<p>Abstract</p><p>Change process in the company nowadays is one of the main factors, for sustainable growth and development in the market. Moreover, a change process should be dynamic – the company should take into consideration many factors; not only the ones happening inside the organization, like education of the employees and their motivation, but also the processes outside the organization – change in the environment, new requirements from the state, and competition. In this thesis a company that faced a change process, due to a changing environment, is analyzed.</p><p>Smaland Airport is a small airport located in southern Sweden, five kilometers outside Växjö city. Because of its geographical location it plays an important role not only in the city but in the whole region. The airport was used by 170 000 passengers in the 2005, and the situation is improving. But that is not even close to the 270 000 passengers in year 2000. [56., 14]. What happened?</p><p>On the 11th of September, 2002, a lot of people all over the world saw on their TV screens the events in New York that changed the world forever. One of the industries that faced the most radical changes was the airline industry, along with the airports. If airlines could choose other routes, lower prices, or fly to different airports, then airports had a small, if any, possibility to change, so they had to adapt to the new situation and use the changes as an opportunity.</p><p>Smaland Airport, previously known as Växjö Airport, felt these changes almost immediately. In 4 years they lost almost 50% of their customers. [56., 14]. Big airlines (like SAS) withdrew several flights immediately after 9/11. The future of the airport was very unclear. Everyone in the airport understood – if we are not going to change our strategy on how to earn money (airport taxes), then our future will be like the other airports in our region, which were already closed down (the airport is a state-owned company, which is financed by the state in case of financial losses).</p><p>Jan Fors, the managing director of the airport, decided to change Växjö Airport into a well-known brand, which would offer clients more services. The name of the airport was changed to Smaland Airport (Småland – region in southern Sweden), therefore emphasizing the airport’s role in the whole region. Now negotiations have begun with Ryanair about further cooperation, which, unfortunately have been stopped because of the unclear situation regarding the Swedish government’s decision about extra environmental taxes for each ticket (approx. 100 Swedish crown or 11 Euros). The airport has also opened direct charter flights to several European destinations, and has signed an agreement with SAS for about 5 flights per day to Stockholm, which is an impressive number for a small city like Växjö. The airport is also attracting new companies, like car rental companies, tourist agencies, and advertising agencies.</p><p>A lot of changes have also happened inside the company – the number of employees has been reduced, but extra employees have been hired for the marketing department. Some employees had problems understanding the necessity of change. They also had trouble with having more freedom to put their ideas into action while keeping in mind that it should bring profit for the whole company.</p><p>This thesis will mainly analyze the internal changes at the Smaland Airport, and will concentrate on finding the problems which are stopping the development of the company. Of course, external factors also will be taken into consideration. This thesis has been written using the qualitative approach, comparing the existing situation with theory and then drawing the appropriate conclusions. Finally, the current situation is compared to that of the year 2002.</p><p>To get a whole picture about the change process in Smaland Airport, interviews were used as the main source of information; the reader can get acquainted with the whole text of them in the appendix. Interviews were made with the people working in the airport (like the managing director and managers), people working for the airport (security, cafeteria), as well as the owners of the airport (city council). Therefore the author has tried to obtain the information about the issue and people’s perception about change from as many points as view as possible.</p><p>In addition to the interviews, information is also obtained from the airport’s internal materials (intranet, presentations, statistics as well as yearly overviews), as well as materials about the airport (internet, information in the newspapers). In this thesis there are 103 pages, 15 figures and 2 attachments.</p>

Title: Sensory Marketing - Does music influence customers? Effects of music on customer behaviour, emotion and perceived atmosphere towards a specific product category Background A new area of research within the field of marketing have grown since the 2010’s. This type of marketing is called Sensory Marketing and it can be used to trigger subconscious emotions within consumers by using the human senses: sight, hearing, smell, feeling and taste. In order to make products more attractive for the customers. Purpose The object of this study is to conduct an experiment where music is added to a specific product category located in specific part of the service environment. The goal of the experiment is to find out if the music changes the customers perceived atmosphere, emotions and actual behaviour when they are being exposed to music near a specific product category. The study aims to increase the understanding of customers emotions, perceived atmosphere, quantity of products bought and how long customers stay in a area of a service environment that is being targeted with music. Method and theory Through reviews of relevant literature within Sensory Marketing twelve hypotheses was created, which either got confirmed or rejected after 4 days of observations and questionnaires done on a sample consisting of 300 customers in a service environment. Results Most of the hypotheses were confirmed and the results shows that there is a significant correlation between music and customers emotions, behaviour and perceived atmosphere of a specific section in a service environment.

The psychosocial work environment in hard professions is hardly studied and this study was implemented to observe port workers psychosocial work environment in ports of Västerås and Köping. There are two purposes with this study: firstly, to examine how ports of Västerås and Köping, Mälarhamnar AB, can improve and develop their business by using psychosocial methods. To do this, a questionnaire study and three interviews with workers were done and the results were used in a SWOT- analysis. Secondly, the aim is to be able to use the results and make a difference in the business development by adjusting the psychosocial work environment. The results show that the employees are happy at work and are happy with their work colleagues. The feeling of demand and control is higher for officials than for dockers. The feeling of being involved in decision making varies from interviews and survey. The interviews show that dockers are involved in decision making, while the survey shows low involvement. Generally the employees have good relationship to the immediate supervisor. To improve the business development Mälarhamnar AB need to identify which factors motivate their employees and which factors they use to motivate their employees. They also have to focus on the communication from foremen to employees and the communication should include feedback and recognition for well performed work.

X ikimokyklinėje įstaigoje darbo autorė yra padalinio vadovė, kurios pagrindinė funkcija organizuoti mokytojų darbą remiantis atliktu jų veiklos stebėjimu bei įstaigos veiklą reglamentuojančiais dokumentais. Šios funkcijos įgyvendinimui bei jos tobulinimui būtina pažinti mokytojus, jų stipriąsias bei tobulintinas puses. Mokytojų pažinimo šiame darbe siekiama išryškinant jų filosofinį požiūrį į ugdymą. Todėl formuluojamas darbo tikslas - atskleidus x ikimokyklinės įstaigos pedagogų filosofinį požiūrį į ugdymą numatyti įstaigos veiklos tobulinimo gaires. Tikslui įgyvendinti yra iškelti šie uždaviniai: 1. Išryškinti ikimokyklinės įstaigos tobulinimo sritis; 2. Atskleisti filosofinio požiūrio reikšmę ugdymui; 3. Išryškinti x ikimokyklinės įstaigos pedagogų filosofinį požiūrį į ugdymą; 4. Numatyti x ikimokyklinės įstaigos tobulinimo gaires. Tyrime dalyvavo x ikimokyklinės įstaigos 9 pedagogai. Empirinėje dalyje nagrinėjama mokytojo filosofinio požiūrio į ugdymą situacija. Atlikus teorinę analizę buvo išskirtos asmeninės profesinės veiklos tobulinimo sritys per kurias gali būti prisidedama prie ikimokyklinės įstaigos tobulinimo: mokyklos dokumentų rengimas; mokytojų veiklos stebėjimas; mokytojų veiklų organizavimas. Taip pat buvo išryškinta filosofinio požiūrio į ugdymą reikšmė mokytojo veiklai bei jos tobulinimui. Remiantis teorinėmis įžvalgomis buvo atlikta Lietuvos bei mokyklos veiklą reglamentuojančių dokumentų analizė ir numatytos mokyklos veiklą reglamentuojančių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The author of the work is the chief of the division at the X preschool institution, whose main responsibility is to organize the work of teachers based on the performed observation of their activity and referring to the documents regulating the institution activity. For the implementation of this function and its improvement it is necessary to gain knowledge about the teachers, their strong and weak features. In this work the knowledge about teachers is gained by revealing their philosophical attitude towards education. Therefore, the aim of the work is formulated as follows – to foresee the guidelines of improvement of the institution activity by revealing the teachers’ philosophical attitude towards education at the x preschool institution. To attain this aim the following tasks are set up: 1. To define the fields of improvement at the preschool institution; 2. To reveal the significance of philosophy to education; 3. To emphasize the teachers’ pedagogical philosophical attitude towards education at the x preschool institution; 4. To foresee the guidelines of improvement of the x preschool institution. Nine teachers of the x preschool institution participated in the investigation. In the empirical part the situation of the teacher’s philosophical attitude towards education is considered. After performing the theoretical analysis the fields of improvement of the personal professional activity, which can contribute to the improvement of the preschool institution, have been... [to full text]

Representing four-fifths of businesses worldwide, family businesses are a prevailing form of business organizations. Their importance has brought on several studies concerning their development and behavior. Drawing on Gersick et al’s three-dimensional developmental model, this study examines the development of a Taiwanese family firm. Gersick et al’s three-dimensional developmental model develops a typology based on the dimensions of ownership, family and business. Through one-on-one in-depth interview of a Taiwanese textile manufacturer, this study finds that the founder’s character is an important factor that triggers challenges that family firms must face. With this unique factor, it is found that the family firm has employed an informal communication mechanism through close family members acting as third party liaisons to minimize communication conflict. Furthermore, through the application of quality management certifications, the firm has formalized organizational procedures and policies. Close affiliation with government aided institutions allows the firm to offer a comprehensive training program to attract and develop new talent. All these serve as future guidelines for family firms to overcome challenges in their developmental process.

Entrepreneurial Intention of Business Development

This historical study chronicled events of the development and implementation of the Paris Small Business Development Center at Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas from 1986-2006. Data was collected from primary and secondary sources and oral histories through personal interviews. The analysis included a brief history of higher education and the service mission and situated the study in the broader context as an extension program in higher education. This study provided a brief history of the U.S. Small Business Administration and America’s Small Business Development Center Network as a background for the study. This study is significant to scholars in the field of higher education for a number of reasons. It provides a historical analysis of a service program that extends the college to the community and demonstrates higher education and its role in economic development. It adds to the current body of research by advancing an understanding of a past to contemporary knowledge. Finally, by integrating historical perspectives from multiple disciplines in higher education, what happened and the context in which it happened can be more fully appreciated. This study also contributes to practical knowledge as it deepens the understanding of significant events and processes that contributed to the success of an outreach program in higher education.

Magister Educationis - MEd / Continuous learning has been identified as a key element for SMMEs to succeed in their drive to build productive capacity, to compete, to create jobs and to contribute to poverty alleviation in South Africa. Without the necessary business skills and insight, emerging entrepreneurs will not be able to run their business successfully. Therefore, emerging small business owners especially those in rural areas attend the general, basic, government-subsidized courses provided by non-profit organizations.To ensure that learning is being transferred to the workplace, the Western Cape Business Development Centre (WCBDC) applies the concept of mentoring as a follow-up programme. In layman’s term, a business mentor refers to someone who is experienced in business, trustworthy and professional, trained and up-to-date in their advice.The goal of the research was to evaluate the impact of the WCBDC’s mentoring program on the development of marketing skills of an established small business. I did a case study on one of the successful small businesses in Saldanha, The Marine and Industrial Coaters (MIC), whose owners have attended the Western Cape Business Development Center’s (WCBDC) entrepreneurial development program and then enrolled for its business mentoring programme.Since the mentoring programme commits a substantial amount of resources to mentoring and requires a lot of time from the WCBDC, it is of interest to see whether the expected goals of the mentoring programme – to enhance the entrepreneurs’ business skills and to lead entrepreneurs to business growth – are achieved. I have focused on the development of marketing skills and found that the entrepreneurs’ marketing knowledge and skills did developed as a result of the programme. More efforts need to continue to sustain the existing momentum. However, success in implementing the mentoring programme will depend on essential factors such as selfdirected learning, facilitative and multiple mentoring, application of both psychosocial and career mentoring functions, and shared accountability and responsibility of both mentee and mentor.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Khayelitsha was developed as a dormitory town on the outskirts of Cape Town in the late 1980’s with little intention by the government of the time to actively stimulate local economic development within the area. Since 1994 one of the biggest South African challenges is to ensure that dormitory townships, like Khayelitsha, are developed appropriately to create jobs and to allow for the evolution of quality living environments. Many types of government investment initiatives came to life in the past 20 years, complemented by initiatives to draw in private sector investment in these areas. Nevertheless, the economic development discrepancy between Khayelitsha and other areas in Cape Town remains stark. This study shows that to date development initiatives did not focus enough on the stimulation and development of local entrepreneurial enterprises. Clustering of these enterprises occurs around key areas, like shopping centres, which act as a catalytic factor for other support initiatives aimed at SMME development. The study identifies key areas of local small and micro-businesses clustering in Khayelitsha and evaluates the underlying growth factors. It then presents key suggestions regarding policy interventions to support local entrepreneurial development. These suggestions were two pronged. Spatial interventions focused on recommendations regarding development nodes, activity routes and alternative zoning practices. General business support initiatives relates to access to finance, education and training, mentoring, business incubators and business networks. In general the study highlights the importance of public-private partnerships in small business support.

PC industry is a highly competitive industry. In this fast changing environment, no company can simply rely on basic core competencies to stay-up with the market & competitions. The growth of global demand for PCs has reached a plateau in recent years, and as products are becoming commoditized the differentiation between products are hardly distinguishable. And price war is inevitable. This study investigated how does a global computer company build and manage its dynamic capabilities to stay competitive and make appropriate adjustment to leverage its dynamic capabilities in the new business. The study finds that in order to sustain competitiveness in the market, corporation needs to look inward and institute a process to manage product and service development and business risks. Having good products and customer relationship are just the starting point for a successful business. A continuous learning system can help company to constantly strive for better improvement and in a long run this becomes a strong driving factor to improve operation excellence. It takes persistent and relentless drive for improvement to make a good company to great. When a company is going to start a new business and break an existing model, one of the effective approaches is to form a special task team that is given the full ownership in making sure the project is successful. In addition, senior management team needs to work closely with the project team via regular meetings and to offer help in clearing roadblocks within the organization and allowing team to think out-of-box and propose necessary changes. Without management support and foster, the chance of success for the special task team is minimal. / PC industry is a highly competitive industry. In this fast changing environment, no company can simply rely on basic core competencies to stay-up with the market & competitions. The growth of global demand for PCs has reached a plateau in recent years, and as products are becoming commoditized the differentiation between products are hardly distinguishable. And price war is inevitable. This study investigated how does a global computer company build and manage its dynamic capabilities to stay competitive and make appropriate adjustment to leverage its dynamic capabilities in the new business. The study finds that in order to sustain competitiveness in the market, corporation needs to look inward and institute a process to manage product and service development and business risks. Having good products and customer relationship are just the starting point for a successful business. A continuous learning system can help company to constantly strive for better improvement and in a long run this becomes a strong driving factor to improve operation excellence. It takes persistent and relentless drive for improvement to make a good company to great. When a company is going to start a new business and break an existing model, one of the effective approaches is to form a special task team that is given the full ownership in making sure the project is successful. In addition, senior management team needs to work closely with the project team via regular meetings and to offer help in clearing roadblocks within the organization and allowing team to think out-of-box and propose necessary changes. Without management support and foster, the chance of success for the special task team is minimal.