Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 160-171). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / This research sought to provide insight into the key leadership skills, competencies and organisational processes required to lead a company from decline to a sustainable turnaround. The study focused on the four attributes of managing a turnaround: organisational values and culture, change leadership and organisational high performance. The research aimed to establish the role and impact of the above four factors, particularly in a corporate turnaround. It further assessed the role of leadership in ensuring the implementation of the four factors. The study revealed that turnaround leaders need to develop a new economy wave of values and a high performance culture as a foundation for creating ownership of the organisation’s objectives, as well as for the necessary alignment of the vision, mission and strategy. It was also noted that a corporate culture is an ever changing issue, hence leadership needs to continually ensure that the culture remains in support of the corporate objectives. The study also revealed the need for leadership to have the necessary emotional, cognitive and spiritual intelligence in order to be proactive in managing both the process and the effects of change. They need to have the transformational leadership abilities to drive the pursuit of organisational excellence as a means to achieving a sustainable turnaround. The research also noted the importance of communication as an integral part of each of the turnaround phases. Also of great importance were leadership attributes such as honesty, trustworthiness, sincerity and commitment, and the fact that leaders tend to believe that people will be driven by the rules and processes of business, forgetting that people gather the inspiration they need to be able to respond emotionally to a challenge, from their leaders’ demonstrated personal attributes.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The 2008/2009 economic downturn had a major impact on the international steel industry. With economic activities declining, the demand for steel decreased and subsequently, prices started to tumble. This put a great deal of pressure on steel manufacturing companies’ financials and they had to focus on cost reduction initiatives to survive. Steel companies who did not follow a turnaround strategy were not able to keep up with the competition. This research study focused on determining the details pertaining to the ArcelorMittal Saldanha Works turnaround strategy, as it is viewed as one of the most successful in the steel industry. Data was obtained from discussions with various role players and managers at ArcelorMittal Saldanha Works. The aim of the interviews was to get the detail of all the steps taken by the company to turn around its performance. Quantitative data describing the operational as well as financial and cost performance was sourced from the ArcelorMittal Saldanha Works Key Performance Indicator (KPI) system and from financial statements and progress reports. It was found that the basis for the turnaround strategy of ArcelorMittal Saldanha Works was World Class Manufacturing as it provided the vehicles through which improvements were managed with the aid of mainly the Autonomous Maintenance (AM), Professional Maintenance(PM), People Development (PD), Focused Improvement (FI), Product Quality (PQ) and Safety Pillars. The Cost Deployment (CD) Pillar was used to identify the biggest losses that needed to be addressed. ArcelorMittal Saldanha Works moved from one of the highest-cost producers in the ArcelorMittal group during 2010 to the second-lowest-cost producer in the group at the end of 2013. It reduced its total cost of production with $70 per ton over this period, without any major capital expenditure. The study concluded that the turnaround of ArcelorMittal Saldanha Works was successful and it is sustainable. This can be seen from the increase in the overall equipment availability, amount of hot-rolled coil tons produced, as well as the EBITDA figures reported in the study.

abstract / toc / Law / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

p. 1 - 160 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-01-22T18:45:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 44444.pdf: 1312370 bytes, checksum: 2b6317257682750c6c76e29b1bd97f76 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-01-22T18:45:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 44444.pdf: 1312370 bytes, checksum: 2b6317257682750c6c76e29b1bd97f76 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / A realização de paradas programadas de manutenção de plantas industriais é uma atividade que influencia de forma significativa o resultado do negócio de uma refinaria de petróleo. Assim sendo, a gestão de paradas deve ser analisada sob o enfoque estratégico. Dentre as atividades de manutenção que são realizadas durante uma parada, destacam-se as atividades de caldeiraria, que tipicamente representam a maior parcela de dispêndio de recursos financeiros. Estas atividades são realizadas por empresas terceirizadas e o seu desempenho afeta diretamente os resultados de uma parada. Portanto, é do interesse das refinarias conhecerem, de forma mais profunda, os fatores que afetam o desempenho destas empresas neste tipo de obra. O presente trabalho apresenta o resultado de uma pesquisa sobre os fatores que influenciam o desempenho de empresas contratadas de serviços de caldeiraria, no resultado das paradas das unidades de processo da refinaria Landulpho Alves UN RLAM – PETROBRAS, no período entre janeiro de 2005 e agosto de 2006. A pesquisa revelou uma série de fatores que influenciam estes resultados e sugere recomendações a serem adotadas pela refinaria e pelas empresas em busca por um melhor desempenho nas obras realizadas durante paradas programadas de manutenção de plantas industriais. / Salvador

The objective of this study was to develop turnaround strategies for the Calitzdorp Spa Tourism Resort (herein after referred to as Calitzdorp Spa) to stop the performance decline and put it back on the road of recovery again. The development of turnaround strategies are dependent on establishing the cause of the performance decline and to enable management to plan effective and optimal strategies for the tourism resort focused on the recovery response. An analysis of various sources on strategic management models were undertaken to find a theoretical framework for the development of a strategic management model that could be applied to a tourism resort. The following model for the strategic management of a tourism resort was consequently developed and consists of the following main components: • Mission, objectives and stakeholders; • Strategic position; • Strategic choice; and • Strategic implementation. A second model for the Turnaround Process of a tourism resort was proposed to assist management in guiding the resort to recovery, consisting of two main phases, namely: • Turnaround situation; and the • Turnaround response. The research methodology followed included: • a literature survey to define the important concepts of tourism, resorts, strategic management and turnaround strategies; • a questionnaire survey to determine customer satisfaction at the Calitzdorp Spa; • telephone interviews to determine the marketing and positioning strategies of the Calitzdorp Spa; and • a focus group discussion session to determine the current situation at the resort and to plan future management strategies of the Calitzdorp Spa. Specific conclusions were made and specific actions recommended based on the results obtained.

The research emanated from an investigation of GB7, GB8 and GB9 main contractors in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study was focussed on the strident economic times in the construction industry following the FIFA Soccer World Cup from August 2010 to December 2012. The research was conducted to identify the key strategy or combination of strategies keeping construction entities in operation. The study further investigates the key elements of a successful turnaround strategy as well as the most effective methods in implementing strategies within construction organizations. The research took the form of an empirical quantitative study where a descriptive survey was used to collect data. Structured interviews were held with the target population to collect data in the field. The study established that geographic diversification was the most effective method utilized by main contractors for survival during the study timeframe. The study also found that lowering of profit margins and preliminary and general amounts were most effective methods in the use of turn around strategies. The study finally concluded that effective steps were taken by main contractors in the Eastern Cape to implement corporate strategies within their organizations. Step by step guidance to all employees on new processes was the key element in successful strategic implementation of a strategy within construction organizations. The research conducted contributes to the strategic management competency within the built environment as well as the existing body of knowledge within the construction industry. All members of the construction industry in South Africa involved with strategic level planning of entities would value the study.

South African Municipalities have often been labeled as failures in the provision of services to local communities. These allegations include poor governance, maladministration, corruption and poor delivery of services. Certain municipalities are unable to deliver sufficient services to the communities of their geographic areas due to maladministration, political interference and corruption. This study undertook an assessment of the implementation of the Local Government Turnaround Strategy with emphasis on the Umzimvubu Local Municipality. The study comprises of five chapters and was motivated by the National Cabinet‟s decision to turn around the image of South African municipalities. The study includes an overview on the development and transformation of local government in South Africa as a point of departure. This is followed by an assessment of the implementation of the Local Government Turnaround Strategy, with specific reference to the Umzimvubu Local Municipality. The quantitative research methodology was employed for purposes of the study and the interpretation of the research findings are analyzed and described. A number of conclusions that were arrived at during the study, followed by specific recommendations are proposed in the final chapter. These are based on the findings primarily from the literature review and empirical survey.

M.Ing. / This report addresses an empirical study into the re-structuring of Transnet group of companies. The study is based on the outcome of the re-engineering process focusing on Spoornet as a member of Transnet. The departments partially studied are, the Infrastructure Maintenance department and Train Operations department with-in Spoornet. The objective of this study is to achieve a break-even point between maintenance and the business side so as to increase operational profit in Spoornet. Outsourcing is a management tool used to make more profit. It is also a way of getting rid of unwanted business units. This will help increase shareholder value and reduce operating costs so that management can focus on core business units. The results expected from outsourcing in this study are aligned with the business process engineering "BPR" results. From the BPR results the business units were classified as core and non-core business units. Non-core business units were discontinued while core business units were further classified into core department, which is the running of trains, and the non-core department as maintenance departments. The maintenance departments are fully represented on a functional level while they used to have a full representative on the corporate level before restructuring. Cutting-off these logistic support departments at a corporate level, can have an effect on maintenance being undermined due to lack of specialists input at a higher level in terms of systems engineering and maintenance. This can lead to system's lack of maintenance and an increase in systems failure, making the system un-reliable and unsafe for the passage of trains while on the other hand the business will be lost back to the competitors, who in this case is the road freight business. A case study is discussed in the dissertation where value added techniques such as the business turnaround process, outsourcing and Integrated Logistic Support "maintenance" were applied in this study.

The primary purpose of the study was to investigate the extent to which the Nkonkobe Local Municipality is able to meet its obligations in terms of the LGTAS - specifically as a rural municipality. Further to investigate what impact, if any, the Report on the State of Local Government in South Africa has had on the municipality. The study moved from the premise that municipalities are different, and that a rural municipality’s response to service delivery and the LGTAS, should be understood in the context of additional challenges, because of its remote locality. The study therefore is based on the assumption that the Nkonkobe Local Municipality has not been able to fully meet the objectives, as they are contained in the LGTAS that was approved by Cabinet in December 2009. The study proposed to give a background of the origin of municipalities and evolution and transformation of Developmental Local Government in South Africa. The in-depth literature review was undertaken on Developmental Local Government to achieve the objective of the study. Local Government Turnaround Strategy analysis with reference to Nkonkobe Local Municipality is also presented to test the proposed hypotheses. The empirical survey and research methodology used in the study is described and explained in-depths and followed by data collection in a form of a questionnaire. The research findings of the empirical survey are then analysed and reported in statistical form. In the final chapter; recommendations are presented based on the empirical survey findings through the respondent’s inputs in the questionnaire. Recommendations are also presented on how Nkonkobe Local Municipality can improve its business to achieve the objectives of LGTAS.