Hofstede constructed a culture dimension called Power Distance, measuring the inequality of Power. Germany and Sweden have relatively similar values according to his world-renowned research. But a series of interviews of Swedish entrepreneurs in Germany shows that these perceive a large difference in inequality of power in the two countries. This essay seeks to explain the difference between these subjective-qualitative experiences and the objective-quantitative data of Hofstedes Power Distance Index. We propose that a combination of differences in communication, exercise and visibility of power and formality influence the way Power Distance is perceived.

Title: Inflation and Investments, with Focus on Inflation-linked Bonds.Investors face many types of risks when allocating assets in a portfolio, e.g. volatility and inflation risk. Inflation risk will mainly affect investments in the long perspective. This thesis will examine those risks that an investor is commonly exposed to when allocating assets in a portfolio and in particular inflation-linked risk and how to eliminate it. We examine the correlation between different assets and inflation to determine the assets? ability to hedge inflation risk.

Det har ofta antagits att en anställd är lycklig därför att han eller hon är framgångsrik. Det finns dock studier som stödjer den alternativa hypotesen, nämligen att lycka är en anledning till varför vissa anställda är mer framgångsrika än andra. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka huruvida lyckliga anställda är mer produktiva och framgångsrika än mindre lyckliga anställda. Det genom att undersöka om personligt disponerad positiv affekt (TPA) kan predicera arbetsprestationer. Deltagarna var 98 anställda, varav 60 kvinnor, som rekryterats från sex organisationer.

Orsa Besparingsskog has an aim to take nature considerations in relation to the harvested volume and area of the annual felling. Around 15 percent of the acreage and 10 percent of the volume should be set aside. It is important to keep close to those figures to avoid future negative effects on the long-term harvesting planning. The purpose of this study was to use laser scanning data to estimate those proportions. The result showed that the proportion of conservation considerations in the ten selected objects in the study was significantly higher than the target of 15 percent of the acreage and 10 percent of the volume. The result showed a setting aside of 19 percent of the acreage and 17 percent of the volume.

Today?s companies offer their products and services through multiple distribution channels in an increasing extent, in order to reach bigger markets and more customers. Multiple channels result in an increased risk for channel conflict.This essay is an exploratory and descriptive study with the purpose to explore some companies? channel conflicts on the basis of sales commission and price differences. A case study has been made at two different companies and the empirical material has been collected with qualitative interviews.We found more channel conflicts in the company that uses sales commissions than in the company that doesn?t.

According to statistics, a significant increase in sickness has occurred in the public sector in recent decades in Sweden. Human therapeutic professions is the area where the illness is most prevalent. The purpose of this study was through a qualitative method and hermeneutic approaches explore how conscious six social workers in the social services are on stress and how they cope with it. Further it investigates and analyzes how these results affect their daily work.One important result due to stress is that the social workers ability to treat their clients is impaired and they are less able to be empathetic. Inadequacy in the work environment leads to a sense of insufficiency by social workers, and a reduced quality of life.

This essay reflects upon how recruiters working at a recruitment-agency interpret their gender equality plan and their understanding of the term gender equality. This was done by semi-structured interviews with five recruiters. Through theories concerning the gender system, organization theory with a gender perspective and the doing-gender-perspective we have come to the conclusion that the employees of the company lack a coherent interpretation of gender equality. Concerning the gender equality plan there were diverse understandings of its meaning and the application of the plan is partly insufficient. As a recruitment agency there are a number of specific difficulties related to working towards gender equality.

Al Gore may have helped put global warming on the agenda. However, it is not a new subject. Neither is so called green marketing a new phenomenon within branding and communication. As more and more companies establish environmental strategies there exist beliefs that the environmental focus is becoming a triviality, which is the reason for this study. Implementation of words such as ?environmentally friendly?, ?green? and ?global warming? is becoming more and more widespread and frequently used within marketing communication.

This Thesis is performed in cooperation with Kalmar Industries in Lidhult, Sweden. Theprojects main purpose was to develop a draft design of a test equipment. The equipmentwill simulate and valuate the drive-train and brakes at Kalmar?s bigger forklifts.The equipment will be designed so the wheels of the forklift are placed on two rollers;these absorb and affect the forklifts brake- and driving force. With this characteristic anup- and downhill can be simulated.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect that price has on quality expectations and customer satisfaction and how price fits into a customer satisfaction model. An experiment in which participants are subject to scenarios of a high or low quality flight are used to test the hypotheses. The analysis shows that perceived quality has a bigger impact on satisfaction than price. Furthermore, price and quality do not affect customer satisfaction independently of each other. The importance of value compared to quality changes whether the actor is a high or low price actor.

That we have a great need to be encouraged is coated in a variety of motivational theories. Despite our awareness of this need, studies show that Swedish employees feel a lack of encouragement in the workplace. The purpose of this report is to examine the factors that affect our ability to give others encouragement.Empirical data were collected through questionnaires from 91 people in the workplace. Correlation between the experience of giving and receiving encouragement, self-image, outlook on mankind and stress in the workplace are examined using a linear Multiple Regression Analysis. Correlation between the experience of giving and receiving encouragement is examined using Pearsons test of correlation.The results show that there is no significant correlation between the experience of giving and receiving encouragement, self-image, outlook on mankind and stress.

The reporting of the media will never be an exact copy of reality. Through medias way of presenting, or framing, the world that surround us all they must also affect our interpretation of it. The role of the journalist includes both chosing and excluding in the way they describe things. Studies have been made by the wellknown mediaresearcher, Kent Asp, that show how media reported in more negative wordings about Mona Sahlin, than her opponent Fredrik Reinfeldt in the period building up to the swedish elections 2010. The purpose of our study has been to compare how these politicians were being described, or framed, in the media, in regards to their gender.Our study has shown that Mona Sahlin more often than Fredrik Reinfeldt was described as being less knowledgeable, and were mentioned in the context of scandals or conflicts.

According to statistics, a significant increase in sickness has occurred in the public sector in recent decades in Sweden. Human therapeutic professions is the area where the illness is most prevalent. The purpose of this study was through a qualitative method and hermeneutic approaches explore how conscious six social workers in the social services are on stress and how they cope with it. Further it investigates and analyzes how these results affect their daily work.One important result due to stress is that the social workers ability to treat their clients is impaired and they are less able to be empathetic. Inadequacy in the work environment leads to a sense of insufficiency by social workers, and a reduced quality of life.

The study presented here is about how to make the special needs user who has a profound intellectual disability and additional disabilities more involved in their implementation plan. Based on a life story interview the study aims at analyzing perceptions of procedures to enhance special needs users? influence. The method used in this study was a qualitative research approach as an overall approach in order to use a narrative method where life history is the method. The focus has been to study a part of an individual life history - a specific domain in the life of the interviewee?s working career.

In theory, the management control of maintenance functions is described as problematic due to the nature of the work performed in the unit. The purpose of this thesis is to examine these predicted problems in practice. Further,the thesis aims at identifying how these control problems may affect the relationships between the maintenance department and its internal customers. A case study has been conducted in one of Sweden?s largest industrial companies to investigate the said control problems in practice.