Moving products is a costly exercise for most companies in South Africa. These high logistics costs impede the country from achieving some developmental goals such as creating more jobs and growing the economy. The horticulture sector is particularly ham-strung by this. Small business is more severely affected than big business. There are numerous, multi-faceted reasons for these high costs. The analysis and potential solutions are drawn from New Institutional Economics theory, political economy thinking, business process applications and economic geography thinking. It is clear that the solution goes beyond what is normally advocated by institutions that have done work in this area, e.g. the World Bank, which tends to focus on infrastructure investment. Issues typically overlooked that need greater attention include improving competition in the logistics sector and firm collaboration. Policy choices would have to be based on an understanding of the cyclical nature of some cost drivers (e.g. fuel costs) and the structural nature of some cost drivers (e.g. infrastructure) / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

This thesis investigates ego-involvement, a measure focused around the customer satisfaction and service quality assessement concept. It questions whether or not it has the potential to be a better predictor of leisure participation and leisure satisfaction than the measures of service quality that dominate leisure service assessment at present.

Orientador: Sônia Regina Paulino / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociências. / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-20T06:32:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cruz_SilviaReginaStuchi_M.pdf: 2610450 bytes, checksum: 4ceebc0016eb536812c5de534bb72e44 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: O presente trabalho tem o objetivo de analisar como os projetos do mecanismo de desenvolvimento limpo (MDL) em aterros sanitários podem originar inovações em serviços contribuindo para melhorar a gestão de resíduos sólidos urbanos (GRSU). Para tanto, os procedimentos metodológicos consistem, primeiramente, em uma abordagem multiagentes da inovação considerando as diferentes partes interessadas pertinentes aos aterros Bandeirantes e São João, localizados no município de São Paulo, selecionados para a pesquisa empírica. A partir da identificação das partes interessadas, o segundo procedimento metodológico consiste na adaptação da metodologia do carbono social (MCS), construindo indicadores de sustentabilidade para avaliar resultados sociais e ambientais de projetos de MDL em aterros sanitários. Enquanto as reduções de emissões são monitoradas e verificadas periodicamente pelas entidades certificadoras, a contribuição para o desenvolvimento sustentável local dos projetos de MDL necessita de aspectos regulatórios que definam os procedimentos para monitorar e garantir a avaliação de resultados. Os agentes identificados a partir do modelo multiagentes destacam-se em quatro categorias: comunidades do entorno dos aterros; empresas concessionárias responsáveis pela operação dos aterros; empresas concessionárias responsáveis pela captação de biogás; órgãos públicos municipais. Como resultados da aplicação dos indicadores nos agentes identificados destaca-se que oportunidades de inovação atreladas aos serviços de disposição final dos resíduos sólidos nos aterros estudados estão vinculadas ao estabelecimento de uma nova estrutura organizacional, em relação à situação e aos agentes atuantes antes da implantação dos projetos de MDL, pautada pela inserção das partes interessadas identificadas na pesquisa. E capaz de imprimir mudanças nas preferências e competências dos agentes no sentido de potencializar não somente o desempenho técnico (aperfeiçoamento/adequação e atendimento de parâmetros técnicos de gerenciamento) e comercial (geração e transação de créditos de carbono), mas também o desempenho relacional (acesso e participação das partes interessadas) e social da inovação (resultados para usuários/comunidades do entorno) / Abstract: This dissertation aims to analyze how the clean development mechanism (CDM) landfill projects can generate innovations in sanitation services contributing to improve the urban solid waste (USW) management. The methodological procedures consist, firstly, in identifying the opportunities for innovation related to the USW segment using the conceptual basis and the analytical structure of the multiagent model for services innovation; considering the stakeholders related to the Bandeirantes and São João landfills, both located in the São Paulo municipality, selected for the empirical research. From the stakeholders identification, the second methodological procedure consist in the adaptation of the social carbon methodology constructing sustainability indicators to evaluate the social and environmental outcomes of CDM projects on landfills. While the emissions reductions are monitored and verified periodically by the certification bodies, the contribution to the sustainable development of CDM projects location requires regulatory aspects to define the procedures to monitor and ensure an assessment of results. The agents identified from multiagent model are stand out in four categories: landfills surrounding communities; concessionary companies responsible for the landfills operation; concessionary companies responsible for the capture of biogas; municipal public bodies. As results of the indicators application in the stakeholders it is highlight that opportunities for innovation relating to the final disposal of solid waste services in the Bandeirantes and São João landfills are linked to the establishment of a new organizational structure, in relation to the situation and agents engaged before of the CDM projects implementation, guided by the insertion of the stakeholders identified in this research. And able to ratify changes in preferences and competences of the agents in order to enhance not only the technical performance (improving/ adequacy and technical parameters of service management accomplishment) and commercial (generation and transaction of carbon credits) but also relational performance (access and participation of the stakeholders) and social innovation (results for the surrounding communities) / Mestrado / Politica Cientifica e Tecnologica / Mestre em Política Científica e Tecnológica

This research develops and tests a model of the service unit ownership and control patterns used by international service companies. The main purpose of this study is to investigate trivariate causal relationships among environmental factors, organizational structure, and perceived performance in the internationalization process of service firms. A service firm operating in foreign soil has a choice of three general entry mode strategies offering different degrees of ownership and control of its remote operating units located in foreign countries -- full ownership arrangement, joint venture arrangement, and franchising arrangement. The entry mode strategies chosen depend on the factors relating to internal environment of a specific firm, industry related factors in which the firm operates, and external environment of the operating units at national context. This study identifies these factors, investigates how they affect the firm's choice of entry modes, and finally examines the impact of entry mode on firm's performance. The overall model has been explained by contingency theory that conceptualizes optimal level of ownership and control mode as a response by the firm to the interplay of environmental factors and as a determinant of firm's performance. To this core can be added complementary theories which are borrowed from agency theory, transaction cost theory, and resource dependence theory. These theories explain the linkages between market entry mode and each type of environmental factors. In order to empirically test the hypotheses, data were collected from hospitality firms regarding the ownership structure of subsidiaries located in foreign countries. As a whole, the conceptual model developed in the study received strong support from the empirical study. This study found a positive impact of contingency fit on performance and so support contingency theory in which some combinations of the environmental dimensions and organizational structure will lead to better organizational performance. Another finding of this study indicates that the increased level of ownership and control will result in enhancing the level of perceived performance. It should be noted that contingency model-based mode choice would provide managers with the optimal performance because there is not one best performing mode choice in volatile international market. Next, the relationship of market environment with organizational structure was examined through three different perspectives. Market environment was investigated at firm, industry, and national context, which includes five factors -- monitoring uncertainty, asset specificity, cultural distance, political uncertainty, and economic uncertainty. The model is suggestive of a picture in which five environmental factors vie for affecting the choice of market entry modes. All five environmental factors were found to be significantly related to firms' organizational structure. Among five environmental factors, cultural uncertainty has the largest effect on the choice of entry mode followed by monitoring uncertainty, political uncertainty, asset specificity, and economic uncertainty. One of the important implications of this research is the inclusion of franchising as an actual management strategy and competitive business practice that is related to international ownership and control strategy. Higher degrees of uncertainty associated with the foreign market encourage external dependence of the venture, in which the operation depends more heavily on local relationships. Franchising substitutes the loss of ownership by an increase of external relationships and it takes without losing control on retail operation. Resource exploitation depends on the local market for either inputs or outputs for better performance. Understanding the fit between the each set of contingent variables and the elements of ownership and control strategy will allow marketers to determine when franchising is the suitable mode of operation in global markets. Collectively, these results suggest that the choice of an organizational form for international service firms involves a complex balance of firm, industry, and country level factors. Managers can maximize performance by aligning entry mode strategy with external contextual circumstances as well as internal resources. Managers may also be able to make better mode choice decisions using the theory-driven criteria examined in this study, increasing their chances for financial and non-financial success. / Ph. D.

Selecting the right candidate for a job can be a challenge. Moreover, there are significant costs associated with recruiting new talent. Thus there is a requirement for precision, accuracy, and neutrality from an organization when hiring a new employee. This thesis project focuses on the restaurant and hotel industry, an industrial sector that has traditionally used a haphazard set of recruiting methods. Unlike large corporations, restaurants cannot afford to hire dedicated recruiters. In addition, the primary medium used to find jobs and job seekers in this industry often obscure comparisons between relevant positions. The complex infrastructure of this industry requires a place where both recruiter and job seeker can access a standardized overview of the entire labor market. Introducing automation in hiring aims to better address these complex demands and is becoming a common practice throughout other industries, especially with the help of internet based recruitment and pre-selection of candidates. These solutions also have the potential to minimize risks of human bias when screening candidates. This thesis aims to minimize inefficiencies and errors associated with the existing manual recruitment screening process by addressing two main issues: the rate at which applicants can be screened and the quality of the resulting matches. This thesis first discusses and analyzes related work in automated recruitment in order to propose a refined solution suitable for the target area. This solution –semantic matching of jobs and candidates - is subsequently evaluated and tested in partnership with Cheffle, a service industry networking company. The thesis concludes with suggestions for potential improvements to Cheffle´s current system and details the viability of recruiting with the assistance of an automated semantic matching application. / Att välja den rätta kandidaten för ett jobb kan vara en utmaning. Det finns dessutom betydliga kostnader i att rekrytera ny arbetskraft. På grund därav finns det ett behov för noggrannhet och neutralitet från en organisation vid rekrytering av ny personal. Detta examensprojekt fokuserar på restaurang och hotellbranschen. Denna branchsektor har traditionellt sett använt undermåliga rekryteringsmetoder. Till skillnad från stora företag så kan inte restauranger avvara resurser för egna rekryterare. Därtill så försvårar de primära medierna för rekrytering i sektorn jämförelser mellan relaterade lediga jobb. Denna komplexa infrastruktur skapar ett behov av en plats där både företag och arbetssökande har tillgång till en standardiserad översikt av hela arbetsmarknaden. Introduktionen av automatisering har som syfte att bemöta dessa komplexa krav och blir alltmer vanligt inom andra branscher. Speciellt med hjälp av internetbaserad rekrytering och förval av jobbkandidater. Dessa lösningar har även potentialen att minimera risken för mänsklig subjektivitet och opartiskhet vid förval av jobbkandidater. Detta examensprojekt har som syfte att minimera ineffektiviteter och fel samhörande med den nuvarande manuella rekryteringsmetoden genom att tackla två huvudproblem: takten i vilken förvalet av arbetssökande kan göras och kvaliteten av detta förval. Detta examensprojekt inleder med en diskussion och analys av relaterade arbeten inom automatiserad rekrytering för att sedan presentera en möjlig lösning för det behandlade målområdet. Denna lösning – semantisk matchning av jobb och jobbsökande - är senare utvärderad och testad i samarbete med Cheffle, ett nätverksföretag inom serviceindustrin. Detta examensprojekt avslutar med lösningsförslag för potentiell förbättring till Cheffles nuvarande system och en slutsats om genomförbarheten av automatisering inom rekrytering.

Present study deals with training and development strategies in IT service industry in Kolkata region. This study highlighted present trends and common practices in training and development activities in specific and in human resources management in general. InfoTech sector is a thrust area of economic development in developing economies, like in India. Government and private joint initiatives make this sector a sunshine industry sector. Potentials of human resources explore in the professionally managed IT service companies. The training and development activities strengthen capabilities of IT service companies and help them to achieve excellence. Present study evaluated the heart of this knowledge industry, which centered on knowledge workers. Present study briefly elaborated the training and development practices of two top-ranked companies in Kolkata and found some unique modes of delivery of training. This study also pointed out that companies placed in higher value-chain have long-term vision as compared to ones in lower in value-chain.

（一）本研究主要探討不同服務類型所需的知識管理模式，以中華民國對外貿易發展協會為例，針對不同服務性質所需搭配之知識管理活動為何？ 本研究探討服務類型在不同之情形下如何呈現不同之知識管理主要活動： 1. 服務類型與對應之知識類型會產生不同的知識管理。 2. 服務類型與對應之知識處理系統會產生不同的知識管理。 3. 服務類型與對應之組織型態會產生不同的知識管理。 4. 服務類型與對應之組織技術類型會產生不同的知識管理。 （二）本研究探討之重點： 1. 服務業之本質特性與分類。 2. 知識管理之定義與流程。 3. 採用Alice Lam對知識型態與組織型態的分析。 4. 知識管理系統之兩大處理模式：例行及結構性資訊處理之知識管理及非例行性及非結構性感性決策之知識管理。 5. 組織設計的權變取向。 6. 組織結構型態及管理特色。 （三）本研究就服務類型進行分類定義，任何一種服務均可透過服務程序分類為專案服務、大量型服務、批量型服務及連續性服務等四大類型，而本研究針對知識管理主要活動乃以Nonaka之核心知識轉換共同化、外化、結合及內化等主要四種方式為探討之重心，其探討過程將以知識類型、知識處理程序、組織型態及組織技術類型等四大要素為說明影響知識管理主要活動的重要角色。 / This essay is mainly to study the different service needs of the specified organization structures, knowledge types, technical types and uses the appropriate type of knowledge transfer. This study includes the following topics: 1. Different service types to match specified knowledge types to create different types of knowledge management. 2. Different service types to match specified knowledge processing systems to create the different types of knowledge management. 3. Different service types to match organization structures to create the different types of knowledge management. 4. Different service types to match specified technical types to create the different types of knowledge management This essay classifies services according to service operating complexity and procedure. To make best use of knowledge management, this study attempts to establish the models of connecting classified services, organization structures, knowledge types, technical types involved in knowledge transfer.

由於WTO杜哈回合談判正在積極進行，而且東亞各國整合的程度、涵括的領域、融入的國家均有愈來愈深、愈來愈廣的趨勢，相信此兩股貿易自由化風潮對我國商品的競爭力、投資與經貿活動均會產生一定的影響，因此有必要於此進行深入研究。故本研究利用FTAP模型模擬分析(1)東協加三FTA，(2) 杜哈回合談判，以及(3) 東協加三FTA+杜哈回合談判之經濟效果，以便了解上述三個情境對台灣的影響。 本研究實證結果顯示：(1) 東協加三FTA將使台灣的整體福利減少1252.26百萬美元；對總體經濟方面的影響，台灣實質GDP減少0.25%，並使貿易條件惡化0.86%。(2) 杜哈回合談判若順利完成，台灣整體福利將增加4875.09百萬美元。總體經濟方面，台灣實質GDP將成長1.01%，貿易條件將改善1.16%。(3) 在東協加三FTA簽定且杜哈回合談判順利完成下，台灣整體福利增加4211.92百萬美元；總體經濟方面，將使台灣的實質GDP增加0.88%，貿易條件改善0.73%。 另外，本研究發現：(1) 區域貿易協定與多邊貿易協定間，彼此對於福利與產出等效果，會有互相抵消的情況發生。多邊貿易協定的簽定會大幅的削弱區域貿易協定所產生的效果。然而，區域貿易協定卻僅能抵消掉小部分多邊貿易協定所產生的效果。(2) 區域間自由貿易協定的簽定，不但會使區域外的國家遭受福利與產出等總體經濟的損失，並且也會抵消掉多邊貿易協定所產生的各項效果。(3) 若是能儘快完成杜哈回合談判，各國家儘快完成多邊貿易協定，則各個國家對於簽署區域或是雙邊自由貿易協定的意願可能會大大的減低。 / In recent years, WTO has been undertaking Doha Round negotiation. In addition, there is a deepening and widening trend on the integration of South East Asia economies. There two meovements of global trade liberalization might considerably impact investment and international trade activities of Taiwan as well as its international competitiveness. Therefore, investigating the integration of South East Asia regional economy should be reckoned as important. In this light, this thesis, based on the FTAP model, conducts simulation analyses to testify how (1) a free trade agreement among ASEAN plus three nations, (2) the accomplishment of Doha Round and (3) a free trade agreement among ASEAN plus three nations and the accomplishment of Doha Round will influence the economy of Taiwan. The empirical results have shown: (1) ASEAN+3 FTA will decrease Taiwanese welfare by $1,252.26 million dollars. It will also deteriorate the real GDP and TOT of Taiwan by 0.25% and 0.86%. (2) The accomplishment of Doha Round will increase Taiwanese welfare by $4,875.09 million dollars. Additionally, it will improve the real GDP and TOT of Taiwan by 1.01% and 1.16%. (3) ASEAN+3 FTA and the accomplishment of Doha Round together will generate additional $4,211.92 million dollars welfare to Taiwan, and improve the real GDP and TOT of Taiwan by 0.88% and 0.73%, respectively. Moreover, this thesis has found several interesting policy implications. First, the effects of a regional trade agreement and a multilateral trade agreement on welfare and outputs will offset each other. The effect of a multilateral trade agreement is generally greater than the effect of a regional trade agreement. Second, free trade agreements of different regions not only harm the welfare and outputs of countries outside these regions but also offset the benefits provided by the multilateral trade agreement. Finally, considering it may decrease the willingness to develop regional or bilateral free trade agreements, governments should treat the accomplishment of the multilateral trade agreement, such as Doha Round, as the top priority.

近年來以技術為主要生產因素的高科技產業帶動全球經濟的發展，而建設台灣成為綠色矽島是政府揭櫫的產業發展方向，也是台灣未來產業生存的利基所在。資訊服務業屬於高科技產業之一，在網際網路蓬勃發展之下，各個市場區隔潛藏著無限商機。而如何透過策略的制定以取得競爭優勢，技術創新策略的考量是重點之一。 本研究將技術創新策略以策略觀點進行探討，並深入探討技術創新策略與績效之關連性，以及外在產業環境對此關連性之影響。本研究之技術策略構面包含內部研發、產品升級、智慧財產權、突破性創新產品、外部技術來源等技術創新策略；產業環境構面探討外在產業環境之異質性、變動性、競爭性等；績效構面包含投資報酬率、市場佔有率及營業額等。 研究成果發現技術創新策略會對績效產生影響，且採用積極預應型之技術創新策略之績效優於採用消極反應型之技術創新策略。就技術創新策略與環境配合而言，採用積極預應型技術創新策略配合高不確定產業環境之企業，其績效最佳。 / The high-tech industries with technology as the main production factor bring the great economic growth around the world. Information service industry is one of the high-tech industries and there is potential profit in every market segment with the fast developing Internet application. Technology innovation strategy is the key strategy to gain the competitive advantage. In this research, we explore the relationship between the technology innovation strategy and performance and the moderating role of external environment. The technology innovation strategy construct contains R&D spending level, product upgrade, intellectual property right, radical innovations, and external technology sources. The environment construct contains heterogeneity, dynamism, hostility. The performance construct contains return on investment, market share, and sales revenue. The result shows that technology innovation strategy affect the performance. Companies with the pioneer technology innovation posture have better performance than the follower. The pioneer technology innovation posture fit with uncertain environment will have the best performance.

政府將金融中心列為亞太營運六大中心之一，由此可知，金融服務業在未來台灣經濟發展的重要性將逐漸增加，而且不論國內外，金融服務業皆有集團化的趨勢，因此，本研究希望能夠透過實務上的觀察，詳實記錄下金融服務業相關多角化的成長過程，藉以瞭解資源累積的循環過程及多角化成長歷程會遭遇的困難，希望能對集團的成長過程能有較細緻的解釋，並對金融服務業的未來成長提供一個參考。 　　本研究從哈佛大學企業史教授Chandler所著的“Scale and Scope”中的觀念出發，透過文獻的探討，加入交易成本及資源基礎的觀點，以核心資源為中心概念，觀察企業的成長歷程中核心資源的累積及移轉的狀況。 　　本研究的主要發現如下： 　　一、金融服務業可以人才招募及訓練、日常營運累積、高階人際網路及合作關係等方式累積資源，以達規模經濟。 　　二、根據核心資源的相似性，可將金融服務業區分為保險事業群、證券事業群及商業銀行等三群。 　　三、金融服務業間可移轉的資源具有兩種特質：高外溢效果及高交易成本。 　　四、資源外溢效果及交易成本的高低決定潛在範疇經濟利益大小，而組織協調能力及專業能力的高低，則決定企業所能實現潛在經濟利益的大小。 　　五、金融集團可以透過組織及管理設計，克服相關多角化的困難，實現範疇經濟。 　　觀察結果顯示核心資源的特性、組織協調能力及專業能力都會影響企業相關多角化所能實現範疇經濟的程度，值得有心進行相關多角化的企業作為參考。