Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems (International Edition)
... Example of organizations includes businesses, hospitals, colleges, retail stores et cetera. (Ivanko, 2013) Accounts of the growth of organizational theory usually start with Taylor and Weber, but, as Scott (1987) mentions, organizations were present in the old civilizations which goes back to Sumerians (5000, BC). Complex forms of organization were necessiated and did change as families grew into tribes and tribes evolved into nations. ...
... In his attack on the classical school of theorists, Simon was joined by the introducers of the human relations school of organizational thinking. The foundations for their arguments were relied upon even before the war, in the report from the Hawthorne studies by Roethlisberger and Dickson (1939), but, according to Scott (1987), it was Elton Mayo who gave the most influential interpretation. ...
... This informal structure could be just as important as the formal one for predicting the outcome of decision making processes – sometimes even more crucial. According to Scott (1987), there were a various main themes investigated by the different approaches within the human relations school, and most of them are still actively pursued by researchers. The most basic is the insistence on the importance of individual characteristics and behaviors in understanding organizational behavior. ...
Organization is a relatively young science in comparison with the other
scientific disciplines. (Ivanko, 2013) Accounts of the growth of organizational theory usually
start with Taylor and Weber, but, as Scott (1987) mentions, organizations were present in the
old civilizations which goes back to Sumerians (5000, BC) and which experiences its
maturation phase with Taylor, Fayol and Weber, continuing to come up to present with modern
management methods and principles. The modern organization may be the most crucial
innovation of the past 100 years and it is a theory which will never complete its evolution as
the human being continues to exist. Understanding how organizations work has been the focus
of scientists and scholars until the early part of the 20th century. Just as organizations have
evolved, so to have the theories explaining them. These theories can be divided into 9 different
“schools” of thought (Shafritz, Ott, Jang, 2005): Classical Organization Theory, Neoclassical
Organization Theory, Human Resource Theory, or the Organizational Behavior Perspective,
Modern Structural Organization Theory, Organizational Economics Theory, Power and
Politics Organization Theory, Organizational Culture Theory, Reform Though Changes in
Organizational Culture and Theories of Organizations and Environments. This introductory
paper will concentrate on the classical to modern structural organization theory and is divided
as follows: The introduction talks about the developments of the organization and organization
theory from its early stages with detailed definitions. In section 2, theoretical roots in other
words literature review on the subject will be presented. At further section, by looking at the
perspectives of the 29 pioneering people, main principles of the classical to modern
organization theory are presented one by one. Section 4 discusses and concludes the paper.
... (Scott 1992) in contingency theory is reviewed. Later, will describe the task environment and the relationship between the environment and organization structure. ...
... " Galbraith's view can be considered to be similar to systems as he argued that as uncertainty in the task environment increases, the amount of information necessary to deal with the situation and to make the right decision increases. Furthermore, (Scott 1992) argued "Various structural arrangements, such as rules, hierarchy, and decentralization are mechanisms determining the information-processing capacity of the system". Scott also rephrased and added to the contingency theory the fact that the nature of the environment that the organization belongs to has a huge impact on the way of organizing the system. ...
... (Scott 1992) relates task environment and organization by developing sets of propositions. The result is shown in the following table where he also compares the response of rational systems with natural system given task characteristics ...
... Organizational adaptation is the process in which organizations cope and weigh environmental demands and the adaptation required to comply with them (Gumport and Sporn 1999, 18). The concept of organizational adaptation stems from the open systems perspective on organizations (Scott 1992), and refers to: "modifications and alterations in the organization or its components in order to adjust to changes in the external environment […] Adaptation generally refers to a process, not an event, whereby changes are instituted in organizations" (Cameron 1984, 123). Morgan (1997) explains that organizations are open systems, and there is no 'good way' to coordinate them; the coordination arrangement needs to fit the cross-cutting policy objective at hand and features of organizations, otherwise they organizations will not adapt. ...
... Seen from this perspective, public organizations are motivated by extrinsic rewards and want to secure and enhance their own organizational legitimacy and survival. Any challenge to these ultimate extrinsic rewards creates strong resistance (Scott 1992). If they calculate that the costs of cooperation are high, and that their participation has no significant effect on the organization's power and resources (or that they could even lose these), they will conclude that there is nothing to gain from collaboration. ...
Coordination arrangements are designed to align organizations and get actors to adapt to certain policy objectives. Picking a certain mode of coordination which fits the organizational structure and the policy objectives is often a hard quest. By focusing on cross-cutting policy collaboration, this paper explains under which type of coordination arrangement what type of organizations adapt to cross-cutting policy objectives. The analysis shows that being close to the minister, under tight control and having a policy development task, leads to high adaptation. High autonomy and loose coordination lead to low extents of adaptation. Policy implementing organizations adapt to a low extent to cross- cutting policy objectives, especially if they are small, have high autonomy or if they are subjected to a loose type of coordination. These results support the agency perspective on organizations.
... The institutional theory has also contributed to the field of environmental research. It emphasizes the role of social and cultural pressures on an organisation influencing organisational practices and structures (Scott 1992) and DiMaggio & Powell (1983) suggested that actors adapt to pressures and values in an organisational field by different mechanisms of institutional isomorphism: coercive isomorphism, mimetic pressures and normative pressures. This theory has been applied to track processes driving corporate environmentalism, e.g. ...
... Four actions are required to build a strategy for sustainable marketing: promoting re-consumption, redirecting customer needs and wants, reorienting the marketing mix and reorganising organizational efforts (Sheth and Parvatiyar 1995). Peattie (1995; 1992) focuses on identifying green consumer behaviours and how to introduce the environmental criteria in the marketing mix. He also listed ten key characteristics of environmental marketing ...
Logistics theory has become a field of research in its own right, but many concepts originate from distribution in marketing theory, which links them in the theory building. At the same time, logistics and environmental management are subjects of increased attention in society because of negative environmental consequences due to increased goods transports, especially on road. Marketing theory, including environmental marketing (so-called green marketing) can be applied on environmental aspects of logistics and transports. Providers of environmentally better transports may have the opportunity to develop marketing strategies based on differentiation, targeting customers that perceive them as value-adding. This paper suggests a conceptual framework of marketing, logistics and environmental management theory and their interrelations which is, then, used in a proposed model as an instrument for analysing the marketing of goods transports based on environmental advantages.
... First, major environmental changes have taken place which push toward increased isomorphism in organizational practice (DiMaggio/Powell 1983 ) and in scholars' studies (Farashahi/Hafsi/Molz 2005). Second, organization theory has been extended to cover an increasing variety of circumstances and organizations (Farashahi/Hafsi/ Molz 2005, Scott 1998). Among environment changes, five events may have affected developing countries most. ...
... Our study's goal is to respond to this question. From the theory development perspective, major advances have been made in management and organizational sciences, which take into account the variety of organizations and situations that managers have to deal with (Scott 1998 ). Let us mention in particular three related streams of research contributions which suggest that Kiggundu et al.'s findings cannot be expected to hold today: (1) the general management resource-based theory (Barney 1991), (2) constructivist views and theories (Crozier/Friedberg 1977, Giddens 1984), and most importantly (3) the institutional theory of organizations, especially its new expressions and developments (Meyer 1977, Scott 2001). ...
In 1983, Kiggundu/Jorgensen/Hafsi published in ASQ a synthesis on issues related to the applicability of management theories to developing countries. They found that theory was applicable only where the organization could behave as a closed system. We argue that isomorphic trends and new theoretical developments support the hypothesis that their findings should not hold anymore. This article reviews 170 articles published in the 1983-2002 period to replicate their study and tests the hypothesis.
... To systematically differentiate the formal from the informal, we must explicitly define formality and informality. Integrating different notions of formal-informal dimensions in terms of explicit vs. implicit codification (Cardinal et al., 2004; Helmke and Levitsky, 2003; Scott, 2003), precise vs. open-ended agreement (Jones, Hesterly, & Borgatti, 1997); imposed vs. spontaneous formation (Cardinal et al., 2004; Helmke and Levitsky, 2003; Morand, 1995); external vs. internal source (Das and Teng, 2001); tight vs. loose enforcement (Morand, 1995); legal vs. social power (Jones et al., 1997), objective vs. subjective approach (Cardinal et al., 2004), and personal-impersonal process (Cardinal et al., 2004; Morand, 1995; Scott, 2003), we identify five primary dimensions of formality-informality (Li, 2005a): ...
... To systematically differentiate the formal from the informal, we must explicitly define formality and informality. Integrating different notions of formal-informal dimensions in terms of explicit vs. implicit codification (Cardinal et al., 2004; Helmke and Levitsky, 2003; Scott, 2003), precise vs. open-ended agreement (Jones, Hesterly, & Borgatti, 1997); imposed vs. spontaneous formation (Cardinal et al., 2004; Helmke and Levitsky, 2003; Morand, 1995); external vs. internal source (Das and Teng, 2001); tight vs. loose enforcement (Morand, 1995); legal vs. social power (Jones et al., 1997), objective vs. subjective approach (Cardinal et al., 2004), and personal-impersonal process (Cardinal et al., 2004; Morand, 1995; Scott, 2003), we identify five primary dimensions of formality-informality (Li, 2005a): ...
... Adhering to the norms of aspirational groups or emulating the successful or prestigious elite involves a different set of payoffs. In contexts such as professions, cults, and strong corporate culture, individuals find meaning in living up to standards set by the elite, even at the cost of giving up a great deal of freedom (Scott, 1987). An upward orientation can also bring more tangible rewards. ...
... The human tendency to emulate the prestigious and successful may also serve important functions for groups. Adherence to the norms of the elite enables organizations to function through legitimate authority rather than through the constant exercise of interpersonal power and its disruptive emotional consequences (Scott, 1987). Emulation of the successful facilitates populationlevel learning of adaptive responses to changing environmental conditions—early adopters of ...
This article considers the social and psychological functions that norm-based thinking and behavior provide for the individual and the collectivity. We differentiate between two types of reference groups that provide norms: peer groups versus aspirational groups. We integrate functionalist accounts by distinguishing the functions served by the norms of different reference groups, different degrees of norm moralization, and different directions of responses to norm activation.
... The actions and perceptions of the members of the organization will, with the limitations inherent in the norm of limited instrumental rationality, be characterized by being goal-oriented and coordinated, and in agreement with what is specified by the organization's formal structures. This behavioural logic can be described as an instrumental cost/benefit analysis (Scott, 2003). ...
... According to this understanding, organizations are seen as organisms that develop their distinctiveness as a consequence of people spending time together over longer periods of time. In addition to the formal characteristics, the organizations have distinctive features, with their own collections of more informal norms and values establishing themselves in the organization's culture, where the superordinate value is survival (Scott, 2003). This culture has a strict framework for the behavioural logic of the organization's members, which is characterized by being adapted to these informal values and 2 The reasoning behind this is that an analysis of the specific content of the doctrines is necessary to be able to say something about what seems to have influenced them. ...
This article examines the implementation of regional innovation policies by focusing on a selected group of bureaucrats and evaluating the characteristics of the doctrines of action they utilize when creating innovation. The data used in the article were collected through in-depth interviews conducted with 21 employees in the Trade and Industry Departments in two county administrations, the offices of Innovation Norway in two counties and the Agricultural Departments of two County Governors’ offices. The primary task for all the interviewed employees is to facilitate innovation within their respective counties. The analysis shows that the employees’ doctrines are characterized by being interpretations of what, according to different theories of innovation, is necessary to create innovation. The strategies used by the employees in both the Trade and Industry Departments and the Innovation Norway offices are very similar to what is prescribed by the theories of innovation, while the doctrines of the officials in the Agricultural Departments deviate from these theories.
... Se identifican tres factores que contribuyen a la evolución de las capacidades: los procesos de organización y gestión, los recursos disponibles en la empresa y la historia; en todos estos factores es importante la formación como generadora de conocimientos y habilidades que contribuye a la eficiencia y eficacia en las actividades propias para el cumplimiento del objetivo de la Organización.En un segundo apartado, se trata el concepto y estructura de la Organización como factores que pueden impulsar o limitar los procesos de formación y por lo tanto, de desarrollo del capital humano de la Organización. Se parte de un concepto limitado de Organización formulado por la teoría neoclásica, hasta llegar a un concepto amplio y coherente con la realidad económica actual; en éste último cabe destacar las formulacionesde Swieringa y Wierdsma(1995),Chiavenato(2000),Scott(2003) yRobbins(2004), quienes coinciden en algunas características: La Organización se crea con un propósito definido y es un sistema: en continuo cambio, abierto, que está afectado por factores externos e internos y constituido por partes interdependientes.Una Organización se encuentra dentro de un mercado específico (contexto externo) que generalmente comparte con otras Organizaciones, los factores que permite diferenciar una Organización son entre otros: la estrategia que utiliza, el tipo de tecnología que emplea, la estructura y características del capital humano, la estructura de la Organización y la filosofía dominante. SegúnMorgan (1990), estos factores determinan la ubicación de la Organización respecto al entorno, por lo tanto una Organización puede estar en cuatro posiciones respecto al entorno: en un entorno estable, entorno altamente turbulento, entorno con un grado moderado de cambio y en una situación en la que las posturas estratégicas, tecnológicas y organizacionales, son incongruentes con el entorno. ...
Este documento es el resultado del Trabajo de Fin de Máster en Calidad y Procesos de Innovación Educativa realizado en la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. El objetivo general de la investigación es: Diseñar y validar un modelo integral para evaluar el impacto de la formación en las Organizaciones.
... As early as the 1950s, the construction industry has been regarded as an organizational network in nature (e.g., quasifirms ) (Stinchcombe, 1959 ), particularly its project-based businesses (Taylor and Levitt, 2007). However, SNA was introduced into CPM research only in the 1990s because of the rapid growth of SNA-based applications in mainstream management research from 1980 onwards (Scott, 1997; Kilduff and Tsai, 2003). Compared with SNA-based management research, early SNA-based CPM research focused on issues at the intra-organizational level rather than at the inter-organizational level; these issues include communication problems among key individuals involved in a project network, such as clients, project managers, architects, and construction managers (Loosemore, 1997Loosemore, & 1998). ...
Over the past two decades, social network analysis (SNA) has elicited increasing attention in construction project management (CPM) research as a response to the emerging perspective of viewing projects as network-based organizational organizations. However, a thorough review of SNA application in CPM research is unavailable. This study aims to address this gap by reviewing 63 SNA papers published in eight peer-reviewed journals from 1997 to 2015 to ascertain the status of this research area and identify future research directions. The papers are analyzed in terms of institutional and individual contribution, citations, topic coverage and research design and methodologies. Three research directions, namely, internal stakeholder networks for outcome-related values, external stakeholder networks for process-related values, and external stakeholder networks for outcome-related values, are identified. The findings of this study are believed to provide useful references for the future application of SNA in CPM research.
... Therefore, the implementation of "an organizational philosophy" [2] generates a series of consequences in the organizational culture dimension. We have in view, in this context, the meanings given by Richard W. Scott to the concept of organization from different perspectives [3]: @BULLET the rationalistic approach (a business organization is perceived as a community that aims to achieve its own goals -the organization as a rational system); @BULLET the naturalistic approach (a business organization represents that group that fights for survival and balance even after the completion of the specific targets previously assumed, focusing rather on informal structures of relationships that develop between the participants -the organization as a natural system); @BULLET the approach based on the relationship between system and environment ( the business organization is understood as a result of conditioning linkages between the environment and the actual organization organization as an open system). We observe that the new approaches on the idea of the (business) organization have not completely removed the traditional ones. ...
The relevance of business mission enunciation presupposes, at organizational level, the examination and explanation of strategic measures that must demonstrate their managerial utility. In this manner, shaping and implementing an efficient managerial system within a business organization involve the validation of specific assumptions designed to express the materialization of the settled objectives. In other words, beyond the apprehension of potential conflicts and their prevention, we consider that every efficient management channel must also concern the conformation of the organizational culture to which it relates. Therefore, from our point of view, this type of relation can be explained to the extent that entrepreneurial performance become the result of an approach assumed by the decision makers (especially managers). Such an entrepreneurial approach reflects, on the one hand, how the organization behaves within the economic market, and on the other hand, it explains the type of organizational culture in which it occurs. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to pursue the connections that enable a series of correlations between the statement and the delineation of a mission listed by a business organization and its culture. Firstly, we take into account a diachronic and a synchronic analysis of this type of conditionings. Secondly, our goal is to investigate the possibility of a theoretical and practical reevaluation of the way in which this conditionings become concedable and, moreover, legit in the current economic society. Therefore, the argumentation proceedings developed in this paper are focused on the idea that defining the mission of a business organization by reference to the concept of organizational culture can express what the scholarly literature and practice is known as the business organization's identity.
... General systems theorists have long argued that organizations function as open, yet purposive social systems in dynamic relationship with their environments. Such theorists view organizations as holistic, selfregulating systems composed of interdependent parts or subsystems (Scott 1998 ). Other systems theorists eschew notions of systemic purpose in relation to organizational entities (e.g. ...
“Who am I?” and “Who are we?” are questions that have occupied the minds of philosophers (e.g. Plato, Aristotle, Descartes), sociologists, and psychologists (e.g. James, Mead, Goffman, and Erikson) for many centuries. Identity is central to a conception of what it means to be human. An individual’s identity is based in part on the groups to which he or she belongs, and identification with these groups forms part of an individual’s self-concept. Within organizational contexts, employees are members of a number of groups, all of which are potential targets of identification: the organization itself, divisions, departments, or work units, as well as management teams, project teams, professional groups, or other informal groups. In other words, organizations are structured both formally and informally such that individuals within them relate to one another in essentially an intergroup context.
... Success implementing the first two CT steps (context and configuration) should yield the desired performance (Doty et al., 1993; Ginsberg and Venkatraman, 1985). For DFP, firms are successful after achieving fit or congruency with configuration (structure and strategic factors) and context (Scott, 2003; Doty et al., 1993 ). We use contingency theory to build hypotheses that link DFP decisions or activities with expected performance outcomes. ...
This study examines the role of procurement professionals in new product design. Specifically, it eval- uates which factors play an important role in driving design for procurement (DFP) environmental and economic results. The factors early supplier involvement, standardization, lead time reduction, en- vironmental sourcing, supply base maintenance, and core competence focused sourcing are regressed on diverse DFP performance outcomes. Data were collected via survey for a series of procurement focused items capturing the activities and characteristics for new product design and performance. Several major findings were supported through the analysis that enhance academic and managerial knowledge. Standardization positively impacted economic performance measures that focused on new product de- velopment and operational outcomes. Supply based maintenance was the strongest DFP initiative driving operational performance. Environmental sourcing positively affected all environmental performance measures, but was not related to economic performance.
... Since they agree that teachers need to perform emotional labor, they investigate the outcomes of the emotional labor in teaching with respect to teachers' psychological well-being and mentality. According to the alienation theory, emotional labor is alienating [37]. In other words, emotional labor creates emotional dissonance resulting in job stress, emotional exhaustion, burnout, or other negative outcomes. ...
... The fundamental insight from classical organization theory is that effective coordination requires not only monetary incentives, but also nonmonetary rewards, and that both formal and informal managerial communication can increase the likelihood of cooperation and coordination (Barnard, 1938). What sets organization theory apart from much of economics is this emphasis on the nonmaterial , informal, interpersonal, and moral basis of behavior (Scott, 1987). Contemporary organization theory concerning social capital—which can be defined as resources embedded in a social structure that are accessed and/or mobilized in purposive actions—is in many ways connected to classical organization theory (Koka and Prescott, 2002). ...
This paper experimentally examines the determinants of the deviation between potential and realized value creation in strategic alliances. To better understand how decision making in alliances may influence success, we use an experimental design that juxtaposes two important factors that affect alliance members' decisions: economic incentives and communication. The evidence from our experiment sheds light on the relative impact of each, and more importantly, how both factors interact to explain successful outcomes.
... Kontekstbegrepet anvendes forskjellig i ulike bidrag. Innen generell organisasjonslitteratur har man oftest anvendt begrepet «omgivelser» (Scott 2003 ). Innen ledelsesforskning anvendes kontekstbegrepet dels til å angi den naere organisatoriske situasjon, eller arbeidssammenheng , der ledelse utøves. ...
... We discuss and defi ne the following key terms: critical success factors, resources, competencies, distinctive competencies, core competencies, and core distinctive competencies. All organizations have goals, whether explicit or implicit ( Scott 1987 ). Organizations also have what are termed key success factors or critical success factors (CSFs), which are the things the organization must do, the criteria it must meet, or the performance indicators it must do well against — because they matter to key stakeholders — in order to survive and prosper ( Jenster 1987; Johnson and Scholes 2002 ). ...
... The second dimension, reach, addresses the level of social aggregation associated with knowledge. The importance of theory that can cross different levels of analysis is emphasized repeatedly in the organization studies literature (Scott, 2003). Moreover, such levels of social aggregation are interrelated with various types of knowledge by several researchers (Crossan et al., 1999) and shown to reveal expressive patterns for visualization (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995) and contingency development (Inkpen & Dinur, 1998). ...
Many taxonomies and definitions of knowledge have been published in the KM literature. This chapter defines knowledge as something that is multidimensional and existent on a continuum. Four dimensions describing knowledge are proposed-explicitness, reach, life cycle, and flow time-and a modeling method is discussed. The chapter concludes with a call for research in the dimensionality of knowledge.
... Wrzesniewski and Dutton (2001) also proposed that work characteristics, such as task interdependence, should hinder job crafting. Task interdependence refers to the extent to which tasks or work processes are interrelated (Scott, 1987). Thus, when individuals aim to craft their jobs on the task level, they might anticipate that the planned changes affect the timing of work processes or the accomplishment of colleagues' tasks. ...
As a proactive behavior, job crafting refers to changes in the task (cognitive, and behavioral) and social boundaries at work. This article focuses on antecedents of job crafting and the development and validation of a job crafting scale. In Study 1 (N = 466), an exploratory factor analysis with one half of the sample (n = 233) and a confirmatory factor analysis with the other half (n = 233) supported a three-dimensional structure of job crafting (task crafting, relational crafting and cognitive crafting), and convergent as well as discriminant validity of job crafting, in relation to personal initiative and organizational citizenship behavior. In Study 2 (N = 118, two points of measurement), we cross-validated the measure and demonstrated that job crafting was related to, yet distinct from, taking charge. We found that an increase in job crafting at Time 2 was predicted by need for positive self-image (Time 1), as well as by work experience (Time 1). Need for human connection (Time 1) was related to job crafting at Time 2 when self-efficacy was high. Moreover, there was evidence that job crafting as self-oriented behavior related positively to person–job fit. Implications for future research are discussed.
... En la gestión de las organizaciones se han dado diferentes estilos, enfoques o modelos de organización y de su sistema de dirección. Scott (1981) identificó tres principales modelos dependiendo de si la organización se entiende como racional, natural o un sistema abierto. Otros autores han identificado otros tres paradigmas básicos: el mecánico, el psicosocial y el antropológico (Pérez-López, 1994; Rosanas, 2008). En cualquier caso, casi todos coinciden en que el modelo de organi ...
This article proposes an innovative model of museum managementcommunication: the prosocial management model, based on the mis-sion. This model, builds on the opportunities offered by ICTs, reorientsthe communicative activity from the mere information that the museumis interested in giving, to a communication based on the mission. For thispurpose we have studied the case of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.The results obtained draw the profile of a management model of commu-nication that uses emerging technologies for effective interaction withthe public. These in turn, strengthen the Institution’s Mission.
... " The Japanese mobile operators do not own all the elements that are used in their total concept. The industry structure we see today in Japan is a good example of the current trend toward loosely coupled business networks, where the control of critical resources is more important than ownership (Scott 1998). It is not, however, surprising to find these kinds of intermediary or network-based approaches to cooperation and coordination in Japan. ...
This paper tries to identify what shapes the mobile services industry and what changes will take place to the worldwide mobile business. Two case markets are introduced for comparison and analysis: Japan and Finland. Japan is an exemplar country where both the mobile subscription penetration rate and the revenue from data transfer are world record high. Finland is a birthplace of the world's leading handset manufacturer as well as the center for a substantial number of innovations in Europe. The two countries represent a stark contrast in the industry structure: vertical and integrated vs. horizontal and modular. After an in-depth comparison of the two markets, a brief prospect of the future mobile industry is provided.
... Moreover, the consequence of fast changing environments is the generation of uncertainty – uncertainty that makes it difficult to predict which knowledge will be important to future success (Marsh & Stock 2003). Thus, under environmental uncertainty, organizations must search for ways to adjust to a dearth of information (Scott 1987). Consequently, approaches that facilitate rapid product development, and alleviate uncertainty are of fundamental interest to scholars and practitioners alike. ...
The study examines the consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) of a private TV channel, Kanal B, in Turkey. Specifically, it investigates 1) which of the brand equity aspects the viewers' perceive that Kanal B performs well; 2) how the programs the viewers like differ based on the viewers' demographic characteristics, and what demographic characteristics of the viewers influence their liking of the programs that Kanal B broadcasts, and 3) how the CBBE aspects that are perceived as being performed well by Kanal B differ based on the viewers' demographic characteristics. The study discusses the managerial implications of the CBBE findings in developing effective marketing and positioning strategies. Drawing from the literature, brand equity was measured with brand awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty, brand image, brand association, and organizational association. An online questionnaire containing the above brand equity dimensions and several demographic and lifestyle questions were administered to Kanal B's viewers. This process produced a total of 411 usable surveys. The study presents the results of the CBBE survey and discusses the implications of the findings.
... Instead, when there is no clear cultural conformity rule in the organization, individual docility plays an independent role on the agents, affecting thresholds more explicitly. The former case reflects a more formal while the latter a more informal social structure (Scott 2003 ). Both conditions (k and K) fill in the given initial threshold level depending on position, social relationships with peers, hierarchical relation with management, and personal attitudes . ...
What makes employees adopt a particular innovation, practice, or idea? And what makes it more likely for adoption to spread wide in an organization? This paper presents an agent-based model that simulates interactions among employees to analyze the spread of bandwagons. Agents are subject to conformity and peer pressure as well as to a two-level organizational hierarchy. In the model, perceptions of the surrounding environment depend on individual cognitive attitudes (or ‘tolerance’ to bandwagons), the level of ambiguity attached to social relationships, and organization size. Findings show that the probability of widespread diffusion (i.e., bandwagon) is dependent more on organizational size, conformity, and interactions than ambiguity and individual attitudes.
The article elaborates a concept of the vitality of religious communities. Defined on the basis of previous research, it enables an identification of the determinants that make a (religious) collective vital. An examination of the theoretical discourse and recent studies on religious vitality reveals two distinct discussions. On the one hand, the sociology of religion that disregards the mesolevel; on the other, theology typically lacks a scientific foundation. This paper integrates the strength of both disciplines: the former’s explicit operationalization and abstract reflection along with the latter’s sensemaking and proximity to the field. In doing so, we provide a definition of the vitality of religious communities on the basis of the discussion of the vitality of species and ecosystems in life science. This definition is further refined with a view to organizational studies. Here, the vitality of religious communities can be described and measured in four dimensions: (operative) functionality, (shared) identity, (situational) performance, and (transformational) impact. Theological discourse and recent research point to four attributes of a (religious) community that are expected to influence vitality: professionalism, spirituality, contextuality and intentionality. Finally, the contribution model brings together the vitality dimensions and its influence factors in a coherent framework, offering concrete hypotheses for further research in both disciplines and guidance for empirical research.
The growth of the global service economy has led to a dramatic increase in our daily interactions with highly specialized service systems. Service (or value-cocreation) interactions are both frequent and diverse, and may include retail, financial, healthcare, education, on-line, communications, technical support, entertainment, transportation, legal, professional, government, or many other types of specialized interactions. And yet surprisingly few students graduating from universities have studied anything about service or service systems. Service Science, Management, Engineering, and Design (SSMED), or service science for short, is an emerging discipline aimed at understanding service and innovating service systems. This article sketches an outline and provides an extensive, yet preliminary, set of references to provoke discussions about the interdisciplinary nature of SSMED. One difficult challenge remaining is to integrate multiple disciplines to create a new and unique service science.
In Algeria, hospital governance and performance management is one of the
health sector top priority government reforms. Its importance has grown even more
following the economic crisis since 2015 and the considerable state budget allocated
the to the health sector.
This researchaims to test the application of some theoretical principles of health
governance and public management in a university hospital in Algeria and concludes
that there are serious lacks in term of managerial practices that are the direct
consequences of the transition from the social and economic model of the country since
the past two decades.
Keywords: hospital governance, hospital-university Center, Performance, New Public
Management, Algeria.
Salaouatchi, H.S. and Boucha, N. 2018. Hospital governance and new public
management in a university hospital center in Algeria. Lebanese Science Journal.
19(3): 465-485
Auch wenn Organisationen als offene Systeme gesehen werden, die in einem Austausch- und Beeinflussungsverhältnis zu ihrer Umwelt stehen, bleibt der Blick immer noch hauptsächlich auf Organisationen (als Gegenstand der Analyse) gerichtet. In den zwei letzten Kapiteln 9 und 10 soll jetzt die Blickrichtung gewechselt werden, indem die Umwelt und dabei speziell „die Gesellschaft“ als Ausgangs- und Endpunkt der Betrachtung dient. Zuerst wird in Kapitel 9 die Sichtweise erläutert, die Ebene der Organisationen als Mesoebene zusätzlich zur Mikro- und Makroebene einer Gesellschaft zu konzipieren. Diese Sichtweise läuft für die soziologische Theorie und Empirie sehr häufig auf die Forderung „bringing organizations back in“ hinaus. Die Angebrachtheit dieser Forderung kann und soll hier lediglich an einigen Beispielen illustriert werden. Ebenfalls noch im ersten Abschnitt von Kapitel 9 wird eine einfache Systematik vorgestellt, mit der man unterschiedliche gesellschaftliche Effekte von Organisationen einfangen kann. Diese Systematik mit einer Differenzierung positiver und negativer Effekte von Organisationen auf der Mikroebene der Individuen einerseits und auf der Makroebene der Gesellschaft andererseits liefert dann den Stoff für die weiteren Unterabschnitte von Kapitel 9.
Organisationen als offene Systeme, d.h. als von ihrer Umwelt beeinflusste und abhängige Gebilde zu sehen, schließt nicht aus, sie gleichzeitig entweder als „rational actors“ oder auch als „natural/social systems“ zu konzipieren (Scott 2003, Chap. 5). Der Transaktionskostenansatz etwa folgt dem „rational actor view“, und zugleich thematisiert er mit der Problemstellung „Eigenproduktion versus Fremdbezug“ zentral die Frage der Grenzziehung einer Organisation und damit deren Umweltbezug (zum Transaktionskostenansatz vgl. Kapitel 3). Oder z.B. die Organisationskulturansätze (vgl. dazu die wenigen Bemerkungen und Literaturhinweise in Abschnitt 7.1) konzentrieren sich zwar auf das soziale Innenleben von Organisationen, aber sie erkennen sehr wohl, dass gesamtgesellschaftliche Werte und Normen gleichsam von außen, von den Organisationsmitgliedern in die Organisation hinein getragen werden, was etwa speziell bei ländervergleichenden Studien von Bedeutung ist. Diese Möglichkeiten der Kombination von „offen-rational“ und „offen-natürlich“ erschweren eindeutige Zuordnungen einzelner Theorien zu einer Organisationskonzeption bzw. geben solchen Zuordnungen ein Element von Willkür. Dennoch bleibt es in der Regel möglich, den hauptsächlichen Fokus einer Theorie zu bestimmen und auf dieser Basis eine Zuordnung vorzunehmen. Wie in den Kapiteln 6 und 7 wird auch in Kapitel 8 damit begonnen, die Ausgangspunkte und Varianten der „open systems“-Perspektive etwas eingehender zu beleuchten. Anschließend werden die zwei in der aktuellen Organisationssoziologie wichtigsten „Umwelttheorien“ besprochen: die Organisationsökologie und der soziologische Neo-Institutionalismus.
Historisch war das Verständnis von Organisationen im Sinne von natürlichen bzw. sozialen Systemen eine Reaktion zum einen auf empirische Überzeichnungen der „rational actor“-Sicht und zum anderen auf weltanschauliche Befürchtungen hinsichtlich unerfreulicher Konsequenzen durchrationalisierter Organisationen. Diese Verquickung von wissenschaftlicher Analyse einerseits und weltanschaulichem Credo andererseits zeigt sich besonders deutlich in der so genannten Human-Relations-Schule, die in Opposition zum Taylorismus in den USA den „natural systems view“ hoffähig machte. Nachdem dann die Weltwirtschaftskrise und der Zweite Weltkrieg Human-Relations in den Hintergrund gedrängt hatten, trat „das Soziale“ in den 1960er und 1970er Jahren erneut auf den Plan. Diesmal aber weniger im Sinne von „sozial = die Wünsche und Interessen der Arbeitnehmer berücksichtigend“, sondern in einem deutlicher soziologischen Sinne von „sozial = das tatsächliche Interaktionsgeschehen in Organisationen ins Blickfeld nehmend“. Den Ursprung dieser Sichtweise lieferte die verhaltenswissenschaftliche Entscheidungstheorie. Diese und zuvor die Human-Relations-Schule werden in den Abschnitten 2 und 3 dieses Kapitels besprochen. Um die beiden „Theorien“ besser einordnen zu können, bemüht sich Abschnitt 1 vorab noch einmal, die Ausgangspunkte und Varianten des „natural systems view“ zu verdeutlichen.
Ausgehend von der Scott-Triade mit Organisationen als rationalen, natürlichen und offenen Systeme (dazu bereits Abschnitt 1.3) bildet die erstgenannte Konzeption, der „rational actor view of organizations“, den Gegenstand dieses Kapitels. Die Vorstellung, dass es sich bei Organisationen um rational geplante und gesteuerte Gebilde handelt, kann als die seit langem und noch immer dominierende Sichtweise sowohl im Alltagsleben als auch innerhalb der Organisationsforschung eingestuft werden. Sie wird gestützt durch historisch-klassische Forschungstraditionen ebenso wie durch neuere organisationstheoretische Ansätze. Im ersten Schritt werden im Folgenden zunächst noch einmal die Grundlinien und dann die Varianten der „rationale Akteure“-Sicht von Organisationen verdeutlicht. Anschließend werden entlang dieser Linie die zwei wichtigsten klassischen Theorieansätze kurz besprochen: das Bürokratiekonzept von Max Weber und die wissenschaftlichen Betriebsführung von Frederick Taylor. Als Musterfall für eine neuere Organisationstheorie, die dem Paradigma rationaler Organisation verpflichtet ist, wird im letzten Abschnitt die Agency-Theorie behandelt.
Jeder Versuch einer zielgerichteten Gestaltung und Veränderung von Organisationen setzt normalerweise im ersten Schritt eine nüchterne Beschreibung und Diagnose des Ist-Zustandes der Organisation voraus. Solche Beschreibungen sind gewiss nicht „bar jeder Theorie“, d.h. nicht ohne ein Vorverständnis von Organisationen möglich, denn man braucht ein Rüstzeug an Kategorien und Begriffen, die zum einen die Aufmerksamkeit lenken und zum anderen den Rahmen der Möglichkeiten aufspannen. Es versteht sich ja keineswegs von selbst, was man im Rahmen einer deskriptiven Organisationsanalyse überhaupt beobachten soll. Und was beobachtenswert ist, hängt nicht zuletzt davon ab, ob und inwieweit es im Vergleich verschiedener Organisationen auf der jeweiligen Dimension überhaupt Unterschiede gibt. So gesehen basieren „gute Organisationsbeschreibungen“ in der Regel auf einem soliden Theorie- und Erfahrungswissen über Organisationen. Es ist das Anliegen dieses Kapitels, das für Organisationsbeschreibungen basale Instrumentarium an Kategorien und begrifflichen Differenzierungen vorzustellen und zu erläutern. Zur Orientierung wird dabei im ersten Abschnitt eine vereinfachende Darstellung der Kernelemente von Organisationen präsentiert. Die dann folgenden Abschnitte befassen sich eingehender mit den drei wesentlichen Einzelelementen, mit den Organisationszielen, der formalen Organisationsstruktur und der Organisationsumwelt.
Recognition of time-consuming talent development process is of importance to corporations. Case studies rather than surveys appear to be the choice strategy. To determine the right research strategy, data processing from surveys and case study process provide researchers with opportunity to compare strategies in order to decide on the effective strategy for the planning process. Vision conveyance among peers was found to be an embedded succession planning strategy. All those working within an organization are able to absorb the spirit of high performers, and become able to act like them when they resign, or are promoted or fired. A study into this phenomenon is only possible through a time-tested process that incorporates observation, participation and personal interviews. Extensive study situations bring researchers face to face with the need to combine quantitative and qualitative approaches, but succession planning in public organizations is best-studied using case study strategy. When the focus is on organization types or industry types, a deep understanding of the entity’s specifics will still necessitate qualitative research based strategy.
A major development in Russia’s post-Soviet higher education has been the emergence and proliferation of private higher education institutions. Typically referred to as nonstate for a number of important reasons,1 these institutions have profoundly altered the organizational landscape of Russian higher education and have considerably expanded the capacity of the system to provide services to various segments of the public (Solonitsin 1998). After the 1992 legislation (Federal Law 1999) introduced the term “private educational institutions” and permitted the operation of nongovernmental forms of higher education, this sector has experienced rapid and robust growth, having mushroomed to over 400 institutions. It currently makes up roughly 38 percent of all 1,071 higher education institutions, serving about 15 percent of all students in the country (Center for the Monitoring and Statistics of Education [CMSE] n.d.).
The last 10–15 years have been characterized by a tremendous development in the ethics and law of values-driven management and corporate responsibility in the United States (US), Europe (EU) and the rest of the world. Many modern corporations have introduced ethics and compliance programmes and values-driven management taking all the firm’s stakeholders into account. In many cases reporting procedures and accountability programmes for corporate and social values are introduced into the organization. The corporate boards see them as a means to ensure not only the responsibility and integrity of the organization but also efficient management, competitiveness and legitimacy of the firm in a complex democratic society.
The study of community colleges has incorporated various disciplinary and theoretical approaches to gain knowledge about categories such as organizational performance, origins and transformation, purposes, characteristics and experiences of organizational members, sources of constraint, fields of opportunity, and financial resources. Cohen and Brawer note two forms of research on community colleges: historical- sociological and large- scale descriptive analysis.1 Historical-sociological studies on community colleges are concerned with exploring the constraining effects of institutional environments upon the construction of college life. Large-scale descriptive analysis is based on the use of national data collected by state and federal agencies to assess college outcomes and institutional effectiveness. This form of research is primarily quantitative, and it is often used to formulate prescriptive claims regarding the management of community colleges.2
In many developing countries, programmes for ‘diseases of social importance’, such as tuberculosis (TB), have traditionally been organised as vertical services. In most of China, general hospitals are required to report and refer suspected TB cases to the TB programme for standardised diagnosis and treatment. General hospitals are the major contacts of health services for the TB patients. Despite the implementation of public–public/private mix, directly observed treatment, short-course, TB reporting and referral still remain a challenge. Objective: This study aims to identify barriers to the collaboration between the TB programme and general hospitals in China. Design: This is a qualitative study conducted in two purposefully selected counties in China: one in Zhejiang, a more affluent eastern province, and another in Guangxi, a poorer southwest province. Sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted and triangulated with document review and field notes. An open systems perspective, which views organisations as social systems, was adopted. Results: The most perceived problem appeared to be untimely reporting and referral associated with non-standardised prescriptions and hospitalisation by the general hospitals. These problems could be due to the financial incentives of the general hospitals, poor supervision from the TB programme to general hospitals, and lack of technical support from the TB programme to the general hospitals. However, contextual factors, such as different funding natures of different organisations, the prevalent medical and relationship cultures, and limited TB funding, could constrain the processes of collaboration between the TB programme and the general hospitals. Conclusions: The challenges in the TB programme and general hospital collaboration are rooted in the context. Improving collaboration should reduce the potential mistrust of the two organisations by aligning their interests, improving training, and improving supervision of TB control in the hospitals. In particular, effective regulatory mechanisms are crucial to alleviate the negative impact of the contextual factors and ensure smooth collaboration.
Es ist gesellschaftlich sicherlich höchst konsensfähig, dass Kinderschutz sein muss, dass die Förderung des Kindeswohls gut ist, dass Kinder Rechte haben (sollten), und dass von alldem mehr sicher besser ist als weniger: wir sind davon überzeugt.
Als „Organisation mit Gewaltlizenz“ (Prätorius 2001; Herrnkind/Scheerer 2003) ist die Polizei eine ganz besondere Organisation – sowohl in ihrem Selbstverständnis als auch in der öffentlichen Wahrnehmung. Ihre Aufgabe besteht darin, für die Aufrechterhaltung der inneren Sicherheit und Ordnung zu sorgen. In der Bearbeitung dieser Aufgabe ist die Polizei involviert in Situationen der Gefährdung staatlicher und anderer gesellschaftlicher Institutionen sowie in Situationen der Gefährdung einzelner Gesellschaftsmitglieder. Der Polizei – oder korrekter: Teilen der Organisation Polizei – ist es daher als einziger Organisation neben dem Militär erlaubt, ihre Aufgabe auch unter Anwendung von Gewalt als letztem legitimem Mittel zu erfüllen. Diese grundsätzliche Verankerung der Organisation Polizei im staatlichen Gewaltmonopol bedeutet eine besondere Verquickung von staatlichen, politischen und anderen gesellschaftlichen Interessen und Regulierungen. Sie bedeutet außerdem ein besonderes Spannungsverhältnis in der alltäglichen Amtsausübung und im Arbeitshandeln, das einerseits in ‚normalem‘ Verwaltungshandeln und ‚normaler‘ Sachbearbeitung und andererseits im Umgang mit existenzieller Bedrohung besteht.
This chapter presents the case of the University of the Valley of Mexico (UVM), given the institution’s importance to private higher education in Mexico. The text is divided into three sections. The first briefly describes the configuration of the private sector in Mexico. The second analyzes the evolution of the UVM within the framework of the primary changes that have occurred in the university’s academic and organizational spheres. Finally, the third section presents some conclusions and perspectives concerning the case under analysis and private higher education in Mexico.
Ausgehend von der Scott-Triade mit Organisationen als rationalen, natürlichen und offenen Systeme (dazu bereits Abschnitt 1.3) bildet die erstgenannte Konzeption, der „rational actor view of organizations“, den Gegenstand dieses Kapitels. Die Vorstellung, dass es sich bei Organisationen um rational geplante und gesteuerte Gebilde handelt, kann als die seit langem und noch immer dominierende Sichtweise sowohl im Alltagsleben als auch innerhalb der Organisationsforschung eingestuft werden. Sie wird gestützt durch historisch-klassische Forschungstraditionen ebenso wie durch neuere organisationstheoretische Ansätze. Im ersten Schritt werden im Folgenden zunächst noch einmal die Grundlinien und dann die Varianten der „rationale Akteure“-Sicht von Organisationen verdeutlicht. Anschließend werden entlang dieser Linie die zwei wichtigsten klassischen Theorieansätze kurz besprochen: das Bürokratiekonzept von Max Weber und die wissenschaftlichen Betriebsführung von Frederick Taylor. Als Musterfall für eine neuere Organisationstheorie, die dem Paradigma rationaler Organisation verpflichtet ist, wird im letzten Abschnitt die Agency-Theorie behandelt.
This chapter identifies a strategy-tactics gap in most previous studies of pharmaceutical marketing, and addresses it by systematically analyzing the marketing strategies used in practice with the help of a unique dataset of court discovery documents unsealed in a recent litigation. Adopting an institutional theory perspective, we examine the dominant logic that underlies pharmaceutical marketing strategies, and contrast it with the organizing logics of the value chain partners. Four distinct marketing strategies with carefully crafted interdependencies emerge from our analysis: (1) market penetration strategy involving a focus on segmentation and penetration, (2) evidence-based strategy involving production of science, (3) medical education strategy involving development and dissemination of standards of care, and (4) surrogate selling strategy involving leverage of peer-to-peer influence among target physicians. Together, the strategies uncovered in our analysis provide coherence to the observed marketing tactics and show that they are largely consistent with the logic of consequences which conflicts with the logic of appropriateness guiding the actions of the value chain partners. The institutional theory analysis shows that: (1) pharmaceutical value chain is characterized by conflicted logics, (2) that are amplified by pharmaceutical marketing strategies thereby, (3) inviting regulatory intervention to constrain and restrict pharmaceutical marketing efforts. We propose an open systems framework that elaborates on value chain interdependencies and compare it with the economic framework that characterizes most current research. We close the chapter with an agenda for future research into the theory and practice of pharmaceutical marketing.
Die Notwendigkeit einer systematischen Ausrichtung von Innovationen an den Bedürfnissen der Zielkunden ist sowohl in der Unternehmenspraxis als auch in der wissenschaftlichen Forschung unbestritten [Mason/Harris 2005]. Gleichzeitig verweisen empirische Studien jedoch auf erhebliche Implementierungsmängel der Kundenorientierung im Innovationsmanagement [z. B. Ekström/Karlsson 2001]. Eine systematische Kundenorientierung geht mit einem hohen Bedarf an Informationen über den Markt einher. Traditionelle Marktforschungsmethoden sind für die Generierung von Marktinformationen bei Innovationen nur bedingt geeignet. Durch eine intensive Integration ausgewählter Kunden in den Innovationsprozess kann jedoch die Informationsbasis und die Prognosegenauigkeit des erwarteten Marktpotenzials einer Innovation erheblich erhöht werden [Ernst 2001].
The eGovernment stage is being populated by a cast of intermediary actors from both the private and the not-for-profit sectors, as a result of the multichannel strategies with which many countries are seeking to give new impulse to their eGovernment plans. This paper claims that a fuller understanding of these players' role is crucial in developing socially-aware eGovernment policies and suggests the usefulness of adopting an institutional perspective to place the intermediaries in an adequate frame of reference. In particular, it suggests that it might be fruitful to slot the intermediaries into the "institutional agent" category. Some implications ensuing from this study are proposed and discussed.
SUMMARY
Decision-making and choice in the adoption of a municipal enterprise form in
public healthcare organisations
– Reasoning, goals, legitimacy and core dilemmas
This doctoral thesis concerns the transformation of publicly owned organisations
into municipal enterprises during the 1990s and late 2000s, with specific
reference to the bandwagoning effect. The aim is to explore the decision-making
processes behind the phenomenon in three case organisations, all of which are
publicly owned healthcare providers. The focus is on the reasoning and rationale
behind the choices, the core goals of the adoption of the municipal enterprise
form, and the extent to which the transformation met the expectations of the three
organisations. Thus, it is the outcomes of earlier decision-making and change
processes in terms of attainments and failures that are under explicit scrutiny.
The results are further scrutinised and discussed from the three research
perspectives.
In order to give a rich description of the decision-making in the three
organisations, the reasoning and rationale related to the choices made, and how
the transformation met expectations and goals, it was essential to construct a
multi-dimensional interlocked analytical framework comprising interdependent
elements. The research questions require the integration of theory and practice in
recognising the significance of the major theoretical issues and concerns, while
also addressing practical arrangements. This blending of theory and practice, as
manifest in the findings of the study, is essential to the structure and efficacy of
the research and analysis. The theory is presented as an integrated framework
that serves to structure, guide and inform the empirical analysis. The
interdependent theoretical elements of this integrated framework relate to
institutions, institutionalism, legitimacy, reputation, dilemmas, and public- sector
branding. The thesis comprises two parts: the synthesis (Part I) and four original
research articles (Part II).
Article 1 investigates the reasoning behind the decision to transform into a
municipal enterprise. Article 2 establishes the theoretical background on which
Articles 3 and 4 are based, defines the municipal enterprise form and introduces
dilemma reconciliation as an approach. Article 3 builds on the analyses in
Articles 1 and 2, and develops them further by mapping the principle reputation
risks and threats to legitimacy that arose in connection with the identified core
dilemmas. Article 4 further develops the empirical analysis by combining
branding theory with the dilemma approach and discursive institutionalism and
discourse analysis.
The choice of qualitative methods and the data analysis applied in Articles 1,
2, 3 and 4 is in line with the philosophical background assumptions of the study.
In ontological terms, reality is a result of social interaction thorough which
meanings are given to things. The interest is in the issues the informants talk
about. Further, on the epistemological level which relates to grounds of
knowledge, the study is positioned as interpretivist.
The main contributions of this thesis to the academic discourse are the
following. 1) It delineates the tensions within institutional isomorphic forces and
shows how the tensions between the various forces (mimetic, normative and
coercive) of institutional theory operate. The addition of the dilemma approach to
institutional theory illustrates the competing pressures that are at work. 2) The
study contributes to the discussion on institutional organisational theory in
suggesting that institutional forces diminish and strengthen one another, and
thereby create tensions that may end up as dilemmas posing reputation risks. 3)
Although institutional isomorphic forces may have an existing legitimating
status, the ultimate outcome may be the opposite: failure to gain normative and
coercive acceptance. 4) The novel interlocked framework for exploring decisionmaking
and transformation in organisations. In terms of managerial implications,
managers and leaders responsible for organisational change would benefit from
knowing how intended outcomes may differ from actual outcomes, and from
understanding why this happens. A further practical contribution relates to the
organisational learning aspect of change, which could be enhanced by internal
branding in connection with the adoption of new organisational forms.
KEYWORDS: Decision-making, change management, knowledge-intensive
organisation, institutionalism, dilemma approach, reputation, legitimacy, public
branding, public healthcare organisation, municipal enterprise
The domestic far-right movement has existed in the United States for many years. During that time, groups have appeared, disappeared, and reappeared. Unfortunately, very little is known about what causes these groups to disband. Prior research has focused on long-lived groups, but the majority of extremist or terrorist groups fail to survive for an extended period of time. This study examined a variety of external and internal correlates of organizational death identified from both terrorism and organizational literature, to empirically test which correlates lead to a group dying young.
Researches indicate that design practices and cultural diversity are positively related to performance and innovation. At the same time that diversity and design present possibilities for innovation, they strengthen the need for interaction and communication within a group, which may lead to conflict and distrust. The ability to exercise intergroup contacts is cognitively demanding and it may present some difficulties to the individuals involved. And prejudice might be one key condition to understanding why some organisations, even if they adopt design methods and tools, do not innovate as expected by their members. With the aim of making sense of the innovation phenomenon, this document describes the pre-study of Mauricio Manhães' doctoral research. Through a series of experiments, the relationships between the concepts of innovation, design and prejudice were contemplated. These experiments were based on workshops structured on two conceptual bases: (i) the four key conditions of intergroup contact by Allport; and (ii) the understanding of design as a hermeneutical circle. The prejudice characteristics of the participants were assessed through the concept of Need for Closure (NFC). The investigated relationship between participants’ NFC levels and the perceived innovativeness of the resulting products by a panel of independent judges pointed to the possibility of proposing a sensemanking discourse. This can compromise organisations to act towards assessing prejudice among its members as a way of creating innovative opportunities. Although the perspective adopted for this research does not support the notion of a reified innovation phenomenon, quantitative allegories and metaphors were used, due to the prejudices of the intended audience: members of the respective organisation. The findings of the pre-study phase of the research are presented.
The Norwegian Police Service (NPS) have been heavily criticized after the 22 July 2011 terror attacks at Utøya and in Oslo. One of the evaluation reports stated three shortcomings in the NPS: culture, attitudes and leadership. Management and leadership in the NPS needs to be improved and strengthened, and this shall take place among other things, with the help of a policy document on Civil Service Leadership, elaborated into a manifest called Plattform for medarbeiderskap (Platform of Employeeship for the NPS). The policy document pertains to how the public sector in general ought to be managed, and the document is based on leadership research and is in accordance with mainstream management theory. The idea of formulating a principle of management that would characterize the classical contributions is also evident in this document. This paper addresses two problems: How can value-based police leadership skills be operationalized and measured, and what are the key critical factors in transferring value-based police leadership principles into improved leadership practices?
Globalisation has opened up international markets for South African companies, but has
also introduced competition in the domestic market. As a result, South African
organisations are forced to attain global efficiency levels if they are to compete on the
world market as well as maintain their domestic market share. Organisations have to
come with creative methods that can enhance their competitiveness, one of them being
the Lean Six Sigma.
Lean Six Sigma is an improvement strategy that focuses on process improvement, waste
and variation reduction as a means towards performance improvement. The methodology
has a reputation of success, however a number of organisations believe that the
methodology is not relevant to their specific competitive needs. Lean Six Sigma is seen
as another continuous improvement tool applicable to first world country organisations
which will fade away with time.
This chapter contributes to the sociological understanding of open source software (OSS) production by identifying the social mechanism that creates social order in OSS communities. OSS communities are identifi ed as production communities whose mode of production employs autonomous decentralized decision making on contributions and autonomous production of contributions while maintaining the necessary order by adjustment to the common subject matter of work. Thus, OSS communities belong to the same type of collective production system as scientifi c communities. Both consist of members who not only work on a common product, but are also aware of this collective work and adjust their actions accordingly. Membership is based on the self-perception of working with the community’s subject matter (software or respectively scientifi c knowledge). The major differences between the two are due to the different subject matters of work. Production communities are compared to the previously known collective production systems, namely, markets, organizations, and networks. They have a competitive advantage in the production under complete uncertainty, that is, when neither the nature of a problem, nor the way in which it can be solved, nor the skills required for its solution are known in advance.
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