The work is an analysis of external and internal environment of the company. Mainly is used analysis of the sector, PEST analysis, Porter five forces, 4C, analysis of business resources, financial and SWOT analysis. First part sumarises theory of strategic analysis and on this base is works up the practical part. The outcome is a general and marketing strategy of the firm.

Aim of the thesis is to develop a strategic analysis of the selected company with specific focus on external and internal analysis and then to make recommendations for the future development of the company.

Diploma thesis deals with strategic analysis of an enterprise. The theoretical part is devoted to an introduction to strategic management, basic concepts and analyzes of selected external and internal environment. The practical part is focused on the application analyzes referred to in the first part of the thesis. The aim of this thesis is to carry out a strategic analysis of cafe FotoCafé. Results of the analysis help to evaluate the current status of the cafe on the market in Jindrichuv Hradec. The evaluation of current strategy of the cafe is also based on these results. The analysis revealed some shortcomings and weaknesses in operation of cafe. Part of the conclusion is a proposal about operation of cafe in the future.

M.Phil. / Competition in the bus industry is very fierce. To gain competitive advantage bus manufacturing companies have resorted to various strategies such as intensive marketing, advertising, product innovation, and creation of a wider range of products. These are not sufficient to remain competitive. Another strategy is improving service quality to their customers. A study by Oskrowski et al (1993) showed that the airline companies were able to acquire and retain customers‟ loyalty by continuing to provide perceived high quality services. Bus building companies operating in the transportation industry (which is the same as airline companies); see improvement of the service quality being a major pillar in acquiring new customers and also in retaining existing customers. Thus, providing superior service quality by implementing stringent “Service Performance Logistics Metrics” should be the main agenda for all bus building companies in order to remain competitive. Many empirical studies had tried to measure different dimensions of service quality of the bus building companies. Gourdin (1999) categorized the bus building industry‟s quality into three aspects: (a) price; (b) safety; and (c) timeless. Gilbert and Wong (2003) have revised and adapted the three-aspects of service quality to include: (a) reliability; (b) tangibility; (c) responsiveness; and (d) assurance. This research thesis have re-looked at the service quality metrics, and categorized them in eight (8) broad measures; namely: (a) reliability and availability; (b) parts and parts delivery; (c) repairs selection factors; (d) products design aspects & environmental; (e) product support and warranty; (f) cost and cost service; (g) technical resolution, information, & technical data/software; and (h) facilities characteristics and manpower. Gilbert and Wong (2003), empirical study focused on the airline industry service quality metrics. These are not quite adaptable to the bus building companies; hence this research was focused on the eight (8) broader aspects. The research was conducted by three sets of questionnaires: (a) one for customers for the bus building industry; (b) the second one for employees of the bus building companies; and (c) questionnaire for the customers for bus dealerships networks. These questionnaires are attached as annexure 3 to 5 of this thesis. Focus Groups Interviews (as per Annexure 2 of this thesis) were also held to guide the process of compiling the questionnaires, and also deciding which questions/aspects needed to be included on the final questionnaires. The sorting, analyses, and interpretation of data were primarily done by: - (a) Excel; (b) SPSS – Statistical Analysis Software; and (c) PowerPoint. Data was organized in the form of: Metrics; Graphs (e.g. bar, pie charts); and spreadsheets (with comments and explanatory notes). In general, the study was motivated by the following reasons: - (a) seasonality nature of the manufacturing volumes of buses in South Africa; (b) fragmentation nature of the bus building industry; (c) lack of available uniform performance measures of services provided by bus building companies; (d) lack of government manufacturing support program (i.e. almost the same as those that exist for car manufacturing in South Africa – MIDP). The re-focus of government transportation activities, moving peoples away from personal cars to buses; rail; and taxis - made the study even more important. The study will also serve as a benchmark measure of their services as they are at the moment. It will also help those bus manufacturing companies that are not well geared towards competiveness. It further contribute to the body of knowledge as there are limited studies (of this nature) being done in South Africa. Thus, for investors who wish to enter the bus building industry in South Africa; the study will prove to be very helpful in terms of the service status quo provided by bus building companies.

The objective of this thesis is to propose a business strategy that would result in sustainable competitive advantage for Trafin Oil, a.s. - a Czech company operating on the waste oil market. In order to accomplish the stated objective, extensive research has been performed into the existing body of literature on the subject. Frameworks for analysis of the competitive situation are presented and applied thoroughly in the practical part. Moreover, to better comprehend Trafin Oil, a.s. strategic position a customer survey was conducted and extensive interviewing took place. Based on the applied frameworks and the insights gathered throughout the research, the thesis delivers a strategy which rests on developing a unique strategic position and involves different sets of activities to deliver its value proposition. The strategy ought to guarantee higher collection stability and generate substantially higher profits.

The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual model based which examines the influence of various antecedents of the business incubation process. The conceptualized model will be tested empirically using data collected from North American business incubators. The data used are from the National Business Incubator Association's State of the Industry survey. The Partial Least Squares method of analysis is used to explore the identified antecedents, and is used to test validate the model. While a number of resources were identified as components of the incubation process and are considered antecedents of incubator effectiveness (e.g., social networking, access to funding, training, manager/staff intervention), the findings indicate the network of professional services (e.g., legal, marketing, MIS advice) assembled in and around the incubator have the most significant impact on incubator effectiveness. Other resources, such as training, links and management resources, can have an impact, but only insofar as they relate to the professional services resources. The application and screening process were confirmed as essential to find clients that have the proper "fit" within an incubator. The findings indicate that the physical and age characteristics of an incubator are not factors in effectiveness, nor is the networking activities among incubator clients, lending support to a burgeoning class of virtual incubators, accelerators and innovation centers. The results support resource-advantage theory as a foundation theory in the incubation process, and give researchers a basis for future work in this area. The study helps fill gaps in academic research on incubators, and confirms previously theorized work on the process of incubation. In practice, incubator managers and stakeholders can use these results to assemble the particular resources they need for their type of incubator, and more effectively select potential clients based on those resources. This should allow a smoother, more even flow through the incubator, a better use of scarce and valuable resources, and likely higher graduation rates. This study is the first empirical analysis of the incubation process to arrive at a statistically-validated model of business incubation.

The previous research has illustrated that knowledge management (KM) is an important source of a competitive advantage, and there is a relationship between organizational culture and knowledge management. This dissertation extends the concept from knowledge management to knowledge business (k-business), and explores the relationship between organizational culture and KM strategies. This research intends to determine: Can k-business transform an organization? What are the antecedents that affect the choice of codification and personalization strategies? A survey containing four instruments was used: Cameron & Quinn's (1999) OCAI, Lawson's (2002) KMAI, Choi & Lee (2003)'s Knowledge Management Strategy Instrument, and Skyrme's (2001) K-Business Readiness Instrument. The survey link was forwarded to the companies who have been acknowledged for their knowledge management achievement by KMWorld; a total of 193 complete responses were analyzed. The results revealed that k-business can create a competitive advantage for organizations; different culture types can be the antecedent of different types of KM strategy. Clan culture is positively related to personalization strategy; significant association exists between hierarchy culture and codification strategy; and there is a significant correlation between adhocracy culture and personalization strategy. Market culture does not significantly affect knowledge management strategies.

Corporate reputation has become a source of competitive advantage whose underlying dimensions serve to influence companies‟ strategic direction, in order to maintain sustainable competitiveness. The purpose of this research is to determine the underlying dimensions of corporate reputation as perceived by buyers in the business-to-to business environment.Through critical review of literature on corporate reputation, the importance of building and maintaining a good reputation was highlighted by a myriad of resulting favourable consequences. Literature also revealed underlying dimensions of reputation which were complemented by the findings of the preliminary interviews with a selection of members of the sample to formulate a research instrument.Using stratified sampling of buyers in selected segments served by the steel industry, 169 questionnaire responses were gathered electronically via email and self administered. A factor analysis revealed five factors namely vision and quality of management, employment equity and social responsibility, superior quality of products and committed service, corporate appeal and safety and environment. These collaborated with the literature with the exception of two contributing elements omitted by literature, namely BEE and safety. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Corporate Social responsibility is a term that has received more attention in the world of business in past years. Today, an elite Swedish football organization can be compared to a small or medium sized business. This implies that CSR is becoming a more important term in the football line of business as well. Football engage people all over the world in a unique way that bring people together. It doesn't matter which part of the world you come from, your background, culture or language. Everyone speak the common language that is football. The CSR work of Swedish football organizations is therefore a very important part of society. This since these organization can affect individuals on a daily basis and help them to make good choices in life. The purpose of this Bachelor’s thesis in Business Administration was to investigate how Swedish elite football organizations work with CSR. Partly to demonstrate how important the function of football organizations in society is, but also to investigate and show that through CSR football organizations can achieve goals and values that the organizations are built upon and to investigate whether CSR can lead to competitive advantages that can benefit the organization as a whole. This research study was performed by case studies were four Swedish elite football organizations participated. The study was conducted with qualitative interviews with carefully selected respondents from the different organizations. The results of the study both changed our approach to CSR and gave us a greater understanding of how Swedish football clubs work and view CSR.

This dissertation advances a new argumentative approach to the political problem of black reparations in the contemporary United States appealing to the normative principle of fair play. Among its core presumptions is the view that getting appreciable numbers of white Americans to acknowledge what I call the primary normative case for black reparations will require, among other things, a new kind of discursive move, namely: the deployment of an intermediary case designed to facilitate recognition of the primary one. The two central tasks of my dissertation are to establish the need for such an intermediary case, and to make it via my novel fair play argument. My approach to fair play reasoning involves three main innovations: First, I introduce the possibility of deploying that framework in a corrective mode, to ground redistributive obligations on the part of members of systemically advantaged groups, but which do not imply guilt or blame. Second, in arguing for that deployment, I offer a novel conception of free-riding which I call externalist insofar as it defines the latter without reference to the relevant agents’ mental states. Third, I argue that in a range of cases those corrective obligations of fair play can qualify as reparative despite the fact that their normative force is not determined by direct reference to any discrete wrong, or what I call extrinsically reparative. A key plank of my proposal is the empirical claim that the lens of fair play is better suited to overcoming many of the moral and social psychological obstacles that have long plagued political progress on black reparations in the U.S. I defend this claim by drawing upon various strands of the empirical literature on white racial identity in connection with attitudes toward race-sensitive social policies generally. I argue that it is only upon being safely confronted with the details of how their very whiteness precipitates the nonvoluntary receipt of various unearned material advantages that white Americans will begin to perceive their own personal involvement in America’s long history of racial injustice, and feel a new kind of pressure to do something about it. / 2021-10-29T00:00:00Z