Management consulting firms are an important part of the knowledge economy and they capitalize on the analytical ability and knowledge of their employees. Much research have been made on large consulting firms and their management of knowledge, but little is known about how small consultancies manage their knowledge. Even less is known about the management of knowledge in small consultancies specialized in change management. These firms rely solely on senior consultants and focus on the human aspect of organizational development. This thesis aims to show how these firms manage their knowledge and also provide an understanding of why.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the companies on Nasdaq OMXS Large and Mid Cap to see if there are interesting patterns regarding their WACC assumptions, used when performing impairment tests on goodwill, during 2007-2009. If so, can we explain these patterns? MethodWe have gathered information about the WACC assumptions presented in the annual reports of the 133 companies that were listed on OMXS Large and Mid Cap during the spring of 2011. To complement this quantitative information we have also conducted an interview with Peter Malmqvist and contacted eight of the companies that were in the study.ConclusionWe can conclude that not all companies present their WACC assumptions in the annual report, even though IAS 36 states that this should be done. Of the 45 companies that were included in our study, eight had lowered their WACC during 2008 and increased it in 2009.

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to investigate teachers' professional attitude to homework as a method. The study will also provide answers to the purpose for which the homeworks are used in teaching and if the individual circumstances and needs are met by this method.Method: Qualitative research was conducted through interviews with four teachers from three different schools. In addition, published surveys were used in support of reasoning.Results: Neither the curriculum or the syllabus mentions homework. There are no directives for how much time should be dispensed with and the extent of a homework should be. In teacher training literature the homework is not discussed.

Tail-biting in pigs is an animal welfare issue and in Sweden during 2002 the producers lost tree million Swedish crowns because of tail biting. This economic loss depends on the pigs which are discarded at slaughter because of tail biting. Tail biting can be separated into two stages, "pre-injury" and "injury". The aim of this study is to investigate if tail biting depends on environment or genetic background.A lot of research on the environments effects on the behaviour of pigs but not so much on the genetic effects has been performed. The frequency of tail biting in pig farms influence among others of environment enrichment, ventilation, gender and breed of the pig.

Objective: The study will investigate whether cash liquidity have a negative affect on profitability and share value of companies, listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm 2008-2011. Part of the purpose is also to show if the industry risk is of importance for treasury management of these companies.Method: The methodology for the study is key analysis through hypothesis testing and regression analysisConclusion: The liquidity ratio affects profitability in a negative direction on the entire sample. No other conclusion can be drawn..

Begreppet flexibilitet attraherar både anställda och organisationer i arbetslivet. Syftet med det här examensarbetet är att söka svar på vilken betydelse flexibel arbetstid har för anställdas psykosociala arbetsmiljö. Det hypotetiska antagandet var att ett arbete med en högre nivå av flexibel arbetstid resulterar i en bättre psykosocial arbetsmiljö för de anställda. Antagandet grundar sig på att flexibel arbetstid kan innebära ett större inflytande över arbetstiden för de anställda. En kvantitativ undersökning genomfördes vid Försäkringskassan och Tekniska förvaltningen i Luleå, vilka har liknande administrativa miljöer men olika nivåer av flexibel arbetstid för sina anställda.

Piled friction soil show a set-up which is increasing with the time after installation. The cost could be reduced if the set-up had been taken into account when designing but in Sweden it is very unusual to do that. Previous studies showed that set-up can vary between 25 % and 75 % during the first 90 days after pile installation. This showed that the effect of the phenomenon is difficult to predict. A study involving five projects have been carried out by specifying certain parameters like pile type, method for pile installation and test method for measure the bearing capacity in friction soils located in Sweden.

Three-dimensional computer graphics enjoys a wide range of applications of which games and movies are only few examples. By incorporating three-dimensional computer graphics in to a simulator the simulator is able to provide the operator with visual feedback during a simulation. Simulators come in many different flavors where flight and radar simulators are two types in which three-dimensional rendering of large terrains constitutes a central component.Ericsson Microwave Systems (EMW) in Skövde is searching for an algorithm that (a) can handle terrain data that is larger than physical memory and (b) has an adjustable error metric that can be used to reduce terrain detail level if an increase in load on other critical parts of the system is observed. The aim of this paper is to identify and evaluate existing algorithms for terrain rendering in order to find those that meet EMW: s requirements. The objectives are to (i) perform a literature survey over existing algorithms, (ii) implement these algorithms and (iii) develop a test environment in which these algorithms can be evaluated form a performance perspective.The literature survey revealed that the algorithm developed by Lindstrom and Pascucci (2001) is the only algorithm of those examined that succeeded to fulfill the requirements without modifications or extra software.

The digital map product kNN-Sweden contains nationwide data of the country?s forest land. The estimated forest variables are mean age, mean tree height, volume per tree species and total volume. Today Södra Skog?s assessments of timber potentials are mainly based on experience rate and subjective assumptions.

To be able to provide the growing human population with food, the productivity of the animals as well as land use needs to be improved and intensified. Hence, understanding the behavior of animals is crucial both for animal welfare and productivity as well as the management of the cattle. There are many factors affecting the grazing behavior of cattle in tropical conditions, such as human-animal interactions, herd management, breed, season and temperature. The purpose of this study was to investigate the grazing behavior of two tropical cattle breeds, Ankole and Boran cattle. Kenyan Boran belongs to a zebu type of cattle and is preferred to many other breeds due to the higher productive and reproductive capacity and adaptability to tropical conditions.

A publicly funded elderly care that is widely available at people?s homes has been described as unique for the Nordic countries. There is much research that focuses on the relationship between caregivers and care receivers, and also about how work is organized in these organizations. However, research into how care work is organized in organizations that have implemented a salutogenic approach is limited. This is a qualitative study aimed to examine how caregivers feel that the organization of work in elderly care change after implementation of salutogenic elements in their daily work.

Valmets own foundry in Karlstad has during a long period of time had problems being profitable. The goal today is to turn this around. Today there are three different productionlines; engine blocks, Yankeecylinders and components for the wind turbine industry. This master thesis has focused on examining if value stream mapping is a useful tool to use in a foundry, and therefore outside the typical manufacturing industry. The target has also been to evaluate if there is a possibility to improve the flow in the foundry and also the results.During the 20 weeks this work has been done at the foundry data has been collected and analyzed.

In the Maasai Mara National Reserve the native people, the Maasai, have lived for a long time following their own traditions. Their traditional lifestyle is that of a nomadic people, leading their cattle to the best grazing. Sharing their land with a large variation of different animals, one of them being the African Elephant (Loxodonta africana), the Maasi people have since long adapted to a life side by side with these giants, as well as the fierce predators living in the area.The aim of this study is to determine whether the Maasai settlement, known as Boma, has any impact on the elephants in the surrounding area. In order to conclude whether the bomas has an impact or not, observations of the wildlife were carried out. Observations were conducted in two different seasons, in December 2003 and May/June in 2004.

This thesis is a report of the practical aspects and the problems of classification and documentation of a collection of memorabilias from the Crown Princess Couple's Wedding in Stockholm 2010. The collection contains 38 objects collected by Nordiska museet [The Nordic Museum], Sweden's largest museum of cultural history. Nordiska museet has a total collection of over 1,5 million items collected since 1873. My ambition in this thesis has been to describe my work with the classification and documentation of these new objects and their context. One of the main problems was how to combine the modern objects with the old existing collection within the two classification systems used at the museum.

The purpose of the present quantitative study was to examine gender differences inperceived job satisfaction in two departments, with different work patterns, in a Swedishmanufacturing industry. The questionnaire contained 30 statements and five backgroundquestions. The questionnaire was designed in combination of Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS),Work demands, Social support, Control and Competence (ASK), Questionnaire forPsychological and Social factors at Work (QPS Nordic) and Minnesota SatisfactionQuestionnaire (MSQ). Job satisfaction was measured based on the categories influence atwork, leadership, employee influence, work requirements and the physical environment. Theresults of the present study showed an interaction of gender and department where the femaleindustrial workers, who worked with more monotonous and standardized work tasks, valuedall of the categories of job satisfaction the lowest, except for the category employee impact.The results are believed to depend on that the women in the department had greater demandsfor variety in the work..