P & 0 Grindrod Logistics (Pty) Ltd (POGL) was the focus of study over a period of two years and served as the learning field for the systemic appreciation of complex problem resolution. Organisational conversation and communication surfaced as an issue within the organisation during this period of research and served as the system of interest (SOl) warranting further appreciation and understanding. This paper surfaces an understanding of the complex and emergent issues and dilemmas of the SOl through a process of generative learning, using systems thinking and a brief theoretical understanding of communication, as a multimethodological paradigm. The reflective approach was to gain knowledge and understanding of the SOl and then to subject the knowledge claims to validation. Various worldviews emerged, as to the causes and reasons for non-communication. This required the surfacing of personal issues and experiences, an understanding of emotions, appreciation for other's points of view, values, knowledge, perceptions, beliefs and ethics of the staff at POGL. A systemic appreciation facilitated the emergence and understanding of behaviours of the people, specifically as regards the leadership style and the knowledge-power position of that management style. During my research, my observation was that organisational conversations were limited to these issues, void of any strategic value or vision content. In most job functions including managerial positions, authority levels, empowerment, innovation, and creativity, was replaced with a command style leadership. People lived in fear of reprisal and did as they were told. Retrenchments and restrictions on capital expenditure, equipment maintenance and general day to day running costs, further limited team building, personal and organisational learning, by removing responsibility and authority and relocating this to the Executive Team. The absence of a communicated vision negatively affected commitment, productivity decreased, and focus and energy was lost. A culture of non-communication, namely, distrust, emotions, disrespect, and credibility, emerged as barriers to effective communication and were noted as concerns of the people. The proposed intervention is the creation of a learning organisation, with the purposeful construction of a strategy to enhance and maximise organisational learning. The process is designed as systems starting with leadership development, progressing through strategic conversation, a system to improve communication, recognition, reward and performance management systems and staff and management development. The overall objective is to improve organisational effectiveness. The intervention has developed as a generative learning process, ie the reflections of the two-year research process and the additional reflections and learnings from this paper. This was a conscious attempt to improve competitiveness, productivity and innovation, to understand uncertainties and the need for learning in order to improve adaptability and efficiency during these times of change and uncertainty in POGL. As evidenced from the literary review of systems thinking and the application to the issues in this organisation, we are dealing with a complex and dynamic environment. 'Learning enables a quicker and more effective response to this environment, increases information sharing, communication, understanding, increases the level of energy and excitement in individuals and the quality of decisions made in organisations.' (April, 2000:49) The whole process requires a culture change for the organisation and will take time. However, I am of the opinion that the inclusion of staff in organisational decision making complemented with staff development will improve innovation and creativity and promote a sustainable organisation. People desire to be part of a community, where expansive thinking is encouraged and recognition and reward part of the process of building trust and respect; where the people talk to one another, learn from each other in ongoing dialogue, exchange advice, coach and mentor each other. Success is in teamwork, personal mastery, a shared vision and developing leaders capable of dealing with the complexities of the present and the future. The five learning disciplines, namely, systems thinking, personal mastery, team building , mental models and shared vision are seen in this paper as a foundation and enhance aspiration, reflective conversation and understanding complexity. (April , 2000:52) Jack Welch, formerly of General Electric, quoted in April (2000:50) said of learning: 'Our behaviour is driven by a fundamental core belief: The desire and the ability of an organisation to continually learn from any source - and to rapidly convert this learning into action - is its ultimate competitive advantage.' / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

One of the main challenges facing public sector healthcare services in South Africa is the shortage of professional nurses, driven in part by poor salaries. Despite initiatives undertaken to improve salaries, this has not yielded the desired results. The objective of this study was thus to determine some of the reasons for this shortage, and to explore the need to develop pragmatic retention strategies and turnover policies to curb nursing shortages at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. A qualitative and quantitative survey of job satisfaction amongst professional nurses was conducted to identify what factors needed to be addressed to retain professional nurses at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. It is integral that retention programmes be aimed at job satisfaction and organisational commitment. The findings show that organisational and management commitment contributes to job satisfaction of professional nurses. Based on these findings, recommendations were compiled for the retention of professional nurses at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

This study explores the reasons why succession planning is imperative in an organisation. The study focuses on Nedbank Homeloans’ KZN Operations at the head office in central Durban and includes the views of the office staff about the salient issues in regards to succession planning. A comprehensive literature review provides a background to the study. A number of reasons for the need for succession planning have been provided by various writers, and these constitute the point of departure for the study. The broad themes that impact on the success of succession planning are identified as being the need to retain talent, to develop skills, and to enhance the benefits that can be derived from implementing succession planning in an organisation. In relation to these themes, the main objectives of the study were the following: to determine what benefits the organisation may achieve from implementing a succession plan; the significant impacts of not having a strategic succession plan; what an organisation can do to retain talented and competent employees; the role an organisation can play in sustaining skilled and talented people; and if the implementation of succession planning can support the career paths of employees not just up a specialised ladder but across a continuum of professional competence. The fieldwork was exploratory in nature, with a questionnaire being administered to seventyseven home-loan staff across the different levels of function. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. Various statistical techniques such as Cronbach’s Alpha were applied to test reliability.An in-depth analysis of the results of the questionnaire was performed. The results of the study were evaluated and various recommendations are made. An implementation plan is provided to aid in the implementation process. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

The implementation of sustainable development challenge facing South Africa is significant. There appears to be a growing interest within the private sector to participate in partnership with the public sector in contributing towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes and initiatives. This partnership seeks to address the overall socio-economic and sustainable development of the country. However, it is an enormous task to address socio-economic challenges in South Africa due to high expectations. The aim of this study is specifically focused on investigating Eskom’s contributions to the sustainable developmental needs of the community in which it operates as a state owned enterprise. Furthermore, the intent is to examine Eskom’s current funding strategy, focus and policies in an attempt to investigate Eskom’s involvement in corporate social investment sustainability. A quantitative research design is employed in this study. The target population of this research is the Eskom employees selected from the four Eskom divisions, namely, Generation, Transmission, Distribution and Corporate (which includes ESDEF). The sample was the 95 employees randomly selected, hence those who responded were 61 on the stipulated date. Eskom was chosen, because it plays a major role in accelerating growth in the South African economy by providing electricity. Data was collected using the Eskom’s e-mailing system which referred to as the GroupWise system and used as a database that contained the population of all Eskom Holdings employees, and the questionnaire survey was developed by the researcher. The research study revealed that, although Eskom makes significant contributions in corporate social responsibility, communities need to be brought on board to define the funding objective and to select projects to be funded by Eskom. The results of study should be regarded as exploratory and provides directions to researchers for further, more in-depth research in this area. From the findings it appears as if perception plays the most important role in determining whether or not organisations support social responsibility programmes. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

This study set out to ascertain whether or not Telkom's SAP Rl3! process modification adaptation strategy resulted in improved supply chain performance. For Telkom who have struggled, at great expense and with great frustration, with incompatible information systems and inconsistent operating practices, the promise of an off-the-shelf solution, in the form of SAP R3, to solve its problem of supply chain integration was too great to resist. There are two alternative approaches to implementation of packaged software: Package adaptation to organisational needs and organisational adaptation to the package. This research revealed that typically, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) vendors recommend process adaptation and discourage ERP adaptations for the fear of potential performance and integrity degradation as well as maintenance and future upgrade difficulties - however, enterprises often find reasons to stray from that directive. Telkom decided to use the process modification and enhancement ERP adaptation strategy for its SAP Rl3 implementation, because management believes that by enhancing the speed and effectiveness of business processes before implementing SAP Rl3, the full benefits SAP Rl3 will be realised. Telkom redesigned 489 processes to take full advantage of the new system's capabilities, in particular its ability to simplify the flow of information. Taking a broad look at the results and comments made regarding Telkom's SAP Rl3 implementation, it was found that Telkom's SAP Rl3 implementation strategy resulted in quick achievements of a positive return on investment (ROI) when comparing pre- and postimplementation performance. Inventory levels, receivables, operating costs, order cycle times, stock turns, labour and distribution expenditures have all improved. On the other hand, fifty percent of the peer group benchmark baselines were not matched or exceeded by Telkom's measured post-implementation performance. It was found that Telkom's supply chain performance is tightly related to three areas of concern identified in this research: Problems with SAP and c-commerce integration, SAP's forecasting ability remains at a disadvantage, and the issue of Telkom not benchmarking their supply chain performance. It was also found that process improvement emerged as the principal element that enabled Telkom to realise the measured benefits of its ERP implementation. I SAP Rl3 stands for Systems, Applications and Products, Real time, 3-tier architecture. / Thesis (M.B.A. -University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

This research study examines the Job involvement among staff in the Faculty of Health Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal. The researcher conducted a literature review on how involved staff are in the their job, great turnover, remuneration and benefits. In a time where costs are mounting, budgets are shrinking and personnel shortages are common, it is increasingly important to provide a positive work situation to ensure work stability. Research indicates that job involvement and satisfaction are of a paramount importance to employees. This study examined the association of job involvement, job satisfaction, organizational culture and organizational commitment among staff in the Faculty of Health Science. The findings highlight the significance of these variables in relation to job involvement. This study revealed that staff are adequately pleased with their jobs, but continuously seek greener pastures, ensuring an increase in staff turnover. This has financial repercussions on the Schools as well as the Faculty at large. This study provides vital information and practical recommendations have been made.

This study also showed how inter-connected the world is because the global financial crisis started in one part of the world but affected every country worldwide. The global financial crisis made it necessary to revisit the writings of the British economist John Maynard Keynes who is considered one of the most influential economists of the 20th century and one of the fathers of modern macroeconomics. He advocated an interventionist form of government policy, believing markets left to their own devices could be destructive, leading to cycles of recessions, depressions and booms. That is what the world witnessed during the global financial crisis. Keynes ideas helped rebuild economies after World War II, until the 1970s when his ideas were abandoned for freer market systems. What then happened was regulation began to weaken as the world economies started to recover. This scenario is likely to repeat itself even when the financial crisis is over. Market capitalism is still going to dominate the world economies because in as much as transaction will be regulated but the behaviour of finance institutions will be difficult to regulate. During the period under review, the South African financial sector and the mining industry felt the impact of the global financial crisis as shown in this study. Despite signs of a turnaround in economic activity in South Africa, financial systems are still vulnerable to risk and a renewed loss of confidence. The adverse feedback effects from the real economy, therefore, remain a concern and present new challenges for safeguarding the stability of the global financial system. The global economic crisis offers an opportunity for South Africa to act and provide long term solutions. Strict regulation should be applied not only to the financial sector but to smaller business entities as well. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

This study investigated whether changes occurred in consumer buying behavior within the retail clothing industry during difficult economic climates. The significance of the study was to determine whether the lack of disposable income and increasing inflation swayed consumers to pursue value for money clothing opposed to international branded products. The important factor was to establish whether the consumers shift in purchasing would be temporal or permanent. This research involved various research tools and designs which assisted in finding a feasible conclusion. Quantitative research was used with structured questionnaires being given to consumers. These findings were annotated accordingly in tables and diagrams with publications and literature to reiterate the findings and in turn enable this study to conclude that consumers buying patterns of clothing does change during difficult economic climates. The research was conducted in Durban with a sample of 133 respondents. Some salient findings emanating from this study included: consumer’s perceptions had influenced their behaviour, and preference as opposed to logical choice and need. Focus was concentrated on one of the most acknowledged value retailers in South Africa, Mr Price clothing. Seventy three percent of the respondents said that Mr Price offered value for money, seventy-six percent stated that they offered quality products. A further ninety six percent felt that Mr Price clothing offered choice of style. These percentages are undisputedly indicative that Mr Price clothing has obtained the winning formula especially in times when minimal disposable income and a clamp on the ease of getting or increasing credit options are scarce. The findings indicated that Mr Price was indeed the retailer of choice, with a staggering eighty eight percent stating that they would continue to frequent Mr Price clothing even after their finacial situation improved. Further testing also indicated that quality and price were the two crucial deciding factors that influenced consumers. This supports the fact that consumers are still looking for value for money. Perceptions and social status do influence the supply and demand theory when it involves clothing. A recommendation for further study would involve using different demographic market segments based on income, gender and race amongst others. Internet influence in clothing purchases would also be an influencing factor going forward along with the effect of advertising. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

Women as the previously disadvantaged species have been encouraged to open businesses all over the world. Some businesses that are owned by woman succeed some fail. It is evident that the rate at which the women respond to this call is positive judging by the number of businesses that are owned by women in the country. The ventures that are owned by woman some are new some are old but all of these woman entrepreneurs do encounter challenges, it is a fact. The fact that there is a success or failure means that these women encounter a number of challenges within and outside their business. The aim of this study was to investigate the challenges faced by women in entrepreneurship. A sample of 10 women entrepreneurs participated in the study. These women were chosen systematically using probability approach whereby a list of women entrepreneurs was obtained from the Durban Chamber of Commerce. Interviews were conducted as the instrument for collecting data. Data was analysed using tables and graphs. The results yielded by this study showed that indeed women do encounter some challenges in their entrepreneurial activities. Furthermore, it was discovered from the study that the majority of challenges emanate from a lack of education and a lack of skills and development. It is important for our government to intervene by formulating programmes that will address the exact needs of women entrepreneurs and it is essential that there be follow up on the service providers so as to track the satisfaction of women in entrepreneurship and whether the programmes are achieving what they set out to achieve. Finally this study provides the recommendations based on this study which are meant to address the challenges facing women in entrepreneurship. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

The main aim of this research was to look at the personal aspirations that people hold when getting into employment and how those aspirations interact with work requirements and the outcomes thereof. In order to do this, a non-probability judgement sample of 118 individuals was drawn from the working class within the Durban Metropolitan city with a population size of 833,615 individuals. The sample was made up of 59% males and 41% females. The majority of the sample (95%) was in management in one form or another, while only 5% were nonmanagement. Data obtained from this research was collected using a web-based questionnaire developed using QUESTIONPRO Software. The questionnaire was administered via email. Statistical data analysis indicated positive moderate relationships between “feeling powerless at work” and “feeling alienated”; “being afraid to disagree with one’s boss”; “deciding to mind one’s own business at work”; and “being angry at work”. A negative moderate relationship was also observed between “being angry at work” and “advancement in life”. The research also showed that there is a link between employees feeling powerless at work and them choosing to do just their bare minimum as stipulated by their job description. This research can benefit organizations by encouraging management to work towards creating a working environment that enhances a balance between work and family life. The work environment should also have a culture that makes employees feel free to disagree with their bosses without negative consequences thus fostering innovation and faster problem solving. Management should also work towards empowering their employees so that the employees can take ownership of their jobs and work towards delivering the company objectives. This will ensure that feelings of powerlessness are diminished within the work force. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2011.