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