General Management (GMAN01-7)

Total:50marks

Importantpleasereadthissectionbeforestartingyourassignment.

The purpose of the assignment is to test your competence and mastery of the applicable module outcomes. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that we see your answers/thoughts/ideas expressedin your own words. You will be penalised for simply copying theory without explanation or application to the scenario/s provided. You should use the theory in support of your own answer. No marks will be awarded for theory copied from any source.

Any sources used when researching and drafting your answers must be referencedcorrectly,asstipulatedintheMilparkReferenceGuide.Youmustwork through the reference guide to ensure your assignment complies with the referencingrequirements.Notealsothatevenifyoureferenceasourcecorrectly, you cannot simply copy reams of information directly from it. As stated previously, answers should be draftedin your own words.

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AIUseDeclaration

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The AI Use Declaration is a personal acknowledgement that describes how you used AI tools/technologies to prepareyour assignment. Thedeclaration aims to create clarity and transparency regarding the following:

• The name and version of the AI tool/s with the URL used
• The prompt/s you used in the AI tool/s
• A brief explanation (no longer than two sentences) of how the output from the AI tools/technologies was used in the process of completing your assignment.

Pleaseincludethedeclarationinthefollowingformatattheendofyour assignment before your Reference List:

DeclarationofAIUse

Iacknowledgetheuseof [AItool/technologyname] and [URL/link]togenerate

Prompt/s:Ienteredthefollowingprompt/s

Use:Iusedtheoutputto.../Imodifiedtheoutputto

OR

IhavenotusedanyAItoolsortechnologiestopreparethisassignment.

Example1

IacknowledgeusingGoogleGemini[https://gemini.google.com/]togeneratean outline for my assignment.

Ienteredthefollowingprompt:

Provide anoutlinefora500-wordessayontheimpactofclimate changeon rural communities in South Africa.

I used the output at the initial stage of the assignment process to help plan my answerstructure.Imodifiedtheoutlinegenerated,discardingseveralsuggested paragraphs and replacing them with my own ideas based on the additional research and reading I completed and referenced below.

SECTIONA(45MARKS)RESEARCH QUESTION

Question1(30marks)

Read the case study below and answer the questions that follow.

PrasaandSanralgivenJanuary2025deadlineforturnaroundplan

The Portfolio Committee on Transport has issued a firm deadline to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) and the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) to address key financial and governance issues. By the end of January 2025, both entities are expected to submit comprehensive action plans to tackle concerns raised by the Auditor General (AG) regarding their financial performance.

Chairperson of the committee, Donald Selamolela, raised concerns about the potential liquidity challenges faced by Prasa and Sanral if their funding models and legislativeimpedimentsarenotresolved. He notedthe importance of these entities in delivering essential infrastructure services to South Africans.

These jewels of infrastructure projects give meaning to service delivery for our people and cannot afford to limp in any way or form, he said.

Vandalism of the infrastructure remains more pronounced, particularly in rail. On roads, we suffered massively during the recent floods that hit KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Cape, and parts of Gauteng and the North West.

While the committee expressed satisfaction with the overall performance of the transport portfolio, unresolved issues of audits, governance, and vacancies persist within some entities.

Thesechallenges,ifnotaddressed,couldunderminethedeliveryofservices.

Swiftaction

Selamolelaraisedapointoftheneedforswiftactiontorepairandmaintain infrastructure to prevent further backlogs.

He specifically called for Prasa to provide regular updates on its progress in preparing to serve as the nucleus of the forthcoming Transport Economic Regulation.

TheeffectivenesswewanttoseeatPrasaisthesameaswithSanral,hesaid. Theseentitiesshouldcooperatewiththedepartmentonfundingplanstoensure financial sustainability.

He also stressed the urgency of addressing the roads affected by recent floods, particularly in KwaZulu Natal, and ensuring that stalled tenders are addressed promptly.

Roads affected by floods, especially in KZN, require urgent intervention, and tenders that are being stalled should be reported on quarterly, added Selamolela.

Thesamereportingapproachshouldbeextendedtostrategiesthatwillbe implemented to improve the financial health status.

Comprehensivefundingplan

Theportfoliocommitteehasadopteditsbudgetaryreviewandrecommendations report,highlighting theimportanceof developing acomprehensivefunding plan for all transport entities.

This plan, once in place, will help ensure the financial sustainability of Prasa, Sanral, and other entities.

The committee further recommended that all transport entities address supply chain management processes and reskill employees on financial management functions.

Aspartofthiseffort,theagencieswillberequiredtomeetwiththeAGtoensure compliance with accounting standards used in performance audits.

Whatelse?

Transparencyandaccountability

Selamolela concluded by reiterating the importance of transparency and accountability.

Source:Schutters, L., 2024. PRASA and SANRAL given January deadline for turnaround plan.Bizcommunity.[Online] Available at:https://www.bizcommunity.com/article/prasa-and-sanral-given-january-deadline-for-turnaround-plan-363508. [Accessed: 2024-11-29].

Question1(30marks)

AssumeyouaretheBusinessConsultantofPrasa.Youhavebeentaskedtowrite a report on your findings to the board of directors.

EvaluatePassengerRailAgencyofSouthAfrica(Prasas)

• current challenges and
• strategic

Your aim is to apply thefour stagesof the Deming Cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act) and then recommend a turnaround strategy to restore operational integrity and rebuild the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa. You should providefivepotential positive outcomes of implementing the PDCA model to improve performance and restore the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa.

(Keep in mind that Prasas reputation is a vital contributor to South Africas transport industry and national security).

Conclude by stating what will be required to make the turnaround strategy to restore operational integrity and rebuild the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) into a success.

Requirements:

• Your report should not exceedthree
• Your report should have anintroduction,body(whereyouaddressthe question)andconclusion.
• The table below outlines the mark
  
  

TIP:Conductadditionalresearchonatleasttwocorrectlyreferencedsourcesas part of your answer.

Usethefollowingstructureforyourreport:

Question2(15marks)

According to Hellriegelet al.(2022), the organisational structure defines how roles,authority,andresponsibilitiesareassigned,managed,andcoordinatedand how information is communicated across different management levels.

• Using the principles of specialisation, recommend how Prasa can improve its operational efficiency and address thethreeissueshighlightedbythe auditorfromthecase (3)

• Evaluate the level of centralisation in Prasa and indicate its impact on their ability to implement comprehensive action plans required by the Portfolio Committee on (2x2=4)

• Analyse the impact of the scalar principle on the decision-making process within (4)

• Recommend how Prasa can apply organisational integration techniques to ensure effective communication and coordination across different (4)
  
  

TIP:Conductadditionalresearchonatleasttwocorrectlyreferencedsourcesas part of your answer.

REFERENCINGANDTECHNICALCARE(5MARKS)

Thequalityofyourreferencing,accordingtotheMilparkReferenceGuide,aswell as your spelling, grammar and professional document layout, will be evaluated according to the assessment criteria in the following marking rubric: