Browsing by Author "Andersson, Victoria"

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Does a changed grading scale affect mean GPA - A descriptive analysis of the 2011 grading scale reform in the Swedish upper secondary school
(2016-07-01) Andersson, Victoria; Bengtsson, Elin; University of Gothenburg/Department of Economics; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för nationalekonomi med statistik
That students receive accurate grades is of high importance, both for employers that want to hire productive workers and for university admission. Grades can also be used as a motivation for students to perform better, and different formulations of the grading scale is likely to have different motivational effects. Still, very little research has been done on the effects of the changed grading scale in the Swedish upper secondary school of 2011. The aim of this thesis is to examine changes in mean grade point average (GPA) in the Swedish upper secondary school after the implementation of the new grading scale, and to examine if there are any indications of the new grading scale having any motivational effects. We find that the mean GPA has decreased after the implementation of the new grading scale. We also find indications on that higher achieving programmes have had a smaller decrease in mean GPA, which could indicate that the new stricter grading scale has had a motivational effect on high achieving students. Keywords: grading practices, effects on GPA, educational incentives, student performance, Swedish upper secondary school
How initiatives towards transforming the Role of Controllers play out – A field study examining the changing role of controllers at Volvo Cars
(2020-07-01) Andersson, Victoria; Enström, Karin; University of Gothenburg/Graduate School; Göteborgs universitet/Graduate School
Background and Purpose: As the digital transformation alters organizations the controlling profession changes and boundaries are blurring. Controllers are moving away from a beancounter image and are evolving into business partners with an organizational value-adding focus. The longevity of development of the role of controllers has its roots in institutional theory where controlling is argued to be an institutionalized profession. Thus, change might not come easily which implies that there is a great need for change initiatives to break the embedded rules and routines. By drawing on the notion institutional entrepreneurship, we aspire to enrich the area of how initiatives are played out to transform the role of controllers. This will be done through performing a field study at a large industrial organization that has close ties to the digital transformation. Methodology: The initial stage of the research began with an extensive literature review. Afterward, a pre-study was conducted to grasp on the most important aspects. The prestudy consisted of two unstructured interviews and we were provided with material from our supervisor at the case company. The literature review and pre-study laid the foundation for the ten subsequent semi-structured interviews. Findings and Analysis: Our study shows that there have been a handful of change initiatives in place to transform the role of controllers. The initiatives are categorized based on the approach taken; Blunt intervention or Competence preparation. The former includes Controlling 3.0, an initiative that has disrupted the way of working in a blunt manner and fosters efficiency. In addition, Performance Steering and Ownership changes have also, to some extent, transformed the role of controllers. The latter, i.e. Competence preparation, constitutes initiatives that take time since they are primarily concerned with developing individuals and their capabilities. These initiatives are for example Educational programs, which have slightly improved the technical competences of controllers. Additionally, Soft Initiatives is another dimension of Competence preparation that concerns employing people with other types of work background. Conclusion: The study brings forth the idea that transforming the role of controllers is a multidimensional work with a mix of radical changes and continuous competence support. Initiatives with characteristics spreading across the two approaches are vital and there needs to be some sort of synchronization and interplay between the initiatives as well as between the internal and external environment. Additionally, there is a great need for having institutional entrepreneurs that champion new ideas which lead to materialization of new rules and routines. Some of the change initiatives are defined as Controlling 3.0, Performance Steering, Educational Programs and Soft Initiatives. Finally, the study highlights the influential role that management has, where their demands could be a starting point for new changes to emerge.
Hur anställda påverkas av företagsförvärv och sammanslagningar -En studie av hur kommunikation, personlig identifiering och integrering påverkar motivation
(2018-06-12) Andersson, Victoria; Hallberg, Sofia; University of Gothenburg/Department of Business Administration; Göteborgs universitet/Företagsekonomiska institutionen
Bakgrund: M&A fick redan på 80-talet stort fokus i managementlitteratur då mer än hälften av alla M&A ansågs vara misslyckade. Misslyckanden beskrevs då bero på att man tappat fokus på mänskliga faktorer som påverkar anställdas motivation. Med detta som bakgrund var det därför intressant att undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkar motivation samt se hur detta förändras genom alla steg i M&A-processen – innan, under och efter. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur anställdas motivation påverkas av M&A samt identifiera om, och i så fall hur, motivationen förändras innan, under och efter M&A. Detta görs genom att i varje period undersöka hur man har kommunicerat, hur personlig identifiering har förändrats samt hur man har integrerat de två företagen. 5 Metod: En intervjustudie gjordes med hjälp av ett företag inom it-konsultbranschen som under 2015 genomförde M&A. Initialt genomfördes en förundersökning i form av en enkät som lämnades till 5 anställda på olika organisatoriska nivåer i företaget. Enkäten följdes sedan upp under en intervju där respondenterna fick möjlighet att utveckla sina svar och ytterligare frågor tillkom för att förtydliga inför analys. Personerna valdes ut baserat på vilket företag de arbetade på tidigare för att få åsikter från båda de tidigare företagen. Resultat och slutsats: Studien visar att anställdas motivation påverkas av M&A samt att olika faktorer har olika stor betydelse i de olika stegen av processen. Studien visar även att man inte kan göra en generalisering och säga att utfallet av M&A påverkas negativt av sänkt motivation då utfallet för undersökt företag anses lyckats trots att anställdas motivation stundtals gått ner under processen.