This thesis examines the relationship between organizations structure, culture and leadership. The specific organization that has been studied is Swedish secondary schools. The Swedish schools have a divided task, first to develop the students academic skills and secondly to develop the students socially and civically. This thesis has its interest on the schools social environment with special interest focused on questions regarding bullying and insulting behaviour. The data that has been used consists of interviews and questionnaires with students, teachers and principals in 24 Swedish schools that have been studied in a larger study. This work is a part of a project called Structure, Culture and Leadership – prerequisites for successful schools?.  The 24 schools that took part in the SCL study were divided in to four different groups depending on how well they are succeeding in reaching the social and academic objectives formulated in the steering documents. The main result show that principals that succeed to align structure and culture in relation to both the social and academic objectives are the ones that can be perceived as successful. It is these schools that have the lowest level of bullying and the highest grades. The principal takes social responsibility and takes questions in relation to bullying and insulting behaviour seriously. By doing that the principal can communicate the seriousness of the topic in order to develop awareness within the organization and a preventive work can therefore be possible. In schools that work with the students’ ability to be participative seems to develop the students both socially and academically. / Structure, Culture and Leadership - Prerequisites for Successful Schools?

Social regulation, as applied specifically to the telecommunications sector, is a new phenomenon in most countries. It was only in the 1960s, with the establishment of regulatory agencies, that social regulation became important. The regulators are mandated by their country’s legislative and regulatory frameworks to meet social objectives. This study examined the extent to which ICASA protects consumers as it is mandated to do by the Electronic Communications Act 36 of 2005. The study found that ICASA has adopted mechanisms of protecting consumers, namely by conducting awareness campaigns, road shows and workshops in all the nine provinces of South Africa in order to educate and inform consumers about the procedures of lodging complaints and to make them aware of their rights. However, despite ICASA’s endeavours to ensure consumer protection, most consumers are neither aware of their rights and how to efficiently exercise them nor the procedures of lodging complaints. ICASA protects consumers to a reasonable extent but it can do more when the enduser and subscriber service charter regulations are finalised. / Communication Science / M. A. (International Communication)

<p><strong>Syfte:</strong> kooperativa företag arbetar för en hållbar utveckling av sina lokalsamhällen. Samtidigt är social ekonomi bäst på socialt ansvar med en hög tillväxt inom Europa. Hållbarhetsredovisning har införts som lag för statliga företag from den 1 januari 2008. Därför undersöker jag hur olika konsumentkooperativ arbetar med den sociala redovisningsprocessen. Syftet med studien är alltså att undersöka och jämföra den sociala redovisningsprocessen hos de kooperativa företagen HSB och Coop, dvs vilka metoder, processer och mått för att mäta de sociala målen används och vilka fördelar och nackdelar har dessa.</p><p><strong>Metod:</strong> Ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt (och en induktiv ansats) har använts för att utföra studien. Data har samlats in genom intervjuer som kompletterats med annan relevant information. En kvalitativ analys och jämförelse av resultaten har gjorts mellan de två kooperativen.</p><p><strong>Resultat & slutsats:</strong> Coop och HSB har hållbarhetsredovisningar där de ekonomiska målen integreras i de sociala. HSB har en egen metod medan Coop har utgått från GRIs riktlinjer. HSB fokuserar på några frågor medan Coop har fångat de flesta frågor med social betydelse. Både den sociala redovisningsprocessen och dess resultat, det sociala bokslutet, anses vara nästan lika viktiga för båda kooperativen, lite större vikt läggs på processen hos HSB. Processen hos båda kooperativ liknar mycket varandra och är i princip samma. För mätningen av de sociala målen använder Coop både kvantitativa och kvalitativa mått medan HSB använder, än så länge, främst kvantitativa mått. För datainsamling används enkäter/webbenkäter av båda kooperativen och är den vanligaste metoden hos Coop. Orsaken till detta kan vara att via dessa kan man få både kvalitativa och kvantitativa svar. HSB använder dessutom medlemstidningen och gemensamma datakällor, medan hos Coop erhålls synpunkter genom medlems- och butiksråden och Medlemspunkten, en särskild plats i butiker där medlemmarna enkelt kan ge förslag på förbättringar eller lämna synpunkter (Coops hållbarhetsredovisning 2007, pdf, s. 38).</p><p>Bland fördelarna anges av Coop trovärdighet genom en transparent redovisning och av HSB att den underlättar samsyn och utveckling vilket bidrar till en effektiv verksamhet samt att den underlättar kommunikationen. Den sociala redovisningens nackdelar enligt HSB är att koppla indikatorer till aktiviteter medan Coop anser att icke-finansiell information kan uppfattas som svårtolkad och lättmanipulerad. Icke-finansiell information kan således vara svårt att tolka och mäta. Andra nackdelar är avsaknad av etablerade redovisningsregler (Coop) och kostnaderna ifall man skulle misslyckas (HSB).</p><p><strong>Förslag till fortsatt forskning:</strong> Eftersom studien har begränsats på två kooperativ skulle det vara intressant att undersöka flera andra kooperativ och jämföra dem med varandra. Dessutom kunde man även undersöka de två andra områdena inom socialt ansvar som inte behandlats i studien nämligen mänskliga rättigheter och produktansvar. En annan aspekt som kunde undersökas är hur utvecklingsarbetet för social redovisning utförs inom kooperativ.</p><p><strong>Studiens bidrag:</strong> Studien har bidragit till ny kunskap om den sociala redovisningsprocessen hos kooperativa företag, om metoder, processer och mått som används. Den kan vara värdefull för studenter eller andra som är intresserade av hur olika kooperativ arbetar med social redovisning.</p><p><strong>Nyckelord:</strong> social redovisning, metoder, mått, sociala mål, intressenter, kooperativ, HSB, Coop.</p> / <p><strong>Aim:</strong> Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities. At the same time, social economy is best in social responsibility with a high growth in Europe. Sustainability accounting has been introduced as law for state companies from 1 January 2008. For these reasons, I investigate how different consumer co-operatives work with the social accounting process. Thus, the aim of the study is to examine and compare the social accounting process in the co-operatives HSB and Coop, i.e. what methods, processes and measurements to measure the social goals are used, and what are its benefits and drawbacks.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> A qualitative approach (and an inductive) was used for the study. Data was collected through interviews completed with other relevant information. A qualitativ analysis and comparison of the results between the two co-operatives has been done.</p><p><strong>Result & Conclusions:</strong> Coop and HSB has sustainability reports with the economical objectives integrated into the social goals. HSB has its own method while Coop has started from GRIs guidelines. HSB focuses on a few issues whereas Coop has captured most of the issues with a social importance. Both the social accounting process and its result, the social account/report, is considered to be almost equally important for both co-operatives, but a little more weight is attached to the process by HSB. The processes by both co-operatives are very similar and, in principle, the same. For the measuring of the social targets, Coop uses both quantitative and qualitative measurements whereas HSB uses mainly quantitative measurements. For the collection of data questionnaires/web questionnaires are used by both co-operatives and are most frequently used by Coop. The reason to this could be that through these both quantitative and qualitative answers can be obtained. In addition, HSB uses the member paper and common data sources while Coop obtains viewpoints through the member- and shop council and the Memberpoint i.e. a special place in the shops, where members can give proposals for improvements or their point of view (Coops sustainability report 2007, pdf, p. 38) Among the advantages indicated by Coop is reliability through a tranparent accounting. HSB indicates that it facilitates a common view and development that contributes to an effective business and it facilitates communication. The disadvantages of social accounting according to HSB are to connect indicators to activities whereas Coop deems non-financial information possible to be seen as hard to interpret and easy to be manipulated. Non-financial information can thus be hard to interpret and measure. Other disadvantages are the lack of established accounting rules (Coop) and the costs in case of a failure (HSB).</p><p><strong>Suggestions for future research:</strong> As the study has been limited to two co-operatives it would be interesting to investigate several other co-operatives and compare them. Besides, the two other areas of social responsibility that were not discussed in the study, i.e. human rights and product responsibility could be examined. An other aspect that could be looked into is how the work for the development of social accounting is carried out within co-operatives.</p><p><strong>Contribution of the study:</strong> the study has contributed to new knowledge about the social accounting process in co-operatives, about methods, processes and measurements that are used. This can be valuable for students or others who are interested in how co-operatives are working with social accounting.</p><p><strong>Key words:</strong> Social accounting, methods, measures, social objectives, stakeholders, co-operatives, HSB, Coop.</p>

Syfte: kooperativa företag arbetar för en hållbar utveckling av sina lokalsamhällen. Samtidigt är social ekonomi bäst på socialt ansvar med en hög tillväxt inom Europa. Hållbarhetsredovisning har införts som lag för statliga företag from den 1 januari 2008. Därför undersöker jag hur olika konsumentkooperativ arbetar med den sociala redovisningsprocessen. Syftet med studien är alltså att undersöka och jämföra den sociala redovisningsprocessen hos de kooperativa företagen HSB och Coop, dvs vilka metoder, processer och mått för att mäta de sociala målen används och vilka fördelar och nackdelar har dessa. Metod: Ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt (och en induktiv ansats) har använts för att utföra studien. Data har samlats in genom intervjuer som kompletterats med annan relevant information. En kvalitativ analys och jämförelse av resultaten har gjorts mellan de två kooperativen. Resultat &amp; slutsats: Coop och HSB har hållbarhetsredovisningar där de ekonomiska målen integreras i de sociala. HSB har en egen metod medan Coop har utgått från GRIs riktlinjer. HSB fokuserar på några frågor medan Coop har fångat de flesta frågor med social betydelse. Både den sociala redovisningsprocessen och dess resultat, det sociala bokslutet, anses vara nästan lika viktiga för båda kooperativen, lite större vikt läggs på processen hos HSB. Processen hos båda kooperativ liknar mycket varandra och är i princip samma. För mätningen av de sociala målen använder Coop både kvantitativa och kvalitativa mått medan HSB använder, än så länge, främst kvantitativa mått. För datainsamling används enkäter/webbenkäter av båda kooperativen och är den vanligaste metoden hos Coop. Orsaken till detta kan vara att via dessa kan man få både kvalitativa och kvantitativa svar. HSB använder dessutom medlemstidningen och gemensamma datakällor, medan hos Coop erhålls synpunkter genom medlems- och butiksråden och Medlemspunkten, en särskild plats i butiker där medlemmarna enkelt kan ge förslag på förbättringar eller lämna synpunkter (Coops hållbarhetsredovisning 2007, pdf, s. 38). Bland fördelarna anges av Coop trovärdighet genom en transparent redovisning och av HSB att den underlättar samsyn och utveckling vilket bidrar till en effektiv verksamhet samt att den underlättar kommunikationen. Den sociala redovisningens nackdelar enligt HSB är att koppla indikatorer till aktiviteter medan Coop anser att icke-finansiell information kan uppfattas som svårtolkad och lättmanipulerad. Icke-finansiell information kan således vara svårt att tolka och mäta. Andra nackdelar är avsaknad av etablerade redovisningsregler (Coop) och kostnaderna ifall man skulle misslyckas (HSB). Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Eftersom studien har begränsats på två kooperativ skulle det vara intressant att undersöka flera andra kooperativ och jämföra dem med varandra. Dessutom kunde man även undersöka de två andra områdena inom socialt ansvar som inte behandlats i studien nämligen mänskliga rättigheter och produktansvar. En annan aspekt som kunde undersökas är hur utvecklingsarbetet för social redovisning utförs inom kooperativ. Studiens bidrag: Studien har bidragit till ny kunskap om den sociala redovisningsprocessen hos kooperativa företag, om metoder, processer och mått som används. Den kan vara värdefull för studenter eller andra som är intresserade av hur olika kooperativ arbetar med social redovisning. Nyckelord: social redovisning, metoder, mått, sociala mål, intressenter, kooperativ, HSB, Coop. / Aim: Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities. At the same time, social economy is best in social responsibility with a high growth in Europe. Sustainability accounting has been introduced as law for state companies from 1 January 2008. For these reasons, I investigate how different consumer co-operatives work with the social accounting process. Thus, the aim of the study is to examine and compare the social accounting process in the co-operatives HSB and Coop, i.e. what methods, processes and measurements to measure the social goals are used, and what are its benefits and drawbacks. Method: A qualitative approach (and an inductive) was used for the study. Data was collected through interviews completed with other relevant information. A qualitativ analysis and comparison of the results between the two co-operatives has been done. Result &amp; Conclusions: Coop and HSB has sustainability reports with the economical objectives integrated into the social goals. HSB has its own method while Coop has started from GRIs guidelines. HSB focuses on a few issues whereas Coop has captured most of the issues with a social importance. Both the social accounting process and its result, the social account/report, is considered to be almost equally important for both co-operatives, but a little more weight is attached to the process by HSB. The processes by both co-operatives are very similar and, in principle, the same. For the measuring of the social targets, Coop uses both quantitative and qualitative measurements whereas HSB uses mainly quantitative measurements. For the collection of data questionnaires/web questionnaires are used by both co-operatives and are most frequently used by Coop. The reason to this could be that through these both quantitative and qualitative answers can be obtained. In addition, HSB uses the member paper and common data sources while Coop obtains viewpoints through the member- and shop council and the Memberpoint i.e. a special place in the shops, where members can give proposals for improvements or their point of view (Coops sustainability report 2007, pdf, p. 38) Among the advantages indicated by Coop is reliability through a tranparent accounting. HSB indicates that it facilitates a common view and development that contributes to an effective business and it facilitates communication. The disadvantages of social accounting according to HSB are to connect indicators to activities whereas Coop deems non-financial information possible to be seen as hard to interpret and easy to be manipulated. Non-financial information can thus be hard to interpret and measure. Other disadvantages are the lack of established accounting rules (Coop) and the costs in case of a failure (HSB). Suggestions for future research: As the study has been limited to two co-operatives it would be interesting to investigate several other co-operatives and compare them. Besides, the two other areas of social responsibility that were not discussed in the study, i.e. human rights and product responsibility could be examined. An other aspect that could be looked into is how the work for the development of social accounting is carried out within co-operatives. Contribution of the study: the study has contributed to new knowledge about the social accounting process in co-operatives, about methods, processes and measurements that are used. This can be valuable for students or others who are interested in how co-operatives are working with social accounting. Key words: Social accounting, methods, measures, social objectives, stakeholders, co-operatives, HSB, Coop.

Social regulation, as applied specifically to the telecommunications sector, is a new phenomenon in most countries. It was only in the 1960s, with the establishment of regulatory agencies, that social regulation became important. The regulators are mandated by their country’s legislative and regulatory frameworks to meet social objectives. This study examined the extent to which ICASA protects consumers as it is mandated to do by the Electronic Communications Act 36 of 2005. The study found that ICASA has adopted mechanisms of protecting consumers, namely by conducting awareness campaigns, road shows and workshops in all the nine provinces of South Africa in order to educate and inform consumers about the procedures of lodging complaints and to make them aware of their rights. However, despite ICASA’s endeavours to ensure consumer protection, most consumers are neither aware of their rights and how to efficiently exercise them nor the procedures of lodging complaints. ICASA protects consumers to a reasonable extent but it can do more when the enduser and subscriber service charter regulations are finalised. / Communication Science / M. A. (International Communication)

There are three starting points for this thesis. First, there is the system of ESD, which is criticised for lacking capacity to improve the working conditions within the EU. Secondly, there is the system developed through the global ITF FOC campaign, which is considered to have capacity to improve working conditions for seafarers at a global level. Thirdly, there is the theory on self-referential autopoietic systems, which is a useful tool for analysing systems of industrial relations and their functions. The purpose of this thesis is to deepen the understanding of the function of the ESD in relation to the development of EU legislation and policy with the aim of trying to find a model for providing a holistic analysis of regulatory systems for the labour market. The research questions are: ‘How can the significant differences and similarities between the ESD and the global ITF FOC campaign be understood?’ and ‘Why is the ESD generally regarded as lacking the capacity needed for producing results that improve working conditions, while the ITF FOC is considered to have such capacity?’ The theoretical framework used for the analysis is Luhmann’s theory on autopoietic systems. Since the thesis has a normative core I have applied a methodological model that consists of a two-layer analysis at both the empirical and theoretical level. Firstly an analysis of positivistic values has been carried out and secondly an analysis of hermeneutic values. The empirical material consists of documents and texts that can be considered part of or reflecting the communication of the studied systems. The main conclusion is that whereas the ITF FOC system is a traditional system of industrial relations based on the binary code of negotiable or non-negotiable between collective actors the ESD is a system of industrial relations based on a less clear binary code of discussable or non-discussable. The ESD is also subject to less developed communicative structures that negatively affect the system’s capacity both to produce results and to secure the efficient implementation and application of these results. This makes the ESD as a system more sensitive to hermeneutic values framing the programming of structurally coupled systems causing difficulties for the ESD to challenge such hermeneutic values.