MANCOSA celebrated the research successes of its Masters in Business Administration (MBA) graduates by hosting a Research Evening a day before the May Graduation.
The event saw the top dissertation students present their research findings to MANCOSA stakeholder comprising academics, students and alumni.
“The research evening aimed at providing the soon to be MBA graduates, a platform on which to share their research with the broader academic and business community and to showcase the innovative research being undertaken by the students,” said MANCOSA’s Research Manager, Ms Guillermina Ritacco.
Research is not only an academic enterprise but also as a social one, highlighting the many social gains which have resulted from the dedicated research of South African academics, added Ms Ritacco.
Presenting research were Mr Kamenthren Govender Comparison of the current management practices on the cost benefit equation of selected municipal value chains in South Africa. His research covered the deconstruction of part of the fecal sludge value chain. The study sought to uncover the operating parameters and characteristics of existing Fecal Sludge On-Site Sanitation (FSOSS) value chains for selected South African Municipalities. Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality, City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Ugu District Municipality, and Msunduzi Local Municipality were investigated, as examples of municipalities in South Africa.
Mr James Gabriel Chilita conducted research titled: The role of knowledge management in the growth and sustainability of Malawi small- medium enterprises. The research aimed to explore the role of knowledge management in the growth and sustainability of Malawian Small toMedium Enterprises.
“Malawi is one of the least developed countries and its private sector is dominated by SMEs. They are the engine of economic growth and provide a source of livelihood to millions of Malawians, most of whom engage in business in order to survival or supplement the salaries that they earn from formal employment,” said Mr Chilita.
Discoveries emerging out of the research include: the need to help SMEs develop capacities to capture, generate, acquire, share and utilise knowledge from within and outside their businesses and the need for policy makers to make deliberate efforts to help SMEs realise the strategic importance of knowledge in their businesses by developing training programs which advocate the role the knowledge management in small business growth and their survival.
Research on An Investigation on the Effect of Nostalgia on Consumer Buyer Behaviour in South Africa was conducted by graduated Mr Lionel Muchirahondo. The study revolved around gaining an understanding of the influence of nostalgia as a stimulus for consumer buyer decision making in South Africa as well as to conscientise marketers on the possibility of using nostalgia marketing as a tool within the South African market.
Other presentations included Mr Clement Mawele’s research on Investigating the challenges of Co-operative Development within the Agri-business value chain in Mpumalanga. Ms Palesa Motleleng presented her research on Overcoming Barriers to the Wide Adoption of Solar Energy in Rural Areas of Lesotho.
