Rozprawy doktorskie na temat „Strategy – Economic aspects”

Winamac, Indiana is a small, rural town, much like many rural towns. The community is full of pride and heritage, while the downtown is full of vacancies. The National Main Street Program, founded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has proven a successful strategy for downtown revitalization. This study examined the current market place for Winamac using an in-depth market analysis. Demographics, trends, perceptions, clusters, sales leakages and many other aspects of the market place were studied. It was found that many aspects of the current market could be improved. The data collected and conclusions drawn from the market analysis lead into a Main Street Winamac Plan. This plan was written to address the four fundamental aspects of downtown revitalization: Design, Organization, Promotion, and Economic Restructuring.
Department of Urban Planning

I look at knowledge networks emerging through individual collaboration within incumbent firms and I make an effort to identify individual roles that are driving a number of meaningful firm-level innovation-related outcomes. I document how certain individuals occupy such positions in their firms' knowledge network that equip them with unique blends of human and social capital, thus making them consequential for the innovative performance of the system as a whole. Integrators are the actors with an extraordinarily large and dense network of different collaborators. Connectors are the individuals who collaborate with others across diverse knowledge areas and clusters. Isolates are actors who are productive while remaining relatively unconnected and independent. I find that relational stars (i.e. integrators and connectors) positively affect their organization's quantity and quality of inventive output. On the other hand, I find that it is isolates and star inventors who positively affect inventive productivity. I find that individuals with extreme patterns of collaborative behavior (either local or distant) facilitate exploration and that productive isolates drive exploitation. In addition, I find that organizational ambidexterity can be attained by having individuals who can simultaneously explore and exploit or by increasing the connectedness between exploratory and exploitative activities. Finally, I find that knowledge boundary choices are also affected by internal organization and human resource attributes.

There is an emerging consensus amongst economic policy makers that amongst the most important development problems facing South Africa today are the extremely high unemployment levels (estimated at 40% of the formal labour force) and the need to satisfy the basic needs of South Africa's population (ie, food, shelter, clothing and footwear etc). There is also agreement that in order to achieve these twin objectives it is necessary to obtain positive and increasing economic growth rates. The question of how these high and sustainable economic growth rates can be achieved has spawned an intense debate about South Africa's future growth path. This debate about South Africa's economic future after Apartheid is based on differing evaluations of the opportunities offered by the country's current resource endowments and the constraints inhibiting growth (Moll, 1991a, 1991b; Kaplinsky, 1991; Jordan, 1991, Levy, 1991). Some writers1 have argued that a low wage, labour intensive export strategy is the only way that South Africa can rapidly create employment and meet the needs of international competition (Moll, 1991a). Moll therefore argues that increasing the demand for unskilled labour will benefit the poor most. To compete successfully internationally on the basis of low wages (as Moll suggests) is only possible by increasing relative poverty, resulting in increases in absolute poverty, it has been argued (Kaplinsky, 1992). The recent literature (Amsden, 1989; Wade, 1990) on the success of the East Asian NICs (particularly South Korea and Taiwan) strongly refutes the neo-classical view (Little, 1979; Lai, 1983) that developing countries should grow by exploiting their static Comparative Advantage (CA), that is, exploiting the availability of abundant cheap labour. These writers (Amsden, 1989; Wade, 1990) argue that developing countries can move up the value added chain - making it possible for them to pay relatively higher wages - by selective intervention in the market A recent World Bank study (Levy, 1991) analyses the potential of South Africa's manufacturing sector to move on to a dynamic labour-demanding growth path. In analysing the potential of the Garment Sector (the most labour-intensive sector), Levy (1991) argues that South Africa's international comparative advantage lies in the mid- to-upper end of the world garment industry and expanding expons from this sector will increase employment and allow "moderate increases in real wages". In this paper we develop Levy's proposition - that a labour-demanding expon strategy is possible in South Africa for the Garment subsector - for the Footwear subsector. This study will focus on the Footwear subsector for the following reasons. This is a mature industry which is well-established in South Africa. It still remains labour-intensive and well suited like the garment subsector for a labour demanding growth strategy (Levy, 1992). It has a well developed infrastructure in South Africa. However the relative performance of this sector in comparison to that of countries at similar levels of development (the NICs) has been poor (discussed below). It is striking that Footwear has been a leading export sector for the most dynamic, Developing, as well as, Southern European economies during the 1970s and 1980s (Taiwan, Korea, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Portugal, China). Two sets of questions arise from the above discussion. Firstly, like the manufacturing sector as a whole, the performance of the South Afi can Footwear subsector has been unspectacular during the 1970s and 1980s. Why has ihis been so? What is the capability of the Footwear sector to supply the domestic market and to compete internationally ie, export? What are the implications of this for industrial policy? What incentives have been supplied to support the development of this sector and how effective have they been? What incentives will be required to advance the restructuring and development of this sector? What institutions exist in support of this industry and how can these institutions be developed and extended? Secondly, as South Africa develops a more outward oriented manufacturing strategy, it will have to understand the changing nature of international markets and international competition. How have these markets changed? What is the new basis of international competitiveness? What are the implications for South Africa? The objective of this study is to attempt to answer these two sets of questions. The second set of questions will not be answered in any detail in this study, but will draw extensively on a study undertaken by the author (see Ismail, 1992). Previous attempts at developing an analyses and strategy for the industry have been inward oriented (see Van Wyk's IDC Report, 1988) and ad hoc (BTI, 1990). Whilst Sid Cohn's Strat Plan 2000 has gone furthest in developing a systemic approach to the footwear industry, his focus on subcontracting as the main (labour) cost cutting measure has only served to gloss over the underlying inefficiencies of the industry in the management of raw materials and production. We provide a brief summary and critique of these strategies below before presenting a summary of our argument.

Three related aspects of competition in the U.S. hardwood lumber industry were investigated. First, product and supplier attributes that are determinant in hardwood lumber purchase decisions were investigated within four segments of the market for hardwood lumber: Millwork producers, hardwood dimension and flooring producers, wood household furniture producers, and wood kitchen cabinet producers. Attributes with the highest determinant scores were: grading accuracy, supplier’s reputation, freedom from surface checks, competitive pricing, and within-load thickness consistency. The least determinant attribute was the presence of the suppliers logo or trademark. The importance of various attributes was generally consistent across the market segments and producers were relatively well attuned to the needs of lumber users. Lumber users were least satisfied with lumber quality. Lumber producers perceived users to be least satisfied with the availability of certain species. Business-level intended competitive strategy in the industry was investigated through quantitative identification of strategic groups in a sample consisting of the 100 largest U.S. hardwood lumber producers. Factor and cluster analyses were used to define strategic groups along the dimensions of cost leadership, focus, and differentiation. Five strategic groups were identified and examined as to strategic orientation and intra-group homogeneity. The differentiation dimension accounted for the greatest portion of strategic variation. Empirical evidence of the use of hybrid Overall Cost Leadership/Differentiation strategies was found—suggesting that strategic typologies that do not account for this strategy may not be applicable to a mature industry. Predicted strategic change in the industry concentrated on increasing differentiation orientation. Qualitative data concerning competition in the industry was obtained via in-person interviews with executives at twenty of the largest companies in the sample. ln general, the largest and smallest companies in the industry were found to be the most production oriented. Companies self-typed their competitive strategies using Porter‘s (1980) strategic typology. Overall Cost Leadership strategies were the most common followed by Differentiation and Focus strategies. The majority of companies interviewed competed for customers based on quality, customer service, and price—in that order of importance. Proprietary grading was an important competitive tool for larger companies.
Ph. D.

1. The context: The European patent system has been affected by substantial changes over the past three decades, which have raised vigorous debates at different levels. The main objective of the present dissertation is to contribute to these debates through an exploratory analysis of different changes in patenting practices – in particular the way applications are drafted and filed to patent offices –, their drivers, association with the value of patents, and potential impact on the patent system. The coming essays are therefore empirical in their essence, but are inspired by economic motivations and concerns. Their originality is threefold: it resides in the novelty of the main questions discussed, the comprehensive database specifically built to address them, and the range of statistical methods used for this purpose. The main argument throughout these pages is that patenting practices have significantly evolved in the past decades and that these developments have affected the patent system and could compromise its ability to fulfil its economic purpose. The economic objective of patents is to encourage innovation and its diffusion through the public disclosure of the inventions made. But their exploitation in the knowledge economy has assumed so many different forms that inventors have supposedly developed new patenting and filing strategies to deal with these market conditions or reap the maximum benefits from their patents. The present thesis aims at better understanding the dimensions, determinants, and some potential consequences of these developing practices.

2. The evolution: Chapter 2 presents a detailed descriptive analysis of the evolution in the size of patent applications filed to the European Patent Office (EPO). In this chapter, we propose two measures of patent voluminosity and identify the main patterns in their evolution. Based on a dataset with about 2 million documents filed at the EPO, the results show that the average voluminosity of patent applications – measured in terms of the number of pages and claims contained in each document – has doubled over the past 25 years. Nevertheless, this evolution varies widely across countries, technologies and filing procedures chosen by the applicant. This increasing voluminosity of filings has a strong impact on the workload of the EPO, which justifies the need for regulatory and policy actions.

3. The drivers: The evolution in patent voluminosity observed in chapter 2 calls for a multivariate analysis of its determinants. Chapter 3 therefore proposes and tests 4 different hypotheses that may contribute to explaining the observed inflation in size: the influence of national laws and practices and their diffusion to other countries with the progressive globalization of patenting procedures, the complexification of research activities and inventions, the emergence of new sectors with less established norms and vocabularies, and the construction of patent portfolios. The econometric results first reveal that the four hypotheses are significantly associated with longer documents and are therefore empirically supported. It appears however that the first hypothesis – the diffusion of national drafting practices through international patenting procedures – is the strongest contributor of all, resulting in a progressive harmonization of drafting styles toward American standards, which are longer by nature. The portfolio construction hypothesis seems a less important driver but nevertheless highlights substantial changes in patenting practices. These results raise two questions: Do these evolving patenting practices indicate more valuable patents? Do they induce any embarrassment for the patent system?

4. Measuring patent value: If the former of these two questions is to be addressed, measures are needed to identify higher value patents. Chapter 4 therefore proposes a review of the state of the art on patent value indicators and analyses several issues in their measurement and interpretation. Five classes of indicators proposed in the literature may be obtained directly from patent databases: the number of countries in which each patent is enforced, the number of years during which each patent has been renewed, the grant decision taken, the number of citations received from subsequent patents, and whether it has been opposed by a third party before the EPO. Because the former two measures are closely connected (the geographical scope of protection and length of maintenance can hardly be observed independently), they have been subjected to closer scrutiny in the first section of chapter 4, which shows that these two dimensions have experienced opposite evolutions. A composite measure – the Scope-Year Index – reveals that the overall trend is oriented downwards, which may suggest a substantial decline in the average value of patents. The second section of chapter 4 returns to the five initial classes of measures and underlines their main patterns. It appears that most of them witness the well-known properties of patent value: a severe skewness and large country and technology variations. A closer look at their relationships, however, reveals a high degree of orthogonality between them and opposite trends in their evolution, suggesting that they actually capture different dimensions of a patent’s value and therefore do not always pinpoint the same patents as being the most valuable. This result strongly discourages the reliance on one of the available indicators only and opens some avenue for the creation of one potential composite index of value based upon the five indicators to maximize the chances of capturing all potentially valuable patents in a large database. The proposed index reflects the intensity of the signal provided by all 5 constituting indicators on the potential value of each patent. Its declining trend reflects a rarefaction of this signal on average, leading to different plausible interpretations.

5. The links with patent value: Based upon the six indicators of value proposed in chapter 4 (the five classical ones plus the composite), the question of the association between filing strategies and the value of patents may be analysed. This question is empirically addressed in chapter 5, which focuses on all EPO patents filed between 1990 and 1995. The first section presents a comprehensive review of the existing evidence on the determinants of patent value. The numerous contributions in the field differ widely along three dimensions (the indicator of value chosen as dependent variable, the sampling methodology, and the set of variables tested as determinants), which have translated into many ambiguities across the literature. Section 2 proposes measures to identify different dimensions of filing strategies, which are essentially twofold: they relate to the routes followed by patent filings toward the EPO (PCT, accelerated processing), and to their form (excess claims, share of claims lost in examination), and construction (by assembly or disassembly, divisional). These measures are then included into an econometric model based upon the framework provided by the literature. The proposed model, which integrates the set of filing strategy variables along with some of the classical determinants, is regressed on the six available indicators separately over the full sample. In addition, the sensitivity of the available results to the indicator and the sampling methodology is assessed through 18 geographic and 14 industrial clustered regressions and about 30 regressions over random samples for each indicator. The estimates are then compared across countries, industries and indicators. These results first reveal that filing strategies are indicative of more valuable patents and provide the most stable determinants of all. And third, the results do confirm some classical determinants in their positive association with patent value, but highlight a high degree of sensitivity of most of them to the indicator or the sample chosen for the analysis, requiring much care in generalizing such empirical results.

6. The links with patent length: Chapter 6 focuses on one particular dimension of patent value: the length of patents. To do so, the censored nature of the dependent variable (the time elapsed between the filing of a patent application and its ultimate fall into the public domain) dictates the recourse to a survival time model as proposed by Cox (1972). The analysis is original in three main respects. First of all, despite the fact that renewal data have been exploited for about two decades to obtain estimates of patent value (Pakes and Schankerman, 1984), this chapter provides – to the best of our knowledge – the first comprehensive analysis of the determinants of patent length. Second, whereas most of the empirical literature in the field focuses on granted patents and investigates their maintenance, the analysis reported here includes all patent applications. This comprehensive approach is dictated by the provisional rights provided by pending applications to their holders and by the legal uncertainty these represent for competitors. And third, the model integrates a wide set of explanatory variables, starting with the filing strategy variables proposed in chapter 5. The main results are threefold: first, they clearly show that patent rights have significantly increased in length over the past decades despite a small apparent decline in the average grant rate, but largely due to the expansion of the examination process. Second, they indicate that most filing strategies induce considerable delays in the examination process, possibly to the benefit of the patentee, but most certainly to the expense of legal uncertainty on the markets. And third, they confirm that more valuable patents (more cited or covering a larger geographical scope) take more time to process, and live longer, whereas more complex applications are associated with longer decision lags, but also with lower grant and renewal rates.

7. Conclusions: The potential economic consequences and some policy implications of the findings from the dissertation are discussed in chapter 7. The evolution of patenting practices analysed in these works has some direct consequences for the stakeholders of the patent system. For the EPO, they generate a considerable increase in workload, resulting in growing backlogs and processing lags. For innovative firms, this phenomenon translates into an undesired increase in legal uncertainty, for it complicates the assessment of the limits to each party’s rights and hence of the freedom to operate on a market, which is precisely what the so-called ‘patent trolls’ and ‘submariners’ may be looking for. Although empirical evidence is lacking, some fear that this may result in underinvestment in research, development or commercialization activities (e.g. Hall and Harhoff, 2004). In addition, legal uncertainty is synonymous with an increased risk of litigation, which may hamper the development of SMEs and reduce the level of entrepreneurship. Finally, for society, we are left with a contrasted picture, which is hard to interpret. The European patent system wishes to maintain high quality standards to reduce business uncertainty around granted patents, but it is overloaded with the volume of applications filed, resulting in growing backglogs which translate into legal uncertainty surrounding pending applications. The filing strategies that contribute to this situation might reflect a legitimate need for more time and flexibility in filing more valuable patents, but they could also easily turn into real abuses of the system, allowing some patentees to obtain and artificially maintain provisional rights conferred by pending applications on inventions that might not meet the patentability requirements. Distinguishing between these two cases goes beyond the scope of the present dissertation, but should they be found abusive, they should be fought for they consume resources and generate uncertainty. And if legitimate, then they should be understood and the system adapted accordingly (e.g. by adjusting fees to discourage some strategies, raising the inventive step, fine-tuning the statutory term in certain technologies, providing more legal tools for patent examiners to reject unpatentable applications, etc.) so as to better serve the need of inventors for legal protection in a more efficient way, and to adapt the patent system to the challenges it is or will be facing.
Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2010.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Marketing of Agricultural Products Act 47 (No 47 if 1996) led to the dilution of single-channel marketing in the agricultural sector. Hence, marketing boards such as the Maize Board were dismantled. New legislation forced agricultural businesses to adapt to the changing environment and turn co-operatives into companies. The new developments also implied that these companies had to reposition themselves to be more competitive in a deregulated market. MGK Group Operating Company Pty (Ltd) is a prominent role player in the agricultural sector in the North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces in South Africa. Unexpected growth in the company as well as the deregulation of the industry necessitated a bona fide marketing communication department to manage and coordinate all advertising, promotional and communication efforts. After establishing this department all marketing communication efforts were still fragmented. Consequently, the cost-effectiveness of this department was questioned by the company’s board of directors. The MGK Group’s the board of directors received a mandate to follow a holistic approach and formulate a strategy to enhance the impact of its marketing communication efforts while cutting costs. This study sets out to establish whether the implementation of an integrated marketing communication programme can ultimately satisfy the board of directors’ requirements for marketing communication that is more accountable, effective and efficient. This study starts with a literature review of the practices and theories underpinning integrated marketing communication. This is followed by testing the applicability of the various approaches and methodologies in the MGK Group environment. The study is concluded with the formulation of a marketing communication strategy and recommendations based on the needs of the MGK Group.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Wet op die Bemarking van Landbouprodukte (Nr 47 van 1996) het eenkanaal-bemarking in die sektor verwater. Dit het daartoe gelei dat bemarkingsrade soos die Mielieraad afgeskaf is. Nuwe wetgewing het landbou-ondernemings genoop om in 'n veranderende sake-omgewing aan te pas en koöperasies in maatskappye te omskep. Die aanpassing het ook beteken dat maatskappye hulself in 'n meer mededingende en gedereguleerde mark moes herposisioneer. Die MGK Groep Bedryfsmaatskappy Edms Bpk is 'n vooraanstaande rolspeler in die landbousektor in die volgende provinsies in Suid-Afrika: Noordwes, Limpopo, Mpumalanga en Gauteng. Onverwagse groei asook die deregulering van die bedryf het meegebring dat dié maatskappy 'n bona fide bemarkingskommunikasie-afdeling nodig gehad het om alle reklame-, promosie- en kommunikasie-aktiwiteite te bestuur en te koördineer. Nadat die afdeling op die been gebring is, het bemarkingskommunikasie-aktiwiteite steeds los van mekaar gestaan. Dit het daartoe gelei dat die kostedoeltreffendheid van die funksie op divisievlak bevraagteken is. Die direksie van die MGK Groep het 'n mandaat gehad om 'n holistiese benadering te volg en 'n strategie te formuleer om die impak sowel as die kostedoeltreffendheid van die maatskappy se bemarkingskommunikasie te verbeter. Hierdie studie poog om vas te stel of die implementering van 'n geïntegreerde bemarkingskommunikasieplan uiteindelik in die direksie van die MGK Groep se behoefte aan verantwoordbare, doeltreffende en doelmatige bemarkingskommunikasie kan voorsien. Die studie begin met 'n literatuuroorsig van die praktyk en teorie van geïntegreerde bemarkingskommunikasie. Daarna word die toepaslikheid van die onderskeie benaderings en metodologieë ten opsigte van die MGK Groep getoets. Die studie word afgesluit met 'n bemarkingskommunikasiestrategie en aanbevelings wat op die behoeftes van die MGK Groep gegrond is.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which represent around 95% or more of the total number of enterprises in many countries, are often considered critical for a country's economy because of their effects on economic output and their contribution to overall employment. However, as a result of globalisation and the deregulation of the New Zealand economy, SMEs in this country have been faced with the need to internationalise in order to grow because of increased domestic competition. Moreover, when they make their move to offshore markets they also face fierce competition. Hence, it is in this largely integrated and competitive global marketplace that it becomes critical for smaller firms to learn about international business to succeed. Therefore, this thesis aimed to understand and explain how internationalising NZ SMEs learn and develop knowledge throughout their internationalisation process. To frame this problem an extensive review of the literature on internationalisation, organisational knowledge and organisational learning was conducted. This assessment revealed a gap related to the evolution of learning and knowledge in SMEs' internationalisation process. It also identified the incremental and born-global internationalisation types, two more common and distinctive internationalisation paths that SMEs follow. The literature described the several common forms of knowledge that played more or less critical roles in these firms' internationalisation. Furthermore, extant research also stated that experiential learning and other learning processes were important for the internationalisation of these firms but it did not delve into the development of these learning processes over time. Finally, the evaluation of the knowledge and learning literatures identified three most distinctive and important forms of knowledge that organisations develop as a result of several learning processes. Anchored on the research problem and the specific research questions, derived from the literature review, and framed by a post-positivist worldview, this study developed a methodology that combined theory building, process-based research and case studies to address the problem. More specifically, the methodology involved the selection of and collection of historical, or retrospective, data from eight cases, four incremental and four early-internationalising firms. The data collected through interviews and document analysis was examined using different process analysis techniques. This research has found that there were important differences in the incremental and early-internationalising firms' learning and knowledge during their creation. Furthermore, the early-internationalising firms identified and implemented an internationalisation strategy from the beginning. Thus, the knowledge about international markets and products acquired through congenital learning and their initial intention to offer their products offshore allowed the early-internationalising firms to expand internationally from their creation or soon after. In contrast, the incremental firms only decided to internationalise after they learned from their experience in their domestic market that they had a successful product that had international potential. Besides their initial internationalisation strategy, or lack of it, and knowledge, other factors, such as firm resources, product and industry characteristics and previous learning and knowledge, influenced these firms' subsequent internationalisation strategy, learning and knowledge. Publication associated with this thesis: Pellegrino, J. (2005) Organisational Learning Processes in Internationalising Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises: a Comparison between Traditional and Born-Global firms. Udevalla Symposium & McGill International Entrepreneurship Conference, Udevalla, Sweden, September 2005.

The aim of this study was to explore the role and the prospects of smallholder agriculture as local economic development in Eastern Pondoland, in the former Transkei homeland. The study explored the role of agriculture in contributing to local economic development and the upliftment of the rural poor. It also explored the role that government and its agencies have played and could play in stimulating agricultural development.

Thesis (MA (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The essence of this study is about structural change and how it is affected by competing social forces. My primary aim is to examine the problems and contradictions in Mozambique‟s development strategy and to gain an understanding of how these problems are influenced by the structure of the contemporary world order. A central focus will be on how social forces at various levels influence the way in which development strategy is formed through superior material capabilities, shaping ideas and establishing institutions. The main argument is that the hegemonic neoliberalist ideology has been perpetuated in Mozambique by external social forces and has become the mainstay of the development approach in the country. By acknowledging that theory is used by different social groups for various purposes, I depart from the common assumption of considering the Mozambican development example as a success, and rather ask „for whom it has been a success‟. The theoretical approach in this study is based on Coxian Critical Theory (CCT) and a significant proportion is dedicated to evaluate Cox‟s works and how he applies his theoretical framework in the analysis of the changing world order. To get a better appreciation for the strengths and weaknesses of CCT, the study will also examine the works of several scholars that use CCT in their studies of social forces in Southern Africa. The case study will be guided by the findings generated by the theoretical evaluation, particularly with regards to the way CCT allows for various points on entry in the analysis. The case study of Mozambique generated three main conclusions. Firstly, that Frelimo has failed to create a broad based consensus for its ideology among different social forces in Mozambique and that the historic bloc in Mozambique remains fragile. Secondly, that the economic elite in South Africa and the ANC collaborated with Frelimo in structuring the development strategy in Mozambique, and through this collaboration, perpetuated values consistent with the hegemonic neoliberal consensus. Finally, that the prevailing order in Mozambique is strengthened by the involvement of the international community and that structural change is unlikely to take place without the development of a stronger civil society. The theoretical contribution of the study has been to further support that the logic provided by CCT remains valid in the African context, and that it is highly compatible with other social theories. Furthermore, the study concludes that CCT is particularly compatible with post-colonial theory and social psychology and can be used to address the shortcomings of each other.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die sentrale punt van die studie is strukturele verandering en hoe dit beïnvloed word deur mededingende sosiale kragte. Die primêre doel van die tesis is om die probleme en teenstrydighede in Mosambiek se ontwikkelingstrategie te ondersoek en om te verstaan hoe hierdie probleme verband hou met die struktuur van die teenswoordige wêreld-orde. ‟n Belangrike fokus is ook hoe sosiale kragte op verskeie vlakke die wyse waarop ontwikkelingstrategie gevorm word beïnvloed, via besondere materiële vermoeëns, die vorm van idees en die skep van instellings. Die hoof argument is dat „n hegemoniese neoliberale ideologie perpetueer is in Mosambiek deur eksterne sosiale kragte en dat dit sodoende die bakermat van dié land se benadering tot ontwikkeling geword het. Deur te erken dat teorie deur verskillende sosiale groepe vir uiteenlopende redes gebruik word, beweeg ek weg van die algemene aanname, naamlik dat ontwikkeling in Mosambiek as suksesvol beskou kan word. Die vraag moet eerder gestel word, “vir wie is ontwikkeling in Mosambiek „n sukses?” Die teoretiese benadering in hierdie studie is gegrond op Coxiaanse Kritiese Teorie (CKT) en „n betekenisvolle proporosie van die studie word gewy aan „n evaluering van Cox se benadering en hoe hy dit toepas in „n analise van die veranderende wêreld-orde. Ten einde „n beter waardering daar te stel vir die voor- en nadele van CKT, ondersoek die studie ook die bydraes van „n aantal ander geleerdes wat die benadering gebruik in hul bestudering van sosiale kragte in Suider-Afrika. Die gevalle-studie word gerig deur die bevindinge wat gegenereer word deur hierdie teoretiese evaluering, in die besonder met betrekking tot die manier waarop CKT die gebruik van verskillende invalshoeke tot die analise fasiliteer. Die Mosambiekse gevalle-studie lewer drie hoof-gevolgtrekkings op. Eerstens, dat FRELIMO nie daarin geslaag het, om „n breë konsensus vir sy ideologiese uitgangspunte onder die verskillende sosiale kragte in die land te skep nie. Derhalwe, is die „historiese blok‟ in Mosambiek kwesbaar. Tweedens, dat die ekonomiesse elite in Suid-Afrika en binne die African National Congress (ANC) vi saamgewerk het met FRELIMO om die ontwikkelingstrategie in Mosambiek te struktureer. In daardie opsig, is waardes perpetueer wat saamhang met die hegemoniese neoliberale konsensus. Laatstens, dat die heersende orde in Mosambiek versterk word deur die betrokkenheid van die internasionale gemeenskap en dat strukturele verandering in dié land onwaarskynlik is sonder die ontwikkeling van „n sterker burgerlike samelewing. Die teoretiese bydrae van die studie ondersteun verder die premis dat CKT geldig bly binne die konteks van Afrika en dat dit versoenbaar is met ander sosiale teorieë. Verder, word die gevolgtrekking gemaak dat CKT ook besonder versoenbaar is met post-koloniale teorie en sosiale sielkunde en dat dit gebruik kan word om die tekortkominge in elkeen aan te spreek.

Many Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICTD) projects are established with the overall aim of positively developing the communities they are implemented in. However, the solutions that are provided are often commonly developed without the needs of these communities being sufficiently investigated beforehand. As a result the ICTD strategy of the project ends up not well aligned with the aims and targets of the needs of the community. As a result of this, an appropriate programme theory for the project and relevant impact indicators fail to be adequately developed. Consequently, when an impact assessment is conducted it is often found that the intended effects are not directly linked to the needs of the community or what the community had hoped to gain from the ICTD initiative. The purpose of this research serves to develop a needs-ICTD strategy alignment foundation that supports the identification and formulation of impact assessment indicators. Through this research, a framework is developed to support the alignment of ICTD strategy, the development and the promotion of contextual needs of rural communities and other frequently marginalized areas. The Needs-ICTD strategy alignment framework is composed of eight main components that describe the process that can be used to align ICTD strategy with community needs. These components include: collaboration between the internal and external stakeholders, the development of the community, conducting baseline studies, the needs assessment, the ICTD strategy, linking of the needs-ICTD strategy, and lastly the identification of impact indicators. An interpretive research approach is used to explore and inform the framework through a multi-case study investigation of the Siyakhula Living Lab and two projects in the Systems Application Products (SAP) Living Lab. Two main case study questions drive the exploration of the framework, that being: 1) How are the needs of the community elicited and how is the ICTD strategy aligned to the needs of the community? 2) And, why were the selected approaches chosen for aligning the needs of the community and ICTD strategy? Data for this research was collected qualitatively through interviews, document analysis and participant observation. Key findings indicate that the involvement of internal (local) stakeholders in the development and alignment of ICTD strategy to the needs of the community is still lacking. As a consequence, many community members end up not fully understanding the project objectives and how these objectives aims are to be achieved. The research also finds that ‘solution specific’ projects also fail communities as they focus specifically on one target group and repeatedly fail to assist the community holistically in supporting their information and their community development needs.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2009.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Companies are confronted with a global market that is becoming increasingly saturated. With free trade agreements allowing more competition into the traditionally lucrative Western markets and economic recessions impacting the spend-ability of these markets, there is mounting pressure to consider other market opportunities. Statistics reveal that the traditional bottom of the economic pyramid actually contains a potentially very profitable market, with a purchasing power parity of $12.5 trillion. To address this market, prospective companies will have to rethink conventional business strategies, moulded to the specific target market requirements. The gradual shift in focus to the bottom of the economic pyramid, also serves to emphasise the need of sustainable development of impoverished communities. By raising communities out of poverty, they are liberated to partake in trade, respond to opportunities and experience growth in self esteem. Whilst aid organisations play an important role in establishing this freedom, rethinking business processes could result in more sustainable impact on communities. This feeds into the concept of creating a sustainability vision, where the corporate vision should readdress not only the product but also the markets they seIVe. It should direct the company toward the solution of social and environmental problems and meet the unmet needs at the bottom of the economic pyramid. In the context of Africa's geographical, political or social milieu, it is evident that the continent offers unique challenges for engaging in trade. There are various attempts to address these, but Africa is still deemed one of the most difficult environments in which to establish operations. Africa also offers unique opportunities though, for those companies willing to rethink the conventional. Two companies saw the opportunity in malaria, a disease associated with impoverished communities. Africa has the perfect breeding ground for the P. fa/ciparum strain of malaria, which is incidentally also the most lethal. The strain has developed resistance against current medication, which makes it extremely difficult to cure and control. It is estimated that malaria costs African governments up to $12 billion per year and results annually in a penalty of 1.3% less economic growth per person than could be expected in the absence of malaria. The two companies, on different ends of the supply chain, have been reviewed in the light of the defined sustainability vision principles and the context of their strategic operations. Though not without critique, and admittedly still in the early phases of some of their processes, they have demonstrated that the concept of a sustainability vision in the African context is viable and that it is feasible to create wealth whilst serving the poor.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Maatskappye word voortdurend gekonfronteer met markte wat neig om versadig te word as gevolg van vryhandelsooreenkomste wat kompetisie stimuleer en ekonomiese resessies wat vrye kontantvloei - en gevolglik koopgewoontes - be·invloed. Daar is dus groeiende druk om voorheen ongekarteerde markte te ondersoek. Kontra verwagting toon nuwe statistieke dat die tradisionele basis van die ekonomiese piramide 'n potensieel baie winsgewende mark inhou, met koopkrag van $12,5 triljoen. Om hierdie mark te betree, word van maatskappye verlang om konvensionele besigheidstrategiee in heroorweging te neem en dit te vorm na gelang van die spesifieke konteks van hul teikenmark. Die stelselmatige skuif in fokus na die basis van die ekonomiese piramide het die noodwendige gevolg om die belang van ontwikkeling in agtergeblewe gemeenskappe te benadruk. Deur gemeenskappe te verlos uit die juk van armoede, word self-waarde gestimuleer en hulle die geleenlheid gegun om deel te neem aan aktiewe handel, wat ekonomiese groei tot gevolg he!. Welwillendheids-organisasies speel 'n belangrike rol in die opsig, maar besighede het die potensiaal om 'n meer blywende ekonomiese impak te maak. In die lig hiervan, word die konsep van 'n volhoubare visie benadruk, waar dit gestel word dat 'n maatskappy se visie beide die produk en die teikenmark in herwoorweging moet neem. Dit moet die organisasie lei om sosiale- en omgewingsprobleme aan te spreek en voorheen onvoorsiene behoeftes op die basis van die ekonomiese piramide te bevredig. Teen die agtergrond van Afrika se geografiese, politieke en sosiale milieu, is dit duidelik dat die kontinent unieke uitdagings bied vir voornemende handel. Verskeie pogings word aangewend om dit die hoof te bied, maar Afrika word steeds gesien as een van die moeilikste kontekste om besigheid in te doen. Afrika offer wel ook unieke geleenthede vir maatskappye wat bereid is om hul konvensionele banderings in herwoorweging te neem. Twee maatskappye het die geleentheid raakgesien in malaria, 'n siekte wat normaalweg met agtergeblewe gemeenskappe geassosieer word. Afrika bied die perfekte teelaarde vir die P.falciparum variant van malaria, wat toevallig ook die mees dodelike variant is. Die malaria variant het weerstand opgebou teen tradisionele voorskrif-medikasie. met die gevolg dat dit besonder moeilik is om te voorkom en te beheer. Gesaghebbende bronne skat dat malaria Afrika-regerings tot $12 miljard per jaar kan kos, en jaarliks lei tot 1,3% minder ekonomiese groei as wat verwag sou word in die afwesigheid daarvan. Twee maatskappye is geevalueer in die lig van die ge'identifiseerde volhoubare visie beginsels en die konteks van hul operasionele bedrywighede. Hoewel hulle benadering nie sonder kritiek is nie, en sommige strategiee nog die toets van tyd moet deurstaan, stel hulle goeie voorbeelde van die potensiaal om rykdom te skep, terwyl die gemeenskap in nood ook gedien word. Dit benadruk die potensiaal vir 'n volhoubare visie, ook in die Afrika konteks.

Thesis (D. Tech. (Cost and Management Accounting)) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2011
The focus area of this research project is on the pricing function in an organisation. The discussion of the pricing function commences with a generic perspective and concludes with the pricing of academic programmes at a typical public higher education institution, namely the Central University of Technology, Free State. The following summary sets out the key issues addressed in this study: a) The pricing function b) The pricing plan c) Pricing and its effect on the affordability of public higher education The analyses conducted proved that a comprehensive pricing plan does not exist at the Central University of Technology, Free State for the pricing of the various academic programmes, and that higher education has, despite the increasing trend in government funding, become less affordable for students at the institution. The affordability issue at the Central University of Technology, Free State can be partly attributed to the lack of a comprehensive pricing plan with clear attainable pricing objectives, and a pricing strategy to accomplish the stated pricing objectives. Another contributing factor to the affordability issue is the lack of an integrated cost accounting system and costing policies that outline measures to address the cost efficiency of the institution. Implementation of the recommended pricing plan should assist management in determining tuition fees on a scientific basis, and will also enable the management of the Central University of Technology, Free State to explain to all relevant stakeholders how the tuition fees of the various academic programmes are calculated.

Thesis (MS en S)--Stellenbosch University, 2001.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa has moved into a new political era in which all citizens are entitled to equal access to opportunities. Disadvantaged communities are cherishing high expectations of what the future will hold for them. To avoid trade-offs that can lead to the escalation of violence, more efficient management strategies are necessary to restructure the urban environment and address the problems of a rapidly urbanising population. The primary goal of this study is to examine to what extent mixed-use developments can facilitate economic development within low income communities. The results indicate that the planning of mixed-use developments, can create strong, welldefined city structures which will address the current urban deficiencies experienced in metropolitan areas. Mixed-use developments offer a means to integrate those parts of the metropolitan area with no coherent and integrated structure into the larger urban environment. An increase in densities, land use intensification and passing traffic can create the necessary market thresholds to sustain a wide range of economic and social activities and facilities that are typically not found in inwardly turned, peripheral communities. This can increase the standard of living of these communities by improving their access to economic opportunities, providing employment and supporting the fulfilment of their economic and social needs. The informal sector plays an important role in the urban economy. The creation of multi-functional markets within mixed-use development will stimulate groWth and employment creation within the informal sector. The higher economic thresholds and better access to markets and supplies can improve the viability of small -scale informal enterprises. These markets will benefit the local communities by providing a variety of economic activities and services within the same location. The stimulation of economic activity within the low income communities can improve the circulation of money and assist in the prevention of income leakage to other centres. The implementation of mixed-use development has the potential of addressing the problems currently inhibiting economic development of low-income communities.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika het 'n nuwe politieke era betree, waarin alle burgers op toegang tot gelyke geleenthede geregtig is. Die agtergeblewe gemeenskappe koester hoë verwagtinge vir die nuwe toekoms. Om te verhoed dat uitruiling ly tot 'n toename in geweld, is 'n meer doeltreffende stedelike bestuurstrategieë noodsaaklik om die snelgroeiende bevolking aan te spreek. Die studie het ten doel om die ekonomiese ontwikkelingskapasiteit van gemengde grondgebruiksontwikkeling, te ondersoek. Die gevolgtrekking van die studie is dat gemengde grondgebruiksontwikkeling 'n goed ontwikkelde stadstruktuur tot stand kan bring, waardeur die bestaande tekortkominge van stedelike gebiede aangespreek kan word. Dit bied 'n doeltreffende manier om stedelike gebiede, sonder 'n samehorige en geïntegreerde struktuur, met die groter stedelike gebied te skakel. 'n Toename in digthede, grondgebruiksintensiteit en deurverkeer sal die drempelwaardes, wat nodig is om 'n wye verskeidenheid ekonomiese en sosiale aktiwiteite te ondersteun, skep. Verhoogde toegang tot ekonomiese- en werks geleenthede sal die lewenstandaard van lae- inkomste gemeenskappe verhoog. Die informele sektor speel ook 'n belangrike rol in stedelike ekonomie. Die ontwikkeling van multi-funksionele markte, binne die gemengde grondgebruiksontwikkeling, kan groei en werkskepping binne die informele sektor stimuleer. Hoër drempelwaardes en beter toegang tot markte en voorraad kan die lewensvatbaarheid van informele ondernemings verbeter. Plaaslike gemeenskappe sal voordeel trek uit die toeganklikheid van 'n verskeidenheid ekonomiese aktiwiteite en dienste binne die mark. Die stimulering van ekonomiese aktiwiteite binne lae-inkomste gemeenskappe sal die sirkulasie van geld verbeter en die lekkasie van inkomste na ander sentrums teenwerk. Die implementering van gemengde grondgebruiksontwikkelings het die potensiaal om die probleme, wat die ekonomiese ontwikkeling van lae-inkomste gemeenskappe strem, die hoof te bied.

Thesis (MS en S)--Stellenbosch University, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In South Africa, Multi-Purpose Community Centres (MPCCs) have been identified as the primary approach for the implementation of development communication and information as they potentially offer a wide range of services that communities can utilise for their own empowerment. This affords the community an opportunity to become more self-reliant. The new Local Economic Development (LED) policy paper (2002) highlights the mobilisation of internal resources, capacities and skills consistent with the sustainable development objectives that government is now more aggressively pursuing. Community participation and empowerment play a significant role in any community, therefore, municipalities need to create the conditions for greater public participation and empowerment. It should be done with regards to the disadvantaged or marginalised groups in accordance with the conditions and capacities in a municipality. In the Dwars River region, various services are being planned ranging from skills development to tourism, but these depend on sufficient financial aid. The nature and location of the MPCCs in South Africa makes financial sustainability difficult because the majority of them largely serve historically disadvantaged communities with limited financial resources to pay for services. It is also important to note that economic growth does not necessarily imply poverty alleviation and/or skills development as components of the government's communication and information approach. MPCCs can transform communities but will be time consuming and requires participation from all spheres of government and civil society.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In Suid Afrika was Veeldoenige Gemeenskap Sentrums geidentifiseer as die primêre benadering vir die implementering van informasie en kommunikasie programme, veral omdat hierdie progamme 'n reeks dienste aanbied, wat die gemeenskap kan benut vir hul eie bemagtiging. Dit gee aan die gemeenskap die geleentheid om meer onafhanklik te word. Die nuwe Plaaslike Ekonomiese Ontwikkelings beleidsdokument (2002) beklemtoon die mobilisering van interne hulpbronne, kapasiteit en vaardighede konstant met die volhoubare ontwikkelings objektiewe wat die regering meer aggresief nastreef. Publieke deelname en bemagtiging speel 'n kenmerkende rol in die lewens van die gemeenskap. Verder blyk dit duidelik dat munisipaliteite, publieke deelname en bemagtiging moet bevorder. Munisipaliteite moet ook kondisies vir publieke deelname en bemagtiging skep. Hierdie twee strategieë moet veral toegepas word op vorig benadeelde en gemarginaliseerde groepe en gemeenskappe in lyn met die kondisies en kapasiteit van die betrokke munisipaliteit. Die Dwarsrivier Vallei bied verskeie dienste aan wat vaardigheidsontwikkeling en toerisme insluit. Dit sal grootliks afhang van die streek se finansiële kapasiteit. Die aard en ligging van Veeldoenige Gemeenskap Sentrums in Suid-Afrika maak finansiële volhoubaarheid Gemeenskap Sentrums moeilik, bedien want die meerderheid Veeldoenige grootliks die historiese benadeelde gemeenskappe met hul beperkte finansiële hulpbronne. Dit is ook belangrik om te beklemtoon dat ekonomiese groei nie noodwendig armoede uitwissing impliseer nie, maar so eerder vaardigheidsontwikkeling (bv. Informasie Tegnologie). Veeldoenige Gemeenskap Sentrums kan gemeenskappe transformeer, maar sal baie tydrowend wees en benodig gemeenskap deelname in alle sfere van regering en plaaslike gemeenskap.

This research study evaluated and assessed the extent to which strategic management processes integrated economic, environmental and social sustainability elements in the fiveyear strategy (2012) of Elundini Local Municipality (ELM). The study focused on three areas of strategic management, that is, environmental analysis, strategic direction and strategy formulation. The study also looked at possible reasons for sustainability integration in ELM strategy or lack thereof and also recommended possible solutions. The literature reviewed revealed that there was adequate basis for municipalities to integrate sustainable development in their strategies even though sustainability was noted as an evolving, complex and changing phenomenon. Local Agenda 21 principles, national legislative & policy framework, regulations and other relevant guidelines were found to be adequate for municipalities to develop credible sustainability strategies. The objectives of the study were achieved by data collected through the review of existing literature; the review of ELM Five Year Strategy (2012-2017); and SIAT-based questionnaires that were filled in by ELM employees. The results of the study showed that economic and social sustainability activities were identified most in the ELM strategy compared to environmental sustainability. The study then mainly recommended the review of the current strategy in order to improve all areas of strategy formulation; introduction of Economic, Social and Environmental sustainability – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (ESEs-SWOT) for internal analysis as an improvement of SWOT analysis; introduction of Sustainability Integration and Strategic Management Framework (SISMF) as an improvement to existing framework.

Historically, the most frequently used energy sources have been those nearest and easiest to consume. Unfortunately, society’s reliance on fossil fuel for power generation has occurred at the expense of the environment, coal being a major contribution to carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. Carbon dioxide is classified as a greenhouse gas (GHG); it contributes to the phenomenon of climate change (Haw & Hughes, 2007, p.1). According to Worrell (2011), industry uses nearly 40 percent of worldwide energy on economic activities. Value chain activities alone contribute almost 37 percent to global GHG. Organisations are socially and ethically required to minimise the carbon footprint of their operations. Reducing energy use makes perfect business sense; it saves money, enhances corporate reputations and helps everyone participate the fight against climate change (Carbon Trust, 2011). Gielen, Newman, and Patel (2008) strongly believe the overall energy and emissions trends can be mitigated through additional energy efficiency measures. However, implementing EnMS will enable organisations to establish systematic approaches and the processes necessary to improve energy performance, including energy efficiency, use and consumption (SANS 50001, 2011). The objective of this paper was to evaluate the current energy management strategy adopted by selected automotive manufacture in Eastern Cape. The research was motivated by the fact that previous researchers have focused more on technological aspects and less of management functions. The research paradigm followed in this paper was qualitative because a case study is used to gain an insight and understanding about more and less successful energy management strategies. In this report, background about the global energy outlook and its significant to economic development, factors behind energy demands, the link to climate change and providing effective energy management principles are covered. The energy management principles covered key elements for delivering successful energy management. Literature highlighted that, senior management commitment is the foundation of good energy management, which is delivered through a formal energy policy and a supporting energy strategy with action plan. High level commitment will provide: Advocacy from senior managers; Visibility of the issues across your organization; Impetus for the organisation to implement energy management; Resources, both human and financial. It will also demonstrate that good energy management is part of your organisation’s mission and as relevant as other management aspects. The empirical study is focused on the characteristics of the current management system and organisational structure employed with its relevant functions. Based on these reference points the paper concludes with recommendations for the case study organisation.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The long waiting lists for general anaesthesia and sedation services for children with Early Childhood Caries (ECC) at the Tygerberg Oral Health Centre highlighted the problem of ECC in this area. This was confirmed by a retrospective study of patient records at the Centre. ECC is largely caused by a combination of lifestyle factors, especially feeding and oral hygiene practices. Socio-economic status and parental factors such as education and employment have also been shown to play a role in the development of ECC. In order to address this problem, a study was designed to determine the prevalence of ECC in children from the lower socio-economic communities which drain to the Tygerberg Oral Health Centre and assess the knowledge of the caregivers of these children. A total of 659 children were examined at crèches and schools as well as community health clinics. The children examined at the clinics accompanied others and did not have any health reason for the visit themselves. As the aetiology is largely behaviour-driven and children are dependent on their caregivers to meet their basic needs, 366 caregivers attending the community health clinics with their children, were interviewed to determine their practices and knowledge of oral health. A total of 83 health care workers at these clinics were also interviewed to assess their knowledge of oral health matters and determine the role that they can play in the prevention of this disease. A cross-sectional community survey was carried out by means of clinical assessments and structured interviews with the aid of questionnaires. The survey was divided into 3 parts: 1. Prevalence of ECC amongst the children 2. Knowledge of the caregivers about oral health care 3. Knowledge of health care workers at the clinics in these communities about ECC The prevalence study revealed that 71.6% of children in the study population presented with caries. This is extremely high and highlights the need for serious interventions. Parents/ caregivers were shown to be ill-informed regarding their children’s oral health care needs which include dietary and oral hygiene practices as well as how this disease can be prevented. It is clear that caregivers need to be educated regarding feeding practices, weaning time, dietary content and the importance of basic oral health. The importance of preserving the primary dentition and regular dental attendance also needs to be emphasized in this community where dental health does not seem to be a priority. Health care workers such as nurses who come into contact with children from an early age would be the ideal vehicle to impart this information. However, as revealed from the results of this study, there is a serious lack of knowledge amongst these professionals regarding oral health matters. Time and resources therefore have to be invested to improve their knowledge and lessen their load so that more emphasis can be placed on prevention. Small changes can make a big difference towards addressing the burden of this disease on the health care system.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die lang waglyste vir algemene narkose en sedasiedienste vir kinders met Vroeë Kinderkaries (VKK) by die Tygerberg Mondgesondheid Sentrum het die probleem van VKK in die area uitgelig. Dit is bevestig deur 'n retrospektiewe studie van pasiënterekords by die Sentrum. VKK word grootliks veroorsaak deur 'n kombinasie van lewenstyl- faktore, veral voeding en mondhigiëne praktyke. Daar is ook aangetoon dat sosio-ekonomiese status en ouerlike faktore soos opvoeding en werkstatus 'n rol speel in die ontwikkeling van VKK. In 'n poging om hierdie probleem aan te spreek is 'n studie onderneem om die prevalensie van VKK in kinders van laer sosio-ekonomiese gemeenskappe wat van die Tygerberg Mondgesondheid Sentrum gebruikmaak te bepaal. Die kennis van mondgesondheid van die vernaamste toesighouers van die kinders in die studie is ook bepaal. 'n Totaal van 659 kinders is by crèches en skole sowel as gemeenskapsklinieke ondersoek. Die kinders wat by die klinieke ondersoek is, het nie self 'n gesondheidsrede vir die besoek gehad nie maar het saam met ander mense gekom. Die etiologie van VKK word hoofsaaklik deur gedrag gedryf en kinders is van hulle toesighouers afhanklik vir hulle basiese behoeftes. Dus is 366 toesighouers wat gemeenskapsklinieke besoek het ondervra oor hulle praktyke en kennis rakende mondgesondheid. 'n Totaal van 83 gesondheidswerkers by die klinieke is ook ondervra oor hulle kennis van mondgesondheid om die rol wat hulle kan speel in die voorkoming van hierdie siekte te ondersoek. 'n Dwarsdeursnit gemeenskaps-opname is uitgevoer deur middel van kliniese ondesoeke en gestruktureerde onderhoude met behulp van vraelyste. Die opname is in drie dele aangepak: 1. Prevalensie van VKK onder die kinders 2. Kennis van die toesighouers oor mondgesondheidsorg 3. Kennis van gesondheidsorgwerkers by die klinieke in hierdie gemeenskappe oor VKK Die prevalensiestudie het getoon dat 71% van kinders in die studiepopulasie karies gehad het. Dit is baie hoog en het die behoefte aan ernstige ingryping beklemtoon. Ouers/ toesighouers het geblyk om baie swak ingelig te wees oor hulle kinders se mondgesondheid-behoeftes wat dieet- en mondhigiëne praktyke ingesluit het, asook hoe die siekte voorkom kan word. Dit is duidelik dat versorgers onderrig moet word oor voedingspraktyke, die beste tyd vir soog, dieetinhoud en die belang van basiese mondgesondheid. Die belang van die behoud van primêre dentisie en gereelde tandsorgafsprake behoort ook in hierdie geneemskappe beklemtoon te word, gesien in die lig van die lae prioriteit wat hierdie gemeenskappe op mondgesondheid plaas. Gesondheidsorgwerkers soos verpleegpersoneel wat reeds in kontak kom met hierdie kinders op 'n jong ouderdom is die ideale persone om sulke inligting te versprei. Dit het egter uit die studie geblyk dat daar 'n ernstige gebrek aan kennis by hierdie professionele persone bestaan oor mondgesondheid. Tyd en hulpbronne sal belê moet word en hulle werkslading verlig moet word om hulle kennis te verbeter sodat meer klem op voorkoming gelê kan word. Klein veranderinge kan 'n groot verskil maak om hierdie siektelas op die gesondheidsorgstelsel te verlig.

The research problem addressed in this study was to establish how small- to medium-sized furniture manufacturing businesses could develop a technology strategy that would improve their competitiveness. Therefore, the primary objective of this research study was to develop a technology-strategy framework for small- to medium-sized furniture manufacturers to assist them to improve their competitiveness. Research has indicated that small- to medium-sized furniture manufacturers have the potential to contribute to South Africa‟s economic growth, job creation and gross domestic product. However, research has also indicated that small- to medium-sized furniture manufacturing industries have not kept up with technology developments and, as a result, competiveness is on the decline. Low-technology businesses, such as those found within the furniture manufacturing industry, often have no framework or methodology to guide the successful acquisition and integration of technology to enable a more competitive business. The main problem was addressed in three phases. Firstly, a literature review of strategy and technology-related factors was conducted which provided valuable insight into the development of a strategic framework. This included identification of the business strategy, external and internal factors influencing technology requirements, technology integration, -selection and criterion for competitiveness. Secondly, an empirical study consisting of both a quantitative and qualitative investigation was performed. The quantitative measuring instrument used was a questionnaire designed from the literature study information and was administered to a stratified sample of small- to medium-sized furniture manufacturers. The quantitative results were triangulated by qualitative interviews with selected respondents. The empirical results revealed a strong relationship between technology and competitiveness (as measured by business performance and technology- iv competitive advantage), thereby confirming the importance of technology utilisation for small- to medium-sized furniture manufacturers and the significance of developing a technology-strategy framework. Thirdly, by combining the literature study information and findings from the empirical investigation, the technology-strategy framework was developed. The technology-strategy framework provides a roadmap to integrate technology with the business strategy. The technology-strategy framework is used in three phases, firstly, the business strategy is identified, secondly, the technology-strategy framework provides a guide to identify and forecast technology, conduct an internal audit and identify technology that can execute the business strategy. The final phase is the application of criteria by means of which competitiveness improvement is assessed. Ultimately, the technology-strategy framework can facilitate improved competitiveness of the furniture industry.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.
ENGLISH SUMMARY: The study looks at the different elements of a business strategy developed for a cultural tourism project in the township of Langa, located in the city of Cape Town. Its unique nature lies in the fact that the operators of the enterprise are volunteering young residents of the area, who will benefit through support provided by the community-based organisation in their subsequent training. Thus, the venture is at the same time a tourism enterprise, a generator of development funds and a community organisation. In line with a systematic approach to business strategising the study consists of four major sections. The first section (chapter 2) provides a broad background to the cultural-tourism industry, incorporating lessons to be learned from Cyprus, Papua New Guinea and Botswana as well as other parts of South Africa. It also reviews tools available to segment the cultural tourism market and estimate its size. With the focus on skills shortages in township environments, the third chapter outlines some of the challenges likely to confront the project. It also indicates the skills-development needs and expectations which are likely to motivate the project participants. As a further background for the preparation of the business strategy, chapter 4 summarises the relevant core elements of the business environment around cultural tourism in township areas. It also covers critical elements of the tourism industry’s competitive environment and relevant stakeholders. The fourth key chapter covers (with respect to the particular Langa-focused community-based cultural-tourism venture) all conventional topics, including vision, mission and goal statements, envisaged product offerings and marketing plans, value-chain characteristics and an assessment of the (expected) competitive situation. The final chapter briefly touches on the appropriateness of this township project or business as a tool for the social and economic transformation of the township youth.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie ondersoek die verskillende elemente van 'n besigheidsstrategie vir ‘n projek binne die gebied van kulturele toerisme, met besondere klem op die Langa woongebied in Kaapstad. Die besondere karakter van die projek word bepaal deur die feit dat die projekdeelnemers vrywillige jeugdiges is, wat hoop om deur hul samewerking hul verdere opleidingsgeleenthede te verbeter. Die projek is dus terselfdertyd ‘n toerisme onderneming, ‘n skepper van ontwikkelingsfondse en ‘n gemeenskapsorganisasie. In ooreenstemming met ‘n gestruktureerde sakestrategie bestaan die studie uit vier hoofdele. Die eerste afdeling (hoofstuk 2) verskaf ‘n breë agtergrond tot kulturele toerisme, met besondere verwysings tot Ciprus, Papoea-Nieu Guinee en Botswana asook ander dele van Suid-Afrika. Dit behandel ook konsepte wat gebruik kan word om die mark van kulturele toerisme in segmente op te breek en sy grootte te beraam. Met die klem op vaardigheidstekorte in townships gee die derde hoofstuk ‘n oorsig van enkele uitdagings wat die projek sal tref. Terselfdertyd gee dit ‘n aanduiding van die opleidingsbehoeftes en verwagtings wat die jeugdiges betrokke by die projek mag koester. As ‘n verdere agtergrond vir die voorbereiding van ‘n sakestrategie skets hoofstuk 4 sekere van die kernelemente van die sakeomgewing rondom kulturele toerisme in gebiede soos Langa. Dit dek ook kritiese aspekte van mededinging in die toerismebedryf asook van die betrokke belangegroepe. Met die fokus op Langa en gemeenskapstoerisme behandel die vierde deel alle relevante aspekte van ‘n sakemodel: Dit sluit in doelstellings en mikpunte, die beoogde dienstespektrum en bemarkingsplanne asook die mededingingsdinamiek. Die laaste hoofstuk besin oor die toepaslikheid van hierdie projek of sakemodel as ‘n instrument vir die sosiale en ekonomiese transformasie van die “township”-jeugdiges.

Les modèles économiques standard supposent que les individus collectent et traitent l'information d'une manière qui leur donne une perception relativement précise de la réalité. Cependant, cette hypothèse est souvent remise en question. Les données montrent que les individus forment souvent des préjugés positifs à leur égard, ce qui peut avoir des conséquences économiques néfastes. Cette thèse vise à expliquer la persistance de la surconfiance dans les interactions sociales en montrant l'existence d'avantages stratégiques de la surconfiance qui compensent son coût social.À l'aide d'une série d'expériences en laboratoire, cette thèse montre que (i) la surconfiance se manifeste principalement lorsqu'elle procure un avantage dans les interactions sociales (chapitre 2) et (ii) identifie les situations dans lesquelles la surconfiance est susceptible de nuire à la société (chapitres 3 et 4). Cette thèse contribue à la littérature en améliorant notre compréhension des déterminants situationnels de la surconfiance dans les interactions sociales et posent les bases pour améliorer les politiques visant à prévenir ou à limiter les effets négatifs
Standard economic models assume that individuals collect and process information in a way that gives them a relatively accurate perception of reality. However, this assumption is often violated. Data shows that individuals often form positively biased beliefs about themselves, which can have detrimental economic con-sequences. This thesis aims to explain the persistence of overconfidence in social interactions by showing the existence of strategic benefits of being overconfident that offset its social cost.Using a series of laboratory experiments, this thesis shows that (i) overconfidence emerges primarily when it provides an advantage in social interactions (Chapter2) and (ii) identify situations in which overconfidence is likely to be socially detrimental (Chapter 3 and 4). This thesis contributes to the literature by enhancing our understanding of the situational determinants of overconfidence in social interactions and lay the foundations to improve policies intended to prevent or limit its negative effects

Pagrindinių magistrantūros studijų baigiamasis darbas 66 puslapių, 29 paveikslai, 14 lentelių, 30 literatūros šaltiniai, 2 priedai, lietuvių kalba. Tyrimo objektas: ūkininkai įgyvendinantys ekonominės veiklos diversifikacijos strategiją, diversifikavimo paramos priemonės. Darbo tikslas: išnagrinėti Lietuvos ūkininkų ūkių ekonominės veiklos diversifikavimo vadybinius aspektus ir sudaryti sprendimo diversifikuoti ūkininko ūkio veiklą pagrindimo, priėmimo ir įgyvendinimo modelius. Uždaviniai: 1. Išnagrinėti ekonominės veiklos diversifikavimo strategijos pasirinkimo ir įgyvendinimo teorinius aspektus. 2. Išanalizuoti ūkininkų ūkių ekonominės veiklos diversifikacijos būklę Lietuvoje. 3. Ištirti ūkininkų ūkių strateginių sprendimų diversifikuoti ekonominę veiklą priėmimo motyvaciją ir veiksnius. 4. Parengti pasiūlymus ūkininkų sprendimams, dėl jų ūkių veiklos diversifikacijos pagrindimo. Tyrimo metodai: mokslinės literatūros, dokumentų bei teisės aktų analizė; kokybinis tyrimas ir jo analizė (pusiau standartizuota anketinė apklausa); statistinių duomenų analizė, loginis modeliavimas ir kiti metodai. Tyrimo rezultatai • pirmoje darbo dalyje išnagrinėta ekonominės veiklos diversifikavimo strategijos pasirinkimo ir įgyvendinimo teoriniai aspektai. • antroje dalyje išanalizuota Lietuvos ūkininkų apsisprendimas diversifikuoti ūkio veiklą patirtis, motyvai, bei apsisprendimo priklausomybės nuo veiksnių. • trečioje darbo dalyje pateikti sprendimo diversifikuoti ūkininko ūkio veiklą... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]
Final work of University Postgraduate Studies consists of 66 pages, 29 figures, 14 tables, 26 sources of literature 2 appendixes, in Lithuanian language. The object of the research: farmer’s who use a diversification strategy, diversification strategy supports. Aim: To examine the Lithuanian diversification of farmers activity in the aspect of strategic management and to make justification, adoption and implementation models. Objectives: 1st Examine the economic diversification strategy for the selection and implementation of the theoretical aspects. 2nd Analyze farmers' farms in the state of diversification of economic activities in Lithuania. 3rd To examine the strategic decisions of farmers farm diversification of economic activities and making the motivation factors. 4th To prepare proposals for decisions by farmers for their farm business diversification reasons. Research methods: scientific literature, documents and legislative analysis and qualitative research analysis (semi-standardized questionnaire), statistical analysis, logic simulation and other methods. Survey results: • the first part of this examination of a strategy of diversification of economic activities in the selection and implementation of the theoretical aspects. • the second part analyzed the Lithuanian farmers resolve to diversify the economic activities of experience, motives, and self reliance of factors. • The third part of the decision to diversify the farm's business... [to full text]

1. Ковальчук А. М. Стратегічний підхід до формування мотиваційного управління економічною безпекою підприємства. Вісник Хмельницького національного університету. 2019. №6, том 2 (276). С. 104-109 2. Ареф’єва О., Побережна З. Стратегічне управління інноваційністю бізнес-процесів підприємства на конкурентних ринках. Бізнес Інформ. – 2019. – №11. – C. 108–116. 3. Прохорова В. В. Диагностика системы управления финансовой безопасностью предприятия // Вісник економіки транспорту і промисловості. 2011. №36. С. 360-364 4. Прохорова В. В., Чобіток В. І. Інтелектуалізація управлінських процесів як детермінантно-мотиваційна основа бізнес-моделі підприємств. Вісник Київського національного університету технологій та дизайну. Серія Економічні науки, 2020
The thesis defines the main aspects of economic security management of enterprises in the conditions of motivational challenges in the strategic dimension. The dependence of the strategic economic interests of the enterprise and ensuring economic security as a source of its motivation is revealed.

The general topic of our thesis is forward looking behavior in strategic situations. Mixing theoretical and experimental analysis, we document how strategic thinking is affected by the specific features of a dynamic interaction. The overarching result is that the information regarding decisions that are close to the current one, receive a qualitatively different consideration, with respect to distant ones. That is, the actual decisions are based on reasoning over a limited number of steps, close to actual decison node. We capture this feature of behavior both in a strategic (limited backward induction) and in a non-strategic (limited farsightedness) set up, and we identify relevant consequences on the outcome of the interaction, which powerfullly explain many observed experimental regularities.

In the first essay, we present a general out-of-equilibrium framework for strategic thinking in sequential games. It assumes the agents to take decisions on restricted game trees, according to their (limited) foresight level, following backward induction. Therefore we talk of limited backward induction (LBI). We test for LBI using a variant of the race game. Our design allows to identify restricted game trees and backward reasoning, thus properly disentangling LBI behavior. The results provide strong support in favor of LBI. Most players solve intermediate tasks - i.e. restricted games - without reasoning on the terminal histories. Only a small fraction of subjects play close to equilibrium, and (slow) convergence toward it appears, though only in the base game. An intermediate task keeps the subjects off the equilibrium path longer than in the base game. The results cannot be rationalized using the most popular models of strategic reasoning, let alone equilibrium analysis.

In the second essay, a subtle implication of the model is investigated: the sensitivity of the players’ foresight to the accessibility and completeness of the information they have, using a Centipede game. By manipulating the way in which information is provided to subjects, we show that reduced availability of information is sufficient to shift the distribution of take-nodes further from the equilibrium prediction. On the other hand, similar results are obtained in a treatment where reduced availability of information is combined with an attempt to elicit preferences for reciprocity, through the presentation of the centipede as a repeated trust game. Our results could be interpreted as cognitive limitations being more effective than preferences in determining (shifts in) behavior in our experimental centipede. Furthermore our results are at odds with the recent ones in Cox [2012], suggesting caution in generalizing their results. Reducing the availability of information may hamper backward induction or induce myopic behavior, depending on the strategic environment.

The third essay consists of an experimental investigation of farsighted versus myopic behavior in network formation. Pairwise stability Jackson and Wolinsky [1996] is the standard stability concept in network formation. It assumes myopic behavior of the agents in the sense that they do not forecast how others might react to their actions. Assuming that agents are perfectly farsighted, related stability concepts have been proposed. We design a simple network formation experiment to test these extreme theories, but find evidence against both of them: the subjects are consistent with an intermediate rule of behavior, which we interpret as a form of limited farsightedness. On aggregate, the selection among multiple pairwise stable networks (and the performance of farsighted stability) crucially depends on the level of farsightedness needed to sustain them, and not on efficiency or cooperative considerations. Individual behavior analysis corroborates this interpretation, and suggests, in general, a low level of farsightedness (around two steps) on the part of the agents.
Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Traffic-related air pollution harms health, so whilst it would be advantageous to improve air quality, the socioeconomic impact of air pollution mitigation in Scotland is not fully understood. Evidence from research literature, current regulatory and policy directives and a socioeconomic analysis are required to assess the true health impact. This thesis presents the first health and socioeconomic analysis of traffic-related air pollution and health for Scotland. A critique of the literature was undertaken to determine the evidence base and the strength of evidence in terms of association and causation, between air pollution and ill health. The evidence was subsequently applied in epidemiological studies of Scottish residents, to assess the actual impact on health in Scotland. The perception of barriers and incentives for change were investigated to understand behavioural influences. Recent policy development in Scotland was reviewed, and a socioeconomic analysis of a proposed air pollution strategy in Scotland, was undertaken. The evidence from 30 cohort studies and nine literature reviews demonstrated a link between poor air quality, mortality and respiratory ill health, but the results for other health conditions were inconsistent. The links were associative rather than causal and therefore might be attributable to other factors other than air pollution. Furthermore, epidemiological studies on Scottish populations did not show health effects from traffic-related air pollution. The socioeconomic analysis suggested that an initial investment of between £27m and £44m to introduce Low Emission Zones (LEZ), and an effective active travel programme, might result in a saving of £38m in terms of Years of Life Lost (YLL) and reduction in sickness absence. It is unlikely that the Clean Air For Scotland Strategy will deliver improved air quality and health without substantial investment, better alignment of planning, and a greater public engagement to support public and active transport options.

This thesis consists of three essays in the theory of Industrial Organization. More specifically, the thesis focuses on the interaction of financial structure and market structure. The intellectual starting point of this thesis is the Modigliani-Miller theorem. Modigliani & Miller (1958) show that in the presence of perfect financial and output markets, financial structure has no effect on the value of the firm. This thesis departs from a Modigliani-Miller economic environment by assuming that firms have more information about their projects than financiers have. In imperfect output markets, this departure from Modigliani-Miller world implies that there may exist important strategic interactions between production and financial decisions. In the three essays of this thesis, we derive theoretical links between financial structure and output market competition. We show that in the presence of asymmetric information in output and financial markets, firms may affect the outcome of various oligopolistic and entry games by choosing an appropriate financial policy. We explicitly introduce financial variables in these types of games to show that they may have an important role to play in the resolution of the output competition. The presence of asymmetric information is usually a sufficient condition for financial structure relevance to the firm's market value. However, this is not necessary. It is shown elsewhere that taxes or bankruptcy costs may also affect financial decisions. Throughout this thesis, we abstract from these important determinants of financial structure to focus on asymmetric information in output and financial markets to show that a firm's financial policy may be used strategically in oligopolies. The three essays may be united under the common theme of asymmetric information and strategic financial decisions. In the first essay, the choice of a lender in a debt contract becomes a determinant of the extent of competition in downstream industries. We show that in the presence of imperfect output markets and asymmetric information in financial markets, members of an industry may achieve a partial collusion in the output market by borrowing from the same bank. In an oligopoly, debt is pro-competitive as it gives incentives to the borrowing firm to undertake an aggressive output strategy. This aggressiveness is translated into an increased output. As both firms borrow, the industry becomes more competitive. The industry also becomes riskier and firms' debt value is decreased. A common lender can better control these incentive effects and hence, limit the extent of competition in the output market. This model finds a natural interpretation in an international trade context. In this framework, the result shows that freeing financial markets from trade barriers may decrease the competitiveness of international oligopolies by allowing firms to borrow from the same lender. In the second essay, we develop a theoretical link between firms' financial structure and their output market structure. In the presence of asymmetric information about the incumbent's cost level, an incumbent's financial structure may constitute a signal of its efficiency and prevent potential entrants from coming into the market. A market, threatened by entry, is occupied by one of two possible types of incumbent. The firm's type is completely characterized by its cost level. Only the own firm knows with certainty its true type while the entrant and financiers are uncertain of it. Entry is profitable for the entrant if and only if the market is occupied by the high cost type incumbent. The low cost firm chooses a financial structure that credibly distinguishes itself from the high cost incumbent. From the observation of the incumbent's financial policy, the entrant can correctly infer the incumbent's type. If it observes a financial structure consistent with the low cost incumbent's financial strategy, it stays out of the market. Otherwise, it enters. In equilibrium, financial structure allows credible revelation of all private information and entry occurs in the same circumstances as with perfect information. In the third essay, we give a formal representation of Telser (1966)'s 'deep pocket' argument. We propose that entrants are financially vulnerable because they must signal their value to financiers before entering the market. We assume that there are two possible types of entrant threatening to enter a monopoly market. The entrant's type is parametrized by its cost level. This information is private to each entrant as other players are uncertain of the entrant's true type. Entry is profitable only for the low cost entrant. But if the high cost type can misrepresent as a low cost firm, there exist financial structures which yield positive equity value. The low cost firm must avoid these structures to credibly reveal its type to financiers, secure sufficient funds and finance its entry. In equilibrium, the low cost entrant must issue debt to signal its quality to investors. It enters the market heavily leveraged. This provides incentives for the incumbent to engage in a price war to financially exhaust the entrant and cause its bankruptcy. The price war may be interpreted as the incumbent's predatory response to the entrant's leveraged entry. We argue that a diversified pool of undistinguishable entrants is sufficient to justify the 'deep pocket' argument put forward by Telser (1966). We base our explanation on the presence of asymmetric information in financial and output markets.
Arts, Faculty of
Vancouver School of Economics
Graduate

Cette étude s'ajoute à notre connaissance du changement stratégique en comparant deux approches de changement startégiques, les méthodologies de socio-éconologique et socio-économique. En utilisant le modèle de système de domaine multi-dimensionnel d'Angyal (1941), cette étude a trouvé cela pour que le changement stratégique se produise, le domaine d'action ( progression) ne pourrait être séparé des domaines de la coopération (transversale) et de l'adaptation (verticale). L'étude de cas socio-économique a utilisé les analyses de structure de coût pour montrer que des gains d'efficacité sont liés à une plus grande coopération dans l'unité apparentée d'individuel-entreprise de l'analyse. L'étude de cas socio-écologique a employé une approche d'analyse factorielle avec des données financières et textuelles pour évaluer la diffusion d'un plan stratégique à l'échelle industrielle collectivement développé pour l'adaptation dans un environnement nouvellement déréglé
This study adds to our knowledge of strategic change by comparaing two approaches, the socio-ecological and socio-economic strategic change methodologies. Using Angyal's (1941) dimensional domain of manifold system model, this study found that for stategic change to occur, the action domain (progression) could not be seperated from the domains of cooperation (transverse) and adaptation (vertical). The two approaches share common socio-technical and theoretical roots, but follow different pathways on Angyal's manifold to produce strategic change. The socio-economic case study utilized pre and post treatment cost structure analyses to show efficiency gains related to greater cooperation in the individual-enterprise relational unit of analysis. The socio-ecological case study used a factor analysis approach with corporate financial and textual data to access the difffusion and adoption of a collectively developed industry-wide strategic plan for adaptation in a newly deregulated environment

This research studies normative pricing strategies for information technology (IT) used by suppliers to supplement an underlying primary good. Transactions with consumers and customer firms are considered. Characteristics of IT are divided into IT impacts on customers, and IT impacts on suppliers. IT impacts on customers include vertical differentiation or reduced turnover costs for the primary good, and positive IT adoption costs. IT impacts on suppliers include reduced production costs for the primary good, and the costs of IT. Optimal pricing for the IT and the primary good is modelled for monopoly, and Bertrand competition based on IT and the primary good is modelled for oligopoly. Two part tariffs are used for the IT and IT enhanced primary good. Results of pricing to consumers show that the fixed component of an optimal (or equilibrium) two part tariff can either be a net tax or a net subsidy, confirming the possibility of taxed or subsidized IT adoption. For the monopolist offering the IT and IT enhanced primary good only, the consumer's adoption/switching cost limits the possible subsidy. Consistent with previous economics research, in a duopoly where one supplier has IT, the IT supplier abandons the original primary good. Two suppliers with identical IT cannot attain a positive profit equilibrium. Analogous results obtain for a special case of pricing to customer firms. Empirical results support differential (premium) pricing for an IT enhanced primary good over an original good.
Business, Sauder School of
Operations and Logistics (OPLOG), Division of
Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005.
Sokol, Joel, Committee Member ; Wang, Qiong, Committee Member ; Kertz, Robert, Committee Member ; Griffin, Paul, Committee Member ; Deng, Shijie, Committee Chair. Includes bibliographical references.

L'elaborato si propone di spiegare determinati comportamenti attuati dagli individui nella scelta di determinate strategie operative con opzioni. Nello specifico si farà riferimento all' elaborato proposti da Kahneman e Tversky "Prospect Theory: an analysis of decision under risk". Verrà fatto un particolare focus sulla distinzione di due famose strategie la "Covered Call" e la "Naked put"

Sales of Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene have increased in the Italian domestic market from 2002 to 2006. As far as the HoReCa, an analysis collection of a sample of 169 restaurants, bars and agritourisms of the area shows that there is a strong tie between these and the territory. They have a wide range of labels of Prosecco and supplying happen mainly directly from the wineries of the area. Since Prosecco DOC is enjoying a great success, some problems must be faced because of competition of Prosecco IGT. In fact, these type of Prosecco shows a large increase in the sales in the domestic market. In addition there is the competition of the other wines that can be produced abroad, and commercialized with Prosecco label. A questionnaire designed to assess characteristics of the Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene district was used to analyse a sample of wineries. The study showed a commercial collaboration between wineries, but, at the same time, a lack of communication with the institutions of the district, yielding negative repercussions on the marketing plans of the product and the territory. This survey has also studied the multifunctionality of a sample of wine grape farms in the Prosecco D.O.C. di Conegliano Valdobbiadene District. The analysis shows some important aspects of the multifunctionality, and the existence of pluri - active families at the head of the same farms. However, the owners do not have the necessary knowledge in order to preserve the landscape and to increase the number of sport and cultural activities offered to the enotourists. A better collaboration between companies and institutions of the district is necessary in order to make marketing plans and win the challenge with the Italian and foreign competitors.

[Truncated abstract] The application of reductionism, breaking down problems to simpler components that can be solved and then aggregating the results, is one of the bases of classical science. However, living organisms, ecosystems, social and economic structures are complex systems, characterised by non-linear interactions between their elements and exhibit emergent properties that are not directly traceable to their components. Sustainability assessment frameworks oversimplify system interactions, achieving limited predictive capacity and causing managerial behavior that may reduce system's ability to adapt to external disturbance. Intrigued by the importance of complexity, we explore the central theme of how complex thinking can influence the understanding and progress towards sustainability. The purpose is to conceptualize the relationship of key terms (such as sustainability, functionality and resilience), and consecutively develop new or adjust existing sustainability frameworks to take into account complex systems interactions. We aim at developing theory and frameworks that can be used to raise awareness of the pitfalls of the growth paradigm and direct towards modest positions when managing complex systems. We seek to define the structural elements that influence system adaptive capacity, allowing identification of early signs of system rigidity or vulnerability and the development of knowledge and techniques that can improve our predictive and managerial ability. The focus has been on a variety of system scales and dynamics. At the collective community level, a number of stakeholder engagement practices and frameworks are currently available. However, there is limited awareness of the complexity challenges among stakeholders, who are commonly directed to a triple bottom line analysis aiming at maximizing a combination of outputs. An attempt is conducted to measure the functionality of the processes underlying a standing stock, in contrast to sustainability measures that only assess the variations of the standing stock itself. We develop the Index of Sustainable Functionality (ISF), a framework for the assessment of complex systems interactions within a large-scale geographic domain and apply it to the State of Western Australia. '...' Finally, we focus on smaller systems scales and develop a methodology for the calculation of Product Ecological Footprint (PEF) including elements from the accounting method of activity based costing. We calculate PEF for three apple production systems and identify significant differences from first stage calculations within the same industry. Cross-industry application will provide a practical way to link individuals' consumption with their ecological impact, reduce misperceptions of products' ecological impacts and develop a market-driven approach to internalizing environmental externalities. At the firm level PEF can be compared with investment costs, resulting in the opportunity to optimize both functions of financial cost and ecological impact in decision making. We have developed methods for incorporating complexity in sustainability assessment frameworks. Further work is required in testing and validating these methodologies at multiple system scales and conditions. Integrating such tools in decision making mechanisms will enhance long-term management of socioecological systems performance.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2005.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act, Act 53 of 2003, has made it essential that businesses with more than fifty employees become black empowered in the shortest possible time frame (2-3 years) which is both practically possible and economically feasible. The aim with government's introduction of BBBEE is to address inequalities resulting from the systematic exclusion of the majority of South Africans from meaningful participation in the economy. With the introduction of the BBBEE Code of Good Practice, compliance with the requirements as set out by the government was further defined. A balanced scorecard has been introduced by the Department of Trade and Industry that assists companies to measure their level of integration. Compliance to the legislation has become a necessity for businesses in South Africa to be competitive and to grow. The balanced scorecard and the ever mounting pressure to be competitive have resulted in black economic empowerment (BEE) transactions being more focussed on equity deals than on truly empowerment. A hypothesis is that these types of transactions would not be sustainable due to the nature of the relationships and seeming lack of strategic processes. With the current balanced scorecard, there is also no provision made for the measurement of sustainability. To be competitive remains the key to any business' strategic objectives. This would therefore imply that the BEE transactions should hold a competitive advantage for the business and promote the objective of black economic empowerment as a socioeconomic process, ultimately contributing to the economic transformation of South Africa. It is within this context that the study explored the application of growth strategies and the modelling of these strategies to BEE. An exploratory and mainly descriptive research study was conducted to determine whether a model for sustainable empowerment could be developed using the strategic growth strategies as the framework. Each strategy, namely diversification, mergers and acquisition and strategic alliances was evaluated in terms of its contribution to the competitive advantage of a company. Using the principles from a strategic growth perspective it is believed that a number of concerns for small and medium size businesses in South Africa could be addressed. These include amongst others, growing more competitively through diversification into the core business, selecting partnerships/alliances that match the strategy of the company, avoiding fronting through the establishment of strategic alliances based on the improvement of efficiency and effectiveness, transferring skills and knowledge through diversification, strengthening existing business domain through an alliance that enhances the core strengths of a company. The recommendation to apply a more strategic model to BEE also resulted in the recommendation of a more comprehensive tool to measure the effectiveness and the sustainability of the growth strategy. A recommendation is made to apply the balanced scorecard and to integrate the strategic objectives of the company with the BEE objectives defined by government. The result is a model that reflects the sustainable competitive advantage of a business aligned with its vision and mission. Both the competitive advantage and sustainability are therefore addressed through the model application that would, in all likelihood, also prove to have a direct effect on the financial outcome of the business in the future. BEE, in its legislative form, is unique to South Africa and is a strategic tool to contribute to the economic transformation of South Africa. In a country that is in the process of creating a new middle class, this model could have a distinct impact on other developing countries in the world and further research on the application of a sustainable BEE model to create economic prosperity in the developing society could prove to be of significant value.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ingevolge die Algemene Swart Ekonomiese Bemagtigings (BBBEE) Wetgewing, Wet 53 van 2003, is dit vir sake-ondernemings met meer as vyftig werknemers noodsaaklik om swart bemagtiging in die kortste moontlike tydsbestek (2 - 3 jaar) in werking te stel; 'n tydsduur wat beide prakties haalbaar en ekonomies uitvoerbaar is. Die meerderheid Suid- Afrikaners is van enige betekenisvolle deelname in die ekonomie stelselmatig uitgesluit en die regering se oogmerk met die implementering van die BBBEE is om dié ongelykheid uit die weg te ruim. Met die invoering van die gedragskode is die vlak van inskiklikheid meer breedvoerig gedefinieer. Ter wille van mededingendheid en groei het dit vir sake-ondernemings noodsaaklik geword om hierdie betrokke wetgewing te ondersteun. Die ewewigtige meetinstrument en die voortdurende druk om 'n hoër vlak van mededingendheid het tot gevolg dat daar meer gekonsentreer word op gewone aandeletransaksies as op ware bemagtiging. 'n Hipotese is dat hierdie tipe transaksies nie volhoudbaar sal wees nie weens die aard van die verhoudings en skynbare gebrek aan strategiese prosesse. Met die huidige meetinstrument is daar ook geen voorsiening gemaak vir die meting van volhoudbaarheid nie. Van kardinale belang vir enige sake-onderneming is om mededingend handel te dryf. Dit veronderstel dat die BEE-transaksies behoort 'n mededingende voordeel vir die sakewêreld te ondervang en die doelwitte van swart bemagtiging as 'n sosio-ekonomiese proses te bevorder. Hierdie benadering sal mettertyd 'n wesenlike bydrae lewer tot die transformasie van Suid-Afrika. Dit is binne hierdie verband wat hierdie studie die toepassing van groei-strategieë nagevors het en voorts die uitvoering van hierdie strategieë vir BEE toe te pas. 'n Ondersoekende- en hoofsaaklik beskrywende navorsingstudie is onderneem om te bepaal watter model vir standhoudende bemagtiging ontwikkel kan word met gebruik van die strategiese groeistrategieë as raamwerk. Elke strategie, dit wil sê diversifisering, samesmeltings en strategiese alliansies en venootskappe, is in terme van hulle bydrae tot die mededingende voordeel van die maatskappy, beoordeel. Met die toepassing vanuit 'n strategiese groei-perspektief, is die skrywer van mening dat verskeie besorgdhede oor BEE vir klein- en medium sake-ondernemings in Suid-Afrika aangespreek kan word. Dit sluit onder andere in, om mededingendheid te ontwikkel deur diversifikasie in die sake kern, selektering van vennootskappe/ alliansies wat ooreenstem met die strategie van die maatskappy. Ook deur frontering te verhoed deur die vestiging van strategiese samewerking, gegrond op verbeterde doeltreffendheid en doelmatigheid. Voorts deur kennis en vaardigheid oor te dra deur diversifikasie, versterking van die bestaande sakedomein deur samewerking, wat die inherente krag van die maatskappy ondervang. Die aanbeveling om 'n meer betekenisvolle model vir BEE toe te pas het gelei tot 'n aanbeveling vir 'n meer toepaslike instrument om die doelmatigheid en standhoudenheid van die groeistrategie te meet. Ook word aanbeveel dat die ewewigtige meetinstrument toegepas word en die strategiese doelwitte van die maatskappy te integreer met die BEE doelwitte, soos deur die regering gedefinieer. Die uitkoms is 'n model wat die volhoubare mededingende voordeel van 'n sake-onderneming, gerig op sy visie en missie, weerspieël. Beide die mededingende voordeel en volhoubaarheid word dus aangespreek deur die toepassing van die model, wat in alle waarskynlikheid ook sal bewys dat dit 'n direkte invloed op die toekomstige finansiële uitkoms van die sake-onderneming sal uitoefen. BEE, in sy wetgewende formaat, is eie aan Suid-Afrika en is 'n strategiese instrument wat bydra tot die ekonomiese transformasie van Suid-Afrika. In 'n land wat in die proses is van die skepping van 'n nuwe middelklas, kan hierdie model 'n besliste uitwerking hê op ander ontwikkelende lande in die wêreld. Verdere navorsing in die toepassing van 'n volhoudbare BEE-model om ekonomiese vooruitgang in die ontwikkelende samelewing te bewerkstellig kan heel waarskynlik 'n betekenisvolle bydrae lewer.

Cette recherche a eu pour but principal de montrer, à travers l’exemple de l’industrie informatique dans les années 90, que la stratégie de partenariat est aujourd’hui devenue un outil essentiel pour permettre aux entreprises à la tête d’une industrie à forte innovation technologique, confrontée à des changements structurels importants, et en particulier à la désintégration menant au leadership technologique partagé, de maintenir leur position dominante.

Les quatre parties du travail constituent une suite logique d’étapes contribuant chacune à valider la thèse: la partie I porte sur la synthèse des principaux courants de la littérature scientifique sur les accords de collaboration et leur relation avec l’évolution des industries. Le but poursuivi dans la partie II est de décrire les changements intervenus dans l’industrie informatique au cours des années 90 et de formuler l’hypothèse d’une relation entre ces changements et la stratégie des firmes dans le domaine des accords de collaboration. Cette hypothèse est vérifiée empiriquement dans les parties III et IV à l’aide d’une banque de données sur les accords de collaboration. La partie III du travail présente les résultats descriptifs et la partie IV les résultats analytiques permettant de valider l’hypothèse.

Doctorat en sciences de gestion
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Il cambiamento climatico in atto ci spinge ad intervenire rapidamente con azioni efficaci e durature nel tempo. Tra i principali settori inquinanti, l'energia utilizzata negli edifici, nelle industrie e nei trasporti è causa della gran parte delle emissioni di gas serra a livello mondiale. L'elettrificazione di questi settori è una delle soluzioni ottimali per il processo di decarbonizzazione supportando le politiche della transizione energetica in corso. La produzione di energia elettrica da fonti rinnovabili e la crescita esponenziale del mercato dei veicoli elettrici a livello mondiale sono la chiave per un futuro sostenibile. Tuttavia, nonostante il loro potenziale, portano l'attenzione sulla loro reciproca integrazione al fine di comprendere a fondo i reali vantaggi dal punto di vista energetico, economico ed ambientale. Inoltre, la possibilità di scambio energetico bidirezionale grazie all'avvento della tecnologia Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) definisce nuove opportunità di integrazione e supporto alla rete elettrica. In questo lavoro, vengono studiate la gestione energetica e il controllo ottimizzato per l'integrazione dei veicoli elettrici con la rete elettrica e i sistemi di generazione rinnovabile distribuita. Nella prima parte viene introdotto il problema delle emissioni, l'elettrificazione dei trasporti e le definizioni di alcuni concetti chiave. Successivamente, l'integrazione dei veicoli elettrici viene studiata da due diversi punti di vista. Il primo, in parte in collaborazione con la Christian-Albrechts-Universität (CAU) a Kiel, si focalizza su aspetti legati all'elettronica di potenza e al controllo di basso livello, mostrando un confronto tra diverse topologie di convertitori DC-DC (DAB), un'analisi sull'efficienza totale di ricarica del veicolo e la simulazione di un sistema V2G sperimentale per la fornitura di servizi ancillari. Il secondo invece si concentra maggiormente sulla gestione ed il controllo predittivo dei flussi energetici per l'integrazione dei veicoli elettrici con microreti, focalizzando l'attenzione su aspetti economici ed ambientali. In particolare, viene mostrata l'implementazione e la validazione sperimentale di un sistema di controllo real-time per una stazione di ricarica fotovoltaica installata presso l'Università di Trieste, un sistema V2G integrato all'interno di uno ski-resort Alpino ed infine, uno studio relativo ad una microrete condominiale che mostra i vantaggi legati ad un gruppo di autoconsumatori che agiscono collettivamente.
Ongoing climate change is driving the need for rapid action with effective and long-term impacts. Among the major polluting sectors, energy used in buildings, industries, and transportation accounts for most of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Electrification of these sectors is one of the optimal solutions for the decarbonization process by supporting the ongoing energy transition policies. Electricity generation from renewable sources and the exponential growth of the global electric vehicle market are the key to a sustainable future. However, despite their potential, they bear attention to their mutual integration in order to fully understand the real benefits from energy, economic and environmental perspectives. In addition, the possibility of two-way energy exchange through the advent of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology defines new opportunities for integration and support to the power grid. In the present work, optimized energy management and control for the integration of electric vehicles with the power grid and distributed renewable generation systems are studied. In the first part, the emission problem, electrification of transportation and definitions of some key concepts are introduced. Next, the integration of electric vehicles is studied from two different perspectives. The first, partially in collaboration with the Christian-Albrechts-Universität (CAU) in Kiel, focuses on aspects related to power electronics and low-level control, showing a comparison of different DC-DC converter (DAB) topologies, an analysis of total vehicle charging efficiency, and a simulation of an experimental V2G system for providing ancillary services. The second focuses more on the management and predictive control of energy flows for the integration of electric vehicles with microgrids, focusing on economic and environmental aspects. In particular, it shows the implementation and experimental validations of a real-time control system for a photovoltaic charging station installed at the University of Trieste, an integrated V2G system within an Alpine ski-resort, and finally, a study related to a condominium microgrid showing the benefits related to a group of jointly acting renewables self-consumers.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011.
Crowdsourcing is a new phenomenon, giving companies the ability to tap into the wisdom of crowds in order to solve complex problems, often at a fraction of the cost. In this document, the viability of crowdsourcing from the supply side is investigated with a market research questionnaire at the core of the research. Firstly, an overview of the current online crowdsourcing landscape is given with a focus on the big players, followed by a literature study on the motivation of solvers and their associated compensation needs. Because of the nature of crowdsourcing, an assumption is made that knowledge workers will be the biggest contributors in the form of solvers; this presumption is demonstrated by analysing responses to the questionnaire. The following research question is answered: What are the needs and profile of the solvers (supply side) of an internet platform that uses the principle of crowdsourcing to solve complex problems? It also answers the questions of many online crowdsourcing enthusiasts with regards to the typical solver and what their needs are, specifically with regards to compensation structures on these platforms. The typical solver profile was found to be predominantly male between the ages of 19 and 37, with a tertiary education or busy earning a degree of some sort and a strong will to become wealthy through applying this knowledge. These typical solvers have a primary objective to earn money with 100 per cent of the incentive paid to one „winner‟. They will participate more than three times even if they do not „win‟ the challenge and expect to earn more that R1 000 but less than R10 000 per day for this type of work. Certain limitations of the study are also addressed, like the clear self-selection bias and difficulty to generalise the findings to a well-defined group of people, as became evident from analysing questionnaire findings.

Durante as últimas cinco décadas um grande número de pessoas desempregadas tem encontrado na catação de materiais recicláveis uma forma de sobrevivência. Apesar do preconceito e da baixa valorização do trabalho dos Catadores por parte da sociedade, eles vem se organizando em Cooperativas e Associações visando melhores condições de vida e de trabalho. Em tais organizações eles vem se engajando em diversos projetos de reciclagem em parceria com administrações locais. O presente trabalho identifica e analisa duas associações de Catadores de materiais recicláveis, a Associação dos Recicladores de Pinhais – AREPI e a Associação dos Trabalhadores de Reciclagem de Resíduos de Colombo – RESOL, pertencentes a região metropolitana de Curitiba. O objetivo é analisar a gestão administrativa quanto ao desenvolvimento da sustentabilidade socioeconômica e ambiental desses empreendimentos. A pesquisa qualitativa foi utilizada como metodologia do presente estudo e engloba a realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas com as presidentes das associações, aplicação de questionários a todos os associados, observação durante dois anos e meio e diário de campo. O levantamento dos dados a partir dos questionários e entrevistas gerou informações que serviram de base para a análise da gestão administrativa dos empreendimentos. Foi possível constatar que as associações possuem condições semelhantes caracterizadas pela: inclusão social; geração de trabalho; conservação ambiental oriunda da reciclagem dos resíduos sólidos; legislação voltada à defesa dos direitos dos Catadores; Fórum Lixo e Cidadania e políticas públicas de apoio aos Catadores, que propiciaram o aumento da renda dos associados em 131%, a partir da vinda dos novos caminhões doados pela FBB e FUNASA. Além disso, a questão gênero é um fator preponderante, aonde 93% dos associados são mulheres. Este estudo permitiu concluir que existe a necessidade da adoção de um plano estratégico de negócios pelas associações, que garanta o desenvolvimento sustentável, mediante a concorrência no segmento da reciclagem. A partir do novo cenário estabelecido pela Política Nacional dos Resíduos Sólidos, o fortalecimento da infraestrutura e a comercialização dos materiais recicláveis em rede contribuirão para o processo do desenvolvimento da sustentabilidade dos empreendimentos de Catadores.
During the past five decades a large number of unemployed people has found in the activity of collecting recyclable waste a way to survive. Despite the low appreciation of the “Catadores” work by society, they have been organizing themselves into cooperatives and associations to obtain better conditions of life and work. In such organizations they have been taking part of several recycling projects together with local administrations. This work identifies and analyzes two associations of “Catadores” of recyclable waste, the Associação dos Recicladores de Pinhais – AREPI and the Associação dos Trabalhadores de Reciclagem de Resíduos de Colombo – RESOL, located in the metropolitan region of Curitiba - PR. The objective is to analyze the administrative management related to the development of the socioeconomic and environmental sustainability of these enterprises. The qualitative research was adopted as the methodology of this study and included semi-structured interviews with the presidents of the associations, questionnaires to all members, two years and a half of observations and notes. The data obtained from the interviews and questionnaires produced information that enabled the analysis of their administrative managements. It was possible to conclude that the enterprises present some similar features characterized by: social inclusion; creation of jobs; environmental preservation due to solid waste recycling; defense of the “Catadores” rights by laws; Forum Lixo e Cidadania and public policies to support the “Catadores”, which has provided an increase in the income of the associated “Catadores” of 131%, since the arrival of new trucks donated by FBB and FUNASA. Moreover, the gender issue is a major factor where 93% of the members are women. This study concluded that the associations need to adopt a business strategic planning to ensure sustainable development in face of the competitive recycling sector. In front of the new scenario established by the National Solid Waste Policy, the strengthening of the infrastructure and the recycling network will contribute to the process of developing the sustainability of the “Catadores” associations.