This study investigates how knowledge is created in a small business organization. Knowledge creation refers to organizational learning which results in innovation. The research design was a qualitative, single site case study of three firms in the point of sale industry. Data collection took place during a six month field study and employed multiple methods including participant observations, interviews, document reviews, and field journal entries. The study was informed by a conceptual framework which focused on the importance of both tacit and explicit knowledge forms, multiple modes of knowledge conversion (socialization, externalization, combination, internalization), and a knowledge spiraling process. Six themes emerged from the data. The first theme, "the people are the business" indicated that individuals become a knowledge creating structure that transcends office boundaries. A second theme, "we just spend tons of time talking", emphasized the importance of dialogue and informal communication structures to the sharing of tacit knowledge. A third theme, "there hasn't been a new idea in a million years", illustrated the predominance of incremental rather than radical innovation, the strategy of mimicking concept successes, and the importance of learning with other organizations through strategic alliances. A fourth theme, "you learn from your mistakes", represented the experiential nature of learning within the firm. A fifth theme, "it's one of those crystal ball kind of things" depicted the intuitive nature of personal knowledge and its limitations. Finally, the sixth theme, "a day late and a dollar short" explored how time and money pressures both enhance and hinder knowledge creation within a small business context. By comparing the themes to the conceptual framework the study concluded that small business organizations create knowledge in accordance with the nature of interpersonal interactions as they occur in context. The theoretical knowledge spiral was reconceptualized as a web structure in order to accommodate more diversity of approaches to knowledge creation and the complex nature of innovations. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Graduation date: 1993

We have accepted in the past, based on theoretical hypotheses, that managers plan, control and direct. Most management courses have been founded on this assumption. If it is wronp;, then have we not wasted enough time in the past? Is it not time to observe what managers do and build a theory of management which would be based on empirical research? Surely, as these writers postulate, our conception of management is perched on weak foundations.

This quantitative study focused on the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) based Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs), from a tourism perspective, to determine their overall understanding of complexities involved in operating a tourism business; their level of entrepreneurship to drive tourism and economic growth; their ability to acquire and implement fundamental management principles to ensure sustainability of the tourism business and their contribution to job creation. Given the commitment by the South African government to promote small business development, it became imperative to ascertain whether tourism business within the KZN province is driven by an entrepreneurial society which places importance on management principles to realise long-term, tourism and economic growth. A quantitative approach in the form of questionnaires was adopted for this study. A simple random probability sampling approach was implemented. Out of 100 questionnaires distributed, only 35 were suitable for analysis. Overall, the findings of the study revealed that the KZN SMME tourism service providers are characterised by individuals who exhibit high levels of entrepreneurship and who subscribe to effective management principles. Although the findings of the study revealed huge potential for tourism and economic growth through the SMME business activities, it is recommended that a similar study should be conducted by an individual who is independent of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal to establish whether similar results will be obtained. A future study could incorporate a broader scale of SMMEs beyond Durban and surrounding areas and follow a qualitative approach to achieve a maximum response rate. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

This thesis is a study of rural entrepreneurship which attempts to understand what it is that rural entrepreneurs do within the rural context. Our understanding of entrepreneurship is fragmentary, often narrowly focused and discipline bound. Entrepreneurial theory lacks even a limiting definition of the phenomenon. As Bartlett 1988 claims, it is an intellectual onion; if you keep peeling off the layers you are left with nothing and come away in tears. This seems to suggest that entrepreneurship is a process rather than an entity. Furthermore, a major focus of entrepreneurial research has been the entrepreneur as an individual, yet paradoxically, entrepreneurship is essentially a social act. Accordingly the central argument of this thesis is that in order to understand the entrepreneur we must place entrepreneurial action in its social context, we must study the process of entrepreneurship. This study therefore endeavours to investigate the actions of the entrepreneur in one context, rurality. Consequently this study is a detailed examination of a rural environment and the interrelationships of this environment and entrepreneurs. Its purpose is to try to establish the nature of the relationships between rurality and to specify the conditions of the entrepreneurial process.

Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2004.

Mémoire (M.P.M.O.) -- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1992. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master Technologiae: Quality in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / Beginning in the United States in December 2007, and with much greater intensity since September 2008, much of the industrialised world is being subjected to an economic downturn, which manifests in unemployment, small-business lending, and in particular, the closing of small business enterprises, etc. Customer satisfaction, quality and retention are global issues that affect all organisations, no matter whether they are large or small, profit or non-profit, global or local. In a globally changing landscape characterised by continuous structural changes and enhanced competitive pressures, the role of small business in society has become even more important as providers of employment opportunities and key players for the well-being of local and regional communities. Under the current global worldwide economic crisis, small business is considered to be a major force behind the South Africa‟s economy. Regarding the implementation of quality, probably the most serious constraints a small firm has is that the manager is almost constantly under time pressure, usually dealing with the urgent staff and operational matters.Especially in very small companies, the manager usually has to cope with to all issues irrespective of their nature, in addition to day to day duties such as record keeper, inventory management and scheduling. Ironically, it is this type of small business that needs quality solutions because quality strategies do not from the basis of the traditional small business enterprises, thus impacting on the successful management of the business environment.

Thesis (MTech (Business Information Systems))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012. / Knowledge management has become a critical success factor in business organisations today. Significant research has been conducted globally and various authors and researchers seem to agree that knowledge management is a tool, which organisations can use to gain competitive advantage. However, to be able to effectively use knowledge management as a tool, organisations should overcome certain hurdles. One of the key areas within knowledge management is knowledge sharing and for this to happen smoothly, companies should appreciate the value of their information and knowledge resources. Promoting effective sharing and transfer of intellectual assets is the core of knowledge management. Knowledge sharing is, therefore, vital for the success of a knowledge management system. One of the primary barriers to this success exists when there is no continuous flow of information and knowledge within an organisation. With the world economy becoming increasingly global, organisations have become more diversified than ever. When employees from various backgrounds come together in a company, knowledge sharing should take place in spite of cultural differences. In this research study diversification is concerned with social and cultural backgrounds. National culture and social backgrounds have been identified by researchers as factors that impact knowledge sharing. Diversified companies normally have a number of languages spoken amongst employees, since employees come from different ethnic groups, which all add to the task at hand with regard to successful knowledge management. Culture influences the way that people think, behave and the way in which they manage knowledge. Culture defines who people are, which certainly has an effect on knowledge management, hence the need to have a better understanding of culture and knowledge management. This research therefore, focuses mainly on information and knowledge sharing in socially and culturally diverse SMEs. There is a need to conduct more research in this area, since South Africa is a culturally diversified country.

Thesis (MTech (Cost and Management Accounting))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / Small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa are perceived to be failing partly due to ineffective management practices. Using a questionnaire survey, this study sought to determine the inventory-management practices of SMMEs operating in the Cape Metropole, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the inventory-management practices currently used by these entities. In addition, the study sought to determine the challenges, if any, that are experienced by SMMEs from the inventory-management practices currently used. This study was motivated by a dearth of research on inventory-management practices of SMMEs. The findings of the study revealed that most of the SMMEs used ‘Rule of Thumb’ as an inventory-management practice. Regarding the effectiveness of the practices used, the study revealed that the SMMEs investigated were perceived to be moderately effective, with SMMEs practising good inventory management techniques such as warehousing, stocktaking, budgeting, good ordering habits and segregation of warehouse duties. In relation to the challenges faced by SMMEs from the inventory-management practices currently used, the findings suggested that theft, shortage of inventory, errors due to incompetent staff, physical inventory not matching up with records and an inability to keep up with the demand of the customers were some of the main challenges faced. This study contributes to the literature on inventory-management practices of SMMEs and fills the gap of knowledge in this neglected area of research. The findings of this study are of significance to the decision-makers of SMEs as they will be enlightened on the best practices and different inventory-management practices that are vital for their businesses’ survival and that have been adopted by their competitors. This should enable them to evaluate their own inventory-management practices and to decide whether to improve, change or continue with their current practice. The South African Government could also draw on the findings of this research to inform its future intervention strategies meant to improve the survival rates of these entities. This could be in the form of the creation of short courses meant to assist SMMEs to improve their inventory-management practices.