<p>Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system which first emerged in the early 90’s, have become</p><p>so popular today that almost every large business corporation uses one. Recent years</p><p>have seen increased spending on this software application package, but sadly not all organizations</p><p>which invest in ERP systems have gotten back their money’s worth. There have</p><p>been many instances of unsuccessful ERP implementation attempts and in some cases total</p><p>failure. Researchers and scholars have long since studied these systems in a bid to provide</p><p>explanations for the complexity and failure of implementation attempts. This has led to the</p><p>establishment of critical success factors (CSF), which slightly vary with different authors</p><p>but have some strong common points. Prominent among these CSF’s is alignment between</p><p>business processes and ERP built-in processes.</p><p>This project therefore focuses on alignment issues that arise between the software package</p><p>and the organization’s business processes during ERP implementation efforts. The main</p><p>purpose of the work is to establish a set of ‘best practices’ that must be considered or executed</p><p>in order to secure a good alignment between the system and software package.</p><p>In order to achieve the main goal of this work, a case study approach has been used. The</p><p>case in question is a small manufacturing firm in Vetlanda called T-Emballage, which uses</p><p>an ERP system Jeeves. Mainly using scientific research techniques which comprise a deductive</p><p>approach and a mixed mode data collection method, some valuable conclusions are</p><p>drawn from the analysed data. The critical points that are worth considering during ERP</p><p>implementation, when trying to achieve alignment, arrived at in this study include: carrying</p><p>out a proper gap analysis, top management leading and following up, choosing software according</p><p>to needs, simplicity, flexibility, communication and liability of data.</p><p>This project further investigates the advantages and disadvantages of adapting or altering</p><p>the software package to fit the organization’s business processes and vice versa. Finally, the</p><p>work also tries to assess the alignment maturity level that has been attained in the organization</p><p>by applying the Luftman’s alignment maturity model.</p>

<p>Vad revision innebär är idag inte lagstadgat. Det definieras av FAR som ”att kritiskt granska, bedöma och ge utlåtande om redovisning och förvaltning” (FARs revisions-bok, 2000). Det finns däremot rekommendationer som styr revisorns arbete. Dessa rekommendationers innebörd är dock något allmänheten inte har någon större kännedom om. Detta kan skapa problem mellan revisor och kund som då har skilda förväntningar på vad revisionen ska leda till.</p><p>För att studera dessa skilda förväntningar valde vi att undersöka två separata fall med revisor och respektive kund. Fallen skiljde sig åt storleksmässigt då det ena kan betraktas som ett medelstort företag och det andra som ett litet företag. Den empiriska studien genomfördes kvalitativt genom fyra intervjuer.</p><p>Medan de inblandade parterna hävdade att det inte förelåg något förväntningsgap mellan kund och respektive revisor kunde vi genom att ställa intervjusvaren mot varandra jämföra skillnader i förväntningar mellan det medelstora och det mindre företaget och dess revisorer. Svaren skiljde sig åt på ett antal punkter inom områdena revisionens syfte, revisorns roll och förväntningar på revisorn.</p><p>Vi kunde konstatera att det förelåg att dolt förväntningsgap mellan revisor och kund i de båda fallen. De viktigaste faktorerna bakom det dolda förväntningsgapet var okunskap hos kunderna och brist på kommunikation mellan parterna. Vi kunde även se tecken på att Revisionsstandard kan öka risken för ett förväntningsgap i fallen. Storleken på företagen visade sig vara av mindre betydelse än vad vi hade förutspått i våra utvalda fall.</p><p>I nuläget är det dolda förväntningsgapet inte något problem i de båda fallen men parterna bör trots detta ta de skilda förväntningarna i beaktande för att på så sätt undvika framtida problematiska förväntningsgap.</p> / <p>What auditing means is not prescribed by law. It is defined by FAR as: critically examine, judge and state an opinion about accounting and administration of the business (FARs Revisionsbok, 2000). There are, however, recommendations that govern the work of the auditor. The meaning of these recommendations is not really clear in the eyes of the public. This can create problems between the auditor and the client who then have different expectations on what the auditing should result in.</p><p>To study these different expectations we chose to examine two separate cases with auditor and client respectively. The cases differed in sizes where one could be considered a medium-sized enterprise and the other a small enterprise. The empirical investigation was performed qualitatively through four interviews.</p><p>While the involved parties claimed that an expectation gap did not exist between the client and its auditor, we could compare differences in expectations between the medium-sized enterprise and the small enterprise and their auditors, by putting the answers against each other. The answers differed in a number of ways within the following areas: purpose of the auditing, the role of the auditor and expectations on the auditor.</p><p>We could conclude that a hidden expectation gap existed between auditor and client in both cases. The most important factors behind the hidden expectation gap was ignorance on the clients’ parts and lack of communication between the parties. We could also see signs of the new standards on auditing in Sweden increasing the risk of an expectation gap in the two cases. The size of the companies turned out to be a less important factor than what we had anticipated in our specific cases.</p><p>At present time, the hidden expectation gap is not a problem in the two cases but despite this, the parties involved should take the differing expectations under consideration and through this avoid future problematic expectation gaps.</p>

<p>The air gap method is a modification of the common way of building indoor walls and floors. The aim of the method is to make a construction, less fragile to water damage, with air gaps where moisture can be removed with a thermally driven air flow, caused by a heating cable. The thesis includes a number of experimental studies of this method.</p><p>Temperature and convective air flow in a vertical air gap was studied and it was noted how air flow increased with raised power of the heating cable. The air flow for one meter of wall varied between 50 m3/day (13 air changes per hour) and 140 m3/day (36 air changes per hour). The lower value was caused by a temperature difference in the range 0.2-0.3 oC. Without heating no air flow was found.</p><p>In studies of moisture and RH in wet “slab on ground” constructions, it was noted how the slab in the room with the air gap method dried to a much higher extent than the slab in the room built in an ordinary way. It was also noted that moisture was transported from the air gap in the floor and up through the air gap in the wall. In the room with the air gap construction, the RH values beneath the floor was at a lower level (and below 75 % RH) than the RH values beneath the floor of conventional construction. Mould does not grow below 75 % RH.</p><p>In the study of a flooded intermediate floor it was noted how the thermally driven convective air flow evidently speeded up drying of the construction. Mould growth was only noted in the case where the heating cables were turned off.</p> / <p>Spaltmetoden är en modifiering av det reguljära sättet av att bygga innerväggar och bjälklag. Syftet med metoden är att skapa en byggnadskonstruktion som är mindre skör med avseende på fuktskador. Detta görs med spalter där fukt kan avlägsnas genom ett termiskt drivet luftflöde som orsakas av en värmekabel. Denna avhandling innehåller ett antal experimentella studier på metoden. Spaltmetoden har studerats med avseende på 1. Samband mellan temperatur och luftflöde, 2. Uttorkning och RF nivåer i golvkonstruktioner samt 3. Översvämning av ett mellanbjälklag</p><p><strong>1. Samband mellan temperatur och luftflöde</strong></p><p>Temperatur och konvektivt luftflöde har studerats i en vertikal spalt och resultatet visar att luftflödet ökar med ökad effekt hos värmekabeln. Luftflödet i en vägg med en meters bredd varierade mellan 50 kubikmeter/dag (13 luftväxlingar per timme) och 140 kubikmeter/dag (36 luftväxlingar per timme). Det lägre flödet orsakades av en temperaturskillnad på 0,2-0,3 oC mellan luftspalt och rum. När värmekabeln var avstängd så registrerades inget luftflöde.</p><p><strong>2. Uttorkning och RF nivåer i golvkonstruktioner ovan betongplatta</strong></p><p>Detta experiment visade att fukt har transporterats från spalten i golvet genom spalten i väggen ut i rumsluften. I spaltkonstruktion var RF inuti golvkonstruktionen lägre (och understeg 75 % RF), jämfört med den konventionella konstruktionen, (mögel växer inte under 75 % RF). Det har också registrerats att betongplattan som hörde till spaltmetoden torkade ut snabbare än betongplattan som var inbyggd i ett gängse rum.</p><p><strong>3. Översvämning av ett mellanbjälklag</strong></p><p>I studien där ett mellanbjälklag blev översvämmat noterades att spaltmetoden förkortade torktiden från 21 dagar till 13 vid den fuktigaste mätpunkten. Mögelväxt noterades endast då värmekabeln hade varit frånslagen.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

Die Arbeit beschreibt die Entwicklung und Evaluierung einer Technologieplattform für die Herstellung von oberflächennahen Mikrostrukturen mit hohen Aspektverhältnissen. Grundlage dieser Technologieplattform stellt ein neuartiges Konzept zur mechanischen und elektrischen Kontaktierung beweglicher Elemente mittels spezieller Träger dar, deren typische Breite unterhalb eines Mikrometers liegt. Basierend hierauf werden drei unterschiedliche Prozessabläufe zur Herstellung der Mikrostrukturen, auch als Air gap Insulated Microstructures (AIM) bezeichnet, vorgestellt. Der Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit liegt dabei auf der mehrschichtigen Trägervariante mit Isolationsebene und Leitungsebene. Verschiedene Schichtkombinationen, bestehend aus Siliziumnitrid, Siliziumdioxid und Aluminium, sind in ihrem mechanischen, thermischen und Langzeitverhalten charakterisiert und im Hinblick auf ihre Anwendbarkeit für die Träger bewertet. Für die Strukturierung der Siliziumelemente wird ein Verfahren basierend auf einem CF-Polymer als Passivierungsschicht beschrieben. Neben verschiedenen Ausfallmechanismen für die Passivierung werden gezielte Optimierungen der Abscheide- und Ätzprozesse erläutert sowie deren Resultate dargestellt. Für die vollständige Trennung von Substrat und seismischer Masse ist eine isotrope, vom Aspektverhältnis nahezu unabhängige Siliziumstrukturierung nötig. Entsprechende Betrachtungen und Untersuchungen hierzu, unter Verwendung der Reaktionsgase SF6 und O2, stellen den Abschluss der Untersuchungen zur Prozessentwicklung dar. Um die Leistungsfähigkeit der Technologieplattform zu demonstrieren, erfolgt die Herstellung verschiedener Sensoren und Aktoren. Die Charakterisierung dieser Elemente in ihrem mechanischen, thermischen und Langzeitverhalten stellt den Abschluss dieser Arbeit dar.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-145). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 109-118).

Thesis (M.L.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.

Titel: Finansiering i mikroföretag - En kvantitativ studie inom mikroföretags sätt att finansiera sig   Författare: Daniel Johansson, Eva Näätänen, Vlad Ulrich   Handledare: Emil Numminen   Institution: Institutionen för industriell ekonomi, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola   Kurs: Kandidatarbete i Företagsekonomi, 15 högskolepoäng   Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur tillgängligheten av finansieringsmedel påverkar finansieringen i svenska mikroföretag.   Metod: En kvantitativ studie har genomförts genom att data om 630 mikroföretag samlades via nätenkäter.   Slutsatser: Denna studie visar att svenska mikroföretag väljer sin finansiering enligt en förkortad pecking order. Ett finansiellt gap existerar mellan mikroföretag och finansiella institut i Sverige vilket ökar risken för mikroföretag att blir nekade extern finansiering som exempelvis banklån. Tillgänglighet av banklån påverkar i sin tur hur mikroföretag finansierar sig. Det finansiella gapet minskar under mikroföretagens livscykel och därmed ökar tillgängligheten av vissa externa finansieringsalternativ. / le: Financing of micro-enterprises - A quantitative study in micro-enterprises’ way of funding   Authors: Daniel Johansson, Eva Näätänen, Vlad Ulrich   Supervisor: Emil Numminen   Department: Department of Industrial Economics, Blekinge Institute of Technology   Course: Bachelor’s thesis in Business Administration, 15 credits   Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how the availability of financial resources affects the financing of Swedish micro-enterprises.   Method: A quantitative study was carried out by collecting data about 630 micro-enterprises through online surveys.   Results: This study shows that Swedish micro-enterprises choose their financing in order with a truncated pecking order. A financial gap exists between micro-enterprises and financial institutions in Sweden that increases the risk for micro-enterprises to be denied external finance such as bank loans. Availability of bank loans in turn affects the financial decisions of the micro-enterprises. The financial gap decreases during the businesses' lifecycle and thus increases the availability of some external financing options.

The achievement gap is an important problem with serious consequences for the United States’ economy. A long history of oppression has contributed to a substantial gap in achievement between students of minority status or low socioeconomic status and their white or higher income peers. Large scale efforts to address this problem have been unsuccessful in substantially reducing the problem. As parent involvement has been linked to student achievement, capitalizing on strong family-school partnerships offers a valuable opportunity to target student achievement. Low-income and minority parents face many barriers to parent involvement. If schools embrace a more inclusive view of parent involvement and collaborate with parents to reduce these barriers, however, successful family-school partnerships may be formed. Themes for creating such partnerships include recognizing that parents care about their children’s education and want them to succeed, treating parents as equal partners in the educational process, and using innovative techniques to solve problems. / text

This dissertation examines how information technology can help acquirers to improve the performance of their acquisition targets. An acquisition creates value when the acquirer can generate more returns from the acquired business than its former owner can, a condition we call the acquirer's parenting advantage. Then, we introduce two IT-related sources of parenting advantage. Acquirers with more extensive process digitization can provide richer digitized resource to serve their newly acquired businesses, and acquirers with more related process digitization can unlock more synergies between the newly acquired and existing business units. So, as we argue, digitization extensiveness enables a digitization-revitalization mechanism for acquisition value creation, and digitization relatedness enables an integration-synergy-creation mechanism. Both mechanisms can be carried out through digital accommodation activities after acquisitions. Furthermore, the digitization gap between acquirers and targets is a major contingency for digital accommodation, with the second mechanism functioning mostly when the target has already had advanced digitization achievements. We empirically validated these hypothesized relationships by tracking the IT and performance changes in 109 U.S. hospitals before and after they were acquired, using a 7 year study timeframe. / text