<p>With the purpose of expanding our understanding on the main causes that make maintaining competitiveness a challenging issue for companies in an industry, a qualitative research is conducted in this thesis based on Porter theoretical framework (i.e. the five competitive forces model); thereby selecting a single case study with a Swedish rubber subcontractor. The findings show that the threat of new entrants, the rivalry among the existing rubber subcontractors, the bargaining power of carmakers, the bargaining power of suppliers and the role of the Swedish government all highly concern and challenge the competitiveness of the case company. However, given the fact that close substitute products to the case company’s product are absent from the market, their threat does not represent any distress for the competitiveness of the company.</p>

Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

With the purpose of expanding our understanding on the main causes that make maintaining competitiveness a challenging issue for companies in an industry, a qualitative research is conducted in this thesis based on Porter theoretical framework (i.e. the five competitive forces model); thereby selecting a single case study with a Swedish rubber subcontractor. The findings show that the threat of new entrants, the rivalry among the existing rubber subcontractors, the bargaining power of carmakers, the bargaining power of suppliers and the role of the Swedish government all highly concern and challenge the competitiveness of the case company. However, given the fact that close substitute products to the case company’s product are absent from the market, their threat does not represent any distress for the competitiveness of the company.

The key point of the successful business unit is the human resource. It depends on man who starts from R&D, sales, to the process of service departments. Therefore, the level of the whole management team determines the consequences of the business, and that is why we pay more attention on core abilities. It is easy to be copied on techniques, products, or even service in the organization, but the one and the only asset that is irreplaceable is the employee. The outputs of the superior employees will benefit the organization and lead the unit to the most competitive situation. This research will realize the effect of the business competitive power and the results of the organization when the business unit conducts the competency pattern. By qualitative research, we could find out the relationship between the competency pattern and the results along with competitive power inside the business units and dig in the five cases which conducted the competency pattern for the business competitive power also with organization results by interviewing the management teams of these candidates, collecting the related dissertations, data in the meanwhile. We had the conclusions by this research, 1.Generally, our cases contained three frames of the competency pattern, including core , profession, and management. They all focused on the behaviors through physical description or observation, and based on these aspects to check the performance level. 2.There are some key points including the entire involved, supports from the high level management team and also helped by the external experts or consultants which affected building the competency pattern and pushed a new management system or the value change of the organization revolution process into practice. 3.The research found out that the competency pattern could promote or encourage the function when human resource strategy transformed to the physical human resource development activities. The competency pattern could not only integrate with human resource development activities and lead to the synergy, but make the results upgraded. It also clarified the human resource development strategy and practiced into the reality, upgraded the whole efficiency in the meanwhile. 4.We could tell from this research that all the competency patterns were all based on the perspective, strategy and the goal, and we also focused on the performance of the business predicted value behavior. It not only made it more delicate and effective of the circulation under the human resource function, but let the human resource development activities connected to the strategy and running results of the business unit much closely. 5.The researchers told us the need and motivation to build the competency pattern what was made for organization transformation could help reconstruct the whole human resource system and lead to the better source integration, efficiency, and flexibility. Meanwhile, due to the change of this environment or the demand of the organization development, we could integrate the original value system and core competition inside the business unit, also we could construct or plan the suitable human resource development strategy, go through with the business long term development at the same time, then develop, prolong and improve the core competition. Finally, we perform this advantage on upgrading the human resource quality. 6.In this research we could find the ability of our employee get developed and reached the expectation of the organization. It is just the consequences of conducting the competency pattern, and so, we could prove conducting the competency is positive to the whole business results.

It is wide believed that the economic growth is good to stockholders, but there still exist some arguments about the positive relationship between the economic growth and stock market returns. We prove that the economic growth has positive effect on the stock market returns. As a result, the stockholders could use the economic index to choose their target market to earn return. We find that the stock market could only reflect the short term condition of the country and could not reflect the long term accumulation of a country. That is, the national competitiveness could not reflect on the stock market return for stockholders in the long term. Otherwise, we also find that the capital formation and productivity are significantly positive to the stock market returns. We use the real GDP growth rate as the economic growth proxy and the national competitiveness rank to measure the national competitiveness from IMD competitiveness center. The time period of data is from 1997~2010. Fifty countries included in our sample.

In January 2005 a trading scheme with emission allowances, including carbon dioxide (CO2), was introduced in Europe. This has influenced the electricity price as well as the price of CO2 emitting production. The paper and pulp industry uses a high share of electricity and emits CO2 and is therefore chosen. This industry is investigated to see if the competitiveness for the industry has been influenced by the emission trading scheme. Since the trial period is too short to give any clear results, USA has been investigated to make comparisons with Sweden. Different theories about the subject together with electricity price and production price data from Statistiska Centralbyrån. A competitiveness model is calculated with help from production prices and show that Sweden has become relatively more competitive compared to the USA since 1995. A reason for this can be the introduction of an emission trading scheme in the USA in 1995. If this is the case, the Swedish paper and pulp industry can face a decrease in competitiveness in the near future.

Biotechnology Industry, a global new shining star in twenty first century, particularly in reagent inspection, has being paid more and more attention due to its low investment in research and development and barrier of entry requirement but easy to payback comparing to other Industries. Besides, strong sense of disease precaution and health care of people makes Reagent inspection market have more potential sine then as well. Medical diagnosis hitherto has seventy percent occupation of the whole reagent inspection market. Hospital and inspection center has shared seventy five percent of medical diagnosis reagent market; pharmacy and family consumer on the other hand is estimated to have thirteen percent annual growth in the future. Reagent for medical diagnosis use therefore has become essentially vital and the competition has been fierce. This study is divided into two parts. The first part applies much literature to assist to analyze current reagent inspection market for medical diagnosis use. Five Force analysis, Diamond theory and SWOT has been employed to inspect present competition mode of reagent inspection industry for medical use. The second part is the arrangement of interview that is the main aim of this thesis. To understand key managers¡¥ thinking of medical diagnosis reagent inspection industry through face to face interview to have more idea how to arrange and operate the business and comply with future competition. Finally, figure out the best strategy for medical diagnosis reagent industry by utilizing comparison of data and thesis. The direction guide is there for reference.

This paper investigates the effect of price limits on strategically informed trading and market performances. We show that a price limit will increase the costs of liquidity traders and volatility spillover by its ex ante effects on strategically informed trading. Our study differs from prior research by focusing on informed traders¡¦ strategies and information competitiveness. With long-lived information or less information competitiveness, the price limit rule encourages stealthily informed trading, distorts the price dynamics and increases the trading costs of small liquidity traders. Volatility subsequent to a limit-hit is also increased. By using the listed firms in the Taiwan Stock Exchange, we provide empirical evidences that informed traders switch to trade with small orders when they encounter a price limit and volatility spillover exists. Furthermore, this negative effect is more sever for those stocks with less information competitiveness. Our findings suggest that the ex ante effects of price limits on market performances may be contrary to what the stabilizing mechanism is intended to achieve, especially for those firms with less information competitiveness.

The number of supplementary schools in Taiwan has been amazingly increasing from 2,700 to more than 18,000 since the educational reform began in 1996. Some regard the growing number of supplementary schools as the result of educational reform; however, others believe it is because parents hope their children can have a better competitiveness. No matter how it describes, it is a solid fact that the number of supplementary schools has been increasing enormously. In Taiwan, a huge number of supplementary schools results in severely competitive environment. In addition, because young couples are not willing to have children, the birth rate in Taiwan declines rapidly; as a result, each supplementary school all gives its best to recruit students. Conventional supplementary schools only put emphasis on better faculty and lower tuition to compete with others so that there is barely any difference between those conventional supplementary schools. Therefore, it is almost out of questions for those supplementary schools to achieve high competitiveness only with the two attractions above. With the market circumstance stated previously, this study analyzes Strategy on Tutorial Teaching Applied in Supplementary School. This study adopts qualitative research method with interviewing; the information gathered and analyzed from each interviewee values. There are two categories of interviewees: supplementary school owners and teachers. Interviewing with owners provides the first-hand experience and explicit idea of core competitiveness when running a supplementary school. From interviewing with teachers, problems and solutions can be obtained from what they have encountered in Whole-Class Teaching. Furthermore, it is essential to understand whether the student loss is closely related to teaching effectiveness and how Tutorial Teaching and Whole-Class Teaching influence students on learning effectiveness. This study adopts qualitative research method with interviewing and reveals that Tutorial Teaching relatively promotes students¡¦ competence and improves learning obstacles. However, Tutorial Teaching meets quite a few concerns if it puts into practice. This study combines the data analyzed from qualitative research with the theory and reference of tutorial teaching as well as takes the cost of running a supplementary school into account so as to develop a ¡§Tutorial Teaching Program¡¨ which is suitable for supplementary schools. It will be a great satisfaction if this study establishes a guideline for supplementary schools to enhance competitiveness and promote learning effectiveness.

Under globalized competition, the traditional meaning of space has been demolished and re-defined. The boundaries of countries have been blurred by the absence of time difference and a global movement that re-defines territory based on information, knowledge, acceptance and economy has begun. The global society moves towards the trend of ¡§urban orientation¡¨. ¡§Urban marketing¡¨ has growing importance as it affects the development capacity and life quality of its habitants. Local government actively promotes urban marketing in an attempt to raise the competitiveness of its city: promote local attractions, allow urban re-construction, and revitalize urban development. The process of urban renewal in the creation of a new city image is related to its urban competitiveness, and its adaptability relies upon innovative thinking and applicable strategies of urban development. The key to whether a city can rise among the ranks is that it can create a unique and irreplaceable urban value. This value will depend on the urban marketing ideal of its decision-makers and the urban positioning strategy under the guidance of this ideal. In the view of the function of ¡§Urban Aesthetics¡¨ in ¡§Urban Marketing¡¨, research is conducted on how local government utilizes ¡§Urban Aesthetics¡¨ and their gain and loss in the renewal process. The successful experience of Kaohsiung in utilizing ¡§Urban Aesthetics¡¨ sets an example for other counties to model. This is the research motivation of this undertaking. This research adopts the literature review methodology to investigate the concept and development background and different phases of urban marketing, and further classifies the different types of urban marketing, that is, its classification and product contents. From the perspective of individual case experience, the structure of urban marketing is analyzed to provide reference for future promotion and individualized marketing strategy. This research adopts in-depth interviews on direct participants and decision-makers of Kaohsiung City urban marketing. The first-hand materials gained from these interviews add value to this research.