Faculty Business and Accounting

Assessment
Name Internal/End Paper Code Decision Analysis
Ex: Mid/End/Sup
Decision Module
Module Name B9-DAS-17
Analysis Code

Month July Year 2020

Turnitin
Total Marks 100 Duration
Link/SaferAssign

Instructions

1. The Student ID, Name must be mentioned clearly on the solution document cover page.
2. Use Harvard reference style. Justify all texts and paragraphs. Use font size 12 points of style Times New Roman
with line spacing of 1.5. Except the cover page, all other pages should be numbered. (1500 Word Count in Total)

SouthiAfrica’siCovid-19iLockdowniDilemma

1
Introductioni

Covid19ifirstiappearediiniearlyi2020iiniWuhaniChina.iUnfortunately,iitsithreatiwasimisjudgedibyithei
Chinese,ithenitheiWorldiHealthiOandisubsequentlyibyimosticountriesi(McArdie,2020).iOni20iMarchi
2020iPresidentiCyriliRamaposaiimposedistricti“lockdown”imeasuresiiniSouthiAfricai(MomentumiSe
curitiesi2020).iTheidilemmaiwasithatilockdowniwasirapidlyikillingitheieconomy.iEachiadditionalidayi
furtheriburdenedidailyiwageiearners,idrownediminingiequipment,iincreasedi‘lostidays’,iaccumulatedi
debts,ireducediincomeitoitheifiscusi(Louw.iL.,i2020).i

TheieconomiciconsequencesiofitheiresponseitoiCovid19iwereidevastating.iGlobalieconomicigrowthid
roppeditoi6%iini2020iandiglobalitradeidroppedibyi32%,unemploymentilevelsidroppeditoilevelsinotise
enisincei1930i(Jacksonietial.,i2020).iThisipaperiwillibeilookingiintoiSouthiAfrica’siCovid19ilockdown
i dilemmaispecificallyitoiwhatiextenticouldiprojectimanagementiinformationiplaniassistiinimakingieffe
ctiveidecision?
i ThenifurtheridiscussitheiextentitoiwhichilockdowniaffectitheidifferentiextremesiofiSouthiAfricaisociet
yiandihowiareitheyilikelyitoirespondiinibothishortitermiandilongitermiandifinallyidiscussitheieffectsiofic
ovid-19ionibusinessiperformanceiiniSouthiAfrica.

A) Toiwhatiextenticouldiprojectimanagementiinformationiplaniassistiinimakingieffectiveidecisio
ni?[10imarks]

i ProjectiManagementiInformationiSystemsi(PMIS)iPMISihaveibecomei“comprehensiveisystemsithat
i supportitheientireilifecycleiofiprojects,iprojectiprograms,iandiprojectiportfolios”i(BourgaultiM,i2008)
.iTheyicanisupportiprojectimanagersiinitheiriplanning,iorganizing,icontrol,ireportingiandidecision-
makingitasks,iwhileievaluatingiandireportingiatitheisameitimei(HameliE.,2008).iTheidecisionioniprohi
bitingialcohol,inonessentialitraveliandisocialicontactihadialreadyisavediatileasti20i000ilivesi(Friedman
i 2020).i

AccordingitoiEbrahim,iA.i(2020)iweidefineilockdownireadinessiasitheiabilityiofihouseholdsitoistayiati
homeiandiavoidipublicispacesiwithoutiirreversibleidamageitoitheirihealthiandiwelfare.iEbrahimiconti
nuesitoisayithatitoiassistitheiprojectimanagementiinformationiplanningiwithilockdown,ithereihaditoibei
measurementiofilockdownireadiness.iForianalyticalitractability,itheifollowingifiveicomponentsiwerei
considereditoibeireadyiforilockdown;iwithinitheihousehold,itheifamilyihasiaccessito:

 Safeidrinkingiwater

2
  Basicisanitation
 Aisourceiofireliableienergy
 Meansiofiinformationioricommunicationitechnologyi(e.g.imobileiphones)
 Regulariemploymentiwhichiprovidesisufficientiincomeinotitoigoiwithouticashioniaifrequentib
asis.

Ifitheifirsti3icriteriaiareinotimetithenialmostiallihouseholdimembersiwillineeditoimakeiimultipleidailyitri
psioutsideitheihomeiitoiplacesiwhereiotheripeopleicongregatei(e.g.icommunalitapsioriablutions).

Takingithisimeasureitoidata,iweiuseitheilatestiroundiofitheiAfro-
barometeridata,iwhichiareinationallyirepresentatives’isurveysiconductedieveryifewiyearsiacrossitheic
ontinentitoiassessipubliciopinionitowardsiidemocracy,igovernanceiandisociety.

i AccordingitoitheiAfro
barometeridataitheifollowingiisihowitheiprojectimanagementiinformationicouldiassistiinimakingieffec
tiveidecisions:

1.iAdequateiplanningi(neitherioverinoriundeributijustiright).

2.iProjectimanagerishouldiadoptioveralliperspectiveiofitheiprojectiandiusefulistrategiesitoifacilitateitea
mimembersiforieffectiveidecisionimakingiofiplanningiproblems.

3.iDecisionimakingiteamishouldiincludeikeyistakeholdersiwithiexpertiseiiniproblemidomains.

4.iDecisionimakingiprocessesishouldibeiappropriateiforileadingitoirightidecisioniselection.

5.iTeamworkioficompetentimembersibyicollaborativeidiscussions,iexperienceisharingiandihelping

oneianotheriattitudeiisiessential.iTeamimembers’iaimishouldibeitoiassistitheiprojectimanageriiniproperi
decisioniselection.

6.iTheileadersirequireiuseiofiaiproperiblendiofitransformationalianditransactionalileadershipitoidealiwi
thivaryingiproblemsiinitheichangingidynamics.

7.iProjectimanagersishouldihaveiaccessitoicuttingiedgeiinformationiandidecision-makingifacilities

foriteamworkiiniprocessingiinformationiefficiently.

8.iDecisionimakingiprocedureishouldiinvolveiproperirespectiforiorganizationalibestipracticesiand

3
pastiexperiences.i

9.iProjectidirectorsi(SteeringiCommittee)ishouldisupportitheiprojectimanageriinidefendingithe

decisionsimade.

10.iDecisionimakingiproceduresiandidocumentationsishouldibeisufficientlyitransparentiforiprojectidi
rectoritoifeeliconfidentiinidefendingitheidecisionitoihigherimanagement.

B) DiscussitheiextentitoiwhichilockdowniaffectitheidifferentiextremesiofiSouthiAfricaisocietyian
dihowiareitheyilikelyitoirespondiinibothishortitermiandilongiterm?i[20imarks]

Theideliberateireductionsiinidemandiandiproductioniareinotiuniform.iNoticesiofilockdowniregulation
sicontainiexemptionsiunderiwhichicertainiactivitiesiconsiderediessentialimayicontinueitoioperate,iandi
aicompleteicessationiofiactivityiisinotiexpected.iInitheitourismisector,iforiexample,ialthoughifront-
lineiservicesisuchiasiaccommodationiandicarirentalimayinotibeiactiveiduringilockdown,iotheriactivitie
s,isuchiasireservationsiandiotherisupportiservices,iareiexpecteditoicontinueiwithilimitedistaff,iaistatem
entibyiAghajanian,ietiali(2020).

i Agriculture,iforestry,iandifishing

Theiimpactiofiailockdownioniagricultureiisilikelyitoibeimildlyinegativeioveritheilockdowniperiod.iLoc
kdowniregulationsipermitiharvestingiandistorageiactivities,itoipreventiwastageioficropsialreadyiplant
edianditoitenditoilivestock.iCertainiactivities,isuchiasiplanting,imayibeirestricted,ialthoughiitiisiunlikel
yithatiplantingiactivityiisihighiiniApril.iOveritheiveryishortiterm,iSouthiAfricaiisiassesseditoibeifood-
secure,iandiprecautionaryihealthimeasuresitoiguardiworkersiinitheifoodivalueichainihaveibeeniintrodu
ced.iBeyonditheiinitialicontainmentimeasures,idemandiforiagriculturaliexportsimayicomeiunderigreat
eripressureidueitoilowiexternalidemand.

Miningiandiquarrying

Largeicontractionsiiniminingiproductioniareiexpected,iasitheisectoriconfrontsiimposediclosuresioficer
tainimines,iasiwelliasitemporarilyiloweriglobalidemand.iGold,iPGMiandicoaliproductioniareideemedie
ssentialiandihaveibeenialloweditoicontinueioperating,ialthoughiatireducediscale.iMoreigenerally,icarei

4
andimaintenanceionimines,iareialloweditoicontinue,itoipreventisafetyidelaysionceiextractiveiminingia
ctivityiisialloweditoiresume.

Manufacturing

Aimajorityiofisegmentsiinitheimanufacturingisectoriwillibeisubjectitoilockdown.iCertainiactivitiesiwit
hinimanufacturingi–
i suchiasifood,ianditheiproductioniofipackaging,ihygieneiandimedicaliproductsiareibroadlyiexempted.i
However,iotherisegmentsiareiexpecteditoibeiseverelyiaffectedibyitheilockdowniperiod.iProductioniofi
foodiandinon-
alcoholicibeveragesiisiexpecteditoicontinue,ialthoughimildireductionsiiniproductionimayioccur.iRetai
lersihaveiindicatediaishiftitowardsipre-
packagedifood,itoiavoidianyicontaminationithatimayioccuriiniopenifoodiitemsisuchiasibreadiandiprepa
redifruitiandisalads.iiAlcoholisalesianditransportiareiprohibitediduringitheilockdown,iandiproductioniis
i expecteditoilargelyistallioveritheilockdowniperiod.i

Electricity,igasiandiwater

Theiproductioniofielectricityiandiwateriisiexemptedifromistrictilockdowniregulations,ieveniasisomein
oncoreiactivitiesiareishifteditowardsihome-basediwork.iSupply
sideidisruptionsidueitoilockdowniandicontainmentimeasuresiareinotiexpected.iInstead,idemandiforiele
ctricityiisiexpecteditoifallidueitoiloweriindustrialidemand,ieveniasihouseholdiuseirisesiduringitheilockd
owniperiod.

Construction

Constructioniactivityiisiexpecteditoistall,iaffectedibyimovementirestrictionsiandiconstraintsionisupply
i andidemand.iAismalliamountioficonstructioniactivityiisiexpected,iiniorderitoiprovideinecessaryiinfras
tructureitoisupportimedicalieffortsi(providingitemporaryimedicaliandiquarantineifacilities)iandienfor
ceicontainment,ialthoughiitiisiunlikelyitoiofferisignificantioffsetitoiaireductioniinibuildingiandiconstru
ctioniactivity.

Trade,icatering,iandiaccommodation

5
Retailitradeiofiessentialifood,ihygiene,iandimedicaliproductsiisialloweditoicontinueitoitradeiduringithei
lockdown.iOtheriphysicaliretailiactivity,iincludingiclothingistores,ifurnitureiandiapplianceiretailers,ia
ndihardwareistores,ihaveibeeniclosed.iOnlineiretailersiinitheseisegmentsiremainiactive,ihowever,ipurc
hasesimayinotibeideliverediuntilirestrictionsiareilifted.iMovementirestrictionsioniindividualsiandiexpli
citirestrictionsionirestaurantsiwilliseverelyiimpactiaccommodationiandicateringiactivities.iSomeiskel
etonistaffimayibeideployeditoicontinueiongoingioperationsithatidoinotirequireifront-
lineistaff,isuchiasibookingsiandiotheriadministration,ihoweverihotelsiareiexpecteditoiremainishutiforir
egularibusiness.

Transport,istorage,iandicommunication

Passengeritransportiisirestricteditoitheitransportationiofiworkersithatiprovideiessentialigoodsiandiservi
ces,ianditransportationiofisickipeopleiforimedicaliattention.iFreightitransport,iwarehousing,iandilogist
icsiservicesiareiexpecteditoibeilimiteditoitheitransportiofiessentialimedical,ihygieneiandifoodiitems,iasi
welliasiessentialiminingioutputsi(e.g.icoal)iinitheiabsenceiofiproductioniinimostisegmentsiofimanufact
uring.i

i Inboundiandidomesticitourism

InboundiandidomesticitourismihaveibeeninegativelyiaffectedisinceilateiJanuaryi2020,iwhenivariousio
rganizationsihadistarteditoiplaceiprecautionaryimeasuresiforistaffiandipostponeioricancelieventsisched
ulediinitheineariterm.iLargeiscaleisocialidistancingianditravelirestrictionsiwereiintroducedifromiFebru
aryi2020,iandimostitourism-
relatediactivitiesihaveibeenisuspendediunderilockdowniregulations.iMovementirestrictionsihaveieffe
ctivelyicurtailedidomesticidemandiforitransportianditourismioveritheiEasteriperiod.iTourismiconsistsi
ofiaigroupiofidifferentieconomiciactivities,ialliofiwhichiwillibeiseverelyiimpactedibyilockdown.iDema
ndiforivacationitravel,imeetingsiandieventsiareilikelyitoiremainistrainediuntilieffectiveipreventioniandi
treatmentistrategiesiforiCovid-
19iareifound.iLoweritourismiactivityiwillideeplyiaffectiactivitiesisuchiasiaccommodationiandicatering
,iroadiandiairitransport,irecreationiactivities,ifood,ianditextiles.iExports

AsimanyicountriesiuseisimilaricontainmentimeasuresitoiresponditoitheispreadiofiCovid-
19,ifactoryishutdownsiandireductionsiiniglobalicommodityidemandiareiexpecteditoihaveiadverseieffe
ctsioniexports.iTheiextentitoiwhichiexportidemandifallsi–

6
i beyondiwhatiisiexpectedifromitheilockdowniiniSouthiAfricaiidependsilargelyionitheidurationiandimag
nitudeiofishutdownsiiniotherieconomies,ianditheirirelativeiimportanceiasianiexportidestination.iForith
eipurposesiofithisianalysis,iexportidemandiisiexpecteditoifallibyi40-
75ipericent,iexceptingiagriculturaliexportsiwhichiareiexpecteditoimatchipre-
crisisiexpectations,iatileastiinitheineariterm.

Investment

Sharpicontractionsiinitheileveliofifixediinvestmentiareiexpected,iasiaihighlyiuncertainioutlookioniecon
omiciactivityileadsifirmsitoireconsiderioripostponeidecisionsionicapitaliprojects.iInvestmentiexpendit
ureibyicommodityiisiexpecteditoidropibyi65-
80ipericent.iInimanyiinstances,itheishutdowniofiheavyiindustriesianditheiconstructionisectoripre-
emptsitheireductioniiniinvestmentidemand.

C) DiscussitheieffectsiofiCovid-19ioniBusinessiPerformanceiiniSouthiAfricai[20imarks]

TheiCOVID-
19ipandemicihasicreatediprofoundidisruptionsitoiourieconomyiandisociety.iManyiSouthiAfricaniindu
striesiareiexperiencingianiadverseiimpactifromitheipandemic,iwhichiisiconsistentiwithiothericountriesi
fightingitheidisease.iIniitsiresponseitoitheicrisis,itheiSouthiAfricanigovernmentihasi(fromi27iMarchi20
20)iplaceditheicountryiunderiainationalilockdownitoireduceitheispreadiofitheivirus,iresultingiinitheiclos
ureiofimanyibusinesses.iiAccordingitoiAlasadiiietiali(2020)itheibusinessesiaffectedibyitheinationalilock
downiareithoseithatiareinotiregardediasiprovidingiessentialiservices.iTheseiindustriesiinclude,iamongs
tiothers,ithoseireliantionitheimovementiofigoodsi(supplyichainidisruptions),itheitelecommunicationsis
ector,iselectediminingiactivitiesidueitoiaidecreaseiinidemandiforiminerals,iaccommodationianditouris
midueitoitravelibans,iconstruction,itransport,iandivariousiservicesi(Kim,i2020).i

Measuringitheiimpactiofitheipandemicionitheieconomyiwillidependiheavilyioniinformationiandirelate
difactsiprovidedibyibusinessesiwhoicompleteisurveysiconductedibyiStatisticsiSouthiAfricai(StatsiSAi
2020).iTheiactualiimpactiremainsiunknowniuntilicriticalivariablesicanibeiidentified,iincludingitheidur
ationiofitheipandemiciandiitsiintensityiinitermsiofiinfectionirates.iTheipandemicihasihighlighteditheine
editoiobtainiaccurateiinformationiasicloseiasipossibleitoirealitime.iAccordingly,iStatsiSAi(2020)ihasise
tioutitoidetermineitheiimpactionibusinessesianditheieconomyiatilargeibyiconductingianiexperimentalist
udy.i

7
Helm.iDi(2020)isaiditheibusinessiimpactistudyiisiadministeredithroughiaibasicisurveyifocusingionifina
ncialiperformanceirelateditoitheitradingistatus,ibusinessiimpact,iturnover,iimportiandiexportiofigoods,i
purchases,ipriceichanges,ifinancialiburdeniandiassistance,ibusinessisurvival,iandiworkforce.iTheiresu
ltsiincludeitheiaggregatediresponsesifromibusinessesibasedioniaiseriesiofiquestions.i

Turnoverirelatesitoitheiincomeigeneratedibyiaibusinessiwheniconductingiitsicoreioperationsiwithiniais
pecifieditimeframe,iandiformsiaikeyimeasureiofibusinessiperformance.iAccordingitoitheiAnnualiFina
ncialiStatisticsisurveyiconductedibyiStatsiSAi(2020),iturnoveriincludesisalesiofigoods,iservicesirende
red,ileasingiandihiringioficapitaliassets,iandirental/
leasingiofiland,ibuildingsiandiotheristructures.iApproximatelyihalfiofirespondentsiindicatedieitheride
creasediworkingihoursi(28,3%)iorilayingioffiofistaffiinitheishortitermi(19,6%);i25,3%ireportedi‘other’i
measuresitaken;i24,0%ireportedinoimeasuresitaken;i2,0%ireportediincreasediworkingihours;iandi0,7
%iwillibeirecruitingistaffiinitheishortiterm.iForitheitwoiweeksiofitheireferenceiperiod,i34,6%iofirespon
dingibusinessesiindicatedithatiexportingiofigoodsiandiservicesiwasiaffectedibyiCOVID-19.i

AccordingitoiWolfersiJ.i(2020)itheimajorityiofirespondingibusinessesi(85,4%)ireportediturnoveribelo
witheinormalirange.

 46,4%iindicateditemporaryiclosureioripauseditradingiactivity.
 50,4%iexpecteditheiriworkforceisizeitoistayitheisameiinitheitwoiweeksiafteritheisurvey,iwhilei3
6,8%ireportedithatitheiriworkforceisizeiisiexpecteditoidecrease.
 28,3%iindicatedithatitheiriworkforceihasidecreasediworkingihoursiandi19,6%ireportedilayingi
offiofistaffiinitheishortiterm.
 19,1%iindicatedithatipricesiofimaterials,igoodsioriservicesipurchasediincreasedimoreithaninor
mal.
 Accessitoifinancialiresources:i23,8%iindicatediaidecreaseiwhilei52,6%iindicatediaccessitoifin
ancialiresourcesiremaineditheisame.
 38,2%iofibusinessesiapplyingiforifinancialiassistanceireportedithatitheyiwouldiuseigovernme
ntireliefischemes.
 30,6%iindicateditheyicanisurviveilessithaniaimonthiwithoutianyiturnover,iwhilei54,0%icanisur
viveibetweeni1iandi3imonths.
 46,3%iofitheiworkforceiwereiableitoimeetibusinessidemands,iandi43,0%iofitheiworkforceiwer
einotiableitoimeetibusinessidemandsi(theirestireportedi‘unsure’).

8
Conclusioni

Theicovid-
19ipandemicihasicreatediprofoundidistributionsitoiourieconomyiandisociety.iTheibusinessesiaffectedii
byitheinationalilockdowniareithoseithatiareinotiregardediasiprovidingiessentialiservices.iTheibusinessii
mpactisurveyiisidesignediasianiexperimentalistudyiandiisisubjectitoispecificistrengthsiandilimitations.

9
References

AfroBarometeriDatai(2019)iMergediRoundi7idatai(34icountries)iavailablei@ihttp://
www.afrobarometer.org

Aghajanian,iA.,iP.iJustino,iandiJ-
P.iTranchanti(2020).i‘RiotsiandiSocialiCapitaliiniUrbaniMaharashtra’.iWIDERiWorkingiPaperi202
0/42.iHelsinki:iUNU-WIDER

Alasadi,iR.i&iAbdelrahim,iA.i2020.iAnalysisiofiBusinessiPerformance.iEducationaliBusinessiandiS
ociety:iContemporaryiSoutherniIssues,i1(1):i50-60

BourgaultiM.,iDrouiniN.,iHameliE.,i(2008),iDecisioniMakingiwithiniDistributediProjectiTeams:iAni
ExplorationiofiFormalizationiandiAutonomyiasiDeterminantsiofiSuccess,iInternationaliJournaliofiPr
ojectiManagement,iSupplementiS97-S110

BusinessiImpactiSurveyiofitheiCOVID-
19ipandemici(Aprili2020)iExperimentalistatisticsiaimediatiprovidingianiEarlyiindicatoriofitheibusi
nessiimpactiresultingifromiCOVID-19i.iSouthiAfrica

Ebrahim,iA.i(2020)i‘COVID-
19iandiSocioeconomiciImpactiiniAfrica:iTheiCaseiofiSouthiAfrica’.iWIDERiBackgroundiNotei2020
/2.iHelsinki:iUNU-WIDER.ihttps://doi.org/10.35188/UNU-WIDER/WBN/2020-2

Ebrahim,iA.,i(2020).iCovid-19iandiSocioeconomiciImpactiiniAfrica:itheicaseiofiSouthiAfrica,iUNU-
WIDER.ihttp://doi.org/10.35188/UNU-WIDER/WBN/2020-2

Economisti(11iAprili2020),iEconomist.iEmergingimarketsiareiiniturmoil,iTheiIMFimustistepiinitoih
elp,iHere’sihow,iRetrievedifromiwww.economist.com/leaders/2020/04/11/emerging-markets-are-
in-turmoil-thei

Harris,iBi(26iAprili2020),iCovid-
19:iWhatiyouineeditoiknowiaboutitheiCoronavirusiPandemic,iWorldiEconomiciForumi

Helm,iD.ii(2020)iTheiEconomiciImpactsiofitheiCoronavirus.iiEconomicaliResource.iJohannesburg,i
Econ.i,i76,i21–38.

10
Jackson,iJ.,Weiss,iM.,iSchwartzenberg,iA.,i&iNelson,iR.i(2020)iGlobaliEconomiciEffectsiofiCovid-
19,iWashingtoniDC:iCongressionaliResearchiService

Kim,iS.iW.i(2020).iSupplyiChainiManagement.iEffectsiofiSupplyiChainiManagementiPractices,iint
egrationiandicompetitionicapabilityioniperformance.iAniInternationaliJournal,i11i(3):241-248

Louw,iL.i(11iAprili2020)iMediaiRelease:ithereiisinoiuncertaintyiaboutitheieconomicidisastericause
dibyitheilockdown,iFreeiMarketiFoundation

McArdle,iM.i(2020)iWheniItiComesitoiTheiCoronavirus,iWeiElitesiGotiItiWrong.iSo,ididiyouiPopul
ists,iTheiWashingtoniPost,i20iMarch

MomentumiSecuritiesi(2020)iMorningibell,iJohannesburg:iGauteng

Wolfers,iJ.i(2020),iTheiunemploymentirateiisiprobablyiaroundi13ipericent,iNYTimes,iRetrievedifro
miwww.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/upshot/coronavirus-jobless-rate-great-depression.html

11