Factors influencing the choice of a bank : An international student perspective

Purpose: The purposeof this thesis is to identify what factors influence international students in their choice of a bank.Literature review: A review of previous research about bank selection criteria related to students as well as a few examples of bank choice studies in the general population is presented. The review consists of studies from different years to illustrate criteria that reoccur in order to decrease the chances of overlooking important criteria that may be of importance for today‘s customers. Method: The thesis is based upon empirical data gathering through a non-probability sampling technique by distributing questionnaires through the Internet and in person. The data was analyzedwith the help of exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Conclusion: We found thatfive factors influence the choice of bank for international students. These factors are: cost of the bank services, use of technology, convenience, banks‘ reputation and marketing communication effectiveness. These factors could be helpful for banks who want to gain customers from international students, which are a relatively unexploited customer segment.

Att tillämpa återkommande mätning av kundnöjdhet i IT-projekt : En vidareutvecklad modell baserad på modellerna American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) och SERVQUAL

I dagens samhälle är det allt viktigare för företag att behålla sina existerande kunder då konkurrensen blir allt hårdare. Detta medför att företag försöker vidta åtgärder för att vårda relationer med sina kunder. Detta problem är även högst relevant inom IT-branschen. Inom IT-branschen är det vanligt att arbeta agilt i IT-projekt. Vår samarbetspartner har sett ett ökat behov av att mäta servicekvalitet på ett återkommande sätt inom IT-projekt, detta för att mäta relevanta variabler som sträcker sig utanför kravspecifikationen. För att mäta framgång gällande detta arbetssätt vill man kunna mäta Nöjd Kund Index (NKI) för att kunna jämföra IT-projekt internt i företaget. Då tidigare forskning visat avsaknad av modeller innehållande både mätning av servicekvalitet samt NKI har lämplig litteratur studerats där det framkommit att modellen SERVQUAL är vedertagen för mätning av servicekvalitet och modellen American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) är vedertagen för mätning av NKI. Detta har legat till grund för arbetets problemformulering och syfte. Syftet med arbetet är att skapa en vidareutvecklad modell för mätning av NKI för att jämföra IT-projekt internt samt återkommande mätning av servicekvalitet inom IT-projekt. Framtagande av denna modell har sedan skett genom forskningsstrategin Design and Creation. Intervjuer har genomförts för kravfångst till den vidareutvecklade modellen. Resultatet av denna forskningsstrategi blev sedan en vidareutvecklad modell baserad på ovan nämnda modeller med återkommande förhållningssätt för mätning av servicekvalitet inom IT-projekt och mätning av NKI för att jämföra IT-projekt internt i företaget. Den framtagna modellen har sedan verifierats genom ytterligare intervjuer med respondenter som innehar god erfarenhet från kundsidan av IT-projekt. Från dessa intervjuer kunde sedan slutsats dras att denna modell är att anse som applicerbar i empirin gällande IT-projekt.

Mobil marknadsföring

Denna rapport syftar till att reda ut begreppet mobil direktreklam samt att genom en marknadsundersökning ta reda på om det för Stadiums kunder finns något intresse att ta del av erbjudanden och information om olika händelser genom SMS-meddelanden. Det är tänkt att denna information kan variera beroende på vilket område medlemmen befinner sig i, det vill säga riktad lägesbunden direktreklam. För vår marknadsundersökning så utfördes både en kvantitativ och en kvalitativ undersökning, detta för att ge både bredd och djup till undersökningen. Tanken är att förbättra marknadsföringen för de kunder som är medlemmar i StadiumCard genom att de ska kunna erbjudas mobil direktreklam från det specifika område de befinner sig.En annan viktig hörnsten i detta examensarbete var skaffa sig kunskap om och redogöra för vad en IT-tjänst är samt att klarlägga vad begreppet mobilitet innebär.På den plattform som vi tilldelats att utveckla en SMS-tjänst på är det idag möjligt att positionera mobiltelefonanvändare inom ett visst område men det är komplicerat och kan bara utföras på sådant sätt att det inte är ekonomiskt försvarbart. Vi kommer därför endast utveckla en prototyp för en SMS-tjänst som skickar ut erbjudanden till alla de kunder, var de än befinner sig, som valt att delta i SMS-tjänsten.Stadium marknadsför sig idag främst genom adresserad reklam till sina medlemmar och direktreklam via post. För att förbättra marknadsföringen så krävs förståelse för en del viktiga begrepp inom marknadsföringen. Dessa begrepp är kundlojalitet, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) och PM (Permission Marketing).

The Impact of the NIHERST/NGC National Science Centre, Trinidad and Tobago on Visiting Student Groups

The aim of this study was to asses the impact of a visit to the NIHERST/NGC National Science Centre in Trinidad on four different school-age visitor groups. The research was conducted through the administering of a post-visit questionnaire immediately upon completion of each visit by each group, and via visitor feedback obtained in post-visit or pre-visit activities conducted within two weeks of the visit for three groups. Teachers/instructors who accompanied the groups on their visit also completed post-visit questionnaires and provided additional information on follow-up activities via an interview. The results of this investigation suggest that the visit to this science centre provided entertainment/enjoyment value and potential educational value to most individuals. The nature of this enjoyment was noted for various age groups and genders in this study. Quantification of the educational impact was not possible within the constraints of this study, which was unable to capture long-term effects of the supply of ‘new knowledge’ to visitors which the visit to the science centre had provided.

Framtagning av prototyp för att läsa och dokumentera kundspecifikationer

To increase the quality in their products ABB is working towards a cleared order concept. That means that all customer specified options are to be known before they start with order calculations and construction. As it is today they use paper checklists to achieve this. One order may have several reactors, and for a reactor there can be several different alternatives. For each alternative a new checklist must be filled out.As of today all reading of the customer specification and checklist fill in with is done by hand by different persons, and sometimes the same data is read more than one time. All data is also manually inserted into the calculation tools.To decrease the risk that data is left out or gets distorted they want to have a tool to aid with the reading of the specification and the documentation of that work. Already read data can be copied over to another alternative so that it not must be read one more time. The read data are to be stored in a database so that it easily can be per automation inserted into the different design tools.

Managing ServerHotel

This graduate study was assigned by Unisys Oy Ab. The purpose of this study was to find tools to monitor and manage servers and objects in a hosting environment and to remotely connect to the managed objects. Better solutions for promised services were also researched. Unisys provides a ServerHotel service to other businesses which do not have time or resources to manage their own network, servers or applications. Contracts are based on a Service Level Agreement where service level is agreed upon according to the customer's needs. These needs have created a demand for management tools. Unisys wanted to find the most appropriate tools for its hosting environment to fulfill the agreed service level with reasonable costs. The theory consists of literary research focusing on general agreements used in the Finnish IT business, different types of monitoring and management tools and the common protocols used inthem. The theory focuses mainly on the central elements of the above mentioned topics and on their positive and negative features. The second part of the study focuses on general hosting agreements and what management tools Unisys has selected for hosting and why. It also gives a more detailed account of the hosting environment and its features in more detail. Because of the results of the study Unisys decided to use Servers Alive to monitor network and MS applications’ services. Cacti was chosen to monitor disk spaces, which gives us an idea of future disk growth. For remote connections the Microsoft’s Remote Desktop tool was the mostappropriate when the connection was tunneled through Secure Shell (SSH). Finding proper tools for the intended purposes with cost-conscious financial resources proved challenging. This study showed that if required, it is possible to build a professional hosting environment.

Solving the Vehicle Routing Problem with Genetic ALgorithm and Simulated Annealing

This Thesis Work will concentrate on a very interesting problem, the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP). In this problem, customers or cities have to be visited and packages have to be transported to each of them, starting from a basis point on the map. The goal is to solve the transportation problem, to be able to deliver the packages-on time for the customers,-enough package for each Customer,-using the available resources- and – of course - to be so effective as it is possible.Although this problem seems to be very easy to solve with a small number of cities or customers, it is not. In this problem the algorithm have to face with several constraints, for example opening hours, package delivery times, truck capacities, etc. This makes this problem a so called Multi Constraint Optimization Problem (MCOP). What’s more, this problem is intractable with current amount of computational power which is available for most of us. As the number of customers grow, the calculations to be done grows exponential fast, because all constraints have to be solved for each customers and it should not be forgotten that the goal is to find a solution, what is best enough, before the time for the calculation is up. This problem is introduced in the first chapter: form its basics, the Traveling Salesman Problem, using some theoretical and mathematical background it is shown, why is it so hard to optimize this problem, and although it is so hard, and there is no best algorithm known for huge number of customers, why is it a worth to deal with it. Just think about a huge transportation company with ten thousands of trucks, millions of customers: how much money could be saved if we would know the optimal path for all our packages.Although there is no best algorithm is known for this kind of optimization problems, we are trying to give an acceptable solution for it in the second and third chapter, where two algorithms are described: the Genetic Algorithm and the Simulated Annealing. Both of them are based on obtaining the processes of nature and material science. These algorithms will hardly ever be able to find the best solution for the problem, but they are able to give a very good solution in special cases within acceptable calculation time.In these chapters (2nd and 3rd) the Genetic Algorithm and Simulated Annealing is described in details, from their basis in the “real world” through their terminology and finally the basic implementation of them. The work will put a stress on the limits of these algorithms, their advantages and disadvantages, and also the comparison of them to each other.Finally, after all of these theories are shown, a simulation will be executed on an artificial environment of the VRP, with both Simulated Annealing and Genetic Algorithm. They will both solve the same problem in the same environment and are going to be compared to each other. The environment and the implementation are also described here, so as the test results obtained.Finally the possible improvements of these algorithms are discussed, and the work will try to answer the “big” question, “Which algorithm is better?”, if this question even exists.

Studie av web to print samt kartläggning av kunders behov för tillämpning av systemet CiPublisher

Customers put their printing suppliers to severe claims for shorter production time and faster deliveries.Printers always look for new solutions to increase the satisfaction of their customers. Oneexample of such a solution is web to print, where the customers book their printed matters atInternet.The solution involves design of printed matter by using templates that are made unique for thecustomer's printed matter. Web to print is suitable for reiterated printed matters. By using templatesthe customer doesn´t have to redo their layout for every new edition. Bromma tryck AB hasinvested the system CiPublisher, which is applied for the customer to make their printed matter atInternet.The purpose of the examination work is to investigate the needs of the customers of Brommatryck for a web to print solution and how such a system should be adapted.The result shows that the customer who is in need of a web to print solution wish such a system tobe easy managed and also usable. The customer inquiry also shows that most of the customers primarydesire for start using such a solution is that it will save time and also simplify the process formanufacturing of printing matters.

Färgperception och grafisk profilering av Hedemora Assistansservie

An inquiring study of literature has been conducted, about the human colour perception (theimpression of colours). The colour has been examined, both as conscious and subconscious signal,and reasons for it’s influence have been exammed.The practical parts of the degree project have been carried out in active collaboration with thecustomer, The Association Hedemora Assistansservice (HASS), which offers handicapped persons astimulating spare time by personal assistance. A graphical profile-programme and an informationfolderhave been produced, easy received by both handicapped (with defective vision) and normallysighted persons. The graphical profile-programme was made in collaboration with the customer.Concerning the information-folder HASS took the main responsibility for the choice of photographswhile layout, text writing, colour-reproduction, original-production and connecting printing workswere made independently. The customer has shown engagement and interest and had a lot of opinionsabout the degree project, of which have been paid attention.

Design Management för Remote Control Sweden AB

This Degree Project is a cooperativ work with the advertising agency PAX in Falun and the industrial companyRemote Control, who constructs and sells actuators for the global market.The assignment concerns bringing out a graphic profile, or with another expression a Design Management, forRemote Control AB graphic materials. Remote Control AB has a quality certification ISO 9000 and is workingwith, when this report was wrote, an environment certification ISO 14001.The Company has been paid attention to Internet and other media.The supervisors are familiar to that Design Management is a soon coming competition element, like quality andenvironment management.This Degree project contains research, analysis and the construction of graphic material. The research has beencommitted most of the time to trace the customer, the market and the competitor, because its the most importantphase. It’s also important looking at competitor’s way of working with marketing management, so you can separatethem from the own company.

Utvärdering av programvaror för variabeldata till Lugnetgymnasiets färgskrivare,Ricoh AFC 6513.

The Lugnetgymnasium in Falun has a graphic education that supplies a color printer, which is availablefor the students in their hall. The printer is a Ricoh AFC 6513 and it is a model that can handlevariable data. It was bought in the autumn of 2002. The teachers of the graphic education want to makeuse of the variable data function and procure a variable data software. The purpose of this project is toevaluate variable data software’s, so that the most suitable choice of software can be made for the graphiceducation. To be able to make this choice, criterions has been made what the variable data softwarewill fulfil. Different software’s of variable data has been examined and a summary was made whichtells what software that fulfils all the criterions. The software’s that seemed appropriate for the graphiceducation were PrintShop Mail and Personalizer-X. Adecision which one of these software’s thatwill be purchase was made by the teachers on the graphic education. Tests and a more detailed studyon the software’s have been done. The information has later been presented for the teachers. They madea decision, which were Personalizer-X. After this decision, an easier manual for Personalizer-X wasmade. The purpose with the manual is that the students on the graphic education, quickly and easy canget started with the use of variable data.

Alternativa förpackningsmaterial och konstruktioner för »Hackman tools«-serien

Choosing a new plastic material for a container includes several different steps. In this case,the Finnish company Hackman needed a new type of packaging material for theircutlery- and kitchentool series »Hackman tools«. The project was carried out in cooperationwith the design agency Ytterborn & Fuentes, which has Hackman as a client.Several different demands were put on the material in order to fulfill as many of the clientswishes as possible. The most urgent problem with the existing container was the difficultysfor the customer to clearly see the contents in the container. Because of this problemthe customer tried to open the container in the shop. To avoid this from happening,Hackman wanted a more transparent plastic material that still fulfilled all other necessaryproperties such as strength, viscosity, printability, sealability and exhaustion strength.The final result and recommendation of a polypropylen-plastic (Evacast) was based ondetailed studies of packaging plastics and their properties as well as discussions with plasticconvertersand suppliers. The recommended plastic is avaliable in several different modelsthat fulfill all demands on material properties, environmental aspects, cost aspects and transparency.Apart from the material problem the project also included drafting some sketches and ideason new construction solutions for the container. The construction of the exsisting containerwas also a problem because of its complexity. As a result of the change of material it has beenpossible to simplify the construction.

Materialundersökning

This report emphasizes the importance of seeing a university as a company that offers a service. It isimportant to see the different quality dimensions that distinguish a service. The customer-focused planninghas also set the structure of this degree project.The marketing investigation is based on recruit questionnaires and interviews with secondary schoolstudents. The questionnaires show that the catalogue still reaches out with most information despiteconstant increase of information search at the Internet. The students seem to prefer University ofKristianstad´s catalogue front.The competition analysis is based on telephone interviews and information material sent from theother universities. Structure, usage of the graphic profile amongst more is reviewed for every university.The answers have varied a lot but there are few that have a good structure. University of Dalarna´sinformation material has neither structure nor a homogenous look.The employees at University of Dalarna are not using the universities graphic profile. They are alsodissatisfied regarding the absence of pre-produced, general overhead film series. The internal analysisalso shows that the employees don’t know which material is accessible or where to find it.

Grafisk profilering med praktisk tillämpning på IUC Dalarna

This degree project is a study of graphics profiling with a practical application on IUC Dalarna.The competition between companies is getting harder and harder. Competing goods and services hasa tendency to be more and more equal to each other in respect of quality and value. The customer choosesthe Company with a high reputation and confidence. This is one of the reasons why a companyshould strengthen their company profile. The graphic profile is an important part of the company profileand it gives positive signals to the company spirit and customers.The degree project contains a guide to graphics profiling. The different phases are research, analysis,construction of graphic material and presentation. The guide is put into practise at IUC Dalarna andthe result is documented in a graphic manual.