Työsuhteen päättäminen taloudellisilla, tuotannollisilla tai toiminnan uudelleenjärjestelyistä johtuvilla perusteilla

Työelämässä on työsuhteen päättämisperusteena käytetty yleisimmin taloudellisia, tuotannollisia tai toiminnan uudelleenjärjestelyistä johtuvia perusteita. Näistä kolmesta perusteesta käytetään myös nimitystä kollektiiviperusteet. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, minkälaiset kollektiiviset irtisanomisperusteet katsotaan hyväksyttäviksi. Tutkimus on toteutettu lainopillisena tutkimuksena ja se perustuu oikeustapauksista tehtyihin päätelmiin. Tutkimuksen perusteellavoidaan todeta, että yleisimmin irtisanomisperusteena -käytetään taloudellista ja tuotannollista irtisanomisperustetta yhdessä vaikka niitä voisi käyttää erikseenkin. Taloudellisella perusteella irtisanottaessa syynä on yleensä palkkakustannusten pienentämistarve. Tuotannollisella perusteella irtisanottaessa kyse taas on toimintojen lakkauttamisesta tai yhdistämisestä Toiminnan uudelleenjärjestelyistä johtuva peruste on jäänyt vähemmälle huomiolle, sitä ei esiinny lainkaan oikeustapauksissa. Tämän vuoksi siitä ei voi tuoda esiin mitään yleistä syytä irtisanomiselle.

Applying collective intelligence to idea evaluation at the front end of innovation

The study focuses on the front end of innovation process. Due to changes in innovation policies and paradigms customers, users and shopfloor employees are becoming increasingly important sources of knowledge. New methods are needed for processing information and ideas coming from multiple sources more effectively. The aim of this study is to develop an idea evaluation tool suitable for the front end of innovation process and capable of utilizing collective intelligence. The study is carried out as a case study research using constructive research approach. The chosen approach suits well for the purposes of the study. The constructive approach focuses on designing new constructs and testing them in real life applications. In this study a tool for evaluating ideas emerging from the course of everyday work is developed and tested in a case organization. Development of the tool is based on current scientific literature on knowledge creation, innovation management and collective intelligence and it is tested in LUT Lahti School of Innovation. Results are encouraging. The idea evaluation tool manages to improve performance at the front end of innovation process and it is accepted in use in the case organization. This study provides insights on what kind of a tool is required for facilitating collective intelligence at the front end of innovation process.

Creating possibilities for collective creativity : Brokerage Functions in Practice-Based Innovation

In the network era, creative achievements like innovations are more and more often created in interaction among different actors. The complexity of today‘s problems transcends the individual human mind, requiring not only individual but also collective creativity. In collective creativity, it is impossible to trace the source of new ideas to an individual. Instead, creative activity emerges from the collaboration and contribution of many individuals, thereby blurring the contribution of specific individuals in creating ideas. Collective creativity is often associated with diversity of knowledge, skills, experiences and perspectives. Collaboration between diverse actors thus triggers creativity and gives possibilities for collective creativity. This dissertation investigates collective creativity in the context of practice-based innovation. Practice-based innovation processes are triggered by problem setting in a practical context and conducted in non-linear processes utilising scientific and practical knowledge production and creation in cross-disciplinary innovation networks. In these networks diversity or distances between innovation actors are essential. Innovation potential may be found in exploiting different kinds of distances. This dissertation presents different kinds of distances, such as cognitive, functional and organisational which could be considered as sources of creativity and thus innovation. However, formation and functioning of these kinds of innovation networks can be problematic. Distances between innovating actors may be so great that a special interpretation function is needed – that is, brokerage. This dissertation defines factors that enhance collective creativity in practice-based innovation and especially in the fuzzy front end phase of innovation processes. The first objective of this dissertation is to study individual and collective creativity at the employee level and identify those factors that support individual and collective creativity in the organisation. The second objective is to study how organisations use external knowledge to support collective creativity in their innovation processes in open multi-actor innovation. The third objective is to define how brokerage functions create possibilities for collective creativity especially in the context of practice-based innovation. The research objectives have been studied through five substudies using a case-study strategy. Each substudy highlights various aspects of creativity and collective creativity. The empirical data consist of materials from innovation projects arranged in the Lahti region, Finland, or materials from the development of innovation methods in the Lahti region. The Lahti region has been chosen as the research context because the innovation policy of the region emphasises especially the promotion of practice-based innovations. The results of this dissertation indicate that all possibilities of collective creativity are not utilised in internal operations of organisations. The dissertation introduces several factors that could support collective creativity in organisations. However, creativity as a social construct is understood and experienced differently in different organisations, and these differences should be taken into account when supporting creativity in organisations. The increasing complexity of most potential innovations requires collaborative creative efforts that often exceed the boundaries of the organisation and call for the involvement of external expertise. In practice-based innovation different distances are considered as sources of creativity. This dissertation gives practical implications on how it is possible to exploit different kinds of distances knowingly. It underlines especially the importance of brokerage functions in open, practice-based innovation in order to create possibilities for collective creativity. As a contribution of this dissertation, a model of brokerage functions in practice-based innovation is formulated. According to the model, the results and success of brokerage functions are based on the context of brokerage as well as the roles, tasks, skills and capabilities of brokers. The brokerage functions in practice-based innovation are also possible to divide into social and cognitive brokerage.

Collective Action in Commons: Its Diverse Ends and Consequences

Collective Action in Commons: Its Diverse Ends and Consequences explores new ways in which collective action theories can contribute to our understanding of natural resource management, especially the management of common-pools. Combining classical collective action theories and lessons from earlier empirical works, the study shows that cooperation among resource users is not only a possible solution to “the tragedy of the commons”, but it can be a part of the problem as well. That is, successful cooperation may increase the likelihood of resource depletion, for example, through more effective resource utilization or collusion against sanctioning and monitoring systems. The study also explores how analytic narratives can be used to tell the story behind problems of resource use and their solutions, including the diverse roles of cooperation.

The collective dimension of freedom of religion or belief in international law : the application of findings to the case of Turkey

Pertinent domestic and international developments involving issues related to tensions affecting religious or belief communities have been increasingly occupying the international law agenda. Those who generate and, thus, shape international law jurisprudence are in the process of seeking some of the answers to these questions. Thus the need for reconceptualization of the right to freedom of religion or belief continues as demands to the right to freedom of religion or belief challenge the boundaries of religious freedom in national and international law. This thesis aims to contribute to the process of “re-conceptualization” by exploring the notion of the collective dimension of freedom of religion or belief with a view to advance the protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief. The case of Turkey provides a useful test case where both the domestic legislation can be assessed against international standards, while at the same time lessons can be drawn for the improvement of the standard of international review of the protection of the collective dimension of freedom of religion or belief. The right to freedom of religion or belief, as enshrined in international human rights documents, is unique in its formulation in that it provides protection for the enjoyment of the rights “in community with others”.1 It cannot be realized in isolation; it crosses categories of human rights with aspects that are individual, aspects that can be effectively realized only in an organized community of individuals and aspects that belong to the field of economic, social and cultural rights such as those related to religious or moral education. This study centers on two primary questions; first, what is the scope and nature of protection afforded to the collective dimension of freedom of religion or belief in international law, and, secondly, how does the protection of the collective dimension of freedom of religion or belief in Turkey compare and contrast to international standards? Section I explores and examines the notion of the collective dimension of freedom of religion or belief, and the scope of its protection in international law with particular reference to the right to acquire legal personality and autonomy religious/belief communities. In Section II, the case study on Turkey constitutes the applied part of the thesis; here, the protection of the collective dimension is assessed with a view to evaluate the compliance of Turkish legislation and practice with international norms as well as seeking to identify how the standard of international review of the collective dimension of freedom of religion or belief can be improved.

Collective Memory Embodied in Poetry as Poison. The Mnemonic Role of Romantic Poets Discussed on the Basis of Adam Mickiewicz’ Konrad Wallenrod and Forefathers (Part III)

This thesis constitutes an interdisciplinary approach to the Polish Romanticism combining literature studies with memory studies, nationalism research and psychoanalysis. This phenomenon-based study attempts to answer the question, how the Polish national poet Adam Mickiewicz (1798–1855) – or more exactly the implied authors in his works – perceived the role of poetry in mnemonic terms and how it changes in course of time. Consequently, ‘memory in literature’ (Astrin Erll and Ansger Nünning) is discussed here. Two pieces of writing by Mickiewicz – Konrad Wallenrod [1828] and the third part of Forefathers [1832], where a bard respectively a poetic genius appears – are seen as meta-texts defining goals of poets in time of the political non-existence of a state. Poetry is supposed to keep memory of the glorious past alive, kindle the love for the motherland, support the collective identity of a group and initiate a liberation movement. Poets function as memory guards, leaders of the nation and prophets. Thus, literature is a medium of collective memory – it stores crucial contents, transmits them and acts as a cue. Nevertheless, shifting the focus from the community towards well-being of individuals, which is consistent with the postmodern thinking, the impact that poetry has on members of a given memory culture (Jan Assmann) can be described in ‘vampiric’ terms (Maria Janion). Poetry embodying collective memory may be compared to ‘poison’, ‘infecting’ people with a nationalistic way of thinking to their disadvantage as far as their personal lives are concerned.

Collective redundancies in the State of California of the United States and in the Republic of Finland. Procedures and Provisions

Video games industry has recently bonded California and Finland in a new way and where the employers are recruiting they also need to be aware of the provisions and procedures related to terminations. In general, collective dismissals are on a relatively high level both in Finland and in California. In California, collective redundancies are regulated under the WARN law. The WARN obligates employers with 75 or more employees to give a 60-day notice prior to a mass lay off and some other similar events. Employers with less than 75 employees are free to administer the terminations without the WARN notice period. Generally, the California at-will presumption allows employment relationship to be terminated any day with or without reason and without notice period if conditions of collective agreements or employment contract do not limit this right. Termination cannot anyhow be in violation of the anti-discrimination law. In Finland the termination related provisions are part of the Employment Contracts Act and the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings. Collective redundancies are allowed under financial and production related grounds. Small employers with less than 20 employees follow the termination provisions of the Employment Contracts Act and are obligated to inform the employee to be terminated on the details of the termination itself and also the services of the Employment and Economic Development Office. Employers with 20 or more employees are to initiate co-operation procedure under the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings when reducing personnel. The co- operation negotiations are to inform employees on the employer’s plans and financial situation as well as to involve them in the decision making regarding the terminations. The employer’s duty to inform the employees of the services of Employment and Economic Development Office needs to be fulfilled also in terminations under the co-operation procedure. Discrimination is prohibited in Finland in terminations of employment. As an alternative for terminations, employees can for example be transferred to another position or be temporarily laid off. Employer’s duties related to search of alternatives for layoff are broader in Finland than in California. The recent development of the labor laws in Finland and in California suggests that the labor law is not static in either one of these environments but changes can be expected as the needs of the business life so require.

The role of collective intelligence in crowdsourcing innovation

Social insects are known for their ability to display swarm intelligence, where the cognitive capabilities of the collective surpass those of the individuals forming it by orders of magnitude. The rise of crowdsourcing in recent years has sparked speculation as to whether something similar might be taking place on crowdsourcing sites, where hundreds or thousands of people interact with each other. The phenomenon has been dubbed collective intelligence. This thesis focuses on exploring the role of collective intelligence in crowdsourcing innovations. The task is approached through three research questions: 1) what is collective intelligence; 2) how is collective intelligence manifested in websites involved in crowdsourcing innovation; and 3) how important is collective intelligence for the functioning of the crowdsourcing sites. After developing a theoretical framework for collective intelligence, a multiple case study is conducted using an ethnographic data collection approach for the most part. A variety of qualitative, quantitative and simulation modelling methods are used to analyse the complex phenomenon from several theoretical viewpoints or ‘lenses’. Two possible manifestations of collective intelligence are identified: discussion, typical of web forums; and the wisdom of crowds in evaluating crowd submissions to websites. However, neither of these appears to be specific to crowdsourcing or critical for the functioning of the sites. Collective intelligence appears to play only a minor role in the cases investigated here. In addition, this thesis shows that feedback loops, which are found in all the cases investigated, reduce the accuracy of the crowd’s evaluations when a count of votes is used for aggregation.

Collectiveness within startup teams – Leading the way to initiating and managing collective pursuit of opportunities in organizational contexts

While traditional entrepreneurship literature addresses the pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities to a solo entrepreneur, scholars increasingly agree that new ventures are often founded and operated by entrepreneurial teams as collective efforts especially in hightechnology industries. Researchers also suggest that team ventures are more likely to survive and succeed than ventures founded by the individual entrepreneur although specific challenges might relate to multiple individuals being involved in joint entrepreneurial action. In addition to new ventures, entrepreneurial teams are seen central for organizing work in established organizations since the teams are able to create major product and service innovations that drive organizational success. Acknowledgement of the entrepreneurial teams in various organizational contexts has challenged the notion on the individual entrepreneur. However, considering that entrepreneurial teams represent a collective-level phenomenon that bases on interactions between organizational members, entrepreneurial teams may not have been studied as indepth as could be expected from the point of view of the team-level, rather than the individual or the individuals in the team. Many entrepreneurial team studies adopt the individualized view of entrepreneurship and examine the team members’ aggregate characteristics or the role of a lead entrepreneur. The previous understandings might not offer a comprehensive and indepth enough understanding of collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams and team venture performance that often relates to the team-level issues in particular. In addition, as the collective-level of entrepreneurial teams has been approached in various ways in the existing literatures, the phenomenon has been difficult to understand in research and practice. Hence, there is a need to understand entrepreneurial teams at the collective-level through a systematic and comprehensive perspective. This study takes part in the discussions on entrepreneurial teams. The overall objective of this study is to offer a description and understanding of collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams beyond individual(s). The research questions of the study are: 1) what collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams stands for, what constitutes the basic elements of it, and who are included in it, 2) why, how, and when collectiveness emerges or reinforces within entrepreneurial teams, and 3) why collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams matters and how it could be developed or supported. In order to answer the above questions, this study bases on three approaches, two set of empirical data, two analysis techniques, and conceptual study. The first data set consists of 12 qualitative semi-structured interviews with business school students who are seen as prospective entrepreneurs. The data is approached through a social constructionist perspective and analyzed through discourse analysis. The second data set bases on a qualitative multiplecase study approach that aims at theory elaboration. The main data consists of 14 individual and four group semi-structured thematic interviews with members of core entrepreneurial teams of four team startups in high-technology industries. The secondary data includes publicly available documents. This data set is approached through a critical realist perspective and analyzed through systematic thematic analysis. The study is completed through a conceptual study that aims at building a theoretical model of collective-level entrepreneurship drawing from existing literatures on organizational theory and social-psychology. The theoretical work applies a positivist perspective. This study consists of two parts. The first part includes an overview that introduces the research background, knowledge gaps and objectives, research strategy, and key concepts. It also outlines the existing knowledge of entrepreneurial team literature, presents and justifies the choices of paradigms and methods, summarizes the publications, and synthesizes the findings through answering the above mentioned research questions. The second part consists of five publications that address independent research questions but all enable to answer the research questions set for this study as a whole. The findings of this study suggest a map of relevant concepts and their relationships that help grasp collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams. The analyses conducted in the publications suggest that collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams stands for cognitive and affective structures in-between team members including elements of collective entity, collective idea of business, collective effort, collective attitudes and motivations, and collective feelings. Collectiveness within entrepreneurial teams also stands for specific joint entrepreneurial action components in which the structures are constructed. The action components reflect equality and democracy, and open and direct communication in particular. Collectiveness emerges because it is a powerful tool for overcoming individualized barriers to entrepreneurship and due to collectively oriented desire for, collective value orientation to, demand for, and encouragement to team entrepreneurship. Collectiveness emerges and reinforces in processes of joint creation and realization of entrepreneurial opportunities including joint analysis and planning of the opportunities and strategies, decision-making and realization of the opportunities, and evaluation, feedback, and sanctions of entrepreneurial action. Collectiveness matters because it is relevant for potential future entrepreneurs and because it affects the ways collective ventures are initiated and managed. Collectiveness also matters because it is a versatile, dynamic, and malleable phenomenon and the ideas of it can be applied across organizational contexts that require team work in discovering or creating and realizing new opportunities. This study further discusses how the findings add to the existing knowledge of entrepreneurial team literature and how the ideas can be applied in educational, managerial, and policy contexts.

REASONS BEHIND THE USAGE OF ONLINE AD BLOCKING TOOLS

Online advertising has been growing rapidly since the mid-90s. In recent years, online advertising has become as relevant as an advertising medium as print and television are. However, despite the growth, the generally held consensus is that consumers are not interested in online advertisements. The arrival of online ad blocking tools has offered consumers a very effective way to avoid and block online advertisements. Although these tools have now been around for several years and the most popular software’s have hundreds of millions of active users, the phenomenon of ad blocking has gathered surprisingly little attention from academic marketing research. For this reason, ad blocking was chosen as the topic of this thesis study. The researcher was particularly interested in the reasons behind the usage of online ad blocking tools. The object of the empirical part of this study is to provide new and valid information regarding the reasons behind the usage of online ad blocking tools. The empirical research of this study consisted of a survey study that mixed both quantitative and qualitative elements. Although the sample size of the study was fairly limited, the study provided useful answers to individual research questions and provided new knowledge regarding the reasons behind the usage of online ad blocking and the phenomenon of ad blocking as a whole. The study provides further evidence that consumers are aware of online ad blocking tools and a significant portion of them are interested in using them. This study indicates that many of the consumers who do not have previous knowledge of these tools would actually be interested in them. The reason for the usage of online ad blocking tools varies from institutional reasons to instrumental reason, such as poor quality of the online advertisements. However, there were participants who were not interested in the usage of online ad blocking tools, and some of them reported to find online advertising useful. There also seems to be a concern among some consumers that online ad blocking will have a negative effect on online content in the future if the ad blocking will keep growing as a phenomenon. This certainly can be the case, and it is very interesting to see how the development of online ad blocking will shape the online advertising, how the advertising industry will respond to the growth of online ad blocking and how will the consumers respond to these changes.