by Ngan Chi-Cheung. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-125). / ABSTRACT --- p.i / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.viii / CHAPTER / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Initiation of the Project --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Objectives --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Arrangement of the Report --- p.3 / Chapter II. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.5 / Chapter 2.1 --- Scope --- p.5 / Chapter 2.2 --- Approaches --- p.5 / Chapter 2.3 --- Studying Steps --- p.7 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Market Research --- p.7 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Financial Analysis --- p.8 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- SWOT Analysis --- p.9 / Chapter 2.3.4 --- Problems and Difficulties Identification --- p.9 / Chapter 2.3.5 --- Strategic Plan Formulation --- p.9 / Chapter III. --- PLASTIC MOULD MAKING INDUSTRY IN HONG KONG / Chapter 3.1 --- Product Profile --- p.11 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Product Range across the whole Mould Making Industry --- p.11 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Manufacturing Process --- p.12 / Chapter 3.2 --- Market Profile --- p.13 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- The Mould Market as a Whole --- p.13 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Plastic Mould Market Profile --- p.15 / Chapter 3.3 --- Customer Profile --- p.16 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- End-User Group --- p.16 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Customer Group --- p.17 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Domestic Customer Needs --- p.19 / Chapter 3.4 --- Competitor Profile --- p.20 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Domestic Competition --- p.20 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Foreign Competition --- p.22 / Chapter 3.5 --- Distribution Profile --- p.25 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Maintenance and Acquisition of Customers --- p.25 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Order Taking --- p.26 / Chapter 3.6 --- Outlook of the Industry --- p.27 / Chapter 3.6.1 --- Plastics Industry --- p.27 / Chapter 3.6.2 --- Plastic Mould Making Industry --- p.29 / Chapter IV. --- THE SMALL PLASTIC MOULD MAKING SHOP --- p.32 / Chapter 4.1 --- Background of the Small Business --- p.32 / Chapter 4.2 --- Company Profile of CL --- p.33 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Organization Structure --- p.33 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Management --- p.34 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Assets --- p.36 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Staffing --- p.37 / Chapter 4.3 --- Product Profile of CL --- p.40 / Chapter 4.4 --- Customer Profile of CL --- p.41 / Chapter 4.5 --- Competitor Profile of CL --- p.42 / Chapter V. --- PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION FOR CL --- p.44 / Chapter 5.1 --- Financial Analysis --- p.44 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Simplifications and Assumptions --- p.44 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Cash Flow Statements --- p.46 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- Income Statements --- p.49 / Chapter 5.1.4 --- Retained Earnings Statements and Balance Sheets --- p.50 / Chapter 5.1.5 --- Ratio Analysis --- p.51 / Chapter 5.1.6 --- Comparison with Industrial Financial Data --- p.54 / Chapter 5.2 --- SWOT Analysis --- p.56 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Strengths --- p.56 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Weaknesses --- p.59 / Chapter 5.2.3 --- Opportunities --- p.63 / Chapter 5.2.4 --- Threats --- p.67 / Chapter VI. --- STRATEGIC PLAN FOR CL --- p.71 / Chapter 6.1 --- An overview of CL --- p.71 / Chapter 6.2 --- Future Growth of CL --- p.73 / Chapter 6.3 --- Business Objectives --- p.74 / Chapter 6.4 --- Strategic Plan --- p.74 / Chapter 6.4.1 --- Financial Strategies --- p.76 / Chapter 6.4.2 --- Management Strategies --- p.79 / Chapter 6.4.3 --- Product Strategies --- p.85 / Chapter 6.4.4 --- Production Strategies --- p.86 / Chapter 6.4.5 --- Marketing Strategies --- p.88 / Chapter 6.4.6 --- Implementation Schedule --- p.90 / Chapter VII. --- LESSONS LEARNED --- p.91 / Chapter 7.1 --- Market Information and Industry Data --- p.91 / Chapter 7.2 --- Decision Making --- p.92 / Chapter 7.3 --- Management Practices --- p.92 / Chapter 7.4 --- Simple and easy to implement strategies --- p.93 / Chapter 7.5 --- Reliance on key Employees --- p.93 / Chapter 7.6 --- Leadership Style --- p.94 / Chapter 7.7 --- Importance of Cash Flows to Small Business --- p.95 / Chapter 7.8 --- Delegation of Duties --- p.96 / Chapter VIII. --- CONCLUSIONS --- p.98 / APPENDIX / Chapter 1. --- EXAMPLE OF ADVERTISEMENT FROM MOULD MAKING SHOP --- p.100 / Chapter 2. --- "MACHINERY, MOULD PRODUCTS AND WORKSHOP ENVIRONMENT OF CL" --- p.101 / Chapter 3. --- PRODUCTION SCHEDULE FOR PLASTIC MOULDS --- p.106 / Chapter 4. --- DISTRIBUTION OF CL'S SALES TO ITS CUSTOMERS … --- p.107 / Chapter 5. --- RECORDED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF CL --- p.110 / Chapter 6. --- ANTICIPATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF CL --- p.118 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.124

by Wong Hoi-tay. / Summary in Chinese on endpapers. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong. / Includes bibliographies.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

This study surveyed teachers of industrial plastics and personnel of the plastics industry to evaluate an industrial-plastics curriculum guide. The respondents felt that there was no unnecessary material in the guide, that additional information should be added to several of the plastics processes in the curriculum guide, and that most of the subject areas in the guide should be studied for no less than an hour and no more than five hours.

The plastics industry is one of the fastest growing major industries in the world. There is an increase in the amount of plastic used for all types of products due to its light weight and ability to reprocess. For this reason, the reprocessing of thermoplastics and the usability of reprocessed materials are gaining significance, and it is important to produce and consume plastic materials in an environmentally friendly way. In addition, rising raw material cost linked to the increased oil prices encouraged for reusing of the plastic materials. The aim of this research was to study and optimize the injection moulding process parameters to achieve a trade-off between the product cost and product quality, measured through mechanical properties and geometry, based on using regrind ratios. The work was underpinned by a comprehensive study of multiple reprocessing effects in order to evaluate the effect of process parameters, material behaviour, reprocessing effects and possible links between the processing parameters and key properties. Experimental investigations were carried out, in particular, focused on the melt preparation phase to identify key process parameters and settings. Multiple reprocessing stages were carried out; using two types of PP material: unfilled and short glass filled. A series of tests were used to examine product quality (mass, colour and shrinkage) and physical properties (density, crystallinity, thermal stability, fibre length, molecular weight, in-line and off-line viscosity, tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, elongation (%) and flexural strength). This investigation showed that the mouldability of the filled and unfilled PP materials, through the successive reprocessing stages (using 100 % regrind), was observed to be relatively consistent. Given the link between the processing parameters and key product and material properties, it is possible to manufacture products with minimal loss to part quality and mechanical properties. The final phase of the work focused on process optimisation study for short glass fibre filled PP material and the identified key process parameters (melt temperature, screw rotational speed, holding pressure, holding time and injection rate). A response surface experiment was planned and carried out for three reprocessing stages (0 %, 25 % and 50 % regrind). The fitted response surface models were utilised to carry out the trade-off analysis between the operating cost (material cost, energy cost and labour cost) and product quality (dimensions and tensile strength) Based on the optimal moulding conditions, the operating cost was reduced (from stage I as a reference), by 24% and 30 % for stage II and stage III respectively. A small, perhaps undetectable, change in product dimensions was noted. In addition, a small reduction in tensile strength was noted (from stage I as a reference), by 0.4% and 0.1 % for stage II and stage III respectively. The same data was applied in other countries (Australia, USA, Brazil, Libya and China) to manufacture the same product; and it was observed that the cost was reduced with increasing of regrind ratio. But the significant reduction of the cost, essentially, depended on those countries which have low wage rates (e.g. Brazil, Libya and China). For example, the cost of moulded product manufactured in China is £ 0.025 (using 50% of regrind), while the cost of the same product produced in Australia is £ 0.12, hence giving a total saving of 79 % and making it a valuable issue to be considered in industry.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management of the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in 50% requirement of the requirements of the degree of Master in Management (in the field of Public and Development Management) June, 2017 / The role of the state and how it drives industrialisation has received renewed attention in the wake of the global economic meltdown. The purpose of this study was to determine if industrial policy implementation in South Africa is geared towards import substitution, with specific focus on the plastics sector. The study was undertaken as a qualitative research with one on one semi structured interviews with policy makers and analysts from Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), independent research body The Centre for Competition Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED), independent consultant and representative of industry from Plastics SA and documentary analysis of strategic documents from CCRED, DTI and Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). Industrialisation in the plastics sector has in the main been export oriented the study found. Furthermore, the study found that there is a need to target plastics sub sectors with high value to spur the growth of the plastics sector and create much needed jobs. Financial incentives are available to the sector but accessed mainly by fewer big firms. / MT2017

This thesis investigates the role of national identity in economic development in the context of post-apartheid South Africa. It draws on research carried out during 1997-1998 on a supply-side project in the plastics industry - the Workplace Challenge. The key empirical sections of the thesis are formed by in-depth case-studies of two factories which implemented the Workplace Challenge. This is linked to industry-level pressures and analysis of national-level discourses to illustrate how macro-level processes are reflected in micro contexts. After an introductory chapter, the research question is framed, in Chapter Two, by means of an interdisciplinary review of theories of nationalism, identity (particularly social identity theory), and economic development. It is suggested that the existence of a superordinate-level identity - such as that held by citizens of a 'new' South Africa - provides a potential resource, in the form of unity and motivation, that can be brought to bear in the process of economic development. Chapter Three examines the methodology used to investigate this research question. Chapter Four considers the national context of post-apartheid South Africa. Particular attention is paid to the national-building project undertaken since the democratic elections of 1994, the government's economic development strategy, and the main institutions of labour and capital. The Workplace Challenge project, which aims to raise productivity by improving shopfloor relations, is introduced in Chapter Five along with a description of the plastics industry where the project was implemented. Chapters Six and Seven present detailed case studies on the progress of the Workplace Challenge in two East Rand plastics factories. Background on the factories, the initial views of management and workers, and key developments during the year of implementation are outlined. An analysis of these developments is then undertaken. Chapter Eight provides a conclusion. Drawing from the research undertaken, it is argued that the new national identity in South Africa has provided resources for processes of economic change in micro-level institutions. However, given the constructed nature of this new identity, this resource can only be mobilised on a sustainable basis if change is aligned with shared symbolic understandings and an acceptance that resources are equitably distributed by all those subscribing to the new identity.

Cette thèse propose une étude des barrières à l'innovation et des stratégies des firmes de plasturgie françaises membres du pôle de compétitivité Plastipolis. Nous adoptons une méthodologie faisant dialoguer théorie et empirie à travers quatre chapitres. Nos matériaux empiriques se composent de données issues de l'exploitation de 24 entretiens de firmes innovantes de plasturgie. Nous proposons une revue récente de la littérature empirique sur les barrières à l'innovation et mettons notamment en lumière les principaux facteurs de variation de leur nature et intensité. Nous enrichissons cette revue en développant les principaux concepts de l'évolutionnisme économique des comportements innovants des firmes. L'état des lieux et l'analyse de la plasturgie française aujourd'hui permettent d'identifier les acteurs et les spécificités de cette industrie, puis l'étude des trajectoires des firmes innovantes de plasturgie de détecter et construire une typologie des stratégies d'innovation. L'interprétation de la littérature évolutionniste et celle sur les barrières nous permet de formuler une proposition d'analyse du rôle conjoint des compétences et des barrières lors de l'adoption d'une nouvelle stratégie et d'émettre dans deux hypothèses l'existence de deux facteurs qui font varier leur nature et intensité. L'évaluation des effets de ces deux facteurs de variation est testée sur notre échantillon à partir de statistiques descriptives, d’analyses en composantes principales (ACP) puis dans 3 études de cas approfondies. Nos résultats permettent de mieux appréhender la complexité de l'innovation dans l'industrie de la plasturgie française et d'identifier les leviers activables pour soutenir les firmes innovantes. Pour cela, après un retour sur le rôle d'intermédiation de l'innovation ouverte joué par les pôles de compétitivité et par Plastipolis en particulier nous formulons des recommandations. / This thesis offers a study of the barriers to innovation and the strategies of the French plastics processing firms that are members of the competitive cluster Plastipolis. We adopt a method that combines and compares theory and empiricism over four chapters. Our empirical material is made up of data from 24 interviews with innovative plastics processing firms. We offer an up-to-date review of the empirical literature on innovation barriers and bring to light the main variation factors in the nature and intensity of these barriers. The review is enriched by developing the main concepts of the economic evolutionism of firms’ innovative behaviours. The overview and analyses of plastics processing in France today make it possible to identify the sector’s actors and specificities, and by studying innovative plastics firms’ trajectories, we can detect and construct a typology of innovation strategies. Interpreting evolutionary literature and studies of barriers enables us to formulate a proposal to analyse the shared role of skills and barriers when adopting a new strategy, and to put forward in two hypotheses the existence of two factors that cause their nature and intensity to vary. The evaluation of the effects of these two variation factors is tested on our sample using descriptive statistics, principal component analysis (PCA) and 3 in-depth case studies. Our findings make it easier to grasp the complexity of innovation in the French plastics processing industry, and to identify the levers that can be implemented to support innovative firms. Before making recommendations, we examine the intermediation role of open innovation played by competitive clusters, particularly Plastipolis.

The world chemical industry is one of the most basic and important manufacturing businesses globally. Petrochemicals have played a pivotal role in industrial modernisation. In the 1970s and 1980s South Africa developed an unusually large chemical industry as Import Substitution Industrialisation was conveniently extended into military/strategic apartheid policy. These policies steered the industry away from conventional crude oil and natural gas based feedstocks into a uniquely coal based chemical industry. The shift from oil to coal based petrochemicals also narrowed the slate of petrochemicals available. Pricing is critical in the commodity plastics filiere. Coal based production contributed to a higher cost structure than crude oil based producers and a 'missing link' in the production chain, the petrochemical intermediate naphtha. This facilitated the introduction of a pricing mechanism which concentrated the benefits amongst upstream producers at the expense of downstream plastic converters, stunting growth in this higher value added and more labour intensive sector. Ironically a 'sunk costs' approach and recent developments allow SASOL's to produce coal based petrochemicals at low cost. In a significant change the traditional pillars of the local chemical industry, agricultural and mining chemicals, were supplanted by plastic raw materials as the major sector of the industry during the 1980s despite its coal base. Trade patterns also reflect these developments. A significant shift in employment from blacks to whites in Industrial Chemicals and Refineries accompanied this reordering of the major sectors. Providing mass housing, electrification and other basic wage goods will require industrial policies, embracing the entire filiere, which are significantly different from previous policies. Such policies should facilitate the development of higher value added and more labour intensive sectors within a broadly conceived framework of redistribution of political and economic opportunity. This will require lowering chemical intermediate input costs as well as a range of nurturing and facilitative policies for the filiere. These will help to reduce the current anti-export bias. The process of implementing such policies is as important as the direction itself. To facilitate national reconciliation and empowerment of previously disadvantaged groups transparent tripartite policy making institutions are recommended. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1994.