University of the Free State: Business School
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Browsing University of the Free State: Business School by Author "Alsemgeest, L."
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Item Open Access The effect of current activity-based costing (ABC) implementation in Eskom’s finance field(University of the Free State, 2014-10) Torres, Rene; Alsemgeest, L.English: The main objective of this research study was to identify the factors that have a direct influence on the successful implementation of activity-based Costing (ABC) within the Eskom finance division. The secondary objectives are: • to determine whether ABC will be successfully implemented; • to determine the benefits of ABC; and • to determine the effect of external factors on the successful implementation of ABC. Aim: To achieve the above stated objectives, questionnaires and focus group interviews were performed within Eskom. Method: The selected employees were asked to respond to the questionnaire on their experience and their perceptions on the current implementation of ABC within Eskom Distribution Free State Grid. Findings: The findings indicated that there was not sufficient guidance from top management with regards to the implementation of ABC within Eskom Distribution Free State Grid. Conclusion: More clear and concise top-down communication as well as intense user specific training manuals, current system enhancements and more clear inter and intra communication between departments are necessary.Item Open Access The impact of interdepartmental communication on cost saving strategies in a South African private acute care hospital(University of the Free State, 2016) Cloete, Lorinda; Alsemgeest, L.The primary objective of this study was to investigate the impact of interdepartmental communication between the pharmacy and the nursing staff on the cost saving strategies implemented in a South African private acute care hospital. The research was designed to investigate the impact of interdepartmental communication in an objective manner, ensuring that the data analysis and subsequent findings was based on factual data. A quantitative approach was followed; hence, a questionnaire was developed to collect the data. Analysis of the data showed that there is a definite and significant positive relationship between interdepartmental communication and cost saving strategies and that more efficient communication will lead to more successes with the implementation of cost saving strategies. The key issues or barriers to interdepartmental communication were identified. The barriers included the following: infrequent and not so timeous communication from the pharmacy, high ward and theatre activities, language differences, the lack of personal contact with pharmacy staff, staff attitude and the limited access staff has to computers and as a consequence to the private acute care hospital’s electronic intranet. The nursing staff’s perception at the time of the study was that the interdepartmental communication between the pharmacy and nursing was inefficient, that meetings were the most utilised vehicle of communication and those other communication vehicles such as the private acute care hospital’s intranet and communication via e-mails were not sufficiently utilised. Based on these findings, two recommendations were made that might contribute to more efficient interdepartmental communication and in turn boost the success rate of cost saving strategy implementation. The first recommendation was to ensure a dedicated computer was available in each ward or unit specifically for staff members to access the private acute care hospital’s intranet, in doing that the staff will be able to utilise the computer during times of slower ward and theatre activities and enable them to keep up to date with formulary product changes. The second recommendation was to utilise current compulsory quality based ward rounds being done by the pharmacists. This includes discussions on formulary products per ward or unit as the rounds are being done and providing clear, concise and correct information applicable to the relevant ward or unit. This will enhance interdepartmental communication, improve cost saving strategy implementation and as an added bonus improve relationships between the pharmacy and the nursing staff.Item Open Access The impact of production inefficiencies on free cash flow at a producing gold mine, South Africa(University of the Free State, 2018) Pienaar, Donovan; Alsemgeest, L.The South African mining industry is currently facing operational, political and economic challenges which threaten to render a large proportion of the operations unprofitable. Over the past few years, the gold and platinum sectors have faced the greatest challenges, and as a result have struggled to meet investor and market expectations. Although a vast number of challenges exist beyond the control of mining companies, such as fluctuating and low commodity prices, volatile exchange rates, declining ore grades, labour relations issues and policy uncertainty, it should not be forgotten that there are factors over which the operations do have control. One such factor is production output and effective mine planning. The current study focusses on one such deep-level gold mine which faces operational challenges, particularly in maintaining a stable production profile which meets monthly and annual targets. The aim of the study was to identify the main causes of production inefficiencies and operational delays and demonstrate how the production profile is impacted by these delays. The study utilised historical data which recorded the reasons for every single lost blast which had occurred over the past 5-year period spanning from 2013 – 2017. By conducting a Pareto analysis on the lost blast data, it was determined that only a small group of production delays (5 groups) accounted for the majority (~77%) of lost blasts and production delays. Furthermore, the majority of these losses and delays were as a result of human behaviour and ineffective scheduling of work to be done. The study further measured the compliance to the mine’s annual budget plan, which measured the percentage of areas planned to be mined, versus the actual area mined. The compliance investigation revealed that over the 5-year period, the monthly compliance to the budget plan, which focusses on a specific area planned to be mined, varied from 1.28% - 35.75%. These figures are relevant as they have an impact on the amount of gold mined, as well as the economic operational life of the mine. Regression analysis on the same data set revealed that a moderate negative correlation existed between the percentage compliance and the months of the year, indicating that although the compliance was low to begin with, it generally regressed as the year progressed. Analysis of past production performances revealed that the mine struggles to meet its annual production targets. However, in spite of this, the mine has always remained cash flow positive over the 5-year period analysed. That being said, on a number of occasions the mine was not able to meet their annual free cash flow targets, where in other years, the free cash flow targets were surpassed by a considerable margin. Further analysis revealed that a favourable gold price was to thank for reaching financial targets and highlighted how dependent the operation was on a gold price higher than that budgeted for. These facts are alarming, as the literature study indicated that investors are drawn to businesses which can deliver stable and profitable cash flows over an extended period of time, thus ensuring a favourable return on their investment. As it currently stands, the mine in question is one such operation which relies too heavily on outside influences (such as gold price) to meet their targets. It is recommended that the primary causes for production delays be taken seriously in an attempt to reduce such delays, which would improve the mine’s production profile, and in so doing, ensure a stable and positive cash flow for the operation.