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Article
Publication date: 27 April 2012

Raul Espejo

The purpose of this paper is to offer an incursion into the complexity of organisations. This paper distinguishes a collective in its surroundings, an organisation in its medium…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer an incursion into the complexity of organisations. This paper distinguishes a collective in its surroundings, an organisation in its medium and an organisation in its environment and proposes these distinctions as complementary epistemologies that help when studying organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper, supported by two case studies, that makes use of ideas of organisational cybernetics, autopoiesis and organisational ecology.

Findings

Beyond the more common black box observation of organisations that helps account for the transformations of inputs into outputs, this paper argues for the accounting of the relationships producing an organisation. This latter approach highlights the need to account for the complexity of communications between autonomous systems with different cognitive capabilities.

Originality/value

The complementary epistemologies offered in this paper offer an emerging paradigm to understand ecologies of enterprises and other organizational forms.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 41 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 1999

Raul Espejo

Develops the idea of complexity and its implications for our understanding of organisations and society. One such implication is the constitution of autonomous units within…

Abstract

Develops the idea of complexity and its implications for our understanding of organisations and society. One such implication is the constitution of autonomous units within autonomous units. This notion is at the core of recursive organisations. Each of these autonomous units requires strengthening in its identity, cohesion and citizenship in order to perform well in its medium. However, in contemporary societies the rule is fragmented institutions rather than whole organisations. Further research is necessary in order to understand how to make more likely the emergence in society of recursive organisations.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 28 no. 6/7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2015

Carolin Ramsteck, Barbara Muslic, Tanja Graf, Uwe Maier and Harm Kuper

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how principals and school supervisory authorities understand and use feedback from mandatory proficiency tests (VERA) in the low-stakes…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how principals and school supervisory authorities understand and use feedback from mandatory proficiency tests (VERA) in the low-stakes context of Germany. For the analysis, the authors refer to a theoretical model of schools that differentiates between Autonomous and Managed Professional Organisations (Thiel, 2008a).

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical basis of the qualitative research are contrastive case studies which are focusing on individual schools and on school supervisory authorities. The selection of cases was oriented on Theoretical Sampling according to Glaser and Strauss (2005). For the analysis, the authors used a sample of upper track secondary schools (Gymnasien), four from Berlin and five each from Thuringia, Brandenburg and Baden-Wuerttemberg. In total, the authors conducted 229 structured interviews over two periods in 19 schools with different protagonists on all levels of the educational system (principals, heads of subject departments, teachers and school supervisory officials). The interview data were descriptively analysed according to procedures of qualitative content analyses (Mayring, 2010).

Findings

The analyses show a clear tendency in the direction of the Autonomous Professional Organisation within the context of VERA. However, some principals reported activities according to a Managed Professional Organisation. The traditional decoupling remains and the supervisory authorities retain their picture of the individual school as an Autonomous Professional Organisation. Both levels have a major deficit in a competent use of VERA and lack profound experience with accountability and evaluation processes.

Research limitations/implications

The sampling has certain restraints: schools of a particular type, few schools within one state, four of 16 states.

Originality/value

Even though German test-based school reforms have been in progress for one decade, systematic analyses of the reform’s relevance for leadership and for school supervisory authorities’ actions in a low-stakes context have not been conducted yet. The analysis meets this lack of research with an explorative reconstruction of principal leadership within the context of test-based school reform as well as the corresponding school supervisory officials.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 29 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 January 2008

Karlos Artto, Miia Martinsuo, Perttu Dietrich and Jaakko Kujala

Previous literature on project strategy has adopted the narrow view that a project is to be conducted under the governance of a single strong sponsor or parent organization. The…

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Abstract

Purpose

Previous literature on project strategy has adopted the narrow view that a project is to be conducted under the governance of a single strong sponsor or parent organization. The purpose of this study is to provide a critical analysis on prior project management (PM) literature addressing different context‐specific strategies of single projects.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature analysis.

Findings

There are two important determinants in the project's context that affect the strategy of a single project: a project's autonomy in its environment and the complexity of project's stakeholder environment. Based on these two determinants, we characterize four types of alternative positions that projects can have in their context: parent's subordinate and autonomous projects that occur in a stakeholder environment that is not complex, and projects with weak and autonomous positions in a complex stakeholder environment. The developed project strategy framework is applied in the context of innovation projects. The analysis results include strategy contents for different types of innovation projects in terms of the project's direction and success.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to PM research by broadening the focus from mere tactical‐level projects towards projects as strategic entities, and by suggesting the management of projects differently in different contexts. Further, theoretical and empirical research is proposed on both testing the suggested framework and elaborating it for different project types.

Originality/value

The paper opens up avenues towards the development of new and context‐specific PM bodies of knowledge.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 April 2010

Iris Reychav and Rob Sharkie

This study seeks to examine antecedents of perception of trust as a foundation for extra‐role behaviour in the public sector non‐profit organisations.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study seeks to examine antecedents of perception of trust as a foundation for extra‐role behaviour in the public sector non‐profit organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 1,600 questionnaires were distributed and 329 questionnaires were returned from five different non‐profit local government authorities in Australia.

Findings

It was found that perceptions of trust in management, psychological support, management values and rewards were strong antecedents of employee perceptions, which in turn were positively correlated with employee extra‐role behaviour. Employee participation in decision making and contributions from autonomous employees were strong indicators of extra‐role behaviour, whereas intrinsic job motivation and the sharing of knowledge were found to be weaker indicators of discretionary extra‐role behaviour.

Research limitations/implications

The study was based on the voluntary response of employees of five independent local government authorities in Australia. Thus findings in other geographical or cultural locations may be significantly different. Beyond the questionnaire findings, the relevance to private non‐profit organisations needs to be studied empirically.

Practical implications

The research makes a significant contribution to management of governmental public sector non‐profit organisations which face continuous pressure to develop strategies and embrace management practices that ensure organisational effectiveness.

Originality value

The findings highlight the important factors that lead to employee perceptions about trust which can lead to discretionary employee efforts in public sector organisations that have great similarity to non‐profit organisations.

Details

Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1469-1930

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 17 October 2018

Michael Power

Financial accounting necessarily depends on an entity assumption that shapes the way it recognizes and accounts for organizational exchanges with social environments. It thereby…

Abstract

Financial accounting necessarily depends on an entity assumption that shapes the way it recognizes and accounts for organizational exchanges with social environments. It thereby constructs boundaries and frames permeability in terms of what counts, is accounted for, as being inside and outside of the organization. Yet there are different possible entity concepts reflecting different values about the relationship between the organizational entity and society. This essay considers four problem areas in which these values and the entity–society relationship are at stake within financial accounting: the problem of control within group accounting; accounting for externalities; the economization of public organizations; and the construction of organizational actorhood. These four problematics suggest that financial accounting, its boundary determining assumptions, and the forms of organizational permeability it permits are deeply intertwined and subject to continuous pressure for change.

Details

Toward Permeable Boundaries of Organizations?
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-829-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 23 August 2012

Nitsan Chorev

This article explores the range of responses available to international bureaucracies when confronted with demands made by their member states through the study of the World…

Abstract

This article explores the range of responses available to international bureaucracies when confronted with demands made by their member states through the study of the World Health Organization (WHO) during the 1970s and 1980s. I show that the WHO bureaucracy successfully addressed the demands of developing countries for health policies compatible with a more equitable world economic order, but in a way that preserved the bureaucracy's own agenda and without upsetting the opposite coalition of wealthy countries. Drawing on insights from the sociology of organizations, this article shows that externally dependent international bureaucracies are able to preserve their autonomous agenda by strategically reframing countries’ demands before responding to them.

Details

Political Power and Social Theory
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-867-0

Article
Publication date: 2 January 2024

Colin Gilson and Sarah Bouraga

This paper aims to explore the problem of power imbalance within decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and propose potential solutions that could contribute to enhancing…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the problem of power imbalance within decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and propose potential solutions that could contribute to enhancing the democratic nature of DAOs.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the authors apply a qualitative methodology. Using a thematic coding analysis, the authors process data collected from interviews with 11 experts.

Findings

Multiple factors contribute to the perceived lack of democracy within DAOs, such as token concentration and effective stakeholder communication. Next, quadratic voting has the potential to enhance democracy within DAOs, but this mechanism must be implemented mindfully. Finally, the results were nuanced when it comes to the effectiveness of liquid democracy in DAOs to enhance voter participation and representation.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first research contributions to propose recommendations to address the power imbalance within DAOs and to contribute to the advancement of decentralized decision-making structures.

Details

Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, vol. 26 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5038

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1996

Steven P. Feldman

Every writer, Nietzsche once commented, has an intellectual idiosyncrasy that, once grasped, can be used as a key to interpret their work. In Chester Barnard’s classic text on…

607

Abstract

Every writer, Nietzsche once commented, has an intellectual idiosyncrasy that, once grasped, can be used as a key to interpret their work. In Chester Barnard’s classic text on management theory, The Functions of the Executive, the use of dichotomy is such a key. Barnard uses dichotomy in all his major conceptual frameworks. Analyses his three central sociological concepts: society, organization purpose, and organization authority. Shows that the purpose behind Barnard’s use of dichotomy is political: he is attempting to legitimate the dominance of formal organization in society. His main means to accomplish this is by defining dichotomies in such a way that they either assume the dominance or demonstrate the superiority of formal organization. The result is that Barnard’s use of dichotomy is misleading and contradictory. He tries to conceal the contradictions by the use of complex and ambiguous discussions. Ultimately, Barnard’s theoretical method is shown to rest on the erroneous dichotomy that assumes organization rationality is autonomous from and superior to culture and society.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 2 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-252X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 October 2010

Colm Fearon, Joan Ballantine and George Philip

This paper aims to examine the relationship between cooperation and inter‐organisational coordination in the supply chain. There is much literature debate over the nature of…

1633

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the relationship between cooperation and inter‐organisational coordination in the supply chain. There is much literature debate over the nature of electronic trading enabled cooperation and coordination in the supply chain. The paper examines the major concepts associated with inter‐organisational cooperation in social network literature such as collaboration and partnership and how this is affected by changing forms of coordination (market and hierarchy) governance.

Design/methodology/approach

Seminal literatures about how electronic market and hierarchy coordination mechanisms have changed over time are examined. While some evidence from interviewing companies is used in conjunction with literature to inform discuss the workings of a matrix framework, the discussion remains essentially conceptual.

Findings

A conceptual cooperation and coordination matrix outlines four quadrant forms of cooperation relative to evolving electronic markets and hierarchy coordination contexts, namely; “collaboration”, “partnership”, “dominance” and “autonomous”. The matrix depicts and describes subtle differences in these forms of cooperation. Collaboration involves a low degree of vertical integration and a high number of trading partners transacting on short‐term contracts. Partnering involves a higher degree of inter‐firm linkage with fewer stable partners on a medium to long‐term basis. Dominance is characterised as a traditional form of hierarchical inter‐firm linkage with a high degree of vertical integration. The autonomous organisation specialises in the production and delivery of major super brands which in the case of information based products can be sold directly to the customer.

Originality/value

The contribution is a discussion analysis and new matrix framework depicting forms of cooperation relative to market and hierarchy coordination contexts in the supply chain. This is useful for understanding theoretical interplay between different forms of inter‐firm cooperation and complex supply chain inter‐dependencies that utilise information technology.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 20 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

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