“Over the past ten years, ITCs have become an important element in sustaining economic growth and poverty reduction through increasing efficiencies, enabling the delivery of social services, or creating new sources of income and employment” (Fourati, 2009, p. 37) . m-banking is one such technological development that has a potential to increase economic participation by low-income consumers. This research examines the factors influencing the adoption of mobile banking by low-income consumers in South Africa, with a special focus on the banking needs of the poor. The research framework was adapted from Tan and Teo (2000) and assessed the impact of these nine variables on the intention to adopt m-banking: relative advantage, compatibility with values, compatibility with banking needs, compatibility with cell phone use experience, complexity, “trialibility”, risk, self-efficacy and support. Data for this study was collected through a physical hardcopy survey in Soweto, in Gauteng.The research found that low-income consumers will consider adopting m-banking as long as it is offers them an improved way over the current mechanisms of managing their money, it is compatible with their financial services needs and they consider themselves as having the necessary skills to use it. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

As firms intend on entering low-income markets as a result of stagnation in developed economies, they face numerous organisational barriers within their firms and external that hinder entry and ensure continued success in these markets. In order to successfully serve these BoP consumers in emerging markets, new innovative business models are required; however there are entities that are currently serving the BoP successfully – these are Small and Medium Enterprises.The purpose of this study was to deepen our understanding of why small and medium sized businesses have been successful in low-income markets through an understanding of their business models and their competitive advantages over MNCs.The objective of this report, hence, was to explore the business models for firms that are currently serving the BoP successfully and what their competitive advantages are as compared to their MNC counterparts within the South African context. Using the grounded theory approach of building theory from data that offers a new perspective on the BoP for MNCs a framework resulted and was theorized from the data from interviews with owners of SMEs in the FMCG manufacturing domain. The BoP Blueprint is a framework that describes elements of business models of SMEs in the context of SME Fundamentals – basic business fundamentals and the Customer Core – focus on the customer. Eleven in-depth interviews were conducted with owners from 11 different companies to test the research questions that were derived from the literature.As a result of the grounded theory, no unique or innovative business models were discovered that made these SMEs successful contrary to the literature and the essence of the findings is that MNCs need to focus on fundamental business practises with the customer as the centre of their decisions when entering BoP markets. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This study describes the factors that drive competitiveness between local firms and multinational enterprises (MNE) in a retail consumer market of an emerging country. It also seeks to identify the approaches and strategies the competitors consider and adopt to maintain the advantage in the consumer market.The objective of this study is to identify the factors local firms and MNE’s will consider when competing with each other. The study also wants to identify the preferred mode of entry of MNE’s.The study will be a quantitative study where relationships between competitors and their performance in the market are measured.The results revealed that local firms do have a competitive advantage over MNE’s in the retail consumer market due to the local firm’s knowledge of the market, rather than the technology and skills. It’s also clear that MNE have a preferred mode of entry and they chose to compete in the industries where they are stronger than the local firms. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This research is concerned with understanding the role of consumer behaviour in microinsurance. There are notable factors such as premium flexibility, household income and marital status which serve as demand determinants of microinsurance; however the ultimate challenge is to influence consumer behaviour enabling growth of this insurance product. An established microinsurance sector results in the financial inclusion of low income consumers currently situated at the Bottom of the Pyramid, this is followed by economic development and subsequently economic growth for the broader society.Data was collected using a questionnaire from participants residing in East Bank, Alexandra, a South African township with a significant number of households in the LSM 1-4. The questionnaire collected data relating to basic financial services, characteristics of the Bottom of the Pyramid, as well as short term microinsurance demand.The findings show an immediate need towards the understanding of consumer behaviour by microinsurance stakeholders, including government and the private sector. It is only through innovation, partnership and low income consumer understanding that the desired levels of microinsurance demand will be attained. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Title: Understanding Area and Volume Formulae of Geometric Figures in the History of Mathematics and by Pupils Author: Bc. Adela Tavačová Supervisor: prof. RNDr. Ladislav Kvasz, DSc. The aim of this thesis is to describe the nature and possible causes of problematic areas in pupils' understanding of area and volume of geometric shapes and solids and treat this issue from the point of view of its ontogeny and phylogeny. Modern theories of gradual formation of the concepts of area and volume in pupils' minds will be characterized, together with the historical development of these concepts (from ancient Egypt and Greece to modern day). Complex analysis of the current Mathematics course books for primary and lower-secondary level is offered in the second part of the thesis. The analysis is based on the criteria following from the study of academic literature and on the historic research in this area. The aim of the analysis is to describe the way in which the course books treat geometric formulae and to what extent they respect their gradual development. In the final discussion, general aspects leading from the analysis will be summarized and offered as possible inspiration for pupils, teachers and future teachers of Mathematics. Key Words: formula, area, volume, algebraic language, hypothetical...

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This project explores about different aspects of level of automation from a theoretical point of view and reflecting upon them by validating the ideas through benchmarking some of the SMEs in Småland region. This report includes a detailed description of SME’s and its importance, which is then narrowed down to the challenges they face due to technological advancements and changing market. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the level of automation, the SME’s in Småland region have adopted currently. This pre-study is carried out to gather information on a variety of products manufactured and the production system strategy in practice currently and carry out a pilot study to provide a systematic approach towards changing the level of automation. In order to differentiate the SME’s in Småland region according to their automation level, concepts like automation pyramid and level of automation taxonomies are used. LOA taxonomies are used to divide the various operations and tasks between humans and the automated systems. Whereas the automation pyramid is used to categorize the SME’s to their respective automation level. A contrast analysis is carried out to illustrate the automation levels in different companies based on the findings. Finally, the report is concluded considering the levels of automation the selected companies represent from the study and the overall automation level is proposed. Further recommendations are provided for industrial standardization with respect to automation.

A large proportion of the world’s population has neither access to any formal financial services nor access to clean energy. This poorest socio-­‐economic group is called the bottom of the pyramid (BoP). It is recognized that microfinance services offered through microfinance institutions (MFIs) can serve this group and offer them opportunities to end financial poverty. To resolve energy poverty, efficient and renewable energy technologies on micro-­‐scale can be a solution. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, carbon-­‐offsetting measures can be taken. A microenergy project is a combined solution, where MFIs are assisted to give clean energy loans to the BoP. If microfinance is the right channel to provide energy to the bottom of the pyramid (BoP), how are the countries chosen? Which projects fits in? What are the criteria to choose an MFI? What are the conditions needed in relation to the energy sector? This research proposes the Microenergy Atlas as a tool for project implementers with a systematized methodology that addresses these questions and may help decision-­‐making for project planning. Throughout a five-­‐phase process, the Microenergy Atlas screens the listed projects by myclimate according to the MEI’s general objectives. Then, the tool screens microfinance institutions worldwide to select top performers according to MEI’s criteria, and analyses the energy sector of the countries with indicators related to the targeted client. Next, the Atlas places the projects based on specific indicators and finally gives a list of countries with the most favorable conditions to implement a microenergy project along with the potential microfinance institutions and projects. The results shows thirty-­‐seven countries ranked from most favorable to least favorable ones, counting the number of potential institutions and projects that can be done in each country. These results are then compared to actual cases where MicroEnergy International already has had successful experiences in the top-­‐ranked countries. Therefore, this tool can be used as a firsthand guide when choosing a country to have a new microenergy project. / <p>This report concludes the European Joint Master Program of Management and Engineering of Environment and Energy (ME3). It has also been submitted to the coordinating university, Ecole des Mines de Nantes.</p>

Emerging markets (EMs) contribute significantly year-on-year to global gross domestic product (GDP) and continue to offer developed countries huge opportunities such as raw materials and readily available markets for various goods and services produced in developed economies. However, multinational corporations (MNCs) from developed markets operating in emerging countries continue to develop inappropriate perceptions and assumptions influenced by Western imperialist and arrogant attitudes, which carry a very short-term view on the future of developing countries, despite extracting multibillion-dollar profits from these regions. The objectives of the research study were to establish the relationship between strategic management practices (SMPs) and the financial performance of MNCs in emerging markets, by testing, validating the viability and applicability of the SMPs framework and by evaluating SMPs financial contribution to the bottom-line of MNCs. The research study found that for MNCs with comprehensively adopted and implemented the SMPs framework their financial performance continues to improve year on year, depicting a positive relationship between SMPs and overall financial performance of MNCs with business interests in emerging markets. The study, however, concludes that the MNC executives wrong assumptions about emerging countries results in the crafting of strategies within business models that fail to fit in emerging markets. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) har blivit allt mer populärt inom idrottsrörelsen ställer detta högre krav på föreningarna att ta det sociala ansvaret för samhällsutvecklingen och samhällsproblem. Syftet med studien är att analysera fotbollsföreningar i Skåne och deras förhållningssätt till den sociala hållbarheten genom att initiera olika typer av CSR-arbeten. Utöver detta identifierades vilka förväntningar som ställs på föreningar att genomföra CSR-arbete. Detta ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv, med fokus på social hållbarhet. Problemet idag är att många föreningar startar upp CSR-projekt utan att åstadkomma något, och projekten blir i sin tur inte hållbara. Studien tar sin utgångspunkt ur Carrolls pyramid som tar upp hur ett CSR-arbete ska fungera utifrån fyra aspekter (ekonomiskt, legalt, etiskt och filantropiskt) där fokuset främst ligger på de två sista aspekterna. Studien har ett kvalitativt angreppssätt och genomförs med kvalitativa intervjuer med utvalda elitfotbollsföreningar i Skåne. Resultatet av studien var att föreningarna har en vilja av att bidra med social hållbarhet i samhället men att den ekonomiska grunden ofta saknas för att arbeta hållbart. Vidare visade resultatet på att de ekonomiska aspekterna var en återkommande faktor som föreningarna känner håller dem tillbaka. Föreningarna lockas oftast till de mindre bidragande projekten istället för att arbeta med de projekt som bidrar med social hållbarhet. Detta gör att det ser bättre ut på pappret för föreningar och idrottsrörelsen istället för att verkligen bidra med social hållbarhet. Syftet med CSR har tappat sin betydelse och den drivande kraften har istället blivit att synas än att göra något bra. / The purpose of this study is to analyze the football clubs in Scania and how their approach to social sustainability by initiating different types of Corporate Social Responsibility projects. The study is based on Carroll's pyramid about CSR which focuses on four aspects (financially, legally, ethically, and philanthropically). The study has a qualitative approach and is conducted with qualitative interviews with selected elite football associations in Scania. The results of the study show that the associations have a desire to contribute with social sustainability in society, but that the financial foundation is often lacking to be able to work sustainably. Furthermore, the results showed that the economic aspects were a recurring factor that the associations felt was holding them back. The associations are usually attracted to the smaller contributing projects instead of working on the projects that contribute to social sustainability.