<p>Bakgrund: I slutet av åttiotalet blev leveraged buyouts, högt belånade företagsuppköp, ett frekvent förekommande företeelse i Amerikanskt näringsliv. Det gigantiska uppköpet av RJR Nabisco är fortfarande omtalat bland världens investerare. Det senaste årtiondet har mängden kapital i private equity fonderna ökat till att idag motsvara ett kapital på runt 7% av Stockholmsbörsens värde. Samtidigt som dessa fonder kontrollerar en stor mängd kapital är det relativt okänt hur de sköter och tillför värde till sina portföljbolag.</p><p>Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera hur private equity bolag tillför värde till sina svenska portföljbolag.</p><p>Metod: Denna uppsats har utgått från en kvalitativ studie för en mer genomgående och djup analys av private equity marknaden. Författarna har valt att genomföra intervjuer med personer i ledande positioner hos portfölj bolagen. Totalt deltog sex stycken företag i studien. Eftersom vissa delar av informationen som insamlats kan anses vara av känslig karaktär så är alla företag anonyma.</p><p>Slutsatser: Författarna kunde urskilja tre områden där private equity bolagen skapade värde i sina portföljbolag, genom förbättrade marginaler, ökad försäljning och minskade skulder. Private equity bolagen använde olika metoder för att skapa värde inom dessa områden, ett sätt är att ge ledningen i portföljbolagen ökade incitament, ett annat är att skapa strikta återbetalningsplaner för portföljbolagen vilket tvingar dem att effektivisera verksamheten. Private equity bolagen fungerar även som bollplank och assisterar vid förvärv.</p> / <p>Background: Through the late eighties leveraged buyouts were frequent in America and the giant buyout of RJR Nabisco became world renowned among investors. In the last decade the capital committed to private equity and leveraged buyouts have risen and in Sweden an amount equal to 7% of the market capitalization on the Stockholm stock exchange is placed in private equity funds. Although Private Equity firms control large amounts of capital it is relatively unclear how the private equity firms manage and add value to their portfolio companies.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how private equity firms contribute to their portfolio companies in Sweden.</p><p>Methodology: This thesis has taken a qualitative approach for more in depth analysis of the private equity market. The authors have chosen to interview man-agers at portfolio companies acquired by private equity firms to gather data. Six portfolio companies participated in this study and the interviews were performed in a semi structured manner. As some of the information gathered could be of sensitive nature all respondents are anonymous.</p><p>Conclusion: The authors identified three areas in which the private equity firms added value; improving the margins, increasing the turnover and reducing the debt. The private equity firms used different techniques to accomplish the value improvements, both by giving the executives at the portfolio companies incentives and by forcing them to increase the efficiency in the organisation in order to be able to repay debts. The private equity firms also supports their portfolio companies by giving assistance and support in i.e. acquisitions.</p>

Denna rapport är resultatet av en analys som gjorts vid Vest-Woods fabrik i Forserum under våren 2007 i syfte att reducera interna transporter. Vest-Wood AB i Forserum tillverkar dörrar för den svenska marknaden men förser också en annan fabrik (Sdr Felding i Danmark) i samma koncern med dörrstommar. Materialhantering för att förse Sdr Felding fabriken med dörrstommar medför i dagsläget mycket interna transporter i Forserumsfabriken. För att klara ojämn efterfrågan från Sdr Felding fabriken samt för att kunna jämna ut sin egen produktion har Forserumsfabriken valt att lagerföra de tolv artiklar som beställs mest frekvent från Sdr Felding fabriken. Buffertlagret vid Forserumsfabriken där artiklarna lagerförs är placerat ca 200 m från produktionen vilket medför mycket intern transport för hantering av dessa. Uppgiften som Vest-Wood AB i Forserum ville ha analyserad var hur de kunde hitta ett mer ekonomsikt fördelaktigt upplägg av de interna transporterna inom fabriken i Forserum. För att kartlägga nuläget beräknades medelvärdet av buffertlagret baserat på inventerade lagersaldo från 2006. I samma buffertlager lagerförs den buffert som skall täcka efterfrågan för den veckas extra semester som Forserumsfabriken har jämfört med Sdr Felding fabriken. Den semesterbufferten fick räknas bort. Efter att ha fastställt medelvärdet på buffertlagret kunde lagerhållningskostnaden beräknas. I den del av Forserumsfabriken som vi analyserat sker tillverkning i tre flöden där de tolv lagerförda dörrstommarna tillverkas i två av dem. Vi räknade ut att total kapacitet i dessa båda och fann att det finns en möjlig extra kapacitet på 25 %. Med medelvärdet och möjlig extra kapacitet som underlag kunde ett förbättringsförslag tas fram. Förbättringsförslaget handlar om att ta bort buffertlagret, som ett led i att minska de interna transporterna. Förbättringsförslaget förutsätter att samarbetet och insynen mellan fabriken i Sdr Felding och fabriken i Forserum förbättras. / This report is the result of an analysis made at Vest-Woods factory in Forserum during the spring of 2007 with the purpose to reduce internal transports. Vest-Wood AB in Forserum produces doors for the Swedish market but is also a supplier of doorframes to another factory (Sdr Felding in Denmark) in the same group of companies. The material handling for supplying the factory in Sdr Felding with doorframes causes a lot of internal transports. The factory in Forserum has chosen to keep the twelve most ordered doorframes in stock to keep up with varying demand from the factory in Sdr Felding and to smooth their own manufacturing. The warehouse in Forserum, where the doorframes are stored, is placed 200 m from the manufacturing site and that contributes to the internal transport. The assignment that Vest-Wood AB in Forserum wanted analysed was how they could find a more beneficial arrangement of the internal transports from an economic point of view. To define the present situation we calculated the mean value based on inventory data from 2006. The factory in Forserum is closed for one more week than the factory in Sdr Felding is during the summer. For that reason, a buffer is built to cover the demand from the factory in Sdr Felding during this week. This buffer is also kept in the warehouse. That buffer was subtracted from the inventory results. When the mean value of the warehouse had been calculated, the yearly cost of storing the doorframes could be calculated. There are three different flows in that part of the factory in Forserum where our analysis has taken place. Production of the twelve doorframes takes place in two of them. We calculated total capacity in these two flows and found that they have potential extra capacity of 25 %. With the mean value of the warehouse and the potential extra capacity in the production we could work out a proposal of improvement. The proposal treats how to remove the warehouse as a way of reducing internal transports. The proposal assumes that the collaboration and insight between the factory in Sdr Felding and the factory in Forserum is improved.

[Truncated abstract] This thesis investigates the influence the interpersonal relationship between the venture capitalist and the entrepreneur has upon the performance of the venture capitalist's investment. Its aim was to explore how venture capitalists add value (as opposed to what they do) to their investments in order to arrive at a fuller explanation of investment performance than that offered by agency theory – the current paradigm for the value adding relationship. The qualitative study that underpins this thesis found that in Australia, the quality of the interpersonal relationship between the venture capitalist and the entrepreneur during the value adding phase of the venture capital investment cycle positively predicts the performance of the venture capitalist's investment. The study was prompted by the researcher's personal experiences (as both a venture capitalist and as an entrepreneur in Australia) which suggested that the interpersonal relationship may influence the effectiveness of the venture capitalist's attempts to add value. Whilst the prior research had explored in depth the provision of value adding services (e.g. strategic advice, recruitment of key personnel, board participation), less progress appears to have been made in understanding the role of the interpersonal processes. Although several studies have attempted to fit an established social exchange theory to the value adding process, a published explanation of investment performance (process outcome) that includes interpersonal processes has not been identified. ... The exercise of power was found to be a negative predictor of investment performance. Power was typically exercised as the last resort measure in a failed interpersonal relationship and either precipitated or consolidated inferior investment performance. The failure of the venture capitalists to exercise their formal power in time to arrest underperformance was often due to their fear of the 'hold up' power of (threat of abandonment by) the entrepreneur. Agency theory's contribution to the explanation of investment performance was limited to (adverse) selection, at which point the combined competence of the dyad was determined. In addition to the new explanatory theory, some other insights into value adding were provided, including the key role of mutuality and the lack of explanatory power of the contract, information asymmetry, or goal alignment. The thesis offers contributions to knowledge and practice. Its contributions to knowledge include: the generation of new theory about value adding and investment performance in venture capital deals and some new theoretical concepts, the application of a methodological approach that is new to the area of interest, and a new insight into the Australian venture capital sector. It outlines the implications of the study findings for venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and policy makers, providing some fresh ideas for their consideration. It particularly highlights the need for cultural change in value adding relationships and the influence of heritage on the likelihood of the venture capitalist being successful.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-12T20:15:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rodrigo Antonio da Silva.pdf: 16150641 bytes, checksum: 4f03858f903f15428bb43b27fd6e1fe8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / In this work we investigate parameter planes constructed for a set of three autonomous, ten-parameter, first-order nonlinear ordinary differential equations, which models a tri-trophic food web system. By using Lyapunov exponents, bifurcation diagrams, and trajectories in the phase-space, to numerically characterize the dynamics of the model in a parameter plane, we show that it presents typical periodic structures embedded in a chaotic region, forming spiral structures that coils up around a focal point while period-adding bifurcation take place. / Nesse trabalho investigamos planos de parâmetros construídos para um conjunto de três equações diferenciais ordinárias, autônomas, não lineares de primeira ordem com dez parâmetros que modela uma cadeia alimentar tritrófica. Usamos expoentes de Lyapunov, diagramas de bifurcação, e curvas no espaço de fase para caracterizar numericamente a dinâmica do modelo em um plano de parâmetro e, mostramos que este apresenta estruturas periódicas típicas em meio à regiões caóticas, formando espirais que se enrolam ao redor de um ponto focal ao passo que surgem bifurcações de adição de período.

Orientador: Ali Messaoudi / Banca: Vanderlei Minori Horita / Banca: Daniel Smania Brandão / Banca: Christian Mauduit / Banca: Glauco Valle da Silva Coelho / Resumo: Em 2000, Killeen e Taylor definiram a máquina de somar estocástica em base 2. Eles mostraram que o espectro do op erador de transi cão (agindo em l∞( N)), associado a essa máquina, e igual ao conjunto de Julia cheio de uma função quadrática. Nesse trabalho, estudamos outras propriedades espectrais e topológicass da máquina de Killeen e Taylor, e também das suas extensões à l∞(Z) e a outras bases não constantes. Esse estudo envolve conjuntos de Julia de funções quadráticas e também conjuntos de Julia cheios de endomor smos de C2 . Finalmente estudamos algumas propriedades aritméticas e topológicas de uma classe de fractais de Rauzy. Em particular estudamos o azulejamento periódico do plano complexo C induzido por eles. / Abstract: In 2000, Killeen and Taylor de ned the sto hastic adding machine in base 2. They proved that the sp ectrum of the transition op erator (acting in l∞(N )) asso ciated to this machine is equal to the lled Julia set of a quadratic polynomial map. In this work, we study other sp ectral and top ological prop erties of Killeen and Taylor machine, and also of its extensions to l∞( Z) and to other non constant bases. This study envolves Julia sets of quadratic maps and also lled Julia sets of endomorphisms of C2 . Finally we study some arithmetical and topological prop erties of a class of Rauzy fractals. In particular we study the p erio dictiling of complex plane C induced by this class. / Doutor

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-03-15Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T21:04:11Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 uceda_ra_dr_sjrp.pdf: 905373 bytes, checksum: c2f0ae66c1c9b9621f826e692c6d9b4c (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Em 2000, Killeen e Taylor definiram a máquina de somar estocástica em base 2. Eles mostraram que o espectro do op erador de transi cão (agindo em l∞( N)), associado a essa máquina, e igual ao conjunto de Julia cheio de uma função quadrática. Nesse trabalho, estudamos outras propriedades espectrais e topológicass da máquina de Killeen e Taylor, e também das suas extensões à l∞(Z) e a outras bases não constantes. Esse estudo envolve conjuntos de Julia de funções quadráticas e também conjuntos de Julia cheios de endomor smos de C2 . Finalmente estudamos algumas propriedades aritméticas e topológicas de uma classe de fractais de Rauzy. Em particular estudamos o azulejamento periódico do plano complexo C induzido por eles. / In 2000, Killeen and Taylor de ned the sto hastic adding machine in base 2. They proved that the sp ectrum of the transition op erator (acting in l∞(N )) asso ciated to this machine is equal to the lled Julia set of a quadratic polynomial map. In this work, we study other sp ectral and top ological prop erties of Killeen and Taylor machine, and also of its extensions to l∞( Z) and to other non constant bases. This study envolves Julia sets of quadratic maps and also lled Julia sets of endomorphisms of C2 . Finally we study some arithmetical and topological prop erties of a class of Rauzy fractals. In particular we study the p erio dictiling of complex plane C induced by this class.

Les ARNt sont des molécules adaptatrices reliant l'information génétique de l’ARN messagers à la séquence d'acides aminés primaire des protéines. Les ARNt ont une structure typique, appelée "feuille de trèfle". Certains ARNt mitochondriaux montrent une forte dérivation de cette structure. Un cas extrême peut être observé dans les mitochondries du nématode R. culicivorax. Cette étude vise la caractérisation fonctionnelle de ces ARNt «bizarres» et de définir leurs propriétés structurales et leur fonctionnalité avec des protéines partenaires telles que les CCAses et les aminoacyl-ARNt synthetases. Ce travail révèle que les ARNt sans bras forment une structure secondaire en forme d'épingle à cheveux et que leurs structures 3D présentent une grande flexibilité intrinsèque. Les tests initiaux n’ont pas démontré l'activité d'aminoacylation. Cependant, les ARNt sans bras représentent des molécules fonctionnelles pour le CCAse, indiquant des adaptations de l’enzyme aux ARNt sans bras. / TRNAs are adapter molecules linking the genetic information of messenger RNAs with the primary amino acid sequence of proteins. tRNAs have a typical cloverleaf-like secondary structure. Some mitochondrial tRNAs show a high derivation from this canonical tRNA structure. An extreme case of structural truncations can be observed in mitochondria of the nematode R. culicivorax. This study aims the functional characterization of such “bizarre” tRNAs in defining their structural properties and their functionality with interacting partner proteins such as CCA-adding enzymes and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. This work reveals that armless tRNAs form a hairpin-shaped secondary structure. 3D structures exhibit a high intrinsic flexibility. Initial tests could not demonstrate aminoacylation activity. However, armless tRNAs represent functional molecules for CCA-incorporation, indicating adaptations of CCA-adding enzymes to armless tRNAs.

Inom byggbranschen är det av vikt att hitta arbetssätt som på lång sikt sänker byggkostnaderna för att på så sätt kunna producera en vara som kräver mindre förbrukning av resurser men som även fortsätter vara konkurrenskraftig. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka hur medarbetarna vid Skanskas byggprojekt "Trädgårdarna" i Boglundsängen, Örebro kommun, arbetar för att minimera slöserier (icke värdeskapande aktiviteter). Syftet är även att identifiera vanliga slöserier som förekommer, både generellt på byggarbetsplatser men i synnerhet på byggprojektet "Trädgårdarna", samt att slutligen komma med förslag på åtgärder för att mini-mera dessa slöserier. Arbetet grundar sig på en kvalitativ metod i form av intervjuer och obser-vationer. När detta arbete skrevs var produktionen i ett tidigt stadie. Arbetets resultat påvisar att det finns både styrkor och brister gällande hur arbetet på "Trädgårdarna" fortskrider. Även fast produktionen i skrivandets stund inte har kommit så långt på projektet framkommer det av resultatet att personalen värdesätter ordning och reda och försöker upprätthålla detta genom olika tillvägagångssätt. Överlag arbetar personalen bra med att minska slöserier på arbets-platsen. De slöserier som har uppstått beror främst på brister i projekteringen och/eller produktionsplaneringen. För att minska slöserierna och upprätthålla ett effektivt arbetssätt är det av stor vikt att ha en genomarbetad projektering, genomföra arbetsberedningar på så många moment som möjligt, ha god ordning och reda på arbetsplatsen, ta tillvara på personalens kunskap och engagemang samt att utnyttja någon form av samordnad leverans för att minimera lagerhållningen och väntetiderna. / In the construction industry it is important to find ways of working that in the long term lowers construction costs so as to produce a product that requires less consumption of resources, but which also continues to be competitive. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how employees at Skanska's construction project "Trädgårdarna" in Boglundsängen, Örebro, work to minimize wastes (non value-adding activities). It also seeks to identify common wastes that occur, both generally on construction sites but in particular on the building project "Trädgårdarna", and finally to come up with suggestions on measures to minimize these wastes. This thesis is based on a qualitative method in the form of interviews and observations. When this thesis was written production was at an early stage. The results of this thesis demonstrate that there are both strengths and weaknesses regarding how work on "Trädgårdarna" is pro-gressing. Although the production was in an early stage, during the time of writing this thesis, the results show that the staff appreciates orderliness at their workplace and try to maintain this through different means. Overall, the staff work well to reduce wastage in the workplace. The wastes which have arisen primarily did so due to deficiencies in the design and/or production planning. To reduce the wastage rate and maintain an effective work it is of great importance to have a well-planned design, to implement work preparations as frequently as possible, to have an orderly workplace, to take advantage of the staff's knowledge and commitment and to use some form of coordinated delivery system to minimize inventory and waiting times.

Introduction: Service companies and its offerings on the market are becoming increasingly standardized, which makes it difficult for service providers to distinguish themselves from the amount. In many cases this leads to a price squeeze. Many service companies do not understand the importance of building a relationship with their customer, and how to maintain long-term partnerships to increase customer value. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate what aspects service-producing companies should take into account in order to achieve a high customer value and thus become more attractive in the market. Methods: In order to respond to the purpose of the study, a case study was conducted, where the approach consisted of both qualitative and quantitative data collection to test the existing theoretical reference frames and to generalize the study. The quantitative data collection consisted of a survey sent to the company's customer base, which consisted of different industries and sizes of companies, where the answers were then weighted in a model. The survey was also sent to the case company to find possible differences between their own opinion and the customers. The qualitative consisted of three deep interviews with leading actors in different industries to gain a deeper understanding. Results: The quantitative survey showed that quality is the most valued aspect with a supplier, followed by the price. The remaining questions showed that the customers and the case company shared a relatively even view of previous collaborations. The qualitative survey showed that all three respondents appreciated the same aspects of a service company; competence, customer focus and availability. They also agreed that the reputation of the relationship and service providers is valued very high. The relationship has been shown to be linked to several aspects such as flexibility, risk minimization and the quality of the work process. Customers have a greater tendency to choose service companies that are committed to trying to integrate long-term cooperation, which makes the customers feel priority and choose to place greater responsibility on the service company. Conclusion: Companies should not focus on trying to find added value to their customers, the focus should be on creating and developing a deep and committed relationship with their customers. The advantages of this are illustrated by further development of the model presented in the theoretical reference framework, in which important aspects to be considered are described. / Introduktion: Tjänsteföretag och dess erbjudanden på marknaden håller på att standardiseras alltmer vilket leder till att det blir svårt för tjänsteföretag att särskilja sig från mängden. Detta leder i många fall till en prispressning. Många tjänsteföretag förstår inte vikten av relationsbyggandet och hur de ska upprätthålla långsiktiga samarbeten för att även öka kundvärdet. Syftet: Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka aspekter tjänsteproducerande företag ska beakta för att uppnå ett högt kundvärde och därmed bli mer attraktiva på marknaden. Metod: För att kunna svara på studiens syfte utgicks det ifrån en fallstudie, där angreppssättet bestod av både kvalitativ och kvantitativ datainsamling för att testa den befintliga teoretiska referensramen och kunna generalisera arbetet. Kvantitativa datainsamlingen bestod av en enkätundersökning som skickades ut till fallföretagets kundbas som bestod av olika branscher och storlekar på företag, där svaren sedan viktades i en modell. Enkäten skickades även ut till fallföretaget för att hitta eventuella differenser mellan deras egen uppfattning och kundernas. Den kvalitativa bestod av tre djupintervjuer med ledande aktörer inom olika branscher för att få en djupare förståelse. Resultat: Den kvantitativa undersökningen visade att kvalitet är det som värderas mest hos en leverantör, följt av priset. De resterande frågorna visade att kunderna och fallföretaget delade en relativt jämn uppfattning om tidigare samarbeten. Den kvalitativa undersökningen visade att alla tre respondenter värderade samma aspekter hos ett tjänsteföretag; kompetens, kundfokusering och tillgänglighet. De var även eniga om att relationen och tjänsteleverantörers rykte värderas väldigt högt. Relationen har visat sig vara kopplad till flera aspekter såsom flexibilitet, riskminimering och kvaliteten av arbetsprocessen. Kunder har en större tendens att välja tjänsteföretag som lagt vikt vid att försöka integrera ett långsiktigt samarbete, vilket gör att kunderna känner sig prioriterade och väljer att lägga större ansvar på tjänsteföretaget. Slutsats: Företag ska inte lägga sitt fokus på att försöka finna mervärden till sina kunder, utan fokusen ska ligga på att skapa och utveckla en djup och engagerad relation med sin kund. Fördelarna med detta illustreras med hjälp av en vidareutveckling av den modell som tas fram i den teoretiska referensramen, där viktiga aspekter som bör beaktas beskrivs.

The Cognitive Walkthrough for the Web (CWW) is a Usability Evaluation Method that can be used as an approach to evaluate a website. Unfortunately, the original formulation of CWW has been applied by researchers in the area as a set of a semi-manual processes, which have proven to be extremely time-consuming, and as with any semi-manual process, error-prone. This thesis presents a web-based approach to automate CWW, which we call ACWW. The automation of these processes implies, on the one hand, that researchers can reduce the amount of time dedicated to computing the results associated with performing various analyses. On the other hand, it implies that the accuracy of computed results can be improved. ACWW is available from http://autocww.colorado.edu/~brownr/. Finally, ACWW has been mentioned in a paper by Dr. Marilyn Blackmon, a leader in usability research, at the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) in April of 2005 [Blackmon05].