Kommunikation och ledarstilar : Ett exempel från den svenska militära sfären

ABSTRACT Authors: Andersson Pernilla, Thioubou Banna Title: Communication and types of leadership: an example from the Swedish Military Organisation Level: BA Thesis in Media and Communication Studies Key words: Leadership, charisma, directorship/manager, leader, communication Purpose: The aim with this study entitled "communication and leadership: an example from the Swedish military organisation”, was to get better insight about leadership and communication in the Swedish army. In this purpose, we used organisational theories as well as communication theories to illustrate and support our study and statements. Method: our empirical data was based on a qualitative study but we even carried out a quantitative study, since a survey had been made. The purpose with the survey was to get, from people chosen randomly in the city of Kalmar, opinions and thoughts about leadership and communication in the Swedish army. We even did some deep interviews with former and present officers in Swedish army, in order to develop our study. Results: At the end of our study we were able to say that there were different types of leadership, depending on the type of organisation. The Swedish army has a distinct structure when it comes to leadership and communication. However, even if the structure is based on a hierarchical pyramid, meaning that all the final decisions are the prerogative of the commanders, it is more and more common to initiate dialogue in this organisation. The lack of knowledge and prejudices are the main reasons why the Swedish military organisation is not well known. Another reason, based on the results from our survey, might be the lack of external communication from the army’s side. Number of pages: 60 plus appendix Program: Program for International Communications University: Kalmar University Institution: Institution of Communication and Design Period: Spring 2009 Examiner: Sara Hamqvist Tutor: Britt-Marie Ringfjord