External forces have significant impact on organisations. This study analyzes the implications of one type of external forces in aid-focused NGOs through two qualitative case studies where it is investigated if Sida?s reporting requirements have the intended effects: learning and control using a theoretical framework where it is recognised that the requirements may also result in dysfunctional behaviour: decoupling and colonisation. The study shows that when the demands are the result of institutional pressure rather than an ambition to generate learning and control, the demands tend to be unrealistic and the NGOs therefore decouple the formal fulfilment of the demands from the actual activities. It is argued that a partnership, which incorporates trust and dialogue, is a prerequisite, not only for learning, but also control.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka ett maskinsystem för uttag av trädbränsle i klena gallringar i norra Västmanland och södra Dalarna för Mellanskog. Genom driftuppföljningsdata kunde produktiviteten och kostnaderna för maskinsystemet beräknas, samt kostnaderna för sönderdelning och transport och hur dessa förändras med transportavståndet till industri. Resultatet visar att skördarens produktivitet är beroende av storleken på skördad medelstam, samt att skotarens produktivitet sänks med ett ökat skotningsavstånd. Den totala kostnaden för drivningsarbetet för ett medelobjekt (sett till maskinsystemets produktivitet) i denna studie var 178 kr/m3f inklusive kostnader för flytt, planering och tillägg för vinst. Om man bortser från dessa kostnader uppgår kostnaden för skördaren till ca 88kr/m3f och kostnaderna för skotaren till ca 61kr/m3f. Att enbart sönderdela materialet kostar 58 kr/m3s och kostnaden för transport beror på tranportavståndet, ett längre avstånd innebär en högre kostnad.

Syftet med undersökningen var att se om det fanns någon skillnad i Locus of Control och arbetstillfredsställelse hos män och kvinnor i privat och offentlig sektor. Antal deltagare i undersökningen var 60 där två urvalsgrupper använts bestående av privat (n = 30) och offentlig (n = 30) sektor i Blekinge och Skåne län. Mätinstrumenten som användes var ett arbetstillfredsställelseformulär och ett Locus of Control formulär. T- test, korrelationsanalys, multipel regression och tvåvägs-ANOVA användes för beräkning av data i SPSS. Slutsatser som kunde dras var att män generellt sett är mer tillfredsställda än kvinnor och att offentliganställda är mer tillfredsställda än privatanställda.

AbstractTitle:The Impact of Management Control Systems on the Purchaser Function - A study of Scania and Sandvik Authors: Mohammad Reza Akhbari and Johanna Sullivan Svensson Published: 2011 Keywords: Management control, purchasing function, impact, control, control instruments, Key Performance Indicators, measurement, communication and organizational structure. Background and problem formulation: In order for a company?s business idea or vision to be fulfilled, the management of a company needs assistance from various means to intentionally affect the operation in the desired direction. Management control concerns activities of both financial and non-financial character in order to implement the strategy of a company and to reach profitability. Since the purchaser function is responsible of spending 50 percent of a company?s total revenue, the function has an optimal starting point to be a key actor in the shaping and execution of a company?s strategic plan.

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how auditors are affected by quality controls and if audit practice changes because of quality controls. To fulfill the purpose of this study there has been interviews made with five auditors. The conclusion by this study is that the interviewed auditors work practices are affected by quality controls and that the extent and effect depends on the auditor and the office that the auditor works in. The auditors who worked as quality reviewers at the agencies where they are employed at, we felt that they were more secured in the response towards quality controls. This may be because they are quality reviewers themselves and they know what the quality control requires and what must be met to be approved.

This essay aims to examine managers experiences of control at the workplace within the property sector, and how these experiences differ between female and male managers. This study is a qualitative single case study that intends to offer a deeper understanding of a unique case and uses an abductive method approach. The essay is based on two main theories, Foucault?s (2003) theory of control and the gender system of Hirdman (1988, 2001) and is supplemented by previous studies of the modern workplace. The study is based on eighteen semi-structured interviews that aims to capture the participants personal experiences regarding control at the modern workplace, and the norms, surveillance, hierarchies, and self-discipline that make up this control.

Universal Design is a well established methodology with the fundamental purpose of designing products to be usable for as wide audience as possible, without the need of special adjustment to suit the individual. In this essay, Universal Design has had a clear influence in both the process and the result. The choice to use Universal Design as methodology in this usability evaluation, has essentiallv to do with the target audience.As a part of the design process of MyTobii C8 has Tobii Technology ask for a usability evaluation. MyTobii C8 is an 8" touch screen computer with a windows based operating system which will initiate the software MyTobii C-Series Control. MyTobii C-Series Control is the control panel for MyTobii C8, whose interfaces constitute the platform for various modificarion of the unit.

Today?s political debate on environmental issues and environmental thinking, alongside the Swedish presidency of the EU and Climate Conferences shows that the environment is an important topic. Environment is important, not only in politics, but also for companies and the demand of environmental strategies and environmental reports has increased. This leads to an increased pressure on firms to begin to report on environmental concerns and to create active systems for environmental thinking.The aim of the present study is to examine why firms in the transport sector, mainly lorry transports, reports environmental aspects and what drives these companies to create these reports.Based on stakeholder and institutional theory we aim to examine to which extent stakeholders affects the environmental accounting and reporting. We also aim to explain how the organization is influenced to incorporate external and societal environmental procedures.

Government regulations and customs duties restrict the import of trucks to some of the markets to which Scania tries to sell their trucks. The distribution problem due to these regulations is solved by the foreign assembly department, KD, at Scania. This means that competence is needed and costs are added not related to Scania's core operations.The aim of this master thesis has been to analyse and to evaluate alternative ways of managing the packing operations considering cost, quality and work organisation. To study and examine the work methods and operations of today and also to present methods measuring the operations effectiveness and productivity.We have used the system approach to maintain totality and to understand the component's relation to this totality. Field studies combined with studies of relevant literature and studies of other companies operations have given us the knowledge and the understanding of the packing operations needed.

The craft of planners are planning for a better future. Knowledge about climate change, environment, health and availability effects the trend towards less car dependent societies in favour of public transport and active transport like walking and biking. This study takes place in Västerbotten, one of Sweden?s most north provinces with a population of 260 000 inhabitants. It is a sparsely populated area with two dominant cities, the other municipalities are largely unpopulated.

Problem discussion: That empowerment and autonomy can lead to desirable effects on employees is clear. Previous research has found correlations between empowerment and e.g. motivation, job satisfaction, productivity, loyalty and commitment. However, a control problem arises when employees have more freedom in decision-making which could potentially lead to undesirable outcomes. It thus becomes a type of dilemma for management and managers where you have to try to balance a restrictive use of the control system (to maintain control) and an enabling use (to promote empowerment).Purpose: The purpose of this study is therefore to identify how a company can use its control system in order to achieve empowerment while maintaining acceptable levels of control.

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is a transport protocol designed for the wired Internet. In wireless networks packet losses occur more frequently due to the unreliability of the physical link. The main problem is that TCP treats all losses as congestion, which leads to a lower throughput. Ad hoc networks are multihop wireless networks of mobile nodes, where each node can allow other packets to pass through it. Topology changes often occur and may lead to packet losses and delays, which TCP misinterprets as congestion.

This thesis considers the development of the software for an, newly developed, embedded real-time control system, based on a Periferal Interface Controller (PIC). The control system is developed to be used for several different applications. In this thesis work, software for two different applications are developed. The first task is a time controlled system, while the other task is implementation of aPI-/PID-controller. A user interface is also developed and implemented.The time controlled system is an automatic horse feeder, which is used for feeding horses at certain predefined points in time.

The strive for control over employees has developed throughout the years. This paper has its focus on how normative control can work as a powerful method to create and uphold a sought for behavior. Many companies have found an interest in a higher moral stance to get competitive advantages, and offer their customers and partners a more ethical product. This phenomenon has in Sweden resulted in a sphere of companies who has earned the R-licens. The R-licens is earned by companies if they fulfill ethical and cultural criteria.

The aim of this paper is to examine how confidence in co-operative behaviour of partner is reached in a relationship between an entrepreneur and a venture capitalist. A case study has been conducted on a Swedish football club that has involved venture capital in order to develop the organization. The paper presents a theoretical approach which draws on a control model of interorganizational relationships developed by Dekker (2004) and a model developed by Shepherd & Zacharakis (2001) illustrating how control, trust and confidence is reached in a venture capitalist-entrepreneur relationship. The relationship between the football club and the venture capitalist can simultaneously be seen as an interorganizational relationship and a relationship between an entrepreneur and a venture capitalist. Because of the complexity of the relationship, different control problems prevail.