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This thesis investigates changes in knowledge required to complete tasks within business processes that have implemented planned/radical change. The research is based on the synthesis of three scholarly domains: change management, knowledge management, and business processes. Organisations implement planned/radical change for various reasons: due to perturbations in the external environment, to achieve strategic goals, or to improve profitability. Radical changes affect business processes and the people carrying out tasks within those processes. Yet, many radical process change initiatives founder. The conceptual argument underpinning this thesis is that planned/radical change initiatives are rarely fully implemented because knowledge does not fully evolve from pre-change to post-change knowledge. People can hold onto knowledge they have, or are unable to grasp new knowledge required, or attempt to apply knowledge that is redundant. This thesis posits that knowledge which does not evolve is a barrier to change. Consequently, this study contributes by providing a deeper understanding of knowledge evolution in the context of processes that have undergone planned/radical change, and specifically the evolution of declarative, procedural and heuristic knowledge necessary to complete new or redesigned tasks within business processes, which form the bedrock to enhancing the implementation of planned/radical change. Drawing on the literature related to change, knowledge, process and dynamic capabilities, a conceptual model is developed to explain evolutionary stages from pre-change to post-change declarative, procedural and heuristic knowledge within business processes. The model is based upon empirical data, collected qualitatively from two higher educational institutes based in Kuwait. This thesis also investigates redundant knowledge: knowledge that is no longer of use in post-change processes. In addition, the factors affecting knowledge evolution that exist during the period of implementing planned/radical change in a business process are identified and defined. Understanding these factors enhances the progression of staff members through the evolution stages. The model suggests that greater recognition of the pace at which knowledge evolves is important for implementing planned/radical change. The implications for practice are highlighted. This study has a number of limitations and suggestions for future research, which are set out in more detail in the concluding chapter.

The release of genetically modified, herbicide tolerant canola (<I>Brassica napus</i> L.) genotypes in western Canada has increased interest in the persistence of volunteer canola. <i>B. napus</i> seed may be induced into secondary dormancy in the laboratory, however, little is known of the seedbank ecology and the role of secondary dormancy as a persistence mechanism in this species in the region. The objectives of this research were i) to determine seedbank additions at the time of harvest, ii) determine the role of secondary seed dormancy in seedbank persistence under different management systems, iii) determine the relative importance of factors contributing to secondary dormancy potential and iv) evaluate the role of abscisic acid (ABA) during secondary dormancy induction in <I>B. napus</i>. On farms, average seedbank additions during harvest were approximately 20 times the normal seeding rate of canola. High secondary seed dormancy potential prolonged seedbank persistence in fields, irrespective of tillage system. <I>B. napus</i> exhibited seedling recruitment of a typical summer annual weed where seedling recruitment was only observed in the spring. Seasonal seedling recruitment was the result of two fates: seed death in the shallow seedbank, irrespective of dormancy potential, and increased ungerminability in buried seeds which was related to secondary seed dormancy potential. Among the factors that contribute to secondary seed dormancy potential, genotype was of greatest significance. Seed size was of lesser importance, while the contributions of pre-harvest factors including seed maturity, year, and location were negligible in comparison. Differences in ABA synthesis and the response to ABA application were related to secondary seed dormancy potential and correlated well previous reports linking ABA to seed dormancy. Conclusions that emerge from this research are i) that on some farms, seedbank additions may be lowered by more diligent harvest practices, ii) seedbank persistence of <I>B. napus</i> may be reduced by growing low dormancy genotypes and avoiding seed burial for one year after seedbank establishment and iii) ABA + ABA-glucose ester (ABA-GE) and the ability of seeds to respond to ABA application after seed dormancy induction may potentially be used to identify seed dormancy potential in this species.

The release of genetically modified, herbicide tolerant canola (<I>Brassica napus</i> L.) genotypes in western Canada has increased interest in the persistence of volunteer canola. <i>B. napus</i> seed may be induced into secondary dormancy in the laboratory, however, little is known of the seedbank ecology and the role of secondary dormancy as a persistence mechanism in this species in the region. The objectives of this research were i) to determine seedbank additions at the time of harvest, ii) determine the role of secondary seed dormancy in seedbank persistence under different management systems, iii) determine the relative importance of factors contributing to secondary dormancy potential and iv) evaluate the role of abscisic acid (ABA) during secondary dormancy induction in <I>B. napus</i>. On farms, average seedbank additions during harvest were approximately 20 times the normal seeding rate of canola. High secondary seed dormancy potential prolonged seedbank persistence in fields, irrespective of tillage system. <I>B. napus</i> exhibited seedling recruitment of a typical summer annual weed where seedling recruitment was only observed in the spring. Seasonal seedling recruitment was the result of two fates: seed death in the shallow seedbank, irrespective of dormancy potential, and increased ungerminability in buried seeds which was related to secondary seed dormancy potential. Among the factors that contribute to secondary seed dormancy potential, genotype was of greatest significance. Seed size was of lesser importance, while the contributions of pre-harvest factors including seed maturity, year, and location were negligible in comparison. Differences in ABA synthesis and the response to ABA application were related to secondary seed dormancy potential and correlated well previous reports linking ABA to seed dormancy. Conclusions that emerge from this research are i) that on some farms, seedbank additions may be lowered by more diligent harvest practices, ii) seedbank persistence of <I>B. napus</i> may be reduced by growing low dormancy genotypes and avoiding seed burial for one year after seedbank establishment and iii) ABA + ABA-glucose ester (ABA-GE) and the ability of seeds to respond to ABA application after seed dormancy induction may potentially be used to identify seed dormancy potential in this species.

This study starts with the review of the literature in customer satisfaction, customer satisfaction methods and models. After selecting a proper customer satisfaction method and model, the study conducts a survey and a questionnaire among the customers and professionals in the modular kitchen sector. The aim of the study is to analyze the factors affecting customer satisfaction and finding out the ones related with the modular kitchen sector. After applying the survey, the relations between the inputs and outputs of the satisfaction are analyzed with the overall satisfaction itself. The strong and weak factors are determined and a proper CRM tool is build-up to realize a decision-support and forecast tool in the study, which can be seen as a beginning for the companies in the real sector in this business to build a much more detailed and ERP integrated software and to use them. The results of the survey are compared with the similar studies from the literature.

Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjamas vartotojų lojalumas prekės ženklui. Teorinėje dalyje apžvelgiama vartotojų lojalumo prekės ženklui samprata, lojalumo fazės, lojalumą veikiantys veiksniai, vartotojų lojalumo prekės ženklui tipai, lojalumo teikiama nauda vartotojui ir įmonei bei lojalumą skatinančios priemonės. Vartotojų lojalumo prekės ženklui tyrimas atliekamas Lietuvos telekomunikacijų bendrovių pavyzdžiu. Tyrimu siekiama nustatyti vartotojų lojalumą telekomunikacijų bendrovės prekės ženklui lemiančius veiksnius, taip pat veiksnius, kurie paskatintų pakeisti dabartinį prekės ženklą, vartotojų lojalumo prekės ženklui tipus ir elgesį. Tyrimo metu nustatyta, kad kaina yra vienas iš pagrindinių veiksnių, kuris ne tik veikia vartotojų lojalumą telekomunikacijų bendrovės prekės ženklui, bet ir gali paskatinti pakeisti dabartinį prekės ženklą, jei kita telekomunikacijų bendrovė pasiūlytų mažesnę kainą už paslaugas. Remiantis gautais rezultatais, galima teigti, kad telekomunikacijų bendrovių klientai yra lojalūs prekės ženklui, tačiau įvairių tipų ir lygių. Dauguma jų priklauso viduriniam lojalumo lygiui. Jie naudojasi telekomunikacijų bendrovės teikiamomis paslaugomis, bet galėtų ją pakeisti ir kita, jei pasitaikytų geresnis konkurentų pasiūlymas. / The bachelor's thesis analyses consumers’ loyalty to brand. The definition of brand loyalty, loyalty phases, factors affecting brand loyalty, the types of brand loyalty, benefits of loyalty to the consumer and company and measures to promote loyalty are overviewed in the theoretical part. Research of brand loyalty was done by example of Lithuanian telecommunication companies. There were tried to determine factors of consumers’ loyalty to the telecommunication companies brand and factors that could lead to change the current brand, consumers’ type and behavior of loyalty to brand. There were noticed that the price is one of the main factors that not only affect consumer’s loyalty for the telecommunication company's brand, but can also lead to replacement of the current brand in case that another telecommunication company would offer a lower price for the service during the study. In the light of results one of suggestions could be that costumers of telecommunication companies are loyal to the brand, but they differ in types and levels. The main part of them belongs to middle loyalty level. They use the services of telecommunication company, but could change it to another if they get better offer of rivals.

The goal of the present thesis is to explore the activity and assess the situation of a private dental office and to propose measures to improve its prosperity. The results of the said analysis and proposals may be utilised by either the current practitioner-entrepreneur or her daughter, a fresh practitioner. It is a partial goal to identify the key specifics of dental practitioner entreprising. In the theoretical part, I focus my attention to the specifics of small and medium businesses and characterise the individual aspects of management, marketing, personal management, and financial management. In the practical part, I apply the gathered theoretical findings in identifying the factors affecting the prosperity of a private dental office and laying down proposals to maintain the current situation and improving it in the future. Some of the proposed measures have already been applied in practice in the course of completion of this diploma thesis.

The aim of this master thesis is to analyze the current trends in tourism in the European union. Then also determine which factors influence its further development, as well as predict the future trends in tourism in the EU. The thesis is also trying to answer scientific questions regarding the impact of the global economic and financial crisis on the development of tourism in the regions of the European Union, the specific factors affecting the tourism trends in the European Union and the activities of the institutions of the European Union to support the positive development of tourism in the European Union. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first is theoretically based and contains definitions of terms related to tourism, the methodology of its research, its development and its economic importance. The second focuses on the position of the EU in the issue of tourism in comparison with the world and other regions, as well as on current trends in individual regions of the European Union and their main tourist destinations. The third chapter analyzes the current trends, including factors that may affect them. It also includes information about the activities of the institutions of the European Union to promote tourism in this area, information about sustainable tourism development in the EU and specific prediction of the future development of tourism in the European Union.

This diploma thesis on „Apartment rent and the influencing factors in the village of Kyjov “ aims to analyze and to compare housing costs of advertised flats in Kyjov area. Its objective is to examine the factors responsible for shaping the costs of private housing. Found data has been classified into following categories (1+1 a 1+kk, 2+1 a 2+kk, 3+1 a 3+kk). There is a map available for each category where particular flats are recorded according to the amount of housing charges.

A realtor faces valuations of houses and apartments almost every day, but one thing that is not as common is valuation of plots. We think that the absence of parameters, which the valuation is based on, would aggravate the valuation of the plot in comparison to valuation of a settled property. How do the local plan’s terms affect the value of the plot and do the prospective buyers get discouraged by high costs, such as costs to build roads in the community, which apply to the price of the plot? How does the valuation process differentiate from the agency process? Do the municipality’s terms differ from each other and how do these affect the plot value? The knowledge regarding valuation is important to a future realtor and real estate developer, which are our future professions. The reason why the essay is focused on plots is based on the fact that plots are not as common as house properties. To demonstrate the valuables, which affect the value the most, is both crucial and interesting due to the fact that valuation of solely plots is not as common in professional life, as mentioned early. The results of the interviews show that the location is the parameter which affects the value the most, regarding plots. The location is closely followed by the plot’s construction rights. The deficiency of parameters to proceed from when valuating does not seem to be an aggravating fact for the realtors. Additional costs which are difficult to evaluate, such as blasting costs, do however complicate the work. The value of a property is not necessarily equal to the selling price due to the fact that the value is an estimated probable price, while the selling price is an actual observation on the market. To get the highest price possible when selling a plot, you need to find the right buyer, at the right place, at the right time. This scenario is very hard to achieve and leads to the fact that the market value is the most suitable value to proceed from when selling a plot. / En mäklare stöter på värderingar av småhus och bostadsrätter nästintill varje dag, men någonting som inte är riktigt lika vanligt förekommande är värdering av tomter. Att det förekommer betydligt färre parametrar vid tomtvärdering, än vid värdering av en bebyggd fastighet, borde göra att det inte är fullt så enkelt att bedöma en tomts värde. Hur påverkar en detaljplans bestämmelser tomtvärdet och avskräcks spekulanter om höga kostnader, såsom gatukostnadsavgifter, tillkommer efter köpet? Och hur skiljer sig värderings- och förmedlingsprocesserna åt? Skiljer sig kommunernas bestämmelser åt och hur påverkar dessa i så fall tomternas värde? Som blivande fastighetsmäklare och fastighetsutvecklare är kunskap om värdering viktig och vi valde att fokusera arbetet på just tomter eftersom dessa inte är vanligast förekommande bland de olika fastighetstyperna. Att påvisa vilka faktorer som är de mest betydande gällande värdet är både viktigt och intressant p.g.a. att rent tomvärderingsförfarande, följaktligen, inte är lika vanligt förekommande i yrkeslivet. Efter intervjuerna har det visat sig att ett bra läge är den absolut viktigaste faktorn ur värdesynpunkt, tätt följd av vilken byggrätt fastigheten innehar. Avsaknaden av parametrar, vid värderingen, verkar inte vara något som försvårar arbetet. Däremot komplicerar tillkommande och svårbedömda kostnader värderingen. Tillkommande och svårbedömda kostnader är exempelvis sprängningskostnader, vilket blir aktuellt på en bergig tomt. Värdet behöver inte vara detsamma som slutpriset, då värdet är ett bedömt sannolikt pris utifrån en värderingsmetod, jämfört med slutpriset som är en faktisk observation på marknaden. För att få ut högsta möjliga tomtpris vid en försäljning, rör det sig i slutänden om att hitta rätt köpare, på rätt plats, vid rätt tidpunkt. Detta scenario är mycket svårt att uppnå, varför marknadsvärdet, framtaget genom ortsprismetoden, är det lämpligaste värdet att utgå från vid en kommande tomtförsäljning.