Quesada, Gonzalez, Mueller & Mueller (2010) have identified that organisations spend at least one-third of their overall budget on procurement of products and services. Hence the importance of reducing procurement costs through an efficient supply chain should be a priority for any senior manager. E-procurement is one of the components that can assist management in streamlining the operations resulting in an efficient supply chain process. The usage of qualitative research for this study ensured that appropriate answers were identified to address the research question and a clear understanding was obtained to establish the factors that affect the adoption of e-procurement technologies. The scope of the research was focused on the suppliers and manufactures of plumbing material in South Africa. The aim of the study was to establish the factors that influence organisation in adopting e-procurement technologies. The data reflected that e-procurement adoption improves organisation’s productivity, ability to better control costs resulting in an efficient and effective supply chain process. This is only possible with the support of senior management, end-user buy-in and allocation of financial resources. The three major findings identified were that e-procurement adoption is driven by internal needs, reduces labour costs and improves customer relations. Possible Future research should examine the influence of other factors such as competitiveness, customer service and organisation size. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / pagibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

L’étude des diverses causes de la complexité du droit de la commande publique permet de déterminer le niveau minimal inéluctable de complexité à conserver, la complexité restante s’avérant inutile et devant donc être supprimée, ou du moins, aménagée. Plus particulièrement, les causes de la complexité de ce droit proviennent objectivement de la difficile rationalisation de ce dernier. Elles sont quantitatives ou qualitatives. Mais toute cette complexité s’explique surtout subjectivement car ses causes résultent du difficile règlement des conflits d’intérêts par ce droit. En effet, tout d’abord, les objectifs de ce droit sont débattus. Ensuite, la société donne différents points de vue sur ce droit. Enfin, on relève une efficacité amoindrie du droit au juge en matière de commande publique, ce qui nuit aux requérants. Il convient alors d’analyser les multiples voies et moyens de simplification du droit de la commande publique afin de trouver le niveau maximal inéluctable de simplification. Dès lors, le reste de la simplification s’avère inutile, infaisable. Ces voies et moyens doivent servir à mieux rationaliser ce droit selon deux approches, l’une quantitative et l’autre qualitative. Cependant, toute cette simplification du droit de la commande publique doit être effectuée surtout d’un point de vue subjectif. Plus précisément, les voies et moyens de cette simplification doivent permettre de mieux régler les conflits d’intérêts. En effet, on peut clarifier les objectifs du droit de la commande publique, réglementer de façon mesurée les divers points de vue de la société sur ce droit et renforcer l’efficacité du droit au juge pour les requérants. / The study of the various causes of the complexity of public procurement law determine the minimum unavoidable level of complexity to keep, the remaining complexity is useless and must therefore be abolished, or at least, modified. More specifically, the causes of the complexity of this law objectively come to the difficult rationalization of the latter. They are quantitative or qualitative. But all this complexity is mainly because subjectively its causes result from the difficult settlement of conflicts of interest by that law. Indeed, first, the objectives of this law are discussed. Then, the society gives different points of view on this law. Finally, we note a diminished effectiveness of the right to a judge in matters of public procurement, which affects the applicants. It is then necessary to analyze the multiple ways and means of simplification of public procurement law in order to find the maximum unavoidable level of simplification. Therefore, the rest of the simplification is unnecessary, infeasible. These ways and means should be used to better rationalize this law according to two approaches, one quantitative and the other qualitative. However, any simplification of public procurement law must be made primarily from a subjective point of view. More specifically, ways and means of this simplification must allow to better resolve conflicts of interest. Indeed, one can clarify the objectives of public procurement law, regulate in a measured way the diverse points of view of society on this law and strengthen the effectiveness of the right to a judge for the applicants.

Magister Legum - LLM / Government procurement is a very important aspect of international tradeas it can either promote or inhibit trade depending on laws and policies of a country. The study is confined to issues pertaining to the role of RTAs in establishing government procurement standards that resemble or conform to those of the GPA in developing countries. The study used Africa as a case study by evaluating selected RTAs that have been signed focussing on RTAs such as the procurementinitiativeof the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) and US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement. The major objectives of the study were to examine the role of the existing international regulatory instruments towards the harmonisation of global standards on government procurement. The reserach aimed at analysing the role of the WTOs GPA as a possible global standard for government procurement and to investigate reasons of limited membership by developing countries. / South Africa

The objective of this study is to analyse and evaluate the current system of procuring Building Contractors for public sector building projects in Botswana. The study further seeks to find strategies to recommend for improving the current system of procurement. The analysis and evaluation is carried out by first dividing the main problem into sub-problems. The sub-problems help to form the questions for the interviews and the questionnaire. Chapter one introduces the reader to the main problem and defines the scope of the problem and the delimitations. The second Chapter is a review of the related literature and a brief outline of the procurement process and the relevant legislation. The analysis and evaluation of the information and data collected is carried out in Chapter three. This is a very important Chapter since it addresses the questions raised by the main problem and the sub-problems and states the extent to which the hypotheses are affirmed or not affirmed. Chapter four is dedicated to the recommendations and strategies for improving the procurement system. The last Chapter summarises the main findings and outlines and recommends areas for further study. This treatise comprises some important findings and can form a useful initiative towards developing strategies for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector system of procuring building Contractors in Botswana. / Thesis (MSc (Project Management))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Construction Economics / unrestricted

Successful business in today’s competitive climate thrives on building relationships with one’s suppliers, clientele and employees. Businesses, as a form of strategic engagement, extend their appreciation and recognition to these key role players with rewards (or incentives) such as prizes, holidays and free goods and/or services. This treatise examines the taxation implications of such rewards and determines that the market value thereof should be taxed in the hands of their recipients. This study also investigates possible indicators (or points of reference) to establish such market value and suggests alternate values that may be ascribed thereto for inclusion in the recipient’s gross income. Where the rewards are passed onwards by the recipient to its employees, fringe benefit consequences are occasioned and this study observes that the market value thereof should be taxed in the employees’ hands. The study goes on further to consider the position of the supplier (or provider) of the rewards and finds that the supplier is entitled to a deduction of the cost of the rewards it has provided to its clients or customers. This study also reflects upon the penal implications of not including the market value of rewards in gross income and notes that such non-inclusion constitutes a fiscal loss and is subject to an understatement penalty. Key recommendations on how such omission may be addressed by the tax authorities are also presented.

The construction industry in Malawi plays a vital role in developing the infrastructure of the country that is in need of improvement. Thus, in order to improve the quality of infrastructure in Malawi, the construction industry has to perform better than the status quo. The construction industry is characterised by a complex value chain that comprises of clients, consultants, contractors, and material manufacturers, suppliers, financing institutions, knowledge organisations and regulatory authority. This research looks at the relationship between construction value and project success in the Malawian construction industry. A qualitative research method was used for compiling the primary data for the study. Twenty-nine (29) participants were interviewed. These participants represented clients, consultants, contractors and material suppliers. The findings reveal that value creation in Malawi is characterised by lack of harmonised standards and specifications, inconsistent project management practices, existence of non-value adding activities, corrupt practices, lack of a skilled labour force, and lack of commitment to best practices in H&S as well as environmental management. Further, logistical problems affect the supply of construction materials to the country; while an unfavourable economic environment makes pricing of materials a challenge in the country too. Poor communication and limited use of information technology (IT) is very common in the industry and project implementation is also affected by a poor road network, an intermittent power supply, and a lack of cooperation from other service providers. In terms of supply chain structures in use, the research revealed that the traditional procurement method that is based on the lowest bidder / price is the most dominant method in use and very few members of the construction industry are conversant with other procurement methods. The method is also the preferred procurement method used by public sector clients. The performance of the traditional procurement method largely depends on the competence of the project design and supervision team, the adequacy of the documentation, and the capacity of the contractor. However, in most cases the system has failed to perform due to the poor contract management skills of the supervising consultant and the lack of timely guidance from the public sector clients. The findings also revealed that most of the suppliers or subcontractors are engaged on project based relationships, and members of the industry are unwilling to engage in long terms relationships due to mistrust and greed among members of the industry, and also largely due to lack of proper frameworks that can support such relationships. It is therefore recommended that other procurement methods should be explored and the engagement of the lowest price bidders should be discontinued on small and medium scale projects. The criteria for upgrading contractors to higher categories should equally be revisited to eliminate incompetent contractors. The NCIC should take a leading role in harmonising the various standards and specifications in use in the country. Promotion of the usage IT services should be encouraged to facilitate faster information dissemination. Usage of risk management in construction and evaluation and monitoring of projects should be encouraged and benchmark best practices. Finally, the members of the industry should take up the responsibility to take leading entities in the industry to task, if fundamental changes are to take place in the industry.

There has been increased interest internationally in using public procurement as an innovation policy. China too has employed innovation oriented public procurement (IOPP) to implement its ‘indigenous innovation’ strategy. This thesis explores China’s IOPP policy processes, evaluates the appropriateness of these policies, and explains key issues identified. Literature strands on innovation, policy, public procurement, and IOPP are drawn upon to analyse IOPP and related policies. IOPP processes are conceptualized as dynamics shaped by the institutions, actors and interactions of innovation and public procurement systems. IOPP policies are framed as horizontal mixes of cross-domain interventions, and vertical mixes of goals, rationales, instruments, designed implementation structures, actual implementation processes, and outcomes. A criterion for evaluating policy appropriateness is coherence between the various dimensions. Macro-level policies impact on micro-level processes which in turn provide evidence of implementation. A multi-level case study methodology is adopted to link up macro/national, meso/regional and micro/local levels of policy design, articulation and implementation. Implementation is characterized through three IOPP policy channels, a channel being a characteristic group of policies to promote IOPP. Channel 1 employed ‘innovation catalogues’, which was unexpectedly terminated in 2011 in response to concerns from other countries over China’s perceived protectionist tendency. Channel 1 was found to be a centralized mechanism to implement general IOPP across all regions, sectors and levels of governance. As a one-size-fits-all approach requiring cross-domain, cross-level coordination, it failed to achieve coherence with the institutional fragmentation of China’s innovation and procurement systems. The other two channels were implicit, strategic IOPP approaches i.e. commercialization projects for ‘major technological equipment’ with a rationale of pre-commercial procurement (Channel 2), and demonstration programmes for emerging technologies with a rationale of creating lead markets (Channel 3). These two channels realized better coherence with China’s systems as both were targeted at specific sectors and levels. Cross-case analysis suggests that micro-level IOPP processes were more frequently shaped by local contexts of stakeholders, interactions and informal institutions rather than IOPP policies. Interventionist local governments and proactive suppliers played stronger roles than procurers in initiating IOPP. IOPP cycles followed diverse and informal pathways not always competition-based, which might have breached de jure procurement regulations but China’s weak formal institutions allowed this flexibility. Informal institutions sometimes mitigated flaws of formal ones and facilitated IOPP, but could easily play competing roles (notably regional protectionism) that hinder policy implementation. This thesis contributes to IOPP knowledge by: offering a conceptual approach to IOPP policy analysis concerning implementation and appropriateness evaluation; uncovering China’s IOPP dynamics based on which the understanding of IOPP as a research subject is deepened. Policy implications include lessons for catching-up countries emphasizing institutional capacity and government capability, and more general issues highlighting policy differentiation and complementarity, and intermediation.

M.B.A. / The currently available literature regarding Strategic Alliances, (SA's), is vast and fragmented, based on differing views, perspectives and academic bases. The literature certainly suggests, as a common theme, the importance of partnering type relationships as becoming more and more important as a source of competitive advantage as markets become more uncertain and risky and as finns battle to acquire all the resources necessary to compete effectively for the future in an industry. While rends have shown a huge increase in the number of SA formations, studies have also shown that many of these alliances fail. A commonly cited reason for alliance failure is that SA's are not understood properly upfront in terms of exactly what an alliance is and what it can do in terms of the alliance value creation logic. Lack of trust is another commonly cited reason for failure of SA's. The aim of this research was to establish the feasibility of the SA concept in terms of...

The problem of this study is to survey the purchasing practices of a group of representative school districts and to determine the extent to which these practices follow the recommendations presented by authorities on school supplies procurement.

Over the years, shortage of funds has resulted in a huge deficit in government budgets for infrastructure, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Due to the huge costs involved in infrastructure procurement in relation to other competing demands on government spending, it is no longer feasible for governments to bear the entire burden of infrastructural development. This is especially the case in Nigeria, where annual infrastructure deficit is estimated at a massive $8 billion. Moreover, public officials have demonstrated incompetence in making public corporations profitable. Accordingly, Nigeria has adopted the public-private partnership model of infrastructure procurement to allow for the participation of the private sector in the design, funding, construction, management, and operation of public infrastructure. However, Nigeria’s legal framework for managing public-private partnership is not clearly defined, leading to gaps in policy and overlapping laws that make implementation of PPP very difficult. Unsurprisingly, public-private partnership in Nigeria have, thus far, produced mixed results, thereby raising a need for clear policy guidelines on streamlining overlapping laws to attract, sustain and reward investor interest. In what ways do Nigeria’s legal and policy framework for public-private partnership protect private investors’ funds? This study examines the concept of PPP and its practice in Nigeria, arguing that the regulatory framework be designed or enhanced to protect investors’ assets in public-private partnership projects and ensure they achieve proportional return on investments. Beyond the problem of overlapping laws, the study finds that political interference, weak institutional mechanisms and poor respect for the rule of law and sanctity of contract underlie the ineffectiveness of public-private partnership in Nigeria. Drawing from the public-private partnership experience in South Africa, it recommends holistic strategies for protecting investors’ assets and unlocking the local financial market for sourcing project funding. These strategies are notably the provision of guarantees, making the process less cumbersome, provision of incentives for investors and project companies and ensuring that the host community for public-private partnership projects are involved in the process from inception to operation to get their support.