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The strategic management implications for Telkom in a competitive environment

The management of a research and development organisation with a view to corporatisation

  • Authors: Du Plessis, Pieter
  • Date: 2012-08-20
  • Subjects: Engineering - Management , Organizational change , Privatization
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/382187 , uj:2748 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6188
  • Description: M.Phil. , Within the South African context a government of national unity has been elected. Before and after the election, mention was made of the corporatisation and/or the privatisation of state owned assets and parastatals such as Eskom, Telkom and Spoomet. The corporatisation and/or privatisation of these state assets would result in an increase in funds for the government to spend on the Reconstruction and Development Programme, as well as lead to the increase in efficiency of some of these state owned assets. Every day more comment is being made on the possibility of Eskom corporatising. This research proposed to study certain current management philosophies and methodologies being used within Eskom's Technology, Research and Investigations (T-R-I) with a view to corporatisation. This was done by comparing current management practices found in T-R-I, to both literature and prominent engineering companies in South Africa. Topics included the concept of engineering management, marketing, organisational structures, project management and change management. A literature review on strategic planning was also performed and this lay the foundation for personalised interviews with managers in prominent South African engineering companies. The interviews were conducted by means of a structured questionnaire and a statistical analysis, and comparisons of the various methodologies in terms of strategic planning within these engineering companies, were subsequently performed. A visit was also undertaken to Australian utilities which have already been through the corporatisation process. Here, first hand knowledge of the various experiences of corporatisation was obtained. T-R-I is a multi-disciplinary engineering consulting organisation which undertakes investigations, studies, applied research and testing for Eskom and other companies. It employs 308 technical people in modem laboratories. T-R-I operates in an engineering environment and following from the literature search, it is believed that T-R-I should apply the principles of engineering management. A comprehensive overview of marketing and all the aspects associated therewith was performed. It is recommended that T-R-I develop a marketing intelligence system and one comprehensive marketing plan. T-R-I also needs to develop a decision support system that will assist in making better analyses and decisions as far as product development and entry into the market is concerned. Competitors also need to be studied in more detail. Three organisational designs were investigated, i.e. the functional organisation, the product organisation and the matrix organisation. Since all of T-R-I's work is based on projects, it is recommended that T-R-I follow a matrix type structure for the effective execution of its projects. Six key activities for successful change implementation were highlighted in this study. Strategic planning was analysed by means of what literature promotes as an effective business plan. The purpose of the vision, mission, philosophy, environmental analysis and goals was discussed and comparisons were made between the literature studies and T-R-I's business plan. A structured questionnaire was developed in order to facilitate interviews with managers of five prominent South African engineering companies. A detailed statistical analysis of the resultant discussions is presented in the thesis. The questionnaire extracted information on organisational nature, organisational principles of operation, people development, management aspects and strategic planning. By comparing T-R-I's current methodology and detailed contents of the business plan to these five engineering companies, it was found that T-R-I acknowledged and responded to all of the main issues and methodologies. The Australian electricity industry has already been corporatised. A visit to five utilities in Australia was undertaken to discuss how corporatisation has affected them. What was very clear in the discussions, was that T-R-I will not survive as an "Eskom only" service provider but that it needs to expand its market. T-R-I cannot take it for granted that it has a captive market in Eskom. All of the Australian utilities visited, however, indicated that they believed that corporatisation was well worth it. It is, however, recommended that comparative studies be performed in order to evaluate what companies did to transform from parastatals or military supporting companies to successful companies in the private sector (eg. Denel, Sentech and the Atomic Energy Corporation). In-depth studies focusing on these organisations will add to the identification of those inefficiencies within T-R-I that would enhance its capabilities, should they be positively addressed, in order to sustain itself in the future and be a successfully corporatised entity.
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Die haalbaarheid van private staatskepping in die era van globalisering

The impact of privatisation on the electricity industry with specific reference to Gauteng

  • Authors: Phaahlamohlaka, Letladi Abram
  • Date: 2008-06-20T13:46:14Z
  • Subjects: Privatization , Electric utilities , Energy industries , Electric industries , Gauteng (South Africa)
  • Type: Thesis
  • Identifier: uj:3273 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/667
  • Description: The South African economy went through drastic changes since the new democratic government took power in 1994. Different programmes were changed through the process of transition from the old apartheid regime to a new democratic government. The first programme introduced was the RDP, followed by GEAR and then ASGISA, but all these programmes were not enough to circumvent all the challenges experienced by the South African economy. This is the context within which the debate around privatization occurred in the ANC. All the programmes that were changed favoured privatization in one way or other. Through these changes privatization was one of the policies envisaged to be a possible means to address past inequalities. This thesis focuses on the impact of privatization on the electricity industry in South Africa with specific reference to Gauteng. The paper is based on the fact that Gauteng is believed to be the centre of business in South Africa. However because, competition in the South African electricity industry did not exist, this resulted in poor service delivery. The electricity industry in South Africa is divided into three sectors namely generation, transmission and distribution. Eskom controls almost the entire electricity industry from generation to distribution with a few private players here and there. The only private player in the generation sector is the Kelvin power plant, which holds almost 30 percent of the generation sector. Privatization in the South African electricity industry still has a far way to go before a desirable level of competition is achieved. In order to recommend how increased competition can be injected, the privatization of electricity in developed, developing and transitional countries such as UK, Greece, Chile, Hungary and Argentina was explored. The thesis recommends how the government can further expand privatization by learning from these countries. , Mr. Arnold Wentzel
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Privatization of urban public spaces and its impact on sustainable cities and social inclusion

  • Authors: Ntakana, Khululekani , Mbanga, Sijekula
  • Date: 2019
  • Subjects: Privatization , Inclusivity , Sustainability
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/405690 , uj:34077 , Citation: Ntakana, K. & Mbanga, S. 2019. Privatization of urban public spaces and its impact on sustainable cities and social inclusion.
  • Description: Abstract: The privatization of urban public spaces (UPS) raises questions about the sustainability of urban settings and the impact that privatization has on social inclusion and access to urban land and well developed public spaces. This paper reports and discusses findings from a critical review of local and international literature on the privatization of UPS. Although cities partner with the private sector in the planning, development, maintenance and management of UPS in attempt to build socially cohesive, environmentally friendly, and economically competitive cities, the review findings reveal that privatization is associated with the decreasing ‘publicness’ of UPS and shortcomings in the fulfilment of social and political responsibilities. Some of these shortcomings are the result of cities using privatization as a vehicle for economic development and financial revenue and not necessarily incorporating all sustainability attributes in terms of city planning and development. This paper argues that local authorities, city planning decision makers and the interests they are pursuing, influence the sustainable and socially cohesive design of cities.
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