Actors deliberately change their preferences, contrary to the assumptions of rational decision models. This study shows why, and to some extent how. Preferences are necessarily ambiguous and unstable. Rationality is a regulating myth which has had a profound influence on Western conceptions of what an actor is.The aim of this study is to help individual actors understand the theoretical grounds of their actions. The analysis provides tools for examining decision methods and preference changes.

The essay discusses the effects that changes to the office plan have on organizational culture. Information about actual change as well as expected change in organizational culture was gathered before the empirical research was initiated. The empirical research was carried out at the Customer Logistics department at Ericsson through: an interview with a manager in charge of the relocation and design of the office, a manager for the specified department and also five employees of this department. The empirical studies show that there was a significant change in organizational culture and that results were not always as expected. There was a loss in symbolic actions, which needed to be compensated for, a perceived reduction in spontaneous communication, and a mixed response of perceived change in social interaction.

Title: Change Communication within organizations ? How perceptions differ between managers and employees in an organizational changeAuthor: Emma Ender & Fanny TeschTutor: Anne-Marie MorhedPurpose: The purpose of this thesis was to study and compare different perceptions of change communication between managers and employees within two smaller organizations. We wanted to examine how the communication process within the change was carried out. We also aimed to compare the results with change communication models of Johansson & Heide (2008) and Lewin (1951), and also existing concepts, to see if our result differed from earlier research. Our key questions to answer were: How do managers communicate a change to the employees in two smaller companies? How do the managers think that the employees perceive the information about the change? How do the employees perceive the information about the change? How does change models from previous research correspond to, or differ from the change process?Method/Material: The material used in this thesis consists of a total of twelve interviews with both managers and employees at two small companies.Main results: The main results shows that communicating a change is complex, and that it is difficult to create models and theories for the phenomenon, as each change is unique.

The Master Thesis has been carried out in cooperation with Silva Sweden AB and the objective was to develop a new product concept within the product category for everyday exercise. The purpose of the thesis was to use and analyze methods and tools which aid creativity and concept creation in order to make method recommendations for future projects.During the thesis a number of customer needs were identified, which in turn were translated into 20 concepts. On a concept decision meeting a pedometer-based concept was chosen for development. The new pedometer is in addition to counting steps also able to measure and calculate the user?s total climbed height during a day and present this graphically in comparison to famous monuments or distances.

This masters degree is a study of factors of success in a drug preventions work of change and model or method which could facilitate this work. The target group, which is in focus in this survey, is alcohol- and drug coordinators, also called prevention coordinators who?s main task is to develop and coordinate the preventive work in the alcohol and drugs area. My method of investigation is a combination of literature studies and a quantitative poll study with the target group, alcohol and drug presenters?, in Sweden.

The purpose of the study was to examine what methods and strategies individuals use to maintain their weight loss. Another aim was to explore which factors can complicate or simplify weight loss maintenance. Fifty-four individuals who had maintained their weight loss more than a year, participated by answering a questionnaire. The questionnaire was constructed and distributed through the internet. The answers were registered in the program google docs.  The participants mentioned successful methods and strategies, such as exercising regularly, the majority exercised 30 minutes at least five times per week.

The essay discusses a process of change at probationservice office. The purpose of the change was to decrease specialisation and increase flexibility of the probation officers. The change encountered several problems where the correctional supervisor was percieved to act unsurely and indecisively whilst parts of the staff constructed and implimented several courses of action to prevent the process of change..

AimThe aim of this study was to find out whether Motivational Interviewing can affect people to change their behaviour in form of increasing physical activity. What results do studies conducted at healthy adults using Motivational Interviewing with physical activity as an outcome present?MethodTo fulfil the aim of the study we chose a review process. During the research two data-bases were used, PUBMED and CSA. Studies including participants under the age of 18 or studies where the participants suffered from diseases were excluded.

In non-profit organizations, surplus of the organization goes back to the organization's members. We have noted that Hyresgästföreningen initiated a change in 2005 when the organization merged its local membership registries to a national registry. There are few studies explaining how non-profit organizations are using management in an organizational change. What happens with the business management at an organizational change that is similar to the change in Hyresgästföreningen? The aim of this thesis is to explore how the governance of a nonprofit organization is changing at an organizational change.

In 1992, the European Union began institutionalizing the cooperation against terrorism within the EU structure. Since then, this cooperation has gone through a number of changes. From a historical institutionalistic point of departure we explain these changes by identifying sources of institutional resilience and institutional change. Based on these results, we were able to pose hypotheses of when and what category of change was most likely to take place.The results show that the cooperation against terrorism within the EU was most likely to remain stable because of strong sources of institutional resilience. If change would occur through an increase in the sources of institutional change, it was most likely to be of a less extensive category.

The Swedish Armed Forces have undergone a significant change where we have gone from recruitment through duty and replaced it with a voluntary based defence. Across Europe, countries that have undergone the same type of change demonstrate change in the quality of those recruited. The focus in this paper is how recruitment quality looks in Sweden after three years of volunteer based defence and if officers at P7 can see a change in quality on those recruited. This work aims to investigate whether soldier quality has changed from conscription recruited to voluntary recruited soldiers. The question that the work tries to answer is whether one can see a change in quality in soldiers and in that case how.The result can be summarized as one begins to see a change in recruiting quality but it is not something that is visible at the regiments.

Today, many veterinary hospitals offer rehabilitation as a service. We think that this is an interesting subject and therefore we want to find out what rehabilitation methods that are available in Sweden for dogs and horses. We want to give animal nurses and other persons who have animals as an occupation an survey that shortly describes how the methods are performed, what physical effect they have in the body and to give examples in what conditions they are used. To find out what rehabilitation methods that are available we sent out two different questionnaires, one to hospitals/clinics for small animals and one to hospitals/clinics for horses and other companies that works with rehabilitation of horses. The information about the methods described in our project we have found in literature and on the Internet.

Then the language learning process and the approach in a preparatory class differs itself from a general class. The methods conducted in a preparatory class are not just focused on teaching as in a more traditional method. Achieving the objectives in a preparatory class depends on the individual student and the cohesion in the group. Students have different backgrounds and knowledge level, therefore it is extremely important that the teachers use different work methods in order to achieve and to promote the students' language development. The aim with this survey is to get the knowledge about what education methods is being used by teachers in a preparatory class.

AbstractWhen the Swedish Centre Party, Centerpartiet, just before Christmas 2012 released a draft for new program of ideas a powerful "winter storm" broke out. Ideas that Centerpartiet would abolish compulsory schooling and the right to inheritance and allow polygamy are just a few of the things that cause alarm.It's not the first time during the last years the Centre Party is associated with neo-liberal elements in their party?s ideology. In 2007 Erik Ullenhag criticized Centerpartiet for their new neo-liberalism was a danger to the alliance.The aim of this study is to investigate whether it is possible to see a change in Centerpartiets ideology and how deep it is. From an idea analytical approach based on ideal types, created for social liberalism, neoliberalism and ecohumanism, the party programs from 2001 and 2013 are studied.

The overall aim of this study is to achieve the increased knowledge of the use of the counselling methods in the student counsellors' work and to find the possibilities for development. Two questions are used as guidelines:Which counselling methods do student counsellors use in their work in schools?How can the current education for the student counsellors be supplemented?The analysis of the interviews with six counsellors in Stockholm's administrative province showed that even uneducated counsellors use the same counselling methods as the educated ones. All these methods which are used remind of the known counselling methods that are the part of the current education for the student counsellors.In general counsellors experienced that the education for the counsellors should be supplemented within the field children with special needs and that conversation's methodology is the essence of the counselling work..