Dr Ziska Fields.UKZN Academics Speak at International Business Conference
School of Management, Information Technology and Governance academics presented papers at the Academy of Business Administration International Conference in Durban.
They were Dr Ziska Fields, Professor Micheline Naude and Mr Clifford Madondo.
The Conference created a platform for academics to exchange ideas and research about the facilitation of high quality teaching in the field of business and public/non-profit administration and related disciplines.
Fields paper titled: “The role of collective creativity and responsible management practices to prevent a sixth extinction” explores if collective creativity and responsible management can offer solutions to prevent a sixth extinction (Holocene). The paper focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of collective creativity, the UN’s Global Compact, and how collective creativity and responsible management can be used to solve complex problems that impacts on the survival of humans and various species. The paper also encourages the creation of sustainable business strategies based on the UN’s Compact principles. Fields is currently working on a book called Collective Creativity for Responsible and Sustainable Business Practice which explores the issues highlighted at the conference in more depth.
Fields also co-authored a paper with her masters student, Ms Olajumoke Lawrence-Ogunsanya, which Lawrence-Ogunsanya presented at the Conference.
The paper titled: “Co-operation, Collaboration and Partnerships: a Discussion of Failure Factors in Strategic Alliances”, indicates that even when there is inherent value and potential synergies in strategic collaborations, many organisations have substantial difficulties in extracting value from them due to various factors.
This paper found that the development of alliance competency as a skill was valuable in managing alliance relationships in order to obtain maximum value for alliance partners and reduce the possibility of failure of the alliance.
Naude co-authored a paper with Dr Manduth Ramchander of the Durban University of Technology titled: “The Influence of Class Size on Student Academic Achievement at a Higher Education Institution in SA”.
Madondo, a PhD student and part time Lecturer at the School, presented a paper titled: The Conception of Endogenous Imperatives of Small Business Entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe.
Thandiwe Jumo