O empreendedorismo. O perfil do empreendedor da Ilha de Santiago Cabo Verde

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo qualitativo, desenvolvido através de pesquisa exploratória, bibliográfica e de campo, feito a trezentos e noventa e nove empreendedores e empresários da Ilha de Santiago, tendo em consideração o cenário económico actual e a preocupação à volta do sector privado. Procurou-se através de pesquisa junto às empresas activas, e cujo número de pessoas ao seu serviço não ultrapassa vinte, identificar três pontos fundamentais relacionados com os empreendedores: investigar os factores que levaram as pessoas a tornarem-se empreendedores; investigar as características principais do empreendedor de sucesso; identificar as características imprescindíveis para se atingir o sucesso empresarial relacionadas com o conhecimento, competências, atitude e talento, sequenciadas por ordem de importância. Para um melhor entendimento destas questões foi utilizado um referencial teórico que aborda o empreendedorismo. A pesquisa de campo foi realizada através de utilização de questionários – entrevistas às empresas estabelecidas nesta ilha, e o método de recolha de dados foi o de entrevista directa. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que os empreendedores enfatizam a importância dos factores comportamentais no sucesso das pequenas e médias empresas e evidenciaram que os factores mais significativos e limitativos do sucesso dos empreendedores no Município da Praia, ilha de Santiago, se referem ao ambiente interno do negócio. Considerando todos estes factores e de acordo com as pesquisas desenvolvidas e analisadas, este trabalho recolheu informações específicas dos empreendedores de sucesso da ilha de Santiago e que podem ser úteis para os que almejam o sucesso empresarial e para eventuais programas de capacitação e formação empreendedora na ilha. This work presents a qualitative study developed through exploratory, bibliographic and field research to three hundred and ninety nine managers and entrepreneurs from Santiago Island, taking into consideration the present economical scenario and main concerns linked to private sector. Through a research in active enterprises and whose staff number doesn’t exceed twenty, the goal was to identify three main issues related to entrepreneurs: look into the factors that encouraged people to become entrepreneurs; examine the main characteristics of a successful entrepreneur and identify, sequenced by order of importance, the most critical characteristics related to knowledge, skills, attitude and talent, that allow entrepreneurial success achievement. For a better understanding of these questions, a theoretical approach to entrepreneurship was exploited. Field research was carried on through the use of questionnaires in enterprises located in Praia, and the data collection method was direct interviews. Results obtained showed that entrepreneurs emphasize the importance of behavioral factors in the success of small and medium enterprises and they evidenced that the most significant and restrictive factors of entrepreneurs’ success in Santiago Island are related to internal business environment. Considering these factors, and according to research developed and analyzed, the work has collected specific information of successful entrepreneurs in Santiago that can be useful for those, in the island, who seek entrepreneurial success and for eventual capacity building and entrepreneurial training programs.

STRATEGIES TO SURPASS THE VULNERABILITY OF THE SMALL ISLAND STATES WITH FEW RESOURCES: THE CASE OF CAPE VERDE

The problem of small Island Developing States (SIDS) is quite recent, end of the 80s and 90s, still looking for a theoretical consolidation. SIDS, as small states in development, formed by one or several islands geographically dispersed, present reduced population, market, territory, natural resources, including drinkable water, and, in great number of the cases, low level of economic activity, factors that together, hinder the gathering of scale economies. To these diseconomies they come to join the more elevated costs in transports and communications which, allies to lower productivities, to a smaller quality and diversification of its productions, which difficult its integration in the world economy. In some SIDS these factors are not dissociating of the few investments in infrastructures, in the formation of human resources and in productive investments, just as it happens in most of the developing countries. In ecological terms, many of them with shortage of natural resources, but integrating important ecosystems in national and world terms, but with great fragility relatively to the pollution action, of excessive fishing, of uncontrolled development of tourism, factors that, conjugated and associated to the stove effect, condition the climate and the slope of the medium level of the sea water and therefore could put in cause the own survival of some of them. The drive to the awareness of the international community towards its problems summed up with the accomplishment by the United Nations in the Barbados’s Conference, 1994 where the right to the development was emphasized, through the going up the appropriate strategies and the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of the SIDS. The orientation of the regional and international cooperation in that sense, sharing technology (namely clean technology and control and administration environmental technology), information and creation of capacity-building, supplying means, including financial resources, creating non discriminatory and just trade rules, it would drive to the establishment of a world system economically more equal, in which the production, the consumption, the pollution levels, the demographic politics were guided towards the sustainability. It constituted an important step for the recognition for the international community on the specificities of those states and it allowed the definition of a group of norms and politics to implement at the national, regional and international level and it was important that they continued in the sense of the sustainable development. But this Conference had in its origin previous summits: the Summit of Rio de Janeiro about Environment and Development, accomplished in 1992, which left an important document - the Agenda 21, in the Conference of Stockholm at 1972 and even in the Conference of Ramsar, 1971 about “Wetlands.” CENTRO DE ESTUDOS AFRICANOS Occasional Papers © CEA - Centro de Estudos Africanos 4 Later, the Valletta Declaration, Malta, 1998, the Forum of Small States, 2002, get the international community's attention for the problems of SIDS again, in the sense that they act to increase its resilience. If the definition of “vulnerability” was the inability of the countries to resist economical, ecological and socially to the external shocks and “resilience” as the potential for them to absorb and minimize the impact of those shocks, presenting a structure that allows them to be little affected by them, a part of the available studies, dated of the 90s, indicate that the SIDS are more vulnerable than the other developing countries. The vulnerability of SIDS results from the fact the they present an assemblage of characteristics that turns them less capable of resisting or they advance strategies that allow a larger resilience to the external shocks, either anthropogenic (economical, financial, environmental) or even natural, connected with the vicissitudes of the nature. If these vulnerability factors were grouped with the expansion of the economic capitalist system at world level, the economic and financial globalisation, the incessant search of growing profits on the part of the multinational enterprises, the technological accelerated evolution drives to a situation of disfavour of the more poor. The creation of the resilience to the external shocks, to the process of globalisation, demands from SIDS and of many other developing countries the endogen definition of strategies and solid but flexible programs of integrated development. These must be assumed by the instituted power, but also by the other stakeholders, including companies and organizations of the civil society and for the population in general. But that demands strong investment in the formation of human resources, in infrastructures, in investigation centres; it demands the creation capacity not only to produce, but also to produce differently and do international marketing. It demands institutional capacity. Cape Verde is on its way to this stage.

O empreendedorismo. O perfil do empreendedor da Ilha de Santiago Cabo Verde

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo qualitativo, desenvolvido através de pesquisa exploratória, bibliográfica e de campo, feito a trezentos e noventa e nove empreendedores e empresários da Ilha de Santiago, tendo em consideração o cenário económico actual e a preocupação à volta do sector privado. Procurou-se através de pesquisa junto às empresas activas, e cujo número de pessoas ao seu serviço não ultrapassa vinte, identificar três pontos fundamentais relacionados com os empreendedores: investigar os factores que levaram as pessoas a tornarem-se empreendedores; investigar as características principais do empreendedor de sucesso; identificar as características imprescindíveis para se atingir o sucesso empresarial relacionadas com o conhecimento, competências, atitude e talento, sequenciadas por ordem de importância. Para um melhor entendimento destas questões foi utilizado um referencial teórico que aborda o empreendedorismo. A pesquisa de campo foi realizada através de utilização de questionários – entrevistas às empresas estabelecidas nesta ilha, e o método de recolha de dados foi o de entrevista directa. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que os empreendedores enfatizam a importância dos factores comportamentais no sucesso das pequenas e médias empresas e evidenciaram que os factores mais significativos e limitativos do sucesso dos empreendedores no Município da Praia, ilha de Santiago, se referem ao ambiente interno do negócio. Considerando todos estes factores e de acordo com as pesquisas desenvolvidas e analisadas, este trabalho recolheu informações específicas dos empreendedores de sucesso da ilha de Santiago e que podem ser úteis para os que almejam o sucesso empresarial e para eventuais programas de capacitação e formação empreendedora na ilha. This work presents a qualitative study developed through exploratory, bibliographic and field research to three hundred and ninety nine managers and entrepreneurs from Santiago Island, taking into consideration the present economical scenario and main concerns linked to private sector. Through a research in active enterprises and whose staff number doesn’t exceed twenty, the goal was to identify three main issues related to entrepreneurs: look into the factors that encouraged people to become entrepreneurs; examine the main characteristics of a successful entrepreneur and identify, sequenced by order of importance, the most critical characteristics related to knowledge, skills, attitude and talent, that allow entrepreneurial success achievement. For a better understanding of these questions, a theoretical approach to entrepreneurship was exploited. Field research was carried on through the use of questionnaires in enterprises located in Praia, and the data collection method was direct interviews. Results obtained showed that entrepreneurs emphasize the importance of behavioral factors in the success of small and medium enterprises and they evidenced that the most significant and restrictive factors of entrepreneurs’ success in Santiago Island are related to internal business environment. Considering these factors, and according to research developed and analyzed, the work has collected specific information of successful entrepreneurs in Santiago that can be useful for those, in the island, who seek entrepreneurial success and for eventual capacity building and entrepreneurial training programs.

Lessons learned from developing a national NCD programme in low- and middle-income countries (Seychelles)

This paper identifies selected issues and lessons learned from the implementation of a national program of prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCD) during the past 20 years in the Seychelles, a small island state in the African region. As early as in 1989, population-based surveys demonstrated high levels of several cardiovascular risk factors, which prompted an organized response by the government. The early creation of a NCD unit within the Ministry of Health, coupled with cooperation with international partners, enabled incremental capacity building and coherent development of NCD programs and policy. Information campaigns and screening for hypertension and diabetes in work/public places raised awareness and rallied increasingly broad awareness and support to NCD prevention and control. A variety of interventions were organized for tobacco control and comprehensive tobacco control legislation was enacted in 2009 (including total bans on tobacco advertising and on smoking in all enclosed public and work places). A recent School Nutrition Policy prohibits the sale of soft drinks in schools. At primary health care level, guidelines were developed for the management of hypertension and diabetes (these conditions are managed in all health centers within a national health system); regular interactive education sessions were organized for groups of high risk patients ("heart health club"); and specialized "NCD nurses" were trained. Decreasing prevalence of smoking is evidence of success, but the raising "diabesity epidemic" calls for strengthened health care to high-risk patients and broader multisectoral policy to mould an environment conducive to healthy behaviors. Key components of NCD prevention and control in Seychelles include effective surveillance mechanisms supplemented by focused research; generating broad interest and consensus on the need for prevention and control of NCD; mobilizing leadership and commitment at all levels; involving local and international expertise; building on existing efforts; and seeking integrated, multi-disciplinary and multisectoral approaches.

Coaching como factor de Diferenciação nas Organizações

O mundo empresarial tem sido alvo de mudanças impulsionadas pela globalização. Neste sentido, as empresas que pretendem sobreviver e atingir um bom nível de competitividade devem focalizar-se na capacitação, no desenvolvimento e na motivação constante dos seus colaboradores. Devido à importância dos recursos humanos como diferencial competitivo, o processo de coaching como modelo de gestão da mudança, tem vindo a merecer muita importância no contexto organizacional. O processo de coaching em consonância com programas de desenvolvimento da liderança no contexto organizacional/empresarial visa ajudar os colaboradores a desenvolverem novas atitudes e competências ao alcance das metas organizacionais. O intuito deste trabalho é apresentar esclarecimentos acerca do termo, abordando os aspectos mais relevantes e o seu respectivo impacto no contexto organizacional. Realizou-se um Estudo de Caso baseado numa empresa de produção e prestação de serviços em São Vicente, com a finalidade de avaliar a motivação dos seus colaboradores, através da aplicação de um questionário aos mesmos. Na sequência da análise dos resultados sugeriu-se um modelo que mais se adapta à realidade da empresa. The business world has been challenged by several changes driven by globalization. Considering the present situation, companies that intend to survive and achieve a somewhat good level of competiveness should focus on their employee’s constant capacity building, development and motivation. Considering the Human Resources importance as a competitive differential, the coaching process as a change management module has been a very importance on the organizational context. The coaching process together with the leadership development programmes on the organizational/entrepreneurial context enables the employees to develop new attitudes and skills aiming for organizational goals. This paper purpose is to enlighten the reader on the subject, addressing the most relevant issues and its impact on the organizational context. We’ve conducted a Case Study, of a production and service company on S. Vicente Island, aiming to assess the employee’s motivation, through the application of a questionnaire. Following the results analysis, a model was proposed to better fit the company’s reality.

Konepajayrityksen kustannuslaskennan kehittäminen

Työn tavoitteena oli erään konepajan kustannuslaskennan kehittäminen. Kustannuslaskennan kehitystyö käsitti kustannuspaikkalaskennan järjestämisen ja suoritekohtaisen kustannuslaskennan uudistamisen. Työssä esitelty malli perustuu pääasiassa toimintolaskentaan ja lisäyslaskentaan. Kustannuslaskennan kehitystyöhön on vaikuttanut toimintaympäristön ja organisaation tietotarpeiden muuttuminen. Työhön liittyvä tutkimustiedon kerääminen on toteutettu toimintatutkimuksen osallistuvalla havainnoinnilla. Kehitetty malli on yksinkertainen ja helppo ylläpitää. Se on toteutettu niin, että sisäinen laskenta perustuu mahdollisimman paljon yrityksen ulkoiseen laskentatoimeen. Kehitetty malli on sikäli poikkeuksellinen, ettei siinä tehdä perinteisiä vyörytyksiä kustannuspaikkojen välillä. Kehitetty malli ei ole täyskatteellinen. Mallissa kiinnitetään erityinen huomio toimintotasolla kustannusten jakaantumiseen välittömiin ja välillisiin kustannuksiin. Työssä havaittiin tietojärjestelmien erittäin keskeinen rooli kustannuslaskentajärjestelmän kehitystyöprojektin vaikuttajana.

Governance by Contract? The impact of the International Finance Corporation's Social Conditionality on Worker Organization and Social Dialogue

This study considers the question of the relationship between private labour regulation and workers' capacity to take collective action through the lens of an empirical study of the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) 'performance standards' system of social and environmental conditionality. The study covered some 150 IFC client businesses in four world regions, drawing on data made public by the IFC as well as the results of a dedicated field survey that gathered information directly from workers, managers and union representatives. The study found that the application of the performance standards system has had remarkably little impact on union membership and social dialogue. In those few cases where change could be causally linked to the standards, the effect depended on the presence of workers' organizations that already had the capacity to take effective action on behalf of their members. The study also uncovered some prima facie evidence of breaches of freedom of association rights occurring with no reaction from IFC. The study concludes that the lack of impact is largely due to the private contractual structure that supposedly guarantees standards compliance.

Liiketoiminnan ohjausraportoinnin kehittäminen

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli määritellä kohdeyrityksen, Paroc Oy Ab:n, liiketoimintaprosessiin liittyvät keskeiset alueet ja mahdolliset ongelmakohdat sekä kehittää ennakointia mahdollistavaa raportointia. Päätavoite jaettiin kolmeen keskeiseen aihealueeseen. Ensimmäinen aihealue käsitti kokonaistoimintaprosessin kuvauksen ohjattavuuden näkökulmasta, liiketoimintaprosessissa toiminnan sujumiseen keskeisimmin vaikuttavien kohtien kuvauksen ja raportoinnin kytkeytymisen näihin kohtiin. Toinen aihealue käsitti Rakennuseristeiden kotimaan myynnin raportoinnin ja kolmas aihealue raporttikartan ja sen kehittämisen. Tutkimus toteutettiin pääosin konstruktiivisella tutkimusotteella, vaikka alussa tehtiinkin käsitemäärittelyjä työn vaatimassa laajuudessa. Tutkimukseen liittyy osittain toiminta-analyyttisen tutkimusotteen piirteitä.Työn teoreettinen osa tehtiin kirjallisuustutkimuksena. Teoreettisessa osassa käytiin työhön liittyen läpi seuraavat käsitteet: liiketoimintaprosessi, logistiikka, ohjaus, raportointi ja kannattavuus. Teoreettisessa osassa luodun viitekehyksen tarkoitus oli tukea tutkimuksen empiiristä osaa.Empiirinen osa toteutettiin case-tutkimuksena. Sen yhteydessä käytiin kohdeyrityksen sisäiseen ja ulkoiseen käyttöön tarkoitettua materiaalia läpi sekä tehtiin kysely Rakennuseristeiden eri toiminnoissa työskenteleville henkilöille. Kyselyn avulla tutkittiin päätöksentekotilanteita ja tiedontarvetta, ongelmatilanteita, raportointia sekä mahdollisia puutteita.Tutkimuksessa on tarkasteltu kohdeyrityksen liiketoimintaprosessiin liittyviä toimintoja ja tietojärjestelmiä sekä budjetointiprosessia. Rakennuseristeiden kotimaan myynnin raportoinnin osalta on tutkittu teknistä toteutusta, raporttien hyväksikäyttöä, poikkeamien analysointia ja myynnin tasoon vaikuttavia tekijöitä. Raporttikartan kehittämisen yhteydessä on tutkittu päätöksentekoon liittyvää tiedon tarvetta sekä raportointia. Näiden perusteella on esitetty kehittämiskohteita ja mahdollisia jatkotutkimuksen aiheita.Keskeisimmiksi kehittämiskohteiksi nostettiin myynnin perusraportoinnin laajentaminen, tietojärjestelmien välisen tiedon kulun parantaminen ja tietojärjestelmiä koskevan integraation kehittäminen sekä eri toiminnoissa työskentelevien henkilöiden välisen yhteistyön parantaminen. Näitä kehittämällä parannetaan ennakointia mahdollistavaa ohjausraportointia johdon päätöksenteon tueksi.

Pk-yrityksen liiketoimintasuunnitelman päivittäminen - case Acon Finland Oy

Tutkimuksessa liiketoimintasuunnitelmaa käsitellään jo olemassa olevan yrityksen näkökulmasta ja tarpeista käsin. Tavoitteena on kuvata liiketoimintasuunnitelman päivittämisen vaikutuksia liiketoiminnan kehittämisessä sekä esitellä tähän kehittämiseen soveltuvia työkaluja. Tutkimus toteutetaan toimintatutkimuksena. Tutkimuksen empiirinen osa käynnistyy case-yrityksenä olevan Acon Finland Oy:n koko henkilökunnalle tehtävällä pilotti kyselyllä painopistealueiden löytämiseksi. Varsinainen tutkimus toteutetaan yrityksen omistaja-johtajille kanssa käytävillä teemahaastatteluilla. Tutkimuksen tuloksena saatiin työkaluja yrityksen toiminnan analysoimiseen ja kehittämiseen. Teoreettisten työkalujen avulla havaittiin case-yrityksessä lukuisia kehittämiskohteita ja muutostarpeita sekä suuntaviivoja muutoksen suunnalle.

Facilitating coordination improvement efforts in cross-functional process development programs

Business process improvement is a common approach in increasing the effectiveness of an organization. It can be seen as an effort to increase coordination between units. Process improvement has proved to be challenging, and most management consultation firms facilitate organizations in this kind of initiatives. Cross-functional improvement is one of the main areas for internal consultants as well. However, the needs, challenges and means of cross-functional help have been rarely discussed in the literature. The objective of this thesis is on one hand to present a conceptual and descriptive framework to help understand the challenges of facilitating coordination improvement efforts in cross-functional improvement programs, and on the other hand to develop and test feasible solutions for some facilitation situations. The research questions are: 1. Why and in what kind of situations do organizations need help in developing coordination in cross-functional processes? 2. How can a facilitator help organizations in improving coordination to develop cross-functional processes? The study consists of two parts. The first part is an overview of the dissertation, and the second part comprises six research publications. The theoretical background for the study are the differentiation causing challenges in cross-functional settings, the coordination needed to improve processes, change management principles, methods and tools, and consultation practises. Three of the publications introduce tools for helping in developing prerequisites, planning responsibilities and supporting learning during the cross-functional program. The three other papers present frameworks to help understand and analyse the improvement situation. The main methodological approaches used in this study are design science research, action research and case research. The research data has been collected from ten cases representing different kinds of organizations, processes and developing situations. The data has been collected mainly by observation, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The research contributes to the rare literature combining coordination theories and process improvement practises. It also provides additional understanding of a holistic point of view in process improvement situations. The most important contribution is the addition to the theories of facilitating change in process improvement situations. From the managerial point of view, this study gives advice to managers and consultants in planning and executing cross-functional programs. The main factors increasing the need for facilitation are the challenges for differentiation, challenges of organizational change in general, and the novelty of initiatives and improvement practices concerning process development. Organizations need help in creating the prerequisites to change, in planning initiatives, easing conflict management and collaboration between groups, as well as supporting the learning of cross-functional improvement. The main challenges of facilitation are combining the different roles as a consultant, maintaining the ownership for the improvement project with the client, and supporting learning in the client organization.

Pediatric advance care planning from the perspective of health care professionals: a qualitative interview study.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric advance care planning differs from the adult setting in several aspects, including patients' diagnoses, minor age, and questionable capacity to consent. So far, research has largely neglected the professionals' perspective. AIM: We aimed to investigate the attitudes and needs of health care professionals with regard to pediatric advance care planning. DESIGN: This is a qualitative interview study with experts in pediatric end-of-life care. A qualitative content analysis was performed. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: We conducted 17 semi-structured interviews with health care professionals caring for severely ill children/adolescents, from different professions, care settings, and institutions. RESULTS: Perceived problems with pediatric advance care planning relate to professionals' discomfort and uncertainty regarding end-of-life decisions and advance directives. Conflicts may arise between physicians and non-medical care providers because both avoid taking responsibility for treatment limitations according to a minor's advance directive. Nevertheless, pediatric advance care planning is perceived as helpful by providing an action plan for everyone and ensuring that patient/parent wishes are respected. Important requirements for pediatric advance care planning were identified as follows: repeated discussions and shared decision-making with the family, a qualified facilitator who ensures continuity throughout the whole process, multi-professional conferences, as well as professional education on advance care planning. CONCLUSION: Despite a perceived need for pediatric advance care planning, several barriers to its implementation were identified. The results remain to be verified in a larger cohort of health care professionals. Future research should focus on developing and testing strategies for overcoming the existing barriers.

Partner Criteria and Life Cycle Impacts: Case UPM

The study examines partner selection criteria and the life cycle impacts on them. The target is to define the relevant criteria that should be applied in case of a partnership. In this context partnership means strategic supplier relationship. It is also examined how these criteria change on the different stages of the product and business life cycle. The empirical part is a description of developing Criteria selection tool in the case company. The study is conducted as a qualitative research using constructive and action research methodologies. The Criteria selection tool is a MS Excel workbook, giving the relevant set of supplier criteria depending on the business case. The most essential criteria, the tool will suggest for partner suppliers, are related to strategic fit, development potential and collaborative aspects. On the early stages of the life cycles the criteria related to research and development and growth potential are significant. On the late stages of the life cycles cost reduction potential becomes very important.

The cultural dimension in focus : promoting awareness of diversity and respect for difference in a Finland-Swedish EFL classroom

This study addresses the role of EFL education, its potential and shortcomings, and the challenges the future of EFL education will bring. It is argued that new societal demands and the limited time we have at our disposal in the classroom make it necessary to rethink goals and content and move away from the transmissionof limited sets of facts and information to helping students develop awareness and competences that can be applied in many different situations, also in a perspective of lifelong learning. The overall aim of the current study is to problematize and increase understanding of the implementation of cultural aspects in the language classroom by addressing the interrelated what, why and how of the cultural dimension within EFL education. This has been conducted by means of theoretical explorations into the area, alongside an attempt at promoting intercultural competence (IC) in a more systematic and insightful manner within my own educational praxis. The focus of the intercultural work in the classroom was on the promotion of awareness of difference and diversity, as well as respect for such difference through the ability to decenter from cultural norms and behavior that previously have been taken for granted. These are two elements that have been suggested as fundamental for other work with IC in the classroom and for the realization of important aspects of the underlying values of basic education. In the context of this study, IC comprises several interconnected components supportingeach other in a variety of ways, with the further aim being interaction with and respect for difference in general, not only concerning e.g. representatives ofcertain English-speaking communities. The methodology was informed by action research, with myself in the role of the teacher-researcher or the reflective practitioner. For the purpose of the project I was authorized to take on the EFL education for the three years of upper comprehensive school of one random class of students originally assigned to one of the language teachers of the selected Finland-Swedish school. Thus, the class of 17 students was not specifically chosen for the project, and the aims and contents chosen for the development project were placed within the framework of the ordinary curriculum. By exploring the students¿ insights concerning different English-speaking cultural groups, mainly through a set of questionnaires, it was possible to outline the work with the cultural dimension in the classroom for the following three years. Work progress was evaluated at specific stages, and the final project evaluations were conducted through individual student interviews in grade 9. The interviews were focused on possible development of students¿ insights concerning different aspects of the cultural dimension. In particular this concerned awareness of difference and diversity, including modification of stereotypes, as well as the ability to decenterin order to be better able to respect such difference. I also explored students¿ awareness and views of the activities and approaches used in class, as well asaffordances both inside and outside the EFL classroom in relation to these intended insights. A further focus area was the perceived relevance to students of different aspects of the cultural dimension. The frameworks and approaches adopted for the work in the classroom all have in common that they are based on a constructivist framework, where knowledge is constructed and reconstructed through interaction with one¿s social and cultural environment, including interaction with others. Reflective processes precede or are simultaneous with the learning of basic factual knowledge. This entails a view of learning as a progression from simple to more complex models rather than as a progression from facts to understanding and analysis. Here, the development of intercultural competence is seen asa cyclical process, or along a spiral curriculum, from simple to more complex levels through a combination of cognitive, affective and behavioral elements within a framework of experiential learning. This project has shown one possible wayforward concerning the development of intercultural competence within EFL education through a more systematic and comprehensive approach regarding linguistic and cultural aspects. The evaluation of the educational process explored in the study suggests the possibilities for work with the promotion of awareness of difference and diversity concerning some specific context that, based on students¿ prior knowledge and preconceptions, would benefit from further work. In this case, the specific context primarily concerned different aspects of both cultural and linguistic conditions in the UK. It is also suggested that many students developed the ability to decenter, described in the study as integral to being able to respect otherness. What still remains to be explored are more individualized approaches considering students¿ different levels of departure. Further work alsoneeds to be put into how to apply insights gained in these specific situations to more general contexts. It is also necessary to explore the use of the suggested approaches in a wider range of different contexts.

Delay reduction in courts of justice – possibilities and challenges of process improvement in professional public organizations

Delays in the justice system have been undermining the functioning and performance of the court system all over the world for decades. Despite the widespread concern about delays, the solutions have not kept up with the growth of the problem. The delay problem existing in the justice courts processes is a good example of the growing need and pressure in professional public organizations to start improving their business process performance.This study analyses the possibilities and challenges of process improvement in professional public organizations. The study is based on experiences gained in two longitudinal action research improvement projects conducted in two separate Finnish law instances; in the Helsinki Court of Appeal and in the Insurance Court. The thesis has two objectives. First objective is to study what kinds of factors in court system operations cause delays and unmanageable backlogs and how to reduce and prevent delays. Based on the lessons learned from the case projects the objective is to give new insights on the critical factors of process improvement conducted in professional public organizations. Four main areas and factors behind the delay problem is identified: 1) goal setting and performance measurement practices, 2) the process control system, 3) production and capacity planning procedures, and 4) process roles and responsibilities. The appropriate improvement solutions include tools to enhance project planning and scheduling and monitoring the agreed time-frames for different phases of the handling process and pending inventory. The study introduces the identified critical factors in different phases of process improvement work carried out in professional public organizations, the ways the critical factors can be incorporated to the different stages of the projects, and discusses the role of external facilitator in assisting process improvement work and in enhancing ownership towards the solutions and improvement. The study highlights the need to concentrate on the critical factors aiming to get the employees to challenge their existing ways of conducting work, analyze their own processes, and create procedures for diffusing the process improvement culture instead of merely concentrating of finding tools, techniques, and solutions appropriate for applications from the manufacturing sector

Kokonaisarkkitehtuuri kehittämisen välineenä Hollolan kunnassa

Työssä käsitellään kokonaisarkkitehtuuria kehittämisen välineenä Hollolan kunnassa. Kokonaisarkkitehtuurin avulla kuvataan ja kehitetään organisaation toimintaa, toiminnassa käsiteltävää tietoa ja teknologista toimintaympäristöä kokonaisuutena strategialähtöisesti. Kokonaisarkkitehtuurin käyttäminen on julkishallinnon organisaatioille toisaalta lakisääteinen velvollisuus, toisaalta keino ohjata toimintaympäristön kehittymistä toimintalähtöisesti. Tämän työn tavoite on luoda edellytykset kokonaisarkkitehtuurimenetelmän käyttämiselle Hollolan kunnassa. Tutkimus suoritetaan toimintatutkimuksena, jossa tutkija esittelee ja edesauttaa uuden menetelmän käyttämistä ja havainnoi tämän myötä saavutettuja tuloksia. Työn teoriaosa käsittelee kokonaisarkkitehtuuria erityisesti kansallisena tietohallinnon ohjaamisen välineenä ja kehittämismenetelmänä. Tämän työn tärkeimmät tulokset ovat Hollolan kunnalle sovitettu kehittämismenetelmä, kokonaisarkkitehtuurin hallintamalli ja menetelmän avulla tuotetut kuvaukset nykytilasta ja viitearkkitehtuurista. Työssä havaittiin, että luonnosvaiheessa oleva julkishallintoa ohjaava yhteinen kokonaisarkkitehtuuri on vielä keskeneräinen ja sen tulkinta on vaikeaa. Lisäksi havaittiin, että kokonaisarkkitehtuurimenetelmän käyttäminen vaatii organisaatiolta paljon, mutta tämän työn perusteella hyviä tuloksia voidaan saavuttaa jo menetelmän käytön varhaisessa vaiheessa.