Engagerat ledarskap för att skapa förutsättningar för allas delaktighet : Utgångspunkter i kvalitetsarbetet

According to increased demands on continuous improvements for organizations, they choose different strategies for improvements such as the use of systematic quality systems to structure the progresses in the business. However, studies have shown that improvement projects often fail due to the leadership and commitment within the organization. Research points out weak or missing techniques and tools connected to committed leadership and let everybody be committed, two important principles in systematic quality systems like Total Quality Management, in Sweden mentioned as the cornerstone model. Based on six different studies, this doctoral thesis deepens the knowledge about managers’ prerequisites to use leadership, which can enable commitment to an organization’s quality work in a Swedish context. First, five smaller studies were conducted, mainly focused on diversity, inclusion, and leadership in different kinds of organizations. The results from these five studies created a foundation for the sixth and main study, a case study within an organization dealing with Fast-Moving Consumer Goods. The case study included observations, both non-participation and participation, interviews with CEO, the management group, employees, but included also group measurement and document studies during a year with follow-up interviews. In conclusion, the doctoral thesis results have contributed to the development of techniques and tools connected to how a committed leadership can give prerequisites to let everybody be committed. The results have also given the possibility to complement the model Principles-Practices-Tools (PAV) with additional principles, concrete techniques and tool