The problem of this study is to predict how basic design will be taught in the year 2000 in the United States of America according to the perceptions of design educators who were polled using a Delphi exercise. Basic design is an introductory course in design disciplines covering fundamental principles, components, and applications of design. This study has a twofold purpose. The first is to predict how basic design will be taught in the year 2000 to allow design educators to better prepare for the future. The second is to provide a basis for further research that might address specific areas in the future of teaching design.

[pt] Tendo como principal objetivo a avaliação do desempenho dos setores da indústria nacional, formados pelas empresas de capital aberto, diante do nível da atividade econômica do Brasil e do mundo, o presente trabalho tenta contribuir para a criação de modelos de previsão de forma a auxiliar administradores de empresas e acionistas em seus precessos decisórios. Foram exploradas as relações entre os diversos níveis de lucros representados pela Receita Operacional Líquida, Lucro Bruto, Lucro Operacional Próprio, Lucro Operacional e Lucro Líquido obtidos pelos setores da indústria nacional formados pelas empresas de capital aberto listadas na Bovespa e o nível da atividade econômica, representado pelo PIB nacional e mundial no período compreendido entre janeiro de 1996 a dezembro de 2002 em bases trimestrais. Na primeira parte são analisadas as elasticidades dos diversos níveis de lucro dos setores avaliados em função das variações do PIB. Na segunda parte foi analisado o grau de correlação entre o PIB mundial e o desempenho dos setores. Foi então comprovada a existência de colinearidade significativa entre o PIB mundial e o PIB nacional, não permitindo avaliar o desempenho dos setores ao se utilizar estas variáveis simultaneamente. Na última parte procurou-se incluir outras variáveis macroeconômicas, obtendo-se maior poder explanatório para o desempenho dos setores diante das variações do nível da atividade econômica nacional. Dado o nível de significância estatística obtido nos testes, comprova-se o potencial em utilizar estas relações em modelos preditivos. / [en] In pursuit of the objective of evaluating the performance of the national industrial segments, composed of publicly traded companies, in light of Brazilian and world economic activity level, the present dissertation attempts to contribute to the development of forecast models intended to aid managers and investors in the decision making process. The relationship between several levels of profit, shown as Net Sales, Gross Profit, Operating Profit and Net Profit achieved by the national industrial segments, composed of listed companies negotiated on São Paulo Stock Exchange, and the level of economic activity, represented by the national and global GDP measured through the period comprised between January 1996 and December 2002 on a quarterly basis, was studied. The first part is dedicated to analyzing the elasticity of several levels of profit of the segments evaluated in terms of the GDP variations. The second part analyses the correlation rate between the global GDP and the performance of the industrial segments. Considerable collinearity was identified between the national GDP and the global GDP, invalidating the use of these two variables simultaneously in order to evaluate the performance of the industrial segments. During the last part, an attempt was made to include other macro economic variables, in order to obtain more explanatory power of the performance of the segments in light of the variations of the level of national economic activity. Considering the statistic significance level obtained during these tests, the potential of using these relations in a forecast model was proved.

Η αγορά του φαρμάκου, παρά τις ρυθμίσεις για την ομαλή λειτουργία της που επιβάλλονται για τη διασφάλιση της φύσης του φαρμάκου ως κοινωνικό αγαθό, είναι ενταγμένη στην πραγματική οικονομία και απόλυτα ευαίσθητη στις διακυμάνσεις της ζήτησης. Το πρώτο βήμα για τον προγραμματισμό όλων των αλυσίδων και στην περίπτωσή μας της εφοδιαστικής αλυσίδας του φαρμάκου, είναι η χρήση μεθόδων πρόβλεψης της ζήτησης έτσι ώστε οι υποθέσεις σχετικά με την ποσότητα των φαρμάκων που θα αγοράσουν οι πελάτες-ασθενείς, να είναι όσο το δυνατόν ακριβέστερες. Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία έχει σκοπό να διερευνήσει τη χρήση μεθόδων πρόβλεψης στην εφοδιαστική αλυσίδα του φαρμάκου στην Ελλάδα. Οι επιμέρους στόχοι της έρευνας είναι να μελετηθεί σε επίπεδο φαρμακαποθήκης και φαρμακείου: α) Ποιες είναι οι γνώσεις και η γνώμη των υπεύθυνων προμηθειών σε σχέση με τη χρήση μεθόδων πρόβλεψης της ζήτησης. Ποιοι είναι οι λόγοι που εμποδίζουν κάποιους να κάνουν χρήση προβλέψεων και ποια είναι τα κριτήρια με βάση τα οποία γίνεται η επιλογή των μεθόδων, β) Ποια είναι τα πλεονεκτήματα και μειονεκτήματα που προκύπτουν από τη χρήση μεθόδων πρόβλεψης, γ) Εάν υπάρχει συνεργασία των δύο κρίκων. Ποιοι είναι οι λόγοι που την εμποδίζουν, ποια τα οφέλη από τη συνεργατική πρόγνωση της ζήτησης και ποιες οι αιτίες του φαινομένου της «μεγέθυνσης» της ζήτησης και δ) Πώς επηρεάζεται η άποψη των υπεύθυνων προμηθειών σε σχέση με τη χρήση μεθόδων πρόβλεψης της ζήτησης ανάλογα με τα δημογραφικά χαρακτηριστικά τους. Αρχικά, διεξήχθη βιβλιογραφική ανασκόπηση που εστίασε κυρίως σε μελέτες της ξένης βιβλιογραφίας σχετικά με το θέμα της χρήσης προβλέψεων ζήτησης των φαρμάκων σε επίπεδο χονδρικής και λιανικής διανομής. Στη συνέχεια, βάσει των ευρημάτων της βιβλιογραφικής ανασκόπησης και των συνεντεύξεων με υπεύθυνους αγορών σε φαρμακαποθήκες και σε φαρμακεία, δημιουργήθηκαν δύο ερωτηματολόγια, τα οποία συμπληρώθηκαν από 38 και 64 συμμετέχοντες, αντίστοιχα. Τα πρωτογενή στοιχεία που συλλέχθηκαν αναλύθηκαν στη συνέχεια με τη βοήθεια του στατιστικού προγράμματος SPSS. Από τις αναλύσεις των απαντήσεων της έρευνας σε φαρμακαποθήκες, διαπιστώσαμε ότι το 59,4% των ερωτηθέντων θεωρεί αναγκαία τη χρήση μεθόδων πρόβλεψης της ζήτησης κατά τη σύνταξη της παραγγελίας, οι 7 στους 10 συμμετέχοντες δήλωσαν ότι δεν έχουν χρησιμοποιήσει κάποια μέθοδο πρόβλεψης στο παρελθόν και σχεδόν το 83% των ερωτώμενων ήταν θετικοί σε μια μελλοντική χρήση προβλέψεων. Οι λόγοι άρνησης χρήσης των προβλέψεων φαίνεται να είναι κυρίως η άγνοια των πλεονεκτημάτων που προσφέρει η πρόβλεψη και η έλλειψη εμπιστοσύνης σχετικά με τη χρήση των μεθόδων αυτών η οποία οφείλεται στο φόβο ότι θα υπάρχουν σημαντικές επιπτώσεις από μια ανακριβή και λανθασμένη πρόβλεψη. Επιπρόσθετα, η έρευνα έδειξε ότι οι 9 στους 10 συμμετέχοντες θεωρούν αναγκαία τη συνεργασία φαρμακείου-φαρμακαποθήκης για την καλύτερη διαχείριση της ζήτησης. Παρόλα αυτά οι 6 στους 10 συμμετέχοντες δήλωσαν ότι έχουν συνεργαστεί στο παρελθόν με κάποιο φαρμακείο για να πετύχουν καλύτερη πρόβλεψη της ζήτησης, ενώ οι 9 στους 10 δήλωσαν θετικοί σε μια μελλοντική συνεργασία. Οι λόγοι άρνησης της συμμαχίας αποθήκη-φαρμακείο φαίνεται να είναι ο φόβος ότι θα υπάρχει απόκρυψη σημαντικών πληροφοριών από το φαρμακείο και το γεγονός ότι οι αποθήκες θεωρούν ότι οι πελάτες τους (φαρμακεία) δεν ενδιαφέρονται για μια τέτοιου είδους συνεργασία. Από τις αναλύσεις των απαντήσεων των υπεύθυνων των φαρμακείων, διαπιστώσαμε ότι το 75% του δείγματος γνωρίζει ότι τα συστήματα μηχανοργάνωσης δίνουν τη δυνατότητα πρόβλεψης των πωλήσεων και της ζήτησης των φαρμάκων, αλλά παρόλα αυτά μόλις το 18,8% των ερωτηθέντων φαίνεται να χρησιμοποιεί αποκλειστικά τις δυνατότητες των μηχανογραφικών συστημάτων κατά τη σύνταξη της παραγγελίας προς τους προμηθευτές, ενώ το 75% στηρίζεται μόνο στις πωλήσεις της ημέρας και στην εμπειρία και κρίση του για να συντάξει τις παραγγελίες των φαρμάκων, χωρίς να χρησιμοποιεί κάποια μέθοδο πρόβλεψης. Σχεδόν οι 6 στους 10 θεωρούν αναγκαία τη χρήση μεθόδων πρόβλεψης της ζήτησης κατά τη σύνταξη της παραγγελίας, αλλά το 73,4% των συμμετεχόντων δήλωσαν ότι δεν έχουν χρησιμοποιήσει κάποια μέθοδο πρόβλεψης στο παρελθόν. Παρόλα αυτά, σχεδόν όλοι (82,8%) ήταν θετικοί σε μια μελλοντική χρήση προβλέψεων. Οι λόγοι άρνησης χρήσης των προβλέψεων φαίνεται να είναι κυρίως η άγνοια των πλεονεκτημάτων που προσφέρει η πρόβλεψη και η επιφυλακτικότητα σχετικά με τη χρήση των μεθόδων αυτών, η οποία οφείλεται στο φόβο ότι θα υπάρχουν σημαντικές επιπτώσεις από μια ανακριβή και λανθασμένη πρόβλεψη. Από την ανάλυση των απαντήσεων φαίνεται ότι οι 9 στους 10 συμμετέχοντες θεωρούν αναγκαία τη συνεργασία φαρμακείου-φαρμακαποθήκης προκειμένου να επιτευχθεί καλύτερη διαχείριση της ζήτησης. Ωστόσο, οι 7 στους 10 ερωτώμενους δήλωσαν ότι δεν έχουν συνεργαστεί στο παρελθόν με κάποια φαρμακαποθήκη για να πετύχουν καλύτερη πρόβλεψη της ζήτησης, ενώ οι 9 στους 10 δήλωσαν θετικοί σε μια μελλοντική συνεργασία. Οι λόγοι άρνησης της συμμαχίας αποθήκη-φαρμακείο, σύμφωνα με τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας, φαίνεται να είναι όλοι σχεδόν εξίσου σημαντικοί και εκείνος που κυριάρχησε ελαφρώς είναι η έλλειψη εμπιστοσύνης προς τη φαρμακαποθήκη. Με τη συνεργατική πρόγνωση της ζήτησης, βελτιώνεται η ακρίβεια της πρόβλεψης χάρη στο μερισμό των γνώσεων σχετικά με την καταναλωτική συμπεριφορά, με αποτέλεσμα να προβλέπονται πολύ ακριβέστερα οι ανάγκες των καταναλωτών-ασθενών που είναι οι άμεσοι και έμμεσοι υποστηρικτές των επιχειρήσεων του κάθε κρίκου του καναλιού διανομής φαρμάκου. Για αυτό προτείνεται η συνεργασία των φαρμακαποθηκών με τα φαρμακεία, τις φαρμακευτικές εταιρίες και φαρμακοβιομηχανίες, μέσω της κοινοποίησης των προβλέψεων. Οι κοινές προβλέψεις θα συνδυάζουν τις διαφέρουσες οπτικές όλων των εταίρων για πιο αξιόπιστες μελλοντικές προβλέψεις. Επίσης μία πρόταση είναι η καθιέρωση συστήματος συλλογής μονάδων, υποχρεωτικά μέσα από την παρακολούθηση σεμιναρίων μετεκπαίδευσης, τα οποία θα περιλαμβάνουν την εκπαίδευση σε συστήματα προσομοίωσης εξειδικευμένων λογισμικών διακίνησης φαρμακευτικών προϊόντων. Μέσα από διαδραστικά σεμινάρια οι αρμόδιοι στον τομέα της προμήθειας των φαρμάκων θα ενημερώνονται σχετικά με βασικά θέματα διαχείρισης των αποθεμάτων που εφαρμόζονται στο χώρο του φαρμάκου και αφορούν τα συγκριτικά πλεονεκτήματα της ενοποιημένης εφοδιαστικής αλυσίδας, με στόχο να καταπολεμηθούν οι φόβοι που μετριάζουν τη χρήση προβλέψεων γενικότερα και συγκεκριμένα τη συνεργασία των δυο κρίκων της αλυσίδας. / The drug market, despite any arrangements imposed to promote accessibility to pharmaceuticals as a social good, is integrated into the real economy and is quite sensitive to fluctuations in demand. The first step during planning in all chains, and in our case in the drug supply chain, is the use of demand-forecasting methods. This research aims to explore the use of demand-forecasting methods for medication at the pharmacy and the pharmaceutical warehouse in Greece. The specific objectives of this research is to study: a) How familiar is the supply manager and what is their opinion in relation to the use of demand-forecasting methods. What are the reasons that prevent some people from putting in use forecasting methods and what are the criteria for selecting such methods, b) What are the advantages and disadvantages of using forecasting methods, c) Whether there is cooperation between the two parts of the supply chain. What are the causes of the phenomenon of "bullwhip effect", are there any means to prevent it and what are the benefits of collaborative demand-forecasting and finally d) Is there any correlation between the opinion of supply managers on the use of demand-forecasting methods and their demographic characteristics. Initially, a literature review was conducted that focused mainly on studies of foreign literature on the topic of demand-forecasting for drugs at wholesale and retail distribution. Then, based on the findings of the literature review and interviews with supply managers of pharmaceutical wholesalers and pharmacies, two questionnaires were created, which were completed by 38 and 64 participants, respectively. The original data collected was then analyzed using the statistical program SPSS. The analysis of responses from research in pharmaceutical warehouses, indicated that 59.4% of respondents consider it necessary to use demand-forecasting methods for the drug order, 7 out of 10 participants said that they had not previously used any and almost 83% of respondents were positive towards a future use. The reasons for refusing to use forecasting methods seem to be mainly ignorance of the benefits and lack of confidence in their efficacy, propelled by the fear that there will be significant losses from a possible inaccurate or totally incorrect forecast. Additionally, the survey showed that 9 out of 10 participants adhere to the necessity for cooperation between the pharmaceutical warehouse and the pharmacy, in order to more efficiently manage demand. However, only 6 out of 10 participants said they had collaborated in the past with a pharmacy to achieve this goal, while 9 out of 10 felt positive towards a future collaboration. The main reasons for avoiding an alliance between their warehouse and a pharmacy seem to be 1) the fear that their counterpart will not disclose important information and 2) the fact that they were under the impression their customers (pharmacies) were not interested in such a cooperation. From the analysis of the responses of supply managers in pharmacies, we found that 75% were aware that software systems enable forecast of sales and demand for drugs, but only 18.8% of respondents seem to exclusively use the capabilities of computer systems for the order to suppliers, while 75% rely only on daily sales plus their experience and judgment to compose orders for medicines, without using a forecasting method. Nearly 6 in 10 felt the need to use methods of demand-forecasting in the orders, but 73.4% of respondents indicated that they have not used a forecasting method previously. Nevertheless, more than 4 in 5 (82.8%) were positive towards a future use of software-assisted forecasts. The reasons for being reluctant to use the forecasting methods seem to be mainly the ignorance of the benefits and the fear that there will be significant losses from a possible inaccurate or totally incorrect forecast. From the analysis of the responses it appears that 9 out of 10 participants felt the need for cooperation between the pharmacy and the pharmaceutical warehouse, in order to achieve better management of demand. However, 7 out of 10 respondents stated that they have not collaborated in the past with a pharmaceutical wholesaler to achieve better demand forecasting, while 9 out of 10 felt positive towards a future collaboration. The reasons for avoiding an alliance with a wholesaler varied within the survey results, almost all being equally important, with one that dominated slightly being the lack of trust in the pharmaceutical wholesaler. As a general conclusion it has been shown that the use of collaborative forecasting of demand is improving the forecast accuracy thanks to the sharing of knowledge on consumer behaviour, leading to accurate predictions of the consumer/patient’s needs, who are after all the direct or indirect business supporters of each link in the drug distribution chain. It is proposed that a communication channel between pharmacies, wholesalers and manufacturers should be established for the exchange of forecasts. The resulting common forecast should combine the different perspectives for more accurate predictions of the demand. Another proposal is the introduction of incentives for attending interactive seminars on inventory management and training on specialised software. Through such activities individuals responsible for putting out orders or production managers could become updated to the latest inventory management techniques applied in the pharmaceutical field and become aware of the comparative advantages of the integrated supply chain. This would hopefully counter fears that mitigate the use of forecasting methods in general and specifically the cooperative forecasting between the members of the supply chain.

[pt] Este trabalho objetivou realizar um estudo de caso para analisar a performance da ação da Lojas Americanas (LAME 4), negociada na BMeFBOVESPA, utilizando quatro modelos de previsão de retornos esperados. Os modelos escolhidos foram: CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) de Sharpe (1964), Lintner (1965) e Mossin (1966), modelo de 3 fatores de Fama e French (1992), modelo de 4 fatores de Fama, French e Carhart (1997) e o modelo APT (Arbitrage Pricing Theory) de Ross (1996). A metodologia foi estruturada em duas partes: utilização de regressões múltiplas para verificar a significância dos fatores em cada modelo e comparação dos resultados para indicar aquele que se mostrou mais adequado para explicar o comportamento do ativo. Por fim, o modelo de três fatores de Fama, French revelou-se mais apropriado. / [en] The objective of this study was to conduct a case study to analyze the performance of the Lojas Americanas stock (LAME 4), traded on the BMeFBOVESPA, using four expected returns prediction models. The chosen models were CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) of Sharpe (1964), Lintner (1965) and Mossin (1966), model of 3 factors of Fama and French (1992), model of 4 factors of Fama, French and Carhart (1997) and the APT (Arbitrage Pricing Theory) model of Ross (1996). The methodology was structured in two parts: the use of multiple regressions to verify the significance of the factors in each model and the comparison of the results to indicate the one that was more adequate to explain the behavior of the asset. Finally, the three-factor model of Fama, French was found to be more appropriate.

No description available.

nÃo hà / The application of time series in varius areas such as engineering, logistics, operations research and economics, aims to provide the knowledge of the dependency between observations, trends, seasonality and forecasts. Considering the lack of effective supporting methods od logistics planning in the area of foreign trade, the multivariate models habe been presented and used in this work, in the area of time series: vector autoregression (VAR), vector autoregression moving-average (VARMA) and state-space integral equation (SS). These models were used for the analysis of demand forecast, the the bivariate series of value and volume of cashew nut exports from Cearà from 1996 to 2012. The results showed that the model state space was more successful in predicting the variables value and volume over the period that goes from january to march 2013, when compared to other models by the method of root mean squared error, getting the lowest values for those criteria. / A aplicaÃÃo de sÃries temporais em diversas Ãreas como engenharia, logÃstica, pesquisa operacional e economia, tem como objetivo o conhecimento da dependÃncia entre dados, suas possÃveis tendÃncias, sazonalidades e a previsÃo de dados futuros. Considerando a carÃncia de mÃtodos eficazes de suporte ao planejamento logÃstico na Ãrea de comÃrcio exterior, neste trabalho foram apresentados e utilizados os modelos multivariados, na Ãrea de sÃries temporais: auto-regressivo vetorial (VAR), auto-regressivomÃdias mÃveis vetorial (ARMAV) e espaÃo de estados (EES). Estes modelos foram empregados para a anÃlise de previsÃo de demanda, da sÃrie bivaria de valor e volume das exportaÃÃes cearenses de castanha de caju no perÃodo de 1996 à 2012. Os resultados mostraram que o modelo espaÃo de estados foi mais eficiente na previsÃo das variÃveis valor e volume ao longo do perÃodo janeiro à marÃo de 2013, quando comparado aos demais modelos pelo mÃtodo da raiz quadrada do erro mÃdio quadrÃtico, obtendo os menores valores para o referido critÃrio.

[pt] O objetivo deste trabalho é a construção de um modelo integrado para previsão da estrutura a termo da taxa de juros, referentes a títulos corporativos americanos para diferentes níveis de risco. A metodologia é baseada no modelo de Nelson e Siegel (1987), com extensões propostas por Diebold e Li (2006) e Diebold, Li e Yue (2008). Modelamos a estrutura a termo para 14 níveis de risco e estimamos conjuntamente os fatores latentes de nível e inclinação que governam a dinâmica das taxas, para a posterior estimação de dois super fatores, que por sua vez, conduzem a trajetória de cada fator, onde está centrada a nossa principal inovação. A previsão da curva de juros é então construída a partir da previsão dos super fatores, modelados por processos auto-regressivos, como sugere Diebold e Li (2006). Através dos super fatores extrapolados da amostra reconstruímos, na forma da previsão, os fatores latentes e a própria taxa de juros. Além da previsão fora da amostra, comparamos a eficiência do modelo proposto com o modelo mais tradicional da literatura, o passeio aleatório. Pela comparação, não obtivemos ganhos significativos em relação a esse competidor, principalmente na previsão um passo a frente. Resultados melhores foram obtidos aumentando o horizonte de previsão, mas não sendo capaz de superar o passeio aleatório. / [en] This dissertation constructs an integrated model for interest rate term structure forecast for American corporate bonds associated with different risk levels. Our methodology is primarily based on Nelson and Siegel (1987) and presents extensions proposed in Diebold and Li (2006) and Diebold, Li and Yue (2008). We model the term structure for 14 risk levels and we jointly estimate the level and slope latent factors that drive interest rates dynamics. These factors are then used in the estimation of two super factors which is our main innovation. The yield curve forecast is then determinate from the forecast of the super factors, described by autoregressive processes, as suggested by Diebold and Li (2006). Through the super factors forecast, reconstructed in the form of forecasting the latent factors and their own interest rate. Our results focus on the model’s out of sample forecast and efficiency compared with the random walk model, considered the benchmark model in this type of literature. Our results provide evidence that the proposed models shows no significant gains in relation to the benchmark, especially in predicting one month ahead. Better results were obtained by increasing the forecast horizon, but not being able to overcome the random walk.

[pt] Aplicação de duas metodologias, para prever e modelar o comportamento de uma serie temporal de carga de energia elétrica, a serie histórica de carga elétrica horária de uma das concessionárias de energia elétrica do sudeste brasileiro, a ESCELSA. Foram aplicadas as metodologias de amortecimento direto, e uma metodologia recente, o método de Holt-Winters com múltiplos ciclos. Ambas as metodologias são utilizadas para fazer previsão horária de carga de energia elétrica, portanto, é feita, previsão 24 passos a frente. / [en] Application of two diferent metodologies, in order to model and forecast the behavior of time series of hourly electrical loads generated by ESCELSA. Was applied to the time series studied the metodology of the direct smoothing, and also a recent metodology, the Holt-Winters with multiple sazonalities. In both of them it has been done the hourly forecast (24 hours load forecasting).

<p>In a world that is moving faster and faster, a company’s ability to align to market changes is becoming a major competitive factor. Forecasting enables companies to predict what lies ahead, e.g. trend shifts or market turns, and makes it possible to plan for it. But looking into the future is never an easy task.</p><p>“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” (Niels Bohr, 1885-1962)</p><p>However, progress in the field of forecasting has shown that it is possible for companies to improve on forecasting practices. This master thesis looks at the sales forecasting practices in MNCs primarily operating in emerging and developing countries. We examine the whole process of sales forecasting, also known as forecasting management, in order to develop a comprehensive model for forecasting in this type of companies. The research is based on a single case study, which is then later generalized into broader conclusions.</p><p>The conclusion of this master thesis is that forecasting is a four-step exercise. The four stages we have identified are: Knowledge creation, knowledge transformation, knowledge use and feedback. In the course of these four stages a company’s sales forecast is developed, changed and used. By understanding how each stage works and what to focus on, companies will be able to improve their forecasting practices.</p>

In a world that is moving faster and faster, a company’s ability to align to market changes is becoming a major competitive factor. Forecasting enables companies to predict what lies ahead, e.g. trend shifts or market turns, and makes it possible to plan for it. But looking into the future is never an easy task. “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” (Niels Bohr, 1885-1962) However, progress in the field of forecasting has shown that it is possible for companies to improve on forecasting practices. This master thesis looks at the sales forecasting practices in MNCs primarily operating in emerging and developing countries. We examine the whole process of sales forecasting, also known as forecasting management, in order to develop a comprehensive model for forecasting in this type of companies. The research is based on a single case study, which is then later generalized into broader conclusions. The conclusion of this master thesis is that forecasting is a four-step exercise. The four stages we have identified are: Knowledge creation, knowledge transformation, knowledge use and feedback. In the course of these four stages a company’s sales forecast is developed, changed and used. By understanding how each stage works and what to focus on, companies will be able to improve their forecasting practices.