The study is a participant observer study of the transformation of the city planning function of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM) from 5 December 2000 to 30 June 2002. The study is rendered in the form of a narrative told in the first person. The focus of the story is on how power and the aspiration to power influenced the actions of the people in the employ of the municipality and the relations between them during the study period. In this regard the story draws heavily on the work of Bent Flyvbjerg (1998, 2001). A number of recurring themes or golden threads are identified and highlighted through the narrative. These threads are analysed in more detail in the final chapter of the study. They are: -- The influence of power and the prevalence of different types of power; -- The role played by communication during the transformation; -- The lack of regard for people that characterised the process; and -- The inherent resistance to change displayed by the organization. The study unlocks opportunities for further study. It could form the basis of a comparative study with other cases of organizational change, particularly those related to restructuring in the other South African metropolitan municipalities. Furthermore, the struggle for recognition of the City Planning function within the new Tshwane organizational structure could be further investigated against the backdrop of the broader search for a new role and identity for the planning profession. / Dissertation (M (Town and Regional Planning))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Town and Regional Planning / unrestricted

This study examines the impact of covid-19 at the public libraries in Malmö (BiM) during 2020. Its purpose is (1) to investigate the strains BiM was facing during the pandemic, and (2) to contribute to the knowledge about which prerequisites that are needed in order to adapt to, pursue and eventually develop digital activities at public libraries. The research questions designed to fulfill this are: which organizational prerequisites were there in order to handle the situation that occurred with the pandemic? How has digital technology (digitalization or digital transformation) been used to pursue public librarianship? Are there prerequisites to maintain strategies that developed during the digital adaptation following the pandemic? A qualitative analysis of mail conversations and news letters relating to the situation, sent internally at BiM during the designated time span, was carried out as an initial step. To deepen the study, six interviews took place with individuals with different professions at BiM. Five of those were members of the management group, one had special knowledge of the so called “digital hub”. The analysis utilizes primarily organizational theory and secondary institutional theory as theoretical frameworks. More specifically theories about organizational inertia, organizational agility, mimetic isomorphy and elasticity. Organizational theory is used mainly to see how fast BiM was able to respond to the crisis, and to what extent the changes made, with digital and digital transformation in mind, can persist after the crisis. Institutional theory is used mainly to view BiM in a larger, institutional field. The main findings of the study show that BiM had sufficient prerequisites to handle the initial situation reasonably well. Digital maturity was already developed to an acceptable level. Initial anxiety, however, led to widespread sick leaves, and a reactive phase. One major reason to the anxiety was insufficient crisis plans. The utilization of risk and impact assessments covered up for this, and as anxiety decreased more proactive and agile adjustments started emerging. Digitalization played a major part in this, and was used as well internally, as externally. Internally primarily through communication and meetings. Externally through communication, but also through digital substitutes to regular activities such as book circles. The so called “digital hub” was instrumental to maintain functioning library services. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

Background: Over the past years, companies have competed in a globalized and dynamic environment which has forced them to implement various incentives in order to gain cost advantages. Companies have tried to implement Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) but many have not managed to get the expected results. Coordinating sales and operations remains a crucial challenge because of the multiple differences and conflicts in objectives and responsibilities, referred to as having a silo culture. As many companies have encountered this barrier in conjunction with an S&OP implementation, investigating the S&OP process in a company with functional silos and a complex planning process remains.  Objectives: The objective with this study is to provide a deeper understanding of how to manage the silo culture challenge, in order to achieve a higher S&OP maturity level in a manufacturing with a complex planning process.  Methods: The objective with this study was fulfilled through an in-depth empirical case study research in an Engineering-to-order (ETO) company. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with employees working in the departments involved in the S&OP process, along with a survey that was used to identify the organizational culture. Moreover, a framework synthesis was carried out in order to identify the most suitable S&OP maturity model for assessing the maturity level.  Results: The results revealed that no written rules or policies govern the organizational activities, but an organization chart and some job descriptions exists. The total work is divided, resulting in a functional organizational design. The results showed that the departments facing supply and demand, have different objectives due to their functional specialization and that no common goals exist between the departments. The results also showed that the prevailing organizational culture appeared as different among the departments. The S&OP diagnosis reveled that the S&OP maturity level was low on most of the dimensions except from the IT dimension. Moreover, it revealed the lack of a shared understanding of the S&OP process among the different departments.  Conclusions: The main findings for managing the silo culture in order to reach a higher S&OP maturity level was to: (1) possess a organizational design that facilitates cross-functional alignments, (2) focus on people by ensuring that the S&OP process is fully understood, (3) define clear job roles and job descriptions, (4) state goals for each department and incorporate common goals along with metrics for all departments, (5) incorporate a strong organizational culture with shared values and beliefs and (6) have a clear decision making process along with moving towards a decentralization in some areas. / Bakgrund: Under de senaste åren har företag konkurrerat i en globaliserad och dynamisk miljö, vilket skapat incitament för att erhålla kostnadsfördelar. Flertalet företag har försökt implementera Sälj- och Verksamhetsplanering (SVP) men få har lyckats erhålla de förväntade resultaten. Koordineringen av försäljning och verksamhet återstår vara en avgörande utmaning på grund av flertalet skillnader och konflikter i mål och ansvarsområden, även kallat för silo kultur. Eftersom många företag stött på detta hinder i samband med en SVP implementering, återstår det att undersöka SVP-processen i ett företag med funktionella områden (avdelningar) och en komplex planeringsprocess.  Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att ge en djupare förståelse för hur man hanterar silo kultur utmaningen, för att uppnå en högre SVP-mognadsnivå i en tillverkande industri med en komplex planeringsprocess.  Metod: För att uppnå syftet med studien genomförde författarna en djup empirisk fallstudie i ett kundorderstyrt företag. Data samlades in genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer med anställda som tillhör de avdelningar som är involverade i SVP-processen, och genom en enkät som användes för att identifiera organisationskulturen. Dessutom genomfördes en syntes av befintliga SVP-ramverk för att identifiera den mest lämpliga SVP-mognadsmodellen för att bedöma mognadsnivån.  Resultat: Resultaten visade på att inga skriftliga regler eller riktlinjer reglerar organisationsaktiviteterna, men att ett organisationsschema och ett fåtal arbetsbeskrivningar existerar. Det totala arbetet är uppdelat mellan olika avdelningar, vilket resulterar i en funktionell organisationsdesign. Resultaten avslöjade även att de avdelningar som står inför utbud och efterfrågan har olika mål på grund av sin funktionella specialisering och att det inte finns några gemensamma mål mellan avdelningarna. Dessutom visade resultaten att den nuvarande organisationskulturen uppfattas som annorlunda mellan avdelningarna. SVP-diagnosen avslöjade att SVP-mognadsnivån var låg på de flesta dimensioner förutom IT-dimensionen. Vidare avslöjar resultatet bristen på en gemensam förståelse för SVP-processen mellan de olika avdelningarna.  Slutsatser: Huvudresultaten för att hantera silo kulturen för att uppnå en högre SVP-mognadsnivå var att: (1) ha en organisationsdesign som främjar tvärfunktionella anpassningar, (2) fokusera på människorna genom att säkerställa att SVP-processen är fullt förstådd, (3) definiera tydliga arbetsroller och arbetsbeskrivningar, (4) ange mål för varje avdelning och inför gemensamma mål tillsammans med gemensamma mätvärden för alla avdelningar, (5) inför en stark organisationskultur som präglas av gemensamma värderingar och övertygelser och (6) erhåll en tydlig beslutsprocess tillsammans med att gå mot en decentralisering inom vissa områden.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur införandet av barnfridsbrott påverkade några yrkesgrupper som arbetar med barn som upplever våld i familjen, samt om arbetet förändrades efter tillägget i 4 kap. 3 § Brottsbalken. Syftet besvarades genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialsekreterare, barnutredare inom polisen samt en samordnare från barnahus. Studiens resultat visade att barnfridsbrott bar med sig ett fåtal förändringar vilka inte upplevdes särskilt omfattande. Därtill varierade förändringarna i dess omfattning mellan respektive yrkesgrupp. Det framkom även att det finns ett flertal hinder i samverkan och samarbetet mellan de olika yrkesgrupperna. I analysen framkom det att barnfridsbrott inte bidragit med omfattande förändringar i varken arbetet, eller för barn som upplever våld i familjen. Detta kan vara en följd av organisationers svårigheter att frångå en redan etablerad arbetsform, samt att samverkan tenderar att försvåras av yrkesgruppernas skilda arbetssätt och målsättningar. / In July 2021 the Swedish legal system introduced a new penal provision called barnfridsbrott which can be found in Chapter 4 of the Swedish Penal Code. The new provision stipulates that a family member or any other close relative exposing children to acts of violence, shall be held responsible in the court of law. The aim of this study was to examine how the new provision had affected the professional work with children who has experienced violence between family members or other close relatives. The study included interviews with different professionals such as social workers, children’s investigators from the police and a coordinator from the Swedish welfare agency barnahus. The results showed that the new provision only had resulted in minor changes which also varied between the professionals. Furthermore, the professionals discussed a number of obstacles that hindered effective co–ordination between them. This essay intended to study these results.

The aim of this study is to explore the complex system of sanctuary networks created to safeguard artists, journalists, publicists, and writers internationally. The two sanctuary networks included in the study are International Cities of Refuge Network and Artists at risk, both aimed to create sanctuaries and advocacy for freedom of speech but with different scopes and focus. The analytical methods used consists of system- and organizational theory tools, to map the components of the networks and contingency theory to analyze the external aspects that affect the networks. The mapping of the networks provides an overall picture of the organizational system structure containing permanent organization, cooperating actors, political actors, meeting points, funding and direction of process. The analysis show that the networks produce different types of safeguarding of artists, long-term and short-term. Both structures create pros and cons but complement each other in a complex system with a plurality of needs and solutions. Challenges that the networks face mostly consist of economic uncertainty and a need for flexibility towards external changes whilst needing structural stability to face challenges efficiently.

No description available.

The purpose of this report is to investigate possible relationships between the number of residential fires in Sweden and various weather parameters. The study is conducted based on a hypothesis as stated by the MSB, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, that behavioral factors related to weather can have an influence on the number of residential fires. Generalized linear models within the regression analysis have been used and specifically Poisson and negative binomial regression. The aim was to map the possible connection and determine if it was possible to use the analysis as a tool to improve the emergency services in Sweden. Temperature, short term differences in temperature and precipitation were analyzed with residential fires as the dependent variable, which resulted in a model for each municipality in Sweden. The relationships between the weather parameters and residential fires, seen throughout Sweden, proved to be weak to non-existent with one exception. The average temperature variable was significant in 117 out of 290 municipalities and indicated a relationship where the expected number of residential fires decreases at temperature increases. Due to the weak relationships, the model is not recommended as a prognostic tool on a national level. However, individual models could be used as a supplement to current prognostic tools at a local level and used for preventive purposes. Thus, the study has concluded that weather has some impact on the expected number of residential fires and thus has the potential to be used as a tool when forecasting residential fires. As an addition to the regression analysis, an organizational analysis of the emergency services in Sweden is carried out. The analysis sought the optimal structure based on the emergency services conditions and requirements, which were defined on the basis of organizational concepts and methods. The result was a more structured operation and organization where methods and processes are managed at a centralized level. / Syftet med denna rapport är att undersöka eventuella samband mellan antalet bostadsbränder i Sverige och olika väderparametrar. Studien genomförts mot bakgrund av en hypotes ställd av MSB, Myndigheten för Samhällsskydd och Beredskap, om att beteendefaktorer relaterade till vädret kan ha en påverkan på antalet bostadsbränder. Generaliserade linjära modeller inom regressionsanalysen har använts och specifikt Poisson- och negativ binomialregression. Målet var att kartlägga det eventuella sambandet och avgöra huruvida det var möjligt att nyttja analysen som verktyg för att förbättra räddningstjänsten i Sverige. Temperatur, kortsiktig temperaturförändring och nederbörd analyserades med bostadsbränder som den beroende variabeln, vilket resulterade i en modell för varje svensk kommun. Sambanden mellan väderparametrarna och bostadsbränder, sett över hela Sverige, visade sig vara svaga till obefintliga med ett undantag. Variabeln för genomsnittstemperatur var signifikant i 117 av 290 kommuner och visade på ett samband där förväntat antal bostadsbränder minskar vid ökad temperatur. På grund av de svaga sambanden, sett över hela Sverige, rekommenderas inte modellen som prognostiskt verktyg på nationell nivå. Däremot skulle enskilda modeller kunna användas som komplement till nuvarande prognostiska verktyg på lokal nivå, samt användas i förebyggande syfte. Därmed har studien kommit fram till att väder har viss påverkan på det förväntade antalet bostadsbränder och således har potential att användas som verktyg vid prognos av bostadsbränder. Som ett komplement till regressionsanalysen genomförs en organisatorisk analys av räddningstjänsten i Sverige. Analysen sökte den optimala strukturen utifrån räddningstjänstens förutsättningar och krav, som definierades utifrån grundläggande organisatoriska begrepp och metoder. Resultatet blev en mer strukturerad verksamhet där metoder och processer sköts på en centraliserad nivå.

No description available.

No description available.

One of the key features of the 2002 United States National Security Strategy was an abrupt shift from the traditional U.S. approach to proliferation threats that prioritized deterrence and promotion of nondiscriminatory nonproliferation norms, to an approach called counterproliferation that emphasized military preemption and direct challenges to adversarial state identity. This thesis asks the question, what caused counterproliferation to largely replace deterrence and nonproliferation as the central national security policies of the U.S. concerning unconventional weapons? The thesis argues that to understand this policy change requires not merely an appreciation of changes in the post-Cold War international security environment, but also an examination of how culturally shaped threat conceptions among American policymakers interacted with capabilities development and policy institutionalization within the U.S. military. As no current theory adequately addresses those dynamics, complimentary strategic culture and organizational theory models are presented as the framework for analysis. This thesis will contend that policy shift from NP to CP resulted from the merging of strategic cultural efforts aimed at legitimizing conceptions of proliferation threats as originating from state identity, with a military organizational drive to avoid uncertainty through the development of counterproliferation capabilities. Together these strategic cultural and organizational responses to shifting proliferation threats altered the menu of choice for policymakers by institutionalizing and legitimizing a policy response that directly challenged existing nonproliferation norms and practices. This thesis relies on a detailed case study of the evolution of counterproliferation policy from 1993 to 2002, with particular focus on the analysis of public discourse, declassified policy planning and Department of Defense documents, and participant interviews.