South African Grain Farmers in Dire Straits: Scenarios for Sustainable Farming

Traditionally, the South African farmer has always been an entrepreneur, running his/her farming activities as a business to support lifestyle, provide a future for the children (as successors to the family farm or by providing education for a career) and to provide for comfortable retirement one day. However, a number of climatic- and economic environmental issues has resulted in severe constraints to farmers as entrepreneurs, creating a situation where farming are on the brink of collapse and maize farmers are struggling to survive. The production years 2005/6 and 2006/7 are critical. This paper focuses specifically on the summer grain production areas in South Africa where, in addition to the main crop maize, they also plant crops such as sunflower, peanuts, dry beans, sorghum and grazing for livestock). The objective of this paper is to report on the viability of possible scenarios that could assist the farming entrepreneur to sustain his/her farming activities beyond the following two years. A number of specific constraints impact on the grain farmer, namely the overproduction of almost all grain types, the free market system of pricing grain internationally, the Rand/Dollar exchange rate, the capital investment trap and the current government assistance policy, to name but a few. All of these constraints have resulted in a situation where it is no longer viable for farmers to produce the main crop (in excess of 80% of farming activities) namely maize. This situation calls for drastic intervention in entrepreneurial decision-making, and farmers must consider other viable options to service debt and to maintain a positive cash-flow. The analyses show that, ultimately (and most unfortunately), no favourable solution is at hand. From the possible scenarios evaluated in the paper, it is evident that maize farmers should discontinue production of maize on a large scale for the immediate future until the market environment improves. The farming community is faced with a situation of minimising losses and not with any real positive solution pertaining to the scenarios evaluated. The final conclusion is that current economic situations for maize production are unfavourable and the resulting recommendation is that farmers should not plant maize in the 2005/6 production year, that they should ride out the market and then revisit the production decision for the production year 2006/7.Crop Production/Industries,

Empirical evaluation of a preliminary model to identify low-risk MBA applicants

This article reports on the second stage of the model, namely to empirically evaluate the model\u27s performance and validity across all three of the identified categories. These categories are \u27Low-to-no risk\u27 applicants for the MBAand those applicants who did not complete the degree in 3 years, classified as \u27Medium-to-low risk\u27 applicants who are expected to complete their degree in extended study year, and \u27High-risk\u27 applicants who are not expected to complete their degrees and who drop out of the programme. The final-year MBA students at the PBS in 2004 and 2005 served as the research population. The results were very satisfactory. Concerning the categories Low-to-no risk and Medium-tolow risk applicants, the model can be used as predictive tool, presenting a validity higher than 60% (p = 0.9) and 90% (p= 0.7) respectively. Caution, however, looms at the category of High-risk applicants where the model judges too harshly with an error of 13.7% (p=0.7)

The effectiveness of South Africa\u27s immigration policy for addressing skills shortages

South Africa is presently experiencing a serious shortage of skilled workers. This situation is negatively influencing the economic prospects and global participation of the country. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of sas immigration policy to support skills immigration. The outcome of this study indicated that South Africas immigration policy is restrictive and has undoubtedly influenced the shortage of skills in the country. This study has confirmed the findings of similar studies undertaken by the Centre for Development and Enterprise that South Africas skills immigration policy is very restrictive and is thus not helpful in addressing the skills shortages of the country

The A-B Gap: An Assessment of the Differences Between Ethical Attitudes and Ethical Behaviour Among the Next Generation of Business Leaders in South Africa

The current study scrutinizes differences between the ethical attitudes and behaviour of South Africa’s future generation of business leaders. The target population comprises first-level employed business managers who are currently completing an executive MBA degree. Business managers at three selected South African business schools comprised the sampling frame. Each member of the target population received an online link for access to a questionnaire which featured a previously validated series of balanced 6-point itemized rating scales. Data were collected on both behaviour and attitudes regarding 14 questionable business behaviours, each representing a potential breach of ethical conduct. A 60% response rate was achieved. Respondents shared their perceptions on 14 questionable business actions using third-party scenarios. Respondents also provided answers regarding behaviour as a manager for these 14 scenarios. They were asked to indicate if they were aware of colleagues behaving questionably regarding these scenarios. The results indicate that the test metric for nine of the 14 business scenarios significantly differs when comparing their attitudes to their behaviour

A Historic-Contemporary Analysis of the Benefit-Sharing Agreement for South African Khoisan Rooibos Farmers

The Rooibos Benefit-Sharing Agreement (BSA) represents ethical and legal failure, perpetuating historical injustices against the Khoisan people, while maintaining the racial and economic monopoly of the Rooibos industry. The agreement functions as a superficial compliance mechanism with the Nagoya Protocol, failing to ensure meaningful economic redress for Rooibos's Traditional Knowledge Holders (TKH) rather than serving as a restorative justice and fair-trade instrument. This article critically examines the contradictions between the BSA and international legal frameworks, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Nagoya Protocol, and access and benefit-sharing (ABS) principles. It argues that the agreement’s structure effectively excludes Khoisan Rooibos farmers from substantive participation in the Rooibos value chain, denying them control over their traditional knowledge and economic benefits. Despite being hailed as a landmark victory upon its implementation in 2019, the Rooibos BSA remains a mechanism of economic marginalization. Khoisan communities, whose traditional knowledge underpins the multi-billion-dollar Rooibos industry, receive a negligible share of industry profits, while historically privileged agribusinesses and multinational corporations retain dominance over production, processing, and international trade. This article critically analyses the agreement, the South African government's role in sustaining this inequitable framework, and its failure to enforce national and international legal obligations

Benefits and Challenges of Implementing Green Initiatives at Public Universities in South Africa

This article explores the benefits and challenges of implementing green initiatives at South African Universities. The study's objectives are to identify the benefits and to find ways to overcome the challenges preventing green initiative implementation. In a mixed-method approach, eight senior personnel at prominent South African universities were interviewed to identify specific green initiatives and suitable measuring criteria. A five-point Likert scale questionnaire was distributed online to other university managers and senior staff. A total of 144 personnel members completed the questionnaire. The results show that the data are reliable (α=0.843), adequate (KMO=0.641), and significant (p≤0.05 at the 95% confidence level. The respondents perceive the barriers to implementing green initiatives at public universities to be significant (≥4.5) and indicate that universities are progressing excellently with implementing some green initiatives (for example, by eliminating paper usage, electronic signing of documents, LED lighting, and paperless IT system applications) (≥4.5). The benefits of green implementation are also significant (≥4.5). Exploratory factor analysis identified three factors each for barriers, implementation, and benefits, explaining a cumulative variance of 56.1%, 82.2% and 54.8%, respectively. Public universities' management can operationalise the results in their green initiatives implementation strategies

A Model to Measure the Service Quality of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers

The study constituters a model to measure the service quality of pharmaceutical wholesalers in South Africa. Several pharmaceutical wholesalers distribute medical supplies throughout South Africa in a very regulated and competitive market where high service quality levels are anticipated. In this price-undifferentiated market, service quality can have a significant impact on the competitiveness of a pharmaceutical wholesaler. As a result, the primary objective was to develop a model to measure the service quality levels of large pharmaceutical wholesalers. The literature study compiled an industry profile of the South African pharmaceutical market, analysed service quality and then proposed an adapted SERVQUAL model to measure the service quality. A review of the literature also highlighted the general structure of the pharmaceutical industry and the regulatory framework in the supply of pharmaceutical products. The literature study also focuses specifically on the role and function of the pharmaceutical wholesaler in the supply chain. Data was collected from clients of a pharmaceutical wholesaler using to record the service expectations and perceptions on a seven-point Likert scale. Some 385 of the 4468 clients completed and returned the industry-adapted SERVQUAL survey questionnaires on the electronic platform Google Forms (signifying an 8.6% response rate). The results showed that the data were reliable with a Cronbach alpha coefficient higher than 0.70. The results also show that in five, the service dimensions gap where perceptions and expectations are measured had negative gaps. This means that the clients expected better service quality than what they received. The service dimension Assurance showed the largest gap, while Tangibility had the smallest gap. However, none of these gaps was practically significant. Further analysis using exploratory factor analysis identified three underlying service quality variables, namely Positive employee actions, Business process management and Marketing channels. These factors explained a favourable cumulative variance of 67.7%. The study finally proposes a model to measure service quality in the pharmaceutical wholesale industry

Measuring customer service in a private hospital

This study measures service quality management in a private hospital in Gauteng, South Africa. This was done by determining the current standard of service quality management, identifying the gap between the value and the satisfaction of the service quality dimensions, as well as the influence of gender on the perception of service quality. Following a literature study the empirical research employed a tailormade 38-item questionnaire to collected data across seven sections, namely: premises/employees, doctors’ medical services, diagnostics, nursing medical services, admissions, meals and rooms. A satisfactory response rate of 71% was obtained. The analysis included the demographic profile, reliability of the data (Cronbach alpha coefficients), exploratory factor analysis and descriptive statistics. The existence of the difference between gender experiences was also determined. The results showed that although satisfactory levels of service exist (in excess of 60%), management needs to focus on the factors highlighted during the study, with proper maintenance and improvement of the appearance of the facility and providing training to personnel to promote patient relationships. Furthermore, the recommendations include inter alia that the model is useable in other health institutions to evaluate service quality levels and to highlight possible shortfalls. This would provide management with knowledge to address possible shortfalls and improve the level of service quality across the private health sector