Change, Technology and Higher Education: Are Universities Capable of Organisational Change?

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Stephen

2010-01-01

Technology and change are so closely related that the use of the word innovation seems synonymous with technology in many contexts, including that of higher education. This paper contends that university culture and existing capability constrain such innovation and to a large extent determine the nature and extent of organisational change. In the…

Developing a Supportive Learning Environment in a Newly Formed Organisation

Science.gov (United States)

Lancaster, Sue; Di Milia, Lee

2015-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the factors that employees perceived were important in creating a supportive learning environment in a recently merged organisation. The study provides rich qualitative data from the employees' perspective. Design/methodology/approach: This case study used a qualitative phenomenological constructivist…

Study of a Russian University's Organisational Culture in Transition from Planned to Market Economy

Science.gov (United States)

Pushnykh, Victor; Chemeris, Valeriy

2006-01-01

The transition from a planned centralist economy to a market economy over the last decade of the 20th century has presented Russian universities with many profound challenges. These challenges require universities to review and consider their organisational culture and deserve careful study. This paper describes the changes that have taken place…

Encouraging a 'Barrier-free Built Environment' in a Malaysian University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hazreena Hussein

2005-12-01

Full Text Available A good pedestrian network around the campus should be accessible and friendly for all users including disabled persons. The environment should offer some activity nodes to ensure that the learning and working in campus is more pleasant. The paper will clarify the importance of collaborative development among various professionals and organisations in order to achieve a 'barrier-free built environment', focusing on the University of Malaya as a case study. It will share experience on the education of inclusive design for students who will become professionals and responsible in implementing the legislation relating to safety, accessibility and usability of the built environment. As the objective is the issue of educating relevant professionals, it will introduce methods in teaching professionals as a strategy to advocate a 'barrier-free built environment'. The paper will also illustrate the efforts done in encouraging the agenda which have been implemented around the case study.

How We Do Things Around Here : The Polish-Dutch Comparison Of The University Organisational Culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pieter van Nispen tot Pannerden; A. Glińska-Neweś

2014-01-01

Analyses and international comparisons of university organisational cultures are rare or even non-existing in management studies. Our paper fills this gap, presenting the results of a pilot study conducted in two units representing a Polish and a Dutch university. The survey has been carried out on

Organisational Art

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ferro-Thomsen, Martin

creation of a practical utopia (?heterotopia?) in the organisational context. The case study makes use of both art- and organisational theory. The thesis concludes with an outline of a framework for OA that is derived from contemporary theory of mainly Relational Aesthetics (Bourriaud), Conceptual Art......University of Copenhagen / Learning Lab Denmark. 2005 Kort beskrivelse: Organisational Art is a tentative title for an art form that works together with organisations to produce art. This is most often done together with non-artist members of the organisation and on-site in their social context. OA...... is characterised as socially engaged, conceptual, discursive, site-specific and contextual. Abstract: This investigation is about Organisational Art (OA), which is a tentative title for an art form that works together with organisations (companies, institutions, communities, governments and NGOs) to produce art...

Working in the Shadow of Hierarchy : Organisational Autonomy and Venues of External Influence in European Universities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Boer, Harry; Bleiklie, Ivar; Enders, Jürgen; Lepori, Benedetto

2017-01-01

Over recent decades, ‘autonomy’ has become a buzz word in higher education reform and universities were thought to be empowered to determine their own destiny. This chapter examines the organisational autonomy of universities in Europe. The multidimensional analyses of autonomy show that

Patenting of university and non-university public research organisations in Germany: evidence from patent applications for medical research results.

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Peter Tinnemann

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Patents are one of the most important forms of intellectual property. They grant a time-limited exclusivity on the use of an invention allowing the recuperation of research costs. The use of patents is fiercely debated for medical innovation and especially controversial for publicly funded research, where the patent holder is an institution accountable to public interest. Despite this controversy, for the situation in Germany almost no empirical information exists. The purpose of this study is to examine the amount, types and trends of patent applications for health products submitted by German public research organisations. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a systematic search for patent documents using the publicly accessible database search interface of the German Patent and Trademark Office. We defined keywords and search criteria and developed search patterns for the database request. We retrieved documents with application date between 1988 and 2006 and processed the collected data stepwise to compile the most relevant documents in patent families for further analysis. We developed a rationale and present individual steps of a systematic method to request and process patent data from a publicly accessible database. We retrieved and processed 10194 patent documents. Out of these, we identified 1772 relevant patent families, applied for by 193 different universities and non-university public research organisations. 827 (47% of these patent families contained granted patents. The number of patent applications submitted by universities and university-affiliated institutions more than tripled since the introduction of legal reforms in 2002, constituting almost half of all patent applications and accounting for most of the post-reform increase. Patenting of most non-university public research organisations remained stable. CONCLUSIONS: We search, process and analyse patent applications from publicly accessible databases

Organisational Culture and Technology-Enhanced Innovation in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Chang

2015-01-01

Higher education institutions are evolving and technology often plays a central role in their transformations. Educational changes benefit from a supportive environment. The study examines the relationship between organisational culture and teachers' perceptions of and responses to technology-enhanced innovation among Chinese universities. A…

Change, technology and higher education: are universities capable of organisational change?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen Marshall

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Technology and change are so closely related that the use of the word innovation seems synonymous with technology in many contexts, including that of higher education. This paper contends that university culture and existing capability constrain such innovation and to a large extent determine the nature and extent of organisational change. In the absence of strong leadership, technologies are simply used as vehicles to enable changes that are already intended or which reinforce the current identity. These contentions are supported by evidence from e-learning benchmarking activities carried out over the past five years in universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

Personal and organisational vision supporting leadership in a team-based transport environment

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Theuns F.J. Oosthuizen

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Leadership in an operational environment requires operational employees to take on responsibility as leaders. This leadership role could vary from self-leadership to team leadership with personal and organisational vision as key drivers for operational leadership performance. The research population included operational employees working in a transport environment who attended a leadership development seminar. A census was conducted using a questionnaire-based empirical research approach. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS, and the results were analysed. Responses indicate the development of an awareness of the importance of values and vision in order to establish effective leadership practices through the leadership development programme. Research confirmed the importance of vision as a key driver in operational leadership in this context. Further skill development is required on how to align personal values and vision with that of the organisation (department within which operational employees function.

Organising aspects of the Levels Added Organisation (LAO

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Duško Uršič

2002-01-01

Full Text Available How to achieve a more efficient, more successful, and above all more competitive organisation in the given environment and equal spare time in everything? One of responses is evidently hidden in the levels added organisation concept, which has already proved its advantages in some domains practice, and now we also try to define and explain them from the organisational and scientific aspect. As briefly presented in this paper, the nucleus is hidden in the evolutionary development of the organisation that adopts innovations, then tests and evaluates them, combines and upgrades them, and consequently it efficiently resolves difficulties of existent organisational concepts.

Quality Assurance Processes in Finnish Universities: Direct and Indirect Outcomes and Organisational Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Haapakorpi, Arja

2011-01-01

In Finland, quality assurance related to the Bologna process has been adapted to existing systems of higher education at the national level and a form of implementation is also recognised at the level of the higher education institution. In universities, varied outcomes of quality assurance are based on interaction of organisational structures,…

Talent Development Environment and Workplace Adaptation: The Mediating Effects of Organisational Support

Science.gov (United States)

Kunasegaran, Mageswari; Ismail, Maimunah; Rasdi, Roziah Mohd; Ismail, Ismi Arif; Ramayah, T.

2016-01-01

Purpose: This study aims to examine the relationship between talent development environment (TDE) variables of job focus and long-term development with the workplace adaptation (WA) of Malaysian professional returnees as mediated by the organisational support. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 130 respondents who are Malaysian professional…

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Sport Emotion Questionnaire in organisational environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Rachel; Fletcher, David

2015-01-01

The Sport Emotion Questionnaire (SEQ) (Jones, M. V., Lane, A. M., Bray, S. R., Uphill, M., & Catlin, J. (2005). Development and validation of the SEQ. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 27, 407-431) was developed and initially validated to assess sport performers' pre-competitive emotions. The purpose of this study was to test the factor structure of the SEQ in a different environment (viz. organisational) and at a different time point (viz. the past month). A further aim was to examine if the SEQ was invariant across different groups of sport performers. A diverse sample of athletes (n = 1277) completed the questionnaire. Fit indices from confirmatory factor analyses provided partial support for the hypothesised measurement model, with equal or better fit demonstrated than evident in initial validation. The comparative fit index values were above acceptable guidelines for all factors at subscale level. Evidence was also found for the invariance of the SEQ across different groups. Overall, the findings support the reliability and validity of the SEQ as a measure of the emotions experienced by sport performers in an organisational environment during the past month.

The influence of leadership in the working environment, teamwork and organisational learning : a theoretical review

OpenAIRE

Lacedón Montemayor, Marta

2016-01-01

Treball Final de Grau en Administració d'Empreses. Codi: AE1049. Curs: 2015/2016 The objective of this paper is to examine the influence that leadership has on creating a good working environment, on work teams and on organisational learning, through a theoretical revision. For this, concepts are addressed related to leadership such as the leader's profile, the role he represents within an organisation, his functions and skills, which will help us understand the importance of ...

Organising to Enable Innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brink, Tove

2016-01-01

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to reveal how organising can enable innovation across organisational layers and organisational units. This approach calls for a cross-disciplinary literature review. The aim is to provide an integrated understanding of innovation in an organisational approach....... The findings reveal a continous organising process between individual/ team creativity and organisational structures/control to enable innovation at firm level. Organising provides a dynamic approach and contains the integrated reconstruction of creativity, structures and boundaries for enhanced balance...... of explorative and exploitative learning in uncertain environments. Shedding light on the cross-disciplinary theories to organise innovation provides a contribution at the firm level to enable innovation....

Organisational values and organisational commitment: do nurses' ethno-cultural differences matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Hendel, Tova; Kagan, Ilya

2014-05-01

To examine the association between perceived organisational values and organisational commitment among Israeli nurses in relation to their ethno-cultural background. Differences and the discrepancy between individuals' organisational values and those of their organisational culture are a potential source of adjustment difficulties. Organisational values are considered to be the bond of the individual to their organisation. In multicultural societies, such as Israel, the differences in perception of organisational values and organisational commitment may be reflected within workgroups. Data were collected using a questionnaire among 106 hospital nurses. About 59.8% of the sample were Israeli-born. A positive correlation was found between organisational values and organisational commitment. Significant differences were found in organisational values and organisational commitment between Israeli-born-, USSR-born- and Ethiopian-born nurses. The socio-demographic profile modified the effect of organisational values on organisational commitment: when the nurse was male, Muslim, religiously orthodox and without academic education, the effect of organisational values on organisational commitment was higher. Findings confirm the role of culture and ethnicity in the perception of organisational values and the level of organisational commitment among nurses. Assessing ethno-cultural differences in organisational values and organisational commitment provides a fuller understanding of nurses' ability to adjust to their work environment and helps nurse managers devise means to increase nurses' commitment. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Shared Governance in the Modern University

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Mark

2013-01-01

A governance model is developed in which university governance is shared between the academic and governing bodies and is coordinated by the university executive. Viewing the university as a professional service organisation, and noting the importance of developing a flexible culture within a shifting, marketised external environment, it is argued…

A conceptual synthesis of organisational transformation: How to diagnose, and navigate, pathways for sustainability at universities?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baker-Shelley, Alex; van Zeijl - Rozema, Annemarie; Martens, Pim

2017-01-01

Universities will play a profound role in a century in which society will be judged by its capacity for self-transformation in response to pandemic crises of climate change and capitalism. Frameworks of analysis of sustainability in organisations could benefit from tangible systemic rubrics for

Expatriate academics and perceptions of organisational support

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trembath, Jodie-Lee; Herbert-Hansen, Zaza Nadja Lee

2017-01-01

retention of its expatriate academics. By analysing qualitative responses to a written questionnaire, this paper explores the perceptions of organisational support held by 163 expatriate academics employed at a large international Danish university, and compares these perceptions to the support......Research on Perceived Organisational Support (POS) rarely focuses on the potential gap between employee perceptions versus the support the organisation purports to offer. An understanding of this may provide greater insight into the interventions a university should be making if it hopes to improve...... the university claims to offer. Our study reveals that, in the case of expatriate academics, even extensive offerings of organisational support can be insufficient if the existence and specific benefits of the support are not adequately communicated, and if the academics do not trust the source of the support...

Expatriate academics and perceptions of organisational support

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trembath, Jodie-Lee; Herbert-Hansen, Zaza Nadja Lee

2017-01-01

Research on Perceived Organisational Support (POS) rarely focuses on the potential gap between employee perceptions versus the support the organisation purports to offer. An understanding of this may provide greater insight into the interventions a university should be making if it hopes to improve...... retention of its expatriate academics. By analysing qualitative responses to a written questionnaire, this paper explores the perceptions of organisational support held by 163 expatriate academics employed at a large international Danish university, and compares these perceptions to the support...... the university claims to offer. Our study reveals that, in the case of expatriate academics, even extensive offerings of organisational support can be insufficient if the existence and specific benefits of the support are not adequately communicated, and if the academics do not trust the source of the support...

Quality of Higher Education: Organisational or Educational? A Content Analysis of Chinese University Self-Evaluation Reports

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Yihuan; Du, Xiangyun; Rasmussen, Palle

2012-01-01

Based on a study of Chinese university self-evaluation reports, this paper argues that higher education institutions are trying to manage the tensions between educational and organisational quality and the increasing and worldwide concerns about quality assurance. After 30 years of dramatic educational reform, China has established a nationwide…

The Effect of the Research Assessment Exercise on Organisational Culture in English Universities: Collegiality versus Managerialism

Science.gov (United States)

Yokoyama, Keiko

2006-01-01

The purpose of the study is to identify the effect of the research assessment exercise (RAE) on the balance between collegiality and managerialism in English universities. The article examines the institutional strategies for the 2001 RAE and its effect on organisational culture, identifying change in governance, management and leadership in…

Organisational Path-Dependence and Institutional Environment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M. Carney (Michael); E.R. Gedajlovic (Eric)

2001-01-01

textabstractThrough a case study of Chinese Family Business Groups (FBGs) in East Asia, this paper examines the relationship between the strategic behaviour exhibited by an organisational form and it's administrative heritage. To do so, we trace the origins of the strategic behaviour which scholars

Organisational commitment and turnover intentions: evidence from Nigerian paramilitary organisation

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Dotun Olaleye Faloye

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This study explores the empirical link between different dimensions of organizational commitment and turnover intentions on Nigeria paramilitary organisation. A literature review of organizational commitment and employee turnover provides the basis for the research hypotheses. Four research hypotheses were formulated and tested at 95% and 99% confidence level. The study adopted a survey research design. A self-administered questionnaire was used, involving 144 respondents from selected paramilitary organisation in Akure, Nigeria to collect data and testing the existing theory. Data collected were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. In contrary to theory, the study revealed a weak positive relationship between organizational commitment dimensions (affective, continuance and normative and turnover intentions. The relationships are statistically significant expect the one between turnover intention and normative commitment which is statistically insignificant. The study concluded that the commitment of an employee to organisational goals, missions, and values is not enough to predict his/her stay in the organisation. There are other variables apart from organisational commitment that are predictor of employees’ intentions to quit. Thus, organisations should look beyond forces in their internal environment, when considering reduction in employee’s turnover intentions and the actual employee’s turnover.

Organisational arrangement of human resources management in organisations operating in Slovakia and Czech Republic

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Zdenko Stacho

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A necessary condition of effective functioning of human resources management in an organisation is the creation of adequate organisational conditions including the existence of a human resources management department, its size, composition and responsibility, which are formed following particular conditions of the given organisation. Competitive environment of organisations operating in Slovakia and Czech Republic is growing with the process of world economy globalisation, and it brings the need of flexibility in management, and therefore we have to get used to changes also in the sphere of human resources management, and learn to cope with new impulses and situations. At present, that predominantly includes spreading effects of global financial and economic crisis, influencing all spheres of life in Slovakia and in Czech Republic too. Handling this situation presupposes flexibility in assessment of changes in environment where organisations operate, ability to detect all positive as well as negative impacts and situations, and formulation of measures to enhance their own position sensibly and cautiously. Due to the need of focusing of organisations on comprehensive arrangement of human resources management, in questionnaire researches, we focused on finding out whether and to what extent organisations operating in Slovakia (n = 340 and in Czech Republic (n = 109 focus on human resources management arrangement. The objective of the article is to compare results in the sphere of human resources in organisations operating in Slovak and Czech Republics. The results show that 67% organisations in Slovakia and only 43% in the Czech Republic had a human resources management department which realised followed human resources management functions and personnel strategy.

Feminine leadership and organisational culture

OpenAIRE

Paul Marinescu; Sorin George Toma; Andreea Seseanu

2014-01-01

People in general, leaders especially, are influenced by the organisational culture and the other way around. Organisational culture represents a determining factor regarding the display of leadership, since these two processes create each other, adding value and consistency to one another. Moreover, organisational culture can be created and developed in a fluctuant business environment, in which the external factors influence its progress. The development of society has incessantly been emph...

CONSTRUCTIVE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT SCHOOL-UNIVERSITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalya Petrovna Shatalova

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The article presents the results of the study the key components of the development of constructive thinking of students on the basis of model building constructive educational environment school-University. It was conducted from a position of constructive approach in education, as a process of systemic-structural methodology of cognitive and creative activity of the student, promotes development and formation of various constructive qualities of the individual. The functions of constructive educational environment school-University aimed at developing constructive thinking of students, defined by its structural components and connections, shows the consistency of self-development of constructive thinking and job satisfaction the development of constructive skills. The findings reveal innovative possibilities of cooperation of schools and universities in the design and functioning model of constructive educatio-nal space that contributes to the development of constructive thinking of all its stakeholders.Purpose: measuring the effectiveness of the model constructive educational environment school-University aimed at the development of students.Methodology: the Programme of research included: (1 diagnosis of the development level of constructive thinking on the questionnaire developed in the context of the constructive theory of education, (2 augmented and revised by the author the diagnosis of satisfaction and importance model of constructive educational environment school-University by the method of G.A. Gagarin, as well as theoretical modeling, method of involved observation, formal teaching method.Results. The article introduces the concept of «constructive learning environments», which are considered in relation to the organization and conduct of joint activities of teachers, teachers and students. The authors give a theoretical comparative analysis of scientific works of colleagues in the context of the problem. Offer a brief

Organisational culture as a socio-economic phenomenon in the context of the modern management paradigm

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Shubin Aleksandr A.

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The article studies cognitive component of the “organisational culture” category and marks our three groups of approaches to the aspect description of the studied category: aspects of the organisational culture formed by the control system; aspects of the organisational culture inherent in the controlled system; and universal aspects inherent in both control and controlled systems. The article provides the authors’ definition of the organisational culture as a complex element of the internal environment of the organisation that has certain phenomenological properties (synergy, dynamics, uniqueness, adaptability, mentality, hierarchy, aggregation, communicativeness and sociality; integrating spiritual, material, static and procedural elements with the aim of formation of a single management philosophy for ensuring external adaptation and efficient functioning of an enterprise. The article establishes the role and place of the organisational culture as a socio-economic phenomenon in the context of the modern management paradigm through specification of prerequisites of formation and development of the neo-classical concept of the organisational culture; features of the modern management paradigm; phenomenological properties of the culture; factors of influence upon the organisational culture and tendencies of development of the phenomenon of the national organisational culture.

The Knowledge Circulated-Organisational Management for Accomplishing E-Learning

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Toshio Okamoto

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, e-Learning has been used in many kinds of educational institutes as a regular learning/teaching system. In the real practices, Educational knowledge management among the relevant organizations is quite important. This means “knowledge in universities circulated-systematic process” of finding, selecting, organising, distilling and presenting information in a way that improves a learner‟s competency and/or ability to fulfil his or her necessary learning objectives. In order to construct such educational management systems, the fundamental processing modules are required, such as a distributed file system, synchronous data communications, etc. If any applications and tools related to e-Learning can be plugged into the core framework, we can build an integrated e-Learning environment where learners/teachers can share/operate this software/data in real time. Universities also have many organisations to perform educational activities and researches. In order to operate and manage an e-Learning system, the information/knowledge occurring in each of organisations must be connected seamlessly and integrated under the standardised data format and the procedure of job-processing. In this paper, we mention the conceptual framework of Knowledge Circulated-Organizational Management according to our experiences of UEC-GP project. Moreover, we introduce how to construct & analyze the content-frames of e-Learning as technological knowledge on Instructional Design.

Learning organisations

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Sabina Jelenc Krašovec

2000-12-01

Full Text Available A vast array of economical, social, political, cultural and other factors influences the transformed role of learning and education in the society, as well as the functioning of local community and its social and communication patterns. The influences which are manifested as global problems can only be successfully solved on the level of local community. Analogously with the society in general, there is a great need of transforming a local community into a learning, flexible and interconnected environment which takes into account different interests, wishes and needs regarding learning and being active. The fundamental answer to changes is the strategy of lifelong learning and education which requires reorganisation of all walks of life (work, free time, family, mass media, culture, sport, education and transforming of organisations into learning organisations. With learning society based on networks of knowledge individuals are turning into learning individuals, and organisations into learning organisations; people who learn take the responsibility of their progress, learning denotes partnership among learning people, teachers, parents, employers and local community, so that they work together to achieve better results.

Factors affecting performance and productivity of nurses: professional attitude, organisational justice, organisational culture and mobbing.

Science.gov (United States)

Terzioglu, Fusun; Temel, Safiye; Uslu Sahan, Fatma

2016-09-01

To identify relationships among variables affecting nurses' performance and productivity, namely professional attitudes, organisational culture, organisational justice and exposure to mobbing. The determination of the factors affecting performance and productivity is important for providing efficient nursing services. These factors have been investigated in the literature independently, but the relationship among them has not been clearly identified. This cross-sectional questionnaire study included 772 nurses working in a University Hospital accredited by Joint Commission International. The professional attitude score of the nurses was high (4.35 ± 0.63). However, their organisational justice (2.22 ± 1.26) and organisational culture (2.47 ± 0.71) scores were low. Nurses were subjected to mobbing at a high level (0.82 ± 0.78). As the organisational justice increased, the organisational culture increased and the mobbing decreased. As the organisation culture decreased, the mobbing increased. There was a positive correlation between organisation culture and organisational justice of the nurses and a negative correlation with mobbing. The results of the study are essential for improving nurses' performance and productivity. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

An Analysis of Organisational Commitment by Academic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The aim of this study was to investigate organisational commitment in the era of the new psychological contract, or the psychological environment created by an economic down turn in Zimbabwe. The psychological contract that exists between employees and organisations is brittle due to many organisational changes ...

Researching enterprises between organisation and organising

OpenAIRE

Elkjær, Bente; Brandi, Ulrik

2010-01-01

RESEARCHING ENTERPRISES BETWEEN ORGANISATION AND ORGANISINGUlrik Brandi & Bente Elkjaer, Department of Learning, University of Aarhus, Danish School of Education, Tuborgvej 164, 2400 Copenhagen NV, DenmarkShort paper submission to the 26th European Group of Organization Studies Colloquium, Waves of Globalization: Repetition and difference in organizing over time and space. June 30 - July 3 2010, Lisbon, Portugal.Sub-theme 16:  Investigating Organization as Becoming in a World on the Move ...

Experience-Oriented Knowledge Organisation for the Transference of Scientific Knowledge from Universities to SMEs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lykke, Marianne; Løkkegaard, Sarai; Jantzen, Christian

2018-01-01

registered in an university research information management system. The analysis focuses on how to meet the characteristics of SMEs in the design and organisation of the subject terms in the navigation and searching system and in the presentation of the scientific knowledge. The design suggestions are based......Transferring scientific knowledge between universities and industry is known to be problematic, specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have limited resources and absorption capacity. A variety of channels is used for knowledge transfer. These include what is commonly...... referred to as generic pathways (e.g. scientific publications) and relational pathways (e.g. faculty consulting). The purpose of this research is to extend our knowledge about the design of knowledge organization for a generic pathway interface providing access to scientific knowledge and publications...

Robustness of self-organised systems to changes in behaviour: an example from real and simulated self-organised snail aggregations.

Science.gov (United States)

Stafford, Richard; Williams, Gray A; Davies, Mark S

2011-01-01

Group or population level self-organised systems comprise many individuals displaying group-level emergent properties. Current theory indicates that individual-level behaviours have an effect on the final group-level behaviour; that is, self-organised systems are sensitive to small changes in individual behaviour. Here we examine a self-organised behaviour in relation to environmentally-driven individual-level changes in behaviour, using both natural systems and computer simulations. We demonstrate that aggregations of intertidal snails slightly decrease in size when, owing to hotter and more desiccating conditions, individuals forage for shorter periods--a seemingly non-adaptive behaviour for the snails since aggregation reduces desiccation stress. This decrease, however, only occurs in simple experimental systems (and simulations of these systems). When studied in their natural and more complex environment, and simulations of such an environment, using the same reduced foraging time, no difference in aggregation behaviour was found between hot and cool days. These results give an indication of how robust self-organised systems are to changes in individual-level behaviour. The complexity of the natural environment and the interactions of individuals with this environment, therefore, can result in self-organised systems being more resilient to individual-level changes than previously assumed.

Revenue Generation and Organisational Change in Higher Education: Insights from Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Eastman, Julia Antonia

2006-01-01

This paper reports on a study of four major Canadian universities' strategies for generating revenue in the face of prolonged cutbacks. The universities are placed on a continuum of higher education funding, institutional types and organisational attributes. The study produced new hypotheses about how universities' organisational attributes change…

Organisational support, organisational identification and organisational citizenship behaviour among male nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Sheng-Hwang; Yu, Hsing-Yi; Hsu, Hsiu-Yueh; Lin, Fang-Chen; Lou, Jiunn-Horng

2013-11-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between organisational support, organisational identification, and organisational citizenship behaviour and the predictors of organisational citizenship behaviour in Taiwanese male nurses. The turnover rate among male nurses is twice that of female nurses. Organisational citizenship behaviour is the predictor of turnover intention. Little information is available on the relationship between organisational support, organisational identification and organisational citizenship behaviour, particularly for male nurses. Data were collected in 2010 from a questionnaire mailed to 167 male nurses in Taiwan. A cross-sectional survey with simple sampling was used in this study. The results showed that organisational identification and organisational support were correlated with organisational citizenship behaviour. Organisational distinctiveness, organisational support of work conditions and the type of organisation were the main predictors of organisational citizenship behaviour. Together they accounted for 40.7% of the total variation in organisational citizenship behaviour. Organisational distinctiveness was the most critical predictor, accounting for 29.6% of the variation. Organisational support and organisational identification have positive relationships with organisational behaviour. Organisational distinctiveness is an important factor in explaining organisational citizenship behaviour in male nurses. This finding provides concrete directions for managers to follow when providing organisational identification, in particular, the organisational distinctiveness will help male nurses to display increasingly more organisational citizenship behaviour. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Study of the Relationship between Institutional Policy, Organisational culture and E-Learning Use in Four South African Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Czerniewicz, Laura; Brown, Cheryl

2009-01-01

This article investigates the relationship between policy (conceptualised as goals, values and resources), organisational culture and e-learning use. Through both qualitative and quantitative research methods, we gathered data about staff and student perspectives from four diverse South African universities representing a selection of ICT in…

Strategic Renewal in Regulatory Environments. How inter- and intra-organisational institutional forces influence European incumbent energy firms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stienstra, M.

2008-01-01

How do incumbent firms strategically renew in regulatory environments? Assuming that regulation can both constrain and enable a firm's strategic renewal opportunities, we investigate how and to what extent incumbent firms undertake exploitative and explorative strategic renewal actions in order to remain competitive. Exploitative strategic renewal involves those actions that strengthen or optimise a firm's current resource deployments, whereas explorative strategic renewal relates to actions that generate new sources of value creation for the firm. Based on old institutional theory, new institutional theory, neo-institutional theory and institutional entrepreneurship literature, a multi-level framework that combines selection and adaptation arguments has been developed and applied to investigate strategic renewal behaviour of a sample of European energy incumbents. At industry level of analysis, results show how inter-organisational institutional forces significantly impact firms' choices of exploitative and explorative strategic renewal actions through regulative, normative and cognitive forces. At organisational unit level of analysis, we find that the extent of intra-organisational regulative forces is positively related to exploitative strategic renewal actions. In addition, entrepreneurial proclivity appears to be a catalyst of both exploitative and explorative strategic renewal actions. Finally, our results provide insights how environmental selection and firm level adaptation are interrelated in the context of regulation. The extent of inter-organisational regulative forces positively moderates the relationship between intra-organisational regulative forces and exploitative strategic renewal actions.

Managing youe organisation's ethical climate | Ike | LBS ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article explains how the level of ethical practice in an organisation can be influenced by the core values of the organisation and its internal and external environment. The argues that to ensure high ethical standards in an organisation, it is important to clarify and reinforce core values, and to ensure that the ...

A Multiple Source Approach to Organisational Justice: The Role of the Organisation, Supervisors, Coworkers, and Customers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agustin Molina

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The vast research on organisational justice has focused on the organisation and the supervisor. This study aims to further this line of research by integrating two trends within organisational justice research: the overall approach to justice perceptions and the multifoci perspective of justice judgments. Specifically, this study aims to explore the effects of two additional sources of justice, coworker-focused justice and customer-focused justice, on relevant employees’ outcomes—burnout, turnover intentions, job satisfaction, and workplace deviance— while controlling the effect of organisation-focused justice and supervisor-focused justice. Given the increased importance attributed to coworkers and customers, we expect coworker-focused justice and customer-focused justice to explain incremental variance in the measured outcomes, above and beyond the effects of organisation-focused justice and supervisor-focused justice. Participants will be university students from Austria and Germany employed by service organisations. Data analysis will be conducted using structural equation modeling.

Requisite leader behavioural competencies for sustainable organisational performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schalk W. Grobler

2016-08-01

Contribution: Organisations can benefit from an insight into understanding how the identified requisite leader behavioural competencies possibly can impact organisational performance in their respective environments.

The relationships among business strategies, organisational performance and organisational culture in the tourism industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mong-Mei Lin

2013-12-01

Full Text Available As societies develop, the tourism industry has become one of the most powerful and largest industries in the global economy. The industrial status and economic function of the tourism industry have increased in the economic development of cities. The tourism industry has helped to drive the city economy, create employment, and facilitate culture and the environment The tourism industry, as one of the supporting industries for economic development in China, presents diverse services that are not only competitive within the industry, but could also increase national consumption. In addition to the professional service items and quality, the adjustment of business strategies aimed at the changeable environment are considered as key success factors in the tourism industry. This study analyzes the effect of business strategies on organisational performance in the tourism industry. Owners, managers, and employees from the top ten travel agencies in Taiwan were selected as the research subjects and a total of 600 questionnaires were distributed. Within the retrieved 438 surveys, 43 were incomplete and removed to yield a total of 395 valid questionnaires. Within the empirical analyses business strategies appear to have significant positive correlations with job satisfaction, organisational objective and job performance in organisational performance. Moreover, organisational culture presents a partially moderating effect for the relations between business strategies and organisational performance.

Strategic Renewal in Regulatory Environments. How inter- and intra-organisational institutional forces influence European incumbent energy firms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stienstra, M.

2008-11-20

How do incumbent firms strategically renew in regulatory environments? Assuming that regulation can both constrain and enable a firm's strategic renewal opportunities, we investigate how and to what extent incumbent firms undertake exploitative and explorative strategic renewal actions in order to remain competitive. Exploitative strategic renewal involves those actions that strengthen or optimise a firm's current resource deployments, whereas explorative strategic renewal relates to actions that generate new sources of value creation for the firm. Based on old institutional theory, new institutional theory, neo-institutional theory and institutional entrepreneurship literature, a multi-level framework that combines selection and adaptation arguments has been developed and applied to investigate strategic renewal behaviour of a sample of European energy incumbents. At industry level of analysis, results show how inter-organisational institutional forces significantly impact firms' choices of exploitative and explorative strategic renewal actions through regulative, normative and cognitive forces. At organisational unit level of analysis, we find that the extent of intra-organisational regulative forces is positively related to exploitative strategic renewal actions. In addition, entrepreneurial proclivity appears to be a catalyst of both exploitative and explorative strategic renewal actions. Finally, our results provide insights how environmental selection and firm level adaptation are interrelated in the context of regulation. The extent of inter-organisational regulative forces positively moderates the relationship between intra-organisational regulative forces and exploitative strategic renewal actions.

Learning from disasters. Understanding the Cultural and Organisational Precursors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, Richard

2012-01-01

Professor Richard Taylor, from the University of Bristol, gave a presentation on the causes and potential ways of reducing the risk of Organisational Accidents. The presentation described a research study that was conducted to analyse and identify lessons from 12 major events in the nuclear and other sectors. The study was funded by ONR and BNFL. Although the events occurred in different sectors and circumstances, the analysis identified many common issues. The findings from the analysis were grouped into the following eight themes: leadership issues, operational attitudes and behaviours, business environment, competence, risk assessment and management, oversight and scrutiny, organisational learning and external regulation. Examples of issues identified under each of the themes are provided in Appendix 2. The presentation discussed learning for regulatory bodies from the events studied. This includes the need for regulators to move beyond technical/procedural issues to thinking about leadership commitment, business pressures and the underlying culture of the organisations they regulate. Regulators should take an 'overview' and actively explore organisational causes of problems rather than focusing on the symptoms. The analysis of events also revealed that regulators sometimes picked up emerging issues but did not act. This highlights the importance of good internal communication and discussion of issues within the regulatory body. The findings from the study have been used to develop expectations/objectives for good performance and develop a draft set of questions that regulators could use to assess vulnerability. Further work with industry and regulatory bodies is planned to encourage a better understanding of the organisational issues identified, improve cross industry sector learning, and develop new tools to reduce vulnerability to organisational accidents

Psychological empowerment, job satisfaction, organisational commitment and job insecurity in divisions of a packaging organisation / Mamorena Margaret Moeletsi

OpenAIRE

Moeletsi, Mamorena Margaret

2003-01-01

Many organisations globally are in a quest to produce better products (in terms of quality), faster (in terms of time frame) and at less cost. This in turn creates a competitive environment. This competitive environment is characterised by deregulation and converging markets, complex customer needs, corporate restructuring and damsizing. In their quest to achieve their goals, the organisations need to put more emphasis on their employees. They need to recognise that to be winners in this comp...

Introducing organisational heritage: Linking corporate heritage, organisational identity, and organisational memory

OpenAIRE

Balmer, JMT; Burghausen, M

2015-01-01

In this article we formally introduce and explicate the organisational heritage notion. The authors conclude organisational heritage can be designated in three broad ways as: (1) organisational heritage identity as the perceived and reminisced omni-temporal traits – both formal/normative and utilitarian/societal – of organisational members’ work organisation; (2) organisational heritage identification as organisational members’ identification/self-categorisation vis-à-vis these perceived and ...

Measuring health care workers' perceptions of what constitutes a compassionate organisation culture and working environment: Findings from a quantitative feasibility survey.

Science.gov (United States)

McSherry, Robert; Pearce, Paddy

2018-03-01

Health care organisation cultures and working environments are highly complex, dynamic and constantly evolving settings. They significantly influence both the delivery and outcomes of care. Phase 1 quantitative findings are presented from a larger three phase feasibility study designed to develop and test a Cultural Health Check toolkit to support health care workers, patients and organisations in the provision of safe, compassionate and dignified care. A mixed methods approach was applied. The Cultural Health Check Healthcare Workers Questionnaire was distributed across two National Health Service Hospitals in England, UK. Both hospitals allocated two wards comprising of older people and surgical specialities. The newly devised Cultural Health Check Staff Rating Scale Version 1 questionnaire was distributed to 223 health care workers. Ninety eight responses were returned giving a response rate of 44%. The Cultural Health Check Staff Rating Scale Version 1 has a significant Cronbach alpha of .775; this reliability scaling is reflected in all 16 items in the scale. Exploratory factor analysis identified two significant factors "Professional Practice and Support" and "Workforce and Service Delivery." These factors according to health care workers significantly impact on the organisation culture and quality of care delivered by staff. The Cultural Health Check Staff Rating Scale Version 1 questionnaire is a newly validated measurement tool that could be used and applied to gauge health care workers perceptions of an organisations level of compassion. Historically we have focused on identifying how caring and compassionate nurses, doctors and related allied health professionals are. This turns the attention on employers of nurses and other related organisations. The questionnaire can be used to gauge the level of compassion with a health care organisation culture and working environment. Nurse managers and leaders should focus attention regarding how these two factors

Communication technologies in the study environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thorhauge, Anne Mette

2012-01-01

will argue that the ways in which these technologies are used reflects two different perspectives on the interplay between communication technology and organisational structure: organisational structure as an anticipation of communication patterns implied in course management system’s design......In this article, I will analyse and discuss two qualitative case studies concerning ICT in the study environment at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. I will place special focus on the way in which organisational perspectives as well as technological affordances shape how communication...... technologies are integrated into organisational structures and practices on campus. This involves a comparison between course management systems on the one hand and students’ personal media (mobile phones, e-mails) on the other hand, with regard to how these are used on campus. On the basis of this analysis, I...

Assembling university learning technologies for an open world

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hannon, John; Riddle, Matthew; Ryberg, Thomas

2014-01-01

This paper considers the emergence of social media in university teaching and learning and the capacity or universities as complex organisations with disparate interacting parts to respond to the shift of pedagogies and practices to open networks. Institutional learning technology environments...... reflect a legacy of prescriptive, hierarchical arrangements associated with enterprise systems, and are a poor fit with the heterarchical and self-organised potential for learning associated with social media and open education practices. In this paper we focus on the tensions that arise from...... the juxtaposition of these two orientations to learning technologies, and focus on how an emerging online sociality can destabilise established boundaries of learning and connect to other domains of practice...

Supra-National Organisations and Conflict Resolution during the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Supra-National Organisations and Conflict Resolution during the Nigeria Civil War: ... or part of the non-state actors that impinge on the international environment. ... the importance or roles of Supra-national organisations in conflict resolution ...

Organisational culture: why is it important?

Science.gov (United States)

Scammell, Janet

2018-03-08

Janet Scammell, Associate Professor (Nursing), Bournemouth University, considers what organisational culture is, and how it can affect the student experience and, ultimately, the quality of care provision.

Cloud Computing Adoption in Organisations: Review of Empirical Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hassan Haslinda

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study reviews literature on cloud computing adoption in organisations to identify its influential factors and its operationalisation in prior literature. We classify the factors that influence the cloud computing adoption using the three contexts suggested by the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE framework, namely, technology, organisation, and environment. The finding suggests that the influences of these factors vary across studies and most of the studies have operationalised cloud computing adoption using intention to adopt cloud computing or binary variable, rather than the actual use of the technology.

An Analysis of University Students' Attitudes towards Personalized Learning Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Sahin, Muhittin; Kisla, Tarik

2016-01-01

The aim of this research is to analyze university students' attitudes towards personalized learning environments with respect to the independent variables of gender, age, university, year of study, knowledge about the environment, participation in the environment and being willing to participate in the environment. The correlative survey model is…

Measuring Organisational Capabilities in the Higher Education Sector

Science.gov (United States)

Bobe, Belete J.; Kober, Ralph

2015-01-01

Purpose: Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV), the purpose of this paper is to develop a framework and instrument to measure the organisational capabilities of university schools/departments. In doing so, this study provides evidence of the way competitive resources are bundled to generate organisational capabilities that give university…

Evaluation of organisational culture and nurse burnout.

Science.gov (United States)

Watts, Jenny; Robertson, Noelle; Winter, Rachel; Leeson, David

2013-10-01

A survey of nurses working with older adults across three NHS trusts was conducted to explore how perceptions of the workplace affect nurse wellbeing. Standardised validated measures were used to assess burnout, perceived organisational support and organisational culture. Significant associations were found between innovative organisational culture and nurses' sense of personal accomplishment, which reduce the likelihood of burnout. Multiple regression showed experience of burnout to be predicted by the nature of organisational culture. It seems therefore that nurses' wellbeing may be affected by their perceptions of the working environment. Applications of this knowledge and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Students' Perceptions on Intrapreneurship Education--Prerequisites for Learning Organisations

Science.gov (United States)

Kansikas, Juha; Murphy, Linda

2010-01-01

The aim of this qualitative study is to understand the prerequisites for learning organisations (LO) as perceived by university students. Intrapreneurship education offers possibilities to increase student's adaptation of learning organisation's climate and behaviour. By analysing students' perceptions, more information about learning organisation…

The conceptual map for university effectiveness | Nkata | Makerere ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A model by Mintzberg (1979) and DeLeeuw (1986) is adopted to demonstrate interrelationship of the five basic elements of effectives – goals, organisational culture, structure, environment, and primary processes. Theoretical orientation that underpin the concept of university effectiveness are discussed under the themes of ...

Open Education: Strategic and organisational challenges

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stracke, Christian M.

2017-01-01

Open Education: Strategic and organisational challenges. Presentation at Open Education Week, Welten Institute, Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, The Netherlands. Held by Stracke, C. M. (2016, 11 March).

Clinical nurses' attitudes towards research, management and organisational resources in a university hospital: part 1.

Science.gov (United States)

Akerjordet, Kristin; Lode, Kirsten; Severinsson, Elisabeth

2012-09-01

The aim of this study was to determine clinical nurses' interest in and motivation for research. An additional aim was to identify management and organisational resources in order to improve nurses' research capacity in practice. Clinical nurses find conducting research challenging, which accords with observations of the continuing research-practice gap. This descriptive cross-sectional survey sampled 364 clinical nurses from a university hospital on the west coast of Norway. The response rate was 61%. An increasingly positive attitude towards research emerged (40%), despite the fact that few were engaged in research-based activities. Clinical nurses emphasised that lack of designated time (60%), interest (31%) and knowledge (31%) constituted important research barriers, as did lack of research supervision and support (25%). Research supervision was one of the most significant needs to enhance clinical nurses' research skills, management and organisation of research activities (30%). Conscious efforts strategically built on clinical and academic collaborative networks are required to promote and sustain clinical nurses' research capacity. The findings of this survey should be useful in the building of clinical nurses' research capacity. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Role and Status of Quality Managers in Organisation of the Future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vinko Bogataj

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Research question (RQ: What is discrepancy between status and role of quality managers in the Slovenian organisations now and what will be role and status of quality managers of the future? Aim: The aim of this paper is to show divergence between current and expected future status and role of quality managers (QM. Methods: Within the research of characteristics of quality management system (QMS in the Slovenian organisations a survey among the QM and the directors was conducted as well as the correlation analysis between the role of the QM and the results achieved by the organisations. Results: It was shown that »the advisor to the management« is the only role of the QM that has a significant positive correlation with the results achieved by the organisation. Organisation: The results of this research enable management to take appropriate steps in organisational development and integration of all projects on organisational changes leading to a common and comprehensive long-term concept. Society/Environment: The research offers some answers to the expected influence of changes in the environment on the future organisation of QMS. Originality: This research represents the first example of research of status and role of QM in the Slovenian organisations. Limitations / further research: This research project is limited to the Slovenian organisations with a certified QMS. In future, similar surveys could also be spread to other social environments such as Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.

Strategic Orientation and Organisational Culture in Polish Public Organisations: Insights from the Miles and Snow Typology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wronka-Pośpiech Martyna

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Polish public organisations are often perceived as having strong bureaucratic orientation, avoiding both change and risk. However, in the last decade a distinct change in the management model of public organisations can be noticed. Public sector becomes an open ground for mergers and partnerships, entrepreneurial leadership, diversified services and commercialization (Golensky and DeRuiter 1999; Zimmerman and Dart, 1998; Pollitt and Bouckaert, 2004; Walker, 2013]. Public organisations embrace these strategies from the for-profit sector in order to manage change and to be effective. Most importantly, public organisations are adopting these frameworks in order to survive the changing operating environment, including changes in the level of government funding. Our paper draws on the Miles and Snow (1978 typology of generic strategies - prospectors, defenders, analysers, and reactors - to identify different organisational strategies within public organisations providing social services in Poland. In order to assess organisational culture we used the most widespread and used in many empirical studies Cameron and Quinn’s model (2003, the Competing Values Framework (CVF, from which four cultures - adhocracy, clan, market and hierarchy - emerge. The choice of these two providers of social services was dictated by our conviction, that these organisations are critical both for the national economy and for mitigating, counteracting and preventing social exclusion.

Management of Adult Education Organisations in Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Nafukho, Fredrick Muyia; Wawire, Nelson H. W.; Lam, Penina Mungania

2011-01-01

Adult education is now considered a mainstream academic discipline in several African countries, and its importance in today's knowledge and "ideas" economies is growing steadily. It is provided by organisations such as public universities, training colleges, corporate universities and employers. The successful operation of educational…

The relationship between organisational climate and employee satisfaction in a South African information and technology organisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monia L. Castro

2010-05-01

Research purpose: The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between organisational climate and job satisfaction to determine whether employees’ perceptions of the work environment influence their level of job satisfaction. Motivation for the study: Organisations are facing more challenges than ever before. These challenges are not unique to any specific organisation or industry, but affect all organisations.Organisational climate in particular is constantly challenged by changes impacting organisations today. Research design, approach and method: An organisational climate questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 696 employees from a population of 1453 employees working in three regions in which the organisation was operational. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were used to investigate the structure of the climate model. Main findings: The revised 12-factor model (after the confirmatory factor analysis fitted the data best and the researchers therefore decided to proceed with the revised 12-factor model (11 dimensions for further analysis. A stepwise regression was conducted and nine dimensions of organisational climate were found to predict job satisfaction. The results indicated a strong positive correlation (r = 0.813, p< 0.01 between organisational climate and the dependent variable of job satisfaction. Practical implications: This study provided support for the view that line managers and human resource practitioners should be aware that different biographical groups have different needs that can influence their job satisfaction levels and different perceptions of the climate within the organisation and that this impacts on their behaviour. Contribution: The findings of this study indicated a positive relationship between organisational climate scores and job satisfaction scores and thus, regardless of how the dimensions are perceived, organisational climate has an influence on job satisfaction.

Securing MDSplus in a multi-organisation environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castro, R., E-mail: rodrigo.castro@ciemat.e [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusion, Avda. Complutense, 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Vega, J. [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusion, Avda. Complutense, 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Fredian, T. [MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, NW17-268, 175 Albany Street, Cambridge, MA 02494 (United States); Purahoo, K. [EURATOM/UKAEA Fusion Association, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Pereira, A.; Portas, A. [Asociacion EURATOM/CIEMAT para Fusion, Avda. Complutense, 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

2010-07-15

MDSplus has become the de facto standard data access method in the fusion community. Based on this, it was a priority for EFDA Federation to integrate this technology as a new service for federated users, providing secure access mechanisms to MDSplus compatible applications. To achieve this, it has been necessary to upgrade MDSplus and make it compatible with PAPI technology, which is currently used as security infrastructure in the EFDA Federation. Additionally, the included modifications are useful for future integrations in other federation technologies such as Shibboleth . The integration of MDSplus into a federated structure has several benefits. From the service management point of view, there is a simplification of the installation of new MDSplus services in fusion community and its corresponding security management. From the user point of view, the integration of MDSplus into a federated structure has several advantages. The first one is user mobility, which is the possibility of accessing data independently of his client IP address. The second one is a multi-organisation infrastructure, so the user can access data from different organisations that implement MDSplus interface. Finally, single sign on PAPI feature enables users to access to different MDSplus data sources, and other federated services, with just one authentication.

The liberal arts and nursing programme at the University of Maine, 1939-1956. A study of leadership behaviours and organisational structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Hart, V

2001-01-01

The trend for nursing programmes affiliated with universities in the US began in 1909 but did not gain momentum until the 1960s with the demise of hospital schools of nursing. During the period of time covered in this study, beginning in the 1930s, a hybrid of the present day university-based nursing programme began to appear. These 'cooperative' programmes often sandwiched traditional hospital experience between years of university course work and involved a five-year commitment on the part of students. In 1939 a liberal arts and nursing programme was established at the University of Maine. It continued to operate until 1956 and then ceased to exist. In this descriptive historical study the author investigates why this particular programme was initiated, of what it consisted, and why it had failed. Primary sources accessed included original correspondence, curriculum descriptions, faculty and students reports, and administrative policies. Leadership and organisational behaviour theory was utilised as well as identification of the historical nursing backdrop. Oral history was also utilised for the purpose of verification of written data. Analysis of the data suggests implications for nursing educators and administrators, as well as telling a story of the power of nursing when viewed in the context of constituency groups in a sociopolitical model of organisations. This paper was first presented at the History of Nursing Millennium Conference in Edinburgh in July 2000.

Good Practices Preceding the Implementation of the System of Management of Environment, on Small and Medium Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anca Atanase

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The current and future economic context compel to ample reconsiderations related to the volume and content of the demarches carried out by organisations, in order to face the competition sharper and sharper and the more and more numerous rigors, among which the issue of environment is more than imperative. The good practices in environment management become more and more necessary and, fortunately, are supplied more and more often by organisations in SMEs category, which encounter highly valuable solutions in this context charged with convictions. This work features an exemplary performance of a small organisation that managed to settle an informal system of management of environment, built up with much rigour, involvement, respect for society and environment. The objectives of authors consist in offering good practices to business environment, from SMEs category, means of approaching in the analysis of environment practices and emphasizing the imperatives in this area of action, for organisations. The method of research included the consulting of some lists of specialised works, documentary study in the sites of the organisations from SMEs category and of the organisations in the field, adopting some established models of analysis (FMEA - Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, singularised application of method to the data concerning an organisation from German space. The results of authors’ demarche were materialised in both theoretical and practical considerations, presumptively useful for the specialists in the field of environment management, university environment and business environment.

Managing hospital doctors and their practice: what can we learn about human resource management from non-healthcare organisations?

Science.gov (United States)

Trebble, Timothy M; Heyworth, Nicola; Clarke, Nicholas; Powell, Timothy; Hockey, Peter M

2014-11-21

Improved management of clinicians' time and practice is advocated to address increasing demands on healthcare provision in the UK National Health Service (NHS). Human resource management (HRM) is associated with improvements in organisational performance and outcomes within and outside of healthcare, but with limited use in managing individual clinicians. This may reflect the absence of effective and transferrable models. The current systems of managing the performance of individual clinicians in a secondary healthcare organisation were reviewed through the study of practice in 10 successful partnership organisations, including knowledge worker predominant, within commercial, public and voluntary sector operating environments. Reciprocal visits to the secondary healthcare environment were undertaken. Six themes in performance related HRM were identified across the external organisations representing best practice and considered transferrable to managing clinicians in secondary care organisations. These included: performance measurement through defined outcomes at the team level with decision making through local data interpretation; performance improvement through empowered formal leadership with organisational support; individual performance review (IPR); and reward, recognition and talent management. The role of the executive was considered essential to support and implement effective HRM, with management of staff performance, behaviour and development integrated into organisational strategy, including through the use of universally applied values and effective communication. These approaches reflected many of the key aspects of high performance work systems and strategic HRM. There is the potential to develop systems of HRM of individual clinicians in secondary healthcare to improve practice. This should include both performance measurement and performance improvement but also engagement at an organisational level. This suggests that effective HRM and

The Corporate University's Role in Managing an Epoch in Learning Organisation Innovation

Science.gov (United States)

Dealtry, Richard

2006-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to set the scene for some radical epochal thinking about the approach and future strategic directions in the management of organisational learning, following the author's earlier editorial theme concerning the need for exploration and innovation in organisational learning management.…

Hospital transformation and organisational learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, W

1999-12-01

Kwong Wah Hospital was founded by the charity organisation Tung Wah Group of Hospitals some 88 years ago, with management transfer to the Hong Kong Hospital Authority in 1991. Capitalizing both from the traditional caring culture of its founder, as well as opportunities in the new management environment, the hospital has scored remarkable successes in service quality, community partnership, organisational effectiveness, and staff development. Underpinning these transformations were Structure, Process, People, and Culture strategies. The learning imperative is heavily mandated or the success of each of these strands of development. Indeed, the embodiment of a learning organisation culture provides the impetus in sustaining the change momentum, towards achieving the Vision of becoming a 'Most Preferred Hospital' in Hong Kong.

Strategic Management and its impact on university’s Service Quality: The role of Organisational Commitment

OpenAIRE

Albadry, Omaima Munawar

2016-01-01

The higher education sector in developing countries is currently facing several challenges generated by a dynamic environment and characterised by rapid technological change and increased demand. This thesis aims to examine the direct and indirect associations between the components of the strategic management, as well as its impact on service quality of university institutions within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Additionally, this thesis tests a mediation effect regarding organisational comm...

Investigating Organisational Innovativeness : Developing a Multidimensional Formative Measure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pallas, Florian; Böckermann, Florian; Goetz, Oliver; Tecklenburg, Kirstin

2013-01-01

To survive competition, it is vital for firms to be innovative. As a firm's cultural predisposition, organisational innovativeness provides an environment that fosters innovations and thus actively supports new product or service development. The purpose of this study is to measure organisational

Institutional Level Student Engagement and Organisational Cultures

Science.gov (United States)

van der Velden, Gwen

2012-01-01

Driven by the growing presence of market forces within higher education worldwide, universities are changing the way they engage with students. This article explores how a university's internal culture relates to engagement with students and their views. It builds on wider research into student engagement and organisational cultures. The…

Organisational IT managed from the shop floor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bolmsten, Johan; Dittrich, Yvonne

2015-01-01

Modern organisations need to be able to adjust to changes in the environment, changes which are ever more rapid, and in doing so capitalise on the creativity and innovations of their employees. As suggested by Boulus-Rødje and Bjørn (Chap. 14), information technology (IT) applications today...... are likely to take the form of complex, integrated infrastructures, supporting collaboration within and across organisations. This places requirements on the IT infrastructure. As the work practices within an organisation change, the supporting infrastructure also needs to evolve....

University Presentation to Potential Students Using Web 2.0 Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrius Eidimtas

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Choosing what to study for school graduates is a compound and multi-stage process (Chapman, 1981; Hossler et al., 1999; Brennan, 2001; Shankle, 2009. In the information retrieval stage, future students have to gather and assimilate actual information, form a list of possible higher education institutions. Nowadays modern internet technologies enable universities to create conditions for attractive and interactive information retrieval. Userfriendliness and accessibility of Web 2.0-based environments attract more young people to search for information in the web. Western universities have noticed a great potential of Web 2.0 in information dissemination back in 2007. Meanwhile, Lithuanian universities began using Web 2.0 to assemble virtual communities only in 2010 (Valinevičienė, 2010. Purpose—to disclose possibilities to present universities to school graduates in Web 2.0 environments. Design/methodology/approach—strategies of a case study by using methods of scientific literature analysis, observation and quantitative content analysis. Findings—referring to the information retrieval types and particularity of information retrieval by school graduates disclosed in the analysis of scientific literature, it has been identified that 76 per cent of Lithuanian universities apply at least one website created on the basis of Web 2.0 technology for their official presentation. The variety of Web 2.0 being used distributes only from 1 to 6 different tools, while in scientific literature more possibilities to apply Web 2.0 environments can be found. Research limitations/implications—the empiric part of the case study has been contextualized for Lithuania; however, the theoretic construct of possibilities to present universities in Web 2.0 environments can be used for the analysis presentation of foreign universities in Web 2.0 environments. Practical implications—the work can become the recommendation to develop possibilities for Lithuanian

University Presentation to Potential Students Using Web 2.0 Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrius Eidimtas

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Choosing what to study for school graduates is a compound and multi-stage process (Chapman, 1981; Hossler et al., 1999; Brennan, 2001; Shankle, 2009. In the information retrieval stage, future students have to gather and assimilate actual information, form a list of possible higher education institutions. Nowadays modern internet technologies enable universities to create conditions for attractive and interactive information retrieval. Userfriendliness and accessibility of Web 2.0-based environments attract more young people to search for information in the web. Western universities have noticed a great potential of Web 2.0 in information dissemination back in 2007. Meanwhile, Lithuanian universities began using Web 2.0 to assemble virtual communities only in 2010 (Valinevičienė, 2010.Purpose—to disclose possibilities to present universities to school graduates in Web 2.0 environments.Design/methodology/approach—strategies of a case study by using methods of scientific literature analysis, observation and quantitative content analysis.Findings—referring to the information retrieval types and particularity of information retrieval by school graduates disclosed in the analysis of scientific literature, it has been identified that 76 per cent of Lithuanian universities apply at least one website created on the basis of Web 2.0 technology for their official presentation. The variety of Web 2.0 being used distributes only from 1 to 6 different tools, while in scientific literature more possibilities to apply Web 2.0 environments can be found.Research limitations/implications—the empiric part of the case study has been contextualized for Lithuania; however, the theoretic construct of possibilities to present universities in Web 2.0 environments can be used for the analysis presentation of foreign universities in Web 2.0 environments.Practical implications—the work can become the recommendation to develop possibilities for Lithuanian

University Libraries and Digital Learning Environments

OpenAIRE

2011-01-01

University libraries around the world have embraced the possibilities of the digital learning environment, facilitating its use and proactively seeking to develop the provision of electronic resources and services. The digital environment offers opportunities and challenges for librarians in all aspects of their work – in information literacy, virtual reference, institutional repositories, e-learning, managing digital resources and social media. The authors in this timely book are leading exp...

A Model of Project and Organisational Dynamics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jenny Leonard

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The strategic, transformational nature of many information systems projects is now widely understood. Large-scale implementations of systems are known to require significant management of organisational change in order to be successful. Moreover, projects are rarely executed in isolation – most organisations have a large programme of projects being implemented at any one time. However, project and value management methodologies provide ad hoc definitions of the relationship between a project and its environment. This limits the ability of an organisation to manage the larger dynamics between projects and organisations, over time, and between projects. The contribution of this paper, therefore, is to use literature on organisational theory to provide a more systematic understanding of this area. The organisational facilitators required to obtain value from a project are categorised, and the processes required to develop those facilitators are defined. This formalisation facilitates generalisation between projects and highlights any time and path dependencies required in developing organisational facilitators. The model therefore has the potential to contribute to the development of IS project management theory within dynamic organisational contexts. Six cases illustrate how this model could be used.

Organisational Factors Affecting Policy and Programme Decision Making in a Public Health Policy Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Zardo, Pauline; Collie, Alex; Livingstone, Charles

2015-01-01

Organisational factors can affect the success of interventions aimed at increasing research use. Research is needed to identify organisational factors affecting research use in specific public health policy contexts. Qualitative interviews with decision makers from a specific public health context identified a range of organisational factors that…

Attracting Generation Y Graduates: Organisational Attributes, Likelihood to Apply and Sex Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Terjesen, Siri; Vinnicombe, Susan; Freeman, Cheryl

2007-01-01

Purpose: Building on person-organisation fit and gender self-schema, this research aims to examine UK university final year students' perception of the importance of organisational attributes and their presence in three major graduate employers. This study also seeks to explore which organisational attributes attract Generation Y men and women to…

Promoting students’ reflections in organisational improvisation arrangement between higher education and workplaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tiina Rautkorpi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on how experimentation-based pedagogy has been pursued by one Finnish university of applied sciences (UAS in working life environments in the context of the Triple Helix. This article focuses on efforts to combine together situated learning, organisational improvisation and cultural-historical activity theory. In this higher education organisation, the students’ multidisciplinary innovation projects are used to improve the students’ skills in performing experiments with variations. The article demonstrates how pilot trainings were organised for teachers and their networks to equip them to project facilitators in a new mode of activity. It also reports on the undergraduates’ group demonstrations and evaluations based on a recent sample of their subsequent innovation projects. The small-scale content analysis was conducted to identify areas for further development. According to the activity theory, the crucial learning outcome of the UAS educational projects should be a collective reflection on practices. In addition, the two essentials of reflection and learning are the tools available for mirroring and continuous concept formation. According to the findings, there were prominent achievements in ethnographic fieldwork but more supportive arrangements and training is needed to promote especially the concept formation.

Experience-Oriented Knowledge Organisation for the Transference of Scientific Knowledge from Universities to SMEs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lykke, Marianne; Løkkegaard, Sarai; Jantzen, Christian

2017-01-01

referred to as generic pathways (e.g. scientific publishing) and relational pathways (e.g. faculty consulting). The purpose of this research is to extend our knowledge about the design of generic pathways. The analysis is concentrated on the knowledge organisation system for a research management system......Transferring scientific knowledge between universities and industry is known to be problematic, specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have limited resources and absorption capacity. A variety of channels is used for knowledge transfer. These include what is commonly...... - how to meet the characteristics of SMEs in the design of subject categories in the navigation system and in the presentation of the scientific knowledge by controlled and uncontrolled keywords and descriptive annotations. The design suggestions are based on findings from a qualitative situation...

Book review: Organisational behaviour: A contemporary South African perspective

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Andrew Thatcher

2004-10-01

Full Text Available Authors: Helen Schultz (Ed., Jeffrey Bagraim, Tracy Potgieter, Conrad Viedge, Amanda Werner Publisher: Van Schaik Publishers According to the authors the aim of this book is to present an interdisciplinary approach to the understanding of organisational behaviour within the contemporary South African environment. Within this framework, the book targets (senior undergraduate and postgraduate students in Industrial/Organisational Psychology and Human Resources Management. The text is written in a simple, conversational style (as was the intention of the authors that should be suitable for most undergraduate students at English-speaking tertiary institutions. The book is organised into three sections based on a model of four components of organizational behaviour: the individual, the group and the organisation. The fourth component of the model, the environment, refers specifically in the context of this book, to a contemporary South African approach to understanding behaviour in organisations. In the ‘individual’ section, the authors cover topics such as individual differences (e.g. personality, attitudes, perceptions, emotional intelligence, etc., ethics, work motivation, and performance management. In the ‘group’ section, the authors look at issues of group and team dynamics, power and empowerment, communication, decision-making and leadership. Finally, in the ‘organisation’ section, the authors address issues of contemporary organisational design, organisational change and employee well-being (e.g. stress management, job satisfaction, etc..

Organisational learning by way of organisational development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elkjær, Bente

In the paper, the idea is explored of organisational learning as the opening andclosure of organisational space for inquiry or reflective thinking, as a way toconstruct organisational learning as an object for research. This is done by asking thequestion of whether an organisational development...... project contributes toorganisational learning. The point of departure is a municipality in Denmark workingtoward digitalising its administration. The conclusion is that the success of such aprocess very much depends on an organisation's ability to encompass severalunderstandings of organisational...... development and digital administration and tosustain them in a productive form of tension instead of pursuing only one of them....

A systemic framework for managing e-learning adoption in campus universities: individual strategies in context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carol Russell

2009-12-01

Full Text Available There are hopes that new learning technologies will help to transform university learning and teaching into a more engaging experience for twenty-first-century students. But since 2000 the changes in campus university teaching have been more limited than expected. I have drawn on ideas from organisational change management research to investigate why this is happening in one particular campus university context. My study examines the strategies of individual lecturers for adopting e-learning within their disciplinary, departmental and university work environments to develop a conceptual framework for analysing university learning and teaching as a complex adaptive system. This conceptual framework links the processes through which university teaching changes, the resulting forms of learning activity and the learning technologies used – all within the organisational context of the university. The framework suggests that systemic transformation of a university's learning and teaching requires coordinated change across activities that have traditionally been managed separately in campus universities. Without such coordination, established ways of organising learning and teaching will reassert themselves, as support staff and lecturers seek to optimise their own work locally. The conceptual framework could inform strategies for realising the full benefits of new learning technologies in other campus universities.

University Students' Attitudes towards Cell Phone Learning Environment

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Wafa' N. Muhanna

2009-10-01

Full Text Available This study aims at investigating Jordanian university undergraduate and graduate students' attitudes towards the learning environment where cell phones are used as learning tools in classroom. To achieve this goal, the researchers distributed two questionnaires among two groups of two different levels of randomly chosen university students at the Faculty of Educational Sciences at Al-al-Bayt University. The first one addresses 30 undergraduate students, 12 male and 18 female. The other addresses 20 graduates, 7 male and 13 female. The study comprised two independent variables, level and gender, as covariates. The findings indicate that undergraduates are more favorable to cell phone environment than graduate students. The study also reveals that cell phone has more influence on male students than on female students.

The University Environment: A Comprehensive Assessment of Health-Related Advertisements

Science.gov (United States)

Szymona, Katie; Quick, Virginia; Olfert, Melissa; Shelnutt, Karla; Kattlemann, Kendra K.; Brown-Esters, Onikia; Colby, Sarah E.; Beaudoin, Christina; Lubniewski, Jocelyn; Maia, Angelina Moore; Horacek, Tanya; Byrd-Bredbenner, Carol

2012-01-01

Purpose: Little is known about health-related advertising on university environments. Given the power of advertising and its potential effect on health behaviors, the purpose of this paper is to assess the health-related advertisement environment and policies on university campuses. Design/methodology/approach: In total, ten geographically and…

Leading organisational learning in health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, J S; Edmondson, A C

2002-03-01

As healthcare organisations seek to enhance safety and quality in a changing environment, organisational learning practices can help to improve existing skills and knowledge and provide opportunities to discover better ways of working together. Leadership at executive, middle management, and local levels is needed to create a sense of shared purpose. This shared vision should help to build effective relationships, facilitate connections between action and reflection, and strengthen the desirable elements of the healthcare culture while modifying outdated assumptions, procedures, and structures.

Growth of health maintenance organisations in Nigeria and the potential for a role in promoting universal coverage efforts.

Science.gov (United States)

Onoka, Chima A; Hanson, Kara; Mills, Anne

2016-08-01

There has been growing interest in the potential for private health insurance (PHI) and private organisations to contribute to universal health coverage (UHC). Yet evidence from low and middle income countries remains very thin. This paper examines the evolution of health maintenance organisations (HMOs) in Nigeria, the nature of the PHI plans and social health insurance (SHI) programmes and their performance, and the implications of their business practices for providing PHI and UHC-related SHI programmes. An embedded case study design was used with multiple subunits of analysis (individual HMOs and the HMO industry) and mixed (qualitative and quantitative) methods, and the study was guided by the structure-conduct-performance paradigm that has its roots in the neo-classical theory of the firm. Quantitative data collection and 35 in-depth interviews were carried out between October 2012 to July 2013. Although HMOs first emerged in Nigeria to supply PHI, their expansion was driven by their role as purchasers in the government's national health insurance scheme that finances SHI programmes, and facilitated by a weak accreditation system. HMOs' characteristics distinguish the market they operate in as monopolistically competitive, and HMOs as multiproduct firms operating multiple risk pools through parallel administrative systems. The considerable product differentiation and consequent risk selection by private insurers promote inefficiencies. Where HMOs and similar private organisations play roles in health financing systems, effective regulatory institutions and mandates must be established to guide their behaviours towards attainment of public health goals and to identify and control undesirable business practices. Lessons are drawn for policy makers and programme implementers especially in those low and middle-income countries considering the use of private organisations in their health financing systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The compassion gap in UK universities

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Kathryn Waddington

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Context: This critical reflection is set in the context of increasing marketisation in UK higher education, where students are seen as consumers, rather than learners with power. The paper explores the dark side of academic work and the compassion gap in universities, in order to make recommendations for practice development in higher education and the human services. Aims: The paper aims to show how reflexive dialogue can be used to enable the development of compassionate academic practice. Conclusions and implications for practice: Toxic environments and organisational cultures in higher education have compounded the crisis in compassionate care in the NHS. Implications for practice are: Narrative approaches and critical appreciative inquiry are useful methods with which to reveal, and rectify, failures of compassion Courageous conversations are required to challenge dysfunctional organisational systems and processes Leadership development programmes should include the application of skills of compassion in organisational settings

Strategic organisational transformation: The role of learning,leadership and culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Viljoen

2001-12-01

Full Text Available Today's organisation need to continuously adapts itself to challenges, brought about by modern business environment. This paper argues that leadership, learning and culture play a major role in securing an organisation's ability to face and adapt to these new challenges.

Person-environment fit, flourishing and intention to leave in universities of technology in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christine Janse van Rensburg

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Retaining staff is vital to ensure that universities accomplish their missions. To optimise the potential of staff members and retain staff, it is necessary to study their flourishing and fit in their jobs and organisations. Research purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between person-environment fit, flourishing at work and intention to leave. Motivation for the study: Research is needed to validate a measure of flourishing at work. Outcome variables such as intention to leave have not been studied in relation to flourishing at work. Moreover, it is necessary to study antecedents of flourishing at work, such as person-environment fit. Research approach, design and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used with a convenience sample of 339 academic employees from three universities of technology in South Africa. Three perceived fit scales, the Flourishing-at-Work Scale (FAWS and the Turnover Intention Scale were administered. Main findings: Findings supported a three-factor model of flourishing at work, consisting of emotional, psychological and social well-being. The highest mean frequencies on flourishing dimensions were obtained for competence and emotional engagement. The lowest mean frequencies were obtained for relatedness and social well-being. Person-environment fit predicted intention to leave, both directly and indirectly, via flourishing. The findings support the internal consistency and validity of the FAWS. Practical/managerial implications: Managers and human resource practitioners should consider the use of a multidimensional measure to assess flourishing at work. Considering certain dimensions of well-being at work (e.g. work engagement and competence of employees without considering other dimensions (e.g. job satisfaction, affect balance and meaning at work will not be sufficient to assess and promote the subjective well-being of employees. Contribution/value-add: This study

Healthy universities: an example of a whole-system health-promoting setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Newton, Joanne; Dooris, Mark; Wills, Jane

2016-03-01

The health-promoting settings approach is well established in health promotion, with organisational settings being understood as complex systems able to support human wellbeing and flourishing. Despite the reach and evident importance of higher education as a sector, 'healthy universities' has not received high-level international leadership comparable to many other settings programmes. This study explores how the concept of a healthy university is operationalised in two case study universities. Data collection methods included documentary analysis, observation field notes and semi-structured interviews with staff and students. Staff and students understood the characteristics of a healthy university to pertain to management processes relating to communication and to a respectful organisational ethos. Enhancers of health and wellbeing were feeling valued, being listened to, having skilled and supportive line managers and having a positive physical environment. Inhibitors of health and wellbeing were having a sense of powerlessness and a lack of care and concern. The concept of the healthy university has been slow to be adopted in contrast to initiatives such as healthy schools. In addition to challenges relating to lack of theorisation, paucity of evidence and difficulties in capturing the added value of whole-system working, this study suggests that this may be due to both their complex organisational structure and the diverse goals of higher education, which do not automatically privilege health and wellbeing. It also points to the need for a whole-university approach that pays attention to the complex interactions and interconnections between component parts and highlights how the organisation can function effectively as a social system. © The Author(s) 2015.

Some effects of a modern university educational environment informatization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. N. Noskova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper analyzes the effects that occur in the process of the educational environment informatization. The following effects were analyzed: information richness, openness, individualization of learning and collaboration. Examples of educational practice, illustrating the significant changes of the university educational environment associated with the manifestation of these effects, are presented. The aim of the pilot study carried out in Herzen University was to identify the attitude to the listed effects of teachers and students who are using information and communication technology in the educational interactions. The leading method of study were a series of surveys addressed to teachers and students. Groups of questions were related to basic information effects, manifested in the educational environment of the university. The total number of the survey participants is 200 students (bachelors and masters and 100 teachers, most actively using electronic environment for research, education and professional activities. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the results showed that information richness, spatial and temporal freedom of educational interactions are demanded by students, but at the same time, the data indicated a lack of systematic pedagogical support for the information and educational activities of students. A large part of students show a high autonomy in the information educational environment, but also demands implementing individualized information and communication educational request. Students and teachers are actively using a variety of information and communication opportunities of the electronic environment, but students’ activeness in the electronic environment is largely determined by the recommendations of teachers, rather than by a free choice of educational opportunities. The participants of the educational environment acquire a significant degree of freedom in relation to the time and place of interaction with

The Organisation as Artist's Palette

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schnugg, Claudia

2014-01-01

The article considers the many possibilities of bringing the arts into organisations to keep up with the demands of an uncertain and fast-changing environment. It discusses cases of arts-based interventions in companies that reflect the different kinds of arts-based interventions that can be foun...

Self-organising sensor web using cell-fate optimisation

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Van Zyl, TL

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The Sensor Web as an open complex adaptive system exhibits many characteristics that are common to self organising systems. One of the characteristics of the Sensor Web is that of self-adaptivity in a changing environment. The changing environment...

Using enterprise architecture to analyse how organisational structure impact motivation and learning

Science.gov (United States)

Närman, Pia; Johnson, Pontus; Gingnell, Liv

2016-06-01

When technology, environment, or strategies change, organisations need to adjust their structures accordingly. These structural changes do not always enhance the organisational performance as intended partly because organisational developers do not understand the consequences of structural changes in performance. This article presents a model-based analysis framework for quantitative analysis of the effect of organisational structure on organisation performance in terms of employee motivation and learning. The model is based on Mintzberg's work on organisational structure. The quantitative analysis is formalised using the Object Constraint Language (OCL) and the Unified Modelling Language (UML) and implemented in an enterprise architecture tool.

The process of organisational adaptation through innovations, and organisational adaptability

OpenAIRE

Tikka, Tommi

2010-01-01

This study is about the process of organisational adaptation and organisational adaptability. The study generates a theoretical framework about organisational adaptation behaviour and conditions that have influence on success of organisational adaptation. The research questions of the study are: How does an organisation adapt through innovations, and which conditions enhance or impede organisational adaptation through innovations? The data were gathered from five case organisations withi...

VIRTUAL ORGANISATIONS: EMPLOYEE COMPETENCY AND MANAGERIAL ISSUES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MIRJANA RADOVIC-MARKOVIC

2014-10-01

Full Text Available New technologies have led to a new information and knowledge based economy. In this context, technology has changed the work environment, where organisations have become increasingly complex and competitive. Namely, the technologically induced a “virtual” environment has resulted in the adoption of new organisational structures and work skills and practices. On the one hand, the workplace increasingly requires employee to work in teams,collaborating across companies, communities, and continents. These changes and the new organisational structures have also made an impact on role of managers and their management styles, on the other hand. In line with this, there a very rich collection of thinking and empirical research findings on the subject. The goal of our research was to recognize the importance of certain factors in motivating employees in organisations by managers . The other purpose was to investigate the job related motivation factors among senior and junior employees as well as explore issues in the workplace that may affect work demoralization. Furthemore, we explored the relationship between employees motivation and their competences.We also contributed to the topic in our research project-book with the new model of competency. Furthemore, we expect that our methodology will be implemented in practice. However, it should be also a good basis for further improvements in this area.

How organisational behaviours and human factors can positively impact contractors to nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnaldos Gonzalez, A.; Walker-Sutton, J.; Shannon, M.; Mendoza Garcia, J.

2012-01-01

Organisational behaviours have a significant impact on individual and group behaviours but are frequently ignored during the design, planning and scheduling of work or when conducting an investigation of events. Why should it matter? It is important to calculate the personal and organisational impact and cost of those elements which contribute to organisational safety. We look at two nuclear contractor organisations (one in Spain and one in the UK) that are actively making a positive difference to their behaviours in a commercial nuclear environment. They are creating a better business environment for their staff, and a robust business differentiator for future work with their clients. We consider what the cost and impact is of the changes they have made to their organisational behaviours.

Which educational role can Libraries play in a University learning environment?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra Angeletaki

2010-07-01

• • Classroom instruction and observation of skills and technology application proficiencies • Face to face conversation with the students and the faculty members involved in the program. • Web-organised library survey. Project coordinator: Alexandra Angeletaki, University library of Trondheim Email: alexandra.angeletaki@ub.ntnu.no Description: The traditional way of assessing library service quality is to measure the numbers of users and resource materials purchased each year by the library users (Quantitative. But can this type of information help the Library to establish itself as an important educational component, meeting its role in the digital information world with a high academic standard that can influence the research outcome of the faculty it serves. What will the future Library environment be, if one takes in consideration the technological change of the library in place to the library in “Space”? The aim should be to maximise not only the services in numbers as they are easy numeric figures to measure, but in quality that meets the academic requirements of a research Library with educational programs exerting influence on the learning experience of its users. It is consequent then that such a measurement will have to be empowered in order to increase academic literacy and research competence. The University Library of Trondheim has been working the last 2 years in collecting data about the learning process of archaeology students trained in Information literacy workshops in collaboration with the Institute of Archaeology from the University of Trondheim. In 2010 our department introduced the use of reading devices for first year students of two different curriculums Archaeology and Chemistry. Three reading devices were filled up with the texts of the subjects taught and the students that were chosen to participate in the program will be giving at the end of the Spring semester 2010 an account of the use of the reading devices. The overall

Internal corporate venturing during organisational change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Annemette L.

2004-01-01

that a continuous stream of new ideas and initiatives create new opportunities and ensure that the company stays viable by adapting to new internal and external challenges. This has been pursued in studies of strategy formation (Mintzberg, 1978), strategic change (Pettigrew, 1988) and internal corporate venturing......Organisations have to deal with increasingly complex and turbulent environments, which demand that they continuously change and adapt to new circumstances or challenges. One way for organisations to cope with these challenges is to manage the strategy-making process in order to ensure...... (Burgelman, 1983b, 2002) and is still a central issue in the strategic management discourse. It is generally acknowledged that continuous change is important for organisations' survival in a changing world. On the other hand the need for stability and continuity in form of a clear and strong corporate...

[Independence in Plastic Surgery - Benefit or Barrier? Analysis of the Publication Performance in Academic Plastic Surgery Depending on Varying Organisational Structures].

Science.gov (United States)

Schubert, C D; Leitsch, S; Haertnagl, F; Haas, E M; Giunta, R E

2015-08-01

Despite its recognition as an independent specialty, at German university hospitals the field of plastic surgery is still underrepresented in terms of independent departments with a dedicated research focus. The aim of this study was to analyse the publication performance within the German academic plastic surgery environment and to compare independent departments and dependent, subordinate organisational structures regarding their publication performance. Organisational structures and number of attending doctors in German university hospitals were examined via a website analysis. A pubmed analysis was applied to assess the publication performance (number of publications, cumulative impact factor, impact factor/publication, number of publications/MD, number of publications/unit) between 2009 and 2013. In a journal analysis the distribution of the cumulative impact factor and number of publications in different journals as well as the development of the impact factor in the top journals were analysed. Out of all 35 university hospitals there exist 12 independent departments for plastic surgery and 8 subordinate organisational structures. In 15 university hospitals there were no designated plastic surgery units. The number of attending doctors differed considerably between independent departments (3.6 attending doctors/unit) and subordinate organisational structures (1.1 attending doctors/unit). The majority of publications (89.0%) and of the cumulative impact factor (91.2%) as well as most of the publications/MD (54 publications/year) and publications/unit (61 publications/year) were created within the independent departments. Only in departments top publications with an impact factor > 5 were published. In general a negative trend regarding the number of publications (- 13.4%) and cumulative impact factor (- 28.9%) was observed. 58.4% of all publications were distributed over the top 10 journals. Within the latter the majority of articles were published in

Cultural and structural changes in radioactive waste management organisations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

In recent years the socio-political environment of radioactive waste management (RWM) has been changing in a significant way. Stakeholder dialogue has become a leading principle. How have RWM organisations adapted to this societal transition? How do they balance the requirement of openness and the increasing concerns over the security of facilities? Are there organisations that have successfully changed from a technical- to a customer-focused culture? What resistance was met? Which tools and instruments helped organisations evolve? This report documents the changes observed by RWM managers and sets those changes in an organisational sciences framework. All those who are intent on learning about the changes that have taken place in the field of radioactive waste management, or whose own organisations in any sector must adapt to societal demand, will be interested by the experience and insight reported here. (authors)

Urban Environment Development based on Universal Design Principles

Science.gov (United States)

Harsritanto, Bangun Ir

2018-02-01

Universal Design is a design which facilitated full range of human diversity. By applying Universal design principles, urban environment can be more functional and more user-friendly for everyone. This study examined five urban streets of South Korea as a country experienced on developing various urban street designs based on universal design. This study aimed to examine and compare the South Korea cases using seven principles of universal design. The research methods of this study are literature study, case study, and site observation. The results of this study are: South Korea cases are good practices, urgency of implementing the direction into local regulations; and change of urban development paradigm.

The Integrative University: Why University Management Is Different

Science.gov (United States)

Temple, Paul

2008-01-01

Managing universities "is" different from managing in most other sorts of organisation. In this article, the author shows why this claim is more than just special pleading, and how it relates to the particular form of the organisation. Appreciating their integrative aspects helps people to understand some of the difficulties that they regularly…

Developing the organisational culture in a healthcare setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Nightingale, Adele

2018-01-17

This article aims to define organisational culture and explain why it is important to patients, carers and those working in healthcare environments. Organisational culture is not a new concept and the literature on the subject is well-established. However, because of the changing dynamics of the NHS, there has been a shift away from 'what' the NHS stands for, often relating to its history and rituals, to 'who' it functions for, including how healthcare professionals such as nurses can develop and drive the organisational culture. The article seeks to assist nurses in understanding the role of organisational culture, as well as implementing its main principles in the workplace. ©2018 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

Linking Shared Organisational Context and Relational Capital through Unlearning: An Initial Empirical Investigation in SMEs

Science.gov (United States)

Cegarra-Navarro, Juan G.; Dewhurst, Frank W.

2006-01-01

Purpose: The environment provided by an organisation to facilitate learning and create knowledge has been defined as the shared organisational context. The value to an organisation of knowledge created by the shared organisational context is called intellectual capital, of which one key component is relational capital. The purpose of this paper is…

Social Responsibility in Intra-organisational Procedures of Higher Education Institutions with AACSB Accreditation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andżelika Dzięgiel

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to identify the core elements of social responsibility which have been applied in intraorganisational procedures of higher education institutions with AACSB Accreditation. The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR in entrepreneurial strategies means taking into account their social interests and environmental protection, as well as, relationships with different groups of stakeholders. In contemporary business, CSR activities are very important. Therefore, universities, especially those with prestigious accreditations, should also act in accordance with the rules prevailing in the business market. The Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business (AACSB is a global, nonprofit membership organisation of educational institutions, businesses, and other entities. Higher education institutions with certificates represent the highest standard of achievement for business schools all over the world. For the research and analysis, there have been selected six universities from three countries: the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. According to the international standard ISO 26000 dated as of 2010, social responsibility involves seven core subjects: organisational governance, human rights, labour practices, environment, fair operating practices, customer issues, community involvement and development. All these aspects were researched in intraorganisational procedures of selected higher education institutions with AACSB Accreditation. It is a comprehensive and objective comparison of several educational institutions in the world in terms of their implemented CSR activities. The results of the research show that the institutions under the study established a wide range of procedures for respecting CSR. They took into account transparency, respect to the law, human rights, labour practices and organisational governance. While they pay less attention to the environmental issues, fair operating practices and

Enabling organisational learning and knowledge sharing through employee involvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjerrum, Eva; Dahl, Susanne

In this paper we want to suggest that involving the employees in the development of the new workspaces is an important element in organisational learning and that it makes good sense to rethink space in order to support both tacit knowledge and collaboration. We want to argue that involving...... the employees in the design of their future workplace is key to giving the employee ownership for the change and may provide the organisation with invaluable ideas for the new work environment and the process of enabling organisational learning and knowledge sharing. We base our argument on a series of research...

Greenery in the university environment: Students’ preferences and perceived restoration likelihood

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

A large body of evidence shows that interaction with greenery can be beneficial for human stress reduction, emotional states, and improved cognitive function. It can, therefore, be expected that university students might benefit from greenery in the university environment. Before investing in real-life interventions in a university environment, it is necessary to first explore students’ perceptions of greenery in the university environment. This study examined (1) preference for university indoor and outdoor spaces with and without greenery (2) perceived restoration likelihood of university outdoor spaces with and without greenery and (3) if preference and perceived restoration likelihood ratings were modified by demographic characteristics or connectedness to nature in Dutch university students (N = 722). Digital photographic stimuli represented four university spaces (lecture hall, classroom, study area, university outdoor space). For each of the three indoor spaces there were four or five stimuli conditions: (1) the standard design (2) the standard design with a colorful poster (3) the standard design with a nature poster (4) the standard design with a green wall (5) the standard design with a green wall plus interior plants. The university outdoor space included: (1) the standard design (2) the standard design with seating (3) the standard design with colorful artifacts (4) the standard design with green elements (5) the standard design with extensive greenery. Multi-level analyses showed that students gave higher preference ratings to the indoor spaces with a nature poster, a green wall, or a green wall plus interior plants than to the standard designs and the designs with the colorful posters. Students also rated preference and perceived restoration likelihood of the outdoor spaces that included greenery higher than those without. Preference and perceived restoration likelihood were not modified by demographic characteristics, but students with strong

Greenery in the university environment: Students' preferences and perceived restoration likelihood.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicole van den Bogerd

Full Text Available A large body of evidence shows that interaction with greenery can be beneficial for human stress reduction, emotional states, and improved cognitive function. It can, therefore, be expected that university students might benefit from greenery in the university environment. Before investing in real-life interventions in a university environment, it is necessary to first explore students' perceptions of greenery in the university environment. This study examined (1 preference for university indoor and outdoor spaces with and without greenery (2 perceived restoration likelihood of university outdoor spaces with and without greenery and (3 if preference and perceived restoration likelihood ratings were modified by demographic characteristics or connectedness to nature in Dutch university students (N = 722. Digital photographic stimuli represented four university spaces (lecture hall, classroom, study area, university outdoor space. For each of the three indoor spaces there were four or five stimuli conditions: (1 the standard design (2 the standard design with a colorful poster (3 the standard design with a nature poster (4 the standard design with a green wall (5 the standard design with a green wall plus interior plants. The university outdoor space included: (1 the standard design (2 the standard design with seating (3 the standard design with colorful artifacts (4 the standard design with green elements (5 the standard design with extensive greenery. Multi-level analyses showed that students gave higher preference ratings to the indoor spaces with a nature poster, a green wall, or a green wall plus interior plants than to the standard designs and the designs with the colorful posters. Students also rated preference and perceived restoration likelihood of the outdoor spaces that included greenery higher than those without. Preference and perceived restoration likelihood were not modified by demographic characteristics, but students with strong

Greenery in the university environment: Students' preferences and perceived restoration likelihood.

Science.gov (United States)

van den Bogerd, Nicole; Dijkstra, S Coosje; Seidell, Jacob C; Maas, Jolanda

2018-01-01

A large body of evidence shows that interaction with greenery can be beneficial for human stress reduction, emotional states, and improved cognitive function. It can, therefore, be expected that university students might benefit from greenery in the university environment. Before investing in real-life interventions in a university environment, it is necessary to first explore students' perceptions of greenery in the university environment. This study examined (1) preference for university indoor and outdoor spaces with and without greenery (2) perceived restoration likelihood of university outdoor spaces with and without greenery and (3) if preference and perceived restoration likelihood ratings were modified by demographic characteristics or connectedness to nature in Dutch university students (N = 722). Digital photographic stimuli represented four university spaces (lecture hall, classroom, study area, university outdoor space). For each of the three indoor spaces there were four or five stimuli conditions: (1) the standard design (2) the standard design with a colorful poster (3) the standard design with a nature poster (4) the standard design with a green wall (5) the standard design with a green wall plus interior plants. The university outdoor space included: (1) the standard design (2) the standard design with seating (3) the standard design with colorful artifacts (4) the standard design with green elements (5) the standard design with extensive greenery. Multi-level analyses showed that students gave higher preference ratings to the indoor spaces with a nature poster, a green wall, or a green wall plus interior plants than to the standard designs and the designs with the colorful posters. Students also rated preference and perceived restoration likelihood of the outdoor spaces that included greenery higher than those without. Preference and perceived restoration likelihood were not modified by demographic characteristics, but students with strong

Developing organisational ethics in palliative care.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandman, Lars; Molander, Ulla; Benkel, Inger

2017-03-01

Palliative carers constantly face ethical problems. There is lack of organised support for the carers to handle these ethical problems in a consistent way. Within organisational ethics, we find models for moral deliberation and for developing organisational culture; however, they are not combined in a structured way to support carers' everyday work. The aim of this study was to describe ethical problems faced by palliative carers and develop an adapted organisational set of values to support the handling of these problems. Ethical problems were mapped out using focus groups and content analysis. The organisational culture were developed using normative analysis and focus group methodology within a participatory action research approach. Main participants and research context: A total of 15 registered nurses and 10 assistant nurses at a palliative unit (with 19 patient beds) at a major University Hospital in Sweden. Ethical considerations: The study followed standard ethics guidelines concerning informed consent and confidentiality. We found six categories of ethical problems (with the main focus on problems relating to the patient's loved ones) and five categories of organisational obstacles. Based on these findings, we developed a set of values in three levels: a general level, an explanatory level and a level of action strategies. The ethical problems found corresponded to problems in other studies with a notable exception, the large focus on patient loved ones. The three-level set of values is a way to handle risks of formulating abstract values not providing guidance in concrete care voiced in other studies. Developing a three-level set of values adapted to the specific ethical problems in a concrete care setting is a first step towards a better handling of ethical problems.

Innovation in a complex environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

René Pellissier

2012-11-01

Objectives: The study objectives were, firstly, to establish the determinants for complexity and how these can be addressed from a design point of view in order to ensure innovation success and, secondly, to determine how this changes innovation forms and applications. Method: Two approaches were offered to deal with a complex environment – one allowing for complexity for organisational innovation and the other introducing reductionism to minimise complexity. These approaches were examined in a qualitative study involving case studies, open-ended interviews and content analysis between seven developing economy (South African organisations and seven developed economy (US organisations. Results: This study presented a proposed framework for (organisational innovation in a complex environment versus a framework that minimises complexity. The comparative organisational analysis demonstrated the importance of initiating organisational innovation to address internal and external complexity, with the focus being on the leadership actions, their selected operating models and resultant organisational innovations designs, rather than on technological innovations. Conclusion: This study cautioned the preference for technological innovation within organisations and suggested alternative innovation forms (such as organisational and management innovation be used to remain competitive in a complex environment.

Artisan retention in an organisation in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lariska van Rooyen

2010-11-01

Research purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the factors that are important for artisan retention at a South African organisation. Motivation for the study: Organisations that employ artisans need to understand what the main reasons are for keeping or losing artisans from the perspective of the artisans themselves. This information can be used to plan and implement interventions to deal with artisan retention in organisations. Research design, approach and method: A qualitative design was used and a purposive sample was taken (n = 14. A biographical questionnaire was administered and semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data from artisans. Main findings: Remuneration had the highest rank of all the factors for the retention of artisans, closely followed by development opportunities. Other factors that were perceived as important for artisan retention included equality, recognition, management and the working environment, and working relationships. Practical implications: Organisations that employ artisans should especially attend to their remuneration and development opportunities. Contribution: The results of this study add to the knowledge of why artisans remain with a specific organisation.

University and community partnerships in South Sulawesi, Indonesia: Enhancing community capacity and promoting democratic governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sri Mastuti

2014-06-01

Full Text Available South Sulawesi is a province in Indonesia where the majority of the population is Muslim, with many variant interpretations of Islam. Alauddin State Islamic University is not just a place for teaching and study but also plays a role in helping to unify the differences among these different Islamic groups. Its changing of status from institute to university in 2005, and later the support of the Canadian-assisted SILE Project beginning in 2010, have made this university an example of reform in the way it implements its functions. Since 2011, Alauddin State Islamic University has been developing a new approach in university-community outreach/engagement. What was formerly separated between teaching, research and community service is now linked under one institutional umbrella. The new university-community outreach approach has also adopted some new tools like Asset Based Community Development (ABCD and Results Based Management (RBM. It seeks to promote democratic governance, gender equality and a sustainable environment. The university also works in partnership with civil society organisations (CSOs in South Sulawesi, including Islamic-based organizsations, secular organisations and women’s organisations. The model for the partnership is a working group (abbreviated to pokja in Indonesian, which comprises lecturers from a faculty in the university and members of a CSO. We discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by these working groups. Opportunities include increased advantages from pooling their organisational capacities and experience in working with communities. Sharing their networks and resources makes them stronger and makes their work more sustainable. The challenge lies in changing the mindset from a needs-based, project-oriented approach to an asset-based facilitative approach, comprehending the tools, managing time to work together and building effective teamwork. Keywords: university-community outreach, democratic governance

Ten Australian ICU nurses' perceptions of organisational restructuring.

Science.gov (United States)

Wynne, Rochelle

2004-02-01

The Australian healthcare system underwent radical reform in the 1990s as economic rationalist policies were embraced. As a result, there was significant organisational restructuring within hospitals. Traditional indicators, such as nursing absenteeism and attrition, increase during times of organisational change. Despite this, nurses' views of healthcare reform are under-represented in the literature and little is known about the impact of organisational restructuring on perceived performance. This study investigated the perceived impact of organisational restructuring on a group of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' workplace performance. It employed a qualitative approach to collect data from a purposive sample of clinical nurses. The primary method of data collection was semi-structured interviews. Content analysis generated three categories of data. Participants identified constant pressure, inadequate communication and organisational components of restructuring within the hospital as issues that had a significant impact on their workplace performance. They perceived organisational restructuring was poorly communicated, and this resulted in an environment of constant pressure. Organisational components of restructuring included the subcategories of specialised service provision and an alternative administrative structure that had both positive and negative ramifications for performance. To date, there has been little investigation of nurses' perceptions of organisational restructure or the impact this type of change has in the clinical domain. Participants in this study believed reorganisation was detrimental to quality care delivery in intensive care, as a result of fiscal constraint, inadequate communication and pressure that influenced their workplace performance.

Emerging Entrepreneurial Universities in University Reforms: The moderating role of personalities and the social/economic environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

József Berács

2014-06-01

Full Text Available University education, research and other services are increasingly becoming private goods as opposed to the traditional public goods concept. This trend is a highly debated process, and its consequences for universities are unquestionable. One of the consequences may be the diffusion of entrepreneurship in the higher education sector. The aim of the present paper is to highlight some of the characteristics of this process. Starting with the classics of entrepreneurship literature, Schumpeter defined the entrepreneur as somebody who goes against the stream. A new combination of production factors is the soul of entrepreneurship, and of any changes such as university reforms. Earlier research by Clark shed light on the environment of emerging entrepreneurial universities, which happened to be mainly new, relatively small universities. He found five indicators that are components of entrepreneurial universities. Taking this concept as a point of departure, we extended it in two directions. First, we go back to the economics literature and collect several other indicators/statements about entrepreneurship that are also worth considering in higher education. Second, we present a number of successful entrepreneurial cases of large top universities, looking for other indicators. Summarising these indicators in a table, two reforms of the Corvinus University of Budapest and its predecessors are discussed. Both of the reform processes lasted about five years, and there was a gap of approximately 20 years between the two processes. We would expect this to be successful, as a university needs to be reformed every 20 years, but this was not the case. We come to the surprising conclusion that, at least in case of the Corvinus University of Budapest, the two reforms in the socialist period were more entrepreneurial than the reforms we are experiencing now in a market economy environment. The explanation for this situation is twofold: the general socioeconomic

Job satisfaction and its relationship with organisational commitment: A Democratic Republic of Congo organisational perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeremy Mitonga-Monga

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Orientation: The modern workplace, which is characterised by increasing turbulence and debilitating uncertainty, has led to renewed focus on whether employees experience satisfaction and how they commit themselves to the organisation. Research purpose: The aim of this study was to measure the nature of the relationship between employees’ levels of job satisfaction (JS and organisational commitment (OC in a public railway organisation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC. Motivation for the study: Although previous researchers have found evidence of the relationship between JS and OC in Western countries, there seems to be a paucity of research on the relationship between JS and OC in a developing country context such as that of the DRC. The results could make a valuable contribution to the current literature debate on these two constructs (JS and OC and possibly employees’ intention to stay in their present organisation. Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used employing the Job Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Organisational Commitment Scale. The sample (n = 839 comprised permanently employed staff. Correlations and regression analyses were conducted. The results indicated that employees’ JS related positively to their level of OC and that JS predicted OC. Practical and managerial implications: The results should also have interesting implications for top management and human resource practitioners. They could use this information to study how organisational psychological attachment is fostered in order to potentially master other organisational dynamics. The information could also be used to create positive working conditions with a view to reinforcing OC. JS manifested as a critical driver of OC, which could result in superior business performance. Management could use the results to create a working environment that actively fosters satisfaction and boosts employees’ level of

Formalising Living Labs to achieve organisational objectives in emerging economies

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Smit, D

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Conference Proceedings Paul Cunningham and Miriam Cunningham (Eds) IIMC International Information Management Corporation, 2011 ISBN: 978-1-905824-24-3 Formalising Living Labs to Achieve Organisational Objectives in Emerging Economies Danie SMIT1... organisation, a university) in the innovation process. In contrast to closed- innovation where firms only use internal sources, open-innovation suggests the companies use both external and internal sources. This shift in innovation paradigm becomes more...

Assessment of Staff Intercultural Competences in Health Care Organisations

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Stašys Rimantas

2017-10-01

Full Text Available As a consequence of globalisation, people’s mobility has been increasing, which brought cultural diversity to a number of countries of the world, therefore intercultural competences became a particularly important research object in organisation management. Scientific literature is rich in publications on the topic, however, the latter problem and its specificity has been insufficiently studied in health care organisations whose performance is especially important for each patient and the cost of errors, possibly caused also by insufficient intercultural competences, may be very great. The conducted research justifies the meaning and significance of intercultural competences in health care organisations and identifies the principal problems in organisations faced when communicating in an intercultural environment. The development of intercultural competences was not sufficiently promoted in health care organisations, leaving that to the staff’s responsibility. Quite a few of health care services providers had a poor knowledge of etiquette and did not know much about the customs and traditions of other countries.

The NHS and market forces in healthcare: the need for organisational ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Frith, Lucy

2013-01-01

The NHS in England is an organisation undergoing substantial change. The passage of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, consolidates and builds on previous health policies and introduces further 'market-style' reforms of the NHS. One of the main aspects of these reforms is to encourage private and third sector providers to deliver NHS services. The rationale for this is to foster a more competitive market in healthcare to encourage greater efficiency and innovation. This changing healthcare environment in the English NHS sharpens the need for attention to be paid to the ethical operation of healthcare organisations. All healthcare organisations need to consider the ethical aspects of their operation, whether state or privately run. However, the changes in the type of organisations used to provide healthcare (such as commercial companies) can create new relationships and ethical tensions. This paper will chart the development of organisational ethics as a concern in applied ethics and how it arose in the USA largely owing to changes in the organisation of healthcare financing and provision. It will be argued that an analogous transition is happening in the NHS in England. The paper will conclude with suggestions for the development of organisational ethics programmes to address some of the possible ethical issues raised by this new healthcare environment that incorporates both private and public sector providers.

Empowerment and job insecurity in a steel manufacturing organisation / Mkhambi Shadrack Tjeku

OpenAIRE

Tjeku, Mkhambi Shadrack

2006-01-01

The South African work situation is continuously changing due to globalisation, and most organisations embark on strategies that are geared to ensure survival. The political economical, social and demographical situation of the country encourages the changing work environment to be aligned with the international community. Strategies and tactics such as structuring down sizing, re-organisation, and technological changes are deployed by most organisations with the hope of profit making, sur...

Universities and Development: Global Cooperation. Policy Briefing

Science.gov (United States)

Universities UK, 2010

2010-01-01

This policy briefing aims to demonstrate that universities are key organisations in international development. Universities are involved in a wide range of international development activities, including collaborative research projects, developing entrepreneurial and employability skills and the evaluation of non-governmental organisation (NGO)…

Information in organisations: directions for information management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joyce Kirk

1999-01-01

Full Text Available The work of managers in small and medium-sized enterprises is very information-intensive and the environment in which it is done is very information rich. But are managers able to exploit the wealth of information which surrounds them? And how can information be managed in organisations so that its potential for improving business performance and enhancing the competitiveness of these enterprises can be realised? Answers to these questions lie in clarifying the context of the practice of information management by exploring aspects of organisations and managerial work and in exploring the nature of information at the level of the organisation and the individual manager. From these answers it is possible to suggest some guidelines for managing the integration of business strategy and information, the adoption of a broadly-based definition of information and the development of information capabilities.

MEMO Organisation Modelling Language (1): Focus on organisational structure

OpenAIRE

Frank, Ulrich

2011-01-01

Organisation models are at the core of enterprise model, since they represent key aspects of a company's action system. Within MEMO, the Organisation Modelling Language (OrgML) supports the construction of organisation models. They can be divided into two main abstractions: a static abstraction is focusing on the structure of an organisation that reflects the division of labour with respect to static responsibilities and a dynamic abstraction that is focusing on models of business processes. ...

Who initiates and organises situations for work-related alcohol use? The WIRUS culture study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordaune, Kristin; Skarpaas, Lisebet S; Sagvaag, Hildegunn; Haveraaen, Lise; Rimstad, Silje; Kinn, Liv G; Aas, Randi W

2017-12-01

Alcohol is one of the leading causes of ill health and premature death in the world. Several studies indicate that working life might influence employees' alcohol consumption and drinking patterns. The aim of this study was to explore work-related drinking situations, with a special focus on answering who initiates and organises these situations. Data were collected through semi-structured group interviews in six Norwegian companies from the private ( n=4) and public sectors ( n=2), employing a total of 3850 employees. The informants ( n=43) were representatives from management and local unions, safety officers, advisers from the social insurance office and human-resource personnel, health, safety and environment personnel, and members from the occupational environment committee. Both qualitative and quantitative content analyses were applied in the analyses of the material. Three different initiators and organisers were discovered: the employer, employees and external organisers. External organisers included customers, suppliers, collaborators, sponsors, subcontractors, different unions and employers' organisations. The employer organised more than half of the situations; external organisers were responsible for more than a quarter. The differences between companies were mostly due to the extent of external organisers. The employer initiates and organises most situations for work-related alcohol use. However, exposure to such situations seems to depend on how many external relations the company has. These aspects should be taken into account when workplace health-promotion initiatives are planned.

Feminine leadership and organisational culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreea-Simona Saseanu

2014-05-01

Full Text Available People in general, leaders especially, are influenced by the organisational culture and the other way around. Organisational culture represents a determining factor regarding the display of leadership, since these two processes create each other, adding value and consistency to one another. Moreover, organisational culture can be created and developed in a fluctuant business environment, in which the external factors influence its progress. The development of society has incessantly been emphasized by the relationship between the sexes, by their individual evolution, but also by the interdependency between them. Although there is increasingly more talk about gender equality, in many countries, the social as well as economical chances and opportunities are not equal for women and men. Gradually, women have been through a series of changes related to education, rights and obligations. However, the number of women leaders has always been much lower than the number of men leaders. The personality traits of leaders significantly influence the leadership style and the way in which they are perceived by their subordinates, all this having a major impact on the overall performances of the organisation. In this manner, depending on the gender (masculine/feminine, we can state that one could observe certain personality traits that are characteristic to women and others specific to men, leaving their mark on the leadership method and on the leadership style adopted of each of them. Considering the fact that, in the current turbulent economic environment, certain qualities such as flexibility, intuition, development of communication networks and motivating the employees represent values that are considered to be “feminine”, one can assert that, in this case, gender is an opportunity. However, if we should take into consideration the impact of culture, of certain mentalities and misconceptions that are still present, regarding the woman’s standing in

How Does the Public and Private University Environment Affect Students' Entrepreneurial Intention?

Science.gov (United States)

Canever, Mario Duarte; Barral, Maria Renata Martínez; Ribeiro, Felipe Garcia

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the causal links between public and private university environments and the entrepreneurial intention (EI) of students. Design/methodology/approach: The impact of different university environments on the students' EI was checked using a model adapted from Krueger et al. (2000). The study comprised a…

Identification and assessment of organisational factors related to the safety of NPPs - State-of-the-Art Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baumont, Genevieve; Bourrier, Mathilde; Frischknecht, Albert; Schoenfeld, Isabelle; Weber, Mike J.

1999-09-01

organisational factors; - identification of methods for the evaluation of whole organisations; - identification of gaps in knowledge and needed research to evaluate adequately the influence of organisation and management on safety and risk. The workshop participants identified 12 organisational factors as important to assess in determining organisational safety performance. They are: external influences; goals and strategies; management functions and overview; resource allocation; human resource management; training; co-ordination of work; organisational knowledge; proceduralization; organisational culture; organisational learning; and communication. Different cultural backgrounds of participants using their own terminology sometimes made it difficult to have a common definition for certain factors. Some factors could be defined by consensus; other factors such as organisational culture, organisational knowledge, and organisational learning have a slightly different interpretation and will need further discussions to reach a common definition. Although the definitions of these factors may differ slightly for each country, it is important to emphasize that they were all considered to have an influence on plant safety performance. The SOAR also presents information about assessment approaches used in the three environments: - Two utilities detail their self assessment practices. - The regulatory bodies assessment approaches, as presented in the report, include a description of the context and framework of their assessment methods or approaches, and in some cases, more detailed information on their methodology. - The researcher information comes from two types of research: university-based research (as well as from public and private laboratories) and contractor-based research which may be sponsored by the regulatory body or the utility. This information is introduced by a brief background of current research trends. The assessment methods can be distinguished between two

Organisational culture and influence on developing athletes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, Kristoffer; Storm, Louise Kamuk; Larsen, Carsten Hvid

2018-01-01

athlete development; (3) that such an organisational culture can, and must, be deliberately developed and maintained by the coach and management through cultural leadership; and (4) that a key task of the sport psychology practitioner is to make the coach conscious of his role as a culture leader and thus......In this chapter we will argue: (a) that a preoccupation with individual talented athletes should be supplemented with an understanding of the environment in which they develop; (b) that a strong and coherent organisational culture of a youth club or team is a, if not the, key factor in successful...

The Significance of Effective Leadership in Organisations

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

王丽闻

2017-01-01

This essay will study leadership by critically analysing several key theories; it will begin with the concept of leadership to facility an understanding of the subject. Initially, the description of leadership in organisations will be explored to present the development of leadership, and simultaneously identify the purpose of effective leadership. Subse-quently, the demand for good leaders in current business environment will be discussed in order to identify the importance of effective lead-ership. Finally, an empirical case will be discussed to reveal how well the key theories help leaders to address various issues in organisations.

Innovation in a complex environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

René Pellissier

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Background: As our world becomes more global and competitive yet less predictable, the focus seems to be increasingly on looking to innovation activities to remain competitive. Although there is little doubt that a nation’s competitiveness is embedded in its innovativeness, the complex environment should not be ignored. Complexity is not accounted for in balance sheets or reported in reports; it becomes entrenched in every activity in the organisation. Innovation takes many forms and comes in different shapes.Objectives: The study objectives were, firstly, to establish the determinants for complexity and how these can be addressed from a design point of view in order to ensure innovation success and, secondly, to determine how this changes innovation forms and applications.Method: Two approaches were offered to deal with a complex environment – one allowing for complexity for organisational innovation and the other introducing reductionism to minimise complexity. These approaches were examined in a qualitative study involving case studies, open-ended interviews and content analysis between seven developing economy (South African organisations and seven developed economy (US organisations.Results: This study presented a proposed framework for (organisational innovation in a complex environment versus a framework that minimises complexity. The comparative organisational analysis demonstrated the importance of initiating organisational innovation to address internal and external complexity, with the focus being on the leadership actions, their selected operating models and resultant organisational innovations designs, rather than on technological innovations.Conclusion: This study cautioned the preference for technological innovation within organisations and suggested alternative innovation forms (such as organisational and management innovation be used to remain competitive in a complex environment. 

[Organising an investigation site: a national training reference document].

Science.gov (United States)

Cornu, Catherine; David, Frédérique; Duchossoy, Luc; Hansel-Esteller, Sylvie; Bertoye, Pierre-Henri; Giacomino, Alain; Mouly, Stéphane; Diebolt, Vincent; Blazejewski, Sylvie

2014-01-01

Several surveys have shown a declining performance of French investigators in conducting clinical trials. This is partly due to insufficient and heterogeneous investigator training and site organisation. A multidisciplinary group was set up to propose solutions. We describe the tools developed to improve study site organisation. This working group was made up of clinical research experts from academia, industry, drug regulatory authorities, general practice, and consulting. Methods and tools were developed to improve site organisation. The proposed tools mainly focus on increasing investigators' awareness of their responsibilities, their research environment, the importance of a thorough feasibility analysis, and the implementation of active patient recruitment strategies. These tools should be able to improve site organisation and performances in conducting clinical trials. © 2014 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique.

Surgical training in your hands: organising a skills course.

Science.gov (United States)

Burnand, Henry; Mutimer, Jon

2012-12-01

The advent of simulated surgical skills courses has brought dynamic changes to the traditional approach to acquiring practical skills in surgery. Teaching is a core part of the surgical profession, and any trainee can be involved in the organisation of skills training courses. This paper outlines the importance of organising surgical skills courses for trainees, and provides a practical guide on how to do so within busy clinical environments. The paper examines how to plan a course, how to design the programme, and provides tips on faculty staff requirements, venue, finance and participants, with additional suggestions for assessment and evaluation. We recommend the organisation of skills courses to any trainee. By following key ground rules, the surgical trainee can enable the acquisition of advanced learning opportunities and the ability to demonstrate valuable organisational skills. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

Understanding human and organisational factors - Nuclear safety and at-risk organisations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernard, Benoit

2014-01-01

This book addresses human and organisational factors which are present at different moments of the lifetime of an at-risk installation (from design to dismantling). At-risk organisations are considered as firstly human systems, and the objective is then to highlight individual and collective mechanisms in these organisations. Several questions are addressed, notably the origins of at-risk behaviour, and the reasons of the repetition of errors by these organisations. A first chapter, while referring to examples, addresses the human dimension of safety: human and organisational factors as obstacles, normal accidents (Three Mile Island), accidents in high-reliability organisations (Chernobyl), identification of root causes (Tokai-mura), and social-technical approach to safety (Fukushima). By also referring to examples, the second chapter addresses how to analyse at-risk organisations: individual behaviours (case of naval and air transport accidents), team coordination (a fire, the Challenger accident), and organisational regulation (organisations forms and routines, explosion of BP Texas City, explosion of Columbia)

Reputation Management for Scientific Organisations – Framework Development and Exemplification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petra Morschheuser

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Reputation management deals with establishing, maintaining and strengthening a positive reputation for an object in order to build trust, commitment and lasting relationships. Positive reputation is considered a major intangible asset of companies as it contributes to their value creation. Reputation and reputation management, therefore, are well-established perspectives in marketing theory. This paper examines reputation in matters of scientific organisations. Drawing on conventional (commercial marketing models of reputation management and derived characteristics of scientific organisations, a modified framework is deduced, named the Scientific Organisations Reputation Model (SORM. As this model widely fits the specific requirements of this type of organisation it will be useful for the complex task of marketing scientific organisations. Using the SORM framework, scientific organisations will be able to understand the formation of their own reputation in a more comprehensive way and will be able to improve their reputation-relevant management processes. The framework is exemplified and examined more closely using the case of DHBW, the unique German cooperate state university as the interplay of stakeholder patterns and the integration of multi-level marketing activities are carved out and main effects on reputation are demonstrated.

Organisational Structure

Science.gov (United States)

National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), 2006

2006-01-01

An understanding of organisational structure can provide guidance for organisations that want to change and innovate. Many writers agree that this understanding allows organisations to shape how their work is done to ultimately achieve their business goals--and that too often structure is given little consideration in business strategy and…

Analysing organisational context: case studies on the contribution of absorptive capacity theory to understanding inter-organisational variation in performance improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Gill; Jas, Pauline; Walshe, Kieran

2015-01-01

Organisational context is frequently cited as an important consideration when implementing and evaluating quality improvement interventions in healthcare, but limited guidance is available on which aspects of context are most influential or modifiable. This paper examines how internal and external contextual factors mediate organisational-level performance improvement through applying the knowledge-based theory of absorptive capacity (AC). Three healthcare case studies are presented. Each case is a UK National Health Service organisation that had been identified as having performance problems. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with general and clinical managers within the organisation and members of external teams supporting or overseeing performance improvement (n=22). Interview data were analysed using an existing AC framework from the literature. The organisation with the highest AC showed the quickest and most comprehensive performance improvement. Internal characteristics including strategic priorities, processes for managing information, communication and orientation to learning and development impacted on the organisation's ability to engage successfully with external stakeholders and make use of available knowledge. This enabled the organisation to thrive despite the challenging external environment. Lower levels of AC appeared to delay or limit the improvement trajectory. Developing a more detailed and nuanced understanding of how context influences improvement is an important step towards achieving more effective and sustainable quality improvement programmes in healthcare. AC, with its focus on knowledge and organisational learning, provides a useful way to explore the relationship between context and quality improvement and represents a potentially valuable area for future research and development. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go

Examining the application of Web 2.0 in medical-related organisations.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Samuel Kai Wah; Woo, Matsuko; King, Ronnel B; Choi, Stephen; Cheng, Miffy; Koo, Peggy

2012-03-01

This study surveyed Web 2.0 application in three types of selected health or medical-related organisations such as university medical libraries, hospitals and non-profit medical-related organisations. Thirty organisations participated in an online survey on the perceived purposes, benefits and difficulties in using Web 2.0. A phone interview was further conducted with eight organisations (26.7%) to collect information on the use of Web 2.0. Data were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Results showed that knowledge and information sharing and the provision of a better communication platform were rated as the main purposes of using Web 2.0. Time constraints and low staff engagement were the most highly rated difficulties. In addition, most participants found Web 2.0 to be beneficial to their organisations. Medical-related organisations that adopted Web 2.0 technologies have found them useful, with benefits outweighing the difficulties in the long run. The implications of this study are discussed to help medical-related organisations make decisions regarding the use of Web 2.0 technologies. © 2011 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2011 Health Libraries Group.

Relationship Marketing, Engine of Sustainable Development and Organisational Change in the Romanian Business Environment

OpenAIRE

Nicolae Al Pop; Mihaela Roman; Adina Săniuţă; Carmen Petrişoaia

2012-01-01

This paper aims to provide a conceptual clarification of the terms sustainable development and organisational change. It studies the role of relationship marketing for implementing these two concepts. The main objectives are the perception of the three concepts by Romanian business decision-makers and their ‘sensitivity’ to organisational changes, with regard to implementing the relationship marketing at company level. Information was gathered via exploratory research, using qualitative in-de...

The Impact of Organisational Learning on Organisational Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Zgrzywa-Ziemak

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of this article is to analyse the theoretical views and results of empirical research concerning the relation between organisational learning (OL and organisational performance (OP. Methodology: The study was carried out through extensive literature research, including relevant literature review from databases such as ProQuest, Elsevier, Emerald and EBSCO (the phrases: “organisational learning”, “learning organisation” and “organisational performance” were searched in the keywords, titles or abstracts. Findings: From a theoretical point of view, the relation between OL and OP is neither obvious nor clear, but the analysis of the empirical studies allows one to assume that OL has an essential impact on OP. However, differences in the strength of the relation were shown and some contradictions related to the presence of the relation between OL and selected (mostly financial performance aspects identified. Furthermore, the article discusses the significant differences and inconsistencies in the methods of measuring OL, measuring OP, selecting contextual factors and adopted methods of data analysis. Implications: Inconsistencies and gaps found in the studies of the relationship between OL and OP made it possible to designate the direction for promising further research. Value: The article presents valuable insight through its in-depth, critical analysis of the organisational learning and organisational outcomes. First and foremost, this indicates that the formula of the previous empirical studies does not allow for the development of precise solutions pertaining to organisational learning management for the benefit of OP improvement.

Intra-organisational accounting during negotiation processes for inter-organisational control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Morten

. The study concludes that an important role of management accounting is to reveal the intra-organisational cost consequences of proposals made by suppliers during negotiation processes. Thereby cost information becomes an integrated part of the counter-proposals generated and actively used during......To date the literature on management and management accounting within inter-organisational relationships has mainly focussed on managing the interface between the supplier and the buyer. In contrast to most previous research, this study examines the internal practices of a company engaged in inter......-organisational relationships. It addresses the question of how intra-organisational management accounting practices affect the ability to conduct inter-organisational relationships. A qualitative case study is used to gather information from an electronics company. The company enters its inter-organisational relationships...

Psychological empowerment, job insecurity and wellness of employees in selected organisations / Marius Wilhelm Stander

OpenAIRE

Stander, Marius Wilhelm

2007-01-01

South Africa, like the rest of the world, is undergoing major changes in the social, political, economic, technological and organisational environments. The ability of any organisation to compete internationally will depend to a large extent on the quality of its people. The biggest challenge that organisations are facing is to find, develop and retain talent. More than ever the ability of organisations to grow and develop will he determined by the level of competence and energy of their peop...

Modelling and simulating a crisis management system: an organisational perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Chaawa, Mohamed; Thabet, Inès; Hanachi, Chihab; Ben Said, Lamjed

2017-04-01

Crises are complex situations due to the dynamism of the environment, its unpredictability and the complexity of the interactions among several different and autonomous involved organisations. In such a context, establishing an organisational view as well as structuring organisations' communications and their functioning is a crucial requirement. In this article, we propose a multi-agent organisational model (OM) to abstract, simulate and analyse a crisis management system (CMS). The objective is to evaluate the CMS from an organisational view, to assess its strength as well as its weakness and to provide deciders with some recommendations for a more flexible and reactive CMS. The proposed OM is illustrated through a real case study: a snowstorm in a Tunisian region. More precisely, we made the following contribution: firstly, we provide an environmental model that identifies the concepts involved in the crisis. Then, we define a role model that copes with the involved actors. In addition, we specify the organisational structure and the interaction model that rule communications and structure actors' functioning. Those models, built following the GAIA methodology, abstract the CMS from an organisational perspective. Finally, we implemented a customisable multi-agent simulator based on the Janus platform to analyse, through several performed simulations, the organisational model.

Learning to bridge the gap between adaptive management and organisational culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard J. Stirzaker

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Adaptive management is the problem-solving approach of choice proposed for complex and multistakeholder environments, which are, at best, only partly predictable. We discuss the implications of this approach as applicable to scientists, who have to overcome certain entrained behaviour patterns in order to participate effectively in an adaptive management process. The challenge does not end there. Scientists and managers soon discover that an adaptive management approach does not only challenge conventional scientific and management behaviour but also clashes with contemporary organisational culture. We explore the shortcomings and requirements of organisations with regard to enabling adaptive management. Our overall conclusion relates to whether organisations are learning-centred or not. Do we continue to filter out unfamiliar information which does not fit our world view and avoid situations where we might fail, or do we use new and challenging situations to reframe the question and prepare ourselves for continued learning? Conservation implications: For an organisation to effectively embrace adaptive management, its mangers and scientists may first have to adapt their own beliefs regarding their respective roles. Instead of seeking certainty for guiding decisions, managers and scientists should acknowledge a degree of uncertainty inherent to complex social and ecological systems and seek to learn from the patterns emerging from every decision and action. The required organisational culture is one of ongoing and purposeful learning with all relevant stakeholders. Such a learning culture is often talked about but rarely practised in the organisational environment.

Relationship Marketing, Engine of Sustainable Development and Organisational Change in the Romanian Business Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolae Al. Pop

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to provide a conceptual clarification of the terms sustainable development and organisational change. It studies the role of relationship marketing for implementing these two concepts. The main objectives are the perception of the three concepts by Romanian business decision-makers and their ‘sensitivity’ to organisational changes, with regard to implementing the relationship marketing at company level. Information was gathered via exploratory research, using qualitative in-depth interview based on a conversation guide. The conclusions of the study prove that the interlocutors have a relatively clear knowledge of the concepts, but without making a direct connection between sustainable development and major organisational changes triggered by implementing the relationship marketing. The authors recommend the development of a system which centralises all company connections with its stakeholders, to fully capitalise on its accumulated relational capital

The impact of organisational change and fiscal restraint on organisational culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Dark, Frances; Whiteford, Harvey; Ashkanasy, Neal M; Harvey, Carol; Harris, Meredith; Crompton, David; Newman, Ellie

2017-01-01

Strategies to implement evidence-based practice have highlighted the bidirectional relationship of organisational change on organisational culture. The present study examined changes in perceptions of organisational culture in two community mental health services implementing cognitive therapies into routine psychosis care over 3 years. During the time of the study there were a number of shared planned and unplanned changes that the mental health services had to accommodate. One service, Metro South, had the additional challenge of embarking on a major organisational restructure. A survey of organisational culture was administered to clinical staff of each service at yearly intervals over the 3 years. At baseline assessment there was no significant difference between the two services in organisational culture. At the midpoint assessment, which was conducted at the time the Metro South restructure was operationalized, there were less positive ratings of organisational culture recorded in Metro South compared to the other service. Organisational culture returned to near-baseline levels at endpoint assessment. These findings are consistent with the literature that organisational culture is relatively robust and resilient. It is also consistent with the literature that, at any one time, a service or organisation may have a finite capacity to absorb change. Consequently this limitation needs to be taken into account in the timing and planning of major service reform where possible. The results also extend the literature, insofar as external factors with a high impact on the operation of an organisation may impact upon organisational culture albeit temporarily.

The Language Environments of Exchange Students at some Scandinavian Universities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Caudery, Tim; Petersen, Margrethe; Shaw, Philip

Language Environments of Exchange Students at Scandinavian Universities One aspect of, and one reason for, the internationalisation of Scandinavian universities is the increasing number of exchange students and postgraduates from outside Scandinavia attending courses here. Few of these students...... are primarily motivated by a desire to learn the local language. In fact it is widely believed that many of them live in a lingua-franca English-speaking environment, so that Erasmus contributes to linguistic homogenisation rather than plurilingualism. This paper reports results of an ongoing study...... of the language environment and language learning experiences of some hundred (so far) Erasmus exchange students in two institutions in Sweden and two in Denmark. Subjects had French, German and Spanish as mother tongues. This design is intended to enable the identification of language/culturespecific factors...

The Army Learning Organisation Questionnaire: Developing a Valid and Reliable Measure of Learning Organisation Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

2014-07-01

FIML Full Information Maximum Likelihood KMO Kaiser-Meyer-Oklin LEQ Learning Environment Questionnaire LO Learning Organisation LOS Learning...adequacy of the correlations’ magnitude was initially tested by using Kaiser-Meyer-Oklin ( KMO ) (Kaiser, 1974) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (see...Table 4). Table 4: EFA assumption testing of ALOQ: Adequacy of correlation strength Assumption tests 44 item set* 21 item set KMO measure of

Personal Learning Environments and University Teacher Roles Explored Using Delphi

Science.gov (United States)

Shaikh, Zaffar Ahmed; Khoja, Shakeel Ahmed

2014-01-01

This paper presents the results of research using an online Delphi method, which aimed to explore university teacher roles and readiness for learner-centred pedagogy, driven by personal learning environments (PLEs). Using a modified Policy Delphi technique, a group of researchers worked with 34 international experts who are university teachers by…

University Environment Experience of the First Two Years of University Graduates at a Newly Established Small University Located in Suburban Area in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Yii-Nii

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study is to describe students' university environment experience from the perspectives of the first two years of university graduates of a newly established small university located in suburban area in Taiwan. A qualitative method of phenomenology with in-depth interviews is adopted. Fourteen male and sixteen female seniors,…

Risk Management Standards: Towards a contemporary, organisation-wide management approach

OpenAIRE

Koutsoukis, Nikitas-Spiros

2010-01-01

Risk management has been progressively evolving into a systemic approach for organisational decision making in today’s dynamic economic environment of the global era. In this context, risk management is reaching beyond its traditional finance and insurance application context and is entering the sphere of generic, organisation-wide management approaches. In support of this argument we consider four generic risk management standards issued at the institutional, national or international level...

Organisational Information Security Strategy: Review, Discussion and Future Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Craig A. Horne

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Dependence on information, including for some of the world’s largest organisations such as governments and multi-national corporations, has grown rapidly in recent years. However, reports of information security breaches and their associated consequences indicate that attacks are escalating on organisations conducting these information-based activities. Organisations need to formulate strategy to secure their information, however gaps exist in knowledge. Through a thematic review of academic security literature, (1 we analyse the antecedent conditions that motivate the adoption of a comprehensive information security strategy, (2 the conceptual elements of strategy and (3 the benefits that are enjoyed post-adoption. Our contributions include a definition of information security strategy that moves from an internally-focussed protection of information towards a strategic view that considers the organisation, its resources and capabilities, and its external environment. Our findings are then used to suggest future research directions.

Factors contributing to a supportive sport talent development environment

OpenAIRE

L. Van Den Berg; J. Surujlal

2013-01-01

Sport organisations face serious challenges such as technological, economic, social and organisational change in a competitive environment. One of the ways in which sport organisations can address these challenges is through the implementation of a talent development environment. For such an environment to exist, sport organisations need to identify, develop and retain talent. Talent identification involves a process of recognising athletes with the potential to excel in a particular sport, r...

Roles of perceived exchange quality and organisational identification in predicting turnover intention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manish Kumar

2012-03-01

Full Text Available This paper explores whether the perceived quality of the leader–member exchange and the general environment of exchange could predict turnover intention. It further examines the role of organisational identification as an explanatory variable mediating between exchange relationships and turnover intention. The authors used three-step hierarchical linear regressions on a data set collected in two time waves. The results supported the mediating role of organisational identification for the leader–member exchange and turnover intention relationship as well as the general environment of exchange and turnover intention relationship. Moreover, as was expected, the general exchange quality had a greater impact on organisational identification compared to the leader–member exchange quality. However, the findings did not confirm the expected trend in the case of two exchange variables predicting turnover intention.

Bacterial stigmergy: an organising principle of multicellular collective behaviours of bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Gloag, Erin S; Turnbull, Lynne; Whitchurch, Cynthia B

2015-01-01

The self-organisation of collective behaviours often manifests as dramatic patterns of emergent large-scale order. This is true for relatively "simple" entities such as microbial communities and robot "swarms," through to more complex self-organised systems such as those displayed by social insects, migrating herds, and many human activities. The principle of stigmergy describes those self-organised phenomena that emerge as a consequence of indirect communication between individuals of the group through the generation of persistent cues in the environment. Interestingly, despite numerous examples of multicellular behaviours of bacteria, the principle of stigmergy has yet to become an accepted theoretical framework that describes how bacterial collectives self-organise. Here we review some examples of multicellular bacterial behaviours in the context of stigmergy with the aim of bringing this powerful and elegant self-organisation principle to the attention of the microbial research community.

Correlation between family environment and suicidal ideation in university students in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhai, Hui; Bai, Bing; Chen, Lu; Han, Dong; Wang, Lin; Qiao, Zhengxue; Qiu, Xiaohui; Yang, Xiuxian; Yang, Yanjie

2015-01-27

This study investigated the association between suicidal ideation and family environment. The sample included 5183 Chinese university students. A number of studies on suicidal ideation have focused on individuals rather than families. This paper reviews the general principles of suicidal ideation and the consequences resulting from the family environment. This study used six different colleges as the dataset, which included 2645 males and 2538 females. Students were questioned with respect to social demographics and suicidal ideation factors. The data were analyzed with factor and logistic analyses to determine the association between suicidal ideation and poor family environment. The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 9.2% (476/5183). Most participants with suicidal ideation had significant similarities: they had poor family structures and relationships, their parents had unstable work, and their parents used improper parenting styles. Female students were more likely to have suicidal thoughts than male students. This study shows that suicidal ideation is a public health issue among Chinese university students and demonstrates the importance of considering the family environment when examining university students' suicidal ideation. Understanding family-related suicidal ideation risk factors can help to predict and prevent suicides among university students.

Correlation between Family Environment and Suicidal Ideation in University Students in China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhai, Hui; Bai, Bing; Chen, Lu; Han, Dong; Wang, Lin; Qiao, Zhengxue; Qiu, Xiaohui; Yang, Xiuxian; Yang, Yanjie

2015-01-01

Background: This study investigated the association between suicidal ideation and family environment. The sample included 5183 Chinese university students. A number of studies on suicidal ideation have focused on individuals rather than families. This paper reviews the general principles of suicidal ideation and the consequences resulting from the family environment. Methods: This study used six different colleges as the dataset, which included 2645 males and 2538 females. Students were questioned with respect to social demographics and suicidal ideation factors. The data were analyzed with factor and logistic analyses to determine the association between suicidal ideation and poor family environment. Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 9.2% (476/5183). Most participants with suicidal ideation had significant similarities: they had poor family structures and relationships, their parents had unstable work, and their parents used improper parenting styles. Female students were more likely to have suicidal thoughts than male students. Conclusions: This study shows that suicidal ideation is a public health issue among Chinese university students and demonstrates the importance of considering the family environment when examining university students’ suicidal ideation. Understanding family-related suicidal ideation risk factors can help to predict and prevent suicides among university students. PMID:25633031

FACILITATORS OF INTERNET PROMOTION (E-BROCHURE ADOPTION BY NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nelson Oly Ndubisi

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Internet promotion, otherwise e-brochure (EB or partial e-commerce adoption by non-profit organisations denotes the use of the Internet to provide business and service related information by academic institutions (as in the present study, non-profit organisations, religious organisations, and government agencies to reduce their expenses or to improve their operations and customer service. A field survey of Malaysian universities was conducted to determine the key factors that facilitate the adoption of non-business EB. Since EB adoption decision is a strategic one, a comprehensive list of potential facilitators for the strategic use of information technology (IT was derived from extant literature and used in collecting data from 65 schools and centres in five public universities in Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The data were factor-analysed to determine the key underlying dimensions of facilitators. On the basis of the resulting five dimensions namely, relative advantage orientation, network orientation, information efficiency orientation, innovativeness orientation, and competitiveness orientation, regression analysis was done to determine the impact of the five dimensions on non-business EB adoption.

Organisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Henrik B.; Hansen, Kaj; Heide, Asbjørn

Bogen giver en indføring i de centrale emner indenfor organisation og ledelse. Bogen henvender sig især til akademi- og diplomuddannelserne samt uddannelser til professionsbachelorer, der alle har et anvendelsesorienteret formål. Endvidere henvender bogen sig til uddannelser og kurser, der...... beskæftiger sig med ledelse og organisation på et videregående niveau. Til bogen er der udarbejdet en lang række supplerende materialer til undervisere og studerende i form af opgaver og cases, test med tilhørende svar, vejledninger i opgaveløsning og projektarbejde. dette univers kan findes på bogens...... hjemmeside på www.organisation.academica.dk...

Organisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindkvist, Pia

Du vil som læser få et indblik i, hvordan omgivelsernes ændrede krav til virksomhederne ændrer på organisations- og ledelsesteorien. Baggrunden for ”Organisation – videregående uddannelser” er, at give dig egenskaberne til at analysere og vurdere ledelsesmæssige og organisatoriske problemer...

Occupational stress and organisational commitment of employees at higher educational institution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simbarashe Zhuwao

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between occupational stress and organisational commitment of employees at a higher education institution. A random sample (N=30 was chosen from academic staff within the university. The study used a quantitative design. The Organisational Stress Screening Tool (ASSET and Allen and Meyer’s Organisational Commitment Tool (OCT were administered. The study revealed that a statistical significant relationship exists between occupational stress and organizational commitment of employees. The study also showed that academic staff overall experienced average levels of occupational stress and organisational commitment. Job characteristics and work relationship were found to be the major sources of occupation stress. It is recommended that higher education institutions should improve employee participation in decision making to reduce employees’ stress as a result of unmanageable workloads and overload.

Promoting Participation Through the Universal Design of Built Environments: Making it Happen

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valerie Watchorn

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Environmental design is a determinant of social inclusion and people’s participation in life roles. Design that does not cater for a diverse range of ages, abilities and cultures restricts people’s access to, and use of, domestic or public premises. Universal design is an approach that acknowledges diversity of populations and encourages designers to create objects and places that are usable by the greatest majority of users. Although there are potential benefits to the widest application of universal design within society, such application is not mandatory within Australia. This paper presents findings from an Australian qualitative study that explored universal design as a means of facilitating greater environmental access for all. The views of experts working within the field of architecture and environmental access were explored regarding factors that restrict or facilitate application of universal design to the design of built environments. Study findings revealed a number of themes relating to factors that may restrain, ‘what’s holding us back?’ and factors that may facilitate application of universal design, ‘making it happen’. These findings have direct relevance to those involved in the planning and design of built environments, policy developers and educators. Keywords: Universal design, architecture, occupational therapy, built environments, barriers, facilitators, inter-professional education

Basic Management Functions in Culture and Arts Organisations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragoljub Raduški

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In the last fifty years management has become a significant factor in the development of sectors that have no profit characteristics. The culture and arts organisations are aware of the need for management. However, various specific aspects of the artistic practice are the key issue regarding the implementation of management in culture and arts. The main problem in obtaining positive outcomes is the correct adjustment of management and art functions having in mind the relationship between the two. The management functions need to be implemented and applied in such a manner that art activities should not be compromised. Due to project orientation, lack of funding and environment changes, entrepreneurship has assumed a significant role in achieving the goals of culture and arts organisations. In less developed countries, the functions of management are not implemented in arts and culture to their full potential. One reason is the importance a given society assigns to arts and culture. Still, implementation of management is the fundamental assumption of faster development of artistic, organisational and technical modernization and financial stabilisation of culture and arts organisations.

Communication in turbulent times : exploring issue arenas and crisis communication to enhance organisational resilience

OpenAIRE

Vos, Marita; Van der Molen, Irna; Mykkänen, Markus

2017-01-01

This book is characterised by a broad approach towards corporate communication, emphasising change and crisis. The focus is not on crises as an exceptional situation but rather on broader volatility in the environment. The purpose of this book is to increase the understanding of multi- stakeholder communication concerning organisational issues and crises. From the perspective of organisational management, this book clarifies how communication contributes to organisational resi...

Co-evolutionary organisational response development model (CORD): a case study of an Australian energy company climate change responses

OpenAIRE

Mishra, Kirti

2016-01-01

The thesis reports an investigation of the effects of the complex, evolving relationships between organisations and their environments. This examination is a case study of the responses of an Australian energy company to effects of climate change, and aims to enhance understanding of how organisational responses to climate change develop and evolve over time.    The impact of climate change on the contemporary organisational environment has multiple aspects – natural, ec...

A paradigm shift in organisational safety culture evaluation and training

OpenAIRE

Cram, Robert; Sime, Julie-Ann

2015-01-01

The focus of this research is to explore the issues surrounding traditional approaches towards understanding the safety culture of an organisation operating in a high risk environment and to identify an effective technique to educate corporate management in how to measure and evaluate the underlying safety culture of their own organisations. The results of the first part of the research highlight the concerns being expressed by both academic and industrial communities that current safety cult...

Virtual Models of European Universities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Sanya Gertsen

2003-01-01

The study provides a detailed report on the current and possible future use of ICT by European universities for educational and organisational purposes. The report presents: • A general description of the current situation regarding the use of ICT in EU universities in both the educational...... and the organisational setting. • An in-depth study of selected institutions through case studies. • A future-oriented analysis. • A set of recommendations for future action....

Supportive Organisational Cultures and their effects on Male Civil Engineers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valarie Francis

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Substantial changes, not only in the demographic composition of the Australian workforce, but also,in the roles and expectations of men and women, have led to organisational and employee attempts to reconcile work and non-work demands. Research suggests that when work-family balance practices are introduced they can greatly enhance organisational efficency. However factors embedded in the organisational culture can undermine these policies rendering them ineffective. This quantitative study examined the relationship between the perceptions of a supportive work culture and some work and non-work experiences of Australian male civil engineers. The research investigated the prevalence of organisational values supportive of work-life balances as well as the level of work-family conflict perceived by those engineers. This paper reports some initial results of the study. These indicated that male civil engineers experienced moderate levels of work-family conflict but do not perceive their organisations to be very supportive of employee nneeds to balance work and personal life. However those that reported a supportive work environment also reported higher levels of organisational commitment, greater job and life satisfaction as well as lower level of work-family conflict and lower intentions to quit. The implications of the findings for organisations employing civil engineers are discussed.

Supportive Organisational Cultures and their effects on Male Civil Engineers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valarie Francis

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Substantial changes, not only in the demographic composition of the Australian workforce, but also,in the roles and expectations of men and women, have led to organisational and employee attempts to reconcile work and non-work demands. Research suggests that when work-family balance practices are introduced they can greatly enhance organisational efficency. However factors embedded in the organisational culture can undermine these policies rendering them ineffective. This quantitative study examined the relationship between the perceptions of a supportive work culture and some work and non-work experiences of Australian male civil engineers. The research investigated the prevalence of organisational values supportive of work-life balances as well as the level of work-family conflict perceived by those engineers. This paper reports some initial results of the study. These indicated that male civil engineers experienced moderate levels of work-family conflict but do not perceive their organisations to be very supportive of employee nneeds to balance work and personal life. However those that reported a supportive work environment also reported higher levels of organisational commitment, greater job and life satisfaction as well as lower level of work-family conflict and lower intentions to quit. The implications of the findings for organisations employing civil engineers are discussed.   

Organisational factors. Their definition and influence on nuclear safety. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baumont, G.; Wahlstroem, B.; Sola, R.; Williams, J.; Frischknecht, A.; Wilpert, B.; Rollenhagen, C.

2000-12-01

The importance of organisational factors in the operational safety and efficiency of nuclear power plants (NPP) has been recognised by many organisations around the world. Despite this recognition, however, there are as yet very few methods by which organisational factors can be systematically assessed and improved. The majority of research efforts applied so far have tended to be modest and scattered. The ORFA project was created as a remedy to these problems. The objective of the project is to create a better understanding of how organisation and management factors influence nuclear safety. A key scientific objective of the project is to identify components of a theoretical framework, which would help in understanding the relationships between organisational factors and nuclear safety. Three work packages were planned. First, a review of literature listed out the identified factors and methods for assessing them. Then, a draft version of the present report was prepared to clarify the environment context and the main issues of the topics. This draft was discussed at the ORFA seminar in Madrid 21-22 October 1999. During the seminar views and comments were collected on preliminary results of the project. Finally, this information has been integrated in the present and other reports and will be used to give further guidance to the European Commission in the development of forthcoming research programmes in the field. The project has addressed nuclear safety taking a broad perspective, which reflected and took into account the views of senior NPP management and regulators. The questions discussed during the project have been: how can organisational factors be included in safety assessments, how can good and bad operational practices be identified, which methods can be used for detecting weak signals of deteriorating performance, how should incidents be analysed with respect to organisational factors to give the largest learning benefit, how can data on organisational

Women's career advancement in organisations: Integrative framework for research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mišić-Andrić Marijana

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Contemporary organisations, caught in the middle of global economic and social crisis, are facing different business challenges, having to respond to quick changes in business environment and demographic changes in workforce composed by increasing number of women. Although the number of women in workforce is on the rise, they are still underrepresented in manager positions, especially higher management. This implies that certain barriers are in place which makes difficult for women to develop their careers, especially in reaching manager positions. The aim of this paper is to analyse and present a theoretical framework for further study of professional carrier advancement for women. The paper especially analyse integrative theoretical framework which stresses the equal importance of researching individual factors (personal influence and organisational factors (social inclusion, having in mind how the organisational context can improve or deter women's carrier. The paper presents possible directions for future research based on the analysis of the theoretical framework and especially individual and organisational factors.

A Wicked Problem? Whistleblowing in Healthcare Organisations Comment on "Cultures of Silence And Cultures of Voice: The Role Of Whistleblowing in Healthcare Organisations".

Science.gov (United States)

Hyde, Paula

2016-01-08

Mannion and Davies' article recognises whistleblowing as an important means of identifying quality and safety issues in healthcare organisations. While 'voice' is a useful lens through which to examine whistleblowing, it also obscures a shifting pattern of uncertain 'truths.' By contextualising cultures which support or impede whislteblowing at an organisational level, two issues are overlooked; the power of wider institutional interests to silence those who might raise the alarm and changing ideas about what constitutes adequate care. A broader contextualisation of whistleblowing might illuminate further facets of this multi-dimensional problem. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Greenery in the university environment : Students’ preferences and perceived restoration likelihood

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Bogerd, Nicole; Dijkstra, S. Coosje; Seidell, Jacob C.; Maas, Jolanda

2018-01-01

A large body of evidence shows that interaction with greenery can be beneficial for human stress reduction, emotional states, and improved cognitive function. It can, therefore, be expected that university students might benefit from greenery in the university environment. Before investing in

Organisational Learning: Conceptual Links to Individual Learning, Learning Organisation and Knowledge Management

OpenAIRE

Siu Loon Hoe

2007-01-01

Organisational learning has over the years been subject of much study by scholars and managers. In the process, the organisational learning concept has been linked to many other knowledge concepts such as individual learning, learning organisation, and knowledge management. This paper draws from existing literature in organisational behaviour, human resource management, marketing, and information management, to further develop the conceptual links between organisational learning and these kno...

The role of organisational support in teleworker wellbeing: a socio-technical systems approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Bentley, T A; Teo, S T T; McLeod, L; Tan, F; Bosua, R; Gloet, M

2016-01-01

The prevalence of telework and other forms of mobile working enabled by digital technology is increasing markedly. Following a socio-technical systems approach, this study aims to examine the role of organisational social support and specific support for teleworkers in influencing teleworker wellbeing, the mediating role of social isolation, potentially resulting from a person-environment mismatch in these relationships, and possible differences in these relationships between low-intensity and hybrid teleworkers. Teleworkers' (n = 804) perceptions of support and telework outcomes (psychological strain, job satisfaction, and social isolation) were collected using an on-line survey of teleworking employees distributed within 28 New Zealand organisations where knowledge work was undertaken. Organisational social support and teleworker support was associated with increased job satisfaction and reduced psychological strain. Social isolation mediated the relationship between organisational social support and the two outcome variables, and some differences were observed in the structural relationships for hybrid and low-intensity teleworker sub-samples. These findings suggest that providing the necessary organisational and teleworker support is important for enhancing the teleworker-environment fit and thereby ensuring desirable telework outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Perceived organisational support, organisational commitment and self-competence among nurses: a study in two Italian hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Battistelli, Adalgisa; Galletta, Maura; Vandenberghe, Christian; Odoardi, Carlo

2016-01-01

This study examined the contributions of perceived organisational support (POS) and organisational commitment (i.e. affective, continuance and normative) to self-competence among nurses. In high-POS environments, workers benefit from socio-emotional resources to improve their skills, while positive forms of commitment (e.g. affective commitment) create a fertile context for developing one's competencies. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the nursing staff of two Italian urban hospitals (hospital A, n = 160; hospital B, n = 192). A structured questionnaire was administered individually to the nurses. Data analysis was conducted through multi-group analysis and supplemented by a bootstrapping approach. The results showed that POS was positively related to self-competence through affective commitment. In contrast, continuance and normative commitment did not mediate this relationship. This study shows that supporting employees through caring about their well-being as well as fostering positive forms of organisational commitment increases nurses' self-competence. Nurse managers may increase support perceptions and commitment among their staff by rewarding their contributions and caring about their well-being, as well as concentrating on training strategies that improve work-related skills. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Optimising the Blended Learning Environment: The Arab Open University Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Hamdi, Tahrir; Abu Qudais, Mohammed

2018-01-01

This paper will offer some insights into possible ways to optimise the blended learning environment based on experience with this modality of teaching at Arab Open University/Jordan branch and also by reflecting upon the results of several meta-analytical studies, which have shown blended learning environments to be more effective than their face…

Trends in the development of the Danish universities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sarauw, Laura Louise; Christiansen, Niels Frederik Voetmann; Harboe, Thomas

2015-01-01

The chapter outlines some important development trends in the way universities, globally as well as nationally in terms of organisation, research, education and teaching.......The chapter outlines some important development trends in the way universities, globally as well as nationally in terms of organisation, research, education and teaching....

Leadership empowering behaviour, psychological empowerment, organisational citizenship behaviours and turnover intention in a manufacturing division

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janie Bester

2015-08-01

Research purpose: The aim of this study was to theoretically conceptualise and empirically determine the relationships between employees’ perception of their leaders’ empowering behaviour, psychological empowerment, organisational citizenship behaviours and intention to leave within a manufacturing division of an organisation. Motivation for the study: In the ever-changing work environment, organisations must capitalise on their human capital in order to maintain competitiveness. It is therefore important to identify the role of employees’ perception of leadership in contributing to the establishment of an environment where employees feel empowered, are willing to do more than what is expected and want to stay in the organisation. Research design, approach and method: A non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design was used. The total population (N = 300 employed at the manufacturing division was targeted. Two hundred completed questionnaires were obtained. The Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire, Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire, Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Questionnaire and Intention to Leave Scale were administered. Main findings: Employees’ perception of their leaders’ empowering behaviour (keeping employees accountable, self-directed decision-making and people development, psychological empowerment (attitude and influence and organisational citizenship behaviours (loyalty, deviant behaviour and participation predict intention to leave the organisation. Practical/managerial implications: Organisations should foster the elements of a positive organisation, in this case leader empowering behaviours, if they want to retain their employees. Contribution/value-add: The results of this research contribute to scientific knowledge about the positive effects of employees experiencing their leaders as empowering.

The importance of executive leadership in creating a post-merged organisational culture conducive to effective performance management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gary W. Paul

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Focus was placed on the important role of executive management in creating a post-merged organisational culture conducive to effective performance management.Research purpose: To develop a theoretical model from the insights gleaned from the literature study, interviews with senior human resource (HR practitioners at participating institutions and the empirical study. Based on the empirical findings, this model was refined and resulted in the eight-step integrated post-merged organisational culture creation model.Motivation for the study: The negligible attention given to the design of mechanisms supportive of post-merged organisational culture creation emphasised the need for this study. The high percentage of merger failures attributable to ineffective post-merged organisational culture integration further contributed.Research design, approach and method: A quantitative study was conducted at three merged South African higher education institutions, namely Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Durban University of Technology. Respondents occupied the following functional categories: executive management, senior and line management, HR practitioners and non-HR or non-management.Main findings: Respondents perceived the role of executive management to be the most important step of the theoretical model which formed the basis for the empirical survey questionnaire. This step, which obtained the highest summated mean score in all three institutions and across all functional categories, was depicted as Step 5 of the model.Practical/managerial implications: The refined eight-step integrated post-merged organisational culture creation model will significantly enhance the creation of a post-merged organisational culture conducive to effective performance management.Contribution/value-add: This study addressed the void regarding a model to guide the creation of a post-merged organisational

Correlation between Family Environment and Suicidal Ideation in University Students in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Zhai

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: This study investigated the association between suicidal ideation and family environment. The sample included 5183 Chinese university students. A number of studies on suicidal ideation have focused on individuals rather than families. This paper reviews the general principles of suicidal ideation and the consequences resulting from the family environment. Methods: This study used six different colleges as the dataset, which included 2645 males and 2538 females. Students were questioned with respect to social demographics and suicidal ideation factors. The data were analyzed with factor and logistic analyses to determine the association between suicidal ideation and poor family environment. Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 9.2% (476/5183. Most participants with suicidal ideation had significant similarities: they had poor family structures and relationships, their parents had unstable work, and their parents used improper parenting styles. Female students were more likely to have suicidal thoughts than male students. Conclusions: This study shows that suicidal ideation is a public health issue among Chinese university students and demonstrates the importance of considering the family environment when examining university students’ suicidal ideation. Understanding family-related suicidal ideation risk factors can help to predict and prevent suicides among university students.

Psychometric analysis of the leadership environment scale (LENS): Outcome from the Oregon research initiative on the organisation of nursing (ORION).

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Amy M; Ilic, Kelley; Kiyoshi-Teo, Hiroko; Lee, Christopher S

2017-12-26

The purpose of this study was to establish the psychometric properties of the new 16-item leadership environment scale. The leadership environment scale was based on complexity science concepts relevant to complex adaptive health care systems. A workforce survey of direct-care nurses was conducted (n = 1,443) in Oregon. Confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis, concordant validity test and reliability tests were conducted to establish the structure and internal consistency of the leadership environment scale. Confirmatory factor analysis indices approached acceptable thresholds of fit with a single factor solution. Exploratory factor analysis showed improved fit with a two-factor model solution; the factors were labelled 'influencing relationships' and 'interdependent system supports'. Moderate to strong convergent validity was observed between the leadership environment scale/subscales and both the nursing workforce index and the safety organising scale. Reliability of the leadership environment scale and subscales was strong, with all alphas ≥.85. The leadership environment scale is structurally sound and reliable. Nursing management can employ adaptive complexity leadership attributes, measure their influence on the leadership environment, subsequently modify system supports and relationships and improve the quality of health care systems. The leadership environment scale is an innovative fit to complex adaptive systems and how nurses act as leaders within these systems. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

An integrative model of employee responses to major organisational change.

OpenAIRE

Kimberley, Nellie Anne

2017-01-01

One of the enduring issues facing organisations relates to the high number of change initiatives that fail outright or only partially meet expectations (Beer & Nohria, 2000). Although there are many potential causes of failed change, much of the extant change identifies resistance to change as the major source of this problem. In order to bring about successful organisational change, it is important that managers create a change-ready environment, one where employees accept and affectively co...

Intergovernmental organisation activities and Multilateral agreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

This section summarises the activities of Intergovernmental organisations and the status of Multilateral agreements on December 1, 2011: 1 - Intergovernmental organisation activities: European Atomic Energy Community: Adopted legislative instruments, Reports, Meetings; International Atomic Energy Agency: IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, Non-binding instrument on the transboundary movement of scrap metal, 55. IAEA General Conference, Basic Safety Standards, Nuclear Law Institute; OECD Nuclear Energy Agency: Basic Safety Standards, International Nuclear Law Essentials, International School of Nuclear Law, New members, Russian Federation request for membership; 2 - Multilateral agreements: Status of conventions in the nuclear energy domain on December 1, 2011; Status of conventions in the environmental protection/evaluation impacting the nuclear energy use on December 1, 2011; participation of OECD Member States to nuclear energy and environment protection/evaluation related treaties/conventions

Exploring corporate social responsibility and organisational commitment within a retail organisation

OpenAIRE

Jerelene Soobramoney; Ophillia Ledimo

2016-01-01

Organisations have difficulty retaining employees who have the necessary talent, skills and knowledge to give the company a competitive edge in a global market, thus emphasising the need for organisational commitment. The objective of the study was to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility and organisational commitment within a South African retail organisation. Corporate social responsibility has a positive influence on consumer behaviour and can contribute to corpo...

Knowledge Management and Organisational Effectiveness: balancing the mild, the wild and the crazy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Greg Marsh

2001-11-01

Full Text Available In the Knowledge Age, effective Knowledge Management (KM is seen as fundamental to the survival of many organisations. Information Systems (IS increasingly underpin KM in such organisations. The value of the contribution of IS to the goals of these organisations depends on balancing various conflicting requirements. For example, stable, robust and reliable business processes are often fundamental to their efficient operation. However, less structured environments are conducive to the innovation and knowledge creation that are considered to be fundamental to their on-going effective operation. The paper presents a model developed to relate these conflicting requirements to organisational effectiveness and describes how it was used to examine the outcomes of a Knowledge Management study conducted in the Australian Defence Organisation.

The importance of executive leadership in creating a post-merged organisational culture conducive to effective performance management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gary W. Paul

2013-01-01

Research purpose: To develop a theoretical model from the insights gleaned from the literature study, interviews with senior human resource (HR practitioners at participating institutions and the empirical study. Based on the empirical findings, this model was refined and resulted in the eight-step integrated post-merged organisational culture creation model. Motivation for the study: The negligible attention given to the design of mechanisms supportive of post-merged organisational culture creation emphasised the need for this study. The high percentage of merger failures attributable to ineffective post-merged organisational culture integration further contributed. Research design, approach and method: A quantitative study was conducted at three merged South African higher education institutions, namely Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Durban University of Technology. Respondents occupied the following functional categories: executive management, senior and line management, HR practitioners and non-HR or non-management. Main findings: Respondents perceived the role of executive management to be the most important step of the theoretical model which formed the basis for the empirical survey questionnaire. This step, which obtained the highest summated mean score in all three institutions and across all functional categories, was depicted as Step 5 of the model. Practical/managerial implications: The refined eight-step integrated post-merged organisational culture creation model will significantly enhance the creation of a post-merged organisational culture conducive to effective performance management. Contribution/value-add: This study addressed the void regarding a model to guide the creation of a post-merged organisational culture conducive to effective performance management in higher education institutions as well as merged corporate organisations.

Organisational commitment and turnover intentions in humanitarian organisations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wijnmaalen, Julia; Heyse, Liesbet; Voordijk, Johannes T.

2016-01-01

Unwanted staff turnover is a prominent HRM problem in humanitarian organisations. In the profit sector, HRM tools such as pay, benefits, socialisation and training have proven to be effective in increasing organisational commitment and decreasing staff turnover. This study explores whether such

Stress and organisational citizenship behaviours in Indian business process outsourcing organisations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ajay K. Jain

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the direct effect of organisational stress (as measured through ASSET on organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs. A sample of 402 operators was taken from business process outsourcing (BPO organisations located in northern India. The authors hypothesised that there is a negative relationship between organisational stress and OCBs. Results of multiple regression analysis showed that stress had significant negative impact on OCBs. The implications for managers are discussed.

Organisational LCA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martínez-Blanco, Julia; Finkbeiner, Matthias

2018-01-01

environmental performance over time, supporting strategic decisions, and informing corporate sustainability reporting. Several initiatives are on the way for the LCA of organisations: the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative published the ‘Guidance on organizational LCA’, using ISO/TS 14072 as a backbone; moreover......, when the unit of analysis and the system boundaries are defined. Also, the approach for data collection needs to be fixed. Organisational LCA is a compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and potential environmental impacts of the activities associated with the organisation adopting a life...... cycle perspective. It includes not only the facilities of the organisation itself, but also the activities upstream and downstream the value chain. This methodology is capable of serving multiple goals at the same time, like identifying environmental hotspots throughout the value chain, tracking...

Organisational scenarios and legacy systems

OpenAIRE

Brooke, Carole; Ramage, Magnus

2001-01-01

A legacy system is made up of technical components and social factors (such as software, people, skills, business processes) which no longer meet the needs of the business environment. The study of legacy systems has tended to be biased towards a software engineering perspective and to concentrate on technical properties. This paper suggests that the evaluation of potential change options for legacy systems can only be carried out as part of an holistic organisational analysis. That is, the e...

The effect of organisational context on organisational development (OD) interventions

OpenAIRE

Sanjana Brijball Parumasur

2012-01-01

Orientation: Systematic and congruent organisational structures, systems, strategies and designs are necessary for the successful implementation of organisational development (OD) interventions. Research purpose: This article examines national and international OD practices. It assesses the effect of diverse cultures and cultural values for determining the effectiveness of OD interventions. Motivation for the study: Most organisational change and development programmes fail and only a ...

University Internationalization and University Autonomy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Turcan, Romeo V.; Gulieva, Valeria

2016-01-01

Turcan and Gulieva deepen our theoretical understanding of the process of university internationalisation by exploring the relationship between university internationalisation and university autonomy. They conjecture that the process of university internationalisation and its sustainability are d......, dissimilar, and sometimes conflicting dimensions of the financial, legal, organisational, staffing, and academic autonomy of the host country, are compromising key aspects of their own autonomy and core mission?......Turcan and Gulieva deepen our theoretical understanding of the process of university internationalisation by exploring the relationship between university internationalisation and university autonomy. They conjecture that the process of university internationalisation and its sustainability...... are determined by the structure and exercise of university autonomy settings at home and in the host countries, and that the process itself cannot be successfully achieved and maintained without changes in the autonomy settings. The key question the authors ask is to what degree universities, in embracing new...

Exploring corporate social responsibility and organisational commitment within a retail organisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jerelene Soobramoney

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Organisations have difficulty retaining employees who have the necessary talent, skills and knowledge to give the company a competitive edge in a global market, thus emphasising the need for organisational commitment. The objective of the study was to explore the relationship between corporate social responsibility and organisational commitment within a South African retail organisation. Corporate social responsibility has a positive influence on consumer behaviour and can contribute to corporate success because CSR activities enhance an organisation’s image. Research has indicated that corporate social responsibility is related to an employee’s commitment. The Corporate Social Responsibility Scale and the Organisational Commitment Scale were administered to a non-probability sample of 171 employees from a population of 268 employees in the human resources department of a retail company. Person’s correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between corporate social responsibility and organisational commitment. This study provided insight into the corporate social responsibility of the organisation. Managers and practitioners in the human resources may use these findings for the development of corporate social responsibility policies and practices in order to build employee commitment

Entrepreneurial leadership, organisational creativity, and firm performance in Chinese SMEs context

OpenAIRE

Wu, Chendong

2016-01-01

Researchers have identified a wide range of factors that affect organisational creativity. The leadership behaviour of top managers is one of the most important. However, few studies have empirically examined the relationship between the leadership behaviour of these leaders and creativity at the organisational level. In this study, a style of leadership labelled “entrepreneurial” is considered in the context of Chinese SMEs, by considering its potential to create an environment in which crea...

Organisational intelligence and distributed AI

OpenAIRE

Kirn, Stefan

1995-01-01

The analysis of this chapter starts from organisational theory, and from this it draws conclusions for the design, and possible organisational applications, of Distributed AI systems. We first review how the concept of organisations has emerged from non-organised black-box entities to so-called computerised organisations. Within this context, organisational researchers have started to redesign their models of intelligent organisations with respect to the availability of advanced computing tec...

Organisational Structure & Change

Science.gov (United States)

National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), 2006

2006-01-01

Structural change is seen as a way to meet the challenges of the future that face many organisations. While some writers agree that broad-ranging structural change may not always transform an organisation or enhance its performance, others claim that innovation will be a major source of competitive advantage to organisations, particularly when…

Organisational learning in professional discourses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Sedláček

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Authors of the paper discuss the concept of organisational learning. Theyrefer to a wide range of definitions and concepts, point out some differences from related or analogous concepts used, such as knowledge management and learning organisation. They note the discussions that relate to key topics. These discussions concern levels at which organisational learning can take place, the effect on behaviour organisational performance. The following section of this article presents organisational learning as a process and describes the stages of organisational learning. The purpose of the article is to provide an overview of efforts to define organisational learning, including criticism of the results of this effort. The last partis devoted to selected theories and empirical findings on organisational learning atschool. The authors stress the importance of organisational learning for schools asspecific organisations and express request to examine the processes of organisational learning in this context.

Managing crises through organisational development: a conceptual framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Lalonde, Carole

2011-04-01

This paper presents a synthesis of the guiding principles in crisis management in accordance with the four configurational imperatives (strategy, structure, leadership and environment) defined by Miller (1987) and outlines interventions in organisational development (OD) that may contribute to their achievement. The aim is to build a conceptual framework at the intersection of these two fields that could help to strengthen the resilient capabilities of individuals, organisations and communities to face crises. This incursion into the field of OD--to generate more efficient configurations of practices in crisis management--seems particularly fruitful considering the system-wide application of OD, based on open-systems theory (Burke, 2008). Various interventions proposed by OD in terms of human processes, structural designs and human resource management, as well as strategy, may help leaders, members of organisations and civil society apply effectively, and in a more sustainable way, the crisis management guiding principles defined by researchers. © 2011 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2011.

Identification and assessment of organisational factors related to the safety of NPPs - State-of-the-Art Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baumont, Genevieve; Bourrier, Mathilde; Frischknecht, Albert; Schoenfeld, Isabelle; Weber, Mike J.

1999-01-01

organisational culture, organisational knowledge, and organisational learning have a slightly different interpretation and will need further discussions to reach a common definition. Although the definitions of these factors may differ slightly for each country, it is important to emphasize that they were all considered to have an influence on plant safety performance. The SOAR also presents information about assessment approaches used in the three environments: - Two utilities detail their self assessment practices. - The regulatory bodies assessment approaches, as presented in the report, include a description of the context and framework of their assessment methods or approaches, and in some cases, more detailed information on their methodology. - The researcher information comes from two types of research: university-based research (as well as from public and private laboratories) and contractor-based research which may be sponsored by the regulatory body or the utility. This information is introduced by a brief background of current research trends. The assessment methods can be distinguished between two applications. The first application of the assessment method results from detection of organisational weaknesses in events or inspections, or from continuing deteriorating performance. The assessment tries to find root causes and contributing causes of the identified weaknesses in the organisation. This application is considered 'reactive'. The references for this approach are requirements of the regulatory body or utility commitments, or the legal framework. The second application assesses the organisational factors as leading indicators of performance problems. This application is considered 'proactive', integrating information on organisational factors in order to capture mechanisms which are very important for the reliability of the organisation. This could be the decision-making process, change process, coherence of the organisation with the policy, etc. Lastly, the

Trust in management, communication and organisational commitment: Factors influencing readiness for change management in organisation

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, Mohd Hafis; Ismail, Syuhaida; Rani, Wan Nurul Mardiah Wan Mohd; Wahab, Mohammad Hussaini

2017-10-01

Organisational change occurs when an organisation makes a transition from its current state to some desired future state in minimising employee resistance and cost to the organisation while simultaneously maximising the effectiveness of the change effort. This paper, aims at appraising the change management of organisation in Malaysia since limited research has been done to examine readiness for change by the employees in the organisation. This paper is materialising its objectives of (1) investigating the current practice of organisation and employees in the organisation towards change management and (2) assessing the factors influencing readiness of organisation and employees in the organisation towards change management. It is found via literature review that change management is a structured approach for ensuring that changes are thoroughly and smoothly implemented to transitioning individuals, teams, and organisations to a desired future state by focusing on the wider impacts of change, particularly on people, where change does not happen in isolation and it impacts the whole organisation. Furthermore, it is found that current practice of organisation and employees in the organisation towards change management involved in three main factors, namely trust in management, communication and organisational commitment; with the factor for trust in management is the positive vision for the future by management team, meanwhile for communication, it is found that there is good communication between supervisors and employees about the organisation's policy toward the changes. The factor found in organisational commitment is employees enjoying discussing about their organisation with outsiders. The findings of this paper provide a positive impact on change management planning, which ultimately help in ensuring more effective change programme implementation in the organisation in Malaysia.

Organisational change: Deliberation and modification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jonker, C.M.; Schut, M.C.; Treur, J.

2003-01-01

For an information-agent-based system to support virtual (Internet-supported) organisations, changes in environmental conditions often demand changes in organisational behaviour, i.e., organisational changes. As organisational behaviour relates to organisational structure, rethinking the structure

POT: Planning, Organisation and Tele-Information

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vidal, Rene Victor Valqui

1996-01-01

The main purpose of this paper is to introduce the framwork of a research project carried out at the Technical University of Denmark dealing with 'holistic' and interdisciplinary (systems oriented)methods for strategic planning and organisational re-design in connection with the introduction...... of tele-information technologies and hte new demands of hte so-called information society, the POT proejct. Three specirfic projects are shortly introduced: planning in networked firms, strategic approaches to climate change and strategies for the schools of the future....

Organising integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Axelsson, Runo

2013-01-01

Background: In Sweden, as in many other countries, there has been a succession of trends in the organisation of health care and other welfare services. These trends have had different implications for the integration of services in the health and welfare system. Aims: One aim is to discuss...... the implications of different organisational trends for the integration of health and welfare services. Another aim is to introduce a Swedish model of financial coordination as a flexible way to organise integration. Organisational trends: In the 1960’s there was an expansion of health and welfare services leading...... an increasing lack of integration in the health and welfare system. In the 2000’s, there has been a re-centralisation through mergers of hospitals, regions and state agencies. It has become clear, however, that mergers do not promote integration but rather increase the bureaucratisation of the system. Model...

Depression among Indian university students and its association with perceived university academic environment, living arrangements and personal issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Deb, Sibnath; Banu, Parveen R; Thomas, Shinto; Vardhan, R Vishnu; Rao, P Tirupathi; Khawaja, Nigar

2016-10-01

The aim of the study is to ascertain the level of depression among university students across gender, academic stream, semesters, perception of family environment and relationship with parents, academic performance, and family income. In addition, the study examines the association between students' perceived university academic environment, living arrangements, personal issues, and depression. Seven hypotheses were formulated for verification. A total of 717 students were recruited following the multistage cluster sampling method, and data were collected by a specially designed structured questionnaire, academic achievement record and a standardized University Students Depression Inventory. Findings disclosed that 37.7%, 13.1%, and 2.4% of the students were suffering from moderate, severe, and extremely severe depression. A significant difference was found across semester, that is, semester II students reported a higher level of depression than semester III students. So far as academic stream is concerned, students from humanities and social science were found to be suffering from more depression compared to students from science and management streams. The study further disclosed that the students who reported positive views about the university academic environment and living arrangements had lower level of depression compared to their counterparts. Personal resilience's such as being able to sharing personal problems with others and doing regular exercise were found to be associated with positive mental health. The findings of the study emphasize the need for immediate mental health support services for about 15.6% of the students who were either suffering from severe or extremely severe depression at the University. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT ORGANISATIONAL ABILITY OF PUBLIC ORGANISATIONS

OpenAIRE

Florescu Margareta

2012-01-01

The quality of the results of a project or a public programme, as well as the quality of project management consist in management process performance.This analysis tool promotes the idea of initiating a new organisational/functional policy – organisational tools regarding project management, a new standard concerning the complexity of the project and the associated risk, as well as a new standard concerning the project management organisational/functional ability. Political decision makers,...

Advances in self-organising maps

CERN Document Server

Allinson, Nigel; Allinson, Lesley; Slack, Jon

2001-01-01

This is the third Workshop on Self-Organising Maps (WSOM) and its related techniques. The previous two were held in Helsinki (1997 and 1999) and confIrmed the vitality of the SOM as one of the most popular and powerful concepts for unsupervised pattern recognition and data visualisation. These meetings not only acted as a showcase for the latest advances in SOM theory and for illustrating its vast range of applicability, but also as venues where much informal and fruitful interaction could take place. It is interesting to observe the development of the original SOM, and this remarkable progress confrrms the originality and insight of Teuvo Kohonen's pioneering work. With the range and quality of the papers in this volume, the stage is set for another very successful meeting. This volume is a permanent record of all the contributions presented during WSOM'OI held at the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside, 13 - 15 June, 2001. The University is the newest of England's universities but it is situated in th...

Process equipment data organisation in CERN PS controls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casalegno, L.; Cuperus, J.; Sicard, C.H.

1990-01-01

The CERN PS control system has a widely distributed architecture, mainly for fast response in a real-time environment. The organisation of the data for equipment access must be compatible with this architecture and give efficient program access to the data. Moreover, it must also offer managerial features such as data integrity, easy backup and restoration, adaptibility to changes in data structure, initialisation, data-entry facilities and automatic documentation. This paper shows how one can take advantage of a commercial data-base management system with its associated tools, adding to it some object-oriented programming concepts to meet the objectives of a manageable distributed data organisation having good run-time performance features and using a reasonable manpower investment. (orig.)

Celebrity-led development organisations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Budabin, Alexandra Cosima; Rasmussen, Louise Mubanda; Richey, Lisa Ann

2017-01-01

The past decade has seen a frontier open up in international development engagement with the entrance of new actors such as celebrity-led organisations. We explore how such organisations earn legitimacy with a focus on Madonna’s Raising Malawi and Ben Affleck’s Eastern Congo Initiative. The study...... for funding, endorsements, and expertise. We argue that the ways in which celebrity-led organisations establish themselves as legitimate development actors illustrate broader dynamics of the machinery of development.......The past decade has seen a frontier open up in international development engagement with the entrance of new actors such as celebrity-led organisations. We explore how such organisations earn legitimacy with a focus on Madonna’s Raising Malawi and Ben Affleck’s Eastern Congo Initiative. The study...... draws from organisational materials, interviews, mainstream news coverage, and the texts of the celebrities themselves to investigate the construction of authenticity, credibility, and accountability. We find these organisations earn legitimacy and flourish rapidly amid supportive elite networks...

Organisational Learning and Organisational Memory for SMS and FRMS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koornneef, F.; Stewart, S.; Akselsson, R.; Ward, M.

2009-01-01

Chapter 1: Organisational Learning and Organisational Memory for SMS and FRMS The European Commission HILAS project (Human Integration into theLifecycle of Aviation Systems - a project supported by the European Commission’s 6th Framework between 2005-2009) was focused on using human factors

An Exploratory Approach of the Current Public Relations Framework in the Romanian University Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicoleta CRISTACHE

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The opportunity to study such a subject is granted by the need identified in Romanian universities to align to the standards of the international academic environment. As far as the Romanian university environment is concerned, public relations can be a valid strategic option since the communication resource exploitation processes are supported by university management by means of initiating and carrying out actions in which the interests of the institution and the principles of university ethics are harmoniously combined. The causal configurations presented in the results of the present study may represent a decision-making support for the public relations/communication managers who have the chance to understand how they can exploit the social media interactions in their strategies regarding university reputation development

Case studies on age-management in organisations: report on organisational case studies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Punte, E.; Conen, W.S.; Schippers, J.; Henkens, C.J.I.M.

2011-01-01

The acquisition of case studies was thwarted by the economic crisis and the feeling of being ‘over-researched’ by potential organisations. Although organisations in some sectors (e.g. chemical manufacturing) reported the worst part of the economic crisis was behind, many organisations indicated

Beyond Normal Competencies: Understanding Organisation Designs to Develop and Sustain IT-Related Capabilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Acklesh Prasad

2013-03-01

Full Text Available It is apparent that IT resources are important for organisations. It is also clear that organisations unique competencies, their IT-related capabilities, leverage the IT resources uniquely to create and sustain competitive advantage. However, IT resources are dynamic, and evolve at an exponential rate. This means that organisations will need to sustain their competencies to leverage opportunities offered by new IT resources. Research on ways to sustain IT-related capabilities is limited and a deeper understanding of this situation is important. Amongst other factors, a possible reason for this lack of progress in this area could be due to the lack of validated measurement items of the theoretical constructs to conduct such studies. We suggest an environment in which organisations could build new and sustain their existing IT-related capabilities. We then report on the development of valid and reliable measures for this environment. The validated measures would be useful in extending our understanding on how firms could sustain their IT-related capabilities. This effort will provide a deeper understanding of how firms can secure sustainable IT-related business value from their acquired IT resources.

Bringing University Pedagogical Approach into Companies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofoed, Lise B.; S. Stachowicz, Marian

2013-01-01

This paper describes and discusses how the university pedagogical approach used in engineering education can be applied in a corporate setting. Problem Based and Project Organised Learning (PBL) pedagogical approach has been used in engineering education at Aalborg University for 30 years...... and this PBL structure was implemented in a Danish company which wanted to establish a learning environment, so that their employees would share their knowledge and understanding of the work processes across different departments. The pedagogical approach is described and two workshops are used as examples...... a project and found solutions for for problems related to their work. Several of the problem solutions were implemented. The participants evaluated the process and the outcome of the workshops very as very good. Furthermore the results show that the pedagogical method which has been used within engineering...

METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO ORGANIZATION OF SAFE INFORMATION AND EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. N. Privalov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. One of the tendencies of modern higher education is the ubiquitous use of information and communication technologies. At the same time, the functioning of the electronic information and educational environment (IEE of the university should be based on the means of IEE and the condition of its information security.The aim of the research is conceptualization of a problem of the rational organization of the safe information and education environment of higher education institution wherein reliable protection of its infrastructure, the personal and unique information of a pupil and teacher and virtual space of their educational interaction is provided.Methodology and research methods. System-based approach is a key approach to organization of safe educational environment of the university. From the point of view of authors, personal-activity and functional approaches are expedient while designing and development of a safe IEE. Socio-historical and theoretical-methodological analysis, modeling, research and synthesis of experience of effective application of the systems approach in educational professional organizations are used.Results and scientific novelty. The concept «safe information educational environment of the university» is specified wherein the first word has to express a predominant quality of the system. Creating a safe information environment in educational professional organizations provides a convenient and safe educational environment in the process of professional training of university students. The components and directions for the organization of the safe IEE are highlighted. Practical recommendations for its design and successful functioning are given.Practical significance. The materials of the present research can be demanded by managers and administrative employees of educational organizations. 

(Re)Discovering University Autonomy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This book challenges traditional approach to university autonomy which is based on four pillars: organisational, financial, human resource, and academic. The main thesis is that a fuller understanding of university autonomy can only be obtained through a more holistic view of the complex inter-re...

Africa Reform Agenda: Bureaucratic Organisations: A Priority in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In view of the dramatically changing environment within which public administrators work, bureaucracies seem inadequate to meet the new and anticipated challenges facing the public sector. The solution, however, is not abandoning the reform of bureaucratic organisations, but channeling such reform in a way that it ...

Work environments for employee creativity.

Science.gov (United States)

Dul, Jan; Ceylan, Canan

2011-01-01

Innovative organisations need creative employees who generate new ideas for product or process innovation. This paper presents a conceptual framework for the effect of personal, social-organisational and physical factors on employee creativity. Based on this framework, an instrument to analyse the extent to which the work environment enhances creativity is developed. This instrument was applied to a sample of 409 employees and support was found for the hypothesis that a creative work environment enhances creative performance. This paper illustrates how the instrument can be used in companies to select and implement improvements. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: The ergonomics discipline addresses the work environment mainly for improving health and safety and sometimes productivity and quality. This paper opens a new area for ergonomics: designing work environments for enhancing employee creativity in order to strengthen an organisation's capability for product and process innovation and, consequently, its competitiveness.

Performance-oriented Architecture and the Spatial and Material Organisation Complex. Rethinking the Definition, Role and Performative Capacity of the Spatial and Material Boundaries of the Built Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Ulrich Hensel

2011-03-01

Full Text Available This article is based on the proposition that performance-oriented design is characterised by four domains of ‘active agency’: the human subject, the spatial and material organisation complex and the environment (Hensel, 2010. While these four domains are seen to be interdependent and interacting with one another, it is nevertheless necessary to examine each in its own right. However, the spatial and material organisation complex contains both the spatial and material domains, which are interdependent to such a degree that these need to be examined in relation to one another and also in relation to the specific environment they are set within and interacting with. To explore this combined domain within the context of performance-oriented design is the aim of this article, in particularly in relation to the question of the definition and performative capacity of spatial and material boundaries. The various sections are accompanied by research by design efforts undertaken in specified academic contexts, which are intended as examples of modes and areas of inquiry relative to the purpose of this article.

Organisational skills and tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Wicker, Paul

2009-04-01

While this article mainly applies to practitioners who have responsibilities for leading teams or supervising practitioners, many of the skills and tools described here may also apply to students or junior practitioners. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the main points about organisation, some of the organisational skills and tools that are available, and some examples of how these skills and tools can be used to make practitioners more effective at organising their workload. It is important to realise that organising work and doing work are two completely different things and shouldn't be mixed up. For example, it would be very difficult to start organising work in the middle of a busy operating list: the organisation of the work must come before the work starts and therefore preparation is often an important first step in organising work. As such, some of the tools and skills described in this article may need to be used hours or even days prior to the actual work taking place.

Professional relations in sport healthcare: workplace responses to organisational change.

Science.gov (United States)

Malcolm, Dominic; Scott, Andrea

2011-02-01

This article examines the impact of organisational changes in UK elite sport on the professional relations among and between different healthcare providers. The article describes the processes by which demand for elite sport healthcare has increased in the UK. It further charts the subsequent response within medicine and physiotherapy and, in particular, the institutionalisation of sport-specific sub-disciplines through the introduction of specialist qualifications. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 14 doctors and 14 physiotherapists, the article argues that organisational changes have led to intra-professional tensions within both professional groups but in qualitatively different forms reflecting the organisational traditions and professional identities of the respective disciplines. Organisational changes promoting multi-disciplinary healthcare teams have also fostered an environment conducive to high levels of inter-professional cooperation though significant elements of inter-professional conflict remain. This study illustrates how intra-professional relations are affected by specialisation, how legitimation discourses are used by different professions, and how intra- and inter-professional conflict and cooperation should be seen as highly interdependent processes. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigating cyberloafing, organisational justice, work engagement and organisational trust of South African retail and manufacturing employees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adele Oosthuizen

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Understanding cyberloafing, organisational justice, work engagement and organisational trust will lead organisations to develop strategies to counter the consequences of cyberloafing. Research purpose: This research explored the relationships between cyberloafing, organisational justice, work engagement and organisational trust among South African office workers in the retail and manufacturing industry. Motivation for the study: Cyberloafing, a prevalent way for office employees to engage in non-work-related activities during work time, is considered harmful to organisations. Limited research exists about the relationship between cyberloafing and organisational justice, organisational trust and work engagement within South Africa. Research design, approach and method: A quantitative research design was followed. Questionnaires were administered in the South African retail and manufacturing industry; a convenient sample of N = 224 was obtained. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, structural equation modelling and bootstrapping were used for data analysis. Main findings: Organisational justice was positively related to organisational trust while organisational trust was positively related to work engagement; work engagement related negatively to cyberloafing. Organisational trust mediated the relationship between organisational justice and work engagement while work engagement mediated the relationship between organisational trust and cyberloafing. Practical and managerial implications: Strategies can be developed to enhance and warrant perceptions of organisational justice and fairness that will increase trust levels, leading to higher work engagement and decreased cyberloafing behaviour and resulting in higher productivity. Contribution or value-add: The research revealed that when employees perceive their organisations as being fair, organisational trust will increase, leading to heightened work

The OKE Corral : Code organisation and reconfiguration at runtime using active linking

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bos, Herbert; Samwel, Bart

2002-01-01

The OKE Corral is an active network environment which allows third-party active code to configure an active node’s code organisation at any level, including the kernel. Using the safety properties of an open kernel environment and a simple ‘Click-like’ software model, third parties are able to load

University of Geneva | Conferences in November

CERN Multimedia

2015-01-01

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Michel Mayor and Didier Quelozof's discovery of the first extrasolar planet, the University of Geneva is organising a lecture featuring the two astrophysicists | On the occasion of the centenary of General Relativity, NCCR SwissMAP together with the mathematics and physics departments of the University of Geneva is organising a series of 4 colloquia.   Lecture in French. For more information, click here. Conferences in French (except on 24 November). For more information, click here.

IMPACT OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT ON EMPLOYEES' PERFORMANCE IN A PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATION IN NIGERIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olu, OJO

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the impact of conflict management on employees’ performance in a public sector organisation, a case of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN. This study adopted the survey research design. A total of 100 respondents were selected for the study using stratified sampling technique. Questionnaire was used to collect primary data. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. Hypotheses were tested through regression analysis and correlation coefficient. The findings revealed that effective conflict management enhance employee’s performance in an organisation and that organisation’s conflict management system influences employee performance in the organisation. It was recommended that organisation should embark on training and retraining of its employees in area of conflict management so as to create a conductive working environment for the employees and that there should be efficient and effective communication between and among all categories of the employees the organisation. This will reduce conflicting situations in the organisation.

Organisational support, role clarity, job insecurity and organisational commitment of employees in a petrochemical organisation / Rirhandzu Milder Nqubane

OpenAIRE

Nqubane, Rirhandzu Milder

2008-01-01

Organisations have been under enormous pressure due to the changes that they are constantly faced with. Most organisations have at some stage been involved in restructuring, laying-off of employees, and outsourcing of non-core business activities with the aim of coping with the change process. When organisations go through these changes, they still need to support their employees. They must ensure that the employees' roles are clarified, and that they feel secure in their jobs in order to imp...

Organisational aspects, research required, educational aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rueterjans, H.

1987-01-01

In addition to the clinical testing of NMR imaging, there were activities for studying the basic principles of NMR spectroscopy, also for routine applications in university clinics and larger hospitals. Equipment is available now at different places; research projects should be coordinated in order to ensure direct access to the equipment for a sufficient, task-specific period of time. There is demand for research in this field in the Federal Republic of Germany. Education and further training should be organised taking into account physical and medical aspects. (TRV) [de

Design Rework Prediction in Concurrent Design Environment: Current Trends and Future Research Directions

OpenAIRE

Arundachawat, Panumas; Roy, Rajkumar; Al-Ashaab, Ahmed; Shehab, Essam

2009-01-01

Organised by: Cranfield University This paper aims to present state-of-the-art and formulate future research areas on design rework in concurrent design environment. Related literatures are analysed to extract the key factors which impact design rework. Design rework occurs due to changes from upstream design activities and/or by feedbacks from downstream design activities. Design rework is considered as negative iteration; therefore, value in design activities will be increase...

Workplace violence: the dark side of organisational life.

Science.gov (United States)

Speedy, Sandra

2006-05-01

This paper draws on a diverse range of research literature addressing workplace violence, which constitutes one component of the dark side of organisational life. This selective review of the literature has been drawn from the disciplines of nursing, management, psychology and organisational culture. The paper focuses bullying and mobbing in the workplace, addressing its types, causes, the characteristics of bullies and targets and the generalised impact of bullying and mobbing. It also examines whether there are gender issues pertinent to the health care sector. Consideration will also be given to the impact on the individual, group and organization, given the apparent epidemic proportions workplace violence has reached. Ultimately, the question will arise: how can the workplace violence be abolished, specifically within the health care sector, given that we live in a global environment characterised by international bullying (Crawford 1999)? This is a challenge because workplace violence is perpetuated within organisations, due either to cultures of acceptance, or fear of retribution should it be acknowledged and acted upon (or both).

Organisational aspects of care.

Science.gov (United States)

Bloomfield, Jacqueline; Pegram, Anne

2015-03-04

Organisational aspects of care, the second essential skills cluster, identifies the need for registered nurses to systematically assess, plan and provide holistic patient care in accordance with individual needs. Safeguarding, supporting and protecting adults and children in vulnerable situations; leading, co-ordinating and managing care; functioning as an effective and confident member of the multidisciplinary team; and managing risk while maintaining a safe environment for patients and colleagues, are vital aspects of this cluster. This article discusses the roles and responsibilities of the newly registered graduate nurse. Throughout their education, nursing students work towards attaining this knowledge and these skills in preparation for their future roles as nurses.

Three domains of project organising

OpenAIRE

Winch, Graham M.

2014-01-01

It has become axiomatic in research on project organising that projects are temporary organisations. Yet there are a number of challenges to this axiom: research on matrix organisation, the embeddedness of projects in project ecologies, and projectification all emphasise the relationship of the project to permanent organisations. Similarly, research on project-based firms and owner organisations which are relatively permanent challenges this axiom. This paper develops a conceptual framework w...

Permission-based Leadership and Change Management in Hong Kong's Nongovernment Organisations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wong Michael

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This study addresses the management of transformational change by chief executives in nongovernment organisations (NGOs in Hong Kong. The study takes an exploratory approach with interviews of 18 chief executives from a cross section of Hong Kong's NGOs. The findings indicate that organisational transformation is driven by increasing competition within the NGO sector and from commercial firms, by a demand for greater transparency and by internal forces. These factors are countered by structural inertia. Leadership of the organisational transformation of an NGO is permission-based; agreement from the various stakeholders must be gained to execute a successful transformation. The chief executive should have a humanistic style and be visionary, ethical and participative. Constant communication and involvement facilitate this process. Through this approach, followers will have a greater commitment to the organisational transformation. Organisational change is a combination of planned and emergent processes. The chief executive should relax control and foster a nurturing environment for transformation. This research suggests a leadership style, behavioural approach and model for managing change that will provide chief executives and senior leaders with useful considerations and insights.

Innovation and organisational performance: A critical review of the instruments used to measure organisational performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tebogo Sethibe

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Innovation is recognised as one of the most important determinant of organisational performance. Yet, the results of studies that investigate the relationship between innovation and organisational performance are inconclusive. The inconsistency has been attributed to a number of factors, which include, among others, the measures used to evaluate organisational performance. Aim: This study was set out to identify, categorise and critically analyse the instruments used to assess organisational performance when investigating the relationship between innovation and organisational performance. Setting: The study focuses on all scientific publications reporting on organisational performance, inclusive of both financial and non-financial indicators of performance, and are not limited to any specific country or industry. Methods: The systematic literature review methodology was used to identify studies which investigated the relationship between innovation and organisational performance. Once identified, articles were analysed on the way organisational performance was measured. Classification was done with reference to financial and non-financial indicators, accounting and market-based, as well as objective and subjective measures. Results: The findings show that profitability, sales growth and return on assets (ROA are the most preferred accounting-based financial measures of organisation performance. In addition, Tobin’s Q was found to be the most favoured market-based financial measure of organisational performance. The study further reveals that market share, customer satisfaction and productivity are the most popular non-financial-based measures of organisational performance. Conclusion: The use of measures of organisational performance is often left to the discussion of the researcher, which is not implicitly wrong, but does little to contribute to the body of knowledge on this important topic. Researchers are firstly urged to

Dimensions of Organisational Culture in Quantity Surveying Firms in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayokunle Olubunmi Olanipekun

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The functionalist paradigm of organisational culture (OC views culture as a variable subject to conscious manipulation and control in order to solve organisational challenges. Therefore, this paper provides information on how OC is a solution to the challenges in Quantity Surveying firms (QSFs.  This was achieved by eliciting the dimensions of OC in forty two QSFs in Lagos, Nigeria, which are the business, people and external environment dimensions. The paper concludes that OC is a relevant solution to the identity and management related challenges in QSFs. Specifically, the paper informs on the implications of business and people dimensions of OC as a solution to the identity challenges, as well as on the implication of the external environment dimension of OC to the management challenges. Based on the findings, practical implications and recommendations were directed at the management and employees QSs in QSFs and Quantity Surveying researchers.

Fibrosing organising pneumonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Beardsley, Brooke; Rassl, Doris

2013-10-01

Organising pneumonia (otherwise referred to as bronchiolitis obliterans organising pneumonia) is characterised histologically by plugs of granulation tissue, which are present predominantly within small airways, alveolar ducts and peri-bronchiolar alveoli. This pattern is not specific for any disorder or cause, but is one type of inflammatory response to pulmonary injury, which may be seen in a wide variety of clinical conditions. Typically, organising pneumonia responds very well to corticosteroid treatment; however, a small percentage of patients appear to develop progressive fibrosis.

The Compassionate Organisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Poul Erik Flyvholm; Isaksson, Maria

2015-01-01

– The research shows that the public sector sticks to its guns in maintaining a web-transmitted values discourse which forefronts goodwill towards its clients. It also shows that the public and private sectors take different approaches to goodwill. Originality/value – Strategists and communication specialists......Structured Abstract: Purpose – This paper tests whether organisations in the public domain have embraced a corporate type of discourse, mirroring the private sector’s preferred orientation towards expertise, or whether they maintain their traditional discourse of goodwill towards the publics...... a detailed analysis of organisational value statements posted on the websites of public and private organisations. The research considers the value priorities of fifty organisations in the UK and Scandinavia in order to gauge the extent of convergence between the two sectors’ preferred discourses. Findings...

Tags and self-organisation: a metadata ecology for learning resources in a multilingual context

OpenAIRE

Vuorikari, Riina Hannuli

2010-01-01

Vuorikari, R. (2009). Tags and self-organisation: a metadata ecology for learning resources in a multilingual context. Doctoral thesis. November, 13, 2009, Heerlen, The Netherlands: Open University of the Netherlands, CELSTEC.

Tags and self-organisation: a metadata ecology for learning resources in a multilingual context

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vuorikari, Riina

2009-01-01

Vuorikari, R. (2009). Tags and self-organisation: a metadata ecology for learning resources in a multilingual context. Doctoral thesis. November, 13, 2009, Heerlen, The Netherlands: Open University of the Netherlands, CELSTEC.

Politicking information technology strategy in organisations: A case study of a selected organisation in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Twum-Darko

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the impact of organisational polities on IT strategy formulation and implementation in an organisation. The objective is to determine the extent of organisational polities on strategy implementation in an organisation. The paper considered the interplay between stakeholders in influencing IT strategy formulation and implementation in an organisation as a socially constructed phenomenon. Thus, the phenomenon can be interpreted and understood by using social theories such Structuration Theory. Hence the paper adopted ANT as a lens through which to understand and interpret the sociotechnical processes associated with IT strategy formulation and implementation in an organisation. Through IT strategy, many organisations attempt to set out key directions and objectives for the use and management of information, communication and technologies. A shared view among these organisations is that IT strategy allows all parts of the organisation to gain a shared understanding of priorities, goals and objectives for both current and future states as defined in the organisational strategy. It is therefore arguable that IT strategy, for the foreseeable future will remain a key aspect of development within organisations. As a result, there has been more focus on how IT strategy is formulated and articulated. What is missing though, is less attention to the implementation of it. Using interpretive research philosophy and employing semi-structured interviews as data collection instrument, this paper attempts to suggest a matrix that will assist organisation to comprehend and deal with organisational politics to reduce its negative impact on IT strategy formulation and implementation in an organisation

Towards high-reliability organising in healthcare: a strategy for building organisational capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Aboumatar, Hanan J; Weaver, Sallie J; Rees, Dianne; Rosen, Michael A; Sawyer, Melinda D; Pronovost, Peter J

2017-08-01

In a high-reliability organisation (HRO), safety and quality (SQ) is an organisational priority, and all workforce members are engaged, continuously learning and improving their work. To build organisational capacity for SQ work, we have developed a role-tailored capacity-building framework that we are currently employing at the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality as part of an organisational strategy towards HRO. This framework considers organisation-wide competencies for SQ that includes all staff and faculty and is integrated into a broader organisation-wide operating management system for improving quality. In this framework, achieving safe, high-quality care is connected to healthcare workforce preparedness. Capacity-building efforts are tailored to the needs of distinct groups within the workforce that fall within three categories: (1) front-line providers and staff, (2) managers and local improvement personnel and (3) SQ leaders and experts. In this paper we describe this framework, our implementation efforts to date, challenges met and lessons learnt. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Positive organisation: The role of leader behaviour in work engagement and retention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fallen Mendes

2011-05-01

Research purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate if leader empowering behaviour can positively impact on role clarity, psychological empowerment and work engagement, with the final outcome being the retention of talent. Motivation for the study: In the ever changing work environment organisations place great emphasis on their human capital. The positive organisation utilises specific elements to optimise human capital’s potential. It is therefore important to identify the elements contributing to a positive organisation as well as the elements which lead to the retention of talent. Research design, approach and method: A survey research design was used. A convenience sample (n = 179 was taken from a business unit in a chemical organisation. The Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire, Measures of Role Clarity and Ambiguity Questionnaire, Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Intention to Leave Scale were administered. Main findings: Leader empowering behaviour, role clarity and psychological empowerment predicted work engagement. Role clarity interacted with competence to affect employees’ dedication and interacted with the development of employees to affect absorption. Work engagement predicted employees’ intention to leave. Practical/managerial implications: Organisations should foster the elements of a positive organisation if they want to retain their talent. Contribution/value-add: The results of this research contribute to scientific knowledge about the effects of a positive organisation on retention.

Organisational readiness: exploring the preconditions for success in organisation-wide patient safety improvement programmes.

Science.gov (United States)

Burnett, Susan; Benn, Jonathan; Pinto, Anna; Parand, Anam; Iskander, Sandra; Vincent, Charles

2010-08-01

Patient safety has been high on the agenda for more than a decade. Despite many national initiatives aimed at improving patient safety, the challenge remains to find coherent and sustainable organisation-wide safety-improvement programmes. In the UK, the Safer Patients' Initiative (SPI) was established to address this challenge. Important in the success of such an endeavour is understanding 'readiness' at the organisational level, identifying the preconditions for success in this type of programme. This article reports on a case study of the four NHS organisations participating in the first phase of SPI, examining the perceptions of organisational readiness and the relationship of these factors with impact by those actively involved in the initiative. A mixed-methods design was used, involving a survey and semistructured interviews with senior executive leads, the principal SPI programme coordinator and the four operational leads in each of the SPI clinical work areas in all four organisations taking part in the first phase of SPI. This preliminary work would suggest that prior to the start of organisation-wide quality- and safety-improvement programmes, organisations would benefit from an assessment of readiness with time spent in the preparation of the organisational infrastructure, processes and culture. Furthermore, a better understanding of the preconditions that mark an organisation as ready for improvement work would allow policymakers to set realistic expectations about the outcomes of safety campaigns.

What About Leadership?: Comment on "Cultures of Silence and Cultures of Voice: The Role of Whistleblowing in Healthcare Organisations".

Science.gov (United States)

Blenkinsopp, John; Snowden, Nicholas

2015-10-25

In their valuable discussion of whistleblowing in healthcare organisations, Mannion and Davies highlight the importance of organisational culture in influencing whether people raise concerns, and whether these concerns are listened to and acted upon. The role of leadership in shaping organisational culture is well-established and in this commentary, we will examine the influence of leaders in creating cultures of silence or cultures of voice. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Talent Management for Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Bradley, Andrew P.

2016-01-01

This paper explores human resource management practices in the university sector with a specific focus on talent pools and talent management more generally. The paper defines talent management in the context of the university sector and then explores its interdependence with organisational strategy, the metrics used to measure academic performance…

Family, Learning Environments, Learning Approaches, and Student Outcomes in a Malaysian Private University

Science.gov (United States)

Kek, Megan A. Yih Chyn; Darmawan, I. Gusti Ngurah; Chen, Yu Sui

2007-01-01

This article presents the quantitative findings from a mixed methods study of students and faculty at a private medical university in Malaysia. In particular, the relationships among students' individual characteristics, general self-efficacy, family context, university and classroom learning environments, curriculum, approaches to learning, and…

Positive organisation:  the role of leader behaviour in work engagement and retention

OpenAIRE

Mendes, Fallen; Stander, Marius W.

2011-01-01

Orientation: The positive organisation creates a framework in which its elements can be investigated in relation to the retention of talent. Research purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate if leader empowering behaviour can positively impact on role clarity, psychological empowerment and work engagement, with the final outcome being the retention of talent. Motivation for the study: In the ever changing work environment organisations place great emphasis on their human ...

Review: Karin Reiber (2005. Organisation im Spiegel der Regula Benedicti [Organisation in Reflection of Regula Benedicti

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jürgen Rausch

2007-01-01

Full Text Available For 1500 years, the monastic life of the Benedictines has been defined by rules dating from the time of the first foundation of the order, suggesting an organizational structure that has outlasted historical upheavals and changes. Starting from a new understanding of organisational development as organisational learning, Karin REIBER has looked for clues to organisational formation and learning through a hermeneutic textual analysis of the Regula Benedicti of the 6th Century. Within a theoretical framework, REIBER develops three dimensions of organisational formation and three stages of organisational learning. In a historical reconstruction, the author analyses the text of the Regula Benedicti. In a second section, REIBER adapts and interprets the results of the hermeneutic analysis through a double three-stage theoretical model. She works out interesting aspects for organisational learning, which relate individual learning to organisational learning in favour of members of the organisation, for which consideration for individuality forms a part of the leadership concept and as a framework for social relationships, establishing an informal organisational structure beside the formal one. This illuminating work leads to an integrated concept of organisational learning, which extends the notion of tradition as a characteristic feature of an innovative organisation and which, through continuity and topicality, can hence guarantee the continued existence of modern organisations in the future. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs070174

Organised Cultural Encounters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Lene Bull; Galal, Lise Paulsen; Hvenegård-Lassen, Kirsten

2017-01-01

The article introduces the special issue by presenting the concept of organised cultural encounters that are encounters organised to manage and/or transform problems perceived to originate in or include cultural differences. Inspired by Pratt’s conceptualisation of the contact zone, a critical...... perspective on the particular historical and spatial context of any encounter and how this context frames and mediates what takes place during an encounter is applied. While the articles of the issue present different varieties of organised cultural encounters, it is argued that they are not only of the same...

Does the Oganizational Structure Affect the Management of Universities in Uganda? An Empirical Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zziwa, Gertrude

2014-01-01

The organisational structure of universities follows particular models that distinguish them from other learning institutions. This research investigated the effect of the organisational structure on the management of universities in Uganda using a sample of 361, 44% of whom were members of academic staff, and the rest contained university top…

Finding the community in sustainable online community engagement: Not-for-profit organisation websites, service-learning and research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alice Dodd

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This article explores the use of action research (2008–2014 based on a case study of the Sustainable Online Community Engagement (SOCE Project, a service-learning project in which University of South Australia students build websites for not-for-profit (NFP organisations, to demonstrate that effective teaching, public service and research are interdependent. A significant problem experienced in the SOCE project was that, despite some training and ongoing assistance, the community organisations reported that they found it difficult to make effective use of their websites. One of the proposed solutions was to develop an online community of the participating organisations that would be self-supporting, member-driven and collaborative, and enable the organisations to share information about web-based technology. The research reported here explored the usefulness of developing such an online community for the organisations involved and sought alternative ways to assist the organisations to maintain an effective and sustainable web presence. The research used a three-phase ethnographic action research approach. The first phase was a content analysis and review of the editing records of 135 organisational websites hosted by the SOCE project. The second phase was an online survey sent to 145 community organisation members responsible for the management of these websites, resulting in 48 responses. The third phase consisted of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 18 of the website managers from 12 of these organisations. The research revealed the extent to which organisations were unable to manage their websites and found that the proposed solution of an online community would not be useful. More importantly, it suggested other useful strategies which have been implemented. In Furco’s (2010 model of the engaged campus, public engagement can be used to advance the public service, teaching and research components of higher education’s tripartite

Stakeholder Expectations of Service Quality in a University Web Portal

Science.gov (United States)

Tate, Mary; Evermann, Joerg; Hope, Beverley; Barnes, Stuart

Online service quality is a much-studied concept. There is considerable evidence that user expectations and perceptions of self-service and online service quality differ in different business domains. In addition, the nature of online services is continually changing and universities have been at the forefront of this change, with university websites increasingly acting as a portal for a wide range of online transactions for a wide range of stakeholders. In this qualitative study, we conduct focus groups with a range of stakeholders in a university web portal. Our study offers a number of insights into the changing nature of the relationship between organisations and customers. New technologies are influencing customer expectations. Customers increasingly expect organisations to have integrated information systems, and to utilise new technologies such as SMS and web portals. Organisations can be slow to adopt a customer-centric viewpoint, and persist in providing interfaces that are inconsistent or require inside knowledge of organisational structures and processes. This has a negative effect on customer perceptions.

ORGANISATIONAL JUSTICE AND AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PERCEIVED ORGANISATIONAL SUPPORT

OpenAIRE

Pooja Purang

2011-01-01

Perception of fairness among employees is a guiding force that influences employee attitude and behaviour. However, the mechanisms associated with justice need to be studied further. This study hypothesises that perceived organisational support (POS) mediates the relationship between organisational justice perceptions and affective commitment of employees. The study was conducted in a multi-national organisation operating in India in the service sector; the sample size was 71 employees. Baron...

Lean Production Practices to Enhance Organisational Performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shah Satya

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Service sector organisations are constantly overcoming the challenges facing the over-production and waste reduction within their environments. Industries are also becoming very competitive thus forcing them to seek suitable production organisation strategies with the aim towards enhancing their competitiveness and efficiency. The aim of this research study is to investigate the impact of lean production practices on the performance of service based businesses through the case study of a local baked goods supplier. The research framework adopted consists of questionnaire survey method implemented with different end users, thus covering the overall production – retail – customer cycle. The research results and analysis justify the objective of the research that lean production practices enhance the performance of the supplier company and the common tool identified were JIT (Just in Time, Value Steam Mapping (VSP and the 5S methods. The results also suggest that JIT method has a higher impact towards improvement on performance relating to quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost of the supplier. However, the research study also identifies that one of the major challenges faced by the organisation while adopting lean practices was the lack of commitment from top management, continuous training and employee engagement measures.

The Living Cell as a Multi-agent Organisation: A Compositional Organisation Model of Intracellular Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Jonker, C. M.; Snoep, J. L.; Treur, J.; Westerhoff, H. V.; Wijngaards, W. C. A.

Within the areas of Computational Organisation Theory and Artificial Intelligence, techniques have been developed to simulate and analyse dynamics within organisations in society. Usually these modelling techniques are applied to factories and to the internal organisation of their process flows, thus obtaining models of complex organisations at various levels of aggregation. The dynamics in living cells are often interpreted in terms of well-organised processes, a bacterium being considered a (micro)factory. This suggests that organisation modelling techniques may also benefit their analysis. Using the example of Escherichia coli it is shown how indeed agent-based organisational modelling techniques can be used to simulate and analyse E.coli's intracellular dynamics. Exploiting the abstraction levels entailed by this perspective, a concise model is obtained that is readily simulated and analysed at the various levels of aggregation, yet shows the cell's essential dynamic patterns.

Becoming organisms: the organisation of development and the development of organisation.

Science.gov (United States)

de la Rosa, Laura Nuño

2010-01-01

Despite the radical importance of embryology in the development of organicism, developmental biology remains philosophically underexplored as a theoretical and empirical resource to clarify the nature of organisms. This paper discusses how embryology can help develop the organisational definition of the organism as a differentiated, functionally integrated, and autonomous system. I distinguish two conceptions of development in the organisational tradition that yield two different conceptions of the organism: the life-history view claims that organisms can be considered as such during their whole ontogeny; the constitutive view distinguishes two periods in the life history, a period of generation and a period of self-maintenance of a constitutive organisation. Arguing in favour of the constitutive view, it will be claimed that the organisational criteria for the definition of organism (i.e., differentiation, functional integration, and autonomy) can only be applied to the developmental system when it has entered the period of self-maintenance of a constitutive organisation. Under the light of current research in developmental biology, it is possible to make explicit how organisms come to be as organisms. To this end, I explore key ontogenetic events that help us clarify the core aspects of animal organisation and allow us to identify the developmental stage that marks the ontological transition between an organism in potency and an organism in actuality. The structure of this ontogenetic unfolding parallels the conceptual structure of the very notion of organism; the generation of the being of a particular organism parallels its definition.

Organizational transformation and scientific change the impact of institutional restructuring on universities and intellectual innovation

CERN Document Server

Glaser, Jochen

2014-01-01

Recent changes to the funding and governance of higher education and scientific research systems are affecting both the organisation of the sciences and the nature of universities as strategic actors in many countries. Transforming the organisational contexts in which research is carried out has altered the dynamics of scientific change through shifts in the authority relations that influence the development and implementation of organisational strategies. The first part of this book deals with the transformation of universities as strategic organisational actors - in some cases creating them as such - while the second shows how governance and authority shifts are affecting the kinds of research goals being pursued by academics in different public science systems. By bringing together the analysis of organisational change in universities with that of how institutional changes are affecting intellectual innovation in different fields, this volume integrates work in the sociology of organisations, science polic...

‘Committed, motivated and joyful?’ Job satisfaction and organisational commitment of managers at a South African public utility

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Claude-Hélène Mayer

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Objective: This study focuses on an assessment of managerial job satisfaction and commitment in the context of a vibrant and rapidly changing public utility from a positive organisational behaviour (POB perspective. It aims at contributing towards an in-depth understanding of positive micro-organisational behaviour. Problem investigated: The aim of this study was to gain deeper insights into the relationship between job satisfaction (JS and organisational commitment (OC in terms of the ‘how and why’ at a selected public utility in the Eastern Cape Province. Design: This single case study uses a mixed-method approach within the pragmatism research paradigm. Findings: Findings show that managers across cultures share a positive organisational psychology approach on JS and OC. The JS of managers is mainly influenced by their satisfaction with working with colleagues and supervisors, and with strategies of motivation, as well as their dissatisfaction with the use of power, pay and promotion. OC was mainly influenced by positive collegial relationships, the organisation’s positive influence on the environment and on others, the enabling work environment and the location of the organisation. Originality/value: The article introduces new ideas in positive organisational behaviour research and reconstructs the image of South African organisational behaviour based on qualitative and quantitative data. Conclusion: This article shows that post-modern African organisations are opening new frontiers to building positive-oriented organisational cultures whilst creating constructive and future-orientated mindsets, which may spill over into society.

Organisational models in agriculture with special reference to small farmers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zakić Nebojša

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Agricultural value chains can be understood as the systems of people, organizations and activities needed to create process and deliver agricultural products from producers to consumers. Over time and due to huge changes that have happened in the surroundings, agricultural value chains have become very integrated and complex. Small farmers can prosper by joining in modern higher-level agricultural value chains, but there are numerous obstacles, as well. The work presents the typology of organizational models for agricultural production that consists of the models organised by producers, agribusiness companies (processors, retail chains, and intermediaries, facilitators (governments, non-governmental organisations and completely integrated models, established by some big companies. None of these models provides ideal solutions from the perspective of small producers. However, they say that the institutions, such as cooperatives and small farmers' organisations, present important mechanisms for including small producers in modern value chains and realizing the cooperation with agribusiness companies and other important players. This is also important for decision-makers and governmental bodies that should create a suitable environment and provide support so that small farmers and their organisations can integrate in modern value chains in a successful way.

Organisational culture development in Klaipeda municipality

OpenAIRE

Paužuolienė, Jurgita; Mauricienė, Ingrida

2012-01-01

Organisational culture is an important management aspect of the organisation. It is formed by the organisation values, norms, underlying assumptions, attitudes, traditions, narratives, and symbols, it includes beliefs and habits. Organisational culture guides individual decisions and behaviours shared by a group of people. As a result, it can have a potent effect on well-being and success of the organisation. This paper presents the defining elements of the organisational cultural dimensions ...

Organisational Structures & Considerations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Luiijf, H.A.M.; Healey, J.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this section is to review specific types of national cyber security (NCS) areas (also called ‘mandates’) and examine the organisational and collaborative models associated with them. Before discussing the wide variety of organisational structures at the national and international

A Management Maturity Model (MMM for project-based organisational performance assessment

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Craig Langston

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Common sense suggests that organisations are more likely to deliver successful projects if they have systems in place that reflect a mature project environment based on a culture of continuous improvement. This paper develops and discusses a Management Maturity Model (MMM to assess the maturity of project management organisations through a customisable, systematic, strategic and practical methodology inspired from the seminal work of Darwin, Deming, Drucker and Daniel. The model presented is relevant to organisations, such as construction and engineering companies, that prefer to use the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK™ Guide published by the Project Management Institute (PMI, but without the disadvantages of excessive time and cost commitments and a ‘one size fits all’ approach linked to rigid increments of maturity. It offers a game-changing advance in the application of project-based organisational performance assessment compared to existing market solutions that are unnecessarily complex. The feasibility of MMM is field-tested using a medium-sized data centre infrastructure firm in Tehran.

Luhmann og Organisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paulsen, Michael

LUHMANN OG ORGANISATION Organisationsstudier spiller en særlig rolle for den tyske sociolog Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998) idet han begriber organisationer som det mest afgørende socialsystem i det moderne samfund. Kun organisati-oner kan træffe samfundsmæssige afgørelser. Faktisk begyndte Luhmann som...... organisationsteoretiker, og flere af hans tidlige værker regnes nu som milepæle indenfor organisations-studier. I 2000 udkom post humt hans sidste store organisationsteoretiske værk Organisation und Entscheidung. I Luhmanns almene systemteori trækker han kraftigt på sit kendskab til organisationer. Begribelsen af...... samtidig med, at de kan skabe en kobling mellem det moderne samfunds interaktioner og funktionssystemer. Luhmanns konstante ledetråd har været, at organisationer er det, som får samfun-det til at fungere. Uden organisationer intet moderne samfund. Luhmann og organisation henvender sig til studerende...

Documenting handicap situations and eliminations through Universal Design patterns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ann Heylighen

2009-11-01

Full Text Available According to contemporary academic and social insights,human functional limitations and handicaps are not exclusively the result of the physical and / or mental characteristics of the individual (medical model, but theycan just as well be a consequence of a maladjustment of the social and physical environment (conflict / social model.This radical reversal of focus from person to environment,or in other words, from the assessment that the person isimpeded to the insight that the physical and socialenvironment is an impediment, has far-reaching consequences for the designing of human-made environments.The recent Universal Design paradigm extends beyond accommodating ‘modal’ users and aims to include the realdiversity of user populations, including those with physical and / or mental impairments and functional limitations. To achieve this, a large amount of design information in connection with human dis-abilities (limitations andpossibilities is required.Together with prescriptive laws and regulations, designers need descriptive information about; on the one hand,CONFLICTS between users and built environments, and onthe other hand, empirically evident design RESOLUTIONS. In response to this need, the paper advances the development of specific Universal Design Patterns (UD Patterns in order to collect and organise this information for decision makers and for designers.

A synthetic computational environment: To control the spread of respiratory infections in a virtual university

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Yuanzheng; Chen, Bin; liu, Liang; Qiu, Xiaogang; Song, Hongbin; Wang, Yong

2018-02-01

Individual-based computational environment provides an effective solution to study complex social events by reconstructing scenarios. Challenges remain in reconstructing the virtual scenarios and reproducing the complex evolution. In this paper, we propose a framework to reconstruct a synthetic computational environment, reproduce the epidemic outbreak, and evaluate management interventions in a virtual university. The reconstructed computational environment includes 4 fundamental components: the synthetic population, behavior algorithms, multiple social networks, and geographic campus environment. In the virtual university, influenza H1N1 transmission experiments are conducted, and gradually enhanced interventions are evaluated and compared quantitatively. The experiment results indicate that the reconstructed virtual environment provides a solution to reproduce complex emergencies and evaluate policies to be executed in the real world.

TEDx Organisers meet at CERN

CERN Multimedia

Abha Eli Phoboo

2013-01-01

CERN hosted the second TEDx European Organisers meeting last week with around 80 organisers attending from all over Europe. They were given an introduction to CERN and a tour of the LHC experiments.   The participants of the TEDx European Organisers meeting held at CERN last week. Among the attendees was Bruno Giussani, European director of TED, who delivered the welcome address. The TEDx European organisers shared their experiences in workshops and brainstormed about how to work on different aspects of organising a TEDx event, and about improving the relationship between TEDx and TED. “The goal of this meeting was for veteran TEDx organisers to help younger ones, help each other, bring the community together and have better quality events,” said Claudia Marcelloni, head of TEDxCERN. TEDx is an independently organised TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk event, which has grown exponentially all over the world. There are hundreds of TEDx events every day and it n...

New Challenges Facing Universities in the Internet-Driven Global Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Rajasingham, Lalita

2011-01-01

This paper explores some new challenges facing universities in a global multimediated Internet-based environment, as they seek alternative paradigms and options to remain true to their core business. At a time of rapid technological change, and contested, complex concepts associated with globalisation, knowledge is becoming a primary factor of…

The budgeting and reporting process of a multinational organisation across regions and trade centres

OpenAIRE

Robusti, Fiorenza

2012-01-01

In the contemporary international business environment, a multinational organisation faces great challenges when it comes to budgeting and reporting. The complexity of budgeting and reporting is even greater when it implies the coordination of budgets and reports of trade centres located in other countries than the country of origin. A multinational organisation often adopts the participative budgeting method. The purpose of participative budgeting is to involve managers at lower manage...

Exploring the Interconnectedness among Strategy Development, Shared Mental Models, Organisational Learning and Organisational Change

Science.gov (United States)

Malan, Renee

2011-01-01

The cognitive psychological processes related to learning and change behaviour are factors that impact on organisational strategy development. Strategy development is dependent on strategic thinking that is reciprocally influenced by shared mental models, organisational learning and organisational change. Although strategy development, shared…

The alignment of espoused values and organisational culture at a South African parastatal organisation

OpenAIRE

2012-01-01

M.Comm. The primary purpose of the present study was to identify whether the organisational culture of the Transmission Division of Eskom is aligned to its stated values. In seeking to reach this objective, it was necessary to assess the gap between espoused and practised organisational values. The study also sought to identify the Transmission Division’s organisational culture. A correlation between the stated values and identified organisational culture was calculated and this was used t...

Strategising through organising

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Mette Vinther

and sensemaking point of view. It argues that actors’ strategising is closely connected to their organising. Maybe strategising and organising co-constitute each other? It is a perspective that looks at strategy as emergent wayfinding more than planned navigating. In the attempts to make sense...... of and operationalise a strategy, maybe actors do not follow a pre-defined map, but instead figure out the way as they go? Maybe actors go in ways that they relationally believe are the ‘right ones’ and in ways that make sense to them? There are, however, many actors in an organisation and, therefore, also many ways...

Qualitative Parameters of Practice during University Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Stasiunaitiene, Egle; Norkute, Odeta

2011-01-01

In this article, relevance of practice during university studies is highlighted, as well as the main stages of its organisation, qualitative parameters, as well as criteria and indicators that validate them are defined. Discussion on the idea that taking into consideration qualitative parameters of organising practice as a component of studies…

Virtual corporations, enterprise and organisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen RÃDUT

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Virtual organisation is a strategic paradigm that is centred on the use of information and ICT to create value. Virtual organisation is presented as a metamanagement strategy that has application in all value oriented organisations. Within the concept of Virtual organisation, the business model is an ICT based construct that bridges and integrates enterprise strategic and operational concerns. Firms try to ameliorate the impacts of risk and product complexity by forming alliances and partnerships with others to spread the risk of new products and new ventures and to increase organisational competence. The result is a networked virtual organization.

The European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics Policy Statement No 14, The role of the Medical Physicist in the management of safety within the magnetic resonance imaging environment, EFOMP recommendations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hand, J.; Bosmans, H.; Caruana, C.; Keevil, S.; Norris, David Gordon; Padovani, R.; Speck, O.

2013-01-01

This European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics (EFOMP) Policy Statement outlines the way in which a Safety Management System can be developed for MRI units. The Policy Statement can help eliminate or at least minimize accidents or incidents in the magnetic resonance environment and is

The effects of perceived organisational support and span of control on the organisational commitment of novice leaders.

Science.gov (United States)

Havaei, Farinaz; Dahinten, V Susan; MacPhee, Maura

2015-04-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the main and interaction effects of perceived organisational support, span of control and leadership rank on novice nurse leaders' organisational commitment. As nurse leaders' organisational commitment is eroded at times of healthcare restructuring, it is important to study factors associated with organisational commitment. Cross-sectional data from 69 novice nurse leaders, collected via mailed surveys at two time points, were analysed using hierarchical regression. The findings supported our hypotheses about the positive effect of perceived organisational support, the positive effect of leadership rank and the negative effect of span of control on novice nurse leaders' organisational commitment. In addition, perceived organisational support was shown to moderate the negative effect of span of control on novice nurse leaders' organisational commitment at time 2. Organisational strategies aimed at supporting nurse leaders, and attention to span of control, are required to enhance the organisational commitment of novice nurse leaders. Nurse leaders with a wide span of control, in particular those with little leadership experience, need to adopt leadership strategies that maximise their effectiveness, such as organising smaller work groups or teams within their wide span of control. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Twenty Practices of an Entrepreneurial University

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gjerding, Allan Næs; Wilderom, Celeste P.M.; Cameron, Shona P.B.

2006-01-01

studies twenty organisational practices against which a University's entrepreneurship can be measured. These twenty practices or factors in effect formed the basis for an entrepreneurship audit. During a series of interviews, the extent to which the universities are seen as entrepreneurial...

The relationships between organisational citizenship behaviour, job satisfaction and turnover intention.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Yafang; Wu, Shih-Wang

2010-12-01

This study aims to explore the relationships between organisational citizenship behaviour, job satisfaction and turnover intention. Because of the changing health policies landscape, Taiwan's hospital administrators are facing major cost reduction challenges. Specifically, the high turnover rate of nurses represents a hindrance and a human resource cost. This study focuses on ways of reducing the employee turnover rate through enhanced organisational citizenship behaviour and job satisfaction. A cross-sectional study. This study focuses on hospital nurses in Taiwan. Our research samples were obtained from one medical centre, three regional hospitals and seven district hospitals. Out of 300 questionnaires distributed among samples, 237 were completed and returned. Pearson's correlation was used to test for relationships among the main variables. One-way analysis of variance and Scheffé's post hoc analysis were employed to test the influence of demographic data on the main variables. The results reveal that the nurses' job satisfaction has a significantly positive correlation with organisational citizenship behaviour and a negative correlation with turnover intention. This study has proven that the turnover intention of clinical nurses is related to their organisational citizenship behaviour and job satisfaction. Hospital administrators can reduce the turnover intention by meeting nurses' needs and by promoting their organisational citizenship behaviour. Organisational citizenship behaviour involves behaviour that encourages staff to endeavour to voluntarily improve organisational performance without lobbying for compensation. Employees' job satisfaction includes satisfaction with the working environment or welfare programme in the context of human resource initiatives. Similarly, human resource protocols may serve as the starting point for promoting staff organisational citizenship behaviour. Administrators in clinical healthcare are encouraged to meet their

Educators and the quality of their work environment: an analysis of the organisational climate in primary schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D Vos

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The prevalent organisational climate in primary schools in the North West Province was determined in order to formulate management strategies to increase the organisational climate. For this purpose, a quantitative research method, founded in post-positivistic points of departure, was applied. In the process, the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire - Rutgers Elementary (OCDQ-RE was applied in order to determine the behaviour of principals and school educators. The investigation indicated that the behaviour of the principals and that of the educators contributed only to an average degree to the establishment of a more effective organisational climate in the primary schools investigated. Furthermore the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that certain items in the original climate questionnaire, which were grouped in the directive behaviour of the principal, were viewed by the respondents in South Africa as supportive but, in some instances, also as restrictive.

Organisation Matters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Unphon, Hataichanok; Dittrich, Yvonne

2008-01-01

Our work aims at understanding the design rationale for product line architecture by focusing on the design of common data access modules for complex simulation software products. This paper presents empirical evidence of organisational and business domain aspects that influence the development...... of product line architecture. We suggest that the assessment of use-situation and his tory of organisational structure should be considered when creating product line architectures, especially for products that are tailored and used interactively....

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE ANALYSIS MODEL

OpenAIRE

Mihaela Simona Maracine

2012-01-01

The studies and researches undertaken have demonstrated the importance of studying organisational culture because of the practical valences it presents and because it contributes to increasing the organisation’s performance. The analysis of the organisational culture’s dimensions allows observing human behaviour within the organisation and highlighting reality, identifying the strengths and also the weaknesses which have an impact on its functionality and development. In this paper, we try to...

The work environment and empowerment as predictors of patient safety culture in Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Dirik, Hasan Fehmi; Intepeler, Seyda Seren

2017-05-01

As scant research based information is available regarding the work environment, empowerment and patient safety culture, this study from a developing country (Turkey) in which health care institutions are in a state of transition, aimed to investigate further the relationships between these three variables. A cross-sectional descriptive design was employed. The sample comprised 274 nurse participants working in a university hospital located in Izmir (Turkey). In data evaluation, descriptive statistics and hierarchical regression analyses were applied. The work environment and structural empowerment were related to the patient safety culture and explained 55% of the variance in patient safety culture perceptions. 'Support for optimal patient care', 'nurse/physician relationships' and 'staff involvement in organisational affairs' were the significant predictors. An enhancement of the work environment and providing access to empowerment structures may help health care organisations improve the patient safety culture. In light of the findings, the following actions can be recommended to inform health care leaders: providing necessary resources for nursing practise, encouraging nurses' participation in decision-making, strengthening communication within the team and giving nurses the opportunities to cope with challenging work problems to learn and grow. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON IMPACT OF WHISTLE-BLOWERS ON PERFORMANCE OF THE ORGANISATION

OpenAIRE

Ms. Monika Makhija*1 & Dr. Shweta S. Kulshrestha2

2018-01-01

In current challenging environment, where organisations are going extremes to achieve top positions, and the employees pushes hard to perform at the best level, there is always a scope of doing things which may be unethical or illegal. This provides an opportunity to member of the organisation to disclose such unethical or suspicious events. This is known as whistleblowing. As per company act 2013 “The Company shall establish a vigil mechanism for directors and employees to report concerns ab...

Leveraging organisational cultural capital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R Scheel

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Organisational culture discourse mandates a linear approach of diagnosis, measurement and gap analysis as standard practice in relation to most culture change initiatives. Therefore, a problem solving framework geared toward “fixing�? and/or realigning an organisation’s culture is usually prescribed. The traditional problem solving model seeks to identify gaps between current and desired organisational cultural states, inhibiting the discovery of an organisation’s unique values and strengths, namely its cultural capital. In pursuit of discovering and leveraging organisational cultural capital, a descriptive case study is used to show how an Appreciative Inquiry process can rejuvenate the spirit of an organisation as a system-wide inquiry mobilises a workforce toward a shared vision.

Addressing issues raised by stakeholders: experiences of eight organisations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vari, Anna

2004-01-01

Demand for stakeholder involvement has become imperative in the field of radioactive waste management. Providing for fair and competent stakeholder involvement, however, raises several questions of practice, for example: How to address issues raised by stakeholders? How to take stakeholders' views into consideration if they are divergent or conflicting? This paper reviews eight case studies prepared for the Topical Session on Addressing Issues Raised by Stakeholders, aimed at analysing the impacts of stakeholder involvement on decisions in RWM organisations. The studies outline the experiences of the following organisations: Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC); Canadian Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO); Nuclear Waste Management Organisation of Japan (NUMO); Posiva, Finland; Radioactive Waste Repository Authority, Czech Republic (RAWRA); Swedish Radiation Protection Authority (SSI); United Kingdom Environment Agency; United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Case study reports are included in the Annex of this volume. The paper outlines the main trends and lessons learned from the above case studies. The first section focuses on impacts of stakeholder involvement on specific RWM decisions regarding policy and process. Examples presented in the second section illustrate how stakeholders' concerns may influence general decision-making practices and organisational behaviour. In the third section various approaches to handling divergent stakeholder views are introduced. The paper concludes with recommendations extracted and derived from the eight reports. (author)

The impact of organisational factors on horizontal bullying and turnover intentions in the nursing workplace.

Science.gov (United States)

Blackstock, Sheila; Harlos, Karen; Macleod, Martha L P; Hardy, Cindy L

2015-11-01

To examine the impact of organisational factors on bullying among peers (i.e. horizontal) and its effect on turnover intentions among Canadian registered nurses (RNs). Bullying among nurses is an international problem. Few studies have examined factors specific to nursing work environments that may increase exposure to bullying. An Australian model of nurse bullying was tested among Canadian registered nurse coworkers using a web-based survey (n = 103). Three factors - misuse of organisational processes/procedures, organisational tolerance and reward of bullying, and informal organisational alliances - were examined as predictors of horizontal bullying, which in turn was examined as a predictor of turnover intentions. The construct validity of model measures was explored. Informal organisational alliances and misuse of organisational processes/procedures predicted increased horizontal bullying that, in turn, predicted increased turnover intentions. Construct validity of model measures was supported. Negative informal alliances and misuse of organisational processes are antecedents to bullying, which adversely affects employment relationship stability. The results suggest that reforming flawed organisational processes that contribute to registered nurses' bullying experiences may help to reduce chronically high turnover. Nurse leaders and managers need to create workplace processes that foster positive networks, fairness and respect through more transparent and accountable practices. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Roles and Domains to Teach in Online Learning Environments: Educational ICT Competency Framework for University Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Guasch, Teresa; Alvarez, Ibis; Espasa, Anna

This chapter is aimed at presenting an integrated framework of the educational information and communications technology (ICT) competencies that university teachers should have to teach in an online learning environment. Teaching through ICT in higher education involves performing three main roles - pedagogical, socialist, and design/planning - and also two cross-cutting domains that arise from the online environment: technological and managerial. This framework as well as the competencies for university teachers associated with it were validated at a European level by a dual process of net-based focus groups of teachers and teacher trainers in each of the participating countries in a European Project (Elene-TLC) and an online Delphi method involving 78 experts from 14 universities of ten European countries. The competency framework and the examples provided in the chapter are the basis for designing innovative professional development activities in online university environments.

THE CREATION OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN THE CONTEXT OF REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS OF REGIONAL UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DANIELA PALAŠČÁKOVÁ

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Universities are rare and the persisting elements of the European culture foundations. The most brilliant minds and the most noble hearts, which shared their wisdom with the people of the world, have always been attracted by universities. University today - applying new curriculum and developing new courses, which correspond with the needs of the labour market – is in the centre of dramatic changes of the quality of life in Europe. The quality of university environment is a significant determinant of the qualitatively or knowledge-based competitiveness. Presented results of the contribution represent the identification and evaluation of the mechanism of the creation of quality management system in university environment and application of the approaches of quality evaluation of university environment using Index of quality of regional university environment in the conditions of the self-governed regions of the Slovak Republic.

Simulation Environment Based on the Universal Verification Methodology

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)697338

2017-01-01

Universal Verification Methodology (UVM) is a standardized approach of verifying integrated circuit designs, targeting a Coverage-Driven Verification (CDV). It combines automatic test generation, self-checking testbenches, and coverage metrics to indicate progress in the design verification. The flow of the CDV differs from the traditional directed-testing approach. With the CDV, a testbench developer, by setting the verification goals, starts with an structured plan. Those goals are targeted further by a developed testbench, which generates legal stimuli and sends them to a device under test (DUT). The progress is measured by coverage monitors added to the simulation environment. In this way, the non-exercised functionality can be identified. Moreover, the additional scoreboards indicate undesired DUT behaviour. Such verification environments were developed for three recent ASIC and FPGA projects which have successfully implemented the new work-flow: (1) the CLICpix2 65 nm CMOS hybrid pixel readout ASIC desi...

Facilitating organisational change in an organic dairy corporation in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Dorthe; Sriskandarajah, Nadarajah

2005-01-01

The paper sets focus on the notion of sustainable development as the challenge of creating self-referential systems that are continually learning how to persist in a complex and ever-changing environment. For this learning to be accomplished, facilitating it with a systemic perspective may...... be an option available to an organisation....

The European Gaucher Alliance: a survey of member patient organisations' activities, healthcare environments and concerns.

Science.gov (United States)

Žnidar, Irena; Collin-Histed, Tanya; Niemeyer, Pascal; Parkkinen, Johanna; Lauridsen, Anne-Grethe; Zariņa, Sandra; Cohen, Yossi; Manuel, Jeremy

2014-09-02

The European Gaucher Alliance (EGA) was established in 1994 and constituted in 2008 as an umbrella group supporting patient organisations for Gaucher disease. Every two years, the EGA conducts a questionnaire survey of member associations to help develop its priorities and annual work programme. Results of the latest survey are presented. Between June 2012 and April 2013, the 36 members and associate members of the EGA were asked to complete a questionnaire detailing membership numbers, disease specific treatments used by patients, means of access to treatment, availability of treatment centres and home infusions, sources of support for patients with Gaucher disease, patient organisations' activities, collaborations, funding sources and any issues of concern. Questionnaires completed in 2012 were revised in January 2013 and responses analysed between July and September 2013. Thirty three members returned data on one or more questions. Findings identified inequalities in access to treatment both within and between members' countries. Three of 27 countries, for which data were available, relied totally on humanitarian aid for treatment and 6% of untreated patients in 20 countries were untreated because of funding issues, a situation many feared would worsen with deteriorating economic climates. Access to treatment and reimbursement represented 45% of members' concerns, while 35% related to access to specialist treatment centres, home infusions and doctors with expertise in Gaucher disease. Member associations' main activities centred on patient support (59% of responses) and raising awareness of Gaucher disease and patients' needs amongst the medical community, government and healthcare decision makers and the general public (34% of responses). Twenty one (78% of respondents) indicated they were the only source of help for Gaucher disease patients in their country. For many, activities were constrained by funds; two members had no external funding source. Activities

The Strength of Organisational Culture: Organisational Performance in South African Schools

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Bipath, Keshni; Adeyemo, Kolawole Samuel

2014-01-01

One of the more frequently cited cultural dimensions within the field of cultural research is that of cultural strength (Cameron & Ettington, 1998). Early published works on organisational culture argue that there is an absolute need for a "strong" culture for organisations to be effective. This study has examined the contradiction…

CSNI technical opinion papers no.5. Managing and regulating organisational change in nuclear installations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

Nuclear licensees are increasingly required to adapt to a more challenging commercial environment as electricity markets are liberalized. One of the costs that is often perceived as being amenable to control is staffing, and hence there is significant exploration of new strategies for managing this cost - for example, by reducing staffing levels, changing organisational structures, adopting new shift strategies, introducing new technology or increasing the proportion of work carried out by external contractors. However, if changes to staffing levels or organisational structures and systems are inadequately conceived or executed they have the potential to affect the way in which safety is managed. In this context, the NEA Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) and its Special Expert Group on Human and Organisational Factors (SEGHOF) organised an international workshop to discuss the management and regulation of organisational change in 2001. This technical opinion paper distills the findings of that workshop and sets out the factors that regulatory bodies might reasonably expect to be addressed within licensees arrangements to manage organisational change. The paper should be of particular interest to both regulators and managers of nuclear utilities. (author)

Selected issues of the universal communication environment implementation for CII standard

Science.gov (United States)

Zagoździńska, Agnieszka; Poźniak, Krzysztof T.; Drabik, Paweł K.

2011-10-01

In the contemporary FPGA market there is the wide assortment of structures, integrated development environments, and boards of different producers. The variety allows to fit resources to requirements of the individual designer. There is the need of standardization of the projects to make it useful in research laboratories equipped with different producers tools. Proposed solution is CII standardization of VHDL components. This paper contains specification of the universal communication environment for CII standard. The link can be used in different FPGA structures. Implementation of the link enables object oriented VHDL programming with the use of CII standardization. The whole environment contains FPGA environment and PC software. The paper contains description of the selected issues of FPGA environment. There is description of some specific solutions that enables environment usage in structures of different producers. The flexibility of different size data transmissions with the use of CII is presented. The specified tool gives the opportunity to use FPGA structures variety fully and design faster and more effectively.

ORGANISATIONAL JUSTICE AND AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PERCEIVED ORGANISATIONAL SUPPORT

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Pooja Purang

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Perception of fairness among employees is a guiding force that influences employee attitude and behaviour. However, the mechanisms associated with justice need to be studied further. This study hypothesises that perceived organisational support (POS mediates the relationship between organisational justice perceptions and affective commitment of employees. The study was conducted in a multi-national organisation operating in India in the service sector; the sample size was 71 employees. Baron and Kenny's model of studying the mediating relationship was used. The findings showed that POS fully mediates the relationship between distributive justice and affective commitment as well as partially mediates the relationship between procedural justice and affective commitment. This study highlights the importance of fairness and justice in organisations and identifies the mechanism by which employee perceptions of justice influence their loyalty and involvement.

Knowledge Organisations and High-Tech Regional Innovation Systems in Developing Countries: Evidence from Argentina

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Carolina Pasciaroni

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In the globally and knowledge based economy, the universities and other knowledge organisations are valued for their ability to contribute to the regional innovation processes. This is particularly relevant for the developing countries in South America since their R&D spending is highly concentrated on the public knowledge infrastructure. However, there are few studies examining the role of knowledge organizations at regional level in Latin America. The proposed study aims to analyse the role played by knowledge organisations in the formation of a high-tech Regional Innovation Systems in Argentina. This country has a number of attractive features relative to the positive evolution of its R&D spending and the recent implementation of a policy that promotes cooperation between firms and knowledge organisations among high-tech sectors. As evidenced in developed regions, the organisations under study play a key role in the promotion of a high-tech Regional Innovation Systems. However, this prominent role is not based on those local factors identified in the literature, such as organisational and institutional local assets, but on national science and technology policies and individual initiatives conducted by the faculties involved.

Virtualness : a new organisational dimension

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosch-Sijtsema, P.M.

2003-01-01

In current literature a new organisational form is presented, the virtual organisation (VO). ms organisational form is a co-operation between a number of companies who combine their strengths to develop a new service or product. The current VO literature is ambiguous about the definition and

Correlation between Family Environment and Suicidal Ideation in University Students in China

OpenAIRE

Hui Zhai; Bing Bai; Lu Chen; Dong Han; Lin Wang; Zhengxue Qiao; Xiaohui Qiu; Xiuxian Yang; Yanjie Yang

2015-01-01

Background: This study investigated the association between suicidal ideation and family environment. The sample included 5183 Chinese university students. A number of studies on suicidal ideation have focused on individuals rather than families. This paper reviews the general principles of suicidal ideation and the consequences resulting from the family environment. Methods: This study used six different colleges as the dataset, which included 2645 males and 2538 females. Students were quest...

Using organisational memory in evaluations

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Madri S. Jansen van Rensburg

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This article uses the case of a regional intermediary organisation to investigate organisational memory (OM and its contribution to knowledge management and activities in evaluations. Understanding of, and accessing OM is critical for participatory evaluations. The aim of the article is to reflect on the OM of a non-governmental organisation (NGO and what implicationsthe structural changes in OM over the organisation’s life cycle have for evaluators. It further aims to advocate an awareness of OM and explains how evaluators can access and utilise it more effectively. Evaluators need to have an understanding of OM, and to take more responsibility for disseminating results to enhance it. This case study reflects on a retrospective case example of a regional NGO. The report reflects the development and structure of the life cycle of the organisation. The data collection included in-depth interviews with staff members and other key stakeholders, engagement with beneficiary organisations and donors, and analyses of documents, electronic files and audio-visual material. Since OM survives after the demise of an organisation, and is accessible through directories, it is important for the evaluator to include historical information. Specific implications for evaluators include the ability to access OM through directories and networks of the organisation. As evaluators hold OM of all the organisations they have engaged with, they also have a responsibility to share knowledge. The key findings of this study illustrate the importance of accessing the memory and historical information of the organisation. Understanding OM enhances the in-depth comprehension of the activity, project or programme under investigation, and the collective knowledge generated as a result of it.

A Decision Support Model and Tool to Assist Financial Decision-Making in Universities

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Bhayat, Imtiaz; Manuguerra, Maurizio; Baldock, Clive

2015-01-01

In this paper, a model and tool is proposed to assist universities and other mission-based organisations to ascertain systematically the optimal portfolio of projects, in any year, meeting the organisations risk tolerances and available funds. The model and tool presented build on previous work on university operations and decision support systems…

Relationship between organisational commitment and burnout syndrome: a canonical correlation approach.

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Enginyurt, Ozgur; Cankaya, Soner; Aksay, Kadir; Tunc, Taner; Koc, Bozkurt; Bas, Orhan; Ozer, Erdal

2016-04-01

Objective Burnout syndrome can significantly reduce the performance of health workers. Although many factors have been identified as antecedents of burnout, few studies have investigated the role of organisational commitment in its development. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships between subdimensions of burnout syndrome (emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment) and subdimensions of organisational commitment (affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment). Methods The present study was a cross-sectional survey of physicians and other healthcare employees working in the Ministry of Health Ordu University Education and Research Hospital. The sample consisted of 486 healthcare workers. Data were collected using the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Organisation Commitment Scale, and were analysed using the canonical correlation approach. Results The first of three canonical correlation coefficients between pairs of canonical variables (Ui , burnout syndrome and Vi, organisational commitment) was found to be statistically significant. Emotional exhaustion was found to contribute most towards the explanatory capacity of canonical variables estimated from the subdimensions of burnout syndrome, whereas affective commitment provided the largest contribution towards the explanatory capacity of canonical variables estimated from the subdimensions of organisational commitment. Conclusions The results of the present study indicate that affective commitment is the primary determinant of burnout syndrome in healthcare professionals. What is known about the topic? Organisational commitment and burnout syndrome are the most important criteria in predicting health workforce performance. An increasing number of studies in recent years have clearly indicated the field's continued relevance and importance. Conversely, canonical correlation analysis (CCA) is a technique for describing the relationship

A thematic analysis of the role of the organisation in building allied health research capacity: a senior managers' perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Golenko, Xanthe; Pager, Susan; Holden, Libby

2012-08-27

Evidence-based practice aims to achieve better health outcomes in the community. It relies on high quality research to inform policy and practice; however research in primary health care continues to lag behind that of other medical professions. The literature suggests that research capacity building (RCB) functions across four levels; individual, team, organisation and external environment. Many RCB interventions are aimed at an individual or team level, yet evidence indicates that many barriers to RCB occur at an organisational or external environment level. This study asks senior managers from a large healthcare organisation to identify the barriers and enablers to RCB. The paper then describes strategies for building allied health (AH) research capacity at an organisational level from a senior managers' perspective. This qualitative study is part of a larger collaborative RCB project. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with nine allied health senior managers. Recorded interviews were transcribed and NVivo was used to analyse findings and emergent themes were defined. The dominant themes indicate that the organisation plays an integral role in building AH research capacity and is the critical link in creating synergy across the four levels of RCB. The organisation can achieve this by incorporating research into its core business with a whole of organisation approach including its mission, vision and strategic planning. Critical success factors include: developing a co-ordinated and multidisciplinary approach to attain critical mass of research-active AH and enhance learning and development; support from senior managers demonstrated through structures, processes and systems designed to facilitate research; forming partnerships to increase collaboration and sharing of resources and knowledge; and establishing in internal framework to promote recognition for research and career path opportunities. This study identifies four key themes: whole of

Building Organisational Capability the Private Provider Way

Science.gov (United States)

Guthrie, Hugh

2008-01-01

Organisational capability is recognised as a key to organisational success. The combination of human capital (peoples' skills and knowledge), social capital (relationships between people) and organisational capital (the organisation's processes), is central to building an organisation's capability. This paper, presented at the 2008 annual…

Organisational merger and psychiatric morbidity: a prospective study in a changing work organisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Väänänen, Ari; Ahola, Kirsi; Koskinen, Aki; Pahkin, Krista; Kouvonen, Anne

2011-08-01

Prospective studies on the relationship between organisational merger and mental health have been conducted using subjective health indicators. The objective of this prospective occupational cohort study was to examine whether a negative change during an organisational merger is an independent predictive factor of psychiatric morbidity. Survey data on organisational characteristics, health and other factors were collected prior to (1996) and after the merger (2000); register data on psychiatric morbidity were collected at baseline (1/1/1994-30/9/2000) and during the follow-up (1/10/2000-31/12/2005). Participants were 6511 (77% men) industrial employees aged 21-65 years with no register-based diagnosed psychiatric events prior to the follow-up (the Still Working Study). During the follow-up, 252 participants were admitted to the hospital due to psychiatric disorders, were prescribed a psychotropic drug or attempted or committed suicide. A negative self-reported change in the work organisation during the merger was associated with increased risk of postmerger psychiatric event (HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.19 to 2.14). This association was independent of mental health-related factors measured before the merger announcement, such as demographic characteristics, occupational status, personal orientation to life, self-rated health, self-reported psychiatric morbidity or chronic disease. A negative change in work organisation during an organisational merger may elevate the risk for postmerger psychiatric morbidity.

Microtubule self-organisation by reaction-diffusion processes causes collective transport and organisation of cellular particles

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Demongeot Jacques

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The transport of intra-cellular particles by microtubules is a major biological function. Under appropriate in vitro conditions, microtubule preparations behave as a 'complex' system and show 'emergent' phenomena. In particular, they form dissipative structures that self-organise over macroscopic distances by a combination of reaction and diffusion. Results Here, we show that self-organisation also gives rise to a collective transport of colloidal particles along a specific direction. Particles, such as polystyrene beads, chromosomes, nuclei, and vesicles are carried at speeds of several microns per minute. The process also results in the macroscopic self-organisation of these particles. After self-organisation is completed, they show the same pattern of organisation as the microtubules. Numerical simulations of a population of growing and shrinking microtubules, incorporating experimentally realistic reaction dynamics, predict self-organisation. They forecast that during self-organisation, macroscopic parallel arrays of oriented microtubules form which cross the reaction space in successive waves. Such travelling waves are capable of transporting colloidal particles. The fact that in the simulations, the aligned arrays move along the same direction and at the same speed as the particles move, suggest that this process forms the underlying mechanism for the observed transport properties. Conclusions This process constitutes a novel physical chemical mechanism by which chemical energy is converted into collective transport of colloidal particles along a given direction. Self-organisation of this type provides a new mechanism by which intra cellular particles such as chromosomes and vesicles can be displaced and simultaneously organised by microtubules. It is plausible that processes of this type occur in vivo.

Microtubule self-organisation by reaction-diffusion processes causes collective transport and organisation of cellular particles

Science.gov (United States)

Glade, Nicolas; Demongeot, Jacques; Tabony, James

2004-01-01

Background The transport of intra-cellular particles by microtubules is a major biological function. Under appropriate in vitro conditions, microtubule preparations behave as a 'complex' system and show 'emergent' phenomena. In particular, they form dissipative structures that self-organise over macroscopic distances by a combination of reaction and diffusion. Results Here, we show that self-organisation also gives rise to a collective transport of colloidal particles along a specific direction. Particles, such as polystyrene beads, chromosomes, nuclei, and vesicles are carried at speeds of several microns per minute. The process also results in the macroscopic self-organisation of these particles. After self-organisation is completed, they show the same pattern of organisation as the microtubules. Numerical simulations of a population of growing and shrinking microtubules, incorporating experimentally realistic reaction dynamics, predict self-organisation. They forecast that during self-organisation, macroscopic parallel arrays of oriented microtubules form which cross the reaction space in successive waves. Such travelling waves are capable of transporting colloidal particles. The fact that in the simulations, the aligned arrays move along the same direction and at the same speed as the particles move, suggest that this process forms the underlying mechanism for the observed transport properties. Conclusions This process constitutes a novel physical chemical mechanism by which chemical energy is converted into collective transport of colloidal particles along a given direction. Self-organisation of this type provides a new mechanism by which intra cellular particles such as chromosomes and vesicles can be displaced and simultaneously organised by microtubules. It is plausible that processes of this type occur in vivo. PMID:15176973

[The current and future organisational structure of the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health)].

Science.gov (United States)

Crespo León, F; Ruiz Mercader, J; Sabater Sánchez, R; Rodríguez Ferri, E F; Crespo Azofra, L

2003-12-01

The authors analyse the organisational structure of the OIE (World organisation for animal health), highlighting the roles of the Central Bureau, the Specialist Commissions, Regional Commissions, working groups and ad hoc groups, Regional Representations, Reference Laboratories and Collaborating Centres. The paper also includes some suggestions as to how the OIE could work more closely with its 'customers', that is, the Member Countries. These suggestions are based on current theories of organisational flexibility, and take into account not only the current organisational structure of the OIE, but also the Strategic Plan and the Working Plan, which were adopted at the 69th General Session of the OIE International Committee in 2001.

Physiotherapy and pharmacy students perception of educational environment in a medical university from Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Memon, Aamir Raoof; Ali, Bahadur; Kiyani, Mubin Mustafa; Ahmed, Imran; Memon, Attiq-Ur-Rehman; Feroz, Jam

2018-01-01

To assess and compare the perceptions of the educational environment between physiotherapy and pharmacy students in a public-sector medical university. This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Peoples University of Medical and Health Sciences for Women, Nawabshah, Pakistan, and comprised undergraduate physiotherapy and pharmacy students. The Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure questionnaire was used to assess the perceptions of students about their educational environment. Global and subscale scores were computed and compared between the respondents. Pphysiotherapy students, the mean global score was 124.9±14.0 while it was 131.7±18.9 for pharmacy students (p=0.16). The domain scores were comparable for both specialties (p>0.05). There was no significance difference in the global and domain scores for preclinical and clinical years in the students (p>0.05). However, in the physiotherapy students, the global and domain scores for Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure were significantly lower in clinical than preclinical students (pstudents' social self-perception (p>0.05). Students were overall positive about their educational environment.

Professional Language Training of International Students in the Multicultural Environment of University for International Relations

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Tatyana Glebova

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article addresses the specific features of professional language training of international students in the multicultural environment of a Russian university teaching students of international relations. After a brief historical survey of teaching foreign students in the universities of Russia, the writer considers the factors that influence the choice of universities graduating specialists in international relations by foreign students. The author goes on to analyze the specifics of linguisticand socio-cultural environment in Russian universities and its impact on international students stressing the fact that the educational environment at MGIMO-University is multilingual and multicultural. That explains the relevance of studying the quality of professional language training of foreign students in the sphere of international relations. The language of teaching in most universities of the Russian Federation is Russian, besides, all MGIMO students are obliged to learn English either as their first or second foreign language, that is why international students have to study in a tri-lingual environment and the interfering influence of several cultures. The writer points out that under such circumstances it is necessary for future IR specialists to build a number of professionally relevant competences: linguistic, socio-cultural, communicative, and suggests educational technologies that have proved to be effective in building them: case-study, role-plays, etc. The article gives special attention to the place and role of translation in teaching English as translation is a system of encoding within the system of two language systems. Translating phrases from Russian into English the student does 'inner', mental translation using the mother tongue. That makes the author suggest using the students'mother tongues in the teaching process. While learning foreign languages, international students should, along with language material, study the system

Responding to Organisational Misbehaviour

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holmgreen, Lise-Lotte

2018-01-01

Over the past decades, the seriousness with which organisational crises have developed has, in part, been contingent on public access to social media platforms. Analysing two Danish organisational crises, the article explores whether the conceptual repertoires that underlie public evaluation...... of organisational behaviour are embedded in shared social and cultural practices that allow them to be expressed and shared easily and intuitively. The findings suggest that by drawing on well-established experiential domains in social and cultural life, users in public social media may instantiate frames...

Teaching Architecture - Contemporary Challenges and Threats in the Complexity of Built Environment

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Borucka, Justyna; Macikowski, Bartosz

2017-10-01

The complexity of the modern built environment is a problem not only of architectural and urban issues. This issue extends to many other disciplines as well as covering a wide range of social engagements. The idea of writing this paper is generally initiated by the debate which took place in Gdańsk on 22.01.2016, and was prepared in order to meet representatives of the four circles of interest within the architectural sphere: universities, professional architectural organisations and associations, architectural practice (professionals running their own studios, managing projects and leading construction) and local social organisations active in city of Gdańsk. This paper is a comparison of the results of this discussion in relation to the policy and methodology of architecture teaching on the University level. Teaching architecture and urban planning according to the present discussion needs to be improved and advanced to meet the increasing complexity of both disciplines. Contemporary dynamic development of cities creates the necessity of engaging multiple stakeholders, participants and users of architecture and urban space. This is crucial to make them conscious of sharing responsibility for increasing the quality of living in the built environment. This discussion about architectural education is open and has the nature of an ongoing process adapting to a changing environment and is in fact a constant challenge which brings questions rather than simple answers. Transformation of architecture and urban planning, and consequently its education are increasingly entering into the related fields, especially into the professional practice and social environment. The question of how to teach architecture and urban planning and educate users of urban space should take place in the context of a wide discussion. This interdisciplinary debate seems to be a crucial and challenging step towards improving the future education of architecture and urban planning leading to a

Caught in the middle: The role of the Facilities Manager in organisational energy use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goulden, Murray; Spence, Alexa

2015-01-01

This study analyses the role of the Facilities Manager [FM] as a key actor in organisational energy management. This builds on the idea that ‘middle’ agents in networks can be an important lever for socio-technical change. The study demonstrates the considerable impact the FM can have on workplace energy consumption, whilst identifying a number of factors that constrain their agency and capacity to act. These include demands to meet workforce expectations of comfort; a lack of support from senior management; and a shortage of resources. Underlying these challenges, the study identifies three different energy rationales – that is to say conceptual frameworks – which are deployed by different groups of organisational actors. The challenges of reconciling these at-times-contradictory rationales results in a picture of energy management which to the outsider can appear highly irrational. The paper concludes with a consideration of how policy makers can apply these insights to support energy reduction in workplaces. -- Highlights: •Facilities Managers are increasingly critical node in organisational use of energy. •Potential for FMs to make significant reductions to organisational energy use. •Their ability to do so is constrained by the organisational environment. •Three ‘energy rationales’ which the shape organisational context are identified. •Opportunities exist for policy makers to improve organisational energy management

An organisational perspective on professionals' learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elkjær, Bente; Brandi, Ulrik

2014-01-01

that they are connected with. These are a behavioural, a cognitive and a practice-based perspective on organisational learning respectively. We propose that these lenses on organisations and learning may help us see professionals’ learning as contextualised in both their work practices and their places of work, i......The purpose and contribution of our chapter is to provide a vision for professionals’ learning in the light of the field of organisational learning, and through this lens to incorporate various understandings of the organisational dynamics that professionals work and learn in and through. Inspired...... by some of the founding fathers of the field of organisational learning, Chris Argyris and Donald Schön (Argyris & Schön, 1978; 1996: 3), we ask: “what is an organisation that professionals may learn?” We answer this question by introducing three understandings of organisations and the learning theories...

ASSESSMENT OF PROFESSIONAL SKILLS OF STUDENTS IN IT-BASED CONTROLLED EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF A UNIVERSITY

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Evgeiy Nikolaevich Boyarov

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The article looks at the problem of estimating professional skills of students, the process of their building and assessing their level in IT-based controlled educational environment of a university. The author presents research findings of professional skills level of future educational professionals in the field of Life Safety[1] based on their academic results.Goal: to develop and show by experiments efficiency of building professional skills of students in IT-based controlled educational environment of a university.Results: increasing the level of professional skills in IT-based controlled educational environment of a university.Scope of application of results: field of higher professional education.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-7-1[1] Life Safety or Fundamentals of Health and Safety is a secondary school subject, which involves teaching basic rules of how to act in dangerous situations in everyday life (natural disasters, fires, terrorist attacks, etc., provide first aid, etc.

Organisational Theatre and Polyphony

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Matula, Linda; Badham, Richard; Meisiek, Stefan

This paper details the conditions leading up to and influencing an organisational theatre intervention as part of an organisational change program at a newly established cancer clinic. The paper explores the social and political interactions and negotiations shaping the structure and conditions...... of the organisational theatre event. It focuses in particular on the alignments and clashes between the different human resource voices in defining the ‘surface’ formal purpose for the intervention and the embeddedness of such interactions and negotiations in ‘deeper’ cultural and social conditions. The paper provides...... the first in-depth longitudinal study of shaping and negotiation of an organisational theatre event and the ways in which it is influenced by a polyphonic multivocality and takes the form of selective and partial forms of harmonious expression in establishing meaningful cooperation. The paper reveals...

Essentials of University Strategy Development in the Field of Lifelong Learning

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Alina Irina POPESCU

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The process of strategy development reflects, in any organisation, the clarity of the purpose of the organisation’s mere existence. Although many organisations may decide ‘to go with the flow’, in the current economic context it is advisable that organisations, including higher education institutions, go through a thorough strategy development process. The lifelong learning approach brings a shift in the paradigm of education, and was considered to be the manner in which individuals get educated in the knowledge-based society. The most active players in the higher education market embraced this approach by developing lifelong learning strategies, either separated or incorporated in the overall university strategy. In this context, the study presents guidelines for the development of strategies in universities, and attempts to investigate to which extent three public universities representative for different regions of Romania have embraced the lifelong learning approach in their university strategies so far. The investigation uses the framework of the principles of university lifelong learning presented in the Universities‘ Charter on Lifelong Learning (2008.

Organisations in Innovation Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borrás, Susana

Organisations are crucial elements in an innovation system. Yet, their role is so ubiquitous that it is difficult to grasp and to examine from the perspective of public policy. Besides, links between the literature at firm and system levels on the one hand, and public policy and governance studies......, it distinguishes between different types of organisations in the innovation system, a crucial topic in understanding innovation dynamics and blurring borders. Secondly, it identifies the organisation-related bottlenecks in the innovation system, and examines the policy instruments to solve them. Thirdly...

Administrativ organisation og ansvar

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hilsted, Jannik C; Krogsgaard, Kim

2003-01-01

The paper describes the current organisation of clinical trials in Danish hospitals, with particular emphasis on the relationship between hospitals and the pharmaceutical industry. Legal responsibilities as well as mutual agreements on collaboration and organisation are described and discussed....

Characterizing Pedagogical Practices of University Physics Students in Informal Learning Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Hinko, Kathleen A.; Madigan, Peter; Miller, Eric; Finkelstein, Noah D.

2016-01-01

University educators (UEs) have a long history of teaching physics not only in formal classroom settings but also in informal outreach environments. The pedagogical practices of UEs in informal physics teaching have not been widely studied, and they may provide insight into formal practices and preparation. We investigate the interactions between…

The Environmentalism of University Students: Their Ethical Attitudes toward the Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Ozdemir, Oguz

2012-01-01

The study tries to determine the environmentalism of university students based on their attitudes towards the environment. The present study was carried out among 220 senior students studying in various departments in 2007-2008 academic year. The data were collected through an "Environmental Ethics" scale developed by the researcher and…

Optimistic, Defensive-Pessimistic, Impulsive and Self-Handicapping Strategies in University Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Eronen, Sanna; Nurmi, Jari-Erik; Salmela-Aro, Katariina

1998-01-01

A person-oriented approach was used to study the types of achievement strategy students apply in university environments and how these are associated with academic achievement, related satisfaction, and personal well-being. Results with 254 undergraduates over 2 years found academic achievement associated with 4 types of achievement strategy, each…

The Effects of Demographic, Internal and External University Environment Factors on Faculty Job Satisfaction in Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

Duong, Minh-Quang

2016-01-01

University faculty members with higher job satisfaction are more productive, creative and positive attitude towards their job. Even less is known about university faculty job satisfaction in developing countries like Vietnam. This study examines the effects of demographic, internal and external university environment factors on faculty job…

Transferral of Business Management Concepts to Universities as Ambidextrous Organisations

Science.gov (United States)

Tahar, Sadri; Niemeyer, Cornelius; Boutellier, Roman

2011-01-01

In the context of new public management reforms, many business management concepts were transferred to universities. Most studies on the transfer of business management concepts to universities show that transfers were not as successful as expected. These studies also provide nuances as to why it is such a delicate matter. However, a basic…

‘Take your time’ to ‘find yourself!’: an exploration of scaffolded autonomous e-learning environments amongst international students in a UK university

OpenAIRE

Meri-Yilan, Serpil

2017-01-01

Over the previous decade, there has been an increase in using and undertaking research on elearning (Aparicio, Bacao & Oliveira, 2016). In particular, learning in autonomous, self-directed elearning environments has been of interest to educational organisations, institutions and designers, with the aim of enabling learners to improve their learning on their own in such environments. However, as learners are increasingly isolated and working without any humanbased support (Zembylas, Theoro...

Organisational interventions to combat stress risks in the Netherlands: design oriented approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oeij, P.R.A.; Houtman, I.L.D.; Vaas, S.; Wiezer, N.M.

2004-01-01

One of several organisational interventions is described, namely Combat Workstress Approach (CWA), and its background in modern sociotechnology (MST) as a design oriented approach. CWA’s central goal is to assess and eliminate the sources of distur-bances in the work environment. Interventions aim

Life Cycle Management at Brødrene Hartmann A/S - strategy,- organisation and implementation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Claus Stig; Alting, Leo; Mortensen, Anna Lise

1997-01-01

decisionmaking is under development.The implementation of life cycle management in Hartmann is organised with respect to the divisional areas: strategic management, product development, purchase, production, sale and distribution. The implementation of life cycle managment is assisted by tools to support...... decision making. The tools are developed in coorporation with the Department of Manufacturing Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark.This paper presents- The Hartmann environmental strategy, based on the life cycle concept- Experiences and results from developing a life cycle orientated...... organisation- Experiences and results from developing and implementing tools for life cycle management...

Integration of Wireless Technologies in Smart University Campus Environment: Framework Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Khamayseh, Yaser; Mardini, Wail; Aljawarneh, Shadi; Yassein, Muneer Bani

2015-01-01

In this paper, the authors are particularly interested in enhancing the education process by integrating new tools to the teaching environments. This enhancement is part of an emerging concept, called smart campus. Smart University Campus will come up with a new ubiquitous computing and communication field and change people's lives radically by…

Use and Mastery of Virtual Learning Environment in Brazilian Open University

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez, Margarita Victoria

2014-01-01

This paper describes and analyses the dynamics of the use and/or mastery of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) by educators and students Open University, important part of the Brazilian Educational System. A questionnaire with 32 items was answered by 174 students/instructors/coordinators of the Media in Education and Physics courses, of two…

The effectiveness of strategies to change organisational culture to improve healthcare performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Parmelli, Elena; Flodgren, Gerd; Schaafsma, Mary Ellen; Baillie, Nick; Beyer, Fiona R; Eccles, Martin P

2011-01-19

Organisational culture is an anthropological metaphor used to inform research and consultancy and to explain organisational environments. Great emphasis has been placed during the last years on the need to change organisational culture in order to pursue effective improvement of healthcare performance. However, the precise nature of organisational culture in healthcare policy often remains underspecified and the desirability and feasibility of strategies to be adopted has been called into question. To determine the effectiveness of strategies to change organisational culture in order to improve healthcare performance.To examine the effectiveness of these strategies according to different patterns of organisational culture. We searched the following electronic databases for primary studies: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, Business and Management, EThOS, Index to Theses, Intute, HMIC, SIGLE, and Scopus until October 2009. The Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE) was searched for related reviews. We also searched the reference lists of all papers and relevant reviews identified, and we contacted experts in the field for advice on further potential studies. We considered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or well designed quasi-experimental studies, controlled clinical trials (CCTs), controlled before and after studies (CBAs) and interrupted time series analyses (ITS) meeting the quality criteria used by the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group (EPOC). Studies should be set in any type of healthcare organisation in which strategies to change organisational culture in order to improve healthcare performance were applied. Our main outcomes were objective measures of professional performance and patient outcome. At least two review authors independently applied the criteria for inclusion and exclusion criteria to scan titles and

The effect of organisational context on organisational development (OD interventions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjana Brijball Parumasur

2012-05-01

Research purpose: This article examines national and international OD practices. It assesses the effect of diverse cultures and cultural values for determining the effectiveness of OD interventions. Motivation for the study: Most organisational change and development programmes fail and only a few result in increased competitiveness, improvements and profitability. This emphasises the need for change interventions to give sufficient attention to leadership, cultures, managing change and adopting context-based OD interventions. Research design, approach and method: This article is a literature review of the current trends and research in the area of OD interventions. It synthesises the influence that cultures and cultural orientations have on determining which OD intervention strategies organisations should adopt in different cultures. Main findings: The analysis emphasises how important it is to achieve congruence between the OD interventions organisations select and their local cultures. Practical/managerial implications: It is important to note the evolving nature of the political and economic climates that influence national cultures and that they emphasise that interventions that reflect OD values, which are tailor-made and shaped to the needs of local cultures, are necessary. Contribution/value-add: This study links various OD interventions to Hofstede’s dimensions for differentiating national cultures. It provides guidelines for aligning the practices and techniques of OD to the values and cultures of the organisations and societies in which they are to be implemented.

The law of international organisations

CERN Document Server

White, Nigel D

2017-01-01

This book provides a concise account of the principles and norms of international law applicable to the main-type of international organisation - the inter-governmental organisation (IGO). That law consists of principles and rules found in the founding documents of IGOs along with applicable principles and rules of international law. The book also identifies and analyses the law produced by IGOs, applied by them and, occasionally, enforced by them. There is a concentration upon the United Nations, as the paradigmatic IGO, not only upon the UN organisation headquartered in New York, but on other IGOs in the UN system (the specialised agencies such as the World Health Organisation).

A Social Contract for University-Industry Collaboration: A Case of Project-Based Learning Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Vartiainen, Tero

This study determines a social contract for a form of university-industry collaboration to a project-based learning environment in close collaboration with industry. The author's previous studies on moral conflicts in a project-based learning (PjBL) environment and his 5-year engagement in the PjBL environment are used as background knowledge, and John Rawls' veil of ignorance is used as a method in the contract formulation. Fair and impartial treatment of actors is strived for with the contract which constitutes of sets of obligations for each party, students, clients, and university (instructors) in the chosen project course. With the contract fair and impartial treatment of actors is strived for and the most dilemmatic moral conflicts are tried to be avoided. The forming of the social contract is evaluated, and implications for research and collaborations in practice are offered.

Organisational Culture: An Exploratory Study Comparing Faculties' Perspectives within Public and Private Universities in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Ramachandran, Sharimllah Devi; Chong, Siong Choy; Ismail, Hishamuddin

2011-01-01

Purpose: The main objective of this paper to study the organisational culture (OC) in private and public higher education institutions (HEIs) from the perspective of faculty members in order to provide empirical insights on the differences and consequently pave an avenue for cross-learning. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 594…

Crisis management teams in health organisations.

Science.gov (United States)

Canyon, Deon V

2012-01-01

Crisis management teams (CMT) are necessary to ensure adequate and appropriate crisis management planning and response to unforeseen, adverse events. This study investigated the existence of CMTs, the membership of CMTs, and the degree of training received by CMTs in Australian health and allied health organisations. This cross-sectional study draws on data provided by executive decision makers in a broad selection of health and allied health organisations. Crisis management teams were found in 44.2 per cent of the health-related organisations surveyed, which is ten per cent lower than the figure for business organisations. Membership of these CMTs was not ideal and did not conform to standard CMT membership profiles. Similarly, the extent of crisis management training in health-related organisations is 20 per cent lower than the figure for business organisations. If organisations do not become pro-active in their crisis management practices, the onus is on government to improve the situation through regulation and the provision of more physical, monetary and skill resources to ensure that the health services of Australia are sufficiently prepared to respond to adverse events.

ISO 9000 IMPLEMENTATION AND PERCEIVED ORGANISATIONAL OUTCOME: THE CASE OF A SERVICE ORGANISATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jasni Abdul Latif

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The study examines the relationship between the perceptions of the employees about ISO 9000 implementation and perceived organisational outcomes. A conceptual framework linking the level of employee influence and involvement, their perception of ISO 9000 and the perceived impact on their work and the organisational outcomes is posited. Data was collected from a random sample of 64 employees of a service organisation. Contrary to expectations, the work impact of ISO 9000 was not correlated with the efficiency and market outcomes of ISO 9000 certification but the employee involvement, influence and perception of ISO 9000 were. The conceptualization of the influence path of ISO 9000 implementation on the organisational outcomes may require rethinking as perception may have a direct effect on the outcomes without the mediation of the impact on work. In short, employees may report benefits or positive outcomes even though no change is reported in their work.

The marketing environment

OpenAIRE

Camilleri, Mark Anthony

2017-01-01

The tourism marketing environment consists of internal and external forces which could impact the organisations’ performance. To be successful, companies must adapt to ongoing trends and developments in their macro and micro environments. When organisations scan their marketing environment they will be in a position to deal with any possible threats from the market and to capitalise on any available opportunities. Therefore, this chapter explains the external environmental factors, including;...

Achieving excellence in private intensive care units: The effect of transformational leadership and organisational culture on organisational change outcomes

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Portia J. Jordan

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Organisational change outcomes in private intensive care units are linked to higher patient satisfaction, improved quality of patient care, family support, cost-effective care practices and an increased level of excellence. Transformational leadership and fostering a positive organisational culture can contribute to these change outcomes. Research purpose: The study determined whether transformational leadership and a supportive organisational culture were evident in six private intensive care units in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. A conceptual framework to investigate the relationship between transformational leadership, organisational culture, and organisational change outcomes, was proposed and tested. Motivation for the study: The prevalence of transformational leadership, a positive organisational culture and their effect on organisational change outcomes in private healthcare industries require further research in order to generate appropriate recommendations. Research design, approach and method: A positivistic, quantitative design was used. A survey was conducted using a questionnaire which, in previous studies, produced scores with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients greater than 0.80, to collect data from a sample of 130 professional nurses in private intensive care units. Main findings: Transformational leadership and a positive organisational culture were evident in the private intensive care units sampled. A strong, positive correlation exists between transformational leadership, organisational culture, and organisational change outcomes. This correlation provides sufficient evidence to accept the postulated research hypotheses. Innovation and intellectual stimulation were identified as the factors in need of improvement. Practical or managerial implications: The findings of the study may be used by managers in intensive care units to promote organisational change outcomes, linked to transformational leadership and a

Organising, Providing and Evaluating Technical Training for Early Career Researchers: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

van Besouw, Rachel M.; Rogers, Katrine S.; Powles, Christopher J.; Papadopoulos, Timos; Ku, Emery M.

2013-01-01

This paper considers the importance of providing technical training opportunities for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) worldwide through the case study of a MATLAB training programme, which was proposed, organised, managed and evaluated by a team of five ECRs at the University of Southampton. The effectiveness of the programme in terms of the…

Trade Union Organisers in Trade Union Organising Strategies: building workplace unionism or reinforcing bureaucracy

OpenAIRE

Looker, Gerard

2015-01-01

This thesis considers the role of union full time officers in union organising strategies. Two decades of promoting union organising influenced by models developed by the AFL-CIO, has failed to arrest the decline of UK trade unions let alone produce evidence of renewal. Focusing mainly on one region in the UKs largest public sector trade union, Unison, the research provides for a detailed account of how organising strategies affect union work, presenting thick and deep data from full time off...

Planning Approach to Organisational and Methodical Provision of Formation and Functioning of Logistic Systems of Enterprises

OpenAIRE

Kolodizyeva Tetyana O.; Panasyants Hanna S.

2013-01-01

The article analyses factors of external and internal environment of enterprises that influence the process of formation of logistic systems and justifies expediency of use of the planning approach to development of the organisational and methodical provision of functioning of logistic systems of enterprises. The article offers to conduct development of organisational and methodical provision of formation of functioning of logistic systems with the use of not one but several methodological ap...

Measuring leader reputation within the South African business context : a study in two financial industry organisations

OpenAIRE

2015-01-01

M.A. (Strategic Communication) In today’s increasingly competitive business environments, one of the greatest challenges that continue to face organisations extends beyond financial performance, market share, and attracting and retaining employees and customers, to now include the reputation of the individual that heads up or leads the organisation – in most instances the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The leader’s reputation has become increasingly important for a number of reasons, one o...

Promoting Learning: What Universities Don't Do

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Brian

2018-01-01

Universities seek to promote student learning, but assessment and credentials can undermine students' intrinsic motivation to learn. Findings from research on how people learn, mindsets, expert performance and good health are seldom incorporated into the way universities organise learning experiences.

Students' Perceptions of the Residence Hall Living Environment at Kuwait University

Science.gov (United States)

Al Kandari, Nabila

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore students' perceptions of the residence hall living environment at Kuwait University. The researcher developed a questionnaire for this purpose that included 36 items. The sample of the study consisted of 191 residential students, of whom 98 were male and 93 were female. The research findings indicated that:…

Organising evidence for environmental management decisions: a '4S' hierarchy.

Science.gov (United States)

Dicks, Lynn V; Walsh, Jessica C; Sutherland, William J

2014-11-01

Making decisions informed by the best-available science is an objective for many organisations managing the environment or natural resources. Yet, available science is still not widely used in environmental policy and practice. We describe a '4S' hierarchy for organising relevant science to inform decisions. This hierarchy has already revolutionised clinical practice. It is beginning to emerge for environmental management, although all four levels need substantial development before environmental decision-makers can reliably and efficiently find the evidence they need. We expose common bypass routes that currently lead to poor or biased representation of scientific knowledge. We argue that the least developed level of the hierarchy is that closest to decision-makers, placing synthesised scientific knowledge into environmental decision support systems. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

(Re)Discovering University Autonomy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This book challenges traditional approach to university autonomy which is based on four pillars: organisational, financial, human resource, and academic. The main thesis is that a fuller understanding of university autonomy can only be obtained through a more holistic view of the complex inter......-relationships between stakeholders and policies which can reinforce and equally pull in opposite directions. The holistic view is expressed in a model of institutional university autonomy that brings together the traditional basic four pillars of autonomy, and five interfaces: government–university; university......–university staff; academic staff–students; university–business; and university–internationalisation. This model is explored through international case studies that give new insights and reinforce our understanding that the issues relating to institutional university autonomy are complex, interactive and genuinely...

EMPLOYEE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT IN ORGANISATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

VNOUČKOVÁ, Lucie

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The primary goal of all organisations is efficiency of human resources. Therefore activities as HR controlling, performance management but also cutting costs are the main theme. Current organisations need to monitor human resources to keep their competitiveness. Thus paper describes the key factor of organisational efficiency - employee education, talent management and the necessity to retain skilled employees. The aim of the paper is to reveal the current approach in organisations to education and learning based on primary survey of employees. The data were collected using quantitative primary survey in Czech organisations across sectors. The questionnaire was compiled based on the theoretical background. The paper has been processed based on the analysis of secondary sources, outcome synthesis and the evaluation of results of a questionnaire survey. The data were analysed using descriptive statistic, correlation analysis and factor analysis. The SPSS programme was used for the analyses. The outcomes were categorized and the analyses revealed the main factors affecting organisational approach to employee learning and development. The results identify three possible approaches in organisations to employee learning and development. The first type of organisations educates employees by their own rules, second type does not support education of employees in any way, it is only an interest of employees themselves and thirdly knowledgeable employees were identified as those employees do as much as possible to learn and grow and they choose job position in order to develop constantly. The results can be taken into account in further analysis and in organisation of adult education.

Republished: Fibrosing organising pneumonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Beardsley, Brooke; Rassl, Doris

2014-08-01

Organising pneumonia (otherwise referred to as bronchiolitis obliterans organising pneumonia) is characterised histologically by plugs of granulation tissue, which are present predominantly within small airways, alveolar ducts and peri-bronchiolar alveoli. This pattern is not specific for any disorder or cause, but is one type of inflammatory response to pulmonary injury, which may be seen in a wide variety of clinical conditions. Typically, organising pneumonia responds very well to corticosteroid treatment; however, a small percentage of patients appear to develop progressive fibrosis. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Communication Conflict Styles, Perception of Ethical Environment, and Job Satisfaction among College and University Counselors

Science.gov (United States)

Jodoin, Elizabeth C.; Ayers, David F.

2017-01-01

This quantitative study examined the perceptions of college and university counselors (N = 669) regarding their ethical environment, job satisfaction, and ways of dealing with organizational conflict. Findings indicated that counselors manifested an average, but not positive, perception of their ethical environment. Job satisfaction was highest…

Kommunikation skaber din organisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Heidi

KOMMUNIKATION skaber din ORGANISATION tager udgangspunkt i en narrativ tilgang til kommunikation, hvor organisationen skabes i mødet mellem ledere, medarbejdere, organisation og omverden. Historier hjælper os med at skabe mening, og er derfor vigtige både som et udviklingsværktøj i organisationen...

Injury and the orchestral environment: part II. Organisational culture, behavioural norms, and attitudes to injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Rickert, Dale Ll; Barrett, Margaret S; Ackermann, Bronwen J

2014-06-01

The organisational culture, behavioural norms, and attitudes of a workplace have a profound influence on levels of injury and illness amongst its workers. While this is well established in Work Health and Safety literature, very little research has attempted to understand the influence of organisational culture on injury risk in the orchestral profession. To address this, the current study aimed to investigate the influence of organisational culture on injury outcomes for orchestral musicians. Using a qualitative case study methodology, in-depth semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 10 professional orchestral cellists (2 freelance and 8 fulltime members) from a single Australian orchestra. After initial data analysis, further interviews were undertaken with a set of 5 orchestral management staff as a means of data triangulation. All data were analysed using a themes-based "analysis of narrative" approach. The findings indicate that an orchestral culture exists in which musicians see injury as a sign of weakness, failure, and poor musicianship. Such negative perceptions of injury influence musicians to play through considerable levels of pain and continue performing with injuries. Because of perceived judgment from the orchestral group, musicians were found to conceal injuries from colleagues and management staff. Freelance musicians felt that disclosing injuries may lead to decreased work opportunities, and both full-time and casual musicians felt that "opening up" about injury may subject them to group judgment about their technique or musicianship. The study suggests education measures which may be effective at influencing individual behaviours and attitudes as well as cultural change initiatives which could lead to long-term positive health outcomes in the orchestral workplace.

The Role and Responsibility of the University Library in Publishing in a University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bas Savenije

2000-06-01

Full Text Available As a consequence of developments in information technology, the traditional information chain is subject to change: the separate functions in this chain become more and more integrated and the roles played by the traditional parties are most uncertain. Several new models in scholarly publishing and communication are emerging, in which the scientific community and the scientists themselves play a central role. It is more than natural for universities to support these developments in order to realise new models of scientific communication that are more in tune with the needs of the academic community than the traditional model, which has led to a serious serials crisis. An important step in this direction is that each university encourages scientists to make more use of ICT in their research publications. However, it is also necessary to give serious attention to organisational matters: in this respect every university should take responsibility for collecting, archiving and disclosing the scientific output of its own scientists. The provision of scientific information is the traditional core business of university libraries and it is a natural extension of this role for university libraries to support this development and to organise the processes needed. The paper describes the role that universities and their libraries have to play. It also gives some examples of library initiatives in this field, including an evaluation of their impact on the innovation of scientific communication.

Organisational learning as movements in practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elkjær, Bente

2013-01-01

In the paper, I take the readers through a tour de force of the past, present and future of the field of organisational learning. This is structured around three concepts that stand out as important, namely organisational learning as changed behaviour, as changed theories of actions and as part...... of practice. I also point to the future of organisational learning as inspired by the work of pragmatist philosophy and as affected by the call for more concreteness in organisation studies as a whole....

From artefact to effect: the organising effects of artefacts on teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Berlin, Johan M; Carlström, Eric D

2010-01-01

Earlier studies have identified artefacts, but have only to a lesser degree looked at their effects. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how artefacts contribute to organisation. A trauma team at a university hospital has been observed and its members interviewed. The trauma team showed itself to be rich on artefacts since it had strong internal driving forces, high legitimacy, and tried to live up to high expectations from the outside. Its members were motivated to be in the forefront of trauma care. Through renewal, the team succeeded in maintaining demarcation. It also succeeded in systemising internal work tasks and made for itself a position in relation to the outside. The team's capacity, however, came to be limited by internal conflicts and battles for prestige. The study shows that informal logic has a strong influence on teams. Teamwork contributed to the development of organisational structure and motivation for the personnel. Earlier studies advocate the important role of artefacts in order to communicate, collaborate, negotiate or coordinate activities. The conclusion is that artefacts also have an organising and developing effect on teams in a fragmented and differentiated healthcare.

Institutional Context and E-recruitment Practices of Danish Organisations

OpenAIRE

Holm, Anna B.

2014-01-01

Purpose - Up to now, there has been little research on the impact of the external environment on recruitment practices of organizations, and in part it lags behind practice. This paper attempts to rectify this by studying recent changes in recruitment practices of Danish organizations and the adoption of e-recruitment from a macro organisational perspective.Design/methodology/approach - The study employs new institutional theory as a theoretical lens in order to understand how external pressu...

11. mednarodni simpozij o managementu in družbeni odgovornosti = 11th International Symposium on Organisational Science Development

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Aleksander Janes

2008-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper we present the organisation and execution of the 11th International Symposium on Organisational Science Development, entitled Management and Social Responsibility, which is organised by the Faculty of Organisational Sciences in Belgrade. The Symposium is already a traditional event and it has taken place in Zlatibor for many years, but this year it was held in Belgrade itself in order to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the University of Belgrade. The fact that more than 450 authors and co-authors, coming from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Croatia, Israel, Macedonia, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, the USA, et al., attended the symposium clearly confirms the topicality of conference’s contents in all areas of management, for example in the area of product and service development, finances, quality, informatics, human resources and many others.

Business continuity management in international organisations.

Science.gov (United States)

Adamou, Christel

2014-01-01

In the area of business continuity management, a preliminary review of the literature reveals extensive knowledge, expertise and experience concerning organisations in the private and public sectors. It is interesting to note, however, that there is little literature about business continuity management in international organisations, although these entities are complex and particularly prone to threats. This apparent absence of literature suggests that business continuity management has not yet hit the agenda of international organisations. In recent years, member states have encouraged senior management to design and implement business continuity strategies to minimise the mishandling of an internal crisis and build organisational resilience, but very few of them have actually been able to design and implement comprehensive business continuity programmes. Based on actual experience working in international organisations, this paper outlines some of the challenges faced by international organisations in developing and implementing business continuity activities and attempts to make suggestions for further improvement.

Reviewing the impact of organisational factors on nuclear power plants safety. A Spanish research initiative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sola, R.; Garces, M.I.; Vaquero, C.; Sendio, F.; De la Cal, C.; Villadoniga, J.I.

2000-01-01

This paper describes the Spanish R and D project 'Development of methods to evaluate and model the impact of organisation on nuclear power plants safety' framed in an specific agreement among UNESA (Association of Spanish Utilities), CSN (Spanish Nuclear Safety Council) and CIEMAT (Research Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology), being this last one the institution in charge of the development of the research activities. The main goal of the proposed project is to increase the knowledge related the way nuclear power plants organise and manage their activities to enhance safety. This goal will be achieved through three perspectives: the development of preventive and corrective methodologies and the development of models to incorporate the organisation and management in the probabilistic safety assessment, PSA. (author)

Cultural Differences in the Health Information Environments and Practices between Finnish and Japanese University Students

Science.gov (United States)

Askola, Kreetta; Atsushi, Toshimori; Huotari, Maija-Leena

2010-01-01

Introduction: The aim of this study was to identify cultural differences in the information environment and information practices, namely active seeking and encountering, of web-based health information between Finnish and Japanese university students. Method: The data were gathered with a Web-based survey among first-year university students at…

Inter-organisational response to disasters.

Science.gov (United States)

Paturas, James L; Smith, Stewart R; Albanese, Joseph; Waite, Geraldine

2016-01-01

Inter-organisational communication failures during times of real-world disasters impede the collaborative response of agencies responsible for ensuring the public's health and safety. In the best of circumstances, communications across jurisdictional boundaries are ineffective. In times of crisis, when communities are grappling with the impact of a disaster, communications become critically important and more complex. Important factors for improving inter-organisational communications are critical thinking and problem-solving skills; inter-organisational relationships; as well as strategic, tactical and operational communications. Improving communication, critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making requires a review of leadership skills. This discussion begins with an analysis of the existing disaster management research and moves to an examination of the importance of inter-organisational working relationships. Before a successful resolution of a disaster by multiple levels of first responders, the group of organisations must have a foundation of trust, collegiality, flexibility, expertise, openness, relational networking and effective communications. Leaders must also be prepared to improve leadership skills through continual development in each of these foundational areas.

BUSEFL: The Boston University Space Environment Forecast Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Contos, A.R.; Sanchez, L.A.; Jorgensen, A.M.

1996-01-01

BUSEFL (Boston University Space Environment Forecast Laboratory) is a comprehensive, integrated project to address the issues and implications of space weather forecasting. An important goal of the BUSEFL mission is to serve as a testing ground for space weather algorithms and operational procedures. One such algorithm is the Magnetospheric Specification and Forecast Model (MSFM), which may be implemented in possible future space weather prediction centers. Boston University Student-satellite for Applications and Training (BUSAT), the satellite component of BUSEFL, will incorporate four experiments designed to measure (1) the earth close-quote s magnetic field, (2) distribution of energetic electrons trapped in the earth close-quote s radiation belts, (3) the mass and charge composition of the ion fluxes along the magnetic field lines and (4) the auroral forms at the foot of the field line in the auroral zones. Data from these experiments will be integrated into a ground system to evaluate space weather prediction codes. Data from the BUSEFL mission will be available to the scientific community and the public through media such as the World Wide Web (WWW). copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

Towards an organisation-wide process-oriented organisation of care: A literature review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Groenewegen Peter P

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Many hospitals have taken actions to make care delivery for specific patient groups more process-oriented, but struggle with the question how to deal with process orientation at hospital level. The aim of this study is to report and discuss the experiences of hospitals with implementing process-oriented organisation designs in order to derive lessons for future transitions and research. Methods A literature review of English language articles on organisation-wide process-oriented redesigns, published between January 1998 and May 2009, was performed. Results Of 329 abstracts identified, 10 articles were included in the study. These articles described process-oriented redesigns of five hospitals. Four hospitals tried to become process-oriented by the implementation of coordination measures, and one by organisational restructuring. The adoption of the coordination mechanism approach was particularly constrained by the functional structure of hospitals. Other factors that hampered the redesigns in general were the limited applicability of and unfamiliarity with process improvement techniques. Conclusions Due to the limitations of the evidence, it is not known which approach, implementation of coordination measures or organisational restructuring (with additional coordination measures, produces the best results in which situation. Therefore, more research is needed. For this research, the use of qualitative methods in addition to quantitative measures is recommended to contribute to a better understanding of preconditions and contingencies for an effective application of approaches to become process-oriented. Hospitals are advised to take the factors for failure described into account and to take suitable actions to counteract these obstacles on their way to become process-oriented organisations.

Creating at university the environment friendly for studies, students' employment, and family : approach of students

OpenAIRE

Sidlauskienė, Virginija

2011-01-01

The main aim of EQUAL project "FAMILY UNIVERSE: Family-Friendly Organization" was to create and to test innovative methodology and means for educational institutions and organizations, starting to reconcile family and professional life and trying to change stereotypical gender roles in the family and in the work, by forming family-friendly study and work environment in Siauliai University. Conditions for the establishment of family oriented organization at University of Šiauliai are analysed ...

Perceptions of Students and Clinical Instructors of Academic Learning Environments at Yazd University of Medical Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamideh Montazeri

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The purpose of this cross sectional study is to gain insight into the students and clinical instructors’ perception of learning environments at Yazd medical University in 2012. Various aspects of environment are compared between courses, gender and age. Students and instructors’ perspectives are reported. Methods: The sample consisted of 158 undergraduate students in their final year of graduation in the nursing, anesthesia, operating room, laboratory, radiology, midwifery courses and their 20 clinical instructors at Yazd University. Data were obtained using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM. Scores were compared across grouping variables identified via demographic information. Results: Scores were fairly high for both students and clinical instructors (M=110.0; SD=21.2 and M=93.1; SD=10.3 respectively, indicating an overall positive perception of learning environments between both groups. The perception of atmosphere subscale (PA received the highest mean grade by both groups. Total DREEM scores didn’t vary significantly between courses (p>0.05 but the results of ANOVA test showed significant differences only for perception of teaching and perception of atmosphere domains. There was not a significant association between females and males regarding total DREEM score (p>0.05. Conclusions: The more positive than negative perception held by the Yazd University health science students and instructors is hopefully indicative of a favorable teaching-learning environment. Overall; teachers’ attention to principles of educational design and setting a favorable environment to promote better learning is recommended.

Relationships among Work Life, Mental Health Status and Organisation-based Self-esteem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Devin Hassan Fahim

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Quality of Work Life (QWL is a multi-dimensional concept that covers employees’ feelings about various dimensions of work. The current study focused on QWL that can contribute to the mental health status and Organisation-Based Self-Esteem (OBSE of employees in context of sport organisation in Iran. In this descriptive–correlative study, data was collected using three standard questionnaires: Goldberg’s (1978 General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12, Pierce, Gardner, Cummings and Dunham's (1989 OBSE scale, and Walton’s (1975 QWL questionnaire. The statistical sample of the study consisted of 67 (53 male, 14 female employees of sport and youth organisations of the Northern Khorasan Province of Iran. The alpha value for mental health, OBSE and QWL questionnaires were, respectively, 0.82, 0.80, 0.79. QWL was significantly correlated with mental health status and self-esteem of employees. Thus, it can be concluded that mental health and self-esteem of employees depend on how these employees perceive QWL in organisations. Among QWL subscales, fair and adequate pay along with growth opportunities were the strongest predictors of mental health; growth opportunities along with development of human capabilities were the strongest predictors of self-esteem of employees. Our study adds to the growing body of research on mental health status in relation to factors such as QWL. In view of our findings, we hope that improving work environment as a means of improving one’s mental health status will be more emphasized by organisation managers.

Characterizing pedagogical practices of university physics students in informal learning environments

Science.gov (United States)

Hinko, Kathleen A.; Madigan, Peter; Miller, Eric; Finkelstein, Noah D.

2016-06-01

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Preparing and Supporting University Physics Educators.] University educators (UEs) have a long history of teaching physics not only in formal classroom settings but also in informal outreach environments. The pedagogical practices of UEs in informal physics teaching have not been widely studied, and they may provide insight into formal practices and preparation. We investigate the interactions between UEs and children in an afterschool physics program facilitated by university physics students from the University of Colorado Boulder. In this program, physics undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers work with K-8 children on hands-on physics activities on a weekly basis over the course of a semester. We use an activity theoretic framework as a tool to examine situational aspects of individuals' behavior in the complex structure of the afterschool program. Using this framework, we analyze video of UE-child interactions and identify three main pedagogical modalities that UEs display during activities: instruction, consultation, and participation modes. These modes are characterized by certain language, physical location, and objectives that establish differences in UE-child roles and division of labor. Based on this analysis, we discuss implications for promoting pedagogical strategies through purposeful curriculum development and university educator preparation.

Mission creep or responding to wider security needs? The evolving role of mine action organisations in Armed Violence Reduction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharmala Naidoo

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Since the late 1980s, mine action organisations have focused their efforts on reducing the social, economic and environmental impacts of anti-personnel mines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW through a broad range of activities, including survey, clearance, mine risk education (MRE, victim assistance, stockpile destruction and advocacy. In recent years, an increasing number of mine action organisations are using their mine action technical expertise and their capacities to operate in difficult environments to reduce armed violence and promote public safety. Several organisations now have armed violence reduction (AVR-related policies, programmes and staff in place. Some may argue that this shift towards AVR is a diversion from the core mandate of mine action organisations. But does this represent a loss of focus and thereby ‘mission creep’ on the part of these organisations? This practice note examines the factors underlying the evolving role of mine action organisations, discusses how these new programmes are contributing to the wider domain of AVR and explores whether these new programmes have resulted in a loss of organisational focus.

Learning and change in organisations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chemi, Tatiana

2013-01-01

Review of: Ian W. King & Jonathan Vickery (Eds.), Experiencing Organisations. New Aesthetic perspectives, Faringdon, Libri Publishing, 2013.......Review of: Ian W. King & Jonathan Vickery (Eds.), Experiencing Organisations. New Aesthetic perspectives, Faringdon, Libri Publishing, 2013....

How is cyber threat evolving and what do organisations need to consider?

Science.gov (United States)

Borrett, Martin; Carter, Roger; Wespi, Andreas

Organisations and members of the public are becoming accustomed to the increasing velocity, frequency and variety of cyber-attacks that they have been facing over the last few years. In response to this challenge, it is important to explore what can be done to offer commercial and private users a reliable and functioning environment. This paper discusses how cyber threats might evolve in the future and seeks to explore these threats more fully. Attention is paid to the changing nature of cyber-attackers and their motivations and what this means for organisations. Finally, useful and actionable steps are provided, which practitioners can use to understand how they can start to address the future challenges of cyber security.

Effort-reward imbalance and organisational injustice among aged nurses: a moderated mediation model.

Science.gov (United States)

Topa, Gabriela; Guglielmi, Dina; Depolo, Marco

2016-09-01

To test the effort-reward imbalance model among older nurses, expanding it to include the moderation of overcommitment and age in the stress-health complaints relationship, mediated by organisational injustice. The theoretical framework included the effort-reward imbalance, the uncertainty management and the socio-emotional selectivity models. Employing a two-wave design, the participants were 255 nurses aged 45 years and over, recruited from four large hospitals in Spain (Madrid and Basque Country). The direct effect of imbalance on health complaints was supported: it was significant when overcommitment was low but not when it was high. Organisational injustice mediated the influence of effort-reward imbalance on health complaints. The conditional effect of the mediation of organisational injustice was significant in three of the overcommitment/age conditions but it weakened, becoming non-significant, when the level of overcommitment was low and age was high. The study tested the model in nursing populations and expanded it to the settings of occupational health and safety at work. The results of this study highlight the importance of effort-reward imbalance and organisational justice for creating healthy work environments. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Management accounting as the inter-organisational boundary

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Morten

2010-01-01

Purpose - The literature on managing inter-organisational relationships typically suggests managing these relationships based on the formalised exchange of information across the organisational boundary with due respect to trust build-up through successive interactions. This article argues...... that a focus on trust reduces the flexibility and accessibility of resources and hence ruins the advantages of inter-organisational relationships. The article focuses on power as a means for absorbing uncertainty when managing inter-organisational relationships. Methodology - The article is based on findings...... from a case study of inter-organisational relationships. Governmentality is used as a framework for analysing the practise of managing inter-organisational relationships. Findings - A number of representations are employed along the boundary between the case study parties and thereby the boundary...

Learning to listen to the organisational rhetoric of primary health and social care integration.

Science.gov (United States)

Warne, T; McAndrew, S; King, M; Holland, K

2007-11-01

The sustained modernisation of the UK primary health care service has resulted in individuals and organisations having to develop more integrated ways of working. This has resulted in changes to the structure and functioning of primary care organisations, changes to the traditional workforce, and an increase in scope of primary care practice. These changes have contributed to what for many staff has become a constantly turbulent organisational and practice environment. Data from a three-year project, commissioned by the North West Development Agency is used to explore how staff involved in these changes dealt with this turbulence. Three hundred and fifty staff working within primary care participated in the study. A multimethods approach was used which facilitated an iterative analysis and data collection process. Thematic analysis revealed a high degree of congruence between the perceptions of all staff groups with evidence of a generally well-articulated, but often rhetorical view of the organisational and professional factors involved in how these changes were experienced. This rhetoric was used by individuals as a way of containing both the good and bad elements of their experience. This paper discusses how these defense mechanisms need to be recognised and understood by managers so that a more supportive organisational culture is developed.

Organisational Effectiveness in Military Organisations

Science.gov (United States)

1988-11-01

socialisatlon, an eq*msis on " belongingness " goals and a desire to maintain social solidarity in an increasingly individualistic social envirment. Cohm...statistical quality control and where employees often meet in their am time and usually receive a financial bcnus for the performance of the organisation. In...companies with more than 500 employees had QC programmes. ihle QCs have no decision making powrs, managers in many cases felt pressured to accept all

The re-production of homosexually-themed discourse in educationally-based organised sport.

Science.gov (United States)

McCormack, Mark; Anderson, Eric

2010-11-01

In this study, we draw on findings from one year of participant observation and 12 in-depth interviews with men in a highly-ranked English university rugby team in order to nuance theoretical understandings concerning the re-production of homosexually-themed discourse in organised sport. We use ethnographic data to theorise the complex relationship between language, homosocial masculine relationships and organised sport. In examining the political, intentional and inadvertent effects of these men's discourses, we define and discuss the notion of gay discourse as a form of heteronormativity that is dissimilar to the traditional use of homophobic discourse. Highlighting that homosexually-themed discourse is best understood as a continuum, we stress the importance of context in interpreting the meaning and explicating the effects of this kind of discourse.

Organisation of high-energy physics

CERN Document Server

Kluyver, J C

1981-01-01

Tabulates details of major accelerator laboratories in western Europe, USA, and USSR, and describes the various organisations concerned with high-energy physics. The Dutch organisation uses the NIKHEF laboratory in Amsterdam and cooperates with CERN. (0 refs).

McDonaldization or commercial re-stratification: corporatization and the multimodal organisation of English doctors.

Science.gov (United States)

Waring, Justin; Bishop, Simon

2013-04-01

This paper investigates transitions in the social organisation of medicine found in the extended opportunities for private corporations to own, manage and deliver public healthcare services in the English National Health Service. It follows recent calls to explain the reconstruction of medical work without reducing analysis to either the structures of organisational control or the strategic resistance of doctors. Accordingly, the paper considers how doctors interact, mediate and co-create new organisational environments. Central to our analysis are the variable sources of power that influence whether doctors acquiesce, resist or re-create change. Drawing on ethnographic research carried out between 2006 and 2010 in two Independent Sector Treatment Centres - private providers of public healthcare - the paper shows how doctors' responses to bureaucratic and commercial structures reflect their own structured forms of power, which have variable value within this new commercial environment. These include clinical experience and specialist knowledge, but also social and economic influence. Building on established sociological debates, these divergent sources of power explain how for some doctors the expansion of private healthcare might involve more extreme forms of McDonaldization, while for others it might involve opportunities for Commercial Re-stratification. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Internationalisation at South African universities: The role of a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Many South African universities have not developed effective and efficient internal administrative organisational structures to enable them to address the current internationalisation challenges. How should South African universities develop internal structures to internationalise their campuses? Drawing from the U.S. ...

Organisational travel plans for improving health.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosking, Jamie; Macmillan, Alexandra; Connor, Jennie; Bullen, Chris; Ameratunga, Shanthi

2010-03-17

quality and extracted data. Seventeen studies were included. Ten were conducted in a school setting, two in universities, and five in workplaces. One study directly measured health outcomes, and all included studies measured travel outcomes. Two cluster randomised controlled trials in the school setting showed either no change in travel mode or mixed results. A randomised controlled trial in the workplace setting, conducted in a pre-selected group who were already contemplating or preparing for active travel, found improved health-related quality of life on some sub scales, and increased walking. Two controlled before-after studies found that school travel interventions increased walking. Other studies were judged to be at high risk of bias. No included studies were conducted in low- or middle-income countries, and no studies measured the social distribution of effects or adverse effects, such as injury. There is insufficient evidence to determine whether organisational travel plans are effective for improving health or changing travel mode. Organisational travel plans should be considered as complex health promotion interventions, with considerable potential to influence community health outcomes depending on the environmental context in which they are introduced. Given the current lack of evidence, organisational travel plans should be implemented in the context of robustly-designed research studies, such as well-designed cluster randomised trials.

Perceptions of HR practices, person–organisation fit, and affective commitment: The moderating role of career stage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooij, D.T.A.M.; Boon, C.

In a three-wave survey study among 487 Dutch university employees, we examined how and when employees' perceptions of high-performance work practices (HPWP) affect employee affective commitment. We proposed that perceived person–organisation (PO) fit mediates this relationship and that the

Leadership Succession Management in a University Health Faculty

Science.gov (United States)

McMurray, Anne M.; Henly, Debra; Chaboyer, Wendy; Clapton, Jayne; Lizzio, Alf; Teml, Martin

2012-01-01

We report on a succession planning pilot project in an Australian university health faculty. The programme aimed to enhance organisational stability and develop leadership capacity in middle level academics. Six monthly sessions addressed university and general leadership topics, communication, decision-making, working with change, self-management…

Organisational resilience following the Darfield earthquake of 2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitman, Zachary; Stevenson, Joanne; Kachali, Hlekiwe; Seville, Erica; Vargo, John; Wilson, Thomas

2014-01-01

This paper presents the preliminary findings of a study on the resilience and recovery of organisations following the Darfield earthquake in New Zealand on 4 September 2010. Sampling included organisations proximal and distal to the fault trace, organisations located within central business districts, and organisations from seven diverse industry sectors. The research captured information on the challenges to, the impacts on, and the reflections of the organisations in the first months of recovery. Organisations in central business districts and in the hospitality sector were most likely to close, while organisations that had perishable stock and livestock were more heavily reliant on critical services. Staff well-being, cash flow, and customer loss were major concerns for organisations across all sectors. For all organisations, the most helpful factors in mitigating the effects of the earthquake were their relationship with staff members, the design and type of buildings, and critical service continuity or swift reinstatement of services. © 2014 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2014.

The Dynamics of Organisation and Work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Peter

The Dynamics of Organisation and Work - Measurement framework of the Meadow survey by Peter Nielsen for the MEADOW Consortium Organisational changes and the upcoming of new adaptable work organisations are common in most developed countries regardless of culture and industrial traditions. The main...... of globalisation in combination with technology developments mean that instability and changing conditions are more the rule than the exception and management are forced to find new ways to cope with this instability. Generally it has meant that knowledge and innovation has become more important for firms...... and this influences the new ways of configuring the work organisations. However, there is a great diversity in the ways firm develop their organisations and restructure work and not least in the resulting economic and social performance. This diversity means that there is a considerable and urgent need to produce...

Action research in inter-organisational networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goduscheit, René Chester; Rasmussen, Erik Stavnsager; Jørgensen, Jacob Høj

2007-01-01

Traditionally, the literature on action research has been aimed at intra-organisational issues. These studies have distinguished between two researcher roles: The problem-solver and the observer. This article addresses the distinct challenges of action research in inter-organisational projects....... In addition to the problem-solver and observer roles, the researcher in an inter-organisational setting can serve as a legitimiser of the project and manage to involve partners that in an ordinary business-to-business setting would not have participated. Based on an action research project in a Danish inter......-organisational network, this article discusses potential pitfalls in the legitimiser role. Lack of clarity in defining the researcher role and project ownership in relation to the funding organisation and the rest of the network can jeopardise the project and potentially the credibility of the researchers. The article...

The educational environment of the undergraduate medical curriculum at Kuwait University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karim J

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Jumanah Karim,1 Becher Al-Halabi,2 Yousef Marwan,3 Hussain Sadeq,4 Ahmed Dawas,5 Dalia Al-Abdulrazzaq5 1Department of Pediatrics, Al-Amiri Hospital, Kuwait City, Kuwait; 2Department of Surgery, Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital, Kuwait City, Kuwait; 3Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Al-Razi Orthopaedic Hospital, Kuwait City, Kuwait; 4Department of Pediatrics, Al-Adan Hospital, Kuwait City, Kuwait; 5Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences Center, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait Background: Educational environment of an institution affects the quality of learning. We aim to assess the educational environment of the undergraduate curriculum of Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University (FOMKU. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out during April 2014. The validated Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM questionnaire was e-mailed to 607 students. Mean scores of the main domains of the questionnaire, and for each item, were calculated, and their association with the students’ background information was measured using Student’s t-test (P-value of ≤0.05 was considered as the cut-off level of significance. Results: Of 607 students, 117 (19.3% completed the questionnaire. The total mean score for DREEM was 108.7/200 (54.3%. The mean score for students’ perception of teaching, perception of teachers, academic self-perception, perception of atmosphere, and social self-perception were 25.2/48 (52.5%, 24.6/44 (55.9%, 18.4/32 (57.5%, 26.2/48 (54.5%, and 14.3/28 (51.0%, respectively. The highest mean score for an item of DREEM questionnaire was for “my accommodation is pleasant” (3.48±0.75, while the lowest was for “there is a good support system for students who get stressed” (0.88±0.86. The total mean score was not significantly different between the two phases of the curriculum, or among males and females; however, few significant differences among the main domains and items were noted. Conclusion

AN INSTITUTIONAL AND NETWORK PERSPECTIVE OF ORGANISATIONAL LEGITIMACY: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM CHINA′S TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian Low

2010-07-01

Full Text Available This perspective paper combines institutional and industrial network theory to develop a framework for analysing organisational legitimacy. The main subject, Nokia China, is found to be sensitive to network-legitimating initiatives, with consequences that accommodate multiple, conflicting stakeholders′ interests in China′s politically sensitive and protective telecommunications market. This paper offers new insights into institutional isomorphism that is manifested empirically as incremental conformity to regulative processes, institutional norms and cognitive knowledge and meanings within the environment, thereby extending commonly held views of institutional theory to include organisational legitimacy in industrial networks.

Improving care coordination using organisational routines.

Science.gov (United States)

Prætorius, Thim

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to systematically apply theory of organisational routines to standardised care pathways. The explanatory power of routines is used to address open questions in the care pathway literature about their coordinating and organising role, the way they change and can be replicated, the way they are influenced by the organisation and the way they influence health care professionals. Theory of routines is systematically applied to care pathways in order to develop theoretically derived propositions. Care pathways mirror routines by being recurrent, collective and embedded and specific to an organisation. In particular, care pathways resemble standard operating procedures that can give rise to recurrent collective action patterns. In all, 11 propositions related to five categories are proposed by building on these insights: care pathways and coordination, change, replication, the organisation and health care professionals. Research limitations/implications - The paper is conceptual and uses care pathways as illustrative instances of hospital routines. The propositions provide a starting point for empirical research. The analysis highlights implications that health care professionals and managers have to consider in relation to coordination, change, replication, the way the organisation influences care pathways and the way care pathways influence health care professionals. Originality/value - Theory on organisational routines offers fundamental, yet unexplored, insights into hospital processes, including in particular care coordination.

Organisational innovation and how it challenges management theory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gjerding, Allan Næs; Rasmussen, Jørgen Gulddahl

2007-01-01

. Developing a concept of organisational innovation, the paper suggests that organisational innovation can be analysed in terms of how individual and organisational learning combine with the reorientation of management perceptions, and it suggests that organisational innovation is about redirecting, speeding...... up and slowing down new forms of organisational activities. Subsequently, the paper provides an overview of management theory, proposing that the present state of management theory is one where the traditional dichotomy between a rational and a natural approach to organisations has been bridged...

Organisations and their safety processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wahlstroem, B.; Kettunen, J.

1998-01-01

Organisational factors have in many incidents and accidents proved to be one of the most important contributors to human errors at nuclear power plants (NPP). The problem with this finding is that very few methods exist for the identification of organisational deficiencies which may contribute to high error probabilities. Methods for the support of managing high reliability organisations have been the target of research efforts in VTT Automation. The paper gives a brief reference to some research which has been carried out in connection to the LURI- and ORINT-projects. (orig.)

Identity In and Around Organisations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schultz, Majken; Maguire, Steve

2013-01-01

concept may not be the best way of approaching and managing your organisation. Rather, Majken Schultz and Steve Maguire argue that organisations would benefit from adopting a process-based view of identity, which integrates history, ongoing change and market instability into its definition.......At the heart of any successful organisation lies a powerful conception of identity: the coherent way in which it presents itself to its stakeholders and employees, containing its purpose, goals and key characteristics. However, the traditional idea of identity as a stable, solid and reliable...

Organising purchasing and (strategic) sourcing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lidegaard, Nina; Boer, Harry; Munkgaard Møller, Morten

2015-01-01

mature role in corporate strategy. These changes have serious implications for the purchasing process, its characteristics and organisation. Previous research indicates that none of the prevailing solutions, functional departments and cross-functional teams, embedded in a centralised, decentralised...... or hybrid overall structure, deliver the expected results. Contingency theory predicts that the success of a firm depends on the fit among characteristics of, amongst others, the firm’s processes and organisational structure. The objective of this paper is to propose and illustrate a processbased...... typological theory of purchasing and (strategic) sourcing organisation....

Sustainability and Action Research in Universities: Towards Knowledge for Organisational Transformation

Science.gov (United States)

Wooltorton, Sandra; Wilkinson, Anne; Horwitz, Pierre; Bahn, Sue; Redmond, Janice; Dooley, Julian

2015-01-01

Purpose: Academic approaches to the challenge of enhancing sustainability in research in university contexts illustrate that universities are affected by the very same values and socio-ecological issues they set out to address, making transformation difficult at every level. A theoretical and practical framework designed to facilitate cultural…

How to act strategically in a turbulent e-business environment - an eclectic approach to strategic inter-organisational systems (IOS) management

OpenAIRE

Wassenaar, Arjen

2002-01-01

This paper presents an eclectic inter-organisational -oriented approach to so called strategic IOS management as an alternative to the more single organisation-oriented, linear approach of strategic information system planning (SISP). This approach is termed eclectic because it is based on a toolbox of mini-theories integrating existing strategic (IS) planning a n d management theories. The core component of this approach is an IOS scenario and strategic option generator"...

Construction of a new model of job engagement, psychological empowerment and perceived work environment among Chinese registered nurses at four large university hospitals: implications for nurse managers seeking to enhance nursing retention and quality of care.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Yuying; Zheng, Qiulan; Liu, Shiqing; Li, Qiujie

2016-07-01

To explore the relationships among perceived work environment, psychological empowerment and job engagement of clinical nurses in Harbin, China. Previous studies have focused on organisational factors or nurses' personal characteristics contributing to job engagement. Limited studies have examined the effects of perceived work environment and psychological empowerment on job engagement among Chinese nurses. A cross-sectional quantitative survey with 923 registered nurses at four large university hospitals in China was carried out. Research instruments included the Chinese versions of the perceived nurse work environment scale, the psychological empowerment scale and the job engagement scale. The relationships of the variables were tested using structural equation modelling. Structural equation modelling revealed a good fit of the model, χ(2) /df = 4.46, GFI = 0.936, CFI = 0.957. Perceived work environment was a significant positive direct predictor of psychological empowerment and job engagement. Psychological empowerment was a significant positive direct contributor to job engagement and had a mediating effect on the relationship between perceived work environment and job engagement. Perceived work environment may result in increased job engagement by facilitating the development of psychological empowerment. For nurse managers wishing to increase nurse engagement and to achieve effective management, both perceived work environment and psychological empowerment are factors that need to be well controlled in the process of nurse administration. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

School-business partnerships for organisational leadership development

OpenAIRE

Ofori-Kyereh, Samuel

2012-01-01

Leadership and how it is developed have become a top priority for almost all organisations, particularly schools and business organisations, to survive and secure growth (Bolden, 2004). Equally, the concept of partnership has become a panacea for solving complex and ‘wicked’ problems in diverse organisations (Armistead, 2007). This study therefore investigates how school-business partnerships could serve as alternative means for organisational leadership development. The study is principally ...

At the confluence of organisation development (OD and organisation identity theory (OIT: Enter identity interventions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C L Van Tonder

2004-10-01

Full Text Available The identity concept has been around in the form of “corporate identity" for some time, but its appearance as “organisation identity" is more recent. Emerging theory and initial empirical research suggest that an identity approach and “identity interventions" in particular, offer promising avenues to the organisation development practitioner for enhancing organisational focus, building resilience in the face of major change, and improving performance. Identity interventions in and of themselves, but also employed as pre-change interventions, build organisational capacity that would stave off premature organisational “death" and extend the organisation’s life expectancy. Opsomming Die identiteitskonsep is in die vorm van korporatiewe identiteit reeds ’n geruime tyd in omgang, maar die verskyning daarvan as “organisasie-identiteit? is meer onlangs. Ontluikende teorie en aanvanklike empiriese navorsing suggereer dat ’n identiteitsbenadering en "identiteitsintervensies" in die besonder, belowende geleenthede aan die organisasie- ontwikkelingspraktisyn bied om organisasiefokus te verbeter, die organisasie se veerkragtigheid ten aanskoue van omvangryke verandering te bou, en prestasie te verbeter. Identiteitsintervensies op sigself bou organisasiekapasiteit, maar kan ook as voorveranderingsintervensies aangewend word wat premature organisasie "sterftes" sal vermy en die organisasie se lewensverwagting sal verleng.

Measures to assess the performance of an Australian non-government charitable non-acute health service: A Delphi Survey of Organisational Stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

Colbran, Richard; Ramsden, Robyn; Stagnitti, Karen; Adams, Samantha

2018-02-01

Organisation performance measurement is relevant for non-profit charitable organisations as they strive for security in an increasingly competitive funding environment. This study aimed to identify the priority measures and indicators of organisational performance of an Australian non-government charitable organisation that delivers non-acute health services. Seventy-seven and 59 participants across nine stakeholder groups responded to a two-staged Delphi technique study of a case study organisation. The stage one questionnaire was developed using information garnered through a detailed review of literature. Data from the first round were aggregated and analysed for the stage two survey. The final data represented a group consensus. Quality of care was ranked the most important of six organisational performance measures. Service user satisfaction was ranked second followed by financial performance, internal processes, employee learning and growth and community engagement. Thirteen priority indicators were determined across the six measures. Consensus was reached on the priority organisational performance measures and indicators. Stakeholders of the case study organisation value evidence-based practice, technical strength of services and service user satisfaction over more commercially orientated indicators.

Assessing the Organisational Impact of External Quality Assurance: Hypothesising Key Dimensions and Mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

Stensaker, Bjørn; Leiber, Theodor

2015-01-01

The aim of the article is to provide a framework in which the organisational impact of external quality assurance (EQA) can be assessed. Based on existing studies of the impact of EQA in universities and colleges it is suggested that greater systematisation of how impact is measured is needed for a better understanding of how EQA can be used as a…

Business Organisational Structures of Global Companies: Use of the Territorial Model to Ensure Long-Term Growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hana Stverkova

2018-06-01

Full Text Available In today’s turbulently expanding business environment, during the fourth industrial revolution, it is necessary to respond to market trends and to adapt strategy and organisational structure appropriately. The article is focused on the reorganisation and optimisation of the business organisation structure of global companies. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and evaluate the use of the territorial business structure, within the framework of a global company, based on experimental research. Experiences with the introduction of a territorial organisational structure in a corporate enterprise have proven to be highly effective long-term, with productivity and sales volumes increasing. This territorial setting can be considered as a competitive advantage, which matches predicted market trends and is suitable for global businesses.

Transforming Organisational Culture through the Impact of Information Integration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Over the last 2-3 decades, investments in the new information technology (NIT have left a deep impression on the life of organisations, that goes beyond ample differences in each organisation’s degree of automatisation. Furthermore, although the generalisation of NIT investment has not produced, on short and medium term, the expected effects on financial and organisational performance, its trend has remained on the increase, and the preoccupation with the development and the implementation of new technologies remains associated with the 'ice-breaker' imagine in almost any field. The ensuing connection between NIT investment and performance is compressed in the celebrated productivity paradox (Solow’s paradox: 'We can see the computer age everywhere, except for productivity statistics'. Solow contradicts the supposition that the large scale use of computers will radically and directly influence productivity. Research has demonstrated that although technology is one of the most important factors that influence productivity and that, although at least in theory, all countries have equal access to technological innovation, in fact, productivity is influenced by many other factors (acquiring physical and human capital, infrastructure, the structure of the market, demographic evolutions, the degree of competition etc. NIT has radically changed the business environment, and consequently, the organisational culture; however, this change cannot be equated with increased efficiency or increased welfare.

Transition Towards An Integrated Network Organisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mykhaylenko, Alona; Wæhrens, Brian Vejrum

2016-01-01

, with particular attention to the role played by the home base (HB) organisation in this evolution. The research is focused on the intra-organisational global network and uses a longitudinal single-case study. Findings depict the transition as being enabled by the interaction between HB knowledge about......Management of internationally dispersed and networked operations has been in the focus of research attention. However, the existing studies underestimate the incrementality of changes shaping such organisations. This work investigates how organisations evolve into network structures...... the organization, and its reconfiguration decisions. Implications are also discussed regarding process drivers and the role of HB in the network organization....

Organisational learning won't be turned off

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elkjær, Bente

2012-01-01

Enterprises have always been learning organisations in much the same way as it is hard for people to avoid learning. A sign of learning organisations are the many successful enterprises, and the abundance of new products and services that keeps emerging. The question about organisational learning...... made with reference to ideas of education, i.e. intentional processes of the production of knowledge. In this paper, I argue that learning and organisational learning does not primarily appear as a result of intended processes but often as the opposite, i.e. as a struggle to maintain the old and create...... new. The field of organisational learning has always reflected the current and contemporary understandings of the management of enterprises. This is the background for providing first a brief historic account of the organisational learning literature. I will introduce the most important trends...

Analysis of an Organisation: A University of the Third Age (U3A), Mornington, Victoria

Science.gov (United States)

Small, Michael

2017-01-01

The purpose of this paper is two fold: to look at Mornington U3A in organisational terms and then look at U3AM as a loosely coupled system. One outcome of the study would be to undertake further analyses of U3As in Victoria to determine the levels of bureaucracy under which each operates. Questions to be asked: are U3As in Victoria operating as…

The role of emotional intelligence and organisational support on work stress of nurses in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawal, Abiodun M; Idemudia, Erhabor S

2017-05-23

Universally, nurses have been reported to be a group at high risk of workplace stress. However, nurses' responses to stressful situations at work could be the outcomes of individual differences and organisational factors. We examined the independent and joint contributions of four dimensions of emotional intelligence and perceived organisational support in work stress of nurses in a teaching hospital in Nigeria. The study was a cross-sectional survey research design, which selected 228 (41 male and 187 female nurses) nurses through the use of convenience sampling. Questionnaires comprising demographics with work stress, organisational support and emotional intelligence scales were administered to the sampled 228 nurses in the study. Data were analysed with the use of correlational matrix and hierarchical multiple regression. Self-emotion appraisal, others' emotion appraisal, use of emotion, regulation of emotion and perceived organisational support were found to have joint contributions to explaining work stress among nurses. Others' emotion appraisal, use of emotion and perceived organisational support were found to have independent relationships with work stress. Our findings stress that judgement of others' emotions, accurate use of emotion by nurses and support from management of the hospital are most important in explaining their reactions towards work-related stress.

The Impact of Globalisation on Changes in Business Operations and Organisational Culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivica Zdrilić

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Croatian companies have recently been forced to find and apply new technical and technological solutions as a result of large-scale changes and market globalisation. Furthermore, they have to adapt their organisation to the newly-developed conditions. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to consider the use of the latest theoretical findings in the field of organisation and management to reach the level of competitiveness on a global scale. Development, improvement and standardisation of business processes and changes in organisational culture are important preconditions for reforming the companies to meet the needs of globalisation. The goal of this paper is to show the growing impact of globalisation on the development of the business environment in Croatia, i.e. the need to restructure Croatian companies according to the newly-developed situation. There are companies that have to radically change their ways and methods of leadership and thinking, inherited from the socialist socio-economic system. Recurrent crises in the business practice and bankruptcies of economic entities prove this fact. One of the key preconditions to compete successfully in the newly developed global products, work and capital markets is the improvement of business performance by introducing contemporary methods in organisational planning. On the other hand, privatised companies that are under pressure from their foreign owners have to introduce the rules of behaviour and procedures standardised abroad. To sum up, the changes that have to be made require a radical shift in organisational culture within companies. These aspects are often forgotten by consultants and managers, thus leading to failure. The main objectives of this paper are to underline the importance of two preconditions that have to be met in order to succeed, i.e. survive in the market: to define and standardise business processes and to develop organisational culture in companies.

Work environments for employee creativity

OpenAIRE

Dul, Jan; Ceylan, Canan

2010-01-01

textabstractInnovative organisations need creative employees who generate new ideas for product or process innovation. This paper presents a conceptual framework for the effect of personal, social-organisational and physical factors on employee creativity. Based on this framework an instrument to analyse the extent to which the work environment enhances creativity is developed. We apply this instrument to a sample of 409 employees and find support for the hypothesis that a creative work envir...

Attitudes and Behavior of Ajman University of Science and Technology Students Towards the Environment

OpenAIRE

Rasha Abdel Raman

2016-01-01

This study examined the attitudes and behavior of Ajman University of Science and Technology (AUST) students towards the environment according to their gender and college. The research was based on a descriptive approach. The sample consisted of (375) students (230 males and 145 females) from different colleges (Law, Information Technology, Mass Communication and Humanities, Engineering, Dentistry and Pharmacy). The Attitudes and Behavior Scale Towards the Environment (ABSTE) w...

Diversification of an organisational field: how Europe promotes and hampers domestic change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boasson, Elin Lerum

2008-11-15

Better understanding of Europeanization requires research on national, societal change. This paper presents a theoretical framework that enables assessment of Europeanised change processes within national industries. Empirically it explores how European Union (EU) state aid regulations and European renewable energy trends in conjunction led to diversification among Norwegian stationary energy producers. Key theoretical implications are as follows: (1) The pattern of interaction between change impulses from the European environment, governmental hierarchical steering and institutional logics within the national organisational field was crucial to the output of the change process. (2) Misfit between institutional logics at the European level and the organisational field hampers change, rather than promoting it. (3) The carriers / the actors that bring the European impulses into the organisational field / matter because they translate change impulses in line with their institutional logic. (4) National politicians are unable to control the process of translating these impulses, and that reduces their political clout. (5) Europeanization brings greater challenges to national democratic governance of liberalised industries. (author). refs., tabs

Perceived Organisational Politics, Political Behaviour and Employee ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

facing both private and public sector organisations (Nidhi & Prerna, 2015;. Gotsis & Kortezi ... These studies suggest that organisational politics often interfere with normal ..... Rawls's (1971) theory of justice provides a theoretical foundation for the relationship between ..... Ethical considerations in organisational politics: ...

Reconceptualing social defence theory for the purpose of organisational-level change: causes, consequences and the contribution of grid-group cultural theory

OpenAIRE

Papadopoulos, Nikolaos

2015-01-01

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University London. Despite repeated demonstrations of the dysfunctional effects of social defences in organisations, social defence theory's (SDT) problem of organisational change (Long, 2006) remains. Why? Can this be avoided? The research centres on a four-year coaching and consulting project within a multinational manufacturing company. Social defences appeared but a careful Tavistock action-resear...

Predicting Students' Attitudes towards Advertising on a University Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

Science.gov (United States)

Ogba, Ike-Elechi; Saul, Neil; Coates, Nigel F.

2012-01-01

Most if not all UK universities and many in other parts of the world support their student learning via a virtual learning environment (VLE). Online resources are going to be increasingly important to students as the internet is very much part of their lives. However, the VLE will require ongoing investment to keep pace with technological…

Constructing professional and organisational fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurney, Robert

2016-01-01

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to fill an apparent gap in the literature addressing issues of leadership and change - the development and activities of constructing and leading sports sciences and medicine professions, and similarly, the construction and leadership of multidisciplinary/inter-disciplinary organisations that practice sports sciences and medicine. Design/methodology/approach - This study incorporated explorations through conducting both interviews and survey questionnaires with members of Sports Medicine Australia (SMA). The interviews (qualitative) were semi-structured and asked questions addressing what changed, why change and how change was implemented. Findings - The health sciences and medicine professions moving to specialised sports sciences and medicine disciplines and SMA, evolved through forces driving the need for change (legitimacy, resource dependency, positioning and core competencies). Practical implications - The knowledge developed from understanding activities of change that traditional professions conducted to become specialised Disciplines and parallel changes in a single Discipline organisation evolving to an umbrella organisation (SMA), comprised a membership of specialised Disciplines, can act as a catalyst for inquiry by other professional and organisational groups. Originality/value - The findings of this study contributes to the literature investigating change in professional and organisations fields. More specifically, this study promotes inquiry into leadership practices of sports sciences and medicine, as contributors to the field of health services.

University psychiatry in Italy: organisation and integration of university clinics and the National Health Service

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Pier Maria Furlan

2013-09-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: In the Italian psychiatric system, community-based care has become increasingly important and widespread since the national reform of 1978. This report aims to provide an overview of the involvement of university medical schools in this process, considering their responsibility for teaching and training specialist practitioners and professionals. METHODS: The study was carried out between early 2010 and February 2011. An 18-items, self-administered, questionnaire was designed to investigate the number of faculty members that are responsible both for running a clinical ward and for providing community-based healthcare. RESULTS: Nine out of 53 faculty members (17% manage a Mental Health Department, 9 (17% manage a University Department, and 2 (3.8% manage both types of department. Less than half of the teachers have full responsibility (hospital and community; however the percentage reaches 73.2% if we include the hospital wards open to the community emergencies. The remaining 26.8% have no responsibility for community psychiatry. Moreover there were undoubtedly still too many universities with specialisation schools that are without an appropriate network of facilities enabling them to offer complex psychiatric training. DISCUSSION: As expected, there were several types of healthcare management that were not uniformly distributed throughout Italy and there were also marked differences between mental health care provision in the North, Centre, and South of Italy. The university involvement in clinical responsibility was great, but at the management level there was a lack of equality in terms of clinical care, which risks being reflected also on the institutional functions of teaching and research.

Dental Faculty Perceptions of Workplace Environment and Job Satisfaction at a Southeastern University, College of Dentistry

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Sharon L.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to replicate the American Dental Education Association 2007 Dental Faculty Perceptions of Workplace Environment survey at A Southeastern University, College of Dentistry. The study examined dental faculty perceptions of academic workplace variables including culture and environment, as well as professional development…

Den kommunikerende organisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tække, Jesper

2006-01-01

samtidig tilbydes optimale muligheder for at få opfyldt individuelle behov og karrieremuligheder. For at en organisation skal kunne korrigere sig i forhold til de krav den konfronteres med, må der kunne fremstilles et adækvat billede af den. Det vil sige at dens faktiske kommunikationsprocesser må kunne...... drages frem i lyset på en måde så hensigtsmæssigheder og uhensigtsmæssigheder kan iagttages og selv blive objekt for reflekteret organisationskommunikation. Dette paper giver et udkast til en analysestrategi, hvormed der kan tegnes et billede af den enkelte organisation ud fra hvordan dens enkelte og...

Cultures of Silence and Cultures of Voice: The Role of Whistleblowing in Healthcare Organisations.

Science.gov (United States)

Mannion, Russell; Davies, Huw To

2015-06-24

'Whistleblowing' has come to increased prominence in many health systems as a means of identifying and addressing quality and safety issues. But whistleblowing - and the reactions to it - have many complex and ambiguous aspects that need to be considered as part of the broader (organisational) cultural dynamics of healthcare institutions. © 2015 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

The effectiveness of strategies to change organisational culture to improve healthcare performance: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Parmelli, Elena; Flodgren, Gerd; Beyer, Fiona; Baillie, Nick; Schaafsma, Mary Ellen; Eccles, Martin P

2011-04-03

Organisational culture is an anthropological metaphor used to inform research and consultancy and to explain organisational environments. In recent years, increasing emphasis has been placed on the need to change organisational culture in order to improve healthcare performance. However, the precise function of organisational culture in healthcare policy often remains underspecified and the desirability and feasibility of strategies to be adopted have been called into question. The objective of this review was to determine the effectiveness of strategies to change organisational culture in order to improve healthcare performance. We searched the following electronic databases: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, Business and Management, EThOS, Index to Theses, Intute, HMIC, SIGLE, and Scopus until October 2009. The Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE) was searched for related reviews. We also searched the reference lists of all papers and relevant reviews identified, and we contacted experts in the field for advice on further potential studies. We considered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or well designed quasi-experimental studies (controlled clinical trials (CCTs), controlled before and after studies (CBAs), and interrupted time series (ITS) analyses). Studies could be set in any type of healthcare organisation in which strategies to change organisational culture in order to improve healthcare performance were applied. Our main outcomes were objective measures of professional performance and patient outcome. The search strategy yielded 4,239 records. After the full text assessment, two CBA studies were included in the review. They both assessed the impact of interventions aimed at changing organisational culture, but one evaluated the impact on work-related and personal outcomes while the other measured clinical outcomes. Both were at high risk of

Organisational communication and supportive employees

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Ridder, J.A.

2004-01-01

The importance of the social dimension of organisations is currently a strong focus of emphasis in the literature. From a managerial perspective, however, it is important that the community spirit within an organisation falls in line with its strategic direction. The study discussed in this article

Organisational Learning: Theoretical Shortcomings and Practical Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jon Aarum Andersen

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses two problems related to learning and the use of knowledge at work. The first problem is the theoretical shortcomings stemming from the controversy between three different concepts of ‘organisational learning.’ In order to enhance scholarship in this field the notion that organisations - as organisations - can learn need to be rejected for theoretical and empirical reasons. The metaphorical use of ‘organisational learning’ creates only confusion. Learning is a process and knowledge is the outcome of that process. It is argued that learning and knowledge is only related to individuals. Knowledge is thus the individual capability to draw distinctions, within a domain of action, based on an appreciation of context or theory. Consequently, knowledge becomes organisational when it is created, developed and transmitted to other individuals in the organisation. In a strict sense knowledge becomes organisational when employees use it and act based on generalisations due to the rules and procedures found in their organisation. The gravest problem is practical challenges due to the fact that the emphasis on learning, knowledge and competence of the working force do not materialize in the application of the knowledge acquired. It is evident that employees do not use their increased knowledge. However, we do not know why they do not use it. An enormous waste of money is spent on learning and knowledge in organisations which does not yield what is expected. How can managers act in order to enhance the application of increased knowledge possessed by the workforce?

'Ethos' Enabling Organisational Knowledge Creation

Science.gov (United States)

Matsudaira, Yoshito

This paper examines knowledge creation in relation to improvements on the production line in the manufacturing department of Nissan Motor Company and aims to clarify embodied knowledge observed in the actions of organisational members who enable knowledge creation will be clarified. For that purpose, this study adopts an approach that adds a first, second, and third-person's viewpoint to the theory of knowledge creation. Embodied knowledge, observed in the actions of organisational members who enable knowledge creation, is the continued practice of 'ethos' (in Greek) founded in Nissan Production Way as an ethical basis. Ethos is knowledge (intangible) assets for knowledge creating companies. Substantiated analysis classifies ethos into three categories: the individual, team and organisation. This indicates the precise actions of the organisational members in each category during the knowledge creation process. This research will be successful in its role of showing the indispensability of ethos - the new concept of knowledge assets, which enables knowledge creation -for future knowledge-based management in the knowledge society.

A typology of organisational cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Westrum, R

2004-12-01

There is wide belief that organisational culture shapes many aspects of performance, including safety. Yet proof of this relationship in a medical context is hard to find. In contrast to human factors, whose contributions are many and notable, culture's impact remains a common-sense, rather than a scientific, concept. The objectives of this paper are to show that organisational culture bears a predictive relationship with safety and that particular kinds of organisational culture improve safety, and to develop a typology predictive of safety performance. Because information flow is both influential and also indicative of other aspects of culture, it can be used to predict how organisations or parts of them will behave when signs of trouble arise. From case studies and some systematic research it appears that information culture is indeed associated with error reporting and with performance, including safety. Yet this relationship between culture and safety requires more exploration before the connection can be considered definitive.

CERN’s new organisational structure

CERN Document Server

2009-01-01

CERN’s new organisational structure was made public on 1st December 2008. All the changes are explained in detail on a new web portal. As you learned on 1st December last year, CERN’s new organisational structure took effect on 1st January, under the leadership of new Director-General, Rolf Heuer. To explain the new structure, the Human Resources (HR) Department set up a Web portal in December. This portal (NICE user name and password required) displays the new organisation chart and explains the differences between the old and new structures. A "Frequently Asked Questions" page provides additional information. If you don’t find the answer to your specific question, a discussion forum is also available. You can obtain the contact details of your Human Resources Advisor by clicking on a link that takes you to a dedicated web page. Finally, all documents pertaining to the new organisational structure, including powerpoint pres...

Engendering a high performing organisational culture through ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Concluding that Africa's poor organisational performances are attributable to some inadequacies in the cultural foundations of countries and organisations, this paper argues for internal branding as the way forward for African organisations. Through internal branding an African organization can use a systematic and ...

An organisational coherence model to maintain employee contributions during organisational crises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hendrik J. Pelser

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Orientation: Crises that threaten an organisation’s continued existence cannot be seen in isolation when considering the perception of threats to individual job security. These threats often go hand in hand with employee panic. Research purpose: The aim of this study was to establish a model to assist organisations in managing employee emotionality and panic during times of crisis. Motivation for the study: Environmental crises threaten organisations’ existence, threatening employees’ livelihood and resulting in employee panic. Panic reduces employees’ contributions. Organisations that are successful harness employee contributions at all times. Research design, approach, and method: A modernist qualitative research methodology was adopted, which included a case study as research strategy, purposive sampling to select 12 research participants, semi-structured interviews for data gathering, focus groups for data verification, and the use of grounded theory for data analysis. Main findings: An organisation’s ability to manage employee panic depends on the relationship between the foundational elements of authentic leadership, crisis readiness, resilience practices, versatile and committed talent, strategic management, quality management, and coherence actions taken during the crisis, which include crisis leadership, ongoing visible communication, mindfulness, work flexibility, and decisions based on the greatest financial need and social support. Practical/managerial implications: The study provides a best-practice option for managing emotionality during crises for the case organisation and other organisations within the vehicle components and other manufacturing industries. Contribution/value-add: The Coherence Hexagons Model is presented as a tool to manage employee panic during crisis. Keywords: crisis management; employee emotionality; employee panic; authentic leadership; talent management

Music for All: Including young people with intellectual disability in a university environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Rickson, Daphne; Warren, Penny

2017-01-01

We investigated a continuing education course in creative music making, initiated to promote the inclusion of young people with intellectual disability in a university setting. Despite organizers' attempts to foster diversity within the student cohort, enrolments were almost exclusively from students who had intellectual disability. Being in the university environment, and in a place of higher learning, seemed to be valued by some. However, students' main focus was on group musicking in a dedicated music room rather than interacting with the wider university community. Those who did not identify as disabled believed it was important to continue to address the barriers to wider inclusion. While acknowledging the risks around mediating the social interactions of young people with intellectual disability, we argue that future courses should include activities specifically designed to bring them to classes with typical students and to the wider activities of the university.

Antecedents of Organisational Creativity: A Multi-Level Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ritu Gupta

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this literature review is to provide a better understanding of the antecedents of organisational creativity with a multi-level approach. Organisational creativity is a sum total of the creativity accounted for by the individual employees of the organisation, the cumulative creativity of a team or group and creativity arising out of different structural components of an organisation. Some of the antecedents identified from the literature include personality, intrinsic motivation, group cohesion, social inhibition, cognitive interference, leader member exchange, organisational culture and climate, amongst others at individual, group and organisational level. Based on the literature review, suggestions for future research and research propositions have been proposed.

Investigating the expectations of business management students as future leaders regarding the influence of leadership on organisational strategy: A survey at a South African tertiary institution

OpenAIRE

Dawid A.J. Bornman

2017-01-01

Orientation: Unpredictable technology changes challenge how organisations operate in the global competitive business environment. Organisational strategy needs to be flexible, a capability that is impossible to achieve without effective leadership. Research purpose: To investigate the expectations of first year undergraduate business management students at a South African tertiary institution towards leadership and to what extent leadership influences organisational strategy. Motivation...

A psychometric evaluation of the University of Auckland General Practice Report of Educational Environment: UAGREE.

Science.gov (United States)

Eggleton, Kyle; Goodyear-Smith, Felicity; Henning, Marcus; Jones, Rhys; Shulruf, Boaz

2017-03-01

The aim of this study was to develop an instrument (University of Auckland General Practice Report of Educational Environment: UAGREE) with robust psychometric properties that measured the educational environment of undergraduate primary care. The questions were designed to incorporate measurements of the teaching of cultural competence. Following a structured consensus process and an initial pilot, a list of 55 questions was developed. All Year 5 and 6 students completing a primary care attachment at Auckland University were invited to complete the questionnaire. The results were analysed using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis resulting in a 16-item instrument. Three factors were identified explaining 53% of the variance. The items' reliability within the factors were high (Learning: 0.894; Teaching: 0.871; Cultural competence: 0.857). Multiple groups analysis by gender; and separately across ethnic groups did not find significant differences between groups. UAGREE is a specific instrument measuring the undergraduate primary care educational environment. Its questions fit within established theoretical educational environment frameworks and the incorporation of cultural competence questions reflects the importance of teaching cultural competence within medicine. The psychometric properties of UAGREE suggest that it is a reliable and valid measure of the primary care education environment.

THE CONTRIBUTION OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY TOWARDS THE SUCCESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P.A. Gouws

2012-01-01

Full Text Available

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Internationally, governments and lobby groups increasingly put pressure on organisations to reduce their impact on the environment. To this end, various studies show the drivers, barriers, and contributions of energy efficiency towards a more sustainable environment, particularly through reduced greenhouse gas emissions and other by-products. In the study summarised in this paper, the factors that drive organisational success were compared with the effects that energy efficiency projects have on organisations. Methods, policies, and strategies on the application of energy efficiency were also studied. The findings are that, in general, most organisations have energy efficiency policies and strategies in place, and they include internal and external stakeholders in their energy efficiency efforts. These efforts also show a positive correlation with the factors that contribute to the perceived success of organisations in the South African industrial sector. These strategies must be maintained in the longer term, as energy efficiency will play a more important role in the future.