This study aims to analyze the crisis communication conveyed on social media by the Swedish government and public authorities in connection to the crisis concerning the burnings of the Quran in Sweden in the summer 2023. The study maps the messages and framings conveyed by the government, as well as which stakeholders they addressed. Furthermore, the study outlines the crisis response strategies found in the communication, and assesses which level of responsibility the government took on. The study found that messages highlighted the government’s limited room for manoeuver in the crisis, although also framing the government as actionable. Messages also focused on the importance of dialogue with foreign muslim communities, even though communication was mostly directed towards Swedish-speaking stakeholders. The Swedish government used crisis response strategies that implied both rejection and acceptance of blame. This suggests that they took responsibility for the consequences of the crisis, although not taking responsibility for the crisis itself. Furthermore, we conclude that the crisis has become complex, as it has turned into both a reputational and a societal crisis. The actionable steps that the government communicates about revolve more around the societal crisis, and ensuring citizens safety, than around the reputational crisis, and distancing themselves from the burnings, although this was done as well. This study shows that social media has become a central arena for crisis communication and highlights the complexities of navigating both are putational and societal crisis with multiple multicultural stakeholders.

I denna mastersuppsats undersöker författaren det möjliga värdet av karriärteorier. Värdet är empiriskt undersökt med utgångspunkt I tio fallstudier av intervjutyp. Författaren kommer till slutsatsen att kunskap om karriärteorier möjliggör en bättre förståelse av hur individer fattar karriär- och utbildningsbeslut. Författaren argumenterar för att kunskap om karriärteorier är, och bör vara relevant för vägledarnas profession och yrkesroll. / In this master thesis the author investigates the potential value of career theories. The potential value is empirically investigated on the basis of ten interviewee case studies. The author reaches the conclusion that career theories does enable a better understanding of how individuals make career- and educational choices and argues that knowledge of career theories is, and should be relevant for the guidance counsellors professional role.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur Parken Zoo använde sig av Facebook för att kommunicera med sina intressenter under en kris som drabbade organisationen hösten 2012. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ textanalys studerade vi de Facebookinlägg som Parken Zoo hade publicerat under krisen. Därefter genomförde vi en kvalitativ intervju med marknadschefen på Parken Zoo, som var ansvarig för kommunikationen på Facebook under krisen. Med hjälp av ett analysverktyg baserat på situational crisis communication theory och image restoration theory kunde vi avgöra vilka försvarsstrategier Parken Zoo hade använt i Facebookinläggen. Resultatet visade att Parken Zoo omedvetet hade använt många olika försvarsstrategier, men att tre tydliga budskap förmedlades i Facebookinläggen. Resultatet visade också att Parken Zoos syfte var att använda Facebook som ett dialogverktyg, men att de i själva verket använde Facebook för att sprida enkelriktad kommunikation. En slutsats vi kunde dra från studen var att det är viktigt för organisationer att vårda sina kundrelationer genom att bemöta intressenternas frågor och kommentarer på sin Facebooksida under en kris. En annan slutsats var att det är viktigt för organisationer att ha en god krisberedskap och att inkludera Facebook i den. / The purpose of this study was to examine how Parken Zoo used Facebook to communicatate with their stakeholders during a crisis 2012. Using a qualitative textual analysis, we examined Parken Zoo’s Face- book posts during the crisis. Next, we conducted a qualitative interview with the marketing manager at Parken Zoo, who was responsible for the organization’s communication on Facebook during the crisis. Using an analysis tool based on situational crisis communication theory and image restoration theory, we assessed which crisis response strategies Parken Zoo had used in their Facebook posts. The results showed that Parken Zoo subconsciously had used many different crisis response strategies, but that three clear messages were conveyed in the Facebook posts. The results also showed that Parken Zoo’s aim was to use Facebook as a dialogue tool, but in fact they used it for one-way communication. One conclusion from this study was that it is important for organizations to care for their relationship with the stakeholders by responding to their questions and comments on their Facebook page during a crisis. Another conclusion was that it is important for organizations to develop a proactive crisis management portfolio and to include Facebook in it.

Denna studie undersöker kommunikationsstrategier hos tre online multibrand retailers (Matches Fashion, Moda Operandi och Mytheresa) verksamma inom lyxsegmentet i modeindustrin under en global pandemi. Krisen har påverkat modeindustrin omfattande och bidragit till ekonomisk instabilitet. Modeindustrin är vidare extra utsatt då den består av globala försörjningskedjor. Givet krisen blir en lojal kundbas för företag viktig för att upprätthålla lönsamheten. Detta med anledning av av den höga kostnaden som förvärv av nya kunder innebär, vilket blir särskilt kritiskt under en lågkonjunktur. Forskningsfrågorna vilka studien ämnar besvara är (i) Hur förändras företags kommunikation till kund under en kris? och (ii) Hur försöker företag upprätthålla kundlojalitet med hjälp av kommunikationsstrategier under en kris? De tre företagens kriskommunikation som återfinns i deras nyhetsbrev analyserades genom att använda det teoretiska ramverket: Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), utformat av Coombs (2007). En kvalitativ innehållsanalys genomfördes med hjälp av ett strukturerat observationsschema på urvalet om 432 nyhetsbrev. I enlighet med SCCT-teorin (Coombs 2007) påvisade resultatet att de strategier för utformning av kriskommunikation som var mest förekommande antingen var att förminska eller kompensera för krisen. Vidare kunde det utläsas från resultatet att företag genom kommunikationsstrategier försökte upprätthålla kundlojalitet med hjälp av rabattkoder, realisationer, kundservice samt redaktionellt innehåll, vilka är kategorier som framkommit ur operationalisering av kundlojalitet. / This bachelor thesis explores communication strategies of three online multi brand retailers in the luxury segment in the fashion industry; Matches Fashion, Moda Operandi and Mytheresa, during an external crisis, generated by a pandemic disease. Thus leaving the global fashion industry and supply chains with severe repercussions, contributing to a fragile financial environment for companies. Hence, retaining loyal customers is vital for sustaining profitability due to the high cost of acquiring new customers, which becomes critical during an economic recession. The research questions being examined are (i) how companies’ communication towards their customers changes during a crisis and (ii) how they try to maintain customer loyalty through communication strategies during the crisis. By using the theoretical framework Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), presented by Coombs (2007), each company’s communication through their newsletters was evaluated and analyzed. A qualitative content analysis was conducted on a sample of 432 newsletters using a structured observation schedule with predetermined categories. In accordance with the SCCT-theory (Coombs 2007), the findings showed that the most common strategies for crisis communication were to either diminish or rebuild. Attempts to maintain customer loyalty were communicated through discount codes, sales periods, customer service and editorial content which are categories generated from the operationalization. The thesis is written in Swedish.

Under våren 2020 konstaterades att coronaviruset Covid-19 är en pandemi. Detta medförde restriktioner inom skolvärlden som innebar en påtvingad förändring att bland annat studie- och yrkesvägledningen nu skulle ske digitalt. Med frågeställningarna ”Hur ser utvecklingen av den snäva och vida digitala vägledningen ut för studie- och yrkesvägledare inom gymnasieskolan”, ”Vilka för- och/eller nackdelar ser studie- och yrkesvägledare inom gymnasieskolan med digital vägledning?” samt ”Vilka önskemål finns hos studie- och yrkesvägledare inom gymnasieskolan kring eventuell kompetensutveckling när det gäller digital vägledning?” är vår förhoppning att vi ska uppnå studiens syfte. Syftet är att undersöka huruvida verksamma studie- och yrkesvägledare på kommunala gymnasieskolor i sju kommuner i norra Sverige anser sig besitta de kompetenser som behövs för att anpassa sig till ett eventuellt nytt arbetssätt med digital vägledning, samt om och i så fall hur detta har utvecklats i samband med Covid-19. En kvalitativ forskningsmetod med semistrukturerade intervjuer användes för insamling av data. Vi har analyserat resultatet med hjälp av karriärteorin Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), och dess begrepp upplevd självförmåga, förväntat utfall och personliga mål. Av denna studie framgår att den snäva vägledningen fungerar relativt väl digitalt, medan den vida vägledningen upplevs som en utmaning. I resultaten lyfts fördelar med digital vägledning som effektivitet och tillgänglighet samt nackdelar som brist på personlig kontakt. Det framgår även att videosamtal föredras framför telefonsamtal bland de studie- och yrkesvägledare vi intervjuat, samt att efterfrågan på kompetensutveckling uppfattas som minimal. Framledes kan informanterna se att en kombination av traditionell och digital vägledning är att föredra, även när det blir möjligt att genomföra mer vägledning på plats. / In the spring of 2020, it was declared that the coronavirus Covid-19 is a pandemic. This led to restrictions in the school generally that meant a forced change that, among other things, career guidance would now take place digitally. With the questions ”What is the development of the narrow and wide digital guidance for career counsellors in upper secondary school?”, ”What advantages and/or disadvantages do career counsellors in upper secondary school see with digital guidance?” and ”What are the wishes of career counsellors in upper secondary school regarding possible competence development in digital guidance?” our hope is that we will achieve the purpose of the study. The aim is to investigate whether active career counsellors at municipal upper secondary schools in seven municipalities in northern Sweden consider themselves to possess the skills needed to adapt to a possible new way of working with digital guidance, and if so how this has developed in connection with Covid-19. A qualitative research method with semi- structured interviews was used for data collection. We have analyzed the results using Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), and its concept of self efficacy, outcome expectations and personal goals. This study shows that the narrow guidance works relatively well digitally, while the wide guidance is perceived as a challenge. Our results highlights benefits of digital guidance such as efficiency and accessibility as well as disadvantages such as lack of personal contact. Other results indicates, among other things, that video calls are preferred to telephone calls by the career counsellors when it comes to career guidance, and that the demand for competence development is perceived as minimal. In the future, the informants can see that a combination of traditional and digital guidance is preferable, even when it becomes possible to implement more face-to- face guidance.

On the Sunday 10th of March 2019 Nairobi-bound Boeing 737MAX8 Flight ET302 of EthiopianAirlines plunge in to the ground and kills all 157 passengers onboard. Consequently, the accidenttook attention of international media and people around the world. This study therefore aims atinvestigating the communication strategies employed by EAL when managing ET302 planecrash and various issues associated with the crash using the two stages of crisis management. Toachieve the purpose, Nethnography and CDA methods were employed. To analyze thecommunication strategies SCCT was used. Accordingly, it was found out that, EAL highlyapplied “apology”, “shifting blame”, and “corrective action” strategies in its crisiscommunication via Facebook and Twitter pages. Additionally, the fairly immediate responsesgiven to each issue, the media monitoring system and the empathetic approach contributed to thegood crisis management. The study also finds out that more attention was given to the Twitterand updates were faster than the Facebook page. The study concludes that previous good imageof EAL plays a significant role to the impact a crisis would have in addition to its effective crisismanagement via social media. Finally, it’s recommended that EAL should communicate moreefficiently on its Facebook page to uplift its accomplishments and meet its online publics in awide range.

In the thesis the author attempts to focus on what value Career theories (such as turning points, planned happenstance, SCCT and PEC) may have for guidance counselors, and their clients. The author describes a number of theories, then put them to use on a number of interviews where clients describe their present career situation to guidance counselor students. The author reaches the conclusion that career theories have an important value for guidance counselors and their clients; Career theories play an important role in helping to understand the client´s behavior and history of choices. Career theories can also be used by the guidance counselor to help the client in future choices.

The current study examined the impact that components of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) have on choice behavior and academic performance in African American or Black, undergraduate students. SCCT is a highly valued and researched theory, but few studies examine the impact that SCCT components have on choice behavior and academic performance in Black college students. This study focused on evaluating SCCT components’ relevance to variables that have been shown to predict later objective career success. This is important because African Americans tend to have significantly lower paying and less prestigious jobs, as well as attain lower levels of education than most other racial populations in the United States. However, there is a paucity of current career development and attainment literature specific to the African American undergraduate population. In an effort to promote understanding of within group differences in SCCT variables that can contribute to educational and career success, 247 African American undergraduates were recruited to participate in this study. The participants completed online questionnaires regarding demographic information, self-efficacy, contextual barriers, contextual supports, choice goals, and choice behavior. Participants also gave permission for researchers to access grades. Findings indicate that academic coping self-efficacy, contextual barriers, and contextual supports may be particularly important to academic choice behavior in African American college students. Further, choice behavior appears to be important to grade point average. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research associated with this study’s findings are discussed.

A 3 (crisis response strategy) x 3 (medium) factorial design experiment was conducted to determine if information graphics conveyed through online news sources may be more beneficial for organizational reputations during some crisis situations than the use of news videos and text-based news stories. Variables examined include cognitive and affective appraisal, third-person effect, behavioral response and crisis response strategy. Recent research in organizational crisis communications has pointed to the fact that more information is needed regarding how individuals react cognitively and affectively to crisis communications. Current crisis communications literature is also sparse concerning the behavioral aspects of crisis message reception and social media usage. This study addressed these concerns and built on the established framework of Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT).

Problem  Crisis management has never been as important as it is today. Considering that criticism is being spread in a fast pace through social media, the reputation of an organisation can quickly be damaged. Several organisations however lack internal knowledge about crisis management. The majority of the previous research about crisis management has been conducted from the organisations’ perspective. There is however relatively little research done from an external actor’s role in supporting an organisation in crisis. Purpose  This study aims to contribute in the crisis management and communication field by investigating how an external actor can support an organisation in crisis. Method  The study was conducted through a qualitative single case study of crisis management support provided to firms by one external actor, a PR-agency. Primary data for the case was collected from six semi-structured interviews. Conclusion  External actors are a suitable helping hand in crises because they possess experience and knowledge in media and crisis communication and can view the situation objectively. Crisis consultants support their clients by providing a response strategy that is built on being honest and open. Proactive and post work are not prioritised by clients but are highly important for crisis preparedness and building a strong reputation. Social media is a standard part of today’s crisis communication but is also a demanding channel that creates incentives for hiring external support.