The objective of this study was (i) to determine the relationship between sense of coherence, work engagement and burnout; and (ii) to determine whether, in terms of the various socio-demographic groups, namely, gender, age, race, marital status, number of years in current position and number of years in public service, the sample differed significantly in terms of their levels of sense of coherence, work engagement and burnout. A quantitative study, using primary data, was conducted using a convenience sample (N = 172) of middle managers in a public service organisation. The psychometric properties of the Orientation to Life Questionnaire, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory Scale were investigated before the hypothesis was tested. The statistical analysis of the data included descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics. The Kaiser-Meyer Olkin and Bartlett’s test of sphericity techniques were used to determine the exploratory factor analysis of all three measuring scales. A correlation analysis between the one-factor sense of coherence, one-factor work engagement and the three burnout sub-dimensions (exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy) was conducted. The Pearson product-moment correlation was used to determine the strength of the relationships between the variables. The level of significance was set at a 95% confidence interval level (p 􀀂􀀁0,05). Standard multiple regression analysis was used to establish whether there is a significant relationship between sense of coherence, work engagement and burnout. The Wilk’s lambda technique was used to test the results for significance, while Levene's test of equality of error variances technique was used to test the results for significance on the sense of coherence and work engagement scales with regard to the demographic groups. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between the participants’ sense of coherence, work engagement and burnout levels. Significant differences were also found between respondents in the marital status group and the burnout dimension, depersonalisation or cynicism. The results also reflected the wellbeing status of middle managers and indicated that the respondents were flourishing (feeling good as they scored a high sense of coherence and functioning well as indicated by a high score for work engagement). It is anticipated that the findings of the study will contribute valuable knowledge to employee wellbeing programmes in public service. The study concludes by making recommendations for future research practice. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Bakgrund: Ur den kritik som sedan 50-talet formulerats mot den byråkratiska “mekaniska” organisationsformen har en utveckling mot mer “organiska” organisationsformer skett. Detta har tillsammans med den tekniska utvecklingen, som under de senaste årtiondena fortskridit, kommit att förändra många verksamheter. Begreppet post-byråkrati har i många sammanhang blivit ett samlingsnamn för dessa nya organisationsformer. Även om organisationer i mångt och mycket framhålls som mer post-byråkratiska, alltså flexibla, nätverkande och decentraliserade, finns det argument för att särskilt mellanchefers arbete och roll inte har förändrats i samma utsträckning och att byråkratin upprätthålls. Det talar för att det förekommer ett glapp mellan föreställning och verklighet. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att beskriva hur ett post-byråkratiskt chefsbeteende gestaltas i organisationer som utger sig för att vara post-byråkratiska. Metod: Studien har genomförts med utgångspunkt i en kvalitativ forskningsansats där semistrukturerade intervjuer och observationer har tillämpats. Detta eftersom syftet var att studera fenomenet på djupet snarare än att producera numerisk data och se samband. Respondenterna utgjordes av sex mellanchefer från två olika organisationer, tre chefer från respektive organisation. Urvalet av organisationerna baserades på ett antal uppställda kriterier. Resultat/slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att ett post-byråkratiskt chefsbeteende gestaltas som en hybrid mellan byråkratiska och post-byråkratiska kännetecken. Denna kombination gör sig synlig i alla studerade områden inom chefsbeteendet, såsom kommunikation, kontroll/styrning, beslutsfattande, ledarskapsstil och det interpersonella. Dock visar studien att beteendet hos de studerade mellancheferna tenderar att vara övervägande post-byråkratiskt. / Background: From the criticisms that have been formulated against the bureaucratic "mechanical" organizational form since the 1950s, there has been a development towards more "organic" forms of organization. This has along with the technological development, which has continued in recent decades, changed many enterprises. The concept of post-bureaucracy has in many contexts become a collective name for these new organizational forms. Although organizations are widely regarded as more post-bureaucratic, for example being flexible, networking and decentralized, there are arguments that the work and role of middle managers has not changed in the same extent and that bureaucracy is maintained. A gap between assumption and reality seems to occur. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe how a post-bureaucratic managerial behavior is embodied in organizations claiming to be post-bureaucratic.Method: The study has been carried out on the basis of a qualitative research approach. Semi-structured interviews and observations have been applied, since the purpose was to study the phenomenon in depth rather than produce numerical data and compare different results with each other. The respondents consisted of six middle managers from two different organizations, three managers from each organization. The selection of organizations was based on a number of criteria. Results/Conclusion: The results of the study show that a post-bureaucratic managerial behavior is regarded as a hybrid between bureaucratic and post-bureaucratic characteristics. This combination is visible in all of the studied areas in managerial behavior, such as communication, control, decision-making, leadership style and the interpersonal. The study shows that the behavior of the studied middle managers tends to be predominantly post-bureaucratic.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Education (Management) at Technikon Natal / This study focused on the exercise of male power in middle management in technikons in KwaZulu-Natal, with particular reference to verbal communication. The glass ceiling, blocking promotions to senior positions, is a reality for women in technikons and the researcher explored the ways in which exploitation and marginalisation occur when sexism and power is wielded by males through verbal communication. / M

Chaque année, près de 700 attachés d'administration de l'État sont recrutés par concours. Ni agents de guichet ni hauts fonctionnaires, ce personnel peuple les échelons intermédiaires de la fonction publique, mais reste invisible aux usagers et peu connu des sciences sociales. Depuis 1970, les Instituts régionaux d'administration (IRA) ont la charge d’unifier le recrutement et d’homogénéiser les pratiques de ces fonctionnaires. L'étude de cette formation permet d’entrer dans l’atelier où se construit le mandat confié par l’État à ces cadres intermédiaires.Alliant sociologie de l'administration et sociologie de la socialisation, nous adoptons trois regards sur la formation de cet encadrement administratif intermédiaire. D'abord, l'analyse socio-historique des réformes des IRA éclaire à la fois les obstacles à la constitution d'un « corps interministériel » des attachés, et les compromis entre ministères qui permettent de stabiliser l'architecture de formation. À l'échelle de l'institution ensuite, l'étude des savoirs prescrits et enseignés donne à voir comment sont valorisées les activités des cadres intermédiaires au cours de leur formation, modélisant différentes figures de l'attaché. L'approche ethnographique du travail socialisateur de l'institution montre enfin que le mandat de l'attaché se fabrique aussi dans la variation des modes d'appropriations et dans les décalages par rapport aux attentes institutionnelles. Ces trois scènes d'investigation constituent un observatoire de la double tension qui travaille l'encadrement administratif intermédiaire : celle qui oppose l’unification du groupe à sa dispersion, et celle qui défend l’autonomie de l’attaché dans le processus de délégation hétéronome des tâches. À la fois encadré et encadrant, « technique » et « généraliste », « juriste » et « manager », le mandat de l'attaché oscille en fonction de ce que l'État – depuis les administrateurs des ministères jusqu'aux formateurs des IRA – veut faire de son administration. / Every year in France, about 700 administrative officers (French attachés) get hired thanks to a competition. They are neither street level bureaucrats nor top civil servants, but these civil servants constitute most of the intermediate administrative staff of public services. Yet, they remain mostly invisible to citizens and little known to social scientists. Since 1970, Regional Administration Institutes (IRA) have been designed to merge and homogenize the recruitment, training, and practices of these public agents. The study of those educational institutions sheds light on the process through which the State assigns these middle managers a specific mandate.Combining sociological approaches of public administration and of socialization, three perspectives related to the middle managers’ training are being developed. First, a socio-historical analysis of the reforms of the IRA sheds light on hardships encountered by the administration in establishing an inter-ministerial “corps”. This approach allows us to understand compromises between ministries that allow the stabilization of the training’s organization. Then, within the IRA institution, the study of prescribed and taught knowledge enlightens the different activities entrusted to middle managers during their training. These skills shape various figures of the public services' middle managers. Finally, an ethnographic approach of processes of socialization within the IRA institution shows that the mandate of the attaché also stems from various modes of appropriation and discrepancies from institutional expectations.These three sites of investigation constitute an interesting vantage point of two type of deep-seated tensions among middle management. First, the tension between the unification of the group and its scattering. Then, that between the attachés’ autonomy and their participation in the “dirty work” chain of delegation. Both manager and managed, both technician and non-specialist, both legal expert and team leader, the mandate of these middle managers fluctuates depending on what the State wants to achieve with its administration.

In recent years, South Africa has seen increasing cultural diversification with regard to the appointment of managers in private healthcare facilities. However, research conducted in this area remains extremely limited. The aim of the present study was to explore and describe cultural values and leadership styles of middle managers at a private sector hospital in the Eastern Cape. Hofstede’s (1980, a ) model of cultural values served as a theoretical framework to conceptualise this study. The study was qualitative in nature and made use of in-depth research interviews conducted with a diverse sample of middle managers. The researcher made use of homogeneous and convenience sampling and utilised five participants. The qualitative data was analysed using Tesch’s (1990, in De Vos, 2002) method of analysis. Results revealed that despite the differences in personal culture, most of the managers are similar in their leadership styles and are also affected by the organizational culture. The results of the study contribute to a better understanding of the influence of cultural values and leadership styles in South Africa and will thereby benefit health institutions in their dealings with their modern day multi-cultural management staff.

Job satisfaction studies are an essential element for ensuring improvement in service delivery. The researcher was committed to assist top management with important information that can make them aware of the causes and consequences of job satisfaction (Nel, Van Dyk, Haasbroek, Schultz, Sono and Werner, 2006:52). Job satisfaction is not only concerned with feeling good at work, it also encompasses job content, the work environment and interaction with all people. The study was conducted at the Department of Health in the Province of the Eastern Cape. This study aimed to describe the level of job satisfaction amongst middle managers of the Department of Health (DoH) at the Head Office, in terms of remuneration, interpersonal relationships, development, support, recognition, extent of supervision, their attitude to the work itself and working conditions.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka förändringar i en mellanchefs roll i samband med en omorganisation. Få en djupare förståelse om olika beslutsfattande chefers situationer och vad de ställs inför. Hur ska organisationen kommunicera i och under en förändringsprocess för involvering av alla berörda parter.  Studien är av kvalitativ karaktär. Resultatet har samlats in via semistrukturerade intervjuer med Länsstyrelsen Värmlands nio enhetschefer. Organisationen har genomgått en stor organisatorisk förändring. Resultatet har tolkats och analyserats mot tidigare forskning. Studien som presenteras är en vetenskaplig studie.  Länsstyrelsen Värmlands omorganisation har resulterat i en hög belastning för mellancheferna och en komplexitet i utförandet av omorganisationen. Kommunikationen inom organisationen har påvisat dysfunktionalitet och informationsflödet har ansetts för högt.  Mellanchefens roll handlar hela tiden om växelverkan. Rollen ska hantera både ledning och medarbetares förväntningar, mellanchefen agerar språkrör. En generalisering till organisationer, även internationellt sett då mellanchefens position finns i många verksamheter. Mellanchefen måste anpassa sig och infinna sig i rollen som handlar om växelverkan.  Inställningen till omorganisationen var från början positiv och tanken bakom den var god, dock blev det inte som förväntat varken för ledning eller mellanchefer. / The purpose of this study is to examine the changes in a middle management role related to a reorganization. The purpose is to provide a deeper understanding about different situations of a decision-making manager and what they face. How should the organization communicate during a process of change for involvement of all affected parties.  The study is of a qualitative nature. The results have been collected through semi-structured interviews with nine unit managers at the county administrative board of Värmland. The organization has undergone a major organizational change. The result has been interpreted and analyzed against previous research. The presented study is a scientific study.  The reorganization of the county administrative board of Värmland has resulted in a high load and great complexity for the middle managers. Communication within the organization has demonstrated dysfunctionality and the information flow has been considered too high.  The middle management role is always about intercommunion. The role must handle expectations from both top management and employees. The middle manager acts as a spokesperson. A generalization to organizations, even internationally, is the middle manager position found in many businesses. The middle manager must adapt to the role with intercommunion.  The attitudes towards the reorganization was positive from the beginning and the idea behind it was good, but the top management and the middle managers didn’t expect the result of the planned outcome.

Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka på vilket sätt mellanchefer upplever att medarbetarenkäter kan vara ett verktyg för förändring och utveckling med utgångspunkt i kartläggning av den psykosociala arbetsmiljön. Medarbetarenkäter är ett diskuterat ämne som rymmer olika åsikter. Utifrån syftet har tre frågeställningar formulerats: Med fokus på den psykosociala arbetsmiljön, Vad anser mellanchefer är syftet med medarbetarenkäter?, Hur upplever mellanchefer att resultatet av medarbetarenkäterna tas om hand och används i förändringsarbetet? samt Vilken roll får resultatet av medarbetarenkäter i arbetet med att driva förändringsprocesser, enligt mellancheferna? Studien är kvalitativ och har genomförts genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. Det empiriska materialet är baserat på intervjuer med sju mellanchefer i omsorgsförvaltningen, där samtliga har minst tre års erfarenhet av att arbeta med medarbetarenkäter som verktyg. Teorier som används är Kurt Lewins förändringsmodell samt Karaseks & Theorells (1990) krav-kontroll-stödmodell. Dessa används för att förstå det empiriska materialet och sätta studien i en vetenskaplig kontext.  Studiens resultat visar att mellanchefer upplever att syftet med medarbetarenkäter är att fånga upp medarbetarnas åsikter, att mäta den psykosociala arbetsmiljön, att fungera som en temperaturmätning och ett komplement till andra verktyg. Vidare beskriver många att syftet uppnås om chefen arbetar med den på rätt sätt, vilket inte alltid görs. Resurser som tid och pengar påverkar och stoppar ofta arbetet med medarbetarenkäterna. Vidare upplever många av respondenterna att hur resultatet av medarbetarenkäterna tas om hand beror på hur de själva, cheferna, kommunicerar ut syftet, resultatet samt hur de får medarbetarna engagerade i processen. Efterarbetet och eget ledarskap har en stor betydelse i respondenternas upplevelse kring hur enkäten faktiskt leder till förändring och utveckling på arbetsplatsen. Det verkar även vara chefen som är den som är ansvarig för att en förändring ska ske även om det är ett samspel med medarbetarna. / The purpose of this study is to investigate the way in which middle managers feel that employee surveys can be a tool for change and development based on the psychosocial work environment. Employee surveys are a discussed topic that contains different opinions. Based on the purpose, three questions have been formulated: With a focus on the psychosocial work environment, what do middle managers think is the purpose of employee surveys?, How do middle managers feel that the results of the employee surveys are taken care of and used in the change work? and What role does the result of employee surveys play in the work of running processes, according to the middle managers? The study is qualitative and has been conducted through semi-structured interviews. The empirical material is based on interviews with seven middle managers in the care administration, all of whom have at least three years' experience of working with employee surveys as a tool. Theories used are Kurt Lewin's change model and Karasek´s & Theorell's requirements-control-support model. These are used to understand the empirical material and put it in a scientific context. The results of the study shows that middle managers feel that the purpose of employee surveys is to capture the employees' opinions, function as a yardstick for the psychosocial work environment, that is, function as a temperature measurement and a complement to other tools. Furthermore, many describe that the purpose is achieved if the manager works with it in the right way, which is not always done. Resources such as time and money often affect and stop the work with the employee surveys. Moreover, many of the respondents experience that how the results of the employee surveys are handled depends on how they, the managers, communicate the purpose, the results and how they get the employees involved in the process. The follow-up work and own leadership are of great importance in the respondents' experience of how the survey actually leads to change and development in the workplace. It also seems to be the manager who is responsible for a change to take place even if it is an interaction with the employees.

Background: Research in digital transformation has previously focused on understanding top management and operational roles but the role of middle management has rarely been examined. This despite several studies showing that the middle manager has a central role in change processes. A few studies have shed light on how the middle manager influence and contribute to digital transformation, however, there are few empirical studies that examine how the middle manager works to drive change in digital transformation. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create a deeper understanding about middle management’s role in digital transformation.  Methodology: This is a qualitative case study of a company in household services. It is based on five semi-structured interviews and a literature review. The study has adopted an abductive approach. Conclusion: The study shows that the middle manager acts as a connecting link between management and operational level. The results show that middle managers drive change in digital transformation by identifying problems and business opportunities, initiating change, interpreting and translating management language for employees, promoting and raising ideas from the operational activities and following up and modifying change processes to achieve better results. They have the opportunity to do this because of their intermediate position in the organization. / Bakgrund: Forskningen inom digital transformation har tidigare fokuserat på att förstå lednings- och operativa roller, men till stor grad negligerat mellanchefsperspektivet. Detta trots att flera studier belyst att mellanchefen har en central roll i förändringsarbete. Ett fåtal studier har undersökt hur mellanchefen influerar och bidrar till digital transformation. Däremot finns det få empiriska studier som undersöker hur mellanchefen faktiskt arbetar för att driva förändring inom digital transformation. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att skapa djupare förståelse för mellanchefens roll i digital transformation. Genomförande: Detta är en kvalitativ fallstudie av ett företag inom hushållsnära tjänster. Den utgår från fem semistrukturerade intervjuer samt en litteratur genomgång. Studien har antagit en abduktiv ansats. Slutsats: Studien visar att mellanchefen fungerar som en förbindelselänk mellan ledning och operativ nivå. Resultaten visar att mellanchefer driver förändring i digital transformation genom att identifiera problem och affärsmöjligheter, initiera förändring, tolka och översätta ledningens språk för medarbetare, främja och lyfta idéer från den operativa verksamheten och följer upp och modifierar förändringsprocesser för att uppnå bättre resultat. De har möjligheten att göra detta på grund av deras mellanliggande position i organisationen.

Pandemin Covid-19 resulterade i en tiofaldig ökning av distansarbete i Sverige under 2020. Detta medförde att många mellanchefer behövde utöva sitt ledarskap i en ny kontext,nämligen på distans. Distansledarskap är ett relativt nytt men redan omfattande forskningsområde. Däremot förhåller sig denna forskning inte till ledarskap som abrupt och oplanerat behöver ställa om till distansledarskap. Dessutom utgår mycket av tidigare ledarskapsforskning från ett ledningsperspektiv och inte mellanchefsperspektiv. Syftet med denna studie mynnade därför ut i att söka förståelse för hur mellanchefens ledarskappåverkats av omställningen till distansarbete. För att uppnå syftet formulerades tre forskningsfrågor: (1.) Hur upplever mellanchefen att ledarskapet gentemot den operativa personalen har utmanats i och med omställningen till distans? (2.) Hur har mellanchefen anpassat sitt ledarskap för att ta hänsyn till utmaningarna som uppstått? (3.) Vilka aspekter är viktiga att beakta för att leda på distans? Studien baseras på en kvalitativ metod innefattande sex semistrukturerade intervjuer. Respondenterna är mellanchefer närmast den operativa personalen som ställt om till distansarbete under 2020. Den framkomna slutsatsen är att samtliga upplevda utmaningar och anpassningar därefter kan relateras till hälsa, relationskapande och kommunikation. Dessa tre aspekter framkom som viktiga för en mellanchef att beakta då de ska ställa om till ett distansledarskap. Denna studie bidrar med djupare förståelse kring hur mellanchefers ledarskap påverkats av den hastiga omställningen till distansledarskap som Covid-19 resulterade i. Detta är användbart för framtida mellanchefer som ska genomföra en liknande distansomställning. / The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a tenfold increase in remote working in Sweden year 2020. This induced that many middle managers had to exercise their leadership in a new context, namely remotely. Remote leadership is a relatively new but already extensive research area. However, this prior research does not account for leadership that abruptly and unplanned must transit to remote leadership. Additionally, most prior leadership research focus primarily on a top management perspective, thus not on a middle management perspective. The purpose of this study therefore culminated in seeking understanding of how middle managers' leadership has been affected due to the transition to telework. To fulfill the purpose, three research questions were constructed:  (1.) How does the middle manager perceive that their leadership towards the operational staff has been challenged due to the transition to remote work? (2.) How has the middle manager adapted its leadership in regard to the challenges? (3.) What aspects are important to consider when leading remotely?  This study is based on a qualitative method and includes six semi-structured interviews. The respondents are all middle managers closest to the operational staff and have transitioned to remote work in 2020. The conclusion that emerged is that all perceived challenges and the leadership adaptions in regard to the challenges can be associated to health, relationship building and communication. These three aspects are important for middle managers to consider when transiting to remote leadership. This study contributes with deeper understanding of how middle managers ́ leadership has been affected by the rapid transition to remote leadership that Covid-19 induced. This is useful for middle managers who make a similar transition to remote work in the future.