The primary objective of the study is to assess whether organisations are using their budgeting, forecasting and financial planning information as a strategic tool in the decision-making process. The research aims to investigate the various factors that hinder the success of the finance department in delivering a quality financial plan, budget or forecast to top management and the rest of the organisation.

The aim of this thesis is two-fold. My primary, theoretical aim is to present an alternative way for geographers to approach the study of tourist resort development. For over twenty years, resorts have been understood through the framework of evolutionary models, the most widely-used being Richard Butler's 1981 Tourist Area Life Cycle. I argue that the time is ripe for a more sophisticated approach which i) identifies the multiplicity of actors involved in the destination-making process and elucidates the interactions between them; and ii) situates the resort within a dynamic, capitalist economy, increasingly dominated by large corporations. I suggest that one way we can do this is to take particular moments in a resort's trajectory and examine the responses made by key players in the production of the resort. My starting point for my investigation into Whistler Resort, British Columbia is the merger in 1996 of its two ski mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb, under the ownership of Intrawest Corporation. A recent wave of consolidation in the North American ski industry has seen increasing numbers of once-independent ski areas coming under the control of four large corporations, Intrawest being one. My second aim with this thesis, therefore, is to shed light on the process of ski resort development in light of the recent industry reorganisation. In particular, I use my case-study of Whistler to interrogate the corporatisation thesis of historian Hal Rothrnan. Rothman's account of resort development in the twentieth-century American West leads him to view large corporations as extractive forces which pay scant respect to local communities and cultures, treating them instead as marketable commodities. The experience of Whistler, however, suggests a much greater degree of mterdependence and co-operation between the ski corporation and local stakeholders in the resort - a situation that arises because of its unique administrative, political and economic context. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Increasing level of public concerns about ageing and obesity problems accompanied by the advent of more and more health conscious consumers have put a priority on the health and wellness industry development which has started transformation from a niche category towards the mainstream. As a human being is an individual with unique known characteristics (like age, gender, health state, lifestyle) and less known characteristics like a genetic predisposition, the nutrition plan should be designed around these characteristics. Being aware of genetic predisposition of an individual allows to develop the appropriate health strategy for the particular individual. A systematization of these individual programs would support the development of a new generation of health practitioners. Russia is experiencing serious demographic problems with decreasing population and low life expectancy; high mortality rate from heart diseases and quite high obesity rates. It is expected that nutrigenomics concepts can be successfully developed in Russia due to its solid scientific base, relatively high level of medicine and the ever increasing awareness of the need for a healthy quality life especially within young generation. The goal of the thesis therefore is to analyze the key trends in the global and Russian food industries and develop a business idea of commercializing the personalized nutrition concept in the Russian food service market.

The purpose of this project is to outline a business that is in the start up phase. This business is going to come to life when the City of Redlands approves the plan. The plan is in its final stages with the City of Redlands. The business will be known as Redlands Nursery and Tree Company.

This business plan for expanding a home improvement company emphasizes: attracting more customers to increase sales; establishing new companies such as contractors, distributors, and wholesalers; and leading the market for home improvement goods and construction materials in Lampung.

This study compares the U.S. National Football league (NFL) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). The goal of the study is to develop recommendations for the rebuilding of NPB's popularity in terms of marketing policy practices after the efficiency of both leagues is analyzed.

The airline industry has grown rapidly over the past few decades, recording a ten-fold rise in passenger numbers and a fourteen-fold increase in cargo volumes. This growth has created overwhelming value to airline passengers, employees, suppliers and the broader economy. Unfortunately, this industry has been affected by terrorism attacks, wars, revolutions, pandemic fears, earthquakes, volcanoes, failing economies and skyrocketing fuel prices all of which have negatively impacted on profitability and resulted in intense competition. Consequently, airlines have spent the last decade in survival mode having to adapt to harsh changes. Air Zimbabwe, a state-run organisation which operates in this highly regulated and turbulent industry, is faced with numerous micro and macro environmental challenges and has been purposively selected for this study. According to company statistics, the airline’s annual passenger uplifts have declined from a peak of over 1 million in the 1990s to less than 200 000 in 2011, with revenue generation declining in correlation. Whilst Air Zimbabwe has experienced depressed demand for its services, competitor airlines are recording brisk business. The aim of this study was to investigate how a struggling organisation, which operates in a turbulent environment, can improve its competitiveness and profitability by better understanding the impact of industry role players and adapting organisational strategies to industry variations. This study examined, from the point of view of the industry players themselves, the extent to which customers, suppliers, competitors, regulatory authorities, substitute products and new entrants have impacted on the competitiveness and profitability of the airline. Major findings reveal that an organisation cannot operate in isolation and be competitive or profitable, but constantly needs to analyse the industry environment in which it operates in and to amicably interact with other industry role players. The research outlines the need for competition in certain areas and cooperation in others. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Bakgrund: När covid-19 spred sig i Sverige under våren 2020 blev både samhället, näringslivet och andra samhällsfaktorer drabbade. Regeringen utformade flera restriktioner under årets gång och speciellt drabbad blev restaurang- och hotellbranschen. För företagen blev det snabbt viktigt att anpassa sig och tillämpa rätt strategi för att överleva. När covid-19 drabbade världen i modern tid skapade det ett unikt tillfälle att undersöka vilka faktiska strategival företag har tillämpat under en kris. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att nå en djupare förståelse i hur företag arbetat med strategiförändringar till följd av covid-19 och hur planering används i företags strategiarbete. Metod: I denna studie tillämpas en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med en abduktiv ansats. För att kunna undersöka forskningsfrågan har en intervjustudie gjorts. Data har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer från sex olika företag som ligger till grund för empirin. Slutsats: I studien framkommer det att samtliga företag har arbetet med att tillämpa nya strategiförändringar för att kunna fortsätta bedriva sin verksamhet till följd av covid-19. Företagen har inte använt någon långsiktig planering vid deras strategiarbete. Deras strategiarbete i covid-19 har istället handlat om kortsiktig planering, samarbete, kommunikation och kreativt entreprenörskap. / Background: When covid-19 spread in Sweden in the spring of 2020, both society, business and other important societal factors were affected. The government designed several restrictions during the year and the restaurant and hotel industry was particularly affected. For companies, it quickly became important to adapt and apply the right strategy to survive. When covid-19 hit the world in modern times, it created a unique opportunity to examine strategy choices companies have applied during a crisis. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how companies worked with strategy changes as a result of covid-19 and how planning is used in companies' strategy work. Method: In this study, a qualitative research method with an abductive approach is applied. In order to investigate the research question, an interview study has been conducted. Data have been collected through semi-structured interviews from six different companies that form the basis of the empirical data. Conclusion: The study shows that all companies have had to apply new strategy changes in order to stay in business due to the covid-19. The companies have not used any long-term planning in their strategy work. Their strategy work in covid-19 has instead focused on short-term planning, collaboration, communication and creative entrepreneurship.

Summary in English and Afrikaans / CSR has become a priority for many key businesses, particularly in light of codes of practice such as the 2009, The King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa 2009 (often referred to as King III Report). Effective CSR is dependent on efficient communication between and with stakeholders and businesses, yet the quality of these communications is seldom evaluated. While the literature emphasises the importance of stakeholder engagement, little attention is given to the communication processes used during stakeholder engagement. This study asserts that Integrated Communication (IC) offers a multi-pronged approach for engaging with an organisations’ diverse stakeholders and, when incorporated holistically, aligns CSR throughout an organisation. This study uses a framework drawn from IC theory as a means of analysing the efficiency of stakeholder engagement within Anglo American South Africa (AASA), a company explicitly dedicated to CSR. A single embedded case study research design is employed, including a review of main CSR documents used by AASA, interviews with key communications staff, as well as a focus group on site with key staff members. The research revealed that although AASA is in many ways doing a laudable job in terms of stakeholder engagement, there are key points at which their efforts break down. This is due, in most part; firstly to a lack of integrated awareness throughout the broader business of what constitutes its stated CSR agenda; and secondly to a lack of executive power within the communications department of the business. It is suggested that by following the proposed IC framework, and investing key communications personnel with executive power rather than merely supportive responsibility, the effectiveness of AASA’s stakeholder engagement would be improved. This would improve the likelihood of an effective strategic CSR’s success, and be of value to the organisation. / Korporatiewe Maatskaplike Verantwoordelikheid (KMV) het 'n prioriteit geword vir baie belangrike besighede, veral in die lig van gedragskodes soos die 2009 derde King verslag oor korporatiewe bestuur. Effektiewe KMV is afhanklik van doeltreffende kommunikasie tussen en met belanghebbendes en besighede, maar die gehalte van hierdie kommunikasie is selde geëvalueer. Terwyl die literatuur beklemtoon die belangrikheid van die betrokkenheid van belanghebbendes, is min aandag gegee aan die kommunikasie- prosesse wat gebruik word tydens die betrokkenheid van belanghebbendes. Hierdie studie voer aan dat Geïntegreerde Kommunikasie (GK) 'n multi-ledige benadering bied vir die aangaan met organisasies se diverse belanghebbendes en, wanneer holisties opgeneem, lyn 'n organisasie deurgaans in met KMV. Hierdie studie maak gebruik van 'n raamwerk wat uit GK teorie as 'n middel van die ontleding van die doeltreffendheid wat met belanghebbendes binne Anglo American Suid-Afrika (AASA) uitvloei, 'n maatskappy uitdruklik gewy aan KMV. 'n Enkele navorste gevallestudie is gebruik, insluitend 'n oorsig van die belangrikste KMV dokumente, onderhoude met sleutel kommunikasie personeel sowel as 'n fokusgroep met belangrike personeel op die terrein. Die navorsing toon dat alhoewel AASA is in baie maniere om 'n lofwaardige werk in terme van die betrokkenheid van belanghebbendes handhaaf, is daar belangrike punte waarop hul pogings kort kom. Dit is te danke oorsaaklik; eerstens 'n gebrek aan geïntegreerde bewustheid regdeur die breër organisasie wat sy verklaarde KMV agenda uitmaak, en tweedens 'n gebrek van die uitvoerende gesag in die kommunikasie-afdeling van die besigheid. Daar word voorgestel dat die voorgestelde GK raamwerk kruis organisatoriese bewustheid van AASA se KMV agenda sou bevorder, en die organisasie dwing om belangrike kommunikasie personeel te belê met uitvoerende gesag eerder as bloot ondersteunende verantwoordelikheid. Dit sal op sy beurt die doeltreffendheid van AASA se betrokkenheid verseker. Die waarskynlikheid van strategiese KMV se sukses te verbeter, en van waarde wees vir die organisasie as geheel. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication)

[pt] Muitos artigos abordaram, nos últimos anos, o tópico de Sales and Operations Planning (SeOP) da perspectiva do gerenciamento da cadeia de suprimentos. No entanto, ainda é possível observar uma lacuna entre os modelos de SeOP presentes na literatura e a implementação nas empresas, principalmente devido aos diferentes contextos existentes na vida real. A caracterização do processo de S&OP precisa de mais desenvolvimento, especialmente para ajudar os praticantes em novas implementações. Além disso, faltam estudos sobre a aplicação específica desse processo em indústrias com modelo de produção Engineer-To-Order (ETO). Esta dissertação traz, por meio de um estudo de caso com abordagem exploratória, uma análise do processo de S&OP em uma indústria com um modelo de produção de ETO, demonstrando como o processo ocorre e quais são as peculiaridades desse modelo. O objetivo é oferecer um guia prático para implementação do SeOP com base na caracterização da aplicação do SeOP em uma indústria de produção de conteúdo audiovisual. O estudo caracteriza o processo observado na empresa, reduzindo a lacuna das práticas de pesquisa na literatura relativa à caracterização completa do processo de SeOP a partir de pesquisas empíricas e amplia o entendimento da área pesquisada no contexto de ETO. A dissertação oferece um guia prático que visa auxiliar praticantes da indústria a implementar o processo de SeOP nas empresas, outra carência existente na literatura. / [en] Many studies have addressed, over the past few years, the topic of Sales and Operations Planning (S and OP) from the perspective of Supply Chain Management. However, it is still possible to observe a gap between the S and OP models present in the literature and the implementation in companies, mainly due to the different contexts existing in real life. The characterization of the S and OP process needs further development, especially to help practitioners in new implementations. Besides, there is an absence of studies on the specific application of this process in industries with an Engineer-To-Order (ETO) production model. This dissertation brings, through a case study with an exploratory approach, an analysis of the S and OP process in an industry with an ETO production model, demonstrating how the process occurs and what are the peculiarities of this model. The objective is to offer a practical guide for the implementation of S and OP based on the characterization of the application of S and OP in an audiovisual content production industry. The study characterizes the process observed in the company, reducing the research practices gap in the literature concerning a complete characterization of the S and OP process based on empirical research and expand the understanding of the researched area with the ETO context. The dissertation offers a practical guide that aims to help practitioners to implement the S and OP process in companies, addressing another literature gap.