By using univariate analysis, tobit and logit regressions, this thesis investigates determinants of asset writedowns. After controlling for variables indicating reductions in asset values, the results show that changes in senior management are significant in explaining the writedown decision and magnitude, which is in line with previous research. The explanatory power of changes in senior management has not increased with the transition to IFRS in 2005. No evidence is found supporting the hypothesis that the explanatory power of management incentives is higher for more discretionary types of asset writedowns..

Denna studie redovisar den frivilliga information som svenska VD och koncernchefer tar upp i VD orden i sina årsredovisningar. Syftet är att analysera var Sveriges redovisningsutveckling är på väg, genom att bland annat ställa de svenska VD orden i jämförelse med utvecklingen av öppenhet i årsredovisningar inom detta område i framför allt USA och Storbritannien. De undersökta VD orden kommer från årsredovisningarna hos de 18 svenska börsnoterade företag med högst värde på sin aktieomsättning år 2005. Eftersom det fortfarande inte finns någon fullständig teori inom detta område har ett induktivt förhållningssätt använts. De metodologiska val som gjorts är inspirerade av det som Glaser och Strauss (1967) kallar för grounded theory..

The essay discusses the effects that changes to the office plan have on organizational culture. Information about actual change as well as expected change in organizational culture was gathered before the empirical research was initiated. The empirical research was carried out at the Customer Logistics department at Ericsson through: an interview with a manager in charge of the relocation and design of the office, a manager for the specified department and also five employees of this department. The empirical studies show that there was a significant change in organizational culture and that results were not always as expected. There was a loss in symbolic actions, which needed to be compensated for, a perceived reduction in spontaneous communication, and a mixed response of perceived change in social interaction.

Beskriva och analysera IT-bubblan och dess efterverkningar samt konsekvenser av denna kris för de inblandade företagen. Vi har studerat hur de har förändrat sina system, arbetssätt, finansierin, tillgångar för att pasa dagens kunder och investerare..

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.

The Swedish boat industry is considered quite conservative and subject to only limited development. The purpose of the study is to explain the structure of the boat industry, to analyze and evaluate ways of competing and provide recommendations for developing a competitive strategy. The aim of this thesis is to explain how to be competitive in the Swedish boat industry. To be able to do so three areas are used to deepen as well as broaden the understanding. The three areas within competitiveness we have chosen to highlight are differentiation, individualization and distribution.

Today Internet is clogged up and packed with homepages and information from both private persons and commercial companies. This has led to a decreased availability for a company to be noticed. The most common tool for consumers to use while searching for products online is via search engines. But because of the nature of these, not all companies can have good placements. Our research question was, "How do small online-companies attract consumers to their website"? The purpose of this thesis is to identify how a company works through online-communications and how to attract consumers to their home page.

The aim of this Master?s thesis is to study the relations between internal information and the principal business objectives in a knowledge organization. The questions are: how does the organization behave to its internal information resources, how is the information management related to the principal objectives and strategies, what information policy does the organization develop, and how is the management experienced by the employees. The purpose was to study the supply and management of information designed for internal use and the study was carried out with qualitative, semi-structured interviews to get a picture of the internal information management. The informants were mostly key persons with deep knowledge of internal information.

The aim of this qualitative study of service work in the private sector is to examine how the service worker experiences his/her work. There are three dimensions of the service workers experience in focus, and they are the base of my formulation of questions. The first dimension refers to how the service worker experiences the emotional labor demands from the employer. The second dimension concerns the relation between service worker and customer, from the view of the service worker. The third dimension problematizes how service workers experience efficiency.I have interviewed three call center customer workers and two hotel receptionists, using semi-structured interview technique.

An increased demand for processed goods on the property market has contributed toinvestments within the Swedish sawmill industry. The purpose with this study is to make amarket investigation of pre cut lengths within a defined geographic area. The constituent forthis investigation is HAL (AB Hilmer Andersson) who invests in a new plane facility and twofinger jointing machines in affiliation to their sawmill in Lässerud, the vest part of Värmland.To investigate the demand of pre cut lengths and identifies the value creating factors and costfactors which the customer within the segments industry and property market perceive, havedifferent customer value theories been used. Theories of customer value and the theory aboutoffering has been the source of creating the qualitative interview with a selection of currentand new potential customers for HAL.The result of the study first gives an introduction of HAL?s new offering and a description ofHAL?s current customers, which gives the reader an understanding of why searching for newcustomers is made in the defined area.

Every year a number of tenant-owner flat deals are concluded and the availability of real estate agents on the market is today very widespread. It has become increasingly difficult for estate agents to distinguish themselves in a way that makes the estate agent the customer?s choice. Estate agents must have a good understanding of what is important to the customer. An apartment deal is, for most people, an important event in their life.

Today?s market for companies doing statistical surveys is a market consisting of mostly standardized methods where differentiating your company from the competitors is hard. Simultaneously both the society at large and technology in specific is under constant development and everything needs to be done at a faster pace with better precision. One of the companies on the market mentioned above is Tradewell Group AB. During 2008/2009 Tradewell has developed a new method for doing statistical surveys. The method named by Tradewell is called Cellphone Survey System, CSS and include using existing technology in a, for this market, unknown way.

Vårt primära syfte är att undersöka vad för motiv unga kvinnor har när de väljer att ta till en plastikkirurgi för att se vackrare ut. Samtidigt vill vi studera hur kroppen har blivit ett medel för att framhäva sig själv i dagens samhälle..

AbstractOur purpose for making this study is to study the implementation, the use of and the effects of Lean within our case objects.  We chose to make this thesis by case studies. The three themes mentioned above is also the main research questions that we aim to find an answer to by this study. We have chosen to do a cross section analysis where we conducted structured interviews to find answers to these questions. The theoretical reference frame consists partly of traditional theoreticians within Lean but also more recent research within the subject as well as theory specifically for Lean within the Health Care sector.The result of this study shows in all our case studies that the Management has been supporting the implementation, but that the implementation process proceeds faster if also the professionals are involved in the process.  To succeed with the implementation there is a great need for good reasons and strives that can benefit the professionals. By the use of Lean our case studies have evaluated its processes, with the main intentions being to reduce waste activities and to create flows with ?pull systems?.

The market for management training programs is growing and the supply of the service is increasing and getting further diversified. A consequence is a market with a wide variety of definitions of the very concept of development, and subsequently a wide variety of practices and methods to achieve development. The individuals that are subject to these programs seldom know what they are purchasing, or what to expect. When assuming a transfer of the developers view on development to the subject, a need for a greater understanding of the concept arises. The purpose of this thesis is to understand what views on development do exist among management trainers and map underlying dimensions of the views to increase the understanding of the concept of development.