Orientation: Excessive and unjustifiable salaries in State Owned Enterprises (SOE’s) have captured the spotlight in recent years. Some employee motivation theorists and recent studies have shown that non monetary rewards are also important when considering the total rewards mix for employees. Research purpose: The primary aim of this study was to survey the perceptions of SOE employees’ of whether they would work harder, have increased motivation levels and remain longer in a company if compensated with higher monetary rewards. The secondary aim was to establish whether different demographic variables have an effect on employees ’perceptions of whether their motivation levels would increase with higher monetary rewards. Motivation for the study: An understanding of these perceptions would enhance knowledge when developing effective reward systems in SOE’s within the South African context.Research design, approach and method: 1000 questionnaires were distributed to SOE employees via the hand delivery and e-mail method. The results from 143 questionnaires were used in the data analyses.Main findings/results: The study found that overall the SOE employees preferred higher monetary rewards and would work harder, be more motivated and stay longer in the company as a result. However, when measured individually, certain non monetary rewards were preferred over receiving higher monetary rewards. The findings also indicate that significant differences exist for the demographic variables, age and grade. Practical/Managerial implications: SOE management can structure reward systems more effectively according to these findings without focussing primarily on money. Based on the research results, an increased understanding of SOE employee’s perception of what motivates them has been achieved. Contribution/value-add: This study has contributed to the body of existing knowledge on employee motivation and its relationship with total rewards within SOE’s in South Africa. In addition, the study has demonstrated that reward preferences differed between certain demographic groups within SOE’s. A total rewards framework, on employee preferences could be designed from the findings. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Capital budgeting is one of the most crucial organisational tools for executing operational, business and corporate strategy. Manufacturing companies derive their profits from fixed assets that also deteriorate over time. This requires them to invest large amounts of capital to both maintain and expand their asset base. A number of studies both historic and recent produce conflicting results on the relationship between capital budgeting practices and financial performance.This study sets out to identify the current capital budgeting practices in the manufacturing/capital intensive companies operating in the South African environment, and determine the relationship between the financial performance and capital budgeting practices. The implications of the type of capital expenditure (i.e. maintenance and expansionary) are also discussed.The study was completed using primary and secondary data. Primary data consisted of capital budgeting practices data in some of the private and state-owned enterprises that was source using a survey questionnaire. The secondary data was sourced from financial statements on the McGregor BFA® database.The major finding of this research study was that, given the sufficient sub-sector analysis, there is a positive relationship between capital budgeting practices and financial performance. There were no specific individual practices that yielded significantly returns. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The purpose of this exploratory research was to explore the effect of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on State Owned Enterprises’ performance in South Africa. The aim of the study was to establish the impact that KPIs have on state owned enterprises, how they are currently measured and the causes of success or failure of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on State Owned Companies.Fifteen respondents participated in this qualitative study. The survey method used was a questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. The respondents were all Senior Executives including Chief Executive Officers, General Managers, Board Members and Senior Management employed by State Owned Enterprises reporting to the Department of Public Enterprises, Department of Transport and Department of Water Affairs. The research instrument that was used was a questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The healthcare literature sometimes cites Medicare as a negative determinant of hospital profitability. However, a review of Florida acute care short-term general hospital data revealed a subset of profitable hospitals with high percentages of their revenue structure comprised of Medicare reimbursements. Some investigators might contend that these hospitals are just better managed; that hospital profitability is not related to patient mix or payer source. Although good management enhances financial health, there are perhaps other reasons why certain hospitals can become profitable with Medicare as their primary revenue source. Research findings indicate there is wide geographic variability shown for per-capita volumes of discretionary procedures reimbursed by Medicare, and broad variations in Medicare spending per enrollee for general acute care short-term hospitalizations. It was also found that many of the hospitals performing higher rates of discretionary procedures and showing the ability to make a profit with Medicare are investor owned. The focus of this study, covering years 2000-2005, was to examine two strategies using discretionary procedures under Medicare that Florida investor owned hospitals may employ to increase profitability and maintain long-term financial health. Part 1 of the study examined the association between long-term financial viability, measured by the total assets divided by total liabilities (TATL) ratio (the reciprocal of the debt ratio) and percentages per hospital of two discretionary cardiac and orthopedic procedure variables, reimbursed by conventional Medicare. A positive association was found between the TATL ratio and these variables, as well as significant marginal effects in the association between the TATL ratio and interaction terms for hospital ownership (where investor owned = 1 and not-for-profit = 0) and the discretionary cardiac procedure variable and ownership and the discretionary orthopedic procedure variable. Part 2 used total charges as the dependent variable for patient discharges reimbursed by Medicare HMO. It was found that investor owned hospitals generally assess significantly higher charges than not-for-profits for discretionary CABG and valve replacement procedures for patients with equivalent levels of medical services and hospitalization. It was also found that charges significantly increase for both investor-owned and not-for-profit hospitals located in the southern region of Florida.

Digital Transformation (DT) opens up to new opportunities for companies by providing organizational flexibility and improving their business models. Due to lack of resources in form of financial power and qualified employees, family-owned manufacturing companies have a hard time reaching DT. However, these companies try their best to reach DT and along the road various challenges arise. The challenges that arise, result in a complex situation that is hard to understand. Organizations with complex situations have difficulties to perform successful IT initiatives that are required to reach DT. The aim of this study was to identify challenges that family-owned manufacturingSMEs (FOMSMEs) encounter when striving for DT. Another aim of this research was to investigate how useful Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) is in helping family-owned manufacturing SMEs to understand their own complex situation. Also, the managerial practice called Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM) has been investigated regarding its usefulness in helping family-owned manufacturing SMEs to reach DT faster and easier. As a fourth and final aim in this study, an artefact has been created with suggested actions that address the identified challenges that FOMSMEs encounter when striving for DT. By interviewing employees who have participated in IT initiatives at a family-owned manufacturing SME, this research has been able to answer the research questions. Several challenges were identified; communication errors, old systems and exceeding deadlines in projects. All of these challenges can, with the help of SSM, be associated with the identified root challenge: Lack of overview of IT-landscape and strategy. The informants’ thoughts of usefulness of SSM in family-owned manufacturing SMEs were positive. In contrast, the informants’ thoughts of usefulness of EAM in family-owned manufacturing SMEs were negative. The argument expressed by the informants was that as long as the owner family makes most of the decisions, a new managerial practice as EAM will not be useful in family-owned manufacturing SMEs.

The conversion of rental apartments to tenancy-owned housing has been a common phenomenon in the housing market in Stockholm during the last two decades. Rental apartment-tenants have the opportunity to purchase their unit for a hefty discount. The existence of the discount has further resulted in banks providing a mortgage that allows the tenant to purchase the apartment with full leverage and without any cash contribution. The households have been able to sell their apartment with high profit and then reinvest it in other housing alternatives at better locations, in better technical condition and with larger living space. The main reason for the discount can be explained by the difference in the valuation methods used by property investors and private households. The property owners value the rental property through the yield method that results in a price that other property investors would be willing to pay. The return generated in a rental property consists of rental revenues. These rental revenues are state regulated according to the use-value method, which means that rents, especially in primary locations, are reduced in order to minimize the segregation in the Swedish society. A price gap appears and consists of the price difference between the present value of the running rental income and the price of each individual apartment on the secondary housing market. The tenant owned association that is willing to buy the property and the private property investor who is willing to sell, usually negotiates a price that both parties are satisfied with. The negotiated price usually results in both parties sharing the profit that arises from the price gap. This study aims to investigate how large the price gap is between the conversion price and price generated through sales of the individual units on the open housing market. The study includes completed conversions in Stockholm within the city customs during the period of January 2010 and January 2016 and condominiums sold in the same associations during the same period. The discount results to an average of 44 % in relation to conversion price and 57 % in relation to the deposit (Sw. Bostadsrättsinsats). On average, the difference between the value of the property during conversion and the value of tenant owned-housing units on the open property market results to 24,444 SEK/m². The difference between the conversion price and the market value of the deposit on the open housing market amounts to 31,231 SEK/m². This means that the average discount that an apartment holder receives amounts to SEK 1,924,025. Among the converted properties, 38 % of the total gross floor area have been sold on the open housing market within the two first years after the conversion. The value difference has resulted in a total realized discount amounting to SEK 5,279,523,434 in relation to conversion price and SEK 6,672,510,151 in relation to the deposit value. / Ombildningar har under de senaste två decennierna varit ett vanligt förekommande fenomen på Stockholms bostadsmarknad, där hyresgästerna erbjudits köpa sin hyresrätt till ett kraftigt rabatterat pris. Rabatten har inneburit att hyresgästerna sällan behövt betala kontantinsats och därmed kunnat köpa lägenheten till full belåning. Efter genomförd ombildning har hushållen haft möjlighet att sälja sin lägenhet på andrahandsmarknaden med hög vinst, vilken sedan har kunnat återinvesteras i bostäder med ett bättre geografiskt läge, skick och med större boarea. En av anledningarna till att rabatten uppstår är att fastighetsägaren värderar hyresfastigheten enligt avkastningsmetoden. Avkastningsmetoden resulterar i ett pris som en annan hyresfastighetsägare skulle vara beredd att betala. Den avkastning som genereras i en hyresfastighet består av hyresintäkterna. Dessa hyresintäkter är statligt reglerade enligt bruksvärdesmetoden vilket innebär att hyrorna, framförallt i primära lägen, är reducerade med syftet att minska segregation i samhället. En prisdifferens skapas av skillnaden mellan värdet av de löpande hyresintäkterna och priset på varje enskild lägenhet på andrahandsmarknaden. Den bostadsrättsförening som vill köpa fastigheten och den privata fastighetsägaren som vill sälja förhandlar fram ett pris som båda parter är tillfreds med. Det framförhandlade priset brukar oftast resultera i att båda parterna delar på vinsten som uppstår av prisdifferensen. Denna uppsats har till syfte att utreda storleken på prisdifferensen mellan förvärvspriset vid ombildning, jämfört med individuella bostadsrättsförsäljningar på andrahandsmarknaden. Studien omfattar genomförda ombildningar i Stockholms innerstad (innanför tullar) mellan januari 2010 och januari 2016 och bostadsrätter som är sålda i föreningarna under samma tidsperiod. Den genomsnittliga rabatten är 44 % för bostadsrättsföreningar och 57 % för individuella hushåll. I genomsnitt är skillnaden mellan förvärvspriset vid ombildningsdatum och bostadsrättens försäljningspris 24 444 kr/m² (bostadsrättsföreningarnas rabatt). Jämförs försäljningspriset med bostadsrättsmedlemmars insats blir rabatten 31 231 kr/m² (hushållens rabatt). Detta innebär att ett hushåll som är med om en ombildning får en rabatt som motsvarar 1 924 025 kr jämfört med förvärvspriset, och 2 431 673 kr jämfört med bostadsrättsmedlemmarnas insats. Av den totala ombildade boytan har 38 % sålts vidare på andrahandsmarknaden inom 24 månader efter ombildningsdatum. Den realiserade rabatten har totalt uppgått till 5 279 523 434 kr för bostadsrättsföreningar och 6 672 510 151 kr för individuella hushåll.

This study explores the potential of transdisciplinary climate fiction prototyping to create a transformative space within state-owned enterprise governance. The approach includes a thematic analysis of governance documents within the portfolio, scenario development, narrative design, participatory sessions with the department of state-owned enterprise, related ministries, and company representatives. The narrative design climate fiction, henceforth Cli-Fi, is used to highlight complexity and create an affectual relationship with the future. The main finding is uncovering a systemic closure constituted by risk aversion that locks in transformative potential of state-owned enterprise governance. The four Cli-Fi prototypes are thus built on narratives driven by different risk behavior that hinder or enable change for sustainability, and are called The Dutiful Widower, The Future Proofers, Winning Vincent, and The Untrusted Trustee. The study concludes that transdisciplinary Cli-Fi prototyping can, and perhaps should, be leveraged to create transformative spaces within organizations and to identify closures and openings for sustainable development.

This research is conducted to identify the integration of sustainability principles into the business model of Indonesia’s banks’ lending to the palm oil sector and the implementation by the banks’ employees to support the Indonesian government to achieve the sustainability of its palm oil sector. Three of Indonesia’s state-owned banks which are among the world’s largest creditors to the palm oil sector were evaluated using documentary research and semi-structured interviews. Firstly, these banks’ annual reports and sustainability reports from 2017 were evaluated using the business model canvas concept to identify their lending business model to the palm oil sector. Afterward, the sustainability level of each bank’s lending business model to the palm oil sector was assessed using the 4P (Principles, People, Planet, and Profit) framework of corporate sustainability. Moreover, fourteen employees of the banks’ lending department were interviewed to reveal the implementation of the sustainability principles that are integrated into each bank’s lending business model to the palm oil sector at the branch office level. The stakeholder groups that are involved in the banks’ lending to the palm oil sector were also identified using the stakeholder theory perspective on a business model in value creation for sustainability. From this research, it’s revealed that even though the palm oil sector has a significant contribution to these banks’ revenue, none of them has a designated business model in lending to the palm oil sector. These three banks’ lending business models only cover general lending and are not designated only to one particular sector. Nonetheless, these banks have been integrating sustainability principles into their lending regulations to the palm oil sector. However, these sustainability principles are only integrated into the banks’ lending regulations to palm oil companies who apply for specific loan nominals. In contrast, no sustainability principle has been integrated into the banks’ lending regulations to individual palm oil businesses. Furthermore, it’s revealed that the banks’ employees don’t strictly implement the sustainability principles that are integrated into the banks’ lending regulations to the palm oil companies because they prioritize their lending target achievement. The reason is that lending target achievement is one of the important factors for each bank’s head office to decide the annual financial bonus and career development of its employees. Moreover, these banks’ employees also argued that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) documents are not reliable to represent the sustainability of the debtors’ palm oil businesses because the banks can order their partner-independent consultants to issue the EIA result according to the banks’requests.

This study sought to examine strategic entrepreneurship and issues surrounding this type of activity in a public sector context. The concept of strategic entrepreneurship has received increasing attention in recent years; however, limited studies have focused on strategic entrepreneurship as a distinct construct in public sector context. Consequently, the objective of this study was to address the question of “What is the nature and scope of strategic entrepreneurship in the context of South Africa’s SOEs” through examination of theory and practice. The research question is addressed by first developing a revised framework of strategic entrepreneurship from literature on entrepreneurship, strategy, and public sector context. This revised framework is then examined on activity which is entrepreneurial and strategic within four SOEs operating South Africa as at 2011. Transcripts from a series of interviews, and publicly available documents are analysed thematically. The study identified additional supporting and external factors of strategic entrepreneurship which form a revised conceptual framework of strategic entrepreneurship. The study showed core, supporting, and the external environment elements of strategic entrepreneurship contribute to the increased level of entrepreneurial activity in the public sector context, in particular state-owned enterprises. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

M. Tech. (Department of Logistics Management, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Supply Chain Management (SCM) departments and, specifically, procurement functions, account for the largest expenditure in most organisations. However, their function has been misunderstood, undervalued, and under-capacitated, and their strategic importance not recognised. As a result, the majority of public agencies in South Africa are implementing their procurement practices poorly. The main research question of this study focused on procurement practices in the state-owned passenger rail agencies in the Gauteng province. A qualitative research method was adopted in which semi-structured interviews were employed to gather data regarding current procurement practices within the procurement function in the state-owned passenger rail agencies. Content analysis was utilised to analyse and interpret data collected from 12 procurement officials employed in the procurement functions within these state-owned passenger rail agencies in the Gauteng province. The findings of this study indicate that there are poor procurement practices within the state-owned passenger rail agencies in the Gauteng province regardless of government initiatives established to address lack of accountability, inconsistency in application of procurement policies, lack of supporting structures and fragmented processes. The detailed findings indicate that the procurement function is still regarded as an administrative function within the state-owned passenger rail agencies. Due to the procurement function still being regarded as an administrative rather than as a strategic function, the procurement function is still under-rated within the state-owned passenger rail agencies in the Gauteng province. The findings also establish that there is poor contract management during the procurement processes. Furthermore, the findings established that there is poor implementation of supplier management within multiple stages of the procurement processes in the state-owned passenger rail agencies in the Gauteng province. Due to poor procurement practices within the passenger rail agencies, eleven challenges were identified within the procurement functions. As a result of the above-mentioned challenges, this study recommends strategies that can be used to address the problems identified within the procurement functions of these state-owned passenger rail agencies in the Gauteng province.