Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Organisational environment'
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1
Apelt, Christina L. "Organisational change in public organisations." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2014. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/73086/2/Christina_Apelt_Thesis.pdf.
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This research applies a multidimensional model of publicness to the analysis of organisational change and in so doing enriches understanding of the public nature of organisations and how public characteristics facilitate change. Much of the prior literature describes public organisations as bureaucratic, with characteristics that are resistant to change, hierarchical structures that impede information flow, goals that are imposed and scrutinised by political authority and red tape that constrains decision-making. This dissertation instead reports a more complex picture and explains how public characteristics can also work in ways that enable organisational change.
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Deen, Abdul Rahman. "Enhancing organisational innovativeness in a Malay cultural environment." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10443/1628.
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Essentially this study is founded upon the culture-specific thesis that organisational processes are influenced to a large extent by the cultural settings in which they operate. Hence management processes such as the management of innovations in organisations; ought to be culturally relative. The main objectives of this study are: i to identify, the major cultural values of the Sarawak Malays of relevance to the facilitation or inhibition of "innovatogenic" behaviour in an organisational context ii to identify, assess and evaluate active strategies used to nurture "innovatogenic" behaviour in some Malay organisations in response to these cultural influences, with due attention being paid to both thoses trategies which exploit any positive influence and those which aim to overcome any negative influence of such cultural values iii to highlight issues worthy of consideration in developing 'culturally' appropriate' strategies to nurture 'innovatogenic' behaviour (In particular, the study aims to demonstrate that (i) the innovation process is culture specific and (ii) any strategies employed must take a holistic approach and ensure that the both the structural aspects and ideational aspects of such strategies are congruent with each other). A qualitative research involving two phases of fieldwork was employed: Phase 1 . The Key Informant Interview. Unstructured interviews were conducted with twenty senior managers. These managers were purposely selected for their vast experience in managing Malay workers, both at managerial and operative levels. These interviews focused on two aspects: (a) their views and perspectives regarding Malay cultural values and beliefs and whether these values and beliefs had any impact on their 'innovation producing' behaviour. (b) The strategies used to incorporate these values and beliefs into their managerial philosophies and practices. Phase 2. Case studies of three selected organisations. A month was spent in each of three organisations; collecting information on eight key aspects of the organisations: strategic focus, management/leadership style; management attitude/orientation- . infrastructure, task structure, ideas management, performance management and orgarlisational climate. Both interview and survey methods of data collection were employed. The Ekvall's Creative Climate Questionnairew as then used to assesst he creative climate of the organisations. Data analysis was guided by a conceptual framework that linked the capability. means, and motivation of individuals to behave' innovatogenrically' with the structural and ideational features of the organisation. The main findings of the study indicate that (i) Malays are very concerned with maintaining harmonious relationship with superiors and peers. A tendency for collective behaviour, a need for personalised relationships, deference to leaders, loyalty to group and leader, and a focus on social benefit of an action to group and self were key features of this realtionship orientation Consequently, Malay organisations seem to be characterised by socially determined form of work relationship and priorities that are not conducive to the generation and exploitation of ideas. ii Organisational behaviour is culture specific: the social beliefs , values and customs of a society and the concomitant impact of these on organisational behaviour is significant and cannot be ignored. Subjective interpretations of strategies, procedures and practices by members of an organisation shapes their behaviour in relation to them. As such, an organisation cannot be made innovative through the introduction ( or imposition) of new strategies or mechanismws ithout due considerationsto the dominanti deationalm oder elating to theses trategiesa nd mechanism.
3
Dollar, Disa G. "Organisational culture in a South African non-governmental organisation: the challenge of a changing environment." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015510.
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Using Schein's (1992) notion of organisational culture, this study explored the position of a South African nongovernmental organisation (NGO) in the changing environment of post-apartheid South Africa. The study pursued three central goals: to describe the organisational culture of a South African NGO; to examine the tensions that have emerged owing to the changing nature of the organisational culture; and to analyze the organisational culture in relation to the changing NGO environment. The basic assumptions of the organisation regarding networking, the relationship with the government, funders and funding, leadership, human resource development, and service delivery, were collected. A single case study design was employed, with a sample of eight participants (representing the four different sections of the NGO) being drawn. Data were collected through documentary analysis, a focus group, and eight individual interviews using the critical incident technique. Analysis was performed using various qualitative data analysis techniques. The researcher found that participants considered networking, a cooperative relationship with the government, a proactive approach to obtaining funding, effective leadership and human resource development, and a good reputation for service delivery, to be essential for NGO survival. NGO basic assumptions are undergoing a transformation process, and tensions exist between long-standing and emerging assumptions. It was found that the transformation of assumptions is enabling the NGO to adapt to the challenges of the changing environment.
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Lachman, Karissa. "An exploration of employees' experience of privacy in an open-plan office environment." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5840.
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Buckler, William James. "Using learning processes to develop innovation and improvement within organisations : action research as a vehicle for managing individual and organisational capability." Thesis, Nottingham Trent University, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.391002.
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Boodhoo, Adiilah. "A formative evaluation of the South African Education and Environment Project Bridging Year Programme." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9490.
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Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-94).Many learners from disadvantaged schools struggle to obtain entrance into tertiary institutions. A Bridging Year Programme (BYP) designed by the South African Education and Environment Project (SAEP) seeks to address this problem by offering intensive tuition to post-high school learners who have failed to gain sufficient points for entry into a tertiary institution. The BYP prepares those learners to re-write core National Senior Certificate (NSC) subjects and assists them in applying for entrance into a university or college. A formative evaluation was conducted to assess whether the programme is designed and implemented as intended and whether programme design and delivery takes into account evidence based practices, established in the literature for programmes of this nature. A review of programme records was undertaken, interviews were conducted with the programme manager and programme coordinator, and selfreport questionnaires were administered to course tutors and programme beneficiaries. The results of the evaluation indicate that while the programme has the necessary potential to set high standards of participation for beneficiaries and provide them with personalised attention, and while learners are generally positive about their experience, a number of limitations are evident. These include in particular: the need for better monitoring of learner compliance with their contractual obligation, improved quality assurance with regard to the teaching and learning programme, and tutor preparation and training. Recommendations for improved programme implementation, as well as monitoring of programme standards, learner participation and performance, and tutor quality are provided.
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Yunggar, Manuel Melvyn. "Scanning the environment for business information in selected Malaysian Institutions." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.296918.
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Erdogan, Bilge. "Organisational change management for the implementation of collaboration environments." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2008. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/8060.
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Although emerging technologies offer the construction industry many opportunities for IT-enabled collaboration environments, the companies adopting these technologies usually fail. in achieving the full benefits from their implementations. The reason for this is found as focusing too much on the technical factors and ignoring or underestimating the factors related to change, implementation, human and organizational factors, and the roles of the management and end-users. Each new information technology implementation involves some change for the organization and the employees, and is therefore a source of resistance and confusion unless special attention is paid to managing this change. This research aims to find how to introduce collaboration environments to construction organizations and how to manage the changes required in order to obtain the full benefits from their implementation. In order to achieve this aim, the theoretical concepts and previous work on collaboration environment implementations in construction industry, and change management with a focus on organizational change management are reviewed. The perspective of the construction organizations on the implementation of collaboration environments are investigated conducting case studies. Based on the findings from the literature review and the case studies, an organizational change management framework is developed for implementing collaboration environments. A computer based prototype is also developed in order to automate the framework. The framework and the prototype are evaluated by the industry professionals.
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Paul, Chantal. "A correlational study into the impact of self-efficacy on job performance in the retail banking environment." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5830.
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Kuk, George Shun Tak. "Organisational healthiness, help seeking and the meaning of work : person-environment transaction." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.387291.
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Ratana, Totrakarntrakul, and Jessica Sze Lang Yan. "Leadership influencing Organisational creativity : the case of IKEA." Thesis, University of Kalmar, Baltic Business School, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hik:diva-755.
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Increasing competitions in the markets, companies are tending to acquire different potential competitive advantages. Cost-effective ways of doing business have been deeply underpinned in every leader’s minds. However, the problem is how to obtain the most cost-effective way to operate business apart from cutting costs or other strategies which only focus on short-term measures. Nowadays, employees’ creativity are claimed to be highly valuable for the organisation to become successful and sustainable. Since, we are interested in what kind of organisational structure, culture and working environment would have positive influence on employees’ creativity at work, how those working qualities are able for employees to increase their capability on creativity; and also the constraints of those working environment on employees’ creativity will also be discussed.
To have a better understanding of our research area, a single case study is introduced as a tool helping us to get to know more about the real life and in a practical perspective. Since, a Swedish company has been chosen as our case study here.
In order to reach the purpose of our study, our research questions focused on what factors in the organisation and what characteristics of leadership styles can beneficial to employees’ creativity, and the constraints of the organisation for the employees’ creativity.
Based on our frame of reference and our research questions, we investigated the relevant literatures for our better understanding of the research area. It is also used as a guide for us to collecting data. We used qualitative single case study as our approach to acquire data and interviews were conducted with the IKEA managers.
A qualitative inquiry method is used, entailing in-depth interviews with four employees of IKEA with different types of positions and departments. The results show that their impression and experience of the company vary in some aspects, as different positions might perceive differently.
12
Cloete, Annemarie. "Living organisational values in a multi-cultural environment : a South African case study." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/33421.
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Organisational values consist of enduring and indispensable tenets which underpin organisational culture and form the foundation for an organisation’s purpose and goals. It should represent a unique set of collectively shared values, which silently gives direction to the multitude of decisions to be made on a daily basis within the organisational domain. Unfortunately, companies seem to place an overt focus on articulating and promulgating their values as opposed to embedding it in the hearts and minds of their employees, who ultimately have to live the values. The challenge therefore still remains for organisations to not only articulate their values, but rather focus on inculcating and, in actuality, living these values, thereby making them a business ‘weapon’ - a powerful source to be reckoned with. The question arises: Are they getting it right?Mini Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
ai2014
Human Resource Management
Unrestricted
13
Abu-Tayeh, B. K. "Organisational justice and work-related attitudes in selected commercial banks in Jordan." Thesis, University of Salford, 2007. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/26499/.
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This study investigated the relationship between employees’ perceptions of justice and work attitudes in relation to organisational structure in selected commercial banks in Jordan. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were employed. Data obtained from 308 participants of the questionnaires and 18 interviewees from ten commercial banks in Jordan suggested centralisation played a minor role in employees’ perceptions of justice and work related attitudes. Participation in decision making was not shown to shape employees’ perceptions of justice and work attitudes. Centralising authority related to performing employees’ own tasks (hierarchy of authority) increased employees’ perceptions of interactional justice and job satisfaction. Formalisation and standardisation accounted for greater perceptions of justice and higher levels of satisfaction with jobs and organisational commitment. Employees’ perceptions of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice increased the employees’ job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Irrespective of gender, tenure and age, employees perceived justice similarly. Managers, compared to subordinates, perceived higher levels of procedural and distributive justice. Employees from branches, compared to those from headquarters, reported greater perceptions of justice. The study showed that the more uncertain employees are and the more they seek to avoid ambiguous situations, the stronger the relationships among organisational structure, perceptions of justice, and work-related attitudes. Many of the conditions and reasons, whereby the effects of structural dimensions on perceptions of justice and work related attitudes were more possible, were identified. Similarly, many of the conditions whereby the effects of perceptions of justice on work attitudes were more possible were also identified. Among these conditions were uncertainty avoidance culture, risk avoidance, trust in managers, perceived bank support, and perceived managers’ support
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Wong, Sandra. "The impact of the funding environment on organisational management and performance : a study of non-governmental welfare organisations in Hong Kong." Thesis, University of Kent, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.327488.
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Vickers, Ian. "Cleaner production : organisational learning or business as usual? An example from the domestic appliance industry." Thesis, Cranfield University, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.360066.
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Jeffrey, Theresa B. "Employee well-being in the NHS: the work environment, organisational climate, and value-congruence." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.487640.
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This thesis includes a literature review, empirical paper, and reflective paper which explore different aspects of employee well-being in the NBS. Chapter one reports a conceptual literature review. In this review [mdings from studies linking employee perceptions ofthe work environment and well-being were mapped onto the concept oforganisational climate, as measured by the'Work Environment Scale. This was conducted to investigate the comparability ofmeasuring perceptions of the work environment and measuring climate, because the two concepts appear to overlap. The findings ofstudies were compared and critically appraised, follo'.Â¥ed by a discussion ofthe utility ofthe conceptual approach adopted for the review. The review highlighted gaps in knowledge and understanding with regard to the interaction between employees and their work environment. Further research was specifically recommended to clarify the boundaries between employee perceptions oftheir work environment, their perceptions oforganisational climate, and the relation ofthese two concepts to employee well-being. Qualitative research methodology was recommended to pursue these'aims. I Chapter two reports the findings ofan empirical paper. This paper explored the status of value-congruence in clinical psychologists, with the use ofa grounded theory approach to methodology. The emergent theory highlighted three types ofvalue-congruence and indicated that clinical psychologists express more congruence with the values oftheir profession than with other professional groups or the organisation. A three phase model was proposed to explain the way that clinical psychologists manage the valueincongruence they experience within the NBS and some contributory factors were highlighted. The three phase model indicated that the affects ofvalue-congruence on clinical psychologists' well-being were tempered by experience, because over time . psychologists adapted to value-incongruence by finding new ways ofworking which were more congruentwith their professional values. Nevertheless value-incongruence was a destabilising experience, especially when first encountered early in ones career. Recommendations were made to incorporate discussions, in clinical training, about values and the potential for experiencing value-incongruence in the NBS, as well as endorsing the importance of self-care practices. Chapter three reports a reflective paper which considers how the findings of chapter one and two may be conceptualised under the broad headings of organisational climate and culture, or person-environment fit. It also brings together the findings ofthe two chapters to highlight learning about employee well-being more generally and considers what the NBS could do to help prevent and manage reduced well-being in NBS employees. Clinical psychologists were reported to have a significant role to play in advocating for and aiding employee well-being in the NBS. Recommendations were made for psychologists to utilise the congruence they experience between their personal and professional values to help others to prevent and mange value-incongruence and work related stress. It was proposed that clinical psychologists were well placed to facilitate teams within the NBS; to encourage a more congruent NBS climate consisting ofopenly shared values, support, and training in management ofvalue-incongruence and work related stress. Finally, personal reflections were shared and the author consid,ered what she had learnt from the findings. The author concluded that the [mdings had helped to prepare her somewhat for entering the NBS and the profession of clinical psychology.
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Kelly, David T. "The impact of the internal organisational environment on NSD knowledge management and NSD performance." Thesis, City University London, 2000. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/8164/.
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Building on a diverse stream of literature, knowledge strategy and NSD in particular, the theory investigated in this research is that service firms can use knowledge strategy to improve the innovation performance of their business. Although scholars are now beginning to organise their research agendas around a set of explicit hypotheses concerning the causes and effects of knowledge intensive environments, knowledge management has only recently emerged as an explicit area of pursuit for managing firms. This research empirically investigated knowledge management activity in the context of NSD, and as such provides insight into a subject area previously lacking in rigorous empirical studies. Previous research in the field of NSD has tended to concentrate its focus on the financial services market. In contrast, this research drew its sample from a wider population and identified that many of the findings appear to be generalisable across a number of business markets, both in a consumer and business context. In adopting a knowledge-based view of a service business, this research conceptualised a notion of NSD Knowledge Environment( NKE) to represent the way in which knowledge supports the business' ability to develop new services across a NSD programme. The nine unique bundles of resources which comprise the NKE (knowledge depth; knowledge dispersion; NSD memory, personal interaction; climate of learning; creative climate; entrepreneurial climate; collaborative climate; goal climate) were found to be capable of yielding sustainable, above-normal business performance. The NKE was discovered to have a significant impact on the service business' overall NSD programme performance across four distinct measures: financial; new opportunities; customer responsiveness innovation. Whilst service firms were found to be aware of the importance of knowledge resources to their business, few had embraced a business-wide' framework, for managing- particular knowledge 'assets.' This research therefore indicates the importance of addressing the need for. a knowledge management framework targets specifically at NSD success. Whilst the NKE was discovered to have a'significant impact on the service business' overall ability to develop innovative new products supports the findings of previous research, interestingly, this research identified a multi-dimensional concept of innovativeness, comprising both measures of innovative outcomes and innovative processes. The more innovative NSD programmes were found to be more successful on many' other performance dimensions (financial'and nonfinancial) than their counterparts,i. e. innovative NSD programmes were more successful than their competition on all dimensions, aswell as having a very high percentage of sales and profits originating from new services introduced in the last three years. The overall implication of this research is that if a firm's scarcer resources are the source of improved economic performance, it follows that supportive knowledge practices and a supportive internal knowledge environment must be created to ensure these assets are leveraged successfully.
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Rydell, Martin. "Improving the organisational and social work environment : A case study in Swedish construction industry." Thesis, Tekniska Högskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, JTH, Industriell organisation och produktion, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-32065.
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Our physical, social and mental health are all important for our wellbeing and no one should feel ill or mistreated because of their work situation. Despite this, an increasing number of people are suffering from unhealthy workload or victimization at work. Mental illness is an increasing problem and cost society around 70 billion SEK each year, 50 % of which can be related to loss in production caused by sick-leave. In addition to the immeasurable human costs, Sweden now faces one of its greatest challenges in modern time. In order to counteract this development, the Swedish Work Environmental Authority released new provisions regarding the organisational and social work environment called AFS 2015:4 which are aimed at all activities where an employee perform work on the employers account. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of difficulties and possibilities when revising current work practices to fulfil the provisions. The thesis uses a case study approach taking place in an organisation within Svevia, a Swedish construction company, using a literature review, a document analysis, interviews and a questionnaire. The findings indicate that even though the organisation had major efforts put into their work environment management, there were improvements to be made regarding the organisational and social work environment. Furthermore, what can be improved and how the organisation can support the improvements to fulfill the provisions and work towards a better work environment is concluded. The results are of great practical use not only to the case organisation but to all organisations similar in nature.
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Suliman, Abubakr Mohyeldin Tahir. "The relationships between perceived work environment, organisational commitment and performance in Jordanian industrial firms." Thesis, Liverpool John Moores University, 2000. http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/5104/.
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Redding, Blake. "Psychological climate, personality and organisational proactivity : an exploration of the relationship /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2005. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe18540.pdf.
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Jones, Renae Allison. "So what is flexibility? : toward a multi-level theory of organisational, group, and individual flexibility." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2005. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16129/1/Renae_Jones_Thesis.pdf.
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Flexibility is a term that is presumed to be meaningful across different levels of analysis in an organisation. It has been suggested that flexibility is required by organisations, groups, and individuals to deal with an increasingly complex and dynamic organisation and global environment. Authors have proposed that organisational flexibility enables a firm to achieve a better 'fit' with their environment and create a sustainable competitive advantage. The group level literature promotes flexibility at this level of analysis as important for group effectiveness and successful project completion. The individual flexibility literature suggests that people who are flexible are more likely to be satisfied and effective than individuals who are inflexible. Despite the importance placed on the construct of flexibility, it is a relatively under explored construct, both theoretically and empirically. This is due in part to the lack of definitional precision and inconsistency in the operationalisation of flexibility at each level of analysis. Consequently, little is known about the meaning of flexibility and the relationship of this construct with contextual and performance variables. This research addresses the limitations of the current literature on flexibility by developing a testable multi-level framework of flexibility. Flexibility is defined in this research as an organisation's, group's, and individual's ability to be proactive, adaptable, and resilient.
Three primary research questions were addressed in this thesis. The first question addressed what are the characteristics of flexibility at the organisation, group, and individual level of analysis. The second overarching research question of interest in this thesis examines how flexibility at each level of analysis is related to performance. The third overarching research question examined what factors impact flexibility at each level of analysis. To address these three research questions at each level of analysis, a theoretical review and an empirical study were conducted.
The first empirical study, focused on flexibility at the organisational level of analysis. This study involved the exploration of seven specific research questions that were developed from the theoretical review. This study used cross-sectional secondary data of private sector Australian organisations. Flexibility was defined as proactivity, adaptability, and resilience. This research examined the relationships between each of the flexibility components and improvements in several organisational level outcomes. Also, the impact of the contextual variables level of organisational control, degree of structure, and competition changes on the flexibility-performance relationship was investigated. Analysis techniques included moderated regression analysis. Results showed support for the positive association between flexibility and performance. Flexibility interacted with competition and structure to influence performance, but control was found to have no moderating effect on the flexibility-performance relationship.
The second empirical study investigated group flexibility. This study took a sequential, mixed method research approach, using qualitative data to explore group flexibility and quantitative analysis to explore the broad relationships found among variables from the qualitative research. Using this approach, this study addressed five specific research questions that were developed from a theoretical review, including defining group flexibility, the nature of group flexibility conceptualisation, the relationship between flexibility and group performance, factors that may enhance group flexibility, and factors that may reduce group flexibility. Findings showed group flexibility was described consistently between participants and the existing literature, proposing group flexibility is a group's ability to search and consider alternatives, be adaptable, and resilient. Results also suggested a positive relationship between group flexibility and several outcomes, including stakeholder satisfaction, personal development and satisfaction, group morale, and group confidence.
The final study examined individual level flexibility. Based on the theoretical exploration of individual flexibility, in this study, individual flexibility was defined as the ability to be proactive, adaptable, and resilient. This empirical research focused specifically on managerial level flexibility. Due to the similarities in descriptions of individual flexibility and managerial flexibility in the literature, the definition of individual flexibility was applied to the managerial level. The study investigated changes in flexibility levels over time using executive coaching as the literature promotes executive coaching as an individual flexibility developmental tool. This study examined eleven leaders undertaking executive coaching with individual flexibility being measured at three points in time, pre coaching, the middle of coaching, and post coaching. Findings were consistent with the proposition of the positive impact of executive coaching on flexibility as the data showed leaders' individual flexibility levels increased from pre coaching to post coaching, with a significant linear trend over time.
The results of these three studies are integrated to inform the multi-level framework of flexibility which was developed in this thesis. This framework provides a systematic, comprehensive, and tangible definition of flexibility at each level of analysis, providing a rich description of the characteristics of each flexibility component. This research advances our understanding of flexibility, which I hope will encourage further research on the construct. For managers and practitioners, this research provides a clear description of flexibility at each level of analysis and offers indicators of flexibility at each level to encourage the measurement and development of organisational, group, and individual flexibility. Also, this research provides empirical evidence of the benefits of flexibility, helping to provide legitimacy for the inclusion of flexibility into the organisation, in areas including strategic planning, organisational design, group design, recruitment and selection, and training and development. Furthermore, this multi-level model allows practitioners to be more focused in developmental efforts for organisation, group, and individual flexibility. This research provides several interesting areas for future research.
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Jones, Renae Allison. "So What is Flexibility? Toward a Multi-Level Theory of Organisational, Group, and Individual Flexibility." Queensland University of Technology, 2005. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16129/.
Full textAbstract:
Flexibility is a term that is presumed to be meaningful across different levels of analysis in an organisation. It has been suggested that flexibility is required by organisations, groups, and individuals to deal with an increasingly complex and dynamic organisation and global environment. Authors have proposed that organisational flexibility enables a firm to achieve a better 'fit' with their environment and create a sustainable competitive advantage. The group level literature promotes flexibility at this level of analysis as important for group effectiveness and successful project completion. The individual flexibility literature suggests that people who are flexible are more likely to be satisfied and effective than individuals who are inflexible. Despite the importance placed on the construct of flexibility, it is a relatively under explored construct, both theoretically and empirically. This is due in part to the lack of definitional precision and inconsistency in the operationalisation of flexibility at each level of analysis. Consequently, little is known about the meaning of flexibility and the relationship of this construct with contextual and performance variables. This research addresses the limitations of the current literature on flexibility by developing a testable multi-level framework of flexibility. Flexibility is defined in this research as an organisation's, group's, and individual's ability to be proactive, adaptable, and resilient. Three primary research questions were addressed in this thesis. The first question addressed what are the characteristics of flexibility at the organisation, group, and individual level of analysis. The second overarching research question of interest in this thesis examines how flexibility at each level of analysis is related to performance. The third overarching research question examined what factors impact flexibility at each level of analysis. To address these three research questions at each level of analysis, a theoretical review and an empirical study were conducted. The first empirical study, focused on flexibility at the organisational level of analysis. This study involved the exploration of seven specific research questions that were developed from the theoretical review. This study used cross-sectional secondary data of private sector Australian organisations. Flexibility was defined as proactivity, adaptability, and resilience. This research examined the relationships between each of the flexibility components and improvements in several organisational level outcomes. Also, the impact of the contextual variables level of organisational control, degree of structure, and competition changes on the flexibility-performance relationship was investigated. Analysis techniques included moderated regression analysis. Results showed support for the positive association between flexibility and performance. Flexibility interacted with competition and structure to influence performance, but control was found to have no moderating effect on the flexibility-performance relationship. The second empirical study investigated group flexibility. This study took a sequential, mixed method research approach, using qualitative data to explore group flexibility and quantitative analysis to explore the broad relationships found among variables from the qualitative research. Using this approach, this study addressed five specific research questions that were developed from a theoretical review, including defining group flexibility, the nature of group flexibility conceptualisation, the relationship between flexibility and group performance, factors that may enhance group flexibility, and factors that may reduce group flexibility. Findings showed group flexibility was described consistently between participants and the existing literature, proposing group flexibility is a group's ability to search and consider alternatives, be adaptable, and resilient. Results also suggested a positive relationship between group flexibility and several outcomes, including stakeholder satisfaction, personal development and satisfaction, group morale, and group confidence. The final study examined individual level flexibility. Based on the theoretical exploration of individual flexibility, in this study, individual flexibility was defined as the ability to be proactive, adaptable, and resilient. This empirical research focused specifically on managerial level flexibility. Due to the similarities in descriptions of individual flexibility and managerial flexibility in the literature, the definition of individual flexibility was applied to the managerial level. The study investigated changes in flexibility levels over time using executive coaching as the literature promotes executive coaching as an individual flexibility developmental tool. This study examined eleven leaders undertaking executive coaching with individual flexibility being measured at three points in time, pre coaching, the middle of coaching, and post coaching. Findings were consistent with the proposition of the positive impact of executive coaching on flexibility as the data showed leaders' individual flexibility levels increased from pre coaching to post coaching, with a significant linear trend over time. The results of these three studies are integrated to inform the multi-level framework of flexibility which was developed in this thesis. This framework provides a systematic, comprehensive, and tangible definition of flexibility at each level of analysis, providing a rich description of the characteristics of each flexibility component. This research advances our understanding of flexibility, which I hope will encourage further research on the construct. For managers and practitioners, this research provides a clear description of flexibility at each level of analysis and offers indicators of flexibility at each level to encourage the measurement and development of organisational, group, and individual flexibility. Also, this research provides empirical evidence of the benefits of flexibility, helping to provide legitimacy for the inclusion of flexibility into the organisation, in areas including strategic planning, organisational design, group design, recruitment and selection, and training and development. Furthermore, this multi-level model allows practitioners to be more focused in developmental efforts for organisation, group, and individual flexibility. This research provides several interesting areas for future research.
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Haron, A. T. "Organisational readiness to implement building information modelling : a framework for design consultants in Malysia." Thesis, University of Salford, 2013. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/29383/.
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Building Information Modelling (BIM) is defined as an approach to building design and construction through modelling technology, associated sets of processes and people to produce, communicate and analyse building information models. The implementation of BIM is expected to improve the delivery of design and construction through 3D visualisation, integrated and automated drawing production, intelligent documentation and information retrieval, consistent data and information, automated conflict detection and automated material take off. Although the potential benefits of BIM are well documented, the implementation process requires proper strategic planning and a thoughtful review of many aspects to realise those benefits. One part of the strategic planning is the readiness assessment where it measures the current position of the organisation as compared to the targeted implementation requirements of the BIM system by using several categories and readiness criteria. Set against the background of the Malaysian construction industry, in the infancy stage of BIM implementation, however has raised the question about the categories and the readiness criteria that should be used to conduct the assessment. The lack of documented BIM implementation in a form of publicly available reports, best practice and guidelines has also escalated the situation. The aim of this research was therefore set to support improvements in the design consultant practice by developing an organisational readiness framework for BIM implementation. The research explored and identified the readiness criteria as the main components of the framework. The research engaged a multiple-case-studies approach and four design consultant companies were selected for the primary data collection. Data from each company was analysed by using content analysis technique before it was cross analysed to determine the pattern of answer. After that, the findings were discussed and theoretically validated to produce a conceptual framework. The conceptual framework was later validated through a focus group workshop to produce the final framework. As the research’s main outcome, the readiness framework consists of four elements. The first readiness element is Process which has three categories residing within it, which are, Process Change Strategy, BIM Implementation Management, and Policy. The second readiness element is Management which includes the categories of Business Strategy, Management Competency, and Leadership. The third element is Technology which also has three categories residing within it, which are Hardware, Technical Support, and Software and the fourth element is People, which has four categories and they are, Roles and Responsibilities, Skill and Attitude, Training and Education and Work Environment. Meanwhile, the 38 readiness criteria that were identified and validated, resided accordingly within each readiness category. The readiness framework as the main outcome of the research can be used to assist the design consultant to identify the readiness gap of the company. The importance lies on informing the area of concern so the effort for BIM implementation can be prioritised. In addition, the individual case study report which had information rich data could help the industry to understand the BIM implementation issue within the context of Malaysia. The outcome of this research showed that the main problems that are preventing consultants from embracing BIM were rarely technical. They were related more to the management and people issues which underpin the capability of the company to successfully implement BIM.
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Stoyanova, Veselina Petrova. "The development of 'sustainability-banking' capability in the changing institutional environment : the case of RBS." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/17932.
Full textAbstract:
The recent financial crisis of 2008 has caused significant turbulence in the financial sector and the strategic direction of a number of banking organizations. To survive situations characterised by adversity and changing institutions, various organisations in the sector needed to renew their legitimacy with diverse groups of stakeholders and to refocus their business models into more sustainable ones requiring change and development in the company’s operational capabilities. Recent scholarly interest in the study of organisational and more specifically dynamic capabilities has focused on exploring the development processes through such capabilities emerge. However, the recent literature has been focused much more on the conceptual nature of capabilities rather than on offering empirically grounded accounts on how a specific type of an organisational capability is developed and transforms in line with the changing institutional contexts, and fluctuating levels of environmental uncertainty. Scant attention has been paid to the relationship between institutional change and the capability development process. In order to shed light on the development of such capabilities, this study specifies the micro-foundations of the capability development process and illustrates the relationships between the development process and the changing institutional context through a multilevel of analysis. Explicitly, it aims to find out how and what micro-foundations participate in the development of a sustainability-banking capability and how the changing institutional and market contexts and its dynamics influence the development process. This work is a phenomenon-driven study, which centres its empirical and theoretical contributions in the exploration of the case of the Royal Bank of Scotland – a particularly interesting case of an organisation, which has survived a near-death experience during times of immense institutional turbulence. The selected company case is special for the richness of organisational changes that assisted in tracing the main events and processes in which dynamic capabilities emerge. Inductively, this research study found ‘sustainability-banking’ capability to be conductive for the explored case company’s adaptation in the rapidly changing context of the financial crisis of 2008. To respond to the research questions and meet the research objectives, the work follows a process research methodology, involving the triangulation of multiple sources of primary and secondary qualitative data, collected both in real-time and retrospectively of the observed longitudinal period 2004-2012. The adopted process analysis revealed three key phases through which sustainability banking capability which emerged in the context of Royal Bank of Scotland, accordingly Phase One: The Philanthropic route (2004-2007), Phase Two: The Responsive engagement route (2008-2009) and Phase Three: The Stakeholder co-creation route (2010-2012). Each one of the charted phases of development pictures diverse set of micro-foundations constituted the company’s capability diachronically (over time) and synchronically (across levels and layers of learning). The research indicates that the capability development process is a complex process moderated by changing market environment and the presence of a number of institutional and market inhibitors and accelerators which moderate the occurring micro-foundational transformations. By illustrating the transformations in the micro-foundations of the explored capability, the research work casts light on the temporal changes that accompany capability learning, which affect the capability nature and unfold into different forms of capabilities – ordinary, transitional and dynamic. The key finding of this study is that the variability in the alignment of micro-foundational constructs defines the form and the function of the observed organizational capability – sustainability-banking capability. Although drawing on macro-institutional perspective to demonstrate the types of institutional pressures, which trigger changes in individual and organizational behaviours and processes, this research study contributes primarily to the organisational capability literature. First, the main contribution of this thesis is the development of a novel process model perspective of sustainability-banking capability in the context of institutional and market changes. The process model indicates the interactions between individual-based, process-based and structure-based micro-foundations and how this interaction, alignment, between their capability micro-foundations changes in the course of social, political and regulatory disruptions in the sector, which either inhibit or accelerate these transformations. Secondly, the observed processes of interaction suggest how an operational capability can escalate to become a dynamic capability, which has not been mapped in the field of study. Previously, scholars (e.g. Helfat and Winter, 2011) have suggested conceptually the possible existence of dual-purpose or multiple variant capabilities where the complication of drawing a line between operational and dynamic capabilities occurs due to the speed of change they enable in organisations. Within the context and content of study – sustainability-banking capability at the Royal Bank of Scotland, this study demonstrates the existence of what is entitled in the thesis as a “transitional capability”, which responds to the recent call for research work in this domain. Scholars have suggested that sometimes the low pace in which changes occur can disguise one capability as operational but in fact it can have a dynamic variant when it is explored longitudinally. The analysis of the findings in the second stage of capability development proves that the contrary can be also true. Although previously the literature has associated radical changes somehow instantly with dynamic capabilities, the analysis suggest that extremely turbulent exogenous shocks can lead to internal disturbances and misalignment in the relationship between some of the micro-foundations composing them which on the other hand can constrain the level of impact that the capability under study has in the process of organisational adaptation and development. The third contribution of this work is methodological which is accomplished by the adoption of a process methodology and a ‘hybrid’ strategy of processual data analysis, which complements the existing variance research stream in the study of organisational capability, which is predominately positivist in nature. Lastly but not the least important, this phenomenon-driven research contributes to the recent call in the strategic management field for exploring “bigger issues”, such as the global financial crisis which are often a “window of opportunity” and lead to relevant knowledge for managerial practice, citizens and policy makers.
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Harrison, Jackie L. "British television news in the 1990s : newsworthiness in a multi-organisational and multi-programme environment." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1995. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/3003/.
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This study is concerned with the constituent features of television news in Britain in the 1990s. It examines both the content of television news and production strategies employed by television journalists in the context of the changing structural and cultural relations of British television during the 1980s and 1990s. An underlying theme of this thesis is the important role that television news has to play in relation to citizenship rights and as an important institution of the public sphere in Britain. A process of fragmentation of the television news genre has in recent years, resulted in the evolution of a variety of different news programmes which exhibit different concepts of newsworthiness and public interest journalism. Such fragmentation is challenging long established notions of quality and public interest progranmiing and replacing them with a more populist approach emphasing entertainment. In addition the ability of televison news to play an important role in enabling the public to play an active part in a democracy is being further restricted and undermined in the mid- 1990s through the increasing commercialization of broadcasting institutions. To date analyses of news content and news production have tended to ignore the complexity of the news genre itself and have assumed that television journalism can be analysed as a unitary practice, neglecting the competitive diversity and dynamic technological change occurring in British broadcasting. However it is a theme of this thesis that the critical analysis and interpretation of television news remains incomplete without an in-depth study of the multiplicity of news programmes and news orgamsations which exist in Britain in the 1990s. This thesis shows, using content analysis and observational analysis, that television news in the 1990s has reached a critical juncture. Key vectors of change, politico-economic (including the new wave of commercialization of television news in the 1990s), technological and transnational influences have strongly affected the broadcasting environment in Britain over the last decade and increased the pressure on news providers. News values are becoming more tied to particular contractual specifications made upon news programmes. Newsworthiness itself is constructed within journalistic professional culture, by the journalist's zone and mode of operation, and is adapted to the designated style of an organisation or programme. The variety and diversity of "mid-ranking stories" and the differences in treatment of "big news stories" by different news programmes - processes which are revealed in the empirical studies in this thesis - illustrate clearly how newsworthiness can be adapted and changed to fit particular programme epistemologies.
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Meintjes, Anel. "The Impact of resilience, perceived organisational support and employee engagement in a competitive sales environment." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/59876.
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Sales are regarded as the lifeblood of any industry, with sales positions often viewed as the occupation contributing the most to organisational success. A contributing factor to this success is employee engagement, which has been identified as a significant driver of sales performance. The topography of the sales landscape is dynamic and competitive and the stressful nature of the job often leads to emotional exhaustion and a high turnover rate. There is thus a likelihood of low levels of engagement in sales employees. As a personal resource, a high level of resilience is needed for sales people to be successful and thrive. Sales staff often work alone in different geographical areas and they are more likely to be successful if they feel supported by their organisation. The aim of this study was to explore and quantify the relationship between resilience, perceived organisational support and employee engagement in a competitive sales environment. A broader understanding of resilience and perceived organisational support may provide sales organisations with a lever that can be used to create an environment where sales employees can progress in their level of engagement.
Quantitative research methods were used to test the predetermined hypotheses regarding the relationship between variables. Data was collected from 125 sales representatives within a specific pharmaceutical organisation. Surveys were used to measure respondents' perceptions regarding employee engagement, resilience and organisational support within a cross-sectional timeframe. Factor analysis, multiple regression and analysis of variance were applied to determine whether a predictive relationship of significance exists among the variables. Factor validity and reliability were determined for all measurement scales.
The study provided empirical evidence of a predictive relationship between perceived organisational support and employee engagement. Sales organisations' interventions to improve employee engagement should thus focus on perceived organisational support. This study contributes towards sales literature by including positive psychology and organisational support in a model of employee engagement.Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
sn2017
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA
Unrestricted
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Viljoen, Roeloff Ettiene. "Exploring the components of a conceptual model of organisational citizenship behaviour towards the environment (OCBE)." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53011.
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Introduction
In the last decade, managing and sustaining the environment has become one of the most important issues facing organisations globally (Brown & Osborne, 2012; Karani & Jewasikiewitz, 2007; Tandon, 2012; Starik & Marcus, 2000). Literature suggests that the importance of sustaining the environment in South African (SA) mining organisations is vital (Hamann, 2003). Given that climate change is largely driven by human activity, and the success of environmental programs often depends on employees behaviours, fostering employees pro-environmental behaviour within organizations has now become critical (Daily, Bishop & Govindarajulu, 2009). This study aimed to explore this phenomenon and contribute to what seemed to be a rather scarce body of knowledge which may be used by South African mining organisation in facilitating pro-environmental behaviour.
Research purpose
The purpose of the study is to determine to what extent the antecedents of OCBE, as outlined in the model presented by Daily et al. (2009), are relevant and applicable to encourage employees in South African mining organisations to act in favour of the environment. The study therefore explores how employees perceive the relevance of the factors identified by Daily et al. (2009) as determinants of OCBE. A further aim is to explore employees perceptions for the purpose of identifying other possible factors that promote voluntary pro-environmental behaviours in South African mining organisations.
The overall aim of this study is to contribute towards constructing an OCBE- model which can serve as a blueprint for South African mining organisations to achieve environmental performance. The findings of this study aim to stimulate further research on environmental management in South African mining organisations.
Motivation for the study
As postulated, the OCBE- model could assist organisations in overcoming current challenges experienced with environment management initiatives implementation and lead to improved overall organisational environmental performance (Daily et al., 2009). However, the OCBE- model with all of its constructs seems to be mainly theoretically formulated with limited empirical evidence to support its validity or accuracy. This study therefore aims to evaluate the impact these factors has on employee behaviour in SA mining organisations to engage in voluntary environmental initiatives.
Research design, approach and method
For the purpose of this qualitative study open-ended, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were used as data collection instruments.
Main findings
The following points present a summary of the most significant findings of the study:
? Environmental concern was found to be an important facilitating construct to promote pro-environmental behaviour, especially given the history and cultural context of mining organisations in South Africa.
? Organisational commitment was deemed to be an important antecedent to facilitate pro-environmental behaviour. However, participants found that organisational commitment can only be consistently instilled if organisations engage in a continuous effort to foster a conducive culture that supports pro-environmental initiatives.
? Perceived top management support was confirmed as an antecedent to pro-environmental behaviour and was supported by findings such as perceptions of clear and visible commitment and belief from top management as well as the impact of behavioural modelling in changing individual level behaviour.
? The results confirmed the impact perceived CSP can have in guiding and changing employee behaviour in favour of the environment. The results furthermore emphasised the psychological impact of CSP initiatives on employees from adjacent rural communities. Moreover, findings suggest that mining companies in South Africa should carefully consider the implication of financial investment as it may negatively impact on the perceptions of employees from rural areas. Findings in this study identified Compliance as an additional issue that has a relationship with pro-environmental behaviour. Results, as confirmed by literature, indicated an inconsistent relationship in this regard and emphasised the limitation of compliance when used in isolation.
? Leadership, over and above top management support, was found to be an important issue in facilitating employees to engage in pro-environmental behaviours.
? Environmental awareness and education was deemed a critical issue when expecting employees, especially on lower levels, to demonstrate behaviour in favour of environmental preservation.
? Rewards and incentives were found to have a positive influence on behaviour change in favour of the environment. However, this should be carefully and strategically used in a short-term manner and as part of a larger more inclusive recognition approach.
Limitations / future research
The most significant limitation to the study was the small size of the research sample, which was dictated by the availability of highly experience human resource incumbents in South African mining organisations with environmental and extensive human behaviour experience. The small sample size suggests limitation on the generalisability of the research findings (Welman et al., 2005). It is recommended that future research studies aim to validate or elaborate on the findings using quantitative research approaches with larger sample sizes.
Conclusion
The primary purpose of the study was to explore the relevance of the antecedents to pro-environmental behaviour, as outlined in Daily et al. s model, in a South African mining context. In doing so, a blue print model was formulated in an attempt to illuminate constructs that might be relevant in the facilitation of pro-environmental behaviour in South African mining context. Although some authors postulated that developing a model incorporating all factors might neither be feasible nor useful, it is felt that this model, together with the findings of the study, could help illuminate the complex field of pro-environmental behaviour in a South African context (Steg & Vleg, 2009).Mini Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
Human Resource Management
MCom
Unrestricted
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Salie, Ricardo. "The relationship between organisational commitment and turnover intentions during a restructuring process in a hospitality environment." University of the Western Cape, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/5014.
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Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS)Set against the tenuous relationship between government (public sector), organisations (private sector) and trade unions, employees’ commitment to the success of their respective organisations are of utmost importance. Heugens and Schenk (2004) maintains stakeholders may oppose restructuring efforts as invariably some constituencies will be likely to lose a strategic advantage as a result of drastic change such as a restructure. This reality has resulted in these stakeholders having to find a common ground to ensure economic competitiveness and longevity of South African organisations. Where this common ground has been elusive, organisations need to find the balance between profitability, environment and its people. According to the King III Report (2009, as cited in Du Plooy & Roodt, 2013) this is referred to as the triple bottom line that is profit, planet and people, which are integrally linked to employee turnover and organisational strategy. Organisational commitment is a key factor to success for organisations in order to obtain and maintain a competitive advantage. Coetzee and Botha (2012) posit that organisations in today’s competitive world require each employee to be committed to the organisation’s objectives and function as an effective team. A competitive advantage is needed to achieve high performance (Nienaber & Masibigiri, 2012). The working world has evolved from one where job security is no longer as prevalent as it used to be. Consequently and understandably, employees’ commitment to their organisations has diminished. Organisations are required to now investigate, understand and put measures in place to grow employee commitment in order have a successful business operation. This study intended to primarily establish whether a relationship exists between organisational commitment and turnover intentions amongst employees in an organisation undergoing restructuring. Additional variables namely age and tenure were used to establish if these variables have any bearing on levels of organisational commitment. The matter of organisational restructuring may act as an antecedent variable to both organisational commitment as well as turnover intentions. An organisational restructuring is likely to have a negative effect on employees’ organisational commitment. Thus, the affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment of employees were also contrasted with turnover intentions. Correspondingly, news of an impending restructure may serve to increase employees’ intentions to terminate employment with the organisation. The sample included 144 respondents (n = 144) from an organisation within the hospitality industry. A method of non-probability, convenience sampling was utilised due to the nature of the study. A Biographical Questionnaire, Organisational Commitment Questionnaire and Turnover Intention Questionnaire were utilised for data collection purposes. The biographical questionnaire aimed to elicit among others important details such as gender, race, age, marital status, qualifications, language preferences and years of service were used for statistical purposes. Once the information was collected, the Pearson data analysis technique and Analysis of Variance technique were used to establish the relationships and differences between the respective variables under investigation. The results in the study indicate that significant inverse relationships exist between organisational commitment and turnover intentions. Significant differences were found in organisational commitment based on age and tenure. Similar statistically significant differences were discovered in turnover intentions according to employees’ age and tenure. Affective, continuance and normative commitment exhibited significant relationships with turnover intentions. The study in closing makes reference to the limitations experienced in the study as well as recommendations for future research especially on organisational commitment and turnover intentions of employees within a restructured or restructuring environment.
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Livesey, Aubrey James. "The semantic web as a knowledge management environment." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80227.
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Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In Chapter 1, the basis of the thesis is discussed, and presents the question, “How can we apply the methodologies that make up the semantic web to to the practice of knowledge management, in order to assist knowledge workers to better do their jobs?” A few premises are established and definitions provided for key concepts. Chapter 2 provides an understanding of learning and organisational theory. It covers some aspects of the history and context of organisational learning and hones in on which theories are most suited to understanding the focused area of technology enhanced learning. In Chapter 3 the focus is placed on online collaborative learning theory and why it is required as a new learning theory for the knowledge age. Chapter 4 introduces the idea of semantics and more particularly, the semantic web. Components of the semantic web and their uses are discussed before the chapter is concluded with current criticisms and industry applications of the semantic web. Chapter 5 relates what has been discussed in chapters 2 and 3 to semantic web tools discussed in chapter 4. The concept of the semantic learning organisation is introduced and the various possibilities for semantic web applications within the learning organisation are discussed. In chapter 6, several problems with the semantic web are presented after which the researcher proposes a possible solution to the problems. Finally, an example implementation is presented and a few observations explored. The thesis comes to the conclusion that implementing a semantic learning network is possible, but only by incorporating its social aspects. Guidelines are presented for organisations for implementing a semantic learning infrastructure. Avenues for further research are outlined and the parameters for the final test implementation are proposed together with a short description of possible problem areas.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In Hoofstuk word die basis van die tesis bespreek, en stel die vraag: Hoe kan ons die metodologieë van die semantiese web toepas op kennisbestuur ten einde kenniswerkers te help om hul werk beter te doen? In die proses word die tesis se aannames gestel en die sleutelkonsepte gedefinieer. Hoofstuk 2 gee 'n oorsig van leer- en organisasieteorie. Dit dek 'n paar aspekte van die geskiedenis en konteks van organisatoriese leer en identifiseer daardie teorieë wat geskik is vir die verstaan van die fokus-area van tegnologie-gesteunde leer. In Hoofstuk 3 verskuif die fokus na aanlyn samewerk leer-teorie (online collaborative learning theory) en waarom dit benodig word as 'n nuwe leerteorie vir die kennis-era. Hoofstuk 4 stel die idee van semantiek en in besonder, die semantiese web, bekend. Komponente van die semantiese web en hul gebruike word beskryf en dan krities bespreek voor die hoofstuk afgesluit word met 'n oorsig van die toepassings van die semantiese web in die organisasie-wêreld. Hoofstuk 5 bring die leerteorieë van hoofstukke 2 en 3 in gesprek met die semantiese web gereedskap wat in hoofstuk 4 bespreek is. Die konsep van die semantiese leerorganisasie word hier ontwikkel en die verskillende moontlikhede vir semantiese web programme in die lerende organisasie word bespreek. Hoofstuk 6 bespreek verskeie probleme van die semantiese web, waarna gespekuleer word oor moontlike oplossings vir hierdie probleme. Ten slotte word 'n voorbeeld implementering beskryf en 'n paar waarnemings word op die basis hiervan gemaak. Die tesis kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat die implementering van 'n semantiese leer netwerk moontlik is, maar slegs deur sosiale aspekte in te sluit. Riglyne word voorgestel vir organisasies vir die implementering van 'n semantiese leer infrastruktuur. Daar word gespekuleer oor moontlike verdere navorsing en die parameters vir 'n finale toets implementering saam met 'n kort beskrywing van moontlike probleemareas.
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Hedlöf, Carina, and Ulrika Janson. "How to cope with a turbulent environment." Thesis, Linköping University, Department of Management and Economics, 2000. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-567.
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Background: Due to constant changes and unpredictability in a turbulent environment, the traditional way of planning does not seem to work anymore. Therefore, new approaches to the external and internal conditions need to develop in order to cope with the environmental turbulence.
Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to define a turbulent environment and identify how an organisation can cope with this environment. Procedure: We have developed a frame of reference mainly consisting of theories regarding a turbulent environment and change. In addition, we have selected eight guiding factors, which we have used when studying, systemising, and comparing how contemporary literature suggests that an organisation can cope with a turbulent environment.
Results: The conclusions we have come to are that with a definition of the environment as being fast-changing and of chaotic nature, where the changes are continuous, emergent, small, big or somewhere in between, and where paradoxes play an important role, it is necessary to develop an organisational structure, leadership, human resource, and corporate culture, in which the objective always is to create dynamics and to build in an acceptance of change.
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Snyman, Pamela Beatrice. "Sustainable competitive advantage through organisational leadership and learning in a service environment : a resource-based view." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/19882.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis(MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The determination of what the concept ‘sustainable competitive advantage’ means within a service environment and the consequent establishment of key resources within Pam Golding Properties and the role that leadership and the creation of a learning organisation play, formed the core of this study. The case study was therefore undertaken to glean relevant information from reality in order to determine which resources that can be described as intangible assets and competences contribute in a sustainable manner to the organisation’s competitive advantage in a dynamic and changing business environment. Existing and historical resources including leadership and learning within the organisation were identified by means of semi-structured interviews with a range of company executives. These resources were then assessed by means of questionnaires that were distributed to a wide range of stakeholders within the organisation in terms of value for the client, sustainability and transferability. These outcomes, in turn, provided the basis for conclusions and recommendations for future utility in order to maintain competitive advantage that would ultimately lead to sustained superior performance on all fronts. The findings that were made, culminated in a visual representation of leadership and organisational learning that form the core of the organisation and simultaneously illustrating their interdependence with the other key resources, namely organisational culture, the Pam Golding Properties brand, reputation, teamwork, relationships, systems and procedures, managers and agents. These resources form the essence of the organisation. The organisational culture within Pam Golding Properties that is representative of the core values of integrity, honesty, sincerity and service delivery was found to be the overall resource that provides the organisation with sustainable competitive advantage. This was closely followed by the value of the brand and reputation, teamwork and inter-personal relationships, the utilisation of efficient systems and procedures and the recruitment and retention of competent managers and agents. Organisational leadership was found to instil confidence in the organisation. A common, shared vision that is understood and underwritten by all employees is however lacking and change needs to be managed in such a way that the organisation’s core ideology is not compromised, but an envisioned future should be communicated throughout. The brand carries out the promise of the culture and core values, but can be tarnished if the reputation for service excellence is not upheld and it can lose credibility if expectations are not met. The brand thus needs protection from within and this can only happen if the people in the organisation share in the process of and toward an envisioned future. It was established that meaningful change presupposes continual improvement in a dynamic, yet sustainable organisation. It was therefore also recommended that a concerted effort be made to actively promote and strive towards the company becoming a true learning organisation in order to sustain its culture, brand, reputation and other intangible assets and competences. In the event that these and other recommendations in terms of resources are seriously considered and strived for by company leaders, this organisation should be an example to the rest of the world regarding sustainable competitive advantage.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die bepaling van wat die konsep ‘volhoubare mededingende voordeel’ beteken binne ‘n diensomgewing en die daaropvolgende vasstelling van sleutelhulpbronne binne Pam Golding Eiendomme en die rol wat leierskap en die skep van ‘n leerorganisasie speel, het die kern van hierdie studie gevorm. Die gevallestudie is dus onderneem om toepaslike inligting vanuit realiteit te werf, om sodoende vas te stel watter hulpbronne wat as ontasbare bates en bevoegdhede beskryf kan word, op ‘n volhoubare wyse tot die organisasie se mededingende voordeel bydra in ‘n dinamiese en veranderende sake-omgewing. Bestaande en historiese hulpbronne insluitend leierskap en leer binne die organisasie is geïdentifiseer by wyse van semi-gestruktueerde onderhoude wat met ‘n aantal uitvoerende lede van die maatskappy gevoer is. Hierdie hulpbronne is daarna deur middel van vraelyste wat aan ‘n breë reeks insethouers binne die organisasie versprei is, geëvalueer in terme van waarde vir die kliënt, volhoubaarheid en oordraagbaarheid. Hierdie uitkomste het weer die basis verskaf vir afleidings en voorstelle wat gemaak is ten opsigte van toekomsbruikbaarheid om mededingende voordeel te behou wat uiteindelik tot volhoubare superieure verrigting op alle fronte sal lei. Die bevindings wat gemaak is, het in ‘n visuele voorstelling van leierskap en organisasieleer gekulmineer, wat die kern van die organisasie uitmaak en tegelykertyd hul interafhanklikheid illustreer ten opsigte van die ander sleutelhulpbronne, naamlik organisasie-kultuur, die Pam Golding Eiendomme handelsnaam, reputasie, spanwerk, verhoudings, stelsels en prosedures, bestuurders an agente. Hierdie hulpbronne maak die essensie van die organisasie uit. Die organisasie-kultuur binne Pam Golding Eiendomme wat verteenwoordigend is van die kernwaardes van integriteit, eerlikheid, opregtheid en dienslewering het as die oorhoofse hulpbron uitgestaan wat die organisasie van volhoubare mededingende voordeel verseker. Dis gevolg deur die waarde van die handelsnaam en reputasie, spanwerk en inter-persoonlike verhoudings, die benutting van doeltreffende stelsels en prosedures en die werwing en retensie van bekwame bestuurders en agente. Daar is bevind dat organisasie-leierskap vertroue in die organisasie skep. ‘n Gemeenskaplike, gedeelde visie wat deur al die werknemers verstaan en onderskryf word, kom egter kort en verandering behoort op só ‘n wyse bestuur te word, dat die organisasie se kern-ideologie nie onder verdenking gebring word nie, maar ‘n gevisioneerde toekoms behoort deurgaans gekommunikeer te word. Die handelsnaam dra die belofte van die kultuur en kernwaardes uit, maar kan skade opdoen as die reputasie vir diensuitnemendheid nie onderhou word nie en dan kan geloofwaardigheid ingeboet word indien daar nie aan verwagtinge voldoen word nie. Die handelsnaam moet dus van binne uit beskerm word en dit kan slegs gebeur indien die mense in die organisasie aan die proses van ‘n gevisioneerde toekoms deelneem. Dit is bevind dat betekenisvolle verandering aaneenlopende verbetering in ‘n dinamiese, dog volhoubare organisasie veronderstel. Daar is dus ook voorgestel dat ‘n doelbewuste poging aangewend word dat die wording van ‘n ware leerorganisasie aktief gepromoveer en nagestreef behoort te word om sodoende die kultuur, handelsnaam, reputasie en ander ontasbare bates en bevoegdhede vol te kan hou. Indien hierdie en ander voorstelle ten opsigte van hulpbronne ernstig deur die maatskappy se leiers bedink en nagestreef word, behoort hierdie organisasie vir die res van die wêreld ‘n voorbeeld van volhoubare mededingende voordeel te wees.
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Piacun, Dominic J. "Fostering organisational citizenship behaviour for the environment: Employee discretionary green behaviour in a school-based setting." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2018. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/115458/2/Dominic%20Piacun%20Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis represents a single case study that sheds light on the importance of developing shared understandings of employee green behaviour within a large school-based setting. The findings reveal that Organisational Citizenship Behaviour towards the Environment (OCBE) is the dominant form of green behaviour in the organisation and that eco-initiatives are the most performed OCBE. To increase employee performance of discretionary green behaviours, the study found that more feedback is required regarding the impact of employee green behaviours, a shared understanding of what green behaviour at work means should be clearly articulated as well as improving the buy-in from managers regarding their own green behaviour.
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English, Cedric Vaughan. "A qualitative exploration of the South African cricket development environment." Thesis, Edinburgh Napier University, 2017. http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/978840.
Full textAbstract:
It may be argued that there are fewer sporting environments where politics and sport are so intertwined, however having undergone significant socio-political changes and development, South Africa (SA) remains a strong sporting nation with a rich and complex sporting history. After 28 years of sporting isolation, following SA's re-entry to international competition in 1992, the country has since competed at international level and immediately reasserted itself as one of the top cricketing nations in the world. With very little non-politicised literature on the subject, the question of what SA's talent development environment looks like in order to produce internationally competitive teams, after 28 years of isolation, remains relatively un-reviewed. In light of this, the SA cricket development environment offers a unique opportunity to explore one of SA's oldest and most established sports. The focus of this thesis will provide a pragmatic and holistic picture of the South African cricket development environment across four features, Organisational Culture, Structural Change, Coach Development and Coach-Administrator Relationships. Consequently, the aims of this thesis are fourfold: 1. To explore the use of an existing organisational framework, the Cultural Web, from the domain of organisational culture management to investigate organisational culture within SA cricket development environment. 2. To gather an understanding of the development pathway of SA cricketers and investigate if the changes made to the provincial structure in 2004 have impacted on the pre-2004 development trajectory of a SA cricketer. 3. To explore the learning and development environment of SA cricket coaches and their career progression. 4. To explore and illuminate the operational relationship between the coach and the administration within the context of SA cricket.
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Zama, Nokuthula. "An investigation of factors that hinder and support the career progression of South African black female researchers within a research and development (R&D) environment." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/23767.
Full textAbstract:
The challenges women face in progressing to senior ranking positions are widely acknowledged and have been investigated in numerous studies, both in South Africa and abroad. The present study sought to contribute to this body of knowledge by identifying factors that hinder, as well as support specifically black South African female researchers in progressing to senior ranking positions within a Research and Development or scientific organisation. Research and Development (R&D) organisations within the Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) sector, as is the case in most South African organisations, have seen an increase in the employment of female researchers, particularly at lower ranking positions. However, there seem to be factors that continually hinder black South African female researchers from being appointed into senior ranks, despite clear growth and development strategies and processes, training and development opportunities and increasing organisational support that is meant to bring about greater gender equity at the senior levels. As such, it proved imperative to undertake this study not only to understand the factors that support or hinder the progress of black South African women researchers into senior ranking positions, but also to ensure that organisations develop responsive and supportive interventions that facilitate the advancement of this cohort of researchers. A quantitative approach to addressing the research question was utilised. Following a literature review to identify both individual and organisational/structural level factors that have been shown to either support or hinder the career success of woman, an online questionnaire was developed and distributed to all the female researchers (of all race groups, career levels and age groups) employed in a South African R&D organisation (n=104). Data was obtained from a convenient sample of them (n=41). It was noted though that at the time the data was collected there were no black South African females employed in the highest scientific/researcher rank of the organisation. Whilst the organisation seems to deploy resources equally to all its' employees, black South African women continue to be under represented at the top ranks in the organisation. Arguably, R&D organisations seem to perpetuate a masculine culture that makes it increasingly difficult for women in general to progress to higher ranking positions. It seems that the situation is being further exasperated by career advancement requirements that do not take into account the different roles that women typically need to fulfil at work and at home, nor that support work-life balance for them. It was apparent that the organisation did provide them with organisational and supervisory support and that they are found to be loyal to the organisation, however, women particularly black South African researchers still fail to progress to senior ranking positions in the organisation. Organisations struggle to achieve gender equity at the senior ranking positions, and hopefully the present study will provide some insight into factors that negatively affect the career advancement of female equity candidates in the organisation, while also providing insight into factors that have proven to facilitate this process. The outcomes of the present study would potentially lead to more structured frameworks and strategic female development programmes that ensure that black female South African researchers do indeed advance through the different ranks and achieve the highest ranks within the SET sector of the economy.
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Kennedy, Esmé. "A critical evaluation of the organisational learning that takes place in a project management environment / Esmé Kennedy." Thesis, North-West University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/3731.
Full textAbstract:
This study contends that organisations in the modern day business environment are continuously faced with an increasingly competitive operational milieu that demands constant improvements in the quality of products and services. The study specifically focuses on project management organisations and the fact that for the latter type, organisational quality improvement translates into meeting the customer's requirements within the project's budgetary, time and technical constraints.
It is proposed that it is no longer sufficient for project-based and team-based organisations to rely on traditional project management methodologies. Instead, these types of organisations need to learn from past actions and performances in order to improve future management ability, and consequently the quality of projects delivered and their organisation's competitive edge.
The primary objective of this study is to critically evaluate the phenomenon of organisational learning in the context of a project management environment in order to extract an understanding of its implemental flaws and to suggest a proposed project life cycle model that could address these shortcomings.
To achieve this objective, the study includes a literary review aimed at gaining theoretical knowledge of organisational learning strategies and the implemental shortcomings of these strategies in the creation of a "learning organisation" insofar as it is applicable to a project management environment. This theoretical knowledge and the knowledge gained from a pilot study was then utilised to design the research tools required to meet the objectives of the empirical study. The empirical study, in turn, focuses on critically evaluating the phenomenon of organisational learning in the context of a project management environment so as to extract an understanding of its implemental flaws and to suggest a proposed project life cycle model that could address these shortcomings.
The empirical study utilises a qualitative research approach designed to determine the perceptions of and practices utilised by 21 project management team members across various functional disciplines and from a variety of project management organisations in terms of the learning that takes place in their various organisations.
Results suggest that there is often a chasm between the process during which an organisation acquires knowledge and the path by which improvement takes place as a result of such newly acquired knowledge. This is predominantly attributable to the challenge of transferring organisational knowledge across projects and project phases in such a manner that project team members throughout the organisation can readily obtain and beneficially implement organisational knowledge.
Findings indicated that the biggest shortfall in the transferability of knowledge is not rooted in the availability of transfer tools, but in the application of these tools at various time slots in the project management life cycle. As such the study recommends a revised approach to the project management life cycle, involving the implementation of a learning checklist during each phase of the project life cycle in order to achieve effective integration of project learning activities into the project management life cycle. The latter approach is aimed at designing a project life cycle model that facilitates learning across projects and project phases which is most suited to the relevant organisation based on its unique requirements, competencies and resource constraints. Post-interview clarification sessions with participants in the empirical study are used as a forum to propose a hypothetical project management life cycle model for one of the participant organisations.Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.
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Swecker, Paul R. "Validation of organizational practice statements in the Indonesian work environment: towards a quantitative assessment of organisational culture." Thesis, Swecker, Paul R. (1998) Validation of organizational practice statements in the Indonesian work environment: towards a quantitative assessment of organisational culture. Professional Doctorate thesis, Murdoch University, 1998. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/50601/.
Full textAbstract:
Organizational culture has been reported as being one of the top 5 topics of greatest interest in managerial circles. Over the past three decades the importance of culture has been linked to performance, effectiveness, leadership, change and strategy. Now, with a global market place and operational setting the transfer of corporate culture from the head office in a Western, developed country to a regional office in an Eastern, developing country is an issue worthy of managerial concern. While there exists a multitude of methods and tools for assessing the organizational culture of companies in the West, these instruments may not be valid in a country such as Indonesia.
This study was designed to establish validity for a set of organizational practice statements which could be used to profile the organizational culture of Indonesian companies. The study was carried out in two phases. The first phase involved establishing content validity for a set of items. The literature of every major work on organizational culture was reviewed and a set of statements describing organizational practices was compiled. Next, a panel of 6 Indonesian judges consisting of academics, practitioners and owners reviewed the statements to determine the appropriateness for identifying aspects of organizational culture as defined by Schein (1994). The result of this phase was a set of 87 organizational practice statements.
The second phase was concerned with construct validation through the testing of hypothesis relating to factors known to influence culture. Previous research has found that industry, organizational subcultures and leadership all influence the culture of organizations. If the instrument is to be considered valid, it must be able to detect the variance caused by these factors. Thirty nine companies were sampled representing 3 industries as classified by Thompson’s typology. Owners, managers and employees from every department of each company rated the statements. Factor analysis revealed 17 independent dimensions consistent with previous research of culture and the specific nuances of Indonesian culture. An analysis of variance revealed that the instrument was able to detect differences in culture scores across industry, departmental and administrative subcultures. Additionally, the instrument was able to identify the relationship known to exist between leader and follower at both the departmental and organizational level.
The thesis concludes with implications for managerial practices and suggestions for future research. Because this is one of the first academic research projects of its kind to be conducted in Indonesia, it provides a foundation for further exploration in other areas of organizational behaviour.
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Stofile, Phakama Phumla Bernadette. "Exploring the effects of the psychological contract on organisational commitment and employee engagement in a restructured organisational environment: the case of selected hospitals in the Eastern Cape province." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/1984.
Full textAbstract:
This study investigated the impact of organisation restructuring on the psychological contract and the effects on employee engagement and organisational commitment. The study focused on employees from selected health care institutions. The sample consisted of 156 employees from the selected health care institutions. Results indicated positive relationships between employee engagement, psychological contract and organisational commitment. The researcher recommended a better understanding of the manner in which individuals interpret various inducements where would clearer prescriptions be provided. Therefore, employers were advised to be aware of employees’ values and attempt to address them as they are important
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Dougall, Elizabeth Kathleen. "The ecology of public opinion environments and the evolution of organisation-activist relationship: a comparative case study of Australia's major banks, 1981-2001." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2005. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/15989/1/Elizabeth_Dougall_Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
The premise that the continued existence of organisations in a democracy depends on both the tacit and the explicit approval and opinions of their many publics is fundamental to public relations theory. Furthermore, the challenge of coping with the potential constraints and opportunities of public opinion as an aspect of the organisational environment is essential to contemporary public relations practice. While the term "public opinion environment" appears intermittently in scholarly and trade publications, the dimensions and characteristics of this aspect of organisational environments remain largely unspecified.
This thesis explores two challenges--the first is to conceptualise and measure variation in an important aspect of contemporary organisational environments, the public opinion environment, and the second is to investigate the influence of that environment on the critical and often highly exposed relationships between organisations and activist publics. In suggesting a relationship between variation in the environment and the evolutionary pathways of organisational relationships, the perspective underpinning this thesis is both ecological and evolutionary. Ecological analyses of organisations assume that members of a population are affected similarly by environmental change and share a common dependence on the material and social environment. Consistent with this perspective, this thesis explores the public opinion environment and the organisation-activist relationships therein longitudinally at the population level of analysis. The focal organisational population is Australia's major banks, and the period of interest extends from 1981 to 2001.
An evolutionary model of organisation-activist relationships (EOAR) is developed, and the propositions derived from this model are explored using a comparative case study approach. These propositions anticipate and specify associations between variations in dimensions of the public opinion environment of an organisational population and the evolution of organisation-activist relationships in the population. Central to understanding the public opinion environment of an organisational population are the issues around which activist publics organise, public opinion develops, and organisation-activist relationships emerge. Then, the public opinion environment is conceptualised as a set of issues that concern Australia's major banks and their publics. Variations in this "issue set," are described using four dimensions: stability (turnover of issues), complexity (the number of issues in the issue set), intensity (volume of media coverage), and direction (favourability of media coverage for the focal population). To explore the propositions of the EOAR model, I have analysed the variations in these four dimensions in relation to the evolution of organisation-activist relationships. To observe and describe this evolution, I have located the state of these relationships on a conflict continuum using relationship-signalling statements made by organisations and activists and published by the media.
Three cases studies from the same organisational population, Australia's major banks, are compared over three different but consecutive seven-year periods from 1981 to 2001. The case studies involved the extensive review of industry reports, submissions and other documents from several government inquiries, and scholarly articles, as well as the content analysis of more than 6, 500 newspaper articles published during each of the three case study periods.
The findings of this comparative case study suggest that variations in some dimensions of the public opinion environment of an organisational population are associated with the evolutionary ecology of organisation-activist relationships in that population. However, the associations are more complex than was anticipated by the original propositions of the EOAR model; thus refinements to the model are advanced for further investigation.
A primary contribution of this study is that it provides the theoretical apparatus and tools to systematically explore, interpret, and measure variation in the issues comprising the public opinion environment and to track the evolving organisation-activist relationships organised around those issues. Because the population level of analysis and a longitudinal lens are applied, this conceptualisation of the public opinion environment effectively captures and specifies the overlapping and persistent nature of issues. The evidence of this study suggests that when issues have emerged in the public opinion environment at the population level of analysis, they are likely to persist as a hub around which publics organise, providing a focus for discussions and debates for years to come. This persistence, "issue-set inertia," has important implications for organisational relationships. Given these conditions, organisations can monitor and manage their responses to issues. However, it is naïvely optimistic at best to accept the contention of issues management consultants and other pundits that organisations can manage the issues themselves. Furthermore, the findings of this study call into question the value of advice that encourages organisations to deal with issues by seeking to avoid engaging with their activist publics and by downplaying the issues in the media.
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Dougall, Elizabeth Kathleen. "The ecology of public opinion environments and the evolution of organisation-activist relationship: a comparative case study of Australia's major banks, 1981-2001." Queensland University of Technology, 2005. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/15989/.
Full textAbstract:
The premise that the continued existence of organisations in a democracy depends on both the tacit and the explicit approval and opinions of their many publics is fundamental to public relations theory. Furthermore, the challenge of coping with the potential constraints and opportunities of public opinion as an aspect of the organisational environment is essential to contemporary public relations practice. While the term "public opinion environment" appears intermittently in scholarly and trade publications, the dimensions and characteristics of this aspect of organisational environments remain largely unspecified. This thesis explores two challenges--the first is to conceptualise and measure variation in an important aspect of contemporary organisational environments, the public opinion environment, and the second is to investigate the influence of that environment on the critical and often highly exposed relationships between organisations and activist publics. In suggesting a relationship between variation in the environment and the evolutionary pathways of organisational relationships, the perspective underpinning this thesis is both ecological and evolutionary. Ecological analyses of organisations assume that members of a population are affected similarly by environmental change and share a common dependence on the material and social environment. Consistent with this perspective, this thesis explores the public opinion environment and the organisation-activist relationships therein longitudinally at the population level of analysis. The focal organisational population is Australia's major banks, and the period of interest extends from 1981 to 2001. An evolutionary model of organisation-activist relationships (EOAR) is developed, and the propositions derived from this model are explored using a comparative case study approach. These propositions anticipate and specify associations between variations in dimensions of the public opinion environment of an organisational population and the evolution of organisation-activist relationships in the population. Central to understanding the public opinion environment of an organisational population are the issues around which activist publics organise, public opinion develops, and organisation-activist relationships emerge. Then, the public opinion environment is conceptualised as a set of issues that concern Australia's major banks and their publics. Variations in this "issue set," are described using four dimensions: stability (turnover of issues), complexity (the number of issues in the issue set), intensity (volume of media coverage), and direction (favourability of media coverage for the focal population). To explore the propositions of the EOAR model, I have analysed the variations in these four dimensions in relation to the evolution of organisation-activist relationships. To observe and describe this evolution, I have located the state of these relationships on a conflict continuum using relationship-signalling statements made by organisations and activists and published by the media. Three cases studies from the same organisational population, Australia's major banks, are compared over three different but consecutive seven-year periods from 1981 to 2001. The case studies involved the extensive review of industry reports, submissions and other documents from several government inquiries, and scholarly articles, as well as the content analysis of more than 6, 500 newspaper articles published during each of the three case study periods. The findings of this comparative case study suggest that variations in some dimensions of the public opinion environment of an organisational population are associated with the evolutionary ecology of organisation-activist relationships in that population. However, the associations are more complex than was anticipated by the original propositions of the EOAR model; thus refinements to the model are advanced for further investigation. A primary contribution of this study is that it provides the theoretical apparatus and tools to systematically explore, interpret, and measure variation in the issues comprising the public opinion environment and to track the evolving organisation-activist relationships organised around those issues. Because the population level of analysis and a longitudinal lens are applied, this conceptualisation of the public opinion environment effectively captures and specifies the overlapping and persistent nature of issues. The evidence of this study suggests that when issues have emerged in the public opinion environment at the population level of analysis, they are likely to persist as a hub around which publics organise, providing a focus for discussions and debates for years to come. This persistence, "issue-set inertia," has important implications for organisational relationships. Given these conditions, organisations can monitor and manage their responses to issues. However, it is naïvely optimistic at best to accept the contention of issues management consultants and other pundits that organisations can manage the issues themselves. Furthermore, the findings of this study call into question the value of advice that encourages organisations to deal with issues by seeking to avoid engaging with their activist publics and by downplaying the issues in the media.
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Mothiba, Madikolobe Maggie. "Organisational factors promoting the in-house EAP in the Department of Economic Development Environment and Tourism in Limpopo." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/67820.
Full textAbstract:
The researcher observed in practice that in-house EAP services renders a comprehensive
EAP services to the organisations, although there are always factors involved that contribute
to the failures and success of the internal EAP’s. EAP is usually a small directorate reporting
under human resources and staffed by professionals who are positioned in middle
management in an organisation. This study aimed to explore and describe the organisational
factors that may promote the in-house EAP in the Department of Economic Development,
Environment and Tourism in Limpopo. The study focused specifically on the organisational
factors that may play an important role in promoting service delivery of in-house EAP’s by
exploring the views of the EAP professionals in the Department under study. The main
objectives of the study was to determine which organisational factors may promote an inhouse EAP in the Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism in
Limpopo. Certain recommendations regarding the way these organisational factors can
promote an effective in-house EAP, were also formulated. A qualitative collective case study research design was utilized in order to reach the goal of
the study. The population represented EAP professionals in the specific department and a
semi-structured interview schedule was used to interview the participants. The empirical
findings of the study suggest that factors such as insufficient budget, lack of professionals
specifically allocated for EAP services may have a negative impact on the promotion of an
in-house EAP. Factors such as availability of approved EAP policies, management support
and involvement, financial support, accessibility and location of EAP services, marketing of
the EAP services, as well as the appointment of relevant professionals to render EAP
services, were recognised as factors that may contribute to the promotion of an in-house
EAP at the Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism in Limpopo.Social Work and Criminology
MSW
Unrestricted
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Mukwawaya, Owen Zivanai. "Job satisfaction and organisational commitment in a changing environment : insights from employees of Sefako Makgatho health science University." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/2578.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2015This research report investigated job satisfaction and organisational commitment in a changing environment at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU). The desire to this enquiry was a result of the recent de-merger and name change experienced at the University hence the researcher developed curiosity to determine if employees are still satisfied with their jobs and whether they are still committed to work for the organisation. The research also investigated the perceptions of employees regarding management of change at SMU. Evidence from the obtained data shows that employees are generally satisfied to work for SMU hence it seems to suggest that they are also committed to work for SMU. The research was quantitative in nature utilising convenient sampling method. A convenient sample size of (114) was utilised in the execution of this research. The sample was drawn from both administrative and academic staff of the institution. Sections A, B and C of the questionnaire were analysed using SPSS version 22 and section D of the questionnaire was analysed using thematic analysis.
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Farmer, Ruan Alexander. "Improving occupational health and safety in a petrochemical environment through culture change / R.A. Farmer." Thesis, North-West University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/4444.
Full textAbstract:
In spite of the vast technological progress and improvement in the standard of
management systems within hazardous industries around the world, occupational
health and safety incidents and fatalities continue to devastate thousands of lives
each year.
Throughout the last decade, significant improvement has been achieved in the
reduction of health and safety incident rates across the South African petrochemical
environment. However, a persistent roller-coaster fatality rate still prevails. Recent
studies have shown that in order to conquer the relentless battle in realizing
sustainable world-class health and safety performance, an organisation has to move
beyond the traditional compliance orientated safety focus towards an interdependent
safety culture in which safety is ubiquitous and embedded in the hearts of all
employees.
The root causes of more and more occupational health and safety incidents are no
longer as a result of mechanical or systems failure, but instead originate from the
attitude, values and beliefs of management and employees with regard to the
significance of safety, also known as the safety culture. This has ignited a rising
interest in the concept of safety culture among organisations because of the positive
impact on occupational health and safety in reducing the potential for fatalities,
injuries and workplace incidents.
Hence the primary objective of this study is to determine the maturity of the current
safety culture in the South African petrochemical environment by identifying
particular culture shortfalls which could lead to hesitant progress towards the desired
interdependent state. In order to reach this objective, three secondary objectives
have also been set. Firstly, an understanding of the concept of organisational culture
and safety culture is crucial. In simple terms, organisational culture can be described
as the shared values, assumptions and beliefs in an organisation that ultimately
direct employee behaviour. Organisational culture is characterised by three layers
known as artefacts, espoused values and basic assumptions. These layers represent the manifestation of the organisational culture and vary in terms of outward
visibility and resistance to change. Understanding and analysing these layers
provide the reasons why employees behave in certain ways. Safety culture is a subset
of organisational culture; in other words, it is the manifestation of the
organisation?s attitude, values and commitment in regard to the importance of health
and safety. Companies which have developed effective safety cultures have
demonstrated unequivocal results in closing the elusive health and safety
performance gap.
Secondly, the fundamental components conducive of an effective safety culture were
explored. These components include management and employee commitment to
health and safety, accountability and involvement, communication and trust, risk
awareness and compliance, competency and learning and finally recognition. Most
of the components can be assigned to the artefact level or a combination of the level
of artefacts and espoused values with only a small number more appropriately
associated with the level of basic assumptions. The effectiveness within each of
these areas ultimately dictates the nature of the safety culture and the success in
preventing health and safety incidents.
The focus of the last secondary objective was to determine the development stages
leading to an effective safety culture known as an interdependent safety culture.
Each of these stages represents the degree of maturity of the attitudes and
commitment of management and employees in relation to the ongoing health and
safety improvement in the organisation. The DuPont model suggests that in a
reactive safety culture, safety is merely a natural instinct with no real perceived value
for the individual or organisation. Moving towards a dependent safety culture,
employees start to value safety but only so they do not get caught. The next stage
called an independent safety culture is characterised by self preservation. In this
stage, the mindset of employees changed towards an attitude of ?I do things safe so
I do not get hurt?. In the final stage known as interdependent safety culture,
employees embrace safety as a personal virtue not only for their own safety but also
in contribution to the safety of their peers. In such a culture it is employees? desire to
do things safely so that no-one gets hurt. An empirical study was conducted through a quantitative research approach in the
form of a safety climate questionnaire. The target population consisted of first-line
managers and non-managerial personnel within the production; maintenance;
laboratory; technical, and the safety, health and environment departments in a
petrochemical organisation.
In light of the results emanating from the empirical study it can be concluded that an
overall positive perception was observed towards the selected safety culture
components indicative through the mean response scores above the neutral scale of
3. Older and more experienced employees demonstrated a more positive response
to the safety compared to younger employees. However, several distinctive safety
culture shortcomings were also identified. In the current safety culture, health and
safety is sometimes overlooked due to productivity or cost implications. Employees
tend to withhold safety related information to themselves as a culture of guilt prevails
and mere compliance to safety standards is considered adequate. Solutions to
health and safety problems are most of a short-term nature and do not address the
root cause.
It therefore provides evidence that the organisation under evaluation has not yet
reached the desired safety culture maturity stage of interdependence. Although the
study population is limited to a single organisation, the shortfalls identified could
relate to the larger petrochemical environment and thus could explain the recent
fluctuating health and safety performance. This assumption, however, can only be
validated through further research within a much greater sample size inclusive of
more than one organisation in the petrochemical environment.
It is thus clear that the existing safety culture within the petrochemical organisation
could lead to potential health and safety incidents if the shortcomings are not
appropriately addressed.Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.
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Kim, Sa-Seong. "News organisational culture and crisis of journalism in the Internet environment : the development of newspaper specialism in Korean journalism." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/30561.
Full textAbstract:
This study intends to explore how news organisational culture in Korean journalism deals with new policies introduced in an effort to resolve current problems. It aims to identify how the established news organisational culture of Korean newspaper journalism relates to the specialist journalism that news organisations are introducing in order to deal with such problems as journalists' job prospects and Internet challenges.;This study posits three research questions: "Why do news organisations intend to introduce specialism?"; "What does specialism have to do with news organisational culture?" and "Is specialism effective in providing 'better journalism'?" This study conducts four pieces of field research: 26 in-depth interviews, two focus group discussions, a survey, and a brief content analysis. This study finds that specialism is a strategic choice which is arbitrarily adapted for problem-solving rather than an established culture. Secondly, specialism reveals some significant conflicts between specialists and generalist reporters regarding personnel management policies and the routines of news production. Accordingly, specialism is considerably restricted by the news organisational culture. Lastly, specialism does not necessarily provide better journalism, especially in terms of supplying mobilising information to guide audiences out of their grievances caused by government's mishandling of public policies.;The current news organisational routines of Korean newspapers is related more closely to resisting changes rather than bridging the individuals of news organisations with newly emerging environments, and these routines do not provide effective systems for the newsgathering activities of specialist reporters.
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Collins, Hilary J. "Identity and interpretation of the built environment : a case study of interpretation of symbolic artefacts in the organisational built environment and it's effect on the identity forming process." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 2007. http://oleg.lib.strath.ac.uk:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=21687.
Full textAbstract:
Much of the organizational behaviour literature examines the way actors behave in organizations and much of architectural spatial design literature discusses aesthetics, design and construction of buildings. Organizational behaviour literature tends to emphasize the relationships between members of an organization and how these relationships affect management of change. Architectural spatial design literature tends to emphasize the project management aspect of managing physical change to buildings. But very little is known about how changes to organisational spatial design are perceived or understood by organizational actors. These bodies of literature have remained apart; which is surprising considering that buildings are designed for people. This thesis begins to examine the overlapping area between organizational behaviour and spatial design by addressing why, how and with what effect a strategic change process within three case studies was interpreted by the organizational actors interpreting symbolic physical artefacts in their built environment. These three organizations were of the same industry type and under the same management structure, but with distinctly different management of change processes. The participants, who were organizational actors, interpreted physical symbolic artefacts, which they identified as being central to 24 change incidents. The research techniques used to understand these interpretations and their role in identity formation within a change process were interviews with the participants over four phases, participant observation and photographic ethnography over a 36 month period. This gave the opportunity for an in-depth ethnographic experience in the context of place and over time which elicited micro level details on the processes involved in interpretation and consequent identity formation processes. The models also demonstrates how and through which processes we interpret physical artefacts using their aesthetic, instrumental and symbolic dimensions and how these interpretations are used to affirm/influence and/or create our workplace identities. The main factors affecting interpretation and identity formation within the case studies were found to be issues of respect, legitimisation, power and status and these were accentuated by the different management of change processes used in the three case studies. Overall, the research shows that we interpret physical symbolic artefacts in the organizational built environment, using different dimensions of the artefact and these interpretations are used to inform and alter our self, group, organizational or workplace identities. My research confirmed Rafaeli & Vilnai - Yavetz (2004) findings that participants interpreted artefacts through the aesthetic, instrumental and symbolic dimensions. My research extended these findings by establishing how and to what extent the various dimensions are used and that the resulting interpretation is used to form or influence various aspects of organizational identity therefore linking the findings to Hatch & Schultz's (2002) process model of organizational identity. Hatch & Schultz (2002) provided a useful framework for differentiating the concepts of organizational culture, identity and image and how they are interlinked and mentioned the role of physical symbolic artefacts in that process specifically stating that corporate architecture is used to express identity and also that by building corporate facilities identity is projected to others. However, they did not research the precise role, extent and context of physical symbolic artefacts. I found that we use symbolic physical artefacts within all four of the processes of identity formation proposed by Hatch & Schultz (2002) namely, mirroring, reflecting expressing, and impressing and that as a consequence the role the built environment plays in identity formation is more significant than previously envisaged. Understanding the use of physical symbolic artefacts in the formation of workplace identity links the two fields of identity and symbols. This thesis develops the constructs of workplace identity and image and uses them to link ideas for examining changing organizational relationships and the impact of the organizational built environment on its occupants and stakeholders. The literature has previously suggested a limited use of physical symbolic artefacts within formation of identity but my research suggests that physical symbolic artefacts in the built environment are used more extensively than previously suggested therefore taking a step further towards explaining the roles of artefacts in the identity process.
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PERKINS, MALIN. "Culture Creation in a Semi- Enclosed Environment : The superyacht case." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för industriell teknik och management (ITM), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-299196.
Full textAbstract:
Organisational culture is a construct for conceptualising the way people experience and describe their work setting, and can be linked to organisational benefits and employee well-being. Researchers suggest that culture is created through group dynamics and interactions over time, the influence of surrounding environment and the founders of the organisation. This study aims to understand the main aspects of culture creation in semi-enclosed environments, i.e. environments where employees are physically enclosed to their workplace and colleagues without being deprived of their liberty. To fulfil the aim, an explorative, qualitative study of the onboard superyacht environment was conducted. The data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with 31 crew members of various rank and position, employed on superyachts of sizes between 40- 90 meters. The thematical analysis of the interviews found unique characteristics of the environment in terms of customer requirements, work conditions, interactions between crew members and challenges experienced. These findings are discussed in terms of how culture is created through industry impact, crew behaviour and the leader’s role in the organisation. The study concludes that the main important aspects for culture creation in semi-enclosed environments are how relationships, behaviour and identity are shaped by intense interactions due to the enclosed and limited physical space, time spent together and distance from external relations. Furthermore, it is concluded that the industry characteristics create a strong community culture, making the onboard environment on various superyachts fundamentally similar despite not being connected to each other on an organisational level. It is also concluded that the challenges experienced by members in this environment are in line with the these aspects, and therefore closely related to the culture creation. Ultimately, the study found that the environment and superyacht case has great potential for further research. This thesis can therefore be considered a base that outlines the semi-enclosed environment onboard superyachts for future studies.Organisationskultur kan beskrivas som en konstruktion för hur människor upplever och beskriver sin arbetsmiljö, och kan kopplas till organisatoriska fördelar och de anställdas välmående. Forskare anser att kultur skapas genom gruppdynamik och interaktioner över tid, den omgivande miljöns påverkan samt organisationens grundare. Den här studien ämnar att förstå de huvudsakliga förutsättningarna för kulturskapande i halvslutna miljöer, d.v.s. miljöer där de anställda är fysiskt begränsade till sin arbetsplats och sina kollegor, men utan att vara berövade av sin frihet. För att uppnå detta syfte så har en explorativ, kvalitativ undersökning av miljön ombord superyachts utförts. Datainsamlingen bestod av semi-strukturerade intervjuer med 31 besättningsmedlemmar av varierande rang och position, anställda ombord superyachts i storleksordning 40 meter till 90+ meter. Den tematiska analysen av intervjuerna visade på unika särdrag i miljön ombord i avseende på krav från kunder, arbetsförhållanden, interaktion mellan de anställda och upplevda utmaningar. Dessa resultat diskuteras i samband med kulturskapande genom industripåverkan, de anställdas beteende och ledarens roll i organisationen. Slutsatsen av studien är att de huvudsakliga aspekterna för kulturskapande i halvslutna miljöer är hur relationer, beteende och identitet skapas genom intensiva interaktioner, som uppstår på grund av den fysiskt begränsade miljön, tiden de anställda spenderar tillsammans och avståndet till externa relationer. Vidare så kan det anses att industrins särdrag skapar en stark kultur inom yacht-samfundet, vilket gör att den upplevda miljön ombord olika superyachts i grunden är samma, även om de olika fartygen inte är kopplade till varandra rent organisatoriskt. En annan slutsats från studien är att de utmaningar som anställda upplever ombord relaterar till kulturskapandet. Slutligen så visar studien att miljön, och i synnerhet fallstudien om superyachter, har stor potential för vidare studier. Denna uppsats kan därför anses som en grund till framtida studier om halvslutna miljöer och studier om superyachtorganisationer.
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Cahill, Francis Joseph. "The influence of self aspects, sources of workplace satisfaction and gender on organisational commitment an integrated model /." Australasian Digital Thesis Program, 2006. http://adt.lib.swin.edu.au/public/adt-VSWT20070424.155259/index.html.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis - DPsych(Counselling Psychology) -- Swinburne University of Technology, 2006.A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the [degree of the] Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology, Swinburne University of Technology, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (p. 152-162).
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Cahill, Francis Joseph, and n/a. "The influence of self aspects, sources of workplace satisfaction and gender on organisational commitment an integrated model." Swinburne University of Technology, 2006. http://adt.lib.swin.edu.au./public/adt-VSWT20070424.155259.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between self-aspects,
sources of workplace satisfaction and types of organisational commitment. This study
tested three expectations. The first was that employees with strongly developed
relational self-aspects who find satisfaction in workplace relationships with their direct
managers and colleagues were likely to experience affective committed towards their
organisation. The second was that employees with strongly developed individual selfaspects
who find satisfaction in the job itself were likely to experience continuance
commitment towards their organisation. The third was that employees with strongly
developed collective self-aspects who find satisfaction in the organisation as well as its
senior management were likely to experience normative committed towards their
organisation. To test these hypotheses, three empirical studies were conducted.
In Study 1 respondents (N = 140) were drawn from a large aged care nursing
facility. Using separate regression analyses, support was found for the expectation that
relational self-aspects would predict satisfaction with colleague relationships and that
satisfaction with colleague and manager relationships would predict affective
commitment. Support was also found for the expectation that collective self-aspects
would predict satisfaction with the organisation and its senior management, however
only satisfaction with the organisation was found to predict normative commitment. The
expected relationship between individual self-aspects, job satisfaction and continuance
commitment was not supported. It was argued that the strong relational nature of the
sample and the high percentage (87%) of females within the sample may have
influenced the results.
Study 2 was designed to reconfirm the expected relationship between sources of
workplace satisfaction and types of organisational commitment using a broader sample.
Respondents (N = 146; females =86, males = 60) were drawn from four sources; a
credit co-op, an adventure based training organisation, a commercial cleaning
organisation, and a Graduate School of Business. As expected, satisfaction with
colleague relationships was a significant predictor of affective commitment, while a
non-significant trend was observed for satisfaction with manager relationships. Some
support was found for the expectation that job satisfaction would be a significant
predictor of continuance commitment through an observed non-significant trend.
Satisfaction with the organisation was a significant predictor of normative commitment,
while satisfaction with senior management was not. The influence of gender on these
results were also examined and discussed.
The purpose of Study 3 was to introduce a newly developed work specific selfaspects
scale and test the integrated model that examined the relationship between three
types of self-aspects, three sources of workplace satisfaction on three types of
organisational commitment. The influence of gender was also examined and discussed.
Respondents (N= 119) were drawn from an Australian financial institution. Using
standard regression analysis to test the model, it was found that collective work selfaspects
together with satisfaction with colleague and manager relationships were the
only predictors of affective commitment, while collective work self-aspects together
with satisfaction with the organisation were the only predictors of normative
commitment. No support was found for the expectation that individual self-aspects
together with job satisfaction would significantly predict continuous commitment.
The results of this research provided some support for the view that the strength
of an employee's self-aspects may determine the type of workplace experiences they are
likely to find satisfying. Furthermore, these sources of workplace satisfaction are likely
to lead to different forms of organisational commitment. It was argued that the results
observed across the three studies may have been influenced by organisational context.
It was suggested that further research should sample a broader range of organisations in
order to test the validity of the integrated model.
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Casales, Morici Belén. "Corporate Entrepreneurship : A Comprehensive Field Review and Assessment of the Internal Organizational Environment Supportive of Strategic Entrepreneurship." Licentiate thesis, Mittuniversitetet, Avdelningen för ekonomivetenskap och juridik, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-34862.
Full textAbstract:
The aim of this thesis is to expand current knowledge on the development of corporate entrepreneurship and to contribute new theoretical and empirical insights into strategic entrepreneurship. To those ends, the thesis attempts to answer two research questions. First, how has the field of corporate entrepreneurship research evolved in terms of main themes, applied methods and theory, and what do these developments reveal about the future trajectories of the field? Second, what is the relationship between internal organizational factors and strategic entrepreneurship in the form of sustained regeneration, organizational rejuvenation, and strategic renewal? To answer the first question, a systematic and comprehensive review of 344 articles addressing the development of research on corporate entrepreneurship during 1969–2017 was conducted. To answer the second question, a survey was administered at a major financial services company to examine the relationship among four internal organizational factors and three forms of strategic entrepreneurship. The overall conclusion of the literature review is that corporate entrepreneurship is a growing and, in several respects, maturing field of research. Signs of its maturity are undermined, however, by the lack of commonly applied theories and theoretical frameworks. Those findings take support from the overall conclusion of the second study, which highlights the need to develop and further test empirically existing frameworks, constructs, and theoretical connections within literature on strategic entrepreneurship. Taken together, the findings of the thesis suggest that corporate entrepreneurship faces the difficult challenge of developing a set of more distinct, unifying theories and conceptual frameworks. Concerning strategic entrepreneurship, it is concluded that research on this topic should consider specific organizational structures and conditions of the company and, at the same time, it should also develop greater sensitivity to the effects of industry and institutional settings. The findings also highlight that internal organizational factors could have differentiated effects on the main forms of strategic entrepreneurship.Vid tidpunkten för framläggningen av avhandlingen var följande delarbeten opublicerade: delarbete 1 (inskickat), delarbete 2 (inskickat).
At the time of the defence the following papers were unpublished: paper 1 (submitted), paper 2 (submitted).
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Ross, Peter, and n/a. "Organisational and Workforce Restructuring in a Deregulated Environment: A Comparative Study of The Telecom Corporation of New Zealand (TCNZ) and Telstra." Griffith University. Graduate School of Management, 2003. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20030930.155125.
Full textAbstract:
In the late 1980s, governments in New Zealand and Australia began to deregulate their telecommunications markets. This process included the corporatisation and privatisation of former state owned telecommunications monopolies and the introduction of competition. The Telecom Corporation of New Zealand (TCNZ) was corporatised in 1987 and privatised in 1990. Its Australian counterpart, Telstra, was corporatised in 1989 and partially privatised in 1997. This thesis examines and compares TCNZ and Telstra's changing organisational and workforce restructuring strategies, as they responded to these changes. It further examines how these strategies influenced the firms' employment relations (ER) policies. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) and transaction costs economics (TCE) theories assist in this analyse. TCE links organisational restructuring to the make/buy decisions of firms and the asset-specificity of their employees. It suggests that firms will retain workers that have developed a high degree of firm-specific skills, and outsource more generic and semi-skilled work. Firm strategies are also influenced by national, contextual, factors. From a TCE perspective, these external factors alter relative transaction costs. Hence, different ownership structures, ER legislation and union power help to explain differences in TCNZ and Telstra's organisational restructuring and ER strategies. During the decade from 1990 to 2000, TCNZ and Telstra cut labour costs through large-scale downsizing programs. Job cuts were supported by outsourcing, work intensification and the introduction of new technologies. These initial downsizing programs were carried out through voluntary redundancies, across most sections of the firms. In many instances workers simply self-selected themselves for redundancies. TCNZ and Telstra's downsizing strategies then became more strategic, as they targeted generic and semi-skilled work for outsourcing. These strategies accorded with a TCE analysis. But TCNZ and Telstra engaged in other practices that did not accord with a TCE analysis. For example, both firms outsourced higher skilled technical work. TCNZ and Telstra's continued market domination and the emphasis that modern markets place on short term profits, provided possible reasons for these latter strategies. This thesis suggests, therefore, that while TCE may help to predict broad trends in 'rational organisations', it may be less effective in predicting the behaviour of more politically and ideologically driven organisations aiming for short term profit maximisation. Some TCNZ and Telstra workers were shifted to subsidiaries and strategic alliances, which now assumed responsibility for work that had previously been performed in-house. Many of these external firms re-employed these workers under more 'flexible' employment conditions. TCNZ and Telstra shifted to more unitarist ER strategies with their core workers and reduced union influence in the workplace. Unions at Telstra were relatively more successful in retaining members than their counterparts at TCNZ. By 2002, TCNZ and Telstra had changed from stand-alone public sector organisations, into 'leaner' commercially driven firms, linked to subsidiaries, subcontractors and strategic alliances.
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Harris, Lisa. "Technological change and the productivity paradox : the management of new technologies in UK retail banks." Thesis, Brunel University, 1999. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5259.
Full textAbstract:
Successful implementation of new technologies is necessary for survival in today's increasingly competitive banking environment. The banking sector is now the UK's largest investor in new technology. As a result of de-regulation and new technological opportunities, the dominant market position of the traditional banks is under threat from new market entrants. Such organisations are harnessing the latest technology to develop their services, and are not constrained by the costs of running national branch networks and integrating a diverse historical legacy of incompatible computer systems. This thesis addresses the question of why the massive investment by UK retail banks in information technology is not being translated into significant productivity gains. The issue is referred to in the literature as the IT productivity paradox. It will be argued that the importance of the banks to the economy as a whole, and the position of the industry as the UK's largest investor in new technology, make it a particularly suitable arena in which to study this phenomenon. Six empirical case studies of recent new technology projects are analysed by the development of grounded theory. The findings indicate that dysfunctional organisational structures and cultures, together with poor management of expertise, combine to sabotage change and constrain the potential of new technology projects. Most significantly, a lack of organisational learning is contributing to the paradox. Even successful projects had limited impact because the lessons learned were not disseminated throughout the organisation. The study concludes that the full potential offered by information technology will continue to elude the banks until their apparently complacent attitude towards organisational change is addressed.