationship between bank funding and manufacturing sector growth and the impact of bank funding is with a lapse of time while the impacts of interest and inflation rates are immediate. Factor analysis of stakeholders'responses confirmed this result and further revealed that weak publicinfrastructure, insurgencies, harsh fiscal and monetary policies adversely affect manufacturers' growth. The findings of this study shall help stakeholders have a better understanding of the issues militating against improved bank funding and challenges of the manufacturers towards achieving economic growth in Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that for the economy to tap from the growth enhancing potentials of the manufacturing sector, it is essential to adopt policy measures favourable to the banking and manufacturing sectors. The government should create enabling business environment with special single-digit interestmanufacturing sector intervention fund, provision of stable power and infrastructure for the sectors, and maintain stable exchange rate regime that makes foreign exchange available to the manufacturers. This work covers data from 1987 to 2015 and limited to bank lending as the source of funding to manufacturers. Further studies could extend the period, funding sources, sectors and even territorial coverage.