How do we account for foreign firms that are successful in politically “risky” countries? While traditional political risk indices may tell us why a country is considered a difficult operating environment, they tell us very little about why some foreign firms are nevertheless able to operate successfully in such countries over long periods of time. In fact, risk indices by their very nature make “success” almost impossible to capture due to their sole focus on “host country” behavior. Rather, as this thesis argues, the political risk is in the relationship between the firm and a series of stakeholders within a given country, not the country itself. This is a thesis of deviant cases: it holds the “successful relationship” between a foreign firm and its stakeholders as the constant dependent variable in the “significantly risky” country of Kazakhstan. Success is defined as the ability of each actor to pursue its own goals to a self-satisfactory degree, with the resources an actor mobilizes to achieve those goals and the constraints that restrict those resources as the independent variables. Three self-contained cases of “successful” foreign mining firms operating in Kazakhstan are analyzed here to determine the distinct causal pathways that led each firm to seeming “success”; the thesis then pivots to a between-subjects examination aimed at drawing out the common themes among the three different foreign firms. Within international relations theory, the relationship between the foreign firm and its stakeholders is considered here as a window into the intersection of the international political economy and the domestic political economy of a country in transition, but critically, allotting agents and structures equal ontological status. Thus the ultimate aim of this investigation is to enrich our understanding of social behavior – here, co-existence – within the context of the agent- structure debate in larger social scientific inquiry.

Research of social networks has revealed that certain components of network position can have an impact on organizational effectiveness, yet relatively little research has been conducted on network position and individual performance. This study sought to determine if a relationship exists between an employee's social network position and an individual's job performance. The participant organization was a network of individuals within an Information Technology (IT) department at a major defense company. A social network analysis (SNA) was conducted to determine the employee's network position, measured by centrality and constraint. Centrality refers to the extent to which an individual is connected to others. Constraint refers to how constrained or inhibited an individual is within the network. Performance was measured by annual appraisal ratings provided by the employee's supervisor. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to determine relationships between the dependent variable (performance) and independent variables of centrality and constraint. Secondary variables also studied in relation to the model included education level, service years (tenure), job grade, and age. The overall model revealed 17% of variance explained. The primary predictors of network position, centrality and constraint, were not statistically significant predictors of performance ratings. Three variables, job grade, tenure and age, were found to be statistically significant predictors of employee performance. Further research is suggested to provide additional insight into the predictive value of these variables.

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

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management specialising in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation Johannesburg, 2017 / Existing literature indicates a positive relationship between human capital and entrepreneurial capital. This has been a dominant supported view for ages. Among other scholars, Unger, et al. (2011); Davidson and Honig (2003); still uphold the view that human capital influence entrepreneurial success to a certain magnitude. However, contemporary studies argue that although the relationship has been demonstrated for decades, some assumptions to the perception should be questioned as the world evolves over time. Unger (2011); Martin, et al. (2013), and more other scholars identify the modification of the traditional assumptions. In terms of these scholars, uncertainty remains over the magnitude of this relationship and the circumstances under which human capital is more or less strongly associated with entrepreneurial success. Consideration of fragmentation in today's study with regard to conceptualization of human capital, the choice of success indicators, the context of study provide some critical challenges to the traditional perception of consistent relationships. All these aspects provide some open gaps to be filled by research. Oostebreek, et al. (2010) sees a questionable relationship between human capital factors and entrepreneurial success, which in terms of Unger, et al. (2011) give rise for the consideration of a moderator approach to study the effects of human capital on business success in order to efficiently determine whether the stated relationships exist or not. Resourced-Based Theory (RBT) was used as theoretical framework to this study. Three main constructs and five sub-constructs have been used to formulate the conceptual model from which three hypotheses were developed and tested. Empirical studies was conducted among selected informal traders in Limpopo Province – focusing in three districts. 257 unregistered small business owners were potential respondents. A quantitative methodology was employed to collect and analyse data through survey research design. The Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) along with AMOS 23, SPSS were used as descriptive statistical tools to test the validity of the hypotheses. Both theoretical and applied implications will assist the knowledge-base of researches. Policymakers will also find the implications useful in industrial policymaking. This study provides recommendations which may assist further research and other related enquiries of academic nature. / MT2017

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. 19 September 2016. / High manufacturing competitiveness in South Africa has the potential to contribute towards mitigating the poor economic performance and high unemployment rate prevailing in the country. However, manufacturing competitiveness is lacking, majorly due to labour productivity issues that are idiosyncratic to South Africa. One of the dilemmas is how to increase manufacturing productivity without major capitalisation, as doing so usually leads to redundancy and retrenchment of employees. A possible solution is to implement manufacturing performance improvement programmes without major capital investment (or capital-labour substitution). Although various programmes exist and are successful elsewhere in the world, these have been found to fail in South African firms due to implementation challenges. This study assesses the results from implementing a manufacturing performance improvement programme called Integrated Work Systems (IWS) in a South African factory of a multinational company (ABC). IWS has already proven successful in the multinational’s factories in other parts of the world. The study aims to determine the critical success-factors and develop a framework for the successful implementation of such a programme in South Africa. Implementation of IWS in ABC SA’s factory was found to be successful in delivering breakthrough results in efficiency and throughput. Critical success-factors established through surveying relevant employees and management in ABC SA were related to the timing and planning of the programme, standardisation of work, regular reviewing and use of leading KPIs, having specific implementation resources and the nature of leadership involvement. The critical success-factors found in ABC SA’s implementation were used as a basis for presenting a framework to guide practitioners in implementing manufacturing improvement programmes that aim to deliver higher levels of sustainable performance and improved shop-floor culture. / MT2017

Univ., Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development and Innovation, Diss.--Utrecht, 2006. / Zsfassung in niederländ. Sprache.

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.

[Truncated abstract] The focus of this thesis is to investigate the meaning and measurement of business success for owner-operators of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Taking a first step towards a greater understanding of SME performance, the study develops an instrument specifically designed to measure the business goals and objectives of SME owners. This development is based on a combination of a: literature search; quantitative analysis of a secondary data set of the goals and expectations of Australian retailers; qualitative (focus group) study of West Australian SME principals; and quantitative (mail survey) study of West Australian SME principals. Both these primary data studies used SME principals from a wide variety of industries . . . Tests of the power of the SOS to account for differences in economic performance revealed that the SOS significantly increased understanding of variations in owner returns and profitability and had a limited capacity to explain differences in revenue growth and staff revenue productivity. SOS satisfaction was found to describe differences in owner-operators’ perceptions of business success significantly better than objective measures of economic return. It is expected that such knowledge will help subsequent research develop an understanding of how SME onwer-operators modify their expectations of economic return for the utility they gain from their working life.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2007. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 191-224). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (MPhil (Information Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Loyalty programmes have become very popular over the last 10 years and many businesses have chosen to implement such programmes to support their marketing strategies. Fundamental to the functioning and success of such loyalty programmes is the ability to gather, process, analyse and apply information regarding a business' customers. Such information is generated through customers' interactions with the programme and the business to which it is linked, as well as the various services and their providers that make up the programme. The aim of this research project is to investigate the question of whether an information-oriented strategy, based on the principles and paradigm of loyalty manifest in the global phenomenon of loyalty programmes, can deliver value to a business adopting them. In the process of the investigation, the primacy of information as the source of value for any business in the new economy will be discussed. This will be transposed onto the argument that the customer is the source of revenue generation and drives the flow of value in a business system. The results of these two streams of argument will show how the synergy between customers and their information, through the lens of loyalty economics, can be translated into business value with the achievement of core business objectives, i.e. sustainable revenue, growth, profit and competitive advantage. Evidence of these contentions will be provided by presenting and analysing local and international loyalty programmes as case studies manifesting this approach. In conclusion, the various findings of the research will be synthesised in the context of existing, sound business, customer, and information and knowledge management theory to derive an information oriented model of loyalty. This model is intended to be a strategic framework which a business can apply to provide insight into their decision making and assist in the achievement of their objectives. In further research beyond the limits of this paper, the model is intended to be tested. In application, the validated model's purpose will be to introduce to businesses and their leadership the paradigm of loyalty as a strategic tool. Furthermore, the model could be used as a foundation to assist in the creation, evaluation and development of loyalty programmes and their business implications in practice. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die afgelope 10 jaar het lojaliteitsprogramme baie populer geword en baie besighede het verkies om sulke programme te implementeer om sodoende hulle bemarkingsstrategie te ondersteun. Die grondslag vir die funksionering en sukses van sulke lojaliteitsprogramme is die vermoe om informasie oor klante te versamel, te verwerk, te ontleed en toe te pas. Sulke informasie word gegenereer deur die klante se interaksie met die programme en die besigheid waaraan die program verbind is, asook die verskeie dienste en diensverskaffers waaruit die programme bestaan. Die doel van hierdie navorsingsprojek is om ondersoek in te stel na die vraag of 'n informasie georienteerde benadering, gegrond op die basis van lojaliteit, gemanifesteer in die wereldwye verskynsel van lojaliteitsprogramme, waarde kan toevoeg vir besighede wat hulle aanneem. Die belang van informasie as die bron van waarde vir enige besigheid in die nuwe ekonomie sal as deel van die ondersoek bespreek word. Dit sal saamgevat word in die argument dat die klant die bron is van inkomstegenerasie en dat die klant die vloei van waarde in 'n besigheidsisteem dryf. Die resultate van hierdie twee argumentlyne sal aantoon hoe die sinergie tussen die klante en hulle informasie, deur die lens van lojaliteitsekonomie, bydra to besigheidswaarde deur die bereiking van kern besigheidsdoelwitte, bv. volhoubare inkomste, groei, wins en mededingende voordeel. Bewyse van hierdie stellings sal verskaf word deur plaaslike en internasionale lojaliteits programme te beskryf en ontleed as gevallestudies wat hierdie benadering weerspieel. Ten slotte sal die verskillende bevindings van die navorsing saamgevat word in die konteks van bestaande, goeie besigheids-, klante- en informasie en kennisbestuur ten einde 'n informasie georienteerde lojaliteitsmodel te skep. Hierdie model se doel is om 'n strategiese raamwerk te skep wat 'n besigheid kan toepas om insig te gee in strategiese besluite en om doelwitte te bereik. In verdere ondersoek buite die bestek van hierdie werkstuk sal die model getoets word. In toepassing is die gevalideerde model se doel om besighede en hulle leiers bekend te stel aan die paradigma van lojaliteit as 'n strategiese hulpmiddel. Verder kan die model gebruik word as grondslag vir die skepping, evaluering en uitbreiding van lojaliteitsprogramme en hulle besigheidsimplikasies in die praktyk.