The current business environment demands a more integrated approach to risk management due to the complex interrelationship and reliance across all divisions of an organisation. It is no longer sufficient to manage risk by individual or functional area. Organisations around the world now benefit from a more comprehensive approach to dealing with all risks. The study has been influenced by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's (TBS) Integrated Risk Management Framework (IRM). Its aim is to promote and increase awareness of IRM across all departments in the Eastern Cape Provincial Government (ECPG). The study establishes progress towards implementation of IRM. The research scope covered thirteen government departments in the Eastern Cape. The study includes researching recent best public and private integrated risk management practices, both internationally and locally. The approach included development of a questionnaire on best practices and on principles of Integrated Risk Management based on TBS Integrated Risk Management Framework. Interviews were conducted and results documented to understand perceptions of the adequacy of current risk information in various departments and to discuss possible improvements to IRM. The process of collecting data for this study allowed information sharing with each department regarding current IRM Practices, and stimulated discussion on the nature and importance of IRM and actions that could move IRM forward. The research highlights key elements of IRM and establishes the progress by departments in implementing these elements. It also focuses on techniques and approaches that are used by the departments in dealing with IRM implementation. It uses Risk Management Maturity Continuum developed by Deloitte & Touche to determine extend to which departments have implemented their IRM. Lastly, the study highlights tools and techniques for strengthening of implementation of IRM based on best practices and conclude by making recommendations. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

Thesis (MTech (Internal Auditing))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2010 / Developing countries face the great challenge of balancing growth with equity and justice. Growth, in all its fairness, should translate into equitable opportunity for all, but as is observed, the distributional effect of growth often does not filter down to the majority of the socially and economically disadvantaged communities. It is imperative in these situations to embark on a process of developmental change to improve the quality of life of the majority of the disadvantaged community. South Africa used this strategy to endeavour to encounter or reverse the political history of the country, by encouraging entrepreneurs of previously disadvantaged racial groups through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to open small businesses. The South African Government believes that the development, growth and sustainability of the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) sector will help the country to decrease the high unemployment rate, and lead the country as a whole to a sustainable economical development. Research has shown that this aim can no longer be achieved by only facilitating access to finance to entrepreneurs. They argue that some management strategies such as risk management should be introduced, understood and applied by small business owners, in order for their businesses to go beyond their actual estimated survival period referred as 3 to 5 years maximum. This research provides background to which risk management techniques are applied within the ambit of small enterprises. The data were collected from eighty eight companies drawn from a possible of 150 small enterprises found in the Cape Metropole. The analysis of data of those who responded has shown that very few SMME owners, managers, entrepreneurs or key designated employees make use of risk management tools and techniques within their businesses, to achieve growth and sustainability. However, the majority agreed to the high importance of risk management in the success of a business enterprise.

M.Com. (Computer Auditing) / This dissertation aims to explore the entity characteristics associated with the implementation of the board-level stand-alone risk management committee (RMC) in South Africa. We developed a battery of econometric models based on triangulation of corporate governance theories which linked an entity’s decision to set up a separate risk management committee (RMC) in its board structures as a dependent variable and a host of entity-specific factors as independent variables. Data collected from audited annual reports of 181 JSE-listed non-financial entities was analysed using logistics regression estimation procedures. Our results show a strong positive relationship between the likelihood that an entity would establish a separate RMC, on the one hand, and board independence, board size, entity size, and industry type, on the other. Our study fails to find support for the hypothesis that an entity’s characteristics – such as the independence of the board chairman, the use of Big Four audit firms, financial reporting risks, and levels of financial leverage – do influence an entity’s decision to form a separate RMC. Our findings emphasize the role that information asymmetry between executive and non-executive directors, agency cost and potential damage to reputation capital of directors; diversity in background, expertise, and skills of directors; economies of scale in absorbing RMC costs; and industry-specific institutions and norms play in an entity’s decision to form a separate RMC. The implication of our findings is that policy-makers should consider the size and composition of boards and also take cognizance of entity size and industry-specific idiosyncrasies in setting recommended corporate governance practices.

The practices of risk management are important in business, because they allow organisations to improve communication with all stakeholders and to be upfront and proactive in dealing with risks. Risk management also supports the achievement of the organisation’s strategic objectives which leads to a controlled working environment characterised by quality, efficiency and effectiveness. As such it is necessary to understand risk management, its benefits, significance and importance in implementing an organisation’s responsibilities. This understanding is especially vital for ECSECC so that risk management is utilised to achieve strategic objectives in a more deliberate manner. This qualitative study was conducted to demonstrate how ECSECC uses risk management to achieve its strategic objectives by analysing ECSECC’s risk management initiatives, their effectiveness and ultimately to provide recommendations to improve the current practices. The total population of nine executive managers from ECSECC was sampled and the data was collected through personal interviews and the content analysis of ECSECC documents. The findings of the research showed that ECSECC was aware of its risk and risks were identified for 2015/2016 and recorded in ECSECC documents. This awareness was also confirmed by the interview findings. The interview findings also revealed that risk management is indeed embedded in ECSECC activities and there are various risk management interventions in place. However the risk management interventions in mitigating the identified risks were relatively ineffective as certain shortcomings were identified. The study is beneficial to ECSECC management in order to ensure that the current risk management initiatives are effective and that there is a clear connection between the utilisation of risk management in achieving ECSECC’s strategic objectives. Organisations similar to ECSECC can also learn the importance of managing risks effectively to achieve strategic objectives and the benefits of risk management as a management tool.

Tito Mboweni (2011) said one of South Africa’s biggest tests is the overwhelming the skills shortage. He was echoing the views of Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande who himself said “South Africa could not afford to have an economy "constrained by a severe lack of skills". There are numerous initiatives that having been undertaken by government in an attempt to solve the skills shortage problem. However, these initiatives are not aimed at the tertiary education system. The tertiary education system is the focus of this study as the author investigates how the NMMU Business School can play a significant role in addressing the skills shortage in the credit risk management sector. Following a literature review, surveys were completed by the NMMU Business School MBA students (ninety of them completed it) and personal interviews were conducted with three Provincial HR managers from South Africa’s “four big banks” in Nelson Mandela Bay (Nedbank, Standard Bank and ABSA). The study found that the skills shortage is indeed a problem. The study found that reasons including the legacy left by apartheid and students pursuing the wrong degrees were highlighted as some of the reason for this skills shortage. An opportunity for the NMMU Business School was identified to support the banking industry in addressing credit risk management skills shortage. The benefits include financial reward and more importantly an opportunity to differentiate the Business School and the courses offered at the school from the rest. Some of the recommendations included sourcing of the best practices from institutions like the Millpark Business School on effective partnering with the banking industry as well as a proactive approach to be adopted by the banking industry in terms of lobbying support from other potential role players for example but not limited to, student bodies, BankSeta and the smaller banks in the industry.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Severe flooding in Queensland, Australia in late 2010 and into February of 2011 resulted in significant losses to infrastructure, equipment and coal production. Xstrata Coal (XC) mines suffered billions of dollars worth of losses, resulting in insurance premiums increasing drastically in subsequent months. These events prompted Xstrata‟s top management to reconsider the way in which they managed risk. Initial revelations were that the focus of Risk Management had largely been on the areas of Health and Safety and that, particularly in South Africa, the outcome of all management‟s efforts to manage risk had been to comply with the relevant legislation. There was clearly an attempt to avoid litigation resulting in potential prosecution. The most stringent of this legislation was that of the Mine Health and Safety Act (No. 24 of 996), as promulgated by the Department of Mineral Resources. The requirements were prescriptive to the extent that mine management was required to utilise the Hazard Identification Risk Assessment process to identify hazards, assess the associated risk and apply mitigation, largely in order to prevent incidents which could affect the health and safety of employees. Little regard was given to the fact that mining houses could endure severe financial losses as a result of catastrophic events, which could stop production for significant periods of time. Whilst Xstrata did recognise Business Continuity Risk (BCR), the risk assessment process which was introduced along with the CURA risk register displayed a distinct division between Health and Safety Risk and BCR. Furthermore, this was not a systematic process. Initial risk categories were prescribed by XC mainly based on experiences in Australia. The floods prompted a rethink and Xstrata‟s prescription to conduct business continuity risk assessments (BCRAs) coincided perfectly with this writer‟s exposure to the Enterprise Risk Management Elective at the University of Stellenbosch‟s Business School. As the General Manager of the iMpunzi Complex that comprises three coalmines, it was the responsibility of the writer to carry out the instruction to review the business continuity process. Consequently, the research is intended to assess the current Risk Management environment within Xstrata Coal South Africa by means of an analysis of current documentation and interviews with select key personnel who largely influence and impact the management of risk in the company. Thereafter, the study will progress to the methodology involved in the Risk Assessments, followed by an assessment of the knowledge, skills and qualifications required for the relevant, accountable managers appointed to manage the risks. The findings of the research were that whilst there was quite a rigid framework, which was aligned with ISO 31000 principles for risk management, there were shortcomings in the methodology of the risk assessment process, as well as the considerations for dealing with latent or residual risk. To this extent, the writer recommended: A risk assessment template which prescribes, but is not limited to, the hazards which may be prevalent on a coal mine, including hazards specific to iMpunzi Complex; A revised template for the Risk Treatment Plan, which takes cognisance of Residual Risk; Other recommendations, which may deal with minor findings of the study.

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2006 133, [5] leaves / Project Management is the wave of the future. This discipline and its evolution continues to be one of the principal means by which operational and strategic changes are managed in the enterprise. The importance of Project Management for organisational success will expand, rather than wane, in years to come. Projects, particularly large scale complex ones with multiple stakeholders, are failing at alarming rates despite a wide spectrum of efforts to solve the problem. The lack of meaningful results and outcomes is due, in part, to the fact that organizations tend to operate on a set of unproven assumptions concerning project objectives, business requirements, user expectations, motivations, agendas, schedules, costs and time frames. The management dilemma is that Transnet has committed R 65 billion to projects in the hope of developing its core businesses to that of world-class standards as a logistics service provider in South Africa. Transnet’s capital project division, Protekon, is responsible for managing the projects committed to this R 65bn capital expenditure. Transnet’s perception of Protekon’s failure to successfully deliver projects could result in appointments of external consultancies such as Hatch McDougal and Guba (HMG – an engineering consultant firm). Whereas, previously, Protekon was the monopoly service provider of engineering and project management skills within Transnet, Transnet’s sub-divisions appear to be utilizing outside consultancies more frequently. The reason for procuring engineering and consultancy services external to Transnet, among others, is the perception that Protekon is performing poorly in delivering successful projects. The outsourcing of work, fuelled by the negative perception of Protekon’s performance, directly impacts on the profitability of Protekon in the short to medium term. The objective of this dissertation was firstly to investigate the effect of Protekon’s involvement in Transnet’s project success; and secondly, to recommend strategies to improve the rate of project success, that could be applied within Transnet and Protekon. / M

Thesis (M.Com. (Finance))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2017 / This dissertation investigates the inclusion of volatility into the asset allocation decision, first as an asset class, and second as a tool for dynamic equity allocation. An examination on whether volatility exposure as an asset class has the necessary characteristics to form part of the broader investment universe is conducted. This is accomplished by comparing the risk-return characteristics of three naked option-selling strategies, a bull put spread strategy and a VIX futures strategy with the S&P 500 Index. Each volatility strategy is also included as part of a 30/30/40 volatility/equity/bond portfolio and compared to a traditional 60/40 equity/bond portfolio. Historically, the results indicate that all individual volatility strategies generated superior Sharpe ratios and exhibited less severe drawdowns than the S&P 500 Index, particularly during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Additionally, all volatility blended portfolios experienced better tail-risk profiles than the 60/40 equity/bond portfolio, with the naked option-selling strategies also generating similar returns as the 60/40 portfolio both over the full sample period as well during the period of recovery following the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. The results suggest that the returns associated with option-selling strategies are consistent, and have resulted in strong long-run risk-adjusted performance, qualifying short volatility exposure attained through option-selling strategies as an asset class. It however remains unclear whether the VIX futures strategy qualifies as an asset class given that it aims to exploit a market anomaly in the form of potentially non-priced volatility clustering in the S&P 500 Index. While the strategy generated considerable outperformance from 2004 to 2009, it underperformed from 2009 to 2016 suggesting that much of the non-priced volatility clustering has since been traded away. Drawing on the evidence of volatility clustering in equity markets, a managed volatility trading rule that regulates portfolio exposure between cash and equity based on how high the prevailing volatility level was relative to historical volatility levels is developed. Although transaction costs were not accounted for, the results indicated that the managed volatility trading rule has historically generated considerably superior Sharpe ratios than equity in developed and developing markets. In conclusion, volatility exposure attained through option-selling strategies has proven to be an attractive asset class, and historical evidence suggests that its inclusion into a traditional 60/40 equity/bond portfolio is likely to reduce the risk of future risk-adjusted underperformance relative to what had been achieved in the past. Additionally, the managed volatility trading rule remains an attractive alternative to investors who are precluded from investing in volatility as an asset class. / GR2018

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2017 / The principle focus of this research is to provide a novel approach to accident investigation theory by focusing on the investigation process itself as a complex system. A number of systemic factors inherent in this system impact on the effectiveness (accuracy, quality, validity, reliability and objectivity) of railway investigations. There is a need to explore why railway occurrences remain high in South Africa, despite railway Operators investigating occurrences. If occurrences are investigated, why then do the number of events remain unchanged? Ineffective investigations impact on the accuracy of the findings identified and the suitability of the recommendations. Added to this is the failure of implementing recommendations from investigations contributing to the high number of occurrences and repeated occurrences. Complex influencing factors inherent within the railway system influence the actual investigation process and therefore its effectiveness. This is despite interventions put in place by various organisations, industries, and sectors to improve railway safety. A critical review of the literature, in terms of accident investigation theory, indicates that the current research targets various approaches, methods and models to determine why accidents occur; from a human, technical, or system perspective. The literature focusses on accident causation by addressing the system and its role in contributing to such events. However, very little critical analysis exists on the actual investigation process of accidents as a complex system in its own right, and its contributory role in the ongoing high number of accidents. Rasmussen’s (1997) Risk Management Framework is used in this research to illustrate the South African railway system hierarchy. A qualitative mixed methods approach using triangulation was adopted. Methods included a print media analysis of reported railway accidents, document analyses of governance documents, analyses of railway investigation reports, semi-structured interviews with railway investigators and observations of investigation inquiries. Thematic content analysis was conducted to identify the themes emerging from the data. The results indicate that systemic factors influence the manner in which occurrences are investigated. Examples include no National Rail Policy, limited resources to investigate, shortage of skilled investigators, absence of investigator training, non-compliance to governance documents, an underinvestment in rail, financial constraints, and a blame culture. An Accimap summarises the systemic factors impacting on the effectiveness of the accident investigation process, its outcomes and the recurrence of accidents. Conclusions demonstrate that the accident investigation process is indeed an example of a complex system. Systemic factors collectively behave to influence the effectiveness of the investigation process, but also on the bigger rail socio-technical system which impacts on the safety, reliability and efficiency of the South African railway system. The theoretical contribution of this research is identified in the useful and novel application of Rasmussen’s (1997) Risk Management Framework to illustrate that the accident investigation process is an example of a complex system. Adjustments to Rasmussen’s (1997) Risk Management Framework were made in order to contextualize it to the problem of this research, confirming the importance and application of Rasmussen’s work in the system of accident investigations and not only in accident causation. / MT 2018

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2006 133, [5] leaves / Project Management is the wave of the future. This discipline and its evolution continues to be one of the principal means by which operational and strategic changes are managed in the enterprise. The importance of Project Management for organisational success will expand, rather than wane, in years to come. Projects, particularly large scale complex ones with multiple stakeholders, are failing at alarming rates despite a wide spectrum of efforts to solve the problem. The lack of meaningful results and outcomes is due, in part, to the fact that organizations tend to operate on a set of unproven assumptions concerning project objectives, business requirements, user expectations, motivations, agendas, schedules, costs and time frames. The management dilemma is that Transnet has committed R 65 billion to projects in the hope of developing its core businesses to that of world-class standards as a logistics service provider in South Africa. Transnet’s capital project division, Protekon, is responsible for managing the projects committed to this R 65bn capital expenditure. Transnet’s perception of Protekon’s failure to successfully deliver projects could result in appointments of external consultancies such as Hatch McDougal and Guba (HMG – an engineering consultant firm). Whereas, previously, Protekon was the monopoly service provider of engineering and project management skills within Transnet, Transnet’s sub-divisions appear to be utilizing outside consultancies more frequently. The reason for procuring engineering and consultancy services external to Transnet, among others, is the perception that Protekon is performing poorly in delivering successful projects. The outsourcing of work, fuelled by the negative perception of Protekon’s performance, directly impacts on the profitability of Protekon in the short to medium term. The objective of this dissertation was firstly to investigate the effect of Protekon’s involvement in Transnet’s project success; and secondly, to recommend strategies to improve the rate of project success, that could be applied within Transnet and Protekon.