<p><p>This paper is based on the concept that Values drive value, a theory investigated by Bo Enquist and his colleagues at CTF in Karlstad. Our research attempts to see if the values of a supplier really matter to the purchaser.</p><p> </p><p>The focus of our research is two organizations that have official values that play a major part in the organizational decision making, culture and marketing. Currently there is a consensus that the culture is an essential factor in creating successful businesses.</p></p>

This paper is based on the concept that Values drive value, a theory investigated by Bo Enquist and his colleagues at CTF in Karlstad. Our research attempts to see if the values of a supplier really matter to the purchaser.   The focus of our research is two organizations that have official values that play a major part in the organizational decision making, culture and marketing. Currently there is a consensus that the culture is an essential factor in creating successful businesses.

(Geo)demographic factors of consumers' behaviour Abstract This master's thesis deals with the issue of consumers' behaviour on theoretical level with empirical measuring of customers' satisfaction related to the selected mobile operator. The object of survey is the consumer and the subject matter comprises his behaviour in consumption, resp. his behaviour after purchase. The aim of the analysis is to conduct a test of relations between variables, to search for statistically significant differences between average values assigned to the overall satisfaction among particular groups of consumers divided using (geo) demographic and social variables, to describe segments created with reference to the level of satisfaction and to define such factors, which contribute towards the resultant value of satisfaction declared by significant means. The data analysis is based on selection survey conducted in the year 2008, using the method of individual, and standardised, assisted questioning. The processing of data is implemented, one- or multi-dimensional statistics - testing of average values, dispersion analysis, correlation, regression and factor analyses. That resulted in the finding that there was a relation between the overall satisfaction and gender, age, education, marital status, employment, territory. The most...

The thesis aims to understand how learning processes are affected when an organization split into two separate organizations. The study is designed as a single case, covering a new government agency’s takeover of a core activity from another agency and the use of a purchase-provider split between the agencies, providing the new agency with IT-services. The findings revealed a difference in productive system and knowledge types between core- and IT-activities. The core activity was found to be dominated by explicit knowledge while the IT-activity seemed to be dominated by a mix of explicit and tacit knowledge. In order to bridge the gap between these two contexts needs, the organization of service management played a crucial part in boosting knowledge sharing and organizational learning within and between the two agencies, using a middle-up-down management style. Furthermore, the learning environment for managers in the core activities became restricted, using instrumental management strategies and focusing mainly on explicit knowledge, resulting in a lack of trust towards the providing agency.  However, the skill to perform on the operational level was maintained due to preserved relationships. Finally, the competence to order software requirement was found to be a collective competence evolving in the interaction between users and software developers. In order to be successful, a purchase-provider split needs to consider learning processes to a larger extent and the fact that requirement competence is a shared knowledge between purchaser and provider. Moreover, to make a purchaser-provider split successful over long term, new management strategies seem to be required based, on communicative rationality and not merely strategic rationality.

This study investigates the required implementation of the System of Choice in the Swedish County Council of Västerbotten. The System of Choice is a national law with the objective to improve efficiency within primary care in Sweden. This was done by opening the market for more competition and giving the citizens the right to choose where to seek care. The reform was a big change for the organisation of health provision, which had up until the reform been characterized by monopolistic behaviour by county councils as dominant firms. At the time of this study it had been three years since the beginning of Health Choice, which is the name for the reform in Västerbotten. The aim of this research was to find out if the way in which Västerbotten County Council has chosen to shape Health Choice has led to the fulfilment of the objective of increased competition and thus higher motivation to perform quality care. This has been done by examining the development of the Health Choice and its reimbursement system through the eyes of the primary care providers. The study has further looked at the reasons underlying the result and ways to improve it. This area is not new ground for research. The organisation of health care is a popular topic all over the world since the population is growing and becoming older, thus putting increased pressure on the provision of health care (WHO, 2010, p. VI). Research has however showed that the optimal organisation of a reimbursement system for the primary care largely depends upon local conditions (Anell, 2005, p. 61). Since there is little previous in-depth information about the outcome of the Health Choice, the approach of this study has been inductive. Due to this exploratory and explanatory nature of the study a qualitative approach was applied. The data-collection has been done through 14 semi-structured interviews of about an hour each. To be able to catch the effects of the reimbursement system 11 of the interviews were conducted with health centre directors, representing both private and public providers as well as the different regions within the county council. The three other interviews were held with representatives from the county council and the supporting department for the Primary Care Group. The interviews generated transcribed text of 250 pages. This material was sifted and processed using the template analysis approach. The result shows that the county council‟s attitude to the Health Choice has negatively affected how it has been implemented. Too little resources have been spent on the purchasing department that is responsible for the development of the Health Choice and its reimbursement system. These factors have led to an organisation of Health Choice that discourages private providers to enter the primary care market in Västerbotten and there has thus only been a small increase in competition. A complex system with low continuity, lack of information and focus on the wrong things have led to the value of the reimbursement system as a motivational tool for increasing cost effectiveness and quality of care to be low.

A re-sourcing decision is a sourcing decision subsequent to an outsourcing arrangement. Effective management of re-sourcing decisions is vital in ensuring the stability and continuity of organisational operations supported by outsourced critical activities. However, despite the importance of this stage in the outsourcing cycle, most outsourcing research has focused on outsourcing determinants and outsourcing process control stages. The study reported in this thesis set out to explore maintenance re-sourcing decisions in an asset-intensive service organisation operating in a capital constrained economy. The objectives of the study were to determine the factors that influence the management of maintenance re-sourcing decisions in asset intensive service organisations and to propose a management model for guiding maintenance re-sourcing decision making processes in such organisations. In order to achieve these objectives, a qualitative style oriented in-depth case study was adopted. Results from a thematic data analysis revealed that the management of re-sourcing decisions is impacted by factors that fall into three categories: the purchasing organisation s structural elements, external structural elements and boundary spanning elements. However, of the three categories, boundary spanning elements were found to have a greater bearing on the effectiveness of the most critical stages, incumbent supplier performance evaluation and incumbent to alternative supplier comparison. In addition to the recognised role that outsourcing models play in guiding sourcing decisions, this study has revealed the importance of three more key enablers. These include: recruiting qualified and experienced individuals into boundary spanning roles, developing and maintaining enabling environments for boundary spanners to engage in behaviour that supports the purchaser s goals and values, and, developing information management systems targeted at enhancing regular capturing of incumbent and alternative supplier capability and capacity before re-sourcing decision time. The results from this study will primarily benefit sourcing managers in asset-intensive service organisations operating in capital constrained economies that have outsourced or intend to outsource maintenance.

Aujourd’hui, il est considéré que la part Achat représente de 50 à 90% du prix de revient des produits et services des entreprises en fonction de leur secteur d’activité. L'acte d'Achat devient donc stratégique car la compétitivité de l'entreprise dépend du professionnalisme avec lequel il est effectué. Le rôle de l’acheteur ne cesse d’évoluer et de se spécialiser. Dès lors, la problématique de la caractérisation des compétences, plus précisément des aspects comportementaux et métacognitifs, et de leurs modalités de développement deviennent indispensables. Notre projet de recherche sera consacré à l’identification de ces compétences et connaissances que l’acheteur " idéal " devrait posséder selon les recruteurs et les acheteurs eux-mêmes. Les notions d’apprentissage et d’évolution des compétences seront également un élément important de notre démarche. Notre recherche est fondée sur une approche qualitative abductive. Dans ce cadre, et sur la base d’entretiens personnalisés, nous avons mobilisé l’opinion de deux populations : -" les experts ", que nous définissons comme tels car ils interviennent dans les différents processus de sélection d’acheteurs, - les acheteurs eux-mêmes, séniors et juniors.C’est enfin une démarche systémique impliquant l’ensemble des acteurs de la caractérisation et du développement des compétences spécifiques au " bon " acheteur que nous préconisons. En effet les experts, les acheteurs et les organismes de formations sont tous tournés vers un même objectif de performance que leur impose l’environnement. Le rôle de chaque partie prenante est de travailler ensemble pour une reconnaissance du métier d’acheteur en tant que fonction stratégique. / Nowadays, the Purchasing part represents 50 to 90% of a product’s or service’s cost price according to the activity sector. Purchasing is a very strategic activity because the firm’s competitiveness depends on the professionalism with which it is carried out. The purchaser’s function is always changing and specializing. Thus, the characterization issue of skills, especially behavioural and metacognitive aspects, and skills development have become a fundamental subject. Our research will be dedicated to identifying these skills aspects and knowledge in order to be an ” ideal purchaser” according to recruiting officers and purchasers themselves. Learning and skills development will be an important part of our research too. Our research is based on a qualitative abductive approach. In this context, we have appealed to two separate opinion groups, based on personalized interviews: - “the experts ” that we define as such for their know-how in a purchaser selection processes, - the purchasers themselves, both seniors and juniors.In the end, it is a systemic approach that we propose. It involves all the players of characterization and development skills : experts, purchasers and training schools. They are all turning their efforts to the same performance objective that the environment imposes on them. The role of each stakeholder is to work together for the recognition of Purchasing as a strategic function.

Resumé The thesis elaborates on the indirect purchaser's standing in disputes for damages caused by a breach of competition law. Its main purpose is to describe and, consecutively, compare the American and European approach to private enforcement of competition law or, more specifically, selected aspects of regulation relating to indirect purchasers. It should be noted that while the roots of the American model of private enforcement date back to the 19th and 20th century, Europe started to pay increased attention to this topic in the 21st century. This fact obviously raises the question of whether and to what extent was the EU inspired by the American model in forming a European approach to private competition law enforcement. For years, this issue has not been regulated on the European level at all. Nevertheless, this changed with the adoption of a landmark Directive 2014/104/EU which shed new light on European conception of private enforcement of competition law. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter introduces the subject and aims to put the topic at hand into broader context. The private pillar of competition law enforcement, its advantages and disadvantages as well as its relation to the public pillar are described on a few pages. Subsequently, the history and current state of...

<p>The aim of the study has been to gain an increased understanding of the sense of participation and influence that the enrolled nurses, working with home-help services within the purchaser – provider model, feel and how this participation and influence affect them. Five enrolled nurses in three of Stockholm's districts related their experiences of participation and influence at work in the qualitative interviews that were conducted. The result was then analyzed with the help of two theories, Karasek's and Theorell´s Demand- Control Model and Antonovsky's theory regarding ”a Sense of Coherence (SOC)”. The analyzes show that the enrolled nurses have a low sense of participation and influence regarding decisions relating to their work situation. Decisions that affect the enrolled nurses are made by politicians, directors, and care managers of the city districts (biståndshandläggare). On the other hand, the enrolled nurses felt strong support from their peers at work. They could socialize and discuss issues with them. The analyzes show that without their peer support, they would have a lower sense of participation and influence. Furthermore the analyzes show that the interview subjects possess knowledge and competence that they are unable to make use of in their work.</p>

<p>Making the work in the public sector more efficient is something that has been seen as necessary during the later years. One way to do this on municipal level has been to apply solutions former used mostly by private companies. The organisational parts have also been adjusted to existing conditions in this work of change. For example more and more municipalities have come to use the purchaser-supplier model since the beginning of the 1990's. Norrköping, Linköping and Motala have been chosen in this essay for a closer study of the effects of the changes of the 90's, from an efficiency point of view. Even the process whereby the changes have been performed has been studied. The result that is being presented is that the purchaser-supplier model in many ways has contributed to an increased consciousness about the existing problems in the work and organisation in the municipalities. At the same time there is critics about the way the model is being used, and about the fact that the application isn't always adjusted to the existing reality.</p>