Management In Finland Research Articles

Logistics outsourcing and supply management in Finland, Sweden and UAE

Success factors and state of operating principles are well reported from larger countries and corporations. However, globally, an interesting pool of countries is economically prospering including small ones, and their respective companies. This is the motivation behind our research work – to gain understanding from the scope of logistics outsourcing and strategic supplier management in defined countries. The completed survey shows that transportation function, warehousing and customs brokerage are typical functions for outsourcing activity. Further analysis reveals that transportation is the key decision in the logistics outsourcing path. In the supplier network side, it seems to be the case that UAE differs considerably from North European countries and it is a question whether the first mentioned should absorb practises from the latter.

The socio-economic and communication challenges of spent nuclear fuel management in Finland: The post site selection phase of the repository project in Eurajoki

One of the key factors behind the expansion of nuclear energy policy in Finland is nuclear waste management. As in many countries, nuclear waste management agencies are still struggling with the siting of intermediate and low level nuclear waste management facilities, in Finland Posiva, the nuclear waste company owned by the two nuclear power utilities Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) and Fortum Power and Heat (FPH), has been excavating a underground characterization facility since 2004 in the Olkiluoto site in the municipality of Eurajoki. The facility under construction is meant to be for a part of the final repository for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The site selection process of the repository was launched in Finland in the early 1980s. The site selection process included different measures to inform and involve local citizens. For example, an Environmental Impact Assessment process was implemented by the nuclear waste company in the late 1990s. The siting process, which proceeded step by step, was successful as in January 2000 the local council of the municipality of Eurajoki approved the siting of the repository by 20 votes to 7. The Council of State made a favourable decision-in-principle (DiP) in December 2000 and Parliament ratified the decision in May 2001. Posiva has also applied for a decision-in-principle to extend the facility. The aim of the paper is to introduce the first observations of the survey focused on local inhabitants. The paper addresses such questions as: What are the main impacts of the repository according to local residents? How can they obtain information about the repository? Which actors are seen as reliable sources of information regarding the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel? The survey was carried out in June 2008. The respondents ( N = 3000) were selected from the residents of the municipality of Eurajoki and the neighbouring municipalities using stratified random sampling. The information provided by the survey is important as the municipality of Eurajoki is the very first municipality in the world where the views of local residents on the construction of a repository for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel could be elicited after the decision of the site selection. The post site selection phase the municipality of Eurajoki is currently experiencing can provide information useful for other countries likely to face this phase in the future. The paper is a part of the co-operation research project of the University of Jyväskylä and the University of Tampere. The research project “Follow-up research regarding socio-economic effects and communication of final disposal facility of spent nuclear fuel in Eurajoki and its neighbouring municipalities” is funded by the Finnish Research Programme on Nuclear Waste Management (KYT2010).

Conflicts and Compromises in Lynx Lynx lynx Conservation and Management in Finland

Contradictory attitudes towards lynx Lynx lynx management in Finland have emerged as a consequence of rapid growth of the lynx population together with the strict protection and conservation objectives determined by the European Union. In this study, conducted during 2004–2005, we examined local people's and stakeholders' opinions about lynx management through a nationwide survey. We also assessed local people's opinions through comments expressed at public meetings, which were recorded, transcribed and analysed. In general, lynx were seen as an important part of Finnish nature and its biodiversity, but it was also seen as a detriment to sustaining game populations. Hunters who manage roe deer Capreolus capreolus or white‐tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus or hare Lepus spp. populations were especially negative. Hunting and improved public awareness were considered the most effective methods to increase people's tolerance towards lynx and the damage they might cause. Stakeholders were interested in development of the existing damage compensation system and clear rules concerning management of problem individuals. In contrast to hunters, conservationists emphasised the conservation status of lynx and rejected the idea of population regulation through hunting. Many aspects of management were accepted by all stakeholders; other aspects were more controversial. To resolve the conflict between stakeholders regarding lynx management, compromise and cooperation will be required from stakeholders holding conflicting views. This may aid lynx management and also the conservation of the species in Finland in the future.

Eco-efficiency in contaminated land management in Finland – Barriers and development needs

In Finland the number of potentially contaminated sites totals ca. 20 000. The annual costs of remediation are 60–70 million euros. Excavation combined with disposal or off-site treatment is the most common soil remediation method. To define which factors make contaminated land management (CLM) eco-efficient and to study whether eco-efficiency has been considered in CLM decisions we carried out a literature survey, two stakeholder seminars, thematic interviews and a questionnaire study on economic instruments. Generally speaking, eco-efficiency means gaining environmental benefits with fewer resources. To assess its realization in CLM, it is necessary to have a more specific definition. In our study, we arrived at a list of several qualifications for eco-efficiency. It was also shown that eco-efficiency has hardly been a real issue in the selection of remediation techniques or generally, in the decision-making concerning contaminated sites. The existing policy instruments seem to be insufficient to promote eco-efficiency in CLM. Several concrete barriers to eco-efficiency also came up, urgency and lack of money being the most important. The scarcity of the use of in situ remediation methods and the difficulties involved in recycling slightly contaminated or treated soil were considered to be major problems. Insufficient site studies, inadequate or unsuitable methods for risk assessment and cost evaluation, and deficient and mistimed risk communication can also hinder the realization of eco-efficiency. Hence, there is a need to promote the use of more eco-efficient remediation techniques and to develop CLM policy instruments, guidelines, and participatory processes and methods to assess the eco-efficiency of CLM options.

Collaborative Moose Hunting Planning: A Finnish Case

Interest in effective stakeholder collaboration in moose management is growing in Finland. Success is critical because moose are an ecologically, socially, and economically important game animal and pest, especially in Fennoscandia. In Finland, for over two decades regional multi-stakeholder meetings have had an informal consultative role in regional planning for moose hunting. Moose management in Finland informs an understanding of the key factors behind stakeholder perceptions of legitimate and acceptable policy. We found a marked difference in the perspectives of regional administrators responsible for arranging stakeholder meetings and stakeholders participating in the meetings with respect to the impact of collaboration on management. The evidence suggests, given the current national institutional context, that neither perceived progress in communication between representatives nor broadening of stakeholder representation would strongly improve the level of general satisfaction with current policy in conflicting situations.

The Changing Role and Contribution of Social Science to Nuclear Waste Management in Finland

This article explores both the social and political usage of social science research and its effectiveness, as perceived by experts, in the process of planning and decision-making in the context of Finnish nuclear waste management. The argument is that public participation in the process is important, but to reach some kind of public acceptability the actors in charge of “solving” the nuclear waste problem have to govern the societal process and respond to the claims and the needs of the public. This requires the integration of social science research into the process responsible for developing the nuclear waste management model. In trying to understand the uniquely positive nuclear waste siting decision by the Eurajoki municipal council in January 2000, and the decision-in-principle ratified by the Finnish Parliament in May 2001, one has to pay close attention to the bureaucratic processes underlying those decisions. Some kind of public consent, contentment or acceptability was reached in those long and skilful bureaucratic processes, involving both deliberative techniques and a responsive use of social science. A more general reflection underpinning the study concerns the deepening relationship between science and politics, including the growing bureaucratic ethos of science, the social responsibility of science, the increasing need to control the quality of different societal processes, and the legitimization of societal and political aims.

What Drives Mutual Fund Performance? A Look into the Characteristics of Finnish Mutual Funds

We investigate the effects of 17 different mutual fund characteristics on mutual fund performance, including both publicly available information and non-public information collected through a questionnaire among fund managers in Finland. We find that an increased number of investors have an adverse effect on mutual fund performance, and that index funds underperform their actively managed peers. Furthermore, we find that mutual funds that are trading against in-house brokerages underperform their peers, probably due to soft-commission arrangements. This finding potentially has regulatory implications for the mutual fund industry.

Hospitals? organizational variables and patients? perceptions of individualized nursing care in Finland

To examine the association between hospitals' organizational variables and patients' perceptions of individualized care. There is lack of evidence related to the effects that the hospital environment has on patient perceptions of the individuality of care they receive. A cross-sectional design was used. The questionnaire survey data were obtained from 861 (response rate 82%) hospital patients and 35 (100%) nurse managers in Finland. Results An inverse relationship between the size of the hospital and ward and patients' perceptions of individualized care was found. Increased staffing or skill mix failed to predict a higher patient perception of individualized care, but primary nursing care delivery did. Instead of increasing the amount of nursing staff, there is a need to improve the quality of the nurse-patient interactions to facilitate individualized care. The generalizability of the study is limited by the regional nature of the setting.

Between Incentives and Action: A Pilot Study of Biodiversity Conservation Competencies for Multifunctional Forest Management in Finland

We investigate processes through which organizations engaged in natural resource management pursue conservation innovations—that is, create capabilities that allow them to produce new goods and services or produce goods and services in ways that reduce environmental degradation. Through an accounting of organizational competencies, we conduct an exploratory analysis of investments Finnish forest management service providers—public agencies, private firms, and civil society actors—have made to address demand for biodiversity conservation. From the perspective of theory and method, our pilot study points to opportunities to test, and perhaps advance, hypothesized tendencies toward environmental improvement through assessment of material practices and organizational strategies. This materialist approach is applicable to analysis at the level of organizations, sectors and territories. From an empirical perspective, the research highlights the contemporary coevolution of incentives and patterns of organizational behavior in Finnish forestry in response to social demand for biodiversity conservation and multifunctional landscapes.

Effects of forest management on the abundance of insect pests on Scots pine

We compared the degree of needle damage and the abundance of common insect pests in Scots pine stands on the Finnish and Russian sides of the border on the Karelian Isthmus. The study areas have similar climatic and geological conditions, but the intensity of forest management has been much higher on the Finnish side of the border during the past 50 years. In Finland all stands are thinned once or twice during the rotation period, while there are no thinnings in the Russian side. The density of the Scots pine stands and the proportion of dead trees were significantly higher on the Russian side of the border. Needle damage caused by folivorous insects was about eight times higher in the non-managed forests of Russian Karelia compared to the managed Finnish forests. Shoot twigs damaged by pine shoot beetles ( Tomicus spp.) – the dominant bark beetle on Scots pine – and the number of egg clusters of the European pine sawfly ( Neodiprion sertifer) – the dominant defoliator, respectively – were also more abundant in samples collected from the trees on the Russian side of the border. There were, however, no differences in the number of aphid eggs or in the number of galls caused by Eversia resinella. Therefore, intensive forest management in Finland has changed the susceptibility of pine forests to insect pests compared to the situation in semi-natural forest on the Russian side of the border. However, these effects varied in accordance with the insect feeding guild. Especially bark beetles depending on recently dead trees benefit on unthinned forests where natural mortality of trees is high.

Dismantling the barriers to entrepreneurship in reindeer management in Finland

We will (1) show that reindeer herders in Finland have a long tradition of entrepreneurship; (2) identify administrative and policy obstacles to fulfilling the entrepreneurial capacities and (3) recommend actions to remove the obstacles to indigenous entrepreneurship among herders. Successful herders in Finland have embraced key entrepreneurial virtues: positioning themselves honestly with respect to their challenges, sparing resources and thinking strategically about the future. Unfortunately, government policy and administration in Finland do not facilitate the full utilisation of the virtues. However, policies and administrative structures can be reformed with carefully designed participatory approaches that rely on the expertise of herders, government officials and researchers of reindeer management. Our data comes from interviews, field visits and workshops organised during a three-year EU project on sustainable Reindeer Management (RENMAN). In addition, we have collected success stories of self-employment and entrepreneurship from four decades of fieldwork among herders in Finland.

Mechanical–biological waste treatment and the associated occupational hygiene in Finland

A special feature of waste management in Finland has been the emphasis on the source separation of kitchen biowaste (catering waste); more than two-thirds of the Finnish population participates in this separation. Source-separated biowaste is usually treated by composting. The biowaste of about 5% of the population is handled by mechanical–biological treatment. A waste treatment plant at Mustasaari is the only plant in Finland using digestion for kitchen biowaste. For the protection of their employees, the plant owners commissioned a study on environmental factors and occupational hygiene in the plant area. During 1998–2000 the concentrations of dust, microbes and endotoxins and noise levels were investigated to identify possible problems at the plant. Three different work areas were investigated: the pre-processing and crushing hall, the bioreactor hall and the drying hall. Employees were asked about work-related health problems. Some problems with occupational hygiene were identified: concentrations of microbes and endotoxins may increase to levels harmful to health during waste crushing and in the bioreactor hall. Because employees complained of symptoms such as dry cough and rash or itching appearing once or twice a month, it is advisable to use respirator masks (class P3) during dusty working phases. The noise level in the drying hall exceeded the Finnish threshold value of 85 dBA. Qualitatively harmful factors for the health of employees are similar in all closed waste treatment plants in Finland. Quantitatively, however, the situation at the Mustasaari treatment plant is better than at some Finnish dry waste treatment plants. Therefore is reasonable to conclude that mechanical sorting, which produces a dry waste fraction for combustion and a biowaste fraction for anaerobic treatment, is in terms of occupational hygiene better for employees than combined aerobic treatment and dry waste treatment.

History and development of Finnish landfill research: impacts of legislative changes and EC policies

Legislative changes have greatly altered waste management in Finland. The adoption of the EC waste policies in particular has created a pressure to dispose less waste on landfills and increase the sustainable use and recycling of natural resources. Implementation of new policies has created a need to improve the existing landfilling practices and recycling on landfills, and to increase the knowledge about landfills in general. This is likely to have affected the course of landfill-related research in Finland. In this study, we investigate the development of Finnish landfill research by studying the trends in the number and the focus of publications on landfill research. The impacts of legislative changes and EC policies on research activities were examined. Additionally, we reviewed the publication of research results within and outside of the scientific community and studied the development of public interest in landfills. We show that legislative changes have affected both the activity and themes of the Finnish landfill research. Waste management professionals in particular are now paying more attention to landfill questions in Finland. The study also shows that publication of Finnish research papers in international scientific media has increased during the recent years.

Household water consumption and demand management in Finland

The aim of the paper is to describe and analyse the trends and levels of water consumption, especially of households, in Finland. The study concentrates on the specific household water consumption (SHWC) of various types of housing, housing ownership, metering and billing arrangements. Real estate managers acted as enumerators and collected data from 185 sub-cases in various parts of the country. The study shows that SHWC levels of about 120 l/capita/day, or even less, can be achieved, while maintaining a high standard of service levels. In addition to individual metering, proper management includes introduction of modern water fixtures and in-house piping, raising consumer awareness, and active follow-up. Explanations for declined consumption are quite site- and case specific. Simultaneously, decreasing consumption and the resulting fall in water sales are a challenge to water utilities.

PGI7: BUDESONIDE CIR IS COST-EFFECTIVE IN MAINTENANCE THERAPY OF CROHN'S DISEASE IN FINLAND

OBJECTIVE: To assess the economic outcome, from a health care budget perspective, of treating Crohn's disease (CD) patients with budesonide controlled ileal release (CIR) 6 mg per day as maintenance therapy compared to no maintenance therapy (NMT). METHODS: A validated decision-analytic model (Noble et al., 1998) on the treatment of (CD) was used. The model was adjusted to specifically depict CD patient management in Finland. The analysis was based on pooled patient data from randomised, double blind clinical trials comparing budesonide CIR (n = 90) in maintenance therapy with placebo (n = 90). In accordance with the clinical trials the analysis covered a study period of up to one year. The analysis took into account clinical outcomes and consequences of these in terms of health care resource use and associated costs, e.g., costs of hospitalisations, diagnostic and surgical procedures, outpatient care and drug consumption. Panel and literature data was used for events not investigated in the clinical trials. Cost inputs were derived from Tampere University Hospital for year 1998. Days in remission and relapse were translated into Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) using CD specific health-state utility data from the literature. RESULTS: The outcomes of the clinical trials were reflected in the model as a 26.4% reduction in annual number of relapses for the average patient in the budesonide CIR treatment group. Mean annual health care cost per patient was 17,740 FIM (2,000 USD) for the budesonide CIR patient and 16,608 FIM (1,877 USD) for the NMT patient. The difference between the groups amounted to a cost per gained QALY of 68,610 FIM (7,753 USD), which is well in line with what is considered a cost-effective treatment strategy. CONCLUSION: Budesonide CIR means fewer relapses per average patient and is a cost-effective treatment strategy for the treatment of Crohn's disease in Finland.

Effects of Land Use Changes on the Landscape Composition: A Comparison Between Finnish and Russian Karelia

During the last 50 years the practising and intensity of agriculture and forestry have differed considerably between Finnish and Russian Karelia. We studied the effects of different land use practices on the landscape composition in the two countries using the road transect sampling along four study routes (99-121 km) between 1997 and 1999. Effective environmental management in Finland has resulted in more distinct agricultural land types, more even distribution of the different age classes of forests, and the higher abundance of coniferous forests. Fields (mean percentage of the landscape: Finland 28%, Russia 13%), clearcuts and sapling stands (15%, 6%), and young forests (23%, 9%) were more typical elements of the Finnish landscape, whereas settlements (9%, 13%), semi-natural grasslands (3%, 7%), and mature forests (20%, 49%) were more characteristic of the Russian landscape. Landscape-level differences between the two countries may have various effects on the diversity of fauna and flora inhabiting Finnish and Russian Karelia.

Cognitive Style and Socialisation: An exploration of learned sources of style in Finland, Poland and the UK

Many educators are faced with the problem of how to handle the different ways in which students from different cultures approach learning content and processes. In management education, study has mostly considered the socio-economic, structural and organisational aspects of national differences and the external, explicit aspects of cultural differences such as managerial attitudes and values. There has, however, been less study of the differences between national groups in managerial cognition - the way managers think. If managers from one cultural group perceive, process, interpret and structure information differently from those from another, assumptions about the design and content of educational interventions based in one culture could be challenged in another. This paper reports on an exploratory study of 200 managers in Finland, Poland and the UK to investigate, firstly, whether there are national-cultural differences in cognitive style and, secondly, whether these differences are related to individual, occupational and cultural aspects of socialisation. In the latter case, the relationship between early schooling and the way people think is explored. Respondents' cognitive styles as measured by the Allinson and Hayes (1996) Cognitive Style Index (CSI) were compared with responses to two qualitative instruments assessing attitudes to early schooling and personal confidence and against predictions about national cultural differences derived from Hofstede (1984). The results, to be followed up by more extensive study, show significant differences between national groups in cognitive approaches and some aspects of socialisation. They also suggest that the constructs being measured by the CSI reveal individual characteristics that are not fixed and innate, but instead learned through processes of personal and cultural socialisation.

What motivates managers' choice of discretionary accruals?

The papers by Subramanyam (1996) and Kasanen, Kinnunen, and Niskanen (KKN, 1996) both consider why managers manipulate accounting accruals. Subramanyam finds that discretionary accruals are associated with several performance measures, and concludes that managers' accrual choices increase the informativeness of accounting earnings. However, a strong competing alternative is that the ‘Jones model’ systematically mismeasures discretionary accruals, so that they contain a significant non-discretionary component. Unlike many US studies, KKN find strong evidence of earnings management in Finland, where Finnish managers set earnings to satisfy the demand for dividends by keiretsu-like institutional investors.

Human resource management in Finland

Describes the state‐of‐the‐art of human resource management in Finland in the mid‐1990s as the Finnish economy recovers from its deepest and longest post‐war recession. Typical to the Finnish system has been the mix of social, political and employers′ interests in the collective bargaining system; Finnish HRM cannot be understood without knowing its context, the main trends of which are: survival from rationalization and related labour reductions, increasing cost‐effectiveness and line responsibility, the flexible use of labour and utilization of the labour force. The implications of EU membership on the Finnish HRM are mainly seen to be related to free mobility of employees and changes in social security and labour relations.

An overview of the state and problems of inventory management in Finland

In this study we examine the current state of inventory management in Finland by reviewing fifteen case studies made at the Lappeenranta University of Technology. In this paper several aspects of inventory management are considered. In greater detail we have tried to answer questions such as: what is the role of inventory management in corporate planning, and how are inventory decisions made in manufacturing organizations? In addition particular attention is directed at the goal setting and performance measurement in inventory management. We have found out, that important decisions concerning inventories are usually made at a low level in the organizational hierarchy without any guidelines from top or middle management. Furthermore, companies lack accurate, real-time and suitably aggregate information of material flow and stock levels. This makes setting precise quantitative goals for inventory management difficult. Some companies have had financial pressure to decrease inventories and because of the lack of proper inventory control this had led to both external and internal stockouts.