<p>Datum: 2007-06-04</p><p>Nivå: Examensarbete D</p><p>Författare: Richard Caspar, Joakim Lindberg & Philip Savén</p><p>Handledare: Universitetslektor, docent Nils Kinch</p><p>Titel: KRISHANTERING! Frågan är inte om, utan när!</p><p>Problemformulering: I litteraturen finns en mängd olika uppfattningar om hur företag bäst skall hantera en kris. Vad som däremot saknas är ett gemensamt förhållningssätt till hur dessa bör hanteras. Går det att fastställa olika allmänna rekommendationer från fallstudier och litteraturen kring krishantering?</p><p>Syfte: Syftet med arbetet är att jämföra ett antal olika kriser för att se om det går att utforma en generell metod för krishantering inom företag.</p><p>Metod: Metoden som använts är en litteraturstudie där nio fallstudier har granskats för att därefter analyseras</p><p>Slutsatser: Våra slutsatser visar att företag bör försöka förstå sin omvärld, vara effektiva i sin kommunikation, planera för det värsta samt agera rakryggat och ärligt.</p>

<p>The master thesis is about the Nord-Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, which will cross the Baltic Sea and go through territorial waters of Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Nord-Stream is a complex project with different stakeholders and different interests. The main focus of the study is the representation of the Nord-Stream project in the media of Russia and Sweden as stakeholders in the deal. The period of media representation is 2009.</p>

Background: Corporations are established and organized in order to create economic values for their owners and the main aim of every business enterprise is to be profitable and satisfy the financial expectations of their shareholders. However, corporate social responsibility focuses on the ethical aspects of corporate business in order to achieve the balance between the profitability and social responsibility. Nongovernmental organizations through their activities promote the respect for human rights and environmental care within the corporate world. Purpose and Scope: To make an in-depth study about the role of nongovernmental organizations regarding corporate social responsibility in order to increase the understanding of corporate social responsibility. Methodology: We used literature research for our thesis and we analysed the secondary data related to the corporate social responsibility. Result: The main activities of nongovernmental organizations regarding corporate social responsibility are: to investigate and monitor companies’ social performance, to inform and report the cases of socially irresponsible corporate behaviour, to engage in formulation and observation of Agreements and Codes of Conduct Governing Corporate Labour and Environmental Policies and to condemn the human rights abuse and environmental damage within the corporate world.

Stakeholder management is a topic that has received increased attention in later years. Researchers have tried to answer the question of which stakeholders that really matters to organizations and developed ways for identifying and prioritizing among stakeholders. This thesis fills a void in academia by looking exclusively on external stakeholders in large and complex projects such as the construction of power plants. The thesis investigates the approach towards external stakeholders as well as the process of identifying and prioritizing external stakeholders in this specific setting. By using attributes identified in earlier research, a theoretical framework was created that was used to investigate two of Sweden’s largest companies through a qualitative case study. The thesis describe how stakeholder identification and prioritization occurs in the different case companies and ultimately contribute with a new model that can be used by managers to prioritize among external stakeholder in organizational projects.

Aim: The aim of this essay is to study the work of an alcohol company’s (Pernod Ricard) corporate social responsibility and how this work is being communicated to the company’s stakeholders. Furthermore I aim to describe the profile of the specific company, in other words how they wish their stakeholders to experience the company. I will then compare this profile with the image of how the interviewed stakeholders actually perceive the corporate social responsibility activities. Are there any differences? Material/Method: Together with literature and document studies, a qualitative method has been used and four focus group interviews with a total of 16 stakeholders have been conducted. Main results: The main results from the focus group interviews showed that the stakeholders appreciated corporate social responsibility work that focuses on the protection of young people. Activities aimed to target these groups generated most positive reactions and are also the activities that bring the stakeholders image closer to the desired profile. Opposite to this, activities seen as most irrelevant and even a little bit lecturing in a negative way are initiatives aimed towards warning and preventing adults from using or receiving information about a product. The more the stakeholders seem to know about an activity the less suspicious they appear to be which should encourage the company to communicate their work.

Datum: 2007-06-04 Nivå: Examensarbete D Författare: Richard Caspar, Joakim Lindberg &amp; Philip Savén Handledare: Universitetslektor, docent Nils Kinch Titel: KRISHANTERING! Frågan är inte om, utan när! Problemformulering: I litteraturen finns en mängd olika uppfattningar om hur företag bäst skall hantera en kris. Vad som däremot saknas är ett gemensamt förhållningssätt till hur dessa bör hanteras. Går det att fastställa olika allmänna rekommendationer från fallstudier och litteraturen kring krishantering? Syfte: Syftet med arbetet är att jämföra ett antal olika kriser för att se om det går att utforma en generell metod för krishantering inom företag. Metod: Metoden som använts är en litteraturstudie där nio fallstudier har granskats för att därefter analyseras Slutsatser: Våra slutsatser visar att företag bör försöka förstå sin omvärld, vara effektiva i sin kommunikation, planera för det värsta samt agera rakryggat och ärligt.

Datum:           2009-05-29 Författare:     Sanne Jotorp, sjp07001@student.mdh.se                         Linnéa Olsson, lon08004@student.mdh.se Handledare:   Ann-Sofi Paul Titel:               Ett företagsperspektiv på bestyrkt hållbarhetsredovisning - Vilka motiv kan finnas till ett bestyrkande Nivå:               Kandidatuppsats i ekonomistyrning Syfte:              Syftet med undersökningen är att utifrån ett företagsperspektiv beskriva vilka motiv som kan tänkas finnas till ett bestyrkande. Ambitionen är att försöka förstå vad ett bestyrkande kan innebära för företagets interna hållbarhetsarbete och för förhållandet till interna och externa intressenterna. Metod:            Undersökningen har formen av en förstudie och en kvalitativ undersökningsmetodik har tillämpats. Till grund för den teoretiska referensramen ligger en litteraturstudie. Empirin grundar sig på semistrukturerade intervjuer som har genomförts med ett urval av företag. I analysen fångas en helhetsbild av de samband och mönster som kan utläsas ur insamlade data. Slutsats:          De tendenser som kan skönjas i undersökningen visar att legitimitet för företagets handlingar kan stärkas i förhållande till både interna och externa intressenter. De motiv till ett bestyrkande som tydligast kan urskiljas är dels att hållbarhetsrapporteringen och det interna hållbarhetsarbetet kan säkerställas och effektiviseras. Dessutom kan de interna intressenternas förståelse för hållbarhetsfrågor öka och transparensen gentemot externa intressenter öka. Nyckelord:     Hållbarhet, hållbarhetsredovisning, bestyrkande, legitimitet, intressenter. / Date:               2009-05-29 Authors:         Sanne Jotorp, sjp07001@student.mdh.se                         Linnéa Olsson, lon08004@student.mdh.se Tutor:             Ann-Sofi Paul Title:               A Corporate Perspective on Assurance of Sustainability Reporting - What kind of motives might there be for an assurance Level:             Bachelor Thesis in Management Accounting Purpose:         The purpose of the essay is to describe, from a corporate perspective, what kind of motives there might be for an assurance. The ambition is to try to understand what an assurance can mean for the internal corporate sustainability work and the corporate relationship to internal and external stakeholders. Method:         The essay has the form of a preliminary study and a qualitative study method has been used. A scholarly literature study forms the base of the theoretical reference frame. Semistructured interviews have been made with a sample of corporations to form the base of the empirical material. In the analysis the connections and the patterns that can be interpreted has been captured to give a general picture. Conclusion:    The tendencies that can be discerned shows that legitimacy for the actions of a corporation can be strengthened in the relationship to both internal and external stakeholders. The motives for an assurance that most clearly can be discerned are partly that the internal sustainability reporting and internal sustainability work can be ensured and made more effective. Furthermore the internal stakeholders understanding of sustainability questions can increase and the transparency towards external stakeholders can increase. Keywords:     Sustainability, sustainability reporting, assurance, legitimacy, stakeholders.

This paper is focusing on the responsibility corporations have toward society and what role stakeholders play in this responsibility. By providing a historical background of how corporations have used their responsibility toward society, it is clear that corporations have been responsible. Before, this responsibility was focused toward the shareholders of the corporation but with time it changed to include more actors within the society. By focusing on what kind of responsibility the corporation has towards the society it is active in, this paper will explain the notion of a corporation that has a social responsibility in terms of being morally responsibility for its actions. This is why the concentration of the this paper will be on the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The notion of CSR has became more significant with time. In today's society corporations are expected to take more responsibility. A reason for this increased expectations from society on corporations could have to do with the fact that stakeholders have gained greater transparency through technological development, mainly the development of information technology. The aim of this paper will be to show what role CSR plays for a corporation in today’s society and why a corporation should work more with its different stakeholders and not as before with almost solely its shareholders. To be able to conduct this aim, the notion of CSR will be described and put into perspective by the two main theories behind the concept of CSR: the monetary and ethical theories. This is done by first describing the development of CSR abroad and in Sweden, with a focus on “Den Svenska Modellen”. Second to show the different perspectives of the monetary and ethical approach in connection to the concept of CSR. Thereafter, the theories will be analyzed and discussed solely, in connection to each other and the development of CSR through time. The analysis and discussion about the concept of CSR indicates that the monetary and ethical theories can not be considered to have the only impact on the concept of CSR but they have affected each other. Another conclusion is that the corporation's actions can lead to a responsible behavior that would benefit the whole society which the corporation is active in.

Background: During the past ten years an increasing trend of international representation in Swedish boards, referred to as board internationalization, has occured. Figures show that in 1994 foreign board members held 3,4% (Sundin &amp; Sundqvist, 1995) of the seats in Swedish companies boards, today that figure is 14,2% (Fristedt &amp; Sundqvist, 2005). This trend seems to continue as the nominations of this year is streaming in. Although this trend occurs Swedish business press is questioning why not more foreign directors are being appointed members to board (Almgren, 2006). Fahim (2005) also questions this and argues that companies need to realise that there is a profitability perspective on the subject of diversity. In many of the large Swedish companies the absence of foreign directors is noticed, but there is a few in the forefront which have appointed foreign directors. The reasons for internationalizing a board can be different and it interesting to investigate how forefront companies discuss internationalization in general and which reasons in particular that drives board internationalization. Purpose: The thesis' purpose is to investigate the main rational for board internationalization. Frame of reference: In the frame of reference, four possible influences on the internationalization of the board is presented, in order to be discussed and compared to the empirical findings; corporate governance, ownership structure, stakeholder pressure, and competitive advantage. Method: In order to fulfill the purpose, a qualitative research method is chosen, based on in-depth interviews. The sample consists of ten interviews with chairmen of Swedish boards within companies that are represented by at least one foreign board member. Conclusion: We have concluded that the main rational of board internationalization is the search for competitive advantage, which is believed to be created by a board with diverse competences and networks. Regarding ownership structure, foreign private owners are the only ones that are influencing the internationalization. Both the corporate governance development and the stakeholder pressure are identified in the empirical findings, but not believed to be an influence of internationalization.

Abstract Title: Communicating Ethics – An Analysis of Ethical Codes in Sweden’s Largest Banks ( Att kommunicera etik – en analys av de svenska storbankernas etiska riktlinjer) Number of pages: 49 (without enclosures) Author: Karolina Svensson Tutor: Peder Hård af Segerstad Course: Media and Communication Studies D Period: Spring 2006 University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University. Purpose/Aim: The main purpose it to answer the main question how Sweden’s largest banks are communicating ethics externally? This question generates a number of questions with relevance to the purpose and subject of this thesis. The ambition is to answer all of these questions in order to achieve the main purpose. Material/Method: The method used for this study is a qualitative text analysis. Applying this method is also done through using a model presented by Norman Fairclough. This model belongs to the tradition of critical discourse analysis. The qualitative method used gives possibilities to present and study a few elements more closely. This is done by applying the purpose and furthermore the questions of relevance on the ethical codes presented externally by Sweden’s largest banks. A couple of complementary interviews have been used when considered needed. Facts about the banks are also used along with a theoretical background to the subject. Main results: Ethics seem to be an important part of our society. Therefore companies seek to integrate it in the everyday business life. The main question raised in this thesis is answered by applying a number of questions to the text material. The analysis of this shows that: The banks communicate to and about a number of stakeholders surrounding the organization. They communicate mainly about and to employees and customers but also about and to a number of other groups such as partners and public authorities. Along with communicating the ethical responsibility the banks integrate legal responsibilities in their ethical codes. Both economic and philanthropic responsibilities are being integrated to some extent. The banks ethical codes consist of how to act in order to achieve good consequences, what principles are considered to be good, how to be a good person (employee) and how to discuss what good ethics are. The banks also communicate about a set of moral standards: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. Keywords: Ethics, moral, banks, communication, stakeholders and qualitative text analysis.