FACULTY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY Dept. of Informatics Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 3 2. BACKGROUND 3 3. PROBLEM STATEMENT 3 4. PURPOSE OF STUDY 4 5. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 4 6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4 5.1. Participants 5 5.2. Data Gathering Instruments 5 Literature Review 5 5.2.1. Questionnaire 5 5.2.2. Interviews 6 7. CONCLUSION 6 8. CHAPTER OUTLINE 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY 7 Growth of Information Technology in the South African Automotive Industry 1. INTRODUCTION 'A successful automotive industry is often seen as a symbol of economic success and as a sign of mastery of modern technologies' (TISA (Trade and Investment South Africa), 2003). South Africa has the biggest automotive industry in Africa, the industry has grown to become the principal manufacturing sector in South Africa’s economic growth, which resulted in it being considered as a mature industry (Bandyopadhyay, 2010) Information technology continues to change and influence traditional business processes of the automotive industry; it has evolved the industry rapidly. The collaboration between the back office (i.e. finance and administration; operations planning and execution; purchasing; vehicle manufacturing; human resources; and inventory management) and front office (i.e. sales, marketing and customer service experience) systems implemented to produce an integrated supply chain that rapidly adjusts based on customer needs is now a great reality, therefore making it likely for all of a enterprise’s IT to be tightly integrated and architected for the Internet (Moodley, 2001). Throughout this research paper, an examination of the history of the South African automotive industry and the influence that IT has had it making... ... middle of paper ... ...agement In The Automotive Industry: Preliminary Findings The Automotive Industry: Preliminary Findings Benchmarking Club Pilot Surveys, Kwazulu-Natal: University of Natal. Neville, C., 2007. Introduction to Research and Research Methods, Bradford: s.n. Parkinson, G. & Drislane, R., 2011. Qualitative research. In Online dictionary of the social. [Online] Available at: http://bitbucket.icaap.org/dict.pl [Accessed 13 May 2014]. Search for Common Ground, 2013. Quantitative Research Module, s.l.: UK aid from the Department of International Development. TISA (Trade and Investment South Africa), 2003. Current developments in the automotive industry, Pretoria: Department of Trade and Industry. Wheeler, S., 2002. How the Auto Industry Should Embrace CRM. [Online] Available at: http://www.strategy-business.com/article/22403?gko=0a6f9 [Accessed 17 May 2014].
This paper will focus on the future of the U.S. Automobile industry as the United States recovers from the worst recession we have experienced in the past 75 years. I will provide information on the following topics pertaining to the U.S. automobile industry:
The automotive industry is without a doubt an industry that has massive implications relating to the United States economy as well as affecting every American household. Shifts in the supply and demand of automobiles influence the current and future household purchases. Households must determine what amount of their hard-earned income to allocate to certain necessities. Because most households have a budget, the amount spent on transportation it limited. While most industries have an effect on the economy, the automotive industry has far-reaching implications for most Americans. Not only are the workers affected but the many spin-off jobs created as well as the consumers that must purchase the automobiles manufactured.
Mack, N., Woodsong, C., MacQueen, K., Guest, G., & Namey, E. (2005). Qualitative research methods: A data collector’s field guide. Retrieved from http://www.fhi.org
Qualitative research is an approach that attempts to situate an activity that locates the observer in the world by providing the study to occur in their natural setting and by attempting to make sense of, or interpret information (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005). A characteristic of qualitative research is to use a variety of empirical materials such as personal experience, interviews, and questionnaires. It is imperative to understand the task at hand and how to fully carry out the study when using a qualitative research approach in order to find out the information needed. One view of qualitative research is it involves examining individual’s experiences and documenting those experiences in detail (Jones, 2011). By documenting these observations the researcher is ensuring validity in his or her data and giving the correct creditability to those who participated in the study.
The automobile sector has been a robust sector that has experienced tremendous growth in the past seven to eight years. Apart from two years in particular -2008-09 & 2012-13, there is general trend of ten percent plus growth in various segments like passenger car, commercial vehicles, two and three wheelers. The following chart shows the growth rate of various years in each sectors.
The world of technology is ever changing and advancing. With the automotive industry in play technology is constantly surpassing what is available today with what can be done for tomorrow. Technology and the automotive industry go hand in hand with constant improvement to components of cars. Due to technology advancement there is competition within the car industry, especially between American car companies and European car companies. European car companies provide their buyers with innovative variety and revolutionary luxuries. European car technology is superior to American car technology due to their safety, entertainment, and luxury features.
Picciotto, Dan and Nishit K Madlani. "The Global Auto Industry Shifts Its Focus To OVerseas And Emerging Markets." Credit Week (2013): 26. Online. 21 May 2014. .
The automotive industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy for every country in the world. It involves a large number of corporations and institutions engaged in the manufacturing process of motor vehicles including designing, developing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling. It contributes to the global economic growth by generating a significant return and creating a ripple effect on supporting the supply chain as well as providing job opportunities for the skilled workers (ACEA, 2016).
The automotive sector is a key industry in the Malaysian economy. The economic contribution of this sector is immense, with significant linkages to the manufacturing and services sectors. The automotive sector began with importation of vehicles which then progressed to assembly operations and the establishment of a wide network of automotive components and parts manufacturers. (Malaysia Automotive Association, 2005)
Marshall, C, Rossman, Gretchen B, (2006). Designing qualitative research, 4th edition, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
Ulin,R.P., Robinson,E.T.,Tolle,E.E. (2005) Qualitative Methods in Public Health: A Field Guide for Applied Research. San Francisco: Family health international. in Humanities a
focused on the key qualitative research methods. For each article review, a brief description, guided by Myers (2013), and a critique, guided Pratt (2009), is provided. A summary of the five articles identifying the research method, data collection technique, data analysis approach and critique is provided in Table 1. The narrative review of each article coupled with figures and tables to organize and visualize thoughts (Pratt, 2009) follows the summary table.
Liamputtong, P. & Ezzy, D., 2005, Qualitative research methods, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Victoria, pp. 12-31.
Stejskal, S.M. (2010) Quatiative and Qualitative Research Methods are not and should not be Mutually Exclusive, Grinn Verlag.
The automobile industry is a pillar of global economy. Globally automotive contributes roughly 3 % of all GDP output. It historically has contributed 3.0 – 3.5 % to the overall GDP in the US. The share is even higher in the emerging markets, with the rates in china and India at 7 % and rising. China produces the highest number of automobiles followed by US and Japan (oica.net, 2015). The industry supports direct employment of 9 million people to build 60 million vehicles and parts that go into them (oica.net, 2015). Many other industries such as steel, iron, glass, aluminium, textiles etc. are associated with the automotive industry and resulting in more than 50 million jobs owed to the auto