During the last years the need for real-time database services has increased due to the growing number of data-intensive applications needing to enforce real-time constraints. The COMponent-based Embedded real-Time database (COMET) is a real-time database developed to meet these demands. COMET is developed using the AspeCtual COmponent-based Real-time system Development (ACCORD) design method, and consists of a number of components and aspects, which can be composed into a number of different configurations depending on system demands, e.g., Quality of Service (QoS) management can be used in unpredictable environments. In embedded systems with requirementson high up-time it may not be possible to temporarily shut down the system for reconfiguration. Instead it is desirable to enable dynamic reconfiguration of the system, exchanging components during run-time.

Nature?s Best is a quality-label for Swedish Eco-tourism. It is one of very few active ecotourism labels and the only one that claims quality as its main focus. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the certification scheme Nature?s Best with regards to the values the certification creates for the companies that certify their products.

In today s society, services are becoming more and more important. They are however, partly because of their immaterial nature, separated from traditional merchandise, why the marketing and producing of them differs. Quality errors in a service are often difficult to discover before the service is brought to a customer, since the producing and consuming of it often takes place simultaneously. Quality errors in a service process are called service failures or in Swedish tjänstefel. Nevertheless, with an effective service recovery process, dissatisfied customers can be turned into satisfied ones.

The development of technology and the mechanization in the Swedish forestry has during the last 60 years resulted in depopulation of the country side and due to that the amount of distance forest owners has increased. Therefore the forest companies need to make some adjustments in order to keep the distance forest owners as customers and to attract new ones. The purpose of this essay was to examine and analyze the distance forest owners satisfaction with Södras service offering and quality of service and further develop some proposals for action. A web-based survey was sent out to 634 distance forests owners in Stockholm, Sweden, all members of Södra. 269 respondents participated in the survey and of them, 27 did also participate in a follow-up telephone interview.

All companies wants? to be as profitable as possible. The company in question is one of the leaders in it´s field in Sweden. In order to increase profits as much as possible it is important to identify and eliminate eventual quality defect cost as far as possible.This study was performed in Huddig AB, and the purpose of this study is to try to develop a routine for monitoring the quality defect costs, and to improve communication and create feedback between production and aftermarket.In addition to an extensive literature review on quality defect costs most of the work have been conducted at the company. Own observations and interviews have been done with the staff to get a picture of the current situation and to try to come up with improvement proposals.During the study it was proved that much of the quality defect costs in essence, derived from the production, which is seen as positive because it is the easiest part of the company to improve.

In this study we have examined the possible quality standards and methods for applications with service workshops in the forest industry. The purpose of the methods presented here was to start the work of standarardising the maintenance service in the industry and be of use for service providers in their quality effort.The methods we used to accomplish the study were interviews and field visits together with a comprehensive literature research. Our results are presented in the form of four solution proposals: a standard based on existing SIS standards for terminology and key indicators, checklists that are filled in by mechanics with customer participation, the construction of a instructions database, and the implementation of the method 5s.We believe our suggestions can help the service providers in the four problem areas that we have identified: long term strategy, documentation, recruitment of competent technicians, and standard procedures in their operations. These improvements will be beneficial for both the service provider and the customer..

Although Lean has received an increased amount of attention in the service context, research still has not established how successfully Lean manages to increase service productivity; since service productivity consists of both efficiency and quality. Research regarding productivity discusses the risk of a tradeoff between efficiency and quality in service production processes. Therefore, this thesis aims to explore if the tradeoff in a production setting with low variability in demand and low customer participation exists, after Lean has been implemented. With a qualitative approach, a case study has been conducted at Scandinavian Airlines Ground Handling to evaluate the effects of Lean in the baggage handling process. The result of the study shows that the tradeoff has not been overcome; efficiency has increased at the expense of quality.

The purpose of this Master Thesis is to investigate the quality of the library service at the City Library of Uddevalla. In particular this thesis will examine the quality of the library service to people who are disabled. This applies particularly to the service to people with reduced ability to move or to see, which also includes people with infirmities due to old age. We also have investigated how well the library itself is adapted to the disabled. In order to get more information about the library service to people who are disabled, we have studied literature on this subject and the Master Thesis contains a summary of those documents.

Our purpose with this paper has been to analyse and discuss how motivation of the personnel affects the service quality in service companies. This has been done through two studies; a literature study with existing theories and an empirical study on the divisions of Lyckohjul and Shopping at Liseberg. In the introduction of this paper we put the question of research; why is there a need for work of motivation in service companies. When collecting information we used literature briefing, a questionnaire study and depth interviews. The literature briefing focused on the well-tried and most dominating theories on the subject motivation.

The need for auditing originates from the agency problem that arises due to the separation of ownership and control in companies. The purpose of the audit is to increase credibility of the financial statements that management uses to communicate with owners and other stakeholders. In order for the audit to fulfill its purpose a certain level of quality needs to be obtained. The auditor can also be seen as a provider of a commercial service in which service quality is important. Audit quality can thus be separated into technical quality, which is defined as the probability that the auditor both discovers and reports a breach in the client?s accounting system, and service quality, which relates to the provision of services in general.

With the advance in computer and network technologies, multimedia systems and Internet applications are becoming more popular. As broadband network is prevailing, more clients are able to watch streaming videos or to play multimedia data over the Internet in real-time. Consequently, there is an increasing demand in the Internet for streaming video systems. As the run-time environment of such applications tends to be dynamic, it is imperative to handle transient overloads effectively. The goal of this work is to develop an algorithm that would provide a robust and controlled behavior of the video system so that important data is delivered on time to the video clients.

This paper exemplifies how the physical environment affects clients? experienced service quality and how companies work with the physical environment. In the empiric study, we conducted a case study and studied two hairdressing saloons. The study showed a connection between physical environment and experienced service quality in the business of hairdressing. Owners of hairdressing saloons perceive that a combination of the personal meeting and the physical environment influence the clients? general impression and their experience of quality.

Lärare använder sig av olika metoder för att hjälpa studenter att utveckla de verktyg de behöver för att lära sig engelska, eller något annat ämne. En metod här är muntlig feedback, som används för att uppmuntra elever eller korrigera dem när de utför språkliga fel. Vårt mål med detta examensarbete är därför att undersöka vilka typer av muntlig feedback som kan hittas i ett klassrum där man lär sig engelska som främmande språk och vilka attityder som både lärare och studenter kan ha gentemot muntlig feedback. Tre typer av undersökningsmetoder har använts: observationer, intervjuer och enkäter. Resultatet visar på att studenter förhåller sig positivt till muntlig feedback i klassrummet, särskilt explicit corrective feedback.

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how auditors are affected by quality controls and if audit practice changes because of quality controls. To fulfill the purpose of this study there has been interviews made with five auditors. The conclusion by this study is that the interviewed auditors work practices are affected by quality controls and that the extent and effect depends on the auditor and the office that the auditor works in. The auditors who worked as quality reviewers at the agencies where they are employed at, we felt that they were more secured in the response towards quality controls. This may be because they are quality reviewers themselves and they know what the quality control requires and what must be met to be approved.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to compare and analyze Malmö Aviation and Rica Talk Hotel's service culture. This is done by examining three themes, the organizations ways of working with training, motivation and empowerment of frontline employees.Method: The essay is a case study-based qualitative research which mainly focuses on semi-structured, qualitative interviews with various people within the two organizations.Theory: The theoretical framework considers theory within two sections. The first section, the organizations importance in service quality, focuses on service culture or service climate and different management strategies. Section two, the employees? importance in service quality, focuses on three themes: training, motivation and empowerment of frontline employeesResults: Both Malmö Aviation and Rica Talk Hotel are companies that put great emphasis on developing and maintaining a quality service culture within the organization.