A study visit to a vitual company

To integrate study visits to different workplaces in higher education implies important benefits for the course quality. The study visit gives the students a better understanding for the real situations they will meet in working life. However for practical and economical reasons is that not always possible. The purpose of this project is to create a virtual company that shall replace the real one for study visits. The goal is to create a realistic picture and that intended use of it can come as close as possible to a real study visit. It is also important to facilitate linking theory and practice. The virtual company is built up by pictures, videos and text. All material is made available on a web page and when entering the students will meet a layout of the company. From that position is it possible to walk around and look at videos from different workstations. Besides that can they also listen to interviews with managers and representatives of staff as well as reading reports concerning productivity and the work environment. The focus of the study visit is work sciences, therefore the material also include some visualized information about work hazards. On the web page there are also a number of tasks for the students to carry out. Until the autumn 2011, 132 students at Dalarna University have visited and produced reports from the virtual company. They were studying in programs for mechanical engineering, production technicians and human resource management. An evaluation among some ten students showed that the study visit to the virtual company is flexible in time and effective, but that students wish to have even more detailed information about the company. Experiences from four years of use in a number of classes show that the concept is worth further development. Furthermore with production of new material the concept is likely to be applicable for other purposes.

The role of entrepreneurial networking on internationalization of a micro-sized Born Global Swedish fashion company : A narrative ethnographic research

Background: In recent studies a lot of attention is drawn to the connection between networking and entrepreneurship. Many scholars consider successful business and networking inseparable. Taking into consideration the topicality of the two notions discussed above the authors of this thesis decided to conduct the research dedicated to these phenomena in the field that interests them most – in the field of Swedish fashion. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to gain a deeper insight into entrepreneur’s experiences to point out the role of entrepreneurial networking in the process of internationalization of a micro-sized Swedish fashion company and to contribute to the research in this field by telling its unique story. Method: To achieve the purpose of the research a narrative ethnographic research was conducted. This research strategy was chosen because it suits the purpose best by giving an opportunity to get fresh insights into the field of entrepreneurial networking from the point of view of the entrepreneur. The data collected has a narrative nature therefore narrative analysis is used to present it. The methods of gathering the data are face-to-face interview and documents. Conclusion: we can define the most important role of entrepreneurial networking on the internationalization process of Odeur as an effective accelerator and a tool to fulfil the knowledge and expertise gaps in certain areas through other actors in the network.

Informal sanctions and conditional cooperation: : A natural experiment on voluntary contributions to a public good.

In a natural experiment, this paper studies the impact of an informal sanctioning mechanism on individuals’ voluntary contribution to a public good. Cross-country skiers’ actual cash contributions in two ski resorts, one with and one without an informal sanctioning system, are used. I find the contributing share to be higher in the informal sanctioning system (79 percent) than in the non-sanctioning system (36 percent). Previous studies in one-shot public good situations have found an increasing conditional contribution (CC) function, i.e. the relationship between expected average contributions of other group members and the individual’s own contribution. In contrast, the present results suggest that the CC-function in the non-sanctioning system is non-increasing at high perceived levels of others’ contribution. This relationship deserves further testing in lab.

Identity and image – the story of expertise in a manufacturing company

This thesis is an investigation on the corporate identity of the firm SSAB from a managerial viewpoint (1), the company communication through press releases (2), and the image of the company as portrayed in news press articles (3). The managerial view of the corporate identity is researched through interviews with a communication manager of SSAB (1), the corporate communication is researched through press releases from the company (2) and the image is researched in news press articles (3). The results have been deducted using content analysis. The three dimensions are compared in order to see if the topics are coherent. This work builds on earlier research in corporate identity and image research, stakeholder theory, corporate communication and media reputation theory. This is interesting to research as the image of the company framed by the media affects, among other things, the possibility for the company to attract new talent and employees. If there are different stories, or topics, told in the three dimensions then the future employees may not share the view of the company with the managers in it. The analysis show that there is a discrepancy between the topics on the three dimensions, both between the corporate identity and the communication through press releases, as well as between the communication through press releases and the image in news press articles.

Simulation model using meta heuristic algorithms for achieving optimal arrangement of storage bins in a sawmill yard

Bin planning (arrangements) is a key factor in the timber industry. Improper planning of the storage bins may lead to inefficient transportation of resources, which threaten the overall efficiency and thereby limit the profit margins of sawmills. To address this challenge, a simulation model has been developed. However, as numerous alternatives are available for arranging bins, simulating all possibilities will take an enormous amount of time and it is computationally infeasible. A discrete-event simulation model incorporating meta-heuristic algorithms has therefore been investigated in this study. Preliminary investigations indicate that the results achieved by GA based simulation model are promising and better than the other meta-heuristic algorithm. Further, a sensitivity analysis has been done on the GA based optimal arrangement which contributes to gaining insights and knowledge about the real system that ultimately leads to improved and enhanced efficiency in sawmill yards. It is expected that the results achieved in the work will support timber industries in making optimal decisions with respect to arrangement of storage bins in a sawmill yard.