The pandemic knocked over traditional ways of working in the office context, yet it is questionable whether, a couple of years after the pandemic, organizations have learned to utilize the workplaces in an efficient way, resulting in high employee experience. There was a transition of working practices from using offices before pandemic to remote work in pandemic and then start to settle in hybrid ways of working after pandemic. During this transition, flexible ways of utilizing and sharing workspaces were lost and activity-based workplaces may no longer be used as intended. A pilot project was conducted at one of the sections of a department of global Swedish organization to find behavioral gaps present when it comes to utilization of workspaces. This project’s aim was to develop and plan behavioral interventions to enhance effective utilization of activity-based workplaces. This thesis project focuses to contribute to knowledge regarding human behaviors’ impact on the utilization of workspaces and how tailor made solutions in form of behavioral interventions can be developed or created according to needs of workplaces facing similar challenges as the department of this case study. Results of this project points out the post-pandemic ways of working and the underlying reasons of behavioral gaps when it comes to utilization of activity-based workplaces’ workspaces at one of the sections of a department of a global Swedish organization. Based on these results and different stakeholders’ feedback, a package of behavioral interventions was suggested with an expectation of their positive outcome on utilization of workspaces. The study concludes that behavioral gaps or issues can be a reason for underutilization of workspaces in the activity-based workplaces and to improve the situation tailor made behavioral interventions should be developed. This study also gives recommendations for enhancing utilization of activity-based workplaces and what should be next steps at the department of this case study to improve the situation with long term positive outcomes on utilization of workspaces. / Pandemin störtade traditionella sätt att arbeta på kontor, men det är tveksamt om organisationer ett par år efter pandemin har lärt sig att använda arbetsplatser på ett effektivt sätt, vilket resulterat i en hög medarbetarupplevelse. Det skedde ett skifte i arbetsmetoder från att använda kontor före pandemin till att arbeta på distans under pandemin och sedan börja sätta sig in i hybrida sätt att arbeta efter pandemin. Under denna övergång förlorades flexibla sätt att utnyttja och dela arbetsytor och aktivitetsbaserade arbetsplatser får inte längre användas som avsett. Ett pilotprojekt genomfördes vid en av sektionerna på en avdelning av en global svensk organisation för att hitta beteendeklyftor som finns när det gäller nyttjandet av variationer av arbetsplatser. Detta projekts syfte var att utveckla och planera beteendeinsatser för att förbättra nyttjande av aktivitetsbaserade arbetsplatser. Detta examensarbete fokuserar på att bidra till kunskap om det mänskligt beteendets påverkan på nyttjandet av arbetsytor och hur lösningar i form av beteendeinsatser kan utvecklas eller skapas efter behov av arbetsplatsers med liknande utmaningar som på den här avdelningen. Resultatet av detta projekt visar arbetsvanor under den post-pandemiska eran och de bakomliggande orsakerna till beteendeklyftor när det gäller nyttjandet av aktivitetsbaserade arbetsplatsers på den undersökta sektionen . Baserat på dessa resultat och de anställdas och ledningsgruppens återkoppling föreslogs ett paket med beteendeinsatser med en förväntan om deras positiva resultat på användningen av arbetsytor. Studien drar slutsatsen att beteendeklyftor eller problem kan vara en orsak till underutnyttjande av arbetsytor och för att förbättra situationen bör beteendeinsatser utvecklas. Denna studie ger också rekommendationer för att förbättra nyttjandet av aktivitetsbaserade kontor och vad som bör vara nästa steg för avdelningen på global svensk organisationen för att förbättra situationen med långsiktiga positiva resultat för nyttjande av arbetsytor.

Problemformulering: Forskningen de senaste tio åren har utforskat medarbetares upplevelser av aktivitetsbaserat arbete, men det saknas enighet om vilka för- och nackdelarna kan vara. De longitudinella studierna som genomförts berör medarbetares erfarenheter som längst efter ett år i ABW, det saknas studier som belyser medarbetares upplevelser efter längre tids erfarenhet, vilket grundade idén till denna studien.  Syfte: Att belysa individers upplevelser av deras fysiska- och psykosociala arbetsmiljö inom aktivitetsbaserat arbete efter minst tre år.  Metod: Kvalitativ metod med induktiv ansats har tillämpats. Datainsamlingen genomfördes med semi-strukturerade intervjuer med nio deltagare i en privat verksamhet. Intervjuerna transkriberades och analyserades med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys.  Resultat och slutsats: Analysen resulterade i två huvudkategorier som berör upplevelsen av fysiska- och psykosociala arbetsmiljön i ABW med underkategorierna ”arbetsplatsens utformning”; ”möbler och hjälpmedel”; ”en dynamisk process”; ”underhåll av arbetsplats och utformning”; ”kontoret som mötesplats” ; ”frihet under ansvar”; ”sociala interaktioner” samt ”närmare kontakt med chef”. Resultatet pekar på att deltagarna har upplevt en övervägande positiv inställning till ABW tack vare gradvis anpassning, valmöjligheter i kontorsmiljön, delaktighet, underhåll av arbetsplats, digitala medel och tillfredsställande ledarskap. Därför kan slutsatsen dras om att ABW kan vara en långsiktig lösning, där denna studie kan ge en inblick i vad som bör prioriteras för ett långsiktigt fungerande ABW. / Aim: To explore employees ́ perceptions of their physical- and psychosocial work environment for a minimum of three years with activity based work (ABW)  Method: A qualitative method was used with an inductive approach. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with nine participants from a company in the private sector. The interviews were transcripted and analyzed with qualitative content analysis.  Findings: The analysis resulted in two main categories concerning the experience of the physical and psychosocial work environment in ABW with sub-categories: “workplace design”; “furniture and work tools”; “a dynamic process”; “maintenance of the workplace”; “freedom and responsibility”: “social interactions”, and “closer contact with manager”. The findings show that participants have experienced an overall positive attitude regarding ABW due to gradual adaptation, different options regarding work- zones, feeling included in the office design, technical maintenance, tools for digital work, and satisfying leadership. Therefore, it can be concluded that ABW could be a long-term solution, with this study providing insights into what could be prioritized for a sustainable implementation of ABW.

Past research on activity-based costing (ABC) success factors has predominantly focused on establishing relationships between known success factors and ABC implementation success. According to the researcher, there is a lack of exploratory studies to establish ABC implementation factors especially in a South African context. This study has explored these factors from literature and attempted to identify any other factors of importance with the use of semistructured interviews. A total number of 13 interviews were conducted with participants from manufacturing organisations in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole using some form of ABC. The findings suggested that ABC may be more beneficial at larger, more diverse organisations but that smaller organisations may also benefit from ABC if product costing accuracy could be significantly improved with ABC and if no major pressure on company resources is incurred. In addition it seems that ABC should be utilised to the fullest extent that is practical for the manufacturing organisation and that the use of supplementary cost-saving mechanisms with ABC may be beneficial. Finally it is recommended that users be fully trained at ABC and that careful consideration of an appropriate ABC software package may increase the likelihood of ABC implementation success. / Management Accounting / M. Phil. (Management Accounting)

「成熟市場的決勝戰場在通路」，通路商是介於上游製造商及下游經銷商間的橋樑，是一個充份運用資訊科技與高度發揮知識運用之產業，但隨著網際網路、低價個人電腦之普及，資訊網路相關產品眾多，市場規模快速成長的同時，同質性、不同規模的資訊通路商紛紛進入市場。近二年來，資訊通路產業邁入高度成熟期，進入了「微利」時代，新產品推陳出新，資訊產品生命週期短暫，毛利率更是逐年下滑，同業競爭激烈，有效的成本管理便成為通路商獲利的不二法則。因此，專業資訊流通業者如何在這丕變、惡性競爭的險峻環境中，找到一套執行策略來有效的管理其客戶利潤及價值，協助其成本管理、找到利基市場與顧客，並將有限的資源投注於目標顧客之上，除可提昇企業的獲利外，亦是各專業資訊通路業者未來賴以存續及致勝的關鍵。 本研究擬以個案公司之實際營運資料，透過實地的觀察、親身的經驗及實地訪談相關經辦人員與部門主管，依作業基礎成本制度的作業流程，正確界定內部的作業、找出作業動因及成本動因，精確估算顧客利潤，並由顧客屬性構面試圖找出影響顧客利潤之因子及個案公司利潤顧客的屬性，同時將其研究之結果，運用策略性作業基礎管理制度來協助個案公司的管理者作為管理目標顧客、建立市場區隔、擬訂策略目標時之參考；此外，再針對顧客的不同屬性與實際需求，提供各種不同的產品及組合，發展以顧客為導向的行銷策略，提供有市場差異化的價格及服務予客戶，提高客戶的貢獻度。

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:14:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 1995-05-15T00:00:00Z / Apresenta uma nova abordagem de mensuração de desempenho para as empresas manufatureiras, com ênfase nos princípios, critérios, modelos e metodologias para a implementação destes sistemas. Aborda o tópico das mudanças ocorridas no ambiente de negócios e do contexto específico do setor fabril, com miras a construir uma visão global dos eventos ocorridos na organização de trabalho, que permita a melhor compreensão do tema particular deste estudo. Apresenta uma metodologia proposta para a medição de desempenho nas indústrias.

Past research on activity-based costing (ABC) success factors has predominantly focused on establishing relationships between known success factors and ABC implementation success. According to the researcher, there is a lack of exploratory studies to establish ABC implementation factors especially in a South African context. This study has explored these factors from literature and attempted to identify any other factors of importance with the use of semistructured interviews. A total number of 13 interviews were conducted with participants from manufacturing organisations in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole using some form of ABC. The findings suggested that ABC may be more beneficial at larger, more diverse organisations but that smaller organisations may also benefit from ABC if product costing accuracy could be significantly improved with ABC and if no major pressure on company resources is incurred. In addition it seems that ABC should be utilised to the fullest extent that is practical for the manufacturing organisation and that the use of supplementary cost-saving mechanisms with ABC may be beneficial. Finally it is recommended that users be fully trained at ABC and that careful consideration of an appropriate ABC software package may increase the likelihood of ABC implementation success. / Management Accounting / M. Phil. (Management Accounting)

My thesis mainly deals with Activity Based Costing (ABC), but focuses also on the matters related to traditional costing. Based on the current-state analysis of a selected manufacturing enterprise, in particular in the area of costing, a primary ABC model that is applicable in the conditions of the enterprise has been designed. The last part of the thesis presents a comparison between the results achieved while using a traditional product costing method and ABC methodology.

Thesis is focused on the method of Activity Based Costing, more precisely its introduction in the enterprise. The work is divided into a theoretical part, analytical and practical. The theoretical part describes the classic costings and methods, but the key issue is, of course, Activity Based Costing method to be introduced in the analysis firm, as a new costing method. In the analytical part is to analyze the current state of the enterprise in the field of cost. In the practical part described a proposal for the introduction of Activity Based Costing in the company.

Strategic cost management is in its infancy. Researches and studies are still in an early exploratory stage and have not yet developed a consistent theory for strategic cost management. The thesis presents a comprehensive framework for strategic cost management. In particular the study attempts to contribute to filling the gap in the literature of strategic cost management. The suggested framework covers the concept, the objectives, the principles, the analysis fields & activities, the objects, the instruments and the key supports factors of strategic cost management to meet different challenges that the companies encounter from time to time and at different stages of development.

This study examined the nature and extent of relations between Management of Technology [MOT] and cost management. It explores the roles of competencies and competency measurement in these relations and its associations with company performance. The problem statement asks how the MOT community deals with cost management, whether MOT-based cost management competencies can be isolated and measured, whether a tool for measurement can be created, tested and validated and indeed whether it can be used to assess relations between MOT-based cost management competencies and company performance. To answer these questions, a MOT-based cost management competency index is formulated, consisting of problem statements representing MOT-based cost management insights, knowledge and practices. Designed in the format of a typical research survey, the index is used to source data from sampled companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange [JSE]. Although too small a sample to generalise about the population, sufficient data is collected and processed with statistical software programs. A second set of variables, about financial performance of the responding companies, consists of Asset Turnover [ATO] and Return on Assets Managed [ROAM]. Data for these variables is sourced from their annual financial statements and processed into ATO and ROAM indicators. The combined research data set is used to critically describe statistical qualities of variables such as ATO, ROAM, MOT-based cost management competencies of company executives, their education and exposure to the executive management teams in their respective organizations. The research data is subsequently subjected to correlation analysis, as foundation for hypothesis testing. Among the relationships described by correlation analysis and warranting further examination with regression analysis, are associations between MOT-based cost management competencies and ATO and between Education and MOT-based cost management competencies. The former association is found to be not significant, having the research hypothesis rejected. A significant association between Education and MOT-based cost management competencies is indeed found. Utilizing regression equations yielded by the analyses, the predictive capacity of regression analysis is used to demonstrate results of interventions in those associations postulated in the research hypotheses. The study concludes that it achieved a qualified success in its first objective, which was to formulate a MOT-based cost management competency index, and to demonstrate its application as measurement and management tool on executive managers of JSE-listed companies. The study failed in its second objective, which was to demonstrate a significant association between MOT-based cost management competencies and financial performance of sampled companies. Critical perspectives on the data and the associations tested reveal important shortcomings in the research. These perspectives do though create opportunities for refinement of the MOT-based cost management competency index as measurement and management tool, validation of its status, and indeed demonstration of its business value to the MOT and business community in particular. In closure, the study was meant as a contribution to the discourse on a credo for MOT and the MOT body of knowledge, and it subjects itself to critical analysis by the research community so as to establish whether it succeeded in indeed making such a contribution. / Business Management / M.Tech. (Business Administration)