Improving productivity by developing knowledge management practices for a consulting company

The objective of the research was to identify knowledge conversion states in consultancy sales and delivery processes for the company’s one business unit, to know where to store certain types of information and knowledge, and to create best practices for the company’s knowledge management activities in the selected business processes. The used research methodology was action research. The current business processes were analyzed by interviewing people involved in them. The results were documented and catego- rized, and based on them the target states of the processes were developed. Knowledge man- agement activities were integrated to the business processes. The main findings of the research were that roles and responsibilities in the processes were not clear to people, information systems did not fully support individuals and time was wasted searching for information and knowledge. There were also many variations of how the processes actually realized, which affected the overall quality of the process. The conclusions of the research were that knowledge management activities should be high- lighted in businesses where knowledge workers are the main assets of the company. Knowledge management practices can be supported by company culture, leadership and in- formation systems. However, one main factor is each individual’s willingness to share knowledge. By integrating knowledge management activities to business processes and hav- ing information systems supporting knowledge management, individual productivity can be improved.

Net communication strategy planning and management

Tutkielman tavoitteena on selvittää kuinka suunnitella ja hallita tehokasta verkkoviestintää, joka vastaa kohdeyleisön ja palvelun ylläpitäjien kasvaviin vaatimuksiin. Tutkielma on normatiivinen tapaustutkimus, jonka tuloksena syntyy konstruktiivinen askelmalli kokonaisvaltaisen verkkoviestintäprojektin toteuttamiseen. Tutkimus esittää myös teoreettisesti merkittävän näkökulman verkkopalvelujen sisällön hallintaongelmien ratkaisemiseen. Tosielämän verkkoviestintäprojektin toteutusta seurataan TietoEnator Forestissa, jossa tutkielman kirjoittaja työskentelee. Tutkimusmateriaalina käytetään 11 TietoEnator Forestissa toteutettua haastattelua, TietoEnator konsernin dokumentaatiota ja osallistuvaa havainnointia. Haastattelulomake sisältää 13 avointa kysymystä, jotka käsittelevät verkkoviestintästrategian perusasioita. Tunnistetut verkkoviestinnän avainmenestystekijät ovat vahva sisäinen sitoutuminen hajautettuihin ylläpitorooleihin ja perinpohjainen asiakastarpeiden tunnistaminen. Teknisesti on tärkeää, että eritason verkkoympäristöt, Internet, Intranet ja Extranet, hallitaan samoilla sisällönhallinta työkaluilla. Näin pystytään rationalisoimaan ylläpitotoiminnot.

Global virtual teamwork. Building and communicating trust through technology

Tutkimuksen ensisijaisena tavoitteena oli tarkastella luottamuksen rakentumista virtuaalitiimissä. Keskeistä tarkastelussa olivat luottamuksen lähteiden löytäminen, suhteen rakentuminen sekä teknologiavälitteinen kommunikaatio. Myös käytännön keinoja ja sovelluksia etsittiin. Tässä tutkimuksessa luottamus nähtiin tärkeänä yhteistyön mahdollistajana sekä keskeisenä elementtinä ihmisten välisten suhteiden rakentumisessa. Tämä tutkimus oli empiirinen ja kuvaileva tapaustutkimus. Tutkimuksessa kvalitatiivista aineistoa kerättiin pääasiassa web-pohjaisen kyselyn sekä puhelinhaastattelun avulla. Aineistonkeruu toteutettiin siis pääasiassa virtuaalisesti. Saatu aineisto analysoitiin teemoittelun avulla. Tässä työssä teemoja etsittiin tekstistä pääasiassa teoriasta johdettujen oletusten perusteella. Tutkimuksen tuloksena oli, että luottamusta rakentavia mekanismeja ovat, karkeasti luokiteltuna, yhteiset päämäärät ja vastuut, kommunikaatio, sosiaalinen kanssakäyminen ja informaation jakaminen, toisten huomioiminen ja henkilökohtaiset ominaisuudet. Mekanismit eivät suuresti eronneet luottamuksen rakentumisen mekanismeista perinteisessä kontekstissa. Virtuaalitiimityön alkuvaiheessa luottamus pohjautui käsityksille toisten tiimin jäsenten kyvykkyydestä. Myös institutionaalinen identifioituminen loi pohjaa luottamukselle alkuvaiheessa. Muuten luottamus rakentui vähän kerrassaan tehtävään liittyvän kommunikaation ja sosiaalisen kommunikaation kautta. Tekojen merkitys korostui erityisesti ajan myötä. Työssä esitettiin myös käytännön keinoja luottamuksen rakentamiseksi. Olemassa olevien teknologioiden havaittiin tukevan hyvin suhteen rakentumista tiedon jakamiseen ja sen varastoimiseen liittyvissä tehtävissä. Sen sijaan vuorovaikutuksen näkökulmasta tuen ei nähty olevan yhtä kattavaa. Kaiken kaikkiaan kuitenkin parannuksella sosiaalisissa suhteissa voitaneen saada enemmän aikaan kuin parannuksilla teknologian suhteen.

Evaluation of Teacher Education Programs by Students and Graduates

The purpose of this research was to do a repeated cross-sectional research on class teachers who study in the 4th year and also graduated at the Faculty of Education, University of Turku between the years of 2000 through 2004. Specifically, seven research questions were addressed to target the main purpose of the study: How do class teacher education masters’ degree senior students and graduates rate “importance; effectiveness; and quality” of training they have received at the Faculty of Education? Are there significant differences between overall ratings of importance; effectiveness and quality of training by year of graduation, sex, and age (for graduates) and sex and age (for senior students)? Is there significant relationship between respondents’ overall ratings of importance; effectiveness and their overall ratings of the quality of training and preparation they have received? Are there significant differences between graduates and senior students about importance, effectiveness, and quality of teacher education programs? And what do teachers’ [Graduates] believe about how increasing work experience has changed their opinions of their preservice training? Moreover the following concepts related to the instructional activities were studied: critical thinking skills, communication skills, attention to ethics, curriculum and instruction (planning), role of teacher and teaching knowledge, assessment skills, attention to continuous professional development, subject matters knowledge, knowledge of learning environment, and using educational technology. Researcher also tried to find influence of some moderator variables e.g. year of graduation, sex, and age on the dependent and independent variables. This study consisted of two questionnaires (a structured likert-scale and an open ended questionnaire). The population in study 1 was all senior students and 2000-2004 class teacher education masters’ degree from the departments of Teacher Education Faculty of Education at University of Turku. Of the 1020 students and graduates the researcher was able to find current addresses of 675 of the subjects and of the 675 graduates contacted, 439 or 66.2 percent responded to the survey. The population in study 2 was all class teachers who graduated from Turku University and now work in the few basic schools (59 Schools) in South- West Finland. 257 teachers answered to the open ended web-based questions. SPSS was used to produce standard deviations; Analysis of Variance; Pearson Product Moment Correlation (r); T-test; ANOVA, Bonferroni post-hoc test; and Polynomial Contrast tests meant to analyze linear trend. An alpha level of .05 was used to determine statistical significance. The results of the study showed that: A majority of the respondents (graduates and students) rated the overall importance, effectiveness and quality of the teacher education programs as important, effective and good. Generally speaking there were only a few significant differences between the cohorts and groups related to the background variables (gender, age). The different cohorts were rating the quality of the programs very similarly but some differences between the cohorts were found in the importance and effectiveness ratings. Graduates of 2001 and 2002 rated the importance of the program significantly higher than 2000 graduates. The effectiveness of the programs was rated significantly higher by 2001 and 2003 graduates than other groups. In spite of these individual differences between cohorts there were no linear trends among the year cohorts in any measure. In respondents’ ratings of the effectiveness of teacher education programs there was significant difference between males and females; females rated it higher than males. There were no significant differences between males’ and females’ ratings of the importance and quality of programs. In the ratings there was only one difference between age groups. Older graduates (35 years or older) rated the importance of the teacher training significantly higher that 25-35 years old graduates. In graduates’ ratings there were positive but relatively low correlations between all variables related to importance, effectiveness and quality of Teacher Education Programs. Generally speaking students’ ratings about importance, effectiveness and quality of teacher education program were very positive. There was only one significant difference related to the background variables. Females rated higher the effectiveness of the program. The comparison of students’ and graduates’ perception about importance, effectiveness, and quality of teacher education programs showed that there were no significant differences between graduates and students in the overall ratings. However there were differences in some individual variables. Students rated higher in importance of “Continuous Professional Development”, effectiveness of “Critical Thinking Skills” and “Using Educational Technology” and quality of “Advice received from the advisor”. Graduates rated higher in importance of “Knowledge of Learning Environment” and effectiveness of “Continuous Professional Development”. According to the qualitative data of study 2 some graduates expressed that their perceptions have not changed about the importance, effectiveness, and quality of training that they received during their study time. They pointed out that teacher education programs have provided them the basic theoretical/formal knowledge and some training of practical routines. However, a majority of the teachers seems to have somewhat critical opinions about the teacher education. These teachers were not satisfied with teacher education programs because they argued that the programs failed to meet their practical demands in different everyday situations of the classroom e.g. in coping with students’ learning difficulties, multiprofessional communication with parents and other professional groups (psychologists and social workers), and classroom management problems. Participants also emphasized more practice oriented knowledge of subject matter, evaluation methods and teachers’ rights and responsibilities. Therefore, they (54.1% of participants) suggested that teacher education departments should provide more practice-based courses and programs as well as closer collaboration between regular schools and teacher education departments in order to fill gap between theory and practice.

Conditions for EFL learning and professional development : Finland-Swedish learner and teacher perspectives

Engelskans dominerande roll som internationellt språk och andra globaliseringstrender påverkar också Svenskfinland. Dessa trender påverkar i sin tur förutsättningarna för lärande och undervisning i engelska som främmande språk, det vill säga undervisningsmålen, de förväntade elev- och lärarroller, materialens ändamålsenlighet, lärares och elevers initiala erfarenheter av engelska och engelskspråkiga länder. Denna studie undersöker förutsättningarna för lärande och professionell utveckling i det svenskspråkiga nybörjarklassrummet i engelska som främmande språk. Utgångsläget för 351 nybörjare i engelska som främmande språk och 19 av deras lärare beskrivs och analyseras. Resultaten tyder på att engelska håller på att bli ett andraspråk snarare än ett traditionellt främmande språk för många unga elever. Dessa elever har också goda förutsättningar att lära sig engelska utanför skolan. Sådan var dock inte situationen för alla elever, vilket tyder på att det finns en anmärkningsvärd heterogenitet och även regional variation i det finlandssvenska klassrummet i engelska som främmande språk. Lärarresultaten tyder på att vissa lärare har klarat av att på ett konstruktivt sätt att tackla de förutsättningar de möter. Andra lärare uttrycker frustration över sin arbetssituation, läroplanen, undervisningsmaterialen och andra aktörer som kommer är av betydelse för skolmiljön. Studien påvisar att förutsättningarna för lärande och undervisning i engelska som främmande språk varierar i Svenskfinland. För att stöda elevers och lärares utveckling föreslås att dialogen mellan aktörer på olika nivå i samhället bör förbättras och systematiseras.

Balancing creativity and risk intelligence in professional knowledge-intensive business services

The main strengths of professional knowledge-intensive business services (P-KIBS) are knowledge and creativity which needs to be fostered, maintained and supported. The process of managing P-KIBS companies deals with financial, operational and strategic risks. That is why it is reasonable to apply risk management techniques and frameworks in this context. A significant challenge hides in choosing reasonable ways of implementing risk management, which will not limit creative ability in organization, and furthermore will contribute to the process. This choice is related to a risk intelligent approach which becomes a justified way of finding the required balance. On a theoretical level the field of managing both creativity and risk intelligence as a balanced process remains understudied in particular within KIBS industry. For instance, there appears to be a wide range of separate models for innovation and risk management, but very little discussion in terms of trying to find the right balance between them. This study aims to shed light on the importance of well-managed combination of these concepts. The research purpose of the present study is to find out how the balance between creativity and risk intelligence can be managed in P-KIBS. The methodological approach utilized in the study is strictly conceptual without empirical aspects. The research purpose can be achieved through answering the following research supporting questions: 1. What are the characteristics and role of creativity as a component of innovation process in a P-KIBS company? 2. What are the characteristics and role of risk intelligence as an approach towards risk management process implementation in a P-KIBS company? 3. How can risk intelligence and creativity be balanced in P-KIBS? The main theoretical contribution of the study conceals in a proposed creativity and risk intelligence stage process framework. It is designed as an algorithm that can be applied on organizational canvas. It consists of several distinct stages specified by actors involved, their roles and implications. Additional stage-wise description provides detailed tasks for each of the enterprise levels, while combining strategies into one. The insights driven from the framework can be utilized by a vast range of specialists from strategists to risk managers, and from innovation managers to entrepreneurs. Any business that is designing and delivering knowledge service can potentially gain valuable thoughts and expand conceptual understanding from the present report. Risk intelligence in the current study is a unique way of emphasizing the role of creativity in professional knowledge-intensive industry and a worthy technique for making profound decisions towards risks.

Development of project cash flow forecasting process

Process management refers to improving the key functions of a company. The main functions of the case company - project management, procurement, finance, and human resource - use their own separate systems. The case company is in the process of changing its software. Different functions will use the same system in the future. This software change causes changes in some of the company’s processes. Project cash flow forecasting process is one of the changing processes. Cash flow forecasting ensures the sufficiency of money and prepares for possible changes in the future. This will help to ensure the company’s viability. The purpose of the research is to describe a new project cash flow forecasting process. In addition, the aim is to analyze the impacts of the process change, with regard to the project control department’s workload and resources through the process measurement, and how the impacts take the department’s future operations into account. The research is based on process management. Processes, their descriptions, and the way the process management uses the information, are discussed in the theory part of this research. The theory part is based on literature and articles. Project cash flow and forecasting-related benefits are also discussed. After this, the project cash flow forecasting as-is and to-be processes are described by utilizing information, obtained from the theoretical part, as well as the know-how of the project control department’s personnel. Written descriptions and cross-functional flowcharts are used for descriptions. Process measurement is based on interviews with the personnel – mainly cost controllers and department managers. The process change and the integration of two processes will allow work time for other things, for example, analysis of costs. In addition to the quality of the cash flow information will improve compared to the as-is process. Analyzing the department’s other main processes, department’s roles, and their responsibilities should be checked and redesigned. This way, there will be an opportunity to achieve the best possible efficiency and cost savings.

Organization of the marketing communication activities after fusion - the integration and the decision making processes

This master’s thesis was made in order to gain answers to the question of how the integration of the marketing communications and the decision making related to it in a geographically dispersed service organization could be improved in a situation where an organization has gone through a merger. The effects of the organizational design dimensions towards the integration of the marketing communications and the decision making related to it was the main focus. A case study as a research strategy offered a perfect frames for an exploratory study and the data collection was conducted by semi-structured interviews and observing. The main finding proved that from the chosen design dimensions, decentralization, coordination and power, could be found specific factors that in a geographically dispersed organization are affecting the integration of the marketing communications negatively. The effects can be seen mostly in the decision making processes, roles and in the division of responsibility, which are affecting the other dimensions and by this, the integration. In a post-merger situation, the coordination dimension and especially the information asymmetry and the information flow seem to have a largest affect towards the integration of the marketing communications. An asymmetric information distribution with the lack of business and marketing education resulted in low self-assurance and at the end in fragmented management and to the inability to set targets and make independent decisions. As conclusions it can be stated, that with the organizational design dimensions can the effects of a merger towards the integration process of the marketing communications to be evaluated.

The nature and role of trust in temporary virtual problem-solving teams

The objective of this study is to increase understanding of the nature and role of trust in temporary virtual problem-solving teams engaged in real-life co-creation activities, while much of previous research has been conducted in student settings. The different forms and bases of trust, possible trust barriers and trust building actions, and perceived role of trust in knowledge sharing and collaboration are analyzed. The study is conducted as a qualitative case study in case company. Data includes interviews from 24 people: 13 from 3 different project teams that were going on during the study, 8 from already finalized project teams, and 3 founders of case company. Additional data consists of communication archives from three current teams. The results indicate that there were both knowledge-based and swift trust present, former being based on work-related personal experiences about leaders or other team members, and latter especially on references, disposition to trust and institution-based factors such as norms and rules, as well as leader and expert action. The findings suggest that possible barriers of trust might be related to lack of adaptation to virtual work, unclear roles and safety issues, and nature of virtual communication. Actions that could be applied to enhance trust are for example active behavior in discussions, work-related introductions communicating competence, managerial actions and face-to-face interaction. Finally, results also suggest that trust has a focal role as an enabler of action and knowledge sharing, and coordinator of effective collaboration and performance in temporary virtual problem-solving teams.

A Comparative Study on the Homeroom Teachers’ Perception of the School guidance in Korea and Finland

This study has four major purposes. First, it compares school guidance of homeroom teachers in Korea and Finland, in order to understand the reality of education, based on the teachers’ perceptions. Secondly, it also considers the topic within its historical, social, and cultural backgrounds, from a critical standpoint. Thirdly, it investigates the direction of the improvement of school guidance, based on the analysis of similarities and differences between Korea and Finland, with regards to the meaning, practice, and environmental factors of the school guidance. Lastly, the influential factors surrounding the school guidance are noted by analysing empirical data from a microscopic approach, and extending the understanding of it into a social context. As for the methods, it employs thematic analysis approach through 10 homeroom teacher interviews in the lower secondary schools. As a result, firstly, the teachers in both countries assumed similarly, that the role of the teacher was not only to teach the subject, but also to care about every aspects of the students’ development in their school life. In addition, they accepted the fact that school guidance became more significant. However, the school guidance became the top priority for the Korean teachers, while teaching subject is the main task for the Finnish teachers. Secondly, the homeroom teachers in both countries hoped to have a better working environment, to perform school guidance concerning education budget for the resources of school guidance, tight curriculum, and increasing the teachers’ tasks. Thirdly, the school guidance in Korea seemed to be influenced by social expectation and government demand, whereas, the Finnish teachers considered school guidance in more aspects of adjustment and academic motivation, rather than resolving the social problems. Fourthly, the Korean teachers perceived that the trust and respect from the society and home became weakened, also expressing doubts about the educational policies and the attitude of the government with regards to school guidance. On the other hand, the Finnish teachers believed that they were trusted and respected by the society. However, blurred lines in the roles and accountability between the homeroom teachers, home, and the society were also controversial among the teachers in both countries. To sum up, Finland needs to ameliorate the system and conditions for school guidance of the homeroom teachers. The consensus on the role and tasks of Finnish homeroom teachers for school guidance seem to be also necessary. Meanwhile, Korea should improve the social system and social consciousness of the teacher, school guidance, and schooling, preceding the reform of the education system or conditions.

Tuotteen liiketoimintasuunnitelman tiedonhallintaprosessi

Työn tavoitteena oli tarkentaa uuden tuotteen liiketoimintasuunnitelman laadintaprosessia. Yrityksen käyttämän liiketoimintasuunnitelman formaatin suhteen oli kehittämistarpeita ja liiketoimintasuunnitelman tiedonhallintaprosessi tuli kuvata. Työn teoriaosassa käsiteltiin tuotekehitysprosessia ja tuotteen liiketoimintasuunnitelmaa yleisesti. Käytännön osassa perehdyttiin yrityksen tuotekehitysprosessiin, kuvattiin tuotteen liiketoimintasuunnitelman laatimisprosessi uudistettujen ohjeiden mukaisesti sekä laadittiin uudelle tuotteelle liiketoimintasuunnitelma. Työn tuloksena liiketoimintasuunnitelman laatimista tarkennettiin sekä tunnistettiin tärkeimmät laatimisessa tarvittavat tietolähteet ja vastuut. Uudelle tuotteelle laaditun liiketoimintasuunnitelman avulla saatiin selvitettyä tuotteen hyödyt, kustannukset, myyntivolyymi sekä kannattavuus. Prosessin käyttöönotto on alkamassa.

Pientalon asiakaskeskeisenLVI-teknisen laatusuunnittelujärjestelmän kehittäminen

Tämä opinnäytetyö on tehty SkinnAir Oy:lle, ja se käsittelee pientalojen LVI-teknistä suunnittelua pienen suunnitteluyrityksen näkökulmasta. Nykyinen kiivas rakentamistyyli, kasvaneet asumisviihtyvyydenvaatimukset, asennusammattilaisten puute sekä jatkuvasti kohoavat vaatimukset rakennusten energiatehokkuuden parantamiseksi vaativat yhä parempia ja laadukkaampia suunnitelmia pientalojen LVI-teknisten ratkaisujen toteuttamiseksi. Suunnittelusta saatavan heikon tuottavuuden johdosta monet suunnittelutoimistot eivät ole kiinnostuneita pientalojen LVI-suunnittelusta. Tässä työssä pyritään etsimään niitä menetelmiä, joilla erityisesti pieni suunnitteluyritys kykenee parantamaankannattavuuttaan ja nostamaan palvelun laatua kyseisellä suunnittelun osa-alueella. Työ on toteutettu perehtymällä yksityiskohtaisesti suunnitteluprosessin eri vaiheisiin sekä analysoimalla näistä vaiheista saadut tulokset Työssä tunnistetaan erilaiset asiakastyypit sekä heidän tarpeensa. Asiakastarpeiden perusteellasaadaan määritettyä oikeat lähtötiedot kohteen LVI-suunnittelua varten. Työn keskeinen osa on suunnitteluprosessin etenemisen sekä suunnittelutyöhön kuuluvien tehtävien tarkastelu. Tämän tarkastelun avulla pyritään löytämään keinot, joillakyetään tehostamaan suunnitteluprosessin eri vaiheisiin liittyviä toimintoja, parantamaan palvelun laatua sekä lisäksi minimoimaan suunnitteluprosessin aikaisia kustannuksia yrityksen kannattavuuden parantamiseksi. LVI-suunnittelutyön eteneminen painottuu asiakas- ja lähtötietojen keräämiseen sekä eri välivaiheiden hyväksyttämiseen tilaajalla. Suunnittelutyöhön vaikuttavat tekijät saadaan selville jatkuvassa, ennalta hyvin aikataulutetussa asiakaskontaktissa. Asiakkaan huomioiminen suunnitteluprosessin eri vaiheissa parantaa kokonaisvaltaista asiakaspalvelua. Näin asiakkaan saama vastine rahoilleen kasvaa. Suunnittelijan kannalta turhat muutostyöt vähenevät, koska asiakas on selvillä suunnittelutyön etenemisestä. Johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että hyvän suunnitteluprosessin edellytyksenä on yksityiskohtaisten lähdetietojen käyttö. Työn tuloksena ilmeni, että valmiiden, ennalta hyvin laadittujen lomakkeiden käyttäminen parantaa selkeästi suunnittelutyön tehokkuutta. Lopputuloksena syntyi jatkokehittelyä vaativa lomakepohja asiakastarpeisiin perustuvalle lähtötietolomakkeelle. Lisäksi yrityksen käyttöön on tarkoitus laatia tarvittavat tietokannat sekä valmiit asennuspiirrokset. Lopullinen tavoite on rakentaa tässä työssä kuvatuista menetelmistä kattava tietotekninen järjestelmä parantamaan sekä yrityksen kannattavuutta että suunnittelutyön laatua. Lisäksi voidaan todeta, että rakennettava järjestelmä mahdollistaa myös vaativan suunnittelutyön tuotteistamisen.

EPCM-toimitustapamallin kehittäminen Kvaerner Power Oy:n voimalaitostoimituksiin

Tämän diplomityön päämääränäoli laatia suunnitelma voimalaitoksen toimittamiseksi EPCM-toimitustavalla. Työn keskeisiksi tavoitteiksi asetettiin EPCM-toimitustapaan perustuvan toimitustapakonseptin muodostaminen, toimituksiin liittyvien terminologian selkeyttäminen ja harmonisointi sekä voimalaitoksen suhteellisen kustannusrakenteen laatiminen. Työssä tutkittiin voimalaitostoimituksissa tavanomaisesti käytettyjä sopimustyyppejä, kiinteähintaista sopimusta ja kustannusvoittolisäsopimusta sekä harvinaisemmin käytettyjä kattohinta- ja tavoitekustannussopimusta. Vallitsevat toimitustavat, EPC- ja EPCM-toimitustavat sekä monitoimittajatapa, esiteltiin ja niiden vahvuudet sekä heikkoudet selvitettiin. Projektin ominaisuuksilla, markkinoilla ja tilaajan kyvyllä, asiantuntemuksella sekä resursseilla todettiin olevan vaikutusta toimitustavan valintaan. Lisäksi tehtiin katsaus voimalaitostoimitusten kehitystrendeihin ja projektin riskienhallintaan. Voimalaitoksen laitosjärjestelmäjako kehitettiin ja sitä soveltamalla määritettiin voimalaitoksen suhteellinen kustannusrakenne. Kattilaitoksen osuus voimalaitoksen rakentamiskustannuksista todettiin merkittävimmäksi. Laitosjärjestelmien laitekustannusten havaittiin olevan korkeimmat. EPCM-toimitustapamalli kehitettiin teoriaosan pohjalta ja sen rakenne, organisaatio, sopimustyypit ja -suhteetsekä toimituksen riskien jako kuvattiin. Voimalaitoksen rakentamiskustannuksia vertailtiin eri toimitustavoilla ja EPCM-toimitustapamalli todettiin EPC-toimitustapaa edullisemmaksi.

Developing of Service Platform Thinking in Modern Electricity Distribution Business

Palvelukehitystoiminta sitoo huomattavan määrän resursseja ja on pitkäkestoista toimintaa. Innovatiivisuuteen tähtäämällä ja systemaattisella tuotekehitystyöllä yritys parantaa jatkuvuutta omassa liiketoiminnassaan. Alusta-ajattelu tuo uuden ulottuvuuden tuotteiden ja palveluiden kehitykseen. Alustan kehittäminen tukemaan tuote- ja palvelukehitystoimintaa ja yksinkertaistamaan tuote/palvelurakenteita antaa yrityksissä lisäpotentiaalia esimerkiksi lyhentyneiden kehitysaikojen, paremman kompleksisuuden hallinnan ja kustannustehokkuuden nousun myötä. Toimintojen tehostuminen yritystasolla saa aikaan mahdollisuuksien lisääntymisen nykyisillä liiketoimintasektoreilla. Palvelualustan kehityksellä päästään palvelurakenteen mallintamisen kautta parempaan liiketoiminnan hallitsemiseen ja systemaattisempaan tuotekehityksen läpivientiin. Palvelualustan yhtenä tärkeimpänä hyötynä on, että palvelun rakenteellisuus saadaan kuvattua alustaan. Lisäksi on tärkeää määritellä vastuutukset alustan kehityksessä, sekä pystyä mallintamaan informaation kulku (rajapinnat) prosesseissa.

Value Processingin Organizations - Individual Perceptions in Three Case Companies

Values and value processes are said to be needed in every organization nowadays, as the world is changing and companies have to have something to "keep it together". Organizational values, which are approvedand used by the personnel, could be the key. Every organization has values. But what is the real value of values? The greatest and most crucial challenge is the feasibility of the value process. The main point in this thesis is tostudy how organizational members at different hierarchical levels perceive values and value processes in their organizations. This includes themes such as how values are disseminated, the targets of value processing, factors that affect the process, problems that occur during the value implementation and improvements that could be made when organizational values are implemented. These subjects are studied from the perspective of organizational members (both managers and employees); individuals in the organizations. The aim is to get the insider-perspective on value processing, from multiple hierarchical levels. In this research I study three different organizations (forest industry, bank and retail cooperative) and their value processes. The data is gathered from companies interviewing personnel in the head office and at the local level. The individuals areseen as members of organizations, and the cultural aspect is topical throughout the whole study. Values and cultures are seen as the 'actuality of reality' of organizations, interpreted by organizational members. The three case companies were chosen because they represented different lines of business and they all implemented value processing differently. Sincethe emphasis in this study is at the local level, the similar size of the local units was also an important factor. Values are in 'fashion' -but what does the fashion tell us about the real corporate practices? In annual reports companies emphasize the importance and power of official values. But what is the real 'point' of values? Values are publicly respected and advertised, but still it seems that the words do not meet the deeds. There is a clear conflict between theoretical, official and substantive organizational values: in the value processing from words to real action. This contradiction in value processing is studied through individual perceptions in this study. I study the kinds of perceptions organizationalmembers have when values are processed from the head office to the local level: the official value process is studied from the individual's perspective. Value management has been studied more during the 1990's. The emphasis has usually been on managers: how they consider the values in organizations and what effects it has on the management. Recent literature has emphasized values as tools for improving company performance. The value implementation as a process has been studied through 'good' and 'bad' examples, as if one successful value process could be copied to all organizations. Each company is different with different cultures and personnel, so no all-powerful way of processing values exists. In this study, the organizational members' perceptions at different hierarchical levels are emphasized. Still, managers are also interviewed; this is done since managerial roles in value dissemination are crucial. Organizational values cannot be well disseminated without management; this has been proved in several earlier studies (e.g. Kunda 1992, Martin 1992, Parker 2000). Recent literature has not sufficiently emphasized the individual's (organizational member's) role in value processing. Organizations consist of differentindividuals with personal values, at all hierarchical levels. The aim in this study is to let the individual take the floor. Very often the value process is described starting from the value definition and ending at dissemination, and the real results are left without attention. I wish to contribute to this area. Values are published officially in annual reports etc. as a 'goal' just like profits. Still, the results/implementationof value processing is rarely followed, at least in official reports. This is a very interesting point: why do companies espouse values, if there is no real control or feedback after the processing? In this study, the personnel in three different companies is asked to give an answer. In the empirical findings, there are several results which bring new aspects to the research area of organizational values. The targets of value processing, factors effecting value processing, the management's roles and the problems in value implementation are presented through the individual's perspective. The individual's perceptions in value processing are a recurring theme throughout the whole study. A comparison between the three companies with diverse value processes makes the research complete