Civilekonomuppsats i företagsekonomi: controller och redovisning. Ekonomihögskolan vid Linnéuniversitetet, 2012. Titel: Familjeföretags CSR arbete – en undervärderad företeelse? Datum: 2012-05-29Författare: Emma Lagerquist och Josefine Olofsson Handledare: Sven-Olof Yrjö Collin och Jenny Ahlberg Inledning: CSR har blivit ett omtalat ämne kring forskning och främst kring större börsnoterade företag. Små och medelstora företags relation till CSR har även fått en allt större del i forskningen, däremot har inte familjeföretags CSR arbete fått lika stor del. Denna studie kommer behandla familjeföretags karaktärsdrag och om dessa har någon inverkan på hur familjeföretag arbetar med CSR. Problemformulering: Hur arbetar familjeföretag med CSR? Går det att beskriva familjeföretags CSR arbete som omedvetet eller medvetet samt osynligt eller synligt CSR arbete? Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva familjeföretag arbetar med CSR genom att ta fram olika aktiviteter företag kan syssla med som liknas vid CSR. Fokus ligger på att studera familjeföretags medvetna och omedvetna samt synliga och osynliga CSR arbete. Metod: Vår studie har genomförts genom en komparativ flerfallstudie där empiri samlats in genom tre fallföretag. Intervjuer, observationer och insamlande av externt material från lokala tidningar har utgjort en stor del av materialet till undersökningen. Resultat och slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att de familjeföretag som vi har undersökt generellt är omedvetna och osynliga med sitt CSR arbete. Resultatet visar dock små och medelstora lokala familjeföretag vilket gör att resultaten inte kan hänföras till familjeföretag. Orsaken är att vissa karaktärsdrag vi tagit fram hör till små och medelstora lokala familjeföretag. Studien visar dock att socialt ansvar inom CSR är det som familjeföretag gör omedvetet, på grund av tradition från tidigare generationer. De vill vara goda samhällsmedborgare i den bygd de verkar inom. Långsiktighet inom familjen, att föra företaget vidare över nästa generation, tenderar till att vara starkare än i ett icke-familjeföretag och detta gör att deras mål blir långsiktiga. Långsiktiga mål är en stor del inom CSR.

Frivilligt socialt arbete präglas ofta av en asymmetrisk relation, där den frivillige ger och hjälpmottagaren tar emot. Denna asymmetri kan vara problematisk och kan påverka vilka drivkrafter som ligger bakom engagemang. En frivillig verksamhet som betonar ömsesidighet är Svenska Röda Korsets fadderverksamhet för nyinvandrade. Denna verksamhet beskrivs som ett försök att underlätta introduktionen i det svenska samhället för personer som nyligen invandrat. Syftet med det här examensarbetet är att förstå drivkrafterna bakom frivilligas engagemang i Röda Korsets fadderverksamhet för nyinvandrade. Genom kvalitativ metod bestående av nio stycken informella intervjuer med frivilligengagerade i verksamheten har vi samlat empiri till studien. Resultatet har analyserats utifrån rationell valhandlingsteori och teoretiska begrepp som altruism och egennytta. Resultatet visar på en mängd olika positiva utbyten av frivilligengagemanget som därmed fungerar som drivkrafter. Det är en individorienterad syn på frivilligt socialt arbete som blir tydlig, då de egennyttiga drivkrafterna framstår som viktiga och där tron på att åstadkomma en samhällsförändring inte är direkt uttalad även om den ibland kan anas. Ömsesidigheten i utbytet och de, från respondenternas sida, uttalade egennyttiga drivkrafterna är slående, vilka tidigare inte varit framträdande i forskningen om frivilligt socialt arbete.

Altruism in its extreme form is seen in social insects where most individuals give up their own reproduction and work to rear the offspring of their queen. The origin and evolution of such sterile worker castes remains a major unsolved problem in evolutionary biology. Primitively eusocial polistine wasps are an attractive model system for investigating this phenomenon. Ropalidia marginata (Lep.) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) is one such tropical primitively eusocial wasp, in which new nests are initiated either by a single foundress or by a group of female wasps. Worker behaviour in Ropalidia marginata cannot be satisfactorily explained by the haplodiploidy hypothesis due to the existence of polyandry and serial polygyny which reduce intra-colony genetic relatedness to levels lower than the value expected between a solitary foundress and her offspring. Besides, wasps appear to move frequently between newly initiated nests, perhaps further reducing intracolony genetic relatedness. To study social organization and examine the possibility of kin recognition and task specialization under conditions of low intra-colony relatedness, genetically mixed colonies were created by introducing alien one-day old wasps onto recipient nests. As a first step I have tried to determine the factors that influence the acceptance of foreign wasps onto established colonies. I have introduced wasps between 1 to 20 days of age from donor colonies located at least 10 km away onto 12 different recipient colonies, observed these wasps for a period of 10 hours and later dissected them to examine their ovarian condition. Observations were carried out in the blind i.e. the observer was unaware of the identity of the wasps. Wasps upto 6 days of age were accepted by the alien nests. Older wasps may have been rejected because their relatively better ovarian condition may have been perceived as a reproductive threat to the recipient nest. Alternatively, younger wasps may have been accepted because they may be more easily moulded to the desired roles or due to some other correlate of age per se independent of ovarian condition. Although ovarian condition appeared to influence the probability of acceptance, it was not statistically significant in the presence of age in multiple regression models, making a favourable case for the 'ease of moulding hypothesis' or 'age per se hypothesis' over the 'reproductive threat hypothesis'. In any case these findings gave me a method to create genetically mixed colonies. On 12 different nests Ropalidia marginata, I similarly introduced one-day old wasps and thus created genetically mixed colonies. Such an introduction simulates the eclosion of distantly related individuals which is quite common on nests of R. marginata due to the presence of serial polygyny. About 7 such wasps were introduced per colony and the introductions were so arranged as to matched with natural eclosions on the recipient nest. After 7 days following the last introduction, colonies were observed for 20 hours each. Alien wasps became well integrated and performed most of the behaviours and tasks shown by the natal wasps. There was no evidence of kin recognition or task specialization between natal and introduced wasps. The introduced wasps also sometimes became replacement queens. In an attempt to test the costs in terms of brood rearing efficiency, of living in such genetically variable groups, I created kin and non-kin pairs of wasps in plastic containers. They were provided with ad libitum food, water and building material. The nests initiated were monitored till an adult offspring eclosed. There were no detectable differences in either the productivities or the developmental periods of immature stages in the kin and nonkin pairs suggesting that there is no apparent cost of living with unrelated or distantly related individuals. To compare the extent of cooperation between the two wasps in kin and non-kin pairs, I conducted behavioural observations on 12 pairs each of kin and nonkin wasps. I found no difference in the rates at which the non-egg layers brought food and pulp, fed larvae and built the nest in the kin and nonkin pairs suggesting that cooperative nest building and brood rearing was common to the kin as well as non-kin pairs. The results reported here strengthen the idea that factors other than genetic relatedness must play a prominent role in the maintenance of worker behaviour in Ropalidia marginata.

<p>Frivilligt socialt arbete präglas ofta av en asymmetrisk relation, där den frivillige ger och hjälpmottagaren tar emot. Denna asymmetri kan vara problematisk och kan påverka vilka drivkrafter som ligger bakom engagemang. En frivillig verksamhet som betonar ömsesidighet är Svenska Röda Korsets fadderverksamhet för nyinvandrade. Denna verksamhet beskrivs som ett försök att underlätta introduktionen i det svenska samhället för personer som nyligen invandrat. Syftet med det här examensarbetet är att förstå drivkrafterna bakom frivilligas engagemang i Röda Korsets fadderverksamhet för nyinvandrade. Genom kvalitativ metod bestående av nio stycken informella intervjuer med frivilligengagerade i verksamheten har vi samlat empiri till studien. Resultatet har analyserats utifrån rationell valhandlingsteori och teoretiska begrepp som altruism och egennytta. Resultatet visar på en mängd olika positiva utbyten av frivilligengagemanget som därmed fungerar som drivkrafter. Det är en individorienterad syn på frivilligt socialt arbete som blir tydlig, då de egennyttiga drivkrafterna framstår som viktiga och där tron på att åstadkomma en samhällsförändring inte är direkt uttalad även om den ibland kan anas. Ömsesidigheten i utbytet och de, från respondenternas sida, uttalade egennyttiga drivkrafterna är slående, vilka tidigare inte varit framträdande i forskningen om frivilligt socialt arbete.</p>

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of employee motives regarding select leadership-OCB relationships. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that the relationships observed between transformational leadership and various dimensions of OCB would be mediated by subordinate Organizational Concern. In contrast, the relationship between LMX-quality and subordinate Altruism was predicted to be either mediated or moderated by subordinate Prosocial Values. Two hundred and one part-time and full-time employees (subordinates and supervisors) served as participants in this study, representing a total of 13 organizations in the Southeast United States. Results were based on a final sample of 131 supervisor-subordinate pairs. In general, participants responded to questionnaires that measured transformational leadership, LMX-quality, and OCB Motives (i.e., Prosocial Values, Organizational Concern, and Impression Management). Both subordinate and supervisor ratings of OCB were also collected. Analyses were based upon Baron and Kennys (1986) approach for mediation and moderation, as well as the Aroian version (1944/1947) of the Sobel test (1982). Across self- and supervisor-reports of OCB, results revealed that the Organizational Concern Motive significantly mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and various dimensions of OCB (Conscientiousness, Sportsmanship, Courtesy, and Civic Virtue). Results also supported the Prosocial Values Motive as a partial mediator in the relationship between LMX-quality and self-reported Altruism. Surprisingly, a stronger mediating effect was consistently observed for the Organizational Concern Motive across both leadership styles and all five of Organs (1988) OCB dimensions. In contrast, no evidence was found for either motive with regard to moderation. Results also differed based on leadership perspective (subordinate versus supervisor). Taken as a whole, these results suggest that both transformational leadership and LMX-quality are strongly associated with an employees general concern for the organization. This motive is, in turn, associated with a variety of citizenship behaviors. In summary, this evidence addresses an important gap in the OCB literature by providing evidence for an indirect relationship between leadership perceptions and OCB.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The relationship between team cohesion and team performance has been extensively studied, but behavioral mediators of this relationship have not been adequately assessed. This study proposed that backup behavior mediates the relationship between team cohesion and team performance. In addition, it was also hypothesized that team goal commitment would moderate the relationship between team cohesion and team backup behavior. 138 participants forming 46 teams of three were assigned to one of fours conditions to test this framework: high cohesion/high goal commitment, high cohesion/low goal commitment, low cohesion/high goal commitment, and low cohesion/low goal commitment. Results indicated no significant differences between conditions. However, correlations and regressions based upon self and observer ratings suggest that team cohesion and team goal commitment, but not backup behavior, hold strong relationships to team errors. Finally, exploratory analyses revealed an interaction between team cohesion and team goal commitment on team performance indices. Lowest performance occurred in teams with low cohesion and low goal commitment, but there were no apparent difference between high and low goal commitment in teams with high cohesion. Implications of these results are discussed in the paper.

<p>Humans are champions of prosociality. Across different cultures and early in life, humans routinely engage in prosocial behaviors that benefit others. Perhaps most strikingly, humans are even prosocial toward strangers (i.e. xenophilic). This is an evolutionary puzzle because it cannot be explained by kinship theory, reciprocal altruism or reputation. The parochialism hypothesis proposes that this extreme prosociality is unique to humans, is motivated by unselfish motivation and evolved through group selection made possible by human culture and warfare. The first impression hypothesis, on the other hand, proposes that xenophilia can evolve to promote the selfish benefits that accrue from extending one's social network. It predicts that 1) nonhuman species can evolve prosociality toward strangers when the benefit of forming new relations is higher than the cost, 2) the motivation for prosociality can be selfish, and 3) encounters with strangers can be a positive social event since strangers represent potential social partners. This dissertation presents three sets of experiments designed to test these predictions with bonobos (Pan paniscus), a species known for reduced xenophobia. These experiments showed, first, that bonobos voluntarily shared monopolizable food with a stranger and helped the stranger to obtain out-of-reach food. Second, the observed prosociality was driven by a selfish motivation to initiate an interaction with the stranger in close proximity and an other-regarding motivation to benefit the stranger. Third, an involuntary yawning task and a voluntary choice task show converging results that bonobos attribute positive valence to completely unknown strangers by default. These experiments support the three core predictions of the first impression hypothesis and challenge the view that intergroup competition is crucial to the origin of prosociality toward strangers in our species. Instead, the first impression hypothesis proposes that xenophilia in bonobos is probably an adaptation to initiating non-kin cooperation. Because female bonobos are highly cooperative even though they are the dispersing sex, xenophilia might function to quickly establish cooperative relationships with new immigrants. This suggests that xenophilia and reciprocity are likely two complementary aspects of non-kin cooperation: the former explains its initiation while the latter explains its maintenance. Similarly, xenophilia in humans is likely a result of the increasing need for cooperation among non-kin due to enhanced fission-fusion dynamics, population expansion, obligate cooperative foraging and greater dependence on cultural knowledge.</p> / Dissertation

This dissertation begins with a comprehensive review of the evolutionary biological debate over the evolution of altruism and a discussion of how various models of mechanism have influenced the models of circumstance that paleoanthropologists continue to use in reconstructing details about the level of cooperation displayed by early hominin societies. The remainder of the dissertation concerns itself with systematically exposing previously unquestioned assumptions to potential falsification as well as with exploring some new scenarios concerning the evolution and landscape archaeology of Plio-Pleistocene hominin food sharing, all via a null agent-based model called SHARE. This heuristic model was built to address two major questions: (1) What range of ecological and social conditions facilitates the evolution of food sharing in artificial Plio-Pleistocene hominin populations and (2) Is food sharing at central places necessary for the formation of the so-called "scatter and patches" archaeological landscapes that are characteristic of the Plio-Pleistocene record in East Africa? In answer to the first question, population-level genetic results collected from artificial societies of hominin agents demonstrate that the so-called transitional zone of ecological patchiness can facilitate the evolution of altruistic food sharing in mixed starting populations, even if foragers lack the ability to remember past interactions or to avoid social cheaters. In answer to the second question, ecological patchiness can affect the movements of simple foragers such that the artificial archaeological landscapes they create display the same spatial signature that characterizes observed Oldowan landscapes. That is, in ecological conditions marked by fragmented food resources, archaeological landscapes composed of both concentrated patches and diffuse scatters can form as a result of solitary foragers using simple routes that are in no way tethered to culturally-defined and culturally-maintained central places. In the end, SHARE provides new hypotheses about how ecological patchiness could have influenced both the evolution of altruistic food sharing and the structure of Lower Paleolithic archaeological landscapes. The latter can be tested in the field by looking at the relationship between artifact density and the paleoenvironmental characteristics of locales both in which artifacts are abundant and from which they are conspicuously absent.

Emigrantų pinigų srautų įtaka išleidžiančios šalies pastovių gyventojų pajamoms, nagrinėta pakankamai siauru aspektu, dažniausiai išskiriant teigiamas ir neigiamas pasekmes darbo rinkoje. Pagrindinis darbo tikslas yra išanalizuoti emigrantų pinigų srautų grįžtamąjį ryšį šalies gyventojų pajamoms bei šalies ekonomikai. Emigrantų pinigų srautų motyvavimo sistemos struktūra analizuojama pirmoje darbo dalyje analizuojama. Remiantis Olandu ligos teorija pirmoje darbo dalyje makroekonominiu aspektu aiškinama emigrantu pinigu srautu įtaką šalies rinkos struktūrai bei ekonominiam augimui. Antroje darbo dalyje analizuojamos trys trumpojo laikotarpio priklausomybės tarp emigrantų pinigų srautų ir emigracijos masto, bei modeliuojami šeši galimi atvejai. Trečioje dalyje pateikiami atlikto tyrimo rezultatai, kuriais remiantis galima teigti, kad emigrantų pinigines perlaidas veikia trys aspektai: pajamų lygis prieš atliekant pinigines perlaidas tarp emigranto ir pastovaus kilmės šalies gyventojo; emigrantų skaičius tenkantis potencialiems gavėjams; bei emigranto altruizmo lygis. / Economical studies investigating the influence of emigrants' remittances to the homeland residents' income has only been conducted in a limited way, usually distinguishing between positive and negative consequences to the labor market. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the feedback of emigrants' remittances to the residents' income as well as to the country's economy. The first part of this paper describes the motivation system of emigrants' remittances. Influence of emigrant's remittances to the market structure and to the economic growth in macroeconomic aspect is explained in reference to the Dutch disease theory. The second part of this paper analyses three short term relationships between emigrants' cash flow and the scale of emigration and describes the model of six possible cases. Results of the study are presented in the third part of this paper, showing that there are three major aspects influencing emigrants' remittances. Three major aspects are as follows: income level before the actual remittance is initiated between emigrant and the resident; the extent of emigration and the level of altruism.