This research project explores the increasingly popular phenomena of companies striving to harmonize and align their business which is called a “One Company”-vision. The project is carried out on behalf of the global IT and management consultancy company, Logica. It is a case study at Saab AB, the Swedish aerospace-and defense-company, regarding corporate strategy. In this research project, the concept of parenting style is related as one important ingredient of One Company and it is considered to be the starting point for implementation of strategy. Implementation of strategy is further illustrated with the help of a tentative model. This model puts strategy in the center of the organization and then intends to align the whole company through strategic congruence and integrated control in order to implement the chosen strategy. If the whole organization is not committed, it will be very difficult to complete the journey to become One Company. The purpose of this research project is to develop a perspective of a One Company concept and to investigate the implementation of this concept at Saab AB. To further explain the purpose and to deepen the understanding of the One Company concept, the following research questions have been addressed: How does Saab AB, a large Swedish multi-business organization, strive to become One Company? What are (if any) the critical success factors in Saab’s journey to become One Saab? What are (if any) the areas of improvement for Saab, according to the developed perspective of the One Company concept? In order to accomplish the purpose, interviews have been performed with corporate level management. Moreover, gaps have been filled with empirical findings from a dissertation that investigated Saab’s competitive advantage in relation to strategic congruence and integrated control. The results show that for Saab AB, the One Company vision started as a market initiative to create a common brand for what used to be a conglomerate. The One Saab strategy has led to many changes for Saab AB, regarding organizational structure, work methods and follow-up processes. It has affected all business areas and all functions. Human Resource and Finance are functions that have already been harmonized. Current changes concern consolidation of IT and implementation of a global management system. The global management system was launched this year (2011) and it will lead to many more changes within the company before it is fully implemented. This system will help bring the company closer to become One Saab. The conclusion is that Saab AB has come a long way but today it is a synergic corporation and not yet One Company, as the concept is described in this thesis.

重塑組織文化以改進公司績效:一個關於洪都拉斯小型電腦軟體公司的研究 / Organizational culture is made up of values, norms beliefs and attitudes that are commonly transmitted through stories, myths, and language that people in an organization use. These do not necessarily match the expectation of the managers of a business or the written policies. Yet, culture is so powerful that individuals follow it without thinking and has an impact on company’s performance. For that reason, this thesis looks into the current organizational culture and improvement opportunities for a small software company in Honduras: SAF Soluciones. It is a family-run business started by my father. I have worked in it for 10 years and have had both operational and managerial roles. First, two organizational culture model are presented: the levels of culture by Schein (2004) and the cultural traits by Dennison (1990). These provide the theoretical context to later asses SAF Soluciones’ culture and finally provide a practical framework to improve it.

This graduation thesis is concerned with managment of company called R. Braun Internat Spedition ltd., which is carrying business in logistics, between 2004 and 2006. Thesis deals with its contemporary economic problems and proposes some possibilities how to improve business results in future too. Common analytic proceedings evaluating managment of studied company were used in this dissertation. All the results of analyses were used immediate advancements and modification of R. Braun Internat Spedition ltd. corporate strategy.

Bakgrund och problem: Ett företags konkurrenskraft och överlevnadsförmåga hänger i mångt och mycket ihop med hur väl de kan förändra sig. Som ett verktyg för att hantera en föränderlig omvärld behöver företag därmed kunna förändra sin strategi, både på övergripande och detaljnivå. För att fatta rätt beslut behöver företag tänka på många aspekter, det blir därmed av största vikt för företag att se till vilket beslutsunderlag de använder vid beslut om strategiska förändringar. Som ett led i detta finns det en roll som ekonomistyrningen kan spela för företag när underlaget ska samlas in och användas. Syfte: Denna studies syfte är att öka kunskapen om på vilka grunder företag tar beslut om strategiska förändringar. Detta ska ske genom att redogöra för vilken typ av information som används som beslutsunderlag, samt vilken roll ekonomistyrning har vid, dessa beslut. Metod: Som forskningsmetod har en fallstudie med ett huvudföretag, Visma SPCS, valts. Utöver fallföretaget finns även två stycken referensföretag medverkande, i form av IKEA Kalmar samt ett anonymt företag, benämnt som Företag C. De intervjuer som hålls med företagen är av semi-strukturerad art, via antingen direkta intervjuer eller via telefon. Slutsats: Det som företagen anser vara viktigast när beslut om strategisk förändring ska fattas är att företaget har rätt historisk information för att kunna skapa sig en förståelse om företagets framtid, där olika information är olika viktig vid olika situationer. Allt som sker ska också vara med ett fokus mot företagets kunder, vilket påverkar vilket underlag som företagen lägger vikt vid. Ekonomistyrningen kan sägas spela en roll i att den ger underlag till företagen, baserat på vad företaget presterar, men att de även kan involvera sina medarbetare och använda ekonomistyrningen mer interaktivt. / Background and problem: A company’s competitiveness and survivability is in many ways connected to their ability to change. As a tool to handle an ever-changing world, companies needs to be able to change their business strategy, both overall and on detail level. To be able to make the right decisions, companies needs to consider many aspects, it will therefore be of most importance that companies look at which basis of decisions they use in times of strategic strategic change. As a part in this, a company’s management control system could play a part in the way that this information is gathered and used. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge about the reasons that companies make strategic changes, by explaining what kind of information companies use when they decide on strategic change, as well as the part that the company’s management control system plays in these situations.  Method: As research method a case study was chosen, with one main case in Visma SPCS, as well as two other cases in IKEA Kalmar and the anonymous Företag C. The interviews are semi structured, via either telephone or in person. Conclusion: The thing that these companies think is most important when making decisions about strategic change is that the have an understanding about their situation and their future. Everything that the companies do should be with focus on their customers, and that affects the information they use when making these strategic decisions. Their management control system both plays a part as feedback, to see how the company’s performing, as well as involving the employees in the company’s strategic work.

This thesis deals with the subject of mergers and acquisitions in the information and communication technologies industry. The first part contains general definition and classification of mergers and acquisitions and defines the generic process of mergers and acquisitions both theoretically and with practical suggestions. The second part includes the particularities of the information and communication technologies industry itself and an analysis of world-wide and Czech Republic’s transactional data.

The diploma thesis themed on entrepreneurial plan is concerned with present situation analysis of company Petschl-Transporte spol.s r.o. The goal of this thesis is to form a concept for saving a company and generate positive operating result.

The importance of testing the co-alignment model has been emphasized by several researchers in the past. The present study is an attempt to test the model using theories in corporate finance and strategic management, which will also prove the commonalties that exist between these domains of business research. This will help support the arguments of some researchers in the hospitality industry who have stressed the importance of assessing the firm's strategies using concepts in finance. The overall objective of this study is to test the viability of the co-alignment model using strategic management and corporate finance theory. The present study identifies the dimensions and variables using prior research within each of the constructs studied under the management and corporate finance domains, vis-a-vis environment risk, corporate strategy, capital structure and firm performance. The relationship between the constructs and dimensions were tested for the dependencies between them using surrogates used in prior research through a priori hypothesized relationships. The unit of analysis was the corporate level, and hence, the study included corporate level data of restaurant firms. The research design included cross-sectional data of restaurant firms that were averaged across an a priori defined time period. These firms were selected based on certain criteria that helped control for country effects and industry effects. Therefore, the publicly traded firms selected as part of the sample were based in the U.S. serving markets predominantly within the country. The statistical analysis was conducted using cross-sectional regression. Results indicate that a high variance in firm performance is explained by the co-alignment between environment risk, corporate strategy, and capital structure. Furthermore, the hypothesized relationships between variables that represent the constructs hold good while using accrual and cash flow returns as surrogates of firm performance. This key finding provides the base for future research efforts, which could focus on developing the model through the use of surrogates that are used in both strategic management and corporate finance research. Also, the sample could be extended to include privately owned restaurant firms that serve markets within the U.S., which will help improve the generalizability of the co-alignment model. / Ph. D.

Sverige förväntas återigen gå in i en lågkonjunktur och det förekommer hög inflation samt kraftiga ränteökningar. Andra samhällsfaktorer såsom konflikter i Ukraina, globala utbudsstörningar och ökade energipriser bidrar också till förändringar i ekonomin. För fastighetsföretag innebär det svårare finansiering, ökade räntor och kostnader samt begränsningar i hyreshöjning vilket leder till att företagen behöver anpassa sin strategi för att bemöta de ekonomiska förutsättningarna. Syftet med studien är att undersöka svenska privata fastighetsföretags strategier inför en lågkonjunktur avseende strategisk planering, kostnadsbesparingar, diversifiering och investering. En kvalitativ metod har använts och empirin grundar sig på sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med respondenter från fastighetsföretag med hyresbostäder. Det empiriska materialet har därefter sammanställts och analyserats med hjälp av den teoretiska referensramen. Resultatet visar att fastighetsföretagen inte antar en specifik förberedande strategi inför en lågkonjunktur, utan har anpassat strategin i samband med att de ekonomiska förutsättningarna ändrats. Med tanke på begränsningar i hyreshöjning så kan de inte kompensera de ökade kostnaderna med hjälp av intäkter vilket leder till att kostnadsbesparingar är en central aspekt vid utformandet av strategi. Kostnadsbesparingar görs främst på underhåll, energiförbrukning och investeringar samt att entreprenörer konkurrensutsätts. Dock förekommer nödvändiga investeringar, vilket gör att företagen prioriterar de av störst behov. Generellt sett använder sig företagen av en kärnstrategi vilket innebär att de håller sig på samma marknad oavsett konjunkturläget. Företagen tenderar att fokusera mer på det befintliga beståndet snarare än nyproduktion med tanke på svårare att få lån och ökade räntekostnader samt byggkostnader. Eftersom fastighetsföretagen anser att fastighetsmarknaden är statisk för tillfället så väger konkurrensrisken inte mer än den finansiella risken. / Sweden is once again expected to enter a recession and there is high inflation and sharp interest rate increases. Other factors such as conflicts in Ukraine, global supply disruptions and increased energy prices also contribute to changes in the economy. For real estate companies, this means more difficult financing, increased interest rates and costs as well as restrictions on rent increases, which means they need to adapt their strategy to meet the economic changes.The purpose of the study is to investigate the strategies of Swedish private real estate companies in an upcoming recession regarding strategic planning, cost savings, diversification and investment. A qualitative method has been applied and the empirical evidence is based on six semi-structured interviews of real estate companies with rental housing. The empirical material has then been compiled and analyzed using the theories presented.The result shows that real estate companies do not adopt a specific preparatory strategy for a recession but have modified the strategy in connection with changes in economic conditions. Given the limitations in rent increases, they cannot compensate for the increased costs with the help of income, which means that cost savings are a central aspect in the making of the strategy. Cost savings are mainly made on maintenance, energy consumption and investments, and that contractors are exposed to competition. However, there are necessary investments within the various aspects, which means that the companies must prioritize. Generally speaking, the companies use a core strategy, which means that they stay in the same market regardless of the state of the economy. The companies tend to focus more on the existing stock rather than new production because of difficulties regarding loans and increased interest rates as well as construction costs. Since the real estate companies believe that the real estate market is static at the moment, the competitive risk does not weigh more than the financial risk.

Актуальность темы магистерской диссертации заключается в том, что на сегодняшний день процессы иностранного инвестирования в российскую электроэнергетику необходимы для проведения дальнейших преобразований отрасли, требующихся для повышения ее эффективности, обновления основных мощностей, обеспечения надежности и безопасности энергоснабжения потребителей. Целью исследования является обоснование корректировки стратегии управления компанией с иностранным капиталом c учетом новых условий хозяйствования. В процессе исследования были поставлены следующие задачи: определение внешних и внутренних факторов, которые могли послужить причиной изменения стратегии управления компанией; анализ способов и методов реализации стратегии управления компании ПАО «Энел Россия»; оценка результатов реализации принятой стратегии управления. Объектом исследования является компания ПАО «Энел Россия». Предметом – особенности стратегий управления компании электроэнергетической отрасли с иностранным капиталом в условиях экономической нестабильности в России. В результате исследования выявлено, что в настоящий момент изменение стратегических решений компании ПАО «Энел Россия» связано с необходимостью обеспечения устойчивости компании при неблагоприятной макро- и регуляторной среде. В связи с чем выделены и проанализированы основные специфические стратегические шаги, дающие долгосрочную отдачу для устойчивого развития бизнеса, характерные для компаний с участием иностранного капитала, работающих на российском электроэнергетическом рынке. / The relevance of the master thesis are the processes of foreign investment in the Russian power industry and necessary for the continued reform of the sector needed to improve its efficiency, renovation of key facilities, ensuring the reliability and security of power supply. The aim of the study is justification of correcting corporate strategy of the company with foreign capital to new conditions. There are following objectives: determination of external and internal factors that could cause changes in the strategies of management of the company; analysis of ways and methods of realization of strategy of management of the company OJSC "Enel Russia"; the evaluation of the management strategy. The object of research is public joint-stock company "Enel Russia". The subject – features of management strategies for electric power companies with foreign capital in the conditions of economic instability in Russia. The study revealed that currently, the change in the strategic decisions of the company OJSC "Enel Russia" is connected with the need to ensure stability under adverse macro - and regulatory environment. In this connection it is highlighted and analyzed the main specific strategic steps, giving a lasting impact on sustainable business development characteristic of companies with foreign capital participation operating in the Russian electricity market. The object of the study are electricity companies with foreign capital operating in Russia (JSC "Fortum", JSC "Enel Russia", JSC "E. on"). The subject of theses is the activity of energy companies with foreign capital in achieving competitive advantages in the electricity market. This work includes an introduction, three chapters, conclusion, bibliography and Appendix. There are the principles of organization of the Russian power industry, General characteristics of the Russian electricity market, consider the amount and forms of participation of foreign players in the Russian electricity market In the first Chapter of a thesis. The second Chapter analyzes the current state of the electricity companies, the basic problems of developing competition on the Russian electricity market. The third Chapter investigates the effectiveness of the functioning of foreign companies in the Russian market and the strategy of companies to achieve competitive advantages on the Russian market. Conclusion contains the main findings and suggestions for improving the functioning of the researched companies.

No / The software industry in the People's Republic of China has been growing rapidly over the last decades and has played a significant role in the economy. Alongside the industrial development, it appears that a comprehensive competitiveness assessment of this growing industry needs to be conducted. This paper draws on Porter's ''diamond'' theory of competitive advantage of nations and the suggested improvements of the framework from relevant scholars to assess the growing competitiveness of China's software industry. In particular, the focus is on the role of government policies and corporate strategies in shaping the competitiveness of the industry in China in comparison to the top players in the world. Specifically, the paper pays attention to the competitiveness of industry in China as to how and why it has developed the way it has in recent years and what have been the facilitating and impeding factors that has strengthened or weakened the industrial development. In the discussion and conclusions, the overall competitiveness status of China's software industry is evaluated and the diamond framework is reappraised in light of the industrial analysis and the previous research.