MANCOSA recently hosted its third pre-graduation Research Evening at the Mancosa Graduate School of Business [GSB] in Durban. The event provided a platform for MBA graduands to showcase their postgraduate research to fellow graduands, academics and industry specialists. Aspiring researchers presenting at the event were: Ms Bhavashni Kanhai; Mr Muhammad Kaleem Shahnawaaz Jeehoo; Ms Mmalemoko Caroline Sejeng and Ms Kajal Jugrathi.
Ms Kanhai’s research undertakings aimed at addressing the issue of financial management within the education domain. The research focused specifically on the factors impacting on financial planning and management in Section 21 in schools in the Sayidi Circuit, KwaZulu-Natal. According to Ms Kanhai, the research was propagated by the growing media coverage pertaining to corruption and fraud within the South African Education Sector. This, she attributed, could be due to a lack of financial control and management within schools. The results of the research uncovered that there were several impeding factors associated with the management of school finances. These include poor school fee collections; lack of financial expertise; skills deficit; and poor financial management training to mention a few.
Presenting at the Research Evening was an enriching experience for MBA graduate, Mr Kaleem Jeehoo from Mauritius. His research study titled “An assessment of the impact of the Promotion Communication Mix. The case of a Pharmaceutical Company” focused on the prescription behaviour of doctors. According to Mr Jeehoo, the pharmaceutical sector in Mauritius is becoming more challenging with an increasing number of products and competitors. Through conduct of the primary research, the intention was to recommend appropriate strategies that the company could adopt to influence the prescription behaviour of doctors favourably.
The third presentation explored the issue of change management within government entities. Through her MBA research, Ms Sejeng sought to investigate the impact of Change Management on Organisational Performance at the Road Accident Fund (RAF). According to Ms Sejeng, a number of structural and operational changes were recently implemented by the RAF to improve organisational performance. The study findings revealed that through effective change management and clearly defined processes at the RAF, successful change has been achieved to cope with the vast number of vehicle accident claims. The study found that there is an improvement in how the claimants of the RAF are serviced and that the manner in which their claims are attended to is positive. In addition, respondents have indicated that the time taken to resolve their queries has improved. These key findings, according to Ms Sejeng, is an indication that the RAF has become more responsive to the queries raised by claimants.
The function culminated with a presentation by Ms Kajal Jugrathi on the factors hindering Project Success within a Project Based Organisation (PBO). The PBO is an independent statutory body that is accountable to an Executive Authority (EA) and uses project based principles to execute its investigations. According to Ms Jugrathi, the organisation has on numerous occasions been criticised as being ineffective due to delayed finalisation of projects. The study sought to uncover the factors associated with the incorrect scoping of projects; low number of final reports submitted to the EA ; and lack of tracking and monitoring of projects. The rationale of the study was to shed light on how the above- mentioned difficulties could be overcome, enabling the PBO to become more efficient and effective in fulfilling its mandate.
