Global Journal of Management and Business Research, C: Finance, Volume 22 Issue 5

results. Finally, work and responsibilities are to be divided equally amongst workers and management cooperating in close interdependence. According to Watson (2002), scientific management is essential in effective store management as it aims to improve methods of storage and distribution and remove wastage and inefficiency in undertaking storage activities. This is relevant in formal business settings where there is a constant demand for uniformity of goods, regularity of customer patronage and accountability for operations. III. D ata and M ethodology According to Obadire (2022), research methodology encompasses the entire strategy of the study from the identification and assessment of the problem to the final phase of data analysis, interpretation, conclusion, and recommendations. He further argued that research methodologies are the principles underpinning the researcher's choice of a broad approach to conduct research. Obadire (2018) argued that a research design is an overall plan for obtaining answers to questions being studied and handling difficulties encountered during the research. Numerous conceivable research designs can be utilised as a part of the research. Hofstee (2006) suggests that the most popular designs used by researchers are extended literature reviews, comparative analysis, content analysis, survey-based research, evaluative research (appraisals), case -studies, action research and theory development. This study used a survey-based research design. In a survey-based research design, information is collected from individuals who are presumed to have the information that is required, and who are willing to communicate this information to the researcher, while being considered as representing a larger group (Obadire, 2022). A well- structured questionnaire was used to ensure the relevance and reliability of the data-gathering process. This study was carried out in Thohoyandou because of the large number of retail stores well informed for the study. Thohoyandou is a location in the Vhembe district, Limpopo province of the Northern part of South Africa. The population is the formal retail stores, that is; the stores that keep proper records of their sales, procurement, storage and general operation such as groceries stores, supermarkets, pharmaceutical stores, home-ware stores, and frozen stores to mention a few. The participants are made up of the managers and the procurement officer of the store as they are in the right position to provide the required information needed for the study. formal retail stores are considered to have a total population of 100. Scholars do not agree on the exact proportion of the accessible population that should form the sample size. Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) suggest that in descriptive studies thirty percent (30%) of the survey population is representative enough to generalise characteristics being observed. Thus, the sample size was estimated to be 30% of the total population of 100 yielding 30 stores. The two major available sources of data collection that were used for the research purpose are primary and secondary sources. Also, the data validity and reliability were of utmost importance in the study. Validity entails how well a research instrument measures what it is designed to measure, thus reliability refers to the degree to which the instrument accurately and consistently measures what it intends to measure (Obadire, 2018). Hence, fundamental to the validity and reliability of this instrument the questionnaire was designed with the help of relevant consultation with industry experts for expertise and experience to measure what it is purported to measure. A pilot study was conducted on the sampled population to test the degree to which the instrument consistently and accurately measures the participant’s view. The obtained data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and distribution Tables using Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS version 21. Inferential statistics were performed in testing the hypothesis formulated in the study using the Chi-square technique to test the effect of inventory management techniques and tools adopted on the effectiveness of retail stores and its influence on retail store performance. The Chi-square test and other descriptive tests were considered appropriate because of the non- parametric nature of the data that was used in the study. IV. R esults and D iscussion of F indings This section presents the analyses of the data collected under the two hypotheses formulated in the study. a) Inferential Testing of Hypotheses Two hypotheses were raised at their null form for the study, tested at 0.05 significant levels. H 01 : The inventory management techniques and tools adopted by retail stores are not effective. The results shown in Table 1 depict that the Chi- Square value for the economic order quantity technique adopted by the retail store is effective as it produces a value of 22.533 which is significant at the 99% confidence level. Also, the Chi-Square value for the just- in-time technique used by the retail store is more effective as it produced a higher value of 26.133 which is equally significant at the 99% confidence level. 4 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue V Version I Year 2022 ( ) C © 2022 Global Journals Analysis of the Impact of Inventory Management Practices on the Effectiveness of Retail Stores in South Africa According to Obadire (2022), sampling means taking a portion of an entire population, to make inferences about such a selected population. Simple random sampling was used for the study as only the