Studien har undersökt hur ett förändringsarbete i en organisation förmedlats och tagits emot genom de hierarkiska nivåerna. Frågeställningarna har därför undersökt hur ledning förmedlat och motiverat ett förändringsinitiativ, hur mellanchefer tolkat detta och förmedlat det vidare till medarbetare och slutligen vilken form av meningsskapande och lärande som skett hos medarbetare. Tidigare forskning har bland annat visat att kommunikationen mellan över- och underordnad haft en stark koppling till hur en förändring tagits emot. Medarbetares meningsskapande har även haft en tydlig koppling till deras relation till organisationen och sina chefer där medarbetare bör känna en trygghet för att kunna ställa sig positiva till en förändring. Det forskningen inte visat är hur dessa meningsskapande processer praktiskt sker i de hierarkiska nivåerna samt hur dessa kan ses i relation till andra typer av organisationer i olika branscher. Metoden som har använts för att belysa dessa luckor är kvalitativa intervjuer då detta gett en bredare och djupare bild av medlemmarnas upplevelser kring förändring. Studiens resultat har visat att ledning måste skapa sig en tydlig bild av organisationens tillstånd samt ge utrymme för bland annat mellanchefer att anta en meningsgivande roll och därmed främja ett lärande med utgångspunkt i reflektion för att förändringen ska få ett lyckat utfall. Studien har även synliggjort hur en tydlig kommunikation är avgörande för att kunna skapa en samsyn och främja ett lärande kring förändring genom organisationers olika nivåer. Studiens främsta bidrag till forskningsfältet har varit att framhäva samtliga nivåers roll i det meningsgivande arbete som krävs för att nå en lyckad förändring. / The study has examined how change management is carried out and received through various hierarchical levels in an organization. The questions of this study has therefore examined how topmanagement communicated and motivated a change initiative, how the middle managers interpreted this and communicated it to the employees and finally what form of sensegiving and learning has taken place among the employees. Previous research has partially focused on how communication between the superior and subordinate has had a strong connection to how a change is received. The employees’ sensemaking has also had a clear connection to their relationship with the organization and its managers, where employees should feel a safe connection to the organization in order to experience the change in a positive way. What is less clear in earlier research is how these processes practically take place across hierarchical levels and how these can be seen in relation to other types of organizations in different industries. To contribute to this research field, the method used in this study is qualitative interviews as this method gives a broader and deeper picture of the organizational members’ experiences about change. The study's results have shown that the management must create a clear picture of the organization's conditions and that they give room for the middle managers to adopt a meaningful role, thus promoting learning based on reflection. The study has also highlighted how clear communication is crucial in order to create a consensus through the levels and to be able to promote learning within the change. The main contribution of this study to the field of research has been to highlight the importance of the role of different levels within an organization in sensegiving work, which is required to achieve successful change.

La thèse intitulée dans sa version originale ‘Strengthening weak organizations’ a pour équivalent ‘La force du faible : Une perspective organisationnelle’ en français. Elle a pour objet d’élucider comment une organisation faible et vulnérable peut se transformer en une organisation forte et pérenne. En intégrant l’environnement interne à l’environnement externe, la question telle qu’elle est formulée n’a jamais été traitée à ce jour dans la littérature en management. Cette recherche vise à explorer ce vide selon différentes perspectives afin de renforcer la robustesse et la pertinence des résultats proposés. L’étude se compose précisément de quatre parties dont la particularité est de répondre à la même question via trois designs de recherche. La partie #1 analyse le sujet de recherche selon une posture d’extériorité. La partie #2 et la partie #3 l’étudient selon une posture d’intériorité. La partie #4 combine les deux postures antérieures par l’intermédiaire d’une métatriangulation. L’ensemble de la thèse gravite autour du terme underdog qui signifie sommairement, dans le cas présent, une organisation faible et vulnérable. Il est essentiel de noter que chaque partie est distincte des autres au niveau du rendu final mais qu’aucune partie n’aurait pu voir le jour en l’état sans l’apport des autres. / This thesis entitled ‘Strengthening weak organizations’ translates to ‘La force du faible: Une perspective organisationnelle’ in French. It is intended to elucidate how a weak and vulnerable organization can transform into a strong and secure organization. By integrating the internal environment with the external environment, the question as formulated has never been investigated in the management literature before. This research aims to explore this void from different perspectives in order to beef up the robustness and relevance of the proposed findings. Specifically, the study consists of four parts whose distinctiveness lies in the examination of the same question using three research designs. Part #1 analyzes the topic from an outside perspective. Part #2 and Part #3 study the topic from an inside perspective. Part #4 combines the two previous stances by using metatriangulation. The whole thesis revolves around the term underdog which summarily equates herein to a weak and vulnerable organization. It is essential to note that each part is written as a standalone paper, but no part would have been possible without the contribution of the others.

Den ökade digitaliseringstakten i samhället har gjort att svenska myndigheter har intensifierat sitt arbete med att anpassa sina organisationer och verksamheter för att kunna utnyttja de möjligheter som digitaliseringen medför. Samtidigt visar tidigare forskning att cirka 75 procent av de organisationsförändringar som sker till följd av att informationsteknologi implementeras tenderar att misslyckas. Många ledare upplever även att de själva har svårt att skapa mening under en pågående organisationsförändring. En fallstudie har genomförts på Arbetsförmedlingen för att undersöka en organisationsförändring som har möjliggjorts till följd av ett automatiskt granskningssystem. Studiens syfte var att analysera hur ledare upplever den meningsskapande processen vid en IT-understödd organisationsförändring. För att besvara studiens syfte har åtta intervjuer genomförts med ledare på Arbetsförmedlingen och Myndigheten för digital förvaltning. Studiens empiri har analyserats ur en teoretisk lins av meningsskapande och meningsgivande. Resultatet av studien visar att ledare upplever svårigheter med att hantera den meningsskapande processen med anledning av en hög förändringstakt och ett intensivt informationsflöde i samband med organisationsförändringen. Resultatet visar även att ledare tenderar att hantera den meningsskapande processen olika beroende av deras tidigare erfarenheter av teknologi. / The increased rate of digitalization in society has caused Swedish authorities to intensify their work on adapting their organizations in order to harvest the opportunities of digitalization. At the same time, previous research shows that around 75 percent of all organizational change tend to fail due to the introduction of new technology. Leaders also tend to find it difficult to make sense during an ongoing organizational change. In order to better understand these two phenomenon’s a case study has been conducted at the Swedish Public Employment Service to investigate an organizational change that has been made possible due to an automated information system. The purpose of this study has been to analyze how leaders experience the sensemaking process of an IT-supported organizational change. To answer the purpose of the study, eight interviews were conducted with leaders at the Swedish Public Employment Service and the Agency for Digital Government. The data has been analyzed through a theoretical lens of sensemaking and sensegiving. The results show that leaders tend to handle the sensemaking process differently depending on their previous experience with technology.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge of the complexity of a crisis team consisting of multiple government. Furthermore, the consequences of the complexity on the sensemaking and sensegiving processes, regarding the crisis team in a natural disaster. Method: To be able to answer the questions regarding this study, the empirical data has been collected through six (6) interviews. The researchers for this study have applied a case study on the floodings of Mälaren December 2019. Therefore, the interviews have been done with the persons within this crisis team. Empiricism and Analysis: The theoretical framework that has been applied for the analysis of this study consists of three main topics, complexity, sensemaking and sensegiving. Conclusions: The final conclusions of this study identify that there are multiple factors of complexity that affect the sensemaking and sensegiving process. These complexity factors are: routines, preexperiences, excellence in specific field, terminology, missions, mandate and hierarchy. These complexity factors create frictions and possibilities for the crisis team in regard of the consequences of the complexity factors on the sensemaking and sensegiving processes. / Syfte: Syftet med studien är att skapa en ökad förståelse för komplexitetens påverkan på den meningsskapande och meningsgivande processen. Samt hur detta påverkar en krisgrupp bestående av flertalet myndigheter i en hantering av en naturkatastrof. Metod: För att besvara studiens frågeställningar har det empiriska materialet samlats in genom en kvalitativ metod, i form av sex semistrukturerade intervjuer. Då forskarna för denna studie har tillämpat en fallstudie grundar sig studien på översvämningskriserna i december 2019. Därmed genomfördes intervjuerna på respondenter som representerade olika myndigheter som samverkat i detta fall. Empiri och analys: Det underlag som använts till studiens analys är den teoretiska referensramen som omfattar litteratur om komplexitet, meningsskapande och meningsgivande. Slutsatser: De slutsatser som identifierades var att komplexa faktorer hade en påverkan på meningsskapande och meningsgivande processerna. Dessa huvudsakliga faktorer identifierades som: rutiner, tidigare erfarenheter, spetskompetenser, terminologier, uppdrag, mandat och hierarki. Dessa komplexa faktorer gör att meningsskapande och meningsgivande processerna skapar friktioner och möjligheter för krisgruppen.

The importance of incorporating Diversity Management (DM) in organizations has become a viral debate in recent years in response to social pressures worldwide. While there is extensive research on the effects of DM, how the implementation process is managed is much less obvious. Furthermore, DM is a multidimensional concept that lacks a universally accepted definition in terms of organizational practices, which presents operations managers with various challenges. To identify these challenges and how they are managed, a qualitative case study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with Top and HR managers of a listed, Large Cap company in Sweden. The theories of Change Agents and Sensemaking were applied to analyze the implementation process of DM within The Company. The findings were categorized into; (1) the challenge of mobilization, (2) the challenge of creating a shared meaning, and (3) the challenge of the diversity paradox. Based on these findings, the conclusions indicated that unity, communication, awareness, and persistence are important factors to consider when managing these challenges.

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Amidst a world grappling with escalating environmental and social crises, this paper delves into how sustainability can be integrated into the fabric of organizations. In this context, we specifically want to understand the dynamic interaction between organizational and individual sustainability narratives in German SMEs in their contribution to decision-making. By taking the perspective of the Communicative Constitution of Organizations Theory and integrating Weick's Sensemaking Theory with the Osgood-Schramm Communication Model, the study analyzes how these sustainability narratives influence sensemaking which is integral to decision-making. We collected our data by conducting nine semi-structured interviews with representatives from five medium-sized food production companies in Germany. Our findings highlight the dynamic interplay between organizational and individual narratives that shapes decision-making in German SMEs. We find that both types of narratives significantly impact the sensemaking process. This process is integral to forming organizational and individual identities that influence perspectives on sustainability and ultimately decisions. Individual and organizational narratives are interdependent, continuously influencing and reshaping each other. Individual narratives, rooted in personal experiences and values, not only solidify personal identity but also affect organizational narratives, aligning with or challenging them to steer strategic sustainability focus. Organizational narratives, meanwhile, provide a framework that shapes individual actions and perceptions, molding the collective identity and guiding culture. Middle managers are key in this ecosystem, serving as sensegivers and moderators who navigate and mold these narratives within the company. The study offers both theoretical contributions and practical recommendations for enhancing sustainability in small and medium sized companies, emphasizing the importance of personal and organizational narratives.

Denna studie har genomförts med syftet att redogöra för hur förändringsledare arbetar samt vilka sensemaking-aktiviteter som bedrivs och är återkommande i förändringar gällande IT-implementeringar inom den svenska sjukvården. Studien grundar sig på en fallstudie där det som studeras är förändringsarbetet gällande implementeringen av IT-systemet MetaVision på Akademiska sjukhusets centralintensiv, CIVA. Uppsatsförfattaren har använt sig av metodtriangulering och således samlat in empirisk data från tre olika sorters källor. Semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med ett urval av informanter baserat på deras profession, samt med projektets förändringsledare och superanvändare. Åtta stycken icke deltagande observationer har genomförts på avdelningen under fem veckors tid. Utöver det har dokument gällande förändringen samlats in. All insamlad data har sammanställts och analyserats. Studien mynnar ut en slutsats som belyser det faktum att förändringsledarens arbete och beteende är betydande för att förändringen ska gå att driva framåt samt att det finns specifika sensemaking-aktiviteter som ledare bör utföra under förändringsprocessens gång. Det går inte att urskilja enskilda aktiviteter som är viktigare än andra, då olika aktiviteter har olika betydelse i olika projektfaser. Detta beror på förändringens karaktär och vilken organisation som studeras. I denna specifika studie presenteras tre övergripande aktiviteter som varit betydande i det studerade projektets inledande uppstartsfas.

This thesis deals extensively with ‘the Art of Leading Oneself’. In the course of this paper, an understanding of the term ‘leading oneself’ is given. Furthermore a reflection upon the reasons why it is necessary in nowadays society and business world to lead oneself is provided. The core of the thesis constitutes a thorough discussion of possible elements of the art of leading oneself. In conclusion it is to be said, that on the basis of the knowledge of an individual’s frames of references, a framework of personal values and vision should be created. In a second dimension it is necessary to deeply reflect upon the inner Self and to gain insight about the authentic Self. Through the acknowledgement that an individual can learn from failures, the principles of the crucibles are described. In a third dimension, the bridge to ‘the Art of Leading Others’ is build and a rough overview of the necessities of sensegiving in the communication process is given. Concluded, it can be said, that it is of utmost importance to know and incorporate the authentic Self in every activity. / Diese Masterthesis behandelt und beschreibt im ausführlichen Maße ‚die Kunst sich selbst zu führen’. Innerhalb dieser Arbeit erarbeite ich ein Verständnis über das Konzept des ‚sich selbst Führens’. Des Weiteren wird über die Notwendigkeit der Selbstführung in der schnelllebigen Berufs- und Sozialwelt reflektiert. Der Kern der Arbeit konstituiert eine ausführliche Diskussion über mögliche Elemente des ‚sich selbst Führens’. Zusammenfassend kann gesagt werden, dass auf Basis des Wissens über die individuellen Bezugssysteme ein persönliches Wertesystem und eine darauf aufbauende Vision erstellt werden soll. In einer zweiten Ebene ist es notwendig eine tiefe Reflektion über das Innere Selbst durchzuführen um Erkenntnis der tieferen Einsicht des authentischen Selbst zu erlangen. Durch die Anerkennung und Wertschätzung seiner persönlichen Misserfolge sollte das Verständnis geschaffen werden, aus Fehlern zu lernen. In einer dritten Dimension wird die Brücke zur ‚Kunst andere zu Führen’ erschaffen und ein grober Überblick über die Notwendigkeiten einer sinnstiftenden Kommunikation wird gegeben. Resümierend kann gesagt werden, dass es von äußerster Bedeutung ist, sich selbst zu kennen und sein authentisches Selbst in jeder alltäglichen Aktivitäten zu integrieren.

When difficulties appear concerning the environment and the social relationships in teams, leading others become very interesting as well as challenging. I am sharing in this research an understanding of the concept of hardship in order to point out a main leadership issue, which is to lead others in extreme situations. It is a new and innovative approach of leadership within the business area based on the literature and completed by sailors’ experiences of hardship.Offshore sailors have the use to handle hardship situations alone as well as in crews, and they cannot avoid it when they are far away from the coasts. Thus when a problem occurs they must fix it themselves. During offshore races and expeditions, sailors have to deal with teams issues and cannot quit for going back home. Thereby, a boat, which is going to sail for few months without stop, is a real laboratory of leadership and social relationships.The starting point of this approach concerns the art of leading oneself, which represents a prerogative for a great leadership in extreme conditions. Indeed when a leader loses his or her self-control in extremes situations, he or she will probably not be able to lead others. Thus, in order to illustrate the literature approach to this concept, this thesis has been completed with an auto-ethnographical approach. I as a sailor have experimented hardship alone on my boat during some offshore sailing trips. I present an analysis of these experiences to explain the issues of leading oneself in such conditions. Thanks to the participation of some sailors experts in hardship, I illustrate the possibility to lead others in hardship context with the inspiration of their experiences. It is possible to lead others in very extremes conditions, and offshore sailors that I called hardship experts could represent a real inspiration to leaders, for a real and great leadership.