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.

BackgroundThere are different organizational structures and control and it has been proved difficult to find a combination between these that leads to goal congruence and improved efficiency. An organization can be structured according to hierarchical levels and the decision making can be either centralized or decentralized. Organizational control can be classified according to the amount of rules and balanced scorecard can be used to weld together the structure with the control.PurposeThe purpose is to create an understanding of how two types of structures and control in an organization appears and also to investigate how these differ from one another concerning the balanced scorecard as a control system. We will also investigate how the variables goal congruence and efficiency are affected by the implementation of the balanced scorecard.MethodTo answer the purpose of this thesis we have mainly used the qualitative method since we have studied two organizations thoroughly through interviews on different levels of the organization. The study also has some quantitative elements since we wanted to get a more truthful picture of the organizations.

An inflammatory reaction is induced after release of proinflammatory mediators such asinterleukin 1 and 6 and tumour necrosis factor ?. These mediators stimulate the liver tosuppress the syntheses of albumin and endure the syntheses of acute phase protein forinstance C-reactive protein. The aim of this paper was to perform a method validation on animmune turbidimetric assay to quantify C-reactive protein in canine serum at the laboratory atSkara Animals Hospital, Skara, Sweden. The validation involved evaluation of the assaylinearity, precision, stability and recovery.The method was proved to be linear for both TruLab control and Medinor control.

Platelets are important for the healing of damaged blood vessels since they have an importantpart to play in the coagulation process. At the same time, the blood must be kept fluid and notcoagulate at the wrong time. Therefore there are factors that effect the aggregation of plateletsin a positive or a negative way.Previous investigations have shown that platelets during stirring conditions produce reactiveoxygen species (ROS) that weaken the inhibiting effect of nitric oxides (NO) on platelets andthat the drug Dexamethasone (Dex) can reduce the ROS-production.The aim of this project was to investigate if glucocorticoids, in this case Dexamethasone,could restore the inhibiting effect of NO on platelets and if there was any decrease in ROS-production.The result of the ROS-measurements showed a great variance and it was difficult to draw anyconclusions from them, but a clear decrease in ROS, as previous reported, was not shown. In the aggregation experiments the inhibiting effect of NO was observed through the drug S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP), a NO-donator.From the aggregation experiments, the result seemed to be that SNAP during longerincubation time lost its inhibiting effect, probably because the cells become desensitized.With superoxid dismutase (SOD), the effect of SNAP increased, both in the experiment withlonger and shorter incubation times. Dex seemed to reinforce the aggregation in relation toboth SOD and SNAP.

This report describes the design and construction of a prototype that automatically aims a microwave link towards a target. The link, that is located on a mobile aerial mast, is used by Saab Training Systems as a part of an infrastructure network. The report also discusses the development of a GUI that communicates with the control unit by Bluetooth.The control unit, called Pan/Tilt-controller, controls the position of the link by stepping motors. One motor controls the azimuth angle and the other one controls the elevation angle.By a GUI the operator enters the coordinates on its own position and the targets position. Hereafter a bearing is calculated and it will be sent up to the control unit.The control unit will sense its own direction by a magnetic sensor that works as an electronic compass.

AbstractTitle: Welfare officers personal experiences of stress and coping in an emergency hospital in StockholmThe purpose with this study was to describe how welfare officers in an emergency hospital experienced stress in their workplace and what coping strategies they used. Through qualitative interviews the welfare officers thoughts and experiences were examined. The result showed that welfare officers experienced some stress at the workplace; this was related to lacks in the organization, heavy workload and short of time. The most commonly used coping strategies were social support, physical training, short breaks during the day to handle the stress at work. The conclusions of this study was that factors that reduces stress for welfare officers who work at emergency hospitals was a functioning organization and management, the ability to control and at some levels effect their own work, to have guidance and other opportunities to ventilate with co-workers.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between gender and self reported symptoms (physiological and psychological) and sense of coherence (SOC) and Job Demand-Control-Social support (JDCS). The sample consisted of 360 respondents (nfemale= 261, nmale= 99), in the ages between 19-53 (M=25,57, SD=5,77), all students from Växjö University. A quantitative work method was used in the study; data was collected using questionnaires that consisted of self-reported questions, based on three parts: A modified symptom checklist, SOC 13 and a modified JDCS questionnaire. The result of our study showed that both SOC and JDCS had an effect on self-reported symptoms but there were no interaction between SOC and JDCS. No significant gender differences were found regarding the level of SOC.

Background: A large number of companies works as a link between manufacturers and final users. These companies buys and stores goods to be able to deliver when a need comes up later in the chain. The storage could have a negative effect on profitability and therefore places great demands on the management control systems. ABC as a method has been used with some success in manufacturing for over ten years. In wholesale companies the method is not frequently used.

This thesis studies the concept of balance in the management control systems (MCS) of a small Swedish company within the IT-sector. The aim is to evaluate the importance of balance and dynamics in MCS and investigate which factors affect them. The frameworks used are Simons (1994) four levers of control, and the five-factor model for balance and dynamics by Mundy (2010). The small IT company - the object of the case study - has grown extensively in the last years and needs to develop more formal MCS without losing efficiency and creativity in their fast-moving industry. The case study reveals that balancing MCS is important also in smaller companies with less formal MCS.

The consumption of alcohol in Sweden has increased considerably within recent years. Among youths there has been a tendency towards drinking more frequently and increased volumes. Alcohol habits among students on the high schools auto mechanic line has been given a questionnaire to examine their experience of the immediate after effect of alcohol and how et effects their situation in school. It has been proven that participating students are drinking alcohol more frequently than the average among Swedish high school students and girls more often than boys. The general experiences of alcohol after effect are predominantly negative both physically and psychologically, but the students are not concerned of their alcohol habits having an effect on their school work..

Studiens syfte var att undersöka om det fanns skillnader i personlighet och val av konfliktstil beroende av vilken placering respondenterna hade i syskonskaran samt om Locus of control skiljde sig mellan olika åldersgrupper. Samband mellan chefers konfliktstil och personlighet undersöktes också. De 103 respondenterna som var mellan 25-75 år, 63% män och 37% kvinnor, besvarade en enkät som bestod av demografiska frågoroch arbetsrelaterade frågor om chefskap. Tre test användes; ett personlighetstest, RottersLocus of Control och Thomas-Kihlman?s konfliktstiltest.

AbstractThe purpose with this study was to get knowledge if there are any possible differences in, and correlation between, experienced stress, experienced demands, experienced control and experienced social support in correlation to shiftwork.The study was made at two central hospitals in south of Sweden and had 90 participants (78 women and 12 men) that answered a questionnaire in the current variables. The result in experienced stress showed that there were no differences between shift workers. The results showed a difference between the day- and the nightshift in the correlation between control and stress. The writers speculates that the reason why the nightshift experience high stressvalues with high control can depend on the lack of presence by higher managers, compared with the dayshift. .

In this bachelor thesis, diagnostic methods for one of Siemens stem inlet control valves have been developed. The work has taken place during ten weeks at Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB in Finspång. The company produce steam- and gas turbines and also provides service and maintenance. The purpose with this project has been to develop diagnostic methods that oversee the health of the control valves. By using the developed methods you will know when it?s time for maintenance.

Background: Performance measurement as a management control tool has received considerable academic attention. As the number of inter-organisational relationships, such as customer-supplier relationships, increases, there is a new scope for performance measurement as a management control tool. In order for a company to assess the effectiveness of its supplier relationships it has to define, measure and evaluate variables that are critical for the success of the relationship. The role of management control, and thereby of performance measurement, has increasingly been discussed in theory. However, empirical research in this area is still somewhat limited.

The implementation of a material requirements planning system is a complex and demanding task. There has been much research into what factors are important in such implementations, but seemingly very little about the links between critical success factors and management control systems. This thesis attempts, through a case study, to answer the question of how management control systems affect the implementation of an MRP system in ASSA AB, a Swedish manufacturing firm. Data is primarily collected through interviews. Theory regarding implementation success definitions, critical success factors as well as management control systems is presented.