M.Com. (Business Management) / The Global Transactions Services (GTS) business unit was established alongside the Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) brand reporting into a Corporate and Investment Banking Board. GTS has been mandated to deliver global cash management, trade and custody services and account services to large corporates in the jurisdictions where FirstRand operates. Technology advances in centralising operating structures, have made it possible for GTS to centralise back office operations to a few locations within the country as witnessed by Global banks like Citigroup. The research problem therefore was to evaluate and identify the strengths as well as shortfalls of the current decentralised operating model versus a proposed approach towards a centralised operating model within the GTS business unit; focusing on investigating whether outsourcing IT operations and technology would create efficiencies, attract skilled employees and technological advancement to the division. Primary objective of the research was to evaluate the current decentralised operating model. Secondary objective was to evaluate the gains associated with implementing a central operating model against the gains currently derived from the decentralised operating model. The findings derived from the study suggest that: (i) There is a misalignment between the business strategy and IT strategy within the current operating model resulting in IT playing a supporting role and not an enabling role in the business strategy formulation and implementation. (ii) The bank does not engage in an on-going activity to evaluate processes, procedures and technology making it difficult to streamline and automate processes resulting in a lot of manual processing. (iii) The bank lacks the internal capabilities required to introduce automated processes which will reduce manual interventions; (iv) Existence of Silos in the business prevent the business from taking advantage of benefits brought about by economies of scale, cross skilling, knowledge sharing, straight through processing and ultimately economies of scope benefits

No description available.

No description available.

M.Com. (Economics) / The purpose of this study is to investigate the economic principles underlying the decentralization of government to local level in a market oriented economic system. In the provision of public goods there is no freedom of choice, decisions being made by a few individuals. This contrasts with the operation of the free market mechanism in which millions of subjects make personal and independent decisions about millions of objects. However, through the decentralization of government, an effort is being made to involve more subjects in the making of collective decisions through representatives at all levels of government. In South Africa, the problem has a further dimension in that not all population groups have so far participated fully in the democratic and free market economy. The new constitutional dispensation provides for a broadening of democracy, in that non-white population groups are now more and more represented at central, provincial and local government level. The role to be played in this regard by municipalities is examined, in order to highlight the economic principles underlying the decentralization of decision- making. The focal point of the study is the way in which decentralization of decisionmaking, by which government is extended to the inhabitants, is being manifested at municipal level. The topics dealt with in this study are: - the role of government in a market economic system; - the financing of municipalities; - the establishment of local authorities; - the development of infra-structures; - development strategies; - the pursuit and growth of economic principles in a new dispensation. Municipalities have an essential function to perform in the provision of public goods and in serving as the bearers of democracy. Municipalities can make a meaningful contribution to the development of a country and its inhabitants and to the realization of the benefits of the decentralization of decision-making, in step with the economic principles underlying it.

This research builds further on the existing conceptual framework of the relationship between decentralization and service delivery and provides a cross-country empirical examination of the core dimensions of decentralization reform on access to two key services: health care and improved drinking water sources. The regression results provide evidence supporting positive and significant effects of fiscal, administrative, and political decentralization, individually, on the variables used to measure access to health care, and improved water provision; although the size and robustness of such effects varies for each dimension of decentralization in relation to each service examined. The results obtained in this study suggest that there is an additional (or "extra") positive effect coming from the interaction of two decentralization dimensions on access to health care and water services (that is, a mutually-reinforcing effect additional to the individual effect of each dimension of decentralization). The results obtained also support the expectation that developing countries could benefit significantly more from decentralization reforms compared to developed countries. These findings underscore the importance of considering all dimensions of the decentralization process when investigating the effects of this reform on any economic, institutional, or social variable. The policy implications are highly relevant, particularly for developing countries: decentralization implemented only through one dimension may render fewer positive fruits in terms of access to services than a multi-dimensional approach. Moreover, learning more about the most beneficial mutually-reinforcing effects across dimensions of decentralization may also help strategically in how the overall decentralization reform is designed.

This research builds further on the existing conceptual framework of the relationship between decentralization and service delivery and provides a cross-country empirical examination of the core dimensions of decentralization reform on access to two key services: health care and improved drinking water sources. The regression results provide evidence supporting positive and significant effects of fiscal, administrative, and political decentralization, individually, on the variables used to measure access to health care, and improved water provision; although the size and robustness of such effects varies for each dimension of decentralization in relation to each service examined. The results obtained in this study suggest that there is an additional (or "extra") positive effect coming from the interaction of two decentralization dimensions on access to health care and water services (that is, a mutually-reinforcing effect additional to the individual effect of each dimension of decentralization). The results obtained also support the expectation that developing countries could benefit significantly more from decentralization reforms compared to developed countries. These findings underscore the importance of considering all dimensions of the decentralization process when investigating the effects of this reform on any economic, institutional, or social variable. The policy implications are highly relevant, particularly for developing countries: decentralization implemented only through one dimension may render fewer positive fruits in terms of access to services than a multi-dimensional approach. Moreover, learning more about the most beneficial mutually-reinforcing effects across dimensions of decentralization may also help strategically in how the overall decentralization reform is designed.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1983.

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1981.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1981. / Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1983. / Also available in print.