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Käsinkirjoitettu merkintä: Hypoteekkiyhdistyksen tilaisuus

THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN CREATING SUSTAINABILITY VALUE FOR FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN 2020 : a scenario planning approach

The growing importance of global sustainability issues has been causing many changes to the financial services industry. Facts such as climate change, social development and the financial crisis in 2008 have been making banks reconsider the manner that they consider environmental, social and economic factors in their decision-making process. At the same time, information technology (IT) has been transforming the financial service industry and its fast development has casted doubts on the way it should be managed within an organization. This current changing environment brings a number of uncertainties to the future that cannot be addressed using traditional forecasting techniques. This research investigates how IT can bring value to sustainability in the financial service industry in 2020. Through the use of a scenario planning technique, we analyzed how trends in the current environment (considering the relation between sustainability, financial institutions an IT) can lead to four different future scenarios. Then, we discussed how IT can improve a bank’s sustainability performance, considering the limitations of each scenario.

Imaging of Tumour Microenvironment for the Planning of Oncological Therapies Using Positron Emission Tomography

Tumour cells differ from normal tissue cells in several important ways. These differences, like for example changed energy metabolism, result in altered microenvironment of malignant tumours. Non-invasive imaging of tumour microenvironment has been at the centre of intense research recently due to the important role that this changed environement plays in the development of malignant tumours and due to the role it plays in the treatment of these tumours. In this respect, perhaps the most important characteristics of the tumour microenvironment from this point of view are the lack of oxygen or hypoxia and changes in blood flow (BF). The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the processes of energy metabolism, BF and oxygenation in head and neck cancer and pancreatic tumours and to explore the possibilities of improving the methods for their quantification using positron emission tomography (PET). To this end [18F]EF5, a new PET tracer for detection of tumour hypoxia was investigated. Favourable uptake properties of the tracer were observed. In addition, it was established that the uptake of this tracer does not correlate with the uptake of existing tracers for the imaging of energy metabolism and BF, so the information about the presence of tissue hypoxia cannot therefore be obtained using tracers such as [18F]FDG or [15O]H2O. These results were complemented by the results of the follow-up study in which it was shown that the uptake of [18F]EF5 in head and neck tumours prior to treatment is also associated with the overall survival of the patients, indicating that tumour hypoxia is a negative prognostic factor and might be associated with therapeutic resistance. The influences of energy metabolism and BF on the survival of patients with pancreatic cancer were investigated in the second study. The results indicate that the best predictor of survival of patients with pancreatic cancer is the relationship between energy metabolism and BF. These results suggest that the cells with high metabolic activity in a hypoperfused tissue have the most aggressive phenotype.

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.

Planning and implementation of entrepreneurial marketing processes in SMEs

Entrepreneurial marketing is newly established term and there is need for more specific studies in order to understand the concept fully. SMEs have entrepreneurial marketing elements more visible in their marketing and therefore provide more fruitful insights for this research. SMEs marketing has gained more recognition during the past years and in some cases innovative characteristics can be identified despite constraints such as lack of certain resources. The purpose of this research is to study entrepreneurial marketing characteristics and SME processes in order to wider understanding and gain more insights of entrepreneurial marketing. In addition, planning and implementation of entrepreneurial marketing processes is examined in order to gain full coverage of SMEs marketing activities. The research was conducted as a qualitative research and data gathering was based on semi-structured interview survey, which involved nine company interviews. Multiple case research was used to analyze data so that focus and clarity could be maintained in organized manner. Case companies were chosen from different business fields so that more variation and insights could be identified. The empirical results suggest that two examined processes networking and word-of-mouth communication are very important processes for case companies which supports the previous researches. However, the entrepreneurial marketing characteristics had variation some were more visible and recognizable than others. Examining more closely the processes companies did not fully understand that networking or word-of-mouth marketing could be used as efficiently as other conventional marketing methods.

Production planning and optimization of a pulp mill: introduction of the optimisation based scheduling software for pulp industry

The objective of this project was to introduce a new software product to pulp industry, a new market for case company. An optimization based scheduling tool has been developed to allow pulp operations to better control their production processes and improve both production efficiency and stability. Both the work here and earlier research indicates that there is a potential for savings around 1-5%. All the supporting data is available today coming from distributed control systems, data historians and other existing sources. The pulp mill model together with the scheduler, allows what-if analyses of the impacts and timely feasibility of various external actions such as planned maintenance of any particular mill operation. The visibility gained from the model proves also to be a real benefit. The aim is to satisfy demand and gain extra profit, while achieving the required customer service level. Research effort has been put both in understanding the minimum features needed to satisfy the scheduling requirements in the industry and the overall existence of the market. A qualitative study was constructed to both identify competitive situation and the requirements vs. gaps on the market. It becomes clear that there is no such system on the marketplace today and also that there is room to improve target market overall process efficiency through such planning tool. This thesis also provides better overall understanding of the different processes in this particular industry for the case company.