Growth has received considerable interest from researchersduring the past two decades. Some of this research focuses onorganizational issues as firms grow, proposing that thisprocess involves considerable formalization of structures,pro-cedures and systems. However, until recently, fewsubstantial research contri-butions have been made thatinvestigate the specific influence of growth on con-trol systemdevelopment. To address this gap in knowledge, this thesisexplores control system development in a fast-growing casefirm. Using a lever-of-control framework, it examines whichcontrol mechanisms that have been introduced, at what pointduring the growth process and why. This study also investigateshow these mechanisms were used during the period studied. Theempirical material was coll-ected through a number ofinterviews that were supplemented with internal docu-ments andobservations of organizational practice. In order to capturethe links between the control system changes and growth,special attention was paid to participants' intentions forthese changes. The focus on intentions is motivated by theassumption that participants' responses to their subjectiveperception of situ-ations are decisive for the emergence ofobservable organizational practices. The findings illustrate the importance of including anddistinguishing between dif-ferent growth measures, since bothorganizational growth (number of employees) and business growth(sales and profit) influenced the patterns observed in thiscase. Furthermore, the intentions behind the investigatedchanges involve both the achievement of goals and the handlingof consequences of the two types of growth. More specifically,business growth was related to the introduction of diagnosticcontrol systems and the formalization of work processes. Thesechanges were in-itiated by high-level managers striving toenhance firm performance and reduce risks. Organizationalgrowth, on the other hand, was associated with systems forintegration that were primarily initiated by employees. Inparticular, the geographi-cal differentiation of sub-unitsseemed to be associated with problems concerning motivation,confusions and coordination, because of communicationdifficulties between units that are spatially separate. Theseproblems were solved by providing distant units with additionalchannels for rich information. However, the interpre-tation andprecise classification of organizational practices also dependon which group's perspective one considers, as severalpractices could be interpreted in alt-ernative ways. Forinstance, when primarily considering the managers' perspective,one of the integrating information channels mentioned abovecould also be inter-preted as an interactive controlmechanism. The thesis also presents implications for theory andpractice and points out sev-eral promising areas for furtherresearch. Some findings highlight limitations in thetheoretical control framework and open for an extension of thelevers-of-control model. This case demonstrates that controlscan be used interactively not only to support innovation andstrategic maneuvering, but also for other purposes relevant tofirms operating in more stable environments that pursuestrategies with a relatively fixed business scope.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / The problem identified is the poor management and control of production, which includes direct consequences with regard to quality, planning of operations and work method; generating mainly penalties for non-fulfillment of orders, increased operating costs and lost opportunity cost that negatively affect the efficiency of the production process of concrete posts and accessories in a SME company. The implementation of an improvement model is proposed applying the Lean Manufacturing philosophy; whose application is focused on improving 3 main waste in the production system: defects, inventory and waiting time. The proposals of the study generated a reduction in the percentage of defects in the company by 6.46%, 9.50% in the case of penalties for non-compliance with orders, 34.67% in the cycle time and a 21% increase in the OEE of the machines.

Bakgrund - Projektbaserade företag är en organisationsform som har växt mycket i popularitet under de senaste åren och står idag för en stor del av vår världsekonomi. Projekt bygger på att det finns specifika mål, en tydlig tidsram samt vetskap om tillgängliga resurser. Detta har medfört ett ökat fokus på litteratur som försöker bidra till att förklara design av styrsystem i projektbaserade organisationer. Syfte - Syftet med studien är att bidra till förståelsen för vilka likheter och skillnader som finns mellan projektbaserade företags styrsystem och hur de förklaras av kontextuella faktorer samt företagens förändring över tid. Metod - Denna studie baseras på fem olika fallföretag i en projektbaserad kontext. Studien är av kvalitativ karaktär och empirin är insamlad via semistrukturerade intervjuer hos ABB, Skanska, ÅF, PEAB samt CGI. Slutsatser - Resultatet visar att det finns stora samband mellan styrning, kontextuella faktorer samt organisatoriskt lärande. Att inkludera en förändringsaspekt gör att vi kan förstå varför styrsystem utvecklas olika inom projektföretag vilket inte de mer befintliga statiska teorierna klarar av. Organisatoriskt lärande är en viktig del i att förklara utformning av styrsystem samt varför de skiljer mellan olika företag. / Background – Working in projects is a way of organizing which has experienced a big rise in popularity over the recent years and accounts for a large proportion of the global economy. Projects are based on specific objectives, a defined timeframe and knowledge of available resources. This has brought increased attention to literature that aims to explain the design behind management control systems in project-based organizations. Aim - The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the similarities and differences existing between project-based organizations management control systems and how these can be explained by contextual variables as well as how organizations change over time. Methodology - This paper is based on five different case studies of project based organizations. The research design is qualitative and the data has been gathered from semi-structured interviews with employees at ABB, Skanska, ÅF, PEAB and CGI. Conclusions - The results from this paper shows that there are a connection between management control systems, contextual variables and organizational learning. By including an aspect of change it is possible to understand why management control systems develop differently from each other which is not covered in the existing, more static, literature. Organizational learning is a key aspect in explaining the design of management control systems and why it differ between organizations.

In recent years many studies have discussed how companies choose to manage business. Management control is an essential factor for companies in order to achieve the objective and result of the organization. Management control can be defined as control. Control instruments can be applied in business and can vary from company to company. Companies’ goals, governance and the way that the goals are achieved can vary. Therefore, it is important to apply a control instrument which works as a support for the company. Control instruments which are applied in a business must be able to have an impact on the company and individuals behavior. Budget, which is a control instrument, has been criticized by different researchers. According to many researchers budget can have some negative effects. The study has taken two companies into consideration, Svenska Handelsbanken and Länsförsäkringar. The focus has been on investigating how an organization that apply a limited budget control or have gone beyond budgeting control the organization. The business case has been investigated using Management control systems.

Titel: Användning av styrsystem i skolan - en kvalitativ studie om styrsystemens påverkan på lärares arbetsbelastning Författare: Amanda Berntsson och Jenny Karlsson Handledare: Eva Berggren Nivå: Kandidatuppsats 15 HP, Företagsekonomi, Verksamhetsstyrning, VT 2018 Problembakgrund: År 2035 förväntas det råda en brist på 79 000 lärare i Sverige. Samtidigt är cirka hälften av lärarna alltid eller ofta stressade på jobbet och är tvungna att arbeta på sin fritid då arbetstiden inte räcker till. Denna statistik visar på att det finns ett praktiskt problem varför studien vill undersöka om detta kan kopplas till verksamhetsstyrningen i kommunala gymnasieskolor. Problemdiskussion: Tidigare studier har fokuserat på verksamhetsstyrning kopplat till elevresultat och inte på dess påverkan på lärares arbetsbelastning. En studie utförd inom vården har visat på ett samband mellan läkares utmattning och förekomst av onödiga och oskäliga arbetsuppgifter. Därför är det intressant att undersöka huruvida det finns ett liknande samband inom skolväsendet.  Frågeställning: Vilka styrsystem använder rektorer på kommunala gymnasieskolor och hur påverkar det lärares arbetsbelastning? Syfte: Syftet är att beskriva vilka styrsystem rektorer på kommunala gymnasieskolor använder sig av. Vidare är syftet att identifiera hur de olikastyrsystemen påverkar lärarnas arbetsbelastning. Teoretisk referensram: Den teoretiska referensramen behandlar styrsystem där vi valt att arbeta enligt Merchant och Van der Stede indelning vilken består av resultatstyrning, aktionsstyrning, personalstyrning och kulturell styrning. Slutligen presenteras negativa konsekvenser av tillämpning av de olika styrsystemen.  Metod: Kvalitativ metod med abduktiv ansats där intervjuer har genomförts med totalt sex respondenter, varav fyra rektorer och två lärare, som alla är verksamma på två kommunala gymnasieskolor. Empiri: Primärdata för de sex respondenter som intervjuats presenteras var styrsystem för sig och avslutas med negativa konsekvenser av styrning.  Analys: I kapitlet ställs empirin mot den teoretiska referensramen och analyseras var styrsystem för sig.  Slutsats: Studien har lett fram till följande fyra slutsatser- Skolornas användning av styrsystem skiljer sig åt- Större fokus på personalstyrning än resultatstyrning minskar lärares arbetsbelastning- De positiva konsekvenserna av skolans kultur minskar lärares arbetsbelastning- Lärares arbetsbelastning ökar till följd av en bristande kommunikation gällande dokumentationen Nyckelord: Verksamhetsstyrning, styrsystem, styrmedel, arbetsbelastning, skolväsendet / Title: The use of management control systems in school - a qualitative study on the influence of control systems on teachers workload Authors: Amanda Berntsson and Jenny Karlsson Thesis supervisor: Eva Berggren Level: Bachelor thesis 15 HP in Business Economics, Management, VT 2018 Background: By the year of 2035 it will be a lack of 79 000 teachers in Sweden. Simultaneously approximately half of the teachers in Sweden are always or often stressed at work and have to work leisure because the work time is insufficient. These statistics show that there is a practical problem and therefore this study aims to investigate if this problem can be linked to the management control system in municipal upper secondary schools. Problem: Previous studies have focused on management control affect on student results and not on its impact on teachers workload. A study conducted in healthcare has shown a connection between doctors fatigue and the occurrence of unnecessary and unreasonable task assignments. Therefore, it is interesting to analyze if there is a similar connection within the school system. Problem formulation: Which management control systems do the principal use at municipal upper secondary schools and how does it affect the teachers workload? Purpose: The purpose is to describe which management control systems principals at municipal upper secondary schools use. Furthermore, the purpose is to identify how the different control systems affect teachers workload. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework contains management control systems and we chose to apply Merchant and Van der Stede’s division, which consists of result control, action control, personnel control and cultural control. Furthermore, negative consequences of the application of the various control systems are presented. Methodology: The thesis are based on a qualitative method with abductive approach. Interviews has been conducted with six respondents, four principals and two teachers. All of them are active in two municipal upper secondary schools. Empirical findings: Primary data for the six respondents are presented in each of the four management control systems and finally negative consequences of management control systems is presented. Analysis: In this chapter, empirics compared to the theoretical framework are analyzed each control system individually. Conclusion: The study has led to the following four conclusions:- Schools use of control systems is different- More focus on personnel control instead of results control will reduce teachers workload- The positive consequences of a schools culture will reduce teachers workload- Teacher's workload increases as a result of a lack of communication regarding the documentation  Keywords: Management control, management control system, management, workload, school system

Background – A firm that achieves organizational ambidexterity is managing the balancing act of refining existing capabilities while also discovering new opportunities in the marketplace. It has shown that the achievement of organizational ambidexterity will lead to better perfor- mance but also long-term survival. The challenge that comes with achieving organizational ambidexterity is present within all firms regardless of size. Yet, extant literature has focused on the research of larger firms. The characteristics may differ significantly between a larger enter- prise and a small-to-medium-sized enterprise. For instance, the amount of available resources appears to differ relative to firm size. As a result, it is reasonable to assume that the way organ- izational ambidexterity is achieved may also differ depending on the size of the firm. It is argued that management control systems play an important role with respect to organiza- tional ambidexterity. Further, these control systems may be viewed as a package of controls which through occurring dynamic tensions, provide the complexity needed for a firm to be ambidextrous. Yet, the role of these interrelated control systems and how they enable ambidex- terity is understudied among SMEs. Purpose – This thesis aims to explore management control systems as a package and its ena- bling role in achieving organizational ambidexterity within SMEs. Method – The empirical data was collected by interviewing members of the top management team within three different SMEs. The empirics were gathered through semi-structured inter- views and then analyzed in relation to reviewed theory within the package approach of man- agement control systems, by conducting a thematic analysis. Findings – The findings from this thesis suggest that SMEs need to find ways to allocate their finite resources in order to meet the current strategic challenge at hand. SMEs have a firm spe- cific focus on either refinement of existing capabilities or discovery of new opportunities de- pending on the current state of the marketplace. While both focuses may be present simultane- ously, the SMEs still need to prioritize one side over the other due to resource limitations. Hence, the findings suggest a hybrid between contextual- and sequential ambidexterity as the most appropriate narrative for the studied SMEs. Management control systems as a package fits into this narrative as tensions occur between the systems which triggers ambidextrous activities. A well-integrated package approach work as a navigation system and may thus facilitate the achievement of current strategic challenges. The finalized framework in this thesis comple- ments existing theory by suggesting two different scenarios occurring within SMEs. In order for SMEs to achieve organizational ambidexterity, a shift between these two scenarios occurs in the long run.

I denna kvalitativa fallstudie undersöks den svenska konsert- och eventbranschen utifrån perspektivetekonomistyrning och management control. Genom intervjuer av yrkesverksamma personer relevantasett till studiens syfte undersöks vilken budgetering som förefaller sig lämpligast, om det riskeraskompetenstapp internt och externt för att slutligen bygga emot frågeställningen om vilka faktorer somprimärt hindrar en uppstart och återgång för verksamheten till normal kapacitet. Vi finner att det ihänseende till den osäkra miljön ställs krav på verksamheten att omstrukturera och vara agil, detta dåbegränsningarna för verksamheten kommer från politiskt håll och att det saknats en långsiktig plan attförhålla sig till vad gäller uppöppning. Genom studerande av teorier kring motivation anser vi att detföreligger risk för att personal ska vara mer ambivalenta än tidigare till följd av att de inte harbetydelsefulla arbetsuppgifter, dock observeras det avskedningar och omstruktureringar som gör attpersonal som annars skulle varit överflödiga redan har fått gå eller fått nya arbetsuppgifter. Slutligenanser vi att de faktorer som primärt kan försvåra en uppstart är förlust av humankapital ochnyckelkompetens till följd av omstrukturering. Vi anser även att avsaknaden, eller felhantering avplanering kan leda företag på villovägar, det anknyter till den första frågeställningen om budgetering.Ett sätt att hantera de mesta av de möjliga problem vi förutser, är att hålla organisationstyrningen organisk. / This case study examines the swedish concert- and events industry from the perspective of financialmanagement and management control. Through interviews with professionals relevant to the purposeof the report, it examines what budgeting seems most appropriate, whether there is a risk of a loss ofcompetence internally and externally, and finally what factors primarily prevent the start-up and returnof the business to normal capacity. We find that the uncertain environment places demands on thebusiness to restructure and be agile, as the constraints on the business come from the political level andthere has been no long-term plan to relate to in terms of start-up. By studying theories of motivation, webelieve that there is a risk that staff will be more ambivalent than before as a result of not havingmeaningful work tasks, however, redundancies and restructuring are observed which means that staffwho would otherwise be redundant have already been laid off, or given new work tasks. Finally, we findthat the primary factors that may impede continuation of the business are the loss of human capital andkey skills due to restructuring. We also believe that the absence, or mismanagement of planning canlead firms astray, which links to the first issue of budgeting. One way to deal with most of the possibleproblems we foresee is to keep organisational management organic.

I denna kvalitativa fallstudie undersöks den svenska konsert- och eventbranschen utifrån perspektivetekonomistyrning och management control. Genom intervjuer av yrkesverksamma personer relevantasett till studiens syfte undersöks vilken budgetering som förefaller sig lämpligast, om det riskeraskompetenstapp internt och externt för att slutligen bygga emot frågeställningen om vilka faktorer somprimärt hindrar en uppstart och återgång för verksamheten till normal kapacitet. Vi finner att det ihänseende till den osäkra miljön ställs krav på verksamheten att omstrukturera och vara agil, detta dåbegränsningarna för verksamheten kommer från politiskt håll och att det saknats en långsiktig plan attförhålla sig till vad gäller uppöppning. Genom studerande av teorier kring motivation anser vi att detföreligger risk för att personal ska vara mer ambivalenta än tidigare till följd av att de inte harbetydelsefulla arbetsuppgifter, dock observeras det avskedningar och omstruktureringar som gör attpersonal som annars skulle varit överflödiga redan har fått gå eller fått nya arbetsuppgifter. Slutligenanser vi att de faktorer som primärt kan försvåra en uppstart är förlust av humankapital ochnyckelkompetens till följd av omstrukturering. Vi anser även att avsaknaden, eller felhantering avplanering kan leda företag på villovägar, det anknyter till den första frågeställningen om budgetering.Ett sätt att hantera de mesta av de möjliga problem vi förutser, är att hålla organisationstyrningen organisk. / This case study examines the swedish concert- and events industry from the perspective of financialmanagement and management control. Through interviews with professionals relevant to the purposeof the report, it examines what budgeting seems most appropriate, whether there is a risk of a loss ofcompetence internally and externally, and finally what factors primarily prevent the start-up and returnof the business to normal capacity. We find that the uncertain environment places demands on thebusiness to restructure and be agile, as the constraints on the business come from the political level andthere has been no long-term plan to relate to in terms of start-up. By studying theories of motivation, webelieve that there is a risk that staff will be more ambivalent than before as a result of not havingmeaningful work tasks, however, redundancies and restructuring are observed which means that staffwho would otherwise be redundant have already been laid off, or given new work tasks. Finally, we findthat the primary factors that may impede continuation of the business are the loss of human capital andkey skills due to restructuring. We also believe that the absence, or mismanagement of planning canlead firms astray, which links to the first issue of budgeting. One way to deal with most of the possibleproblems we foresee is to keep organisational management organic.

<p>Bakgrund: Traditionell styrning har kritiserats av en rad olika författare och en modern verksamhetsstyrning har utvecklats. Vi menar att traditionella tillverkande företag är intressanta ur den aspekten att traditionella ekonomistyrningsmodeller är uppbyggda kring dessa typer av företag. Frågan vi ställer oss är alltså huruvida modern verksamhetsstyrning är ändamålsenlig i traditionella tillverkande företag.</p><p>Syfte och metod: Syftet med den här uppsatsen är, att beskriva och analysera tillämpningen av traditionella och modernare verksamhetsstyrningsmetoder i traditionella, tillverkande företag. Vår empiri är baserad på sex olika kvalitativa intervjuer på företagen Cloetta Fazer, Milko och Skånemejerier.</p><p>Resultat: Traditionellt tillverkande företag möter inte samma förutsättningar som tidigare och behöver därför på många plan anpassa sin styrning.</p> / <p>Background: Many authors have criticised traditional methods of management control which has triggered the development of modern management control methods. We believe that an interesting aspect of traditional companies from the manufacturing sector is that traditional management control models spring from demands from these types of companies. We want to find out whether modern management control is fit-to-purpose solution for traditional manufacturing companies.</p><p>Purpose and methods: The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse the use of traditional and more modern operations management control methods, in traditional manufacturing companies. Empirical work is based on six qualitative interviews with representants from the three companies Cloetta Fazer, Milko and Skånemejerier.</p><p>Results: Traditional manufacturing companies do not face the same conditions compared with yesterday, and must in many areas change their management control.</p>

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