The research involves a cross-cultural exploratory research on personal values and identity structures of Malay and Chinese entrepreneurs as reflected in their cognitive functioning. The general focus of this research is to study personal values through indirect measures, as emerging constructs elicited from cognitive activities. This study adopts a different approach in that it moves away from the search for a single set of entrepreneurial traits. On the other hand, examining the personal values of entrepreneurs can be more fruitful. In this context, it is assumed that entrepreneurs undergo changes in personal values and identity due to changes in their personal and social situations. This research integrates nomothetic' (perspective of the general) and 'idiographic' (perspective of the particular) research methods. The techniques of data collection used are in-depth interviews, demographic data questionnaire, and Identity Structure Analysis. The data gathered were analysed using three different techniques namely quantitative and qualitative account analysis, statistical analysis using SPSS, and Identity Exploration (IDEX- IDIO and IDEX-NOMO) computer programs. The research reveals fifteen personal values common to Malay and Chinese entrepreneurs: 'personal independence, trustworthiness, a comfortable life, frugality, perseverance, hard work utilise and create opportunities, benevolence, versatility, fatalism, risk taking, self discipline, innovativeness, mutual obligation and reciprocity to family and kinship and high achievement'. The single personal value found specific to Malay entrepreneurs is 'religious piety'. On the other hand, the personal values revealed to be specific to Chinese entrepreneurs are 'sustaining growth and continuity as family business' and 'harmonious relationships with others'. The findings from this study show that there are similarities and differences in the identity structures between both groups of entrepreneurs. Most Malay and Chinese entrepreneurs have a high level of 'idealistic identification' with 'admired person', 'successful entrepreneur', and 'most Chinese entrepreneurs'. Chinese entrepreneurs sampled in this study have a 'moderate' level of 'idealistic identification' with Malay entrepreneurs. Malay entrepreneurs have a 'moderate' level of 'idealistic identification' with their 'father' whereas Chinese entrepreneurs' identification can be considered 'high'. Both groups of entrepreneurs have high self-confidence with regard to their roles as 'an entrepreneur', 'as a husband', and 'as a Malay/ Chinese'. This research has made considerable contribution to knowledge specifically in the field of entrepreneurial studies. This empirical research into personal values of entrepreneurs in general and in particular the linkage with entrepreneur's identity and role expectations broadened the psychological perspective of entrepreneurs. It is reasonable to qualify this research as one of the very few studies into personal values and identity structures of entrepreneurs. More specifically this is the first empirical research not only to compare personal values and identity of Malay and Chinese entrepreneurs but also Malay entrepreneurs in general. The study of personal values and identity of entrepreneurs is still in its infancy. Therefore, further research should be conducted to enrich existing knowledge in this area.

The last three decades have seen a continuous interest from academics and practitioners in the development of theory and best practice methods in the field of supply chain management. Most of the evidence gathered within this management research area has been biased towards the role of the assembler/buyer in leading and integrating the supply chain. The role of the supplier has been of a passive recipient of the buyer's development plans and actions. Another additional bias in researching supply chain exchanges has been the single end approach of the investigations. Access difficulties have limited researchers to interviewing only one end of the buyer-supplier exchange. The purpose of this study was to overcome the aforementioned research biases and therefore, contribute to the understanding of the supply chain integration process from both a buyer's and supplier's perspective in the same exchange. The forum which was selected to conduct this research was that of the supplier association. The supplier association being defined as a group of a company's most important suppliers brought together on a regular basis for the purpose of co-ordination and development. Development through the deployment of best practice techniques in an open and co-operative environment. Against this open environment access was gained to both ends of the same exchange. Within this context a grounded, theorygenerating approach was applied to the data collected in four supplier association case studies. Through constant comparison and coding of data from multiple buyer-supplier exchanges within the same context several findings were made. The fmdings of the research are expressed as a series of propositions, tentative theoretical frameworks and a series of enabler/inhibitor factors to integration. The propositions relate supply chain improvements to the roles performed by the participants of the exchange in the context of a supplier association and the assembler's competitive environment. The tentative models depict the six stages in the organisational development of a supplier association, the trajectory of best practice knowledge within a supply chain exchange and the strategies employed by suppliers to manage their buyer's improvement intentions. Finally the enablers and inhibitors grounded from the case studies provide a guide to the relational factors which can influence the integration of a companies supply chain.

Manufacturing flexibility - the ability to change or respond quickly has been heralded as a major competitive weapon for manufacturing organisations operating in turbulent markets and markets characterised by fierce competition and rapid developments in technology. It is also important for the achievement of new management paradigms such as time-based competition, lean production, business process re-engineering and mass customisation. However, many issues on the concept of manufacturing flexibility such as, the clarification of why flexibility is needed, when it is needed, and how it can be implemented in manufacturing organisations have not been sufficiently addressed and resolved in the literature. This research project has been carried out to resolve some of these issues by focusing on one aspect of manufacturing flexibility - volume flexibility. The research design, which was developed to address the research issues, comprised the use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The quantitative research method is an exploratory mail survey of UK manufacturing plants in all the major industrial classifications. The survey was used to obtain broad patterns and evidence concerning the conditions that drive manufacturing plants to require volume flexibility and also to identify the mechanisms which manufacturing plants employ to achieve volume flexibility. The qualitative research method is an explanatory case-based research. Manufacturing plants in each sector that responded to the survey and provided rich and contrasting information about the issues being investigated were selected for the case study research. The case study research was used to confirm the survey results (triangulation) and more importantly to explain the trends and patterns observed in the survey analysis. The research concluded that high variability in demand levels is a major driver of volume flexibility and that it is generic in nature. Other drivers of volume flexibility were also identified. However, the applicability of these drivers to manufacturing plants was found to be independent of the sector to which the plants belong but on other specific characteristics of the plants. Mechanisms being employed to achieve volume flexibility in UK manufacturing plants were identified and referred to as enablers of volume flexibility. These enablers are not sector dependent but they do depend on specific market conditions, and their perceived costs and benefits. Substitute and complementary enablers were identified. Substitute enablers can be used to replace other enablers to achieve volume flexibility and complementary enablers aid other enablers in achieving volume flexibility. The research project also identified strategies, which can be employed by manufacturing plants to implement the enablers in achieving volume flexibility.

Relatively few companies gain the benefits from marketing planning claimed by prescriptive literature. This results from cognitive, procedural, resource, organisational, cultural and data availability barriers to effective planning. Research in other domains suggests that decision support systems (DSS) could assist in reducing some of these barriers. The research aim was therefore to examine whether and how DSS could be used to improve strategic marketing planning practice. The research method incorporated: iterative development of a DSS named EXN4AR a formative evaluation of the prototype system using a survey and a multiple-case study; and a further multiple-case study of users of other, related systems to explore the extent to which the results from the EXMAR evaluation could be generalised. The study confirms that software can play a valuable role in reducing some of the barriers to effective planning. Systems can assist with the effective application of analytical marketing tools through automated calculations, graphical display and on-line guidance, thus reducing the technical marketing knowledge required. Support for fast iteration allows these tools to be used to facilitate group strategy debates. Endeavours to move planning out of the hands of specialists and into cross-functional teams can be further aided by cross-functional analyses and by automated assistance with managing the complexity of multiple-level plans. The electronic format can support moves towards continuous planning based on a live marketing model of the business, helping the organisation to respond to internal or external changes without the constraints of the annual planning cycle. Other barriers such as cultural problems must, however, be reduced by other means. Various factors contributing to success in system implementation are identified, including top management support, sufficiently wide planning team definition, appropriate definition of planning units, sufficiently flexible planning procedures, ease of use, and a system that is seen as empowering rather than controlling.

This study concerns the issue of small business growth. It has been widely established that small business growth is important to a region, both economically and socially, most notably through the generation of employment. However, a number of studies have revealed that only a small proportion of small businesses generate this growth. There is a lack of understanding concerning the reasons why some small businesses grow and others do not. This study considers the subjective strategies of small business owner-managers as a basis for drawing comparisons between growers and non-growers. A causal mapping methodology is used to represent subjective strategy. These causal maps provide a representation of how individual owner-managers see the development of their business. A series of propositions, developed from the existing literature, provide an indication of the characteristics which may discriminate between growth and non-growth oriented owner-managers. These propositions allow for the comparison of the causal maps which are elicited from thirty owner-managers of independent retail businesses. The thirty respondents are grouped into comparative categories based on growth and non-growth intentions and behaviours. The evaluation of these propositions indicates that the owner- managers of growing businesses hold subjective strategies that are more coherent, and include a greater proportion of performance measures than their non-growth oriented counter parts. The maps of non-growth oriented owner-managers show a greater proportion of concepts relating to control and the individual's personal needs and values.

No description available.

The aim of this research is to develop a system for construction productivity improvement in the Iranian construction industry. After eight years of devastating war with neighbouring Iraq, the country faced with an urgent need for rebuilding and development ranging from housing to infrastructure. The shortages of the resources coupled with the inefficiency of the management system within the Iranian Construction Industry has not allowed this industry to cope effectively with the post-war construction requirements of the country. The work carried out in this project has first identified and quantified the project and managementrelated factors that significantly affect the construction productivity in general as appeared in literature. Based on this survey, structured questionnaires were developed and work study techniques were used to collect and collate data from three major categories of construction workforce (i.e., construction operatives, foremen, and site managers). Exploratory analyses are then performed to determine which factors have most influence on workers' productivity, productive time, and unproductive time individually. The study then goes further to assess the effectiveness of Iranian SiteiProject Managers. F or this purpose, management effectiveness factors were identified and classified into 10 categories and the relative importance of each category were determined. Management effectiveness factors were then related to construction productivity indicators in a regression analysis exercise to reveal the Iranian managers' impacts on construction productivity. Regression technique was employed for statistical analysis resulting in developing a series of models for predicting productivity, productive time, and unproductive time of the above mentioned three categories of Iranian construction workforce. For a quicker approach to predicting productivity, a new series of productivity models were developed incorporating the critical factors to management effectiveness index. The models developed were checked for normality and range of accuracy as they were applied to the industry. The result of assessment of Iranian SiteiProject Managers effectiveness were then interpreted on productivity variations establishing a guideline for successful implementation of construction projects. The project fmally develops and proposes schemes for implementing productivity improvement programme through various hierarchy of the Iranian construction workforce.

No description available.

This dissertation examines the internationalisation of production and its implications for the role of government in South Africa's industrial development. The research has two specific areas of focus. The first is a case study of government policy formulation and implementation in the instance of competition policy. The second is a study of firms in the plastics sector. Through an analysis of secondary data on the performance of manufacturing sub-sectors it is demonstrated that the expectations of the policy of trade liberalisation have not been realised in South Africa, nor are the outcomes consistent with the orthodox trade theory underpinning the policy framework. Understanding government policy formulation and its influence on economic outcomes requires a deeper analysis of the nature and extent of the internationalisation of production. Close examination of the formulation and implementation of competition policy reveals the influence of large established business in setting the terms of the debate and the way in which internationalisation affects the relative strengths of interests. The study utilised case-study interviews and participatory observation to collect information on the formal and informal policy processes, the negotiation of the policy agenda, decisionmaking within this agenda, and establishment and operation of the institutions responsible for implementation of the new legislation. A survey of plastics firms complemented by in-depth interviews of selected firms enabled an analysis of the importance of the internationalisation of production for the sector. This revealed the importance of relationships beyond those involving either trade or ownership. The survey focused in particular on the factors underlying production changes, and the relationship between domestic competition and international competitiveness. The combination of methodologies and research areas allowed the central research question to be approached from different sides, integrating understandings of firm behaviour and government policy in an approach embodying a dynamic interpretation of internationalisation.

This work is funded by the British Council and Tanzania government with the overall aim of undertaking research on queueing models that can be of practical use in the management of queues in Tanzanian banks. The sponsorship required that the field work be carried out in Tanzania. The thesis has four mam parts namely: problem identification" exact model formulation, development and evaluation of approximation models and demonstration of use ofapproximation models. Identification of the problem is through the field work. Field work took place over a six month period in one of the Tanzania's commercial banks, the National Bank of Commerce (NBC). Out of this field work the problem to study and the nature of the remaining research is identified. It falls under tandem queueing model with time dependent arrival process. The methodology chosen was based on that of Brahimi (1990) who has studied in detail the approximation of single station queueing systems in discrete time with time dependent arrival process. This work is an extension to his work but in tandem queueing systems that are relevant in Tanzanian banks. The modelling started with a simple tandem system of two nodes each with one server and arrivals dependent upon time. An exact discrete time model was developed for this situation. It is a new model but is limited to handling small capacity problems. This prompted the need for approximation models. Three approximation models are then developed. The difference between the approximation models lies in the way in which they approximate the transfer of customers between the nodes. (i) Approximation I is a multi-server multi-node model. At each epoch it models the transfer probability as an aggregate of departure probabilities. (ii) Approximation II is a tandem system of two single server nodes. The transfer process is approximated using the distribution of the inter-departure (known in this work as inter-transfer) times. The approximation takes into account the actual state of node one whenever a transfer is due. Whenever a transfer from node one happens the approximation samples the distribution of the time to the next transfer. It will sample remaining research is identified. It falls under tandem queueing model with time dependent arrival process. The methodology chosen was based on that of Brahimi (1990) who has studied in detail the approximation of single station queueing systems in discrete time with time dependent arrival process. This work is an extension to his work but in tandem queueing systems that are relevant in Tanzanian banks. The modelling started with a simple tandem system of two nodes each with one server and arrivals dependent upon time. An exact discrete time model was developed for this situation. It is a new model but is limited to handling small capacity problems. This prompted the need for approximation models. Three approximation models are then developed. The difference between the approximation models lies in the way in which they approximate the transfer of customers between the nodes. (i) Approximation I is a multi-server multi-node model. At each epoch it models the transfer probability as an aggregate of departure probabilities. (ii) Approximation II is a tandem system of two single server nodes. The transfer process is approximated using the distribution of the inter-departure (known in this work as inter-transfer) times. The approximation takes into account the actual state of node one whenever a transfer is due. Whenever a transfer from node one happens the approximation samples the distribution of the time to the next transfer. It will sample from the combined distribution of residual inter-arrival and service times at node one if the number of units the latest transfer leaves at node one is zero. Ifthe latest transfer leaves node one with one or more units, then, the distribution of time to the next transfer is sampled from the service time distribution. (iii) Approximation ill goes farther than approximation II in that it adds an extra variable. This extra variable involves the correlation of the inter-transfer times. In approximation II the number of units left at node one by the latest transfer is used to select the next inter-transfer time. In this approximation the system sizes at node one when the latest and the previous transfers happened are used to select the next intertransfer time. Thus some element of the correlation between consecutive inter-transfer times is incorporated. Approximation I is shown to have a good accuracy when the service time distribution at node one is close to negative exponential in shape. Approximation II has good accuracy for high traffic intensities irrespective of the distribution of service time at node one. However for medium traffic intensities at node one and near exponential service time at node one, it is not as good as approximation 1. In general approximation III is shown to be better than approximations I and II, although there are some exceptions when, for near negative exponential service time at node one, approximation I is still a little better. The potential of using the discrete time tandem queueing models with time dependent arrival process for problems such as those faced in Tanzanian banks is demonstrated using approximation I with some of the NBC data Several scenarios that highlight different performances are produced. These scenarios investigate different managing strategies for the queueing systems with this type ofqueueing problem. The thesis ends by pointing out areas for further research in order to improve and further develop the scope of the approximations considered in this work.