Syfte: Vårt syfte med uppsatsen är att ur ett ledningsperspektiv se vilka verkliga effekter delat ledarskap leder till. Vi vill utvärdera om de av ledningen förväntade effekterna leder till de verkliga effekterna vi kunde se. Metod: Vi har använt oss av kvalitativ metod för att få en djup inblick i de verkliga effekterna i det delade ledarskapet. Vi har först tagit reda på vilka effekter ledarna ville uppnå, för att sedan göra en utvärdering varpå vi visar de verkliga effekter som uppstått. För att utföra detta har vi använt oss av ett antal fallstudier. Slutsats: Vi kan inte entydigt säga att de av ledningen planerade effekterna har uppnåtts i de organisationer vi har undersökt. Vi kan se att dessa delvis har infriats men på ett komplext vis och på bekostnad av andra effekter. Vi menar att problematiken ligger i att ledningen inte helt och hållet erhållit de avsiktligt planerade effekterna i någon av de organisationerna vi undersökt. Vi har även ställt oss frågan om vi tydligt kan separera effekterna helt och hållet från varandra eller om de är integrerade i varandra så att vi inte kan utesluta vare sig den ena eller andra. Men vi kan konstatera att dessa effekter som inte alltid är kostnadsfria troligtvis inte hade utvunnits utan delat ledarskap. Vi menar att ett välkoordinerat delat ledarskap kan uppnå önskade effekter. Förutsättningen för att de önskade effekterna skall uppnås är att ledningen är uppmärksam på de effekter de önskar och lyfter fram dem till ett synligt och medvetet utvecklingsläge.

The most important conclusion we can draw from our research is that Porter´s three generic strategies, mainly the differentiation strategy, still are frequently used in the Colombian telecommunication market. Another conclusion is that a high-speed changing environment, such as the Colombian market, demands that the operators combine and integrate their strategy with other secondary strategies to become succesful. They can not, as Porter says, only depend on one strategy

We consider the problem of explaining and forecasting the volume of cellular mobile traffic in a long-term perspective. To this end, we create a model of a market with both economic and non-economic variables, viz. the state of the economy, the current price level and the penetration effect on the market in question. We measure these variables by using publicly available data and by applying income theories and by combining theories of demand and technology diffusion. Applying the model to three markets, viz. China, Italy and Sweden, we show that it performs very well in explaining and predicting the volume of cellular mobile traffic. Noting the qualitative differences between these markets, we conclude that the model has some universality in that the results are comparable for all of them

ABSTRACT Title: Impact of strategic planning on performance of District Assemblies in Ghana: Case study of Ahanta West District Assembly Author: Ernest Ofori Asamoah Supervisor: Anders Hederstierna Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden Course: Master’s thesis in business Administration,40 credits(60 ECT) Background and Problem Discussion: Formulating strategies or preparing a strategic plan in itself is not enough. There is therefore the need to measure the impact of the strategic planning and the planning process on the performance of the organization in question. This study will measure the qualitative impact of strategic planning on a well defined behaviour based variables. Purpose: The study explores how district Assemblies in Ghana plans strategically and how such planning impacts on their performance to meet the socio economic needs of the people. Method: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from primary and secondary sources. The study was conducted in Ahanta West district one of the vibrant districts in Ghana. Data was collected from primary and secondary sources .49 people were interviewed through questionnaire administration. Theory: The theory section looks at strategic planning and its related concepts such as long range planning, strategic thinking, operational planning and strategic management. Analysis: I have analyzed the information provided to examine how strategic planning impacts on organizational performance with reference to ahanta West District Assembly in Ghana .Conclusion: The findings indicated that strategic planning has a significant impact on performance of District Assemblies such as optimization of the strategic perspective of the organizational and enhanced teamwork. It can result in improved understanding of the organisation’s objectives and overall direction. It can facilitate implementation of organisational objectives and goals. They agreed and accepted the impacts and resolved to continuously plan to maximize these impacts.

As the organiser of the workshop 'IT-stöd för vård och omsorg i hemmet', the author presents a general picture of the subject, and call for one day's discussion with around 30 participants from all around Sweden.

Research in the area of family business aims to understand three primary issues: (1) how family firms are different from non-family firms, (2) what the competitive advantages for family firms are, and (3) how families can transfer knowledge about their competitive advantage between generations. In this paper we use the concept of family firm capital to differentiate competitive advantages of family and non-family firms, and to clarify what are the different types of knowledge that are important to transfer across generations of families. We also borrow from the socialization literature to provide a framework to explain how knowledge can be transferred across family generations and family employees. We discuss this model and present potential implications for family business research.

Problem Discussion Total quality management has become a frequently used term in discussions concerning quality. The international and national competitive environment is in a proces of constant change by the globalisation of markets and increased interdependence of economic agents. This process of change has brought increased demands on the organizations compettiveness and the customers have gained a central role in the organizations focus. Total quality management is considered to be an important management philosophy, which supports the organizations in their efforts to obtain satisfied customers. However traditional work practice and management attitudes does not conform with total quality management, which could cause a resistance towards an implementation of total quality management. Purpose The overall aim of this thesis is to study the role and the aspects of the human resource department tasks in regards to an implementation of total quality management. Conclusion The theoretical analysis reveals the implications there are in building a quality cuture. The analyze implies that builing a quality culture would require a matching human resource strategy, which would involve the human resource management, the organizations way of working as well as the human resource policies and practices. In context to this, was it furthermore argued that the literature of total quality management often have a hidden implicit agenda, which call upon a topdown method for the implementation of total quality management. This could underestimate the difficulties, there are in gaining a commitment to continuous improvements in the current pluralistic industrial relation culture. The empirical analysis in the Grundfos Group reveals the different roles of the human resource management and shows that the implementation of total quality management has posed quite a lot of human resource challenges to human resource employees such as, motivating knowledge workers, obtaining employees satisfaction, overcoming communication barriers, solving problems associated with vastness of the organization.

Customer satisfaction is a fundamental marketing construct in the last three decades. In the past, it was unpopular and unaccepted concept because companies thought it was more important to gain new customers than retain the existing ones. However, in this present decade, companies have gained better understanding of the importance of customer satisfaction (especially service producing companies) and adopted it as a high priority operational goal. This study aimed at investigation the overall customer satisfaction of the mobile telecoms industry in Nigeria, factors influencing satisfaction and the relationship between satisfaction and demographics. The results obtained in this research indicated that 57% of the respondents were satisfied and 5% highly satisfied. The combination of network quality, billing, validity period and customer support (mobile services attributes) showed strong relationship with satisfaction while age, gender, location and employment variables showed weak relationship.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka på vilket sätt en offentlig verksamhet har kunnat effektivisera ekonomistyrningen och ta reda på vilka de faktorer/aktiviteter är som har medverkat till att få budgetutfallet i balans. Vi vill också ta reda på i vilken grad det balanserade styrkortet (BSC) har medverkat till det positiva budgetutfallet. Metod. Vi har utgått från den kvalitativa metodteorin, som i sin tur har den hermeneutiska vetenskapsteorin som sin grund eftersom vi vill tolka och förstå. Med denna utgångspunkten har vi valt att använda oss av fallstudie med semistandardiserade ostrukturerade intervjuer kompletterat med data från olika dokument och för att få den teoretiska kopplingen har vi studerat litteratur inom ämnesområdet. Analysen och även teorikopplingen har sedan skett utifrån en för studien speciellt framtagen analysmodell. Resultat: Genom systematisk och målinriktad styrning och genom samverkade faktorer, med tonvikt på ett ledarskap som både är professionellt, visionärt och okombinerat, där personalen ses som en viktig resurs och där det finns en klar strategi och målsättning att hålla verksamhetens kostnader inom anvisad budgetram har en offentlig verksamhet som hab./rehab.kliniken, kunnat få en effektiv ekonomistyrning. Viktiga förutsättningar är dock en rimlig budgetram i förhållande till ett tydligt och realistiskt uppdrag, samt en ändamålsenlig organisering med ”bra” medarbetare. Övriga studerande faktorer har också haft betydelser och krävs för att få en effektiv ekonomistyrning och kan dessutom ses som indikatorer på i vilken grad ledarskapet och förutsättningarna för verksamheten främjar den effektiva ekonomistyrningen.

Title: VENTURE CAPITAL-BACKED INVESTMENT: IMPACT ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN SWEDEN Author: John Gartchie Gatsi Supervisor: Anders Hederstierna Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology Course: Master’s Thesis in Business Administration, 10 Credits Background and problem discussion: Sweden is one of the small open economies with flourishing venture capital investments. Much research has not been conducted into corporate governance in Sweden when venture capital is involved. I therefore studied how venture capital investments affect corporate governance and performance in Sweden. The research question focuses on board chairperson’s separation from the CEO, independent audit and compensation committees and other board members. Purpose: The study was conducted to understand how corporate governance has developed into the management of Venture Capital backed investments in Sweden since, Sweden ranked third to Venture Capital investment destination currently. The result will add to the limited existing literature on the subject in Sweden with venture capital as the focus. Theory: The study was conducted using both complementarities framework and governed corporation principle in which venture capital firms and their portfolio firms in Sweden benefit from each other. Analysis: Data for the thesis was collected from selected Venture Capitalists who are members of the Swedish Venture Capital Association through simple Open and closed ended self administered questionnaire. Conclusion: Venture capitalists ensure active participation in the portfolio firms through board representation but do not consider appointment of board chair as a means to enhance corporate governance. Separation of the board chair from the CEO of a portfolio firm is a clear characteristic of corporate governance in venture capital backed investments in Sweden. More importance is placed on collective decision making than Audit and Compensation Committees.

Background and Problem Discussion: One of the widespread conclusions in supply chain management research is that huge benefits can be achieved if suppliers are involved in the OEM’s product development process as early as possible, since suppliers often possess vital product and process technology leading to significant improvements in product design and new product development process. The issue is a need for a model of supplier selection to support the contribution of suppliers in product development processes; whilst supplier attributes or performance metrics for traditional supplier selection do not seem to include specifications that are usually required in close relationships. What practitioners need in practice, is a simple-to-use methodology with producing logically precise results. Purpose: The purpose of this study is developing a model of supplier selection to support the contribution of suppliers in product development processes, and eventually, developing a strategically integrated supply base for Volvo Powertrain Corporation (VPT). Among the first part of this study, a model of supplier evaluation and selection has been developed, considering attributes and success factors for integration with suppliers, and also examined in VPT with the aims of achieving mutual success in both products and commerce for VPT, as the focal company, and its supply chain members. The second part of this study presents a model to boosting the integrated partnership established on the basis of the first part endeavour. Theory: The first part covers the theories emerges from a large number of stochastic studies concerning hypotheses proofing of relations between diverse aspects of hypothetical influential characteristics of partnerships and its performance. And the second part deals with theory of suppliers association. Analysis: Collected data from suppliers of VPT as well as practitioners is analysed and compared with the academic studies in the first part. Second part, however, deals only with theory since it needs more time and effort which is proposed as prospect studies. Conclusion: The conducted survey shows that two-way communication (or multi-way in more developed situations) and mutual trust are the most vital elements to partnership survival. It has been presented in this effort, and suggested to VPT, that the best practice in this respect is developing the supplier association in a framework of Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle (PDCA) constituted of key suppliers for a particular system and /or subsystem.

This article complements extant literature on entrepreneurship and trust by proposing a model of over-trust (the tendency to trust more than what is warranted) using entrepreneurial characteristics and effectual logic. We trace how entrepreneurs following effectual processes may tend to over-trust. More formally, we propose that specific personality characteristics of the entrepreneur interact with effectual logic to make the entrepreneur more susceptible to over-trust. The proposed model is value neutral in that we do not imply that over-trust has negative consequences for entrepreneurs. In fact, it may be part of the overall risk that entrepreneurs assume in a new venture creation.

Insights from agency theory and the theory of altruism are used to empirically examine the relationship between founder descendant board membership and the market value of publicly traded firms in Norway, Sweden, and Spain. We argue that both economic incentives and positive altruism drive the board room behavior of persons associated with inherited wealth. Consequently, founder descendant board membership may reduce agency costs in public firms by ensuring the continuity of the founder’s strategic vision. We also hypothesize a non-linear relationship between insider holding and firm value in firms with a descendant board member, arguing that both market discipline and altruistic behavior can be key competitive advantage for family-influenced firms. We also hypothesize an efficiency based argument for a positive influence of pyramid ownership structures on the performance of firms with descendant board membership. This suggests that pyramids favor the creation of firm value in second and later generation family firms. Evidence from 254 firms in the three non-Anglo-American countries largely supports the presented hypotheses.

Purpose: Investigate and examine industry practice with regards to evaluation of process improvement, identification of measures and methods for success evaluations. The main reasoning is to use empirical data from industry, data from academia and research as input for suggesting proposals for improvement and discussion new avenues for future research in a field not addressed by e.g. traditional investment theory or marketing research. Method: Interviews were used and several data sources were elicited to gather empirical data. Literature surveys complemented this. Ultimately a triangulation approach was adopted to gradually and continuously compare and identify the chasms between academia and the reality and needs of industry. Results: The results can be described in three parts. First, there is a empirical investigation showing what measures and models are used in industry. These are discussed and put against literature (the academic view) in both the software engineering field, but relevant research is also scrutinized in business management field, e.g. investment theory. The second contribution is the concrete proposal of three methods for evaluating process improvement success. The first two of these are actually useable and take notice of the limitations identified in industry through the empirical investigation, i.e. no assumptions and theoretical models are presented in the first part of the proposal. The second part of the proposal is designed to present an outlook of the overall potential, provoking a discussion and ultimately leading out to a conclusion of future research needed in the field.

Vår slutsats är att det krävs att produkten är standardiserad och att kunderna känner till produkten för att företaget ska ha större chans att kunna sälja sina produkter via Internet. Detta då kunderna inte är lika beroende av den fysiska kontakten. Detta anser vi är anledningen till att endast ett fåtal möbelföretag använder sig av e-handel. Detta då alla möbelföretags produkter inte är standardiserade och kunderna inte känner till dem. Vilket innebär att alla möbelföretags produkter inte lämpar sig för e-handel. De möbelföretag som inte har produkter som är standardiserade och produkter som inte är välkända av kunderna är beroende av den personliga kontakten med sina kunder.

Problemställning: Enligt D'Aveni befinner sig 80 % av branscherna inom USA:s tillverkningsindustri i hyperkonkurrens. Vi ser ingen tendens att hyperkonkurrensens drivkrafter skulle ha mattas av sedan D'Aveni myntade begreppet hyperkonkurrens 1994. Detta till trots finner vi lite forskning inom området i Sverige. Därför vill vi ta reda på om hyperkonkurrensen kan ses i Sverige och hur företagen som är utsatta för den agerar ur ett strategiskt perspektiv. Syfte: Vi vill undersöka hur företag som befinner sig i hyperkonkurrens agerar ur ett strategiskt perspektiv, och söka förklaringar till deras agerande. Metod: Vi har studerat tre olika teorier för konkurrens, monopolistisk-, resursbaserad- och hyperkonkurrens och olika syn på strategier som används inom nämnda konkurrenssituationer. Den empiriska undersökningen har bestått av tre intervjuer med personal på Wilden, Cascades Djupafors och Tarkett. Därefter har vi analyserat vår empiri med hjälp av teorin för att dra slutsatser om företagens agerande. Slutsats: Utifrån våra kontroller kunde vi göra bedömningen att hyperkonkurrens verkligen existerar i Sverige. Vi fann att företagen använde sig av några, men inte alla sju essen som D’Aveni rekommenderar att företag ii hyperkonkurrerande miljö skall använda sig av. Undersökningen gav inget stöd för att något av företagen använde sig av det sjätte esset, signalering av strategisk avsikt. Undersökningen visar också att företag arbetar med långsiktig strategisk planering, vilket av undersökningsresultatet att döma verkar viktigt, trots att D’Aveni menar att det är meningslöst.

Workplace logics signify attitudes that employees express in close interaction, formal decision-making and collaborative interventions. The term covers a metaphorical mental context rather than a mathematically coherent understanding of social control mechanisms that influence interlocutors in cooperative activity. Workplace logics relate to future-oriented choices that employees make so as to obtain targeted production goals. But logics also hold an explanatory potential. They enable for the researcher to account for social systems that need to be designed before they are acted on. The objective for analysing workplace logics is to turn attention away from language and focus on activity systems. Successful action research facilitates for individual and organizational learning, the latter of which is rarely fulfilled in contemporary research.

Software industry is growing day by day and software is going more complex and diverse with increase in cost and rate of failure. This increase in size and complexity of software projects has negative impact on the software productivity, schedule and effort. Organizations are demanding high quality products to increase their productivity and profits. It is common that they are facing some serious problems even after spending a large sum of money. So, its alarming situation and the concerned parties should take effective steps to resolve software project failure problem. Above all this, we are facing a high rate of software failure putting software industry on stake. This study revolves around the core issue of finding the root causes of software project failure with respect to organizational factors. In this, I have tried to find the organizational factors contributing towards the failure of software projects. I have done this study with the help of literature review and questionnaire survey. There could be one or several factors responsible for the software projects failure, which are mentioned in chapter two. I have slightly touched the Information Technology for digging deep into the failure and for understanding this phenomenon. Software failure is the biggest challenge faced by IT as well as business people. There is strong need to find the root causes of software project failure and mitigate them. For controlling this failure problem management can perform its role and I have discussed the role of management in defining, measuring, controlling and implementation of software projects. A project is considered failure when it is not able to show the anticipated results and it is happened when team is not able to fulfill the requirements of the project e.g. overruns time, overruns resources, lack of conformance with initial requirements specifications. I have tried to find out the answers of my research questions through literature review and empirical study. Root causes of software project failure are presented and validated through literature review, data analysis, discussion, and findings. A comprehensive analysis of empirical data and discussion will give you the insight into the problem and my effort to sort out them in a precise way. For the purpose of knowing the solution of this study, I will refer you towards the conclusion and recommendation. The concerned or interested people can get benefit from this research study and definitely it will help them to avoid software project failure. The contribution of the research is twofold. First, it will be helpful for the software making professionals/companies and secondly, it will be helpful for decision makers/users (Organizations), when they are going to buy or implement a software project for enhancing their productivity.

Abstract This thesis is an attempt to investigate how the use of promotional activities can help to develop the tourism industry by giving a special concentration to the case of Bangladesh. The investigation was conducted from both a theoretical and an empirical point of view. The contribution of the same industry to the world economy is considerable. Many countries are now dependent on this sector for foreign currency earnings. Every destination country is trying to achieve more gain by developing this industry. The expansion of the tourism through out the world has increased competition among the tourist destinations, trying to attract more tourists by adopting appropriate marketing techniques and strategies. Failure of doing so by a particular marketer will lead to a less competitive in the world tourism market. As an important element of marketing mix, promotion plays the vital role in marketing any product and service. Tourism product/service is of no exception. Because of the tourists want to know in advance about the attractions and the facilities of a particular destination. The tourist also wants to know other related information of his/her visit to make the same safe, secured and enjoyable. As a result, dissemination of information on travel and tourism-related products and services are highly important. By using the different tools of promotion, marketers attempt to serve this purpose and try to influence the potential tourists’ attitudes in favour of the sponsor’s destination and grow interest to visit the same. Though promotion plays an important role in tourism marketing, the tourism marketing in Bangladesh is far behind from reaching this goal, which leads to incapacity to attract a significant number of tourists. This is mainly due to inadequate and ineffective promotional measures of the tourism sector of Bangladesh. Both the private and public tour operators of Bangladesh have the resource constraints and can not afford the sufficient budget for the promotional purpose. As a result, they can not conduct the promotional measures for the said industry by using international media which is essential for attracting the foreign tourists. They only depend on the local media which is not sufficiently fruitful for an industry where the location of the target market is diversified and they are located at the different parts of the world. In addition to that the low quality of promotional materials, improper distribution of the materials, the perceived negative image by the potential tourists due to a wrongful and negative reporting from international media adversely affect the tourism of Bangladesh. The research also revealed that the country has a positive trend in arrivals and earnings and it can be increased to a singnificant level if the country can undertake appropriate promotion measures by increasing the allocation for this purpose. The country also needs to employ creative people for this purpose and the quality of the promotional materials also needs to be developed. The promotional activities should also be directed in correcting the present image towards Bangladesh as tourists’ destination. By ensuring these measures Bangladesh tourism industry can emerge as one of the major contributors to the national economy of Bangladesh.

Entrepreneurial action in emerging economies is viewed in this paper as differing from that of developed economies from the demand as well as supply side. We use prior conceptualizations of environmental uncertainty faced by entrepreneurs, the entrepreneurial process theory of effectuation, and social capital to propose where these differences arise, how these differences affect entrepreneurial resources and actions, and which type of resources are more likely to be valuable in emerging economies. In addition, within emerging economies, we develop testable propositions of which type of entrepreneurial resources are more likely to lead to entrepreneurial success.

Background and Problem Discussion: To be able to be a successful company in the US you need to possess certain factors. Jim Collins and his research team have found that successful companies in the US have six factors in common. His findings are described in the book Good to Great . This thesis tries to find out if these success factors also can be found in small successful Swedish companies. Purpose: To see if the Collins’ findings are “universal” and independent of the size of the company. Method: · Select a couple of small successful Swedish companies based on how their stock price had developed during the last 10 years. · Interview the selected companies’ CEOs to get hold of information about the reasons for their company’s success. · Compile the success factors in Swedish companies and try to find common denominators. · Compare the findings of Collins with my findings to see if they are similar. Theory: According to Collins’ research, successful US companies in have six common factors that make them unique compared to less successful/unsuccessful companies; a leadership on level 5, first who then what, accept and face the reality, the Hedgehog concept, a culture based on discipline, technology as an accelerator. My assumption is that it would be possible to find some common factors in small successful Swedish companies as well. Analysis: When comparing the results found by Collins with my findings, I analysed if they were fully compatible, to some degree similar or if they completely differed with the findings of Collins. Conclusion: I have found that several factors are common among the analysed Swedish companies. All of my findings could also be related to the findings of Collins and his research team. Two of Collins findings were not directly apparent but explanations around this will be found in the thesis.

Titel: Ledarens betydelse för företagskulturen då företaget expanderar till nya marknader Författare: Marie Lood och Elisabeth Nilsson Handledare: Göran Alsén och Camilla Wernersson Institution: Managementhögskolan, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola Kurs: Kandidatarbete i företagsekonomi, 10 poäng. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka om chefer verkligen har så stor betydelse som den allmänna uppfattningen tillskriver dem, och vi gör undersökningen med särskilt hänseende till bibehållandet av företagskulturen då ett företag expanderar till nya marknader. Vi tar reda på och klargör chefens betydelse för bibehållandet av företagskulturen vid företagsexpansion. Metod: För att studera förhållandet mellan chef och företagskultur intervjuade vi fem chefer i personliga intervjuer respektive per telefon, om deras erfarenheter vid företagsexpansioner. Genom att göra det lade vi den empiriska grunden för den analys vi därefter genomförde via kultur- och ledarskapsteorier vi fann i litteraturstudien. Slutsatser: Vår slutsats är att ledaren som levt och verkat i företagskulturen har stor betydelse för företagskulturbevarande vid företagsexpansioner, då denne vet vad företaget vill förmedla till de nyanställda. Ledaren har i sin position inflytande att påverka de anställda i exempelvis interaktioner och värderingsbildande.

Titel: Ledarens betydelse för företagskulturen då företaget expanderar till nya marknader Författare: Marie Lood och Elisabeth Nilsson Handledare: Göran Alsén och Camilla Wernersson Institution: Managementhögskolan, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola Kurs: Kandidatarbete i företagsekonomi, 10 poäng. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka om chefer verkligen har så stor betydelse som den allmänna uppfattningen tillskriver dem, och vi gör undersökningen med särskilt hänseende till bibehållandet av företagskulturen då ett företag expanderar till nya marknader. Vi tar reda på och klargör chefens betydelse för bibehållandet av företagskulturen vid företagsexpansion. Metod: För att studera förhållandet mellan chef och företagskultur intervjuade vi fem chefer i personliga intervjuer respektive per telefon, om deras erfarenheter vid företagsexpansioner. Genom att göra det lade vi den empiriska grunden för den analys vi därefter genomförde via kultur- och ledarskapsteorier vi fann i litteraturstudien. Slutsatser: Vår slutsats är att ledaren som levt och verkat i företagskulturen har stor betydelse för företagskulturbevarande vid företagsexpansioner, då denne vet vad företaget vill förmedla till de nyanställda. Ledaren har i sin position inflytande att påverka de anställda i exempelvis interaktioner och värderingsbildande.

Syftet var att undersöka om sättet att förmedla och hantera ekonomisk information och annan verksamhetsnära information i form av rapporter och/eller andra sätt att förmedla informationen på, påverkar förståelse och motivation hos individer inom sjukvårdsverksamhet, så att det avspeglas positivt på effektiviteten, både vad avser ekonomi och vårdproduktion. En fallstudie gjordes i två landsting för att förstå och förklara informationsförmedlingens betydelse för effektiviteten i sjukvårdsproducerande verksamhet. Personliga intervjuer av det semistandardiserade slaget jämte sekundärdata i form av interna rapporter och andra dokument användes vid datainsamlingen. Analysarbetet gjordes med hjälp av kategorisering av det insamlade materialet jämte ett antal datamatriser. Resultatet av studien visar att det förekommer samband mellan informationsförmedling, motivation, kognition och effektiviteten hos de studerade klinikerna. Sambanden och interaktionen mellan delarna yttrar sig som en gemensam organisationsdialog mellan individer och mellan olika nivåer inom organisationen och skapar en gemensam organisationserfarenhet, som resulterar i att informationen som förmedlas i organisationen får karaktären av styrinformation, som i sin tur ger upphov till en organisatorisk drivkraft som har en positiv inverkan på effektiviteten.

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka vilken roll kundens transaktionskostnader för bokköp har för betydelse när det kommer till onlineboklådornas existens. Undersökningsdesign: I denna uppsats har en enkätundersökning gjorts med hjälp av campusstudenter på BTH. Enkäten skickades ut via mail samt att den delades ut till slumpmässigt utvalda studenter på campus. Slutsats: Av studien vi har gjort kom vi fram till att transaktionskostnader för kunden har en viss betydelse när det kommer till existensen av onlineboklådor.

Titel: Går det urskilja skillnader i målkongruens med avseende på interaktiva ekonomistyrsystem? Författare: Lina Lindgren och Viktoria Mandelberg Handledare: Lars Svensson Institution: Managementhögskolan, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola Kurs: Kandidatarbete i Företagsekonomi, 10 poäng Syfte: Vi vill med denna uppsats undersöka om det blir en bättre målkongruens hos företag med mer interaktivitet i sina ekonomistyrsystem. Vi vill också undersöka om företag har samma grad av målkongruens, oberoende av vilken situation företaget befinner sig i. Metod: Vi har valt att genomföra vår studie med hjälp av en enkätundersökning riktad till slumpvalda, tillverkande företag. Vi har kategoriserat våra frågor efter den befintliga teori vi använt oss av. Sammanställning av enkäten gjordes i e-Val, Excel och SPSS för att vi skulle kunna analysera utfallet. Slutsatser: Vi kunde konstatera att de undersökta företagen, överlag, var mer interaktiva i sin ekonomiska styrning. En viktig slutsats var att större inslag av interaktivitet i ekonomistyrsystemen inte tycks leda till bättre målkongruens. En annan viktig slutsats var att kvinnor och män i samma företag hade sämre målkongruens. En tredje slutsats var att om ett företags situation är föränderlig/osäker, visar detta sig i målen som då också ständigt ändras, vilket även visade på sämre målkongruens, dvs. företags enkelhet att nå målkongruens ändras med situationen.

SUMMARY Title: Knowlege Management via Information Technologies, Case Study: Quality Control Plans In Siemens A&D ET Author: Asli Morali Supervisor: Anders Hederstierna Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology Course: MBA thesis, 10 credits. Background and Problem Discussion: Efficient knowledge management becomes day by day a very critical issue for organizations by being considered as one of the most important competitive advantages. Globalization brings more complexity into business environments and communication and information technologies are very critical for control and coordination. IT gained much importance allowing organizations to manage knowledge in global scale. The knowledge sharing is even more complex and critical for multinational organizations. This study will help to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of IT in knowledge management process in multinational companies. As an example, Siemens AG is a well-known multinational involved in intense global knowledge management and sharing. Siemens A&D ET is one of the divisions of Siemens AG which is looking for an IT solution for knowledge management about quality control plans worldwide. The case study will try to find the most efficient IT solution for Siemens A&D ET to share knowledge internationally about quality control plans. Purpose: The primary purpose of the study is to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of IT in knowledge management process in multinational companies. The secondary purpose of this study is to give some advices about how knowledge on quality control plans could be shared in between different locations by use of IT within Siemens A&D ET. Method: Inductive, Exploratory, Qualitative Case Study. Primary data is collected from headquarters and international production locations of Siemens A&D ET with the help of unstructured interviews and questions sent by e-mail. Theory: The theory section is constructed at different levels. I started by discussing the knowledge in general and the classification of knowledge as a basis for the study. Next, I presented the literature about knowledge management. Then, I covered Knowledge Management and Information Technologies to discuss finally the knowledge management in multinational companies by use of IT. Analysis: I have used the theory chapter as much as possible to analyze the current situation in Siemens A&D ET. The analysis is done based on the empirical study, first I analysed the situation in international production locations, then I analysed the options of IT solutions. Lastly, I combined both analysis to drive a conclusion. Conclusion: There is a high dependence on IT for knowledge sharing in multinationals and the expectations from IT is high. The risk to fall into the trap of investments for expensive IT solutions is very high for multinational companies. Multinational companies possess dispersed knowledge all around the world and it is important to recognize that most of the part of this knowledge is tacit. Therefore even though IT facilitate the knowledge management and sharing between different units of multinational companies, it is crucial to develop other means to share the tacit part of the knowledge base. For Siemens A&D ET Case it is technically easy to design an IT solution to share, manage, update and coordinate the quality control plans. 4 different IT alternatives can be a solution for Siemens A&D ET. Secure Data Exchange Folders and SharePoint are very easy to initiate and the required level of investment is relatively low, they might be used as a short term temporary solution. A&D CADIM Web Client and SAP Q solutions are relatively hard to initiate and the required level of investment is higher. Therefore, those solutions are suitable as permanent and long term solutions. However, as the study shows the main problem starts with the tacit part of the knowledge about quality control plans. Results show that there are many barriers to share the knowledge about quality control plans via IT and due to low need for such a system in locations, the commitment of the locations seems to be very low. If Siemens A&D ET is willing to put one of those solutions into application, it is clear that all systems require other mechanisms to support the efficient knowledge exchange. Face to face communication is one of the most important supporting mechanisms.

The purpose of the research is to address the issues and considerations faced by companies, mainly retail B2C companies, as they try to establish online presence, migrating from tradition modes of doing business, to adoption of some virtual attributes. It also looks into the challenges that wholly virtual companies face, particularly online retailers (normally called e-tailers) as they realise the need to embrace traditional business processes, in a bid to gain from the advantages of the two worlds (the traditional world and the virtual world). We discussed problems, issues and considerations that these retail companies, both wholly internet based firms and the well known traditional firms face through a case study approach. With the use of different case studies of successful traditional companies, we shed light on what need to be considered while migrating from either of the two platforms elaborated on (the traditional world, and the virtual world)

This thesis studies effects of shelf layout in a department store on buyer behavior and then extends the research to cover the similar issue in layout of e-bazaars. Shelf layout –in terms of parameters which influence buyer behavior- is formulated by two variables; pattern of prices and pattern of popularity. In measuring both of these variables, a weighting system should be used to fine tune effect of distance between customer and different items in the layout which are also in the eyesight of the customer. In this study, weights are manipulated in such a way to optimize prediction power of the model. As a result, these weights determine an average span of vision for buyers. This measure can be used then in analysis to improve shelf layouts. Based on the analysis, we came to conclusion that in our case study –Shahrvand department stores – the first factor is the key determinant in customer buying decision. A rather similar result was obtained in e-bazaars case but with much greater lack of fit measure. At the end, a set of recommendations for shelf layout is developed based on the results of the research.

Title: Winning in a Global Market: The Significance Of Training For Skills Required To Be Effective In International Marketing. Author: Peter Ohonsi Supervisor: Anders Hederstierna Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology Course: Master’s Thesis in Business Administration, 10 credits. Background and Problem Discussion: International marketing has intensified and is evident in nearly all aspects of daily life. Local regions or national boundaries no longer restrict competitive forces. To be successful in today's global economy, companies must be simultaneously responsive to local and global market conditions. Hence, international marketing skills are an important ingredient for every company, whether or not it is currently involved in exporting activities. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to (1) Identify the skills needed to be effective in international marketing; (2) identify the level of importance of each of these skills; (3) identify the degree to which these skills are present in employees of exporting companies; and (4) describe the gap between the skills these employees have and the skills they need. Method: Data were collected, regarding skill importance, through a Delphi participant sample of thirty academic and practitioner international marketing experts. Companies, exporting between $500,000 and $50 million, were surveyed regarding the degree their employees possessed the identified skills. Possession ratings were compared across importance ratings, in a way that allowed skill-based areas for training programs to be prioritized. Theory: An extensive review of the literature was completed relative to determining which skills are required for effective international marketing. The literature provided several organizational frameworks, which focused on general elements of international marketing. Analysis: Sixty skills were identified as necessary for effective international marketing, and were classified into, and analyzed within categories - (1) planning and operational skills; (2) pricing skills; (3) promotional skills; (4) product skills; and (5) distribution skills. Twenty-four of the skills were rated as being highly important, thirty-six were rated as being of medium importance, and none were rated as being of low importance. Possession ratings were compared across importance ratings, which identified twenty-four international marketing skills as training priorities. Conclusion: There were three major managerial implications based on the findings: (1) Implications relating to the degree that small and medium-sized actively exporting companies may participate in international marketing training programs; (2) International promotional skills should be the topic most emphasized when offering international marketing training programs; and (3) This study has produced a new assessment tool which would go a long way to assist firms in identifying international marketing training needs.

Revolutionary developments in marketing, information and communications technology continue to transform the banking and financial industry. Distribution of banking services through the Internet is an important part of this transformation. The objectives of this thesis are mainly to examine the role, which Internet banking can play as a new distribution channel of banking services for the benefit of both financial institutions and customers in Greece. The study explores the growth in on-line banking services and the ways in which financial institutions in Greece can take advantage of Internet technology to offer successful and cost-effective banking solutions. Moreover, this thesis addresses the key issues of concern to the banks regarding their strategic positioning and the products/services they offer or could offer on the Internet. Technology can help banks build an integrated delivery strategy for effective multi-channel management. Results identify the reasons why Greek banks use Internet banking and their effect and place an emphasis on the strategic impact of Internet technology as a core element of financial services. Greek banks want to expand their existing distribution channels using the Internet as another alternative channel. Internet banking in Greece is on its way to become the centerpiece of direct banking strategies.

Title: Transformational leadership and economic efficiency – Can a charismatic leader in an administration for care motivate the subordinates to improve the economic performance? Author: Tony Pehrson Supervisor: Thomas Danborg and Anders Hederstierna Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology Course: Masters’s thesis in business administration, 10 credits. Background and Problem Discussion: Skövde Kommun is a public organization and one of many tasks is to provide help and service to the aged and handicapped in the city. This is done through the administration for care. After many years with poor economic performance the politicians in Skövde decided 2002 to restructure the elderly care in Skövde. In January 2004 a new chief administrator was recruited and one of the most important issues was to improve the activities within the administration for care and department for elderly. Something, which was strongly emphasized, was the goal to increase the economic performance and having a budget in balance, i.e. achieve economic efficiency. The interest for this study was to see if the new chief administrator had the competence, leadership skills and charisma enough to restructure the organization and improve the economic efficiency, i.e. make sure the budget show a surplus. During 2004 and 2005 the chief administrator focused on the restructuring of the organization and strongly emphasized respect for the economic resources. Purpose: Through a pilot study describe and analyse the concept of Transformational leadership and its impact on economic results? Method: A quantitative method and the thesis could be viewed as a pilot study, which means that I try my method in one organization and hopefully develop a concept for further research. The measure instrument is a questionnaire, which was worked through with statistical methods to define charisma as a part of the phenomenon. The result from the questionnaire was then compared to the organization’s economic performance. Theory: Studies on leadership are a large research field and new theories on management and leadership constantly evolve. An interesting leadership style, which has had a lot of attention the last decades, is transformational leadership. A transformational leader can create a vision, can engage and motivate the employees in a way so they do their best to achieve the goals of the organization, both quantitative and qualitative. A central part in transformational leadership is charisma. Charisma is a leaders ability to practice a diffuse but strong influence over other people’s opinions, values and performance. Findings: The managers in the administration for care answered a questionnaire with 17 statements about charisma and the result of these statements gave an average score, which indicate that the chief administrator is above-average charismatic. In the findings I also present the organization’s economic performance. 2005 was the first year since 1996, the administration had a budget surplus, i.e. the costs were lower than the budget frame. Analysis: The respondents, in the same questionnaire, also scored the experienced charisma previous years compared to today. The results from the questionnaire were then compared to the economical development and the findings indicate there are some relationship between the charismatic chief administrator and improved economic performance Conclusion: In the study I found some empirical evidence or indicators, which support the idea that a charismatic leadership can improve the performance, the productivity and the efficiency. However, other factors can also have impact on economic performance besides transformational leadership.

The purpose of this thesis is to broaden the understanding of current supplier relationship management and to discover what, if any, are the new initiatives being used by organizations to support their suppliers from a co-operative standpoint. The research is completed from a global perspective and therefore adding further insight into the overall trends of SRM practices.

Software process improvements are required to increase the productivity of software companies. Generally, it is the aim to increase the quality of the produced software and to keep budget and time. Quality models for software process improvements were developed in context of large organisations and multi-national companies. In this study I investigated how software process improvements are done in a small software company. Ethnography was used as research method. It was the aim of this study to build up an understanding of how software process improvements are done and enabled in a small organisation. Fieldnotes were taken and later analysed using template analysis. Ethnography as the chosen research strategy proved to be applicable and feasible in software engineering research. The qualitative research strategy resulted in a detailed description of how one software company did software process improvements from a bottom-up perspective. Despite the learning potential of "how real world contingencies and possibilities interact and shape software process improvement efforts", such descriptions are rare in software engineering literature. Based on the field experiences and the analysed fieldnotes, the following results were identified: In the studied small software organisation, software process improvement efforts were pushed by the initiative of single employees. The studied company did not have enough resources to implement a complete quality model. In addition, management was heavily involved in daily work and therefore had not enough time to initiate and lead software process improvement efforts. For small software companies in a similar situation, the following guidelines can be given: First, a bottom-up approach with delegating responsibility from management to selected employees is needed. Second, management must ensure to be available if decisions must be taken. Third, improvements must be visible and feedback must be provided contemporary to gain momentum in the whole improvement effort. In some cases it might be important to create awareness of possible improvements. Here, employees should create internal lobbies by involving and convincing other employees of the improvement's importance. A joined effort will help to create enough pressure for change, so that improvement efforts get started.

Book: I boken presenteras den största samling fallstudier över svenska små och mellanstora företag som hittills är gjord. Författarna diskuterar också vad en fallstudie är, hur fallstudier konstrueras och hur de kan användas i undervisning och forskning. De 20 korta fallstudierna beskriver företag som befinner sig i en situation som går att koppla till något av företagsekonomins delområden (organisation, ledarskap, marknadsföring, ekonomistyrning m.m.). Dessa fall kan användas inom en mängd olika ämnesområden och är upplagda enligt anglosaxisk modell. Fallföretagen representerar såväl olika branscher som geografiska områden och fallstudierna bygger på verkliga situationer och problem i företagen. I den teoretiska delen av boken ligger tyngdpunkten på användning av fallstudier som pedagogisk och vetenskaplig metod oavsett fackområde. Vad är det som gör att fallstudier lämpar sig bra för inlärning? Vari består oenigheten beträffande bruket av fallstudier som vetenskaplig metod? Författarna ger också detaljerade beskrivningar av arbetsprocessen med att ta fram fallstudierna. Boken vänder sig till studerande inom ekonomi, statsvetenskap och sociologi samt dem som vill använda sig av fallstudier som metod i sin forskning. Boken kan även vara en inspirationskälla för dem som tänker skriva fallstudier utifrån egen empirisk forskning.

Undersöka vilka olika motivationsfaktorer och belöningar är motiverande för medarbetare samt vilka belöningar är motiverande på kort och långt sikt. Även undersöka hur medarbetare förhåller sig till belöningssystem Metod: Jag har använt kvantitativ metod bestående av enkäter. Data jag samlat in, kodades om till siffror och sedan redogjordes med hjälp av olika typer av diagram och tabeller, vilket blev grunden för min analys. Slutsats: Att ha bra kontakt med sina medarbetare och chefer, att få ta eget ansvar, utvecklingsmöjligheter/utbildningsmöjligheter, att få feedback och beröm samt att få högre lön är de mest motiverande belöningarna. Utvecklingsmöjligheter/utbildningsmöjligheter är mest motiverande på långt sikt medan de övriga nämnda belöningarna är mest motiverande både på kort och långt sikt. Anställda upplever en skillnad hos de båda belöningssystemen, monetärt anses vara orättvist medan icke monetärt anses vara rättvist.

Titel: Upplevelser av bannerreklam på en nischad hemsida Författare: Marcus Westerberg Handledare: Marie Hemming Institution: Institutionen för ekonomi och management, IEM Kurs: Kandidatarbete i företagsekonomi, FEC 007 Syfte: Skapa en förståelse för hur användare på Internet upplever förekomsten och utformningen av bannerreklamen. Metod: Uppsatsen är baserad på en kvantitativ såväl som kvalitativ ansats där fakta har inhämtats med en pop up enkät och telefonintervjuer. För insamlingen av pop up enkäten använde jag mig av strukturerade frågor, där frågor och svarsalternativ redan hade bestämts på förhand. För insamlingen av telefonintervjuer använde jag mig av frågor med låg grad av standardisering. Slutsatser: Utifrån frågeställningen har jag kommit fram till att användarna upplever att det är viktigt med fakta och information i bannerreklamen. Det är viktigt för användarna att skapa ett värde kring produkten. Användarna har inte tid att tänka ut budskapet bakom reklamen, utan de vill ha enkel och mycket information om varan/tjänsten i reklamen. Det är viktigt för användarna att reklamen ska handla om det de är intresserade av. Det är då de dras till bannerreklamen på olika hemsidor.

Mitt syfte med den här uppsatsen är att förstå hur medarbetare upplever ett förändringsarbete i en organisation. Det handlar även om att studera skillnader mellan hur olika grupper av medarbetare upplever ett förändringsarbete. Upplevelserna av ett förändringsarbete har studerats utifrån olika faktorer såsom individrelaterade faktorer, arbetsrelaterade faktorer, processen och organisatoriska faktorer. Jag har valt att använda mig av både en kvalitativ och en kvantitativ metod för insamling av empiri. Först har jag intervjuat en projektledare, vilket har skett utifrån en kvalitativ ansats. Sedan har jag genomfört en enkätundersökning med medarbetarna som har utgått från en kvantitativ ansats. Därefter har jag analyserat resultaten, och det har haft karaktären av kvalitativa drag. Jag har kommit fram till att medarbetare och olika grupper av medarbetare upplever ett förändringsarbete på olika sätt. De individrelaterade faktorerna har haft stor betydelse i denna förståelse. Tre olika grupper har genomgående visat olika upplevelser, där två av dem påvisar positiva resultat. Övriga faktorer visar tydliga mönster som är viktiga i sammanhanget.

The purpose of this research is to inform business people, especially managers and executives who are facing strategic decision making the benefits and risks of relying on intuition. Hence, they can have a clear mind about to what extend they can trust their intuitions. After reviewing briefly the history of the development of intuition concept and the main ideas of strategic decision making, we have conducted a thorough research about this topic from the following ten aspects: availability, timing, efficiency, flexibility, synthesis, accuracy or effectiveness, reliability, security, storage, and transferring.

Abstract Title: Yes logo! What defines a good logo? Authors: Fredrik Dahlin and Vladimir Zunkovic Supervisor: Klaus Solberg Söilen. Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology. Course: Bachelor’s thesis in Business Administration, 10 credits. Purpose: To find out which are the defining characteristics of a good logo, from a scientific point of view. Method: We have used a qualitative method consisting of interviews with experts within the marketing area with the goal to test the Swedish point of view against the one in the litterature. We also used a quantitative method to investigate the publics attitude towards the testlogos we created. The purpouse of this poll is to test different colourcombinations and how the marketsegments feel about them. In this poll we used statistical methods to make sure that the agelimits and the number of male and female respondents are correct. We executed another quantitative study towards Swedish marketing companies to create an idea of the businesses thoughts about a good logo are. Results: A good logo is a simple symbol or geometrical form consisting of a combination of colours that reflect the company’s core values, visions and goals. It should be focused on the primary market segment and so unique that it can be trademarked. Geometrically a good logo should be wider than it is high and not easily associated to symbols that might offend people of any culture. In the aspect of colour it is important that a logo attracts the viewer and truly submit the messages intended. Our study showes examples on which combinations that may function with a specific target group.

Background and Problem Discussion: Correct usage of a firm’s resources are crucial for the firm’s survival. Companies usually have formalized procedures for calculations of the profitability of investment projects. On the other hand is the corporate strategy, directing the company activities, determining how company resources should be used. The financial calculations and the corporate strategy should work together to ensure the best possible allocation of company resources. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate if contradictions between strategy and individual investment decisions exists in companies today, if these are acknowledged, and what is done about it. Method: Phenomenological research, using three exemplars. The first exemplar is based on primary data (a case study) and the others on secondary data (taken from published work). Theory: My starting point is the importance of aligning the investment process with the strategy process. The analysis is supported by theoretical notions of the strategy and the investment processes. These are usually treated as independent processes, although the importance of aligning is extensively acknowledged. Analysis: The analysis proceeded in the following manner: The empirical data was condensed into key descriptions, which relied on identification on Northcott’s (1995) model of the standard investment process. The key descriptions from each case were compared to find similarities and differences. These were put into perspectives offered by literature. Conclusion: The study showed that the importance of aligning individual investment decisions with strategy is primarily acknowledged by the companies studied through requiring strategy motivations in the investment proposals. More important for the actual decision-making, however, seems to be the “structural context” in which the investment are proposed, built up through formal and informal communications within the corporation. This “structural context” affects the decisions through the gut feeling (tacit knowledge) of the decision-makers.