I takt med e-handelns starka tillväxt så har även antalet returer ökat och e-handelsföretag kan ha upp till 50 % i returandel vilket kan medföra höga kostnader. Detta har inneburit att returhanteringen blivit en allt viktigare del för e-handelsföretag. Syftet med denna studie är att få en bättre förståelse för hur returhanteringen ser ut hos e-handelsföretag inom klädbranschen. Problemfrågorna berör vilka utmaningar står e-handlare inför idag och vilka aktiviteter kan de använda sig av för att överkomma dessa utmaningar men även hur stort fokus olika stora företag bör lägga på sina returaktiviteter. Studien baseras på en litteraturgenomgång samt en intervjustudie på fyra olika stora e-handelsföretag. De intervjuade företagen är olika stora och har ett olika stort fokus på sin e-handel. Denna studie visar på vad de olika e-handelsföretagen har för fokus på sina returaktiviteter och vad det kan leda till. Returhanteringen och dess utmaningar ser annorlunda ut för olika e-handelsföretag. För att överkomma de utmaningar som e-handelsföretag står inför är det viktigt att ha väl fungerande aktiviteter inom avoidance, gatekeeping och returpolicy som stöds av den operativa returhanteringsprocessen. För både stora och små företag är det viktigt att ha en hög medvetenhet men för mindre företag behöver det inte vara kostnadseffektivt att lägga ett allt för stort fokus på sina returaktiviteter. Syftet med returhantering är att skapa en balans mellan försäljning och kostnader / In line with the strong growth of e-commerce, the number of returns has also increased and some e-retailers can have a return ratio of 50 % which can cause high costs. Because of this, return management has become an increasingly important part of e-retailers. The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of how return management is performed by e-retailers in the apparel business. The problem questions in this study is about what challenges are e-retailers faced with and what activities can they use to respond to these challenges. This study is based on a literature review and the interview of four companies. The interviewed companies are different ones in size with a different focus on their e-commerce. This study shows how much the interviewed companies are focusing on their activities around returns and what the outcome can be. Return management and its challenges are different for different e-retailers. To overcome their challenges, it is important to have well-functioning activities within avoidance, gatekeeping and return policy that supports the operational returns management process. Regardless size on the companies it is important to achieve a high level of awareness, however, it does not need to be profitable for smaller companies to have a strong focus on their return activities as bigger ones. The purpose of return management is to create a balance between sales and cost.

The aim was to analyze processes selected SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and to suggest possible improvements in the selection processes. In the initial stage, I deal with study of professional literature Czech and foreign authors. I used the information to write a review of the literature. The Part of my work is devoted to the description of the company and also describe the key processes. The findings gave me the possibility of a comprehensive perspective on the issue and used to create a design of the possible improvements in selected processes.

Knowledge management has roots in a variety of disciplines, such as philosophy, psychology, social sciences, management sciences and computing. As a result, a wide variety of theories and definitions of knowledge and knowledge management is used in the literature. Irrespective of the theory or definition used, is it recognised that expert knowledge and insight are gained through experience and practice and that it is a key differentiator as an organisational asset. This shift to knowledge as the primary source of value results in the new economy being led by those who manage knowledge effectively. Today’s organisations are creating and leveraging knowledge, data and information at an unprecedented pace – a phenomenon that makes the use of technology not an option, but a necessity. It enables employees to deal with multifaceted environments and problems and make it possible for organisations to expand their knowledge creation capacity. Software tools in knowledge management are a collection of technologies and are not necessarily acquired as a single software solution. Furthermore, these knowledge management software tools have the advantage of using the organisation’s existing information technology infrastructure. Organisations and business decision makers spend a great deal of resources and make significant investments in the latest technology, systems and infrastructure to support knowledge management. It is imperative that these investments are validated properly, made wisely and that the most appropriate technologies and software tools are selected or combined to facilitate knowledge management. The purpose of this interpretive case study is to consider these issues and to focus on an understanding of the key characteristics of a knowledge management system architecture by exploring and describing the nature of knowledge management. Based on the findings of this study, a list of key characteristics that a knowledge management solution must comply with was collated, which expanded the existing knowledge management model towards describing a knowledge management system architecture. / Computing / M.Sc. (Information Systems)

This thesis aimed to assess the level of processes occurring in the selected company using the methods of process management and propose any changes. Selected company is the joint stock company SAG. In the theoretical part, the author defined the basic concepts and methods of process management, the output of the literature review. In the practical part, the analysis and evaluation processes in selected companies to identify those business processes that have priority in terms of their performance. Based on the priority business processes, subprocesses have been designed with low performance affecting a large number of critical factors, which were proposed changes to increase efficiency of these subprocesses.

Bakgrund och problemdiskussion: Riskhanteringsprocessen utformas på olika sätt i olika företag och den behöver anpassas till både interna och externa förändringar eftersom företag verkar i olika miljöer och utsätts därmed för olika sorters risk. Förutom detta blir även riskhanteringsprocessen en särskilt betydelsefull process för företag som bedriver samhällsviktiga verksamheter eftersom de är av yttersta vikt för samhällets funktion. Idag existerar det en stor mängd litteratur om ämnet riskhantering men vi fann en frånvaro av forskning som studerar den praktiska tillämpningen av riskhanteringsprocessen och styrningen genom hela processen. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur riskhanteringsprocessen är utformad och hur den styrs för att bidra med ökad kunskap om vilka element som är av kritisk karaktär i processen. Studien avser även att undersöka hur hela organisationen och dess intressenter inkluderas i riskarbetet. Metod: För att uppfylla studiens syfte har vi utfört en kvalitativ enfallsstudie på företaget E.ON Sverige. För att samla in det empiriska materialet har intervjuer tillämpats, både personliga och telefonintervjuer. Totalt genomfördes fem intervjuer vilka även har kompletterats med återkommande samtal med våra huvudkontakter på E.ON under hela studiens gång. Slutsats: De kritiska momenten i en riskhanteringsprocess är intern kommunikation samt att företag måste beakta sina intressentgruppers krav och intressen och ta hänsyn till dessa vid utformandet av företagets riskhanteringsprocess. / Background and problem discussion: The risk management process needs to be designed based on the specific company, and adapted to both internal and external circumstances and changes since every company operates in different environments and is therefore subject to different types of risks. Meanwhile, the risk management process is especially crucial for companies whose activities have a major impact on the function of the society. Today’s literature within the subject risk management covers a vast range, however, we identified an absence of research that focuses on the practical implementation of risk management and the control throughout its whole process. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine how the risk management process is designed and how it is governed in order to contribute with increased insights regarding what elements are critical in the process. Moreover, the study aims to investigate how the organization as a whole, including its stakeholders, is involved in its work with risk management. Method: In order to fulfill the purpose of the study, a qualitative single case study was applied at the company E.ON Sweden. Both personal interviews as well as phone interviews were carried out with the intention of gathering empirical material. In total, five interviews were held, and they have been supplemented with recurring conversations with the main contacts at E.ON throughout the stages of the research. Conclusion: The critical elements in the risk management process lie within the internal communication and in respecting the stakeholders’ demands as well as considering these while formulating the risk management process for the company.

Submitted by CARLOS RODRIGO VOLANTE null (crvolante@hotmail.com) on 2017-10-05T19:08:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Carlos_Rodrigo_Volante.pdf: 2253847 bytes, checksum: 795d5b141d4231adc3de8db178b62d62 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Monique Sasaki (sayumi_sasaki@hotmail.com) on 2017-10-09T17:23:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 volante_cr_me_jabo.pdf: 2253847 bytes, checksum: 795d5b141d4231adc3de8db178b62d62 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-09T17:23:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 volante_cr_me_jabo.pdf: 2253847 bytes, checksum: 795d5b141d4231adc3de8db178b62d62 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-06 / Os projetos de embalagens para alimentos apresentam particularidades em relação aos demais projetos, principalmente quando comparados a bens duráveis. As embalagens para alimentos sofrem constantemente alterações, seja no material, este com menor frequência, seja no formato, na arte ou em aplicação de acessórios como formas de abrir ou fechar após o uso. Uns mais, outros menos, mas todos esses projetos envolvem riscos e incertezas. As embalagens podem ser classificadas em várias formas e estas contribuem para definição das variáveis envolvidas no projeto, além da relação entre elas. O objetivo do trabalho tem como premissa a análise das variáveis de acordo com o escopo da proposta de procedimento de cálculo matemático proposta. A ênfase do procedimento é facilitar o processo decisório dos gestores para aumentar a competitividade no setor agroindustrial alimentício. Para atingir este objetivo, foram identificadas as principais variáveis envolvidas e uma metodologia de cálculo foi desenvolvida para identificar a margem de contribuição dos produtos oriundos do projeto, embasada no custeio variável. Um estudo de caso foi realizado em uma indústria alimentícia e três projetos de embalagens foram objetos de estudo. Foram utilizadas características do custeio variável para elaboração da proposta de cálculo. Obteve-se um procedimento de cálculo capaz de identificar o ponto de equilíbrio de um projeto de embalagens para alimentos, a quantidade mínima a ser vendida, a margem de contribuição em relação à previsão de vendas, além de permitir comparar diferentes projetos de embalagens para alimentos fundamentados no custeio variável. / Food packaging projects have particularities in relation to other projects, especially when compared to durable goods. Food packaging constantly changes, whether in material, at a lower frequency, or in the format, in the art or in applying accessories as ways of opening or closing it after using. All these projects involve risks and uncertainties; some of them involve more, some others involve less. Packaging can be classified in several ways which contributes to defining the variables involved in the project, as well as the relationship between them. The objective of the study was to analyze these variables accordingly to the mathematical calculation proposed and present a proposal that offers support to the managers decision-making process to increase competitiveness in the agroindustry field. To achieve this objective, the main variables involved were identified and a methodology to calculate was developed to identify the contribution margin of the project based on variable costing. A case study was carried out in one of the food processing industry and three packaging were a study object. Were used variable costing characteristics for the calculation. The outcome was a procedure capable of identify the food packaging project breakeven point, the minimum selling amount, the contributing margin to a predicable sale, besides allowing different food packaging projects based on variable costing comparison.

The subject of thesis "Change management in selected company`` is analyse of internal and external environment on the basis of SWOT and STEP analysis. Furthermore, analyse of business processes in a particular company. The theoretical part is aimed at defining the basic concepts and methods descriptions of change management. In the practical part I am mapping the processes in the company and suggesting their reengineering. Based on the analysis I am suggesting the possibilities of further changes in the company.

Abstract The research idea emerged from the practical questions that the researcher encountered when acting as a HR director: How to ensure the ability of the organization to execute strategic goals? Which management processes and practices help strengthen the capability of the organization? With what kind of meters can Organizational Strategic Readiness be measured? The aim of the research is to construct a strategy-focused capability management model in order to improve the organization's capability faster than the rate at which overall development takes place in the industry and to strengthen Organizational Strategic Readiness. Two management models will be tested. Capability here means a combination that results from the process of integrating tangible and intangible assets and that is embedded in the organizational infrastructure and practices in the organization's operation. Capability reflects what an organization can do and refers to organizational, rather than human, expertise or technology-induced benefits. The products and servicing arising from such capabilities are of particularly high value to customers. Capability determines the ability of the organization to generate value, profitability and productivity trends, and future business opportunities. Strategic capabilities are necessary in order to achieve strategic aims and the strategy execution is based on them. However, strategic aims require always stretched efforts because, when they are set, the organization does not yet have the capabilities required to achieve them. Organizational capabilities must be developed to the level of the strategic aims in order to ensure that the latter can be achieved. Therefore, from the strategy implementation point of view, it is essential to manage the capabilities in the way and with the speed required by strategic challenges. To manage strategic capabilities is to manage strategy execution. The solution to the problem where a strategy has not been implemented is not necessarily to draw up a new strategy but rather to evaluate the gap between organizational capabilities and strategic aims and then to develop strategic capabilities. Organizational Strategic Readiness describes whether the organization has access to the necessary management processes and practices for strategy execution and capability improvement. The research sets out from the People Capability Maturity Model (P-CMM), which was tested in collaboration with 19 organizations representing the energy, electronics, forest and metal industries, and healthcare and education, in the private and public sectors. The aim was to test how well the selected management model meets the requirements of capability management. The model was found to be insufficient for this purpose so it was extended into a strategy-focused capability management model in accordance with constructive research methodology. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimusidea virisi tutkijan kohtaamista käytännön kysymyksistä hänen toimiessaan henkilöstöjohtajana. Miten varmistaa, että organisaatio kykenee toimeenpanemaan strategiset tavoitteet? Millä johtamisprosesseilla ja -käytännöillä voidaan tukea organisaation kyvykkyyden vahvistumista? Millä mittareilla voidaan mitata organisaation strategista valmiutta? Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on luoda strategiakeskeinen kyvykkyyden johtamismalli, jonka avulla voidaan parantaa organisaation kyvykkyyttä toimialan kehitysvauhtia nopeammin sekä vahvistaa organisaation strategista valmiutta. Tutkimuksessa testataan kahta johtamismallia. Kyvykkyydellä tarkoitetaan aineettomien ja aineellisten pääomien integroitumisprosessin tuloksena syntynyttä yhteenliittymää, joka on kietoutunut organisaation infrastruktuuriin ja ilmenee organisaation toiminnassa vakiintuneina käytäntöinä. Kyvykkyys kuvaa, mitä organisaatio osaa tehdä ja viittaa organisaation ominaisuuteen, ei yksittäisten ihmisten osaamisiin tai teknologian tuomaan hyötyyn. Niiden tuottamilla tuotteilla ja palveluilla on erityisen paljon arvoa asiakkaille. Kyvykkyys määrittää organisaation suoritus- ja kilpailukyvyn sekä tulevaisuuden liiketoimintamahdollisuudet. Strategiset kyvykkyydet ovat kyvykkyyksiä, jotka ovat välttämättömiä strategisten tavoitteiden saavuttamiseksi. Strategian toimeenpanosuunnitelma perustuu niihin. Strategiset tavoitteet ovat kuitenkin aina lähtökohtaisesti venymisen tavoitteita; tavoitteita asetettaessa organisaatiolla ei ole vielä kyvykkyyttä toimeenpanna niitä. Organisaation kyvykkyyden tulee kehittyä organisaation strategisten tavoitteiden tasolle, jotta strategiset tavoitteet toteutuvat. Siksi strategian toimeenpanon kannalta on oleellista kyky johtaa kyvykkyyksiä strategisten haasteiden edellyttämällä tavalla ja vauhdilla. Strategisten kyvykkyyksien johtaminen on strategian toimeenpanon johtamista. Toteutumattoman strategian ratkaisuna ei välttämättä ole uuden strategian määrittäminen, vaan organisaation kyvykkyyden ja strategisten tavoitteiden välisen kuilun arviointi ja strategisten kyvykkyyksien kehittäminen. Organisaation strateginen valmius kuvaa onko organisaatiolla strategian toimeenpanon ja kyvykkyyksien vahvistumisen edellyttämät johtamisprosessit ja -käytännöt. Tutkimuksen lähtökohtana oli kyvykkyyden johtamismalli (People Capability Maturity Model, P-CMM). Sitä testattiin yhteistyössä 19 eri organisaation kanssa. Organisaatiot toimivat energia-, elektroniikkateollisuus-, metsäteollisuus-, metalliteollisuus-, terveydenhuolto- ja koulutusaloilla sekä valtion, kunnan ja aluetoimijasektoreilla. Testauksen tarkoituksena oli tutkia johtamismallin toimivuutta kyvykkyyden johtamiseksi. Johtamismalli osoittautui kuitenkin riittämättömäksi. Siksi sitä laajennettiin konstruktiivisella menetelmällä strategiakeskeisen kyvykkyyden johtamismalliksi.

Abstract In recent years the number of attacks on critical infrastructure has not only increased substantially but such attacks have also shown higher sophistication. With the increasing interconnection of information systems it is common that critical systems communicate and share information outside an organization’s networks for many different scenarios. In the academic world as well as in existing security implementations, focus is placed on individual aspects of the security process - for example, network security, legal and regulatory compliance and privacy - without considering the process on the whole. This work focuses on solving this security gap of critical infrastructure by providing solutions for emerging attack vectors. Using design science research methods, a model was developed that seeks to combine these individual security aspects to form a complete security management process (SMP). This SMP introduces, among others theories of security topics, recommended best practices and a security organization structure. An instantiation of the SMP model was implemented for a large-scale critical infrastructure. This work introduces the system developed, its architecture, personnel hierarchy and security relevant workflows. Due to employed surveillance networks, specialized requirements for bandwidth utilization while preserving data security were present. Thus algorithms for solving these requirements are introduced as sub-constructs. Other focus points are the managerial aspects of sensors deployed in surveillance networks and the automatic processing of the sensor data to perform data fusion. Algorithms for both tasks were developed for the specific system but could be generalized for other instantiations. Verification was performed by empirical studies of the instantiation in two separate steps. First the instantiation of the SMP was analyzed as a whole. One of the main quality factors of the instantiation is incident response time, especially in complex scenarios. Consequently measurements of response times when handling incidents compared to the traditional system were performed in different scenarios. System usability was then verified by user acceptance tests of operators and administrators. Both studies indicate significant improvements compared to traditional security systems. Secondly, the sub-constructs communication optimizations and the data fusion algorithm were verified showing substantial improvements in their corresponding areas. / Tiivistelmä Viime vuosina kriittisiin infrastruktuureihin on kohdistunut merkittävästi aiempaa enemmän erilaisia hyökkäyksiä. Tietojärjestelmien välisten yhteyksien lisääntymisen myötä myös kriittiset järjestelmät kommunikoivat nykyään keskenään ja jakavat tietoa organisaation sisäisten verkkojen ulkopuolellekin. Akateemisessa tutkimuksessa ja turvajärjestelmien toteutuksissa on huomio kohdistettu turvallisuutta koskevien prosessien yksittäisiin piirteisiin, kuten esimerkiksi verkkojen turvallisuuteen, lakien ja sääntöjen noudattamiseen ja yksityisyyteen, miettimättä prosesseja kokonaisuutena. Väitöstutkimuksen tavoitteena on ollut ratkaista tämä kriittisten infrastruktuurien turvallisuusongelma tarjoamalla ratkaisuja, jotka paljastavat mahdollisia hyökkäysreittejä. Väitöstutkimuksessa kehitettiin suunnittelutieteellisen tutkimuksen avulla lähestymistapa, joka yhdistää yksittäiset turvallisuusnäkökohdat ja muodostaa näin turvallisuuden kokonaishallinnan prosessin mallin. Malli hyödyntää erilaisia turvallisuusteorioita, suositeltuja hyviä käytäntöjä ja turvallisen organisaation rakennemalleja. Mallista kehitettiin esimerkkitoteutus laajamittaista kriittistä infrastruktuuria varten. Tämä väitöskirja esittelee kehitetyn järjestelmän, sen arkkitehtuurin, henkilökuntahierarkian ja turvallisuuden kannalta relevantit työnkulkukaaviot. Työssä huomioitiin laajan valvontaverkoston edellyttämät erityisvaatimukset tilanteessa, jossa tietoturvallisuuden säilyttäminen oli tärkeää. Myös näiden erityisvaatimuksiin liittyvien mallin osien ratkaisualgoritmit esitetään. Muita työn tuotoksia ovat hallinnolliset näkökulmat, jotka on huomioitava, kun valvonnalle tärkeitä sensoreita hallinnoidaan ja sensorien tuottamaa dataa yhdistellään. Algoritmit luotiin esimerkkiympäristöön, mutta niitä on mahdollista soveltaa muihinkin toteutuksiin. Toteutuksen oikeellisuuden todentamisessa käytettiin empiirisiä ympäristöjä kahdessa eri vaiheessa. Ensiksi turvallisuusprosessin kokonaishallinnan malli analysoitiin kokonaisuutena. Merkittävä laatutekijä oli havaintotapahtuman vasteaika erityisesti monimutkaisissa skenaarioissa. Siksi työssä esitellään eri skenaarioiden avulla tapahtumanhallinnan vasteaikojen mittauksia suhteessa perinteisiin järjestelmiin. Tämän jälkeen järjestelmän käytettävyys todennettiin operaattorien ja hallintohenkilöstön kanssa tehtyjen hyväksymistestien avulla. Testit osoittivat huomattavaa parannusta verrattuna perinteisiin turvajärjestelmiin. Toiseksi verifiointiin mallin osien kommunikaation optimointi ja algoritmien toimivuus erikseen ja niissäkin ilmeni huomattavia parannuksia perinteisiin järjestelmiin verrattuna.

Time tracking means to record and analyze costs in relation with business output. Managerial time tracking can be characterized as a tool that links working-time recording with planning, approving, rating, billing, invoicing, etc. This thesis deals with theoretical consequences and facts of time tracking approaches, and with practical application of these approaches with the usage of IT time tracking tools. There are described various alternatives of time tracking systems and characterized automatization of business processes with the focus on time tracking business process.