Critical success factors influencing performance outcome of joint venture construction projects in South Africa: Comparison of first and second order models

Joint ventures (JVs) have become increasingly common, because of the complexity and challenges associated with the delivery of construction projects globally and in South Africa. However, it has been established that JV projects have experienced unsatisfactory performance leading to clients’ dissatisfaction. The purpose of this paper is therefore to determine the critical success factors (CSFs) influencing the performance of JV construction projects in South Africa. A positivist philosophy position was adopted using a structured questionnaire survey administered to the construction professionals. Prior to the main study, a content validity of the questionnaire was achieved using a pilot study. The data was collected from 115 conveniently sampled respondents, and analysed using principal component analysis and multiple regression analysis. The exploratory factor analysis revealed two empirical models to be tested; namely the first and second order factor models. The result of the first order model revealed that, management control influenced achievement of project objective of JV, whereas, the second order model established that understanding of contractual agreement, which was explained by six components of CSFs influenced achievement of project objective. It is suggested that stakeholders who prefer to be involved in JV projects should acquire good understanding of the contractual agreement in managing JV projects in order to successfully achieve the project objectives. This study adds to the discourse and literature on CSFs of JVs. It provides new empirical evidence of the CSFs that influence project performance outcome of JV in the context of South Africa which can also be replicated in other countries globally. However, the study may not be generalised because of the geographical setting and respondents

Factors for selecting joint venture partner for construction project in South Africa

Abstract: The construction industry plays a vital role in South Africa’s economic and social development where this industry provides the physical infrastructure and backbone for economic activity while providing a large-scale provider of employment. In a world of rapidly increasing global competition, enterprises partake in joint ventures in order to stay competitive and strategically flexible. Even though, one of the most prevalent types of business arrangements that are being used by South Africans, in the tender environment, is Joint Venture, risks are innate in JV construction projects and lead to at least 40% to 70% of JVs failure. As a result, the success of a joint venture evidently depends on the synergy created by the individual contributions of each partner, and thus, a good joint venture management lies not only in the implementation of the project, but also a proper partner selection. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the factors to select JV partner. A quantitative research methodology was adopted and the data was collected through the use of questionnaires. Key findings reveal that the selection criteria of JV partner(s) include the commitment between the partners, complementary technical skills, compatible management teams, complementary resources, commitment to joint venture objectives as well as trust between partners. Other selection criteria which appear to be neutral to respondents relate to mutual dependency and relative company size. As the study reveals these findings, interested and concerned parties (contractors, consultants, owners of construction companies) are able to improve by far the performance of JV construction projects in South Africa before signing contracts agreement

Business strategy and organizational sustainability of selected enterprises in Libreville, Gabon

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of insufficient business planning and good management of SMEs in Gabon have on SMEs’ to survive and grow. Thus, the study examined the relationship between business strategies and SMEs’ organisational sustainability in Libreville (Gabon).The study was a descriptive one which made use of positivist philosophy and adopted quantitative approach. As such a questionnaire which was designed from themes extracted from literature survey was used to gather data from a sample of 30 SMEs. The findings indicated that the lack of business strategy encountered in SMEs in Libreville lead partly to the failure or setbacks of the operation of the organisations. Most common reasons of the failure of SMEs were related to the absence of business plan, the lack of leadership, and lack of appropriate management system. The recommendations are to improve the SMEs in terms of good leadership, importance of business plan, management control system; strategic business management, organisation and employees performance. It further revealed that for the purpose of organisational sustainability, business strategies are regarded as critical aspects to consider for avoiding non-conformances while running businesses. The significance of the study is the framework to identify and optimise business strategies in order to promote successfully SMEs. The study shows the interest of owners of SMEs to set up appropriate business strategies

Institutionalisation of derivatives trading and economic growth : evidence from South Africa

Given ongoing advocacy for the institutionalisation of derivatives trading in sub- Saharan Africa (SSA) as a convenient way for enhancing regional countries’ growth prospects, this study examines the impact of derivatives trading on the economy of South Africa, with reference to output growth and growth volatility, in order to illustrate the likely developmental impact that derivatives markets could ensue for SSA countries. The literature of the study essentially explores the possible ways of derivatives markets’ influence on economic growth, alongside the infrastructural requirements for ensuring well-functioning derivatives markets. While accounting for implied capital market development, the GMM estimation could not evidence a significant relationship between the existing derivatives exchange and real GDP growth using South Africa’s data. Similarly, a causal relationship from SAFEX’s trading volumes to GDP growth could not be inferred. However, the study shows evidence of the reducing effect of derivatives trading on growth volatility.Business ManagementM. Com. ( Business Management

Investigation of the antidiabetic activity of Cnicusbenedictus L. in rats

Magister Pharmaceuticae - MPharmDiabetes Mellitus, one of the major diseases affecting human population all over the world has caused significant morbidity and mortality. The management of this condition has raised the demand of safe and cost effective remedial measures due to several side effects associated with the present use of modern medicines. Thus, it is crucial to explore other options for diabetes management such as the use of medical plants. Cnicus benedictus L. is one of the known plant species used by traditional medicine practitioners in South Africa for the treatment of various ailments including inflammatory conditions, pain and diabetes. Even though the plant species has been extensively studied, scientifically, no evidence exists in literature to corroborate the claim made by traditional medicine practitioners of its therapeutic success in the treatment of diabetes and pain. Therefore, the objectives of this present study were: to investigate the antidiabetic activity of C. benedictus using leaf methanol extract of the plant species on animal model involving male and female Albino rats; to investigate the antinociceptive activity of the plant species on mice; to determine the safety profile of the plant by investigating the acute toxicity and to carry out HPLC study in order to characterize the plant species. Animals were divided into groups of six each and fasted overnight prior to the induction of diabetes in rats using Streptozocin (STZ). The plasma glucose was measured at intervals of 30 min for 4 hours by means of a glucometer. Cnicus benedictus (100 – 400 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reduced the blood glucose concentrations of fasted normal rats with percentage maximum reduction ranging from 46 to 79% and chlorpropramide (250 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reduced the blood glucose concentrations of fasted normal rats by 84%. Cnicus benedictus (100 – 400 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reduced the blood glucose concentrations of STZinduced diabetic rats with percentage maximum reduction ranging from 44.82 to 66.04% and chlorpropramide (250 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reduced the blood glucose concentration of STZ-induced diabetic rats by 71.71%. In the oral glucose tolerance test, administration of leaf methanol extract of Cnicus benedictus (100 – 400 mg/kg, i.p.) following oral glucose load on fasted normoglycaemic rats significantly reduced the increased blood glucose concentrations with percentage maximum reduction ranging from 42.45 to 70.75%. Chlorpropramide (250 mg/kg, i.p.) following oral glucose load on fasted normoglycaemic rats significantly reduce the increased blood glucose concentration with a percentage maximum reduction of 79.04%. In acetic acid writhing test, animals were divided into groups of eight per dose. Cnicus benedictus (25-400 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reduced the number of writhes in mice with percentage inhibition of the writhes ranging from 67.95 to 73.71%. Indomethacin (20 mg/kg, i.p.) and paracetamol (500 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reduced the number of writhes in mice with percentage inhibition of 75.44 and 69.18% respectively. Combined treatment of lowest and sub-effective doses of C.benedictus (12.5 mg/kg, i.p.) and indomethacin (10 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reduced the writhes with a percentage inhibition of 58.32%. In hot plat test, animals were divided into groups of eight per dose. Cnicus benedictus (25-400 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly delayed the reaction times of the mice to hot-plate thermal stimulation. Morphine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly delayed the reaction time of the mice to the hot-plate stimulation. The no-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) of leaf methanol extract of Cnicus benedictus was obtained at 3200 mg/kg (p.o.) and the LD50 value of the plant species was found to be 4000 mg/kg (p.o.). The HPLC fingerprint of the leaf methanol extract of Cnicusbenedictus showed distinct peaks at the following retention times of 6.387, 14.628, 18.431, 23.228 and 29.829 min. In conclusion, the data obtained showed that leaf methanol extract of Cnicus benedictus possesses both antidiabetic and antinocipetive activities.National Research Foundation (NRF

Cultural Hybridity and Existential Crisis in Richard Wright’s The Outsider and Cheikh Hamidou Kane’s L’aventure ambiguë

In a letter sent to Michel Fabre in 1964, Léopold Sédar Senghor wrote about Richard Wright: His whole life and work tend to be the proof that he was a torn man, very much like me, all things considered. A man torn between the past and the future of his race, between the values of Négritude and those of European civilization. That Senghor identified himself with Richard Wright is particularly revealing in the sense that Senghor’s personal trajectory epitomizes the intellectual journey of the p..

Profil lipidique, cinétique d’apparition des diènes conjugués et activité paraoxonase-1 chez le diabétique de type 2 à Libreville au Gabon

L’objectif de ce travail était d’identifier la fréquence des dyslipidémies du diabétique de type 2 afin d’apprécier l’efficacité de leur prise en charge. Pour cela, une étude prospective et ponctuelle, a été menée du 1er janvier au 30 octobre 2010. Elle a concerné les patients diabétiques de type 2, avec ou sans complications macro et microvasculaires. Un bilan lipidique a été réalisé chez ces patients à jeun depuis 12 heures, associé à la détermination du temps de latence d’apparition des diènes conjugués et l’activité paraoxonase-1 (PON1). Il a été démontré que le LDL était élevé chez 65,2%, alors que le HDL était réduit chez 63,6% des diabétiques. Le profil le plus athérogène, caractérisé par une augmentation du LDL et une diminution du HDL intéressait 31,8% des sujets. La dyslipidémie classiquement associée au diabète de type 2, n’était retrouvée que chez 8,3% des patients. Ces anomalies quantitatives étaient accompagnées de modifications qualitatives des lipides, à type de diminution du temps de latence d’apparition des diènes conjugués ou de l’activité PON1 avec la chronicité de la maladie. Ces résultats suggèrent l’amélioration des mesures de prise en charge des dyslipidémies chez les diabétiques de type 2, non seulement avec les statines, mais également les dérivés de l’acide nicotinique et même des antioxydants comme la vitamine E.Mots clés: diabète de type 2, dyslipidémies, athérosclérose, oxydation LDL, paraoxonase