The manager as a norm-sender : a qualitative study from both the managers-and staffs perspective

The aim of our study is to explore which norms that exists in the home care service, who is sending those norms, how are they maintained and how do they affect the interactions between staff and manager? We want to deep en our knowledge about home care service as an organization and increase our understanding for the psychosocial work environment and also the importance of leadership. We mean to read the organizational culture that exists which allows us to deal with the values that influence the behavior in the organization. The study is based on a qualitative method. The data consists of two focus group interviews, one with managers from the home care service - organization and one with staff from the same organization. T he interview with the managers consisted of five participants and the corresponding figure for the second interview with the staff was eight participants. The theoretical viewpoints have been communication - theory, organizational theory and Foucault´s th eory of power. Our result indicate that norms are something that unconsciously controls us and that we have learned that there are consequences when you step out of what is normative for the group. The result also indicate that norms within the own group i s difficult to recognize and a bit forbidden to talk about. One of the most important findings where that for our two interview - groups there where normative to talk about the care - takers perspective, but at the same time it was normative to base thoughts and acts from their own perspective. An important discovery is also that both managers and staff experience stress, have feelings of inadequacy and that nobody listens to their point of view. Both parts also have the experience of being powerless and not to be able to make decisions. According to them it seems like it is all about implement what they are ordered, which can be seen as the democracy is just a facade. The power exists and is being used but there are no subjects because no one experiences them selves to have any power