by Michael Said Woke up this morning to find Wimpy trending on Twitter, comments and pics on Facebook and even a couple of Foursquare check-ins. What had they done? Stolen someone’s Cinnamon Cola recipe, asked a lady and her guide dog to leave one of their stores, offended the ruling party in Zimbabwe, just invented a cure for cancer or “E” all of the above? Turns out it was none of the above, all they had to do to get the stores full and everyone talking about them was give away a couple of million Rands worth of breakfasts country wide. Suddenly my inbox started to fill up with questions and comments about this ploy… Why where they doing it, how could they do it, will it work, how long will they keep it up and who was going to pay for all that. I am not employed by Famous Brands, never have been and am pretty certain I never will be, so the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own and based on nothing more than 25 years of experience in the food industry. I make no claim that...

The franchise mechanism has been widely used by a range of businesses as a means to expand their operations, and over the years franchising has made a significant contribution to the economy. By Bendeta Gordon By creating a number of small businesses (franchisees), supported by the franchisors, franchising has afforded many people the opportunity to pursue self-employment. The franchisees, in turn, create sustainable employment opportunities. To a certain degree, franchising is able to accommodate the inherent weaknesses within our economy, business infrastructure, business and government mind-set, work force and so forth, to meet the need for job creation.   The current challenges and issues we are facing in South Africa: ·          Insufficient numbers of entrepreneurs and managers; ·          A young, unskilled and inexperienced unemployed workforce; ·        ...

By Gerhard van Wyk A sustainable competitive advantage creates the basis for superior performance and the long-term survival of an organisation in the marketplace, as well as delivering value to the customer. It is important that franchises understand the various ways in which a competitive advantage can be structured. Jooste et al, (2009) and Gilligan et al, (2009) listed the ten, most meaningful, competitive advantages an organisation / franchise must focus on. A superior product benefit National Panasonic developed a range of electronic equipment perceived as superior products in the market and are now considered the benchmark against which competitive products in these categories are measured. A perceived advantage or superiority Camel cigarettes, with their aggressively masculine image of the “Camel Man”, were able to sell their product at a premium in South Africa. This advantage was lost when legislation with regards to cigarette advertising in South Africa changed, however th...

By James Price Whether you are creating a new position, filling an old one, or setting expectations for an employee, writing a job description can seem like a tedious undertaking. A well-written job description can be an extremely powerful document. It can give employees a strong sense of duty, provide necessary structure in the workplace, protect employers from the onslaught of employment law, and most importantly, provide properly-placed room for creativity. On the other hand, the legal ramifications of getting it wrong, of improperly stating requirements, can cause a tangle of bureaucratic tape that can tie you up for months. Here is a quick guideline on how to transform that old, tired job description into one that clearly defines expectations and sets your employees up for success. Be relevant The problem with job descriptions in the 21st century is that some duties or skills required become out-of-date almost immediately. We see this in our daily lives. Right after you bought...

A MESSAGE FROM FASA’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR In South Africa’s new era of promoting entrepreneurship, small business development and skills transfer as envisioned / proposed by our present government, FASA has a crucial role to play. Encouraged by government’s quest to provide five million jobs by 2020, FASA has taken up the challenge of growing the small business sector by playing an active role in ensuring that franchising remains a viable and accessible option for anyone wanting to go into business for themselves, but not by themselves. The position of franchising as one of the strongest business formats in the world today was highlighted and confirmed during the recent recession. Although franchises certainly have been affected by the economic downturn, it has proven its resilience by faring better than independent businesses. The future growth potential for franchising in South Africa is enormous. Franchising locally is represented in only 17 business sectors compared to between 25 ...