This thesis describes how large Swedish companies finance their debt and identifies some factors that affect their decisions. The study is based on 10 well-known companies of which 9 are listed on Nasdaq OMX Nordic. The results show that the companies display several similarities concerning their debt structure and the factors which their choices are based upon. All companies in this study primarily use corporate bonds for their long-term borrowing, commercial papers for the short-term borrowing, and bank-facilities as back-up. There is a tendency that smaller companies in larger extent use bank-loans for long-term borrowing due to larger emissions costs when using market financing.

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has lately gained popularity throughout the globalized world. Swedish retail industry is no exception. Though increased levels of explicitly claimed responsibilities of companies, a number of other facts points out a development that contradicts this trend. Labour conditions and forms of employment is substantially retrograding, with an increased level of insecurity characterizing the Swedish retail labour market. At the same time, almost all Swedish retail companies explicitly state claims on social responsibility.

Datum: 2007-06-04Nivå: Examensarbete DFörfattare: Richard Caspar, Joakim Lindberg & Philip SavénHandledare: Universitetslektor, docent Nils KinchTitel: KRISHANTERING! Frågan är inte om, utan när!Problemformulering: I litteraturen finns en mängd olika uppfattningar om hur företag bäst skall hantera en kris. Vad som däremot saknas är ett gemensamt förhållningssätt till hur dessa bör hanteras. Går det att fastställa olika allmänna rekommendationer från fallstudier och litteraturen kring krishantering?Syfte: Syftet med arbetet är att jämföra ett antal olika kriser för att se om det går att utforma en generell metod för krishantering inom företag.Metod: Metoden som använts är en litteraturstudie där nio fallstudier har granskats för att därefter analyserasSlutsatser: Våra slutsatser visar att företag bör försöka förstå sin omvärld, vara effektiva i sin kommunikation, planera för det värsta samt agera rakryggat och ärligt..

The purpose of this study is to use a qualitative approach to get an understanding of what is expected of social workers targeted towards women managers in social services. Nine social workers were interviewed. The empirical data was then analyzed on the basis of gender theory. Respondents did not see their supervisor as a manager but more as a social worker with special tasks. Our empirical data indicates that there is a strong belief that men and women possess different properties.

Syftet med detta examensarbete var att undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkat acceptansen hos användare, inom den kommunala verksamheten, vid införande av ett datoriserat system. Med acceptans menas att användarna ska kunna utföra sina arbetsuppgifter på ett bra och lätt sätt. Studien har gjorts utifrån användarnas perspektiv.Genom att genomföra en intervjuundersökning på ett flertal kommuner där användarna använder systemet Vabas/Duf, har undersökts hur användarnas upplevda acceptans påverkas av faktorerna delaktighet, användbarhet och lättanvändhet, vid införande av ett datoriserat system. Delaktigheten vid införandet av ett system innefattar även information och utbildning.Resultatet från undersökningen visade att delaktigheten ökade användarnas acceptans. Ingen avgörande slutsats kunde däremot dras mellan acceptans och faktorerna användbarhet och lättanvändhet, då resultatet från de båda grupperna inte visade någon märkbar skillnad..

The aim of this study is to investigate how Swedish listed real estate companies use quantitative sustainability measures - mainly sustainability index with a financial focus. Sustainability management is a controversial issue that is used more and more constructive. A sustainable management approach in corporate cunduct is complex and based on a number of aspects of business visions, objectives and daily procedures. The study identifies aspects that are considered relevant in real estate companies where the selection of sustainability indicators is based on the support of scientific research in this field. The study intendeds to clarify how Swedish listed real estate companies have selected aspects and indicators of sustainability management and how these work towards a sustainable development.

The focus of this research is to investigate how the client's emotions can affect the social worker and how the social worker manages these feelings in order to make the right decisions. We have used a qualitative approach in our investigation. We have interviewed six social workers at social welfare bureaux in southern Sweden. Our theories are ?Nai?ve Theory? and ?Affect Theory?.

En sammanfattning av uppsatsen på maximalt 8000 tecken..

In the last couple of decades, corporate law firms have rapidly grown to become both influential and highly profitable corporations in the business world. Today, the largest law firms are assumed to bear far greater resemblance to large and often multinational public limited companies than the small businesses generally associated with legal services. However, one interesting specific set them apart from the majority of other companies; the partnership and its interrelated profit sharing. The aim of this study has therefore been to investigate partner compensation systems in corporate law firms and further examine what implications chosen compensation systems have on the organizations. Using a multiple case study, including 7 of Scandinavia?s largest and most well known law firms, the results show that partner compensation systems are highly individual and the critical question is whether to employ seniority based or performance based compensation systems.

Background and problem: Financial reports are created for the users as decision support. Stakeholders are often subjects to information asymmetry. Banks represent one of the primary stakeholders and financiers of a company, and place great emphasis on financial reports in their credit assessment process. The question is, however, how useful the financial information actually is. According to previous research, banks consider accounting information as troublesome in some respects, mostly due to accounting choices and judgments.

The purpose of this study was to examine how social work professionals view their professional role and how they think about the concept of social work. I also wanted to investigate what they believe characterize a professional social work. For the purposes of this study, I chose a qualitative approach in which I interviewed five people linked to the social work. The theories which I have assumed in the analysis of the results are power theory, organization theory and professional theory. The results of this study show that the respondents believe that a professional social work is performed by someone who has training and experience in the field.

The aim of this thesis is to form a theory of the green consumer power and to distinguish whether this phenomenon could indicate a movement toward the ecological citizenship. To do so, scientific theories regarding the responsibility of companies have been used, as well as the public choice theory, to link individuals as citizens to individuals as consumers. The motives of corporate environmental responsibility, along with consumers ability to bring pressure in different dimensions, are later drawn on as indicators applied to empirical information. The largest producer of ecological products in Sweden, Arla Foods, is employed as case study to explore if the green consumer power can and does exist. The ecological citizenship uses the ecological footprint, to define in what ways we can minimize our part of environmental degradation.The study seems to strengthen the theory, consumers do have a power to make companies go green and they tend to use it increasingly.

Previous research in the area of leadership and stress has shown that the leader plays an important role but in what way is still an issue to explore. A qualitative approach was used in this study to develop an increased understanding of the leader's experience of stress using four themes; leadership, stress, control and organizational factors. A total of 12 semi-structured and un-structured interviews were carried out with 6 leaders, three females and three males. The data was transcribed and thematic as well as narrative analysis was conducted.The results indicates that leadership stress is caused by a lack of control and that factors intrinsic to the role as a leader both facilitates and complicates the leaders situation when facing stress..

Social sustainability is often regarded as a solution to social problems in general. In this study, on the contrary, social sustainability is conceived as a socially constructed concept and the result of a certain way of looking at the world, the human being and the ideal society. The study centers around Kinda municipality in the southern region of Östergötland and a few of its elder inhabitants. What meaning and substance social sustainability is contained with as well as the effects that are produced by these conceptualizations is explored and analyzed. Also, the study examines the encounter between political policy?s and judgments on the one hand and the experiences and preferences held by the municipality?s elder inhabitants on the other..

AbstractTitle: Corporate Social Responsibility within the banking-sector ? A case study of the CSR-strategies of Nordea.Seminar date: 130108State University: Mälardalen University ? Västerås Institution: School of Sustainable Development of Society and TechnologyLevel: Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration ? FÖA300Authors: Samir Ghaddab, Josefine Jonsson, Sam LindforsExaminor: Cecilia Lindh Thillenius Supervisor: Magnus LinderströmPages: 35 Attachments: 1 Key words: CSR, bank, sustainability, communication, awarenessResearch questions:- What is the nature of CSR-related work in Nordea, and how do they practice CSR? - How can Nordea raise awareness about CSR among employees and other stakeholders?Purpose: The purpose with this thesis was to get an increased understanding about how Nordea interprets CSR and how they work with CSR. Finally with relevant theories in mind, this thesis presents suggestions on possible changes and opportunities within Nordea?s CSR-activities and how they can co-operate with NGO?s like CSR Sweden.Methodology: A qualitative study with deductive methods. A case study has been done with semi-structured interviews at a company and a nonprofit organization.Conclusion: The reality in which Nordea operates conforms to the theories presented in the thesis when we look at the driving forces behind working with CSR and the demands on the company that stakeholders have.