Is the business environment a matter of political economy and convergence?

In this article, the central question addressed is: does the business environment entail a complex nexus of political economy and other factors (government, business, ideology, and leadership) that may or may not manifest convergence? Also, the role of metrics and data is appropriately discussed. Current theories fail to impart an understanding of what the nature of the business environment is, or of the multifaceted nexus and convergence (or divergence) that it may entail. The strength of convergence involved is directly related to the integrity of the business environment and also reflects the overall dynamics in the country of focus. Each of the three country cases examined is fundamentally different, but offers important lessons. The overarching conclusion is that political economy and convergence often play a critical role in the business environment—though certainly not always, as in South Africa, where there is divergence, and in the case of metrics and data on the business environment, which, by design, do not focus on convergence

Inequality: concepts, data, perspectives and solutions

A comprehensive treatise on inequality from economic, social, business and metrics/data perspectives is lacking in the literature and this treatise fills that void. We posit that: (a) neoclassical economics has failed to address inequality within nations; (b) the social theories on inequality are of ancillary importance; (c) businesses have contributed to inequality in several ways but have also made a positive contribution towards a fairer, more equitable society; (d) data on inequality is not up to date. Taxation and social programs offer an inadequate approach to tackling inequality without a proper framework and supporting approaches. In addition, complementarity between neoclassical economics and behavioural economics would be a positive factor in addressing inequality and should be pursued. Issues of inequality metrics and data reliability have moved to the forefront of discussions as the data currently available is the basis of much dissent. Robust metrics and reliable and up to date inequality data (as well as related statistics) are indispensable for designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating inequality interventions and policies

An empirical study on staff turnover and retention within Eskom : Eastern Cape Operating Unit

This research paper is broken up into three sections, namely an evaluation report, a literature review and a description of the research methodology. The evaluation report section is an assessment of the factors that could contribute to staff leaving the organisation and why staff would choose to remain with the organisation. The Distribution Division of Eskom is divided into nine separate Operating Units (OU's), in line with the nine Provinces. According to an Eskom Human Resource Manager (Mjali, 2013), as at March 2012 there were 2231 employees in the Easter Cape Operating Unit, while the staff turnover for the same period was 4.53%. Of the 101 staff that had resigned for the period 01 April 2011 to 31 March 2012, there were 27 transfers, 26 resignations and 30 retirements. The balance of 18 staff that left was due to dismissals and deaths. While the statistics suggest a healthy level of staff turnover at present, given the current pressures that Eskom employees are under, it is important to investigate their future intentions and to see what Eskom can do to continue to retain their services. The literature relating to staff turnover and retention was examined to determine the meaning of the terms retention and turnover and to review the relevant turnover topics that were emerging from the exit interview data. The research conducted was quantitative in nature, and a questionnaire was distributed to all managerial staff within the Eastern Cape Operating Unit of Eskom. The questionnaire was sent electronically to the participants via email with the link to the questionnaire. Participants were requested to respond on questions relating to factors on turnover and retention, and the responses were used to assess employee's intention to either remain with the organisation or to leave. The feedback received was analysed with the use of data analysis in Microsoft Excel (2010). The results of the research showed that there were two distinct themes related to employees' intention to remain with the organisation, namely job satisfaction and career development. On the other end of the scale, themes which would cause staff to want to leave the organisation were the performance management system of the organisation, not being listened to (i.e. to the ideas and views of staff) and leadership (i.e. the way the organisation was being led). Recommendations are made to management. The study also recommends future research that can be done to get greater insight into factors relating to staff turnover and retention. A detailed review of the literature is included in Section two of the report. Only essential components of the literature are included in Section one of report. Section three of the report provided a detailed description of the research design and the research procedure that was followed

Monetary policy for small emerging market economies: the way forward

Discretionary monetary policy for small emerging market economies, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, can benefit from closer scrutiny and strengthening through appropriate and incmacfemntal policies. Field research and related analysis challenge the conventional wisdom on the relationship between interest rates and inflation. Lessons learned suggest that monetary policy needs to be tempered to prevailing social, cultural, and socio-economic factors. In addition, access to credit through financial inclusion policies and programmes needs to be addressed, and the overarching role of good governance cannot be overlooked. Given the broad scope of weaknesses inherent in monetary policy-making (and the systems that support it) in small emerging market economies such as Botswana's, two options are available to tackle the problems: either monetary union should be adopted or incmacfemntal new directions to the status quo are required.monetary policy, small emerging market economies, Sub-Saharan Africa, monetary union, social and cultural factors,

Substrates and Inhibitors of Enzymes Involved in Exopolysaccharide Dependent Biofilms

Many biofilm-forming bacteria produce a similar partially de-N-acetylated β-1,6-N-acetyl glucosamine homopolymer (dPNAG) to facilitate bacterial adhesion. In many medically important biofilm forming bacterial strains, including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus, de-N-acetylation of the β-1,6-N-acetyl glucosamine homopolymer (PNAG) is catalyzed by a metal dependent de-N-acetylase. Sixty-five percent of all human persistent bacterial infections are considered to be biofilm related. In vivo studies have implicated the production and subsequent de-N-acetylation of PNAG is essential to bacterial virulence. In this work, methods of monitoring and targeting PNAG-dependent biofilm processes are explored. A novel chromogenic glycosidase substrate based on a glycosyl carbamate was developed and used to effectively monitor the activity of Dispersin B (DspB), an enzyme capable of degrading PNAG/dPNAG. Additionally, an array of potential deacetylase inhibitors were synthesized with the goal of targeting the essential de-N-acetylase enzymes PgaB and IcaB, from E. coli and S. epidermidis respectively, for biofilm formation. These inhibitors were based on a carbohydrate scaffold containing either a metal chelating moiety or a transition state mimic. Finally, a novel coumarin based substrate was developed to monitor in vitro de-N-acetylase activity of PgaB and IcaB. Using this substrate, the potency of the synthesized inhibitors was evaluated through a competitive fluorogenic assay. The most effective inhibitor, a chemoenzymatically-synthesized pentasaccharide derivative showed a Ki value of 280 µM.Ph.D

Kvalitetsledning av försörjningskedjor : Undersökningar av prestanda hos tillverkande organisatione

This thesis addresses the issue of quality performance in supply chains in the manufacturers’context. Research shows that the management and performance of supply chains play a major rolein gaining competitive advantage, especially in times of decreasing international trade barriers andquickly evolving information technology. Some researchers claim that it is the supply chain itselfthat competes on a market and not merely the organisations with their specific strategies andgoals. Supply chain performance has been widely discussed in the research literature in recentyears. However, this research points out that supply chain quality management (SCQM) and itsimpact on firm performance (both inter-organisational and intra-organisational) have not beensufficiently understood. Further studies are needed to identify the direct and indirect impact ofSCQM practices on firm performance at multiple levels.A problem that many organisations face is the lack of resources and knowledge on how to managesupply chain quality performance (i.e., which performance to measure, how to controlperformance, and how to improve performance). Studies show that often even large companiesmeasure effectiveness using key performance indicators (KPI) and that these indicators often donot depict key characteristics critical to organisational performance or customer behaviour.Therefore, such indicators might be inadequate for fully capturing the performance of supplychains. As quality management standards evolve, managers need to adapt to changingrequirements. To fulfil the new version of ISO 9001, organisations are required to determinecriteria and apply methods to ensure effective operation and control of their processes (both intraorganisationaland inter-organisational performance). This includes monitoring and measuringperformance indicators. The quality performance of a supply chain is dependent on its ability toimprove and thereby enable organisations to stay competitive over time. Good measurements ofsupply chain quality performance must reflect this ability. To do so, organisations need to knowwhich measures and metrics to use and how to analyse performance of their supply chains.From the seven studies presented in this thesis we are able to draw a number of more generalconclusions that bear on the main research question: What improves quality performance of supplychains that include manufacturing? At the process level, it has been found that manufacturersshould focus on the quality and delivery performance of each process within the organisation. Atthe internal, integrated supply chain level, a manufacturing organisation should focus on quality(conformance), delivery performance (on-time delivery), and cost cutting in the internal supplychain. Collaboration using cross-functional teams seems most appropriate when working withproduct development. The use of a process-oriented mapping tool was found to facilitatedescription of information flows and physical material flows and also to identify disturbances thatcould be improved and rationalized to generate a better flow in the total supply chain. At both theupstream and downstream sides of the supply chain, one-sided measures that depict performanceover organisational boundaries were found to be the most common. At the downstream side of asupply chain, suppliers could be chosen based on cost, conformance, speed, and flexibility. At theupstream side, procedures that handle changing requirements and information about delays orincorrectness of materials were found to influence flow. The results from these seven studies arethe basis for the development of a supply chain quality improvement model. In the literature,supply chain performance is often discussed on a strategic level with measures for quality,flexibility and delivery. Managers also need metrics that can be followed up on at a detailed level(e.g., capacity load, breakdown rates, claims, cost of poor quality, and lead-times). To bridge thisgap, a Key Performance Indicators Matrix of supply chain quality performance indicators formanufacturers is proposed