Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2007.

No description available.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is an international organisation established in 1981 between six Gulf countries, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). According to the GCC Supreme Council, it was established to foster and manage cooperation between these countries and to serve their common interests. This thesis explores another factor, that it was established in response to specific security concerns in the context of the energy crisis that arose after the 1970‟s war between Egypt and Israel, the Soviet attack on Afghanistan and the Iranian revolution which was followed by the Iran-Iraq war. It is a doctrinal study that aims to determine where the GCC fits as an international institution within the framework of international law and international institutions particularly. Accordingly, the aim of this thesis is to analyse critically what the GCC is and does exactly. More specifically, it examines the type of organisation the GCC is, its relationship with member states and other international organisations and considers its future role as a key regional organisation. This thesis analyses the reason for its establishment, leaders‟ opinions about its nature, the GCC's methods for producing collective political attitudes and economic cooperation. It also assesses the kinds of laws the GCC produces, their status, whether hard and soft law, as well as their enforcement. This analysis is conducted from a combined legal positivist and international relations framework. From Nasserism to the Arab Spring, the GCC has withstood the waves of political movements in the Middle East. This thesis provide a critical analysis of the GCC‟s overall achievements and aims, with a particular focus on its response to key political developments such as these. This thesis argues that GCC members have been using the GCC as means to achieve their own ends. Due to the nature of their governing systems – absolute monarchy – they are using the GCC to maintain the security and stability of their own ruling systems. However, while the GCC has always focused on security and economic cooperation, its achievements are stronger in the latter because security is linked to external factors.

An alignment or “fit” between an organization’s objectives and knowledge management (KM) practices should be established in order for the organization to fully utilize its knowledge assets and to derive competitive advantages. The organization should deploy a holistic approach for KM that spans business strategy, information system (IS) strategy, organization culture, and human factors. This research has investigated the strategic alignment between knowledge strategy and business strategy - KMBS-SA and the strategic alignment between knowledge strategy and IS strategy - KMIS-SA in the banking sector among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Using the proposed model, the study explored the impacts of KMBS-SA and KMIS-SA on the organizational performance. The main hypothesis of this research is that knowledge is the main resource in an organization, and by aligning this resource with the business strategy and IS strategy, the alignment will contribute positively on the performance of the organization. The research model was illustrated in two different conceptualizations hypothesizing the different relationships between knowledge strategies, business strategy and IS strategy. The first conceptualization illustrates the KMBS-SA and KMIS-SA, and an investigation on the contribution of theses alignments on the organizational performance. The second conceptualization of the research model aims at investigating the impact of different types or profiles of KMBS-SA and KMIS-SA on the organizational performance. This study examined different alignments between two profiles of knowledge strategy - Aggressive Knowledge Strategy (AKS) and Conservative Knowledge Strategy (CKS), with various types of business strategy according to Miles and Snow’s (1978) strategic typology, and, the alignment of the two profiles of knowledge strategy with various IS strategy based on the STROIS approach by Chan et al. (1997). Using both conceptualizations, the role of knowledge strategy as a moderator or a mediator in the contribution of the business strategy and IS strategy towards the organizational performance was examined. The primary data for this study was collected through a survey of 106 banks from the six Gulf countries: Kingdom of Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman. The first overall conclusion demonstrated that there is a strong association between knowledge strategy and business strategy and that KMBS-SA clearly influenced the organizational performance. The second overall result of this research shows that in the context of GCC countries, knowledge strategy received stronger support as moderator of the IS congruence association with performance and that KMIS-SA is the primary determinant of the effectiveness of IS in the GCC banks. From the finding, it is recommended that the GCC banks should take KMBS-SA and KMIS-SA challenge seriously and should consider the alignment implication before moving ahead to implement a strategic plan. Furthermore, the research finding revealed that GCC bank should not ignore the different dimensions of knowledge strategic choices. The banks need to determine different profiles for their knowledge strategy in order to support all aspects of business strategy and IS strategic dimensions that are most important for the organization. They should then direct the organizational knowledge resources to support these profiles. Finally, it is recommended that the banks should define and establish a position in KM in order to oversee the knowledge strategy and KM issues.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Aberdeen University, 2009. / Title from web page (viewed on Feb. 23, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Trademarks are a valuable asset of a business and play a crucial role with regards to the quality of goods and its reputation, however, the rise in counterfeiting activities is undermining those benefits. Counterfeiting activities are considered to be the fastest growing phenomenon that focuses solely on reputable international brands ranging from cosmetics, watches, shoes and clothing, to cars and aeroplane parts. It has engulfed the world economy by dealing with fake commodities and intellectual property rights across the board. The PhD thesis looks at the relevant trademark laws in the Gulf Cooperation Council States (GCC) as an effective enforcement mechanism to deal with the rise of counterfeiting activities in the region. The GCC States have been listed among the countries with significant problems in terms of intellectual property protection and enforcement. Thus, the importance and effectiveness of border measures, judicial process, including civil and criminal proceedings in all six Member States are analysed using a combination of comparative, doctrinal, and socio-legal research. The main objective of the thesis is to show the degree to which the GCC States' legislative regimes and their enforcement efforts addresses counterfeiting problems to meet their international treaty obligations.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 2006.

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No / This paper examines the issues and challenges faced by Qatar, a developing Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country, when localising established professional skills development strategies used in developed countries. The paper is based on the synthesis of viewpoint formed through the collective practical experiences of the authors. The paper posits that Qatar, a nation that is striving to move from an economy heavily reliant on oil and gas and the skills and competencies of foreign professionals to one that is knowledge driven and managed by its own citizens, needs to consider several micro, macro and policy level implications for implementing a meaningful professional skills development agenda. The unique demographic context as well as value and belief systems that are influenced by the social-cultural environment play a significant role in influencing the implementation of any performance assessment and management and the development of professional skills in the country.

En 2013, l'économie des Émirats Arabes Unis est loin d'être entièrement dépendantes de l'exploitation des hydrocarbures. La thèse se propose d'étudier, dans le contexte global du développement de l'économie des émirats, les modalités d'élaboration et d'implémentation de cette politique de développement durable qui apparaît indispensable à la poursuite de croissance. D'une part, les conditions environnementales de ces sociétés urbaines du Golfe, établies sur des littoraux fragiles ou dans des territoires désertiques, obligent de respecter des équilibres naturels dont la destruction pourrait rendre dommageable la poursuite du développement. D'autre part, l'exploitation des richesses en hydrocarbure doit accompagner désormais la diversification de l'économie en favorisant les secteurs économiques permettant de transformer l'énergie en produits commercialisation. La problématique abordée par la recherche s'intéresse au contexte dans lequel, au sein des sociétés des divers émirats qui constituent la fédération, peuvent s'établir les conditions de la mise en place d'un développement durable. Il s'agit de s'interroger sur les forces à même d'appuyer les politiques de développement durable et de soutenir les investissements nécessaires à la réalisation de cette ambition. Le travail consistera à proposer une analyse des dynamiques économiques en cours, des différences existant entre les divers émirats et des différents secteurs, et d'étudier les perspectives pour la réalisation des politiques de développement durable telles qu'elles sont aujourd'hui projetées dans les documents de planification stratégiques, généraux ou sectoriels. / In 2013, the economy of the United Arab Emirates is still far to be entirely dependent from the exploitation of hydrocarbons. The thesis proposes to study, in the global context, the development of the emirates economy, the methods of elaboration and implementation of this sustainable development policy, which appears indispensable for the pursuit of growth. On the other hand, the environmental conditions of these urban Gulf societies, established on fragile coastlines or in desert territories, make it necessary to respect natural balances whose destruction could render harmful the pursuit of development. In addition, the exploitation of hydrocarbon reserves must now support the diversification of the economy by promoting economic sectors to transform energy into marketing products. The issue tackled by the research focuses on the context in which, within the societies of the various emirates that constitute the federation, the conditions for the establishment of sustainable development can be created. It is about questioning the forces that can support sustainable development policies and support the investments needed to achieve this ambition. The work will consist in proposing an analysis of the current economic dynamics, the differences between the various emirates and the different sectors in each emirate, and to study the perspectives for the realization of the sustainable development policies as they are projected today in the strategic, general or sectorial planning documents.