The changes in the Swedish meat- and meat processing industry have been substantial in recent years. These changes will alter the business environment for many companies. In order to be prepared to face new threats and new opportunities, companies should be actively working on these issues. Risk awareness and by developing of risk management strategies companies can act quickly and effectively when the conditions changes. The objective of this study is to analyse whether and why companies in the Swedish meat- and meat processing industry use various forms of risk management strategies.

It is important, for companies operating on a homogeneous product market, to understand and adapt to customer needs. Since coffee is a homogeneous product in food retail it is vital for coffee companies to work extensively with differentiation and the fierce competition. The prevailing homogenity makes it difficult for companies to develop the product itself and must therefore work to create added value to the product.The purpose of this thesis is to carry out a study on consumer decision-making when purchasing homogeneous products, and to examine how companies work to strengthen their brand and gain market share in a homogeneous product market. The market that this thesis highlights is the coffee market.To answer the purpose of this thesis the writers have conducted a questionnaire survey regarding consumers? decision-making process and interviewed two marketing managers for two major actors on the coffee market.

A trading halt is a measure conducted by a securities exchange in order to reduce information imbalances between market participants, thus enabling a higher level of market efficiency. A market is said to be efficient when new information concerning a company is instantly reflected in its stock price, implying that abnormal stock returns cannot be systematically achieved in an efficient market. The purpose of this study is to examine the occurrence of abnormal stock returns following trading halts on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The study is based on a sample of 64 trading halts executed between January 2003 and February 2008. Historical daily prices for stocks subject to trading halts during the period have been gathered from the Datastream Advance database, while information on date and time of trading halts have been collected from the Stockholm Stock Exchange website.

China has the world?s largest population and during the last thirty years the country has implemented political and economical changes that have affected China to move towards a more western market economic direction. At first this development was going slow but during the last five years it has increased which today has made China the world?s greatest growing economy. China?s improved cooperation with the world is one reason for this growth which has led to a cumulative of the consumer market.

The failure of Structural Adjustment Programs and its neoliberal policies to effectively reduce poverty have led to the creation of Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) by The World Bank and International Monetary Fund. PRSP, connected to both the Comprehensive Development Strategy and the HIPC initiative, are built on the notion of national ownership and stakeholder participation and thereby expand potential conditionality to include matters of governance. This thesis examines the evolution of PRSP and how the process of participation affects national governance structures. By analyzing the role of rules and norms within the World Bank and IMF from a historical point of view the thesis explains why the participation process has developed the way it has. It concludes that neoliberal norms, still at heart within the World Bank and IMF, have an impact on the process of participation within nation states and thereby its governance structure.

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva och analysera hur två olika organisationer arbetar med strategisk HRM vid högkonjunktur respektive lågkonjunktur.Metod: För att besvara studiens syfte har vi valt att tillämpa en kvalitativ undersökningsmetod. I studien har både primärdata det vill säga intervjuer samt sekundärdata i form av årsredovisningar, årsöversikt, hållbarhetsredovisning och hemsidor använts.Slutsatser: Den första slutsatsen i denna studie är att Coca-Cola Drycker Sverige AB och TV4 AB ser på HRM som mycket betydelsefullt och att medarbetarna är en central tillgång som kan utgöra en konkurrensfördel. Den andra slutsatsen är att Coca-Cola Drycker Sverige AB inte använder olika HR-strategier vid olika konjunkturer. Emellertid upplever vi att de gör små förändringar i sitt HR-arbete i olika konjunkturer men att de ständigt följer de övergripande HR-strategierna. TV4 AB arbetar på olika sätt med HRM vid olika konjunkturer.

The change in the information society has affected the development of the labour market for information specialists and informants as well as their roles. Companies are now aware of the fact that information specialists have a variety of important skills and competence that is important for them. The goal of this thesis is to see what defines an information specialist and an informant and also to find out their situation on the labour market. The similarities and differences between the two professions will also be discussed in the thesis. The main method used is the investigation of the job advertisements in the journal DIK-forum from the year 2000 and year 2004.

The purpose of this essay is to examine the Swedish relations to Nato and by doing so see on what terms the cooperation is executed and why. However, Sweden is not a member of Nato and is thereby not seen as an ally of the organization but even so Sweden has a close cooperation with Nato. The theories used in this essay is The Rational Actor Model and The Organizational Behaviour Model by Graham Allison and Philip Zelikow. To this a number of additional theorises are used as to complement these two main theories. The aim with these theories is to see which one gives the most satisfying explanation of the Swedish strategy to cooperate with Nato and still not be a member of the alliance or if all theorises are needed.

General concerns about environmental issues may mean that the demand for bio-based products will increase. Opportunities that arise on markets, together with the declining demand for newsprint, may trigger firms in the Swedish forest industry to increase their development of new products. One product that has received a lot of attention during recent years (and is a contender) is nanocellulose. The purpose of this master thesis was to examine the Swedish forest industry?s view on the market potential of nanocellulose.

The construction market has, as a result of the crisis in Europe been uncertain in recent years. During the year 2013, the construction will be stabilized, in particular Finland. The geographical proximity between Sweden and Finland and similarities in cultures and climates makes Finland a coveted market for many Swedish companies.Differences in national regulations and guidelines, which are produced by the authorities in different countries, are examples of barriers that may hamper the process, including for Swedish villa suppliers, to establish themselves on the Finnish market. It may be useful when facing a new export drive, to look up what similarities and differences there are between the countries building codes, to prevent mistakes and unnecessary costs to the project work..

In this degree project a study of the importance of a graphic identity to companies has been done. A questionnaire among small companies in Dalarna has beenmade. From this, three sets of graphic profile-program have been formed andthese are suitable for new companies. Finally a practical application has been made on Greenfield in Mora, a graphic profile has been designed.To cause an identity is to prove that someone or something exists by individualizingand distinguish. Every individual or company has its qualities or charasteristics.The way to a desirable identity is going by a corporate identity-program that containsthe companies strategies, people, products, buildings, trademarks, graphic design.

A crisis situation that has been more commonly occurred in the industry of conveniencegoods lately is the product related crises which thereby has become a challenge for everymarketer to handle. As the negative publicity tend to enlarge the crisis and spread to thecategory as a whole, it's not only important to have a crisis management to handle crisesconcerning the company itself. But also to be ready to make the best out of the situationwhere the company is threatened to get infected by the negative effects caused by acompetitor.When companies get the chance to make a response on the negative publicity on theircompetitor, as well as the category, through media, the question is - shall they act And howshall they act Which response is the most effective to send out to get out of involvement, notget infected by negative spill over's or even - to make the valenced comparison a way togenerate positive effects and gain market share The purpose of this paper is thereby to find the optimal strategy for an organization in theindustry to handle their competitor's crises through a pronouncement in media. Anotherpurpose to address is whether the brand strength is moderating the effects from the differenttypes of responses tested in this study. This purpose aims to find guidelines depending onthese moderating effects.The paper commodiously, strongly supports that there are beneficial effects to be generatedfrom making a response in either positive or negative direction in oppose of actively choosingnot to make a pronouncement at all.

Syfte: Att undersöka och analysera de möjligheter som den fristående herrmodebutiken har för att skapa innovativa konkurrensfördelar. Vår förhoppning är att denna undersökning ska utmynna i ett antal alternativ för hur herrmodebutiker kan positionera sig för ökad konkurrenskraft. Metod: Uppsatsen utgår från en abduktiv ansats, med utgångspunkt från Blue Ocean Strategy som ett operationellt ramverk. Teoretiska perspektiv: Vi har använt oss av Blue Ocean Strategy som ett ramverk och kompletterat med teorier kring service och samarbeten. Empiriska perspektiv: Vår empiri har vi erhållit genom 17 butiksenkäter, en semistrukturerad intervju med en herrmodebutik samt 90 kundenkäter.

The Swedish system of rent control has recieved a lot of critique for creating an ill-functioning housing market. Supporters however claim that a movement towards market rents would lead to increased segregation. We evaluate whether rent control has managed to counteract segregation in Stockholm. Our evaluation is based on a data set of 292 representative households in Stockholm. We find that residents in rent controlled apartments in attractive locations typically are born in Sweden by Swedish parents and that they are likely to have a higher income than residents in rent controlled apartments in less attractive locations.

After the formation of the European Union internal market in 1992, member state specific obstacles and barriers were largely removed. This was especially the case in harmonised industries where standardisation and technical regulation have led to legal certainty. Despite this, a large range of trade regulation continues to remain distortional to trade, in addition to the ongoing tariffs and subsidies. The key trade regulations relate to a number of areas involving technical regulations such as production labelling and the protection of intellectual property rights. Whilst policy makers claim justification based around the need to correct market failure in delivering desired outcomes, the question is whether these regulations are appropriate responses to market failures or if they have simply been imposed in an attempt to protect domestic markets.