Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Abstract There have been lots of M&A, alliance and restructuring activities occurred in the chemical industry all over the world since 2001. In order to operate the business successfully, the best way is through innovation instead of taking restructuring, cost down and/or M&A strategy only. Usually, chemical material should be well mixed or prepared to get unique properties for application. R&D and innovation are the good solutions. Under such circumstances, in order to win the game and even to survive, the chemical firms need to make changes of their products to be more value-added and keep their sustaining competitive advantages . This study has surveyed the questionnaires which were answered from the high value-added chemical firms, government, educational and research institutes. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was adopted for analysis. Our findings are: 1. The ratings of the importance in the second level of AHP are: ¡]1¡^The members participating in the innovation ¡]2¡^Organization system ¡]3¡^Protection of innovation ¡]4¡^Environment of the firm 2. The top five important factors in the third level of AHP are: ¡]1¡^Opinions from the industry---communication ability of the R&D director, firm secrecy protection mechanism, CTO can make the consequences of decisions for R&D innovation activities to take, relationship between firms and customers, participation of the R&D director in corporate strategy formulation ¡]2¡^Opinions from the government, educational and research institutes--- organizational culture of supporting venture and tolerating mistakes in the innovation process, CTO can make the consequences of decisions for R&D innovation activities to take, communication ability of the R&D director, firm secrecy protection mechanism, participation of the R&D director in corporate strategy formulation ¡]3¡^Opinions from the industry, government, educational and research institutes--- communication ability of the R&D director, firm secrecy protection mechanism, CTO can make the consequences of decisions for R&D innovation activities to take, participation of the R&D director in corporate strategy formulation ,organizational culture of supporting venture and tolerating mistakes

The world chemical industry is one of the most basic and important manufacturing businesses globally. Petrochemicals have played a pivotal role in industrial modernisation. In the 1970s and 1980s South Africa developed an unusually large chemical industry as Import Substitution Industrialisation was conveniently extended into military/strategic apartheid policy. These policies steered the industry away from conventional crude oil and natural gas based feedstocks into a uniquely coal based chemical industry. The shift from oil to coal based petrochemicals also narrowed the slate of petrochemicals available. Pricing is critical in the commodity plastics filiere. Coal based production contributed to a higher cost structure than crude oil based producers and a 'missing link' in the production chain, the petrochemical intermediate naphtha. This facilitated the introduction of a pricing mechanism which concentrated the benefits amongst upstream producers at the expense of downstream plastic converters, stunting growth in this higher value added and more labour intensive sector. Ironically a 'sunk costs' approach and recent developments allow SASOL's to produce coal based petrochemicals at low cost. In a significant change the traditional pillars of the local chemical industry, agricultural and mining chemicals, were supplanted by plastic raw materials as the major sector of the industry during the 1980s despite its coal base. Trade patterns also reflect these developments. A significant shift in employment from blacks to whites in Industrial Chemicals and Refineries accompanied this reordering of the major sectors. Providing mass housing, electrification and other basic wage goods will require industrial policies, embracing the entire filiere, which are significantly different from previous policies. Such policies should facilitate the development of higher value added and more labour intensive sectors within a broadly conceived framework of redistribution of political and economic opportunity. This will require lowering chemical intermediate input costs as well as a range of nurturing and facilitative policies for the filiere. These will help to reduce the current anti-export bias. The process of implementing such policies is as important as the direction itself. To facilitate national reconciliation and empowerment of previously disadvantaged groups transparent tripartite policy making institutions are recommended. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1994.

This study was an evaluation of the change management strategy implemented at Formchem Chemicals (KZN). A triangulation method was used where an exploratory study was conducted initially by drawing up a case study and thereafter conducting a quantitative study to evaluate the change strategy. In order to conduct a more focused design only four factors impacting on the change management process were considered. These factors were effective change planning, communication, resistance to change and job satisfaction. Information for the case study was mainly obtained from interviews and focus groups. The pattern matching technique was performed on the case study, where the strategy implemented was compared to those recommended in literature. Questionnaires were administered to the twenty employees in the department undergoing the change. Descriptive statistics were carried out on the information received from the questionnaire. It was found that there was effective change planning and communication. Management impacted positively on the resistance to change and there was an increase in job satisfaction levels. Statistical analysis also showed positive relationships between change planning and level job satisfaction, communication and a positive impact on resistance to change and finally a positive impact on resistance to change and level of job satisfaction. The management team at Formchem Chemicals (KZN) had taken all aspects into account when designing the change strategy as recommended by information gathered from literature and certain areas in communication and planning needed to be improved. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

Buckman Laboratories (Pty) Ltd. (hereafter referred to as Buckman Laboratories) is an international, privately owned, specialty chemical manufacturer. The company's marketing strategy is based on customer intimacy and knowledge sharing and currently segments its markets (pulp and paper, water, leather and mining) by means of customer categorization based on industry potential sales. The Buckman brand is synonymous with the heavy industries (Sasol, ArcelorMittal, Mondi, Sappi, Eskom). For the company to grow and increase its profitability, Buckman Laboratories has to identify and select innovative brand drivers to stay competitive in the heavy industry market segment as well as identify other market segments to compete profitably in. In this study the Logical brand management model was specifically applied in terms of the customer perspective. Brand and cost drivers were identified from the company's and customers' perspective to identify opportunities in the current market segments (pulp and paper, water and leather). Metrics utilized were traditional gap analysis as well as the Opportunity Algorithm from Ulwick. Of importance was the consistent alignment of the model with Buckman Laboratories' strategy. The model includes continuous improvement, on-time delivery, product innovation, knowledge sharing, and providing a holistic product/service offering as brand drivers that will ensure innovative growth of the Buckman Laboratories brand. The conclusion is that the Logical brand management model as developed by Marc Logman may be successfully utilized to identify brand drivers to grow the Buckman Laboratories brand innovatively in future. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

In a new world of work characterised by competitiveness, benchmarking, technological innovation and efficiency, the South African chemical industry needs to function at an optimal level to meet the demands of its stakeholders and employees. The industry needs leadership of the highest standard and an efficient, productive workforce. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between leader empowering behaviour, self-efficacy, job resources and work-related flow for employees in the chemical industry. More specifically, it was examined whether personal and organisational resources facilitated flow at work, and whether employees who experienced flow mobilised more resources over time. The research method consisted of a literature review and an empirical study. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect the data. An availability sample (N= 213) from employees in the chemical industry was taken. A biographical questionnaire and a self-constructed instrument (JDRS) were used to measure the unique job demands and job resources in the chemical industry. Along with the JDRS, the WOrk-reLated Flow Scale (WOLF), the Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire (LEBQ) and General Perceived Self-efficacy Questionnaire (GPSQ) were used as measuring instruments. The statistical analysis was conducted with the help of the SPSS program. The results of the research indicate that the availability of leader empowering behaviour (i.e. delegation of authority, self-directed decision making, information sharing, and coaching for innovative performance), self-efficacy and job resources (i.e. supervision, availability of resources and autonomy) can result in higher levels of work-related flow in the workplace. Recommendations were made for future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Globally, there are great efforts made by organisations to improve effectiveness and systems to remain competitive in ever-changing business markets. Total quality management (TOM) has become a philosophy that most companies adopt once they reach a state where it would like to have a system where all efforts are made to satisfy customers or add value to customer experiences. An investigation was done at a South African chemical company to ascertain if important philosophies (continuous improvement, customer focus and winning with people) of TOM, which are found to be related to some of the company values, are taken seriously at all levels of the company. The company received a number of complaints from customers about the quality of service and goods supplied and it is of utmost importance to investigate if the concept of TOM is practiced effectively by this company since the implementation of the TOM programme. The study conducted has shown that the company understands the concept of quality and the impact of quality on customer satisfaction. TOM is useful when it is implemented at all levels in a company and was indeed found to be implemented on all company levels in this company. Management support, employee improvement, employee empowerment, process improvement, training and development, cleanliness and organisation, teamwork as well as customer focus are the TOM practices that were found to be highly rated within the company. Responses showed that management communication should be improved to ensure that everyone in the organisation is fully informed about all developments. From the results, it was concluded that the foundation of effective TOM is being practiced by the company except in a few minor cases and, therefore, more focus should be placed on those cases. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010

The significant change that organisations must endure in order to survive, let alone prosper, has grown tremendously in the past two decades. The lack of talent, especially amongst the previously disadvantaged groups, is one of numerous challenges South African organisations are confronted with. Organisations are therefore required to determine indicators of intention to leave as it is argued to be the single most important predictor of actual quitting behaviour. Variables found to relate to intention to leave include a sense of powerlessness and a lack of engagement. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between leadership empowerment behaviour, job insecurity, engagement and intention to leave in a petrochemical laboratory. The research method consisted of a brief literature review and an empirical study. A cross - sectional survey design was used. The entire population of employees working in a business unit of a petrochemical organisation, namely the Laboratory, was targeted. The Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire, Job Insecurity Inventory, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and two questions measuring intention to leave were used. In addition, a biographical questionnaire was administered. The statistical analysis was conducted with the aid of the SPSS programme. The statistical method employed in the study consisted of descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, Pearson product-moment correlation and a multiple regression analysis. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to determine the significance of differences between the experience of leadership empowerment behaviour, job insecurity, engagement and intention to leave of demograpbic groups. Results indicated that leadership empowerment behaviour was negatively correlated with cognitive job insecurity and that a negative relationship existed between leadership empowerment behaviour and intention to leave. Leadership empowerment behaviour was found to be positively correlated with engagement. A positive relationship existed between cognitive job insecurity and affective job insecurity, as well as between cognitive job insecurity and intention to leave. Cognitive job insecurity was found to be negatively correlated with engagement. A negative relationship was established between engagement and intention to leave. All these correlations were found to be statistically and practically significant with a medium to large effect. Regression analysis indicated that leadership empowerment behaviour and affective job insecurity did not show a significant amount of predictive value towards intention to leave. Cognitive job insecurity and engagement were found to be indicators of intention to leave. With regards to experiencing leadership empowerment behaviour, engagement and intention to leave, no significant differences were found between demographic groups. Participants in middle non -management positions, however, experienced higher levels of affective job insecurity than those in senior management positions. Conclusions and limitations of the current research were discussed and recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.