Tietoperusteinen päätöksenteon prosessi

Yhteiskunnan tietovaltaistumisen seurauksena ovat julkisten organisaati-oiden toimintaympäristöt monimutkaistuneet ja luoneet haasteita tiedon käyttämiselle päätöksenteon prosessissa sekä sen tukena. Tämän tutki-muksen aiheena oleva tietoon perustuva päätöksenteon prosessi sekä sen vaiheiden sujuvuus ovat strategisesti merkittäviä kaikessa päätöksen-teossa. Tutkimus toteutettiin kvalitatiivisena tutkimuksena, jonka empiirinen osuus suoritettiin tapaustutkimuksena kunnallisessa organisaatiossa. Haastatteluaineisto kerättiin kunnallisen päätöksenteon ylintä päätäntävaltaa käyttäviltä kaupunginvaltuutetuilta. Tutkimuksen mukaan tietoperusteisen päätöksenteon prosessin vaiheita ovat tavoitteen ja päämäärän asettaminen, vaihtoehtojen asettaminen, vaihtoehtojen ja niiden vaikutuksien arvioiminen, päätöksen tekeminen sekä päätöksen vaikutuksien arvioiminen. Tiedon käyttäminen keskittyy vaihtoehtojen asettamiseen sekä vaihtoehtojen ja niiden vaikutuksien arvioimiseen tiedon hankkimisen ja hyödyntämisen kautta. Monitahoisuus ja -ulotteisuus sekä subjektiivisuus ja kontekstisidonnaisuus vaikuttavat merkittävästi tietoperusteisen päätöksenteon prosessin vaiheisiin.

The adjustment from Russia to Finland for corporate repatriates: How the repatriation experience influences readjustment in the workplace

To manage foreign operations, companies must often send their employees on international assignments. Repatriating these expatriates can be difficult because they have been forgotten during their posting, and their new experiences are not utilised. In addition to the possible difficulties in organisational repatriation, the returnee can suffer from readjustment problems after a lengthy stay abroad has changed their habits and even identity. This thesis examines the repatriation experience of Finnish assignees returning from Russia. The purpose of the study is to understand how the repatriation experience influences their readjustment to work in Finland. This experience is influenced by many factors including personal and situational changes, the repatriation process, job and organisational factors, and individual’s motives. The theoretical background of the study is founded on two models of repatriation adjustment. A refined, holistic theoretical framework for the study is created. It describes the formation of the repatriation experience and its importance for readjustment to work and retention. The qualitative research approach is suitable for the thesis which examines the returnees’ personal experiences and feelings: a qualitative case study aims to explain the phenomenon in-depth and comprehensively. The data was collected in summer 2013 through semi-standardised interviews with eight Finnish repatriates. They had returned from Russia within the last two years. The data was analysed by structuring the interview transcripts using template analysis. The results supported earlier literature and suggest that the re-entry remains a challenging phase for both the individual and the company. For some, adjusting to a new job was difficult for various reasons. The repatriates underwent personal change and development and felt it was for the better. Many repatriates criticised the company’s repatriation process upon return. Finding a suitable return job was not clear. Instead, the returnees had to be active in finding a new position. Many assignees had only modest career-related motives regarding the assignment and they had realistic expectations about the return. Therefore they were not extremely surprised or dissatisfied when they were not actively offered positions or support by the company. The significance of motives stood out even more than the theory predicted. As predicted, they are linked to the expectations of employees. Moreover, if the employees are motivated to remain in the company, they can tolerate partly a negative repatriation experience. Despite the complexity of the return and readjustment, the assignment as a whole was seen as a rewarding experience by all participants.

Profitability planning of the ski resort project

Objective of this master’s thesis is to create an investment calculation model, which makes it possible to determine if the ski resort business can be profitable. The ultimate goal is to create a description with the help of theoretical knowledge, interviews and investment calculation model, how the operation of ski resort is possible to be profitable and what are the critical success factors for achieving this goal. Thesis is carried out as qualitative research, which is supported by the necessary constructive information utilizing calculations. The client company has provided valuable insights and material for this thesis. Theoretical report examines the steps of developing a business plan, investment components and methods as well as sensitivity analysis. The theoretical part is based on the articles, textbooks, interviews and researches. The empirical part of the thesis is assembled by benchmarking other same size Finnish ski resorts, conducting interviews and using investment calculation model. The empirical part provides comprehensive information about ski resort industry, the future of the project, the business plan and the profitability calculations. As the result of this thesis the investment calculation model, which makes it possible to simulate different scenarios for ski resort project, was formed. The model was used to create a picture in which kind of scenario the ski resort business would be profitable and what are the critical success factors in achieving this aim.

Quality enhancement in teacher education : Tanzanian teacher educators’ conceptions and experiences

The overall aim of this study was to investigate and examine teacher educators’ conceptions and experiences of quality of teacher education. The research interest therefore was two-fold: a) to deepen understanding of the concept quality and b) scrutinize experiences of teacher educators of quality enhancement. To achieve this ambition the study was conducted in the context of a newly established university college-based teacher education in Tanzania. Two research questions guided the study. The first focused on investigating how teacher educators conceived quality in the domain of teacher education and the second intended to explore teacher educators’ experiences of quality enhancement. The theoretical framework of the study centered on the concepts of teacher education, quality, and criteria for quality enhancement. Phenomenographic and phenomenological approaches under the main umbrella of qualitative research design were selected. Twenty five teacher educators participated in the study. Interviews were used for the collection of the data. The results of the first research question, in brief, indicate that teacher educators’ conceptions of quality are expressed in two main categories, namely, outstanding academic scholarship and adequate professional scholarship. Quality as outstanding academic scholarship was illustrated by two subcategories: excellence and positive transformation. While the former was composed of two aspects, the latter was demonstrated by three aspects. Quality as adequate professional scholarship was described in three sub-categories. The first was improved teaching competency, consisting of two aspects. The second was conscious research orientation, which is displayed by three aspects, and the last was enhancing the ability to reflect, represented by two aspects. The results of the second research question, which focused on exploring teacher educators’ experience of quality enhancement, were classified into two main categories of description: insufficient programs of teacher education and unsatisfactory professional development of teacher educators. From the two categories, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges related to programs of educating teachers, particularly curriculum development and implementation, and the professional development of educators, were exposed. Since the ambition of conducting the study was to deepen the understanding by producing insight that would act as a platform for appraising and enhancing the quality of teacher education, the results hopefully can be used for the development of the quality of teacher education in Tanzania.

Preparation for ramp-up production process in metal manufacturin

Collaboration is essential for successful new product development. In the preparation for ramp-up production collaboration between R&D and supply chain functions is crucial. This thesis examines the meaning of collaboration and the effects of collaboration between R&D and supply chain. The aim of this thesis is to analyse and advice on how to improve the collaboration between the research and development department and supply chain within the preparation for rampup process. This thesis begins by introducing the reader to the product development methodologies and collaboration literature. The following part of the thesis describes the current situation and the results of the qualitative research. The last part of the thesis will explain the improvement suggestions. The main improvement suggestions are clarification of the processes and responsibilities and the introduction of a kick-off meeting.

ERP implementation in SMEs : Consultant – Client Views On Critical Success Factors

ERP system is now attracting the SMEs, as it is now economical and affordable for them. The current research emphasizes on “how to make ERP successful for SMEs”. The researchers have identified various critical success factors in implementation of ERP. The research gap noticed by author is the missing point of view of ERP consultant. This thesis investigates the answer of research question “What are the critical success factors in implementation of ERP system in SMEs in opinion of ERP consultants and acquiring organizations”. The purpose of this study is to identify the highly important and less important factors. The study results will suggest the ERP managers where they have to concentrate more in order to achieve success. Literature is reviewed in order to setup a base for empirical study. Aplenty of work is found related to CSFs, SMEs and ERP. The authors and factors are organized in form of a table that tells which author is agreed upon which factor. Final result of literature review is a list of 14 CSFs. The qualitative research methodology is used to investigate the ERP in Pakistani SMEs. A case study approach is selected because of unified nature of SMEs in Pakistan. A rice mill is selected as a case because it contains maximum SME attributes. The opinion of a Microsoft certified consultant is obtained by a semi-structured interview. Similarly a semi-structured interview is conducted with CIO of SME that acquired ERP. Both the interviewees are asked about all 14 factors, whether they are agree or not and why. The collected evidences then analyzed by tabulation. The factors upon which both the participants found agreed, taken as highly important. Similarly the factors upon which both participants found disagree, taken as less important. Study results present a grid with four quadrants, the CSFs highly important in opinion of both, the CSFs less important in opinion of both, CSFs important in opinion of consultant but not client, CSFs important in opinion of client but not consultant. In discussion part, the significance of each factor is discussed individually. It is discussed that why some factors are high/less important for SMEs in Pakistan. The study output communicates a message that the success of ERP system in SMEs is linked with careful management of five important factors, the project management, top management support, user training and education, consultant participation and ERP teamwork and composition. The ERP consultants and managers can divert their concentration from less important factors such as user involvement, culture readiness and ERP package selection, toward the highly important factors. The limitations of the study are small number of interviews and less people involved, provide an opportunity for future research in this field of information system.

Dynaamiset kyvykkyydet tulevaisuussuuntautuneessa innovaatiotoiminnassa

Tutkielman tarkoituksena oli tutkia dynaamisten kyvykkyyksien ja tulevaisuussuuntautuneen innovaatiotoiminnan yhteyttä. Dynaamiset kyvykkyydet luokiteltiin tutkielmassa sensing-, seizing- ja reconfiguring-kyvykkyyksiin. Tutkimus toteutettiin tapaustutkimuksena toisen asteen ammatillisen aikuiskoulutuksen toimialalla. Empiirinen aineisto kerättiin teemahaastatteluin, joita toteutettiin kahdeksan. Tärkein tutkimustulos oli, että dynaamisia kyvykkyyksiä hyödynnetään erityisesti mahdollisuuksien ja uhkien tunnistamisessa. Lisäksi niitä hyödynnettiin jatkuvassa kehittämisessä. Haasteeksi koettiin puolestaan ideoiden hyödyntämiseen liittyvien dynaamisten kyvykkyyksien hyödyntäminen. Lisäksi tutkimus lisäsi yleistä ymmärrystä ammatillisen aikuiskoulutuksen innovaatiotoiminnasta ja dynaamisten kyvykkyyksistä.

Henkilöstön sitoutuminen muutoksessa - Case: Etelä-Karjalan sosiaali- ja terveyspiiri

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää, mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat henkilöstön sitoutumiseen muutoksessa. Tutkimuksen teoriaosiossa käsitellään ensiksi muutossitoutumista vahvistavia ja siinä huomioitavia tekijöitä muutosprosessissa onnistuneen muutosjohtamisen kautta, jonka jälkeen syvennytään niihin tekijöihin jotka erityisesti vaikuttavat henkilöstön muutossitoutumiseen. Tutkimuksen empiirisen aineiston muodostivat Etelä-Karjalan sosiaali- ja terveyspiirin ikäihmisten palveluiden kolmentoista henkilön haastattelut. Henkilöistä kymmenen toimi työntekijätehtävissä, kaksi lähiesimiestehtävissä sekä yksi johtoryhmässä. Haastatteluaineisto kerättiin sekä analysoitiin laadullisella tutkimusmenetelmällä. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että henkilöstön muutossitoutumiseen vaikuttivat eniten viestintä sekä sen ilmeneminen case-organisaation muutosprosessissa. Kaikki puutteet ja onnistuneisuudet muutosjohtamisessa kiteytyivät viestintään; henkilöstön muutossitoutumisen kannalta erityisesti esimiehen hallitsemaan viestintään ja muutosjohtajuuteen. Muutosviestinnän ollessa onnistunutta se vahvisti selkeästi henkilöstön luottamusta muutosprosessin vaiheissa ja näin lisäsi muutokseen sitoutumista.

Osuuspankin hallitustyöskentelyn kehittäminen

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena ja tavoitteena on ollut tutkia osuuspankin hallitustyöskentelyn kehittämistä ja etenkin puheenjohtajan merkittävää sekä erittäin haastavaa roolia. Tutkimuksen taustalla on vuosien saatossa kasvaneet hallitustyön vaatimukset. Tutkimuksen avulla pyritään lisäämään ymmärrystä hallitustyöskentelystä sekä hallituksen puheenjohtajan roolista osuuspankkitoiminnassa, ja samalla tutkimus antaa ideoita siihen, mihin osuuspankkien hallitustyöskentelyssä tulisi jatkossa kiinnittää huomiota. Tutkimus toteutettiin laadullisena tutkimuksena ja sen aineistonkeräysmenetelmänä käytettiin puolistrukturoituja haastatteluja. Tutkimus osoitti, että hallituksen jäseniltä ja etenkin hallituksen puheenjohtajalta vaaditaan tiimitoiminnan ymmärtämistä, loistavia vuorovaikutustaitoja sekä työskentelyä jaetun johtajuuden ideaa ja periaatteita noudattaen sekä eteenpäin vieden. Jaetun johtajuuden avulla hallitustyöskentelyssä saadaan hyödynnettyä paremmin ihmisten erilaiset tiedot, taidot ja osaaminen. Erilaisten osaamisten yhdistämisellä saadaan aikaan tehokkuutta. Osaamisen tulee olla sillä tasolla, että jaettu johtajuus on mahdollinen.

Older Consumers’ Adoption of Online Shopping

The thesis is concerned with the online shopping behavior of older adults, who in this study are at least 60 years old. At the moment, the population is ageing and consumers are buying more and more via the Internet. The objective of the thesis is to understand the large group of older adults in Finland as online customers.The study explores older consumers’ adoption of online shopping with a qualitative research, and it is situated in the research tradition of hermeneutic phenomenology. Phenomenology focuses on the life-world of people. The empirical data was collected by three focus groups with 13 participants altogether. The focus group conversations brought forth that there is not tremendous difference in the motives of older consumers to shop online compared to other age groups. The study strengthened the previous conception of a change toward more ageless market. However, online stores should be designed to accommodate some special needs of older consumers as they occasionally struggle with the logic of websites. Finnish older consumers have adopted online shopping because of perceived convenience and because of tolerable perceived risk during first online shopping experience. Positive experiences strengthen positive attitude toward electronic channel.

Cultural distance and negotiation behavior : Perception of entrepreneurs operating in Turku

This thesis investigates the influence of cultural distance on entrepreneurs’ negotiation behaviour. For this purpose, Turku was chosen as the unit of analysis due to the exponential demographic change experienced during the last two decades that has derived in a more diversified local environment. The research aim set for this study was to identify to what extent entrepreneurs face cultural distance, how cultural distance influences the entrepreneur’s negotiation behaviour and how can it be addressed in order to turn dissimilarities into opportunities. This study presented the relation and apparent dichotomy of cultural distance and global culture, including the component of diversity. The impact of cultural distance in the entrepreneurial mindset and its consequent effect in negotiation behaviour was presented too. Addressing questions about the way individuals perceive, behave and interact allowed the use of interviews for this qualitative research study. In the empirical part of this study it was found that negotiation behaviour differed in terms of how congenial entrepreneurs felt when managing cultural distance, encompassing their performance. It was also acknowledged that after time and effort, some of the personal traits were enhanced while others reduced, allowing for more flexibility and adaptation. Furthermore, depending on the level of trust and shared interests, entrepreneurs determined their attitudinal approach, being adaptive or reactive subject to situational aspects. Additionally, it was found that the acquisition of cultural savvy not necessarily conveyed to more creativity. This experiential learning capability led to the proposition of new ways of behaviour. Likewise, it was proposed that growing cultural intelligence bridge distances, reducing mistrusts and misunderstandings. The capability of building more collaborative relationships allows entrepreneurs to see cultural distance as a cultural perspective instead of as a threat. Therefore it was recommended to focus on proximity rather than distance to better identify and exploit untapped opportunities and better perform when negotiating in whichever cultural conditions.

Process modeling method for electric accessories manufacturing enterprise

The theoretical research of the study focused to business process management and business process modeling, the goal was to found a new business process modeling method for electrical accessories manufacturing enterprise. The focus was to find few options for business process modeling methods where company could have chosen the best one for its needs The study was carried out as a qualitative research with an action study and a case study as the most important ways collect data. In the empirical part of the study examples of company’s processes modeled with the new modeling method and process modeling process are presented. The new way of modeling processes improves especially visual presentation of the processes and improves the understanding how employees should work in the organizational interfaces of the process and in the interfaces between different processes. The results of the study is a new unified way to model company’s processes, which makes it easier to understand and create the process models. This improved readability makes it possible to reduce the costs that were created from the unclear old process models.

Tietojohtaminen projektissa: hankevastaavan ja projektipäällikön näkökulmia

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää miten tietojohtamisen eri osatekijät näkyvät projektin läpiviemisen aikana. Teoreettinen viitekehys kokoaa projektijohtamisen osatekijät ja tietojohtamisen kolme pääelementtiä (tiedon hankinta, tiedon säilyttäminen ja tiedon siirto) yhteen projektin elinkaaren ympärille. Tutkimus toteutettiin laadullisena tutkimuksena, jonka empiirinen osuus suoritettiin haastattelemalla projektin asiakkaan vastuuhenkilöitä sekä toimittajan vastuuhenkilöitä yksi kerrallaan. Näiden lisäksi suoritettiin ryhmähaastattelu kohderyhmän portfoliohallitsijoiden kesken. Empiriasta saadut tulokset mallinnettiin viitekehyksen mukaisesti tietojohtamisen pääelementeille. Tiedon hankinnassa projektijohtamisen kentästä korostui sidosryhmät ja riskit, tiedon säilyttämisessä korostui integrointi ja viestintä sekä tiedon siirtämisessä korostui aika ja HR. Projektin aikana luodun ja hankitun osaamisen ja oppien säilyttäminen koettiin haastateltavien mukaan tietojohtamisen osatekijöistä haastavimmaksi. Alatutkimuskysymyksenä selvitetyt esteet ja hidasteet tietojohtamisen menetelmille kulminoituivat haastatteluissa prosesseihin, vastuisiin ja systemaattisuuden puuttumiseen. Haastatteluiden ja kirjallisuustutkimuksen tuloksena tehtiin kohdeyritykseen suosituksia tietojohtamisen elementtien hyödyntämisessä projekteissa.

Customer value assessment in business markets

Understanding how firms create, communicate, and deliver value to customers is a key factor when firms seek to differentiate in increasingly competitive and commoditized business markets. As product and price have become less important differentiators in many industries, suppliers are increasingly seeking ways to differentiate themselves based on delivered customer value. Therefore, to gain a holistic understanding on what their offerings are worth to the customer, suppliers need to conduct customer value assessment, which quantifies the impact of a supplier´s offering to customers’ costs and returns. However, from a managerial perspective, customer value assessment is the single most critical challenge for firms in business markets. Consequently, developing holistic frameworks for customer value assessment is seen as one of the most important research priorities for marketing research. The purpose of this study is to explore the process of customer value assessment in business markets. Business markets represent a context where an increasing number of industrial firms are transitioning from basic product offerings towards service-based and solution-oriented hybrid offerings, which emphasize value co-creation and realization in the long term, thus making it difficult to quantify their monetary value. This study employs exploratory and qualitative research design by applying inductive and discovery-oriented grounded theory and multiple case research methods. The empirical data comprise interviews with 61 managers from 12 industrial firms, including seven best practice firms in customer value assessment. The findings of this study show that customer value assessment is essentially a crossfunctional process, which involves several organizational functions. The process begins well before and continues long after the actual delivery, often until the end of a supplier´s offering’s life-cycle. Furthermore, the findings shed light on alternative strategies that firms in business markets can adopt to implement the customer value assessment process. Overall, the findings contribute to customer value research, the sales and organizational management literature, the service marketing and solutions business literature, and suggest several managerial implications on how firms in business markets can adopt a holistic approach to assess value created for customers.