Impact of internet marketing on the profitability of the hospitality sector in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Authors: Matikiti, Rosemary
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Internet marketing , Internet advertising , Hospitality industry -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Investment analysis -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Advertising -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com (Business Management)
- Identifier: vital:11314 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/570 , Internet marketing , Internet advertising , Hospitality industry -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Investment analysis -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Advertising -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The application of internet marketing techniques has been widespread in the hospitality sector worldwide, with many hotels crafting websites for marketing purposes. However, there is still a debate and speculation on the impact of internet marketing on business performance and profitability. Given the well-recognised value of internet marketing in the hospitality and tourism industry, this study sought to examine the impact of internet marketing on the profitability of the hospitality sector in South Africa and to establish factors which influence internet marketing usage. In order to achieve these objectives, a perceptual survey was conducted in graded hotels and lodges in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Multiple linear regression analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were used to determine the relationship between internet marketing and business profitability as well as the relationship between organisational and environmental factors and internet marketing usage. Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that the use of internet marketing can positively influence business profitability. It is also concluded that internet marketing experience moderates the relationship between internet marketing usage and business profitability. The results also indicate that factors such as technological competence, managerial support, level of star grading and alliances significantly influence internet marketing usage. Thus, from the findings of this study, it was concluded that hotels and lodges can enhance their profitability through internet marketing usage.
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- Date Issued: 2011
Socio-educational experiences of black accounting III students who dropped out of the University of Fort Hare in 2009
- Authors: Morrison, Renee Fiona
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Ed
- Identifier: vital:16200 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1013384
- Description: In South Africa there is an increasing concern regarding retention among Black students (who constitute the majority of the population) in general and in particular regarding the costs of student failure to both the students and for the institution. This thesis endeavours to obtain an understanding of the socio-educational experiences which led to Black Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting Students in 2009 dropping out of Accounting III at the University of Fort Hare. In a field in which much of the literature is quantitatively orientated, a phenomenological investigation offered a unique way of understanding the experiences of the students as it allowed their voices to be heard. Insights contained in the data were synthesised and integrated into a consistent description of the essential nature of the experience, the primary endeavour of the phenomenologist being to transform naïve experience into more explicitly detailed conceptual knowledge. The use of in-depth interviews with three students, all of whom had dropped out of Accounting III at UFH, allowed the researcher interaction on a personal level with people not viewed as experimental objects but as human subjects. The findings revealed that the students‘ social and educational background, together with the language of teaching and learning not being their mother tongue, caused students great difficulty. Interaction between lecturers and students and the subject content proved very challenging due to the language barrier. The introduction of General Accounting III in the same class as Accounting III in 2009 compounded the students‘ confusion and this ultimately led to students feeling demotivated. These findings contributed significantly to an understanding of why these three students dropped out of Accounting III in 2009, and at the same time provided an answer to the research question relating to how Black students who dropped out of the Accounting III programme in 2009, experienced the course.
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- Date Issued: 2011
Land management in the Wild Coast: the case of indigenous people in Coffee Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Kalumba, Ahmed Mukalazi
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: Land use -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc (Geography)
- Identifier: vital:11514 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/79 , Land use -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: An under-reported consequence of the democratic transition is the impact on land management (LM) within communal areas of South Africa (SA).Yet land is an essential natural resource, both for the survival and prosperity of humanity, and for the maintenance of all terrestrial ecosystems (FAO&UNEP,1997.)This study focuses on land management in the Wild Coast with special reference to indigenous people in Coffee Bay.Using the concept of the land management paradigm, the study adopts an intensive research design for the analysis and interpretation of data.The study aims to examine how land as a 'resource'is managed by the local indigenous people with special reference to wether it is moving towards or away from sustainability.The study discusses LM in the rural-built up environment with emphasis on land based activities, land tenure, gender issues,indigenous knowledge systems, changes in land use and degradation.The study looks at the indigenous people's participation in the new LM policy formation as predetermined by the grand scheme of democratization and decentralization.It highlights that indigenous knowledge systems are at the centre in rural sustainable LM, and equity in land issues forms another breakthrough for communal tenure system in the new SA.Indigenous people's views in policy formulation are not necessarily matched with national policy objectives due to poor public consultation.In general, the study provides an understanding of how indigenous people grapple with new policy changes in LM, to ensure sustainable land management in the rural South Africa
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- Date Issued: 2008