Post-apartheid South Africa has been marked by a wave of social unrest; from service delivery protests to xenophobic violence targeted towards foreign nationals. Immigrants from across the African soil are victims of this barbaric behavior (xenophobia). A derogatory name such as “makwerekwere” is given to foreign nationals to make them feel inferior and less human. In 2008 these attacks worsened almost in every black township throughout the country. The victims are mostly Somalis and Zimbabweans shop or spaza owners. There are quite a number of explanations that prompted these attacks and they include the following; competition for scarce resources, lack of economic and business opportunities. Foreigners are easily employable because they accept cheap labour, thus making it hard for South Africans to find jobs. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to explore economic discontent against foreign nationals into xenophobic attacks. This study highlights the relationship that co-exists between economic discontent and xenophobic attacks in Port Elizabeth, Walmer Township and the research methods that were used and how these methods were used in the study.

If manufacturing organisations are to improve their competitive positions in the global arena and increase profitability, their operations strategies need to be focused on: reducing cost, improving quality, increasing efficiency, improving the speed of delivery, developing and improving process flexibility, and ensuring that higher service levels are achieved and maintained. One of the critical success factors in implementing these strategies, within manufacturing organisations, is the relationship that exists between the maintenance and production functions. There is sufficient evidence to suggest that in many manufacturing organisations, the relationship that exists between these two functions is usually one of conflict, which if left unmanaged or unresolved has the potential to severely hamper effectiveness, productivity, creativity, and profitability of the organisation. The overall purpose of this research was to identify the interventions that manufacturing organisations can pursue, to effectively manage and resolve the conflict between the production and maintenance functions, in order to improve their competitive position in the global economy. The study was conducted in one particular manufacturing organisation in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. A research questionnaire was used as a means for collecting empirical data. The research questionnaire included various instruments used by previous conflict researchers, to identify and analyse the following dimensions of conflict within the organisation: conflict management styles used, the types of conflict perceived, and the amount of conflict perceived. The questionnaire was also designed to identify the sources of conflict, collect demographic information, identify issues relating to diversity, and indicate the respondents’ preferences to various organisational reporting structures. The results of the survey revealed key findings, which enabled the researcher to draw meaningful conclusions, and make recommendations as to how organisations can effectively manage and resolve the conflict that exists between maintenance and production functions.

The Department of Health in South Africa, as in many countries, has developed a policy guideline and recommendations for feeding of infants of HIV positive mothers. This is aimed at providing midwives with detailed and sound information about HIV and infant feeding practices based on current understanding of HIV and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of the infant’s life. The policy states that breastfeeding is a significant and preventable mode of HIV transmission to infants and there is an urgent need to educate, counsel and support women and families, so that they can make decisions about how best to feed infants in the context of HIV (http://www.doh.gov.za/aids/doc/feeding/html.2005-03-07). Speaking to midwives from the Provincial Hospitals in the Nelson Mandela Metropole, the researcher became aware of the midwives’ often-expressed unhappiness about the new policy from the Department of Health on exclusive breastfeeding. Midwives complained about the dilemma with which they are faced regarding infant feeding practices. They could not understand the advocacy of exclusive breastfeeding, when breastfeeding is recognised as one of the modes of Mother-to-Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV. The aim of the study was to help, support and encourage midwives to implement the policy of exclusive breastfeeding. The objectives of the study were to: • Explore and describe the experiences and perceptions of midwives related to promoting exclusive breastfeeding in HIV positive first-time mothers. • Make recommendations to the Department of Health regarding the support and help that can be given to midwives to encourage their implementation of the exclusive breastfeeding policy. The researcher made use of a qualitative, phenomenological, descriptive, explorative and contextual design. Permission for conducting the research was iv obtained from relevant authorities, and participants were asked to sign a consent form before the researcher proceeded with the study. Collection of data was done by means of unstructured interviews using an audiotape recorder. Once data was saturated, the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed, using the steps described by Tesch’s (1990 in Creswell, 1994: 153) method of descriptive analysis. Field notes were also taken to record non-verbal communication during the interviews. In order to ensure trustworthiness of the study, the ethical principles of Guba’s model (in Krefting, 1991:215), namely truth-value, applicability, consistency and neutrality were used. The services of an independent coder were utilised and a consensus meeting was held between the researcher and the independent coder in order to discuss the identified themes. Prior to the consensus meeting, the independent coder was provided with interview transcripts and a protocol to guide the data analysis. Following the data analysis, a literature control was undertaken to highlight the similarities and differences found in the data analysis. Three themes with sub-themes were identified. The participants expressed positive views on the policy of exclusive breastfeeding in HIV positive first-time mothers. They were satisfied with the policy and viewed the policy of exclusive breastfeeding as an effective contribution to feeding options of babies born of HIV positive first-time mothers. However, the participants identified several factors hindering the effective implementation of the policy of exclusive breastfeeding in HIV positive first-time mothers. Factors identified were staffshortages, lack of cooperation among staff members regarding promotion of exclusive breastfeeding, lack of information regarding the CD4 count of patients on admission in the ward, cultural beliefs, lack of training among staff members and inadequate counseling facilities to ensure privacy and confidentiality for mothers. Participants also experienced a variety of emotions related to exclusive breastfeeding such as happiness, confidence, helplessness, frustration, worry and concern, stress and exhaustion. Based on the findings of the study, guidelines were developed and recommendations made concerning nursing practice, nursing education and nursing research.

South Africa, recognised as a developing economy, is encouraging its citizens to be entrepreneurs through various initiatives and assistance, with a bias towards the previously disadvantage people. This encouragement, from the government, has been taken advantage of by numerous citizens to the detriment of themselves, especially in the transport industry. Kazderich Pro Trans, a small transport entrepreneur, has founded itself based on the notion that businesses will utilize its services frequently based on the preferential treatment, to previously disadvantaged communities. The stakeholders in the transport industry, however is firstly geared towards maintaining their market share in a fiercely competitive industry with arguably an introspective view of the preferential treatment governmental policies. The purpose of this is to research the transport industry and accurately identify the environment the transport businesses operate in, with a view of analysing competencies that attract and retain business. This paper negates the government policy to a minor external environmental factor and argues that the company (Kazderich Pro Trans) should operate on the same principals as its competitors in the transport industry. The important issue being discussed in this research, the long term strategy, is to make small transport entrepreneurs realise that researching and planning their business are more important than starting it. The attraction and retention of clients is the basis of a successful transport business and the analyses of the questionnaire employed are used as guidance in developing the long term strategy.

This time of great change, of shifting paradigms, provides a great platform for universities to rethink their processes (Duderstadt, 2000). Thanks to the pioneering success of the Toyota Motor Company for the invention of lean manufacturing. This operating system has been implemented in many manufacturing companies, with recent successes reported in the service industry. With its focus on quality improvement, cost reduction, efficiency and excellency, lean has been recognised as one of the mechanisms for process improvement and organisational change. In terms of fully embracing lean principles, the service industry still lags far behind the manufacturing, with institutions of higher learning still quite far. Numerous authors have confirmed that institutions of learning are not an easy environment to change. Universities are still characterised by bureaucratic systems based on conventional processes that are not necessarily relevant to today‘s world. The old saying that change in the universities occur one grave at a time is not farfetched (Hines and Lethbridge, 2008 and Paul and Brindley, 1996). The impact of globalisation on business education and how to respond to this phenomenon is a challenge. This necessitates a need for more streamlined and efficient organisations; hence lean has been promoted as a strategy to achieve competitive advantage (Simmons and Masson, 2003). The research study aims to identify areas where lean principles can be implemented to improve the NMMU MBA application process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees directly involved in the process in order to understand it better. The results of the respondents were reported in a process chart diagram and spaghetti diagram. The interviews also revealed five themes that emerged during the analysis of responses. These themes formed the basis for development of recommendations in Chapter 6 of the study.

It is critical in this dynamic and changing environment that both the leadership and educators of schools and organisations are well equipped with the skills and knowledge to create high performance teams (HPT). High performance teams can be defined as those highly motivated team players in the organisation or school that maximise their people integrated knowledge, skills and values to a shared purpose or vision of their stakeholders. In this mixed method research an analysis of the whole school operational teams of some secondary schools including all educators, head of departments, administrators and principals was undertaken. Four secondary schools from two quintile groups situated in various areas of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan were the sampling units and the sample size was eighty one. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected utilising a carefully constructed questionnaire based on a theoretical conceptual framework of enabling factors for HPT in business contexts. The theoretical framework of the Kenexa High Performance Model was utilised in this study. A questionnaire was constructed based on the factors of the High Performance Work Index (HPW) study done by the Australian Business School. This model was adjusted to utilise factors aligned to those factors within the school operational context. Using other literature references further factors were included into the survey instrument. The School High Performance Work Index (SHPWI) was the dependent variable while the independent variables included organizational commitment, and employee engagement. These were literature based measures and the questionnaire items were taken from previous research studies, thereby allowing construct validity. The other independent variables included Communication, Leadership, Strategic Management, School Organizational Climate, Positive Practices, Conflict Management, Motivation and Trust. A statistical analysis was undertaken on each school’s team response data. Reliability and validity of the constructed questionnaire was shown by using the Kenexa employee engagement index and the Organizational Commitment measure, which were highly correlated with the SHPWI. In literature, high performance teams (HPT) show common patterns in business and in this study it was seen that a number of common factors contributed towards a HPT in school operational teams. In this research study the main enabling factors in whole school operational teams that could lead to the formation of HPT’s involved factors of leadership, communication and motivation. The SHPWI showed a high correlation with employee engagement and organizational commitment. The HPT profile involved innovation (freedom of thinking), employee (educator) engagement, fairness, leadership, learner needs, communication, trust, conflict management, school organizational climate, positive practices, strategic management and motivation. In the correlation between the SHPWI and the independent variables the highest correlation (statistically significant at p < 0.05 N = 81; r > 0. 500) occurred between the School High Performance Index and Leadership (0.822), Communication (0.785) and Motivation (0.766). In the multiple linear regression (MLR) of the results of this study the highest correlations with a value of R2 = 0.774 was obtained with variables of Leadership, Communication, Motivation and Strategic Management factors. Qualitative data was coded and linked with the factors in the quantitative data and the top five factors were selected and summarised for each school. Merged data showed that each school exhibited a different profile of strengths and weaknesses. Recommendations were outlined for each school operational team. Different schools in different quintiles have different needs and gap factors that require improvement. It is therefore imperative that schools analyse their strengths and weaknesses within their school operational teams. This research study aimed therefore to start research on a human resource metric that can be further developed to allow school operational teams to examine and analyze their own HPT profile, so that specific interventions may be implemented.

The treatise analyses the issues around budgets and examines budget expenditure control procedures. The research method selected has been formulated from the research onion process (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2009). This methodology first identifies the research approach, research strategy, timelines and data collection methods. As part of the research process, a quantitative approach has been taken and a survey was carried out in relation to the collection of quantitative data for the purposes of the treatise research. The final analysis of the survey results is reflected in the conclusion of the research findings. Budget expenditure control procedures provide a company with a method of control for managing actual spending against the budget. Most companies have a refined practice of budget preparation, and in the larger companies, these are implemented across all departments and carried out by respective managers. Once the budget is in place, it is the responsibility of the managers to ensure that those having expenditure authorisation adhere to it. If control procedures are well managed, this allows for improved efficiency in operations and can lead to benefits in budget performance. Control procedures that are inefficient and poorly managed will inhibit budget objectives being achieved. The control procedures for budget expenditure can be formulated and applied to optimise budget performance and to control budget variance. Formal budget expenditure control procedures, as part of a company’s budget strategy, can provide managers with an effective business tool that improves current budget spending control procedures. This will then result in the identification of potential efficiency gains and improve budget performance.

Poverty is one of the major problems that Republic of South Africa is dealing with at the particular moment and the lack of unemployment makes it even worse. According to the South African Government, they are trying their best level to decrease the level of poverty. Yet according to the standard of living of the poor people nothing has been seen that make a difference on the way these community members are affected by the poverty. This chapter will outline the structure of this study pertaining on how the information will be gathered, what is going to be collected, who will be involved, where would this study be focused, which area and which department will take part in order to address the answers to the above topic. It will also give the background of why these projects were created.

The purpose of this single case study was to investigate the variables that determine the perceived success of the costing management of Mandela Bay Development Agency Projects (MBDA). Eleven propositions namely Strategic Planning, Stakeholders, Procurement Processes, Contracts, Design Management, Implementation Management, Internal Regulatory Structures, Outside Advice, Human Behaviour, Risk Management and Governance Structure, were identified that could influence costing management of MBDA projects. By using qualitative research methods, the MBDA was compared with three other agencies with similar mandates, by means of four semi-structured interviews, in order to identify similarities and differences between the organisations in terms of costing management. The results of nine in-depth interviews with MBDA project role players, with open ended questions about the participants’ views on the factors that influence costing management, were used to discover themes that were overlooked in the proposed model of perceived success of costing management of MBDA projects. Most of the propositions as per the proposed model for the perceived success of costing management of MBDA projects were confirmed to have a positive relationship to the costing management of MBDA projects. The model was revised after the results were presented to include two ante-ceding variables that were overlooked in the literature review, but emerged from the data namely Funding Model and Compliance to Legislation. The identification of the additional variables namely Team Dynamics (replacing Human Behaviour) and Planning Model are important aspects to be considered in relation to the costing management of MBDA projects. With the focus on good governance and the MBDA’s good record of clean and unqualified audits, it is to be noted that the performance of government projects is usually measured against progress and expenditure and not necessarily against the value for money and the quality of the completed project.

Bibliography: pages 266-283. / This thesis explores the history of New Brighton in the context of Port Elizabeth's political economy. This port city was essentially an entrepôt until primary industrialisation commenced after the First World War. Jobs in the footwear and motor assembly plants were the preserve of unskilled white (Afrikaans-speaking) workers recently arrived from the city's hinterland. A relatively stable African population grew in the absence of influx controls, and provided a large pool of unskilled labour. A fairly large Coloured population made it more difficult for Africans to acquire employment and skills. With the spurt in industrial growth from the mid- 1940s, Africans were increasingly employed in the manufacturing sector. But the majority of the African workforce still performed unskilled work at or below the minimum wage. Port Elizabeth's African population was amongst the most fully proletarianised but the poorest in the country. The changing labour needs of Port Elizabeth's employers meant that the powerful commercial-cum- industrial lobby sought to influence the City Council to ignore influx control measures introduced in the 1930s. Instead, routine control of New Brighton residents was dependent on a 'location strategy' which included the issue of registration cards as the key to obtaining houses and beer brewing privileges. The Advisory Board provided a channel for patronage dispensed by the Superintendent and a means of co-opting prominent residents and their supporters. The usual litany of social ills such as grinding poverty, overcrowding and breakdown of family structures led to the growth of a subculture of violence amongst some of the youth from the late 1940s. This fed into the simmering discontent caused by the Council's insistence on rent increases and the heightened political expectations caused by the defiance campaign, which irrupted 'in the 1952 riots. Meanwhile, a realignment of political forces in the local state had changed the balance of power in favour of those groups which advocated a tighter rein on labour regulation and the political activities of local Africans. Pressure from this source and the central state in the aftermath of the riots, was more telling than that of the 'liberal' lobby and business interests on the PECC. The combination of state repression and the Council's hastily introduced curbs on political activities reduced the likelihood of ANC-led resistance to the imposition of passes. In 1953 the Council finally jettisoned its 'liberalism' and introduced influx control measures and labour registration. It applied the full force of the law against New Brighton residents whose reputation for being a law-abiding community had served to vindicate the Council's 'progressive' policies towards Africans in the first place.