<p>Because all joint-stock companies in Sweden need to have an auditor we thought it would be</p><p>interesting to study how companies choose their auditor and which factors influence their</p><p>choice. Therefore our research question is:</p><p>“Which factors influence joint-stock companies in their choice of auditor?”</p><p>The main purpose of the study is to get a better and deeper understanding of the subject, in</p><p>order to clarify the purpose we established three sub purposes:</p><p>• Establish which determinants that play a significant role in a company’s choice of</p><p>auditor.</p><p>• Investigate if there are any differences between companies of different sizes.</p><p>• Research how auditors perceive the relationship with their clients.</p><p>We have performed a study with a subjective view of reality and to get a deeper</p><p>understanding for the subject of our thesis we chose a qualitative research method. The</p><p>purpose of this study is to get a better understanding and therefore the hermeneutic point of</p><p>view is the most suitable alternative because it brings attention to understanding and realistic</p><p>thinking. During the study we have done a total of eight interviews, six with joint-stock</p><p>companies of different sizes managed by the owner and two interviews with auditors, both</p><p>working in a “Big Four” audit firm. After the interview we compared the collected data with</p><p>our chosen theories to see if there are any patterns that we can draw a conclusion from. This is</p><p>representative for the deductive approach of our study.</p><p>Our study shows that recommendations and personal relationships are the most important</p><p>determining factors for a company when choosing an auditor. Recommendations from friends</p><p>and family are the most common way to get in contact with an auditor.</p><p>Prior to the study we believed that companies of various sizes would have different opinions</p><p>of which factors that influence their choice of auditor but the study shows that there are no</p><p>significant differences in how the companies choose their auditor.</p><p>The auditors’ perceptions of what expectations the companies have on their auditors overall</p><p>seem to agree with what the companies expressed during the interviews. However, a majority</p><p>of the respondents in the researched companies want their auditor to be more pro-active and</p><p>knowledgeable about the company.</p>

Because all joint-stock companies in Sweden need to have an auditor we thought it would be interesting to study how companies choose their auditor and which factors influence their choice. Therefore our research question is: “Which factors influence joint-stock companies in their choice of auditor?” The main purpose of the study is to get a better and deeper understanding of the subject, in order to clarify the purpose we established three sub purposes: • Establish which determinants that play a significant role in a company’s choice of auditor. • Investigate if there are any differences between companies of different sizes. • Research how auditors perceive the relationship with their clients. We have performed a study with a subjective view of reality and to get a deeper understanding for the subject of our thesis we chose a qualitative research method. The purpose of this study is to get a better understanding and therefore the hermeneutic point of view is the most suitable alternative because it brings attention to understanding and realistic thinking. During the study we have done a total of eight interviews, six with joint-stock companies of different sizes managed by the owner and two interviews with auditors, both working in a “Big Four” audit firm. After the interview we compared the collected data with our chosen theories to see if there are any patterns that we can draw a conclusion from. This is representative for the deductive approach of our study. Our study shows that recommendations and personal relationships are the most important determining factors for a company when choosing an auditor. Recommendations from friends and family are the most common way to get in contact with an auditor. Prior to the study we believed that companies of various sizes would have different opinions of which factors that influence their choice of auditor but the study shows that there are no significant differences in how the companies choose their auditor. The auditors’ perceptions of what expectations the companies have on their auditors overall seem to agree with what the companies expressed during the interviews. However, a majority of the respondents in the researched companies want their auditor to be more pro-active and knowledgeable about the company.

Resumé Human resources management in a small enterprise In my work I deal with the topic of human resources management in a small enterprise. In the first chapter I deal with the definition of the concept and historical development of this area. The second chapter is devoted to circumstances regarding the origin and termination of the employment. Human resources management in this stage begins with planning. Planning means determining the needs of the organization, especially in planning the required number of suitable, adequately trained and properly motivated employees at the right time. The planning is continued by recruitment. This phase ensures that the vacancies will attract sufficient number of suitable candidates. To identify which of the candidates is best suited to fill the job, you need to invite suitable candidates to the selection interview. The aim of the selection process is to find a suitable candidate with whom the contract will be concluded. An important area is the protection of personal data. The end of this chapter deals with the circumstances of termination of employment as defined in § 48-73 LC. The last chapter covers the main areas of human resources management in a small business. In the subsection "Performance management and evaluation" is devoted to the importance of implementing...

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2006 / The main objective of the study was to scrutinize the difficulties that confront the recruitment and selection processes at provincial government level, which recruitment processes are required to be in conformity with national and provincial policies. Furthermore, the study will also endeavor to answer questions on problems emanating from the recruitment and selection of public managers since 27 April 1994. The population selected for purposes of this study was that of the management team of the Department of Public Works in the Limpopo Province. The population consisted of 281 management officials. A proportional stratified random sampling design was used for obtaining a sample, with head office and the six district offices forming the different stratas. 14% of managers in all stratas were taken as a sample. The data was collected using questionnaires and interviews, followed by the collection of selected government reports with appropriate data. In the case of interviews, the following three methods were iv used, namely, non-scheduled interviews, non-scheduled structured interviews and scheduled structured interviews. The study revealed that in the Department of Public Works:  There was a sustained or uncontrollable movement of managers hopping in and out of the department. This was exacerbated by the lack of a retention strategy for controlling this problem. As a result, the cream of the department’s most resourceful managers was lost.  The recruitment and selection processes in the department of Public Works were inappropriately guided due to a lack of proper planning. As a direct result thereof, the wrong managers were recruited.  The internal source was preferred over the external source in conducting the recruitment and selection processes. This limited the opportunities of employing the correct managers.  There have been biases in that the recruitment and selection processes were manipulated in order to benefit certain individuals v at the expense of others. This has had a negative impact on the morale of the rest of the staff. In view of the findings of this study, it is recommended that further research on a broader scope is imperative, with the population consisting of the entire management in the Limpopo Provincial Government. The purpose of such research should be to determine the extent to which the recruitment and selection of managers were impacting on service delivery, which is critical to the welfare of the Limpopo society in particular, and the South African society in general.

Forskning på museer har de senaste åren varit en omdiskuterad företeelse och hur denna ska bedrivas. Den här undersökningen behandlar synen på forskning utifrån ett länsmuseum med utgångspunkt i basutställningen på museet. Att tolka informanternas svar var inte helt oproblematiskt alla gånger, men detta har inte bara varit en nackdel utan det har även lett till vissa slutsatser. Undersökningen har resulterat i en inblick i forskningssynen utifrån främst en viss arbetsgenre på museet och även argumenten för vissa urval som gjordes till basutställningen har påvisats. Det har sedan kunnat dras vissa slutsatser vad gäller forskningsbegreppet och den problematik som kretsar kring denna, samt om hur urvalsprocessen gått till. Bland annat tas frågan om definitionsproblematiken av forskningsbegreppet upp, och även vilka faktorer som spelar in i urvalet av material till den studerade utställningen. / Research in museums has during the recent years been a controversial phenomenon about how it should be conducted. This study deals with the perception of research in a county museum, based on the permanent exhibition at the museum. To interpret the informants' responses were not entirely unproblematic all times, but this has not only been a drawback, but has also led to some conclusions. The investigation has resulted in an insight to the research approach based on primarily one professional genre at the museum and also some selections that were made to the permanent exhibition has been demonstrated. It has thereof been drawn certain conclusions about the concept of scientific research and the problems that revolve around this and how the selection process worked out. Inter alia, the problematic of defining research is discussed, and also the factors that determine the selection of materials for the studied exhibit.

The aim of the thesis is to analyze the recruitment and selection process of the employees in Nestlé Czech Republic and simultaneously to propose the possible steps how to improve above mentioned processes.

Mate selection has garnered much attention in the existing literature. However, most mate selection research has reviewed mate selection preferences and criteria individually. In this study, the researcher attempted to illustrate mate selection as an interactive process in which individuals are affected by external influences, and their mate selection criteria are influenced by their self-appraisals and their perceptions of others' mate selection criteria. Two studies were conducted. Study 1 was based on social exchange theory, sexual strategies theory, and social context frameworks, and used multiple-group structural equation modeling to describe the relationships among gender, receptivity to external influences on mate selection, self-perceived relative mate selection position, and relative mate selection demand, between Chinese and American never-married heterosexual adults. The results indicated that the model fit the data well. Self-perceived relative mate selection position and relative mate selection demand were negatively correlated. Women had a higher relative mate selection demand than men did. Self-perceived relative mate selection position fully mediated the effect of receptivity to external influences on relative mate selection, though the indirect effect was not significant. Path values did not differ between Chinese participants and American participants. Study 2 confirmed that the model fit the data well and replicated all significant correlations among latent variables found in Study 1. Additionally, Study 2 found that receptivity to external influences and self-perceived relative mate selection position were positively correlated, and that receptivity to external influences had a negative indirect effect on relative mate selection demand, fully mediated by relative mate selection position. Lastly, the researcher discussed findings, implications, strengths, limitations, and future directions of the present study. / Ph. D.

This thesis is an empirically based, theoretical discussion of the process of decision making in relation to Library Management Systems (LMS). Although the conceptualization of the LMS decision process in rational terms, common in many LMS selection models, may be useful in different respects, here the process is viewed from a social constructivist stance. It is argued that due to the complexities involved, the potential choice of an LMS does not necessarily reflect the superiority of the chosen LMS based on objective inherent qualities. Nevertheless, libraries continually choose new systems and in many of these selection processes, the chosen system is perceived as the optimal choice. In this study, therefore focus is placed on examining the way in which this shared perception is constructed. Three theoretical views are adopted as the research framework, including Brunsson’s views on the process of decision making and its consequences, Collins’s views on methodological symmetry and construction of conceptual order, and finally Giddens’s views on duality of structure and the social order. Observations, interviews, and document studies are the methods employed in four different case studies that each lasted from 10 months to two years. In this study an array of different factors were found to be influential during the long process of the LMS decision making. It was also found that although the norms of rationality were striven for, and shared perceptions of rationality were constructed, the complexities involved did not allow a true rational choice by determination of all the options, projection of future needs, evaluation of the identified options, and selection of the optimal outcome. Instead, the different activities and happenings during the process helped construct a shared perception of the possible courses of action and optimality of the decision outcomes. Based on this study and with the help of the theoretical framework, it was suggested that an LMS choice is only one potential consequence of the LMS decision process; other consequences include legitimization, action, responsibility, and constructions of conceptual and social order. Through this study, the importance of the day-to-day actions and interactions (at micro level) and their wider implications for the construction of shared perceptions and shaping and reshaping of social structures are highlighted. This thesis contributes towards an alternative conceptualization of the process of LMS decision making. It may also have implications for the library practice, LMS related research, and educational programs within LIS. / <p>Akademisk av handling som med tillstånd av samhällsvetenskapliga fakulteten vid Göteborgs universitet för vinnande av doktorsexamen framläggs till offentlig</p><p>granskning kl. 13:15 fredagen den 1 oktober 2010, i hörsalen M404, Högskolan i Borås.</p><p>Avhandlingen har tilldelats den prestigefyllda utmärkelsen ”The 2011 Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Awards”. The thesis has been awarded with the prestigious honor of ”The 2011 Emerald/EFMD Outstanding Doctoral Research Awards”</p>

The purpose of this study was to determine if, after one year of operation, the UNT/Dallas Public Schools Leadership Development Program was progressing in accordance with the goals set out for the program. Questionnaires administered to 26 interns and 10 mentor principals and follow-up focus group interview sessions provided answers to the study's five research questions that explored the following: selection process; how interns' involvement in campus-based decision-making had changed; how mentor principals' perceptions toward interns had changed; and how administrative interns' perceptions of themselves and educational administration had changed. Findings from this study revealed the selection process provided the Dallas Public Schools an opportunity to select teacher-leaders from the district and to include a representative number of minority and women candidates for participation in the program. An area of weakness was seven interns with low GRE scores were admitted through an appeals process at the university. Another weakness revealed the majority of interns had been assigned more duties and responsibilities at the schools, but only 4 of 26 interns were being allowed to participate in any campus-based decision-making processes that could have an impact on school improvements. The study found the role of the mentor principal to be the most important factor in determining the satisfaction and success of the interns in the program. The embedded internship proved to be a disadvantage for the interns and principals, as the majority reported not having enough time to spend on administrative activities. Interns reported growth in personal and professional maturity and gained knowledge about the world of educational leadership. All 26 interns expressed the desire to become administrators in Dallas Public Schools upon completion of the program. Further research should include comparison studies between graduates of restructured programs and graduates of traditional programs to determine if there is a difference in school improvements and student achievement based upon the nature of the training of the school leader.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / Recruiting is the most challenging peacetime assignment for any United States Marine. It involves many internal and external factors that are generally beyond the control of recruiting personnel. In particular, Recruiting Station (RS) Commanding Officers are subject to intense pressure to make their assigned recruiting goals or be relieved from duty. It is thus critical for the Marine Corps Recruiting Command (MCRC) to select only the best-qualified officers to serve as recruiting commanders. This thesis has three main objectives: (1) analyze the current screening and selection process used by MCRC since fiscal 1996; (2) evaluate whether this process is more effective than the previous method; and (3) determine if the process can be improved. To accomplish these goals, the study reviews MCRC's responsibilities, policies, procedures, and rationale in determining the required characteristics of a successful RS Commanding Officer. The methodology relies on a literature review, personal interviews with individuals from all recruiting command levels, and descriptive data on RS Commanding Officers from fiscal 1990 through fiscal 2003. The results suggest that the current screening and selection process is effective and an improvement over the previous system. Recruiting commanders are more experienced, more diverse, and more suited to the task, based on several indicators. Recommendations are offered to change common perceptions of the current process as a "selection board." / Captain, United States Marine Corps