The study focuses on key characteristics that affect diversity management (DM) in the United States. Developing effective strategies to support and enhance workforce diversity is a competitive business advantage as diverse workforce economic and social contributions outpace homogeneous workgroups. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that service organization leaders (diversity practitioner-leaders) use to develop DM programs to support competitive business advantage and sustainable growth. The general systems theory and DM framework were the lens that guided the study. Five diversity practitioner-leaders from service organizations with business operations in the northwestern region of United States were interviewed. Participants responded to open-ended interview questions. Data collection processes included validating and triangulating the information gathered from participants via transcript review and use of archival business documents and peer-reviewed sources. Following the thematic data analysis, major themes emerged that include linking diversity programs to business goals, educating and creating diversity awareness, and implementing diversity reporting and accountability. Findings revealed strategies that diversity practitioner-leaders could use to enhance workplace DM practices and support sustainable business growth. The study findings could help organizational leaders to affect positive social change by building diverse, welcoming, and all-inclusive workplace cultures, whereby all employees can strive to achieve their full potential, thus improving employee engagement and productivity. As workplace diversity improves, employees' engagement and productivity increases as well as their socioeconomic contributions.

Predmetom tejto diplomovej práce je vypracovanie podnikateľského zámeru pre založenie malej firmy podnikajúcej v oblasti informačných technológií. V teoretickej časti práce sú obsiahnuté teoretické východiská práce a vysvetlenie základných pojmov a konkrétnych metód. Výstupom analytickej časti práce je PESTEL a SWOT analýza spoločnosti a jej okolia. Práca by mala slúžiť ako pomocné vodítko pre zostavenie kvalitného podnikateľského zámeru z teoretického hľadiska.

El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como propósito estudiar la relación entre la valoración del servicio postventa y las estrategias que constituyen la ventaja competitiva de empresas que brindan servicios de mantenimiento y modernización para ascensores en edificios ubicados en Lima Moderna durante el año 2019. Es de indicar que estos servicios de postventa los brindan principalmente las empresas que comercializan los ascensores. El diseño de la investigación es no experimental, de tipo descriptiva y correlacional, con un enfoque mixto, tomando en cuenta el análisis de datos cuantitativos y cualitativos. Respecto al enfoque cualitativo, se utilizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas y para el enfoque cuantitativo, la aplicación de una encuesta. Debido a las condiciones de la declaratoria del Estado de Emergencia a nivel nacional, las encuestas se aplicaron mediante un formulario en línea. Las respuestas fueron procesadas en el programa estadístico SPSS. Los resultados arrojados demuestran que la valoración del servicio postventa tiene una relación directa fuerte con las estrategias que constituyen la ventaja competitiva de las empresas que brindan servicios de mantenimiento y modernización para ascensores en edificios ubicados en Lima Moderna en el año 2019. Asimismo, las nueve hipótesis específicas planteadas en la investigación fueron validadas, encontrando correlaciones fuertes. En gran parte de los casos, se comprueba lo establecido por los diversos autores citados en el marco teórico y por los expertos entrevistados. / The purpose of this research work is to study the relationship between the valuation of the after-sales service and the strategies that constitute the competitive advantage of companies that provides maintenance and modernization services for elevators in buildings located in Lima Moderna during 2019. It should be noted that these after-sales services are mainly provided by companies that sales elevators for buildings. The research design is non-experimental, descriptive and correlational, with a mixed approach, considering the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. Regarding the qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were used and for the quantitative approach, the application of a survey. Due to the conditions of the declaration of the State of Emergency in the whole country, the surveys were applied using an online form. The responses were processed in the SPSS statistical program. The obtained results shows that the valuation of the after-sales service has a strong and direct relation with the strategies that constitute the competitive advantage of the companies that provides maintenance and modernization services for elevators in buildings located in Lima Moderna during 2019. In addition, the nine specific hypotheses raised in the research were validated, finding strong correlations. In most of the cases, what is established by the various authors cited in the theoretical framework and by the experts on the interviews, was verified. / Tesis

In a complex and challenging global economy for supply chains to improve their performance, different types of technologies are deployed. The Internet of things (IoT) as one of these technologies enables devices to be connected via a network, i.e. internet. This connectivity provides a variety of possibilities, capabilities, and values to the chain. The scope of this study is to analyze the impacts of IoT on the SCM of e-commerce. By deploying a qualitative approach, the study aims to identify the capabilities enabled by IoT and find a connection between the capabilities and challenges that e-commerces faces in their supply chain management. The research is based on reviewing existing literature, followed by empirical investigation, conducting interviews, and secondary data driven from 3PL to cover focal actors in the case of e-commerce SCM.  IoT technology and the knowledge around it as a resource to SCM of these firms is studied in a resource-based view to understand what role IoT plays in gaining competitive advantage for such firms.  The empirical of this thesis is gathered by interviews with supply chain managers of medium-sized e-commerce firms and a warehouse associate. In addition, the DHL fulfillment center is used as the secondary data stream.

[pt] O mercado Pet respondeu em 2015 por um faturamento superior a 100 bilhões de dólares no mundo, sendo o Brasil responsável pelo terceiro maior valor – 18 bilhões de reais, ou um crescimento de 7,6 porcento em relação a 2014. O segmento veterinário, responsável por 8 porcento deste faturamento, teve um aumento considerável nos últimos anos, passando por um processo de profissionalização do setor. Onde antes havia pequenos consultórios familiares, hoje as clínicas e hospitais estão crescendo, se especializando e tornando-se empresas genéricas. Diante deste cenário, e frente a clientes cada vez mais exigentes e bem informados, vem aumentando o esforço dos gestores desses negócios para tornar suas empresas eficientes e lucrativas. Este trabalho visa identificar as principais forças atuantes no mercado dos estabelecimentos veterinários e avaliar as estratégias genéricas adotadas pelas empresas para terem sucesso neste cenário, de acordo com a metodologia de Michael Porter. Assim, foram entrevistados gestores de sete clínicas veterinárias localizadas no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Os resultados mostram que os investimentos em inovação, infraestrutura e mão de obra especializada esbarram em entraves do setor, como dificuldade da legalização da mão de obra, pouco conhecimento de gestão por parte dos recém-formados e burocracia complexa, seja municipal, de vigilância sanitária ou determinada pelo Conselho Federal de Medicina Veterinária. Embora os entrevistados relatem que o setor carece de estratégia de forma geral, suas empresas tem obtido sucesso através da aplicação de uma estratégia com escopo estreito e diferenciação. / [en] The Pet market accounted in 2015 for a turnover of more than 100 billion dollars in the world, with Brazil accounting for the third largest value - 18 billion Reais, or 7.6 percent growth compared to 2014. The veterinarian segment, responsible for 8 percent of these revenues, has increased considerably in recent years, through an industry professionalization process. Where once there were small family practices, clinics and hospitals, today they are growing, specializing and becoming increasingly competitive. In this scenario, and facing customers increasingly more demanding and well informed, managers have been making efforts to transform their businesses in more efficient and profitable firms. This work aims to identify the main forces acting on veterinary establishments market and evaluate the competitive strategies adopted by these companies to be successful in this scenario, according to the methodology of Michael Porter. Therefore seven managers of veterinary clinics in the state of Rio de Janeiro were interviewed. The results show that investments in innovation, infrastructure and skilled labor stumbles in industry barriers such as the difficulty of labor legalization, scarce management skills by the newly formed and complex bureaucracy, whether municipal, health surveillance or determined by the Federal Council of Veterinary Medicine. Although respondents report that the sector lacks a general strategy, there businesses have been successful by applying a strategy with narrow scope and differentiation.

Social responsibility has a long history and it is evolved from the genuine altruism of human beings. On the other hand, corporate social responsibility finds its roots from organizations. The interactions of an organization and the public enable CSR to emerge and affect both organizations and human beings.The term CSR is evaluated differently in different contexts with different approaches by the scholars.One type of CSR, strategic CSR, aims for evaluating CSR from a strategic point of view. As strategic CSR is a long term investment, it provides a competitive advantage over competitors once a company invests in CSR and communicates CSR properly. The interest of consumers in products is the main drive for the introduction of the brand concept. Brand becomes important due to the fact that organization wants the products and services to be recognizable by the public. This recognition is followed by formation of brand reputation which requires long term investments to be established.The purpose of this study is to analyze how strategic CSR and brand reputation are perceived to affect competitive advantage in a specific company. This study traces the perceptions of CSR, the brand reputation and the competitive advantage concepts in this company, with particular focus on how they are perceived by the employees in the organization.In this case study, Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Design is used to have different insights from qualitative and quantitative analyses. In this design, first qualitative analysis has been conducted and it is followed by the quantitative analysis.Findings of this study reveal that in the specific company, the perceptions of management and nonmanagement employees differ for the given concepts. The non-management employees think that CSR enables competitive advantage whereas management favors brand reputation more and thinks that it is crucial for competitive advantage of the specific company. Although management thinks that CSR is an important concept that the organization might benefit from, there is no plan to evaluate CSR strategically in the specific company.A crucial attribute of a company is to be dynamic and to adapt rapidly to the industry and market changes. This is followed by generation of the brand and improvement of the brand to provide reputation. From this perspective, it is a necessity that both CSR and brand reputation should be evaluated strategically in ACME AB and if neglected, the competitive advantage of a company cannot be realized. / Socialt ansvar har en lång historia och det utvecklats från äkta altruism av människans inneboende altruism. Å andra sidan, finner samhällsansvar (CSR) sina rötter i organisationer. Samspelet mellan en organisation och samhället möjliggör för CSR sikt att växa och påverka både organisationer och människor.Termen CSR utvärderas olika i olika sammanhang med olika metoder av akademiker. En typ av CSR, strategisk CSR, syftar till att utvärdera CSR ur ett strategiskt perspektiv. Eftersom strategisk CSR är en långsiktig investering ger det en konkurrensfördel gentemot konkurrenterna när ett företag investerar i CSR och kommunicerar CSR väl.Konsumenternas intresse av produkter är den viktigaste drivkraften för införandet av varumärkesbegreppet. Varumärket blir viktigt på grund av att organisationen vill att deras produkter och tjänster ska kännas igen av allmänheten. När väl varumärket etablerats kan dess rykte börja byggas upp.Syftet med denna studie är att analysera hur strategisk CSR och varumärke uppfattas påverka konkurrensfördel i ett specifikt företag. Denna studie analyserar uppfattningar om CSR, det varumärke och konkurrensfördelar uppfattningar om begreppen i ett specifikt företag, med särskilt fokus på hur de uppfattas av de anställda i organisationen.I denna fallstudie används metodiken Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Design för att få insikt både via kvalitativa och kvantitativa analyser. I denna metodik, har första kvalitativ analys genomförts och det följs av den kvantitativa analysen.Resultaten av denna studie visar att i ett specifikt företag skiljer sig uppfattningarna om de givna begreppen mellan anställda i ledande och icke ledande ställning. Anställda i icke ledande befattningartror att CSR ger konkurrensfördelar, medan ledningen gynnar varumärke mer och tycker att det är avgörande för att ge företaget konkurrensfördelar. Även om ledningen anser att CSR är ett viktigt begrepp som organisation kan dra nytta, finns det inga planer på att utvärdera CSR strategiskt i ett specifikt företag.En avgörande egenskap hos ett företag är att vara dynamiskt och att kunna anpassa sig snabbt till förändringar i branschen och dess marknad. Detta bidrar till att bygga upp varumärket och, på längre sikt, ge det ett got rykte. Ur detta perspektiv är det en nödvändighet att både CSR och rykte utvärderas strategiskt i ett specifikt företag och om de försummas, kan deras associerade konkurrensfördelar för ett företag inte förverkligas.

More recently, competition issues have not only focused on the private sector, but have become increasingly important in public administration, especially in the field of education. The thesis focuses on the issue of the competitive environment of secondary schools in Prague and the Central Bohemian Region, which provide education in the educational program Public administration. The selection of these schools was based on an analysis of the education market. The aim of this work is to find out what the competitive characteristics of secondary vocational schools are through the lens of individual headmasters. The thesis is divided into two parts. In the theoretical part, a competition-oriented literature survey is conducted. The survey then provides an up-to-date view of the perception of the competition in education in the world by various authors and scholarly articles. The chapter entitled Quality in Education characterizes the Quality of the school according to the Czech School Inspection and also serves as a basis for the practical part. The theoretical part is further developed by a chapter focusing on the description of secondary education and the description of the Framework Education Programme. The last chapter of the theoretical part is devoted to assessing the situation in the market of...

Since the early 1990s lean manufacturing has been employed by companies looking to reduce costs, increase efficiencies and improve quality. Academic studies of the financial benefits of lean manufacturing are mixed in their results, where some show benefit and others do not. The objective of the current work was to confirm a financial benefit of lean manufacturing, while also establishing whether such a financial advantage was sustainable. Financial data was collected for a large number of companies in the manufacturing sector, over the period from 1990 to 2010. The data were used to show correlation between inventory turns and return on assets (ROA), where turns were a measure of the leanness of a firm or an industry. A positive correlation between turns and ROA showed evidence of financial benefit from lean implementation, confirming previous results from a smaller-scale study. It was then shown that about 45% of firms studied had a competitive advantage that could be attributed to their level of leanness. Firms with a competitive advantage were compared to peer companies and it was found that about 60% are able to sustain their competitive advantage for more than 10 years.

En tillväxtfas kännetecknas av en föränderlig affärsmiljö som medför interna och externa utmaningar. Detta eftersom företagen måste kontrollera en större organisation samtidigt som de behöver förbättra sina konkurrensfördelar. Som konsekvens påverkas även företagets strategier och den ekonomistyrning som tillämpas, där företagen måste anpassa sig till förändringar för att säkerställa fortsatt framgång. Tidigare studier påvisar att företagen därtill är i behov av en mer adekvat styrning som kan stödja företaget i tillväxtfasen. I linje med detta har det under senaste åren skett en utveckling inom ekonomistyrningsområdet som har myntat strategisk ekonomistyrning, vilket beskrivs som en framåtblickande och flexibel styrmodell. Tidigare studier påvisar endast behovet av denna typ av styrning samt att företagen behöver hantera förändringar. Däremot finns det begränsad forskning om hur styrsystemet faktiskt utformas under tillväxt. Syftet med studien är att redogöra för hur strategisk ekonomistyrning utformas under tillväxt för att hantera interna och externa förändringar. För att genomföra studien användes en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och en deduktiv ansats. För att samla in det empiriska materialet genomfördes nio intervjuer med gasellföretag eftersom de kännetecknas av påfallande tillväxt. Studien visar att strategisk ekonomistyrning under tillväxt präglas av ständig förbättring och anpassning. Genom uppföljning och anpassning ökar förståelsen för vilka interna och externa faktorer som bidrar till tillväxt och mer konkurrenskraftiga strategier som i sin tur möjliggör fortsatt framgång och tillväxt. Studien visar även på att det är svårt att formulera långsiktiga planer och mål eftersom gasellföretag hela tiden ställs inför nya ändrade förutsättningar. Gasellföretagens strategier är således tvungna att vara flexibla och målen fungerade mer som en tänkt riktning för företagen, snarare än något som var tvunget att uppnås. / A growth phase entails a dynamic business environment with internal and external challenges. Companies must effectively handle a larger organization as well as enhance their competitiveadvantages. Consequently, the company's strategies and management control system are impacted, necessitating adaptation for sustained success. In line with this, there has been a development in the field of management control in recent years, strategic management control, which is described as a more forward-looking and flexible control system. Previous studies only highlight the need for this type of management and the companies' need to manage changes. However, there is limited research on how the control system is designed during the growth phase. The purpose of the study is to examine how strategic management control is designed during growth to manage internal and external changes. To carry out the studies, a qualitative research method and a deductive approach were used. In order to collect the empirical material, nine interviews were conductef with gazelle companies were interviewed since they are characterized by remarkable growth. The study shows that strategic management control during growth is characterized by constant improvement and adaptation. Through follow-up and adaptation, the understanding of which internal and external factors contribute to growth and more competitive strategies increases, which in turn enables continued success and growth. The study also shows that it is difficult to formulate long-term plans and goals since gazelle companies are constantly faced with new and changed conditions. The gazelle companies' strategies thus had to be flexible, and the goals functioned more as an imagined direction for the companies, rather than something that had to be achieved.

The public concern for sustainability issues is ever increasing whilst the trust in corporations is decreasing. CEOs now see sustainability concern and compliance as an important component in retaining their competitive advantage and regaining the trust of their surrounding community. For these reasons it is important to find new manners of uniting societal improvement with business, requiring new forms of competencies. This study has investigated what sustainability education is actually central to the industrial engineering profile, as well as what of this is then covered in the programs. The study involved two phases. The first involved interviewing experts as to what was central for these engineers to learn, resulting in a content list. The second phase involved mapping the instances of this content in the five largest industrial engineering programs (covering circa 74% of these students) as well as the associated challenges to broaching this content. The first phase was primarily qualitative whilst the second phase was largely quantitative, though each data point consisted of a qualitative interview. Five key insights can be drawn from the study regardless of normative stand-point. 1) The sustainability topics that were deemed relevant cover a vast area of disciplines and aspects. 2) There is a skewedness in the content covered, favouring the environmental aspects. 3) There is a lack of integrative instances where the knowledge from different sources and perspectives is synthesized. 4) The key challenges revolve around concept definition and communication. 5) The normativity, interconnectedness and pedagogics contribute with uncertainty and complexity in the assessment of sustainability education. The study is finalized with a synthesis of the various insights to arrive at the conclusion that having sustainable business practice as the aim of the programs, establishing common content goals and employing active learning approach would circumvent many of the perceived challenges as well as align the programs with the need of the industry. This study contributes with deeper understanding of the sustainability education required and provided to industrial engineering students in Sweden. As such the study has practical applications for the programs studied. The theoretical implications of this study lie in the empirical data achieved regarding the topics of relevance to these engineers, showing high levels of agreement with current literature, as well as the perceived challenges to broaching this content in the current curricula. Furthermore it provides empirical data as to the sustainability education received at different programs. / Allmänhetens intresse över hållbarhetsfrågor ökar samtidigt som tilliten för företag minskar. Företagsledare ser numera hållbarhet som en viktig komponent i att bibehålla deras konkurrenskraft och att återfå allmänhetens tillit. Det är således viktigt att finna nya sätt att förena samhällsnytta med företagande, vilket kräver nya sorters kompetens inom hållbarhetsområdet. Denna studie har undersökt vilka hållbarhetsämnen som är centrala för industriell ekonomistudenten, givet deras profil i näringslivet, samt vad av detta som berörs i programmen. Studien var indelad i två faser. Den första ämnade till att skapa en lista av de, för dessa ingenjörer, centrala ämnen genom intervjuer med experter inom området. Den andra fasen kartlagde de ämnen som berördes inom de fem största industriell ekonomiprogrammen (täckandes cirka 74% av studenterna) samt vilka utmaningar som associerades till detta arbete. Den första fasen var till stora delar kvalitativ. Den efterföljande fasen var en kvantitativ kartläggning där varje datapunkt representerade en kvalitativ intervju. Ur studien uppkom fem nyckelinsikter, som står sig oavsett normativ ståndpunkt. Dessa inkluderade: 1) De hållbarhetsämnen som ansågs relevanta för denna målgrupp spänner en vid area av discipliner och aspekter. 2) Fördelningen på ämnen som täcks inom programmen påvisar en preferens mot den miljömässiga aspekten. 3) Det finns en brist på integrerande instanser i utbildningarna, där kunskap från olika aspekter och källor sammankopplas. 4) Nyckelutmaningarna centreras runt definiering och kommunikation. 5) Normativitet, sammankoppling och pedagogik bidrar alla till osäkerhet och komplexitet i bedömning av hållbarhetsutbildningar. Studien avslutas med en syntes av de olika insikterna för att komma till slutsatsen att hållbart företagande som övergripande syfte för utbildningarna, en gemensam målbild för innehållet samt komplettering med ”active learning” metodiker skulle övervinna många av de uppfattade utmaningarna samtidigt som det skulle uppfylla näringslivets kompetensbehov för framtida konkurrenskraft. Denna studie bidrar till förståelsen över vilken hållbarhetsutbildning som bedrivs och vilken som anses behövd av industriell ekonomistudenter i Sverige. Studien har därmed praktiska implikationer för de program som studerades. Teoretiska bidrag inkluderas av den empiriska data som framtagits gällande relevanta hållbarhetsämnen vilka uppvisar hög konvergens med litteraturen inom ämnen, samt de upplevda utmaningar kring att inkludera detta ämne i befintliga program. Vidare bidrar studien med empirisk data kring det som faktiskt berörs idag på de olika industriell ekonomiprogrammen.