ABSTRACT
12.7 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR BRE
Improving Industrial Relations
Itis certainly not in the interest of trade unions to see expansions deferred, plants shut down or workers replaced by machines, yet many business decisions are strongly influenced by what is seen as union hostility. Very often this is the result of poor industrial relations practice resulting from a lack of skill on the part of management and/or employee representatives.
BRE programmes often have a component to improve the IR climate in a community, sector or individual business.
Quality ofLife
The influence that quality of life considerations have on investment decisions is well known.
They are equally applicable to expansion or disinvestment decisions. What appears to be growth or new industry in one community may be no morethan migration from another - a situation all too familiar in KZN. Collective action to improve the quality of life and to headhunt specific services or facilities plays an important part in a local BRE strategy.
the assistance offered by parastatals such as IDC, DBSA, CSIR, Ithala, Business Partners and Eskom amongst others. There are, in addition, various private sector initiatives such as the Tourism Enterprise Fund, the Private Sector Initiative, various business linkage or business development centres as well as a host of useful projects initiated by individual companies. The donor community from the WorId Bank and its subsidiary organisations to the European Union and individual countries offer a range of schemes and assistance. NGO's can be a valuable resource, especially to smaller enterprises, and fair trade organisations, for example, offer favourable access to international markets.
There is therefore little need to develop new measures until a great deal more is known about what business actually needs to survive and grow. The difficulty faced by most businesses and community initiatives is to find appropriate resources and having done so to comply with the necessary procedures before waiting or following up until a conclusion is reached.
12.7.2. DISCOVERING BUSINESS NEEDS AND CONCERNS
Of the two main possibilities for surveying business needs and concerns, the expert driven approach is not feasible in KZN both for reasons of cost and the number of skilled professionals it would require. This leaves the locally driven option and in this respect Peter Kenyon37, who has worked with both approaches in Australia, says that while both of them can succeed, in his experience the locally driven approach is far more likely to result in positive action. A locally driven approach is also consistent with the government policy of managing development as far as possible at local level and with the role of local government in local economic development.
For a number of reasons, using volunteers to conduct the surveys might be expected to be more difficult in South Africa than elsewhere. This was certainly a concern before the start of the Pietermaritzburg BRE programme in 1999. However their experience that it was a great deal easier than expected encourages the belief that it could be replicated in other centres. On the other hand prudence suggests that a degree of flexibility in the use of volunteers may be necessary, especially in communities with limited experience of business. Note should also be taken of the recommendations from the award winning Newfoundland and Labrador BRE programme which stresses the importance of ensuring that volunteers are thoroughly trained.
37Interview (July, 2001)
12.7.3. DATA ANALYSIS AND ACTION PLANS
The analysis of data has traditionally been the responsibility of economic development agencies or academic institutions but in recent years the process has been greatly simplified by the development of software for this purpose. Capturing and processing the data is done locally but turning it into workable action plans is another matter. Here, the BRE facilitator plays an indispensable role and has to draftinitial proposals which have to be 'work-shopped' intensively with the local task team before being submitted to a wider stakeholder group.
12.7.4. LINKING RESOURCES TO PLANS
Clearly the BRE facilitator had some part to play in linking plans to resources in the initial stages but there is also a need for ongoing support as BRE becomes an integral part of local economic development strategies in the study areas, especially in KwaDukuza There is therefore a need for a central point to which reference can be made at any time for information and proactive assistance to access the most appropriate resources to overcome a particular problem The person providing this service requires a degree of expertise which includes the ability to establish contacts in different resource agencies in order to obtain supplementary information and expedite applications.
12.7.5. FOLLOW UPS
A critical weakness of many local development initiatives is the inability to turn plans into action An important part of the problem is the difficulty in accessing resources and the time it takes to do so. The result of these delays is that enthusiasm dwindles and other priorities intervene. It is therefore not sufficient for the provincial clearing house to merely act as a referral agency with little interest in the outcome. If it is to be effective it needs to build in follow-up mechanisms, which ensure that action is taken if referrals are unsuccessful or a response is unduly delayed.
12.7.6. DEVELOPMENT OF POLICY AND SUPPORT MEASURES
The results of the BRE surveys, discussed in the next chapter, the local action plans and the clearing house all provide valuable information about the needs and concerns of KZN business
and the extent to which they are being addressed. Trends are monitored and the impact of changes assessed. This enhances the credibility of recommendations for policy changes and for modifying eXisting support measures or introducing newo~es.