Konflikter är en naturlig del av arbetslivet som orsakas av olika bakgrundsfaktorer. En övergripande trend i konflikthantering är metoder som främjar kommunikation och samarbete. Mot denna bakgrund avser denna studie att undersöka hur ett fallstudieföretag hanterar konflikter, med hjälp av Bolman och Deals bok “Nya perspektiv på organisation och ledarskap”. Arbetet analyserar konflikter och konflikthantering utifrån fyra perspektiv: strukturella, HR, politiska och symboliska. Det konceptuella ramverket presenterar dessa perspektiv individuellt, samt modeller och teorier som är relaterade till ämnet. Det empiriska materialet utgår från nio intervjupersoner från olika avdelningar och positioner för att få en inblick i deras syner på konflikter, de involverade aktörerna samt hur konflikter hanteras. Sammanställningen av intervjuerna analyseras med det konceptuella ramverket för att identifiera samband och förbättra konflikthanteringsmetoder. Avslutningsvis visar studien att en flerperspektivistiska syn är fördelaktig för att undvika att fastna i en ensidig syn på konflikter. / Workplace conflicts arise from a variety of underlying causes and are an inevitable aspect of the job. The application of techniques that foster cooperation and communication is a common trend in conflict resolution. In light of this, this study uses the paradigm provided by Bolman and Deal's book "Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership" to examine how a case study organisation manages conflicts. Four perspectives are used in the study to analyse conflicts and conflict management: structural, HR, political, and symbolic. These viewpoints are presented separately in the conceptual framework, together with pertinent models and theories. Nine people from various departments and roles were interviewed for the empirical material in order to learn more about their perspectives on conflicts, the parties involved, and conflicts resolution techniques. The conceptual framework is applied to the analysis of the interview compilation in order to find patterns and enhance dispute resolution techniques. The study concludes by demonstrating the benefits of adopting a multi-perspective strategy in order to prevent taking a biassed stance on conflicts.

Gränserna mellan privat och offentlig sektor tenderar att bli allt mindre tydliga. Med tanke på de offentliga och privata sektorernas olika styrning var det därför intressant att undersöka hur HR-funktionen präglades av detta sett från linjechefernas perspektiv. Linjechefernas åsikter var intressanta då det är dessa som värdesätter stödet de får från HR-funktionen. Eftersom syftet var att få en förståelse för linjechefernas syn på stödet från HR-funktionen gjordes studien genom en kvalitativ undersökning med inspiration från fenomenografin, med fokus på att få fram skillnader och likheter mellan den offentliga och privata sektorn. Resultatet baserades på åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer, där ingick linjechefer från både offentlig och privat sektor. Resultatet visade att det fanns en del skillnader, men att likheterna var fler. En del av likheterna var bland annat synen på HR-funktionen och dess huvudsakliga arbetsuppgifter samt att HR-funktionen är av stor betydelse för både dem och hela organisationen. Den tydligaste skillnaden som framkom i resultatet var att linjecheferna inom de olika sektorerna hade olika uppfattningar kring hur HR-funktionen präglades av organisationernas styrning och struktur. Eftersom likheterna var fler än skillnaderna förs det i studien en diskussion om detta skulle kunna bero på att gränserna, mellan offentlig och privat sektor, idag blir alltmer otydliga i takt med dagens marknadsanpassningar. Det diskuteras även om de skillnader vi sett faktiskt beror på organisationernas styrning och struktur, det vill säga den sektor organisationerna är verksamma inom.

<p>Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur HR-avdelningen arbetar</p><p>under en sammanslagnings-/uppköpsprocess ett företag går igenom.</p><p>Detta undersöktes med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer med sex personer</p><p>som arbetade med HR-frågor på sex olika företag. I intervjuerna</p><p>användes en intervjuguide med fyra frågeområden vilka utarbetats i en</p><p>förstudie. Intervjuutskrifterna tolkades utifrån en tematisk analysmetod.</p><p>I resultatet framgår att det HR-avdelningen arbetar med under en</p><p>sammanslagnings-/uppköpsprocess är informationsinsamling avseende</p><p>personalfrågor, ta fram underlag för fackliga och individuella</p><p>förhandlingar om avtal samt samarbetar med chefer i att ta fram ett</p><p>introduktionsprogram och genomföra detta. HR-avdelningen är också</p><p>delaktig i att sprida information under hela processens gång. Resultatet</p><p>har kunnat kopplas med god överensstämmelse till tidigare forskning</p><p>inom området. Studien anses användbar då sammanslagningar och</p><p>uppköp blir allt vanligare i arbetslivet och således påverkar ett allt</p><p>större antal individer. Det är viktigt ur ett mänskligt perspektiv att</p><p>företag, och i de ligger också en HR-avdelning, har strategier för att</p><p>hantera dessa processer.</p>

The objective of this research was to perform an explorative study to identify the position of Human Resources (HR) departments in companies in South Africa as custodians of the King III code; their knowledge and understanding of the King III code; and their role within corporate governance. The HR department has the responsibility to manage corporate governance by using the King III code as guideline. The main research questions were: Does HR management know, understand, apply and have the ability to use the King III code in terms of ethical decision making and what role does the HR department play within corporate governance? A random sample of available HR managers, senior HR consultants and HR directors was taken and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The results indicated that the respondents did not know, understand or use the King III code. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

To facilitate necessary task-based interactions and to avoid annoying or upsetting people a domestic robot will have to exhibit appropriate non-verbal social behaviour. Most current robots have the ability to sense and control for the distance of people and objects in their vicinity. An understanding of human robot proxemic and associated non-verbal social behaviour is crucial for humans to accept robots as domestic or servants. Therefore, this thesis addressed the following hypothesis: Attributes of robot appearance, behaviour, task context and situation will affect the distances that people will find comfortable between themselves and a robot. Initial exploratory Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) experiments replicated human-human studies into comfortable approach distances with a mechanoid robot in place of one of the human interactors. It was found that most human participants respected the robot's interpersonal space and there were systematic differences for participants' comfortable approach distances to robots with different voice styles. It was proposed that greater initial comfortable approach distances to the robot were due to perceived inconsistencies between the robots overall appearance and voice style. To investigate these issues further it was necessary to develop HRI experimental set-ups, a novel Video-based HRI (VHRI) trial methodology, trial data collection methods and analytical methodologies. An exploratory VHRI trial then investigated human perceptions and preferences for robot appearance and non-verbal social behaviour. The methodological approach highlighted the holistic and embodied nature of robot appearance and behaviour. Findings indicated that people tend to rate a particular behaviour less favourably when the behaviour is not consistent with the robot’s appearance. A live HRI experiment finally confirmed and extended from these previous findings that there were multiple factors which significantly affected participants preferences for robot to human approach distances. There was a significant general tendency for participants to prefer either a tall humanoid robot or a short mechanoid robot and it was suggested that this may be due to participants internal or demographic factors. Participants' preferences for robot height and appearance were both found to have significant effects on their preferences for live robot to Human comfortable approach distances, irrespective of the robot type they actually encountered. The thesis confirms for mechanoid or humanoid robots, results that have previously been found in the domain of human-computer interaction (cf. Reeves & Nass (1996)), that people seem to automatically treat interactive artefacts socially. An original empirical human-robot proxemic framework is proposed in which the experimental findings from the study can be unified in the wider context of human-robot proxemics. This is seen as a necessary first step towards the desired end goal of creating and implementing a working robot proxemic system which can allow the robot to: a) exhibit socially acceptable social spatial behaviour when interacting with humans, b) interpret and gain additional valuable insight into a range of HRI situations from the relative proxemic behaviour of humans in the immediate area. Future work concludes the thesis.

Construction is complex and comprises a multitude of knowledge-driven activities and business interests from participating organisations with the people involved being subject to different organisational and disciplinary practices. People are fundamental to success because human capabilities in learning, innovating and changing creative directions are vital to long term development of organisations. In the last two decades, researchers have found that human resource (HR) management has positive effects on the organisational performance. However, the processes through which HR management lead to organisational performance are contested. This research proposes a framework to investigate the effects of employees' behaviours and organisational learning on organisational performance and the impacts of HR practices on those effects in the context of Chinese construction enterprises. The research design adopts a multi-method approach, integrating positivism and interpretivism, to understand the complex relationship between HR practices, organisational learning, individual behaviour, and organisational performance. By consulting two experienced academic researchers and industry experts, the pilot study improves the understanding and implementation of the measurement instruments employed. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches are adopted in data collection and analysis: 326 valid respondents through questionnaire survey are received, and structural equation modelling is adopted to test individual behaviour and organisational learning as mediating variables of the relationship between HR practices and organisational performance respectively. Middle-level managers in Chinese construction firms are interviewed, and a cognitive map is produced to reveal the possible mediating variables and the cause-effect relationships between organisational learning and individual behaviour. The cause-effect route identified from the cognitive map is tested by structural equation modelling method, i.e., individual in-role behaviour as a mediating variable between organisational learning and performance. In conclusion, from the theoretical perspective, the results reveal the following. (1) Individual in-role behaviour has highly significantly positive effect on organisational performance. Organisational learning has very highly significantly positive effect on organisational performance. Both individual in-role behaviour and organisational learning have mediating effects on the relationship between HR practices and organisational performance. (2) HR practices positively affect individual in-role behaviour indirectly through organisational learning. Individual in-role behaviour mediates the relationship between organisational learning and organisational performance. (3) HR practices also affect organisational performance via the path-way of social capital, individual perceived organisational support, organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), and co-worker productivity. For the practical implications, Chinese construction companies should implement the following to improve organisational performance. (1) Recognize the importance of employees' in-role behaviour, and design HR practices to motivate employees to apply their knowledge, skills and abilities in job-related performance, and to retain qualified and experienced staff. (2) View organisational learning as an important component of competitive advantage in the process of organisational development, and motivate and enhance organisational learning by the employment of HR practices and the creation of social capital. (3) Recognize the importance of OCBI (i.e. organisational citizenship behaviour directed toward the benefit of other individuals), and try to elicit employees' OCBI by improving employees' perceived organisational support.

The internal marketing concept speciefies that an organization's employees is its first market. The demands on companies to meet employee needs increases with the skills and knowledge employees possess, which acts as a competitive advantage. The internal marketing terms "Employer Branding" and "Employer Attractiveness" are still considered to be underdeveloped. Employer Branding refers to the process of marketing that companies use to target desired employees and retain current employees. To find and attract the right work force effectively, companies are required to have a strong Employer Brand. The IT consulting industry shows that job seekers have more power than employers, which creates a intense competition for labor. The aim of this study is to examine how employees at an IT consulting firm perceive the organization's Employer Brand along with what the company's recruitment target market is seeking in a potential employer. Based on a theoretical model; Employer Brand Predictive Model and with the help of two empirical studies, research can demonstrate whether or not the IT consulting firm’s existing Employer Brand is considered to be compatible against recruitment target market’s conditions. The study shows empirical indications that the IT consulting firm’s lacks external brand awareness and absence of a clear strategic aim for selecting the appropriate recruitment target market. / Det interna marknadsföringskonceptet anger att en organisations anställda är deras första marknad. Kraven på företag att uppfylla anställdas behov ökar i och med den kompetens och kunskap de besitter vilket utgör en konkurrensfördel. Inom intern marknadsföring är begreppen ”Employer Branding" och "arbetsgivarens attraktionskraft" fortfarande underutvecklade. Employer Branding hänvisar till den process av marknadsföring som företag använder sig av för att attrahera en önskad målgrupp och behålla personal. För att hitta och attrahera rätt personal krävs det att företagen har ett starkt Employer Brand. IT-konsultbranschen visar på att arbetssökande har mer makt än arbetsgivare, vilket skapar en tydlig konkurrens om arbetskraft. Denna studie undersöker hur medarbetarna på ett IT-konsultföretag uppfattar organisationens Employer Brand samt vad företagets rekryteringsmålgrupp söker hos en potentiell arbetsgivare. Utifrån en teoretisk modell; Employer Brand Predictive Model och med hjälp av två empiriska undersökningar kan studien påvisa om IT-konsultföretagets existerande Employer Brand anses vara homogen gentemot rekryteringsmålgruppens villkor. Studien visar empiriska bevis på IT-konsultföretagets brist av extern varumärkeskännedom samt avsaknad av en tydlig strategisk avgränsning för val av rekryteringsmålgrupp.

Efter avregleringen av det svenska apoteksmonopolet uppstod en konkurrensbaserad arbetsmarknad för farmaceuter. Från att det bara fanns en aktör på marknaden finns det nu flera kedjor samtidigt som det är brist på farmaceuter i landet. Detta leder till att apotekskedjorna måste jobba aktivt med att vara en attraktiv arbetsgivare för att behålla sin personal och rekrytera ny personal. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur en apotekskedja arbetar med intern Employer branding och att jämföra om ledningens vision av Employer branding-arbetet stämmer överens med hur arbetstagarna upplever sin arbetssituation. Vi vill även få en inblick i hur apotekskedjan arbetar med extern Employer branding. Utifrån teorier om bland annat Employer branding, talangprogram, motivation och arbetsglädje använder vi oss av en kvalitativ metod för att undersöka hur respondenterna upplever arbetssituationen. Vi har under studiens gång intervjuat åtta personer från en apotekskedja. Tre personer från HR-avdelningen och fem farmaceuter från olika orter i Sverige. Resultatet visar att HR-avdelningen arbetar mycket med både intern och extern Employer branding. Resultatet visar även att arbetstagarnas situation stämmer överens med ledningens vision om att vara en attraktiv arbetsgivare.

We present new astrometric measurements from our ongoing monitoring campaign of the HR 8799 directly imaged planetary system. These new data points were obtained with NIRC2 on the W.M. Keck II 10 m telescope between 2009 and 2014. In addition, we present updated astrometry from previously published observations in 2007 and 2008. All data were reduced using the SOSIE algorithm, which accounts for systematic biases present in previously published observations. This allows us to construct a self-consistent data set derived entirely from NIRC2 data alone. From this data set, we detect acceleration for two of the planets (HR 8799b and e) at >3 sigma. We also assess possible orbital parameters for each of the four planets independently. We find no statistically significant difference in the allowed inclinations of the planets. Fitting the astrometry while forcing coplanarity also returns chi(2) consistent to within 1 sigma of the best fit values, suggesting that if inclination offsets of less than or similar to 20 degrees are present, they are not detectable with current data. Our orbital fits also favor low eccentricities, consistent with predictions from dynamical modeling. We also find period distributions consistent to within 1 sigma with a 1:2:4:8 resonance between all planets. This analysis demonstrates the importance of minimizing astrometric systematics when fitting for solutions to highly undersampled orbits.

Understanding the plastic deformation mechanisms in polycrystals is a long-standing fundamental problem and its improvement has significant potential impact on the increase in materials resistance to typical failure modes such as fatigue cracking and stress corrosion cracking and hence the increase in the materials strength. However many deformation models are yet to be validated as quantitative experimental results at mesoscale to correlate dislocations and microstructure features are limited. This thesis furthers the High Resolution EBSD (HR-EBSD) technique in Geometrically Necessary Dislocation (GND) density measurement from qualitative analysis with a typical map size of 100 &mu;m x100 &mu;m to quantitative analysis with a map of 500 &mu;m x500 &mu;m by determining the optimised scanning step size (0.5 &mu;m) and detector binning level (4x4 binning). This allows a statistically large number of grains to be sampled. Combining with obtained crystallographical information from a conventional EBSD system, systematic studies on GNDs behaviours with respect to a range of microstructure features such as grain boundaries and triple junctions were conducted on monotonically deformed polycrystal copper samples under tension. Relatively high GND density points were found near triple junctions and some grain boundaries whereas the low GND density points tend to appear near the grains’ interiors. These tendencies are particularly profound in low and moderately deformed samples. Hence more detailed analyses were performed to investigate the relations of GND density and the properties of grain boundaries and triple junctions. These quantitative analyses were complemented with direct visual assessment. The visual inspection provides interesting findings such as the strong GND structure dependence on grain orientations and GND structure development through increasing deformation; grain-grain interaction influences on GND structure development and GND structures near triple junctions. These GND density studies provide experimental results to validate some of the existing plastic deformation models for instance Ashby’s model of hardening and Hall-Petch relation. However, some of the new observations on GND structures at mesoscale cannot be fully rationalised by existing proposed mechanisms. Hence new models have been proposed that these GND structures might be generated from the intersections of different slip systems which occurred in various parts of a grain, or by the dislocation piling-up at some microstructural features e.g. triple junctions and twin boundaries.