M.Litt.et Phil. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Litt. et Phil. (History) / Because of its very close association with the ZAR, the NBZA experienced many problems during the Anglo Boer War. These it managed to solve successfully. Initially the bank was worried that its pro-Boer sentiments and the presence of two imperial banks would anger ill for the NBZA under the new British rule. Yet the bank was prepared to accept the new dispensation and to adapt to the changed circumstances. Its positive and balanced approach yielded results. During the first two months of 1903 forty new accounts were opened in Pretoria. The more the bank's business expanded, the more new agencies could be opened. By 1945 the five agencies existing in 1902 had increased to 22 agencies and 3 sub-agencies. The bank also had two overseas agencies, in London and in Hamburg. The NBZA tried throughout to maintain good relationships with other banks even though its point of view might have differed from theirs. It did not allow itself to be dominated or to be taken in tow by other large banks . Throughout it maintained an independent course but revealed a positive attitude as far as cooperation with other banks was concerned. The role which the NBZA played in the establishment of the South African Reserve Bank cannot be over-emphasised. The NBZA was the only bank in South Africa that was in favour of such an institution. It was also the only bank in favour of South Africa's independent, re-entry to the gold standard. In 1932 the NBZA was the only bank in favour of retaining the gold- standard.

D.Litt.et Phil. / When the Second World War came to an end the Chief Agent of the Nederlandsche Bank voor Zuid-Afrika, realized that the future of the bank's operations in South Africa lay in the formation of a South African banking company. In the Netherlands one of the Directeuren, J. Keuning, gave his support to the idea, but the Raad van Commissarisse (Board of Directors) of the bank in Amsterdam was reluctant to allow such a move without prior confirmation that the parent company in Amsterdam would retain full control. The bank in Amsterdam had to revive its activities after it had been forced to cease all transactions from the Netherlands during the war. The South Africa and London offices of the bank continued their operations under the watchful eye of a Controller, J. Dommisse, appointed in South Africa. Further consolidation and expansion of the business of the bank, both in Amsterdam and South Africa, neccessitated further capital. When war broke out the Netherlands economy was unable to provide the necessary capital and Kakebeeke, the Chief Agent in South Africa, urged the formation of a South African company in order to enable the bank to secure working capital in South Africa. The Board in Amsterdam finally decided, in principle, in 1946 to establish a subsidiary company in South Africa and to incorporate the London office with the new South African bank. After a lengthy selection period, the Board in Amsterdam decided on members for the South African Board, making Kakebeeke the Managing Director of the new bank to enable him to act as Chairman of the local Board ...

M.Comm. / This short dissertation is concerned with the impact that advertising can have on employee attitudes in an organisation in the services industry. The specific organisation is the Vehicle and Asset Finance Division of Nedbank, which is one of the four largest banks in South Africa. In a review of related literature it is highlighted that advertising can lead to cognitive, affective and behavioural responses in an audience. In turn, behaviour, beliefs and affect can impact, or be impacted by, a person’s attitude. Employees in a service organisation are an important part of service delivery; therefore anything that can impact employee attitudes is of interest to the organisation. A study was conducted in the form of a census of all 717 employees in the division of the bank, using a paper questionnaire as a data collection instrument. A response rate of 49% was achieved, and data collected from respondents was analysed in terms of various theoretical factors and statistically derived factors. A number of secondary research objectives were also considered. Findings of this research indicate that employees of the division do notice the organisation’s advertising and their attitudes and resultant behaviour are affected by it in a number of ways. Some of these include a heightened sense of pride and security about the organisation, as well as increased employee commitment to provide improved customer service. It was also established that there are significant differences in the way that employees with different lengths of service, and employees in different job functions, are impacted by the organisation’s advertising. This study was restricted to a single division of a single bank in South Africa so the results cannot be generalised for other divisions of the bank, other banks, other industries or other countries. This provides an opportunity for future research.

M.A. / The shift from the Old to the New Economy has developed due to four key trends, namely globalisation, consumerism, environmentalism and corporate governance. Globalisation and the Internet has resulted in consumers being able to track the behaviour of corporations (Vise, 2006:119) and consequently, a New Consumer has emerged, where emphasis on corporate transparency and the environment has become a key concern for these New Consumers. New Consumers are characterised by Lewis and Bridger (2000:21) as independent, sophisticated, involved and well informed about the production of goods and services, where these New Consumers are feeling the pressure to confront and act upon the fact that unbridled production and consumption, which was proliferate in the Old Economy, comes with escalating pollution at a significant human/animal/earth cost (Trendwatching, 2007). Moreover, in the world of globalisation and information overload, Salzer-Mörling and Strannegård (2004:224) argue that the proliferation of brands as well as a cluttered marketplace has meant that corporations now need to not only be differentiated in the marketplace, but also be distinct and one of the ways which corporations in the New Economy are achieving this is by focusing on the corporate brand as the point of differentiation.

M.Comm.

In today’s business world, a lot of organizations are investing heavily in Information Technology (IT) in order to develop a competitive edge. According to Loukis, Sapounas and Milionis (2009:85) “firms all over the world make significant investments in IT aiming to increase their efficiency and effectiveness”. According to Cline and Guynes (2001:10), “during the last 30 years, IT has become an increasingly integral part of business operations”. Most of the times, organizations fail to get real value from the investments made in IT. This is mainly due to the fact that organizations fail to realize the value brought about by aligning IT strategy with Business strategy. Hu and Huang (2004:60) state that “each year organizations invest in IT to improve their competitive advantage and ultimately their business performance; however, more often than not, the anticipated benefits of IT investments fail to materialize due to misalignment of or lack of alignment, between the business and IT strategies”. Henderson and Venkatraman (1999:475) emphasize that “alignment is a desired state for organizations investing in IT that is not always achieved, as it often entails a radical change in the way managers consider IT”. It is through the alignment of IT strategy and Business strategy that organizations are able to realize the value brought about by investing in IT. Papp (2001:20)illustrates that “misalignment can cause problems with not only the development and integration of business and IT strategies, but can actually prevent IT from being fully leveraged to its maximum potential within an organization”. An organization that realizes the value of aligning IT strategy and Business strategy is able to develop a competitive advantage over its competitors. According to Daneshvar and Ramesh (2010:1) “each organization is aware of the special effects, benefits and implication of IT in business performance and also its capacity in building sustainable competitive advantages”.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2010. / The necessity for organisations to deliver exceptional service to customers remains a primary factor for sustainability. Organisations continuously seek differentiation from their competition to realise their strategic goals. The main aim of organisations is to satisfy their employees, customers, stakeholders and regulators, and in doing so they would continue to prosper and reflect a positive return on equity. Organisations strive to be market leaders in the area of customer service by ensuring that employees remain engaged and motivated at all times to ensure that a competitive advantage is evident. This study was conducted in the retail banking environment of Nedbank which investigated the link between employee motivation and how this would affect external customer service. The research results were illustrated by means of qualitative and qualitative measurement frameworks, thereby illustrating the effects of employee motivation on the levels of customer service. The study displays that employee motivation determines the outcome of service levels and the delivery of exceptional customer service by satisfied and informed employees.

Thesis (MTech (Marketing))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / By virtue of existence, a brand has a history, and probably an envisaged future. Collectively these variables are understood to be central to a brand’s identity formulation. However, there are various other elements that may inform brand identity construction. This study investigated brand identity formulation of a bank brand in the South African banking sector. In essence, the current study probed variables or elements that inform brand identity formulation, in this service oriented sector. It is understood that individual human identities can collectively influence the formulation of an institution’s brand identity, among other factors. Therefore, a question arises whether academic brand identity theory and practice are congruent in service sectors, particularly the South African banking sector. Dominated by few major banks, the South African banking sector is characterised by an oligopolistic market structure, where services provided are seen to be generic. Hence, the current inquiry on the practice (or lack thereof) of brand identity theory for differentiation, and distinction purposes. In this regard, Nedbank was used as a reference institution. In essence, Nedbank brand identity was investigated.

M.A. / The purpose of the mini-dissertation is to investigate the implementation of the language policies of financial institutions. These institutions are ABSA and NEDCOR. The research was conducted against the backdrop of the 1996 Constitution. Despite the constitutional recognition of eleven official languages, the use of official languages is only enforced in national, provincial and local government institutions. The task of promoting functional multilingualism in the private sector has fallen to PANSALB. However, English is being used overwhelmingly, especially in business. Unfortunately only 25% of speakers of indigenous languages speak English well enough to actively partake in the economy. Scant research exists regarding language preferences of clients of financial institutions. Banks claim their research shows English as the preferred banking language. They are therefore reluctant to implement indigenous languages ABSA and NEDCOR were chosen for the study and research was conducted at selected branches of ABSA, Nedbank and People’s Bank. Both quantitative and qualitative research was employed and managers, ground staff and clients were included in the study. Information was gathered over a period of eighteen months, starting from February 2003. Two hypotheses were tested: a) A discrepancy exists between the theoretical and practical implementation of the language policies of financial institutions; and b) A discrepancy exists in the language behaviour of people with different educational levels. During the empirical part of the study qualitative interviews were held with representatives of ABSA and NEDCOR who deal with the language policies of their respective banks. The sentiment is expressed in each case that the bank knows that its organic growth lies in the so-called “unbanked” sector of the market, which translates into the speakers of indigenous languages. The official/unofficial policies state that there is no discrimination against any language, but that in the case of services not being available in a specific language, English will be used. The argument used for the fact that there are few services available in indigenous languages is the lack of financial terminology and lack of legal validity of documents written in indigenous languages. Research proved both arguments invalid. Banks felt that the implementation of indigenous languages would incur great costs. Ground staff and clients at all the branches answered questionnaires and were interviewed. In this way quantitative as well as qualitative data was collected. Looking at the two hypotheses that were tested, the results show that a discrepancy exists between the theoretical and practical implementation of the language policies of ABSA and NEDCOR. Far more is done by managers and ground staff at both these institutions to accommodate speakers of indigenous languages than by policy makers. The second hypothesis, which examines a discrepancy in the language behaviour of people with differing educational levels, also proves to be valid. Respondents with a low educational level need services in their mother tongue to operate but those with a high level of education, want to see their languages being used because of a cultural identification and a pride in their languages.