The level of increased central government that we have experienced during the last decades in school, for the purpose of increasing equality and to adapt the Swedish school to a certain international standard, clearly shows that increased control scarcely leads to improvement.The aim of this paper is to examine whether teachers believe that national tests contribute to equivalent assessment and increased goal attainment. Furthermore the teachers? attitude towards and work with national tests is described. The paper is written from a school improvement perspective, where good examples from current research on what creates increased quality in school meaning increased goal attainment and equivalent assessment are related to research on school effectiveness and increased testing in schools. The study builds upon a quantitative survey among teachers in upper primary - and secondary school in a medium-sized municipality in Sweden.The result shows that the teachers have a somewhat more positive than negative attitude towards national tests, as a whole.

Purpose                           The purpose of this study is to create an understanding of how e-commerce companies use loyalty programs in order to retain their customers and to increase its consumption, and compare this with customer perceptions of loyalty and learn what makes them loyal. Theoretical framework      The theoretical framework starts with definitions of loyalty and customer loyalty. Further, it discusses what a loyalty program is, how rewards today and in the future affect the consumers, and other promotion offers that are commonly used. The theory also discusses how previous points work in e-commerce. Method                                                    To take advantage of the companies? point of view and at the same the customers? perspective, the survey is based on a combination of a qualitative and quantitative study. In the study, two companies in the fashion industry were interviewed and 391 respondents participated. Empirical study                 In the empirical study the interviews with the two e-commerce companies are first presented, which revolves around their use of loyalty program.

The numbers of mergers and acquisitions have increased significantly in the last period of time. Although this popularity for mergers and acquisitions, most of the mergers and acquisitions fail to create value. One explanation to this failure of value creation is, according to several studies, how companies treat integration of information systems in the pre-merger evaluation. The research within the field argues that information system integration should have a proactive role in mergers and acquisitions, meaning that information system integration should support the organizational change and normally be considered in the premerger evaluation. The aim of this thesis is to study issues that affect whether companies choose to consider information system integration proactively, when involved in mergers and acquisitions.

The aim of this thesis is to accomplish an understanding on how librarians experience their professional role at private companies. The study is based on qualitative interviews with persons who have a degree in Library and Information science, but does not work as an ordinary librarian. To answer why the respondents work at private companies, this thesis dwells on how the education in library and information science prepares their students to face an alternative career; why the respondents wants to work at private firms instead of a library; if the salary is a key factor in order to choose a career; if the respondents think the companies appreciate their qualifications, and finally, if the respondents think they intrude on other professions' territory? Working at a private company, with a degree in library- and information science, is not, according to the respondents, easy. Although appreciated by their knowledge in the field of information, the interviewees think that the title librarian is hard to cope with.

Konsten att sälja sig själv/The art of selling yourself grasps the complex of problems that occur when artists chooses to start their own record companies. Not only must the artist fulfil the cultural aspects of being an artist but also the economical aspects of running a business. This means that the artist?s identities and roles become more complex. The purpose of this paper is to understand the construction of identities among artists who run their own record companies.

The manufacturing industry is currently in a short-term downturn while the competition is increasing. The result of this is that companies must find new ways to bring out their products. Traditional competitive strategies, such as low pricing, is not sufficient today as the customer is inquiring something more than just a good product. Higher demands are presented on an accurate, well functional, communication between customer and companies, as this has become an important strategic factor in achieving long-term profitability.The aim of this independent project was to analyze and evaluate the communication process between a company and its sales companies.In order to illustrate this process, a case study was carried out at Alfa Laval, their sales companies and employees at their distribution center in Tumba. In order to see the differences in attitudes between the management, the sales companies and the employees regarding communication and involvement a gap analysis were used.The theoretical part of the study considers theories about business mission, communication, involvement, quality and creating value.The result showed that a smaller gap exists between the sales companies and the management while a slightly larger one exists between the employees and the management.

A new phonological test, LINUS, for Swedish-speaking children between the ages of three and seven, has been developed at the speech and language pathology department at Linköping University. The aim of the present study was to create a reference manual for the long version of the new test. The participants in the present study were children between the ages of five to seven in a medium-sized municipality in the Northern part of Kalmar County, Sweden. In total, 124 native Swedish-speaking children (58 girls and 66 boys) with typical language development participated. The children were divided into two age groups, 5;0-5;11;31 and 6;0-6;11;31 years.

The international requirement of Swedish healthcare today is high and due to a good reputation and a long history of reliable methods through extended experience. For those Swedish companies within this business, the process of internationalization is often a attractive option.This study aims to describe, analyze and translate how minor Swedish companies within the care keeping section establish their business on the international market.The study is based upon a qualitative approach and is an empirical study carried out through semi-structured interviews.The result presented in the study shows that internationalization of companies within this business does often require a lot of time and money, is based upon establishments through networks and were learning-by-doing often is used as a strategic approach for the companies penetrating a new market.The study also accounts for major entry barriers, which declares for being to some part of political nature, but mostly of cultural nature.Differences in language and culture are shown in the study to be a major entry barrier and host-countries different cultural levels are very conclusive for the success of internationalization. .

AbstractDigital media in general and social media in particular are becoming more and more important to businesses across the globe. It is an effective way to reach out to consumers and establish a good relationship with existing customers. Most companies today use digital media in order to market themselves and to establish good public relations. A lot of those companies have also realized the enormous marketing capabilities that social media provides. However, in spite of the plethora of possibilities that comes with social media it can also, in some cases, hinder the companies ? success.

According to the current regulations described in IAS 27 - Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements, an investment company is required to consolidate all entities that it controls. However, this thesis outlines the creation of a new system, where those entities are instead measured at fair value, taking changes in fair value into account in the income statement. By recalculating the consolidated accounts for five major investment companies in accordance with the new system, this investigation concludes that the new system would provide investors with more relevant but less reliable accounting information. In addition, the historical financial performance of Investor, Industrivärden, Ratos, Kinnevik, and Lundbergföretagen, is evaluated using their recalculated consolidated financial statements. The evaluation indicates that the overall volatility in the companies' consolidated financial statements would have been higher during the time period 2005-2009, in comparison to official reports..

Social networks have become an important factor in today?s society. Companies as well as individuals are using these platforms to interact with one another on a daily basis. This phenomenon has mostly been acknowledged by companies on B2C markets where these social network sites are being used to communicate their brand. On B2B markets however, the usage of these platforms have not been as optimistically implemented.

There are many views in the concept of corporate reputation and the massive research in the area tends to result in many new definitions. Research has shown that a good corporate reputation has a positive relation to Sustainable Competitive Advantage, financial performance and attraction to competent employees. The many views in the concept make it especially interesting to examine the view on corporate reputation in a perspective of big Swedish corporations. Another interesting area to examine is whether the companies manage their reputation or not. The empirical findings of this essay are based on qualitative interviews to get a deeper understanding in the area of reputation.

There are many good reasons to ponder about what it is that makes life worth living. To observe and reflect on what it is that gives a person a good quality of life is arguably the essential core of social-work. The aim of this research was to investigate how 15-year old youths interpret quality of life. The key areas that we explored in order to meet the research aims were: what did the youths interpret as a good quality of life for a 15-year old and for an adult, how did they view their own quality of life, and did they think that the regional context (i.e. if one lives in a big city or in a small town) affects how one interpret quality of life.The studywas based on interviews with four boys and four girls.

In agricultural educations you learn to use different economic planning tools, as basis for decision. The purpose and goal of this work has been to find out if economic planning tools are used by the farmers in Sweden. We choose to do an investigation through personal interviews, and used an inquiry to get as equivalent answers as possible from the farmers. This work contains a literature study with relevant facts about the questions that is brought up in the inquiry. This study of literature explains shortly some different calculation methods and bases for decision. It also contains useable information that is important to know before an investment. The questions that are asked to the farmers have focused on the use of calculation methods and economical planning tools.

Companies of today are facing a development where it is more significant to focus on existing customers since the approach constitute a more cost reducing way, compared to finding new customers. During the last decades the marketing has therefore moved towards a relationship based marketing. Companies emphasize creating long-term relationships with customers, instead of consider the sale as a non-recurrent phenomenon. To engender customer loyalty has been an essential objective in the creation of long-term relationships.In this essay the authors have chosen to do a study which enlighten how companies in the ready-made apparel business produce added value to their brand and through this generate customer loyalty. Through a case study we analyze how Filippa K, Tiger of Sweden and Gant do to maintain value in their brand, in both a business- and customer perspective.