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Art and time : art hall in a rural area inspired by creative ideas fr...
Westerdahl, Stig; Skoglund, Wilhelm (2012) The 9:th workshop on: “Social Capital and Development Trends in the Swedish and Japanese Countryside”, 24th – 25th May, 2012, Österlen, Sweden	conference PAPER

A cross-cultural study of leadership and organizational factors predi...
Muhonen, Tuija; Jönsson, Sandra Publication in Book of proceedings : 10th Conference of the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology; : European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology (EAOHP) (2012) 10th Conference of the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology, ETH Zürich, 11-13 April, 2012.	other

English abstract:

The growing trend towards globalization has initiated a need for organizations and managers to understand how leadership style and organizational factors are related to employee well-being in different cultural contexts (Lok, 2004). The interest for cross-cultural organizational and managerial studies is therefore increasing among practicing managers as well as organizational researchers. Contrasting views can be discerned when it comes to what extent national cultures influence leadership style and co-worker expectations concerning leadership. Some researchers state that there is a universal leadership style that is efficient irrespective of the situation (Arvonen, 1999), whereas others maintain that effective leadership is culturally contingent (Hofstede, 1980; 2001). According to a recent review (Dickson, 2003) there is a decline in the search for simple universality, i.e. that the phenomenon is invariable all over the world, in favour of more culturally contingent view. Considering that earlier research has shown great differences in cultural values between China and Sweden (Hofstede, 2001; House, 2004) the aim of the present study was to examine which leadership styles (employee-centered, Ekvall & Arvonen, 1991; empowering and supporting leadership, Dallner et al., 2000) and organizational factors (goal clarity, Oxenstierna, Widmark et al., 2008; group work, social climate and control, QPSNordic, Dallner et al., 2000) act as predictors for well-being (GHQ-12, Goldberg, 1972) among employees and managers in a large global furniture retail company in China and in Sweden when background variables (age, gender, educational level and position) were controlled for. Questionnaires were distributed in two furniture retail stores in Sweden and altogether 282 individuals participated in the study. The same questionnaire study was also conducted in two stores belonging to the same company in China (n=595). A number of outliers were identified while analyzing the data and these were excluded from the analysis. The final sample consisted of 483 participants from the Chinese stores and 254 participants from the Swedish stores. The results of the multiple regression analyses revealed that managerial position, supporting leadership style and goal clarity were related to well-being in the Swedish sample. The results for the Chinese sample showed that managerial position, goal clarity and social climate were related to well-being, whereas none of the leadership styles acted as predictors for well-being. The findings suggest that the role of culture regarding leadership in global organizations is multifaceted rather than either universal or contingent.

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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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

A remedy for segregation? conviviality and the question of sustainabl...
Alwall, Jonas; Aguirre Sanchez-Beato, Sara; Garcia Troncoso, Mariana; Pérez Campillos, Alba; Saponaro, Tiziana (2012) IMMIGRANTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY – 16th Nordic Migration Research Conference & 9th ETMU Days, Turku, Finland, 13-15 August 2012	conference PAPER

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

Challenges of Managing an Urban Commons
Parker, Peter; Johansson, Magnus (2011) CCW2011 Conference on collaboration in contemporary world, Novo Mesto, Slovenia 7- 8 November 2011	peer-reviewed conference PAPER