No description available.

The activity-based costing (ABC) system is a cost allocation technique which appears to have many benefits over the traditional costing systems. However, companies that have attempted to implement ABC have encountered various difficulties. Thus, there is a need to investigate the problems faced by companies while implementing ABC. The main objective of this study was to find solutions to overcome the problems encountered by South African companies during the implementation of an activity-based costing system.

This is a study of low income family expenditure patterns in urban Canada based on data contained in the National Urban Low Income Family Evaluation study. The structured interview method with open-ended questions as set up in the NULIFE study offered data gathered between January 1 to April 15, 1967. Using this data, the relationships between total family income and expenditures on shelter, food and all other expenditures were examined. This data also shows that the relationship between expenditures on shelter, food, and other basic expenses were related to family sizes of one, three, and five person families within Vancouver, Winnipeg and Halifax. Correlation coefficients yielded two negative correlations about expenditures on shelter and food, inferring a positive correlation about expenditures on all other expenses. Findings showed a relationship between income and expenditure as follows: as income increases, percentage of expenditure on shelter and food decreases. At the same time, there was an increased percentage of income spent on other categories grouped together. Relationships for different family sizes and regions indicated trends between the expenditure on shelter, food, and all other basic expenses. Public housing areas within the Winnipeg and Halifax samples influence shelter costs. The one person family had the highest percentage expenditure on shelter in all three cities, whereas the five person family generally had the highest percentage expenditure on food. The three person family had the highest percentage expenditure on all other basic expenses. The Vancouver sample generally had the highest income. With a slightly lower income than Vancouver, the Winnipeg sample had the lowest percentage expenditure on shelter and the highest on all other basic expenses. Halifax, with the lowest income had the highest percentage expenditure on shelter, generally the highest on food, and the lowest percentage expenditure on all other basic expenses. This project has limited value due to the fact that the computer did not produce data such as age and composition of family units which might have yielded more detailed information. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Bibliography: pages 333-338. / This thesis presents a critical evaluation of the current responses being made by the new Government of National Unity towards solving the low cost housing and community development crisis. This crisis is largely confined to the black low-income residential areas and is manifest in a shortage of adequate formal accommodation, municipal infrastructure and public facilities. Moreover, these areas are also characterised by poverty, poor living conditions, environmental degradation and the socio-economic deprivation of the households living within them. The Reconstruction and Development Programme and the National Housing Policy have recently been introduced by the new Government in response to this problem. The purpose of this study is to examine the degree to which these policies represent an effective long-term solution to this crisis and whether they are an appropriate means through which low-income households can obtain the type of housing-they both need and can realistically afford. Emphasis is placed upon a critical evaluation of the National Housing Policy and the Cape Metropolitan Region is used as a study area. A household survey was carried out in the black low-income residential areas of this region in an effort to determine the actual housing and development needs, perceptions, socio economic characteristics and locational preferences of these communities. The results of the survey are presented along with an analysis of the origins, nature and magnitude of the housing crisis in the Cape Metropolitan Area.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-91). / The wide range of the petroleum industry's products as well as the varied value of these products coupled with the global nature of the petroleum industry presents both challenges and opportunities within the petroleum supply chain. It is along this supply chain that challenges for creating value for the customer exist as well the opportunities for reaching this goal. Value chain analysis methodology has been hailed as being capable to lend itself to process improvement challenges faced along supply chains. To achieve this objective, a case study method was used to collect and analyse data. This dissertation identifies and follows one of the supply chains of a petroleum company operating in South Africa to investigate how value chain analysis can be implemented along its supply chain.

Bibliography: pages 180-181. / Since 1982 a form of co-operative education has been applied in the training of cost accountants in the School of Accounting of the Cape Technikon. The object of this research is the investigation and description of this application of co-operative education which is generally referred to as "practical work". An evaluation will be made of the following aspects of the training of cost accountants: the curriculum, the practical work that the students are expected to do, career opportunities and the training requirements of practice. It is confidently hoped to make suggestions which may lead to the improvement of the current curriculum of the National Diploma in Cost Accounting, the syllabuses of the subject Industrial Accounting as well as the system of co-operative education that is being used.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-87). / Environmental issues in the world today and often seen in the media are causing a stir in the business world. The effect is that the environment in which businesses operate has significantly changed over the past two decades and businesses are faced with new risks and challenges as well as new opportunities in addressing the needs and claims of stakeholders. Environmental accounting is now on an expansion path with increasing focus on the environment. In order to benefit from the accounting data, strategic cost management can be used as a philosophy to provide competitive strategies. This research paper will describe the environmental component of business and describe the role of environmental accounting in strategic cost management. Furthermore, an assessment will be performed on a South African organisation. The assessment will demonstrate how a South African organisation has reacted and integrated environmental business aspects into their organisation.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-71). / Small to medium scale enterprises (SMEs) face an ever increasing competitive and unforgiving business environment. Deregulation. increased global competition. the global economic downturn and the technical recession that South Africa has entered into (SACCI. May 2009). place increased pressure on their profit margins and ability to generate positive cash flow. These tough trading conditions are likely to continue for some time to come (De Klerk. 2009) and therefore companies need to respond appropriately to these challenges in order to survive (Sartorius et al. 2007). Survival is dependant on positive cash flow generated by profitable trading. Yet. many SMEs do not have effective strategies in place to maximise their customer profitability in order to enhance their cash flows. The challenge is therefore the development and adoption of practical customer profitability analysis tools for use by these SMEs. In this research an investigative single case study in a business to business setting based on detailed field work was performed. The study focussed on a typical South African SME trading with all the major retail groups in South Africa. The case study was performed via diachronic research into the use of Activity Based Costing (ABC) in customer profitability analysis (CPA). The objective of the study was to critically evaluate whether ABC is a practical tool for conducting customer profitability analysis in a South African SME environment. This was done by investigating what might motivate a SME to adopt ABC and determining the specific benefits likely to accrue to a SME following the implementation of ABC. The research has shown that the implementation of ABC made it possible to identify customers who. despite the fact that they generate a modest gross profit. are in fact unprofitable as a result of the overheads consumed by them. This insight shaped future marketing. pricing, sales and customer support strategies. More specifically, it assisted management to maximise income by identifying areas in the value chain to which resources should be channelled for maximum profit while still maximising customer satisfaction. This led to a substantial improvement in overall profitability. Owing, firstly, to increased gross profit following enhancements in the pricing policy and secondly, to increased sales volumes as a result of revised marketing strategies and new product launches. No significant additional costs were incurred in implementing ABC. A standard desktop computer and readily available accounting and spreadsheet software were used in the CPAs. No outside consultants were used since the champion of the project was knowledgeable in the application of ABC techniques This suggests that it is both practical and cost effective to implement ABC in a SME environment provided the necessary skills and infrastructure are available or can be outsourced. Although these findings are of a single case study and cannot be generalised, the combination of this empirical case study and the literature review findings presented in this study strongly suggest that Activity Based Costing is a practical tool for the formulation and measuring of outcomes of customer profitability strategies in a South African SME environment.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged the importance of maternal care and listed it as part of its Millennium Development goals (WHO, 2002). The Maternity unit of the Job Shimankana Tabane (JST) Hospital, situated in the Rustenburg city (regarded as the fastest growing city within South Africa) is burdened with increasing number of patients for the last few years with resultant increased resource utilisation. However, there is no systematic study done to describe this situation. The above mentioned scenario necessitates this study to assess the operational cost of the Obstetrics Unit in relation to caseload, profile of patients, and resource utilization. AIM: To determine the operational costs within the Obstetrics Unit of the JST Hospital in terms of caseload, profile of patients, and resource utilization METHODOLOGY: Cross sectional study design was used for this study. Retrospective record review was done and information extracted from various sources of hospital information system. No primary data was collected for this study. Setting of this study was the Obstetrics unit at Job Shimankana Tabane Hospital situated within Rustenburg city of Bojanala District in North West Province. Data was collected on various variables that are relevant to the function of women health services and resource utilization in Obstetrics unit of this Hospital. Results: Obstetric unit of Job Shimankana hospital experienced high caseload due to patient bypassing primary health care service points including district hospitals with highest number being seen afterhours; and due to inappropriate referrals from clinics. Analysis of profile of these patients showed 93% being Africans, 90% unemployed; and 70% being single. Hospital obstetric unit operational costs amount to just over R1.3 million with 57% accounted for by goods and services and human resource accounting for the remaining 43%. The average was R7, 717.75, which is very high. Conclusion: The operational cost of this obstetric unit was found to be very high and quality may have been compromised due to increased caseload, leading to low length of stay.

The purpose of this study was to track former remedial students at one of Mississippi’s community colleges in order to examine the investment effectiveness of remedial and developmental programs by conducting a cost-benefit analysis. The approach involved tracking, surveying, and evaluation. The method was selected on the basis of data needs and gaps that could enable the state’s system of community colleges to estimate the economic cost and benefits to the state, the community colleges, and the students. The study used a survey instrument, along with existing institutional data on revenues and expenditures, to ascertain whether funds generated for the support of remedial programs were cost effective and economically viable. A cost-benefit analysis was conducted by defining the purpose of the study, measuring the cost, measuring the benefits, and calculating the benefit-cost ratio. The results of the study indicated that the economic benefits of providing remedial education outweighed the economic cost.