| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
- Ingelsson, Pernilla, 1968-
(författare)
-
Creating a Quality Management Culture : Focusing on Values and Leadership
- 2013
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- When applied successfully, the QM initiatives TQM and Lean enhance an organization´s ability to meet and exceed the expectations of the customers as well as co-workers and other stakeholders. There are however also QM initiatives that fail and one reason for this is the organization’s inability to create a supportive culture, a culture that rests on a number of values which aim at improving the quality and thereby customer satisfaction. Even though this is known by both practitioners and researchers, little has been written on how to achieve a QM culture in practice and there are not many methodologies and tools designed directly with purpose of creating this culture. In addition, the measurements used for monitoring organizational success focus mainly on ‘hard’ process or financial measures such as lead-time reduction and operating income. The purpose of this thesis has been to ‘examine how a strong organizational culture can be created and to contribute with knowledge about how to create and measure a QM culture’. To fulfill this purpose, a number of case studies have been carried out and a questionnaire has been developed in order to measure the presence and importance of a number of QM values.The research presented in this thesis reinforces the fact that culture is an important factor to take into account when applying QM initiatives. A structured way of working with culture and the development of a strategy on how the culture in the organization will be changed is needed. This in combination with methodologies and tools aiming directly at enhancing a QM culture. The research also shows that the relationship between organizational culture, values and behaviors needs to be considered when working to create a strong QM culture. Most of the methodologies and tools found in the case studies aim directly at reinforcing the ‘right’ behaviors in the organization, hence enhancing the underlying values. For instance, the way an organization works with selection, e.g. recruitment and promotion, based on behaviors rather than documented merits is one methodology found in the research. The leadership was found to be important when it came to building or strengthening the culture. Managers are considered key players and need to act as role models, displaying the desired behaviors themselves. The managers need to be present among their co-workers and aware of how their own actions affect the possibility to build a strong QM culture.Another conclusion drawn is the need to measure the ‘softer’ side of QM. One starting point when applying a QM initiative should be the assessment of the existing culture in the organization as a complement to the ‘harder’ measures. The research presented in this thesis suggests that the questionnaire that has been developed could be an appropriate tool for this purpose. If the existing culture in an organization does not support the values within QM, the behaviors of managers and co-workers that are needed to improve quality and thereby customer satisfaction could be hard to achieve.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- Sallnäs, Marie, 1952-, et al.
(författare)
-
Samhällsvårdade barn, gate-keeping och forskning
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift. - Forsa, Umeå. - 1104-1420. ; 17:2, s. 116-133-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Within the discourse of childhood sociology, children are extensively regarded as “social actors”, a perspective that underlines the importance of asking children about their lives and experiences. To actually carry out such research, however, raises several methodological, principal, ethical and practical issues, especially when the research is about vulnerable children as those in out-of-home care. In this article we discuss the issue of gate-keeping when conducting research with children in foster homes or residential care. As a concrete example we use experiences from a survey of living conditions among those children. The research questions were: 1) How and by whom is gate-keeping carried out when research is conducted among children in out of home care? 2) How could one as a researcher relate to gate-keeping carried out by adults in the environment of the children versus children’s one will? 3) What impact does gate-keeping have on results, feasibility and in a wider perspective the knowledge production regarding children in social care? The article shows that researchers needs to encounter a chain of gate-keepers to be able to get access to the children, and often attrition is high in studies with children as informants. Adults can serve both as gate-keepers and gate-openers. Our conclusion is that children in social care can be reached for research purpose, but that it is time-consuming, challenging and as a researcher one is often faced with ethical dilemmas. It is clear that there has to be a balance between gate-keeping and gate-opening. In this balance, on the one hand, it is possible for children to talk to researchers when they wish to do so, on the other hand, children must be protected so they are not exploited as research objects.
|
|
| 5. |
- Sallnäs, Marie, 1952-, et al.
(författare)
-
Samhällsvårdade barn, gate-keeping och forskning : [Children in out-of-home care, gate-keeping and research]
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift. - 1104-1420 .- 2003-5624. ; 17:2, s. 116-133
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ett aktörsperspektiv på barn har blivit alltmer centralt i barn- och barnavårdsforskning. I artikeln diskuteras principiella och praktiska frågor när ett sådant perspektiv ska omsättas i forskning om samhällsvårdade barns förhållanden. Avvägningen mellan forskningsintresset och barns rätt till skydd och integritet analyseras.
|
|
| 6. |
|
|
| 7. |
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
|
|
| 10. |
|
|
| 11. |
|
|
| 12. |
|
|
| 13. |
- Stranz, Hugo, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
-
Risk factors of long-term social assistance recipiency among lone mothers : The case of Sweden
- 2012
-
Ingår i: European Journal of Social Work. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1369-1457 .- 1468-2664. ; 15:4, s. 514-531
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For decades, lone mothers have been vastly overrepresented among Swedish social assistance recipients. In Sweden, social assistance is administered in the personal social services. The study aims to explore and analyse factors associated with long-term recipiency among lone mothers. The empirical material consists of micro data on 875 randomly selected lone mothers receiving social assistance in any of the three major cities of Sweden in 2007. In the analysis, a distinction is made between household demographics (e.g. ethnicity) and individual factors (subdivided into individual impairments (e.g. psychosocial conditions) and financial vulnerability (e.g. unemployment)). The main findings are: (1) even though household demographics alone show low explanatory value for long-term social assistance recipiency, analysed factors remain significant when controlling for individual factors; (2) among individual factors, only variables indicating financial vulnerability are significant. A main conclusion in the study is that social workers should be attentative that subgroups within the larger population of lone mothers have higher risk of long-term recipiency (e.g. non-native origin). Furthermore, policy revisions should be considered for this group, since personal social services extensively address individual impairments whereas long-term recipiency is strongly associated with structural factors.
|
|
| 14. |
|
|
| 15. |
|
|
| 16. |
|
|
| 17. |
- Wiklund, Stefan, 1968-, et al.
(författare)
-
The material side of foster care: : economic and material resources among foster carers and foster youths in Swedish child welfare
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Adoption & Fostering. - 0308-5759 .- 1740-469X. ; 34:4, s. 27-38
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Outcome studies in foster care have tended to focus on children's development and long-term adjustment. The economic aspects of placements and their effect on children's immediate welfare have been little explored. Stefan Wiklund and Marie Sallnäs compare the economic circumstances of Swedish foster carers with adults in the wider population and contrast the situation of 125 older children in foster homes, teenagers in the community and a group in residential care. As few differences were found, except for the relative disadvantage of those in residential settings, it is concluded that there is no intrinsic reason why foster care should deprive children economically. Moreover, as the child's welfare while in care is important in its own right, the criteria used to assess the suitability of carers should include measures of available resources.
|
|
