Utifrån en fri tolkning av Porters generiska strategier har vi genom tre delresultat svarat på om kunden uppfattar COS som stuck in the middle. Mycket tyder på att dagens konsument blir allt mer kvalitetsmedveten och långsiktig i sina köpvanor. Vi ser COS som ett exempel på hur lågprisföretagen väljer att möta denna konsumtionstrend och hur satsningen väljer att kommuniceras. Genom att word-of-mouth fått en viktig roll i COS marknadsföring blir den avgörande för COS image. Genom en tolkning av företagets word-of-mouth och således dess image finner vi att risken är stor att kunden placerar COS som stuck in the middle..

High housing- and construction costs is a fact in Sweden today. Prices on building materials more rapidly than producer price index for industrial goods. Prices tend to rise during market boom but does not adapt during diminishing demand. The effects of fading demand can rather be deduced through discounts and quotations. During 1992-1998 when the Swedish construction sector found it self in severe crisis the prices of construction materials kept rising more rapidly than PPI for industrial merchandise.

The gas turbines in the Swedish secondary reserve are reaching the end of their technical lifetime, hence alternative solutions need to be considered. One of the solutions thought to have the greatest potential is the use of so called consumptionreduction. By entering contracts with large consumers, agreements are made to reduce consumption in the event of major disturbances in the power system and thus being used as a secondary reserve. This thesis investigates the feasibility of consumption reduction as part of the secondary reserve. This has been achieved by developing a requirement specification for the disturbance reserve and by studying the technical and economic potential for consumption reduction among a range of consumers.The technical potential for consumption reduction that fulfils the requirements for participating in the secondary reserve are on average 750 MW in SE 3 and 98 MW in SE 4.

This study deals with work environment from a legal perspective. The study includes legislative history, legislation today and one empirical study. The legislation that concerns work environment (health and safety) in Sweden today is found in the Swedish Work Environment Act (WEA), the Work Environment Ordinance (WEO), Provisions issued by the Work Environment Authority, related legislations and also collective agreements. The WEA, passed by the parliament in 1977, came into force on the 1st of July 1978 and it defines the framework for Provisions issued by the Work Environment Authority, which is an authority superintended by the Swedish government. These Provisions contain more detailed stipulations and obligations with reference to the working environment.

The purpose of this study is to identify a successful way of expanding a business on a global market, focusing on innovation products. An analysis was also made to see how internationalization theories are useful in businesses with innovation products. Four companies have been interviewed where two of them have innovation products (Proline AB and Q-Med AB) and the others are widely successful in exporting to a global market (Safegate Group and Weda Poolcleaners AB). Furthermore four interviews have been made with support organizations that have great experience in helping companies in this area (Svenska Uppfinnareföreningen, Almi Företagspartner AB, Exportrådet and The Swedish-American Chambers of Commerce).One of the results that can be identified is the diverse view and will to expand the business. The inventor often has a born global strategy in mind whereas the helping organizations rather expand step by step and only to one country at a time.

In many European countries there is an increasing concern about the occasionally high concentrations of nitrate and pesticides in drinking water. The advent of the EU Water Framework Directive particularly highlights this. The directive states that all large drinking water sources should be identified and protected from pollution before 2009 and that by 2015 all water bodies should reach a 'good status'. In Sweden about 60 percent of the drinking water sources have protection areas. This means that about 700 new water protection areas need to be designated before 2009. This will affect many farmers, restricting their farming practices. The purpose of this study was to investigate which methods are used in other countries concerning nitrate and pesticide pollution from agriculture. From this, the expectation was to generate ideas on what could be undertaken in Sweden when designating new protection areas.

Marketing communications have earlier been conducted via traditional channels. Today companies have discovered the possibility of doing much of their marketing communication in cooperation with the web at relatively low cost. This development has led to the ability for small businesses to compete with large companies independent of geographic location. The purpose with this thesis was to examine how small businesses use their website in marketing communications with their customers in the consumer market. In order to reach this purpose we have conducted interviews with five small businesses in different business trade with varying degrees of website usage, located in Piteå and Luleå.

GCM is a product information management system which handles data for consumer packaged goods. GCM was developed during the middle of the nineties and was acquired by Prevas AB in 2004. The GCM application relies on the services provided by the organization GS1, which supplies global specifications and validations for trade items across several sectors. GCM is updated regularly due to the frequent changes in specifications from GS1. However, the overall graphical user interface design has not been redesigned during these years.This dissertation studies possible improvements for the webpage that handles product data in GCM.

One of the aims of this report has been to make an inventory of the building trade market to see which document handling systems that are available. The secondary aim was to document the users´ demands on the systems and other demands such as quality assurance. After this, the document handling systems Byggnet and Lotus Notes, which are rather complex systems, have been analysed. Finally a recommendation has been made. In the inventory of the marketthe internet has been used because it is there the latest information can be found.

The essay focuses on the blacklisted restriction of passive sales in the block exemption to Article 101 TFEU on vertical agreements. It confirms the authors' thesis that the distinction between active and passive sales do not cause any problems in the theory, but that the reality shows the opposite. The analysis further shows that more detailed guidelines probably would not solve the problem but rather it is the objectives behind the rules and practice that causes confusion.The essay questiones whether the changes in the new guidelines for the block exemption also involves a change in the Commission's approach to the restrictions on passive sales when the same purposes as before lies behind the rules, where the goal of an integrated market is the most important. The impact of the so called "economic approach" within practice since the 1990s, when it was first introduced, suggests that changes are slow. The essay requests a greater openness to the fact that the realization of a single market and the desire to move closer to the commercial reality of companies collide.One proposed solution is given, where the rules would be designed so that 'absolute territorial protection' is prohibited, contractually and de facto, and that it is left open for companies to determine if their actions lead to this.

Marketing communications have earlier been conducted via traditional channels. Today companies have discovered the possibility of doing much of their marketing communication in cooperation with the web at relatively low cost. This development has led to the ability for small businesses to compete with large companies independent of geographic location. The purpose with this thesis was to examine how small businesses use their website in marketing communications with their customers in the consumer market. In order to reach this purpose we have conducted interviews with five small businesses in different business trade with varying degrees of website usage, located in Piteå and Luleå.

The main purpose of this essay is to investigate the legal position for employers concerning protection against what employees can express about one?s employer in social media.It may regard dissatisfaction concerning employment, tort or so-called whistleblowing. The spread through social media may be comprehensive and thus cause more damage to the employer.Employees within the public sector as well as in the private are protected by the liberty of speech, which is constitutional, even the protection of sources or the right to criticize can offer some protection. This gives the employees the possibility to widely express themselves in private social media as long as it can?t be classified as a violation, which per se is very rare.However, certain differences between the both sectors will be pointed out.There are still no constitutional rights regarding social media, but a grey area has emerged concerning the legal position.

AimThe compulsory school attendance in Sweden means that all children are obligated to go to school. This makes great demands on those who work in the school, especially the teachers. Schools are complex units. In school, teachers face all kinds of ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. The aim of the study is to enlighten how different teachers would act differently, if they were facing the same dilemma in the PE-lessons and why this knowledge is important to our profession.MethodThe data was collected through interviews to make a qualitative research.

This essay aims to emphasize and clarify the positions that exist within the current globalization debate. The positions are the neo-liberal, the opponents, the pragmatists and the skeptics. The text presents and explains their ideological, moral and political positions and beliefs about the world, the nation state, the society and the individual; in light of Steven Lukes? and Antonio Gramsci's theories regarding the interaction and the relationship between power and hegemony. The methodological starting point is the ideology-critical analysis; in which their arguments in the current globalization debate is highlighted and categorized.

 This essay aim to clear the regulations that adjusts the use of non-compete clauses in contracts of employement. The historical developement shows tendencies that more employees have contracts that includes non-compete clauses. This developement does not always correspond with what is allowed concerning these clauses. Non-compete clauses is adjusted by the regulations in the collective agreement known as the agreement of 1969. The agreement has also been accepted outside its regular field of application.