The collaboration projects studied in this thesis originate from national experiments that took place from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. In those experiments, attempts were made to determine whether collaboration could, as part of the organization of the public sector, generate welfare gains for both the individual user and society as a whole. Other forms of political governance of public organizations were also tested in these experiments. Activities were very often carried out in the form of collaboration projects involving joint evaluation groups and through co-localization. The collaboration projects are about in which actors bring their different v rules, values and preconceptions, from their regular activities into a meeting with other activities with different boundaries in order to organize new boundaries. The purpose of the thesis is to achieve an understanding of why collaboration projects encounter difficulties in contributing to lasting integration between government organizations, and the importance of boundaries in the organizing of collaboration projects. The thesis is based on four articles. The first article elucidates the ways in which different boundaries are constructed when inter-organizational collaborations are being carried out. The second article develops a model for analyzing uncertainty factors in the interaction environment of the project. The third article addresses the problem of implementing, within the public sector, results from development projects in the home organization. The fourth article analyzes the ways in which collaboration projects can help to increase integration between government organizations. The results from the studies show that the collaboration projects do provide opportunities for trying out new forms of collaboration, but also that the actors in collaboration projects have to deal with multiple boundary-related problems. The construction of boundaries must, on the one hand, regulate the activities being carried out in the collaboration projects, in that the boundaries enable the actors to come together in a common activity. On the other hand, the boundaries in collaboration projects must be part of the home organizations’ activities and their boundary constructions. This leads to a complex spatial construction in which different boundaries entail different distinctions and regulations of the relationship to the outside world. In turn, this leads to problems involving the home organizations in the collaboration, resulting in the collaboration becoming confined to only the collaboration projects. / <p>För avläggande av filosofie doktorsexamen i företagsekonomi med vederbörligt tillstånd</p><p>av Handelshögskolans fakultetsnämnd vid Göteborgs Universitet framlägges för</p><p>offentligt granskning fredagen den 19 november 2010, kl. 13.15 i CG-salen vid företagsekonomiska institutionen, Vasagatan 1, Göteborg.</p>

Research has been conducted regarding what relationship demographic diversity have to organisational ambidexterity and team resilience; however never at the same time. This research adds a new context, to this field of research since research has never, to our knowledge, been conducted in a school context. The purpose with this thesis is to explain what relationships gender, age, cultural and tenure diversity have on organisational ambidexterity and team resilience. A cross-sectional research design was used, because of the positivist and deductive approach. The method consisted of a quantitative part in the form of a web based self-completion questionnaire mediated by email, to upper secondary schools, in five Counties, with a minimum of three managers. The qualitative part was in the form of three in-depth interviews, two with School Directors and one with a registrar. The findings shows that gender, culture have a negative relationship to organisational ambidexterity, and age have a positive relationship when moderated by shared vision. The limitations are that only schools with a minimum of three top managers were chosen; the results thereby lack generalisability in other contexts. The implications are that shared vision, when applied to an upper secondary school context seem to decrease in importance and suggestibility. The original value of the conducted study is new insights regarding the relationships demographic diversities have on organisational ambidexterity and team resilience; the choice to conduct the test in a school context.

Data quality is an important aspect of an organisation’s strategies for supporting decision makers in reaching the best decisions possible and consequently attaining the organisation’s objectives. In the case of public organisations, decisions ultimately concern the public and hence further diligence is required to make sure that these decisions do, for instance, preserve economic resources, maintain public health, and provide national security. The decision making process requires a wealth of information in order to achieve efficient results. Public organisations typically acquire great amounts of data generated by public services. However, the vast amount of data stored in public organisations’ databases may be one of the main reasons for inefficient decisions made by public organisations. Processing vast amounts of data and extracting accurate information are not easy tasks. Although technology helps in this respect, for example, the use of decision support systems, it is not sufficient for improving decisions to a significant level of assurance. The research proposed using data mining to improve results obtained by decision support systems. However, more considerations are needed than the mere technological aspects. The research argues that a complete data quality framework is needed in order to improve data quality and consequently the decision making process in public organisations. A series of surveys conducted in seven public organisations in Abu Dhabi Emirate of the United Arab Emirates contributed to the design of a data quality framework. The framework comprises elements found necessary to attain the quality of data reaching decision makers. The framework comprises seven elements ranging from technical to human-based found important to attain data quality in public organisations taking Abu Dhabi public organisations as the case. The interaction and integration of these elements contributes to the quality of data reaching decision makers and hence to the efficiency of decisions made by public organisations. The framework suggests that public organisations may need to adopt a methodological basis to support the decision making process. This includes more training courses and supportive bodies of the organisational units, such as decision support centres, information security and strategic management. The framework also underscores the importance of acknowledging human and cultural factors involved in the decision making process. Such factors have implications for how training and raising awareness are implemented to lead to effective methods of system development.

The awareness on the importance of managing knowledge as the most important assets that need to be fully utilised has become the key competitive issue lately. In Malaysia, the concern was not only from companies but also from the Government of Malaysia itself. At the end of the year 2002, the Government of Malaysia has launched the Knowledge-based Economy Master Plan which aims to propel Malaysia from a production-based economy to a knowledge-based economy. With an increasing concern to create a knowledgeable society, it is critically important to understand the nature of such knowledge that is already embedded in the organisation's business processes, and how that knowledge is used as an important source of competitive advantage. The overall aim of this thesis is to analyse the current situation on how knowledge is managed in the public organisation in Malaysia and to provide government agencies in Malaysia with data on how knowledge is transferred. The primary focus of the study is to identify the organisational elements that are important for the transfer of knowledge in the public organisations in Malaysia. The study also examines different lengths of working experiences and number of years in an organisation has an impact on the understanding of knowledge management in the public organisation. After a literature review, and the development of conceptual frameworks, a number of hypotheses are put forward. To achieve an in-depth study, the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development of Malaysia was chosen as a case study. A questionnaire was used as the main instrument in gathering data and interview(s) for the key informants were also conducted. A total of 154 respondents were involved in the survey and five key informants were interviewed. The questionnaire is principally concerned with the understanding of knowledge management in the Ministry and the questions on the variables that are used for the hypothesis testing. The study also investigates the relationship between organisational elements and the performance of knowledge transfer. Five main independent variables were identified - organisational culture, organisational structure, technology, people/human resources and political directives - and these were tested against knowledge transfer performance. The results reveal that there are two independent variables that have significant relationships to the performance of knowledge transfer. The variables are sharing culture and ICT know-how. Therefore, it is necessary for organisations to consider some of the elements that shows a relationship between the tested variables in implementing a knowledge management strategy in an organisation. However, certain variables that did not show any relationship should not be ignored totally, as they are still very important for some organisations. The study shows that knowledge management as a practice would be the most influential strategy in managing knowledge in public organisations in Malaysia in the near future. On the basis of the research findings the researcher is able to put forward a series of recommendations, particularly in formulating a knowledge management strategy that is suitable for the public organisation in Malaysia which complements the Knowledge-based Economic Master Plan that was launched by the Government.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka, samt skapa förståelse och insikt i, hur mänskliga rättigheter implementeras på kommunal nivå. Vidare är studiens mål att inspirera andra kommuner till att arbeta systematiskt med mänskliga rättigheter. Grundläggande för studiens inhämtning av material är en intervjustudie av Piteå, Lund och Uppsala där kommunernas arbetssätt med mänskliga rättigheter är centralt. Utöver intervjuerna tillkommer även offentliga dokument, tidigare forskning och kommunala styrdokument. Intervjuerna har analyserats utifrån ett rättssociologiskt och förvaltningsteoretiskt perspektiv med fokus på implementering. Studiens resultat visade på implementeringsprocessens problematik och de svårigheter som tillkommer ett systematiskt arbetssätt kring mänskliga rättigheter på grund av begreppets otydlighet. Det uppmärksammades även en kunskapsbrist gällande det praktiska arbetet med mänskliga rättigheter. / The aim of this study is to examine and understand how human rights is implemented in local governments today. The goal is to inspire other local governments to increase their systematic work with human rights. Piteå, Lund and Uppsala was interviewed about their work with human rights. Except the interviews the material is official documents, previous reaserch and regulatory documents from the local governments. To analyze the result from the interviewes, theories about the function of law in society were used together with theories of the govenmental organisation and implementation.It is evident from the study that there is a lack of knowledge for the practical work with human rights in the three swedish local governments. The result also illustrates the complexity of problems with a systematic approce to human rights because human rights are undefined.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka förutsättningarna för första linjens chefer att bedriva ett effektivt arbete med avvikelsehantering med avsikt att utveckla verksamhetens kvalitet och skapa lärande – både inom den egna verksamheten och på organisationsnivå. Två kommunala organisationer som driver särskilda boenden för äldre var föremål för undersökningen. Fokus låg på att undersöka i vilken utsträckning förutsättningarna fanns samt hur viktiga de ansågs vara.   Studien utformades som en fallstudie i två delar: en kvalitativ del där fyra intervjuer genomfördes för att identifiera förutsättningar och en kvantitativ del som utgjordes av en enkätundersökning för att studera förutsättningarnas förekomst och viktighet. Resultatet från enkäten jämfördes inom och mellan de två kommunerna och faktorerna förekomst och viktighet vägdes samman i en modell inspirerad av Importance–Performance Analysis, här kallad förekomst–viktighets-analys.   Resultatet visade att de förutsättningar som skapar en gynnsam organisationskultur var starka i de studerade kommunerna medan förutsättningar av typen arbetssätt, stödjande resurser och forum för erfarenhetsutbyte förekom i mindre utsträckning. Vidare visade resultatet att medarbetarnas delaktighet och förutsättningar som fokuserar på den egna verksamheten bedömdes som viktigast. Det fanns en markant skillnad mellan kommunerna i hur många av de viktigaste förutsättningarna som förekom i lägre utsträckning. / The purpose of this study was to examine the prerequisites for first-line managers to manage deviation control in an effective way to develop the quality of the organisation and create learning – both within their own unit and in the organisation as a whole. The cases for this study were two municipalities and their departments of nursing home facilities for senior citizens. The main focus was to examine to what extent the prerequisites appeared and how important they were perceived to be.   The study was designed as a case study in two parts: firstly, a qualitative interview study to identify the prerequisites and secondly, a quantitative survey study to examine to what extent the prerequisites appeared in the studied organisations, and how important they were perceived to be. The result was compared within as well as between the two organisations and displayed in a model inspired by Importance–Performance Analysis, called FVA (förekomst–viktighets-analys).   The result showed that the prerequisites that create a favourable organisational culture were strong in the studied organisations, while prerequisites linked to work procedures, supporting resources and arenas for exchanging experiences appeared to a lesser extent. The result also showed that prerequisites connected to the participation of the co-workers and the managers’ own facility were regarded as more important. The difference between the two organisations was considerable in how many of the most important prerequisites that appeared to a lesser extent. / <p>2021-06-06</p>

This thesis examines how techniques from place marketing, developed to market places, can be used in the process of designing a visual identity for an institution. The thesis is a case study of the development of a new visual identity for the public art institution Malmö konsthall. The essay presents Malmö Konsthall, defines the term visual identity and describes the main principles in place branding. I then define target audiences and key values, discuss the application of place marketing principle and go through the design process of the new visual identity. The process showed that theories about flagship buildings, signature design and signature districts have the biggest influence on the design. The conclusion is that theories from place marketing can be valuable tools for graphic designers, and would benefit from being explored further. Several strategies in place marketing function, mainly those relating to environment and architecture, can be of direct benefit to the designer.

Abstract  Background   Demographic changes pose a challenge to the labour market as to how to wisely and effectively implement a diversity management policy. As the Statistics Sweden (n.d.) statistics for 2021 show, just over 90 000 people migrated to Sweden. The migration of people from different cultures to Sweden on such a scale brings with it a high demand for work. The new workforce in the labour market is created by many groups of different cultures. Therefore, it is worth increasing the interest in deepening knowledge in the field of the role of cultural differences in group formation.   Purpose  This research purpose is to explore the role of cultural differences in group formation in a public organisation’s work environment.  Method  The study is based on a qualitative approach. The study was conducted in the environment of eight managers working in the cleaning industry in the public sector. The qualitative method chosen for this study is face-to-face interviews with respondents.   Result  The cleaning industry has a high rate of diversity in its work environment. This is related to the clash of cultural differences in the work environment.  Cultural differences and language barriers lead to the emergence of conflicts in the work environment.  Conclusions  Cultural differences in the workplace can lead to misunderstandings and doubts. The consequence of this may be disruptions in communication in the work environment, which in turn may affect the process of group formation. In a well-managed organisation, cultural differences might have a positive impact on the work environment. They enrich the organisational culture and foster understanding and tolerance. So far, the standardisation of behaviour of people from a given culture did not take into account individual factors that may affect individual behaviour despite the same beliefs and habits. This study shows the benefits of developing a cross-cultural management approach with the participation of individuals. Modern solutions for managing cultural differences should take into account diversity, interculturality, and individuality. / Sammanfattning Bakgrund Demografiska förändringar innebär utmaningar för arbetsmarknaden när det gäller hur man implementerar mångfaldshanteringspolitik på ett effektivt sätt. Enligt statistik från Statistiska centralbyrån (n.d.) för 2021 invandrade cirka 90 000 personer till Sverige. Ett så stort antal människor med olika kulturell bakgrund som invandrar till Sverige ger en stor efterfrågan på jobb. Den nya arbetskraften på arbetsmarknaden skapas av många grupper av olika kulturer. Därför är det värt att öka intresset för att fördjupa förståelsen för domänen av kulturskillnadernas roll i gruppbildning. Syfte Syftet med denna studie är att utforska vilken roll kulturella skillnader spelar i gruppbildning i en offentlig organisatoriska arbetsmiljö. Metod Studien bygger på ett kvalitativt förhållningssätt. Studien genomfördes i miljön för åtta chefer som arbetar inom städbranschen i den statliga sektorn. Den kvalitativa metod som valts för denna studie är intervjuer ansikte mot ansikte med respondenter. Resultat Städbranschen har en hög grad av mångfald i sin arbetsmiljö. Detta är relaterat till krocken mellan kulturella skillnader i arbetsmiljön. Kulturella skillnader och språkbarriärer leder till att konflikter uppstår i arbetsmiljön. Slutsatser Kulturella skillnader på arbetsplatsen kan leda till missförstånd och tvivel. Konsekvensen av detta kan bli störningar i kommunikationen i arbetsmiljön, vilket i sin tur kan påverka gruppbildningsprocessen. I en välskött organisation kan kulturella skillnader ha en positiv inverkan på arbetsmiljön. De berikar organisationskulturen och främjar förståelse och tolerans. Hittills har standardiseringen av beteenden hos människor från en given kultur inte tagit hänsyn till individuella faktorer som kan påverka individuella beteenden trots samma övertygelser och vanor. Denna studie visar fördelarna med att utveckla ett tvärkulturellt förvaltningssätt med deltagande av individer. Moderna lösningar för att hantera kulturella skillnader bör ta hänsyn till mångfald, interkulturalitet och individualitet.

his study attempts to obtain a holistic view of ICT application and its impact in the context of a developing economy taking the Lebanese Ministry of Finance as a case study. It draws on the works of Heeks and Stanforth (2007) and Tseng (2008) for the pre-deployment phase of the e-Gov application and the post-implementation phase respectively. Heeks and Stanforth used actor network theory to study the trajectory taken by the Sri Lankan e-Gov project, while Tseng used a form of Structuration theory known as Orlikowski's Model of Technology to gauge the impact of an Electronic Government Information System (EGIS) on the Taiwanese Ministry employees. To the knowledge of the researcher the chosen research site has never been investigated before. This necessitated that the design phase of the study needed to be assessed first in order to get in-depth information about the contingent and local contextual factors and to ascertain the level of progress in the design and deployment of the ICT tools and techniques. For the post- implementation phase, this longitudinal study assessed the perceived effectiveness of the ICT impact on the end users - the employees. In addition, secondary data collected from the Ministry and the International Monetary Fund was used to corroborate the research. The study found that the use of 'trajectory mapping' was a crucial tool for investigating the initial ICT adoption process. This is due to its strength in exposing contextual factors, its ability to identify social and technical determinism at different stages of the investigation and its suitability in revealing political wrangling and identifying the dynamism of power in a public institution. The study's findings also reveal the presence of both technical determinism and social determinism throughout the project, restructuring of the organisation due to the introduction of an ICT unit and job redesign in the whole MoF. The study also found out that ICT resulted in a power shift within the organisation by having the IT unit gain power due to its ICT knowledge. The investigation, however, could not find a direct relationship between the 'degree of success' end point suggested by Heeks and Stanforth (2007) and the sought benefits from the ICT impact. In other words, the proposed 'degree of success' may only explain the design aspect of the EGIS, however, this study found that success or demise depends also on the implementation process and the preparedness of citizens to receive such IT services. Furthermore, the study was able to empirically investigate the applicability of the three layered model suggested by Omoteso et al. (2007) and found out that considering contingency as dynamic is more applicable than the static contingency proposed in the model. The study realised that there is a great need for a continuous, contemporary training process in the ever-changing ICT environment in order to achieve uninterrupted positive results. Finally, the study indicates that lack of vertical communication, as observed in the Lebanese public institution, between users, ICT designers, and decision makers weaken the whole change process. Therefore, it suggests a form of knowledge management application using ICT as the main venue, a transition from the current mechanistic (bureaucratic) structure to an organic (flat) structure.

<p>The possibility to be able to better manage the Swedish public health care has been a focus from way back to the middle of the 20th century. This study focuses on a middle managerial position called Base-unit Executive Officer, which we feel is of great influence to the public health care. Because of the changes to the public health care organisations over a long period of time we find it important and interesting to research a managerial role in the midst of these changes. By going through information containing opinions, attitudes, and other information from employees within a CCDO we will try to enlighten what we feel are informational currents of opinions surrounding the notion of competence, leadership and management. The purpose of our study is to be able to help create an environment of open reflections and new ideas of what sort of competencies are required for the manager role.</p><p>The study is defined by our research problem which give use the following question:</p><p>What room is there for a broader comprehension of what kinds of competencies are desirable and useable in the role as a Base-unit Executive Officer?</p><p>To be able to interpret the primary data of the study a theoretic framework was created in the purpose to function as a tool for continuation of the study. The study was done with the use of hermeneutical paradigm together with a compromise between deductive and inductive approach.</p><p>The primary data of the study was collected with a qualitative method through semi-structured interviews with six employees of whom three were Base-unit Executive Officers. The reason for the use of a qualitative method was that it gives us conditions to gather the opinions, thoughts, values etc. of the respondents.</p><p>By merging the tools of our theoretic framework and the collected data we were able to establish an analysis. We concluded that the analysis consisted of both congruence and discrepancy related to our theoretical framework. The discrepancy showed that there exist a room for a broader comprehension of what kinds of competencies are desirable and useable in the role as a Base-unit Executive Officer. There is room to develop the comprehension of competence in areas such as management and leadership as defined by our theoretical framework.</p><p>Because of our path between deductive and inductive approach the reader should carefully evaluate the truth criteria in the study. Validation in the inductive sense is a tough task for a short and small study such as this one. We do however believe that give our preconditions have reached an acceptable level in the truth criteria. When taken into practical application we have hope that our initial thoughts of enlightment will enable a positive development of the managerial role of the Base-unit Executive Officers.</p>