Purpose – This research is investigating the Swedish banks transitioning to cashless bank offices. The investigation is carried out to fully understand the reasons behind the transition and what impacts it brought upon the stakeholders affected by it. The purpose of this is to analyze the transition for social and economic effects so that it can be concluded whether the transition was a move towards sustainable banking.  Method – The researchers carried out a case study at one of the biggest banks in Sweden. The empirical data for the research was collected through qualitative interviews and a survey with the bank’s employees as participants.  Findings – Several reasons for the transition to cashless banking were found. Both positive and negative effects brought up on stakeholders were also illuminated from the transition. The transition could not be deemed entirely as a move towards sustainable banking due to negative effects on stakeholders. However, it provides important information about the negative impacts and the stakeholders affected.  Implications – No clear answers can be provided due to many interrelated factors that are surrounding the transition, further studies need to be made to which are more focused on each the role of each and one of these factors.  Limitations – The case study is carried out in the Swedish banking sector, therefore, is geographically limited to Sweden as the transition might be different in different societies. The research is investigating the social and economic impacts brought by the cashless transition. Thus, the findings do not provide data regarding environmental impacts.

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The purpose of this research study is to explore the impacts of COVID-19 on the demands, lead times and work conditions of an aviation firm which offers parts and maintenance services to both the commercial and military sectors. To achieve this, two research questions were answered; The first one dealt with the impact of COVD-19 on the demand and leads times of an aviation company while the second questions assess the work conditions and the steps and measures taken for these pandemic related improvements. To answer these questions, a case study was conducted on an aviation firm located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The firm offered services across the Middle East, Africa and to parts of Asia. The company’s lead times for certain products along with their demand history for the years of 2019 and 2020 were used as a measure of assessing their progress during the pandemic as a comparison to normal circumstances. The firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) was also studied in order to understand how the socio-economic environment (focusing on workforce availability) has impacted the stability of the company during the times of the pandemic. It was also used to create an understanding of how the changed work environment can affect factors such as demand and lead time and how those factors relate to stability within a firm.  The findings showed the impacts COVID-19 had on the stability of the firm. These also suggest that a positive and focused approached towards the workforce can increase the stability within the company and allow for an increase in revenue as a benefit of this CSR approach. The study informs how workforce stability can help reach corporate stability, and how firms can achieve workforce stability in pandemic times.

I norra Storstockholm produceras och distribueras dricksvatten av kommunalförbundet Norrvatten. Under värmeböljan sommaren år 2018 ökade dricksvattenförbrukningen bland medlemskommunerna till en sådan hög nivå att Norrvattens tillgängliga kapacitet för dricksvattenproduktion riskerade att inte räcka till. En bidragande orsak till detta, antogs vara att en stor del av den ökade vattenförbrukningen gick till bevattning och fyllande av pooler. Det är ett behov som Norrvattens verksamhet inte är dimensionerad för att hantera. I takt med dagens växande befolkning i Norrvattens medlemskommuner och en hotande global uppvärmning, förväntas risken för kapacitetsbrist tillta. Således var syftet med detta arbete att studera hur behov av vatten för bevattning och fyllande av pooler kan tillgodoses på ett långsiktigt hållbart sätt bland Norrvattens medlemskommuner utifrån de tre hållbarhetsdimensionerna. Med hjälp av litteraturstudier, intervjuer och beräkningsmodeller identifierades alternativa lösningar och effektiviseringsmöjligheter gällande tillgodoseendet av vattenbehov för bevattning och poolfyllning. Dessutom genomfördes en stickprovsundersökning med syftet att studera socioekonomiska faktorer, vid eventuell implementering av de identifierade alternativa lösningarna och effektiviseringsmöjligheterna i Norrvattens medlemskommuner. Därefter applicerades en kvantitativ analys på det erhållna dataunderlaget med väldefinierade statistiska metoder för konfidensintervall och hypotesprövningar på signifikansnivån 5 %. Resultatet visade flertalet alternativa lösningar och effektiviseringsmöjligheter var passande att implementera för att tillgodose behov av vatten för bevattning och fyllande av pooler bland Norrvattens medlemskommuner. Det berodde på en stor välvilja gentemot såväl miljön som Norrvattens verksamhet. Mer konkret identifierades en utbredd vilja att förändra konsumtionsbeteenden gällande vattenanvändning för bevattning och fyllande av pooler. Som en följd fanns också en villighet att betala mindre summor för alternativa lösningar och effektiviseringsmöjligheter för att tillgodose sådana vattenbehov. Dock påvisades även en utbredd motvillighet till kraftiga ökningar i priser och kostnader för knippade med vattentjänster, varpå mer kostsamma alternativa lösningar uteslöts som långsiktigt hållbara utifrån socioekonomiska hållbarhetsperspektiv. Därmed rekommenderades Norrvatten att fortsätta planera för utbyggnation av sin produktionskapacitet, eftersom de identifierade alternativa lösningarna och effektiviseringsmöjligheterna inte ansågs tillräckliga för att nollställa behov av dricksvatten producerat av Norrvatten för bevattning och fyllande av pooler. Samtidigt drogs slutsatsen att behovet av utbyggd kapacitet skulle kunna reduceras vid implementering av de identifierade lösningarna och effektiviseringsmöjligheterna. Dock kunde inte det reducerade behovet beskrivas i kvantitativa termer med den applicerade arbetsmetodiken. Således rekommenderades Norrvatten att i framtiden arbeten genomföra en kartläggning av detta, i syfte att erhålla värdefullt beslutsunderlag kring storlek på utbyggd produktionskapacitet. / In the northern part of Greater Stockholm, drinking water is produced and distributed by the municipal association Norrvatten. During the height of the summer 2018, drinking water consumption among the member municipalities increased to such an extent that the available production capacity was nearly insufficient. This was assumed to be due to major increases in drinking water consumption for garden irrigation and filling of pools, which are water needs that the production capacity is not dimensioned to handle. Furthermore, the risk of production capacity shortage is assumed to increase in the near future due to population growth and global warming. The purpose of this thesis was to examine possible approaches to supply the need for water for garden irrigation and filling of pools among the member municipalities of Norrvatten in a long-term sustainable manner with regard to the three sustainable dimensions. Based on literature studies, interviews and theoretical models, alternative solutions and efficiency opportunities of supplying water needs for garden irrigation and filling of pools was identified. A sample survey was also conducted with the aim of studying socio-economic factors regarding a potential implementation of the identified alternative solutions and efficiency opportunities among the member municipalities. Subsequently, quantitative analysis was applied to the obtained data with well-defined statistical methods for confidence intervals and hypothesis tests at the significancelevel of 5 %. The result illustrated implementable alternative solutions and efficiency opportunities of supplyingwater needs for garden irrigation and filling of pools. It was due to a large benevolence towards the environment and Norrvatten’s operations. More specifically, a widespread willingness to change consumption behaviours regarding water utilization for garden irrigation and filling of pools was identified. As a consequence, there was also a great willingness to pay smaller sums for alternative solutions and efficiency opportunities of supplying such water needs. However, a widespread reluctance to larger costs associated with water services was also identified, whereby costly alternative solutions were excluded as long-term sustainable from a socio-economic perspective. Due to this, Norrvatten was recommended to continue planning for an expansion of its production capacity, with regard to the conclusion that the identified alternative solutions and efficiency opportunities were not considered sufficient to completely reduce the need for drinking water produced by Norrvatten for garden irrigation and filling of pools. Nevertheless, it was also concluded that the need for expanded capacity could be reduced when implementing the identified solutions and efficiency opportunities. However, the reduced need could not be described in quantitative terms with the chosen methodology. Because of that reason, Norrvatten was recommended to examine this further in future projects considering that it would provide a valuable basis for operation decisions regarding expanded production capacity.