Chapter I - Derivative Market Competition: OTC Markets Versus Organized Derivative Exchanges  Recent regulatory initiatives in the United States have again raised the issue of a ''level regulatory and supervisory playing field'' and the degree of competition globally between over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and organized derivative exchange (ODE) markets. This chapter models some important aspects of how an ODE market interrelates with the OTC markets. It analyzes various ways in which an ODE market can respond to competition from the OTC markets and considers whether ODE markets would actually benefit from a more level playing field. Among other factors, such as different transaction costs, different abilities to mitigate credit risk play a significant role in determining the degree of competition between the two types of markets. This implies that a potentially important service ODE markets can provide OTC market participants is to extend clearing services to them. Such services would allow the OTC markets to focus more on providing less competitive contracts/innovations and instead customize their contracts to specific investors’ risk preferences and needs.  Chapter II – Crisis Resolution and Private Sector Adaptation Efforts at crisis resolution that succeed in reducing potential inefficiencies and instability in the international financial system are in the interest of both the private and the public sector. Unlike in the domestic context, in the international context, in the absence of clearly established rules of the game, the approaches adopted toward crisis resolution, and the extent to which they are interpreted by market participants as setting a precedent, can have profound implications for the nature and structure of international capital flows. The key conclusion of this chapter is that recent experiences with payment suspensions and bond restructurings are limited as guides to determining the future success or failures of these initiatives, as the private sector most likely has adapted in order to minimize any unwanted public sector involvement. Chapter III - European Equity Market Integration: Cyclical or Structural? Reviewing the empirical evidence of equity market integration in the European Union, the chapter finds a significant increase in the importance of global sector factors for a number of industries. Unlike most past studies, which only covered developments during the bull market of the late nineties, the results presented in this chapter suggest that the degree of Euroland equity market integration has declined gradually following the bursting of the TMT bubble. This seems to suggest that the findings of previous studies that Euroland equity markets were nearly fully financially integrated is worth revisiting. There are, however, several good reasons to believe that the structural factors driving European equity market integration have yet to play themselves out fully. Institutional investors both outside the Euroland area and within have substantial untapped capacity to take on Euroland exposures and invest additionally in Euroland equities. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2004

Vårt samhälle idag präglas av ett ökat flöde av varor, tjänster och information och avståndet till världen runt omkring oss krymper. För organisationer innebär detta att kravet på effektivitet har blivit ett faktum och i samband med information kan begreppet strategisk kommunikation vara nyckeln till framgång. Vi som studerar medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap funderar ofta på vilka krav och förväntningar kommande arbetsgivare har på oss kommunikatörer som snart ska ut på arbetsmarknaden. Vi har också funderat på vilka arbetsgivare som bäst kommer att kunna möta vår strävan efter intressanta och utvecklande arbetsuppgifter. I den diskussion som just nu pågår har vi uppmärksammat att många ser organisationer inom den privata sektorn som mer attraktiva än organisationer inom den offentliga. Denna förutfattade mening gjorde oss intresserade av att undersöka om det finns några skillnader av upplevd yrkesstatus mellan kommunikatörer anställda inom de olika sektorerna. Är det någon skillnad och i så fall vilka faktorer är det som påverkar och orsakar dessa skillnader? För att vi skulle kunna belysa och diskutera frågan om det fanns någon skillnad av upplevd yrkesstatus hos kommunikatörer i privat respektive offentlig sektor, valde vi att studera tillfredsställelse och stolthet i yrkesrollen. Ett mål för studien var även att ge förslag på åtgärder som kunde höja kommunikatörers yrkesstatus oavsett vad den är idag. Vi utgick från en kvalitativ ansats och genomförde åtta intervjuer med yrkesverksamma kommunikatörer inom de båda sektorerna. Resultatet av studien visar att samtliga intervjupersoner upplever tillfredsställelse och stolthet i yrkesrollen men att faktorerna som påverkar denna upplevelse skiljer sig åt mellan de båda sektorerna. Inom den privata sektorn tenderar intervjupersonerna att sträva efter yttre bekräftelse medan intervjupersonerna inom den offentliga sektorn tenderar att sträva efter inre bekräftelse. I resultatet kan vi även skönja en förändring i klimatet inom den privata sektorn. Den tidigare så goda tillgången på resurser har minskat och har fått konsekvenser för intervjupersonerna. Kravet på lönsamhet gör att några organisationer inom denna sektor har koncentrerat och flyttat sina kommunikationsenheter till storstäder. Därmed har möjligheterna till personlig utveckling och till avancemang inom organisationen begränsats. En tolkning som vi gör utifrån diskussionen kring centralisering är även att den externa kommunikationen har prioriterats på bekostnad av den interna. För den som är intresserad ser vi här en möjlighet att bygga vidare på vår studie genom att undersöka hur kommunikatörens yrkesstatus har förändrats i organisationer som har centraliserat sina kommunikationsverksamheter. / Today’s communities are characterized by a torrent of goods, services and information and the world around us is getting smaller. That leaves consequences for organisations by demands on effectiveness and the concept strategic communication may be the key to success. We who are studying media and communication are often thinking about which demands and expectations our future employers have on us as communicators. Other thoughts we have around this are which employees that best can meet our endeavor after interesting and developing working tasks. We have noticed that the discussion about employees among students often includes that it is more interesting to work in the private sector than in the public sector. The discussion made us more curious about how the communicators working in respective sectors experienced their own professional status. We wondered if there was any differences, and if, which factors the possible differences was affected and caused by? To be able to discuss and illustrate the question about differences in experienced professional status between communicators working in the public or private sector, we chose too study satisfaction and pride in the professional role. One further goal was to give proposals on measures that could raise communicator’s professional status irrespective of what it is today. We had a qualitative approach and we interviewed four professional communicators in each sector. The result from our study shows that all of the interview persons experience satisfaction and pride in their professional role but the factors that affects the experience is different between the two sectors. The interviewed persons working in the private sector tend to strive against outer confirmation and the interviewed persons in the public sector tend instead to strive against inner confirmation. We can also discern a change in climate in the private sector. The organisations in the private sector are concentrating their communication units to big cities as a result of high demands on profitability. With that has the opportunities of individual development and the chance to advance within the organization been restricted. Our interpretations about concentrating the communication units to bigger cities are that we believe that the external communication will be prioritized on the expense of the internal communication. For those who are interested we here see an opportunity of further studies about the professional role and status of communicators that works in organisations that has concentrated their communications units and see if a difference can be seen.

<p>Vårt samhälle idag präglas av ett ökat flöde av varor, tjänster och information och avståndet till världen runt omkring oss krymper. För organisationer innebär detta att kravet på effektivitet har blivit ett faktum och i samband med information kan begreppet strategisk kommunikation vara nyckeln till framgång. Vi som studerar medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap funderar ofta på vilka krav och förväntningar kommande arbetsgivare har på oss kommunikatörer som snart ska ut på arbetsmarknaden. Vi har också funderat på vilka arbetsgivare som bäst kommer att kunna möta vår strävan efter intressanta och utvecklande arbetsuppgifter. I den diskussion som just nu pågår har vi uppmärksammat att många ser organisationer inom den privata sektorn som mer attraktiva än organisationer inom den offentliga. Denna förutfattade mening gjorde oss intresserade av att undersöka om det finns några skillnader av upplevd yrkesstatus mellan kommunikatörer anställda inom de olika sektorerna. Är det någon skillnad och i så fall vilka faktorer är det som påverkar och orsakar dessa skillnader?</p><p>För att vi skulle kunna belysa och diskutera frågan om det fanns någon skillnad av upplevd yrkesstatus hos kommunikatörer i privat respektive offentlig sektor, valde vi att studera tillfredsställelse och stolthet i yrkesrollen. Ett mål för studien var även att ge förslag på åtgärder som kunde höja kommunikatörers yrkesstatus oavsett vad den är idag. Vi utgick från en kvalitativ ansats och genomförde åtta intervjuer med yrkesverksamma kommunikatörer inom de båda sektorerna.</p><p>Resultatet av studien visar att samtliga intervjupersoner upplever tillfredsställelse och stolthet i yrkesrollen men att faktorerna som påverkar denna upplevelse skiljer sig åt mellan de båda sektorerna. Inom den privata sektorn tenderar intervjupersonerna att sträva efter yttre bekräftelse medan intervjupersonerna inom den offentliga sektorn tenderar att sträva efter inre bekräftelse. I resultatet kan vi även skönja en förändring i klimatet inom den privata sektorn. Den tidigare så goda tillgången på resurser har minskat och har fått konsekvenser för intervjupersonerna. Kravet på lönsamhet gör att några organisationer inom denna sektor har koncentrerat och flyttat sina kommunikationsenheter till storstäder. Därmed har möjligheterna till personlig utveckling och till avancemang inom organisationen begränsats. En tolkning som vi gör utifrån diskussionen kring centralisering är även att den externa kommunikationen har prioriterats på bekostnad av den interna. För den som är intresserad ser vi här en möjlighet att bygga vidare på vår studie genom att undersöka hur kommunikatörens yrkesstatus har förändrats i organisationer som har centraliserat sina kommunikationsverksamheter.</p> / <p>Today’s communities are characterized by a torrent of goods, services and information and the world around us is getting smaller. That leaves consequences for organisations by demands on effectiveness and the concept strategic communication may be the key to success. We who are studying media and communication are often thinking about which demands and expectations our future employers have on us as communicators. Other thoughts we have around this are which employees that best can meet our endeavor after interesting and developing working tasks. We have noticed that the discussion about employees among students often includes that it is more interesting to work in the private sector than in the public sector. The discussion made us more curious about how the communicators working in respective sectors experienced their own professional status. We wondered if there was any differences, and if, which factors the possible differences was affected and caused by?</p><p>To be able to discuss and illustrate the question about differences in experienced professional status between communicators working in the public or private sector, we chose too study satisfaction and pride in the professional role. One further goal was to give proposals on measures that could raise communicator’s professional status irrespective of what it is today. We had a qualitative approach and we interviewed four professional communicators in each sector.</p><p>The result from our study shows that all of the interview persons experience satisfaction and pride in their professional role but the factors that affects the experience is different between the two sectors. The interviewed persons working in the private sector tend to strive against outer confirmation and the interviewed persons in the public sector tend instead to strive against inner confirmation. We can also discern a change in climate in the private sector. The organisations in the private sector are concentrating their communication units to big cities as a result of high demands on profitability. With that has the opportunities of individual development and the chance to advance within the organization been restricted. Our interpretations about concentrating the communication units to bigger cities are that we believe that the external communication will be prioritized on the expense of the internal communication. For those who are interested we here see an opportunity of further studies about the professional role and status of communicators that works in organisations that has concentrated their communications units and see if a difference can be seen.</p>

Bakgrund: Sverige upplever demografiska förändringar i samband med en högre invandring och en majoritet av utlandsfödda personer i Sverige arbetar inom vård och omsorg. Statistiska Centralbyrån prognostiserar för en personalbrist om 160 000 utbildade år 2035 i vård- och omsorgssektorn, vilken under de senaste åren har mottagit ett ökat antal anmälningar till DO som upprättats med etnisk tillhörighet som diskrimineringsgrund. Ökningen indikerar att chefer inom äldreomsorgen utmanas att skapa en inkluderande verksamhet, varav studien har undersökt hur chefer diskuterar kring mångfald och hur de arbetar för att inkludera detta i verksamheten. Syfte: Genom intervjuer med sex verksamhetschefer inom privat äldreomsorg ämnar studien att bidra till forskning gällande mångfaldsarbete inom äldreomsorgen. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur verksamhetscheferna uttrycker sig kring mångfald och hur de arbetar med etnisk mångfald bland personalen. Metod: Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod från ett realistiskt perspektiv. Den huvudsakliga empiriska insamlingen har skett genom intervjuer med verksamhetschefer på äldreboenden tillhörande två stora svenska vårdorganisationer inom privat äldreomsorg. Studien har följt en iterativ ansats vilket innebär att teori och empiri insamlats växelvis. Slutsats: Ur studien kan urskiljas att verksamhetscheferna anser sig sakna incitament för att arbeta med mångfald, vilket kan förklaras med att mångfald och integration enligt cheferna sker naturligt utan behov av deras inblandning. Ytterligare slutsats i studien är att stereotypiseringar av svenskfödd och utlandsfödd personal förekommer, där de sistnämnda tillskrivs särskilda egenskaper som anses lämpliga för vårdyrket. Vi konstaterar även en avsaknad av tydliga mångfaldsmål, en osäkerhet kring målsättning samt att existerande regelverk kan utesluta vissa personer i arbetsstyrkan. / Background: Sweden is experiencing demographic changes due to higher levels of immigration and a majority of foreign-borns in Sweden work within health and social care. Statistics Sweden predicts a personnel shortage of 160 000 qualified in 2035 in the health and social care sector, which during recent years has received an increased number of reports to the Swedish discrimination bureau due to ethnic discrimination. The increase indicates that unit managers within elderly care are challenged to create an inclusive business, whereas the study has investigated how managers discuss diversity and how they implement this in their operations. Purpose: By interviewing six unit managers from private retirement homes, the study intends to contribute to research regarding diversity work within elderly care. The purpose of the study is to investigate how unit managers discuss diversity and how they work with ethnic diversity among the personnel. Methodology: The study has been conducted with a qualitative method from a realistic perspective. The empirical data has primarily been collected through interviews with unit managers from two of the biggest actors in Swedish elderly care. An iterative approach has been applied where theory and empirical data were alternately collected. Conclusion: The study distinguishes that unit managers lack incentives for working actively with diversity. According to the managers this can be explained with the fact that diversity and integration is a natural process, without any need of top management. Another conclusion is that stereotyping of both Swedish and foreign-borns occurs, whereas the latter is perceived to have specific characteristics considered suitable for the care profession. We also discovered a lack of distinctive diversity goals, an uncertainty regarding goal setting and that existing regulations may act excluding for some individuals in the work force.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

In South Africa, private and public sector organizations have been experiencing conflict at an increasing rate during the past few decades and especially the last ten years. The prominence and high level with which conflict is regarded in this new democracy has made the study of this phenomenon more relevant. Especially within business organizations, between individuals, groups, and at management level, the influence of transformation and affirmative action has steadily affected interpersonal and intergroup relations. This situation makes it more difficult to handle or to manage. The lack of knowledge experienced in many business organizations causes mismanagement of conflict which eventually (directly or indirectly) affects the productivity of the employee corps and subsequently, the effectivity or profitability of the organization. The objective of this study was to establish by means of a comparative theoretical and empirical analysis, the nature, causes and handling/ management styles of conflict within a public and a private sector organization. Being respectively non-profit and profit driven organizations and having introduced affirmative action and transformation at different degrees, it was possible to evaluate the effect with regard to conflict. The research method followed in this study was both qualitative and quantitative. In the first five chapters a theoretical, qualitative approach was applied. Different theories of conflict, from the classical, neo-classical to modern systems, were analysed in order to establish sources of conflict. From this discussion, an analysis of conflict which was viewed by the theories of both Karl Marx and Ralph Dahrendorf to be a social interactive process characterized by force, strife and animosity, was accepted to form the basis of the study regarding the sources of conflict. Departing from this basis the various concepts of conflict as developed in the literature were studied in a comparative way. This was followed by a comparative analysis of conflict handling processes for which an adapted conflict process model was presented. The elements of this model form the core research of this study. Analysis of three key conflict handling style models (Thomas-Killman, ROC-II and CMS) were consequently compared to decide which one would be the most suitable for the empirical survey. The second part of this study consisted of a quantitative comparison of causes, handling styles and manifestation of conflict on an interpersonal basis within a local authority and an agricultural company. This was done by means of questionnaires containing designed variables obtained from the qualitative section of the study and a standardized section borrowed from Rahim's ROC-II model questionnaire. The descriptive statistical analysis was done with the SPSS-program in consultation with the STATCON Bureau of the Rand Afrikaans University. The empirical survey validated the viewpoints brought forward in the qualitative part of the study. By way of the results obtained from the analysis, the four hypotheses which were linked to the set objectives of the study were validated. The four hypothesis are: - A significant difference exists with regard to the causes of conflict between a local authority and agricultural organization. - A significant difference exists between employees of the local authority and the agricultural organization's perception of what effect conflict has on them. - A significant difference exists in the frequency with which different conflict-handling styles are used when compared to different background variables in both organizations. - A significant difference exists in the frequency with which different conflict-handling styles are used amongst employees of the agricultural organization and local authority Explicit findings with regard to the literature (qualitative) and empirical (quantitative) study were brought forward, and practical recommendations for management as well as recommendations for further research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Sociology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Collaboration between academic and corporate entities has increased in recent years. On many occasions Government actors (e.g. federal laboratories) will participate in these collaborations, especially when advanced technologies are involved. The following inquiry considers the degree to which the federal entities add (scientific) value to University-Industry partnerships and how this value is spatially mediated. Quantifying degrees of the value that Government actors induce across the spectrum of University-Industry collaborative arrangements is useful for identifying scales at which intervention by federal agents is more effective and/or justified. It is anticipated that the value-added by federal agents in University-Industry collaboration is not spatially uniform but will exhibit greater profitability across specific scales of interaction. Comparing these against actual scales of interaction provides room for discussion on whether Government actors engage Universities and Industry at scales that optimize the value they introduce to these partnerships.

The challenges we face as a nation are complex and recalcitrant; to address them, we need to be equipped with multifaceted and resilient solutions. Yet, substantial pressures – such as significant fiscal constraints, growing citizen expectations, and the rapid pace of technology – prevent the U.S. Government from efficiently and effectively solving the nation’s ills alone. The public, private, and nonprofit sectors must partner and collaborate to create lasting social change and the best solutions to address our nation’s most pressing social issues lie in the power of social innovation. Drawing from nearly thirty years of scholarship, the views of leading experts in the field of social innovation, and three case studies of social innovation offices in the United States, this paper addresses the case for social innovation in the United States by answering four key questions: what is social innovation; why does the U.S. need it; what has the U.S. government done to support social innovation; and what is the future of social innovation in this United States.

In South Africa, private and public sector organizations have been experiencing conflict at an increasing rate during the past few decades and especially the last ten years. The prominence and high level with which conflict is regarded in this new democracy has made the study of this phenomenon more relevant. Especially within business organizations, between individuals, groups, and at management level, the influence of transformation and affirmative action has steadily affected interpersonal and intergroup relations. This situation makes it more difficult to handle or to manage. The lack of knowledge experienced in many business organizations causes mismanagement of conflict which eventually (directly or indirectly) affects the productivity of the employee corps and subsequently, the effectivity or profitability of the organization. The objective of this study was to establish by means of a comparative theoretical and empirical analysis, the nature, causes and handling/ management styles of conflict within a public and a private sector organization. Being respectively non-profit and profit driven organizations and having introduced affirmative action and transformation at different degrees, it was possible to evaluate the effect with regard to conflict. The research method followed in this study was both qualitative and quantitative. In the first five chapters a theoretical, qualitative approach was applied. Different theories of conflict, from the classical, neo-classical to modern systems, were analysed in order to establish sources of conflict. From this discussion, an analysis of conflict which was viewed by the theories of both Karl Marx and Ralph Dahrendorf to be a social interactive process characterized by force, strife and animosity, was accepted to form the basis of the study regarding the sources of conflict. Departing from this basis the various concepts of conflict as developed in the literature were studied in a comparative way. This was followed by a comparative analysis of conflict handling processes for which an adapted conflict process model was presented. The elements of this model form the core research of this study. Analysis of three key conflict handling style models (Thomas-Killman, ROC-II and CMS) were consequently compared to decide which one would be the most suitable for the empirical survey. The second part of this study consisted of a quantitative comparison of causes, handling styles and manifestation of conflict on an interpersonal basis within a local authority and an agricultural company. This was done by means of questionnaires containing designed variables obtained from the qualitative section of the study and a standardized section borrowed from Rahim's ROC-II model questionnaire. The descriptive statistical analysis was done with the SPSS-program in consultation with the STATCON Bureau of the Rand Afrikaans University. The empirical survey validated the viewpoints brought forward in the qualitative part of the study. By way of the results obtained from the analysis, the four hypotheses which were linked to the set objectives of the study were validated. The four hypothesis are: - A significant difference exists with regard to the causes of conflict between a local authority and agricultural organization. - A significant difference exists between employees of the local authority and the agricultural organization's perception of what effect conflict has on them. - A significant difference exists in the frequency with which different conflict-handling styles are used when compared to different background variables in both organizations. - A significant difference exists in the frequency with which different conflict-handling styles are used amongst employees of the agricultural organization and local authority Explicit findings with regard to the literature (qualitative) and empirical (quantitative) study were brought forward, and practical recommendations for management as well as recommendations for further research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Sociology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Pharmacists experience high levels of stress at work, especially from factors intrinsic to their jobs and management roles. In South Africa, the public sector is confronted with situational difficulties such as a shortage of staff and poor working conditions Accordingly, a comparative survey was conducted using a self–constructed questionnaire to obtain individual responses from the pharmacists in the public, as well as the private sector. The focus population was the pharmacists in the public, as well as the private hospitals in the North–West Province. The public sector consists of 30 hospitals and the private sector of 20. By using the convenient sampling method, 100 samples were taken. The questionnaire measured six factors of job satisfaction, namely: job design, salary/remuneration satisfaction, performance management, working arrangements, organisational climate, and professional development. The questionnaire was distributed to 100 pharmacists in total, and a response rate of 66% was obtained. The only medium practical significance shown in the results was between the averages of the private sector (2.89) in contrast with the public sector (3.38). This indicates that the public sector demonstrates less satisfaction with their performance management than the private sector. The data also indicated that the public sector pharmacists are less satisfied with job design, performance of management, professional development, and their working arrangements. The private sector showed only a small difference in the means, when compared to the public sector. It is clear that both sectors illustrate a moderate level of job satisfaction. Recommendations, therefore, included the revisiting of the job design by increasing job rotation and task identity. The need for self–actualization has to be acknowledged and the opportunity for promotion needs to be provided. The link between the actual activity and the bonus, with regards to performance management, has to be re–established, and there has to be transparency throughout. Decision–making control is extremely important and seeing that 82% of the pharmacists were female, the employer can consider accommodating family responsibilities, compressed working weeks, flexible working hours, job sharing, and part–time work. Professional development is also very important within any company and it is vital that the employer deposits time, money and skill into the staff. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.