scholarly journals Human Capital for Quality Infrastructure Development in South Africa: A Project-Based Pedagogical Analysis

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 278-285
Author(s):  
Bongani Reginald Qwabe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Project Management ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
Quality Infrastructure

“Traditional/skills-based teaching doesn’t meet the demands of our 21 st century” -Garelick, 2012. The widespread effects of globalisation and new technologies demand rethinking of knowledge creation and labour force preparedness for 21st century development. The rise of a knowledge-based economy and information society requires public managers with human capital sufficient to fulfil developmental challenges. The demand for quality infrastructure in South Africa exceeds existing proficiency of human capital. The 21st century and South Africa’s post 1994 challenges including infrastructure development demand a new generation of public managers and administrators equipped with acuity and negotiation outlooks, communication and problem-solving skills, research and analytical abilities, and cognitive capacity enabling them to promote, influence, and monitor project development and management in a substantially globalized world. From a pedagogical standpoint, while knowledge creation and innovative teaching strategies are arguably drivers of a labour force that meet challenge of development, the authors of this conceptual analytical article contend that traditional approaches of teaching project management in South African higher education institutions (HEIs) fail to adequately prepare students to manage ‘real-world projects’ that foster growth and development. Rather, projectbased learning (PjBL) offers a strategic way forward to fill project management skills gap and project management knowledge deficit in the public sector, which should be subject to the recommended research agenda.

The use of ICT by SMMEs in a Digital Economy: A case study in Buffalo City Metropolitan in South Africa [Abstract]

10.28945/4314 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Common Knowledge ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
Underdeveloped Areas ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Set Up

Aim/Purpose: The goal of this study is to advance understanding of ICT utilization by SMMEs by checking access, ability (in terms of technological skills) and usage of ICT among some SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in an underdeveloped areas to enhance their business activities in order to utilizes the digital opportunities 21st century digital economies present. Background: In today’s world no nation or region is untouched by the forces of globalization and digital economy. One of the key pioneering forces of globalization is the advances of ICT like internet, social networks, etc. In the sphere of business, this pioneering force has also altered the way businesses and organizations communicate and interact with customers and society at large. Such alternation presents obvious opportunities for wealth creation and growth for businesses and organizations that are well-equipped to take advantages of them. But for those that are less-equipped, particularly SMMEs, globalization can easily lead to fore-closures and marginalization. It is a common knowledge that SMMEs entrepreneurs mostly rely on ICT gadgets like mobile phone, Laptops, Tablets to conduct their business activities as many of them don’t have enough capital to set up offices with necessary equipment. Therefore, using various ICT functions/programs on these ICT devices to enhance their business activities are critical to their businesses in the 21st century digital economies. Methodology: Purposeful sampling was used to approach fifty-four SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in underdeveloped areas locally called Townships in Buffalo City Metropolitan. Microsoft excel was used in the descriptive statistics. Contribution: This research will add to the growing knowledge ICT usage in SMMEs in the 21st century digital economies. Findings: The results indicate that the participating SMMEs entrepreneurs need to be educated, trained and supported in the use of the ICT applicable to enhance their business activities in order for them to take advantages of 21st century digital economies present. Recommendations for Practitioners: The agencies tasked with looking after SMMEs in South Africa needs to consider the lacked of utilisation of ICTs by SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in underdeveloped areas as one of the barrier to growing of their businesses and take necessary steps to address it. Recommendation for Researchers: Since age and gender have been proven to be key-moderating variables in many technology acceptance models. There is a need to explore in depth whether the factors of gender and age also act as barriers. Impact on Society: The research will assist stakeholders, policy makers and agencies tasked with looking after SMMEs to identify the barriers hindering SMMEs to grow and address them accordingly. Future Research: More work needs to be done to check whether gender, age of the SMMEs entrepreneurs have some effects on their attitude towards the integration of ICT into their business activities.

KUALITAS PELAYANAN DALAM PEMBANGUNAN INFRASTRUKTUR DI KECAMATAN CIAWI, KABUPATEN BOGOR

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Muhamad Alfian ◽  
Nandang Saefudin Zenju ◽  
Irma Purnamasari
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Service ◽  
National Development ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
National Unity ◽  
The People ◽  
Driving Wheel ◽  
Alternative Routes ◽  
The City ◽  
Quality Infrastructure

Infrastructure development is an integral part of national development and the driving wheel of economic growth. Infrastructure also has an important role in strengthening national unity and unity (Bappenas: 2009). The banjarwaru, banjarwangi, and telukpinang highways are the access roads traversed by 8 villages including alternative routes for the cicurug-sukabumi area. This road is always passed by the people who headed to the city. Therefore, the benefits of this road is very important because it is often passed from the cicurug-sukabumi area due to the diversion of traffic flow so that the intensity of high road users.In this study the author uses the theory of Ridwan and Sudrajat. Quality of service is the level of incompatibility between expectations with customer desires and also the perceptions of these customers. Quality of service here can be assessed by looking at the dimensions. These dimensions include the quality of service, the ability of officials, and service convenience. During the observation to the community through the survey to direct approach with the community, most people complained that the development service to build the kecamatan should be further improved and the results of this study showed that the Quality Assessment of Service in Road Infrastructure Development in Ciawi Sub-district Bogor Regency is categorized Fair Good this is because the assessment of the quality of development services by the Subdistrict Apparatus itself and from the community assess the ability of District Officers still have to be improved in conducting the service and its implementation.Keywords: Service Quality, Infrastructure Development.

MILITARY GEOGRAPHY IN SOUTH AFRICA AT THE DAWN OF THE 21ST CENTURY

2002 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. JACOBS ◽  
H. S. JANSE VAN RENSBURG ◽  
H. A.P. SMIT
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Military Geography

scholarly journals An industry analysis of the power of human capital for corporate performance: Evidence from South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 486-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Morris
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Market Performance ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Revenue Growth ◽  
Earnings Per Share ◽  
Capital Efficiency

Even in industrialised emerging economies, the value-generating competencies of a workforce, known as its human capital efficiency, are a key resource for commercial success. The objective of this research is to empirically investigate the relationship between human capital efficiency (as measured by value-added human capital) and the financial and market performance of companies listed on the Main Board and Alternative Exchange (ALT-X) of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Return on assets, revenue growth and headline earnings per share were used as financial performance indicators; while market-to-book ratio and total share return were used to measure market performance. Multivariate regressions were performed, with panel data covering 390 companies in the financial, basic materials, consumer services, consumer goods, industrial and technology industries from 2001 to 2011. First, human capital efficiency was found to have no effect on the market performance of listed companies in South Africa. Secondly, higher human capital efficiency was found to result in the extraction of greater returns from both tangible and intangible assets in all industries. Thirdly, higher profitability was found to be associated with higher human capital efficiency in almost every industry in South Africa, with the exception of the technology industry, where human capital efficiency was found to be independent of headline earnings per share. Finally, higher revenue growth was found to be positively associated with human capital efficiency in those industries which are not consumer-driven. In the consumer-driven industries, human capital efficiency contributes to bottom line profitability even though it is not a driver for revenue growth. Overall, the results of this study confirm that human capital efficiency enhances a company’s financial performance, whether it be through a greater capacity for production and service delivery, tighter cost controls or better use of company resources. Management in all South African industries are encouraged to develop the value-creating abilities of their employees through employer-driven personnel enrichment and training programs and by incentivising workers to pursue further education.

Enhancing Water Security through Restoration and Maintenance of Ecological Infrastructure:  Lessons From the uMngeni River Basin, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Jewitt ◽  
Catherine Sutherland ◽  
Sabine Stuart-Hill ◽  
Jim Taylor ◽  
Susan Risko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Constitutive Relationship ◽  
Ecological Infrastructure ◽  
Sustainable Water Supply

<p>The uMngeni River Basin supports over six million people, providing water to South Africa’s third largest regional economy. A critical question facing stakeholders is how to sustain and enhance water security in the catchment for its inhabitants. The role of Ecological Infrastructure (EI) (the South African term for a suite of Nature Based Solutions and Green Infrastructure projects) in enhancing and sustaining water and sanitation delivery in the catchment has been the focus of a project that has explored the conceptual and philosophical basis for investing in EI over the past five years.</p><p>The overall aim of this project was to identify where and how investment into the protection and/or restoration of EI can be made to produce long-term and sustainable returns in terms of water security assurance. In short, the project aimed to guide catchment managers when deciding “what to do” in the catchment to secure a more sustainable water supply, and where it should be done. This seemingly simple question encompasses complexity in time and space, and reveals the connections between different biophysical, social, political, economic and governance systems in the catchment.</p><p>Through the study, we highlight that there is an interdependent and co-constitutive relationship between EI, society, and water security. In particular, by working in spaces where EI investment is taking place, it is evident that socio-economic, environmental and political relations in the catchment play a critical role in making EI investment possible, or not possible.</p><p>The study inherently addresses aspects of water quantity and quality, economics, societal interactions, and the governance of natural resources. It highlights that ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water resources requires both transdisciplinary and detailed biophysical, economic, social and development studies of both formal and informal socio-ecological systems, and that investing in human resources capacity to support these studies, is critical. In contrast to many projects which have identified this complexity, here, we move beyond identification and actively explore and explain these interactions and have synthesised these into ten lessons based on these experiences and analyses.</p><ul><li>1 - People (human capital), the societies in which they live (societal capital), the constructed environment (built capital), and natural capital interact with, and shape each other</li> <li>2 - Investing in Ecological Infrastructure enhances catchment water security</li> <li>3 - Investing in Ecological Infrastructure or BuiIt/Grey infrastructure is not a binary choice</li> <li>4 - Investing in Ecological Infrastructure is financially beneficial</li> <li>5 - Understanding history, legacy and path dependencies is critical to shift thinking</li> <li>6 - Understanding the governance system is fundamental</li> <li>7 - Meaningful participatory processes are the key to transformation</li> <li>8 - To be sustainable, investments in infrastructure need a concomitant investment in social and human capital</li> <li>9 - Social learning, building transdisciplinarity and transformation takes time and effort</li> <li>10 - Students provide new insights, bring energy and are multipliers</li> </ul>

INTERNATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE AGENDA AND RUSSIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (8) ◽  
pp. 106-121
Author(s):  
O. V. IVANOV ◽  
◽  
M. A. IVANOVA ◽  
M. V. TKACHENKO ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
High Quality ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
The World ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
New Phenomena ◽  
Quality Infrastructure

The new phenomena of the world infrastructure practice are analyzed in the context of the paradigm of sustainable development. Special attention is paid to the conceptual and doctrinal design of new approaches to infrastructure development – the concepts of sustainable and high-quality infrastructure, responsible in-vestment. The efforts of the Russian Federation in this area are considered through the prism of the main trends in global infrastructure development. Conclusions are drawn about the key barriers that hinder the full-fledged development of the infrastructure complex, suggestions and recommendations are made on improv-ing approaches to the infrastructure development of Russia to achieve sustainable development.

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