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In September 1995, the South African government introduced the Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) as a means of making the South African automotive industry a competitive orientated industry. The MIDP over the years has taken account of the international realities facing themotor industry in South Africa with major focus being placed on trade liberalisation, globalisation of markets against the background of rapid technological change, rising customer expectations and markets which were becoming increasingly demanding and fast moving in terms of global trends. But has the core intention of the MIDP, which was to create an internationally competitive, export industry, been lost? The research proposition that the MIDP has lost a bit of ground with regards to focusing on an export-orientated industry is examined in this dissertation. In this respect, the South African automotive industry, with regards to vehicle and component sales both export and imported, industry growth trends, and the point of view from people working within the South African automotive industry, will be analysed to determine the extent to which the MIDP has lost ground on its original intention. The results show that the MIDP has had positive spin offs with regards to vehicle exports since its induction in 1995. The results also show that, due to the MIDP, the South African automotive industry has seen a substantial growth in volumes of imported vehicles and components into the industry and how the increase in imported vehicles and components has affected the domestic market and local content. Anticipation of the findings of the study shows that the notion of higher tariffs or restrictions on imported vehicles and components could improve the local content levels in locally manufactured export and domestic vehicles. Recommendations have been made in this regard. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

Thesis (M.B.A. (Investec Business School))--Rhodes University, 2005. / "A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Business Administration" -T.p.

The intention of this dissertation is to attempt to project the theoretical concept of Corporate (or Long-Range) Planning into the reality of one of South Africa's major motor vehicle manufacturing company's task environment. It is a sad fact that there are no universally - applicable practical planning "laws" (as are present within the discipline of, say, Physics) amidst the ever-changing hurly-burly world of modern commerce and industry. Accordingly, there are very real distinctions between distilled Corporate Planning theory, as it is propounded in the many available books and articles, and Corporate Planning practice as actually implemented. This is true largely by virtue of the fact that in the same way as persons differ in their physical and mental make-up, so too do individual companies; even to the extent of acquiring a distinct corporate "personality" of their own. Terms of reference, p. 1.

This master thesis analyses the Volkswagen assembly lines of the Golf A5 manufacture in the mother plant in Wolfsburg, the Touran manufacture in the Auto 5000 GmbH in Wolfsburg as well as the Golf A5 manufacture in Uitenhage in South Africa - all with regard to the level of automation. The target of the analysis is the determination of the optimal level of automation in the three production sites and therefore, the investigation of the potential to automate, or rather to deautomate in particular sections of the assembly in the prevailing production locations. The three production sites are to be investigated with regard to costs, quality and quantity.

Abstract “Customer Satisfaction” has many dimensions. The purpose of this research is to explore these dimensions briefly (using the Service Value Chain concept) and to determine the fundamental drivers of success in customer satisfaction from the perspective of a service organisation. Employees proved to be the pivotal element influencing the outcome of customer satisfaction, as they influence organisational behaviour, customer experience and business profitability. The outcome of the research also promotes the idea that organisations need to become customer - orientated, which requires organisational cultures to change. “Nuclei Drivers of Success in Customer Satisfaction” 3 Two noteworthy results were obtained from this research, which is viewed by the author as a significant contribution to the Service Value Chain. The two specific findings are the empirical evidence in the results of the relationship between Staff Defection and Customer Satisfaction and the relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Organisation Profitability.

This paper is designed to assist communities with the successful introduction, integration and support of electric vehicles. It provides an introductory look at electric vehicle technology and its application within the community, and should act as a springboard for further investigation and plan development for interested communities. This paper outlines the basic history of electric vehicle technology, the recent forces which have prompted increased research and development, and the leading causes for this evolution in personal transportation. The core of the document describes the steps a community will need to take in order to successfully develop a local electric vehicle program. Initial steps include developing community goals, understanding the community and its transportation environment, and creating an organizational structure to successfully develop a local Electric Vehicle Action Plan. The organizational structure provided is divided into three basic elements; Policy, Infrastructure, and Public Awareness. The analysis of each element includes the identification and discussion of the critical issues, a description of the key participants who should be involved, and recommended methodology for initiating and supporting local electric vehicle commercialization. Furthermore, each element includes a short analysis of three separate market niches that are ripe for early electric vehicle introduction. These applications can be used by the community to develop a local electric vehicle demonstration program and establish a foundation on which to build an electric vehicle community. This paper, if used to its potential, can help communities develop a program which will successfully introduce and integrate electric vehicles into the local transportation mix and bring America a little closer to a sustainable transportation system. / Department of Urban Planning

Abstract “Customer Satisfaction” has many dimensions. The purpose of this research is to explore these dimensions briefly (using the Service Value Chain concept) and to determine the fundamental drivers of success in customer satisfaction from the perspective of a service organisation. Employees proved to be the pivotal element influencing the outcome of customer satisfaction, as they influence organisational behaviour, customer experience and business profitability. The outcome of the research also promotes the idea that organisations need to become customer - orientated, which requires organisational cultures to change. “Nuclei Drivers of Success in Customer Satisfaction” 3 Two noteworthy results were obtained from this research, which is viewed by the author as a significant contribution to the Service Value Chain. The two specific findings are the empirical evidence in the results of the relationship between Staff Defection and Customer Satisfaction and the relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Organisation Profitability.

M.Com. (Economics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Strategic Marketing Johannesburg, 2017 / Customer lifetime value (CLV) is important for all businesses. Increased customer lifetime value means increased profit, so it is in a company’s interest to increase customer lifetime value as much as possible through any appropriate methods. The relationship between post-purchase dissonance and customer lifetime value has not been explored in the studied literature but it has been found that, when dissonance is cause by a consumer’s experience of a product not living up to their expectations, loyalty decreases. This led the researcher to hypothesise a correlation between dissonance and customer lifetime value, which this study aimed to investigate. The research was conducted in the South African car industry and aimed to add the existing knowledge and, practically, to inform businesses whether taking action to decrease dissonance would have a significant positive effect on customer lifetime value, thereby better informing marketing strategies and budgets to have the most beneficial outcome. Using the data set of 116 respondents from around South Africa from a variety of age groups, the data collected was analysed to assess the potential relationships. / GR2017