Abstract There are many factors, such as long-term depression and industrial moving, to induce Taiwanese corporations into financial distress since the Asian Financial Crisis erupted in 1997. In research of financial distress, it¡¦s difficult to distinguish the exact factors that whether financial aspect or other aspect cause financial distress. Management normally will take improvement actions in operation or financial respects when it perceives certain aspects getting worse. In practice, organization reforming and changing top management team may be the most popular and effective solutions. But, the effects for adopting such actions are uncertain. Therefore, those financial-distress corporations after taking successful improvements in change management are worth the research of its improvement procedures and methodologies. Many researchers evaluate corporation performance using certain financial ratio such as earnings per share (EPS), return on equity (ROE), and return on investment (ROI). According to the earning calculation as required in Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP), some expenditures which will make corporation benefit from a long-term respect are expensed currently. This result may understate current period and overstate future period earning and assets. Management may reduce this kind of expenditures when EPS is the only indicator for performance evaluation. Economic Value Added (EVA), one valuation method based upon residual income, will improve above-mentioned shortcomings of traditional performance evaluation. The major concept of EVA is that adjustment of accounting accounts is necessary to get real value of corporation and corporation needs to earn profit exceeding return of costs of capital to create value of shareholder. The case in my research, Y company, expanded its investment in Compact Integrated Steel Mill project which was announced in 1992. However, after Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, Y company¡¦s operation was getting worse and was unable to repay its bank loans. Y company then became a financial-distress corporation. The top management was changed after the majority shareholdings of Y company were transferred to C company. Since ownership change, Y company made organization reforming with ¡§Theory E¡¨ first and ¡§Theory O¡¨ second. We adopt EVA as the vehicle to assess the performance of new management¡¦s improvement. In our research, EVA of Y company was turnaround after C company¡¦s acquisition of Y company¡¦s shareholdings and its top management was totally changed. Keywords: Financial distress, Change management, Theory E, Theory O, Economic Value Added, EVA, Residual income.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the phases of change process of integrating a quality development model into an information technology company in Turkey. While the transformation phases were being examined by a qualitative study, the factors that affect the change process also were investigated. This study explores the process of traveling through the way to CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) level 3 certification by a company that gives information technologies service to banking sector. Since circulation of staff prevents us from obtaining what an exact number of workers, the company has about 450 employees. At the beginning, the company had no quality standards and most of the work processes were not documented, even documented processes were not consistent. After the commencement of the quality development project, work flows of processes were defined and documented. The company changed its organization according to the new process improvement model, called CMMI. In this case study, interviews performed with ten experts from inside of the company and three experts from outside of the company, observation diaries and assets of the company were data sources. Participant observation, questionnaire and document analysis were used as data gathering methods. Collected data were interpreted by descriptive analysis. As a result of the research, while resistance to change came out naturally, it is determined that transformation has four stages such as: &ldquo / motivation and adoption&rdquo / , &ldquo / adaptation&rdquo / , &ldquo / acceptance and implementation&rdquo / and finally &ldquo / use and improvement&rdquo / .

In this thesis, a requirements traceability model is proposed in order to make efficient and effective change request impact analysis. The proposed model is a requirements &ndash / requirements traceability model. There are several researches regarding software requirements traceability problem. The main problem of these researches is that the proposed solutions can not be applied to software industry with affordable changes. However, current literature begins to see that describing all the software requirements in a huge black box is not so much applicable to today&rsquo / s more dynamic and bigger software projects, especially regarding change management. The proposed traceability model tries to be a solution to these problems. Change requests and business rules are two important and popular terms for today&rsquo / s software industry. The traceability model consists of three types of software requirements: data definitions, business rules and use cases. The traceability model proposes bidirectional traces between these types. Data definitions, business rules and use cases are related to each other and they all should be seen as parts of a software system which should work together to make the software system work properly. Empirical investigation is made on a real industrial software project. These types were configured in order to match to the project specific needs in a reconfigurable way. Experimental results show that the traceability model has an acceptable degree of correctness.

In the thesis, we provide a solution to solve a schema change problem. In a data warehouse system, if schema changes occur in a data source, the overall system will lose the consistency between the data sources and the data warehouse. These schema changes will render the data warehouse obsolete. We have developed three stages to handle schema changes occurring in databases. They are change detection, diagnosis, and handling. Recommendations are generated by DB-agent to information DW-agent to notify the DBA what and where a schema change affects the star schema. In the study, we mainly handle seven schema changes in a relational database. All of them, we not only handle non-adding schema changes but also handling adding schema changes. A non-adding schema change in our experiment has high correct mapping rate as using a traditional mappings between a data warehouse and a database. For an adding schema change, it has many uncertainties to diagnosis and handle. For this reason, we compare similarity between an adding relation or attribute and the ontology concept or concept attribute to generate a good recommendation. The evaluation results show that the proposed approach is capable to detect these schema changes correctly and to recommend the DBA about the changes appropriately.

<p>      Organizational change and game theory were separately investigated over time. Due to lack of scientific research on the relationships of those two fields of knowledge, an investigation of the game theoretic applications in managing change was performed in this research. Game theoretic applications were structured concerning the analytical use of game theory, strategic formulation with game theory and equilibrium analysis. By a qualitative flexible research method, main problematic areas of organizational change were identified with suitable game theoretic applications. Those problem areas are: making cooperation and coalition in change, group dynamic difficulties and the problem of incentive rewards. In each problem area, game theoretic solutions were discussed to help managers to make better decisions. Four mechanisms were inferred to support the game theoretic analysis of change management problems. Those mechanisms are: sub games, practical games, specific modeling and behavioral studies of games. Finally, an instructional framework was developed to conclude findings and illuminate the game theoretic approach in organizational change.</p>

<p>Sedan 2001 har skivindustrin förlorat en tredjedel av sin totala försäljning och framtiden för musikkonsumering är näst intill dagligen debatterad i media. På ena sidan finner man förespråkare för fri nedladdning och fildelning över Internet, medan den andra sidan består av artister och skivbolag som förklarar att man inte kan klara sig utan intäkter för musiken som produceras. Ett försenat lagförslag, ämnat att träda i kraft i juli 2005, som skulle förbjuda nedladdning av otillåtet material på Internet behandlas just nu av riksdagen. Framtiden är oviss, men det råder inga tvivel om att musikindustrin just nu undergår stora förändringar.</p><p>Syftet och avsikten med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka hur stora skivbolag i Sverige hanterar de omvärldsförändringar som skett till följd av nedladdning över Internet. Vårt fokus ligger på strategiska val, aktiviteter och organisatoriska förändingar som implementeras av ledningsgrupperna på respektive företag.</p><p>Vi har använt oss av tidigare studier och teorier inom strategi och change management som en plattform för att analysera företagens aktiviteter och inställning till nedladdningsfeno-menet sedan problemet identifierades. På deras respektive huvudkontor i Stockholm intervjuade vi representanter från de tre största skivbolagen i Sverige; EMI, Universal Music och Sony BMG. Datan som samlades in baserades på de frågor vi formulerat med hänvisningar till olika delar av managementteorin som behandlar diskontinuerlig förändring.</p><p>En slutsats som vi dragit är att skivbolagen reagerat för sent för att till fullo ta tillvara på möjligheterna som musikdistribution over Internet trots allt besitter. Anledningarna är många, men deras relativt statiska strukturer och det faktum att man varit fast i gamla mönster är en stor del av förklaringen. Trots att man från skivbolagens sida reagerade ganska sent på förändringen så har man nu hunnit i kapp utvecklingen avsevärt och efter att ha tagit många strategiska steg på rätt väg är man nu till en större utsträckning förberedd att möta framtida behov. Den här uppsatsen innehåller mer detaljer och specifika element av deras strategiska respons, bland annat personalbyten, tydligare omvärldsanalyser och strategiförändringar.</p> / <p>Since 2001 the recording industry has lost a third of its total sales and the future of music consumption is almost daily debated in media. On one side there are voices proclaiming free downloading and music sharing over the Internet and on the other side there are artists and record companies explaining that they need the revenues to survive. A currently delayed law proposal to illegalise unauthorized downloading, planned to be implemented from July 2005, is being considered by the Parliament. The future outcome is uncertain, but the music industry is currently and unquestionably experiencing big change.</p><p>The purpose and intention with this thesis is to examine how major record companies in Sweden are managing the environmental change, imposed by downloading over the Internet, focusing on strategic choices, actions and organizational change implemented by subsidiary level top management.</p><p>We have used previous research and theories within the area of strategy and change management as a platform for analyzing what approach these companies have to this phenomenon and also what measures have been implemented since the problem was first recognized. In Stockholm we met with representatives from the three largest record companies in Sweden; EMI Sweden, Universal Music and Sony BMG. Our data was collected from these interviews, which were based on our questions referring to different parts of the management process when experiencing big change.</p><p>One conclusion we have drawn is that the reaction from the recording industry has been too slow in order to fully capitalize on the possibilities in music distribution over the Internet. The reasons for this are many, but their relatively static structure and the fact that they have been caught up in old patterns are certainly part of the explanation. However, even though the record companies were somewhat slow from the beginning, they have now caught up substantially and since many of the measures suggested by previous research have been implemented, they are now to a larger extent equipped to meet the future needs. This thesis contains more specific elements on what responses to downloading the record companies are currently working with, such as restaffing procedures, rethinking the operational environment and reshaping strategies.</p>

<p><b>Inledning</b> Lokala dagstidningar har varit en naturlig del av vårt moderna samhälle i många årtionden och de flesta av oss tar därför den lokala tidningens framtid för given. Lokaltidningar har dock problem med att attrahera nya, speciellt yngre, prenumeranter. Detta samtidigt som denna grupp spenderar mer tid uppkopplad till internet, eller med andra former av ny media. Lokaltidningen har varit dödsdömd flera gånger då ett nytt media har introducerats men, som vi vet, överlevt. Skillnaden denna gång är att alternativet är gratis. Ny media växer generellt mycket snabbt. Vissa lokala tidningar följer den tekniska utvecklingen och har lanserat en nätupplaga som del av sin långsiktiga strategi, medan andra har valt att endast fokusera på papperstidningen.</p><p><b>Syfte</b> Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka och analysera vilka ledningsbeslut och strategier lokala tidningar implementerar idag för att möta konkurrensen från ny media. Syfte är dessutom att undersöka och analysera vad de borde göra i framtiden.</p><p><b>Metod</b> Vi har, för att uppfylla syftet, genomfört en kvantitativ, telefonbaserad, undersökning med ett standardiserat frågeformulär. Vi har intervjuat 30 utav Sveriges 36, till upplagan största, lokala tidningar, jämt spridda över landet.</p><p><b>Slutsatser</b> Mer än två tredjedelar av all lokala dagstidningar representerade i vår undersökning har förlorat prenumeranter sen 2000 och nästan tre fjärdedelar tror att dessa inte kommer att återkomma i framtiden. 90 % av dagstidningarna upplever press på deras största kund, annonsörerna, och 66 % upplever press på prenumeranterna, på grund av internet.</p><p>87 % av våra respondenter har en webbupplaga av sin dagstidning. Trots att respondenterna uppger pris som den största anledningen till det minskande antalet prenumeranter, tar 32 % redan betalt för delar av sin webbupplaga, och 80 % utav de som inte tar betalt idag, har för avsikt att göra det inom fem år.</p><p>En stor majoritet av respondenterna har, trots den negativa trenden, en positiv inställning till framtiden. Omvandlingen från traditionell lokal dagstidning till ett modernt media hus tycks vara nyckeln till framgång i framtiden.</p> / <p><b>Introduction</b> Local newspapers have been a natural part of a modern society for many decades and most thus take the printed local newspapers’ future for granted. Local newspapers do however have problems attracting new, especially younger, subscribers. At the same time this group spends more time online and with other forms of new media. The local newspaper has been domed several times a new media has entered the market but as we know always survived. The difference this time is that the alternative is free. New media is generally gaining ground very rapidly. Some local newspapers follow the technical evolution by launching web-editions of their newspaper as part of their long-term strategy, while others decide only to focus on the printed edition.</p><p><b>Purpose</b> The purpose of this thesis is to research and analyse what managerial choices and strategies local newspapers are implementing today to meet the competition from new types of media. The purpose is furthermore to research and analyse what they ought to do in the future.</p><p><b>Method</b> We have, to fulfil the purpose, conducted a quantitative, telephone based, research with a standardised questionnaire. We have interviewed 30 out of Sweden’s 36, based on circulation, largest local newspapers, geographically spread all over Sweden.</p><p><b>Conclusions</b> More than two third of all local newspapers represented in our research have lost subscribers since 2000 and almost three quarters believe that these subscribers will not come back in the future. 90 % of the newspapers experience pressure on their biggest customer, advertisers, and 66 % experience pressure on subscribers, because of internet.</p><p>87 % of our respondents have an online edition of their newspaper. Even though the respondents state that the biggest reason for future decrease in subscription is price, 32 % already charge a fee for parts of their web-edition and 80 % of those respondents who do not charge anything today, state that they will charge within five years.</p><p>A large majority of the respondents have, despite the negative trend, a positive attitude towards the future. The transformation from a traditional local newspaper to a modern media house appears to be the key to success in the future.</p>

<p>Competition on today’s market is fierce. Providing a defect-free product is no more a competitive advantage. Now money and focus is put on managing the supply chain, a competitive tool to thriving in today’s business climate. There are two distinct flow pipelines: the order information transfer pipeline and the product transfer pipeline, both dependent on the collaboration efforts of individuals.</p><p>Evolving within supply chain management equals integrating the supply chain from basic to complex; from baseline or functional to internal or external. Bringing focus to where it is found to be lacking, this literary study highlights and connects issues that may arise during implementation of external supply chain integration. The focal point is thus on employee reactions to change, with each stage of implementation that the implementation issues connect to. Simultaneously, the study provides (pre)requisites to management during the different stages, which would support the implemented transition in its different phases.</p><p>The result of this study is a Manger Model that gives an overview of each of the implementation stages, the requisites for management and issues regarding employees at each of the stages. Constructed to be applicable to more than just external integration the model encompasses all the gathered models and theories through a discussion of not only the complexity of the internal and the external supply chain, but also the complex nature of the individuals caught within the implementation, both from the manager’s as well as the employee’s point of view.</p>

<p>Background: Today also smaller companies (SME) are implementing enterprise resource planning systems. One difference is that the SME have smaller resources regarding people and finance which can cause some problems if they are not aware of this. The company we have studied have undergone an organizational change and simultaneously implemented an ERP. Two parts of the implementation of the ERP worked just as intended and the third and last part experienced some major difficulties.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the situation in which a small company undertake two major changes almost simultaneously, one of which is the implementation of an ERP. This matter when an SME is implementing an ERP is not well researched since it is only in the more recent years that this type of organization feel the need for it and therefore have ventured into this. The aim of this thesis is to add to the theoretical field of small organizations introducing enterprise information systems.</p><p>Method: This is a qualitative study conducted in the form of a case study. The main data sources have been semi structured interviews, combined with observations and a document study. The data have been analyzed inductively.</p><p>Conclusion: The implementation of this ERP has gone bad in one area due to several cooperating mistakes. SME’s have some circumstances that does not apply to the larger organizations. In a SME every person carries greater importance in the success or failure of the implementation. Preparation is equally important in an SME as in larger organizations.</p><p>Suggestions for further research: The field of ERP in SME's have not been very thoroughly studied since it is a comparatively new field. Further research in this matter would be of some value.</p>

This thesis investigates how an organizational change can lead to an increased share of women at top management positions. Based on interviews at Sandvik, an organization that has received extensive attention for its efforts to increase the share of female executives, the study aims to understand how an organizational culture is changed in a way that will lead to more women at top management positions. The study also aims to give an answer to how the change process is implemented and what kinds of changes in content that are needed. The empirical findings are analyzed using a theoretical framework based on change management literature and female leadership literature. The results of the study indicate that actions to increase gender diversity should be integrated in the overarching company strategy. There are further indications that it can be enough to have a personal conviction from a prominent leader within the organization to start the change process. Commitment and support from top management is thereafter vital. A final indication is that the changes in content should be aimed at changing the mindset of the employees throughout the organization.