Aim. The purpose of this degree project was to assess the impact of the sudden, historically-unique COVID-19 workplace restrictions on the knowledge management and interrelated ICT utilization of a knowledge-intensive SME in Germany. Based upon the outcomes of this assessment, suggestions for future advancement were to be developed.Research Approach. The research approach entailed a qualitative case study addressing a single IT company with 42 employees. The research itself was conducted via triangulation, with the semi-structured interviews of four purposely sampled company executives serving as the focal part. Fundamental aspects of these interviews were further substantiated through four exploratory meeting observations and a company-wide questionnaire contributing 14 employee responses.Findings. Subject to the pandemic-related workspace restrictions, this company was forced to transition to predominantly virtual operations. The organization responded through the introduction of a new, integrated ICT for employee collaboration while simultaneously expediting the codification of tacit knowledge across two existing knowledge repositories. This focus on only a few essential ICTs led to a reduction of prior systems clutter and the company-wide accessibility of explicit knowledge – a quantum leap in terms of efficiency. Along with the primary collaboration via ICTs, a new interaction etiquette developed amongst employees, and IT-related staff was found to cooperate more actively than in the previous on-site environment. Given these insights, this German IT house is recommended to continue its emergently hybrid knowledge management strategy and consider the benefits of both the physical and virtual spaces for an office redesign past the COVID-19 limitations.Originality. Academic references attending to knowledge management during forced workplace restrictions were de facto nonexistent. Adding to it, previous studies on virtual knowledge management indicated a deterioration of performance as compared to on-site operations. This case study is hence not only unique by its pandemic link, but also countering apparent academic presupposition.

Covid-19 pandemin, en kris som varit aktuell sedan början av år 2020, förändrade den geografiska platsen för arbetets utförande till följd av restriktionen gällande hemarbete. Syftet med denna studie var därför att undersöka vad som skiljt platsförlagt arbete och hemarbete åt med avseende på faktorerna motivation, kommunikation och sammanhållning. Dessa faktorer är centrala delar av arbetsmiljön och vi ville därför se om de påverkats när arbetsmiljön förändrat. För att kunna utreda valt problemområde nyttjades den kvalitativa datainsamlingsmetoden, med ansatsen semistrukturerad intervju. Under genomförande fanns ett flertal förutbestämda frågor med utrymme för respondenterna att tillägga information som var av värde för studien. Metoden valdes då vi ville få respondenters åsikter och erfarenheter kring hur faktorerna skiljt sig åt beroende på den geografiska platsen för arbetets utförande. I den teoretiska referensramen presenteras de valda faktorerna motivation, kommunikation och sammanhållning utförligt. I analysavsnittet kopplas teori och empiri samman, samt jämförs med tidigare studiers resultat. Studien visade på att Covid-19 haft störst påverkan gällande motivation vid hemarbete, men även förändrat vissa delar vid platsförlagt arbete. Kommunikationen påverkades positivt vid hemarbete men negativt vid platsförlagt arbete, slutligen påverkades sammanhållningen negativt enligt respondenterna. Avslutningsvis ges fyra rekommendationer för att förbättra arbetsmiljön. / The Covid-19 pandemic, a crisis that has been relevant since the beginning of 2020, changed the geographical location of the work performance as a result of the restriction which introduced work from home. The purpose of this inquiry was therefore to study how work from the original workplace and work from home differed regarding motivation, communication and cohesion. These factors are central parts of the work environment and therefore we wanted to see if they were affected by the change of work environment. In order to be able to investigate the selected problem area, the qualitative data collection method was used, with the semi-structured interview approach. During implementation, there were a number of predetermined questions with room for the respondents to add information that was of value to the study. The method was chosen because we wanted to obtain the respondents experiences and opinions regarding how the factors differed depending on the geographical location of the work performance. In the theoretical frame of reference, the selected factors motivation, communication and cohesion are presented. In the analysis section, theory and empiricism are contextualized with previous studies. The study showed that Covid-19 had the greatest impact on motivation regarding work from home, but also affected certain parts of work from the workplace. The communication had a positive effect on work from home but a negative effect on work from the workplace, and finally the respondents experienced a negative effect on cohesion. Finally, four recommendations were given to improve the work environment.

Denna uppsats handlar om människors inflytande i kommunal planeringoch hur detta har påverkats av covid-19 pandemin. Frågan är viktig ur ett större perspektiv då förutsättningarna för ett socialt hållbart samhälle bygger på jämställdhet, jämlikhet och delaktighet i samhällets utveckling, vilket kan påverkas av pandemins restriktioner. Genom att kartlägga hur planeringsförvaltning på tre olika stora kommuner har förändrat sitt arbete med medborgardialoger under pandemin vill man förstå hur förändringarna har påverkat kommunikationen mellan planeringsförvaltning och medborgare. Insamling av empiri har skett via kvalitativa intervjuer där informanterna arbeter i direkt anknytning till planeringsprocesser på förvaltning och besitter kunskap och erfarenhet inom uppsatsens ämne. Resultatet av uppsatsen visar att samtliga planeringsförvaltningar har ställt om till ett helt digitalt arbeter i kommunikationen med medborgarna, detta har både positiva och negativa konsekvenser. Digitalt skapas mer flexibla och tidseffektiva möten, det öppnar upp för ett ökat deltagande framförallt hos yngre, samtidigt som det också skapar begränsningar för äldre och de som inte talar språket, det är också svårare att få in synpunkter från medborgarna över digitala möten. Fullständig digitalisering av dialogen med medborgarna tenderar till en ökad risk för envägskommunikation samt att vissa grupper exkluderas från deltagandet. / This essay is about people´s influence in municipal planning and how this has been affected by covid-19 pandemic. The issue is important from a larger prespective as the conditions for a socially sustainable society, builds on equality and participation in development of society, which can be affected by the restrictions of a pandemic. By analyzing how planning administration in three diffrent large municipalities has changed its work with citizen dialogues during the pandemic, they want to understand how the changes have affected the communication between planning administration and citizens. Empirical data collection has been done by qualitative inrerviews. Interviewees all works as civil servants with knowledge and experience in the field of municipal development and processes connected to it. Analysis in this essay indicates that all interviewed administrations have adapted digital platforms for communicating with citizens, resulting in both positive and negative factors. Digital platforms create flexible and efficient meetings, which opens up for increased participation, especially among younger people. At the same time as it also creates restrictions for the elderly and those who do not speak the language. It is also more difficult to get views from citizens during digital meetings, which can affect representativeness. Compared to physical meetings digital meetings generate less citizen input. Complete digitalization of the citizen dialogue tends to increase the risk of one-way communication and to exclude certain groups from participation.

Bakgrund: Hösten år 2019 bröt Covid-19 viruset ut i Kina och kom att klassas som en pandemi. Hela samhället påverkas, men i frontlinjen av pandemin står vårdpersonalen. Deras arbetsmiljö påverkas kraftigt på grund av att patientintaget ökat och de förväntas utföra högklassig vård. Det är chefens ansvarsområde att se till att arbetsmiljön upplevs som god samt att förebygga olycksfall och ohälsa på arbetet. Arbetsmiljöarbetet är lagstadgat och ska utföras planerat och systematiskt, även kallat systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete. Centrala delar i systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete är undersöka, riskbedöma, åtgärda och kontrollera. Föreliggande studie utgår från riskbedömning och åtgärd. Syfte: Studien syftar till att ge en beskrivning av och ökad förståelse för hur chefer inom ett sjukhus i en medelstor stad i Sverige arbetar med systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete. Fokus ligger på frågor utifrån enhetschefers riskbedömning och åtgärder som påverkar vårdpersonalens arbetsmiljö under Covid-19 pandemin. Metod: Studien utgår ifrån en kvalitativ metod med en abduktiv forskningsansats. Insamlad empiri utgår från två perspektiv, enhetschefer och vårdpersonal, för att ge studien en ökad trovärdighet. Det genomfördes åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer, fyra med enhetschefer och fyra med vårdpersonal, på ett sjukhus i en medelstor stad i Sverige. Resultat och slutsats: Studiens resultat visar på att chefers arbete med systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete inte har ökat under Covid-19 pandemin utan snarare förändrats. Förändringen ligger främst i att den fysiska och psykosociala arbetsmiljön påverkas i form av utsatt arbetssituation som chefer haft begränsad möjlighet att påverka. Kommunikationen förändras genom att fysiska möten minimeras som bidrar till att chefer behöver hitta komplement för att bibehålla kommunikationen med vårdpersonalen. Den långsiktiga planeringen förändras i avseendet att riskbedömningar och åtgärd snarare övergår till att göras på kort sikt under Covid-19 pandemin. / Background: In the autumn of 2019,the Covid-19 virus exclaimed in China, which later came to be classified as a pandemic. The whole society is affected, but the care staff is at the forefront of the pandemic. Their work environment has a strong impact due to the increase in patient intake and they were expected to perform high-quality care. It is the managers responsibility to ensure that the work environment is perceived as good and to prevent accidents and ill health at work. The environment work is statutory and must be carried out planned and systematically, also called systematic environment work. Central parts of systematic environment work are investigation,risk assessment, action and control. The study is based on risk assessment and action. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to provide a description of increased understanding of how managers in a hospital in a medium-sized city in Sweden work with systematic environment work. The focus is on external issues, strengthening risk assessment and measures that affect the care staff's work environment during the Covid-19 pandemic. Method: The study is based on a qualitative method and abductive research approach. Collected empirical data is based on two perspectives, unit managers and care staff, for study and increased credibility. Eight semi-structured interviews, four with unit heads and four with care staff, were conducted at a hospital ina medium-sized city in Sweden. Results and conclusion: The results of the study show that managers working with systematic environment work have not increased during the Covid-19 pandemic but rather changed. The change is mainly in the fact that the physical and psychosocial work environment affects in the form of a vulnerable work situation that managers can limit the opportunity to influence. Communication has changed by minimizing physical meetings as a contribution to the managers having to find a complement to maintain communication with the care staff. Long-term planning has changed in the sense that risk assessments and measures have rather shifted to short-term Covid-19 pandemics.

Healthcare systems and medical services all over the world have been facing a significant reliability crisis that has peaked in the past couple of decades from a series of criticisms regarding inequality. It is well-established that the inequality problem, especially in the Latin American region is an abiding and deep-routed phenomenon particularly in regards to gendered relationships, which has only recently been given the necessary attention.  Therefore, this study investigates the equality of healthcare access from a gendered perspective, as a result of gender inequality in Mexico. The foregoing issue shall be analysed by giving an overview of the pre-existing situation in Mexico and by examining the recent data from 2020 and 2021 resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, gender inequality in the country will be analysed from a theoretical perspective, while statistical data will be used to examine the possible existence of a pattern and the societal influences on it in relation to healthcare. In times like these, when the whole planet has been affected by a pandemic, the ongoing discrimination and inequalities regarding healthcare access have been brought to the surface. Many discussions have taken place regarding racial inequality in the sector and its effects on minorities such as black or immigrant communities globally. However, the focus given to the gender inequality in the health sector and how it has been affected by the pandemic is minimal. For this reason, this study introduces an innovative and relevant perspective to the current healthcare discussion in connection to gender inequality in Mexico.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur distansarbetare upplever förändringar i den fysiska- och psykosociala arbetsmiljön under covid-19-pandemin, med ett särskilt fokus på förändringar i balansen mellan arbetsliv och privatliv. Studien är baserad på kvalitativ metod. Datamaterialet samlades in via åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer och analyserades via en induktiv tematisk analys som resulterade i tre huvudteman och två till tre underteman. Resultatet visade att respondenterna upplevde förändringar i både den fysiska- och psykosociala arbetsmiljön och att distansarbetet bidragit till mindre vardagsstress och högre flexibilitet. Respondenterna hade däremot svårt med gränsdragningen mellan arbetslivet och privatlivet och de saknade den sociala interaktionen med arbetskollegorna. Respondenterna upplevde även att de blivit mer stillasittande och att de hade bristfällig ergonomisk arbetsutrustning. Det framkom även en tydlig brist på riktlinjer, utbildningar och utvärderingar gällande arbetsmiljön och balansen mellan arbetsliv och privatliv. Vidare önskar respondenterna en kombination av distansarbete och att arbeta fysiskt på arbetsplatsen i framtiden. / The purpose of the present study was to examine how teleworkers experience changes in the physical and psychosocial work environment during the covid-19 pandemic, with a special focus on changes in Work-Life Balance. The study is based on a qualitative method. Eight semi-structured interviews were analyzed by inductive thematic analysis, which resulted in three main themes and two to three sub-themes. The results indicated that the respondents experienced changes in both the physical and psychosocial work environment and the telework has contributed to reduced everyday stress and greater flexibility. However the respondents experienced difficulty with drawing the line between work and private life and a realization of the importance of social interaction with work colleagues. They experienced increased sedentary and inadequate work equipment. There was also a clear deficiency of guidelines, training and knowledge regarding physical and psychosocial work environment, as well as balance between work and private life. In the future the respondents wish to have a combination of telework and physical work at the workplace.

Studien undersöker huruvida pandemin Covid-19 påverkade graden av underprissättning för börsnoteringar på börsen Nasdaq First North. Åren som undersöks är 2018-2021 där åren 2018 och 2019 klassificeras som åren innan pandemin och 2020 samt början av 2021 som åren under pandemin. Börsnoteringarna som kvarstår efter det slutgiltiga urvalet uppgick till 38 innan pandemin och 42 under pandemin. Inledningsvis undersöks hur börsnoteringarna presterade innan och under pandemin, och därefter variablernas samt pandemins förmåga att förklara variansen av underprissättning. Statistisk signifikans erhölls för variablerna marknadsvärde, teckningsåtagande och relativ erbjudandestorlek som prediktorer för underprissättning.

At the end of the 2019 year, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic changes human life. People have to change their way to be more safer for working and producing. For most industries, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is huge. The number of active labor and the order is decreased, moreover, the inventory management issues appeared in this time. Hence, The related company must find a new inventory management solution for surviving in the Covid-19 pandemic.  The subject of this research paper is about inventory management in Chinese food supply chains. And the purpose of this study is aim to dealing with the inventory management dilemma for the most company which related to the food industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study uses multi cases study to help readers understand the challenges and solutions of inventory management in the Chinese food industry during the Covid-19 pandemic deeply. Furthermore, this study uses qualitative research to analyze the interview data.  The analysis illustrates that the resilience supply chain and the inventory costs are important for strengthening the ability of inventory management to face the risks. And this study is significant, and it can help many Chinese enterprises find a direction for the inventory management risk during the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, this study can also provide a foundation for the further study of risk management for inventory.

Studien syftade till att undersöka hur socialsekreterare arbetade med barns delaktighet i socialtjänstens barnavårdsutredningar samt hur covid-19-pandemin påverkade detta. Kvalitativa intervjuer hölls med åtta socialsekreterare om deras erfarenheter av utredande arbete med barn innan och under covid-19-pandemin. Socialsekreterarna visade stort en­gagemang för barns delaktighet, men det framkom att delaktigheten främst handlade om att inhämta information från barn om deras situation. Resultatet visade att pandemin har haft negativ påverkan på barns möjligheter till delaktighet. Socialsekreterarnas handlings­utrymme påverkades i varierande grad beroende på verksamhetens förhållningssätt till riktlinjer och restrik­tioner. Det framkom stora skillnader mellan hur socialsekreterare har träffat och inkluderat barn både innan och under covid-19-pandemin. Av resultatet att döma var arbetet med barns delaktighet en utmaning sedan tidigare, men det har ställts på sin spets under covid-19-pandemin. För barn kunde situationen liknas vid ett lotteri för i vilken utsträckning de gjordes delaktiga, utifrån den socialsekreterare de tilldelats. / The aim of this qualitative study was to examine how social workers at child welfare agencies implemented the principle of children's right to participation in child protection investigations and how the covid-19-pandemic has affected it. Eight social workers were interviewed on their experiences before and during the covid-19-pandemic. The social workers showed much interest in children’s participation, but findings showed they mostly thought of it as acquiring information from children. The study found that the covid-19-pandemic had a negative effect on the possibilities of participation. Experiences of how the covid-19-pandemic affected discretion and relative autonomy differed between the social workers. Notable differences emerged regarding how they met and included children in investigations both before and during the covid-19-pandemic. The challenges of implementing children’s right to participation seems to persist. The situa­tion appeared much like a lottery, where children’s level of participation greatly depended on which social worker they were assigned.

Previous research indicates that journalistic roles change in times of crisis, from critically reviewing authorities to disseminating information. Why does this happen? And are these indications true within a Swedish context? The aim of this study is to investigate how journalistic roles in Swedish media has changed over time during the covid-19 pandemic and what factors that lies behind the change.[JB1]  To do this, a quantitative content analysis of Swedish news articles was used in combination with qualitative interviews with journalists. The content analysis found that the presence of critical roles (detached watchdog and critical change agent) decreased during the first months of the pandemic while the presence of informational and regime-friendly roles (populist disseminator and opportunist facilitator) increased. One year into the pandemic, the presence of critical roles resurged towards a normal level while the two informational and regime-friendly roles decreased. The qualitative interviews show that, whilst the perceived journalistic roles did not change during the pandemic, the ability to put those ideals to practice was affected by several external factors. These factors include: the dominance of corona-related news, the challenging nature of critically reviewing an ongoing crisis, a general lack of corona-related knowledge, changes in work practice and working environment, and a lack of previous experience from similar crises. The change in practiced journalistic roles was generally viewed by the respondents as unintended and problematic. This underlines the important difference between perceived and practiced journalistic roles.  [JB1]Reviderat.