El presente plan de negocio realizado durante el ciclo 2020-1, denominado Workshop Tematic, es un nuevo servicio de asesoría de inglés online dirigido a jóvenes de 15 años a más pertenecientes al sector B y C del departamento de Lima. A través de este servicio, los estudiantes podrán tener acceso a asesorías en determinados temas que tengan mayor dificultad o que desean mejorar. Actualmente, existen muchos estudiantes que no reciben una buena enseñanza en su centro de estudios, por lo que optan por buscar otros mecanismos de enseñanza como herramientas online para poder adquirir mayor conocimiento en el inglés. Estas clases de reforzamiento serán dictadas por jóvenes tutores altamente capacitados en el idioma, quienes presentan habilidades y experiencia en lo que respecta a la enseñanza. Todo ello mediante las plataformas Google Meet y Zoom, las cuales permiten una adecuada interacción entre los estudiantes y los tutores de manera virtual. Para realizar un adecuado análisis de la viabilidad de nuestro negocio, se hizo una investigación detallada en el sector, en la cual se logró identificar las ventajas de nuestro servicio online frente a las propuestas de enseñanza presencial en el idioma. Agregado a ello, se pudo identificar la inclinación de los clientes por el aprendizaje online, puesto que se acomodan mejor a sus horarios de trabajo, estudios y otras actividades. Al finalizar el presente proyecto de investigación, se llega a la conclusión que este tipo de negocio online es rentable, lo cual se evidencia en el análisis de los indicadores financieros de nuestro plan de negocio. / The present business plan carried out during the 2020-1 cycle, called Workshop Thematic, is a new online English guidance service aimed at young people from 15 years to more belonging to sector B and C of the department of Lima. Through this service, students can have advice on certain topics that are more difficult or that they want to improve. Currently, there are many students who do not receive a good teaching in their study center, so they choose to look for other teaching mechanisms as online tools to gain more knowledge in English. These classes will be taught by young tutors highly trained in the language, who will present skills and experience in what respects teaching. Students and tutors will have properly interaction in a virtual way by means of Google Meet and Zoom platforms. In order to analyse the viability our business, a specific investigation was carried out in the sector, where the advantages of our online service were identified and compared to traditional teaching. In addition, it was possible to identify a great interest for e-learning in people, since this adjust to their work, study and other activities. At the end of this research project, it concluded that this type of online business is profitable, which is evidenced in the analysis of the financial indicators in our business plan. / Trabajo de investigación

The thesis is concerned with clients’ perspective towards large engineering consultancies. Thecore aim of this work is to understand what client evaluates when trying to define how engineering consultancies are different from each other. To understand this area, theories of marketing and branding in professional service industry will be analyzed. Further interviews with both clients and consultants were held and based on empirical findings and theoretical perspective, conclusions are drawn.

Academics, practitioners and media agree that the topic of work-life balance is on the agenda and valued by the new business generation. Although Sweden might be considered a working friendly country, the management consultancy industry is not recognized to be the same. With an institutional perspective we will through a discourse analysis investigate the communication on Swedish management consultancies web pages in order to explore how consultancies relate to the work-life balance discourse. In this study we look at work-life balance communication as a continuum with abstract and concrete as two opposites where the level of concreteness will decide the level of responsibility dedicated from the organizations regarding employees` work-life balance. Our findings suggest that the discourse is mostly composed of abstract descriptive talk, which indicates that the communication exists as a legitimizing result of institutional pressures, and might not be an essential matter for the concultancies` everyday practice. A big part of the responsibility to achieve a work-life balance is put upon the individual employee and even though initiatives are presented they are seldom followed up by concrete targets or supported with results.

Esta pesquisa promove uma discussão sobre os critérios de desempenho na internacionalização de serviços de design, a partir de um estudo exploratório sobre o desempenho de escritório de design, chamados na literatura de KIBS, knowledge intensive business services (MILES et al., 1995; DEN HERTOG, 2000; TOIVONEN, 2004, 2006; MULLER; DOLOREUX, 2007), que tem tido notável relevância como players no cenário internacional (ABECASSIS- MOEDAS, 2012; TOIVONEN, 2004, 2006; HALLDIN, 2010). A literatura tradicional sobre internacionalização, com suas diversas teorias, não contempla especificamente desempenho na internacionalização de empresas de serviços, e neste sentido, foi necessária a validação dos critérios de avaliação de desempenho em internacionalização de serviços com especialistas. Determina-se como objetivo geral avaliar o desempenho de escritórios de design em seu processo de internacionalização e assim realizou-se um estudo qualitativo com seis especialistas de mercado e nove incubados da incubadora Start Line no segundo semestre de 2016. Verifica-se que indicadores comportamentais são determinantes na avaliação do processo de internacionalização de escritórios de design, e que empresas born global tem mais rapidez na sua expansão internacional, bem como uma rentabilidade superior em pouco tempo de atividade. Recomenda-se a validação destes indicadores com KIBS de outros ramos de atividade, pois é um setor carente de literatura sobre internacionalização. / This research promotes a discussion about performance criteria in the internationalization of design services, based on an exploratory study about incubated design offices, a service that in the literature is known as, knowledge intensive business services or KIBS (MILES et al, 1995), which have had relevance in the international scenario (ABECASSIS-MOEDAS, 2012; TOIVONEN, 2004, 2006, HALLDIN, 2010). Traditional internationalization literature, with its various theories, does not specifically study performance in the internationalization of service companies, and in this sense, it was necessary to validate the performance evaluation criteria in internationalization of services with specialists. The main objective of this research is to evaluate performance of design offices in its internationalization process,and thus a qualitative study was carried out with six market specialists and nine incubators from the Start Line incubator in the second half of 2016. It has been found that behavioral indicators are decisive in the evaluation of the internationalization process of design offices, and that born global companies are faster in its international expansion, as well as having superior profitability in a short time of activity. It is recommended to validate these indicators with KIBS from other branches of activity, since it is a sector lacking literature on internationalization.

Design consultancy is a service that is given by professional designers to clients to respond to their design requirements. In Turkey, design consultancy services are given through design firms since the 1980s, mostly founded by the early graduates of industrial design. This thesis is carried to recognize the firms that give service in design consultancy sector, to identify the given services as design consultancy and to determine the conditions of design consultancy sector in Turkey through a survey made on the design consultancy firms in Turkey. A questionnaire is prepared to investigate the history of design consultancy firms, their profession fields, their client firms&rsquo / sector types, scope of services, the profession&rsquo / s advantages and disadvantages, the problems and opinions consultancy is carried out in Turkey. The survey also investigates the structure of design about the future of industrial design sector. This survey also inquires how design consultancy firms, given service types and sectors of client firms in detail. Twenty design consultancy firms responded to the questionnaire. The study indicates that, design consultancy service types by the firms are mostly product design, concept development, project drawing, project management, interface design and field tests.

Esta pesquisa promove uma discussão sobre os critérios de desempenho na internacionalização de serviços de design, a partir de um estudo exploratório sobre o desempenho de escritório de design, chamados na literatura de KIBS, knowledge intensive business services (MILES et al., 1995; DEN HERTOG, 2000; TOIVONEN, 2004, 2006; MULLER; DOLOREUX, 2007), que tem tido notável relevância como players no cenário internacional (ABECASSIS- MOEDAS, 2012; TOIVONEN, 2004, 2006; HALLDIN, 2010). A literatura tradicional sobre internacionalização, com suas diversas teorias, não contempla especificamente desempenho na internacionalização de empresas de serviços, e neste sentido, foi necessária a validação dos critérios de avaliação de desempenho em internacionalização de serviços com especialistas. Determina-se como objetivo geral avaliar o desempenho de escritórios de design em seu processo de internacionalização e assim realizou-se um estudo qualitativo com seis especialistas de mercado e nove incubados da incubadora Start Line no segundo semestre de 2016. Verifica-se que indicadores comportamentais são determinantes na avaliação do processo de internacionalização de escritórios de design, e que empresas born global tem mais rapidez na sua expansão internacional, bem como uma rentabilidade superior em pouco tempo de atividade. Recomenda-se a validação destes indicadores com KIBS de outros ramos de atividade, pois é um setor carente de literatura sobre internacionalização. / This research promotes a discussion about performance criteria in the internationalization of design services, based on an exploratory study about incubated design offices, a service that in the literature is known as, knowledge intensive business services or KIBS (MILES et al, 1995), which have had relevance in the international scenario (ABECASSIS-MOEDAS, 2012; TOIVONEN, 2004, 2006, HALLDIN, 2010). Traditional internationalization literature, with its various theories, does not specifically study performance in the internationalization of service companies, and in this sense, it was necessary to validate the performance evaluation criteria in internationalization of services with specialists. The main objective of this research is to evaluate performance of design offices in its internationalization process,and thus a qualitative study was carried out with six market specialists and nine incubators from the Start Line incubator in the second half of 2016. It has been found that behavioral indicators are decisive in the evaluation of the internationalization process of design offices, and that born global companies are faster in its international expansion, as well as having superior profitability in a short time of activity. It is recommended to validate these indicators with KIBS from other branches of activity, since it is a sector lacking literature on internationalization.

Esta pesquisa promove uma discussão sobre os critérios de desempenho na internacionalização de serviços de design, a partir de um estudo exploratório sobre o desempenho de escritório de design, chamados na literatura de KIBS, knowledge intensive business services (MILES et al., 1995; DEN HERTOG, 2000; TOIVONEN, 2004, 2006; MULLER; DOLOREUX, 2007), que tem tido notável relevância como players no cenário internacional (ABECASSIS- MOEDAS, 2012; TOIVONEN, 2004, 2006; HALLDIN, 2010). A literatura tradicional sobre internacionalização, com suas diversas teorias, não contempla especificamente desempenho na internacionalização de empresas de serviços, e neste sentido, foi necessária a validação dos critérios de avaliação de desempenho em internacionalização de serviços com especialistas. Determina-se como objetivo geral avaliar o desempenho de escritórios de design em seu processo de internacionalização e assim realizou-se um estudo qualitativo com seis especialistas de mercado e nove incubados da incubadora Start Line no segundo semestre de 2016. Verifica-se que indicadores comportamentais são determinantes na avaliação do processo de internacionalização de escritórios de design, e que empresas born global tem mais rapidez na sua expansão internacional, bem como uma rentabilidade superior em pouco tempo de atividade. Recomenda-se a validação destes indicadores com KIBS de outros ramos de atividade, pois é um setor carente de literatura sobre internacionalização. / This research promotes a discussion about performance criteria in the internationalization of design services, based on an exploratory study about incubated design offices, a service that in the literature is known as, knowledge intensive business services or KIBS (MILES et al, 1995), which have had relevance in the international scenario (ABECASSIS-MOEDAS, 2012; TOIVONEN, 2004, 2006, HALLDIN, 2010). Traditional internationalization literature, with its various theories, does not specifically study performance in the internationalization of service companies, and in this sense, it was necessary to validate the performance evaluation criteria in internationalization of services with specialists. The main objective of this research is to evaluate performance of design offices in its internationalization process,and thus a qualitative study was carried out with six market specialists and nine incubators from the Start Line incubator in the second half of 2016. It has been found that behavioral indicators are decisive in the evaluation of the internationalization process of design offices, and that born global companies are faster in its international expansion, as well as having superior profitability in a short time of activity. It is recommended to validate these indicators with KIBS from other branches of activity, since it is a sector lacking literature on internationalization.

Artificial intelligence is a concept based on making machines think. The disciplines that study this range from behavioral science to computer science and mathematics. The different approaches have contributed to categorize the field of artificial intelligence into different areas and the definitions of artificial intelligence are many. The aim of this study has been to investigate how IT consulting companies define and position themselves against artificial intelligence. To achieve this goal, literature on the subject has been studied to define artificial intelligence and to categorize the different areas of artificial intelligence. With the help of these areas, a survey has been conducted with IT consultancies as a target group. It turned out that most respondents work with different types of algorithms based on logic computations and big data, which differ from those areas experts believe will be significant for the future of AI. Both experts and the IT-consultancies are convinced that in the future neural networks will be one of the fields with greatest potential.

I takt med ökade samhällsmässiga och juridiska påtryckningar på företag ökar kraven på företag att agera etiskt och i enlighet med intressenters förväntningar. En förväntning som blivit allt större är att företag ska förespråka mångfald, jämlikhet, och inkludering. Inom Europa kommer det frånoch med 2024 bli av ännu större vikt för företag att ha ett konkret mångfaldsarbete med hänsyn till nya lagar kring rapportering av mångfald på arbetsplatsen. Konsultbranschen har historiskt brottats med stora utmaningar gällande mångfald och siffror från 2018 pekar på att konsultbolag i Sverige generellt består av mer än dubbelt så många män som kvinnor. Tidigare forskning inom mångfald visar på både positiva och negativa effekter som uppstått på grund av heterogena arbetsstyrkor. Det optimistiska perspektivet argumentererar för att mångfald bidrar till fördelar som förbättrade jobbprestationer, ökad innovationsgrad, och förbättrade jobbattiyder som leder till förbättrad lönsamhet för företagen. Den pessimistiska forskningen, å andra sidan, antyder att mångfald kan innebära kostnader i form av kommunikationsproblem, fler konflikter, försämrad arbetstillfredsställelse, och lägre produktivitet. Forskare är eniga om att mångfaldshantering krävs för att mångfalden ska ge maximal nytta och för att eventuella negativa effekter ska motverkas eller minimeras.  Denna studie utfördes för att tydliggöra hur mångfaldsarbetet bedrivs på konsultbolag i Sverige och studien ämnade att besvara vilka faktorer som kan underlätta eller hindra mångfaldsarbetet, hur mångfalden bör hanteras, och slutligen, vilka effekter som kan uppstå till följd av mångfaldiga arbetsstyrkor. Studien utfördes genom kvalitativa intervjuer med respondenter från tre stora konsultbolag med verksamhet i Sverige och konsulttjänster inom digitalisering och IT. Totalt intervjuades åtta respondenter, en pilotintervju inkluderad.  Empirin är mer i linje med det optimistiska synsättet inom litteraturen då samtliga respondenter upplevde att mångfald medför stora positiva effekter. Respondenterna var dock av uppfattningen att det fanns potentiella negativa effekter, men genom korrekt mångfaldshantering ansågs dessa effekter kunna motverkas eller minimeras. Empirin pekar på att konsultbolagen i Sverige arbetar med mångfald på olika sätt, dock med jämställdhetsfrågan som en gemensam nämnare. Övriga mångfaldsdimensioner har mindre prioritet, trots att diskussioner kring dimensioner som etnicitet, LGBT, och funktionsvariationer har börjat bli mer förekommande. Med heterogena arbetsstyrkor och korrekt mångfaldshantering beskrevs det att företag kan erhålla effekter som förbättrad lönsamhet, ökad produktivitet samt förbättrade jobbattityder och prestationer. Medarbetare finner lättare trygghet och förbättrade personliga relationer på arbetsplatsen, och kunskapsspridningen ökar då medarbetarnas olika perspektiv leder till bättre problemlösningsförmåga, idégenerering, och bredare kunskapsbas. Företag med mångfald på arbetsplatsen uppfattas som mer attraktiva för både arbetstagare och kunder, och företagets konkurrensförmåga förbättras.  Mångfaldshantering krävs för att främja de positiva effekterna och motverka potentiella negativa effekter. I detta ingår högsta ledningens genuina engagemang, anpassning efter den lokala kontexten, en öppen och tillåtande organisationskultur, inkludering, utbildningar, seminarier, och work-life balance. Faktorer som kan underlätta eller hindra mångfaldsarbetet inkluderar data, resurser, fördomar, och stereotyper. / As societal and legal pressures on companies increase, so do the demands on companies to act ethically and in line with stakeholder expectations. A growing expectation is that companies should advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. In Europe, from 2024 onwards, it will be even more important for companies to have a meaningful diversity management in view of new laws on diversity reporting in the workplace. The consulting industry has historically struggled with major challenges regarding diversity and numbers from 2018 indicate that consulting firms in Sweden generally comprise more than twice as many men as women. Previous research on diversity shows both positive and negative effects arising from heterogeneous workforces. The optimistic perspective argues that diversity contributes to benefits such as improved job performance, increased innovation, and improved job attitudes leading to improved profitability for companies. The pessimistic research, on the other hand, suggests that diversity can impose costs in the form of communication problems, increased conflict, reduced job satisfaction, and lower productivity. Researchers agree that diversity management is required to maximize the benefits of diversity and to counteract or minimize any negative effects.  This study was conducted to clarify how diversity management is carried out at consulting firmsin Sweden and the study aimed to answer what factors can facilitate or hinder diversity management, how diversity should be managed, and lastly, what effects can occur as a result of diverse workforces. The study was conducted through qualitative interviews with intervieweesfrom three large consulting firms with operations in Sweden and consulting services in digitalization and IT. A total of eight interviewees were interviewed, including one pilot interview.  The empirical data is more in line with the optimistic view in the literature, as all intervieweesconsidered diversity to bring major positive effects. However, the interviewees were of the opinion that there were potential negative effects, but through proper diversity management these effects were considered to be counteracted or minimized. The empirical data indicates that the consulting firms in Sweden work with diversity in different ways, aside from gender equality which was a common denominator. Other diversity dimensions have less priority, although discussions about dimensions such as ethnicity, LGBT, and disabilities have begun to become more prevalent. With heterogeneous workforces and proper diversity management, it was described that companies can obtain positive effects such as improved profitability, increased productivity and improved job attitudes and performance. Employees are more likely to find security and improved personal relationships in the workplace, and knowledge sharing increases as the different perspectives of the diverse employees lead to better problem solving, idea generation, and a broader knowledge base. Companies with a diverse workforce are perceived as more attractive to both employees and customers, and are perceived as more competitive.  Diversity management is required to promote the positive effects and counteract potential negative effects. According to the empirical data, proper diversity management include the genuine commitment of top management, adaptation to the local context, an open and permissive organisational culture, inclusion, training, seminars, and work-life balance. Factors that can facilitate or hinder diversity efforts include data, resources, prejudices, and stereotypes.

Abstract Title: Transparency within Public Relations – A study about PR-companies understanding of openness Pages: 71 Authors: Olof Ehrs Tutor: Virginia Melián Course: Media and Communication Studies, Bachelor Degree. Period: Autumn 2011. University: The Department of Journalism, Media and Communication, JMK,at Stockholm University. Background and aim: The PR-industry is continuing to grow in Sweden. The increase of working consultancies has made it more difficult to define what PR-activities really are in Sweden today. This exam reviews the presence and lack of transparency within the PR labour. The aim of the essay is to inspect the PR-companies relation to transparency and non-transparency. How do the PR-companies explain their working methods and ways to address openness within the PR-assignment? Method/Material: The method is qualitative interviews. My respondents come from three different PR-companies: Burson-Marsteller, Grayling and Kreab Gavin Anderson. Theory: A liberal and critical perspective provides a theoretical ground for my analysis. Different communication theories are also applied. I also explain the concepts and my definitions of Public Relations and transparency within PR. Main Results: Depending on perspective different results are to be acknowledged. My respondents always had legitimate explanations to why the work as they do. Market rules and laws are the main reason for strict secrecy and silence. From a critical perspective a lack of transparency is present almost everywhere. PR-consultancies make material that can be taken over by principals, news staff and politicians. We as citizens have big difficulties to identify the real senders and messages in PR-material regarding the strict secrecy. Keywords: Transparency, Secrecy, Public Relations, communication, accounting , strategy, target groups, PR-tools, PR-labour, PR-consultancies, media relations, lobbying, crisis management, news work, principals.