<p>Even though companies are facing a continuously changing environment, far from all businesses manage to succeed with their organizational changes. (Olson, 2008) If wanting to meet market demands and avoid unnecessary costs it is important to ask the question if we can, in some way, predict, understand or influence the process of change. (Ahrenfelt, 2001) The purpose of this thesis is to determine if life-cycle theories can be used exclusively when planning and managing a process of change. To answer the purpose, the thesis is based upon a qualitative case study at Consafe Logistics group. Theobjective with the empirical studies, executed through nine interviews with various managers, was to determine whether or not life-cycle models and organizational culture can be of assistance when managing change. The studies showed that the opinions differ between the respondents and that the topics internal communication and documentation were frequently brought up during the interviews.</p><p>Theoretically, this thesis addresses different life-cycle change theories and an alternative model for implementing change through organizational culture. Furthermore the theoretic section considers the areas Project organization, Leadership in processes of change, Knowledge, competence & education, Internal communication and Documentation. The thesis showed that applying life-cycle theories to a change can be of limited use since there are big difficulties in placing the different activities throughout the change in achronological order. The theories can be used however to highlight the relationship between activities which can be useful for making time savings. Irrespective of the order activities are managed in a process of change, measurable goals, feedback and support throughout the process are central for the change’s outcome. This thesis has resulted in a general life-cycle model for managing organizational change based upon existing theoriesand empirical studies. Finally, culture and inertia are described as two factors that either facilitate or inhibit the success of the change depending on how they are managed.</p>

<p>Having a functioning internal communication is necessary for the survival and existence of every company. Traditional communication channels are for example meetings, noteboards and personnel newspapers. During the last ten years we have witnessed an explosion of new channels, who are based on information technology. IT is a natural part in new IT-companies, like Framfab and Icon Medialab, but what role does IT have in a large, manufacturing company with a long history? The purpose with this thesis is to investigate how IT has influenced the internal communication in a company. With this thesis we want to contribute to a developed understanding of communication within companies and discuss what role IT can play for internal communication in the future. We have chosen to study Akzo Nobel and have interviewed employees in different business units to investigate their view on communication and the influence of IT. We found that IT has had a relatively great impact on the internal communication and that the new technology often work as a complement to the traditional communication channels. We believe that IT will lead to an increased amount of written communication and that the communication will be detached from persons. There is a risk that the amount of information will increase and that this will make it harder for the individual to find relevant information. For IT to be an efficient channel for companies in the future, we believe that companies must educate employees regarding technology, pedagogic and written presentation.</p>

<p>Purpose/aim: To investigate individual experiences of how a new communication technology, e-mail, influences a) the structure of the internal communication – does it for example make networking any easier? – and b) the form of the persons everyday language.</p><p>Material/method: A theoretical framework gathered through a literature study and empirical data gathered through interviews with two persons.</p><p>Main results: Differences and similarities exist between the experiences studied in this paper. The most unexpected result is that the system of e-mail does not seem to be able to create new channels of communication. If anything, it reinforces the structure that already exist. An aspect of decisive importance is the original rules and norms concerning internal communication within the organization.</p>

<p>Abstract</p><p>Title: Effective internal communication –A case study on communication between a manager and the employees in a sportsclub.</p><p>Number of pages: 40, without enclosures</p><p>Author: Susan Andersson</p><p>Tutor: Peder Hård af Segerstad</p><p>Course: Media and Communication Studies C</p><p>Period: Second term 2005</p><p>University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University</p><p>Purpose/Aim: I aim to do a case study of a work situation, where there is no natural or direct form of feedback between the manager and the employees, and compare the purpose of the information efforts with how it is perceived by the employees.</p><p>Material/Method: Qualitative research method, including an assembling method in the form of interviews, and a processing method of those interviews.</p><p>Main results: All the used channels combined together (except one channel) seem to have created the right condition so that the content of the information can be perceived and used as the way it was supposed to, even though there’s no direct feedback of the information. The manager gets feedback indirectly and can therefore adapt the messages, or the information efforts, to the receivers.</p><p>Keywords: Organizational communication, Internal communication, Information, Feedback.</p>

<p>Abstract</p><p>Title: Internal communication at IKEA – A functional analysis of IKEA Uppsalas internal</p><p>communication (Intern kommunikation på IKEA – En funktionsanalys av IKEA Uppsalas interna kommunikation)</p><p>Author: Fredrik Johansson</p><p>Aim: The purpose of this study is to analyze the internal communication at IKEA Uppsala.</p><p>Are the channels of communication working efficiently? How is the information received by the employees? Finally I will make a few suggestions on how the internal communication can be improved.</p><p>Method/Material: The method used in this study is quantitative. The internal communication at IKEA Uppsala is analyzed based on the results of a questionnaire. 75 employees at three different divisions were given questions on how they appreciate the communication channels at IKEA in Uppsala. 50 answers were received.</p><p>Main results: The results clearly show that even though the internal communication at IKEA seems to work well in general, a few of the channel needs to be improved. A major difference between the channels has been observed and firstly, the internal e-mail is not used as it could be. Secondly, the Intranet is also used by very few of the respondents. However the verbal communication from the nearest manager is regarded by over 50 per cent of the respondents as very much practical indeed. Also the IKEA staff paper, Arosposten is read by many and is regarded as a useful source of information.</p><p>Number of pages: 63</p><p>Course: Media and Communication Studies C</p><p>University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science,Uppsala University</p><p>Period: Autumn 2006</p><p>Tutor: Göran Svensson</p><p>Keywords: Information, communication,internal communication, information channels</p>

<p>Abstract</p><p>Title: Communicating diversity – A study about communication and involvement in The National Council of Swedish Youth Organizations.</p><p>Number of pages: 58</p><p>Author: Frida Samuelsson</p><p>Tutor: Peder Hård af Segerstad</p><p>Course: Media and Communication Studies C</p><p>Period: Autumn 2006</p><p>University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science,Uppsala University</p><p>Purpose/Aim: The general purpose of this essay is to analyse how the member organizations of LSU – The National Council of Swedish Youth Organizations, see the communication,activities and their influence over the organization. I aim to do an analysis of the target group to find out if the lack of involvement in LSU is caused by communication problems.</p><p>Material/Method: The method of this essay is quantitative and is based upon a web-survey.The chairmen of the member organizations have been asked to answer a survey about the communication in LSU. To get an idea of how widespread different opinions about LSU are the empirical data has been made into graphs to show the frequencies and also cross tabulations to find out if there are any correlations between the variables.</p><p>Main result: This study has shown that the problem with involvement in LSU is only partly a communication problem. One important result is that many member organizations feel that LSU doesn’t listen to their opinions and they express a wish to have more influence over the organization. The broad target group is both a strength and a weakness to the organization. It is a hard task to communicate in such a differentiated organization, since the members have many views on LSU and have different degrees of involvement. But it is also a strength to be able to create meeting points where different organizations can learn from each other.</p><p>Keywords: Communication problems, internal communication, involvement, non-profit, organizations, umbrella organization, youth organizations.</p>

Thesis (M.A. (Communication Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Having a functioning internal communication is necessary for the survival and existence of every company. Traditional communication channels are for example meetings, noteboards and personnel newspapers. During the last ten years we have witnessed an explosion of new channels, who are based on information technology. IT is a natural part in new IT-companies, like Framfab and Icon Medialab, but what role does IT have in a large, manufacturing company with a long history? The purpose with this thesis is to investigate how IT has influenced the internal communication in a company. With this thesis we want to contribute to a developed understanding of communication within companies and discuss what role IT can play for internal communication in the future. We have chosen to study Akzo Nobel and have interviewed employees in different business units to investigate their view on communication and the influence of IT. We found that IT has had a relatively great impact on the internal communication and that the new technology often work as a complement to the traditional communication channels. We believe that IT will lead to an increased amount of written communication and that the communication will be detached from persons. There is a risk that the amount of information will increase and that this will make it harder for the individual to find relevant information. For IT to be an efficient channel for companies in the future, we believe that companies must educate employees regarding technology, pedagogic and written presentation.

Purpose/aim: To investigate individual experiences of how a new communication technology, e-mail, influences a) the structure of the internal communication – does it for example make networking any easier? – and b) the form of the persons everyday language. Material/method: A theoretical framework gathered through a literature study and empirical data gathered through interviews with two persons. Main results: Differences and similarities exist between the experiences studied in this paper. The most unexpected result is that the system of e-mail does not seem to be able to create new channels of communication. If anything, it reinforces the structure that already exist. An aspect of decisive importance is the original rules and norms concerning internal communication within the organization.

This bachelor thesis in business administration investigates the employee branding process of Company X in order to gain an understanding of how the company works with and can utilize this as an efficient tool. Recent research shows that Swedish companies that focus on building their brands are more profitable than companies that do not. Furthermore, re- search show that relationship building is an increasingly important area of marketing, which means that employees have a key role in creating a brand through the relationships they build. As Company X to some extent relies on relationship building in a multi- stakeholder environment, where pharmaceutical companies traditionally have competed through innovation, employee branding could be used as a competitive advantage for Company X. The process of employee branding is used to align employee’s internal view of the com- pany brand with the desired brand image in order to make the employees project it consis- tently. According to the theories used, the key drivers to successful employee branding are, through consistent communication, (1) ascertaining employee knowledge of the desired brand image and (2) making sure employees want to project this image through an upheld psychological contract. This investigation therefore covers how Company X works with the process of employee branding, how employees perceive what the management wants to communicate and any potential discrepancies between management and employee views. From a qualitative and interpretative approach, four interviews have been conducted with the top management at Company X and a survey has then been distributed to employees with customer contact at the company. The findings show that Company X has successfully implemented its values in the minds of employees, but lacks a clear focus on building its brand. Therefore, while the psycho- logical contract in general is found to be upheld, to a high extent, the knowledge of the de- sired brand image does not seem to be at a satisfactory level.