The purpose of this study was to identify what business executives do to counteract unwanted cultures within male dominated trades. This study will investigate two questions that are based on how business management experience the culture within an organization and what they do to actively prevent unwanted norms, attitudes and values in a work place. Nine semistructured interviews were conducted utilizing a qualitative method. All interviewees were in a position of power within male dominated trades. Collected data was analysed with an inductive thematic analysis which resulted in four main themes. The first main theme was trade culture, within which jargon and generational shift are discussed. The second main theme was the challenges and advantages of leadership. This theme discusses company leaders' ability to correct behaviors and be a good role model. It is also about diversity and employer - employee relations. The third main theme was safety culture, which concerns the idea of clarifying and reinforcing certain behaviors and expectations. The fourth and last main theme was the work of change. This theme enlightens the support that leaders may offer, as well as the values that permeate a workplace.

No description available.

Strengthening the safety culture with the aim to build safe and healthy workplaces is in focus for many organizations. Safety and health is affected by various factors as for example systematic safety management, management focus, an informed culture, participation, involvement, social processes and empowerment. The studied mining company Boliden have had an extensive safety culture project at one of the units, the concentrator in Garpenberg. The aim of this study was to find out what activities and methods the unit has implemented and which of these that seem to have the greatest influence on improving the safety culture. There are few studies giving managers and organizations more of practical guidance and previous studies of safety culture in the mining industry is also rare. This qualitative study was conducted through analysis of company documents, participative observation and interviews. The result showed employees perception of a strengthened safety culture with changed safety behaviours, ownership in the organization, confidence to give feedback and entrepreneurs on track with safety. The project was also perceived to have led to stress in the organization, with lack of resources partly affected by the time taken to participate. The accident rate has also been decreased, from several accidents with absence per year, to 490 days without accidents with absence. The result also showed that the most influential factors seems to be the safety and health management system that is fully integrated with production and quality, the visualization on whiteboards, the daily steering meetings and the communication coming from them, the management clear safety focus, the unit’s teamwork with behaviours and values and the broad and continuing participation. Improvement suggestions from the interviewees were both more standardization and instructions but also that too detailed instructions are perceived negative, the analyse is that it can hinder creativity. Other suggestions were stepwise implementation and a wish for more time to stabilize the result of the project. A conclusion from the study is that the safety culture project seems to have made a great effect at the unit, strengthening the safety culture. An overall conclusion is that the unit seems to have both a system and a cultural approach, with the somewhat unique and innovative health and safety management system that govern for a systematic and sustainable way of working, with integrated reminders of safety behaviours. This may be the core affecting factor of what seems to have been a very successful project. / Att stärka säkerhetskulturen med målet att bygga säkra och hälsosamma arbetsplatser är i fokus för många organisationer. Säkerhet och hälsa påverkas av olika faktorer som till exempel systematisk säkerhetsarbete, fokus hos chefer och ledare, en informerad kultur, delaktighet, involvering, sociala processer och delegerat ansvar. Det studerade gruvbolaget Boliden har haft ett omfattande säkerhetskulturprojekt på en av enheterna, anrikningsverket i Garpenberg. Syftet med denna studie var att ta reda på vilka aktiviteter och metoder som enheten har genomfört och vilka av dessa som verkar ha störst påverkan på en förstärkt säkerhetskultur. Det finns få studier som ger chefer och organisationer mer av en praktisk vägledning och tidigare studier av säkerhetskultur i gruvindustrin är också sällsynta. Denna kvalitativa studie genomfördes med analys av företagsdokument, deltagande observationer och intervjuer. Resultatet visade medarbetarnas upplevelse kring en stärkt säkerhetskultur med förändrade säkerhetsbeteenden, ägarskap i organisationen, trygghet att ge feedback och att entreprenörerna medverkar i säkerhetsarbetet. Projektet uppfattas också ha lett till stress i organisationen, med brist på resurser som delvis påverkas av den tid det tar att vara delaktig. Olycksstatistiken har också minskat, från flera olyckor med frånvaro per år, till 490 dagar utan olyckor med frånvaro. Resultatet visade också att de mest påverkande faktorerna verkar vara arbetsmiljöledningssystemet som är fullt integrerat med produktion och kvalitet, visualiseringen på whiteboards, de dagliga styrmötena och kommunikationen runt dessa, ledningens tydliga säkerhetsfokus, arbetet i grupperna kring beteenden och värderingar samt den breda och löpande delaktigheten. Förbättringsförslag från de intervjuade var både mer standardisering och instruktioner men också att för mycket detaljerade instruktioner upplevs negativt och kan minska den egna kreativiteten. Andra förslag var att gradvis implementera förändringarna och också en önskan om mer tid att stabilisera resultatet av projektet. En slutsats från studien är att säkerhetskulturprojektet verkar ha gjort stor effekt på enheten och stärkt säkerhetskulturen. En övergripande slutsats är att enheten har både ett system- och ett kulturellt angreppssätt, med det något unika och innovativa arbetsmiljöledningssystemet som ger ett systematiskt och hållbart sätt att arbeta med integrerade påminnelser om säkerhetsbeteenden. Detta kan vara det som haft störst bidrag till vad som verkar ha varit ett mycket framgångsrikt projekt.

Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Corporate Social Responsibility is a new agenda within the sustainable development debates. There have been several debates to question the role of business on the social and community linked issues such as HIV and AIDS which not only threatens their own survival but the very existence of the workforce and the communities. The debate also questions the role of the business on social accountability as to whether they should be held accountable and responsible for their actions to the employees and the wider society. In view of this debate the aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of Corporate Social Responsibility in management of HIV and AIDS at work place-a Case Study of Garment Industries in Thetsane, Maseru. Objective: To investigate the approaches used by Garment Industries in management of HIV and AIDS at workplace. Secondly, to investigate what contributes to the differences in the approaches between different garment industries, and finally to explore the factors, which motivated garment industries to adopt these approaches or programmes. This was a case study involving four garment industries that have work place programmes. Findings: Garment industries have limited resources to support HIV and Aids programmes at work place. Majority of the garment industries depend on support from the development agencies and the private Doctors, in the area of condom distribution, awareness, education and provision of medical care to their employees.

Studien grundar sig i ett uppdrag från Trafikverket där syftet var att undersöka hur en bransch kan arbeta strategiskt med att skapa attraktivitet och hur employer brand-arbete kan bedrivas. Fokus låg på järnvägsbranschen med anledning av att det är en bransch som upplever kompetensförsörjningssvårigheter och kan därför anses ha tappat i attraktivitet. Resultatet visar att det finns svårigheter avseende attraktivitetsarbete därför att en generell definition är komplex till följd av att individer efterfrågar olika saker. Det som är viktigt är dock att ett employee value proposition upprättas och att det som förmedlas även är det som levereras till medarbetarna. Attraktivitetsarbetet är därför kopplat till employer branding. Vid employer brand-arbete är det även viktigt att definiera målgrupp och att använda sig av kreativ marknadsföring där sociala medier med fördel kan användas. Resultatet visar även att järnvägsbranschen upplevs som en anonym bransch som inte når ut med tillräckligt mycket information om vad de kan erbjuda. Medverkande intervjupersoner menar att järnvägsbranschen behöver bli bättre på att synliggöra sig bland annat genom att visa upp sig på skolor och sända material till studie- och yrkesvägledarna med information om vilka utbildningar som finns. Employer brand-specialister från fyra olika företag samt fem studie- och yrkesvägledare har deltagit i studien via semistrukturerade intervjuer. Den kvalitativa metoden har bidragit till att ge ett djup och förståelse för studiens frågeställningar. En analys gjordes utifrån teorier kring "det förändrade arbetslivet", employer branding, attraktivt arbete och marknadsföringsstrategier. Analysen visar att det föränderliga samhället ställer andra krav på arbete, men samtidigt belyses att kraven skiljer sig åt beroende på vem som tillfrågas. Att använda sig av väl uttänkta marknadsföringsstrategier kopplat till vad det är en organisation vill nå ut med är därför en viktig del i bedrivandet av ett employer brand-arbete, och särskilt viktigt för järnvägsbranschen. / The study is based on an assignment from Trafikverket, where the purpose was to investigate how an industry can work strategically to create attractiveness and how employer brand work can be done. The focus was on the rail industry due to the fact that it is an industry experiencing skills supply difficulties and can therefore be regarded as having lost in attractiveness. The result shows that there is difficulty in attractiveness work because a general definition is complex due to individuals asking for different things. What is important, however, is that a employee value proposition is established and that what is conveyed is also what is delivered to the employees. Work attractiveness is therefore linked to employer branding. In the case of employer branding, it is also important to define target groups and to use creative marketing where social media can be used to advantage. The result also shows that the rail industry is perceived as an anonymous industry that does not reach out with enough information about what they can offer. Contributing interviewees mean that the rail industry needs to be better at visibility, for example by showing up at schools and sending materials to the study and career counsellors with information about which courses are available. Employer brand specialists from four different companies and five study and career counsellors have participated in the study through semi-structured interviews. The qualitative method has contributed to deepening and understanding the study's questions. An analysis was made based on theories about "the changed work life", employer branding, attractive work and marketing strategies. The analysis shows that changing society places other demands on work, but at the same time it is emphasized that the requirements differ depending on who is asked. Using well-thought-out marketing strategies linked to what an organization wants to accomplish is therefore an important part of the pursuit of an employer's brand work, and especially important for the rail industry.

Accidents cause economic losses to the company as well as suffering and general discontent among the employees. With an increased global responsibility, companies are not only answerable for what goes on inside their own gates but also for retailers and customers. When the packaging becomes a danger, how will we know what to replace it with? At IMI Hydronic Engineering, employees hurt themselves on the metal staples that seal the cartons, but is replacing metal staples with plastic tape an economical and safely viable option? This thesis dives into the workplace environment and collects data from semi-structural interviews with the employees and an evaluation of internal accident records. The main focuses are safety and economics, although the economy aspect has had to stand back due to the lack of empirical data. The results show that the tools and systems in place to protect the employees, where applied, are working and the workers believe that their job could be executed with a lower risk, perhaps even without a loss of production. The suggestion to the company is that to fully understand the costs, a collection of data regarding the current costs is needed and that usage of gloves by the employees might help lower the number of accidents per year. Suggestions for further studies include ecological aspects, profit versus costs and product returns due to inadequate packaging.

The theme of the completed diploma thesis is A Marketing Strategy for Protected Work Places of NGOs in South Bohemia. In the theoretical part I focus on the definition and meaning of marketing, stategic management, the marketing process, the marketing environment, the buying behavior of consumers, marketing research. In the next section I describe the legislative basis for protected work places and I name protected work places of NGOs in South Bohemia. Then I describe the employment of people with disabilities, and I attempt to define the concept of a non-profit organization. For completion purposes, I briefly define the term South Bohemia. In the practical part I deal with the results of the research and draft a proposal for marketing strategies for the sale of products from protected work places. The practical part relates to the main goals of the diploma thesis. The first goal of the work was to map out a marketing strategy for protected work places of NGOs in South Bohemia. The second goal was to map out the opinions of the wider public in relation to the purchase of products from protected work places. The first stated hypothesis was: Protected work places of NGOs in South Bohemia do not optimally use the tools of the marketing mix to sell their products. The second stated hypothesis was: A marketing strategy has an effect on the sale of products in protected work places of NGOs in South Bohemia. I chose quantitative research with subsequent statistical data processing. The data was collected through standardized interview techniques and surveys. In both cases, the improbability of sampling techniques was used. The basic collection in terms of quantitative research was the management of protected work places of NGOs in South Bohemia and the wider public. Through standardized telephone interviews, the chosen collection of required data for the research was acquired. Due to the chosen technology. The survey, which in its form came close to being a questionnaire, was used in this thesis as an additional source of information, and was also used to acquire the primary data from the chosen sample. The sample was chosen at random. There were 94 total respondents. Through the research results which are related to the first goal, we can say that the explanatory function of the first hypothesis was not confirmed. In fact, protected work places of NGOs in South Bohemia use optimal tools of the marketing mix for the sale of their products. From the research results which are related to the second goal, we can say that the explanatory function of the second hypothesis was confirmed. With certainty we can say that a marketing strategy has an effect on the sale of products of protected work places of NGOs in South Bohemia.From the research results of controlled interviews with management of protected work places, it is evident that in addition to the long-term interests of the organization, protected work places are beginning to be interested in the desires and needs of their customers. They prefer segmented marketing, they monitor their competitors and concern themselves with competitive advantage. On the other hand, they do not engage in comprehensive marketing research and they do not create strategic marketing plans. In terms of the marketing mix, it was discovered that the quality of the products is important to those surveyed. In the communication mix, organizations mainly work with tools which can be used with lower costs.The research results of the wider public showed that the majority of respondents are aware of protected work places, but they consider their products to be unavailable. The main reason for the purchase of products from protected work places is to provide financial assistance. While respondents expect quality and attractively designed products for which they are willing to pay a higher price, the decisive incentive for the purchase may be lower-price products.

No description available.

Arbeitsplätze im Gartenbau sind trotz fortschreitender Mechanisierung durch einen hohen Anteil an Handarbeit gekennzeichnet. Die aktuellen Rahmenbedingungen im Gartenbau erfordern für die Zukunft einen effizienteren Einsatz des Faktors Arbeit in wirtschaftlichen und an Attraktivität gewinnenden Arbeitssystemen. Die Entwicklung solcher Systeme erfordert ein Verfahren zur objektiven Bewertung vorhandener und neuer Betriebs- und Arbeitsabläufe. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt die Weiterentwicklung eines auf der Verfolgung von Infrarot-Leuchtdioden basierenden 3-D-Bewegungsanalysesystems. Dazu wurde das Kamerasystem der Firma Wente/Thiedig um eine vom System unabhängige Software erweitert. Die für die Bewertung herangezogenen Indikatoren werden ausführlich beschrieben und im Ergebnisteil auf ihre Eignung überprüft. Aufgrund der digitalen Aufzeichnung der Bewegungen erhöht sich die Aussagekraft durch einen größeren Stichprobenumfang und eine höhere Messgenauigkeit erheblich. Um die Aussagekraft und den Erkenntnisgewinn aus den softwareseitig ermittelten Indikatoren zu überprüfen, wurden Anwendungsversuche mit verschiedenen Fragestellungen durchgeführt, die im zweiten Teil der Arbeit beschrieben werden. Am Beispiel der Produktauflage auf ein Förderband werden die Einflüsse spezifischer Gestaltungsparameter auf die Leistungsfähigkeit des Gesamtsystems verdeutlicht. Die Veränderung der Bandgeschwindigkeit wirkte sich stark auf die erzielten Leistungen aus. In einem weiteren Versuch werden zwei Sitzplätze auf Spargelerntehilfen über die Bewegungsanalyse miteinander verglichen. Mehrere Indikatoren belegen die Vorzüge des mit Kniepolstern ausgestatteten Sitzplatzes. Die Ergebnisse der beiden Versuche zeigen, dass es gelungen ist, zahlreiche relevante Indikatoren für den Vergleich der aufgezeichneten Bewegungen zu bilden. Der Nutzer gewinnt aus den Bewegungsdaten Informationen, die eine objektive Entscheidungsfindung ermöglichen. Als besonders wertvoll ist der Erkenntnisgewinn bezüglich einer menschengerechten Arbeitsplatzgestaltung zu bewerten, um für die Weiterentwicklung gartenbaulicher Arbeitssysteme neben der Wirtschaftlichkeit andere Entscheidungskriterien zu fördern. / Despite the fast technical progress modern horticultural work places still require a lot of manual work. The current development in the horticultural sector demands a more efficient implementation of manpower and an increasing attractiveness of simple manual tasks for the future. The design of such systems demands a method to objectively evaluate present and new work systems. This thesis describes a largely improved 3-D-motion analysis system based on the tracking of infrared light diodes. The camera system manufactured by Wente/Thiedig is extended by a newly developed independent software to evaluate the motion data. From the recorded motion data quantitative parameters and qualitative parameters are calculated. Several graphical functions within the new software facilitate the understanding of the motion data. The available objective measures of comparison are described in detail in chapter four. In the experiments they are reviewed for their suitability. The digital recording of the motion data allows a large sample size. Accuracy and explanatory power as well as the level of confidence are increased. To proof their suitability and the increase of information gained with the measures of comparison practical experiments were carried out. These are described in the fifth chapter of this thesis. A workstation for placing products on on a conveyor belt is varied to show the influence of design parameters on the operating efficiency. The speed of the conveyor movement strongly affected the output. In another experiment two seat constructions built for asparagus harvesting aids are compared by motion analysis. Several measures of comparison suggest to favor the seat with knee pads. The results from all practical experiments show that relevant measures of comparison were defined to successfully compare the motion data. The user of the newly developed analyzing program gains valuable information to make a truly impartial decision. The motion analysis systems enables scientists to gather a multitude of information out of one experiment, which formerly required a combination of several methods. A more of information to rate human factors is notedly valuable, encouraging the development of horticultural work systems towards incorporating economic and ergonomic criteria.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the work situation of housing supporters after exposure to threats and violence in the workplace. The study has a qualitative research approach and an abductive approach. Five housing supporters and a former housing supporter, now in a leading position, were interviewed with the help of semi-structured interviews. The participants lived in two municipalities in Central Sweden and were selected through a goal-directed selection and a snowball selection. The result is explained with the help of Demand- Control- and Support-model as well as the Lifeworld Theory. The empirical study is based on the answers from the interviews, the empirical data has been processed and analyzed and then presented in three main categories. The results show that several housing supporters feel that their mental state is negatively affected by threats and violence in the workplace. The results also show that social support is of great importance for reducing the negative stress and alleviating the negative consequences of threats and violence, and that education is important for housing supporters' ability to prevent and manage threats and violence in the workplace. It emerged that there was a need for more training, as it was considered a key factor in securing the necessary tools needed to be able to perform a good job.