published_or_final_version / Comparative Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis is a contribution to the “China in Africa” debate. Chinese development assistance includes Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and recent literature argues a significant proportion of FDI goes to the manufacturing sector in African countries. FDI allocated to industry have the potential to create employment and reduce poverty. This paper takes Zambia as a case, and looks at the textile and clothing industry as a sub- sector of the manufacturing sector. The textile and clothing industry is seen as especially appropriate for Zambia, as it; (i) adds value to natural resources; (ii) creates links to other sectors of the economy; (iii) require only basic skills; and (iv) is labour intensive. Based on primary and secondary data, this paper seeks to understand how Chinese FDI in the Zambian textile and clothing industry impact economic development, measured by; (i) formal employment creation; (ii) technology and skill transfer; (iii) state revenue; and lastly (iv) market creation of the products. Through looking at Zambian national plans and institutions, the cotton-textile-garment value chain and the organisation of Chinese companies in Zambia, this paper found currently no textile and clothing manufacturing under Chinese investors. Although, cotton quality in Zambia has improved, the majority is exported out of the continent. There are currently few textile mills left and the clothing manufacturers largely use imported inputs. Second hand clothes and cheap imports from Asian countries, have taken over large parts of the domestic market for textile and clothing in Zambia. The largest integrated textile mill was the Zambia China Mulungushi Textiles (ZCMT) operating under Chinese investors between 1997 and 2007. Findings show that the Chinese management casualised the workforce, leading to more informal employment. In addition, there were few records of skill transfer to Zambian workers, although there were investments in improving technology. This paper explores the different reasons for the TC mill to close and argue that it was not viable under a liberal market. The Zambian workers were unhappy with the labour system, wage levels and terms of employment, which caused violent riots and strikes up until closure in 2007. The Chinese management was unable to restructure the work force enough to be cost effective and to stay in business. The Lusaka East Multi Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ) is under construction, and will focus on textiles and the supportive links in the industry. It is yet to be seen, how it impacts local economic development. Based on the assumptions of economic development, this paper shows limited impact of Chinese FDI in the Zambian textile and clothing industry. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis is 'n bydrae tot die "China in Afrika” debat. Die Chinese ontwikkelings hulp sluit buitelandse direkte investering (FDI) in, en die onlangse literatuur beweer dat 'n belangrike deel van FDI na die vervaardigingsektor in Afrika-lande gaan. FDI toegeken aan die industrie het die potensiaal om werk te skep en armoede to verminder. Hierdie verhandeling neem Zambië as 'n geval, en kyk na die tekstiel-en klere-industrie as 'n subsektor van die vervaardigingsektor. Die tekstiel en klere bedryf is veral geskik vir Zambië, daar dit; (i) waarde toevoeg tot natuurlike hulpbronne; (ii) skakels skep na ander sektore van die ekonomie; (iii) slegs basiese vaardighede word vereis; (iv) arbeidsintensief is. Deur middel van primêre en sekondêre data, word in hierdie verhandeling gepoog om die impak van die Chinese FDI in die Zambiese tekstiel-en klere-industrie, op die ekonomiese ontwikkeling vas te stel, soos gemeet aan; (i) formele werkskepping; (ii) tegnologie en vaardigheids oordrag; (iii) die staat se inkomste; en laastens ( iv) die skepping van ‘n mark vir die produkte. Deur te kyk na die Zambiese nasionale planne en instellings, die katoen-tekstiel-kleed waardeketting, en die organisasie van die Chinese maatskappye in Zambië, het hierdie verhandeling bevind dat daar tans geen tekstiel-en klere vervaardiging onder Chinese beleggers is nie. Hoewel die gehalte van die katoen in Zambië verbeter het, is die meeste buite die vasteland uitgevoer. Daar is tans min tekstielfabrieke oor, en die klerevervaardigers gebruik grootliks ingevoerde insette. Tweedehandse klere en goedkoop invoere uit Asiatiese lande, het grootliks die binnelandse mark vir tekstiel en klere in Zambië oorgeneem. Die grootste geïntegreerde tekstiel fabriek was die Zambië China Mulungushi Textiles (ZCMT) wat tussen 1997 en 2007 onder Chinese beleggers was. Bevindinge toon dat die Chinese bestuur niepermanente aanstellings gemaak het, wat gelei het tot meer informele indiensneming. Verder, is daar min rekord van vaardigheids-oordrag na die Zambiese werkers, maar daar was beleggings in die verbetering van tegnologie gedoen. Hierdie verhandeling ondersoek die verskillende redes vir die TC meul/fabriek se sluiting, en bevind dat dit nie lewensvatbaar in 'n vrye mark was nie. Die Zambiese werkers was ontevrede met die arbeidstelsel, loonvlakke en terme van indiensneming, wat gewelddadige onluste en stakings veroorsaak het tot die sluiting in 2007. Die Chinese bestuur was nie in staat om die arbeidsmag te herstruktureer om koste-effektief genoeg te wees nie. Die Lusaka-Ooste Multi Fasiliteit Ekonomiese Sone (MFEZ) is onder konstruksie en sal fokus op die tekstiel en die ondersteunende skakels in die bedryf. Dit moet nog gesien word hoe dit die plaaslike ekonomiese ontwikkeling beïinvloed. Op grond van die aannames van ekonomiese ontwikkeling, toon hierdie ondersoek ‘n beperkte impak van die Chinese FDI in die Zambiese tekstiel en klere bedryf aan.

面臨紡織貿易自由化之時代來臨，全球紡織產業之競爭勢必更加劇烈，通路商與品牌商之議價能力也將逐漸增強，相對而言，製造廠商勢必在成本、交期、品質與配銷上更需符合客戶需求，因此未來國內中下游之大型成衣廠、織布廠必須更落實多點佈局、全球分工之營運模式，方能面對中國大陸、印度等低成本國家之價格競爭。而對於高附加價值產品在國內生產仍具競爭利基，則可加強產品之協同設計，以提供客戶更完善之服務，並延伸價值鏈之價值活動，以建構更強有力的競爭優勢。 本研究主要探討紡織產業如何運用產業電子化以創造全球競爭力，除分析國內外紡織業者導入產業電子化之之現況與未來發展外，並以個案分析實際驗證紡織產業導入產業電子化系統之過程與成效。 本研究分析重點以產品協同設計及全球運籌管理系統之導入為主軸，同時藉由商業模式(Business Model)分析、流程模式(Process Model)分析及資訊科技模式(IT Model)分析瞭解如何導入電子化系統及預估導入之可能效益。 研究結果發現，目前國內並無紡織專用之產品協同設計系統，需藉由國內相關單位共同努力建立一套協同設計平台，以加強與客戶之協同作業。而全球運籌管理系統則可參考資訊產業之營運模式，並導入國內IT供應商已建立之相關模組，同時再配合相關作業流程之改造，必能以最有效率之方式建置相關系統。

<p align="justify">In the context of a society in which there is an urgent need to create jobs, this research considers, firstly, whether the current labour regulatory environment is flexible enough to allow for an employment scenario that is conducive to job creation. The research then considers what is meant by the policy of &lsquo / regulated flexibility&rsquo / and considers how flexibility operates in practice at NBC level. It is argued that the concept of flexibility is a misnomer &ndash / since it creates more problems than it solves. The research concludes with a call for real flexibility that will allow for increased investment and a greater supply of jobs.</p>

Environmental legislation is becoming more stringent as people are realising the need for conservation and a reduction of environmental degradation in order to facilitate sustainable development. To ease legislative pressures, companies need to work together in symbiotic networks, whereby co-operation between companies results in far more innovative practices than if the companies acted individually. Success in an industrial network is largely dependent on cleaner production, where industries seek to redirect from waste treatment to waste minimisation. Cleaner production has already received international recognition and waste minimisation initiatives have been used as a tool of cleaner production. Two polluting industrial sectors within South Africa, the textile and metal finishing sectors, were chosen to investigate waste minimisation concepts. One company from each sector was used as a case study. The dissertation followed company network identification, potential to participate within an industrial symbiotic network, and waste minimisation opportunities. Suppliers and buyers, up and down the product line were identified. Relationships with these partners should be advanced such that environmental concerns are at the forefront of any decision-making. In light of developing industrial networks and maintaining symbiotic relationships, the company's potential was investigated by interviewing employees of various ranks. Both companies were partially suited to participate within an industrial symbiotic network and company-specific barriers were identified, such as ineffective internal communication. The waste minimisation investigation followed a four-phase approach of planning and organisation; pre-assessment; assessment; and feasibility study. In both the companies investigated, water savings were identified as the waste minimisation focus area with potential for improvement. In total, potential water savings of over R80 000 per annum were identified. In the textile company, the weaving department and bleach house were further investigated. Cloth weaving errors were attributed to machine stops, as each stop has the potential to result in a cloth fault. In the bleach house the potential existed to reduce the number of rinse tanks. Although a modem and automated process, the plating plant in the metal finishing company was identified as having potential waste minimisation opportunities. Of particular interest was the reduction of solution carry over from the plating tanks into subsequent tanks. Extended drip times were investigated. Additional waste minimisation opportunities included repairing pipe leaks, replacing the degreasing solvent, trichloroethylene, with a less harmful cleaning agent and establishing a symbiotic relationship with the oil supplier, Castrol. Over and above the main waste minimisation opportunities highlighted, other recommendations and potential savings were identified. Each case study emphasises that simple waste minimisation initiatives, without expending capital, reduce demands on natural resource, such as water, and benefit the company financially. Successful waste minimisation leads to further cleaner production initiatives, which may then initiate better network interactions with the further potential of promoting sustainable development. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

I Sverige köps det idag 13,1 kg kläder per person och år, av dessa slängs 8 kg kläder per person och år. Cirka 60 procent av det som slängs skulle dessutom kunna användas igen. Detta är en inte en hållbar resurshantering och för att ta tillvara på kläderna behövs en omställning där kläderna ses som en resurs. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka varför svenska klädföretag arbetar med cirkulär ekonomi, hur de arbetar och vilka svårigheter som kan uppstå med arbetet. Studien genomfördes med hjälp av åtta stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer inom ett brett spektra av svenska klädföretag. De klädföretag som har intervjuats är H&amp;M, Filippa K, Björn Borg, Myrorna, Swedish Stockings, Odd Molly, Fjällräven och Houdini. Erfarenheterna från respondenterna redovisas i fyra olika teman – kläder som resurs, beteendeförändringar, ansvar och överlevnad och förändrad marknadssyn. Det empiriska materialet ställs mot varandra och jämförs med tidigare forskning. Resultatet av studien visar att klädföretagen ser cirkulär ekonomi som deras framtida överlevnad. Det är viktigt att börja se kläderna som en resurs efter användning och det krävs mer arbete i designfasen för att verkligen göra skillnad. Det har även visat sig att det krävs beteendeförändringar för att kunna ställa om till en cirkulär ekonomi. / In Sweden people purchase 13.1 kg garments per person per year, of these garments 8 kg per person per year gets discarded. Approximately 60 percent of the discarded garments could be used again. This is not a sustainable resource management and to take advantage of the garments a transition is needed because the garments have to be seen as a resource. This study aims to investigate why Swedish clothing companies work with circular economy, how they are working with this and what difficulties may arise during the process. The study was conducted with the help of eight semi-structured interviews in a wide range of Swedish fashion companies to share their views and experiences. The clothing companies that have been interviewed are H&amp;M, Filippa K, Björn Borg, Myrorna, Swedish Stockings, Odd Molly, Fjällräven and Houdini. The experience of the respondents are presented in four different themes - clothes as a resource, behavioural changes, responsibility and survival and change in market view. The empirical data are compared against each other and also compared with previous research. The results of the study show that the clothing companies are seeing circular economy as their future survival strategy. It shows that it is important to begin to see the clothes as a resource and further work is required in the design phase in order to really make a difference. It has also been shown that it requires behavioural changes in order to adjust to a circular economy.

Outsourcing and Offshoring represent modern management tools used to increase the competitive advantage of the enterprise by a better focus on its core business, lower costs, higher flexibility or better quality of its processes. These benefits are basically achieved either by transferring some of company's non-core processes on an external provider or on a Daughter Company based abroad. The basic objective of this work is to provide management or scholars with a comprehensive view on above mentioned tools from the phase of adopting decisions about their application up to their final evaluation. To be highly objective and complete there are presented also the tax optimization models within Offshoring by using so called "Tax heavens". For better understanding what procedures and tools are available to managers to comply with current legislation when using these methods, there is added the transfer price issue as one of the possible tools for a tax optimization. Within the practical part of the thesis I tried to create a country evaluation model for international outsourcing based on multi-criteria analysis of localization factors. Doing so the biggest emphasis was laid on minimization of risk of failure from the side of process provider. The model was also enriched by commonly not often used ethic factors. The result of carried out analysis of chosen countries shows that even significantly lower labor costs can not weight on other localization factors in case they are of considerably worse levels. The last part of my work demonstrates the application of both examined methods in the Czech textile industry with a view to bring evidence that they are capable to lead to an improvement of its competitive position on foreign markets. Due to my vocational interests there was chosen Russian market as a sample. Objectives of this doctoral thesis have been achieved by extensive research of various information sources, incl. statistical data and available surveys carried out by reputable institutions and accompanied by personal expert experience from real practice.

El sector textil y confecciones es uno de los sectores con mayores expectativas de crecimiento sostenible de la industria y uno de los que mayor competencia acumula con otros países del sector internacional. Este sector abarca diferentes tipos de procesos, que van desde tratamiento de fibras, hilatura, tejido y confección. El presente análisis recae sobre la baja disponibilidad que presenta los equipos en el proceso de teñido. Este proceso se mide a partir de los reprocesos que existen debido a que se ejecuta mantenimientos correctivos, el cual afecta la producción en el teñido de telas. Asimismo, se logra evaluar el tiempo promedio entre fallas (MTBF) y el tiempo promedio de reparación (MTTR), lo que indica la variabilidad por debajo del objetivo esperado por la organización. Por otro lado, en el tercer capítulo se desarrolla le propuesta de mejora a partir del desarrollo del estado del arte del primer capítulo. Para ello se propone la metodología da seguir de acuerdo con una combinación de RCM y TPM. Bajo esta metodología se desarrolla diferentes actividades y estrategias que permitirán detectar equipos críticos e implementar planes de mantenimiento preventivo mecánico y eléctrico. Además, se incluye como parte de este sistema la implementación de un mantenimiento basado en condición (predictivo) y autónomo. Finalmente, el tercer capítulo finaliza con el soporte de la metodología 5 ‘’S’’ y la evaluación económica a partir de la estructura de costos que tiene prevista el proyecto. Finalmente, en el capítulo cuatro se presenta la validación de la propuesta de mejora a partir de la validación de los resultados en el software Arena. Ello permite concluir que los indicadores MTTR y MTBF ha logrado alcanzar los objetivos presentados en la propuesta. / The textile and garment sector is one of the sectors with the highest expectations of sustainable growth in the industry and one of the sectors with the highest competition with other countries in the international sector. This sector covers different types of processes, ranging from fiber treatment, spinning, weaving and confection. The present analysis falls on the low availability that presents the equipment in the process of dyeing. This process is measured from the reprocesses that exist due to the execution of corrective maintenance, which affects the production of fabric dyeing. Likewise, it is possible to evaluate the average time between failures (MTBF) and the average repair time (MTTR), which indicates the variability below the target expected by the organization. On the other hand, in the third chapter the improvement proposal is developed from the development of the state of art of the first chapter. For this, the methodology to be followed is proposed according to a combination of RCM and TPM. Under this methodology, different activities and strategies are developed to detect critical equipment and implement mechanical and electrical preventive maintenance plans. In addition, the implementation of a maintenance based on (predictive) and autonomous condition is included as part of this system. Finally, the third chapter ends with the support of the 5 '' S '' methodology and the economic evaluation based on the cost structure planned by the project. Finally, chapter four presents the validation of the improvement proposal based on the validation of the results in the Arena software. This allows concluding that the MTTR and MTBF indicators have achieved the objectives presented in the proposal. / Tesis

Investigations of the textile industry and apparel sector often reveal unethical behaviours towards workers and lack of transparency in the value chain.  As consumers are getting more conscious and the external pressure and demand for more sustainable clothing increases, companies need to implement management systems to control their operations and ensure actions are socially responsible. The Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) methodology published by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2009 are suggested to measure positive and negative social impacts on stakeholders along a products entire life cycle, from cradle to grave. The methodology is still under development and no methods have yet been standardized or internationally recognized.   To contribute to the development of the S-LCA and its practical use in real world situations, the present study aims to evaluate the applicability of existing methodologies and tools by applying them to a cotton shirt from a small company in Sweden. The case study was performed by conducting an S-LCA following the four phases: Goal and scope; Life Cycle Inventory; Life Cycle Impact Assessment and; Life Cycle Interpretation. Generic country-level data and organisation specific data were collected through questionnaires, document review and desktop screening, while two different assessment tools were tested for the different data types. For generic country-level data, a Social Hotspot Assessment framework developed for this study, was applied and evaluated. For organisation specific data the existing Subcategory Assessment Method (SAM) was subject for feasibility evaluation.   The S-LCA conduction involved several application issues that affect the perceived applicability and feasibility of the methods. Problems identified relate to the definition of system boundaries and uncertainties in the choice of appropriate and relevant indicators. The major problems refer to data collection both in terms of availability and quality issues both with regards to the inventory and assessment phase. Further, in the assessment and interpretation phase uncertainties regarding assessment criteria’s and aggregation of results evolved when using the framework for identifying hotspots, affecting the reliability of the results.   Despite the identified issues, it is evident that it is possible to conduct and finalise a Social Hotspot Assessment using the methodology. However, based on the reliability issues of the results and the effort it requires, it is concluded that the applied framework is not feasible for smaller clothing companies with limited resources. The assessment of organisation specific data by applying SAM, is considered incomplete and identified issues reflect the incompatibility of the method and are thus not considered applicable or feasible for smaller companies.

O presente estudo compreende a relação entre a Tecelagem Tognato e as transformações do bairro Baeta Neves. Para tanto abordamos a história da industrialização brasileira, paulista e do ABC, especialmente o segmento têxtil. A indústria do ABC, obedece a dinâmica nacional, sua origem com as indústrias têxteis no século XIX, desenvolvimento no século XX com a implantação das indústrias de bens de produção e no final do século a reestruturação industrial marcada pela transformação do modo de produção fordista para o modelo flexível, que implicou em mudanças na dinâmica interna e externa as fábricas. A Tognato, esta inserida dentro dessas transformações observadas ao longo do século XX. Estudá-la, nos possibilitou compreender como as novas dinâmicas produtivas relacionam-se com a sociedade promovendo mudanças na região do ABC, especialmente em São Bernardo. / This stydy includes the relationship between the weaving and the transformation of the Tognato neighborhood Baeta Neves. For this we approached the history of Brazilian industry, in São Paulo State and the ABC metropolitan area, with especially focus, the textile segment. The industry ABC follow the dynamic national origin in the textile industries in the nineteenth century, development in the twentieth century with the establishment of industries and production assets in the late industrial restructuring marked the transformation using the Fords mode of production to the flexible model, which resulted in change in the dynamic internal and external of the factories. The Tognato textile industry it is inserted within these transformation observed during the twentieth century. Study it, give us the potencial to understand how the new dynamics of production relate to the society and promoted changes in the ABC metropolitan area, especially in São Bernardo do Campo.