Browsing by Author "Govender, Indrani."
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Item A study of vegetation change along the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal from the Umgeni River to the Tugela River.(2000) Govender, Indrani.; Ellery, William Nolan.The vegetation along the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal has long been considered to have originally consisted of forest, scrub forest and savanna. The classical view is that in the last 600 years the early Africans and European farmers were responsible for the removal of forest and scrub forest along the coast. This view was not based on direct evidence but on the theory that the eastern part of the country has a climate "suitable" for forest and scrub forest. The present 'false' grasslands were thus thought to have developed through anthropogenic influences. All of this has its basis in the paradigm of ecological succession and the presence of a "climatic climax". This traditional view has been contested recently, based on archaeological, historical, biogeographical and ecological evidence that has become available since the 1950's. It is suggested that South Africa's grass lands have been in existence for the last two thousand years but probably for more than ten thousand years. This study aims to investigate this controversy in greater detail, using evidence from archaeological records, travellers records, transcripts, historical reviews, and diarised records. The locations of archaeological sites within the study area were determined and mapped out, followed by an analysis and interpretation of the data with reference to vegetation change. Archaeological evidence included shell middens, evidence of iron working and pottery remains. The activities of the early humans included iron smelting, agriculture and stock farming. Their activities required the selective use of vegetation for specific purposes, and vegetation was cleared for homesteads and villages. However, the density of people within the study area was low, and there was limited technological development, such that extensive clearing by relatively few people is unlikely. Furthermore, sites are concentrated along the coastline, with fewer sites away from the coast, suggesting that impacts would have been greatest along the coastline. However, this is where forests presently occur. Overall, the evidence suggests that the natural vegetation on the north coast was not modified drastically by precolonial settlers. Historical accounts of early travellers and settlers indicate a strip of forest along the coastline and a grassland/woodland mosaic away from the coast. Records of mammals suggest a fauna typical of savannas and not forest. With settlement over time, the major activity that impacted on the north coast vegetation, was agriculture. Sugar cane plantations contributed considerably to the clearing of vegetation that seems to have consisted primarily of open grasslands with patches of trees. Colonial settlement of this area resulted in various activities that required the large-scale removal of natural vegetation. It is important to know the human disturbance history of an area as this helps to assess the extent of change and to design appropriate management strategies for conservation of plant resources. The belief that the early vegetation of the north coast was forest has placed great emphasis on the conservation of forests along this coastal area. Based on this study, it seems that this vegetation type should not be the focus of conservation efforts, but that coastal grasslands with scattered bush clumps should be given much greater emphasis. Grasslands were more widespread in the region prior to European settlement, and based on this, conservationists should place greater emphasis on preserving this habitat.Item Succession planning as a tool to minimise staff turnover rate : a case study of Nedbank Homeloans' KZN Operations.(2010) Govender, Indrani.; Kader, Abdulla Dawood.; Vajeth, Taahir Ahmed Akbar.This study explores the reasons why succession planning is imperative in an organisation. The study focuses on Nedbank Homeloans’ KZN Operations at the head office in central Durban and includes the views of the office staff about the salient issues in regards to succession planning. A comprehensive literature review provides a background to the study. A number of reasons for the need for succession planning have been provided by various writers, and these constitute the point of departure for the study. The broad themes that impact on the success of succession planning are identified as being the need to retain talent, to develop skills, and to enhance the benefits that can be derived from implementing succession planning in an organisation. In relation to these themes, the main objectives of the study were the following: to determine what benefits the organisation may achieve from implementing a succession plan; the significant impacts of not having a strategic succession plan; what an organisation can do to retain talented and competent employees; the role an organisation can play in sustaining skilled and talented people; and if the implementation of succession planning can support the career paths of employees not just up a specialised ladder but across a continuum of professional competence. The fieldwork was exploratory in nature, with a questionnaire being administered to seventyseven home-loan staff across the different levels of function. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. Various statistical techniques such as Cronbach’s Alpha were applied to test reliability.An in-depth analysis of the results of the questionnaire was performed. The results of the study were evaluated and various recommendations are made. An implementation plan is provided to aid in the implementation process.