In the era of knowledge-based economy, every enterprise invariably expects to maintain and develop its core competence and emphasize that the enterprise should become a knowledge organization based on knowledgement. Meanwhile, through the enterprise culture and the working out of inspiration system, the employees will be willing to share their experiences and knowledge with others. From this respect the personal knowledge will become team knowledge which will speed up the response of learning of innovation and solution of problems to cope with the rapid change of environment and to preserve the advantage of competitiveness. By means of knowledge management (KM) an enterprise can create and pile up efficiently the intelligence accumulation, which maintain the enterprise¡¦s value forever. Success belongs to the enterprise that is constantly innovating, promptly learning and creating the value with new knowledge. This is why an enterprise should regard KM as an important asset and direct it properly. No matter the collection, accumulation, use and innovation of knowledge, human is always the key factor to influence the effect. The first priority of KM is to face the problems of ¡§human¡¨ and ¡§culture change¡¨ To establish the culture of KM is that every member of the organization has to qualify oneself for concept and ability of KM. At the meantime the common behavior of performing KM should be shaped up as a habit to maintain constantly the learning, sharing, innovating and accumulating of knowledge. This study is aimed at the exploration of how to establish the culture of KM in CSC and hope to implement the following goals: 1. To find out and control the key factors of urging KM successfully through research papers, 2. To establish KM performance index which can be traced and evaluated and corresponded with enterprise demand, 3. To collect efficient means which can perform the organization reformation, 4. To confirm the establishment of the fundamental structure of KM, 5. To support other domestic enterprises with the achievements of KM culture made by our research. From the research papers this study explores the successful key factors and the performance indexes of KM. Via the practical application of the fundamental structure of KM in CSC, we reach the construction of KM culture through gathering the methods of organization reformation, the control of accomplishing of key factors and the carry out of estimation of KM performance.

The top trend prophet, Naisbitt (1990), mentioned that the increasing and expanding numbers of chain alliance stores will transform the future society, and thus service industry is going to be the mainstream in economic society. ¡§Convenience¡¨ and ¡§Quality¡¨ are two points for consumers¡¦ tendencies. The franchise brand (chain alliance) is the most successful marketing conception ever in the history, and it would even become the dominating business models in 21st century. To cope with the coming era of Self-Prevetion and Self-Medication, the local cosmeceutical access stimulates the OTC (OTC Over-the-counter) growth in the market, which leads the cosmeceutical stores gradually toward the professional position. Moreover, under the impact of the modernized marketing channel, traditional drugstores have headed for OTC, compounding, and big-scale tendencies. Analyzing the total drugstores numbers from 1995 to 2005, the figure has reduced from 13,000 to 7,000. The keen competition of the cosmeceutical stores can be seen by this. The cosmeceutical staff is mostly come from apothecary. How chain cosmeceutical industry clutch the ¡§right business direction¡¨ has always been the sensitive issue to break through. When considering several factors, like profit business, competitor challenges, and consumers¡¦ tendencies, how the chain cosmeceutical merchants seize their dominating core abilities (key successful factors) is the main purpose of this study. This study takes chain cosmeceutical as study target. At the first stage, 258 selected storekeepers are invited to fill out the expert questionnaires to make the analysis of the eight measurement structures and 63 business elements (evaluation standards), and then extract seven structures and 35 related the key successful factors of related chain cosmeceutical business management. At the second stage, 15 renowned managers of chain cosmeceutical are asked to finish the expert questionnaires to explore the importance and the priority of these key successful factors by using AHP. The AHP study structure validation result shown that, no matter what the business forms are, the co-recognized most significant business factor in measurement target is the ¡§business faith and scale economy¡¨ --- the credit values of head quarter (brand images), and the next is the ¡§relationship between business planning and supply merchants¡¨ --- the renovation of business contents. In the 35 evaluation index of the third level of AHP study structure, the most significant index is ¡§renovate the business faith, and design the service process fitting customers¡¦ requirement,¡¨ and the next are ¡§the head quarter¡¦s abilities of purchasing, bargaining, and supplying, the pharmacist councils and the products descriptions, the system of bringing new fashionable products, the head quarter¡¦s education training and supporting abilities, the head quarter¡¦s credit values (brand images), and the selection of store location and region.¡¨ In other words, the corporations would establish the dominating credit values (brand images) through customers¡¦ identification and set up the appearance position by continually renovating business faith. The next is head quarter¡¦s abilities of purchasing, bargaining, and supplying, designation of the service process fitting customers¡¦ requirement, and head quarter¡¦s education training and supporting abilities. And finally measure the service quarantine and reliability and the pharmacist councils and the products descriptions. The relatively low stresses are storekeeper¡¦s ability of communication, the head quarter¡¦s electronic degree, professional staff training system, unique corporation culture, and the issuance of VIP card and member card.

The telecommunication/IT industry were rapid growing in the recent years, and the telecommunication manufacturer promoted the foundation equipment application unceasingly. In such the developing nations like China and India, the network foundation equipment demand grows gradually, in which China was already the quickest growing nation in telecommunication markets of the whole world, the growth rate will continuously maintain about 14% every year in the future. The Switching Power Supply (hereafter refers to as SPS) is rapidly growing in the country, in which the SPS has high profit potential product. By successful developing experience, integrity, vertical & horizontal conformity industrial structure, high quality, short delivery, smaller size, higher output, lower cost, better radiation, which create the industry competitive advantages. The purpose of research is to understand the industry development tendency of SPS, and will discuss how the value chain of SPS to survive under the global finance pressure, and even face with the re-shuffle effect. In this research take D Corporation as the example, discusses under the marketing demand drop pressure , how to develop the competitive business model and key successful factors to cope with. Then, using tool like SWOT, five forces analyses, discovers the way for D corporation to go forward to right direction. Finally, the concrete suggestion will be proposed, and to provide with the conclusion to D Corporation and related Department or organization as compete strategy in the future.

This research is focus on discussion of Convenience Chain Stores¡¦ Key Successful Factors, in which using for lead into the LOHAS¡]Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability¡^. This case is based on the 7-11 of which used both of the ¡§Case Study¡¨ & ¡§Penetrate Interview¡¨. Except two high-level managers in charged of LOHAS, there are some other key men involved as following: two high-level managers in Uni-President(upstream company of 7-11) Enterprise and two high-level managers in Ton-Chuang¡]logistics¡^company. Among them I got four KSFs to be the result of this research, which van be the references in the future development of Convenience Chain Stores as following¡G 1.The factor of Social Environment. 2.The factor of Resource Input. 3.The factor of Product Strategy. 4.The factor of Strategy Popularization. 7-11 suppose to be the NO.1 beneficiary. Even though 7-11 had popularized the LOHAS foe three years, it never made any similar analysis and generalization. I expect to get the resonance of 7-11by the share of this research-to make a harmonious society by the three-wins of egoistic, altruistic and the earth.

<p>Abstract</p><p>There have been few studies on brand extensions in a Pakistan context. In this thesis, we study brand extensions in Pakistan from viewpoint of Brand Managers as their analysis coupled with their personal preferences can provide interesting insights for forming a successful brand extension strategy. Since T. Gamble first published an article about brand extensions (1967) there has been a growing interest for the topic. With the passage of time the inbuilt benefits of brand extensions in terms of cost and higher success rates were captured by companies in developing countries like Pakistan. In this thesis, we make theoretical arguments for, and show empirically that growth may not be the ultimate objective for companies in Pakistan. Instead, companies are compelled to follow the bandwagon so as to match competitors. It has been indicated that small firms might be in a better position to take advantage of below-the-line promotions in comparison to larger firms. Cannibalization of sales due to brand extensions was described to be non-existent in Pakistan until a company embarks on e-commerce initiative. Successful brand extensions, as defined by the brand managers are measured in terms of independent sales and market share captured by a brand stretch. Based on how the brand managers in this study perceived brand extensions, it could be a feasible marketing strategy in Pakistan.</p><p><strong>Purpose</strong></p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to explore the use of brand extension strategies in the Pakistan context. We will try to achieve this purpose by answering the following questions.</p><p>1)      Why do companies in general and specially in Pakistan use brand extension?                                                                   <strong></strong></p><p>2)      Do the general pros and cons of brand extension hold the same applicability in Pakistan?</p><p>3)      How brand managers in Pakistan describe a successful brand extension?<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Method</strong></p><p>A qualitative method was incorporated in order to achieve our exploratory purpose of the study. In total, we performed five interviews. Three extensive telephone interviews were carried out with brand managers representing three seasoned companies from the domain of healthcare (Z-Jans), retailing (Chen One) and dairy foods industries (Haleeb) for finding out brand managers viewpoint on brand extensions in Pakistan. These interviews were conducted via telephone and recorded for our thesis purposes. In addition, one of the authors visited Pakistan and conducted two face-to-face interviews with Lakson Group of Industries <em>(media, fast food and consumer goods)</em><em> </em>and Servis Group which is operating in <em>(Shoes, Pharmacies, Tires & Tube) </em>businesses<strong>.</strong></p><p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p><p>It is suggested that the concept of brand manager is in the rudimentary stages of development in Pakistan. One reason for this is that domestic companies are carrying out brand extensions under the heading of marketing managers compared with Multinationals (MNEs) whose brand extensions strategies are mostly prepared at their headquarters. It has also been indicated that small companies could benefit the most from brand extension in terms of attaining greater consumer trials, increased market share, and growth by competing in international markets as they can easily use a mixture of Below-the-line and Above-the-line promotions for their extensions. A good distribution channel coupled with a strong brand portfolio can facilitate success for brand extension as the companies can then negotiate with dealers and retailers from a position of strength. Due to the huge population in Pakistan companies might neglect the fact that their brand extensions can fail. Since, the population is very large it might be hard for small and medium sized companies to cover the whole country and to find out in reality if their brand extension was a success on a country wide basis.  It has also been concluded that majority of the consumers are photo-literate with no or very little formal education therefore they find difficult to assess brand extensions and to make educated brand buying decision in light of quality standards. The market as a whole is price sensitive (low prices) so brand extensions with good price and value for customer are more likely to perform well over Pakistan market.</p>

<p>This essay deals with the topic of regional integration in Africa. Using the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as an example, it seeks to answer the question what constitutes a successful region organisation. To do this a number of criteria defining success were developed and subsequently applied to the SADC, the main one beeing the organisations ability to adapt to change. In order to be able to show whether and how the SADC has reacted to and accommodated changes, the analysis was built around a description of the historical evolution of the SADC(C). The changes made by the SADC (political structure, membership, goals) have been summarised and assessed. Special attention was paid to the (potential) problems identified by Winfried Lang (1982).</p><p>Guided by the thoughts of Winfried Lang and the criteria used in this essay defining what constitutes a successful regional organisation, we find that the Southern African Development Community is rather successful. The SADCC seems to have created a good basis for integration, and the organisation has proven ist ability to adapt to changes, even if they are as all-embracing as the end of the apartheid regime in the RSA and the subsequent membership of the former opponent. One can thus suppose that the SADC could, if necessary, accomodate changed circumstances again, and is thus unlikely to become one of the many failed regional organisations in Africa.</p><p> </p>

Successful Concurrent Engineering (CE) with suppliers requires a pre-disposition on the part of the prime company and the supplier to work in this manner. This thesis explores the impact of design ethos on the implementation of Supplier-inLoop (SIL) CE between an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and a first tier supplier. Design ethos for the purpose of this thesis is described as 'a characteristic manner or approach to constraints on SIL displayed by personnel involved in the design of new products'. This research employs a mixed-method to understand SIL constraints across industry sectors. A design ethos framework is developed and a military design community is characterised in terms of anomalies to the existing literature. These anomalies are then tested through a questionnaire and then interpreted in terms of the design ethos framework. The results of this comparison show that some characteristics are common to both the civil and military design communities and some are not. A case is made that design ethos, in the context of SIL, is primarily determined by: suppliers' aptitude, skill level and contracts; problems with data I information exchange mechanisms; existing processes, relationships and management support; supplier history; technological view of the product; external influences on the process; existing design milestones; visibility of supplier capability; and, continuity of service in terms of skill and data security. The research concludes that the implementation of SIL is directly impacted by design ethos, and that for SIL to be a success in the military sector design ethos must be managed in line with business objectives. The contribution to knowledge that this thesis provides is the insight it offers into the human issues associated with implementing concurrent engineering with external suppliers, and the identification of sector-specific issues as well as those which will benefit from cross sectoral learning. It is of value to military and civil OEMs for purpose of change management, also to their suppliers in understanding the different needs of military and civil customers when working in a concurrent engmeenng manner.

In any business environment companies experience challenges and competition. In this current worldwide economic crisis, the stakes are now higher. With every crisis comes opportunity. The best companies with the best methods and processes that create highest quality product for less money will have an extraordinary advantage over their less efficient, lower quality competition. The term ‘Lean’ describes how Toyota does business: fewer humans, less effort, less investment, fewer defects, less time to develop, less inventory. For companies that have truly understood and implemented these principles the effects are significant; but many others have failed Lean initiatives. What factors are necessary for a company to successfully adopt the processes proven by over 50 years of success in Toyota? Using both primary and secondary research, I compared attributes of four companies, three of which were successful, and one that did not make the conversion. Three main factors emerged, the Technical Factor -- knowing both your core business and having a deep understanding of Lean principles, the Management Factor -- strong leadership operating within Lean principles and with hands-on approach, and the Human Factor -- approaching the workforce with respect and employee engagement in problem-solving process. The following is a brief review of these factors and the tools and concepts that undergird them. / text

The proportion of adults aged 65 and older in the United States has been increasing steadily for years. Although most would agree that this increased longevity is a remarkable achievement, there is growing concern regarding the resources that will be necessary to provide care and services for this rapidly expanding segment of the population. From a public health perspective, simply increasing longevity is no longer the ultimate outcome sought. A more pertinent goal is increasing the quality of life years, or promoting resilience and successful aging. Strategies that assist adults in delaying the onset of disability or reducing the severity of disabling conditions may serve a vital role in the promotion of resilience and successful aging in older adults. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between religiosity and subjective well-being, commonly identified as a marker of resilience in older adults. In addition, the study sought to determine if that association is mediated by optimism. For this study, subjective well-being was operationalized with measures of depressive symptomatology and life satisfaction. Secondary analyses were conducted on longitudinal data collected for the Florida Retirement Study. Results indicated that religiosity was not significantly associated with future depressive symptomatology, but was significantly associated with future life satisfaction. Dispositional optimism did not mediate the relationships between religiosity and subjective well-being variables.

Aim  The aim of the study is to, from a comparative perspective, examine principals’ view of leadership in successful schools. Questions:  How do the principals describe their own leadership? What subject positions do the principals take? Method  Three principals were interviewed in the study. The interviews lasted for about 60 minutes. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The interviews were analyzed according to the theories of transformative and instructional leadership and also which of the three subject positions supporter, pedagogical leader and chief the principals enabled.   Results  The principals had not an entirely consistent approach to school leadership. Two of the principals spoke of leadership in accordance to the transformative theory with a focus on development and change. The third principal described his leadership in a manner more similar to the instructional theory with clear top-down approach and focus on school to be a safe place for students in a troubled area. All headmasters enabled in some degree all three subject positions however, they had one position each as they foremost enabled.  Conclusions  The headmasters’ view of leadership differs on some points which could indicate that the leadership needs to be adapted to the specific school in order to make the school and the headmaster successful. Common to all headmasters was that they had a strong commitment to the mission and students. The headmasters are taking different positions when they talk about leadership. This may be because they tend to use transformative or instructional leadership. The instructional leadership is beneficial in the beginning of the structuring of a school. In light of growing maturity in the organization, it is possible to switch to transformative leadership which gives the principal greater opportunities to work with future visions and the school's overall goals. / Syfte och frågeställningar  Studiens syfte är ur ett komparativt perspektiv undersöka rektorers syn på ledarskap i framgångsrika skolor. Frågeställningar:  Hur beskriver rektorerna sitt eget ledarskap? Vilka subjektspositioner intar rektorerna? Metod  Tre rektorer intervjuades i studien. Intervjuerna pågick under ca 60 minuter. Intervjuerna spelades in och transkriberades. Intervjuerna analyserades enligt teorierna om transformativt och instruerande ledarskap samt vilka av de tre subjektspositionerna supporter, pedagogisk ledare och chef rektorerna intog.  Resultat  Rektorerna har inte en helt samstämmig syn på skolledarskap. Två av rektorerna talade om ledarskapet i enlighet med den transformativa teorin med fokus på utveckling och förändring. Den tredje rektorn beskrev sitt ledarskap på ett sätt som mer liknar den instruerande teorin med tydlig toppstyrning och fokus på att skolan ska vara en trygg plats för elever i ett oroligt område. Samtliga rektorer aktiverade i någon grad alla tre subjektspositioner dock hade de varsin position som de främst aktiverade.  Slutsats  Rektorernas syn på ledarskap skiljer sig på en del punkter vilket skulle kunna tyda på att ledarskapet behöver passa för den specifika skolan för att skolan och rektorn ska kunna bli framgångsrika. Gemensamt för rektorerna var att de hade ett starkt engagemang för uppdraget och eleverna. Rektorerna tar olika positioner när de talar om ledarskap. Detta kan bero på om de tenderar att leda transformativt eller instruerande. Det instruerande ledarskapet är fördelaktigt i början av struktureringen av en skola. I takt med ökande mognad inom organisationen finns det möjlighet att växla till transformativt ledarskap vilket ger rektorn större möjligheter att arbeta med framtidsvisioner och skolans övergripande mål.