South Africa‘s education system is in dire straits with few people having access to tertiary education. This has resulted in a skills shortage across all industries. Private companies as well as public companies are experiencing problems due to this skills shortage. This paper investigated whether private companies feel they have a duty to assist in resolving this problem, considering Milton Friedman‘s assertion that the sole purpose of a company is to make money for the shareholders compared with the notion of conscious capitalism. A literature review was followed by a qualitative study where CEOs of private companies were interviewed. These companies included unlisted companies, partnerships and sole proprietors. During the interview process, they were asked whether in their opinion they have a duty to be involved in solving the problem of lack of access to tertiary education, whether they are currently involved and the reasons why they are involved or not. The question was asked whether in their opinion the theory of Friedman or conscious capitalism is more applicable to their environment through investment in education. It was found that the small business owner does experience a sense of duty and responsibility towards solving problems in tertiary education. In some cases, this was due to legislation promulgated by government. This sense of duty is limited to their immediate environment. It was shown how legislation has interfered with the theory of conscious capitalism in terms of the four constructs on which it is built and how various other factors need to be taken into account when considering whether conscious capitalism is relevant in the business environment. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

Magister Legum - LLM / This thesis explored the impact that Sectoral Determination 1: Contract Cleaning Sector, South Africa had on the growth of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the sector. It critically examined the prevailing perception in industry, that labour legislation has a negative impact on the growth of SMMEs, and, evaluates the South African government's response to this perception. / South Africa

The role and impact of information and communications technologies (ICTs) towards enabling socio-economic development in small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) has received attention from various scholars. South Africa as a lower middle-income developing country has a number of development priorities which include the urgent need to expand the economy and ultimately to eradicate poverty and unemployment. Based on evidence from more advanced economies, expanded access and usage of ICTs in SMMEs is considered an imperative to enable the acceleration of development goals. This study sets out to advance understanding of the role and impact of ICT usage by SMMEs on poverty reduction from a South African perspective. A systematic literature review methodology was applied to analyse previous theoretical and empirical studies conducted on the interplay between ICTs, SMMEs and poverty reduction. Empirical data was gathered from SMMEs through semi structured interviews and observations. A purposively selected case study was also carried out serving to enhance contextual insight into the role of ICTs in an SMME context. The thematic analysis method, Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and Sustainable Livelihood framework (SL) were applied as the data analysis methods. The combination of ANT and the SL framework for expanded analysis has not been applied before by similar studies that examine the interplay between ICT, SMMEs and poverty reduction. The process of triangulation was applied on the empirical findings in order to reduce bias and to construct a conceptual model. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by proposing a conceptual model that frames the role and impact of ICT usage by SMMEs towards improving their livelihoods and reducing poverty. Methodologically it offers an example of how method pluralism can be applied to gain a better understanding of the research phenomena. From a practical perspective, this study addresses real life challenges resulting in the suggestion of practical guidelines to ensure that the use of ICTs by SMMEs results in improvements in their financial and non-financial well-being. The findings of this study indicate that the relationship between ICT usage and poverty reduction is neither simple nor linear. Effective use of ICTs could result in SMMEs leveraging more benefits and thus improving their human capabilities as well as social and economic well-being resulting in poverty reduction. / Thesis (PhD) University of Pretoria, 2017. / Informatics / PhD / Unrestricted

<p>This thesis explored the impact that Sectoral Determination 1: Contract Cleaning Sector, South Africa had on the growth of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the sector. It critically examined the prevailing perception in industry, that labour legislation has a negative impact on the growth of SMMEs, and, evaluates the South African government's response to this perception.</p>

<p>This thesis explored the impact that Sectoral Determination 1: Contract Cleaning Sector, South Africa had on the growth of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in the sector. It critically examined the prevailing perception in industry, that labour legislation has a negative impact on the growth of SMMEs, and, evaluates the South African government's response to this perception.</p>

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Internal Auditing in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / South African Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) play an important role in the stimulation of the national economy. However, according to previous research studies, these business entities have one of the worst sustainability rates in the world as approximately 80% of South African SMMEs tend to fail after being in operation for only three years. Taking the weak sustainability rate of these business entities into account, further studies suggest that South African SMMEs operate in a harsh economic environment, which, in turn, creates a breeding ground for risks to realise in, including that of occupational fraud risk. According to scholarly literature, the occurrence of occupational fraud risk is believed to stem from the utilisation of inadequate and/or ineffective internal control activities – South African SMMEs, in general, are believed to make use of inadequate and/or ineffective internal control activities. For this research study, focus was placed on investigating the effectiveness of internal control activities used within South African fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) SMMEs to combat occupational fraud risk. This was achieved by conducting a literature review (see Chapter 2) to assist in the development of a survey to, in turn, conduct empirical research by collecting quantitative data from respondents (see Chapter 3). All relevant quantitative data gleaned were analysed using both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (see Chapter 4). Based on the analysed data, it was found that although implemented internal control activities in sampled South African FMCG SMMEs were customised, a few internal control activities assisted in the combating of occupational fraud risk while the bulk of internal control activities did not assist in combating occupational fraud risk. Stemming from the study conducted, the inference was made that the occurrence (realisation) of occupational fraud risk may be exacerbated by the implemented internal control activities in South African FMCG SMMEs due to their ineffectiveness.

Thesis (M.Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Unemployment in South Africa has prompted the government to shift focus in terms of employment creation resulting in encouraging citizens to become entrepreneurs. This took effect after 1994 and small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) have since been the important drivers of the economy. They have provided jobs to many unemployed people and reduced poverty in many communities. Despite their importance, these enterprises encounter challenges that threaten their sustainability and growth. The purpose of the study was to investigate the internal and external factors affecting SMMEs. To get a clear understanding of the challenges confronting managers of SMMEs in Lepelle Nkumpi Municipality (LNM), a comprehensive investigation of this problem was conducted through a literature review. The study adopted a mixed method approach, where the researcher used both qualitative and quantitative methods to elicit information from the participants. The study also adopted the interpretivism and positivism paradigms. Data were collected through the usage of structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews from the respondents who were selected purposively. Analysis of quantitative data was done through SPSS and presented in tables, graphs, and pie charts. For qualitative data, thematic analysis was used. The findings confirmed what was reviewed in the literature, namely, that managers of SMMEs encounter operational difficulties; and inaccessibility of funding is a major challenge. The study revealed that 78% of the respondents used personal savings and some borrowed from friends and family, whilst only 22% received funding as a form of government grants and bank loans. To confront the challenges of funding, government and parastatals should ensure that SMMEs receive funding in an impartial manner; and government should also serve as collateral for SMMEs with financial institutions in cases where government could not offer funding since lack of collateral proved to be a blockade for SMMEs. Chapter 5 of this research report provides a conclusion and recommendations arising from the data collection on the improvement and accelerated support to ensure the sustainability and growth of SMMEs.

Revenue losses due to tax non-compliance pose a substantial risk for all governments, including the South African government. As part of its risk management system, the South African Revenue Service has identified the small, medium and micro enterprise sector as one of the seven high-risk areas and indicated that non-compliance in this sector remains high. The first focus area of any tax compliance risk management system is to ensure registration for the relevant taxes payable. The objective of this study was to establish whether any demographic factors could be used to select small businesses to investigate whether they are meeting their registration compliance requirements for income tax, Value-Added tax as well as the employee related taxes. In order to achieve the research objectives of the study, two sequential research methods were applied. During the first phase of the research, a literature review was conducted to develop a heuristic model consisting of two levels. The first level described the factors that could influence the tax compliance behaviour of a small business. The second level of the heuristic model describes the different taxes a small business could be liable for and when it must register for each of those taxes. During the second phase, the variables influencing registration compliance were statistically analysed for each of the taxes to determine if they significantly influence the compliance status. The study found that several factors have an impact on the registration compliance of small businesses. The demographic factors were analysed separately for each of the three different tax groups used in the study. The results indicate that in the majority of cases all three tax groups share the same demographic factors that would either have a positive or negative impact on the compliance of the entity. Profiles for the most compliant business type (per tax type) and the least compliant business type (per tax type) were compiled. The results of the study can be used by the South African Revenue Service to target their compliance and information actions to help improve registration compliance by small businesses. / Taxation / M. Com. (Accounting)

Revenue losses due to tax non-compliance pose a substantial risk for all governments, including the South African government. As part of its risk management system, the South African Revenue Service has identified the small, medium and micro enterprise sector as one of the seven high-risk areas and indicated that non-compliance in this sector remains high. The first focus area of any tax compliance risk management system is to ensure registration for the relevant taxes payable. The objective of this study was to establish whether any demographic factors could be used to select small businesses to investigate whether they are meeting their registration compliance requirements for income tax, Value-Added tax as well as the employee related taxes. In order to achieve the research objectives of the study, two sequential research methods were applied. During the first phase of the research, a literature review was conducted to develop a heuristic model consisting of two levels. The first level described the factors that could influence the tax compliance behaviour of a small business. The second level of the heuristic model describes the different taxes a small business could be liable for and when it must register for each of those taxes. During the second phase, the variables influencing registration compliance were statistically analysed for each of the taxes to determine if they significantly influence the compliance status. The study found that several factors have an impact on the registration compliance of small businesses. The demographic factors were analysed separately for each of the three different tax groups used in the study. The results indicate that in the majority of cases all three tax groups share the same demographic factors that would either have a positive or negative impact on the compliance of the entity. Profiles for the most compliant business type (per tax type) and the least compliant business type (per tax type) were compiled. The results of the study can be used by the South African Revenue Service to target their compliance and information actions to help improve registration compliance by small businesses. / Taxation / M. Com. (Accounting)

Abstracts in English, Afrikaans and Tswana / This study explores whether the turnover tax system (TTS) fulfils its intended function of being a simplified tax system, using primary and secondary data. Structural-functionalism and the tax canons form the theoretical foundations for this study and are used to guide the questionnaire design, data collection process, identification of the overarching themes and the data analysis. Semi-structured interviews are utilised to solicit information from the selected participants, using convenience and snowball selection techniques. The participants believe that the TTS is not functioning as a fully simplified tax system, as not all the tax canons and structural functionalism principles of an effective tax system are being met. The concept of the TTS is perceived as good, although the administration thereof and the South African Revenue Service officials’ knowledge on the TTS are seen to be inadequate. Various recommendations are provided to improve the TTS. / Hierdie studie het ten doel om te bepaal of die omsetbelastingstelsel (“TTS”) sy beoogde funksie vervul – naamlik dié van ʼn vereenvoudigde belastingstelsel, deur die gebruik van primêre en sekondêre data. Strukturele funksionalisme en die belastingbeginsels vorm die teoretiese grondbeginsels vir hierdie studie en word gebruik om die vraelysontwerp, data-insamelingsproses, identifisering van die oorkoepelende temas en die data-ontleding te lei. Halfgestruktureerde onderhoude word gebruik om die uitgesoekte deelnemers om inligting te vra met behulp van gerieflikheid- en sneeubalselekteringstegnieke. Die deelnemers glo dat die omsetbelastingstelsel nie as ʼn ten volle vereenvoudigde belastingstelsel funksioneer nie, aangesien nie al die belastingbeginsels en strukturelefunksionalismebeginsels van ʼn doeltreffende belastingstelsel gevolg word nie. Die konsep van die omsetbelastingstelsel word as goed beskou, hoewel die administrering daarvan, sowel as die kennis wat die Suid-Afrikaanse Inkomstediens se amptenare ten opsigte van die omsetbelastingstelsel het, as ontoereikend beskou word. Verskeie aanbevelings word gedoen om die omsetbelastingstelsel te verbeter. / Thuto ye e lebeledišiša ge e le gore poelo ya tshepedišo ya lekgetho (TTS) e kgotsofatša mohola wo e nepetšwego wona e lego wa go ba tshepedišo ya lekgetho yeo e nolofaditšwego ka go šomiša tshedimošo ya motheo le ya tlaleletšo. Tšhomišego ya sebopego le melao ya motšhelo go hlama metheo ya dikgopolo ya thuto ye le go e šomiša go hlahla tlhamo ya letlakalapotšišo, tshepedišo ya go kgoboketša tshedimošo, tlhaolo ya merero ya go tlaleletša le tekolo ya tshedimošo. Dipoledišano tša go hlamega gannyane di šomišwa go hwetša tshedimošo go batšeakarolo bao ba kgethilwego, go šomišwa kgonagalo le mekgwatiro ya go kgetha ka go ya godimo. Batšeakarolo ba dumela go re TTS ga e šome bjalo ka tshepedišo ya go tlala ya lekgetho, ka ge e se metheo ka moka ya melao ya lekgetho yeo e fihlelelwago. Lereo la TTS le lemogwa bjalo ka le kaone, le ge tshepedišo ya lona le tsebo ya bašomi ba Ditirelo tša Lekgetho tša Afrika Borwa ya TTS e bonala e sa lekana. Ditigelo tše mmalwa di tšweleditšwe go kaonafatša TTS. / College of Accounting Sciences / M, Phil. (Accounting Sciences)