The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the implications and challenges of intercultural communication. An in-depth study was performed of the perspectives from people who work within an international organization. How they experience cultural differences and how they handle them, in particular when it comes to communication. Also, their perceptions of communicative competence were explored. The study was carried out at Svalorna India Bangladesh, at the Swedish office in Lund.

Background: Having chosen to take a degree in international business, we have had many opportunities to meet people from different cultures. These encounters have, we believe, made our lives richer, but they have not always been problem-free. When different cultures come together, the differences inevitably become apparent. Being among friends, one can maybe laugh at these differences or it may be a good opportunity to get people to talk to each other, taking the time to explain why they do things a certain way. Being at work and experience these differences might not at all have the same ice-breaking effect - rather the opposite sometimes.

The aim of this essay was to describe what some Macedonian men had to say about their own and the Swedish alcohol culture and which alcohol culture they identify with.I did five qualitative interviews with Macedonian men that had moved to Sweden. Some of the questions that were asked are whether or not age, country and culture is of importance when it comes to the alcohol culture you have? The most important question to be answered is whether or not the Macedonian men had changed their alcohol consumption after moving to Sweden.The answers to the questions and the result of the essay is that there is no ideal type of alcohol culture but that the Macedonian men all agreed that they still drink as their fellow countrymen and they dislike the Swedish way of drinking..

In this essay the author has chosen to analyze the similarities and differences between some of the northern Europe?s late Mesolithic and Neolithic cultures. The research is of a processual standpoint and the information is mainly gathered from secondary sources as well as ethnological studies. The material collected has been analyzed in both a processual and a post-processual manner to most accurately study the foundations of the three primary theories describing the Pitted Ware Culture?s origin.

Our increasingly globalized world has contributed to that more Swedish companies has expanded their business to more distant areas. One of these Swedish companies that now stands before their first international expansion is the Swedish fast-food chain Max AB. Max has chosen to start their expansion in Saudi Arabia, a country far away from Sweden, not only in terms of geographical distance but also in cultural. The cultural differences that Max will encounter may affect the business and result in to various adaptations that must be done in order to establish successfully. The thesis investigates the existing circumstances for the fastfood business in Saudi Arabia and shows which adaptations international fast-food chains should or must do as a result of the cultural distances they encounter.

The purpose of this essay is to analyze how the Trojan prince Paris is described in the Iliad and in the movie Troy in regard to love and bravery. Thereafter an analysis of the similarities and differences between the Iliad and the movie Troy will be made. There will also be a discussion why there are differences between an epic story which was made for over two thousand years ago and a modern movie made in the twenty-first century. The differences will be based on the perspective ancient Greek culture versus filmmaking of the twenty-first century. The method that has been used is narrative analysis where the primary data, the Iliad and the movie Troy, have been interpreted.                        The Trojan prince Paris is described as a young, handsome man driven by his passion for Helen.

This Master?s thesis explores the staff responsible for children?s culture in the south of Sweden, in north-east Scania. This thesis seeks to answer the following questions: What kind of culture is offered to children in their spare time? Can children influence culture in the investigated region, and do the people in charge listen to the children?s ideas? How are children in the region informed about cultural events? In my research I used enquiries and worked with the investigation program Query & Report to collect the material. The study consists of the staff, i.e.

AbstractThe purpose for writing this essay is to study the culture of kindness in the Church of Sweden, as the church constitutes as an idealistic organization (non-profit or voluntary organization).The focal point is on how such a culture affects the employees, and if any new componentsthat can amplify the concept can be distinguished.To do this a case study-design has been employed. The primary sources are qualitativeinterviews with six employees in a congregation in the Church of Sweden, and participantobservations on two different occasions at the same congregation.Theories of organizational sociology has been applied to the material, more specific Edgar HSchein?s definition of organizational culture and the concept of a culture of kindness (derivingfrom a report by the Swedish Work Environment Authority) as a specific part of the church?sorganizational culture.The conclusions we can make from our study is that a culture of kindness affect employees inboth a positive and a negative way. There are many expectations that come with working inthe Church of Sweden, and these do have an effect on the work performed. There is alsoevidence pointing to the fact that leadership can counteract the fear of conflicts that otherwiseis associated with the culture of kindness.

The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of organizational culture among salespeople at a specific workplace. The purpose was also to investigate what motivates these salespeople in their work and the impact culture has on their motivation. We have used a qualitative research method to collect the empirical material. With the help of seven interviews, including six salespeople from one of Sweden?s biggest electronic retailer and also one information interview with a sales consultant, we attempted to find the answer to how they perceive the organizational culture and how it affects their work motivation. The following questions are used to fulfill this purpose: ? How do the salespeople experience the organizational culture? ? What motivates the salespeople in their daily work? ? What effects does the organizational culture have on the salespersons motivation? As analytical tools we have used are the concept of organizational culture, Schein's description of the three components of culture and Herzberg Motivation-Hygiene theory. The results of the study indicate that the salespeople experience a positive organizational culture and that this culture promotes fellowship and unity between colleagues, which in turn contributes to an enhanced motivation.

The aim of this study was to examine if an organisation that strives for democracy and participation, also possess an open information culture. This study deals with the information culture in a social movement organisation, Attac Gothenburg. To achieve the aim, following questions were asked: What is the organisation culture like, is it open or closed? What is the information culture like, is it open or closed? What is the information culture like, in relation to the identity of the organisation? The focus has been put on earlier research in social movements, organisation and information culture. In this qualitative study I have collected material mainly from interviews.

This essay is about the burial rites in the passage graves of Falbygden, Västergötland. My questions were: Can the burial ritual be understood by comparing the material culture inside and outside the tombs? What kind of grave offerings did the dead have? Most peculiar are all these beads of amber, what kind of meaning did they have? Was the position of the body a part of the ritual? The time period is the middle Neolithic.I selected four passage graves to investigate: Hjälmars rör (Falköping 3), Rössberga (Valtorp 2), Näs sn 7:2 Kvättak 5:1 and Frälsegården (Gökhem 94).My conclusion was that there are differences between the material culture inside and outside the tombs. Outside the ritual includes fire, inside the material culture are not burned. The material culture outside is more dominant than the finds inside, although the beads of amber are only represented inside and dominates the findings inside.

AbstractThis is a qualitative study on what motivates personnel to apply for middle management positions within the Värmland County Police Department. This study also looks at whether or not there are differences in motivation between men and women in regards to applying for middle management positions.The study has been conducted through in-depth interviews with 17 employees of the Police Department. The material collected was analysed using the Empirical Phenomenological Method (EPP). 29 categories were generated which were then divided into four themes.The result showed that motivation can be achieved by having a more structured middle management roll whereby, for example, there are clear guidelines on the responsibility and authority you have. Support and encouragement were also named as motivating factors.

This is a study of a group of Swedish travellers, and of the traveller community, a marginalized group named 'tattare', skojare, tavring, knävling, dinglare, resande (Gypsies, pikeys, tinkers, travellers), whose origins and history are unknown to most people.The purpose of the study is to find out what it is like to be a traveller and look at the culture of travellers, in older times and today. I have focused particularly on the women's situation within the culture, in the past and present.The study is based on interviews with 4 persons, from the traveller community, one man and three women. During the interviews other travellers joined and participated in the discussions and the reasoning.My conclusion is that the traveller community is a group, which has been subjected to severe abuse by authorities, but still managed to preserve their culture. The interviewed travelers share a culture, in which women play a prominent role as breadwinners, for the family cohesion and in raising the children. Functions that gives women the role of culture bearers, meaning that it?s through women the culture is carried onwards..

AbstractThe aim of this essay is to understand the view of man as a creature in the Norse culture by studying rituals and ritual actions in conjunction with homicide. The material on which the study is based is called the Icelandic sagas, which are important source of information to the Norse culture. To achieve the purpose, I used a qualitative content analysis and qualitative narrative analysis along with ritual theories based on Roy A Rappaport among others. The questions are for instance:- What ritual actions occur in connection with the homicide, according to the Icelandic sagas? - What are the differences in how individuals are treated in passages where the ritual actions in relation to homicide and homicide cases investigated and why?The results show four different types of ritual acts in relation to homicide.

AbstractThe aim of this essay is to understand the view of man as a creature in the Norse culture by studying rituals and ritual actions in conjunction with homicide. The material on which the study is based is called the Icelandic sagas, which are important source of information to the Norse culture. To achieve the purpose, I used a qualitative content analysis and qualitative narrative analysis along with ritual theories based on Roy A Rappaport among others. The questions are for instance:- What ritual actions occur in connection with the homicide, according to the Icelandic sagas? - What are the differences in how individuals are treated in passages where the ritual actions in relation to homicide and homicide cases investigated and why?The results show four different types of ritual acts in relation to homicide.