The iam with this study was to obtain an understanding of how middle managers in private elderly care experience their leadership and its inclusive requirements. The study has also investigate how middle managers in the private elderly care take into account the company’s profit interest in relation to nursing ethics and quality requirements. Our study was conducted by qualitative research through semi-structured interviews in four middle-sized municipality in the southern part of Sweden. A total of seven middle managers were interviewed. The results showed that the middle managers in private elderly care has a complex leadership with many important responsibilities. The conclusion highlights that middle managers in the private sector have many possibilities like shorter decision paths and freedom of action. The struggle for the middle managers is to implement the management's decisions that they don't agree with. The conclusion also include that the middle managers perceives the financial goals of their organization as something positive regardless of whether they perceive the profit interest as noticeable or not. The middle managers have plenty of ways to quality assure care for their care recipient. Lastly the middle managers show that their leadership is furtherance to prevent the emergence of ethical dilemmas.

This study aims to show how mid-level managers experience a role change while in a bigger organizational change. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with ten mid-level managers in a wholesale company with approximately 650 employees. The study is about roles and role change and how a middle manager experience a change in roles. It aims to give a new contribution to management- and organization studies and to contribute with action-advices to practitioner in work life. The theoretical starting points are Helen Rose Fuchs Ebaughs (1988) theory about role exit. The result from the interviews was analyzed with this theory and the main conclusions are: A forced change of roles for a mid-level manager can show the same steps in role exiting as the examples in Ebaughs (1988) study. Throughout the change, the manager’s experiences doubt, seeking alternatives, the turning point and creating an Ex-role. The time it took, the managers to go through all these steps varied. The company’s actions created a bigger doubt than necessary. The fact that the company waited for up to two months to declare the new roles for the middle managers created most doubt. A clearer purpose, more information about the coming roles and more information about why the change was necessary could have shortened the time it took for the managers to get through all the role-exiting steps and some role-uncertainty could have been avoided.

Submitted by Ana Paula Morgado (apvitelli@gmail.com) on 2012-07-11T02:04:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese final_revisada.pdf: 2291001 bytes, checksum: 68ea98712f52828058069c44fa11c1d3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia (suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2012-07-11T12:19:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese final_revisada.pdf: 2291001 bytes, checksum: 68ea98712f52828058069c44fa11c1d3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-07-11T12:32:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese final_revisada.pdf: 2291001 bytes, checksum: 68ea98712f52828058069c44fa11c1d3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-06-26 / Esta pesquisa teve por objetivo explorar os sentidos que a mulher gerente intermediária atribui a si própria e ao trabalho nesta posição hierárquica. Nos Estudos Organizacionais, existe uma ampla literatura que investiga a mulher, tratando das desigualdades, discriminações e desafios enfrentados por ela no contexto da empresa; existe também a bibliografia que trata da gerência intermediária e das particularidades desta posição na organização. No entanto, são poucos os estudos que tratam da mulher na gerência intermediária. Utilizamos a perspectiva teórica do construcionismo social, que nos permite dar voz ativa a essa mulher, para que ela descreva, explique e atribua sentido ao mundo em que ela vive e também a ela própria. O construcionismo pressupõe que a realidade é um processo de construção social que está contextualizado historicamente e culturalmente e, desta forma, o tempo histórico é fundamental para a compreensão do fenômeno estudado. Nesta pesquisa, consideramos três contextos relevantes: as questões que se apresentam à sociedade contemporânea, referentes à saturação social e à fragilidade da identidade; a história da mulher no contexto social e de trabalho, desde o início da industrialização e principalmente após meados do século XX; e os aportes do movimento feminista, que provocaram profundas transformações na vida da mulher e nos arranjos sociais, após a década de 1970. Os dados foram coletados por meio de entrevistas em profundidade com 42 profissionais que atuavam como gerentes intermediárias em organizações nacionais e multinacionais localizadas na cidade de São Paulo. A pesquisa revelou que as mulheres nesta posição hierárquica estão diante de um contexto de desaparecimento simbólico: desaparecem da esfera da casa, ao negarem este espaço que um dia lhes colocou em situação de desigualdade e lhes conferiu identidade e desaparecem da organização na gerência intermediária ao estarem imersas em um contexto do masculino, paradoxalmente, reforçando-o. Soma-se a isso um cotidiano de saturação, tanto no trabalho como na vida pessoal, ditado pelo ritmo intenso do trabalho. Neste cenário, essas profissionais parecem atuar em todos os lugares, mas, simultaneamente, parecem não estar em lugar algum. Mais que dizer que a mulher divide-se entre as tarefas da profissional que trabalha, da mãe, da esposa, da responsável pela casa, nossa pesquisa revelou que a mulher não está em nenhum desses lugares: na organização, ela desaparece como mulher; na casa, há o seu desaparecimento pela negação deste espaço que lhe conferiu identidade no passado; como esposa, ela não está com o seu marido; como mãe, ela fica pouco com os filhos e ainda não tem tempo para ela própria. Assim, diante desta multiplicidade de selves, a fragilidade da identidade parece ser o aspecto marcante da vida desta mulher na posição da gerência intermediária. Como forma de lidar com estas questões, essa mulher estabelece limites à sua trajetória profissional, buscando movimentações laterais e, mesmo, carreiras alternativas ao invés de crescer na hierarquia, evitando, assim, ainda mais comprometimento de seu escasso tempo. Nossa pesquisa, desta forma, traz outra perspectiva para se compreender o fenômeno do teto de vidro nas organizações. / This research aimed at exploring the meanings that women middle managers placed on themselves and on their work in this particular hierarchical position. In the Organizational Studies field, there is a vast literature that investigates sex segregation in organizations, looking for explanations why it continues to exist. There is also another set of bibliography that documents middle management particularities and how work is experienced by those in this position. However, there are few studies which focus on women as middle managers. The research was based on the social constructionist approach that is concerned with explaining the processes by which people come to describe and explain the world in which they live, including themselves. According to these ideas, reality is a process of social construction that is historically and culturally located; therefore, this research has considered relevant three historical contexts: contemporary society and its matters of social saturation as well as multiple and fragile identities; a brief history of women in society and work since the beginning of industrialization and mainly after the second half of the twenty century; and finally, the feminist movement issues which accounted for deep transformations in social arrangements after the 1970´s. The data was collected by interviewing 42 women middle managers who worked at national and multinational organizations based in São Paulo. The results revealed that women middle managers face a symbolic disappearance. They disappear from the private sphere of home when they wish to stay away from this place that means inequality although gave them a sense of identity in the past. They also disappear from the organization as a public sphere since it is a place where masculinities predominate and, paradoxically, are reinforced by women themselves. Adding to that, their daily lives are characterized by saturation, both at work and in personal life, dictated by the fast pace of work. In this context, this woman is everywhere, but at the same time seems to be nowhere. Although she is a manager, a mother, a wife, and she is responsible for the house, this research showed that she is not fully present in any of these places: in addition to her disappearance from home and from the public sphere of the organization, as a wife, she is not with her husband, as a mother, she is not with her kids and as a being has no time for herself. Thus, in view of this multiplicity of selves, the fragility of identity seems to be the outstanding feature of this woman´s life. As a way of dealing with these issues, this woman middle manager sets boundaries to her professional career, avoiding promotions to higher hierarchies and even setting plans for alternative careers as ways of managing her time constrains. These findings offer another view to understand the glass ceiling phenomenon in organizations.

Mellanchefen agerar som länk mellan den strategiska ledningen och den operativaverksamheten. Mellanchefen får i uppdrag att förmedla de mål och intentioner strategiskaledningen önskar förverkliga ner till den operativa verksamheten. Genom kommunikation och sociala interaktioner översätter mellanchefen finansiella mål och strategier till konkretaarbetsprocesser. Tidigare forskning konstaterar att mellanchefen är klämd mellan de strategiska- och operativacheferna, men utifrån vår bedömning saknas det forskning som klargör hur mellanchefen arbetar inom denna klämda roll. Genom vår undersökning önskade vi få en inblick på vilket sätt mellancheferna hanterar sin kommunikativa roll som förmedlare av mål och strategier. Undersökningens intention var även att studera mellancheferna och hur de arbetar för att skapa förståelse bland den operativa verksamheten för den målbild som kommer från den strategiska ledningen. Undersökning har genomförts på SKF, ett svenskt tillverknings- och tjänsteföretag, varav vi har intervjuat 13 chefer. Med hjälp av sensemaking teorin har vi analyserat dessa intervjuer. Identifierat är att mellanchefens position utgör en viktig länk inom organisationen, där kommunikationen är en grundsten för att skapa förståelse. Dock visar resultatet att mellancheferna får olika förutsättningar och kommunikativa verktyg för att arbeta med strategi, målsättning och förändring. Med detta som bakgrund föreslår vi att praktiken arbetar mer med att skapa förståelse för att nå uppsatta mål. SKF bör se kommunikation som lika viktig, vare sig det rör strategiarbete, förändringsarbete eller målsättning. Vilket vi anser resulterar i att organisationen underlättar mellanchefens kommunikativa roll. / The middle manager acts as a link between the strategic management and the operational activities. The middle manager get commissioned to convey the objectives and intentions that the strategic management wish to fulfill, down to the operational activities. Through communication and social interactions, the middle manager translates the financial objectives and strategies to concrete work procedures. Previous research state that the middle manager is wringing between the strategic directors and the operational executives, but from our point of view there is a lack of research that clarify how the middle managers works within this wringing role. Through our study we wished to get a closer look to in which way the middle managers copes with their communicative role as intermediary of objectives and strategy. The research’s intention is also to examine how the middle managers works with creating an understanding among the operational activities to reach the target set by the strategic management. The research has been conducted at SKF, a Swedish manufacturing and service company, whereof 13 interviews where performed. Using sensemaking theory to analyze the interviews. Identified is that the middle manager's position constitutes an important link within the organization, where communications is a foundation to create understanding. However, the results shows that the middle managers receive prerequisites and communication tools to work with strategy, objectives and alteration. With this in mind, we suggest that the practice active works with creating an understanding to grasp the objectives. SKF should perceive communication equally as important, no matter if it regards strategy, alteration and objectives. Which we consider would result in an ease on the middle manager and their communicative role. This thesis is written in Swedish.

Syftet med studien är att beskriva och problematisera mellanchefers roll inom politiskt styrda organisationer. Med utgångspunkt i krav, resurs, stöd och arbetsrelaterad stress gav vi oss ut för att svara på följande frågeställningar: Hur upplever de intervjuade mellancheferna sin roll i den politiskt styrda organisationen utifrån de krav som ställs på dem och de resurser de har till sitt förfogande? Hur upplever deltagarna sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö utifrån krav, resurs och finner de stöd i verksamheten? Hur anser intervjupersonerna att den politiska styrningen påverkar deras roll? För att besvara dessa frågeställningar gjordes åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med mellanchefer verksamma inom politiskt styrda organisationer. Tidigare forskning om mellanchefer framställer en ansträngd situation som präglas av hög arbetsbelastning och begränsat handlingsutrymme. Intresset för att studera mellanchefer väcktes genom denna framställningen av rollen. Det teoretiska ramverket för forskningsstudien innefattar JD-R modellen och två teoretiska begrepp vilka är Politisk styrning och Systemteoretisk hantering av arbetsrelaterad stress. Studiens resultat visar att mellanchefsrollen är en komplex roll som inte alltid är lätt att verka i. Den organisatoriska strukturen, med bland annat långa beslutsvägar, leder till att tidsbrist kan uppstå. Resultatet visar även att deltagande mellanchefer upplever bristande stöd från ledning. Därtill kan vi även se att mellancheferna upplever kraven som rimliga, med förutsättning att de är välformulerade och tydligt beskrivna. / The purpose of the study is to describe and problematize middle managers roles within politically controlled organizations. Based on the concepts of politically controlled organizations, according to demands, resources, support and job related stress, we arranged interviews to receive answers on the following questions: How does the interviewed middle manager experience their role within the politically controlled organizations, according to the demands they have on them and the resources they have at theirs disposal? How does the participator view their psychosocial work environment, according to the demands and resources? Can they find support within the organization? How does the person being interviewed consider the impact of their profession? We interviewed eight middle managers to answer our questions above. Previous research about middle managers describe the role as based on high workload with limited latitude. The interest of researching the subject concerning middle managers came through this description of the role. The theoretical models that are in use to settle the study is the JD-R model and two theoretical concepts; political control and system theoretical handling of work- related stress. The result of this study present that the role of middle managers is complex, and is certainly not always easy to act upon. The structure within the organization leads to time restrictions, and the path to decision making is far. It even shows that the contested middle managers experience insufficient support from the management. Therefore, what we can see as well, is that the middle managers believe that the demands are fair, through the presumption that they are described clearly.

Background: Demographic changes increase the financing needs of all social services. This change also generates new and complex demands on the medical staff. Accordingly, medical professionals in middle management positions hold a characteristic sandwich position between top management and the operational core. This sandwich position often constitutes new challenges. In the industrial field, the growing importance of the middle management for the company’s success has already been recognized. Accordingly, the growing demand on economy urges an analysis for the medical field. Discussion: While there are nearly no differences in the nature of the tasks of medical middle manager in the areas of strategy, role function, performance pressure and qualifications compared to those tasks of the industrial sector, there are basic differences as well. Especially the character of “independence” of the medical profession and its ethical values justifies these differences. Consequently, qualification of medical professionals may not be solely based on medical academic career. It is also based on the personal ability or potential to lead and to manage. Summary: Above all, the character of “independence” of the medical profession and its ethical values justifies medical action that is based on the patient’s well-being and not exclusively on economic outcomes. In the future, medical middle managers are supposed to achieve an optimized balance between a patient-centered medicine and economic measures. It will be a basic requirement that middle managers accept their position and the resultant tasks putting themselves in a more active position. Because of that, middle managers can become “value-added bridge-builders”.

No description available.

Middle managers have a complex task where it is important to achieve results while at the same time being there for their employees. To succeed in this, a good structure in the work and the right type of support from both management and employees are required. This study aims to investigate how middle managers experience the support that the respective companies provide and how the experiences can be understood based on the JDCS model. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with middle managers at two different businesses. The interviews were transcribed orthographically and then analyzed thematically. The results showed that the support function is central when it comes to handling the high demands that are made, as well as how management forums can contribute to increasing community and collegial support among middle managers. The conclusion that could be drawn was that in order to avoid burdensome work and increase satisfaction, a comprehensive support function is required.

Syftet med avhandlingen är att beskriva, analysera och diskutera vilka organisatoriska och interorganisatoriska förhållanden som har betydelse för mellanchefers möjlighet att driva hållbar verksamhetsutveckling. Avsikten är att studera samspelet mellan organisatoriska och interorganisatoriska förhållanden kopplat till mellanchefers förändringskompetens. Forskningen har skett inom ramen för ett omfattande nationellt FoU-projekt inom vård och omsorg. Projektets syfte var att arbeta med ett hållbart utvecklingsarbete som byggde på en bred delaktighet bland anställda och chefer. Studien är en kvalitativ studie med ett interaktivt förhållningssätt, vilket innebär en ambition att forska med de berörda inom ramen för en gemensam kunskapsbildning. Den interaktiva forskningen strävar efter att vara till praktisk nytta, men framförallt är syftet att bidra till teoriutvecklingen. De datainsamlingsmetoder som använts är arbetsplatsbesök, intervjuer, ”critical incident”-metoden, reflektions-PM (inom ramen för två utbildningar), analysdialog- och reflektionsseminarier, informella samtal samt återföringsträffar. Ett antal gemensamma aktiviteter har anordnats inom ramen för det nationella projektet, vilka även har fungerat som datainsamling och gemensam analys, såsom nationella konferenser, styrgruppsmöten m.m. Avhandlingens resultat visar att mellancheferna inom vård och omsorgssektorn kan ha en strategisk roll i verksamhetsutvecklingen. Avsikten med min forskning har inte varit att generalisera resultaten i traditionell mening, men att visa på mekanismer och förutsättningar för mellancheferna vid organisering av utvecklingsarbetet. De organisatoriska villkoren – i form av ekonomi, ansvar, befogenheter, professionalisering och företagskultur – påverkar starkt mellanchefernas förutsättningar att driva ett utvecklingsarbete. Min forskning visar på intressanta möjligheter för mellancheferna när det gäller att åstadkomma en vertikal och horisontell integrering av utvecklingsarbetet. Det finns exempel på hur mellanchefer kunnat påverka och utnyttja dessa förutsättningar för att skapa ett handlingsutrymme i organisationen för att driva ett utvecklingsarbete. De har använt sig av målstyrning, skapat utrymme för lärande och reflektion samt skapat en organisationskultur som stöder utveckling. De interorganisatoriska förutsättningarna – i form av externt nätverk, forskarstöd och partsamverkan – har varit viktiga för mellancheferna i deras utvecklingsarbete. / The aim of the dissertation is to describe, analyse and discuss those organisational and interorganisational conditions which are of importance for the enablement of middle managers to drive sustainable development in activity areas. The intention is to study the interplay between organisational and inter-organisational conditions coupled to the change competence of the middle managers. The research has been carried out within the framework of an extensive national R&D project within healthcare and caring. The aim of the project was to work with a sustainable development effort which had as its foundation a broad participation between employees and management. The study is a qualitative study with an interactive type of approach, which implies an ambition to carry out research with those affected within the framework of a joint knowledge gathering. The interactive research attempts to be of practical use, but the aim is primarily to contribute to theoretical development. The data collection methods which have been used are visits to the workplaces, interviews, “critical-incident” methods, reflective-PMs (within the framework of two education areas), analytical dialog and reflective seminars, informal conversations and feedback meetings. A number of common activities have been organised within the framework of the national project, which have also functioned as data collection and common analyses, as well as national conferences, steering group meetings etc. The results of the dissertation show that middle managers within the healthcare and caring sector can have a strategic role in the development of this activity area. The intention of my research has not been to generalise the results in the traditional interpretation, but to reveal mechanisms and prerequisites for the middle managers in organising development efforts. The organisational conditions – in the form of economy, responsibility, authority, professionalisation and company culture – strongly affect the prerequisites of the middle manager for driving a development effort. My research demonstrates interesting opportunities for the middle managers concerning achieving a vertical and horizontal integration of the development effort. There are examples of how the middle managers have been able to influence and utilise these prerequisites in order to create room for action in the organisation for driving a development effort. They have availed themselves of goal orientation, created room for learning and reflection and have created an organisational culture that supports development. The inter-organisational prerequisitess – in the form of an external network, research support and collaboration of parties – has been important for the middle managers in their development efforts.

Un atout majeur des organisations consiste en leur capacité à créer et exploiter l’information et les connaissances, capacité déterminée entre autres par les comportements informationnels. Chargés de décisions stratégiques, tactiques et opérationnelles, les cadres intermédiaires sont au cœur du processus de création des connaissances, et leurs comportements informationnels doivent être soutenus par des systèmes d’information. Toutefois, leurs comportements informationnels sont peu documentés. La présente recherche porte sur la modélisation des comportements informationnels de cadres intermédiaires d’une organisation municipale. Plus spécifiquement, elle examine comment ces cadres répondent à leurs besoins d’information courante dans le contexte de leurs activités de gestion, c’est-à-dire dans leur environnement d’utilisation d’information. L’étude répond aux questions de recherche suivantes : (1) Quelles sont les situations problématiques auxquelles font face les cadres intermédiaires municipaux ? (2) Quels sont les besoins informationnels exprimés par les cadres intermédiaires municipaux lors de situations problématiques ? (3) Quelles sont les sources d’information qui soutiennent les comportements informationnels des cadres intermédiaires municipaux ? Cette recherche descriptive s’inscrit dans une approche qualitative. Les 21 cadres intermédiaires ayant participé à l’étude proviennent de deux arrondissements d’une municipalité québécoise fusionnée en 2002. Les modes de collecte de données sont l’entrevue en profondeur en personne et l’observation directe auprès de ces cadres, et la collecte de documentation pertinente. L’incident critique est utilisé comme technique de collecte de données et comme unité d’analyse. Les données recueillies font l’objet d’une analyse de contenu qualitative basée sur la théorisation ancrée. Les résultats indiquent que les rôles de gestion proposés dans les écrits pour les cadres supérieurs s’appliquent aussi aux cadres intermédiaires, bien que le rôle conseil ressorte comme étant particulier à ces derniers. Ceux-ci ont des responsabilités de gestion aux trois niveaux d’intervention opérationnel, tactique et stratégique, bien qu’ils œuvrent davantage au plan tactique. Les situations problématiques dont ils sont chargés s’inscrivent dans l’environnement d’utilisation d’information constitué des composantes suivantes : leurs rôles et responsabilités de gestion et le contexte organisationnel propre à une municipalité en transformation. Les cadres intermédiaires ont eu à traiter davantage de situations nouvelles que récurrentes, caractérisées par des sujets portant principalement sur les ressources matérielles et immobilières ou sur des aspects d’intérêt juridique, réglementaire et normatif. Ils ont surtout manifesté des besoins pour de l’information de nature processuelle et contextuelle. Pour y répondre, ils ont consulté davantage de sources verbales que documentaires, même si le nombre de ces dernières reste élevé, et ont préféré utiliser des sources d’information internes. Au plan théorique, le modèle de comportement informationnel proposé pour les cadres intermédiaires municipaux enrichit les principales composantes du modèle général d’utilisation de l’information (Choo, 1998) et du modèle d’environnement d’utilisation d’information (Taylor, 1986, 1991). L’étude permet aussi de préciser les concepts d’« utilisateur » et d’« utilisation de l’information ». Au plan pratique, la recherche permet d’aider à la conception de systèmes de repérage d’information adaptés aux besoins des cadres intermédiaires municipaux, et aide à évaluer l’apport des systèmes d’information archivistiques à la gestion de la mémoire organisationnelle. / The success of organizations lies most often in their capacity to create and use information and knowledge, this capacity being determined among other things by information behaviours. In charge of strategic, tactical and operational decisions, middle managers stand at a crossroad in the knowledge creation process within organizations. Their information behaviours must be supported by information systems. However few studies explore these information behaviours. This research project aims at understanding how municipal middle managers meet their information needs according to their specific information use environment. It describes and models their information needs and uses in management situations and examines how they are supported by information sources. More specifically, the study examines three research questions : (1) What problem situations do municipal middle managers encounter in their management tasks ? (2) What information needs do they express in the context of their problem situations ? (3) What information sources support their information behaviours ? This descriptive study is based on a qualitative approach. The respondents are twenty-one middle managers, all reporting to two boroughs in a Quebec municipality that was merged in 2002. Data collection techniques used are in-depth face-to-face interviews with and direct observations of middle managers, and relevant documentation related to problem situations. Critical incident was used both as a technique interview and as a unit of analysis. Data were subjected to content analysis based on grounded theory. Results show that middle managers’ roles are as diversified as those of top managers. However middle managers have a large “counseling” role. Their managerial responsibilities are mainly at a tactical level, but do not exclude operational and strategic level tasks. The problem situations of middle managers are closely linked to information use environment components such as : their managerial roles and responsibilities, and the organizational context characterizing a municipality undergoing major reorganization. Most problem situations encountered by middle managers in this context were new patterns, and related mainly to legal and prescriptive matters or physical resources. Middle managers’ information needs show the importance of organizational processes and context in the resolution of problem situations. To answer those needs, they used mainly internal information sources. Verbal information sources were more used than printed ones (documentation). At a theoretical level, we found that our middle managers’ information behaviour model supports and complements the two models our study relies on : the general model of information use (Choo, 1998) and the information use environment model (Taylor, 1986, 1991). Concepts such as “user” and “information use” are also refined from the users perspective. At a practical level, this study contributes to the design of information retrieval systems best suited to satisfy the information needs of municipal middle managers. It also assesses the contribution of records information systems to the management of organizational memory. / Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada (CRSH), Fonds québécois de recherche sur la société et la culture (FQRSC), Manulife Financial Corporation, Fondation J.A. DeSève, Faculté des études supérieures de l’Université de Montréal (bourse de fin d’études), EBSI/Faculté des études supérieures de l’Université de Montréal (bourses conjointes)