The intention of this document is to discuss the deregulation of the telecommunications environment in South Africa, focusing specifically on the introduction of the Second Network Operator and its relationship with Telkom and the market. The aims of this research include an evaluation of whether or not competition can occur when Telkom is the provider of a portion of the fixed line equipment as well as a competitor to the Second Network Operator. In addition to this an evaluation will also be undertaken of whether or not the consumer will ultimately benefit from increased service levels, as well as decreased cost once the Second Network Operator is offering services to the consumer. The research methodology employed is that of Case Study Analysis. The reason being that this method allows for a large amount of relative data to be chosen for the study (using Purposive sampling techniques), and this can then be analysed on a subjective basis, using comparisons as well as models such as the PEST, and Porter's Five Forces. Ultimately the study recommends that without a strong regulator, deregulation is pointless as the incumbent provider is exceptionally powerful both financially and politically and will not hesitate to engage in unfair practices should it feel that those practices may benefit their position. To this end it is recommended that ICASA play an active role in the pricing of the local loop access as well as the pricing of interconnections between the parties. It further recommends that Neotel follow a strategy of strong customer focus as well as strong technological focus. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

Companies and indeed governments all over the world have tried to secure the future of their employees by setting up pension schemes (Wallace 2002). However, pension contributions might become a huge unbearable expenditure for some organizations, as this presentation will show. While initially most companies willing to set up a pension scheme would almost always regard the Defined Benefit (DB) Pension Scheme as the scheme of first choice, the trend has since changed (Ross and Wills 2002) over the years. Possible causes responsible for this shift in focus are many (Twinney 1995). The shift could have contributed to some companies sponsoring Defined Benefit schemes to have a rethink on which type of pension scheme to operate. Zambezi River Authority is a quasi-government entity operating in both Zambia and Zimbabwe. It set up a DB pension scheme for its employees in 1987 and has not been spared from this pressure to re-examine its pension fund. In recent years the Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme has recorded huge shortfalls (Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme Accounts 1999 to 2004). This has resulted in the employer struggling to pay up his pension obligations. Sooner or later, if nothing is done, the pension scheme will probably not be able to meet the objectives for which it was set up. The purpose of this study is to investigate and discuss the problems being faced by the Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme. The paper outlines the different types of pension funds and compares them with the type of fund the Zambezi River Authority operates. The results of this study show that while the benefit structure of the Zambezi River Authority Pension Fund could have been relevant at the time the fund was set up, circumstances have substantially changed from what they were then. It is argued in the study that if no action is taken, the Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme is likely to collapse. It is recommended in the study that the Zambezi River Authority Pension Scheme should be changed from a Defined Benefit Scheme to a Defined Contribution Scheme. It is also recommended that the management of the scheme should be changed and that the scheme should invest in portfolios that bring positive returns. Above all, it is recommended that members should take a more active role in the affairs of their pension scheme. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu Natal, 2006.

Talent is a relative term usually used to describe someone who is able to perform a task better than their peers. This implies that such people have additional skills, competencies aptitudes or areas of intrinsic motivation that they bring to their performance on the job. In Zimbabwe it is difficult to plan ahead as the skills base continues to shrink and competition is increasing among organisations for the limited talent that is available. The aim of this study is to establish whether and how Multinational companies (MNCs) operating in Zimbabwe are developing local talent. To ascertain the understanding of talent development, whether talent management is shaped by business strategies and effectively communicated and implemented across the organization and if local talent is utilized to its optimal and retained through innovative strategies. The study also extrapolates benefits that organizations realize from talent development and how the organizations can tackle the challenges they face. The researcher used a positivist approach. The research was positivist in that a survey was carried out using one systematic and structured questionnaire administered to human resources, secretariat and executive management of multinational organizations operating in Zimbabwe. Data collection was both quantitative and qualitative thus accommodating the phenomelogical approach. Whilst the study presupposes that the majority of companies in Zimbabwe have no definition of talent development tools therefore unable to identify, engage develop, deploy and retain high valued staff who have high potential for critical and leadership roles, the findings are that most multinationals operating in Zimbabwe do have talent management tools in place. The study identifies key talent development drivers. Recommendations on innovative recruiting, developing and retaining the talent required to fulfill the organisation's business strategies and plans in an effective and efficient way are proffered. An area of further study proposed is on the causes and effects of labour unrest and staff turnover in the country, multinational and local organizations and the impact and implications this has had on the socio economic environment and how a track of skills flight can be undertaken to ensure that such skills can be lured and accommodated back home when the economic and political environment improves. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Kwazulu-Natal, 2006.

This study explores how a business turnaround was managed successfully at a firm within the textile manufacturing industry. The internal problems/ limitations and external challenges that the firm faced during its business decline are highlighted, as well as the functional level strategies that the firm implemented in order to arrest and then reverse the decline. A case study approach was adopted in order to understand and analyse the business turnaround. The need for studying the turnaround process is warranted as a number of firms in the clothing and textile manufacturing industry that attempt a business turnaround eventually experience greater levels of business decline and close down. The major empirical findings of the study undertaken reveal that certain key operational and strategic enablers were identified and utilised in order to effect a successful business turnaround. Some of these enablers have been developed into core competences which the firm is leveraging to create a sustainable competitive advantage in its chosen high value niche markets. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

This study sought to investigate the effectiveness of initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), as an investment option in comparison to their seasoned matching firms and to establish why an investor would prefer buying into an IPO and not into already trading matching firms. The study also sought to determine the extent of IPO underpricing and to establish if there is a relationship between underpricing and the long-run performance of IPOs. This study further sought to establish the reasons behind the investors' over-optimism in IPOs despite their uncertainty as well as to establish the factors governing the success or failure of IPOs. A matching firm was judgementally selected for each of the IPOs listed on the ZSE during the period 1997 to 2002, for the purposes of comparing the short and long-run buy and hold returns. Returns for the 15 qualifying IPOs and 15 seasoned matching firms were analysed and the share price performance compared in event windows of 30 days, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years and 5 years from the respective IPO dates. Questionnaires were also administered on a sample of 50 major stock market investors comprising stockbrokers, mutual funds, insurance companies, pension funds and merchant banks to test various theoretical propositions on these IPOs. Consistent with Majaya (2002) and Mutsigwa (2004), this study finds that there is substantial underpricing of IPOs in Zimbabwe with an average of 28% underpricing. This paper also finds that IPOs in Zimbabwe leave money on the table as a result of underpricing. The study finds that IPOs offer higher short-run returns than their seasoned matching firms and consistent with Brav and Gompers (1997), that there is no difference between the long-run performance of IPOs and that of their seasoned matching firms. This study finds no evidence of a relationship between underpricing and long-run IPO performance. The study also finds that the market condition, the timing of placement of an IPO and the firm size and age are some of the key factors determining the success or failure of an IPO and that oversubscription of IPOs on the ZSE is attributed to the size of the bourse which is too small, to cope with the demand for IPO shares. This study concludes that IPOs are risky investment and recommends that investors should carry out detailed analysis on the future prospects of an IPO before buying shares. Ascertaining the true value of a share may help the investor decide whether or not to invest in an IPO. The study recommends that the ZSE management should explore the possibility of setting up an exchange for small capitalisation stocks and that they should remove some of the restrictive listing requirements to enable more companies to list and access capital for expansion and other projects in a country already starved of foreign direct investment due to economic sanctions. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

In this study, the performance of the Rennies Provident Fund's management strategy is reviewed. The study aims to determine whether the Fund's management strategy created or destroyed shareholder value over the past 17- year period of its existence up to and including the 2004 financial year. First, the Rennies Provident Fund's performance is reviewed against its internally set performance objective of returning CPI (consumer price index) + 3% to its members. Secondly, the Fund's performance is compared to that of similar pension funds. Thirdly, the performance objective that the Fund has set itself is critiqued against the performance objectives of other pension funds. Finally, the value-based performance measurement approach is applied to the fund to determine whether shareholder value has been created or destroyed in absolute money terms during the 2003 financial year. This study finds that the Rennies Provident Fund has on average achieved the required internally set benchmark of returning CPI + 3% over the 17-year period of its existence. However, when the performance of the Fund is compared to available data for similar funds over a 12-year period, this study finds that the Rennies Provident Fund performed poorly. Further, this study also finds that in absolute monetary terms, the Rennies Provident Fund destroyed shareholder value over the 17-year review period. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

The aim of this research study was to identify and highlight the challenges experienced during the different phases of the shutdown or turnaround management processes in the petrochemical refineries. The data for the research, mainly through qualitative interview sessions and some quantitative comparison data, was obtained from PetroSA GTL Refinery as a case study. The research was subdivided into three areas: the planning, budgeting and shut execution processes. The qualitative interview sessions were conducted with managers and engineers who are directly involved with the shutdown management processes at PetroSA. The research identified the critical departments involved in the process, i.e. the shutdown team, operations, mechanical maintenance, inspection, projects, services etc., and selected respondents from these departments. Two senior managers from one of the large shutdown and turnaround contractors in South Africa were also included in the sample. The findings from the research highlighted interesting responses from the interview respondents. The challenges experienced in the various phases were discussed, with emphasis being placed on the planning, budgeting and shut execution phases of the process. The findings indicated that in order to be competitive in the petrochemical industry, a refinery must strive to achieve higher productivity from the field execution teams, as well as to incorporate proper cost control structures in the process. The research findings and recommendations are shown in chapters 4 and 5 of this report. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2007.

Companies are constantly searching for ways to enhance productivity and the bottom line. One of the assumptions is that increased job satisfaction can contribute in this regard with improvements in motivation and productivity. The organisation that is the subject for this study is a utility company formed by the City of Johannesburg to deliver a comprehensive water and sanitation service to the City. The creation of the company was preceded by a high level of unhappiness from organised labour and consequently many of the transferred employees. In order to give effect to its mandate of providing a cost effective and quality service to the citizens whilst protecting the environment, the company adopted a number of benchmark and other measurements across the board including the measurement of levels of employee satisfaction. The research focused on the employee perceptions of job satisfaction in the company based on the head office component with the previous survey results taken 18 months earlier serving as comparison. It was therefore possible to also evaluate the relevance of results obtained with the job satisfaction survey. The results of a benchmarking exercise in the Human Resources division conducted towards the end of 2003 was also available and served as a point of reference in comparing job satisfaction levels with the results of the benchmarks that were developed based on international best practice and compared the company to other organisations in the utility sector. The study examined the possibility of the development of strategies by the Human Resources function aimed at eliminating factors that cause dissatisfaction and improving or introducing those that led to increases in levels of satisfaction. The results indicate that it is not appropriate to concentrate only on the role of Human Resources in its efforts to influence job satisfaction and that high levels of job satisfaction or otherwise do not necessarily have a relationship to the perception of the efficiency of the Human Resources function when compared to the results of human resources benchmarks. Although the literature supports the importance of job satisfaction as a factor in productivity improvement, the findings point to the need to follow an integrated approach based on sound practice and measurement of metrics as well as the incorporation of strategies that ensure that job satisfaction is not negatively affected by striving for excellence in other areas. Even though the research provided support for the Herzberg theories on Hygiene (maintenance) factors and Motivators as predictors of job satisfaction it is the author's conclusion that the research points to the fact that results of Human Resources benchmarked factors are not the sole determinants of job satisfaction. It is, based on the research results, possible to conclude that even if the important satisfiers are not always adequately addressed, sound Human Resources practice can assist in ensuring that the levels of satisfaction do not become terminally low and cause high levels of attrition or detrimentally affect productivity with the resultant affect on benchmarked factors that compare poorly to that of the target organisations. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2006.

Abstract not available. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2007.

Working capital management refers to the financing, investment and control of net current assets within policy guidelines. It seems to have been relatively overlooked, although it is realized that a high proportion of business failures are due to poor decisions concerning the working capital of the firms. This case study is devoted to analyze the working capital practices of Keren Metal, wood and Cement Works, a manufacturing firm operating under joint venture in Eritrea. The study covers areas of working capital management, which encompasses, the working capital investment, working capital finance and working capital policies of the firm. To this end, relevant literature is reviewed and compared to the actual practices of the firm. Based on the gap identified from the comparison of the theory and the application, recommendations has been forwarded as how the working capital should be practiced, so as create value to the partners of the firm. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Kwazulu-Natal, 2004.