Browsing Conference Contributions /KS US by Issue Date

Education as Empowerment: between Political Power, Working Life and P...
Johansson, Magnus; Szybek, Piotr (2003) European Conference on Educational Reserach, 17 - 20 september	peer-reviewed conference PAPER

Teamworking in the public service sector and the meaning of diversity
Sederblad, Per; Schölin, Tobias (2007) Paper presented at the 11th International Workshop on Teamworking, Copenhagen, 10-11 September 2007	peer-reviewed conference PAPER

English abstract:

This paper aims to discuss the concept of diversity and to compare diversity in different forms; in business and public cases. We will give some empirical examples of these two cases of diversity. Finally, we will contribute to the discussion on diversity, by focusing community and the meaning of teamworking for diversity management. The American anthropologist Peter Wood (2003) means that there is old and new diversity. The meaning of old diversity is found in the statement that “there are differences in our world”. New diversity at the other hand is, regarding to Wood (and other see for example Cox 1993), a business and management idea that implies that increased diversity should lead to different kinds of organizational efficiency. Taylor Cox (1993) defines diversity management as “Planning and implementation of organizational systems and methods so that the potential advantages are maximized and the potential disadvantages with diversity are reduced”. The background of this new diversity is, also regarding to Wood (2003), found in the American history. The history goes back to affirmative action programs started in the 1960´. During the last decade, diversity has replaced affirmative action and different kinds of organisational benefits are of importance. Diversity is about managing differences towards a organization were all human resources is charged. Different kinds of benefits related to diversity that is described in the literature is economy, globalization, service, morality, laws, find new groups of customers (see for example Schölin et al, 2007; Cox, 1993; Mlekow & Widel, 2004). Diversity is an organizational idea that is about business. The basic idea of “the business case for diversity” is “…that organisations should recruit and manage diverse personnel to face the increased diversity among customers” (Wilson, 2007:158). Of course, there is expectation to make profit behind the idea of this business case and so far in Sweden, it seems to be the provision merchants and the tele-marketing companies that have been the first to explore this opportunity. However, Wilson argues that the perspective of the business case has to be empirically investigated to be possible to evaluate. Diversity has its background in USA but is at the same time described as a global management idea. It is in public organizations problematic how to motivate diversity as a “business case”. Studies of diversity management in the Swedish context shows that political leaders has problems when it comes to make sense of diversity with rhetoric’s in municipal organisations (Broomé, 2004). At the same time shows studies on how superior managers in elderly care have problems when it comes to incorporate diversity as a qualitative organizational idea with in elderly care. They have problems when it comes to find the benefits. And as a result diversity is at the one hand defined in statistical body-counting terms and at the other hand as problems (Schölin, 2006). The main problem for public organizations is that the relation to profit making not is explicit. This problem constitutes the dividing line between the public- and the business case (the later is based on the relation between companies, customers and profit making). In other words, it is possible to say that the public case rather is connected to justice than profit. In Britain, the New Public Management has been followed by an increased interest for communities and the possibilities for integration of immigrants on the labour market and in society. In order to meet the consequences of “race related” riots and effects on unwanted segregation the City of Bradford (UK) has initiated a project with the aim to create a more diverse municipal organization. One important aspect of this project has been to work close to different ethnic communities, were the basic idea partly has to been to strengthen the communities, partly that the communities could strengthen the municipal organization (Schölin et al, 2007). We will in this paper put the spotlight on the micro levels of society, including the team level. Teams are found in the private (business) sector, and increasingly, in the public sector (Procter & Mueller, 2000). There is a kinship between community and teamworking, in the sense we define the concepts. We will argue that there are quite strong evidence for that diversity of team composition is a positive aspect for innovative teamworking, if trust and openness between the team members prevails (Cox, 1993; Muhr, 2006). There is also some evidence from work places in Sweden that diversity of teams have positive effects for integration and for development of competencies, from work related to global competencies (Gustavsson, 2007). The crucial question seems to be how to have these personal and tacit skills articulated, codified and institutionalised in the organisations, and for closing the circle, internalised on the individual level. Here we think the models for Knowledge Management (see Tell & Söderlund, 2001) can be a useful theoretical tool, with some modifications combined with theories of teamworking.

IWOT11 paper Sederblad & Schölin.pdf (101.6Kb)

Emotional labour in Lean Health Care - some experiences from Sweden
Sederblad, Per : Rutgers University, New Brunswick (2010) 28th Annual International Labour Process Conference, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, USA, March 15-17, 2010	conference PAPER

English abstract:

During the last decades, there has been a strong influence from Japan on organizational theory and management practices in the West. It started in the 80’s with culture in focus, but also an interest for work organization and team work. The most important wave of Japanese influence however started in the early 90’s with the concept Lean Production (LP), a US-interpretation of the Japanese production management (JPM) system. In this concept the work team is central. The period since then can briefly be characterized as a period of diffusion of LP, to industry in an increasing number of societies and to new sectors such as private and public services, especially health care. In Sweden there has during the last decade been a rapid diffusion of Lean Production systems in industry now including most companies. During the last years several steps to introduce Lean Health Care (LHC) have been taken, e. g. at the University hospital in Lund. The aim of this paper is to discuss how LHC can lead to intensification of work by use of team work and normative control and how emotional labour is influenced by this development. I will in some sections of the paper use the concept JPM instead of LHC, as I will discuss the development in a broader sense, including cultural aspects. Cultural aspects are almost neglected in the LP and LHC discourses. The paper is based on research projects that I have conducted since the late 80’s regarding: team work in Swedish industrial companies; mergers and acquisitions between Swedish and foreign companies in the automotive industry; health care in Sweden; case studies of team work in Japan. Methods used have been questionnaires, interviews and observations. Regarding my research on LHC, documents have been studied and some informant interviews have been made with nurses and administrators. In seminars with researchers and professionals tentative research results have been discussed. In the case of LHC, I think the cultural aspects should be focused. The team control can for the nurses be regarded as a preferable alternative to the traditional control by medicines and administrators. However, the problems of stressful work situations and the dominance of emotional labour over emotion work will remain and even increase with LHC, if not the unions will be able to resist attempts to intensification of work from the managers and administrators. In Sweden, the unions in Health Care are basically integrated with the professional organizations that might increase possibilities of resistance and union control.

ILPC 2010 paper Sederblad.pdf (76.38Kb)

English abstract:	Cities are growing all over the world. The UN has reported that since 2008, more than half of the world population live in cities. A majority of the people of the future will experience and remember the urban environment as their home, not to say their home landscape. What will such a change mean to future knowledge about - and love for - nature? The report gives a number of examples on how to manage biodiversity in cities, on how to stimulate and protect biological diversity in cities and how to enhance the ecosystem services that will be increasingly important for our survival in the futures. With several outlooks to international arenas (in English) it takes its departure in the conditions of Stockholm, known as one of the greenest capitals of the world.
Swedish abstract:	Städerna växer världen över. FN har beräknat att sedan 2008 bor mer än hälften av världens befolkning i städer. Det innebär att majoriteten av framtidens människor kommer att uppleva, känna och minnas den urbana miljön som sin hembygd, för att inte säga sitt landskap. Vad kommer en sådan omställning att betyda för framtidens kunskap om och känsla för naturen? Rapporten ger en rad exempel på hur man kan sköta och skydda biologisk mångfald i städer, och hur man kan förstärka de ekosystemtjänster som kommer att bli så avgörande för vår överlevnad i framtiden. Med många internationella utblickar (på engelska) tar den sin utgångspunkt i Stockholm och dess förutsättningar. Stockholm är känd som en av de grönaste huvudstäderna i världen.

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Can Higher Education Create Experts to Solve Environmental Problems?
Johansson, Magnus (2003) European Conference on Educational Research, Hamburg, 17-20 september	peer-reviewed conference PAPER

A new role for government in regional development
Parker, Peter; Ekelund, Christer (2006) 22nd IMP conference in Milano, Italy. September 7-9, 2006 special track on Networks and Regional Development	peer-reviewed conference PAPER

The culture of long working hours
Ottosson, Mikael; Rosengren, Calle Conference paper in Labour traditions : Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (2007)	conference PAPER

Stress at work and optimism: Implications for health
Muhonen, Tuija; Torkelson, Eva (2007) Proceedings of The 13th European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Stockholm May 9-12, 2007. http://www.eawop2007.org	peer-reviewed conference PAPER