Investigating the Misalignment in the Existing E-Legislation of South Africa

South Africa has recently enacted several e-legislation in order to address the escalating e-crime, the rise in electronic abuse and also the indifferences of the past. However, research shows that many organisations including public institutions do not understand these laws and thus, fail to comply with them. One major contributor to this are the inconsistencies found in the legislation. The National Development Plan and the Mid-term Strategic Framework recognise the complexity of laws, and thus endorse improvements in the removal of unnecessary obstacles and consistencies. Hence, the objectives of the present study are to examine the existing e-legislation in South Africa; identify areas of misalignment and investigate the factors that contribute to the misalignment. Ultimately researchers aim to develop a framework that can be used to guide the alignment e-legislation in South Africa. Extensive literature review was conducted to understand alignment of legislation. Firstly, all the e-legislation that was passed between the years 2000 and 2013 was retrieved and obtained from Sabinet database. This legislation was studied extensively and inconsistencies were identified. A conceptual framework which indicates contributing factors to misalignment and impact of misalignment to non-compliance, was developed and proposed to guide alignment of e-legislation. Based on the conceptual framework a questionnaire with open ended question was developed and tested in the Parliament of South Africa, since this institution champions the development and implementation of national laws such as the e- legislation. A total number of 50 respondents participated in the survey wherein the focus groups were people who are involved in the process of making/drafting laws, specifically ICT Laws. The influence of the factors on misalignment was measured and both qualitative and quantitative analysis confirmed these influences. The study reveals that lack of good industry standards has the greatest influence to the misalignment of e-legislation in South Africa. For instance lack of benchmarking, standardised procedures contribute the most to the misalignment of e-legislation, and that misalignment results into non-compliance. Therefore, in order to address these issues, South Africa must emphasize on benchmarking with good industry standards, and this can be achieved through harmonisation of e-legislation in the region and globally. It is also a major concern that some aspects of earlier e-legislation have not been repealed. Qualitative data also raises some issues relating to lack of ICT skills by legislators, political influences, lack of public participation, etc. Capacity/skills development issues e.g. legislative drafting and ICT technical skills for legislators must be addressed. Moreover, public involvement as a constitutional mandate must be strengthened in South Africa to ensure citizens are engaged and actively participate in the law-making process

Evaluating Factors Contributing to Misalignment of the South African National Cybeersecurity Policy Framework

This paper evaluates factors contributing to misalignment of the South African National Cybersecurity Framework (SA-NCPF) and suggest better ways to align the national policy framework to national, regional and global cyberlaws. The SA-NCPF is designed to mitigate, address and provide the regulatory guidelines relating to escalating cybercrimes, however, the complexity and interplays of factors contributing to misalignment make it difficult to achieve and measure alignment of national cyberlaws. The SA-NCPF recognises the complexities, inconsistencies, fragmentation and poor coordination of e-legislation, thus, it is imperative to recommend the removal of hindrances. By reviewing various literature, we were able to discuss and integrate a number of theoretical works that explain inconsistencies/misalignments in law. We synthesised literature to produce an integrated theoretical framework, which is a major innovation of this study. The integrated theoretical framework provides a broader perspective of the influencing factors and their interplay resulting in complex relationships which are difficult to understand. The researchers used the integrative theoretical framework and the configuration approach to develop a conceptual model. This model guides the measurement of the extent of alignment of the influencing factors and the identification of that combinations of these factors that yields an effective Cybersecurity Policy Framework. The conceptual model will be validated in a later study

Escape FDI and the dynamics of a cumulative process of institutional misalignment and contestation: stress, strain and failure

We argue that escape foreign direct investment (FDI) happens when unknown future “rules of the game” cause concern about the continued productive capacity of the economy. Adapting the stress-strain-fail model of materials failure, we argue that escape FDI is a process with three cumulative phases. Conditions for escape FDI (stress) are created by institutional deterioration and contained contestation. Limited escape FDI (strain) results from periods of societal instability and/or inadequate institutional reforms. Extensive escape FDI (failure) results from pervasive societal instability and/or fundamental changes in institutions. Using a historical approach, we develop these propositions for South Africa, 1956 to 2012

Towards an aligned South African National Cybersecurity Policy Framework

This thesis measured and aligned factors that contribute to the misalignment of the South African National Cybersecurity Policy Framework (SA-NCPF). The exponential growth rate of cyber-attacks and threats has caused more headaches for cybersecurity experts, law enforcement agents, organisations and the global business economy. The emergence of the global Corona Virus Disease-2019 has also contributed to the growth of cyber-attacks and threats thus, requiring concerted efforts from everyone in society to devise appropriate interventions that mitigate unacceptable user behaviour in the reality of cyberspace. In this study, various theories were identified and pooled together into an integrative theoretical framework to provide a better understanding of various aspects of the law-making process more comprehensively. The study identified nine influencing factors that contributed to misalignment of the South African National Cybersecurity Policy Framework. These influencing factors interact with each other continuously producing complex relationships, therefore, it is difficult to measure the degree of influence of each factor, hence the need to look at and measure the relationships as Gestalts. Gestalts view individual interactions between pairs of constructs only as a part of the overall pattern. Therefore, the integrative theoretical framework and Gestalts approach were used to develop a conceptual framework to measure the degree of alignment of influencing factors. This study proposed that the stronger the coherence among the influencing factors, the more aligned the South African National Security Policy Framework. The more coherent the SA-NCPF is perceived, the greater would be the degree of alignment of the country's cybersecurity framework to national, regional and global cyberlaws. Respondents that perceived a strong coherence among the elements also perceived an effective SA-NCPF. Empirically, this proposition was tested using nine constructs. Quantitative data was gathered from respondents using a survey. A major contribution of this study was that it was the first attempt in South Africa to measure the alignment of the SA-NCPF using the Gestalts approach as an effective approach for measuring complex relationships. The study developed the integrative theoretical framework which integrates various theories that helped to understand and explain the South African law making process. The study also made a significant methodological contribution by adopting the Cluster-based perspective to distinguish, describe and predict the degree of alignment of the SA-NCPF. There is a dearth of information that suggests that past studies have adopted or attempted to address the challenge of alignment of the SA-NCPF using the cluster-based and Gestalts perspectives. Practical implications from the study include a review of the law-making process, skills development strategy, a paradigm shift to address the global Covid-19 pandemic and sophisticated cybercrimes simultaneously. The study asserted the importance of establishing an independent cybersecurity board comprising courts, legal, cybersecurity experts, academics and law-makers to provide cybersecurity expertise and advice. From the research findings, government and practitioners can draw lessons to review the NCPF to ensure the country develops an effective national cybersecurity strategy. Limitations and recommendations for future research conclude the discussions of this study

Investigating the impact of institutional forces on the operations of an organisation-implemented ERP system in a developing country

In response to the pressure of the ever-changing and dynamic global market, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have become the cornerstone for organisations of all sizes to compete internationally. However, implementing organisations in developing countries doesn't enjoy the same benefits as implementing organisations from developed countries, because ERP systems general originate from developed countries and these do not necessarily fit the requirements of implementing organisations in developing countries owing to the different business practices, legal and government regulations. ERP systems are built on institutional models, procedures and forces that set the rules of rationale and these forces serve to bind implementing organisations to fundamental choices about how organisational operations and processes should be organised. Limited studies have been done on the impact of institutional forces on implementing organisations from developing countries, particularly in South Africa, yet these organisations continue to invest huge amounts of their financial resources in ERP systems. Until implementing organisations understand the impact of institutional forces on their operations, misalignment will continue to deny realisation of the full benefits of these systems. This study aimed at exploring the institutional forces and their impact on the operations of the implementing organisation within the South African context. A qualitative research approach was undertaken from an interpretive epistemological position. A single case study was conducted at Organisation X. Organisation X is a public sector organisation formed in 1999 and implemented an ERP system in 2006. Thirty employees participated in the study and the data were analysed using the thematic analysis qualitative technique. The selected participants only include those who joined the Organisation X before the implementation of the ERP system because they have a broad general knowledge of the ERP and have undergone the experience during this time. These include executive managers, senior managers and support staff. Major themes from the data illustrate that implementing organisations from the public sector resort to modifying the ERP because they operate in highly regulated environments. These themes also demonstrate that economic differences, sector requirements, organisational culture, IT infrastructure and operational differences are the institutional forces that affect the implementation and use of software packages. The findings reveal that ERP-embedded institutional forces have a negative impact on the implementing organisational structures, bring changes to the process controls and procedures of the implementing organisation, affect the reporting structure of the organisation, create additional roles and responsibilities, bring undesirable changes to organisational culture and increase organisational spending in IT infrastructure. Institutional forces also have positive impact on implementing organisation operations, including improved availability, accessibility, accuracy and reliability of the information and, lastly, thus improve the effectiveness and efficiency of operations. The findings of this study help to build a body of knowledge on ERP misalignment for organisations planning to implement or adopt ERP systems. This study alerts implementing organisations of the need to systemically review regulations and national rules together with industry best practices prior to deployment

Evaluation of the implementation of change management in business restructuring at ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited

ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited (organization/company)’s main business is the production and sales of carbon steel products in the domestic and export markets. The company is large and employs around 10 000 (ten thousand) employees. AMSA’s business environment is affected by forces for change external and internal to the organization. These factors are arguably key drivers of change resulting into the misalignment between the organization and its environment. AMSA’s actions to adapt to changes in the environment are likely to stimulate reaction from industry role players. An analysis of the competitive environment was employed to understand the likely reaction towards AMSA’s response to change. The research assumes that there are factors in the current business approach of AMSA hindering the organization from adapting to changes in its business environment. The study is focused on investigating possible barriers to the effective implementation of AMSA’s restructuring programme to achieve its strategic objectives. The research objectives are: • To identify key drivers of change. • To investigate possible barriers to the effective implementation of change. • To investigate the organization’s change readiness. The qualitative research approach was followed in the investigation. The method is suitable for the study of limited cases in greater depth and enabled the description of AMSA employees’ personal experience of the phenomenon. Raw data was collected from employees using a questionnaire developed using a 5 point Likert scale and contained closed-ended questions. The official company documents were also reviewed for existing information relevant to the investigation. Basic exploratory statistics was used to interpret the results which indicated the existence of significant patterns of variables being studied in the sample. The conclusion from the study of the sample has been generalized to the population and in combination with relevant information from company records as well as a reflective analysis, a view was taken to support that the data and results are sufficient to substantiate the position taken. The results of the study indicate that change in AMSA is driven by factors outside the control of the organization and that internal forces for change reflect some of the dictates of these external forces. The investigation also showed that employees of AMSA as individuals and as a group appear to resist change and the organization undertook the restructuring initiatives under conditions when some of the requirements for change readiness were not fulfilled. The outcome of the investigation cannot provide conclusive answers to the management problem and it is accepted that the study took place in a dynamic environment and solutions are not prescribed. The recommendations made to mitigate individual and or group resistance are summarized as follows: • Monitoring of forces for change and identify the correct change target • Improve communication and optimize the use of informal channels • Develop strategy and create a climate for workforce diversity • Empower members of the organization and create a climate for learning • Create a vision-supportive organizational culture The implementation of the recommended actions is likely to improve the effectiveness of the restructuring process.Graduate School of Business LeadershipM.B.A

Evaluating the business improvement strategies, practices and challenges in the platinum mining industry

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the strategies, practices and challenges relating to business performance and the implementation of business improvement to align production and maintenance strategies to the corporate strategy in Anglo American Platinum, a mining operation in South Africa. A set of questions were used in a qualitative research design through interview questions to collect data from corporate strategic management and the operational management involved in business improvement initiatives in the production and maintenance processes. Globally, mining companies are faced with many challenges, including safety, system integration and standardisation, caring for the environment, cost controlling and reliability of machinery and equipment. The mining industry is both labour and capital-intensive. While the South African labour force has unlimited demands on wages and salaries, most machinery runs at its maximum capacity and requires more capital for the operations to continue production, ensuring value creation for all stakeholders and hence sustainability of the operations. The situation was aggravated when market forces determining the commodity prices became volatile, causing the slump in the commodity prices. As a result, profit margins were eroded by the higher costs of production and higher wages costs. To create a sustainable, cost-effective operation and improve recovery and grades, mining companies such as Anglo American Platinum implemented a business improvement initiative. This study aims to evaluate the strategies, practices and challenges in relation to business improvement at Anglo American Platinum. Observations are that the impact of misalignment between corporate strategy, together with business improvement production and maintenance strategies, contribute minimally to the performance of production at Anglo American Platinum

Critical Perspectives Sustainability of the on South African Civil Society Sector

This report presents the findings of a research and advocacy process that included consultative workshops with CSOs in all nine of South Africa's provinces, interviews with CSOs, politicians, government departments, the NLB, NDA and local funders. The report highlights the successes and ongoing problems associated with the NLB and the NDA. It locates them within a broader context of government unevenness, inefficiency and corruption