The aim of this Master?s thesis is to study the effects that geographical distance have on the control systems in a scattered organization and how this, ultimately, affects the employees in terms of loyalty and motivation. In order to do this, a case study has been conducted on a multinational travel group and its local branches in Thailand. The study is based on a selected number of theories focusing mainly on control systems in multinational contexts as well as on theories regarding communication and autonomy. The conclusion of the study is that geographical distance has led to a rather large autonomy for the local branches and that the headquarter to a large extent rely more on formal control.

Earlier quantitative entrepreneurial studies with a focus on poverty rate has centred their arguments and analyses entirely on income differences which has resulted in a high poverty rate among self-employed. Their results shows that variables such as age, gender, hours of labour and structure of the household significantly affect the poverty rate among self-employed. In this study we aim the focus on material living standards instead of income differences, thus using a more representative approach while studying entrepreneurial poverty. The purpose of the study was to examine how personality traits (big five) affect the material living standards among the self-employed in Sweden, using a group of employed as a control group. Variables earlier known to affect the poverty risk among self-employed where used as control variables together with education and household income.

Postnatal depression (PND) is a condition which affects about 8-15% of recent parents. The cause of PND is unknown but several underlying factors have been purposed through different studies. This descriptive literature review aims to illuminate the parent?s situation when the mother is affected with PND. In search of literature, the databases Medline (via PubMed), Academic Search Elite, Cinahl, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES and SweMed+ were used.

A degree thesis about quality control and assurance in construction. Made in cooperation with Wästbygg. An analysis was made of the self-monitoring control that is conducted during the construction. The data was collected from interviews from personnel employed by Wäsbygg as either work-leader, project-manager or quality- and environmental-coordinator. During the study there was also a review of the literature in the subject.

Recent years have been very turbulent for most private equity firms. Especially the financial meltdown in global economy has affected the industry, but also the public pressure has made private equity houses change their control strategies towards more conventional methods used in public companies. This thesis aims to put light on the control methods used in listed private equity houses which use a buyout strategy. The paper describes how the control methods change over the different phases the asset experience and how different value generating strategies use altered control methods. Using Merchant's (2003) framework for management control systems and Berg and Gottschalg's (2004) research on value generating strategies in buyouts the thesis shows that action controls as designing instructions for the board and a business plan, together with goal alignment is the commonly used control strategy directly after the acquisition.

This thesis describes the planning and development of a volume meter of pine and spruce cones. The product was designed and developed for Stigsjö Skog och Frö AB in Härnösand. It was developed taking into account a number of requirements set by the supervisor David Zetterlund. The main requirements were that the volume measurement would be fast and give accurate results. These are two requirements that are missing in today's volume measuring method which is very problematic for the company.The plant was visited several times in Härnösand, mainly to discuss the generated concepts with the supervisor and perform tests on the prototype.

This master thesis presents a Model for Evaluating and Managing Interruption Risks in connection with Business Continuity Planning (BCP), developed for Swedwood International. The model consists of a template with instructions. The model should be easily understood and useful for establishing a plan for BCP. This is achieved by including the contents and procedure of BCP and the main supplychain risks in the model. The purpose of a BCP plan is to describe how an enterprise will return to business as usual after an interruption, e.g.

Denna rapport avser att undersöka för- och nackdelar med att utveckla ett för ändamålet specialanpassat system eller utnyttja de standardsystem, som i det aktuella fallet tryckerikoncernen JMS redan äger och använder. Genom en mer noggrann definiering av ickefunktionella krav på bland annat användbarhet har en specialanpassad prototyp framställts. I projektet användes metoder för kravinsamling som ledde till en kravspecifikation och i sin tur slutade med en färdig prototyp. Prototypen jämfördes med två standardsystem genom användartester och intervjuer. Prototypen visade sig leva upp till de krav som upptäcktes.

The aim is first to identify concept of citizenship and the dimensions of the same, in the political science theory, which can be crucial, to that a citizenship may be found available for people who have a cognitive delay. Thereafter examine the prevalence and significance of these, in policy documents from two different organizational forms, through an analysis, in the form of a discussion, on the basis of political science theories in the field. The study's aim in a reflective way, highlighting key requirements for an accessible citizenship for the target audience, and thereby clarify the priorities in daily activities that can support an emancipatory citizenship process for people who have a cognitive delay..

Kombinationen höga krav, låg kontroll och lågt socialt stöd leder, enligt krav-kontroll-stöd modellen, till de högsta stressnivåerna. Självledarskap ger individen möjligheten att, genom en inre kontroll, återta kontrollen och minska stressnivåerna. Genom att använda sig av självledarskapsstrategier kan individen förändra sina tankemönster och ageranden för att på så vis förhoppningsvis förbättra sin stresshantering. Studiens syfte var att studera relationen mellan självledarskap, stress och arbetets uppbyggnad. Med arbetets uppbyggnad menas här kombinationen av krav, kontroll, stöd samt tydlighet.

Romanization as a method in the bibliographic environment makes retrieval difficult in many aspects. The object of this thesis is to illustrate the importance and the possibility to include non-Roman script in the records of the library catalogue. The questions at issue are about the consequences of romanization, the technical requirements for implementing non-Roman script, and bibliographical resources that have been developed during the last 20 years. The thesis is based on a literature study and correspondence with people who are familiar with the subject. The thesis points out that Romanization causes information to be distorted in various ways and is inconsistent with the requirements of exactitude in bibliographic control.

The aim of this study was to explore and gain understanding of the situation between managers in different forms of human service organizations. I chose to use a qualitative method and conducted semi-structured interviews with five professional middle managers in the public sector. To accomplish my purpose, I worked on the basis of several questions. The questions dealt with the role of middle management and what it involves, how it is perceived and what the middle managers think of the specific requirements for them and their leadership in organizations that provide services relating to people.  As a result of the analysis I have used the theory of social roles that describes the meaning of the different roles and role conflicts that arise in connection with various and conflicting expectations. The review of the results shows that middle managers in human service organizations experience to have to deal with a complex leadership role.

Background: The use of reward systems can be of strategic importance as well as an affective mean of control for the organization in its work to achieve its goals. The municipal sector is characterized by its transparency and its responsibility for the taxpayer?s money. We therefore wonder which possibilities the municipal sector has to use reward systems as a men of control. Purpose: We intend to research the possibilities that the reward system offer as a mean of control for employees at the higher municipal level, with a special focus on commitment and motivation.

The aim of this master thesis is to find out if young people and librarians think that reference groups can support public libraries to meet the needs of young people, and if the reference groups, which the librarians describe, differentiates from the young peoples requirements. I have made a qualitative study with a questionnaire to six librarians who have experience from reference groups and ten interviews with teenagers. The result showed that young people have many interests and needs which can be met from the library. The teenagers were positive to the library and many of them showed interest in having more influence on the library. Many would like to join a reference group, but on the condition that they would be offered real influence.

International studies show that literacy skills have deteriorated among Swedish students. Empirical evidence states that before being able to learn to read it is important to have phonological awareness. From this perspective, an intervention study was launched to examine whether pupils´ phonological awareness could be enhanced through the work of a special model during a limited time. The aim of the study is to investigate whether six pupils in preschool develop phonological awareness based on Bornholmsmodellen during a limited period of time. The control group was made up of the remaining pupils in the preschool class.