The article presents the empirical research results conducted in a Swedish care organization for elderly and handicapped. The objective of the research was to empirically assess the implementation and practices of a quality system (ISO 9000) from an organizational change and development perspective.

  Svenska industriföretag, tjänsteföretag och offentliga organisationer väljer i allt högre utsträckning att bedriva verksamhet i projektform. Projektet som arbetsform har gått från att ha varit något av en undantagslösning för unika insatser till att idag framstå som en ”grundbult” i sättet att organisera stora delar av verksamheten inom företag och organisationer. Därmed har också behovet av kunskaper om projektstyrning och projektorganisation ökat dramatiskt. I denna bok behandlas ledning, organisering och lärande i olika typer av projekt. Genom att boken tydligt tar sin utgångspunkt i konkreta fallbeskrivningar och kopplar dessa till aktuell organisations- och projektforskning, lämpar den sig som lärobok på projekt- och organisationskurser inom ekonom-, ingenjörs-, civilingenjörs- och systemvetarutbildningar vid universitet och högskolor. Den är också väl lämpad att användas som kursbok i företagsintern vidareutbildning, och på universitetens externa kurser och ledarskapsprogram. Boken är även intressant för var och en som på egen hand vill fundera över projektorganisationens för- och nackdelar.

   Svenska industriföretag, tjänsteföretag och offentliga organisationer väljer i allt högre utsträckning att bedriva verksamhet i projektform. Projektet som arbetsform har gått från att ha varit något av en undantagslösning för unika insatser till att idag framstå som en ”grundbult” i sättet att organisera stora delar av verksamheten inom företag och organisationer. Därmed har också behovet av kunskaper om projektstyrning och projektorganisation ökat dramatiskt. I denna bok behandlas ledning, organisering och lärande i olika typer av projekt. Genom att boken tydligt tar sin utgångspunkt i konkreta fallbeskrivningar och kopplar dessa till aktuell organisations- och projektforskning, lämpar den sig som lärobok på projekt- och organisationskurser inom ekonom-, ingenjörs-, civilingenjörs- och systemvetarutbildningar vid universitet och högskolor. Den är också väl lämpad att användas som kursbok i företagsintern vidareutbildning, och på universitetens externa kurser och ledarskapsprogram. Boken är även intressant för var och en som på egen hand vill fundera över projektorganisationens för- och nackdelar.

Purpose – Parallel with increasing awareness of importance in learning during the last few decades, numerous theorists from various disciplines have tried to shape ideas concerning learning seen from their perspectives. One negative consequence of these efforts has been observed as increased confusion and disputes among the theorists as well as practitioners due to “lacking of common ground” in their search on learning. Hence, the aim of this paper is to explore some critical aspects of learning, among others, root thinking, meaning of learning, nature, processes and outcomes of learning in order to identify possible common ground(s) in between various schools of thought. Design/methodology/approach – Through a literature survey the characteristics of learning in terms of the processes, the nature and the outcomes of learning are investigated. Besides the chosen contemporary literature on learning, ideas and philosophies of John Dewey (1859-1952) and Confucius (551-479, BC) have been explored in order to identify possible root thinking in the West and in the East. Findings – It is found that not much new knowledge has been accumulated since Confucius and despite multiple schools of thought in current research, the majority of western theorists base their ideas on Dewey's thinking. The meta learning wheel has been suggested to be a common ground for learning. Originality/value – The originalities of this paper are: both contemporary as well as classic literatures in learning are investigated.

This paper presents the empirical research results conducted in a Swedish care organization for elderly and handicapped. The objective of the research was to empirically assess the implementation and practices of a quality system (ISO 9000) from an organizational change and development perspective. The empirical data were collected through multiple methods; interviews were carried out with key-persons and leadership in the organisation and surveys were conducted to all employees. Interactive methods have been applied to various groups in the organisations e.g., directors, supervisors, and the leadership of the quality project and the local politicians. The empirical findings indicate, among others, that the implementation processes were received and perceived differently in the different parts of the care organisation due to different leadership strategies and employee involvement policies. Other critical factors such as acceptance, resistance, motivation, commitment, the role of leadership, learning possibility, etc. have also been investigated, analysed and discussed. Finally some recommendations on how to approach organisational change as well as strategies for implementing a quality system in the care sector are presented.

Initiated by world best seller books of Ezra Vogel's Japan as Number one in 1979, William Ouchi's Theory Z in 1980 and Pascale & Athos The Art of Japanese Management in 1981, a huge number of articles and books dealing with Japanese management have been published during the past twenty years. Same interest has been paid to Total Quality Management, when Western countries have found out that TQM was one of main drivers for the Japanese business success. Parallel with this great interest on Japanese management practises, several new management terminologies based on Japanese managerial practises have been introduced such as CWQC (Company Wide Qualily Control), Quality Circles, suggestion Systems, Just-in time, Kanban System, Kaizen, Hoshin Planning (Policy Deployment), QFD (Quality Function Deployment), Lean Production / Lean Thinking, Toyota Productian System etc.

In this respect it is argued through the thesis that there are new trends of a paradigm shift in management theories and practises partly stimulaled by Japanese management approaches. The paradigm shift in management theories and practises is coneecned from rather mechanistic and bureaueratic organisational approaches, which focus on 'hard ware', to a more human oriented and holistic approach, which focus on 'software'.

A literature survey of three selected modern management theories - TQM, The Leaming Organisation and Personal Leadership - shows the new trends of a paradigm shifL Furthermore i t is argued that the new trends of a paradigm shift are strongly affected by the successful Japanese managerial approach, especially by the Company Wide Quality Control approach, which was forerunner for establishing theory of TQM. The Japanese approach of Company Wide Quality Controlis a kind of synthetic management theory, shaped through interaction processes between the rational and logical Western way of thinking and the Eastern way of a rather holistic and people oriented way to manage organisations.

Through the research it is suggested, that one of the possible roots of the paradigm shift is the three East Asian philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. The elements of those philosophies were embedded in the Japanese practises of Company Wide Quality Control, and later on in the theory of TQM. It is argued that TQM was one of the early initiating managerial approaches, which showed the new trends of a paradigm shift. Due to interactions between theoreticians and practitioners in managerial areas, the TQM movement has had an effect to other management theories. Because of this background there are also some logical links between the selected modem management theories and ancient Asian philosophies.

The overall aim of this dissertation is to study and to explore the human dimension in TQM with focus on learning, training and motivation. The exploration of the evolution of TQM depict the theory of TQM as shaped from a narrow mechanistic apporach to a more humanistic apporach with focus on the human dimension thgough Japanese managerial practices inspired by ideas from western theoreticians.

One contribution of this dissertation lies in a discussion and identification of TQM as an ongoing process of fusion between western and eastern ways of seeing, interpreting, understanding, thinking and doing. As a result of this ongoing process of fusion, the synthetic theory of TQM came to embrace both a rationai/logical approach and a holistic/dynamic approach. The rationai/logical approach is a heritage from the western tradition transmitted by western theoreticians' ideas, and the holistic/dynamic/ humanistic approach is a heritage of eastern tradition, transmitted by Japanese practices. The strength of TQM, which at the same time can be a disadvantage, lies in this dual or multiple frameworks of an objectivist-rationalistic and a subjectivist-relativistic view. The framework of TQM is, thus, holistic as well as atomistic/reductionistic, human as well as mechanistic, and dynamic as well as static.

Another contribution of this dissertation is the development of an alternative model for understanding human motivation. The 'Trinity model'¨is a step to incorporate spiritual needs into models of human motivation inspired by, my interpretation of, the view of learning and training in the TQM framework. The proposed motivaton model is in accordance with three overall and innate desires, and portrays human motivation as driven by biological, psychological and spiritual desires/need. The spiritual dimension comprises ethical elements, like trust, faurness, openness, helpfulness, searching for and creating meaning, which earlier have not been explicit recognized in models for human motivation.

The purpose of this article is to present a conceptual framework useful for understanding and analyzing the management and organization of the execution phase of inter-firm industrial projects. On the basis of an exploratory case study of a project within the ABB (Asea Brown Boveri) Group, we develop two concepts. One is pacing, which focuses on the mutual coordination of activities between client and contractor. Pacing refers to the temporal orientation of the parties involved in inter-firm projects. The other concept is matching hierarchies, which focuses on how the interacting parties establish joint-decision making in order to handle overall project-related dependencies and conflicts. The suggested concepts are linked to each other in the sense that a configuration with matching hierarchies provides the arena for solving pacing problems, while, on the other hand, the pacing process provides the mechanism for linking hierarchies.

An increasing number of articles in management journals has recognised knowledge as being the organisation's prime resource, and particular interest has been given to the ways in which knowledge is managed by organisations in order to stay competitive. Management of knowledge incorporates aspects related to the question of how to co-ordinate knowledge held by highly specialised individuals and projects are often considered to be a solution to this problem of coordinating different knowledge bases. Therefore, this study, exploring the processes involved in the establishment and maintenance of collective competence, is undertaken in the context of an interdisciplinary development project. Learning processes in highly constrained projects are also explored.

The findings suggest that collective competence is reached from the basis of two different logics, an interacting logic and an interrelating logic, each associated with a number of different processes. These processes make possible the creation of a representation of the context that forms the basis of each individual's contribution to project work. 

  Koncernredovisning är ett fenomen inom redovisning som uppstod för över hundra år sedan. De första sjuttio åren präglades av en stor och kreativ variation av metoder och modeller. Under de senaste tjugo åren har praxis inom området blivit mindre spretande, men än idag förekommer ett antal olika modeller och varianter för koncernredovisning.Denna bok baserar sig på de olika teorier som finns bakom de modeller som idag förekommer i ett nationellt och internationellt perspektiv. För att bättre knyta an till de färdigheter som en bokföringskunnig person har i redovisning introduceras ett nytt arbetssätt med debet- och kreditposteringar.

This book is written within the frame of the Master education in International Accounting at Linköpings University. The differences and similarities in financial accounting between the Nordic countries are illuminated in a comparative study. The authors illustrate the different situations in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and also seek to explain the causes of the similarities and differences between the countries- financial accounting practices.

Accounting harmonisation is a very actual topic on the financial reporting agenda, both in practice and in academics due to the new EU requirements for public companies financial reporting, as from 2005. Forces that have an effect on haronisation and accounting diversity are discussed in orde to create a better udnerstanding of international accounting. Also standard setting organizations structures and processes are elaborated.

Från och med 2005 skall alla publika företag inom EU följa samma redovisningsregler som utvecklats av International Accounting Standards Board och införts av Europeiska Unionen. De nya reglerna betyder stora förändringar för externredovisningen i publika företag. Denna bok presenterar och analyserar de nya redovisningsregler som införts. Under hösten 2004 genomfördes en kurs i avancerad externredovisning med juridiskt perspektiv på magisternivå vid Linköpings universitet. Den pedagogiska idé som kursen vilade på var att utnyttja den samlade kunskap som studenter och lärare genererade under kursen. Denna kunskap är dokumenterad i denna bok.

This book is written within the frame of the Master education in International Accounting at Linköpings University. The differences and similarities in management accounting between the Nordic countries are illuminated in a comparative study. The authors illustrate the different situations in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and also seek to explain the causes of the similarities and differences between the countries- management accounting practices.

Nordic countries are often viewed as a common group for accounting purposes due to cultural similarities and a high degree of economic integration. Actual accounting practice, however, varies substantially among the Nordic countries, both theoretically and in practice. A major early step in standardization of accounting practice across the EU is to identify reasons for differences in evolution. This study examines social and institutional factors using the analytical methods of similarities and indirect method of differences developed by the classic Economics writer John Stuart Mill. The results indicate that certain institutional factors are strong forces influencing the accounting practises of the Nordic countries. Notably, the influence of key scholars perpetuated German influence on accounting practice long after the end of World War II when other German influence on society declined markedly. This influence has now been replaced by that of the EU and other international organizations such as the IASB. 

Background:  The  co-operative  building  society  is  getting  more  attractive  on  the  market;  its purpose  is  to provide  its members a  living worth  its price. The monthly  fees  from  the building society contributes  to cover all  the expenses for  the co-operative building society, which means that  a members  living  expenses depends on how  these  costs  are handled. This  thesis  examines how the co-operative building is managed to fulfill its member’s economic interest.  

Purpose:  The  purpose  of  this  thesis  is  to  examine  how  the  members’  economic  interest  is fulfilled in a co-operative building society, with focus on the revenues and costs which influence the fee to the members.  

Methodology: The thesis is written with a qualitative approach, existing theories have been used to  examine  the  collected  empirical  material.  The  empirical  material  is  collected  from  a  co-operative building society, where internal documents and financial reports have been used.  

Results:  The  result  of  the  thesis  is  that  the members’  economic  interest  in  the  examined  co-operative  building  society  is  not  as  well  fulfilled  as  in  other  compared  co-operative  building societies.  Another  result  is  that  there  is  generally  no  connection  between  the  price  for management and the operating costs.