En mängd forskning har gjorts kring kvinnors hinder att nå chefspositioner och vilka fördomar kvinnliga chefer möter. Många studier visar att fördomar bottnar i bristande överensstämmelse mellan den kvinnliga könsrollen och ledarskapsrollen. Syftet med studien (n = 683) var att undersöka attityder till ledarskap och jämföra hur män och kvinnor inom två könssegregerade yrkesgrupper, sjuksköterskor och poliser, attribuerar manliga respektive kvinnliga egenskaper till ledaregenskaper. Hypoteserna baserades bland annat på social identitetsteori. Resultatet visade att bägge yrkesgrupper förknippade framgångsrikt ledarskap med både kvinnliga och manliga egenskaper. Dock var sjuksköterskors skattning av kvinnliga egenskaper kontra ledaregenskaper högre än deras skattning av manliga egenskaper i förhållande till ledaregenskaper. Signifikant högre grad av fördomsbenägenhet gentemot kvinnliga ledare kunde påvisas bland poliserna. / It has been shown that barriers and prejudice’s impede women’s progress to managerial levels. Studies show that prejudice’s derives from perceived sextyping of the managerial role. The aim of the present (n = 683) study was to examine attitudes towards leadership and compare how men and women within two gender segregated occupational groups, nurses and polices, attributes male and female characteristics to successful management. The hypotheses were based on social identity theory. Results revealed that both occupational groups associate successful management with both male and female characteristics. However, nurses’ valuation of female characteristics counter managerial characteristics was higher than their valuation of male characteristics versus managerial characteristics. A significant higher level of prejudice towards female leaders was found among polices.

Background: Increasing competition has led to a large interest for management control and leadership in Sweden. The controller’s role has changed from just including number crunching tasks to become more market and customer oriented. Therefore the use of controllers today is increasing within Swedish organisations. The role incorporates involvement in management decision making process. Organisational structure affects the work role as well as the location of the employee within an organisation. Purpose: Our objective is to explore how and why the controller roles in Sweden differ from one organisation to another. To make it more interesting a second dimension, organisational structure, is included. We aim to develop guidelines that can provide useful insights to already existing theory. A mix between the inductive and the deductive approach is used. Method: A qualitative cross case study has been performed where controllers from six different organisations present in the Swedish market have been interviewed. The organisations are operating in the clothing industry. Generalisation is not emphasised rather the uniqueness of each case is highlighted. A cross case analysis was performed to reveal differences and similarities between the cases. Conclusion: We have found that a divisionalised structure where the subsidiary is relatively large results in decentralised decision making. The controller belongs to an own function located straight below the CEO and is titled business controller. This controller is recognised to be an involved controller. The involved controller was also found in organisations where some influences of the machine bureaucracy were apparent. If the controller belongs to the finance function it is likely that he/she performs accounting related tasks and the controller role is recognised to be the independent controller. If the controller belongs to the purchase function and the adhocracy is found the split controller role is evident. To prevent confusion we suggest that more controller titles should be added and the title should also communicate what tasks and responsibilities that correspond to the role. If you belong to the finance function an appropriate title would be accounting controller. By looking at the organisational structure it is possible to get guidance for what the role incorporates and what tasks and responsibilities that can be expected. Variance will always apply since there are no rules and regulations for financial control.

The thematic core of the thesis is about how to manage modeling procedures in real settings. The view taken in this thesis is that modeling is a heuristic tool to outline a problem, often conducted in a context of a larger development process. Examples of applications, in which modeling are used, include development of software and business solutions, design of experiments etc. As modeling often is used in the initial phase of such processes, then there is every possibility of failure, if initial models are false or inaccurate. Modeling often calls for eliciting knowledge from experts. Access to relevant expertise is limited, and consequently, efficient use of time and sampling of experts is crucial. The process is highly interactive, and data are often of qualitative nature rather than quantitative. Data from different experts often vary, even if the task is to describe the same phenomenon. As with quantitative data, this variation between data sources can be treated as a source of error as well as a source of information. Irrespective of specific modeling technique, variation and interaction during the model development process should be possible to characterize in order to estimate the elicited knowledge in terms of correctness and comprehensiveness. The aim of the thesis is to explore a methodological approach on how to manage such variations and interactions. Analytical methods tailored for this purpose have the potential to impact on the quality of modeling in the fields of application. Three studies have been conducted, in which principles for eliciting, controlling, and judging the modeling procedures were explored. The first one addressed the problem of how to characterize and handle qualitative variations between different experts, describing the same modeling object. The judgment approach, based on a subjective comparison between different expert descriptions, was contrasted with a criterion-based approach, using a predefined structure to explicitly estimate the degree of agreement. The results showed that much of the basis for the amalgamation of models used in the judgment-approach was concealed, even if a structured method was used to elicit the criteria for the independent experts’ judgment. In contrast, by using the criterion-based approach the nature of the variation was possible to characterize explicitly. In the second study, the same approach was used to characterize variation between, as well as within, different modeling objects, analogical to a one-way statistical analysis of variance. The results of the criterion-based approach indicated a substantial difference between the two modeling subjects. Variances within each of the modeling tasks were about the same and lower than the variance between modeling tasks. The result supports the findings from the first study and indicates that the approach can be generalized as a way of comparing modeling tasks. The third study addressed the problem of how to manage the interaction between experts in team modeling. The aim was to explore the usability of an analytical method with on-line monitoring of the team communication. Could the basic factors of task, participants, knowledge domains, communication form, and time be used to characterize and manipulate team modeling? Two contrasting case studies of team modeling were conducted. The results indicated that the taxonomy of the suggested analytical method was sensitive enough to capture the distinctive communication patterns for the given task conditions. The results also indicate that an analytical approach can be based on the relatively straightforward task of counting occurrences, instead of the relatively more complex task of establish sequences of occurrence.

Konflikter finns överallt i samhället, inte minst i organisationer och företag. Att beskriva olika ledares sätt att hantera konfliktsituationer i sitt ledarskap var därför intressant. Syftet med studien var att undersöka ledares upplevelser av ledarskap och sätt att hantera konflikter. Undersökningen baserades på 14 intervjuer med ledare som har personalansvar från både privat och offentlig sektor. Studien är könsmässigt balanserad. En kvalitativ ansats valdes för att få en så rik och beskrivande bild som möjligt. Resultatet visade att ledare agerar utifrån en omedveten strategi för att hantera konflikter. Samtidigt framkom att det fanns paralleller mellan ledarskapstil och sättet att hantera konflikter. En könsaspekt beaktades också i undersökningen. Inga direkta könsskillnader kunde påvisas härvidlag.

When speaking about service encounters, one most often speaks about encounters in the private sector and about customers. This study explores the public sector and the service encounter between street-level bureaucrats and clients as opposed to the encounter between salesmen and customers. The focus lies on the conflicting demands that the bureaucrat is experiencing and how she handles the emotional labour that this conflict brings. The conflicting demands have been identified as commercial, bureaucratic and social, all of which are put into the context of the opposing demands of client and organisation.

The aim of this thesis is to gather insights on the underlying social factors behind the current state of controller roles in a multinational enterprise. Additionally, the thesis explores the possibility of managing perceptions and expectations of controller roles, in accordance to corporate business objectives. In order to do this, theoretical concepts of Role Theory, Boundary Spanning and Identity Control were utilized. This paper has a qualitative research design and is based on an embedded single-case study. Due to the exploratory nature of the research, the study is based on the method of „systematic combining‟. The objectives of the company were to establish both local and regional controllers as business partners. Findings indicate that the regional controller could focus on business advisory tasks to a large extent due to a formally appointed role, whereas the local controllers were restricted by their role and expectations to focus more on scorekeeping and managerial duties. The term „business partner‟ was spread throughout the organization. By ascribing this label to controllers, other expectations on the role were induced, which also infers a higher hierarchical positioning. Future research could go more in depth on the process of internalizing values.

Two factorsrole duality and school sizeimpact teaching principals abilities to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. Principals with significant teaching loads experience role duality a situation in which one person fills two distinct roles. Teaching principals experience role tension and conflicts between professional teaching concerns, leadership demands and management issues. Further tensions are created when policymakers demands fail to recognize complexities around the roles of a teaching principal working in a unique context (Dunning, 1993; Wilson & McPake, 2000). Specifically, though the tensions of role duality are known to be more challenging in small schools, exceptionally small schools are a different context altogether. My autoethnographic study examined the complexity of my teaching principals role in an exceptionally small rural school. It was guided by a central question: How does the context of an exceptionally small, rural school impact upon a teaching principal's role(s)? Sub questions included: (a) How do stakeholder expectations (school staff, community, division, Ministry) impact a teaching principals roles and responsibilities in an exceptionally small rural school? and (b) What challenges and opportunities does a teaching principal face in an exceptionally small rural school? Documentation from two daily personal journals and my what I do log during the 2009 2010 school year provided research data. My analysis focused on three themes: fractured roles, capacity to meet expectations and establishing relationships. This study added to current research rich narratives describing the impact of an exceptionally small school on a teaching principals role.

Many of these poems are largely concerned with women and are told through the voices of women. Most of the poems are concerned with relationships, specifically romantic and familial. The last portion of the manuscript has Popular culture as its subject, though many of them are also romantic.

El objetivo general de la tesis, es aportar una mayor comprensión de los comportamientos de rol que realizan las personas cuando participan en los equipos de trabajo en las organizaciones, y que los investigadores han relacionado con la eficacia del trabajo equipo. La investigación se centra en:I) identificar un conjunto de comportamientos que se dan durante el desarrollo del trabajo en equipo.II) diferenciar los diferentes comportamientos de rol de equipo,III) describir y redefinir estos comportamientos de rol para poder ser observados por cualquier persona que tenga que diseñar o liderar equipos de trabajo. En la primera parte se realiza una revisión del la literatura y del marco teórico del trabajo en equipo, estructurada en cuatro capítulos. En el primer capitulo se realiza una revisión de las diferentes teorías de la organización, para contextualizar lo que supone el trabajo de los grupos, desde una perspectiva critica, en cuanto a los factores que favorecen o inhiben el trabajo en equipo. El capitulo segundo se centra en una revisión de la amplia literatura, que aborda el concepto de equipos de trabajo, la construcción de los equipos, tratando de reflexionar sobre que se entiende por trabajo en equipo. En el capitulo tercero, se analiza el concepto de rol, y se abordan las diferentes teorías acerca de los roles de equipo. Finalmente, en el capitulo cuarto se realiza una revisión acerca de la gestión por competencias, abordando los diferentes modelos propuestos por los investigaciones actuales, para focalizar nuestro interés en la competencia del trabajo en equipo. En la segunda parte se definen las estrategias y el diseño de la investigación, basada en una metodología cualitativa, y de carácter observacional, en un universo de 584 personas que han participado en 22 sesiones de trabajo en equipo, durante el periodo 2000-2005. Para el análisis cualitativo del corpus visual (poco habitual en las ciencias sociales), se ha utilizado una herramienta informática del tipo CAQDAS, más concretamente el Atlas-ti, para la cual, se ha tratado de explicar con el mayor detalle posible, como se ha procedido durante la investigación. La investigación, aporta una plantilla de observación, configurada por 51 comportamientos observables, configurados en nueve roles, que desarrollan las personas, en una dinámica de trabajo grupal y que contribuyen al trabajo en equipo. Para cada uno de estos comportamientos, se realiza una detallada descripción del mismo, y además se facilitan unos ejemplos ilustrativos obtenidos a partir de la investigación. Estos comportamientos se han manifestado, de forma recurrente a lo largo del periodo analizado, con independencia de las personas y de las sesiones de trabajo, por lo que resultan fácilmente observables en un contexto organizacional, incluso por personas no expertas en psicología. Son por tanto unos comportamientos más unívocos, que ofrecen un menor margen de interpretación. Esta plantilla de observación, aporta conocimiento a los profesionales que habitualmente diseñan y lideran equipos, que les permitirá trabajar de forma más eficaz, para aprovechar las contribuciones de las personas trabajando en equipo. En cuanto a la gestión por competencias, la investigación aporta unas evidencias mas claras y cualitativas, respecto de cómo se desarrolla la competencia del trabajo en equipo. Finalmente, la tesis plantea futuras líneas de investigación sobre: la idoneidad de cada uno de estos comportamientos, en las diferentes etapas que atraviesan los equipos; la combinación ideal de roles de equipo en función de las diferentes modalidades de grupos (GTA, Círculos de Calidad, Tasck Force, Comités, etc.); su aplicación dentro Balanced Scorecard (indicadores de efecto) para inducir y evaluar la realización de productos colectivos por parte de los equipos; una investigación más cuantitativa de estos comportamientos en determinadas situaciones y/o tareas. / The general aim of the thesis is to contribute to a major comprehension of the behaviours within the roles that people realizes when they take part in work teams within organizations, and to determine what the investigators have related to the efficiency of the work team. The investigation centers on:I) Identifying a set of behaviours that are showed during the development of the work in a team.II) Differentiating the different behaviours of roles within a team.III) Describing and to re-defining these behaviours of roles, so that they can be observed by any person who should have to design or to lead work teams.In the first part a review of the literature and of the theoretical framework of the work in team is made, constructed in four chapters. In the first chapter a review is made of different theories of the organization, to contextualize the work of the group does, from critical perspective taking into account the factors that they favour or inhibit the participants working in a team. The second chapter centers on a review of the vast amount of literature that broaches the concept of work teams and the construction of such teams, trying to reflect on that can be understood by working in a team. In the third chapter, the role concept and different theories over team's roles has been analyzed. Finally, in the fourth chapter, a review is made over the management for competences, approaching the different models proposed by current investigations, to focalize our interest in the competence of work in teams.In the second part, the design and strategies of the research, based on a qualitative methodology, and of character observation of a test group of 584 persons who have participated in 22 sessions of teamwork, during the period 2000-2005. For the qualitative analysis of the visual corpus (not very common in the social sciences), the informatics tool CAQDAS, more correctly the Atlas-ti, has been used, so that an explanation of how the investigation proceeded has been given with as much detail as possible.The research puts forward a template for observations consisting of 51 observable behaviours, formed into nine roles which people develop in a group dynamic and that contribute to teamwork. A detailed description is given for each one of these behaviours. In addition there are some illustrative examples obtained from the research. These behaviours have been demonstrated repeatedly over throughout the analyzed period, separately from the people and the work sessions, so that they can easily be observed in organizational context, even by those who are not experts in psychology.There are, therefore, some beaviours that offer a lesser margin of interpretation. This observation template, provides an understanding for professionals that usually design and lead teams, which will allow them to work more effectively in order to make the most of the contributions from each team member. As for the management of competences, the research provides clearer and more qualitative evidence in relation to how competence develops within a team.Finally, the thesis poses future lines of research on: The suitability of each of these behaviours and the different stages that the teams goes trough; the ideal combination of roles in a team depending on the different modalities of groups (Circles of Quality, Tasks Force, Committees, etc.); its application within Balanced Scorecard (indicators of effect) to induce and to evaluate the realization of collective products on the part of the teams; a more quantitative research of these behaviours in several situations and tasks.

Women have been involved in the writing, illustrating, and production of comic books at almost every step of the genre’s development. The years between the late 1960s and the late 1990s were tumultuous for the comic book industry. At the societal level, these years were saturated with changes that challenged normative ideas of sex roles and gender. The goal of this study is two-fold: it documents the specific contributions to the comic book industry made by the women interviewed, and it addresses research questions that focus on gender, change, and comic books. This project asks: What was the role and status of women in the comic book industry between the early 1970s and late 1990s? By utilizing moderately scheduled, in-depth interviews with women working in the comic book industry during this period, this study explores their experiences and treatment while working in an insular, male-dominated field.