Communication as a trust builder in change management

Organizations are today characterized by uncertainty, fast changes and inability to predict the future. Both trust and communication are vital when changes are implemented in an organization. The purpose of this study was to examine how a change process can be enhanced by the means of communication and trust. This study was cheated by using the existing literature related to the subject.

Pk-yrityksen markkinointiviestint�� kausiluonteisella toimialalla

Tutkimus kausiluonteisuuden vaikutuksista pk-yrityksen markkinointiviestint����n. Kyseess�� on case-tutkimus, joka tarkastelee ilmi��t�� golfv��linekaupan kohdalta.

Sensor communication in Smart cities and regions: An efficient IoT-based remote health monitoring system

Recent advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), especially those related to the Internet of Things (IoT), are facilitating smart regions. Among many services that a smart region can offer, remote health monitoring is a typical application of IoT paradigm. It offers the ability to continuously monitor and collect health-related data from a person, and transmit the data to a remote entity (for example, a healthcare service provider) for further processing and knowledge extraction. An IoT-based remote health monitoring system can be beneficial in rural areas belonging to the smart region where people have limited access to regular healthcare services. The same system can be beneficial in urban areas where hospitals can be overcrowded and where it may take substantial time to avail healthcare. However, this system may generate a large amount of data. In order to realize an efficient IoT-based remote health monitoring system, it is imperative to study the network communication needs of such a system; in particular the bandwidth requirements and the volume of generated data. The thesis studies a commercial product for remote health monitoring in Skellefte��, Sweden. Based on the results obtained via the commercial product, the thesis identified the key network-related requirements of a typical remote health monitoring system in terms of real-time event update, bandwidth requirements and data generation. Furthermore, the thesis has proposed an architecture called IReHMo - an IoT-based remote health monitoring architecture. This architecture allows users to incorporate several types of IoT devices to extend the sensing capabilities of the system. Using IReHMo, several IoT communication protocols such as HTTP, MQTT and CoAP has been evaluated and compared against each other. Results showed that CoAP is the most efficient protocol to transmit small size healthcare data to the remote servers. The combination of IReHMo and CoAP significantly reduced the required bandwidth as well as the volume of generated data (up to 56 percent) compared to the commercial product. Finally, the thesis conducted a scalability analysis, to determine the feasibility of deploying the combination of IReHMo and CoAP in large numbers in regions in north Sweden.

Are Evaluation of ICTs Investment Using Decision Support Systems:Case Applications from Distributor's and End User's Perspective Group Decision

The evaluation of investments in advanced technology is one of the most important decision making tasks. The importance is even more pronounced considering the huge budget concerning the strategic, economic and analytic justification in order to shorten design and development time. Choosing the most appropriate technology requires an accurate and reliable system that can lead the decision makers to obtain such a complicated task. Currently, several Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) manufacturers that design global products are seeking local firms to act as their sales and services representatives (called distributors) to the end user. At the same time, the end user or customer is also searching for the best possible deal for their investment in ICT's projects. Therefore, the objective of this research is to present a holistic decision support system to assist the decision maker in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) - working either as individual decision makers or in a group - in the evaluation of the investment to become an ICT's distributor or an ICT's end user. The model is composed of the Delphi/MAH (Maximising Agreement Heuristic) Analysis, a well-known quantitative method in Group Support System (GSS), which is applied to gather the average ranking data from amongst Decision Makers (DMs). After that the Analytic Network Process (ANP) analysis is brought in to analyse holistically: it performs quantitative and qualitative analysis simultaneously. The illustrative data are obtained from industrial entrepreneurs by using the Group Support System (GSS) laboratory facilities at Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland and in Thailand. The result of the research, which is currently implemented in Thailand, can provide benefits to the industry in the evaluation of becoming an ICT's distributor or an ICT's end user, particularly in the assessment of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) programme. After the model is put to test with an in-depth collaboration with industrial entrepreneurs in Finland and Thailand, the sensitivity analysis is also performed to validate the robustness of the model. The contribution of this research is in developing a new approach and the Delphi/MAH software to obtain an analysis of the value of becoming an ERP distributor or end user that is flexible and applicable to entrepreneurs, who are looking for the most appropriate investment to become an ERP distributor or end user. The main advantage of this research over others is that the model can deliver the value of becoming an ERP distributor or end user in a single number which makes it easier for DMs to choose the most appropriate ERP vendor. The associated advantage is that the model can include qualitative data as well as quantitative data, as the results from using quantitative data alone can be misleading and inadequate. There is a need to utilise quantitative and qualitative analysis together, as can be seen from the case studies.

Core Competence of a Small or Medium Sized Content Providing Company Operating in the Information and Communication Technologies Secto

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on tarkastella tekij��it��, joista ydinosaaminen muodostuu, sek�� sit�� kuinka yritykset voisivat parhaiten hy��dynt���� omia resurssejaan ja osaamistaan tunnistetun ydinosaamisen avulla. Teoria osuudessa k��yd����n l��pi kuinka ydinosaaminen on kirjallisuudessa m����ritelty ja miten yritykset voivat sen m����ritell�� sis��isesti itselleen. Empiirisess�� osiossa k��yd����n l��pi Telecom Business Research Centeriss�� tehdyn kvantitatiivisen selvityksen pohjalta valitut kolme sis��ll��ntuottaja case - yrityst�� sek�� kuvataan n��iden osaamista. Tiedot yrityksist�� perustuvat niiden edustajille tehtyihin haastatteluihin ja heid��n k��sitykseens�� omasta yrityksest����n. T��m�� n��kemys on tutkimuksen kannalta ����rimm��isen relevanttia, koska ydinosaamisen m����rittely tehd����n yrityksess�� sis��isesti juuri haastatellun kaltaisten yrityksen ydintoimijoiden toimesta. Varsinaisten case -yritysten lis��ksi k��yd����n l��pi k��yt��nn��n tapaus action-oriented -tutkimusosuudessa. Tutkimusta ja siin�� k��siteltyj�� esimerkkej�� tulisi hy��dynt���� yrityksen oman ydinosaamisselvityksen apuna prosessin varrella.

Critical success factors of sales strategy in small and medium- sized ICT-companies

Tyon tavoitteena on selvittaa. mitka myyntistrategian ja siihen liittyvien muiden strategioiden kriittiset osat pienten ja keskisuurten ICT- yritysten toiminnassa. Tutkimusmenetelmana kaytettiin case- tutkimusta, jossa vertailtiin neljan pienen ja keskisuuren ohjelmisto talon toimintaa. Tutkimuksessa tunnistettiin nelja kriittista osa-aluetta, joiden hoitamiseen yritysten erityisesti tulisi kiinnittaa huomiota. Nama olivat: segmentointi ja kohdemarkkinoiden valinta, myyntikanavien valinta, myyntihenkiloston organisointi ja asiakassuuntautuneisuus, ja markkinointi tietojarjestelma. Tutkimus osoitti, etta yrityksen kasvaessa ja omistuksen eriytyessa toimivasta johdosta yrityksen strategia suunnittelusta tulee jarjestelmallisempaa.

Mobile Protocol Stack Simulator

Nykyp��iv��n maailma tukeutuu verkkoihin. Tietokoneverkot ja langattomat puhelimet ovat jo varsin tavallisia suurelle joukolle ihmisi��. Uusi verkkotyyppi on ilmestynyt edelleen helpottamaan ihmisten verkottunutta el��m����. Ad hoc ���verkot mahdollistavat joustavan verkonmuodostuksen langattomien p����telaitteiden v��lille ilman olemassa olevaa infrastruktuuria. Diplomity�� esittelee uuden simulaatioty��kalun langattomien ad hoc ���verkkojen simulointiin protokollatasolla. Se esittelee my��s kyseisten verkkojen taustalla olevat periaatteet ja teoriat. L��hemmin tutkitaan OSI-mallin linkkikerroksen kaistanjakoprotokollia ad hoc ���verkoissa sek�� vastaavan toteutusta simulaattorissa. Lis��ksi esitell����n joukko simulaatioajoja esimerkiksi simulaattorin toiminnasta ja mahdollisista k��ytt��kohteista.

Intra-organizational use of communication tools in value nets - Cases from the ICT industry

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvitt���� sis��isen kommunikoinnin tilannetta case-yrityksiss��. Yritykset kuuluvat kahteen case-arvoverkostoon, jotka toimivat informaatio- ja kommunikaatioteknologian alalla. Sis��inen kommunikointi valittiin tutkimusalueeksi, koska se muodostaa perustan ulkoiselle, yritysten v��liselle kommunikoinnille. Tutkimuksen painopiste oli web-pohjaisessa kommunikoinnissa ja webin ominaisuuksissa arvoverkoston n��k��kulmasta. Tutkimusprosessissa k��ytettiin sek�� kvalitatiivisia ett�� kvantitatiivisia menetelmi��. Tutkimuksen kvantitatiivinen osa toteutettiin web-kyselyn��, jonka tulokset osoittivat, ett�� case-yritysten sis��inen kommunikointi perustuu p����asiassa perinteisten kommunikointiv��lineiden k��ytt����n. Toisin sanoen, webin hy��dynt��minen on v��h��ist��, mihin vaikuttavat monet eri tekij��t. Webiss�� on kuitenkin useita ominaisuuksia, jotka parantavat kommunikointia arvoverkostossa ja siksi n��m�� web-pohjaiset v��lineet tulisi huomioida, kun suunnitellaan yleist�� kommunikointij��rjestelm����. Tutkimuksen teoreettisessa osassa m����riteltiin vuorovaikutteisuus-ominaisuuteen perustuva kommunikointiv��lineiden luokittelu. T��m��n lis��ksi m����riteltiin my��s arvoverkoston k��site. Empiirinen osa koostui web-kyselyn toteutuksen ja tulosten raportoinnista, jonka j��lkeen yhteenvetokappale koosti merkitt��vimm��t havainnot sek�� mahdolliset jatkotutkimusaiheet.

Purchasing and supply management capabilities in Finnish medium-sized enterprises

Purchasing and supply management (PSM) has become increasingly important for companies to survive in current highly competitive market. Increased outsourcing has extended the role of PSM, making external resource management and supplier relationships critical success factors in business. However, the recent research has mainly concentrated on large enterprises. Therefore the PSM issues related to medium-sized enterprises represent a significant research area. The thesis aims to explore the status and role of PSM in Finnish medium-sized firms, understand how strategic companies consider PSM to be, clarify what are the competence requirements for PSM professionals, and increase the understanding of PSM capabilities needed from the points view of individual competence and organisational capabilities. The study uses data that was collected in 2007 from purchasing executives at the director/CEO level representing a sample of 94 Finnish firms. 54 % of the respondent enterprises had a supply strategy. The total supply cost was on average 60 % of firms' turnover. Centralisation of PSM and outsourcing of logistics will increase in Finnish medium-sized enterprises. The findings point out that Finnish medium-sized enterprises had strategical features of PSM. However, Finnish firms have not concentrated on making strategies that relate to PSM. The elements that explain the existence of a supply strategy could be found in this study. It can be concluded from this study that there is an advantageous base for the development of strategic PSM, because nearly all the enterprises were of the opinion that PSM capabilities have an effect on business success. When reviewing the organisational capabilities, the five most important development elements were supplier relationships, both operational and strategic processes, time management, and personnel's competence. Training in internationalisation, strategic management, and communication could help to improve competences of PSM personnel.

The effects of ICT on school: teachers��� and students��� perspectives

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of information and communication technology (ICT) on school from teachers��� and students��� perspectives. The focus was on three main subject matters: on ICT use and competence, on teacher and school community, and on learning environment and teaching practices. The study is closely connected to the national educational policy which has aimed strongly at supporting the implementation of ICT in pedagogical practices at all institutional levels. The phenomena were investigated using a mixed methods approach. The qualitative data from three cases studies and the quantitative data from three statistical studies were combined. In this study, mixed methods were used to investigate the complex phenomena from various stakeholders��� points of view, and to support validation by combining different perspectives in order to give a fuller and more complete picture of the phenomena. The data were used in a complementary manner. The results indicate that the technical resources for using ICT both at school and at homes are very good. In general, students are capable and motivated users of new technology; these skills and attitudes are mainly based on home resources and leisuretime use. Students have the skills to use new kinds of applications and new forms of technology, and their ICT skills are wide, although not necessarily adequate; the working habits might be ineffective and even wrong. Some students have a special kind of ICT-related adaptive expertise which develops in a beneficial interaction between school guidance and challenges, and individual interest and activity. Teachers��� skills are more heterogeneous. The large majority of teachers have sufficient skills for everyday and routine working practices, but many of them still have difficulties in finding a meaningful pedagogical use for technology. The intensive case study indicated that for the majority of teachers the intensive ICT projects offer a possibility for learning new skills and competences intertwined in the work, often also supported by external experts and a collaborative teacher community; a possibility that ���ordinary��� teachers usually do not have. Further, teachers��� good ICT competence help them to adopt new pedagogical practices and integrate ICT in a meaningful way. The genders differ in their use of and skills in ICT: males show better skills especially in purely technical issues also in schools and classrooms, whereas female students and younger female teachers use ICT in their ordinary practices quite naturally. With time, the technology has become less technical and its communication and creation affordances have become stronger, easier to use, more popular and motivating, all of which has increased female interest in the technology. There is a generation gap in ICT use and competence between teachers and students. This is apparent especially in the ICT-related pedagogical practices in the majority of schools. The new digital affordances not only replace some previous practices; the new functionalities change many of our existing conceptions, values, attitudes and practices. The very different conceptions that generations have about technology leads, in the worst case, to a digital gap in education; the technology used in school is boring and ineffective compared to the ICT use outside school, and it does not provide the competence needed for using advanced technology in learning. The results indicate that in schools which have special ICT projects (���ICT pilot schools���) for improving pedagogy, these have led to true changes in teaching practices. Many teachers adopted student-centred and collaborative, inquiry-oriented teaching practices as well as practices that supported students' authentic activities, independent work, knowledge building, and students' responsibility. This is, indeed, strongly dependent on the ICT-related pedagogical competence of the teacher. However, the daily practices of some teachers still reflected a rather traditional teacher-centred approach. As a matter of fact, very few teachers ever represented solely, e.g. the knowledge building approach; teachers used various approaches or mixed them, based on the situation, teaching and learning goals, and on their pedagogical and technical competence. In general, changes towards pedagogical improvements even in wellorganised developmental projects are slow. As a result, there are two kinds of ICT stories: successful ���ICT pilot schools��� with pedagogical innovations related to ICT and with school community level agreement about the visions and aims, and ���ordinary schools���, which have no particular interest in or external support for using ICT for improvement, and in which ICT is used in a more routine way, and as a tool for individual teachers, not for the school community.

TransPromo communication as a part of company���s marketing communications when the e-bill is a medium

The goal of this thesis was to research what TransPromo is, why companies want to implement TransPromo communication, and what the elements of effective Transpromo communication are. Furthermore, the goal was to develop a TransPromo communication strategy and a normative model for TeliaSonera Finland, which depicts the elements of effective TransPromo communication when the electronic bill is a medium. Abductive reasoning was utilized in this thesis, which means that empirical and theoretical worlds are alternating in researcher���s reasoning process. This thesis didn���t rely on any specific theory nor did it utilize any previous theoretical model. However, certain theoretical connections existed so this thesis cannot be considered purely inductive. The empirical part of this thesis was conducted by examining secondary industry data and by conducting specialist interviews at TeliaSonera Finland and Str��lfors. Grounded Theory approach was utilized in the analysis of the interview data and content analysis was used in the analysis of secondary industry data. This thesis increases knowledge in the area of TransPromo communication, and provides one definition of TransPromo communication. As a result of this thesis, a TransPromo communication strategy and a normative model for TeliaSonera Finland was built. The model depicts the elements of the effective TransPromo communication when the e-bill is a medium. The TranPromo communication objective is to utilize transaction documents, such as bills, in order to deliver targeted and personalized marketing messages to current customers. The aim is to strengthen the customer relationship, and to enforce up-sell and cross-sell opportunities and cost savings.

Exploring Adaptive Implementation of On-Chip Networks

As technology geometries have shrunk to the deep submicron regime, the communication delay and power consumption of global interconnections in high performance Multi- Processor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoCs) are becoming a major bottleneck. The Network-on- Chip (NoC) architecture paradigm, based on a modular packet-switched mechanism, can address many of the on-chip communication issues such as performance limitations of long interconnects and integration of large number of Processing Elements (PEs) on a chip. The choice of routing protocol and NoC structure can have a significant impact on performance and power consumption in on-chip networks. In addition, building a high performance, area and energy efficient on-chip network for multicore architectures requires a novel on-chip router allowing a larger network to be integrated on a single die with reduced power consumption. On top of that, network interfaces are employed to decouple computation resources from communication resources, to provide the synchronization between them, and to achieve backward compatibility with existing IP cores. Three adaptive routing algorithms are presented as a part of this thesis. The first presented routing protocol is a congestion-aware adaptive routing algorithm for 2D mesh NoCs which does not support multicast (one-to-many) traffic while the other two protocols are adaptive routing models supporting both unicast (one-to-one) and multicast traffic. A streamlined on-chip router architecture is also presented for avoiding congested areas in 2D mesh NoCs via employing efficient input and output selection. The output selection utilizes an adaptive routing algorithm based on the congestion condition of neighboring routers while the input selection allows packets to be serviced from each input port according to its congestion level. Moreover, in order to increase memory parallelism and bring compatibility with existing IP cores in network-based multiprocessor architectures, adaptive network interface architectures are presented to use multiple SDRAMs which can be accessed simultaneously. In addition, a smart memory controller is integrated in the adaptive network interface to improve the memory utilization and reduce both memory and network latencies. Three Dimensional Integrated Circuits (3D ICs) have been emerging as a viable candidate to achieve better performance and package density as compared to traditional 2D ICs. In addition, combining the benefits of 3D IC and NoC schemes provides a significant performance gain for 3D architectures. In recent years, inter-layer communication across multiple stacked layers (vertical channel) has attracted a lot of interest. In this thesis, a novel adaptive pipeline bus structure is proposed for inter-layer communication to improve the performance by reducing the delay and complexity of traditional bus arbitration. In addition, two mesh-based topologies for 3D architectures are also introduced to mitigate the inter-layer footprint and power dissipation on each layer with a small performance penalty.

Perinteisen kustannuslaskennan ja toimintolaskennan soveltuvuus ICT-palveluja tuottavassa yrityksess��

Diplomity�� tehtiin julkisomisteiseen osakeyhti����n, joka tuottaa julkiseen terveydenhuoltoon ja kuntien toimintaan liittyvi�� tieto- ja viestint��teknologian sek�� l����ketieteellisen tekniikan (ICMT) palveluja. Ty��n tavoitteena oli rakentaa yritykseen perinteisen kustannuslaskennan ja toimintolaskennan mallit, joita vertaamalla pyrittiin l��yt��m����n soveliain kustannuslaskentaratkaisu ICT-alalle. T��t�� tavoitetta tuettiin haastattelututkimuksella suomalaisiin ICT-toimialan yrityksiin, heid��n k��yt��ss����n olevista kustannuslaskennan ja hinnoittelun menetelmist��. Teoriaosuudessa esitet����n kustannustenlaskenta ja hinnoittelumenetelmi�� ja k��yd����n l��pi niiden periaatteet sek�� soveltuminen ICT-sektorille. Empiirisess�� osuudessa kuvataan perinteisen kustannuslaskentamallin rakentaminen sek�� toimintolaskentaprojektin eteneminen kohdeyrityksess��. ICT-toimialalle suoritettavan haastattelututkimuksen avulla kartoitetaan suomalaisten k��rki ICT-yritysten kustannustenlaskentamenetelmi�� ja toimitapoja, sek�� k��yt��ss�� olevia hinnoitteluperiaatteita. Perinteinen kustannuslaskennan menetelm�� osoittautui tutkimuksessa soveltuvimmaksi kohdeyrityksen k��ytt����n. Haastattelututkimuksen tulokset tukivat t��t�� perinteisen kustannuslaskennan k��ytt����. P����osalla haastatteluun osallistuneista yrityksist�� oli k��yt��ss����n kustannusperustainen laskentaj��rjestelm��. Yleisin laskentamenetelm�� suomalaisissa ICT-alan yhti��iss�� oli katetuottolaskenta. Hinnoittelu perustui niin ik����n ensisijaisesti tuotekustannusten laskentaan.

Power-line-communication-based data transmission concept for an LVDC electricity distribution network ��� Analysis and implementation

Communications play a key role in modern smart grids. New functionalities that make the grids ���smart��� require the communication network to function properly. Data transmission between intelligent electric devices (IEDs) in the rectifier and the customer-end inverters (CEIs) used for power conversion is also required in the smart grid concept of the low-voltage direct current (LVDC) distribution network. Smart grid applications, such as smart metering, demand side management (DSM), and grid protection applied with communications are all installed in the LVDC system. Thus, besides remote connection to the databases of the grid operators, a local communication network in the LVDC network is needed. One solution applied to implement the communication medium in power distribution grids is power line communication (PLC). There are power cables in the distribution grids, and hence, they may be applied as a communication channel for the distribution-level data. This doctoral thesis proposes an IP-based high-frequency (HF) band PLC data transmission concept for the LVDC network. A general method to implement the Ethernet-based PLC concept between the public distribution rectifier and the customerend inverters in the LVDC grid is introduced. Low-voltage cables are studied as the communication channel in the frequency band of 100 kHz���30 MHz. The communication channel characteristics and the noise in the channel are described. All individual components in the channel are presented in detail, and a channel model, comprising models for each channel component is developed and verified by measurements. The channel noise is also studied by measurements. Theoretical signalto- noise ratio (SNR) and channel capacity analyses and practical data transmission tests are carried out to evaluate the applicability of the PLC concept against the requirements set by the smart grid applications in the LVDC system. The main results concerning the applicability of the PLC concept and its limitations are presented, and suggestion for future research proposed.

Viral marketing in a Finnish medium sized gaming company: discovering, analyzing and building an improved management process for viral marketing campaigns, case: Nitrogames

The goal of this thesis is to build a viral marketing management framework for a Finnish medium sized gaming company. This is achieved by first finding and building a theoretical five step management process framework based on literature, analyzing current model and giving recommendations for the case company to develop its own management process. In addition, viral marketing research is still in early stage resulting this study to propose its own take on the definition in the theory part. Empirical part is based on qualitative interviews, campaign material and secondary sources and is aimed to find out and analyze the case company���s current viral marketing state and to give recommendations to it. The final outcome of the study is a general, theoretical management framework for viral marketing campaigns and specified recommendations for the case company.