Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology Project Management in the Faculty of Business at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2014 / In past, the impact of communication on project quality did not receive considerable attention, perhaps since the inception of project management as the field of enquiry. This is in spite of the fact that the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) has nine knowledge areas, and amongst these elements, communication is regarded as an integral part of these aspects of project quality. While (in principle) communication is regarded as a core element of project quality, in practice, the four core elements, which are used to determine the success of the project are time, cost, scope, and quality. This study aims to investigate the effects of communication on project quality with reference to the Facilities Management Project at a the Life Assurance Company located in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. The services, which are offered by facility management companies differ across the spectrum of companies, but most of these services include build operations, maintenance, real estate, human and environmental factors , project management, space planning, basic management activities, finance, quality assessment, communication and general administrative support. The major question that the study seeks to address is to determine if stakeholder communication impacts on the quality of projects at all. The research used qualitative methodology research design to approach data collection and analysis, which was supported by survey questionnaires to analyse the effect of communication on Facility Management project quality. In this context, project quality is determined by the extent to which project outcomes meet the needs and expectations of project-end users. The researcher argues that these expectations must be communicated in order to improve the success of the project (i.e. project quality). With regard to the FMU project at the Life Assurance Company, the study revealed that stakeholder communication is crucial and hence it is a core essential element, which affects the quality of FMU projects. The study also revealed that in recent years, tenants have expressed their dissatisfaction about projects that are executed by the facility management division. The major problem for the tenant’s dissatisfaction appeared to stem from the lack of stakeholder communication during facility management projects. This dissatisfaction has led to tenants rating facility management projects quality as poor. In view of these challenges, the study thus concludes with an analysis of stakeholder communication at the life assurance company and its impact on the quality of facility management projects. The findings of the study suggest that communication amongst stakeholders is crucial and can affect the quality of projects. Even though tenants were the custodians of the facility management projects, they only received limited information during the project life cycle. In some instances, communication in the form of layout design, held desk and telephone, were identified as major communication channels that are used to facilitate communication. However, there was a lack of communication with respect to decision-making about the project across the project lifecycle and thus the study recommended that stakeholder communication should occur in all project phases.

Essa dissertação trata da atuação das companhias de seguros no Brasil entre os anos de 1889 e 1914. Busca-se apresentar a ampla inserção dessas companhias na economia brasileira de então; contata-se que para além da concessão de seguros, essas firmas tiveram ativa participação financeira, concedendo crédito e financiando o Estado brasileiro por meio da contínua compra de apólices da dívida pública federal. Buscou-se enfatizar a transição de uma dinâmica mercantil para outra financeira, comprovada para as companhias de seguros sobretudo a partir da década de 1890, e mostrar como a atividade seguradora no Brasil de então foi influenciada pelas novas condições do capitalismo global. / This dissertation deals with the performance of insurance companies in Brazil between 1889 and 1914. It seeks to present the wide insertion of these companies in the brazilian economy; it is concluded that in addition to the insurance concession, these firms had an active financial participation, granting credit and financing the Brazilian State through the continuous purchase of federal public debt policies. We sought to emphasize the transition from a commercial to a financial dynamic, proven by insurance companies especially since the 1890s, and also show how the insurance activity of that time was influenced by the new conditions of global capitalism.

In a fragmented and competitive industry, it is likely for the smaller roleplayer to be challenged in terms of competitiveness and market share. It is, therefore, important for the smaller organisation to etch its position in the market, by increasing its competitive advantage. In a milieu where there is a shift in distribution dynamics and the balance of power, and an increase in consumerism, the need to react is a pressing issue to be addressed by the smaller player. In the context of this study, the small and medium-low-impact intermediary in the South African short-term insurance industry is under pressure from, among others, direct distribution models and the increasing volume of the medium-high and high-impact intermediaries. It is determined in this study that the intermediary is challenged by all five market forces, as postulated by Porter in the model of “the five forces that shape industry competition”. The intermediary organisation must adopt positioning strategies, and differentiate its offering, in order to stay relevant in the industry. The short-term insurance intermediate industry is classified as a service industry; and therefore, it has unique factors to attend to. The positioning and differentiation strategies must be implemented without compromising the service quality levels. Furthermore, in the development of positioning strategies, it is essential to investigate the traditional marketing mix, while amplifying the mix with contemporary views of the subject. These form the basis of the positioning strategy; and from there, differentiation offerings can be shaped. A survey analysis of the product suppliers aims to identify the most important strategies for success. The study relies on the industry knowledge of the executives of these organisations, to steer the positioning strategies of the intermediary to fit in with their own positioning in the marketplace.

Recent Solvency and Assessment Management (SAM) Regulations that are being proposed are the bone of contention in the Insurance Industry. Industry leaders argue that the financial regulations in South Africa are being imposed on companies too rapidly, despite South Africa’s financial regulations being one of the best in the world. However, South Africa’s Insurance market growth has reduced substantially and has reached a point of saturation. Insurers are analysing the international marketplace for growth opportunities in their business. Huge opportunities in Africa and in other emerging economies of the world have lured the Insurance companies to expand their operations beyond South Africa, at the expense of their operations in developed economies. These expansions, especially in unstable emerging economies come at a huge cost and carries inherent risks in moving to these territories. Qualitative exploratory research techniques were used to understand the link between the regulations and expansion plans to ascertain what the former has effect on the latter. Sixteen senior managers from the industry were interviewed, their responses analysed and results aggregated in this report. The results expressed that the effect of SAM on insurance companies is varied. Some companies endure the burden in terms of huge costs of implementation and operation and restrict their expansion plans; while large insurance companies with huge balance sheets see no impact on their plans. The research further includes the effect on insurance companies of other regulations such as nationalisation, sovereign rating downgrades and perceived skills gap in the market and proposed a model around these regulations. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / pagibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

M.Comm. / In order to reduce financial losses due to the increasing number of AIDS related deaths, insurance companies have to review their current HIV testing requirements. Due to a lack of relevant information, Momentum Life had to conduct a formal study in order to make a proper marketing decision regarding HIV testing requirements. It was therefore imperative to determine the possible scope of changes as well as the impact of the proposed adjustments on both clients and brokers. The purpose of this study was therefore to: determine how brokers feel about the AIDS risk insurance companies have to face; determine how brokers will react to different precautionary methods taken by insurance companies in general and specifically Momentum Life; obtain feedback from brokers with regard to their perception of clients' attitudes towards HIV testing; determine how clients themselves feel about HIV testing as well as retesting; and determine clients' attitudes towards the whole procedure of HIV testing. The empirical research consisted of two phases. Phase 1 was conducted by means of a focus group discussion with four Momentum Life partners and personal and telephone interviews with eight insurance brokers in the Gauteng area. Phase 2 was conducted by means of telephone interviews with 60 Momentum Life clients. A literature study revealed that attitudes consist primarily of three components, namely the affective, cognitive and behavioural components. In order to change clients' attitudes towards HIV testing, life insurance companies need to focus on the cognitive component which consists of knowledge and perceptions that are acquired by direct experiences and information obtained from different sources. However, not all attitudes are susceptible to change. It is therefore important to determine what amount of effort should be spent on trying to change clients' attitudes and how negative attitudes can be handled. The three groups had different opinions about HIV testing based on their own frame of reference. However, within the group there were consensus on most of the issues addressed during the interviews and discussion. In analysing the focus group discussion with the partners it was clear that they approved of HIV testing and retesting, and they believed it has .no negative effect on the marketing activities of brokers or the attitudes of clients towards Momentum Life. However, they believed that Momentum Life could improve its customer service by making the whole procedure of HIV testing more customer friendly. The brokers, on the other hand, were far more negative about HIV testing and believed that it complicates life insurance unnecessarily. Retesting was regarded as unacceptable and they were not prepared to become involved in the administration of retesting. However, the brokers agreed with the partners that they have a responsibility to make the procedure of HIV testing more convenient for the client. Early in the research it was clear that gender, age, language and the fact whether clients have already undergone HIV testing, had no significant effect on clients' attitudes towards HIV testing. HIV testing was regarded as a part of life insurance. However, customer service and convenience still seemed very important to the clients.

M.Comm. / Financial Condition Reporting is the new proposed risk-based approach to calculating the solvency requirements of the short-term insurance companies in South Africa by the regulator, the Financial Services Board. A risk-based approach to calculating capital requirements is currently the most popular in the developed nations with the United States of America being the champion of this. Australia has implemented its own version of the risk-based capital approach and the United Kingdom has implemented ICAS which is a prelude to Solvency II to be implemented by the European Union. It is unknown how Financial Condition Reporting in South Africa will affect the levels of competitiveness of the short-term insurance industry. Qualitative study was done firstly to develop an understanding of the regulation of financial services and secondly to get an appreciation of how the regulation of financial services affects the levels of competition within the industry. Due to the fact that different people (organisations) have different views on the proposed financial reporting, qualitative data methods provide participants with an opportunity to discuss their reasons. The intention of the researcher was to get as much information as possible from the interviews and hence one of the data collection techniques employed was the use of a tape recorder.. Generally all participants indicated that Financial Condition Reporting was more than welcome in the short-term insurance industry. It was evident that this will force the board of directors of short-term insurance companies to be involved in the risk management of the organisation. In turn this will allow an in-depth understanding of the risks that the organisations are facing. i Financial Condition Reporting will certainly not come without costs; these could either be the cost of implementing the internal models as this will inevitably require the use of qualified actuaries or the capital required as dictated by the prescribed model as this is an industry average. Both costs can result in some companies merging or some being bought out and this could change the scales of competition within the short-term insurance industry.

Financial analysis - the classical and special ratios for insurance industry and how to analyse them.

This diploma thesis deals with data warehouse applications in banking and insurance sector. The aim is to define this sphere, describe it and create a set of reccomendations and methodology connected with the best ways of implementation in financial institutions. Because of the wide range of this topic it can not be taken globally. I focused primarily on interesting or problematic areas. The result is a material which is devoted to technical and logical implementation and its ways. Then the importance of a data warehouse and its function in a financial institution are also presented to the readers. One part of my bachelor work deals with the historical development of data warehouses' solutions in this market segment. During the writing I wanted to utilize several years of my experience in this area and that is why this work results mainly from practical knowledge and it is also focused on real implementation.

The goal of my final thesis was the analyses of commercial health insurance companies that are based on the Slovak market and also operate there. It was done by the analyses of internal and external environment and its financial coefficients. The paper starts with the introduction which describes the reasons of writting the paper and the methods used. The paper consists of 6 capitols: 4 theoretical and 2 practical. First two capitols briefly describe the insurence system in Slovakia as the part of national economy. Third and fourth capitol talk about commercial health insurence companies and their cooperation with public health insurence companies. The practical part of the paper consists of two capitols: strategic and financial analysis. Based on these facts, there is also graphical demonstration of internal and external environment, and the financiel coefficients of insurence`s development. The conclusion sets the overall results of the analysis as well as the 5 most successful commercial insurence companies are set. The conclusion is also based on the list of 10 criteria for the successful insurence companies, and it also talks about the criteria of clients when choosing their insurence company.

This thesis occupies with the financial analysis of the insurance institution Vienna Insurance Group. The theoretical part of the thesis is dedicated general characteristic of the insurance activities and risk management, specific accountancy of the insurance companies, problems of the solvency and the particular passages of the financial analysis modify on the insurance market. The content of the practical part of the thesis is the implementation of the concrete financial analysis.