Organisations tend to focus more and more on product and process development to increase their competitiveness. Several major organisations, among them ABB, have developed models aimed to more effectively control and manage product development processes. ABB is using its standardised model ABB Gate Model for this. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how the introduction of ABB Gate Model has affected the outcome of decisions and also the decision-making in the product development process. The study is limited to elucidate the version of ABB Gate Model handling product development projects.

There are different ways of developing a second language. The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate whether and possibly how music, focused on singing, can improve the development of Swedish as a second language. Through interviews with three vocal teachers, from three different schools in Sweden, and observations of one of the vocal teachers, information about how they work and think about the subject has been collected. The vocal teachers teach groups of second language learners by singing songs made especially for second language learning. The vocal teachers consider singing beneficial in the development of the pronunciation and improvement of the prosody, which affects the students? capacity to sound like a native Swedish speaker.

This paper analyzes the auditor choices for a sample of 300 predominantly small Swedish firms, all located in Umeå. Our hypothesis was based on the complexity of a firm, the need of external financing, leverage, and the need of extra consultance from the auditfirm. Our definition of auditor quality is based on prior studies, and is frequently used by authors in this area. The assumption is based on that the auditor quality increases with the size of the auditfirm and the degree of the auditor. The auditor quality is therefor depending on the choice between an auditor from the group ?Big 5? or not, and the choice of an auditor with an higher degree.

The purpose of this bachelor degree thesis is to analyze technical issues associated with an implementation of a low sloping trash rack with narrow spacing. A hydropower plant in Umea?lven was used as a case study. The basis for the study was a model where trash racks were dimensioned for inclinations between 25 and 45 degrees. Corresponding head loss, durability and water speed through the rack were then determined for each inclination.

I den svenska försvarsmakten har på senare år, bland annat i samband med attSverige börjat nyttja NATO:s ?Guidelines for Operational Planning?, intresset för spel ökat bådepå Försvarshögskolan och inom Försvarsmakten. Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka hurkrigsspel kan bedrivas för att stödja framtagandet av en stridsplan samt sedan att pröva planeninnan den sätts i verket. Uppsatsen har också som målsättning att ta fram några grundläggandeprinciper för krigsspelens genomförande.Inledningsvis genomfördes övergripande litteraturstudie som ledde fram till tre hypoteser. Dessaprövades sedan mot två olika fallstudier.De sammanfattande slutsatserna är att två olika typer av spel behövs, en kreativ modell somhjälper till i själva planeringsprocessen och ett prövande modell som hjälper till med beslutsstödetinför verkställandet av planen.

Background: In the eighties the debate concerning the declining relevance of the traditional calculation started. The reason was that the method of calculating not had been changed despite that the costs and manufacturing had changed in many companies. This led to the development of activity-based costing. Management by means of activity information is called activity-based management, but there is no general accepted definition of what the term com- prises. Neither are there any studies which describe within which areas activity information is used as a base for decisions.

This Master thesis was written for Lantmännen Agroetanol in Norrköping concerning the layout of their finished goods inventory and unloading of feed after introducing a new product mix. Lantmännen Agroetanol has two production lines which produces feed. Both lines lead to six silos, used as inventory of finished goods. The feed from the two production lines differ in terms of quality, where as Lantmännen Agroetanol wants to separate their finished inventory in order to charge a higher price, by selling the better product as a premium. With two different feed products the yearly revenue is expected to increase which motivates a research about the current capabilities and necessary changes to be made in the factory.

This paper describes the Swedish reconnaissance squads in the engineer battalions, their equipment, tasks and organization. An analysis is made to compare the present weapons and fire power of the reconnaissance squad with an extended weapon alternative. The analysis focuses on the abilities effect, protection and movement in different situations typical of a reconnaissance squad.The facts that are presented in this paper are mostly founded on the new field manual FältarbR Dyktjänst 2007, which regulates much of the reconnaissance activities. The aim of this paper is the making of a contribution in the developing progress of the new field manual and the reconnaissance squads in Swedish engineer battalions.The result of the analysis shows that the extended weapon alternative would be an asset..

Examensarbete utfördes på CA-Verken i Sävsjö som bl.a. tillverkar hydraulcylindrar. De senaste två år har CA-Verken haft en kraftig ökning av omsättningen och det som står i vägen för fortsatt expansion är produktionen som har begränsad kapacitet.Målet med detta arbete är att studera CA-Verkens produktionsflöde för att kunna identifiera flaskhalsen/flaskhalsarna och därefter ge förslag på lösningar och förbättringar. Den teorin som har använts som grund till arbetet är Theory of Constraints (TOC). Intervjuer, företagets affärssystem och observationer har använts vid datainsamling.

The basis of the study lies with a newly patented gearbox by cardiologist and inventor Stig Lundbäck. Stig founded CorPower Ocean AB to further develop the gearbox to be used in a wave energy device. The purpose of this project is to develop a concept of a lifting system with CorPower Oceans gearbox that is more energy efficient than a hydraulic lifting system. The goal is to use technology from CorPower Oceans gearbox inversely to perform heavy lifting as an alternative to hydraulics. The project is limited to applying the gearbox and gear rack on a forklift with a lifting capacity of ten tons.The main tool in this project will be the product development process Systems Engineering where only the most relevant parts will be used to develop a concept.

This paper aims to give an insight into how venture capital work with their investments in the school sector. The purpose of the paper is to examine their work, regarding to goals of the company and the process of controlling the goals.  The study also aims to determine the way the companies work with value growth.This study uses a qualitative research method, where the theories license to operate, the relationship value management framework, agency-principal and new public management theory is tested in relation to the collected data. Eleven persons were interviewed in this paper. This paper also aims to give an overview to venture capital in the school sector, where it will examine whether financial goals could collide with social goals.What the study can tell is that venture capital does not have a license to operate in this sector, according to the theory.

AbstractFor several years, the organic food sales have increased, and more are choosing to buyorganic food of more diverse causes. Unfortunately the sales have slowed down the past year,a lot depends on the Swedish economy has been in decline and it has led to more will checkone more time on the price. But even if the sale value has decreased, the amount of organicfood has increased, it is because many stores have their own organic brands and they can pushprices down.The internet has become a great help in our daily lives, we do most our business via theInternet. But now we are not just paying our bills through the Internet anymore, we shopclothes, movies, music and books too. E-commerce was become more serious last decade andhas grown every year that has passed.

This paper was part of the ongoing cooperation between the Swedish Civil Aviation Authority and the Department of Psychology at Lund University. The purpose of this study was to develop a self-report measure regarding human factors, for the air traffic controllers to fill out before they start their working shift. This in order to aid the team leaders in their judgment regarding the air traffic controller's ability to perform at the right safety level. The self-report measure would also serve as an aid for the air traffic controllers who have a responsibility regarding their own performance. If successful this self-report measure would make it easier for the air traffic controllers to be alert regarding certain factors that can have a large impact on their performance.

A common goal in practical forest management is to maximize the yield, measured in economical terms. When a forest stand is thinned a so called inoptimality loss can arise due to non-optimal decisions. This means that the selected management schedule results in a lower net present value than the optimal one which lowers the profitability for the forest owner. Holmen Skog uses the term tract which means an aggregation of stands made before a management action. A tract should be delineated in different tract parts in connection with pre-thinning planning if there is different bearing capacity within the tract, different thinning grades should be used or if the tract contains a weaker part that should not be thinned.

AbstractFor several years, the organic food sales have increased, and more are choosing to buyorganic food of more diverse causes. Unfortunately the sales have slowed down the past year,a lot depends on the Swedish economy has been in decline and it has led to more will checkone more time on the price. But even if the sale value has decreased, the amount of organicfood has increased, it is because many stores have their own organic brands and they can pushprices down.The internet has become a great help in our daily lives, we do most our business via theInternet. But now we are not just paying our bills through the Internet anymore, we shopclothes, movies, music and books too. E-commerce was become more serious last decade andhas grown every year that has passed.