Women are often predominated in so-called "women´s jobs" including nursing, teaching and administration while jobs such as manager, board of director and financier are dominated by men. Hence, the corporate board has been male-dominated. However, in recent decades the number of women entering the boardroom has increased. Women are aware of their opportunites in terms of managerial jobs. Nevertheless, Sweden has one of the highest levels of gender equality in the world. Women with business experience and education are steadily moving upp the corporate ladder. The importance of female directors´ contributions on the corporate board has been recognized. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how women contribute on the corporate board in Sweden. The focus of the study lies on the perspectives of female and male directors. The study was conducted with the use of a qualitative method. It provided us with an understanding of the subject based on respondents´ experience. In order tol fulfill the purpose, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with male and female directors on the corporate board in Sweden. The empirical data was analyzed by the process of qualitative data analysis (QDA). We have increased the knowledge of female directors´ contributions on the corporate board in Sweden. Female directors do not posses a profound understanding of female customers. There is a strong link between female representatives and enhanced board communication. Furthermore, there is no relation between female directors and companies´ involvement in charitable activities. There is no difference in the way female and male directors monitor the board.

ABSTRACT District Superintendent and School Board President Perceptions regarding Leadership Characteristics for Superintendents of Texas Schools. (December 2009) Kenneth Lee Groholski, B.S., Sam Houston State University M.Ed., Tarleton State University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. John R. Hoyle The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions of Texas Public School superintendents and school board presidents on the importance of leadership characteristics of the superintendency. The questionnaire used in this study was developed by Dr. Douglas D. Wilson and modified by the researcher. Responses to a Likert Scale instrument and a nominal ranking of ten leadership characteristics were solicited from superintendents and school board presidents of Texas public schools. The population was superintendents and school board presidents from Texas Public Schools. The population was divided into large school districts (>10,000 students) and small school districts (<10,000 students). Data was then generated regarding the respondent’s perceptions of leadership characteristics. Descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney Tests for differences were used to determine if possible significant differences exist in the data. Results were reported using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 14.0). Major findings of the study suggest: 1. Superintendents may view the importance of instructional leadership, prior work experience in education, and effective school board relations significantly higher than school board presidents. 2. Superintendents of small schools may view the importance of instructional leadership, prior work experience in education, and effective school board relations significantly higher than school board presidents of small schools. Conversely, school board presidents of small schools may view the focus on professional development significantly higher than superintendents of small schools. 3. Superintendents of large schools may view the importance of instructional leadership, comfort with media relations and politics, and effective school board relations significantly higher than school board presidents of large schools. 4. Regardless of school size, superintendents and school board presidents appeared to be in agreement concerning the three least important superintendent leadership characteristics.

<p>Women are often predominated in so-called "women´s jobs" including nursing, teaching and administration while jobs such as manager, board of director and financier are dominated by men. Hence, the corporate board has been male-dominated. However, in recent decades the number of women entering the boardroom has increased. Women are aware of their opportunites in terms of managerial jobs. Nevertheless, Sweden has one of the highest levels of gender equality in the world. Women with business experience and education are steadily moving upp the corporate ladder. The importance of female directors´ contributions on the corporate board has been recognized. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how women contribute on the corporate board in Sweden. The focus of the study lies on the perspectives of female and male directors. The study was conducted with the use of a qualitative method. It provided us with an understanding of the subject based on respondents´ experience. In order tol fulfill the purpose, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with male and female directors on the corporate board in Sweden. The empirical data was analyzed by the process of qualitative data analysis (QDA). We have increased the knowledge of female directors´ contributions on the corporate board in Sweden. Female directors do not posses a profound understanding of female customers. There is a strong link between female representatives and enhanced board communication. Furthermore, there is no relation between female directors and companies´ involvement in charitable activities. There is no difference in the way female and male directors monitor the board.</p>

Sammanfattning Titel: Budgetlös styrning – en studie om en styrelses arbete och ansvar i en organisation medbudgetlös styrning. Författare: Katarina Permgård och Åsa Nordquist Handledare: Britt Aronsson Institution: Institutionen för industriell ekonomi Blekinge Tekniska Högskola Kurs: Kandidatarbete i företagsekonomi Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur bolagsstyrningens struktur och den budgetlösa styrningen är utformad på ett SME för att öka förståelsen för vilka faktorer som har inflytande på styrelsens roll och funktion för att skapa värde för företaget. Metod: Uppsatsen metod är fallstudie. Fallstudien har genomförts på ett ägarlett SME som arbetar med budgetlös styrning. Insamling av primärdata har genomförts med kvalitativa intervjuer. Uppsatsen respondenter är fallföretagets styrelse, VD, revisor och bankrådgivare. Med hjälp av litteratur har vi skapat en referensram med tidigare samlande erfarenheter och forskning inom området. Slutsatser: Uppsatsens fallföretag arbetar med en budgetlös styrning. De slutsaster vi drar i vår studie är att det inte är ekonomistyrningens utformning som påverkar styrelsens roll och funktion på ett företag. Istället kan vi, baserat på vårt fallföretag, se att bolagsstyrningens struktur avgör vilka roller och vilken funktion styrelsen har på ett företag. Vi konstaterar att både ekonomi- och bolagsstyrning bör vara flexibla och dynamiska för att reagera på händelser som påverkar företaget, både på gott och ont. / Abstract Title: Beyond budgeting – a study of a board of director’s work and responsibility in an organization with beyond budgeting management control. Authors: Katarina Permgård and Åsa Nordquist Supervisor: Britt Aronsson Institution: Department of Industrial Economics Blekinge Institute of Technology Course: Bachelor’s thesis in business administration Purpose: The aim of the thesis was to examine how the corporate governance and beyond budgeting management control is designed in a SME to increase understanding of the factors which have influence on the board´s role and function to create value for the company. Method: The essay method is a case study. The case study has been conducted on an owner-managed SME that is working with beyond budgeting. Collection of primary data has been completed with qualitative interviews. The essay respondents in this case are the board of directors, the company CEO, accountant and their banker. By using literature, we have created a framework with previously collected data and research in the area. Conclusions: This essays case company is working with beyond budgeting management control. The final aster we draw in our study is that it is not the management control design that affects the board of director’s role and function in a company. Instead, based on our case company, we see the corporate governance structure will determine what roles and what functions the board has on a company. We note that both the financial and corporate governance should be flexible and dynamic to respond to events affecting the company, both good and bad.

The purpose of the study was to determine how former Indiana public school board of education members perceived the effects of school board service on their families, friendships and finances. The primary research problem was that there were no systematically acquired descriptions of the prevalence of consequences of service on an Indiana public school board of education. Twelve research questions were presented.The study was descriptive in nature and used descriptive survey methodology. A survey containing 40 closed-ended and four open-ended questions was mailed to 433 former Indiana public school board members who served in 1995 and whose terms of service expired on or before June 30, 1996. Of the 390 deliverable surveys, 207 (53.1 %) were completed and returned. The statistical analyses of the aggregate data included the establishment of frequency counts, corresponding percentages, analysis of variances (ANOVA), and Tukey's HSD post hoc analyses. Responses from the open-ended questions were reviewed by the researcher to determine common categories based upon the content of the responses. The categories were ranked and reported based upon the frequency and corresponding percentage of the responses.Data from the study indicated that most former members of Indiana public school boards perceived that their membership on Indiana public school board had no effect on both their familial and non-familial relationships. If there was a perceived effect, it was more likely to be positive in nature than negative. In addition, most former Indiana public school board members perceived that membership on Indiana public school boards of education had no effect on the friendships/non-family relationships of their children, spouses, or significant others. If there was an effect, it was more likely positive than negative.Former Indiana school board members generally perceived that service on Indiana public school boards of education had no effect on their businesses and/or economic status. If there was an effect, it was more often negative than positive.There were essentially no differences in the perceived effects of service on a local Indiana public school board of education based upon board members' method of assuming office (election, appointment, etc.), method of leaving office (defeated in election, choosing not to seek re-election, etc.) length of school board service, gender, political experience or service as board president.A difference in the perceived effects of service on local Indiana public school boards of education was found based up the former members' occupations and the urbanization of the former members' districts.More than half of the respondents indicated that because of school board membership they occasionally or often experienced increased periods of stress, received cold or unresponsive reactions from acquaintances, and experienced interactions that they would describe as harassment. However, more than 85% of the respondents indicated feeling pride in their leadership and accomplishments, as well as the development of greater personal growth because of their service on public school boards. In addition, approximately 95% of the respondents indicated they were thanked or shown appreciation for their service on a school board. / Department of Secondary, Higher, and Foundations of Education

The goal of this diploma work is the suggestion of multimedia didactic material about Africa for the second degree of basic schools. It includes not only the interactive textbook but also a methodical manual which contains commentaries about particular slides and solving the tasks from the textbook. The teaching text proceeds from current didactic documents, as well as from specialized literature and existing textbooks and workbooks for the second degree of basic schools which contain school work about Africa. The didactic analysis and evaluation of these books is also a part of this diploma work.

The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to identify the priorities that Texas school board presidents perceive to be most important in their role as a school board member; (b) to describe the specific activities, behaviors, and actions that Texas school board presidents say they take to support the priorities they identify; and (c) to compare with and contrast board members' reported priorities, activities, behaviors, and actions with the eight characteristics of effective school board practices. A mixed-methods research design was used to explore school board presidents' perceptions of their role and its relationship to effective board practices. Quantitative data were gathered using an online survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were obtained from one-on-one semi-structured interviews which were manually coded using a three-step, hybrid-coding process, as well as from an observation protocol. Evidence from this study identified four top priorities: accountability driven actions, a untied team with the superintendent, aligned and sustained resources, and a vision of high expectations. Eleven subthemes emerged that describe the activities, behaviors, and beliefs that support these priorities including: clear goals, community partnerships, data-driven informed, governance, human capital, policy adoption, professional development, strong communication, student outcomes, training, and trust.

The purpose of this study was to examine the attention to the COVID-19 pandemic displayed by top-level management in companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm Large Cap, and how this aforementioned attention was affected by the board size and board gender diversity of respective company. To accomplish this, a content analysis on a word-by-word level was conducted of all interim reports produced in 2020 by each company, and data regarding the board size and board gender diversity was gathered, for each company. The frequency with which each company mentioned select keywords concerning the COVID-19 pandemic was measured and then used as a comparative measure of the attention to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to determine the magnitude of the impact of the independent variables a control variable, firm size, was introduced and linear fits were constructed of various combinations of variables. The resulting fits all clearly displayed an absence of correlation between either board size or board gender diversity and the attention paid to the COVID-19 pandemic by top-level management in large Swedish companies. Hence, this study suggests that there is no increase in board activity regarding daily operations in large Swedish companies during crises.

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the opinions of chief executive officers (CEOs) and school board chairs of Texas private schools in educational service center (ESC) Regions 10 and 11 toward board training and the potential benefits for the success of their respective roles. Literature regarding private school board training is limited. As a result, most private school boards face challenges regarding school board training expectations, which could affect their roles and the roles of CEOs. The quantitative and qualitative cross-sectional research design examined Texas private school CEOs’ and school board chairs’ perceptions about school board training and the working relationships between Texas school CEOs and school boards. The researcher developed the survey and interview questions used in this study. Responses to a 4-point Likert-type scale instrument, short answer questions, and interviews were solicited from a population of private school CEO and school board chairs within ESC Regions 10 and 11 from schools with an enrollment of at least 100 students and that contained Grades 9 through 12. In-depth Interviews were conducted with 12 private school CEOs and 12 school board chairs with varying levels of school board training. The research findings indicate that board training does make a significant difference in the working relationships between CEOs and private school boards. The findings of this study may assist private school boards in addressing school board training and the components of such training, which would benefit the working relationships between CEOs and school boards, as well as the success of private schools.

England came to have a nation-wide administrative system for public health in the 1870s. It consisted of the local councils which were designated as sanitary authorities and the Local Government Board (LGB) as the central department. This thesis explores how public health reform was pursued under this administrative system, by tracing the career of Arthur Newsholme (1857-1943), who served as Medical Officer of Health (MOH) for Brighton, 1888-1908, and as Medical Officer to the LGB, 1908-19. The main aim of the thesis is to examine the activities in which Newsholme was involved and his views, in order to consider the development of public health activities, or state medicine, in relation to the traditional notions of government and society in England, that underlay the administrative system such as 'minimal government', , local self-government' or 'voluntarism'. The first half of the thesis deals with public health reform in Brighton during Newsholme's years of office as local MOH. Particular attention is paid to how the scope of public health administration was decided through interactions between the MOH and the local council as a representative body of the community, and to how voluntary efforts were involved in its extension. The second half deals with Newsholme's administrative ideas and activities in the process of, and after, becoming the country's leading health official. By the time of his assumption of office at the LGB, Newsholme envisaged a comprehensive state medical service as the ultimate medical ideal. The thesis examines how he tried to pursue this ideal by means of reconciling it with traditional ideas of government. Special attention is paid to Newsholme's difference from his fellow reformers such as the Webbs and George Newman, particularly in respect of their recognition of the framework of centralllocal relations that underlay the administrative system, and concerning how reforms should or could be proceeded with by means of central bureaucratic initiatives.