Tidigare forskning har visat att Design Management bidrar till implementeringen av Total Quality Management (som i denna studie tillsammans med New Public Management framförs som Kvalitetsstyrning). Syftet med denna studie är att tillföra en utökad vetenskaplig kunskap om styrformerna Design Management och Kvalitetsstyrning samt deras likheter. Genom att informanter som har erfarenheter av dessa styrformer har delat med sig av sina perspektiv har styrformernas centrala delar sållats ut och jämförts med teori och tidigare forskning. En kvalitativ metod valdes i denna studie för att kunna skapa en förståelse och en tolkning av informanternas erfarenheter av fenomenen som avsågs undersökas. Totalt genomfördes åtta intervjuer med informanter som antingen forskar, arbetar eller undervisar om Kvalitetsstyrning/Design Management. Resultatet i denna studie visade att Design Management och Kvalitetsstyrning har många centrala delar gemensamt förutom mått, som endast är en central del i Kvalitetsstyrning. Centrala delar som är gemensamma för båda styrformerna är: värderingar, ledning, kultur, kompetens/medarbetare, innovation, kunder/användare, kvalitet och effektivitet. Analysen visade att det mest centrala för både Design Management och Kvalitetsstyrning är att de måste genomsyra hela organisationen på alla nivåer. Kulturen och värderingarna som styrformerna innehar måste anammas av alla medarbetarna för att styrformerna ska kunna implementeras. Författarna önskar att denna studie kan öka förståelsen för individer och organisationer som vill arbeta med Kvalitetsstyrning eller Design Management och för de som vill tillägna sig mer kunskap om styrformerna. / Previous research has shown that Design Management contributes to the implementation of Total Quality Management (which in this study together with New Public Management is referred as Quality Management). The purpose of this study is to provide an increased scientific knowledge of the management forms Design Management and Quality Management, and their similarities. Through the knowledge of individuals, who have shared their experience of these management forms, the central parts of Design Management and Quality Management have been able to be identified and compared with theory and previous research. A qualitative method was chosen in this study to create an understanding and an interpretation of the informants’ experiences of the management forms. A total of eight interviews were conducted with informants who either research, work or teach Quality Management or Design Management. The result of this study showed that Design Management and Quality Management have many central parts in common, except for measurements which is only a central part of Quality Management. Central parts that are common in both Design Management and Quality Management are: values, leadership, culture, competence/employees, innovation, customers/users, quality and effectiveness. The analysis showed the most central part for both Design Management and Quality Management is their need to permeate the entire organization at all levels, the culture and the values held by them must be embraced by all employees in order for Quality Management and Design Management to be implemented. The authors hope that this study may increase an understanding for individuals and organizations who want to work with Quality Management or Design Management and for those who want to acquire more knowledge about these forms of management.

Il lavoro di ricerca è dedicato ai Servizi di Child Protection della regione Lombardia. Il disegno del lavoro è peculiare, composto da due parti che sorreggono l’obiettivo generale che si articola su due livelli di analisi complementari fra loro. L’intento è stato descrivere e analizzare la realtà dei servizi di tutela minorile della Regione in ordine a due dimensioni: le forme di gestione e la pratica operativa. Per la prima, è stata effettuata una ricognizione sulle forme di gestione relative al Servizio tutela minori di ciascun Comune lombardo: questa operazione ha da un lato costituito un risultato importante in sé andando a colmare un vuoto di materiale disponibile a livello ufficiale, e dall’altro è stato propedeutico all’indagine operativa che ha costituito la seconda parte del progetto. Nella seconda parte della ricerca, l’indagine ha riguardato l’attività degli assistenti sociali incardinati dentro le rispettive organizzazioni, con riferimento ad opinioni e comportamenti. L’idea di coinvolgere la popolazione degli assistenti sociali lombardi in un’indagine quantitativa (il tasso di risposta ha superato il 70%) nasce in risposta a quesiti che nei sistemi di tutela minorile risultano pendenti, la cui esplorazione, fino ad oggi parziale, potrebbe risultare utile alla programmazione dei Servizi, alla formazione degli operatori, alle scelte di politica sociale. Un valore aggiunto alla ricerca è rappresentato dall’ideazione di strumenti di rilevazione costruiti ad hoc / The purpose of the research is to gain data about the Child Protection system in an Italian Region (Lombardia). The work developed in two parts: one concerned the organizational form and the other the work practice of the practitioners. In Lombardia there are a wide type of Child Protection organizations: the institutional mission is the same but the modalities to seek it are numerous, for example in association with other towns, through a new institution, or sovereignty The official documentation about this theme is lacking: in this project has been realized a complete reconnaissance of the organizational forms with the assistance of the data collected through a survey administered to 200 managers. The second part of the research aimed to represent the work practices of the fieldwork. Involving the 70% of the practitioners committed in the Child Protection work in this Region, the survey realized underlines the opinions (about the workload, the competences and the abilities, the level of stress,..) and the activities done during a work week. To collect the data (analyzed with a statistical program), the research tools are ideated especially.