The development and complexity of the e-commerce sector has increased the demand forcompanies to grasp and develop their business models, as well their credit risk managementfunctions, in order be profitable and create value. This thesis examines how credit riskmanagement can be integrated in a business model, in terms of a customer value proposition,profit formula, key processes and key resources. Theories about business models state that abusiness model should give a holistic view of the company and how it operates. Features for asuccessful model should include functions that create value and increase competitiveness, as wellas generating valuable cost and risk structures to ensure the company’s profitability. The empiricaldata was collected through interviews and secondary data at Klarna, a company that operates withpayment solutions in the e-commerce, a market where the risk of credit losses is high and to haveproper credit risk functions is a necessity. The result revealed that credit risk management is afundamental part of a business model in the e-commerce, since effective credit risk managementfunctions ensure that the elements of a business model are functional and complement each other.The study further found that there are certain prominent functions in each one of the four elementsthat enable the integration of credit risk management in the business model.

Enda sedan den först introducerades på 1870-talet har telefonen spelat en viktigt roll i kommunikationen människor mellan. Utvecklingen inom telekombranschen har skett i ett rasande snabbt tempo under de senaste 30-40 år, och idag är det vanligare med en mobiltelefon än en fast telefon. En populär variant av mobiltelefonen är den så kallade smarta mobilen som bland annat gör det möjligt att nyttja mer avancerade program och tjänster än i en traditionell mobiltelefon. Sedan början av 2000-talet har röstsamtal över internet, så kallad VoIP, ökat allt mer. Fördelen med VoIP är främst att samtal mellan datorer i regel är helt kostnadsfria vilket gör dessa tjänster utmärkta för långdistanssamtal.   I och med att antalet smarta mobiler ökar samtidigt som marknaden för VoIP växer har mobiloperatörerna börjat se detta som ett större hot mot sina intäkter. Idag har i princip alla mobiloperatörer i Sverige ett förbud mot VoIP i sina så kallade surfabonnemang. Detta innebär att slutanvändarna hindras att nyttja valfria tjänster samtidigt som tjänsteutvecklare får det svårt att ta sig in på marknaden.   I slutet av 2009 antog Europaparlamentet två så kallade ändringsdirektiv som innebär att regelverket som berör elektroniska kommunikationer inom EU moderniseras. Samtliga medlemsstater hade därefter 18 månader på sig att implementera de nya bestämmelserna i sina respektive lagstiftningar. I Sverige trädde ett flertal bestämmelser i kraft den 1 juli 2011, bland dessa fanns 5 kap 6 d § LEK som introducerar det nya begreppet lägsta tjänstekvalitet.   Syftet med denna uppsats är att utifrån nätneutralitetsbegreppet utreda huruvida den nya bestämmelsen, 5 kap 6 d § LEK, kommer att leda till att förbudet mot VoIP i mobiloperatörernas nät hävs.   Utifrån det material som funnits tillgängligt har följande slutsats kunnat göras. Det går idag inte till fullo att veta huruvida bestämmelsen kommer att häva VoIP-förbudet, detta då den varken använts av PTS eller prövats i ett överklagande av berörd part.

The premise of this thesis is to conduct a research regarding the connection of brand image, brand identity, brand positioning with brand adapting management. The significant purpose of this thesis is for better understanding how a Chinese auto corporation can effectively manage and adapt an acquired foreign brand in Chinese market. In order to reach this purpose, a case study of Geely/Volvo’s acquisition has been carried out which entailed company visit (Volvo Brand Experience Center), interviews with Volvo brand specialists, Volvo dealer and Chinese market expert. The Theoretical Framework describes the general concepts of brand, brand management, company acquisition and three brand adapting concepts of brand image, brand identity and brand positioning. The Empirical Data Collection deals with the Volvo’s brand identity and value proposition, Chinese customers’ perceptions on Volvo brand image and Geely’s brand positioning strategy on Volvo. The Analysis related the theory framework with the empirical results. It discussed and analyzed how Geely can adapt Volvo in Chinese automotive market through dealing with Volvo’s core values, brand image and brand positioning. The Conclusion summarized the Chinese auto corporation needs to concern on three factors for adapting an acquired brand: value proposition of acquired brand, Chinese customers’ perceptions on acquired brand image and brand positioning strategy. Finally our recommendation presents the limitations of this study, suggestions for future research in this field, and managerial implications for the case company.

In the field of product development, many organizations struggle to create a value proposition that can overcome the headwinds of technology change, regulatory requirements, and intense competition, in an effort to satisfy the long-term goals of sustainability. Today, organizations are realizing that they have lost portfolio value due to poor reliability, early product retirement, and abandoned design platforms. Beyond Lean and Green Manufacturing, shareholder value can be enhanced by taking a broader perspective, and integrating sustainability innovation elements into product designs in order to improve the delivery process and extend the life of product platforms. This research is divided into two parts that lead to closing the loop towards Sustainable Value Creation in product development. The first section presents a framework for achieving Sustainable Lifetime Value through a toolset that bridges the gap between financial success and sustainable product design. Focus is placed on the analysis of the sustainable value proposition between producers, consumers, society, and the environment and the half-life of product platforms. The Half-Life Return Model is presented, designed to provide feedback to producers in the pursuit of improving the return on investment for the primary stakeholders. The second part applies the driving aspects of the framework with the development of an Adaptive Genetic Search Algorithm. The algorithm is designed to improve fault detection and mitigation during the product delivery process. A computer simulation is used to study the effectiveness of primary aspects introduced in the search algorithm, in order to attempt to improve the reliability growth of the system during the development life-cycle. The results of the analysis draw attention to the sensitivity of the driving aspects identified in the product development lifecycle, which affect the long term goals of sustainable product development. With the use of the techniques identified in this research, cost effective test case generation can be improved without a major degradation in the diversity of the search patterns required to insure a high level of fault detection. This in turn can lead to improvements in the driving aspects of the Half-Life Return Model, and ultimately the goal of designing sustainable products and processes.

Employees with the right skills give competitive advantages. It is therefore important to retain existing staff with the right skills but also to attract new talent. In the IT industry, there is currently lack of competence and the need will increase in the future. Companies that create a strong employer brand will perform better when it comes to the war of the talents. With the lack of competence in the labor market, the younger, more technologically skilled generation has developed an unfair attitude towards employers who desperately try to persuade competent people to choose their company through generous job offers. The employers must work on their employer brand to seem more attractive to employees and potential employees in order to attract, retain, develop and motivate them to choose or stay at the company. The purpose of this paper is to create an understanding of motivation, talent acquisition and employee retention in markets where there is a lack of specialized personnel. Motivation is achieved through internal and external attributes, where internal motivation is created by work satisfaction while external motivation is fulfilled by monetary and material motivational factors. Talent acquisition involves a clear recruitment strategy where the company's brand is used as an attraction channel of a certain skill and personality. It also applies to retaining talent within the company through employee retention where a stimulating and evolving employment experience is maintained by the company. The essay shows that young people in the IT industry are well aware of the lack of competence and make their demands accordingly. They want a high level of workplace flexibility to balance jobs and private life, as well as independence in the way they solve tasks. Furthermore, they want the freedom to choose work equipment as this is central to their daily work. Development opportunities such as attending conferences are valued as one of the crucial factors in choosing employers. If the younger generation's personal values as well as sustainability and ethical views do not match the company's actions, it will most likely lead them to leave the company in the long term. / Anställda med rätt kompetens ger konkurrensfördelar. Det är därför viktigt att behålla befintlig personal med hög kompetens men också att attrahera nya talanger. Inom IT-branschen råder det i dagsläget brist på kompetens och behovet kommer öka i framtiden. Företag som skapar starka arbetsgivarvarumärken kommer klara sig bättre än företag med ett svagt när det kommer till kriget om talangerna. Den yngre mer teknologiskt skickliga generationen har i och med kompetensbristen utvecklat en mer illojal attityd mot arbetsgivare som desperat försöker övertala kompetenta personer att välja deras företag genom generösa anställningserbjudanden. Arbetsgivaren måste marknadsföra sig till medarbetare och potentiella anställda för att attrahera, behålla, utveckla och motivera dem att välja eller stanna kvar på företaget. Syftet med uppsatsen är att skapa förståelse för motivation, talent acquisition och employee retention på marknader där det råder brist på specialiserad personal. Motivation uppnås genom inre och yttre attribut, där inre attribut är det som skapas av en personlig arbetsglädje medan yttre attribut innebär monetära och materiella motivationsfaktorer. Talent acquisition innebär en tydlig rekryteringsstrategi där företagets varumärke utnyttjas som attraktionskanal av en viss kompetens och personlighet. Det gäller även att behålla talang inom företaget genom employee retention där en stimulerande och utvecklande anställningsupplevelse ska upprätthållas av företaget. Uppsatsen visar att unga inom IT-branschen är väl medvetna om kompetensbristen och ställer sina krav utefter detta. De vill ha en hög flexibilitet i sitt arbetsschema för att kunna balansera jobb och privatliv, samt självständighet i sättet de löser arbetsuppgifter. Vidare vill de ha friheten att välja arbetsutrustning då detta är centralt för deras dagliga arbete. Utvecklingsmöjligheter som exempelvis att få delta vid konferenser värderas som en av de avgörande faktorerna vid val av arbetsgivare. Om den yngre generationens personliga värderingar samt hållbarhets- och etiska synpunkter inte stämmer överens med företagets agerande kommer det med stor sannolikhet leda till att de lämnar företaget på sikt.

This research thesis has researched about how employer branding and its relationship to person - organization fit. It focuses on personality traits of applicants and how it can impact their attractiveness of the organization advertised in job adverts. The purpose of this research thesis is to explain what relationship employer branding via job advertisements has when it comes to establishing P - O fit. In this case between future business students and organizations. The thesis had a deductive approach a cross - sectional research design was applied. A quantitative research method (logistic regression) was used and came from primary data. The research findings show that employer branding has a positive relationship to creating attractiveness of firms and also has an impact upon person-organization fit. Our findings also indicated that personality characteristics is hard to categorize in order to see what specifically in employer value proposition can attract a specific employee preference. The limitations were the number of respondents, a larger sample unit could have impacted the results more. Also, using a qualitative method in terms of semiotics could give a more detailed output on respondents’ personality traits. The original value of the research thesis is that it focused specifically on business students and to what degree employer value proposition is related to person-organization fit.

Background - In pace with increased work-related stress and the difficulty in attracting and retaining skilled staff, companies find new ways to rationalize the organization. Working-time reduction is one of these strategies in connection to an effective employer branding attribute. Purpose - The aim is to examine the rationale behind the six-hour workday and how it is used as an employer branding strategy. Additionally, the aim is to examine the advantages and disadvantages of the six-hour workday as an employer branding strategy as well as the future prospects. Method - This study has applied a qualitative method with an inductive approach and a multiple case study. Six semi-structured interviews were performed with five case companies and an additional interview was conducted with a consultancy firm. Conclusion - Organizations choose the six-hour workday because of work-life balance and well-being for employees. Also, the findings show that employers adopt the six-hour for the purpose of attracting and retaining staff. Advantages include happier staff, increased productivity and efficiency. A major disadvantage is the lost hours because of working-time reduction. The empirical findings indicate that the six-hour workday is suited in every organization, however, adjustments might be necessary.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-03T11:52:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-03-24Bitstream added on 2015-03-03T12:07:37Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000802353.pdf: 3052718 bytes, checksum: 0fbf228591ff392783ae1c31f5b36c2c (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O objetivo principal deste trabalho é estudar algumas extensões de um dos teoremas mais importantes e divulgados da matemática elementar: o Teorema de Pitágoras, que tem suas aplicações em diversas áreas do conhecimento. A princípio é realizado um breve resgate histórico da vida de Pitágoras, o surgimento do teorema e suas aplicações. Por possuir mais de 400 demonstrações, elencamos algumas delas e as reproduzimos. Algumas demonstrações podem ser feitas de maneira lúdica, em forma de quebra-cabeça e outras que se tornaram famosas ao longo da história. São feitas várias extensões do teorema, para polígonos regulares, polígonos semelhantes e figuras não retilíneas. A generalização de Polya também é enunciada e demonstrada, situação em que o padrão pitagórico (relação entre as áreas) é válido para quaisquer tipos de figuras semelhantes construídas sobre os lados de um triângulo retângulo, sendo o Teorema de Pitágoras um caso particular, bem como a generalização de Pappus. Com o uso do software GeoGebra, foram propostas e desenvolvidas atividades em sala de informática, explorando o Teorema de Pitágoras e algumas de suas extensões. Por fim, é analisado como o Teorema de Pitágoras e o seu ensino são abordados em certos documentos oficiais de ensino no Brasil (PCNs, Currículo do Estado de São Paulo, matrizes de referências do SARESP, SAEB e ENEM) / The main objective of this work is to study some extensions of one of the most important and published elementary mathematics theorem: the Pythagorean Theorem, which has applications in many areas of knowledge. We begin with a brief historical review of the life of Pythagoras, the emergence of the theorem and its applications. From over 400 existing proofs, we list some of them and reproduce. Some proofs can be made in a playful manner, as shaped puzzle and others have become famous throughout the history. Several extensions of the theorem are presented for regular polygons, similar polygons and non-rectilinear figures. The generalization of Polya is also stated and demonstrated, in which the Pythagorean pattern (area ratio) is valid for any kind of similar figures constructed on the sides of a right triangle, being the Pythagorean theorem a particular case, as well as the generalization of Pappus. By using the GeoGebra software, we proposed and developed activities in a computer lab, exploring the Pythagorean Theorem and some of its extensions. Finally, it is analyzed how the Pythagorean Theorem and its teaching are cited in some official documents concerning education in Brazil (PCNs, Curriculum of São Paulo, matrices of references SARESP, SAEB and ENEM)

The aim of this work is analyse the selected proposition of magazines made with a group of black women, garbage collector of Santa Maria city, RS, to verify, from to the indicator of subjectivity, how they build a self image, the ethos, and how is established the relation of power in their discurses. The corpus of this work is composed by ten selected propositions of magazines. The search was made based on the methodological proposal of Bakhtin (1999), that contemplates both the verbal sphere as the context of use and the perspective of dialogism. The notion of ethos of Maingueneau (2001, 2005) and Amossy (2005) and the subjectivity in language studied by Orecchioni (1980) and Neves (2007), beyond other names, as Bourdieu, Scott (1995), Hall (1997), were important to achieve to the obtained results. The analysis demonstrates that, in the discurse of those women, it is evident that exist an asymmetry among genres, races/ethnic group and the social classes. / O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar enunciados selecionados de entrevistas realizadas com um grupo de mulheres negras, catadoras de lixo, da cidade de Santa Maria, RS, a fim de verificar, a partir dos indicadores de subjetividade, como elas constroem a imagem de si, ou seja, o ethos e como se estabelecem as relações de poder nos seus discursos. O corpus deste trabalho é composto por dez enunciados selecionados das entrevistas. A pesquisa foi realizada com base na proposta metodológica de Bakhtin (1999), que contempla tanto a esfera verbal quanto o contexto de uso e a perspectiva do dialogismo. A noção de ethos de Maingueneau (2001, 2005) e Amossy (2005) e da subjetividade na linguagem estudada por Orecchioni (1980) e Neves (2007), além de outros nomes, como Bourdieu, Scott (1995), Hall (1997), foram importantes para que se pudesse chegar aos resultados obtidos. As análises demonstraram que, nos discursos dessas mulheres, evidenciou-se que há assimetria entre os gêneros, as raças/etnias e as classes sociais.

Orientadores: Wagner Caradori do Amaral, Paulo Augusto Valente Ferreira / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Eletrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T08:06:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Moreira_VicenteDelgado_D.pdf: 1111607 bytes, checksum: 9222971b25851f421024465a31aedb3b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: O interesse pelo projeto de controladores preditivos para sistemas híbridos vem aumentando nos últimos anos. Os sistemas híbridos são descritos simultaneamente por relações lógicas, baseadas por exemplo nos operadores SE/ENTÃO/SENÃO, e por equações dinâmicas. Devido às exigências relacionadas ao desempenho de rastreio das referências em malha fechada, busca-se atualmente metodologias de modelagem que permitam integrar as representações dinâmicas e as proposições lógicas do processo híbrido em uma abordagem não-hierárquica. As abordagens encontradas na literatura para o controle preditivo de sistemas híbridos são preferencialmente aplicáveis a processos determinísticos cujas dinâmicas são representadas no espaço de estados. Em certos casos, um modelo de estados não é conhecido, incertezas para métricas politópicas inviabilizam o projeto de controladores preditivos robustos, ou outras formas de modelagem são mais adequadas para a representação do processo. Neste trabalho, desenvolve-se uma nova metodologia para a modelagem e o controle preditivo robusto de sistemas híbridos incertos. Na abordagem proposta, as proposições lógicas são transformadas em desigualdades lineares mistas equivalentes, como sugerido na literatura. Um modelo baseado em séries de funções ortonormais é estimado para descrever o comportamento dinâmico do processo. Os modelos baseados em séries podem ser representados no espaço de estados, e a ordem do modelo pode ser reduzida escolhendo-se adequadamente as bases ortonormais. Como sugerido na literatura, a incerteza de um conjunto de respostas ao impulso é mapeada em intervalos de pertinência que definem os coeficientes da série ortonormal. Impõe-se condições adicionais sobre esta técnica para assegurar que todas as respostas ao impulso do processo estão representadas no modelo. Os limites da incerteza são estimados, ao contrário das abordagens encontradas na literatura, onde é necessário conhecer antecipadamente a amplitude máxima da perturbação. A equação de estados do modelo proposto não contém coeficientes incertos, implicando que o seu espaço politópico é reduzido substancialmente quando comparado às abordagens existentes na literatura, onde todas as matrizes da representação de estados podem estar contidas em politopos. Também propõe se uma nova estratégia para assegurar a estabilidade robusta do processo em malha fechada com controle preditivo. A estratégia é baseada em conjuntos terminais, uma das formas menos conservadoras de assegurar o rastreio das referências do sistema. Resultados de simulação são apresentados para ilustrar o desempenho desta nova abordagem de controle preditivo robusto para sistemas híbridos incertos. Utiliza-se o algoritmo proposto para o controle de um sistema de refrigeração industrial / Abstract: Model-based Predictive Control (MPC) has been attracting interest in both academic and industrial areas since the 1970's. The MPC methodology has been recently extended to a class of hybrid systems described by dynamics and logic rules. Logical propositions are performed by using, for example, IF /THEN/ELSE operators. Due to performance requirements, the nonhierarchical modeling approaches to hybrid systems have been preferable in MPC schemes. Some methodologies to the modeling and predictive controling of hybrid systems can be found in the literature. These schemes are specially applicable to deterministic hybrid systems whose dynamics are represented in state-space. In some cases, a state-space model is not available or politopic uncertainties can prohibit real time implementations. Over this, other models can be more adequate to parameter estimation. A new approach for modeling and controlling a class of hybrid systems described by interacting physical laws, logic rules, and operational requirements is proposed in this work. As recently suggested in the literature, the logic rules are integrated into the model as equivalent linear inequality constraints involving both continuous and binary variables. The distinguishing feature of the approach proposed is the use of orthonormal series for modeling the process dynamics. The model proposed can be easily estimated with only approximate knowledge of the system dynamics. The order of the model can be reduced by an adequate selection of the orthonormal basis. Uncertainties in the process dynamics are incorporated into the output equation only, reducing the mo dei politopic space. A new strategy to assure robust stability is also presented. The reference tracking is guaranteed by using a terminal set constraint, which does not severally affect the tracking performance of the closed loop system. The approaches proposed in the literature to determine a terminal set constraint use the maximal amplitude of the perturbation,which is generally unknown.- 15 this work, the limits of the uncertainty are estimated. Simulation examples illustrate the main characteristics of the framework proposed. / Doutorado / Automação / Doutor em Engenharia Elétrica