Human capital is professional service firms' most valuable resource and its quality is closely linked to the quality of its services. The purpose of this study is to investigate how professional service firms appraise their employees. A comparative study between an architecture firm and a management consulting firm is conducted with the aim to identify and explain similarities and differences in performance appraisal. Two qualitative case studies are performed and interviews as well as documents are used to explore the area. The thesis builds on a critical perspective and it has an explorative approach.

Title: A study about conditions for leadership in knowledge-intensive firms.Authors: Cecilia Ekström and Niklas SandbergKeywords: Leadership, knowledge-intensive firm, hierarchies, followers.Background: Leadership is becoming one of our greatest social myths and is considered a total solution for many problems that occur in an organization. The view of leadership is usually from a top-down perspective, which contributes to an often underestimated view of the follower. Just as it is important to understand the leader's view of leadership, it is important to understand how employees view the structure from which the leader derives its legitimacy. The existing conditions in knowledge-intensive firms, such as autonomy, place special demands on the formal leadership.Purpose: The purpose of this study takes an employee perspective, to understand what the conditions are for formal leadership in knowledge-intensive firms.Method: A qualitative research method was used and empirical material was collected through interviews with employees in knowledge-intensive firms. The empirical material was analyzed by the respondents? mental images which were set against the theoretical framework of the thesis.Conclusions: The conditions for formal leadership in knowledge-intensive firms make it advantageous to have a leader with a withdrawn role.

This study has been executed at the Public Employment Office, an institution that has beensubject for much debate during the last couple of years. The government has instructed theLabour Market Board to change the Public Employment Office toward a more effectiveorganization. This study examines one of the Public Employment Offices that are included in apilot project that aims to improve and develop work methods with the objective to become amore service minded organization. From this starting point we have investigated which effect thisorganizational change has had on the employee within this organization and within the pilotproject. In addition we investigate whether attitudes of the unemployed has an effect on thestaff´s work situation.

Då människor befinner sig till stor del av sin vakna tid på arbetsplatsen har denna blivit en viktig arena för hälsofrämjande arbete. Studier visar hur viktigt det är för företag att ha en frisk och välmående personal. Fokus ligger då oftast på företagets behållning av hälsofrämjande arbete. Syftet med studien var därför att beskriva hur anställda upplevde hälsofrämjande arbete på sin arbetsplats. Kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes med samtliga anställda på ett litet företag.

The purpose of this thesis was to analyse if the six month rule in chapter 3 § 9 part 1 in IL is compatible with EU law regarding the free movement of employees and in case of discrimination whether the rule can be justified. First of all the retroactive salary for an unlimited taxpayer and during the period of income earning a limited taxpayer who later became unlimited taxpayer will be analyzed in order to determine if they are considered to be in a comparable situation. An unlimited taxpayer is subject to taxation in Sweden for all of his incomes regardless their origin. However there is an exception according to six month rule, which implies that physical persons who stay abroad due to their minimum six months employment are in Sweden free from their incomes earned abroad if they are taxed in the country of employment. Tax exemption is applicable even if the payment from an employee working abroad is made retroactively.Article 18 EUFF states a general prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of nationality.

 Performance appraisals- a study of the performance appraisals significance as a tool for development in the public sector.Anders Larsson and Åsalill OlssonPerformance appraisals have been given a central role in leading businesses in the public sector and are seen as a tool to create development opportunities and achieve better results. This has resulted that performance appraisal in many organizations takes up capacity and time. This was the starting point of our interest to study whether the time spent on performance appraisals effectively pays for itself in the organization, in other words whether the effects expected actually are achieved. The paper examines first line managers` views on staff appraisal purposes and effects of a function within the Landstinget. The survey design, methodology and transaction are of qualitative and quantitative method with three different sources: literature review of previous research, interviews with first line managers in Landstinget Västmanland and the results from an employee satisfaction survey conducted on behalf of Landstinget Västmanland.

The use of coaching is fairly up to date in the business world although it?s relatively new.Despite this, there?s a lack of clarity about what coaching is and what it signifies. Our point ishowever not to define coaching. Based on the normative coaching literature, the purpose is,from a critical discourse analysis to explore the power relations that affect the coach andcoached in their relation to each other, so as to be able to criticize managerial coachingrelationship as presented in the literature. This will contribute to enabling for a more opendiscourse.The theoretical image of managerial coaching described by the literature as a democraticexercised leadership by a certain type of behavior and attitudes, will lead to improvedorganizational performance.

Background: Employees acting towards company goals and having a strong desire to remain in the organisation are very important for the success of a company. In order to generate such organisational commitment of the employees, the knowledge about what motivates and satisfies them is essential. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and analyse the factors which motivate employees, under consideration of individual characteristics. Limitation: Age, gender, marital status, work area, position and the years a person has been working in the company represent the individual characteristics examined in this study. Realisation: Literature research as well as a practical survey consisting of mail questionnaires and personal interviews were carried out in order to best serve the purpose of this thesis.

The general contract law principle of loyalty between negotiators, in deliberation, leads to a duty of disclosure for negotiators. The extent of this duty of disclosure is influenced by many different factors; amongst others the type of agreement, the negotiators knowledge and opportunity of procuring knowledge. The general duty of disclosure is both a part of the contract law principle of loyalty between negotiators in negotiating a contract, and an indirectly statutory obligation, that, if neglected will lead to nullification of the agreement. The legislator has stated that the general contract law, Lag (1915:218) om avtal och andra rättshandlingar på förmögenhetsrättens område (avtalslagen), should be used to regulate negotiating of contracts, including the negotiation of contracts of employment. In arbetsdomstolens judging, additional factors have been weighed in, and the judgement is done also through the use of a concept taken from employment law, the concept of ?saklig grund för uppsägning?.

Chief executives and other persons in management positions are not applicable to the same protection system as other employees. Lagen om anställlningsskydd is not applicable for example. Instead all terms and conditions are in the employment contract, which get increased importance. The employment contract for a chief executive is comprehensive. This essay focuses on employment protection, wages and compensation, loyalty during the employment, secrecy and competitive clauses.

Bakgrund: Utvecklingen av informationssamhället har inneburit att de anställda är en av företagets strategiska resurser. Utifrån dagens situation med hård konkurrens om kompetent personal inom vissa branscher framstår förlusten av värdefulla medarbetare som någonting negativt som företag bör försöka förhindra. Forskning har försökt svara på varför anställda lämnar ett företag men forskning och teorier om vad som håller personal kvar på ett företag är idag bristfälliga. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera huruvida teorier kring personalomsättning kan tillämpas på personalbehållning samt att urskilja en incitamentsstruktur vilken företag kan använda sig av för att behålla personal. Genomförande: Totalt intervjuades 14 anställda med IT-kompetens, främst civilingenjörer och systemvetare.

 Performance appraisals- a study of the performance appraisals significance as a tool for development in the public sector.Anders Larsson and Åsalill OlssonPerformance appraisals have been given a central role in leading businesses in the public sector and are seen as a tool to create development opportunities and achieve better results. This has resulted that performance appraisal in many organizations takes up capacity and time. This was the starting point of our interest to study whether the time spent on performance appraisals effectively pays for itself in the organization, in other words whether the effects expected actually are achieved. The paper examines first line managers` views on staff appraisal purposes and effects of a function within the Landstinget. The survey design, methodology and transaction are of qualitative and quantitative method with three different sources: literature review of previous research, interviews with first line managers in Landstinget Västmanland and the results from an employee satisfaction survey conducted on behalf of Landstinget Västmanland.

This report focuses on work schedules in the retail sector, where work schedules are dynamic and change according to the needs and work schedule is a requirement for an effective structure of the work. This structure is important for maintaining a good order and all this is a requirement for a profitable business for both long and short term future. Work schedule also contributes to safety at the workplace. The purpose of this study was to investigate the transfer of knowledge by work schedules. The HRM employee we interviewed worked in Reitan Servicehandel Sverige AB which includes 7-Eleven, Pressbyrån and Shell.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of the recruitment process and its complexity. The study also aims to examine whether there are any problem areas with a recruitment process which is emotionally based and if so, how these can be resolved. Four issues have been presented, in regard to solving the study?s purpose and problem definition.Theoretical framework: The chapter begins by briefly illustrate the concept of employee turnover and the economic aspects a staff turnover can bring. Thereafter, the importance of a formal preparatory work for recruitment is presented.

Empowerment har blivit ett allt vanligare begrepp för att beskriva olika typer av försök att ge anställda i organisationer ökat inflytande, ökat ansvar och/eller mer självbestämmande. En vital förutsättning för ett lyckat utfall av en empowermentsatsning är upplevelserna hos de anställda.Detta är en forskningsöversikt med syfte att analysera hur empowerment upplevs av "the empowered" samt vilka faktorer i organisationen det är som påverkar dessa upplevelser. Detta sker genom en komparativ analys gjord utifrån fem fallstudier utförda i organisationer och branscher där empowermentsatsningar genomförts.En tydlig aspekt som framkommit är att empowermentsatsningar inte automatiskt får ett positivt utfall. Olika sätt att genomföra empowerment får olika konsekvenser och upplevs på olika sätt av de anställda i organisationen. En lyckad insats kan exempelvis göra att de anställda känner sig mer involverade i organisationen, att nya ansvar och arbetsuppgifter upplevs som en utmaning, att de känner att deras insatser är betydelsefulla och att de kan vara stolta över vad de bidrar med.