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<p>Companies need different information about their operations, so that they can make better decisions and be more effective in the business world. One way to obtain that information is through looking at how costs are assigned to different cost objects, such as products or services. Of special interest is the allocation of indirect costs, because if these costs make up an important part of an organisation, then grasping them will help the firm be more competitive and respond better to customers and their needs.</p><p>One method of allocating indirect costs is called activity based costing, or ABC, and it looks upon what activities that are being performed by a company, how much they cost based on resource usage, what drives the costs, and most importantly, it assigns these ex-penses to products/services.</p><p>The aim of this thesis has been to investigate whether the ABC method can be applied in an event organising company. In order to reach the purpose we have used the example of Elmia AB, an event and trade show organiser situated in Jönköping, Sweden. The focus of our investigation was exhibition stands used in trade shows.</p><p>We have come to the conclusion that activity based costing is applicable when it comes to event organisers in the sense that it is possible to identify major activities and depict re-sources. However, problems emerge when trying to estimate costs of resources because it is hard to know in advance what customers want, and therefore one cannot clearly distin-guish or set fixed and variable costs, nor can one easily cope with problems of unused ca-pacity, that is resources that are supplied but not used. This is especially the case with cus-tomised exhibition stands. The process is somewhat easier when it comes to standardised offerings, because they are less complicated since they are already set and cannot be much altered by the customers. Furthermore, cost drivers can be applied in this setting, at least theoretically because they provide help in determining what processes the customers might find important. On the other hand, they might be rather difficult to measure. Finally, the actual assigning of costs to cost objects is hard, because for the complex solutions, one cannot easily find common activities across different stands, but this can be easier to do when exhibition stand pack-ages are standardised and demand is better traceable.</p><p>We have based our results on one company as a generalisation of event organisers as a whole, and we can argue that the example that we have chosen can be a good representa-tive of this particular branch of the service industry, because it shows how important indi-rect costs are to this dynamic business and also it reveals the importance of customers and their role when applying activity based costing to the environment. However, in order to have a complete conclusion with respect to our aim, more research is needed in other event and trade show organising firms because there are company specific situations in terms of size, structure, culture, etc, of a company that makes ABC a special case that changes ac-cording to different objectives of different users.</p>

<p>Two of the most important internal functions within a company, which have gained increased importance, are purchasing and logistics. Purchasing and logistics both contribute to the competitiveness of an organisation by conducting different value adding activities separately. There is also a huge potential for increased benefits if a high degree of integration exists between the two functions. Although there is evidence that purchasing and logistics have been working closely together historically, the operational focus of logistics and the commercial focus of purchasing have created a tension between the two functions. It has been shown that some</p><p>purchasing managers mostly have been committed to reducing the price. The logistics function has as a cause of this sometimes been forced to deal with late deliveries and inferior quality from</p><p>suppliers. To manage the interface activities between the functions is crucial in order to able to achieve integration. Purchasing and logistics functions are of major importance within wholesaling companies because they are considered as core internal functions. This study has been conducted at the wholesaling companies The Body Shop, Hälsokostcentralen (HKC), Mekonomen, Elgiganten and ICA.</p><p>Research questions:</p><p>§ What activities exist within the purchasing and logistics function at the specific wholesaling companies and which of these activities are integrated?</p><p>§ What are the factors that influence the integration between the purchasing and logistics functions and how do these factors hinder or enable the integration?</p><p>Purpose: Initially this thesis aims to identify what activities that exist and which of them that are integrated between the purchasing and logistics functions within the wholesaling companies The</p><p>Body Shop, HKC, Mekonomen, Elgiganten and ICA. Furthermore the purpose is to identify what factors that influence the integration between the purchasing and logistics function in these</p><p>companies and also explain how these factors hinder and enable the integration.</p>

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 2002. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2994. Typescript. Abstract precedes thesis as preliminary leaf. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-71).

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1985.

Bakgrund: Svenskt Näringsliv utför årligen undersökningen ”Lokalt näringsliv”, därföretagare får utvärdera sina respektive kommuner gällande det lokala företagsklimatet. I den senaste undersökningen framkommer det att transportbolagen är den generellt sätt minsta nöjda branshen i Växjö kommun. Ett gott företagsklimat är nyckeln till att skapa framgångsrika företag. Ett gott företagsklimat är ett ömsesidigt mål som både företagare och kommun strävar efter. Företagare kommer få en ökad sysselsättning vilket kommer leda till högre skatteintäkter för kommunen. Transportföretagens roll i värdekedjan har den senaste tiden fått allt större betydelse då det visat sig kunna generera konkurrensfördelar. Transportföretagen förväntas få en än större roll i framtiden med tanke på den pågående utvecklingen med e-handel. Att hitta orsakerna bakom transportföretagens eventuella missnöje gällande företagsklimatet är därför av högsta vikt för Växjö kommun i syfte att vara ett fortsatt intressant logistikläge. Syfte: Syftet med arbetet är att beskriva och förklara det upplevda nuläget gällande företagsklimatet i Växjö kommun samt gapet mellan transportföretagens förväntningar och upplevelse som orsakar ett eventuellt missnöje. Syftet är också att komma med förslag på områden som kan förbättras för att skapa ett gynnsamt företagsklimat för transportföretagen i Växjö kommun Metod: I arbetet har en intervjustudie av transportföretag i Växjö kommun genomförts. Empirisk data har insamlats genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med dels transportföretag i Växjö kommun men också med en anställd från Växjö kommuns trafikavdelning. Teoretisk data har samlats in genom litteraturstudie samt offentliga publikationer. Slutsats: I dagsläget är det ingen av respondenterna som är helnöjd med de variabler som enligt Svenskt Näringsliv påverkar ett företagsklimat, dock är det ingen som inte är nöjd med någon variabel heller. Utifrån de fyra variablerna ses företagares utrymme inom den offentliga verksamheten samt politiker och tjänstemäns attityder till företagande som de mest problematiska. Orsakerna bakom missnöjet framkom dels genom Svenskt Näringsliv variabler, dels genom fem variabler från SERVQUAL. De sex variabler som respondenterna var minst nöjda med bildade orsakerna bakom missnöjet. De sex variablerna var politiker och tjänstemäns attityder till företagande, förståelse av kund, tillgänglighet, kompetens, effektivitet, samt citylogistik. Citylogistiken samt klusterbyggande valdes som områden för förbättring. Citylogistiken då detta nämndes av samtliga respondenter som levererade gods till innerstaden. Klusterbyggande då detta ses som nyckeln till ett gott företagsklimat. Ett närmare samarbete företag emellan samt mellan Växjö kommun kommer skapa en bättre förståelse för varandra och hur parternas olika verksamheter fungerar. / Background: Svenskt Näringsliv conducts an annual survey called "Lokalt näringsliv", where business owners evaluate their own Municipalities regarding the local business environment. In the latest survey, it appears that transport companies are generally the least satisfied sector in the Municipality of Växjö. A good business environment is the key to creating a successful business. A good business environment is a mutual goal that both entrepreneurs and Municipalities endeavor. Business owners will get a higher employment which will lead to higher tax revenues for the Municipality. Transport companies role in the value chain have recently become increasingly important as it has proved to be able to create competitive advantages. Transport companies are expected to have an even greater role in the future given the ongoing development of e-commerce. To find the reasons behind the transport company’s dissatisfaction regarding the business environment is therefore essential in order to remain an interesting logistics location. Purpose: The purpose is to describe and explain the perceived current situation regarding the business environment in the Municipality of Växjö and the gap between the transport companies expectations and experience that causes the potential dissatisfaction. The purpose is also to make suggestions on actions to improve the transport company’s business environment. Method: This paper consists of an interview study on transport companies in the Municipality of Växjö. Empirical data were collected through semi-structed interviews with both transport companies in the Municipality of Växjö but also with an employee from Växjö Municipality traffic department. Theoretical data were collected through literature review and official publications. Conclusion: In the current situation, none of the respondents are totally satisfied with the variables that affects business environment according to Svenskt Näringsliv, however no one is satisfied with any variable either. Based on the four variables, entrepreneur’s scope in the public sector as well as politicians attitudes towards entrepreneurship is seen as the most problematic. The causes of the dissatisfaction were found partly by the variables from Svenskt Näringsliv and partly by five variables from SERVQUAL. The six variables that respondents were least satisfied with resulted in the reasons behind the dissatisfaction. The six variables were politicians and official’s attitudes towards entrepreneurship, understanding of the customer, availability, competence, efficiency, and urban logistics. Urban logistics as well as network building were chosen as areas for improvement. Urban logistics as this was mentioned by all respondents who deliver goods to the urban city. Network building as this is seen as the key to a goods business environment. Closer cooperation between companies and between the Municipality of Växjö and companies will create a better understanding of each other and how the partners various businesses operate.

År 2013 var den globala omsättningen för modeindustrin ca 76 tusen miljarder svenska kronor (Office of Textiles and Apparel, 2014). Bara i Sverige omsattes det 229 miljarder svenska kronor år 2012 inom denna sektor, en ökning på 11 % från föregående år (Tillväxtverket, 2014). Att modebranschen är under ständig utveckling och ökar i tillväxt kan man se då dessa siffror stiger varje år. Statistik från 2014 visar att trots denna ökning så överlever endast 47 % av nystartade modeföretag de tre första åren (Statistic Brain, 2014). Så hur lyckas man som modeföretag i early stage-fasen att med begränsade resurser stärka sitt varumärke och hålla sig kvar på marknaden? I denna studie berörs olika delar så som traditionell marknadsföring, okonventionell marknadsföring, branding samt transparens, där huvudfokus ligger på företag i early stage- fasen av sin uppstart. I uppsatsen genomfördes sju intervjuer med svenska modeföretag som är eller nyligen varit i denna fas för att få ett resultat med så hög validitet som möjligt. Brist på kunskap och kapital är inte ovanligt i denna bransch och med ökad medvetenhet hos konsumenter om de olika processerna, så kan det ibland uppstå svårigheter att försvara sig som nystartat företag. Då modebranschen är i ständig rörelse med stora förändringar från säsong till säsong måste man som nytt företag vara beredd på reformation samt att alltid tänka innovativt. Det är även viktigt att vara uppmärksam på kommande och rådande trender gällande alla aktiviteter ett företag arbetar med. Eftersom olika marknadsföringsstrategier både kan hjälpa och stjälpa ett varumärkes position på marknaden är den stora utmaningen att hitta rätt metod för just sitt företag (Easy, M. 2009). Resultatet av denna studie kommer alltså att bygga på de kvalitativa intervjuer som genomförts med de utvalda företag som har valt att medverka. De beskriver hur deras uppstart sett ut när det kommer till branding samt hur de i olika kanaler väljer att marknadsföra sig. I dessa intervjuer tittar vi även närmare på hur de lyckades starta sin verksamhet och vilka kapitalmedel de använt, deras syn på okonventionell marknadsföring samt hur marknadsföring och branding hänger samman.

The objective of this study is to establish whether companies that utilise their resources more efficiently present specific characteristics in their financial profile, and whether on the basis of these characteristics a classification model can be constructed that includes, alongside resource utilisation measures, predictors related to other financial dimensions calculated from published information. The- research proceeds by examining the factors influencing companies' performance, and the reliabilty of published accounts. Discriminant analysis is chosen as the most appropriate technique of analysis. Its applications in the field of financial analysis are discussed -and an examination of the discriminant analysis technique is undertaken. For reasons of comparability and access to a large quantity of information, the analytical part of the study is based on data extracted from a computer readable tape provided by Extel Statistical Services Ltd. It starts by describing the financial variables to be used later on in the study, and proposing a classification framework that would be of assistance in identifying the financial dimensions of importance in relation to the problem under investigation. A discriminant model that correctly classifies 85 per cent of the companies is then constructed. It includes, besides measures of resources utilisation, measures of financial levarage, working capital management, cash position and stability of past performance. The-part of the analysis on the identification of potential well performing companies indicates that, although specific characteristics can be noticed up to five year before, it is only possible to construct a classification model with sufficient accuracy one year before a high level of performance is actually reached. Finally, an index of financial performance based on normal approximations of the z-score distributions from the model used to identify well performing companies is suggested and an assessment of the structural change experienced by companies rising from a less well to a well performaing status is presented.

Background Small and medium businesses (SME) are important elements in the strategies of economic growth and improvement. The SME have played a great role in regional and global economic recovery during many years and thus they are very desirable. Small business leaders have to fulfil a wide range of roles and responsibilities however, the most important role being the leader role. Valdiserri (Valdiserri and Wilson, 2010) stated that poor leadership is one of the main failure reasons for small businesses. Furthermore, different countries may have different leadership styles and culture. Aim The purpose of this thesis is to identify the differences between the leadership styles in small technical companies in Sweden, an industrialized country, and Jordan, a developing country Method We adopted the study case method to study the leadership style in small companies. Through pre-defined questionnaire surveys, the leaders of eight small businesses (four companies in Sweden and four in Jordan) were asked to answer multifactor questions. We then studied the answers based on three situational leadership models. The situational methods used in our study were the Fiedler model, the normative model and the SLII model. The answers were then analysed in order to determine the current as well as the appropriate leadership style based on the models. Results In brief, our study identified several examples of different leadership styles in various situations in small companies and presented the most suitable leadership in those situations. The thesis also shed light on differences in small technical company leadership in Sweden and Jordan. The analysis of the case studies of the studied companies showed that the situational leadership methods could be used in small companies. The study concluded that in order to identify the leadership style, more than one model had to be used. In general, the leadership style in the Swedish companies matched the recommended leadership style. The Jordanian companies’ leadership style however did not match the recommended leadership style. The models in our framework also revealed the reasons behind and also proved to be valuable tools in recommending the suitable leadership style for all companies. The used models in our thesis however lacked the appropriate tools to explain the differences between the Swedish and Jordanian companies. The differences are thought to be due to cultural aspects, however, these models does not take in account the cultural aspect nor the size of the companies, an issue pointed out by Gary (Yukl, 2002). Conclusion The situational leadership style model was shown to be fully applicable in our case study as in previous literature. The conducted study suggested that more than one model had to be used in order to identify the suitable leadership style. Interestingly, the models used were clearly applicable in Middle East companies. This was, to our knowledge, the first time these models were used in Middle East countries when studying leadership style. Furthermore, the studied situational leadership style showed a clear difference in leadership between Sweden and Jordan. The models recommended a participative style in the small technical companies both in Sweden and Jordan. However, the current practiced leadership style in the Jordan companies were not exhibiting the recommended leadership style. Interviewing the leaders in the Jordanian companies gave us a hint that this difference could be due to cultural differences. The cultural differences must thus be born in mind when interpreting the data and trying to understand the reasons behind the results when studying these models. The Jordanian companies used more power leadership (telling leadership) than their Swedish counterparts who exhibited a participating leadership. According to (Hofstede, 1991) leadership in Arab culture show higher power distance than in Nordic companies. Our results thus coincide with previous studies. However more studies need to be made in order to draw conclusions on whether this is a common phenomenon in all Jordanian or Middle East companies and our thesis present an interesting pilot study in this regard.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration