M.Com. (Transport Economics) / The relative importance of road transportation cannot be over-emphasised. As at 30 June 1981 the number of licenced commercial vehicles registered in South Africa was 855 450. Freight transport for reward during 1975 was conducted by 5 588 differen t op era tors throughout South Africa. During 1981 a total mass of 239 576 000 metric tons was transported by professional freight carriers. The total revenue kilometres travelled amounted to 646 332 000 kilometres. Control over road transportation in South Africa is carried out in accordance to the regulations as stipulated in the Road Transportation Act (Act 74 of 1977) and the Road Traffic Ordinance and Regulations (Number 21 of 1966). The aim of the Road Transportation Act is to regulate, in an orderly manner, the economic aspects related to road transport and to ensure that the misallocation of resources are restricted to a minimum. An analysis of the nature and magnitude of regulation in South Africa indicates that during 1983/84 permits were issued to approximately 12 percent of all registered commercial vehicles. The statistics clearly indicate that economic regulation has a meaningful affect on the road transportation industry. The aim of this study is to research the practical implications of economic regulation practices in South Africa. A further aim of the study is to determine to what extent decisions are based on meaningful information and whether it is in line with acceptable theoretical principles. The reason for a research and analysis of this nature is related to the fact that economic regulation leads to high administrative costs for the responsible authorities.

M.Ing. (Transportation Engineering) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Sc. (Botany) / Morphological, anatomical, palynological, cytological, phenological and geographical evidence are used to investigate relationships between the species of Anginon. These characters are discussed and illustrated. Characters of' the genus Glia Sond. were also studied and the genus is shown to be an obvious outgroup in a phylogenetic analysis. Despite the paucity of characters and the variability of character states in the genus Anginon, it is possible to give here a summary of character evolution as interpreted within the genus and also an explicit hypothesis (cladogram) of phylogenetic relationships amongst the species. Especially, the study of the fruit anatomy has resulted in a better understanding of taxonomic relationships at the generic and infrageneric levels. A formal taxonomic treatment is presented, including a key to the species, correct nomenclature, typification, descriptions and distribution maps.

M.Comm. / Political changes and many other factors have forced South Africans from different backgrounds and cultures to work together and live together. These changes do not influence only the community life but also the organisations in South-Africa. As affirmative action is enforced and implemented by government and the business sector, people from African cultures are thrown in at the deep end in business life and people from the western cultures are not at ease working with African people because of a lack of understanding of the African culture. An important part of the African culture is called ubuntu. PURPOSE The purposes of this study are to identify and explain the different values of ubuntu, to illustrate how it can be applied in South African business and to identify the differences between western management practices and ubuntu management practices. METHOD OF STUDY A study was made of the relevant literature. FINDINGS The heritage that comes through traditional African roots is ubuntu: morality, humaness, compassion, care, understanding and empathy. It is one of sharing and hospitality, of honesty and humanity. Simply put, it is the ethic and interaction that occurs in the extended family. In Africa, it draws in all of the people. In this 'family' there is a community of shared values. Ubuntu is best described through the expression: a human is a human through other people. The ubuntu values described in this study are solidarity, the role of stories in ubuntu, compassion, respect and dignity, conformity and interconnectedness. Each of these attributes can be applied in South African businesses. The differences between western management and ubuntu management are discussed by looking at the differences in leadership, decision making, communication and corporate culture. Certain ubuntu values can be used in South-African business, such as group solidarity, respect and dignity, stories and the way the ubuntu culture deals with nature. Certain values cannot be used, such as the way Africans experiences time, because it would lead to low productivity. It seems as if ubuntu values have been lost with urbanisation, but there are still ubuntu values practised in townships, such as group solidarity that exists between tribe members, although the definition of a tribe has changed.

M.Com. (Business Management) / Management by Walking Around is a relatively new management philosophy, which was probably first mentioned in the literature by Peters & Waterman (1982) in their book In Search of Excellence. This II... blinding flash of the obvious...11 (Peters & Austin, 1985:3) is a management philosophy which advises the manager to spend at least 25 percent of his time outside the office. The manager must not wait for the customers and subordinates to visit him, nor must the manager summon them to his office. The manager must go out and visit the workers at the workplace, be interested in what the workers are doing and listen to what the workers have to say. The manager must also visit the customers on a regular basis and pay attention to what they have to say. The customer is king and the customer's wishes and desires should be taken seriously. After all, the customer is the reason why the company exists. Management by Walking Around (MBWA) can not be fully understood without paying attention to surrounding management factors. Such factors include organisation culture, motivation theories and other management theories, including Management by Objectives, particitive management and visionary management. Several articles have been written about MBWA in the U.S.A. and some other countries, but very little has been written about MBWA in South-Africa as yet. MBWA however, is very much applicable in the current South-African environment. With all the major changes following the political transformation in South-Africa in 1994, opportunities are available to implement MBWA in the culture of South-African companies. Correctly applied,Management by Walking Around is a relatively new management philosophy, which was probably first mentioned in the literature by Peters & Waterman (1982) in their book In Search of Excellence. This II... blinding flash of the obvious...11 (Peters & Austin, 1985:3) is a management philosophy which advises the manager to spend at least 25 percent of his time outside the office. The manager must not wait for the customers and subordinates to visit him, nor must the manager summon them to his office. The manager must go out and visit the workers at the workplace, be interested in what the workers are doing and listen to what the workers have to say. The manager must also visit the customers on a regular basis and pay attention to what they have to say. The customer is king and the customer's wishes and desires should be taken seriously. After all, the customer is the reason why the company exists. Management by Walking Around (MBWA) can not be fully understood without paying attention to surrounding management factors. Such factors include organisation culture, motivation theories and other management theories, including Management by Objectives, particitive management and visionary management. Several articles have been written about MBWA in the U.S.A. and some other countries, but very little has been written about MBWA in South-Africa as yet. MBWA however, is very much applicable in the current South-African environment. With all the major changes following the political transformation in South-Africa in 1994, opportunities are available to implement MBWA in the culture of South-African companies. Correctly applied,MBWA can be a great asset to each leader, manager and company in South-Africa

M.Com. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Com. (Business Management) / The objective of this dissertation is to provide a general, functional and business oriented model for strategic alignment. The development, measurement and implementation of strategic alignment play a major part during the positioning of an organisation in order to obtain and maintain a competitive advantage. Business conditions (internal and external) are now changing and creating new competitive situations due to factors such as (Beer, Eisenstat & Spector, 1990a:158): • Increased internationalisation of the entire value chain from vendors and producers to customers; • the extended need to measure strategic positioning and alignment; • increased customer demands for quality, lead times and delivery performance; • the need to invest in technology and competence development in respect of both products and processes. Successful organisations are those that evolve rapidly and effectively. Yet innovative organisations can not evolve in a vacuum. They must attract resources of all sorts, drawing in capital, partners, suppliers, and customers to create cooperative networks. The motivation of this study lies first of all in the economic and strategic importance of strategic alignment (internal and external) for an organisation. Secondly, it lies in the importance of network creation, not only for network competition but also to enhance total quality management (TQM), customer satisfaction and continuous organisational improvement. There has been much speculation about such networks, under the rubrics of strategic alliances, virtual organisations, and the like. But these frameworks provide little systematic assistance to organisations and managers that seek to understand the underlying strategic logic of change.

D.Com. (Business Administration) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. / In South Africa the new educational dispensation brought great changes to everyone concerned. The process of reform gained momentum with the implementation of a new curriculum, Curriculum 2005, in Grade one in 1998. The purpose of this investigation in the first place was to determine factors influencing the attitudes of teachers before and during the implementation of Curriculum 2005. Secondly this research was to detect teachers' attitudes regarding the new curriculum and to clarify support given by the Gauteng Department of Education during the dissemination period. The respondents were Grade one teachers in three schools, situated in three different urban communities, representative of the broader South African nation. Data was analysed by means of content analysis, conducted by the researcher and an independent analyst. Positive and negative teachers' attitudes were identified from data. In some instances respondents qualified what they said whilst in other instances they gave through their attitudes without any motivations. Curriculum development was given as one of the main reasons why respondents had negative feelings against implementation of the Curriculum 2005. Dissemination, implementation, assessment and design were mentioned by respondents as factors of curriculum development influencing them in a negative way. A variety of defence mechanisms were used to cover up the reality concerning the reasons why attitudes were negative, hence the creation of scapegoats which are given the blame if problems were identified in the implementation of the new curriculum. Unattended matters such as absence of resources, language matters and lack of support by the Gauteng Department of Education were also mentioned as reasons for negative attitudes. The same factor was given by some respondents as a reason for positive and by other respondents as a reason for negative attitudes. Curriculum presentation and the new role of teachers were two such reasons. Revised class circumstances and learning activities also influenced the attitudes of teachers positively in some instances and negatively in others. Two other very important factors which inflicted negative as well as positive attitudes on respondents were parents’ new role and the influence of circumstances in learners homes, because in some communities these circumstances do not benefit education as a whole. In the view of the findings it is clear that teachers, in spite of various negative attitudes, see the implementation of Curriculum 2005 as a possible solution for problems in the educational system in South Africa. A few provisos to realise successful implementation of Curriculum 2005, for example enough resources, less learners in classes and textbooks in vernacular, were stipulated. Respondents, without giving reasons mentioned the factor that the effective implementation of Curriculum 2005 can only be limited to Grade 1 to 4. This research supports long-term planning for Curriculum 2005 and the correct steps to be taken by the Department of Education to ensure a positive attitude from the educators involved. Further research over a longer period of time with the same objectives as in this study can be of scientific value. The implications of attitudes on support systems from the Gauteng Department of Education should also be investigated further.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MSc (Engineering and Environmental Geology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Geology / unrestricted