During the last years Switzerland has become the most favourite destination of the multinational corporations for localization of global or regional headquarters. The aim of this master thesis is to research the investment climate in each of the Switzerland's regions and to find out which factors play the most important role when multinational corporations are making decision about localization of their headquarters. In relation, I have defined another aim which is verification of the hypothesis which says that nowadays very important role in deciding about localization of multinational corporations' headquarters in Switzerland play soft factors. My first chapter explains the corporations' decision making about the localization of their headquarters. For that purpose I am using theoretical concepts for choosing business locations and above all the concept known as ,,emerging place decisions". At the end of the chapter I am going to confirm the practical usage of this concept through various study cases. In the second chapter I am going to concentrate on the multinational corporation's headquarters in Switzerland. I will describe not only the factors which influence its attractiveness, but also the situation and the characteristics of the headquarters in Switzerland. In the third chapter I am going to combine the obtained knowledge from the first two chapters in order to realize how cantonal offices function for promotion of the economics. First of all I will make a concept of the integrative management of the locations and furthermore I will mention the organization forms of these offices. Furthermore I will concentrate on their marketing point of view and on the cooperation between the cantons in this area. Finally in the fourth chapter I will first characterize the mutual trade and investment relations between the Czech Republic and Switzerland, including their promotion, and then I will try to evaluate the partnership between the Swiss and the Czech cities and regions.

This thesis elaborates on the influence of soft factors on the success of business strategy, based on the hypothesis that the area of corporate social responsibility is viable tool to manage them in conjunction with the method of balanced scorecard. The aim of this thesis is to find this conjunction and apply it to praxis. Theoretical part describes the balanced scorecard and tries to connect it with CSR and the concept of shared value, which are as well characterized. Practical part analyses the strategy of corporate social responsibility of Ceska sporitelna and connects it with its business strategy. The result is a strategy map of CSR strategy of Ceská sporitelna, which shows relations between relevant targets. Research methods are analysis and synthesis.

Hlavním cílem předložené disertační práce je kritické zhodnocení role a významu měkkých faktorů regionálního rozvoje v procesu regenerace starých průmyslových regionů v komparativní perspektivě. Práce je členěna do tří základních bloků. V prvním bloku je provedena základní konceptualizace měkkých faktorů regionálního rozvoje, které jsou podrobněji diskutovány v kontextu inovativního milieu a kreativní třídy. Součástí teoretického bloku je taktéž diskuze o charakteristice a povaze starých průmyslových regionů. Druhý blok obsahuje případové studie starých průmyslových regionů Porúří a Sárska. V rámci těchto studií, jsou kriticky hodnoceny přístupy k utváření měkkých faktorů regionálního rozvoje, přičemž struktura a obsah těchto studií odráží rozdílné charakteristiky obou regionů. Závěrečná část druhého bloku je pak věnována možnostem aplikace přístupů k utváření měkkých faktorů regionálního rozvoje z případových studií pro Ostravsko. Za hlavní přístupy, které by přispěly k lepšímu utváření měkkých faktorů v prostředí Ostravska lze považovat podporu existence autonomních intermediálních institucí a vybrané principy kultury plánování. Poslední blok obsahuje soubor šesti přiložených textů, které se věnují studované problematice v prostředí Ostravska. Klíčová slova: měkké faktory regionálního rozvoje,...

Klimatkrisen är idag en stor samhällsfråga som berör den hållbara utvecklingen i världen och Sverige. Bostäder och service står för 40% av Sveriges slutliga totala energianvändning. På senare tid har det blivit vanligare att miljöcertifiera byggnader, där certifieringen Miljöbyggnad är den mest förekommande. I Sverige är det totala marknadsvärdet för fastighetsbeståndet cirka 10 804 miljarder kronor. En betydande storlek om jämförelse görs med Sveriges BNP år 2017 på cirka 4 600 miljarder kronor. Vidare har det framgått från tidigare studier att miljöcertifierade byggnader har ett högre marknadsvärde kontra konventionella byggnader. Värderare har med andra ord ett stort ansvar att prissätta fastigheter korrekt där flera tidigare studier gjorts kring dem bakomliggandende hårda faktorerna som hyresnivå, vakans, driftkostnad, riskpremie och deras påverkan på marknadsvärdet. Vidare finns studier som indikerar att mjuka faktorer som inomhusklimat, strävan efter minskad klimatpåverkan, hälsa, estetik, social status, kvalitet på byggnad, varumärke och säkerhet har en inverkan på marknadsvärdet. Vad som inte undersökts är hur dessa faktorer prioriteras av fastighetsvärderarna. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka dem mjuka värdena med inverkan på värderingen avMiljöbyggnads-certifierade fastigheter samt hur fastighetsvärderare prioriterar dessa vid en värdering. Genom att först granska tidigare studier skapades en förståelse för dem mjuka faktorerna och dess kopplingar till värdering. Därefter utgjordes studien av en enkätundersökning som besvarades av fastighetsvärderare från banker samt olika fastighets- och rådgivningsbolag. Där värderarna fick poängsätta de olika mjuka faktorernas prioritet. Enkätsvaren jämfördes därefter genom medelpoäng och korrelation för att få en generell uppfattning av fastighetsvärderarnas inställning och likheterna mellan de mjuka faktorernas prioritering. Resultatet från enkätstudien visar att den genomsnittliga fastighetsvärderaren prioriterar de mjuka faktorerna enligt följande, 1) kvalitet på byggnad, 2) varumärke, 3) estetik, 4) säkerhet,5) strävan efter minskad klimatpåverkan, 6) social status, 7) ljuskvalitet, luftkvalitet och termisk kvalitet (delad prioritering) och sist 8) hälsa. / The climate crisis is today a major societal issue that affects sustainable development in the world and Sweden. Housing and services account for 40% of Sweden’s final total energy use.In recent times, it has become more common to certify buildings environmentally, where the certification Miljöbyggnad is the most common. In Sweden, the total market value of the property portfolio is approximately SEK 10,804 billion. A significant size if we were to compare with Sweden's GDP in 2017 of approximately SEK 4,600 billion. It has emerged from previous studies that environmentally certified buildings have a higher market value compared to conventional buildings. In other words, valuers have a great responsibility to appraise properties correctly where several previous studies have been done on the underlying hard factors such as rent level, vacancy, operating costs, risk premium, and their impact on market value. Furthermore, some studies indicate that soft factors such as indoor climate, the pursuit of reduced climate impact, health, aesthetics, social status, quality of building, brand and safety have an impact on the market value. What has not yet been investigated is how these factors are prioritized by the property valuers. This study aims to examine those soft values with an impact on the valuation of Miljöbyggnad certified properties and how property valuers prioritize these in a valuation. By first reviewing previous studies an understanding of the soft factors and their links to valuation was created. Subsequently the study consisted of a survey that was answered by property valuers from banks and various real estate and consulting companies. Where the valuers had to score the priority of the various soft factors. The survey results were then compared through average scores and correlation to get a general idea of the property valuers attitude and the similarities between the prioritization of the soft factors. The result of the survey shows that the average property appraiser prioritizes the soft factors as follows: 1) quality of building, 2) brand, 3) aesthetics, 4) safety, 5) the pursuit of reduced climate impact, 6) social status, 7) light quality, air quality and thermal quality (shared priority) and finally 8) health.

This study investigates what culturally related responsibilities leaders in innovative SMEs have when preparing employees prior to M&As in order to mitigate drawbacks due to culturally related discrepancies. The findings of this study especially confirm previous studies on culturally related difficulties in change management by emphasising the significant meaning of evaluating soft factors prior to change. The study was conducted by examining an innovative SME in the telecom industry that during 2009 embarked upon a major amendment of business by restructuring the company set up and relocate its headquarters to Singapore. The analysis is based on both existent studies in the field of organisational culture and change management, as well as on material obtained from qualitative research. This research consisted primarily of unstructured interviews and active participation is various company events and initiatives.  The subject is of great importance as M&As are an increasingly common feature of innovative companies' strategies in order to gain access to important knowledge and technologies. However, a great number of these initiatives fail, usually due to leaders inability to evaluate future prospects in relation to soft factors. The findings provide an in depth understanding of leaders significance prior to, and during change, in order to create cultural stability and predictability as a means of mitigating employee anxiety and ultimately reluctance to change.

Under drygt två månader har produktionen vid JM Entreprenads projekt Kv. Solägget följts för att med utgångspunkt i projektets produktionstidplan, aktuell verklig position, diverse dokument samt i intervjuer avgöra varför fortskridandet eventuellt avviker från det planerade, där främst förseningar var intressanta. Kv. Solägget genomförs på generalentreprenad åt JM AB och följer således de arbetsmetoder som används inom JM AB. En väsentlig skillnad mellan JM AB och JM Entreprenad är att JM Entreprenad inte är lika väl inkörda på gällande enhetstider och rutiner som JM AB:s hantverkare är. Genom att i tidigt skede sätta in ytterligare resurser än vad som var planerat i kalkylen undvek man att under tiden för min fältstudie uppnå en avvikelse som motsvarar en försening och snarare lyckades arbeta in ett försprång på upp till två veckor. För att möjliggöra en produktion utan förseningar behandlar rapporten hårda, mjuka och yttre faktorer med en betydelsefull utgångspunkt i vikten av att åstadkomma en väl utarbetad planering inför produktionsstart och på så sätt i ett tidigt skede ta ställning till möjliga faktorer som kan komma att påverka avstämningarna mot produktionstidplanen på ett negativt sätt. / During around two months the production of the project of JM Entreprenad named the block Solägget has been followed contraining to the basis of the production schedule, the current actual position, documents of the project and also interviews to determine why the progression may be different from the planned, why the mainly interesting were to analyze the delays. The block Solägget is implemented on a general contractor for JM AB and therefore the project follows the practices of JM AB. One significant difference between JM AB and JM Entreprenad is that JM Entreprenad isn´t as used to the current unit times and routines as JM AB are. By the early deployment of additional resources than what were planned in advance the delays were avoided during the period of my field study and instead JM Entreprenad managed to work up a lead of up to two weeks. To enable a production without any delays this report treats hard, soft and external factors with an important basis of the importance of achieving a well-established planning before starting any production and in that way consider possible factors that may affect the reconciliation of the production schedule in a negative way. / 2010:12

- Typology of rural space in the Pilsen Region and evaluation of soft factors of the development Presented diploma thesis deals with an important theme of rural differentiation. The goal is to create a typology of rural space within the Pilsen Region by potential of the development using quantitative data and then verify the typology by qualitative research of soft factors. The verification consists firstly in research of perception and regional identity of rural regions from the point of view of actors involved in rural development within the Pilsen Region and secondly in evaluation of appearance of chosen rural municipalities to observe the differences of each type. Theoretical part is focused on issues of differentiation of space, institutional theories with accent on application in the rural areas and rural development issues. Analytical part consists of created typology using component and cluster analysis. Further it presents the results of analysis of perception and regional identity of rural regions using method of semi-structured interviews and results of analysis of appearance of municipalities using standardized observation. The outcome is a compact typology created by combination of quantitative and qualitative data with suggestions of specific development possibilities of each type....

Continuous improvement as a business philosophy and quality management strategy has become the choice of many organisations world-wide. It is a concept filled with the promise for excellence in quality, customer service distinction and business efficiencies. Continuous improvement philosophies like Lean Manufacturing, promote tools, techniques and a culture of quality values that have the potential to create a dynamic business environment, capable of seizing opportunity, predicting failures and surpassing competition. Why then, are these organisations that are so vehemently pursuing continuous improvement initiatives with concerted efforts not reaping the rewards that have been successfully achieved by a monumental few great organisations? According to the literature study, failure to implement continuous improvement (CI) programs successfully stems from a lack of focus on the soft side of continuous improvement efforts. The soft issues that are considered vital to successful implementation include an employee’s quality cultural values and an organisations soft key success factors for CI implementation. This study focused on how these soft variables have an impact on employee attitudes such as job satisfaction, employee commitment, intentions to quit and work success. The theoretical research conducted in this study focused on continuous improvement cultural values and the key soft success factors for CI implementation impact on work related attitudes like job satisfaction, employee commitment, intentions to quit and work success. The empirical study was conducted on 149 employees in a multi-national manufacturing company. A questionnaire was distributed throughout the entire company to verify how the theoretical and empirical data compared. The study concluded that the specific cultural value of shared vision and goals was a significant predictor of all four work related attitudes, whilst other cultural values of purpose and continuous improvement also proved to be significant predictors. The study concluded that key soft success factors like leadership, training and development and job security were significant predictors of employee commitment, whilst communication and job security were significant predictors of job satisfaction. Thus, work related attitudes like employee commitment is greater when employees identify and exhibit favourable quality cultural values and also when employees perceive that their organisation possess essential key soft factors for successful CI implementation. Incorporating these findings into recommendations will allow for organisations implementing CI programs, to develop the soft issues of CI that have a beneficial impact on work related attitudes that lead to successful and sustainable continuous improvement efforts. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Continuous improvement as a business philosophy and quality management strategy has become the choice of many organisations world-wide. It is a concept filled with the promise for excellence in quality, customer service distinction and business efficiencies. Continuous improvement philosophies like Lean Manufacturing, promote tools, techniques and a culture of quality values that have the potential to create a dynamic business environment, capable of seizing opportunity, predicting failures and surpassing competition. Why then, are these organisations that are so vehemently pursuing continuous improvement initiatives with concerted efforts not reaping the rewards that have been successfully achieved by a monumental few great organisations? According to the literature study, failure to implement continuous improvement (CI) programs successfully stems from a lack of focus on the soft side of continuous improvement efforts. The soft issues that are considered vital to successful implementation include an employee’s quality cultural values and an organisations soft key success factors for CI implementation. This study focused on how these soft variables have an impact on employee attitudes such as job satisfaction, employee commitment, intentions to quit and work success. The theoretical research conducted in this study focused on continuous improvement cultural values and the key soft success factors for CI implementation impact on work related attitudes like job satisfaction, employee commitment, intentions to quit and work success. The empirical study was conducted on 149 employees in a multi-national manufacturing company. A questionnaire was distributed throughout the entire company to verify how the theoretical and empirical data compared. The study concluded that the specific cultural value of shared vision and goals was a significant predictor of all four work related attitudes, whilst other cultural values of purpose and continuous improvement also proved to be significant predictors. The study concluded that key soft success factors like leadership, training and development and job security were significant predictors of employee commitment, whilst communication and job security were significant predictors of job satisfaction. Thus, work related attitudes like employee commitment is greater when employees identify and exhibit favourable quality cultural values and also when employees perceive that their organisation possess essential key soft factors for successful CI implementation. Incorporating these findings into recommendations will allow for organisations implementing CI programs, to develop the soft issues of CI that have a beneficial impact on work related attitudes that lead to successful and sustainable continuous improvement efforts. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

This thesis is focused on dynamics of soft factors influencing workers during projects. These factors include motivation, workplace atmosphere, team synergy of workers and their emotions, and attribute of project manager who manages the project. Identification of soft factors and their relationships was achieved by examination of scientific literature in psychology and system dynamics. Description of managing project matters was achieved by examination of scientific literature dealing with project management. The main objective of this thesis is to create a dynamic model which simulates behavior of these soft factors influencing the project staff. The primary metric of the model is efficiency of workers participating on the project based on input parameters. Validation of the model was achieved by verification of historic behavior of key elements. Results of validation experiments correspond with historic behavior with roughly 95 % accuracy. At the end of this thesis is presented an ICT project case study. Based on the results of simulation experiments is performed a scenario analysis which tries to bring possible suggestions for project management.