The use of influence tactics by sales representatives appears to be related to a number of latent constructs and factors such as, manifest needs, role conflict and role ambiguity, and perception of sales managers' power bases. However, such relationships have not been examined by researchers. These relationships were examined in this study in an effort to improve the current level of understanding of causes and results of the use of influence tactics in a sales environment. The contention of this study was that individuals in work settings engage in a variety of influence tactics, and that the type of influence tactics used are influenced by factors such as personal characteristics of the salespersons, the nature of goals to be achieved, the salespersons' perceptions of their superiors' power bases, and the nature and complexity of the dyadic relationship that exists between supervisor and subordinates.

Memoria para optar al título de Químico / En este trabajo se informa la síntesis y caracterización de una serie de acilhidroquinonas lipofílicas, portadoras de un átomo de bromo o del catión trifenilfosfonio en el fragmento acílico, características que permiten una mayor incorporación a las mitocondrias. Para la síntesis de acilhidroquinonas se utilizó el reordenamiento de Fries, donde se usa un ácido de Lewis fuerte como el BF3.2H2O y como reaccionantes, diversos ácidos carboxílicos sustituidos con un átomo de bromo terminal e hidroquinona. En una segunda etapa se lleva a cabo la formación de las sales de fosfonio a partir de las nuevas acilhidroquinonas, mediante la sustitución del átomo de bromo con trifenilfosfina. Estos compuestos fueron caracterizados espectroscópicamente mediante resonancia magnética nuclear (1H y 13C). Interesantemente, una de las sales de fosfonio mostró una alta actividad de inhibición de la proliferación celular, frente a células de tumores mamarios humanos metastásicas (MDA MB231) y no metastásicas (MCF7) / The aim of this thesis is the synthesis of a series of lipophilic acylhidroquinones which exhibits in their structures a bromine atom or the cation triphenylphosphonium at the acylic fragment, to target them to mitochondria. Fries rearrangement, wherein a strong Lewis acid such as BF3.2H2O was used, starting from hydroquinone and carboxylic acids bearing a bromine atom in their structures was performed. In a second stage, the phosphonium salts derivatives were obtained by reaction of bromoacyl hidroquinones with triphenylphosphine. These compounds were characterized spectroscopically by NMR (1H and 13C), one of the phosphonium salts showed an interesting antitumor activity against metastatic cells from human breast tumors (MDA MB231) and non-metastatic (MCF7) / FONDECYT

For many years, Sales and Operations Plannning process, or S&OP, had been considered as the promise of alignment between demand and supply that would provide the solution to all planning problems to companies. However, time has shown that in volatile planning environments with high levels of uncertainty, the traditional planning hierarchi, S&OP aligned with MPS, no longer provides all the expected benefits, failing to meet the expectations of numerous organizations that have put great efforts to implement it. As result, in recent years, there have been adaptations of planning processes to meet the need for alignment in highly dynamic environments. These adaptations have often appeared in the form of a weekly \"S&OP\", with short-term horizon, weekly frequency and low level of plans aggregation. However, a more sophisticated solution found to address the need for more agile planning was the creation of a new process that aims to link S&OP to the Master Production Schedule (MPS) called Sales and Operations Execution (S&OE). Although the subject has arisen for some time, studies on the subject are scarce. Thus, the goal of this research is to formalize this process in academic literature in an in-depth way. For this, it was carried out a broad literature review, case studies in four companies that sought to explore how S&OE process occurs in practice. From the analysis resulting from the case studies, both individual and cross-case, it was proposed a model of the process using BPMN language and a list of all the main process characteristics. This model was compared to the existing literature to analyze its convergence and it can be considered transferable given the same conditions of application. It was possible to conclude that S&OE is a process that performs the breakdown of the S&OP plans to the execution in a way that is more aligned with the business goals than the traditional MPS application isolated. / Durante muitos anos, o processo de Sales and Operations Plannning, ou S&OP, foi visto como a promessa de alinhamento entre demanda e suprimentos que traria a solução para todos os problemas de planejamento nas empresas. Entretanto, o tempo mostrou que em ambientes de planejamento voláteis e com alto nível de incertezas, a hierarquia de planejamento tradicional, S&OP alinhado ao MPS, já não proporciona todos os benefícios esperados, falhando em atender as expectativas das inúmeras organizações que empregaram grandes esforços em sua implementação. Como resultado, nos últimos anos, surgiram adaptações dos processos de planejamento para atender a necessidade de alinhamento em ambientes altamente dinâmicos. Estas adaptações apareceram, muitas vezes, no formato de um \"S&OP semanal\", com horizonte de curto prazo, frequência semanal e baixo nível de agregação dos planos. Entretanto, uma solução mais sofisticada que o mercado encontrou para sanar a necessidade de planejamentos mais ágeis foi a criação de um novo processo que faz o elo entre o S&OP e o Master Production Schedule (MPS), chamado Sales and Operations Execution, o S&OE. Apesar de já ter surgido há algum tempo, estudos sobre o tema são bastante escassos. Assim, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi formalizar este processo na literatura acadêmica de maneira aprofundada. Para tal, foi realizada uma ampla revisão de literatura, estudos de caso em quatro empresas que buscaram explorar como o processo de S&OE ocorre na prática. A partir da análise resultante dos estudos de caso, tanto individual quanto inter-casos, foi proposto um modelo do processo em linguagem BPMN e uma listagem de todas as principais características do processo. Este modelo foi comparado à literatura existente para analisar sua convergência e pode ser considerado transferível dadas as mesmas condições de aplicação. Foi possível concluir que o S&OE é um processo que desagrega os planos do S&OP para a execução de uma maneira mais alinhada com os objetivos do negócio do que a aplicação isolada tradicional do MPS.

This research investigates three approaches to new product sales forecasting: statistical, judgmental and the integration of these two approaches. The aim of the research is to find a simple, easy-to-use, low cost and accurate tool which can be used by managers to forecast the sales of new products. A review of the literature suggested that the Bass diffusion model was an appropriate statistical method for new product sales forecasting. For the judgmental approach, after considering different methods and constraints, such as bias, complexity, lack of accuracy, high cost and time involvement, the Delphi method was identified from the literature as a method, which has the potential to mitigate bias and produces accurate predictions at a low cost in a relatively short time. However, the literature also revealed that neither of the methods: statistical or judgmental, can be guaranteed to give the best forecasts independently, and a combination of them is the often best approach to obtaining the most accurate predictions. The study aims to compare these three approaches by applying them to actual sales data. To forecast the sales of new products, the Bass diffusion model was fitted to the sales history of similar (analogous) products that had been launched in the past and the resulting model was used to produce forecasts for the new products at the time of their launch. These forecasts were compared with forecasts produced through the Delphi method and also through a combination of statistical and judgmental methods. All results were also compared to the benchmark levels of accuracy, based on previous research and forecasts based on various combinations of the analogous products’ historic sales data. Although no statistically significant difference was found in the accuracy of forecasts, produced by the three approaches, the results were more accurate than those obtained using parameters suggested by previous researchers. The limitations of the research are discussed at the end of the thesis, together with suggestions for future research.

Lei, Tian. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-97). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgement --- p.v / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Background and Motivation --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Objectives and Contribution --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3 --- Thesis Organization --- p.6 / Chapter 2 --- Literature Review --- p.8 / Chapter 3 --- Mathematical Model --- p.15 / Chapter 3.1 --- Stock-out Based Substitution --- p.15 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Customer Response to Stock-out --- p.15 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Patterns of Substitution --- p.17 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Demand Models under Substitution --- p.18 / Chapter 3.2 --- Model Description and Formulation --- p.23 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Model Description --- p.23 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Customer Demand Model --- p.25 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Substitution Model Formulation --- p.27 / Chapter 3.3 --- Information Availability --- p.29 / Chapter 3.4 --- Summary and Discussion --- p.32 / Chapter 4 --- Parameter Estimation --- p.36 / Chapter 4.1 --- Preliminaries --- p.36 / Chapter 4.2 --- Estimation of Initial Probabilities --- p.38 / Chapter 4.3 --- Estimation of Substitution Probabilities --- p.41 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Case I: Only One Product Unavailable --- p.41 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Case II: Two Products Unavailable --- p.44 / Chapter 4.3.3 --- Case III: More than Two Products Unavailable --- p.47 / Chapter 4.4 --- Summary --- p.51 / Chapter 5 --- Numerical Examples --- p.53 / Chapter 5.1 --- Examples Based on Simulated Data --- p.54 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Preliminary Numerical Example --- p.54 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Performance under Different Substitution Forms --- p.63 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- Effects of Service Level --- p.67 / Chapter 5.1.4 --- Effects of Data Volume --- p.70 / Chapter 5.2 --- Real Case from Retail Industry --- p.72 / Chapter 5.2.1 --- Data --- p.72 / Chapter 5.2.2 --- Estimation Results and Further Discussion .. --- p.74 / Chapter 6 --- Concluding Remarks --- p.79 / Chapter Appendix A --- Data Sets for the Retail Market Example --- p.83 / Chapter Appendix B --- Conference Presentations --- p.90 / References --- p.91

The Thesis analyze consumer protection on fireworks market in the Czech republic in relation to harmonization with European Union legislation. First defines fireworks as such, then concentrates on the period before the application of norms of the European Union into czech law and finally on the period after their application.

For many years, Sales and Operations Plannning process, or S&OP, had been considered as the promise of alignment between demand and supply that would provide the solution to all planning problems to companies. However, time has shown that in volatile planning environments with high levels of uncertainty, the traditional planning hierarchi, S&OP aligned with MPS, no longer provides all the expected benefits, failing to meet the expectations of numerous organizations that have put great efforts to implement it. As result, in recent years, there have been adaptations of planning processes to meet the need for alignment in highly dynamic environments. These adaptations have often appeared in the form of a weekly \"S&OP\", with short-term horizon, weekly frequency and low level of plans aggregation. However, a more sophisticated solution found to address the need for more agile planning was the creation of a new process that aims to link S&OP to the Master Production Schedule (MPS) called Sales and Operations Execution (S&OE). Although the subject has arisen for some time, studies on the subject are scarce. Thus, the goal of this research is to formalize this process in academic literature in an in-depth way. For this, it was carried out a broad literature review, case studies in four companies that sought to explore how S&OE process occurs in practice. From the analysis resulting from the case studies, both individual and cross-case, it was proposed a model of the process using BPMN language and a list of all the main process characteristics. This model was compared to the existing literature to analyze its convergence and it can be considered transferable given the same conditions of application. It was possible to conclude that S&OE is a process that performs the breakdown of the S&OP plans to the execution in a way that is more aligned with the business goals than the traditional MPS application isolated. / Durante muitos anos, o processo de Sales and Operations Plannning, ou S&OP, foi visto como a promessa de alinhamento entre demanda e suprimentos que traria a solução para todos os problemas de planejamento nas empresas. Entretanto, o tempo mostrou que em ambientes de planejamento voláteis e com alto nível de incertezas, a hierarquia de planejamento tradicional, S&OP alinhado ao MPS, já não proporciona todos os benefícios esperados, falhando em atender as expectativas das inúmeras organizações que empregaram grandes esforços em sua implementação. Como resultado, nos últimos anos, surgiram adaptações dos processos de planejamento para atender a necessidade de alinhamento em ambientes altamente dinâmicos. Estas adaptações apareceram, muitas vezes, no formato de um \"S&OP semanal\", com horizonte de curto prazo, frequência semanal e baixo nível de agregação dos planos. Entretanto, uma solução mais sofisticada que o mercado encontrou para sanar a necessidade de planejamentos mais ágeis foi a criação de um novo processo que faz o elo entre o S&OP e o Master Production Schedule (MPS), chamado Sales and Operations Execution, o S&OE. Apesar de já ter surgido há algum tempo, estudos sobre o tema são bastante escassos. Assim, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi formalizar este processo na literatura acadêmica de maneira aprofundada. Para tal, foi realizada uma ampla revisão de literatura, estudos de caso em quatro empresas que buscaram explorar como o processo de S&OE ocorre na prática. A partir da análise resultante dos estudos de caso, tanto individual quanto inter-casos, foi proposto um modelo do processo em linguagem BPMN e uma listagem de todas as principais características do processo. Este modelo foi comparado à literatura existente para analisar sua convergência e pode ser considerado transferível dadas as mesmas condições de aplicação. Foi possível concluir que o S&OE é um processo que desagrega os planos do S&OP para a execução de uma maneira mais alinhada com os objetivos do negócio do que a aplicação isolada tradicional do MPS.

O presente estudo teve como objetivo verificar as diferenças na qualidade da informação comercial providas pela força de vendas, comparando vendedores contratados com representantes comerciais autônomos. Foi realizada uma revisão bibliográfica com os temas de orientação para mercado, força de vendas e informação comercial, com a demonstração do relacionamento entre esses temas. O trabalho baseou-se em um estudo de caso com as unidades de análise constituídas por indústrias brasileiras fabricantes de medicamentos e produtos para saúde de uso hospitalar. A coleta de dados foi feita por meio de entrevistas em profundidade com os executivos do setor, tendo como metodologia de análise a análise de conteúdo simples. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que de maneira geral as informações providas pelos vendedores contratados possuem uma qualidade superior e são mais confiáveis, entretanto outras variáveis também influenciam a qualidade dessas informações, como a supervisão, o monitoramento realizado pelo departamento comercial e o perfil psicológico dos profissionais. O trabalho aponta a importância de uma análise ampla para a tomada de decisão sobre a composição da força de vendas das empresas. / This study has as objective to verify the quality differences of the commercial information provided by the sales force. A literature review was performed concerning market orientation, sales force and commercial information, with a demonstration of the relationship among these themes. This work was based on a case study with the analysis units constituted by Brazilian companies which make pharmaceutical products and other health products for hospital usage. The data gathering process was performed by thorough interviews with executives of the sector, based on the analysis methodology of simple content analysis. The gathered results showed that generally the information provided by hired salesmen have a superior quality and are more trustworthy, however other variables also influence the quality of the information, such as; the supervision, the monitoring activities performed by the commercial department and the psychological profile of the professionals. The study explains the importance of a broad analysis for the decision making process about the composition of the sales force in the companies.

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This study extends the literature on interview validity by attempting to create a structured employment interview with both construct- and criterion-related validity. For this study, a situational interview was developed with the specific purpose of enhancing the interview's construct validity while retaining the interview's predictive power. To enhance the construct validity, two guidelines were applied to the creation of the interview based on previous research in interview and assessment center literature limit the number of applicant characteristics to be rated to 3; and (2) ensure that the dimensions to be measured are conceptually distinct. Based on these two guidelines, three constructs were chosen for assessment of real estate sales agents extraversion, proactive personality and customer orientation. The critical incident technique was used to develop six interview items. To test the construct validity of the interview, the six items were correlated with other measures, specifically, self-report questionnaires and managers' ratings, of extraversion, proactivity and customer orientation. Correlations were weak, at best (rs ranged from -.06 to .25). To test the predictive validity of the interview, the six items were correlated with both objective and subjective measures of performance. Predictive validities were stronger, ranging from .23 to .30. These findings are consistent with previous research on employment interviews which have found that although the predictive validity of the interview is strong, the construct validity is very weak, leaving researchers to wonder what it is that the interview is actually measuring. Possible explanations for these findings are offered, and the implications of these findings are discussed.