The Existance and Management of Local Assortment in Multinational Corporations - A case study at DeLaval

Issue of study: In decentralised companies, products that are not in the central assortment, but still sold by the subsidiaries are known as local assortment. Understanding the reasons to why local assortment exists is important for the companies to ensure compliance. To have products that comply with laws and regulations are especially vital in the agricultural industry, due to its large personal risks for farmers. In order to create understanding for this, one must study reasons for why local assortment exists on the broadest level; both externally and internally. Few earlier studies have suggested approaches on how to manage them. Through studying a wide range of management tools in order to find the most suitable ones for local assortment, this gap will be filled by this study. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide an understanding to why local assortment exists in multinational corporations and develop a framework consisting of key variables in managing such products. Methodology: A case study has been conducted at DeLaval. The case consists of four sub-cases where information regarding local products was collected through semi-structured interviews with DeLaval´s subsidiaries. The study has used a cross-sectional research design with identical qualitative data collection in each case. This allows for a cross sub-case analysis in order to find general patterns. The deductive research approach was applied throughout the study, which allowed for the usage of a theoretical framework when approaching the empirical study. In order to have an unbiased literature review and find the most important sources, a systematic review was used. Conclusion: The conclusion is divided into two major parts; an academic contribution and a case specific conclusion. The academic contribution consists of a framework which explains the five most important reasons to why local products exist. The most important reason is system sell, which indicates that local products are used to support sales of the central assortment. The framework also presents key variables for successfully managing local products, where different types of communication as well as a structured and simple process are extra important. The case specific conclusion points out the need of local products for the case company. Currently, there are tensions and ambiguities regarding if local product are acceptable or not. Hence, the case company should clarify, within the whole organisation, on what grounds local products are acceptable. This study suggests a global process for local product development as one of those grounds

Use of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors and risk of serious renal events:Scandinavian cohort study

OBJECTIVE To assess the association between use of sodiumglucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and risk of serious renal events in data from routine clinical practice. DESIGN Cohort study using an active comparator, new user design and nationwide register data. SETTING Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, 2013-18. PARTICIPANTS Cohort of 29 887 new users of SGLT2 inhibitors (follow-up time: dapagliflozin 66.1%; empagliflozin 32.6%; canagliflozin 1.3%) and 29 887 new users of an active comparator, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, matched 1:1 on the basis of a propensity score with 57 variables. Mean follow-up time was 1.7 (SD 1.0) years. EXPOSURES SGLT2 inhibitors versus dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, defined by filled prescriptions and analysed according to intention to treat. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The main outcome was serious renal events, a composite including renal replacement therapy, death from renal causes, and hospital admission for renal events. Secondary outcomes were the individual components of the main outcome. RESULTS The mean age of the study population was 61.3 (SD 10.5) years; 11 108 (19%) had cardiovascular disease, and 1974 (3%) had chronic kidney disease. Use of SGLT2 inhibitors, compared with dipeptidy

Use of sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and risk of major cardiovascular events and heart failure:Scandinavian register based cohort study

Objective To investigate the cardiovascular effectiveness of sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in routine clinical practice. Design Cohort study using data from nationwide registers and an active-comparator new-user design. Setting Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, from April 2013 to December 2016. Participants 20 983 new users of SGLT2 inhibitors and 20 983 new users of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors, aged 35-84, matched by age, sex, history of major cardiovascular disease, and propensity score. Main outcome measures Primary outcomes were major cardiovascular events (composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiovascular death) and heart failure (hospital admission for heart failure or death due to heart failure). Secondary outcomes were the individual components of the cardiovascular composite and any cause death. In the primary analyses, patients were defined as exposed from treatment start throughout follow-up (analogous to intention to treat); additional analyses were conducted with an as-treated exposure definition. Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios. Results Mean age of the study cohort was 61 years, 60% were men, and 19% had a history of major cardiovascular disease. Of the total 27 416 person years of follow-up in the SGLT2 inhibitor group, 22 627 (83%) was among patients who initiated dapagliflozin, 4521 (16%) among those who initiated empagliflozin, and 268 (1%) among those who initiated canagliflozin. During follow-up, 467 SGLT2 inhibitor users (incidence rate 17.0 events per 1000 person years) and 662 DPP4 inhibitor users (18.0) had a major cardiovascular event, whereas 130 (4.7) and 265 (7.1) had a heart failure event, respectively. Hazard ratios were 0.94 (95% confidence interval 0.84 to 1.06) for major cardiovascular events and 0.66 (0.53 to 0.81) for heart failure. Hazard ratios were consistent among subgroups of patients with and without history of major cardiovascular disease and with and without history of heart failure. Hazard ratios for secondary outcomes, comparing SGLT2 inhibitors with DPP4 inhibitors, were 0.99 (0.85 to 1.17) for myocardial infarction, 0.94 (0.77 to 1.15) for stroke, 0.84 (0.65 to 1.08) for cardiovascular death, and 0.80 (0.69 to 0.92) for any cause death. In the as-treated analyses, hazard ratios were 0.84 (0.72 to 0.98) for major cardiovascular events, 0.55 (0.42 to 0.73) for heart failure, 0.93 (0.76 to 1.14) for myocardial infarction, 0.83 (0.64 to 1.07) for stroke, 0.67 (0.49 to 0.93) for cardiovascular death, and 0.75 (0.61 to 0.91) for any cause death. Conclusions In this large Scandinavian cohort, SGLT2 inhibitor use compared with DPP4 inhibitor use was associated with reduced risk of heart failure and any cause death, but not with major cardiovascular events in the primary intention-to-treat analysis. In the additional as-treated analyses, the magnitude of the association with heart failure and any cause death became larger, and a reduced risk of major cardiovascular events that was largely driven by the cardiovascular death component was observed. These data help inform patients, practitioners, and authorities regarding the cardiovascular effectiveness of SGLT2 inhibitors in routine clinical practice

It's a mad mad men's world - En analys av HBO-serien Mad Men utifrån ett genusperspektiv med fokus på maskulinitet

This essay will delve into a deep analysis regarding multiple episodes of the American tv-series Mad Men primarily from the perspective of two theoretical concepts regarding the study of masculinity. These include, for example, studies regarding the concept of “precarious manhood” by Joseph A. Vandello and Jennifer K. Bosson et al in the scientific article Precarious Manhood. The concept regarding hegemonic masculinity will be used for the basis of my analysis as well, with R.W. Connell and respective works such as Masculinities and Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the Concept will serve as my primary sources regarding the concept of hegemonic masculinity and the discussion there of. This in order to figure out how masculinity is portrayed in Mad Men, its possible consequences and from my analysis draw upon reflections regarding masculinity in relation to western society, with primary focus on USA and Sweden, and the present 2000sI uppsatsen genomförs en djupanalys av ett flertal avsnitt från den amerikanska tv-serien Mad Men utifrån huvudsakligen två teoretiska koncept gällande studiet av maskulinitet. Dessa inkluderar bland andra Joseph A. Vandello och Jennifer K. Bosson et als studier gällande en så kallad ”osäker maskulinitet” i den vetenskapliga artikeln Precarious Manhood. Teorin gällande hegemonisk maskulinitet kommer att användas som basis för min analys, där R.W. Connell och respektive verk som Masculinities och Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the Concept kommer att användas som mina primära källor gällande konceptet av hegemonisk maskulinitet och diskussionen därav. Detta i syfte för att komma underfund med hur maskulinitet porträtteras i Mad Men, dess möjliga konsekvenser och reflektera kring maskulinitet i förhållande till det västerländska samhället, mer precist USA och Sverige, och det nuvarande 2000-talet

Turkey Taking the CEEC Road - Would There Be Gains From a Turkish Accession Into the EU?

This thesis investigates how Turkey´s trade flows would have been affected if they had taken the same road of integration, into the EU, as the CEEC. For this purpose we have used the gravity model and produced both cross section and panel data regressions. The method used is first an in sample estimation of the bilateral trade flows between the CEEC and EU. Secondly a trade potential for Turkey was calculated allowing for a comparison with the observed trade flows in an out of sample estimation. The data used are mainly collected from OECD and contains 1893 observations. The overall result tells us that Turkey outperforms the CEEC but it seems as additional trade could be created from further integration with the EU

Use of sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and risk of major cardiovascular events and heart failure: Scandinavian register based cohort study

Objective To investigate the cardiovascular effectiveness of sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in routine clinical practice. Design Cohort study using data from nationwide registers and an active-comparator new-user design. Setting Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, from April 2013 to December 2016. Participants 20 983 new users of SGLT2 inhibitors and 20 983 new users of dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors, aged 35-84, matched by age, sex, history of major cardiovascular disease, and propensity score. Main outcome measures Primary outcomes were major cardiovascular events (composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiovascular death) and heart failure (hospital admission for heart failure or death due to heart failure). Secondary outcomes were the individual components of the cardiovascular composite and any cause death. In the primary analyses, patients were defined as exposed from treatment start throughout follow-up (analogous to intention to treat); additional analyses were conducted with an as-treated exposure definition. Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios. Results Mean age of the study cohort was 61 years, 60% were men, and 19% had a history of major cardiovascular disease. Of the total 27 416 person years of follow-up in the SGLT2 inhibitor group, 22 627 (83%) was among patients who initiated dapagliflozin, 4521 (16%) among those who initiated empagliflozin, and 268 (1%) among those who initiated canagliflozin. During follow-up, 467 SGLT2 inhibitor users (incidence rate 17.0 events per 1000 person years) and 662 DPP4 inhibitor users (18.0) had a major cardiovascular event, whereas 130 (4.7) and 265 (7.1) had a heart failure event, respectively. Hazard ratios were 0.94 (95% confidence interval 0.84 to 1.06) for major cardiovascular events and 0.66 (0.53 to 0.81) for heart failure. Hazard ratios were consistent among subgroups of patients with and without history of major cardiovascular disease and with and without history of heart failure. Hazard ratios for secondary outcomes, comparing SGLT2 inhibitors with DPP4 inhibitors, were 0.99 (0.85 to 1.17) for myocardial infarction, 0.94 (0.77 to 1.15) for stroke, 0.84 (0.65 to 1.08) for cardiovascular death, and 0.80 (0.69 to 0.92) for any cause death. In the as-treated analyses, hazard ratios were 0.84 (0.72 to 0.98) for major cardiovascular events, 0.55 (0.42 to 0.73) for heart failure, 0.93 (0.76 to 1.14) for myocardial infarction, 0.83 (0.64 to 1.07) for stroke, 0.67 (0.49 to 0.93) for cardiovascular death, and 0.75 (0.61 to 0.91) for any cause death. Conclusions In this large Scandinavian cohort, SGLT2 inhibitor use compared with DPP4 inhibitor use was associated with reduced risk of heart failure and any cause death, but not with major cardiovascular events in the primary intention-to-treat analysis. In the additional as-treated analyses, the magnitude of the association with heart failure and any cause death became larger, and a reduced risk of major cardiovascular events that was largely driven by the cardiovascular death component was observed. These data help inform patients, practitioners, and authorities regarding the cardiovascular effectiveness of SGLT2 inhibitors in routine clinical practice

Use of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors and risk of serious renal events: Scandinavian cohort study

OBJECTIVE To assess the association between use of sodiumglucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and risk of serious renal events in data from routine clinical practice. DESIGN Cohort study using an active comparator, new user design and nationwide register data. SETTING Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, 2013-18. PARTICIPANTS Cohort of 29 887 new users of SGLT2 inhibitors (follow-up time: dapagliflozin 66.1%; empagliflozin 32.6%; canagliflozin 1.3%) and 29 887 new users of an active comparator, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, matched 1:1 on the basis of a propensity score with 57 variables. Mean follow-up time was 1.7 (SD 1.0) years. EXPOSURES SGLT2 inhibitors versus dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, defined by filled prescriptions and analysed according to intention to treat. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The main outcome was serious renal events, a composite including renal replacement therapy, death from renal causes, and hospital admission for renal events. Secondary outcomes were the individual components of the main outcome. RESULTS The mean age of the study population was 61.3 (SD 10.5) years; 11 108 (19%) had cardiovascular disease, and 1974 (3%) had chronic kidney disease. Use of SGLT2 inhibitors, compared with dipeptidy