The creation and development ofcustomer relationship has become a strong marketing tool for most suppliers inthe current business world. In addition, the development of relationships hasbecome the main topic for market researchers since they believe that, customersand suppliers are valuable assets of a firm. Most suppliers also face thedilemma of how they should adapt to their customers needs and requirementsbecause adaptations always tighten the bonds of both the supplier and thecustomer and make them more dependent on each other. In order to identify thereasons why firms place much importance on the development of customerrelationships, the authors have undertaken a qualitative study. This study wasbased on why ABB Automation develops relationship with its customer’s base. Thedata collected was analyzed to identify the reasons behind the company’sdecisions.

During Lee Teng-hui¡¦s administration, Lee Teng-hui actually made great influences on Taiwan. After 1988, two sides have entered one changeable pattern, although Taiwan Straits two sides present the estranged state on being interdynamic in every politics of stage. But in the low steps politics , such as the politics of economy and trade, society, culture to demonstrate the atmosphere of the hot twine state. In reviewing a great deal of theories of explaining the trade relationship of two sides, the paper is attempting to analyze the interaction and influence of economic and trade policies of two sides of the Taiwan Straits with western Independence Theory¡BIntegration Theory. However, the paper may involve comparatively sensitive politics in the article. But as we know that it should be unavoidable that a piece of political economy in this country can¡¦t be separated because the political economy is originally an organic whole. As the result of the research, we can find that the two sides during the process of combining split into the interconnected system ' of we and ' alone ' strength, exactly close in politics , has faced alternatives; The degree in non- political fields , such as economy , society , culture , have already moved towards the depth and have been combined. In other words, this paper proposes explaining the situation that how two sides combine with the economy and trade interaction, and it also make systemic arrangement to construct build logical thinking. Finally, we will attempt to find out the formulation of the economic and trade policy in the mainland in the future from the processes and results of studying which playing the part of role and way to make the suggestion and policy in the future!

Dérégulation du marché de l'électricité a affiché de nombreux changements dans l'économie et a influencé les chercheurs à initier des études dans ce domaine. Italie fournit une étude de cas intéressante pour explorer le marché de l'électricité en raison de ses spécifications. Notre projet se compose de trois études quantitatives indépendant pour voir le marché de l'électricité Italien en trois angles différents. La première étude permet de répondre la question de la prévision causée par la volatilité du marché de l'électricité. Le résultat suggère une méthode de prévision alternative pour la modélisation de prix de l'électricité sur l'Italie. La deuxième recherche examine l'impact des énergies renouvelables sur l'apparition de la congestion et ses coûts. Nous analysons les propriétés quantitatives de l'estimation économétrique afin de comprendre le mécanisme économique et d'en tirer la suggestion de la politique. Enfin, la recherche finale analyse l'interdépendance des prix dans six macro-zones du marché italien de l'électricité. / Deregulation of electricity market has displayed many changes in the economy and has influenced researchers to initiate studies in this field. The issue of the deregulated arises as the volatility of the wholesale price increases because of the new mechanism in price determination. Italy provides an interesting case study for exploring the electricity market because of its specifications. Our project consists of three independent quantitative research to view the Italian electricity market in three different angles. The first study is aimed to address the forecasting issue caused by the volatility of electricity market. The result suggests alternative forecasting method for modelling electricity price on Italy and comparisons between univariate and panel framework. The second research examines the impact of renewable energy on the congestion occurrence and cost. We analyse quantitative properties of the econometric estimation in order to gain insight into the economic mechanism and to draw policy suggestion. Finally, the final research attempts to address the interdependence of prices in six macro-zones of the Italian electricity market.

In this study, an integrated solution methodology for a general discrete multi-criteria decision making problem is developed based on the well-known outranking method Promethee II. While the methodology handles the existence of interdependency between the criteria, it can also incorporate the prospect theory in order to correctly reflect the decision behavior of the decision maker. A software is also developed for the application of the methodology and some applications are performed and presented.

Kyoto University (京都大学) / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第17142号 / 工博第3632号 / 新制||工||1551(附属図書館) / 29881 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科都市社会工学専攻 / (主査）教授 清野 純史, 教授 小池 武, 准教授 古川 愛子 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当

This study investigates the underlying factors of paternalism and dependency in the mission work of the Reformed Churches in South Africa by focusing on the KOSH region. The study will examine, as a case study, the missionary work done by the white Reformed Churches among the black communities and the Reformed Churches in the Klerksdorp, Orkney, Stilfontein, Hartbeesfontein (KOSH) region. Such a case study aims to lay bare the main causes of the black Reformed churches’ dependency on their white Reformed counterparts. It will examine the issues of attitude, cultural and world view prevalent among the Reformed church members in the KOSH region that may cause paternalism and dependency in missions. The possible influence of apartheid developments on mission methodology and the strategy of the GKSA churches will be examined closely. As a proposal to overcome the residue of paternalism and dependency in the black church community, this study will expound the biblical principle of partnership in missions. Thereafter the focus will fall on the biblical point of departure of a partnership model in missions. Some practical guidelines as recommendations will also be suggested in terms of which such a holistic transformational model of missions could help to overcome tendencies of paternalism and dependency in the missionary situation. Chapter 1 focuses on the formulation of the research. It states the background, problem statement, research limitation, main research question, aim and objectives as well as central argument and method of research. To conclude, the chapter division is presented. Chapter 2 studies and outlines definitions, historical development and missiological reflection on paternalism and dependency. Chapter 3 studies and outlines key biblical perspectives on mission, paternalism and dependency from the missio-Dei point of departure. Chapter 4 investigates and analyzes the attitude, cultural and worldview issues prevalent among the Reformed church members in the KOSH region that may cause paternalism and dependency in missions. Chapter 5 investigates the field work on mission, paternalism and dependency in the case of the Reformed Churches in South Africa, focusing on the KOSH region. Chapter 6 investigates key biblical and missiological perspectives on partnership and interdependency in missions by which to overcome paternalism and dependency. Chapter 7 investigates the relevant principles and possible pitfalls regarding the motives of partnership and interdependency with the aim of establishing a holistic transformational model of missions in the post-apartheid dispensation in South Africa. Chapter 8 consists of the conclusions and summary of this study. The partnership model is proposed and practical guidelines as recommendations are made finally on the transformation of mission within the Reformed Churches in South Africa in the KOSH region in post-apartheid South Africa. / PhD (Missiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This study investigates the underlying factors of paternalism and dependency in the mission work of the Reformed Churches in South Africa by focusing on the KOSH region. The study will examine, as a case study, the missionary work done by the white Reformed Churches among the black communities and the Reformed Churches in the Klerksdorp, Orkney, Stilfontein, Hartbeesfontein (KOSH) region. Such a case study aims to lay bare the main causes of the black Reformed churches’ dependency on their white Reformed counterparts. It will examine the issues of attitude, cultural and world view prevalent among the Reformed church members in the KOSH region that may cause paternalism and dependency in missions. The possible influence of apartheid developments on mission methodology and the strategy of the GKSA churches will be examined closely. As a proposal to overcome the residue of paternalism and dependency in the black church community, this study will expound the biblical principle of partnership in missions. Thereafter the focus will fall on the biblical point of departure of a partnership model in missions. Some practical guidelines as recommendations will also be suggested in terms of which such a holistic transformational model of missions could help to overcome tendencies of paternalism and dependency in the missionary situation. Chapter 1 focuses on the formulation of the research. It states the background, problem statement, research limitation, main research question, aim and objectives as well as central argument and method of research. To conclude, the chapter division is presented. Chapter 2 studies and outlines definitions, historical development and missiological reflection on paternalism and dependency. Chapter 3 studies and outlines key biblical perspectives on mission, paternalism and dependency from the missio-Dei point of departure. Chapter 4 investigates and analyzes the attitude, cultural and worldview issues prevalent among the Reformed church members in the KOSH region that may cause paternalism and dependency in missions. Chapter 5 investigates the field work on mission, paternalism and dependency in the case of the Reformed Churches in South Africa, focusing on the KOSH region. Chapter 6 investigates key biblical and missiological perspectives on partnership and interdependency in missions by which to overcome paternalism and dependency. Chapter 7 investigates the relevant principles and possible pitfalls regarding the motives of partnership and interdependency with the aim of establishing a holistic transformational model of missions in the post-apartheid dispensation in South Africa. Chapter 8 consists of the conclusions and summary of this study. The partnership model is proposed and practical guidelines as recommendations are made finally on the transformation of mission within the Reformed Churches in South Africa in the KOSH region in post-apartheid South Africa. / PhD (Missiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The number of project-based organizations is increasing every year; this increase indicates the need to understand the complexities and ascertain the best ways of managing them. In these organizations, where the multi-project complex environment is dominant, one of the main challenges is dealing with project interdependencies. Interdependency relationships among the projects can be better understood and managed if appropriate tools and techniques are used efficiently. Thus, the ultimate goal of this study is to investigate and evaluate the best methods practiced by project-based organizations to effectively manage the interdependencies among the projects and suggest a new approach to view and understand those relationships better. A number of past researches have emphasized that effective project interdependency management results in an increase of the project and portfolio success. This research examines and explainsthe impacts of knowledge creation and knowledge transfer on interdependency management and vice-versa, by reviewing the existing literature and collecting data through multi-method qualitative study. In addition, the role of visual interdependency management and visual knowledge management tools are analyzed and compared, with the purpose of filling the gaps in the currently available literature, and investigating their moderating effects on interdependency management. Previous studies have found supporting evidence for the impacts of project interdependency management, knowledge creation and knowledge transfer on project success and organizational performance. However, there is no research targeted on how project interdependencies interact with knowledge creation and knowledge transfer. In order to investigate these interactions four project-based organizations from IT, multinational event management and consulting areas are involved in the semi-structured interviews. Additionally, as a part of qualitative study, questionnaires were undertaken to get access to valuable insights into the project and portfolio managers’ experience in dealing with interdependencies among the projects in the selected cases. The study is explanatory, cross- sectional in nature and takes a mixed approach to theory. The findings showed the presence of mutual impacts between knowledge creation, knowledge transfer processes and project interdependencies. The results revealed that the visual knowledge management tools, which are employed for the knowledge management, are beneficial in terms of project interdependency management as well. The visual interdependency management tools that are separately discussed in the existing literature, were found to be suitable for the knowledge management practices. Thus, it was found reasonable to integrate the visual interdependency management tools into the knowledge management area. As a result, these tools altogether serve to the efficient project interdependency management and lead to more successful project outcomes, which affect the organization’s performance as well.

While 3D digital design tools have extended the reach of architectural and engineering designers within their own domains, restrictions on the use of the tools and an approach to practice whereby the architect designs (synthesises) and the engineer solves (analyses) - in that order ¡V have limited the opportunities for interdependent modes of interaction between the two disciplines during the early design phase. While it is suggested that 3D digital design tools can facilitate a more integrated approach to design exploration, this idea remains largely untested in practice. The central proposition of my research is that that 3D digital tools can enable interdependencies between crucial aspects of architectural and engineering design exploration during the early design phase which, before the entry of the computer, were otherwise impossible to affect. I define interdependency as a productive form of practice enabled by mutual and lateral dependence. Interdependent parties use problem solving processes that meet not only their own respective goals, but also those of others, by constructively engaging difference across their boundaries to actively search for solutions that go beyond the limits of singular domains. Developed through practice-based project work undertaken during my 3 year postgraduate internship within the Melbourne Australia office of the engineering firm Arup, my research explores new and improved linkages between early design exploration, analysis and making. The principal contribution of my research is to explore this problem from within the context, conditi ons and pressures of live practice. To test the research proposition this dissertation engages firstly with available literature from the fields of organisation theory and design, secondly with information gathered from experts in the field principally via interview, and lastly with processes of testing through practice-based (as opposed to university-based) project work. The dissertation is organized as follows: The Introductory Chapter outlines the central hypothesis, the current state of the discourse, and my motivations for conducting this research. I summarise the structure of my research, and the opportunities and limitations that have framed its ambitions. Chapter Two, Approach to Research and Method, details the constraints and possibilities of the Embedded Research within Architectural Practice context, within which this work has been undertaken, and describes the Melbourne office of Arup, the practice with whom I have been embedded. These contexts have led to the selection of a particular set of ethnographic research instruments, being the use of semi-structured interviews and the undertaking of practice-based studies as a participant-observer. These modes of testing are explained, and the constraints, limitations and requirements associated with them described. Within Chapter Three, Factors for Separation and Integration in Architectural and Engineering Design, I examine selected design literature to detail several factors impacting upon the historic and contemporary relationship between architects and engineers, and to introduce the problem towards which this thesis is addressed. I describe a process of specialisation that has led architects and engineers to see different aspects of a common problem, detail the historical factors for separation, the current relationship between domains and the emerging idea of increased integration during the early design phase. The aim of this section is primarily contextual - to introduce the characters and to understand why their interaction can be difficult - and investigation occurs through the concepts of specialisation and disciplinary roles. Chapter Four, Unravelling Interdependency, establishes an understanding of interdependency through the concept of collaboration. While I differentiate interdependency from collaboration because of the inconsistent manner in which the latter term is employed, the concept of collaboration is useful to initialise my understanding of interdependency because it, as opposed to the closely linked processes of cooperation and coordination, is recognised as being characterised by interdependency, and in fact is a viewed as a response specific to wider conditions of interdependency. From the literature, I identify four sites of intersection crucial to an understanding of interdependency; these are differing perceptions, shared and creative problem solving, communication and trust. These themes, which correlate with my practice experience at Arup Melbourne, are developed to introduce the concepts and vocabulary underlying my research. Chapter Five, Intersections & Interdependency between Architects and Engineers, grounds these four sites of intersection within contemporary issues of digital architectural and engineering practice. Each site is developed firstly through reference to design literature and secondly through the experiences and understandings of senior Arup practitioners as captured through my interviews. The views and experiences of these practitioners are used to locate digital limits to, and potential solutions for, interdependent design exploration between architects and engineers as they are experienced within and by practice. Through this combination of design literature and grounded experience, I extend: * the understanding of differing perceptions through reference to problems associated with digital information transfer. * the understanding of joint and creative problem solving by connecting it to the notion of performance-based design. * the understanding of communication by focussing it upon the idea of back propagating design information. * the understanding of trust by connecting it to the management and reduction of perceived complexity and risk. Chapter Six, Testing through Projects, details the project studies undertaken within this research. These studies are grouped into three discourses, characterized as Design(Arch)Design(Eng), Design|Analysis and Design|Making. As suggested by the concurrency operator that separates the two terms that constitute each of the three labels, each discourse tests how architectural and engineering explorations might execute in parallel. The section Design(Arch)|Design(Eng) reports projects that use a common language of geometry to link architectural and engineering design ideas through geometric interpretation. The section Design|Analysis reports projects in which analytical tools have been used generatively to actively guide and synthesise design exploration. The final section, Design|Making, reports projects in which the architectural and engineering design processes are synthesised around the procurement of fabrication information. Conclusions are then drawn and discussed in Chapter Seven. In evaluating the research I discuss how 3D digital design tools have enabled alternative approaches that resolve issues associated with differing perceptions, establishing common meanings, communication and trust. I summarise how these approaches have enabled increased interdependency in architect engineer interaction. Lastly, I draw together the impacts of intersecting 3D digital aspects of architectural and engineering design exploration during the early design phase, and indicate those aspects that require further analysis and research.

Under senare år har frågor om delegering och självständighet ofta stått i centrum för styrsammanhang. Inom de flesta företag finns emellertid också en typ av enheter där behovet av samordning dem emellan är viktigt. Ett tydligt exempel är samordningsbehovet mellan en produktionsenhet och en försäljningsenhet som tillsammans ansvarar för samma produkt. Denna studie visar dels hur man mer utförligt kan beskriva verksamhetssambanden mellan enheter, dels hur ekonomisk styrning sker i några företag där sådana samband föreligger. När styrningen i företagen studeras är ett av syftena att se hur ekonomisk styrning samverkar med andra styrinstrument och vilka effekter detta kan leda till. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.