In September 1995, the South African government introduced the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) as a means of making the South African automotive industry a competitive orientated industry. The MIDP over the years has taken account of the international realities facing themotor industry in South Africa with major focus being placed on trade liberalisation, globalisation of markets against the background of rapid technological change, rising customer expectations and markets which were becoming increasingly demanding and fast moving in terms of global trends. But has the core intention of the MIDP, which was to create an internationally competitive, export industry, been lost? The research proposition that the MIDP has lost a bit of ground with regards to focusing on an export-orientated industry is examined in this dissertation. In this respect, the South African automotive industry, with regards to vehicle and component sales both export and imported, industry growth trends, and the point of view from people working within the South African automotive industry, will be analysed to determine the extent to which the MIDP has lost ground on its original intention. The results show that the MIDP has had positive spin offs with regards to vehicle exports since its induction in 1995. The results also show that, due to the MIDP, the South African automotive industry has seen a substantial growth in volumes of imported vehicles and components into the industry and how the increase in imported vehicles and components has affected the domestic market and local content. Anticipation of the findings of the study shows that the notion of higher tariffs or restrictions on imported vehicles and components could improve the local content levels in locally manufactured export and domestic vehicles. Recommendations have been made in this regard. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

The intention of this dissertation is to attempt to project the theoretical concept of Corporate (or Long-Range) Planning into the reality of one of South Africa's major motor vehicle manufacturing company's task environment. It is a sad fact that there are no universally - applicable practical planning "laws" (as are present within the discipline of, say, Physics) amidst the ever-changing hurly-burly world of modern commerce and industry. Accordingly, there are very real distinctions between distilled Corporate Planning theory, as it is propounded in the many available books and articles, and Corporate Planning practice as actually implemented. This is true largely by virtue of the fact that in the same way as persons differ in their physical and mental make-up, so too do individual companies; even to the extent of acquiring a distinct corporate "personality" of their own. Terms of reference, p. 1.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Strategic Marketing Johannesburg, 2017 / Customer lifetime value (CLV) is important for all businesses. Increased customer lifetime value means increased profit, so it is in a company’s interest to increase customer lifetime value as much as possible through any appropriate methods. The relationship between post-purchase dissonance and customer lifetime value has not been explored in the studied literature but it has been found that, when dissonance is cause by a consumer’s experience of a product not living up to their expectations, loyalty decreases. This led the researcher to hypothesise a correlation between dissonance and customer lifetime value, which this study aimed to investigate. The research was conducted in the South African car industry and aimed to add the existing knowledge and, practically, to inform businesses whether taking action to decrease dissonance would have a significant positive effect on customer lifetime value, thereby better informing marketing strategies and budgets to have the most beneficial outcome. Using the data set of 116 respondents from around South Africa from a variety of age groups, the data collected was analysed to assess the potential relationships. / GR2017

M.Com in Development Theory & Policy, University of the Witwatersrand / South Africa’s industrial policy is fundamentally aimed at transforming the domestic economy into a labour-intensive growth path in order to create jobs (the dti, 2013a, p. 10). In pursuit of this aim the industrial policy takes a transversal approach to promote particular types of economic activity or particular economic sectors (the dti, 2013a, pp. 15-17; Zalk, 2014, p. 335). Using the case of the automotive sector, this study analyses the role played by the state and how institutional aspects of the industrial policy and investment promotion affected policymaking and the outcomes. The findings were that, due to incoherent institutional support and informational asymmetry, industrial policy has supported export growth in spite of the continued dependence on imports; and did not support employment, because it was biased towards OEMs and did not differentiate between the different categories of components according to job-creation potential. Institutional aspects of industrial policy-making and implementation then – not the ownership power of multinational corporations – has entrenched unequal power relations within the automotive value-chain, which undermines the broader socio-economic goals of industrial policy. Hence, due to both the policy measures and the institutional design South Africa’s industrial policy has not been oriented towards more labour-absorbing activities, especially in the impact on local components manufacturing. The result has been growth in exports with limited integration of local producers into the global value-chains of multinational OEMs, except in the case of vertically integrated multinational component producers, at the expense of local value-addition and job-creation. / MT2017

A research report submitted to the School of Governance, University of Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment (25%) of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management (Public and Development Management) Johannesburg, 2016 / Gender inequality persists in artisan employment in South Africa as males continue to outnumber females significantly in artisan employment and the trends point to highly gendered industry participation. Females who manage to enter artisan occupations in the highly gendered workplace are faced with historically ingrained attitudes of males towards females. Discriminatory practices, social norms and persistent stereotypes shape the females’ learning experience. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore the learning experiences of female artisans in the South Africa automotive industry, during the work-based phase of their apprenticeship. A qualitative exploratory research study approach was adopted using semi-structured face–to-face interviews. Fourteen female apprentices, learnership candidates and artisans were interviewed, including two industry training experts. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used. The findings revealed that the general experiences of the female participants were challenging. The quality of learning they received is not equal to that of their male counterparts and the workplace culture consists of prejudice, gender discrimination, racial discrimination, stereotypes and barriers to employment. Interestingly, the participants were uncritical of the experience of gender discrimination, although, they were very critical of racial discrimination. This suggests a need to conduct and create awareness sessions about gender discrimination in the industry for both genders. / MT 2017

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996.

This research study addresses the problem of determining the strategies that can be used by Internal Audit at Volkswagen of South Africa to manage conflict effectively. To achieve this objective a comprehensive literature study was performed to determine the views on conflict and evaluate the various conflict models. The study also included the reasons for and sources of conflict and the effects of conflict on the performance and controls within VWSA. The identification of conflict management strategies and subsequent conflict management styles were revealed by the literature study. Various discussions from different authors on how to resolve conflict situations are also discussed. The literature review serves as a model in the development of a guideline for VWSA Internal Audit team and management to manage conflict. Senior Management, middle management and staff from various departments within VWSA were requested to complete a questionnaire in order to determine the strategies and effectiveness of these strategies used by Internal Audit to manage conflict. The questionnaire was developed in accordance with the findings from the research. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the relevance of the study to the problem questions and to evaluate whether the questionnaire will be easily understood. The answers of the respondents were analyzed and compared to the findings of the literature study. The information obtained from the literature study and from the respondents resulted in various recommendations and conclusions.

The underlying objective of the research is to assess the nature of the supplier training at Volkswagen of South Africa (VWSA). To achieve this objective, a theoretical study was conducted to establish what literature reveals to be the most important theory of supply chain management as well as supplier development geared towards lean manufacturing. The information obtained in the literature study was analysed to solve the main problem namely, an assessment of the nature of the supplier training at Volkswagen of South Africa (VWSA). The research was divided into two questionnaires: The first questionnaire is targeted at the suppliers. This questionnaire has two sections namely section A, the biographical data and section B attempts to determine the quality systems and manufacturing requirements. It further attempts to gauge training support and needs as compared to other OEM’s. The second questionnaire is targeted at the Supplier Development Manager. The aim of this questionnaire is to establish what the current training offerings are, the source of what VWSA teachers and the awareness of the Toyota Training College.

Thesis (MBA.) --University of Limpopo, 2019. / The study is carried out in order to evaluate the readiness of new car dealerships in Polokwane for the possible levying of carbon taxes. The study is set out to determine the level of understanding and knowledge of carbon taxes by the new car dealerships. With the continuous changing climate, the weather patterns have worsened and the resultant impacts seen through storms, hurricanes, droughts and floods, to name a few, around the globe. This has been as a result of the carbon emissions that has damaged the ozone layer. The ideology of the carbon instruments is that the emitters of carbon will divert to more environmentally friendly methods of running their operations. South Africa is one of the countries that has adopted to implement carbon taxes and the implementation began in 2010 within the motor vehicle industry. However, the motor vehicle industry does not seem to have prepared for the possible implementation of carbon taxes. With Polokwane being a developing city, the researcher aims to determine whether new car dealerships in the city of Polokwane were prepared for the implementation of the carbon taxes. The study was mainly qualitative and borrowed from quantitative methodology for data analysis. The total population amounted to 20 new car dealerships and a sample of 10 was selected for the purpose of the research. The evaluation of readiness was carried out by sampling of ten new car dealerships within Polokwane where a questionnaire was prepared and the participants requested to complete the questionnaire truthfully. The literature review considered prior research in relation to carbon emissions and carbon instruments. Some of the findings include identifying that there is still a gap in terms of knowledge and understanding of how carbon instruments work. However; if carbon instruments are correctly applied and implemented, provides for a good stimulation of economic growth. The laws and regulations around carbon tax still need to be refined to ensure that the desired outcomes are obtained.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration, Durban Institute of Technology, 2008. / The aim of this research is to analyze the introduction of lean manufacturing in a selected South African organization viz. Smiths Manufacturing. The research, together with its conclusions, may identify problematic areas which, once addressed, will improve the implementation in other areas and identify the benefits, if any, of lean manufacturing. Three research objectives exist and two methods of research were used to solve the research questions. The first and second research objectives (i.e. to analyze the manner in which lean manufacturing was introduced in Smiths Manufacturing and its benefit on the company's competitive position and future existence) were analyzed qualitatively with the aid of personal interviews. The third research objective (i.e. to determine the financial benefit of lean manufacturing introduction on the respective assembly line) was analyzed quantitatively. This research revealed three pertinent findings: Firstly, Smiths Manufacturing has adhered to eight of Liker's 13 Step Implementation Procedure with two areas of non-conformance being identified and insufficient information present to comment on the remaining three steps. Secondly, improvements in the manufacturing process have enabled the company to be more price competitive. Areas of improvement were in labour, raw materials and finished goods. These improvements will assist in ensuring the company's future existence. Thirdly, there has been a substantial amount of savings by the introduction of lean manufacturing. This research has identified that communication involving lean manufacturing is vital to introducing a system into a company. This communication enables people at all levels to understand the roll out procedure and the corresponding actions of the company. In addition, the research revealed that the / M