Managers spend 75% of their time actively communicating with employees. Effective leadership communication is fundamental to employee job satisfaction. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how communication strategies that government agency leaders use may motivate greater employee job satisfaction. Twenty employees of a government office in Florida were the general population sample. The motivational language theory helped explore the nature of job satisfaction by focusing on leadership and employee communication strategies. Leadership communication influences employee motivation through incorporating 3 categories of utterances: empathetic (illocutionary) language, direction-giving (perlocutionary) language, and meaning-making (locutionary) language. The Van Manen selective approach helped code and the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method helped analyze the participants' transcribed face-to-face interviews. Member checks and data saturation ensured the findings trustworthiness. The findings developed from coding and analyzing data led to the discovery of 4 themes: empathetic language, direction-giving language, meaning-making language, and job satisfaction. The 2 most important themes, direction-giving language and meaning-making language, help motivate job satisfaction by explaining how leadership advice, clear instructions, and leadership stories pertaining to primary events from the agency's past provide direction and a feeling of job satisfaction. Social implications of this study include creating and improving organizational communication best practices and guidelines to help leaders communicate information effectively and to motivate regional governmental organization employee job satisfaction.

Both as leader and employee you need a perception of the organisational identity. The purpose of this thesis is to identify leaders’ perception of using communication to develop and implement the organisational identity with the employees and also to identify how the internal work with the organisational identity can contribute in making the employees good ambassadors for the organisation. Data has been gathered through qualitative interviews with four leaders at a future large organisation. By connecting and analysing the empirical findings with relevant theories we came to the conclusion that the leaders’ percept the communication as vital and that they consider creating the foundation of the organisational identity as their responsibility. They value co-creation and an open communication with the employees. We make the conclusion that ongoing communication is essential for including employees in the development of the organisational identity and in making these good ambassadors.

Abstract Title: Self-leadership and Organizational Progress Author: Anna Moore Background: Within the school system, as well as throughout the broader part of society, change is brought on more rapidly. Organizations must be inclined and able to change past practices. The organization within the school system is, however, very traditional depicted by how it is organized and by the conservative attitudes such as how professions within the school system interact with each other. It can therefore be difficult to change obsolete traditions that are associated with the teacher’s role. Self-leadership as a method has been found to have a positive effect on individuals as well as on groups and organizations. However, self-leadership in relation to organizational change has not yet been widely researched. This report is carried out through a pilot project conducted at the educational administration within a Swedish municipality. Purpose: The purpose of this report is to investigate and analyse organizational progress in relation to self-leadership within school environment through the perspective of school-leaders. Question at issue: Throughout the implementation of a change process, which factors can be identified as successful, in relation to the process. In what way can self-leadership help school-leaders accomplish a change process? Theoretical framework: Relevant theoretical framework was identified in order to analyse the empirical data. Three different fields where presented: affiliation and culture, organizational progress and communication throughout the change process. Method: This report is a case study carried out with a qualitative method. The empirical data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with five respondents from three different schools as well as one respondent from the control group. The researcher’s paradigm can be identified as constructivism. A hermeneutic process was applied in order to interpret the empirical data. Conclusions: In relation to the pilot project being studied a series of success factors were identified: A change tendency as well as a more daring approach towards leading change will allow further organizational change. The need for change needs to come from within the organization. Take advantage of the prevailing affiliation and culture. Leaders must have good knowledge of the field they operate in as well of the particular unit they work at. With reason being able to adapt and adjust the course of actions as well as the chosen methods. Self-leadership strategies are found to have a positive effect on the change process throughout different steps of the way, individually as well as in relation to the group process. Further research in relation to self-leadership and organizational change is recommended. Especially in relation to determining a method to measure the extent and effect of self-leadership.

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Leader-member communications and employee engagement (EE) are critical for organisational success (Barhite, 2017; Kelly, 2021; Kohntopp & McCann, 2020). With a nearinstantaneous shift to remote work during the Covid-19 pandemic, the nature of communication between leaders and followers has changed (Alexander et al., 2020; Braier et al., 2021). In turn, there is uncertainty as to how leader-member communication exchanges and associated EE are facilitated among workers in the remote context (Abowd et al., 2020; Zeuge et al., 2020). Moreover, there is limited research on how to achieve appropriate leadership communication quality and EE enhancement in the virtual leadership-employee interactional context (Bark et al., 2015; Chanana, 2020). It is against this background that the proposed study sought to examine the extent to which leadership communication quality (LCQ), across different channels, affects the level of EE among South African remote employees. The present study assessed LCQ across the following channels: videoconferencing, telephone/audio-conferencing, e-mails, and companies' intranet instant messaging (IIM) channels. This study was founded in the theoretical integration of Social Exchange Theory (Homans, 1958) and Media Richness Theory (Daft & Lengel, 1984). The study hypothesised that greater perceived LCQ, through the use of richer channels, would increase EE among employees in the virtual workspace. A descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative research design was conducted to examine the study's hypotheses. Data was gathered via an online self-report survey from South African (SA) employees that engaged in full-time and part-time remote working schedules (N = 179). Pearson correlation analyses confirmed positive relationships between the LCQ of each channel and EE. However, once all channels were combined in one multiple regression model, only the LCQ of video-conferencing channels was found to be a unique predictor of EE levels. Friedman tests revealed that the respondents' mean rankings of the two LCQ sub-facets assessed (communication clarity and leadership behaviour transmission) were higher for video-conferencing channels than for the other channels. Cumulatively, the research revealed that the channel associated with the highest LCQ was video-conferencing, and that leaders could most likely increase EE among their remote employees by using this channel compared to the other channels assessed. These results may contribute valuable insight to inform the development of digital leadership strategies and connectivity interventions in organisations for the future world of work.

This thesis presents a case study on the internal communication dynamics during the restructuring of an organization, specifically focusing on combining two departments under the same management. Previous research underscores the importance of internal communication practices on employees during the change process. However, this aspect is often neglected. This study utilizes literature to form an analytical framework for understanding the factors affecting communication practices and observing employees' reactions to internal communication during a strategic change, specifically by investigating how managers communicate internally and how employees perceive communication. A mixed-method approach was employed, collecting qualitative and quantitative data from interviews, observations, and one survey to provide a comprehensive view and real-life context. Despite the restructuring aiming to improve organizational performance, the findings reveal critical areas for improvement, particularly in the communication and collaboration between the two departments. The study uncovers that communication was mainly done through informal channels such as rumors and word of mouth, leading to differences in perspective, assumptions, and misunderstandings among employees. Despite highlighting positive effects, the findings revealed the absence of organizational structure, leadership, communication channels, and preparations, impacting how communication was executed and negatively perceived by employees.  However, these findings also present an opportunity for improvement. Several factors influence the internal communication of the restructuring, including the need for a clear vision and mission, inadequate preparation, differences in perspectives between managers and employees, and varying departmental differences. To mitigate negative effects and enhance organizational effectiveness, the study recommends implementing communication strategies such as fostering common values, facilitating open dialogue, and providing feedback and training programs to employees and managers. Additionally, the results reveal that preparedness is essential for strategic changes.

Den här studien undersöker kommunikation under organisationsförändring. Syftet att är ta reda på hur chefer och medarbetare ser på och använder kommunikation. Dels hur de vanligtvis kommunicerar, genom vilka kanaler, samt vilken typ av kommunikation de föredrar för ändamålet förändring. Detta leder fram till studiens mest centrala frågor, hur kommunikation påverkar förändring och om det kan bidra till minskat motstånd. För att söka dessa svar har en kvalitativ metod använts, med 17 semistrukturerade intervjuer samt 18 respondenter. Av dessa är 11 chefer, varav 2 inom HR, samt 7 medarbetare, 3 av dem inom HR. Materialet har sedan analyserats med hjälp av teori om kommunikation, diffusion och meningsskapande. Samt en modell skapad utifrån frågorna; vad, med koppling till kommunikationsteori. Hur, diffusion och varför, meningsskapande. Dessutom med begreppet hinder varigenom kommunikationsvägar har analyserats utifrån en så kallad gatekeeper-teori. Som resultat har det bland annat framkommit att flera chefer behandlar förändring på ett noggrant och varsamt sätt. Kommunikationsplaner är vanliga, vidare diskuteras vilka praktiker och tillvägagångssätt som de olika ledarna har. Som slutsats återfinns ett antal av de metoder vilka anses fungera väl och därmed kan rekommenderas för andra som genomgår förändring. Här besvaras även studiens frågeställning, samt ges förslag på studier som kan ta reda på mer inom ämnet och vidare hjälpa både chefer och medarbetare att bättre och enklare hantera förändringar. / This thesis investigates communication during organizational change. The purpose has been to find out how managers and co-workers perceives communication. How they usually communicate, basically through which channels, and what type of communication they prefer for the subject of change. Which leads to the most central questions of this study, how communication affects change, and if it may contribute to decreased resistance. To seek these answers, a qualitative method has been deployed. Including semi-structured interviews. 17 interviews have been carried out with 18 respondents. Among these 11 managers, 2 from HR. 7 are co-workers, 3 of them within HR. This empirical material has then been analyzed with theory about communication, diffusion and sense making. A model is used, created by the questions; what, how and why. Those are related to the theories of communication, diffusion and sense making respectively. The model also includes the term obstacles, with which communication was analyzed through the so-called gatekeeper theory. Among the studies results it was found that many managers treat change carefully. Communication plans are common. Further discussion concerns the practices of different leaders. Among the conclusions some good practices are highlighted, which can be recommended for others who are in a process of change. This also allows the research questions to be answered, and some suggestions for future studies to be given. An aim of the study is to, by these insights, help leaders and co-workers manage change even better.

Verksamheter som bedriver effektivt Systematiskt Arbetsmiljöarbete (SAM) har visats ha friskare och nöjdare arbetstagare, bättre anseende, och större monetära framgångar, än verksamheter som inte gör det. Det saknas emellertid förståelse för vilka arbets- eller förhållningssätt som bidrar eller leder till att vissa verksamheter lyckas bedriva SAM effektivt. Hitintills har fallstudier fokuserat på hur SAM bedrivs i sin helhet eller på vilka brister som finns, oavsett om företaget bedriver SAM effektivt eller inte. Kort sagt saknas relevant underlag. I detta arbete studeras en verksamhet inom äldrevården (ett yrke med överlag bristande arbetsmiljö och stort behov av effektivt SAM) som bedriver effektivt SAM, i syfte att förstå hur och varför de har lyckats. Intervjuer utfördes med arbetstagare på alla nivåer för att få en insikt i vad deras yrkesroll innebär och hur det relaterar till SAM, varefter en analys av intervjumaterialet gjordes för att identifiera SAM-främjande arbetsmetoder och beteenden. Ur dessa utkristalliserades ett antal huvudkomponenter – nycklar till framgång. Nycklarna var (1) fokus på patientens välmående, (2) engagerat ledarskap, och (3) öppen kommunikation. Även om SAM ser olika ut i olika branscher och verksamheter, är nycklarna generella nog för att kunna ge arbetsgivare en ledtråd om vad de behöver arbeta med för att lyckas bättre med SAM. / Companies engaged in Systematic Work Environment Management (SWEM) have been shown to have healthier and more satisfied workers, better reputation, and greater monetary success than companies that do not. There is however a knowledge-gap about what approaches or attitudes companies with successful SWEM utilize, that lead to this success. Up to date, the focus of case studies have been how SAM as a whole is conducted in companies, or what flaws there are, regardless of the companies’ level of success. In short, there is a lack of relevant research. This work is a study of an eldercare unit (eldercare being a profession with over-all poor working environment) that conducts SWEM efficiently, the goal being to understand the reasons to their success. Employees of all levels were interviewed in order to gain insight into what type of work they do and how that relates to SWEM, after which an analysis of the interview-transcriptions was made to identify what practices and behaviours promote efficient SWEM. From these, a number of main components emerged – keys to success. The keys were (1) a focus on patient well-being, (2) keen leadership, and (3) open communication. Although work environment management may differ between different industries and companies, the keys are general enough to give employers a clue about what they need to work on in order to promote SWEM.

Managing employee engagement is critical to the success of an organization, but 85% of managers struggle with engaging employees. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore effective communication strategies within an organization and determine how managers used these strategies to increase employee engagement, productivity, and organizational effectiveness. Data were collected from organizational documents, observations, and semistructured interviews with 6 managers of a corporation located in the midwestern United States. All participants were working full-time for at least 3 years, had a managerial title, and were responsible for departmental communication. Moustakas's modified van Kaam method was used for data analysis. Communication theory provided the conceptual framework for the study. Three themes that emerged from the participants' interviews, observations, and data analysis were coaching employees, motivation, and consistency in communication. The findings of this study may impact positive social change by improving the organizational competitive environment through engagement in the community and society. The implications for positive social change include the potential for managers with direct reports to improve their understanding of the causes of engagement and disengagement, internal communication strategies that cause disengagement, and the benefits of implementing engagement strategies. The results of this study may provide managers with knowledge about employee engagement strategies used to improve productivity and organizational effectiveness within the industry. Community relationships could also improve as a result of effective communication.