Syftet med denna studie är att få en ökad förståelse för hur kvinnliga medarbetares motivation påverkas av ledarskap, samt att få en ökad förståelse för vad motivation är och vad ledarskap är. Har ledarskap med manligt och kvinnligt att göra eller bara med personligheten? Syftet med studien är också att undersöka hur mycket en ledare kan påverka motivationen hos sina medarbetare och vilka metoder som en ledare använder sig av och vilka personliga egenskaper hos en ledare som uppfattas som positivt för ökande av motivationen. Vi har valt att göra en kvalitativ undersökning med hjälp av öppna och riktade intervjuer. Vi började gå igenom studier i form av vetenskapliga artiklar och sen gick vi ut på fältet och samlade in empiriskt material och sedan tillbaka till teorierna för att hitta kopplingar vilket innebär abduktiv ansats. Eftersom vi önskade unika svar och sedan kunna analysera svaren om hur motivationen påverkas, så kan man säga att vi var influerade av ett hermeneutiskt synsätt då vi ville nå förståelse och få individuella svar från varje respondent.Forskning visar att varje individ har en egen uppfattning om vad ledarskap är för något och detta beror på utbildning och erfarenheter. I litteraturen finns många aspekter på ledarskap, av vilka vi har utgått från två olika. Den ena bygger på att man lär under hela livet och då utvecklas ledarskapet parallellt med livserfarenheten. Den andra synen är att man är född till ledare och är därför inget man kan lära sig. Motivation är ofta en viktig faktor som driver en person framåt och vad som motiverar en enskild person är individuellt. En del forskning menar att det finns en skillnad mellan kvinnligt och manligt ledarskap och därmed skulle det föreligga en könsskillnad. Annan forskning pekar mot att sättet att bedriva ledarskap på är helt beroende på ledarens personlighet och den sociala miljö som ledaren är uppväxt i.Resultatet av vår studie visar att vissa medarbetare vill ha en ledare som fokuserar på uppgiften medan andra vill ha en som fokuserar på relationen. Det optimala hade varit en ledare som klarar av att fokusera på båda delarna beroende på vilken medarbetare som är i centrum för tillfället. Inom motivationen har vi kommit fram till att det inte går att på ett sätt motivera alla kvinnliga medarbetare utan motivationsfaktorerna är individuella. Inte helt förvånande har vi funnit att lönen är den viktigaste motivationsfaktorn för alla respondenter. Andra faktorer är kundnöjdhet och feedback från chefer, kunder samt trevliga kollegor. Detta visar på att alla är mycket väl medvetna om vad som motiverar och hur de vill att en ledare ska agera. Även angående manligt och kvinnligt ledarskap har våra kvinnliga respondenter svarat olika så vi kan inte dra slutsatser om att kvinnliga ledare agerar och motiverar på ett annorlunda sätt än manliga. Vår huvudslutsats av detta är att både motivation och gott ledarskap är individuellt för alla personer och bör individanpassas för att kunna fungera optimalt för alla medarbetare.

Many cities focus on cycling due to the multiple advantages including individual, societal, and economic advantages. Eskilstuna municipality in Sweden is one of the cases that aim to develop cycling, but the question is if the municipality has managed in developing winter cycling because of the special winter weather characteristics, cold, windy, snowy, and dark. This study focuses on the experiences of commuters when commuting in winter in Eskilstuna municipality. The goal of this study is to identify and analyze the motivators and barriers that influence winter cycle commuting, and the research result can contribute to improving the cycling rate in Eskilstuna municipality. The researcher examined the issues in Eskilstuna municipality through qualitative analysis from the focus group interview and interview and document analysis. Factors such as prioritized cycle lanes, the construction of new cycle lanes, preference for wellbeing, social influence (such as cycling culture and cycle-friendly atmosphere), the good function of the cycle (including the cycle, the tire, the cycle lights), good private economy situation were identified as motivators to cycling to work in winter. By contrast, issues that are related to lack of infrastructure maintenance and lack of cycle lanes, the darkness, the snow, limitation in practices of the policy, and cleanness as a social norm were identified as barriers. However, some factors were identified as irrelevant factors such as low temperature, showing room, parking space, and scenery.

I have concentrated my diploma work to the system of motivation and stimulation. As a subject of my study I chose the company AISIN EUROPE MANUFACTURING CZECH s.r.o. that currently employs 270 people. Its motivation and stimulation system has got very sofisticated structure for motivation and stimulation of the employees. As a method of my work I have chosen investigation by questionnaire, interview and observation. The questionnaire that became a starting point of my study was based on theoretical knowledge and features important for evaluation. The goal of the investigation was to analyze attitude of the employees to the individual motives and motivators and herewith to find out how they perceive fulfilment of those factors by the company. Answers to each question are displayed in a graph and a chart which are accompanied by the results and discussion. Inquired group of employees covered all the departments in the company. Getting to know the wide range of motivation and stimulation means in the company, I found out that the company AISIN EUROPE MANUFACTURING CZECH s.r.o. prefers material remuneration and offering benefits to the employees. Regarding remuneration, I would propose to apply flexible component of the salary that a manager could use to valuate a subordinate more often, respectively in one month period. Regarding communication and information flow, I would recommend to install digital mean of sharing information and also to place it close to the employee entrance in order to announce the changes to the employees as soon as they enter the plant. Another proposal for improvement is to start operation of company buses for the employees. Thereby the company might recruit qualified manpower also from locations close to premises of the company but currently without good trasportation service.

Background: Motivation creates meaning in both big and small things. Previous studies have shown that the field of motivation is important as it affects the skills individuals develop, which jobs and careers individuals take on and also how individuals allocate resources such as attention, effort and time. Motivation is essential for both individual well-being and organizational success. In an increasingly globalized world, companies can become more competitive by hiring consultants and reports have shown that the consulting sector is expanding. Purpose and issue: The purpose with this study is to examine how work motivation is founded in consultants and also if there are any factors that differs between full time employed and part time employed consultants. Method: This study is a qualitative case study. Eight semi structured interviews, where the respondents have been answering questions related to work motivation, have been made. The collected empirical data has then been analyzed using a theory synthesis and previous research. Conclusion: The result in this case study has shown that fellowship and relationships, own growth, responsibility, rewards and goals are important elements in motivation. It is, however, a bit problematic to make a general conclusion out of these results because they contain different perceptions, reasonings and opinions among the respondents.

This study observed the effects of different school forms on the political interest of its students. The purpose of investigating the political interest based on school form is to see if there are any outstanding differences between private and public schools regarding political interest. The reason for this investigation was the falling grades and the diminishing political interest observed in prior studies used for this assignment as well as a reform in the school system called “Skolreformen” in Swedish that has been in effect for over 20 years at this point. Data was collected via a survey where students in four different high schools, both in the public and private, answered questions about their political interest, current study situation, view on the future and other questions related to school and political interest. A quantitative method was used, where the answers of the survey were cross tabulated to correlate different operative indicators and build a narrative to be analyzed. Quantitative correlation analysis was used to analyze the narrative. The study concluded that the political interest is overall low in both school forms. No major differences were noted between school forms, the view of the future affects political interests in a greater regard than what was expected.

This thesis on „Form and methods in construction“ is focused on satisfaction and motivation of employees from UNISTAV a.s. company. In theoretical part I focus on the most important and generally accepted theory of motivation. I also mention forms of motivation and also methods which can be used by managers in construction to challenge and stimulate their employees to perform better and to identify goals of individuals with goals of company. In the last part I introduce relevant information about studied company. As an example for empirical part of work, based on working hypothesis I created two questionnaires. On for ordinary customer and second one for managers. I also studied opinions on company communications and corporate culture in general. One of the main benefits of this thesis is, that it clearly defines weak and strong spots relative to the chosen topic. It also compares views of employees and their managers. From these findings I constructed series of solutions and recommendations. For convenience I show my findings in form of simple graphs.

This thesis explores what motivates women in a leadership position, in a sales role and in the technology industry. The field lacks previous research on this specific subject. Using one need-based and one process-based work motivation theory, the study aims to identify and map motivational factors that are regarded by women. A holistic conceptualization of work motivation and prominent research is presented. Implications for motivation are researched with a theoretical approach that integrates Herzberg’s hygiene-motivator factor theory and Vroom’s expectancy theory. The study uses abductive reasoning with a qualitative research strategy. Empirical evidence is primarily gathered by semi-structured interviews. 10 women in tech sales working for Nordic branches of various companies were interviewed. Pattern matching and thematic analysis generated a number of aggregated themes consistent in having a contribution to motivation: the role and work tasks, inner motivation, the organization and lastly, the people and relationships. The study both conforms to and adds new layers to the theoretical framework, and further concludes a number of important motivational factors for the women. The result shows that both hygiene and motivator-factors have the potential to impact the rational process leading to motivation, thus the components in the expectancy theory.

As organizations are being confronted with the pool of people seeking employment that are increasingly diverse in terms of ethnicity (Oerlemans et al. 2008), and as job satisfaction has been one of the important drivers for work-related well-being in employees, there have been a number of studies about job satisfaction among ethnic minorities (Spector 1997). Although there is a growing body of research on job satisfaction and ethnic minorities at work, there is still a paucity of studies regarding factors impacting job satisfaction among ethnic minorities specifically. The present study explores contributing factors impacting ethnic minorities’ job satisfaction, using qualitative method based on Motivator-Hygiene Theory (Frederick 1966, 2003) and Job Characteristics Theory (Hackman and Oldham 1976). Three Hispanic/Latino Americans and three Asian Americans, all workers in construction sites in Samsung semiconductor in Austin, Texas, were individually interviewed with open-ended questions by the author in the summer of 2010. Participants reported professional development opportunities and appropriate and well-deserved compensation as the main factors impacting job satisfaction, while heavy workload, not being recognized, time constrains, and stressful work environment were reported as factors in dissatisfaction. Family, personal goals and money were the three most important personal values that participants considered when making decisions about their career paths. It is important to continue to examine other predictors of and contributing factors to job satisfaction of ethnic minority employees, so that their employers and managers in the work place can form a better understanding of these populations and work effectively with them. It is also important to educate human resources professionals about ethnic minorities’ needs and how those needs can be met for work-related well-being. / text

Bakgrund: Invandringen till Sverige har ökat de senaste åren. Detta ställer organisationer inför nya utmaningar då det gäller att rekrytera och kunna tillgodogöra sig den kompetens som den nytillkomna befolkningen besitter. Sveriges riksdag vill främja mångfalden på svenska arbetsplatser och har lagstadgat att organisationer aktivt måste arbeta med mångfaldsarbete. Till följd av att direktiv saknats har rekryteringsförfarandet präglats av att chefer tenderar att rekrytera individer som liknar dem själva, vilket resulterar i homogena gruppkonstellationer. Denna företeelse benämns som homosocial reproduktion. Vikten av en mångfaldsplan är därav väsentlig för att organisationens mångfaldsarbete skall vara genomgående i hela organisationen. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att beskriva och analysera chefers uppfattning om hur rekrytering sker utifrån organisationens mångfaldsplan Metod: Då syftet med studien är att beskriva och analysera enskilda individers upplevelser har en kvalitativ undersökningsmetod använts. Sju individuella semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts i relation till vår teoretiska referensram. Slutsatser: Studiens resultat visar tydligt på chefers bristande engagemang för att läsa mångfaldsplanen. Vidare har föreliggande studie visat att cheferna upplever att mångfaldsplanen inte går att applicera på de lokala kontoren, vilket resulterar i att HR:s informationsspridning fallerar. Studien har därav visat att mångfaldsplanen inte påverkat chefers rekryteringsförfarande. Föreliggande studie har visat att chefer rekryterar enligt personliga preferenser och har diversifierade gruppsammansättningar i form av varierande kön, ålder, arbetslivserfarenhet och akademisk bakgrund. Föreliggande studie har visat att etnicitet inte involveras i chefernas definition av mångfald vilket kan tyda på etnisk underordning. / Background: Immigration to Sweden has increased in recent years requiring organizations to utilize the newly arrived population. The Swedish Parliament wishes to promote diversity in Swedish workplaces and has laid down a law stating that organizations must actively work on diversity. Due to the absence of a directive, the recruitment procedure has been characterized by managers tending to recruit individuals similar to themselves, which has resulted in homogeneous group configurations. This phenomenon is called homosocial reproduction. The importance of a diversity policy is therefore essential for diversity to be continuous throughout the organization. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to describe and analyze the manager's perception of how recruitment is based on the organization's diversity policy. Method: Since the purpose of the study is to describe and analyze individual experiences, a qualitative survey method has been used. Seven individual semi- structured interviews have been conducted in relation to our theoretical reference framework. Conclusion: The results of the study emphasize the manager's lack of commitment to reading the diversity policy. Furthermore, the present study has shown that managers perceive that the diversity policy cannot be applied at local offices, resulting in HR failing to disseminate the information. The study has also shown that the diversity policy did not affect the manager's recruitment process. The present study has shown that managers recruit according to personal preferences and have diversified group compositions in the form of varying gender, age, work experience and academic background. The present study has shown that ethnicity is not involved in the manager's definition of diversity, which may indicate ethnic subordination.

Motivation is critical to the effective management of social workers in an organisation. A literature study of the concept motivation and an empirical study on the motivational function of the social work manager were conducted. This exploratory/descriptive study aimed to set scientifically grounded guidelines for the implementation of motivation as management function of social work managers. The literature indicated that motivating employees is the responsibility of social work managers. Research showed that social workers, social work managers and the organisation do benefit from motivation. The respondents indicated that motivation as a management function is important. They highlighted that intrinsic motivation and internal and external motivators influence their motivation positively. Organisational policies and a leadership style characterised by autocracy and a laissez-faire approach are demotivating. Social work managers should apply the principles of motivation theories, motivational strategies and guidelines to maintain and sustain motivation. Conclusions and recommendations were made regarding the motivational function of the social work manager. / Social work / M. Diac. (Social Work)