Proefschrift Maastricht. / Lit. opg.: p. 223-229. - Met samenvatting in het Nederlands.

Intellectual Capital is considered an intangible asset that occurs in many organizations, especially service organizations, mainly because South African banks offer a service to their customers. This results in Intellectual Capital being an important factor in obtaining competitive advantage and success. If organizations do not consider Intellectual Capital as an important factor, it could lead to brands devoted to competitors, the loss of talented employees and unsatisfied customers. This in turn could affect the image of the organization. Financial organizations have the responsibility to identify and to monitor the various components of Intellectual Capital. Intellectual Capital consists of three main components, namely, Human Capital, Structural Capital and Relationship Capital. One of the biggest challenges of Intellectual Capital is that no one hundred percent accurate measurement method exists to measure Intellectual Capital items. An inaccurate value of Intellectual Capital leads to inaccurate disclosure of financial statements which, in turn, could result in various stakeholders (such as shareholders and public) losing faith and confidence in the organization. The purpose of the study is to describe the various components of Intellectual Capital, the linked costs and to examine the measurement of Intellectual Capital, in order to provide accurate disclosure. An empirical study was conducted to assess the impact and importance of Intellectual Capital in a South African bank. Recommendations were made on the manner problems regarding Intellectual Capital are managed and dealt with by the management of the bank. / Thesis (MCom (Management Accountancy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Intellectual Capital is considered an intangible asset that occurs in many organizations, especially service organizations, mainly because South African banks offer a service to their customers. This results in Intellectual Capital being an important factor in obtaining competitive advantage and success. If organizations do not consider Intellectual Capital as an important factor, it could lead to brands devoted to competitors, the loss of talented employees and unsatisfied customers. This in turn could affect the image of the organization. Financial organizations have the responsibility to identify and to monitor the various components of Intellectual Capital. Intellectual Capital consists of three main components, namely, Human Capital, Structural Capital and Relationship Capital. One of the biggest challenges of Intellectual Capital is that no one hundred percent accurate measurement method exists to measure Intellectual Capital items. An inaccurate value of Intellectual Capital leads to inaccurate disclosure of financial statements which, in turn, could result in various stakeholders (such as shareholders and public) losing faith and confidence in the organization. The purpose of the study is to describe the various components of Intellectual Capital, the linked costs and to examine the measurement of Intellectual Capital, in order to provide accurate disclosure. An empirical study was conducted to assess the impact and importance of Intellectual Capital in a South African bank. Recommendations were made on the manner problems regarding Intellectual Capital are managed and dealt with by the management of the bank. / Thesis (MCom (Management Accountancy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Solvency II is the new European Union (EU) legislation which will replace the capital adequacy regime for the insurance industry. Considering that the banking sector has experienced a similar change through the different Basel Accords (Basel), there is an opportunity for the insurance industry before The results indicate similar distortions between developing countries while the major driver behind the cost of capital for developing countries is equity market volatility, and not credit risk as might have been expected. Finally, the fourth research problem relates to another objective of financial regulations: to reflect the risks that financial institutions face. The risk sensitivities of economic and regulatory capital for credit risk are investigated empirically using a dynamic optimisation model in one of the first studies of its kind. Results show that economic capital is a superior risk measure to regulatory capital from a systemic- and institution-specific risk perspective. This, along with calls to strengthen Pillar 2 disciplines following the financial crisis, leads to a suggestion that economic capital could be considered as a Pillar 1 capital requirement, replacing the current forms of Pillar 1 regulatory capital. the implementation of Solvency II to learn from the weaknesses and shortcomings in Basel to ensure that the design of Solvency II will, as far as possible, compensate for these. The financial crisis of 2007 to 2010 highlighted certain weaknesses and shortcomings of Basel and there is accordingly an opportunity for the insurance industry to learn from these deficiencies and to strengthen Solvency II to help prevent similar events in the insurance industry. This thesis investigates these weaknesses in Basel in an attempt to determine the extent to which these are inherently included in Solvency II. The first research problem of this thesis examines these weaknesses in Basel and relates them back to Solvency II to determine which, and to what extent, some of them may have been included in Solvency II. The second research problem leads from the first and critically explores an objective of financial regulations, namely to provide financial institutions with equal competitive conditions (the so-called ‘level playing field’) from a regulatory perspective. To achieve this objective, there is an implicit assumption that the cost of capital between countries is equal. Investigation into the cost of capital between both developed and developing countries using a modified weighted average cost of capital model indicates that the cost of capital between developed and developing countries differs and that regulations based on capital requirements tend to favour developed countries. This means that current financial regulations cannot achieve this objective as intended. The third research problem investigates the cost of capital between various developing countries to determine firstly whether similar competitive distortions exist among such countries, while secondly exploring the drivers behind the cost of capital in such countries through linear regression analyses. / PhD (Risk Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Solvency II is the new European Union (EU) legislation which will replace the capital adequacy regime for the insurance industry. Considering that the banking sector has experienced a similar change through the different Basel Accords (Basel), there is an opportunity for the insurance industry before The results indicate similar distortions between developing countries while the major driver behind the cost of capital for developing countries is equity market volatility, and not credit risk as might have been expected. Finally, the fourth research problem relates to another objective of financial regulations: to reflect the risks that financial institutions face. The risk sensitivities of economic and regulatory capital for credit risk are investigated empirically using a dynamic optimisation model in one of the first studies of its kind. Results show that economic capital is a superior risk measure to regulatory capital from a systemic- and institution-specific risk perspective. This, along with calls to strengthen Pillar 2 disciplines following the financial crisis, leads to a suggestion that economic capital could be considered as a Pillar 1 capital requirement, replacing the current forms of Pillar 1 regulatory capital. the implementation of Solvency II to learn from the weaknesses and shortcomings in Basel to ensure that the design of Solvency II will, as far as possible, compensate for these. The financial crisis of 2007 to 2010 highlighted certain weaknesses and shortcomings of Basel and there is accordingly an opportunity for the insurance industry to learn from these deficiencies and to strengthen Solvency II to help prevent similar events in the insurance industry. This thesis investigates these weaknesses in Basel in an attempt to determine the extent to which these are inherently included in Solvency II. The first research problem of this thesis examines these weaknesses in Basel and relates them back to Solvency II to determine which, and to what extent, some of them may have been included in Solvency II. The second research problem leads from the first and critically explores an objective of financial regulations, namely to provide financial institutions with equal competitive conditions (the so-called ‘level playing field’) from a regulatory perspective. To achieve this objective, there is an implicit assumption that the cost of capital between countries is equal. Investigation into the cost of capital between both developed and developing countries using a modified weighted average cost of capital model indicates that the cost of capital between developed and developing countries differs and that regulations based on capital requirements tend to favour developed countries. This means that current financial regulations cannot achieve this objective as intended. The third research problem investigates the cost of capital between various developing countries to determine firstly whether similar competitive distortions exist among such countries, while secondly exploring the drivers behind the cost of capital in such countries through linear regression analyses. / PhD (Risk Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The aim of this study is to conduct a thorough theoretical study on the relevant aspects involved in knowledge management and organisational learning, and to assess the maturity level of knowledge management within the South African steel industry. Various aspects of knowledge, knowledge management and organisational learning with specific relation to sustainable competitive advantage are discussed in the literature study. During the literature research several factors which either promote or hinder the effective management of knowledge were identified and a list of lessons learned by other successful knowledge focused companies, are discussed. The critical success factors for a successful knowledge management program are also discussed. Knowledge can create a sustainable competitive advantage within an organisation, if successfully applied to make value adding decisions and to enable learning, and if it is applied to make decisions which are superior to that of its rivals across the supply chain. An integrated approach needs to be followed when KM is pursued and the knowledge must be applied to make value added decisions and facilitate learning across all processes in the value chain. The focus must be to retain an organisation’s tacit knowledge as this is a key success factor to ensure a sustainable competitive advantage. The study includes research on whether knowledge management is effectively used as a sustainable competitive advantage in the South African steel industry. The maturity level of the application of knowledge and learning principles implemented within the South African steel industry is assessed and compared to the maturity level of ArcelorMittal, Monlevade, located in Brazil. A survey was designed and distributed to determine the knowledge management and organisational learning maturity levels at two steel facilities of ArcelorMittal in South Africa and one facility in Brazil. The key problem areas as identified through the empirical research are discussed and it is concluded that South African facilities do not effectively use knowledge management as a sustainable competitive advantage. The maturity level of knowledge management in ArcelorMittal, South Africa is low compared to the maturity at Monlevade and rival companies such as Tata and Posco steel. A significant effort needs to be made in order to allow the effective creation, acquisition, sharing and leveraging of knowledge within the South African steel facilities. The key factors which constrain effective knowledge management is related to ineffective Human Resource policies, organisation structure, lack of knowledge exchange forums, collaboration and communication, coaching, and a lack of incentives to share tacit knowledge. It is also evident that knowledge is not seen as a sustainable competitive advantage by many respondents and that they perceive they do not have the time or capacity to transfer knowledge. Ten practical design principles were constructed and a knowledge management framework was developed to guide South African steel companies during the design and execution of a knowledge management programme which will ensure that knowledge management will result into a sustainable competitive advantage. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The aim of this study is to conduct a thorough theoretical study on the relevant aspects involved in knowledge management and organisational learning, and to assess the maturity level of knowledge management within the South African steel industry. Various aspects of knowledge, knowledge management and organisational learning with specific relation to sustainable competitive advantage are discussed in the literature study. During the literature research several factors which either promote or hinder the effective management of knowledge were identified and a list of lessons learned by other successful knowledge focused companies, are discussed. The critical success factors for a successful knowledge management program are also discussed. Knowledge can create a sustainable competitive advantage within an organisation, if successfully applied to make value adding decisions and to enable learning, and if it is applied to make decisions which are superior to that of its rivals across the supply chain. An integrated approach needs to be followed when KM is pursued and the knowledge must be applied to make value added decisions and facilitate learning across all processes in the value chain. The focus must be to retain an organisation’s tacit knowledge as this is a key success factor to ensure a sustainable competitive advantage. The study includes research on whether knowledge management is effectively used as a sustainable competitive advantage in the South African steel industry. The maturity level of the application of knowledge and learning principles implemented within the South African steel industry is assessed and compared to the maturity level of ArcelorMittal, Monlevade, located in Brazil. A survey was designed and distributed to determine the knowledge management and organisational learning maturity levels at two steel facilities of ArcelorMittal in South Africa and one facility in Brazil. The key problem areas as identified through the empirical research are discussed and it is concluded that South African facilities do not effectively use knowledge management as a sustainable competitive advantage. The maturity level of knowledge management in ArcelorMittal, South Africa is low compared to the maturity at Monlevade and rival companies such as Tata and Posco steel. A significant effort needs to be made in order to allow the effective creation, acquisition, sharing and leveraging of knowledge within the South African steel facilities. The key factors which constrain effective knowledge management is related to ineffective Human Resource policies, organisation structure, lack of knowledge exchange forums, collaboration and communication, coaching, and a lack of incentives to share tacit knowledge. It is also evident that knowledge is not seen as a sustainable competitive advantage by many respondents and that they perceive they do not have the time or capacity to transfer knowledge. Ten practical design principles were constructed and a knowledge management framework was developed to guide South African steel companies during the design and execution of a knowledge management programme which will ensure that knowledge management will result into a sustainable competitive advantage. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.