Interim Management – The way to capture a manager´s true value

The thesis has two aims to first describe the phenomena by explaining how interim management works and what the charachteristics of an interim manger are. The second aim is to look at the value issue of interim management; What value does an interim manager provide to a company and how do interim managers try to capture and cultivate this?The qualitative method has been used. The interim management market analysed in this thesis can be stated to consist of three parts; the interim manager as a provider of knowledge, a client firm in need of a temporary manager, and an interim agency in between working as an intermediary/supplier. The characteristics of interim managers are; they are in general self-employers and rather generalists than specialists, meaning they are experienced and have great knowledge skills. The challenges and the flexibility of their chosen career are the main drivers behind them becoming interim managers. They can be considered to be knowledge workers and the most suitable statement for that have showed to be as a cause of the knowledge they bring, both to the client companies that they temporary work in, but even for them selves. Their big drive is new challenges therefore their knowledge will continue to grow. Since their products they are selling are their knowledge and experiences they will capture and cultivate their own value

Best customer experience Entering the age of the customer

Background The business environment is constantly changing, and the way companies do business is continuously changing, which is highly apparent in the automotive industry. Adaption is a fact for firms who want to stay in the game, but what will give a company a competitive advantage in this mess of constant changes? The above-mentioned are pointing towards a new era; the age of the customer. In this age, it must be realized that customers do not want products, they want value that can be given through additional services. Purpose Provide an answer to how a company in the automotive industry, working with financial services in Sweden, can accomplish the best customer experience. Methodology The results are based on a qualitative case study where a literature review laid the foundation. The empirical data was gained though interviews with staff at The Company in Sweden, UK and The Company’s headquarter. Potential new customers and current customers were interviewed for gaining knowledge about expectations and experiences. Theory was used for structuring the empirical data and for finding the most important enablers for achieving the best customer experience. Conclusions The study provides a result of several enablers (interface mix, integrated service system, process awareness, integration of systems, central customer data system, unique customer ID, routines for information capture and use, service level agreement, service quality focus, relations to partners) that will improve the customer experience. The enablers are concrete actions a firm can choose to implement and in summary they will result in a customized journey, effective sales process, effective and consistent customer service and a good service in each customer encounter. The results can further be consolidated to three main areas that affect the customer experience: Simplicity, Customization and Encounter experience

Methanol mediated direct CO2 hydrogenation to hydrocarbons: Experimental and kinetic modeling study

Carbon dioxide can be utilized as a feedstock to produce chemicals and renewable fuels sustainably. CO2 hydrogenation to hydrocarbons through a methanol mediated pathway requires a more detailed study, examining interactions between reaction processes leading to different product selectivities. In this particular work, we propose a kinetic model for the direct CO2 hydrogenation to different hydrocarbon products over an In2O3/HZSM-5 bifunctional catalytic bed. The model includes a CO2 hydrogenation to methanol model based on a Langmuir Hinshelwood Hougen Watson (LHHW) reaction mechanism over In2O3 catalyst combined with a lump-type methanol to hydrocarbon (MTH) model over the HZSM-5 zeolite. Interestingly, the combined model could largely predict the suppression of the reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction and an increase in the yield of hydrocarbons compared to the formation of methanol in case of the same reaction conditions carried out with only the methanol synthesis catalyst (In2O3). Further, by varying the mass ratio of the individual components of the bifunctional catalytic bed, it was demonstrated that a higher outlet concentration of methanol achieved with a higher mass ratio of the methanol synthesis catalyst caused less suppression of the RWGS reaction and shifted the hydrocarbon product distribution to a slightly larger share of higher hydrocarbons. These changes in product selectivity caused by variation of the catalyst mass ratio were both also successfully reproduced by the model. Therefore, a comparison between the experimental results and the model predictions shows that this model, including equilibrium effects for the reactions, can accurately predict the trends of the experimental findings for direct CO2 hydrogenation to hydrocarbons over the In2O3/HZSM-5 catalyst

Hydrothermal Aging of Pd/LTA Monolithic Catalyst for Complete CH4 Oxidation

Palladium-based catalysts are known to provide high CH4\ua0oxidation activity. One drawback for these materials is that they often lose activity in the presence of water vapor due to the formation of surface hydroxyls. It is however possible to improve the water vapor tolerance by using zeolites as support material. In this study, we have investigated Pd supported on thermally stable LTA zeolite with high framework Si/Al ratio (Si/Al = ~44) for CH4\ua0oxidation and the effect of hydrothermal aging at temperatures up to 900◦C. High and stable CH4\ua0oxidation activity in the presence of water vapor was observed for Pd/LTA after hydrothermal aging at temperatures ≤ 700◦C. However, aging at temperatures of 800–900◦C resulted in catalyst deactivation. This deactivation was not a result of structural collapse of the LTA zeolite as the LTA zeolite only showed minor changes in surface area, pore volume, and X-ray diffraction pattern after 900◦C aging. We suggest that the deactivation was caused by extensive formation of ion-exchanged Pd2+\ua0together with Pd sintering. These two types of Pd species appear to have lower CH4\ua0oxidation activity and to be more sensitive to water deactivation compared to the well dispersed Pd particles observed on the LTA support prior to the hydrothermal aging. By contrast, Pd/Al2O3\ua0was generally sensitive to water vapor no matter of the aging temperature. Although the aging caused extensive Pd sintering in Pd/Al2O3, only minor deterioration of the CH4\ua0oxidation activity was seen. The results herein presented show that Pd/LTA is a promising CH4\ua0oxidation catalyst, however Pd rearrangement at high temperatures (≥800◦C) is one remaining challenge

Integration och olikhetskapande: en kritisk analys av integrationsdebatten

Integrationspolitiken har under senare år blivit ett allt mer prioriterat område. På grund av ett förändrat klimat runt om i världen med krig och förföljelse är det idag fler människor på flyende fot än under andra världskriget. I takt med ett ökat mottagande i Sverige presenteras nya förslag inom integrationspolitiken. Enligt Ipsos marknadsundersökning är idag integration och invandring den näst viktigaste samhällsfrågan för väljarna efter skola och utbildning. Sex av tio anser att integrationen fungerar dåligt i Sverige. De största problemområdena som pekas ut är segregation, jobb och bostäder samt att åtta av tio känner oro för en ökad främlingsfientlighet, säger deltagarna i Ipsos undersökning(Ipsos, 2015-03-16).Vad som sägs och vilka förslag som framkommer från partierna grundar sig på antagandet om att det finns ett problem som måste lösas.In the last few years the interest for integration policy has gotten more and more attention. New policy suggestions from the leading parties have drawn the attention to problem solving in the integration debate. Problem representations that suggests new ways in which the migrants conditions for being integrated in the society relies on that there is a problem that needs to be solved. The main purpose is to uncover on what grounds and what assumptions and presumptions that underline the debate in the formation of policy solutions. What the problem represented to be approach gives a framework to uncover the problem representations and solutions that lies within the integration debate

En jämförelse av hästens tidsbudget och dygnsrytm

Today it is common to have adult horses stabled for most of the day. This limits the horses’ ability to perform some of their natural behaviors such as foraging and movement. The purpose of this review was to compare the feral horses’ diurnal rhythm and time budget with stabled horses. The study also examines whether it has consequences to change the time budget. Feral and stabled horses with free access to forage have a similar time budget, while there are differences between these and stabled horses with limited access to forage. Instead of eating the stabled horses with limited amount of forage often spend time to stand passive, but they can also develop different stereotypes. These behaviors reflect deficiencies in the feeding or stable environment. There are many ways that stable environment and routines can affect the time budget and daily rhythm; including choice of feed, feed quantity, form of environmental enrichment but also the amount of exercise and the paddock size are of importance. It was concluded that there is no significant difference between feral and stabled horses’ time budget and daily rhythm, provided that the stabled horses are able to search or eat feed a large part of the day. With a limited amount of forage, it will be large difference in time budget between stabled and feral horses. It is the people that affect the time budget by the feed and stable routines. The studies interpret that if horses are given the opportunity to follow their natural diurnal rhythm and time budget, they will do that

Ätbara växter för stadens grönstruktur

Mer än 80 procent av den svenska befolkningen är bosatt i tätorter. Det är parker och grönytor som försvinner när tätorterna ska byggas ut för att rymma en växande befolkning. Dessa kan nämligen inte bara växa ytmässigt för att kollektivtrafik och service ska fungera så bra som möjligt utan också genom förtätning. Det kan komma att innebära att grönytorna och parkerna allt eftersom krymper. För att hävda grönområdenas betydelse bör städerna göra de obebyggda delarna mer attraktiva med viktiga funktioner. Parker som är skapade med nytänkande och som ger möjlighet för utveckling har visats sig stärka upplevelsen av stadens utemiljö. Genom att plantera fruktträd, bärbuskar och växter med ätbara delar kan grönområdena i tätorten bli mer attraktiva. Forskning brukar utgå från tre olika faktorer för en utemiljö nämligen de ekologiska värdena, de sociala värdena och de ekonomiska värdena. Genom att erbjuda invånarna i våra tätorter frukt och bär för de som inte har möjlighet att odla i någon egen trädgård. Kan en odling av dessa växtkategorier bidra till ett friskare liv och mer kunskap om hur maten produceras och odlas. Dessutom bidrar de till den biologiska mångfalden. Mitt arbete har sin bas i Ängelholms kommun där politikerna har tagit ett beslut om att införa fruktträd, bärbuskar och andra växter med ätbara delar i stadens parker, eftersom det har önskats av medborgare. Parkingenjören på kommunen önskar ett förslag på hur bärbuskar, fruktträd samt andra växter med ätbara delar för staden kan introduceras. Det som kommunen önskade var att efter en inventering av lämpliga lägen ur ekologiskt, ekonomisk och sociala synvinkel, få ett förslag på lämpliga växtkompositioner och arter för utvalda miljöer i Ängelholms grönstruktur. Fruktträd, bärbuskar och växter med ätbara delar kan introduceras genom ett koncept som brukar benämnas skogsträdgård. I en skogsträdgård anläggs planteringen med ätbara växter med en lund- eller brynlik uppbyggnad där dynamik och succession får ett visst spelrum. Om skogsträdgården designas på rätt sätt kan den bli i princip självgödslande, självförnyande och självunderhållande. Den återskapar naturens ekosystem. Arbetet består av en litteraturstudie och ett inventeringsarbete följt av ett förslag på hur, var och med vilka arter/sorter som det ätbara kan introduceras i Ängelholms kommun. Tre introduktionsmodeller för fruktträd, bärbuskar och andra växter med ätbara delar presenteras i slutet av fallstudien

Reductive liquefaction of lignin to monocyclic hydrocarbons: ReS2/Al2O3 as efficient char inhibitor and hydrodeoxygenation catalyst

Thermochemical processing of lignin ends up with a major problem which is the high yield of char remained from lignin conversion, causing low yields of desired products. The ReS2/Al2O3 catalyst, used in this work, exhibited a high char-suppressing potential and high hydrodeoxygenation efficiency in the reductive liquefaction of kraft lignin. Compared to NiMo/Al2O3, as a conventional sulfide catalyst, ReS2/Al2O3 showed significantly better catalytic performance with 72.4 % lower char yield, due to its high efficiency in stabilizing the lignin-depolymerized fragments. The remarkable catalytic performance of ReS2/Al2O3 is attributed to its high oxophilicity, the metal-like behavior of rhenium sulfide and sufficient acidity. The effects of reaction temperature and different catalyst supports (Al2O3, ZrO2 and desilicated HY zeolite) were also studied. In an alkali (NaOH)-assisted depolymerization of lignin, it was revealed that ReS2/Al2O3-to-NaOH (stabilization-to-depolymerization) ratio plays a crucial role in determining the reaction pathway toward either solid char residues or liquid monomeric products

Evaluation of kraft and hydrolysis lignin hydroconversion over unsupported NiMoS catalyst

Catalytic hydroconversion of Kraft and hydrolysis lignins was for the first time compared in a batch reactor over an unsupported NiMoS-SBA catalyst. We also report the effect of key reaction parameters on the yields and properties of the products. The results obtained at 20 wt% catalyst loading for hydrolysis lignin showed the highest monomer yield of 76.0 wt%, which consisted of 39 wt% aromatics with the lowest alkylphenolics yield of 10.1 wt%. Identical operating conditions, 400 \ub0C, 80 bar, 5 h at 10 wt% catalyst loading, were used to compare both lignins and the highest monomer yield (64.3 wt%) was found for the hydrolysis lignin, consisting of 16.0 wt% alkylphenolics and 20.1 wt% aromatic compounds. These values are considerably higher than those for Kraft lignin with its 47.0 wt% monomer yield. We suggest that the reason for high yields of monomeric units from hydrolysis lignin is that it is more reactive due to its lower ash and sulfur contents and the chemical structural differences compared to the Kraft lignin. More precisely, the bio-oil from hydrolysis lignin contained higher yields of small molecules, sourced from ring-opening of cellulose in the hydrolysis lignin, which could stabilize the reactive oligomeric groups. These yields were two to seven times higher from kraft and hydrolysis lignin, respectively, compared to those obtained without catalyst. The results showed that the NiMoS-SBA catalyst is a promising catalyst for reductive depolymerization of lignin and in addition that the regenerated catalyst had good stability for multiple reaction cycles

Experimental and kinetic modeling studies of methanol synthesis from CO2 hydrogenation using In2O3 catalyst

Catalytic hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol has gained considerable interest for its significant role in CO2 utilization using heterogeneous catalysts. This study is the first to propose a kinetic model based on Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson (LHHW) mechanism for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol over a highly effective indium oxide (In2O3) catalyst. The work focuses on different reaction conditions mainly revolving around the variation of operating temperature, total reactor pressure, H2/CO2 molar feed ratio and weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of the system. The experimental data were modeled using a competitive single-site kinetic model based on LHHW rate equations. A parameter optimization procedure was undertaken to determine the kinetic parameters of the developed rate equations. The model predicts that when the methanol synthesis reaction becomes equilibrium limited, the progress of the RWGS reaction forces the methanol yield to decrease due to the reversal of the methanol synthesis reaction. A mixture of CO2 and H2 has been used as the reactor feed in all the cases. Significantly w.r.t. the CO2 partial pressure, the reaction rate for methanol synthesis initially increased and then slightly decreased indicating a varying order. The single-site model accurately predicted the trends in the experimental data which would enable the development of reliable reactor and process designs