Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Small business – South Africa – Roodepoort (Gauteng)'

Introduction: Managers in small businesses are faced with a dilemma of meeting the requirements of health and safety legislation and trying to grow their businesses. It is important that they understand the business value of occupational health and safety programs. For them to allocate resources to occupational health and safety programs they need to understand if there are any economic benefits attached to such programs. Thus this study was designed to investigate the benefits of occupational health services on economic performance and growth of small businesses in Gauteng, South Africa. Method: This was a descriptive quantitative study. A self administered structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to 200 small businesses in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Thirty completed questionnaires were received back, representing a response rate of 15%. Data was analysed by the NMMU Unit for Statistical Consultation, using STATISTICA. Results: Economic performance moderately correlated with the presence of occupational health and safety professionals. It moderately correlated with the categories of occupational health and safety professionals in a small business. The level of knowledge, awareness, attitude and perception on occupational health and safety was rated high. Eighty three percent (83%) of the respondents had a clear understanding of their responsibility in terms of the health and safety function at work. The level of employee engagement was rated high with seventy six percent (76%) of respondents reporting that they get recognition for their work, and eighty six percent (86%) indicated that they were happy with the relationship they had with their boss. There was a difference between managers and employees in terms of how they view economic performance and growth of their companies. Conclusion: The presence of occupational health and safety professionals as well as different categories of occupational health and safety professionals are factors of importance in the economic performance and growth of small businesses in Gauteng, Republic of South Africa. The weak correlation between economic performance and growth of small businesses requires a further study with a bigger sample size.

The South African government has attempted to find a balance of interests between the employer and the employee by the introduction of the Labour Relations Act in 1995 and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act in 1997. It is critical to the health of the South African economy that these labour laws do not impact small businesses to the extent that the Gross Domestic Product of the country is negatively affected. There are conflicting reports as to how these labour laws affect small businesses. It is therefore important for government to be able to understand, define and measure the impact of its labour laws on small businesses, in order for it to strategise corrective measures, which may include reconsidering the application of the legislative directive, regulated flexibility, if required. The study was limited in the sense that it was solely based on evidence collected from employers. An interpretivist approach was applied as a research methodology to data collected through in-depth interviews. The main findings of the empirical analysis demonstrate that labour legislation does not heavily impact small firms. It was thus determined that extensive measures were not needed with regard to correcting the framework of regulated flexibility.

D. Tech. (Department of Business, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between e-procurement, supplier integration and supply chain performance in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Most studies on e-procurement, supplier integration and supply chain performance have focused on large companies. Current knowledge involving SMEs and e-procurement is still limited. This study, therefore, was conducted to fill this gap. With rapid changes in technology and globalisation of markets, firms, especially SMEs, need support to adapt to technology and make use of e-procurement functions to compete with larger firms. The paradigm used in this study was post-positivism. A quantitative research approach was adopted in this study. The target population for this study consists of all owners and managers who are currently employed in SMEs in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. To measure the study constructs, the survey material was designed in the form of a structured questionnaire. Participants were asked to complete three test instruments, namely, an e-procurement questionnaire, supplier integration questionnaire and supply chain performance questionnaire as well as their profile and SME profile. A total number of 350 questionnaires was distributed to the identified sample of SME owners and managers of which 294 responded and finally 283 questionnaires were usable and used for data analysis. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to establish scale accuracy. All measures conformed to acceptable model fit and composite reliability (CR) and revealed that the scales used in this study are reliable. The reliability results confirmed that all constructs reached the generally agreed upon minimum scale range for Cronbach’s alpha of 0.70. Finally, the structural model was tested; four out of seven hypotheses were supported. Validity in this study was achieved through face, content, convergent and discriminant validities. The principal finding of this study reveals that e-design has a positive and significant linear relationship with supplier integration. In addition, the results showed that e-sourcing has a positive and insignificant linear relationship with supplier integration. The insignificant relationship could be indicative of the fact that enterprises are not fully utilising the e-procurement systems in selecting their suppliers to effectively improve their collaboration with supply chain member firms. The findings further reveal that e-negotiation has a positive and significant linear relationship with supplier integration. The study’s empirical findings also indicate that e-evaluation has a negative and insignificant relationship with supplier integration. Further, e-informing was also found to have a negative relationship with supplier integration. The study additionally revealed that supplier integration has a positive and significant linear relationship with tangible supply chain performance. Lastly, the SEM findings show that supplier integration has a positive and significant relationship with the intangible supply chain performance. After reviewing the results, the conclusion was drawn that theoretically, this research has contributed to literature by providing additional information on supply chain management, e-procurement, supplier integration and supply chain performance. The results presented provide useful information about the relationship between e-procurement, supplier integration and supply chain performance in SMEs, with implications for supplier firms and other relevant stakeholders. These results contribute to the expanding body of knowledge on supply chain aspects. The current study added practical value by developing an integrative model which might be used by SME practitioners in South Africa. The study recommends that the collaborating firm owners and managers consider increasing the levels of supplier collaboration by having regular meetings, training workshops or courses and conferences to improve their supply chain performance. Furthermore, it is recommended that SME owners and managers must effectively implement e-design systems to increase the chance of integrating with their suppliers, thereby increasing the chance of improving performance as well as cutting supply chain costs. Areas for further research and limitations for this study have also been highlighted.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2011.
Small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) play an important role in the economic growth and development of any economy. They contribute to the goals of growth, equity, job creation and poverty reduction in different ways. Given the importance of the SMME sector, governments throughout the world including the South African government, have focused their attention on the development of this sector to promote economic growth, income distribution and employment opportunities. Most SMMEs in South Africa fail due to a variety of reasons, including a lack of access to markets, which is one of the critical factors for the survival and growth of SMMEs. The government of South Africa has introduced the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (Act 5 of 2000) to address the challenge of market access for SMMEs. The Act is aimed at utilising the purchasing power of government as an instrument of SMME development. SMMEs, especially those owned by historically disadvantaged individuals, are afforded an opportunity to access markets they would otherwise find difficult to penetrate. Given the importance of access to markets to SMMES, the study seeks to analyse the role of preferential procurement in Local Government with specific reference to Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM), as an instrument of promoting the development of historically disadvantaged SMMEs in South Africa.

Entrepreneurial skills stimulate entrepreneurial activities. An increase in entrepreneurial activities culminates in high economic growth, creation of employment, and alleviation of poverty. South Africa’s entrepreneurial activity ratio stands at 9.1%, far below 14.3% of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries. Entrepreneurship is a national priority endeavour which helps absorb individuals searching for employment. Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) provide employment to approximately 61% of households in South Africa. SMME shutdowns have increased and can be attributed to lack of entrepreneurial proficiencies. Hence, contingent employees in small retail businesses face poor working conditions, are unprotected by labour legislation, low remuneration, skills redundancy, and discrimination. They are also not affiliated with a union. The foregoing variables lead to job insecurity. Job insecurity leads to job dissatisfaction, disloyalty, and low organisational commitment. The study investigated whether contingent employees in Roodepoort have entrepreneurial skills to be entrepreneurial, as an avenue to offset job insecurity. The question why contingent employees are not entrepreneurial in Roodepoort was posed. A sample composed of 129 contingent employees from 60 small retail businesses in Roodepoort was used. Results showed a positive relationship between entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurship, job insecurity and entrepreneurship, and contingent employees and job insecurity. However, it appears that contingent employees in Roodepoort were not affected nor concerned about job insecurity. They possess a significant understanding of entrepreneurial skills, yet they are not entrepreneurial.
Business Management
M. Com. (Business Management)

M.B.A.
Gauteng, the smallest of the nine South African provinces, but the largest in terms of its contribution to national GDP (33.9%), generates 10% of Africa’s GDP (Gauteng Enterprise Propeller Overview, 2007) and is therefore a very important geo-economical zone. As South Africa latest unemployment rate is 25.5% (StatsSA, 2006), Government is geared towards promoting small businesses in an effort to grow the economy and reduce unemployment. It is therefore very important to the economy that small businesses succeed, grow and provide employment. Due to the fact that at present, very little research into the success factors amongst small businesses in South Africa has been conducted in South Africa, it seems appropriate at this time to investigate the success factors of small businesses in Gauteng. The problem statement in this research is that there is insufficient knowledge relating to the factors contributing to the failure or success of small businesses in South Africa, Gauteng. To conduct this research, a qualitative and exploratory approach was decided upon. A literature survey on the subject was conducted in order to ground the current research in existing theory and research. A questionnaire was sent out by e-mail to 3776 businesses in Gauteng, to which the response rate was 3.15% (119 questionnaires were returned). The questionnaire was divided into sections and covered the definition of success, entrepreneurial personality characteristics of owner/manager, use of management tools, resource availability and the classification of respondents and their businesses. Due to the small size of the sample this research is not able to conclusively achieve the primary research objective of identifying the success factors of small businesses in Gauteng, but it has nevertheless contributed to the body of research on the matter, since it established that there is a correlation between: • Entrepreneurial personality and the success of small businesses • The use of management tools and the success of small businesses • The availability of resources and the success of small businesses. In addition the following can be reported: • The owner/managers surveyed attributed their success to: - persistence and determination - experience - entrepreneurial personality - business knowledge - a great team - education • The existence and or use of the business plan and its relationship to success remains inconclusive • Financial resources do not feature prominently as a success factor, but business skills do seem to correlate with success. Further research is necessary to pinpoint conclusively which traits and behaviours are conducive to success, by comparing successful and unsuccessful business owners. Other recommendations that arose from this research were: • Research should be conducted into the assumption that economic growth is driven by the proliferation of small businesses • Research into the weight of internal factors ((personality, experience, attitude, knowledge) versus that of external factors (start-up capital, business plans, skill availability, economic and legal conditions) would contribute to the body of knowledge and could trigger a shift in approach.

Submitted in accordance with the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration at the University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg March 2016
The principal aim of this study is to analyse how the three (3) labour legislations, namely, (a) the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, (b) the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 and (c) the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 influence the growth, management and governance of small enterprises in Gauteng Province of South Africa. This research also investigates if the complete exclusion, selective exclusion or parallel application of the above three labour legislations will help in the management, growth and good governance of small enterprises in Gauteng Province. In addition to the above issues, this research also investigates how disputes are resolved in small enterprises. Furthermore, this research investigates the issue of organisational rights in small enterprises.To investigate all the above issues, the researcher used both qualitative and quantitative research techniques and both techniques were quite useful in the data analysis.The inference that was drawn from the data analysis is that application of the three (3) labour legislations in terms of complete exclusion, selective exclusion and parallel application of the three labour legislations is very important for the growth, management and good governance of small enterprises and this is fully discussed in the thesis. The analysis of the research data indicates that small enterprises cannot benefit from the organisational rights entrenched in the Labour Relation Act of 1995 and the reasons for this are discussed in the thesis. This research also found that small enterprises cannot resolve their disputes efficiently through the current process of dispute resolution as stipulated in Section 135 of the LRA. The reasons why small enterprises find it difficult to follow the process is discussed in the thesis. The recommendations in this thesis, attempt to offer solutions to the identified problems.
MB2016

The Local Business Service Centre (LBSC) programme launched by the government of the Republic of South Africa in 1995 to provide business development services to small business, moreso in the Black communities, did not live up to expectations. This is according to the responses of a sample of 400 small business owners who were researched regarding the effectiveness of the LBSC programme, with a usable questionnaire response rate of 37.8%. The purpose of this ex post facto research, conducted in 2006 and 2007, was to evaluate the impact of the LBSC programme on small businesses in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The results will assist in developing strategies for the delivery of business development services (BDSs) that would meet the expectations of all stakeholders. This is the challenge facing South Africa. The better-known service centres include the Small Business Development Centres in the United States of America and Business Link in the United Kingdom of Great Britain; and international brands like the Enterprise Development Centres sponsored by the International Labour Organisation. These centres provide business development services such as information, basic management training and referrals to more advanced services. The quantitative research was based on a questionnaire consisting of 42 variables and one open-ended question. The questionnaire was sent to 400 small business owners who had received counselling from the LBSCs. The questionnaire was developed from a literature review on service centres in the developed and developing world; the qualitative studies of Bloch&Daze in 2000 and Urban-Econ in 2002 which were conducted nationally, and structured qualitative interviews with former government officials and existing LBSC owners. The open-ended question solicited respondents to specify the type of service centre that would meet their requirements. According to the four-point Likert scale used, most respondents “disagree” that the LBSCs were effective, and the rating was just shy of the 2.5 median. Three factors emerged from the responses: “capacity and professionalism”; “productive relationship” and “empowering association”. According to a t-test and an analysis of variance (Anova), there was no statistical difference between the means and mid-points of the independent variables for the three factors which indicated “disagree”, except “capacity and professionalism” and “empowering association” in terms of turnover. The independent variables included the age of the SMME owner, the qualifications of the owner, the turnover, the number of employees and the age of the entity. The researcher has recommended an eight-point SMME development strategy as the basis to introduce a new generation of service centres to stimulate entrepreneurship and provide business development services. The recommended eight-point strategy will also assist to assess new business development services centres being introduced by various governments.
Thesis (DCom)--University of Pretoria, 2010.
Business Management
unrestricted

M.Tech. Construction Management
The delivery of low income housing in South African Public Subsidized Schemes is plagued with quality issues, inevitably leading to poor levels of client and more importantly, end-user satisfaction. The characteristics of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) contractors who operate in this sector, together with external factors in the operating environment, all contribute to poor quality. Quality Management (QM) practices among the contractors are not widely documented hence, this study aimed to explore these practices in the Gauteng low income residential sector. Therefore, the objectives of the study aimed to establish the following: current QM practices; adequacy of such practices; barriers to effective QM practices and the presence of critical success factors for effective QM practices...

M. Tech. Business Administration.
This study was conducted in order to identify and quantify factors that are responsible for the high rate of failure in SMMEs in the Vaal Triangle region. The study was based on a stratified random sample of size n=133. Stratified random sampling was used for collecting data by using a structured, pre-tested and validated questionnaire of study. Five strata were used (central, east, west, north and west) for conducting the study in the Vaal Triangle. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analyses were used in the study. The variables used for quantitative analysis were socioeconomic variables that were associated with the viability of SMMEs operating in the Vaal Triangle region of Gauteng Province.

This study was undertaken to investigate the motivation, intention, self-efficacy, culture, business support,entrepreneurial orientation and business performance of South African and immigrant entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Gauteng province. The performance of the SMEs was investigated, and the reasons and gaps that have led to the assumed low competitive ranking and poor performance of South African entrepreneurs compared to immigrant entrepreneurs were analysed. A structured research instrument (questionnaire) was used to collect data through interviews and a self-administered survey. A total of 466 questionnaires out of 500 questionnaires that had been distributed to respondents by six fieldworkers were returned (93.2%) for analysis.A number of hypotheses were postulated to address the study aims and the collected data were analysed to answer the hypotheses. The results of the study showed a significant correlation between motivation and business performance (a motivated entrepreneur is more likely to succeed in business than an unmotivated entrepreneur) and a significant positive correlation between culture and motivation to start a business (a culture that is supportive of entrepreneurial activities, lowuncertainty avoidance, high individualism and lowpower distance relates positively to a high level of entrepreneurial self-efficacy).The results also showed a significant difference between the mean values of business performance and the education of the owner. It is suggested that the government creates a favourable climate to allow entrepreneurs to release their potential. The government can help by making complex legislation easier for start-ups and reducing the tax burden on new entrepreneurs.
Business Management
D. Comm. (Business Management)

Small businesses growth and profitability is a national problem in South Africa (SA) and the Emerging Contractors (ECs) in the construction industry in Gauteng Province are no exception. The SA government expect ECs to become the main players in economic transformation and growth, job creation and income generation. However, ECs fail to live up to the expectations as some are characterised by low performance levels and are at risk of business closure. The purpose of this research is to examine the perceptions of Small Business Executives (SBEs) on determinants of business performance so that a performance model that could guide ECs within the construction business is developed. The researcher used a mixed approach to examine the perceptions of SBEs on determinants of ECs’ performance by applying both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The population from which the sample was drawn comprised of 1890 urban based ECs registered with CIDB in the construction industry in Gauteng. Systematic random sampling was utilized and a sample size of 501 ECs was used. A structured questionnaire and interview guide were administered as the data collection instruments. A pilot survey was conducted where 2 key informants (SBEs) and 15 respondents (SBEs) were interviewed as representatives of ECs. A survey was used to assess the four hypotheses in the study. Content analysis was used to identify themes that emerged from qualitative data. The analysis of qualitative data demonstrated the perceptions of SBEs that financial factors, manpower, materials, machinery and equipment, project implementation, quality of work, legal and environmental and strategic planning were the main determinants that should be addressed when setting up and running construction businesses to reduce the negative impact on business performance. Based on the perceptions of SBEs, in quantitative, the univariate and multivariate statistical methods were performed to measure the level of significance between and among the performance determinants were tested at 5% confidence interval. Multiple linear regressions carried out based on the perceptions of SBEs identified strategic planning, project implementation and project performance as the most statistically significant factors in predicting the performance of ECs in Gauteng Province. The results from both qualitative and quantitative methods were synthesised and analysed through data transformation, typological development and case study analysis and the perceptions of respondents indicated a strong agreement between the qualitative and quantitative results. Based on multivariate results which were a result of the perceptions of SBEs, a performance prediction model was developed which is the core contribution of the study. The structure of the model, how it is used, its advantages and disadvantages were presented. The model provides a platform upon which ECs could predict performance and this would benefit ECs, clients, community and policymakers. In conclusion, the study established three significant determinants that include strategic planning, project implementation and project performance as highly relevant variables to improve construction business performance. Based on the perceptions of the respondents, the study recommends ECs to acquire and develop financial management skills that would enable them to understand and manage financial requirements that stakeholders such as financial institutions need in the areas of budgeting and cash flow management, bookkeeping knowledge, financial policies and controls and project pricing strategy. On the shortage of skills, the study recommends SBEs to take an initiative role in training employees, motivating and retaining competent workforce. The government need to establish technical colleges for training workers (apprenticeship) in order to equip them with appropriate industry knowledge, skills and experience. Lack of collateral security was widely reported by most SBEs and the study recommends the formation of a sector bank that would support emerging contractor businesses.
Business Management
D.B.L.

D. Tech (Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology.
Only one in ten newly established business enterprises survive for longer than ten years in the business environment. The reasons behind the failures of these small enterprises include the lack of access to financing, lack of financial and managerial skills, lack of expertise, as well as economic factors such as poor sales and weak growth prospects. The new norm in industry requires organisations to have a remarkable amount of agility to survive and succeed. This is important in South African SMEs given their significant contributions to the national economy. A major research gap exists, which pertains to the scant evidence of studies that focus on the influence of organisational agility on business performance of small to medium enterprises in South Africa. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of organisational agility on business performance in small to medium enterprises in the Gauteng province. Using a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional survey research design, a structured questionnaire was administered to 564 randomly selected owner-managers of small to medium enterprises in the Gauteng province. Questionnaire items were adapted from previously validated scales. Simple descriptive statistics in the form of percentages and mean scores were utilised in testing the perceptions of respondents towards organisational agility, its sub-elements and business performance. Hypotheses were tested using the structural equation modelling approach, which was conducted after implementing a confirmatory factor analysis to test the psychometric properties of the measurement scales. The results of the study show that owners and managers of small and medium enterprises perceived that the performance of their organisations was satisfactory in terms of technology capability, collaborative innovation, organisational learning, internal alignment, organisational agility and business performance. Upon testing the hypotheses, positive and significant relationships were observed between organisational agility and its four dimensions, namely technology capability, collaborative innovation, organisational learning and internal alignment. In turn, organisational agility exerted a significant and positive influence on business performance. The results of the study imply that the performance of small to medium enterprises can be improved significantly through adjustments to organisational agility and its subdimensions. This study is important in that its results can be applied to assist small to medium enterprises to survive and succeed in today’s turbulent and tomorrow’s dynamic operational environments, where agile organisational abilities are required.

The focus of this study was to investigate the employment difficulties faced by individuals who had been retrenched from the insurance industry during the years 2000 to 2013 in order to develop an understanding of the continuity in the specialist type of work after their retrenchment. The study also aimed to investigate the actual and perceived barriers that need to be addressed in the South African small business environment and the specific soft skills and business skills of small business owners and non-small business owners. The research design of this exploratory study entailed a positivist research philosophy using a deductive research approach. This quantitative research was conducted by means of a survey questionnaire. A questionnaire was designed and used to determine the level of importance and the level of own skills for small business owners and non-small business owners respectively in terms of predetermined soft and business management skills. The answers provided on these questions were then analysed to determine whether there was a gap between the level of importance assigned to these skills and their own skill ratings. This research determined the barriers faced by small businesses in South Africa as well as the level of agreement regarding the predetermined actual and perceived barriers pertaining to the small business environment. Notable findings of this study include that there was a distinct lack of continuity in the specialist type of work by the small business owner respondents in the insurance industry. There was a marked difference between the level of portance and own skill ratings assigned to the predetermined soft skills and business management skills with non-small business owner respondents mostly rating themselves as better skilled than small business owners did. However, the fact that these non-small business owner respondents did not start their own small businesses points towards higher risk aversion. This study also found that small businesses in South Africa are facing pronounced barriers within the small business environment.
Business Management
M. Com. (Business Management)

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the role that they play in the economy have been widely studied. SMEs are of particular interest because they are seen as greatly contributing to innovation, economic competitiveness, equity and redistribution, employment creation. Given the positive role that they are seen as playing in the economy, the growth and transformation of small enterprises into medium enterprises is welcomed. It is seen as increasing the benefits of the SMEs to the economy and society in general. The research sought to analyze and draw insights on the growth of enterprises from small to medium size. This issue has been widely studied but as late as 2007, reviewing the state of knowledge about growth in small businesses, Dobbs and Hamilton (2007, p.296) observed that despite the growing volume of applied research, our knowledge base still lacks a body of theory capable of explaining the growth of small businesses. This research therefore responds to this call by Dobbs and Hamilton (2007) for new theoretical perspectives and alternative types of research. It does so by focusing on the practical role that the entrepreneur plays in facilitating or hindering growth. It also responds to this call by using a methodological approach that has not been widely used in this field to date. In addition, not sufficient attention has been paid to the role of the entrepreneur as the dynamic element in the growth and transformation process, neither globally but even less so in the Southern African case in general but even less so in the South African construction setting specifically and in Gauteng in particular. The lack of sufficient attention to the role of the entrepreneur in facilitating or hindering the growth and transformation process is very pronounced in the context of the Southern Africa region. This thesis therefore seeks to address this gap. This thesis takes as its departure, the decisiveness of the entrepreneur in the business system. It places the entrepreneur at the centre of the enterprise and analyses the role that the entrepreneur plays in facilitating or hindering the growth of the enterprise from small to medium size. Freel (2000: p.321) observed that more significantly, the internal dynamics of firm growth have remained something of a 'black box'. Focusing on growth, this research seeks to identify the key drivers of why some firms grow and others do not. It seeks to unravel the "black box" of small enterprise growth in the context of South Africa. In this process, the research sought to focus on the role of the entrepreneur in facilitating or inhibiting growth. The main question that this research sought to answer is: Is the entrepreneur the main driver of small enterprise growth and graduation, and what role does he or she play and how does he or she facilitate the growth and graduation of small into medium enterprises in South Africa? Building on the main and sub research questions the research sought and successfully proved the following Propositions: Proposition One (P 1): The entrepreneur is the key driver of small enterprise growth and graduation in South Africa. Proposition Two (P 11): The entrepreneur is the main inhibitor of small enterprise growth and graduation in non- growth small enterprises in South Africa. Proposition Three (P 111): Macro - economic environmental factors are a key but not the decisive driver for growth and transformation of SMEs. Proposition Four (P 1 V): The growth and competitiveness of the industrial sub sector is a key but not decisive driver of growth and competitiveness of SMEs. This research was undertaken within the framework of qualitative research. It was undertaken in four phases, namely: Phase One: Sector and SME Selection Phase Two: Individual Interview Phase Three: Document Analysis Phase Four: Case Study Development focusing on the role of the Entrepreneur in the Growth Process The data analysis was driven by the model of the drivers of SME growth and transformation already outlined above. It sought to apportion qualitative weightings to key already identified drivers of growth and transformation: macro-economic environment, industry sub sector, access to finance, technology, and BDS and the entrepreneur's motivation and skills. The data analysis delved deeper into the last category of drivers, entrepreneur's motivation and skills. It dissected the role that the entrepreneur's skill played in the overall growth and transformation of the enterprise. The data gathered from the three methods, namely individual interviews, follow up telephonic interviews and the document analysis were analyzed to arrive at the role that the entrepreneur's skills played in the growth and transformation process. Qualitative analysis of the entrepreneur's responses was undertaken to apportion the weighting given to the key drivers of the growth and transformation process. The data analysis also sought to unravel the key constituents of the entrepreneur's skills. It identified what constitutes the entrepreneur's skills that are crucial to the growth and transformation process. Focus was on the technical, managerial or leadership aspects. Findings from the data analysis assist in the conclusions and recommendations. This study was limited to Gauteng province of South Africa. It is hoped that this province will represent the best construction macro-economic environment in South Africa. This study concentrated on the sectors that were selected from the sector selection process. The study interviewed entrepreneurs and enterprises that are exclusively in the selected sector. The study was limited to medium sized enterprises that grew out of small enterprises that were formal - registered, licensed and operating within the framework of the law. The medium enterprises that this study focused on were not subsidiaries of larger conglomerates. This study also did not focus on medium enterprises that were created as medium enterprises and did not grow in size. The study is based on three key assumptions: the growth in employment is a sufficient reflection of the growth process, changes in the structure of the business are a direct result of the growth in employment and what the entrepreneur does directly reflects itself in the growth or lack of growth in the enterprise. This study has the following limitations: the peculiarities of the selected sector construction, growth in employment may not capture the entirety of the growth process and the fact that the study was conducted in the period of the Soccer World Cup 2010 affected the perceptions of the owner managers to be more positive than could have been experienced outside of this unique event. This research has proven through the data gathered, presented and analyzed that the owner manager of the respondent enterprises is the fulcrum upon which all the major decisions in the enterprise revolve. It is the quality of these decisions that drive or hinder the growth process. The owner manager makes the key decisions regarding: - the role and nature of interaction with the government, - the structure of the enterprise and the roles and responsibilities of the staff within the enterprise, - the marketing strategy, - the quality and skill level of the staff, - the role information technology, the nature and type of communication within the enterprise and between the enterprise and its external stakeholders, - the culture of the enterprise, - the interaction between the business and family and, - the management of the book of accounts. It is the cumulative impact of these decisions that the owner manager makes that propel the enterprise to growth. This confirms that the entrepreneur is the main driver of enterprise growth and graduation from small to medium enterprise size through the decisions that he or she makes. This research has also identified that it is not only the decisions that the owner manager makes that matter. It is also the management style that the owner manager adopts that facilitates or hinders growth. The owner manager needs to adopt a participatory management style which empowers the staff, to facilitate enterprise growth and transformation. Based on the data gathered this research has dealt with the issue of the impact of the macroeconomic environment on the growth of the owner managed construction enterprises. Focusing on growth, this research has identified the key drivers of why some owner managed construction enterprises firms grow and others do not. The research has identified the macroeconomic environment as a key driver of the performance of the whole economy. A key element of the construction industry which positively benefitted the enterprises in the period 2002 - 2010 is the construction boom experienced because of the Soccer World Cup 2010. The construction bonanza was based on the ten new stadia to be build or renovated and the accompanying road infrastructure. This played a key factor in the positive growth experience by most of the firms in the industry. The South African economy performed well in the period 1994 - 2008. The good performance of the economy in the period 1994 - 2008, had a positive spillover effect on the construction sector and the enterprises in that sector. This proves that the macroeconomic environment is a key driver of growth and competitiveness. However, starting in 2008, the GEFC set in. The impact of the GEFC on the economy was very severe. The GDP declined dramatically and the inflation rose. This impacted the whole economy. Added to this was the impact of the newly introduced National Credit Act. The National Credit Act made access to credit especially for housing loans more difficult. Despite the combined negative consequences of the GEFC and the National Credit Act, the majority of the respondent enterprises continued to experience growth. One respondent enterprise suffered a dramatic decline in sales and growth in this period. This was more because of the 'wrong' marketing strategy it chose to respond to the overall down turn in the economy. Significantly, when the owner manager adjusted the marketing strategy, sales and growth have begun to pick up again. This proves that a positive macroeconomic environment is crucial as a driver of growth but is not a decisive factor because even when the macroeconomic environment turns negative, growth firms are able to maintain their growth path. So, in conclusion, the macroeconomic environment is a necessary but not sufficient condition for enterprise growth. The above conclusion on the macroeconomic environment is also true of the sector competitiveness and growth's impact on the growth of enterprises in that industrial sub sector. As the economy has grown, so has the construction industry. Within the period 2000 - 2008, the construction industry has also been performing well on the back of the good macro economic performance. As a result the RMB / BER and the FNB / BER Business Confidence Indexes have been on a gradual upward trend. The Respondent Enterprises in this research clearly benefited from this gradual upward trend in the economy in general and the construction industry in particular. The Respondent Enterprises experienced sustained growth in this period as well. This confirms that growth enterprises benefit from a growing and competitive industrial sub sector. However, the industrial sub sector took a negative turn on the back of the GEFC, the National Credit Act and the end of the 2010 Soccer World Cup construction boom in the pperiod 2008-2010. Despite this, the majority of the respondent enterprises continued to enjoy significant growth. This leads to the conclusion that the growth and competitiveness of the industrial sub sector is a key but not decisive driver of growth and competitiveness of SMEs. This research has therefore unraveled the "black box" of owner managed small construction enterprise growth of the South Africa context by analyzing the role of the macroeconomic environment, the growth and competitiveness of the industrial sub sector and the owner manager. In this process the research has focused on the role of the entrepreneur in facilitating or inhibiting growth and highlighted the entrepreneur's centrality to the growth process. Through the use of the case study method this research has been able to address the how and why of construction enterprises growth in Gauteng. This study has added value to the existing body of literature on enterprise growth by delving deeper into many already known factors driving enterprise growth. This research in most of the identified areas has been to analyze deeply and give greater insight into the dynamics of how growth actually happens within the enterprise through the role of the owner manager. Through this process this research has helped in opening Freel (2000)'s 'black box" of enterprise growth with particular reference to the construction sector in Gauteng, South Africa. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on the growth and transformation of SMEs globally. But specifically it makes a contribution to the understanding of the growth and transformation of the construction SMEs in Gauteng province of South Africa where there is a dearth of such studies. In a country and province where the issues of increasing black participation in the economy is topical, this study will increase society's understanding of how construction SME growth and transformation can contribute to the realization of this goal. This study assists in creating awareness within society of how entrepreneurship development can play a major role in achieving the goal of equitable distribution of the region's wealth. It contributes to a realization of a society that is supportive of enterprise development and an enterprise culture. The study contributes to the debate of what policy measures can assist in the development of a construction entrepreneurial class. The BEE policies attempt to create an environment which facilitates the growth and graduation of SMEs. This study will assist in informing how these policies can best be shaped. This study contributes to a greater understanding of this phenomenon in the context of the construction sector in South Africa. By focusing on the qualltative approach this study seeks to bring a different angle to the largely quantitative approach which has dominated the study of SME growth thus far.
Business Management
D.B.L.

A Research Report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters of Management in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation
This research investigates perceptions of the SMME community in Johannesburg, Gauteng, on the impact of the Preferential Procurement Policy (PPP) Framework Act (Act No. 5 of 2000) as a Supplier Diversity (SD) tool. The research questions discussed are: 1) Are SMMEs directly benefitting from government as a result of PPP? 2) Are SMMEs indirectly benefitting through the private sector as a result of PPP? 3) How can PPP be improved? and 4) What are the problems with the implementation of PPP? The Osiba Research (2011) found that there was minimal impact from government programs in supporting and improving the majority of black-owned SMMEs and integrating them into the mainstream economy. It was further found that the major shortcomings were not due to insufficient or inaccurate policy, but the government’s inability to implement and support the very programs they designed. Other factors that work against SD in South Africa are corruption and nepotism which have led to lack of transparency in the awarding of tenders (Lodge T, 1998). Weak policy coordination and implementation, funding constraints and the fact that policy benefits were leveraged almost exclusively by medium-sized enterprises, which were often white owned, meant that previously disadvantaged people continue to be economically marginalized (Rogerson, 2013). Another setback is that of set-asides. Government has not been practicing its own policy through public procurement and as a result the private sector has showed little commitment to these set-asides. This is partly because the National Treasury holds that set-asides will inflate the cost of procurement (Timm, 2011). This is a qualitative study and as such an interpretivist research approach was used. Enterprises included in the sample were selected using the City of Johannesburg’s Supplier Database, which is the City’s official database that contains the list of accredited prospective suppliers of different goods and services that are required by the City. The results of this research suggests that while there have been links to increased economic growth and rebalancing of socio-economic inequalities as a result of PPP, there are still major problems to overcome such as lack of transparency in awarding tenders, beneficiaries of government business employing non South African citizens/permanent residents, despondency on set-asides, fronting, lack of access to funding, lack of information and lack of commitment to PPP by large corporates. The study concludes with recommendations on policy, how the problem of rationalisation might be overcome, as well as how closer cooperation between SMMEs, government and large corporates can enhance PPP. Recommendations on potential future research are also made.
MT2016

The South African economic landscape changed for ever after the first democratic election of 1994. The change heralded an era of inclusion, the economic landscape became open to people from all races, whereas before economic power was centralised in the hands of a minority group due to Apartheid legislation. Exploring the relationship of diversity of board members on the corporate governance of small, micro and medium enterprises (SMME’s) in South Africa has become imperative. Understanding the relationship, if any, which exists can aid SMME’s in board selection and corporate governance alike. Data for the study was collected through a self-enumerated questionnaire completed electronically and followed-up by interviews with heads of boards surveyed. Both the questionnaire and the interviews focussed on corporate governance, which included different components of governance such as the general principles of governance followed in the enterprise, the stakeholder focus exerted by the board of directors and the functioning of the board of directors. This resulted in a score for the enterprise which can be expressed as a percentage. This governance indicator was related to questions on the diversity of board members. The findings were in many cases contradictive when a single variable was observed against the score an enterprise achieved for governance. When taking a more holistic approach and evaluating multiple variables, it became evident that it is rather a combination of variables which displays some relationship with corporate governance. This study found that board diversity does have a relationship with corporate governance. The magnitude of this relationship could not be ascertained and warrants further research in a wider spectrum of the South African economy and also with a larger group of subjects.
Business Management
M. Tech. (Business Administration)

Text in English
The goals of this research were to explore, describe and explain the crime of associated robbery, which at the time of this study, was a scientifically unknown phenomenon. Associated robbery is defined as “a bank-related robbery (by association) of cash or attempt thereto, committed against a bank client or his/her delegate, at any stage while en-route to or from a bank branch, ATM or cash centre or inside the branch to effect a deposit, or, withdrawal” (SABRIC 2013:4) This robbery is divided into two main categories, namely robbery before cash deposit and robbery after cash withdrawal. As found in literature and also evident in the findings of this study, more incidents and related cash losses are reported from robbery after withdrawal, which is sub-divided into muti scam, money bomb and spiked drink. This study followed an exploratory, sequential, mixed-method research approach where the qualitative phase took place first – followed by the quantitative phase. The topic was firstly explored by collecting qualitative data via in-depth, one-on-one interviews (from a phenomenological point of view) where mutual meaning was sought, as understood by victims of associated robbery. To gather quantitative data, 500 bank clients (i.e. individuals, small business owners and stokvel/saving club members) completed a survey questionnaire. Their perspective on the phenomenon of associated robbery was thus explained and described through the use of descriptive statistics, particularly univariate and bivariate statistical analysis. The most significant contribution made by this study, is embedment of the preventative measures used by the banking industry and other stakeholders such as the SAPS into the Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles approaches. This model is heavily grounded on 12 SCP strategies, namely: access control; deflecting offenders; controlling facilitation; entry/exist screening; formal surveillance; surveillance by employees; natural surveillance; target removal; reducing temptation; rule setting; stimulating conscience; and facilitating compliance. Furthermore, the model emphasises that the combating of associated robberies is a collaborative effort and thus the individual (bank client), the banking industry, the criminal justice system (CJS) and the general public all have to work together in fighting this endemic. The lack of knowledge mainly from a victim’s perspective was identified as one of the challenges faced. However, this presented an opportunity for this study to make a significant contribution to the development of scientific literature. Moreover, the use of opportunity theories to explain the reasons why individuals are victimised placed the phenomenon in the criminological research milieu – thus pioneering a way for researchers who may wish to conduct future research on the same topic.
Criminology and Security Science
D. Litt. et Phil. (Criminology)

Externally applied loads from high winds or impacts may cause structural damage to the wind-turbine blade, and this may further affect the aerodynamic performance of the blade. Wind-turbine blades experience high vibration levels or amplitudes under high winds. Vibrations negatively affect the wind flow on the blade. This project considers the structural dynamic analysis of a small-scale wind turbine with a particular focus on the blade; it involves the finite element model development, model validation and structural analysis of the validated model. The analysis involves a small-scale wind-turbine structural response when subjected to different loading inputs. The analysis is specifically focused on on-shore systems. The use of small-scale wind-turbine systems is common however, apart from initial structural analysis during design stages, these systems have not been studied sufficiently to establish their behaviour under a variation of real-life loading conditions. On-shore wind turbines are often designed for low-wind speeds and their structural strength may be compromised. In addition, these systems experience widely-varying wind speeds from one location to another to an extent that it is extremely difficult to achieve a uniform structural performance. The main reason for solving this problem is to evaluate the structural response of the blade, with special emphasis on an 800 W Kestrel e230i. This involves the calculation of the distribution of blade deflections and stresses over the wind-turbine blade under different loading conditions. To solve the problem, a three-dimensional model of a Kestrel e230i blade was firstly developed in Autodesk Inventor Professional using geometrical measurements that were taken in the mechanical engineering laboratory. A 3D finite element model was developed in ANSYS using approximate material properties for fiberglass obtained from the literature. The model was then validated by comparing its responses with those from a number of static tests, plus a simple impact test for comparison of the first natural frequency. Finally, a number of numerical tests were conducted on the validated finite element model to determine its structural responses. The purpose of the numerical analysis was to obtain the equivalent von Mises stress and deformation produced in the blade. It was determined that under the examined different loading conditions, a higher stress contour was found to occur around the mid-span of the blade. The calculated maximum flexural stress on the blade was observed to be less than the allowable flexural stress for fiberglass which is 1,770 MPa. As expected, the highest deformation occurred at blade tip. The first critical speed of the assembled three-bladed wind turbine was found to be at 4.3 rpm. The first mode shape was observed to be in the flap-wise bending direction and for a range of rotor speeds between zero and 608 rpm, three out of a total of five mode shapes were in the flap-wise bending direction. Future studies should address issues relating blade vibrations with generated power, validation of dynamic tests, fluid-structural interaction and introduction of bio-inspired blade system. Although the performance of the bioinspired blade has not been studied in great detail, preliminary studies indicate that this system has a superior performance.
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
M. Tech. (Electrical and Mining Engineering)