This is a case study that explores the ways in which implemented university reforms have affected employees in the higher educational Sector. Previous research within the research field has mainly focused on policy related consequences of the reforms. This is why a study that brings attention to the ways the reforms have affected employees is sorely needed.The aim with the study is to examine whether there is a discrepancy between formal changes and the ways the employees experience them. The study is based on interviews with 8 lecturers from two universities and the material is analyzed mainly through sociological neo-institutional theories, such as Richard Scott?s theory of the three pillars within an informal institution and Helmke and Levintskys theory of the relationship between formal and informal institutions.The results show that there is a discrepancy between the formal changes and the ways employees perceive them.

Access to correct and updated intelligence about our environment is in an increasingly degree considered important in the private as well as in the public Sector. At Mälardalens University, competitive intelligence as an area of research is closely related to Information Design - a multidisciplinary consideration which goal is to improve the receiver´s understanding of intended messages. This study was conducted in order to find out how Information Design was representedin different kinds of literature regarding Competitive Intelligence. Also, it describes the main focus areas concerning Competitive Intelligence in the same literature. Through an explorative "pearl-growing" method combined with searches through referrals, 60 different sources provide a broad basis for analysis.

A relatively new Sector in the world is the one concerning social enterprises and their development. Social enterprises are enterprises that are working with social objectives, their goal is not to make as much money as possible. This essay is looking at the development in social enterprises in two countries; Great Britain and Sweden and how the employee numbers in the enterprises have changed over time. The result shows a large increase in the number of employees in the enterprises in Sweden, however the enterprises in Great Britain does show a declining number of employees. This essay also tries to examine whether a couple of external factors, taken from a series of already existing theories, are affecting the possibility of development in these enterprises.

The purpose of this paper is to perform an in-depth analysis of how New Public Management reforms have impacted management practises in two publicly financed elderly care providers in Sweden. The paper studies one public and one private elderly care provider and analyses to what extent they have implemented New Public Management methods. The results are based on interviews with several persons within the two organisations and analysed using the seven New Public Management doctrines as described by Christopher Hood (1991; 1995). The major finding in the thesis is that the level of exposure towards New Public Management reforms differs between the two studied organisations where the private provider is exposed to the reforms to a greater extent than the public. The paper concludes that the main reasons for the low extent of exposure in the public provider could be attributed to the lack of measurable standards performance as well as the proximity to the political leadership..

Denna studie undersöker vilka strategier fyra organisationer från den ideella sektorn använder sig av för att hantera sitt samarbete med staten. Studien tar sitt avstamp i Staffan Johanssons teori om hur påtvingar ideell sektorn ett homogeniseringstryck. Genom att undersöka olika egenskaper hos den ideella sektorn, såsom ideologi, ekonomiska förutsättningar och möjligheten att vara me och påverka undersöks hur organisationerna uppfattar sin roll i samarbetet. Studien visar att ideologin och de ekonomiska förutsättningarna spelar avgörande roll för hur organisationerna kan strukturera både sig själva som organisation liksom deras arbete. I relationen till staten framstår det som viktigt att resursberoendet inte är allt för ensidigt för att organisationerna skall kunna hålla på sin särart och styra sin organisation i en självvald riktning..

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore which inner conceptions about the abused older women the professional social workers had and how they experienced the enconter of an abused old woman in an intimate partner relation. The theoretical background is social construction by Berger and Luckmann. This theory was uset to analyze the transcribed interviews. This study is based on nine interviews with five professionals in social services, three volunteers from the voluntary Sector and one social worker who worked in a community based support group for abused older women. The result of this study shows that older women were often abused, by a relative they were dependent on, in their home.

This paper examines the film distribution and exhibition Sector in Europe. The general analysis of these Sectors? situation was made. Moreover, the comparative and more in depth analysis of three countries by the Porter?s five forces model was made; These were United Kingdom, France and Denmark.

Social kompetens är ett relativt modernt uttryck som allt oftare förekommer i olika sammanhang i arbetslivet. Den offentliga sektorn har genomgått stora förändringar de senaste 20- 30 åren, och detta har bidragit till att arbetssökande nu bedöms på ett annat sätt av arbetsgivare. Numera är det mycket vanligare att en arbetssökande värderas mer efter sina personliga egenskaper än sina formella kvalifikationer. Studiens syfte är att undersöka samt ge exempel på hur förändringen inom den offentliga sektorn under de senaste decennierna har påverkat rekryteringsprocessen samt vilken roll social kompetens spelar i dagens rekryteringsförfarande inom statliga myndigheter. Undersökningens ambition är att till viss del öka förståelsen för ett av samhällsforskare redan identifierat problem, och kanske även synliggöra några av de möjliga ?dolda? funktioner som begreppet i praktiken skulle kunna fylla.

Overall aim of this master?s thesis is to describe and identify perceived barriers in Swedish businesses within solar energy field and analyze, based on four theoretical viewpoints, how these barriers can be handled. In other words how can the barriers be overcome or eliminated to better succeed in the commercialization process? The method applied is qualitative in which data has been collected through phone interviews originated from seven Cleantech businesses which operate within solar energy. Furthermore this thesis has a descriptive- and an explorative purpose.

This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using different benchmarking models to measure and compare the efficiency of Swedish gas distributors. It also discusses to which extent the results of a benchmarking study should influence the revenue-cap which will be implemented in the gas distribution Sector in Sweden from year 2011. The discussion is based on arguments from both theory and practical applications of benchmarking. The results suggest that benchmarking Swedish gas distributors against distributors in another country using a parametric model is most favorable, but the reliability will be increased if non-parametric models are used also. Partial and total productivity measures could be used to confirm results of other benchmarking analyses.

Water related problems are highlighted as a challenge to sustainable development and the topic of forests and water is gaining increased attention worldwide. Governing forest and water is a complex issue, as the interactions are affected by policies and actors from multiple levels and Sectors. In Sweden, forests cover much of the land and forestry is an important land-use, inevitably impacting the water in the landscape. This study aims to understand and explain the existing governance framework around forestry and water in Sweden. Based on the Policy Arrangement Approach, the study?s research questions focused on the actors involved, the formal and informal rules, the resources and power structures and the discourses related to forestry and water in Sweden.

The purpose of this report is to analyze the advantages of using programme software to monitor masshauling instead of using the conventional method. A comparsion between different programs will also be conducted in an attempt to determine the most affordable. This report is written for NCC Construction AB to help them choose a software most fitting for future projects.The report is based upon literature such as information taken from the developers website, existing reports with similar context, interviews with sellers of the software and interviews with people working in the building Sector.The result of this report shows that there are several advantages with investing in a software that helps the management of a project and that it is something that should be taken under consideration instead of the existing method. Topcon is a clear favorite following the inquiries comparisons as done, when they deliver a complete system and not only a supplement to the current approach. Scanlaser are just in the beginning of its development, and is so far only out with an early version of the software, while Topcon has been brought further in development and therefore has more features in the program.

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explain and discover how a Swedish commune works with their external crisis communication during a large crisis. The case study revolved around a simulation exercise with Mjölby commune that was and organized by the company VSL Systems AB. The study addresses the difficulties that arise within the crisis communication, and shows witch factors that are important to consider, when you are responsible for an entire community.Our result shows that the relationship with media could be utilized in a better way and both parties could benefit from cooperation. The commune could have used varied communication channels to create more effective crisis communication which had reached a bigger group of people. The information was not adapted to the different groups to the extent it could have been..

We have left the industrial society, and instead, we live in a post-industrial knowledge and information society. It is often said that industrial production has disappeared or that it has changed greatly. This means that fewer are employed in the manufacturing Sector while the service Sector is increasing, resulting in that the boundaries between production and administration decreases. The production goes from mass production to more flexible and specialized solutions. This puts greater demands on the logistics chain that continually need to work to meet customer requirements.

The need of raw material does of course fluctuate but the long term view is an increasing demand due to the growing consumption of sawn timber products, pulp, paper and lately also biomass. This has led to a keener competition for wood. At the same time there is an ongoing structural change of a significant part in the Swedish wood supply market, the private forest owners. In 1992, 22 % of Sweden´s 335 000 private forest owner lived apart from their forest. In 2007 this figure had risen to 36 %.