Suorituksen johtaminen : Case-tutkimus kolmessa huonekaluyrityksessä

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli selvittää, toteutuuko suorituksen johtaminen käytännössä. Asiaa tutkittiin kolmessa huonekaluliikkeessä. Tarkoituksena oli saada selville, miten liikkeet hoitavat suunnittelu- ja kehityskeskustelut, palkitsemisen sekä päivittäisjohtamisen. Lisäksi selvitettiin, tietävätkö työntekijät yrityksen vision, arvot ja tavoitteet. Selvitys toteutettiin haastattelemalla kolmea työntekijää jokaisesta mukana olleesta liikkeestä. Haastattelun tukena käytettiin kyselylomaketta, jonka haastateltavat täyttivät omatoimisesti. Teoria ja empiria vuorottelevat opinnäytetyössä. Siinä ei siis ole erillistä lukua empirialle. Teoriaosuudessa käsitellään suorituksen johtamisen lisäksi asiakaspalvelua ja myyntityötä. Teoriaosuuden aineisto on kerätty tutustumalla alan kirjallisuuteen sekä lehti- ja Internet-lähteisiin. Haastattelun ja kyselylomakkeen kysymykset perustuvat teoriaosuuteen. Liikkeiden myymäläpäälliköiltä kysyttiin esitietoja, joita verrattiin haastateltujen vastauksiin. Tutkimus on tyypiltään laadullinen tapaustutkimus. Haastattelu ja kyselylomake selvittivät hyvin liikkeiden suorituksen johtamisen tilan. Suorituksen johtaminen toteutuu tutkimuksessa mukana olleissa yrityksissä vain osittain. Tuloksista selvisi, että eniten parannettavaa on vision, arvojen ja tavoitteiden tietämisessä sekä suunnittelu- ja kehityskeskusteluissa. Puutteita löytyi myös palautteen antamisesta ja päivittäisjohtamisesta. Esimiesten tulisi tulevaisuudessa kiinnittää nykyistä enemmän huomiota näihin asioihin ja keskustella niistä työntekijöidensä kanssa. Positiivisena asiana tutkimuksessa selvisi, että suurin osa työntekijöistä on tyytyväisiä vaikutusmahdollisuuksiinsa ja työnsä haasteellisuuteen.The purpose of this thesis was to find out if performance management and its ideals come true in real life. Research was made in three furniture companies. The main objects were to examine how the companies manage their development discussions, rewarding and daily management. The employees were also asked if they know their company’s vision, values and goals. Three employees were interviewed from each company. They also filled in a questionnaire. The theory and the empirical parts take turns in the thesis. Besides performance management also customer service and sales work are dealt within the theory part. The data for the theory part was collected from literature, newspapers and the Internet. The interview and the questionnaire were based on the theoretical part. Some data was collected from the store managers and their answers were compared to the employees’ answers. The interview and the questionnaire worked well and gave a clear picture about the companies’ conditions. The results of the study show that the companies have a lot to improve in their performance management. Visions, values and goals were poorly known. Daily management and development discussions also need a lot of attention from the superiors. The bright side is that most of the employees feel that their work is challenging and that they can have an influence on their work

Enhancing the processability of poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline) through chemical modification

Poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline) (BBL), which may be doped into a p- and n-type semiconductor, has been chemically modified to enhance its processability. In its pristine form BBL is processable only in some concentrated acids and nitromethane/Lewis acid solutions. The corrosiveness of these solvents and moisture sensitivity of the solutions severely limits the possibilities for the use of BBL as an electroactive material in organoelectronic devices and limit the possibilities for its post synthetic chemical modification. In this work processable BBL derivatives have been prepared using two different approaches i) preparation of block-copolymers by attachment of water soluble polymers on BBL functional chain ends ii) attaching bulky side groups on one of the monomers and using that as a starting material in the polymerization reaction. Short BBLs of DP 10 or 20 were prepared with functional chain ends and monofunctional poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) or poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) of several different molecular weights were attached at the chain ends. Elemental analysis showed that the extent of chain end substitution varied quite a lot when PEO was used. It was also shown that thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was not suitable to determine the fraction of PEO in BBL-PEO block-copolymers. However, the extent of chain end substitution using PNIPAM was evaluated using TGA. BBL-PEOs could be processed into aqueous dispersions at concentrations ≥ 1.5 mg/ml by means of ultrasonication, and these dispersions were proven to be colloidally very stable. The dispersions could be used to spin- or drop cast films. At higher concentrations BBL-PEO dispersions were shown to form gels. The reason for the gelling is the packing of the polymer into nano-wire structures which then aggregate into 3D-network. SEM- and cryo-TEM imaging confirmed the existence of wire-type structures. Wire structures and gelation were also observed for aqueous dispersions of pristine BBL. BBL-PNIPAM block-copolymers were found to be indispersible in water with PNIPAM fractions lower than 35 mass %. However, they gelled upon ultrasonication. With higher PNIPAM fractions the polymers were dispersible and did not form gels in any of the studied concentrations. Dispersibility in water and the colloidal stability of BBL-PEOs and BBL-PNIPAMs was attributed to electrostatic stabilization as the particles showed negative zeta-potentials. Dispersible BBL-PNIPAMs were more stable due the high amount of dissociative groups originating from the partial degradation of the amide moieties during the coupling to BBL. One of the monomers used to prepare BBL, 1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic acid 1,8-monoanhydride, was successfully mono- and dibrominated. The bromine was then used as a functional group and replaced either directly with 2-ethyl-1-hexylamine or substituted with azide and reacted with 1-hexyne. The modified monomers were used in preparation of BBL. BBLs bearing either 2-ethyl-1-hexylamine or 4-butyl-1,2,3-triazole groups were found to be sparingly soluble in dimethylsulphoxide and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone.Poly(bentsimidatsobentsofenantroliinia) (BBL), joka voidaan lisäaineilla saattaa n- tai p-tyypin puolijohteeksi, muokattiin kemiallisesti sen prosessoitavuuden parantamiseksi. Sellaisenaan BBL on prosessoitavissa ainoastaan joissain vahvoissa hapoissa sekä nitrometaanin ja Lewis-hapon muodostamassa liuoksessa. Näiden liuottimien syövyttävyys ja herkkyys kosteudelle rajoittaa huomattavasti BBL:n käyttöä organoelektronisissa laitteissa. Lisäksi BBL:n kemiallinen muokkaaminen näissä liuottimissa on erittäin hankalaa. Tässä työssä BBL:sta on valmistettu liuosprosessoitavia johdoksia käyttäen kahta lähestymistapaa: i) BBL on syntetisoitu siten, että ketjujen päissä on halutut reaktiiviset ryhmät ja näihin on kiinnitetty lyhyitä vesiliukoisia polymeeriketjuja. ii) Toiseen monomeeriin on kiinnitetty tilaa vieviä sivuryhmiä ja muokattua monomeeriä on käytetty polymeerin valmistamiseen. Lyhyitä BBL-ketjuja, pituudeltaan 10-20 toistuvaa yksikköä, valmistettiin halutuilla funktionaalisilla pääteryhmillä ja näihin ryhmiin liitettiin joko poly(etyleenioksidi)- (PEO) tai poly(n-isopropyyliakryyliamidi) (PNIPAM) -ketju. Alkuaineanalyysi paljasti, että PEO:a liitettäessä pääteryhmien substituutio-aste vaihteli huomattavasti tuotteiden välillä. Tässä yhteydessä tuli myös ilmi, että termogravimetrinen analyysi ei sovi PEO:n määrän arvioimiseen tuotteessa. Toisaalta, PNIPAM:n määrän arvioimiseen lopputuotteessa käytettiin termogravimetriaa. BBL-PEO:t voidaan prosessoida vesidispersioiksi ultraäänellä alle 1.5 mg/ml konsentraatioissa, korkeampien konsentraatioiden johtaessa systeemin geeliytymiseen. Valmistetut dispersiot olivat kolloidisesti stabiileja ja niistä pystyttiin valmistamaan kalvoja spin coating ja drop casting menetelmillä. Geeliytyminen johtuu siitä, että polymeeri pakkautuu vedessä nanosäikeiksi ja säikeet aggregoituvat kolmiulotteiseksi verkkorakenteeksi. Säikeet pystyttiin kuvaamaan elektronimikroskoopeilla (SEM ja cryo-TEM). Myös muokkaamaton BBL muodosti säikeitä vedessä ja muodosti geelejä korkeammissa konsentraatioissa. BBL-PNIPAM polymeerit, joissa PNIPAM:n massaosuus on pienempi kuin 35 %, eivät dispergoidu veteen mutta muodostavat geelejä ultraäänikäsittelyllä. Korkeamman PNIPAM:n massaosuuden tuotteet muodostavat dispersioita mutta eivät geeliydy. Sekä BBL-PEO että BBL-PNIPAM blokkikopolymeerien kyky muodostaa stabiileja dispersioita johtuu elektrostaattisesta stabilisoinnista, mikä näkyi negatiivisina zeta-potentiaaleina. Dispergoituvat BBL-PNIPAM:t muodostavat stabiilempeja dispersioita kuin BBL-PEO:t johtuen dissosioituvien ryhmien suuremmasta määrästä, mikä puolestaan johtuu PNIPAM ketjujen sivuryhmien osittaisesta hajoamisesta liittämisreaktiossa. Yksi BBL:n valmistamiseen käytetyistä monomeereistä, 1,4,5,8-naftaleenitetrakarb-oksyylihappo 1,8-monoanhydridi, saatiin mono- ja dibromattua. Liitettyä bromia käytettiin funktionaalisena ryhmänä ja se korvattiin joko suoraan 2-etyyli-1-heksyyliamiinilla tai vaihdettiin atsidiksi ja reagoitiin 1-heksyynin kanssa. Kummallakin tavalla modifioituja monomeerejä käytettiin BBL:n valmistamiseen. BBL:t joissa oli 2-etyyli-1-heksyyliamiini tai 1-heksyynin kanssa reagoitu atsidi olivat jossain määrin liukoisia dimetyylisulfoksidiin ja N-metyyli-2-pyrrolidoniin

Markkina- ja toiminta-analyysi, Case: Yritys X

Tämän opinnäytetyön aiheena oli tehdä markkinakatsaus mikroyritys Yritys X:lle. Opinnäytetyö käsittelee yleisesti erilaisia työkaluja ja ohjeita markkinoinnin toteutuk-seen sekä analysointiin yleisesti alan kilpailu- ja markkinatilannetta. Opinnäytetyömme keskittyy pääsäätöisesti kotimaan markkinoihin, mutta työssä on myös osuus kansainvälisistä markkinoista sekä toimeksiantajan valitsemista kohde-maista. Aluksi on toteutettu työn teoreettisia osuuksia, jotka käsittelivät yleisesti markkinointiin liittyviä aiheita. Työ on toteutettu kvantitatiivisena tutkimuksena, jonka aiheena oli IT-alan markkinati-lanteen kartoitus. Lisäksi opinnäytetyön teoriaosuudessa on käytetty runsaasti kirjalli-sia- sekä muita luotettavia lähteitä. Seuraavaksi toimeksiantoyrityksen, kilpailijoiden, ympäristön ja yleisen markkinatilan-teen tilaa tutkittiin lähtökohta-analyysien avulla. Lähtökohta-analyyseistä saatu tieto-pohja on hyödynnetty siihen, miten markkinointia kannattaisi toteuttaa ja asiakkaita segmentoida. Tutkimustuloksissa ilmeni, että yritykselle suotuisin markkinointitapa on osallistua aktii-visesti alan keskusteluihin ja tapahtumiin sekä lisätä kohdennettua mainontaa.The subject of this thesis was to make a marketing review for micro company called X. The purpose of this thesis is to give tools and instructions for the company how to execute their marketing and analyze commonly IT industry. The thesis mainly concentrates on domestic markets, but it also includes part about international markets and mandators chosen objective countries. In the beginning of the thesis there is theoretical parts, subjects which are concerning commonly marketing. The thesis is implemented as quantitative research methods, which topic was IT indus-try marketing situation. In addition, many written and other reliable sources have been used in the theoretical part of the thesis. Next there is spot analysis about mandators, competitors, environment and general marketing situation. The information gotten from spot analyses has been used how to execute marketing and segment customers. The results of the research showed that the most favorable marketing method for the company is to actively participate in discussions and events in the industry and to in-crease targeted advertising

Highly controllable ambient atmosphere spray deposition of water dispersible poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline) films

Thin films of water dispersible poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) functionalized poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline) (BBL) polymers have been prepared by a pulse spray technique on a spinning substrate in ambient atmosphere. The deposition method is advantageous for generating ultra-thin films of nanometer thicknesses. A single spray pulse was found in a reproducible manner to generate a layer of ca. 2 nm thickness. The PEO-chain length in the BBL functionalization had an essential influence on the building mechanism of the films. The polymers functionalized by short PEO chains induced the formation of very smooth films while longer PEO chains induced rough films and notable nanostructuration. The BBL-PEO film deposited using spray pulse deposition was found to be electro- and photoactive. The electron transfer processes observed are slightly different from earlier reported results for similar polymers, which is probably due to the very thin film. The films exhibited photocurrent generation when transformed into conducting form.Peer reviewe

Microfluidic preparation and optimization of sorafenib-loaded poly(ethylene glycol-block-caprolactone) nanoparticles for cancer therapy applications

The use of amphiphilic block copolymers to generate colloidal delivery systems for hydrophobic drugs has been the subject of extensive research, with several formulations reaching the clinical development stages. However, to generate particles of uniform size and morphology, with high encapsulation efficiency, yield and batch-to-batch reproducibility remains a challenge, and various microfluidic technologies have been explored to tackle these issues. Herein, we report the development and optimization of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-(ε-caprolactone) (PEG-b-PCL) nanoparticles for intravenous delivery of a model drug, sorafenib. We developed and optimized a glass capillary microfluidic nanoprecipitation process and studied systematically the effects of formulation and process parameters, including different purification techniques, on product quality and batch-to-batch variation. The optimized formulation delivered particles with a spherical morphology, small particle size (dH < 80 nm), uniform size distribution (PDI < 0.2), and high drug loading degree (16 %) at 54 % encapsulation efficiency. Furthermore, the stability and in vitro drug release were evaluated, showing that sorafenib was released from the NPs in a sustained manner over several days. Overall, the study demonstrates a microfluidic approach to produce sorafenib-loaded PEG-b-PCL NPs and provides important insight into the effects of nanoprecipitation parameters and downstream processing on product quality.Peer reviewe

Molecular crowding facilitates assembly of spidroin-like proteins through phase separation

Gaining insights into the processes that transform dispersed biopolymers into well-ordered structures, such as soluble spidroin-proteins to spider silk threads, is essential for attempts to understand their biological function and to mimic their unique properties. One of these processes is liquid-liquid phase separation, which can act as an intermediate step for molecular assembly. We have shown that a self-coacervation step that occurs at a very high protein concentration (> 200 gl(-1)) is crucial for the fiber assembly of an engineered triblock silk-like molecule. In this study, we demonstrate that the addition of a crowding agent lowers the concentration at which coacervation occurs by almost two orders of magnitude. Coacervates induced by addition of a crowding agent are functional in terms of fiber formation, and the crowding agent appears to affect the process solely by increasing the effective concentration of the protein. Furthermore, induction at lower concentrations allows us to study the thermodynamics of the system, which provides insights into the coacervation mechanism. We suggest that this approach will be valuable for studies of biological coacervating systems in general.Peer reviewe

Self-Assembly of Amphiphilic Janus Dendrimers into Mechanically Robust Supramolecular Hydrogels for Sustained Drug Release

Peer reviewe

Investigation of municipal solid waste (MSW) and industrial landfills as a potential source of secondary raw materials

Many of the secondary raw materials (SRM) in landfills constitute valuable and scarce natural resources. It has already been recognised that the recovery of these elements is critical for the sustainability of a number of industries and SRM recov¬ery from anthropogenic waste deposits represents a significant opportunity. In this study, the characterisation of the different waste fractions and the amount of SRM that can potentially be recovered from two landfill sites in Finland is presented. The first site was a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill site and it was specifically in¬vestigated for its metals, SRM, plastics, wood, paper, and cardboard content as well as its fine fraction (<20 mm). The second site was an industrial landfill site contain¬ing residual wastes from industrial processes including 1) aluminium salt slag from refining process of aluminium scrap and 2) shredding residues from automobiles, household appliances and other metals containing waste. This site was investigated for its metals and SRM recovery potential as well as its fine fraction. Results suggest that the fine fraction offers opportunities for metal (Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) and SRM extraction and recovery from both landfill site types while the chemical composition of the industrial waste landfill offered greater opporutinity as it was comparable to typical aluminium salt slags. Nevertheless, the concentrations of rare earth metals (REE) and other valuable elements were low even in comparison with the concentra¬tions found in the Earth’s crust. Therefore mining landfill sites only for their metals or SRM content is not expected to be financially viable. However, other opportunities, such as waste-derived fuels from excavated materials especially at MSW landfill sites, still exists and fosters the application and feasibility of landfill mining

High-Generation Amphiphilic Janus-Dendrimers as Stabilizing Agents for Drug Suspensions

Pharmaceutical nanosuspensions are formed when drug crystals are suspended in aqueous media in the presence of stabilizers. This technology offers a convenient way to enhance the dissolution of poorly water-soluble drug compounds. The stabilizers exert their action through electrostatic or steric interactions, however, the molecular requirements of stabilizing agents have not been studied extensively. Here, four structurally related amphiphilic Janus-dendrimers were synthesized and screened to determine the roles of different macromolecular domains on the stabilization of drug crystals. Physical interaction and nanomilling experiments have substantiated that Janus-dendrimers with fourth generation hydro- philic dendrons were superior to third generation analogues and Poloxamer 188 in stabilizing indomethacin suspensions. Contact angle and surface plasmon resonance measurements support the hypothesis that Janus-dendrimers bind to indomethacin surfaces via hydrophobic interactions and that the number of hydrophobic alkyl tails determines the adsorption kinetics of the Janus-dendrimers. The results showed that amphiphilic Janus-dendrimers adsorb onto drug particles and thus can be used to provide steric stabilization against aggregation and recrystallization. The modular synthetic route for new amphiphilic Janus-dendrimers offers, thus, for the first time a versatile platform for stable general-use stabilizing agents of drug suspensions.Peer reviewe

All-in-one microfluidic assembly of insulin-loaded pH-responsive nano-in-microparticles for oral insulin delivery

Here, a continuous two-step glass-capillary microfluidic technique to produce a multistage oral delivery system is reported. Insulin is successfully encapsulated into liposomes, which are coated with chitosan to improve their mucoadhesion. The encapsulation in an enteric polymer offers protection from the harsh gastric conditions. Insulin permeability is enhanced across an intestinal monolayer.Peer reviewe