The thesis is an attempt to apply complex systems thinking to the problem of meaning. It is in two parts. Part 1, Chapter 1 introduces the research agenda and overviews the thesis. Chapter 2 establishes the value of adopting a systems approach to the problem of meaning. The next chapter introduces key concepts of complex systems theory as they apply to sociocultural phenomena, and the last chapter in Part 1 reviews three theories of complex meaning systems (Donald Campbell, Jay Lemke, and Paul Cilliers) from which a preliminary model and agenda for theorising complex meaning systems is proposed. Part 2 of the thesis investigates the phenomena of management fads, applying the models of complex meaning systems formulated in Part 1. No primary empirical work is attempted; rather an analytical engagement is conducted using secondary literature on what we know about such fads. The literature, both primary and secondary, is reviewed and critiqued. The final chapters exemplify the problem of meaning using the theory building and agenda setting from Part 1. The concluding chapter reflects on the adequacy of a complex systems approach to meaning, critiques the process of the thesis and comments upon its contribution.

SyfteStudiens övergripande syfte är att öka förståelsen för hur millenialer som en managementidé inverkar på organisationers rekrytering. MetodStudien tillämpar en kvalitativ forskningsansats med ett abduktivt tillvägagångssätt där totalt åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med ledare inom organisationer.   Diskussion & slutsatsOrganisationer tror att en anpassning till dagens unga människor, millenialer, anses vara en lösning. Organisationer framstår som legitima och nytänkande när de är först med att följa idéen om millenialerna, men i slutändan följer inte organisationerna sina egna satta bestämmelser - det som sägs och det som görs stämmer inte överens vilket är följden av en särkoppling mellan prat och agerande. Slutsatsen av denna studie är att millenialer fungerar som en managementidé och att detta kan leda till organisatoriskt hyckleri genom särkoppling i strävan att uppnå legitimitet.   Förslag på fortsatt forskningDet denna studie lämnar till vidare forskning är hur de positiva effekterna av millenialer som managementidé överförs till praktiken.   Uppsatsens bidragUppsatsens teoretiska bidrag är att millenialer uppfattas som en managementidé och att detta genom särkoppling leder till organisatoriskt hyckleri. Uppsatsens praktiska bidrag är att millenialerna inte är lösningen på alla organisatoriska problem och därmed kan organisationer lägga tid och resurser på att uppnå organisatoriska mål. Nyckelord: Millenialer, managementidéer, organisatoriskt hyckleri, särkoppling, legitimitet / AimThe overall aim of the study is to increase understanding of how millennials as a management idea affect organizational recruitment.   MethodThe study applies a qualitative research effort with an abductive approach where a total of eight semi structured interviews were conducted with leaders in organizations.   Discussion & conclusionsOrganizations believe that adaptation to today's young people, millennials, is considered a solution. Organizations appear to be legitimate and innovative when they are first to follow the idea of the millennials, but ultimately, the organizations do not follow their own set-up rules - what is said and what is being done is not in agreement. The conclusion of this study is that millennials serve as a management fad and that this lead to organizational hypocrisy through de-coupling in the quest for legitimacy.   Suggestions for future researchFor further research this study leaves how the positive effects of millennials as a management fad are transferred to practice.   Contribution of the thesisThe theoretical contribution of this essay is that millennials are perceived as a management fad and that this leads to organizational hypocrisy through de-coupling. The practical contribution of the essay is that the millennials are not the solution to all organizational problems, and organizations should therefore put time and resources in achieving organizational goals. Key words: Millennials, management fads, organizational hypocrisy, de-coupling, legitimacy.

Popular management literature routinely presents management discourses that offer managers with strategies or 'recipes' for organisational improvement. Practitioners often uncritically accept and implement strategies prescribed within these discourses. Management discourses are constantly evolving to seemingly provide newer and better solutions to organisations' problems. The evolutionary pressures are evidenced through the limited life spans of many of the strategies proffered in the various management discourses. So short have been the life spans of some of these management strategies that the question of faddism has been raised (Birnbaum, 2001). Over recent years knowledge management has filtered from the broader management discourse into the discourse of educational administration. Knowledge management practices are said to enable individuals within an educational organisation to add value to the information and knowledge that an organisation possesses. This research used self-study to examine the effectiveness of a school administrator attempting to model explicit knowledge management principles within his professional practice. A focus of the research was the critical investigation of knowledge management as a management fad or a framework for sustainable management behaviour. Employing the living theory approach to action research allowed me to ask questions about 'how' to improve my practice and to provide evidence to support my answers. It allowed me to examine my professional practice as an educational administrator who valued knowledge, its creation and use critically. My research learnings been have presented as propositions related to the 'how' of my professional practice and its influence on the creation and management of knowledge. The propositions are as follows. * Proposition 1: As an administrator my practices when working with knowledge are a reflection of my ontology and epistemology. To consciously vary my professional practices to facilitate knowledge creation and management it is essential for me to make my ontology and epistemology explicit. * Proposition 2: My professional practices related to information sharing and knowledge creation are directly influenced by psycho-social filters. Three primary psycho-social filters are context, need and relationships. * Proposition 3: The influence of the relationship filter on my knowledge creation activities is directly linked to the relationships that exist between me and those involved in the knowledge activities. The ongoing capacity for my professional practices to influence knowledge creation is linked through relationships by my personal resilience. * Proposition 4: My knowledge influencing practices are those practices that support the provision of opportunities for information sharing and the creation of knowledge with the specific intent of applying that knowledge in an organisational context. A primary application of the created knowledge is decision making. * Proposition 5: Knowledge creation is an ongoing process and knowledge is only relevant at a point in time and applicable in a particular context. * Proposition 6: My professional practices that influence information sharing, knowledge creation and decision making are explicit iterations of my power as an administrator. * Proposition 7: Involvement in the decision making process is one of my key roles as an administrator. Decision making is a major example of the creation and use of knowledge within a school. * Proposition 8: I acknowledge that stories are a valuable way for individuals to share information and they can act as a catalyst for the creation of knowledge. * Proposition 9: Using the knowledge management discourse as a framework to support the critique of my professional practice challenges its branding as a management fad. The propositions have been developed and tested through reconnaissance and two cycles of action research. These propositions have been integrated into a model representing my capacity as an administrator to influence the creation of knowledge.