AbstractDate              2009-06-07Level             Master thesis in Information Technology and Business Administration, 15 hp, EIK024Authors        Anna Karlsson, akn05009@student.mdh.se                      Lena-Maria Lindström, llm05002@student.mdh.seTutor            Peter EkmanTitle              IT Governance with an IT investment focusKeywords     IT Governance, IT investments, IT decisions Problem       To control and manage IT and IT functions in the organization has been a big challenge for many businesses for a long time. In order to make the management of IT more efficient IT Governance is needed. If the organization is going to be successful IT Governance is necessary and this type of governance enables a more effective use of IT that supports the business and its operations. The problem questions for this thesis are: How is the company?s IT Governance built up? How are decisions regarding the company?s IT investments taken? How is the connection between the company?s IT investments and the company?s IT Governance?Purpose        The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze how a company?s IT Governance is built up and how the company uses IT Governance to reach the desired results from the IT investments.Method        The thesis is a qualitative study.

The purpose of this essay is to examine how four Swedish retail companies describe their information management in connection to ethical trade. My purpose is also to examine how this information management relates to organizational learning. My questions at issue are ? ?Which activities related to information management in connection to ethical trade is described by the companies?? and ?How can these activities and statements be related to organizational learning?? My method of investigation is to perform qualitative interviews with representatives from the retail companies and relate the results to theories on information management and organizational learning, mainly theories of double-loop- and single-loop learning. The information management literature address issues such as information needs, information sources and information seeking.

The strive for control over employees has developed throughout the years. This paper has its focus on how normative control can work as a powerful method to create and uphold a sought for behavior. Many companies have found an interest in a higher moral stance to get competitive advantages, and offer their customers and partners a more ethical product. This phenomenon has in Sweden resulted in a sphere of companies who has earned the R-licens. The R-licens is earned by companies if they fulfill ethical and cultural criteria.

This thesis is based on a case study of the City of Stockholm. The study aims to explore the effects on the city's large investments caused by the public reform. Furthermore, the question concerns the character of the impact and if it will affect what type of investments that will be prioritized. The theoretical background is based on Brunsson's ideas about political organizations shifting towards corporate nature, and Almqvist's interpretation of New Public Management (NPM). Moreover, models explaining public management reform, and the main components of corporate shifting, are used.

Traditionally, it has been argued that companies are only responsible towards their shareholders, to maximize the profits. But lately it has changed into another way of responsibilty. It has become of great importance to demonstrate sustainable long-term values for stakeholders to identify with. This thesis aims to clarify the banks? definition of responsible investment and what criteria they assume when talking about such kind of investments.

The main purpose of the essay was to evaluate whether investments in index-linked bonds were suitable investments for smaller investors on the international finance market. To determine whether the index-linked bonds are good investments, the variables yield, cost and risk were used to measure the index-linked bonds against investments in stocks and funds. The reason for the interest in this subject is that investments in index-linked bonds have grown furiously the last few years. With the growth of the investments the criticism of index-linked bonds has also grown stronger. The critics? main point is the cost of the product, and they imply that investors can create their own index-linked bond and thereby avoid the bank fees.This study used a quantitative approach, because all the data of yield, cost and risk consist of numbers.

Purpose:The purpose of this study is to improve the knowledge regarding how entrepreneurial companies act and behave in relation to human capital, by studying their decision-making process for human capital investments. Furthermore this study shall enrich the understandings for how their way of handling human capital investments might change over time along with the development, growth and aging of the company.Methodology:For this case study the authors have chosen a qualitative approach. The authors have collected the empirical data by interviewing the CEO?s of six different entrepreneurial companies. To be able to process and analyze the empirical data the authors have used various theoretical frameworks and also previous studies.Theoretical framework:The theoretical framework brings up human capital and its importance, but also its role in the entrepreneurial company.

Youth centres- A qualitative study of how midwives relate to the potential ethical dilemma between youths right to integrity and parents right to informationThe aim of this study was to investigate how midwives at youth centres relate to the potential ethical dilemma between parents? right to information that young people between 15-17 years share at the centre, vs. youths right to integrity. The study was based on qualitative interviews with six midwives in various youth centres in Stockholm County. We analysed our empirical material according to Blennbergers consequential ethical model and Bronfenbrenners ecological system model.

AimThe compulsory school attendance in Sweden means that all children are obligated to go to school. This makes great demands on those who work in the school, especially the teachers. Schools are complex units. In school, teachers face all kinds of ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. The aim of the study is to enlighten how different teachers would act differently, if they were facing the same dilemma in the PE-lessons and why this knowledge is important to our profession.MethodThe data was collected through interviews to make a qualitative research.

In this paper the authors are trying to understand what separates men from women when they save and invest their money. But also what factors that influence them in their decisions. To investigate how men and women actually act when investing their money the authors construct a survey. The authors also turn to the Swedish banks for information on how they think there customers are behaving. The authors find that men are more risk- taking than women and therefore invest more in products with higher risk, for example shares.

Internet and convergence culture has changed the terms of the media landscape. When old media converge and new ones take form, questions about how these should be classified arise, which is accompanied by new challenges in terms of ethics and regulations. One of these newfound mediums is podcasting; an expanding auditive pull-medium available through streaming or downloading on the Internet.This study, which was conducted as a quantitative content analysis, examines the use of sponsorship in four of the most popular Swedish podcasts. This was done as an attempt to understand how producers of a new and unregulated medium choose to go about presenting their sponsor, without having any ethical guidelines to follow. Traditional media is already regulated and have ethical guidelines, that for example regulate how to address a sponsor, but in the new and expanding world of podcasting there are no ethical rules and guidelines.Our study shows that the placements of the sponsorship messages tend to vary and that there is very little consensus regarding how these podcasts choose to present their sponsor.

Municipal Real Estate Companies runs by a political boarder who makes decisions in large investments. In some cases the municipal counter have to take the decisions about big and expensive investments. A successful investment needs to be built on solid ground.Media has lately focused on energy topics as a part of the environmental discussion and the real estate companies tries to use the new technology that the market has provided. Energy investments in new buildings are not longer a small part of the energy saving program. Long-term investment demands needs large knowledge and awareness about the energy topics that have recently grown in the municipal real estate companies.

How should a fair income tax system be designed? Since Estonia became the first country to introduce a flat tax on incomes in 1994, this question has been in focus of public debate. The aim of is this thesis is to show that a flat income tax system, combining a proportional tax rate on all incomes with an allowance exempt from tax, is consistent with the demands of justice. In order to achieve this I construct a two level argument using normative method. The first part consists in the justification of a specific ethical theory which is derived from to notion of human dignity.

This essay follows a Media Teacher in her work as a coordinator and an artistic leader for a European project called Legalopoli concerning laws and ethics in a senior level school for 13-16 year-olds in Mora, Sweden. The students write film stories about how their characters have to make choices in ethical dilemma situations. Then the learners create interactive computer games together through practical film work. At the same time we can see how the educator also gets into difficult ethical situations, when she is working with the students. This forces her to self-reflection.

This essay follows a Media Teacher in her work as a coordinator and an artistic leader for a European project called Legalopoli concerning laws and ethics in a senior level school for 13-16 year-olds in Mora, Sweden. The students write film stories about how their characters have to make choices in ethical dilemma situations. Then the learners create interactive computer games together through practical film work. At the same time we can see how the educator also gets into difficult ethical situations, when she is working with the students. This forces her to self-reflection.