Developing successful new products in New Zealand Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is difficult due to several factors. These include greater expectations, new technology, reduced product lifecycles, high project failure rates, and the pressures from competition. This presents a significant challenge for a product development team as it leaves companies searching for opportunities to gain an advantage in the market place. The low level of research performed in relation to SMEs over the past number of years, especially in the field of New Product Development (NPD), has resulted in an increase in interest by practitioners and academics. This research was aimed at exploring the pre-development phase currently employed by SMEs within the New Zealand manufacturing industry. The purpose was to gauge the understanding and importance of this early stage in NPD amongst practitioners from these SMEs, as the literature highlighted this as an area of weakness requiring empirical research. Specifically, the objectives set for this research investigation were to survey manufacturing SMEs in New Zealand, compare the findings with past and current research on a national and international level, and make conclusions in relation to: • The nature and complexity of the pre-development activities performed by New Zealand manufacturing SMEs. • The difficulties and/or limitations New Zealand manufacturing SMEs encounter whilst implementing the pre-development activities. • The importance of and attitude towards the pre-development phase with regards to the overall NPD process and the company’s product development efforts. The study consisted of a questionnaire survey, run during June and July 2007 with twenty-two SMEs representing the light engineering/manufacturing, electronics, and food industry sectors. The questionnaire survey was followed up with one-on-one interviews with some of the participating companies allowing for both quantitative and qualitative data to be obtained. The research investigation found that the difficulties in carrying out the five predevelopment activities studied were common, compounded by the lack of skills inhouse to do so. Of the five pre-development activities studied, the preliminary technical analysis was found to be given the most attention by the companies with regard to overall project time, with lesser emphasis placed on the other four activities. Many of the companies developed ‘new to the world’ products or entered new markets with existing products where they primarily took part in the business-tobusiness market. Good relationships existed between the manufacturing SMEs and their suppliers, distributors and customers. Management were found to have a high level of involvement in product planning, as they tend to be involved in key decision making in NPD in SMEs. Many of the companies had difficulty when it came to identifying opportunities and customer needs, with the addition of numerous barriers limiting the implementation of NPD. The greatest difficulties arose during the practical implementation of tools and techniques due to several challenges, such as limited budgets, lack of time and resources as well as incompatibility within the existing company culture. Clearly, the pre-development phase is the basis for the remainder of the NPD process with essential development decisions being made here. This phase is therefore crucial in determining the likely outcome of NPD projects. The research findings suggested that greater consideration and effort should be placed on the pre-development phase, even more so with the cost increasing exponentially when mistakes are made later in development. The study highlighted the need to improve the tools and techniques available for use during the pre-development phase, as companies are aware of its importance but find it the most difficult to undertake. High new product failure rates; over-expenditure of project time; lack of awareness, commitment, and formality; and the high level of difficulty experienced by the New Zealand SMEs studied, suggests there is a need for the implementation of better tools and techniques during the predevelopment phase to aid successful NPD in New Zealand manufacturing SMEs.

<p><strong>Sammandrag </strong></p><p>Syftet med den här undersökningen var att undersöka hur pedagogerna på en förskola i Värmland upplever att införandet av TAKK har påverkat barnens språkutveckling. Jag ville också undersöka hur de språkutvecklande aktiviteterna på en småbarnsavdelning har förändrats sedan 2005 och vilken roll TAKK har i detta. Dessutom ville jag se om personalen använde tecken på alla avdelningar på förskolan.</p><p> </p><p>Jag kom fram till att den största skillnaden när det gäller språkutvecklande aktiviteter är att de har infört TAKK på småbarnsavdelningen som stöd till alla barn. Med hjälp av observationer och intervjuer på den aktuella förskolan kunde jag konstatera att pedagogerna på förskolan upplever att tecken är bra för alla små barns språkutveckling eftersom de har upptäckt att barnen fått ett mer utvecklat språk sedan metoden infördes.</p><p> </p><p>Litteraturstudierna bekräftade att TAKK kan användas till alla barn, även små barn, eftersom det blir ett redskap för barnet i sin kommunikation. Pedagogerna på förskolan upplever mindre frustration i barngruppen då barn och pedagoger förstår varandra mycket bättre idag. Barnen har blivit ovanligt bra på färger anser pedagogerna.</p><p> </p><p>En av de andra avdelningarna på förskolan använder TAKK, men inte till alla barn utan där använder man tecken främst till ett speciellt barn som behöver det som stöd i sin kommunikation. Den tredje avdelningen använder inte TAKK.</p> / <p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>The purpose of this investigation was to examine how the pedagogues of a preschool in Värmland experience that the introduction of TAKK has affected the children’s language development. I also wanted to examine how the language development activities in a small children’s department have been changed since 2005 and what part TAKK has in this. Furthermore I wanted to see if the personnel used signs in every department on the preschool.</p><p> </p><p>My conclusion was that the biggest difference when it comes to the activities for the language development is that they have introduced TAKK in the small children’s department as a support to all children. With the aid of observations and interviews made in the current preschool, I could establish that the pedagogues of the preschool experience that signs is a good help for every small child’s language development since they discovered that the children have a more developed language after the method was introduced.</p><p> </p><p>The literature studies confirmed that TAKK can be used on all children, even small children, since it becomes a tool for the child in its communication. The pedagogues of the preschool experience less frustration in the group of children as children and pedagogues understand each other much better today. The pedagogues consider that the children have become exceptionally good in defining colours.</p><p> </p><p>One of the other departments of the preschool uses TAKK but not to all children. They use signs mainly to a particular child who needs signs as a support for her communication. The third department doesn’t use TAKK.</p>

Subject of this thesis "Analysis of the Possibility to Draw Financial Means on the European Union's Funds for the Financing of Developing Activities in Municipalities, a concrete manifestation on an example of a municipality (town)" is to find to what extent towns look after their area development and how they use the possibility to draw financial means from the EU funds. The first part tackles the status of a municipality at present and possibilities of changes. The second part deals with the town's economy; the third focuses on possibilities of drawing subsidies at various levels of public administration to fund development activities of towns, mainly through EU funds. On those theoretical grounds, development potential of a concrete town is analysed and in consequence, future development activities and their possibility is explored.

This study was designed to examine the relationship between participation in specific professional development activities and the adjuncts' level of job satisfaction. Data was gathered from previous and current professional development activities at Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida. Research in the area of professional development activities for adjunct faculty is emerging; however, there is a scarcity of research in the area of professional development activities as a means to increase job satisfaction. The data produced by this study were reviewed to determine, the level of job satisfaction of those adjuncts who attended professional development activities; the degree to which adjunct faculty members attended professional development activities; the reasons why adjuncts attended professional development activities; and how attendance at professional development activities has enhanced adjuncts' teaching performance. Findings showed that adjuncts who attended professional development activities at Valencia Community College were generally satisfied with their jobs. Adjuncts were also satisfied with the professional development activities they attended and many attended more than one activity.

Background. In today’s business environment firms are highly supplier dependent, and with a changing landscape of legislations affecting product requirements it is challenging for firms to keep a compliant and competitive supplier base. The post-COVID effects of supply shortages affect demand and with geopolitical uncertainties apparent, it becomes imperative that firms manage and develop suppliers to ensure competitiveness. To combat this, the concept Supplier development has been proven to enhance buying firm-competitive advantage, supplier performance and buyer-supplier relationship. It refers to any efforts by the buying firm, together with the supplier, to enhance the capabilities of the supplier to meet the firm’s short- and long-term needs. It is imperative for firms in today’s markets, due to the volatile factors mentioned, to develop a stable supplier base effectively and successfully. Purpose. Explore and identify the activities and factors that lead to successful supplier development in the context of an electronics manufacturing company in the video and surveillance industry. Methods. A qualitative case study was chosen as it allows for a deep and context specific understanding as to why activities and factors lead to success in supplier development. It further helps in finding relationships and uncovering complexities that exist. Semi-structured interviews were with professionals from Sourcing, Quality and Sustainability departments were conducted to understand the factors and activities profoundly while gaining different perspectives on the matters to enhance validity. Results. It is found that for a buying firm to initiate supplier development there are some essential factors that must be present in the relationship with a supplier. These are called enablers and consist of the following: Trust, Commitment, Information sharing, Communication, and Top management support. The factors that enhance the performance of supplier development initiatives are called success factors, the findings are: Having the right competence, Local resources, Alignment of management level to the supplier’s, Good margins and Tools for supplier development. Lastly, the activities found to effectively develop the supplier are divided into direct and indirect activities, where the latter indicates less resource commitment by the buying firm: Training and Education, Knowledge transfer and Supplier visits, Encourage visits to buying firm’s headquarters, Supplier conference, Supplier certification and Supplier assessment. Conclusions. The following enablers build up the foundation which is essential for initiating supplier development initiatives; Trust, Commitment, Information sharing, and Top management support. The supplier development activities that have shown to result in successfully improving buyer competitive advantage and/or supplier performance and/or buyer-supplier relationship performance are the following: Training and education, Knowledge transfer, Supplier visits, Encourage visits to buying firm’s headquarters, Create incentives at supplier conference, Supplier certification and Supplier assessment. Lastly, the thesis identified several success factors from the findings by conducting this case study that enhance the implementation and execution of supplier development initiatives: Having the right competence, Local resources, Aligning management level to the supplier interface, Good margins and Tools for supplier development. The study contributes to supplier development research by providing an in-depth qualitative study about success factors and key activities in supplier development. It sought to provide managers with insights on how to successfully develop their supplier base to enhance firm competitiveness and keep compliant supplier bases. / Bakgrund. I dagens affärsmiljö är företag starkt beroende av leverantörer, och med ett föränderligt landskap av lagstiftningar som påverkar produktkrav är det utmanande för företag att upprätthålla en efterlevande och konkurrenskraftig leverantörsbas. Efter-covid-effekterna av leveransbrist påverkar efterfrågan och med geopolitiska osäkerheter är det nödvändigt att företag hanterar och utvecklar leverantörer för att säkerställa konkurrenskraft. För att bekämpa detta har konceptet Leverantörsutveckling visat sig förbättra köpande företags konkurrensfördel, leverantörsprestanda och relationen mellan köpare och leverantör. Det syftar på alla insatser från det köpande företaget, tillsammans med leverantören, för att förbättra leverantörens kapacitet att möta företagets kort- och långsiktiga behov. Det är nödvändigt för företag i dagens marknader, på grund av de nämnda volatila faktorerna, att utveckla en stabil leverantörsbas effektivt och framgångsrikt. Syfte. Syftet med studien är att utforska och identifiera faktorer och aktiviteter som leder till framgångsrik leverantörsutveckling i kontexten av ett elektronikföretag inom video- och övervakningsindustrin. Metod. En kvalitativ fallstudie valdes eftersom den tillåter en djup och kontextspecifik förståelse för varför de identifierade aktiviteterna och faktorerna leder till framgång inom leverantörsutveckling. Den hjälper även att finna relationer och undersöka komplexitet bland faktorer. Ett elektronikföretag i video- och övervakningsindustrin användes som ett fall-företag. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer gjordes med representanter från avdelningar inom inköp, kvalitet, och hållbarhet, för att förstå faktorer och aktiviteter på djupet samtidigt som olika perspektiv på ämnena kunde fångas upp. Resultat. För att ett inköpsföretag ska påbörja utvecklingen av en leverantör krävs det vissa avgörande faktorer som måste finnas närvarande i relationen. Dessa benämns, "möjliggörare" och inkluderar förtroende, engagemang, informationsdelning, kommunikation och stöd från högsta ledningen. Faktorer som är fördelaktiga för ett inköpsföretag för att förbättra prestandan av leverantörsutvecklingsinitiativ betecknas som framgångsfaktorer. Dessa omfattar att ha rätt kompetens, tillgång till lokala resurser, anpassning av ledningsnivån till leverantörens, upprätthållande av goda marginaler samt tillhandahållande av verktyg för leverantörsutveckling. Slutligen, de aktiviteter som identifierats som effektiva för att utveckla leverantörer delas upp i direkta och indirekta aktiviteter, där de senare nämnda kräver mindre resurser från inköpsföretaget. Direkta nyckelaktiviteter inkluderar utbildning och träning, överföring av kunskap. De indirekta nyckelaktiviteterna inkluderar leverantörsbesök, uppmuntran av besök till inköpsföretagets huvudkontor, leverantörskonferenser, leverantörs certifiering och bedömning. Slutsatser. Möjliggörarna som utgör grunden för att kunna initiera leverantörsutveckling är följande:  förtroende, engagemang, delning av information och stöd från högsta ledningen. De leverantörsutvecklingsaktiviteter som har visat sig framgångsrikt förbättra köparens konkurrensfördel och/eller leverantörens prestanda och/eller köparens-leverantörsrelationens prestanda inkluderar: Utbildning och träning, kunskapsöverföring, leverantörsbesök, uppmuntra besök till köpande företagets huvudkontor, skapa incitament vid leverantörskonferenser, leverantörs certifiering och leverantörsbedömning. Slutligen identifierade avhandlingen flera framgångsfaktorer som förbättrar genomförandet av leverantörsutvecklingsinitiativ: att ha rätt kompetens, tillgång till lokala resurser, anpassning av ledningsnivån till leverantörens, upprätthållande av goda marginaler samt tillhandahållande av verktyg för leverantörsutveckling. Studien bidrar till forskning om leverantörsutveckling genom att tillhandahålla en djupgående kvalitativ studie om framgångsfaktorer och nyckelaktiviteter inom leverantörsutveckling. Den syftade till att ge chefer insikter om hur de framgångsrikt kan utveckla sin leverantörsbas för att förbättra företagets konkurrenskraft och upprätthålla efterlevande leverantörsbaser.

Det uppfattas idag som en självklarhet att fortsätta lära och utvecklas genom hela livet. Årligen spenderas stora summor på ledarutveckling, vilket har väckt ett intresse att undersöka denna form av utbildningsaktiviteter. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka vad som kan ligga till grund för valet att delta i ledarutvecklingsaktiviteter utifrån en fallstudie hos Stelena, samt hur deltagarna uppfattar att dessa aktiviteter bidrar till lärande och praktisk användbarhet. Fyra frågeställningar formulerades; Vilka motiv framkommer för deltagande i dessa aktiviteter? På vilket sätt uppfattar deltagarna att kompetenser och verktyg genereras i aktiviteterna? På vilket sätt uppfattar deltagarna att ledarutvecklingsaktiviteterna influerat deltagarna och bidragit till ett lärande? Hur uppfattar deltagarna möjligheterna att kunna använda genererade kompetenser och verktyg i sitt dagliga arbete? För att få en ingång till våra frågeställningar tog vi inledningsvis del av tidigare forskning inom området ledarutveckling. För att insamla vårt empiriska material genomfördes sju intervjuer. Därefter analyserades materialet med inspiration av pragmatisk diskursanalys, samt med hjälp av utvalda teoretiska utgångspunkter; aktivitetsteorin, proximala utvecklingszonen, samt reflekterande handling. I detta analysförfarande urskildes en norm, att individers problemformuleringar i aktiviteterna kunde ses som ett dialektiskt spel mellan det individuella och kollektiva. Resultatet visar att motiv till att delta ofta grundade sig i ett behov av stöd.  Således har det visat sig att kommunikation och reflektion i ledarutvecklingsaktiviteterna tycks generera redskapen. Likväl som kommunikation ligger till grund för verktygsskapandet uppfattades kommunikativ kompetens och ett reflekterande förhållningssätt viktigt i rollen som ledare. Ledarutvecklingsaktiviteterna har vidare bidragit med redskap vilka lärt individer hantera situationer utifrån nya perspektiv. Det har framkommit hur aktiviteterna gett en ökad förståelse för betydelsen av att lära känna sig själv, medarbetares olikheter och således hur dessa lärdomar bidrar till ett mer effektivt ledarskap. Resultatet visar hur individer upplever att de haft nytta av flera av de verktyg som genererats, både för egen del och för organisationen i stort. / Present conception is that individuals are under constant development and learning during their entire life. Every year a large amount of money is spent on leadership development. There has been an increasing interest to such educational activities. The aim of this study is to examine, what the basis beyond participation can be in leader development activities, through a case-study at Stelena, and how participants perceive that the activities contributes to learning and practical use. Four questions were framed; which motives for participation in these activities appear? In which way do participants perceive that competencies and tools generates in the activities? In which way do participants perceive that the leader development activities have influenced them and contributed to learning? How do participants perceive the ability to use acquired competencies and tools in their daily work?   In order to find answers to our questions, we took part of recent science connected to leader development. Seven interviews were done in order to collect our empirical material. With inspiration from pragmatic discourse analysis and with theoretical base, the material was analysed. Our theoretical bases are activity theory, the zone of proximal development and reflective action. In the analysis work we did distinguish a norm, that problem formulations in the activities could be seen as a dialectical game between the individual and the collective.  The result shows that motives beyond participation many times were based on a need of support. It has been shown how communication and reflection in Stelena leader development activities appear to generate tools. As well as communication and reflection is underlying the creation of tools, communicative competence and a reflective approach are seen as very useful in the role of a leader. Stelena has also provided tools, which have taught individuals to manage situations from new perspectives. The study shows how the activities increased the understanding of the importance to get to know oneself, differences of co-workers and in what way such learning contributes to more effective leadership. The result shows how individuals experienced great usefulness of those tools, both for themselves and for the organisations.

Sammandrag Syftet med den här undersökningen var att undersöka hur pedagogerna på en förskola i Värmland upplever att införandet av TAKK har påverkat barnens språkutveckling. Jag ville också undersöka hur de språkutvecklande aktiviteterna på en småbarnsavdelning har förändrats sedan 2005 och vilken roll TAKK har i detta. Dessutom ville jag se om personalen använde tecken på alla avdelningar på förskolan.   Jag kom fram till att den största skillnaden när det gäller språkutvecklande aktiviteter är att de har infört TAKK på småbarnsavdelningen som stöd till alla barn. Med hjälp av observationer och intervjuer på den aktuella förskolan kunde jag konstatera att pedagogerna på förskolan upplever att tecken är bra för alla små barns språkutveckling eftersom de har upptäckt att barnen fått ett mer utvecklat språk sedan metoden infördes.   Litteraturstudierna bekräftade att TAKK kan användas till alla barn, även små barn, eftersom det blir ett redskap för barnet i sin kommunikation. Pedagogerna på förskolan upplever mindre frustration i barngruppen då barn och pedagoger förstår varandra mycket bättre idag. Barnen har blivit ovanligt bra på färger anser pedagogerna.   En av de andra avdelningarna på förskolan använder TAKK, men inte till alla barn utan där använder man tecken främst till ett speciellt barn som behöver det som stöd i sin kommunikation. Den tredje avdelningen använder inte TAKK. / Abstract The purpose of this investigation was to examine how the pedagogues of a preschool in Värmland experience that the introduction of TAKK has affected the children’s language development. I also wanted to examine how the language development activities in a small children’s department have been changed since 2005 and what part TAKK has in this. Furthermore I wanted to see if the personnel used signs in every department on the preschool.   My conclusion was that the biggest difference when it comes to the activities for the language development is that they have introduced TAKK in the small children’s department as a support to all children. With the aid of observations and interviews made in the current preschool, I could establish that the pedagogues of the preschool experience that signs is a good help for every small child’s language development since they discovered that the children have a more developed language after the method was introduced.   The literature studies confirmed that TAKK can be used on all children, even small children, since it becomes a tool for the child in its communication. The pedagogues of the preschool experience less frustration in the group of children as children and pedagogues understand each other much better today. The pedagogues consider that the children have become exceptionally good in defining colours.   One of the other departments of the preschool uses TAKK but not to all children. They use signs mainly to a particular child who needs signs as a support for her communication. The third department doesn’t use TAKK.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka linjechefers upplevelser av kompetensutveckling i sin yrkesroll. Studien utfördes på en stor global organisation i ett av huvudkontoren i centrala Stockholm. Det empiriska materialet samlades in genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer där en tematisk analys tillämpades som analysmetod. Ur resultatet framkom att organisationen tillhandahåller goda möjligheter till kompetensutveckling men att kompetensutvecklingsaktiviteter försummas på grund av tidsbrist. Samtliga linjechefer upplevde att kompetensutveckling snarare sker kontinuerligt i det dagliga arbetet genom arbetsplatslärande. Resultatet visade vidare att ett fåtal linjechefer upplevde icke-formella kompetensutvecklingsaktiviteter som betydelsefulla, där samtliga däremot ansåg digitala utbildningar som minst betydelsefulla. Linjechefernas upplevelser sattes i relation till isbergsmodellen som illustrerar synliga, delvis dolda och dolda aspekter av kompetensutveckling. Det behov av kompetensutveckling som linjecheferna fann i sin roll är att klassrumsutbildningar borde riktas mot deras specifika arbetsområden, men även vara bättre anpassade för organisationens arbetssätt. I rollen som linjechef upplevdes även ett behov av stöd från närmaste chef genom tätare återkoppling. Vidare diskuterades om kompetensutveckling ansågs vara individens eller organisationens ansvar. Slutligen redogjordes det för betydelsen av linjechefernas upplevelser som trädde fram ur det dolda och huruvida kompetensutvecklingen fyller linjechefernas behov i yrkesrollen. / The purpose of the study is to examine line managers’ experiences of competence development in their professional role, within a large global organization in one of the head offices in central Stockholm. The empirical material was collected through qualitative semi-structured interviews where a thematic analysis was used as the method of analysis. The result showed that the organization provides good opportunities for competence development, but that competence development activities are neglected due to lack of time. All line managers’ described competence development as continuous in daily work through workplace learning. The result further showed that a few line managers’ perceive non-formal competence development activities as significant, on the other hand all considered digital education as the least important. The line managers' experiences were understood through the iceberg model that illustrates visible, partially hidden and hidden aspects of competence development. The need for competence development line managers’ perceived in their professional role is that classroom training should be customized to their specific work areas and also better adapted to the organization's working methods. In addition, the line manager’s also perceived a need for support from their immediate manager through closer feedback. Furthermore, it was discussed whether competence development is considered to be the responsibility of the individual or the organization. Finally, the significance of the line managers' experiences that emerged from the hidden and whether the competence development fulfils the needs of the line managers’ in the professional role is explained.

Published Article / The paper reports on a Learn 2.0 technology that was used to support the continuing professional development of mathematics teachers at a secondary school. Design Based Research methods were used within a Multiphase Mixed Methods research framework to create professional development opportunities that were subsequently monitored by Social Network Analysis techniques. We demonstrate that Learn 2.0 technologies can indeed support the continuing professional development of teachers and improve their performance, and also that Social Network Analysis is an effective method to describe, comprehend, clarify and transparently monitor teacher engagement during online professional development activities. We identify 'participation' as a key pre-determinant to success.

Språkutveckling gynnar elevers kunskapsutveckling och framgång i skolan. Elever vars språkliga förmåga brister riskerar att få svårigheter med kunskapsutvecklingen i skolan. Lärare behöver därför kunskap om vad de kan göra för att stötta elevers språkutveckling. I denna studie undersöks förekomsten av sju språkutvecklande aktiviteter i fyra klasser inom svensk- och matematikundervisningen i årskurs 2 och 3. Lärarnas praktik dokumenteras med stöd av ett observationsschema som bygger på det brittiska observationsverktyget ”Communication Supporting Classrooms Observation Tool”. Resultatet analyseras och jämförs med avseende på skolämne och årskurs. Studien visar att de språkutvecklande aktiviteterna förekommer oftare inom svenskundervisningen men att utbudet av antal aktiviteter i matematikundervisningen är högre. Vidare visar studien att eleverna erbjuds få tillfällen att arbeta tillsammans utan att fokus istället ligger på aktiviteter som är styrda av läraren. / Language development benefits pupils’ knowledge development and progress in school. Pupils whose linguistic ability is deficient risk encountering difficulties with knowledge development in school. Teachers therefore need to know what they can do to support pupils’ language development. This study examined the occurrence of seven language development activities in four classes in Swedish and mathematics in grades 2 and 3. The practice of the teachers was documented with the support of an observation schedule based on the British “Communication Supporting Classrooms Observation Tool”. The results were analysed and compared according to school subject and grade. The study shows that language development activities occur more often in Swedish teaching but that the range of activities in mathematics teaching is wider. Moreover, the study shows that the pupils are offered few opportunities to work together, as the focus is instead on activities directed by the teacher.