Today’s businesses face a competitive war; conceptually, similar to the ones in ancient times. The arena in which this war is battled is the market and it is characterized by being highly dynamic and uncertain. The enemies to be beaten are the competitors who use their core competences (weapons) to conquer the customers’ orders. But no battle is won by chance, neither in business. So, there is a need for a strategy that provides the chance to defeat the enemy by gaining a sustainable competitive advantage over him. The question is: how to do it? The functional investments, mainly in marketing and manufacturing, need to be aligned with the mainstream strategy (business strategy) so they pull all together in the same direction. The existing literature links these strategies in pairs but not at the same time. In this study, an analysis of such alignment approaches will be the base to create a model for the simultaneous fit of business strategy, marketing strategy and manufacturing strategy, and to provide some suggestions on how to achieve this match in practice. Product design strategy will play a key role in order to attain the overall alignment.

The performance of JSC “Interscalit” after recipience of sponsorship of European Union structural funds is investigated and strategy of further activities is framed in Master thesis; the review of scientific publications has been carried out, peculiarities of activities of the company have been highlighted, internal and external analysis of environment has been carried out, strategy of the company after recipience of sponsorship of EU structural funds has been prepared and strategy of the company in case of absence of sponsorship of EU structural funds has been forecasted, already present strategies inside the company have been identified, strong and weak angles of “Interscalit” have been set, the forecast of income and outlay has been carried out.

No description available.

Aim: This study presents the relationship between marketing strategy and consumer behavior. We discuss how marketing strategy can influence consumers’ buying decision. Hence, our aim is to understand how consumers choose supermarkets for buying and how the supermarkets’ marketing strategies affect their buying decision.Method: This study was carried out by using a qualitative and quantitative research method. We gathered relevant information by conducting a survey on 120 consumers and 3 in-depth interviews with three managers from ICA, Willys and Coop supermarkets.Findings and Conclusions: Through the analysis of the survey and interview, we discover that price strategy is not the most important effect that can influence consumers’ buying decision. Our findings show that consumers will rather pay more attention on product quality and services of supermarkets. Also new marketing promotional methods such as using smart phone application (APP) has become a popular strategy used by supermarkets to attract and retain more customers.Practical Implications: Given the fact that our sample size of respondents is small, the study results cannot be generalized. In other words, the results may not be applicable to all consumer behaviors and supermarket marketing strategies. In addition, this study was restricted to geographical limitations.Originality/Value: The study results show how marketing strategy influences consumer behavior in supermarket industry and the factors that motivate consumers’ buying decision in a global context. More also, the paper fills the gaps in the related literatures. This thesis is a detailed research on marketing strategy for impacting consumer behavior in supermarkets industry.

Operations management studies the process of transforming material, labor, energy, or ideas into goods or services. Operations strategy outlines how firms leverage their capabilities to achieve competitive advantage. While developing or possessing these capabilities is paramount, they must be successfully leveraged to yield competitive advantage. This thesis comprises three essays which consider how firms can successfully implement their operations strategy, specifically within the context of supply chain management, remanufacturing, and project execution. The first essay (Chapter 2) empirically investigates the performance benefits of operational slack and operational scope in dynamic environments. We investigate how contingent investments in operational slack and operational scope moderate the relationship between unstable and unpredictable markets on firm performance. The second essay (Chapter 3) considers how a firm's organizational structure and incentives influence its decision to participate in remanufacturing. Through a principal-agent structure, we determine the optimal sales agent commission structures and product portfolio of new and remanufactured product for the firm. The third essay (Chapter 4) considers the challenges of executing strategic initiatives. We recognize the dual role of performance metrics, they communicate the target outcomes (i.e., what types of project outcomes are sought), and at the same time they incentivize the organizational impetus (i.e., effort commitment) from the stakeholders. Using a game theoretic model, we investigate the implications of the target outcome (focused or flexible definition of success) and project uncertainty, which are dependent on the organizational structure of the firm.

The establishment of a new democracy has created high expectations amongst all the different communities of South Africa. The demand for basic essential services by the previously disadvantaged communities has increased drastically, whilst at the same time, communities from developed areas are expecting and demanding an acceptable level of maintenance and services in their respective areas. Municipalities are in serious distress with regular service delivery protests, huge service delivery and infrastructure backlog challenges (e.g. electricity, roads, housing, water, sanitation, and more), poor financial management and the inability to execute approved strategies, plans and programs. This study focused on the municipalities in the Gauteng Province of South Africa and the main objective was to answer the research problem: “What prevents Gauteng municipalities to successfully execute its strategies and what can be done to address the situation?” The research objectives were firstly, to review the literature and determine the key enablers required for successful strategy execution; secondly, to analyse the findings of the empirical study and to make recommendations towards the improvement of strategy execution within Gauteng municipalities. The third and final objective was to develop an integrated operating framework for strategy execution in Gauteng municipalities. The study concluded by making recommendations and developing an integrated operating framework for municipalities which is based on the key enablers required to execute a municipality’s strategy successfully and produce effective services and customer satisfaction. The key enablers are: leadership and management; organisation, people and skills; systems and technology; policies, processes and procedures; resources and budgeting; and performance management. / Thesis (PhD (Business Administration))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The establishment of a new democracy has created high expectations amongst all the different communities of South Africa. The demand for basic essential services by the previously disadvantaged communities has increased drastically, whilst at the same time, communities from developed areas are expecting and demanding an acceptable level of maintenance and services in their respective areas. Municipalities are in serious distress with regular service delivery protests, huge service delivery and infrastructure backlog challenges (e.g. electricity, roads, housing, water, sanitation, and more), poor financial management and the inability to execute approved strategies, plans and programs. This study focused on the municipalities in the Gauteng Province of South Africa and the main objective was to answer the research problem: “What prevents Gauteng municipalities to successfully execute its strategies and what can be done to address the situation?” The research objectives were firstly, to review the literature and determine the key enablers required for successful strategy execution; secondly, to analyse the findings of the empirical study and to make recommendations towards the improvement of strategy execution within Gauteng municipalities. The third and final objective was to develop an integrated operating framework for strategy execution in Gauteng municipalities. The study concluded by making recommendations and developing an integrated operating framework for municipalities which is based on the key enablers required to execute a municipality’s strategy successfully and produce effective services and customer satisfaction. The key enablers are: leadership and management; organisation, people and skills; systems and technology; policies, processes and procedures; resources and budgeting; and performance management. / Thesis (PhD (Business Administration))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Thesis (M.A. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Thesis (M.A. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

No description available.