The purpose of this study is to investigate and increase the understanding of how the two commercial companies IKEA and SAS and the two aid organizations/nonprofit organizations UNICEF and Save the Children use perceptions of Christmas to produce messages in their Christmas advertising/commercial film. The study also discusses if there may be communicative and pictorial similarities and differences in how these brands constructs messages in commercials, and why it may be that the brands choose to use these messages in commercials based on the recipient possible interpretations. The theories used in this study are promotional culture, framing theory, preferred meaning, semiotics (denotation and connotation), myth and rhetoric (ethos, pathos and logos). The method used to answer the purpose and issues are the qualitative method that uses the theories semiotic and rhetoric to analyze the material. The study's results derived from the qualitative content analyzes of the material (the brands IKEA, SAS, UNICEF and Save the Children Christmas advertising films) show that IKEA message might want to show that they want to help the customer and that they pay attention to the customer needs.

High brand equity is a great asset for companies that operate their business in a free and Competitive market. Brand equity can arise from both product-related and non-product related attributes and may be viewed from many different perspectives. This study examines which different attributes that contribute to enhance brand equity from customers point of view at the Swedish market for agricultural machinery. The study have been developed using a comprehensive literature search in order to investigate the field regarding brand equity and brand image. The literature review results in one product specific and one non-product specific approach in order to examine factors that contribute to enhanced brand equity. This takes the form as one survey-based approach regarding the non-product related attributes which is examined by interpreting the extra value added by different attributes.

In Sweden, harvesting pre-commercial thinning (PCT) stems for energy purposes is a interesting way of financing the high cost of preparing dense stands for a profitable first conventional thinning. This concept can be labelled bioenergy thinning. The aim of this study was to quantify the productivity of a Vimek 404R light harvester with an accumulating Naarva-Grip cutting head during the bioenergy thinning of a self-regenerated stand west of Sunnansjö in Dalarna. The stand was birch-dominated, contained 15 371 stems/ha, and measured on average 4,6 cm Dbh and 7 m tall. Even though the driver was well experienced with the machine, the stand in question was the first one that he ever thinned in this manner. Nevertheless, the driver strived to accumulate as many stems as possible during each crane cycle and chose to cut taller stems in half so as to make the handling and forwarding of the harvested stems easier.

Products and services have for a long time competed with their brands. For some time now, cities have begun to compete with each other to attract visitors and other stakeholders to come to their town. It is important that the citizens feel as they are a part of the message that the city sends out in its communication.Cities are today working actively with their brands, much like regular companies, in order to create the profile and image in order to be Competitive against other cities and places. Cities and places are part of a dynamic process which includes both positive and negative events. These events might have an impact on the brands, and therefore it is a necessity to be able to react on these events to make the most of positive things and deal with the negative in a way that minimizes the effects on the brand.Citybranding as a research field is quite new.

As the media attention society on the world climate change, interest in the environment and social impact has increased. This has in turn made even more companies choose to maintain a sustainability report that contains the three aspects of economic, environment and social impact. The demand for sustainability reports has increased among stakeholders. It has made the companies that establish this form of reports experienced economic benefits. The sustainability report than became a useful way to compete among businesses.

This report is focused on marketing opportunities for small-scale mango farmers in the Nyanza Province in Kenya. Kenya is a large horticultural producer in the world. Horticulture is an important income for a large share of the rural population in Kenya but profitability is low due to inefficiencies in marketing systems and poor infrastructure. The conditions for growing mango in the Nyanza Province are very beneficial and there are two harvesting seasons. Mango offers good income opportunities for small-scale farmers in the Nyanza Province.The aim of this study is to identify marketing conditions that will enable prospering business for small-scale mango farmers in the Nyanza Province, Kenya.

Organizational change is hard to achieve, but if an organization doesn't change it might risk its own existence. Effective resource allocation and increased control of the internal production are examples of how organizations try to increase its Competitive advantage. An ERP system (Enterprise Resource Planning) can help an organization to achieve this by providing management with direct access to a wealth of real-time operating information, streamlined dataflow, and making the company's business processes more effective. Like other IT-related projects, ERP investments are associated with large risks. Many projects failure during the implementation in one way or another.

AimThe purpose of this study isthat, from a student perspective, study how the implementation of the school's core values ??based curriculum context is experienced in school activities and the context of physical education.How do the students perceive the basic moral values ??in school activities and more specifically in physical education?Is there ethical aspects of physical education that can be linked to students' moral fostering and if so, how?MethodThe study's methodological approach is hermeneutic and data collection is therefor equalitative in nature. Through focus group interviews gathered material in which aimed to gain insight into students'subjectively experienced life-world in which their experiences, feelings and values ??were at the center. The investigation resulted in the execution of three focus group interviews with four students in each group from three different classes.

Textil- och konfektionsindustrin blir alltmer globaliserad och ställs inför hårdare krav då konsumenterna efterfrågar allt billigare varor i snabb förändring. Sedan flera decennier har europeiska konfektionsföretag flyttat sin tillverkning till länder med lägre arbetskostnader för att uppfylla kraven om låga priser som europiska tillverkare har svårt att uppfylla. En stor del har flyttats till Kina men även till andra länder i Asien. Nu håller marknadsförhållandena på att förändras igen genom tillväxt- och utvecklingsländernas starka utveckling. Förändringarna syns tydligast på Kinas marknad genom stigande priser och mindre kapacitet för europeisk produktion.

Demands on businesses are constantly increasing and the competition in the market-place is becoming ever tougher. To gain the long-term confidence of customers, not only the best businesses, but also the best supply chains are required.Volvo Cars is experiencing a changing Competitive situation and their retailers are having trouble stocking the right spare parts. Shorter product life cycles and the growth of Volvo?s product program result in an increase in the number of spare parts to be stocked. In order to adapt to market trends and meet customer demands, Volvo has developed the LDC model, establishing a number of regional warehouses in strategic locations in Sweden, de-signed to supply spare parts to the regions? retailers through so-called Vendor-Managed In-ventory (VMI).The purpose of the study is to examine Volvo personbilar Sverige?s (VPS) motivation for a modified customer-service strategy through LDC.

Bachelor thesis, Degree of master in Science and Economics, School of Business and Economics at Linnaeus University, Management, 2FE01E, Spring Semester 2013Author: Johanna Björklund, Sarah Gustafsson and Sofia NicklassonMentor: Anders HytterTitle: Retention: Why stay when your options are unlimited? Background: Employee turnover is a problem today, and companies face increasing challenges when it comes to retain employees within the organization, so called employee retention. This is a present concept and theory holds that more organizations realize that they need to put more focus on retention as one of their business goals to remain Competitive. It?s important that organizations understand individuals' different needs and the factors that make them satisfied in their professional life.

The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is the first species ever domesticated. They can develop a close bond towards other dogs, almost like a relationship among siblings, which can be a high valuable resource for good relations and cooperation?s. Dominance in dogs is sometimes used to explain undesired behaviors and explained as a personality trait. Dominance though, is not a trait in a dog or a source for undesired behaviors, but can rather be explained as a relationship between individuals, were one of them receives more submissive signals from the other.

The automotive industry is a highly Competitive market characterised by low profit margins or huge losses. Cost reductions have been of top priority for all OEM?s (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and will continue to be so for many years to come. Beside cost reductions, reducing the time-to-market is of greatest importance to stay in the competition. OEM?s that are slow to market with products that neither matches customer expectations nor the products of their competitors, will soon loose market shares and see their economical performance falter.

Traditional product features such as price, quality and supply service have been extended and nowadays includes environmental aspects as well. It raises new and increasing demands on haulier companies. The transport sector is responsible for a large part of the pollutants causing today?s environmental problems. The business is being closely monitored and to operate environmental friendly is seen as one of the most important elements for the industry?s future development.

Introduction and research question:  This study investigates the widely discussed notion ?Corporate Social Responsibility? and its practice in the tourism industry. In the contemporary society more companies are realizing the significance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its potential as a means of differentiation.  The author?s interest in this particular phenomenon was awakened after reading about the business case of Scandic Hotels. This is a company that nowadays is referred to as ?Scandinavia?s leading hotel chain?.