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Theses and dissertations (Management Sciences)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/14

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Small business--Evaluation

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Evaluating the influence of social responsibility practices on the performance of small and medium automotive manufacturers in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality
    (2023-03) Mvakwendlu, Nonophela Buhle; Zondo, Robert Walter Dumisani
    Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are an important business sector in South Africa, while also contributing to new job opportunities and development all over the world. It is assumed the implementation of a strategic philosophy such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can enhance performance of SMEs, as it involves organisations acting responsibly and ethically towards society, the environment and other stakeholders to maximise positive impact, not merely increase profit. CSR has received much attention in the business world, nevertheless, several SMEs in the manufacturing sector do not recognise how their practice closely affects employees, society, and the environment. Studies show manufacturers deposit their waste into some of the country’s main rivers, which affects individuals in the surroundings, demonstrating the lack of business manufacturers involvement in CSR practices. Hence, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the extent to which CSR practices influence SME performance in the automotive manufacturing sector of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. The study objective is thus to evaluate the influence of environmental CSR practices, ethical CSR labour practices, and the public good of CSR, on SME performance. Being quantitative in nature, structured questionnaires were employed to gather data from the targeted population of 120 SME owners in the automotive manufacturing sector, with the sampling size of 110 SME owners and 10 SME owners for pilot study. The study reveals the demographic variables that have a relationship with CSR practices, as well as variables that do not. This includes environmental, ethical labour and public good CSR practices and their relationship with demographic variables. Ethical CSR labour practices showed no relationship with any demographic variable when using ANOVA technique. All statistical results are achieved with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) techniques, including descriptive statistics, chisquare, Pearson correlation co-efficient and ANOVA techniques. The study is limited to automotive manufacturing SMEs and CSR practices.
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    An assessment of reporting tools used for corporate social responsibility in the Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMME) Sector in Kwazulu-Natal
    (2021-04) Buthelezi, Mthokozisi; Rampersad, Renitha; Gopaul, Roger
    Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) are considered as the key role drivers in order to close the gap of inequality, particularly when it comes to investing in disadvantaged communities. In South Africa, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is proposed as a strategy to revive the competitiveness of SMMEs. As global competitiveness continues to be a momentous trend, the notion of CSR is proposed as an impressive strategy to invigorate the operations and competitiveness of SMMEs. The aim of this study was to assess the reporting tools used for CSR in the SMME sector in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). In so doing, this study utilised a qualitative research approach to assess the reporting tools used by the SMME sector. Nonprobability and judgmental sampling was used to obtain participants. The target population was selected from the three geographic areas in KZN, namely Pietermaritzburg, Durban and Richards Bay. The population centered on 15 CEO’s, and 15 general public representatives that had benefited from the CSR projects of the 15 selected enterprises. The participants were selected by the researcher based on their involvement on CSR. In-depth interviews, observation, and focus group discussions were conducted by the researcher to collect primary data from the SMME CEO’s and the beneficiaries from their companies. The study revealed that some SMMEs used platforms such as meetings and strategic sessions to report on their CSR engagements. The findings further outlined that social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were the most preferred reporting tools by SMME owners. The fact that these tools did not cost the company much was considered to be a major motivator for the adoption. Given that majority of SMMEs are actively engaged in CSR, most of them did not report their programmes at all to their stakeholders even though there are free tools that can be utilised. The study has provided additional contribution to the current literature on CSR and SMMEs. It further provided recommendations on how SMMEs can implement CSR programmes efficiently and use appropriate tools to communicate and report their CSR activities competently.
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    The impact of corporate social responsibility on the performance of selected small, medium and micro-sized enterprises in the Butterworth area
    (2018) Xinwa, Lwando; Mishi, Syden
    Small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) face challenging difficulties in competing with large enterprises all over the world. They try many strategies to keep up and fight for their market competitiveness, with one of these strategies being corporate social responsibility (CSR). Although CSR is a well-established term in the business world, there is a need to investigate how CSR can impact the performance of SMMEs given their size and their financial status. Most of the literature on CSR has focused on large corporations with few studies focusing on SMMEs, particularly in rural areas of South Africa. This study has investigated and examined the impact of CSR on the performance of SMMEs in Butterworth. This study’s main objectives were to explore the different types of CSR activities that SMMEs are engaged in, to explore the different drivers of CSR for SMMEs as well as the assessment of the perceptions of SMMEs about CSR and performance. Predominantly, this study has focused on determining the impact of CSR on SMME performance. The sample studied was 163 SMMEs in various sectors around Butterworth. A quantitative research method was applied in order to achieve the objectives of this study, however a non-probability sampling technique was used because of the assumptions that since the targeted population consisted of busy entrepreneurs there would be incidents of non-response. The study found that even though CSR has been associated with large corporations, SMMEs in Butterworth know about the existence of the relationship between CSR and performance and understand that a business that has higher levels of CSR is more likely to perform better as compared to those that do not practice CSR. The results of the study revealed that most of these SMMEs are not only compelled by the law to act socially responsible but are driven by the profits that are linked with the involvement in these activities. It is also recommended that for SMMEs to enjoy the benefits that CSR imposes in business, they should start considering incorporating CSR into their business activities.
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    A guide for assessing small businesses
    (2008) Moodley, Sally; Raap, Peter John
    It is estimated, that 90% of small businesses in South Africa fail within the first two years of their operation. The South African Government has improved business support services to small businesses. However, it has called on all South Africans to become involved in supporting small businesses and not to leave this responsibility to a single role player. Improving individual entrepreneurial capabilities should therefore be a focus area for all stakeholders involved in the promotion of entrepreneurship in South Africa. Changes brought on by growth, competition and many other factors, frequently require businesses to quickly identify alternatives, for driving significant improvements in their businesses. Business assessment tools generally provide a framework to assist business leaders to review the operations of their businesses. It was against this background that this research study was undertaken. The main aim of this research study was to develop a guide which can be used to assess small businesses. This study identified and evaluated six business diagnostic tools currently used nationally and internationally. The information gathered from evaluating these assessment tools were verified through discussions with five expert business practitioners who have relevant experience and knowledge on assessment tools. A self – assessment can be defined as a comprehensive, systematic and regular review of an organization‟s activities and results. Of the six assessment tools evaluated, it was found that the Baldrige Quality Programme, best satisfied the research questions, in terms of applicability of content, procedures and effective administration of diagnostic tools. The guide for self - assessments for small businesses was therefore, developed by using the Baldrige Quality Programme as a benchmark. This research study demonstrated, by means of an exploratory case study methodology, that self - assessment diagnostic tools do have a critical role to play in improving entrepreneurial and organizational performance of small businesses. Through the use of the self - assessment guide, developed in this study, entrepreneurs have an opportunity to take an integrated approach towards the improvement of business leadership, management and general business capabilities. This self - assessment guide fully involves the small business owner in the planning, implementation and monitoring phases of operating his or her business. There is also an element of skills transfer designed into the administration aspects of the tool, as guidelines are included in the tool, where possible. The researcher strongly feels that the use of this self - assessment tool can contribute to enhancing the success rate of small businesses in South Africa.