The aim of this study is to analyse available tools and strategic management theories dealing with the growth of the company, to apply the theory in the form of case study on the fast growing small business and propose recommendations for the management of similar companies. The theoretical part is focused to the issue of the strategic management tools. Furthermore it deals with comparison of rigorous and agile approach to managing and planning the growth of the company. The analytical part of the work is written as a case study of company, which is growing by hundreds of percent per year. It describes the situations and decisions in company during its growth. Different approaches to the management are shown on specific examples of the company situations. At the end, there are recommendations for companies at a similar stage. Description of new management tools and methods implemented in company is also a part of study. This is particularly the delegation at higher level, reporting, focusing on the core business and managing business transformations while preserving its identity.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-12T20:32:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Patricia Alves Brasil.pdf: 815657 bytes, checksum: 82be3bb8d041687556e24a7293612013 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-05-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The recognition of the human capital as an essential factor to the company growth is becoming more evident among the entrepreneurs. Consequently, the human resources area development has became a fundamental feature for the companies in different sections, specially, for those facing global competition in a dynamic, multifaceted and hostile. This research had as objective to identify relevant factors for the restructuring of human resources processes of the picture framing moulding company X from the perception of its directors and employees. The present study seeks to analyze the company considering the external environment (market, product and labor) and the internal environment (company structure, human resources process, social environment and the company objectives). For the research development, besides the theoretical references, a descriptive, exploratory and evaluative case study was done. As research instruments, semi-structured surveys, structured interviews and documental analyses were used. Participated as subjects: the directors, the managers, person in charge for the human resources and other employees. Based on the results, the following factors were identified to be considered in the restructuring in the human resources administration: commitment from the highest administration levels with the program intended for the company development; decentralization of the company structure, adjustment of the dimension of the labor to the real company needs; development of the production control and planning; increasing on the company s communication channels; decrease on the turnover and absenteeism, establishment of improving actions aiming the complying of the labor basic needs, increase on the scholarship levels specially of the leaders, investing in education and training; increase on the responsibilities of some positions in the operational level. / O reconhecimento do capital humano como fator indispensável ao crescimento organizacional é cada vez mais evidente entre a classe empresarial. Logo, o desenvolvimento da área de recursos humanos tornou-se um aspecto fundamental para as organizações de diversos setores, especialmente, para aquelas que enfrentam a concorrência a nível mundial em um ambiente dinâmico, complexo, e hostil. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo identificar fatores relevantes para reestruturação dos processos de recursos humanos da Empresa de Molduras X a partir da percepção de seus diretores e colaboradores. O presente estudo buscou caracterizar e analisar a organização considerando o ambiente externo (mercado, produto e mão-de-obra) e ambiente interno (estrutura organizacional, processos de recursos humanos, ambiente social de trabalho e objetivos organizacionais). Para o desenvolvimento do trabalho, além do referencial teórico abordado, realizou-se um estudo de caso do tipo descritivo, exploratório e avaliativo. Como instrumentos de pesquisa, foram utilizados questionários semi-estruturados, entrevistas estruturadas e análise documental. Participaram como sujeitos: a diretoria, a gerência geral, a estagiária de recursos humanos, a encarregada de departamento pessoal e os colaboradores de maneira geral. Com base nos resultados, identificou-se os seguintes fatores a serem considerados na reestruturação da administração de recursos humanos: comprometimento da alta administração (cúpula estratégica) com o programa voltado ao desenvolvimento organizacional; descentralização da estrutura organizacional; adequação da dimensão do quadro de colaboradores às reais necessidades da empresa; desenvolvimento da área de Planejamento e Controle de Produção; ampliação dos canais de comunicação na empresa como um todo; diminuição a rotatividade e absenteísmo; estabelecimento de ações de melhorias com vistas à satisfação das necessidades básicas dos colaboradores; aumento do nível de escolaridade dos colaboradores e especialmente, das lideranças; investimento em formação, educação e treinamento; aumento das responsabilidades de alguns cargos do núcleo operacional.

The master thesis deals with delegating of the work in small, rapidly growing companies. The main objective is to determine what approaches entrepreneurs apply to delegate in the growth phase of the company. The theoretical part describes the relevant theoretical concepts such as business growth, human resources in the company, analysis of entrepreneurs' work time and the work delegating. There are presented results of foreign research in this thesis that serves as the basis for my own investigation. In the methodical part the methods used and the research process are being specified together with the criteria for selecting the sample of respondents and subsequent data analysis procedure. The empirical part examines a sample of 12 entrepreneurs and presents the results of the investigation. The opinions of 97 subordinates of individual entrepreneurs are also included. Results of the research lead to the conclusion that entrepreneurs often do not use the potential of described managerial techniques, even if it would lead to the benefit of further development of the company.

Background: The building industry is slowly but progressively shifting from the ‘take-make-dispose’principle of the linear economy towards a circular economy (CE), where waste is minimized and reintroduced to the loop of production. In this way, the loop of materials, energy and waste flows is closed; all for the hopes of saving the environment. Nonetheless, studies show that this is not the main incentivefor which architects and engineers implement CE principles into their projects and businesses but rather because they are interested in the innovative aspect of CE (Alhawari, et al., 2021). Previous research has also shown that there is a positive correlation between this innovation incentive and the growth thata company has experienced over the years (Horbach & Rammer, 2020). Innovation as such allows companies to attain competitiveness and make their presence stronger in the market (Raghuvanshi & Agrawal, 2020). Objectives: The objective is to extend previous studies about innovation being the main incentivedriving the implementation of CE principles in the building industry. Furthermore, the relationship between company growth and the strength of the innovation incentive is studied, as well as the relationship between company growth and the number of CE projects a company has worked on over the last years.  Methodology: The study is based on a quantitative approach for data collection and data analysis. The data comes from 70 architectural and engineering companies operating in various countries of the European Union and is analyzed with the help of descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U tests through STATA software.  Results: Innovation is proved to be the main incentive, driving the transition towards CE in the building industry; it is also clearly proven that there is a positive correlation between the innovation incentiveand the company growth. Diving deeper into the subject, no correlation was found between the numberof CE projects and the company growth. However, categorizing the companies based on their size and discipline, a positive correlation was found between the number of CE projects and the growth of big architecture companies. All the observations of positive correlation are in line with previous literature. Conclusions: Saving the planet, which is the reason that initiated the CE concept, is not the main incentive. Architects and engineers are innovative by their nature and always aim to follow trends thatallow them to think outside the box to help their business grow and have their name heard. The effect of innovation on the success of a company should be taken into consideration when developing newbusiness models and setting goals, as well as when recruiting new employees. Recommendations for future research: Future research could broaden the geographical area and try to find if there are different outcomes for other parts of the world. Additionally, an understanding of why only big architectural companies showed a correlation between their growth and their number of CE projects could be achieved by studying a larger sample and defining growth by using other factors.

The evolution of third-party logistics has sparked much academic interest over the years, with researchers looking at how the industry has grown and the factors that have contributed to it. The primary goal of this thesis is to examine the factors that have driven third-party logistics companies’ growth in Sweden for eighteen years (2002–2020). Growth in this thesis is considered as the growth of net sales. A total of 924 observations of ninety-five active third-party logistics companies operating in the Swedish market are analyzed in this thesis. An Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) linear regression analysis is carried out to examine the growth factors of third-party logistics companies in Sweden, taking into consideration the direct effect of the variables, number of employees, liabilities, operating profit, Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT), accessibility, technology, reverse logistics, service offer, customer relationship management (CRM), marketing, and distribution systems on the growth of net sales. Results from the OLS model shows that the size of the company, profitability, and the company's level of competence, has a significant positive influence on third-party logistics (3PL) company's growth.

This master thesis deals with problems of changes in the management of human resources connected to an expansion of a company. It focuses on small and middle-sized companies. The first part describes theoretical principles of company growth, change management and specifics of small and middle-sized companies, including differences in human resources management. The second part describes some practical examples in the field of company growth and related changes. Different attitudes and ways applied to implement changes while solving growth problems are shown on the sample of two selected companies Each of the two companies finally developed in an opposite way, depending on how they had implemented changes. The first company continues its development as a middle-sized company and the latter bankrupted. Analysis of reasons of the success or failure while managing the growth is a part of this master thesis.

Abstract This study aims to clarify the early development stages of technology intensive companies. The current literature does not offer an extensive review of stage perspectives for company growth – the overall picture of the field is somewhat vague. The evolution of this field remains unclear as well as the current state. Further, recent empirical stage models focusing on technology intensive companies have not been delineated. As companies move through their early stages, they face events which contribute to or detract from their aim. A study focusing on these events may provide fresh viewpoints for understanding the management processes. This study seeks to clarify how the literature describes the early stages of technology intensive companies, and what viewpoints are highlighted by the management as a company progresses through these sequences. This retrospective multiple case study clarifies the topic with two meta-analyses and a sequential incident study carried out in ten young technology intensive companies in Finland and Thailand. First, well covered areas, trends, and ideas for fresh approaches are studied through a meta-analysis of the past 60 years of literature focusing on stages of development. Based on recent empirical studies, a sequential self assessment framework is formed. Second, it is studied whether the case study methodology could be utilised to further clarify the early stages of technology intensive companies. Third, the experiences of ten case companies are reflected through the framework in order to test the framework, and to study what viewpoints these cases reveal about the early stages of technology intensive companies. This study provided an extensive review of the research focusing on the stages of development. A four-stage framework was found applicable for a self-assessment of the early stages in technology intensive companies, while ten case studies and cross case analysis provided partial support for the framework. In addition, this study provided many potential fresh viewpoints for a theory related to the early stages of technology intensive companies. These viewpoints are considered here as starting points for further research, which is expected to provide sufficient evidence for further modification of the framework. / Tiivistelmä Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selkeyttää teknologiaintensiivisten yritysten varhaisia kehitysvaiheita. Kirjallisuus ei tarjoa kattavaa katsausta yrityksen kehitysvaiheita käsittelevästä tutkimuksesta – kokonaiskuva aiheesta jää jokseenkin epämääräiseksi samoin kuin alan kehitys ja nykytila. Lisäksi viimeaikaisten empiiristä aineistoa sisältävien vaihemallien tuloksia ei ole koottu yhteen. Varhaisissa kehitysvaiheissaan yritykset kohtaavat sekä tavoitteitaan edistäviä että estäviä tapahtumia. Tapahtumia tutkimalla on mahdollista nostaa esille tuoreita näkökulmia varhaisiin vaiheisiin liittyviin johtamisprosesseihin. Tämä tutkimus pyrkii selvittämään, kuinka teknologiayrityksen varhaiset kehitysvaiheet on kuvattu kirjallisuudessa ja mitä näkökulmia varhaisen kehityksen läpi käyneiden yritysten johto korostaa. Tämä takautuva monitapaustutkimus analysoi aihetta kahden meta-analyysin ja vaiheittain toteutetun kriittiset tapahtumat -menetelmän avulla. Tapaustutkimus suoritettiin kymmenessä suomalaisessa ja thaimaalaisessa yrityksessä. Ensiksi 60 edeltävää vuotta käsittävässä meta-analyysissä analysoitiin vaihemallien historia ja nykytila, trendit ja potentiaaliset ideat uusille lähestymistavoille. Viimeaikaisten empiiristen tutkimusten perusteella muodostettiin synteesi varhaisten kehitysvaiheiden itsearviointikehykseksi. Toiseksi tutkittiin voidaanko tapaustutkimusta hyödyntämällä edelleen selventää teknologiaintensiivisten yritysten varhaisia kehitysvaiheita. Kolmanneksi kymmenen tapausyrityksen kokemuksia peilattiin itsearviointikehykseen tarkoituksena testata kehystä ja analysoida mitä näkökulmia tapaukset paljastavat teknologiaintensiivisten yritysten varhaisista vaiheista. Tutkimus tarjosi laajan katsauksen yrityksen kehitysvaiheisiin keskittyvään tutkimuskenttään. Nelivaiheinen kehys todettiin soveltuvaksi varhaisten kehitysvaiheiden itsearviointiin teknologiaintensiivisissä yrityksissä – kymmenen tapausta ja näiden vertailu antoi osittaisen tuen tälle. Lisäksi tutkimus tarjosi useita uusia näkökulmia teknologiaintensiivisten yritysten varhaisia kehitysvaiheita käsittelevään teoriaan. Nämä näkökulmat toimivat lähtökohtana jatkotutkimuksille, joiden oletetaan tuovan riittävästi todistusaineistoa itsearviointikehyksen edelleenkehittämiseksi.