Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Companies'

In a global economy greater attention must be given to an amount of innovative companies in the manufacturing of products and in providing services. Innovative organizations must be able to learn especially in marketing and strategy efficiently and effectively in order to survive in today’s increasingly fierce competitive environment. Innovations thrive from a skilled and well-educated workforce, research and development resulting in Intellectual Property Rights, organizational infrastructure and business strategy if handled correctly.

Innovations play an important role and need a proper environment that provides knowledge, supportive interaction and incentive structures to become successful. Creating world-beating product concepts is of value only if you can bring them to market successfully. To focus a product innovation process around business objectives and plans allows company to create and evaluate a strategic positioning. Critical to success is the selection of appropriate targets for innovation, which requires identifying requirements throughout the existing value chain of products and services and the new value chain of the knowledge channel. But as it is likely that many of these requirements will be unclear and some will be conflicting, the way to resolve these conflicts is through mutually dependent learning involving participants from all relevant groups, including R&D, suppliers, and customers, plus distribution partners and other internal functional departments such as marketing, manufacturing, and finance.

A broader focus on innovation can generate increasing returns. Capturing and keeping a comparative advantage will require an appropriate pattern and shaking up the market with a major new product. Product innovation is a powerful lens through which to examine strategy because the success of your products in the market is the ultimate test of a strategy. Through the distribution we approach to highlight the thesis in threefold:

• Figure out different innovations;

• Draw on an in-depth understanding of bring the revolutionary new products to market;

• Generalize a host of product concepts spanning innovations in strategic positioning.

Aiming to fulfill the purpose of our paper, we conducted qualitative research method based on telephone interviews with two Swedish and two Chinese companies who have innovated products or services. The theoretical framework portrayed the innovator’s dilemma, push and pull marketing methods and prospector and defender strategic positioning models.

In conclusion, we generalized what kind of innovation (disruptive technology or sustainable technology) the four case companies have, which marketing method (pull or push) they adopt and how the strategic positioning is respectively. At the final section, we suggest a model for companies with innovations and how they differ on disruptive or sustainable technology and target customers.

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Sócio-Econômico
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O presente trabalho apresenta o perfil, as estratégias e as tendências do modelo de Trading Companies brasileiras puras. Caracteriza-se como um estudo de caso, com análises quantitativas e qualitativas específicas do universo de empresas com Certificado de Registro Especial junto ao Governo brasileiro. O trabalho embasou-se a partir de cinco perguntas norteadoras - as principais funções e estruturas de uma empresa real; as características e estratégias utilizadas pelas Tradings; o perfil recomendado para um Trader; a tendência de participação das Tradings no mercado exportador brasileiro; e a influência do ambiente internacional nas estratégias competitivas das Trading Companies - as quais possibilitaram desvelar informações inéditas e valiosas para a compreensão dos rumos do segmento de Trading Companies e do comércio exterior brasileiro. Como destaque, citam-se algumas conclusões: as funções das Tradings variam e a estrutura parece combinar com o modelo institution building; Tradings de elevada especialização e estruturas apropriadas têm maior acesso ao mercado; as Tradings estão perdendo forças competitivas diante da política brasileira de ampliação da base exportadora e da atuação das empresas comerciais exportadoras comuns e estão apresentando, inclusive, forte involução no número de empresas e exportações, a partir das mudanças do cenário internacional e da abertura comercial do Brasil; as empresas Tradings mudaram a sua atuação de somente exportadoras para, exportadoras e importadoras ou, em alguns casos, exclusivamente importadoras; e o perfil desejado para o Trader está relacionado às variáveis que influenciam o comércio internacional

Mestrado em Economia
The European strategy for 2020 considers the innovation as one of the main features to boost the progress towards a competitive and sustainable European economy. Assuming that innovation contributes for competitiveness, the current work intends to focus on the relation between innovation and international competitiveness of two European small economies, namely Portugal and Latvia. There is evidence that small economies are characterized by higher trade liberalization and higher international competitiveness. To better understand the relation amongst innovation and international competitiveness, within the scope of the two small economies under study, it’s performed a comparative analysis between both countries and employed a statistical and sectorial analysis, with a shift-share analysis. Even under harsh economic conditions, innovation occurred in both countries. The results show that the international competitiveness of Portugal is related with its expenditures on R&D and patent applications while the Latvian international competitiveness is evidenced only with expenditures on R&D. The most internationally competitive sector of is the other manufactured goods and in Latvia is the food, drinks and tobacco sectors. Both countries show evidence of international competitiveness’ potential in the sector of transport and machinery equipment.
A estratégia Europeia 2020 contempla a inovação nos seus principais objetivos para catalisar o progresso no sentido de construir uma economia Europeia mais competitiva e sustentável. Com base no pressuposto da contribuição da inovação para a competitividade, o presente trabalho investiga a relação entre inovação e competitividade internacional, em duas pequenas economias europeias, Portugal e Letónia. Há evidência de que as pequenas economias se caracterizam por uma maior abertura comercial e uma maior competitividade internacional. Para melhor compreender a relação entre inovação e competitividade internacional, no âmbito das duas pequenas economias em estudo, é realizada uma análise comparativa dos dois países e aplicada uma análise estatística e sectorial, com uma análise shift-share. Mesmo sob condições económicas adversas, a inovação ocorreu em ambos os países. Os resultados mostram que a competitividade internacional Portuguesa está relacionada com as despesas em I&D e com o número de patentes, enquanto que a posição internacional competitiva da Letónia é apenas evidenciada pelas despesas em I&D. O sector português mais competitivo internacionalmente é o sector dos outros produtos manufaturados e na Letónia são os sectores alimentar, de bebidas e tabaco. Ambos os países evidenciaram um potencial de competitividade internacional no sector de transporte e equipamento de maquinaria.

Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union all conditions and principles for doing business in the area have changed. The shift from a planned economy to a market economy is connected with rapid and basic changes in political, social, economic and technological conditions. The Baltic countries Estonia, Latvia andLithuania are going through a gradual transition and the decrease of central economic power leads to the liquidation of state monopolies. The markets of the Baltic is giving great opportunities for Western European companies since the Baltic is a good springboard to the more Eastern European markets, which consists of over 400 million possible customers.The Baltic countries is not a homogeny group, they have different language, culture and history. Western European companies need to be aware of this facts if they are going to become successful with their establishments. The Western European companies choose different entry modes in order to fulfil their international ambitions. The entry mode signals to host governments and to competitors the companies ambitions in the hostcountry. For the majority of companies the most significant international marketing decision they are likely to take is therefore how they should enter new markets. The purpose of the study is to explain how foreign companies strategies theoretically match the Baltic countries strengths and weaknesses and what kind of entry modes provides a good match between the investor´s strategy and the local attractiveness.

The objective of this study is to investigate the difference between stakeholders\' characteristics in Brazil and in Korea which are perceived by managers of Korean MNCs (This study has been conducted based on data collected from South Korean companies so whenever \"Korea\" and \"Korean\" are mentioned, they should be interpreted as relating to South Korea.) In international business, the multinational environment has become challenging to MNCs, which stem from the multidimensional environments of the countries, such as macroeconomic, cultural, political and legal environments, among others. That is, managing stakeholders in a different environment has become influential to managerial performance of MNCs as well. Thus, in order to identify the main stakeholders and issues related to them as management strategic focus, the stakeholder\'s characteristics of Brazil and Korea were compared and empirically approached. The data collection was done through in-depth interviews with the Korean managers of several Korean multinational companies operating in Brazil, who belong to the department that deals with local stakeholders either directly or indirectly in the host country. According to the data analysis, among the ten categories of stakeholders identified by Clarkson, the Korean companies are mainly interacting with eight stakeholders: employee, financial institution, customer, supplier, government, trade association, labor union and media, and there is effectively not only no interaction with the other two categories of NGO and community in Brazil but also no difference in their characteristics between Korea and Brazil. In reference to the distinct characteristics of the local stakeholders compared to the stakeholders in Korea, five characteristics were identified with employees, three with governments, three with financial institutions, two with customers, two with suppliers and one with trade associations, but no difference was identified with media. Managers perceived that all kinds of stakeholders are more unmanageable in Brazil than in Korea, excepting the customers. It was shown that there is a bigger difference of that manageability with employees, suppliers, financial institutions and trade associations and less difference with governments, labor unions and media, in this particular order. Analyzing the difference of the stakeholder\'s influence between the two countries, it was established that there is no difference in customers, labor unions and trade associations, there is a little difference in financial institutions and suppliers, and a bigger difference in governments and media. It is a difficult situation to find not only the study that compares the characteristics of the stakeholders but also the comparative study that deals with specific countries\' cases. The result of this comparison among the characteristics can help managers grasp the causes and existing strategies analyzed for the problems, as well as effectively establish strategies to manage the stakeholders. However, because of the limitations of the study, which collected data from only a few industries, in future research there will be a need to conduct a comprehensive study with data collected from all kinds of industries. Then, it will be possible to generalize stakeholders\' characteristics. In addition, quantitative studies need to be done in relation to the characteristics presented as a result after this analysis process so that the researchers will be able to verify the influences of stakeholders on the multinational companies statistically. clientes, sindicatos e associações de classe; pouca diferença foi identificada em relação às instituições financeiras e fornecedores e grande diferença em governos e mídia. É difícil encontrar um estudo que não apenas compare as características dos stakeholders, mas também compare as especificidades dos países. Os resultados desta comparação entre características pode auxiliar os gestores a compreender as causas e estratégias existentes para os problemas, assim como efetivamente estabelecer estratégias para gestão de stakeholders. Todavia, considerando as limitações deste estudo, que coletou dados de poucas indústrias, nas pesquisas futuras haverá a necessidade de conduzir um estudo mais abrangente, coletando dados de todos os tipos de indústria. Dessa forma, será possível generalizar as características dos stakeholders. Além disso, necessita-se realizar estudos quantitativos em relação às características apresentadas como um resultado posterior a este processo de análise e então os pesquisadores poderão verificar estatisticamente as influências dos stakeholders nas empresas multinacionais.
O objetivo deste estudo é investigar a diferença entre as características dos stakeholders no Brasil e na Coreia do Sul que são percebidas pelos gestores de empresas multinacionais coreanas(Todo o trabalho está baseado em dados da Coreia do Sul, e \"Korea\" e \"Korean\" devem ser interpretados como relacionados a este país). Em negócios internacionais, o ambiente das multinacionais tornou-se desafiador para as empresas que decorrem de ambientes multidimensionais dos países, tais como macroeconômico, cultural, político e legal, entre outros. Logo, a gestão dos stakeholders em um ambiente diferente começou a influenciar o desempenho dos gestores das empresas multinacionais também. Sendo assim, a fim de verificar os principais stakeholders e as questões relacionadas a eles como o foco em gestão estratégica, analisaram-se empiricamente e compararam-se as características dos stakeholders no Brasil e na Coreia do Sul. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevista em profundidade com gerentes sul coreanos de diversas empresas multinacionais sul coreanas operando no Brasil, pertencentes ao departamento que interage diretamente ou indiretamente com stakeholders locais no Brasil. Segundo a análise dos dados, dentre as dez categorias de stakeholders identificadas por Clarkson, as empresas coreanas estão interagindo principalmente com oito stakeholders: empregados, instituições financeiras, clientes, fornecedores, governos, associações de classe, sindicatos e mídia, e não há interação efetiva com as outras duas categorias de ONG e comunidade no Brasil, mas tambem não existem diferenças em suas características entre Coreia do Sul e Brasil. Em relação às características distintas dos stakeholders locais comparados com os stakeholders na Coreia do Sul, identificaram-se cinco características com empregados, três com governos, três com instituições financeiras, duas com clientes, duas com fornecedores e uma com associações de classe. Contudo, não se identificaram diferenças com a mídia. Os gerentes notaram que todas as características dos stakeholders são mais ingerenciáveis no Brasil do que na Coreia do Sul, com exceção dos clientes. Apresentaram-se grandes diferenças na gerenciabilidade com empregados, fornecedores, instituições financeiras e associações de classe; menores diferenças com governos, sindicatos e mídia, nesta ordem. Analisando as diferenças da influência dos stakeholders nos dois países, ficou claro que não existem diferenças em clientes, sindicatos e associações de classe; pouca diferença foi identificada em relação às instituições financeiras e fornecedores e grande diferença em governos e mídia. É difícil encontrar um estudo que não apenas compare as características dos stakeholders, mas também compare as especificidades dos países. Os resultados desta comparação entre características pode auxiliar os gestores a compreender as causas e estratégias existentes para os problemas, assim como efetivamente estabelecer estratégias para gestão de stakeholders. Todavia, considerando as limitações deste estudo, que coletou dados de poucas indústrias, nas pesquisas futuras haverá a necessidade de conduzir um estudo mais abrangente, coletando dados de todos os tipos de indústria. Dessa forma, será possível generalizar as características dos stakeholders. Além disso, necessita-se realizar estudos quantitativos em relação às características apresentadas como um resultado posterior a este processo de análise e então os pesquisadores poderão verificar estatisticamente as influências dos stakeholders nas empresas multinacionais.

Stakeholders are increasingly insistent that companies increase firm value. The problem is that stakeholders of financial services firms are unable to accurately determine firm value. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the accuracy of 4 valuation models in predicting the market value of equity of commercial finance companies. Study participating companies were 8 listed U.S. or Canadian commercial finance companies. The theoretical constructs of the study included the accuracy of valuation models, modern portfolio theory, and the correlation of book value of equity to market value of equity. Financial information on participating companies obtained from public filings were input data in 4 valuation models. Multiple regression analysis of valuation model results and book value of equity (the predictor variables) were used to determine the accuracy of the models in predicting the market value of equity (response variable). The findings of the study showed that all 4 valuation models in combination with the book value of equity were statistically significant predictors of the market value of equity of the participating companies at the p < .05 level. However, the dividend discount model (DDM) and residual income model (RIM) were statistically more accurate without the combination of book value of equity (p = .000 and p = .000, respectively) than the discounted cash flow and risk-adjusted discounted cash flow valuation models (p = .371 and p = .904, respectively). The results of this study contribute to positive social change by providing business leaders an ability to measure the effectiveness of their actions in creating firm value. Corporate social responsibility activities correlate to value creation for firms that engage in promoting employee welfare and other stakeholder welfare.

In the first section of the work " Theoretical aspects of crisis management at the enterprise ", the essence and main tasks, principles and factors of crisis analysis as well the role of this type of management were observed. In the second part of the work "Analysis of financial condition of LLC "GrandEvrobud" the general characteristics of the company was observed as well as were calculated and analyzed the main financial indicators. The third section of the paper " Actions of financial crisis management of LLC "GrandEvrobud" examines signs and probability of financial crisis at the enterprise and proposes a ways to avoid it.

Stakeholders are increasingly insistent that companies increase firm value. The problem is that stakeholders of financial services firms are unable to accurately determine firm value. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the accuracy of 4 valuation models in predicting the market value of equity of commercial finance companies. Study participating companies were 8 listed U.S. or Canadian commercial finance companies. The theoretical constructs of the study included the accuracy of valuation models, modern portfolio theory, and the correlation of book value of equity to market value of equity. Financial information on participating companies obtained from public filings were input data in 4 valuation models. Multiple regression analysis of valuation model results and book value of equity (the predictor variables) were used to determine the accuracy of the models in predicting the market value of equity (response variable). The findings of the study showed that all 4 valuation models in combination with the book value of equity were statistically significant predictors of the market value of equity of the participating companies at the p < .05 level. However, the dividend discount model (DDM) and residual income model (RIM) were statistically more accurate without the combination of book value of equity (p = .000 and p = .000, respectively) than the discounted cash flow and risk-adjusted discounted cash flow valuation models (p = .371 and p = .904, respectively). The results of this study contribute to positive social change by providing business leaders an ability to measure the effectiveness of their actions in creating firm value. Corporate social responsibility activities correlate to value creation for firms that engage in promoting employee welfare and other stakeholder welfare.

There is a void in global strategy research on companies based in developing economies. This thesis aims to extend the knowledge within this particular field by focusing on Chinese companies with global aspirations. The results bear significant implications for the Chinese firms' partners and competitors in developed countries. The thesis encompasses two of the largest Chinese enterprises in the telecom equipment sector - Huawei and ZTE. Both companies are pioneers in terms of globalizing their sales and operations. A globalized underlying industry and market is an important precursor for the existence of truly global corporations implementing global strategies. Thus, a thorough investigation of the global telecom equipment industry was conducted, in order to provide a solid platform and deeper understanding prior to the study of the two Chinese companies' globalization process. Yip's 19 globalization forces framework was utilized to analyze the telecom equipment industry - the results indicated strong pressure for globalization within the industry. The large extent and degree of industry globalization facilitated the internationalization and globalization of the Chinese telecom companies Huawei and ZTE. Four distinctive features were identified after scrutinizing the corporate global strategies of the largest Chinese telecom equipment companies; (1) China-centrism - a considerable portion of Huawei and ZTE's revenue is generated from the domestic Chinese market. Half of the staff stationed at overseas offices are Chinese nationals dispatched from the headoffice in China, (2) R&D focus - Huawei and ZTE spend more than 10% of their annual revenue in research and development activities. R&D centers in strategic geographical areas worldwide have been set up in order to combine advanced research around the world with low-cost development in China, (3) Foreign partnership - Huawei and ZTE are actively engaged in cooperation with numerous well-known foreign companies. The Chinese firms are participants in several industry organizations and interest-groups. These associations boost the recognition and legitimacy of Huawei and ZTE in developed markets, and (4) Government influence - Huawei and ZTE's growth and successful international expansion would not be possible without the strong support and financial backing by the Chinese government. But not all government influence is positive, company executives of Huawei and ZTE are increasingly vocal about their displeasure in terms of how badly the Chinese government protects local firms in the domestic Chinese market. The globalization strategies adapted by the two Chinese firms resemble the "Total global strategy" framework, since both companies internationalized and globalized their core corporate values and strategies after developing and strengthening them initially. It is important for partners (enterprises as well as government agencies) and competitors in developed countries to acknowledge the existence and global competitiveness of companies based in developing countries. Partnership opportunities should be sought after actively, as globalizing companies in developed countries are still keen to seek cooperation that can strengthen their legitimacy and credibility in developed markets. A case study conducted for Invest in Sweden Agency (ISA) is also included in the study, which details a strategy and activities framework for the government agency's future work, by utilizing the knowledge and insight gained through the analysis sections of this thesis.

The operations of the chartered trading companies in the eighteenth century have long been regarded as a mere afterthought to their activities in the previous two centuries. Recently, however, there has been renewed interest in the Royal African and East India companies, and this thesis concerns the three other major chartered companies which survived as trading entities in the eighteenth century - the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), the Levant Company and the Russia Company. The thesis re-examines, for the period 1714-63, the commercial operations of the three companies as well as the relationship between their commercial operations and politics. The hundreds of merchants in these three companies represent a broad and important sample of London merchant enterprise. The companies had different organizational structures and employed different strategies, but a common attribute of the three companies was that they were in the vanguard of change in terms of their use of financial services to manage their operations and the involvement of their members on the boards of joint stock companies. An inability to match French cloth prices was the principal reason for the decline of the Levant Company during this period. The HBC also lost significant market share to their French rivals, but was able to consistently produce strong financial results because of rising prices for beaver fur in London. Strong demand for its imports allowed the Russia Company to become one of the great success stories of eighteenth-century commerce. The mid-century parliamentary attacks on the Levant Company and the HBC were fundamentally motivated by the economic impact of French competition on key stakeholders in their businesses. The companies were able to call on support from a range of sources, which crucially included the government, and they skilfully used the parliamentary process to counter a popular prejudice against monopoly companies.

Group composition is common in education and is fairly well examined at a school level but not within competence development in a working environment. How should a group of coworkers be grouped when attending a course? This can be a complicated question, especially at a big company such as Atlas Copco which has employees from all over the world. The main object with this report is to find which aspects has to be taken into account when putting people together in groups at a multinational company and secondly give a proposal to Atlas Copco for how the groups should be constructed in the company. The data collected for this report was gathered mostly during the two focus group discussions that were held by the researchers. This material was complemented with interviews held before and after the focus groups meetings, to get a more profound picture of the company. The outcome of the interviews and discussions were then compared with relevant literature on the subject, to be able to make an analysis on the important factors. Findings from the analysis shows that language and previous knowledge are limiting factors and should therefore determine if a person is allowed to attend a certain course. The more knowledge the course participants have in the subject and how well the participants understand the spoken language, the more information exchange will occur between the teacher and course participants. Geographical cultural differences were found to have a slight importance when designing groups but not so significant that special action has to be taken. Combining or keeping separate departments apart during a course were found to be a question on whether or not the different subcultures at the company could be mixed or not. In this case the informants in the research believed it was more beneficial for the company to mix, to prevent the subcultures to grow in separate ways. The conclusion is that the most important aspect of a group constellation are the language and previous knowledge in the subject of the course. This must therefore be taken in consideration when designing a group in a multinational company, if the goal of the course is to efficiently spread information to and among the participants. If an additional aim with the course is to make the participants learn to know other departments’ way of working it should be considered to have quotas for different departments to make the group heterogeneous in this way to enable for the participants to learn from each other.
Gruppsammansättningens betydelse är en omdiskuterad företeelse som är vanligt förekommande i utbildningssammanhang och är relativt väl utforskat på skolnivå men inte när det gäller kompetensutveckling inom arbetslivet. Hur ska en gruppsammansättning av arbetskamrater se ut vid ett kurstillfälle? Det kan vara en komplicerad fråga, speciellt på ett stort företag som Atlas Copco vilka har anställda över hela världen. Huvudsyftet med denna rapport är att finna vilka aspekter som behöver tas hänsyn till när folk blir sammansatta i grupper i multinationella företag och ge förslag till Atlas Copco hur grupperingen ska genomföras inom företaget. Data för denna rapport insamlades mestadels under två fokusgruppsdiskussioner som hölls av forskarna. Som komplement till detta material hölls intervjuer både före och efter fokusgruppsmötena för att få en bredare inblick i företaget. Resultatet från intervjuerna och diskussionerna jämfördes sedan med relevant litteratur för att analysera de viktiga faktorerna. Resultat av analysen visar att språkkunskaper och tidigare kunskap i ämnet behöver vara begränsande faktorer vid bestämmandet om en person tillåts närvara vid specifika kurser. Om en person inte har tillräcklig kunskap i språket kursen hålls i, sker inget lyckat informationsutbyte mellan lärare och kursdeltagare och samma gäller aspekten med tidigare kunskap. Geografiskt kulturella skillnader visades vara av ringa betydelse vid designande av grupper men inte så viktiga att det behövs vidtas speciella åtgärder. Huruvida olika avdelningar ska blandas vid kurstillfället visade sig vara en fråga ifall olika subkulturer inom företaget kan blandas. I det här fallet tyckte informanterna det var fördelaktigt för företaget att blanda subkulturer som förhinder mot att de växer ifrån varandra i olika riktningar. Slutsatsen visar att om målet för en kurs inom kompetensutveckling på ett multinationellt företag är att sprida information till och mellan deltagarna så är de viktigaste aspekterna vid formande av grupper, språk och tidigare kunskap. Om ett ytterligare mål är att deltagarna ska lära sig om olika avdelningar och hur de arbetar är det möjligt att sätta kvoter för de olika deltagande avdelningarna för att kursen ska genomföras och säkerställa en heterogenitet i detta avseende för att deltagarna ska ges bästa möjlighet att lära av varandra.

The study has examined the privatization of military services, in particular the companies that offer military and security services on international scale. The first purpose of the study is to construct the legal framework through an exam of international norms applicable to the companies and to the States involved in their employment. Furthermore, we have considered the principal problems concerning the international responsibility of these states.

Frequently discussed in different contexts, corporate strategy and strategic planning is something

which importance hardly will diminish over the coming years as competition grows harder. The needs

for companies to think ahead of their business operations have grown increasingly during the

decades.

From the viewpoint of an independent researcher I have decided to look at Swedish companies

operating in Sweden and abroad. I want to know how the strategic planning process takes place in

these companies, in order to give an insight to what the process could look like in Sweden today.

My research question has been: How is strategic planning perceived in Swedish companies?

I have selected some different theories from the university library’s collection of databases,

respectively dealing with leadership, outsourcing, business intelligence et cetera.

These theories are the foundation of the semi-structured and by telephone, in-person and internet

performed interviews with seven different managers at some selected companies in different

businesses, mainly located in northern Sweden. Asking questions based on the underlying theories I

have been able to draw some conclusions about the planning processes in the studied companies.

The study shows that almost all companies have some kind strategic planning process and that more

or less all of them to some extent consider some of the theories employed in the theory chapter.

While only two companies seemed to be quite strict, the rest had some emergent semi-structured

strategic plan with much flexibility, which is not necessarily wrong.

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The presence of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in theory and in international business practice has been a widely debated topic in recent years. Liberalization of international trade and deregulation has fostered a global environment of business activities across borders. It seems that globalization on a firm-level in terms of a widergeographical spread is the key to profitable and sustainable business growth. Yet the contrary and most debated notion, fostered by extensive scientific research on relevant company data,claims that the internationalization of MNEs has not reached a global magnitude. In actual factmost companies concentrate on their home region and should thusmore appropriately operate under the titleof Regional Multinationals (RMN) and consequently develop regional strategies. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the theory of RMN further and to tackle the issue using a sample of German multinational enterprises(GMNEs) whose shares are traded on the German Stock Exchange (DAX). From analyzing sales and other variables in their regional context various conclusions about the internationality of GMNEs are drawn. In order to develop this study, first an extensive literature review is conducted and prior studies are critically analyzed. Emphasis is placed on the works of Rugman, Aggarwal et al or Osegowitsch and Sammartino. Second, a sample data of 30 DAX companies is collected from the period of 2005 to 2010. This is followed by a thorough descriptive and statistical analysis (means comparison, Student t-test) of the GMNEsreplicating and complementing previous research. Sales data are the preferred measurement supplemented by subsidiary and employee data. The findings of the empirical analysis demonstrate that DAX companies are in fact regionally oriented since the majority of business is conducted in the European home region. Yet this is largely caused by a strong home country effect and rigid thresholds applied by prior research. If domestic sales are excluded, the importance of intraregional business decreases. The statistical t-test analysis shows that there is no statisticallysignificant difference in the sample between the variables considered in this study such as company age, industry (manufacturing and services) or evolution over time. Keywords: Regional, MNE, RMN, Multinational enterprise, Germany, Triad, local, global, DAX
A presença de empresas multinacionais (EMN) na teoria e na prática internacional de negócios tem sido um tema amplamente debatido nos últimos anos. A liberalização e a desregulamentação do comércio internacional promoveu um ambiente global de atividade de negócio além fronteira. Parece que a globalização no nível das empresas, na forma de uma ampla distribuição geográfica, é a chave para o crescimento de negócios rentáveis e sustentáveis. A noção contrária e amplamente debatida, promovida pela extensa pesquisa científica sobre dados relevantes de empresas afirma que a internacionalização das EMNs não atingiu o status global. Ao invés disso, a grande maioria das empresas se concentra em sua região de origem e, portanto, devem ser operar sob a denominação de "multinacionais regionais" (MNR) e desenvolver estratégias regionais. O propósito desta dissertação é investigar com maior profundidade a teoria de MNR e abordar a questão utilizando uma amostra de empresas multinacionais alemãs (EMAs) que são listadas na Bolsa de Valores (DAX). Ao analisar as vendas e outras variáveis no seu contexto regional, algumas importantes conclusões são realizadas sobre a "internacionalidade" das EMAs.Para desenvolver este estudo, primeiro é conduzida uma extensa revisão da literatura, visando uma análise crítica dos estudos anteriores. A ênfase é colocada sobre os trabalhos de Rugman, Aggarwal et al e Osegowitsch e Sammartino. Segundo, uma amostra de dados das 30 empresas DAX foram coletadas compreendendo o período de 2005 a 2010. Finalmente é realizado uma minuciosa análise descritiva e estatística (comparação das médias, Student t-teste) das EMAs, replicando e complementando as pesquisas anteriores. Além do indicador de vendas, foram utilizadas dados complementares de subsidiárias e de emprego. Os resultados obtidos na análise empírica demonstra que as empresas DAX são, na verdade, regionalmente orientadas com a maioria dos negócios realizados em sua base regional europeia. No entanto, grande parte é causada por uma forte influência do país de origem e limites rígidos utilizados pelos estudos anteriores. Se as vendas domésticas são excluídas, a importância do comércio intra-regional diminui. A análise estatística teste-t mostra que não há diferença significativa na amostra entre as variáveis utilizadas neste estudo como idade da empresa, indústria (manufatura e serviços) ou evoluçãoao longo do tempo. Palavras-chave: Regional, EMN, MNR, Empresa multinacional, Alemanha, tríade, local, global, DAX

Decision making in Western Australia’s iron ore companies dealing with Chinese companies is vital for long-term relationship. In-depth qualitative interviews with 31 participants at senior management and executive level provide “lived” insights and “multi-realities” of decision making. Significant differences exist in terms of decision frameworks: collective, individual and hierarchical. The data points to a guanxi concentric circles model and the nuances of contract. An Emergent Decision Making Model is proposed to improve decision making processes.

The research emanated from an investigation of GB7, GB8 and GB9 main contractors in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study was focussed on the strident economic times in the construction industry following the FIFA Soccer World Cup from August 2010 to December 2012. The research was conducted to identify the key strategy or combination of strategies keeping construction entities in operation. The study further investigates the key elements of a successful turnaround strategy as well as the most effective methods in implementing strategies within construction organizations. The research took the form of an empirical quantitative study where a descriptive survey was used to collect data. Structured interviews were held with the target population to collect data in the field. The study established that geographic diversification was the most effective method utilized by main contractors for survival during the study timeframe. The study also found that lowering of profit margins and preliminary and general amounts were most effective methods in the use of turn around strategies. The study finally concluded that effective steps were taken by main contractors in the Eastern Cape to implement corporate strategies within their organizations. Step by step guidance to all employees on new processes was the key element in successful strategic implementation of a strategy within construction organizations. The research conducted contributes to the strategic management competency within the built environment as well as the existing body of knowledge within the construction industry. All members of the construction industry in South Africa involved with strategic level planning of entities would value the study.

Context: Software startups are newly created companies with no operating history and are extremely fast in producing cutting-edge technologies. These companies develop software un- der highly uncertain conditions, tackling fast growing markets with severe lack of resources. Startups present an unique combination of characteristics which pose several challenges to the software development activities, creating interesting problems for software engineers. However, despite the increasing economical importance and the high failure rate, there are only a few sci- entific studies attempting to address software engineering (SE) issues, especially for early-stages startups. In a context where a wrong decision can easily lead the entire business to failure, the support of SE can contribute to foster performances of startups and making a big impact on a large number of companies. Objective: In view of a lack of primary studies, the first step to attending the software development strategies with scientific and engineering approaches is by an understanding of the startups’ behavior. For this reason this research aims to understand how software development strategies are engineered by practitioners, in the period of time that goes from idea conception to the first open beta release of the software product. Methods: This research combines a systematic review of the state-of-the-art with a cross- sectional case study conducted in 13 web startups recently founded and distributed in di↵erent geographic areas and market sectors. A grounded theory approach guided the execution of a sys- tematic mapping study, integrated with semi-structured interviews and follow-up questionnaires to explore the state-of-practice. Results: We selected, classified and evaluated 37 relevant studies. The systematic review revealed that the studies which constitute the body of knowledge are generally not rigorously designed and executed, make use of inconsistent terminology, and cover only small samples of startups. Moreover, we extrapolated concepts from the case study to form a theoretical model, explaining the underlying phenomenon of software development in early-stage startups. The model is grounded in the empirical data and its explanatory power was further validated through a systematic procedure. Finally we proposed a multi-faceted evolutionary model to describe the dynamics of the software development after the first product release. Conclusions: The research provided a wide set of evidences fostering the understanding of how software development is structured and executed, from idea conception to the first release. The results revealed the urgent priority of startups of releasing the product as quickly as possi- ble to verify the product/market fit and to adjust the business and product trajectory according to the early collected user feedbacks. Nevertheless, the initial gain obtained in speeding-up the development by low-precision and product-centric engineering activities is counterbalanced by the need of restructuring the product and the workflows before setting o↵ for further grow. In fact, when user requests and company’s size start to increase startups face an initial and temporary drop-down in productivity, creating the need of mitigation strategies to find a sweet spot between being fast enough to enter the market early while controlling the amount of accu- mulated technical debt. The conclusions can be generalized with a good degree of confidence to the majority of early-stage software startups involved in the production of innovative products, especially for web and mobile applications.

This survey aimed to examine and analyze six companies' internal security. Six interviews were held with different sized companies, where the size of the office ranged from under ten to around 800 employees. The interviews contained questions regarding their information security, their perimeter security as well as the employees' personal security. The larger companies had more policies and security procedures than the smaller companies. Virus protection, banning USB flash drives from outside the company, security education and a well functioning report system are vital for a satisfying internal security. Interviewees from the smaller companies saw internal security principles as a necessity but also as an obstacle. The larger companies saw the same principles as something that would improve their security. These companies also had implemented more safety measures both in software, such as remote controls and guidelines for employees. Targeting problem areas with special educational campaigns helps employees defend themselves against social engineering. All companies that participated either develops software or are consultant companies in IT. They deliver IT solutions in one way or another and their internal security should reflect the same high standard and IT maturity. The smaller companies did not perform any risk analyses on which threats their company faces and did not have any safeguards in place if their employees do not conduct themselves correctly on their networks. Our opinion is that this should not be limited by the size of a company and all companies should perform risk analyses to be able to improve their internal security in the future.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1999.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-50).
In the biotechnology industry today, there are many business models for project commercialization. These models range from independent vertical integration to certain forms of collaboration with pharmaceutical companies to complete acquisitions of projects by the big pharmaceutical companies. In this thesis, we wanted to study commercialization strategies of several biotechnology companies. We wanted to investigate the rational for commercialization decisions and the consequence of these decisions on biotechnology firms'. Thus, we conducted interviews with either founders or senior managers of business development of nine biotechnology firms to address these issues. Our results demonstrate that biotechnology firms reluctantly enter partnership agreements with pharmaceutical companies. In addition, there are delays in the negotiation process before agreements are reached, which can have negative impact on biotechnology firms. Furthermore, concentration on core competencies and the presence of champions at the pharmaceutical partners are two essential elements of successful commercialization for biotechnology firms.
by Mouris Saghir.
S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2004.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-82).
The main objective of this thesis is to study the valuation of construction companies in mergers and acquisitions. The thesis is divided into three main parts; Mergers and Acquisitions, Valuation, and a Case Study. Mergers and acquisitions are at the forefront of discussions in the industry. This is in large part because of the way in which they characterize and contribute to the new economy; for the pressures that they impart on global competition and for their role in promoting globalization through the diminishing importance of traditional geographic boundaries. The number of studies in mergers and acquisitions in the construction industry are minimal when compared to other industries such as banking and telecommunications. Consequently, this first part identifies the general different types and reasons for mergers and acquisitions while attempting to tailor them to the needs of a construction company. The second part elaborates on the concept of valuation and on the different methodologies used by valuators when estimating the value of a construction company. The valuation approaches presented here can apply to all sizes and types of construction companies. Moreover, it is of fundamental importance that the valuator be familiar with the construction industry specifically as contractors typically retain the majority of their value in intangible assets. The theoretical concepts discussed in the first two parts of the thesis are then applied to a case study. The case study that will be discussed is the merger of HOCHTIEF AG with Turner Corporation.
(cont.) The M&A activity and diversification of businesses at HOCHTIEF AG is discussed, in addition to the computation of an estimate value of the Turner Corporation Finally this thesis proposes the use of the asset-based or earnings-based approach as the most appropriate methodology in quantifying the value of a construction company. It also recommends that the use of three different approaches to valuation be applied so as to derive a value for the company after an assessment and appraisal of the value of the company has been completed. However, it must be noted that this valuation process can only begin to be accurate and complete if the valuator has a great deal of familiarity with the construction industry.
by Edmond Sassine.
S.M.

Thesis (S.M. in Engineering and Management)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2012.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-66).
Crowdsourcing is an increasingly popular phenomenon where companies solicit the help of the public in helping accomplish some of the activities commonly performed by employees or contractors. These activities can range from solving scientific problems that baffle the in-house experts to repetitive and boring tasks that are deemed too mundane for the employees. Other activities include content generation, product design, idea generation, and product reviews. The explosive growth of the internet has made the world a more connected place. One consequence of that is that crowdsourcing can now be carried out efficiently and inexpensively through websites. This thesis presents a survey of activities commonly crowdsourced and examines some popular websites that exemplify these types of crowdsourcing.
by Sunny Cheung.
S.M.in Engineering and Management

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2001.
Includes bibliographical references (leaf 77).
The paper studies China's telecommunication industry and Chinese-owned companies. From analysis on the regulatory environment. corporate governance structure and management incentives, we discuss the challenges of building world-class companies in China. The paper is in two parts. In the first part, we use the frameworks of supply chain and disruptive technology to investigate the competitive landscape of China's telecom industry. We conclude that the state-owned operators dominate the entire telecom value chain. Because of the internal and external environments, these carriers have rigid technology and market outlooks. The regulatory environment reinforces the rigidity. We argue that the industry structure has stifled the emergence of truly disruptive technologies in China. In the second part, we analyze the corporate governance and management incentives of the state-owned operators in greater details. We conclude that the state imposes on the operators many, often conflicting, goals unrelated to profit maximization. As a result, the carriers have government responsibilities that are incompatible to their business goals. The problem will not be fundamentally solved until the roles of ownership. corporate governance and management are clearly defined.
by Jim T. Lee and Anne R. Zhuo.
M.B.A.

The purpose with this paper is to investigate and get deeper understanding of case studies about Swedish companies. I will focus on the way the case studies have been constructed, the purposes of the studies and how well the findings may be implemented to other contexts. I find this interesting because case studies are something that can benefit every company in other to in some way improve and streamline the business. The data used in this paper will be obtained from various case studies within the subject “Swedish companies” and therefore analyzed to draw conclusions. The findings from this study is that every case study is unique, and there is not one single, optimal way to construct a case study. One must take the purpose of the study into consideration and establish the study from this. However, there are common traits between case studies, such as the ways of obtaining data for the studies and the uniqueness of research question. How well the findings of a case study can be generalized to other contexts also depends on the uniqueness of the purpose of the study.

Mestrado em Finanças
Para esta Equity Research escolhemos a Lowe's Companies Inc por ser uma das maiores empresas de retalho de produtos para habitação no mundo assim como por estar associada a várias iniciativas solidárias nos países onde opera. Caracterizamos o setor de produtos para habitação como tendo vários produtores, produtos semelhantes, mas que nos Estados Unidos da América é dominado por 2 empresas: Lowe's e Home Depot. Na avaliação da Lowe's a data de referência é 30/09/2020 e recorremos a vários métodos de atualização, de forma a obter uma recomendação o mais correta possível. No método dos Fluxos de caixa, através dos fluxos de caixa da empresa, obtivemos um preço de ação de 142$, que representa uma perda quando comparado com o preço da data de referência de 14.2%, sendo este o nosso principal método de avaliação. Com a avaliação relativa, através da utilização de EV/EBITDA e P/E da Home Depot, assim como com o método de pagamento total obtivemos preços de ação menores que a ação na data de referência, 166$. Os principais riscos que identificamos associados à operação da Lowe's são a reputação da marca, dificuldades em enfrentar futuros desafios, volatilidade na moeda estrangeira e decisões políticas. Tendo em consideração esta perda assim como o risco médio de investimento nesta empresa, a nossa recomendação é para os investidores venderem.
In this Equity Research, we chose Lowe's Companies Inc because it is one of biggest Home Improvement Companies in the world and with positive impact in its country as it is associated with many solidarity events. We characterized Home Improvement retail as a market with many producers, similar products and dominated in USA by 2 companies: Lowe's and Home Depot. To valuate Lowe's, we took as reference date 30/09/2020 and computed some different valuation methods in order to get the best valuation possible. In Discounted Cash Flow through Free Cash Flow to Firm where we get a price of 142$ per share, meaning a downside potential when compared with reference date of 14.2% being this our main valuation method. With relative valuation, using EV/EBITDA and P/E of Home Depot as well as with total payout method we get a lower share price than what we have in our reference date, 166$. Main risks associated with Lowe's operations that we identified are brand reputation, difficulties in adapting to new challenges that may occur, volatility in foreign currencies and political decisions. Taking this downside potential in consideration as a medium risk associated with this company, we recommend a sell position to investors.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Finding a way to forecast what characteristics make a fast growing company would be useful, both for companies trying to succeed and for investment companies wanting to make successful investments. This thesis aims to develop a model describing the relationship between 9 chosen characteristics, based on real data from 2015 concerning companies that were rewarded with a DI Gasell in 2018. The final result show that half of the variables chosen to form the model have little to no relationship with the response variable EBIT margin. However, the final model consists of four variables that with statistic significance correlates with the response variable. The explanatory level is low and implies that forecasting companies growth probably can’t be done using this model. The four regressors that correlate with EBIT margin are Year of Incorporation, Operatingrevenue, Number of subsidiaries & SNI code. Although a forecast can’t be performed other insight are obtained from the research. Companies with SNI code 4, which corresponds to operating in the economic sector, affects EBIT margin in a more positive way than other sectors. Number of subsidiaries correlates fairly linearly with the response variable. Contradictory to previous research CEO characteristics are shown to be the least important factor contributing to profitability.
Att hitta ett sätt att förutspå vilka egenskaper som skapar ett snabbväxande företag kan vara användbart, både för företag som vill växa men också för investeringsbolag som letar efter gynnsamma investeringar med bra avkastning. Denna avhandling strävar efter att utveckla en modell som beskriver relationen mellan 9 utvalda variabler, baserat på data från år 2015 gällande företag som 2018 tilldelades utmärkelsen ”DI Gasell”. Den slutgiltiga modellen visar att hälften av regressorerna statistiskt signifikant påverkar responsvariabeln EBIT-marginal. Förklaringsgraden för modellen är låg, vilket antyder att sambanden inte är starka nog att kunna förutspå vilka företag som kommer att bli ”DI Gasell” med denna modell. De fyra regressorer som påverkar EBIT-marginalen mest är registreringsår, omsättning, antal dotterbolag och SNI-kod. Trots modellens låga förklaringsvärde kan andra slutsatser dras av undersökningen. Företag i ekonomisektorn påverkar EBIT-marginalen mer positivt än företag inom andra sektorer. Antal dotterbolag korrelerar relativt linjärt med respons variabeln. Till motsats från tidigare studier visar avhandlingen att ålder och kön på VD inte påverkar lönsamheten.

The Master's thesis "Private Military Companies in Africa" deals with the issues of the private military and security companies and their current position in international security relations. The central thesis of this academic publication is the question whether these commercial companies are capable of representing a significant position within the international community and executing extensive operations in conflict resolution and the subsequent transition towards a stable arrangement of the stricken regions. Essentially, the arguments leading to the key objective of this thesis are drawing upon a comparative study of recent activities of PMCs on the African continent, a discursive analysis of the approach towards these private subjects, as well as their international legal status. Consequently, by relying on the gathered information from the aforementioned research, the most substantial section of the text offers basic models of potential widespread use of private military companies in connection with national states and international organizations and explains the benefits resulting from this shift towards privatization of global security. Furthermore, the publication points out specific contemporary cases for the prospective application of PMCs and analyses the space for this industry within the existing international system.

When companies are expanding, they are searching for optimal locations according to parameters which are important for the company. Companies for which the geographic location is important needs to rely on geographic aspects to find the optimal site for their service. The geographic tool of using Suitability Analysis can make the planning of expansions more efficient. Is it possible to give a reliable Suitability Analysis and will it differ between different choices of weighting techniques in the analysis? The focus of the study is on the reliability of Suitability Analysis for expanding companies depending on geographic data. It will, through a study on a start-up company, be checked if the Suitability Analysis is different between two frequently used weighting ideas; Analytic Hierarchy Process and Swing Weight Technique, in this type of analysis. The Suitability Analysis will be done using Geographical Information Systems and the result will be two suitability maps. The study results in two different suitability maps, one for each weighting technique, with differences. The different techniques are dissimilar in their subjectivity of the weighting, which is reflected in the result. Suitability Analysis is useful for companies which expansions are depending on geographic aspect. The key to a reliable and useful suitability analysis is depending on a credible source of data for respectively parameter of interest. It decreases the risk of error sources and gives the result a higher reliability.

Thesis (M.S. in Defense Analysis)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2008.
Thesis Advisor(s): Rothstein, Hy. "September 2008." Description based on title screen as viewed on October 31, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-78). Also available in print.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are very important corporate events for both acquirers and targets, and the quality of public accounting information has a significant role in mergers and acquisitions decisions. Acting on the shareholders’ behalf or pursuing their self-interests, targets’ managers have strong incentives to manipulate reported earnings prior to a deal in order to boost the stock price and generate higher gains for shareholders and themselves. Consistent with this view, researchers have dedicated much effort to examining whether acquirers and targets undertake earnings manipulation around takeovers. The objective of this thesis is to examine whether UK publicly listed targets engage in accruals and real-activity earnings management prior to M&A, and the consequences this has on targets’ shareholder wealth, in particular deal premium and stock return. Earnings management can occur through two main channels: accruals earnings management and real-activity earnings management. These two main earnings management tactics differ in their opacity, cost and the effect they cause to stock price performance prior to M&A (Roychowdhury et al., 2012). Most of the previous studies on this subject have focused exclusively on accruals earnings management, however, the evidence shows that opportunistic accruals earnings management is not a common practice among targets in M&A. More recent research on earnings management provides evidence that firms use multiple earnings manipulation strategies based on accruals and real-activities (e.g., Graham et al., 2005; Roychowdhury, 2006; Cohen and Zarowin, 2010; Zang, 2011), and managers prefer real-activities manipulation over accruals earnings manipulation as a way to increase reported earnings (Graham et al., 2005). The first empirical study of this thesis examines whether UK publicly listed targets attempt to manipulate earnings via accruals prior to a deal, and further, investigates the relationship between the deal premium and the targets’ earnings management behaviour. The results of the accruals tests under the cross-sectional modified-Jones model and performance-matched model, and using either the balance-sheet approach or the cash-flow approach, indicate that, on average, targets do not manage earnings upward prior to mergers and acquisitions. Furthermore, the analysis of the relationship between earnings management and deal premium provides evidence that the deal premium and the targets’ abnormal accruals are negatively related, which is consistent with the view that acquirers take into consideration the quality of targets’ earnings in making takeover decisions (e.g., Anilowski et al., 2009; Raman et al., 2013). The evidence in this study also suggests that the deal premium constrains targets’ accruals earnings management and acts as a strong disincentive to manipulate earnings. Consequently, the cost of detection explanation for the lack of earnings management by UK targets appears capable of explaining this relationship between the deal premium and the abnormal accruals of targets. The second empirical study builds on the results of the previous research, which finds no evidence of accruals manipulation by UK targets in M&A, and explores a potential explanation of this phenomenon. Specifically, this study examines whether firm diversification has an impact on earnings management by targets in M&A. An explicit distinction between industrial and geographical diversification is made in this study. Prior research provides evidence that the mode of diversification, such as industrial vs. geographical, can explain the difference in the correlation between discretionary accruals and diversification due to whether or not they are in different industry segments and/or whether business units are located in different countries (Kim and Kim, 2001). Using a panel data framework for a sample of publicly listed targets, the results of this empirical study suggest that industrial diversification mitigates earnings management prior to mergers and acquisitions. In addition, the results also show that a combination of industrial and geographical diversification alleviates earnings management. However, there is no clear empirical evidence that geographical diversification facilitates or mitigates earnings management. These results are consistent with those reported in Jiraporn et al. (2008) and El Mehdi and Seboui (2011), who find that industrial diversification decreases earnings management by US firms. Finally, the third empirical study investigates the earnings management behaviour of UK targets in M&A, in particular combined and simple strategies based on accruals and real-activities, and the impact of earnings management on targets’ stock overvaluation at the time of a deal. Prior literature provides evidence that at times of heightened scrutiny, such as M&A, earnings management via accruals is unlikely to be a dominant source of overvaluation (e.g., Cohen and Zarowin, 2010; Roychowdhury et al., 2012). Consistent with this view, the results of this study, which were derived from a panel data regression analysis, show that if targets engage in income-increasing earnings management, they are more likely to use combined strategies of earnings management via both accruals and real-activities simultaneously rather than simple strategies based solely on either accruals or real-activities. Furthermore, managers’ propensity to engage in combined strategies of earnings management prior to M&A is significantly higher than the propensity for accruals earnings management, despite the high and long-term costs of this earnings management method. Furthermore, the stock return tests performed in this study provide evidence that firms which exhibit evidence of combined earnings management strategies tend to be the most overvalued targets prior to M&A which is consistent with those results reported by Roychowdhury et al. (2012). To sum up, UK publicly listed targets are more likely to utilise combined earnings management strategies based on accruals and real-activities prior to a takeover, and these targets’ shareholders appear to gain the most if they sell their shares before the deal announcement. However, accruals earnings management as a sole method of earnings manipulation is not a widespread practice in UK mergers and acquisitions, and the deal premium constrains the targets’ accruals earnings management behaviour. If earnings manipulation by targets is detected, acquirers might adapt their takeover strategies by adjusting the deal price downward. Finally, industrial diversification mitigates earnings management by UK targets prior to mergers and acquisitions. Given the significant negative wealth consequences of both accruals and real-activity earnings manipulation, the findings of this thesis emphasise the fact that targets’ shareholders, board of directors and auditors, as well as financial advisors need to be alert to managers attempting to engage in earnings management via accruals, but also carefully monitor real-activities. Furthermore, investors, acquirers and financial analysts should be fully aware of the existence and severity of targets’ stock overvaluation when they make or facilitate important investment decisions.

APLAN is a computer software system developed to aid in an apparel company's management system. APLAN is designed to improve the efficiency of production management by combining the companies' main production activities in one system. This project was designed to use MYSQL as the database system. JSP (Java Server Pages) is an interface between MySQL and the web browser and the database access scheme is JDBC (JAVA Database Connectivity).

Lean management is a philosophy focused on identifying and eliminating waste throughout a product’s entire value stream. It originates from the manufacturing system of Japanese automotive manufacturer Toyota and attracted due to its tremendous success widespread attention worldwide. Lean promises significant benefits in terms of waste reduction, and increased organizational and supply chain communication and integration.Generally, in terms of operations and improvements service companies are far behind manufacturing industries. Transferring Lean management concept from the manufacturing shop floor to services might offer opportunities for improvements. Many manufacturing businesses have improved and profited by the use of Lean management methods and tools. Yet the benefits haven’t been as nearly as impressive for service industries applying Lean management principles.The challenge in applying Lean to services is the lack of widely available references for implementing Lean in a service organization. Although some successful examples of Lean implementations in service businesses could be noticed in the past no standardized framework or general guideline was solidified for implementing Lean management in service organizations. In addition, implementing Lean and achieving the levels of organizational commitment, employee autonomy, and information transparency needed to ensure its success is a complicated task.This paper approaches to develop a conceptual framework for implementing Lean management in service organizations. Based on a sound theoretical foundation of Lean management methods in production and considerations about service management, challenges of implementing Lean in a service environment are derived. Ultimately, a conceptual framework is developed to implement Lean management approach in service businesses using a specific set of Lean tools.

Many prior studies have been devoted to the performance of Chinese listed companies over the last 20 years, however they have largely neglected what influence the transition of the post-IPO companies. This thesis reports on one of the first empirical attempts to investigate what factors influence the post-issue transition of Chinese initial public offering (IPO) companies into one of the post-IPO states over the life cycle of the company. These can be represented by either healthy state, get acquired, or delisting outright. Also, a company has strong (S-M&A) or weak performance (W-M&A) prior becoming acquisition target. Using panel data from 1998 to 2008, this research constructs measures for a large number of factors for all publicly listed companies on the Chinese stock market, particularly examines the impact of agency costs, board characteristics and ultimate ownership. With logistic regressions, this research shows that the probability of the W-M&A and delisting states goes up as agency costs increase, which indicates that agency costs are responsible for non-healthy post-IPO status. Of the board characteristics variables, higher board independence exists in healthy companies compared to acquired and delisted companies. This suggests that board independence is associated with the incidence of transition to healthy post-IPO state. CEO duality and board size do not appear to be significant determinants. Furthermore, state ultimate-controlled companies are more likely to get into both M&A states, implying that the state ownership has become one of the most important factor in determining the M&A transactions. However the state ultimate ownership deters companies from delisting. The results display significant evidence that the ultimate ownership is important for transition to the post-IPO states. Besides, this research points out that high-technology, great pre-IPO operating performance, large IPO offering size and low IPO initial returns are accountable for survival in the after-market.

This thesis presents a qualitative study of the role of devices in the technological innovation phenomena of two venture medical equipment companies located in the Midlands, UK. The inquiry takes an empirical and non-foundational approach based on post-ANT and process philosophy. In particular, the thesis employs the theoretical lenses of both ANT and post-ANT concepts, Deleuze’s and Guattari’s machinic thought and Michel Serres’ parasitic philosophy. The data for this thesis comes from a fieldwork study lasting around one year. The methodology is mainly based on interviews and observations of engineers, technicians and managers working in venture companies. The central argument of this thesis shows that the venture organizing process of technological innovation is the product of discursive and non-discursive elements that act in several forms, keeping the venture company working but crucially reorganizing it. The present thesis offers a conceptualization of the device as a parasite-selector that reorganizes the venture company’s work activities and brings novelty to their operation. Equally, the mediational power of diagrams - which presents constitutional indifference - participates in the definition and production of the engineers’, managers’ and technicians’ professional identities. The thesis shows how the ideas regarding innovation in use at Med Dialysis and Med Diabetes bring forth the necessity of a life that embraces the uncertainty and ambiguity of the market. As a consequence, engineers and technicians build their professional identities by embracing the uncertainty of the venture company. This thesis names this process ‘engineering the engineer’. This is a process that leads to the emergence of a professional identity that this thesis tentatively calls the ‘venture engineer’.

A mixed methods sequential explanatory design was used to conduct research to help fill the gap in the literature on cross-cultural differences between Ghanaian workers in American Multinational Companies and Ghanaian Companies in Ghana. The purpose of this research was to identify, compare, and make understandable to multinational companies the work ethic of Ghanaian workers in issues related to centrality of work, leisure, and morality/ethics. In the quantitative phase, using a stratified random sampling approach, 300 participants completed surveys on work ethic. The results were analyzed using SPSS software package. The qualitative phase followed with interview of 30 purposively sampled participants on work ethics. The results were coded, organized, and categorized using NVivo. The findings did not support the perceptions held by American Multinational Companies that Ghanaians have a poor work ethic, are lazy, and love pleasure. In contrast, the study results indicated that Ghanaian worker ethics included working hard to achieve a goal, doing voluntary work, meeting deadlines; having good relationships with peers, subordinates, and superiors. The results also indicated Ghanaian workers in USA companies exhibit a set of work ethics different from the Ghanaians working in Ghanaian companies, self-employed, and not employed. The results of this research were significant at 98% confidence level and are generalizable to settings that have similar cultural exposé as Ghana, considering the differences noted which were mainly cultural based.