AbstractTitle: Cooperation between social enterprisesLevel: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business AdministrationAuthor: Anna HammarbergSupervisor: Maria Fregidou-MalamaDate: 2012 - JanuaryAim: The aim of the study is to investigate social enterprises and the Glada Hudik-model to understand how social enterprises cooperate and how they can develop the cooperation through Social Enterprises in Co-operation (SAK). Method: I have done a qualitative research study. I have studied literature to get theoretical background. I visited a seminar to get information and inspiration. Interviews have been done with six persons to get empirical information.      Result and conclusions: Through this study I have seen that social enterprises can co-operate to strengthen their position in the community. Together they can run issues they have in common, undertake major assignments and purchase material to get better deals.

AbstractEffective January 1, 2005 publicly listed companies were obliged to adopt a new financialreporting standard (IFRS/IAS). The objective of IFRS/IAS was to increase transparency andcomparability in financial reports between companies. The authors have chosen to write aboutIAS 40 where the accounting treatment for investment property and related disclosurerequirements are regulated.The purpose of this thesis is to investigate potential effects of valuation of investmentproperty at fair market value for real estate companies at times when market price decreasesand to investigate what an acceptable difference for the valuation could be.To fulfil this purpose the authors have chosen a qualitative method interviewing accountants,property analysts and a credit analyst to obtain a deeper understanding of the problem. Basedata for the thesis have been collected during meetings, telephone interviews and e-mails.Additional data was collected from public available sources such as the internet, relevantprofessional magazines and professional newsletters. The authors have designed a modelshowing how Income and Balance Sheet statements are influenced by changed valuation ofinvestment property.

China has in recent years experienced a great economic growth, which has attracted the interest of several Swedish companies. Notisum is one of those companies and they have started up a subsidiary in Shanghai, China. This paper is intended to describe Notisum and EnviTools internationalization to China focusing on the obstacles encountered and how the company handled them. In order to achieve this, empirical data was collected through an interview and a literature review. By studying Notisums and EnviTools internationalization process to China, several obstacles were found.

Engineers are a group of individuals who are attractive when companies are in need for competence in technology. Today it is a shortage of these competences in the labor market. Because of this there has grown a competition among companies when they strive to recruit the best engineers. Therefore companies spend more resources on marketing themselves as an attractive employer. This study was set out to find what engineers think is an attractive employer through a demographic perspective.

AbstractThe future of ethanol is depending on good solutions for the production. ENA energy power plant produces electrical power and district heating by heating biofuel. By building an integrated bioenergy plant surplus steam could be used to produce ethanol as fuel to vehicle.This would mean that ethanol is produced renewable energy and the energy for the process derives from the surplus of power.  ENA energy, MDH (the University of Mälardalen) and the energy authority has initiated a research project were different bioenergy combinations integrate with existing power plant.  As a part of the project which size an integrated factory should be to gain the best efficiency for the plant was investigated. Consideration will be taken to the cost of the production in order to be competitive to the price of imported ethanol.  Etanolens framtid vilar på bra lösningar för framställning.  I ENA energi kraftverk i Enköping produceras el och fjärrvärme genom eldning av biobränsle.  Genom att bygga ett integrerat bioenergikraftverk där skulle man kunna använda överskottsånga till att framställa etanol som fordonsbränsle.

The purpose of this essay was to examine whether small businesses can avoid ac-counting crimes with a well-conducted internal control system. The questions we asked ourselves was, whether and if so, companies can prevent this from happening by using a internal control.In this essay we used a qualitative approach. Essential information was given to us from four different interviewees. We also worked from an inductive approach which means that we interviewed people without any earlier research to build on. The method also had a hermeneutical approach, which means that we made different interpretations based on the reference framework and the empirics.After the study had been carried out, we concluded that all evidence from this essay suggested that even small businesses need an internal control to protect their business.

Abstract Title: How to source from Russia? - A multiple case study of six companies? experience of purchasing in Russia. Authors: Richard Werthén, Technology ManagementJohan Öhlén, Production Engineering and Management Supervisors: Christer Kedström, Dept of Business Administration Johan Lundin, Dept of Industrial Management and Logistics, Engineering LogisticsRolf Blomgren, Purchasing Manager SR, ScaniaLars Erik Nerback, Purchasing Director SE, Scania Issues: The issues presented are:? What characterise Russia as a supplier market?? Which sourcing experiences have been made by other Swedish companies in Russia?? How can this knowledge be utilised at Scania? Purpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to find out whether it is worthwhile for Scania to look for new suppliers in Russia, based on other Swedish companies? experiences of purchasing in the country. Method: In order to answer the purpose of our thesis the study of Scania?s purchasing organisation has to be complemented with in-depth studies of other companies? purchasing organisations.

The biogas plant Kungsängens gård, owned by Uppsala Vatten och Avfall AB, produces biogas and biomanure from organic household waste, food processing waste and slaughterhouse waste. In year 2012, 4.4 million Nm3 of biogas were produced from 25 200 tons of waste. Before digestion all substrate is sanitized by pasteurization at 70°C in order to kill pathogens. Another method, integrated thermophilic sanitation (ITS), is of interest in order to decrease the energy demand. The method implies that the substrate is sanitized during ten hours in the digestion chamber, where the temperature is 52°C.

Companies need to receive feedback in order to understand how they should adjust to shifting demands in the market. This study focuses on the Mystery Shopping process and the information it provides. Through qualitative interviews information was gathered which identifies Mystery Shopping as an approach where companies actively seek information withthe help of anonymous ?shoppers?. This method is compared to other research methods in order to identify the characteristics of Mystery Shopping.

Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to apply "Discount Dividend model" and "Discounted Cash Flow model" in reality during periods of economic boom alternatively recession.Method: A quantitative research method as well as secondary data and data collection method is used. This data consists of the company?s annual reports. Totally, 20 companies of different sizes under diverse economic conditions are involved in this data.Conclusion: After reviewing the companies? calculations, it is noted that the both models that are used reflect better stock-exchange rate during an economic recession..

Studies show that product placement is becoming a more and more common method for companies to use when communicating with consumers. The results of this study can?t confirm nor deny that claim, but instead we offered the observation that as a communication method, product placement and TV-commercials are more similar than revealed at first glance.Cars of the brand Ford appeared in seven out of the 50 motion pictures that made up the sample material in this study. In several instances the values that were communicated regarding the brand matched, completely or in large parts, the values communicated about the Ford brand in Ford?s own commercials.This doesn?t hold true for all companies.

AbstractThe future of ethanol is depending on good solutions for the production. ENA energy power plant produces electrical power and district heating by heating biofuel. By building an integrated bioenergy plant surplus steam could be used to produce ethanol as fuel to vehicle.This would mean that ethanol is produced renewable energy and the energy for the process derives from the surplus of power.  ENA energy, MDH (the University of Mälardalen) and the energy authority has initiated a research project were different bioenergy combinations integrate with existing power plant.  As a part of the project which size an integrated factory should be to gain the best efficiency for the plant was investigated. Consideration will be taken to the cost of the production in order to be competitive to the price of imported ethanol.  Etanolens framtid vilar på bra lösningar för framställning.  I ENA energi kraftverk i Enköping produceras el och fjärrvärme genom eldning av biobränsle.  Genom att bygga ett integrerat bioenergikraftverk där skulle man kunna använda överskottsånga till att framställa etanol som fordonsbränsle.

AbstractThe future of ethanol is depending on good solutions for the production. ENA energy power plant produces electrical power and district heating by heating biofuel. By building an integrated bioenergy plant surplus steam could be used to produce ethanol as fuel to vehicle.This would mean that ethanol is produced renewable energy and the energy for the process derives from the surplus of power.  ENA energy, MDH (the University of Mälardalen) and the energy authority has initiated a research project were different bioenergy combinations integrate with existing power plant.  As a part of the project which size an integrated factory should be to gain the best efficiency for the plant was investigated. Consideration will be taken to the cost of the production in order to be competitive to the price of imported ethanol.  Etanolens framtid vilar på bra lösningar för framställning.  I ENA energi kraftverk i Enköping produceras el och fjärrvärme genom eldning av biobränsle.  Genom att bygga ett integrerat bioenergikraftverk där skulle man kunna använda överskottsånga till att framställa etanol som fordonsbränsle.

As a result of global competition, companies within the automotive industry are required to improve their production systems to achieve sustainable and competitive production. To attain operational excellence, companies have adopted concepts like lean and World Class Manufacturing (WCM).In order to deliver, companies need to increase the availability and reliability of production equipment. This demands focus on both operational and strategic maintenance, and efficient equipment acquisition and management. The main objective of this thesis is to identify processes and success factors that are necessary for improved maintenance performance. By conducting a case study and by performing a literature review, the following has been studied: 1) how companies within the automotive industry work with maintenance and maintenance strategies, 2) implementation of maintenance strategies, and 3) new acquisition and spare parts management for maintenance. The results show that basic maintenance concepts and related terms are well defined in the literature.

This study deals with sustainability reporting in three governmental and three non-governmental Swedish companies in different industries. With increasing demands from the society regarding company?s CSR - Corporate social responsibility, the perspective of accounting gets broader and covers even non-financial information to meet not only the owners? demands but also others stakeholders' requirements. Sustainability has become an important tool for creating company?s business value and a positive sustainable external image.