Purpose: The purpose of the study is to identify the challenges that small garments manufacturers in Pakistan face in an IOR with large retailers regarding power dominance. The paper also seeks to examine how those garment manufacturers can use the Boundary Control Systems as a strategic response to power dominance. Methodology: The study is Qualitative, Exploratory in nature. It adapts critical realism as its research philosophy while developing the study with an Abductive Approach. The data for this paper was collected through related literature, articles, and a series of semi-structured interviews. The collected Empirical Data was analyzed using Creswell's Six Steps method. Findings: The paper explores the challenges faced by the small garments manufacturers in an IOR with large retailers in the Garments Industry of Pakistan, which include the struggle to have fair pricing, dominant behavior of the retailer, over-controlling inspections of the production, unavailability of resources to manage the production scale, overly strict sanctions or price cut by the retailers, and misunderstandings created by cultural and lingual diversity. These challenges almost always start from the Negotiation stage of the collaboration leaving the small garments manufacturer little to no room for mitigating them. The most effective strategy that the small garments manufacturers can adopt while dealing with power dominance. It is to apply Boundary Systems as early as the Negotiation Stage to prevent the retailer from imposing opportunistic behavior. Involving Boundary Spanners can be useful to have better control over the challenges. Originality and Contribution: The paper attempts to explore the fairly under-studied area of power dominance between small garments manufacturers and large retailers working in the developing garments manufacturing-supplying industry in Pakistan and how Boundary Systems can be used in this dynamic. A significant lack of awareness and studies were identified while researching for this study. Hence this paper can be considered a new and fresh way to look at the issue that has been previously undermined. And a contribution to the literature and future researchers to further the studies in this area.

The objective of this thesis was to upgrade an Enterprise Resource planning system that was outdated into a new age Enterprise resource planning system based centered on a scheduling algorithm. This was a key change that needed to be made to transform the company from old thinking to new. Primarily the testing of this implementation was done through mapping of processes, followed by trial and error, and finally improving and sustaining the processes it took to use the system correctly. The mapping of the processes was completed by the Process Manager as well as the Lead, Supervisor, or Manager of the area being revamped. When processes were originally mapped for the flow of the implementation, the chart was five pages. After implementation, the same processes streamlined using the new Enterprise resource planning system is now only two pages. After all implementations were complete, more than $150,000 in salaries was saved, as well as many unnecessary and tedious job functions. While continuous improvement must follow, the original objective of this thesis was met with great success.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1999 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Two kinds of differential GPS (DGPS) technology on position differential GPS and pseudo-range differential GPS are studied and compared in this paper. Positioning tests by single GPS receiver, position DGPS and pseudo-range DGPS systems based on GPSOEM board are done. Experiment result indicates that position error is about 30 - 100 meters on single GPS receiver and position error is reduced to 3 - 10 meters on DGPS. Furthermore, Developed DGPS system which is based on GPS-OEM has the advantages of low cost, utility and flexibility, etc.

In the introduction, doctoral thesis as a complex technological project uses the summary title Stability of production. Stability of production is defined as a maintaining the required properties of the system over a given time period. Stability of production, based on the literature study included: – generally known systems and concepts, for example Process Stability, System Stability, Toyota Production System, Lean Manufacturing, etc. – less-known systems and concepts, for example Maintaining the fidelity of the production program, Stable order-sequence concept. The practical part of the doctoral thesis is focused on the less-known concept: Stable order-sequence. The task of the Stable order-sequence is to follow the sequence of orders given by the planned production program in the course of the production and at the end of production. Maintaining the sequence of the orders has a positive experience in the logistics activities between the final producer and its suppliers. As it was found by the planned experiment for a full factory plan, the sequence of orders in the material flow of original equipment manufacturer is influenced mainly by: – the cause of the removing orders from material flow, – the effect of the causes LIFO stack vs. branched material flow, – the effect of the causes LIFO stack vs. branched material flow vs. the removing from the material flow. By the analysis of Stable order-sequence, it was found that the methodology of the concept contains deficiencies. It does not state how to choose for example the size of the time period, time interval, data editing etc. By this lack, the subject can skew the results in the evaluation of the indicator PFT0 up to 4 %. Or by using of suitable adjustment, the value of the indicator PFT0 can be improved more than 50 %. To test the concept of a Stable order-sequence in practice has been designed technological project with the support of discrete-event simulation. It was about the implementation of new management logic to the stack behind the welding of original equipment manufacturer. The new logic of management was designed with an emphasis on Stable order-sequence concept, to arrange the orders in process according to the planned sequence. On the base of the functionality verification of the new stack logic, it was found that the logic affects the sequence of the orders, but not fundamentally. In tracking the hourly intervals for 25th calendar week 2013, the value of PFT0 was not improved in 37 cases, the value remains in 30 cases and the value was improved by the value of the median 18,68 % in 30 cases orders.

Existing theories and literature seeking to explain small business reticence to engage in enterprise bargaining, at times adopt a generalised approach which precludes or at least limits their relevance and ability to explain small business choice at the industry and even organisational level. Such explanations cannot be detached from the external contextual framework in which an organisation operates and its own, often unique, strategic corporate response to the environmental influences which are challenging it. Labour flexibility vehicles including bargaining, if chosen to facilitate broader corporate strategies, can thereby, be regarded as functionally dependent upon and interactive with the corporate orientations and objectives of the organisation which in turn are environmentally influenced and shaped. The research principally provides a focused description and analysis of the experiences of Clothingco, a small, up market, vertically integrated clothing manufacturer and retailer, which has undergone various strategic readjustments at the corporate and industrial relations level throughout the 1990s, in response to externally driven pressures. The research presents firm evidence to suggest that Clothingco has selected its labour flexibility mechanisms so that they are consistent with and able to accomodate prevailing corporate strategies and orientations. Its strategic corporate readjustments throughout the 90s, which can be perceived as falling along the continuum of cost minimisation to productivity enhancement, have in particular registered differing choices with respect to labour flexibility vehicle and strategies. In the light of the findings, the research as a preferred labour flexibility vehicle at Clothingco. These are identified as: an increasing corporate focus towards cost minimisation throughout the 1990s, coupled with an inability by management to countenance union intervention in enterprise bargaining procedures. The interaction of both these factors, rendered enterprise bargaining from the point of view of management, both a strategically and industrially inferior labour flexibility vehicle to the use of contract labour. The research's strength lies in these areas which have been highlighted and which can be monitored and tested more comprehensively in future research. / Master of Commerce (Hons)

Consumers’ purchase decisions typically involve two brands: the manufacturer brand (the “what brand to buy” decision) and the retailer brand (the “where to buy” decision). While extant research suggests that consumers’ product evaluation is affected by both, much less is known about how the two brands jointly affect consumers’ preferences. Building upon prospect theory and mental accounting principles, I hypothesize that the joint effect of the two brands on consumers’ evaluation of different products depends on the reference point evoked, and whether each of the two brands is perceived as a gain or loss relative to the reference point. Five lab experiments provide empirical support for the hypothesized effects. Study 1 reveals that the joint effect of manufacturer and retailer brands depends on the reference product in a manner consistent with prospect theory and mental accounting principles. The results of Study 2 and 3 show that the majority of participants use a reputable brand sold at a reputable retailer as their reference product. For this group, there is a positive interaction effect of the manufacturer and retailer brands on consumers’ willingness to pay. Study 4 extends the results of Study 3 by testing the theoretical framework using a non-price measure of consumers’ product evaluation (i.e., attitude toward the offer). The results provide converging support for H1 and H2 and demonstrate the mediating role of gain and loss feelings, thus providing preliminary evidence for the proposed cognitive process. Finally, Study 5 provides supporting evidence for the predictions through the use of a priming method. This research contributes to the literature on behavioral decision theory and branding by extending the study of mental accounting from quantitative information (e.g., money, time) to qualitative information such as that derived from brand reputation. The findings have prescriptive implications as they can help managers understand how their brands can be leveraged, how consumers react to reference products available in the marketplace, and how to best price products across different outlets depending on the reputation of their brands and the reputation of the outlets.

Date: May 30, 2011 Program: MIMA – International Marketing Course name: Master Thesis (EFO 705) Title: Consumer behavior towards private label brands: A study of  Thai undergraduate students' experience Method: Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Quantitative method was used to collect the primary data for this research. Moreover, qualitative method was also used to support the results from questionnaires. Conclusion: The research attempts to examine the different factors that influence consumers' purchasing intentions of private label brands among Thai undergraduate students. Five important factors were identified; there are collectivist culture, perceived risk, price, quality and store loyalty. Collectivist culture and perceived risk were found out to be important background factors which affect the other three factors. Furthermore, the result shows that price and quality of private label brands are highly related as most of the target consumers tend to associate expensiveness with high quality and vice-versa. However, the effect of store loyalty on consumers' (Thai undergraduate students)purchasing intention was found out to be insignificant.

Business Administration, Business Process & Supply Chain Management, Degree Project (master), 15 higher education credits, 4FE06E, Spring 2011 Authors: Marjorie Laporte and Jérôme Le Duff Tutor: Fredrik Karlsson Title: Trust and contract effects on the efficiency of the supplier-manufacturer relationships – A dyadic perspective Background: The current global situation leads to a tightening of the supply chains. Since supply chain management is primarily about managing relationships, developing an efficient relationship appears to be the best way to stay competitive. Trust and contracts are elements that influence the efficiency of the relationships, but there is a debate concerning the way they impact efficiency. The focus has been made on the supplier-manufacturer relationships. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the supplier-manufacturer relationships of Ferrero France, in order to increase the understanding of trust in relation to different types of contracts, while providing a managerial contribution by describing their impact on efficiency. Method: Interviews have been run among Ferrero France, manufacturer of confectionery products, and two of its suppliers. The empirical findings have been analyzed and compared to the existing theory in order to draw relevant conclusions. The results and conclusions also give rise to a broader strategic reflection about the impact of trust and contract on the whole supply chain, and not only on the supplier-manufacturer relationship. Results, conclusions: The results of this research point out some similarities and differences compared to the existing theory. The dyadic perspective provides a broader point of view, and results in stating that trust is the most important factor leading to efficiency. Moreover, several types of contracts exist. Formal contracts and trust are substitutes and can work together to improve the efficiency, even if the legal framework may limit the increase of efficiency. Informal contracts and trust have a much moreTrust and contract effects on the efficiency of the supplier-manufacturerrelationshipsMaster Thesis – Spring 20123important relationship, and are key elements to achieve greater efficiency and long-term success of the supplier-manufacturer relationship, as well as the whole supply chain. This study provides managers with a better understanding of the role of trust and contract to improve the competitiveness of the whole supply chain, while contributing to enrich the existing theory with new perspectives.

Title: Inventory Control of WEEE (Waste of Electronic and Electrical Equipment) Reverse Logistics in parts of China  --The HEA (household electrical appliances) manufacturers’ perspective   Background: With economic development, the requirement of public for enterprises and products has become increasingly rational. Price is no longer the only consideration of public, they also pay attention to other factors, such as energy conservation. The manufacturers face enormous challenges because of the late start of products recycling in China. So enterprises start to build their own recycling logistics system in order to have more competitive for themselves.   Purpose: The purpose is to describe the methods of inventory controls in the case HEA manufacturers and the problems of inventory controls, find out what problems exsist in the case manufacturers, then analyze what are the origins of these issues for HEA manufacturers as well as propose how these issues can be alleviated, and what methods would be suitable. By solving these research questions, the thesis tries to offer some suggestions about inventory control improvement not only to the cases, but also wider to the whole HEA manufacturers in China.   Method: Multiple - case study as research method has been applied. Specifically, two case companies, Chinese HEA manufacturers, have been selected. Two telephone focused interviews combined with open-ended interviews have been conducted with two related managers. The empirical evidence has been analyzed by using with-in case study and cross-case analysis method, then model analysis is applied.     Results, conclusion: First, the methods are not good enough in the two case companies, a new model is built to help inventory control in the case companies. Second, from external and internal perspective, the origins to cause the problems are a lot, but the main causes are environmental factors, and in busy seasons of these companies. Besides, for doing reverse logistics is a capital costing job, none of the enterprises would like to step in. and reverse logistics is in an uncertainty environment, doing so need to make sure everything clearly and orderly, or costs will be a large amount. The best way of improving inventory control of WEEE reverse logistics in China is that the enterprises standing together to restore the orders.   Limitations and drawbacks: For one thing, there are not enough previous studies references in China, this brought some difficulties of supporting the view points in the thesis. Two empirical cases are not persuasive enough to represent the whole China due to the limitation of the authors’ knowledge and the huge area of China. Nevertheless, the ideal model in model analysis is not that complicated, which means, for more complex problems and processes, the model would be lame.

A prefabricated timber frame house previously built by Villafabriken AB has been modeled in Autodesk Revit Architectural, a 3D-program based on BIM-technology. This has been done tosee if it’s possible to produce the publications that Villafabriken demands from the designengineer’s work, and examine which possible extra values that may arise compared to traditional 2D-CAD drawing.BIM is short for Building Information Modeling. Everything is stored in a single database and a change in the project file is automatically updated across the project. BIM provides more than just drawings since information from the model can be retrieved in various ways such as lists and quantity schedules.It was possible to produce the publications that Villafabriken demanded using Revit, but BIM doesn’t only mean a new way of drawing, it also require a change in the company’s process were the information from the model is being used.