Analysis of the Change Management Process in a Multinational Company

The purpose of this thesis was to study change management and find out how the theory applies to practise with the help of studying an organizational change process. The goal was to investigate the different ways of the change management and how those could be utilized in practise. The purpose was also to see what kind of tools and information packages for change management the company involved has developed and taken in to use and check if these could have been utilized in the change process studied in this thesis. This thesis was established by studying the theory of change management and interviewing the people involved in the organizational change and the stakeholders. The questions were formed in line with the change management theory. The main theory used was John P. Kotter’s Eight Steps of Change. The study revealed valuable details about change processes in real life and concrete improvement ideas were recognized from the interviews. Overall the people were quite happy with the outcome of the change process. There were also some failures identified in this change process. Most probably those can be avoided in the future if people planning the change are familiar with the company’s new information packages and tools for change management. Change management is a complex area that is still today quite often forgotten by companies. Effective change management can give a huge competitive advantage for a company. Acknowledging that change process is always complex and not easy is already a good step forward in handling change processes. All changes need change management and understanding the way people react on change. A good and efficient change management is the key to make the change process smooth and easier for the people involved.

Logistics Cost Optimization of Road Freight Shipments in a Consumer Goods Company

In the industry of the case company, transportation and warehousing costs account for more than 10% of the total cost which is more than on average. A Finnish company has an understanding that by sending larger shipments in parcels, they could save tens of thousands of euros annually in freight costs in Finland’s domestic shipments. To achieve these savings and optimize total logistics cost, company’s interest is to find out which is the cost efficient way of shipping road shipments of certain volumes; in parcel boxes or on pallets, and what should be the split volume determining the shipment type. Distribution center (DC) costs affect this decision and therefore they need to be also evaluated to determine the total logistics cost savings. Main results were achieved by executing activity-based costing-calculations including DC and road freight costs to determine the ideal split volume with which the total logistics cost is optimal. Calculations were done for Finland’s DC, separately for two main road freight destinations, Finland and Sweden, which cover 50% of road shipment spend. Data for calculations was collected both manually and automatically from various internal and external sources, such as the company ERP system and logistics service providers’ (LSP) reporting. DC processes were studied in practice and compared to model processes. Currently used freight rates were compared to existing pricing models and freight service tendering process was evaluated by participating in the process and comparing it to the models based on literature. The results show that the potential savings are not as significant as the company hoped for, mainly because of packing work increasing DC labor cost. Annual savings by setting ideal split volume per country would account for 0,4 % of the warehousing and transportation costs of shipments in scope of this thesis. Split volume should be set separately for each route, mainly because the pricing model for road freight is different in each country. For some routes bigger parcels should be sent but for some routes pallets should be used more. Next step is to do these calculations for remaining routes to determine total savings potential. Other findings show that the processes in the DC are designed well and the company could achieve savings by executing tenders more efficiently. Company should also pay more attention to parcel pricing and packing the shipments accordingly.

Strategy and Superior Competence of Growth Company

This thesis is an examination of growth company and it's superior competence and performance which is based on existing theories and research findings. The theory framework is a basis for the processing part of the thesis that is utilized and combined into new thoughts and assumptions. The analysis is focused on the strategy's meaning, the content of strategy, strategy management, strategy planning, strategy tools and methods. The most important finding and discovery were that the strategy and superior competence / performance of successful growth company are rather a continuously improving process and a lifestyle than for example annual strategy project and/or separate strategy seasons.

The advancement of innovations in communications industry: A case study of Russian Post company

The purpose of this study is to provide a project aimed on solving the problem of advancement of innovations for Russian Post company that is the main actor on the Russian postal service market. This project is constructed through gathering and scrutinizing two essential informational packages, with first being precise information about Russian Post business processes and structure in order to find out the weak spots and hindering forces, and the second being benchmarking analysis of product and service portfolio of company's peers in Europe and Australia in order to evaluate existing experience and gather additional sources that can facilitate the advancement of innovations. These informational packages are studied and sent through the matrix analysis that must highlight customer and technical requirements which emphasize the innovativeness and problem-solving purpose of the project and lay stress on the assuring characteristics that must to be met in order to advance the project. The project itself is aimed on providing Russian Post company with several solutions, both managerial and engineering, which are aimed on easing problem-solving processes and lay the foundation for continuous innovation and value increase for Russian Post company, its partners and its customers. Project's payback period is been calculated as well.

Cross Listing of a Finnish Company on an Exchange in the United States of America

Finnish companies cross listing in the United States is an exceptional phenomenon. This study examines the cross listing decision, cross listing choice and cross listing process with associated challenges and critical factors. The aim is to create an in-depth understanding of the cross listing process and the required financial information. Based on that, the aim is to establish the process phases with the challenges and the critical factors that ought to be considered be- fore establishing the process plus re-evaluated and further considered at points in time during the process. The empirical part of this study is conducted as a qualitative study. The research data was collected through the adoption of two approaches, which are the interview approach and the textual data approach. The interviews were conducted with Finnish practitioners in the field of accounting and finance. The textual data was from publicly available publications of this phenomenon by the two BIG5 accounting companies worldwide. The results of this study demonstrate the benefits of cross listing in the U.S. are the better growth opportunities, the reduction of cost of capital and the production of higher quality financial information. In the decision making process companies should assess whether the benefits exceed the increased costs, the pressure for performance, the uncertainty of market recognition and the requirements of management. The exchange listing is seen as the most favourable cross listing choice for Finnish companies. The establishment of the processes for producing reliable, transparent and timely financial information was seen as both highly critical and very challenging. The critical success factors relating to the cross listing phases are the assessment and planning as well as the right mix of experiences and expertise. The timing plays important role in the process. The results mainly corroborate the literature concerning cross listing decision and choice. This study contributes to the literature on the cross listing process offering a useful model for the phases of the cross listing process.

The Role of Content Marketing in Company Branding

The purpose of this study is to provide a deep understanding of the concept of content marketing in relation to company branding.

Improvement of Energy Efficiency in a Gold Mining Industry: Case Study of a Russian Gold Mining Company

The issue of energy efficiency is attracting more and more attention of academia, business and policy makers worldwide due to increasing environmental concerns, depletion of non-renewable energy resources and unstable energy prices. The significant importance of energy efficiency within gold mining industry is justified by considerable energy intensity of this industry as well as by the high share of energy costs in the total operational costs. In the context of increasing industrial energy consumption energy efficiency improvement may provide significant energy savings and reduction of CO2 emission that is highly important in order to contribute to the global goal of sustainability. The purpose of this research is to identify the ways of energy efficiency improvement relevant for a gold mining company. The study implements single holistic case study research strategy focused on a Russian gold mining company. The research involves comprehensive analysis of company’s energy performance including analysis of energy efficiency and energy management practices. This study provides following theoretical and managerial contributions. Firstly, it proposes a methodology for comparative analysis of energy performance of Russian and foreign gold mining companies. Secondly, this study provides comprehensive analysis of main energy efficiency challenges relevant for a Russian gold mining company. Finally, in order to overcome identified challenges this research conceives a guidance for a gold mining company for implementation of energy management system based on the ISO standard.

The roles and tasks of salespeople in Software-as-a-Service company's value-based sales process

Recent research in relationships marketing and sales and sales management emphasizes companies’ ability to create customer value as a core of all business-to-business relationships. The role of individual salespeople in business relation-ships is commonly acknowledged, but has been largely neglected in extant literature. This study offers especially more detailed perspective on salespeople’s roles and tasks in business-to-business value-based sales process. It focuses especially on Software-as-a-Service business environment. The objective of the study is to find out how salespeople can create value in Software-as-a-Service value-based sales process. It determines value-based sales process, salespeople’s roles and tasks in it, and combines value assessment in to process. The results indicate that salespeople have to adapt different selling roles and tasks in Software-as-a-Service value-based sales process to be able to support the customer’s value-in-use experience. The process itself is highly complex, consisting of multiple facets and selling behaviors, and involves relevant actors from both parties of relationship. The study concludes with a discussion of possibilities that provide interesting aspects for future research.

A Drop of Success – Internationalization Readiness of a Young Finnish Company

This study analyzes a young Finnish micro-sized firm that is attempting to reach internationalization readiness in the pre-internationalization stage. The purpose of this research is to analyze and better understand how a young firm reaches internationalization readiness in the pre-internationalization stage. Small firm internationalization is a vastly researched topic. Little emphasis has been placed on the specific antecedents that help the firm reach internationalization readiness in the pre-internationalization stage. The contribution of this research is thus two-fold. First, the research contributes to known theories of firm internationalization. Second, the research further extends knowledge related to how firms reach internationalization readiness specifically in the pre-internationalization stage. The theoretical background of the research involves the traditional stage theory (Uppsala model), pre-internationalization stage theory, international entrepreneurship theory and dynamic capabilities theory. With the help of these four relevant theories, empirical data was collected. The research method utilized in this study was a qualitative single case study combined with critical realist philosophy. The data analysis of this research was conducted using abduction in order to allow freedom in the analysis of the research findings. The empirical data was collected through semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. The key respondents in this study were the two managers of the case company. The findings of this study revealed four important themes from the case company’s perspective towards reaching internationalization readiness in the pre-internationalization stage. Extensive knowledge of the home market and target market were the two most important themes in this research. The next most relevant theme for reaching internationalization readiness in the pre-internationalization stage was the managers’ previous international business experiences. The final theme affecting the firm’s ability to reach internationalization readiness was the firm’s specific resources. Even though the research findings of this study are case sensitive, the research insights and explanations have the potential to be transferred to similar firms and contexts. Future research should therefore aim towards more longitudinal studies in which the context is emphasized. This should include a variety of firms in similar stages of internationalization and contexts. Future studies of this kind would be of great benefit to academia.

Ten years after : a qualitative study of students' experiences in a high school theatre company

This qualitative study explored 4 former students' perceptions of the learning associated with their involvement in a high school theatre program and the contextual factors they linked to their perceived development. The study involved 4 adult participants, 2 male and 2 female, who had participated extensively in a high school theatre company from 1996 to 2001 when they were students in a large Ontario school board. Data were collected from January to August, 2007, when the 4 former students took part in two in-depth, open-ended interviews. The focus of investigation was participant perspectives. Data analysis revealed that the 4 participants' involvement in high school theatre produced both wide-ranging and enduring developmental benefits across personal, social, and cognitive domains. Participants achieved these benefits through interactions among 3 related contexts: (a) rehearsal and performance practices, (b) the world of the play, and (c) characteristics of the high school theatre company.