Today, in the context of globalization and Chinese "open door" policy, many different international cosmetics companies are going to the Chinese market and existing companies are trying to enlarge their appearance to earn more profit margins.The main aim for writing this thesis on this topic was to analyze Chinese cosmetics industry environment via PEST analysis and the development of the industry. It's important to select a marketing strategy when doing business in China because of the huge difference between Chinese social and business culture in the Western countries.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2015-08-05T18:15:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Melissa Lucchi.pdf: 2748145 bytes, checksum: 1c99225dd97efcb4369bef374e64c89a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-08-05T18:15:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Melissa Lucchi.pdf: 2748145 bytes, checksum: 1c99225dd97efcb4369bef374e64c89a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-09 / Since 1985, personal characteristics are recognizes as determinants of salesperson performance, but the majority of international studies that investigate the relation between sales personal values and objective performance don’t include the sales force (vendors and sales managers) in the samples. Relating to Personal Selling firms, researches show that the personal value ‘effort’ is related to high performance. Relational values, highly present in social and informal sales contexts as the Personal Selling, are neglected, not being related to positive individual performances. Adopting the Organizational Culture as theoretical framework, this study investigates the relation between the sales force´s (Sales Executives - EVs and Beauty Consultants - CBs) personal values of the Direct Selling firm Pierre Alexander Cosmetics (PA) and individual revenues obtained by these professionals. This was accomplished by the use of direct observations and the C-VAT Methodology (Culture and Values Analysis Tool) and the PVP questionnaire (Personal Values Profile), that 415 PA members answered between 2012 and 2014. The answers were analyzed by the Cluster Analysis Technique and show a Company composed by women that are more than 40 years of age and work at PA for more than 15 years. Their values are strong in Work and effort is the main one, united to work quality and to relational dimensions as loyalty, empathy and sociability. In a second moment, the relation between personal values and individual revenues of the sales force in the year 2013 was interpreted by frequency distribution methods. This research concluded that personal values related to Work are fundamental to obtain high individual performance from the CBs (sellers). On the other hand, relational values are most important to motivate the EV’s (coordinator) team of sellers. Differing from what affirms the literature on the area, personal values that help in sales differ from personal values that base the motivation of others to sales (EVs objective). / Desde 1985, os fatores pessoais são reconhecidos como determinantes do desempenho de vendedores, porém a maioria dos estudos internacionais que investiga a relação entre valores pessoais de vendedores e desempenho objetivo não inclui a força de vendas (vendedores e gerentes de venda) nas amostras. No que se refere a empresas de Venda Direta (VD), pesquisas apontam que o valor pessoal ‘esforço’ está relacionado à obtenção de altos faturamentos. Valores relacionais, altamente presentes em contextos de venda sociais e informais como a VD são negligenciados, não sendo relacionados a desempenhos individuais positivos. Utilizando a Cultura Organizacional como aporte teórico, esta pesquisa investiga a relação entre valores pessoais da força de vendas (Executivas de Vendas - EVs e Consultoras de Beleza - CBs) da empresa de Venda Direta Pierre Alexander Cosméticos (PA) e faturamentos individuais dessas profissionais. Para tanto, utilizou-se de observação direta e da metodologia C-VAT (Culture and Values Analysis Tool), com o questionário fechado PVP (Perfil de Valores Pessoais) aplicado, entre 2012 e 2014, a 415 membros da PA. As respostas, analisadas por meio da Técnica de Análise de Clusters, mostram uma Empresa composta por mulheres com mais de 40 anos de idade, em sua maioria, há 15 anos ou mais na PA. Seus valores são fortes em Trabalho, sendo o esforço o principal, unido à qualidade no trabalho e a dimensões relacionais como lealdade, empatia e sociabilidade. Em um segundo momento, a relação entre valores pessoais e faturamentos individuais da força de vendas no ano de 2013 foi interpretada por métodos de distribuição de frequência. Concluiu-se que valores pessoais ligados a Trabalho são fundamentais para a obtenção de altos faturamentos individuais por parte das CBs (vendedoras), ao passo que valores relacionais são mais importantes para motivar a equipe de vendas das EVs (coordenadoras). Diferindo do que afirma a literatura da área, valores pessoais que auxiliam nas vendas diferem, portanto, de valores pessoais que embasam a motivação de outros para a venda (objetivo das EVs).

"This project provides a blueprint that will allow Arrowhead Credit Union to clarify and confirm the new sales accountabilities associated with sales jobs within the organization, and to design and implement compensation plans that are successful and aligned with the company's objectives."

This project will identify the options available to a credit union desiring to open an office of the securities industry to provide investment products and advisory services to its member. The three options identified are becoming a branch office of an established broker/dealer, becoming an introducing broker/dealer, or purchasing an existing broker/dealer. An analysis will identify the required needs of an account executive in a computer system, client statements, and client confirmations. It will also analysis the capital requirements, the expenses of opening and running an office, fees charged to clients, and the licenses required. This project will show that any of these three options are feasible for a credit union but which option is chosen will be determined by the size and capital of the credit union undertaking this business venture.

This project examines the Southern California and Inland Empire banking environment during the period from 1992 to 1997. It includes an analysis of Washington Mutual's market strategy, and financial strategy for entering this fiercely competitive environment. Washington Mutual's competitive advantages and weaknesses will be analyzed to understand its approach to capturing strong market presence.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur socialtjänsten förhåller sig till ungdomar som prostituerat sig och hur socialtjänsten arbetar med dessa ungdomar. Studien genomfördes utifrån en kvalitativ ansats där postenkäter har använts. Enkäterna skickades till tolv respondenter i två större städer i Sverige. Respondenterna bestod av socionomer med erfarenhet av ungdomar som prostituerar sig. Studien hade en svarsfrekvens på 50 % vilket innebär att av tolv respondenter svarade sex av dem. Resultatet visade att socialarbetare arbetar på olika sätt med ungdomar som prostituerar sig. Arbetet handlar om att skapa förändring och stödja ungdomen i denna förändring. Socialarbetarna stöder ungdomarnas empowerment, det vill säga deras egen förmåga till egenkraft för att förändra sin livssituation. Dessutom spelar socialarbetarens attityd en viktig roll för att hjälpa ungdomarna. / The aim of the study was to investigate how social services relates to and how they work with youth in prostitution. The study was conducted with a qualitative strategy where postal surveys have been used. The questionnaires were sent to twelve respondents in two major cities in Sweden, and respondents consisted of social workers that had experience of working with youth in prostitution. The study had a response rate of 50%, which means that of twelve respondents, six of them answered. The results showed that social workers worked in different ways with young people who prostitute themselves. Their work was about creating change and supporting youth through this change. Social workers supported the youth’s empowerment, their own self-empowerment, so they could change their life situation. Social workers attitude played an important role in helping youth.

This study has examined the ten most shorted shares belonging to the Swedish Stockholm Stock Exchange's Large Cap list, by following randomly selected financial institutions that have chosen to take short positions. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether it is possible for short sellers to generate an excess return compared to the index OMXS30GI. The theory is mostly about short selling in general, efficient market hypothesis, behavioral finance, opponents of short selling, technical analysis of an index and the theory also includes previous research regarding short selling. The method used is based on collected secondary data from different databases. Via the secondary data, we have artificially followed randomly selected financial institutions that have glossed over and done the same as them to see if it can generate an excess return. In this study we will not take the cost associated with short selling into account which normally would be costs as margin interest, stock borrowing costs and commissions to brokers. The results show that it is possible for short sellers to generate an excess return that outperforms index OMXS30GI. We can also conclude that short sellers follow a pattern that indicates that they do not act in a way to destroy market efficiency and we can question whether the market is efficient or not.

Introduktion: Blankning är ett sätt för en investerare att tjäna på att bolagets aktiekurs faller och har anklagats för att vara bakomliggande orsak till flera finansiella kriser. Det finns olika anledningar till att ett bolag blankas, likaså kan ett bolag påverkas av blankningen på olika sätt. Den befintliga forskningen behandlar främst den amerikanska marknaden och de tekniska åtgärder bolagen utövar för att minska blankning. Därmed finns det en lucka i forskningen kring huruvida svenska bolag verkställer strategier eller inte för att mildra blankning.   Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka om svenska bolag verkställer strategier för att motverka blankningsnärvaro och förstå varför bolag har valt att styra på ett visst sätt vid en blankningssituation. Metod: Studien genomfördes med en kvalitativ forskningsansats och nyttjar empirisk såväl som teoretiskt material för att kontrastera den teoretiska referensramen med upptäckter i den empiriska data. Den primära datainsamlingen utgörs av semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra av de femton mest blankade bolag enligt Finansinspektionen för april 2021 där analysering av den empiriska data har följt en trestegsprocess bestående av beskrivning, systematisering och kombination.   Slutsats: Studien har visats sig att de fyra bolag som har intervjuats inte sysslar med aktiva strategier mot blankning eftersom det finns en överensstämmande bild bland bolagen att det ska vara en fri marknad och att aktörerna får ta egna beslut. Resultatet visar att de svenska bolagen fokuserar på det långsiktiga tillväxt och att bibehålla transparens gentemot marknaden som i slutändan ska rättfärdiga deras värdering. / Introduction: Short selling is a way for an investor to gain profit when a stock drops in price and the practice has been accused of being the reason behind several financial crises. There are various reasons why a company gets shorted, which affects the company in many ways. Previous studies have only processed short selling in the US market and technical actions that companies enforce to reduce short interest. However, there is a lack of studies about the Swedish market and strategies, if any, that Swedish companies work with to reduce short interest. Purpose:  The purpose of this study is to examine whether Swedish firms execute strategies or not to counteract the presence of short selling positions and understand why the firms have chosen to manage in a certain way during a short selling situation.  Method: The study was conducted with a qualitative approach and uses both empirical and theoretical material to contrast the theoretical framework with the discoveries from empirical data. The primary data collection consists of semi-structured interviews with four out of the fifteen most shorted companies according to Finansinspektionen for April 2021, whereas the data was analyzed using the three-step process consisting of description, systematisation, and combination. Findings: The study shows that the four firms interviewed do not actively work with strategies against short selling as there is a consensus amongst the firms that the market should operate freely and that the participants make their own decisions. The result shows that the Swedish firms focus on the long-term growth of the company and to maintain transparency towards the market which in the end should justify their valuation.

This report is a part of a larger project with the aim of developing a proof-of-concept prototype. The project was started on the initiative of Company X and is a collaboration between them and the University of Borås. Company X are a logistics consultant firm specialized in warehousing operations. Through this project Company X hope to strengthen their standing on the market and offer their customers new and innovative solutions. The purpose of this project is to, with the assistance of AI, calculate in what cluster within a warehouse a product should be placed in order to create more efficient picking routes and to research the market in order to evaluate the business potential for this kind of service. This specific report aims to conduct a market analysis for the potential service. It will do so by conducting interviews and creating a theoretical framework consisting of relevant literature. When performing the market research and analysis of the potential IT-service there are a few limitations caused by a number of factors that could potentially affect the significance of the end result. The service is not yet developed and cannot be described in detail but only as an idea, which could make it difficult for the interview respondents to fully understand the service. The report will also be limited for certain practical reasons such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of this, the report has not had the opportunity to conduct the interviews with potential customers on site but have been conducted online, via link. The theoretical framework has two different main focus areas. The first area addresses basic warehouse logistics and difficulties in selling high technology products, while the second area includes marketing strategies and strategic marketing planning. The market analysis will consist of a SWOT-analysis and an STP-analysis. The report has concluded that the service has potential and suggests that company type B is the best suited potential customer. Personal and demand driven sales are also considered helpful factors when selling high-tech products and solutions. / Detta arbete är en del av ett större projekt med syftet att utveckla en proof-of-concept prototyp. Projektet, som är ett samarbete mellan ”Företag X” och Högskolan i Borås, startades på initiativ av Företag X. Företaget är specialiserat på logistiklösningar och lagerverksamhet. Förhoppningen med projektet från Företag X perspektiv är att stärka sin marknadsposition och kunna erbjuda sina kunder nya och innovativa lösningar. Projektets syfte är med hjälp av AI beräkna i vilket kluster inom ett lager en produkt ska placeras för att skapa effektivare plockrundor samt att undersöka marknaden för att kunna utvärdera affärspotentialen för denna typ av tjänst. Detta arbete syftar till att genomföra en marknadsanalys för den potentiella tjänsten som underlag för forskningsprojektet. Marknadsanalysen baseras på kvalitativa intervjuer med personer utvalda genom ett experturval samt ett teoretiskt ramverk. Marknadsanalysen har vissa begränsningar som potentiellt kan påverka resultatet. Bland annat det faktum att tjänsten inte är utvecklad än och därför bara kan beskrivas som idé vilket kan bidra till svårigheter för intervjurespondenterna att förstå tjänsten fullt ut. Även Covid-19 pandemin anses vara en begränsning rent praktiskt då intervjuerna inte har kunnat ske på plats utan har fått ske digitalt istället. Det teoretiska ramverket har två huvudfokus, det ena berör lagerlogistik och svårigheter med att sälja högteknologiska produkter medan det andra behandlar marknadsföringsstrategier och strategisk marknadsplanering. Marknadsanalysen består av en SWOT-analys och en STP-analys. Arbetet har kommit fram till att tjänsten har potential och föreslår företagstyp B som den mest optimala kunden att rikta försäljning av denna typ av tjänster mot. Personlig och efterfrågestyrd försäljning anses vara viktiga aspekter av försäljning av högteknologiska produkter och tjänster.

This study is using an inductive explorative approach to investigate how micro-enterprises within the marketing consulting industry collect and use data for the purpose of increasing sales. A micro-enterprise is considered to be a company that employs no more than 10 people and/or whose annual turnover is no more than 2 million EUR. The research applies the concept of social selling and development of emergent technologies to understand the methods used by examined salespeople within the marketing agencies examined, and to answer the research question: How is customer data from social selling used among micro-enterprises within the marketing consulting industry to build and retain customer relationships? The following paper suggests that social media is used by the seller with the aim of identifying common grounds between buyer and seller, in order to create a personal bond that sets a strong foundation for continuing the relationship long-term. However, it also indicates that social selling activities are used in various ways and in combination with traditional data collection. Even though usage of customer data has been a heated debate over the years, the results of this study point to the fact that the concerns of collecting and utilizing data in regard to customer privacy, are limited among micro-enterprises within B2B-sector. Additionally, the study addresses advantages and disadvantages with the size of being a micro-enterprise related to the methods of social selling.