Recent years have been very turbulent for most private equity firms. Especially the financial meltdown in global economy has affected the industry, but also the public pressure has made private equity houses change their control strategies towards more conventional methods used in public companies. This thesis aims to put light on the control methods used in listed private equity houses which use a buyout strategy. The paper describes how the control methods change over the different phases the asset experience and how different value generating strategies use altered control methods. Using Merchant's (2003) framework for management control systems and Berg and Gottschalg's (2004) research on value generating strategies in buyouts the thesis shows that action controls as designing instructions for the board and a business plan, together with goal alignment is the commonly used control strategy directly after the acquisition.

Background: Diversified companies, for example audit firms, sometimes offer different kinds of products and services. Different key success factors can in the same company thereby evolve. Goal congruence has to be achieved in the business divisions as well as in the company as a whole even though each business segment might have to focus on different factors. Purpose: The purpose is to analyze if differences in technology and culture between the business divisions in diversified companies motivate a differentiated reward system. Method: The study has a case study approach.

The thesis aims to describe the current sales climate in the context of complex sales in business-to-business. The purpose is to increase the clients knowledge of sales and test the clients hypothesis that the sales climate is changing from Solution Selling to Insight Selling, further the thesis aims to contribute to the scientific debate of sales. Solution Selling is characterized, as the name suggest, by selling of solution to the customers needs. With Insight Selling the seller has a provocative approach towards the customer and the seller is searching for customers in the need of change. This is a qualitative study conducted with eight interviews and one focus group.

The purpose of this essay was to find conceivable marketing- and business strategies that can be combined with a company?s lifestyle.This essay is dependent on a number of interviews with the owner of a maternity clothing trademark, PROUD. PROUD is a new company that has many different options concerning expansion, trademark and its existing and future products and also the knowledge regarding the client?s attitude towards PROUD.The authors of this essay believe that the trademark should represent a lifestyle. For a company to be able to deliver, it has to understand what the future clients want and need.

Business Intelligence är en samling verktyg för att utvinna och analysera information ur rådata inom en organisation samt ge bättre beslutsstöd grundat på denna. Det har traditionellt använts inom industrisektorn, men på senare tid har även sjukvårdssek- torn upptäckt fördelarna med ett välimplementerat system för Business Intelligence. Implementationen är emellertid en komplex process där mycket kan gå fel, och på grund av att sjukvårdssektorn relativt nyligen började använda sig utav Business Intel- ligence finns luckor i forskningen på området. Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka hur sjukvården i Region Halland samt involverade konsulter arbetar med implemen- tationen, och ta fram riktlinjer för hur detta bör ske. Uppsatsen baserades på en kvali- tativ ansats och använde sig av en explorativ studie med djupintervjuer där totalt fem personer från Region Halland samt två personer från ett IT-konsultbolag bidrog till uppsatsens resultat.

Conect AB wants to know how they can use ITIL in their organization. Right now their company is in an expansive phase and needs a more structured way to work. They have been thinking of improving their way of work for several years but haven?t had the time to do so. Now they have realized they need to work more efficiently to able to grow further.

This study will shed light on the subject of system management and system management models. It is important that everyone within an administrative organization understand business objectives and needs of the users who work with the systems. It is vital for the activity to form a structured approach for its management, which includes a system management model. Every company has its individual system management model that is tailored to support their management of a business IT systems. According to Brandt (2000), a system management system model is defined as "an idealized image of how you want the system management work is conducted".

The purpose of our study is to examine how parents experienced their participation and their involvement in a solution-focused parenting group. The parenting groups are a part of the social welfare system in a town in south of Sweden. The study is conducted as a qualitative study with focus groups. 11 parents have participated. The study´s theoretical framework considers solution focused theory, social constructionism and process within groups.In the study we found that participants generally perceived their participation as positive and that they received confirmation by meeting other parents in the same situation.

Bakgrund och problem: En av de mest betydelsefulla diskussionerna idag ?r artificiell intelligens. En yrkesroll som p?verkas i takt med tekniken ?r controllers. Tidigare har denna yrkesroll beskrivits som diffus och bred, vilket har bidragit till dagens uppfattning att yrkesrollen ?r av en komplex karakt?r.

For organizations that handle sensitive information, IT governance and information security are necessities in order to maintain credibility and to conduct its business efficiently. There are several known processes to increase security governance ? which is a fusion of information security and IT governance.This master thesis examines if organizations use recognized processes and if it in that case would lead to higher security. The study is qualitative and conducted in the financial sector and based on Best Practice frameworks of the security governance in Swedish banks. Data collection was done through interviews and surveys that were triangulated to get a gathered picture of the quality of the security governance activities.

The river Selångersån runs through thenorthern Swedish city of Sundsvall, splittingthe city in two as it winds through thevalley between Södra- and Norra Stadsbergetand out into the Baltic Sea.The river is a national interest of nature conservationbut at the same time in the middleof an urban development string for the city,creating a complex situation of developmentcontra conservation of natural environment.This project attempts to create a strategy oflandscape urbanism for the area surroundingSelånger Bay, four kilometers upstreamalong Selångersån. A sensitive wetland, todayrather forgotten but with great potentialfor introducing wild nature as an active partof the city. Or rather, initiating a processwhere the built environment can infiltrateand enrich the natural environment gradually.A city park in this location to initiate thisprocess could be a joint project of the city?sresidents with the scope to become a projectin constant development.The idea of the project is to offer a large ecologicalpark and meeting place near the citycenter. This will be achieved by clarifyingthe activities and values that already existin the park, such as the largest living deltai the region, football fields and a medievalchurch ruin, and by creating new paths.

Background: Competence development has become more important since the pressure on effectiveness is increasing and organisations are expected to constantly improvement. The design of the competence development activities is governed by the strategy which in turn will affect the outcome of the same. A knowledge intense business in which changes recently have taken place is healthcare, a business in which competition also has increased as a result from globalization. Due to this, it is highly important to take care of and improve the competence of individuals. According to this, we have found that healthcare is an interesting business to study with regard to competence development.

Title: Artists? identity and image ? a brand perspective The purpose of this study has been to create an understanding of how artists in the music business can be seen as brands and to see what stands out when having this approach. During the study we have focused on the two terms identity and image. We find this issue interesting and relevant since branding has been widely discussed in business economy, but not enough when it comes to artists in the music business. To answer our research question we have targeted three aims for this essay, which is to clarify and analyze:? Identity and image when people are viewed as brands? What specifically characterizes the image of the artists when they are seen as brands and what it might mean that artists are considered as brands? How artists identity and image can be highlighted, shaped, influenced and how it can changeIn this study we have used a qualitative approach to get the topic in depth and gain a greater understanding for the subject.

Problemdiskussion: IT?investeringar är ofta den största investeringen ett företag gör.För ett medelstort företag blir det extra viktigt om att försäkra sigom ett lyckat IT?projekt. Denna uppsats lyfter fram skillnadernamellan vad teoretikerna anser vara en kritisk framgångsfaktor ochvad praktikerna har för syn på dessa.Syfte: Studiens syfte är att designa och utvärdera ett Business Case av enIT?investering för ett medelstort företag. Vi vill skapa en ökadförståelse hur ett Business Case kan utformas för ett SME och vadden bör innehålla för att öka chanserna för att lyckas medprojektet då det idag sker många misslyckanden vidimplementering av affärssystem.Avgränsningar: Ofta innehåller ett Business Case många fler punkter än de vi valtatt behandla.

The aim of this essay is to illustrate a modern phenomenon, the Olympic Games, by applying the ideas of Mircea Eliade concerning space, time and myth. This literature study is mainly divided in two parts, one descriptive and one analytic. In the first part Eliade?s ideas and some criticism, which has been pointed against his theoretical approaches as well as his character, are presented. In the second part an analysis is carried out, based on the previously presented ideas and elements essential for the Olympics; the idea of the Olympics, the place, the ceremonies, the competition and the concept of individual idolism.I have discussed what seems like gnostic tendencies in Eliade?s ideas, in the sense that both Eliade?s ideas and the concept of Gnosticism argue that knowledge is a necessary condition for salvation, as well as the fact that Eliade and his ideas have not always a pro-Christian approach.