Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka vad den horisontella kommunikationen har för roll inom systemförvaltning, och att undersöka vad en effektiv sådan har för påverkan på förvaltningsarbete. Då systemförvaltning är kostsamt är det viktigt för organisationer att det sker effektivt. Effektiviteten i organisationers arbete påverkas av kommunikationen och för att uppnå en effektiv kommunikation krävs en förståelse för horisontell kommunikation. Men inom styrning av systemförvaltning ligger inte fokus på kommunikation. Undersökningen genomfördes med hjälp av kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer. Förvaltningsledningar på en organisation vars förvaltningsarbete styrs av förvaltningsmodellen pm3 studerades. Uppsatsens resultat visar på att en horisontell kommunikation utspelar sig inom förvaltningsarbete, det krävs en kommunikation mellan vissa arbetsroller. Den horisontella kommunikationen har också en betydande roll, då den kan hjälpa till att upprätta enhetliga arbetssätt. Resultatet visar dock att den horisontella kommunikationens funktion inte alltid utnyttjas till fullo. När den inte är effektiv kan det bidra till duplicerat arbete, förlorad och utelämnad information, samt att medarbetares kunskap förbises. Allt detta påverkar i slutändan arbetets produktivitet. Uppsatsens resultat visar att desto effektivare den horisontella kommunikationen är inom förvaltningsarbete, desto effektivare blir arbetet. / The purpose of this thesis is to examine what role lateral communication within the work in software maintenance has, and to examine how an effective lateral communication influences the maintenance work. Software maintenance is costly, therefore it is important for organizations that it is efficient. Organization’s efficiency is influenced by their communication. To attain an effective communication there needs to exist an understanding for lateral communication. Within the guiding of software maintenance there is a lack of regard to the importance of communication. The thesis was conducted using qualitative research. The research is based on semi-structured interviews with solution managers at an organization that has their software maintenance guided by the swedish maintenance management model pm3. The result of this study shows that a lateral communication occurs within the work with software maintenance, communication is required between certain roles. Lateral communication also has a significant role since it can help to uniform the work. However, the results show that the potential of lateral communication is not always used to its full extent. When it is not effective it can result in duplicated work, lost and excluded information, and coworkers’ knowledge can be overlooked. In the end the productivity of the work is affected. The study shows that the more effective the lateral communication is within the work in software maintenance, the more effective the work will become.

Customer loyalty is considered to be critically important to growth, profitability and sustainability. It has received much attention by practitioner and managers. However, some important variables about the different types of loyalty have remained unclear. While businesses look towards adopting various strategies to help them grow and succeed in the marketplace, a number of key business orientations have emerged. Each of these orientations has claimed to increase both profitability and customer loyalty for an organization. This research has examined both of these factors, as well as their inter-relationships. The research was conducted in a two part study, based on a sequential triangulation approach. The first study focused on finding out the differences between two of the highest types of loyalties, attitudinal and emotional. The study, based on 40 interviews with customers from three different companies, across two cultural settings (Asian and European), has led to the emergence of key differentiating factors. The second study focused on the relationships between business orientations and customer loyalty. This study was based on six case studies of best practice firms. The study found a positive link between business orientations and loyalty. Moreover, a set of critical success factors were identified that would enable companies to implement effective loyalty management systems. Based on both of these two studies, a loyalty management model has been presented. The model helps to improve our understanding of loyalty, and would be of use to managers who would want to develop and manage customer loyalty in an organisation.

<p>Global software development has been a phenomenon of growing interest for almost past decade or so; and its adoption trend continues to gain momentum. Globally distributed work istaken up as an alternative to single-site mainly because of the economic and strategic benefits itoffers. Software development at geographically distributed environment is not a straightforwardtask and entails numerous challenges which are unique to this form of development.</p><p>Requirements change management is considered challenging even in the best of conditions andit becomes even harder when performed at geographically distributed development locations.There is no existing model for managing requirements change in globally distributed softwaredevelopment context.</p><p>This study uses qualitative research method to explore requirements change managementprocess and investigates the underlying causes of requirements change in geographicallydistributed software development. The research work proposes a model for requirementschange management for global software development. This model tries to incorporate the roles,activities and artifacts identified in the change management models.</p>

Following the financial crisis of 2008, the need for more robust techniques to quantify the capital charge for risk management has become a pressing problem. Under Basel II/III, banks are allowed to calculate the capital charge using internally developed models subject to regulatory approval. An interesting problem for the regulator is to compare the resulting figures against the required capital under worst case scenarios. The existing literature on the latter problem, which is based on the marginal problem, assumes that no a-priori information is known about the dependencies of contributing risks. These problems are linear optimisation problems over a constrained set of probability measures, discretisation of which leads to large scale LPs. But this approach is very conservative and cannot be implemented robustly in practice, due to the scarcity of historical data. In our approach, we take a less conservative strategy by incorporating dependence information contained in the data in a form that still leads to LPs, an important feature of such problems due to their high dimensionality. Conceptually, our model is the discretisation of an infinite dimensional linear optimisation problem over a set of probability measures. For some specific cases we can prove strong duality, opening up the approach of discretising the dual instead of the primal. This approach is preferable, as it yields better numerical results. In this work we also apply our model to model-free path-dependent option pricing. Use of delayed column generation techniques allows us to solve problems several orders of magnitude larger than via the standard simplex algorithm. For high-dimensional LPs we also implement Nesterov's smoothing technique to solve the problems.

Even though it is prescribed by law in Sweden that children in elementary school must fulfil a compulsory education, a significant number of students are absent. The aim of this thesis is therefore to analyse two municipalities’, Halmstad and Borås, efforts to improve student attendance in elementary school. The two municipalities are of middle size with approximately the same number of citizens and elementary schools. Both municipalities, that have large autonomy, have recently developed new policies regarding how schools should manage absence in elementary school. By studying these policies and interviewing responsible authorities, principals and representatives from student health care, the goal is to find out what governance models characterize the municipalities’ efforts to promote attendance in school. The methods used are of a qualitative character and the interviews semi-structured. The theoretical framework concentrates on organization theory, such as management models, instrumental, mythical and culture perspectives and evaluation.   The results found show that the management model is strongly dominating the governance within the educational system. However, the practical methods used to promote school attendance depend in wide measures on experience and values among the actors working with the students, indicating a cultural perspective. Since the management model is dominating the governance of the school system, and this model highlights public servants’ acting space, the actors’ values and interpretations become important factors for the outcome.

Actualmente, toda empresa debería tener el conocimiento de qué tan importante es y cómo debe tratarse la información para su negocio, ya que es uno de sus activos más importante. Lamentablemente, no todas tienen claro su valor, exponiéndose a grandes pérdidas. Según un estudio de EY, el 41% de empresas consideran que poseen probidades mínimas para detectar un ataque sofisticado. El motivo principal son las restricciones presupuestarias y la falta de recursos especializados. Para proteger la información, las empresas deben determinar su exposición al riesgo, lo recomendable es emplear metodologías, marcos de referencia o estándares de análisis de riesgo de seguridad de la información. Este proyecto consiste en implementar un modelo de gestión de riesgos de seguridad de la información para Pymes, integrando la metodología OCTAVE-S y la norma ISO/IEC 27005. Se abarca el análisis de las metodologías y normas de gestión de riesgos, el diseño del modelo de gestión de riesgos de seguridad de la información, la validación del modelo en una Pyme en el proceso de ventas. La integración proporciona una identificación oportuna y eficaz de los riesgos del enfoque cualitativo y permite aprovechar los valores identificados para los activos del enfoque cuantitativo. Asimismo, permite identificar los principales riesgos valorizándolos, para luego proceder a un tratamiento de acuerdo a las necesidades de la empresa. Se espera que este modelo ayude en la gestión de riesgos de seguridad de la información dentro de las Pymes, para poder reducir el impacto de riesgos a los que pueden estar expuestas. / Nowadays, every company should be aware of the importance and the way business information should be treated since it is one of their most important assets. Unfortunately, not all are sure about their actual value, and so, they may be exposed to large losses. According to EY, 41% of companies consider that they have minimum probabilities to detect a sophisticated attack. The main reason that hinders the effectiveness of information security is due to budgetary restrictions and the lack of specialized resources. To protect the information, companies must determine their risk exposure, for which it’s advisable to use methodologies, reference frameworks or standards for information security risk analysis. This project consists on implementing an information security risk management model for SMEs, integrating the OCTAVE-S methodology and the ISO/IEC 27005 standard. This covers the analysis of methodologies and risk management standards, the design of the information security risk management model, the validation of the model in a SME in the sales process. This integration provides a timely and effective identification of the risks of the qualitative approach and makes it possible to take advantage of the values identified for the assets of the quantitative approach. Furthermore, this allows identifying the main information security risks by rating and treating them according to the needs of the company. It’s expected that this model will help in the management of information security risks within SMEs, in order to reduce the impact of risks to which they may be exposed. / Tesis

The maintenance management model (Pm3) is a management model whose goal is to contribute to the collaboration between the business and IT. An implementation of pm3 involves applying the model, it must be implemented with the business existing governance and work methods. The purpose of the study is to investigate to be able to describe and evaluate the use of pm3 as a management model in a state agency. The study is carried out at the Swedish Transport Administration and their implementation of pm3. The aim of the study is to answer the research question which is “how pm3 can be implemented and applied to be more effective?”. The strategy that has been applied is a case study. The data collection methods are interviews and document studies where qualitative data has been generated. The results of the study show a number of different positive effects that implementation of pm3 can have on a business such as better collaboration, cost effectiveness and clearer overall picture. Some challenges and problems are also identified and a lot of them can be linked to the lack of implementation of the model at the Swedish Transport Administration. To maximize the implementation of pm3, this study has come to the conclusion that it is important with internal education in the management model. This to increase the chance of a successful implementation. Taking external help from the pm3 license is also a way to improve the implementation, as it offers external help and support from external experts. After implementation, it is also important to have an active management of the model, so that the business receives support to work properly over time. Recommendations for future studies is how to follow up on your implementation and establish your governance with pm3 over time.

O conhecimento tem se tornado um dos recursos estratégicos mais importantes no atual ambiente competitivo das empresas, fonte de vantagem competitiva sustentável. Devido a sua importância no sucesso organizacional, geri-lo adequadamente é uma das principais preocupações dos executivos. Com esse fim foram desenvolvidos modelos e metodologias para implantar a gestão do conhecimento nas companhias, trabalhos que apresentam limitações e levam às organizações a intentos falhos ou abordagens parciais do tema, limitações como a excessiva orientação sobre as tecnologias de informação, a falta de alinhamento com as estratégias da organização, a insuficiente atenção sobre os fatores humanos e culturais, o desenvolvimento de modelos sem base metodológica, e principalmente, a abordagem dividida da implantação da gestão do conhecimento. Fundamentado em uma exaustiva análise e reflexão dessas limitações, este trabalho tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de um modelo integrado para a implantação e desenvolvimento da gestão do conhecimento, utilizando a metodologia de modelagem Enterprise Knowledge Development (EKD). Para a consecução do objetivo foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa bibliográfica, gerando a primeira versão do modelo, posteriormente este foi validado com especialistas em modelagem organizacional e gestão do conhecimento, obtendo-se da análise dessas apreciações uma versão aprimorada. O trabalho tem como resultado a confrontação e relação dos pareceres dos especialistas com a construção teórica, tendo como base o modelo proposto. O modelo proposto poderá orientar às organizações na prática da gestão do conhecimento e servir de referência para sua melhor compreensão. / Knowledge has become one of the most important strategic resource in the current competitive business environment, a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Due to its importance in organizational success, managing it properly is a major concern of executives. To this goal models and methodologies have been developed to implement knowledge management in companies, researches that have limitations and lead organizations to failed attempts or partial approaches, limitations as the excessive orientation on the information technologies, the lack of alignment with organizational strategy, insufficient attention on human and cultural factors, the development of models without methodological basis, and mainly, an divided approach of the implementation of knowledge management. Based on a thorough analysis and reflection of these limitations, this study aims to develop an integrated model for the implementation and development of practices of knowledge management, using the Enterprise Knowledge Management (EKD) modeling methodology. To achieve the goal it was be developed a literature search, generating the first version of the model, after that it was be validated with experts in organizational modeling and knowledge management, resulting of the analysis of these appreciations an improved version. The work has resulted in the confrontation and relation of opinions of experts with the theoretical construct, based on the model. The model proposed can guide organizations in this practice and serve as a reference for its better understanding.

A combinação dos fatores externos e internos, intrínsecos ao ambiente empresarial, pode afetar o desempenho de uma empresa, facilitando ou dificultando a sua estabilidade. O objetivo desta pesquisa consistiu em verificar as relações entre as variáveis do ambiente externo, os elementos do modelo de gestão, os controles gerenciais e os desempenhos de empresas de setores de atividade distintos. A partir disso, construíram-se os procedimentos metodológicos. Primeiramente, definiram-se as hipóteses, alicerçadas nos constructos teóricos da pesquisa. Com essa base, desenhou-se o instrumento de pesquisa, que foi aplicado, inicialmente, por meio de um pré-teste em 20 empresas da amostra, para então se dar seqüência ao trabalho de campo. A amostra da pesquisa compôs-se de 69 empresas do setor do comércio, 80 do industrial e 74 do de serviços, totalizando 223 empresas contatadas. Dessas, 118 responderam ao questionário enviado. A coleta dos dados deu-se por meio da aplicação de dois procedimentos: questionário e obtenção dos dados econômicos das empresas. O questionário foi disponibilizado em website para ser respondido pelos gestores do alto escalão da empresa, que pudessem ter a visão sistêmica da empresa presidente, diretor, gestor da área de controladoria, o que dependeu de cada empresa previamente contatada por telefone. Os dados econômicos foram obtidos a partir da Revista Exame Maiores e Melhores empresas do Brasil, para efeito da formação dos indicadores ROI (Return on Investments) e MO (Margem operacional), cujo período abrangeu os anos de 2005, 2006, 2007 e 2008. O período de realização da pesquisa de campo compreendeu os meses entre junho e outubro de 2009, sendo que antes disso, entre fevereiro e abril, foi aplicado o préteste. O tratamento e a análise dos dados coletados foram efetivados por meio da aplicação de estatística descritiva e modelagem de equações estruturais. Como resultado, verificou-se que as associações entre ambiente externo e modelo de gestão dos três setores empresariais observados se revelaram significantes, principalmente em empresas dos setores comercial e industrial. Não se constatou relação significativa entre os elementos do modelo de gestão e os desempenhos das empresas dos três setores. Verificou-se que os elementos do modelo de gestão influenciam, significativamente, os tipos de controles gerenciais adotados pelas empresas de todos os setores investigados, predominantemente aquelas do setor industrial. Os graus de relação entre o ambiente externo e os controles gerenciais mostraram-se baixos, não podendo ser considerados representativos neste estudo. Em se tratando da relação entre controles gerenciais e desempenho das empresas, puderam ser notados resultados expressivos nos setores industrial e de serviços, não ocorrendo o mesmo no comércio. Assim, esta tese atingiu o seu objetivo, demonstrando as relações entre ambiente externo, modelo de gestão, controles gerenciais e desempenho de empresas pertencentes a diferentes setores de mercado. / The combination of external and internal factors, intrinsic to the business environment, can affect a firms performance as well as its management structure. This study xamines the relations of the variables of the external environment (business conditions), lements of the management model, management controls and performance of companies in different sectors. The methodology entailed first defining the hypotheses based on the theoretical constructs found in the literature and then formulating a questionnaire, which was pre-tested in 20 companies before starting the main survey. The full sample consisted of 223 companies (69 engaged mainly in commerce, 80 in industry and 74 in services). The questionnaire was made available at a website for access by the respondents. They consisted of chief executives, other officers or comptrollers, epending on each company, contacted previously by telephone. Of the 223 firms approached, 118 answered the questionnaire. Besides the data from the questionnaires, performance indicators on the companies were obtained from the Maiores e Melhores (Biggest and Best) edition of the Brazilian business magazine Exame. The indicators considered were return on investment (ROI) and operating margin (OM), covering the years from 2005 to 2008. The main survey was carried out between June and ctober 2009, after completing the pre-test between February and April. The data were treated and analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics and modeling with structural equations. The results show that the associations between the external setting and management model in the three business sectors analyzed are significant, mainly in service companies. No significant relationship was found between the management model and performance of the firms in any of the sectors. However, the elements of the management model do significantly affect the types of management controls adopted by the firms in all three sectors, particularly in the industrial sector. The associations were low and cannot be considered as representative in this study. With respect to the relationship between the management controls and performance, the results were salient in the industrial and service sectors but not among commercial firms. On the whole, the thesis attained its objective, demonstrating the relations of the external setting, management model and performance of companies in the commercial, industrial and service sectors.

O setor de compras nas empresas tem se deparado com a necessidade de tornar-se mais eficiente e eficaz em suas aquisições, por isso, as organizações têm aderido ao uso de ferramentas estratégicas de compras adequadas às suas necessidades. Por este motivo, o presente trabalho objetivou propor um modelo de gestão de compras de materiais e serviços em uma empresa privada do agronegócio Matogrossense de nutrição animal, alinhado às suas estratégias. Desta forma, o trabalho estruturou-se em dois artigos. No primeiro artigo foi realizada uma análise no processo de compras praticado na empresa, para verificar o alinhamento do modelo de gestão do setor de materiais e serviços às estratégias da empresa, através do mapeamento do processo de compras e de uma entrevista semi estruturada com a direção da empresa responsável pela área, no intuito de verificar o alinhamento do processo utilizado com as estratégias da empresa. No segundo artigo, realizou-se a proposição do modelo de gestão de compras de materiais e serviços para a empresa, partindo das necessidades estratégicas identificadas no primeiro artigo e do levantamento dos principais modelos de gestão estratégica de compras de materiais e serviços existentes na literatura. Um modelo estratégico de gestão de compras para a empresa em estudo, foi estruturado através de um diagrama SIPOC e de um fluxograma detalhado do processo e, posteriormente, validado junto à diretoria da empresa. Obteve-se então, como resultado, um modelo de gestão capaz de alinhar o setor de compras de materiais e serviços às estratégias da empresa. O modelo contém, além do detalhamento das etapas do processo de compra, a proposta do uso de ferramentas de compras estratégicas adequadas ao perfil da empresa, como a Matriz de Kraljic (1983) aliada ao modelo de Ogden (2003), ambas adaptadas ao contexto analisado. / The purchasing department in companies has been faced with the need to become more efficient and effective in their acquisitions, so organizations have joined the use of strategic tools appropriate to their shopping needs. Therefore, this study aimed at proposing a purchasing management model of materials and services in a private company in Mato Grosso agribusiness animal nutrition, aligned to its strategies. For this purpose, work was structured in two articles. The first article it was done an analysis in the shopping process practiced for the company, to check the alignment of the materials and services sector of the management model to business strategies, through the purchasing process mapping and a semi structured interview with the company´s management responsible for the area, in order to verify the alignment process used, with the company's strategies. On the second article, took place on purchasing management model proposition of materials and services for the company, starting from the strategic needs identified on the first article and the survey of the main models of strategic management purchases of materials and services available in the literature. A strategic model of purchasing management for the company under investigation, it was structured through a SIPOC diagram and a detailed flow chart of the process and subsequently validated by the company´s staff. There was thus, as a result, a management model able to align the purchasing department of materials and services to the company's strategies. The model contains, in addition to detailing the stages of the buying process, the proposed of use of strategic purchasing tools appropriate to the company profile, such as the Mother of Kraljic (1983) combined with the model of Ogden (2003), both adapted to the analyzed context .