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An effective implementation of an enterprise resource planning system - The case of an oracle system at MVAF Namibia.
No full textThesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Leadership and Change Management in the Harold Pupkewitz Graduate School of Business at the NUSTImplementing a wide enterprise system results in the organisation’s business
processes being re-engineered; therefore it requires critical planning and extensive
change management for all employees. The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund’s (MVAF)
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), (an ORACLE system) implementation has been one
of the highlights in the organisation’s history since the organisation has various standalone systems, across units within the organisation aimed at yielding the same results. It is against this background that this research involved conducting a study of how the ERP/ORACLE was implemented at MVAF.
A study was made of the change management interventions and the role of leadership at the MVAF. The evaluation includes the role of leadership in leading change, employees’ experience and reception of the changing environment. Furthermore it looks at how the organisation managed the change process as well as the effectiveness of the communication, training and support as experienced by employees.
A total of thirty-nine out of seventy employees who were in the employment of
the MVAF between 2009 and 2012 participated in this survey. Findings indicated that the
MVAF used an effective methodology and process to implement the ERP/ORACLE system and by appointing the project core team consisting of members from every unit,
as the custodians of the project implementation, yielded good results for the Fund.
The leaders of the MVA Fund played a pivotal role during the change process and they positively influenced their teams to value the benefits of the new system, they
helped and guided those who were resistant to change to accept the new system. Results indicated that majority of employees took lesser time to learn the functionalities of the new system. Learning the new functions in less time is evidence that employees reacted very positively to the new system and embraced the process which required their
involvement throughout the implementation phase, with specific reference to drawing up
specifications and user training, hence, an effective implementation. Lastly, the
communication, support, training and education rendered through the implementation of the system was very effective and contributed significantly to employees’ buy-in into the vision of implementing the new system.
Among the recommendations stemming from this research are: the need for the leaders of the Fund to pay special attention to the soft issues of change management, and
encourage the leadership to have a full appreciation of their role in communicating
project changes or developments.Supervisor: Ms. Lydiah Wambu
Highlighting the importance of incorporating indigenous knowledge into new product development and commercial production processes through a study on the attitudes and preferences of mahangu flour consumers in Northern Namibia.
No full textThesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in International Business in the Harold Pupkewitz Graduate School of Business at the NUST.Incorporating indigenous knowledge into new product development and by extension commercial production processes is critical for the successful commercialisation of traditional products. Traditionally, mahangu grain goes through a process referred to as the lactic acid fermentation process. The mahangu grain is exposed to a chemical reaction causing the taste, colour and texture of mahangu porridge to be altered. The results from the discrete choice experiment shows that mahangu consumers prefer the attributes emanating from the lactic acid fermentation process.
However due to the lack of exposure to the lactic acid fermentation process, Meme Mahangu flour do not possess any of the attributes the choice data revealed
to be the most preferred mahangu flour attributes. Attitudes were measured based
on Fishbein’s multi-attribute model. The results showed a negative attitude towards
Meme Mahangu. This could be attributed to the fact that the attributes preferred by
mahangu consumers (i.e. light coloured porridge) are not present in Meme Mahangu.
The results from the choice data collected from the discrete choice experiment shows
that the most preferred mahangu flour attributes are those attributes emanating from the lactic acid fermentation process and that the least preferred mahangu flour
attributes being those attributes present in mahangu flour that have not been fermented. A sour taste, light colour and soft texture are the attributes most preferred and those emanating from the lactic acid fermentation process. The colour of mahangu porridge has the highest relative importance (52%) with the maximum share of preference falling on light coloured mahangu porridge. Three main recommendations are proposed. These recommendations can significantly enhance the commercial value of mahangu flour and contribute to the improvement of the livelihood of small scale farmers in northern Namibia.Supervisors: Prof. Grafton Whyte; Dr. Shameem Al
An exploration of participatory mapping approaches for integrated land use planning in the Hardap Region, Namibia.
No full textThe paper presents empirical findings on the potential value of participatory mapping for effective Integrated Land Use Plan (ILUP) by local communities in Hardap Region. It reflects on how future participatory approaches should be structured. The research applied a combination of approaches that include sketch mapping, photo-mapping and consultative meetings. Both positive and negative impacts of participatory mapping on ILUP were measured and local communities’ knowledge of participatory approaches objectively tested on the basis of this investigation’s findings. The research established that although participatory mapping is known to the experts in the fields of Geography, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Land Use Planning (LUP), it is still not well known to local land users whose knowledge of other participatory approaches that can support ILUP in Namibia is limited. Participatory maps that were produced by local communities in Hardap region suggest that local
communities are willing to learn about participatory approaches and willing to share their knowledge on land use. Sketch and photo-maps - although not accurate and sometimes imprecise - were found to be satisfactory approaches to capture and document local knowledge. Local communities are motivated to improve their land use activities by the outcomes of their knowledge input in participatory mapping. Key recommendations include comprehensive participatory land use planning and better knowledge gathering from local communities. The paper presents results of participatory mapping and lessons learned from exploring participatory mapping
Evaluating the effectiveness of youth microfinance programmes in Namibia.
No full textThesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Leadership and Change Management in the Harold Pupkewitz Graduate School of Business at the NUSTThe 2012 Labour Force Survey (LFS) in Namibia reveals that unemployment among the youth stands at a staggering 42.8% compared to the overall unemployment rate of 27%which remains a challenge in itself in this country.
Attempts to alleviate youth poverty worldwide caused by unemployment have
been done through micro finance programmes that can help the youth to accumulate their own capital and invest in employment-generating activities.
While there is sufficient evidence to prove the existence of several microfinance programmes, there is a lack of evidence of their effectiveness in improving youth’s livelihoods. Therefore the researcher seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the Credit for Youth in Business (CYB) Programme and the
Namibia Youth Credit Scheme (NYCS), finance programmes that have been set out to target youth between the ages of 18-35 years in Namibia. The researcher obtained primary information from 100 beneficiaries of CYB and
NYCS through a questionnaire and from interviews conducted with programme stakeholders. The secondary information was further obtained through programme documents and literature review. Although there is
significant impact on the livelihoods of youth as revealed by the study, micro
financing programmes should look beyond micro-loans, training and extend their service delivery to areas such as market linkages, investments and insurance. They also ought to assist youth with feasibility studies, markets and business premises. Provision of these services will ensure that youth move from informal (micro enterprises) to formal enterprises. Considering the prevailing unemployment rate it is recommended to assess challenges,
opportunities and possibilities for building synergies for transformation of the
Credit for Youth in Business Programme and Namibia Youth Credit Scheme into one fund in order to provide a range of financial solutions and services that can support the full spectrum of youth owned enterprises.Supervisor: Prof. Grafton Whyt
Opening remarks by Prof. Tjama Tjivikua, Vice Chancellor, NUST, on the occasion of the 2nd EOSA-RTC symposium titled "Towards a vision for space science, technology and applications in Namibia", 24 July 2013, Windhoek.
No full textEOSA-RTC symposium (2013 Jul. 24 : Windhoek)Earth Observation and Satellite Applications Research and Training Centr
Welcome remarks by Prof. Tjama Tjivikua, Vice Chancellor, NUST, at the 1st Research Day 2013 - organised by the combined Schools of Management and Economics & Finance, 14 August 2013, 08h00, Auditorium 1.
No full textResearch Day (1st : 2013 Aug. 14 : NUST
The future Okavango project: SP05 - Impacts of altered land use practises on the plant related ESF&S. TFO fieldwork report 2010 - 2012 for task 6 of SP05: Timber provision of Burkea Woodlands
No full textTFO fieldwork report 2010 - 2012 for task 6 of SP05: Timber provision of Burkea Woodlands, The Future Okavango project (TFO)This short field work report gives an overview of the forest inventory work done during the first two years of The Future Okavango (TFO) project, a project implemented till 2015 and funded by the
German Ministry of Education and Research. TFO aims to integrate ecosystem functions and services into an ecological and economic approach to sustainable land management at a regional scale.
Forest assessments are part of subproject 5 of TFO, which focuses on the vegetation in the Okavango basin of Angola, Namibia and Botswana. Objectives include : (1) qualitative and quantitative assessment and valuation of the plant based ecosystem functions and services, (2) a functional analysis of important aspects of the multiple interdependence between ecosystem compartments and drivers of change, (3) the study of the projection of current trends with regard to possible scenarios and their
cumulative consequences, (4) the study of the potential for regional improvement given by the spatiotemporal composition and patterns of different land use options with the involved trade-offs and synergies.German Ministry of Education & Researc
Towards appropriate user interface design preserving rural African communication practices: Listeners' roles in face to face communication.
No full textMini-thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Masters of Information Technology at the NUSTThis mini-thesis examines different socio-cultural norms and communication
behaviours of indigenous communities. In spite of existing Information
Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructural challenges, the software
solutions that have been designed for rural communities have been a major concern.
In this thesis, qualitative methodologies were used with deliberate sampling of two
village populations to investigate verbal and non verbal behaviour.
In order to design appropriate interfaces for Indigenous Knowledge Management
systems required to capture, store and retrieve local information, the input from
target community members, regardless of their levels of formal literacy education,
has to be explored. The fact that in those communities, communication takes place primarily through oral transmission also has to be considered. Oral communication involves both narrators and listeners who engage in an interactive correspondence including verbal and non verbal communication during storytelling. Many researchers focus on narrators but in this thesis, we will concentrate on listeners’ contributions during interpersonal communications in rural communities. Non verbal communication such as gestures are prevalent in traditional oral African communities and these can offer rich information that can be infused in interface designs for human computer interaction. The aim of this mini-thesis is to identify general socio-cultural norms, communication behaviour such as non-verbal communication structures (gestures) including general verbal utterances of the rural Otjiherero speaking people to provide a basis for
subsequent use in the design of local systems.
The findings in this thesis were that gestures thought to be universal were specific to the rural members. It was also found that there were specific verbal and non
verbal gestures that were observed.
This Thesis recommends more research be done in the areas of the correlation between gesture and verbal communication
Welcome remarks by Prof. Tjama Tjivikua, Vice Chancellor, NUST, on the occasion of the official opening of the 13th ITS User Group Conference, 11 March 2013, at 08h30, Safari Hotel and Conference Centre, Windhoek, Namibia.
No full textITS User Group Conference (13th: 2013 March 11: Windhoek, Namibia