Scholars of transformational leadership literature assert that school-based management teams are a vital component in transforming schools. Many of these works focus heavily on the roles of principals and teachers, ignoring the contribution of Assistant Principals (APs). More attention is now being given to the unique role that Assistant Principals play in school leadership teams (see for example, Muijs & Harris, 2002). While there is a good amount of literature on what APs do in terms of their roles and responsibilities, what remains unclear; is how and why they enact their role in particular ways, especially under the umbrella of urban school reform. This work will address this gap by examining: how Urban High School Assistant Principals come to understand their role as both leader and staff, particularly in the context of transformational models of leadership? Guided by the theoretical framework of middle management, this study utilized a qualitative case study approach to interview seven Assistant Principals in three urban high schools in a large Northeast coast school district. Additionally, a one-time 15 minute interview with the principals and direct reports to the APs was employed to gain a better understanding of the leadership dynamic within the schools. The interviews were transcribed and coded by the researcher using Atlas.Ti. Through the lens of middle management theory, this work focused on a specific group of Assistant Principals working under a distributed leadership model. The findings revealed that the role of the AP is nebulous position that when not appropriately defined can cause professional difficulties that impede the leadership capacity of APs and the growth of school success. As such, stakeholders involved in schooling need to gain a greater understanding of the psychological and sociological underpinnings that impact the functionality of their middle leaders (those not operating in senior level positions). The findings of this work speak to the intricacies of the Assistant Principalship and contribute to a growing body of literature centered on how Assistant Principals navigate their space as leader and staff in an educational setting where leadership is more shared and collaborative. / Urban Education

Dagens svenska arbetsmarknad är i förändringsfasen där tillsvidareanställningen inte är lika dominerande. Istället eftersträvar alltfler en mer flexibel arbetssituation vilket kan liknas vid att frilansa. Det har myntat begreppet gig-ekonomi som innebär att individer hyr ut sig själva på projektbasis. Trots att det finns en strävan efter en mer flexibel arbetsmarknad är det fortfarande många som söker en tillsvidareanställning men har fastnat i en tidsbegränsad anställning. De olika anställningsformerna har skapat debatt i Sverige och fokuserar främst på konsekvenserna för arbetstagaren. Syftet med vår studie är att bidra med kunskap om vilka konsekvenser tidsbegränsade anställningar har för organisationen. För att besvara vår frågeställning har vi valt en kvalitativ metod och genomfört en fallstudie. Vårt empiriska material består främst av intervjuer och observationer på en skola. För att analysera vårt material används teorier som beskriver organisationens uppbyggnad samt behandlar individen, gruppen, mellanchefen och den strategiska ledningen. Vår övergripande slutsats är att tidsbegränsade anställningar har en påverkan på samtliga nivåer i organisationen. Den tidsbegränsade anställningen skapar osäkerhet för både individen och gruppen vilket kan hämma organisationens effektivitet. / The current Swedish labor market is changing. Permanent positions are no longer as dominant and instead, many people are looking for a more flexible working situation, much like freelancing. This has led to the newly coined term “gig-economy”, which practically means that organizations contract with independent workers for short- term engagements. However, there are still many who seek a permanent position, but might be stuck in a temporary position. The use of temporary positions has become more common in several sectors which has created a debate in Sweden. The debate focuses mainly on the consequences for the individual worker. The purpose of our study is to contribute with knowledge on what consequences temporary employment has for the organization. To fulfill our purpose, we’ve chosen to use a qualitative method to conduct a case study. Our empirical material consists mainly of interviews and observations at an elementary school. In order to analyze our material, we’ve used theories which describe the organizational structure and which addresses the individual, the group as well as the middle- and strategic management. Our general conclusion is that temporary employment has an impact on all levels of the organization. The temporary positions create insecurity for both the individual and the group and it can hamper the organizations efficiency.

My diploma thesis deals with key competences, on whose further development should focus not only managers, but primarily universities offering managerial education. The aim was to find out what competences might be required in practice from the graduates of managerial fields of studies on chosen middle management positions, then to compare the established requirements with the content of the curriculum stipulated for Bachelor's Study Programme at the Faculty of Management of the University of Economics, and finally to elaborate a summary of recommendations suitable for the optimal harmonization of this programme with the requirements of established practice.

<p>The traditional view of middle managers is that they play a role to receive and deliver information upwards and downwards in the organization. With this position in the hierarchy the middle manager is said to feel stuck in the middle due to conflicting expectations from upper and lower levels in the organization. Researchers have provided theories whether the middle manager is needed or not in the modern organization. When organizational structure begins to change due to downsizing and decentralization the roles of the middle managers begin to change. With the organizational change theorists then argue about the different effects on the middle manager. But how does the middle manager actually perceive his or her role in the new organization?</p><p>This thesis aims at reaching a greater understanding of the middle manager’s perceived role within the organization and how the role is affected by the relationships with the upper management levels.</p><p>To answer the purpose of this thesis a qualitative method is used. A sample of 50 middle managers from four different organizations is taken from an inhouse database belonging to a research program in collaboration between Jönköping International Business School and Umeå University. The technique chosen is therefore to analyse secondary data originally collected in recent research within the field of middle management.</p><p>How the middle manager’s role is perceived differs between the individual middle manager and his or her experience, which indicates that the middle manager’s identity is the most influencing factor on the perceived role.</p> / <p>Den traditionella synen på mellanchefer är att de spelar en roll att ta emot och ge vidare information uppåt och neråt i organisationen. Med den här positionen i hierarkin sägs mellanchefen känna sig klämd i mitten på grund av motstridiga förväntningar från över och under-ordnade. Olika forskare har kommit med olika teorier om mellanchefen behövs i den moderna organisationen eller inte. När organisationsstrukturer börjar förändras på grund av nedskärningar och/eller decentralisering förändras mellanchefens roll. Teoretiker argumenterar om förändringarnas olika effekt på mellanchefen. Men hur uppfattar egentligen mellanchefen sin roll i den nya organisationen?</p><p>Den här uppsatsen syftar till att nå en större förståelse för hur mellan-chefen uppfattar sin roll i organisationen och hur denna roll påverkas av relationerna med de övre chefsnivåerna.</p><p>För att besvara syftet med den här uppsatsen har en kvalitativ metod använts. Ett urval på 50 mellanchefer från fyra olika organisationer har tagits från en intern databas tillhörande ett forskningsprogram i samarbete mellan Jönköping Internationella Handelshögskola och Umeå Universitet. Den valda tekniken är att analysera sekundärdata från forskning om mellanchefer.</p><p>Hur mellanchefen uppfattar sin roll skiljer sig mellan den individuelle mellanchefen och dennes erfarenhet. Detta visar att mellanchefens identitet är en nyckelfaktor till mellanchefens upplevda roll.</p>

The purpose of this study is to investigate the managers’ perspective on leadership in relation to the motivation of the employees by an example of a manning and recruitment agencies. This is implemented by framing of two questions; What kind of leadership can be identified by middle managers to motivate their employees? Which motivation factors are relevant to employees based on the perspective of the managers? To answer the question and identify leadership strategies and motivational factors and the relationship in between, we have conducted eight interviews with persons who hold a middle management position. Through a qualitative investigation we have been able to go into depth and had access to these managers reflections, thoughts and experiences. The study is deductive and based on two theories; Two Factor Theory (Herzberg, 1959) and internal and external motivation (Deci &amp; Ryan, 2000). The study also takes into account previous research on motivation and leadership such as adults' motivation for learning and training (Ahl, 2006), the transformative leadership (Guthenberg, 2011), recognition of motivation (Hansen and Hermansson, 2013), and indications of what creates a good workplace (Lindberg and Vineyard, 2012). We have, using empirical data, developed and identified categories based on two themes, leadership and motivation, to answer our question. Empirical evidence shows that the developed categories commitment and presence, leadership coaching, individual and situational leadership, reward, daily work and corporate culture/relationships go hand in hand and are necessary to achieve good leadership to increase motivation. By this we mean that the involvement and presence, coaching, personalised and situational leadership are central to achieve what we have distinguished to be good leadership. While the reward, the daily work and the corporate culture and the relationships within the organisation are essential parameters to get motivated employees based on the manager's approach. We can also see that these two themes are related and interdependent. Based on empirical data, we perceive that the organisation we studied the good leadership is resulting in better conditions for motivated employees.

Denna kandidatuppsats inom offentlig förvaltning handlar om hur mellanchefer inom statliga förvaltningar upplever arbetsrelaterad stress. Vi har studerat hur kombinationen mellan krav och möjligheten till kontroll av arbetsuppgifter ser ut då arbetsrelaterad stress framkallas hos män respektive kvinnor. Studien visar också vilken koppling det sociala stödet på arbetsplatsen har för dessa faktorer.Uppsatsen börjar med ett inledande kapitel följt av syfte och den frågeställning som ska besvaras. Kapitlet tidigare forskning leder till en problemdiskussion och referensramen som följer ligger till grund för intervjufrågorna. Intervjuerna har besvarats av sju respondenter som representerar tre olika organisationer inom statlig förvaltning. Efter transkribering av intervjuerna har dessa analyserats med koppling till referensramen och avslutningsvis lett till vår diskussion och slutsatser.Slutsatserna som kan dras av studien är att de mellanchefer vi har intervjuat inte är särskilt stressade. Stundtals kan det förekomma perioder som kan vara stressade men de flesta av respondenterna tycker att det är hanterbart.Vi tror att det finns en del som är särskilt viktig för att en mellanchef ska klara av att hantera krav och negativ stress och detta är det sociala stödet på arbetsplatsen. Nästan alla våra respondenter säger någonstans i intervjun att de drabbas av arbetsrelaterad stress men de säger sig vara stresståliga individer. En del upplever att de har höga krav i sin arbetssituation, antingen från sig själv eller från omgivningen, men har då andra faktorer som väger upp detta som till exempel socialt stöd av chefskollegor och ledning. En känsla av kontroll över sin arbetssituation verkar vara en viktig faktor för god hälsa. Vår studie pekar på att våra respondenter upplever att de har detta.Några av mellancheferna upplever en ökad stress när de ser att medarbetare stressar, men genomgående tycker de svarande att det är ens eget ansvar att hantera eventuella stressfaktorer och se till att det inte blir för mycket. / This bachelor thesis in public administration is about how middle managers in state administrations are experiencing work-related stress. We have studied how the combination between demands and the possibility of control of tasks looks when it comes to how work-related stress is induced in men and women. The study also shows what influence social support in the workplace has for these factors.The essay begins with an introductory chapter followed by the purpose and our questions. The chapter previous research leads to problems discussion and reference framework that follows is the basis for the interview questions. The interviews have been answered by seven respondents representing three different organizations within the government administration. After transcribing the interviews, these were analyzed in connection to the reference frame and finally led to our discussion and conclusions of the study.The conclusions to be drawn from the study is that the middle managers we interviewed are not particularly stressed. Occasionally there may be periods that can be stressful but most of the respondents find it manageable.We think there is one part which is particularly important to a middle manager so they are able to handle the demands and negative stress, and this is the social support at the work place. Almost all of our respondents say somewhere in the interview that they suffer with work related stress from time to time but they say they are stress-resistant individuals. Some feel that they have high demands in their work situation, either from themselves or from the environment, but other factors weigh this up, such as social support. A sense of control over their work situation seems to be an important factor for good health. Our study suggests that our respondents feel that they have this.Some of the respondents are experiencing increased stress when they see that the employees stress, but consistently they feel that it is one's own responsibility to deal with potential stressors and make sure it does not get too much.The study is written in swedish

The traditional view of middle managers is that they play a role to receive and deliver information upwards and downwards in the organization. With this position in the hierarchy the middle manager is said to feel stuck in the middle due to conflicting expectations from upper and lower levels in the organization. Researchers have provided theories whether the middle manager is needed or not in the modern organization. When organizational structure begins to change due to downsizing and decentralization the roles of the middle managers begin to change. With the organizational change theorists then argue about the different effects on the middle manager. But how does the middle manager actually perceive his or her role in the new organization? This thesis aims at reaching a greater understanding of the middle manager’s perceived role within the organization and how the role is affected by the relationships with the upper management levels. To answer the purpose of this thesis a qualitative method is used. A sample of 50 middle managers from four different organizations is taken from an inhouse database belonging to a research program in collaboration between Jönköping International Business School and Umeå University. The technique chosen is therefore to analyse secondary data originally collected in recent research within the field of middle management. How the middle manager’s role is perceived differs between the individual middle manager and his or her experience, which indicates that the middle manager’s identity is the most influencing factor on the perceived role. / Den traditionella synen på mellanchefer är att de spelar en roll att ta emot och ge vidare information uppåt och neråt i organisationen. Med den här positionen i hierarkin sägs mellanchefen känna sig klämd i mitten på grund av motstridiga förväntningar från över och under-ordnade. Olika forskare har kommit med olika teorier om mellanchefen behövs i den moderna organisationen eller inte. När organisationsstrukturer börjar förändras på grund av nedskärningar och/eller decentralisering förändras mellanchefens roll. Teoretiker argumenterar om förändringarnas olika effekt på mellanchefen. Men hur uppfattar egentligen mellanchefen sin roll i den nya organisationen? Den här uppsatsen syftar till att nå en större förståelse för hur mellan-chefen uppfattar sin roll i organisationen och hur denna roll påverkas av relationerna med de övre chefsnivåerna. För att besvara syftet med den här uppsatsen har en kvalitativ metod använts. Ett urval på 50 mellanchefer från fyra olika organisationer har tagits från en intern databas tillhörande ett forskningsprogram i samarbete mellan Jönköping Internationella Handelshögskola och Umeå Universitet. Den valda tekniken är att analysera sekundärdata från forskning om mellanchefer. Hur mellanchefen uppfattar sin roll skiljer sig mellan den individuelle mellanchefen och dennes erfarenhet. Detta visar att mellanchefens identitet är en nyckelfaktor till mellanchefens upplevda roll.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka förändringar i en mellanchefs roll i samband med en omorganisation. Få en djupare förståelse om olika beslutsfattande chefers situationer och vad de ställs inför. Hur ska organisationen kommunicera i och under en förändringsprocess för involvering av alla berörda parter.  Studien är av kvalitativ karaktär. Resultatet har samlats in via semistrukturerade intervjuer med Länsstyrelsen Värmlands nio enhetschefer. Organisationen har genomgått en stor organisatorisk förändring. Resultatet har tolkats och analyserats mot tidigare forskning. Studien som presenteras är en vetenskaplig studie.  Länsstyrelsen Värmlands omorganisation har resulterat i en hög belastning för mellancheferna och en komplexitet i utförandet av omorganisationen. Kommunikationen inom organisationen har påvisat dysfunktionalitet och informationsflödet har ansetts för högt.  Mellanchefens roll handlar hela tiden om växelverkan. Rollen ska hantera både ledning och medarbetares förväntningar, mellanchefen agerar språkrör. En generalisering till organisationer, även internationellt sett då mellanchefens position finns i många verksamheter. Mellanchefen måste anpassa sig och infinna sig i rollen som handlar om växelverkan.  Inställningen till omorganisationen var från början positiv och tanken bakom den var god, dock blev det inte som förväntat varken för ledning eller mellanchefer. / The purpose of this study is to examine the changes in a middle management role related to a reorganization. The purpose is to provide a deeper understanding about different situations of a decision-making manager and what they face. How should the organization communicate during a process of change for involvement of all affected parties.  The study is of a qualitative nature. The results have been collected through semi-structured interviews with nine unit managers at the county administrative board of Värmland. The organization has undergone a major organizational change. The result has been interpreted and analyzed against previous research. The presented study is a scientific study.  The reorganization of the county administrative board of Värmland has resulted in a high load and great complexity for the middle managers. Communication within the organization has demonstrated dysfunctionality and the information flow has been considered too high.  The middle management role is always about intercommunion. The role must handle expectations from both top management and employees. The middle manager acts as a spokesperson. A generalization to organizations, even internationally, is the middle manager position found in many businesses. The middle manager must adapt to the role with intercommunion.  The attitudes towards the reorganization was positive from the beginning and the idea behind it was good, but the top management and the middle managers didn’t expect the result of the planned outcome.

Lo scopo della ricerca è stato comprendere il ruolo dei coordinatori nei Servizi Tutela Minori lombardi. Questi middle managers sono il primo riferimento organizzativo e metodologico per gli assistenti sociali, ma allo stesso tempo hanno una responsabilità nei confronti del top management e delle comunità rispetto al buon andamento di questi Servizi. Attualmente la conoscenza scientifica prodotta sul ruolo è scarsa e sembra che esso abbia preso forma prevalentemente nella pratica. Lo studio ha avuto una duplice finalità, sia descrittiva che esplorativa: la prima parte della ricerca ha infatti indagato le caratteristiche socio-demografiche, la qualifica e la carriera dei managers, mentre la seconda ha esplorato la loro opinione sul loro ruolo in termini di competenze richieste, bisogni e risorse. La ricerca ha previsto un'indagine preliminare sui Servizi Tutela Minori lombardi, un questionario on-line indirizzato a tutti i coordinatori attivi in Lombardia, nonchè interviste semistrutturate indirizzate ad un campione di questi managers (18). Due approcci teorici hanno fatto da cornice agli approfondimenti, ovvero gli studi culturali delle organizzazioni e del management (Alvesson e Berg, 1993; Mintzberg, 1980, 2010; Gagliardi e Monaci, 2011) e il Relational Social Work (Folgheraiter, 1998, 2011, 2017). L’integrazione tra queste teorie e i dati raccolti dai managers hanno permesso di delineare le caratteristiche specifiche che il ruolo di coordinatore tutela minori assume nel sistema di Child Protection lombardo e di far emergere la prospettiva dei coordinatori sul proprio lavoro. / The aim of this study was to understand better the role of middle managers in lombard Child Protection services. This managers are the first organizational and methodological reference for social workers, but at the same time they have a responsability towards top management (and communities) in terms of a good service trend. There isn’t so much knowledge about their work and it seems that they have built their role in practice. The study explored the current characterization of managers that are active in lombard Child Protection system and collected their opinions about the role. The study consisted in a preliminary investigation about Child Protection services in Lombardy After this first investigation, the first step was a survey on-line addressed to all the managers that actually works in Lombardy; the second step consisted in semistructured interviews addressed to a sample of these managers (18). The aim of the first part of the research was descriptive (socio-demographic characteristics, qualification and career of the managers) while that of the second part was exploratory (managers opinion about their role in terms of competences requested, needs and resources). The research has combined two theoretical approaches, cultural studies of organizations/management (Alvesson e Berg, 1993; Mintzberg, 1980, 2010; Gagliardi e Monaci, 2011) and Relational Social Work (Folgheraiter, 1998, 2011, 2017): the integration of them allowed the identification of specific characteristics of child protection middle managers and their point of view about their job.

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