A reform of higher education in Sweden in 1993 led to stiffer competitive climate among educational institutions. The reform meant that educational institutions now had the opportunity to plan their curriculum autonomously. Prior to the reform educational planning was restricted to the Swedish government. The new rules spelled a greater opportunity for educational institutions to profile themselves based on their educational offerings. The higher degree of competition means that marketing becomes increasingly important when recruiting new students.

With this essay we have had the intention of observing Linköping University as an example of a public authority undergoing change. In the information society of today, the increasing competition and internationalization affects, not only companies and organizations, but also the public sector. After having been concerned with neutral information spread only, according to"the third mandate", employees at the Department of Information at Linköping University has also started dealing with marketing, so as to increase the recruitment of students. As a result of this, the work team has been divided into an editorial staff and a department with emphasis on market issues. To strengthen the trademark of Linköping University one has chosen to mediate certain values representative for the university - an interdisciplinary and innovative approach and an entrepreneurial spirit.

Abstract Semester and year: Spring, 2008Writers: Victor Andersson and Filip ForslundTutor: Thomas HelgessonProgram: Marketing program, Halmstad University - School of Business and EngineeringTitle: Differentiation from a consumer perspective - How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspektive when choosing a residence? Presentation of problem: How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspective when choosing a residence?Purpose: The purpose is on basis from previous theories on the subject to describe what kind of differentiating that from a consumerperspective is the most important when choosing a residence. Key words: Differentiation, brand, apartment market Methodology: This thesis is built on an qualitative method, where eight open individual interviews have been made. Our choice of respondents was based on what kind of respondents that could give us the most accurate information on the subject which we based on relevant variables. Theory: The framing of the theories is based on a marketing perspective within the area of differentiating and focuses on how companies use different tools to differentiate their offer to create competitive advantages.

In a time of fierce global competition, where an immense amount of commercial messages reaches consumers around the clock and in every conceivable context, companies constantly seek to find new ways to reach out with their product. One way to do so, that has increased in popularity in recent years, is the use of gift bags. A gift bag may contain samples, miniature products and even products in full size, as a rule from several different brands, which the recipient receives free of charge. The gift bag is typically distributed at some form of event, such as store openings, fashion shows, theme parties and the like, and the receiver of the gift bag can then evaluate the content without any obligation to purchase. The ambition of the companies that choose to participate with their products in a gift bag is, of course, that the recipient will find their products satisfactory, and ideally, that he or she will continue to consume the brand in the future.There are numerous scientific research contributions related to the use of free samples, but very few that concern the gift bag, where a collection of samples from different sources and brands appear.

Due to the globalization today the competition in the market has in- creased and it requires flexibility and produce according to customer demand. In order to reduce the cost of wages industrial companies are now considering moving the manufacturing to low-cost countries. To keep up with the competition in the market without moving the manu- facturing abroad, Lean Automation was developed. The concept of Lean Automation is to reduce the perceived complexity with automa- tion and make automation available for new users and in new applica- tions.Haldex Brake Products are situated in Sweden and want to maintain the manufacturing of the automatic brake adjusters in the country. It is a product well-known and highly exposed to the competition in the mar- ket.

AbstractThe banking industry has during later years gone through several technological changes (Svenska Bankföreningen 2014). These big changes have led to several advantages seen both from a customer ? and corporate point of view. Advantages in easier usage, increased availability and more competition have made the banks more cost effective at the same time as the customer is being offered better prices. Even though the advantages seem to weigh over the disadvantages there are still those who thinks that things where ?better in the past?.

The EU has for a long time had a special relationship with its former colonies in Africa Caribbean and the Pacific, called the ACP?countries. This relationship is about to change radically with the new partnership agreement signed in June 2000 in Cotonou. This essay aims to study the EU ?ACP Partnership Agreement from the perspectives of two different theories: The liberalist, free-trade policy theory and the nationalist/regionalist, protectionist theory.

A one-cylinder research engine has been used for studies with a Diesel Dual Fuel concept (DDF). DDF is a concept that utilizes a pilot diesel injection to ignite a homogenous natural gas/air mixture. Emissions and engine efficiency have been analyzed in an emission cycle called European Stationary Cycle (ESC) and the knock/pre-ignition problems with this type of engine have been investigated.At low and mid torque levels, an early diesel injection around 60 crank angles degrees (CAD) before top dead center (TDC) was used. At these loads raw NOxemissions was below EURO 6 level (0.2 g/kWh). NOxwas at EURO 5 level over the complete ESC without after treatment and with SCR at high loads it should be possible to reach EURO 6.One issue with DDF is the high HC emission levels.

Students at the School of Engineering at Jönköping University have on behalf of the swimming organization ?Nässjö Sim och Livräddningssällskap? conducted research on how to monitor and evaluate swimmers and swimming groups in a simple and efficient manner with a focus on usability and user friendliness. Since no system existed that could meet these requirements, the client had a desire to tailor and develop such a system. The purpose of this work was to develop a system that would work as a tool to be used by coaches and swimmers alike and allow them to eventually follow the development of swimmers and swimming groups. The organization also wanted to have the ability to create tests and exams, both for land and water training, register these in the system and in a structured way know which swimmers took and passed these.For this thesis, the following questions functioned as a framework for progress.UsabilityHow to design a usable system and what is required?SystemWhat type of system is best suited to meet the client's requirements and preferences?Competition resultsHow can one retrieve all the competition results for swimmers of Nässjö SLS?DatabaseWhat type of database is best suited to easily share data with an external existing database?Usability has been the main focus throughout the project.

Background and problem: Whether or not the pay to executives is fair is widely debated. During the last years especially the variable pay has been in the spotlight. But at what levels are the compensations really at? Media?s focus is mainly on the absolute highest compensations which may result in a skew view on pay-for-performance incentives.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to establish the levels of compensation to executives in a wide range of randomly selected companies listed on the Stockholm stock exchange during the years 2001 to 2005. Furthermore, the impact of a set of firm specific variables on compensation levels will be analyzed with basis in several hypothesis.Delimitations: The variable pay considered in this thesis will only be variable cash bonuses.

Durban, South Africa?s third-largest city is a socially segregated post apartheid society, struggling with high unemployment and AIDS. The city becomes even more complex with a changing climate, creating an influx of people to the city, putting scarce resources under further stress. Warwick Junction, an important transport hub in the centre of Durban, holds a large site of informal trading alongside the formal markets. This informal sector generates large financial flows and provides for a rapidly growing population. The aim of this thesis is to develop an approach that is realistic and relevant to planning and design of an urban context in South Africa.

Background: Due to an increasing globalization the competition has increased and this has lead to overcapacity and falling prices on markets today. The subject field logistics has during the last decades been given increasingly significance and has become a way to handle the competition. Theories clearly point outthe importance that a concordance exists between logistics and superior strategy but few, if any, authors give further details about how this adjustment should be made. Purpose: The aim of this thesis is with a case study approach survey if the subject field, which describe the importance that logistical solutions correspond with the superior strategy, is known and implemented in a company. We aim to develop the subject field through our empirical findings.

The relationship between the government and organised interest in Sweden has changed. Formally considered as a good example of a corporatist state the country during the last 15 years or so experienced a more pluralistic system. This thesis is a qualitative study which discusses how interest groups seek to influence decision makers and policy thru lobbying and public opinion. It also examines how interest groups work with advertising and public relations in a changed climate of mass media. The main method of gathering material has been done thru interviews of representatives of different interest groups.The results of the study paint a picture where the interviewed organizations experience a vast competition in communication and information.

In the early 1990?s more and more companies of the Swedish public sector were exposed to competition, and this started the debate on how such actions might affect the business and even society.The first chapter examines how the public sector and especially health care, is financed and managed. We also explore what it means to be exposed to competition and find that there are many different ways of exposing the public sector to competition. The study examines dental care as an example of a market with both publicly and privately owned companies. The purpose of this paper is to explore how publicly and privately owned health care companies view their relationship with their consumers.

Severe floods caused by heavy autumn rains in year 2000 raised the question whether measures to reduce the damage from high water levels, in the area surrounding lake Glafsfjorden and along the river Byälven down to lake Vänern, are possible. One option is to reduce flow resistance along the river and thereby lower the maximum water level a given inflow would cause. Good knowledge of hydraulic and hydrological conditions is necessary in order to estimate the effect of such flow-reducing measures. In order to quantify such effect a 1-dimensional hydraulic flow model has been set up for the river Byälven using the software package MIKE 11. The model is more detailed, especially concerning topography and bathymetry, than earlier models used for studies of the river.