Very preterm infants in Finland - Use of health care services and economic consequences during the first five years of life

The aim of this thesis was to study the health, the hospitalisations, and the use of communal health care services in very preterm children during the first five years of life. In addition, the effect of very preterm birth and prematurity-related morbidities on the costs of hospitalisations, other health care services and the cost per quality adjusted life years (QALY) were studied. This population-based study included all very preterm children (gestational age (GA) <32 weeks or birth weight<1501g, N=2 064) and full-term controls (GA 37+0−41+6, N=200 609) born in Finland during 2000-2003. The data sources included national register data, costing data from the participating hospitals and parental questionnaires. This study showed that most very preterm infants born in Finland survived without prematurity-related morbidities diagnosed during the first years of life. They required relatively little hospital care after the initial discharge, which accounted for the vast majority of the total four-year hospitalisation costs. However, a minority of children born very preterm later developing morbidities had a long initial length of stay and more re-admissions and outpatient visits during the five-year follow-up period. In particular, the number and costs of non-emergency outpatient visits were considerable in individuals with prematurity-related morbidities. The need and costs of hospitalisations decreased clearly with each follow-up year, even in individuals with morbidities. The health-care related costs during the fifth year of life in children born very preterm without prematurity-related morbidities were close to the costs in infants born healthy at term. The cost per QALY of 19,245 € was at an acceptable level already by four years of age in the very preterm population as a whole. Prematurity-related later morbidities and decreasing GA increased the costs per QALY. As the initial hospital stay accounted for a great majority of the total four-year costs, and the costs of hospitalisation decreased with each follow-up year, the cost per QALY is likely to decrease with age. In conclusion, the majority of costs arising after the initial hospitalisation were associated with morbidities related to prematurity. Therefore offering high-quality neonatal care to prevent later morbidities in very preterm survivors has a long-term impact on the cost per QALY. In addition, this study indicates that when estimating the costs of prematurity after the first year of life, one should calculate not only the hospitalisation costs, but also other costs for social welfare services, primary care, and therapies, as these exceed the hospitalisation costs in very preterm infants during the fifth year of life.

Marketing Plan of Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions to USA

The purpose of the Thesis was to evaluate the business environment of electrical vehicle charging equipment (EVSE) in USA, find the key issues of entering the US EVSE markets and to form a marketing plan for possible market entry. The external market research analyzed the environment, customers, competitors and demand of EVSEs. In the internal analysis the focus was on resources and capabilities, offering, performance, business relations and US related issues. The research about the business environment was done using already available information from market studies and seminars. In external analysis there were also two semi-structured interviews from market experts used. The internal analysis was done mostly by interviews, but also company’s internal data sources were used. The interviews were semi-constructed and included eight interviewees from each part of EVSE value chain. The research findings were analyzed using SWOT analysis, which was converted to a so called TOWS matrix for extracting strategies. As a result of the Thesis, valuable information about the US markets and their requirements for EVSEs was gained. By matching the strengths of the case company and market requirements, customer segmentation and targeting were done and a marketing plan was constructed for the case company to help their management to evaluate the feasibility of possible market entry and investments to USA.

Business Intelligencen hyödyntäminen autoalan liiketoiminnassa

Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tavoitteena on selvittää, miten Business Intelligencea voidaan hyödyntää autoalan liiketoiminnassa Suomessa. Työssä tutkitaan erityisesti autoalan tietotarpeita, tietolähteitä, tiedon analysointia sekä tiedon hyödynnettävyyttä liiketoiminnan ohjaamisessa ja päätöksenteossa. Työn tutkimusstrategiana käytettiin tapaustutkimusta, jonka kohderyhmänä oli viisi suomalaista autoalan suuryritystä. Tutkimuksen empiirinen aineisto hankittiin haastattelemalla yritysten Business Intelligence -toiminnoista vastaavia henkilöitä. Tutkimuksen tulosten perusteella Business Intelligence merkitsi yrityksille ensisijaisesti toiminnanohjausta ja sen seurantaa, sekä korkealaatuisen tiedon tuottamista päätöksentekoa varten. Keskeisiksi tietotarpeiksi luokiteltiin asiakkaisiin, ajoneuvoihin, sisäisiin prosesseihin, liiketoimintatapahtumiin, kilpailijoihin, toimialaan ja asiakastyytyväisyyteen liittyvät tiedot. Tutkimuksen tulosten perusteella tiedon hankinnassa tulee huomioida sekä sisäisen liiketoimintatiedon analyyttinen hyödyntäminen että systemaattinen tiedon hankinta myös ulkoisista lähteistä. Yritykset kokivat Business Intelligence -toimintojen parantaneen tiedon laatua, tehostaneen toiminnanohjausta sekä mahdollistaneen yhteneväisen liiketoiminnan johtamisen organisaation eri tasoilla.

Leadership in the mobile smartphone market

The mobile telecommunications industry has been going through an enormous revolution, especially after mid-1990 when smartphones were introduced to the market. As a consequence, the smartphone market’s dynamism is requesting companies to operate differently in the way they do business. After a long period occupying the leader position in the smartphones manufacturers’ rank, Nokia was outperformed by Apple and Samsung during 2011 and since then has been on the third place. Nevertheless, Nokia is battling for regaining the leadership in such a competitive and high-velocity growing market and that is what this research is about. This research covers the competitive and strategic forces that shape dynamic industries whereas the main purpose is to elucidate the main factors that contribute to a company’s above-average performance and ultimately determine its leadership in the mobile smartphone market. Therefore, this exploratory qualitative research was conducted as a desk research, which utilized various secondary sources of data in the knowledge area of strategic management such as theories about competitive advantages and dynamic capabilities of firms, innovation, and strategy. This research is enriched with a case study about Nokia: how the company has been organizing its corporate structure to support the strategies and hence how it has been competing in the smartphone market is analyzed, taking into account many contemporary data sources, including market analysts’ and business experts’ opinions. As a result of the classic literature exploration and the case study assay, a framework for deeper analysis of the competitiveness of firms in dynamic markets was developed. The conclusion that emerged from this research is that the success of a firm results from the interplay of various factors. To regain the leader position in the mobile smartphone market is a challenging task that requires Nokia to reinvent its core strategy for taking charge of the smartphones’ industry transformation through for example the adoption of the open innovation concept. It is imperative that Nokia designs and implement a breakthrough strategy as well as embraces the uncertainty of the smartphone market competition as an opportunity for discontinuous innovation development with the ultimate goal of recovering the leadership.

Studies of Solar Activity with Emphasis on Quasi-Periodic Oscillations

In this thesis mainly long quasi-periodic solar oscillations in various solar atmospheric structures are discussed, based on data obtained at several wavelengths, focussing, however, mainly on radio frequencies. Sunspot (Articles II and III) and quiet Sun area (QSA) (Article I) oscillations are investigated along with quasi-periodic pulsations (QPP) in a flaring event with wide-range radio spectra (Article IV). Various oscillation periods are detected; 3–15, 35–70 and 90 minutes (QSA), 10-60 and 80-130 minutes (in sunspots at various radio frequencies), 3-5, 10-23, 220-240, 340 and 470 minutes (in sunspots at photosphere) and 8-12 and 15-17 seconds (in a solar flare at radio frequencies). Some of the oscillation periods are detected for the first time, while some of them have been confirmed earlier by other research groups. Solar oscillations can provide more information on the nature of various solar structures. This thesis presents the physical mechanisms of some solar structure oscillations. Two different theoretical approaches are chosen; magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and the shallow sunspot model. These two theories can explain a wide range of solar oscillations from a few seconds up to some hours. Various wave modes in loop structures cause solar oscillations (<45 minutes) both in sunspots and quiet Sun areas. Periods lasting more than 45 minutes in the sunspots (and a fraction of the shorter periods) are related to sunspot oscillations as a whole. Sometimes similar oscillation periods are detected both in sunspot area variations and respectively in magnetic field strength changes. This result supports a concept that these oscillations are related to sunspot oscillations as a whole. In addition, a theory behind QPPs at radio frequencies in solar flares is presented. The thesis also covers solar instrumentation and data sources. Additionally, the data processing methods are presented. As the majority of the investigations in this thesis focus on radio frequencies, also the most typical radio emission mechanisms are presented. The main structures of the Sun, which are related to solar oscillations, are also presented. Two separate projects are included in this thesis. Solar cyclicity is studied using the extensively large solar radio map archieve from Metsähovi Radio Observatory (MRO) at 37 GHz, between 1978 and 2011 (Article V) covering two full solar cycles. Also, some new solar instrumentation (Article VI) was developed during this thesis.

Business intelligence viewpoint on managerial decision-making : Ill-structured problems and decision support systems

Vaikka liiketoimintatiedon hallintaa sekä johdon päätöksentekoa on tutkittu laajasti, näiden kahden käsitteen yhteisvaikutuksesta on olemassa hyvin rajallinen määrä tutkimustietoa. Tulevaisuudessa aiheen tärkeys korostuu, sillä olemassa olevan datan määrä kasvaa jatkuvasti. Yritykset tarvitsevat jatkossa yhä enemmän kyvykkyyksiä sekä resursseja, jotta sekä strukturoitua että strukturoimatonta tietoa voidaan hyödyntää lähteestä riippumatta. Nykyiset Business Intelligence -ratkaisut mahdollistavat tehokkaan liiketoimintatiedon hallinnan osana johdon päätöksentekoa. Aiemman kirjallisuuden pohjalta, tutkimuksen empiirinen osuus tunnistaa liiketoimintatiedon hyödyntämiseen liittyviä tekijöitä, jotka joko tukevat tai rajoittavat johdon päätöksentekoprosessia. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen osuus johdattaa lukijan tutkimusaiheeseen kirjallisuuskatsauksen avulla. Keskeisimmät tutkimukseen liittyvät käsitteet, kuten Business Intelligence ja johdon päätöksenteko, esitetään relevantin kirjallisuuden avulla – tämän lisäksi myös dataan liittyvät käsitteet analysoidaan tarkasti. Tutkimuksen empiirinen osuus rakentuu tutkimusteorian pohjalta. Tutkimuksen empiirisessä osuudessa paneudutaan tutkimusteemoihin käytännön esimerkein: kolmen tapaustutkimuksen avulla tutkitaan sekä kuvataan toisistaan irrallisia tapauksia. Jokainen tapaus kuvataan sekä analysoidaan teoriaan perustuvien väitteiden avulla – nämä väitteet ovat perusedellytyksiä menestyksekkäälle liiketoimintatiedon hyödyntämiseen perustuvalle päätöksenteolle. Tapaustutkimusten avulla alkuperäistä tutkimusongelmaa voidaan analysoida tarkasti huomioiden jo olemassa oleva tutkimustieto. Analyysin tulosten avulla myös yksittäisiä rajoitteita sekä mahdollistavia tekijöitä voidaan analysoida. Tulokset osoittavat, että rajoitteilla on vahvasti negatiivinen vaikutus päätöksentekoprosessin onnistumiseen. Toisaalta yritysjohto on tietoinen liiketoimintatiedon hallintaan liittyvistä positiivisista seurauksista, vaikka kaikkia mahdollisuuksia ei olisikaan hyödynnetty. Tutkimuksen merkittävin tulos esittelee viitekehyksen, jonka puitteissa johdon päätöksentekoprosesseja voidaan arvioida sekä analysoida. Despite the fact that the literature on Business Intelligence and managerial decision-making is extensive, relatively little effort has been made to research the relationship between them. This particular field of study has become important since the amount of data in the world is growing every second. Companies require capabilities and resources in order to utilize structured data and unstructured data from internal and external data sources. However, the present Business Intelligence technologies enable managers to utilize data effectively in decision-making. Based on the prior literature, the empirical part of the thesis identifies the enablers and constraints in computer-aided managerial decision-making process. In this thesis, the theoretical part provides a preliminary understanding about the research area through a literature review. The key concepts such as Business Intelligence and managerial decision-making are explored by reviewing the relevant literature. Additionally, different data sources as well as data forms are analyzed in further detail. All key concepts are taken into account when the empirical part is carried out. The empirical part obtains an understanding of the real world situation when it comes to the themes that were covered in the theoretical part. Three selected case companies are analyzed through those statements, which are considered as critical prerequisites for successful computer-aided managerial decision-making. The case study analysis, which is a part of the empirical part, enables the researcher to examine the relationship between Business Intelligence and managerial decision-making. Based on the findings of the case study analysis, the researcher identifies the enablers and constraints through the case study interviews. The findings indicate that the constraints have a highly negative influence on the decision-making process. In addition, the managers are aware of the positive implications that Business Intelligence has for decision-making, but all possibilities are not yet utilized. As a main result of this study, a data-driven framework for managerial decision-making is introduced. This framework can be used when the managerial decision-making processes are evaluated and analyzed.

Limits of Meritocracy. How Fields of Study and Gender Segregation Affect Social Stratification in Finland

This dissertation critically reviews the idea of meritocracy from both a theoretical and an empirical perspective. Based on a discussion of classical texts of social philosophy and sociology, it is argued that meritocracy as a concept for social stratification is best compatible with the sociological tradition of status attainment research: both frame social inequality in primarily individualistic terms, centring on the role of ascribed (e.g., gender, social background) and achieved (e.g., educational qualifications) characteristics for determining individuals’ socioeconomic rewards. This theoretical argument introduces the research problem at the core of this dissertation: to what extent can the individualistic conception of social stratification be maintained empirically? Fields of study and their interaction with educational attainment levels play a prominent role in the analysis of this question. Drawing on sociological versions of segmented labour market theory, it is assumed that fields of study may channel individuals into heterogeneous political-economic contexts on the labour market, which potentially modify the socioeconomic benefit individuals derive from their qualification levels. The focus on fields of study may also highlight economic differentials between men and women that derive from the persisting segregation of men’s and women’s occupational and educational specializations rather than direct gender discrimination on the labour market. The quantitative analyses in this dissertation consist of three research articles, which are based primarily on Finnish data, but occasionally extend the view to other European countries. The data sources include register-based macro- and microdata as well as survey data. Article I examines the extent and the patterns of gender segregation within the Finnish educational system between 1981 and 2005. The results show that differences between men’s and women’s field specializations have for the most part remained stable during this period, with particularly high levels of gender segregation observed at lower educational levels. The focus in Article II rests on the effects of gender-segregated fields of study on higher education graduates’ occupational status. It is shown that fields of study matter for accessing professional jobs and avoiding low-skilled positions in Finland: at the early career stage, particularly polytechnic graduates from female-dominated fields are less likely to work in professional positions. Finnish university graduates from male-dominated fields were more likely than their peers with different specializations to work as professionals, yet they also faced a greater risk of being sorted into lowskilled jobs if they failed to make use of this advantage. Article III proceeded to analyse the joint impact of educational qualification levels and fields of study on young adults’ median earnings in Finland between 1985 and 2005. The results show that qualification levels do not confer a consistent benefit in the process of earnings stratification. Advanced qualifications raise median earnings most clearly among individuals specializing in the same field of study. When comparing individuals with different field specializations, on the other hand, higher-level qualifications do not necessarily lead to higher median earnings. Overall, the findings of this dissertation reveal a heterogeneous effect of education for achieving social positions, which challenges individual-centred, meritocratic accounts of social stratification and underlines the problematic lack of structural and institutional dimensions in the dominant account of social status attainment.

Benzodiazepines and Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults. With Emphasis on Long-Term Use and Withdrawal

Benzodiazepines (BZD) and benzodiazepine related drugs (RD) are the most commonly used psychotropics among the aged. The use of other psychotropics taken concomitantly with BZD/ RD or their cognitive effects with BZD/RD have not been studied frequently. The aim of this academic thesis was to describe and analyse relationships between the use of BZD/RD alone or concomitantly with antipsychotics, antidepressants, opioids, antiepileptics, opioids and anticholinergics in the aged and their health. Especially, the relationships between long-term use of BZD/RD and cognitive decline were studied. Additionally, the effect of melatonin on BZD/RD withdrawal and the cognitive effects of BZD/RD withdrawal were studied. This study used multiple data sets: the first study (I) was based on clinical data containing aged patients (≥65 years; N=164) admitted to Pori City Hospital due to acute disease. The second data set (Studies II and III) was based on population-based data from the Lieto Study, a clinico-epidemiological longitudinal study carried out among the aged (≥65 years) in the municipality of Lieto. Follow-up data was formed by combining the cohort data collected in 1990-1991 (N=1283) and in 1998-1999 (N=1596) from those who participated in both cohorts (N=617). The third data set (Studies IV and V) was based on the Satauni Study’s data. This study was performed in the City of Pori in 2009-2010. In the RCT part of the Satauni Study, ninety-two long-term users of BZD/RD were withdrawn from their drugs using melatonin against placebo. The change of their cognitive abilities was measured during and after BZD/ RD withdrawal. BZD/RD use was related to worse cognitive and functional abilities, and their use may predict worse cognitive outcomes compared with BZD/RD non-users. Hypnotic use of BZD/RD could be withdrawn with psychosocial support in motivated participants, but melatonin did not improve the withdrawal results compared to those with placebo. Cognitive abilities in psychomotor tests did not show, or showed only modest, improvements for up to six months after BZD/RD withdrawal. This suggests that the cognitive effects of BZD/RD may be longlasting or permanent.

Russian SME technology transfer to Finland – Entrepreneurial challenges and motivation

The purpose of this thesis is to study the international technology transfer of transition economy SME entrepreneurs to the developed countries. The research aims to characterize the phenomenon by studying Russian SME technology transfer to Finland with the research methods from case studies. In addition to characterizing the phenomenon, the research finds out factors that motivate Russian entrepreneurs to conduct international technology transfer and what are the challenges the Russian entrepreneurs face when they enter the Finnish business environment. The qualitative data was collected from six semi-structured interviews with the entrepreneurs and several secondary data sources, considering four different technology transfer cases. The data and the analysis showed that the case companies in Finland are mostly linked to manufacturing of physical products. The entrepreneurs are motivated to come to Finland mainly by the opportunities and support the Finnish business and innovation environment provides to the entrepreneurs and by the personal gain that they get by establishing the company in Finland. Major challenges in the process include time constraints and capital requirements, difficulties on achieving sales on the Finnish market and finding skilled personnel to support the Russian management and owners.

Repository Junction Broker

Poster at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

The board of directors as a part of family business governance – multilevel participation and board development

In this study, I examine the board of directors as a part of family business governance. Both boards and governance have increased their attractiveness as a research topic lately. Research on boards has concentrated mostly on the study of different board attributes, like composition, and the relationship of these attributes to the firm’s performance. Family business governance studies are criticized for ignoring the multifaceted needs of companies. More research observing the context and contingencies affecting the governance and board of directors is needed. The objective of this study is to clarify: 1) how the board participates in family business governance, and 2) how the board develops along with the firm’s and family’s development. The study is implemented as qualitative research, and the longitudinal process approach has been used as it provides the opportunity to examine development in context. Selection criteria for the two cases selected for this study are: active board of directors, at least one implemented succession, and interviewees available from two generations and from different positions in the firm. The data consists of interviews and secondary data, and it is collected from different data sources. The analysis was done selecting first some critical events from both cases to closer examination, and analysing them by using content analysis technique. Several conclusions were drawn basing on the findings. First, the family business board participates in the firm’s activities much more widely than it is customary to think. Second, the family business board is not a static part of the business, but it develops and it has to develop for different reasons. Third, ownership is not only the basis for the board’s activities or existence, but the relationship between the board and ownership is two-way. The board contributes to a large extent to the ownership decisions, and in this way to the management of ownership. Fourth, according to the cases, the board has many unrecognized possibilities to facilitate succession in family firms.

Skaalautuvan grafiikka- ja käyttöliittymäkirjaston valinta ja hyödyntäminen reaaliaikaisessa web-sovelluksessa

Skaalautuvien web-sivujen merkitys kasvaa nykypäivänä, koska web-sivuja katsotaan hyvin erikokoisilla ja -resoluutiosilla laitteilla. Sivujen skaalautuessa eri laitteille ei tarvitse erikseen tehdä mobiilisivuja tai perinteistä natiivia ohjelmistoa joka laitteelle, vaan yksi sivu toimii kaikilla laitteilla. Ongelmana on saada web-sovellukset toimimaan eri laitteilla, koska laitteiden selaimissa saattaa olla pieni eroja, joiden vuoksi on työlästä saada skaalautuva käyttöliittymä toimimaan kaikilla eri laitteilla. Skaalautuvien sivujen kehittämisen avuksi on luotu erilaisia käyttöliittymä- ja grafiikkakirjastoja, jotka auttavat sivun skaalautuvuuden toteuttamisessa. Kirjastoja käyttämällä säästetään kehitystyöhön käytettävää aikaa ja ulkoistetaan kirjaston ylläpito kolmannelle osapuolelle. Tällöin jää enemmän aikaa varsinaisten sovelluksen kehitystyölle. Tässä työssä tutkitaan eri käyttöliittymä- ja grafiikkakirjastovaihtoehtoja käyttöliittymän toteuttamiseksi. Työssä toteutetaan yksinkertainen verkkoseurantajärjestelmän prototyyppi ja valitaan sille skaalautuva käyttöliittymä- ja grafiikkakirjasto. Järjestelmä koostuu kolmesta osasta: käyttöliittymästä, palvelusta ja tietolähteistä, joista palvelu kerää tietoa käyttöliittymälle näytettäväksi.

Managing Finnish-Russian Business Relationships and Networks During Conflicts

This thesis examines management of business relationships during conflicts. The context of this study is the international political conflict which started in 2013 and is still affecting international trade relations in 2016. More specifically, this study researches the effects of the conflict in Finnish-Russian trade. The research aim is to identify the implications of a political conflict in the Finnish-Russian business relationships and networks. Furthermore, the study will explore how does a company adapt or overcome the challenges and barriers posed by the international business environment. This research combines relevant theories in management of business relationships and networks in order to review the research data through a critical research frame. The theoretical frameworks are different structures of business relationship development processes, various stages of interaction, and characteristics and functions of business relationships. Moreover, this study will examine the effect of interdependency, commitment and trust in trade relations. Also, what are the important exchange processes and how do these processes affect business relationship and overall performance of joint business operations. Qualitative single case study method was used in this research. Case company was a Finnish multinational company. To understand the changes, the data was collected and analysed through process research approach by pattern-matching and drawing temporal bracketing over two different periods of time, first period in years 2011-2013 and second period in years 2014-2016. Empirical data was collected through a semi-structured interview and additional data was collected from internal and external secondary data sources. The findings of the study confirmed the relationship between trade and conflict. However, the effects are not significant for a company in grocery retail industry which has had earlier experience in Russia and has managed its business relationships and operations effectively. Macroeconomic factors affect companies operating in foreign dynamic markets and in order to sustain changes and to adapt, companies should invest in their business relationships. Trust-based relationships and a higher level of commitment allow companies to have more efficient and beneficial outcomes before and during uncertainty. Furthermore, well-maintained and coordinated business relationships provide the ability to adapt and overcome challenges during uncertainty. Such relationships have information, financial and social exchange processes which allow the partnering firms to have successful business relationship management in dynamic market environments.

Viability of part cargoes in tramp shipping company’s routing and scheduling decisions

Operational excellence of individual tramp shipping companies is important in today’s market, where competition is intense, freight revenues are modest and capital costs high due to global financial crisis, and tighter regulatory framework is generating additional costs and challenges to the industry. This thesis concentrates on tramp shipping, where a tramp operator in a form of an individual case company, specialized in short-sea shipping activities in the Baltic Sea region, is searching ways to map their current fleet operations and better understand potential ways to improve the overall routing and scheduling decisions. The research problem is related to tramp fleet planning where several cargoes are carried on board at the same time, which are here systematically referred to as part cargoes. The purpose is to determine the pivotal dimensions and characteristics of these part cargo operations in tramp shipping, and offer both the individual case company and wider research community better understanding of potential risks and benefits related to utilization of part cargo operations. A mixed method research approach is utilized in this research, as the objectives are related to complex, real-life business practices in the field of supply chain management and more specifically, maritime logistics. A quantitative analysis of different voyage scenarios is executed, including alternative voyage legs with varying cost structure and customer involvement. An on-line-based questionnaire designed and prepared by case company’s decision group again provides desired data of predominant attitudes and views of most important industrial customers regarding the part cargo-related operations and potential future utilization of this business model. The results gained from these quantitative methods are complied with qualitative data collection tools, along with suitable secondary data sources. Based on results and logical analysis of different data sources, a framework for characterizing the different aspects of part cargo operations is developed, utilizing both existing research and empirical investigation of the phenomenon. As conclusions, part cargoes have the ability to be part of viable fleet operations, and even increase flexibility among the fleet to a certain extent. Naturally, several hinderers for this development is recognized as well, such as potential issues with information gathering and sharing, inefficient port activities, and increased transit times.

Managing and utilizing information flow for new products’ periodic account sales process

The goal was to understand, document and module how information is currently flown internally in the largest dairy organization in Finland. The organization has undergone radical changes in the past years due to economic sanctions between European Union and Russia. Therefore, organization’s ultimate goal would be to continue its growth through managing its sales process more efficiently. The thesis consists of a literature review and an empirical part. The literature review consists of knowledge management and process modeling theories. First, the knowledge management discusses how data, information and knowledge are exchanged in the process. Knowledge management models and processes are describing how knowledge is created, exchanged and can be managed in an organization. Secondly, the process modeling is responsible for visualizing information flow through discussion of modeling approaches and presenting different methods and techniques. Finally, process’ documentation procedure was presented. In the end, a constructive research approach was used in order to identify process’ related problems and bottlenecks. Therefore, possible solutions were presented based on this approach. The empirical part of the study is based on 37 interviews, organization’s internal data sources and theoretical framework. The acquired data and information were used to document and to module the sales process in question with a flowchart diagram. Results are conducted through construction of the flowchart diagram and analysis of the documentation. In fact, answers to research questions are derived from empirical and theoretical parts. In the end, 14 problems and two bottlenecks were identified in the process. The most important problems are related to approach and/or standardization for information sharing, insufficient information technology tool utilization and lack of systematization of documentation. The bottlenecks are caused by the alarming amount of changes to files after their deadlines.