Company mergers and acquisitions often create tremendous conflict for employees because they force them into a spiral of organizational change. In this environment, employees are challenged with redefining themselves within a new organization. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover and explain the particular conflict experiences of professional employees who experienced the merger and acquisition of their company. A phenomenological research study was conducted to discover and describe the shared conflict experiences of professional employees during the merger and acquisition of their consulting firm. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 17 self-identified professional employees. It was found through an extensive phenomenological data analysis that: (a) the merger and acquisition experience is believed to have strengthened and improved the participants' skills for their professional advancement. With M&A, (b) the major conflict experienced by participants was the feeling of indifference and apprehension by the employees being merged with or acquired by another company as trust and credibility needed to be regained. Lastly, (c) the participants' sense of identity (confidence and professional identity) is still present as they are willing to accept the new factors and aspects of changes and developments that come with the merger and acquisition. The study contributes to the field of conflict analysis and resolution by providing new understandings and perspectives on how mergers and acquisitions are experienced and how they impact employees' conflict experiences and sense of identity.

“You have to feel it in your heart - a case study of the employees perception about Umeå university, the internal communication and how the communication contributes to this perception”. This study is based on that deficiency is common in internal communication in a authority that consists of several different units and different occupational levels. In an authority there is variety of units, employees with different occupational levels, a hierarchical structure and laws and regulations that must be followed. Because of these characteristics, a clear internal profile might be of extra importance. The internal profile will reflect the external perception, the authority’s image. This study examines how the internal communication of an authority like Umeå University works. The aim was to find out the employees perception of Umeå University and what their perceptions of the internal communication are. The method to examine this has mainly been based on group interviews conducted with focus groups representing different occupational levels. In summary the interviews indicate that there is a common perception of the university's identity among the different occupational levels. For example, words like: young, wide, open and norrländskt. These words were not based on any official core values of the university but were brought up by the participants. Umeå university have a vision which all participants had seen before and recognized, "The University of Umeå face the future with boundless knowledge". But they found it hard to grasp the vision with related goals, they felt overall and difficult to apply in their daily work. The results showed that the focus groups believe that there are many different subcultures at Umeå University. One reason for the formation of subcultures may simply be that Umeå University is an authority and there are certain factors that affect the University's properties. Keywords: Internal communication, organizational communication, organizational identity, organizational culture, communication process, vision, subculture.

<p>Migrationsverket is Sweden’s central government authority for alien affairs. It is responsible for permits for people visiting and settling in Sweden, and for the asylum process. Migrationsverket consists of five divisions, Visas, Work Permits and Residence Permits is one of these divisions. The employees in this division mainly work with interviewing the applicants and the referees, and with lengthening residence permits.</p><p>This study is about organizational identity, which can be described as the beliefs, thoughts and emotions the employees have about their organization. The employee’s perspective serve as a starting point in our discussion, and this is because of the purpose of our study. The purpose is to illustrate and interpret the organizational identity at Migrationsverket.</p><p>In our study we use a qualitative method, and perform ten unstructured interviews. We use the abductive approach, which is characterized by a mutual influence of theory and empirical investigation. We see reality as a social construction, and the hermeneutic approach has influenced our work with this study.</p><p>A sense of belonging and mutual feelings is a part of organizational identity, and this is why we illustrate both the individual and the group. We also describe the importance of social constructions as a part of organizational identity. The central part of this study is the beliefs, thoughts and emotions the employees have about their organization. The employees at Migrationsverket see the interaction with people as a central part of their work, and they point out the delightful solidarity within the division. The big problem, however, is the enormous work load, which prolongs the processing time for applications. For the employees this means that they feel frustration in their work.</p><p>We see humanity, responsibility, belonging, and frustration as the four differential characteristics at the division. Humanity is foremost seen as a part of the interaction with the applicants but also in the relations between the employees. Responsibility is, as we see it, an element in humanity. This because of the humanity the employees feel towards the applicants. The sense of belonging is expressed through the identification the employees have with each other and with the organization. The frustration has its foundation in the work load that exists in the division.</p> / <p>Migrationsverket är den centrala utlänningsmyndigheten i Sverige. De ansvarar bland annat för visum för besök, tillstånd när en person vill bosätta sig i Sverige och handläggande av asylärenden. Migrationsverket är uppdelat i fem verksamhetsområden och Besök och bosättning är en av dessa. Medarbetarna inom detta verksamhetsområde arbetar främst med seriositetsintervjuer och förlängningar av uppehållstillstånd.</p><p>Uppsatsen handlar om organisationsidentitet, som kan beskrivas som medarbetarnas uppfattningar, tankar och känslor om den organisation de är medlemmar i. Vi utgår från medarbetarnas perspektiv, och detta har sin grund i vårt syfte som handlar om att belysa och tolka organisationsidentiteten på Migrationsverket.</p><p>Vi använder en kvalitativ metod och genomför tio ostrukturerade djupintervjuer. Vi har den abduktiva ansatsen som utgångspunkt, och den kännetecknas av att teori och empiri ömsesidigt påverkar varandra i tolkningsprocessen. Vi ser verkligheten som en social konstruktion och hermeneutiken har influerat oss i vårt arbete.</p><p>Tillhörighet och gemensamma känslor är en del av organisationsidentiteten, så vi belyser både individen och gruppen, samt den betydelse sociala konstruktioner har på organisationsidentiteten. Det centrala i uppsatsen är medarbetarnas uppfattningar, tankar och känslor om organisationen. Medarbetarna på Migrationsverket ser mötet med människor som en central del i arbetet och de framhåller den härliga sammanhållningen på enheten. Det som ses som det stora problemet är arbetsbelastningen, vilket leder till att handläggningstiderna ökar och för medarbetarna innebär detta att de känner frustration i sitt arbete.</p><p>Vi tolkar humanitet, responsibilitet, tillhörighet och frustration som de utmärkande karakteristika på tillståndsenheten. Humaniteten visar sig främst mot de sökande men även mellan medarbetarna på tillståndsenheten. Responsibiliteten är en del av humaniteten då den kommer ur den medmänsklighet medarbetarna känner mot de sökande. Tillhörigheten finns bland annat i medarbetarnas identifiering med varandra och organisationen. Frustrationen kommer från den höga arbetsbelastning som råder på tillståndsenheten.</p>

Ce mémoire de maîtrise porte sur le concept d’identité organisationnelle, appliqué au milieu des organisations humanitaires. Le contexte mondial actuel dans lequel évoluent ces organisations leur impose de revoir certaines de leurs valeurs et façons de faire. En effet, les équipes des ONG sur le terrain sont confrontées à des conflits de plus en plus nombreux et complexes, qui remettent en question l’identité de leur organisation. Cette recherche vise à dresser un portrait du travail des employés de l’organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) lors de missions humanitaires, alors que ceux-ci doivent justifier et négocier la présence de l’organisation auprès de la population et des autorités locales. En nous basant sur le concept de sensemaking développé par Karl E. Weick, nous présentons une analyse narrative des récits de mission de cinq employés de MSF. Cette analyse permet d’étudier comment, au quotidien, les employés d’une ONG le terrain sont impliqués dans des négociations où l’identité organisationnelle est continuellement menacée et remise en question. / This thesis focuses on the concept of organizational identity, applied to humanitarian organizations. The actual international context is forcing these organizations to review some of their core values and procedures. Consequently, their teams on the field are confronted with more and more conflicts and complex situations where the organisation’s identity is at stake. The aim of this research is to produce a better understanding of the work that employees of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) do on the field during a mission, especially when they have to justify and negotiate the presence of their organisation with the local populations and authorities. Based on Karl E. Weick’s concept of sensemaking, we present a narrative analysis of fieldwork stories we collected by conducting interviews with five MSF employees. Not only does this analysis help us understand the roles employees have to play on the field, but it also provides insight into the different situations when organizational identity is being negotiated.

Denna uppsats utgångspunkt är att undersöka intranätets möjliga påverkan på anställdas identitetsskapande där syftet är att undersöka den roll intranätet har i form av vidmakthållande och/eller upprättande av organisationsidentiteten. Detta görs genom att studera hur innehållet på intranätet genom olika kommunikationsaktiviteter och tolkningsprocesser medarbetare emellan bidrar till formningen av identiteten inom organisationen. Genom att betrakta organisationsidentitet som ett kommunikationsfenomen appliceras ett kommunikationsperspektiv på organisationer där CCO-perspektivet, genom konceptet om metakonversationer, utgör det centrala teoretiska ramverket. För denna undersökning tillämpas kvalitativa metoder. Detta görs med empiriunderlag från en fallorganisation, Försäkringskassan, där den huvudsakliga datainsamlingen består av fokusgruppsdiskussioner med medarbetare på handläggarnivå där två olika grupper undersöks. Resultaten har analyserats utifrån underliggande, kognitiva koncept och funnit att grupperna genom att agera utifrån olika synsätt på sin organisationsidentitet också väljer att ta del av olika typer av innehåll från organisationens intranät, vilket i sin tur avgör vilken roll intranätet kan anses fylla. / This thesis intends to investigate an intranet's possible impact on employee identity creation, where the aim is to study the role of the intranet in the maintenance and/or establishment of organizational identity. This is carried out by studying how published content on the intranet through various communication activities and processes of interpretation contributes to the formation of the employees’ identity within the organization. By considering organizational identity as a communication phenomenon, a communication perspective is applied to organizations where the CCO-perspective, through the concept of meta-conversations, has come to form the central theoretical framework. Qualitative methods are used for this study. The empirical findings are gathered from a case organization, Försäkringskassan, and consist of focus group discussions with administrative officials from two different groups. The results have been analyzed based on underlying cognitive concepts and indicate that the groups act based on different perceptions of their organizational identity, which have impact on what type of content they choose to take part in, something that further determines the role that the intranet can be considered to fill.

La présente thèse examine le processus de construction d'une stratégie au sein d'une organisation à la fois émergente (c'est-à-dire en phase de création et de développement) et pluraliste (c'est-à-dire aux objectifs multiples, au pouvoir diffus et caractérisée par une technologie imprécise). Plus particulièrement, le présent travail cherche à identifier des mécanismes sociaux spécifiques permettant : 1) une conciliation entre la pression centripète propre à une orientation entrepreneuriale et la pression centrifuge propre à un contexte pluraliste ; et 2) l'articulation entre la construction d'un sens collectif (ou identité organisationnelle), et la construction d'une structure collective de rôles. Afin d'apporter une réponse à ces questions, l'auteur a suivi une méthodologie ethnographique de type interprétatif, en procédant à une étude en profondeur d'un cas unique d'organisation à la fois émergente et pluraliste. Le terrain choisi fut celui d'une association d'affaires à vocation bilatérale franco-portugaise, pendant les cinq premières années de son existence (2005-2010). Les observations sur le terrain suggèrent qu'une organisation à la fois émergente et pluraliste correspond à un contexte de pluralisme extrême. Dans un tel contexte, la construction d'une stratégie découlerait essentiellement d'un processus de définition des rôles des plusieurs acteurs impliqués dans le projet entrepreneurial. Cette structure de rôles, tant sur le plan formel que sur le plan informel, serait déterminante non seulement pour la formation d'une stratégie mais aussi pour la construction d'un sens collectif : l'identité de l'organisation. / This dissertation examines the strategy formation process within an organization which is both « emerging » (i.e. in its creation and developing phase) and “pluralistic” (i.e. with multiple goals, diffuse power and unclear technology). More specifically, the present study aims to identify specific social mechanisms which allow: 1) to conciliate the centripetal pressure of an entrepreneurial orientation and the centrifugal pressure of a pluralistic context; and 2) to articulate the making of a collective sense (i.e. an organizational identity) and the definition of a collective role structure. In order to give an answer to those questions, the author adopted an interpretive ethnographic methodology, studying a single case of an emerging pluralistic organization. The chosen field was a young French-Portuguese business association during its first five years of existence (2005-2010). The main findings suggest that an emerging pluralistic organization is a context of extreme pluralism. In such a context, strategy formation would be essentially the result of the definition of the roles of each one of the actors involved in the entrepreneurial project. Such role structure determines not only the formation of a strategy but also the making of a collective sense (the organizational identity). That structure would be also the outcome of a moderated centralization of decision-making processes, a movement that stems from a division of the "strategizing work" between "managers", "legitimizers" and "facilitators".

Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera relevansen av Pierre Bourdieus teorier idag genom att undersöka om bakgrunden hos individer påverkar vem som arbetar på ett fint – gentemot ett populärkulturellt museum och om denna distinktion uttrycker sig i museernas organisationsidentiteter. För att samla in empiriskt material genomfördes fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer med personer på ledande positioner från Nationalmuseum och ABBA the museum. Även analys av arbetsannonser utfördes för att nå vilka egenskaper som eftersöks på vardera museum. Utfallet av studien visar att det finns tendenser av det finkulturella på Nationalmuseum och av det populärkulturella på ABBA the museum som vi kan knyta till de intervjuade personernas bakgrund. I ett fall av de fyra intervjuade stämde inte Bourdieus teorier helt, vilket gör att teorierna i det anseendet kan ifrågasättas. Distinktionen återfanns även i arbetsannonserna. Dessa tendenser mot det fin- och populärkulturella lyser delvis igenom i organisationsidentiteten. / The purpose of this study was to investigate the theories of Pierre Bourdieu to capture their relevance today. Does the background of an individual affect whether they choose to work at a high culture museum or a museum of popular culture? Furthermore, if this expresses itself in the organizationalidentity. To collect empirical data four semi-structured interviews were performed with persons in managerial roles at the Swedish Nationalmuseum and ABBA the museum. An analysis of employment advertisements was also carried out to reach which attributes were required at the two museums. The study show that Nationalmuseum have tendencies categorising them as high culture whilst ABBA the museum is of the popular kind. Both findings can be related to the backgrounds of the interviewed managers. However, one of the four cases did not match with the theories of Bourdieu, making the theories in that regard questionable. The distinction was also found in the employment advertisements. These tendencies towards the high – and popular culture partially shines through in the organizationalidentity.

O setor cosmético brasileiro gerou mais de 5,6 milhões de oportunidades de trabalho por todo o Brasil e faturou US$ 43 bilhões em vendas ao consumidor no ano 2013. Além disso, os cuidados cosméticos, especialmente aqueles destinados à pele, promovem o bem-estar e uma melhor qualidade de vida entre os usuários, oferecendo benefícios psicossociais e também para a saúde, como a proteção solar. No Brasil, a maioria das empresas no setor cosmético é de micro, pequeno ou médio porte, com capacidade inovadora baixa e investimentos em pesquisa e desenvolvimento incipientes, de modo que seu posicionamento futuro é bastante incerto diante da alta competitividade. Neste trabalho, buscou-se produzir material científico destinado a orientar os empreendedores e gestores das micro, pequenas e médias empresas (MPMEs) brasileiras do segmento de cuidados com a pele a traçar suas estratégias de diferenciação tecnológica, frente aos concorrentes de grande porte, até o ano 2025. A pesquisa, predominantemente qualitativa e preditiva, foi fundamentada na metodologia dos estudos prospectivos e foi estruturada nas seis fases seguintes: A) análise do macroambiente do setor cosmético de cuidados com a pele; B) identificação das oportunidades de inovação tecnológica em cuidados com a pele; C) análise de pedidos de patente relacionados aos cuidados com a pele no Brasil; D) identificação das tecnologias-chave para os cuidados com a pele até o ano 2025; E) desenvolvimento de cenários tecnológicos para as MPMEs do segmento de cuidados com a pele com projeções até o ano 2025 e F) proposição de um método de desenvolvimento de cenários orientados pela identidade organizacional para empresas com gestão centralizada no empreendedor. A fase A elucidou a dinâmica do setor cosmético brasileiro de cuidados com a pele, identificando convergências entre diferentes indústrias de bens de consumo. As fases B e C resultaram na elaboração de um novo sistema de classificação composto por dez categorias de oportunidades de inovação tecnológica em produtos para os cuidados com a pele, o qual foi útil para identificar as oportunidades tecnológicas mais exploradas pelo setor. Na fase D, evidenciaram-se sete grupos tecnológicos de maior potencial de mercado e de maior viabilidade tecnológica para o segmento de cuidados com a pele no Brasil, até o ano 2025. A fase E resultou em quatro cenários prospectivos para o desenvolvimento e diferenciação tecnológica das MPMEs cosméticas brasileiras, a citar: \'Cosméticos am-pm\'; \'Selo verde e amarelo\'; \'Beleza para os durões\' e \'Cabeça nas nuvens\'. Enfim, na fase F, propôs-se um método inédito de construção de cenários prospectivos orientados pela identidade organizacional, adaptado às empresas com poucos colaboradores. Este estudo fornece projeções e inspirações que podem orientar as MPMEs cosméticas no Brasil a definir visões de futuro e estratégias tecnológicas que possibilitem sua diferenciação frente aos grandes concorrentes, bem como a afirmação da identidade que desejam disseminar. / The Brazilian cosmetic industry generated over 5.6 million job opportunities throughout the country and raised US$ 43 billion in sales to consumer in 2013. Moreover, cosmetic cares, especially skin care, promote well-being and a better quality of life among users, offering both psychosocial and health benefits (like sun protection). In Brazil, most of the companies in the cosmetic business are entrepreneurial, small or medium-sized enterprises with low innovative capacity and deficient investments in research and development. Therefore, the future of those companies is highly uncertain due to fierce competition. In this work, we intended to produce scientific material for guiding entrepreneurs and managers in entrepreneurial, small and medium-sized companies (ESMEs) of the Brazilian skin care industry when drawing their technological distinction strategies towards largesized competitors up to the year 2025. Predominantly qualitative and predictive, this research was based in the future studies methodology and organized in the following six phases: A) environmental scanning of the skin care cosmetic industry; B) identification of the technological opportunities for innovation in skin care; C) analysis of skin care-related patent documents filled in Brazil; D) identification of key technologies for skin care up to the year 2025; E) development of technological scenarios for the skin care ESMEs up to the year 2025 and F) proposal of a method to develop identity-oriented scenarios for organizations with entrepreneur-centered management. Phase A pointed the dynamics of the Brazilian skin care cosmetic industry, showing some convergence among different consumer goods industries. Phases B and C resulted in a novel ten-category classification system for technological opportunities to innovate in skin care products, useful to detect the most explored technological opportunities in this industry. Phase D presented seven technological groups of high potential market volume and high technological feasibility in the Brazilian skin care industry, up to the year 2025. Phase E allowed us to produce four prospective scenarios related to technological development and distinction in the Brazilian cosmetic ESMEs, that is, \'Am-Pm Cosmetics\'; Green and Yellow Seal\'; \'Beauty for Tough Guys\' and \'Head in the Clouds\'. Finally, in Phase F, we proposed a novel method to develop identity-oriented prospective scenarios adapted to companies with few members in the staff. This study provides foresight and inspiration that may guide Brazilian cosmetic ESMEs to establish their future vision and technological strategies in order to become distinct towards large-sized competitors, as well as to affirm and circulate their desired identity.

Esta dissertação de mestrado busca apresentar o tripé pequena empresa no Brasil no contexto da identidade organizacional e identidade cultural brasileira, cuja motivação foi considerar que a pequena empresa é de extrema importância para a constituição da sociedade, pois gera emprego e renda, especialmente fora dos grandes centros urbanos. A identidade e imagem organizacional são alavancadores de seu sucesso comercial e todos estes elementos estão intrinsecamente relacionados com o contexto cultural brasileiro. Esta dissertação divide-se em arcabouço teórico, em que se pesquisaram, através de levantamento bibliográfico, os temas empreendedorismo, pequena empresa, plano de negócio, marketing, comunicação organizacional, identidade e imagem organizacional, memória organizacional, mito da formação do Brasil e características identitárias brasileiras. Na segunda parte apresentam-se as análises dos estudos de casos, acompanhadas pelas entrevistas com duas pequenas empresas, uma do ramo industrial, a outra uma prestadora de serviços. Nas considerações finais constatam-se os resultados deste trabalho, em que se confirma a presença de características identitárias brasileiras na gestão e na comunicação das pequenas empresas. / This dissertation aims to present the tripod small company in Brazil in the context of organizational identity and Brazilian cultural identity, whose motivation was to consider that the small business is of utmost importance for the constitution of society, because it generates jobs and income, particularly outside major urban centers. A positive organizational identity and image are leveraging its commercial success and all these elements are intrinsically related to the Brazilian cultural context. This dissertation is divided into theoretical, which investigated, through literature, the themes entrepreneurship, small business, business plan, marketing, organizational communication, organizational image and identity, organizational memory, myth of the formation of Brazil and features Brazilian identity. The second part presents the analysis of case studies, accompanied by interviews with two small companies, an industrial branch, the other a service provider. The final remarks note the results of this study, which confirms the presence of Brazilian identity characteristics in the management and communication of small businesses.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T16:44:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Celia Lucia do Rosario Braz.pdf: 1126903 bytes, checksum: c664bd4050062b5734819bee8092c1e1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-10-21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The current demands of our society, predicated on the aspects of information economy, culture of service and knowledge society, make the reputation one of the greatest values that an organization can have today, and can be understood as a "vote of confidence" that organization acquired. However, reputation, image and identity are a closely linked phenomena in organizations, to the extent that an identity able to create a good image in the minds of stakeholders can have a positive impact on corporate reputation. At that time, in Brazil, the private nonprofit organizations are not in a comfortable position when it comes to trust in institutions. Thus, the primary objective of this study is to clarify how the institutional identity of a social organization can influence the construction and maintenance of its corporate image and reputation, on the premise that these three concepts are interrelated. To meet this objective, we conducted a case study of qualitative and quantitative approach with the Arco Associação Beneficente, an institution of 22 years that serves children and youth with education services and social assistance. We investigated (i) its institutional identity, composed of the essential attributes of organizational identity and the way these projects are externally - corporate identity, (ii) the general impression that the general public has about the organization - its corporate image, and (iii) evaluation of key stakeholders about the institution - their corporate reputation. Among the results, are: consistency between organizational identity and corporate identity of Arco, except for formal communication factor, a high level of knowledge about the existence of the institution in the region, accompanied by a positive corporate image, and the realization of the strong influence that the institutional identity plays in building and maintaining the reputation of the entity / As atuais demandas de nossa sociedade, calcadas nos aspectos economia da informação, cultura do serviço e sociedade do conhecimento, fazem com que a reputação constitua hoje um dos maiores valores que uma organização pode possuir, podendo ser entendida como um crédito de confiança que a organização adquiriu. Entretanto, reputação, imagem e identidade são fenômenos intimamente ligados nas organizações, na medida em que uma identidade capaz de criar uma boa imagem na mente dos stakeholders pode trazer impactos positivos na reputação corporativa. Nesse momento, no Brasil, as organizações privadas sem fins lucrativos não se encontram em uma posição confortável quando o assunto é confiança nas instituições. Desse modo, o objetivo primordial do presente estudo é clarificar como a identidade institucional de uma organização social pode influenciar a construção e a manutenção da sua imagem e reputação corporativa, partindo da premissa de que estes três conceitos estão inter-relacionados. Para atender a esse intuito, foi realizado um estudo de caso de abordagem qualitativa e quantitativa junto à Arco Associação Beneficente, uma instituição que há 22 anos atende crianças e jovens com serviços de educação e assistência social. Foram investigadas (i) sua identidade institucional, composta pelos atributos essenciais da identidade organizacional e pela maneira como estes são projetos externamente identidade corporativa; (ii) a impressão geral que o público externo tem sobre a organização sua imagem corporativa; e (iii) a avaliação dos principais stakeholders sobre a instituição sua reputação corporativa. Dentre os resultados apurados, estão: a coerência entre a identidade organizacional e a identidade corporativa da Arco, exceto pelo fator comunicação formal, um alto índice de conhecimento sobre a existência da instituição na região, acompanhado por uma imagem corporativa positiva, e a constatação da forte influência que a identidade institucional exerce na construção e manutenção da reputação da entidade