by Hui Peter. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 65). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.v / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --- p.vi / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Scope and Statement of the Problem --- p.1 / Definition --- p.2 / Grocery Retail Industry --- p.2 / Scanning --- p.4 / EDI --- p.4 / The Company --- p.5 / Objectives --- p.7 / Methodology --- p.8 / Chapter II. --- PRESENT SITUATION AND PROBLEM AREAS --- p.9 / Accounting System --- p.9 / Tangible .Problem --- p.10 / Prices Change --- p.10 / Price Marking --- p.13 / Pricing Control --- p.13 / Store Shrinkage --- p.14 / Intangible Problems --- p.14 / Product Movement --- p.15 / Monitor Promotion --- p.16 / Customer Information --- p.17 / Manpower Shortage --- p.17 / Chapter III. --- THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SCANNING AND EDI --- p.19 / Electronic Point-of-Sale (EPOS) Terminal --- p.19 / Bar Code Scanner --- p.20 / Mechanics Of EPOS Terminal --- p.21 / Scanning System --- p.23 / EDI Concept --- p.24 / Chapter IV. --- THE BENEFITS OF SCANNING AND EDI --- p.26 / Tangible Benefits - Scanning --- p.26 / Elimination Of Prices Change --- p.26 / Reduction In Price Marking And Price Change Labour --- p.27 / Reduction In Store Shrinkage --- p.27 / Increase In Checkout Productivity --- p.28 / Reduction In Store Bookkeeping --- p.28 / Intangible Benefits - Scanning --- p.29 / Improved Product Movement Information --- p.29 / Markdown Losses --- p.30 / Improved Customer Information --- p.30 / Customer Benefits --- p.31 / Front-End Labour Scheduling --- p.31 / Security --- p.31 / Simplified Training --- p.32 / Use Of Plastic Money --- p.32 / EDI Benefits --- p.32 / Purchasing --- p.33 / Inventory --- p.34 / Invoices --- p.34 / Chapter V. --- HOW TO GET STARTED --- p.35 / Vendor Presentation --- p.35 / Talk To Other Retailers --- p.36 / Define Goals To Achieve --- p.36 / Costs And Benefits Analysis --- p.37 / Set Up Steering Committee And Project Team --- p.38 / Project Planning --- p.39 / Implementation Plan --- p.40 / Monitoring Plan --- p.41 / Chapter VI. --- CONCLUSION --- p.42 / APPENDIX --- p.44 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.65

by Cheng Yin Ling, Carrol, Hung Bing Bing. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf [25] (2nd gp.)). / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.ii / ABSTRACT --- p.iii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.v / Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTION --- p.7 / Chapter 1.1 --- Structure of the Project --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2 --- The Evolution of Department Stores in Hong Kong --- p.8 / Chapter 1.3 --- The Birth of CRC Department Store --- p.11 / Chapter 1.4 --- Research Objectives --- p.13 / Chapter 1.5 --- Scope of Study --- p.13 / Chapter 1.6 --- Research Methodology --- p.14 / Chapter 1.6.1 --- Exploratory Research --- p.14 / Chapter 1.6.2 --- Descriptive Research --- p.15 / Chapter 1.7 --- Summary of the Chapter --- p.15 / Chapter CHAPTER II --- COMPANY BACKGROUND --- p.17 / Chapter 2.1 --- history of CRC department store --- p.17 / Chapter 2.2 --- Store Operation --- p.17 / Chapter 2.3 --- Target Customers --- p.18 / Chapter 2.4 --- Merchandise Mix and Scope of Service --- p.18 / Chapter 2.5 --- Perceived Competitors --- p.19 / Chapter 2.6 --- Merchandising System --- p.20 / Chapter 2.7 --- Summary of the Chapter --- p.20 / Chapter CHAPTER III --- THE MARKET REPOSITIONING PROGRAM --- p.22 / Chapter 3.1 --- The Market Repositioning Program of CRC --- p.22 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Signs and Logo --- p.23 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Merchandise Selection --- p.23 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Merchandise Buying --- p.24 / Chapter 3.1.4 --- Store Layout --- p.24 / Chapter 3.1.5 --- Sales Personnel --- p.25 / Chapter 3.1.6 --- Promotional Tactics --- p.26 / Chapter 3.2 --- Evaluation Criteria for the Market Repositioning Program --- p.27 / Chapter 3.3 --- Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of the Market Repositioning Program --- p.28 / Chapter 3.4 --- Summary of the Chapter --- p.29 / Chapter CHAPTER IV --- CUSTOMER SURVEY OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY --- p.31 / Chapter 4.1 --- Customer Survey Objectives --- p.31 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Definitions of Specific Terms --- p.32 / Chapter 4.2 --- Customer Survey Methodology --- p.32 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Questionnaire Design --- p.33 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Field Work --- p.34 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Sampling Design --- p.35 / Chapter 4.3 --- Limitations --- p.36 / Chapter 4.4 --- Summary of the Chapter --- p.38 / Chapter CHAPTER V --- CUSTOMER SURVEY FINDINGS --- p.39 / Chapter 5.1 --- findings from survey on existing customers --- p.39 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Demographic Profile of Respondents --- p.39 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Identify Customer Status --- p.40 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- Impression Difference on CPC/CME and CRC among Old Customers --- p.40 / Chapter 5.1.4 --- Reasons for Buying from CRC from New Customers --- p.41 / Chapter 5.2 --- findings from survey on potential customers --- p.42 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Current Awareness Towards CRC --- p.43 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Intention to Buy from CRC --- p.43 / Chapter 5.3 --- Summary of the Chapter --- p.45 / Chapter CHAPTER VI --- ISSUES & DISCUSSIONS --- p.46 / Chapter 6.1 --- Merchandise --- p.46 / Chapter 6.1.1 --- Price and Quality --- p.46 / Chapter 6.1.2 --- Assortment and Fashion --- p.47 / Chapter 6.2 --- Store Layout and Atmosphere --- p.48 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Layout and Floor Plan of Store --- p.48 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- External and Internal Decor of Store --- p.49 / Chapter 6.2.3 --- Merchandise Display --- p.50 / Chapter 6.3 --- Sales Personnel --- p.51 / Chapter 6.4 --- Summary of the Chapter --- p.51 / Chapter CHAPTER VII --- RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS --- p.52 / Chapter 7.1 --- Recommendations --- p.52 / Chapter 7.1.1 --- Merchandise --- p.52 / Chapter 7.1.2 --- Store Layout and Atmosphere --- p.54 / Chapter 7.1.3 --- Sales Personnel --- p.56 / Chapter 7.1.4 --- Ways of Communication --- p.58 / Chapter 7.2 --- Conclusions --- p.60 / Chapter 7.3 --- Summary of the Chapter --- p.61 / APPENDIX / BIBLIOGRAPHY

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Lam, Wing Tung. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-45). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 2. --- Literature Review --- p.3 / Chapter 3. --- Model Setting --- p.8 / Chapter 4. --- Equilibria of Price Competition --- p.12 / Chapter 5. --- Equilibrium number of outlets --- p.20 / Chapter 5.1 --- Equilibrium number of outlets when almost all consumers are naive --- p.22 / Chapter 5.2 --- Equilibrium number of outlets when almost all consumers are sophisticated --- p.23 / Chapter 6. --- Incentive for Obfuscation --- p.26 / Chapter 7. --- Conclusions --- p.27 / Chapter A. --- Appendix --- p.28 / Chapter A.1 --- An Example of Equilibrium with a Disproportional Pricing Strategy --- p.28 / Chapter A.2 --- An Example in which a Pure Strategy Equilibrium does not exist for Stage 1 --- p.29 / Chapter A.3 --- Formal Proofs --- p.31

The Sudbury, ON, Canada region has been the site of metal mining and processing operations for more than 100 years. The study site for my thesis, Junction Creek, flows southwest through the City of Greater Sudbury and receives cumulative inputs including from the Garson Mine wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), Nolin Creek WWTP (stormwater) and CVRD Inco Limited WWTP (process water) as well as effluent from municipal WWTPs and untreated urban runoff, aerial deposition and historical contamination from multiple sources. Elevated levels of ammonia, Ni, Cu, Co, Pb and As, as well as reduced benthic invertebrate community diversity and density have been observed in the Junction Creek system below certain mine inputs. In addition, the Sudbury region has cold winters, with average daily air temperatures below 0°C from November to March.<p> The winter stress syndrome hypothesis proposes that the combination of winter conditions and contaminants (acting as physiological stressors) in the aquatic environment could reduce fish condition and deplete energy (lipid) reserves to the point of decreased survival, thus negatively impacting wild fish populations. However the winter stress syndrome hypothesis has rarely been tested in the field. I hypothesized that juvenile fish challenged with a physiological stressor (treated wastewater) in combination with winter conditions would have decreased growth and energy stores as a result of increased metabolism.<p> The approach I used to examine the potential effects of treated metal mine and municipal wastewaters on bioenergetics and growth, as they related to overwinter survival potential and the winter stress syndrome, of juvenile fish was a combination of a field study and a laboratory experiment. The first objective was to test the winter stress syndrome hypothesis under field conditions. Juvenile fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas), creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) and white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) were collected in fall and the following spring from sites along Junction Creek, Sudbury, ON downstream of two metal mining wastewater treatment plants as well as a municipal wastewater treatment plant. The second objective was to test the winter stress syndrome hypothesis in the laboratory by determining the effect of diluted (45 percent) treated CVRD Inco Limited wastewater effluent (CCWWTP) on juvenile fathead minnow growth and energy storage under simulated summer and winter conditions of reduced temperature, photoperiod and food ration. The effect on growth and energy storage of exposure to environmentally relevant ammonia concentrations was also assessed. In both the field and laboratory portions of this study, overwinter survival potential was assessed indirectly through measurements of growth (length, weight, muscle RNA/DNA ratio, muscle proteins) and energy stores (whole body triglycerides). There were inconsistent effects between the field study and the laboratory experiment. In contrast to my hypothesis, fathead minnows in the field study were larger with greater triglyceride stores at exposure sites compared to the reference site. White suckers were smaller at exposure sites but did not differ in triglycerides among sites and creek chub had no clear trend. For the laboratory portion of this study, only fathead minnows were used. After a 90 day exposure to reference or diluted CCWWTP water under simulated winter or summer conditions, juvenile fathead minnows raised in winter CCWWTP water (4°C) had lower whole body triglyceride concentration than those raised in winter reference water. There was no difference in triglycerides in fathead minnows raised in diluted CCWWTP or reference water under summer conditions. This lends support to the winter stress syndrome hypothesis, but the traditional measures of growth showed no significant differences in any of the treatments. In a separate experiment, fathead minnows were exposed from 10-100 days post hatch to graded concentrations of ammonia (0.02 to 0.40 mg unionized NH3/L) under summer conditions only. There was no effect of ammonia exposure on growth parameters, but a significant increase in total body triglycerides at the highest exposure concentration (0.40 mg/L) was observed.<p> The results of this study emphasize that laboratory-based hypotheses must be tested in the field to determine their environmental significance. The winter stress syndrome may not apply to northern fish adapted to living and feeding in colder climates and was not strongly supported by my study.

Purpose: There is a growing body of evidence that income indicators and racial compositions of urban neighborhoods mediate access to food stores and healthy foods. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were any differences in access (availability, quality and cost) to fruits and vegetables between two racially homogeneous regions, one considered low-income and the other middle-income, in the City of Atlanta, Georgia. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, exploratory study. A convenience sample of 56 food stores (convenience, grocery and supermarket) was assessed over a three-week period. The stores were surveyed using an instrument developed to capture availabilities of fresh items, the quality of these and the ability of the food stores to meet the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) 2006 fruit and vegetable categories for a reference family of four. Each category had constraints (variety and weights), and lowest-cost items were identified to meet these. Store to 10,000 population ratios and percent median income required to fulfill the TFP fruits and vegetables were calculated. Fisher’s Exact Tests and Chi Square were used to analyze categorical data. ANOVA analyses were used to determine differences in costs between the regions for the complete TFP fruit and vegetable basket and for price differences for each fruit and vegetable category among stores within each region. Results: The food store to 10,000 ratios were 5.8 and 3.7, respectively, for the low-income region and middle-income region. The low-income region grocery store ratio was 2.7, compared to 0.9 for the middle-income. Access to fresh items, quality of these and numbers of stores meeting each category and the complete TFP basket were not significantly different between the regions. The low-income region had a significantly greater number of stores that met whole fruits (p=0.03) and the variety constraint for other vegetables, which was four types (p=0.05). The TFP category weights were difficult to achieve with most categories in deficits. The majority of the lowest-cost items identified were canned fruits and vegetables. There were no significant differences between the regions for the costs of each category. The low-income region had a significantly greater number of stores charging more than the mean ($52.91±14.85) for the complete TFP fruit and vegetable basket (p=0.04). Store types and not income was the significant factor contributing to the price differences between the regions for the complete TFP basket. Within region analyses indicated significant price differences for several categories among the store types. Typically, convenience stores and/or grocery stores charged significantly more for certain categories than did supermarkets. Conclusion: There were few differences in overall availability, quality and category comparisons. The low-income region potentially pays more for the TFP 2006 fruits and vegetables for a family of four. Cost has been cited as a barrier to complying with healthy diets. More research needs to be undertaken to aid in policy development in consideration of healthy food cost implications for low-income families. Further education efforts are required to guide low-income families on how the TFP can be met optimally on a budget.

Aim:   It  has  been  demonstrated  that  customer  satisfaction  is  critically  important  to  the performance of grocery stores (Bamford and Xystouri, 2005). In Gävle, there is heavy competition among the three big brands - ICA, Willy:s and Coop. Therefore, the study of  customer  satisfaction  in grocery  stores  in  Gävle  is  worth  researching.  This  paper aims to establish major attributes that underlie sub-attributes, to examine which pose the  most  dynamic  influences  on  the  degree  of  customer  satisfaction  in  the  different store formats.  Method:  The  method  framework  consists  of  analysis  of  three  samples  of  customers who purchase in the three store formats of ICA, Maxi ICA, ICA Sätra Store and ICA Nära. Following  a  weighted  mean  calculation  of  the  15  sub-attributes,  thus  the  result  can show  us  the  influence  of  the  identified  attributes  and  sub-attributes  on  customer satisfaction.  Result &amp; Conclusions:  The  degree  of  customer  satisfaction  in  Maxi  ICA  is  highest,  followed  by  Sätra  ICA and  ICA  Nära.  The  attributes,  such  as  additional  service,  store  location,  and  store environment exert greatest influence on customer satisfaction in the three  formats of   stores.  The  principal  sub-attributes,  such  as  opportunity  to  meet  friends,  attractive price,  convenient  car  parking,  location,  wide  range  of  food  and  helpful  staff act dramatically.  It is concluded that additional service and location satisfy customers most. The degree of customer satisfaction in grocery stores in Gävle, as different formats of stores can meet customers' different needs and requirements.  Suggestions for future research:   Four  suggestions  for  future  study  are  introduced.  Firstly,  researching  in  other  cities, such as Stockholm or Malmo, is advisable, as both of them differentiate from Gavle in terms  of  size  of  city  and  geographic  context.  Secondly,  research  on  comparison among ICA and its competitors is also advisable to be conducted as it can investigate Swedish retailing industry from a different aspect. Thirdly, Uutialo (2001)’s result appears  to  be  against  yours, the  gap  between  Uutialo’s and  ours  is  advised  to  be examine  further.  Lastly,  the  future  researchers  are  also  advised  to  concern  about  the relationship between traditional retailing industry and e-commerce.  Contribution of the thesis:  This work contributes to extant literature by assessing differences in the main factors that contribute to satisfaction in grocery stores in Gävle, depending on different store formats,  as  customer  satisfaction  is  commonly  linked  with  service  marketing. Moreover, the field of grocery market in Gävle has not studied before the way we did, so this thesis has its original value.

The Sudbury, ON, Canada region has been the site of metal mining and processing operations for more than 100 years. The study site for my thesis, Junction Creek, flows southwest through the City of Greater Sudbury and receives cumulative inputs including from the Garson Mine wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), Nolin Creek WWTP (stormwater) and CVRD Inco Limited WWTP (process water) as well as effluent from municipal WWTPs and untreated urban runoff, aerial deposition and historical contamination from multiple sources. Elevated levels of ammonia, Ni, Cu, Co, Pb and As, as well as reduced benthic invertebrate community diversity and density have been observed in the Junction Creek system below certain mine inputs. In addition, the Sudbury region has cold winters, with average daily air temperatures below 0°C from November to March.<p> The winter stress syndrome hypothesis proposes that the combination of winter conditions and contaminants (acting as physiological stressors) in the aquatic environment could reduce fish condition and deplete energy (lipid) reserves to the point of decreased survival, thus negatively impacting wild fish populations. However the winter stress syndrome hypothesis has rarely been tested in the field. I hypothesized that juvenile fish challenged with a physiological stressor (treated wastewater) in combination with winter conditions would have decreased growth and energy stores as a result of increased metabolism.<p> The approach I used to examine the potential effects of treated metal mine and municipal wastewaters on bioenergetics and growth, as they related to overwinter survival potential and the winter stress syndrome, of juvenile fish was a combination of a field study and a laboratory experiment. The first objective was to test the winter stress syndrome hypothesis under field conditions. Juvenile fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas), creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) and white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) were collected in fall and the following spring from sites along Junction Creek, Sudbury, ON downstream of two metal mining wastewater treatment plants as well as a municipal wastewater treatment plant. The second objective was to test the winter stress syndrome hypothesis in the laboratory by determining the effect of diluted (45 percent) treated CVRD Inco Limited wastewater effluent (CCWWTP) on juvenile fathead minnow growth and energy storage under simulated summer and winter conditions of reduced temperature, photoperiod and food ration. The effect on growth and energy storage of exposure to environmentally relevant ammonia concentrations was also assessed. In both the field and laboratory portions of this study, overwinter survival potential was assessed indirectly through measurements of growth (length, weight, muscle RNA/DNA ratio, muscle proteins) and energy stores (whole body triglycerides). There were inconsistent effects between the field study and the laboratory experiment. In contrast to my hypothesis, fathead minnows in the field study were larger with greater triglyceride stores at exposure sites compared to the reference site. White suckers were smaller at exposure sites but did not differ in triglycerides among sites and creek chub had no clear trend. For the laboratory portion of this study, only fathead minnows were used. After a 90 day exposure to reference or diluted CCWWTP water under simulated winter or summer conditions, juvenile fathead minnows raised in winter CCWWTP water (4°C) had lower whole body triglyceride concentration than those raised in winter reference water. There was no difference in triglycerides in fathead minnows raised in diluted CCWWTP or reference water under summer conditions. This lends support to the winter stress syndrome hypothesis, but the traditional measures of growth showed no significant differences in any of the treatments. In a separate experiment, fathead minnows were exposed from 10-100 days post hatch to graded concentrations of ammonia (0.02 to 0.40 mg unionized NH3/L) under summer conditions only. There was no effect of ammonia exposure on growth parameters, but a significant increase in total body triglycerides at the highest exposure concentration (0.40 mg/L) was observed.<p> The results of this study emphasize that laboratory-based hypotheses must be tested in the field to determine their environmental significance. The winter stress syndrome may not apply to northern fish adapted to living and feeding in colder climates and was not strongly supported by my study.

Service quality and customer satisfaction are important concepts to grocery industry.  It is therefore important for companies to know how to measure this construct of expectations and perceptions because consumers’ expectations of service quality are increasing and people are becoming more and more critical of the quality of service they experience. The service quality model SERVQUAL is discussed in this study and how it can be applied in the context of grocery stores. The data in use were gathered from consumers in a southern Swedish town, called Växjö and the goal was to measure their expectations and perceptions of the services provided to them. After going through a significant number of articles and literature, the SERVQUAL model was altered by adding more variables (products, location, and waiting time) to its five dimensions. The aim was to find out if consumers are satisfied with the services been provided to them by grocery stores. Purpose – The purpose of the paper was to identify the dimensions influencing consumers’ perceived service quality in the grocery retailing. Method/approach – Using a sample of 200 respondents, a self-completion questionnaire was given out to consumers in Växjö, to determine their expectations and perceptions of service quality in grocery stores. Findings – The results show that expectations exceeded perceptions, denoting gaps in service quality, which means that grocery stores do not provide the level of service demanded by customers. This entails that customer satisfaction is rather low and that there is still room for grocery stores to improve on their performance. Managerial implications – The findings show that the SERVQUAL model can be a very useful instrument in measuring service quality in grocery stores. The additional variables proposed show a strong correlation to customer satisfaction, with products and waiting time being of high importance to overall service quality. Managers can use this tool to understand how customers assess service quality in grocery stores and in turn enhance their service experience. Originality/value – We introduce three new variables in the SERVQUAL model which, we believe, complete the assessment of service quality in the context of grocery stores.

Following the Second World War department stores transitioned from the downtown establishments of the first half of the century to the enclosed shopping malls of the second; however, for a period of about six years, from 1945 to 1951, the standalone department store fulfilled the needs of suburbanites. During this struggle to define the new suburban shopping experience, Welton Becket and Walter Wurdeman designed Bullock's Pasadena--the first embodiment of their research-based "total design" philosophy. Today, Becket is best known for his iconic Capitol Records building and the assembly line efficiency of Welton Becket and Associates, but he devoted much of the late 1940s and 1950s to designing department stores and shopping centers. As store managers and fellow architects strained to build department stores for automobile, Becket emerged with a research-based solution that he later termed "total-design." Similar to the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, Becket's "total-design" was a philosophy that required attention to nuance and detail--in the case of department stores this included furniture, fixtures, carpet, and even price tags and restaurant menus. But he also sought to support his designs with research and study.1 Before Becket designed Bullock's Pasadena, his first department store, he dedicated a year to analyzing the customers, employees, and efficiency of Bullock's. This investigation resulted in an open-plan store with flexible furnishings and a sympathetic approach to the automobile, including parking lots that integrated with the store's layout. Becket was not alone in his exploration of suburban department stores. Architects from around the country, including Raymond Loewy, Victor Gruen, John Graham, and Morris Ketchum, created their own prototypes for this new building typology. But many found it difficult to compete with Becket's extensive research and empirical method. Several stores, such as B. Altman's Miracle Mile branch on Long Island (1947) and Bamberger's branch in Morristown, New Jersey (1949), had to be renovated or relocated within ten years of opening, unable to keep pace with growing storage and parking demands. Becket, by contrast, studied population densities and demographics, freeway connections and traffic congestion to establish the number of parking spaces and their location on site. Instead of utilizing parking space ratios, favored by his peers, he relied on a wider scope of analysis to inform his designs. Bullock's Pasadena provides the basis for this study and demonstrates the evolution of Becket's design process that would come to define one of the world's largest architecture firms. / text