品質的管理由早期的品質是檢查、製造、設計出來的，逐漸演變成全面管理，許多國家體認到全面品質管理對提昇企業競爭力，進而提昇國家競爭力，有相當大的助益，因此紛紛設立國家品質獎，一方面引導企業實施全面品質管理，另一方面提供有意引進全面品質管理的企業一套完整的架構，以做為實施的標竿(Benchmarking)。 　　依據國外經驗指出，美日等國服務業者利用國家品質獎、戴明獎做為標竿，對品質進行全面體檢的成效卓著。反觀國內，國品獎自民國84年起開放非製造業申請，要利用國品獎做為服務業者標竿對象，提升整體競爭力，尚在起步階段。本研究目的在於以非製造業國家品質獎評審標準為基礎，對百貨業進行標準認知重要性的分析及標準的修訂，從而建立符合產業特性的全面品質管理標準；其次，則經由國內業者的互評，選擇國內外推動TQM績效卓著的百貨業者，實地了解績優業者推動TQM的現況，以作為業者標竿對象。 　　本研究的研究對象為國內百貨業，問卷係根據我國國家品質獎非製造業評審標準之九大項四十一中項發展而成。本研究對國內每家百貨公司各寄發一份問卷，共寄出26份問卷，回收16份，其中有效問卷14份，回收率為53.8%。 　　本研究發現百貨業者普遍認為非製造業國家品質獎的九項評審標準的重要性都非常的高，且業者對九項標準的認知重要性彼此間並無顯著差異。百貨業者對各中項評審標準的認知重要性以「顧客接觸點服務品質」及「顧客抱怨處理」為最重要，以「倉儲運輸的品質」及「品質榮譽的追求」較不重要。結論是百貨業者可應用非製造業國家品質獎評審標準作為推動TQM的主要架構。 　　百貨業者建議非製造業國家品質獎評審標準作以下的修正，以符合百貨業特性：資訊科技的運用以及行銷溝通如促銷、廣告、商店氣氛等應納入評審標準中。

This thesis examines industrial welfarism in Australia from 1890 to 1965. This period witnessed the gradual spread of the welfarism movement throughout Australian industry as employers sought ways to increase productivity and control in the face of external challenges. Once reaching its peak in the immediate post-War period, the welfarism movement was gradually subsumed as part of the increasing formalisation of personnel management. Waves of interest in welfare provision coincided with periods of labour shortage and/or labour militancy in Australia, indicating its dual role in the management of labour. Firstly, by offering benefits and services beyond that made necessary by the law or industrial awards, welfarism was designed to create a pool of good quality workers for management to draw from. Secondly, managers sought to enhance their control over these workers and their productive effort, using welfarism as a technique to build worker consent to managerial authority. This could be achieved through subtle methods aimed at boosting loyalty and morale, or through more direct programs designed to increase worker dependency on the company. In both ways, individual and collective worker resistance could be minimised, thereby reinforcing managerial prerogative. Despite its adoption by a variety of companies, a number of economic, political and institutional factors limited the extent of industrial welfarism in Australia. These include the small-scale of most enterprises prior to the Second World War, state involvement in the area of industrial relations and welfare provision, and the strength of organised labour. While the welfarism movement did not reach the heights experienced overseas, it nonetheless provided an important contribution to the development of formal labour management in Australia.

Oregon's nursery and greenhouse industry has ranked the first in the State's agricultural for 18 years. The majority of nursery sales from the Pacific Northwest come from Oregon. Due to data limitations, empirical study of the Oregon nursery industry is rare. The present dissertation consists of three essays that analyze the demand and supply of inputs and outputs and the relationship between producers and retailers in the Oregon nursery industry. Chapter 2 identifies the major factors affecting farm labor supply and demand and evaluates their relative importance in the Oregon nursery industry from 1991 to 2008. Empirical results show that border control effort doesn't have an influential role in labor supply, while the Oregon and Mexican minimum wage do. It is because of the substantial gap between the U.S. and Mexican economies, reflected for an example in the minimum wage gap, which attracts a continual flow of immigrants. Risk of border apprehension is not great enough to prevent the flow. Increases in Oregon minimum wage is more effective than border apprehension policies in boosting the average wage and in reducing the number of hours that illegal immigrants work in the nursery sector. Chapter 3 investigates producers' and retailers' choices of, and reactions to, various contract types in the Oregon nursery industry from 2005 to 2010. As new and fast-growing retailers in the industry, big-box stores are less likely than independent retailers to make pre-order contracts with the producer. However, once a pre-order contract is chosen, big-box stores demand more days of pre-order interval than independent retailers do. Transactions with independent retailers exhibit – on average over the sample range – scale economies and scope diseconomies. Boosting per-transaction revenue scale and the number of species sold to big-box stores enhances transaction efficiency. Chapter 4 examines the interaction between supply and demand in Oregon nursery products. The result indicates that the production and transaction costs are major drivers on the supply side, while transportation costs and consumer demand for nursery products play important roles on the demand side. At the genus level, the supply elasticities of coniferous plants are larger than those of deciduous plants, which in turn are higher than those of flowering plants. The demand elasticities are the lowest in coniferous trees followed by deciduous plants, then flowering plants. Price discounts on plants with high demand elasticities would significantly boost sales and enlarge the market, while those on plants with low demand elasticities would have less sales impact. Empirically, patenting seems to bring no direct signs of greater profitability. The wholesale nursery may wish to reconsider the pricing and marketing policies of its patented plants to differentiate them more effectively from its non-patented plants. / Graduation date: 2013

This study is an in-depth investigation of the factors that affect store brand purchases. It aims to help both retailers and manufacturers predict store brand purchases through an improved understanding of the effects of three latent variables: customer satisfaction and loyalty with the store; which is expressed through word-of-mouth; and trust in store brands. An additional aim is to explore variations in the level of store brand adoption and the inter-relationships between the selected constructs. Data was collected through a telephone survey of those responsible for household grocery shopping, and who shop at the nine leading grocery retailers in Greece. A total of 904 respondents completed the questionnaire based upon a quota of 100 respondents for each of the nine retailers. Data were analyzed through chi-square, analysis of variance and partial least square. The proposed model was tested by partial least square path modeling, which related the latent variables to the dependent manifest variable: store brand purchases. The findings provide empirical support that store brand purchases are positively influenced by the consumers’ perceived level of trust in store brands. The consumer decision-making process for store brands is complex and establishing customer satisfaction and loyalty with the store does not appear to influence store brand purchases or the level of trust in the retailer’s store brands in the specific context under study. Consequently the most appropriate way to influence store brand purchases in the Greek market is through increasing in the level of trust in the retailer’s store brands. It is suggested that retailers should therefore invest in trust building strategies for their own store brands and try to capitalize on their brand equity by using a family brand policy. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed and opportunities for further research are suggested.

This thesis examines industrial welfarism in Australia from 1890 to 1965. This period witnessed the gradual spread of the welfarism movement throughout Australian industry as employers sought ways to increase productivity and control in the face of external challenges. Once reaching its peak in the immediate post-War period, the welfarism movement was gradually subsumed as part of the increasing formalisation of personnel management. Waves of interest in welfare provision coincided with periods of labour shortage and/or labour militancy in Australia, indicating its dual role in the management of labour. Firstly, by offering benefits and services beyond that made necessary by the law or industrial awards, welfarism was designed to create a pool of good quality workers for management to draw from. Secondly, managers sought to enhance their control over these workers and their productive effort, using welfarism as a technique to build worker consent to managerial authority. This could be achieved through subtle methods aimed at boosting loyalty and morale, or through more direct programs designed to increase worker dependency on the company. In both ways, individual and collective worker resistance could be minimised, thereby reinforcing managerial prerogative. Despite its adoption by a variety of companies, a number of economic, political and institutional factors limited the extent of industrial welfarism in Australia. These include the small-scale of most enterprises prior to the Second World War, state involvement in the area of industrial relations and welfare provision, and the strength of organised labour. While the welfarism movement did not reach the heights experienced overseas, it nonetheless provided an important contribution to the development of formal labour management in Australia.

Thesis (MComm (Industrial Psychology))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The apparel retail environment is highly competitive. Products and services that are easily replicated, together with informed and demanding consumer markets, add to the complexity of this dynamic, fast changing retail and manufacturing industry. One avenue that companies explore to differentiate themselves from the competition is by the development of their corporate identity. A fundamental element of marketing communication and corporate identity representation is store image, as it is a vehicle that affects the customers’ perception of the store and the store’s identity. To be able to invest in store image optimally, retailers should take cognisance of the need to manage store image in order to increase potential sales. The purpose of the current study was to expand the existing body of knowledge on retail store image and the female apparel consumer in the Western Cape with special reference to the perceived importance of retail store image dimensions. The research question directing the current study was formulated as follows: How do consumers perceive the various store image dimensions in apparel retail and how congruent are customers’ and management’s perceptions of these store image dimensions? The literature review focuses on the importance of store image for retail differentiation purposes as well as independent (demographics, lifestyle, shopping orientation) and dependent variables (patronage behaviour, store loyalty, customer satisfaction) in store image research. Congruity as well as gap analysis are also discussed as these are the focus of the research analysis. The Store Image Scale (SIS) was used as measuring instrument. Management (n -= 14) and customer (n = 200) samples from a leading apparel retailer were used to measure the importance of the various store image dimensions. The questionnaire was adapted for the purpose of reaching all the set empirical objectives. The customer questionnaire included five sections to measure the ideal and the actual store image and the management questionnaire included two sections to measure management’s perception of the importance of store image dimensions for customers. Data was subjected to reliability analysis, descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Results indicated that Atmosphere, Merchandise and Service were rated as most important dimensions according to customer perceptions of the ideal, while Atmosphere, Promotion and Service were the most important dimensions according to management. Atmosphere, Convenience and Merchandise were rated as most acceptable by customers. Due to the nature of the research design congruency analysis was used. The congruency analysis yielded 29 of the 55 attributes as congruent. The analysis of congruency between acceptability and importance ratings of customers indicated that the dimensions Convenience, Institutional and Sales Personnel showed no significant differences. It therefore was concluded that management’s perception and customers’ perceptions of the importance of ideal store image are closely related for these dimensions. However, closer consideration has to be given to the specific attribute design. Significant differences between management’s and customers’ perceptions were found for the Promotion, Merchandise and Service dimensions. Based on the results, recommendations were made to management from which they could infer possible adjustments to the strategic management of store image dimensions. This is one of the first academic studies to attempt to provide management with feedback on the performance of their retail strategy and is therefore exploratory in nature. The recommendations from the current study could help retailers meet consumer needs, and thereby create a competitive advantage and unique market position for the store. This could contribute to building brand equity, store patronage and, consequently, sales, as well as support the possibility of benchmarking the importance of specific store image dimensions as retail practices in the chain store apparel sector. This could contribute to this retailer’s ability to project a store image that meets customers’ expectations while enforcing the strategic corporate identity.

Entrepreneurship is generally defined as the creation of new businesses - yet, nowhere is it more important than in large, established organisations. Product life cycles are contracting and businesses need to stay ahead of competition. Organisations need innovative and creative employees to respond to the changing needs of the market. Corporate entrepreneurship can be defined as entrepreneurial activities within an organisation, using the resources of the organisation to achieve innovative results. Corporate entrepreneurship (also referred to as intrapreneurship) is not confined to a particular size or stage of an organisation. This study focuses on the corporate entrepreneurial behaviour of middle managers inside a large retail organisation. The uniqueness of this study is the focus on the middle managers instead of senior management. The study aims to make management aware of the concept of corporate entrepreneurship and to identify the factors which influence entrepreneurial behaviour in an established organisation. / Business Management / M. Com (Business Management)

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:08:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 71060100676.pdf: 13299695 bytes, checksum: 94478d79a6d1b70766baa60e911b397b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-02-11T00:00:00Z / A formatação do ambiente de venda de uma loja é um dos principais instrumentos de que o varejista dispõe para obter vantagens competitivas e incrementar o seu desempenho. O complexo ambiente de loja oferece inúmeros estímulos que afetam o comportamento de compra dos clientes. Em sua experiência de compra, o cliente se guia basicamente pelas emoções e significados despertados por esses estímulos. Este estudo visa entender como emoções e significados captados pelo cliente na loja resultam dos diversos elementos que compõem o ambiente de venda da loja. Partindo dos fenômenos da percepção, do afeto e da cognição aplicados ao ambiente de venda, revisamos os principais estudos abordando a influência do ambiente de venda sobre o comportamento do consumidor em relação à loja, focando suas reações internas e em particular as emoções sentidas e os significados atribuídos ao ambiente de loja pelos clientes. Detalhamos e organizamos o rol dos elementos que compõem o ambiente físico de uma loja, utilizando-o como base para a análise dos efeitos desses elementos sobre os clientes em termos de emoções sentidas e significados atribuídos pelos clientes à loja. Tentando entender como o ambiente de venda da loja se relaciona com as emoções e os significados nele captados, realizamos uma investigação exploratória, de cunho qualitativo e mais descritivo que explicativo, utilizando técnicas como a entrevista parcialmente estruturada complementada por elementos da entrevista de profundidade, e o EmotiScape. Os resultados do estudo, como esperado para uma pesquisa exploratória, cobrem aspectos diversos. Em termos de resultados empíricos, identificamos os elementos ambientais efetivamente percebidos pelos clientes na loja, as principais integrações presentes entre esses elementos ao serem percebidos, e as emoções e os significados a eles atribuídos pelos clientes. Também descrevemos os principais mecanismos que ligam os elementos ambientais percebidos às emoções e aos significados atribuídos ao ambiente de loja. E ainda identificamos e descrevemos as ocorrências de integrações entre os processos afetivos e cognitivos dos entrevistados que resultam da presença dos elementos ambientais. Como contribuição conceitual inicial do estudo, confirmamos a visão dos modelos contingenciais da Psicologia para o fenômeno da percepção, evidenciando que os estímulos do ambiente de loja podem ser percebidos tanto “um a um” como conjuntamente no ponto de venda, passando ainda por casos intermediários, em que um número mais reduzido de estímulos atua conjuntamente para gerar emoções e significados para o cliente. Disto resulta uma aplicação gerencial direta: conhecendo antecipadamente estímulos isolados ou “pacotes” definidos de estímulos associados a emoções e significados específicos, poderíamos formatar intencionalmente o ponto de venda para provocar (ou evitar) determinados efeitos emocionais e cognitivos no cliente, usando o design como ferramenta para desenvolver estratégias mercadológicas e assim produzir o desempenho desejado para um certo ambiente de venda. A segunda contribuição conceitual do estudo diz respeito à comprovação de abordagem relativamente recente na Psicologia, que vê os fenômenos afetivos e cognitivos integrados em um mesmo processo abrangente de processamento de informações pela mente humana. Os resultados deste estudo suportam tal visão ao constatar que os clientes tanto utilizam suas emoções para construir “raciocínios” e julgamentos sobre a loja como, inversamente, constroem arrazoados que desembocam em (ou reforçam) suas emoções sentidas em relação à loja. Por fim, o estudo também avança na utilização de instrumentos de coleta de dados inovadores que podem captar estados emocionais variados (o EmotiScape) e vencer dificuldades de verbalização dos entrevistados para identificar estímulos ambientais percebidos (usando coletâneas de imagens detalhando o ambiente da loja). / The design on the sales environment of a store is one of the key tools that retailers have available to obtain competitive advantages and improve their performance. This complex environment offers several stimuli that affect the clients' purchasing behavior. In their purchasing experience, clients guide themselves, among other factors, by their emotions and meaning aroused by these stimuli. This study has as objective to understand how emotions and meaning derived by the client from the sales environment result from different environmental elements that compose the sales environment of the store. Starting from the phenomena of perception, affection and cognition in the context of the sales environment, we reviewed the main studies on the environmental influence on consumers inside the store, focusing on their internal reactions, particularly on the emotions felt and on the meanings attributed to the store environment by customers. We detailed and organized the list of elements that build up the physical environment of store, using it as base for the analysis of the effects of these elements on customers, in terms of experienced emotions and meanings attributed clients to the store. Trying to understand how the sales environment of store connects with the emotions and meanings aroused by it, we performed an exploratory, qualitative, and more descriptive than explanatory research, using techniques such as the partially structured interview complemented by aspects of the in-depth interview, and the EmotiScape instrument. The results, as expected from an exploratory investigation, cover many aspects. In terms of empiric results, we identify the environment elements actually perceived by clients in the store, the main integration among such elements when being perceived, and the emotion and the meanings attributed to them by customers. We describe the main mechanisms the bind the perceived environmental elements to emotions and meanings attributed to the store environment. We also identify and describe examples of integrations between the affective and cognitive processes which result from environmental elements. As a first conceptual contribution of our research, we confirm the point of view presented by the contigencial models of perception from Psychology, that the store environment stimuli can be noticed 'one by one' or as whole, and also intermediary cases in which a certain number of stimuli act in concert as source of emotion and meanings for the customer. Straight from this fact result an important managerial implication: knowing in advance isolated or packaged stimuli and their potential associations to specific emotions and meanings, we can intentionally shape the point os sale to evoke (or avoid) emotional and cognitive effects on the customer, using the point of sale design as a tool for developing marketing strategies and attaining a desired level of performance for a store. The second conceptual contribution of our study is the validation, in the context of the sales environment, of an approach relatively recent in Psychology, which sees the affective and cognitive phenomena integrated in a larger and information processing scheme performed by the human brain. The results from this study the vision, showing that customers use their emotions to build reasoning and judgments concerning the store as, inversely, build reasoning that result in (on reinforce) their emotion regarding the store. Finally, the study also contributes in advances in the usage of innovative data collection instruments that can measure a diversified range of emotional states (the EmotiScape) and avoid verbal blockages from interview people when reposting perceived environmental stimuli (using collections of images detailing the store environment).

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:20:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 149577.pdf: 249444 bytes, checksum: 0886870205bbb58b6dd47f087f3d36ce (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-10-10T00:00:00Z / A competição acirrada no mercado têm obrigado os varejistas a avaliar produtos com bastante critério antes de adquiri-los. Nas papelarias, o mesmo ocorre com a compra de instrumentos de escrita. Nesta dissertação é analisado o processo de compra de lapiseiras. Atualmente existe uma infinidade de modelos de lapiseiras com diferentes cores, estampas, cheiros, preços e fornecedores. Como escolher para que tenham alto giro no ponto-de-venda, minimizando os custos e maximizando os ganhos, torna-se o grande desafio para a organização que pretende continuar competitiva. Para aumentar o conhecimento sobre esse processo, esta dissertação teve como propósito investigar as variáveis que influenciam a decisão do comprador varejista, dono de papelaria. Foram realizados dois estudos de caso com papelarias. Por fim, descobriu-se que a decisão do comprador de lapiseiras não se restringe ao produto. Existem diversas variáveis que podem influenciar a sua decisão, como o representante, a distribuição efetiva, a garantia e o marketing (comunicação).

This research study acquired a consumer response centred approach to visual merchandising stimuli, in an attempt to holistically consider this area of the retail industry. Consumers‟ perceptions towards visual merchandising displays and the effect these displays have on consumer behaviour were exposed. The primary research question that pended from the preliminary literature was to determine the effect of visual merchandising displays on consumer perceptions. Explorative research was performed and qualitative data were collected by means of focus groups and naïve sketches. The data was analysed by means of a thematic analysis process. Perceptions of visual merchandising displays that were identified were subliminal in creating an interest and desire to further peruse the merchandise and aesthetically to beautify the store. Consumers expressed that the impact that visual merchandising displays had on their buying decisions depended on their personal preferences. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)