This thesis has two aims: The main purpose is to describe and illustrate how a large Ltd. company can use voluntary redundancy as a tool for restructuring. The additional purpose is to challenge the concept of voluntary redundancy trough outlining alternative ways of reaching the intended achievements of the voluntary redundancy programme. The theoretical framework that has been used primarily contains knowledge assets theories. The chosen theories are intellectual capital and knowledge management theory to approach and analyse the empirical findings.

In recent years, increasing emphasis has been placed on streamlining the supply chain. Keeping inventory and warehouses is considered to be a waste of resources. It is however difficult to completely eliminate the need for inventory and warehouses in a supply chain. The purpose of warehousing is to provide a service for the customer. By keeping what the customer demands in inventory it is possible to make a quick delivery when a need arises.

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study is to look into how ex-offenders experience that stigmatization and labeling- processes might affect their possibilities to create an integrated and adapted life in society. It is also of interest to study how and if the interviewees experience their self-image to be affected by these processes. Our research-questions are:-          How do ex-offender males experience stigmatization and labeling-processes to impact their possibilities when trying to re-integrate into society?-          Do ex-offender males experience their self-image being affected by stigmatization and labeling-processes? If so, how are they affected? In order to achieve this we interviewed members of the organization KRIS in Örebro, where we selected males over 23 years of age with a prior prison sentence. The study is based on the labeling-theory of Howard Becker as well as the stigma-theory by Erving Goffman.In the conclusions derived from the results we found that the interviewees experience a more distinct and obvious stigmatization and labeling from authorities such as the police and the legal system, than that from other people in society.

The changes in the Swedish meat- and meat processing industry have been substantial in recent years. These changes will alter the business environment for many companies. In order to be prepared to face new threats and new opportunities, companies should be actively working on these issues. Risk awareness and by developing of risk management strategies companies can act quickly and effectively when the conditions changes. The objective of this study is to analyse whether and why companies in the Swedish meat- and meat processing industry use various forms of risk management strategies.

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate and develop a useful theory of human behavior that recognizes the importance of our emotions. The new framework, called the theory of emotional choice, is developed by a holistic method in which results from the fields of psychology, sociology and (neuro-) biology are used to mutually support the conclusions. The theory is distilled into six preliminary points, which are based on the finding that we are not thinking as logical, rational and longsighted as is often assumed. Instead the regular human thinking is suggested to be shortsighted, intuitive and ruled by our emotions and our needs for generality, causality and normality.To demonstrate the usefulness of the new framework, it is used in an analysis of financial bubbles. Additionally, the fields of negotiation, election and ethics are suggested as potentially interesting to analyze with the new theory..

The purpose of this study is to find out how teachers work with fairytales in preschools raising several questions;How would the teachers describe the literary environment at the preschools? What does theory say about the literary environment?What type of fairytales do the teachers perceive that they work with? How does theory describe these fairytales?What is the underlying purpose for teachers working with fairytales? What purposes are described in theory?My study is based on qualitative interviews conducted with three teachers working in preschool in a small town. The study is based on hermeneutic theory.  I have also used other theory to complete the study.         The teachers all see the possibility of using storytelling as a means to developing the children´ s vocabulary. Some of the teachers also use books and stories as a way of indirectly addressing ongoing personal problems.                                                                                                      The results of my study show that fairytales can be a valuable tool for personal development for children. Working with fairytales could be crucial to how children develop their curiosity and desire to learn and manage ongoing traumas in their lives.

This essay is about democracy and how a democracy index can be used as a tool to illustratethe gap between reality and ideal. The purpose of this study can be expressed by two researchquestions: Does the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) democracy index illustrate thedistance between reality and the ideal of democracy presented by Dahl? and Can the EIU'sdemocracy index be modified by a) internal adjustments and b) using the variables includedin World Economic Forum?s (WEF) equality index?By using a combination of theories (Dahl?s theory of democracy, Rawls theory of justice andchosen theories critical to liberal democracy) as an analytical framework the following twoquestions have been answered:1) Which of the variables included in the EIU's democracy index have the potential to capturethe level of political equality?2) Which of the variables included in the WEF?s equality index have the potential to capturethe degree of political equality?By using a quantitative method the study?s third and last question has been answered:3) How strong is the rank correlation between the EIU?s democracy index and the WEF?sequality index, that is; how strong is the rank correlation coefficient (rho)?The data presented by the WEF?s equality index indicate that women are systematicallydiscriminated against as a group. From a democratic perspective the EIU may need tomeasure inequalities at a group level in order to capture the lack of political equality betweenindividuals. By reformulating some of the EIU?s variables, by revising the EIU?s point systemand by using the variables included in the WEF's equality index to extend EIU?s democracyindex, the chances of capturing the gap between reality and the ideal of democracy presentedby Dahl would likely increase..

Title: Turbulent Skies ? A Case Study of SAS Braathens Date of seminar: 1st June 2006. Course: BUS 809. Master Thesis in International Marketing & Brand Management, 15 ECTS-credits. Authors: Jørgen Fensgård and Christian Larsen.

This study aims at contributing to the studies of political implementation. The theory of implementation claims that local implementation that meets the demands of national policies is close to none existing. By examining the implementation of industrial policy in two Swedish municipalities that differs in location, prosperity and political believes I am putting the theory to the test. If the test were to show that the implementation is rather well executed in these two cases, where the risk of failure is great, the questions about whether the theory is valid or not will rise.By interviewing the two local government employees in charge of the work with industrial policy, and studying their strategic documents I got my answers. This by looking at their work but also their attitudes towards the national policy in terms of understanding the policy, being able to work with it, and wanting to work with it.

A description and analysis of the sales process of ERP systems is presented; also the consequences for the parties involved are discussed. The chosen methodological basis is an inductive research design consisting of a case study based on interviews. The analysis of the empirical data is done with a proposed analytical framework. Based on the agency theory, the analysis is tightly knitted together with opportunism. There are three controlling factors: relationships (relationship marketing), contracts (principal-agent theory), and competition.

This essay studies stylistic differences as well as homage?s between four films produced in two different contexts, New Hollywood and alternative aesthetics today in America. This is done in order to answer the question how alternative Hollywood works against or with Classical Hollywood Cinema in cases like style and narrative. The Work is done by a theory of neoformalism and the definition made by them of Classical Hollywood Cinema. The essay finds small changes, although kind of important witch are mainly shown in editing and causal motivation.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate which the main determinants of capital structure in Swedish listed firms are and to identify which incentives lies behind managers choice of capital structure determinants. Further, the study investigates whether the Post Keynesian theory and theories which incorporate behavioral aspects can be used to explain the capital structure decisions or if the traditional Neoclassical theory give an better explanation. We have used a qualitative method to analyze the determinants of capital structure and the managers incentives behind capital structure decision. We conducted a survey which was sent to 83 Chief Financial Managers and financial executives in Swedish firms listed on Mid Cap or Large Cap. The questionnaire was on-line which enabled for the respondents to quickly and convenient respond.

Business valuation is something that is carried out on a daily basis and relevant to both small and large businesses. Valuations are often long and complex processes that may be difficult to understand, even for those who have received an education in the field. In this thesis, we try to create a better understanding of how this process works.   Since we are aware of many aspects of the theory behind business valuation, but very little insight into the practical activities, we have chosen a deductive approach, i.e. to go from theory to empirical data.   The conclusion is that the methods presented in the theory is largely used in practice, and that the process of valuation mighty seldom differ between valuations. For the seller to be able to charge a higher value for their companies, it is important to have knowledge of, and review the value-creating factors in the company.

The aim of this study is to investigate wether the participatory democracy is a threat or a complement to the representative democracy. To achieve my purpose I will focus on two different lokal councils, the civil council in Hovsjö and the youth council in Västra Skogås, which have been objects of the urban policy in 1998. The theoretical framework on which this study is based consists of the participation democratic theory, representative democratic theory and implementation theory. By problemizing these theoretical frameworks in comparison with eachother I will mapp how these two lokal councils were implemented. The research question is: In what way was the civil council and the youth council a complement or threat to the representative democracy? In which way was it difficult to implement them?The method used for this purpose is a qualitative comparative case study.

This essay deals with the topic options costs and whether such costs would arise for smaller companies now when they have the opportunity to choose not to have an auditor. Small companies are defined as companies that fulfill at least two of the following three criteria?s: less than 1,5 million SEK in balance sheet, less than three employees and turnover less than 3 million SEK. The decision regarding internal revision does not only affect the company itself but also other parties such as the taxation authority, banks and others that can be influenced by the decision. This essays main focus is on the influenced parties, especially the taxation authority and the banks as these have been highlighted in debates in media and because the small companies themselves may have difficulties to foresee the consequences of the new changes. The opinions from accounting companies will be considered in the essay as they can be considered as experts regarding the different aspect within this area.