Operationsavdelningen på Hallands sjukhus Varberg har genomfört ett förbättringsprojekt för att se hur flödet med att ge lokalbedövning (blockad) inför operation kan optimeras. Projektets mål var att spara tid på operationssalen genom snabbare byten, förbättra miljön för patienter och personal och samtidigt säkerställa fortsatt god patientsäkerhet och gott bemötande. Jag har valt att göra en fallstudie av projektet för att se hur förbättringsarbetet fungerat och hur gruppens förståelse utvecklats. Jag har gjort en deskriptiv undersökning och utgått från ett kvalitativt angreppssätt. Informationen har samlats in genom deltagande observationer av gruppens arbete och utvärdering av dokumentation. Som lösningsmetod har jag utgått från PDSA-hjulet, (Plan, Do, Study, Act) och tillämpat ett antal olika förbättringsverktyg för att analysera och beskriva verksamheten. I projektplaneringen har jag använt Tonnquists projektmodell. Resultatet har utvärderats genom tidmätningar, en loggbok som förts under testperioden och en enkät för att samla in medarbetarnas synpunkter. Tidsplanen fick revideras eftersom vi hade svårt att få fram resurser och testen fick skjutas fram en månad. Arbetsgruppen har bestått av ett multiprofessionellt team med en enhetschef, anestesiläkare, sjuksköterskor och undersköterskor. Samarbetet har fungerat väl och engagemanget har varit stort, trots att det har varit svårt att avsätta tid, särskilt för läkaren. Det nya arbetssättet har testats under maj och vi har börjat utvärdera resultatet. Mätningen av bytestiderna har inte visat något tydligt resultat. Den loggbok som förts i sänghallen under testtiden visade att det fungerade bra att lägga blockaderna i sänghallen och att patientsäkerheten inte påverkats. Enligt enkäten ansåg en anestesiläkare att miljön var lugnare i sänghallen, medan ett par anestesisjuksköterskor hade invändningar mot att inte samma person följer patienten hela vägen från det att blockaden lagts. De ansåg också att resursen i sänghallen skulle kunnat utnyttjas bättre på operationssalarna. Min rekommendation är att detaljerna kring arbetsfördelningen ses över för att skapa en bättre balans mellan de olika uppgifterna i sänghallen respektive på operationssalen. Vi behöver också se över mätningen av bytestiderna. En allmän reflektion är att det är svårt att få loss resurser till förbättringsprojekt. Det har också varit bra att prova i mindre skala först, då vi fick många idéer under resans gång. Vi har även insett vikten av tydlighet kring projektets omfattning och mätmetoder. Det är också viktigt att förändringar kommuniceras ordentligt och fungerar bra för alla inblandade, för att de ska gå att införa. / The Operation Ward at Hallands Hospital in Varberg has carried out an improvement project to see how the workflow with nerve blockades in the preop preparation area  an be optimized. The project's goals were to save time in the operation ward by reducing the time between operations and improving the environment for patients and staff, while ensuring continued patient safety and good care. I have chosen to do a case study to see the effect of the improvement work, and how the group's understanding has evolved. I have made a descriptive study and focused on qualitative data. The information was collected through observations and analysis of the documentation. As a solution method, I used the PDSA-cycle, (Plan, Do, Study, Act) and applied a variety of improvement tools to analyze and describe the project. In the project planning I used Tonnquist’s project model. The result was evaluated through time measurement, a test diary and an employee survey. The timetable was revised due to a shortage of staff and the test had to be postponed by a month. The project group consisted of a multi-professional team with a head of unit, anesthetist, nurses and assistants. The group worked well together, although sometimes it was hard to find the time, especially for the anesthetist. The new way of working was tried out in May and we have started to evaluate the results. The time measurements did not show any clear result. The diary in the pre-op preparation area showed that the new routine worked well and that patient safety was not affected. The survey showed that while a doctor was positive, a couple of nurses objected to the fact that the patient was not treated by the same nurse all the way. They also said that the nurse in the bed hall could be put to better use in the operating theatres. My recommendation is to further discuss the details of the distribution of the different tasks between the pre-op nurse and the anesthetist nurses. We also need to review the time measurements. An observation is that it is hard to find the time to work with improvement projects. A testing period is also useful in order to adjust the details of the implementation. The importance of a clear definition of the project and the measurements is evident, as well as the necessity of communication with the staff involved. In order to get acceptance from everyone in the implementation, it is important that the solution is perceived as a win-win situation for all parties.

Blogging is a recent phenomenon with research currently focusing on how it facilitates both personal and organisational knowledge exchange (Aimeur, Brassard & Paquet 2005; Hsu & Lin 2008). Social capital is shown to be a crucial factor facilitating knowledge transfer (Nahapiet and Ghoshal 1998). Blogging is a new social communication technology enabling individuals to collaborate and share knowledge. This research investigates how three dimensions of social capital affect individual knowledge sharing in weblog communities. In particular, it explores how individuals exploit weblogs as a tool for conversational knowledge management in educational institutions. Following Wasko & Faraj's (2005) study, the conceptual model is developed by setting eight independent variables from social capital dimensions and a dependent variable is set from individual behaviour in online knowledge sharing. Eight hypotheses are developed to test the relationship between these variables. A quantitative approach was applied for data collection and analysis. For data collection, an online survey was published in several Australian university weblog communities. An additional paper-based survey was distributed to the respondents in order to gain adequate sample size. For data analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to eliminate measurement items that shared a significant residual value with other measurement items. Further, the models obtained from confirmatory factor analysis were used to test the hypotheses by multiple regression analysis. Results from multiple regression analysis on online knowledge sharing suggest that trust, personal reputation and enjoy helping are positively associated with individual online knowledge sharing. The stepwise estimation procedure was further adapted in the regression model. The results show that four independent variables became significant to the study. These four significant variables were individual expertise, trust, personal reputation and enjoy helping. Lastly, several limitations in this study such as the sample of university online setting and respondents' activities on weblogs are discussed. These limitations lead to the direction of future research provided in conclusion of this study.

[Truncated abstract] Rumours can lead to unpredictable events: the manner in which an organisation responds to a commercial rumour can alter its reputation, and can affect its profitability as well as, ultimately, its survival. Commercial rumours are now a prominent feature of the business environment. They can emerge from organisational change, pending workforce layoffs, mergers, and changes to management, in addition, commercial rumours can lower morale and undermine productivity. There are several well-known examples of commercial rumours that have been, or continue to be, circulated. Commercial rumours are typically either about a conspiracy or contamination issue. Conspiracy rumours usually target those organisational practices or policies which are identified as undesirable by the stakeholders. This form of rumour is often precipitated by situations where people do not have all the information about a situation, for example the rumour about Proctor & Gamble being run by the Moonies. Snapple, the soft drink company, was rumoured in 1992 to be supporting the Ku Klux Klan in closing abortion clinics. Contamination rumours are wide-ranging and typically have revulsion theme, such as McDonald’s "worms in the burger", Pop Rock’s candies which exploded in the stomach, and poison in Herron’s paracetamol . . . Marketers suggest that web sites Commerical Rumour Responses on the Web represent the future of marketing communications on the Internet. The key implication of this study for organisations is when faced with a negative rumour, specific and selected Web pages can be used manage company’s stakeholders recall the rumour and organisational stakeholders can be persuaded by the company’s rumour response strategies.

Thesis (MA(Psychology))-University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 194-208).

There is global agreement that in today's business environment an integrated approach to communication is a necessity. Although there is a need to evaluate the application and quality of integrated communication, after almost 20 years of existence, it is still viewed as a difficult concept to implement. Definitions of integrated communication still vary, with no universal consensus. Although the literature on communications does propose various implementation models for evaluating integrated communication, these models are predominantly marketing-related, with parameters pertaining to the customer-experience. As such, these models have serious shortcomings when it comes to measuring the employee-experience. In this study, employee relationships are seen as the building blocks of the strategic management of communication between an organisation and its external publics. Recognising this significance of employee relationships two decades ago, Cutlip, Center, and Broom (1985) proposed that no organisational relationships are as important as those with employees. They advocated that the first step in promoting positive external relationships is achieving good internal communication. The central thrust is that employees who are truly customer-focused need to work within an employee-centric environment. Customarily, the traditional internal communication audit is used to evaluate the employee environment, employee perceptions of communication and employee attitudes. However, traditional audits have limitations when it comes to measuring integration. Traditional audits do not evaluate the role of the employee in building customer relationships, or the extent to which employees are integrated into an organisation. There is, therefore, a need to extend the traditional internal communication audit, so as to evaluate integrated internal communication and its application and quality. Duncan (2001) maintains that integrated communication must first exist internally if a company is to effectively communicate externally. Therefore, the primary research objective of this study was to develop a measuring instrument (using elements from existing audits and models) to evaluate integrated internal communication. This entailed a literature review to determine the theoretical status of the concept of integrated communication and internal communication. A measuring instrument was then developed to evaluate integrated internal communication. The second objective was to apply the developed instrument so as to measure employee perceptions of communication at the International Colleges Group (ICG). These perceptions were measured through a group administered perception survey and personal interviews. Research results where used to determine the extent of integrated internal communication at ICG in accordance with four identifiable stages. Findings signifyed some success in the first stage of integrated communication. However, there was no indication of integrated communication in the later stages. The final objective was to test the shortcomings of the proposed instrument. / Communication Science / M.A. (specialisation in Organisational Communication Research and Practice)

Made available in DSpace on 2010-04-20T20:14:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 1995-05-26T00:00:00Z / The main subject of this study, is the rádio peão, (the brasilian word to the american grapevine) and the rumor (or gossip) in organizations. It is basicaly a teory review, including the analysis of growing, transformations, types and classification of rumors, according to social and psycological approachs. It also analyses the research methods of studing. At the end, some organizational recomendations and sugestions of new approachs areavailable. / Esta dissertação tem como tema o estudo da rádio peão, equivalente brasileiro da grapevine americana e dos rumores e boatos que circulam nas organizações. O trabalho contém a revisão da teoria existente sobre o assunto, abrangendo seus principais mecanismos de . surgimento e transformação, a tipologia, e classificação dos rumores, segundo seus aspectos sociais e psicológicos. Também analisa as diversas metodologias de pesquisa do assunto. Ao final são feitas algumas recomendações para as empresas e sugeridos alguns temas para aprofundamento futuro do assunto.

Les différents changements politiques, économiques, sociaux et technologiques poussent les organisations à se développer constamment. Elles font face à des environnements ayant tendance à être de plus en plus exigeants et instables ; d’un côté la globalisation qui déplace toutes les frontières et d’un autre l’envahissement des nouvelles technologies d’information et de communication dans toutes les fonctions de l’entreprise. De nos jours, des personnes issues de cultures différentes peuvent être amenées à travailler au sein d’une même entreprise. Ceci peut toutefois créer des incompréhensions entre les parties concernées. Ces rivalités ne concernent pas simplement les malentendus linguistiques mais vont au-delà de ceux-ci. En effet, la compréhension, l’interprétation, la manière d’agir et de penser de chacun, va dépendre essentiellement de sa propre culture. C’est justement ce qui a suscité notre intérêt et nous a poussée à approfondir ce sujet pour mieux comprendre le phénomène de l’interculturel en milieu organisationnel et déduire les difficultés rencontrées lors d’une interaction dans une telle situation. Et afin de pouvoir proposer ou mettre en place une stratégie valable dans un contexte interculturel, nous avons choisi, comme terrain de recherche, plusieurs organisations implantées au Maroc et opérant dans différents secteurs d’activité. Ainsi, il est question de déterminer en quoi consistent les problèmes liés à la communication dans un contexte interculturel du point de vue des deux groupes de collaborateurs à savoir les autochtones et les étrangers, notamment les français, collaborant au sein d’une même organisation. C’est donc notre curiosité d’apprendre davantage sur l’interculturalité en entreprise qui nous encourage à accomplir cette recherche. / The various political, economic, social and technological changes are pushing organizations to extend constantly there activities. They face environments that tend to be increasingly demanding and unstable ; On the one hand, the globalization that shifts all borders and on the other the invasion of new information and communication technologies in all the functions of the company.Nowadays people from different cultures can be brought to work together within the same company. However, this may create misunderstandings between the concerned persons. These rivalries do not simply concern linguistic misunderstandings, but go beyond them. Indeed, the understanding, the interpretation, the way of acting and the thinking of each one, will depend essentially on its own culture. This is what has aroused our interest and has pushed us to deepen this subject to better understand the phenomenon of intercultural communication in an organizational environment and to deduce the difficulties encountered during an interaction in such a situation. And in order to propose or develop a strategy that might be available in an intercultural context, we have selected several organizations based in Morocco operating in different activities area. Thus, the purpose of our research is to determinate what are the problems related to communication in an intercultural context from the point of view of the two groups of collaborators, namely moroccan people and the foreigners, in particular the French ones, collaborating within the same organization.It is therefore our curiosity to learn more about interculturality in companies that encourages us to carry out this research.

This research aims to provide a theory of enterprise social networking that generates and/or sustains a culture of employee engagement within a chosen South African private sector company. Based on an extensive review of interesting literature and the application of a grounded theory process in a chosen case, this research work provides a theory of enterprise social networking sustaining and growing employee engagement together with an explanatory theoretical framework that makes the theory more practical. Employee engagement is defined as “the harnessing of organisation member’s selves to their work roles; in engagement people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances.” This research regards employee engagement as a three part concept composed of a trait (personality/cognitive) aspect, a state (emotional) aspect, and a behavioural aspect. Research has shown that employee engagement has an unequivocal positive impact on business outcomes, such as profitability, business performance, employee retention and productivity. Employee engagement can be regarded as a culture if it is abundant within the organization’s employee population. Gatenby et al. (2009) propose that employee engagement is fostered by creating the desire and opportunity for employees to connect with colleagues, managers and the wider organisation. This standpoint is supported by Kular et al. (2008) who state that the “key drivers of employee engagement identified include communication, opportunities for employees to feed their views upward and thinking that their managers are committed to the organisation.” Further indicators of employee engagement include strong leadership (particularly in the form of servant leadership), accountability, a positive and open organisational culture, autonomy, and opportunities for development. One of the key facets of employee engagement is connection. A complementary definition of social media, an umbrella under which enterprise social networks fall, is that “(it) is more of a relationship channel, a connection channel. Each and every tweet, update, video, post, is a connection point to another human being. And it’s the other human being who will determine your worth to them.” Social media provides participants with access to a larger pool of resources and relationships than they would normally have access to. This enlarged relationship/resource pool is a result of expanding human and social capital enabled through social media tools. In order to produce a theory of enterprise social networking sustaining and growing a culture of employee engagement a rigorous grounded theory methodology coupled with a case study methodology was applied. The case study methodology was used to identify a suitable research site and interesting participants within the site while the grounded theory process was used to produce both qualitative and quantitative data sets in a suitability rigorous fashion. The corroborative data was then used to discover and define the emergent theory.

Computer mediated communication (CMC) fundamentally influences the function of communication. It influences the organization's management and administration, but it most affects the dynamics of middle and lower level employees. The most simplistic model is that of an electronic office in which its employees need to know and understand the role of CMC. The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance and satisfaction of co-workers who use CMC to communicate within their organization, and to check employees' performance when using CMC.