It is now increasingly common for organisations to work actively with HR issues. Furthermore, it is a constant top priority for organisations to remain profitable. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether so called soft HR values, as manager?s communication skills, has an actual impact on hard values in terms of costs for the organisation. Leadership is largely characterised by emotional communication, which together with personnel costs were the main focus of the research.

The project was carried out in cooperation with the department of product development IOS at IKEA. The work included improvements of a new existing product that Ikea soon will release on the market, Observatör, a wall bracket for flat screens. The product is supposed to fulfil the needs within this market for IKEA. However, since Ikea was not satisfied with it, our work was to carry out the improvements that were specified in the beginning of the project. Another task in the project was to develop a side-product that is supposed to be used together with Obeservatör for storage of DVD/decoders.The project included labour as problem definition to final technical drawings and a prototype.

Consumers are facing a wide selection of brands trying to get their attention. An increasing amount of corporations are incorporating non-traditional media in their marketing strategies as an attempt to build relationships with their customers. However, along with the new opportunities to enhance consumer emotions about the brand, social media has brought along new risks for corporations to face. This paper investigates the consequences of different ways of handling such electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) crisis on Twitter. Furthermore, we investigate potential differences depending on the credibility of the source that sent the message.

During the last decade, there has been an increase in the use of technology-based self-services within the retail sector. The increase is particularly noticeable within the grocery market. The reason behind the increased use of these systems is partially due to the fact that companies within highly competitive retail markets continually look for ways of decreasing costs while upholding efficiency. The problem is that it is difficult to understand the true economical implications of investments relating to these machines. The purpose of this study is to investigate and contribute with new insights regarding the cost-structures of the stationary self-checkout systems and traditional cashier desks, within the retail grocery market.

Sustainability and the role of companies in terms of emissions and environmental impact has become increasingly more relevant. In 2014, the EU decided to introduce the NFRD, a directive that makes it mandatory for companies that meet the requirements to report on sustainability. This thesis aims to examine how four large Swedish industrial companies report about sustainability in connection with the introduction of NFRD, looking at the years 2015 (2014), 2017 and 2022 from an environmental viewpoint. Furthermore, the study also intends to investigate how the companies write about their sustainability work, as actual achievements or what they have ambitions to do in the future. In order to carry out the study, a content analysis with elements of both qualitative and quantitative features has been used called the CONI method.

This report is the result of a project in the course Independent Projekt in Molecular Biotechnology at Uppsala University during the spring of 2014. The foremost purpose of the course is to give students the opportunity to carry through exstensive work in a project environment. This project was formed based on a comission from the biotechnology company SweTree Technologies, and the goal has been to compose a summary of the different techniques and methods that exist in the field of mass propagation of trees through the method of somatic embryogenesis.The project group has obtained information about the area mainly throgh reading patents, trying to find key components and bottlenecks in other companies? somatic embryogenesis technologies. This paper is divided into different sections, containing the patents of the automation of different steps in the process.

Dagligvaruhandeln har under de senaste åren utsatts för hårdare konkurrens. För att kunna möta denna konkurrens har företag som ICA och Coop effektiviserat sin verksamhet med hjälp av teknikbaserad självservice. Tekniken leder till att kunden utför de arbetsmoment som kassörskan tidigare gjorde. Detta fick oss att undra över personalens syn på den nya tekniken. Syftet med arbetet är att kartlägga hur personalen på en stormarknad reagerar på införandet av ny teknologi.

This paper aims to analyze the legal functions and characteristics of bills of lading in their basic form to examine the legal framework for the adoption of electronic bills of lading under Swedish law. With a comparative analysis against English law, particular attention is given to the 'document of title' function. This has been claimed to pose challenges in the transition to electronic bills of lading. While Swedish law presents potential parallels, critical aspects like negotiability and indirect possession require resolution. It analyzes international regulations such as the Rotterdam Rules and Model Law, addressing challenges and potential solutions for digitalization.

The purpose of this study is to determine which approach preschool teachers from a Reggio Emilia inspired preschool and a traditional preschool have on children, knowledge, learning and their own role in children?s learning. The two pedagogical approaches have different basic visions; Reggio Emilia follows the thoughts of Lori Malaguzzi and the traditional preschool follows the Swedish curriculum Lpfö 98. The main research questions asked were:What view on children, learning and knowledge does the preschool teacher from a Reggio Emilia inspired preschool have in comparison with a traditional preschool?Which role does the teacher believe that they should take regarding children?s learning?What differences and similarities can be identified in the teachers' perceptions?To carry out this study, I used a qualitative research method.

AbstractTitle: Företag X? the hidden power? a study of internal communication, culture and internal branding. Företaget X has in real life a different name.Number of pages: 42 (49 with enclosures)Author: Charlotta Babington ThorszeliusCourse: Media and Communication Studies CPeriod: Autumn 2007University: Uppsala University, SwedenPurpose/Aim: To analyze the internal communication, culture and internal branding of an insurance company and how they can improve these company tools can be improved.Material/Method: qualitative method using interviews, analysis of internal communication policies and observations.Main results: The policy documents do not match how the internal communication works in every day life. There is a structure that is working and the information flows through the different levels. The vision and goals are difficult to understand as they are written in a complicated way.

This Master's thesis examines segregation between Swedes and immigrants in school, and more specifically segregation between the two elementary schools Vikingaskolan and Tunaskolan in Lund. This case provides a particularly interesting puzzle, since Lund doesn?t have any pronounced immigrant districts, and was also recognized nationally as best municipality for its schools (2004). In this thesis we try to understand the segregation between the two schools in Lund as an implementation dilemma.The theoretical framework applies a model designed by Lennart Lundquist, which includes three potential causes for implementation problems: the implementer doesn?t understand the decision, the implementer can?t apply the decision, the implementer doesn?t want to carry out the decision.

The structural rationalization of rural firms in Sweden has led to many new creative ways of developing companies. The agriculture sector is characterized by the need of capital in form of buildings, labor and inventory. The rationalization process has led to free capacity in rural firms when new technology make buildings and inventory not longer necessary for the production process. To get a better cost coverage this free capacity can be used to start-up new business areas that help the rural firm to growth.The study aims to identify factors that motives entrepreneurs in rural firms to develop new business areas. The purpose is also to analyze driving forces that lies behind development of rural firms and the forces that support or not support development in rural firms.The study is built upon five cases that all can be categorized as firms with different size and orientation.

In Sweden, the labour movement historically had influenced both society and politics. In recent times, it is considered a change in society with a stronger employer party while the unions weakened by reduced unionisation. This study aims to highlight the presence of individualistic and collectivistic approaches to the labour market in relation to union density. The different approaches are investigated in the labour market by means of a quantitative survey. The study's survey items are workers in the timber industry.

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, China has captivated global attention due to its astonishing economic growth. This development has resulted in an enormous growth in foreign direct investments, as well as the country?s new role aseconomic super power. When joining the World Trade Organization in 2001, China agreed to adhere to the minimum requirements of the organization?s several multilateral agreements.

Background: The stress in the society seems to having become more amplified and more trying. Statistics show that the appearance of stress related industrial diseases have increased strikingly. What can be stressing at the workplace? The work conditions are not the only thing that causes stress but no matter what the causes are employers have to restore the employees to their former positions. How are companies dealing with the problems of stress in reality? Do they have formulated strategies for how to manage the problems? Purpose: The purpose with this essay is to try to see pattern in how companies manage and treat stress and stress related industrial diseases.