The aim of this master?s thesis is to identify differences and similarities, regarding security, in two goods terminals in an organisation in the transport and goods sector. In this thesis we use Cultural Theory as an analytical instrument to investigate organizational culture, as seen from a security perspective. Cultural Theory is a theory seen from two perspectives, the stable perspective and the mobile perspective. These two perspectives concentrate on different research areas.

KSL Trading Inc is a trading company in the Jönkoping area that distributesmaterial for the furniture and interior design industry.The purpose of this report is to analyze the existing material flow andwarehouse layout as well as to identify the issues there are today at KSL?swarehouse for board material. When we identified what kind of problems thatexisted we were able to design a new plan for the material flow and storagepossibilities. The problems we found where:? There is no well-organised warehouse layout? There are no routines to keep the warehouse clean and in order? There is no formed plan how to handle materialTo solve these problems we have used different methods like interviews,observations, calculations and literature studies.

Concrete is a very common construction material. It´s characteristics are strength, durability and formablility. Superplasticizer is a common admixture, which changes the properties of concrete. Today (spring 2007) there are no certian mathematical methods to calculate the required percentage of this admixture needed to give the necessary set slump flow in the overall concrete recipe. Concrete batching companies must therefor experiment with different amount of superplasticizer in order to meet the specified slump and strength. The purpose og this report is to investigate if any mathematical relation can be established between the amount of superplasticizer used and the slump flow achieved. After carrying out some practical experiments using four different superplasticizers a direct relationship can be establish between the percentage of admixture used and the slump/flowability achieved. Unfortunatly at present due to the numerous variables, the calculation of mathematical formula can not be achieved..

The buying decision process describes how the consumer makes a purchase decision through a rational process (Markin, 1979) and an understanding for how consumers make a purchase decision can according to Sands et al. (2010) be obtained by increased knowledge for the information search process (the second part of the buying decision process) before a purchase. Today?s society offers great opportunity to obtain information (Rahim & Clemens, 2012; Bawden & Robinson, 2009) and by that there are in other words good opportunities for a rational acting by the consumers. However, there are factors working against that consumers act rationally and seek information prior to their purchases primarily in the form of the concept of information overload (Bawden & Robinson, 2009) which claims that consumers are limited in their information search because there is too much information but also other factors such as lack of time (Wood & Neal, 2009) and ability to find information (Slegers et al.

Treatment wetlands been showed efficient for reducing pollutant in waste water. In Lajeado ? RS, Brazil the landfill has poor leachate water treatment. It is necessary to supplement the treatment plant because they need to reduce BOD, COD and nitrate of the water going to recipient. A subsurface flow wetland (SSF) can be a good choice.  In order to be able to design an efficient SSF it is important to understand how the grain sizes of a substrate affect the reducing of pollutants in waste water.

Recently, retailers within the Swedish grocery retail sector have launched lines of products under its own brand, quite often produced by manufactures within the same category of products. The common term of this phenomenon is called private labels. Therefore, private labels could be seen as competitors against branded goods, despite the fact that it is, in several cases, the same manufacturer who produces each of the products.The main purpose of this study is to provide understanding of how the manufacturers choose to position themselves, formulate their strategies and compete on the market among private labels, also to examine the motive behind the manufacturer's choice to produce private labels. The study intends to provide a broader view of how the interaction between manufacturers, retailers, private labels and branded goods appears on the Swedish market. We decided to use a qualitative research method and personal interviews to approach the study.

The main purpose of this essay is to investigate if Latvia´s pattern of trade has become more similar to the mature market economies, after Latvia´s independence 1991.Today, the intra-industry trade (IIT) dominates the trade of mature market economies. One of the pioneers of intra-industrial trade is Paul Krugman, who was the first to emphasize the importance "of scale and consumers' desire for variety" in explaining the basis for modern commerce. Customers get more variety and usually cheaper goods when the market gets bigger. I mainly use the modern trade theories to explain the trade pattern in Latvia. To measure how Latvia has developed its intra-industry trade, and thereby is approaching the mature market economies´ trade pattern, I use the Grubel-Lloyd index (GL-index).

On today?s competitive market, it is difficult to achieve profitability trough high prices on manufactured products. Profitability must be obtained through low manufacturing costs, high quality and short lead times. One of the companies on the market is Sandvik Coromant, manufacturer of tools and chips for metal cutting. This master thesis investigates the methods of manufacturing for boring bars at the manufacturing unit GVH4 at Sandvik Coromant in Gimo, Sweden.

The objective of this thesis is to map the resources and methods used at the department OPPC, at AstraZeneca, and derived from that give suggestions on possible solutions that will increase their productivity.Mapping of the product flow, as well as gathering of process data, has mainly been done using observations, but consultation with the process technicians has also played a great role. Further have theoretical methods been used, based on literature studies, within the areas of Lean production and statistics.The work has incrementally gone forward since the steps taken has been restricted by the irregularity of production which led to the need of creating a fictive production flow. This has affected the lead-time calculations in the way that they are meant to give an indication, rather than an absolute truth, on how different methods described shall be used.The current state analysis showed multiple areas of improvement when defining capacity as value adding time in relation to total throughput time. Using the "standard scenario" as a basis showed that the actual production flow only constituted 50% of the total project time. Further it showed that the workflow contained more non-value adding activities than value adding activities, which is a result of how the work is distributed within the department as well as in the different projects.

This bachelor thesis argues for consumers' views on origin labeling effect and their willingness to pay for goods with this kind of label. The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that influence and to measure willingness to pay for a national origin labeled product previously only competeing with a less expensive conventional product, when a further regional product is introduced in the purchasing decisions of consumers. This is achieved by testing whether Simonson's (1989) theory of the compromise effect is applicable to increase consumers' willingness to pay for eco-labeled food products. The factors affecting the willingness to pay; trust in eco- label, opinions about the products of their own nation and the surrounding region. Furthermore presents theory about what underlying the consumer consumption choices.In order to achieve credible results 240 respondents have participated in a questionnaire survey.

Since 2004, wind power has had the largest installation of new capacity compared to other energy sources in Sweden. Accommodating new wind power may require strengthening or rebuilding of the existing grid in areas where the grid is already loaded to maximum capacity. This master thesis examine the possibility of a new 400/130 kV substation in Yttermalung, Sweden, with a connection to the two neighboring regional grids in Dalarna and Värmland owned by Fortum. This substation would provide a new connection point to the Swedish transmission system as well as an interconnection of the two, currently separated, regional grids. Different expansion scenarios where a substation with and without series compensation or a phase shifting transformer (PST) to control active power flow were studied.

The thesis that follows is performed in collaboration with Nitator in Oskarström.The factory in Oskarström focuses on laser cutting, robotic welding and surfacetreatment of steel for the automotive industry.The project aims to streamline the flow of materials in production by automatingthe movements of the forklifts, running to and from the interlayer, and betweenworkstations.The project started with a systematic literature search. The literature searchshowed the research position around the AGV-system. Also a review of studentliterature was made, so that a suitable method for practical implementation couldbe developed and applied. Selected method uses both quantitative and qualitativeapproaches, which is analyzed by using triangulation.The work has resulted in a modified layout of the current facility in Oskarströmthat can be used for the implementation of the AGV-system. It has also resulted inthe tender documents and profitability calculation from several of AGV-suppliers..

In the year of 2009 the conditions for managing primary healthcare in the region of Västra Götalandchanged. The decision was taken by the regional assembly and resulted in that the citizens since thenhave had the opportunity to choose which health care provider they preferto stay with. Along with thisdecision a new market for private health careproviders was established, which resulted inincreasedcompetition between the providers.In order to manage the competition, the health care providers arenow forced to be more efficient in their operations andalso to beeven more focused on their patients.Backa Läkarhusgruppen is an example of a private healthcare provider in the region of Västra Götaland.In the same way it is also an example of anorganizationin need of analysing their operations to seehowit can be further optimized to meet patient needs and expectations.The aim of this study is to analyse Backa Läkarhusgruppen?s organization and its operationsin the hopeoffinding suggestions whichwill improve the patient flow.To allocate and solve the problems thatBacka Läkarhus suffer from,an approach inspired by Lean Healthcare is used throughout the report.Some of themost significant problems that were identified within the organization are:?The synchronization of demand and capacity is inadequate.?Absence of standardized routines.?Absence of present leadership.To be able to improve the patient flow Backa Läkarhus needs to handle these identified problem areas.By synchronizing the staffing level in relation to the trends in demand a reduction in the patient?swaiting times and throughput time will be possible. Creating clear responsibilities and routines for thestaff will contribute to a higher degree of patient focus and thus lead to a more efficient patient flow.

In the last decades, lean production has proven to be one of the most important organizational paradigms in manufacturing. The lean concept has also spread into the service industry where it is applied within a range of different areas. The wide applicability of lean principles has spurred the authors of this study to apply the principles in the context of the operations of a Swedish remand prison. The thesis examines the process a client of the remand prison Häktet Kronoberg goes through from the time of arrest until he/she is released or convicted and transferred to jail. Based on lean tools and principles, the thesis maps and analyses this process.

A district heating plant has the advantage that it can take advantage of the waste heat from industries and use of cheap fuels to produce heat. But for the long term is competitive requires that energy is also saved in district heating plants. One way to save energy in a district heating system is to increasing cooling to the return temperature. This leads to less power needed to drive the distribution pumps,  and that more energy could be extracted from the same amount of fuel by an improved flue gas condensation.In Karlskoga the return temperature into the district heating plant is high. They would therefore reduce the return temperature in order to extract more energy from the flue gases.