The successes or failures one experiences in life depend greatly on the decisions that one makes. This is not only true in one’s personal life but is also the case in the business environment. In this modern world, simple and complex decisions are the key elements for a business to be successful in the competitive global environment. Effective decision making is an intricate process. In Eskom it is important to integrate the technological and business aspects to support the decision making process. Research methodology provides one with the necessary tools to support this decision making. The main focus of the study is the development of an Optimisation Model for the Management of Transformers in the Eskom East Grid Transmission Sysytem. In the Eskom Transmission system, there are a large number of power transformers which are the most expensive and strategically important component of the Transmission system. There were three main objectives. The first objective included the forecasting of transformer failures using the forecasting techniques of moving average, weighted moving average, exponential smoothing and regression analysis. The second objective focused on the investigation of the re – location of the tap changer maintenance team to a new area using the mathematical and statistical methods of simulation and decision tree analysis. The third objective included the investigation of an inventory control and management model where the optimum number of spares pertaining to transformer units that should be made available was determined using the mathematical and statistical model called the economic order quantity. These objectives were then used to investigate the development of the optimisation model pertaining to transformers. The results of the study concluded that the operating research techniques which included the forecasting methods and the economic order quantity models were suitable for research in Eskom. However it is important to note that the Eskom system and the environment in which transformers operate in is dynamic and has some factors that cannot be controlled. These factors must be taken into consideration when the various models are used in the investigation of the optimisation model. The introduction of these external factors is beyond the scope of this study and is not included. It was concluded that the simulation and decision tree analysis could be used as an integral part of the optimisation model successfully. The limitations that were highlighted included the integrity of the secondary data (sample size, the source of the secondary data, data quality and data governance), the limitations associated with forecasting, the limitations of the operations research, mathematical and statistical models and the fact that the Eskom network is dynamic. . The recommendations included the application of the forecasting techniques and the inventory control model to a larger population size which was that of the transformers in the entire Transmission system. It was indicated that Eskom resources, time and money must be used to support the business’s strategy to train and develop employees to an acceptable competency level. Future studies should include the factors that affect forecasting and the implementation of the inventory control model to increase the accuracy of the results. The introduction of these external factors is beyond the scope of this study and was not included in the models. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

South Africa is currently grappling with amendments to a number of laws relating to the supply of drugs. One of these amendments removes the requirement that only a pharmacist may own an interest in a retail pharmacy. While this may be opposed by retail pharmacists, the question is really: Will this measure benefit consumers by improving the access to drugs by bringing to this sector a measure of competition and hence reduced prices or will this measure reduce the quality of pharmaceutical care for consumers due to a lack of a relationship based on trust? The emergence of brands such as HealthPharm (Pick 'n Pay), Purchase Milton & Associates- PM&A (New Clicks), and the Checkers (Shoprite Group of Companies) are becoming increasingly popular among consumers (Andy Gray, 1997). This study investigates the impact of these changes on the consumer receiving affordable quality pharmaceutical care. It aims to establish a relationship between consumers and their pharmacist that is based on trust. Quantitative analysis of consumers and pharmacists revealed that there is a relationship based on trust between these parties. Statistical analysis of these samples also reveal a consumer trend suggesting that consumers and pharmacists require a relationship based on trust to achieve the goals of pharmaceutical care. Open ownership of pharmacies will not provide the consumer with an opportunity to develop this relationship with their pharmacist and thus reduce the quality of pharmaceutical care received. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Self-medication is a practice that can contribute significantly towards reducing total healthcare expenditure in South Africa. It empowers people to treat themselves in a responsible and cost effective manner. Pharmacists are in an ideal position to implement, monitor and contribute to the success of the concept of self-medication in South Africa. This study will attempt to analyse the acceptance and success of this concept in South Africa. The study will examine the impact of demographic variables, attitudes of both pharmacists and consumers towards self-medication, and views of the government and pharmaceutical organisations. An attempt will be made to obtain viewpoints of other healthcare workers, such as doctors, on the implementation and acceptance of self-medication. The information obtained from structured questionnaires to both pharmacists and consumers will be analysed to arrive at conclusions and recommendations on the concept of self-medication. These conclusions and recommendations will be used to create a conceptual framework for consumers and pharmacists. It is hoped that findings from this empirical study will contribute to the body of knowledge and shed new insights into responsible self-medication in South Africa. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Advances in technology have changed the way business is conducted. In particular, the advent of internet/online banking in the financial sector, has revolutionised the banking industry. Despite the introduction of online banking in the 90's, the number of consumers converting to the offering has progressed slowly. There are numerous reasons for this, one of them being lack of infrastructure, high Internet costs and more importantly the mindset of the customer. Banks are competing on the basis of technology and service offering to win a sizeable share of the online market. However very little is known about the factors influencing consumer behaviour in the South African online banking market. This study aims to investigate the psychological and cultural factors influencing consumer behaviour in the online banking sector. It will also investigate the process of decision making that result in consumer behaviour outcomes in the online banking sector. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

The South African Revenue Services fulfils a number of roles in the reform process of South African Society through its collection of revenue to fund Government programmes, the facilitation of trade and economic security and contributing to an economy that supports growth and development. As the key revenue collector of government, SARS is mandated to collect revenue from all taxes. These tax types include Income Tax, VAT, PAYE, and Skills development, Levy, Customs Duty and Excise Tax. One of the taxes administered by the SARS on behalf of the Ministry Of Finance is Excise Duty. The Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964 defines Excise duty as any duty leviable on certain locally manufactured goods. The tax on these goods is commonly referred to as sin taxes by the Ministry of Finance as these goods are seen as luxury goods. Products on which Excise Duty in levied include alcohol, fuel, beer, cigarette, tobacco, spirits and wine. Prior to 2 April 2003 the system used by the Oil industry to account for the sales of fuel was a sales based system. This effectively meant that excise duty could be deferred for a period of up to two years. This manner of taxation allowed the fuel industry to only pay tax once there had been a sale of the fuel. It therefore reduced the tax liability at the time of manufacture. The Duty at Source initiative of the SARS was aimed at ensuring that all excise duties be collected at the time of manufacture rather than the time of sale. Duty at source for the fuel industry was implemented on 2 April 03. Duty at source requires that the duty is paid at source i.e. at the time of manufacture of fuel in the refineries. The purpose of the new system was to facilitate the easier collection of revenue and to introduce greater efficiency both for the South African Revenue Services as well as the external role players. The implementation of this new system of assessing duty created a series of administrative and compliance burdens for both parties i.e. for SARS and taxpayers. The implementation was further not supported by a strategic framework. Due to the lack of the strategic perspective, this study undertakes to identify, suggest and evaluate strategies to manage the cost of compliance as a result of the duty at source implementation. To support the suggested strategies an operational framework will also be developed to facilitate successful implementation. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

This study is an evaluation of the implementation of change processes in the Lesotho Civil Service, Ministry of the Public Service (MPS). A qualitative method was used where an exploratory study was conducted by drawing a case study to evaluate the change implementation process in the organisation. In enabling the researcher to conduct a more focussed study, only five factors that have an impact on the successful implementation of change were considered. The factors were namely: forces for change; managing and leading change; building the desired culture; resistance to change and errors common to organisational change. The relevant information for the case study was obtained mainly from interviews and questionnaires. The pattern matching technique was performed on the case study, whereby the way change was implemented in the Lesotho Civil service was compared to that suggested by the literature. Fifty questionnaires were administered to fifty employees in the Ministry of the Public Service. Finally an evaluation based on the responses of the respondents, what actually happened and that which the literature suggests were evaluated interdependently. Based on this evaluation, it was found that, there were forces for change in the organisation, but management did not communicate with the employees as to the need for change and how it was to be implemented. Employees were never involved or asked to participate in the planning process of the change. Management in the organisation did not take all aspects into account when planning for change as suggested by the literature and all these aspects need to be improved upon by the leaders in the organisation. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

The exact nature of the point of sale can vary considerably, from huge hypermarkets to roadside stalls and cafes. At each of these, the consumer is faced with a dizzy array of products to choose from. In all of these instances, packaging can provide the trigger for differentiating the product and hence to purchase it. In the Fast Moving Consumer Goods industry, almost 70% of the purchase decision are taken at the point of sale. Effective packaging at the point of sale can render huge opportunities for a company, as this can allow the product to stand out against competitors, evoking emotions from the consumer to purchase their product. Unilever is the second largest consumer goods company in the world. Predominate product categories include the food and home care businesses. In South Africa they dominate the laundry market with well-known brands such as OMO, Skip, Sunlight, Surf etc. As part of their growth strategy, much focus is placed on harmonisation of product and packaging development. Apart from aligning product formulations, this strategy also includes aligning pack designs. It is therefore critical that before any decision is made on changing pack designs to conform to global standards, that an in-depth study be undertaken in order to assess how changes in packaging elements affect the South African consumer. It is also important that all involved in the local packaging value chain, ie artwork agencies, packaging suppliers, company brand development members, are in tune with what the local consumers want. The objective of this research is to establish which (combination of) packaging elements (ie colour, shape, materials and design) in laundry products are most effective in influencing consumers purchasing decision. The study focussed specifically on Surf LSM 7-8 consumers in Durban. The research further looked at which packaging elements associated with the Surf brand influence purchase decision as perceived by members of the packaging value chain (artwork agencies, packaging suppliers and company's brand development) and compared this to findings in the consumer segment. This was done to evaluate how effective the packaging value chain is in delivering an effective package to the target consumer. The research was carried out as follows: 1. A literature review to gather knowledge about packaging elements and its communicating capability of messages in order to identify which elements have these capabilities. 2. A quantitative study to gain insight into which attributes of packaging elements are most effective in communicating specific product attributes associated with the Surf platform. 3. A semi-quantitative study to gain insight into which attributes of packaging elements are effective in influencing a consumers purchasing decision It was found that respondents from brand development had a good understanding of Surf consumers' current image of the brand. Artwork agencies and packaging suppliers need to become more involved with consumer research and immersions in order to bridge the gap in better understanding what the brand stands for. The colour blue still remains the main visual cue linked to the Surf brand. There could be an opportunity for the colour red to be used effectively in order to depict brightness. There is also a possibility that flexible packaging would be more appealing provided that opening/closing could be improved. Holographic designs should definitely be incorporated onto a Surf pack. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Living Standards Measures (LSMs) are a way of segmenting or classifying the adult population of a country based on access to and use of a wide range of goods and services. LSMs are a very strong tool for grouping people for the purposes of target marketing rather than demographic segmentation. In any country with third world characteristics where a large portion of the economy is informal rather than formal, understanding consumer behaviour for the purpose of targeting consumers effectively becomes a formidable challenge. A research has been conducted, centered on LSM3-10 consumer behaviour with regard to purchase and consumption of non-alcoholic beverages in Zimbabwe. Beverage consumption patterns are revolving since Zimbabwe started experiencing an economic downturn from 1992 and subsequently went into recession. Beverage consumption patterns continue to change as the economic climate changes, and hence, the need to understand consumer beverage consumption patterns to Zimbabwe's changing harsh economic conditions. A hypothesis has been put to test, that is, "LSM3 to LSM10 will maintain their beverage consumption irrespective of the country's economic conditions". The methodology used in this survey is quantitative and descriptive with use of observation data, desk research and a survey instrument, the questionnaire which was designed for the purpose of the study. The research findings show that the motivation goal for a shopping trip have evolved from obligatory motive to circumstantial. On the cultural factors, life styles and social influences have also changed hence affecting shopping behaviour across all LSMs. It is empirically concluded that the hypothesis is false given the fact that the research findings show a shift in shopping behaviour as outlined above. It is therefore recommended that from a product development perspective, marketers develop products and services that are aligned to socio-economic changes in a country whether positive or negative. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

This study aimed to explore the extent to which managers supported ambitious employees. The research endeavoured to establish relationships among key variables of gender, age, mentoring and ambition. This allowed for the determination of the more supportive gender as well as the age category of the most supportive managers. It also determined the extent to which workplace jealousy existed from a managerial perspective towards ambitious employees. This study was conducted using a questionnaire methodology and within this context of field research, respondents were made up of 100 managers selected through snowball sampling from diverse sectors of the economy. A quantitative research design was employed using a realism paradigm. The main research findings indicate that managers themselves were highly ambitious by nature and were most likely to support ambitious employees. In particular, male managers demonstrated marginally more support towards ambitious employees. The relationship between age and ambition showed that older managers were more supportive of ambitious employees. Finally, the link between lack of support and managerial jealousy was established to a very limited extent through the findings of this study. Further research to extend the current investigation can be achieved through the insight of employees who could be included as potential respondents. This study is biased towards the manager, where only manager’s responses towards ambitious employees were solicited. Future avenues of research involving both employees and managers would allow for a more articulated discussion on managerial response to ambitious employees. The study is unique since it will contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of managerial attitude to ambitious employees and is based on empirical research findings using the opinions of practicing managers from various sectors of the economy. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2009.

Moreland Developments (Pty) Limited is KwaZulu-Natal's leading land developer, consistently delivering on its vision of providing sustainable, quality developments across the spectrum of its operating portfolios. However, the changing external environment has recently presented new challenges to the company, raising the question of the appropriateness of the differentiated focus land-only development strategy. The assessment of whether Moreland's business strategy addresses the environments in which it operates is based on a theoretical model. An assessment of the internal operations of Moreland together with an examination of the external environment in which the company competes has uncovered a misalignment between these environments and the strategic direction pursued. The model is used to provide a more appropriate response to the management dilemma of eroding profit margins brought on by, in the main, an increase in infrastructure costs. The outcome of testing strategic options against current internal and external conditions has presented a compelling argument for the shifting of the strategic thrust of Moreland: from pursuing a focused land-only development strategy to one of concentric diversification. By Moreland extending its operations to related businesses and downstream activities, the company is better positioned to extract a greater return where value-added is greatest. Since Moreland does not possess all the core competences and resources in order to undertake the value-added downstream activities, partnering such an initiative with a company that does have such resources will bridge the gap between pure land-only development and property development. The net effect of the concentric diversification strategy will be to spread the risk that Moreland is exposed to and to generate returns that are commensurate with the level of value-added activities. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, 2003.