Managing Packet Data (Sessions) in 3G Mobile Networks

Tällä hetkellä kolmannen sukupolven matkapuhelinjärjestelmät ovat siirtyneet kaupalliseen vaiheeseen. Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) on eräs kolmannen sukupolven matkapuhelinjärjestelmä, jota tullaan käyttämään Euroopassa. Diplomityön päämääränä on tutkia, kuinka pakettivälitteistä tiedonsiirtoa hallitaan UMTS - verkoissa. Diplomityö antaa yleiskuvan toisen sukupolven matkapuhelinjärjestelmien datapalveluiden kehityksestä kolmannen sukupolven nopeisiin matkapuhelinjärjestelmiin. Pakettivälitteisen verkon verkkoarkkitehtuuri on esitetty sekä sen, diplomityön kannalta, tärkeimpien osien toiminnallisuus on selvitetty. Myös pakettipohjaisten datayhteyksien eli istuntojen muodostaminen ja vapauttaminen sekä aktiivisen yhteyden ominaisuuksien muokkaaminen on esitetty tässä diplomityössä. Yhteydenhallintaprotokolla, Session Management (SM), on yksi protokolla, joka osallistuu pakettidatayhteyden hallintaan. SM -protokolla on käsitelty työssä yksityiskohtaisesti. SM -protokollan SDL toteutus on esitetty diplomityön käytännönosassa

Managing material flows and improving performance in a component supplier’s internal supply chain

Tämä diplomityö tehtiin osana Componenta Cast Componentsin kolmivuotista toimitusketjujen kehitysprojektia. Työn tavoitteena oli kuvata tyypillinen yrityksen sisäinen toimitusketjuprosessi ja tehdä alustava suorituskykyanalyysi valimon ja konepajan väliseen logistiseen prosessiin liittyen. Tarkoituksena oli myös löytää kehityskohteita materiaali- ja tietovirtojen hallinnassa näiden tuotantoyksiköiden välillä. Logistiikkaan, toimitusketjujen hallintaan ja toimitusketjun suorituskyvyn mittaamiseen liittyvän kirjallisuustutkimuksen sekä käytännön perusteella valittiin sopivat analyysimenetelmät. Näitä menetelmiä hyödynnettiin tilaustoimitus – prosessin kuvaamisessa sekä suorituskyvyn analysoinnissa yrityksen sisäisessä toimitusketjussa. Luonnollisena jatkona kehitettiin ja pantiin käytäntöön toimitusketjua synkronoiva imutyyppinen tuotannon- ja materiaalinohjausmenetelmä. Diplomityöprojektin aikana kehitettiin myös apuvälineet käyttöönotetun menetelmän asianmukaista hyödyntämistä varten. Diplomityöprojektissa otettiin ensimmäiset askeleet kohti integroitua sisäistä toimitusketjua. Uuden tuotannon- ja materiaalinohjausmenetelmän standardisointi muihin menetelmiin yhdistettynä, sekä toimitusketjun avainmittarien jatkokehitys on jo alkanut. Läpimenoaikoja lyhentämällä ja synkronoidun, läpinäkyvän kysyntä-tarjontaketjun avulla integroitumisen astetta voidaan nostaa edelleen. Poikkiorganisatorinen kehitys ja johtaminen toimitusketjussa on avainedellytys menestykseen.

Managing R&D Content with Web-based KM Software

Työssä tutkittiin tehokasta tietojohtamista globaalin metsäteollisuusyrityksen tutkimus ja kehitys verkostossa. Työn tavoitteena oli rakentaa kuvaus tutkimus ja kehitys sisällön hallintaan kohdeyrityksen käyttämän tietojohtamisohjelmiston avulla. Ensin selvitettiin käsitteitä tietämys ja tietojohtaminen kirjallisuuden avulla. Selvityksen perusteella esitettiin prosessimalli, jolla tietämystä voidaan tehokkaasti hallita yrityksessä. Seuraavaksi analysoitiin tietojohtamisen asettamia vaatimuksia informaatioteknologialle ja informaatioteknologian roolia prosessimallissa. Verkoston vaatimukset tietojohtamista kohtaan selvitettiin haastattelemalla yrityksen avainhenkilöitä. Haastatteluiden perusteella järjestelmän tuli tehokkaasti tukea virtuaalisten projektiryhmien työskentelyä, mahdollistaa tehtaiden välinen tietämyksen jakaminen ja tukea järjestelmään syötetyn sisällön hallintaa. Ensiksi järjestelmän käyttöliittymän rakenne ja salaukset muokattiin vastaamaan verkoston tarpeita. Rakenne tarjoaa työalueen työryhmille ja alueet tehtaiden väliseen tietämyksen jakamiseen. Sisällönhallintaa varten järjestelmään kehitettiin kategoria, profiloitu portaali ja valmiiksi määriteltyjä hakuja. Kehitetty malli tehostaa projektiryhmien työskentelyä, mahdollistaa olemassa olevan tietämyksen hyväksikäytön tehdastasolla sekä helpottaa tutkimus ja kehitys aktiviteettien seurantaa. Toimenpide-ehdotuksina esitetään järjestelmän integrointia tehtaiden operatiivisiin ohjausjärjestelmiin ja ohjelmiston käyttöönottoa tehdastason projektinhallinta työkaluksi.Ehdotusten tavoitteena on varmistaa sekä tehokas tietämyksen jakaminen tehtaiden välillä että tehokas tietojohtaminen tehdastasolla.

Managing Brand Equity over Time

The main concept of this paper is managing brand equity over time. In the theoretical section, a necessary basis for managing brand equity is first built by reviewing the most important themes related to branding. After this the concept of brand equity is discussed thoroughly, and a framework is built for managing brand equity over time. The empirical section illustrates how the case company, Masku, has built its brand equity over the history of the company. What can be derived from this research is that the process of managing brand equity over time can be an implicit process, and means of reinforcing the brand are often used without specific emphasis to generate business.

Managing manufacturing data and improving its accuracy

There are two main objects in this study: First, to prove the importance of data accuracy to the business success, and second, create a tool for observing and improving the accuracy of ERP systems production master data. Sub-objective is to explain the need for new tool in client company and the meaning of it for the company. In the theoretical part of this thesis the focus is in stating the importance of data accuracy in decision making and it's implications on business success. Also basics of manufacturing planning are introduced in order to explain the key vocabulary. In the empirical part the client company and its need for this study is introduced. New master data report is introduced, and finally, analysing the report and actions based on the results of analysis are explained. The main results of this thesis are finding the interdependence between data accuracy and business success, and providing a report for continuous master data improvement in the client company's ERP system.

Managing virtual project teams

The purpose of the Master’s Thesis is to study the best practices to virtual project management from the project manager’ point of view. The best practices are divided according to a five-phase virtual project life cycle model. Each phase include concrete suggestions for actions. Research’s theoretical background is wide because of the broad subject matter. In the theoretical part topics such as virtual working, virtual project management challenges are examined and some concrete actions to tackle these challenges are introduced. Thesis’ approach is constructive, where a known problem is solved piece by piece after creating a pre-understanding of the topic. Existing research work is utilized when creating a model for virtual project team management. The basis of the model comes from various best practices read from literature and from the interviews conducted on experienced virtual project managers in the case organization. As a result the model combines both previous research and the organizations empirical experience. As an output of the thesis a model for virtual project team management is developed, which can be used as a guideline by the virtual project managers in their work. The model includes actions and practices what can be used to overcome the challenges of virtual project management.

Managing the Front End of Innovation in a Networked Company Environment - Combining Strategy, Processes and Systems of Innovation

The objective of the thesis is to enhance the understanding about the management of the front end phases of the innovation process in a networked environment. The thesis approaches the front end of innovation from three perspectives, including the strategy, processes and systems of innovation. The purpose of the use of different perspectives in the thesis is that of providing an extensive systemic view of the front end, and uncovering the complex nature of innovation management. The context of the research is the networked operating environment of firms. The unit of analysis is the firm itself or its innovation processes, which means that this research approaches the innovation networks from the point of view of a firm. The strategy perspective of the thesis emphasises the importance of purposeful innovation management, the innovation strategy of firms. The role of innovation processes is critical in carrying out innovation strategies in practice, supporting the development of organizational routines for innovation, and driving the strategic renewal of companies. The primary focus of the thesis from systems perspective is on idea management systems, which are defined as a part of innovation management systems, and defined for this thesis as any working combination of methodology and tools (manual or IT-supported) that enhance the management of innovations within their early phases. The main contribution of the thesis are the managerial frameworks developed for managing the front end of innovation, which purposefully “wire” the front end of innovation into the strategy and business processes of a firm. The thesis contributes to modern innovation management by connecting the internal and external collaboration networks as foundational elements for successful management of the early phases of innovation processes in a dynamic environment. The innovation capability of a firm is largely defined by its ability to rely on and make use of internal and external collaboration already during the front end activities, which by definition include opportunity identification and analysis, idea generation, profileration and selection, and concept definition. More specifically, coordination of the interfaces between these activities, and between the internal and external innovation environments of a firm is emphasised. The role of information systems, in particular idea management systems, is to support and delineate the innovation-oriented behaviour and interaction of individuals and organizations during front end activities. The findings and frameworks developed in the thesis can be used by companies for purposeful promotion of their front end processes. The thesis provides a systemic strategy framework for managing the front end of innovation – not as a separate process, but as an elemental bundle ofactivities that is closely linked to the overall innovation process and strategy of a firm in a distributed environment. The theoretical contribution of the thesis relies on the advancement of the open innovation paradigm in the strategic context of a firm within its internal and external innovation environments. This thesis applies the constructive research approach and case study methodology to provide theoretically significant results, which are also practically beneficial.

Evolutionary Ecology of Mountain Birch in Subarctic Stress Gradients: Interplay of Biotic and Abiotic Factors in Plant-Plant Interactions and Evolutionary Processes

In nature, variation for example in herbivory, wind exposure, moisture and pollution impact often creates variation in physiological stress and plant productivity. This variation is seldom clear-cut, but rather results in clines of decreasing growth and productivity towards the high-stress end. These clines of unidirectionally changing stress are generally known as ‘stress gradients’. Through its effect on plant performance, stress has the capacity to fundamentally alter the ecological relationships between individuals, and through variation in survival and reproduction it also causes evolutionary change, i.e. local adaptations to stress and eventually speciation. In certain conditions local adaptations to environmental stress have been documented in a matter of just a few generations. In plant-plant interactions, intensities of both negative interactions (competition) and positive ones (facilitation) are expected to vary along stress gradients. The stress-gradient hypothesis (SGH) suggests that net facilitation will be strongest in conditions of high biotic and abiotic stress, while a more recent ‘humpback’ model predicts strongest net facilitation at intermediate levels of stress. Plant interactions on stress gradients, however, are affected by a multitude of confounding factors, making studies of facilitation-related theories challenging. Among these factors are plant ontogeny, spatial scale, and local adaptation to stress. The last of these has very rarely been included in facilitation studies, despite the potential co-occurrence of local adaptations and changes in net facilitation in stress gradients. Current theory would predict both competitive effects and facilitative responses to be weakest in populations locally adapted to withstand high abiotic stress. This thesis is based on six experiments, conducted both in greenhouses and in the field in Russia, Norway and Finland, with mountain birch (Betula pubescens subsp. czerepanovii) as the model species. The aims were to study potential local adaptations in multiple stress gradients (both natural and anthropogenic), changes in plant-plant interactions under conditions of varying stress (as predicted by SGH), potential mechanisms behind intraspecific facilitation, and factors confounding plant-plant facilitation, such as spatiotemporal, ontogenetic, and genetic differences. I found rapid evolutionary adaptations (occurring within a time-span of 60 to 70 years) towards heavy-metal resistance around two copper-nickel smelters, a phenomenon that has resulted in a trade-off of decreased performance in pristine conditions. Heavy-metal-adapted individuals had lowered nickel uptake, indicating a possible mechanism behind the detected resistance. Seedlings adapted to heavy-metal toxicity were not co-resistant to others forms of abiotic stress, but showed co-resistance to biotic stress by being consumed to a lesser extent by insect herbivores. Conversely, populations from conditions of high natural stress (wind, drought etc.) showed no local adaptations, despite much longer evolutionary time scales. Due to decreasing emissions, I was unable to test SGH in the pollution gradients. In natural stress gradients, however, plant performance was in accordance with SGH, with the strongest host-seedling facilitation found at the high-stress sites in two different stress gradients. Factors confounding this pattern included (1) plant size / ontogenetic status, with seedling-seedling interactions being competition dominated and host-seedling interactions potentially switching towards competition with seedling growth, and (2) spatial distance, with competition dominating at very short planting distances, and facilitation being strongest at a distance of circa ¼ benefactor height. I found no evidence for changes in facilitation with respect to the evolutionary histories of plant populations. Despite the support for SGH, it may be that the ‘humpback’ model is more relevant when the main stressor is resource-related, while what I studied were the effects of ‘non-resource’ stressors (i.e. heavy-metal pollution and wind). The results have potential practical applications: the utilisation of locally adapted seedlings and plant facilitation may increase the success of future restoration efforts in industrial barrens as well as in other wind-exposed sites. The findings also have implications with regard to the effects of global change in subarctic environments: the documented potential by mountain birch for rapid evolutionary change, together with the general lack of evolutionary ‘dead ends’, due to not (over)specialising to current natural conditions, increase the chances of this crucial forest-forming tree persisting even under the anticipated climate change.

Managing Customer Retention in Health and Fitness Club Industry

The objective of this study is to resolve how customer retention is managed in Finnish health and fitness clubs, and how is this comparable with the theoretical aspects of customer retention. It is also discussed how the process leading to customer retention is handled, and what the essential elements of customer retention and loyalty are specifically in the health and fitness club industry. In addition, it is discussed to what extent do health and fitness club companies implement the elements of customer retention in their businesses. Finally, there is discussion about the relationship and priority between the behavioral and attitudinal methods of creating retention in the companies. The data was collected by interviewing the management of six health and fitness clubs from different geographical regions in Finland. Results indicated that the most important constructs concerning customer retention were switching barriers, pricing strategy, competitive aspect, corporate image, service quality, employee retention, and customer satisfaction. In addition, the implementation of customer retention was found to vary between different sized companies and companies from different geographical locations. Moreover, it was discovered that the companies put more effort in constructs that are considered to create customer loyalty instead of retention.

Managing through measurement : A framework for successful operative level performance measurement

The research around performance measurement and management has focused mainly on the design, implementation and use of performance measurement systems. However, there is little evidence about the actual impacts of performance measurement on the different levels of business and operations of organisations, as well as the underlying factors that lead to a positive impact of performance measurement. The study thus focuses on this research gap, which can be considered both important and challenging to cover. The first objective of the study was to examine the impacts of performance measurement on different aspects of management, leadership and the quality of working life, after which the factors that facilitate and improve performance and performance measurement at the operative level of an organisation were examined. The second objective was to study how these factors operate in practice. The third objective focused on the construction of a framework for successful operative level performance measurement and the utilisation of the factors in the organisations. The research objectives have been studied through six research papers utilising empirical data from three separate studies, including two sets of interview data and one of quantitative data. The study applies mainly the hermeneutical research approach. As a contribution of the study, a framework for successful operative level performance measurement was formed by matching the findings of the current study and performance measurement theory. The study extents the prior research regarding the impacts of performance measurement and the factors that have a positive effect on operative level performance and performance measurement. The results indicate that under suitable circumstances, performance measurement has positive impacts on different aspects of management, leadership, and the quality of working life. The results reveal that for example the perception of the employees and the management of the impacts of performance measurement on leadership style differ considerably. Furthermore, the fragmented literature has been reorganised into six factors that facilitate and improve the performance of the operations and employees, and the use of performance measurement at the operative level of an organisation. Regarding the managerial implications of the study, managers who operate around performance measurement can utilise the framework for example by putting the different phases of the framework into practice.

Managing the Pricing of Integrated Solutions in Export Partnerships

Little research has been conducted to guide the management of marketing variables, such as pricing, in systems business context. Furthermore, given that international partnering has become a popular mode of operation for SMEs, the objective of the current thesis was to explore the scantly researched topic of managing the pricing of integrated solutions in an export partnership. Specifically, the thesis synthesizes literature findings from the three areas of export pricing, systems business, and export partnerships. The empirical section of the study consists of a qualitative single-case study of a Finnish systems integrator that has recently launched its export operations. Primary data was collected by conducting four interviews of the case company’s managers and by organizing one group interview session. The study findings indicate that a systems integrator’s pricing strategy in an export partnership can be very multidimensional and dependant on international pricing environment and partner characteristics, that an export partnership appears to have unique implications on a systems integrator’s pricing process, and that customer value –based pricing strategies might be particularly suited to pricing integrated solutions.