Positiivinen johtaminen uusin silmin : kokemuksen tutkimus ymmärrystä lisäämässä

Tämän hallintotieteen ja johtamisen psykologiaan sijoittuvan väitöstutkimuksen aiheena on positiivisen johtamisen ymmärtämisen lisääminen. Positiivisuuskonseptin alati läsnä oleva näkyvyys etenkin johtamiseen liitettynä tai päälle liimattuna ilmiönä kuvaa vahvasti nykyhetken työelämää. Positiivinen johtaminen on ollut itse asiassa ajankohtainen konsepti tieteen kentällä jo muutaman vuosikymmenen ja työelämän käytännöissä melkein yhtä kauan. Positiivisuuteen ja täten myös positiiviseen johtamiseen liittyy kuitenkin paljon itsestään selvinä pidettyjä tulkintoja ja tästä johtuvaa epäselvyyttä siitä, mitä positiivinen johtaminen todella on. Positiivisen johtamisen tutkimuskenttää ovat hallinneet positivistisen perinteen mukailemana psykometriikan työkalut hypoteeseista positiivisen johtamisen ja toisten muuttujien välisiin korrelaatioihin. Tämä on selittänyt pitkälti muuttujien yhteyksiä, mutta ei niinkään muuttujia itseään, mukaan lukien positiivista johtamista. Nyt väitöstutkimuksen tarkoituksena on pyrkiä lisäämään positiivisen johtamisen ymmärrystä kokemuksen tutkimuksen lähestymistapoja hyödyntäen. Tutkimuksessa kysyn, mikä merkitys kokemuksen tutkimuksella on positiivisen johtamisen ymmärtämiselle ja miten kokemuksen tutkimusta voidaan hyödyntää positiivisen johtamisen käytännöissä. Väitöstutkimukseni on artikkelimuotoinen ja sisältää neljä vertaisarvioitua osajulkaisua ja yhteenveto-osan. Osajulkaisuista kolme on alkuperäistutkimuksia ja yksi on teoreettinen. Kolmen alkuperäistutkimuksen aineistot olen kerännyt vuosien 2010 ja 2015 välillä. Aineistot kerättiin hyödyntäen sähköposti- ja kirjekyselyä, yksilöhaastatteluita sekä ohjattua fokusryhmäkeskustelua. Sähköposti- ja kirjekyselyyn vastasivat johtajat ja aineisto analysoitiin hyödyntäen fenomenografiaa. Yksilöhaastatteluissa oli sekä johtajia että työntekijöitä ja aineisto analysoitiin hyödyntäen fenomenologista metodia, EKA-mallia. Ohjatussa fokusryhmäkeskustelussa oli mukana vain johtajia, ja aineiston analyysissä hyödynnettiin integroivaa diskurssianalyysiä. Teoreettisen osajulkaisun panos näyttäytyy teoreettisessa taustoituksessa. Väitöstutkimuksessa on hyödynnetty aineistojen analyysissa uusia metodeja. Fenomenologisen metodin EKA-mallia hyödynnettiin ensimmäisen kerran tässä tutkimuksessa. Siinä tarkoituksena on tutkia kokemusten sijaan kokemuslaatuja, jotka ovat tunne, tieto ja oletus. Integroiva diskurssianalyysi perustuu puolestaan diskursiivisen psykologian ja kriittisen diskurssianalyysin muodostamaan yhdistelmään, jossa tarkoituksena on tutkia vuorovaikutusta neljän kerroksellisen tason välityksellä. Nämä tasot tuottavat tietoa vuorovaikutuksessa ilmenevistä merkityksistä, merkitysten perusteluista, esitettyjen merkitysten vaikutuksista osapuolen asemaan ja positioihin sekä yhteyksistä organisaatioin toimintatapoihin ja valtaan. Perinteisen fenomenografisen analyysin fokus on erilaisten positiivisen johtamiseen liitettyjen käsitysten vaihtelussa. Väitöstutkimuksen tulokset luovat ymmärrystä positiiviseen johtamiseen kolmen eri lähestymistavan kautta. Fenomenologisen metodin EKA-malli tuotti positiivisen johtamisen kokemuksia kolmen kokemuslaadun, tunne, tieto ja oletus, muodossa. Yleisin kokemuslaatu oli tieto, ja sen jälkeen tunne ja oletus, tässä järjestyksessä. Toinen merkittävä ulottuvuus, joka tutkimuksessa selvisi, oli positiivisen johtamisen kolme kokemusmaailmaa: johtajan ja työntekijöiden erillinen sekä molempien yhteinen kokemusmaailma. Työntekijöiden kokemusmaailma näyttäytyi monipuolisempana kuin johtajien, eli se sisälsi enemmän erilaisia kokemuksia. Johtajien ja työntekijöiden yhteinen kokemusmaailma oli yllättävän laaja. Fenomenografinen analyysi puolestaan tuotti kolme kuvauskategoriaa, jotka kuvaavat osaltaan positiivisen johtamisen kokonaiskuvaa. Tärkeänä osana ovat myös kuvauskategorioihin sisälletyt merkityskategoriat, jotka antavat puolestaan yksityiskohtaisempaa kuvaa positiivisen johtamiseen liittyvästä vaihtelusta. Tämä vaihtelu näkyi kuvauskategorioiden välityksellä ja kertoi roolivaihtelusta eli siitä, että positiivista johtamista tuottavat muutkin kuin johtaja, kuten työntekijät. Merkityskategorioiden kautta tuli näkyväksi positiivisen johtamisen toimintatapoja ja etenkin epätavallisia toimintatapoja. Integroiva diskurssianalyysi tuotti analyysin pohjalta jokaiselle neljälle tasolle positiivisen johtamisen sisältöjä, jotka syntyivät johtajien keskinäisessä keskustelussa kielellisen vuorovaikutuksen välityksellä. Tulokset tuovat esiin sen, että työyhteisön vuorovaikutuksessa on nyansseja, joita ei itse vuorovaikutustilanteessa välttämättä edes huomaa. Tarkemmin tarkasteluna vuorovaikutuksesta löytyy erilaisia tapoja puhua positiivisesta johtamisesta, hallitsevia merkityksiä, haastavia vastanäkökulmia, erilaisia näkökulmien perusteluja, tiettyjä toimijoiden positioita ja niiden mahdollisia siirtoja, yhteyksiä organisaation toimintatapoihin ja huomaamattomia valtataisteluita, joilla kaikilla on omat seuraamuksensa positiivisen johtamisen tilaan työyhteisössä. Tulosten pohjalta syntyi neljä johtopäätösaluetta: 1) kokemuksen tutkimus auttaa ymmärtämään positiivista johtamista tilannesidonnaisena ilmiönä, 2) kokemuksen tutkimus auttaa näkemään positiivisen johtamisen roolivaihtelut ja epätavalliset toimintatavat, 3) kokemuksen tutkimus auttaa tuomaan ilmi positiivisen johtamisen määritelmälliset haasteet ja 4) väitöstutkimus rikastuttaa kokemuksen tutkimuksen metodiikkaa kokemuslaatujen analyyttisella ulottuvuudella. Väitöstutkimuksen panos positiivisen johtamisen tieteenkentälle näkyy tilannesidonnaisuuden huomioimisena, joka on jäänyt aiemmin pitkälti vähemmälle huomiolle positiivisen johtamisen tutkimuksissa. Samoin positiivisen johtamisen roolivaihtelut auttavat näkemään ilmiön eri valossa. Lisäksi on tärkeää pyrkiä tarkemmin määrittelemään sekä positiivisuus johtamisen kontekstissa että kokemus, sillä ne auttavat hahmottamaan tarkemmin, mitä ja miten esimerkiksi positiivisia tunteita koetaan. Käytännön sovellusten näkökulmasta positiivinen johtaminen hyötyy huomioimalla eri tilanteet niihin sopivalla tavalla. Näissä eri tilanteissa työntekijöiden eri kokemuslaatujen ja merkitysten tunnistaminen korostuu, jotta positiivinen johtaminen voidaan räätälöidä sopivaksi. Konkreettisen osaamisen lisääminen myös eri kokemuslaatujen tunnistamiseen voi työyhteisössä auttaa positiivisen johtamisen tilanteita. Positiivista johtamista voivat toteuttaa myös muut kuin johtaja ja tämä on merkityksellistä positiivisuuden leviämisessä työyhteisössä. Lopulta positiivisen määritteleminen työyhteisössä on hyvä rakentaa mahdollisimman paikallisesti pohjaamalla työyhteisön arkeen ja johtajan ja työntekijöiden kokemuksiin.Situated within the disciplines of administrative science and psychology of leadership, this doctoral dissertation seeks to enhance our understanding of positive leadership. The ubiquitous presence of the concept of positivity, which manifests itself especially in discourses about leadership – both as a phenomenon directly associated with leadership or as one merely imposed on it – is strongly characteristic of today’s working life. The concept of positive leadership has attracted researchers’ attention for some decades now, and it has figured in working life practices for almost as long. Positivity, and thus also positive leadership, is, however, associated with a range of interpretations taken at face value, which has led to a lack of clarity as to what positive leadership should be taken to mean. Research on positive leadership has been dominated by the positivist research tradition, the tools of psychometrics, and hypotheses about correlations between positive leadership and other variables. The focus has largely been on explaining the relationships between the variables and less on seeking to understand the variables themselves, including positive leadership. The present doctoral research seeks to enhance our understanding of positive leadership through application of approaches from study of experience. In my research, I ask: What is the significance of study of experience to our understanding of positive leadership and how can study of experience be used to promote practices of positive leadership? My doctoral research is an article-based dissertation and it includes four peer-reviewed publications and an integrative chapter. Three of the publications are based on original research and one is a theoretical publication. The data for the three publications based on original research were collected between 2010 and 2015. The data were collected by means of e-mail- and paper-based surveys, individual interviews, and guided focus-group discussion. The e-mail- and paper-based surveys were targeted to leaders and the data were analyzed using phenomenography. Both leaders and employees participated in the individual interviews and the data were analyzed using the phenomenological method, the EKA model. The participants of the guided focus-group discussion were leaders, and the data were analyzed using integrative discourse analysis. The contribution of the theoretical publication is reflected in the theoretical background of the research. New data analysis methods have been employed in this doctoral research. The EKA model, which is based on the phenomenological method, was used for the first time in this research and the model is intended for the purpose of examining not experience as such but experiential qualities: emotion, knowledge and assumption. Integrative discourse analysis, for its part, is based on a combination of discursive psychology and critical discourse analysis, and its purpose is to study interaction through four layered levels. These levels produce knowledge about meanings that emerge through interaction, explanations for the meanings, impacts of the identified meanings on the status and position of the parties involved, and connections between the meanings and the organization’s modes of operation and power. The focus of the traditional phenomenographic analysis is on the variation among conceptions ascribed to positive leadership. The results of this doctoral research enhance our understanding of positive leadership through three approaches. The EKA model, which is based on the phenomenological method, produced descriptions of experiences representing three experiential qualities here referred to as emotion, knowledge and assumption. The most common experiential quality was knowledge, which was followed by emotion and assumption, in this order. Another significant dimension that emerged in the course of the research was the existence of three experiential worlds of positive leadership: the experiential worlds of the leader and the employees, and their shared experiential world. The experiential world of the employees appeared as more diverse than that of the leaders in that it included a greater diversity of experiences. The shared experiential world of the leaders and the employees was surprisingly broad. The phenomenographic analysis, for its part, produced three description categories, each contributing to the overall picture of positive leadership. Also significant were the meaning categories that were included in the description categories in order to provide more detailed information on variation in connection with positive leadership. The variation illustrated by the description categories was indicative of role variation in that it showed that positive leadership is produced not only by the leader but also, for example, by the employees. The meaning categories helped make visible modes of operation – in particular uncommon ones – associated with positive leadership. Integrative discourse analysis produced content related to positive leadership – created through discussions among leaders, in particular their verbal interaction – for each of the four abovementioned levels. The results show that interaction of a work community has nuances that might go unnoticed in the interaction situation itself. Upon closer inspection of interaction, different ways of talking about positive leadership, alternative perspectives that counter – and challenge – the dominant perspectives, different justifications for adopting one perspective rather than another, various actor positions and possible changes to them, links with the organization’s modes of operation, and invisible power struggles can be discerned, and all these have consequences for the state of positive leadership in the work community. The results allowed to draw conclusions in four areas: 1) study of experience helps us understand positive leadership as a situation-specific phenomenon; 2) study of experience makes us aware of role variation and uncommon modes of operation associated with positive leadership; 3) study of experience brings to surface challenges related to definition of positive leadership; and 4) this doctoral research enriches the methodology of study of experience by introducing the analytic dimension of experiential qualities. The contribution of this doctoral dissertation to research on positive leadership lies in its ability to account for situation-specificity – a dimension that has received little attention in previous research on positive leadership. Role variation associated with positive leadership identified in this research also help us see the phenomenon in a new light. Moreover, it is important to strive towards providing clear definitions of both positivity in the context of leadership, and experience, because this will help us better understand, for example, what positive emotions are experienced and how. From the perspective of practical applications, positive leadership can be enhanced by accounting for different situations in an appropriate, situation-specific manner. In these situations, ability to identify employees’ experiential qualities and meanings is emphasized in order to be able to produce positive leadership that is appropriate for the situation. Developing competence in identifying different experiential qualities in a work community may also be helpful in different situations from the perspective of positive leadership. Positive leadership can also be produced by actors other than the leader, which is significant in terms of spreading positivity in the work community. Positivity in a work community should be defined as locally as possible, based on the day-to-day activities of the work community and the leader’s and the employees’ experiences

The Experience Qualities Approach to Leadership and Employee Well-being

A phenomenological psychology approach in organizational studies has been somewhat overlooked, particularly in research on leadership and employee well-being. This study presents a new way of examining leadership and employee well-being. A novel experience qualities approach was utilized with the aim of revealing the authentic structure of human experiences, particularly experience qualities such as emotions, knowledge, and assumptions. This study investigated the role of leadership in creating employee well-being experiences in a professional organization. The data were collected from 23 in-depth interviews conducted with company leaders and employees in Finland and then analyzed using the phenomenological method. The results indicated affirmative similarities and differences (experience domains) in experience qualities of well-being between leaders and employees. By identifying different experience qualities of well-being, leaders can promote their own and employees’ well-being more precisely and effectively. Practical implications for leaders are discussed

The experience qualities approach to leadership and employee well-being

A phenomenological psychology approach in organizational studies has been somewhat overlooked, particularly in research on leadership and employee well-being. This study presents a new way of examining leadership and employee well-being. A novel experience qualities approach was utilized with the aim of revealing the authentic structure of human experiences, particularly experience qualities such as emotions, knowledge, and assumptions. This study investigated the role of leadership in creating employee well-being experiences in a professional organization. The data were collected from 23 in-depth interviews conducted with company leaders and employees in Finland and then analyzed using the phenomenological method. The results indicated affirmative similarities and differences (experience domains) in experience qualities of well-being between leaders and employees. By identifying different experience qualities of well-being, leaders can promote their own and employees’ well-being more precisely and effectively. Practical implications for leaders are discussed

On the classification of financial ratios : a factor and transformation analysis of accural, clash flow, and market-based ratios

fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Positiivinen näkökulma konfliktijohtamiseen – esimiesten onnistumiset ristiriitatilanteiden ratkaisussa

A positive view on conflict management – resolving conflict situations successfullyThis research aims to reveal managers’ conceptions about the successful ways of resolving conflict situations between employees. The research question is “What conceptions do managers associate with the successful ways of resolving conflict situations between employees? ” The research data was collected through a questionnaire posted to managers in the public health care sector. Out of 47 managers, 20 responded to the questionnaire. Eventually, 19 responses were included in the analysis, which we conducted using the phenomenographic approach. On the basis of the analysis, the following three description categories were formed: a manager’s own action; cooperation between a manager and both parties of a conflict; and a resolution by a third party. A manager’s interaction and attitude proved to be important factors in resolving conflicts. Using the accrued data, we formed four classes – diplomatic, assertive, empathic, and delegativ

Assessing travel time-based accessibility to outdoor ice skating fields for children in Helsinki during the COVID-19 pandemic

Peer reviewe

Noninvasive Neuromonitoring of Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest in Aortic Surgery

Background and Aims: Circulatory arrest carries a high risk of neurological damage, but modern monitoring methods lack reliability, and is susceptible to the generalized effects of both anesthesia and hypothermia. The objective of this prospective, explorative study was to research promising, reliable, and noninvasive methods of neuromonitoring, capable of predicting neurological outcome after hypothermic circulatory arrest. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients undergoing hypothermic circulatory arrest during surgery of the thoracic aorta were recruited in a single center and over the course of 4 years. Neuromonitoring was performed with a four-channel electroencephalogram montage and a near-infrared spectroscopy monitor. All data were tested off-line against primary neurological outcome, which was poor if the patient suffered a significant neurological complication (stroke, operative death). Results: A poor primary neurological outcome seen in 10 (33%) patients. A majority (63%) of the cases were emergency surgery, and thus, no neurological baseline evaluation was possible. The frontal hemispheric asymmetry of electroencephalogram, as measured by the brain symmetry index, predicted primary neurological outcome with a sensitivity of 79 (interquartile range; 62%-88%) and specificity of 71 (interquartile range; 61%-84%) during the first 6 h after end of circulatory arrest. Conclusion: The hemispheric asymmetry of frontal electroencephalogram is inherently resistant to generalized dampening effects and is predictive of primary neurological outcome. The brain symmetry index provides an easy-to-use, noninvasive neuromonitoring method for surgery of the thoracic aorta and postoperative intensive care.Peer reviewe

Increasing prevalence and high incidence of celiac disease in elderly people: A population-based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Celiac disease may emerge at any age, but little is known of its appearance in elderly people. We evaluated the prevalence of the condition in individuals over 55 years of age, and determined the incidence of biopsy-proven celiac disease (CDb) and celiac disease including seropositive subjects for anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (CDb+s).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study based on prevalence figures in 2815 randomly selected subjects who had undergone a clinical examination and serologic screening for celiac disease in 2002. A second screening in the same population was carried out in 2005, comprising now 2216 individuals. Positive tissue transglutaminase antibodies were confirmed with small bowel biopsy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Within three years the prevalence of CDb increased from 2.13 to 2.34%, and that of CDb+s from 2.45 to 2.70%. Five new cases were found among patients previously seronegative; two had minor abdominal symptoms and three were asymptomatic. The incidence of celiac disease in 2002–2005 was 0.23%, giving an annual incidence of 0.08% in this population.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prevalence of celiac disease was high in elderly people, but the symptoms were subtle. Repeated screening detected five biopsy-proven cases in three years, indicating that the disorder may develop even in the elderly. Increased alertness to the disorder is therefore warranted.</p

Resolving phytoplankton pigments from spectral images using convolutional neural networks

Motivated by the need for rapid and robust monitoring of phytoplankton in inland waters, this article introduces a protocol based on a mobile spectral imager for assessing phytoplankton pigments from water samples. The protocol includes (1) sample concentrating; (2) spectral imaging; and (3) convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to resolve concentrations of chlorophyll a (Chl a), carotenoids, and phycocyanin. The protocol was demonstrated with samples from 20 lakes across Scotland, with special emphasis on Loch Leven where blooms of cyanobacteria are frequent. In parallel, samples were prepared for reference observations of Chl a and carotenoids by high-performance liquid chromatography and of phycocyanin by spectrophotometry. Robustness of the CNNs were investigated by excluding each lake from model trainings one at a time and using the excluded data as independent test data. For Loch Leven, median absolute percentage difference (MAPD) was 15% for Chl a and 36% for carotenoids. MAPD in estimated phycocyanin concentration was high (102%); however, the system was able to indicate the possibility of a cyanobacteria bloom. In the leave-one-out tests with the other lakes, MAPD was 26% for Chl a, 27% for carotenoids, and 75% for phycocyanin. The higher error for phycocyanin was likely due to variation in the data distribution and reference observations. It was concluded that this protocol could support phytoplankton monitoring by using Chl a and carotenoids as proxies for biomass. Greater focus on the distribution and volume of the training data would improve the phycocyanin estimates