AbstractThis study aims to investigate the applicability of well-recognized supply chain strategies based on product characteristics. Choosing the right supply chain strategy can be the difference between winner and loser in today?s competitive climate and science offers several recommendations as to which aspects that should be considered. Fisher (1997) and Christopher and Towill (2002) suggest that supply chain strategies should be based on what kind of product the company is handling and that, in order to know which strategy is the most appropriate, the products must be categorized. Some criteria developed for the categorization are lead time, forecast in demand and profit margin.

AbstractInom forskningen kring personliga hemsidor på Internet har fokus främst riktats mot identitetskonstruktion, hur jaget presenteras och de psykologiska och sociologiska orsakerna som ligger bakom. Min studie tar ett steg ifrån detta och integrerar studiet av den personliga hemsidan med studiet av den politiska hemsidan. Jag undersöker relationen mellan det personliga och det politiska på svenska privata feministiska hemsidor. Jag har intervjuat fyra skapare och analyserat sju hemsidor. Sammantaget utgör min studie en empirisk neddykning i de svenska privata feministiska hemsidor som finns tillgängliga på Internet anno höst 2003 och vår 2004.

Purpose: This study`s purpose is to investigate the role of a business incubator in the strategic decision situations during the process of a new venture startup. It also aims to explore the methods and instruments the incubator and its advisers applies during the process.Methodology: This study is built on the basis of a hermeneutic approach with qualitative method and abductive design. The empirical material collected consist of interviews from two case studies and secondary data collection from different related sources.Theoretical perspective: The theory in the study consists of the elements of previous research on innovation processes and entrepreneurship. To analyze the data, models and theories related to decision making, incubation, process theories and organizational theories.Empirical foundation: The empirical material consists of interviews and data from two completed case studies. Additionally consist a relatively large part of the empirical data out of a comprehensive information retrieval from various secondary sources such as internet, newsletters and annual reports.Conclusion: The assay was able to detect not just one, but a variety of roles that the incubator occupies at different stages of the innovation process.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine café owners perception of customers expectations and what they think the interior means to the service quality. It also aims to examine how café owners use the interior to create service quality. In order to examine this, a case study was conducted based on interviews with two café owners. The study showed that the café owners take the customers expectations into consideration. It showed that they think the expectations were affected by which purpose the customer had with their visit.

Syftet med denna pilotstudie var att beskriva hur sjuksköterskor som arbetar som Case Managers uppfattar effekterna av denna arbetsmodell avseende medicinsk vård, social situation, missbruk, vård- och omsorgskvalitet samt samordning för patienter med missbruk och samtidig psykisk störning. Metoden var kvantitativ och genomfördes med en webbenkät. Resultatet visade att respondenterna anser att Case Management haft en positiv påverkan på patienternas medicinska vård och sociala situation. Det ledde också till en bättre kontakt med patienten, och förbättrad bedömning av patientens sammansatta situation. Sammantaget framkom en övervägande positiv uppfattning även av vård- och omsorgskvaliteten, samordningen och de arbetsmetoder som använts.

Abstract  The purpose of my study is to see how pedagogues describe their work with language stimulation in preschool. My study is a case study. Through qualitative interviews and observations with three pedagogues I want to se how it works in preschool.     My research question was:How do the pedagogues describe their work procedure with language stimulation?  My result of this study is that language stimulation always is included in all preschool activities.

We are living in network society, where information and communication together with the technical development stands in the centre. Characteristic for network society is quick changes, new meaning of time and space, convergence and new possibilities of communication. Network society contains new technical developments, several with thepurpose to improve the possibilities of communication between human beings, which in some ways creates new social demands and expectations. In this study, I focus on the Internet, which is an important channel for the information, communication and marketing in network society. As whole network society, the Internet is constantly developing.This study, implemented with qualitative interviews, has the purpose to give new, deep and interesting knowledge about business to business companies? communication and marketing on the Internet.

Syftet är att undersöka individers upplevelser av barriärer mot kunskapsdelning inom organisationer som använder extern arbetskraft i jämförelse med organisationer som ej använder extern arbetskraft. I denna uppsats har en hermeneutisk ansats använts för att studera individers upplevelser av barriärer mot kunskapsdelning. Respondenterna som deltagit i studien var från fyra olika organisationer där två av organisationerna använde sig av extern arbetskraft medan två endast använde sig av ordinarie personal. Vi utförde både intervjuer och enkätundersökningar på organisationer med extern personal och organisationer med bara ordinarie personal. Resultatet från vår studie visar att de upplevda barriärerna mot kunskapsdelning i vissa lägen skiljer sig åt mellan ordinarie- och extern personal. Det har rått konsensus bland de studerade organisationerna om att tidsbrist är den främsta barriären mot kunskapsdelning mellan ordinarie personal och extern personal, vilket har visat sig främst bero på den externa personalens korta anställning. Även bland ordinarie personal är det främst tidsbrist som upplevs som den främsta barriären mot kunskapsdelning.

This paper is a case study of a local labour market project. The aim of the study is to investigate the staff?s way of working with unemployed people, receiving social assistance, in order to reduce the payment of social assistance in four adjacent city districts of Stockholm. Other objectives of the study are to investigate which criteria the staff uses when selecting participants for the project, in which way the participants? background affects the measures taken by the staff and how the staff experiences working as part of a project.

ABSTRACT  Title:                                       Artifacts as transformational leaders ? A case study at SIBA. Course:                                   Bachelor Dissertation - Leadership Authors:                                 Tobias Barin and Victor Eriksson Advisor:                                 Anders Billström Keywords:                             Artifacts, transformative leadership, organizational culture and leadership Problem formulation:          Which artifacts can be transformative leadership in the electronics industry?  Purpose:                                Create an understanding of store managers and deputy store managers' perception of how artifacts can be expressed in the transformational leadership.                                                Creat an understanding of the importance of artifacts in leadership in the electronics industry. Theoretical framework:       The study?s starting point for the theoretical framework has been Schein (2004) earlier theories of organizational culture, and Bass (1985) theories of transformational leadership. The link between organizational culture and transformational leadership is the basis for the chosen theories. Methodology:                        We conducted a qualitative method with a deductive approach for intent a solution for problem. Personal interviews were conducted with two store managers and two deputy store managers at SIBA. Conclusion:                           We have found that the artifacts: role-models, stories and rituals communicate the transformative leadership. Respondents have described how these artifacts conveys organizational culture but also the transformational leadership..

This research aims at identifying the opinion leaders in order to study their behaviour, characteristics, their role within the word of mouth process, and what importance they have upon another consumers purchase decision. Also, to investigate the content of the message being spread. The results from the study show that opinion leaders are strong in spreading word of mouth. Messages were adapted by opinion leaders to suite their target audience. The results further contribute to the discussion about Watts? ?influentials?..

The purpose of this thesis is to try to understand, with the help of existing theories and empirical findings, the parameters which are of importance in the development of the pricing capability. We have used a qualitative and abductive methodology approach. The empirical findings have been collected via semi-structured interviews which we have conducted via personal and telephone interviews. Seeing pricing as a capability within the company our theoretical framework mainly consists of the resource-based view and an article explaining and given proof how pricing can be seen as a capability. We also describe the most used pricing strategy today within business-to-business companies, the cost plus strategy.

The leadership within healthcare is a constantly discussed subject. The discussion today is evolving around the physicians' lack of strive towards becoming managers within healthcare organizations. Furthermore the leadership that the nurse practice when becoming manager is on the other hand not discussed. The purpose of this study is to describe important factors of the leadership the nurse practice upon physicians in a healthcare organization as well as to explain why that is. To fulfill this purpose, we have used a qualitative case study research design including a private Swedish healthcare company.

This qualitative study treats the construction and maintenance of balance between work and private life and how flexibility in the workplace is perceived. The study was conducted using semi-structured interviews and these have been conducted in five large companies around Gothenburg. The analysis and results are based on the phenomenographic method approach and the final results were four themes: Balance, Flexibility, Combining family and work and lifelong learning with related subcategories. The result shows that the construction and maintenance of balance between work and personal life is something that is tied to the indi-viduals and the current situation in life. Two of the most common strategies to maintain a dis-tinction proved to be planning as well as other activities, in order to move the focus away from the work.

This is a qualitative case study about tourists and boat migrants in movement to and in place on the Canary Islands, Spain. The aim is to study how these two groups of guests are treated differently, either as guests or strangers, based on how they move, illegally or legally, where they come from and where they have rights to go. To analyze the case I use theories of how differences in ethnicity, culture and religion etc. are created and recreated in society in interactions among humans and in the politics - the politics of difference. The politics of difference creates and recreates categories of mobility such as tourists and boat migrants.