The forecast ability of four well-known exchange rate models for theSwedish krona is tested in this thesis. The models that are tested arethe purchase power parity, the real interest differential model, thesticky-price model and a productivity model. In addition to thebenchmark, the random walk, they are also compared to each other.They are all tested on three different horizons one quarter, two quartersand four quarters. The mean squared forecast error criteria and thedirection of change criteria are used for evaluation of the forecastability. Only in a couple of cases are the forecast ability of thetheoretical based models significant better than the random walk..

This master thesis deals with the differences in the design of the environmental scanning between different kinds of organisations, as well as the demands and regulations etc. in the respective environments that influence the environmental scanning. The content of the environmental scanning and the organisation of the function are outside the scope of this study. Two organisations that do not have an organised function but are scanning their environment were chosen for the investigation. A model for conducting the environmental scanning developed by Frankelius is used to analyse the practice of environmental scanning.

Studies have shown that mergers and acquisitions often fail and that a reason to this might be that investment banks do not take any responsibility for the post merger integration. Despite this there have been no studies of the potential benefits of an investment bank taking a holistic approach to the M&A-process and including post merger integration in its service. This study identifies a couple of investment banks that does this and calls them holistic investment banks. In M&A-theory a successful process is often described according to so called success factors that need to be fulfilled in order to achieve a successful result of the merger or acquisition. The business model and work approach of one holistic investment bank is analyzed in this case study on the base of seven success factors from established theories.

The purpose of this study is to highlight the second home sector in Sweden and Denmark, in a comparative study of regulations for the second home market, and residence requirement. Two attractive second home island destinations is being compared in Ven, Landskrona and Gudhjem, Bornholm. The study addresses issues such as the local effects of a regulation of the second home market get at a local level, and the effects generated by deregulation, as well as local people's opinions about second home regulation in a popular second home area in southern Sweden. This has been examined using a mix between qualitative method and quantitative methods, and the study is based on six semi-structured interviews from informants from Ven, Bornholm, and Gudhjem which has been analyzed throughout a thematic analysis. In addition to the interviews, diagrams from the Central Bureau of Statistics of Sweden and Statistics Denmark, and various real estate websites, and a field observation from Ven and Gudhjem will be presented.The result shows that show that the discussion on residence requirement has been going on for a long time in Sweden and Ven, but the local organizations found more disadvantages than advantages and are now looking in to other solutions, while other locals believes that there are more advantages with a residence requirement. In Denmark it?s revealed that there is recently started discussion between municipal decision-makers and local organizations about the regulations, and if it should be abolished or not.

For a long period of time there has been an extensive documentation of how things are presumed not to be at our workplace. However there is little knowledge on how it is supposed to be, what makes us feel good and what makes us retain our well-being. The aim of this study was to survey the attitudes towards factors of well-being at the workplace among personnel at four institutions at Kristianstad University. The work method used in this study is quantitative and a questionnaire survey was carried out to produce an overall picture. The majority considered praise from manager and the opportunity of development discussions of great importance.

The purpose is to increase awareness of the importance of staff engagement in the work environment and how the organization works to engage employees to want to participate actively in the work environment.The questions we seek answers to in this study is the following:What affects the staff to engage in the work environment from a managementperspectiveAre there external factors that affect the organization and the individual's engagementto work with the working environment?We have create a model that is based on recent research to define our definition of engagement. The model contains four factors : Clarity, Advocacy opportunities, resources and feedback. The method we have used to answer the purpose in this study is ten qualitative interviews with persons with work environment responsibilities.The result shows that the engagement regarding work environment is important to get the employees to actively participate. To get the engagement from the employees the organizations need to provide, clarrity, advocacy opportunities, resources and give mutual feedback.

Lack of dead wood is the main cause of decaying or loss of populations for many forest species. To increase the amount of dead wood is a prerequisite to maintain biodiversity in forests of northern Europe. In summer 2006 the recreation area Klåveröd, at Söderåsen in Skåne, Sweden, has been inventoried for high stumps (snags) of beech, (Fagus sylvatica). The result of the inventory has been compared with data of the real estate and forest management directories from the owner, region Skåne. The results have also been matched with the results from an inventory of saproxylic beetles in 2005, performed with windowtraps on selected snags both in the area and the adjacent national park Söderåsen. 594 snags were found on 747 ha.

Aim:In this study, women were interviewed about their experiences of recovering from an eating disorder - The aim has been to investigate the factors that contributed to recovery and with guidance of these factors, find factors that can be used in a preventive intervention.Method: A qualitative approach was used to design and conduct interviews, the design of the study was descriptive and a semistructured interview was used. The local affiliation of The Swedish Eating Disorder Association was contacted and provided contact with 10 women who participated in the interview. To participate in the study the women had to be recovered from their eating disorder for at least two years. The women who patricipated in the study were between 22 and 36 years old and had been recovered for 2- 16 years. Data were analyzed and coded then categories with similar themes about the factors that were important for recovery wad etablished.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vilka orsaker som hindrar ett företag att effektivt utnyttja sin business intelligence-process samt hur ett företag bör agera för att skapa högre effektivitet i business intelligence-processen. En fallstudie valdes som forskningsstrategi med kvalitativ empirisk data, vilken samlades in genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer med användare av business intelligence-processen. Studien visade att orsaker som hindrar ett företag att effektivt utnyttja sin business intelligence-process var: avsaknad av inriktning för insamling av information, överflöd av information hos beslutsfattare men samtidigt brist på information inom vissa områden. Det var heller inte klarlagt vem som skall ta del av vilken information, en central lagringsplats för omvärldsinformation saknades, underrättelserna var inte alltid anpassade till beslutsfattarna, ansvarsområden inom processen var oklara och stöd saknades från ledningen. För att skapa en effektiv business intelligence- process visade studien, att ett företag bör arbeta efter en processcykel med klara ansvarsområden, en väldefinierad inriktning för insamlingen av data och information, en väl utkommunicerad lagringsplats för information om omvärlden, analyser som täcker användares olika behov, kontinuerlig kommunikation mellan BI-enheten och beslutsfattare samt säkerställa att tillräcklig med resurser allokeras till business-intelligence processen..

Social media constitutes an increasing part of organizations and businesses today, regardlessif its segment is B2B (Business to business) or B2C (Business to consumer). The use ofsocial media has been self-evident for many companies, especially throughout the B2C area.The study examined attitudes towards Web 2.0 and social media in the B2B-segment, andwhat advantages and disadvantages that might exist with the use of the implementation. Inorder to answer the research question a qualitative case study on the company IFS (Industrialand Financial Systems) was made..

This study aims to investigate how consumers perceive variety in grocery stores and further how private brands have affected consumers? perceptions of variety in grocery stores.The study focuses on the perceptions and attitudes towards variety and the impact of private brands on perceived variety. Hence, a qualitative rather than quantitative study has been used. Photo elicitation has been used in both focus groups and in-depth interviews, which have been the empirical data collection of the study. Scientific articles and books have also been used in the process.

The objective of the master thesis is to analyze how future business administrators relate to discriminatory structures during their period of studies. Eight students studying business administration have been interviewed. The empirical material is analyzed with theories from the field of research of Critical Whiteness Studies and Feminist Organization Theory. The theories are chosen from a Situated Knowledge perspective. It turns out that the interviewed students have a conception of an ideal student who studies business administration.

In several cases, systems that have been developed have been very time consuming and cost a lot of money, but they still do not fulfil the users requirements and requests. To make new systems better, you have to find a way to communicate that allows the developers to understand the needs of the user. The aim for our thesis is to highlight the importance of communication in system development. To investigate this we have choosen to do a study of the real-estate system. The work methods that have been used include mock-ups and informal conversations with the user, who is employed by the Church of Sweden in Ronneby.

The aim of this study is to examine which factors in a traffic wardens? situation at work that promote and which that inhibit satisfaction at work. The aim of this study is also to examine if there are any differences in the work experiences for traffic wardens that work alone versus those who work in a team of two. The following questions are examined in the study:?Which factors promote and which factors inhibit the work situation for traffic wardens??Are there any differences between traffic wardens that work alone and those who work with another colleague?The selection consisted of eight traffic wardens, of which four of them work with another colleague while the other four work by themselves.

The aim of this study is to examine which factors in a traffic wardens? situation at work that promote and which that inhibit satisfaction at work. The aim of this study is also to examine if there are any differences in the work experiences for traffic wardens that work alone versus those who work in a team of two. The following questions are examined in the study:?Which factors promote and which factors inhibit the work situation for traffic wardens??Are there any differences between traffic wardens that work alone and those who work with another colleague?The selection consisted of eight traffic wardens, of which four of them work with another colleague while the other four work by themselves.