This research study focuses on investigating the sustainability of cooperatives in the peri urban areas of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The researcher described a cooperative concept, identified and explained a research problem. Research study addressed literature extensively on the local and international scenes; looking at cooperative case studies of India, California, United Kingdom, Ghana, Bangladesh and South Africa. The researcher used a qualitative research methodology using structured and semi structured questionnaires that were distributed to thirty identified cooperatives in Walmer Location and external stakeholders supporting cooperatives. Face to face and telephonic interviews were used during research in three identified funded cooperative members, registered cooperative members and external stakeholders supporting cooperatives. Research findings confirmed unequitable age distribution in cooperatives. Young people constituted 10% of cooperatives’ membership which led to non-transference of knowledge and experience from the elderly to the young; dominance of women in cooperatives who joined or registered cooperatives with the intention of receiving a sustainable income so that they could support their families; poor governance in cooperatives caused cooperatives to fail. Eighty percent of registered cooperative members during research confirmed that they do not have access to the markets, while 2% confirmed that they have access to the markets although they are unable to secure contracts; research confirmed that the majority (59%) of Walmer Location registered cooperative members do not have matric (grade 12) while 25% of cooperative members have matric and 16% have a post-matric qualification; research findings confirmed a decrease in the survival rate of cooperatives after registration without receiving financial support; research findings confirmed that cooperative members do not receive all training programmes that would ensure cooperatives’ sustainability; other cooperative challenges include lack of cooperation among cooperatives, lack of monitoring and evaluation systems, high crime rate and continuous service delivery protests and lack of integration among stakeholders supporting cooperatives.

The civil engineering sector of the construction industry as a whole has been suffering from mental stress due to a lack of stress management interventions, rendering employees vulnerable to burnout, poor mental health, and subject to injury on site. The rationale of this study is to explore the prevalence of mental stress in the civil engineering sector of the construction industry, and the potential causes of stress, vis-à-vis the effects it has on an individual. An empirical study based on a descriptive and analytical survey method was conducted among medium to large civil engineering contractors in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole (NMBM). The study adopted the use of questionnaires, and a review of the related literature to effectively summarise and describe the collected field data. The sample stratum included civil engineering site agents and foremen. The salient findings include: high job demands, low job control, and low job social support are contributors to stress; site agents and foremen long for more time spent with family and friends; site agents and foremen are exposed to various physical, organisational and socio-economic stressors; site agents and foremen are displaying coping strategies unsupportive of a healthy lifestyle; there is a lack of awareness of stress management in the civil engineering sector of the construction industry; the level of stress experienced by site agents and foremen is rated as a lesser extent; the prevalence of depression among site agents and foremen is rated as a lesser extent; site agents and foremen are at risk of injury due to feeling stressed, and site agents and foremen are exposed to a range of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) due to poor ergonomics, and possibly stress too. It can be concluded that stress negatively affects the civil engineering sector of the construction industry by, inter alia, increased employee absence, injuries and accidents, higher staff turnover, depression, and lower levels of production. Furthermore, stress may lead to eventual burnout, rendering an individual at a significantly higher risk of developing physical health complications. Recommendations include: organisations to address the problem of work-family imbalance, by providing more time off to spend with family and loved ones. v Organisations need to promote and implement internal coping strategies, to assist those who are facing strain to effectively deal with their stress. More support from line managers to employees should be provided, as this will increase their resources in terms of job support, job demand, and job control in their working environment. Also, organisations need to promote teambuilding activities and exercise among their employees. Lastly, organisational policy and government legislation need to be revised in the long term, to provide for individual mental wellbeing, and reduced occupational stress.

Municipalities in South Africa are experiencing serious challenges in dealing with the interface between politicians and administrators. The study is based on the political and administrative interface (the relationship between the politicians and administration) in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. An introductory background as well as a theoretical perspective on the phenomenon of ‘politics-administration interface’ and highlights on the significant role that this phenomenon plays in promoting good governance in local government is provided. The study analyses the legislative and policy framework that regulates local government and provides various theoretical models that deal with the political administrative relationships such as the dichotomy model, politicised model and complementarity model. The qualitative research method was used in the study, that is, a secondary data design as a method to collect data, which was supplemented by an extensive literature review. Secondary data sources such as reports, policies, newspapers, books were used to collect data. The descriptive case study and the documentary analysis methods were utilised to investigate the relationship between the politicians and administrators in the municipality. The major challenge in local government is that both politicians and administrators interfere in each other’s roles and responsibilities and this results in major conflict in the municipalities and frustration among the staff because they are not free to undertake their daily functions without interference. The findings reflected that there is a need to professionalise and de-politicised local government. The study makes a number of recommendations which included, inter alia, regulating political interference in administration, clarity of roles and responsibilities of politicians and administrators and separating the municipal administration from politics.

The quest for resilient cities has emerged as a strategy to mitigate and adapt the problems created by urban population growth and rapid urbanisation. Resilience has increasingly become an important urban policy discourse that challenge cities to reflect on their adaptive capacity to function in the face of adversity. Urban resilience in particular, amplifies the concern that urban spaces are the hub of heightened complexities of diverse risks. Across the globe, the concept of resilience is gaining momentum with many academic researchers discussing this phenomenon. In South Africa, the concept has been sparingly incorporated in a number of literatures with little focus on local government entities such as municipalities. In order to close this gap in the literature, and in response to the increasing use of the concept locally, this study explores the extent to which factors of resilience resonate within the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality urban management practices. Based on the exploration of a wide array of literature from various disciplinary areas, this study examines the concept of urbanisation and the related challenges. It also critically explores the concept of resilience, its application in urban management as well as the attributes of the adaptive capacities that enable urban resilience. This research adopts the City Resilience Framework and Index developed by Arup in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation to assess the levels of resilience in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The framework identifies four main dimensions used to measure resilience: People’s health and wellbeing, Organisation of the economy and society, Place of urban systems and services and Knowledge inherent in leadership and strategy. These dimensions form the basis of an integrative framework that provides an alternative lense through which cities can understand their unique attributes that contribute to their resilience. This research highlights the levels of resilience within the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and outlines practical implications for Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s management which can also be applied in other cities. This research adopts a positivist approach and applies statistical empirical measures using a quantitative analysis process. The research instrument in the form of a questionnaire was administered to the target population for data collection. Using the conceptual framework, the researcher applied statistical analysis to derive relationships amongst the variables to determine the degree of resilience in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality using the four main dimensions of the framework. The findings of the study show the varying levels of resilience within NMBM’s practices. NMBM’s principal success areas include; providing basic houses, ensuring water and sanitation facilities, instituting effective labour policies, providing skills development and training facilities especially to the youth, enabling a conducive atmosphere for business development and the presence of an integrated development strategy. However, not much has been done in providing sufficient public health facilities, alternative energy sources, access to financial services, ensuring food security, enabling continuity of projects and activities through a funded budget, providing emergency medical services in the event of a disaster, high levels of corruption and insufficient deterrents to crime. Overall, the results show that NMBM has made good strides in enabling high level of resilience in its day to day operations. The findings of this study suggest that urban resilience is a continuous process that facilitates engagement leading to a dialogue and deeper understanding of a city.

In the recent past, cities all over the world have made attempts to brand themselves differently from their counterparts. These efforts have been made with the aim of improving the economic locus of the city in question and to some extent the welfare of its inhabitants. With this regard, various activities have been organised to ensure that the cities attract tourists, investors and other pertinent stakeholders. The hosting of city events is one major strategy that cities have used to trademark themselves more attractively to external stakeholders. City event planners have similarly made efforts to brand and communicate these city events in order to achieve recognition and attendance. In spite of these attempts however, studies reveal that the major stakeholders of the events: the residents, seem to be overlooked by the city decision makers during these endeavours. Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) involves the combination of all the available communication channels and resources to convey a message to a target audience. Hence, with regard to communicating city events, the key motivation for using IMC is to generate awareness whilst communicating an effective, clear and consistent message to the target audience (residents). However, communication strategies should not be developed in isolation. It is of extreme importance that city event planners consider involving the city residents when crafting these IMC strategies. In fact, the city events planners and decision makers should bear in mind that; the major success of any city event depends entirely on the support of the city residents, who act as brand ambassadors to their social circles within and outside the city. In order for a city to successfully implement a communication strategy, it is imperative that the city understands the media consumption patterns of the residents. Various factors such as age, gender and ethnicity determine the media consumption habits of residents; and should be investigated in order to determine the most effective channels of communication to use for a particular target audience. During the early months of the year 2014, key stakeholders within Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) resolved to improve the brand image of the NMB. These stakeholders entered into a partnership with NMMU Business School, who offered to conduct research on various themes: Brand Identity, Business Events, City Events Communication, City Events Marketing, Cultural Events and Sports Events. This study is hence based on the City Events Communication theme and its purpose is to establish the factors that determine media consumption amongst the residents and their perception towards communication with and amongst the residents of NMB. Additionally, this study sought to identify the various communication channels that are available in NMB whilst establishing which of these channels are most highly ranked by the residents. In order to achieve these objectives, both primary and secondary research were conducted. Literature was reviewed in order to create a basis for this study based on previous academic research. The background of IMC was established and the various pillars of IMC discussed. Factors that influence the choice of communication media were also identified and discussed. Thereafter, an empirical study was conducted in order to determine the factors that influence media usage amongst the residents of NMB, in addition to their perception towards communication. A total of 3,659 residents were interviewed and findings indicated that there is a strong relationship between the media usage and age, gender, ethnicity, income per household and the suburb lived. However, the strength of relationships that were observed differed amongst the various dependent variables that were created for purposes of analysing the media usage. A strong inclination towards the use of traditional media; radio and newspaper amongst the residents of NMB was identified. Equally, Public Relations (PR) emerged as an essential way for residents to create and maintain stakeholder relationships between themselves and the NMB. The residents felt that NMB should make efforts and engage with them more frequently especially with regard to communicating city events. Word of mouth amongst peers and billboards were also identified as communication media that are largely used to source for city events information, impacting greatly on the events attendance by the residents. Unfortunately, the use of New Media (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) to source for city events information was not predominant amongst the respondents. However, with close to three quarters of the respondents having access to the Internet, there is a likelihood that residents can adopt to the use of social media as a source of city events information. Furthermore, the majority of respondents indicated that they access the Internet daily. These findings are a clear indication that the adoption and use of new media is possible if developed and implemented in a strategic manner by the major decision makers. Once the factors that influence media consumption by the residents of NMB were established, an integrated marketing communication framework was developed based on these factors and the highly ranked channels of communication. This study concluded in the development and proposal of an IMC framework for use in communication of city events to the residents of NMB. Managerial recommendations were also given which are expected to enhance the effective implementation of the proposed framework.

A lot of SMME development initiatives have been subsidised from the funds accumulated from taxpayers. In the promotion of sustainability and growth of SMMEs within developing countries particularly within the BRICS, South Africa is lagging despite its efforts over the past 17 years. According to STATS SA, SA’s unemployment rate for 2011 was between 24-36% and economic growth was 3.1%, the Eastern Cape Province is the poorest province within SA and therefore residence within the province is looking at start-up businesses to better their economic situation. The NMBM economic growth and employment is driven largely by its Integrated Development Plan (IDP) 2013/2014. Aims and objectives:To develop a supply chain management policy that addresses the challenges faced by infrastructure officials, supply chain management practitioners and ward councillors with regards to SMME engagement; and, Investigating the strengths, weaknesses and effectiveness of the current supply chain management policy employed within Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality with regards to SMME engagement. Research methodology: A questionnaire was used in this study to conduct quantitative research; the questionnaire was also used as a data collection tool. Valuable information was gathered from SMMEs residing in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipal area who operate in the civil engineering field. These SMMEs formed the core research sample. Results: The findings suggest that the current supply chain management (SCM) policy of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) does not adequately address the challenges encountered by SMMEs. This suggests the SCM policy is inadequate and the policy must be amended to address its short falls:There is a need for a contractor development programme in the NMBM to assist the Potentially Emerging (PE) contractors within its boundaries;The NMBM is regulating the SMME market for competitiveness to some extent with its SCM policy;Even though the market is being regulated for competitiveness, it is not regulated with regards to new entries into the market; There is a need for the NMBM to provide business development services to SMME’s within its boundaries; The majority of SMME’s believed that there is no gender discrimination within the banking sector;The NMBM is an efficient government institution when it comes to settling their debt in a timely manner;The NMBM must appoint a committee to address the problems faced by SMME’s within its boundaries;South Africa’s National Credit Act (NCA) prevents SMME’s from acquiring an uncontrollable amount of debt. Conclusion: SMME’s within the NMBM enjoy a healthy credit record; these SMME’s also pay their suppliers in a timely fashion. Employees of these SMME’s are adequately compensated for their services. Some SMME’s service the equipment regularly and some do not. Some SMME’s are able to cover their overheads from the projects they undertake and some are not. SMME’s residing in the NMBM have experienced a growth in their business over the last financial year, even though they have not received substantial work over this period. The quality of the end product produced by some SMME’s meets the standard required by the NMBM. Recommendations: To address the development needs of the SMME’s the SCM policy needs to be amended to provide business development services and off-the-job training. To address the access to finance needs of the SMME’s the SCM policy needs to be amended to assist SMME’s in acquiring start-up capital, getting a reduced interest rate and creating work opportunities through micro-financing.

Presently in the South African automotive industry competition is becoming more fierce. It is becoming more important for companies to concentrate on thier competitive strategies to ensure that they remain competitive in this industry. Military strategy techniques have always been successful in defeating an anemy opponent. An enemy in a military sense could be considered as a competitor in a business sense. There is currently a potential for an improvement of the competitive strategies that South African organisations, in particular the South African automotive industry uses to remain competitive. Military strategists such as Sun Tzu and Carl von Clausewitz have provided valuable strategy theories and philosophies to many military institutions. Military strategies such as Attrition and Maneuver have long been used by these institutions in battle to defeat the enemy. Military strategies could provide the edge that companies ranging from manufacturers, suppliers of components and dealerships need, to remain competitive in the automotive industry.

The perceptions of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality obstetric unit midwives regarding consulting advanced midwives were researched. Currently South Africa is burdened with an increasing maternal mortality rate despite the control measures that have been put in place. One of those control measures is the skilling of midwives and ensuring that skilled birth attendants assist every woman in confinement. A concern, though, was observed by the researcher that an increasing number of midwives in the country now have an additional qualification in advanced midwifery and yet the maternal and neonatal mortality rates are gradually increasing. The researcher, as a midwife and a midwifery lecturer in that capacity, observed that in the clinical areas midwives prefer to consult with the doctor rather than the advanced midwife. In most cases looking and waiting for the doctor delays the management of the labouring woman as the doctor may not be immediately available. The advanced midwives are supposed to have advanced skills which should be used to assist in the absence of the doctor, particularly in the midwife obstetrics units. The study objectives were firstly, to describe and explore the perceptions of NMM obstetric unit midwives regarding consulting with advanced midwives. Secondly, based on the results of the study, to make recommendations to the managers of the obstetric units within the NMM that will enhance consulting between advanced midwives and midwives in obstetric units. The study was quantitative in nature and utilised an explorative, descriptive and contextual design. Sampling was made possible through simple random probability sampling using the non-replacement approach. The method of data collection was by self-administered questionnaires that were developed by the researcher under the guidance of a qualified and experienced statistician and researcher and the supervision of the research supervisor. Data was collected during July and September of 2014. One hundred and thirty questionnaires were distributed and ninety four were returned. Responses were captured on a spread sheet for easy and accurate calculation and the numerical data was categorized, ordered and manipulated with the help of a statistician using the software package Statistica Version 21 to ensure efficacy of the results The findings were presented by describing the biographic profile of participants, their competence in the identification and management of high risk situations, their consultation with advanced midwives in high risk situations, their reasons for not consulting advanced midwives and a description of factors that might encourage midwives to consult the advanced midwives. Literature controls were utilized to compare findings with current views of other researchers. Trustworthiness was maintained by observing the principles of reliability and validity. The ethical considerations of confidentiality, anonymity and protection of the participants from harm were maintained by the researcher. The findings revealed that there were significant numbers of midwives with many years of clinical experience and years in the units. The age difference of the midwives in the obstetrics units was seen to be an added advantage to the care of women as the young and old could complement each other with the latest information and experience in dealing with midwifery related emergencies respectively. The difference in gender was as expected but did not have an influence on the non-consulting with advanced midwives by the midwives who are working in the obstetrics units. Also, the limited confidence of midwives regarding their performance of certain low risk skills and their confidence in the performance of the advanced midwives was a reason to consult with the advanced midwives in their areas of speciality. Based on these findings, the researcher attended to the second objective and made the necessary recommendations to the managers of the obstetric units within the NMM to enhance consulting with advanced midwives by midwives in obstetric units. Midwives globally would gain information that would assist them in motivating recommendations to the managers of the obstetric units with regard to consulting with advanced midwives by midwives in their obstetric units.

Business Chambers worldwide strive to promote trade and investment. These chambers act on behalf of businesses in an effort to enhance economic growth and development. The Port Elizabeth Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PERCCI) was established in 1994 with a view to fostering, encouraging, promoting, protecting, developing and establishing commercial and industrial enterprises within the Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage Metropole (now Nelson Mandela Bay). Thus PERCCI has since changed its name to Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber (NMBBC). The NMBBC focuses on the provision of services to business in the form of information, communication, seminars, task teams, networking functions and a strong international trade focus. Lobbying, representation and strategic interventions are also key focus areas, with the objective of facilitating an environment which is conducive to economic growth. The vision of the NMBBC is to be a leading and dynamic business chamber that contributes effectively to the economic growth of Nelson Mandela Bay. The vision, mission and objectives of the NMBBC are delivered through the following task teams, each its own specific mandate: Crime Task Team, Corporate Social Investment (CSI) Task Team, Environment, Health & Wellness, Human Capital Development, Industrial Development Strategy, International Trade & Investment, Mentorship Programme, Service Excellence, SME Task Team, Strategic Projects/Infrastructure, Strategic Resources Forum, Tourism Task Team and Transport Task Team. Currently, only four of these task teams are in operation and the effectiveness of their functioning is currently not well established. Therefore, the present study investigated the factors which influence the effective functioning of the task teams, with a view to improving their performance and overall contribution to the organisation. A literature study was conducted on factors influencing the effectiveness of teams and a hypothesized theoretical model developed. Thereafter, an empirical study was conducted within a positivist paradigm using primarily a case study approach. Initial focus group interviews with 17 task team members were followed up by a questionnaire survey distributed amongst 75 NMBBC task team members. The factors investigated were: Clear Purpose, Clear Roles, Open Communication, Shared Leadership, Motivation and Commitment and their influence on team effectiveness. The empirical results indicate that relationships exist amongst all the factor variables investigated with the most significant relation found to be between commitment and motivation. The results further indicate that all the measured factor variables exert an influence on the effectiveness of the task teams with commitment being the most influencing variable and motivation the least. The study concludes that while the task teams are making a significant contribution to the performance of the NMBBC, they are nonetheless not functioning optimally. As there is room for improvement, the study makes a number of recommendations to the NMBBC in an effort to increase the effectiveness of their task teams.

The study focused on funding availability for small and medium enterprises for women entrepreneurs. In order to do a situational analysis the study was conducted in the Nelson Mandela Metro looking at the operations of Community Investment Fund (CIF) as a case study. The CIF was a partnership between a local non-governmental organization (NGO) operating in the Northern Areas of Port Elizabeth and one of the four big banks in the Republic of South Africa. The study investigated the challenges that women as entrepreneurs face in particular. The qualitative approach was used as methodology and the sampling of five (5) of the seventeen (17) women beneficiaries and their businesses were conducted. Given the fact that the Republic of South Africa has a high unemployment rate and the government‟s strategy of providing support for small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs), the study provided an opportunity to look at the realities that people with ideas are faced when starting what seemed to be a daunting task of starting a business. The research findings provides conclusive evidence that starting a business in the current economic climate is a difficult task and it is more challenging if you are a woman with no financial securities. It is therefore of imperative importance that an approach to funding and supporting women entrepreneurs be implemented to create much needed jobs in the country and address the gap between the first and second economy.