This study sets out to ascertain the impact that the marketing initiatives of a retail chain have on the inventory levels of the retail chain. The stock levels of a retail chain are the source of many frustrations. However, through developing an efficient and effective supply of inventory, a viable, competitive advantage is created for the firm. The bullwhip effect is the name given to the fluctuation in demand for specific products that is seen through the supply chain, the discoverer of this effect was J W Forrester. The primary objective of this study is to identify whether the movement of stock through the supply chain identifies with the bullwhip effect where the influences of the marketing initiatives are felt. The secondary objective is to discover what impact the different role players have on this phenomenon, i.e. the store managers, buyers and suppliers. The promotion process is utilised as a tool to drive the strategy of the Clicks organisation, but a side effect is the creation of the Bullwhip Effect. The main problem is that the demand for the item is increased for a specific period and then the demand is either reduced to levels lower than before the promotion or will revert to the same level as before. Sales and stock movement data was recorded and graphically displayed to determine whether the Bullwhip effect was created. This research has highlighted the following problems: (a) There is no direct communication between the role players. (b) Decisions are based on somewhat dubious information. (c) Large promotional orders are based on sales history. (d) There are no real measures in place to rectify any errors. (e) The measuring criteria and KPAs differ between the role players. Recommendations derived from this research include: (f) Increase communication between the category buyers and the store managers. (g) Rather than bulk ship stocks to the stores, introduce a staggered shipping approach. (h) Create a position for a specialist person who can deal with the overstocks. This person would be responsible for reallocating overstocks including returning the overstocks to the DCs. (i) Reduce the number of "lost leaders" and extensive advertising of these "lost leaders" and rather concentrate on more generic advertising. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

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<p> Community leaders of nonprofit animal rescue organizations have options in determining if investing donated dollars in digital marketing or social networking services are profitable communication strategies for advertising adoptive companion animals. The alternative is to continue with traditional marketing tactics. Pet adopters may seek gratification of marketing mediums differently based on generational differences. Providing the leaders generational preferences of marketing mediums could present the proper tools for adopting out companion animals before euthanasia. This correlational study addressed the marketing preferences of advertising homeless animals from adoptive parents for generational cohorts Matures, Baby Boomers, Xers, and Millennials. A self-designed survey was distributed to 249 adoptive parents at the premises of the two participating nonprofit animal rescue organizations for a three-month period. The survey questions were designed to assist in providing information to the problem. The specific problem is homeless companion animals may not be marketed properly satisfying the gratifications based on generational differences of potential adoptive parents. The purpose of this correlational study was to determine if a relationship exists between the generational cohort of the adoptive parent and the marketing medium preferences regarding homeless animals temporarily residing in Monmouth County, New Jersey. A Spearman&rsquo;s rho correlation coefficient was calculated for marketing medium tactics used to advertise homeless pets. The study revealed a relationship between a generational cohort and it&rsquo;s marketing medium preferences radio, mobile applications, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, blog, and Instagram. The results suggested advertising on these marketing mediums is preferred by the younger generations, Millennials and Xers.</p>

<p> While a growing body of theoretical and empirical work has focused on shared leadership, less attention has been given to the examination of shared leadership in church organizations. More specifically, little previous research has considered the potential relationship between shared leadership and team effectiveness in the local church. </p><p> This study examined the extent to which one local church possessed the five conditions researchers found to be most consequential to team effectiveness&mdash;Real Team, Direction, Enabling Structure, Supportive Organizational Context, and Available Coaching. Drawing on existing research on a variety of effective teams around the world, three primary hypotheses were proposed and tested. First, it was hypothesized that a local church elder team effectively practicing shared leadership will possess the conditions most consequential to team effectiveness. It was also hypothesized that a local church elder team effectively practicing shared leadership will possess the conditions at a rate comparable to other non-church, senior leadership teams. Further, it was predicted that a local church elder team effectively practicing shared leadership will possess the conditions at a rate comparable to other church-specific, senior leadership teams. The latter two hypotheses were divided into five sub-hypotheses, one for each of the five conditions measured in the study. </p><p> Survey data were collected from each elder team member using the Team Diagnostic Survey (TDS). Data were analyzed by the TDS research team and evaluated by the researcher of this study. </p><p> The first of the three primary hypotheses was fully supported. In both of the remaining primary hypotheses, four of the five sub-hypotheses were supported, while the sub-hypotheses related to the condition of Direction was not supported. Results revealed that Destiny Church's elder team possessed the conditions most consequential to team effectiveness, and at a rate comparable to other teams and church-specific teams, except on the condition of Direction. </p><p> This study offered the subject team an objective assessment of its shared leadership practice and in-depth insights. A theological framework was developed briefly and offered in order to clarify and buttress their biblical argument for shared leadership. A comprehensive set of comparative data and feedback was compiled for the benefit of the present study, the subject team, and others who might be interested in the topic, based on the results of the TDS.</p>

This thesis describes the development of a new Road Traffic Monitoring (RTM) system designed by a team at the University of Aberdeen, to provide low cost traffic monitoring that maintains the privacy of the driver and provides high quality traffic data for the authorities. The RTM system communicates with vehicles equipped with satellite transceivers attached to Global Positioning System (GPS) units which provide data about position and velocity, enabling a picture to be built up of traffic flow conditions. The author developed an innovative system to maintain the anonymity of the driver in order for the system to be attractive to both authorities and drivers. The thesis focuses on the author's contribution to the project - the design of the major protocols, including polling and 'system wide' strategies, an in-depth study of the statistics of the capacity of the RTM system and the development of a protocol to limit the number of responses from vehicles to a manageable level. The RTM system was implemented as a simulation and all designed protocols and parameters thoroughly tested. It is currently being used by the European Space Agency in a pilot study as the first phase of implementation. The author then envisaged an intelligent control system that would monitor and control the RTM system in real time, optimising parameters dynamically in order for the system to run efficiently and accurately. A hybrid 'Artificial Intelligence' (AI) system composed of a rule based system and a number of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) is proposed. A new rule extraction system developed by the author to counter the 'black box' effect of ANNs is then presented, making use of a hierarchical system of Self Organising Maps (SOMs). Following this, an extension to the system is described, using the Quantisation Error (QE) to enable the real time detection of 'unusual' data, or data from outwith the current operating environment, enabling retraining or the return to a previous control situation, to take place. Such a system of ANNs is ideal for use in both monitoring and control of a dynamic real time system such as RTM.