Organizational democracy has been a popular research area in recent decades but the implementation in real organizations is slow (Kokkinidis, 2012; Verdorfer, Weber, Unter Rainer & Seyr, 2013). Several researchers (Schön Jansson, 2012; Falkheimer, Heide & Johansson, 2013) argue that communication practitioners have a key role in democratic processes and that because their job role is under constant change there are only a few modern studies regarding the subject. The purpose of this study is to illustrate how communication practitioners in private and public organizations experience their role in the process of internal communication and to what extent they are aware of, and work with internal organizational democracy. The practitioners we interviewed had a strong feeling that they were a support function for the business and the organizational management. As a result of the study it is clear that communication practitioners are very loyal to their employers and to the organization they work for. They are, therefore, not neutral in their professional role and argue that their task is to represent the management's interests. All interview respondents managed to unite their loyal mission with an employee perspective in their work. We found that the communication practitioners in our study worked unconsciously for organizational democracy. We have been able to draw this conclusion from the respondents’ discussions of how they work with democratic conditions such as transparency, freedom of speech and values within the organization. However, they lack understanding of organizational democracy as a concept or process. The respondents did not feel that they were responsible for enabling democratic conditions such as participation and dialogue, but rather that they should set the tone for the organization's communication and provide guidelines for communication environment and language. The democratic conditions that the respondents were working with are cultural norms and values that they carry with them in their work. We therefore argue that the practitioners’ work is very much influenced by Sweden's democratic form of government and the society in which the organization operates. / Organisatorisk demokrati har varit ett populärt forskningsområde de senaste decennierna men implementeringen i verkliga organisationer går långsamt (Kokkinidis, 2012; Verdorfer, Weber, Unterrainer & Seyr, 2013). Flera forskare (Schön Jansson, 2012; Falkheimer, Heide & Johansson, 2013) argumenterar för att kommunikatörer har en nyckelroll i demokratiska processer och eftersom kommunikatörers uppdrag är under ständig förändring finns få moderna studier. Syftet med denna studie är att belysa hur kommunikatörer i privata respektive offentliga organisationer upplever sitt uppdrag i arbetet med internkommunikation och i vilken mån de är medvetna om samt arbetar med intern organisatorisk demokrati. Kommunikatörerna som vi intervjuat hade en stark upplevelse av att de är en stödfunktion för verksamheten och organisationsledningen. Ur studiens resultat framgår det tydligt av deras uttalanden att kommunikatörerna är mycket lojala mot sin arbetsgivare och den organisation som de arbetar för. De är därför inte neutrala i sitt yrkesuppdrag utan argumenterar för att deras uppgift är att representera ledningens intressen. Alla intervjurespondenter lyckas dock förena sitt lojala uppdrag med ett medarbetarperspektiv i sitt arbete. Vi fann att kommunikatörerna i vår studie arbetar omedvetet för en organisatorisk demokrati. Denna slutsats har vi kunnat dra då respondenterna diskuterar hur de arbetar med demokratiska förutsättningar så som transparens, yttrandefrihet och värderingar internt. De har dock bristande kunskap om organisatorisk demokrati som begrepp eller process. Respondenterna upplevde inte att de ansvarar för att möjliggöra demokratiska förutsättningar som delaktighet och dialog, men att de bör sätta ton för organisationens kommunikation och skapa riktlinjer för kommunikationsmiljö och språkbruk. De demokratiska förutsättningarna som respondenterna arbetar med är istället kulturella normer och värderingar som de bär med sig i sitt arbete. Vi argumenterar därför för att kommunikatörernas arbete i allra högsta grad påverkas av Sveriges demokratiska statsskick och det samhälle som organisationen verkar inom.

A social intranet is an information and communication channel that is relatively new. There is still a small amount of research done around social intranet and what it is, and also on what organizations and their members may benefit from using such an intranet. Therefore, this paper was written with the purpose to em-phasize the reasons, possibilities and difficulties of implementing and using a so-cial intranet. With interview as method we took part of the experiences and views on social intranet from a number of organizations that are using or is about to establish a social intranet, and also from companies who deliver the service. Through the use of previous research in organizational communication, we then analysed the responses we received from our respondents. Our results and con-clusions show that social intranet are meant to open up a two-way communication in the organization and should be seen as a work tool. Employees get a chance to contribute information and knowledge on the intranet, which creates a greater participation and solidarity in the organization. The results also showed interest-ing differences in perceptions of social intranet between suppliers and clients. The big difference here was how far the employees would be involved in the process of creating a social intranet. Suppliers pushed more on employee involvement than some of the clients did. Differences that existed in both groups were also how they termed social intranets, and how they named the various groups that can be created in the social intranets. / Sociala intranät är en informations- och kommunikationskanal som är relativt ny och det finns ännu inte så mycket forskning kring sociala intranät, vad det är för något och vad organisationer och dess medlemmar kan ha för nytta av ett sådant intranät. Därför skrevs denna uppsats med syftet att belysa just orsaker, möjlig-heter och svårigheter med att införa och använda ett socialt intranät. Med intervju som metod har vi fått ta del av erfarenheter och åsikter om sociala intranät från ett flertal organisationer som använder eller ska införa ett socialt intranät, och även från företag som levererar tjänsten. Genom att använda oss av tidigare forsk-ning inom organisationskommunikation har vi sedan analyserat de svar vi fått av våra respondenter. Resultatet och slutsatserna visar bland annat att sociala intranät ska öppna upp för en tvåvägskommunikation i organisationen och ska ses som ett arbetsverktyg. Genom att de anställda får bidra med information och kunskap på intranätet skapar det en större delaktighet och gemenskap i organisationen. Resultatet visade även intressanta skillnader i uppfattningar om socialt intranät mellan leverantörer och beställare. Den stora skillnaden här var i hur stor utsträck-ning de anställa skulle vara delaktiga i processen av att skapa ett socialt intranät. Leverantörerna tryckte mer på de anställdas inblandning än vad några av bestäl-larna gjorde. Skillnader som fanns inom de båda grupperna var även hur de be-nämnde sociala intranät samt vad de kallade de olika grupper som går att skapa i de sociala intranäten.

Den miljökommunikation som sker internt i ett företag grundar sig i organisationens val och genomförande av miljöstrategi. Kommunikation kan beskrivas som processen för människors kontaktmed varandra och i denna process kan olika typer av hinder uppstå. I denna studie är mitt syfte att undersöka hur den interna miljökommunikationen ser ut och fungerar uppåtriktat, nedåtriktat och horisontellt inom Coop Forum i förhållande till vald miljöstrategi, samt att föreslå hur kommunikationen skulle kunna förbättras om behov av detta ses. Projektet har utförts som en kvalitativ fallstudie och i huvudsak genom metoden kvalitativ, semistandardiserad intervju. För att Coop Forum helt skall kunna förverkliga sin allomfattande hållbarhetsstrategi krävs vidare implementering i all verksamhet. Tydliga direktiv från ledning är viktigt för att alla medarbetare i en organisation skall ha möjlighet att ta miljöansvar i sitt arbete. Den interna organisationskommunikationen gällande miljöfrågor mellan Coop Sverige och Coop Forum stormarknad fungerar väl och sker i huvudsak genom miljöchefen för Coop Forum och miljögruppen på stormarknaden. Informationsteknik som medel är av stor betydelse i denna kommunikation. Trots att miljöarbetet upplevs väl integrerat i verksamheten på stormarknaden kan tidsbrist och låg prioritering av miljöfrågor vara problem som uppstår. Slutligen kan också sägas att den horisontella kommunikationen mellan stormarknader bör ökas för att utnyttja den kunskap som finns tillgänglig inom organisationen.

Abstract It is valuable in large organization with multiple hierarchical levels that the general goals are communicated at all levels of the organization. Organizations usually have an overall business plan, which should serve as a guide and indicate the organization’s direction. Middle managers have an important part in communicating the overall business plan since they are a link between upper management and employees.   The purpose of this study was to examine how middle managers, in their role as a link between upper management and employees, communicate the overall business plan. The study was conducted at the County council in Värmland, which represents a large hierarchical organization. The overall business plan was landstingplanen. The theoretical framework used was primarily theories and previous research in organizational communication, communicative leadership and communication and structure. Eight middle managers were selected through a variety selection. The eight respondents were interviewed to examine in what way they are communicating and establishing the County council's overall business plan.   The results showed that the overall business plan is established and communicated in the different levels of the organization since it is broken down in two steps. The overall business plan functions as a support and gives guidance in how to accomplish the goals that are conveyed. The balanced scorecard that is a part of the overall business plan fills an important role in what middle management choose to priorities and communicate to their employees. However, the results indicated that the general formulation in the overall business plan resulted in a relatively free interpretation among the middle managers. Furthermore, the results showed that the attitudes against the County council’s vision among the respondents were fairly negative. The results also indicated that the middle managers are operating from a communicative leadership in communicating the overall business plan to their employees, but for this to be realized there must be a communicative empowerment.  The results also showed that discrepancy between the upper management and the employees was perceived as large, which may obstruct the middle managers to establish the overall business plan.

Rapid expansion, globalization and companies always wanting bigger market shares are just a few of the reasons why digital internal communication is a must in organisations today. In parallel, digital development has increased rapidly during the last decades and organisations that keep up with technological innovations can gain competitive advantages. But how does digital technology affect organisational members? The COVID-19 pandemic has forced digital communication and remote work to many organisations. Making sense of digital communication and maintaining employee engagement are new challenges that organisations need to manage in the digital format. The purpose of this thesis is to explain how to make sense of digital internal communication and how this affects employee engagement. A case study of Organisation X digital communication consisting of four qualitative interviews and secondary data has been conducted to investigate this. A theoretical framework consisting of theories about sensemaking and employee engagement are combined to construct an analysis model that explains this relationship. The results show that digital communication through video-calls and informal communication channels are effective for sensemaking in the digital environment. The results also show that social interactions decrease in digital communication due to more planned communication, which affects employee engagement.

Denna kvantitativa studie undersöker faktorer som kan ha påverkat resultatet på Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions medarbetarundersökning relaterat till påståendet "There is open and honest two-way communication at our company” och varför. Studien tillämpade en enkät som distribuerades på Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions intranät och via e-post och fanns att tillgå för cirka 1900 medarbetare. Totalt besvarade 34 medarbetare på studiens enkät.  Sara von Platens avhandling “Internkommunikation och meningsskapande vid strategisk organisationsförändring: En studie av Sveriges Television” och Mats Heides avhandling “Intranät - En ny arena för kommunikation och lärande” används för perspektiv med relevans för denna studies forskning. Vidare utgår studiens teoretiska ramverk från tvåvägskommunikation, organisationskommunikation och organisationskultur. Studien berör och diskuterar utöver dessa teorier även internkommunikation i relation till studiens resultat.  Inhämtad empiri tyder på att brist på återkoppling, dålig kommunikation och information mellan Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions olika divisioner, utebliven information och brist på att alla får ta del av information kan vara faktorer som påverkat att Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions fått ett lägre resultat på deras senaste medarbetarundersökning kopplat till påståendet "There is open and honest two-way communication at our company”. Upplevd kultur inom organisationen, brist på engagemang från medarbetare och brist på att involvera medarbetare i kommunikationen kan även ha bidragit till att medarbetarundersökningen fick ett lägre resultat kopplat till påståendet som nämnts. / This qualitative study examines factors that may have influenced the results of Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions employee survey related to the statement “There is open and honest two-way communication at our company” and why.  The study applied a survey that was distributed on Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions intranet and was sent out by their internet and e-mail. The survey was available to about 1,900 employees. A total of 34 employees responded to the study’s questionnaire. Sara von Platen’s thesis “Internal communication and meaning-making in strategic organizational change: A study of Swedish Television” and Mats Heide’s thesis “Intranet – A new arena for communication and learning” intended for perspectives with relevance for this study. The study's theoretical framework is based on two-way communication, organizational communication, and organizational culture. In addition to these theories, the study also addresses and discusses internal communication. Collected empirical evidence indicates that lack of feedback, poor communication and information sharing among Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions different divisions and lack of information and failure to provide information to all employees may have affected the results of Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions employee survey related to the statement “There is open and honest two-way communication at our company”. The study further interprets that the culture perceived within the organization, as well as lack of engagement and involvement of employees in communication may also contributed to the lower result.

The general purpose with this study was to investigate what happens when several different participants engage in the process of communicating a mutual message throughout a common paper. With “Skellefteå-tidningen” an official paper from the the municipality of Skellefteå, as an example, both the sender (i.e. the editorial staff) and the receiver (i.e. the reader) perspective is studied and analyzed. The result of these two perspectives are compared to see if the intended sent message is the message that the reader of the paper interpret.   The aim of this study was to investigate how the concerned parties within the municipality of Skellefteå cooperate to make a common product with a mutual message and purpose. The study also aimed to investigate how the citizens of Skellefteå, the receivers of the paper, experience the sent message. The material this study is based on was collected through qualitative interviews with the senders of the paper and focus group interviews with representatives from the receivers. In this study we have used both organizational communication theories and theories on uses and gratifications.   The result of the study indicates that concerned parties within the municipality of Skellefteå have different views on how they want to convey the general message in the paper. Some want the message to focus on Skellefteå as a place while the others want to focus on how and what the municipality of Skellefteå do as a government agency. The senders of the paper, despite their different view on how to send the message, agrees that the general message within the paper should be that Skellefteå is a great place where you can be proud to live. The results also shows that this is in fact the message that the readers interpret after reading the paper. The study show that the paper Skellefteå-tidnignen is a product that fills its purpose. It offer the reader a wide range of material to read and therefore the reader can, with the paper, fullfil many different needs. One other conclusion of this study is however that the senders have difficulties in making the citizens of Skellefteå open and read the paper.

The archaeological communication process can be hard to grasp. There are laws to take into consideration, not to mention the Government structure for culture and arts. This essay explains and simplifies the Swedish organizational communication with focus on archaeology. This study is aiming to clarify all the steps archaeological research needs to pass before reaching the public. The essay will also explore why it is important to communicate archaeological results, and if it reaches out to the extent that is expected. If it is not, the study will present examples of solutions and actions that can be taken to improve the mediation. The essay only investigates the archaeology process in Sweden. There are several Government institutions that are affected by the laws that protect ancient monuments, this study will at first hand observe the ones that have a direct effect on the archaeology communication process. By a survey, interviews and literature studies, the purpose with this study has become clear. The results have been reached by positivism and empiricism as theoretical basis. The literature consisted largely of writings on the subject communication theory, Swedish law and Government structure. The conclusion is that in the archaeology process, there are many factors that effects the outcome of archaeological mediation. Laws, “cultural goals” and several Government institutions has a saying in how, why and where the archaeological research findings are distributed. The PR-model chosen by Government institutions is often “The Public Information model”, but in this case there is no specific common model used by all the institutions that have an influence on the distribution of archaeological results. There is no survey done to show how the public are receiving the results given by “The Public Information model”. According to a small survey done to complete this essay there would be much to gain for all parts if the results of archaeological investigations used another model, or if the stakeholders could agree on the issue of how archaeological results should be communicated to the population. A factor that complicates this kind of work is the attitude in the governing body that considers culture (including archaeology) a non-commercial subject. As a result, archaeology is not seen as a brand that could be marketed. A factor that can affect the popularity for the subject.

“You have to feel it in your heart - a case study of the employees perception about Umeå university, the internal communication and how the communication contributes to this perception”. This study is based on that deficiency is common in internal communication in a authority that consists of several different units and different occupational levels. In an authority there is variety of units, employees with different occupational levels, a hierarchical structure and laws and regulations that must be followed. Because of these characteristics, a clear internal profile might be of extra importance. The internal profile will reflect the external perception, the authority’s image. This study examines how the internal communication of an authority like Umeå University works. The aim was to find out the employees perception of Umeå University and what their perceptions of the internal communication are. The method to examine this has mainly been based on group interviews conducted with focus groups representing different occupational levels. In summary the interviews indicate that there is a common perception of the university's identity among the different occupational levels. For example, words like: young, wide, open and norrländskt. These words were not based on any official core values of the university but were brought up by the participants. Umeå university have a vision which all participants had seen before and recognized, "The University of Umeå face the future with boundless knowledge". But they found it hard to grasp the vision with related goals, they felt overall and difficult to apply in their daily work. The results showed that the focus groups believe that there are many different subcultures at Umeå University. One reason for the formation of subcultures may simply be that Umeå University is an authority and there are certain factors that affect the University's properties. Keywords: Internal communication, organizational communication, organizational identity, organizational culture, communication process, vision, subculture.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to bring a better understanding for how employees of PR- agencies describe a meaningful relation on social media. The thesis furthermore aim to bring further understanding about how employees of PR-agencies describe their strategies for meaningful relations on their agencies’ channels on social media. Theoretical framework: The chapter includes framework of PR and Relations, relations on social media and finally strategy to target audience. Method: A qualitative research method with a semi-structured approach has been implemented. Empirical framework: The empirical material is based on five semi structured interviews with employees of PR-agencies. The respondents obtain significant expertise of the topic, that makes their answers relevant to the purpose of the study. Conclusion: Our conclusion is that agencies pick their social media channels based on user base above all. Another factor is whether their target group uses the platform or not, but since the platforms chosen by the agencies were often market leading the answer is yes. An interesting finding was that informants spoke of channel adjustment rather than audience targeting. To build a meaningful relation with the audience the social media content were often based on personal and expertise aspects. The target groups were often described based on their job role, and not other social or personal factors. The informants’ descriptions of what a meaningful relation included varied a lot. Common patterns were that it included two way communication, that both parts would get something out of it and that the followers would feel comfortable commenting and sharing posts. Last but not least there was a goal that a meaningful relation would lead to some sort of business. Social media activity could lead to business if the relation was meaningful in the long run.