Agile methods have become a popular project managing method within software development (Cervone, 2011, ss. 19-20; Maximini, 2015, s. 3). Though there is an absence of studies on agile methods and motivation in employees (Dybå & Dingsøyr, 2008). Furthermore, the agile manifesto (2001) explains the importance of motivated employees for the development of software.   The purpose of this study is to examine how employees in two well-known Swedish companies perceive the use and the effects of agile methods in their organization, and their internal communication. The study followed a qualitative approach to measure data collected from semi-structured interviews and includes interviews with eight developers and two agile coaches in two organizations. The theoretical framework is based on Media Richness Theory and Self-determination Theory. The selected theories help the examination why a communication channel is chosen for disseminating information and motivational factors through asking questions about their sense of autonomy, relatedness and competence.   The results show that face-to-face conversation is the efficient communication channel to disseminate information, but the most utilized channel was chat and mail to the respondents. Additionally, our respondents experience motivational factors such as the feeling of competence and relatedness as being moderately fulfilled at their workplace, though feelings of autonomy on an individual level were not fulfilled. This indicates that a complete introduction to the work method, a variation between independent and group work and face-to-face communication should be encouraged to achieve internal communication.

Rapporten baseras på en fallstudie som gjordes på ett varuproducerande företag under vårterminen 2016. Rapporten är en C-uppsats skriven på informationslogistikprogrammet vid Linnéuniversitetet. Syftet med studien var att studera hur valet av kommunikationskanal och waste påverkar den upplevda kommunikationseffektiviteten bland de anställda på fallföretaget. Bakgrunden till studien grundar sig i att kommunikation är ett brett och viktigt område där det saknas forskning om kommunikationseffektivitetens påverkan av waste och kanalval. Kommunikationskanalerna utvecklas idag snabbare än teorierna som definierar dess användning, vilket gör uppsatsens ämne aktuellt. Teorierna som har använts i denna studie är Media richness theory [MRT] och Lean administration. Dessa har kombinerats och använts för att belysa hur den upplevda kommunikationsineffektiviteten kan ökas genom ett strukturerat kanalval på fallföretaget. Studien har haft en kvalitativ ansats med en abduktiv inriktning där resultatet kommer från individuella intervjuer med anställda på fallföretagets kontorsdel. Undersökningen visade att det finns brister i kommunikationen och att det påverkar kommunikationseffektiviteten på kontoret. Val av kanal görs individuellt utifrån vad personalen anser vara mest lämpligt då de inte ser helheten. Genom analysera och diskutera resultatet utifrån teorier framkom det att kommunikationseffektiviteten hade kunnat bli bättre om kanalvalen standardiserats. / The report is based on a case study made at a product producing company in the spring of 2016. The report is a bachelor thesis and is written by students from information logistic programme at Linnaeus University. The purpose of the thesis is to study what the effect of the choice of communication channel and waste could have on the employees at the company. Background to the study is that communication is a broad and important field where there is insufficient research on how waste and choice of communication channels affects communication effectiveness and efficiency. Development of new communication channels is faster than the studies about them and therefore lacks important information how and for what the new channels should be used for. This gap makes this study relevant. The theories that have been used in this study are Media richness theory [MRT] and Lean administration. These have been combined and used to show how the communication effectiveness and efficiency could improve if the company uses structured choice of channels for communication. The approach of the study has been qualitative with an abductive emphasis where the result comes from interviews with the employees at the company. The study is only carried out in the office at the company and will not include any other areas. The case study shows that there are deficits in the communication and that it affects communication effectiveness and efficiency at the office. The choice of channels to communicate through is done individually today. This because the employees are missing the big picture. The study has identified that a standardization of the communication would improve the communication effectiveness and efficiency. The result has been identified by using theories while analysing and discussing the result of the interviews.

Globala virtuella team (GVT) utgör ett konkurrenskraftigt alternativ till traditionella internationella uppdrag och blir därmed allt vanligare, inte minst i kölvattnet av covid-19- pandemin. Denna utveckling riskerar dock att bli på bekostnad av den interna kommunikationens effektivitet. Följande studie syftar till att undersöka möjligheter och utmaningar som finns kopplade till olika virtuella medier och därigenom utreda hur medieval påverkar kunskapsöverföringen inom GVT på multinationella teknologiföretag. Genom fyra djupgående intervjuer med GVT-medlemmar på multinationella teknologiföretag i kombination med en sekundär datainsamling har information samlats in och analyserats. Resultatet visar tydliga mönster i hur kunskapsöverföringen påverkas av medieval beroende på den kommunicerade informationens karaktär. Vidare indikerar studien att medievalet har stor betydelse för hur utmaningarna och möjligheterna med de olika medierna upplevs samt hur framgångsrik kommunikationen är inom GVT. Samtidigt saknas det i dagsläget rutiner och riktlinjer för hur medieval ska genomföras inom teknologiföretagen.

Virtual teams are being increasingly utilized in industry given their ability to bring together diverse knowledge and experience from individuals who are not geographically proximal. Having a diversity of knowledge within virtual teams is noted to benefit innovation outcomes; however, leveraging the benefits of diversity (both deep-level and functional level) is likely to require a capability to facilitate collaboration among team members. This dissertation examines collaboration capability and absorptive capacity at the virtual team level by evaluating the inter-relationships among the dimensions and their influence on team innovation. This research also tests the impact of team diversity on team innovation with an additional focus on understanding the moderating impact of collaboration capability and the mediating impact of absorptive capacity. Two dimensions of team diversity are examined. The first dimension, deep-level diversity, involves the individual characteristics, values, attitudes and preferences. The second dimension, functional-level diversity, which entails the diversity in functional and expertise backgrounds. Survey data was collected from 166 virtual team members and the validation process revealed satisfactory psychometric properties at the items and the constructs level. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to determine the factor structure of the hypothesized models, as well as its reliability and validity.

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Verktyg för informations- och kommunikationsteknik (IKT-verktyg) får en viktigare roll inom organisationer, både då medarbetare befinner sig på samma arbetsplats såväl på distans. Att arbeta på distans innebär nya förutsättningar för chefer och kommunikation, något som upplevs vara komplicerat (DeRosa et al., 2004; Alistoun & Upfold, 2012; Van Quaquebeke & Felps, 2018). IKT-verktyg är en grundförutsättning för kommunikation på distans (Sivunen, 2008; Kraft, 2019; Darics, 2020) och kännedom om vilka kommunikationskanaler som används av chefer vid vilka kommunikationstillfällen kan vara ett sätt att förbättra kommunikation (Kayworth & Leidner, 2000). Syftet med studien är därför att öka förståelsen för chefers kommunikation med hjälp av IKT-verktyg vid distansledarskap. Som delsyfte vill vi undersöka om det finns likheter och skillnader mellan distansledarskap och ledarskap på plats vad gäller kommunikation och val av kommunikationskanaler. Studiens ansats är kvalitativ, abduktiv och hermeneutisk. Semistrukturerade intervjuer med tolv chefer från tio organisationer genomfördes. Urvalet utgjordes av en kombination av ett målstyrt, snöbolls- och bekvämlighetsurval. Dataanalysen utgjordes av en tematisk analys.  Sex kommunikationstillfällen identifierades på distans och på plats. Kommunikationstillfällena var desamma både på distans och på plats. Ytterligare fem teman för likheter och skillnader skapades. Det vi kunnat uttyda är att distansledarskap och ledarskap på plats inte skiljer sig åt gällande kommunikationstillfällena utan att skillnaden snarare återfinns i hur kommunikationen sker. Vi har därtill funnit att kommunikation vid distansledarskap innebär fler utmaningar än kommunikation på plats.  Studien visar även att kommunikation kan underlättas om uttryckssymboler används i högre utsträckning vid skriftlig kommunikation samt om videosamtal nyttjas då det behövs på distans, eftersom icke-verbal kommunikation förstärker och förtydligar budskap. Kommunikationen kan på så vis bli mer effektiv då färre missförstånd uppstår då ömsesidig mening av budskapet enklare skapas. Videosamtal kan även leda till att kommunikationen blir mer tidseffektiv då mindre tid behöver läggas på att reda ut missförstånd. Dock används videosamtal i låg utsträckning vilket vi funnit kan bero på ovana att använda verktyget. Nya beteenden behöver därför skapas för att forma nya vanor om hur IKT-verktyg kan nyttjas vid distansledarskap. Därtill fann vi att chefer regelbundet behöver träffa sina distansmedarbetare fysiskt eftersom relationen upplevs bli bättre vid fysiska möten. En god relation har vi funnit är av vikt för att kommunikationen på distans ska vara effektiv. / Information and communication technology (ICT) tools are getting more important in organizations, both when employees are working at the same location as their manager as well as when employees are working remotely at other locations. Working remotely have led to new conditions for managers and communication, something perceived more complicated than when employees are at the same location as managers (DeRosa et al., 2004; Alistoun & Upfold, 2012; Van Quaquebeke & Felps, 2018). ICT tools are a prerequisite for communication when employees are working remotely (Sivunen, 2008; Kraft, 2019; Darics, 2020) and knowledge of which communication channels are used by managers at what occasions may be a way of improving communication (Kayworth & Leidner, 2000). The purpose of the study is therefore to increase the understanding of managers communication with ICT tools. Further, we want to investigate if there are similarities and differences regarding managers communication and choice of communication channel when employees are working remotely or on-site. The study's approach is qualitative, abductive and hermeneutic. Semi-structured interviews with twelve managers from ten organizations were conducted. The sampling consisted of a combination of purposive, snowball and convenience sampling. The data analysis was thematic analysis.  Six occasions for communication were identified. The occasions for communication were the same both remotely and on site. Another five themes for similarities and differences were detected. We found that the occasions for communication does not differ depending on distance, but rather that the difference lies in how the communication is carried out. In addition, we have found that communication at distance leadership poses more challenges than on-site communication.  The study also show that communication may be easier if emoticons are used more frequently and if video calls are used when needed, that is, when non-verbal communication reinforces and clarifies the message. In this way, communication can become more effective as fewer misunderstandings arise since it is easier to establish mutual meaning. Video calls may also make communication more time efficient as less time is needed for clearing up misunderstandings. However, video calls are not commonly used due to lack of habit using the tool. Therefore, new behaviors and habits should be created in order for managers to make efficient use of ICT tools. In addition, we have found that a good relationship is important for communication remotely to be effective. Therefore, managers regularly need to physically meet their employees working remotely as the relationship is perceived to get better with physical meetings.

The importance of corporate communication is even more highlighted nowadays than it has been couple years ago. The reason behind is that companies are constantly growing and effective employee communication within such companies is becoming more difficult. This Diploma thesis aimed to find out how to improve internal communication in selected company. For this purpose a solid communication theory has been presented and a real company chosen to be examined in the analytical part. The analytical part examined and wraped up outcomes from questionnaire and interviews. The outcome of the thesis offers an answer to a research question How can multinational company improve its employee communication and revealed opportunities for improvement. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

<p>This research paper was aimed at analysing the influence of culture and communication practices in team functioning.  The scope of the study was limited to the project teams in the financial sector in Japan and the Philippines. The study was a qualitative research through the application of case studies whilst the primary data were gathered from semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study revealed that the project teams were collectivist with a noticeable degree of power distance, bestowment of status through ascription and the strong need for harmony in the project team environment. The communication practices were also affected by the hierarchical, relational, societal and regulatory dictates and expectations. However, there were some differences noted in Japanese and Philippine project teams as the latter exhibited more flexibility towards hierarchical relationship where position was not seen as hindrance in developing convivial and professional relationships. In so doing, culture and communication practices influenced team functioning in the aforementioned research context. Finally, the results of the study will allow project members, leaders and other key stakeholders in understanding the influence of culture and communication practices to team functioning in a more in-depth manner. This will lead to better policies and practices in helping them realise their goals and objectives.</p>