<p>Denna uppsats fokuserar på att fånga upp en relativt ny och växande företeelse inom elektronisk kommunikation, bloggen. Med min undersökning vill jag belysa bloggens möjligheter som ett kommunikationsmedel för ledare inom offentlig verksamhet samt öka förståelsen för vad en blogg är.</p><p>Ett utmärkande drag för bloggen, som är en uppdaterad webbplats vars startsida karaktäriseras av ett antal daterade texter i omvänd kronologisk ordning, är att den beskrivs som en dagbok med en personlig, subjektiv och vardaglig text utan krav på källkritik av innehållet. Bloggen beskrivs gärna som en form av ”gräsrotsjournalistik” men den används också som strategisk kommunikation till exempel av offentliga aktörer som politiker och företagsledare eller som ett komplement inom traditionella media.</p><p>Jag har valt att göra en kvalitativ textorienterad analys av tre ledares bloggar: Rektor Kåre Bremer vid Stockholms universitet, vice-ordförande Margot Wallström vid EU-kommissionen och generaldirektör Andreas Carlgren vid Integrationsverket. Jag ville veta vad de bloggar om, hur de använder sig av attributet och hur pass privat eller offentligt deras kommunikation är.</p><p>I min undersökning kom jag fram till att de tre ledarskribenterna använder bloggen/elektronisk kommunikation som ett strategiskt redskap att kommunicera men de gör det på lite olika sätt.</p><p>Margot Wallström använder sig av sin privata sfär som metod för sin strategiska kommunikation samtidigt som hon verkar i det offentliga rummet. Hon utnyttjar alltså sitt privata liv för att lyfta upp frågor som berör den offentliga verksamhet hon verkar inom. De två manliga ledarna använder inte den privata sfären utan håller sig till frågor som i stort rör deras verksamhet.</p><p>Kåre Bremer är den ledare som tydligast fokuserar på sin organisation och för ut ett målinriktat budskap. Detta sker genom att han i högre grad utnyttjar bloggens möjligheter till att skriva ofta och kort. Han tar upp och återkommer till ämnen eller frågor som han anser är viktiga att föra ut till medarbetarna i verksamheten. Han drar sig inte heller för att framföra synpunkter om sin verksamhet gentemot sina uppdragsgivare som riksdag och regering.</p><p>Andreas Carlgrens personliga brev utnyttjar däremot inte bloggens tekniska attribut eller internets snabba publiceringsmöjlighet. Hans elektroniska brev är allmänt hållna och långa samt utkommer för sällan för att upplevas som ett nyhet eller som en dagbok.</p><p>Professionen styr de tre ledarnas bloggar, man är medveten om sitt ledarskap. Deras samtalsstil uppfattas som personlig även om de skriver korrekt och med ett välformulerat skriftspråk. Endast Margot Wallström utnyttjar bloggen som interaktiv media med möjlighet till respons via inlägg från läsaren. Samtliga tre ledare poängterar att deras bloggtexter är deras egna personliga åsikter men helt klart är att den information som de förmedlar uppfattas som källkritisk korrekt, representativ och giltig.</p><p>Min undersökning bekräftar att bloggen bör ses som en formell kanal med en informell stil som ledningen med fördel kan använda som komplement om denne har klart för sig vilka kommunikativa mål man vill uppnå. Den får dessutom bäst effekt om ledaren utnyttjar bloggens tids- och rumsliga styrka.</p>

<p>This research was initiated due to the novelty of the topic. Humor is a common phenomenon in the daily interaction of many people; however this study is particularly interested in humor as used by managers. As a preconception to the study it was assumed that appropriately used humor results in benefits for a leader, thus we wish to explore how managers in Swedish organizations reason about <em>if</em> and <em>how</em> humor can be used as a management tool. For this purpose we employed qualitative research with semi-structured interviewing method. The subjects for investigation reside in Umeå, northern Swedish town, and are leaders in 8 medium/big sized, private, service companies.</p><p>The findings of this research suggest that managers often do realize the benefits of using humor and even consider it as a management tool. Our findings furthermore illustrate that the utility of humor to achieve the desired organizational outcomes of reduced stress, group cohesiveness, improved communication, creativity and leadership effectiveness is in fact very situation dependent.  We could also see that our respondents tended to attribute the use of humor to their natural skills as they reason that they rarely use humor on purpose. Interestingly though, our findings showed both that managers were aware of the effects of humor and that they often utilized the benefits of humor. We therefore conclude that humor thus instead is consciously used as the managers often clearly are aware of the beneficial effects that humor brings. However, we do believe that it could be difficult to state to what extent one implements the benefits of humor in practice since humor is, as mentioned by the majority of our respondents, simply a part of their personality.</p><p>We think that one of the most important things that this study can contribute with would be to inform the reader that it is acceptable and OK to use humor also as a manager or a leader. People do not have to be less serious or effective because they have fun at work. On the contrary there are instead many benefits with humor that our research shows and if implemented, humor could contribute to make the workplace more pleasant.</p>

Tooling design for manufacturing processes refers to direct tooling for making a part such as molds and dies for injection molded parts and metal stampings, or for supporting machining operations such as jigs and fixtures. This paper summarizes some of the R&D activities in those areas over a period of 20 years in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore. It is notable that increasing use of computer tools has turned what is used to be known as a “black art” into a discipline embracing both heuristic and scientific analyses. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

This research was initiated due to the novelty of the topic. Humor is a common phenomenon in the daily interaction of many people; however this study is particularly interested in humor as used by managers. As a preconception to the study it was assumed that appropriately used humor results in benefits for a leader, thus we wish to explore how managers in Swedish organizations reason about if and how humor can be used as a management tool. For this purpose we employed qualitative research with semi-structured interviewing method. The subjects for investigation reside in Umeå, northern Swedish town, and are leaders in 8 medium/big sized, private, service companies. The findings of this research suggest that managers often do realize the benefits of using humor and even consider it as a management tool. Our findings furthermore illustrate that the utility of humor to achieve the desired organizational outcomes of reduced stress, group cohesiveness, improved communication, creativity and leadership effectiveness is in fact very situation dependent.  We could also see that our respondents tended to attribute the use of humor to their natural skills as they reason that they rarely use humor on purpose. Interestingly though, our findings showed both that managers were aware of the effects of humor and that they often utilized the benefits of humor. We therefore conclude that humor thus instead is consciously used as the managers often clearly are aware of the beneficial effects that humor brings. However, we do believe that it could be difficult to state to what extent one implements the benefits of humor in practice since humor is, as mentioned by the majority of our respondents, simply a part of their personality. We think that one of the most important things that this study can contribute with would be to inform the reader that it is acceptable and OK to use humor also as a manager or a leader. People do not have to be less serious or effective because they have fun at work. On the contrary there are instead many benefits with humor that our research shows and if implemented, humor could contribute to make the workplace more pleasant.

CSR is a well-researched topic that can be used as a strategy tool, communication tool and leadership tool. In addition, CSR can be used with the Stakeholder theory. In fact, all of these theories can implicitly describe how employees are affected by CSR. However, this description can be more explicit if CSR is linked with HR. Thus, the purpose of this research is to explore how CSR can be used as an HR-tool. This research was a case study that investigated the situation in one company. In it, employees and managers were interviewed. The interviews had questions that would reveal the employees‘ opinions of CSR. In addition, the managers were given different questions in order to discover any differences between their and employees‘ views. The findings suggest that the case company‘s employees defined CSR as the responsibility for employees, societies, environments and customers. In addition, the employees expected the company to work with CSR. Furthermore, the findings also suggest that employees‘ commitment-levels will increase if companies work with CSR. Lastly, this research includes the Fridlund &amp; Olofsson Model (FOM) that shows the causal relations between CSR and HR. This research was limited to one office of one company in one country. Therefore, future research may discover whether the findings can be applied to other companies. This research contributes to the relative lack of research that links CSR with HR. Thus, this research may be of use to all people interested in the subject. In addition, the research includes practical implications; there, managers may learn how a successful CSR-wok can be implemented.

Summary This thesis discusses the possibility for PERSONEC to use storytelling as a strategic communicative concept in its marketing to mediate the brand identity of its organisation. In the search for this, we have chosen to describe the concept of brand identity and storytelling as a draft for the construction of the brand. We have then analysed how storytelling can be applied, and already is, at PERSONEC and also presented some recommendations about how storytelling could be developed by PERSONEC. In this thesis we investigate how PERSONEC communicates and manages its brand identity through the implementation of storytelling. Our main problem is: How can PERSONEC use storytelling as a concept to communicate its brand identity both internally and externally? This in turn involves two sub questions, namely: What is the brand identity of PERSONEC? And: What is storytelling as a concept and how can it be employed at PERSONEC? Data collection has been performed using a qualitative method. In order to find out about brand identity and storytelling, primary data has been gathered through interviews with key personnel at PERSONEC. Secondary data consists of results of surveys on public awareness of the PERSONEC image as well as results from customer satisfaction survey on PERSONEC. The findings have been analysed based on diverse theories on brand and storytelling. Our thesis has in the beginning an explorative approach which at the end results in a conclusive description. Theories, mainly from Aaker (1996) and Kapferer (2003) have been used to investigate the brand identity of PERSONEC. In accordance with their theories, the identity can describe the reality of the organisation and can be a tool to create a unitary illustration of the organisation, to be communicated internally and externally. In our results we have found that PERSONEC is symbolised by knowledge in personnel-, payroll- and financial management in the Nordic region with an experienced and diversified staff. Based on theoretical and empirical material about storytelling we have found key issues of the notion of storytelling. These involve discussions about the concept of storytelling, its area of application and how stories should be structured and also which aspects are important for this process. We consider storytelling as a concept to structure the communication of an organisation both internally and externally. The stories can act as a bridge between the organisation and the outside world and can also simplify description and communication of complex processes and concepts. In order to differentiate itself PERSONEC should continue to use storytelling to communicate its core values in a more emotional and engaging way. Stories reveal. Stories motivate. Stories bind individuals into teams. Stories create solutions.

Machining operations are widely used to produce parts with different shapes and complicated profiles. As a machining operation, broaching is commonly used for the machining of a broad range of complex internal and external profiles either circular or non-circular such as holes, keyways, guide ways, and slots on turbine discs having fir-tree shape. Broaching is performed by pushing or pulling a tapered tool through the workpiece to remove the unwanted material and produce the required profile. Broaching is also acknowledged because of its high productivity and attainable surface quality in comparison to the other machining processes. The objective of this thesis is to simulate the broaching operation and use the results to present a methodology for optimum design of the broaching tools. In the course of the presented thesis, a new B-spline based geometric model is developed for broaching cutting edges followed by model validation using 3D ACIS modeller. To study the mechanics of cutting and generated cutting forces during broaching operation, an energy based force model is presented which can predict the cutting forces based on the power spent in the cutting system. An experimental investigation is conducted in order to confirm the estimated forces. The integrity of the broached surface is also investigated by focusing on surface roughness, subsurface microhardness, and subsurface microstructure as three major parameters of surface integrity. An optimization procedure for broaching tools design is presented in this thesis. A mathematical representation of broaching tooth geometry is also presented which is used to simulate the tooth as a cantilevered beam subjected to a distributed load. The beam is solved considering the given design constraints to achieve optimum geometric parameters for maximum durability and performance. / UOIT

A common way of organizing Windows, Icons, Menus, and Pointers (WIMP) interfaces is to group tools into tool containers, providing one visual representation. Common tool containers include toolbars and menus, as well as more complex tool containers, like Microsoft Offices Ribbon, Toolglasses, and marking menus. The location of tool containers has been studied extensively in the past using Fittss Law, which governs selection time; however, selection time is only one aspect of user performance. In this thesis, I show that tool container location affects other aspects of user performance, specifically attention and awareness. The problem investigated in this thesis is that designers lack an understanding of the effects of tool container location on two important user performance factors: attention and group awareness. My solution is to provide an initial understanding of the effects of tool container location on these factors. In solving this problem, I developed a taxonomy of tool container location, and carried out two research studies. The two research studies investigated tool container location in two contexts: single-user performance with desktop interfaces, and group performance in tabletop interfaces. Through the two studies, I was able to show that tool container location does affect attention and group awareness, and to provide new recommendations for interface designers.

Sheet metal forming processes are mechanical processes, designed to make products from metal sheet without material removal. These processes are applied extensively by the manufacturing industry to produce commodities such as heat exchangers or panels for automotive applications. They are suitable for production in large volumes. A typical problem in forming operations is accumulation of local sheet material adherents onto the tool surface, which may deteriorate the subsequent products. This tool failure mechanism is named galling. The aim of this work is to explain the mechanisms behind galling and establish factors how it can be reduced. The focus of this work is on the influence of tool material for minimum risk of galling. Experimental tool steels alloyed with nitrogen were designed and manufactured for systematic tribological evaluation. Reference tool materials were conventional cold forming tool steels and coated tool steels. The sheet material was austenitic stainless steel AISI 304, which is sensitive for galling. A variety of lubricants ranging from low to high viscous lubricants were used in the evaluation. The properties of the tool materials were characterized analytically and their tribological evaluation included industrial field tests and several laboratory-scale tests. The testing verified that nitrogen alloying has a very positive effect for improving galling resistance of tool steels. Tool lives comparable to the coated tool steels were achieved even with low viscous lubricants without poisonous additives. The hypothesis used for the explanation of the positive effect of nitrogen alloying is based on the critical local contact temperature at which the lubrication deteriorates. Therefore, the contact mechanism at the tool-sheet interface and the local energy formation were studied systematically. Theoretical considerations complemented with FEA analysis showed that a small size of hard particles with a high volume fraction gives low local contact loads, which leads to low frictional heating. Also, an even spacing between the hard particles and their frictional properties are of importance. Nitrogen alloyed tool steels have these properties in the form of small carbonitrides. The finding of this work can be applied to a wide range of applications that involve sliding metal contacts under severe tribological loading.

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