In May 2004 there was a shake-up in the private pharmaceutical industry in South Africa. The National Department of Health (DOH) introduced a form of price control which for the first time attempted to regulate prices at every level of the pharmaceutical distribution chain. The price controls was immediately challenged and was not properly implemented until partially upheld by the Constitutional Court at the end of 2005. Throughout 2006 the DOH (through the Pricing Committee) reconsidered parts of the price controls, dealing with an appropriate dispensing fee for retailers, which were struck down by the Constitutional Court. In late 2006, a new dispensing fee was published and then immediately challenged. The DOH claims they had to do this to make sure that medicines remain affordable, and pharmacists at the end of the day get a reasonable income from each price band. The United South African Pharmacies (USAP) and the Pharmacy Stakeholders1 Forum (PSF) claim that implementation of the price controls would have pharmacies not being able to cover their expenses. The objectives of the study are to ascertain whether the price controls forced upon the healthcare industry by the DOH of South Africa is viable in small retail pharmacies and what the impact will be on small retail pharmacies and their communities. The actual annual income statements for 2006 of three typical pharmacies were obtained. The next step was to determine the effect that the price controls would have had on the total sales and key financial factors in the income statement if the price controls was already in force in 2006. A revised experimental income statement was then created for the pharmacies. The experimental statements were then compared to the actual statements to determine the effects of the price controls. The comparison showed that all the pharmacies were following the same trend and had a decrease in net profit. Two of the pharmacies would have had a net loss for the year while the third will continue to show a net profit although much lower. This net profit decreased from 7% to 3% following a decrease in gross profit (GP) from 33% to 30%. The GP of the front sales shop remained unchanged, while the GP percentage for the dispensary decreased by 5% from 30% to 25%. The DuPont model showed that the Return on Equity (ROE) decreased from 83% to 33%. Drug price regulations could force many pharmacies into bankruptcy and ensure that the distribution of drugs to rural and remote areas will be financially impracticable. Once in place, the drug price regulations are likely to become ever more complex and onerous to comply with. The price regulations may end up reducing price competition among manufacturers, and in the long run, will harm the consumer by fixing prices above what would otherwise have been achieved in an open competitive market. The drug price regulations distort the normal market clearing process and effectively increase demand for medicine without providing the economic incentives that serve to match demand with supply. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This paper argues that the despite the apparent rejection of the shareholder primacy model by the Supreme Court of Canada in Peoples Department Stores Inc. (Trustee of) v. Wise and BCE Inc. v. 1976 Debentureholders, there is a strong tradition of shareholder primacy in Canada that has persisted in jurisprudence and legislative materials. The dislodging of shareholder primacy as the guiding force in directors’ duties is discordant with this tradition and per incuriam. As such, at the moment, the duty of loyalty of directors to the corporation is adrift, lacking substantive guidance from the Supreme Court. This guidance, this paper argues, can be found in the “enlightened shareholder value” model embodied in s. 172 of the United Kingdom’s Companies Act 2006 which holds to shareholder primacy while exhorting directors to adopt an inclusive approach to the interests of non-shareholder stakeholders.

This paper argues that the despite the apparent rejection of the shareholder primacy model by the Supreme Court of Canada in Peoples Department Stores Inc. (Trustee of) v. Wise and BCE Inc. v. 1976 Debentureholders, there is a strong tradition of shareholder primacy in Canada that has persisted in jurisprudence and legislative materials. The dislodging of shareholder primacy as the guiding force in directors’ duties is discordant with this tradition and per incuriam. As such, at the moment, the duty of loyalty of directors to the corporation is adrift, lacking substantive guidance from the Supreme Court. This guidance, this paper argues, can be found in the “enlightened shareholder value” model embodied in s. 172 of the United Kingdom’s Companies Act 2006 which holds to shareholder primacy while exhorting directors to adopt an inclusive approach to the interests of non-shareholder stakeholders.

The master thesis is about the Nord-Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, which will cross the Baltic Sea and go through territorial waters of Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Nord-Stream is a complex project with different stakeholders and different interests. The main focus of the study is the representation of the Nord-Stream project in the media of Russia and Sweden as stakeholders in the deal. The period of media representation is 2009.

Globalisation causes continual change in the dairy industry, creating new opportunities and risks in countries, states, and regions. To survive and benefit from these changes, stakeholders from across each country's dairy industry need to co-operate to develop alternatives for their regions. The Australian and Brazilian dairy Research, Development and Extension (R,D&E) organisations recognise this need in their mission statements. They also have some initiatives for more effective interaction with the stakeholders in their dairy industries. In the 1990s Australia created Regional Dairy Programs, including a Subtropical Dairy Program (SDP) for tropical and subtropical areas of east Australia, to gather demands from the production regions in order to design R,D&E. To promote interaction between R,D&E efforts and agricultural industries the Australian government matches expenditure on R,D&E dollar for dollar. The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation for Dairy (Embrapa Dairy) developed the Platform Project, with the objective of identifying constraints on dairy development in Brazil's main dairy production regions. Embrapa Dairy has also moved researchers to those regions to establish a link between stakeholders and the head research station in the design of R&D. There remains room for improvement in both countries' methods. In Australia's SDP, priorities for R,D&E are identified by regional teams consisting mostly of farmers and R,D&E people, but an evaluation has recommended involving a broader range of stakeholders to increase the diversity of ideas. In Brazil, dairy R&D priorities are identified mostly through quantitative surveys with farmers or panels of experts who consider large regions (of more than three states), without deeper involvement of farmers. Models and approaches in extension and systems thinking offer ideas for more effective and comprehensive approaches. The objectives of this study were to: 1. Develop a strategy to: - Involve a broad set of stakeholders in a dairy community to obtain a holistic view of their priorities for R,D&E, and - Help R,D&E people to understand the dairy farms and the production realities of small regions. 2. Document and compare the R,D&E priorities of dairy stakeholders in one Australian and two Brazilian regions, including the views of different groups of stakeholders within each region. Regional studies were conducted in three dairy regions, one region in the north coast of New South Wales, Australia, and two regions in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The research method within each region studied combined three approaches, each involving a variety of stakeholders from across the production communities. These were familiarisation through staying on a farm and building trust; individual interviews with a diversity of stakeholders from farmers to off-farm enterprises and R,D&E staff, and focus group interviews with participants selected from those already interviewed individually. The focus groups verified and enlarged upon the findings of the individual interviews, and enabled convergence among the participants' views. The three approaches produced complementary results. The strategy for eliciting R,D&E priorities worked equally well in all three case studies. Across the three cases, the individual interviews pointed out previously unrecognised R,D&E priorities, going beyond production technologies into issues such as communication, farm management, labour and finance. Pasture issues also remained important. The results from the focus group interviews corroborated communication, farm management and finance as important priorities for R,D&E, while adding marketing, industry policy and organisation of farmers, issues which had not stood out originally in the individual interviews in any of the three regions studied. This suggests a number of things. In terms of strategy for developing R,D&E priorities, both individual interviews and group processes are valuable, and may provide somewhat different outcomes. Further, the primary information needs for the industry lie beyond the farm and production technologies. The results also show that stakeholders would like R,D&E people to work as their partners in improving the dairy industry. The involvement of a broader range of stakeholders brought a more holistic and integrated view of each region's dairy development needs. It was particularly useful to engage people from throughout the dairy community with R,D&E practitioners in identifying priorities, since this broadened the picture of needs and showed the relative importance of production technologies alongside other, previously unrecognised needs. The results also suggest that research organisations should include staff capable of taking a more systemic view of dairy production systems, on- and off-farm, and potentially other industries. The academic significance of this study lies in the combination of systems thinking, stakeholder analysis and participation with extension science, towards a practical need.

This study explored stakeholder behaviour during consultation processes for development, implementation, and evaluation of multi-faceted tourism strategies, using the Victorian Alpine Resorts 2020 Strategy as a case study. Stakeholders were classified using six stakeholder types (Government/Semi-government, Alpine Resort Management Board, Industry Group, Ski Club, Community-based Organisation, Individual) and five behaviour groups (allied, cooperative, neutral, competitive, threatening). An examination was made of stakeholder behaviour across the consultation process from engagement in the development of the Strategy to implementation and in attitude toward participating in an evaluation of the Strategy, behaviour recorded and factors contributing to changing behaviour analysed. Stakeholders displayed complex behaviour patterns moving between behaviour classifications during and across the consultation process. Stakeholder behaviour and commitment to strategy implementation changed; neutral, competitive or threatening behaviour often led to less commitment to strategy success and higher levels of cynicism in the consultation process, allied or cooperative behaviour supported strategy development but did not always lead to a commitment to strategy success. Behaviour toward an evaluation of the strategy often reverted to that exhibited during development. The majority of the stakeholders exhibited behaviour changes in both positive and negative directions and key factors in this change were associated with the consultation process itself to varying degrees of disappointment or satisfaction with the content of the final strategy document. However, negative or positive stakeholder behaviour bore no relation to stakeholder commitment to the Strategy. The findings of this study have added the element of behaviour to stakeholder theory and analysis of stakeholders, which is currently limited to describing and identifying stakeholders. Using this understanding a model of stakeholder behaviour has been developed comprising four behaviour groups (allied, disconnected, guarded and neutral), with indicators of behaviour and suggested consultation strategies to overcome negative responses. The model may facilitate the management of stakeholder consultation processes for positive long-term outcomes, the result of which would be the ongoing support and commitment of stakeholders to strategy or policy development and implementation.

The focus of this research is on the development of ontology and on a more effective way to measure corporate reputation that takes into consideration the orientations of a company’s various stakeholders. The focus by researchers and by practitioners on corporate reputation and on its management attests to an expanding interest. Yet there remains disparate knowledge about how corporate reputation should be defined; about what are its key components; about the relationships between those components and about how corporate reputation should be measured. This point to a need for clarification: to develop a methodology based on ontology of corporate reputation that has relevance for a company’s various stakeholder groups. This research builds on a review of the academic literature and employs text analysis, the nominal group technique and a quantitative survey among stakeholders about the reputation of a high profile company. Theory-driven analysis provides insights into the corporate reputation construct and into a tool for measurement that takes into consideration stakeholder perceptions of a company’s reputation. The results of the study indicate that, in the eyes of its stakeholders, a company’s reputation is driven by nine factors: image, identity, management leadership, performance, corporate brand, products and services, financial performance, ethical management and leadership, and corporate leadership. Not all nine components share the same degree of relevance for stakeholders: different stakeholder groups rank the importance of the components of corporate reputation differently; they evaluate the reputation of the same company differently. The drivers of stakeholders’ overall evaluations of a company’s reputation vary by stakeholder segment. Stakeholder groups are seen to display the characteristics of segments.

La question de la mise en œuvre du marketing est une question centrale du champ du marketing, et c'est l'objet du concept d'orientation marché qui permet de caractériser la culture marketing d'une organisation, et mesurer son impact sur la performance. De nombreux travaux de recherche ont permis d'identifier les manifestations comportementales et culturelles de ce concept, mettant ainsi en évidence la co existence de plusieurs dimensions, définies comme des sous orientations tournées vers des acteurs centraux du marché (consommateurs, concurrents, distributeurs, prescripteurs), et d'autres intervenants de l'environnement de l'entreprise (parties prenantes). L'impact de l'orientation marché sur la performance de l'entreprise a également été largement étudié. Une dimension managériale étant souhaitée dans le construit d'orientation marché, un rôle central a été attribué à la coordination inter fonctionnelle, définie comme l'utilisation coordonnées des ressources de l'entreprise pour créer de la valeur ajoutée au client cible. La relation au marché n'est ainsi pas réservée au seul département marketing, et une bonne coordination au sein de l'organisation peut permettre une efficacité marketing collective. Il s'avère ainsi possible, et pertinent, de déterminer le degré d'orientation marché d'une organisation en identifiant les acteurs du marché qu'elle intègre dans sa vision stratégique et la coordination éventuellement mise en place en interne, et mesurer les effets de ce comportement organisationnel sur la performance. La montagne française est confrontée, depuis quelques années, à un problème clé, celle d'une fréquentation générale en baisse et surtout déséquilibrée entre l'hiver et l'été. Les stations de montagne, par l'intermédiaire des Offices de tourisme, réagissent, en utilisant les leviers marketing opérationnels qu'elles ont à leur disposition, à savoir la communication, la promotion, les offres groupées. Il semble par conséquent pertinent, sur un plan managérial, de chercher à comprendre comment les stations de montagne abordent la fonction marketing, comment elles la mettent en œuvre en hiver et en été, et en quoi cela influence ou pas la performance de la station, c'est-à-dire la fréquentation. La question de la mise en œuvre du marketing, au sein d'un territoire, peut par conséquent être légitimement posée, surtout dans le contexte particulier d'un territoire confronté à des enjeux économiques, telle qu'une station de montagne. L'objectif de la thèse est donc d'appliquer, et d'adapter, le concept d'orientation marché au contexte particulier des stations de montagne, et de voir quel impact peut avoir la culture marketing de son acteur central, à savoir l'Office de tourisme, sur la performance de la station, et ce en hiver et en été. Ce terrain d'application offre ainsi l'opportunité d'observer les effets de l'orientation marché sur les niveaux de performances dans le cadre d'une activité saisonnière. Notre objet de recherche est par conséquent la mise en évidence des composantes de l'orientation marché d'un acteur territorial qui coordonne une offre composite, l'Office de tourisme, la caractérisation des dimensions de la culture marketing de cet acteur et la vérification de l'applicabilité du concept d'orientation marché. Ce travail de recherche permet de répondre à l'interrogation suivante : le concept d'orientation marché est-il applicable à tout type d'organisation ? Il permet également d'enrichir la définition du concept d'orientation marché en explorant une dimension supplémentaire, l'orientation parties prenantes. / The implementation of the marketing concept is a central issue of the marketing field, and this is the purpose of the market orientation concept that characterizes the marketing culture of an organization, and measures its impact on performance. Many research studies have identified behavioral and cultural events of this concept, thus highlighting the co existence of multiple dimensions, defined as sub-facing orientations of the central market participants (consumers, competitors, distributors, specifiers ), and other corporate environmental stakeholders (stakeholders). The impact of market orientation on business performance has also been extensively studied. A managerial dimension being constructed in the desired market orientation, a central role was attributed to the interfunctional coordination, defined as the coordinated actions of company resources to create value added to the target client. The relationship to the market is thus not solely reserved for the marketing department, and coordination within the organization may allow a collective marketing effectiveness. It appears possible, and appropriate, to determine the degree of orientation of a market organization by identifying market players that fits into its strategic vision, and measure the effects this organizational behavior on performance. The French mountain faces, in recent years, a key issue, that of a general decline in attendance and especially unbalanced between winter and summer. The ski resorts, through the Tourism Offices, react, using operational marketing levers they have at their disposal, namely communication, promotion, bundling. It seems therefore appropriate, on a managerial level, to try to understand how the mountain resorts tackle the marketing function, how they implement it in winter and summer, and how that influence or not the performance of the station, that is to say, in attendance. The issue of implementation of marketing, in a territory can therefore legitimately be asked, especially in the particular context of a country facing economic challenges, such as a mountain resort. The aim of the thesis is to apply and adapt the concept of market orientation to the particular context of mountain resorts, and see what impact can the marketing culture of its central actor, namely tourist office on the performance of the station, in winter and summer. This application field offers the opportunity to observe the effects of market orientation on performance levels in the context of a seasonal activity. Our research object is therefore the identification of the components of market orientation of a territorial actor who coordinates a composite supply, the Tourist Office, and verification of the applicability of the market orientation concept. This research helps answer the following question: is the concept of market orientation applicable to any type of organization? It also enriches the definition of market orientation concept by exploring a new dimension, stakeholders orientation.

A República Argentina baseia sua economia interna na produção agropecuária. Na província de Buenos Aires se encontra o Município de Pergamino, que abriga um complexo sistema de produção agroindustrial (SAG), que representa a vanguarda desta economia. Por sua forte inserção internacional, a dinâmica deste sistema reflete a dinâmica dos agronegócios internacionais. Este trabalho analisa a dinâmica deste sistema local, com vistas à antecipação dos cenários futuros dos agronegócios da região pampeana Argentina. Foi procedida a caracterização dos vetores da dinâmica dos agronegócios do município de Pergamino, por meio da identificação dos principais stakeholders, das variáveis-chave que incidem na evolução dos sistemas agroindustriais e suas inter-relações, correlacionando-as com as tendências de cada um dos setores-elos deste SAG. A identificação e análise destes elementos se constituem nas etapas preliminares da construção de cenários futuros dos agronegócios do município e do seu entorno. A análise prospectiva do SAG pretende capacitar os principais stakeholders vinculados ao uso do solo do Município de Pergamino às possíveis mudanças que poderão acontecer no futuro. A metodologia se baseia no emprego de 49 entrevistas semi-estruturadas com os principais stakeholders dos setores do SAG local, relacionados aos insumos, produção, indústria, mercado e às atividades de implicações gerais. A identificação dos stakeholders foi apoiada por consultas a oito especialistas vinculados ao SAG. Esta pesquisa concluiu que as mudanças estruturais no SAG do município de Pergamino são geradas primordialmente pelos stakeholders internacionais. Destacaram-se um total de 24 variáveis-chave, relevantes aos agronegócios do município. As variáveis-chave de maior freqüência de menção se referem às políticas nacionais do Estado Argentino, à bioenergia, à demanda asiática, à biotecnologia e às barreiras comerciais internacionais. As principais variáveis-chave dinamizadoras das tendências do futuro dos agronegócios de Pergamino estariam relacionadas à demanda internacional, principalmente da China, à concentração das empresas dos setores de insumos e indústria, aos avanços da biotecnologia e à inclusão das culturas voltadas ao mercado de bioenergia na sua pauta de produção. Ao lado destas variáveis, afetas a elementos mercadológicos e à inovação tecnológica, também seriam vetores importantes de construção do futuro do município de Pergamino, a concentração das empresas nos setores de insumos e da indústria, associada às inversões estratégicas das trading e às barreiras comerciais. Uma variável de importância latente no município de Pergamino se refere à possibilidade de ocorrência de crises sociais, possivelmente derivada da ameaça associada aos processos de concentração de atividade econômica ou a quedas de demanda do mercado exterior, que incidiria no desenvolvimento da economia regional. Pelos resultados desta pesquisa, o futuro dos agronegócios de Pergamino será determinado primordialmente pelas variáveis que se derivam da sua forte inserção e interdependência dos mercados internacionais e da concentração dos negócios em um pequeno número de empresas, as quais subordinam, tanto as reações e iniciativas relativas aos investimentos e as escolhas locais, como as próprias políticas públicas de adaptação às mudanças externas. Neste trabalho foi revelador que a importância para a economia local das variáveis relativas à evolução do mercado, à concentração empresarial e à inovação tecnológica são fortes indicadores da inserção e interdependência internacional dos agronegócios da região pampeana Argentina / The economics of Republic of Argentina is based on agricultural production. In the province of Buenos Aires is located the county of Pergamino, which encloses a complex system of agribusiness production (SAG), representing the frontline of this economy. For its strong international insertion, the dynamics of this system reflects the dynamics of the international agribusiness. This research analyses the dynamics of the local system, aiming the anticipation of future scenarios of agribusiness of Argentina Pampas. The characterization of the vectors of the agribusiness dynamics of Pergamino County was carried out by identifying the main stakeholders, the key variables that underline the evolution of agribusiness systems and their interrelationships, correlating them with the trends of each one of the link-sectors of this agribusiness system. The identification and analyses of these elements are the preliminary steps in the construction of the future scenarios of the agribusiness in the county. The prospective analyses of the agribusiness system intend to capacitate the main stakeholders linked to the land use of Pergamino to face the possible changes that may happen in that field in the future. The methodology is based on the use of 49 semi-structured interviews with the main stakeholders of the local agribusiness system sectors, related to inputs, production, industry, market and general activities. The stakeholders identification was supported by consulting eight experts related to the local, agribusiness system. The conclusion of this research is that the structural changes in the county of Pergamino agribusiness system are generated mainly by international stakeholders. A total of 24 key variables were identified as relevant to the county agribusiness future. The most frequent key variables mentioned by the interviewers are related to Argentina Government politics, bioenergy, asian demand, biotechnology and international market barriers. The main forces driving Pergamino agribusiness future trends would be related to international demand, mainly from China, concentration of companies in the inputs and industry sectors, advances in biotechnology, and the inclusion of crops used in the production of bioenergy in the local fields. Along with these variables, affected by market elements and technological innovation, are also important vectors in the construction of the future of Pergamino County the concentration of companies in the inputs and industry sectors, associated to the strategic initiatives of the tradings, and the commercial barriers. A variable of latent importance in Pergamino is the possibility of occurring social crisis, possibly due to the threat related to concentration processes of economic activities or reduction in the demand of international trade, which would influence the regional economic development. Based in these research results, the future of Pergamino agribusiness will be determined mainly by variables that derive from the strong insertion and dependence of international trades, and concentration of business in a small number of companies, which subordinate the reactions and the initiatives related to local investments and choices, and the public policies towards the adaptation to international changes. This study has shown the importance of the variables related to market evolution, concentration of companies and technological innovation to the local economy, which can be understood as strong indicators of the international insertion and interdependence of Argentina Pampa agribusiness.