Keeping profits in New Zealand

The tourism industry is the second biggest for New Zealand and is expected to regain the top spot if current, exponential growth continues. Online travel agencies (OTAs) such as those owned by Expedia Inc. and Booking Holdings Inc. facilitate this boom by encouraging travellers to visit beautiful locations, but are taking huge chunks of this income away from the local Gross-Domestic Product (GDP) in the commission they charge on every night of accommodation booked. One of the largest consumers of New Zealand’s tourism industry is Chinese nationals. This study looks at feasibility of a small player developing an app in a market full of large corporates that are dominating the playing field. The primary research used mixed methods and sought to reach 120 questionnaire respondents and 10 interview participants which uncovered thoughts on stakeholders on either side of the discussion, the China-based potential customers and the New Zealand-based accommodation providers. Preliminary results indicate that Chinese nationals are often likely to conduct thorough research when making decisions about international travel and a large portion are enthused about the prospect of regular international travel. Accommodation providers in New Zealand are rarely hesitant to support a local OTA as they are often frustrated with the poor service received from the large corporates. Developing an app that is based in China and attempts to market the New Zealand tourism industry will be a difficult proposition but is plausible with the implementation of a marketing plan that is strategically thought out

A strategy for a university cafe during holidays

With no existing strategy for a cafe business and a highly competitive market, the organisation requires a planned strategy. This research proposes to research a café to determine the best strategy for the organisation. A questionnaire will collect quantitative and qualitative data and the organisation will be observed to determine business strategies

Strategies adopted to create relative advantage

The aim of this research is to understand the strategies being currently adopted and those which can be adopted to increase operating efficiency in an organisation. The research includes the background and SWOT analysis of the organisation to better understand the business environment. The scope of the research signifies the areas that have been investigated in the research to answer the question asked in the aim. These areas include relative advantage, customer analysis and management of human resources. These areas are explained in detail in the literature review which gives useful insight into the business strategies of the organisation. After the literature review, information regarding the method adopted to conduct the research and why it is adopted is discussed. A results section shows all the information obtained and graphs prepared from conducting the surveys and interviews. These are further analysed in detail in the discussion that follows

Sources of Value in Mergers and Acquisitions

This PhD thesis investigates sources of value in mergers and acquisitions, using a discounted cash-flow valuation method to develop a model that explains sources of economic gains. The model identifies three major sources of value in mergers, each of which can reduce or contribute to the combined wealth effect of a takeover deal. The overall value of the acquisition deal is a sum of the impacts of these factors on the combined value. The research significantly contributes to new knowledge regarding the sources of economic benefit in a merger. There are implications for researchers, practitioners and teachers. This research significantly contributes new knowledge on sources of value in mergers. Future research about mechanisms through which mergers create or destroy value flows from analysis and findings of this thesis. Moreover, using the model developed in this study, shareholders, investors, and analysts can make a more accurate estimation of value effects of mergers. This also helps investors and shareholders of the merging firms to make better investment decisions. Policy makers will also find the results of this study helpful. Although findings of the study suggest an actual value creation in mergers, it seems that a significant amount of value transfers from acquirer bondholders to target bondholders. This observation has implications for policy makers to regulate the market for corporate control in a way that minimises expropriation of wealth. The formulas and empirical findings of this thesis will also enrich the teaching agenda of corporate finance. The model developed in this thesis suggests that the combined value effect of mergers can be broken down into three parts: (1) earnings synergies discounted at the rate of the WACC of the combined firm; (2) value effect of the difference between the WACCs of the combined firm and the acquirer; and (3) the difference between the WACCs of the combined firm and the target. In any given merger, each of these components may add to or deduct from the total value of the merger. Moreover, the combined value of an acquisition estimated using this model might be negative, suggesting that the acquisition destroys value, or positive, suggesting that the acquisition creates value. The explanation of how mergers can be value creating, or value destroying, observes that the difference between the combined firm’s weighted average cost of capital and that of the acquirer and the target, along with the operating synergies, can account for total value effects of mergers. In the second stage, a sample of 68 US acquisitions during the period 1998 to 2011 is employed to empirically decompose the total value effect of acquisitions (TVA) as suggested by the model. This study uses the mean I/B/E/S forecasts for stand-alone acquirer and target firms prior to the acquisition and forecasts for the combined firm in the month subsequent to the acquisition’ month in order to estimate changes in forecasted earnings that occur following an acquisition. These forecasts are also used to estimate implied cost of equity of the firms prior and subsequent to acquisitions. Since I/B/E/S forecasts are typically one month apart, any change in the forecasts can be attributed to the impact of the acquisition. The empirical analysis provides important findings regarding the relative importance of the three components of the model suggested by this study. Specifically, the evidence provided in this study show that earnings synergies and the difference between the WACCs of the combined firm and the acquirer have a more significant role in value creation through mergers compared to the value effect of the difference between the WACCs of the combined firm and the target. Empirical evidence provided in this research shows that the combined value effect of acquisitions is positive, around 4%, on average. Aside from that, the results suggest that the two first components of the model account for more than 90% of value effect of acquisitions. While much emphasis is put on synergy gains from acquisitions by managers, analysts and researchers, the evidence provided in this study shows that the WACC of the combined firm and the merging firms may have a significant role on the value effect of mergers. These findings suggest that changes in the capital structure of the combined firm, compared to capital structures of the acquirer and the target, play a key role in determining the value of an acquisition. For example, all the value created because of synergies between the operations of the acquirer and the target can be counterbalanced by raising too much debt for financing the acquisition, which in turn increases the risk of default and cost of capital of the combined firm. Moreover, reducing the cost of capital of the combined firm compared to the merging firms, is value creating even in the absence of operating synergies. The empirical evidence provided in this study shows that the component of value associated with the difference between the WACCs of the combined firm and the acquirer is mainly determined by leverage of the acquiring firm and the method of payment. While cash payment is value creating, high leverage of the acquirer prior to an acquisition can destroy value by raising the cost of capital of the firm too much. This is especially important to managers when they are planning an acquisition. Although an acquisition might potentially create significant synergies in earnings, it may also increase the WACC of the combined firm. As a result, total value created or destroyed in that merger will depend on the extent to which value creating components and value-destroying components of an acquisition counteract and neutralise each other. In other words, the value created because of synergies in earnings might be countervailed, for example, by raising too much debt for financing the acquisition which in turn increases cost of capital to a value-destroying level. Finally, univariate and regression analyses are used to further investigate the relationship between components of the TVA and a number of acquirer and deal characteristics that are suggested to affect value of acquisitions. The results suggest that diversifying mergers create negative synergies in earnings and destroy value this way. However, diversification does not reduce the WACC of the combined firm compared to the WACC of the acquirer. Moreover, cash payments and lower levels of debt in the capital structure of the acquirer reduce the WACC of the combined firm and create value. By developing a model that creates a novel framework for decomposing value effects of merges, by documenting the relative importance of the components of the model, and by documenting how acquirer and deal characteristics affect value of acquisitions, this dissertation opens up opportunities for future investigations

Consumer behaviour in hamilton clothing sector

There is fierce competition in the clothing industry in New Zealand. This study analysed major determinants that influence consumer behaviour, especially in Hamilton. The background of this research is stated at the beginning of the report. In addition, there are 14 factors that may impact on purchase intentions, including store image, employee politeness, client’s gender, quality of products, and word of mouth. The researcher conducted primary research and gained data through a questionnaire. 150 informants participated in this research. After the analysis, respondents’ features are demonstrated in descriptive statistics, and answers to the research question are described in the results section. The first finding of this research is that employee politeness and consumer’s gender can impact on the budget people would like to spend in an apparel store. Another finding of this research is that store image, word of mouth, and product quality are the major determinant of the frequency that clients will visit a garment store. The researcher provides some recommendations for all clothing retailers to improve sales performance; firstly, coach staff before they provide service to your clients. Secondly, offer chairs and entertainment for the consumer’s partner. Thirdly, increase the investment for the store’s decoration, and design a stunning shopping bag for customers to carry. Fourthly, offer clients coupons or discounts when they bring their friends to purchase products together. Finally, retailers should focus on the industry’s movement and make adjustments rapidly

The applied management review: From cooperative education project to academic publication

The Applied Management Review From cooperative education project to academic publication Reza Yaghoubi Waikato Institute of Technology The Applied Management Review (AMR) is a peer-reviewed journal published by Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec) that presents original research in applied business and management. The research presented by the AMR focus on assisting a variety of companies across several industries through offering viable solutions to practical problems and addressing real-world questions. Consistent with this vision, the AMR encourages submissions that address specific practical problems or make methodological advancements in applied research in all areas of business and management. The first issue of the journal contains research conducted by students and their academic supervisors at Wintec's Centre for Business, IT and Enterprise. These studies have produced outputs tailored to help New Zealand businesses who chose to participate in Wintec's Co-operative Education Projects. The articles published in this issue of the AMR cover a broad range of topics including capital structure, product selection, customer satisfaction, efficiency improvements, internal controls, work-life balance, and supply chain management. The AMR is the outcome of a long process of continuous improvement in our research practices from the start of Wintec’s Applied Management programme in 2014. The Cooperative Education Projects (CEP) provided an opportunity to produce over 200 pieces of research at Wintec. The students initially presented their research to their supervisors and a moderator who would examine the quality of the research. After running the CEP for a couple of times, we envisioned a student research conference where students could receive quality feedback from the audience and experience a large networking event where they could practice public speaking, learn from other participants and potentially meet their future employers. Fast-forward 3 years, we have held 6 semi-annual conferences so far and have observed continuous improvement in several aspects including variety and quality of research, quality of presentations, quality of feedback provided by the audience, the industry participation, and overall quality of the event. We also envisioned that improving quality of the research would pave the way for publishing our research journal – A journal that bridges the gap between academic research in business and the research needs of real businesses. This would, in turn, enrich the larger research ecosystem that we were building in our community. Now that the first issue of the AMR is published, we are one step closer to that vision. However, we still have a long way ahead. We intend to expand and continuously improve the quality of the research published in the AMR. Already started to invite and accept submissions from international authors, the editorial board is keen to invite quality submissions from across New Zealand from both academics and professionals

How to improve and manage effective and efficient online customer service

The aim of this research is to help improve and manage effective and efficient online customer service and from the literature two main research questions were found. The reason for this research is to help online customer service and this idea was generated through the researcher as they want to have their own online business in the future. The key findings of the research is that the longer participants have been shopping online the more trust they have with online stores and the longer they have been shopping online the more they would be affected by negative feedback about an online store. One major recommendation is to build relationships with customers, online stores need to have an online live chat so customers can ask questions at any time while shopping. Another major recommendation is maintaining service recovery, by having service recovery procedures in place and offering unhappy customer with a small gesture so that they know they are being valued which should increase customer loyalty

What is the best strategy?

The research question of this study is “What is the best strategy for Momento-Uni, especially in holiday”. Momento-Uni is a café and restaurant which is located in the Waikato University in Hamilton. In this study, it is aim to develop and identify a proper strategy for Momento-Uni to create competitive advantages and increase its sales in normal period of time, furthermore, a specific strategy also needs to be developed when there is a holiday period to balance its loss and profits. On the other hand, because of the special location of the Momento-Uni, the strategy needs to be created for its sustainable and long-term development and its unique marketing position. In this study, a mixed research method is used which includes quantitative and qualitative study design and observation. A questionnaire is developed to collect the information and data about the customers’ evaluation and recommendation for Momento-Uni’s service and products. An interview was held with their manager to understand Momento-Uni’s business goals, current situation, internal working environment and future development. The observation was developed by the researcher to evaluate their competitor and internal working issues. As a result, it shows that the main customers are students from 18-30 years old and coffee and drinks and snacks take up most profit of the whole sales. Through the result, a focus strategy is developed because students are the mainly targeted segments and to meet their needs. However, Momento-Uni does not have a clear differentiation and cost-leadership strategy to meet customers’ variable needs. As students do not have a high consumption level, in the future, the challenges will be existed. The results also shows that in holidays, the number of customers are declined steeply which increase the difficulties in the future growth. According to the results, it recommends that Momento-Uni needs to develop a clear strategy with differentiation and cost-leadership strategy to offer customer differentiated service and products, creates its products varieties and improve its service quality. For the customer psychology and behavior, by better understanding the potential thought, feeling and intentions of the customers, a proper strategy needs to be developed about validation of existing insights and the creation of new and novel insight to follow the marketing trend to increase its marketing competitiveness. For the human resource management, Momento-Uni needs to have a reasonable staff management during the normal time, especially in holidays, the opening hour for each site in holiday will be adjusted, Lake site and Ms2 site will be closed in a few weeks. Lake site always have overmuch staff, the staff in lake site will be reduced in normal time. For the future growth, the new working policy and business plan will be developed and improved to achieve its business goals for the future success

Consumer Behaviour in Hamilton Clothing Sector

Due to the fierce competition in clothing industry in New Zealand. This study analysed major determinants that influence consumer behaviors especially in Hamilton. The background of this research was stated at the beginning of the report. Also, there is 14 factor that may impact purchase intentions listed in the article, including store image, employee politeness, clients' gender, products quality, word of mouth as well as other nine determinants. The researcher conducted a primary research and gained all data through a questionnaire. There were 150 informants participated in this research. After the analysis, the respondents' feature will be demonstrated in descriptive statistics, and the answers to the research question will be described in the results section. The first finding of this research is that employee politeness and consumer’s gender can impact the budget people would like to spend in an apparel store. Another finding of this research is that store image, word of mouth, as well as product quality, are the major determinant of the frequency that clients will visit a garment store. As a result, the researcher provides some recommendations for all clothing retailers to improve sales performance; firstly, coach staff before they provide service to your clients. Secondly, offer some chairs and entertainment for consumer's partner. Thirdly, increase the investment for store's decoration and design a stunning shopping bag for customers to carry. Fourthly, offer clients coupon or discounts when they bring their friends to purchase products together. Finally, retailers should focus on the industry's movement and adjust rapidly

Creating greater efficiency in Goods and Services Tax (GST)

This study aims to investigate how to create better efficiency in GST for a small painting business in the Waikato by enlightening and exploring the context of GST in the economy. This study uses secondary research in which the information is sourced from databases, using academic journals, published articles and then further multiple search engines which include government websites for discussion papers, legislation, and books. Re-occurring themes linking to the topic of creating greater efficiency in GST were identified. These ften linked to the history and the future of GST. The themes were analysed further, leading to the conclusion that particular factors affect poor compliance and showing why compliance is important for GST registered businesses. The study recommends that in order to create better efficiency in GST at a small painting business in the Waikato, they should adopt the new government initiative that is aimed at reducing compliance costs and simplifying the way information is submitted. This will help to incorporate efficiency in GST into their administration, using their accounting software package. Further research into GST is recommended to keep the business up to date with compliance