Showing items 1 - 12 of 12

Your selections:

Towards the design of a workplace RPL implementation model for the South African insurance sector

  • Authors: Deller, Karen
  • Date: 2008-05-13T08:01:20Z
  • Subjects: Organisational learning , Financial services industry , Investment advisors
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:6577 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/360
  • Description: Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is an internationally accepted process of assessing non-formal learning with the intention of matching it to academic credits. This allows the candidate to earn either a full or partial qualification based on knowledge and/or skills acquired outside of the formal classroom. The South African insurance sector was faced with legislation requiring all financial advisers to earn academic credits before they could continue in the industry. The sector believed that the RPL process would suit their circumstances because most financial advisers had many years of workplace experience and had mostly attended many internal, but often unaccredited, product training programmes. However, there was no RPL implementation model to guide a workplace implementation of this nature as most RPL models followed the practices set by formal higher education providers and there was no consideration of the many variables that have an impact in the workplace. This research set out to design a logic model to guide the implementation of workplace RPL in the insurance sector. The data was collected during the evaluation of an RPL implementation programme that had good results but which used the more individualistically inspired RPL approach of formal education. The data was analysed using grounded theory data analysis techniques (Strauss & Corbin, 1998 and Glaser & Strauss, 1967) and the result was the identification of 18 broad categories. Further analysis reduced these to five categories, i.e. reaction to the circumstances requiring the RPL, personal mastery, team support, changing perceptions towards the RPL process, and perceived outcome of the RPL process. These categories were researched by looking at the most influential traditional and workplace learning theorists, as well as the most influential RPL theorists. Finally, a secondary data analysis was conducted on 18 workplace RPL case studies described by Dyson and Keating (2005). The results of this research were formulated into a logic model to guide RPL implementation in the insurance sector. Using this logic model as a guide, further recommendations were made to guide workplace RPL implementation in the future. , Prof. W.J. Coetsee Dr. L. Beekman
  • Full Text:

Developing a customer equity model for guiding marketing spend in the financial services sector

  • Authors: Bick, Geoffrey Norman Charles
  • Date: 2008-05-26T06:29:06Z
  • Subjects: Customer relations , Relationship marketing , Financial services industry , Customer services marketing
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:2221 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/461
  • Description: Organisations are increasingly under pressure to meet financial and other objectives in dynamic and competitive markets, that are being driven more by services than by products. Marketing as a function needs to become more accountable with respect to the marketing investments that are made and the returns generated from these programmes, and hence to increase shareholder value. Intangible assets are comprising a growing proportion of this shareholder value, to the extent that 75% of the value of the organisation is currently made up of intangibles such as Human Equity, Brand Equity and Customer Equity. Thus the marketer needs to build the marketing-based intangible assets of Brand Equity, the inherent value of the brand, and Customer Equity, the sum of the lifetime values to the organisation of its current and future customers. To be able to monitor and manage marketing’s contribution, these assets need to be measured, and the effectiveness of marketing programmes needs to be determined ideally in financial terms, e.g. ROMI – Return on Marketing Investment. The purpose of this research study was to develop and test a framework of Customer Equity in the financial services sector, to guide marketing spend so that shareholder value is built by leveraging the marketing intangibles. Consequently, the objectives were to develop a model of Customer Equity, to calculate Customer Lifetime Value of customers in a segment, to determine the value drivers and the elasticity relation of Customer Equity, and finally to provide guidelines to organisations to improve their Customer Equity. The first area of research was in the field of Marketing metrics, the set of measures that helps organisations to understand their marketing performance. The recommendation for organisations is to develop a marketing dashboard, or range of key marketing indicators, which would include short-term performance measures, e.g. market share or customer satisfaction, as well as long-term planning measures, e.g. Brand Equity and Customer Lifetime Value. Brand Equity was then reviewed as a valuable intangible asset. Various models have been developed to explain the different sources, components and outcomes of ii Brand Equity, as it is a multidimensional construct. The measurement and valuation of Brand Equity was also researched, and its link to shareholder value. Customer Equity, an alternative market-based intangible asset that can be a driver of shareholder value, was also reviewed. The conclusion from a review of the models is that there are two schools: the Blattberg, Gupta and colleagues school, which tends to focus on internal analysis as typically used in direct marketing applications; and the Rust and colleagues school, which tends to focus externally on the customer and the competition. Both schools have something to contribute: the internal school, on accurate understanding of Customer Lifetime Value, and the external school, on the relative importance of the drivers of Customer Equity. This research also makes a contribution to the Brand Equity / Customer Equity debate, analysing similarities and differences, and developing a model to explain the trade-off between the two concepts. A combination of the two schools was used to develop a model of Customer Equity, including supply side inputs (for accurate CLTV calculations) and demand side inputs (for determining drivers and their elasticities). Using input from the databases of a financial institution, Customer Lifetime Value and Customer Equity for customers in the SME market sector were calculated. A convenience sample of 251 SME’s was interviewed on the demand side using a structured questionnaire, to develop data on the drivers of their importance and the relative performance of banks. A statistical model was then developed, using Principal Components Regression (PCR) analysis, to determine the drivers of Customer Equity, the factors influencing these and the relative sensitivities. A key contribution of this research was the development of the Probability of Defection as a measure of the dependent variable in the multiple regression. The model was tested by determining the ROI of two marketing programmes from the financial institution, to guide their marketing spend. Finally, a Customer Equity Management Process was developed to assist organisations in implementing a Customer Equity focus. , Prof. Chris Jooste
  • Full Text:

The impact of the proposed solvency margin requirements for South African short-term insurers on competitiveness

  • Authors: Nyathi, Dominic Doubt
  • Date: 2010-10-28T08:58:32Z
  • Subjects: Financial Services Board (South Africa) , Insurance companies , Financial services industry , Financial condition reporting
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:6948 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3458
  • Description: M.Comm. , Financial Condition Reporting is the new proposed risk-based approach to calculating the solvency requirements of the short-term insurance companies in South Africa by the regulator, the Financial Services Board. A risk-based approach to calculating capital requirements is currently the most popular in the developed nations with the United States of America being the champion of this. Australia has implemented its own version of the risk-based capital approach and the United Kingdom has implemented ICAS which is a prelude to Solvency II to be implemented by the European Union. It is unknown how Financial Condition Reporting in South Africa will affect the levels of competitiveness of the short-term insurance industry. Qualitative study was done firstly to develop an understanding of the regulation of financial services and secondly to get an appreciation of how the regulation of financial services affects the levels of competition within the industry. Due to the fact that different people (organisations) have different views on the proposed financial reporting, qualitative data methods provide participants with an opportunity to discuss their reasons. The intention of the researcher was to get as much information as possible from the interviews and hence one of the data collection techniques employed was the use of a tape recorder.. Generally all participants indicated that Financial Condition Reporting was more than welcome in the short-term insurance industry. It was evident that this will force the board of directors of short-term insurance companies to be involved in the risk management of the organisation. In turn this will allow an in-depth understanding of the risks that the organisations are facing. i Financial Condition Reporting will certainly not come without costs; these could either be the cost of implementing the internal models as this will inevitably require the use of qualified actuaries or the capital required as dictated by the prescribed model as this is an industry average. Both costs can result in some companies merging or some being bought out and this could change the scales of competition within the short-term insurance industry.
  • Full Text:

The determination of value added tax in the financial services industry

  • Authors: Barber, Trevor Allister
  • Date: 2010-11-22T07:58:21Z
  • Subjects: Financial services industry , Value-added tax
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/368293 , uj:7009 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3517
  • Description: M.Comm. , VAT is a tax that is based on taxing the value added on successive transactions in the supply chain, accordingly it is a tax designed for the retail or manufacturing industries. South Africa introduced VAT that is similar to that introduced across the world and later refined it. The revisions included the introduction of VAT on banking services. The introduction of VAT to banking is a first in the VAT world but still does not find a cure for the principle dilemma of taxing a bank's value added, under VAT. The study therefore established if banks are treated fairly by investigating: • The three canons of taxation, • The eight principles on which VAT rests, • And the agreement between SARS and the Council of South African Banks. The reason of the above is to propose enhancements or an alternative design that would either increase the accuracy, equity, or simplify the calculation of VAT in the banking sector. The study found that there are several options when introducing VAT to the financial services sector, namely: • zero rate it and the fiscuss looses out on the output VAT, • tax it and increase the cost of borrowing as well as face the problems of determining the value added per transaction or; • exempt it and a practice known as cascading takes place. Neither of these solutions seemed viable although the full taxation option is conceptually the only correct method oftaxation. In most countries the exemption option was taken. The result of exempting interest is that banks have to apportion their input VAT. There are various options open to a bank when calculating the ratio of input VAT to be claimed, yet legislation has only made mention of two. To alleviate this situation the VAT authorities and the Council of South African Banks have agreed upon a methodology to calculate the ratio of input VAT to be reclaimed. This agreement is not compulsory and only applies to areas where the bank does not have an alternative apportionment technique, and in some instances is also flawed in its logic. Consequently banks have the option to apportion input VAT on what they perceive to be a fair basis. The indecision and inequities described above does not result an accurate VAT. The conclusion was that the design is urtiust and the practical calculation, when applied, does not the deliver the correct amount of tax payable. The study introduced a different form of VAT, named the Business Transfer Tax. This tax is an additive form of VAT, based on accounts that relate to interest and trading income. Interest income and trading income would be zero rated under the current VAT, and therefore entitle the bank to claim input tax incurred on expenditure. This would overcome all of the issues not resolved previously.
  • Full Text:

The alignment of organisational strategy and risk appetite in the financial services industry

  • Authors: Schikker, Sijbren
  • Date: 2011-10-03T07:50:53Z
  • Subjects: Srategic planning , Risk management , Financial services industry
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:7226 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3863
  • Description: M.Comm. , This study concerns itself with the concepts of strategy, risk management and risk appetite. Strategy and risk management play a very important role in any business, but it is very difficult to determine the interrelationship between strategy and risk. There is no scientific/academic proof and there is no model or framework on what the alignment between an organisation’s strategy and risk appetite is. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a risk appetite model to align an organisation’s strategy and risk management, so that management will be able to improve its decision-making. The research design is based on a qualitative evaluation of the various literature concepts on strategy, risk management and risk appetite. Furthermore, personal interviews were held with senior risk, strategy and financial managers in the South African financial services industry to test the risk appetite model and determine the relevance and robustness of the risk appetite model. The main findings of this study revealed that: • to take full advantage of business opportunities, risk management and strategy cannot operate independently in any organisation; they must be integrated or at least linked with one another; • risk appetite is an important concept on its own, but is even more crucial as the link between risk management and strategy; • most financial services organisations assume that there is a link between risk management, strategy and risk appetite but that there is no formal process or framework available to link the three concepts; • effective risk management enables financial services organisations to achieve a competitive advantage, which is achieved by optimising risks and rewards; and • organisations that probably will withstand future crises are those with appropriate enterprise risk management practices in place where risk and strategy are linked with each other; and the risk appetite model can play an important role in achieving this goal. ii The main conclusion is that the risk appetite model is the formal framework to integrate risk management with strategy, because the model: • takes a holistic view to risk management; • allows all employees at all levels to understand risk appetite because it is quantitative and not too mathematical; • utilises risk appetite as the “gel” to link strategy and risk management; • allows for measured decision-making and proper governing; • allows organisations to be proactive in their risk management; • takes the upside and downside of risk into consideration; • gives strategic direction to the business; and • addresses all the important steps to integrate risk management, risk appetite and strategy. Lastly, for the risk appetite model to be successful it is essential to: • have buy-in from everyone in the organisation; • have the right governance in place to ensure the effective implementation and communication of the organisation’s risk appetite; and • continuously monitor the organisation’s risk appetite.
  • Full Text:

The implementation of third wave management in the technology and operations division of Nedbank Limited

Information management and globalisation : utilising information management systems in financial systems

  • Authors: Roberts, Ridwaan
  • Date: 2012-08-23
  • Subjects: Management information systems , Financial services industry , Online information services , Globalization , Electronic commerce
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:3071 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6491
  • Description: M.Comm. , The Financial Services industry is in the throes of significant changes and challenges. Managers confronted with the metoric of the "information age" may experience a variety of emotions, ranging from excitement to suspicion or even outright scepticism. What has changed is that more and more businesses are defining their strategies in terms of information or knowledge. Today we hear and read much about "the learning organisation", "working knowledge", "knowledge networks", "business ntelligence", "competitor intelligence". These concepts may be popular to all but to executives they need to be clear — they make strategic decisions. Executives must realise these MIS, CIS and Expert Systems, are more than tools, they are a way of life, a way to gain strategic competitive advantage in a new market — called global isation. Managers need to rely on knowledge to make decisions and add value to the financial performance and use their collective experience without becoming bogged down in methodological or technological complexity. Biggest is no longer necessary the best. Today it is often more profitable to focus attraction the best customers than to attempt to reduce cost. Executives should be cautious, even suspicious; of the technological and software solutions being offered and sceptical that one concept can do it all. This is not surprising because we are dealing with knowledge, information and above all people. Add these together and we are to paraphrase the physicist, Freeman Dyoon, "infinite in all direction". Nevertheless companies understand that past experience has shown that common purpose, culture and focus can mobilise people for profitable and personally rewarding creativity and achievement. The future competitive landscape demands no less!
  • Full Text:

The alignment of organisation strategy and risk appetite in the financial services industry

  • Authors: Schikker, Sijbren
  • Date: 2014-10-08
  • Subjects: Strategic planning , Risk management , Financial services industry
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:12554 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/12346
  • Description: M.Com. (Business Management) , This study concerns itself with the concepts of strategy, risk management and risk appetite. Strategy and risk management playa very important role in any business, but it is very difficult to determine the interrelationship between strategy and risk. There is no scientific/academic proof and there is no model or framework on what the alignment between an organisation's strategy and risk appetite is. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a risk appetite model to align an organisation's strategy and risk management, so that management will be able to improve its decision-making. The research design is based on a qualitative evaluation of the various literature concepts on strategy, risk management and risk appetite. Furthermore, personal interviews were held with senior risk, strategy and financial managers in the South African financial services industry to test the risk appetite model and determine the relevance and robustness of the risk appetite model. The main findings of this study revealed that: • to take full advantage of business opportunities, risk management and strategy cannot operate independently in any organisation; they must be integrated or at least linked with one another; • risk appetite is an important concept on its own, but is even more crucial as the link between risk management and strategy; • most financial services organisations assume that there is a link between risk management, strategy and risk appetite but that there is no formal processor framework available to link the three concepts; • effective risk management enables financial services organisations to achieve a competitive advantage, which is achieved by optimising risks and rewards; and • organisations that probably will withstand future crises are those with appropriate enterprise risk management practices in place where risk and strategy are linked with each other; and the risk appetite model can play an important role in achieving this goal. The main conclusion is that the risk appetite model is the formal framework to integrate risk management with strategy, because the model: • takes a holistic view to risk management; • allows all employees at all levels to understand risk appetite because it is quantitative and not too mathematical; • utilises risk appetite as the "gel" to link strategy and risk management; • allows for measured decision-making and proper governing; • allows organisations to be proactive in their risk management; • takes the upside and downside of risk into consideration; • gives strategic direction to the business; and • addresses all the important steps to integrate risk management, risk appetite and strategy. Lastly, for the risk appetite model to be successful it is essential to: • have buy-in from everyone in the organisation; • have the right governance in place to ensure the effective implementation and communication of the organisation's risk appetite; and • continuously monitor the organisation's risk appetite.
  • Full Text:

The extent to which a financial services institution uses big data : a marketing perspective

  • Authors: Smart, Cindy
  • Date: 2015
  • Subjects: Financial services industry , Big data , Web usage mining , Marketing - Management
  • Language: English
  • Type: Masters (Thesis)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/83379 , uj:19085
  • Description: Abstract: The financial services industry is known to be a competitive one, and literature suggests that it has an abundance of data, otherwise known as big data (SAS, 2012a). The industry not only makes a large contribution to the national GDP, but also has the most potential to embrace big data in order to have a competitive advantage over the various other industries contributing to the national GDP. However, in South Africa, this industry is currently perceived not to be leveraging its data optimally, particularly from a marketing perspective, with more than 50% of marketers stating that using data was last on their list of priorities when making decisions (Spenner & Bird, 2012). Literature suggests that South African marketers currently have a very vague formulation of who their customer is. In order for the financial services industry to gain competitive advantage from a marketing perspective, it needs to use data to better profile and understand their customer. This will lead to more personalised relationship with the customer, and will ultimately cement the relationship between the customer and the institution. The primary objective of this study is therefore to discern the extent to which data is used in a financial services institution from a marketing perspective. First, literature is addressed which introduces an adapted model which was initially developed by Byrom, Bennison, Hernández and Hooper (2001:336), which is used to guide the study. The empirical study is qualitative in nature, using a case study approach in order to meet primary and secondary objectives. A financial services institution was chosen wherein employees working with big data from a marketing perspective were identified through snowball sampling. In-depth personal interviews were conducted with these employees, using a discussion guide which was based on the model mentioned above. The Morse and Field approach was used to analyse the data whereby when the findings indicated that the institution analysed in this study is using various types of data sources, some more comprehensively than others. The institution identifies the importance of integrating various data sources, however this is not being done to the fullest extent. The institution currently uses big data from a market perspective for better customer profiling. The findings also revealed that the institution was highly dependent on using big data to make decisions at an operational level. , M.Com. (Marketing Management)
  • Full Text:

Including the excluded : the potential of microinsurance to provide low-income earners with access to financial products

  • Authors: Roux, Stuart
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Microinsurance - South Africa , Financial services industry , Poor - Finance, Personal
  • Language: English
  • Type: Masters (Thesis)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/90582 , uj:19997
  • Description: Abstract: In a developing country such as South Africa many individuals remain excluded from formal financial products and services. In recent years the debate regarding economic growth has expanded to include the notion of financial exclusion as a barrier to economic development along with the need to build an inclusive financial system. Reforms that promote financial inclusion are increasingly at the forefront of the international development agenda for policymakers and development institutions. In South Africa there have been a number of recent overhauls of the policy and framework in the financial services industry, chief among these is the microinsurance regulatory framework. This paper seeks to evaluate microinsurance as a legal concept and investigate whether microinsurance has the potential to provide low-income earners with access to financial products. In doing so a definition of microinsurance is established by canvassing various incarnations of the concept both locally and further afield. To evaluate the role of microinsurance as a formal financial service, the level of current financial inclusion amongst South Africans is evaluated. This is followed by an overview of all the recent regulatory and framework developments in the financial services sector. A discussion on microinsurance product innovation and distribution follows and an opinion is fashioned on the potential of microinsurance to assist in alleviating poverty and enhancing financial inclusion. The paper concludes by stating that the law has a major role to play in bringing about change. The introduction of the microinsurance legal principles will indeed provide low-income earners with access to financial products and assist in the goal of financial inclusion. However, it cannot take on this mammoth task alone. In conclusion it is stated that if we are to see significant growth in financial inclusion and the financial sector as a whole, microinsurance needs to be fully integrated with other financial products and services such as microfinance and simplified banking, as once these mechanisms are combined they will prove to be much more effective in achieving the goal of financial inclusion. , LL.M. (Commercial Law)
  • Full Text:

Treating customers fairly : a new name for existing principles?

  • Authors: Maholo, Choene Jacqueline
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Financial services industry , Consumer protection - Law and legislation , Consumer satisfaction , South Africa. Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002 , Financial institutions - Law and legislation - South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Masters (Thesis)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/90430 , uj:19976
  • Description: Abstract: The meander of the South African financial industry, and in particular the issue relating to the inadequate protection that is currently being afforded to financial customers, is gradually becoming a growing concern. It is against this background that this dissertation examines the Financial Services Board’s “Treating Customers Fairly” (TCF) initiative as a regulatory approach that seeks to ensure that providers of financial products and services treat their customers fairly. This dissertation commends the regulator for actively contributing towards achieving a fair deal for consumers. The implications of embarking on a quest for fairness within the financial services industry is prone to result in financial stability and consumer confidence. However, this dissertation asks whether TCF has made the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 37 of 2002 (FAIS Act) redundant and whether TCF appropriately explains the meaning of ‘fairness’. If the latter can be answered in the negative, then this dissertation argues that TCF will exist as a twee and trite regulation which will not only serve as a mere duplication of the FAIS Act but also as a value system which will inevitably amplify the confusion relating to ‘fairness’. The overall intention of this dissertation is to argue in favour of a properly integrated regulatory framework within the financial services industry. Shortcomings cannot be overcome by implementing what is essentially a foreign set of principles. Rather, the FAIS Act should be evaluated in order to see whether the TCF principles are not already part of our legislative framework. , LL.M. (Commercial Law)
  • Full Text:

The role of internal auditing on information technology within the banking industry

  • Authors: Khanyile, Bridgette
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Banks and banking - Technological innovations , Management information systems , Banks and banking - Information technology , Financial services industry
  • Language: English
  • Type: Masters (Thesis)
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/420075 , uj:35751
  • Description: Abstract: The Information Technology (IT) is a complex system used to conduct and process banking transactions. As a consequence, banking relies heavily on IT. Since banking transactions take place on an IT driven system, the systems’ infrastructure and security become the bank’s core functions. However, IT does have its risks and challenges, such as confidentiality issues, security breaches, non-compliance with regularity and poor quality services. IT governance is a framework that ensures that an organisation’s IT infrastructure supports the achievement of its corporate objectives. In the banking industry, IT governance plays a vital role, especially in the internal auditing function. Internal auditors are mandated by the Institute of Internal Audit’s standards to provide reasonable and objective assurance regarding the proper functioning of IT departments. This study considers the role of the internal audit function in IT governance in the South African banking industry. The study also highlights the IT governance risks that exist in the banking industry in South Africa. This is achieved through an extensive literature review on the governance frameworks and recommended practices for effective governance as well as the role and responsibilities of internal auditors in reducing IT risks. The study used purposive sampling to examine the integrated annual reports of the major banks in South Africa. The findings show that the banks demonstrate sound internal control systems while their internal audit approach reflects the effective and efficient implementation of systems, with embedded risk management practices, to ensure risk reduction. , M.Com. (Computer Auditing)
  • Full Text:
  • 1
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact