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Recent nutrition reports conclude that changing dietary practices is a strategic way to reduce cancer rates in the United States. Nutrition recommendations to decrease risk of cancer include reducing fat intake to 30% of total calories, increasing fiber consumption to 20-30 g/day, and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption to five servings daily. However, recent studies suggest that fruit and vegetable consumption decreases with educational and income levels within a population, and that blue-collar workers tend to consume 38-40% of total calories as fat. It is possible that national campaign efforts to change dietary practices are not reaching educationally and economically challenged populations. This research identifies the perceptions of blue-collar workers regarding a link between dietary practices and disease prevention. Six focus groups, three of women and three of men were conducted in urban, suburban, and rural Virginia counties. A total of 66 workers participated, and each group was comprised of 8-16 blue-collar workers 35-65 years of age. Most participants were aware of a link between dietary practices and health. A "healthy person" was described as eating low fat foods, fruits and vegetables, and maintaining a healthy weight. Fatty meat consumption, food processing, and chemical treatment of food were perceived as increasing risk for disease. Few participants were aware of a potential link between diet and cancer. Many contributed risk for cancer to factors beyond their control such as heredity, environmental factors, and the influence of the food industry. Those who had experienced a disease, either themselves or through a loved one expressed a greater sense of urgency to modify their eating habits. Most of those attempting dietary modification were addressing health issues relating to cardiovascular disease. The majority reported consuming less than five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, most often as canned or frozen products. Participants reported receiving nutrition education from non-interactive sources, such as television, newspapers, magazines, and radio, and interactive sources such as health professionals and community programs. Those that mentioned interactive sources were more likely to elaborate on specific information learned. Television segments, newsletters, and worksite programs were selected as the most preferred ways to receive nutrition education. When asked what topics would be most helpful in a newsletter series, people requested information regarding heart disease more frequently than cancer. Health benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption, menus, and recipes were also mentioned. The findings suggest that nutrition education efforts concerning cardiovascular disease have penetrated the blue collar population. Community educators need to broaden messages to include current information regarding the potential link between dietary practices and cancer. Furthermore, 35-65 year olds may exhibit more willingness to change dietary habits through nutrition education due to changes in health among themselves or loved ones. / Master of Science

Globally organisations face unacceptable levels of fatalities that translate into financial losses and bad publicity, which can be attributed to the inadequate employee engagement in decision making in daily work activities. This study explores the participative role of employees in the management of occupational health and safety (OHS), and investigates the impact of employee participation on the decision making processes that create a safe workplace. The joint labour-management committees encourage employee participation that improves the injury and disease prevention programs. Four participative approaches exist in the decision making processes, namely Directed Participation, Involvement, Pro-active Participation and Ownership, that are interrelated and integrated with the decision making process. When employees are required to abide by set guidelines and procedures, Directed Participation is appropriate. This has been observed to occur with little or no input from employees, whilst the application of legislation requires the process of involvement where critical decisions are made outside the domain of the employee. The pro-active participation process entails the sharing, consulting and making of joint decisions, which is most suitable in the Safety Health and Environmental committees, ensuring the process of Ownership empowers employees to champion the OHS activities. In OHS management there are instances when numerous participative approaches are utilised simultaneously to make decisions. All employees, both blue collar workers and management have a positive influence in creating a safe workplace, with the likelihood of older and experienced employees participating more than their younger counterparts in the decision making processes within the various OHS forums. Also, the more employees assume full responsibility for their health and safety, the greater is their influence to find solutions to the safety challenges. Additionally, making joint decisions to create a safe workplace will, in turn, encourage employees to participate more. The use of the participative approaches results in an improvement in the iii decision making processes within S.H.E. committees and OHS management processes, thereby making a positive contribution. More research is recommended to explore the relationships between employee participation in decision making and the compliance to OHS legislation, employee training, the safety culture and the influence of trade unions. / Business Management / DBL

Recent decades have seen an explosion of research centered on understanding the influential impact that job stressors have on employees' subjective well-being, and now more recently, on objective assessments of physical health. Utilizing baseline data from a larger study funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), I conducted a field study on blue-collar employees from two organizations in the construction industry, with the goal of exploring the impact of job stressors on job satisfaction (subjective well-being) and body mass index (objective health), as well as the influence of organizational justice as a moderator and exercise as a mediator in those relationships. In support of previous research, results show that job stressors (job demands, low skill discretion, and low decision authority) all had significant direct effects on job satisfaction in the expected directions, signifying that the fewer demands and more control one has in their work role, the more satisfied one is. Results also indicate that distributive and procedural justice have significant main effects on job satisfaction, illustrating that higher perceptions of justice are related to higher levels of job satisfaction. With respect to objective health, the data provides empirical support for the relationship between job control (skill discretion and decision authority) and BMI; however, job demands did not have a significant main effect on BMI. More importantly, the rarely studied relationship between organizational justice and BMI was investigated (Robbins et al., 2012), with results indicating that procedural and distributive justice are important influences on one's BMI level. Post hoc analyses revealed that distributive and procedural justice are two relevant mediators to consider in the job stressor-job satisfaction relationship, illustrating the importance of considering employees' fairness perceptions with regards to their satisfaction levels. Moreover, exercise was found to be a significant moderator to the relationship between job demands and BMI, as well as the relationship between distributive justice and job satisfaction, shedding light on physical activity within the work and health contexts as a factor that interacts with employees' perceptions of justice and their workload demands to impact their psychological and physical health. Considering the cross-sectional nature of these data, all mediation and moderation results should be interpreted with caution. With empirical support found for the direct association between job stressors and organizational justice and the outcomes of job satisfaction and BMI, this study has significant implications for researchers and practitioners alike to further expand upon these findings and implement them into organizational practice in support of the Total Worker Health initiative, which aims to promote employee safety and health (Schill & Chosewood, 2013). Results suggest a healthy workforce is the result of the combination of employers transforming the work environment into a more just, transparent and trustworthy place to work, starting with the dynamics between supervisors and their employees, in conjunction with targeted interventions on employees' modifiable behaviors, such as engaging in physical activity and healthier eating habits.

Bakgrund: Arbetsrelaterad stress kan relateras till arbetstagarnas hälsa och bidrar till hög personalomsättning och ökade kostnader. Samtidigt är kunskapsdelning en betydande resurs för organisationers förmåga att ta vara på kunskap, främja medarbetarnas välmående samt behålla sin personal. Det saknas konsensus i tidigare forskning på hur stress och kunskapsdelning samverkar samt hur tjänstemän respektive arbetare modererar detta samband. Denna studie syftar därav till att undersöka sambandet mellan stress och kunskapsdelning på arbetsplatsen samt om sambandet modereras av kategorierna white och blue collar.  Metod: Studiens data insamlades via en digital enkät bestående av 14 items som mäter stress (PSS-14) samt 11 items som mäter kunskapsdelning baserat på instrument utvecklat av Xiao m.fl. (2017), Wang m.fl. (2017) och Wang och Kwek (2018). Totalt var det 138 respondenter som hade svarat på samtliga frågor (inklusive kontrollvariabler). Multipel regressionsanalys med 5000 bootstraps iterationer användes för att studera korrelationen mellan arbetsrelaterad stress och kunskapsdelning. Det utfördes en analys av eventuell modererande effekt av arbetskategori på sambandet mellan stress och kunskapsdelning med hjälp av PROCESS-procedur för SPSS version 4.2 beta.  Resultat: Studiens resultat visar ett signifikant negativt samband mellan arbetsrelaterad stress och kunskapsdelning i arbetslivet på Beta = -.30 även efter kontroll för bakgrundsvariablerna sysselsättningsgrad, allmän hälsa och sömn. Ingen modererande effekt av arbetskategorierna white/blue collar kunde påvisas.  Slutsats: Resultatet ger insikt i sambandet mellan arbetsrelaterad stress och kunskapsdelning. Resultaten indikerar att en minskning av arbetsrelaterad stress kan främja kunskapsdelning och öka organisationernas förmåga att behålla anställda. Därmed kan kostnader för personalomsättning, rekrytering och frånvaro även minskas. / Background: Work-related stress can be linked to employees' health and contributes to high staff turnover and increased costs. At the same time, knowledge sharing is a significant resource for organizations' ability to leverage knowledge, promote employee well-being, and retain their employees. There is no consensus in previous research on how stress and knowledge sharing interact, as well as how white collar and blue-collar workers moderate this relationship. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between stress and knowledge sharing in the workplace, and whether the relationship is moderated by the categories of white and blue-collar workers. Method: The study's data was collected via a digital survey consisting of 14 items measuring stress (PSS-14) and 11 items measuring knowledge sharing based on instruments developed by Xiao et.al. (2017), Wang et.al. (2017) and Wang and Kwek (2018). In total, there were 138 respondents who had answered all questions (including control variables). Multiple regression analysis with 5000 bootstrap iterations was used to study the correlation between work-related stress and knowledge sharing. An analysis of the potential moderating effect of occupational category on the relationship between stress and knowledge sharing was also conducted using the PROCESS procedure for SPSS version 4.2 beta. Results: The study's results show a significant negative correlation between stress and knowledge sharing in the workplace at Beta= -.30 even after controlling for the background variables employment rate, general health, and sleep. No moderating effect of the white/blue collar work categories could be found. Conclusion: The results provide insight into the relationship between work-related stress and knowledge sharing. The results indicate that reducing work-related stress can promote knowledge sharing and increase the organization's ability to retain employees. Thus, costs for staff turnover, recruitment, and absenteeism can also be reduced.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree ot Master of Arts in Industrial Social Work by course work, 1998 / This study explored the effects of perceived trade union social support on the work stress of blue collar workers. It was hypothesised that blue collar workers who obtain social support from their trade union would experience the least stress. This study is a comparative qualitative study. The sample involved 60 blue collar workers in a Telkom workshop. The role orientation questionnaire was used to test their stress levels and thereafter the trade union social support scale was used to test their levels of perceived trade union social support study revealed that blue collar workers are indeed exposed to stress, however, those that perceived the trade union as giving them social support, experienced the least stress. On the basis of the findings it is recommended that occupational social workers intervene on micro, meso and macro levels in order to help in alleviating the stress levels of blue collar workers. / AC2017

Bakgrund och problem: Stora förändringar har skett i tillverkningsindustrin sedan i början av tjugohundratalet. Företagen måste ständigt utvecklas och söka nya sätt att organisera sig för att kunna vara konkurrenskraftiga i dagens globala marknad. Detta föder nya problem och frågor om hur de kan vara kostnadseffektiva och ha en personalflexibilitet som följer volymsvängningarna. Det har funnits bra uppföljningar och kostnadskontroller på kollektivsidan, men inte på tjänstemannasidan. Detta väcker två frågor. Hur personalrörlighet strategiskt planeras i de undersökta företagen? På vilket sätt strategisk behandling skiljer tjänstemän från kollektivarbetare?Syfte: Huvudsyftet var att belysa strategisk planering inom personalrörlighet i tre företag (Se 2.1).Ett delsyftet var att identifiera på vilket sätt strategisk planering påverkas av personalkostnader. Ett andra delsyfte är att belysa vilka andra informationskällor som tillämpas i strategisk planering.Avgränsningar: Studien fokuserar sig på strategisk planering av rörlighet på tjänstemannasidan i tillverkningsindustrin. Det lades ingen fokus på skillnader mellan fastanställda och inhyrda både när det gäller tjänstemän och kollektivarbetare. Empiriska data hämtades från intervjuer med ledande befattningar inom Ericsson AB, Volvo AB och Assa Abloy. Studien utgår från antagande att volymförändringar översätts i strategisk planering av personalrörlighet. Vidare utgår studien från antagande att kostnadsinformation tillämpas vid planering av tjänstemannarörlighet.Metod: Metoden som användes var av kvalitativ art. Ostrukturerade intervjuer har använts för att få fram primärdata. Förutom kvalitativ data har även kvantitativ data använts för att bättre kunna se rörlighetsskillnader mellan tjänstemän och kollektivarbetare i olika volymer.Resultat och slutsats: I studiens resultatdel framkommer det att faktorer som påverkar strategisk planering av personalrörlighet är volymförändringar och de höga kostnaderna vid låga volymer. För att eliminera de stora kostnaderna som uppstår vid låga volymer vill företagen produktionseffektivisera och kostnadseffektivisera även på tjänstemannasidan och genom detta få tjänstemännen rörliga. Studien har även kommit fram till att vid volymförändringar är tjänstemännen inte rörliga i förhållande till kollektivarbetare. Anledning till skillnaden i strategiska behandlingen är tjänstemännens roll, deras komplexa arbetsuppgifter och den kompetens de besitter vilket skiljer sig från den roll kollektivarbetarna har. Tjänstemän jobbar med långsiktiga mål vilket gör de svårare att ersätta och svårare att bli rörliga. Företagen tar även hänsyn till andra faktorer så som samhällsfaktorer, etiska faktorer och externa faktorer. När företagen tar till åtgärder och effektiviserar och har en slimmad organisation påverkar detta samhället.Externa faktorer gör att företagen har vissa kostnader och inte kan varsla hur som helst.Studien har bidragit med följande punkterV1. Kostnadsmodeller används inte i strategisk planering och strategiska beslut gällande personalrörlighet.2. Ur strategiskt planeringsperspektiv behandlas tjänstemän och kollektivarbetare olika.3. Argumenten för tjänstemän är baserad på deras erfarenhet och utbildning.4. Strategiska beslut är även baserade på etiska frågor så som att:A. Företagen har en ambition att upptäcka volymsvängningar i marknaden långt innan det påverkar den operativa aktiviteten i företaget för att kunna agera och informera i god tid innan det händer.B. Ericsson har en ambition att omplacera tjänstemän inom produktion och skapa relation mellan tjänstemannasidan och kollektivsidan.5. Det är svårt att bevisa att företagen i studien bara har vinstmaximering som strategi. De måste också ta hänsyn till etiska frågor.Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Företag saknar kostnadsmodeller för strategisk planering inom personalrörlighet. Företagen bör därmed bli mer konkreta gällande tjänstemannakostnader. Framtida studier bör göras i företag som har utvecklat personalredovisning både när det gäller kollektivarbetare och tjänstemän och studera hur de företagen använder sig av detta. / Program: Civilekonomprogrammet

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Date: </strong>May 15, 2009<strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Course: </strong>Master thesis,<strong> </strong>EFO705<strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Authors: </strong>Hanna Jokiperä 800218-T108, hja08001@student.mdh.se</p><p>Ruusa Mustonen 830711-P263, rmn08001@student.mdh.se</p><p><strong>Tutor: </strong>Tobias Eltebrandt</p><p><strong>Title: </strong>CAN Europe – Market Research of Sweden</p><p><strong>Strategic question: </strong>How can CAN Europe launch the internationally standardised vocational skills assessment tests successfully to Sweden? The purpose of this master thesis is to provide the company with comprehensive information about the Swedish market and to suggest ways to implement the launching process.</p><p><strong>Research questions: </strong></p><ul><li>What are the characteristics of the Swedish labour and recruitment market? </li><li>Are the Swedish companies interested in using CAN Europe’s tests? </li><li>What would be the suitable marketing mix when entering the Swedish market?</li></ul><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Besides the comprehensive collection of secondary data, the primary data was collected by the means of an open-ended questionnaire among large companies and recruitment agencies in Sweden. The research was conducted in order to gather in-depth information about the recruitment field in Sweden.</p><p><strong>Conceptual Framework: </strong>Theories of<strong> ‘</strong>The<strong> </strong>International Marketing Task’, ‘The Country Notebook’ and ‘The Market entry plan’ were used.  Theories and concepts were chosen for the purpose that they would support each other and could be used by combining them when making the analysis of the findings.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>According to the study, Sweden seems to be highly potential country for CAN Europe to enter since the relevant aspects for successful launch exist in the market i.e. in terms of companies’ interest and needs, and the characteristics of the skills assessment and recruitment market in Sweden.</p><p><strong>Key Words: </strong>Market entry plan, marketing mix, international launch, market research, skills assessment, recruitment, blue-collar<strong></strong></p>

Abstract   Date: May 15, 2009 Course: Master thesis, EFO705 Authors: Hanna Jokiperä 800218-T108, hja08001@student.mdh.se Ruusa Mustonen 830711-P263, rmn08001@student.mdh.se Tutor: Tobias Eltebrandt Title: CAN Europe – Market Research of Sweden Strategic question: How can CAN Europe launch the internationally standardised vocational skills assessment tests successfully to Sweden? The purpose of this master thesis is to provide the company with comprehensive information about the Swedish market and to suggest ways to implement the launching process. Research questions: What are the characteristics of the Swedish labour and recruitment market? Are the Swedish companies interested in using CAN Europe’s tests? What would be the suitable marketing mix when entering the Swedish market? Methods: Besides the comprehensive collection of secondary data, the primary data was collected by the means of an open-ended questionnaire among large companies and recruitment agencies in Sweden. The research was conducted in order to gather in-depth information about the recruitment field in Sweden. Conceptual Framework: Theories of ‘The International Marketing Task’, ‘The Country Notebook’ and ‘The Market entry plan’ were used.  Theories and concepts were chosen for the purpose that they would support each other and could be used by combining them when making the analysis of the findings. Conclusion: According to the study, Sweden seems to be highly potential country for CAN Europe to enter since the relevant aspects for successful launch exist in the market i.e. in terms of companies’ interest and needs, and the characteristics of the skills assessment and recruitment market in Sweden. Key Words: Market entry plan, marketing mix, international launch, market research, skills assessment, recruitment, blue-collar

The constant pressure to achieve increased efficiency and profitability improvements drives companies to look at new technologies for ways to develop sustainable advantages. At the same time, the breathtakingly rapid technological development of these technologies leads, not surprisingly, to different misconceptions about the impact of IT on businesses.  This dissertation aims at clarifying some of these misconceptions by exploring one such technological breakthrough, namely wireless information systems, as used to support mobile workforces. The dissertation analyses three companies devoted to the implementation of wireless information systems, that were confronted with a number of challenges, and investigates how these challenges were met by means of different capability development activities. Evidence from the cases shows that what really matters is not the technology in itself, but how organizations use it. This study suggests that the firms that give the best performance are not necessarily those that implement different breeds of technology, but rather those that are able to learn from the challenges they are confronted with – doing so moreover on repeated occasions by means of interlinked organizational innovation processes. Thus, a piece of advice offered in this dissertation is that it is not always so important to possess all the right capabilities from the beginning, but that one needs to possess the right capabilities to develop new capabilities. / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2007</p>