M.Tech. (Chemical Engineering) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Mini-study project (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this dissertation is to attempt to analyse and evaluate the successes and mistakes Sappi Limited made when global ising the organisation from the inception of the organisation to the end of the millennium. It is very unique for a South African company to globalise from a South African base and it is the aim of this dissertation to analyse the steps such a company would follow to have success. Only a limited number of South African case studies exist in the field of strategic management and the writer will aim to structure this case study in such a manner that it will serve South African students in the field of Strategic Management. The study will start with the inception of the organisation and will describe the events that led to the globalisation of Sappi Limited as well as the financial results due to these events. This will be followed by a number of questions and answers. The focus will fall on the time frame 1980 to 2000 seeing that this is the time frame during which the greatest number of globalisation activities took place. The writer will aim to evaluate, with the limited information at hand, the company from a strategic management point of view and construct these facts into a practical case study for fellow students in the field of strategic management. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie proefskrif is om die strategiese suksesse en foute wat Sappi Beperk gemaak het tydens die globalisering van hierdie maatskappy vanaf die onstaan van hierdie maatskappy tot en met die einde van die millennium te evalueer. Dit is uiters uniek vir 'n Suid-Afrikaanse maatskappy om vanaf 'n Suid-Afrikaanse basis te globaliseer en die doel van hierdie werkstuk is om te ondersoek watter stappe hierdie maatskappy gevolg het ten einde sukses te behaal al dan nie. Daar bestaan slegs 'n beperkte aantal Suid-Afrikaanse gevallestudies in die veld van Strategiese Bestuur en dit is die doel van skrywer om te poog om die gevallestudie so te struktureer dat dit gebruik sou kon word vir Suid-Afrikaanse studente in die veld van Strategiese Bestuur. Die studie begin met die ontstaan van die maatskappy en vertel van die gebeure wat gelei het tot die globalisering van Sappi Beperk sowel as die finansiële resultate wat bereik is as gevolg van hierdie gebeure. Hierna is daar 'n aantal vrae gestel en beantwoord. Die fokus van die ontleding is vir die tydperk 1980 tot 2000 aangesien dit die tydperk is waarin die grootste globaliseringsprojekte geskied het. Dit is die doel van die skrywer om met die beperkte inligting beskikbaar, die maatskappy uit 'n strategiese oogpunt te evalueer en hierdie feite dan saam te voeg ten einde 'n praktiese gevallestudie daar te stel vir die gebruik van mede studente in hierdie veld van bestuur.

Sappi is one of the leading producer and supplier of Eucalyptus pulp to the world market. It is also a great contributor to South Africa economy in terms of employment opportunity to the rural people through its large plantation and export earnings. Pulp mills production of quality wood pulp is mainly affected by the supply of non uniform raw material namely Eucalyptus tree supply from various plantations. Improvement in quality of the pulp depends directly on the improvement on the quality of the raw materials. Knowing factors which affect the pulp quality is important for tree breeders. Thus, the main objective of this research is first to determine which of the anatomical, chemical and pulp properties of wood are significant factors that affect pulp properties namely viscosity, brightness and yield. Secondly the study will also investigate the effect of the difference in plantation location and site quality, trees age and species type difference on viscosity, brightness and yield of wood pulp. In order to meet the above mentioned objectives, data for this research was obtained from Sappi’s P186 trial and other two published reports from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Principal component analysis, cluster analysis, multiple regression analysis and multivariate linear regression analysis were used. These statistical analysis methods were used to carry out mean comparison of pulp quality measurements based on viscosity, brightness and yield of trees of different age, location, site quality and hybrid type and the results indicate that these four factors (age, location, site quality and hybrid type) and some anatomical and chemical measurements (fibre lumen diameter, kappa number, total hemicelluloses and total lignin) have significant effect on pulp quality measurements. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

Commercial forestry in South Africa was born out of the need to alleviate the growing demand on limited natural resources. From small beginnings, the industry has grown over the years and currently plays a significant role in South Africa's economy. The industry is a source of employment, foreign exchange and it facilitates a number of downstream processing activities. However, with the growth of the industry, there has also been increasing concern from various sectors over the impacts of the industry on the environment, particularly on water and biodiversity. More recently, concern has also shifted towards challenging the social and economic benefits of timber to local communities. As a result of growing pressure, legislation, policies and institutions have been transformed to ensure that environmental and social issues are taken into consideration in carrying out any form of development. The forestry industry has also changed considerably and understanding stakeholders perceptions has also become evident. In 1995 as part of the process to adhere to ISO 14001 international standards, Sappi forests commissioned a study to enable them to have a better understanding of activities, products and services which could have an impact on the environment. The concerns of the stakeholder were incorporated into their management plan. In continued efforts to improve the image of the forestry industry, this study was commissioned in 1999 with the aim of understanding how peoples perceptions of the industry had changed since 1995. The change of perceptions was determined through structured as well as semi structured interviews. A comparison between the responses in this study with those in Murphy et al. 1995 was undertaken to determine how peoples perceptions had changed since 1995. Even though the forestry industry had included some of the concerns raised by stakeholder and improved their management plans since 1995, peoples perceptions ofthe industry were largely negative. External changes leading to increased awareness in the intervening period were seen as the reason for the lack of change in peoples perceptions. Among others the external changes include increased transformation of environmental legislation both internationally and nationally which is more focused on addressing social as well as environmental issues. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

Text in English / This study sought to evaluate the implementation of an HIV and AIDS workplace policy at Sappi-Ngodwana mill. Employing process evaluation, and adopting a qualitative approach, the study evaluated the intervention process, the perceptions of the policy implementers, the strengths and weaknesses of the policy implementation, and suggests possible strategies for addressing the challenges. A systems approach was the theoretical point of departure and guiding framework of the research study. Research data was gathered through in-depth interviews with key informants and theory-driven and data-driven inductive reasoning was adopted in analysing the data. The general findings were that although the Sappi-Ngodwana mill implements a comprehensive HIV and AIDS programme that are in line with national and international benchmarks, there were challenges identified. Recommendations are that the company redesign the HIV and AIDS policy implementation plan with a specific focus on improving the peer educators` system. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

Text in English / This study sought to evaluate the implementation of an HIV and AIDS workplace policy at Sappi-Ngodwana mill. Employing process evaluation, and adopting a qualitative approach, the study evaluated the intervention process, the perceptions of the policy implementers, the strengths and weaknesses of the policy implementation, and suggests possible strategies for addressing the challenges. A systems approach was the theoretical point of departure and guiding framework of the research study. Research data was gathered through in-depth interviews with key informants and theory-driven and data-driven inductive reasoning was adopted in analysing the data. The general findings were that although the Sappi-Ngodwana mill implements a comprehensive HIV and AIDS programme that are in line with national and international benchmarks, there were challenges identified. Recommendations are that the company redesign the HIV and AIDS policy implementation plan with a specific focus on improving the peer educators` system. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)