Andersson, B. (2014). Modernt Ledarskap. C-uppsats i Pedagogik. Högskolan i Gävle, akademin för utbildning och ekonomi Den undersökta myndigheten uttrycker sig sträva mot att utveckla ett modernt ledarskap och genom detta strävar myndigheten mot att bli utsedd till Sveriges modernaste myndighet vilket är en utmärkelse som samtliga statliga myndigheter kan erhålla. I teorier om ledarskap uttrycks vanligtvis att ledarskapet är en viktig faktor för en väl fungerande organisation. Det transformella- och kommunikativa ledarskapet, samt Big Five-modellen valdes efter en genomförd litteratursökning av nyare forskning om ledarskap som exemplifieringar av det som beskrivs som ett modernt ledarskap. Detta jämfördes sedan i studien gentemot hur personal på myndigheten själva uttryckte sin syn på ett modernt ledarskap med hjälp av en insamlad enkät. Syftet med studien var att undersöka om myndighetens ledarskap är "modernt" i den meningen att den har likheter med de ledarskapsteorier som beskrivs som moderna i nyare ledarskapslitteratur. Metoden var huvudsakligen kvantitativ i form av en enkät med kvalitativa inslag där fritextfält kopplades till utvalda frågor. Enkäten skickades ut till 200 chefer med personalansvar. Svarsfrekvensen blev cirka 46 procent där respondenterna svarade på ett antal frågor kring rådande chefspolicy, samt vilka färdigheter och egenskaper de menar att ett modernt ledarskap innehåller. Urvalet av respondenter begränsades till en specifik svensk myndighet och de medarbetare som där är chefer med personalansvar. Resultatet av undersökningen antyder att rådande chefspolicy har visst stöd i modernare ledarskapsforskning (exemplifierat genom likheter och skillnader gentemot det tranformella- och kommunikativa ledarskapet, samt Big Five-modellen). Cheferna känner till den rådande policyn. Cheferna på myndigheten pekar på aspekter som att kunna kommunicera, ta beslut, skapa dialog och delaktighet, stötta och skapa entusiasm samt ge feedback som de viktigaste färdigheterna för det de kallar ett modernt ledarskap. De personliga egenskaperna som lyfts fram som de viktigaste är att vara stöttande/coachande, ha självinsikt och en positiv människosyn. Både färdigheterna och egenskaperna har tydliga kopplingar till de valda moderna ledarskapsteorierna som myndighetens personals åsikter jämfördes gentemot.

According to attachment theory, the establishment of an attachment bond to a caregiver not only provides the infant with protection from danger, but also many other resources presumably beneficial to the child’s general psychological development. Although there is substantial empirical support for a link between attachment security and social functioning in childhood and adolescence, less is known about whether childhood attachment contributes to social functioning beyond adolescence. Similarly, attachment has been found predictive of broad aspects of a person’s functioning, but few attempts have been made to link attachment to the currently dominating perspective on personality, the Five Factor Model (FFM). Results in Study I partially supported our expectations, by showing prospective links from middle childhood security to various aspects of social functioning in young adulthood. Further, security contributed to developmental change in social functioning from middle childhood to young adulthood. In Study II, middle childhood security was found to predict some of the FFM personality traits (primarily extraversion and openness) concurrently and prospectively, partially supporting our expectations. The third aim of this thesis was to address whether attachment disorganization, which has usually been found predictive of maladaptive phenomena, may predict also other, non-pathological outcomes. In Study II, we found that higher levels of disorganization in young adulthood were concurrently associated with more openness and lower conscientiousness. Furthermore, in Study III disorganization was shown to be concurrently associated with more New Age spirituality and more absorption in adulthood. In addition, absorption was, in accordance with our expectations, found to statistically mediate the link between disorganization and New Age spirituality. Hence, these findings supported our assumption that disorganization might be expressed in other life domains besides specifically maladaptive ones. Taken together, we suggest that attachment spreads its influence to a broad set of life domains through its continuous influence on general psychological components such as cognitive representations and self-regulation abilities. However, the modest strength of our results indicates that attachment is only one among several factors involved in the development of social functioning, personality traits, and spirituality.

Darbe tiriamas ryšys tarp vadovų asmenybės savybių, vertintų Didžiojo Penketo Asmenybės Klausimynu, bei jų turimų galios rūšių ir naudojamų įtakos taktikų, taip pat atsižvelgiant į demografinius kintamuosius bei kitas vadovų / pavaldinių charakteristikas. Tokiu būdu siekiama giliau perprasti galios ir įtakos pasireiškimo mechanizmus, kadangi jie labai svarbūs organizacijų veikloje, o ypač dėl to, kad gali nulemti vadovavimo efektyvumą. Tyrime dalyvavo 46 vadovai ir 246 jų pavaldiniai, iš savo perspektyvos vertinę savo vadovų galią ir įtaką. Dalyviai pildė anketas. Nustatyta, kad įtakos taktikos ir galios rūšys – susiję konstruktai. Daugiausiai vadovai naudojasi racionaliomis įtakos taktikomis ir ekspertine galia, tačiau asmenybės savybės yra susijusios su kietomis įtakos taktikomis (su jomis koreliavo sąžiningumas ir ekstraversija) bei pozicijos galia (su ja koreliavo intelektualumas ir sąžiningumas). Tuo tarpu racionalios įtakos taktikos yra susijusios su emociniu stabilumu ir intelektualumu. Darbe aptariamos ir vadovų lyties, užimamo statuso bei kitų charakteristikų sąsajos su galia bei įtaka. / The relationship between manager‘s Big Five personality traits and their power bases and influence tactics was investigated, also taking into consideration demographic variables and other characteristics of managers and their subordinates. In that way an attempt to go deeper into mechanisms of power and influence was made – these are very important in organizational practice, especially because they may determine leadership effectiveness. The participants were 46 managers and 246 subordinates who evaluated their manager‘s power and influence. All of them filled in questionnaires. The results showed that power bases and influence tactics are interrelated constructs. Most frequently used were rational influence tactics and expert power, however, manager‘s personality characteristics mostly were related to hard influence tactics (those had correlations with conscientiousness and extraversion) and position power (it had correlations with openness to experience and conscientiousness). Rational influence tactics had correlations with emotional stability and openness to experience. The effects of managers‘ gender, status and other characteristics on power and influence use were also discussed.

Leadership studies and leadership development have become increasingly popular in recent years. However, much of this popularity has been focused on leadership in adults. This thesis explores the emergence and development of leadership skills in children as they gain experience from play, athletics, and school. The definition of leadership is examined as well as the skills needed for proficient leadership. The skills are structured around the Big Five personality factors. Each of the areas discussed – play, athletics, and school – gives children many opportunities to interact with their peers allowing for valuable development. Overall, this thesis asserts that leadership and its development can occur at the beginning of an individual’s lifetime and does not need to be restricted to adulthood.

There is relatively little research based on the Big Five personality dimensions and job satisfaction and the relationship thereof. Job satisfaction of employees is a good indication of organisational effectiveness and is influenced by organisational and dispositional factors. The fundamental nature of the dispositional approach is that individuals have stable traits that significantly influence their affective and behavioural reactions to organisational settings. Job satisfaction can be considered a general feeling of well-being experienced by any employee about the work he or she does or as a related collection of attitudes about various aspects of the job. Employees, who perform at higher levels, will most likely make a greater contribution in the organisation. These individual's are more likely to achieve greater status; thus the importance of having satisfied employees in any organisation. The general objective of this study was to determine the relationship between personality dimensions and job satisfaction of engineers in a petro-chemical organisation. A cross-sectional survey design was used in the empirical study. The sample consisted of 89 junior to middle level engineers within a petro-chemical organisation. The Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and the Personality Characteristics Inventory (PCI) were administered. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Cronbach alpha coefficients, inter-item correlation coefficients and confirmatory factor analysis were used to assess the reliability and validity of the measuring instruments. Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients were used to specify the relationships between the variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine which personality dimensions were the best predictors of job satisfaction. The current research found that employees who are more stable and introverted tend to be more satisfied with achievement, independence as well as human and technical supervision at the work place. It was also established that extraverted and sociable individuals in the organization are less satisfied with human supervision. The findings of this research showed that some personality dimensions are related to aspects of job satisfaction However, overall personality dimensions explained relatively small percentages in the variance of job satisfaction. Because of this, the situational frame of reference, which is most common at present within the workplace, as well as the frame of reference that most supports this research, job satisfaction/dissatisfaction, is alleged to result from the nature of the job or h m the conditions at work. This basically epitomizes the effects of situational forces on workers' job attitudes. The results showed that subscales predicted job satisfaction to a greater extent than personality dimensions. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

There can be little doubt that competition in the pharmaceutical industry has increased considerably over the past few years. Growth in the pharmaceutical industry in South Africa has been affected adversely in recent years by the increased competition from generic drug manufacturers. As soon as a drug comes off patent, competitors are ready with generic copies, resulting in price drops. Pharmaceutical companies are therefore forced to continually evaluate their existing strategies, to ensure that their financial performance remains at the desired level. This study aims to determine the importance that entities in the pharmaceutical industry attach to competition during the strategy-formulation process. The study will also attempt to provide an understanding of how entities have adapted their product-market strategies, as identified by Ansoff, over the past five years. As an ancillary objective, this research aims to determine whether the level of competition in the industry has adversely affected the financial performance of the entities competing within the industry. Entities within the pharmaceutical industry consider the level of competition in the industry to be very high, and, accordingly, it is one of the major factors that they consider when determining which product market strategy to adopt. Because of this, the product-market strategies adopted by entities in the pharmaceutical industry have changed substantially over the past five years. No strategy is, however, dominant. Over the past five years, most of the entities in the pharmaceutical industry have displayed improved profitability, risk and cash flow-ratios, as well as growth in revenue, net profit and net asset value. This improvement in financial performance is despite an increased level of competition. It can therefore be concluded that the level of competition in the pharmaceutical industry is not reflected directly in the overall financial performance of companies in the industry. / Thesis (M.Com. (Management Accounting))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

This study investigates the use of five broad accountability mechanisms by gathering the perceptions of charities involved in the Canadian effort to reduce under-5 mortality abroad. While annual deaths in children under the age of 5 declined from an estimate of over 24.0 million in 1960 to under 8.0 million in 2010, mortality reduction goals have been established and missed for decades. As worldwide economies worsen, the amount of funds available for development assistance can be expected to decrease. This study seeks to determine if having accountability mechanisms is perceived to improve organizational behaviour, results and/or reduce costs. It uses a mixed methods approach including: a literature review to gain an understanding of accountability, effectiveness, development and under-5 mortality; key informant interviews to gain an understanding of funders, charities and development; a survey to gather the information required to answer the research questions; and a multiple-case study to gain a better appreciation of how accountability is used and to gather evidence of survey responses. The study investigates: which accountability mechanisms charities have, why they have them and the associated accountability holders; standards body memberships; the relationship between accountability mechanisms and various organizational characteristics; and the perceived effects of accountability mechanisms on organizational behaviour, results and costs. The survey finds that: charities say that they adopt accountability mechanisms because it is a good management practice that is perceived to improve organizational behaviour and results while not incurring costs in excess of the benefits; charities are more likely to adopt accountability mechanisms due to internal pressures than external pressures; the use of accountability mechanisms increases with organization size; and there is a greater difference in use of accountability mechanisms between small and large charities than there is between medium and large charities. The multiple-case study confirms the survey results. This study fills a gap in the literature by providing a Canadian perspective on the use of accountability mechanisms and the relationships amongst them and their perceived effects on organizational behaviour, results and costs. As economic burdens increase, increased accountability may lead to improved results even with fewer dollars.

This study investigates the use of five broad accountability mechanisms by gathering the perceptions of charities involved in the Canadian effort to reduce under-5 mortality abroad. While annual deaths in children under the age of 5 declined from an estimate of over 24.0 million in 1960 to under 8.0 million in 2010, mortality reduction goals have been established and missed for decades. As worldwide economies worsen, the amount of funds available for development assistance can be expected to decrease. This study seeks to determine if having accountability mechanisms is perceived to improve organizational behaviour, results and/or reduce costs. It uses a mixed methods approach including: a literature review to gain an understanding of accountability, effectiveness, development and under-5 mortality; key informant interviews to gain an understanding of funders, charities and development; a survey to gather the information required to answer the research questions; and a multiple-case study to gain a better appreciation of how accountability is used and to gather evidence of survey responses. The study investigates: which accountability mechanisms charities have, why they have them and the associated accountability holders; standards body memberships; the relationship between accountability mechanisms and various organizational characteristics; and the perceived effects of accountability mechanisms on organizational behaviour, results and costs. The survey finds that: charities say that they adopt accountability mechanisms because it is a good management practice that is perceived to improve organizational behaviour and results while not incurring costs in excess of the benefits; charities are more likely to adopt accountability mechanisms due to internal pressures than external pressures; the use of accountability mechanisms increases with organization size; and there is a greater difference in use of accountability mechanisms between small and large charities than there is between medium and large charities. The multiple-case study confirms the survey results. This study fills a gap in the literature by providing a Canadian perspective on the use of accountability mechanisms and the relationships amongst them and their perceived effects on organizational behaviour, results and costs. As economic burdens increase, increased accountability may lead to improved results even with fewer dollars.

In this essay I have examined text, speech and action in Chekhov's Three sisters, as well as how the characters express their wills in action and in speech. I have used different methods such as action analysis, the five W questions and BSI (background, situation and intention). These methods are similar to those actors use to uncover situatedness of characters and to find motivated and intentional patterns behind their actions. I have used these techniques to identify the plot, explore what happened before the plot begins and to read the text in terms of action. The aim was also to find the counter points where wills expressed in action are contradicted by wills expressed in speech. Using these methods I found that the characters in Three sisters manage their lives dreaming about the future or recalling the past, except the character Natasha. Her goal is obvious, she runs her will with clear intentions and she uses functional means to achieve her goal. The main conclusion is that the characters’ wills expressed in speech, are contradicted by will expressed in action. This creates a discrepancy. The characters are controlled by their unspoken desires which drive them further away from their expressed goals. It seems to be paradoxical, but it makes perfect sense since it drives the plot forward, deepens the image of the characters and the relationships between them. It also becomes clear when actions are interpreted from wills and motivations, stated or unstated, and I argue that action is not only the doing but also the intention to do; this makes sense when events in a dramatic text are analyzed as relational and conditional.

The psychological benefits of self-compassion, a construct associated with adaptively dealing with emotional suffering from life's problems appear to overlap with those of trait resiliency in terms of theoretical underpinnings and outcome research. This study investigated the relationship between self-compassion, personality, and gender in order to shed light on the construct's relevance to an existing framework of resiliency personality research. One hundred and twenty-three college students completed the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and Self-compassion Scale (SCS). A cluster-analysis of the BFI scores yielded three cluster prototypes consistent with overcontrolled, undercontrolled, and resilient personality prototypes identified in previous studies of children and adult community samples. Analyses revealed resilient individuals reported significantly higher overall Self-compassion (M = 3.08, SD = .25) compared to both overcontrolled (M = 2.85, SD = .20, t = -4.32, p <= .00) and undercontrolled types (M = 2.90, SD = .25, t = 3.53, p <= .00). Interestingly, there were no significant differences between overcontrolled and undercontrolled types or between men and women, on overall Self-compassion. A two by three MANOVA of gender and personality prototype on the SCS revealed a significant interaction on overall Self-compassion score (F = 3.92, p <= .02) and the Common Humanity subscale (F = 3.81, p <= .03). Post hoc analyses were conducted to examine the nature of the gender and personality interactions. The theoretical issues raised by these results are discussed and recommendations are made for utilizing self-compassion in treatment and future research.