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Faculty of Management Sciences

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    An investigation into whether current definitions of corruption have disproportionate adverse impact on some economies
    (2019-05) Naidoo, Bhagavathie Bhavani; Bayat, Mohamed Saheed
    To date, no globally acceptable definition of corruption exists. Over the last two centuries the term has been variously redefined to point to very different behaviours. Yet a plethora of reports and publications by agencies such as Transparency International, The International Monetary Fund, The World Bank and other similar organisations have emerged, identifying and calling out activities that they term corrupt practices in emerging and developing countries. Utilising a conceptual research methodology, this study considers whether allegations of the existence of widespread corruption to justify directive behaviour are true, and examines to what extent the consequent impact of this behaviour is equitable across states. The study traces how different views of what constituted corrupt behaviour evolved across cultures/nations/ states/economies from antiquity until the present. It explores the provisions of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, and other pertinent international and national policies and legal instruments. And tries to establish whether such provisions have contributed to even-handed application of policy across countries. The study finds that the tools and scales that claim to measure levels of corruption are unreliable. They either: 1) depend disproportionately on subjective measures of popular perception; 2) are too reliant on proxy measures; 3) are unclear on what is being measured in the absence of a clear definition of what constitutes corrupt behaviour; or 4) are reliant on the selfassessments of the organizations under scrutiny. Consequently, institutions with vested interests and specific political ideologies or economic theories misuse the rules and guidelines they construct around corruption to pursue their own interests. With the result that current definitions of corruption and how they are applied have disproportionate adverse impact on some economies.
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    Assessing the effectiveness of an occupational health and safety system in a selected automotive assembly organisation in South Africa
    (AOSIS, 2021-01-26) Zondo, Robert Walter Dumisani
    Background: It has been established that high levels of safety performance are achieved by strong and positive safety climates. Good safety, health and environmental practices reduce the cost of overall healthcare delivery while increasing general productivity. These sentiments underpin the concept of an occupational health and safety (OHS) system. Aim: This study assesses the effectiveness of an OHS in a selected automotive assembly organisation in South Africa. Settings: The automotive organisation that participated in the study has adopted an OHS system. Prior to its implementation, the company experienced an increase in the rate of occupational diseases and injuries. Methods: The study objectives were achieved by examining Health and Safety (H&S) related experiences in the company. The collection of data was carried out in two phases, namely the collection of pre-OHS and post-OHS results from company records for H&S compliance, occupational diseases, as well as workplace injury rates. The pre-OHS results were quarterly data reflecting the company’s H&S performance over the 3-year period prior to the implementation of the OHS system. This company operates in the eThekwini District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. Results: The OHS system has no influence on occupational diseases, or on the workplace injury frequency rates. However, H&S compliance plays a role in the maintenance of the OHS system. Conclusion: In order to maximise performance, a comprehensive OHS policy must be developed that aligns management commitment to the OHS system. Thus, the study uncovered the strengths and weaknesses of OHS in this automotive assembly organisation in South Africa.
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    Exploring financial and investment strategies as foundational pillars of successful African economies : a case study of Namibia
    (2018) Mutsvene, Thomas; Ngcamu, Bethuel Sibongiseni
    This research outlines that amidst the raging debates, Africa is at the receiving end of the effects of ill-crafted financial and investment strategies of their own making. The major research problem is that African economies lose a lot of investment opportunities through lost investor confidence caused by political polarisation, weakening currency value and ignoring the resources available within the economy. The main aim of the research was to explore how financial and investment strategies can be used to improve African economies to be successful. The goal was to see how financial and investment strategy can be harnessed to achieve successful African economies through examining the effect of such strategies on the economy and comparing performance of Namibian economy against others as well as the impact of joining the rand monetary union and politics. The research adopted a mixed research methodology on data from eight countries out of the total population of fifty four African countries in various income levels. The sample size was two hundred (200) participants and one hundred and fifty (150) responded to the research instrument(s). The major findings revealed that financial and investment strategies revolving around the available resources are the bedrock upon which successful African economies hinge on, hence, there is need to tap into untapped resources and engage in massive beneficiation in pursuit of economic growth and development agenda. Practical and managerial implications of this research show the need of developing financial and investment strategies revolving around economy’s resources so as to tap into significant incomes and investment opportunities wrapped in them. The major contribution of this research is a thrust on beneficiation and value engineering along the resources exploitation value chain as most African literature has provided little scope on the importance of this process and its impact on financial and investment growth in Africa.