No description available.

This study explores Working from Home (WFH) as a model of work in a public organisation in London, which operates in the clinical-trials sector. It argues that WFH is used as a strategy that offers benefits both to the organisation and its employees. WFH is offered to all Clinical Research Associates (CRAs) who work as monitors of the whole process of a clinical trial. Based on a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews of 29 CRAs, managers and administrative staff and secondary data, this single-case study focuses on five topics that are part of the CRAs’ everyday life. These are work-life balance (WLB), cost reduction, the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) factor, the performance of the CRAs and the management of remote workers. In particular, the study identified that WFH had a positive effect on CRAs’ WLB. Moreover, it argues that WFH may offer significant assistance to organisational budgets and may reduce personal expenses. It found that existing ICT could cover all employees’ technological needs and reduce the requirement of managers to keep them physically present at a centralised workplace. Additionally, this thesis also identified that WFH improved CRAs’ performance, whilst it also highlighted that results-oriented management was the main managerial approach towards employees who work from a distance. The key contribution of the thesis is the examination of the CRA occupation through a contemporary perspective on the WFH phenomenon.

The purpose of this essay is to examine the experiences of retail sales associates regarding work demands, the conditions provided to them to meet these demands, and the strategies they use to manage their work situation. The essay aims to highlight the challenges faced by retail sales associates, especially when high work demands and quantitative targets overshadow their human needs and well-being. The role of a retail sales associate involves a constant balancing act between satisfying customers' individual needs and preferences while also meeting employer demands and sales targets, which can pose a significant challenge for many sales associates. The essay is built on a qualitative approach together with the included theoretical framework which is Karasek and Theorell's demand-control-support model, as well as Arlie Hochschild's concepts of emotional labor, feeling rules, and surface and deep acting. From the collected empirical material, alongside the theoretical framework, three key themes emerged that formed the results of the study, which are: The new Taylorism – a combination between emotional labor and sale pressure, Levels of conditions – from customer to management, Taking control and withstand alienation, When the organization's support is lacking, colleagues play a decisive role. The results therefore suggest that the retail sales associates' work environment is characterized by high sales demands, subtle expectations for emotional labor, and insufficient resources. To cope with these demands, sales associates seek support from their colleagues and attempt to create a work culture that resists individualism and alienation, particularly when the support provided by employers is deemed inadequate. / Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka butikssäljares upplevelser av arbetskrav, de förutsättningar som de tillhandahålls för att möta dessa krav, och de strategier som butikssäljarna själva använder för att hantera sin arbetssituation. Uppsatsen strävar efter att belysa de utmaningar som butikssäljare möter, särskilt när höga arbetskrav och kvantitativa mål dominerar över deras mänskliga behov och välbefinnande. Att arbeta som butikssäljare innebär bevisligen en ständig balansakt mellan att tillgodose kundernas individuella behov och önskemål samtidigt som arbetsgivarens krav och försäljningsmål ska upprätthållas, vilketför många butikssäljare kan innebära en utmaning. Uppsatsen genomfördes genom kvalitativ metod och det teoretiska ramverk som använts är Karasek och Theorells krav-kontroll-stödmodell samt Arlie Hochschilds begrepp emotionellt lönearbete, känsloregler samt yt- och djupagerande. Genom det empiriskt insamlade materialet tillsammans med det teoretiska ramverket framträdde tre centrala teman som utgjorde resultatet för undersökningen, vilka är följande: Den nya Taylorismen – kombination mellan emotionellt arbete och säljpress, Nivåer av förutsättningar – från kund till ledning, Att ta kontroll och motstå alienation, När organisationens stöd brister spelar kollegorna en avgörande roll. Resultatet visar således sammanfattningsvis en framträdande bild av hurbutikssäljares arbetsmiljö präglas av höga försäljningskrav, subtila förväntningar på emotionella investeringar i arbetet och bristande förutsättningar. För att hantera arbetskraven söker butikssäljarna stöd från kollegor och försöker själva skapa en arbetskultur som motstårindividualism och alienation, när de förutsättningar som arbetsgivarna tillhandahåller anses otillräckliga.

This thesis examines the pre-design documentation from the renovation of three historic theaters located in Detroit, Michigan. Two theaters hired architectural firms to produce a pre-design document. The third theater utilized a design-build approach to renovation. Interviews were conducted to review the approach and final outcomes. It became evident through the analysis of the documentation and interviews that it was beneficial in the renovation of a historic theater to have a comprehensive predesign process that identifies: the nature of the pre-design document, the nature of the client, the nature of the pre-design team, and the scope of work and time available. It also became apparent that the organizational approach that would apply to most any document for a heritage building should follow the Problem Seeking format of: Form, Function, Time and Economy. Utilizing this format for a pre-design record should yield a document that is concise, comprehensive and flexible.

Zugl.: München, Univ., Diss., 2009

Thesis (D.P.H.)--University of Michigan.

Dissertation (D.P.H.)--University of Michigan.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to compare the individual learning modalities of Latino, Black, and Caucasian males and females with at least some college education utilizing the Multi-modal Paired Associates Learning Test IV (MMPALT IV). Using the MMPALT IV, 20 participants from each of the three race/ethnicities above the age of 40 were measured in each of the seven perceptual modalities: Visual, Print, Aural, Interactive, Haptic, Kinesthetic, and Olfactory. The MMPALT IV is a performance-based test, which measures a person’s capacity to acquire information through each of the seven learning channels. ANOVA tests (2 x 3) with a follow-up Tukey test were used with race/ethnicity and gender identified as independent variables. The dependent variable was the individual perceptual modality sub-test scores. This study presented four research questions that addressed the following: the strongest modality profile for the participants, identifiable patterns of perceptual modalities within and between the groups, gender differences between learning styles, and consistencies for race/ethnicity with respect to gender. Statistically significant differences were found only in the Kinesthetic sub-test involving Latino participants, where they scored higher than both Black and Caucasians. The three highest scoring modalities for the Latino participants were Visual, Print, and Haptic; whereas the Black participants were Visual, Interactive, and Print. Caucasian participants scored highest on Visual, Print, and Interactive. Males and females responded similarly. All race/ethnicities responded similarly to previous MMPALT research with the exception of Kinesthetic where Latino’s performed better then Caucasians and Blacks. Implications for practice would include the incorporation of more interactive activities in a learning environment. Based on the results of this research, instructors may benefit from paying closer attention to kinesthetic activities for Latino students in a learning environment and not over relying on just traditional methods of teaching. This study was exploratory and was necessary to validate the current revisions to the MMAPLT IV. Future research could include modifying some of the subtests for more variation between test items, including more warm-up exercises to reduce any possible disorientation, adding other languages other than English, and testing other race/ethnicities.

No description available.

The amount of people in Sweden who were made redundant during the corona pandemic exceeds both the Swedish financial crisis in 1990 and the global financial crisis in 2008.  The negative economic development led to more pressure on people to work harder and perform better in order for their firm to survive. The purpose of this thesis was to explore if and how the value creation process between service providers and their customers, from a business perspective, had been influenced by the corona pandemic.  A conceptual model based on service-logic was created to shed light on potential disruptions affecting the value creation. Empirical data was collected through qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with sales-associates employed by a mobile-operator firm in Sweden. Findings resulted in five main insights of disruptions that impact the provider and its value-creation with its customers. These include managerial decisions, unreasonable goal-setting, social distancing, new provider-customer frictions and foot-traffic, which all stemmed from decisions taken by the firm and government restrictions.   This dissertation has contributed to additional insights in how the service-logic and its various concepts regarding value creation, from a firm’s perspective, is affected during a major crisis. The difficulties experienced by sales-associates during the corona pandemic is two-fold. The sales-associates have to adhere to decisions made by the firm which often leads to more pressure to perform, and the restrictions implemented by governments leads to poor conditions for creating customer-relationships in turn. These conditions impact the firm’s ability to facilitate and co-create value with its customers.