Idag sker flera förändringar inom byggbranschen. De senaste decenniernas utveckling inom teknik och miljö har fått allt större fokus och det finns idag idéer inom branschen att effektivisera den med hjälp av digitalisering och ny teknik.  En annan förändringsprocess i byggbranschen som sker idag gäller den allmänna attityden och företagskulturen. Den starka machokulturen försöker successivt arbetas bort samt förekomsten av mutor. För att genomföra dessa förändringar på ett lyckat sätt spelar mellanchefer en betydande roll och en roll inom byggbranschen som kan liknas vid denna är arbetsledaren. Få studier har däremot gjorts angående arbetsledarrollen och dess innebörd. Denna studie syftar därför till att skapa en större förståelse och en fördjupad kunskap om arbetsledarrollen idag och vad den innebär. Framförallt vill författarna förstå rollen ur arbetsledarens perspektiv. Studien är därför baserad på observationer och intervjuer av sex arbetsledare. Resultatet av studien visar att arbetsledarrollen idag är mer lik än vad som tidigare upplevts och innefattar en mängd liknande uppgifter. Det finns en röd tråd med en liknande struktur där det huvudsakliga ansvarsområdet är att driva produktionen framåt, vilket görs genom att leda yrkesarbetarna, samverka med berörda parter samt hantera problem och hinder som uppstår. Mer generellt innefattar rollen kommunikation, motivation samt planering och är en länk mellan flera nivåer i en organisation och en nyckelroll i förändringsprocesser. Rollen innefattar idag en majoritet av reaktiva arbetsuppgifter. De uppgifter som flest anser värdeskapande är dock de proaktiva, där planering utmärker sig extra.  Den största utvecklingen av rollen som observerats är inom ledarskapet, då rollen under senare tid gått mot ett mjukare, mer coachande ledarskap. En av de största framtida utmaningarna inom rollen är att förändra rollen och arbeta mer proaktivt istället för reaktivt, att få en bättre struktur på dagarna. Framtida utveckling inom rollen handlar därför till stor del om att försöka styra rollen mot en mer strukturanpassad roll än dagens situationsanpassade. En annan utmaning för arbetsledarna är att prioritera mellan sina arbetsuppgifter. Att hitta en bra balans och avvägning mellan ute och inne, mellan ledning och yrkesarbetare samt mellan att ha full kontroll och att våga lita på och släppa saker till andra yrkesgrupper i produktionen. / Today the construction industry is going through some major changes in several fields. The past decades development in technology and sustainability has been given larger focus and a desire to use this to improve and make the industry more efficient has developed. Another huge change has been recognized in the general culture in the industry. The industry has for a long time been tinged by male dominance and a “macho culture” which has gradually been changed. Former common occurrence of bribery is another aspect that the industry is currently trying to get rid of. To be able to successfully carry out these changes the role of the middle manager is important and within the construction industry this middle manager can be seen as the construction foreman.  However, there has been few studies based on the role of the construction foreman. The purpose of this study is therefore to create a deeper understanding and knowledge about the role and what it involves. Above all, the writers are interested in understanding the role from the foreman's perspective. The study is therefore based on observations and interviews from six construction foremen at six different projects. The results from the study shows that the role of a construction foreman is more alike than first assumed. It includes a sample of similar tasks and there is a common pattern and structure that makes the role able to define. The main responsibility is to make sure that the construction runs smoothly which is done by leading the workers, collaborate with other parties within the organisation and handle problems that occur. More general, the role includes communication, motivation, planning and acting as a link between different levels in the organisation. The majority of the tasks is reactive, while the tasks that most of the foreman consider value creating is proactive. The biggest changes in the role that has been observed is connected to the leadership. The role has moved towards a softer more coaching form of leadership compared to the previous authoritarian. One of the biggest challenges within the role is to move it towards a more proactive approach instead of today's reactive approach and thus get an even better structure throughout the day. Future development of the role is therefore most likely about trying to steer the role in this direction, trying to impose a bit more structure. Another challenge is to learn to prioritize between different assignments. To find a good balance between outside and inside, between the management and the workers and between having full control and leaving some responsibility to others.

Byggsektorn står för en stor del av landets bruttonationalprodukt dock finns det indikationer som påvisar att denna sektor lider av effektivitetsproblem i form av höga byggkostnader och bristande innovation och nytänkande. Till följd av stigande byggkostnader och en stagnerande produktivitetsutvecklingen i branschen finns det ett behov av ett effektivare byggande. Det innebär att produktionsprocessen behöver kunna fortgå utan friktion och för att möjliggöra detta krävs det att det sker en optimering samt förkortning av ledtiderna i samtliga led av produktionskedjan. För att utveckla arbetsmetoder och arbetstänk som gör detta genomförbart krävs det att företaget skapar förutsättningar som leder till att en sådan förändring kan uppfyllas. Genom förändringsledning kan företaget på ett strukturerat sätt leda och styra medarbetarna i en viss riktning för att nå det önskvärda läget. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att studera och analysera mellanchefens roll vid en tilltänkt förändring inom byggproduktion. Målsättningen är att kasta ljus över de incitament och verktyg som behövs för att driva mellanchefer vid ett förändringsarbete samt de redskap och medel de behöver för att kunna skapa motivation och engagemang hos sina medarbetare. Studien kommer att avgränsas till att endast studera mellanchefernas roll vid en planerad förändring.  Arbetet har genomförts i form av en kvalitativ fallstudie med empiriskt material som har samlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med individer hos ett byggfallföretag. Resultatet påvisade ett flertal faktorer som bedöms påverka mellanchefens roll vid en planerad förändring i byggbranschen såsom företagets kultur, ledarskapsförmågan, kommunikation- och informationshanteringen samt förståelsen för förändringen. För att mellancheferna ska kunna driva ett framgångsrikt förändringsarbete krävs det att företaget aktivt arbetar med att utveckla de tidigare nämnda faktorerna för att mellancheferna ska besitta rätt kunskap och kompetens. / The construction sector accounts for a large part of the country's gross domestic product, but there are indications that this sector suffers from efficiency problems in terms of high construction costs and a lack of innovation and new thinking. Due to rising construction costs and a stagnant productivity development in the industry, there is a need for more efficient construction. This means that the production process needs to be able to continue without friction and to make this possible, it is necessary that there is an optimization and shortening of the lead times in all stages of the production chain. In order to develop working methods and work ideas that make this feasible, it is required that the company creates the conditions that lead to such a change being fulfilled. Through change management, the company can in a structured way lead and steer employees in a certain direction to reach the desired situation. The purpose of this degree project is to study and analyze the role of the middle manager in the event of an intended change in construction production. The goal is to shed light on the incentives and tools needed to drive middle managers in a change as well as the tools and means they need to be able to create motivation and commitment among their employees. The study will be limited to studying the role of middle managers in the event of a planned change. The work has been carried out in terms of a qualitative case study with empirical material that has been collected through semi-structured interviews with individuals at a construction case company. The results showed a number of factors that are judged to influence the middle manager's role in a planned change in the construction industry, such as the company's culture, leadership skills, communication and information management and the understanding of the change. In order for the middle managers to be able to drive successful change, it is required that the company actively works to develop the previously mentioned factors in order for the middle managers to possess the right knowledge and competence.

Problem statement – The strategic roles and responsibilities of professional middle managers (at a South African university) are not aligned with the accountability and authority required while strategising to effect strategic change. Through an in-depth exploration of practitioners, their practices, behaviour, cognition and emotions during strategising, insights in the development of practical wisdom was gained. Purpose – The purpose of the empirical research study was to investigate how professional middle managers strategise to effect change during strategic change. The study context was a South African higher education institution undergoing internal organisational change. Four main research themes were explored with particular reference to the professional middle manager as a strategic practitioner, namely one who DOES, THINKS, FEELS and REFLECTS. Design, methodology and approach – An explorative and interpretive study was conducted utilising a single case and qualitative research methodology. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was conducted, which aimed to explore the rich experiences of the participants and the way they make sense of their personal journeys during the strategic change initiative. Strategy as practice theory was selected as the theoretical foundation for the study. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted, and participants provided self-reflection assessments contributing to a unique data gathering method. Findings – The results suggested the professional middle managers make use of holistic and comprehensive practices to effect change as they strategise during strategic change. Five formal strategic roles were confirmed relevant as enacted by the professional middle managers, i.e. implementing strategies, interpreting and communicating information, facilitating adaptability, downward supporting and upward influencing. In addition, six distinctive practices were identified, namely adapting, effecting change, collaborating, mobilising, peacekeeping and overseeing. v Research limitations and implications – The results of the study cannot be generalised due to the single case methodology; however, key learnings and insights can be utilised. Practical implications – It is recommended that the middle managers’ key performance indicators be aligned with the required accountability and authority required to fulfil their strategic roles while effecting change. In addition, the development of tailor-made training programmes as well as coaching and mentoring is advocated in order to transition adequately into a middle management role. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / D.B.L.

<p>Flera undersökningar åskådliggör att organisationsstruktur spelar en avgörande roll och påverkar anställdas attityder och arbetsresultat. Organisationskultur beskriver hur medlemmarna upplever organisationens karaktär och har en starkt motiverande effekt hos organisationens medarbetare. De humana organisationerna är de effektivaste och undersökningar styrker argumentet att ledare påverkar sina anställdas arbetstillfredsställelse och arbetsresultat. Med anledning av detta är det förhållandevis logiskt att de framgångsrikaste ledarna medvetet skapar en stark organisationskultur på sin arbetsplats.</p><p>Arbetstillfredsställelse har likheter med organisationskultur, men organisationskultur är beskrivande medan arbetsillfredsställelse är utvärderande. Vidare finns det samband mellan motivation och arbetstillfredsställelse. Arbetstillfredsställelse är ett resultat av det förflutna medan motivation är en förväntning avseende framtida händelser. Stress är en individuell process och faktumet att stressfaktorerna är additiva, medför att organisationerna måste ta hänsyn till den totala mängden stress som den anställde utsätts för. Vidare påvisar undersökningar att stressade ledare skapar stressade organisationer och anställda.</p><p>Syftet med studien är att beskriva hur mellanchefer vid Kriminalvården i Tidaholm upplever förväntningar från organisationen och organisationens anställda, samt hur detta på-verkar mellanchefernas individuella situation ur ett stress perspektiv.</p><p>Syftet uppfylls genom att applicera en kvalitativ ansats i vilken data insamlades genom personliga intervjuer. Målgruppen för undersökningen utgjordes nio mellanchefer (kriminalvårdsinspektörer), vilka hade samma chefer men olika arbetsuppgifter. Resultaten från studien visar att arbetsbelastning och tidsbrist är källor till stress. Tillsammans skapade dessa faktorer en upplevd känsla av otillräcklighet. Vidare klargjordes att bristfälligt ledarskap och känslan av osäkerhet var viktiga stressfaktorer. Internernas beteende kunde också skapa stressfulla situationer. Det fanns även exempel på dåliga erfarenheter när flera orutinerade medarbetare arbetade tillsammans. Stress vilken kunde härledas från överordnade bearbetades likartat av respondenterna, medan stress från underordnade bearbetades olika. Samtliga Kriminalvårdinspektörer menade att stress påverkar ledarskapet. Deras uppfattning hur stress påverkar överordnades och eget ledarskap varierade. Mellancheferna i denna studie besvärades av arbetsuppgifter vilka skickades direkt från Kriminalvårdsstyrelsen. Denna typ av uppgifter och ansvarsfördelning var svår att påverka. Vidare föreföll det inte vara ovanligt att denna typ av arbetsuppgifter utretts vid ett tidigare tillfälle. Dessa händelser indikerar att organisationen har klassiska problem att leda kunskap, såsom att lagra, handha, fördela, och sprida kunskap. I denna studie vandrar stress i båda riktningar, från botten mot toppen, eller från toppen mot botten.</p> / <p>Several investigations illustrate that the organizational structure has a mayor impact on worker attitudes and performance. Organizational culture describes how members experience the organizations characteristics and has a strong motivating effect to the organiza-tions employees. The most human organizations are more efficient and research strengthens the argument that leaders affect their subordinates job satisfaction and performance. It is then logical why the most successful leaders have created strong organizational cultures.</p><p>The approach job satisfaction has similarities with organizational culture but organizational culture is descriptive, while job satisfaction is evaluative. Further is there a relationship between motivation and satisfaction, even if they not are exactly comparable, actually they are quite different. Satisfaction is namely an outcome of the past and motivation is an expectation about the future. Stress is an individual process and the fact that stressors are additive means that the organizations have to consider the total sum stress an employee is exposed to. Furthermore illustrates research that stressed leaders create stressed organizations and employees.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to describe how middle managers in The Prison and Probation Service in Tidaholm perceive the expectations, from the organization and the organizations employees, and how this affects the middle managers individual situation from a perspective of stress.</p><p>The purpose was fulfilled by applying a qualitative research approach where data was collected through interviews. The target group included nine Middle managers (kriminalvårdsinspektörer) who had same superior managers but different working tasks. The results of the study indicates that workload was a source of stress and time was perceived to be a limit. This together created a feeling of insufficiency. Further were unclear leadership and the feeling of uncertainty important stress factors. The prisoners’ behaviour could also create stressful situations and there were bad experiences when several inexperienced employees worked together. Stress created from superiors was handled identically, while stress from subordinates was worked on differently. The respondents agreed that stress affects leadership. The opinions differed concerning how it affected their superiors- and their own leadership. What concerned the Middle managers were the assignments that came directly from the Kriminalvårdsstyrelsen. This flow of responsibilities and tasks were hard to affect. Often were the assignments investigated earlier, which indicates that the organization has classical knowledge management problems, like to store, handle and spread knowledge. In this study walks stress in both directions, from the bottom to the top, or from the top to the bottom.</p>

Med bakgrund av enhetschefer i äldreomsorgens komplexa yrkesroll har syftet med denna studie varit att undersöka enhetschefens upplevelse av yrkesrollen samt vilka krav och förväntningar som finns hur de upplevs och hanteras. Vad som motiverar enhetscheferna har också undersökts. Metoden som vi använde var en kvalitativ metod där vi genomförde sju semistrukturerade intervjuer med enhetschefer i kommunal hemtjänst. Vi utförde vår studie i en mindre kommun i södra Sverige. Empirin har analyserats med hjälp av tidigare forskning inom undersökningsområdet och utvalda teorier för ämnet. Resultatet visar att vår empiri i stora drag stämmer väl överens med tidigare forskning som bekräftar att yrkesrollen är komplex med mycket varierande arbetsuppgifter och att den innehåller krav och förväntningar från många olika håll. I likhet med tidigare forskning upplever även de enhetschefer vi undersökt, brister i vissa stödfunktioner, vilket också blivit det mest utmärkande i denna studie. Trots upplevda brister i stöd och hög arbetsbelastning visar samtliga enhetschefer i studien en positiv inställning till arbetet och uppger att de känner sig motiverade i sin yrkesroll. / With the background of middle managers in elderly care complex professional role, the purpose of this study has been to examine the middle manager's experience of the professional role, as well as what requirements and expectations exist and are experienced and how they are handled. What motivates the unit managers has also been investigated. The method we used was a qualitative method in which we conducted seven semi- structured interviews with unit managers in home care. We conducted our study in a small municipality in southern Sweden. The empirical work has been analyzed with the help of previous research in the research area and selected theories for the subject. The result shows that our empirical data broadly matches well with previous research that confirms that the professional role is complex with very varied work tasks and that it contains requirements and expectations from many different directions. Like previous research, it also fails here in some support functions for the middle managers, which has also become the most characteristic of this study. Despite shortcomings in support and high workload, all middle managers in the study show a positive attitude to the work and state that they feel motivated in their professional role.

Flera undersökningar åskådliggör att organisationsstruktur spelar en avgörande roll och påverkar anställdas attityder och arbetsresultat. Organisationskultur beskriver hur medlemmarna upplever organisationens karaktär och har en starkt motiverande effekt hos organisationens medarbetare. De humana organisationerna är de effektivaste och undersökningar styrker argumentet att ledare påverkar sina anställdas arbetstillfredsställelse och arbetsresultat. Med anledning av detta är det förhållandevis logiskt att de framgångsrikaste ledarna medvetet skapar en stark organisationskultur på sin arbetsplats. Arbetstillfredsställelse har likheter med organisationskultur, men organisationskultur är beskrivande medan arbetsillfredsställelse är utvärderande. Vidare finns det samband mellan motivation och arbetstillfredsställelse. Arbetstillfredsställelse är ett resultat av det förflutna medan motivation är en förväntning avseende framtida händelser. Stress är en individuell process och faktumet att stressfaktorerna är additiva, medför att organisationerna måste ta hänsyn till den totala mängden stress som den anställde utsätts för. Vidare påvisar undersökningar att stressade ledare skapar stressade organisationer och anställda. Syftet med studien är att beskriva hur mellanchefer vid Kriminalvården i Tidaholm upplever förväntningar från organisationen och organisationens anställda, samt hur detta på-verkar mellanchefernas individuella situation ur ett stress perspektiv. Syftet uppfylls genom att applicera en kvalitativ ansats i vilken data insamlades genom personliga intervjuer. Målgruppen för undersökningen utgjordes nio mellanchefer (kriminalvårdsinspektörer), vilka hade samma chefer men olika arbetsuppgifter. Resultaten från studien visar att arbetsbelastning och tidsbrist är källor till stress. Tillsammans skapade dessa faktorer en upplevd känsla av otillräcklighet. Vidare klargjordes att bristfälligt ledarskap och känslan av osäkerhet var viktiga stressfaktorer. Internernas beteende kunde också skapa stressfulla situationer. Det fanns även exempel på dåliga erfarenheter när flera orutinerade medarbetare arbetade tillsammans. Stress vilken kunde härledas från överordnade bearbetades likartat av respondenterna, medan stress från underordnade bearbetades olika. Samtliga Kriminalvårdinspektörer menade att stress påverkar ledarskapet. Deras uppfattning hur stress påverkar överordnades och eget ledarskap varierade. Mellancheferna i denna studie besvärades av arbetsuppgifter vilka skickades direkt från Kriminalvårdsstyrelsen. Denna typ av uppgifter och ansvarsfördelning var svår att påverka. Vidare föreföll det inte vara ovanligt att denna typ av arbetsuppgifter utretts vid ett tidigare tillfälle. Dessa händelser indikerar att organisationen har klassiska problem att leda kunskap, såsom att lagra, handha, fördela, och sprida kunskap. I denna studie vandrar stress i båda riktningar, från botten mot toppen, eller från toppen mot botten. / Several investigations illustrate that the organizational structure has a mayor impact on worker attitudes and performance. Organizational culture describes how members experience the organizations characteristics and has a strong motivating effect to the organiza-tions employees. The most human organizations are more efficient and research strengthens the argument that leaders affect their subordinates job satisfaction and performance. It is then logical why the most successful leaders have created strong organizational cultures. The approach job satisfaction has similarities with organizational culture but organizational culture is descriptive, while job satisfaction is evaluative. Further is there a relationship between motivation and satisfaction, even if they not are exactly comparable, actually they are quite different. Satisfaction is namely an outcome of the past and motivation is an expectation about the future. Stress is an individual process and the fact that stressors are additive means that the organizations have to consider the total sum stress an employee is exposed to. Furthermore illustrates research that stressed leaders create stressed organizations and employees. The purpose of this thesis is to describe how middle managers in The Prison and Probation Service in Tidaholm perceive the expectations, from the organization and the organizations employees, and how this affects the middle managers individual situation from a perspective of stress. The purpose was fulfilled by applying a qualitative research approach where data was collected through interviews. The target group included nine Middle managers (kriminalvårdsinspektörer) who had same superior managers but different working tasks. The results of the study indicates that workload was a source of stress and time was perceived to be a limit. This together created a feeling of insufficiency. Further were unclear leadership and the feeling of uncertainty important stress factors. The prisoners’ behaviour could also create stressful situations and there were bad experiences when several inexperienced employees worked together. Stress created from superiors was handled identically, while stress from subordinates was worked on differently. The respondents agreed that stress affects leadership. The opinions differed concerning how it affected their superiors- and their own leadership. What concerned the Middle managers were the assignments that came directly from the Kriminalvårdsstyrelsen. This flow of responsibilities and tasks were hard to affect. Often were the assignments investigated earlier, which indicates that the organization has classical knowledge management problems, like to store, handle and spread knowledge. In this study walks stress in both directions, from the bottom to the top, or from the top to the bottom.

Background: Demographic changes increase the financing needs of all social services. This change also generates new and complex demands on the medical staff. Accordingly, medical professionals in middle management positions hold a characteristic sandwich position between top management and the operational core. This sandwich position often constitutes new challenges. In the industrial field, the growing importance of the middle management for the company’s success has already been recognized. Accordingly, the growing demand on economy urges an analysis for the medical field. Discussion: While there are nearly no differences in the nature of the tasks of medical middle manager in the areas of strategy, role function, performance pressure and qualifications compared to those tasks of the industrial sector, there are basic differences as well. Especially the character of “independence” of the medical profession and its ethical values justifies these differences. Consequently, qualification of medical professionals may not be solely based on medical academic career. It is also based on the personal ability or potential to lead and to manage. Summary: Above all, the character of “independence” of the medical profession and its ethical values justifies medical action that is based on the patient’s well-being and not exclusively on economic outcomes. In the future, medical middle managers are supposed to achieve an optimized balance between a patient-centered medicine and economic measures. It will be a basic requirement that middle managers accept their position and the resultant tasks putting themselves in a more active position. Because of that, middle managers can become “value-added bridge-builders”.

Studien syftar till att skapa en ökad förståelse för ledarskapsbeteendets betydelse för företags interna effektivitet. Fenomenet studeras under en organisationsförändring. Förändringslitteratur och tidigare forskning inom området benämner mellanchefer som förändringsagenter och framhäver deras möjlighet att påverka resultatet av en organisationsförändring. Vidare har studier inom ledarskapsbeteenden främst fokuserat på ledningsnivå och det saknas kunskap om ledarskapsbeteenden på mellanchefsnivå. Mellanchefer har därmed valts som undersökningsenhet i uppsatsen. Forskningsfrågan lyder enligt följande; Vilken betydelse har mellanchefers ledarskapsbeteende för företagets interna effektivitet vid en organisationsförändring? Undersökningen utgörs av en kvalitativ studie som inkluderar två företag. Det ena företaget är Scandinavian Airlines, som är verksamt inom flygbranschen. De genomgick en organisationsförändring som slutfördes för två år sedan. Det andra företaget är Volvo Cars, som agerar i bilbranschen. Företaget är i den inledande fasen av en förändringsprocess. Respondenterna utgörs av tre mellanchefer på respektive företag. De två första respondenterna valdes med ett avsiktligt urval, vilka i sin tur rekommenderade de resterande fyra. De sista baseras därmed på ett snöbollsurval. Intervjuerna är uppbyggda på semistrukturerade frågor, med utgångspunkt i fyra huvudbegrepp från referensramen. Studien har sin utgångspunkt i en deduktiv metodansats då den går från teori till empiri. Verklighetsuppfattningen utgår från ett kritiskt realistiskt perspektiv och studien har ett interpretativt förhållningssätt till kunskapsbildning. Studiens resultat visar att flera faktorer i samtliga mellanchefers ledarskapsbeteenden tyder på transformativa ledarskap. Mellancheferna individanpassar sitt ledarskap och förmedlar ett förtroende till medarbetarna som ger dem utrymme för frihet och kreativitet i arbetet. Vidare lägger cheferna stor vikt vid att öka motivationen hos sina anställda. Ett transformativt ledaskapsbeteende har visat sig ha betydelse för företags interna effektivitet i positiv bemärkelse. Mellanchefernas definition av intern effektivitet involverar en välfungerande kommunikation och minskade suboptimeringar. Det påstås bidra till ett effektivare samarbete mellan avdelningar och ökade förutsättningar för ett lyckat resultat. / The study is aiming to create increased understanding for how middle management can affect businesses’ internal effectiveness with their leadership behavior during an organizational change. Previous research has contributed with knowledge about middle managers part and meaning during an organizational change. They were hence chosen as the research target in the study. The research question is as following; What significance does the middle managers’ leadership behavior have for the business’ internal effectiveness during an organizational change? The study consists of a qualitative study that includes two businesses. One of the businesses is Scandinavian Airlines, which is active in the flight business and went through an organizational change that finished two years ago. The other business is Volvo Cars, which is an actor in the car business and is in the early phase of the change process. The respondents consist of three middle managers from each business. The first two respondents were chosen with deliberate selection, which in turn recommended the other four respondents. The last four were thus chosen with snowball selection. The interviews are based on semi-structured questions, with it’s starting point from four main concepts from the theoretical framework. The study is hence based on a deductive method. Furthermore, the reality view in the essay assumes a critical realistic viewpoint and an interpretive approach to knowledge creation. The study’s results show that several factors in all middle managers leadership behaviors matched with transformational leadership. The middle managers’ adjust their leadership depending on their employees and facilitates trust in the employees that gives them space for freedom and creativity in their work. Furthermore, the middle managers put significant importance on increasing the motivation of their employees. A transformative leader behavior has shown to have significance for business’ internal effectiveness in a positive regard. The middle managers definition of internal effectiveness involves functioning communication and decreased sub optimizations. It allegedly contributes to a more effective cooperation between departments and increased conditions for a successful result.

Background: The middle managers’ managerial work is characterised by the absence of clarityand structure around the work practice and implies excessive responsibility on the individual toorganise the work. Self-leadership is a tool for individuals to become more effective in their work and can provide middle managers with guidance in their unstructured work. Research Question: How do middle managers apply behavioural-focused strategies for self-leadershipin relation to their managerial work? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to better understand and contribute with new theories about how middle managers apply self-leadership in relation to their managerial work. The study will depict how middle managers relate to the activity of self-leadership in their professional role. The research will focus on how middle managers apply behavioural-focused strategies for self-leadership, namely self-goal setting, self-reward, self-punishment, self-observation and self-cueing. Method: A qualitative study of observations and interviews were used. Three middle managers in the organisation have been observed and interviewed to identify their application and attitude about behavioural-focused strategies for self-leadership. The observations have been categorised according to Mintzberg’s and Choran’s managerial and operational roles (working roles). Theoretical framework: Theories of self-leadership and behavioural-focused strategies are combined with theories of managerial work and working roles. Bringing together the different theories, a comprehensive theoretical framework is formed to understand how middle managers apply behaviour-focused strategies. Findings: The findings suggest that middle managers’ application of behavioural-focused strategies is largely characterised by their working roles. Furthermore, middle managers associate behavioural-focused strategies primarily with other-orientated behaviours, includingthe co-workers and the organisation. At the same time, there is a distinct individual difference in how middle managers apply the behavioural-focused strategies for self-leadership.

This thesis is a moral disengagement theory approach to CSR improvements in Swedish companies. The purpose is to investigate what and how justifications are a barrier for middle managers’ contributions to a firm's CSR improvements in Swedish companies. There is a shift towards a need for a new CSR and on a more personal bases where individual contributions are crucial. Bandura, Bero and White’s (2009) moral disengagement mechanisms will be used to explain how and why middle managers justify avoiding CSR initiating and improvements. The main purpose with this thesis is to answer the questions of what justifications are used and how they are barriers for middle manager’s contribution to CSR improvement in companies? This has been conducted through qualitative semi-structured individual interviews with middle managers in 10 Swedish companies. The findings show that only six of Bandura et al’s. (2009) moral disengagement mechanisms were used by middle managers, Moral Justification, Euphemistic Labelling, Advantageous Comparison, Displacement of Responsibility, Diffusion of Responsibility, Distortion of Consequences, together with one new justification unique to these findings, Lack of Demand. Findings shows that the more justifications used, the weaker CSR the firm shows, both through their own records/publications and during the interview. It is clear that one barrier for CSR improvements can be the thought about barriers itself. Middle managers easily identify material, strategic and financial barriers but fail to acknowledge that their thoughts on barriers can actually be a barrier. Findings show that justifications used by middle managers appear to be a key factor in why companies do not pursue ambitious CSR improvements. This thesis has contributed to existing literature by expanding the research field regarding new CSR approaches and Bandura et al.’s (2009) moral disengagement mechanisms. These findings could be of value for companies with the need to improve CSR since our findings show that justifications are barriers in the development of CSR within a company.