Abstract The main purpose of this study is to conjecture the change of relative advantages and their interactive relationship during the three-tier supply chain. Based on this change and interactive relationship, strategically formed methods and models are developed. The three-tier supply chain is mainly defined as global brand marketing companies, OEM/ODM manufacturers, and raw material suppliers. In this study, the OEM/ODM manufacturers, which are the middle-tier, are selected as the research subject of target enterprises. The proposed analytical method, which mainly focuses on the interactive transformation of QFD relative matrix, is the basis for the strategic development of the OEM/ODM manufacturers. And we also adopt practical three-tier cases to test and verify, through verification of this strategy by simulation models. The results show that the strategy formed based on the model developed is capable to produce acceptable suggestions for the OEM/ODM manufacturers. Keyword: Supply Chain management, Strategic Interaction, Value System, e-Business

The main purpose of the thesis is to analyze the phenomenon of conflicts between urbanism and ruralism, which reveals the development of early Chinese society and social collective consciousness, thereby comprehending the social meanings of Congwen Shen¡¦s novels; to explore the connection of themes of conflicts between urbanism and ruralism, tradition of the May Fourth realistic literature, and the early local realistic literature, and to interpret the literary meanings of Shen¡¦s novels. Besides the introduction and conclusion, the text is divided into three parts: Chapter Two is the ordination of sociologists¡¦ research on the transition of Chinese society from Ching dynasty to 1949, to serve as the frame of reference of Shen¡¦s novels for later-on discussion. Chapter Three is to apply Lucien Goldmann¡¦s literary critique to analyzing the binary opposite structure in Shen¡¦s novels and homologies of Chinese economy, politics, cultural transition, and collective consciousness. Chapter Four is to analyze the theme of urban and rural conflicts in Shen¡¦s novels, which may inherit from the tradition of realistic literature, to compare similarity and dissimilarity of the important local realistic literature in 1920s or 1930s, and to explore how the author and the social collective keep objectivism and subjectivism in balance, thereby evaluating the status of Shen¡¦s novels in early Chinese literature.

Globalization has drawn Canadian design firms to projects in many parts of the world and cross-cultural design projects are now a significant part of landscape architecture practice. However, currently there are few studies that discuss the issues and challenges associated with these projects. Through exploring the relationship between professional values and the design process, this research intended to identify issues and provide resolutions associated with cross-cultural design projects. A literature review and interviews of experienced design professionals show that professional values affect the design process. In a cross-cultural design project, different value systems from multiple cultures interact and influence each other, creating issues and challenges, but also inspiring new design ideas. The research suggests that understanding values and the professional value system could help landscape architects identify issues and improve both the processes and the products of cross-cultural design projects.

The purpose of this study is to determine the personal values systems of senior restaurant managers and what differences there are among the following values; gender, marital status, level of education, country awarding the highest degree, major field of study, income and size of organization.

The purpose of this study was to determine the various value levels that may be affecting communication in the church and to discover the predominant levels of psychological existence. Data was collected using the Value for Religion test. A total of 288 college and seminary students were tested. Comparisons of the differing scores of demographic variables formed the bases of the conclusions drawn in the study. Significant relationships were found between one's personal value cluster and sex, career intention, and type of college attended. Much research is still needed in the area of value levels in religion. Hopefully, this research will contribute to the success of religion in the future.

<p>Institution: Halmstad University/School of Teacher Education (LUT)</p><p>Course: C-level paper, 15 credits</p><p>Term: Spring 2010</p><p>Title: Two Sides of the Same Coin - A study of EFL-teachers knowledge regarding the divergences between British and American English; and the challenges which arise from having more than one accepted variety of English in EFL teaching.</p><p>Pages: 41</p><p>Writer: Linda Jensen</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to ascertain if Swedish EFL teachers have sufficient knowledge regarding the differences between BrE and AmE, the two major varieties of English. Furthermore, I aim to examine what challenges are created when two models of English, BrE and AmE, are accepted in upper secondary schools in Sweden.</p><p>Method: A quantitative web-based survey.Material: Questionnaire filled in by 59 EFL teachers in upper secondary schools in Halland, Sweden.</p><p>Main results: Upper secondary EFL teachers in Halland, Sweden do appear to have a basic knowledge of the differences between BrE and AmE and as such a majority placed themselves in the correct category. However, there is a lack of consistency and all the teachers mixed the two varieties to some extent. The challenges that arise from having two accepted varieties in Swedish schools are amongst other things the question of the consistency rule, dealing with the value system associated with British and American English and the question of whether Mid-Atlantic English should be accepted as a third educational standard.</p><p>Keywords: British English, American English, Mid-Atlantic English, divergence, EFL, consistency, challenges, value system.</p>

Institution: Halmstad University/School of Teacher Education (LUT) Course: C-level paper, 15 credits Term: Spring 2010 Title: Two Sides of the Same Coin - A study of EFL-teachers knowledge regarding the divergences between British and American English; and the challenges which arise from having more than one accepted variety of English in EFL teaching. Pages: 41 Writer: Linda Jensen Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to ascertain if Swedish EFL teachers have sufficient knowledge regarding the differences between BrE and AmE, the two major varieties of English. Furthermore, I aim to examine what challenges are created when two models of English, BrE and AmE, are accepted in upper secondary schools in Sweden. Method: A quantitative web-based survey.Material: Questionnaire filled in by 59 EFL teachers in upper secondary schools in Halland, Sweden. Main results: Upper secondary EFL teachers in Halland, Sweden do appear to have a basic knowledge of the differences between BrE and AmE and as such a majority placed themselves in the correct category. However, there is a lack of consistency and all the teachers mixed the two varieties to some extent. The challenges that arise from having two accepted varieties in Swedish schools are amongst other things the question of the consistency rule, dealing with the value system associated with British and American English and the question of whether Mid-Atlantic English should be accepted as a third educational standard. Keywords: British English, American English, Mid-Atlantic English, divergence, EFL, consistency, challenges, value system.

Executive Summary A company needs guidelines for the organization and its employees to act in the same direction. Core values constitute a fundamental part of a company but they have to be “lived” by the members of the organization in order to be valid. When a company undergoes many changes, there is a risk of losing the core values as focus is put on the survival of the company. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to reach a solution for the maintenance of the core values at Atea Logistics, a company which has faced turbulent periods. However, in order to do so, a first requirement was to get in touch with Atea Logistics’ culture in order to later correctly apprehend the organization’s core values. Hence, this research was guided by the following research question: “How to maintain core values at Atea Logistics?” The conducted study consists of a case study made at Atea Logistics in Växjö, which is a part of the Atea Holding AB. The currently successful group, Atea, was created in 1985 under the name of Owell. Atea is a company which helps organizations and companies increase the benefits of Information Technologies (IT) by providing products and services that simplify the management, operation and development of IT infrastructure. As an IT product supplier, Atea covers the entire cycle from the supply of new IT products to the recycling of old ones. Since we aimed at providing the company with a research that it could benefit from, this thesis has its base in discussions with managers of Atea Logistics. Empirical data were mostly gathered through interviews with several employees and finally interplay between empirical data and theoretical findings occurred. The findings of this complex study comprise that core values have been neglected within the company for several years because of repetitive changes. However, employees have been aware of this situation but still have not focused on this aspect. Several core values have been discovered which have remained since the Owell-time: respect, participation, openness, trust, responsibility and family-friendly. In order for Atea Logistics to maintain these values, several aspects need to be developed such as their clear statement, their communication via different tools (i.e. printed documents, corporate events, an integration process for newcomers, etc.) as well as the alignment of employees with them.

Based on the analysis of value chain and value system, this research investigated the multi-tiered supply chain industry, which are four processes to be followed. First, the research analyzed the value chains and value system in one industry to find out the critical value activities. Second, this research probed into the supply chain integration strategy to plan the future business strategies, which were divided into the upward and downward integration strategies. Third, the interaction of the enterprises in the industry supply chain was investigated by the process analysis approach to draw up the appropriate supply chain processes. Finally, after the strategy analysis of the supply chain, simulation tools were utilized to simulate the real situations in the multi-tiered industry, which could be one basis of solving the suffering problems.

<p>Executive Summary</p><p>A company needs guidelines for the organization and its employees to act in the same direction. Core values constitute a fundamental part of a company but they have to be “lived” by the members of the organization in order to be valid. When a company undergoes many</p><p>changes, there is a risk of losing the core values as focus is put on the survival of the company. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to reach a solution for the maintenance of the core values at Atea Logistics, a company which has faced turbulent periods. However, in order to do so, a first requirement was to get in touch with Atea</p><p>Logistics’ culture in order to later correctly apprehend the organization’s core values. Hence, this research was guided by the following research question:</p><p>“How to maintain core values at Atea Logistics?”</p><p>The conducted study consists of a case study made at Atea Logistics in Växjö, which is a part of the Atea Holding AB. The currently successful group, Atea, was created in 1985 under the name of Owell. Atea is a company which helps organizations and companies increase the</p><p>benefits of Information Technologies (IT) by providing products and services that simplify the management, operation and development of IT infrastructure. As an IT product supplier, Atea covers the entire cycle from the supply of new IT products to the recycling of old ones.</p><p>Since we aimed at providing the company with a research that it could benefit from, this thesis has its base in discussions with managers of Atea Logistics. Empirical data were mostly gathered through interviews with several employees and finally interplay between empirical</p><p>data and theoretical findings occurred. The findings of this complex study comprise that core values have been neglected within the company for several years because of repetitive changes. However, employees have been aware of this situation but still have not focused on this aspect.</p><p>Several core values have been discovered which have remained since the Owell-time: respect, participation, openness, trust, responsibility and family-friendly. In order for Atea Logistics to maintain these values, several aspects need to be developed such as their clear statement, their communication via different tools (i.e. printed documents, corporate events, an integration process for newcomers, etc.) as well as the alignment of employees with them.</p>