The E-department at GETRAG All Wheel Drive in Köping have problems with the efficiency on parts of their production equipment. The equipment with the most significant efficiency problems are four automated multifunctional production cells that produces housing for rear drive units. The major part of the problem is the large amount of small stops that causes the low efficiency.The department already worked with logging of interruptions and efficiency calculations before this project started. However this work was not done to the extent considered necessary for a systematic follow-up of the interruptions.The aim of this paper is to point out a more effective and systematic way to work with logging of interruptions and the follow-up. In addition the equipment were studied with a method for efficiency calculation that ? if used properly- is a more powerful and a visually better method than the one used by the company today.As the initial current state analysis of the equipment was made a lack of documented knowledge about the equipment was discovered.

Today?s globalisation has opened up borders between countries as can especially be seen with the opening of the European Union. This has increased possibilities of communication and transportation, which has provided companies with greater expansion opportunities throughout the world. However, difficulties may occur when companies choose to establish abroad, for instance when French companies establish in Sweden through subsidiaries, the lack of knowledge and understanding, when it comes to the business culture, customs, and values within the host country, as well as the culture and the structure within the company, may contribute to misunderstandings and inability to work in an amalgamated manner. These barriers are a cause of unsuccessful penetration within foreign markets.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present an overview of the Swedish listed companies and their compliance with the Code and its normative rules for independent decision-making. Methodology: The authors have read and delved into the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance. The authors have chosen to study the enforcement of the code based on independent bracing guidelines. The study was conducted through a combined quantitative and qualitative approach. The study is based on primary data collected in the form of companies' corporate governance reports, which have been supplemented by structured interviews.Frame of reference: Swedish ownership structure and concentrated ownership, self regulation and normative guidelines, institutional theory and earlier research on this topic.Empirical foundations: A comparison of the selected companies has been based on the independence rules of the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance. A specific company has been presented with the company's application of the code, interviews have also been done with this company to increase the understanding of the empirical basis further.Conclusions: There are several flaws with the code and how it is applied today.

It is becoming increasingly important for companies to meet customer demands due to intense competition in today's global market, that forcing companies to improve their offerings and become better at managing their supply chain (Shen et al., 2006).  Long lead times can be reduced by using different methods and strategies shows various researches. Lead times occur in the planning, production, inventories and handling of products (Treville et al., 2003).The aim of the study is to develop a method to analyze the factors that affect the length of internal delivery lead time in manufacturing companies. The method also included suggestions for reducing delivery lead-time to internal customers.The main factors that influenced the length of the on delivery lead times has summarized to make a selection among the factors that can have the most significant impact. The selected elements will be used as a method to analyze how these areas affect a company?s length on internal delivery lead times.The study shows that the causes of the long delivery lead times was the location of the customer order point, uncertain forecasts, long material and production planning time, and long waits in the production and storage.The delivery lead time, according to this report?s suggested improvements reduced by centralizing CODP and makes more reliable forecasts.

The aim of this study is to investigate how Swedish listed real estate companies use quantitative sustainability measures - mainly sustainability index with a financial focus. Sustainability management is a controversial issue that is used more and more constructive. A sustainable management approach in corporate cunduct is complex and based on a number of aspects of business visions, objectives and daily procedures. The study identifies aspects that are considered relevant in real estate companies where the selection of sustainability indicators is based on the support of scientific research in this field. The study intendeds to clarify how Swedish listed real estate companies have selected aspects and indicators of sustainability management and how these work towards a sustainable development.

The aim of this study was to investigate how the process of implementing a quality management system for food safety was handled in four different food producing companies in Sweden. The aim was also to analyze what difficulties the companies face and the possibilities that arise when certified. Furthermore, the reason for implementation was discussed as well as the main expectations on the certificate. Implementing a quality management system is a good way of ensuring the quality and hygiene of the food production and it also increases the traceability of food products through the whole food chain. A food safety standard provides a method of preventing problems and crisis and it can also help to handle requirements from authorities, the market and others.

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.

During the past decades the competition for skilful employees has increased and companies and organizations compete to attract the right people. The Swedish municipalities and country councils need to recruit 420 000 new employees before 2020, but have a limited budget to promote themselves as attractive employers. To find a solution, many of the municipalities have started to work with fundamental values to become more attractive employers and to inspire employees to use word-of-mouth to recommend them. There are no empirical studies of how successful this strategy is, and the purpose of this thesis is to show if there are significant correlations between the fundamental values, the employer's attractiveness and word-of-mouth. The results of the study are based on a survey with 1996 answers from employees in three different municipalities in Stockholm, Sweden.

In the recent years auditing scandals all around the world, deficient internal control has attracted a lot of attention. This has contributed to further requirements on insight and internal control. Those scandals have seriously damaged the auditor?s profession and contributed to a reduced trust among the public. Therefore an extensive work to recover and stringed the trust was started all around the world.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the method called zero recognition that is used in accounting for construction contracts when the outcome is uncertain. When this is the case it is hard to make the necessary estimates needed for the percentage of completion method to be used. Both the meaning of the method from an accounting perspective and the practical importance and purpose of the method is investigated. The method used for this study is the qualitative one and the deductive model is used to relate the theory with the empirical research. The theoretical background consists of accounting theory and theories about individuals, companies and markets.

The financial sector includes insurance business, which is a crucial part of the infrastructure in a modern economy. There are different parts to protect within the financial sector which is the reason for a comprehensive inspection. History shows several examples of disasters a mismanaged financial sector can bring. This also affects the society and stability over all. The inspection is conducted by the Swedish inspection of finance, which ensures that the insurance companies follow the law for its practice.

Lot of mergers are not successful, due to several reasons and one reason can be found within the organization. Since organizations consists of people, who are involved in the merger, the importance of cultural aspects must be stressed. Six months before this essay, Carlsberg Sverige AB formed through the merger of Pripps and Falcon. These two companies are in the start up process of the merger, which is the focus of this essay. The awarness of differences and similarities is crucial for the merger.

The demand from Swedish companies of new potential markets to enter is increasing. One of these companies is Väderstad-verken which has the vision to grow approximately 15 percentages every year. To make this possible they must find new emerging markets to enter to be able to grow. Together with Väderstad-verken we have chosen India as a case study. Mainly because of its big agricultural sector that hasn?t yet been developed to modern standard.

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.

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.