Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Managing the dilemma of balancing revenue growth and cost containment

Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2015.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Sutherland, Margie
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2016
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613641635790848
access_status_str Open Access
author2 Sutherland, Margie
author_browse Sutherland, Margie
author_facet Sutherland, Margie
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2016 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria.
description Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/52433
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:39:22.809Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2016
publishDateRange 2016
publishDateSort 2016
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/52433 Managing the dilemma of balancing revenue growth and cost containment Sutherland, Margie ichelp@gibs.co.za Macdonald, Clinton UCTD Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2015. The primary objective of any profit-driven organisation is to maximise the share of the economic value or profit it generates. Conventional business theory asserts that this can be achieved by either increasing sales revenues or containing operational costs. However, as firms seek to secure sustainable competitive advantages, the imperative has emerged for managers to find methods of achieving revenue growth and cost containment simultaneously. This presents a dilemma to managers as there are trade-offs between revenue growth and cost containment. The aim of this research is to explore the key factors which influence the manager s ability to find an optimal balance between growing revenues and containing costs, with a view towards maximising economic profits. In examining the quandary of balancing revenue growth and cost containment, an exploratory, qualitative research study was conducted through a series of 20 in-depth interviews with business leaders and management experts who are actively engaged with the dilemma. The unique insights uncovered during the expert interviews were collected and analysed using inductive content and frequency analysis techniques, designed to extrapolate the emergent themes into a general management framework for navigating the dilemma. The research results show that managers are able to pursue strategies which simultaneously grow revenues while containing costs, by leveraging the relation between revenue and cost through innovation. Technology and employee engagement were identified as the key enabling factors which drive innovation in a firm, and the resultant productivity gains allow the firm to grow revenues disproportionally higher than costs. As long as the gap between revenue and cost is expanding consistently, the balance between the two is optimised, and the economic profits for the firm are maximised. sn2016 Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) MBA Unrestricted 2016-05-04T13:46:33Z 2016-05-04T13:46:33Z 2016-03-30 2015 Mini Dissertation Macdonald, C 2015, Managing the dilemma of balancing revenue growth and cost containment, MBA Mini-dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/52433> GIBS http://hdl.handle.net/2263/52433 en © 2016 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Managing the dilemma of balancing revenue growth and cost containment
title Managing the dilemma of balancing revenue growth and cost containment
title_full Managing the dilemma of balancing revenue growth and cost containment
title_fullStr Managing the dilemma of balancing revenue growth and cost containment
title_full_unstemmed Managing the dilemma of balancing revenue growth and cost containment
title_short Managing the dilemma of balancing revenue growth and cost containment
title_sort managing the dilemma of balancing revenue growth and cost containment
topic UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/52433