Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to give a contribution to the studies of what strategies those are of importance for challengers in consumer technological markets aiming for the market leader position. To be able to investigate this phenomenon we have chosen to study Microsoft?s second position in the video game console industry. In addition, we want to illuminate Microsoft?s competitive advantages, how Microsoft can take advantage from Sony?s setbacks and what strategies those are of importance for Microsoft in the battle of becoming the market leader.

The aim of this study is, from a norm-critical approach, to find, investigate and analyse human representation in the visual culture of one preschool in order to understand if the children enrolled are represented or not. The research questions are: In what ways is there imagery of human representations in images and materials designed for play? What skin-colors and origins are dominant in the data collected?We carried out a qualitative study in the form of visual ethnography. This method allowed us to use a combination of different data collection tools such as photography and ethnographic field notes to collect our data. The photographs we took of images and material used for play, was then analysed through semiotic picture analysis.

The aim of this essay is to analyze the implementation process of the International Baccalaureate?s Diploma Programme in four of the approximately 30 schools currently offering the IB at upper secondary level in Sweden. The starting point is a comparison between definitions in fundamental documents in the national programmes for Natural Science (NV) and Social Science (SP) on the one hand, and the IBDP on the other. The evaluation, based on Program theory, focuses in particular on the consistencies in the Organizational plans of each system.  The basic assumption is that the IB due to a deviating organizational system, different structures, aims and objectives makes a challenge for the dominating educational discourse, to use a concept by Michel Foucault, and that resistance against the IB therefore is to be expected.As a second part of the evaluation five people who either play, or have played the role of coordinators of the IB, and who thereby are responsible for the implementation, have been interviewed. The questions have been focused around in what sense the informants can confirm resistance in their implementation work due to the differences found in the first part of the evaluation, and in what ways it manifests itself.Finally, Michel Foucault?s power structures in connection to discourse analysis have been applied on the results of the two previous parts of the essay.

Då stora förändringar skett på den svenska bankmarknaden de senaste 30 åren, dels på grund av den finansiella avregleringen men även som följd av den tekniska utveckligen, har konkurrenssituationen stärkts. Antalet banker som konkurrerar om kunderna har ökat och bankerna måste därför arbeta hårt för att både behålla befintliga samt få nya kunder.Kunderna utsätts regelbundet för marknadsföringskampanjer där de lockas med diverse erbjudanden samt av nya eller utvecklade tjänster. Bankerna försöker finna sätt att tillhandhålla något som kan höja värdet av tjänsten/produkten för kunden.Samtidigt är kunderna på bankmarknaden lojala mot sina banker och förhållandevis få kunder byter bank, oavsett huruvida de är nöjda med den bank de har eller inte. Konkurrensverket gör bedömningen att trots de goda valmöjligheterna för konsumenterna och den starka konkurrensen bland bankerna är konsumentrörligheten väldigt trög i Sverige.Syftet med den här uppsatsen har varit att undersöka vilka preferenser konsumenter värdesätter i valet av sin bank, samt ur ett kundperspektiv beskriva de viktigaste delarna i ett erbjudande. Detta har undersökts genom att kvalitativt datamaterial har samlats in samt analyserats.I undersökningen har vi arbetat utifrån två problemformuleringar som rör vilka betydelsefulla delar som bör ingå i ett bankerbjudande samt vilka kvalitetsfaktorer som är mest betydelsefulla för den enskilda konsumenten.

The aim of this study is, from a norm-critical approach, to find, investigate and analyse human representation in the visual culture of one preschool in order to understand if the children enrolled are represented or not. The research questions are: In what ways is there imagery of human representations in images and materials designed for play? What skin-colors and origins are dominant in the data collected?We carried out a qualitative study in the form of visual ethnography. This method allowed us to use a combination of different data collection tools such as photography and ethnographic field notes to collect our data. The photographs we took of images and material used for play, was then analysed through semiotic picture analysis.

To invest money in funds is increasing rapidly in popularity and one of the biggest reasons is that banks are offering a greater range of funds. Information about funds is always easy to find and it is easy to invest money in a fund because the bank takes care of all the management of the fund.The essay examines two funds from two different countries with an aim to choose the one with best potential yield. The first fund is entirely invested in North America and the second fund invests in Asia, with most of its possessions in companies from China. Both these funds invest in wellknown companies in respective region. The essay is limited to compare these funds with data from 2005 to 2009.Information was collected from Morningstar and Avanza Bank for the quantitative examination.

Background: As Porter?s diamond (1990) suggested, the business environment highly influences firms? strategies. Today, most of the companies have to decide their strategy depending from a worldwide business environment. Yet, strategy researches and the growing importance of marketing for business success also show that customer dimension must be taken into consideration. On some markets and in certain industries, the offer is much higher than the demand and then, companies need to attract customers.

Today it is mandatory for every college or university student to pay a union fee to their student?s union. The fee is mandatory and is a payment for writing examinations, receiving grades. The fees purpose is also intended to secure the education quality and student influence. In the presence of the abolishment of the union fee the Swedish student?s unions stand before an uprising competition between themselves and most likely a decrease in membership.

Since the beginning of the new millennium, China has opened itself to the outside world and in an enormous pace increased its contacts and relationships with other countries. The trigger to these dramatic changes of economic and foreign policies is the insight that China can no longer sustain its rapid economic growth, largely based on industrial production, on energy and raw materials from China alone.Good relations with African countries have been of highest priority in China?s strategy of ?Going global?. The new African policy is based on the two principles of mutual benefit and non-interference in internal affairs ? as opposite to the West?s strategy of structural adjustment programmes (SAP), which include massive interference in internal affairs.

There is a relationship between confidence in management and personnel satisfaction. The personnel?s confidence in management can be seen as a fundamental tool which is needed to ensure the success of the organizations mandate. This study investigates how management works to create and maintain confidence. The conditions that management has for building confidence are explored, as well as the significance of leadership in the building of confidence.

The aim of our study is to explore the empowerment process among micro-business owners in Kayamandi, a black township of Stellenbosch in South Africa. What are the positive and negative implications for the empowerment process? Another aim is to find out the role of local and international support in this process. The theoretical framework of this study revolves around the concepts of gender, power and empowerment. Our methods are qualitative interviews and observations.

Context: During the 21st century several alarming reports have been published that deals with the depletion and pollutant of the earth by human interference. The earth is an ending resource and so are the mountains and bedrocks which are continuously mined in order to harvest its minerals. The idea behind Urban Mining is to (re)invent processes enabling further purpose for materials both from old deposits and new products providing secondary raw materials and energy. This thesis aims to investigate the challenges and opportunities of how firms and organizations can and will be able to strike a better balance between product-/service systems, economic growth and environmental stewardship in the context of Urban Mining as an approach. With the innovation of processes, technology, business- planning and creation in focus.Objective: How to future proof a business model for Urban Mining by the usage of business model design.Method: This thesis will be conducted using a case study approach, meaning that it will incorporate qualitative, exploratory and descriptive characteristics - aiming towards enabling both applied and fundamental research.Results: The result evaluates the business model element differences between traditional C&D industry and Urban Mining industry.

Problem area and purposeNowadays, 2006, the downloading of music and movies is an increasingly more burning issue. But while the music industry has made great progress in using the Internet as a distribution channel the film industry has been at a standstill for several years. Recently however there has been progress in the form of a few film companies beginning to offer their customers legal ways to acquire films over the Internet. But with this progress one central question arises, which this report will try to answer; what are the important factors for selling films as the Internet moves from primarily being a information channel to also functioning as a distribution channel? The purpose is to examine what the consumers find important when purchasing film, and to establish to what degree there is a substitution effect between DVDs and downloadable films.MethodThe report is first and foremost based on an Internet survey with a total of 383 participants.

ABSTRACT Skånskt Naturbeteskött is a group of approximately 30 beefproducers in the south of Sweden, who sell their products on the local market. They are certified with Svenskt Sigill, an organisation that works with animal welfare, environmental responsibility, safe food, open landscape and independent qualitycontrol. These producers have to fulfil certain demands regarding pasture and quality of the meat. For this essay I did a market investigation in which I wanted to find out what qualities the Swedish market and the consumers want in their beef. The purpose was to find out what Skånskt Naturbeteskött could do differently to satisfy the market for locally produced beef in the south of Sweden. In the investigation I turned to those responsible for the beef in 12 supermarkets, 4 selling Skånskt Naturbeteskött today, 4 that sold it before but quit, and 4 that never have sold it but might be interested in the future.

Today it is mandatory for every college or university student to pay a union fee to their student?s union. The fee is mandatory and is a payment for writing examinations, receiving grades. The fees purpose is also intended to secure the education quality and student influence. In the presence of the abolishment of the union fee the Swedish student?s unions stand before an uprising competition between themselves and most likely a decrease in membership.