Alkavan yrityksen strategiset vaihtoehdot ja selviytyminen

Työn tavoitteena on soveltaa yrityksen perustamiseen, innovaation diffuusioon ja strategiseen suunnitteluun liittyvää teoriaa Delitaz Oy:n kehitykseen liiketoimintamahdollisuuden havaitsemisesta uudeksi yritykseksi. Työssä etsitään keinoja yrityksen kehittämän innovatiivisen tuotteen saamiseksi nopeammin markkinoille ja lähtökohtia tulevaa liiketoimintasuunnitelman päivitystä varten. Työssä kootaan yhteen uuden yrityksen perustamisen vaiheisiin, selviytymiseen ja menestymiseen liittyvää teoriaa liiketoimintamahdollisuuden havaitsemisesta uuden inno-vatiivisen tuotteen markkinoille tuomiseen ja yrityksen strategiseen suunnitteluun. Tapaus-osiossa perehdytään kohdeyrityksen perustamisen vaiheisiin, toimintaympäristöön, tuotteeseen ja liiketoimintaan. Työn menetelmänä on tapaus- kehittämis- ja toimintatutkimuksen yhdistelmä. Kehittämis- tai toimintatutkimuksen varsinainen käytännön testaamisvaihe jää työn ulkopuolelle, sillä haluttuja muutoksia lähdetään vasta toteuttamaan. Johtopäätöksinä kuvataan yhden liiketoimintamahdollisuuden kehittyminen ideasta tuotteeksi ja teknologiayritykseksi yrityksen perustamisen teoriaan verrattuna ja esitetään keinoja tuotteen markkinoille saamisen nopeuttamiseksi ja mahdollisia strategisia vaihtoehtoja liiketoimintasuunnitelman päivittämiseksi.

Managing Customer Co-creation: Empirical Evidence from Finnish High-tech SMEs

The purpose of this thesis is to find out how customer co-creation activities are managed in Finnish high-tech SMEs by understanding managers’ views on relevant issues. According to theory, issues such as firm size, customer knowledge implementation, lead customers, the fuzzy front-end of product/service development as well as the reluctance to engage in customer co-creation are some of the field’s focal issues. The views of 145 Finnish SME managers on these issues were gathered as empirical evidence through an online questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS statistics software. The results show, firstly, that Finnish SME managers are aware of the issues associated with customer co-creation and are able to actively manage them. Additionally, managers performed well in regards to collaborating with lead customers and implemented customer knowledge evenly in various stages of their new product and service development processes. Intellectual property rights emerged as an obstacle deterring managers from engaging in co-creation. The results suggest that in practice managers would do well by looking for more opportunities to implement customer knowledge in the early and late stages of new product and service development, as well as by actively searching for lead customers.

Study of the advancement of innovations in communications industry. Case study: Russian Post Company

This study attempted to provide a project based on the already tested and successful results of foreign business which can help to contain the final price of innovation on desired levels. The research will attempt to dig out most of available information related to aforementioned definitions and thus completing theoretical background. Next author will explain used methodology and the process of evidence collection. After that the study will show the analysis of collected data in order to obtain results which are going to be compared with stated objectives in the final part. The conclusion of the research and proposed possibilities for additional work will be given in the last part. For this study author has chosen the qualitative model because it performs very well for analysis of small scale of data. The case study method was used because it gave author an opportunity to make an in-depth analysis of the collected information about particular organization so it became possible to analyze system's details in comparison. The results have been early considered valid and applicable to other studies. As the result thesis has proposed undertakings which reflect researches aimed on solving problems with provision of services and development of communications. In addition thesis has proposed formulation of database of postal service for Russian Post when (by request) customer possess an account where he or she can access postal services via PC or info table in postal office and order delivery of postal products which will be given private identification code. Project's payoff period has been calculated as well.

Short-term levosimendan treatment protects rat testes against oxidative stress

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of short-term levosimendan exposure on oxidant/antioxidant status and trace element levels in the testes of rats under physiological conditions. Twenty male Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into two groups of 10 animals each. Group 1 was not exposed to levosimendan and served as control. Levosimendan (12 µg/kg) diluted in 10 mL 0.9% NaCl was administered intraperitoneally to group 2. Animals of both groups were sacrificed after 3 days and their testes were harvested for the determination of changes in tissue oxidant/antioxidant status and trace element levels. Tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) was significantly lower in the levosimendan group (P < 0.001) than in the untreated control group and superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels were significantly higher in the levosimendan group (P < 0.001). Carbonic anhydrase, catalase and GSH levels were not significantly different from controls. Mg and Zn levels of testes were significantly higher (P < 0.001) and Co, Pb, Cd, Mn, and Cu were significantly lower (P < 0.001) in group 2 compared to group 1. Fe levels were similar for the two groups (P = 0.94). These results suggest that 3-day exposure to levosimendan induced a significant decrease in tissue MDA level, which is a lipid peroxidation product and an indicator of oxidative stress, and a significant increase in the activity of an important number of the enzymes that protect against oxidative stress in rat testes.

Käyttäjäkokemuksen määrittelyn erot eri käyttäjäryhmien ja kehittäjien välillä sekä niiden merkitys

Usein käyttäjäkokemuksella (user experience, UX) kuvataan tuotteen tai palvelun synnyttämiä tunteita ja kokemuksia. Vaikka UX on yleisesti tunnettu termi ja tärkeä tekijä menestyvän tuotteen luomisessa, ei yhtenäistä määritelmää sille ole muodostunut. Kun suunnittelija, ohjelmistotuottaja ja loppukäyttäjä käsittävät sen eri tavoin, ei tuote vastaa loppukäyttäjän vaatimuksia. Ongelman ratkaisemiseksi laaditaan kysely lukiolaisille ja tuloksia verrataan aikaisempiin tuloksiin, jossa vastaajina olivat yliopisto-opiskelijat ja UX-ammattilaiset. Tulosten perusteella lukiolaiset määrittelevät UX:n hyvin laaja-alaisesti ja sisällyttävät siihen lähes kaikki käyttöön liittyvät asiat. Heille tärkeintä ovat tuotteen konkreettiset ominaisuudet, kuten toimivuus ja luotettavuus. Koska UX merkitsee niin monia asioita loppukäyttäjille, suunnittelijoiden tulisi keskittyä käyttäjäkokemuksen luomiseen sen määrittelemisen sijaan. Oikea käyttäjäkokemus oikealle käyttäjälle.

High-Tech Commercialization Research Projects: A Pragmatic View

In the Finnish university society the commercialization research projects has not been a focus of interest until now. The reasons for the growing interest towards commercialization research projects are their possibility to develop our economy simultaneously by providing new technologies and products. This study focuses on the examination of what kind of high-technology oriented research can be commercialized and how. The aim is to generate understanding of how commercialization research projects should proceed and to find concrete ways of improving the of commercialization research projects. As its research method, the study analyzes four different university high-technology research projects which have been commercially oriented and have to some degree been able to commercialize the product or technology developed during the research phase. The data has been gathered mainly by semi-structured interviews of people involved in these particular projects or cases. The findings from the interviews have been reflected to the final reports of the projects, provided by TEKES, and later on the data gained has been compared to each other. Also a literature review has been produced about the subject of commercializing university research with the purpose of providing known theories and framework connected with the subject. The study reveals five main factors related to commercializing high-tech research. These factors are: The Team, Market potential and competitiveness, Product and technology, Funding and Steering Group. Also the uncertainties related to these factors have been addressed. As a conclusion the study provides the main aspects that should be considered when starting a commercialization research project. Also a combining hierarchical framework has been provided related to the five factors presented. In Chapter 5 the study addresses the main tasks or steps to be taken in order to get public funding for a commercially oriented research project and later on the actual steps to be executed in order to successfully commercialize these high-tech research projects.

Sensory evaluation of rice fortified with iron

The objective of this study was to examine sensory differences between conventional rice and iron-fortified Ultra Rice rice (UR) and determine consumer acceptance. Differences between both types of rice were analyzed using the Duo-Trio Test on 37 non-trained judges. The Acceptance Test evaluated general rice appearance, color, aroma and taste by 43 non-trained judges, using a 7-point hedonic scale with extremes ranging from "really disliked" and "really liked." There were no significant differences between the analyzed samples of conventional rice and UR rice using Duo-Trio Test. Mean values from the Acceptance Test for the evaluated attributes (general appearance, color, aroma e taste) were 5.6 and 5.9, corresponding to "liked" and "really liked" according to the hedonic scale, respectively. The iron did not alter the sensory characteristics of the final product, and the iron-fortified rice was well accepted.

Chocolate rheology

Rheology is the science that studies the deformation and flow of solids and fluids under the influence of mechanical forces. The rheological measures of a product in the stage of manufacture can be useful in quality control. The microstructure of a product can also be correlated with its rheological behavior allowing for the development of new materials. Rheometry permits attainment of rheological equations applied in process engineering, particularly unit operations that involve heat and mass transfer. Consumer demands make it possible to obtain a product that complies with these requirements. Chocolate industries work with products in a liquid phase in conching, tempering, and also during pumping operations. A good design of each type of equipment is essential for optimum processing. In the design of every process, it is necessary to know the physical characteristics of the product. The rheological behavior of chocolate can help to know the characteristics of application of the product and its consumers. Foods are generally in a metastable state. Their texture depends on the structural changes that occur during processing. Molten chocolate is a suspension with properties that are strongly affected by particle characteristics including not only the dispersed particles but also the fat crystals formed during chocolate cooling and solidification. Chocolate rheology is extensively studied, and it is known that chocolate texture and stability is strongly affected by the presence of specific crystals

Using Computational Fluid-Dynamics (CFD) for the evaluation of beer pasteurization: effect of orientation of cans

In-package pasteurization is the most used method for beer microbiological stabilization. The search for safer and better quality food has created a need to better understand the processes involved in producing it. However, little is known about the temperature and velocity profiles during the thermal processes of liquid foods in commercial packaging, which results in over-dimensioned processes to guarantee safety, decreasing the sensorial and nutritional characteristics of the product and increasing process costs. Simulations using Computational Fluid-Dynamics (CFD) have been used by various authors to evaluate those processes. The objective of the present paper was to evaluate the effect of packaging orientation in the pasteurization of beer in a commercial aluminum can using CFD. A heating process was simulated at 60 ºC up to 15 PUs (a conventional beer process, in which 1 Pasteurization Unit (PU) is equivalent to 1minute at 60 ºC). The temperature profile and convection current velocity along the process and the variation of the PUs were evaluated in relation to time considering the cans in the conventional, inverted, and horizontal positions. The temperature and velocity profiles were similar to those presented in the literature. The package position did not result in process improvement.

Thermodynamic properties of water sorption of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) as a function of moisture content

The Jackfruit tree is one of the most significant trees in tropical home gardens and perhaps the most widespread and useful tree in the important genus Artocarpus. The fruit is susceptible to mechanical and biological damage in the mature state, and some people find the aroma of the fruit objectionable, particularly in confined spaces. The dehydration process could be an alternative for the exploitation of this product, and the relationship between moisture content and water activity provides useful information for its processing and storage. The aim of this study was to determine the thermodynamic properties of the water sorption of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) as a function of moisture content. Desorption isotherms of the different parts of the jackfruit (pulp, peduncle, mesocarp, peel, and seed) were determined at four different temperatures (313.15, 323.15, 333.15, and 343.15 K) in a water activity range of 0.02-0.753 using the static gravimetric method. Theoretical and empirical models were used to model the desorption isotherms. An analytical solution of the Clausius-Clapeyron equation was proposed to calculate the isosteric heat of sorption, the differential entropy, and Gibbs' free energy using the Guggenhein-Anderson-de Boer and Oswin models considering the effect of temperature on the hygroscopic equilibrium.

Ohjelmistoyrityksen tuoteliiketoiminnan ohjaaminen elinkaarimallin avulla

Nopeasti muuttuvissa kilpailutilanteissa varsinkin pienet ja keskisuuret ohjelmistoyritykset joutuvat kilpailuetuja saavuttaakseen tekemään strategisia päätöksiä, joiden vaikutukset voidaan todeta vasta pitkän ajan kuluttua. Sen vuoksi yritysjohto tarvitsee päätöksentekoa varten tukijärjestelmiä, jotka sekä tuottavat informaatiota päätöksenteon tueksi että auttavat vähentämään päätöksistä aiheutuneita riskejä. Tämän työn tavoitteena oli kehittää ohjelmistoyritysten ohjelmistotuoteliiketoimintaa varten elinkaarikustannusmalli, jonka avulla yritysjohto voi arvioida ohjelmistotuotteiden koko-naiskustannuksia koko elinkaaren ajalta. Elinkaarikustannusmallia tutkittiin sekä elinkaarikustannusten että ohjelmistotuotantoprosessien teoreettisissa viitekehyksissä. Empiirinen tieto kerättiin tutkimukseen osallistuneen ohjelmistoyrityksen avulla. Tutkimuksessa kehitetty elinkaarikustannusmalli eroaa monista muista tutkituista kustannusmalleista siinä, että se lähestyy elinkaarikustannusten problematiikkaa strategisesta näkökulmasta, kun taas monet muut mallit toteuttavat tietoteknistä lähestymistapaa. Siten ohjelmistoyrityksen johto voi ohjata tuoteliiketoimintaa osana strategista päätöksentekoa sekä tuotteen elinkaaren kokonaiskustannusten avulla että elinkaarikustannusmallin epäsuorien vaikutusten kautta

Carponate precipitation with carbon dioxide gas

The aim of this thesis research work focused on the carbonate precipitation of magnesium using magnesium hydroxide Mg(OH)2 and carbon dioxide (CO2) gas at ambient temperature and pressure. The rate of dissolution of Mg(OH)2 and precipitation kinetics were investigated under different operating conditions. The conductivity and pH of the solution were inline monitored by a Consort meter and the solid samples gotten from the precipitation reaction were analysed by a laser diffraction analyzer Malvern Mastersizer to obtain particle size distributions (PSD) of crystal samples. Also the Mg2+ concentration profiles were determined from the liquid phase of the precipitate by ion chromatography (IC) analysis. Crystal morphology of the obtained precipitates were also investigated and discussed in this work. For the carbonation reaction of magnesium hydroxide in the present work, it was found that magnesium carbonate trihydrate (nesquehonite) was the main product and its formation occurred at a pH of around 7-8. The stirrer speed has a significant effect on the dissolution rate of Mg(OH)2. The highest obtained Mg2+ concentration level was 0.424 mol L-l for the 470 rpm and 0.387 mol L-1 for the 560 rpm which corresponded to the processing time of 45 mins and 40 mins respectively. The particle size distribution shows that the average particle size keeps increasing during the reaction as the CO2 is been fed to the system. The carbonation process is kinetically favored and simple as nesquehonite formation occurs in a very short time. It is a thermodynamically and chemically stable solid product, which allows for a long-term storage of CO2. Since the carbonation reaction is a complex system which includes dissolution of magnesium hydroxide particles, absorption of CO2, chemical reaction and crystallization, the dissolution of magnesium hydroxide was studied in hydrochloric acid (HCl) solvent with and without nitrogen (N2) inert gas. It was found on the dissolution part that the impeller speed had effect on the dissolution rate. The higher the impeller speed the higher the pH of the solution, although for the highest speed of 650rpm it was not the case. Therefore, it was concluded that the optimum speed of the stirrer was 560rpm. The influence of inert gas N2 on the dissolution rate of Mg(OH)2 particles could be seen based on measured pH, electric conductivity and Mg2+ concentration curves.

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.

Customer Knowledge Transfer in MNCs

The purpose of this Master’s thesis was to study customer knowledge transfer processes in multinational corporations (MNCs). The main objective was to examine how customer knowledge is transferred in MNCs and what kind of factors enhance or inhibit the knowledge transfer process, and to create a framework on the basis of the existing literature and the empirical findings. In this thesis the factors were organized according to whether they are properties of the unit involved in knowledge management, properties of relationships between the units or properties of the knowledge itself. There are various properties that influence knowledge transfer but in this thesis the focus was on examining the relevant findings from the customer knowledge viewpoint. Empirical results show that internal fragmentation in the MNC seems to be inherent in this type of organization, and may cause many problems in customer knowledge transfer and utilization. These knowledge transfer inhibitors rise from the organization’s properties: it’s absorptive capacity, motivation, organizational culture, and the two dimensions of knowledge. However, in spite of the inherent forces causing internal fragmentation and inhibiting knowledge transfer, moderate customer knowledge and expertise codification, cooperative working practices among the experts, and socialization mechanisms posed by the headquarters seem to help maintain customer knowledge transfer, and value creation in the long-term relationship. This value creation can be seen to be based on accessing and integrating a wide variety of knowledge resources in order to create a coherent product and service offering.

Manufacturing real wages in Mexico

In this paper we analyse the recent evolution and determinants of real wages in Mexico’s manufacturing sector, using theories based on the assumption of imperfect competition both in the product and in the labour markets, especially wage-bargain theory, insider-outsider and mark-up models. We show evidence that the Mexican labour market does not behave as a traditional competitive market. The proposed explanation for this fact is that some workers benefit from advantages when compared with others, so that they can get a greater share of the proceedings of the productive process. Also, we find that changes in the degree of competition in the market for output influence the behaviour of real wages.