Michael C. Cant

Adopting learning technologies: from belief to practice

A challenge faced by most heads of academic departments around the world is to manage the adoption and use of appropriate learning technologies in order to support the department’s learning offerings to students. Earlier research undertaken by the authors revealed that lecturers within the Department of Marketing and Retail Management at the University of South Africa believed a learning management system (LMS) to be the most appropriate technology to use. The experience of the Chair of Department, however, is that lecturers are using the university’s proprietary LMS, myUnisa, either to a limited extent or hardly at all. Consequently, further research was undertaken targeting the other Chairs of Departments and selected senior lecturers within the School of Management Sciences, to which the Department of Marketing and Retail Management belongs, in order to identify ways of increasing the use of myUnisa amongst lecturers.

SMEs Death by Regulations: An Investigation into the Qualifications and Skills Required in the SME Financial Sector

The financial services sector faced numerous challenges of a macro and market nature, even before the financial and economic downturn in 2008, which aggravated the competition among SMEs even further. The importance of possessing the correct skills for a business became increasingly important, placing a higher premium on the identifying and maintaining of proficient employees in SMEs. These required skills also became increasingly significant in the financial sector. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the qualifications held and skills required by SMEs in the financial services sector of South Africa in order to address the various regulatory issues and requirements. A non-probability quota sampling approach was used, where 32 small business respondents in the financial services sector participated in the study. The study revealed that South African SMEs in the financial services sector lack the necessary qualifications and skills required to successfully grow and develop their businesses.

Empirical results of the awareness of social media and its application by academics in teaching in New Zealand

Academics and students across the globe are increasingly using social media (SM) for personal interactions, social connections and educational purposes. The article reviews the awareness and use of SM in teaching by academics and whether they can utilize this platform for effective communication to engage students in learning activities. The overall objective of this research study is to identify how academics can best integrate SM into traditional teaching methods by examining both the advantages and disadvantages of this innovative medium. The research study was conducted during 2015 at a New Zealand tertiary educational institution in a business school comprising various departments. A total of 58usable responses were obtained via an E-survey using survey monkey and then analysing the responses. Suggestions are made to educators regarding a viable social digital educational environment using SM. It is concluded that academics are communicating with students in a positive way via the use of SM for educational purposes and that much scope exists to improve the use of SM for educational purposes by academics. Corresponding author: Michael C. Cant Email address for corresponding author: cantmc@unisa.ac.za First submission received: 13th April 2017 Revised submission received:19th June 2017 Accepted: 16th August 2017

The importance of human resources management for small businesses in South Africa

The majority of SMEs fail in the first five years of operation (Cant and Ligthelm, 2003). Human resource management (HRM) has been identified as a crucial key success factor for SMEs in today’s world. This research study investigates small business owners’ perception of the importance of HRM. The objective of this paper is to determine the perceived importance of human resources (HR) among South African SMEs and the management of it. A questionnaire was constructed and judgement sampling was used to gather the responses of 88 small business owners. The research revealed that the majority of SMEs have HR practices of some sort in place, as well as areas to improve on HR practices. The challenge now is to further increase the adoption of HR management and practices among small businesses in South Africa to ensure their success, as they play a vital role in the South African economy.

PRODUCT STRATEGIES OF SME’S: FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE SME’S IN DECIDING WHAT PRODUCTS TO SELL

Deciding on the right products to offer to the market is a demanding and crucial task that requires understanding and insight into the customer’s needs and wants. This task is even more important and crucial for SME’s who in many instances have to rely on the knowledge and feeling of the owner/manager only to make these decisions. It is therefore important for SME’s to have a well thought out strategy when deciding on what products to sell. This study aimed to identify aspects related to products that SMEs consider when selecting products to sell. Surveys were sent out to SME’s around South Africa. The results indicated that SME’s selected products based on the quality of the product and customer demand.

South Africa's Trade with Australia: Opportunities for the Future

everal international market selection models have been developed over the years to measure export potential for companies and countries. The models in question aim to identify those export markets offering the best opportunities for the exporting nation. That is, they attempt to select one or a few target markets from many. If the objective is to identify the best product categories to export to a given country, the models generally do not meet this objective. In order to address this objective, research was undertaken in respect of a particular destination country to analyze and compare the imports of a supplying (export) country in the context of the importing countrys import profile with the purpose of identifying those products with the best export potential. In support of this market demand approach, this article reports on a time-series analysis of Australias imports from South Africa compared with those from the rest of the world from 2001 to 2009. The research concludes that the proposed approach provides additional and unique insights at a detailed product-level which should prove valuable in the process of evaluating the export potential between the two countries.

Consumers' expenditure patterns and shopping preferences in underdeveloped urban areas: the critical case of Tshwane

This paper investigates the household expenditure patterns and shopping preferences of consumers residing in underdeveloped blackurban areas in the Tshwane area. Black households are already by far the largest group in the middle-income (LSM 5-8) market, where their numbers continue to grow steadily (Chase, Legoete& van Wamelen, 2010:2). Past research provides oddments of general spending patterns in South Africa among the population at large; however, this study focuses specifically on the area of Tshwane. Although the sample size was not representative of the entire population, the results provide a picture of what and how black consumers residing in this area spend their household income. A quantitative approach was used for this study where a survey questionnaire was used as a method for collecting data. The results showed that although the income of the sample population was not high, basic needs were fulfilled and the concept of keeping costs low did not come at the expense of the quality of goods and services.

An investigation into consumers' perceptions of advertised retail brands within black urban areas of South Africa

The main aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions consumers’ of Black urban areas of Tshwane, South Africa hold in relation to advertised retail brands and branding. The importance of Black urban area consumers’ perceptions in relation to advertised retail brands is that in the era before independence these communities were generally regarded as being lower income and not brand loyal due to financial constraints. The number of shopping malls and branded stores were limited in these areas but since 1994, when South Africa became a democracy, things have changed. The income in these communities has steadily risen thereby attracting the attention of retail developers (Ligthelm, 2008:37; Tustin & Strydom, 2006:48-49). With the increased retail development in these communities, consumers residing in these areas have become more exposed to branded merchandise and the advertising thereof. This has led to new perceptions towards brands being formed and in the process opening possible new opportunities for retailers. In order to satisfy the research objectives of the study, a self-administered location based survey was distributed to the residents of Shoshanguve, Mamelodi and Attridgeville; Black urban areas within the Tshwane region of South Africa.