Research Articles: Faculty of Management Sciences
http://hdl.handle.net/11462/257
2024-03-28T12:58:48ZEmbracing The Role Of Finance In Sustainability For SMEs
http://hdl.handle.net/11462/2494
Embracing The Role Of Finance In Sustainability For SMEs
Kimanzi, Mathew, Kimweli; Gamede, Vangeli, Wiseman
Businesses are being faced with increasing expectations to take an active role in meeting the world’s environmental, social and economic challenges. For this to be achieved, there is a need for a paradigm shift in the functional aspects of businesses. This study aimed at exploring the role of the finance department in promoting sustainable business practices for SMEs and the actions taken by finance to manage sustainability risks. The study adopted a quantitative approach where questionnaires were distributed to SME owners and managers in the Pietermaritzburg area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A total of 182 SMEs participated in this study. The results indicated that the finance department has a significant role to play in the development of metrics for measuring sustainable practices and that operational risk management was the main action taken by the finance function to manage sustainability related risks. SME finance professional bodies are urged to help SMEs develop their skills base beyond those normally associated with financial accounting. This is important in order to equip finance officials in SMEs with skills to make key decisions pertaining to sustainability practices.
Article
2020-10-15T00:00:00ZAn Insurable Risk Analysis For Construction Projects And Industry Using Spi: Gauteng Province, South Africa
http://hdl.handle.net/11462/2491
An Insurable Risk Analysis For Construction Projects And Industry Using Spi: Gauteng Province, South Africa
Hlalele, Bernard, Moeketsi
The South African construction sector accounts for 11% of the total employment, thus contributing approximately 4% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, severe unpredictable weather patterns can send this sector’s costs skyrocketing and revenue spiralling. Construction industry is said to be a good indicator for economic growth. The aim of this current study was to assess rainfall variability in the current rapidly changing climate regime, to set an avenue for businesses’ opportunities and risk reduction adaptation measures in order to keep this industry in the market. Annual rainfall data sets from eight weather stations were collected from an online source for analysis. A non-parametric test, Pettitt’s homogeneity and Shapiro-Wilk tests for data stationarity and normality respectively were deployed. A further Mann Kendall’s trend test was used to detect if any monotonic trend patterns were existent in the data sets. The probability of non-exceedance and return level periods were computed for each station. ANOVA test revealed all stations statistically different in rainfall patterns. The major results for this study, was that (i) no statistically significant decreasing patterns were observed over all candidate stations (ii), for every 2 to 5-year return periods, all stations are to experience near-normal drought conditions as computed from Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI). Given the frequent and intense drought episodes in South Africa and other parts of the world, Gauteng province remains a relatively conducive environment for construction business projects.
Article
2020-01-01T00:00:00ZEffects Of Gauteng Province’S Educators’ Ict Self-Efficacy On Their Pedagogical Use Of Icts In Classrooms
http://hdl.handle.net/11462/2490
Effects Of Gauteng Province’S Educators’ Ict Self-Efficacy On Their Pedagogical Use Of Icts In Classrooms
Mlambo, Shepherd; Rambe, Patient; Schlebusch, Luzaan
The proliferation of ICT in South African basic education has not been associated with effective pedagogical uses
of ICT in classrooms. While there is differential deployment of ICT as cognitive tools of instruction in South
Africa's schools, the effects of educators' ICT self-efficacy on their pedagogical use of technologies is yet to be fully
grasped. This research gap has been attributed to, inter alia, the lack of a detailed profile of ICT self-efficacy
beliefs of educators and its effects on pedagogical uses of ICT by educators. This study employs a crosssectional
survey, adapting a structured questionnaire to investigate the relationship between purposively
selected 163 Gauteng educators' ICT self-efficacy beliefs and their pedagogical use of ICT. An exploratory factor
analysis on pedagogical use of ICT (PUI) revealed three factors of ‘traditional PUI’ and one ‘constructivist PUI’.
Results suggest that ICT self-efficacy had a positive significant but moderate effect on the three traditional PUI and
a positive significant and strong relationship with the constructivist PUI. Furthermore, a linear regression analysis
found ICT self-efficacy to significantly predict all four PUI factors. The study recommends initial educator training
that emphasises exposure of trainee educators to extended periods of hands-on engagement with ICTs in classroom
environments. Furthermore, it recommends continuous ICT integration and the development of practicing
educators with a focus on the “how to” integrate ICT tools as ‘generative’ mind tools. These interventions have
potential to increase educators' ICT self-efficacy in resource constrained contexts. The implication is that educator
training curricula are re-designed with an emphasis on practical lesson planning that includes ICTs as seamless
resources used in the classroom in basic education.
Article
2020-01-01T00:00:00Z"Modelling Risk Recurrence Intervals For Agricultural Projects From Theoretical Probability Distribution And Spi: Semonkong, Lesotho, South Africa"
http://hdl.handle.net/11462/2486
"Modelling Risk Recurrence Intervals For Agricultural Projects From Theoretical Probability Distribution And Spi: Semonkong, Lesotho, South Africa"
Hlalele, Bernard, Moeketsi
Drought events are major natural hazards that occur in various climate regimes with significant agricultural,
environmental and socio-economic adverse impacts. These hazards are insidious, obstinate and slow-onset
with creeping nature that lead to drought disasters mostly in agriculture dependent communities. In this
study, the recurrence intervals of drought were studied from theoretical probability distribution and
Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) at Semonkong station in Lesotho. Firstly the spring (Sep, Oct and
Nov) monthly precipitation data obtained from Lesotho Meteorological Services, was tested for outliers
and homogeneity (2 tailed p-value = 0.286) for quality control purposes. Secondly, Mann Kendall trend test
and probability distribution fitting were both determined by XLSTAT software. No significant trend was
revealed. A normal probability distribution fitted well to the data using a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (pvalue
= 0.869) with a risk of 86.9% of rejecting the null hypothesis. DrinC software was then used to compute
drought monitoring parameters at three months’ time scale (SPI-3) as shown in equation 1. The normal
distribution parameters were then inputted in INSTAT software to determine exceedance probabilities and
corresponding precipitation values. All precipitation values exhibited by INSTAT were matched with their
SPI values. Given the focus of the current study, both recurrence intervals in years and non-exceedance
probabilities were determined. The results showed that the study area is highly likely to experience moderate,
severe and extreme or more drought events in 3.33, 5 and 10 years respectively at any given period. This is
really a short period that these events will occur at any given year, therefore, the study recommends that
authorities, Government, participating private and NGO’s put livelihood diversification measures in place
given that over 80% of Lesotho population’s livelihood depends on rain-fed-agriculture.
Article
2020-05-16T00:00:00Z