This qualitative study is aimed to explore the leaders’ experiences of difficult conversations in their work. We have examined if they take on a different role during the difficult conversations and how communication can affect their leadership during the conversation. We have also examined the importance of the leaders’ ability to distance themselves from the sensitive subject and situation, to maintain their role as leaders. We conducted six interviews with leaders who often convey difficult messages in their daily work. The interviews were based on a semi- structured interview guide. The interview results were analyzed with the help of George H. Mead´s role-taking theory and his concept of "I" and "Me", and Erving Goffman´s dramaturgical perspective and impression management concept. The theories and concepts contributed to a deeper understanding of leaders´ experiences regarding difficult conversations. According to the results, the leaders seem to practice Role-taking in their everyday work, to be able to distance themselves from the sensitive subject and avoid getting too emotionally involved. Impression management also appears to be a useful tool that leaders use in order to control the situation during the difficult conversation. Communication, both verbal and non-verbal communication is something that is perceived by the leaders, to have an impact on the impression that the employee gets during the difficult conversations. Adapting the leaders´ ways of communication can therefore help to influence, and regulate the experience, impression and reaction the employee will have. / I denna kvalitativa studie undersöker vi ledares erfarenheter av svåra samtal i arbetslivet, om dessa intar en annan roll vid svåra samtal samt på vilket sätt kommunikationen kan påverka ledarskapet under samtalet. Vi undersökte även vilken betydelse distansering har för att lyckas behålla sin roll som ledare. Vi har genomfört 6 intervjuer med ledare som ofta förmedlar svåra budskap i sitt arbete. Intervjuerna gjordes utifrån en semistrukturerad intervjuguide. Sedan analyserades resultatet med hjälp av George H. Meads teori om rollövertagande och begreppen den generaliserade andre, I och Me. Samt Erving Goffmans teori om den dramaturgiska handlingsmodellen och begreppet intrycksstyrning. Teorierna och begreppen bidrog till en djupare förståelse av ledares erfarenheter av svåra samtal. Rollövertagande verkar enligt resultaten vara något som ledarna utövar, för att enklare kunna utföra sitt arbete och distansera sig, för att inte bli för emotionellt engagerad. Intrycksstyrning verkar också vara ett användbart verktyg som ledare använder sig av för att styra situationen under samtalet. Kommunikation, både verbal och icke-verbal uppfattas ha en påverkan på intrycket som medarbetaren får. Anpassning av ledarens sätt att kommunicera på kan hjälpa till att styra och reglera medarbetarens intryck och reaktion.

People are reluctant to transmit bad news, which is named as the MUM effect in the literature. One explanation of this effect suggests that people do not want to construct negative impressions by being associated with bad news. On the other hand, people are also willing to transmit good news which is largely ignored in the literature. In this study, transmission of good news is examined from an impression management perspective. It was suggested that people would be more likely to transmit good news and less likely to transmit bad news when they were dependent on the recipient of the news than when they were not. Four variables, likeability, perceived favor doing, expectations of gratitude and ulterior motives were hypothesized as potential mediators. Also, self &ndash / esteem, self &ndash / monitoring, Narcissism and Machiavellianism were assessed as personality variables. University students (N = 306) participated in a scenario study, with the valence of the news (good / bad) and outcome dependence on the recipient (high / low) as independent variables. The main dependent variable was transmission likelihood of the news. Results showed that, high dependence participants were more likely to transmit good news than low dependence participants. In contrast, high dependence participants were less likely to transmit bad news than low dependence participants. Moreover, likeability was found to be a partial mediator of the relationship. Participants tend to think that they would be perceived as more likeable if they transmit good news and thus they were more likely to communicate the good news. From the personality variables only Machiavellianism had a significant effect. High Machs were more likely to transmit good news in high dependence condition than did low Machs. The results of the study were discussed in the relevant literature.

過去在防禦型印象管理策略前因的探討相當缺乏，應徵者端的前因文獻存在缺口，故本研究欲探討防禦型印象管理的三種策略：「道歉」、「開脫」與「合理化」策略的選擇因素包含應徵者的自我監控特質與國籍差異，並將五大人格特質納為本研究的控制變項。本研究採問卷法，透過紙本與網路兩種收集管道，總共收集了台灣與非台灣(歐洲)兩地共171份有效樣本，其中台灣為102份，非台灣(歐洲)則為69份。 本研究結果指出，應徵者在進行防禦型印象管理戰術選擇時會因國籍的不同而有差異，特別是對於「道歉」與「開脫」策略的影響，台灣樣本傾向使用前者，而歐洲樣本則傾向使用後者，然而「合理化」策略並未有差異；至於自我監控特質則僅影響「合理化」策略的使用，對「道歉」與「開脫」策略的使用並無影響。本研究結果同時提供面試官與應徵者如何解讀防禦型印象管理戰術；對企業而言，面試官並無法完全藉由應徵者使用的防禦型印象管理戰術推測其自我監控特質；對應徵者而言，合理化策略在研究結果中為一保守且安全的策略使用。 / In the past, there are lacks of researches studied about the antecedent of defensive impression management tactics. Especially the antecedents of applicants’ side are still unknown, and that is the purpose of this research. This research plans to explore the effects of applicants’ self-monitoring and nationality differences on the choices of applicants’ defensive impression management tactic. Paper and online questionnaire methods were conducted. 171 samples were been collected which were from Taiwan and non-Taiwan (Europe). There were 102 samples from Taiwan area and 69 samples were from non-Taiwan area which is Europe area. The results show that the nationality differences affect applicants’ choices of defensive management tactics, especially apology and excuse tactics. Samples from Taiwan area tend to choose apology tactic. However, samples from non-Taiwan (Europe) area prefer to choose excuse tactic in the same situation. And self-monitoring only affects justification tactic. These results can provide the guidance for both interviewers and applicants. For interviewers, it’s not suitable to infer applicant’s self-monitoring by the tactic he/she chose. And for applicants, justification tactic could be a safe option in such situation.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-16T14:49:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivototal.pdf: 1791319 bytes, checksum: 52bc8424263fb639549a11a96839fbd1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This work is part of the theme of digital limitation, broader than the concept commonly referred to in the literature as digital divide or digital exclusion. Three dimensions are found in digital limitation - access, informational and cognitive-behavioral - besides complex relationships. The research makes use of two of these dimensions, access limitation and behavioral limitation. Was chosen to study the management of impressions defined as all the activities that an individual develops with the aim to be always in evidence and influence the way they others see, in other words, the image or impression that the people create about this person. The focus of the research was to know the influence of impression management performed by a user on the effectiveness of another user in the use of a virtual social network they shared.For the achievement of the research, the social networking site Facebook was chosen, the research participants are individuals who consider themselves harmed and uncomfortable with the practice of impression management. The methodological procedures consisted of two focus groups and interview, in order to determine the effectiveness of use of virtual social networks, identify any damage to the effectiveness of the use of virtual social networks caused by impression management and explore the possible relationship between behavioral digital limitations of an individual and access digital limitations of another individual. The results allowed to realize that the effectiveness of the use of virtual social network is closely related to time optimization, the most harmful factors were identified as being the exaggerated frequency for sharing information, the theme of this information and also the high visibility imposed by some individuals. Was possible to verify that behavioral limitation of an individual affects how another person acts in their social network, by blocking information, deleting contacts, setting an access limitation. / Este trabalho está inserido na temática de limitação digital, mais abrangente que o conceito comumente tratado pela literatura como desigualdade digital ou exclusão digital. Três dimensões são encontradas na limitação digital de acesso, cognitivo-informacional e comportamental além de complexas relações. A pesquisa faz uso de duas dessas dimensões, a limitação de acesso e comportamental. Optou-se por estudar o gerenciamento de impressões, definido como todas as atividades que um indivíduo desenvolve no sentido de estar sempre em evidência e influenciar a maneira como os outros o enxergam, ou seja, a imagem ou impressão que eles criam a seu respeito. O objetivo geral da pesquisa foi conhecer as influências do gerenciamento de impressões realizado por um usuário sobre a efetividade de outro usuário no uso de uma rede social virtual por eles compartilhada. Para a consecução da pesquisa, a rede social virtual escolhida foi o Facebook, tendo como sujeitos da pesquisa indivíduos que se julguem prejudicados e incomodados com a prática do gerenciamento de impressões. Os procedimentos metodológicos consistiram em dois grupos focais e uma entrevista, a fim de definir efetividade de uso de redes sociais virtuais, identificar eventuais prejuízos à efetividade de uso de redes sociais virtuais causados pelo gerenciamento de impressões e explorar a possível relação entre limitações digitais comportamentais de um indivíduo e limitações digitais de acesso de outro indivíduo. Os resultados permitiram perceber que a efetividade de uso da rede social virtual está intimamente ligada à otimização do tempo, os fatores mais prejudiciais foram identificados como sendo a frequência exagerada de compartilhamento de informações, o tema dessas informações e também a alta visibilidade imposta por alguns indivíduos. Foi possível verificar que a limitação comportamental de um indivíduo afeta a forma como outro indivíduo age em sua rede social, por meio do bloqueio de informações, exclusão de contatos, configurando uma limitação de acesso.

O crescente número de empresas brasileiras que preparam e divulgam voluntariamente relatórios de sustentabilidade, bem como as motivações propostas pela Teoria da Legitimidade para a adoção dessa prática, causam questionamentos a respeito da idoneidade da informação oferecida. Dessa maneira, o presente trabalho investigou se os gráficos apresentados nos relatórios de sustentabilidade publicados por cinquenta empresas brasileiras de capital aberto foram utilizados como ferramentas para o gerenciamento de impressões, sendo manipulados de forma a melhorar a apresentação do desempenho obtido por essas organizações e auxiliar em seus processos de legitimação. A amostra final compreendeu 3.422 informações gráficas e as análises realizadas abrangeram duas formas de gerenciamento de impressões por meio do uso de gráficos abordadas na literatura: a seletividade e a distorção de medidas. Os resultados encontrados, embora explicativos, não forneceram evidências seguras de que os gráficos identificados foram empregados como ferramentas para o gerenciamento de impressão. Apesar da predominância da utilização de gráficos para a representação de notícias positivas e das distorções de medidas físicas identificadas, as evidências conduzem com maior segurança para a interpretação de que tais resultados decorrem de um despreparo e/ou desatenção dos responsáveis pela elaboração dos relatórios de sustentabilidade. / The growing number of Brazilian companies that voluntarily prepare and disclose sustainability reports, and the reasons proposed by the Legitimacy Theory for the adoption of this practice, lead to questions about the trustworthiness of the information offered. Thus, the present study investigated whether the graphs in sustainability reports published by fifty publicly traded Brazilian companies were used as tools for managing impressions, being manipulated in order to improve the presentation of the performance achieved by these organizations and assist in process of legitimation. The final sample consisted of 3,422 raphical information and the analyzes encompassed two forms of impression management through the use of graphs addressed in the literature: selectivity and measures distortion. The results, although explanatory, did not provide good evidence that the identified graphs were used as tools for managing print. Despite the prevalence of the use of graphs to represent positive news and distortions of physical measurement distortions identified, the evidence leads to more safely to the interpretation that such results derive from of a lack of both preparation and/or attention of those responsible for the preparation of sustainability reports.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur skandaler där statliga myndigheter är inblandade skapas i relation mellan tryckta medier och myndigheters egna uttalanden. Detta görs utifrån ett diskursteoretiskt perspektiv genom att undersöka vilka diskurser som konstrueras och fungerar konstituerande i skandalernas utveckling. Utöver den kritiska diskursteorin tar vi även hjälp av  teorier om intryckshantering och medialisering för att analysera empirin genom en kritisk diskursanalys. Metodvalet har gjorts på grund av dess anknytning till det kritiska diskursteoretiska perspektivet som ser diskurser och sociala praktiker som ömsesidigt konstituerande och konstituerade. Den empiri som analyserats är hämtad från de svenska dags- och kvällstidningarna Dagens Industri, Dagens Nyheter och Aftonbladet samt Transportstyrelsens och Pensionsmyndighetens egna uttalanden från respektive myndighets webbsida. Det huvudsakliga resultatet av studien var att myndigheter tenderar att svara efter den rapportering som sker i tryckta medier och anpassa sin kommunikation därefter. De tryckta medierna har därigenom makten att utmana och sätta diskursen kring det normbrott som skandalen innebär. En diskurs som myndigheterna därmed tvingas bemöta och utmana för att undvika att den egna verksamheten uppfattas som avvikande i förhållande till denna diskurs. / The purpose of this paper is to investigate how scandals involving government agencies are created in relation to print media and authorities’ own statements. This is done from a discourse theoretical perspective by investigating the discourses that are constituted and functioning in the development of scandals. In addition to the critical discourse theory, we also use theories of impression management and medialization to analyze the material through a critical discourse analysis. The choice of critical discourse analysis as the methodology has been made because of its connection to the critical discourse theory, which sees discourses and social practices as mutually constitutive and constitutional. The analyzed material has been taken from the Swedish daily and evening newspapers Dagens Industri, Dagens nyheter and Aftonbladet, and Swedish Transport Agency’s (Transportstyrelsen) and Pension Authority’s (Pensionsmyndigheten) own statements from the respective authorities website. The main result of the study was that authorities tend to respond to the reporting in print media and then adjust their communication accordingly. The printed media thus have the power to challenge and discourage the norm violation that the scandal implies. A discourse that the authorities are therefore forced to respond to and challenge to avoid their own activities being perceived as deviating in relation to this discourse.

The thesis examines, through qualitative methods, the role of the horse in equine-assisted social work (EASW) as well as what facilitates or constrains the role of the horse. Specifically, should interaction be understood in the same manner regardless of which individuals that participate? The thesis is based on empirical data collected throughinterviews with eight staff members and nine female self-harming clients, aged 15–21 years, in a residential treatment facility. In addition, video recordings of the human-horse interaction of three staff members and four clients were analyzed, resulting in the additional issues addressed in a second interview. Critical dialogues between patterns and fragmentations in the narratives and video-recordings, as well as a dialogue with participants, while they were viewing videos of their own EASW sessions, led to the conclusion that adding a horse could qualitatively change therapeutic relationships.  The results are presented in four articles that provide an image of the complexity of EASW. The summary chapters focus on a synthesized analysis, based on Goffman’sdramaturgical perspective and Hochschild’s emotional rules in which the concepts were applied: backstage, frontstage, impression management, stigma, emotional management, deep acting and surface acting. The analysis demonstrated that defense mechanisms are reduced when the horse is perceived as non-judgmental and therefore less intimidating. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that it is crucial that the horse is regarded as a subject, a transitional object, which can silence the inner critic and create a ‘moment of silence’ that contradicts stigmas and enablesadolescents to regulate their emotions. This leads to possibilities to be more authentic and the relationship between staff and adolescents to be perceived as more authentic.  In summary, the work presented in this thesis contributes to increased knowledge about the role of the horse in opposing impression management and surface acting, depending on the high demands on staff to reach outcomes regarding communication, self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-image. The different triads consist of different liaisons, giving rise to unique combinations and the potential to avoid emotional dissonance. The quality of the relationships seems to depend on staff and clients’ attachment orientations.  Keywords: Authentic, Emotional work, Equine-assisted social work, Impression management, Moment of silence, Self-harming adolescents, Stigmatization

When recruiting new staff, the job interview is the most central and most common selection method, which has traditionally taken place face-to-face with the employer. Video interviews are something that has become more common in recruitment processes as a result of technological development and digitalization but also based on the organization's financial and time rationalization. Previous research in the field indicates that video interviews modify parts of the interaction, and points out that there is a need for further research. The purpose of the study is to investigate how job interviews in video format are experienced by recruiters in terms of social interaction, and what implications there are in assessing the candidate. The results of the study are based on six qualitative interviews with recruiters, where collected data have been analyzed from a social psychological perspective. The results indicate that there is a perceived difference in certain parts of the interaction. Particularly the non-verbal communication and small talk are limited, but the flow and timing are also more difficult in video interviews. The study also shows that the biggest advantage is considered to be that the format is time-saving and provides increased flexibility and the biggest disadvantage is difficulties in connecting with the candidate, which impairs the overall experience. Finally, it emerged that the recruiters consider themselves to have good opportunities to assess candidates in video interviews, but that the data collected indicates an experience of both positive and negative aspects. / Vid rekrytering av ny personal är anställningsintervjun den mest centrala och vanligaste urvalsmetoden, vilken traditionellt ägt rum ansikte-mot-ansikte hos arbetsgivaren. Videointervjuer är något som har kommit att bli mer vanligt i rekryteringsprocesser till följd av den teknologiska utvecklingen och digitaliseringen, men också utifrån organisationens ekonomiska och tidsmässiga rationalisering. Tidigare forskning på området pekar på att videointervjuer modifierar delar av interaktionen, och poängterar att behovet av vidare forskning är stort. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur anställningsintervjuer i videoformat upplevs av rekryterare i termer av det sociala samspelet, samt vilka implikationer som finns vid bedömning av kandidaten. Studiens resultat baseras på sex kvalitativa intervjuer med rekryterare, där insamlade data analyserats utifrån ett socialpsykologiskt perspektiv. Resultatet tyder på att det finns en upplevd skillnad i vissa delar av interaktionen. Framförallt begränsas icke-verbal kommunikation och småprat, men även flytet och timingen försvåras i videointervjuer. Studien visar även att de största fördelarna anses vara att formatet är tidsbesparande och ger utrymme till ökad flexibilitet och den största nackdelen är svårigheter att känna in kandidaten, vilket försämrar helhetsupplevelsen. Till sist framkom att rekryterare anser sig själva ha goda möjligheter att bedöma kandidater vid videointervjuer, men att insamlade data indikerar på en upplevelse av både positiva och negativa aspekter.

The interpretation an individual does as an organizational member is complex. This studyfocuses on the meaning that arises when an individual interprets their organization through theopinions of others. The importance of other people's perceptions of the organization has thusfar seen a low degree of sociological research. However, this study intends to contribute to suchresearch. The purpose of this study is to understand how external perceptions of one's ownorganization become part of an organizational member’s identity, as well as the importance ofthese external perceptions in the organizational member’s relationship with the organizationand external actors. The study takes a qualitative approach, and the results are based on semistructuredinterviews with informants working in different positions in the Swedish bankingsector. The theoretical frameworks used in this study consist of Tom J. Brown et al. and thetheory of organizational identity, Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus, and the forms of capitalcombined with Howard Becker's Commitment theory, and finally Erving Goffman'sdramaturgical perspective. The results show that the most crucial aspect for the informants tostay in an organization is the social contacts and networks they receive from their organizationalmembership. Thus, the perceptions of external actors' regarding the organization have littlebearing on the perceived commitment of the informants. Furthermore, it appears that theinformants in interactions with others find their financial knowledge to be highly valued by thepublic, despite a perceived negative attitude towards the sector. The study finds this to beimportant for the impression management, and role-taking informants undertake in interactions.Lastly, it seems that the habitus has a central purpose in understanding the meaning informantsplace in other people's perceptions of the organization, both regarding commitment andinteractions. / Det tolkande som en individ gör i egenskap av organisationsmedlem är komplext och dennastudie riktar in sig på den mening som uppstår när en individ tolkar sin organisation i utifrånandras uppfattningar. Betydelsen av andras uppfattningar om organisationen har hittills sett enlåg grad av sociologiskt inriktad forskning och det är något som denna studie ämnar bidra med.Syftet med denna studie är att få förståelse för hur externa uppfattningar av den egnaorganisationen blir del av en organisationsmedlems identitet, samt betydelsen av dessa externauppfattningar i organisationsmedlemmens relation till organisationen och externa aktörer.Resultatet av denna kvalitativa studie baseras på semistrukturerade intervjuer med informantersom arbetar på olika positioner inom den svenska bankbranschen. Det teoretiska ramverk somhar använts i studien är Tom J. Brown m.fl. och teorin kring organisationsidentitet, PierreBourdieus habitusbegrepp och kapitalformer i relation till Howard Beckers teori om åtagande,och slutligen Erving Goffmans dramaturgiska perspektiv. Resultatet visar att den viktigasteaspekten till att informanterna stannar kvar i organisationer är de sociala kontakter och nätverkde får. Därför kan man se att externa aktörers uppfattningar om organisationen har litenbetydelse för informanternas upplevda åtagande. Det framkommer även att informanterna iinteraktioner upplever deras finansiella kunskap som högt värderad av allmänheten, trots enupplevd negativ inställning till branschen som helhet. Detta konstateras ha betydelse för denintrycksstyrning och det rolltagande informanterna gör i interaktioner. Avslutningsvis,framläggs det även att habitus verkar ha en central roll i att förstå betydelsen som informanternalägger i andras uppfattningar om organisationen, både gällande åtagande och i interaktion.

Bilden individen har om sin identitet har förändrats och gått från att ha varit en stadig tanke om jaget till en rörlig, modern identitet (Jenkins, 2004) som anpassas beroende på situation. Syftet med denna uppsats är att visa hur identitetskonstruktion sker i en blogg; den undersöker hur bloggskribenten påverkas av läsarnas kommentarer i bloggen Kissies.se. Detta har undersökts med en hermeneutisk Närläsningsmetod med fokus på bloggkaraktären Kissie och hennes bloggläsare. Utgångspunkten för tolkningen av materialet är teorin om Intrycksstyrning av Erving Goffman (2000), som är del i hans Dramaturgiska perspektiv och behandlar maskerna vi bär och människors skådespel i sociala sammanhang. Intrycksstyrning appliceras på den digitala kommunikationsprocessen i bloggsfären, och går ut på att författaren försöker styra uppfattningen läsaren får genom det hon skriver. Undersökningen fokuserar på läsarnas respons och hur denna påverkar inläggen i bloggen. Resultaten visar att det är möjligt att presentera multipla identiteter via bloggen Kissies.se, men inte utan att de spelar in i varandra. Kissie och bloggskaparen Alexandra smälter ibland ihop till en persona i blogginläggen. Detta skapar förvirring och visar sig i kommentarfältet. När den tuffa masken är lagd åt sidan, är det troligt att det är bloggarens känsliga sida som kommer fram i det hon publicerar. Detta försvårar läsarens möjlighet att identifiera bloggidentiteten Kissie, som de är vana att läsa om. Vidare kan för denna studie konstateras, att det är läsarnas respons och ett kommunikativt samspel mellan skribent och läsare som avgör om möjligheten till identitetskonstruktion och såmed bloggkommunikationens kvalitet. Hänger inte läsarna med i bytet mellan Kissie och Alexandra, faller kommunikationsprocessen och hela identitetskonstruktionen med den. / Aim and purpose of this thesis is to show how a young Swedish blogging professional, engages in displaying multiple identities online, how these constructed identities are perceived by the readers in the commentary field under the blog entries and affects the ongoing writing process. The chosen focus is on a blogger called Kissie. A hermeneutical Close reading method is used. The theoretical framework is based on Erving Goffmans (2000) thoughts on Impression management within his Dramaturgical perspective theory, about the figurative masks we wear in social contexts. Impression management is applied on the digital communication process in the blogsphere, where the blogger Kissie directs the perceiption of the readers on her page Kissies.se, by writing in a certain way. The study centers on the reactions of the blog readers and how they influence the blog entries on Kissies.se. Conclusions show, it is possible for the blogger to handle multiple personas, but they interfere with each other and their occurrence confuses the readers. Results show that the persona Kissie and the creator Alexandra at some points partly morph into each other and both show in the blog entries. A lack of understanding on how to separate the different texts in the blog entries splits up the readers’ and their responses, because of their unsureness of who to associate the text with. The blog posts might be published by the blog identity Kissie, but the feedback goes straight to Alexandra, the creator of the blog and she is the one who gets the criticism. When her tough mask is put aside, it is likely her sensitive self is exposed in the delicate posts which she publishes. This challenges the reader’s ability to identify the personality of the blog identity Kissie with whom they are familiar with and the whole identity construction process. The crucial part in this case, is the blog readers’ feedback; without their interaction, the identity construction and whole blog communication process is destroyed.