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This study explores the discourses and communication practices of five leaders working in elderly care units in a mid-size city in Sweden and the construct of inclusion and exclusion by examining their daily communicative leadership practices with their work groups, consisting of Swedish-born and foreigner-born migrants. The results were drawn from an analysis of interviews with five leaders and the observation of eight meetings led by three of them. The findings indicate that leaders’ different strategies of inclusion are related to the engagement and participation of workers in discussions and decision-making. Some salient practices and discourses are pertinent to leaders’ cultural biases that can lead to ethnocentrism and essentialism, which might have a negative impact on inclusion. Leaders who practice inclusiveness through connecting, relating, and giving space for engagement and participation might better contribute to workplaces. The aspects and strategies of inclusion and exclusion are embedded in leaders’ practices and discourses and present them as bridge builders, empathetic and supportive, and culture enhancers. This study presents leaders' communication styles to include and exclude migrant workers and their strategies for engagement and participation in workplace issues. The leaders' communication styles emerged from the data and were defined as bridge builders, empathetic and supportive, and culture enhancers., RESUMEN Este estudio explora los discursos y las prácticas de comunicación de cinco líderes que trabajan en unidades de asistencia a personas mayores en una ciudad mediana de Suecia, y los paradigmas de inclusión y exclusión, examinando sus prácticas diarias de liderazgo comunicativo junto a sus equipos de trabajo, formados por miembros nacidos en Suecia y por extranjeros. Los resultados surgieron a partir del análisis de entrevistas a cinco mujeres en puestos de jefatura y de la observación de ocho reuniones lideradas por tres de ellas. Los resultados indican que las diferentes estrategias de inclusión de los líderes están relacionadas con el compromiso y la participación de los trabajadores en las discusiones y la toma de decisiones. Algunas prácticas y discursos destacados son pertinentes a los prejuicios culturales de los líderes y podrían conducir su actividad hacia el etnocentrismo y el fundamentalismo, generando un impacto negativo en la inclusión. Los líderes que practican la inclusión, conectando, relacionándose y dando espacio para el compromiso y la participación, podrían aportar de mejor manera a los espacios de trabajo. Los aspectos y estrategias de inclusión y exclusión están arraigados en las prácticas y discursos de los líderes, presentándolos como accesibles, empáticos y solidarios, y promotores de la cultura. Este estudio presenta los estilos de comunicación de los líderes para incluir y excluir a los trabajadores migrantes y sus estrategias en pro del compromiso y de la participación en temas laborales. Los estilos de comunicación de los líderes surgieron de los datos empíricos y se definieron como constructores de puentes, empáticos y solidarios, y potenciadores de la cultura. Palabras-clave: Inclusión; Inclusión de liderazgo; Compromiso; Estilo de comunicación; Cuidado de adultos mayores., Objetivos: Este estudo explora os discursos e práticas comunicacionais de cinco líderes que trabalham em unidades de cuidados a idosos numa cidade de médio porte da Suécia, e os paradigmas de inclusão e exclusão, examinando suas práticas comunicativas diárias de liderança com suas equipes de trabalho, constituídas por colaboradores nascidos na Suécia e colaboradores imigrantes. Os resultados surgiram da análise de entrevistas com cinco indivíduos em cargos de liderança e da observação de oito reuniões lideradas por três delas. Os resultados indicam que as diferentes estratégias de inclusão dos líderes estão relacionadas ao comprometimento e à participação dos trabalhadores nas discussões e na tomada de decisões. Algumas práticas e discursos proeminentes são relevantes para os preconceitos culturais dos líderes e podem levar a sua atividade ao etnocentrismo e ao fundamentalismo, gerando um impacto negativo na inclusão. Líderes que praticam a inclusão, conectando, relacionando-se e dando espaço para compromisso e participação, poderiam contribuir melhor para os espaços de trabalho. Os aspectos e estratégias de inclusão e exclusão estão enraizados nas práticas e discursos dos líderes, apresentando-os como acessíveis, empáticos e solidários, e promotores da cultura. Este estudo apresenta os estilos de comunicação dos líderes para incluir e excluir os trabalhadores migrantes e as suas estratégias de compromisso e participação nas questões laborais. Os estilos de comunicação dos líderes emergiram dos dados empíricos e eles foram definidos como construtores de pontes, empáticos e solidários, e potenciadores de cultura. Palavras-chave: Inclusão; Inclusão de liderança; Compromisso; Estilo de comunicação; Cuidados com idosos.

The immigration landscape in Sweden is characterized by the presence of a substantial foreign-born population (25 %) (SCB 2022), and as in many other countries, the un- and underemployment rate among this group is relatively high. Much of the existing research on immigrants and the labor market explains the challenges and barriers immigrants meet in the new host country with a focus on low-skilled migrants. In contrast, we study the experiences of highly skilled immigrants, aiming to unravel the strategies they employ when navigating their careers in the Swedish job market. We are also interested in the role of employers. The fact that skilled immigrants have difficulty finding employment at their skill level can be seen as a conundrum since their education, skills, and work experience often match the needs and labor shortages in the local labor market. However, instead of obtaining skilled jobs, many face challenges and barriers before, after, and during their employment (e.g., Aycan and Berry 1996; Cheng, Spaling, and Song 2013; Osanami Törngren and Holbrow 2017). The barriers facing migrants are connected to human capital deficiencies, non-recognition of credentials, insufficient language skills, and ethnic and racial discrimination (e.g., Essers and Tedmanson 2014; Szkudlarek et al. 2021). Despite barriers to gaining employment, skilled immigrants get skilled jobs, pursue careers, and integrate into the workplace. Workplace integration refers to immigrant professionals’ ability to secure employment aligned with qualifications and competencies, to experience belonging in the work environment, and to have the same access to promotion and development as non-immigrant employees at the same competence level (Lai, Shankar, and Khalema 2017). Research finds that immigrants draw on certain strategies to facilitate workplace integration and to be successful in the workplace immigrants need to acquire both hard skills - technical abilities – as well as tacit soft skills, NO

When entering the first workplace after graduation, a young professional has many expectations of work, workplace relationships, and the organization. Simultaneously, they face many expectations that workmates and organizations have of them. What may come as a surprise for early career newcomers is that workplace communication is also characterized by tensions and relational contradictions that emerge and that are managed in workplace interactions. The current study examines how newly graduated newcomers face the dialectical and relational tensions and how the tensions change in time during their first half a year in their new workplace. To answer this question, we conducted recurring interviews of 23 newcomers. The data was analyzed applying constant comparative method and contrapuntal discourse analysis. Two main tensions and eight relational discourses were identified, temporality reflected especially on relational dialectics.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper explore effects of a communicative leadership development program in an organization and to present and discuss results from assessing Quality Culture and co-worker health in the same organization. Methodology/approach – In a company conducted a communicative leadership developing program, a questionnaire measuring QM values and co-worker health has been handed out to leaders and co-workers. Leaders conducted a communicative leadership developing program have been interviewed and observation studies have been conducted. Findings – The interviewed and observed leaders are working with communicative leadership in a structured way, The measured factors, assessing quality culture and co-worker health showed rather high mean values. Practical implications – The communicative leadership developing program seams to help leaders to communicate in a structured way.

Purpose: This study is an inductive exploration of factors that are relevant to the inclusion and integration of immigrant workers in a Swedish workplace. The purpose of this paper is to examine the experiences of immigrant employees with other organisational actors at two senior nursing units in Sweden. Design/methodology/approach: Results are drawn from the analyses of interviews with six female and three male immigrant nursing assistants living permanently in Sweden. Findings: Trustful relationships with other organisational actors, during both formal and informal interactions, are considered essential facilitating inclusion of these immigrant workers. Immigrant workers experienced inclusion when they achieved language competence (or felt supported in their attempts to do so) and bridged cultural differences. The results also highlight conditions for interactions and leadership as factors influencing inclusion. In addition, inclusion implied acculturation or awareness of the values of native-born citizens. Research limitations/implications: The study suggests that immigrants’ relational dynamics with their colleagues are essential to inclusion, despite types of studies that focus mainly on the competences of leaders to manage diversity. Practical implications: The results have implications for organisations’ development of a more democratic workplace with more inclusiveness and with satisfied employees. Originality/value: The study gives voice to immigrant workers, which is rare in Swedish and international organisations that deal with the issue of immigrant integration in the workplace.

The article investigates the relevant behaviours leading an ethnically diverse workforce. The study also uses the four communication behaviours as a lens for understanding these leaders’ practices of inclusion from a communication perspective. These behaviours and characteristics are salient to the discourse about leaders working in units for the care of the elderly. The results are drawn from an analysis of interviews with five female leaders, and the observation of eight meetings led by three of them. The data were analysed subductively using concepts related to diversity and the theoretical framework of communicative leadership. The study confirms leaders’ behaviours pointed out in the leadership such as empathy and supportiveness, but some other categories are also importance. Some of the findings show that communicative leaders, in the context of leading a diverse team, have to be observant and to monitor the work environment to ensure that it is possible for everyone to be included. A leader’s role is to manage conflict, clarify goals, and to create space for inclusion and engagement. The main implication of this study is to the communicative leadership framework, including the ethnical diversity as a complexity in relationships and engagement in workplaces. The study can to be expanded to other sectors and use larger number of participants.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper explore effects of a communicative leadership development program in an organization and to present and discuss results from assessing Quality Culture and co-worker health in the same organization. Methodology/approach – In a company conducted a communicative leadership developing program, a questionnaire measuring QM values and co-worker health has been handed out to leaders and co-workers. Leaders conducted a communicative leadership developing program have been interviewed and observation studies have been conducted. Findings – The interviewed and observed leaders are working with communicative leadership in a structured way, The measured factors, assessing quality culture and co-worker health showed rather high mean values. Practical implications – The communicative leadership developing program seams to help leaders to communicate in a structured way.

This article proposes to study the constructions and perceptions of leader and immigrant employees in three nursing home units in a municipality in Sweden. The results draw from the analyses of 18 interviews designed to understand from a communication perspective what are the factors facilitating or hindering the integration of non-Swedish born workforce in the elderly care. Although leadership is a well-researched subject, studies considering leadership and communication dynamics of immigrants in workplaces are fairly rare in Sweden. Workplaces, and specially workgroups, are arenas for the negotiation and recreation/reshaping of identities (Schnurr & Zayts, 2012; Valenta, 2009), communication with and from the ’leader’ – the position known today for personifying leadership as whole (Ford, Harding, & Learmonth, 2008) – and its impact on other relationships and on individuals’ integration in the workplace. Leadership affects employees’ satisfaction and willingness to stay in a workplace. This is not different among groups with diversity. The inclusion patterns that leaders create through their relationships can be decisive for a lower staff turnover (Nishii, Mayer, David & Kozlowski, 2009). In addition, there is a strong expectation that the leader treats everyone fair in an environment with diversity. Research shows that ”justice” is a central element to fulfilled expectations and personal results in a workplace with cultural diversity for (Cross & Tuner, 2013). The findings showed good leadership is perceived when leaders work as a bridge to facilitate rela- tionships, are supportive and emphatic them of participating. Employees feel integrated when they assume independent control of the work activities without asking for assistance from Swede employ- ees. There are several factors influencing inclusion and integration in the workplaces. These factors are: relationship with colleagues that are as important as with the leaders, a leader who promote

Purpose: This study explores the understanding of the term ‘strategic communication’ and how it has evolved in the accounts of communications managers, communications executives and organizational executive managers in a local government organization that centralizes the communications department, aiming to work strategically. Design/methodology/approach: The findings are drawn from seven interviews from 2011 during the centralized period and four interviews in 2016 two years after decentralization. Findings: Strategic communication mostly had a symbolic positive impact on the legitimacy of communication professionals. However, strategic communication was also understood as an organizational threat, as executive managers were not engaged in what it would imply for their organizations/offices to work strategically with communication. Research limitation/implication: The study gives insight into why strategic communication is pursued as a work method more than a field of study. Practical implications: This study provides insights into the strategy chosen to establish strategic communication with implications for communication professionals’ legitimacy within the organization. Originality/value: This paper presents insights into the implementation of a communications department that was formed with the specific objective of working strategically. Due to that, strategic communication can have a strong symbolic meaning for legitimating communication professionals’ position.

This study investigates organizational leaders’ discourses and how they are embedded in organizational and national structures and relate to leadership and communication in two Swedish organizations. This study has social constructionist aspirations and invokes qualitative, discursive, and interpretive perspectives. The findings, based on 27 interviews with leaders at various levels in the two industries, indicate that leaders’ discourses are affected differently by national and organizational cultural structures and are related to the circumstances affecting the construction of communicative leadership in these organizations. In a strongly established organizational culture national, context has less influence because members are loyal to the communication and leadership views of the organization in question. Discourses of commu- nicative leadership and Swedish leadership are relevant to the organization that work to make its leaders more communicative. However, notwithstanding the predominance of national or organisational leadership and communication views, leaders remain viewing themselves as the main leadership actors. The study also seeks to extend the knowledge of the concept of communicative leadership contributing to the understanding of its definition in relation to characteristics of national and organizational cultures. Keywords: communication; leadership; communicative leadership; discourse; national culture; organizational culture., Este estudo investiga os discursos de líderes em duas organizações suecas e como esses estão envolvidos em estruturas organizacionais e nacionais associadas à liderança e comunicação.O estudo tem um enfoque socialconstrutivista e evoca perspectivas qualitativas, discursivas e interpretativas. As conclusões, baseadas em 27 entrevistas com líderes de diversos níveis hierárquicos, indicam que, nas ditas indústrias, os discursos dos líderes são influenciados de formas distintas por estruturas organizacionais e culturais. Também indicam que esses discursos estão circunstancialmente associados à construção da liderança comunicativa. Em uma cultura organizacional fortemente estabelecida, o fator nacional possui menos relevância, uma vez que os empregados das organizações estudadas aderem mais às visões de comunicação e liderança das próprias empresas. Discursos sobre liderança comunicativa e o estilo próprio de liderança sueca são relevantes para uma organização que objetiva investir no aperfeiçoamento comunicativo de seus líderes. Contudo, a despeito de os padrões de comunicação e liderança serem nacionais ou organizacionais, os líderes ainda se concebem como os principais agentes do processo de liderar. Esse estudo também procura expandir o conhecimento do conceito de liderança comunicativa e contribuir para a compreensão de sua definição em relação às características das culturas nacional e organizacional. Palavras-chave: comunicação; liderança; liderança comunicativa; discurso; cultura nacional; cultura organizacional., Este estudio investiga los discursos de líderes de dos organizaciones suecas, cómo estos se involucran a los sistemas organizacionales y nacionales y cómo describen las nociones de liderazgo y comunicación. El estudio tiene un abordaje socio-constructivista y utiliza perspectivas cualitativas, discursivas e interpretativas. Las conclusiones, basadas en 27 entrevistas con líderes de diversos niveles jerárquicos, indican que en las industrias suecas citadas los discursos de los jefes son afectados diferentemente por la cultura organizacional y nacional. Además, esos discursos circunstancialmente colaboran para la construcción del liderazgo comunicativo en sus respectivas compañías. En una cultura organizacional fuertemente establecida, el con- texto nacional tiene menos influencia, ya que los empleados obedecen más a las visiones de liderazgo y comunicación de las mismas empresas. Los discursos de liderazgo comunicativo y el estilo sueco de liderar son relevantes para las organizaciones que anhelan desarrollar las competencias comunicativas de sus líderes. Sin embargo, independiente de que las visiones de comunicación y liderazgo sean organizacionales o culturales, los líderes aún se consideran como agentes principales del proceso de liderar. Esta investigación también busca ampliar el conocimiento acerca del concepto de liderazgo comunicativo, comprendiéndolo a partir de sus características culturales y organizacionales. Palabras clave: comunicación; liderazgo; liderazgo comunicativo; discurso; cultura nacional; cultura organizacional.

Leading multicultural groups in Elderly care in Sundsvall

This article proposes to study the constructions and perceptions of leader and immigrant employees in a municipal nursing home in Sweden. Drawing from the analyses of six interviews (four interviews with immigrant employees and two interviews with their leader), to understand, from a communication perspective, those constructions of leadership and integration which can facilitate integration in workplaces with cultural diversity. Although leadership is a well-researched subject, studies focusing on leadership and immigrants in workplaces from a communicative perspective are fairly rare in Sweden. Employees with other cultural backgrounds than Swedish perceive their own behaviors to be opposite to the Swedish colleagues’ negative behaviors. While they see themselves as outsiders, employees demand a leader who stands for what is “fair” and shows appreciation for their attention to work rules. The findings are discussed stressing a communicative leader who works for relational dynamics and to improve daily relationships among members.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to enhance the knowledge of how leadership concepts are embraced by leadership actors and perceived to influence relationships between leaders and co-workers. Specifically, the authors aim to investigate how leaders and co-workers discursively construct the concept of “communicative leadership” and its practices and perceive that communicative leadership influences relationships, work processes, and agency.Design/methodology/approach– The authors analyzed interviews with leaders and co-workers in two Swedish business organizations about their understandings and experiences of leadership.Findings– Communicative processes that enhance co-worker agency, defined as a capacity to act; include: facilitating autonomy, sharing responsibility, and mutual participation. Relational and discursive leadership processes such as responsiveness and dialogue were seen to enhance mutual participation in both organizations. Broader Swedish cultural macro discourses shaped the leader/co-worker relationship, making agency a relational accomplishment rather than an individual phenomenon.Research limitations/implications– This study relies on data from individual and focus group interviews, rather than direct observation of leadership processes.Practical implications– Findings suggest that organizations would benefit from making explicit their goals and expectations for communicative leadership in their respective social and cultural contexts.Originality/value– The authors provide new theoretical and empirical knowledge of leaders’ and co-workers’ discursive construction of a leadership concept; leadership communication research in the Swedish context; empirical research on communicative leadership as an empowering form of leadership communication; and how leadership communication discourse on a micro level is connected to organizational and macro-social cultural levels.

This study employs a discursive lens to empirically analyze the sensemaking of leaders and employees’ communication in four different cultural contexts within a multinational organization. Communicative leaders were defined and recontextualized as strategists, interpreters/translators, instructors/facilitators, and sensemakers, considering their communication behaviors and attitudes to employees. Data suggest that the recontextualization of micro-discourses of communication and leadership emphasizes the interplay of local and global contexts in discourses of leadership. The data also indicate that contexts (and consequently macro- and micro-discourses) are blended in leaders’ and employees’ accounts, shaping constructions of communicative leadership depending on different contextual conditions. The interplay is important to form a suitable leadership discourse that makes sense for the local members and helps them work together more effectively., Publ online Feb 2016

Purpose – This purpose of this paper is to explore the discursive constructions of context and its significance in employees’ accounts of leadership practices, more specifically, discourses of communicative leadership. In doing so, it also seeks to clarify the relationship between perceptions and constructions of contexts and leadership discourses. Design/methodology/approach – This study relies on focus group interviews conducted with nine groups and a total of 31 employees (16 males and 15 females) in a Swedish industrial organization employing 490 employees. Findings – The findings reveal that micro-contexts were more evident influencing leadership discourses in the accounts of employees. However, macro-contexts identified as an authoritative leadership style were triggering constructions of “idealized” communicative leaders in contrast to the leadership experienced in the work environment by employees as “real.” Research limitations/implications – The investigation presents one organizational context, but can be expanded using additional contexts that may show various leadership forms and communication needs. Findings suggest that understanding the context considered to be relevant to perceptions and constructions of leadership can be essential for identifying and confronting challenges, leading to a more communicative organization. Originality/value – The study approaches leadership and context as dynamic and multifaceted constructs shaped locally in interaction with macro-discourses. Further, it also suggests that individuals are agents of change controlling context through being aware of their discourses.

This empirical study aims to investigate the characteristics of the conversation and political discussion on Twitter during the last televised presidential debate in the first round of the Brazilian general elections in 2014, aired by Globo TV. Television experience, political participation, and Twitter dynamics were considered for the examination of different kinds of engagement in 100,000 messages collected during the debate. The aim was to identify peaks of user engagement, linking these moments to the events occurred during the debate, evaluating how the characteristics of the communicative environment may affect the discourses built around the debate

Kommunikativt ledarskap

Kommunikativt ledarskap

Kommunikativt ledarskap

Kommunikativt ledarskap