scholarly journals Diverging assessments of learning organizations during reform implementation

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 399-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baard H. Borge ◽  
Cathrine Filstad ◽  
Trude Høgvold Olsen ◽  
Per Øyvind Skogmo
Keyword(s):  
Middle Managers ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Organizational Size ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Electronic Survey ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Reform Implementation ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Supportive Learning Environment

Purpose This study aims to explore whether hierarchical position and organizational size affect perceptions of a learning organization (LO) during reform implementation. Design/methodology/approach An electronic survey was distributed in four Norwegian police districts at an early stage of reform implementation. One of the objectives of the reform was to develop the police toward being more knowledge-based, and there had been specific calls for the police to become a LO. The 753 respondents were top managers, middle managers and employees. Findings Respondents rated their organizations lower than benchmark scores on supportive learning environment, learning processes and practices and leadership that reinforces learning. The perceptions diverged across hierarchical levels: middle managers and top managers gave higher scores to the organization as a learning one than employees did. Respondents from large police districts gave higher scores to their organizational units as LOs than respondents from small police districts. Research limitations/implications The study captures perceptions of characteristics of a LO at one point in reform implementation, and further studies are needed to fully understand explanations of diverging views within an organization as to whether it can be characterized as a LO. Practical implications Actual differences in local learning practices or different assessments of learning practices within the organization should be considered when developing LOs. Originality/value The study contributes to our knowledge of LOs by showing diverging views within the same organization in a context of reform implementation.

scholarly journals The politics of sensemaking and sensegiving at work

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathrine Filstad
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Style ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Middle Management ◽  
Top Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to investigate how political activities and processes influence sensemaking and sensegiving among top management, middle management and employees and to examine its consequences for implementing new knowledge. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected in a Norwegian bank using in-depth interviews with middle managers and financial advisers. Observations of meetings, informal conversations and verbatim notes were also used in data collection among top managers. A practice-based approach was used as an analytical lens. Findings – Top managers' political activities of excluding others from the decision process affect their sensemaking and resulted in sensegiving contradictions between spoken intent and how to change practice. Middle managers' political activities were to accept top managers' sensegiving instead of managing themselves in their own sensemaking to help financial advisers with how to change their role and practice. As a result, middle managers' sensemaking affects their engagement in sensegiving. For financial advisers, the political processes of top and middle managers resulted in resistance and not making sense of how to change and implement new knowledge. Research limitations/implications – A total of 30 in-depth interviews, observations of five meetings and informal conversations might call for further studies. In addition, a Norwegian study does not account for other countries' cultural differences concerning leadership style, openness in decisions and employee autonomy. Originality/value – To the author's knowledge, no studies identify the three-way conceptual relationship between political activities, sensemaking and sensegiving. In addition, the author believes that the originality lies in investigating these relationships using a three-level hierarchy of top management, middle management and employees.

How and when environmental regulation induces middle managers’ proactive behavior

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 438-452
Author(s):  
Haixu Bao ◽  
Haizhen (Jane) Wang ◽  
Chenglin Sun
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Regulation ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Listed Company ◽  
Proactive Behavior ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Regulation Strength

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how middle managers respond to the career challenges caused by environmental regulation. In particular, this paper examines whether environmental regulation strength is positively related to middle managers’ openness toward change, and whether middle managers’ openness toward change is positively related to proactive behavior. Furthermore, the moderating role of top managers’ bottom-line mentality in these two relationships is examined. Design/methodology/approach Cross-sectional survey research (n=155) was conducted. During a training program, data were collected from 155 middle managers from a listed company that manufactures primary products. With these data the authors examined the main relationship and also explored the moderating effect of top managers’ bottom-line mentality. Findings Analysis of the findings indicates that perceived environmental regulation strength influences middle managers’ openness toward change and consequently their proactive behavior. In addition, top managers’ bottom-line mentality moderates both the link between environmental regulation strength and openness toward change and the link between openness toward change and proactive behavior. Originality/value The findings of this study reveal how environmental regulation induces middle managers’ proactive behavior, and the influence of top managers’ mentality on how middle managers respond to environmental regulation both cognitively and behaviorally.

scholarly journals Middle managers’ roles after a hospital merger

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-99
Author(s):  
Elsa Solstad ◽  
Inger Johanne Petterson
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
Social Aspect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hospital Merger ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Controls ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

Purpose Mergers are important and challenging elements in hospital reforms. The authors study the social aspects of management and the roles of middle managers in the aftermath of a hospital merger. Especially, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how professional staff and middle managers perceive their relationships with top managers several years after the merger. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted among the professional staff in two merging hospitals’ units six years after a merger. Based on the main findings from this survey, a follow-up interview study was done with a group of middle managers. Findings The management practices were diagnostic with few interactive or communicative activities. The respondents expressed that mistrust developed between the staff and the top management, and a lack of involvement and interaction lead to decoupled and parallel organizations. Social controls, based on shared norms, had not been developed to create mutual commitment and engagement. Practical implications Policy makers should be aware of the need in profound change processes not only to change the tangible elements, but to take care of changing the less tangible elements such as norms and values. Professionals in hospitals are in powerful positions, and changes in such organizations are dependent on trust-building, bottom-up initiatives and evolutionary pathways. Originality/value The paper addresses the need to understand the dynamics of the social aspect in managing hospitals as knowledge-intensive organizations when comprehensive restructuring processes are taking place over several years.

Investigating the role of strategic thinking in establishing organizational excellence model

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 620-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Javad Ershadi ◽  
Rouhollah Eskandari Dehdazzi
Keyword(s):  
Middle Managers ◽  
Strategic Thinking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Statistical Measures ◽  
Organizational Excellence ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Fitness Index ◽  
Organizational Forgetting ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the role of organizational forgetting in the impact of strategic thinking on the implementation of an organizational excellence model. Furthermore, the factors with main effects on the implementation success of the organizational excellence model are investigated. The two main causes of organizational forgetting, including purposefulness and randomness, along with the three main factors of strategic thinking (vision, creativity and systematic thinking) also are explored. Enablers and results, which are the two key parts of an organizational excellence model are considered as well. Design/methodology/approach A model based on structural equations is designed, in which organizational forgetting factors, strategic thinking measures and main parts of a business excellence model are incorporated based on the literature. A total of 297 Iranian companies in which an organizational excellence model had been implemented are selected for investigation. A questionnaire is designed and distributed among the experts, middle managers and top managers of these companies. Based on Cochran’s formula, the sample size of 168 is obtained, for which the response rate is 100 percent. Main statistical measures such as χ2 ratio to degree of freedom, non-soft fitness index (RMSEA), fitness index (GFI) and modified fitness index (AGFI) are used to assess the performance of the proposed model. Findings According to the results of the statistical significance tests, the role of organizational obsessive mediators in the establishment of the organizational excellence model has been largely confirmed. Furthermore, the mediator role of organizational forgetting in the final impact of strategic thinking on implementing an organizational excellence model has been widely endorsed. Failure to use knowledge from learning, the inability of a company in coding and documenting knowledge and lack of incentives to share it are the most important factors in the forgetting of knowledge in companies. Research limitations/implications As top managers, middle managers and experts are hard to reach due to the wide geographical spread of the organization under study, a questionnaire is designed and distributed among them. The impact of organizational forgetting on other quality management systems such as ISO 9001 and ISO 4001 needs another research to be conducted in the future. Practical implications Using new experiences, increasing the competency of employees and managers experience through organizational learning, employee and managerial assessment and organizational strategy assessment are the main practical methods for considering organizational forgetting in the process of implementing organizational excellence models. Originality/value This research addresses organizational forgetting besides strategic thinking as joint main roles for implementing organizational excellence, whereas previous research works only considered strategic thinking as a factor. Furthermore, a structural equation model is developed for appraisal of effect of different factors.

scholarly journals Participatory communication on internal social media – a dream or reality?

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 614-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vibeke Thøis Madsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Participatory Communication ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Internal Social Media

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore whether internal social media (ISM) introduces a new kind of participatory communication within organizations that is capable of influencing and moving the organization. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on two exploratory studies: a multiple case study in ten Danish organizations, and a single case study in a Danish bank. Findings The paper finds that different types of communication on ISM develop in different types of organizations. Participatory communication capable of changing the organization only develops when coworkers perceive that they have a license to critique. The paper, therefore, proposes to distinguish between three different types of communication arenas created by ISM: a quiet arena, a knowledge-sharing arena and a participatory communication arena. Research limitations/implications The research is exploratory and based on two Danish case studies and the perceptions of coworkers and social media coordinators. A deeper, summative analysis of ISM across more and various organizations in multiple countries has to confirm the findings. Originality/value The paper conceptualizes ISM as an interactive and dynamic communication arena, and proposes that the participatory communication on ISM is a co-constructed process among coworkers, middle managers and top managers.

The mediator role of KM process for creative organizational learning case study

VINE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 420-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rouhollah Bagheri ◽  
Mohhamad Reza Hamidizadeh ◽  
Parisa Sabbagh
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Knowledge Workers ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Performance Framework ◽  
Technology Park ◽  
Top Managers

Purpose – The current study aims to investigate the existing relationship between knowledge management (KM) infrastructures, KM process capabilities, creative organizational learning (OL) and organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach – Statistical population includes executives of knowledge-based companies in Tehran Science and Technology Park of Iran. The 68 questionnaires were distributed among the census, of which 60 questionnaires were completed correctly. The research data were analyzed by SPSS and PLS software. The unit of analysis is a company that has adopted a knowledge management system (KMS). Target population of the research consisted of 85 top managers of knowledge-based companies in Tehran Science and Technology Park of Iran (N = 85). Random sampling method was applied in this study, and 71 top managers were considered as the statistical sample based on the “Morgan Table”. One standard five-point Likert questionnaire was adopted and distributed between top managers in the park; 62 questionnaires were returned, among which 60 were statistically investigated. The structural relations among variables were tested using the partial least squares method. Findings – This study shows that the KM processes can mediate between creative OL and factors in the KM infrastructure. The results of the study demonstrate that KM process capabilities have the most crucial role in creative OL. The results indicate a significant influence of the infrastructure capabilities on the process capabilities, also the impacts of KM process capabilities on creative OL and the impacts of creative OL on organizational performance was confirmed. Research limitations/implications – Using a holistic view of the KM performance framework, this study has provided insights to KM for researchers because it explains the integrated aspects of KM performance by examining the relationships between the KM infrastructure, knowledge process capabilities, and organizational outcomes. Previous studies on KM have been fragmented because they only consider some aspects of KM performance rather than using a holistic view of the KM performance framework: they have examined the relationship between one or two facets of KM enablers and process capability, or between KM process capabilities and organizational performance. Practical implications – In order to manage rapid change and global competition in business environments, knowledge workers should create new business opportunities and continuously question what and how they can contribute to these chances. Organizational KMS should support the learning processes of their knowledge workers. Social implications – The continuous learning and experiments are necessary in order to produce new ideas and products: it is critical to emphasize the importance of a KM infrastructure that supports and encourages learning in organizations. The creative learning in turn affects organizational performance indicating that without learning, organizations cannot overcome the boundary of old business practices and adjust to change in environments. Originality/value – Previous researches did not appraise the effect of KM and its capabilities on organizational performance, and the specific influence of creative OL was disregarded. The present study demonstrates the mechanism of KM effect on organizational performance and describes the comprehensive dimensions of KM performance.

An integrative approach for structuring and prioritising eco-innovation determinants with a survey in knowledge-based companies

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 799-824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aryana Shahin ◽  
Narges Imanipour ◽  
Arash Shahin ◽  
Lincoln C. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Quality Function Deployment ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Statistical Population ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovative Strategies ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Product And Process ◽  
Main Determinants

PurposeThis study aims to develop a comprehensive set of determinants and sub-determinant of eco-innovation (EI) and to propose an approach for their structuring and prioritisation.Design/methodology/approachA framework was developed based on a literature review, interpretive structural modelling (ISM) was used to structure the main determinants and the results were transferred into a six-phase quality function deployment (QFD) for prioritising the sub-determinants. The statistical population included 15 experts and the middle/top managers of 130 knowledge-based companies.FindingsBased on the results of the driving power and dependence diagram from the ISM, a seven-level classification of the main determinants has been used. The QFD results indicated ‘meeting environmental law standards’; ‘scale to support innovative strategies’; ‘commitment to continually improve and make eco-innovations’; ‘technological advisory oriented to environment’; ‘product and process EI oriented methods’; ‘improvements in energy efficiency across the company and the market’ and ‘reputation, brand image, and profit margin’ as the priorities of the sub-determinants of eco-innovation in the phases of the developed QFD.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study provide evidence of the usefulness of decision-making approaches such as ISM and QFD in resolving environmental problems, which is helpful to analysts and practitioners in the field of EI.Originality/valueThe novel ISM+EID2 approach proposed distinguishes this study from previous studies. The approach allows elaboration on the model presented by de Pacheco et al. (2017) by adding nine empirically derived sub-determinants.

scholarly journals Demystifying lean leadership

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 543-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torbjørn H. Netland ◽  
Daryl John Powell ◽  
Peter Hines
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Practices ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Convincing Evidence ◽  
Line Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Hierarchical Levels ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Number Of Firms

Purpose There is convincing evidence that companies need a special form of leadership to succeed with lean transformations. The general advice for lean leaders, however, is often obvious or unrealistic. The purpose of this paper is to propose and discuss specific lean leadership practices for top-managers, middle managers and front-line managers. Design/methodology/approach In this conceptual paper, the authors draw on their rich experience from researching, leading and consulting in lean transformations in a large number of firms. Findings Leaders must adapt lean leadership practices to their hierarchical levels. This paper provides a framework to understand and debate lean leadership at different levels of the organisational hierarchy. Originality/value This paper demystifies lean leadership by offering a discussion of specific lean leadership practices at different hierarchical levels. The paper offers a new perspective for researchers studying lean leadership behaviours and contains helpful advice for firms seeking lean transformations.

Knowledge transfer roles of subsidiaries in MNCs’ networks

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cigdem Baskici
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Hierarchical Structures ◽  
Knowledge Flows ◽  
Consumer Electronics ◽  
Knowledge Network ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Based

Purpose Although there have been a considerable number of studies regarding subsidiary role typology in multinationals’ management literature, there appear to be few studies that consider knowledge-based role typology from the network-based perspective. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap and extend the study of Gupta and Govindarajan (1991). Thus, the study focuses on answering the following research question: Do subsidiaries have different roles in terms of knowledge flows within a multinational company (MNC)? Design/methodology/approach This empirical study has been carried out as an explorative single case study. An MNC with 15 foreign subsidiaries headquartered in Turkey, which operated in the manufacturing of household appliances and consumer electronics, has been selected as the case. Knowledge transfer is analyzed in this MNC from the network perspective. Findings Four role typologies are detected for subsidiaries of the MNC: collector transmitter, collector diffuser, converter transmitter and converter diffuser. Research limitations/implications Findings of this study are specific to this case. Testing the findings in a sample consisting of subsidiaries of MNCs producing transnational products may contribute to the generalizability of these roles. Practical implications This study offers potentially important findings for MNC managers to use. First, in this study, knowledge flows' route could be defined within MNCs’ dual network. Second, role typologies could inform MNC managers to design their MNCs’ knowledge network. Originality/value The suggested typologies are expected to more accurately define the roles of subsidiaries within contemporary MNCs which are accepted to be transformed from hierarchical structures to network-based organizations.

Quality of life in breast cancer sufferers

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 721-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Essmat Shouman ◽  
Nahla Fawzy Abou El Ezz ◽  
Nivine Gado ◽  
Amal Mahmoud Ibrahim Goda
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Functional Domain ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Specific Patient ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to measure health-related quality of life (QOL) among patients with early stage cancer breast under curative treatment at department of oncology and nuclear medicine at Ain Shams University Hospitals. Identify factors affecting QOL among these patients. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional study measured QOL among early stage female breast cancer (BC) patients and determined the main factors affecting their QOL. Three interviewer administered questionnaires were used. Findings – The physical domain mostly affected in BC patients and the functional domain least. Socio-demographic factors that significantly affected BC patients QOL scores were patient age, education, having children and family income. Specific patient characteristics include caregiver presence – a factor that affected different QOL scores. Age at diagnosis, affection in the side of the predominant hand, post-operative chemotherapy and difficulty in obtaining the medication were the disease-related factors that affected QOL scores. Originality/value – The final model predicting QOL for early stage female BC patients included age, education and difficulty in obtaining the medication as determinants for total QOL score. Carer presence was the specific patient characteristic that affected different QOL scores.

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