Today’s business environment is growing at an increasing pace, pushing firms to internationalize. Foreign market entry has thereafter been a well-researched field by scholars. International market selection and entry mode choice are key strategic decisions a company must deal with when entering a foreign market and members of management team are entrusted with the responsibility of these complex decisions that will set the direction for the company. There have been many studies showing that internationalization is a sequential and gradual process leading companies to spread their activities to more markets that are geographically and culturally distant. These processes are involving riskier and more committed modes of entry. However, research concerning strategic decision making has shown that decisions made by management were not always rational and are influenced by external and internal factors which in turn influence the choices managers make. Market entry strategy fits into a broader theoretical subject which is the one of “strategy” and decisions. Following the principle that realized strategies are the result of planned and unplanned decisions, this research investigates how strategy related to foreign market entry emerge in a multinational company, with a specific interest in the decision-making process. A case study was conducted at a multinational company in a B2B context and the research is based on a qualitative approach, with empirical data collected from 10 in-depth interviews. After the empirical data was analysed it was concluded that strategy is not to be seen as a linear and sequential process nor as a set of objectives set in time. Foreign market entry strategy is the result of decisions involving market selection, entry mode choice, and product portfolio, and is subject to adjustments since it is affected by its internal and external environments.

There is a critical need for entrepreneurial action to stimulate the economy, this study aimed to investigate how entrepreneurs make decisions, how they perceive financial risk and how their decision-making linked to their risk profile translates into their firms’ financial growth. To do this study had to firstly, understand how entrepreneurs make decisions. Sarasvathy's (2001) seminal work in this field distinguished between entrepreneurs who follow an effectuation or a causation decision making process. Causation is compared to puzzle building where all the pieces are there, but needs to be assembled. Whereas effectuation is compared to patchwork quilting where the entrepreneur need to develop the opportunity while constantly changing direction as new information becomes available. The findings showed that causation logic is more common in terms of decision making with entrepreneurs, which is contrary to findings of Sarasvathy (2001). Secondly, this study set out to understand how entrepreneurs perceive financial risk by measuring their financial risk tolerance levels. This was measured independently for entrepreneurs following the effectuation as well as a causation approach. The results indicated that the majority of entrepreneurs were ranked in the moderate risk taking category according to the FinaMetrica model. Entrepreneurs who follow causation logic had a greater aptitude for risk than their counterparts who followed an effectuation approach. Thirdly, this study determined whether a statistically significant correlation existed between the decision-making approach, risk tolerance levels and the financial growth achieved by the entrepreneurial firm. This study did not find a statistically significant relationship between these constructs. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

There is a growing phenomenon of employing facilitators in support of learners with learning disabilities in schools offering inclusive education; however there is a scarcity of literature internationally regarding the decision-making models used to make this critical decision. Furthermore, there is also no research done in South Africa regarding facilitators, nor on decision-making models used to determine the need for facilitators or how they should be hired. In spite of the benevolent intentions of parents and teachers who assign facilitators to learners with disabilities, research shows that facilitators are employed according to perceived needs rather than real needs. The research conducted in this study is qualitative in nature; the narrative case study explores the deliberation process of employing facilitators in a manner that provided a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. The study focused on three different schools (Remedial school, Traditional private school and Montessori) that perceive themselves as inclusive primary schools. The purpose of the study was to understand the decision-making process of the various stakeholders (parents, teachers, and facilitators) involved in making the decision to employ facilitators. Through the case the three respective schools were categorised into proactive, reactive or passive, based on their approach to appointing facilitators for special needs learners. It is evident from the case studies that the proactive school (Remedial school) had better success with facilitators than either the reactive (Montesorrri School) or the passive school (traditional private school). The pro-active school displayed a more coherent successful system amongst all stakeholders in the decision to employ a facilitator, while the passive school was somewhat functional mostly because the stakeholders understood the needs of the child. However the system employed by the reactive school was chaotic as all stakeholders were dissatisfied and the learners who were being facilitated suffered the most. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Public participation in environmental decision-making processes Abstract The main goal of this dissertation is to analyse the current legal regulation of public participation in environmental decision-making processes and on the basis of such findings to contribute to the further development of this institute. Public participation in decision-making processes is an important tool for environmental protection, whether we look at it from the point of view of everyone's right to a favourable environment or as a separate value that needs to be protected for itself. It is a relatively new institute in the Czech legal system. Its gradual incorporation into Czech legislation has only occurred in the last 30 years, especially in connection with the Czech Republic's accession to the Aarhus Convention and the European Union. Despite its recognition at the international level, obligations arising for the Czech Republic from the Aarhus Convention and EU law and a number of benefits that come with it, the possibilities of the members of the public in the Czech Republic to participate in environmental decision-making has been significantly reduced in recent years. Therefore, in addition to the analysis of current legislation, the dissertation, to a limited extent, focus on the development of the institute of public...

Paper material is in some contexts considered basic and unsophisticated, however designers and artists often approach the well-known material and explore the expressional value of paper craft. This work aims to investigate an alternative process of making dress, by using paper as material to interpret wearing in order to highlight the making process in the result, through the diverse properties of paper sheets and binders.  The series of examples in ‘Paper Wear’ suggests an alternative language in form and expression and the investigation has given a further understanding of dress and the importance of experimental design thinking, as well as a deeper understanding of the role of the human body in dress. The outcome of the investigation creates a tension between a well-known material used in the process of making and the finished result, challenging traditional garment conventions and how garments are perceived in relation to material, function and body.

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This is a case study of the dynamics of the decision-making process of one rural school board in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The case study focused on a five member elected rural school board and the division superintendent. Four decisions of the board were studied. The researcher and the division superintendent identified the four decisions (cases) after a review of board meeting agenda items and board minutes from July 1, 1996, through June 30, 1999. The researcher interviewed all board members and the superintendent and reviewed board minutes and other documents to gather data on the decision-making process by the board on the four selected issues. Data were entered into matrices for analysis. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Triangulation of the data served as a means of data validation. Conclusions and recommendations for future study and practice are included. The major findings were that this board relied heavily on the superintendent for information, external and internal factors influenced the board during the decision-making process, and communication and information sharing were key to this board as it worked to make what it felt was the best decision on each of the four issues. During the decision-making process, this board, depending on the issue, used numerous decision-making process steps. These steps ranged from a minimum of seven to a maximum of eleven. The first step on each issue was becoming aware of the issue and the final step was voting on the solution to the issue. / Ed. D.

Bakgrund och problem  Det har blivit mer vanligt att räkna på de mänskliga resurserna i organisationer, vilket har lett till att HR-avdelningen har fått en mer strategisk roll och tagit avstånd från att bara varit en administrativ stödfunktion. Människor är de som organiserar beslutsfattning och agerar utefter beslutsproblem varav det behövs kompetent personal, regler och struktur. Beslutsprocesserna genomgås ofta med en vision av vad önskat resultat ska bli vilket ofta går i enlighet med organisationens mål. Personalnyckeltal används av alla organisationer i någon mening. Vanligtvis i ett jämförande syfte från tidigare år, till andra konkurrenter eller för att se trender. De bidrar till att föra organisationen framåt mot de uppsatta målen. Det mänskliga kapitalet är svårare att räkna på än andra immateriella tillgångar, men att ändå kunna använda sig av personalnyckeltalen i beslutsprocesser bör därför kunna resultera i en mer tydlig process. Syfte och metod  Syftet med studien var att utöka den teoretiska och praktiska kunskapen om betydelsen personalnyckeltal har i organisationers beslutsprocesser. För att undersöka detta tillämpades därför en kvalitativ metod där fem semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med intervjupersoner från både privat och offentlig sektor.  Resultat och slutsats Studien resulterade i en ökad teoretisk och praktisk kunskap då personalnyckeltal har en betydelse för organisationers beslutsprocesser i de faser där de agerar som underlag. Det är ytterst viktigt att använda sig av siffror som personalnyckeltal när en organisation identifierar ett problem, samlar in information till beslut och sedan utvärderar den process som genomförts och det beslut som implementerats. / Background and problem Accounting for the human resources within organizations have become more common which have led to a more strategic role for the HR-department and a departure from its original role as a supportive administrative part of the organization. Humans are the ones who organize decision making and therefore act along the problems of the decision where competent personnel, rules and structure are needed. The decision-making processes are often undergoing with a vision of what the wanted result is which often is in conjunction with the goal of the organization. All organizations have use of key performance indicators in some capacity. It´s commonly used with a comparative purpose in contrast of previous years, comparing key performance indictors to other competitors or to spot trends. They contribute to bring the organization towards its goals. The human capital is harder to account for than other intangible assets, but to be able to use key performance indicators in decision-making processes should therefore result in a more distinct process.  Purpose and method  The purpose of this study was to expand the theoretical and practical knowledge of the significance that key performance indicators have in organizational decision-making processes. A qualitative method was therefore used where five semi structured interviews were conducted with interviewing persons from both the private and public sector. Results and conclusion  This study resulted in an increased theoretical and practical knowledge in that key performance indicators have a significant matter in organizational decision-making processes in those phases where they act as a groundwork. It is of utmost importance to use digits like key performance indicators when an organization identifies a problem, collects information to be used for the decision and later evaluates the previous process and the decision that has been implemented.

The advert of social media has transformed the way in which tourism businesses operate especially in the marketing of tourism services. One major tourism sector which has been influenced by social media is the accommodation subsector. Hospitality businesses are now compelled to adopt social networks for marketing purposes to keep pace with changes in consumer behaviour. Previous research has indicated that, although social media is a new phenomenon in marketing, hospitality businesses such as accommodation facilities have embraced it for marketing purposes and the usage varies from one country to another. Prior studies have also shown that social networks are now considered a major source of information for tourists and influence their decision making process. Evidence from the literature shows that little work has been done to investigate the effectiveness of social networks in marketing accommodation services in Sub-Saharan Africa. Studies on adoption and usage of social networks in the accommodation sector in South Africa and Zimbabwe are limited. This study was done to address these knowledge gaps identified in literature. The aim of this research was to determine the effectiveness of social networks in the marketing of accommodation services in South Africa and Zimbabwe. To achieve this, two literature chapters provided an in-depth discussion on social media marketing as well as the influence of these networks on tourists‟ decision-making process. For the empirical survey, the study used an electronic questionnaire which was mailed to South African accommodation establishments. The same questionnaire was hand delivered by field workers in Zimbabwe from June 2013 to July 2014. A total of 129 and 134 were completed from South Africa and Zimbabwe respectively. Factor analysis was used to identify the dominant factors influencing usage of social networks and their effectiveness. The dominant factors were further tested using t-test, chi-square test and effect sizes calculation. The results from t-test and effect sizes computation revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in both the usage of social networks and the effectiveness of social networks in the two countries. Chi-square tests results further revealed that accommodation establishments in both countries were not extensively utilising social networks for marketing purposes and social networks were effective marketing tool in the accommodation sector. The major challenges highlighted by most accommodation establishments from both countries were, time constraints, lack knowledge on the use social networks for marketing and lack of commitment to sustain social media marketing efforts. Power cuts were also another challenge for the Zimbabwean accommodation establishments. This study did not only present theoretical contributions to accommodation establishments but practical recommendations were also made. Based on the results, this study made the following invaluable contributions: firstly a social media marketing framework was proposed. This framework contributes to the body of literature that could be used for future references in the field of social media marketing. The framework provides some necessary steps that can be followed when implementing social media marketing not only by accommodation establishments but with other similar businesses. Secondly, the study addresses the gap in literature by providing evidence from a developing country‟s perspective on the usage and effectiveness of social networks an area which has received little attention in hospitality research. Findings of this study can be used as a future reference by other researchers in the field of social media marketing on the African continent. Lastly, the study also shed light on how social networks can be utilised to influence tourists‟ decision-making process. / PhD (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015