Final Exam Project - Organizational Culture

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Exam title: Final Exam Project

Full name: Julia Jee Hee Heisselberg

Class: cv14sem4x12e

Supervisor: Jan Winters

Submission date: 28 May 2014

Is it a confidential (closed) project? No
(Only applies for final examination projects)

Number of characters: 106,522 characters including spaces

Jan Winters Final Exam Project Julia Jee Hee Heisselberg
2
Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................................................... 4
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 4
RESEARCH QUESTION ...................................................................................................................................... 6
Sub Question 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Sub Question 2 ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Sub Question 3 ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Sub Question 4 ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Explanation of Sub Questions ................................................................................................................... 6
METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................ 7
Target Group .................................................................................................................................................... 7
Definitions .......................................................................................................................................................... 7
Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................................... 7
Choice of Theories and Models ................................................................................................................. 8
Data Collection Methods ............................................................................................................................. 9
Choice of Respondents ................................................................................................................................ 10
Limitations ...................................................................................................................................................... 10
CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................................13
1. SUB QUESTION 1 .........................................................................................................................13
1.1. SCHEINS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND LEADERSHIP ............................................................. 13
1.2. ARTIFACTS ............................................................................................................................................. 13
1.2.1.Artifacts of the group ...................................................................................................................... 14
1.3. ESPOUSED BELIEFS AND VALUES ....................................................................................................... 15
1.3.1. Ideals, Goals, Values and Aspirations ...................................................................................... 16
1.3.2. Ideologies ............................................................................................................................................. 16
1.3.3. Rationalizations ................................................................................................................................ 17
1.4. BASIC UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS ................................................................................................... 18
1.4.1. Determined behavior, perception, thought and feeling ................................................. 18
1.5. SUB CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................. 19
2. SUB QUESTION 2 .........................................................................................................................21
2.1. FINANCES OF STS 2010 2013 ....................................................................................................... 21
2.2. DUPONT PYRAMID ................................................................................................................................ 23
2.3. ANALYSIS OF STS PROFITABILITY .................................................................................................... 24
2.3.1. Year 2010 ............................................................................................................................................. 24
2.3.2. Year 2011 ............................................................................................................................................. 24
2.3.3. Year 2012 ............................................................................................................................................. 25
2.3.4. Year 2013 ............................................................................................................................................. 25
2.4. INDEX NUMBERS FOR PROFITABILITY ............................................................................................... 27
2.5. STS HIGH SCHOOL ................................................................................................................................ 28
2.5. SUB CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................. 31
3. SUB QUESTION 3 .........................................................................................................................32
3.1. FRANCESCO AND GOLD ........................................................................................................................ 32
3.2. EXTERNAL FACTORS ............................................................................................................................. 33
3.2.1. Management....................................................................................................................................... 33
3
3.2.2. Organizations History ................................................................................................................... 37
3.2.3. Industry Standards .......................................................................................................................... 38
3.2.4. Competition......................................................................................................................................... 39
3.3. INTERNAL FACTORS.............................................................................................................................. 39
3.3.1. Employee Behavior .......................................................................................................................... 39
3.3.2. Employee Turnover ......................................................................................................................... 40
3.4. SUB CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................. 41
4. SUB QUESTION 4 .........................................................................................................................43
4.1. LEWINS MODEL OF CHANGE .............................................................................................................. 43
4.1.1. Unfreeze ................................................................................................................................................ 44
4.1.2. Change ................................................................................................................................................... 45
4.1.3. Refreeze ................................................................................................................................................ 46
4.2. CULTURE ................................................................................................................................................. 46
4.2.1. Artifacts ................................................................................................................................................ 46
4.2.2. Espoused beliefs and values ........................................................................................................ 48
4.2.3. Basic Underlying Assumptions ................................................................................................... 49
4.2.4. Cultural differences between 2010 and 2013 ..................................................................... 51
4.5. SUB CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................. 52
CHAPTER THREE .............................................................................................................................54
CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................................................54
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................58
BOOKS ............................................................................................................................................................. 58
PDFS ............................................................................................................................................................... 58
WEBSITES ....................................................................................................................................................... 58
APPENDIX ..........................................................................................................................................60
APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW 1, CAMILLA GRAVERSEN ................................................................................ 61
General Questions about STS .................................................................................................................. 61
Background to interviewee ...................................................................................................................... 62
Head Office in Sweden ................................................................................................................................ 64
Competition ..................................................................................................................................................... 65
Past...................................................................................................................................................................... 67
Employees ........................................................................................................................................................ 69
Culture ............................................................................................................................................................... 71
APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW 1, NETE MADSEN ............................................................................................ 73
Competition ..................................................................................................................................................... 74
High School Inbound ................................................................................................................................... 75
Past...................................................................................................................................................................... 79
Culture ............................................................................................................................................................... 82
APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW 2, CAMILLA GRAVERSEN ................................................................................ 86
2010 2011 .................................................................................................................................................... 86
APPENDIX D: INTERVIEW 2, NETE MADSEN ............................................................................................ 92
2010 - 2011 ..................................................................................................................................................... 92
APPENDIX E: PRICES OF THE HIGH SCHOOL EXCHANGES ...................................................................... 98

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Chapter One
Introduction
Culture is a fascinating aspect into understanding human interactions. The word
culture can be interpreted in many ways: perceptions of individuals,
intellectual activity, artistic awareness, civilizations, society, lifestyles, customs,
traditions, heritage, habits and values. Schein describes culture as the culture of
a group [is] a pattern of shared basic assumptions learned by a group as it solved
its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, which has worked
well enough to be considered valid and therefore to be taught to new members as
the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.
1

Therefore, for the purpose of this dissertation, the word culture will be used as
the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an
institution or organization.

For my internship, I was at a company called, STS Denmark, in the High School
Outbound department. Student Travel Schools (STS) Denmark is a youth travel
agency, founded in 1958 in Gothenburg, Sweden
2
. STS Denmark offers four travel
packages: High School, Language Schools, Au Pair and International Business
School
3
. The travel packages target youth from the ages of 10 30. Currently, STS
has a global network of partners and schools with STS offices located in 17
different countries
4
.

As an intern, I primarily observed the workplace and questioned the methods or
work processes to get a better understanding of the company, being a newcomer.
This led to me uncovering a need for STS to change in 2012, which hinted that
the organizations culture altered through the process of the changes. This
caused my interest to peak to further investigate and understand how
organizational change affects an organizations culture and how these are
interlinked.

In 2013, as an intern, I learned about the past at STS Denmark that indicated that
there were changes to the companys culture through changes in the
environment. There were 7 events, internal and external, which led me to believe
that there were changes in the companys culture. First of all there was a switch
in leadership, as the Country Manager, Camilla, went on maternity leave that was
substituted with another STS member, Monika from Sweden. Secondly, there

1
Schein, 2010: pg. 18
2
STS Education, 2014
3
STS Education, 2014
4
STS Education, 2014
5
were two TV programs criticizing STS products called Kontant
5
broadcasted in
November 2011 and followed by Bag Facaden
6
that was broadcasted in March
2012. Thirdly, there was a high staff turnover, consisting of 6 employees, for the
small office consisting of 5 full time employees. Furthermore, the Danish
government has a list over the approved organizations for students to utilize to
go abroad, where if the organizations are approved they [the students] can be
granted a financial aid, known as the State Grant, to supplement their High
School exchange. However, due to the bad media coverage, STS lost this grant,
and it caused them to be taken off the list of approved organizations. Due to
bad media coverage the products provided by STS were renewed, which were
further developed when Camilla, the previous Country Manager, came back from
her maternity leave in April 2012. Moreover, she rehired old staff, when she
returned from her maternity leave.

On a further note, as an intern, I observed that the number of students that were
sent off in the years 2010 2013 indicated that the amount of sales made by the
department was reflected the events, external and internal. Since STS lost the
approval for the State Grant, their prices were higher than their competitors.
This was due to strategic pricing of STS High School packages that included the
State Grant. As STS lost the State Grant, this caused the prices of STS products to
be more expensive than their competitors, and was a push for customers to lose
interest in going abroad with STS Denmark. Thus, cancellations were made by
students, who had been approved by STS for the exchange program, for either
other organizations or for other options, such as efterskole. Therefore,
understanding the internal and external factors along with the financial aspects
of STS Denmark we will comprehend how organizational change impacts the
organizational culture.

By presenting all these events and factors, we can question whether it was the
TV programs, which led to the change in the organizations culture or whether it
was the change in management. Was there even a culture change? These are all
aspects that I find fascinating about culture and organizational change. To
understand the need of an organization to change is intriguing to me and to
understand how changes affect an organizations culture.

Thus, for this dissertation will investigate and attempt to get a cultural
understanding both on an organizational and national level and whether the
influence of the environment through external, internal and financial factors
caused a change in the organization and thereby changed the organizational
culture. Thus, the research question for this dissertation is, How can culture

5
Direct translation: Cash
6
Direct translation: Behind the Facade
6
changes in organizations be explained and understood, by using STS Denmark from
2010 2013 as a case?
Research Question
How can culture changes in organizations be explained and understood, by using
STS Denmark from 2010 2013 as a case?
Sub Question 1
What was the culture at STS Denmark from 2010 2011, before Camilla went on
maternity leave?
Sub Question 2
How did the financial implications from changes to STS Denmark through 2010
2013 affect the company culture?
Sub Question 3
What were the internal and external factors that caused changes in the culture at
STS Denmark since 2010?
Sub Question 4
What processes did STS go through, culturally and in management, to respond to
the changes at STS Denmark since 2010, which has made the culture as it is now
(July October 2013)?
Explanation of Sub Questions
To answer the research question, How can culture changes in organizations be
explained and understood, by using STS Denmark from 2010 2013 as a case?
that will be followed by 4 sub questions in attempt to answer the research
question.

The 1
st
sub question, What was the culture at STS Denmark from 2010 2011,
before Camilla went on maternity leave? By establishing the culture that was
present in 2010 2011, we can use this throughout the whole investigation as
the baseline of the culture.

The 2
nd
sub question, How did the financial implications from changes to STS
Denmark through 2010 2013 affect the company culture? This question will be
looking at the aspect of the financial implication from changes to the department
at STS through 2010 2013. By evaluating the finances through this period, we
will gain an understanding of to how the finances were and evaluate whether or
not the financial aspect was the push for the change in the organizational culture.

The 3
rd
sub question, What were the internal and external factors that caused
changes in the culture at STS Denmark since 2010? This sub question will be
7
looking at the internal and external factors, of which one was the above
mentioned economics, which caused fluctuations in the companys culture.

The 4
th
sub question, What processes did STS go through, culturally and in
management, to respond to the changes at STS Denmark since 2010, which has
made the culture as it is now (July October 2013)? This sub question allows for
an understanding of how STS responded to changes and which processes the
office went through. The culture of STS in 2013 will be established and then be
compared with the culture baseline
7
to gain an understanding of how the factors
impacted the companys culture.

Overall, I believe these 4 sub questions will allow for a thorough investigation of
the company culture and the relationship between the environment and the
changes in a culture. Thereby this would allow for some connections to be found
and get a better understanding of culture to help me answer the research
question.
Methodology
Target Group
The target group for the dissertation is three parties. First of all, it is targeted for
my supervisor. This project is also targeted towards students, academics and
teachers who are interested to know how to analysis an organizations culture.
And lastly, this project is targeted for the company, STS Denmark, as they are
interested in results that I conclude from this investigation. Therefore, some of
theories that are being used in this investigation are given a short introduction to
and some elaboration to the theories.
Definitions
Coordinators the people who coordinate the different packages for the
customers, they are in charge of the different department at STS Denmark.
Abbreviations
STS Student Travel Schools
HS High School, STS product of High School exchanges
LS Language Schools, STS product of Language Schools summer exchanges
IBS International Business School, STS product of International Business
School
AP Au Pair, STS product of Au Pair

7
Established in Sub Question 1
8
Choice of Theories and Models
Sub Question 1
What was the culture at STS Denmark from 2010 2011, before Camilla went on
maternity leave?

To answer the first sub question, Scheins organizational culture and Leadership
will be used to assess the culture at STS in 2010 2011. This will be based on the
three components from Scheins theory. It will create a visual picture for the
reader of what the culture was like at STS before Camilla went on maternity
leave and it will allow for further comparisons later in the investigation to
understand whether the culture did change at STS Denmark.
Sub Question 2
What were the financial implications from the changes to STS Denmark through
2010 - 2013?

To answer sub question one, the Dupont pyramid will be used to assess the
financial aspects of STS Denmark through the period of 2010 2013. The Dupont
Pyramid financial ratios such as the return on assets (ROA), profit margin and
asset turnover. This sub question will allow for an understanding between the
factors, which were mentioned in the introduction and what the financial
implication were from the changes in the environment at STS Denmark.
Sub Question 3
What were the internal and external factors that caused changes in the culture at
STS Denmark since 2010?

To answer sub question two, there will be used two theories: Anne Marie
Francesco and Barry Allen Golds International Organizational Behavior and
Hofstedes National Culture. In order to assess the factors (internal and external)
that impacted an organization Francesco and Golds International Organizational
Behavior will be used. This theory will identify factors, which causes changes in
an organization.

Moreover, Geert Hofstedes National Culture theory will be used to look at the
differences to how the change in leadership, Danish to Swedish, had an impact
towards how the new Swedish manager fit or did not fit into the culture at STS
during 2011.
Sub question 4
(July October 2013)?
9

To answer sub question three, there will be utilized two theories, Lewins Model
of Change and Scheins Organizational Culture and Leadership. In order to
understand the processes, which STS went through in 2010 2013, Lewins
Model of Change will be used. Furthermore, Scheins Organizational Culture and
Leadership will be used to assess the culture and create the picture of the culture
in 2013, when I was an intern. Thereby, using the established picture of the
culture in 2010 and the picture that was established for 2013 can be used to
compare the two cultures and identify any differences.
Data Collection Methods
There are two methods in which I will be collecting data for this project, the first
is primary data, which is conducted and executed by myself, and the latter is
secondary data, which will be collected through STS and virk.dk.
Overview of Primary Data
Primary Data Quantitative
/ Qualitative
Description
Interview 1 with
Camilla Graversen
8

Qualitative STS Country Manager interview regarding
STS, the challenges with her job and the
satisfaction from the work she does, STSs
head office in Sweden, competitors, Impact
of media, employees at STS and the culture
at STS
Interview 1 with
Nete Madsen
9

Qualitative STS AP and HS inbound coordinator
interview regarding STS, competitors, High
School inbound, the impact of media and
the culture at STS.
Interview 2 with
Camilla
Graversen
10

Qualitative Questions regarding the culture in 2010 at
the STS office and follow up questions to
the first interview.
Interview 2 with
Nete Madsen
11

Qualitative Questions regarding the culture in 2010 at
STS office and follow up questions to the
first interview.
Overview of Secondary Data
Secondary Data Quantitative
/ Qualitative
Description
Financial report of
STS Denmark 2010
Quantitative The financial report of 2010

8
Appendix A: Interview 1, Camilla Graversen, pg. 61
9
Appendix B: Interview 1, Nete Madsen, pg. 73
10
Appendix C: Interview 2, Camilla Graversen pg. 86
11
Appendix D: Interview 2, Nete Madsen, pg. 92
10
Financial report of
STS Denmark 2011
Financial report of
STS Denmark 2012
Financial report of
STS Denmark 2013
Prices of the High
School Exchange
12

Quantitative Provided by Camilla Graversen: overview of
the prices of STS High School exchange for
the packages for the school years: 2011
2012, 2012 2013, 2013 2014 and 2014
2015.
Choice of Respondents
The choice of respondents for this reports are the Country Manager and one
employee at STS Denmark: Camilla Graversen and Nete Madsen. These two
employees were chosen as respondents due to them both being present in 2010
2011 and in 2013.

Camilla Graversen is the Country Manager at STS Denmark, which means that
she has the overall responsibility for the employees at STS Denmark and the
department. She has been chosen as a respondent, due to her being present in
2010 - 2011 as Country Manager, where she then left for her maternity leave in
May 2011. This would mean she had sufficient knowledge about the culture
present in 2010 and in 2013, allowing for her to create a picture for me to
understand the culture at STS during those two time frames. Also, she is the
leader of the Danish STS department, which according to Schein
13
means that she
influences the culture and can create it at STS Denmark.

Nete Madsen was chosen as a respondent due to her being present throughout
2010 to 2013. She has the responsibility of the High School Inbound department
and the Au Pair department. As Nete was present in 2010 and 2013, so she can
give an insight to the culture in 2010 and 2013. Furthermore, she can explain the
changes that happened at STS through 2010 to 2013, in the culture and at the
organization. She is a vital respondent as her knowledge is the most intact
regarding the office and her experiences and perceptions will be taken in high
regard to understand the culture and changes at STS.
Limitations
The limitations that are in this project are the narrowed focus to the STS Danish
department, the time frame that is covered in this project, the culture analysis,
the choice in respondents and past employees.

12
Appendix E: Prices of the High School Exchanges pg. 98
13
Schein, 2010: pg. 24 27
11

I have narrowed down the focus of the investigation to the culture only present
at the Danish division of STS, rather than the whole organization of STS. This
would be because that STS has 17 offices around the world, and their main office
is in Sweden. Thus, it would be difficult for me to pin point the organizational
culture of all of them, due to they are separated geographically. Due to the lack of
time, access and funds for an investigation of the culture of the whole
organization, STS, it would be an overwhelming analysis and would take many
year to conduct that analysis to the full extent. Therefore, for this investigation I
will focus on the Danish division. Furthermore, as my internship was focused in
the Danish office, it would mean that the access that I have to the company and
the employees would be much easier at STS Denmark due to the relationship
with the company than the offices in the other locations of STS. However, I will
be including the influence of the founders from the Swedish Head Office.

A second limitation that I have set for myself in this project would also be the
time frame of analyzing the culture at STS. The whole investigation covers the
time frame of 2010 2013. For these three years, I will be establishing the
culture in 2010, where I can base any changes in the culture on whether it is
different or the same to the culture established in 2010. Furthermore, as I was an
intern at STS in July October 2013 I will be establishing the culture that was
present when I was there in 2013. This means that part of the cultural analysis
will be based on my own perceptions, observations and findings.

Another limitation is that the culture analyzed for 2010 and 2013 are based
mainly on the perspectives, opinions, impressions and assessment of the culture
or atmosphere at STS will be based on the STS employees. Therefore, some
things that need to be considered is that these events are based in the past so the
employees may have difficulties remembering these periods and that they may
all have a different opinion of the periods. Therefore it should be taken into
consideration that my analysis about the cultural changes would be based on the
employees perceptions.

Furthermore, in Sub Question 1, according to Schein
14
, the artifacts include
observed behavior, however I will not be including this. That is because I was not
present during the time frame 2010 2011 to conduct my own observations.
Thus, a limitation will be that an aspect of the cultural analysis in 2010 2011
will be lacking due to not being present at the STS office.

Currently, there are three other employees at STS, Nicoline Nielsen, Sascha
Hansen and Lotte Christensen. However, they have not been chosen as

14
12
respondents due to lack of time and access. Although they would be interesting
respondents since they were present throughout different timeframes at STS, to
understand the changes and their perceptions of the culture. This would mean a
limitation of this project is that it only involves 40% of the offices employees
perceptions of the culture and changes at the office.

The last limitation that I have made for this investigation would be that I am not
going to interview the people who have been a part of the team at STS Denmark
throughout the period of 2010 - 2013 and who are not currently employed at
STS Denmark. This would be due to lack of access to these past employees as I
have not met any past employees, and from my understanding from my
internship that some of them have moved overseas.
13
Chapter Two
1. Sub Question 1
The first sub question is, What was the culture at STS Denmark from 2010
2011, before Camilla went on maternity leave? This sub question will be used as
the baseline for understanding the culture at STS in 2010 2011 before the
switch in leadership. In order to decipher the culture, Scheins Organization
Culture and Leadership theory will be utilized.
1.1. Scheins Organizational Culture and Leadership
Schein explains that there are The Three Levels of Culture
15
that are present in
organizational cultures which are artifacts, espoused beliefs and values and basic
underlying assumptions
16
.

Table 1.1. The Three Levels of a Culture
17

1. Artifacts Visible and feelable structures
and processes
Observed behavior
o Difficult to decipher
2. Espoused beliefs and values Ideals, goals, values, aspirations
Ideologies
Rationalizations
o May or may not be
congruent with behavior
and artifacts
3. Basic underlying assumptions Unconscious, taken-for-granted
beliefs and values
Determined behavior,
perception, thought and feeling
1.2. Artifacts
According to Schein, artifacts is composed of structures and processes and
observed behavior
18
. Artifacts include the visible products of the group, such as
the architecture of its physical environment; its language; its technology and
products; its artistic creations; its style, as embodied in clothing, manners of
address, and emotional displays; its myths and stories told about the

15
16
17
18
14
organization; its published lists of values; and its observable rituals and
ceremonies
19
.

Observed behavior is also an artifact as are the organizational processes by
which such behavior is made routine. Structural elements such as charters,
formal descriptions of how the organization works, and organization charts also
fall into the artifact level
20
.

As mentioned in my limitations
21
, I will not be including observed behavior due
to me not being present to witness the behavior at the office during the time
frame of 2010 2011. However, from the interviews conducted with Nete and
Camilla, we gained an insight to artifacts of STS in 2010 2011.
1.2.1.Artifacts of the group
Among the artifacts of STS Denmark in 2010-2011, were the language, and the
published list of values. The language that was spoken at the office was Danish
due to it being a Danish office
22
. Where communication with the Head Office is
English
23
. The published list of values of STS are visible on their brochures and
on their website which is, Responsibility, Safety and Quality
24
.

1.2.2. Structures and Processes
The Danish department of STS consisted of Camilla, Nete, Maja, Jesper and
Lotte
25
. From the interview with Nete, we could understand that there were only
3 departments at STS in 2011, which were Au Pair, High School and Language
Schools
26
thus those three departments would also represent the three products
that STS had in 2011. The chart on the next page shows an overview of the
organizational structure based on Netes explanation of the STS office
27
.

19
20
21
Methodology: Limitations, pg. 10
22
Appendix A: Interview 1, Camilla Graversen, Q15
23
Observed behavior from 2013
24
STS Education, 2014
25
Appendix C: Interview 2, Camilla Graversen, Q4
26
Appendix D: Interview 2, Nete Madsen, Q3
27
15

Moreover, we could understand from Camillas and Netes interview that the
office was an open floor plan
28
, where all of the employees sat in an office
together
29
on a lower floor than what they do now
30
. And the processes of STS,
was how you got a student from A to B.
31

1.3. Espoused Beliefs and Values
According to Schein, espoused beliefs and values are due to a group of people
who have gone through a learning process and to what works in an
organization
32
. Mainly the biggest influences of the certain approach or outcome
is due to leaders or founders, therefore any proposals of how to approach things
will be perceived as what the leader wants. Furthermore, the strategy or goals of
the organization may be considered espoused beliefs
33
.

The groups learns that certain beliefs and values, initiated by leaders or
founders, work in the sense of reducing uncertainty in critical areas of the
groups functioning
34
. As these values are used to decrease uncertainty among
the group of people, they are passed on to newcomers in training how to
behave
35
. Therefore they become the ideology or the philosophy of the
organization. If the beliefs and values that provide meaning and comfort to the
group are not congruent with the beliefs and values that correlate with effective
performance, we will observe in many organizations espoused values that reflect
desired behavior but are not reflected in observed behavior
36
.

28
Appendix B: Interview 1, Nete Madsen, Q38
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
Schein, 2010: pgs. 26 - 27
36
Country
Manager
Camilla
Au Pair
Department
Nete
High School
Department
Jesper
Maja
Language
Schools
Department
Lotte
16
1.3.1. Ideals, Goals, Values and Aspirations
Through analyzing the interviews of Nete and Camilla, it seemed that there was a
red thread through the understanding they had of what the ideals, goals and
values of STS in 2010 2011, which was the aim to be able to sell and sales of the
office.

Camilla expressed that the goal of STS in 2010 2011, were sales. She stated,
It was all about the sales. And we should have as many bookings in as possible.
37

Furthermore she expressed that, It was really just focused on being able to sell,
sell, and sell, and we did that too, we had a huge number of students at that time
[in comparison to now].
38
From these two quotes, we can get an understanding
that a value of STS was being able to sell and that the numeric value of being able
to sell was of importance to the company.

Nete commented in her interview, I think that the Head Office pushes us in
regards to sales. So that was pushed down in the chain to oneself because if I
didnt reach 10 sales in one month, then it was me who sat with the
responsibility.
39
From this, we can understand that the ideal of the company,
STS, was to get a certain amount of sales per month, which was pushed through
by the Head Office.

Another value of STS in 2010 2011, was discovered as Nete expressed that, I
felt that on my side, my product, that I have always focused on the quality as
well. But its probably true that we focused a lot more on sales, sales, sales than
actually providing a good service, I think.
40
From this we can understand that
something that was important at STS was sales, which then is interpreted as a
value of the company.

Thus, we can understand that the goals, values and ideals were linked with the
companys performance and ability to sell their products, which was pushed
down from the Head Office, where the founders are. Thereby, the values are
linked to the founders interpretation of the company, which was perceived by
Nete who was a newcomer to the organization.
1.3.2. Ideologies
The ideologies of STS were that the motto of STS was, Responsibility, Safety and
Quality. However Camilla mentioned there was another motto present at the
office in 2010 2011. And there was another ideology from the Country
Manager, Camilla, which Nete had presented.

37
38
39
40
17

Camilla stated that, if there was to be a motto of the organization before she
went on maternity leave it would be, It would be something like, "the biggest
sales team" or the "best sales team." We had employees who were sales
minded rather than service minded.
41
Thus, we can understand that the motto
present at the office in 2010 2011 was the opposite of what STS proposed as
their motto, responsibility, safety and quality, to the best sales team.

Nete said in her interview I would say that Camillas management style has
always been open in regards to where we are going towards so she has always
been open in regards to practical information, and in general about what the
Head Office says and what they dont say But on that note, Camilla is a little bit
more relaxed about those things in general.
42
Thus we can understand that an
ideology that was presented through the leadership was open communication
and a few boundaries between management and employees, creating a relaxed
and informal atmosphere, a laissez-faire leadership.
1.3.3. Rationalizations
It seemed to be understood from the context of the interviews conducted that
Camilla felt that a rationalization that was present at STS in 2010 2011, was
that students just send abroad, regardless of the lack of grades of the students or
their ability to speak the language.

Camilla said, in the past you could more or less go abroad with your pretty face,
as long as you could speak some English
43
Additionally Camilla said, it was not
differentiated if they were good students or if they were bad students and we
just had to sell.
44
And on top of that Camilla said, it was all just about to just
take everything in, everything that could walk, would come more or less in [to
the program] and we bent the rules to the right and to the left, as long as it was a
student. If they had poor grades, they could get into if they had an extra English
test, or whatever it was.
45
Lastly, she said, there were more people saying, I'm
going out to hold sales meeting rather than follow up with the customers who
were already booked in the system.
46

All the quotes presented, agree that STS promoted the image and motto of,
Responsibility, Safety and Quality, however, they focused mainly on being able
to accept applicants to the program, and be able to sell more, regardless of the
students grades and language capabilities. Camilla made it sound like the

41
42
43
44
45
46
18
rationalizations of the office, were that employees needed to accept applicants,
and concentrate on getting more applicants, than following up on the ones
already accepted to the program. Therefore, we could understand that there was
a contrast between the motto, Responsibility, Safety and Quality and the
thought processes of the STS office.
1.4. Basic Underlying Assumptions
According to Schein, basic assumptions are the implicit assumptions that actually
guide behavior, that tell group members how to perceive, think about and feel
about things
47
. Basic assumptions tend to be non-confrontable and non-
debatable, and hence are extremely difficult to change
48
. Therefore, culture as a
set basic assumptions defines for us what to pay attention to, what things mean,
how to react emotionally to what is going on, and what actions to take in various
kinds of situations
49
. Thus, the power of culture comes about through the fact
that the assumptions are shared and therefore mutually reinforced
50
.
1.4.1. Determined behavior, perception, thought and feeling
There seemed to be a correlation between the perception and thought between
the employees regarding their espoused beliefs, as they focused a lot of being
able to sell. As Camilla revealed that employees focused on getting more sales
than following up on already booked customers
51
. Thus, we can understand that
a perception and general thought pattern of the people at the STS office, was to
sell packages to the customers, rather than being able to increase the customer
service of the already booked customers. This could be seen as the mindset of the
office at STS in 2010 2011.

The behavior of the office was first of all, that the employees and leadership
were, a well balanced team, they fit in well and they were good to help each
other
52
. And that the atmosphere that was here and the team spirit that there
was, we moved together and we helped each other, and I thought that was really
positive.
53
Nete mentioned that she, really liked the employees that were
there.
54
The mood was positive, there was nothing negative that I had to leave
on maternity, it was positive throughout.
55
So we can understand that the team
at STS in 2010 2011, was supportive of one another, had team spirit and were
positive.

47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
19
Moreover, Nete was a newcomer in 2011, and her perception of the office was
that she felt that everyone was very accepting and welcomed [her] during
that time.
56
And she said the office was comfortable, although it was small office,
and there were frictions, they found ways to work with one another
57
.

Furthermore, Nete stated, it was a very open atmosphere, it was very open
in that respect to work tasks and where we just were going with the company
and the different departments as well. The atmosphere and the vibe, there was
a really good vibe among the employees, because we knew where our leader was
(which values she had) and which competences she had at that moment of
time.
58

Thus, we can conclude that the behaviors of the office were that employees and
management were supportive of one another, had team spirit and were positive.
The employees were accepting of Nete, the newcomer, and it was comfortable to
be at the office, and although there were frictions, the employees could work
together. And lastly, that the employees trusted their leader and there was an
open atmosphere among the management and staff.
1.5. Sub Conclusion
In conclusion, we could understand that the culture at STS Denmark in 2010
2011 before Camilla went on maternity leave was that the artifacts of STS
Denmark that it was a Danish office where the language spoken was Danish, with
the motto of responsibility, safety and quality. There were 3 departments,
which resulted in 3 products: Au Pair, High School and Language Schools, and the
office was an open floor plan where employees sat together to get students from
A to B.

The espoused beliefs and values of STS Denmark were that the office ability to
perform by selling their products based on the Head Offices values. The
ideologies were the opposite of the proposed motto to being the best sales
team. Moreover, the leadership had open communication, few boundaries
between management and employees, with a relaxed and informal atmosphere, a
laissez-faire leadership. And the lastly, the rationalizations, were to be able to
sell, and get students abroad by any means necessary, regardless of the lack of
grades or language capabilities.

The basic underlying assumptions of STS Denmark, were connected with the
espoused beliefs, as the employees focused more on being able to sell than
following up with already booked customers, which became the mindset of the

56
57
58
20
office. And the behavior of the employees and management was that they were
supportive of each other, had team spirit and were positive. Furthermore the
employees trusted their leaders and it was an open atmosphere among the
management and staff.
21
2. Sub Question 2
The second sub question is, How did the financial implications from changes to
STS Denmark through 2010 2013 affect the company culture? To understand
the fluctuations in the company culture, we need to assess the finances through
the period of 2010 2013. By assessing the finances of STS in 2010 we are able
to establish if there are any changes in the finances through the period of 2011
2013. Also, we will be looking at the prices of STS High School products.
2.1. Finances of STS 2010 2013
The following two tables are an overview of the finances of STS in 2010 2013.
The first table is an overview of the companys Profit and Loss Account and the
second table is an overview of the companys Balance sheet.
Table 2.1. Profit and Loss Account
59

2010 2011 2012 2013
Gross Profit 2138295 2600500 2720513 2378650
Employee Costs 2057826 2486142 2600709 2278234
Other Costs 0 6063 6063 6064
Profit before interests 80469 108295 113741 94352
Interest income 55 234 496 241
Interest expenses 2252 2179 3085 645
Profit before
extraordinary costs 78272 106350 111152 93948
Extraordinary costs 0 0 0 0
Profit before tax 78272 106350 111152 93948
Income tax 28343 28464 27658 23642
Net profit 49929 77886 83494 70306
As mentioned in the introduction
60
, there was a high employee turnover while
Camilla was on her maternity leave, which was in May 2011 April 2012. This is
reflected in the employee costs as; there was an increase of 428,316 krs. from
2010 to 2011 and 114,567 krs. from 2011 to 2012. Thereby from 2010 2012,
there was an increase of employee costs of 542,883 kroners. Where from 2012 to
2013 there was a decrease of employee costs by 322,475 krs. Therefore, the
numbers can indicate that the culture of STS had stabilized and employee
turnover had decreased by the year 2013, in comparison to the two previous
years 2011 and 2012.

59
Based on the information from the Financial Reports of STS 2010 2013, Bibliography # 5 - 8
60
Introduction, pg. 4
22
Table 2.2. Balance Sheet
61

Balance Sheet 2010 2011 2012 2013
Assets
Fixed assets
Other fixtures and fittings 0 12127 6064 0
Property, plant and equipment 0 12127 6064 0
Total 0 12127 6064 0
Current Assets
Accounts Receivables
Other Receivables 81250 369926 157798 131177
Deferred Tax Asset 0 0 1042 0
Deferred Income 9578 58079 76042 108029
Receivables from affiliated
companies 0 0 377585 409689
Total of Accounts Receivables 90828 428005 612467 648895
Cash 615898 712189 286053 238194
Total Assets 706726 1140194 898520 887089
Total of all Assets 706726 1152321 904584 887089
Liabilities
Equity
Owners/Share equity 126000 126000 126000 126000
Retained earnings 111000 188886 272380 342685
Total 237000 314886 398380 468685
Liabilities
Short Term Liabilities
Payables to affiliates 174759 437281 0 0
Income Tax 350 28820 29934 17245
Deferred result 0 0 0 52441
Other loans 294617 371334 476270 348718
Total of Short Term Liabilities 469726 837435 506204 418404
Total Liabilities 706726 1152321 904584 887089

These two tables will be utilized and assessed using the Dupont pyramid
62
. As
mentioned under Choices of Theories and Models
63
, using the Dupont pyramid
will allow for use to evaluate the profitability of the company through 2010,
2011, 2012 and 2013.

61
Based on the information from the Financial Reports of STS 2010 2013, Bibliography # 5 - 8
62
Asns and Vangstrup, 2011: pg. 42
63
Choice of Theories and Models, pg. 8
23
2.2. Dupont Pyramid
64

The Dupont pyramid shows the relationship between profitability and
investments
65
. A companys profitability is measured in comparison of the
operating profit before interest with the invested capital, which is equal with
total assets
66
. The profitability ratio shows to what degree the invested capital
manage to generate profits
67
.

The model, below, should be read from left to right, starting with Return on
Assets. For example, a change in profitability occurs, if the change is due to
changes in revenue and operating profit or if the change is due to a change in
asset turnover either because of revenue or the level of average assets
68
.

There are three key ratios of the Dupont pyramid, which are Return on Assets
(ROA), Profit Margin and Asset Turnover
69
.

The Return on Assets (ROA) is the key ratio for profitability
70
:

64
65
66
67
68
69
70
Return on
Assets
Profit margin
Operating
profit before
interest
Gross Profit
Revenue
-
Production
Cost
-
Fixed Cash Cost /
Revenue
x
Asset turnover
Revenue
/
Average Asset
Average fixed
assets
+
Average
Current Assets
Average
inventories
+
Average
receivables
+
Average Cash
24
()()

The profit margin is calculated as follows
71
:

()

The asset turnover is calculated as follows
72
:
()

The following relationship exists between the three ratios
73
:

2.3. Analysis of STS Profitability
2.3.1. Year 2010
()

()

()

2.3.2. Year 2011
()

71
72
73
25

()

()

2.3.3. Year 2012
()

()

()

2.3.4. Year 2013
()

()
26

()

To make the ratios for all the years cohesive, they have been combined into a
table, which is shown below.
Table 2.3. Profitability of STS from 2010 - 2013
2010 2011 2012 2013
Return on Assets (%) 11.4 9.4 12.6 10.6
Profit Margin (%) 3.8 4.2 4.2 4.0
Asset Turnover (times) 3.0 2.3 3.0 2.7

From looking at the table, we can understand that the Return on Assets,
decreased from 2010 to 2011, by 2%. This means that in 2011 there was a
decrease in sales and an increase of costs. We can see there was from 2010
2011 a change in the profit margin and the asset turnover. Since the profit
margin shows the percentage of revenue that is left for profit before interest and
is an indication of the companys capacity to keep a part of the revenue as
profit
74
, we can see that, we can understand that there was an increase of costs
in 2011, and the revenue increased, causing there to be a difference in the profit
margin percentage. Furthermore, as there was a change in the asset turnover
from 2010 2011. The asset turnover is an expression of how many times the
invested capital has been turned over or how much revenue is generated per
DKK 1 of investment
75
. The higher the number the more efficient is the
exploitation of the assets
76
. Thus, we can understand that in 2011, there was an
increase of assets, in comparison to the previous year, which made the asset
turnover to be lower and that the assets were not made us of in comparison to
2010.

74
75
76
27
In 2011 to 2012, there was an increase on Return on Assets there was an
increase by 3.2% indicating that there was an increase of sales. We can see there
was no change in the profit margin from 2011 to 2012, however, there was a
change in the Asset Turnover by 0.7 times. We can see from the calculation, that
there was a decrease in Assets from 2011 to 2012; thereby we can see that the
company had fewer assets, which led to the increase of the Return on Assets.

In 2012 to 2013 we can see there was a decrease of the Return on Assets, by 2%.
We can see from the chart that there was a decrease in the profit margin
percentage as well as a decrease in asset turnover. As the profit margin was
lower by 0.2% from 2012 2013, we can understand that the costs of STS were
greater in 2012, and that the revenue had lowered in 2013. Because the asset
turnover decreased, we can understand that there was a decrease of assets of the
company from 2012 2013, which made the asset turnover to be 0.3 times lower
than the previous year.
2.4. Index Numbers for Profitability
In the tables below, 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6 we can see the index numbers of 2010
2013 for the Return on Assets, Profit Margin and the Asset Turnover ratios.
Table 2.4. Index Numbers of Return on Assets
Year Return on Assets Percentage Change Index Number
2010 11.4 Base Year 100
2011 9.4 -2.0 98
2012 12.6 1.2 101.2
2013 10.6 0.8 100.8
From this table we can see that there are variations from the base year, 2010. In
2011 where the index number decreases, which indicated that company
performance was lower in 2011. In 2012 and 2013 the index numbers increase,
where in 2012, it increase by 1.2, which indicates that STS performance was
better than the base year, and in 2013, it increased by 0.8 percent which meant
that the performance of the company was better than the base year, however
poorer than 2012. Thereby, it would indicate that the changes in the company
and that perhaps changes in the culture caused there to be changes in 2011 of
the performance of the company, including the employee turnover that made the
Return on Assets to be lowered in 2011.
Table 2.5. Index Numbers of Profit Margin
Year Profit Margin Percentage Change Index Number
2010 3.8 Base Year 100
2011 4.2 0.4 100.4
2012 4.2 0.4 100.4
2013 4.0 0.2 100.2
28
From this table, we can see that through 2011 2013, the index numbers
increased from the base year, 2010. This is positive as in 2011 and 2012 there
was no change in the profit margin, which indicated that the companys capacity
to keep a part of the revenue, as profit, is great for these two years. However, in
2013 there is a slight decrease.
Table 2.6. Index Numbers of Asset Turnover
Year Asset Turnover Percentage Change Index number
2010 3.0 Base Year 100
2011 2.3 -0.7 99.3
2012 3.0 0 100
2013 2.7 -0.3 99.7
From this table, we can see that the base year, 2010, and 2012, there is no
change in the index number. However, in 2011, there is a decrease in the
percentage by 0.7 and in 2013 there is a decrease by 0.3 in comparison to the
base year. Thus, we can understand that STS ability to generate more revenue
than what was invested was poorer than the base year; thereby they were not
able to make the most of their assets in comparison to the base year.
2.5. STS High School
77
, since STS was featured in two TV programs,
that criticized the company, they lost the State Grant by the government. This
had implications on the prices of the High School products. Below in the table we
can see the prices of the products provided by the STS High School department.
Table 2.7. Prices of High School Products
78

Countries Prices in DKK
2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014 - 15
USA 59.950 61.950 49.950 64.995
Canada 58.950 69.950 69.950 75.995
New Zealand 68.950 83.950 74.950 80.995
Australia 68.950 86.950 76.950 90.995
France 39.950 43.950 39.950 44.995
Italy 43.950 49.950 39.950 44.995
Japan 76.950 76.950 66.950 -
Spain 59.950 59.950 49.950 54.995
Austria 45.950 46.950 39.950 44.995
UK 59.950 59.950 47.950 56.995

When looking at 2010 2013 of the prices of the products of the High School
department, we need to understand that there were different prices, due to
strategic pricing and the price included the State Grant. This meant that

77
Introduction, pg. 4
78
Appendix E: Prices of the High School Exchanges
29
approximately 10,000 krs. could be taken off the price for customers, in the year
that the State Grant was available (2010).

Furthermore, when looking at Table 2.7. we need to understand that the prices
are for the school years, whereas the payment will take part in the prior year. So
for example, if you are going abroad in 2011 2012, you will be paying for the
package in 2009 - 2010.

Therefore the table below shows the prices for the year, which was offered for
the next school year for customers and the average price of the High School
packages.
Table 2.8. Average Prices of High School Products

Prices in DKK
2010 2011 2012 2013
Average of High School Package 58,350 64,050 55,650 62,217

In 2010, STS had had a successful financial year, according to the Country
Manager, which meant that in the following year, 2011, she decided because of
the popularity and increasing demand that the prices were to be increased
allowing for a greater profit. However, because of the media coverage, STS lost
the seal of approval
79
by the government, which caused them to lose the State
Grant in 2011. This meant that STS prices were higher for customers by 10,000
kroners, causing them to be priced higher than their competitors and customers
choose to go with STS competitors instead of them or other options such as
Efterskole
80
and caused lower sales than the previous financial year
81
. This
correlates with the Return on Assets index numbers from 2010 to 2011.

In 2012, the Country Manager, decided for strategic reasons, to set the prices
reducibly lower than 2011, in hopes of being able to compete with their
competitors. The pricing was based on what the State Grant would have covered,
10,000 kroners. By setting their prices so low, STS Country Manager hopes that
it would allow them a better opportunity to compete in the market, where there
were still concerns from parents and students about the media coverage of STS.
It was successful as we saw in the index numbers of the Return on Assets from
2011 to 2012, as it increased by 3.2 %.

The prices for 2013, were based on the possibility of being approved by the
government for the State Grant and that the New York Prep Course (for US) was

79
Appendix: Interview 1, Camilla Graversen, Q17
80
Appendix: interview 1, Camilla Graversen, Q17
81
30
included in the price, approximately 10,000 kroners on top of the price
82
. So the
price of the most popular option by STS, the United States
83
, only changed by
5000 kroners in comparison to the scholastic year of 2013 2014. However, as
the State Grant was abolished by the new financial laws in Denmark
84
, we can
see from the Return on Assets that the percentage change from the base year,
2010, to 2013 was only 0.8. Thereby the strategy that STS hoped would have
increased sales in 2013 did only slightly increase sales, in comparison to the
previous financial year in 2012.

Therefore, we can understand that the Danish STS office was impacted
financially due to employee turnover, the profitability ratios with the index
numbers based on the ratios and strategic pricing. As to understanding how did
the financial implications from changes to STS Denmark affected the company
culture, we can understand that the finances were an instigator for changing the
culture.

When recapturing the culture that was established in Sub Question 1, where the
espoused values and beliefs of the company was the ability to perform by selling
their products. Thus we can see from the profitability of the company, that there
was a change in performance, regarding the Return on Assets, from the base year
2010 to 2011. This would have indicated that their value would have been
deemed unfounded, as the performance of the company and the manners in
which they were proceeding them was false, as it did not acquire the results that
they would have wanted. So, because of the proven false espoused value, it could
have caused conflictions in the groups perception of themselves. Therefore,
according to Schein, the shared value or belief can now cause group members to
become unsure and debate or confront the value
85
and increase the groups
anxiety and uncertainty
86
.

This correlates with the staff turnover that was evaluated, as there was an
increase in employee costs, from 2010 2012. Due to the social anxiety and the
falsified espoused value, employees may have found the work place as unstable,
which led to an increase in staff turnover. This is related to the performance of
the company being poorer in the year 2011, in comparison to the base year
2010, by 2.0%. When there is a high staff turnover the culture there are changes
in a company, due to the increase of new members and the loss of knowledge

82
83
My own observations
84
Uddannelses- Og Forskningsministeriet, 2014
85
86
31
through old employees
87
. Thus, the assumption of a change in the culture is
inevitable.

Furthermore as the Country Manager, strategically, changed the prices of the
High School packages to be able to compete, due to the loss of the State Grant.
The fact that the Country Manager changed the prices to be as low as if they did
have the seal of approval by the government, implies that the loss of the State
Grant was a significant motivator for STS to change their prices to get a
competitive advantage. Thus, if we take into consideration that the STS offices
culture in 2010 2011, was to the ability to sell
88
, we can see that it correlates
with the fact that they strategically changed their prices to be able to sell more in
the market. So although, the espoused value was falsified, the instinct to survive
as a company was to go back to the espoused values and basic underlying
assumption of the company to be able to sell.
2.5. Sub Conclusion
From this investigation of the How did the financial implications from changes
to STS Denmark through 2010 2013 affect the company culture? we could
understand that the Danish STS office was impacted financially due to employee
turnover, the profitability ratios with the index numbers based on the ratios and
strategic pricing, which led to the finances to impact the companys culture and
being the motivator for change.

It was discovered that due to the change in performance, it deemed the espoused
value in 2010 2011, to be falsified. This was due to the Return on Assets, from
the base year 2010 to 2011 lowering by 2%. This then would have caused
according to Schein for members of the group to become unsure, anxious and
debate and confront the value of being able to sell and cause uncertainty about
the espoused value. Furthermore, the uncertainty could have caused the high
staff turnover, which would have then led to a loss of knowledge from the old
employees and the increase of new employees, would create a push in the
culture for change.

In conclusion, the strategic pricing of the products, due to the loss of the State
Grant, to make them as low as if the State Grant was included, determined that
the loss of the State Grant was a significant motivator for STS to change their
prices. Furthermore, the prices were set low, in order to be able to compete,
which was in relation to the espoused value of being able to sell. Which we can
see was the reaction of the company to survive, by going back to their prior
espoused value and basic underlying assumption to be able to sell.

87
Schein 2010: pg. 29
88
Established under Sub Question 1, pg. 15 - 17
32
3. Sub Question 3
The third sub question is, What were the internal and external factors that
caused changes in the culture at STS Denmark since 2010? To answer this sub
question, we will investigate what are internal and external factors that cause
changes a companys culture and identify the factors that existed at STS
Denmark. However, first of all we will be using culture establish in Sub Question
1 to understand whenever there was a change in the surroundings.

The culture established was before Camilla went on maternity leave STS
Denmark was a Danish office where the language spoken was Danish, with the
motto of responsibility, safety and quality. The espoused beliefs and values of
STS Denmark were that the office ability to perform by selling their products
based on the Head Offices values. The ideologies were the opposite of the
proposed motto to being the best sales team. Moreover, the leadership had
open communication, few boundaries between management and employees,
with a relaxed and informal atmosphere, a laissez-faire leadership. The basic
underlying assumptions of STS Denmark, were connected with the espoused
beliefs, as the employees focused more on being able to sell than following up
with already booked customers, which became the mindset of the office. And the
behavior of the employees and management was that they were supportive of
each other, had team spirit and were positive. Furthermore the employees
trusted their leaders and it was an open atmosphere among the management
and staff.

89
there was a combination of internal and
external factors, however, to be able to categorize them as factors that causes
organizations culture to change, we need to use Francesco and Golds
definition
90
.
3.1. Francesco and Gold
Francesco and Gold define that an organizations culture changes externally due
to competition, industry standards, technological changes and the organizations
history and management
91
. Where changes in the organizations culture happen
internally in order to reduce employee turnover, to influence employee behavior,
to improve the company, to refocus company objectives, to provide better
customer service and/or to achieve company goals and results
92
.

89
Chapter One: Introduction, pg. 4
90
Francesco and Gold, 2005
91
Francesco and Gold, 2005: Chapter 8
92
Francesco and Gold, 2005: Chapter 8
33
Francesco and Gold identify that changes in organizations culture happen
through internal and external factors. We will be looking at the events
mentioned earlier in the introduction
93
and categorize them as external or
internal factors, to understand how the factors affect the companys culture.
3.2. External Factors
Francesco and Gold state that the external factors, which causes organizations
cultures to change are due to management, competition, industry standards,
technological changes and organizations history. However, through interviewing
employees at STS Denmark, the most relevant external factors, which impacted
the company, were management, the organizations history, competition and
industry standards.
3.2.1. Management
As the culture was established in sub question 1, we can understand there was a
change in management. Thereby, the culture according to Francesco and Gold
changed. Camilla Graversen, Country Manager, went on maternity leave in May
2011
94
and her substitute was Monika Vranic introduced to the company for a
transitional phase with the Danish office
95
. Monika was internally promoted
from the Swedish Head Office
96
to the Danish office to be Camillas substitute
during her maternity leave
97
.

Although Monika seemed to have the background and competencies
98
that she
should have had for the position as Country Manager, she needed a longer
transitional phase (training) according to Camilla
99
. Furthermore according to
Nete, when Monika took over as leader, she did not have the competencies or
knowledge
100
, and her management style was closed off to the employees
101
.
There was a distance between the new leader and the employees
102
, in
comparison to the one that was present with Camilla as the leader
103
.

However, through the interview with Camilla she revealed that the employees
were not negative about the switch in leadership, she mentioned that, There
was no arguing about it shouldnt be her because she was a Swede or that she
could not speak Danish, my worries were there not there [from the employees],

93
Chapter One: Introduction, pg. 4
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
34
at the time, and not from my side of.
104
From this quote, we can interpret that
Camilla seemed to believe that the conflicts that arose between the management
and employees was due to cultural differences. Furthermore, it seemed the
national cultural differences seemed to play a role as Nete said, It was tied to
much of Monikas ignorance about everything, also how Denmark is, how Danes
are and how we sell down here, and how you got your customers through the
system you can say.
105
Thus, we should investigate if national cultural
differences were the reason the switch in leadership was problematic by using
Hofstedes theory on National Cultures.
3.2.1.1. Geert Hofstedes National Culture
106

According to Hofstede, there are six dimensions that distinguish national
cultures, which are: power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty
avoidance, pragmatism and indulgence
107
.

Power Distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of
institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is
distributed unequally
108
.

Individualism is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its
members. It has to do with whether peoples self-image is defined in terms of I
or we. In individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves
and their direct family only. In collectivist societies people belong to in groups
that take of them in exchange for loyalty
109
.

For the dimension, masculinity, the fundamental issue is what motivates people,
wanting to be the best (masculine) or liking what you do (feminine)
110
. A high
score masculine on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by
competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the
winner/best in the field a value system that starts in school and continues
throughout organizational behavior
111
. A low score feminine, on the dimension
means that the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of
life. A feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of success and
standing out from the crowd is not admirable
112
.

104
105
106
Hofstede, 2014
107
Hofstede, 2014
108
Hofstede, 2014
109
Hofstede, 2014
110
Hofstede, 2014
111
Hofstede, 2014
112
Hofstede, 2014
35
Uncertainty Avoidance is the extent to which the members of a culture feel
threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and
institutions that try to avoid these is reflected in the score
113
.

The dimension, Pragmatism, describes how people in the past as well as today
relate to the fact that so much that happens around us cannot be explained
114
.

Lastly, Indulgence, is defined as the extent to which people try to control their
desires and impulses, based on the way they were raised
115
.

Although Sweden and Denmark are geographically close, we can see in the graph
above, that they do vary in some aspects to their culture according to Hofstede.
The three dimensions, which the two countries significantly vary, are the
following: power distance, masculinity and pragmatism.

According to Hofstede, Sweden and Denmark both score low on power distance,
which means that power is decentralized and managers count on the experience
of their team members, workplaces are in an informal atmosphere where names
are on a first name basis and communication is direct and involving
116
. As
Sweden scores 31, it means in a work setting that employees are independent,
focused on equal rights, hierarchy is used for convenience only as control is
disliked, superiors are accessible and they are coaching leaders
117
. However the
power distance among employees and managers in Sweden is higher in
comparison to Denmark
118
. Denmark scores 18, meaning that respect among the
Danes is something earned by proving hands on expertise
119
. Hofstede expresses

113
Hofstede, 2014
114
Hofstede, 2014
115
Hofstede, 2014
116
Hofstede, 2014
117
Hofstede, 2014
118
Hofstede, 2014
119
Hofstede, 2014
36
it as, Danes do not lead, they coach and employee autonomy is required
120
.
Danes have a very egalitarian mindset, where they believe in independency,
equal rights, accessible superior and that management facilitates and empowers
where employees expect to be consulted
121
.

In the dimension masculinity, Sweden and Denmark both score low (5 and 16),
which makes them feminine societies. In feminine countries it is important to
keep the life/work balance and you make sure that all are included
122
. In this
society, an effective manager is supportive to their people, and decision-making
is achieved through involvement
123
. Managers strive for consensus and people
value equality, solidarity and quality in their working lives
124
. Conflicts are
resolved by compromise and negotiation where Danes and Swedes are known
for their long discussions until consensus has been reached
125
. Incentives such as
free time and flexible work hours and place are favored
126
. Although, as Danes
rank higher in this dimension it should be understood that there is more
competition among Danes and achievement and success are determining factors
in society
127
.

Regarding the dimension pragmatism, Sweden has an intermediate score of 53,
which means that they have not expressed a clear preference in this
dimension
128
. Whereas Denmark has a low score of 35, which indicates that, the
Danish culture is normative
129
. People in such societies have a strong concern
with establishing the absolute Truth; they are normative in their thinking
130
.
They exhibit great respect for traditions, a relatively small propensity to save for
the future, and a focus on achieving quick results
131
.

From this analysis we can understand that although these two countries,
Denmark and Sweden, are close regarding their geographic location, they do
differ in their national cultures. Therefore, from the analysis of the two national
cultures, we should understand that leaders from Denmark according to
Hofstede, are accessible coaching superiors, and employees are expected to be
consulted. Whereas, leaders that are Swedes it is expected that there is distance
between the leaders and employees, however they are still coaching leaders and

120
Hofstede, 2014
121
Hofstede, 2014
122
Hofstede, 2014
123
Hofstede, 2014
124
Hofstede, 2014
125
Hofstede, 2014
126
Hofstede, 2014
127
Hofstede, 2014
128
Hofstede, 2014
129
Hofstede, 2014
130
Hofstede, 2014
131
Hofstede, 2014
37
hierarchy is only used if convenient. Furthermore, Swedes value equality and
decision-making is achieve through involvement, where Danes are more
competitive than Swedes and achievement and success is valued in the Danish
society although they are a feminine society. Moreover, the Danish culture is
normative, where traditions are values and they focus on achieving quick results,
where the Swedish society doesnt have any preferences regarding pragmatism.

Therefore, according to Hofstede, it is expected that the leadership changing
from Danish to Swedish, there would naturally be more distance between the
leader and the employees, due to Sweden having more Power distance in the
society. This would concur with what Nete said in her interview as she said with
Monika joining STS it was like, before we were a team, all of STS, and then it
got divided up in employees and management. So that was really closed, and like
there was a cold air between the management and employees.
132

There are some differences between what Hofstede claims due to national
cultures and the behavior of the management. Nete stated, I thought Monika
was really good at pushing one, to why? Why do we not have higher sales
figures? And Camilla doesnt do that in the same manner.
133
Thus, it seemed that
Monika was more focused on achievements, as a Swede, in comparison to what
Hofstede claimed Danes to be, however it fit to the offices espoused beliefs and
basic underlying assumptions. So, here it was clear that the managers behavior
was different than what national culture theory predicted.

Therefore, the problems that arose from the change in leadership, was not only
due to the different cultures merging, it was also that Monika, did not fit into the
Danish office. She had a different understanding of how to lead the office, and
how to run the daily operations, which contradicted the previous leader. Thus, it
can be understood that the changes in the organizations culture where due to a
new leader coming to the office, with a different style of management, which the
employees were not accepting of, which could be seen through Hofstedes
national culture theory.
3.2.2. Organizations History
A part of STS history was that they were featured in two TV programs. The two
programs were called, Kontant, and Bag Facaden.

The first of the TV programs, Kontant
134
, aired in November 2011. The
program criticized the company, STS, for not listening to the customers concerns
of the children sent abroad, who were placed in South Africa in two districts that

132
133
134
Klster, 2011
38
were not suitable or safe for the students abroad
135
. Camilla said the parents and
students had asked for the companys help before departure due to the host
family placements, however, they were denied and told if they want to go
abroad, that was the host family they would get
136
. Thus, STS was criticized for
not upholding their motto, safety, responsibility and quality. The TV program
caused conflictions between the parents and STS, as the parents did not trust
sending abroad their children, especially to South Africa
137
. The Director of STS,
John Cedergrdh, was featured in the program, where he apologized for the
episodes and deemed the episode unacceptable.
138

The second TV program was released in March 2012, Bag Facaden
139
, which
exposed a former student of STS who had been placed with a single man in US,
who had abused the boy while he was on his exchange. Where the at the time
leader of STS Denmark, Annette Srensen
140
, had paid the family to write a
confidentiality agreement with STS. Furthermore the show featured students
who had been used by their host families, financially, or had similar
experiences of abuse and sexual assault
141
. As Annette was the leader of STS, 11
years ago, STS was pulled into the program, and the program featured Annette as
a bad leader, as she ran InterStudies at the time the program was aired
142
. The
second feature caused a domino effect as STS lost the trust of the parents,
students were pulled from the program and in turn STS lost the State Grant
143
.
3.2.3. Industry Standards
Due to the negative coverage by the media of STS
144
, STS lost the approval for the
State Grant by the government, which is considered as a seal of approval
145
.
Which resulted in STS being taken off the list of approved organizations on
Education and Research Ministrys website, which is visible for the public, about
the complaints that are filed against the organization
146
. Therefore, the industry
standards affected STS, by the government not approving STS for the State Grant
due to negative media coverage.

135
136
137
138
139
Rask, 2012
140
141
Rask, 2012
142
143
144
145
146
Uddannelses- Og Forskningsministeriet, 2014
39
3.2.4. Competition
As mentioned in Sub Question 2
147
, STS lost the State Grant, which meant that
their prices were significantly higher than their competitors. Thereby, their
competitive advantage that they had in the previous year was lost due to the
prices, which made them re-evaluate their own products and pricing.
3.3. Internal Factors
As mentioned by Francesco and Gold, organizations cultures change due to
internal factors, when companies want to reduce employee turnover, to
influence employee behavior, to improve the company, to refocus company
objectives, to provide better customer service and/or to achieve company goals
and results. However to investigate, what caused changes in the companys
culture, we need to look at why the company would want to change, thereby
looking at aspects such as employee turnover and employee behavior. Thus, we
will understand why it was necessary for STS to change its organizational
culture to either/or improve the company, to refocus company objectives, to
provide better customer service and/or to achieve company goals and results.
3.3.1. Employee Behavior
There were four significant employee behaviors that were revealed through the
interviews with Nete and Camilla that happened through the period of 2011
2012, when Camilla was on maternity leave.

Nete mentioned that Maja, had applied to be the Country Manager during
Camillas maternity leave to be her substitute
148
. However, the other employees
had wished that she did not get the position
149
. Therefore, when Maja did not get
the job, she started applying for other jobs
150
. This caused division in the HS
department, as Jesper and Maja had been sitting together, because Maja wasnt
reliable due to her absence for her job hunting
151
. This caused some stress, as the
employees were unsure of what was going to happen to the HS department
152
.

While Camilla was on maternity leave, she came to visit the office in September
2011
153
. The office ate breakfast together, where Monika, the new Country
Manager, left abruptly, stating she was busy
154
. As Camilla wanted to know how
the transition was going between the office and Monika, she had a conversation
with Monika after breakfast
155
. Monika had confronted Camilla, that she was

147
Sub Question 2: pg. 21
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
40
disappointed and angry that Camilla and the employees had spoken Danish
together, which was why she left breakfast. She then closed off when Camilla
asked about the transition, which resulted in Camilla perceiving that the
transition was not working
156
. We can also understand that a change would have
been due to Monika not speaking Danish, as STS Denmark was a Danish office,
with the language spoken being Danish.

The office decided to file a complaint against Monika, which caused frictions
157
.
The employees sent the complaint to Camilla, who forwarded it to the Head
Office, and was promised the complaint would be dealt with
158
. The Head Office
did not contact the Danish office, however the complaint was forwarded to
Monika, where she confronted the employees
159
. Since the employees had
believed that the complaint was confidential, they felt betrayed by the Head
Office, as they felt they were not supported, but that the Head Office supported
the management instead of the employees
160
. The Head Office did visit the
Danish office, to follow up, three months afterwards in December, however, the
employees that sent the complaint, had more or less dissolved during this
period
161
. Thereby there were frictions between the Head Office and the
employees at STS Denmark.

When the TV programs were broadcasted, the morale of the employees was very
low as well as their motivation. The employees had a tough time dealing with the
calls and emails from angry parents, which made them feel uncomfortable
working for STS and wanted to be disassociated with the company
162
. In January,
STS had conferences, where the employees didnt want to attend and have their
faces represented there, which caused them to lose sales through the
conferences
163
.
3.3.2. Employee Turnover
There was a high employee turnover during 2011 2012. There were 4 people at
the office, where only Nete was left when Camilla came back from maternity
leave
164
. Thus, Lotte, Jesper and Maja had resigned before Camilla came back
from her maternity leave. Maja went job hunting after not getting the position as
Country Manager when Camilla went on maternity
165
, which resulted in her

156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
41
resigning during the summer of 2011
166
. Then 2 other employees were hired in
the period and resigned quickly after their hiring in January 2012
167
.
Furthermore, there were interns throughout the whole period; Nete said this
period was, very turbulent with new people constantly, you could
say.
168
Thus, it meant that there were many new faces and a great loss of
employee knowledge throughout this period for the STS Danish office.
3.4. Sub Conclusion
In conclusion, the external factors that affected STS Denmark were due to
management, the organizations history, the industry standards and the
competition. The management was changed from a Danish leader to a Swedish
leader. According to Hofstede, even though Sweden and Denmark are
geographically are close, they vary in their cultures. This meant that the
problems that arose in the change in leadership were predictable, as Monika did
not fit into the office, as she ran the office differently than Camilla. The
organizations history was that there were broadcasted two TV programs, that
criticized STS products and previous management, which caused the parents to
mistrust STS, which led to them pulling their children from the program, and STS
lost the State Grant. From this, the industry standards impacted STS as the
negative media coverage caused the seal of approval to be taken away from
STS and the State Grant as well. And STS competitors had lower prices due to
the loss of the State Grant for STS.

Whereas the internal factors that impacted STS was the employee behavior and
employee turnover. The employee behavior was that Maja became unavailable to
STS after she did not get the position as Country Manager, which meant Jesper
had the workload to himself, which caused tension between the two, and stress
for the employees. The transition for the office and the new Country Manager
was bad, according to Camilla after being confronted by Monika due to Camilla
speaking Danish instead of English. The bad transition resulted in a complaint
from the office; the Head Office dealt it with poorly, as the employees felt they
were not supported. The complaint was not kept confidential, but was forwarded
to Monika, who confronted the office, which caused tensions in the office. The
Head Office tried to deal with the situation, by following up in Denmark,
however, the team that had complained was more or less dissolved by the time
they visited. And lastly, employee behavior during 2011 2012 was that the
moral and motivation of employees was low after the airing of the two TV
programs. This was due to the call and emails from angry parents, which made
the employees feel uncomfortable working for STS and they wanted to be
disassociated with the company when doing conferences. All of the employee

166
167
168
42
behavior resulted in a high employee turnover, where there were 5 employees in
and out of the office, combined with interns, causing there to be many new faces
and a loss of employee knowledge through 2011 2012 at the Danish STS office.

Therefore, we can understand that through all the internal and external factors,
according to Francesco and Gold that STS would want to have an organizational
culture change to improve the company, through sales and image perceived by
parents and students, and to refocus the company objectives as they were
criticized through two TV programs which could result in better customer
service and the ability to achieve company goals and results.
43
4. Sub Question 4
The last sub question is, What processes did STS go through, culturally and in
made the culture as it is now (July October 2013)? This sub question, we will be
looking at the processes of change that STS went through in management and
culturally, to respond to the event at STS Denmark since 2010. Which will be
done through utilizing Lewins Model of Change. Thereafter how the processes
have made the culture as it is now (July - October 2013) by the use of Scheins
Organizational Culture and Leadership theory and comparing the culture with
the culture that was present in 2010.
4.1. Lewins Model of Change
Lewins Model of Change focuses on three stages: unfreeze, change and refreeze.

According to Lewin, the stage unfreezing is where the mind-set of employees and
organization are prepared for the change
169
. It is the phase where the existing
status quo of the organization needs to be broken down in order to build up a
new one
170
. It is the phase of opening the communication from the management
to the employees of why things need to change and how they cannot continue to
do what the organization has done
171
. People need to see for themselves the
need for change, for the catalyst to occur, to provoke the unfreeze stage
172
.

The stage change is the transition phase, which is aimed to shift or alter the
behaviour of the organization to develop new behaviours, values, attitudes,
organizational structures, process changes and development techniques
173
. This

169
Lewin, 1947
170
Lewin, 1947
171
Lewin, 1947
172
Lewin, 1947
173
Lewin, 1947
44
stage is where people are looking for new and better ways to do things
174
. Open
communication between management and employees is important to get the
desired behaviour to be understood and accepted
175
.

Lewins model assumes that organizations tend to revert to their former ways of
doing things unless the changes are reinforced. Thus, the last stage refreezing is
achieved when all elements seem to be working; its time to lock them into place.
The new status quo is accepted, and the changes become the way we do things
around here
176
. Kurt Lewin's model requires a process be in place that supports
and maintains the changes, such as performance appraisal systems and reward
systems. Freezing eliminates confusion for people who may not be sure of what
needs to be done if things were not locked in to become standard operating
procedure.

With Lewins Model of Change it should be recognized that the process could
reoccur when there are changes, however, changes should be done one at a time
to avoid confusion by implementing too many things at one time
177
. Therefore,
freezing can be temporary, until the need for change occurs again
178
.

Thus, we will apply the Model of Change to STS and the situation that occurred
before and when Camilla returned from her maternity leave in 2012.
4.1.1. Unfreeze
As the unfreeze stage is when the organization understands there is a need for
change, we can relate it to the previous sub question
179
. We learned from sub
question 3 that, due to the organizations history of the two TV programs
broadcasted that STS was criticized on their products and previous management,
which caused the parents to mistrust STS, which led to them pulling their
children from the program, and STS lost the State Grant causing their prices to be
higher than their competitors. Furthermore, there were tensions among Monika
and the employees, which caused there to be a complaint to be filed which was
disclosed to Monika as well, where the employees thought the complaint was
confidential. The employees were also demotivated due to angry parents calling
and emailing, which caused employees to want to be disassociated to the
organization. This resulted in a high employee turnover and loss of employee
knowledge. From these factors, we can understand, according to Francesco and
Gold
180
, that there would be a need for change at the organization, whether it be

174
Lewin, 1947
175
Lewin, 1947
176
Lewin, 1947
177
Lewin, 1947
178
Lewin, 1947
179
Sub Question 3, pg. 32 - 41
180
45
to improve the company, to refocus company objectives, better customer service,
to achieve company goals and results, reduce employee turnover or influence
employee behaviour
181
. Thus, we have identified the companys need for change.

When Camilla came back as Country Manager, she informed the office, that the
office would be refocused from being a sales office to a quality office
182
. This
would be the stage as known as unfreezing, she notified the office about the old
status quo and the new status quo. She explained that the change was so that the
employees could become proud of their products again
183
, and the
communication was open between management and the employees as she
mentioned that they were angry and held grudges, but she listened to their
concerns and prior problems
184
. Thus this was the stage unfreezing represented
in STS case.
4.1.2. Change
The phase change occurred with Camilla rehiring Lotte and Sascha
185
, and there
was established a new position for Lotte, Marketing and Sales
186
. There was a
refocus of going from focusing on sales, to following up on students who had
been booked for a program
187
. This meant that there were new processes
implemented to improve the quality of the services provided.

Camilla made higher requirements for the students than there had been
188

regarding grades and interviews and became less lenient sending students
abroad as the rejection percentage of students increased by 20%
189
. Moreover,
there were established departure meetings, workshops and Newsletters
190
to
create a feeling of safety and responsibility for students
191
. There were more
work routines
192
and frameworks established for employees to get a student
from A to B
193
and procedures to handle problems and applications
194
. These
implemented changes were done to build up the trust between the customers
and STS
195
. The communication had been open between management and
employees due to Camillas leadership style
196
, where Camilla listened to the

181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
Sub Question 1: pg. 13 - 19
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
46
employees
197
. Thus, the values, behaviours, organizational structures and
development techniques were altered at STS Denmark in 2012, when Camilla
4.1.3. Refreeze
The refreezing stage happened as Camilla mentioned in her interview, a half year
after she returned from her maternity leave
198
. This is when there was a visible
change in the culture and the entire company
199
. She stated that her current job
is to stick with what we [STS] have
200
. From observations, I saw that the changes
made, became the standard operating procedure of STS, as there was established
all the steps to get a student from A to B and the amount of paperwork that
followed the students application process. The new status quo was visible in the
company and introduced, as this is the way we do things here. Thereby, the
refreezing stage had happened in STS, as the new processes were visible to
newcomers. Thus, these processes that STS went through were visualized
through Lewins Model of Change that were implemented by management.
4.2. Culture
4.2.1. Artifacts
Artifacts include the visible products of the group, such as the architecture of its
physical environment; its language; its technology and products; its artistic
creations; its style, as embodied in clothing, manners of address, and emotional
displays; its myths and stories told about the organization; its published lists of
values; and its observable rituals and ceremonies
201
.
4.2.1.1. Artifacts of the Group
Among the artifacts of STS Denmark in 2013 was the language and the published
list of values. The spoken language was Danish among employees and
customers
202
, however, English when communicating with the Head Office or
other country divisions of STS
203
. The published list of values of STS are visible
on their brochures and on their website which is, Responsibility, Safety and
Quality
204
.
4.2.1.2. Structures and Processes
There are 5 departments at STS Denmark: Sales and Marketing, International
Business School, High School Inbound and Outbound, Au Pair and Language
Schools. There are 4 products provided by STS Denmark: IBS, HS, AP and LS. The

197
198
199
200
201
202
Own observations
203
Own observations
204
STS Education, 2014
47
chart below shows an overview of the organizational structures observed while
an intern.

The office was divided into 3 separate offices, where LS had their own office, HS
and AP were in an office together and Sales and Marketing, IBS and the Country
Manager sat in the same office
205
. The process of STS was how you got a student
from A to B
206
.
4.2.1.3. Observed behavior
The observed behavior of STS while I was an intern was that there was a very
relaxed, informal atmosphere at STS, where the employees were on a first name
basis and treated each other as equals; like friends
207
. There were no uniforms,
and employees dressed in casual attire, unless they had sales meetings or airport
shifts, where they would wear the yellow STS shirts
208
. The doors to the offices
were open, implying that everyone could walk in and walk out when they
pleased, and doors were only closed when there were private meetings among
employees and/or management
209
.

The office ate breakfast every Thursday together as a tradition and there were
Fridays bar once a month at the office, which employees could attend
210
. Some
of the employees also got coffee in the morning together down in the cafeteria
211
.

205
Own observations
206
207
Own observations
208
Own observations
209
Own observations
210
211
Own observations
Country
Manager
Camilla
Sales and
Marketing
Lotte -
Coordinator
1 Intern (Mia)
International
Business School
Department
Lotte -
Coordinator
High School
Inbound - Nete
Coordinator
Outbound -
Nicoline
Coordinator
1 Intern (Julia)
Au Pair
Department
Nete -
Coordinator
Language
Schools
Department
Sascha -
Coordinator
1 Intern (Katrine)
48
Other traditions were Christmas dinners once a year and Baresso or cake for
reaching certain sales targets
212
.
4.2.2. Espoused beliefs and values
According to Schein, espoused beliefs and values are due to a group of people
who have gone through a learning process and to what works in an
organization
213
. Mainly the biggest influences of the certain approach or outcome
is due to leaders or founders, therefore any proposals of how to approach things
will be perceived as what the leader wants. Furthermore, the strategy or goals of
the organization may be considered espoused beliefs
214
.
4.2.2.1. Ideals, Goals, Values and Aspirations
The goal of STS was to reach their sales targets for the different departments
215
,
by having sales targets visible on a board representing the goals for each
month
216
. These goals are set by budgets and discussed between the
management and employees
217
.

A desired behavior
218
that I observed was that employees should be
independent, freedom with responsibility
219
, competent and knowledgeable
220
,
which was visible in the employees as they knew their work tasks, and how the
leadership was, as mentioned in Sub Question 1
221
, the leadership style was open
with a laissez-faire approach.

Schein states that values of an organization are taught further to newcomers
222
.
As a newcomer, I learned that the value of STS seemed to be quality through
procedures that were monitored and controlled by frameworks put in place such
as evaluations, updating information, double-checking the information is 100%
correct, departure meetings and workshops to get a student from A to B
223
. This
was taught to me as an intern, as I learned about all the paperwork involved with
getting a student abroad. STS focused on having their motto, responsibility,
safety and quality visible in all their procedures and products for the
customers
224
. Furthermore, STS believes in providing safety to customers by

212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
Sub Question 1: pg. 13 19
222
223
224
Own observations
49
talented employees using personal meetings or phone conversations
225
. This
focus on responsibility, safety and quality, was brought on due to the bad
media, where STS combed through their own organization
226
to come back into
the market strong and to be proud of their products
227
. So, STS went through a
learning process of what their company needed to value to continue to be a
travel provider.
4.2.2.2. Ideologies
The STS office had the motto, responsibility, safety and quality. The word
quality seemed to be of the utmost importance for the leader, where Camilla had
said it was the strategy for STS
228
. Thus, the ideology of the Danish STS office was
based on the motto. It seemed that Nete, agreed that the ideology was quality, as
she said, I think were quite good at renew[ing] ourselves and create more
quality around our products and security considering our customers as well
229
.
This concurs with Schein, as he states that newcomers are taught these values,
which in turn become the ideologies of the organization
230
.
4.2.2.3. Rationalizations
The leads that STS has were printed brochures and PDF versions for each of the
products that STS offers. When confronted why these brochures were not sent
electronically only, due to the costs in printing and sending the brochures for the
company, I was told that they had discussed it before, but agreed that they were
more personal for customers, thereby they choose to keep them
231
. Thereby, I
could understand that leads were important to STS
232
, which seemed to be a
mutually agreed opinion by the employees
233
.
4.2.3. Basic Underlying Assumptions
As mentioned in Sub Question 1, basic assumptions are the implicit assumptions
that actually guide behavior, that tell group members how to perceive, think
about and feel about things
234
. Basic assumptions tend to be non-confrontable
and non-debatable, and hence are extremely difficult to change
235
. Therefore,
culture as a set basic assumptions defines for us what to pay attention to, what
things mean, how to react emotionally to what is going on, and what actions to
take in various kinds of situations
236
. Thus, the power of culture comes about

225
226
227
228
229
230
Schein, 2010: pgs. 26 - 27
231
Own observations
232
Own observations
233
Own observations
234
235
236
50
through the fact that the assumptions are shared and therefore mutually
reinforced
237
.
4.2.3.1. Determined behavior, perception, thought and feeling
From my own experience, the behavior of the office was that everyone was
friendly and treated each other as friends, rather than co-workers. There was a
very casual attitude towards work and to each other and communication was
done on a first name basis. The employees were independent and used
management seldom, unless they needed a consensus to proceed with their work
tasks, which correlates with the espoused belief of desired behavior.

Related to the espoused values, the determined behavior was to follow the
frameworks that had been created to control the quality and the safety for the
customers who are sent abroad. It seemed that everyone followed the processes
and were thought onwards to newcomers to learn about the organization. From
my own experience, there were lists that were created as a check list to print
that needed to follow the certain information packages sent to customers.

From my own observations, it seemed that the general thoughts and feelings of
the company, were to make sure the students that were already sent abroad
were paid attention to. The communication between the office and the parents
and the students was to be done regularly
238
. There were a lot of phone
conversations between the employees and customers, as Nete also mentioned in
her interview, there was a lot of noise produced from these phone calls
239
. The
problems that did arise were discussed openly between the coordinators for
help and advise how to deal with the situations
240
. Thus, the general thoughts
and feelings of the office seemed to be that the office was to be open for
discussions and communication between customers were important to the
organization.

As mentioned under rationalizations, the leads were important for the company
and were mutually agreed by the office to be sent in print form and PDFs rather
than only PDFs to customers, as they believed that it provided more value to the
customers. Therefore, the leads at STS were non-confrontable and non-
debatable, and it did not seem as if they wanted to change this aspect and
mutually reinforced.

237
238
Own observations
239
240
Own observations
51
4.2.4. Cultural differences between 2010 and 2013
We will now be looking at the cultural differences between 2010 2011
241
and
2013 in order to establish if there were any differences in the two cultures.

When assessing the artifacts of STS in 2010 2011 and 2013, we can understand
that some artifacts were the same and some different. The artifacts that were
similar was that STS is a Danish office and the language spoken is Danish with
the motto of responsibility, safety and quality in 2010 2011 and 2013. In
addition, the process of STS was to get a student from A to B. The differences in
artifacts was that in 2010 2011 there were 3 departments, which resulted in 3
products: Au Pair, High School and Language Schools, and the office was an open
floor plan where employees sat together at STS Denmark. While in 2013 STS had
5 departments: Sales and Marketing, International Business School, High School
Inbound and Outbound, Au Pair and Language Schools, with the 4 products
provided by STS: LS, AP, IBS and HS. The employees sat in 3 separate offices
where LS had their own office, HS and AP were in an office together and Sales
and Marketing, IBS and the Country Manager sat in the same office. Thus, we can
understand that the artifacts had changed from 2010 to 2013 as there was
established 2 additional departments and 1 more product provided by STS.
Furthermore, the office had changed from being an open floor plan in 2010 to
being divided into 3 different separate offices.

The espoused beliefs and values of STS Denmark in 2010 and 2013 were similar
as they both had the goal of selling their products. The leadership had an open
communication between management and employees with a relaxed and
informal atmosphere, a laissez-faire leadership both in 2010 and 2013. However,
the espoused beliefs and values seemed to vary as in 2010 the ideology of the
office was to be the best sales team, whereas in 2013 there was a great focus on
the motto, responsibility, safety and quality as newcomers were taught the
principles related to the motto. The rationalizations of 2010 was to be able to
sell, and get students abroad by any means necessary, regardless of the lack of
grade or language capabilities of students. Whereas in 2013 the rationalization
was that the printed brochures and PDFs regarded as Leads were to be used
instead of only PDFs as it added value to customers even though the costs of
printing and sending the brochures were higher costs for the company. Thus,
from the espoused beliefs and values of 2010 and 2013, we can understand that
although some aspects were the same from the two time frames, there were
differences in the ideology and rationalizations. Thereby, we can understand
there was a change in the mindset and values of the employees from 2010 to
2013.

241
Established in Sub Question 1: pg. 13 - 19
52
Lastly, the basic underlying assumptions of STS in 2010 and 2013 were very the
same in some aspects but also different. In 2010 the basic underlying
assumptions were that the employees focused more on being able to sell than
following up with already booked customers. Where in 2013, it was to follow the
frameworks that had been created to control the quality and the safety for the
customers who are sent abroad. Furthermore, in 2013 the coordinators regularly
followed up on the customers (students and parents) through email and phone
calls. However, the behavior of the employees and management was that they
were supportive of each other, had team spirit and were positive in 2010 and
2013. Furthermore the employees trusted their leaders and it was an open
atmosphere among the management and staff. Where in 2013, the employees
treated each other as friends rather than co-workers. Thus the basic underlying
assumptions were different from 2010 to 2013 as in 2010 it was more important
to sell than following up on customers, where in 2013 it became the reverse,
where it was important to follow up on customers and be in touch regularly to
promote quality and safety for customers. But they were similar as the behaviors
of the employees and management was to be supportive of one another and
were under leadership with an open approach.

Hence, we can determine that the leadership was a big influence on the culture.
As her management style was evident in the espoused beliefs and values and the
basic underlying assumptions of STS in 2010 and 2013. However, there were
differences in the artifacts, espoused beliefs and values and basic underlying
assumptions. In 2013, the culture present at STS seemed to be very different
from the one in 2010, where the values were more focused around upholding the
motto, responsibility, safety and quality for customers.
4.5. Sub Conclusion
In conclusion, we got a better understanding of STS through the investigation of,
(July October 2013)? We discovered that the processes that STS went through
were due to changes implemented by management because of the internal and
external factors in the stage of unfreeze.

The stage unfreeze we understood that there was a need for change at STS after
the internal and external events had happened, where Camilla returned from her
maternity leave as notified about the office changing from a sales office to a
quality office. The second stage was change where there were implemented new
processes to improve the quality and services provided by STS through
frameworks to get a student from A to B and procedures were developed to
handle problems and applications. This then led to the stage Refreeze in which
locked in the new developments from the change phase and were visible half a
53
year after Camilla had implemented them and were visible to newcomers, as
myself in 2013.

The processes implemented had affected the culture at STS Denmark, seen
through the cultural analysis of STS in 2013 and compared with the culture in
2010. Through the cultural analysis we could see that the changes in the
organization done by management, impacted the espoused beliefs and values
and basic underlying assumptions of the organization. They altered from, in
2010, as being the best sales team and going to hold a sales conference instead
of following up on already booked customers to upholding the motto,
responsibility, safety and quality in 2013.

Thus, we can understand that the processes STS went through in management
and culturally impacted the culture at the organization. This was because the
culture in 2013 was visibly different from the culture in 2010. So, we can
comprehend that the culture at STS in 2013 was due to the processes that STS
went through when Camilla returned from her maternity leave.
54
Chapter Three
Conclusion
To answer the research question, How can culture changes in organizations be
explained and understood, by using STS Denmark from 2010 2013 as a case? we
had established 4 sub questions and investigated them in attempt to answer the
research question.

From the 1
st
sub question, What was the culture at STS Denmark from 2010
2011, before Camilla went on maternity leave? by using Scheins organizational
culture and leadership and the interviews conducted, we established STS culture
in 2010 2011. The artifacts were the STS was a Danish office where the
language spoken was Danish with the motto of responsibility, safety and
quality. There were 3 departments, which resulted in 3 products: AP, HS and LS,
and the office were an open floor plan where employees sat together to get
students from A to B.

The espoused beliefs and values of STS Denmark were that the office ability to
perform by selling their products based on the Head Offices values. The
ideologies were the opposite of the proposed motto as it was being the best
sales team. There was open communication, due to few boundaries between
management and employees, with a relaxed and informal atmosphere and a
laissez-faire leadership. While the rationalizations were to be able to sell, and get
students abroad by any means necessary, regardless of the lack of grades or
language capabilities.

The basic underlying assumptions of STS Denmark were that the employees
focused more on being able to sell than following up with already booked
customers, which became the mindset of the office. And the behavior of the
employees and management was that they were supportive of each other, had
team spirit and were positive. Also, the employees trusted their leaders and it
was an open atmosphere among the management and staff.

From the 2
nd
sub question, How did the financial implications from changes to
STS Denmark through 2010 2013 affect the company culture? we learned that
the Danish office was impacted financially due to employee turnover, the
profitability ratios and the index numbers based on the ratios and strategic
pricing. This in turn became the motivator for change and it affect the companys
culture.

55
Due to the change in financial performance, it caused the espoused value in 2010
2011, to become falsified. This was due to the Return on Assets, from the base
year 2010 to 2011 lowered by 2%. According to Schein, this would have caused
members of the group to become unsure, anxious and debate and confront the
value of being able to sell and cause uncertainty about the espoused value.
Furthermore, the uncertainty caused the high staff turnover, which would have
then led to a loss of knowledge from the old employees and the increase of new
employees, would have created a push in the culture for change.

Furthermore in sub question 2, we learned that the strategic pricing of the
products, was based on as if the State Grant was include, since they had lost it the
previous year, implying that it was a significant motivator for STS to change their
prices. Also, the prices were set low to be able to compete, which correlated with
the espoused value in 2010 of being able to sell.

From the 3
rd
sub question, What were the internal and external factors that
caused changes in the culture at STS Denmark since 2010? we learned that the
internal and external factors would have caused STS to want to have a change,
according to Francesco and Gold, in the organizational culture, to improve the
company, through sales and image perceived by parents and student, and to
refocus the company objectives as they were criticized through the two TV
programs, which could result in better customer service and the ability to
achieve company goals and results.

The external factors that were identified were management, the organizations
history, the industry standards and the competition. The management was
changed from a Danish leader to a Swedish leader. According to Hofstede, even
though Sweden and Denmark are geographically are close, they vary in their
cultures. This meant that the problems that arose in the change in leadership
were predictable, as Monika did not fit into the office, as she ran the office
differently than Camilla. The organizations history was that there were
broadcasted two TV programs, that criticized STS products and previous
management, which caused the parents to mistrust STS, which led to them
pulling their children from the program, and STS lost the State Grant. From this,
the industry standards impacted STS as the negative media coverage caused the
seal of approval to be taken away from STS and the State Grant as well. And
STS competitors had lower prices due to the loss of the State Grant for STS.

The internal factors identified at STS were the employees behaviors and
employee turnover. The employee behavior was that Maja became unavailable to
STS after she did not get the position as Country Manager, which meant Jesper
had the workload to himself, which caused tension between the two, and stress
for the employees. The transition for the office and the new Country Manager
56
was bad, according to Camilla after being confronted by Monika due to Camilla
speaking Danish instead of English. The bad transition resulted in a complaint
from the office; the Head Office dealt it with poorly, as the employees felt they
were not supported. The complaint was not kept confidential, but was forwarded
to Monika, who confronted the office, which caused tensions in the office. The
Head Office tried to deal with the situation, by following up in Denmark,
however, the team that had complained was more or less dissolved by the time
they visited. And lastly, employee behavior during 2011 2012 was that the
moral and motivation of employees was low after the airing of the two TV
programs. This was due to the call and emails from angry parents, which made
the employees feel uncomfortable working for STS and they wanted to be
disassociated with the company when doing conferences. All of the employee
behavior resulted in a high employee turnover, where there were 5 employees in
and out of the office, combined with interns, causing there to be many new faces
and a loss of employee knowledge through 2011 2012 at the Danish STS office.

From the 4
th
sub question, What processes did STS go through, culturally and in
made the culture as it is now (July October 2013)? we understood that STS went
through the process of unfreeze, change and refreeze enforced by management.
The stage unfreeze was brought on as there was a need for change after the
internal and external events that occurred. When Camilla returned from her
maternity leave she notified the office that they were changing from a sales office
to a quality office. During the change phase there were implemented new
processes to improve the quality and services provided by STS through
frameworks to get a student from A to B and procedures were developed to
handle problems and applications. This introduced the stage refreeze which
locked in the new developments from the change phase and were visible half a
year after Camilla had implemented them and were visible to newcomers.

The processes implemented had affected the culture at STS Denmark, seen
through the cultural analysis of STS in 2013 and compared with the culture in
2010. Through the cultural analysis we could see that the changes in the
organization done by management, impacted the espoused beliefs and values
and basic underlying assumptions of the organization. They altered from, in
2010, as being the best sales team and going to hold a sales conference instead
of following up on already booked customers to upholding the motto,
responsibility, safety and quality in 2013. So, we discovered that the culture at
STS in 2013 was due to the processes that STS went through when Camilla

The 4 sub questions allowed for an elaborate understanding and explanation of
the culture changes in an organization. We learned that external, internal and
57
finances all had an impact on the organization, STS. However, from the research I
believe that the biggest reasons for cultures in organizations to change, using
STS Denmark as a case, was due to the switch in leadership, the finances of the
company and the negative media coverage.

The switch in leadership caused tension between the management and
employees at STS with Monika as STS leader when Camilla went on maternity
leave. This was due to the change in management styles and the transition phase
for Monika at STS was not working. The Swedish leader had a different approach
to the employees and they did not respect or trust her due to her lack of
knowledge and competencies.

These two aspects the finances of the company and the negative media coverage
were interlinked. As STS had a lack of financial activity in 2011 it caused the
companys self-understanding as the best sales team to be proven false. The
lack of financial activity was a consequence of the negative media coverage. The
negative media coverage criticized STS products created distrust among
customers to use STS as their HS/LS provider. Additionally, the TV programs led
to STS loosing the State Grant, making their products prices to be higher than
their competitors. Thus financially, STS lost customers because of high prices
and the negative media coverage.

As the media had financial implications to the company, it engendered STS to
look over their own company when Camilla returned from her maternity leave. It
triggered STS to renew and change their products, changing the companys prior
strategy of selling to quality. The management implemented new work
procedures and frameworks for the products to get a student from A to B.

In conclusion, by using STS Denmark from 2010 -2013 as a case, and applying
Scheins Organizational Culture and Leadership theory, Hofstedes National
Culture theory, Francesco and Golds International Organizational Behavior
theory, the Dupont pyramid and Lewins Model of Change, we got an in depth
explanation of how culture changes in organization and a better understanding
of how organizational cultures change.
58
Bibliography
Books
1. Asns, Gry, and Annette Vangstrup. Economics for Students at the AP
Programme in Service, Hospitality and Tourism. Valby: Nyt Teknisk Forlag,
2011. Print.
2. Francesco, Anne Marie, and Barry Allen Gold. International Organizational
Behavior: Text, Cases, and Skills. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005. Print.
3. Lewin, Kurt. "Human Relations." Frontiers of Group Dynamics: Concept,
Method and Reality in Social Science, Social Equilibria and Social Change.
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4. Schein, Edgar H. Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 2010. Print.
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spx?cvrnr=12943806)
spx?cvrnr=12943806)
spx?cvrnr=12943806)
spx?cvrnr=12943806)
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9. Hofstede, Geert. "The Hofstede Center." Denmark. The Hofstede Center,
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2014. Web. 08 Apr. 2014. <http://geert-hofstede.com/sweden.html>.
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2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.dr.dk/DR1/kontant/2011/11/01103408.htm>.
59
12. STS Education. "Om STS." STS High School. STS Education, 2014. Web. 22
May 2014. <http://www.sts-education.com/denmark/hs/om-sts/>.
13. STS Denmark. "Press Release STS Bag Facaden." Press Release. STS
Denmark, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. <http://www.sts-
education.com/pdf/high_school/denmark/STS-pressemeddelelse-Bag-
Facaden-21032012.pdf>.
14. Rask, Christian. "Bag Facaden - Misbrugt I Vrtsfamilien." DR1 Bag
Facaden. DR 1, 20 Mar. 2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.dr.dk/DRPresse/Artikler/2012/03/19/204651.htm>.
15. Schtt, Niels Jacob. "Danske Udvekslingsstudenter Misbrugt Seksuelt I
USA." Danske Udvekslingsstudenter Misbrugt Seksuelt I USA. DR 1, 20 Mar.
2012. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2012/03/20/114606.htm>.
16. Uddannelses- Og Forskningsministeriet. "Udvekslingsophold for Unge."
Uddannelses- Og Forskningsministeriet. Uddannelses- Og
Forskningsministeriet, 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
<http://ufm.dk/uddannelse-og-institutioner/tilskud-til-udveksling-og-
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unge>.

60
Appendix
The Appendix includes the Primary Data, which was mentioned in the section
Methodology
242
. The Primary Data includes the 2 interviews of Camilla
Graversen and 2 interviews of Nete Madsen. Furthermore, the Secondary Data,
which was mentioned in the section Methodology
243
. The Secondary Data
included in the Prices of the High School Exchanges.
Table of Contents of Appendix
APPENDIX ........................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW 1, CAMILLA GRAVERSEN ................................................................................ 61
General Questions about STS .................................................................................................................. 61
Head Office in Sweden ................................................................................................................................ 64
Competition ..................................................................................................................................................... 65
Past...................................................................................................................................................................... 67
Employees ........................................................................................................................................................ 69
Culture ............................................................................................................................................................... 71
APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW 1, NETE MADSEN ............................................................................................ 73
Competition ..................................................................................................................................................... 74
High School Inbound ................................................................................................................................... 75
Past...................................................................................................................................................................... 79
Culture ............................................................................................................................................................... 82
APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW 2, CAMILLA GRAVERSEN ................................................................................ 86
2010 2011 .................................................................................................................................................... 86
APPENDIX D: INTERVIEW 2, NETE MADSEN ............................................................................................ 92
2010 - 2011 ..................................................................................................................................................... 92
APPENDIX E: PRICES OF THE HIGH SCHOOL EXCHANGES ...................................................................... 98

242
Methodology, pg. 7
243
Methodology, pg. 7
61
Appendix A: Interview 1, Camilla Graversen
Interview was held on the 22
nd
October, 2013 at 11:30.
General Questions about STS
1. What are the goals you have for 2013 2014 for the High School
department?
The official target for 2013-2014 was, for the ones that have just left [the
students], we had a goal of 70, but we reached only 54, so that the target
was not reached, but also based on this I put together the goal for next
year, 2014 - 2015, which is also 70 students which we need to achieve.
And at this stage we have 58, so it looks much more promising, and is a
little more sensible. Regarding to the sales of the High School department
that 2/3 of our sales come in through our deadline in August, so it gives a
real good indication whether we can achieve it [our goal], and even
though we still have 5 months to sell left, we can sell until the end of
February, but we need to have the most in now, because we have to work
a lot with the applications and we have to send them off. And often all
those who apply in January and February, they are not always the best
candidates because there are some "whoops" solutions that are taken
then. So we would rather have them a year in advance, so they are well
thought through and are done well in advanced in the application process.
But yes, it looks very sensible and likely that we will reach the [goal of] 70
next year.
2. What is your strategy for the year 2014 2015 for the High School
department?
The big strategy is called, really quality. But it is thoroughly controlled in
all that the we do, it is: one thing is quality towards our customers, which
includes what do we include in the form of thorough evaluations, constant
updating all the information of all the things we send to them [the
customers] and that they are 100 percent correct.
But then there are also throughout the year, reports to know how it goes
with the young people, and also that they like feel that they hear from STS,
and through, we have a Newsletter that we send, among other things. So
the quality just need to be in place, there must be no mistakes, there
should not be any minor errors or anything. Considering that we work
with young people and have the responsibility of them, parents tend to
become insecure and as soon as there is a spelling mistake or whatever it
is, so everything has just been increased. It [the quality] has been the
strategy for the last two years and now we can say that we have achieved
it, you can say that were on top of the glacier, but that does not mean that
you can relax and can say now we have control of quality, quite the
opposite, you have to work even harder on the quality now! Because now
62
there will be made higher requirements for it [the service]. So yes, the
strategy is quality.
3. In your opinion, what do you think that STS does in order to
maintain the motto of responsibility, safety and quality for its
customers before and after their departure?
It is very much connected with it I just said regarding to the strategy.
Overall a High School exchange is about safety and it is also why when
you sit with a customer, considering that customers often choose [a
company] based on price, but some of them also select [a company] based
on how they feel safe with the single individual they talk whether if it is
through the phone or personal meeting or whatever it is, and it is what
they need to feel, and what we give them, the safety they feel is provided
by some really talented employees, but also because we have a real high
quality level for our High School program, and we give it to them that
[responsibility] that we do not sit there and sell something we know is
some _____, yes it's that way we do it.
Background to interviewee
4. How many years have you been employed at STS?
I was employed in 2005, that was many years ago, but I was actually
employed in the position that Nete is sitting currently in, as the Au Pair
and Inbound Coordinator. At that the time STS was a Swedish, or
Scandinavian sales office, so we had a Swedish boss who came once a
month down to check on us, and also I sat there [at STS] and two High
School coordinators, and that was it. Then they decided that a few months
after they 'd make us into an independent office and there should be a
Country Manager and there needed to be hired some more employees, I
then applied for it [the Country Manager job] and got it. So I was a
coordinator all together for 8-9 months, which was real good and real
nice to see it [from another perspective]. It is also what makes it possible
to this very day, that Netes job I know, of course there have been some
changes, but overall I know what the job is about, which makes it nice for
her as well, because then I can take over when she takes a vacation or
doesnt come into work. Right? I also think as a leader it is healthy that
I've tried it, and that you've tried to sit in the positions [at work] and
know what there are of pressure and yeah, how things are.
5. What are your areas of responsibilities within the company?
I have many. But I sit with it overall responsibility. Which includes
everything such as the budgets, sales and employees and customer
satisfaction, the daily operation of the work place as well. Just like
everything. I have it all, there's nothing that I havent touched you could
say, so yes, the overall responsibility, I think is probably a good way to put
it.
63
6. Do you feel that there are any challenging parts about your job?
Well, the job as Country Manager, will always be challenging both because
it is an industry concerning with people, even if I try and make guidelines
in all work procedure and everything we do, then you simple cannot do it
because there would always be a student who does not follow [standard]
procedures, so you cannot [make all procedures]. So then you could say
that, when you get into the office and that you know exactly what is
awaiting you and you can take forth a manual and believe that you can
solve a situation out from it [the manual], that you cannot do in here. So
my daily work life always consists of making new decisions based on new
things and how to handle them. But it is also what makes it exciting. So
regarding the challenges, there are more of an abundant of, they do not
lack, but on a positive note, because it also helps me develop myself and it
helps me to stay sharp constantly and know what is happening and yes
also how everything is. So you cannot lean back, it's not just my job, but
it's also all others who sit at STS who need to be constantly aware and on
their feet.
7. What do you feel is the most satisfying part about your job?
The most satisfying part is to see the students who have left! To meet
them both throughout the whole preparation [to the year abroad] and
also meet them when they come home and hear what they have gotten
out of it [High School exchange], and know that the work that you do
everyday has made a difference for them and their parents as well. But it
is just simply the most rewarding [job] and its also the thing that does
that you can outlast the long days [at work] and the difficult situations
that you sit and know that there are many others that are having a
fantastic time [abroad]. So the students are either just alpha vs. omega.
8. Do you have a favorite story?
I have many. There is always some students who touch one, if you can say
it like that, the students that go abroad who are quiet and a closed girl
who then comes home as a girl who stands up in front of a group of 100
people to talk. There is not just ONE student where I can sit and say oh
my god he or she has done well, we just have so many examples. We had
one, Hjalte, who plays American football, who has now become a NFL star,
and is heading back when hes done with High School, to train with the
NFL team in the US, I think thats quite amazing. That is just the shining
example, but on a personal note, there are just so many students that
develop, extremely, while they are away. And you just know that you have
given them something to keep in their trunk, which will dictate their lives
in the future, and that I do believe is quite fantastic, to be a part of that
and that you can make a difference by handling and fiddling with
paperwork. So that is really great.
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9. What was it like back when you started at STS? Was there anything
different than it is presently?
Yes you can say that our office was differently constructed, but also the
requirements by the customers were quite different then. You can see for
the past 5-6 years, with the program "Kontant" and "Bag Facaden" and
there have been some other programs that have emerged also but that
have closed down again, but it 's like after they arrived, that parents have
made bigger and bigger demands, and it's not just us [they have affected],
you hear it as well about the schools, where parents have greater
demands to what is being taught to their children. It is also quite clear
that the financial crisis has played a part since people now have less
money and less room for mistakes then its obvious that we want only
what is the best of the best for our children. You can say that when I
started [at STS] that if a student wasnt doing well and wanted a new host
family, then it was quite normal that it took up to a couple of months
before it happened, that was quite natural and nobody was angry about it,
where nowadays the student has to be transferred within 24 hours, or
else its not good enough. So the demands and requirements from parents
has become substantially higher, but you can say from our side [STS] that
we also have high requirements among the students, like higher average
of grades, where in the past you could more or less go abroad with your
pretty face, as long as you could speak some English, which you cant do
now, there are grade requirements, interview requirements, where we
interview them [students] as well, just our rejection percentage of
students to the program has increased by nearly 20%, if we compare it to
the time I started. So the requirements are definitely something
completely different. But its not just us or the industry, its in general, the
requirements that have to be fulfilled are just greater today.
Positive development, I think, its a lot more practical to work with now,
we were a little bit more relaxed 8 years ago, but you are not now, youre
always on your tiptoes.
Head Office in Sweden
10. What is STS Denmarks relationship with the Head Office in Sweden?
I think it depends on who you ask about it for this question, I have a very
close relationship with them, because the people I communicate a lot
with, they sit at the head office, who are our Management team, the
owners of the company are up there, then we have our media department
and IT department and the Financial department are also up there. And
they are the ones I have primarily contact with, also all of our production
department is up there too, who produce all the new destinations and all
our production department up there too, so all that's being produced by
new destinations and Insurances come from the Head office. So I would
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say, as I see it, that the Head office is very, very important for us, we are
quite independent down here, but we cannot manage without the head
office. So I have a good relationship with them.
11. How much influence does the head office in Sweden have on STS
Denmarks daily operation?
Regarding to daily operations, they have no idea or say in it. They get
weekly reports from me, where I collect the sales in terms of what we sell,
in budgets in terms of what we spend of money, they are not involved
with what happens down here, like the daily operations down here, like
the challenges, they are only involved if there is a strong case which could
end up in the media, where they then come in and get involved, but the
daily challenges with all the students who have homesickness, and those
things, they have no idea about. So in that aspect we run a quite
independent office down here.
Competition
12. In your opinion, which company or organization is STS Denmarks
biggest competitor or threat?
Well for the High School department it is Explorius, because first of all
they are the biggest in the industry, but Explorius are doing it really well,
they have a very high customer satisfaction, they have some really good
programs like the Soft Landing Camp which is included in their prices. But
also because they are a quite stable company because of their employees
who have been there for many years and are knowledgeable about the
work they do. So clearly Explorius [is our biggest competitor]. It has been
EF for many years, but they have been poor with their quality, where
Explorius has been very aware of their quality [of their service].
13. Do you think Explorius is very different from STS ?
No, we are quite similar to one another, and now I also know their
Country Manager, Jacob, personally, and him and I have the exact same
strategies and philosophies for how things should be run and how they
should be not run and how to treat our customers. So that is why we are
extremely similar. When companies are as small as they are in this
business, then it is very often the Country Managers attitudes and
opinions and strategies that affect and influence the companies and how
things are executed. Therefore him and I are quite alike and then
therefore we have the same kind of leadership.
14. How do you think STS Denmark is doing compared to its
competitors?
Currently it is going really well, and it has been going really well over the
last, almost, year, and we have been really good at controlling the quality,
which has then meant that we have again become a player again in this
industry. And we know that we have gotten a lot of respect from our
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competitors, because of the stuff we went through with the media, which
we will get back to later, and then been able to come back again, in a good
way, because we have not come back with empty promises and bad sale
strategies, we have really combed through [our company] and altered a
lot of things, and are proud of what we have now, and therefore have
gotten this respect from our competitors. And its only good that were
able to come back like that.
15. Do you believe the loss of the State Grant for Ungdomsuddanelse
has any impact on your business?
That is always a good question; I feel that somewhat it is a seal of
approval from the government if you are approved [for a State Grant].
But since we have not been approved for the second year in a row, I dont
think it has the greatest impact, it was worse last year, where we had
been mentioned in the media that we were not approved anymore, and
that it was stated so many places that we were not approved, where in
comparison this year, there are not that many who ask into it, nobody
expects it, so it has dimmed down. But of course it is obvious that if we
were approved that the students would be able to get 10.000 kr from the
Danish government, it would be a factor, but not as much as it was [an
impact on the business] as last year.
16. So you do not think that students or parents asking about the State
Grant?
No, they do not. Again, only a year ago when I was out and held
information meetings, then it was the only thing it was about, why we
were not approved and what was that went wrong. Where now it's just a
side question, as if we already have the approval, because they can see
our quality level is so high.
Now the Danish government might be in the process of abolishing it, there
is at least talk about it being abolished. But that is going to cause there to
be a big mess in the industry, because of the current situation which is if
you are mentioned in the media with a bad case, then you are almost
certain to be unapproved by the state for the Grant, which makes the
industry very vulnerable, and it isnt very fun being a Manager to be so
afraid of the media, because all students, no matter how their experienced
[their exchange] can go to the media and usually the company has a
different understanding of the what actually happened. So yes, thats how
it is. So we hope it will be abolished.
17. Do you think if the State Grant will be eliminated, that STS would
have an advantage over its competitors?
I do not think it would have an affect, but I can say I might be a little
worried for the industry in general. If we take the industry as a whole,
then Efterskoler, which are around the same price range could you
imagine that some parents may begin and go in search for Efterskoler
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instead. This is because there isnt the same seal of approval from the
state where the state advises the young people to go out on an exchange. I
dont think its going to be the big downfall, but there could be some
decline.
Past
18. During my internship at STS, it was mentioned that there were some
challenges with the media a few years back, would you elaborate on
what they were?
Yes, there were two things. The first was in October 2011, it was the TV
program "Kontant" which went in and followed two of our High School
students who went to South Africa. I was unfortunately not at the office at
the time, so I followed [the situation] through the media, not what took
place here [STS office] and what is the story had been behind it, but the
media exposed that it was that it was a boy and a girl who had gone to
South Africa and been placed in ghettos, where we [STS] had promised
them that they were to be located in large cities, because of security down
there, there is a huge amount crime in South Africa . And these students
and their parents had tried to cry out and get STS attention both before
the departure, when they got the host family placements, that this was not
safe but they were not heard [by STS], and was told it was if their child
was going to South Africa, it was the family they got. It was like some
"townships" they were placed in. So when the students then left it turns
out that it was a mess, to what they came down to, and there was nothing
really anybody did anything about it. And again, the parents felt that they
were not being heard, and it is that in Todays Denmark, that you go to the
media because then you know that you will be heard. So that was the TV
program, Kontant, ran with, where also our Director of High School, John
Cedergrdh , chose to stand and apologize for these episodes, and that it
was not okay. Then they [the program] went down to South Africa and
meet the students, where they lived and followed them around. So that
was Kontant in October.
That caused a lot of inquiries from our current customers, but I think the
overall reaction to it was that parents said, if you send your child to South
Africa then you must also change your expectations to some sort of crime.
So this program wasnt the one that hit us that hard, and customers didnt
pull their booking due to this program, they just lost some of their trust
towards STS, which is really important, which we talked about previously.
So then in February 2012, came the program, Bag Facaden who chose,
well what the program was about was that it was a direct attack at the
company called, Interstudies, and the owner of Interstudies, Annette
Srensen, the reason that STS was pulled into this was because Annette
was the Country Manager at STS for 3 or 4 years. But they [Bag Facaden]
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featured a case that was 11 years old, from the time when she was the
Country manager at STS, regarding a boy where his host dad in the United
States had made a sexual advance to him, and the boy being sent back
home, where Annette Sorensen, choose at that time to make a
nondisclosure contract where they had to sign and they got some money
back if they do not go to the media about this.
What started this [media mention] whole situation was that this boy had
been going around with this burden for a long time and needed someone
to talk to about it, but he was scared of this nondisclosure contract that he
had signed as well as his parent, so he choose to speak out on this
program, Bag Facaden, where they choose to run the story about what
STS had done her. And that was because Annette worked for STS at that
time, so it was STS, but there were 2 or 3 other cases in the program from
Interstudies, which were some other cases which Annette had handled.
The program itself was about how she was a really bad leader and had
done some really bad decisions where she was not concerned about the
students but rather the money.
But it was just really unfortunate that it was produced as STS, with our
pictures and our logo, and that was like the final push for the parents, so
they said we cannot trust this company. It cost us a lot of the students and
it caused us the loss of the government grant, and it was like the final
push to that we needed.
Now I do so because I know Annette Srensen, personally, so I know that
she had to go underground afterwards because people threw things at her
in the street, and her company InterStudies, she had to give up and now
runs franchise on it, and they went from having just about 200 students to
have only 30. What she should have had done was to shut down the
company afterwards. But yeah, so it also says just how big the media's
influence has been [in this industry].
19. How did this affect STS Denmark?
This affected [STS] a lot, well I wasnt there when it happened, which was
both good and bad, because I was on maternity leave, sat a home with my
two daughters, but you can say, that I think I could have no doubt
happened if I had been here, I dont think it would have made a difference.
But my substitute had at the time being, choosen to handle the situation
really badly, she was Swedish and she did not have a good feel on what
was important and what wasnt important, and because of that she lost
many employees because of it. And thats upsetting. Because when I left
for maternity leave, there were 6 employees at the office, and it went
really well before I went on maternity leave, we had never had so many
customers and we were really at the top of our game. And the only
employee left, when I came back, that was Nete. The 6 others had stopped.
Plus I dont know how many other people had been in and out of the
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office. So you can say that the environment at the office, the atmosphere
and the engagement was just gone. And that was because there was no
support to the employees, they were the ones who took the hits from all
the shouting and screaming parents, who called in and accussed them for
the sexual advance, which they had nothing to do with, it was a case that
was 11 years old. But because no one showed some leadership, a visible
leadership, then there isnt shown the support for the employees and the
employees get all of the hits. And that was what was really the bad thing
about this. So it affected us due to our sales, budgets, the results of the
company were suddenly really bad, and it especially affected the
employees. Very.
20. What did you do in order to improve the atmosphere at the work
place?
You could say that it [atmosphere] could not be worse, the bottom was
hit. I think just, to Netes knowledge, that I had Netes trust when I came
back, and she knew how I was as a leader, and she knew what I stood
for. Then I did that where I hired new employees, and Lotte and Sascha
came back, who had been here before I left for my maternity leave and
had stopped while I was gone. So I got those two in here again, Nicoline
was hired fulltime in the High School division, together with Anita. I just
think, its not because I was doing something insidious, but I think I just
gave them some attention and listened to them and gave them very clear
guidance on how things were from now on.
We have always been a sales office and I made it into a quality office.
Where it was like quality that we started to focus on and work with, so we
could become proud of our products again. Instead of just sell, sell, sell
and not know how it went with our students after they went abroad. But I
listened to them and what they wanted, because they were angry and held
grudges, and yeah, I think thats just what I did. I was just caring and then
it slowly went up hill.
Employees
21. How is your relationship with your employees?
Right now its really god, I am really happy with all of my employees,
considering that I have been here 8 years, I have experienced many
employees and teams here. But I think it depends how you tackle things in
the everyday. I am not the type of leader who puts myself up on a pedestal
and talks down to my employees. I am just really equal with my
employees. I dont have the need to sit and tell them that I am the leader, I
can of course tell them if I think that there is something that they are
doing wrong, but in the everyday I can just have fun with them and help
them and yeah coach them in the everyday. I am very enthusiastic about
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employees being able to work independently and can make their own
decisions, and as long as they do that I have a good relationship to them.
22. Do you have any standards for your employees?
I have probably have some sort of standard, but its in the shadows, I
clearly have a type of employee that I hire, and I also have some where no
matter how talented they are, then they would never become an
employee here. But it is because if you work in this industry, you cant just
say that the time is 16:30 I have to go home, if you have some situation
somewhere that you have to deal with. So you have to be a certain type of
person, it's not everyone who can sit in here and then go around to all
fairs in Denmark, you have to be a special type. It's not something I've
written down or anything, which I weigh in when I hire people at all. But
they are [standards] probably somewhere, inside my head.
23. What mediums do you use in order to communicate with your
employees? Via email, skype, phone, conversations, etc.
That's all. We chat a lot on Skype, because we sit in three different offices,
but it's just as much to stand up and walk over to each other and say hey
what's up with that situation and how does it look like, so that's all . All
that there is of communication.
24. How do you base your goals for sales in the High School and
Language School departments? (The board in one of the offices)
That is done by that I set an overall goal for the sales figures, also
considering the budgets and what we need to achieve and things like that
and put them together. At the time being the number is 70, which Nicoline
then is notified about where we then sit down and she comes with some
suggestions to what figures she expects to reach for each month. Again
because I think its important that youre independent and that you have a
say in what you do in here. I dont believe in the leadership style where
you delegate tasks and you decide everything, thats just not me. I think
that employees are more motivated if they have a say in the matter
themselves.
So some times are we in agreement and other times we are not, and then
we need to adjust things through a constructive discussions, but its
mainly important that she believes in the numbers and that she believes
that she can reach them, because if she doesnt, then its completely
irrelevant. So thats how it is done.
25. What happens if the employees reach or do not reach these goals?
Yes, well you can say if they reach them they get a bonus that has been in
their job interview been agreed on, so they have been financially linked
these objectives, which is really good for them. If they do not achieve
these goals, it is not as if I scold them in my room and yell and scream at
them, but they know themselves that they need to achieve them. And it is
again this autonomy here that they come in and mention it, or say
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something before I come in and tell them that it's not okay. There are
different things and reasons why they cannot achieve these [goals], but
they are quite aware that they need to achieve them.
Culture
26. What words would you use to describe STS Denmarks work place?
Yes that is a grand, super good question. I think yes, and it is obvious from
a manager's perspective that it is a really pleasant workplace with a good
atmosphere, and can work with autonomy, a lot of job development
because one is allowed to work with as much independence as you do
here. Furthermore, it is a work place where you indeed have a great
amount of responsibility, so you develop a lot here and I would venture
and say, that my experience from previous jobs regarding responsibilities
you find here you will find not find in many other places in general. The
coordinator job positions are beyond that and are on a management level.
Probably a workplace where development is the individual focus for the
employees, which is hard to see if you're in here, but now I know from
former employees who have stopped in here that they have turned back
and said, oh boy, I had it really well in here, when I was at STS. That is
how it is.
27. How would you describe the atmosphere at STS?
Right now it is really good. We have had some fantastic interns here in the
summer, which has also helped to improve it [the atmosphere], that is
certain because we are a small team here, that would mean that we are 5
fulltime staff here normally, and then we have had 3 interns for the past 3
months, and they were some amazing people, who also help make the
atmosphere better, thats what happens when there are new people here,
and especially someone who fits into the team, and someone you can be
comfortable around. Right now, we have it really really well. Were at a
good time of the year where its a little bit quieter, it can be quite hectic
through the summer.
28. Are there any traditions at STS?
We eat breakfast once a week here, which is very important and is very
sacred this breakfast here. Then we have a Fridays bar once a month, and
there are some who go and some who does not go. Also, we have
Christmas dinner once a year where we go out and get some good food, or
watching a show or something.
So then we also have some traditions when we reach certain sales targets,
where we get a little cake or some Baresso, or something, just to celebrate
these milestones that there are, and yes, to say congratulations to those
who have done a good effort.
29. What if there is anyone who stops in the STS?
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If there is someone who stops, we usually eat cake, also when get them a
gift of some kind. Yes, we eat a lot of cake, I think when you are as a small
business, I would like to do a little more about it around here, like drink
some beer on Fridays, or something, but I think it's easier to do so if one is
in a large company with 200 people to do it. But when we are so few, and
we are around each other so much in everyday life as we are, then you
also talk to one another. So it's more that people become friends
privately and see each other in our private lives.
So we have breakfast, Fridays bar and our celebrations with coffee and
cake, and whatever else is there is.
30. What are some recent changes that you have done in the office? E.g.
change in environment, staff, etc.
So it is little ongoing, but the big change happened for one and a half years
ago since I came back from maternity leave, and it did not happen from
one day to the other. It took certainly a half year before things came into
effect and was visible in like the culture and the entire company. So my
job right now is stick with what we have. So it's like that is what I am
working with right now.
31. Before I started, STS had changed offices; do you think that it has
changed the culture here?
I would say that noise levels have been reduced slightly! Employees do
not talk so much more, which means there is a bigger focus on work, in
comparison to when everyone sat in a large office. The culture has
certainly changed because there is not that much talk anymore, but it's,
from a management point of view, where if you might ask an employee
they would not agree, but it would be worse, but it also depends on ones
priorities.
We chose to move rooms because we had to save some money, because
we had not reached our sales target, and the offices we're in now is
cheaper than the big one we had before. So from a management
perspective, it is clearly better now.
32. Do you think this has been a positive change for the company?
Yes that I do believe, I think the employee that are here now make it quite
amazing all together, along with the interns we've had. The past year has
been a real pleasure, because people are so competent in here, and they
know what they're doing they are independent, and we have had some
interns who could contribute with something new and come with new
inputs and draw our attention to some new questions about everything,
and that's super good. So it's a dream right now to be the leader here, so
now it's just about to how to make it stick.

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Appendix B: Interview 1, Nete Madsen
Interview to be held on the 22
nd
October 2013 at 13:00.
Background to interviewee
1. When were you employed at STS?
Well that happened in 2011, in the month of January after I came back
from my Au Pair trip.
2. What are your areas of responsibilities within the company?
I sit with the product, Au Pair, which is my main function here; I sit with
70% Au Pair and 30% on the department called [High School] Inbound,
which are the High School students who come to Denmark.
3. Do you feel that there are any challenging aspects about your job?
I think the challenging aspects are the problems with the students, which
mainly fills the part of challenges in the position I am sitting in.
4. What do you think are the problems with the students?
If there are any moves or if there are students who do not adjust properly,
or if they have homesickness or things like that. I think that is the most
challenging part because it is people that I have the responsibility of and
handle in the daily work day, whereas the administrative things are not in
my opinion that challenging.
5. What do you feel is the most satisfying part about your job?
It is probably the constant renewal of it. That we can change how things
are and we can arrange new things also for the students or change how
we run the administrative things to just lighten the work tasks here. Also
when you hear the successful stories which are really nice to have with
you, and thats about it.
6. What was it like back when you started at STS? Was there anything
different than it is presently?
I think the administrative things have changed a lot, but its also because
you have the full responsibility of your department and you create your
own work routines in relation to how it was in the beginning. So there has
been some changes in relation to who was in charge of the office, which
has had an obvious impact on how culture and ones daily work method
has been down here, but otherwise its really just the things you have
changed yourself during your employment, so to speak.
7. Have there been many employees in and out of the company?
There were in the first year, but not in the past year, so I dont think there
has been many changes. Well weve had interns coming and going all the
time, but concerning full time employees I dont think there has been the
major changes. But in the first year and a half [of my employment] there
was a lot going on that front.
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8. In your opinion, what do you do think that STS does in order to
maintain the motto responsibility, safety and quality for its
customers before and after their departure?
It s probably all the thing we do to prepare them, like departure meetings
and workshops and things like that which create this feeling of safety
and responsibility too. And just how we handle the eventual problems
regarding students, which gets run past the Head office if there is
anything they need to be notified on. But I think on the other hand that its
also challenging because the Head office often sees it in another way than
we do. Also because we have partners around the world that they chose
to see it from one side rather than both sides. But I think from our side of
STS part, Denmark that is, there I think were quite good at renew
ourselves and create more quality around our products and security
considering our customers as well.
9. What do you think has improved the quality of the product?
Its probably the new work routines that we have established, after all the
media coverage there was. It is probably also generally how we handle
problems and our applications and stuff. I think that had an influence.
10. Do you have any specific procedures that you follow?
Yes we do, they are built according to the different products, so for
example, I do not know the procedures regarding High School Outbound,
but I know about the ones that I have myself and that I work with. But
there has been set some sort of framework in consideration how we get a
student from point A to point B. That means that it does the work easier
for us here at STS, that you know okay when I get this application in then I
need to look through this like this and then like this, where before it was
more like well you do as you please.
Competition
11. In your opinion, which company is STS Denmarks biggest
competitor or threat?
Well for Inbound, it is something that is called Explorius, where they run
something very similar to our Host and Go, where you simply get a
student when you send one out. And another company [competitor] is
called AFS. [Explorius] they have often have a little bit older students,
which is much more attractive for our host families, I feel, because for the
majority of people they dont want a teenager in but they would like to
have someone who may be able to take care of themselves more. There is
an obvious difference between hosting a 15 year old and if youre hosting
a 20 year old, also they have a lot of American students, and it is also very
attractive considering that they speak English, because it is something
that the Host families can speak and benefit from, so I see them as the
biggest competitors.
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12. Which of your students do you feel are hardest to place? A French
student vs. a British student.
So our families are quite ready for those who come from English-speaking
countries, and it is very general, to see that they would rather have one
from Australia than they would have from Germany on than what they
might be, too, because it's a little more exotic in some way to have one
from Australia rather than from Germany. Where we visit almost, not
daily, but it's more like common in Denmark to have the knowledge about
Germany. Also, I also have all year students they are simple then also
harder to place because it is a long time to bind to, so 6 months or 5
months students are the most wanted.
13. How do you think STS Denmark is doing compared to its
competitors?
It's a bit difficult to answer because it's not going to know what others
have to say that this year we supposed to place our students real real fast
compared to August start, we've got a much larger network the worst
families than we have had in the last few years and this would be a little
on how we run our program here at home I'd say the changes they
routines that have come into it, make also that we get a little more host
families into our network. But compared to how the other place, I dare
not right to answer. Well it's only what you can see on the websites to any
continuing need to place any from August of too. So in that way I think we
are real good with.
14. Do you believe the loss of the State Grant for Ungdomsuddanelse
has any impact on STS Denmark?
I do not think it would affect inbound portion, but it would affect inbound
part relative to the Host and Go families where someone might choose a
different direction because of the price. But there are Host and Go also
good because it goes in and provide 10,000 kr. discount as one single
would have gotten from SUI. But I do not think it necessary if going to be a
great loss for my part of it. I think for the outbound portion would be a
loss also because that would lack the support in general, money wise I do
not think people choose to go by but I think compared to the support
from the state , I think means a lot if an organization is approved or it is
not.
High School Inbound
15. What are your tasks and responsibilities for the High School
Inbound Department?
So that's kind of my responsibility for High School Inbound, Camilla
sitting with the overall responsibility, but otherwise I pass daily. And it's
simple do it to find host families, develop all the material needed to host
families, for those interviewed also, that part is I do not know, but I stand
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for Area Representatives to be out and interview and visit these host
families, obtain the necessary documents such as criminal records, and
the interviews also features pictures and letters to students we can send
off, also the location itself, and subsequently, visas are also a part of my
work tasks which is followed by invoices and then also problem solving if
there would be something, it is the Area Representatives task but it is also
my job in the end to like loose the things, so I also have a close
cooperation with them too [Area Representatives]. But I think it is basics:
school rankings is obviously also part of it, Danish lessons and it belongs
in that category.
16. In your opinion, what are some of the challenges within the High
School Inbound department? Why?
Right now I think it's the visas, but it is also because it is a little
cumbersome compared to the students to apply for visas in different
countries, and in relation to the control of Directors and how they retain
the recruitment process, they are not really good at handling these visas, I
think that's a huge amount of work, including CPR numbers which schools
also require at home. But otherwise it is that the problems if a student can
not be with the host family - also go and email with those who think the
greatest challenges lies - because each case is so different because it is has
to do with people. Also, I also think it is hard to find host families
sometimes. But now we are lucky because it has changed little here last
year, but otherwise it seems to be finding host families that have been
difficult.
17. What is the procedure you go through finding Host Families?
We have something on our website, our fine new website where there is
something called, "Become a Host Family" is also the one where we are
very weight also renew it in there and be the trainees who are seeking a
host family. But it is otherwise getting from A to B simple simply sending
rankings down to the students we are going for, and do so by sending
material out if people are showing their interest, so we have an interest
form again, where they fill out one lot of details in the test about
themselves and their lives and what they would like to get out of such a
stay. Also then we have field representatives who go out and visit them
and have a 4-5 pages of interview so it must go through with them, simple
just so we can reconcile expectations from the host family also we find
schools for them with host families and we do not just aircraft but we
send fending rankings go there, we need to know when and where
students they arrive to and such practical things is also down here. Also, it
is just sending rankings go there and visa section, which are subsequent
to the students to move outside the EU.
18. Where have you found host families?
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We use our network much here, so there is a lot of mass emailing out, and
language travel students use we also we located it at our Leads and all our
brochure we send out too, but then we are also very fortunate that there
are many host families are turning to us, which is simple just enter and
search that they would like to try to be the host family also use we fending
also High School network is especially Host and Go where we get many
and gives off the way through, and it shows that they matched they are
good because the host families can see both sides of the case , they have a
own child out there too they even have a living, so they tend to be really
good too.
19. So host families are also interested in the students that they get?
Yeah, we have a quota for how many we can shoot in different countries
sometimes, especially those from Asia, because they are a little harder to
place here compared to their English and stuff, but otherwise we look like
to 6 months students usually not a big problem in placing them.
20. How do you know how many students you need to find host families
for?
I do not know ... So we can say we have some deadlines to here our
January start, we have a deadline called on Oct. 15, where we should have
all applications, so on October 15, we know exactly how many we have
placed in host families and the same do we go to our August arrival so
that we know it once in March. So you have a few months to run to find a
host family and finding school, but in real terms we know it before the
deadline. We can of course just go into the system and see who is to
interview, how far they have perfected the processes, but it is not
important that they actually get here eventually. So we can have an idea of
who's going, but we know it never quite 100% before 15 October.
21. What then happens on the 15
th
of October? Do you get a list of the
names and how many you need to place?
Yes, we get their entire application inside Zapp, our operating system to
applications, also there we can go in and pull out the applications,
whether they are the ones we will send on to host families, so they can
choose them real students. But this first seen there by we are real how
many are coming. Actually, we are fortunate that there are some
countries that send their applications in earlier, as early as the beginning
of August I started to receive applications and could begin to place
students there, but quite officially, we know only that in mid-October.
22. Is it then the host families who choose the students?
Yes, it is always, it is simple just out of interest and things like that so we
can create the best matches. Students can even choose from a family, you
might say, but it often gives the best match when a host family can choose
a student. We also correct a lot to a host family chooses the English-
speaking where we need to even try to talk them over to any of the others,
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we have now chosen to do here where we interview all ELLs simple
simply to assess their English, too little more aware of who they are so we
can better showcase, "sell" them a stupid word to use but it looked so we
can tell the host families a little better about these students, so it has
worked real well so far.
23. How do you find area representatives? And how do you
communicate with them and how often?
There we use again our network, I would say that I have been fortunate
and had some permanent people who have been with us since I started,
and those I use, then I also am used to train new Area representatives, but
we've actually gone through any of our old interviewer at both High
School and Au Pairs also, people who have been out for a long time, so
those we have touched and used, not because we need as many area
representatives we need a way, probably have to cover, a few pieces
covering Zealand, one covering Funen and Jutland, also we have one for
Middle Jutland and North Jutland. We could certainly use more we could
always but it also comes and in which students are placed where and
where our host families are, and you know we never real hero, so in some
period of time we have the right number of students located in
Copenhagen and has need more there, in other periods it is Jutland there
is tremendous popular, so we use simple simply our network and pulls
like the former students (STS). We also have no previous host families
who choose that they would like to be area representative where the
mother wanted it, and that we use obvious.
Mail and telephone, if there are problems it is often over the phone, where
you take and talk about it, but if it is some general questions or " here is a
host family interview" it's by mail, also it will also be sent out in the mail,
they can be allowed to read about these families before they go out and
interview.
24. How do you handle problems among the students? E.g. bad grades,
drinking, problems with their host families, culture shock, etc.
It is again slightly from case to case, so it comes and the problems,
Communications is the most important and I think it's really important to
not necessarily be involved in everything, but certainly have an Area
Representative involved, so there are not too many who come in and
interfere in these things.
Now we have a girl who is very, very sad and unhappy in her host family
and it's not something we can do to nothing about, unless she says it to
the host family also, we do not go in and move a students if they are
unhappy or sad, it's something they need to work through. Is there a
bigger problem, then we can of course just go in and move the students,
but otherwise it's a lot for a case that we run different things. Is it some
79
little things like the student would like to Danish course or transport or
something so we also provide fast it.
25. What if they have problems with culture shock?
So we get area representative to talk with them. And we go through also
all such things because in the Inbound weekend energy we have, we just
had one in September for August students who arrived where we simple
just grabs them and talk culture, and talk about expectations tests on our
part of the school's side and from host families, of which we have yet
another trip to Aarhus also where again there would be placed much
emphasis on culture, so the simple simply can also get it in under the skin
that we are very different up here and it's not an adventure like right
many write in their applications, and castles all over and the Little
Mermaid , but it is real life what they have come up here to also. So, we
are emphasizing a lot on the meetings we have with the students.
Past
26. During my internship at STS, it was mentioned that there were some
challenges with the media a few years back, would you elaborate on
what they were?
Yes, let me see if I can remember what happened in the fall of 2011,
Camilla went on maternity leave in April, May, about 4 months after I had
started here also came a new person entering Monika, and she was here
during that period, and I think it started in 2011 November? Month, if I'm
not mistaken, Bag Facaden came first or Kontant... I cannot remember,
but either way, you can definitely find it online, oh my god its annoying
that I cannot remember it.
We came in Kontant and we were told behind the scenes that some
employees, not necessarily the Country Manager sitting here at that time,
and then including our Executive Director, who sits up in the office in
Sweden, he came down to defend these issues, it was certainly not a nice
atmosphere that was present here, if that's what you wanted to know, we
had all sat down together to watch this program, we were though, first of
all there were employees from STS, where some of the Language Schools
Coordinators who acted in it, and that made it feel like there was a sense
of insecurity about it [the program] too. But in general there were some
problems that were brought to attention for the employees side and a
coordinator that we had sitting with us, but he wasnt really listened to,
and then you can say that TV depicts the things that they wants to depict,
so that boy that was down there [in the TV program] but he was actually
very happy down there. So that wasnt displayed on TV. But it was very
uncomfortable being in here [the office] and you were questioned a lot. I
remember we had to go to conferences in January and there wasnt
anyone who wanted to have their face represented as, Hey I work for
80
STS but otherwise it wasnt crazy. We lost a lot of conference sales, we
didnt have so many students abroad. The Au Pair department, was
luckily, not as affected but High School and Language Schools was very,
very affected by it. And I think it was fine that he, Jon, him from Sweden,
stood up to it [the TV program], but the whole thing just caused a lot of
bad advertisement especially for the whole High School industry. Because
then came Bag Facaden afterwards, which wasnt that much STS, where
we then had a guy, I think he was called Nicolaj, who was in it [the
program], but that was again 10 years ago something happened with him,
and that was awful, but those are things you cant prevent, we try with all
the rules that we have but we cannot necessarily screen these things
about a host family when you go there, but when he then came [with his
case] and then they showcased Interstudies, because the woman who
works now at Interstudies, she was at STS at that time, she was
showcased in a really bad light, so in that way it wasnt a nice show to be
in. We also had a lot of angry phone calls and comments about it when we
have been around the country, and received mails, so, what is this all
about? which I feel is very uncomfortable to have your face attached to,
and your name for that matter, but still if there are press conferences and
sent press releases out, then it just isnt, it just isnt something you want
from your workplace. So, I think it was tackled really badly from here [the
office], but thats also my own opinion
27. What do you mean by that?
Well, it was kept a secret for Bag Facaden, we were informed in a very
clumsy way, where there came a team down from the Head Office, who
told us how to deal with it and they had prepared some questions, where I
had the opinion that it wasnt something that I wished to do, I do not have
to sit here in my workplace and defend my company, it is only a
workplace, it is not my life, and my dreams and hopes, or what ever you
say, No. But I felt like it was very uncomfortable way how things were
dealt with here at the office. We were just some machines that had to
answer all these questions. Instead of being individual people who could
be asked for advice about how we could deal with it [the situation] and
what we thought would be the best way to confront it. So in that way, has
it caused a lot of division and a bad atmosphere here [at the office].
28. How did it affect STS Denmark?
It did not affect the Au Pair department, but the High School department.
There came many new procedures and it took some time to get used to
the new routines and build up the trust that has to be there between a
customer and a company, but I think we had a really good come back and
we have changed many really good things, to simply improve it, also after
Camilla rejoined us. And in that way we can say, that it was also very easy
for her, to suddenly do it that way, she had been gone for a year, and
81
didnt really take any responsibility for it [the situation], and she could
just come back and change everything, to how she wished it to be now
and for the further, and that is both good and bad you can say. Because in
the end, then there is someone who has to take the responsibility for the
bad media, where that where you [Camilla] just ignore it and push it away
all the time and say, Well, that was another person who was here, which
still affects us as employees.
But the atmosphere/vibe was bad here, not between the Coordinators,
but between the Coordinators and the management, because we just
didnt trust Monika, who was here at that time, and her decisions and if
she would make the right choices, because she was from Sweden, and
although the cultures are not that different, they are two different
markets, and when we [the coordinators] had preserved and worked hard
to make and create a really good product here [at the office] and then a
person comes in and suddenly scratches that out and suddenly it comes to
the media attention [about the service] a few times, well the media wasnt
really her fault that we were featured and it was unfortunate, but it
caused a lot of division down here [the Danish STS office], I feel.
29. What was done to improve the mood in the workplace?
Well you can say that Camilla came in as a huge breath of fresh air, but it
was also the individual person who has to change their opinion, and when
she came back, also because she was so positive about everything, where
you yourself sit and are only thinking negative things, or that it wasnt
such an exciting workplace anymore and you have been through a tough
period, which you hadnt foreseen, well it had just been hard for me. But
still you had attempted yourself to turn things around, or else you
wouldnt have been here anymore, and there you can see that there were
some who had quit because they just couldnt be a part of it anymore. But
I think its also ones individual opinion and what you want to get out of
the product, because I know myself, that I am sitting with a freaking
fantastic product that I am working with, and I am I very competent for
what I am sitting with here [at the office], and I am also very happy with
it. And then there could also be bad media exposure but that hasnt been
me, and my own product.
30. Do you think it is only Outbound that has been influenced by the
media or has Inbound influenced as well?
Well I think that you can feel that there are more questions asked about
Inbound regarding, what do you then do.., and how do you screen your
host families so in that aspect. But you can say that the number of host
families have also declined, in sync with it, and you can say that SUI,
which we were disapproved by at that time, that has also affected the
Inbound department as we couldnt get One year Visas to our students. So
in that way, we have had to say no thanks to one-year students and only
82
had 6-month students from outside of Europe, so there it has been really
affected. Overall then it hasnt been affected so much, but my personal
opinion is that one year students are better because they are easier to
place, so for my sake, it hasnt done too much, but our reputation and
status have been affected a lot.
Culture
31. What words would you use to describe STS Denmarks work place?
Yes, that is a really good question, I think that we are a very open work
place, and I think there is really good communication, sometimes there is
also very bad communication, but I feel that we are all really good at
talking about our problems, especially because now me and Camilla,
because she is the one that I use when I have problems, however, I feel
that my relationship with Nicoline, Inbound and Outbound, could be
definitely better, but I think thats also in sync with her work tasks, and
what she is doing, where I feel that she doesnt have so much
responsibility for her students in comparison to what I have with my
student, so in that aspect I feel that our relationship could be better, but
there are of course discussions and it depends on how much the people
involved want to discuss [about these things]. But as the main point I feel
that we have a really open culture here [at the office], and we are not a big
office so it is also limited, I would say.
32. Would you say that it's easy to talk to each other and there are not so
many barriers in must go through to be able to talk?
Yes and no, you can say that it is an advantage of being so few, and its not
because I have to go through 4 managers before I can get through, it also
depends on the topic we are discussing, but things such as the big
marketing things like the brochures and website and those thing, those
are the things where we do not have a lot of input, but with my own
product, then it is just a single acceptance that I need from Camilla, if I
even need an acceptance. Many things I can sit and change the way I want
to, but thats also employees freedom of their own responsibility I think
thats what its called, which is you can say are my own work tasks that I
deal with every day. And thats what I really like, that there isnt someone
that says, well at 9 oclock then you have to do this, and then at 10 oclock
then its like this, that is where you are extremely free in what you are
sitting and doing and I can change it up from day to day without
informing someone, in that aspect, I really like to be here at the office.
33. How is your relationship to your coworkers at STS Denmark?
Some are better than others, I would say that I am a very private person,
and thats also what I have become, well, its private who you want to
speak with and who you do not want to speak with, and there I clearly
have some I speak better with than others, and it has also something to do
83
with the history that you have shared. But my private life is my private
life and its really good to come home and not have to do my work and
thats okay, especially going through the phase of Kontant and Bag
Facaden, so there I cant continuously speak about my work when I come
home. But there are definitely some people that I speak better with than
others, and some that I dont necessarily want to have a relationship with
or need a relationship with.
34. Do you mean in your private life? Or?
The whole picture, there are just some you have a working relationship
to, and as long as that works fine then I dont have a big problem. So I
dont have to go into details with my private life and what I did Saturday
and thing like that.
35. How would you describe the atmosphere at STS?
Right now its a little bit boring, but thats also because people are on
vacation, and I would say that sometimes there are also moments where
its a really hectic vibe and other times its really, really quite and easy
going, and that comes in different periods. It also depends on who is at the
office, if Nicoline is here at the office then I feel sometimes it is really
noisy and loud in the office.
If Nicoline is her then I feel it can be really loud, but thats also because I
feel that she talks really loud on the phone, and that I feel can be really
distracting for my work day, but then because we now have the office
split up into smaller offices where we only sit 2 and 1 and 2 then there
isnt that much running back and forth, and the printer means that there
are more running back and forth, but in the hectic periods, which is where
I have to place [students] which is in the spring and autumn, but its not
only my work that gets hectic, it is the others as well. Sascha who works
with Language Schools, she is busy during the summer, so a lot happens,
so you can says that its nice that she is sitting another place, so she isnt
in ones office and disturbing with her phone calls and all those things all
the time. So sometimes it is really hectic. Yes, well you can say that the
products are so tailored that there hasnt happened so many changes
when there are any, then there are big changes that we suddenly do. Then
there is suddenly, new brochures, websites and such things. And then I
think it causes a lot of stress at the Head Office part because they are not
really good at planning things, but that doesnt affect the atmosphere at
the office as such. But as a main point I feel that there is a good
atmosphere/vibe to come into the office, better than it has been, at least.
36. So you are happy to be in here now?
Mostly yes, oh well I feel that there are some time when there could be a
more open communication between some people, but that is also you
cannot guess your way forward to all the things, so in that way I think that
there are still somethings that are missing, but that is also personal faults,
84
or something that you do not think about which goes in and affects those
things. But I am very happy and feel safe to be here.
37. Are there any traditions at STS?
We eat breakfast every Thursday! We can definitely have had a Christmas
party annually. We also have many trainees who come and go and to learn
a lot here, if they want, so it also creates a different atmosphere in here
once in a while and some other work routines. What else? We have a day
off on our birthday, I do not know if it's a tradition, but we eat breakfast
when a colleague starts here and when a colleague stops we also
celebrate it, but we eat cake. If you are on holiday, then when you come
back you can take cake with you, I never do it, but other do it willingly. It
is welcomed! But I think thats about it. I dont think we have so many
[traditions], we dont have really any employee benefits, as such if you can
say that. But thats just my opinion. If we reach a goal then there is also a
monetary bonus.
38. What are some recent changes that have been made in the office? E.g.
change in environment, staff, etc.
Well Sascha has been moved around, Lotte got her sales position last year
it must have been, yes around when Camilla came back, then came Lotte
back as well and she got her sales position. And Sascha was moved
around and is going to sit on IBS from January onwards, and then there is
going to be a new person sitting with Language Schools, but otherwise it
has been the same people who have been at the office, and have been here
in the past two years, one and half years.
We have moved offices, been moved up a little bit further up, not smaller
offices as such, but we have been divided up a little more, before we have
a more open floor plan, and now its a little bit more closed off, where
High School and Au Pair sit together, which works really well, when it
comes to discussions which there are, but also because we both sit with
Host and Go, Outbound and Inbound which are easier to have sit together.
Rather than I sit with Language Schools, for example, so Language Schools
has been moved into an office with itself and then Camilla and Lotte have
their office. I would prefer that Camilla sat in her own office, and Lotte
then went into Language Schools, but thats just me, and currently its due
to limited space due to Interns, but thats because I feel that a boss should
have their own office. And thats because I think there are too many
bosses in one office, but thats just me.
39. Do you believe these have been a positive change for the company?
Well yes, because I think that I have gotten a better place to sit, regarding
where my desk is located, then I feel its really nice, theres also some sort
of privacy over it in somewhat way, and thats what I like, but I think its
annoying to be on the 3
rd
floor.
85
You can say there isnt the same unity as there was before, because as
how Sascha is placed, she is across the hall, and cannot be included in
the same way. But I dont mind it either, but in that regard you can feel
that it has become more closed off or office minded in somewhat way.
40. Do you think that there is a different culture in different offices?
I never really go into Saschas office, but um yes, it also depends on what
type of person you are sitting with, you can say, I actually feel that its
really comfortable to sit here [her office], and I also like when the door is
closed so I dont necessarily have to see who is running around in the
hallway, but thats also because I feel that theres a lot of noise generated
out there, and then again I also feel that Camilla needs her own office. But
thats also because if there are problems or if you have personal issues
you want to talk about, then its really inappropriate that Lotte is also
sitting there and you need to get her to move, or that all my problems are
discussed between the two of them, rather than just it being Camilla that I
talk with. As mentioned, if I have to go to the doctor, then there is no
reason for Lotte to know about it, or if it is a problem that I have within
the Au Pair department then I do not feel that it concerns her. So in the
aspect, then I feel that they should both have their own offices. It would
be also nice to move offices, but thats also because I would like to have
the office closer to home, so thats something completely different, but
otherwise I dont think it isnt necessarily the best or most awesome
rooms, we dont have the best view either and the service isnt that great
either, so I wouldnt have a problem moving on.
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Appendix C: Interview 2, Camilla Graversen
The interview was conducted on the 8
th
of May 2014 at 11:30 at Langebrogade 5,
1411 Copenhagen K.
2010 2011
1. How was the atmosphere at STS before you went on maternity leave?
It was good, it was influenced by the fact that many employees, at that
time, where there was an employee shift, where Nete, among other things,
had just started a few months before (I went on maternity leave), she
started in January when I informed that I was pregnant in February, so
Nete was completely brand new. Where most of the others had been here,
roughly estimated, a half year, at the time. So, it was marked by many
were excited about what would happen before the summer.
2. How was the vibe at the office?
I think it was good, it was a well balanced team, they fit in well and they
were good to help each other and there was a little concern about that I
just suddenly going on maternity leave, and what would happen. But I
think that's very natural. Because when a leader, especially in a small
office here, has informed that they would leave for a year. She disappears.
So there were many questions and during the recruitment process (there
were questions), who was interviewed? And who it was? And what they
had wishes about who was they saw got the job and they were there all
along the way. But the mood was positive, there was nothing negative
that I had to leave on maternity, it was positive throughout.
3. Did you feel like you could leave without any problems?
Yes, I do believe, I didnt have any nerves about leaving.
4. Who was at the office?
It was Nete, Lotte, Maja and someone also called Jesper. It was those four
who ran it in here.
5. What was different back then?
You could say it was different, there was a lot that was different, it was
primarily different, because it was all about the sales. And we should have
as many bookings in as possible. And yes, sales, sales, sales. And it was not
differentiated if they were good students or if they were bad students and
we just had to sell. And if there were finally any problems, they were just
ignored or dragged through the mud so to speak.
6. How was it like coming into work?
Well, I think it was good atmosphere, yes that it was dominated by people
who were new, but people were happy when they got to work. It was
okay, yes. It was good.
7. Were any of your work tasks different?
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Well, I worked a lot more with the sales, at the time, and I was also, at that
time, working with all of marketing and sales campaigns, which I dont do
today, that was what I worked with much of the time then. I also took a lot
out and held information meetings and went to Jutland to talk to
customers and what was. And do I not right anymore. I've gone away
from that.
8. What did you like about the office before you went on maternity?
The atmosphere that was here and the team spirit that there was, we
moved together and we helped each other, and I thought that was really
positive.
You mentioned in your previous interview that STS focused more on
selling than quality...
9. How did you feel that STS focused more on selling than quality?
Well, it's kind of like I said before, it was all just about to just take
everything in, everything that could walk, would come more or less in [to
the program] and we bent the rules to the right and to the left, as long as
it was a student. If they had poor grades, they could get into if they had an
extra English test, or whatever it was. That is not the case today, if we
know they do not have the grades to the program, then they are not
accepted. Its not really up for discussion. Um, that was not the case,
during that time [2010 2011]. It was really just focused on being able to
sell, sell, and sell, and we did that too, we had a huge number of students
at that time [in comparison to now].
10. Was it pressure from head office?
Yes, that was it. I had one that made me aware that we had many problem
cases where they were not really resolved but were swept under the
carpet, so to speak, they [the head office] did not take it really seriously,
and like it was brought up while I was on maternity leave, was with the
media twice, it made them realize that "oh wow, there was something to
what she was talking about maybe we should stop running such a poor
quality [of the product]" and the following year, our office in Finland went
through the same thing we did [Danish office] so they got the tour the
following year and they had also gone through bad media coverage so
take head office started to take it very serious. So when I came back from
maternity leave, I said it very clearly, primarily to employees, that we are
not a sales office anymore, we are a quality office. And there were not any
objections or anything. It was just, " you do what you want to do". So that
was that.
11. If you had to say STS had a motto before you left, what would it be?
It would be something like, "the biggest sales team" or the "best sales
team." It was always Denmark that was highlighted for conferences that
we sold "oh so good" and we had employees who were sales minded
88
rather than service minded and it was also completely wrong. So yes it
was something with do with sales.
12. What was the mindset of the office, or motto here?
But it was also the sale and there were more people saying, I'm going out
to hold sales meeting rather than follow up with the customers who
were already booked in the system. And that was why our customers felt
betrayed when they had booked and signed up for the program. Where
today is the complete opposite, where we have coordinators who are
primarily there for quality and service and ensures that customer services
are there fore the clients. And then we have, Lotte who is in charge of both
sales and marketing, who informs us how it all looks. And it is her that
takes out into the country and sells the package, where we she doesnt
worry about anything else, because its here job. We didnt have it back
then, it was all the different coordinators who sat separately with all the
tasks and worked through all the phases.
13. How was the change of leadership introduced to the employees?
I introduced it, one afternoon, I remember. I went in and told them, and
you could say Monika who got the position as my maternity substitute,
they all knew, from the head office, they knew all who she was and then I
told them a little bit about her background and they all were very excited
for her to start. So it was not a new person who would come into the
office. And they took it all very positive, at the time, they were all happy,
because it was a person from within the company because she knew the
programs and knew the system and just knew how things were supposed
to run. So at that time was the right thing, really positive. There was no
arguing about it shouldnt be her because she was a Swede or that she
could not speak Danish, my worries were there not there [from the
employees], at the time, and not from my side of. I had wished that it was
someone from the office that joined the office. So when I told them [the
employees] about it, it was all accepted and very positive.
14. Did Monika visit before she overtook your position as Country
Manager?
No, she was not. She arrived, I was supposed to have a handover
transition phase with her, and I also got it, I got 3 weeks, because she
wasnt ready after 2 weeks, but we had some factors against us, because a
person wasnt found to her position up in the head office, so she did two
jobs simultaneously, so I had her for a few hours during the day, when she
had obvious bit of Denmark to get to know and then she worked on her
second job on the side. So it was not a proper handover. She came down
and started and we started the day with some breakfast as we always do,
she said hello to everyone, and then I had also arranged that she would
have a private conversation with all of the employees individually, on the
first day and it was like pretty much that. So everybody had time to talk to
89
her and tell then what they expected from her and that she [Monika]
could have some time to learn and get to know the employees.
15. The last time we had an interview, you mentioned that your
employees had called you while you were on maternity leave, would
you please elaborate on what happened?
Yes, well it started with that I went on maternity around the middle of
may, I should have left in the start of May, but it was delayed because
Monika was not ready. And then I gave birth in June, where the office
were so sweet and had bought flowers for me and had them sent to the
hospital, I am not quite sure how they found out where they should send
them to, but they had probably heard it from me, so I sent them a mail of a
picture of the girls and said thank you very much.
Then I knew that they were busy at the office, so I was not going to drop
by in July with the girls because it was unnecessary, so I came into the
office at the end of August. Where I knew they all had time to see me, and
I had the girls with me, because they needed to see these wonderful kids
that I had gotten. And I could feel that the atmosphere wasnt really good.
We sat down to breakfast for an hour and ate breakfast and already after
15 minutes, Monika stood up and left, because she was busy. Which I
thought was a little weird, because I also wanted to speak with her and
hear about how it was going. Then I left afterwards and went up to see
her, where I remember the others were taking care of the girls, and they
were so sweet because they sat with them and started to get a lot of
motherly feelings, where I then went into talk with Monika. She said to
me that she was very angry and disappointed that I had spoken Danish
with the co-workers, because she spoke English with them and didnt
understand what we were talking about and that was why she left during
breakfast. Where I said, for me it would just be awkward to sit and speak
English because we speak Danish, it is a Danish office and I got really
angry because they were my co-workers. And when I asked her about
how it went at the office, then she closed off and said it was just fine. And I
could see that it wasnt just fine.
So when I finally went out to the car, then I met Lotte, who had met in
later that day, because she wasnt informed that I would be coming that
day. And Lott said to me that, more or less with tears in her eyes, as far as
I remember, that everything was terrible. And she was completely
finished and there was no understanding or anything at all. And when I
then drove off, I left with a feeling of, oh my god, what is it that I left? And
what went wrong? And it is of course not a pleasant feeling, because
theres nothing that you can do.
Then there went 14 days or 3 weeks, and Jesper called me up, who was
High School coordinator at that time, and said that he was sure that we
would be featured in Kontant and thought that I should know because I
90
also had a job to come back to, and again he told me how bad it was going
at the office. It was actually a very short conversation because I was in
complete shock and didnt know what to respond. And when I did
respond I said to him that I would call the Head Office and would call him
back. And I did so, at was informed that they had it under control, the
Head Office, not Monika, but they had it under control and I would be
briefed about what happened. When and Where. But that was that.
And then there didnt go more than a week, where the employees chose to
file a complaint against Monika, which was sent to me, they didnt send it
up to the Head office, but to me, they sent the complaint and asked for my
help to figure out what to do with it and what would happen. And it
happened that I sent it to my boss and said I didnt want to have anything
to do with it, that they should deal with it themselves, because I had
withdrawn myself for the 10 months that I had my maternity leave for,
and he promised that they would sort it out and that they would take care
of it. And I wrote back to the employees, they were all attached in the
mail, that I had talked with my boss and that they would be contacted, and
thought that everything was in order.
And then there went two three weeks and then it was Lotte or someone
who wrote, Hey, listen up, its like this we havent heard from him, what
is up? Well then he came, this happened in September, and he came in
December month and talked with them and that was his form of following
up, right? And you can say in that period, more or less, that every one quit
because they didnt want to put up with it anymore or that it didnt work
[at the office] anymore. So, that super team that I had before I went on
maternity leave that deteriorated slowly and steadily.
Well you can say, it depends also on who you are and I am not the type of
person who cuts off and says I am home now and I am not going to think
about anything else. I dont think its possible when you have a job that
you are happy with and its a job that you have to go back to. Because I
knew that if everybody stopped then it would be a hard position to come
back to new employees. It was a really, really uncomfortable period,
really, really uncomfortable, it was not the happy maternity leave that
some people had, where they are sacred and they have their children, and
that I didnt really have, because I was all the time on my email and
checked it, and did things, and talked with the employees, primarily with
Nete and Lotte.
And Nete called or mailed me at some point, regarding her contract, and
asked for some advice, because Monika tried to make her do many things
that werent legal. Where she then got the advice from me, and I think that
I said directly to her, inform your Union and do it now, because there is
something really wrong with that.
91
Well, it proved that I was valued as a leader, and that was really nice but
at the same time it put me in a really bad light, personally, because I
became very close with my employees than I would ever wish to be.
Because that distance, professional relationship, it was not there. So, it
was just a really bad period, to say it as it was.
16. What type of leadership style do you think you have here in the
office?
I am open; there are pluses and minuses with it. I think in many ways that
you are a better leader if you are a little bit more cold and little bit more
closed, a little more professional which is probably a better word to use,
but also being a little more absent. But I am not that type of person, and
therefore I am not like that as a leader. Ones personality is usually
associated with ones leadership style.
The leader I try to be is a fair leader that employees feel that they can
reach and come to, but who also attempts to have some distance to their
employees. Yes, you can say I hear some things from time to time, but I do
not know what the employees do in their private time, and I dont really
wish to know either, unless it is something that affects their work, then I
want to know what is going on. And the distance is very difficult to keep,
when you're a small office, because then we work so closely, we are on
trips together over the weekend, and things like that, where we speak
privately. But I try very hard to make it happen, but I'm sure if you ask
someone from the team they would say that I am very equal to them and
they way they are. And it's real hard, it is one of the biggest challenges I
have as a leader is to like to draw myself back and say now I'm also your
boss and you do not do your job properly or whatever it is, because I 've
just been sitting drinking coffee half an hour before with them. It's an
interesting crossroad to have as a leader.

92
Appendix D: Interview 2, Nete Madsen
Interview was conducted on the 8
th
May, 2014 at 11:00 at Langebrogade 5, 1411
Copenhagen K
2010 - 2011
1. How was the atmosphere on the STS before Camilla went on
maternity leave?
So it was a very open atmosphere, and it had not been like that with
Monika, you might say, but it was very open in that respect to work tasks
and where we just were going with the company and the different
departments as well. And the atmosphere, I am going ahead of the
questions, but the atmosphere and the vibe, there was a really good vibe
among the employees, because we knew where our leader was (which
values she had) and which competences she had at that moment of time.
But that was like what it has been.
2. What was the vibe at the office?
-
3. Who was in the office?
Well, it was me who started in January in the Au Pair department. And
then there was someone called Jesper Sten, who was in the High School
department and another person called Maja, I dont remember her last
name, but she was also in High School. And then Lotte was in the
Language School department. And then Camilla. So it was a little bit
smaller office than we are now.
4. What was different back then?
The mood among the staff and things like that, that had obviously also
been affected by the tough tour around the management. Um, so it was
clearly the atmosphere, and the work tasks were also something different.
5. How were your work tasks different?
Well, there was imposed a little more when Monika came down, because
she just didnt have control or knew much about the individual products
and how you got a student from A to B. So in that way, then you had to
assign yourself a lot more. Where in the past when we had Camilla, whom
you could go into, had been working with all the products and knew
everything. And that was quite a challenge to get through some of the
questions, that you just didnt, well I was knew and I didnt have the
answers either, but Monika just couldnt help me either.
6. What did you mean that the atmosphere was different?
There was like not as stressed atmosphere. When Monika came in and
overtook, because she didnt have enough knowledge and didnt know
many things, then it suddenly became very stressful for each individual
employee because you were assigned more. Because the management just
93
didnt know much, and um in that aspect there was a little bit more of a
hectic atmosphere, if you can say it in that way.
7. Did Monika ask into your work tasks, which caused the stress?
From time to time, but not really, because the problem was that she didnt
know what our work tasks were. So some days you could sit where you
knew she didnt have any idea of what you had done the whole day.
8. How was it to get into the office?
Well it was always exciting to come into the office, to a new work place, I
felt that everyone was very accepting and welcomed me during that time.
But yes, you can say that I was sitting with a little bit older people than
what I was during that time. And that was also a challenge. But otherwise
I would say it was really comfortable. There were of course some friction
between some employees but I think that will happen no matter where
you are. I also think it was a problem because its a small office, so it isnt
because you have 20 people to choose between and who you do well with
and who you dont deal well with, but when youre a small office you are
forced to be able to work with everyone in somewhat way.
9. Was any of your work different?
Not different but I think you were assigned more than what I did, or what
I had had in the first 4 months at least. When Monika came here then we
were assigned more. And that was simply the knowledge that was lacking
from her side, but it wasnt different, because we still got customers from
A to B.
10. What did you like about office before Camilla went on maternity
leave?
I really liked the employees that were there. I really like one of the
employees, but Monika was there and so they opted to resign in the end.
Which I think thats really a shame. But I think that was about it.
Camilla said in her previous interview that STS focused more on
selling than quality (2010-2011)...
11. Do you agree with what Camilla said?
Both yes and no. Well I felt that on my side, my product that I have always
focused on the quality as well. But its probably true that we focused a lot
more on sales, sales, sales than actually providing a good service, I think.
12. Was there much competition between employees?
No not really, no because we all sat with our own products. And the age of
our customers, were different, so there wasnt really competition in that
way.
13. How do you think that STS focused more on selling?
I think that the Head Office pushes us in regards to sales. So that was
pushed down in the chain to oneself because if I didnt reach 10 sales in
one month, then it was me who sat with the responsibility. And that I
thought Monika was really good at pushing one, to why? Why do we not
94
have higher sales figures? And Camilla doesnt do that in the same
manner.
14. If you were to say STS had a motto before Camilla went on maternity
leave, what would it be?
So we have the one thats called, responsibility, safety and quality, which
I should probably know by now, but I dont feel like we had a motto as
such.
15. How about a mindset of the office?
Well I would say that Camillas management style has always been open
in regards to where we are going towards, now we are moving offices and
such things, so she has always been open in regards to practical
information, and in general about what the Head Office says and what
they dont say, I think thats about it. Where Monika was much more
closed off, where you needed to ask into things before you got an answer.
But on that note, Camilla is a little bit more relaxed about those things in
general.
16. How did you feel about the changes in the office when Camilla went
on maternity?
I think it was hard, but that was also because I had just started and I
wasnt in the routines at all and those thing, I was just in the start process
of creating them. And I wasnt able to get that help from Monika. She
didnt know either about those things, so it was hard for me. And the
closed off way she had also affected one, you can say.
17. Why did you feel that way?
It was tied to much of Monikas ignorance about everything, also how
Denmark is, how Danes are and how we sell down here, and how you got
your customers through the system you can say. And I think I just had it
really hard, and that caused another atmosphere, where it had been,
before we were a team, all of STS, and then it got divided up in employees
and management. So that was really closed, and like there was a cold air
between the management and employees.
18. What was Monika introduced to the office?
We were informed, I think Camilla told us, and we were all very excited
about her, because she had been an Au Pair, I think she also had been
working in an Au Pair position up in the main office, and she had
familiarity to, she sat in the production of High School and she also had
some knowledge about Language Schools. So in that way, she was
introduced really well because she sounded like she had a good idea of
everything. So we were all really impressed, but that took a turn.
19. How did you feel about Monika as your boss back then?
Not really well, but that was also because she didnt have the
competencies that were needed and I felt that I had a greater amount of
knowledge about the different things that she did. And that I thought was
95
hard. That my boss was above me but in reality didnt really know that
much. I think it also what caused a bad atmosphere at the office, was that
when Camillas position opened up, when she went on maternity, there
was a free position, and Maja, who was sitting in High School, had applied
for it, where we all had like told Camilla, that she shouldnt have the
position, or else we will resign, because we didnt like Maja as a leader.
Um, that I think also caused some discord, in somewhat of a way, because
then when Maja didnt get the position, and we all knew that through the
recruitment process that Maja wouldnt get it, where Maja had just been a
true believer that yes she would get the position. So I think that also
caused some discord.
20. Was Maja not open to the new leader?
No and that affected the rest of us, and you can say that the moment that
Maja knew that she wouldnt get the position then she also became
vacant, since she got the opportunity to apply for other jobs. And that
caused some division in the High School department, among other things,
where Jesper and Maja had been sitting together, because then Maja
hadnt really been there and you didnt really know what direction High
School was going. And I think it was a very troubled period, especially for
High School.
21. How did the office respond to the change in leadership?
Well I would say, we as employees, became stronger, Lotte, Jesper and I,
we became a little team almost, because we went against Monika, you
could say. Did you hear about that we sent a complaint about her and
those thing? No? Well, I think we came in, Monika came in May/April
month, and in November month, I think that we all had had enough, and
there was Nicoline as an intern, at that time, and I think also Anita was
there, and thereafter in November month, when Kontant was featured,
then we sent a complaint to the Head Office. And we sent it to Jon
Cedergar, and it was dealt with really badly, I mean a complaint should be
confidential between those who sent it and who we sent it to at the Head
Office, but Monika ended up receiving it, and she threw it on the table one
day in front of Lotte and said, What is this? There I think its also a
little then you feel as an employee that the Head Office had gone behind
our backs. Jon then came afterwards down and that didnt really solve
anything. There wasnt created any happiness for us, or anything. So in
that retrospect was it extremely confusing.
22. Was there anything you think could had helped during that period?
Firstly, I think that the main office shouldnt have given the complaint
further to Monika, it is confidential you could say, and the way that the
Head Office treated the complaint was also the case it was just really,
really bad, and we didnt really feel that we were supported, on the
96
contrary, they were supportive of her throughout the whole way. So, that
I think was a little turbulent, I think.
23. Do you think some " teamwork " courses could have helped you?
Yes, I think it could have been something. But I just think that at some
point, there was a stalemate between us and no matter what was done,
and then it wouldnt really solve anything. But that is also again because
we didnt feel that she had the competences that she should have had. Um,
and we didnt feel that the Head Office listened to us and they just let us
run further and further down, and mentally it just used a lot of efforts for
the employees, and that is also why there were so many changes in that
period. So it wasnt rainbows and butterflies.
24. Why did you stay at the office?
Yes, why? No, well I love my work. I really like the daily work tasks that I
have, and I dont like the Head Office, and how they run things, but luckily
I dont have so much to do with them. So in that regard, I can enjoy my
job.
25. How were your colleagues during this period?
There were many replacements during this period, well Maja she
resigned during the summer of 2011, it must have been, then came Anita
to High School, we had interns in as well, Sascha came during the summer,
and there were just many changes [in employees]. And then there was
also in January 2012, where there was two people over a very short
period of time who were fired. So in that regard, it was very turbulent
with new people constantly, you could say.
26. How was it then when Camilla came back from maternity leave?
That was a reversal. You needed to get used to it again, the problem was
that a lot had happened over a year, both personally and ones work tasks
and the way that things were done and Camilla had it hard to catch up,
and still has it hard catching up. But I think in my department, then I am
very independent, so there Camilla isnt a big influence, and I run it a little
bit like I want to and I think thats very freeing, and it that thing
responsibility under freedom. Where Inbound is where I need more
help. So it is very positive that I feel like I am really supported in my
Inbound work tasks in comparison to what I had been before. So in that
retrospect, is it very positive.
But it was also a discord, because Camilla came back and had taken Lotte
and Sascha with her. And when Lotte came back, she got a type of
promotion and came in and sat in a different position. And I think that it
was annoying, because she wasnt really educated in marketing, where
it could have been someone different who was qualified than her. So, I
think that caused some division, between the rest of us, Sascha, Nicoline
and I. Also, because she resigned but then came back with a higher
97
position. And she moved over into something completely different with
IBS, but yeah thats just my opinion.

98
The prices of the High School exchange by STS for the US, Canada, New Zealand,
Australia, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Austria and the UK for the school year
2011-2012, 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and the current prices. All of the information
given has been provided by Camilla Graversen as well as the explanations
through a brief meeting, where they were summarized later by Julia Heisselberg.

Countries Prices in DKK

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Current
Prices
USA 59.950 61.950 49.950 64.995
Canada 58.950 69.950 69.950 75.995
New Zealand 68.950 83.950 74.950 80.995
Australia 68.950 86.950 76.950 90.995
France 39.950 43.950 39.950 44.995
Italy 43.950 49.950 39.950 44.995
Japan 76.950 76.950 66.950 -
Spain 59.950 59.950 49.950 54.995
Austria 45.950 46.950 39.950 44.995
UK 59.950 59.950 47.950 56.995

*There is no price listed for Japan in 2014-2015 because of the low demand from customers, STS
has closed down the option of going to Japan, this year there were only 2 students who went to
Japan.

There is a significant price different between the four academic years listed,
there are a few reasons to this. First of all, the prices that are listed in 2011
2012 will be base of the prices listed, which will be used to show the changes in
the prices. This year was a good financial year for STS, where there were a lot of
bookings and Camilla Graversen went on maternity leave during some of the
financial year and Nicoline, the current High School Outbound Coordinator, was
employed in the summer of 2011.

Second of all, the prices in 2012 2013 were determined because of the previous
year where STS had a good financial year. Due to that, the Company Manager
increased the prices due to an increase in popularity and demand from the
customers in 2011-2012. However, due to bad media coverage STS lost their
seal of approval by the government, which caused them to lose the State Grant.
Furthermore, STS competitors in this year had substantially lower prices, which
ultimately meant that STS lost a lot of customers and their sales were extremely
lower than the previous financial year.

99
Regarding the prices for 2013-2014, Camilla had set them exponentially lower
than the previous year and even more than the year in 2011-2012 in hopes of
being able to compete with their competitors, because the pricing has been
based on what the State Grant would have covered, 10.000 krs. Therefore by
setting their prices so low it would hopefully allow them a better opportunity to
compete in the market where there were still concerns from parents and
customers about the media coverage of STS. This pricing strategy was successful
as it caused a high number of sales for the company.

The current scholastic year 2014 2015 the prices have been based on the
possibility of being approved by the government for the State Grant and that the
New York Prep Course (for US) has been included in the price, which is
approximately 10.000 kroners on top of the price. So the price has only risen by
5000 kroners in comparison to 2013-2014. Furthermore the hope of the State
Grant that can be given to some customers would make the prices even cheaper.

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