Ekonomien ammatillisen kehittymisen tarpeet

Tämä pro gradu -tutkielma käsittelee ekonomien ammatillisen kehittymisen tarpeita muuttuvassa maailmassa, jossa ammatillinen erityisosaaminen vanhenee nopeasti. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan ekonomikunnassa koettuja ammatillisen kehittymisen tarpeita substanssin ja oppimistapojen näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää, millaisia ammatillisen kehittymisen tarpeita ekonomeilla on ja miten näihin tarpeisiin voisi vastata. Tutkimuksen pyrkimyksenä on selvittää myös, miten Suomen Ekonomiliitto SEFE voisi auttaa jäseniään kehittymään edelleen ammatillisesti. Aikuisoppimis- ja motivaatioteorioita on olemassa lukuisia. Pro gradun teoriaosassa selvitetään, miten aikuisten oppiminen tapahtuu, mitä se pitää sisällään ja mikä motivoi oppimaan. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan työelämän ekonomeille asettamia vaatimuksia tänään ja tulevaisuudessa. Pro graduni tutkimusmenetelmänä käytettiin sähköistä kyselyä, ja otoksena oli 2000 SEFEn jäsenrekisteristä poimittua ekonomia. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että heterogeenisen ekonomikunnan näkemykset ammatillisen kehittymisen tarpeista ja varsinkin juuri itselle sopivista koulutusmuodoista eroavat melko paljon. Tärkeimmiksi ekonomiosaamisen osa-alueiksi nousivat seikat, joista on hyötyä muuttuvan maailman mukana pysymisessä, kuten valmius omaksua uusia asioita ja ongelmanratkaisutaito. Seuraavaksi tärkeimmäksi osaamisalueeksi nimettiin yleinen talouden tuntemus. Kehittää tulisi paitsi näitä osa-alueita, myös erilaisia johtamistaitoja. Tulosten mukaan suurin este ammatilliselle lisäkoulutukselle on ajan puute. Kyselyn vastauksissa painotettiin koulutuksesta saatavaa hyötyä suhteessa siihen laitettuihin panostuksiin. Kiireessä priorisoidaan työssä oppimista ja lyhyitä täsmäkoulutuksia.

Hvordan øve hellige handlinger? : en profesjonsdidaktisk studie av øving av muntlige ferdigheter innenfor en norsk presteutdanning

How can the holy craft of liturgy be trained? A study of approaches to instruction in training oral skills within education of the Norwegian clergy The theme of this study is the competence of expression of clerics performing liturgies as part of their duties in the Norwegian Lutheran Church. The aim of the study is to find a teaching practice which can raise the competence in oral expression characteristic of the clergy profession. The teaching practice is explored and discussed within the context of the basic education of the clergy. The main thesis is formulated as a question: How can the holy craft of liturgy be trained? An underpinning of the study is that liturgical acts are holy, which gives these performances an aspect of otherness. This otherness constitutes a clear agreement between the students and the teacher, and between the professional and the employer. The pre-understanding of the researcher is that these liturgical oral acts are trainable, and that there is a need and a necessity to train in these skills. Three research questions are elaborated on in the explorative section of the study: • What is characteristic of a competence of expression connected to the profession? • How can this competence of expression connected to liturgical performance be developed? • What is the importance of this competence in the holy craft of liturgy for the development of a cohesive professional self-understanding? The study is based on a research and development project where the researcher as the teacher and students from one specific clergy education in Norway (MF) were the source of the empirical material. The empirical data came from practice with two external observers› logs on the coaching, video observations, of the teacher and the students› texts on the practice under study, which is liturgical performance. The researcher›s log and field notes also provide material for the analysis. This is a qualitative project and an arts education project carried out within an interpretative framework. The theoretical framework has three perspectives: a structural approach based on the system theory of Niklas Luhmann, an epistemological approach discussing forms of knowledge in practice or informing practice and an arts education approach. The results indicate that the competence in oral liturgical performance can be considered a trainable skill, and that this training can be understood as an arts education method of instruction based on meaningful communication, dramaturgical thinking and the development of authenticity. The main result from this study can be considered as articulating and sketching the contours of the field of knowledge where the students embody the meaning of the clergy profession ‒ and this articulation has an innovative potential as knowledge combining experience and theoretical understanding.

Sitouttamisretoriikka yritysviestinnässä

This study focuses on work commitment creation on rhetorical level, that is to say, the rhetorical and linguistic means that are used to construct or elicit worker commitment. The commitment of the worker is one of the most important objectives of all business communication. There is a strong demand for commitment, identification, or adherence to work in various walks of life, although the actual circumstances are often somewhat insecure and shortsighted. The analysis demonstrates that the actual object of commitment may vary from work itself or work organization to one’s career or professional development. The ideal pattern for commitment appears as comprehensive: it contains affective and rational as well as ideological dimensions. This thesis is a rhetorical discourse analysis, or rhetorical analysis with discourse-analytic influences. Primarily it is a rhetorical analysis in which discourses are observed mainly as tools of a rhetorician. The study also draws on various findings of sociology of work and organizational studies. Research material consists of magazines from three and web pages from six different companies. This study explores repeated discourses in commitment rhetoric, mainly through pointing core concepts and recurrent patterns of argumentation. In this analysis section, a semantic and concept-analytic approach is also employed. Companies talk about ideas, values, feelings and attitudes thus constructing a united and unanimous group and an ideal model of commitment. Probably the most important domain of commitment rhetoric is the construction of group and community. Collective identity is constructed through shared meanings, values and goals, and these rhetorical group constructs that can be used and modified in various ways. Every now and then business communication also focuses on the individual, employing different speakers, positions and discourses associated to them. Constructing and using these positions also paints the picture of an ideal worker and ideal work orientation. For example, the so called entrepreneurship model is frequently used here. Commitment talk and the rhetorical situation it constructs are full of tensions and contradictions; the presence of seemingly contradictory values, goals or identities is constant. This study demonstrates tensions like self-fulfilment and individuality versus conformity, and constant change and development versus dependable establishment, and analyses how they are used, processed and dealt with. An important dimension in commitment rhetoric is the way companies define themselves in respect of current social issues, and how they define themselves as responsible social actors, and how they, in this sense, seek to appear as attractive workplaces. This point of view gives rise to problematic questions as companies process the tensions between, for example, rhetoric and action, ethical ideals and business conditions and so on. For its part, the commitment talk also defines the meaning of waged work in human life. Changing society, changing working life, and changing business environments set new claims and standards for workers and contents of work. In this point of view this research contributes to the study of working life and takes part in current public discussion concerning the meaning, role and future of waged work.

Lääkärijohtajuus ja ylilääkäreiden ammatti-identiteetti muuttuvassa asiantuntijaorganisaatiossa

Tämä pro gradu- tutkimus tutkii lääkärijohtajuutta, ylilääkäreiden ammatti-identiteettiä ja sen suhdetta rooleihin ja työmotivaatioon. Tutkimus selvittää myös sitä, mistä ylilääkäreiden asiantuntijuus syntyy ja millainen on asiantuntijalääkäri. Tutkimus toteutettiin haastattelemalla viisi ylilääkäriä, joilla on sekä kliinistä että hallinnollista työtä. Analyysi toteutettiin sisällönanalyysin keinoin. Tutkimustulosten perusteella voidaan todeta, että lääkärijohtajuus perustuu kliiniseen osaamiseen ja ammattitaitoon. Ylilääkäreillä on lukuisia rooleja, joista asiantuntijarooli on yksi tärkeimmistä. Ylilääkärin ammatti-identiteetti perustuu koulutukseen ja työkokemukseen. Ammatillinen kasvu alkaa jo opiskeluaikana ja se osittain tietoista suunnan luomista. Toisaalta ammatti-identiteetti on niin vahva, että se voi muuttua huomaamattomaksi. Lääkärin ja johtajan roolien erilaisuus luo ristiriitaa ylilääkärin ammatti-identiteetille.

Virtual communities : a virtual treasure trove for end-user developers

End-user development is a very common but often largely overlooked phenomenon in information systems research and practice. End-user development means that regular people, the end-users of software, and not professional developers are doing software development. A large number of people are directly or indirectly impacted by the results of these non-professional development activities. The numbers of users performing end-user development activities are difficult to ascertain precisely. But it is very large, and still growing. Computer adoption is growing towards 100% and many new types of computational devices are continually introduced. In addition, other devices not previously programmable are becoming so. This means that, at this very moment, hundreds of millions of people are likely struggling with development problems. Furthermore, software itself is continually being adapted for more flexibility, enabling users to change the behaviour of their software themselves. New software and services are helping to transform users from consumers to producers. Much of this is now found on-line. The problem for the end-user developer is that little of this development is supported by anyone. Often organisations do not notice end-user development and consequently neither provide support for it, nor are equipped to be able to do so. Many end-user developers do not belong to any organisation at all. Also, the end-user development process may be aggravating the problem. End-users are usually not really committed to the development process, which tends to be more iterative and ad hoc. This means support becomes a distant third behind getting the job done and figuring out the development issues to get the job done. Sometimes the software itself may exacerbate the issue by simplifying the development process, deemphasising the difficulty of the task being undertaken. On-line support could be the lifeline the end-user developer needs. Going online one can find all the knowledge one could ever need. However, that does still not help the end-user apply this information or knowledge in practice. A virtual community, through its ability to adopt the end-user’s specific context, could surmount this final obstacle. This thesis explores the concept of end-user development and how it could be supported through on-line sources, in particular virtual communities, which it is argued here, seem to fit the end-user developer’s needs very well. The experiences of real end-user developers and prior literature were used in this process. Emphasis has been on those end-user developers, e.g. small business owners, who may have literally nowhere to turn to for support. Adopting the viewpoint of the end-user developer, the thesis examines the question of how an end-user could use a virtual community effectively, improving the results of the support process. Assuming the common situation where the demand for support outstrips the supply.

Kun vaan rehtori on korvat auki. Koulun kehittämisellä pedagogista hyvinvointia

Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on tutkia perusopetuksen rehtoreiden käsityksiä siitä, miten rehtori johtaa opettajakuntaansa ja koulua oppivan organisaation suuntaan. Tutkimus etsii vastauksia koulun kehittämisen ja pedagogisen hyvinvoinnin yhtymäkohtiin. Tutkimus on perusopetuksen rehtoreiden keskuudessa Salossa tehty tapaustutkimus, jonka tiedonkeruu ajoittui vuosille 2008–2011. Tutkimuksen ensimmäinen osa oli tulevaisuusverstas (n=14). Verstaan pohjalta tutkimukselle syntyi teoreettinen viitekehys ja aineiston keräämistä jatkettiin puolistrukturoidulla teemahaastattelulla (n=14). Tulokset toimitettiin nettiportaaliin, jossa haastatteluun osallistuneilla rehtoreilla oli mahdollisuus kommentoida analyysia. Kun teoriaohjaava analyysi oli saatettu käsitekarttojen muotoon, rehtorit osallistuivat palauteverstaaseen, missä ryhmäkeskustelujen avulla validoitiin tutkimustuloksia. Tutkimuksen taustafilosofia on fenomenologia: se tutkii rehtoreiden havaintoihin ja kokemuksiin perustuvia käsityksiä tutkimusalueesta. Rehtoreiden käsitykset oman koulunsa osaamisen tasosta perustuivat kokemusperäiseen tunteeseen, joka syntyy oman joukon tuntemisesta. Rehtorit eivät pystyneet järjestelmällisesti selvittämään, millaista osaamista ja osaamisen tarvetta koulussa on. Omaan toimintatapaansa rehtorit liittivät tunneälyn, jonka avulla he kokivat voimaannuttavansa opettajakuntaansa opettajien itsensä ja koko kouluorganisaation kehittämisen suuntaan. Tutkimukseen osallistuneilla kouluilla ei ollut kirjoitettuja kehittämis-suunnitelmia ja -tavoitteita, mutta rehtorit sanoivat sellaisten olevan selvillä heillä itsellään. Rehtorit totesivat, että opettajien täydennyskouluttautuminen on lähinnä opettajien omista motivaatioista lähtöisin eikä se yksittäisenä tapahtumana kehitä koulun kollektiivista osaamista ja oppivan organisaation syntymistä. Varsinaisia toimenpiteitä oppivan organisaation kehittämiseksi ei tehty. Rehtorit kuitenkin katsoivat pedagogisen hyvinvoinnin kokemuksen kehittyvän koulussa. Rehtoreiden käsitysten mukaan esimiehen tuki sekä osaamisen kokemus vahvistavat hallinnan tunnetta, joka toimii hyvinvoinnin kokemuksen lähtökohtana. Pedagogisen hyvinvoinnin kokemukseen liittyy turvallinen ja avoin toimintakulttuuri. Rehtorit kuvailivat toimivansa eri opettajien kanssa eri tavoin. Rehtoreiden mukaan osaaminen, hallinnan tunne ja pedagoginen hyvinvointi muodostavat kolmikannan, mikä noudattaa myös aiempia DCS-teoriaan pohjautuvia tutkimustuloksia hallinnan tunteen ja hyvinvoinnin yhteydestä.

Learning information technology business in a changing industry landscape. Introducing Team Entrepreneurship in Renewing Bachelor Education in Renewing Bachelor Education in Information

Speed, uncertainty and complexity are increasing in the business world all the time. When knowledge and skills become quickly irrelevant, new challenges are set for information technology (IT) education. Meta-learning skills – learning how to learn rapidly - and innovation skills have become more essential than single technologies or other specific issues. The drastic changes in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector have caused a need to reconsider how IT Bachelor education in Universities of Applied Sciences should be organized and employed to cope with the change. The objective of the study was to evaluate how a new approach to IT Bachelor education, the ICT entrepreneurship study path (ICT-ESP) fits IT Bachelor education in a Finnish University of Applied Sciences. This kind of educational arrangement has not been employed elsewhere in the context of IT Bachelor education. The study presents the results of a four-year period during which IT Bachelor education was renewed in a Finnish University of Applied Sciences. The learning environment was organized into an ICT-ESP based on Nonaka’s knowledge theory and Kolb’s experiental learning. The IT students who studied in the ICT-ESP established a cooperative and learned ICT by running their cooperative at the University of Applied Sciences. The students (called team entrepreneurs) studied by reading theory in books and other sources of explicit information, doing projects for their customers, and reflecting in training sessions on what was learnt by doing and by studying the literature. Action research was used as the research strategy in this study. Empirical data was collected via theme-based interviews, direct observation, and participative observation. Grounded theory method was utilized in the data analysis and the theoretical sampling was used to guide the data collection. The context of the University of Applied Sciences provided a good basis for fostering team entrepreneurship. However, the results showed that the employment of the ICT-ESP did not fit into the IT Bachelor education well enough. The ICT-ESP was cognitively too tough for the team entrepreneurs because they had two different set of rules to follow in their studies. The conventional courses engaged lot of energy which should have been spent for professional development in the ICT-ESP. The amount of competencies needed in the ICT-ESP for professional development was greater than those needed for any other ways of studying. The team entrepreneurs needed to develop skills in ICT, leadership and self-leadership, team development and entrepreneurship skills. The entrepreneurship skills included skills on marketing and sales, brand development, productization, and business administration. Considering the three-year time the team entrepreneurs spent in the ICT-ESP, the challenges were remarkable. Changes to the organization of IT Bachelor education are also suggested in the study. At first, it should be admitted that the ICT-ESP produces IT Bachelors with a different set of competencies compared to the conventional way of educating IT Bachelors. Secondly, the number of courses on general topics in mathematics, physics, and languages for team entrepreneurs studying in the ICTESP should be reconsidered and the conventional course-based teaching of the topics should be reorganized to support the team coaching process of the team entrepreneurs with their practiceoriented projects. Third, the upcoming team entrepreneurs should be equipped with relevant information about the ICT-ESP and what it would require in practice to study as a team entrepreneur. Finally, the upcoming team entrepreneurs should be carefully selected before they start in the ICT-ESP to have a possibility to eliminate solo players and those who have a too romantic view of being a team entrepreneur. The results gained in the study provided answers to the original research questions and the objectives of the study were met. Even though the IT degree programme was terminated during the research process, the amount of qualitative data gathered made it possible to justify the interpretations done.

Nurse Competence of Graduating Nursing Students

The competence of graduating nursing students is an important issue in health care as it is related to professional standards, patient safety and the quality of nursing care. Many changes in health care lead to increased demand with respect to nurses’ competence as well the number of nurses. The purpose of this empirical study was to i) describe the nurse competence areas of nursing students in Europe, ii) evaluate the nurse competence of graduating nursing students, iii) identify factors related to the nurse competence, and to iv) assess the congruence between graduating nursing students’ self-assessments and their mentors’ assessments of students’ nurse competence. The study was carried out in two phases: descriptive phase and evaluation phase. The descriptive phase focused on describing the nurse competence areas of nursing students in Europe with the help of a literature review (n=10 empirical studies and n=4 additional documents). Thematic analysis was used as the analysis method. In the evaluation phase, the nurse competence with particular focus on nursing skills of graduating nursing students (n=154) was assessed. In addition, factors related to the nurse competence were examined. Also, the congruence between graduating nursing students’ self-assessments and their mentors’ assessments of students’ nurse competence was evaluated by comparing graduating nursing students’ self-assessments with the assessments by their mentors (n=42) in the final clinical placement in four university hospitals. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Based on the results, the nurse competence of nursing students in Europe consists of nine main competence areas: (1) professional/ethical values and practice, (2) nursing skills and interventions, (3) communication and interpersonal skills, (4) knowledge and cognitive ability, (5) assessment and improving quality in nursing, (6) professional development, (7) leadership, management and teamwork, (8) teaching and supervision, and (9) research utilization. Graduating nursing students self-assessed their nurse competence as good. However, when graduating nursing students’ nurse competence was assessed by their mentors, the results were poorer. Readiness for practice based on nurse education, pedagogical atmosphere on the ward, supervisory relationship between student and mentor and being in paid work in health care at the moment of the study were the most significant factors related to the nurse competence. Conclusions: Nurse competence can be evaluated with a scale based on self-assessment, but other evaluation methods could be used alongside to ensure that nurse competence can be completed and evaluated critically. Practical implications are presented for nurse education and nursing practice. In future, longitudinal research is needed in order to understand the development of nurse competence during nurse education and the transition process from a nursing student to a professional nurse.

Ammatillinen toimijuus työelämän muutosvirrassa

Katja Vähäsantasen väitöskirja Vocational teachers' professional agency in the stream of change (Jyväskylän yliopisto 2013).

Milleniaalit tietotyössä – organisaatiositoutumisen näkökulmia henkilöstöpalvelualan yrityksessä

Tämän tutkielman tavoitteena on selvittää, mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat henkilöstöpalvelualan yrityksessä työskentelevien y-sukupolveen kuuluvien tietotyöläisten organisaatiositoutumiseen ja näin löytää keinoja edistää tämän henkilöstöryhmän sitoutumista. Päätutkimuskysymys on ”Miten tietotyötä tekevän milleniaalin organisaatiositoutumista voidaan edistää?”. Tutkielma on kvalitatiivinen tapaustutkimus, aineisto kerättiin puolistrukturoiduilla haastatteluilla. Aineisto analysoitiin teoriaohjaavasti organisaatiositoutumiseen, milleniaaleihin ja tietotyöhön liittyvää teoreettista viitekehystä tukena käyttäen ja abduktiivista päättelyä hyödyntäen. Tutkimustulosten mukaan tietotyötä tekevä milleniaali on sitoutunut työhönsä, työyhteisöönsä ja organisaatioon. Organisaatiositoutuminen muodostuu useammasta kuin yhdestä komponentista ja on aineiston mukaan muodoltaan niin affektiivista, normatiivista kuin jatkuvaakin. Nykyorganisaatiossa sitouttavat erityisesti hyvä esimiestyö, työn haastavuus, mahdollisuudet työnkuvan monipuolistamiseen, uramahdollisuudet ja ammatillisen kehittymisen tukeminen. Tulevaisuudessa tietotyötä kohdeyrityksessä tekevät milleniaalit toivovat, että organisaatio panostaisi sitouttamisen edistämiseksi erityisesti yksilön arvostamiseen, työntekijöiden ammatilliseen kehittymiseen, urasuunnitteluun, palkitsemiseen, esimiestyöhön ja yhteisöllisyyteen.