Sandra Jönsson

The tension between marketisation and academisation in higher education

Contemporary changes in higher education in Sweden are characterised by two educational discourses: marketisation and academisation. Demands to meet market requirements, as well as to make education more scientific, have created tensions between and within institutional cultures. Using interviews with 16 heads of departments, the authors investigate how tensions between marketisation and academisation were handled in discipline-oriented and professional-oriented departments. The heads of discipline-oriented departments experienced marketisation as a threat to the university trademark, because it was seen to challenge academic autonomy. On the other hand, heads of professional-oriented departments felt that academisation was the main issue to be dealt with, as it shifted focus from practical skills towards academic meritocracy. Consequently, it is not possible to discuss these changes without considering that conditions differ substantially across the university. Responses to these changes can be countered by culturally sensitive strategies, rather than by adopting a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

Psychosocial work environment and prediction of job satisfaction among Swedish registered nurses and physicians - a follow-up study.

Scand J Caring Sci; 2012; 26; 236–244 Psychosocial work environment and prediction of job satisfaction among Swedish registered nurses and physicians – a follow-up study In Sweden, the health care sector was subject to considerable changes during the 1990s: decreased costs, related staff redundancies and high rates of sick leave. The situation has now changed, and the sector is not facing the same all-embracing and turbulent changes. In addition, there is a shortage of nurses and physicians and a difficulty in retaining qualified staff. Regarding the psychosocial work environment, there is a lack of studies where both physicians and nurses are in focus. It is from a managerial perspective important to take a holistic approach towards questions regarding the work environment in general and the psychosocial work environment in particular. The aims of this study were to analyse similarities and differences in Registered Nurses and physicians’ experience of quantitative and qualitative demands, control, role conflicts, role clarity, social support and job satisfaction in 2002 and 2009 and to analyse the stability in the prediction of job satisfaction over time. Questionnaires regarding psychosocial work environment aspects were distributed in 2002 and 2009, and a total of 860 nurses and 866 physicians answered the questionnaire. Independent t tests and linear stepwise regression analyses were conducted. The results indicate that the work environment has improved between 2002 and 2009 and that nurses experience their psychosocial working environment as more satisfactory than physicians. Social support, control, role conflicts, role clarity and qualitative demands were the best predictors of job satisfaction in 2002 and 2009. Quantitative demands did not contribute to predicting job satisfaction. Variables predicting job satisfaction are quite stable over time and are quite comparable for both nurses and physicians.

Social climate as a mediator between leadership behavior and employee well-being in a cross-cultural perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct effects of empowering and employee-centered leadership on well-being, and the indirect or mediating role of social organizational climate between leadership behavior and well-being in a cross-cultural perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaires were distributed in two furniture retail stores in Sweden and two stores in China belonging to the same company. The final sample consisted of 483 participants from the Chinese and 254 participants from the Swedish stores. Findings – The results of the structural equation modeling showed that there was no direct effect between leadership behavior (employee-centered leadership and empowering leadership) and well-being in either the Swedish or the Chinese sample. Further, the findings of the study indicate that social climate mediates the relationship between leadership behavior and employee well-being, but this seems to be culturally contingent. The mediating effect is prevalent in a culture ...

Social climate and job control as mediators between empowering leadership and learning from a cross-cultural perspective

The purpose of this article is to examine the direct effects of empowering leadership on learning and the indirect or mediating role of social climate and job control from a cross-cultural perspective. Questionnaires were distributed to two furniture retail stores in Sweden and two stores in China belonging to the same company. The final sample consisted of 483 participants from the Chinese and 254 participants from the Swedish stores. The results of the structural equation modeling showed that there was a direct relationship between empowering leadership and learning (both in the Chinese and the Swedish sample). The study also showed that social climate had a mediating effect of empowering leadership and learning (both in the Chinese and the Swedish sample). In addition, the result indicated that job control had a mediating effect (Swedish sample). The model explained 38% of the variance in learning among the Chinese sample and 62% in the Swedish. This indicates that the tested factors are highly relevant in the context of learning. Despite some methodological limitations such as the cross-sectional design and problems with acquiescence in responses, the results indicate the complexity of the role of culture in organizational behavior. Managers working in increasingly globalized contexts need to take into consideration that some organizational behaviors gradually become more universal, whereas others remain culturally contingent. This article illustrates the complex relationship between leadership behavior, social climate, job control, and learning in the same corporate culture but in different cultural settings.

Potentials facilitators of workplace learning in a TPS based company

Purpose – In line with the growing emphasis on workplace learning, there has been a tendency to abandon traditional Tayloristic models of work organization in favor of more humanistic, flexible and integrated work systems. This study focusses on facilitators of learning in a company that is based on the principles of Toyota production system (TPS). In this paper, the authors are focussing on one central aspect of the TPS, that is, workplace learning. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of empowering leadership, teamwork, innovative climate as facilitators of learning in this specific context. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaires (focussing on workplace learning, empowering leadership, teamwork and innovative climate) were distributed to 643 factory workers in the company Scania in Sweden. A total of 487 persons answered the questionnaire, which amounted to a response rate of 76 percent. Findings – The result indicates that empowering leadership was the best predictor, followed by team...

Consequences of cyberbullying behaviour in working life

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore health- and work-related outcomes of cyberbullying behaviour and the potential mediating role of social organisational climate, social support from colleagues and social support from superiors. Design/methodology/approach Altogether 3,371 respondents participated in a questionnaire study. Findings The results of this study indicate that social organisational climate can have a mediating role in the relationship between cyberbullying behaviour and health, well-being, work engagement and intention to quit. Contrary to earlier face-to-face bullying research, the current study showed that cyberbullying behaviour had stronger indirect than direct relationships to health, well-being, work engagement and intention to quit. Practical implications Communication through digital devices in work life is becoming more prevalent, which in turn increases the risk for cyberbullying behaviour. Organisations need therefore to develop occupational health and safety policies concerning the use of digital communication and social media in order to prevent cyberbullying behaviour and its negative consequences. Originality/value Cyberbullying behaviour among working adults is a relatively unexplored phenomenon and therefore this study makes valuable contribution to the research field.

Process of change - competence development as a restructuring strategy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze and contextualize the outcomes of competence development as a restructuring strategy in a company that was significantly affected by the economic recession in 2008. Design/methodology/approach – In the context of restructuring, increased globalization has expanded international competition that in turn has put additional pressure on organizational transformation, restructuring, reorganization and rationalization. Findings – The result indicates that the experience of learning, commitment and job satisfaction have decreased between T1 and T2 (no difference regarding self-efficacy). Originality value – From this study, the authors can conclude that the outcomes of competence development programs are not easily interpreted. Depending on the purpose of the intervention, the results can be interpreted in different ways. It is important to approach the issue of competence development with a wise degree of skepticism.