Inaug.-Diss.--Heidelberg. / Lebenslauf.

No description available.

<p>Establishing Swedish corporations in different parts of the world means that companies will face other corporate cultures, different or partly different, from their own. Cultures in USA seem quite similar to the Swedish culture, but there are most certainly differences, even if they exist under the surface. Cultural differences can cause further problems than those that normally exist in the initial phase of an establishment.</p><p>The question we wanted to bring an answer to in this project was: Which cultural related differences might cause problems for a Swedish company, establishing in the USA, from an organizational point of view?</p><p>The purpose with this report is to find out which cultural differences there are between the Swedish management and the American. To se possible differences we first studied the two cultures one by one.</p><p>We interviewed six companies that are established in USA. They all had Swedish owners, who also are managers in the companies. Together with extensive empirical studies and theories on management, as well as on national differences between cultures, we came to a conclusion:</p><p>If the Swedish manager is aware of the existence of cultural differences, and therefore is adjustable and observant to any differences, there should not be any problems neither to establish nor to lead a company in USA.</p>

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Customer satisfaction has become an increasingly important factor over the years and companies are starting to realize how important it is to satisfy their customers. This study aims to investigate which the most influential factors behind customer satisfaction are. This led to the creation of the following research question:  Which are the most influential factors that affect customer satisfaction in Swedish banks?  The research question was answered by the statistical testing of nine hypothesizes. The statistical analysis was done using multiple regression analysis as well as an independent t- test. The data for the analysis was collected through the distribution of 175 surveys, which were handed out to students at Umeå University in Sweden.  The result of the data analysis showed that 59.7 % of the variance in customer satisfaction was explained by four variables. These variables were: appearance, competence, trust and word of mouth. These four variables were found to significantly affect customer satisfaction. The study also showed that there were no differences between genders regarding customer satisfaction.  This study contributes to the area of research by identifying the variables that are the most influential on customer satisfaction in Swedish banking. The methodology and the results of this study could also be of help to other researchers who wants replicate the study in order to identify the factors behind customer satisfaction in their own respective countries.

<p>This C-level thesis deals with Russian tourism in Sweden and explains what measures are being used in Sweden in order to attract Russian tourists. Since a high number of companies and organizations are actively involved in developing Russian tourism to Sweden, we have decided to focus primarily on the most active Swedish and Russian companies within the industry. Therefore several big and well-established companies, often located in the largest cities of Russia and Sweden i.e. Stockholm, Moscow and St Petersburg, have been the subject of our analysis.</p><p>Chapter “Bakgrund” presents numerous facts and information about the nature and scale of the Russian tourist market today and in the nearest future. The reader will get a chance to take a closer look at the changes that have happened in the Russian society contributing significantly to the fast development of the tourism industry.</p><p>In chapter “Metod” the methodology applied during the research, analysis and drawing conclusions is described. Our choices are discussed and motivated as well as key terms and concepts are defined.</p><p>The theoretical framework of the thesis consists of selected theories. The theories used include among others such concepts as push- and pull factors, classifications of tourists and Butler sequence model (Resort Life Cycle Model).</p><p>The theoretical framework follows of our empirical research, which includes documentation of our interviews with chosen companies and organizations along with analysis of existing publications and sources within the field. The interviewed and analyzed subjects were Visit Sweden, Stockholm Visitors Board, Junibacken, Vasa Museum and several larger Russian travel agencies i.e. Federal Tourism Agency of Russian Federation. Also an own survey between the immediate consumers of the Swedish tourist offers was covered by our research and will be summarized in this chapter.</p><p>The analytical part of the work consists of discussing the information gathered through the different channels. The analysis is carried out in the light of the applicable theories and models. The conclusions are drawn about the existing situation and an attempt is made to create several future scenarios describing possible development of the Russian-Swedish tourism exchange.</p><p>Finally a criticism of the sources and a review all references used in the thesis are carried out.</p> / <p>Denna C-uppsats handlar om rysk turism i Sverige och beskriver de aktiviteter som pågår i Sverige för att locka hit ryska turister. Med hänsyn till det höga antalet företag och organisationer som aktivt arbetar med att utveckla rysk turism till Sverige har vi valt att avgränsa oss framför allt till de företag inom branschen som förefaller mest aktiva. Av denna anledning har ett urval av stora väl etablerade företag från både ryska och svenska storstäder, Stockholm, Moskva och St Petersburg, varit föremål för vår analys.</p><p>Kapitlet “Bakgrund” presenterar ett flertal fakta och information som beskriver den ryska turistmarknadens karakteristika och potential idag och inom den närmaste framtiden. Läsaren kommer att få möjlighet till inblick i de förändringar som har skett i det ryska samhället och som har blivit en starkt bidragande faktor till den snabba utvecklingen av turismindustin.</p><p>I kapitlet “Metod” beskrivs den metodik som används i samband med undersökningen, analysen och slutsatsformuleringen. Vårt urval diskteras och motiveras och de viktigaste begreppen och termerna definieras.</p><p>Den teoretiska referensramen of arbetet består av ett urval teorier. Tillämpade teorierna omfattar bl a sådana begrepp som push- och pull faktorer, klassificering av turisttyper samt Butlers sekvensmodell (Destionationsutvecklingsmodell).</p><p>Den teoretiska referensramen följs av vår empiriska studie, som inkluderar både dokumentering av våra intervjuer med valda företag och organisationer och analys av existerande publikationer och källor inom området. De intervjuade aktörer som underkastas analysen är Visit Sweden, Stockholm Visitors Board, Junibacken, Vasa Museum samt ett antal större ryska resebyråer t ex Rosturism. Arbetet inkluderar också vår egen enkätundersökning bland slutkonsumenter av svenska turisterbjudanden och resultatet av undersökningen sammandras också i detta kapitel.</p><p>Den analytiska delen av arbetet går ut på att diskutera den information som har blivit tillgänglig via de olika informationskanalerna. Analysen genomförs mot bakgrund av lämpliga teorier och modeller. Slutsatser dras avseende nuläget samtidigt som ett försök görs till att måla upp möjliga framtidsscenarier för hur utbytet inom rysk-svensk turism kan utvecklas framöver.</p><p>Slutligen genomförs källkritik och granskning av de referenser som åberopas i arbetet.</p>

Bartonella spp. are emerging bacterial pathogens which continue to achieve an ever-increasing level of clinical importance and awareness.  As Bartonella infections are common zoonoses in the U.S., the existence of Bartonella infection in Sweden, which had not been documented prior to the onset of our investigations, was of considerable interest. Initially, serological parameters of Bartonella infection were evaluated using a series of immunoblot analyses in an effort to elucidate the human humoral immunity induced by this pathogen.  An immunodominant epitope of B. henselae was identified, designated Bh83, which was hypothesized to be a conserved antigen during Bartonella infection. Further, an in-depth characterization of the immunoglobulin (Ig) isotype and IgG subclass response revealed a primary role of IgA and IgG1 in the immune induction during Bartonella infection. As the presence and degree of exposure to Bartonella spp. in Sweden was previously unknown, several studies were initiated to evaluate the level of seroreactivity to Bartonella spp. antigen in various subgroups of the Swedish human and animal population using indirect fluorescent-antibody assay (IFA).  A preliminary study of a select group of patients and blood donors represented the first documentation of Bartonella exposure in Sweden, as well as identified the first two cases of B. quintana-like infections in Sweden.  To assess the endemic level of antibodies to Bartonella spp. in Sweden, a large sampling of blood donor sera collected nationwide were subsequently analyzed for reactivity to six Bartonella strains.  The largest seroprevalence was to B. elizabethae, with relatively low baseline levels of reactivity to the other Bartonella antigens tested.  Correlated risk factors for infection included working outdoors and contact with cats, among others.  Further studies of sera obtained from elite orienteers and intravenous drug users in Sweden revealed a high level of exposure to Bartonella spp. in such cohorts, predominantly to B. elizabethae antigen.  Consistent with the aforementioned findings of elevated titers to B. elizabethae in humans, a high seroprevalence was found in cats, a known reservoir for Bartonella spp., as well. With relatively little known of the pathogenicity and epidemiology of Bartonella infection, these studies provide insight into various aspects of the distribution, risk factors for infection, specific humoral immune response to infection, and the prevalence of Bartonella spp. in human and cat populations in Sweden and serve as a framework for future studies.

Establishing Swedish corporations in different parts of the world means that companies will face other corporate cultures, different or partly different, from their own. Cultures in USA seem quite similar to the Swedish culture, but there are most certainly differences, even if they exist under the surface. Cultural differences can cause further problems than those that normally exist in the initial phase of an establishment. The question we wanted to bring an answer to in this project was: Which cultural related differences might cause problems for a Swedish company, establishing in the USA, from an organizational point of view? The purpose with this report is to find out which cultural differences there are between the Swedish management and the American. To se possible differences we first studied the two cultures one by one. We interviewed six companies that are established in USA. They all had Swedish owners, who also are managers in the companies. Together with extensive empirical studies and theories on management, as well as on national differences between cultures, we came to a conclusion: If the Swedish manager is aware of the existence of cultural differences, and therefore is adjustable and observant to any differences, there should not be any problems neither to establish nor to lead a company in USA.

On the 1st of July 2011 a new education act was carried out, which elucidate that all education in course of a public principal shall be non-denominational. In relation to this a public debate about the educational system's policy toward religious institutions, particularly the earlier nation church Svenska Kyrkan, and religious traditions burst out. This thesis reconstructs the “Lucia debates” that were kept during the years 2011-2012. The aim of this thesis is to identify the mechanisms of the Lucia debate's issue and progress. Further are the discussed question formulations “Why have the medial debates come into existence?” and “What forces manage the debates to progress?”. Through using an analytical qualitative argumentation method the debates were reconstructed of digital debate articles published at the Swedish forums Newsmill and SvT Debatt. The implications of the first question formulation are that the debates have come into existence through the concreteness of the Swedish secularisation among clusters of people in society, and that this people therefore force themselves to discuss the transformative process. The implication is also that several groups share variant normalized social structures which they will discuss when the dissimilarities become distinct for them. The implications of the second question formulation are that the debates have progressed through cluster's and individual's need to receive their social institutions confirmed as valid, but also by reason of the inability among the public representatives to create an universal secular legislation.

One of the most important notions of our world is “globalization” which affects the lives of human beings in several ways. It is a concept which removes boundaries and limits; therefore, involves a global world, and consequently a global economy. Within the global economy, there are flows of goods, capital, technology and other means of production among different countries. As a result, these movements create a high competition among the different actors of the game. In order to develop themselves in this global economy, firms have to expand their businesses abroad to compete in the international arena. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is one of the mostly used ways of internationalization which plays an important role as an engine of employment, technological development, productivity enhancement, economic intensification, and more importantly, as an instrument of technology transfer especially from developed to developing countries. Each country in which foreign companies want to invest has its own characteristics; particular opportunities and barriers from each country might arise when a foreign company starts its investment. This study analyzes the inward FDI in developing countries, by analyzing a case of a Swedish company, Ericsson, in two developing countries: Mexico and Vietnam. The cases of Ericsson in Mexico and Vietnam describe the general business environment, availability of production factors and competitiveness factors in those two countries and provide sets of data in order to build a cross-case analysis and generalize the results of this research.