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A prototype mobile money implementation in Nigeria

  • Authors: Ayo, C.K. , Ukpere, W.I. , Oni, A. , Omote, U. , Akinsiku, D.
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: Mobile money , Cellphone banking - Nigeria
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5846 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7933
  • Description: Researchers have shown that majority of the populace in the developing nations are rural dwellers that do not have access to basic financial services and are poor. This class of people are peasant farmers and petty traders who rely mostly on remittances from their wards and relations in major cities and abroad to meet their financial obligations at home. The methods of remittances are encumbered with challenges. Mobile money is a tool that allows individuals to make financial transactions using mobile cell phones. Nigeria is one of the fastest growing telecoms nations of the world and the adoption of mobile money will help a great deal to solve the problems associated with remittances. In this paper, we present a short messages services (SMS) and unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) implementation of mobile money implementation in Nigeria modelled using Django and Python as the programming language, MySQL as the data store and Apache hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) as the Web server. The system made comparative analysis with M-PESA implementation in Kenya: the first mobile money implantation in Africa. Furthermore, the system was tested among a selected few of the populace to evaluate the usability of the design. Findings revealed that the prototype implementation is user-friendly and can be used by all without many problems except for the illiterate populace; hence, the need to have a combined bank and agent-based implementation. This approach will help with time to reduce the number of unbanked populace, which is currently at 80%.
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Brain drain and African development : any possible gain from the drain?

  • Authors: Benedict, Olumide Henrie , Ukpere, Wilfred Isioma
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: Brain drain - Africa , Brain gain - Africa , Africa - Emigration and immigration , Labor supply - Africa
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5856 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7953
  • Description: Everyday, Africa loses her best academics, scientists, doctors, nurses, accountants, and other sought after professionals, through brain drain, into other richer countries. The question is: Why? The impact of the problem is to the detriment of development of the African continent. It also seems to be a continuous issue without any trend of ceasing. This paper explores the nature, effects (positive and negative) and reason for the brain drain in Africa. What can African countries do to minimize the problem or the impact thereof? The aim of this paper, with some models illustrating the subject matter, is to explore the nature and effects of brain drain on African development and ultimately pinpoint possible positive perspectives of brain gain from the drained brains.
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Environmental concern of South African cohorts : an exploratory study

  • Authors: Berndt, Adele , Petzer, Danie
  • Date: 2011-09
  • Subjects: Environmental attitudes , Environmental awareness , Recycling
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5772 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7779
  • Description: Environmental issues receive ever increasing attention in society and a general level of concern is expressed in the society, yet specific action-related programmes (such as recycling campaigns) do not experience the success that could be expected, given the level of attention and concern. This poses questions regarding the awareness and actions towards environmental issues. These are however, influenced by attitudes, making them critical. The focus of this quantitative study was to investigate the attitudes (and their components) of South Africans towards environmental and recycling issues. The study was conducted among a convenience sample of 139 respondents using a self administered paper-based survey. The findings show that respondents exhibited relatively positive attitudes towards environmental issues. No significant differences were, however, found between groups based upon gender or income, while significant differences were found between older and younger respondents. This paper indicates that organisations involved in environmental issues (including recycling) can harness positive attitudes to increase the success of programmes that are introduced.
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Budget deficit and long-term interest rates in South Africa

  • Authors: Bonga-Bonga, Lumengo
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: Budget deficit - South Africa , Long-term interest rates - South Africa , Cointegrating vector autoregressive (VAR) , Fisher effect , Inflation - South Africa - Forecasting
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5868 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7965
  • Description: This paper investigated the extent of the effects of the systematic and surprise changes in budget deficits on the long-term interest rate in South Africa. Use was made of the identified cointegrating vector autoregressive (VAR) techniques whereby cointegrating vectors were identified based on the Fisher effect theory and the expectation hypothesis of the term structure to assess the effect of systematic changes in budget deficit on the long-term interest rate. Moreover, the generalised impulse response functions obtained from the cointegrating VAR were used to assess the effect of the surprise change in budget deficit on the long-term interest rate. The results of the paper showed a positive relationship between the budget deficits and long-term interest rate under different assumptions of price expectations by economic agents.
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Forecasting the exchange rate in South Africa : a comparative analysis challenging the random walk model

  • Authors: Botha, Ilsé , Pretorius, Marinda
  • Date: 2009
  • Subjects: Foreign exchange rates - South Africa - Forecasting
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5526 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/13933
  • Description: Literature shows that exchange rates are largely unpredictable, and that a simple random walk outperforms structural exchange rate models. In order to determine whether fundamentals explain exchange rate behaviour in South Africa, the two approaches to exchange rate forecasting - the technical and fundamental approach - will be compared. Various univariate time series models, including the random walk model, will be compared to various multivariate time series models (using the MAD/mean ratio), combining the two approaches. The determinants of the South African exchange rate are identified, and these determinants are used to specify multivariate time series models for the South African exchange rate. The multivariate models (VARMA) outperformed the univariate models (except for the Random walk model) in the short-run forecasts, one step ahead, while the multivariate models, performed better in the longer-run forecasts. To improve the accuracy of especially the multivariate models, it is recommended that multiple frequencies be used to capture the dynamic behaviour between variables in a Structural VAR framework.
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The relevance of Obama’s victory to post-modern theory

  • Authors: Chuku, C.D. , Ogoloma, F.I , Ukpere, W. I.
  • Date: 2011-09
  • Subjects: Postmodernism , Contemporary societies , Obama, Barack Hussein
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5773 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7780
  • Description: The paper focused on the postmodern theory and its relevance to contemporary societies with America as a reference point. The argument here is that there is conceptual mutuality between postmodern theory and Obama’s victory as the 44th president of the United States of America. In this paper, the authors argue logically in favour of postmodern theory, that we are now in a postmodern world where stereotype perceptions against colour and gender are no longer necessary. Rather what counts most is the content of the character of an individual. The author relied extensively on secondary data and focused group discussion.
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Global warming mitigation promotes corporate entrepreneurship within Woolworths’ supply chain

  • Authors: Dos Santos, M A. O.
  • Date: 2012-09
  • Subjects: Corporate entrepreneurship , Woolworths , Sustainable marketing strategies , Global warming mitigation
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5788 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7795
  • Description: This study demonstrates how Woolworths, a South African retail chain promotes corporate entrepreneurship within its supply chain as it implements sustainable marketing strategies. A qualitative case study approach, restricted to a single retail chain, was used and the data analysed was derived from their public documents. A content analysis using a thematic approach that incorporated product life cycle model variables was used to code the data. The results demonstrate that retailers can promote entrepreneurial activity within supply chains as they implement sustainable marketing strategies.
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South African postgraduate consumer’s attitude towards global warming

  • Authors: Dos Santos, M. A. O.
  • Date: 2011-06
  • Subjects: Global warming mitigation , Consumer social responsibility
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5784 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7791
  • Description: The article explored postgraduate consumers’ attitude towards global warming in South Africa. This is relevant in a world where the negative impact of global warming is already felt in some countries and there is a great deal of discussion by stakeholders around the mitigation of greenhouse gases. The data used in this article was collected using a specially designed questionnaire which incorporated questions relating to the persuasion (attitude formation) stage of innovation decision process. The findings of this study revealed that the respondents were passively involved with the global warming phenomenon; many were aware of its negative consequences; they were worried about global warming; they felt that it would impact their personal lives, South Africa and future generations. Opinion leadership and word of mouth communication within the respondent’s social system occurred to a limited extent. This study demonstrated the respondents’ attitude towards global warming which within the context of derived demand is significant since consumers are indirectly responsible for businesses’ greenhouse gas emissions.
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The attitudes of donors towards non-profit organisations (NPOs) in Gauteng, South Africa : a generational perspective

  • Authors: Du Plessis, Laureane , Petzer, Daniël J.
  • Date: 2011-11
  • Subjects: Attitudes towards NPOs , Attitudes towards supporting NPOs , Non-profit organisations (NPOs) , Baby boomers , Generation Y , Generation X
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5770 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7777
  • Description: Individual factors such as the demographic, socio-economic and psychographic characteristics of donors affect the levels of donations made to non-profit organisations (NPOs). As such, it is necessary for NPOs to have a better understanding of their donors’ psychographic characteristics and more specifically, their attitudes as this would enable NPOs to develop more effective marketing campaigns. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the attitudes of Baby Boomers, Generations X and Y towards NPOs and towards supporting NPOs in Gauteng, South Africa. Both exploratory and descriptive research designs were used in this study. Quota sampling was used to select respondents from the target population in the three generations under investigation. Overall, respondents have a positive attitude towards NPOs and supporting NPOs. At the end, however, no significant differences exist between the generations in terms of their attitudes towards NPOs and towards supporting NPOs; however, small positive correlations were evident for all three generations between their attitudes towards NPOs and towards supporting NPOs.
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Knowledge management as a strategic management tool at a South African enterprise.

  • Authors: Du Toit, Adeline , Steyn, Piet
  • Date: 2011
  • Subjects: Knowledge management , Strategic management , Technology-oriented enterprises - South Africa
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5848 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7935
  • Description: The primary aim of this article was to explore the role of a knowledge management strategy to achieve a South African technology-oriented enterprise’s business strategy. The linking between knowledge management and the business strategy was viewed as the crux for successful knowledge management in any enterprise. Knowledge plays a crucial role in the competitive nature of enterprises and hence constitutes a critical component of enterprise strategy. The purpose of the empirical survey was to determine the relationship between the knowledge management function and the business strategy at the enterprise. A questionnaire survey was conducted and 355 employees were randomly selected to form the sample. The majority of the respondents were of the opinion that knowledge management plays an important role in the enterprise’s strategies, policies and practices. When implementing a knowledge management strategy, the prioritisation of knowledge management activities, as well as their integration with other business processes, should be an important management focus area and steps for the successful implementation of a knowledge management strategy were recommended.
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Credit extension in South Africa: a business cycle perspective for the period 1985 to 2009

  • Authors: Fourie, Leila , Botha, Ilsé , Mears, Ronald
  • Date: 2011-12
  • Subjects: Business cycle , Credit , Procyclicality , Vector autoregression (VAR) , Cointegration , Structural vector autoregression (SVAR)
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/368251 , uj:5815 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7823
  • Description: This paper investigates and quantifies the relationship between the macroeconomic business cycle and bank-granted credit in South Africa for the period 1985 to 2009. The main question that this research seeks to answer is what role do banks play in amplifying the business cycle and what is the impact of this on the macroeconomy? The outcomes of the econometric model support the hypothesis that a positive relationship exists between bank-extended credit and the business cycle. The vector autoregression technique was used to prove the relationship between credit and the underlying cycle. The analysis shows that a two-way relationship exists between credit and the coincident indicator, credit and insolvencies and credit and prime. Results from the vector error correction model show a significant short-run relationship of equilibrium in the cointegrating equation between credit and the coincident indicator. This corroborates the underlying theory that credit is a unifying variable that rapidly responds to shocks emanating from the dynamic interaction of cointegrating variables in the economy.
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Credit extension in South Africa : a business cycle perspective for the period 1985 to 2009

  • Authors: Fourie, Leila , Botha, Ilsé , Mears, Ronald
  • Date: 2011
  • Subjects: Procyclicality , Cointegration , Structural vector autoregression (SVAR) , Vector autoregression (VAR) , Macroeconomic business cycle , Bank-granted credit
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5814 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7822
  • Description: This paper investigates and quantifies the relationship between the macroeconomic business cycle and bank-granted credit in South Africa for the period 1985 to 2009. The main question that this research seeks to answer is what role do banks play in amplifying the business cycle and what is the impact of this on the macroeconomy? The outcomes of the econometric model support the hypothesis that a positive relationship exists between bank-extended credit and the business cycle. The vector autoregression technique was used to prove the relationship between credit and the underlying cycle. The analysis shows that a two-way relationship exists between credit and the coincident indicator, credit and insolvencies and credit and prime. Results from the vector error correction model show a significant short-run relationship of equilibrium in the cointegrating equation between credit and the coincident indicator. This corroborates the underlying theory that credit is a unifying variable that rapidly responds to shocks emanating from the dynamic interaction of cointegrating variables in the economy.
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Group rights and the right to protection against human immunodeficiency virus/acquired Immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) infection from an industrial relations and public policy perspective.

Exploring academics’ experiences of a merger in higher education : the reflective experience of mergers (REM)- framework.

  • Authors: Goldman, Geoff A.
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: University mergers - South Africa , Academics - South Africa - Attitudes , Organisational culture - South Africa , University of Johannesburg - Employees
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5851 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7938
  • Description: In contrast to most mergers and acquisition literature which focuses on merger activity in the business world, this paper examines the University of Johannesburg (UJ) merger, which is typical of transformation in South African Higher Education. This merger does not conform to the norm, as it is ideologically motivated and thus the ideal base to study individual experiences of large scale change. Following a qualitative, case study approach, 40 academic employees from UJ were interviewed. Findings indicate that academics relay their experiences and perceptions of the merger in three discernable timeframes, each with its own dynamic. Collectively, these timeframes constitute the reflective experience of mergers (REM) framework, which examines how merger experiences of academic staff shape their perceptions of and attitudes towards the merger over time. The REMframework reiterates the temporal nature of change, its effect on the emotional and psychological wellbeing of individuals, and the role of leadership during a merger.
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Assessment of teaching corporate entrepreneurship to master’s level students.

  • Authors: Groenewald, Darelle
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: Corporate entrepreneurship - Study and teaching (Higher) - South Africa , Masters degrees - South Africa , Teaching methods - South Africa , Personality and academic achievement - South Africa , Intrapreneurial Performance Quotient
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5850 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7937
  • Description: Tertiary education in terms of entrepreneurship is not adequate to stimulate entrepreneurial activity in South Africa. By assessing the effect and successfulness of tertiary modules offered in entrepreneurship (and in this case specifically corporate entrepreneurship) an improvement can be made to these courses which would lead to increased entrepreneurial activity. The purpose of this paper is to determine the effect of a corporate entrepreneurship module that has been offered to master’s level students. The research is designed as a formal study where stated hypotheses are tested to demonstrate if there is a statistical significant difference between the corporate entrepreneurial style and personality of students (over a period of three year) before and after they have completed a master’s level module in CE. A pre- and post test were conducted over a period of three years (2007 – 2009). A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain the data. A judgemental purposive sampling technique was used and the sample consisted of 101 students. The results indicated that there is a statistical significant difference between the corporate entrepreneurial styles and personalities of students that have completed the course as well as the Intrapreneurial Performance Index. It is recommended that tertiary institutions, specifically in South Africa, must adopt a corporate entrepreneurship module in their post-graduate programmes which will assist to equip employees to become more entrepreneurial within existing businesses.
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Developing a national cadre of effective leadership towards sustainable quality service delivery in South Africa

  • Authors: Havenga, W. , Mehana, V. , Visagie, J. C.
  • Date: 2011-12
  • Subjects: Three dimensional leadership competency model , Developmental local governance framework , Service delivery
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5790 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7797
  • Description: The application of the three (3) dimensional leadership competency model has the likelihood of having a positive impact on a sustainable developmental local governance framework. The purpose of the study was to explore the relevance of the Three (3) dimensional leadership competency model so as to suggest leadership traits that can be used in the enhancement of a developmental local governance framework. The lack of leadership with the requisite competencies and capabilities in the local government system has been the source of corruption and maladministration, and therefore necessitates an intervention in the development of leadership competencies. The research design, approach and method focuses primarily a qualitative approach, namely face-to-face in-depth interviews using a structured interview schedule triangulated through the review of published documents and publications. The findings show that significant progress has been achieved in many areas of the ideal of a developmental local governance framework, yet the lack of a value-based cadre of leaders is reversing the gains that have been achieved in the last 15 years of the ANC rule. Managerial competencies that are key components of leadership limit the acceleration of a developmental governance framework. This study indicates the relevance of the Three (3) dimensional leadership competency model in the enhancement of a developmental local governance framework, and has suggested key elements of leadership traits within the context of what can be used to achieve the objects of a developmental local governance framework.
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Intergroup conflict within a South African mining company

  • Authors: Havenga, Werner , Visagie, Jan , Linde, Herman , Gobind, Jenni
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: Mining industry - South Africa , Intergroup dynamics , Conflict management , Industrial relations
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5903 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8022
  • Description: The uncertainty that accompanies organizational change heightens prospects for intra-organizational conflict. Notwithstanding this, the knowledge base on the sources (or causes) of organizational conflict is underdeveloped – largely as a result of a low incidence of empirical research, and in particular in South Africa. The current study explored the perceived sources of intergroup conflict in a South African mining company. The aim of this research is to investigate intergroup conflict and to look into how intergroup conflict influences employment relations throughout all levels of the organization. From a probability population of 1000 in the twelve departments a random sample of 200 employees was chosen to participate in the research. This number represents 20% of the total population. Intergroup conflict was analysed and evaluated. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations made on the occurrence of intergroup conflict based on the findings of the literature and empirical study. Data frequencies, correlations and a correlation analysis were performed through the SPSS programme.
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Leadership challenges associated with the management of Generation Y employees : a proposed theoretical model

  • Authors: Hewitt, L. M. M. , Ukpere, Wilfred I.
  • Date: 2012
  • Subjects: Management , Leadership , Generation Y , Gen-Yers , Motivation , Entrepreneurial orientation
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5861 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7958
  • Description: This paper acknowledges that Generation Y (Gen-Yers), who have grown up in a world of convenience and easy access to information, are more complex to lead and to understand than generations before them. Gen-Yers have entered the labour market at a time when the current labour force is aging in the world and in South Africa. Gen-Yers are working with forty to sixty-year-olds and in some cases supervising employees old enough to be their parents. If unhappy with work circumstances Gen-Yers change careers fast, thus creating frustration for employers struggling to retain and recruit talented high-performers. According to the report for the Future of Small Business Management (2007) issued by the Institute for the Future (IFTF) based in California which has forecasted emerging trends affecting the global marketplace for 40 years, Gen-Yers, will emerge as the most entrepreneurial generation ever in the next decade. These highly independent individuals will rather be small business owners or freelancers and will choose not to work for large corporations. What are the leadership challenges facing South African companies when they engage with Gen-Yers? Firstly, this paper explores the concept Gen-Yers, as discussed in the theory. Secondly the paper further explores possible conflicting areas between current leadership practices and Gen-Yers. The paper concludes by supporting the value that Gen-Yers can bring to companies and suggests some practices that can be adopted by leadership to engage and motivate them and at the same time ensure that their companies stay ahead of competitors by keeping Gen-Yers motivated to stay in their employment. A theoretical model is suggested for testing Gen-Yers tenure of employment relationship.
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Multiple usages of the distributed systems with numerical calculation

  • Authors: Isbasoiu, Eliza Consuela , Ukpere, Wilfred I.
  • Date: 2011-12
  • Subjects: Informatics society , Distributed systems , Numerical calculations
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5791 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7798
  • Description: The informatics society is a society in which the information, through its production and consumption, is the most important type of activity. The informatics society allows access to information and new ways of work and knowledge (Toma, 2009: 5). If within the scientific research, the interdisciplinary objective reflects the unity of the natural science, it is necessary to form a new didactic way of thinking, from autonomous sciences to border or interdisciplinary ones (Dagger et al., 2005: 6). The mathematical methods and language takes over from studies of the research problem (Koper and Tattersall, 2005: 67). The knowledge of the technology and the criteria a developer follows, assures a high level of the application. The web service is projected to support the interoperational interaction of machine to machine over netting; as such, other software systems can discover its definition and can interact with the web service in the way described by the definition.
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South African Industrial Conciliation Act of 1924 and current affirmative action : an analysis of labour economic history

  • Authors: Jordaan, Charline , Ukpere, Wilfred I.
  • Date: 2011-02
  • Subjects: Apartheid , Affirmative action , Industrial relations , Labour unions , South Africa. Industrial Conciliation Act, 1924
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: uj:5818 , ISSN 1993-8233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7834
  • Description: This paper is directed towards making a comparison between the Industrial Conciliation Act (ICA) of 1924 and the current Affirmative Action (AA) in South Africa (SA), in order trace their respective impact to industrial relations in SA. First and foremost, it is necessary to give an overview of Industrial relations within the period of 1924 to 1948, and to identify three events that took place within that period and give a discussion of the events. Furthermore, the impact of those events on the labour legislation at that time, and its effect on the labour relationship will be analysed. Additionally, the different approaches used during these periods towards the labour relationship will be reviewed. Finally, an analysis will be made between Industrial Conciliation Act of 1924 and the current South African Affirmative Action.
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