Karlstads universitet 651 88 Karlstad Tfn 054-700 10 00 Fax 054-700 14 60

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Fakulteten för ekonomi, kommunikation och IT

Linnea Bengtsson

People Want to Be Led Not Managed

A Qualitative Study about Leaders and Managers Within

Small Non-Profit Settings in the United States

Work Life Science D-level thesis

Date/Term: 10-06-11

Supervisor: Ann Bergman

Examiner: Jan Ch. Karlsson

Serial Number: X-XX XX XX

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Summary in English

The purpose of this thesis is to study leadership and management traits and styles within small non-profit office settings (less than 15 employees) in the U.S. from a leader and manager perspective. The thesis is partially about leadership and management as contrary versus intangible in relations to recognized factors of importance for the organization. A common expression describing a manager and a leader found in literature is, “Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing.”

My contention is that leadership and management within small non-profit organizations is complex and contains both uncertain internal and external expectations and obligations. The organization managers I have chosen to study are five community leaders within a U.S. city (population 150,000). These organizations are to be viewed as similar to Kommuner and other social agencies in Sweden.

I am analyzing the leadership and management styles and traits in relation to elements within their organization’s work environment. These styles, traits and elements are as follows: leadership and management concepts, motivation, culture, communication and teams. My empirical material is interviews and observation. I am also using previous studies, literature and models which outlines the thesis theoretical framework to offer an understanding and further explanation of the area of focus.

The conclusion is that what portrays leaders´ and managers´ work environment within small non-profit office settings in the U.S. were mutually identified whether or not the person defined himself or herself as a leader versus manager. The elements identified were work environment, management concepts, communication, teams and networking. In terms of leadership and management, being approachable and visible was identified throughout the interviews as the key factor of importance for the organization. Managers and leaders were found to be both as contrary and intangible throughout the thesis. Management and leadership skills were discussed as both inherent and learned. Key elements of importance for the organization did not vary depending on if the leader of manager defined himself or herself as a leader versus manager. However, styles and traits did vary with the leader or manager depending on when and if they defined their role as a leader or a manager. This thesis has found that differences between leadership and management can offer legitimization to leaders and managers in terms of justifying their positions. Also identified is that leadership styles are partially viewed as personal preferences based on comfort level and experience. In conjunction to this was the contention that people want to be led and not managed.

Keywords: Manager, Leader, Management, Leadership, U.S., Non-profit, Organization, Traits, Style, Teams, Network, Motivation.

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Summary in Swedish

Syftet med uppsatsen är att studera ledarskap- och chefsskap och egenskaper inom mindre icke vinstdrivande organisationer (ej större än 15 anställda) utifrån ett ledar- och chefskapsperspektiv. Uppsatsen behandlar ledarskap och chefskap som både ett motsats och oskiljaktigt förhållande i relation till identifierade faktorer som är av betydelse för organisationen. Ett vanligt förkommande ordspråk inom litteraturen som beskriver chef och ledare är: ”En chef gör saker rätt medan en ledare gör rätt saker”.

Min utgångspunkt är att ledarskap och chefskap inom mindre icke vinstdrivande organisationer är komplexa och innehåller en osäkerhet beträffande interna och externa förväntningar och skyldigheter. De aktörer jag har valt att studera är fem ledare och chefer på högt uppsatta positioner inom motsvarigheten till Sveriges kommuner och andra sociala organisationer. Samtliga finns i en amerikansk stad (150 000 invånare).

Jag analyserar ledarskap och chefskapsstilar och egenskaper i relation till arbetsmiljöfaktorer inom deras organisation. Dessa stilar, egenskaper och arbetsmiljöfaktorer är: ledarskap, management konceptet, motivation, kultur, kommunikation och teams. Mitt empiriska material är intervjuer och observationer. Jag använder mig även av litteratur, teorier och modeller som medför ökad förståelse för det studerande området.

Slutsatsen är att det som beskriver ledares och chefers arbetsmiljö i en mindre icke vinstdrivande organisation i USA gemensamt kan identifieras som samma faktorer, oavsett om man ser sig själv som ledare eller chef. De faktorer som uppgavs som viktiga för organisationen var: arbetsmiljön, managementkonceptet, motivation, värderingar, kommunikation och nätverksarbete. Beträffande ledarskapstilar och chefsstilar framhävdes betydelsen av att vara anträffbar och synlig som en grundförutsättning. Beteckningarna chef och ledare användes både som motsatser och synonymer. Diskussioner om man är född till ledare eller lär sig att bli ledare hölls. Stilar och egenskaper som uppgavs varierar beroende på om du definierar din roll som ledare respektive chef. Slutsatsen är också att skillnaden mellan ledarskap och chefskap kan medföra en legitimering av ledaren och chefen vad det gäller att hantera vissa uppgifter. Det kan alltså innebära en möjlighet att frångå särskilda situationer och uppgifter med motiveringen att jag är ju faktiskt chef respektive ledare. Det framkom också att ledarskapsstilar än idag till stor del är kopplat till personens personliga egenskaper och rekommendationer. Det framkom också att människor vill bli ledda.

Nyckelord: Manager, Leader, Management, Leadership, U.S., Non-profit, Organization, Traits, Style, Teams, Network, Motivation, Chefskap, Ledarskap.

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Preface

The following quotes from each of the five interviewees, demonstrates intended content of the thesis:

I definitely learned by trial and error and I think that I think I am approachable and do think people feel that they can come in and talk to me about things. Although I do think just being a manager in general there is going to be people that like you and people who don’t like you just because of who you are (Emma).

You know, I always think you have to keep looking at management techniques and you know there are many…there are more than I have time so I have to be careful, particularly with what I read and not waste my time on things that are wasteful from times stand point (Anna).

This is one of the things that I always see and I don’t know how to solve it. I am sure a lot of staff thinks I need to be in the office more. And me, I think I need to be out of the office more because I am that representative for the business community that has to be in many different places (Eric).

I think the term manager, at least in our American businesses, is much more. There is a lot of baggage there because it is probably much more rooted, at least in my mind, in manufacturing where the manager said we had to do this. You got a letter from management. We are much more service based. We don’t manage people so rigidly. I don’t think people want to be managed because I think there is a negative connotation to that word. You are kind of micro managing. It is that micro managing is negative in people’s minds. I think people want to be led. They don’t want to be managed. I don’t even know that I refer to people in the organization as managers. I may say team leader. I may use the more formal title director of whatever (Brian).

I mean, there are a lot of values you look for and I think any great leader or manager needs to have firm values, work ethics treating others with great respect, treating others as how they want to be treated and not how you want to treat them because you maybe treat them different than how they want to be treated (Mark).

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Table of Content

Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 7

Background ............................................................................................................................ 7 Purpose ............................................................................................................................... 7 Statement............................................................................................................................ 8

Disposition ............................................................................................................................. 8 Theory Chapter........................................................................................................................... 9

Description of non-profit organizations ............................................................................. 9 Leader and Manager and Leadership and Management................................................... 10

Theme 1: Organization......................................................................................................... 13 Theme 2: Motivation Theories............................................................................................. 15

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Motivational Model......................................................... 16 Herzberg Motivation Hygiene Factor Theory and the Hawthorne Effect........................ 16 Stress ................................................................................................................................ 17 The Demand and Control Model and KASAM ............................................................... 17 McGregor X and Y Theory .............................................................................................. 19 Communication ................................................................................................................ 20 Culture.............................................................................................................................. 21 Metaphors......................................................................................................................... 23

Theme 3: Teams ................................................................................................................... 24 Teamwork and Teambuilding .......................................................................................... 24 Network............................................................................................................................ 25

METHOD................................................................................................................................. 26 Choice of Method............................................................................................................. 26 Choice of Sector and Role of the Respondents ................................................................ 26 Presentation of the Interviewees ...................................................................................... 27 Choice of Method When Collecting the Empirical Data................................................. 27 Validity and Reliability .................................................................................................... 28 Analysis Method of Collected Data ................................................................................. 28

Method Discussion............................................................................................................... 29 Analysis and Results Chapter................................................................................................... 31

Theme 1: Organization......................................................................................................... 32 1a) Environment ............................................................................................................... 32 1b) Management............................................................................................................... 34 1c) Polices and Values ..................................................................................................... 35

Theme 2: MOTIVATION .................................................................................................... 37 2a) Theories and Models .................................................................................................. 37 2b) Communication.......................................................................................................... 41 2c Metaphors .................................................................................................................... 42 2d Culture......................................................................................................................... 42

Theme 3: TEAMS ................................................................................................................ 45 3a) Teamwork .................................................................................................................. 45 3b) Teambuilding ............................................................................................................. 46 3c) Network...................................................................................................................... 48

Theme 4: TRAITS & STYLES............................................................................................ 49 4a) Approachable and Visible .......................................................................................... 50 4b) Setting Clear Expectations and Avoiding Uncertainty .............................................. 51

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Summary .............................................................................................................................. 52 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................. 53 Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 56 Reference: Books, Articles, Internet, and Figures ................................................................... 57 Attachment 1 Interview Guide ................................................................................................. 63

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Introduction

Background Studies entailing leadership and management are continuous and attempt to define the ultimate leadership and management traits. The early research about leadership, and yet some still today, focused on the leader as a person. Significant for the early orientation was the assumption that individuals are born as leaders rather than developed through education to be leaders (Bryman, 1996). Several studies concerning motivation theories have been conducted and are current still today. Leadership and management can be viewed as both contrary and intangible. A common expression describing a manager and a leader found in literature is,

“Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing” (Yukl, 2002:5).

Global interactions continue to attract within the market and work place. A diverse work force in an organization can be provided by an international work force among the staff. As international collaboration is considered to be both an action of excitement as well as one key for the survival of organizations, leadership and management are obligated to establish a broader inter-cultural perspective. However, it is to expect that certain leadership and management elements remain crucial and universal for an organization’s success. By cheering for networking and teambuilding aligned with transformational leadership, certain tasks remain required to accomplish and manage.

Work within non-profit organizations varies in many aspects from the work being performed and expected within for-profit organizations. Expectations of a leadership position within a non-profit organization, such as community leaders, are complex and considered to have certain internal and external expectations and obligations. Perhaps the differences between leadership and management offer legitimization to leaders and managers in terms of justifying their definition of their roles and positions.

After working within a U.S. environment for over two years combined with studies on the master level within Personnel and Organizational studies, my insight offers a firm value to this study. Along with my work experience in the U.S., I have been able to observe and reflect on U.S. leadership and management styles which outline the foundation for my interest to elaborate on this topic.

Purpose The purpose is to study leadership and management skills, traits, and styles among five U.S. community leaders within non-profit organizations, with focus on the area of identifying and

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implementing leadership and management styles in relation to the position of being a leader and/or a manager.

Statement There are prevailing leader and manager traits and styles that portray the work environment within small non-profit office settings in the U.S.

Two main questions are addressed to study the thesis statement

1) Which elements do the leaders and managers identify as important for the organization in terms of leadership and management?

2) Which leadership and management styles and traits are recognized?

Disposition After the Introduction Chapter, a Theory Chapter follows. The overall aim with the Theory Chapter is to provide a theoretical foundation of theories and previous studies within the area of the thesis. The work environment studied is within small non-profit U.S. organizations and outlines this thesis character. Within this specific work environment, the relationship between a leader and manager and its staff contains several parameters. The parameters are: leadership, management, management concepts, motivation theories, culture, and communication factors. After the Theory Chapter follows the Method Chapter which describes the process of the qualitative collecting and working with data for this study. The aim is to describe the process as elaborately as possible in order for replication to be feasible. The collecting, analyzing, and coding processes will be described. A discussion including reflection over method and research outcomes as well as limitations will be presented. An Analysis and Results Chapter follows the Method Chapter. This chapter contains a presentation of the analysis process in terms of key findings from the interviews. The content from the coding process identifies this chapter’s results by recognizing three major themes of which this chapter is constructed. Quotes and theories will primarily be used within this chapter’s presentation. The Conclusion Chapter contains a more specific presentation of results as well as specifically answers the key thesis questions and statement. After the Conclusion Chapter, a Discussion Chapter follows, where I discuss the thesis topic further as well as the potential for continued research. In the end, a list of References is provided as well as an attachment containing my interview guide.

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Theory Chapter

The overall aim of this chapter is to provide a theoretical foundation of theories and previous studies within the area of the thesis. The focus of this thesis is the relationship within an organization between leaders and managers and their staff. When studying this, several factors interact with each other and affect the relationship. The work environment studied is within small non-profit U.S. organizations and outlines this thesis character. Within this specific work environment, the relationship between a leader and manager and its staff contains several parameters which creates the theoretical framework for this thesis. The parameters are as follows: leadership and management, management concepts, motivation theories, culture, and communication factors.

In relation to the thesis questions which concerns factors of importance for leader and manager work environments within small non-profit office settings in the U.S., certain themes have been recognized. These themes are: 1) Organization 2) Motivation 3) Teams. In the Analysis and Results Chapter, a Fourth Theme is presented. Themes One, Two and Three in this chapter provide the theoretical foundation for the fourth theme. Each theme contains identified sub categories which will be explained throughout this chapter. It is my aim with this chapter to guide the reader through these themes. The intent of this thesis is to view and penetrate the thesis through the eyes of a leader and manager. Therefore, a theoretical framework regarding leader and manager as well as leadership and management will be provided early on in this chapter. Before continuing to explore theories concerning leadership and management within non-profit organizations, the focus of this thesis, a description of non-profit organizations and its sector is provided.

Description of non-profit organizations A non-profit organization (abbreviated as NPO) can be described as an incorporated organization which exists for educational or charitable reasons, and from which its shareholders or trustees do not benefit financially (Investor word/notforprofit, 2010). Most governments and government agencies meet this definition. Non-profit organizations are to be found in the non-profit sector. Non-profit organizations are also described as nonprofit and not-for profit. The non-profit sector is the contested arena between the state and the market where public and private concerns meet and where individual and social efforts are united. In the United States, non-profit and voluntary organizations are seen as playing a central role in generating, organizing, and emboldening political opposition, working through national networks and building international linkages. The non-profit sector appears to be a real and identifiable group of tax-exempt organizations that encourage political engagement and produce services. The sector is in fact a documented economic powerhouse that employs millions of people and accounts for a significant portion of the nation’s gross domestic product (Frumkin, 2005). Approximately 1.4 million non-profit organizations are registered with the IRS, in the U.S. The figure includes a diverse group of organizations, both in size and mission, which range from hospitals and human service organizations to advocacy groups and chambers of commerce. When compared to other sectors of the economy, the non-profit

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sector accounts for 5.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 8.3 percent of wages and salaries paid in the United States (The non-profit sector in brief, 2007). It is hard to reach consensus in terms of defining the non-profit sector due to many of the core features and activities non-profits increasingly overlap and compete with those of business and government. Thus, the non-profit sector is at once a visible and compelling force in society and an elusive mass of contradictions (Frumkin, 2005). Three connecting points for the non-profit sector is that they do not coerce participation, they operate without disturbing profits to stakeholders, and they exist without simple and clear lines of ownership and accountability (Frumkin, 2005).

Non-profit organizations in the U.S. and Sweden are different in relation to funding, employer rights and organizational responsibility and performance. In Sweden they are usually referred to as kommuner and other social service agencies. In relation to my thesis statement, that there are prevailing leader and manager traits and styles that portray the work environment within small non-profit office settings in the U.S. the terms leader and manager will now be described.

Leader and Manager and Leadership and Management Studies entailing leadership and management styles, leader and manager definitions, are close to endless. DuBrin (2004) calculated that about 40,000 research articles, magazine, articles, and books had been published. The term leadership has been discussed by many authors and strive to define leadership and management as well as leader skills and manager skills have been a common desire. In a review of literature on manager traits, Stodgill (1974) observed that there are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are those who have attempted to define the concept. As there is no “correct” definition of leadership or management certain elements repeatedly occur in several studies. Views of the leader and manager roles as contrary with studies focusing on inherited skills versus learned traits are common which also lies within this thesis area of interest. A common expression describing a manager and a leader found in literature is: “Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing” (Yukl, 2002:5).

The early research about leadership and yet some still today focused on the leader as a person. Classical work made by Taylor (1911) and Fayol (1949) viewed the leaders role and actions as an attempt to improve the productivity and rational administration. In the search of defining the ultimate leadership profile physics factors such as height, looks and intelligence as well as personal character factors such as introversion-extroversion and self confidence were studied (Bryman, 1992; 1996). Significant for the early orientation was the assumption that individuals are born as leaders rather than developed for example by education to leaders (Bryman, 1996). The lack of success to define one perfect leadership profile in terms of certain traits, focus shifted to study the leader’s style. When studying a leader’s style multiple factors matters, for example: behaviour, traits, value, transformational, transactional, personality, competences, contextual factors etc. In general conversation regarding leadership a strong focus on the individual still remains (Höök, 2001). Yukl's (2006) argues that ‘manager’ is an occupational title. He suggests that a person can have the title ‘manager’ without actually leading, but also the opposite can occur; a person can be a leader without being a manager, thus acquiring the role of an informal leader. Yukl (2009) defines leadership

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as an influence process used to accomplish shared organizational objectives. Leadership is the behaviours, activities, and symbolic actions of structures of formalising for production, create social and psychological contracts, and to facilitate change in order to adapt a group into the environmental demands states Arvonen (2002). Yukl (2006) has identified different approaches of leadership. A trait approach emphasizes leaders’ attributes such as personality, motives, values, and skills. Behaviour approach focuses on what leaders actually do at their jobs. Power-influence approach examines influence processes between leaders and other people. It seeks to explain leadership effectiveness in terms of the amount and type of power possessed by a manager and how power is practised. Situational approach emphasizes the importance of contextual factors that influence leadership processes. The major situational variables include the characteristics of followers, the nature of the work performed by a manager’s unit, the type of organization, and the nature of external environments.

Several researchers emphasize leadership values in relation to leadership behaviours. Thylefors (1991) argues that leadership style emanates from a manager’s personality. She also concludes that there can be effective and appreciated leaders who exhibit different leadership styles. Leadership values are used when discussing manager views, assumptions or hypothesis about employees. Leadership values are the personal values the leaders have which influence their leadership behaviour (McGregor, 1960). According to Flach (2006) transformational leadership can be categorized as socialized charismatic leadership. The concepts are used in a way that connects one to the other. These managers are distinguished by the way that they create visions for their organization which they then communicate skilfully. Transformational leadership has been contrasted with transactional leadership which is normally characterized by a manager-subordinate relation stemming from the manager’s reward-power. This reward-power relationship emphasizes the match between leadership and subordinate interests; hence the transactional label. Transactional leaders are often seen as administrators of stable organisations (Flach, 2006). Another category that is contrasted with transformational and transactional leadership is laissez-faire leadership behaviour – meaning non-leadership and the absence of effective leadership (Yukl, 2009).

Wiberg (1992) states that management is the orientation of an operation in the surrounding world while leadership is to personally and deliberately influence co-workers to achieve a work result. DuBrin (2004) states that leadership is the ability to inspire confidence and support among the people who are needed to achieve organizational goals. He also states that the manager’s job is to lead, plan, organize and control. Kotter (1996) takes it a step further and declares that leadership is conceptually broader than management and also suggesting that leaders provide more to their organizations than managers. It can, in any case, be established that both leaders and managers, and thereby also leadership and management, are important for organizations.

To balance the conversation regarding definitions and scientific studies with focus on leadership skills and traits I find Boethius & Ehdin (1996) book about personal leadership contribution beneficial insights. Boethius & Ehdin (1996) presents in their book “Myten om det medfödda ledarskapet/The myth about being born to a leader” that our ability to lead most of all depend on the fourth competence “our personality”. The authors continues to declare that in most leadership education, training and work only three areas of competence are being fostered, such as knowledge, experiences and skills. Our most important leadership competence (“our personality”) remains being left out. The book contains a story of an

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organization with standard issues such as changing of leaders, adapting new management concepts and striving for the best out comes. A new leader participates in a meeting and the he identifies himself as an organizational doctor and initiates his entrance at the meeting my suggesting that by improving the leadership of the organization better results is to be expected. Following abstract is from a conversation being held between the organizational doctor and one of the leadership members (1996:28) (My translation):

- What makes you think we can improve our results by develop our leadership?

- That is a good question. I feel that this organization lacks red corpuscle. Do you know the symptoms of anaemia?

- The red corpuscle provides all the organs and muscles oxide and nutrient. Lack of red corpuscle leads to tiredness and no will.

- Exactly. These are the symptoms I have observed in this organization. It is my understanding that this organization needs to create new norms and values and to be a role model for each other. In order to do that we need to develop our personal leadership, which means our ability to lead ourselves and others. When using the personal leadership I am empathize that leadership always starts within your self. Which will cure the anima.

The story continues to reveal that the organization is in the process of discussion of adapting an empowerment concept. The organizational doctor makes the statement that adapting yet another management concept will result in unsatisfied outcome in line with previous attempts. The concepts are great but the key is your ability to implement them. Analogies to recipes are being done empathizing that an excellent chef can not only rely on the actual recipe, his or hers personal touch is of great importance for the outcome. Developing the personal leadership is the key factor in any implementation of management concept and strategies (2006:35f). The organizational doctor gets everyone in the team on board to go and see a personal coach. By researching yourself and what your values are only then can you embrace and maximize your leadership. Models and strategies are to be viewed as additional tools to help but not to replace is the summarised conversation between the personal coach and the team members (2006:42ff). The personal coach declares that we are living in a world where we constantly gets encourage and trained to broader our view and to go beyond our limitations. While doing this it is also of importance to make it real, concrete, logical, understandable, objectively and generally accepted. The flipside of this is that we tend to ignore everything which is the opposite, irrational and subjective such as ideas, feelings and intuition. By doing this we are also eliminating great visions and potential satisfaction. In conclusion leadership research is no longer being done only by one perspective.

After providing theoretical framework regarding leadership and management, the following themes presented offer the reader an understanding of the work environment. The first theme, Organization, concerns the areas of Management Concepts, Effectiveness, Intellectual Capital and Balanced Scorecard.

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Theme 1: Organization The term Organization has several definitions. I have chosen two definitions useful for this thesis. Christer I Barnard defines organisation as “A system of attention ally coordinated activities or efforts performed by two or more people” (Karlöf & Helin Lövingsson, 2003: 195). Edgar Shein (1988) defines organization in four categories which can be described as:

• Coordination/ synchronizing: Individuals who coordinates their mental of physical efforts can create great innovations such as pyramids, medical cure, trips to the moon.

• Mutual goals: is crucial for coordination of synchronized efforts aiming to achieve joint objectives.

• Division and distribution of labour: Distribution of specialized task for the right person in order to use resources effectively.

• Hierarchy structure: the right to make decisions and clear structure of power influence in order to move things along. Coordination of people’s energy is difficult without a clear decision division. (This one can be looked at as controversial considering today’s rather flat organisation structures).

An organization adapts various management concepts. Often the concepts are adapted to achieve higher effectiveness and identify the strengths and weaknesses within the organization. Plenty of management literature and management theories are available. The Economist expressed on February 26th 1994 that “the only thing worst than slavish adapt management theory is totally ignoring it” (Karlöf & Helin Lövingsson, 2003:195). The word management has been imported to the Swedish vocabulary and comes originally from the Latin word manus – which means hand, and agere – which means act. Organizations with a high job satisfaction level under their employees tend to be more productive. Also the turnover rate is lower in companies that have satisfied employees. Flat organizations tend to have a higher job satisfaction level than organizations that have a steep structure (Kakabadse & Worrall, 1978).

Effectiveness is a common goal for organizations and is viewed as the grade of fulfilment of objectives. While there is general agreement on the centrality of effectiveness to most organizations, there is surprisingly little agreement on how to define and measure what constitutes effectiveness. This issue is particularly distinct in the non-governmental sector because, unlike for-profit organizations, NPOs and NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) cannot be easily compared along a common metric, such as profitability (Unerman and O'Dwyer, 2006; Ebrahim and Weisband, 2007; Brown, 2008). Both internal (internally determined objectives) and external (the market valuation of an organization’s achievement using market expectations, demands or objectives as the criteria) effectiveness are usually needed for the survival of an organization (Andersen, 1995). There are several management concepts working on solutions for incorporating factors such as effectiveness and strive to reach high job satisfaction.

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Many theories and conceptual models are created for the private sector and these may be difficult to apply to the public sector or on non-profit organizations as they do not take into account the specific needs and conditions in these sectors (Drucker, 1990). However, Kaplan and Norton (2001) argue that the management concept Balanced Scorecard is suitable for- and can be adapted to the non-profit organization. Balanced Scorecard is a model which among other things incorporates intellectual capital. The term Intellectual Capital captures the values within an organization which can not be measured by traditional measurement tools. These values defined as intellectual capital constitute together with the book kept value the total value of an organization (Roos, 1997).

When it comes to non-profit organizations, focus has rarely been on financial performance (Kaplan & Norton, 2001). Marc Jegers (2002) is another author who points out that for decades, active financial controlling has been of lower priority in the non-profit sector. Given this background, Kaplan and Norton (2001) argue that the Balanced Scorecard is suitable as a measurement and strategic management system for non-profits, though it needs to be adapted for their purposes. The Balanced Scorecard was introduced in 1992 by Kaplan and Norton in the Harvard Business Review (Lindvall, 1995). Traditionally, industry had been relying on mainly financial measures to indicate performance and critical voices had raised concerns that the financial measures were too one sided and not relevant to many levels in the organization. It was argued they also sacrifice long-term thinking for short-term profit and in addition, only serve as filling indicators of past effort while not sufficiently capturing potential for future performance (Lindvall, 1995). Kaplan and Norton (1992) made the analogy of the cockpit: in order to fly, the pilot relies on a number of gauges and indicators in the cockpit to ensure a safe and efficient flight which will reach its destination. According to Kaplan and Norton (1992), measuring direction alone is not sufficient: speed, fuel levels, cabin pressure, altitude and so forth are also necessary to measure. Similarly, they argue that corporate stakeholders cannot rely on financial measures alone to ensure that the company is going in the intended direction (Kaplan & Norton, 1992).

The Balanced Scorecard has been implemented by government agencies, military units, business units, whole corporations, non-profit and public sector organizations. “We can describe the Balanced Scorecard as a carefully selected set of measures derived from an organizations’ strategy. The measures selected for the Scorecard represent a tool for leaders to use in communicating to employees and external stakeholders the outcomes and performance drivers by which the organization will achieve its mission and strategic objectives” (Niven, 2002:12). Niven sees the Balanced Scorecard as three things: a measurement system, a strategic management system and a communication tool. He thus thinks that the Balanced Scorecard is more than just a measurement tool: Related to the Scorecard, is a continuous process in which the Scorecard is used to emphasize that which is prioritized by the organization. The organization’s vision is made clear, and it is communicated via goals and associated incentives. These in turn, are used to channel efforts and resources and institute intermediate goals. Continuous follow-ups result in learning, and adjustment of processes, prioritizations and at time vision. In each step, the Scorecard is used as the primary communication tool (Niven, 2002). The Balanced Scorecard entails the four perspectives: the Financial Perspective, the Customer Perspective, the Internal Business Process Perspective and the Learning and Growth Perspective (Kaplan & Norton, 1992).

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Figure 1: The non-profit Scorecard. Source: Kaplan & Norton (2001).

Critics to the implementation of the Balanced Scorecard point out the top down method. A top-down driven implementation, usually excludes the involvement of the full organization and then the broad organizational buy-in and motivation. Not involving the full organization is also listed as one of the most frequent reasons for unsuccessful Balanced Scorecard implementation (Noerreklitt, 2000). Instead, a combination of top-down and bottom-up should be used to implement the Balanced Scorecard, to ensure its level of organizational buy-in and its efficacy as a management strategy tool (Mooraj, Stella et al., 1999).

Management Concepts can be helpful to a leader and manager in terms of running an organization. Its ultimate goal is to provide concepts useful for the organization’s staff and leaders and manager’s collaborative work and objectives. When adapting organizational and management concepts, understanding what is motivation for the members within the organization is crucial. Theme Two focuses on identifying and implementing leadership and management styles and traits. Motivation theories such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene Factor, The Hawthorne Effect, and McGregor X and Y Theory are presented. Karasek Demand and Control Model and other models are also found within Theme Two.

Theme 2: Motivation Theories There are several of needs that all human beings share. These come from within, we do not think about them, but they always play in the background. It is important to look at what motivates people at work and which factors are important. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is a term used a lot in motivation theories. Intrinsic motivation consists of stimulators that lay in the activity or the person self, while extrinsic motivation is about the external factors. There is a wide variety of motivation theories concerning what motivates people in general, or more specific at work One of the most well known and basic theory is Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs:

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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Motivational Model

Figure 2: Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs. Source: Kluytmans (2005:243)

Physiological needs: Hunger, thirst, reproduction, shelter. Security: Safety, protection against danger. Social needs: Acceptance from others, friendship, compassion. Respect: Success, recognition. Self realization: The desire to grow, realizing your full potential. All humans have basic needs, once these are fulfilled and secured; other needs surface until the highest point is reached, self realization (Kluytmans, 2005). Abraham Maslow developed the Hierarchy of Needs model in 1940-50's USA and is used for understanding human motivation, management training, and personal development. According to Business Balls (2010), Maslow's ideas surrounding the Hierarchy of Needs concerning the responsibility of employers to provide a workplace environment that encourages and enables employees to fulfill their own unique potential (self-actualization) are today more relevant than ever.

Herzberg Motivation Hygiene Factor Theory and the Hawthorne Effect Another well known and well used theory is developed by Frederick Herzberg. His motivation-hygiene theory is based on the relation between an individual and work. He says that the factors that make people motivated at work are not the same factors that de-motivate people. Intrinsic factors are allied with a positive job satisfaction, while extrinsic factors are related to dissatisfaction. Intrinsic motivation consists of stimulators that lay in the activity or the person self, while extrinsic motivation is about the external factors. The Hygiene factors can make people unsatisfied if they do not met the expectations, for example physical working conditions, security and reward. But if these factors are good, this does not motivate employees. Motivation factors are: Recognition, success, and chances for promotion. Social support can be seen in supervision (relationship with the manager) and relationship with others. If the social support is poor, this will lead to dissatisfaction. A high social support in it self is not motivating though. This theory has also received a lot of criticism, but is still widely used. The theory shows that people, in the western cultures at least, subscribe failure to their surrounding and success to themselves. Work can provide the income to secure all the Physiological needs and safety needs. People are not motivated by just money (Herzberg, Mausner & Snyderman, 1993).

Another study regarding what motivates people to work is the Hawthorne studies, which focuses on productivity and are today referred to as the “Hawthorne-effect”. The outcome of

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the study was the fact it is not only necessarily the changes by various factors that lead to the result of an increased productivity, it was rather the fact that being studied and given the attention that resulted in a higher productivity among the study objects. In the 1920-30th this was understandable bigger news than what we today view it as, considering today it is a well known understanding that motivation and social factors are crucial factors in the process of increasing higher productivity, the worker is not only driven by salary (Angelöw, 1991). This may look at first contradicting Herzberg’s theory; he claims that poor working conditions are dissatisfying. But when there would be given no more attention to the employees, it is reasonable to expect that they were less satisfied in poorer working conditions. It shows the importance of a high social support.

Stress Stress is a common factor within organizations and can have a negative effect on the employees and organization. Aronsson & Lindh (2004) made a national study in Sweden of the determinants of long-term healthiness. The definition used for the concept of long-term healthiness was the percentage of the population who had a non-incapacitating sickness a maximum of one time per year and a sickness absence of five days or less in a year. A finding from that study was that leadership support is an important determinant for long-term healthiness. Also emphasized was that it is necessary for a manager to have effective management systems that gives support in the event of trouble. According to Swedish Social Insurance Agency (2006) the cost of sickness benefits and compensations was SEK 86.83 billion (ca EUR 8 billion) in 2006, which is 2.7% of the country’s GDP. A comparative study has shown that strategies and procedures within areas like leadership, communication and in-service training are more common in organizations with low sickness absence rates (Ahlberg et al., 2008). This study also showed that in those organizations with lower sickness absence rates, the organizational values are more well-known and the co-workers are more actively involved in decision-making. As shown, positive outcomes are to be expected within organizations working on reducing the stress level. There are several ways and models to use when working on this factor. Karasek and Theorell’s Demand and Control Model, and Antonovsky´s KASAM model are some examples.

The Demand and Control Model and KASAM Karasek and Theorell (1990:31ff) presents a model based on employees experiences of the combination of demands and control at their work place, the demand-control model. The model shows four psychosocial work related experiences and these four are: passive work, low stress work, high stress work and active work. Demand in this context indicates the expected effort from the employee and control indicates the freedom to act and make decision. To simplify the model is by for example explaining that a work with high demands and low control equals a bad combination.

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Figure 3: The Demand-Control Model. Source: Karasek RA, 1998:34.6-34.14.

A high portion of control over the work task is positive, indicating the employee can handle higher work expectations, which can be stimulation and developing for the employee. Too low work demands can develop passivity. Within the demand control model a stress and activity diagonal appears (Karasek & Theorell, 1990:31ff). When an employee experiences having a work with a high portion of demands combined with a low portion of control the risk for stress increases. According to the model, a situation where the employee experience high demands combined with low control creates an unhealthy work situation. The ultimate positive situation is created when the employee experience having an active work. An Active work situation generates opportunities for the employee to develop within the work. The demand and control model is well used and has also being further developed in various directions. For example Siegrist (1996) have combined the model with a model focusing on the balance of effort and reward/confirmation at a work place. In this model reward and confirmation goes beyond a pay check. Such as positive feedback, recognition, opportunities for development are some examples. This concludes that high portion of effort combined with low reward and confirmation has a negative impact and vice versa (Bergman, 2009). Also Kluytmans (2005) discusses the importance of feedback and states that feedback is important so that people know what they are doing and what is expected from them. The Reinforcement Theory says that people will show behaviour that is rewarded. People will continue with something if their surrounding is reacting positive on what they do. If their action gets a negative reaction, than they will stop (Robbins, 2003).

Another dimension later added to the Demand and Control model is the social support aspect, added by House (1981) and Johnson (1986). Additional to control social support is something that has been proved having a great impact in the regards of avoiding stress in a work situation filled with demands. The social support can be in emotional aspect such as feedback, respect and receiving information etc. The research are pretty much agreeing on that social support from supervisors and colleagues function as a buffer with high demanding work tasks (e.g. Landsbergis and Theorell et al., 2000). Social support can be limited by the fact that there are too many rules and regulations to follow in a function. Research done by Kakabadse and Worrall (1978) in nine social service organizations shows that clear job description is

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found to have a positive effect on job satisfaction. Clear job descriptions can be related to empowerment which Boethius & Ehdin (1996:36) have identified key factors in order to achieve successfully. The key factors are creating concrete and fruitful visions as well as developing specific measurable and realistic goals which are accepted by everyone.

Other key factors to successfully achieve empowerment are increasing the responsibility among the staff by improving the communication, replacing the hierarchy with teams, and increasing the trust within the organization. Also, Antonovsky talks about the need of clear job descriptions in his KASAM model. The KASAM model means that the ultimate phase is when an individual experiences a feeling of cohesion, link and sense, which is of great importance for life in general as well. Good working conditions develop an employee’s experience of cohesion and in return discourage stress. To achieve this, it is of great importance that the employees understand the situation they are in. The work situation requires a clear description, structure, and understanding by the ones expected to perform the tasks. It also requires a sense of confidence from the performer to be able to deliver expected outcomes supported by the appropriate resources given. Finally, it is of great importance that the employee is able to handle and perform the situation and task with meaningfulness through motivation, engagement and development (Antonovsky, 1991). Kakabadse and Worrall (1978) also found in their studies that the more rules and formalizations there are the more employees feel that they can not perform their primary work, which leads to dissatisfaction. Organizations with a strict hierarchy of authority have a negative effect on career satisfaction and the feeling of fulfilling the primary work.

A leader’s and manager’s view of people will have an impact on how he or she chooses to adapt and implement management and leadership models and concepts. The following theory discusses this matter.

McGregor X and Y Theory McGregor (1960) argues that behind every managerial decision or action are assumptions about human nature and human activities. A few of these are really constant. These assumptions are commonly implied, sometimes fairly unconscious and often conflicting. Nonetheless, they decide our predictions that if we do a then b will occur. They are implicit in most of the literature on organisations and in much managerial policy and practice (McGregor, 1960).

Assumptions in Theory X (McGregor, 1960:33f)

1. The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if he can.

2. Because of this human characteristic of dislike of work, most people must be coerced, controlled, directed, and threatened with punishment to get them to put forth adequate effort toward the achievement of organisational objectives.

3. The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, and has relatively little ambition, wants security above all.

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Assumptions in Theory Y (McGregor, 1960:47f)

4. The expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest. The average human being does not inherently dislike work. Depending upon controllable conditions, work may be a source of satisfaction (and will be voluntarily performed) or a source of punishment (and will be avoided if possible).

5. External control and the threat of punishment are not the only means for bringing about effort toward organizational objectives. Man will exercise self-direction and self-control in the service of objectives to which he is committed.

6. Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement. The most significant of such rewards, e.g. the satisfaction of ego and self-actualization needs, can be direct products of efforts directed toward organizational objectives.

7. The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek responsibility. Avoidance of responsibility, lack of ambition, and emphasis on security are generally consequences of experience, not inherent human characteristics.

8. The capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity in the solution of organisational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population.

9. Under the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentialities of the average human being are only partially utilized.

The essential differences between Theory X and Theory Y are that Theory X mainly emphasizes external examination of the employees, while Theory Y is built on employee self-control and the freedom to self-direct (Jacobsen & Thorsvik, 1998). Criticism toward McGregor’s Theory Y highlights the fact the theory assumes that all people want to be creative in the same way.

Whether a leader or manager is of assumption X or Y, or favour certain motivation styles and concepts, how he or she communicates is of absolute importance. Communication is not only a major factor of importance for organizational concepts and implementation, it is also an expression of the person as a leader and manager.

Communication Communication originally comes from the Latin name communicare and which means purpose to share or create understanding by exchanging thoughts, hope and knowledge (Jandt, 2007). Communication techniques differ in many ways between countries. In some cultures focus is strictly on the actual words being said or written. In other cultures other elements are of importance, such as environment, social status within in the context of held communication (Gibson, 2002). Some example of factors that differ of importance in different cultures: language, education, values, attitudes, religion and social organizations. The culture is closely attached to its language. Knowledge and understanding of language automatically increases

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the understanding of a culture considering language is based on a cultures dynamics development (Hollensen, 2007). Two main elements divide language; verbal and non-verbal. The verbal language refers to the pronunciation of words being connected and articulated. The non-verbal language is the invisible language, everything not transmitted by words, such as body language and social distance (Herlitz, 2007). Based on research done by Mehrabian (1972) argues 65 % of communication is non-verbal. This is in cases when people are standing face to face. This does not mean that the non-verbal is of more importance than the verbal communication, but that an interaction of both generates a meaning to a message (Chen et al., 1998).

The globalization has led to mobilization which has generated more cultural contacts. Demands on a better understanding of intercultural communication is obvious as well as the importance of culturally differences have arisen. Knowledge about cultural backgrounds, values, perspectives, life styles etc allows us a better opportunity for successful communication (Samovar et. al., 2006). The order of words, how a person receives the opportunity to speak, pauses differ between cultures. In Sweden it is common for a person to finish a sentence with no interruption and afterwards a pause usually occurs, a pause for reflection if something needs to be added (Herlitz, 2007). In the U.S. it is fairly common that a person who speaks does that as an initiative to add and to contribute to an ongoing conversation. Another obstacle in the intercultural communication is the fact that one word can have different meanings. Also definitions can be similar but the meaning of it differs due to various culture environments. For example the word democracy has the same definition but differ when implementing in different countries (Herlitz, 2007). Jandt (2007) claims that communication and culture cannot be separated. By creating an understanding, both factors are needed in a process. A person gains knowledge about culture by exchanging with another person through communication. The other way around requires a coding in both directions of symbols within the message in order to create a meaning. To comprehend the message a person requires knowledge about culture patterns and social behaviour otherwise reading of the message can fail. Conclusion is that culture and communication needs to be studied together (Jandt, 2007).

A type of culture might diverge within an organization depending on the members and its leader and manager. Despite variations in culture, culture factors and issues are always present. To understand leader and manager styles, the culture of both internal and external factors are relevant.

Culture Culture, originally from Latina is a wide notion and hard to define in one good way considering there are over one hundred definitions. The foundation of culture lies in behaviour, norms, values and material objects. According to Edward Hall one of the first authors in within the subject of culture defines culture as: “Culture (is) those deep, common, unstated experiences which members of a given culture share, which they communicate without knowing, and which form backdrop against which all other events are judged, (Hall, 1981:5). Eriksen (1999) explains that culture is not one thing, even though unfortunately the word culture is a substantive. Cultural ablactating is harder than learning culture for the first time (Hofstede, 2005).

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Organizational culture involves assumptions, beliefs, and values that are shared by members of a group or organization. It is much easier to embed culture in new organizations than to change the culture of mature organizations. Culture can be influenced by several aspects of a leader’s behaviour, including examples set by the leader, what the leader attends to, how the leader reacts to crises, how the leader allocates rewards, and how the leader makes selection, promotion, and dismissal decisions. Supplementary mechanisms for shaping culture include the design of organization structure, management systems, facilities, formal statements of ideology, and informal stories, myths, and legends (Yukl, 2002). Geert Hofstede a Dutch social psychologist and engineer made a study between 1960 and 1970 involving employees at IBM. Over 116 000 questionnaires were answered by employees at 72 different daughter companies of IBM all over the world. The compilation was published in his book Cultures Consequences (2005). The result from the studies regarding cultural differences identified five dimensions: ”individualism/collectivism”, ”uncertainty avoidance”, ”power distance” and ”masculinity/femininity”. Later Hofstede developed the fifth dimension which is called ”long-term orientation” (Gibson, 2002).

Depending on culture background society, individualism and collectivism is viewed differently. Some cultures encourage individualism by being independent and unique as individuals. This dimension refers to which extent a culture promotes and supports the individual or the collective. In order to investigate this dimension in various countries Hofstede created an individualism index called IVD. Countries with a high rate of IVD holds extreme individualism, which means the individual is prefer rather than the collective (Hofstede, 2005). Private life and work life is separated. This type of culture dimension can easily be identified in the U.S. (Erfurth, 2004).

Figure 4: The Figure illustrates the distance between cultures within individualism/collectivism index (Hofstede, 2005:78).

Uncertainty avoidance

This dimension aims to identify how culture patterns affect the willingness to change and adapt to new situations. Cultures differ in regards of tolerance towards ambiguity and the ability to adjust to changes. To measure this Hofstede created the UAI index, with the intention to measure how a culture feels threatened by ambiguity and tries to avoid certain situations by creating rules, laws and structure that controls the uncertainty.

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Figure 5: The Figure illustrates the distance between cultures in an uncertainty avoidance index (Hofstede, 2005:168).

Power distance

Another factor which all culture views differently is equal opportunities, which in many cases is hard to handle between individuals equal opportunities are in this sense viewed as status and social power. An individual can possess a greater value based on personality, work position, knowledge, age, income etc. The cultures differ also in the sense of the view of status and if it is right or wrong, fair or unfair. Another factor of great importance is in which sense the culture values and appreciates a hierarchy or decentralised structure within a certain group. The index used is PDI.

Figure 6: The Figure illustrates the distance between cultures in “power distance” index (Hofstede, 2005:43).

According to Hofstede (2005) countries with a low rate of PDI, such as Sweden and the U.S. prefers small distance of power. The culture in these countries strives to reduce the importance of hierarchy structures, social class distinction. A position of power is only used as a tool to legitimize a certain individual (Lustig, 2006).

Within cultural contexts and divergence of communication styles, certain words and expressions are more common than others. Using metaphors is commonly used as a helping tool when communicating.

Metaphors In the context of an organization several metaphors are being used sometimes as a tool to describe leadership. For example the leader can be described as a coach, the organization as “lean and mean”, effective, aggressive etc. Not rare are metaphors which express hegemonic masculinity being used to express power. Seldom do stereotype feminine pictures such as empathy, caring etc being appear (Harding, 1986 and Acker, 1999). Often in management and

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leadership literature does several sports analogies arise. Another frequently used metaphor is sport. In Swedish “Att ta rygg”, in English “follow the leader” is a common expression within the world of sports. But actually it is not in this context where it is mostly used but in the business world. The business world is full of sayings which have analogy with sports terms. Other common sayings used as metaphors in the business world are: grab the ball, go after the puck of catching the relay baton. These are supposedly synonyms to embracing challenges (Svenska Dagbladet, 2008).

Later in this thesis, it will be discussed whether or not leaders´ and managers´ styles and traits are of importance for an organization and what impact poor leadership and management might have on the organization. Themes One and Two concerned leaders´ and managers´ relationships to their staff in terms of organization, management concepts, motivation models, communication and culture aspects. Theme Three focuses on leader and manager perspectives but also emphasizes the construction of staff and team members. In many regards, the construction of staff and team within an organization is an expression of the leader’s and manager’s view of the staff versus team. Theme Three presents Teamwork, and Teambuilding and Network.

Theme 3: Teams

Teamwork and Teambuilding Whether or not teamwork is something good or bad continues to be discussed often by voices within traditions such as Human Relations, Social Techniques and Lean Production. Some indicate teamwork for sure is a good thing for both employees and employers. Teamwork is often associated with influence, empowerment, engagement, work democratic (Collins, 1999, Randle, 2007) and is not rare viewed as a miracle tool in terms of ease on adapting and adjusting processes in an organization (Bacon & Blyton, 2000, Randle, 2007). Teambuilding is a popular word within the organization development (OD) area. A study among 179 Fortune 500 companies identifies teambuilding as the most efficient method for personnel development. 61 % of the studied companies worked with teambuilding. As the word indicates teambuilding is about establishing and developing well functioning teams within an organization consisting of at least two persons with a mutual goal (Karlöf & Helin Lövingsson, 2003). Belbin´s research has generated an identification of particular factors of importance for high achieving teams: Coordinator as a moderator, presence of a talented employee, great mental ability among the team members, well identified coordination and spread of the roles of the team (Belbin, 2010). Other researchers have added components for successful teams, for example: Clear goals, availability to needed competence and skills, trust between the members, good communication climate within the group, effective leadership, appropriate support and expectations from the organization (Karlöf & Helin Lövingsson, 2003).

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Network Internal networking in this thesis is defined as personnel care, stimulating the staff/team and communicating inside the organization. A network consists of series different nodes representing various individuals. These nodes are connected through links which together form a network. The social networks are dynamic and changes consistently. Information is being transferred between the nodes through interaction as well as activities are being organized between the parts. A network’s structure varies depending on the amount of nodes, and the number of links connecting the nodes. A social network is out of great importance to create relationships within an organization to created better opportunities to organize, coordinate and act on several of activities (Crossley, 2005). In a number of contexts networking means to take advantage of family, friends, businesses contact in order to provide helpful resources for new job opportunities. Studies have shown that for some people networking becomes an obstacle. One study made by George W Dudley, Shannon L Goodson and Trelitha Bryant (2004) on 164 unemployed shows strong correlations with obstacle to network based on a test JSI (Job Searching Index) developed to measure the fear of applying for a job (Belbin articles, 2010). In 2005 a project regarding long term unemployment were made by Folkuniversitet in collaboration with Belbin Swedish AB (Representatives for Belbin Inc. in Sweden) and AMS (Swedish employment Agency) (Belbin articles, 2010). The project contained three innovations where of the work with personal contacts obstacles was one variable. The other two included a trainee/volunteer position and together produce a commercial slot. Upon completion of the project over 70 % were no longer unemployed. They had either found a job or continued on with their education. The importance of networking and possessing contacts is obvious just as much as the fact that we are not born with those privileges is clear states Christer B Jansson, from BelBin Swedish AB (ibid). Today it is even a fact that the Swedish educational plan puts demands on the student to make his or hers knowledge and skills visible during the classes. The need to promote and sell your competence begins at an early stage. The students who could be consider being shy or lack of social competence should rather be viewed as students with obstacles making contacts and building a network. Jansson means that these obstacles are difficult to identify but it is up to the school to gain the right competence in order to make this effective for everyone. The school environment is also something that needs to be under consideration. In order to reduce the risk of ending up with an A and a B team within the school it is of great importance to acknowledge these relatively small problems compared to other problems a school struggle with (ibid).

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METHOD

The purpose of this chapter is to describe the process of collecting and working with data for this study. The aim is to describe the process as elaborately as possible in order for replication to be feasible. The collecting, analyzing, and coding processes will be described. A discussion including reflection over method and research outcomes as well as limitations will be presented. The study is qualitative and interviews have been conducted with five established community leaders in five different non-profit organizations in a US city (population: 150, 000). An interview guide has been used as a tool. The content and quotes from the interviews will be selectively presented in the following chapter. Expression regarding organizations is not included in this thesis.

Choice of Method I have chosen to use a qualitative method for my thesis. It has been a suitable method considering the thesis purpose and statement. Qualitative data is using words to describe situations, individuals or circumstances concerning the area of interest. In social sciences, the use of qualitative methods is seen as most appropriate in the theory development phase. Qualitative research does not strive to identify laws of human behaviour and instead tries to describe or explain the world from an informant’s perspective (Merriam, 1994). It has been my intent to describe manager and leader from the view of managers and leaders. This thesis also emphasizes a relative view of knowledge and includes my own prejudice. A hermeneutic perspective has been used. According to Bjereld et al. (2002), positivism stands for the effort of an absolute knowledge, while the hermeneutic emphasizes the relativity of knowledge. According to Thurén (2007), there is nowadays not a clear division between these two main perspectives, hermeneutic and positivism, as they have started to blend with each other. The difference between the research positions consists in the individual researcher’s interest in different things (Bjereld et al., 2002). A hermeneutic takes an interest in people, their view of life and apprehension of their situation.

Choice of Sector and Role of the Respondents My choice to study an area within the non-profit sector in the U.S. is based on two reasons: an interest in my work experience within the sector and my interest to study leadership and management within a sector that uses leadership and management both internally and externally. Because of my work experience in the U.S., I was able to access leaders and managers for this study’s interviews. The choice to study small (less than 15 employees) office settings is explained by the same reason. Studying this sector has to do with my interest in how the U.S. emphasizes and implements leadership and management styles and concepts which often originate in the U.S. prior to reaching Sweden. Another reason for my choice of this thesis topic with the U.S. leader and manager perspectives was my determination to compose this thesis in English. The challenge, reward, and learning process, as well as the opportunity to reach a broader audience, are additional reasons. All interviewees were chosen with the requirement of working within the non-profit sector in the U.S. The focus has been on their leadership and management positions within the organizations. The interviewees are

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between the ages of 40 and 60 years old; two women and three men. The respondents were chosen based on direct and indirect contacts. My relationships with the five respondents vary; four were familiar to me and the other was a new contact. According to Häger (2007), there are both advantages and disadvantage when it comes to ones relationship with the interviewees. Patel & Davidsson (2007) indicate that if the writer has a close relationship to the respondents, a high portion of honesty is expected. It is my opinion that the value and character of the studied topic might also have an impact on this conversation. It is my belief that I have received honest answers but I am also aware of the possibility that politically correct answers have been given. Factors such as gender or age have not been of importance in the selection process. Presentation of the interviewees will mainly happen by using quotes in the result and analysis chapter. Fictional names will be used in order to protect the interviewees.

Presentation of the Interviewees

Anna: 50+ years old. Has been working in her current position for five years. Supervises 12 employees. Prior to her position within this organization she has served in various capacities as president, general manager. Holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and Management and a Master of Business Administration degree.

Eric: 50+ years old. Has been working in his current position for over five years. Supervises 12 employees. Holds a Master of Business Administration degree. Background within city administration and business work.

Emma: 40+ years old. Has been working in her current position for 1.3 years. Supervises six employees. Holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. 5 years experience in her current working field. 15 years experience in her current field in a different division. 11 years as a manager.

Mark: 50+ years old. Have been working in his current position for four years. Over 20 years of experience within his organization on top position. Supervises 8 employees directly and several more indirect.

Brian: 40+ years old. Have been working in his current position in less than a year. Supervises 15 employees. Holds a Master of Business Administration degree and several years of experience within his organization with marketing and public affairs.

Choice of Method When Collecting the Empirical Data The interview technique has been the choice of tool to use within the qualitative methodology when collecting the empirical data. The thesis topic provides a foundation for practical use of interviews as the research method. A foremost benefit of interviews is that an interviewer has the option of being able to conduct a dialog with a respondent. Through a dialog, follow-up

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questions which give additional information can be posed. A major disadvantage of interviews is the so-called interviewer effect where the interviewer deliberately or unconsciously controls interviews to get desired answers (Wiedersheim-Paul & Eriksson, 1991). E mail was used as the tool when scheduling the interviews. A total of five interviews were held with the highest manager/leader in each of the organizations with the exception for one. In this case, the person interviewed is the highest manager within her department rather than the whole organization. An interview guide entailing seven questions and one final discussion question was created and used during the interviews. The questions focused on the interviewees’ views on general management skills, their own personal skills as a manager and steps and actions done to create a successful, positive work environment. A final question regarding leadership versus management was posed. An experimental interview was held with an outside person whereupon changes in the interview guide were made to clarify the questions.

Validity and Reliability By using a constructed interview guide (see attachment) containing questions relevant to the thesis purpose, certain validity was established. Construct validity is about establishing correct operational measures for the concepts being studied (Yin, 2003). The ‘objective’ or ‘true’ interpretation of a working life situation does not exist. There are always some elements in the methodology that are based on interpretation and subjective decisions. All people are viewed as subjective who are never really able to relate to a situation objectively. Feelings, pre-understanding and interpretation are always there. The same is true for a researcher. The choice of using qualitative method in terms of interviews provided the opportunity to ask follow-up questions and seek clarification. The selected interviewees added their expertise and experience with their foundation of knowledge.

By recording and transcribing the interviews in addition to using a structured interview guide, the material is considered to be reliable (Patel & Davidsson, 2007). Remenyi et al. (1998) describes reliability as the degree to which observations or measures are consistent or stable. Furthermore, reliability means that the measurement instruments have the ability to give reliable and stable measurements with an acceptable probability level. Circumstances can be hard to recreate in a hermeneutic study and therefore it will be hard to replicate a study (Remenyi et al., 1998). Merriam (1994) discusses that reliability is a problematic conception in the community research area as human behaviour is not a statistical entity but rather is continually changing.

Analysis Method of Collected Data Both primary and secondary data have been used in this thesis through interviews and literature reviews. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The tools used were a recorder, paper, pen and the interview guide. The interviews were held in either a conference room or an office at each interviewee’s organization and lasted between 30 and 50 minutes. A mix of inductive, deductive and abductive approaches has been used in this thesis. It is inductive in that the theory chapter was constructed after the interviews were completed. A deductive approach means to search for ideas for research questions in existing theories. The

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deductive approach means that the researcher draws from established theories and attempts to prove and explain a phenomenon (Eriksson & Wiedersheim-Paul, 2001). According to Alvesson and Sköldberg (1994), deduction causes a reduction of the underlying structure and tendencies and thus, it has a reverse approach and states the explanation. The research approach presented in this thesis can also be described as an abductive process since it has been an interactive process between the collected empirical data and the theoretical data. Abduction departs from empirical data but does not dismiss a conceptual theoretical framework (Alvesson & Sköldberg, 1994). This combination is in line with my study.

After transcribing all five interviews, a coding process inspired by Grounded Theory was conducted. Memos and notes in the margin were made when analyzing the material. By using the axial coding process, an analysis of the material was performed (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). This material was distilled into relevant categories for the analysis chapter defined into themes. The categories defined through the coding process were: culture, communication, and best practise, and team work, leader versus manager, organization concepts, personnel management, and personality versus power. These categories are organized in the analysis chapter into four themes: organization, motivation, teams and styles and traits.

The theory chapter was originally structured in a different way than what is presented it is final version. After completed the result and analyze chapter I decided to structure the theory chapter after the same outline. The content of four themes which are found in both chapters came to be identified first after the result and analyze chapter was completed. The purpose of this is to provide the reader a more effective way to go back and forth between the two chapters.

Method Discussion The fact that I, as the researcher, have collected both the empirical data and literature information in my second language adds to the method discussion. In addition to language factors, there is the culture aspect. Because I am from a different country than the interviewees, another angle and component to the research process exists. Kuhn et al. (1992), consider that researchers have pre-understandings and that research does not start by collecting facts, compiling them, and then constructing a theory of them. Kuhn also argues that followers of different paradigms live in different worlds which mean that they do not understand each other.

My first version of the interview guide asked the questions using the term leader as opposed to manager. At this point, I had limited understanding of the differences and did not realize that by using the term leader instead of manager, I received different responses than expected. The term ESL (English Second Language) made its impact in this case. After replacing the word leader to manager throughout the interview guide, I kept the last question involving the term leader. The final question was constructed as a discussion topic which was as follows: “What are your thoughts about the terms leader and manager and can you be one without being the other?” Even though it was an ESL related issue which led to change the use of the term leader to manager in the interview guide, the thinking process of the differences and

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similarities between them remained of interest and which outlines the thesis main questions and statement.

Without being the main focus of the thesis, a comparison between the United States and Sweden is inevitable. As a result, my interpretation of the respondents’ answers has not been analysed in relation to a Swedish standpoint or in trying to understand the Swedish culture. By remaining focused on the U.S. context, the thesis has a higher value of both validity and reliability in that sense as well as the Swedish versus the U.S. reader will gain various impressions when reading.

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Analysis and Results Chapter

This chapter contains a presentation of the analysis process in terms of key findings from the interviews. The content from the coding process has come to identify this chapter’s results by recognizing four major themes of which this chapter is constructed. The intent is to penetrate each theme via the process through a leader and manager perspective. When leader and manager are viewed as intangibles, they will be abbreviated as L&M. Quotes and theory will primarily be used within this chapter’s presentation. The ensuing chapter, “Conclusion,” contains a more specific presentation of results as well as specifically answers the key thesis questions and statement. However, the objective throughout this chapter relates and reflects to the statement and questions to study what prevailing leader and manager traits and styles that portray the work environment within small non-profit office settings in the U.S.

Two main questions are addressed to study the thesis statement:

1) Which elements do the leaders and managers identify as important for the organization in terms of leadership and management?

2) Which leadership and management styles and traits are recognized?

The following spider map (figure 7) identifies this chapter’s themes and subcategories as they are to be viewed as answers to the thesis main questions. The themes and subcategories represent the findings to questions one and two. The arrows indicate the concerned relations.

Figure 7: Source: Linnea Bengtsson, 2010.

1a) Environment 1b) Management 1c) Policies & Values

2a) Theories 2b) Communication 2c) Metaphors

3a) Team Work 3b) Teambuilding 3c) Networks

Theme 2: MOTIVATION

Theme 3: TEAMS

Theme 4: TRAITS & STYLES

L & M (Leader & Manager)

Theme 1: ORGANIZATION

4a) Approachable and Visible 4b) Setting Clear Expectations and Avoiding Uncertainty

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As described in the method chapter, the result of the coding process was four main themes. These four themes each contain several sub categories, which were identified while coding and which allows the reader to follow the thesis main path and focus. Each theme and sub categories will in this chapter be explored and describe by using quotes from the empirical data as they relate to my thesis statement and main questions. As every theme and subcategory is relevant for understanding L&M’s situation the structure of this chapter allows the reader to get an overview of the main findings of the data represented by the themes.

Theme 1: Organization Theme One includes the subcategories Environment, Management and Policies and Values.

1a) Environment

The environment of an organization is a major factor for an organization’s total comprehension. As an L&M it is suggested that your own preference in terms of style and the reflection of your traits will reflect on the environment in your organization. The element consistently mentioned throughout the interviews as crucial and binding within their role as an L&M was the environment. The following quotes demonstrate the L&M thoughts about the environment.

My job is to create the environment where people can flourish, enjoy their work, and provide activities that people want to be successful at and see others win, an environment where they are supported in their work (Mark).

So my job is not to the work but to create an environment and opportunity for the employees to complete the task as agreed to (Anna).

Leadership skills and approachability are big. Having an atmosphere where people feel that they can come to you with problems. Otherwise, if you don’t have that skill, they are not going to feel like they can come to you and then you are not going to know what’s going on in your own department (Emma).

I see part of what I do as providing my team, my organization, my staff, and the tools they need to achieve their goals, to achieve what they we set out to do collectively (Brian).

It is not to reject the thought that L&M behaviour within in an environment is expected to vary depending on the L&M individual traits as well as strengths and weaknesses. The quotes above from the interviews, presents a similar view in the regards of the environment. However, it is easy to question whether or not leadership in terms of individual focus still today is current and vital considering all interviewees expressing that their job is to create an

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environment and atmosphere consisting of what they define as success based on their individual ideas and values. According to Wiberg (1992) whom means that leadership is to personally influence co-workers contributes to held conversation. Older studies about leadership, for example Taylor (1911), focused on the leader as an individual and several of today’s conversations still emphasize that a shift to study leader’s style such as behaviour traits are of great importance (Höök, 2001). This thesis emphasise that leadership and management styles are closely tied to an L&M personality.

The success of any organization requires you to develop your systems and keep adjusting them. Every three months I change something so I say never to print out too many because I am always changing and adapting to what the needs are of today and tomorrow. You have to be looking out (Mark).

The findings and lessons taught within its area will constantly change along with the changes in the market and environment. It remains appropriate to argue whether or not leaders and managers are adjusting and adapting in conjunction to the changes. In order to do that, both comprehension and courage are needed. It is reasonable to acknowledge the fact that all leaders do not posses the same strengths and weaknesses. The following quotes offer an interesting stand point in terms of environment and leadership and management.

Trainings are not my favourite thing but I know that’s a personal thing for me but I do think it is a good idea. I mean they try to teach people a skill set and they are going over some things. Unfortunately it looks good on paper so people know that you are qualified (Emma).

That is a key of a good leader, a good manager, to be able to come out of your comfort zone to expand your skills. Don’t stay in your little zone (Mark).

It is here where a leader and manger become separate in the way that by stepping outside your comfort zone. Just as much as a person is comfortable in certain style of clothes, people are more comfortable in certain styles within leadership and management. The two quotes above demonstrate weaknesses, fear, comfort and strength facing an L&M. A common expression describing a manager and a leader found in literature is, “Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing” (Yukl, 2002:5). The quote by Yukl aligns with what Kotter (1996) says about leadership being conceptually broader than management and also suggests that leaders provide more to their organizations than managers. The quotes above from the interviewees can, by using Yukl’s definition, indicate that the first one is a manager and the second one is a leader. Within an organization and its environment, it is expected of an L&M to posses’ skills of both leader and manager character. What an L&M is most comfortable with might or might not be in line with what the rest of organization expects and needs from their L&M. An organizations environment is constituted by management concepts, both outspoken ones and sublime ones.

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1b) Management Management is the next subcategory in Theme One and is instrumental in the thesis in terms of management and leadership. Various definitions of management exist and the paragraph aim to present some and also provide examples of management concepts. Management training and concepts are available and provided to anyone interested. There are classes, seminars to be present at, and a nonstop selection of books and articles. The Economist states that “the only thing worse than slavish adapt management theory is totally ignoring it” (The Economist February 26th 1994, via Karlöf & Helin Lövingsson, 2003).

Management is more about setting the structure and accomplishing the work and sometimes you can ´t do both. Because maybe it is a big leadership message you have to get out there…so you need behind you a system in place where the details of what you are talking about is being accomplished but you are not doing the details (Anna).

So defining success really comes back to if we are achieving the results that our citizens wants and they are involved in the process of achieving that, so you find this organization democratic in that sense (Mark).

Many theories and conceptual models are created for the private sector and these may be difficult to concern to the public sector or on non-profits (Drucker, 1990). Whether or not models are for the private sector or non-profit organizations there are certain elements and terms which remain in both. The term Intellectual Capital, is fairly used in both sectors but was surprisingly not discussed in a direct way in neither of the interviews. The term Intellectual Capital constitutes together with the book kept value the total value of an organization (Roos, 1997). The term was in an indirect way mentioned and discussed widely in the interviews in terms of acknowledging the value of staff members. It continues to surprise me that in those cases specific management concepts and models were identified among the interviews it was not rare management concepts from the private sector, such as lean management and business process management. For example the Balanced Scorecard, which is suitable and adaptable for non-profit organizations, was not identified. Kaplan and Norton (2001), argue that when it comes to non-profits, focus has rarely been on financial performance. Neither has long term thinking being prioritise rather than short term profit means Lindvall (2001). The Balanced Scorecard will be described later on in this chapter, as it can be viewed as communication and strategic tool (Niven, 2002). The following quote demonstrates reasons to why perhaps L&M continues to adapt management concepts and models of which they are already familiar with and can personally relate to.

You know, I always think you have to keep looking at management techniques and you know there are many…there are more than I have time to read so I have to be careful, particularly with what I read and not waste my time on things that are wasteful from times stand point (Anna).

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The choice of books leaders and managers chose to read, is in many ways a subjective choice, as the above quote indicates. Management and leadership are also expected to in some what be a reflection of an L&M personal view and values.

1c) Polices and Values

Creating and usage of policies is one common tool within for example process management. Throughout the interviews, it was found that the thinking process behind the implementation and need for policies vary widely. In relation to the thesis statement regarding what portrays L&M, policies and values are important factors to view.

We use a lot of process work so we don’t have to invent each time so we have a checklist for events, we have a checklist for client meetings in that way we don’t, we can improve the qualities of the client interaction (Anna).

We must have great policies. We need policies that reward our team members and set forth parameters. We have to have great policies so that our team members can find out how they do something quickly because I don’t think of policies as restrictive. I look at policies as a benefit to all our team members because they find out something exactly how and when and where they are going to do something and move on. If you don’t have it, they are questioning and they are calling their supervisor. They are making wrong decisions, making judgements, and that is just a waste of time and money (Mark)

Last thing we want happening at our events is for one of us to get picked up with a DUI1 on their way home. So we use a little limerick poem about drinking so everyone remembers it. It is memorable and you know they will set that new standard but it wasn’t easy at first (Anna).

As presented, one reason for using policies is to achieve greater effectiveness. However, even with a general agreement for the need of effectiveness, there are surprisingly little agreement on how to define and assess what constitutes effectiveness (Unerman and O'Dwyer 2006; Ebrahim and Weisband 2007; Brown 2008). The quotes from the interviews also demonstrate variations in suggested ways to achieve expected goals and purpose of usage of policies. Several researchers emphasize leadership values in relation to leadership behaviours. For example, Thylefors (1991) argues that leadership style come from a manager’s personality. McGregor (1960) means that leadership values are the personal values the leaders have which influence their leadership behaviour. The question whether or not you are born as a leader or not is still dynamic. Boethius & Ehdin (1996) argues that our ability to lead most of all depend on the fourth competence “our personality”. Boethius & Ehdin continue to declare that in most leadership education, training and work only three areas of competence are being fostered: knowledge, experiences and skills. The most important leadership competence remains being left out. Developing the personal leadership is the key factor in any

1 DUI means Driving under the Influence of Alcohol.

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implementation of management concept and strategies (Boethius & Ehdin, 2006:35). It is feasible to argue that values are of greater importance to a leader than a manager. Boethius & Ehdin (1996:43ff) declares that we are living in a world where we constantly get encouraged and trained to broaden our views and to go beyond our limitations. While doing this, it is also of importance to make it real, concrete, logical, understandable, objective, and generally accepted. The flipside of this is that one tends to ignore everything which is the opposite, irrational, and subjective like ideas, feelings and intuition. Boethius & Ehdin (2006) states that by researching yourself and what your values are, only then can you embrace and maximize your leadership. Aligned with this statement it is also appropriate to emphasize the importance to never assume that what you define as the right thing is the right thing for everyone. The following quote turned out to be the only one demonstrating the insight in this matter.

I mean, there are a lot of values you look for and I think any great leader or manager needs to have firm values, work ethics treating others with great respect, treating others as how they want to be treated and not how you want to treat them because you maybe treat them different than how they want to be treated (Mark).

So I think I am determined and driven that we accomplish things I set a high bar and ask people to step up to that bar. I think I am respectful to people. I set high standard for how we do the work for the qualities of the work. I remember I need to be the example, if I am not working hard, if I am not coming early, if I am not doing this why would anyone in the office do that for me (Anna).

Management skills that I think is important are treating people how I would want to be treated (Emma).

With great leadership and management, communication and tools to implement a vision are vital. It is important to state that great concepts do not stand alone. The balance of great leadership and management when implementing concepts is the key. In this phase, leaders and managers may struggle with balancing their roles. Despite differences within the process behind the purpose for policies as well as other management concepts and models, the valid question to consider is why and for whom are they implemented. If the purpose for policies is to discipline, stimulate and reward your staff, having an understanding of whom your staffs is and what motivates them is of fundamental importance. An L&M potentially views the staff through different eyes and agrees that the appropriate concept probably differs depending on how a leader versus a manager views her staff. Just as important as the staff views the L&M is the L&M’s view of the staff. There are several factors which interplay within the complexity of the relationship between the L&M and the staff and vice versa. Yet the L&M’s personal view of her staff in general will play a great role of importance and explanation in her behaviour.

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Theme 2: MOTIVATION Theme Two concerns what motivates people, which is of great importance for an L&M when adapting organizational and management concepts. Theme Two focuses on identifying and implementing leadership and management styles and traits. Motivation theories such as McGregor’s X and Y Theory, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene Factor, and the Hawthorne Effect are presented. Karasek Demand and Control Model and other models are also found within Theme Two. Focus is also on identifying and implementing leadership and management styles and traits which are presented thoroughly under Theme Four.

2a) Theories and Models McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y essentially provide a better understanding of the relationship between assumptions and actions in regards of motivation. McGregor (1960) argue that behind every managerial decision or action are assumptions about human nature and human behaviour. The assumptions predict what we do in terms of, if I do a then be will result. The values are embedded in largely of the literature on organizations and in much managerial policy and practice (McGregor, 1960). Theory X emphasises the average human being as with no ambition, an inherent dislike of work, and will avoid it if he or she can to which purpose the need for control, direction and punishment from the management and leadership exists. The following quote encompassed what most of Theory Y represents:

I think people want to do a good job. Really, I don’t think they want to come to work everyday feeling they are mediocre at best or worse than that. I do think people want to take pride in their work (Emma).

In the same sense this quote summarizes the essence of Theory Y; it also indicates the criticism toward the theory which is assuming people want to be creative in the same way (Bobic & Davis, 2003). Furthermore, what motivates one as an L&M might not be the same thing that motivates a staff member? Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is a term used frequently in motivation theories. Intrinsic motivation consists of stimulators that lay in the activity or the person self, while extrinsic motivation is about the external factors.

I think it is important to be visible and approachable and really that encouragement and let people know you appreciate their work. I think that keeps morale up (Emma).

Beyond the responsibility as an employer providing a healthy and safe work environment (the first two steps of Maslow’s pyramid of needs), L&M can also empower staff members by emphasizing friendship, compassion, public recognition, and positive feedback. By taking action on the two following steps, social needs and respect, one allows her staff members to reach the final step, self realization. Referring to the definition by Yukl (2002:5), “Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing”, a division reflects between a manager and a leader role of importance in relation to the steps within the

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pyramid. A manager is needed and more appropriate at the first steps of the pyramid. Leadership skills such as providing support and inspiration are suitable at the later steps of the pyramid.

Figure 8: Maslow’s pyramid of needs. Source: Kluytmans (2005:243). Added by Linnea Bengtsson, 2010.

When I came here, there were all largely salary people with no conditions and I started shifting it over to piece wages based with less salary so that is more motivation to sell. In the past, I felt that when salespeople met their goals, they stopped because there are no initiatives for them to keep going. So now that changed. So now the structure is more if you go after high paying customers, the more you will get (Eric).

The quote illustrates a leader’s view of what motivates the staff. The quote can be analyzed with help from Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory, which essentially states that those factors which motivate people at work are not the same factors which de-motivate people. Such factors are separately structured in hygiene factors and motivation factors. The Hygiene factors can make people unfulfilled if they do not meet the expectations: physical working conditions, security and reward. If these factors are good, this does not motivate employees. Motivation factors are recognition, success, and chances for promotion. Money as a factor based on Herzberg’s theory can be considered a doable motivation factor. Money can motivate in terms of being rewarding which is considered a hygiene factor so that if it is not there it de-motivates employees. But if the factor of money in terms of increased salary is provided, it can be viewed as a motivation factor in opportunities for promotion. It is not obvious if this is true for all professions. Also in Herzberg’s theory is the factor of social support. Social support means a leader provides direct support as well as indirect support by creating an atmosphere for social support among the staff members. If the social support is poor, this will lead to dissatisfaction. A high social support in itself is not motivating though. This theory has received a lot of criticism but is still widely used.

Staff does not always like to work together and that is not always a reflection of the manager at least in my philosophy. I think the manager should try to create a culture, create a community within place where people want to work together and can work together. Even though everyone is responsible, it is ultimately the manager or CEO or the directors responsibility (Brian).

Manager

Leader

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The quote above presents thoughts about this topic. It is important to differentiate the social support in terms of social support from the L&M and social support from the staff members when applying the theory. An additional dimension has been added by House (1981) and Johnson (1986) to Karasek and Theorell’s Demand and Control Model. Social support is something that has been proven to have a great impact in regards to avoid stress in a work situation filled with demands. The social support can be an emotional aspect such as feedback, respect and receiving information. Previous conversation regarding management policies and how and why L&M chooses to use them in combination with McGregor and Herzberg’s motivation theories and Karasek and Theorell is in line with the Reinforcement Theory. The Reinforcement Theory states that people will confirm behaviour that is rewarded. People will continue with something if their surrounding is reacting positively on what they execute. This theory looks only at the extrinsic factors (Robbins, 2003). Recognition is a factor indentified in both McGregor’s and Maslow’s theories. It goes hand in hand with the Reinforcement Theory in terms of stimulating continuous progress. As an L&M, one has a great deal of power and control over these factors being transformed in to actions. By doing so, the L&M improves the organizations over all well being. By looking at the Balanced scorecard model for non-profit organizations, one can identity this factor within the square of which the arrow points.

Figure 9: The non-profit Scorecard. Source: Kaplan & Norton (2001). Added by Linnea Bengtsson, 2010.

Another example of an L&M possessing power in terms of providing feedback is the “Hawthorne-Effect”. The Hawthorne Experiment appears to contradict Herzberg’s theory with the claims that poor working conditions are dissatisfying. But when there would be given no more consideration to the employees, it is realistic to anticipate that they were less satisfied in worse working conditions. Social support shows again its importance. By putting reinforcement and recognition on the strategic plan for the organization allows an L&M to have a better chance of staying active on factors helping the total organization’s output. The following quote shows how one of the interviewees views her role and thoughts about rewarding and providing feed back to her staff. Again, the L&M personal view is expressed as a reason for choice of action.

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I can always improve on recognizing good work, thanking people for their extra effort. You know when you are driven and determined you sometimes forget about the people that need to be with you to get there so it is an area I can always improve on (Anna).

Another quote shows a different view of social support and feed back, and again one’s personal standpoint indicates one’s actions.

I sensed that it wasn’t a fun place to work at anymore. People were coming but there was a lot of stressors it wasn’t enjoyable, people weren’t laughing they weren’t talking they weren’t gathering in the back in the kitchen and chit chatting. So we are getting back to having regular staff pot locks and outings and constants and things like that (Brian).

As presented, the interviews presented different ways of showing appreciation and providing feed back. Another way of doing this is expressed by the following quote.

We have a lot of rewards that we do; a ton of rewards (Mark).

As the above quote indicates, reinforcement can also be expressed by rewarding in terms of awards. Hofstede’s chart (2005) shows that countries with a high rate of IVD such as the U.S. and Sweden (scroll further down this chapter for the chart) prefer the individual over the collective. The aspects of how individualism is expressed vary within the U.S. and Sweden. It is appropriate that due to cultural differences, rewarding in terms of awards is more suitable in the U.S. than in Sweden. Perhaps the Swedish “Law of Jante” provides some better understanding in this matter. The absence of performance awards in Sweden in comparisation to the U.S., can best be explained by the culture differences.

The better people feel about their contribution where they work the greater the chance that they will give the greatest service for the citizens (Mark).

Another model which also shows the importance of social support is Antonovsky KASAM model. The model states that good work conditions can develop an employee’s experience of cohesion and in return discourage stress. To achieve this, it is of great importance that the employees understand the situation they are in through simplicity and clarity. Their work situations and tasks require being well-described, structured, and comprehensible by the ones expected to execute. Several times in the interviews, examples demonstrating this conversation were found. The following quote shows the importance of clearness.

I think immediately upon hire you need to let your employees know what is expected of them. If you expect a certain task to be done in a certain way you need to be very clear about it. Employees need to have very clear directions on what their job duties are (Emma).

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You need to be clear about expectations but you also need to invite people who work for you into the process. I think that will help in the end because ultimately you need all your staff doing the work with you and if they don’t buy into it they are not going to be motivated by it (Brian).

As the quote above illustrates it is significant that the employee feels meaningfulness through motivation, engagement and development (Antonovsky, 1991). All these theories indicate the importance for social support which is a great opportunity for the leader and manager. In this case, it is not important whether or not a person is a managers or a leader. The importance of setting clear expectations for the staff members was found consistently throughout the interviews. Throughout the interviews the communication factor was constantly mentioned and often as an area of wish for improvement.

2b) Communication Subcategory Two B conducts analysis regarding communication which is crucial for the thesis statement and main questions. Communication is relevant and can also be viewed as reflection of an L&M traits and styles. The following quotes present expression of the importance and ongoing learning process of communication.

I can always improve my communication skills (Anna)

I think I can never understate communication to being so important…and how you communicate the style how you communicate is all so important (Eric).

Such as concepts, ideas, budgets, primary project those kinds of issues if there is one group that knows more than another group than sometime you are at risk when one group don’t want to do what one group wants to do (Mark).

Much of previous presented material has accentuated communication as a constant and some aspects latent factor for success just as much as the following themes will. Whether or not you are a leader or a manager or both; communication remains crucial for success just as much as communication remains being complex phenomena.

Communication in terms of language can be both favourable and cause obstacles. Two main elements separate language; verbal and non-verbal. Verbal language refers to the articulation of words and Non-verbal language is the invisible language (Herlitz, 2007). According to Mehrabian (1972), 65 % of communication is non-verbal, when face to face communication occurs. This does not imply that the non-verbal is of more significant than the verbal communication but that an interaction of both is needed (Chen et al., 1998). When communicating the choice of words are of importance.

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2c Metaphors

The following quote provides a good foundation of coming conversation regarding metaphors and usage of specific words when communication in the within the non-profit sector.

We talked about sports before and our philosophy is totally different than the sport philosophy. When they win, when others win, then we win. So it is totally different in sports. In not for profit, in public sector you gotta leave your ego at home or leave it somewhere (Mark).

The term team is a frequently used term in sports events. Sports as an analogy and metaphor within the business sector occur constantly. Svenska Dagbladet (2008) states that the term “Att ta rygg” (in Swedish)”Follow the leader” (my translation) is a familiar expression within the world of sports. But in reality it is not in this context where it is mostly used but in the business world. The business world is full of sayings which have equivalence with sports terms. Other common sayings used as metaphors in the business world are: grab the ball, go after the puck of catching the relay baton. These are supposedly synonyms to taking on challenges (Svenska Dagbladet, 2008). Hegemonic masculinity vocabulary is also frequently used when expressing power. It is unusual for stereotype feminine pictures such as empathy, caring etc to represent powerful and organizational success metaphors (Harding’s, 1986 and Acker 1999). Despite the fact that sport metaphors are common and are in many sectors and situation probably beneficial. Choices of metaphors are closely tied into its culture context.

2d Culture Subcategory two d regards Culture in connection to previous paragraph. Variations in culture are apparent and cultural factors and issues are always present. To understand leader and manager styles, the culture of both internal and external factors are relevant. This thesis is written by a person from one western culture, using data collected from another western culture. This context adds an interesting angle which was discussed in the method chapter. In order to achieve the ultimate understanding of communication, culture needs to be incorporated, states Jandt (2007). The following quote demonstrate a view on the U.S. versus Swedish business culture.

I do think in terms of American business and structure and system versus European and Scandinavian given that I travelled quite a lot to Sweden and somewhat in Europe. There are certainly differences in how we manage and provide benefits to our employees, like the whole walking idea, walking as part of your work day. Or your extended vacations and maternity leaves or parentally leaves, all of that, that is really not part of where we are. And I think unfortunately so (Brian).

L&M working for non-profits can expect to be exposed to inter-cultural complexities both internally and externally along with globalization issues. It is needed to understand person’s

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culture in order to ultimately understand a person’s message. Culture and communication need to be studied together (Jandt, 2007). Globalization has led to mobilization which has generated more cultural contacts. Knowledge about cultural backgrounds, values, perspectives, and life styles allows a better opportunity for successful communication (Samovar et. al, 2006). Culture is closely attached to its language. Definitions can be similar but the meaning of it differs due to various culture environments. For example, the word “democracy” has the same definition but differs when implemented in altered countries (Herlitz, 2007). Hofstede, who in 1970 conducted a study involving cultural aspects including employees at IBM, has recognized an individualism index called IVD, Uncertainty Avoidance Index and Power Distance Index (PDI), which is useful in this thesis in terms of analyzing culture aspects of importance for L&M’s participating in a global atmosphere. Hofstede’s study is relevant for this study in terms of a better understanding of various cultures. The results of IVD and Power Distance are epically significant for this thesis. Please note that Sverige means Sweden and USA means the United States of America.

Individualism Index (IVD)

Countries with a high rate of IVD hold tremendous individualism, which means the individual is favoured rather than the collective (Hofstede, 2005).

Figure 4: The Figure illustrates the distance between cultures within an individualism/ collectivism index (Hofstede, 2005:78)

Private life and work life are separated. This type of culture dimension can easily be identified in the U.S. (Erfurth, 2004). One thing that was reflected in the interviews was the fact that work life balance was mentioned in various ways and not in one united U.S. way. Below are two examples demonstrating a variety rather than similarity of how work life balance was expressed.

I think that in return of being a working mom I am able to be flexible and understanding that they have personal lives and sometimes they need to attend to that (Emma).

Some of the staff likes to hang out with each other. That’s fine, that’s great. I am happy they are fun and will I go sometimes but I can’t be their friends from that aspect. I will be friendly to them. I enjoy them but I might have to do something tough and if I get too close then I might not do the tough things I need to do for the business (Anna).

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Uncertainty Avoidance Index

This aspect aims to identify how culture outline affect the motivation to change and adapt to new situations.

Figure 5: The Figure illustrates the distance between cultures in an uncertainty avoidance index (Hofstede, 2005:168)

I think we can tend to get to focused, to chain to our desk, where I don’t see that much in Sweden, or you know everyone got August of or July off, I have no idea what I would do if I had a whole month off. You are more advanced in those areas than we are I think. And also more productive and more innovated (Brian).

Culture differs in regards of tolerance towards ambiguity and the capability to adjust to changes. To measure this, Hofstede created the UAI Index with the meaning to measure how a culture feels threatened by ambiguity and tries to avoid certain situations by creating rules, laws, and structures that control the uncertainty. That Sweden is one of the most adaptable countries in the world is supported by this study. A study focused on comparison between Sweden and the U.S. could better analyze the 15 % difference between the two countries.

Power distance

Another factor which all culture views in a different way is equal opportunities, which in many cases is rigid to handle among individuals. Equal opportunities are viewed as status and social power. An individual can acquire a greater value based on personality, work position, knowledge, age, or income.

Figure 6: The Figure illustrates the distance between cultures in “power distance” index (Hofstede, 2005:43).

The cultures differ also in the sense of the view of status and if it is right or wrong, fair or unfair. Another factor of great importance is in which sense the culture values and appreciates a hierarchy or decentralised structure within a certain group. The index used is PDI. According to Hofstede (2005), countries with a low rate of PDI, such as Sweden and the U.S.,

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prefer small distances of power. The culture in these countries strives to reduce the importance of hierarchy structures and social class distinction. A position of power is only used as a tool to legitimize a certain individual (Lustig, 2006). This is found to be a bit surprising with the expectation that the U.S. and Sweden might have a greater distance between them. Themes One and Two concerned leader and manager relationships to its staff in terms of organizational, management concepts, motivation models, communication and culture aspects.

Theme 3: TEAMS Theme Three focuses on a leader’s and manager’s perspective but also emphasizes the construction of staff and team members. In many regards, the construction of staff and or team within an organization is an expression of its leader’s and manager’s view of the staff versus team. Theme Three presents Teamwork, Teambuilding and Network.

I think there is a difference in today’s world that didn’t exist when I started working so there is a kind of an issue. I don’t think the business knows how to answer this yet but younger people are brought up in a more networked world than the hierarchy world I was originally taught so it changes management’s styles in how to get this network to accomplish the task at hand. For that to happen, it is a lot more about everyone being stimulated around what ever it is that we are trying to get done (Anna).

The quote above illustrates this theme’s content. Teams are nowadays an often used term referring to an organization’s staff. There is little doubt that teamwork, teambuilding, and networking have become more popular and expected within a work environment. Empowerment is a term often related to this topic.

3a) Teamwork

Teams are often established within an organization to replace hierarchy. As opposed to having the construction of a staff producing the work, it will now by the effort of the team to be productive. Whether or not the work produced by the constructed team is successful may differ when the results of the actual team work are considered.

Just before you came here we had a discussion with some of my board members on the school board in the community. We asked our members of business community what is important for them from the public schools and in the top things of what they come up with are work attitude, communication and working in teams. Most of the public schools don’t teach any of that so it is the same thing we this group. Again, communication is important and working in teams, how do you identify that. I mean, you have a major event going on and it is not just the two people handling the event doing it. We need help from people who normally don’t do events because it is 500 people attending. So it is about how to think

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instinctively where you can serve as an effective team member so part of that is my responsibility how to build that up (Eric).

The term teamwork is used in two separate ways. The first one is what the previous quote presents. The actual constellation of a team is often referred to as flat organization structure. This constellation in theory can be suitable for an L&M’s way to structure an organization. The other meaning of the term is the symbolism of the term teamwork. Teamwork is often used as a positive, motivational selling definition of a group of people working together in harmony within a well organized environment. It has more of a modern touch and also indicates a less controlling part from the leader as well the manager. Discussion about whether or not teamwork is something good or something bad continues to be held, frequently in traditions such as Human Relations, Social Techniques and Lean Production. Some point out teamwork absolutely is a good thing for both employees and employers. One of the purposes with teams is to create empowerment (Boethius & Ehdin, 1996:31). Teamwork is often associated with influence, empowerment, engagement, work democratic (Collins, 1999, Randle, 2007). However, if teamwork is actually performed within a team is a separate issue. As a leader and manager, it is important to provide practises for working in teams in order to achieve satisfied outcomes. As an L&M, one can harm her staff by hiding behind the term teamwork, by stepping away from duties by relocating them to the team. It is of great importance to reflect upon where a leader and manager identify herself within the team. It is a risk if the L&M does not play an equal role on the team.

3b) Teambuilding

I think we could do better if we had more ability to do some exercises that were both fun but also enlightening from a team perspective. That would be really beneficial and if we could take that and convert that to a practical application in our work place, that would be beneficial (Eric).

Teambuilding is a popular word within the Organization Development (OD) area. A study among 179 Fortune 500 companies recognizes teambuilding as the most efficient method for personnel development. As the word indicates, teambuilding means to institute and develop well functioning groups within an organization with a mutual goal (Karlöf & Helin Lövingsson, 2003). Literature referred to identifies numerous components for high achieving teams. For example, a coordinator as a moderator, presence of a talented L&M, great mental skill among the team members, well identified coordination and spread of the roles of the team, clear goals, availability to needed competence and skills, trust between the members, good communication climate within the group, effective leadership, appropriate support and expectations from the organization (Karlöf & Helin Lövingsson, 2003 and Belbin, 2010). Based on the interviews, it is within the constellation of staff or teams that one’s standpoint and viewpoint as a leader and/or manager becomes even more evident. Establishing a team within the organization demands clarification from the L&M in terms of how she views her own position as well as her role in relation to the team. According to DuBrin (2004) a manager’s job is to lead, plan, organize and control.

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I think a manager makes sure that you did the task you assigned. Were you here on time to work to your fullest capacity. Where leadership is much broader in terms of motivation and corporate culture, it is kind of the softer side of management and it is the more complete side of management. I would rather have leaders than managers in my organization (Brian).

This is also declared by Kotter (1996) who states that leadership is conceptually broader that management states. Kotter (1988) means that leadership is about the process of moving groups of people in some direction through (mostly) non-coercive means. Yukl (1996) argues that a manager is an occupational title. Yukl also argues that you can be a manager without leading and the opposite can occur as well. Similar arguments were found throughout the interviews.

I think better dynamics for my team environment would be a better improvement for us. Sometimes you got employees that should know better but either don’t or claim they don’t to continue on. I get involved because nothing was done that should have been done without somebody else being involved and I have to sort through that. So, it is not a conflict situation but it is about the logistics of how the pieces come together (Eric).

Anyone can be a leader. You don’t have to be a manager to be a leader. Anybody in any walk of life can be a leader in any given situation but that doesn’t mean you are a manager. And I think a lot of managers end up as managers and they are not good leaders. All your followers are going to look for the leader to take their cues from and if the manager isn’t doing, that someone will step up and do it and then they will follow that person and then you don’t have control of your department (Emma).

You can have three people work side by side all with the same title and one will do just what is needed to be done and one will do a little bit more and one doesn’t care about the job title and does what ever you know they think is going to be successful. So I think they are dramatically different. I think a manger is a title and a leader is an achieved skill (Eric).

Transactional and/or transformational leadership is related to the conversation about teambuilding. According to Flach (2006) transformational leadership can be categorized as socialized charismatic leadership. These managers are distinguished by the way that they generate visions for their organization which they then communicate skilfully. Transactional leadership is normally characterized by a manager-subordinate relation stemming from the manager’s reward-power. This reward-power relationship emphasizes the match between leadership and subordinate interests. Important in Flach’s statement is the fact that one still remains being a manager to a certain degree even if she identifies herself as a transformational leader.

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I think the term manager, at least in our American businesses, is much more. There is a lot of baggage there because it is probably much more rooted, at least in my mind, in manufacturing where “the manager said we had to do this. You got a letter from management. We are much more service based. We don’t manage people so rigidly. I don’t think people want to be managed because I think there is a negative connotation to that word. You are kind of micro managing. It is that micro managing is negative in people’s minds. I think people want to be led. They don’t want to be managed. I don’t even know that I refer to people in the organization as managers. I may say team leader. I may use the more formal title director of whatever (Brian).

I believe that you have to let people do their job…and not micromanage them, if you are giving them a task you shouldn’t hover over them (Emma).

The above quotes are relevant in that people want to be led as opposed to be managed within the types of professions and organizations studied. Evidently no L&M is complete in the sense of being perfect in every aspect of the role they are in. Their strengths and weaknesses vary. However, it is reasonable to expect from an L&M to continuously work on areas of improvement in order to achieve higher accomplishment for the over all organization. It is also important to acknowledge the fact that with power the opportunity to gain respect comes. One thing which occurred with all but one of the interviews, was the challenge to remain present internally and externally of the organization. In a non-profit organization working for the people, the L&M are expected to be visible and approachable externally as well as internally.

3c) Network

Internal networking is in this thesis defined as personnel care, stimulating the staff/team and communicating inside the organization which also is an obligation.

My schedule is so full outside the organization that I don’t have a lot of time to spend inside the organization building relationships and building bonds with the staff. So I would like to improve in that area, taking time to spend with my staff so that is not just a boss staff relationship especially in a small organization (Brian).

This is one of the things that I always see and I don’t know how to solve it. I am sure a lot of staff think I need to be in the office more. And me, I think I need to be out of the office more because I am that representative for the business community that has to be in many different places (Eric).

Balancing the internal and external presence is clearly an area of struggle for the L&M’s. It is suggested that by being an L&M, one can benefit from the contrary position by justifying

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certain actions and priorities. External networking in this thesis is defined as identifying, granting funders and communicating outside the organization; which indeed is an obligation.

If you have a job opening (someone leaves, retires, moves out of town or what ever) you must have a network of people out there. You can’t just throw the ad in the paper and say ok, come and apply. We pick the best. You need to know people. You must have a network going (Mark).

External networking is supported by several L&M’s in the interviews and through several other studies. The importance of networking and possessing contacts is obvious just as much as the fact that people are not born with those privileges is apparent, states Jansson (Belbin articles, 2010). Today it is even a in the Swedish educational plan, on the student to make his or her knowledge and skills visible in the classes. The need to uphold and sell one’s competence begins at an early stage. A social network is of great importance to create relationships within an organization to create better opportunities to organize, coordinate, and act on several of activities (Crossley, 2005).

Certainly the result of the organization in the final determination of weather or not we are effective but the effectiveness of management is not so much about you know when we ´re talking about here and between us and the employees about driving the employees to result you can get the result in a lot of different ways (Anna).

We spent a lot of time on how we treat our customer externally but some employees said we don’t spend as much time on how we treat each other internally so now we have a new committee made up by volunteer employees, about ten of them, setting the standard, creating the standard by which we will treat each other internally (Mark).

Suggested is that that internal networking is viewed as less important than external in terms of an organizations survival, which also can be viewed as manager duty. It is obvious that external networking in terms of securing funding is of great importance for an organization. Useful stand point can be to view internal networking as a necessary complement in order to achieve higher accomplishment where an L&M keeps an incorporated active role within both the external and internal networking. Knowing how to work on the internally relations provides a better foundation for success externally which has a direct impact on an organization’s success.

Theme 4: TRAITS & STYLES

Theme four presents those factors which were identified as having impact on an L&M’s Traits & Styles. Recognized was a leadership and management style which allows the staff and/or team to do their job by the L&M being approachable, visible, setting clear expectations and avoiding uncertainty. How this was implemented within the organization came to differ

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among the interviews. It was also found to be of importance whether or not they viewed themselves as a leader versus a manager. This conversation also continues to discover that an L&M’s view of themselves allowed them to defend and ignore certain task related to the management of the organization. Personal preferences also had an impact.

4a) Approachable and Visible

Being approachable and visible was mentioned by all of the interviews as a major key factor for success of an L&M. The following quote is one of many documented quotes from the empirical data stating this.

I definitely learned by trial and error and I think that I think I am approachable and do think people feel that they can come in and talk to me about things. Although I do think just being a manager in general there is going to be people that like you and people who don’t like you just because of who you are (Emma).

Frequently mentioned as a trait from the L&M was the fact that no one wants to be micromanaged. In conjunction to this was the contention that people want to be led. The fact that no one wants to have “those difficult talks” was mentioned several times in the study. When the same persons who mentions this also are the same persons who applied for the L&M position in which lies responsibility for staff issues, an area of conflict can occur. The noted trait of being approachable differs in this sense when it comes to recognizing and implementing.

We have this challenge sometimes when people don’t want to work with each other. I don’t want to play triangle. I don’t want to say, well A said this and this about b and c and b said so about c and then I am supposed to be in the middle of this triangle. I need a b and c to work out their issues so that we can move forward because it is really about the work we do for others and not about your own personal needs (Anna).

As far as an L&M’s style and trait the quote above illustrates how L&M’s traits have a direct impact on her style in terms of choice of actions taken. The struggle about being visible internally and externally was mentioned among the interviews and was described in this thesis previous paragraph about teambuilding and networks. Whether or not an L&M believes he or she is in the right position to offer needed resources to solve a certain situation of disagreement is not as important as the understanding that it is important to act. The Hawthorne Effect shows that the fact that being studied and given the attention resulted in a higher productivity among the study objects (Angelöw, 1991). Another category that is contrasted with transformational and transactional leadership is laissez-faire leadership behaviour which means non-leadership and the absence of effective leadership (Yukl, 2009). Laissez-faire leadership is the opposite of being visible, a factor which was found in this study to be one key factor for leadership and management.

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4b) Setting Clear Expectations and Avoiding Uncertainty The following two quotes were also presented under theme two when discussing KASAM and other motivation models. These two quotes are suitable for illustration of this subcategory as well, as it shows leadership based on traits and personal view.

I think immediately upon hire you need to let your employees know what is expected of them. If you expect a certain task to be done in a certain way you need to be very clear about it. Employees need to have very clear directions on what their job duties are (Emma).

You need to be clear about expectations but you also need to invite people who work for you into the process. I think that will help in the end because ultimately you need all your staff doing the work with you and if they don’t buy into it they are not going to be motivated by it (Brian).

Research done by Kakabadse and Worrall (1978) shows again that clear job description is found to have a positive affect on job satisfaction. However, setting clear expectations does not only concern the staff or team, it also include the L&M view of him or her self as well. Even though an L&M might not be certain about whether or he or she is a manager, leader, or something else, certain duties remain within the L&M position. By saying this, there are also certain duties that are unquestionably most appropriate for the L&M to coincide in order to avoid unwanted uncertainty. Along with this lies whether or not the L&M emphasizes a team or staff as the organization work structure. As the top manager and leader, there still remains a unique power and control position. Karasek and Theorell (1990:31ff) model on employees, where demand in this context indicates the expected effort from the employee and control indicates the freedom to act and make decisions (model presented on page 18 in this thesis). To simplify the model, the ultimate position to be in contains high demands and high portion of control and support. It is therefore of great importance that a manager and leader stimulate the possibilities for the staff/team to reach that stage. As an L&M, creating an environment where an employee experiences work with a high portion of demands combined with a low portion of control, the risk for stress increases.

Within an organization, an L&M is in position of having great impact by just providing support as opposed to solving or worse, not acting. As explained with the Control and Demand Model, an L&M has tremendous opportunities to be active with his or her duties in terms of both managing and leading the organization. Perhaps most important to remember is that uncertainty and unwanted, unsolved issues will impact the performance of the organization which ultimately determines an L&M’s success. As stated, setting clear expectations and avoiding uncertainty are of importance. How this is taken into action varies in relation to ones leadership and management styles and traits.

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Summary

The initial spider map (page 31 in this thesis), also shown above has figured as a tool in terms of presenting the content of this Result and Analysis Chapter. This Chapter has provided the content from the empirical data combined with theories. What portrays leaders and managers work environment within small non-profit office settings in the U.S. was described by the map as four main themes, where theme one, two three provided the answer to main question number one, and theme four provided answer to main question number two. Recognized were Organization, Motivation, Teams and Traits & Styles. In terms of leadership and management, being approachable and visible was identified throughout the interviews. Within each theme several sub categories were presented and analyzed together with the empirical data and theories and previous studies. Managers and leaders were found to be both as contrary and intangible throughout the thesis. The Conclusion Chapter will summarise the findings presented in this Chapter in a condensed way as well specifically answer the two initial questions.

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Conclusions

This chapter’s intent is to answer the initial thesis statement and questions. The thesis statement is: There are prevailing leader and manager traits and styles that portray the work environment within small non-profit office settings in the U.S. Two additional questions were formed to help expound on the thesis statement. These two questions form the structure of this chapter: 1) Which elements do the leaders and managers identify as important for the organization in terms of leadership and management? 2) Which leadership and management styles and traits are recognized?

1) Which elements do the leaders and managers identify as important for the organization in terms of leadership and management?

Elements identified as important for the organization are:

• Work environment

• Management concepts

• Communication

• Teams and Networking

These elements are all included within the three themes of the Result and Analysis Chapter. The key elements that were identified did not vary depending on if the L&M defined himself or herself as a leader versus manager. In terms of leadership and management, being approachable and visible was identified throughout the interviews as the key factor of importance for the organization. Having great people with good values was mentioned as a key element. By interviewing the L&M of the organization, the answers also included a lot of “I statements” in terms of I as self-importance for the organization. However, the emphasis on the L&M versus the staff or team contribution and importance for the organization varies widely. In one interview, the staff was never referred to as a team nor mentioned as a great deal of importance to the organization in terms of individual contribution.

The right amount of control from an L&M was discussed as an important element. The amount of control varies among those who recognized the control factor as important. Values of the staff and team to work from a leader’s perspective in line with McGregor’s Y theory were found throughout the interviews. The need of control based on the assumption that people are lazy and do not want to work (McGregor’s X theory) was not found. However, the ability to allow the staff function whether or not the L&M was inside or outside the team was discussed.

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An element which was not mentioned to expected extent was the L&M’s position of power related to their rights and responsibility. How to act in terms of responsibility within situations of struggles or disagreements among staff members was not found to be one of the key elements of importance for the organization. Rather, the opposite was identified in terms of letting the staff work on their tasks and potential issues. Elements recognized as important are approachability, visibility, setting clear expectations and avoiding uncertainty. How this is actually implemented and actively met is discussed under the following headline:

2) Which leadership and management traits and styles are recognized?

• Approachable

• Visible

• Setting clear expectations

• Avoiding uncertainty

Recognized was a leadership and management style which allows the staff and or team to do its job by the L&M being approachable, visible, setting clear expectations and avoiding uncertainty. However, in contradiction to the results in Question One, Question Two found more differences in terms of implementing recognized traits and styles. As it was found that recognized traits and styles vary depending on when and if they define their roles as a leader versus a manager, the implementation also comes to differ. The person’s leadership style is partially viewed as personal preferences. Specifically named leadership and management styles in terms of concepts being used was Lean Management and Value Based Leadership. This thesis has found that differences between leadership and management can offer legitimization to leaders and managers in terms of protecting their positions. Often mentioned as a trait from the L&M was the fact that no one wants to be micromanaged. In conjunction to this was the contention that people want to be led. The fact that there is a profound difference between micromanage and manage allows a discussion concerning “hiding” behind titles to be held. An L&M can find it appropriate to justify escaping from certain manager tasks (for example, internal disagreement issues) by saying that “I am leader and people want to be led as opposed to micromanaged.” The fact that no one wants to have “those difficult talks” was mentioned several times in the study. When the same person who mentions this is also the same person who applied for the L&M position in which lies responsibility for staff issues, an area of conflict can occur. The noted trait of being approachable differs in this sense when it comes to recognizing and implementing.

As initiated under the previous headline, setting clear expectations and avoiding uncertainty is of importance. How this is taken into action varies in relation to ones leadership and management styles and traits. As stated, each interviewee presented several leadership styles by describing their management traits and concepts being implemented and favoured. Setting clear expectations and avoiding uncertainty were found to be traits which differ depending upon personal preferences and styles but remain crucial to the organization. One of the respondents mentioned that fact that not everyone react the same. As an L&M, this means that how the standard is set and how one wants to be told, treated, managed or led might not be the

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same for the staff. In addition to this statement, the fact that not all staff reacts the same is also of importance.

Another finding which ties into leadership and management styles and traits as attached to personal preference is choices of books to read. The choice of books that leaders and managers are likely to read lies accordingly to their areas of strength. It was found in the study that L&M acknowledge that there are so many books available that they have to be careful to not waste their time. Only one of the respondents mentioned the need to read and study books in his area of weaknesses. I firmly believe that leaders and managers are more likely to read books within their own areas of interest. A balance of enhancing strengths and minimizing weaknesses is an area of various L&M standpoints.

Summary of conclusion

What portrays leaders and managers work environment within small non-profit office settings in the U.S. were mutually identified whether or not the person defined himself or herself as a leader versus manager. The elements identified were work environment, management concepts, communication, teams and networking. In terms of leadership and management, being approachable and visible was identified throughout the interviews as the key factor of importance for the organization. Managers and leaders were found to be both as contrary and intangible throughout the thesis. Management and leadership skills were discussed as both inherent and learned. Key elements of importance for the organization did not vary depending on if the L&M defined himself or herself as a leader versus manager. However, styles and traits did vary with the L&M depending on when and if they defined their role as a leader or a manager. This thesis has found that differences between leadership and management can offer legitimization to leaders and managers in terms of protecting their positions. Also identified is that leadership styles are partially viewed as personal preferences based on comfort level and experience. In conjunction to this was the contention that people want to be led.

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Discussion

I find it to be a key finding in this thesis that the focus in literature and conversations in regards to the definition of the ultimate leader versus manager also provides the L&M a broader spectrum. The fact that there is a profound difference between micromanage and manage allows a conversation regarding hiding behind titles to be held. An L&M may find it appropriate to justify escaping from certain manager tasks by saying that he or she is a leader and people want to be led as opposed to micromanaged. However, defining oneself as a leader should also include a broader play room for the staff and team to act and perform without a leader interfering. Perhaps it is in this context where the uncertainty is most prevalent. I believe that whether or not one views himself or herself as a leader or manager in the conversation regarding the differences and similarities, allows an L&M to be more flexible in favour for his or her own gain.

Whether or not a manager or leader is contrary or intangible have been found to contain a complex answer. There are certain tasks that remain for both positions and can not be ignored when running an organization. However, the claim to define the two positions as contrary was present when it came to excusing and justifying certain tasks and behaviours.

Evidently no L&M is complete in the sense of being ideal in each aspect of the position they are in. Their strengths and weaknesses vary. However, it is reasonable to expect from an L&M to continuously work on areas of improvement in order to achieve higher accomplishment for the over all organization. It is also important to acknowledge the fact that with power the opportunity to gain respect comes. Whether or not an L&M believes he is in the right position to offer needed resources to solve a certain situation of disagreement is not as important as the understanding that it is important to act. This outlines one of my key findings in this thesis. It was also found that certain personally traits did not change when a position of power was held. The thoughts that leadership and management still today focus on personality and individual focus can be confirmed as accurate with this thesis.

Working with this study, several ideas have emerged for further studies. It was found that the choice of books that leaders and managers are likely to read is within their own area of interest. This is one of the result components I find relevant for further discussion in terms of how to stimulate and reach people outside their comfort zone in a successful way. The fact that rewarding the organization employees is much more frequent in the U.S. than in Sweden, allows further cultural comparisons to be made.

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Figure 7: Source: Linnea Bengtsson, 2010.

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Figure 9: The non-profit Scorecard. Source: Kaplan & Norton (2001). Added by Linnea Bengtsson. Kaplan, Robert S & Norton, David P (2001) Balance without profit. Financial Management.

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Attachment 1 Interview Guide

Interview guide

1) What do you consider to be good management skills?

2) What do you think are the good skills you have as a manager?

Can you please exemplify?

Concrete examples etc

3) What are some management skills that you would like to improve?

4) Can you give an example of when you felt really competent as a manger?

5) How do you know if you are an effective manager?

How can you measure that?

6) Are there any specific organizational or management strategies you implement in this office?

7) Have you attended any leadership/management trainings or seminaries?

8) What do you do to encourage employee morale?

b) Does this office provide any kind of. . .for example free hours a Peak fitness centre,

Discussion: Manager vs. leader.

Different definitions. . . .Can you be one but not the other?

Is there anything you would like to add?