Titel: Gör cheferna som de säger? Kunskapens betydelse för skillnader i uttalad och faktisk interaktion mellan chefer och blue-collar workers respektive knowledge workers. Nivå: Examensarbete i Företagsekonomi, Kandidatnivå, 15 hp Författare: Madeleine Lindqvist och Björn Stenholm Handledare: Per-Arne Wikström Datum: Juni 2013 Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka kunskapens betydelse för skillnader i uttalad och faktisk interaktion mellan chefer och blue-collar workers respektive knowledge workers.   Metod: Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer med anställda och chefer på olika företag har använts för att samla in det empiriska materialet. Den teoretiska referensramen har samlats in genom relevant kurslitteratur och vetenskapliga artiklar inom ämnet.   Resultat & Slutsats: Slutsatsen som dragits utifrån denna studie är att det inte gått att finna något glapp mellan chefers uttalade och faktiska handlingar. Däremot visar den på att svårigheten med kommunikation kvarstår trots kunskap om interaktion   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Då vi anser att vårt tillvägagångssätt inte kunde stödja den klassiska teorin föreslår vi att samma forskningsfråga studeras med en deltagande metod då vi tror att det skulle ge ett annat resultat.   Ett annat förslag är att undersöka varför kommunikationen mellan chefer och anställda inte fungerar trots att båda parter är medvetna om problemet.   Uppsatsens bidrag: Studien bidrar till en ökad förståelse för de komplexa situationer som chefer med ledaransvar ställs inför och huruvida deras kunskap inom områden som kommunikation och interaktion kan hjälpa dem i sitt arbete.   Nyckelord: Espoused theory, theory-in-use, arbetsmotivation, knowledge workers, blue-collar workers

There is little published literature on the health and nutrition status of inland river towboat crewmen. The purpose of the study was to better understand how life on the towboat affects health status, the crews' perceived benefits and barriers to good health, specifically eating practices and physical activity, and motivation to meet U.S.C.G. physical and BMI guidelines. The study utilized a cross-sectional design to explore relationships among variables utilizing a survey and body composition measurements. One hundred ninety-four crewmen participated. Findings indicate crewmen are at increased risk of chronic disease related to anthropometric measurements, lack of aerobic activity, and unhealthy eating practices. Surprisingly, though, men indicated they like healthy foods and would eat them if served. Therefore, men are not as opposed to menu changes as originally thought. Additionally, the towboat environment must be more supportive of healthy behaviors to promote change. Furthermore, given the towboat culture and tradition, a successful intervention must be based on an ecological approach, addressing individual-level, socio-cultural and environmental-level influences.

The prevalence of tobacco use among blue-collar workers such as construction artisans is disproportionately higher than in the general population, yet very limited studies have been conducted about such workers in Nigeria, the most populous country in sub-Sahara African (SSA). Therefore, this study aims to assess the prevalence and the associated risk factors of tobacco use among construction artisans in Ekiti State, Nigeria. This cross-sectional study employed a multi-stage stratified sampling technique to select participants (carpenters and bricklayers) artisans, journeymen, and their apprentices who were working in Ekiti State. Chi-square and logistic regression were conducted to delineate factors that are associated with tobacco use in this population. The results show that the prevalence of ever-smoke amongst respondents was 19.3%, and multivariate analysis showed that artisans who were within the age range 31-40 years were four times more likely to use tobacco (aOR=3.410; CI=1.476-7.878), compared with those that are less than 20 years. Additionally, being in school (aOR 2.007; CI= 1.026-3.927) and divorced/separated (aOR4.240; CI=1.307-13.759) were associated with tobacco use, compared with the respective populations. The increased prevalence of tobacco use among construction artisans is noteworthy, and few self-reported cases of addiction amongst users demand action from communities and government at all levels. There is need to improved access of artisans to accurate information and tailored messages on dangers of tobacco use. Moreover, smoking and worksite regulations and policies would be needed to curtail the smoking tendencies of these workers

Book Summary: From television, film, and music to sports, comics, and everyday life, this book provides a comprehensive view of working-class culture in America.

This thesis is a study of women who have been diagnosed with repetitive strain injury (RSI). The purpose of the study was to give women a voice in their experience with the disease. Research has shown that women have often been omitted in occupational health and safety research. Therefore it was decided to interview women workers from two distinctly different workplaces. One group was located in the white collar sector. They performed essentially clerical duties in a library in Southern Ontario. The other group consisted of blue collar workers. They worked on an assembly line in a manufacturing plant. The women performed repetitive tasks which caused them crippling injuries with a great deal of pain. Most of the injuries affected their hands, arms and shoulders. Their story is largely told in their own voices and reflects the perceptions of their suffering. The work- relatedness of their condition was more readily accepted by the assembly-line workers than by the clerical workers. One possible reason for this could be that the union in the library had placed less importance on occupational health and safety issues than the union in the manufacturing plant. Hence, the women in the library were caught between competing medical discourses. Furthermore, both groups struggled with their identity as mother/wife and homemaker, since they were not able to perforin many of their caregiving duties after their injury. This became a great source of stress for the sufferers. It also reflected their identity as they perceived it to be within the limits of patriarchy. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Bakgrund och problem: Ett välkänt ekonomiskt styrmedel som används av företagsledare för att motivera anställda till att utföra prestationer som ligger i linje med företagets mål är belöningssystem. Belöningssystem fungerar olika i olika branscher och måste anpassas efter typ av verksamhet och anställda. Ett relativt outforskat område är industribranschen, här utförs ofta kärnprocessen av arbetarna på golvet vilket gör det intressant att se hur ett industriföretag jobbar med belöningssystem mot dessa typer av anställda och identifiera kritiska områden för belöningssystemets funktion mot arbetare då detta är ett ostuderat område. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med ökad förståelse om hur industriföretag jobbar med belöningssystem gentemot arbetare och vad dessa arbetare har för erfarenheter av detta system. Metod: En kvalitativ fallstudie är utförd på företaget Atlas Copco Power Technique Nordic som är verksamma inom industribranschen. Åtta respondenter har intervjuats genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Studien har anammat en abduktiv forskningsansats  Slutsats: Atlas Copco Power Technique Nordic använder sig av många olika belöningar i olika former för att motivera sina anställda, en kombination av icke-monetära belöningar är den främsta nyckeln för att skapa motivation hos anställda. Det framkommer att de monetära belöningarna exklusive lön inte har betydande påverkan på arbetarnas motivation och vilja att prestera. Det visar sig även att mål och rättvisa har en betydande roll vad gäller arbetarnas positiva inställning till belöningssystemet. / Background and problem: A well-known financial instrument used by business leaders to motivate employees to perform in line with the company's goal is the reward system. Reward systems work differently in different industries and must therefore be adapted to the type of business and type of employees in an organization. A relatively unexplored area is the industrial industry. Here the core processes are often performed by the blue-collar workers which makes it interesting to see how an industrial company works with reward systems towards these types of workers and identify critical areas for the reward system's function towards blue-collar workers as this is an unstudied area. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to contribute to an increased understanding of how industrial companies work with reward systems towards blue-collar workers and what experience these workers have of this system. Method: A qualitative case study has been carried out at the company Atlas Copco Power Technique Nordic, which is active in the industrial industry. Eight respondents were interviewed through semi-structured interviews. The study has adopted an abductive research approach  Conclusion: Atlas Copco Power Technique Nordic uses many different rewards in different ways to motivate its employees, and the combination of non-monetary rewards is the main key to creating motivation in employees. It appears that the monetary rewards excluding wages have no meaningful effect on blue collar worker’s motivation and desire to perform. It also appears that goalsetting and justice play a significant role in terms of blue collar worker’s positive attitudes towards the reward system.

ABSTRACT This paper will detail the process of creating and making the film Everything that Shines is not Gold. This paper divides into four parts: writing process, pre-production, production, and postproduction. The first part will touch on how the story came about and the writing process. The second part will cover the pre-production aspects and how I dealt with a strict deadline. Next, I will talk about directing. In the fourth part, I will discuss the long and tiring postproduction workflow. Last, I will reflect on making and what I learned.

The purpose of this dissertation research was to bring voice to university custodians as blue-collar workers by exploring the manner in which four custodians interact with students on a university campus. The following research questions framed this study: 1) In what ways do four campus custodians interact with students during their work day at a large public university? 2) In what ways do those custodians talk about students and their interactions with students? This study adopted a critical philosophical lens that acknowledged the historically-marginalized voice of custodians as campus blue-collar workers. Extant research on blue-collar worker identity theory and college student-staff interactions and mentoring literature, as well as the author's own blue-collar background, informed and framed the study. Qualitative data sources for this ethnographically-grounded case study were four campus custodians employed in three residence halls during the academic year at a large, public university in the Midwest. A moderate participant observation strategy melded with a semi-structured interview protocol were employed. Data were collected and transcribed during seventy-five hours of observations throughout a six-week time span. Mutual benefits to both college student success and custodial staff occupational esteem were identified in custodial staff-student interactions. More specifically, custodial staff participants were found to indirectly support college student success via formally acknowledged and performed cleaning and maintenance duties of observing, protecting, and promoting the health of college students. Additionally, custodial staff directly supported college student success via informally-performed actions of remembering, comforting, advising, exchanging and keeping gifts, and participating in events with students. Based on these findings, this study advises college and university decision-makers to consider custodians as important mentors for, and allies to, college student success. Suggestions for professional practice include 1) Acknowledging and leveraging custodians' unique assets and contributions, 2) Fostering relationships between students and custodians, 3) Increasing custodian's opportunities for professional development, 4) Considering custodians' potential to support student success in custodian hiring decisions, and 5) Training Custodial Staff in Basic Crisis Intervention. Future research should examine custodians as formal mentors, explore social justice concerns relative to blue-collar campus workers, and study the influence of custodian-student interactions on custodial staff job satisfaction and performance.

Union mergers have occurred since unions were first established. Research on this particular aspect of the union movement is well established in the UK and the US. However, there are few studies of Australian union mergers, despite the fact that many Australian unions took part in a 'merger boom' in the 1980s and 1990s. Two of the few Australian studies, Hocking (1996) and Campling and Michelson (1998), utilised resource dependency and strategic choice theories to ascertain the why and how of union mergers. However, these Australian studies, like their UK and US counterparts, cease with the completion of the merger and, consequently, there is little known of the post-merger operation of unions. How does the integration of the merger partners - with their traditions, structures and financial arrangements - occur? This thesis rectifies the gap in the literature by means of a qualitative, longitudinal study of the merger and post-merger activities of one of the largest and most prominent unions in Australia, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU), as it moved towards complete amalgamation. The thesis examines the period 1995-2003. Four of the five pre-merger unions faced a serious and continued decline in membership and all faced mounting financial deficits. From 1995, the year the various mergers were completed, membership decline continued and financial resources dwindled further, providing the impetus for further and significant post-merger changes. The analysis demonstrates that, due to a continuing lack of financial resources, the AMWU leadership initiated a budgeting strategy which influenced the actions and changed the opinions of many of the Union's officials, guiding them towards accepting integration of the constituent divisions and near complete amalgamation. The thesis answers the questions of why and how a union moves from a negotiated federated structure towards amalgamation, post merger, with a particular focus on financial decision-making processes.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 1993