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Article
Publication date: 19 June 2020

Priyanka Pathak, M.P. Singh and Gaurav Kumar Badhotiya

Manufacturing organization has adopted the concept of sustainability to improve the performance of product and process as well as to focus on environmental issues. Despite…

Abstract

Purpose

Manufacturing organization has adopted the concept of sustainability to improve the performance of product and process as well as to focus on environmental issues. Despite technological advancements and awareness, there exist several performance obstacles for the implementation of sustainable manufacturing in an organization. The objective of the current study is to identify the performance obstacles, propose a structural model and validate the proposed model.

Design/methodology/approach

Twelve performance obstacles are identified through critical literature review and discussion with field experts. Primary and secondary factor analysis, that is, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), are used for the creation of the structural model, and further, structural equation modeling is used as a validating tool. EFA deals with the categorization of all performance obstacles in four major criteria, and CFA works for proposing a model for a relationship among all obstacles.

Findings

A validated structural model is provided through hypothesis acceptance for structural equation modeling. The outcome of this study can be helpful for decision-makers to incorporate sustainable practices in the manufacturing organization.

Originality/value

This study has extracted and identified performance obstacles for the implementation of sustainable manufacturing based on critical literature review and discussion with field experts. The study proposes as well as validates the structural equation model.

Details

Journal of Advances in Management Research, vol. 17 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0972-7981

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 17 October 2015

Justin Pidot

This chapter identifies and analyzes three systemic obstacles to American public policy addressing natural disasters: symbolic obstacles, cognitive obstacles, and structural

Abstract

This chapter identifies and analyzes three systemic obstacles to American public policy addressing natural disasters: symbolic obstacles, cognitive obstacles, and structural obstacles. The way we talk about natural disaster, the way we think about the risks of building in hazardous places, and structural aspects of American political institutions all favor development over restraint. These forces have such strength that in the wake of most disasters society automatically and thoughtlessly responds by rebuilding what was damaged or destroyed, even if reconstruction perpetuates disaster vulnerability. Only by addressing each of the obstacles identified are reform efforts likely to succeed.

Details

Special Issue Cassandra’s Curse: The Law and Foreseeable Future Disasters
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-299-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 18 August 2006

David V. Day and Brian W. Tate

There has been much discussion and exhortation regarding the need for continuous learning in organizations. We examine why this is still an unresolved issue in most organizations…

Abstract

There has been much discussion and exhortation regarding the need for continuous learning in organizations. We examine why this is still an unresolved issue in most organizations by identifying some of the most prevalent obstacles to continuous learning. General issues are discussed that are associated with the schematic nature of human information processing, as well as the fragile nature of the experiential learning cycle, especially as it pertains to action. We conclude with an emergent multi-level framework that is organized around personal, relational, and structural obstacles to continuous learning in organizations. Removing as many obstacles as possible to individual, team, and organization learning appears to be a promising way to begin to move organizations from the state of relative vulnerability with regard to continuous learning to one of resilience.

Details

Multi-Level Issues in Social Systems
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-432-4

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2001

Mark Holtom

This paper explores the partnership between social services and primary care, in one geographical area, in relation to five potential types of obstacle: structural; procedural;…

2025

Abstract

This paper explores the partnership between social services and primary care, in one geographical area, in relation to five potential types of obstacle: structural; procedural; financial; professional; and status and legitimacy. It examines the theory of partnership and the Government’s attitude towards it. It uses semi‐structured interviews with a range of stakeholders to study partnership in practice. Finally, it highlights some of the challenges for the future.

Details

Journal of Management in Medicine, vol. 15 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0268-9235

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 September 2019

Scott Janzwood and Jinelle Piereder

This paper aims to develop a framework for benchmarking the maturity of public sector foresight programs and outlines strategies that program managers can use to overcome obstacles

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to develop a framework for benchmarking the maturity of public sector foresight programs and outlines strategies that program managers can use to overcome obstacles to foresight program development in government.

Design/methodology/approach

The public sector foresight benchmarking framework is informed by a bibliometric analysis and comprehensive review of the literature on public sector foresight, as well as three rounds of semi-structured interviews conducted over the course of a collaborative 18-month project with a relatively young department-level foresight program at the government of an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country. The paper frames public sector organizations as “complex adaptive systems” and draws from other government initiatives that require fundamental organizational change, namely, “gender mainstreaming”.

Findings

Nascent or less mature programs tend to be output-focused and disconnected from the policy cycle, while more mature programs balance outputs and participation as they intervene strategically in the policy cycle. Foresight program development requires that managers simultaneously pursue change at three levels: technical, structural and cultural. Therefore, successful strategies are multi-dimensional, incremental and iterative.

Originality/value

The paper addresses two important gaps in the literature on public sector foresight programs by comprehensively describing the key attributes of mature and immature public sector foresight programs, and providing flexible, practical strategies for program development. The paper also pushes the boundaries of thinking about foresight by integrating insights from complexity theory and complexity-informed organizational change theory.

Book part
Publication date: 10 August 2018

Tobias Fredberg and Johanna E. Pregmark

The literature on innovation/change predicts that entrepreneurial initiatives will be killed by the established organizational system. The general answer is to put innovations in…

Abstract

The literature on innovation/change predicts that entrepreneurial initiatives will be killed by the established organizational system. The general answer is to put innovations in separate units. This is not possible for corporate entrepreneurship initiatives, however. In this action research study, we focus on corporate entrepreneurship initiatives’ strategies for survival. We collected data by following 11 corporate entrepreneurship initiatives as they were pursued. We summarize their effort in three transformation mechanisms: aligning with purpose, creating trust, and creating attachment with autonomy. The data indicate that these factors not only contributed to the success of the initiatives but also to renewing the organizational system.

Details

Research in Organizational Change and Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-351-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 July 2007

Angela Joya

This paper examines the transformation of Syrian political economy from 1970 until 2005. I argue that Syria has undergone two important phases of political and economic…

Abstract

This paper examines the transformation of Syrian political economy from 1970 until 2005. I argue that Syria has undergone two important phases of political and economic transformation, from building a centralized state and economy in the early 1970s to embarking on the path of market economy in the early 1990s. With the logic of competitiveness guiding the direction of economic development, the socio-economic changes of the mid-1980s and after have corresponded with an important process of class and state formation. After a brief discussion of the current transition in Syria, the following sections of the paper attempt to provide a critical study of the different strategies for economic development. Section two examines the process of state and economic centralization of the 1970s and 1980s and highlights the contradictions of this period. Section three assesses the impact of economic liberalization through a study of competitiveness in the economic policies of the 1990s and 2000. The final section examines the economic and political impasse that Syria has been faced with. In conclusion, I argue that the current path of market economy as the strategy for capital accumulation has not resolved the socio-economic problems that Syria has faced in the last two decades. This strategy will continue to face contestation by marginalized groups such as factions of the Baath Party, landless peasants, workers and small producers as Syria becomes even more integrated into the regional and global economy.

Details

Transitions in Latin America and in Poland and Syria
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-469-0

Book part
Publication date: 1 May 2013

Gema López-Gorosave and Mary Haydee Girón

This chapter examines leadership practices in a Mexican elementary school that implemented an environmental education (EE) project. The data were collected between 2010 and 2012…

Abstract

This chapter examines leadership practices in a Mexican elementary school that implemented an environmental education (EE) project. The data were collected between 2010 and 2012 through document analysis and interviews with the principal, school supervisor, teachers, counselors, students, and parents. Additional data were collected through observations of classrooms, extracurricular activities, and professional development workshops. Findings from this study suggest the principal played a key role in facilitating a collective effort among the staff to transform the school through EE. The principal’s previous administrative experiences gave her credibility with teachers and the tools to lead the school improvement effort. The main challenge the principal faced was helping parents understand the transformative benefits of EE. Internal and external factors that support and threaten the sustainability of this change are also discussed.

Details

Understanding the Principalship: An International Guide to Principal Preparation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-679-8

Book part
Publication date: 18 August 2006

Fred Dansereau and Francis J. Yammarino

“Multi-Level Issues in Social Systems” is Volume 5 of Research in Multi-Level Issues, an annual series that provides an outlet for the discussion of multi-level problems and…

Abstract

“Multi-Level Issues in Social Systems” is Volume 5 of Research in Multi-Level Issues, an annual series that provides an outlet for the discussion of multi-level problems and solutions across a variety of fields of study. Using a scientific debate format of a key scholarly essay followed by two commentaries and a rebuttal, we present, in this series, theoretical work, significant empirical studies, methodological developments, analytical techniques, and philosophical treatments to advance the field of multi-level studies, regardless of disciplinary perspective.

Details

Multi-Level Issues in Social Systems
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-432-4

Article
Publication date: 7 April 2022

Francis Lanme Guribie, De-Graft Owusu-Manu, Edward Badu and David John Edwards

With the recognition that knowledge is ingrained within certain social groups and settings, more recent literature in this field is now spotlighting this human focused or “social…

Abstract

Purpose

With the recognition that knowledge is ingrained within certain social groups and settings, more recent literature in this field is now spotlighting this human focused or “social dimension” of knowledge management. However, this learning approach faces some constraints, especially, in project context. While the existing body of knowledge has focused on emphasizing the importance of the social processes and practices involved in this approach, there is glaring neglect of the intricacies involved when executing learning through this agency, especially in project settings. Hence, the purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate the systemic obstacles in personalizing knowledge flows within and across projects.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted a positivist philosophical stance couched within a deductive approach. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from 203 construction professionals with “hands-on” experience in managing projects in the Ghanaian construction industry.

Findings

A mean score analysis showed that all the identified obstacles are significant factors that hinder the personalization of knowledge flows within and across projects. A structure detection analysis generated four principal obstacle components (POCs), explaining about 67.897% of the total variance of the obstacles in personalizing knowledge flows in temporary organizations. The complex web of obstacles was broken out into four broad thematic categories or POCs: obstacles at the individual level, obstacles at the team level, obstacles at the structural level and the limitations of project operations. A fuzzy synthetic evaluation modeling of the four POCs generated criticality indices for each POC exceeding 3.50 on a five-point rating scale, indicating that, all the four POCs as significant obstacles to personalizing knowledge flows within and across projects.

Practical implications

Implications are provided for project managers on the social dynamics of learning in project teams.

Originality/value

The research findings expand existing frontiers of knowledge by addressing the gap in the literature on the complexity of the personalization strategy within projects. The findings would also spark a broader discussion about the importance of developing integrated ways to structure learning in project environments. The culmination of the research will serve as a solid foundation for the development of a future project learning frameworks.

Details

Construction Innovation , vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

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