To achieve this purpose a leadership meta-competence model, based on levels of work theory, was developed for the future world of work. This model was firstly validated by senior managers in the retail industry. Subsequently a questionnaire assessing the perceived importance of these competencies currently and in the future was designed. This questionnaire was completed by 101 managers from various South African retail industries. The resultant data was analysed and the results indicated that there is a significant difference between the perceived current and future definitions of the nature and work of business leaders, specifically Level II work behaviour will become less important in the future and Level III and IV work behaviour show increasing importance for the future business leader. The works of Ackoff (1994), Carpa (2003), Starbuck (2005) and Wheatley (1999) propose the rethinking of the manner in which organisations plan and execute work in the emerging future, while managers and leaders often ask why they should prepare for the future when it is impossible to know what to be prepared for (Rethinking corporate strategy, 2003:65)? Weingand (1995) argues that today’s speculations on the future have moved from the realm of fantasy or literary illusion into the pragmatic world of organisational need. Tomorrow needs to be explored in order to more fully understand the demands of today and the critical decisions that must be made for the future. Weingand (1995) further argues that it is no longer enough to wonder what the future might bring; it is necessary to critically assess potential future scenarios and incorporate well-considered forecasts into today’s planning. It can be argued from the above that even though the future is uncertain, organisations that study potential futures, share knowledge and encourage collective learning are more likely to survive the test of time. Peters (1992:483) supports this argument by suggesting that organisations do not only need to become “learning organisations”, but be able to innovate on a continuous basis. Organisations find themselves midstride between an old and new era, and have not yet found their way (Nicol in Parker, 1998:1). It is also evident that the changes surrounding organisations are not mere trends but the workings of large, unruly forces: globalisation and increased international competition (Kiggundu, 2002; Moon & Bonny, 2001), cross national strategic alliances and mergers, privatisation, outsourcing, information technology innovations, the increasing short term work contract (Cooper, 2005; Stewart, 1993) and changing work ethic and culture (Ulrich, Zenger, & Smallwood, 2003). These influences are leading to an increasingly chaotic and complex world of work (Cairnes, 2004; Hite, 1999 and Kraut & Kormann, 1999). / Dr. Anton M. Verwey

Thesis (MTech (Retail Business Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007 / As the retail industry remains persistently competitive, progressive retailers tend to adopt multi-channel retailing (MGR) to gain competitive advantage and to achieve other potential benefits. Many experts argue that MGR widens the retailer's target market and operations to satisfy the needs of a wide range of customers and, subsequently, eam the retailer potential benefits (Dawson, 2002:5; Berman & Thelen, 2004:148-149; Ghanesh, 2004:140; Sotgiu & Ancarani,2004:128). According to Dawson (2002:5), MGR is being used extensively by large retail outlets worldwide to complement their traditional operations, thereby providing the most convenient means for customers to shop while the outlets gain competitive advantage. However, the benefits of MGR are not achieved by retail small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs), OWing to the fact that there are low levels of MGR adoption in retail SMMEs. This therefore limits their market opportunities. The research reported here examines how MGR could become a growth strategy for retail SMMEs. The study necessitated an extensive literature review of retailing and multi-channel retailing, multi-channel strategy and the multi-channel customer. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected through personal interviews and questionnaires, and from large and small retail outlets and their customers in the Gape Town region. The stUdy found that the large retail outlets studied are doing well with MGR, without having to build concrete multi-channel strategies to integrate their different channels. What contributes to that achievement is their ability to harmonise their channels to achieve channel inter-dependency. The study also revealed that there is not much difference between large and small retailers when it comes to the potential benefits of MGR; therefore size is not a major issue. The differences lie in the different sectors, and with different target markets and different product categories, as these require different mixes of channels. Moreover, retail transactions in an MGR environment are found to follow a cycle of steps within the overall process, in which a customer's visit to one channel often becomes just one step in the purchase process. The study provides a useful guide for retail SMMEs to successfully adopt MeR for their profitability and growth.

M.Comm. / The overall purpose of the present study was to identify the business and management skills required for the management of small enterprises in the retail sector in Soweto. The primary objective of the study was to determine those skills that have contributed to the survival of small enterprises, which have existed for five years or more. The population for the study were the retailers in Soweto. This population was identified from lists of 100 retailers in Soweto held by the Centre for Small Business Development (CSBD) at the University of Johannesburg and the Soweto Chamber of Commerce. The exact size of the population was, however, unknown because such lists were not comprehensive. The sample consisted of owners of 25 small enterprise retailers in Soweto. The sample was drawn using convenience sampling. The type of research used for this study was exploratory research with the aim of obtaining qualitative data. A semi-structured interview guide was used to interview owners of these enterprises to ascertain business and management skills necessary for the management of small enterprises in the retail sector in Soweto.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Technology: Cost and Management Accounting, Durban University of Technology, 2014. / Economic Value Added (EVA) is a value based accounting measure used by companies to measure the amount of value created for shareholders. Accounting values derived from company annual financial statements (AFS), are used to calculate EVA. EVA requires the conversion of accounting values to economic values. This conversion process is known as the EVA adjustment. If accounting values are not converted to economic values, the value of the EVA can be distorted. Previous studies have shown that companies are experiencing difficulties in implementing EVA adjustments. To reduce these difficulties, companies have decided to limit their EVA adjustments to ten or even fewer. The problem is that if the appropriate adjustments are not made, an inaccurate EVA measure will be calculated. The aim of the research was to measure the impact of deferred taxes on the EVA measure. The study was conducted within a quantitative research paradigm. Secondary data analysis was carried out on JSE-listed Food producers and Retailers over a seven-year period, from 2004 to 2010. The unadjusted EVA was compared to the adjusted EVA measure to determine the before and after effects of deferred taxes on EVA. The findings of the study revealed that deferred taxes either understated or overstated the value of the EVA during 2004 to 2010. In addition, the results from the regression analysis revealed an overall significance for all deferred tax predictors. The regression results showed that deferred taxes significantly impacted the value of EVA. The study recommends that companies implement the deferred tax adjustment on the EVA measure.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy: Management Sciences (Marketing), Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / This study aimed at determining and evaluating customer service in independently owned retail food chains within the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Furthermore, it included assessing the level of retail service quality, current customer service tools employed by independent food chains in KwaZulu-Natal and the extent to which customer service tools are being used. The study was also about establishing whether there was a significant relationship between retail service quality and customer satisfaction. The study targeted both customers and managers of independent food chains in KwaZulu-Natal from whom a sample of four mangers were interviewed and 444 customers were conveniently selected to participate in the study. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed in the collection of data. The findings revealed that majority of the customers were generally dissatisfied with the quality of services offered by independent food chains owing to a lack of complementary services (ATM terminals, parking and toilets), facilities for shoppers with special needs (physically handicapped, wheel chaired or translators), inability to offer customers credit, failure to provide a wide product assortment, short operating hours and general appearance of store (cleanliness, good product display, presentation on how to use merchandise and availability of shopping trolleys, signage to locate and identify merchandise). The results, however, revealed that there is a relationship between customers’ expectations and their perceived satisfaction. Equally significant, the results showed that customers were satisfied with accessibility and safety of the stores, and that they will be considering independent food chains in KwaZulu-Natal as their primary stores. The study concluded by recommending that: independent retail food chains study their customer profiles as it was evident during interviews that customer profiling or segmentation was not being undertaken in detail; retailers are urged to identify and establish customer service needs and requirements so as to facilitate proper product and service mix design; retailers are also recommended to keep regular communication with customers to inform them about promotions or any new developments taking place; retailers should introduce customer loyalty programmes; provide regular staff training on customer service through workshops and follow-up refresher courses; retailers should offer quality merchandise and incorporate latest technological innovations; handle and process third party payment; meet and exceed customer service expectations of customers; upgrade their facilities to accommodate customers with disabilities; and finally retailers should have well-defined returns policies, parking facilities, rest rooms and introduce trolleys with baby-seating facilities. / D

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is a ethod of identifying unique items using radio waves that communicate between RFID tags and readers without line-of-sight readability. RFID technology provides great potential in many industries and a wide spectrum of possible uses. Areas of application include person identification, logistics, pharmaceutical, access control, security guard monitoring and asset management. One of the areas where RFID is being used and where it promises excellent results is the retail industry. While RFID systems have the potential to revolutionise the way products and goods are tracked and traced in the retail supply chain, barriers to its widespread adoption exist: for example; technical constraints, return on investment constraints, a lack of awareness and education and as well as privacy and security issues. The research aims to identify the barriers to the adoption of RFID and to investigate the perceptions of RFID held by members of the retail sector in South Africa (SA). Current research and available literature are used to identify RFID adoption barriers and a conceptual framework on this subject is proposed, which is then verified by SA retailers’ perceptions, established by means of a survey. Initial barriers to widespread adoption include a shortage in skills, a lack of standards, high costs associated with RFID devices, the difficulty of integrating with current legacy systems, and a lack of familiarity with the system. Finally, an enhanced framework is proposed, describing RFID adoption barriers within the South African retail sector. In summary, the framework is an outline of the barriers impacting RFID adoption in the SA retail sector that need to be considered and addressed. The framework identifies six categories of RFID adoption barriers, with each category containing two or more barriers relating to that particular category. These categories are Technological, Cost and return on investment, Privacy and security, Implementation, Organisational factors and People.

Thesis (MTech (Human Resource Management)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / This thesis explores the barriers/constraints that the SMME may experience whilst attempting to recover their skills levies from the wholesale and retail SETA (W&RSETA). Skills development legislation was introduced in South Africa to address the previous disparities in education and training. The Skills Development Levies Act (SOLA) of 1999 established the introduction of skills levies. The SOLA stipulated that all companies with an annual payroll in excess of R 500 000 would be required to pay skills levies to the South African Revenue Service (SARS). SARS then distributes the funds to the relevant sector education and training authority (SETA). The company would then have the option of recovering up to seventy percent of its skills levies, provided that it had implemented various skills development and training initiatives throughout the year. While larger companies may be more attuned in terms of recovering these levies, small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) may experience difficulties in doing so. The research design included a descriptive study of both qualitative and quantitative components. The investigation was conducted by interviewing twenty stakeholders within the wholesale and retail sector. The stakeholders were divided into two categories, namely SMMEs and the assistants to SMMEs. The information was analysed within the context of the twenty stakeholders interviewed who were located in the Westem Cape area and registered with the W&RSETA. The findings indicated that the main constraints that SMMEs may be experiencing whilst attempting to recover their skills levies from the W&RSETA included: a lack of understanding of the grant recovery system; lack of time; burdensome administration; a lack of finance; and a lack of communication and support from the W&RSETA This research would be a pilot study that would provide a basis for a future study which may seek to provide practical recommendations to policy makers both in govemment and the private sector, in terms of assisting levy paying SMMEs within the W&RSETA to recover skills levies.