Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [114]-115).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1965. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 220-230).

Thesis (M.Com. (Management))--Rhodes University, 2006.

No description available.

Purpose of Paper: the role of public relations practitioners in state owned entities is under-researched in South Africa. This limits the practitioners in the industry to address relevant issues and opportunities about their discipline; specifically in the public sector which are widely perceived in a negative light. The aim of this paper was to explore the role of public relations practitioners in state owned entities in South Africa. Methodology: The study was qualitative in nature. It was constructed to answer the research questions using an interview schedule as a research instrument. The population comprised of the PR and communication practitioners that work in the State Owned Entities of South Africa. Findings: It was found that PR practitioners are the agents of relationship building between the SOEs and their stakeholders. It was also proved that PR practitioners have excellent skills and expertise however those are limited by the unsatisfying devaluation of communications by management and political interference in SOEs. Furthermore, negative reputation of SOEs was not mere shortfalls of PR practitioner but senior management instability. Research limitations: Due to lack of availability and co-operation of practitioners, time constrains and lack of finances, study was not able to attain the desired number of respondents (12 respondents instead of 15). Responses were not always substantial, however, the researcher attempted to achieve the most accurate results possible. Value or significance of paper: the study aimed to provide academic framework on the roles of PR practitioners in South Africa’s public sector and enhance existing knowledge on the challenges that practitioners face in different organisations.

The building of a democratic developmental state has dominated discourse in South Africa recently, resulting in the establishment of the National Planning Commission that has adopted the National Development Plan 2030 as a blueprint for the country’s development plans. Acknowledging the strategic role that the state is set to play in building and enhancing the institutional and technical human capacity, this expectation has been compounded by challenges such as a lack of appropriate institutional capital, a human capital that lacks capacity, and relevant technical skills. These challenges have brought the discourse on the developmental role of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to primacy. During Apartheid, the SOEs were utilised as tools that drove the country’s industrialization efforts. In South Africa, SOEs also stimulated economic activity in strategic sectors such as energy generation, synthetic fuel development, rail and road development and management. Fortunately, the political economy that guided the SOEs during Apartheid was developmental. The 21st Century developmental states such as South Africa have to contend with the reality that this century has ushered in a new frontier of opportunities and challenges. In this context, the SOEs should be viewed as fundamental pillars for the achievement of the national development agenda. A developmental state without the active participation of SOEs in innovation, research and development, building of institutional and technical capacity, building of economic infrastructure, it is bound not to succeed in its plans for national development. The 21st Century has ushered in a world anchored around information and communication and technological innovations, the SOEs should be at the cutting edge of technological innovation benefitting the country through its capacity building efforts. Consistent with the National Development Plan, a highly competent human capital ought to be developed over time. At the centre of National Development Plan 2030, should be the collaboration between educational institutions from the basic level to tertiary institutions with SOEs – this will sustain the country’s development plans in the long run.

In recent years the ownership of public organisations has been transferred from government to the private sector through privatisation owing to the poor performance of parastatals. In Zimbabwe, the privatisation of parastatals has been criticised as a result of the approach which has been adopted to privatise them, the transparency and the paceof the privatisation, the factors pushing for privatisation at the expense of local demand as well as the lack of an institutional framework for privatisation. The main objective of this study was to explore management perceptions regarding the privatisation of parastatals in Zimbabwe. This study is based on a combination of theories of privatisation and preceding results of studies looking at privatisation of parastatals in developing and developed countries. The secondary sources were the backbone in the formulation of a theoretical model on the management perceptions of privatisation which was used to guide this study. The extensive literature which was analysed revealed that independent factors such as stakeholder consultation, business conditions, government considerations, institutional framework and management of the privatisation process could influence management perceptions regarding privatisation. Perceptions of privatisation were identified as influencing two dependent variables, economic benefits and organisational performance. The variables of the study were operationalised and the hypotheses which identified relationships between the independent variables and perceptions of privatisation were formulated. Hypotheses in respect of perceptions of privatisation and the dependent variables were also formulated. In this study, a quantitative research approach was adopted as the study sought to investigate the relationships between variables. This study collected data through the use of a structured self-administered survey questionnaire which was distributed to 700 managers of parastatals in Zimbabwe. The parastatals which were used in this study were selected using the simple random sampling method whilst convenience sampling technique was used to select the managers. The survey yielded 301 usable questionnaires which were analysed using several statistical analysis techniques. The major findings of this study show that managers, employees and customers participate during privatisation and that privatisation in Zimbabwe is guided by a formal action plan. The study also showed that parastatals in Zimbabwe operate under stable macroeconomic conditions and that information regarding the bidding process is accessible to all parties. However, the results also showed that, in Zimbabwe privatisation is poorly implemented as a result of lack of structural capacity to enhance privatisation, lack of an autonomous institution to manage and lead the privatisation process. The results also show that privatisation in Zimbabwe lacks credibility as the valuation of organisations and assets is poorly done resulting in organisations being acquired at rates which are below market value. In addition, the results indicate that privatisation has failed to improve organisational performance and to change the management style from being reactive to being proactive. The study also found that privatisation brings about economic benefits such as effective governance and economic empowerment. The study recommends that government should ensure that managers, employees and customers participate in the privatisation process and that privatisation is implemented in a transparent manner so as to have a credible programme and achieve the intended objectives. The study also recommends that government should engage people and institutions which have the capacity to efficiently value the organisations and assets identified for privatisation. In addition, the study recommends that the government should appoint board members who possess the requisite skills and competencies, encourage partnerships between local and foreign investors so as to produce quality products and services as well as economic growth. This study has contributed to the existing body of knowledge by developing a theoretical model which can be utilised in other developing countries to test perceptions regarding the privatisation of parastatals. This study could assist the government, parastatals and other stakeholders by providing feedback regarding the privatisation of parastatals in Zimbabwe, so that remedial action can be implemented where deviations are recorded. The findings of this study could also assist the government of Zimbabwe and also other governments, by providing guidelines which can be adopted to implement a successful privatisation programme. This study provides useful and very practical guidelines to parastatals so as to ensure successful privatisation.

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A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Artsin Political Studies by Creative Writing to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, March 2019 / Set in the context of a post-Apartheid South Africa, this research report constitutes a Foucauldian analysis of how state institutional support for SMME resonates with neoliberal governmentality and the consequent attempt to prompt the post-Apartheid subject. Relevant herein, are the state institutions that are mandated to further the states initiative of enterprise development. Primarily making use of archival analysis, policy data from these institutions were sought out and analysed. Analysing enterprise development from a historical perspective, it is evident that intentions have evolved with regard to two factors. Firstly, the ever-permeating growth in the promotion of ‘entrepreneurial culture’; and secondly, the differentiation of targeted subjects. Through studying these findings, it is argued that there is an attempt by the state to condition entrepreneurial subjectivities. It can further be argued that, as a consequent to the former, the agenda of the state is to outsource fiscal liabilities to informal markets. This research report ultimately constitutes a Foucauldian interpretation of these two cardinal findings. / NG (2020)

Ngai, Fai Shuet. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-72). / ABSTRACT / ACKNOWLEDGMENT / Chapter Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- The Management Structure Before1978 --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2 --- The Post-1978 Enterprise Reform --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3 --- An Introduction to Wuhan --- p.8 / Chapter 1.4 --- A Review of Recent Empirical Studies on the Productivity of Chinese Industry --- p.13 / Chapter 1.5 --- Aims of the Study --- p.18 / Chapter Chapter 2. --- "Wuhan's Industrial Productivity Changes, 1962-1992" --- p.24 / Chapter 2.1 --- The Theoretical Framework --- p.24 / Chapter 2.2 --- The Production Function Estimates --- p.26 / Chapter 2.3 --- The Productivity Changes --- p.27 / Chapter Chapter 3. --- The Sources of Productivity Differences - Theoretical Foundation --- p.32 / Chapter 3.1 --- The Technological Progress --- p.32 / Chapter 3.2 --- The Incentive to Work --- p.3 6 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- The Bonus Payment --- p.37 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- The Retained Profit --- p.39 / Chapter 3.3 --- The Vintage Adjustment on Capital --- p.41 / Chapter 3.4 --- The Refined Production Function --- p.42 / Chapter Chapter 4. --- The Sources of Productivity Differences - Empirical Analysis --- p.46 / Chapter 4.1 --- The Estimation Procedure --- p.46 / Chapter 4.2 --- The Empirical Results --- p.49 / Chapter 4.3 --- Discussions on Sources of Productivity Differences --- p.54 / Chapter Chapter 5. --- "An Analysis on Allocative Efficiency,1987-89" --- p.59 / Chapter 5.1 --- An Introduction --- p.59 / Chapter 5.2 --- The Value of Marginal Products and Their Implications --- p.61 / Chapter Chapter 6. --- Concluding Remarks --- p.64 / REFERENCES --- p.67 / APPENDIXES --- p.73 / Appendix 1: The Data Set --- p.74 / Appendix 2: The Correction on Capital --- p.76 / Appendix 3: A Summary of Notations --- p.78 / Appendix 4: The Relationship between Payment Scheme and the Incentive to Work --- p.79 / "Appendix 5a: Mean, Variance, Maximum and Minimum for Each Variable (Original Data)" --- p.81 / "Appendix 5b: Mean, Variance, Maximum and Minimum for Each Variable (Without outliers)" --- p.83