The main aim of this master thesis was to see the process of an interactive online reference service from idea to final product. The reference service we have studied is developed and used by the Library of the National Institute for Working Life in Stockholm, Sweden and goes by the name phibi. Our goal was to review the whole realization process from the reasons why a service like this was created, how the service was introduced and implemented inside the organisation and finally what the result and consequences were for both the library staff and for the users of the service. Phibi is designed to be a tool that fosters communication between the library staff and the remote users where the users get the opportunity to be helped with their questions by the library staff although they are not physically present in the library. To understand the process we conducted a case study with 11 interviews of the library staff, the superior and the initiator to phibi.

In the production of pulp, paper and cardboard, a large amount of water is used daily. The water has to be purified in the internal purifying plant before it reaches the receiving body of water. In the biological purifying stage at the Stora Enso Skoghall mill, an aerated basin is used where the microorganisms, using oxygen, oxidize the organic material to carbon dioxide. The air is pumped from the bottom of the basin and the oxygen can then be transported from the air bubbles to the water through diffusion. The problem with aeration of waste water from the forest industry is that wood residues, such as fatty acids, are making the transport of oxygen in water more difficult.

Background: Companies and organizations of today spend large amounts of money on IT-based business solutions. Such business solutions normally include business- consulting and software-creation (IT-related services). Due to the rapid development of the technology within this field of business the IT-customers find it difficult to select among potential suppliers on objective grounds.Purpose: To increase the understanding for the professionl approach of the people involved in the sales- and purchase process of IT-related services in a business-to-business context. The study is taking the buyers'as well as the sellers'perspective into account when analyzing the process. Method: The empirical findings were collected from eight companies in Linköping and Stockholm.

Analytic Hierarchy Process, AHP, är en spridd och mycket omdiskuterad metod för att analysera multikriterieproblem. Syftet med uppsatsen är göra beslutsfattare som använder AHP uppmärksamma på några av de problem som kan finnas med att använda AHP. Uppsatsen redogör detaljerat för hur beslutsfattarens indata behandlas av AHP och visar både med ett konkret exempel och med en formell beskrivning hur en rangordning av alternativ genereras av AHP. Den detaljerade redogörelsen illustrerar att AHP bygger på additiv nyttofunktion vilket döljs för användare av programvaror utvecklade för AHP. Vidare belyses andra drag i AHPs behandling av indata, drag som i flera fall döljs för användaren..

The Methodology used to gather empirical materials for this thesis has been different types of interviews. The interviews have been mainly unstructured personal interviews directly with our respondents, due to limiting factors some of the interviews have been carried out via phone or email.The theoretical framework consists of literature from well-recognised authors and is divided into four different parts: Insourcing & Outsourcing, Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management, China & Intercultural understanding. The empirical foundation has been gathered from a great variety of different sources in an attempt to cover the many complex angels in which this subject can be looked upon. Chinese students, managers in international companies with experience from China, Chinese employees in Swedish companies and different people with good knowledge of different areas of China are all among our respondents.In our conclusion we have reached the three following conclusions for why one should start a ?bridge building? enterprise in between qualified Chinese human capital and Swedish structure capital: 1.

The Swedish National Heritage Board (RAÄ) is the agency of the Swedish government responsible for heritage and historic environment issues. During the last couple of years the agency has implemented a new management control system, the balanced scorecard, originally developed for profit driven organizations. Organizations within the public sector have other objectives than profit seeking organizations, and there have been difficulties in applying the balanced scorecard model in the public sector. Therefore we find it interesting to examine the reasons behind these difficulties and believe that some answers can be found in the identification process of the balanced scorecard. Therefore we aim to perform a case study of RAÄ and explain how the identification process of the components of their balanced scorecard can affect further usage of the model as a management control tool.

Talented and committed employees are important resources for a company?s competitiveness. With the escalating competition for competent employees, a strong employer brand has come to play an increasingly important role as a means of attracting employees with a desirable profile. In this study, brand theory is applied to the results of a quantitative study of students? evaluation of an attractive employer, in order to identify the factors which explain why certain employers are perceived as more attractive than others.

AbstractThe aim of this study is to investigate the implementation process and the implementation steering of the social development aspects, gender equality and integration, in the program for regional development of the region Kronoberg in the period of 2004-2007.The study asks three questions: 1) How have the social development aspects, gender equality and integration, been implemented in the program for regional development of the region Kronoberg? 2) What has facilitated or hindered the implementation of the two social development aspects? 3) What possibilities to steer the implementation process of the two social development aspects exist at the governmental and at the regional level?In order to answer these questions a qualitative method has been used. To be able to analyse the empirical material, which consists of documents and interviews, the theoretical framework comprehends the policy process and implementation steering. The conclusion is that the incorporation of the social development aspects in the regional development program does not fully correspond with the central intentions, and that is due to circumstances at the regional level..

This paper aims to determine what is decisive for localisation of production units when a company engages in offshoring. By performing a case study on Electrolux and comparing the results with theoretical literature we discuss the implications for manufacturing companies in general. To facilitate a structured analysis we have developed a model dividing the localisation decision into five perspectives and four geographical levels. We have found that the determinants of localisation vary depending on the geographical level of the decision process. Since all geographical levels are interconnected, the analysis needed for a decision on all levels simultaneously is very comprehensive.

Background: Due to outsourcing, the material flows in the telecom equipment industry have undergone major changes, which in turn has imposed new challenges for packaging supplier Nefab who delivers to the industry. In order to achieve market intelligence, Nefab wants to map the material flows, and investigate possibilities of further reusable logistical packaging systems.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to describe the typical features of the logistical material flows in a technically based, rapidly growing industry, and analyze the driving forces and obstacles, which influence the selection of logistical packaging system. Procedure: After developing a theoretical framework consisting of general logistical theories and theories related to logistical packaging, we have interviewed companies in the logistics channel of Ericsson Radio Systems.Results: We have found the main characteristics of material flows in our investigated industry to be Variations in Demand, Focus on Time-to-Customer, and Globalization of Logistics Channels. Regarding driving forces and obstacles in the selection of logistical packaging systems, we have identified Transportation Characteristics, Customer Demands, Quality, Handling & Administration, and Current Packaging System as important factors..

This report describes how a syringe pumpwas developed for Q-linea AB inUppsala Science Park as a bachelor´sthesis at Uppsala University. Thepurpose of the syringe pump is toreplace existing pumps in one of Qlineasdosage instruments. The reasons for whythe pumps are replaced are that they arebig and heavy. Therefore the task was todesign a smaller and lighter syringepump.The goal of the project was to create aprototype of the design that met themechanical requirements posed. Therequirements were met.In the report the work process can befollowed from the development of thespecifications to the final design andtests of the prototype.

The aim of this essay is to examine the experiences of an introduction process of newcomers through an integrative perspective, by two guiding questions: How does the examined organization socialize newcomers? How is the organizational socialization experienced by the employees? Most Swedish corporations engage in some form of workplace introduction and this introduction should give the newcomer an understanding of his work and its relation to the organizations other business practices. Earlier studies have mostly focused on the effects of socialization tactics but few on the experience. This study, based on qualitative interviews with a regional manager, newcomers and established employees shows that the studied organization socializes its newcomers through many socialization tactics where the newcomers? personality and previous knowledge allows to direct the socialization process.

This thesis work resulted in a template for how the thermal spray process can be controlled through robot programs. The robots today and their programs need to be replaced, therefore a new structure which can be matched with the new robot systems is needed. The work is limited to only concern structured programming on the new robots on Thermal Spray Centre (TC) with the programming language Rapid. The basic data for the program was retrieved from interviews with concerned personnel at TC, from studies on process parameters for thermal spray and from existing specifications at Volvo Aero Corporation (VAC). The thesis work briefly describes the process thermal spray and the four methods used at VAC.

Studien beskriver de för- och nackdelar som företag upplever med affärssystem som molntjänst. De avgränsningar som gjorts är dels att jag valt att endast använda tre företag, dels att jag haft som krav att endast använda företag som har ett heltäckande affärssystem som molntjänst. Jag har använt mig av en kvalitativ metod genom att göra en fallstudie där jag intervjuat fyra personer på tre olika företag. Syftet med intervjuerna var att få en god inblick i vad de tycker att affärssystem som molntjänst har för för- och nackdelar. Frågorna till intervjuerna har valts ut med underlag från den relaterade forskningen jag samlat in genom vetenskapliga tidsskriftsartiklar, böcker och populärvetenskapliga artiklar inom ämnet samt från föreläsningar som getts på det systemvetenskapliga programmet i Göteborg.Studiens slutresultat visar att respondenterna anser att fördelarna är betydligt fler än nackdelarna.

Försvarsmakten står idag inför en stor utmaning att täcka sitt personalbehov. I och med övergången från pliktbaserat till frivilligbaserat försvar, konkurrerar de om arbetskraften och det blir allt svårare att rekrytera nödvändig personal. De som påbörjar utbildningar som är tänkta att leda till fast anställning, slutar i hög grad innan utbildningen genomförts. Avsikten med vår undersökning är att belysa försvarsmaktens rekrytering och personalförsörjningssystem samt bidra med förbättringsförslag av deras rekryteringsprocess.En metodkombination har genomförts i form av intervjuer, tre observationer samt litteraturstudie. Elva intervjuer med representanter från arbetsgivar- respektive arbetstagarsidan inom Försvarsmakten. Observationerna bestod av ett besök på informationscenter, medverkan på ett seminarium samt ett event med informatörer på en gymnasieskola.Resultatet visade på stor okunskap i målgruppen om vad en anställning inom Försvarsmakten innebär.