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"At Lundbeck our common language is English”

En kvalitativ, empirisk analyse af engelsk koncernsprog og sprogpolitik

Pedersen, Sara (Frederiksberg, 2011)

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In this Master’s thesis, the concepts of corporate language and language policy have been analysed by means of an empirical case study. Research was carried out at the premises of the international pharmaceutical manufacturer, H. Lundbeck A/S, where until recently no particular regulations regarding language use had been laid down. This year, however, Lundbeck has drafted a language policy, and in the present study, this draft was discussed in relation to existing literature about language policies and the opinions of five employees. These were the Communication Director, the Employee Representative, the HR Manager, a foreign researcher, and the Divisional Director for Service and Technical Operations. In order to learn as much as possible from the informants, the method chosen was that of qualitative interviews. This provides the researcher with large quantities of empirical data, as the informants are able to talk freely. The interviews were transcribed, and direct quotations from these formed the basis for an analysis of how English language is employed in the workplace and of the influence a language policy may have on language use. The results of the analysis showed that at the headquarters of Lundbeck there is (1) variation in the amount of English used, (2) use of Danish in certain contexts, (3) mixed levels of language competencies, and (4) miscellaneous opinions on corporate language policy in general and Lundbeck’s language policy draft in particular. English is used to facilitate communication within the group, which consists of subsidiaries throughout the world and a multicultural workforce. However, as Lundbeck is a Danish company, the use of Danish is heard widely across the headquarters building. The mixed levels of language competencies concerns skills in both Danish and English. The most highly educated employees speak English quite fluently, whereas employees with relatively low levels of education barely have any command of English. There are a number of foreign employees at Lundbeck headquarters, and even though some of these have embarked on Danish courses, the level of Danish competency of this group of employees is not high enough to be usable in everyday work. The concept of a language policy is considered reasonable by the informants. They can all see the advantage of standardising communication and regulating language use, which make it easier to attract the best employees in the world. Although Lundbeck’s language policy draft places great responsibility on the shoulders of Lundbeck’s managers, as these have to ensure that employees understand corporate messages which are distributed in English. Thus managers need sound English skills, something which is also stressed in the language policy draft. In addition, a general high level of English competencies for the staff on the whole is reached through their recruitment strategy. In the course of job interviews, Lundbeck can check whether potential future employees already possess adequate language competencies, or at least are willing to upgrade their skills through courses. This holds true of both English and Danish. As regards foreigners applying for positions at Lundbeck, it is only fair to notify them of the degree of Danish use within the company and to offer them the possibility to attend Danish courses in order to become fully integrated in the company culture. The launching of the language policy draft does not appear to involve major changes in the language use within Lundbeck – it simply describes the current situation. It seems wise of Lundbeck to have drafted a somewhat gentle language policy. According to language acquisition theories, it is not prudent to impose language usage on people – encouragements, invitations, and incitements are the way to proceed. And this is exactly what Lundbeck is trying. English language will undoubtedly find its way into multinational companies such as Lundbeck in the future, as English symbolises internationalisation and is the lingua franca, when it comes to worldwide communication. Being a case study, no general conclusions can be drawn from the analyses. However, the present study may provide inspiration to other scholars in future research into corporate language and language policy, and thus the aspiration of this Master’s thesis is to contribute to the on-going debate about English language use in Denmark.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10417/2879

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Atmosfærisk byplanlægning?

En analyse af et midlertidigt byrumsinitiativ i Carlsberg Byen som udtryk for en planlægningstendens samt en undersøgelse af byrumsoplevelser i praksis

Strandby, Kristina Helland (Frederiksberg, 2011)

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URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10417/4017

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At så et frø i byens rum

En undersøgelse af subjektiveringsdannelse igennem arbejdet med byhaver i det offentlige rum

Nelund, Mette (Frederiksberg, 2014)

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Sowing a Seed in the City studies a form of local activism, present in many cities of the global north, which addresses the global climate crisis through urban gardening. This thesis asks for at better understanding of how the tactile process of gardening constitutes the urban gardener politically, ethically and with regards to the senses. Focusing on one case study, Byhaven2200 in Copenhagen, the thesis treats tow main problems. First, with the help of the methodological tool for the political and sensed experience, the thesis analyzes the processes of subjectification urban gardeners go through. Second, the thesis use Jacques Ranciere’s aesthetic and political notion of a (re) distribution of the sensible to study how urban gardeners relate to nature, themselves and the global climate crisis. This research is thus different from earlier investigations of the topic, which on the one hand focus on urban gardening as a tool for establishing collectives and social integration (Boulianne et al., 2010; Cérézuelle and Le Formal, 1990; Ferris et al., 2001; Holland, 2004) or on the other hand understand urban gardening through its spatial, social and physical characteristics (Ernwein 2014; Kurtx 2013) (Ernwein, 2014: 77). The thesis concludes that Byhaven2200 can be considered an economic heterotopia, where the process of subjectification happens through a politically sensed experience of nature. This experience creates a new kind of sociality, a new kind of economy and a new form of life. However, there is also an inherent contradiction between capitalist and existential concepts, between pre-‐modern nostalgia and a modern dynamic understanding of life, between local democracy and temporal collectives and between metaphors of nature and society. But the thesis shows that the urban gardeners attempt to unite these contradictions through their politically sensed work with Byhaven2200. Moreover, the articulations of what nature, human being and collective mean help the urban gardeners to reconsider their relationship with nature, themselves and the global climate crisis. In other words, Byhaven2200 embodies a potential for a distribution of the sensible in public space.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10417/4985

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Attitudes Towards Animals and Animal Welfare

Svareniece, Laura (Frederiksberg, 2013)

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URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10417/4492

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Attracting Chinese Tourists to Denmark

A Focused Study on Chinese Tourists’ Perceptions

Lahouati, Jurgita (Frederiksberg, 2012)

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Due to the expanding Chinese outbound tourism worldwide and Chinese tourists‘ spending power, many tourist destinations including Denmark have recognized the need to know Chinese tourists better and to adjust themselves to their needs. As tourists have certain images about tourist destinations, these perceptions effect tourists‘ motivation to visit them. Furthermore, tourists perceptions might differ from those that tourism industry tries to present, what creates ‗image gap‘ resulting in miscommunication and wrong images in tourists‘ minds. Because of the dynamic nature of perceptions and their complexity, tourists‘ experiences and images of a destination change throughout the time. Therefore, it is important for a tourist destination as Denmark to know- what are Chinese tourists perceptions? Do they go in line with perceptions of industry and authorities? – in order to find out those ‗image gaps‘ and adjust their strategies them. Thus, the focus of this thesis was following: Attracting Chinese Tourists to Denmark. A focused study on Chinese tourists‟ perceptions. The goal was to find out :  What are Chinese tourists‟ perceptions of Denmark?  What are Chinese tourists‟ perceptions of tourists‟ attractions in Denmark?  What are Chinese tourists‟ perceptions of services in Denmark?  What are the initiatives of industry and authorities to keep a good image of Denmark and to attract more Chinese tourists to the country? These research issues leaded to qualitative research approach resulted in five focus groups interviews with Chinese tourists, several interviews with experts in industry and authorities, as well as additional research. Theoretical framework was based on different concepts and theories related both to these different parts of perceptions as well as Chinese tourist‘ behaviour. Findings in different chapters showed a huge variety of Chinese tourists views about different issues; some of them going in line with the initiatives of industry and authorities, while others leaded to perception ‗gaps‘. The main findings showed that Chinese tourists can not be generalised. Chinese tourists are very heterogeneous and complex and there is no a single solution how to deal will them. Furthermore, findings have proved that Chinese tourists behaviour when visiting Denmark can be explained by ―Three Tourists Conditions‖ ( Ooi, 2001): 1) Their visits are very short, 2) They do not have local knowledge and 3) They come to enjoy. Due to their heterogeneity and these conditions, there were given following suggestions: that mediators should be sensitive about this issue; they should accept in their minds the fact that Chinese tourist are very diverse; and they should expect a new generation of Chinese tourists, that they will be even more different.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10417/3911

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Attracting Danish tourists to Lithuania

Vitkuté Enevoldsen, Vaida (Frederiksberg, 2011)

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The main purpose of this project was to find out why Danes do not travel to Lithuania and what can be done about it. The researcher chose to analyse the problem from the Danish intermediaries’ stand point and how they can stimulate the Danish outbound demand to Lithuania. The project is based on Leiper’s systematic approach of tourism. The researcher analyses the whole tourism system between Denmark (TGR) and Lithuania (TDR). The analysis is divided into three main parts. First, the focus is on the internal factors of the destination supply. Second, the focus is on the intermediaries’ role in relation to influencing outbound tourism demand. Third, the focus is on main factors affecting destination demand by Danish tourists. The reader is presented with the most significant findings in the analysis, where strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of demand, supply and intermediation are examined. The PEST and other factors, like seasonality, are investigated to find the most important factors influencing the tourism demand in TGR and TDR. The analysis of the intermediation is based upon the ICTs and their influence on the intermediaries. Here, the importance of the Internet and social media are discussed. Gilbert’s framework is used to analyse the complex behaviour of Danish tourists. Here, the discussion about motivation, information search, holiday image, preference of holiday, follows. Other theories, regarding destination branding, transportation, attractions, hospitality and others also are applied. The researcher discovers that a lack of awareness about the destination in Denmark, the preference to travel south and Lithuania’s similarity to Scandinavia, is the three main reasons that Danes travel somewhere else. Additionally, Danes perceive Lithuania negatively. The selected Danish intermediaries do not offer any tourism products to Lithuania. Therefore Danes do not even consider the destination as an option for holiday or a short break. Also, Lithuania, as a destination, does not have a strong brand to be recognized in Europe. The Danish intermediaries can stimulate the Danish outbound demand through market ing and communication. Here value for money, close distance to Denmark and different types of products (spa/ wellness) is the focus. The internet and social media sites, like Facebook, are applied by the Danish intermediaries quiet intensively to create the professional and effective space of interaction with consumers to provide high quality service, protect their brands and sell their products.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10417/2962

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The Attractiveness of the European Pharmaceutical Market and its Explanatory Factors

Barfoed, Camilla (Frederiksberg, 2016)

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URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10417/6123

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Attraktiviteten på det britiske marked for Decadent Copenhagen

Lerchedahl, Christina Victoria (Frederiksberg, 2015)

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This thesis analyses the British market of luggage and leather goods and strives to assess the attractiveness of the market for the Danish company DECADENT A/S whilst taking their growth plans into account. More specifically it analyses the market of leather handbags which is the main product that DECADENT A/S design and sell along with other leather accessories. The company is already exporting to a number of other countries in Scandinavia, Europe and the rest of the world, however the British market is viewed both as a geographically- and culturally close market thus leaving the question as to why the company has not yet started selling their goods on this market and that is why this thesis seeks to explore the attractiveness of the British market. In order to assess the attractiveness of the market, the thesis is divided into three main parts that are initiated by an introduction to the company and its strategy and growth plan. The subsequent three parts explore the overall framework conditions in Great Britain, the industry, the market, the company’s strategy, business portfolio, core competencies and the likelihood of obtaining a competitive advance on the British market. The thesis uses both primary and secondary sources and the adopted methods and models include a PESTEL-analysis, Porter’s Five Forces, and an STP-analysis that covers the first part of the thesis in order to address whether or not there is a potential demand for DECADENT’s products on the British market. The second part of the thesis uses the value chain, the PLC-curve and the BCG-matrix to determine whether DECADENT A/S has the resources to obtain a competitive advantage on the British market. Lastly the third part of the thesis addresses the likelihood of DECADENT A/S obtaining a competitive advantage on the British market by discussing export- and distribution theory and correlating it to the company’s strategy and growth plan on the background of the findings in the first and second part of the analysis. The thesis analysis indicates that DECADENT A/S does not have the resources nor the risk tolerance to make a significant dent in the British market of leather handbags, however by taking the usual steps and applying their vast experience with agents and distributors in other export markets, their unique offering of timeless design, excellent quality and affordable prices is expected to be adopted by the British consumers and thus creating a demand for DECADENT A/ HD IB AFGANGSPROJEKT - FORÅR 2015 !2 S’ products and in time, attractive profit margins for the company. Therefore the thesis recommends that DECADENT A/S carry on with their well acquainted export strategy, allowing them to steadily penetrate the British market within the range of their risk tolerance and growth strategy.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10417/5247

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Attributes Important for Guests During Stay at Bed and Breakfasts in Sintra, Portugal

Oliveira, Martta Alexandra Mäkelä de (Frederiksberg, 2012)

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This is an attribute importance study for B&Bs in Sintra, Portugal, with the purpose of understanding what guests of B&Bs in Sintra find important during their stay. Nowadays, guests increasingly rely on on-line reviews of hotels before even considering making a booking. This places a great pressure on lodging units to provide guests with a positive experience at their accommodation. In the small touristic town of Sintra, Portugal, of less than 10.000 inhabitants, new Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs) are opening their doors every year, yet out of the 2million tourists Sintra receives, only 112 thousand stay overnight. Consequently managers of B&Bs in Sintra want to know how they can give their guests a good experience in their lodging, even with their limited resources. Indeed, guest satisfaction is an extremely important issue for businesses, because guest satisfaction is proven to increase loyalty and market share, market share, isolate market position, improve company bottom-lines and cause favorable word-of-mouth (Wilson A. , Zeithaml, Bitner, & Gremler, 2008). It is very important for any service to know what their customers find important, so that correct resource allocations are made (Bacon, 2003), which is why attribute importance analysis can add value to companies. However, due to the low resources that B&Bs have access to, diversification and innovation can be a challenge for B&Bs (Stickdorn & Zehrer, 2009). In this thesis, through a paper-based survey distributed in 25 B&Bs in Sintra for 7 weeks during the summer of 2012, attribute importance was measured through direct and indirect methods. The results show that the property of the B&B, the staff’s interactions with guests, bedroom amenities, and the price have strong influences on overall satisfaction during stay. Differences in perceived importance of attributes between guest characteristics are also identified, which will aid managers in knowing which attributes to focus on depending on who their target market is. Depending on guest profiles, a local traditional experience is something that guests place importance in, which follows the current trend of authentic experiences.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10417/3771

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martta_alexandra_makela_de_oliveira.pdf (7.118Mb)

At være eller at være

Brugen af ser eller estar på spansk - verbalisering af afsenders viden og oplevelse

Hansen, Regitze Marie (Frederiksberg, 2013)

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This thesis aims to give a satisfactory explanation for the use of the two Spanish equivalents of ‘to be’, ser and estar, by making a critical analysis of three existing theories on the field and presenting a new hypothesis. The thesis consists of two parts. In the first part I present three different theories on the use of the two verbs ser and estar that seek to explain the issue on the basis of different aspects. The first theory seeks to explain the difference in meaning of the two verbs as a difference between property/class and state. Secondly a theory which sees the difference as an aspectual distinction between imperfective and a perfective situations will be presented. The last theory I will present takes as point of departure the use of the verbs in sentences with adjectives as predicates. In these types of sentences the distinction is said to be a comparison of the subject with a general norm and an individual norm respectively. The three theories are evaluated on the basis of different criteria for the quality of a grammar theory. They are evaluated initially on their comprehensibility i.e. whether the theories are explicit, coherent and consistent. Next the applicability of the theories is evaluated on the basis of the interpretive power of the theories. In order to assess the interpretive power of the theories the following criteria are considered: a theory should be exhaustive, unequivocal and meaningful. The critical analysis gives different examples from the theories which show that none of the presented theories meets these criteria. It leads to the conclusion that it is hard for the reader of the theories to understand the presented terms, since they are not explicitly defined. The theories are not coherent, as they don’t explain which overall meaning and grammatical theory the different sentence structures can be connected to. In addition to this there are examples of inconsistencies in the presented theories. As the criteria for comprehensibility aren’t met, it is difficult to apply the theories on data. If the reader doesn’t understand the theories, he won’t be able to use them in practice either. The other part of the thesis seeks to show how we can give a more satisfactory explanation of the use of ser and estar. The hypothesis is that we need two different theories with basis in two different grammatical categories. In sentence structures, where the two verbs are combined with adverbs or predicates, the distinction has its basis in modality. This means that it is a distinction in mood, and what is important is the speaker’s perception of the situation. The hypothesis is that the speaker always has four different universes of verbalization when communicating. The speaker always chooses between the universes in accordance with the intention of the utterance. The four universes are his opinions, beliefs, knowledge and experiences. My analysis of the use of ser and estar will take its starting point in the hypothesis that all sentences with ser are indications of the speaker’s knowledge and all sentences with estar are indications of the speaker’s experiences. In passive sentence structures the foundation is an aspectual distinction describing either an imperfective action/process with ser, or a perfective static event with estar. In this part of the thesis I show that the examples presented in the existing theories can all very well be explained based on these two distinctions: a modal distinction between the knowledge and the experiences of the speaker and an aspectual distinction between imperfectivity and perfectivity.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10417/4028

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At være kreativ og nyttig, eller ikke at være

En semantisk analyse af kreativitet i nyere tid

Bach, Martin Lykke (Frederiksberg, 2011)

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The purpose of this Master’s Thesis is to conduct a semantic analysis on the basis of the systems theory of Niklas Luhmann. The semantics of creativity is a potentially vast area to analyze and therefore I have had to narrow it down to a dense and at the same time, in my point of view, important compilation of text material dealing with creativity. The objective is to uncover the semantics of creativity in recent years with the function of attaining a deeper and more profound comprehension of the semantics concerning creativity. Following that, the ambition is to uncover blind spots and potential problems that can be analyzed on the basis of the semantics of creativity. The assumption is that the communication about creativity in recent years has become increasingly visible. The semantics are focusing on facing problems and meeting challenges - particularly of economic nature - in the globalized world in which we live. The semantics are overwhelmingly positive when it comes to creativity, and it seems unlikely that its many qualities can be questioned. Creativity is looked upon as something that is closely connected to the human life: everyone has a creative potential to some degree, it is impossible for humans not to be creative. But the level of your innate creative potential and how much you are able to actualize your potential varies. Your level of creativity depends on nature and nurture. Creativity is seen as a hard, experimental and time demanding process. On one hand, creativity has to be viewed as something that is useful and generates economic value. If that is not the case, it cannot be seen as creativity. On the other hand, the creative employees sometimes do not worry about making their creativity in to useful products, and sometimes the possibility to work creatively can feel like a reward. Hence, there is a paradox within the semantics: creativity is found worth doing for its own sake and for the sake of usefulness, particularly regarding economy. This is considered to be one of several blind spots that the analysis reveals. Thus, after conducting the semantic analysis, I selected three areas that contained blind spots and potential problems. The three areas were then analyzed and discussed, and they consisted of: 1: a discrepancy within the semantics in order to enhance creativity. 2: a blindness or indifference towards non-creative employees. 3: blindness towards potential ecological problems caused by creativity. In order to accomplish the goal, within the semantics, of enhancing creativity both for the sake of creativity itself and for the sake of creating economic value, I propose more adequate semantics within these areas. That includes forms of communication that can control the blind spots standing in the way of reaching that goal. I suggest that the semantics of creativity should “listen to” and include other forms of semantics relating to the three selected areas. That is to say, first the semantics should deal with its internal blind spots, concerning the first selected area. Then it should deal with blind spots towards other semantics. That could possibly improve the semantics within the three selected areas, in a way that makes it more probable, to deal with its ambitions in clear-sighted ways.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10417/2648

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At være netværksmanager!

Clausen, Anders; Skov, Jørgen; Bechmann, Mette (Frederiksberg, 2014)

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In this thesis we focus on a current trend within governance in the public sector, namely partnerships and co-creation, thereby addressing difficulties we’ve often faced when trying to solve wicked problems in our respective organizations. The context of the thesis is situations, where the knowledge of a particular field is spread upon various actors and the power to solve the problems is also spread upon various actors. Thus, none of the actors can single handedly drive a strategy to solve the problem and hence need to engage in a network cooperation. In the thesis we use Fastholdelsescentret within Arbejdsskadestyrelsen as our empirical background. Fastholdelsescentret was established in 2008 with the objective to identify workplace related injuries in order to cooperate with the municipalities with the aim of speeding up the process in cases where the connection to the job marked is threatened. This is handled by engaging in so called round table talks where both the injured party as well as other relevant actors participate, e.g. the employer, the union, the municipality, the insurance company and Fastholdelsescentret. The round table talks usually take place in the municipalities. Fastholdelsescentret are to make quick temporary decisions in cases where there is a risk of long term sick leave. This enables the injured party to start up a program addressing the reestablishment of his work possibilities. We’ve examined how the actors each handle workplace related injury cases. We’ve also tried identifying the barriers and the enhancing factors that affect the results of the actors. We’ve compared our results with the nine recommendations compiled by Koppenjan and Klijn addressing network managers’ strategies for solving wicked problems. From this outset we’ve compiled recommendations addressing network management at a general level. The empirical data in our thesis consists of semi structured interviews with the manager of Fastholdelsescentret, with two case workers from two municipalities and with two case workers from two insurance companies. We’ve also conducted a focus group discussion with several case workers from Fastholdelsescentret. Additionally we used secondary data consisting of two surveys compiled by Det Nationale Forskningscenter for Velfærd, SFI, and several internal evaluations compiled by Fastholdelsescentret themselves. 6 According to our findings, Fastholdelsescentret tries to work in a network based fashion and they consider themselves to be the main actor in cases of work related injuries. This understanding is however not completely shared by the other actors, presumably because they have sort of a temporary structure – somewhat like a task force - which inhibits them from fully engaging in the cases. The other actors only partially see themselves as working in a network based structure. In conclusion we’ve found that in order for a network to function properly it is crucial that the network actors acknowledge themselves to be network actors. Furthermore, it is crucial that they have the skills, the will and the opportunity to engage in the network, and finally it is significant, that the various initiatives in the case are coordinated as well as timed. The network needs to be managed and the participating actors need to be perceived as legitimate co-players. Finally we’ve found that it is critical for the actors to share a common understanding of the success factors of the network. We’ve also examined how the actors’ understanding and actual managing of the network related to cases of workplace injuries fit the nine recommendations made by Koppenjan and Klijn addressing network managers strategy to solve wicked problems. Our analysis has shown that the actors’ understanding of networking as presented in our data match the elements drawn up by Koppenjan and Klijn, though without fully following each step of their nine recommendations. Stemming from our analysis of inhibiting and supporting factors we’ve identified a number of factors not included in Koppenjan and Klijns recommendations, which can be considered additional recommendations to network managers:  The actors should ensure a common understanding of who has which role within the network.  The actors should ensure that all actors of the network understand and acknowledge the significance of participating in a network.  A possible decoupling by network actors from their home organizations strategy should be accepted and integrated by the home organizations.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10417/5108

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Auditiv uforudsigeligheds indflydelse på dannelse af præference og hukommelse af logoer og reklamer

Bugge Jensen, Simon (Frederiksberg, 2010)

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This thesis has a theoretical approach to analyze how auditory unpredictability influences the preference formations process and memory of brands and commercials. The inspiration to this study came from an experiment conducted by Cyril Herry et al. where a number of subjects were exposed to both predictable and unpredictable sound sequences while performing a visual dot probe task. The study found that the unpredictable sound sequences caused sustained neural activity in an area of the brain called amygdala, and the visual dot probe task was found to induce avoidance and anxiety-like behaviour. This study has aimed at developing a research design based on the findings by Herry et al. and combining it with relevant marketing stimuli. In the process of developing the research design, the theory of how preference and memory is formed was reviewed, where the prediction effect was found to have a strong impact of the preference formations process. The theoretical review on memory showed that, exposure, attention and the emotional content of stimuli were the primary factors, that influences how stimuli is remembered. The theoretical review on the theory led to the construction of two hypotheses, where auditory unpredictability was expected to decrease the preference of the marketing stimuli but enhance the memory of it. Two experiments were then performed to test these hypotheses. The first test confirmed the hypothesis, as brand logos paired with unpredictable sounds were rated significantly lower than the brand logos paired with predictable sounds. The second test however failed to confirm the hypothesis, when the temporal unpredictability was composed in the music of television commercials. The subsequent test for recall of the television commercials shown in the preference test confirmed the priori hypothesis, as the commercials paired with the temporal unpredictable music in general had a significantly higher recall level than commercial paired with the temporal predictable music. Even though the results from the second test did not confirm the hypothesis for the preference formation, it is still believed to pose a threat of having a negative impact, given the results from the first test. The use of auditory unpredictability in advertising has thus been found as a potential paradox and therefore challenges the traditional advertising theory, where there has been found to be a positive correlation between the preference and memory of commercials.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10417/1774

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The Audit of Letterbox Companies

Schrøder, Anne Kirstine; Alexander, Søren (Frederiksberg, 2014)

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The evolution of corporate structures has led to the emergence of hybrids that challenge the conventional perception of a group structure. One of these hybrids is identified as a letterbox company where, in its purest form, almost all activities are offshored to a different jurisdiction, and no more than a letterbox remains at the place of registration. In turn, such a corporate setup calls for a different audit setup, where the audit opinion is signed by an auditor at the place of registration, which is different from where the group’s operations, accounting records and financial management are located, and where the vast majority of the audit is performed. The letterbox audit setup has not been without problems to the audit profession, and criticism has been raised in both the UK and Switzerland in quality inspections over auditors’ handling of these cases. IAASB has recognized the need to address the topic of letterbox audits, especially with the goal of clarifying whether ISA 600 applies to these cases. We have made a vast literature review on the topic of audit quality and the role of geographic proximity to obtain an understanding of the challenges that geographically dispersed audits impose on audit quality. On the basis of our literature review, we analyzed how letterbox audits are regulated within the current framework of ISAs, with a point of departure in ISA 600 and the regulation of group audits.We realized that a great variety exists within letterbox company setups and that a group audit in some cases would be an overkill, where in other cases it might be a suitable given the current framework of standards. However the most fundamental question when using an ISA 600 on letterbox audits remains: How can an auditor sign an audit opinion based primarily on the work of another auditor? Moreover, we examined the limitations imposed by data processing laws on sharing audit documentation across borders and we found that there is a strict practice in allowing processing of personal data, and that it is highly affected by whether or not bi- or multilateral agreements that protect personal data have been made. Our overall conclusion is that letterbox audits do challenge the current regulatory and legislative framework, and that an ongoing dialogue between auditors, regulators and audit clients is the key to finding a solution that provides for audit quality.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10417/4912

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anne _kirstine_schrøder_og_søren_alexander.pdf (757.5Kb)

Australia’s image in Denmark

How to measure a nation-brand image?

Hansen, Heidi Therese (Frederiksberg, 2010)

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Abstract:

Nation branding er et relativt nyt akademisk felt. Der er ikke meget teori om det på nuværende tidspunkt, men mange lande forsøger sig med en nation branding strategi for at følge med konkurrenterne på den globale markedsplads. Et af de lande er Australien, som netop har lanceret deres første nation-brand under overskriften ‟Australia Unlimited‟. Da Danmark er et relativt vigtigt marked for Australien på udvalgte områder, er det interessant at undersøge, hvilket nation-brand image Australien har i Danmark. Problemformuleringen for denne kandidatafhandling lyder derfor: Hvad er Australiens nation-brand image i Danmark, og hvilke nuværende og fremtidige implikationer har det for Australien i en dansk sammenhæng? Desuden vil afhandlingen give en vurdering af den metode, der bruges til at måle nation-brand image på i det anerkendte Nation Brands Index, som måler forskellige landes image i andre lande. For at have den teoretiske ballast på plads undersøger afhandlingen først, hvad nation branding er som begreb, og hvordan det hænger sammen med begrebet nation-brand image. Herefter undersøges metoden fra Nation Brands Index og hvordan den kan bidrage til at måle Australiens nation-brand image i Danmark. Selve metoden bygger på en teori af Simon Anholt, som også er ham, der introducerede nation branding begrebet i 1996. Selve teorien går ud på, at et nation-brand image er opbygget af seks dimensioner, som man så kan måle på. De seks dimensioner er: politik, investering og immigration, eksport, turisme, kultur og befolkning. En del af det empiriske grundlag for afhandlingen er et interview med den australske ambassadør i Danmark. På baggrund af dette interview blev det klart, at Australien ikke har haft en koordineret strategi for, hvordan landet skal brande sig i Danmark. Dette betyder dog ikke, at Australien ikke har noget image i Danmark. Den anden del af det empiriske grundlag er en online spørgeskemaundersøgelse, der undersøger, hvilket image Australien har blandt danske respondenter. Resultaterne fra denne undersøgelse viser blandt andet, at Australien har et overvejende positivt image i Danmark. De fleste respondenter er interesserede i Australien og vil gerne rejse dertil på ferie og købe flere australske produkter, hvis der var mulighed for det. Australien ligger især højt i målingerne på kultur-, turisme- og befolkningsdimensionerne. Australien ligger ikke ligeså højt på de andre dimensioner, men der er ingen deciderede bundskrabere. Desuden konkluderer undersøgelsen, at Australien har et relativt stort uudnyttet potentiale i Danmark, da mange af respondenterne gerne vil vide mere om Australien, og at der i fremtiden sagtens kunne eksporteres flere australske produkter til Danmark samt sælges flere rejser til Australien til danske turister. Desuden vurderer undersøgelsen, at der er en mangel på teoretiske og metodiske overvejelser i forbindelse med Nation Brands Index‟ets måde at måle nation-brand image på. Det er vigtigt, at metoder som disse er baseret på et solidt teoretisk grundlag, da de fleste lande poster mange penge i et nation branding projekt og derfor er meget interesserede i en ordentlig undersøgelse af, hvordan deres image ser ud.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10417/1457

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heidi_therese_hansen.pdf (1.936Mb)

The Austrian business cycle theory and the crisis of 2008

Banaras, Mohammad Aazab (Frederiksberg, 2010)

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Abstract:

The Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT) is a theory that describes the events of boom and busts in an economy. It has it’s foundations with Carl Menger, Freidrich Von Mieser and Eugen Von Böhm-Bawerk. The theory begins with describing how an unsustainable boom occurs, as the Central Bank expands the money supply and suppresses the market interest rate. The interest rate is an important feature of the ABCT, as it provides the people with a signal that reflects their time preference. This interest rate is in Austrian terminology called the “natural” rate of interest. The Austrian theory sees the structure of production with several stages and capital as heterogeneous, containing both a time and a value dimension. Hayek elaborated on the work of the founders, and presented the ABCT in the famous Hayekian triangle. The ABCT is very controversial among mainstream economists as the theory has many flaws and no empirical testing. The Austrian school is against testing human action, as a matter of mathematical equations. The ABCT seeks to explain the occurrences of boom and bust cycles with the notion that money supply expands (by the Central Bank), the market rate of interest falls below the “natural” rate of interest and entrepreneurs get a wrong signal leading to them engaging in more long term investment projects. But as this altering of the production process isn’t backed by savings, the boom has to end in a bust leading to recession. The theory doesn’t find much credibility as it has some major flaws. The Austrians have a very narrow definition of money, which is somewhat misleading in a world where financial innovators develop complex derivatives, and trade them just like money. The Austrian schools belief that free markets are perfect as long as the government stays out the way is highly suspicious as well. They have furthermore a exogenously definition of money, which means that it is the issuer of money, the Central Banks, that have absolute power of how much money circulates the economy. The Austrian school is shown not to be able to explain the crisis in a satisfying manner as there is nothing in the Hayekian triangle, and therefore the ABCT that is measurable empirically. In the same time, they set forth too many assumptions in the theory that are quite dubious.

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10417/1556

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mohammad_aazab_banaras.pdf (780.6Kb)

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