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The purpose of this paper is to consider a nonlinear problem of minimizing the cost of providing reliable systems. The authors assume that the system consists of several components in series, and for each such component, the cost of the component increases exponentially with its reliability.

In order to solve this nonlinear optimization problem, the authors propose two approaches. The first approach is based on the concept of adjusting the reliability of a pair of components to minimize the cost of the system. The authors call this procedure as reliability adjustment routine (RAR). Proofs of optimality and convergence for the proposed model are also provided. The second approach solves the problem by using a Lagrangian multiplier. A procedure is developed to obtain the maximum step size to achieve the desired optimal solution in minimum iterations. Proposed approaches are efficient and give exact solutions.

Proposed methods enable a decision maker to allocate reliability to the components in series while minimizing the total cost of the system. The developed procedures are illustrated using a numerical example. Although an exponential relationship between the component cost and reliability is assumed, this can be extended to various other nonlinear distributions.

This cost optimization problem, subject to system component reliability values, assumes the near practical nonlinear pattern of cost vs reliability. Such problems are complex to solve. The authors provide a unique approach called RAR to solve such convoluted problems. The authors also provide an approach to solve such problems by using a Lagrangian multiplier method. Various proofs have been worked out to substantiate the work.

Routines are the very material of human organization. But there is little guarantee that routines will be enacted flexibly enough to ensure that organization survives. Mindfulness has been offered as a guarantor of sorts, but it remains unclear exactly what people mean by mindfulness and how mindfulness might relate to routines. This chapter reviews evolving conceptions of mindfulness and routines—from Langer’s early work to routine dynamics to Levinthal and Rerup’s seminal debate with Weick and Sutcliffe. It puts forth the argument that the recent theory of mindfulness as metacognitive practice retains important insights from throughout this conceptual evolution, while resolving ambiguity and debate about the relation between mindfulness and routines in at least four critical areas related to agency, duality, flexibility, and social organization. This resolution, in turn, opens up further avenues to understand the social processes by which people come to understand their minds—and how this understanding embeds within organization itself.

Addresses the standardization of the measurements and the labels for concepts commonly used in the study of work organizations. As a reference handbook and research tool, seeks to improve measurement in the study of work organizations and to facilitate the teaching of introductory courses in this subject. Focuses solely on work organizations, that is, social systems in which members work for money. Defines measurement and distinguishes four levels: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. Selects specific measures on the basis of quality, diversity, simplicity and availability and evaluates each measure for its validity and reliability. Employs a set of 38 concepts ‐ ranging from “absenteeism” to “turnover” as the handbook’s frame of reference. Concludes by reviewing organizational measurement over the past 30 years and recommending future measurement reseach.

In this chapter, the authors enter the world of ballet to be inspired by artistic teams. This original point of view proposes a complementary understanding of the dynamics of routines replication where preserving the authenticity of the project’s intent is emphasized over economic efficiency considerations.

The authors propose that analyzing the remounting of a ballet as an in-depth extreme case study provides an opportunity to learn more about other aspects that can be relevant in transfer stories: the importance accorded to the intent of the routine to be transferred; the existence of a dialogical dynamic that engages artifacts and memories of this intent; the existence of a meta-routine that structures and enables the transfer of sub-routines across geographical distance in another context. The authors will see that, in this case, routines replication is also made possible through sharing of a routine’s ostensive aspect which is embedded in a professional culture.

The overarching priority in remounting a show is strict respect for the choreographer’s original intent. As replicator and imitator teams encounter the consequences of a new location and its characteristics, the authors will examine how they face the replication dilemma, coordinate themselves, and use innovation to achieve replication.

Maintaining a safe and available supply of blood requires a mindfully coordinated supply chain (SC) and is fundamental to the effective operation of health systems across the world. This study investigates how blood supply chain (BSC) actors demonstrate collective mindfulness (CM) principles in their operations and how these demonstrations lead to improvements in blood safety and availability (BSA) in different operational contexts.

Six case studies drawn from two contrasting BSCs, the UK and Indonesia, which differ in structure and regulation are investigated in this research. Qualitative data are collected and analysed using template analysis.

The cases reveal how the CM principles are demonstrated in the supply chain context in a range of operational conditions and their impact on BSA. The BSC actors in the more centralised and tightly regulated cases display more behaviours consistent with more of the CM principles over a greater range of operational conditions compared to those in the more decentralised and loosely regulated cases. As such, more improvements in BSA are found in the former compared to the latter cases.

This paper is considered the first to investigate the demonstration of CM principles at the SC as opposed to the single organisational level. It proposes an alternative approach to understanding and evaluating reliability performance using behavioural rather than statistical principles.

Traditionally, organizational evolution has been forgotten and only recently has it been analyzed by evolutionary theories: evolutionary economics and organizational ecology. According to the evolutionary economics the evolution of the firm is drawn as a process of individual adaptation running parallel to the evolution of environment. However, population ecology suggested that organizations have not the ability to adapt themselves and the process of organizational evolution is out of the organizational field. So, the adjustment to changed environmental conditions is achieved largely by the death of old organizations and the birth of new ones. We propose a model of organizational evolution combining the adaptation perspective ‐‐ evolutionary economics ‐‐ and the selection one ‐‐ population ecology of organizations. The adaptative ability lies in the endowment resource and capabilities that managers build using organizational capabilities.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between job satisfaction, family support, learning orientation, organizational socialization and cross‐cultural training and cross‐cultural adjustment in the proposed model.

A quantitative research method was used, and correction and regression were employed. The study undertook a multidimensional approach in its assessment of the adjustment of Taiwanese financial institution expatriates.

This study found that job satisfaction played an important role in the proposed model of expatriate adjustment in an international assignment. Also found to be of importance was the role of organization socialization.

The conclusions of this study pertain only to Taiwanese financial institution expatriates in the USA, and cannot be generalized for cross‐cultural adjustment in other countries.

Given the associations between job satisfaction and cross‐cultural adjustment, multinationals should ensure that they have human resource policies and practice to support the job satisfaction of expatriates. Modifying socialization policies and practices can have a positive influence on expatriates' adjustment.

This study both replicates and extends previous research on cross‐cultural adjustment. It provides objective information for expatriate selection, management and socialization.

The purpose of this paper is to propose the organizational knowledge effects of organization routine breach response.

The paper reviews the routines and knowledge management literatures and applies them to the concept of organizational routine breach.

It is found that three types of organizational routine breach response affect the explicit and tacit knowledge contained within routines differently. These differences can influence organizational performance in positive and negative ways.

Future research can be based on an enhanced understanding of the knowledge effects stemming from breaches in organizational routines.

Managers can use an enhanced understanding of the knowledge effects of organizational routine breach to increase their ability to manage organizational routines and the knowledge contained in them.

This paper links the organizational routines literature with the knowledge management literature to identify the effects of various responses to organization routine breach on organizational knowledge. This integration enables researchers and managers to better understand the implications of routine breach on organizational knowledge and performance.