The main purpose of this Master Thesis has been to evaluate whether active fund management is profitable on Emerging Markets. The material used to examine this consists of 106 actively managed funds, with varying length during the period 1988-2006 and who uses MSCI Emerging Markets (MSCI EM) as benchmark index. The thesis has been written under the supervision of the Asset Management Department of Länsförsäkringar AB (LFAB) and the Department of Production Economics, Linköping Institute of Technology. Apart from the main purpose, the methodology used is also meant to form a template for in-depth or similar studies, preferably by the assigner of this survey, LFAB.The results shows that the median manager underperforms the MSCI EM throughout the whole period, which leads to the conclusion is that active management on Emerging Markets is not profitable. A grouping of the funds based on tracking error still shows that a majority of the managers in all of the groups underperforms against the benchmark.

Crisis communication in today's society is an important element for organizations. Whether an organization makes it through a crisis, good or bad is largely based on their crisis communication work. Crisis communication is about how the organization works to repair or maintain the organization's external image, the image that society has about the organization. When a crisis occurs stakeholders lose confidence in the organization or change their mind about it.This case study is about exploring how a municipality handles crisis communication through the various phases of a crisis. The study is also to examine how the municipality communicates with its stakeholders in specific communication channels during a crisis.The case study makes use of theories circulating crisis communication, such as: theories of how crisis communication should be handled, how a crisis is recognized, the different phases of a crisis, the communication channels that can be used and who may be interested in an organization when a crisis reveals itself.

I detta arbete har vi undersökt vilka faktorer som är viktiga för ett lyckat införande av CASE verktyg i en organisation. I arbetet har vi utgått ifrån de faktorer som teorin förespråkat och jämfört dessa med den empiri som vi har undersökt. De faktorer som vi har funnit i litteraturen har vi delat in i grupperna organisatoriska faktorer, utvecklingsfaktorer och stödjande faktorer. Vi har funnit att hanteringen av dessa faktorer i många fall skiljer sig mellan teori och empiri. Utifrån undersökningen har vi dragit slutsatsen att utvecklingsfaktorer har varit den grupp av faktorer som har påverkat införande mest i de undersökta företagen..

Abstract This thesis is a case study aiming to give explanations to Russia?s annexation of Crimea in March 2014. By using three different theoretical perspectives, realism, regional hegemony and constructivism, the aim is to find different but also complementing explanations to the case. The theories realism and regional hegemony are related and also similar to each other, but still contributes with some different focuses on the case. Both realism and regional hegemony has their main focus on the sovereign state?s security and their power militarily, politically and economically.

This study has investigated what makes a business relation satisfactory. The purpose is to distinguish the factors that are relevant to a functioning cooperation relationship between sawmills and DIY-stores. The theoretical framework is primarily based on long-term business relationships. The study is based on two case companies and their relations with wood-suppliers. - Case company 1 is a relatively new established and still growing company.

Testing has always been an important task in the scope of software quality. Though it has never been as much appreciated within the management of the organisations as the software development has. However testing is becoming more attractive within organisations because it becomes more evident how much money working systems saves in contrast to defect ones. A tester often use testing tools to simplify the work progress. There are a lot of tools nowadays but not many evaluating models which helps the tester to know which one to recommend.

The occupational group who works in the care of older people in Sweden is an exposed group since the work is often defined as a strenuous profession, both physical and psychically, and this puts comparatively many workers on sick leave. To promote good health, as well as prevent bad health is the main purpose of the work environment development. The attitude of the care manager towards work environment development may have a significant impact on the co-workers health. The purpose of the study was to investigate the attitude of care managers towards work environment development and the co-workers work environment and in the same time get knowledge in what issues they have a salutary approach respectively a pathological approach. Empirics were gathered from semi-structured interviews with six care managers from the care of older people administration in municipality of Kalmar.

The aim of the present paper was to see why a recommended course of action is not always followed in the way it is supposed to. The paper deals with a new method (SFA-metoden) used by The Social Insurance Agency in working with sick-listed people. Aspects that are elaborated on are local effects of the method at its introduction, Case managers work conditions, and control of the implementation of the method. Two different methods of investigation have been employed. On the one hand, previous reports on the method have been analysed, and, on the other hand, two focus groups interviews, one consisting of Case managers´ working with the method, and one constituted by their supervisors have been carried out.The results have been analysed in accordance with, on the one hand, the theory of street level bureaucrats and, on the other hand, certain concepts applied in the new institutionalism.

ABSTRACTSofie Haag: Yrke: Operaproducent. En studie av operaproducentens roll och betydelse Sverige 2008. Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för musikvetenskap, 2009.The aim of this essay is to provide a better understanding of the role of the Swedish opera producer (often called "production manager") and the opera organisation in which he/she works. Very little has been written about this role, in Sweden as well as internationally. To fill this apparent gap, this study presents the results of inteviews with representatives of ten of Swedens´opera organisations, as well as three case studies.

Events are a growing channel for companies and organizations to reach out to their customers. The com-munication channel opens up to satisfy all human senses. Which are required for a message to go into the receiver and be memorized. The research gap we decided to contribute to we made a case study of an event that is not sport related and looking at both the transmitter perspective and receiver perspective. Thus, the purpose of our study is to increase the understanding of how the transmitter should be able to convey the purpose and goal of the event to the receiver.

CASE är en förkortning för Computer Aided Software Engineering. Syftet med CASE-verktyg är att öka produktiviteten för dem som utvecklar mjukvarusystem genom att datorisera processer i deras arbete.Det finns dock problem med CASE-verktyg. Tidigare forskning pekar på att dessa ofta är komplexa i sitt utförande, att de lätt ifrågasätts om de visar sig ha buggar och att inlärnings-tröskeln är ofta hög till följd av den höga komplexiteten. Man frågar sig också hur komponenter ska vara utformade i verktygen för att fler ska använda dem. Vidare saknas nyare undersökningar med fokusering på användbarhet för CASE-verktyg och framförallt där man utgår från användaren.Vad gäller CASE-verktyg har det skett en del begreppsbyten inom området.

Background: The Swedish retail trading company KappAhl has reorganized all the boutiques in Sweden. Before the reorganization many of the boutiques consisted of four levels: shop manager, assistant shop manager, department managers and regular personel. After the reorganization assistant shop managers and department managers have been replaced by a so called ?responsibility group? consisting of some of the employees. The change is presented as a decentralisation.

Franchise theorists have to a large extent failed to keep up with the actual development in global franchise chains. The recent emergence of fast growing multi-unit-franchisees has fundamentally been ignored, and it has been claimed that the new phenomenon can be regarded as a mere replication of the franchisors? structure and control system into sub hierarchies. This study however, suggests that the reality is more complex. Through conducting case studies of two Nordic multi-unit-franchisees, new theories are built explaining how and why control systems are designed the way they are.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how a company with a single brand is perceived as uniform, as well as how they use internal brand building to reconcile various competing actors within one brand. Furthermore the aim is to examine how staff, through internal brand building processes, perceives and identifies themself with the values of the common brand. Method: A case study with method triangulation was conducted at Nordiska Kompaniet department store in Stockholm. Quantitative data through a questionnaire survey with employees combined with two observations. Qualitative data was given through an email interview with a responsible manager of digital channels and PR from NK AB.Theories: This study has used the following theories; Destination marketing, Corporate brand, internal branding, corporate identity, corporate culture, brand value, service brand values, brand citizenship behaviour.Conclusion: This case study of NK has shown that internal branding building in a department store is a comprehensive work, which all involved must have a unified perception and understanding of the brand, in order to successful unite under one brand.

Mankind has always been communicating, it is almost impossible to not communicate. The communication tree has grown a new branch, the environmental communication branch, and an ISO standard, the ISO 14 063 Environmental communication- guidelines and examples was issued October 2006. The purpose of this thesis is commissioned by the managing director of NQA Nordic AB in order to examine and analyse how organisations communicate environmental issues today, and how big the need for ISO 14 063 actually is, and further more if there are needs and wishes to make ISO 14 063 a certifiable standard. The main conclusion is that the there is a need for the standard, but it is difficult to say in which form since the knowledge about the standard is far to low among the organisations examined in this thesis. Clarity and transparency as ISO 14 063 promotes are important ingredients in organisations? environmental work, so sure a standard for environmental communication can help improve environmental performance, for example through opening up for two-way communication and from that on take part of the stakeholders? opinions.This study is based on a literature study and a questionnaire survey where 70 organisations (in this case authorities, corporations and non-governmental organisations) randomly chosen from the seven criteria, which ISO 14 001 defines as the environment: land, water, air, flora, fauna, natural resources and man and his collaboration with those.