Several studies have shown that the Swedish labour market for different reasons is characterized by ethnical discrimination and that people who have another cultural background than Swedish are being excluded. Most studies done within this area have been focused on why it is harder for immigrants to enter the labour market and identifying the contributing mechanisms for this phenomenon. Instead the aim of this study was to see how the immigrants view their own cultural identity and background and how they perceive that their cultural competences are being valued when they apply for a job. To examine this, the following problematic was used: How does a person who has been brought up with both the Swedish culture and another culture look at using this as a cultural competence when they apply for a job. Two different theories were then applied to analyze the problematic, Erving Goffman´s theory about Stigma and Norbert Elias theory about the Established and the Outsiders. To carry out the study, a qualitative method with interviews was used and 8 people from 6 different cultural backgrounds participated. The results show that if the knowledge that had emerged from a persons cultural background turned out to benefit that person in his or her work situation than that person was more likely to see cultural background as a competence. Although if the condition was the opposite then there was no need to see it or to use it as a competence. Therefore cultural competence seems to be useful in specific situations and in interaction with certain people or groups of people rather than being viewed as an overall, general competence. To accentuate cultural competence also proved to be difficult due to the stereotyped conceptions about immigrants that exist in society. The conclusion of this study is that emphasizing cultural competence can sometimes benefit a person although there is always a risk that it could lead to increased stigmatization.

Sammanfattning Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att belysa hur några av de personer som var utlånade under ett tillfälligt samarbete i Arvika under våren 2008 påverkades. Samarbetet gick ut på att förtaget Thermia Värme AB, som hade minskad orderingång vid starten av samarbetet, gick samman med tre andra företag i Arvika som då var i behov av tillfällig extra arbetskraft. Thermia lånade ut en del av sin personal som sedan skulle tillbaka efter cirka fyra månaders uthyrning. I de intervjuer som genomfördes framkom det att man antingen var frivillig till uthyrning, alltså valde självmant om man ville bli uthyrd, eller så var man tvingad till uthyrning. Man fick då välja på att bli uthyrd eller att bli uppsagd.   Projektet i Arvika är relativt ovanligt men det har funnits liknande samarbeten, dock saknas det forskning kring dessa. Därför har vi i denna undersökning använt oss av forskning som kan liknas vid vårt studieobjekt och vara intressant för studiens utfall, exempelvis forskning kring förändringskompetens, Karaseks krav/kontrollmodell, bemanningsföretag och arbetsgivarringar.   Metoden vi använt oss av är den kvalitativa forskningsintervjun. Detta då vi hade relativt få respondenter samt att det var den mest passande metoden då vi ville studera uppfattningen kring hur det kändes att vara uthyrd.   Resultatet av denna studie visade bland annat att de som var frivilliga till uthyrning var överlag mer positivt inställda till samarbetet än de som var tvingade till uthyrning. Detta resultat var inte helt oväntat med tanke på att de frivilligt utlånade självmant anmälde sig till projektet och de som var tvingade kunde inte välja då uppsägning var det andra alternativet. Något som kunde varit bättre under samarbetets gång var enligt respondenterna det stöd man fick från Thermia. Vistelsen på det inhyrande företaget upplevdes både positivt och negativt, men den gemensamma åsikten om återkomsten till Thermia var att man var glad att komma tillbaka. Arbetskamrater uppgavs vara den viktigaste komponenten hos samtliga respondenter i arbetslivet och de nämndes som viktiga under projektets gång.   Slutsatsen av denna undersökning visade att projektet i stort var lyckat, då man på Thermia lyckades bibehålla personal utan att behöva friställa trots minskad orderingång. På så sätt fick medarbetarna chansen till kompetensutveckling, nätverkande och gavs ett alternativ till friställande i en lågkonjunktur. För företaget var detta också ett sätt att bibehålla sin medarbetarkompetens till förväntad högkonjunktur. / Abstract The purpose of this study has been to look on the effects on a selection of people after their participation in a temporary cooperation in Arvika in spring of 2008.  The cooperation expressed itself in that a company named Thermia Värme AB, which had a decline in order intake at the start of this cooperation, went together with three other companies in Arvika which at this time was in need of extra manpower. Thermia decided to hire out part of its staff which would then come back after about four months. It was made clear from interviews that you could either volunteer for being hired out, meaning you could on your own decide if you wanted to stay or being hired out, or you were forced to allow yourself to be hired out. The latter meaning you had to allow to be hired out or be forced to resign your employment.   This project in Arvika is rather unusual but there have been similar cooperations, which however there is no research on. In light of this we have used research that can be seen as similar to this study and interesting due to the outcome of this study, for an example research about skills in change competence services, Karaseks Demand/Control Model and employer rings.   We have in this study used the method of qualitative research interview. Reason for this being an access to relatively few respondents along with the fact that this method was best suited for our study on feelings in regard to ones feelings on being hired out.   The result of this study showed among other things that those who allowed themselves voluntarily to be hired out were in most cases more positive to the cooperation than those being forced to choose. This result was not completely unexpected given the fact that those who voluntarily choose to participate could do so without the risk of having to resign ones employment if not choosing to participate. According to the respondents, one thing that could have been better during the course of this cooperation was the support they received from Thermia. The stay at the company that hired was experienced as both positive and negative, but the common view with those returning to Thermia was that they were happy to be back. The most important component in working life according to all respondents was the coworkers, something frequently mentioned as important during the course of the project.   The conclusion of this study showed that the project on the whole was a success, since Thermia managed to avoid having to lay off employees in spite of a decline in order intake. In that way employees got the chance to participate in in-service training, expanding their network and an option to lay-off in times of recession. For the company this was also a way to maintain their employee-competence for an expected time of prosperity.

<p>Several studies have shown that the Swedish labour market for different reasons is characterized by ethnical discrimination and that people who have another cultural background than Swedish are being excluded. Most studies done within this area have been focused on why it is harder for immigrants to enter the labour market and identifying the contributing mechanisms for this phenomenon. Instead the aim of this study was to see how the immigrants view their own cultural identity and background and how they perceive that their cultural competences are being valued when they apply for a job. To examine this, the following problematic was used: How does a person who has been brought up with both the Swedish culture and another culture look at using this as a cultural competence when they apply for a job. Two different theories were then applied to analyze the problematic, Erving Goffman´s theory about Stigma and Norbert Elias theory about the Established and the Outsiders. To carry out the study, a qualitative method with interviews was used and 8 people from 6 different cultural backgrounds participated. The results show that if the knowledge that had emerged from a persons cultural background turned out to benefit that person in his or her work situation than that person was more likely to see cultural background as a competence. Although if the condition was the opposite then there was no need to see it or to use it as a competence. Therefore cultural competence seems to be useful in specific situations and in interaction with certain people or groups of people rather than being viewed as an overall, general competence. To accentuate cultural competence also proved to be difficult due to the stereotyped conceptions about immigrants that exist in society. The conclusion of this study is that emphasizing cultural competence can sometimes benefit a person although there is always a risk that it could lead to increased stigmatization.</p>

Master's thesis. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

This paper examines an area of the recruitment process in today’s labour market from the point of view of the employer. More specifically, an analysis is conducted with respect to the recruitment channels that Swedish firms utilise in the present days, combined with a detailed discussion of each of the recruitment channels’ comparative advantages and disadvantages. In addition to that the factors that determine employers’ selection of recruitment channel are examined and the relative importance of each of these factors is assessed. Furthermore, the degree of importance that firms place on finding the best available candidate for a vacant position will be investigated. Finally, it will be discussed whether or not the recent global financial crisis has lead to changes as far as firms’ choice of recruitment channel(s) is/are concerned. The study reveals among others that contacts and recruitment agencies are the two most highly utilised recruitment channels, especially for the hiring of individuals who possess high levels of skill. Similarly, the analysis indicates that locating high quality candidates is the most influential factor for employers who are seeking new candidates. Other results reveal, among others, that recruitment costs are of comparably higher importance to smaller organisations than to larger ones, that large firms use formal recruitment channels to a larger extent than small ones do, and that a substantial amount of companies have changed their choice of recruitment channel since the occurrence of the global financial crisis. / 0046767160878

This thesis examines the labour market experiences of a purposive sample of legally blind people in a medium-sized Canadian city. Relevant literature on disability, employment and stigma is reviewed, providing context for the thesis. Thematic analysis of qualitative data gathered from 18 in-depth face-to-face interviews of legally blind working-age participants provide rich narratives of their experiences in the labour market and society at large. The participants’ current and past employment situations are described and barriers to acceptance of their disability in the workforce are identified. Findings suggest that while perceived, enacted, and felt stigma constitute significant barriers to meaningful employment for the participants, many employ effective strategies to adapt to or resist stigmatizing treatment by others. Policy suggestions are provided to mitigate the impact of stigma on the lives of legally blind Canadians. The thesis concludes with suggestions for future directions of research in the area. / Graduate / 0629 / 0630 / 0626 / martha.jansenberger@gmail.com

This dissertation focuses on labour market returns of migrants and non-migrants in transitional urban China. Literature on internal migrants in urban China reveals different perspectives on whether internal migrants have higher or lower labour market returns than urban residents. Labour market segmentation theory highlights the effect of an institutional barrier, the Hukou system, and suggests that migrants are placed in the lower segment of the market while urban residents have many advantages over migrants. On the contrary, migration selectively literature suggests migrants in urban China are positively selected and have higher quality than non-migrants, thus suggesting that migrants have higher-level returns than non-migrants. Market transition theory provides a transitional view and suggests the inequality caused by the Hukou system is decreasing with the development of a market economy, with competitiveness increasing among both migrants and urban non-migrants. The main objective of this research is to examine the differences in earnings and occupational attainments among different population groups - urban non-migrants, temporary migrants and permanent migrants - and their changes over time, and to examine factors that contribute to the changes. Three key factors, Hukou reforms, development of market mechanisms and migration selectivity, are highlighted in this study. Using CGSS 2003 and 2008, the empirical analysis shows that first, the independent effect of migrant status on earnings was significant in 2003 but not significant in 2008, however, migrant status had a significant independent effect on individuals’ occupational attainments in both 2003 and 2008. Second, migration selection had significant and positive effects on individual’s earnings and occupational attainments in both 2003 and 2008. Third, migrants with urban Hukou status have an advantage in labour market returns. Urban migrants (temporary and permanent migrants from urban to urban) had a net earnings advantage over urban non-migrants in two years of 2003 and 2008; permanent migrants (permanent migrants from rural to urban and from urban to urban) had an advantage in occupational attainments over urban non-migrants in both 2003 and 2008. The mixed findings of decreased effects of migrant status on individual’s earnings from 2003 to 2008 and the remaining effect of migrant status on individual’s occupational attainment from 2003 to 2008 indicate that both segmentation and competition exist in urban labour markets in China. This reflects the nature of China’s transition from a planned to a market economy, where growing market forces co-exist with institutional legacies. Migrants in China are positively selected and migration experience contributes positive returns on earnings and occupational attainments.

Man hör ständigt sjöfolk prata om att arbeta inom den norskflaggade flottan. Det är allmänt känt att lönerna är högre än i Sverige men när det handlar om övriga ekonomiska aspekter är okunskapen stor. Vårt syfte med uppsatsen var att ta reda på hur dessa aspekter skiljer sig åt mellan de båda länderna. Vi valde att skriva i utredningsform då det handlar om att sammanställa redan befintligt material. En stor del av arbetet bestod i att söka information i elektroniska källor. För att tolka informationen har vi sedan kontaktat respektive organisation. Vi kom fram till att lönerna i Norge, enligt de avtal vi granskat, är högre än i Sverige. De sociala förmånerna är likartade länderna emellan, båda har sina fördelar och nackdelar. Detta gör att det mest är livssituationen i varje enskilt fall som avgör vilket land som har bäst förmåner.

The Integrated Land Use, Transportation, Environment (ILUTE) modelling system simulates the activities of agents within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) as they evolve over time. However, in its currently implemented form, ILUTE lacks an endogenous treatment of the labour market and the associated wages. This is seen as the major weakness of the current model. This work describes a labour market framework to partially fill this gap and then develops the dynamic disaggregate model of year to year transitions of the labour force status of the people within the GTHA and the set of wage models components of this framework. The data used is a sample of individuals from the Toronto, Oshawa, and Hamilton Census Metropolitan Areas surveyed over twelve consecutive years between 1995 and 2007 in the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics.

The Integrated Land Use, Transportation, Environment (ILUTE) modelling system simulates the activities of agents within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) as they evolve over time. However, in its currently implemented form, ILUTE lacks an endogenous treatment of the labour market and the associated wages. This is seen as the major weakness of the current model. This work describes a labour market framework to partially fill this gap and then develops the dynamic disaggregate model of year to year transitions of the labour force status of the people within the GTHA and the set of wage models components of this framework. The data used is a sample of individuals from the Toronto, Oshawa, and Hamilton Census Metropolitan Areas surveyed over twelve consecutive years between 1995 and 2007 in the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics.