The purpose of the present thesis is to apprise a reader of issues of tools for supporting team collaboration via web 2.0. These tools allow workmates to effectively collaborate from different geographical locations without the need for organizing time-consuming and often unproductive meetings. For example, such tools support teams in the way that ensures an access to shared documents for all project co-workers. A theoretical part of the thesis aims to introduce select definitions of terms which relates to this tools -- the terms collaboration and web 2.0, and furthermore to give reader an overview of existing tools for supporting team collaboration. A practical part of the thesis is aimed at description of one particular tool in the form of instruction manual which can be used by students in the homework process. The practical part also includes realization of research on student's experience with introduced tools. The research has a form of questionnaire. Finally author evaluates results of the research.

The subject of my thesis is to analyze the impact of gender-homogeneous teams, both female and male, on the formation of labor relations and working environment in general. In the theoretical section, I focus on three main themes: Men and women in society, Influence of gender on the organization and Gender and the labor market. The research is based on the results of my two surveys, one was conducted in predominantly female work team and the second in a predominantly male work team. In my thesis, I discovered that the reality versus theory differ in some areas, especially in a positive sense. Slowly disappears trend when women returning from maternity leave have been disadvantaged by this fact. My thesis also refuted the assumption that men are more preferred as a superiors, than women. Women in managerial positions are able stand up and play as good as men. My thesis also did not confirmed that women are in fulfilling of work assignments less independent. Employees representing the minority in homogeneous work team in terms of gender, are not exposed to negative influences, as described in the theoretical part of my thesis.

Bakgrund: Intensivvård är den högsta vårdinstansen på ett sjukhus, en av sjukvårdens mest resurskrävande behandlingsformer. När en patient blir kritiskt sjuk eller påvisar försämrade vitalparametrar kontaktar vårdpersonalen mobil intensivvårdsgrupp (MIG) som utgår ifrån intensivvårdsavdelningen (IVA). Problemformulering: De kritiskt sjuka patienterna vårdas inte längre bara på IVA men också på vårdavdelningar. I ett omvårdnads- och professionsperspektiv som intensivvårdssjuksköterska är det av betydelse och centralt att förstå orsakerna till kontakt med MIG. Syfte: Att kartlägga kontakter, orsaker och skillnader med mobil intensivvårdsgrupp på ett sjukhus i Västra Götalandsregionen. Metod: En icke-experimentell studie med ett konsekutivt urval och retrospektiv journalgranskning av 386 patientkontakter med MIG under åren 2017–2019. Resultat: Studiens resultat påvisar en hög medelålder. Ingen skillnad återfanns i patientgruppen ur ett könsperspektiv. Den framträdande gruppen är den geriatriska patienten ≥65år som är utsatt och en högriskgrupp vid kontakt med MIG. De utgör majoriteten av alla kontakter med MIG åren 2017–2019. Diskussion: Studiens kartläggning och resultat påvisar behov av kompetenshöjande utbildning och optimeringsteam. Geriatriska patientgruppen behöver vårdinsatser i rätt tid och med rätt kompetens för att minska antalet MIG kontakter och initiera insatser i förtid och motverka svikt av vitala parametrar.

The general aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality traits and team culture, establish whether this relationship changed over time and determine if there were significant differences between the research groups in their personalities and team cultures from a before to an after assessment. The study was conducted on a sample from the South African Police Services and assessments utilising the Basic Traits Inventory (BTI) and the Team Emotional and Social Intelligence survey (TESI) were analysed at the onset and completion of the participants' training. The results indicated a slight relationship between personality and team culture and significant differences were detected from the before to after phases of the study. The findings of the study contribute to an understanding of personality as amenable to a specific occupational setting and of team culture as a more stable variable, which is established early in the team‟s development. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Im Zuge der stetig voranschreitenden Internationalisierung und Dezentralisierung der Unternehmen sowie der wachsenden Informations-, Kommunikations- und Handlungsmöglichkeiten durch die neuen Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien kommt es in der modernen Arbeitswelt zu einer Um- bzw. Neugestaltung der bisher gewohnten Arbeitsstrukturen (Senst, 2001). Um dem steigenden Konkurrenzdruck standzuhalten und die eigene Marktposition und Wettbewerbsfähigkeit zu sichern, nutzen insbesondere kleine und mittelständische Unternehmen (KMU) vermehrt die Möglichkeit der organisationsübergreifenden Zusammenarbeit.

This study aims to recognize how virtual teams should be coordinated and led in organizations that operate at multiple sites. To fulfill the purpose of the study, a literature review on previous research on virtual teams was implemented. Further, a qualitative study including interviews with leaders at different levels at Ericsson was conducted to gain empirical data on how leadership in virtual teams works. The interviews were semi-structured with the purpose of not directing the leaders towards only bringing up the challenges that emerged in the literature review but to also bring up new perspectives. The major challenges that virtual teams face, thus challenges that the leaders must somehow address, can be divided into three areas: communication, coordination and location. Concerning communication, it is important that leaders of virtual teams set the means for communications, define ground rules and make sure that the right kind of communication is used for the right purpose. Further, it is important to communicate more often than if the team would have been co-located and actively try to build trust and cohesion within the team by being transparent and honest. To meet face to face with the team members, especially in the beginning when the team is created, is important both for understanding (virtual communication becomes easier afterward) and for the building of trust and cohesion. In the area coordination it is important for the leader to clearly define the roles of each team member and how the roles as well as the team efforts contribute to a larger picture. There is no perfect distribution that is applicable to all virtual teams, each team must find their balance concerning how many team members that should be positioned at each site. In general, to push responsibilities down in the hierarchy is a suitable role structure for virtual teams. The location area includes challenges such as different languages, cultures and collaboration across different time zones. It is important to have an operative language that all team members understand and master. When creating a new team, it is important that the leader or the person creating it, is aware of how cultural differences impact, so that the challenges can be addressed properly, and the benefits of diversity as well as the expanded labor pool, can be utilized. Working across different time zones brings benefits such as more hours of the day can be used, but it also includes challenges, such as limited real-time communication. Thus, the optimal time overlap is difficult to define, but generally, leaders prefer involving fewer time zones and large time overlaps.

Ifrågavarande kvalitativa fallstudie bidrar med kunskap om faktorer som påverkar samförståelse i IT–projekt som bedrivs i distribuerade team. Denna undersökning syftar till att utveckla ett empiriskt bidrag inom kontexten distribuerade IT–projekt. Fem semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med anställda vid det multinationella telekommunikationsbolaget Ericsson, vilket bedriver många av sina IT–projekt i distribuerade team. Materialet från intervjuerna har analyserats med hjälp av det kvalitativa data-analysverktyget MAXQDA. I dataanalysen identifierades två nivåer av faktorer som påverkar samförståelse, vilka  definierades som förutsättningar och givna faktorer. Fortsättningsvis har de identifierade faktorerna analyserats genom en jämförelse med tidigare forskning. En av många diskussioner grundar sig i huruvida de identifierade förutsättningarna bör tolkas som ett resultat av graden av etablerad samförståelse i ett distribuerat team, eller om de snarare bör tolkas som lämpliga egenskaper för att kunna uppnå samförståelse i ett distribuerat team. Andra diskussioner innefattar vikten av en stark företagskultur kombinerat med ett starkt förtroende för företagskulturen, samt framtidsvyer för distribuerade IT–projekt. Avslutningsvis kunde följande förutsättningar konstateras: bygga relationer, fysiska träffar, tydlighet och målsättning samt följande givna faktorer konstateras: erfarenheter, kultur, språk, företagskultur och teknik.

Bakgrund: Digitaliseringens framväxt har möjliggjort för organisationer att arbeta i en virtuell kontext, vilket tillsammans med coronapandemins utbrott medfört att antal virtuella team och e-ledare ökat markant. Majoriteten av virtuella team leds av gruppchefer, vilket är den vanligaste förekommande ledarrollen i svenska privata organisationer. Gruppchefers övergång till att leda i en virtuell kontext har medfört två övergripande utmaningar: förtroende och kommunikation. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att beskriva vilka utmaningar i relation till förtroende och kommunikation som gruppchefer i svenska privata organisationer möter i utförandet av e-ledarskap i virtuella team, samt förstå hur gruppchefer har utvecklat sitt ledarskap för att hantera dessa utmaningar. Förståelsen leder till utveckling av ett teoretiskt ramverk baserat på gruppchefers erfarenheter i svenska privata organisationer.   Forskningsfrågor: Vilka utmaningar i relation till förtroende och kommunikation möter gruppchefer i utförandet av e-ledarskap i virtuella team? Hur har gruppchefer utvecklat sitt ledarskap för att hantera dessa utmaningar? Metod: Studiens forskningsansats är abduktiv och har en kvalitativ forskningsmetod. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med sju gruppchefer för virtuella team i svenska privata organisationer. Slutsats: Studiens slutsats visar de utmaningar gruppchefer möter i relation till förtroende och kommunikation när de utför e-ledarskap i virtuella team. Utmaningarna är gruppens välmående och motivation, personlig kontakt, grupptillhörighet, involvera anställda, tillgänglighet, kontroll, icke-verbal kommunikation, säkerställa att budskapet har nått fram, planering av möten, kommunikationsverktyg samt kreativitet vid möten. Slutsatsen visar även att gruppchefer har utvecklat ett nytt förhållningssätt för att hantera utmaningarna, nämligen hållbart e-ledarskap. / Background: The emergence of digitalization has enabled organizations to work in a virtual context, which together with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the number of virtual teams and e-leaders. The majority of virtual teams are led by team leaders, which is the most common leadership role in Swedish private organizations. The team leaders' transition to leading in a virtual context has led to two overall challenges: trust and communication. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the challenges in relation to trust and communication that team leaders in Swedish private organizations face in the execution of e-leadership in virtual teams, and understand how team leaders have developed their leadership to manage these challenges. The understanding leads to the development of a theoretical framework based on team leaders’ experiences in Swedish private organizations. Research questions: What challenges in relation to trust and communication do team leaders face in the execution of e-leadership in virtual teams? How have team leaders developed their leadership to manage these challenges? Methodology: The study's research approach is abductive and has a qualitative research method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven team leaders for virtual teams in Swedish private organizations. Findings: The conclusion of this study shows the challenges team leaders face in relation to trust and communication when performing e-leadership in virtual teams. The challenges are the group's well-being and motivation, personal contact, group affiliation, involving employees, accessibility, control, non-verbal communication, ensure that the message has arrived, meeting planning, communication tools and creativity at meetings. The conclusion also shows how team leaders have developed a new approach to manage these challenges, which is sustainable e-leadership.

Human capital assessment is an integral part of the in-depth evaluation conducted by Venture Capitalists (VCs) before an investment decision. Furthermore, an effective collaboration between external investors and the founding team can be vital for the success of a startup venture. This thesis aims to improve this assessment and collaboration by providing an empirical account of historically successful Swedish tech startups and their founding teams (FT). We employ semi-structured interviews with 13 entrepreneurs who in total have founded over 50 ventures in order to deduce patterns to the characteristics, compositions and views of successful founding management teams. We compile and discuss their views concerning aspects such as organizational culture, team performance and their relationships with external financiers. The focus of this thesis was in part guided by our commissioner, Almi Invest. Based on our interviews and literature review, we present several findings which may be of interest to both investors and entrepreneurs. Some of our key findings are that successful Swedish tech startups are generally composed of diverse teams where the founders share some previous association and complement each other with regards to both competencies and personalities. They view culture and vision as important aspects, with values acting as the uniting factor that drives cohesion and performance. We also find that their views are largely influenced by previous experiences. Finally, we highlight some perceived inefficiencies in the collaboration between investors and entrepreneurs, mainly with regards to post-investment activities and the process of raising capital. Our findings suggest a lack of transparency between entrepreneurs and financiers regarding the investor activity levels, where entrepreneurs generally feel that VCs fall short on their promises. We suggest some areas of improvement where VCs might tune their practices to better suit the needs of their portfolio companies and improve overall performance.

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