scholarly journals The Firm as an Engine of Imagination: Organizational prospection and the making of economic futures

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 263178772110057
Author(s):  
Jens Beckert
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Vantage Point ◽  
Organizational Analysis ◽  
Economic Forecasting ◽  
Business Plans ◽  
Analytical Perspective ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
To Come

What do organizations do, and why? An important but only selectively scrutinized aspect of the doings of organizations consists in their creation of imaginaries of economic futures. Under conditions of uncertainty, it is through ‘imagined futures’ that organizations motivate and find the rationale for their decisions, coordinate activities, manage stakeholders and compete with one another. This article suggests making the construction of imagined futures a vantage point for the study of organizations and processes of organizing. It focuses on ‘instruments of imagination’ used by firms to create ‘fictional expectations’ which are used to come to terms with an uncertain future – and to proactively shape this future. Instruments discussed here include strategic planning, technological projections, economic forecasting, and business plans among others. The article argues that a fruitful general analytical perspective can be developed by bringing the constitution, contestation and effects of imagined futures to the forefront of organizational analysis.

A Glimpse over the Rising Walls

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Gąsior-Niemiec ◽  
Georg Glasze ◽  
Robert Pütz
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
Gated Communities ◽  
Vantage Point ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
The Social ◽  
Analytical Perspective ◽  
Spatial Configurations ◽  
Theory Of Discourse ◽  
Housing Estates

The authors focus on societal perceptions of the Polish post-communist transformation as reflected in the rising discourse of gated communities. Guarded, (video-) controlled and/or walled housing estates have been on the sprawl in the Polish metropolises throughout the 1990s and 2000s. However, only recently they have been discursively constructed—under the banner of “gated communities”—as a social and political issue in the country. The authors look at this issue from a vantage point offered by Laclau and Mouffe's theory of discourse, which allows the authors to combine a spatial and a linguistic analytical perspective. The analysis emphasizes the manner in which societal perceptions of borders surrounding gated communities overlap with perceptions of boundaries being inscribed in the social structure of post-communist Poland, while the resulting socio—spatial configurations are taken to signify political cleavages inherent in the Polish nation.

Religious Experience in New Testament Research

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Batluck
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Religious Experience ◽  
Vantage Point ◽  
Historical Jesus ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
New Information ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
To Come

Initiated by Gunkel in 1888, and again by Dunn in 1970, research on religious experience in the New Testament has developed into four distinct streams, all of which address the matter from a different vantage point. Mystical/revelatory experience examines early Christian texts that are ecstatic or disclose new information to the recipient. A second group equates religious experience with encounters of the Holy Spirit.Thirdly, historical Jesus studies investigates historical dimensions of the religious experience described in the Gospels. Fourthly, others address religious experience categorically, trying to account for the grand scope and effect of religious experience recorded in the writings of the New Testament. Each approach offers a great deal to scholars and will be a fruitful line of inquiry in studies to come.

scholarly journals Building Resilience Through Cross Industry Team Collaboration

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanta Mandal
Keyword(s):  
Automobile Industry ◽  
Team Collaboration ◽  
A Value ◽  
Cost Modelling ◽  
The Face ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Value Streams ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
To Come ◽  
Materials Used

Abstract This paper addresses the key issues that go into the making of a heavy truck wherein steel made parts are used in the making of a chassis , so here the challenge for both for the bodyframe designer of the automobile industry and the sheet metal designer of the steel industry to come up with solutions that not only addresses problems relating to the lowering of the weight but also making it strong enough to bear enough loads taking into account changes in materials used , kinematics – differences in body angles that affects the velocity of the actions directed , how parts connected not only in the truck but also in the processes followed including changes in design and thereafter the prototypes to be tried out in the face of oncoming changes . A pentagonal framework that includes open cost modelling as well a business model that talks of creating a value streams in consonance with the changes for the uncertain future has been included.

scholarly journals Patientens kropp

Budkavlen ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 98 ◽  
pp. 122-137
Author(s):  
Markus Idvall
Keyword(s):  
Deceased Donor ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Medical Gaze ◽  
Analytical Perspective ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
The Individual

The Body of the Patient Emotions, power and reciprocity in the world of transplantation   Markus Idvall   Transplantation has been a part of human culture and imagination over centuries. In modern times, from the mid-20th century on, transplantation of solid organs and cells has become part of clinical practice. In this article, I focus on field studies with 1) individuals who have donated a kidney to a relative (living donors) and 2) individuals who have received a kidney from a deceased donor. Transplantation is problematized as a form of inter-corporality and a performative meeting between a recipient, a donor and medical intermediaries in the shape of doctors and nurses. By focusing on the body of the patient we learn about the aspects of emotions, power, and reciprocity in which the transplantation takes place. The empirical discussion starts with a phenomenological approach towards what it means to have a transplant. In the narrative of one of the interview subjects a specific landscape – a forest – appears as a symbol for the individual body’s transformation or even “rebirth”. The embodiment of the forest signifies both hope and an uncertain future for the individual. In a similar way, individuals who donate one of their kidneys to a relative, also incorporate the patient’s room in the hospital as being a space representing the pain which an individual living donor experiences when temporarily becoming a patient. In the second part of the article, a bio-political, power-related perspective is included in the analysis. The medical gaze that identifies donors and recipients is discussed in relation to how the human body and body-parts become a form of a national resource in the transplant context. Donor pools and waiting lists for transplants are in this respect tools for realizing a transplant industry on a national and global basis. At the end of the article, reciprocity is introduced as an analytical perspective. By distinguishing the transplant as a gift, emotions, power relations and the multifaceted body of the patient can be seen as inter-connected.

scholarly journals Heutagogy: The pedagogy of agency

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Lisa Blaschake
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Traditional Curriculum ◽  
Delivery Methods ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Uncertain Future ◽  
To Come ◽  
Perfect Storm

Even before Covid-19, higher education was facing a perfect storm of challenges: increased costs, reduced funding, and rising industry demand for more skilled graduates. Educators were also challenged with finding ways to better prepare students for an uncertain future where lifelong learning skills are essential. The current pandemic has only served to intensify the storm, and educational institutions have rushed to technology in order to survive. In response to the new — or next — normal, institutional leaders are attempting to adapt traditional curriculum and systems so that they can transition rapidly to remote teaching and learning. Online, hybrid, and hyflex learning have become the beguiling buzzword solutions of today. How to survive this perfect storm and the storms to come? This presentation will propose that it is not technology that will best address these challenges; instead, a fundamental rethinking of how we teach and learn is necessary. By adopting heutagogy — or a pedagogy of agency, where the learner takes control of learning — will we be able to agilely transition and pivot across delivery methods, while also equipping our students with the lifelong learning skills and competencies required for the future.

Thorny way of strategic planning in modern Russia

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-34
Author(s):  
MIKHAIL E. DMITRIEV ◽  
◽  
VALERY B. KRAPIL ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Planning System ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current State ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
To Come ◽  
Further Development

The article considers strategic planning practices in Russia since the transition to market economy. The authors assess the outcomes of federal strategies and the possible causes of their incomplete implementation. The study reviews the development of legislation on strategic planning and the problems and contradictions associated with the implementation of the laws, including the subfederal level. The course of development of the project format of strategic documents (national projects, etc.) and the reasons that led to the strengthening of its role, despite the lack of legislative registration, are also presented. Based on the results of the review, a characteristic is given of the current state of the strategic planning system, which is assessed as unstable and transitional, and possible directions for its further development are noted. The interest in strategic planning over the past three decades has been generated by objective long-term challenges. They are largely due to the need to take into account long-term trends in demographic, technological, environmental, climatic, spatial, infrastructural, geopolitical and other areas where there are problems and tasks that can only be solved by coordinated planning of actions for many years to come.

STRATEGIC PLANNING OF AGRIBUSINESS ACTIVITIES

2021 ◽  
pp. 87-97
Author(s):  
T.V. BIRYUKOVA ◽  
◽  
E.V. ENKINA ◽  
T.I. ASHMARINA
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Goal Setting ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Situational Analysis ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Labor Costs ◽  
Business Plans ◽  
Marketing Assets ◽  
Significant Support

In the current conditions of economic development for many organizations operating in the field of agriculture, there are a number of uncertainties due to the lack of strategic planning of activities. On the other hand, it is the long-term goal setting that allows organizations to conduct highly effective activities and be competitive in the market. The main areas of the strategic planning of activities that ensure competitiveness include: branding (creating mental structures in the consumer’s mind), the development of a model of marketing relations with consumers and the management of distribution channels. However, strategic planning in the organization is possible only on the basis of high-quality situational analysis, which is a difficult task for many enterprises due to the significant financial and labor costs. An equally important aspect is the unwillingness of managers of organizations to invest in marketing assets, 95 primarily due to their unability to determine the effectiveness of these investments, as well as the lack of resources themselves. The authors believe it is necessary to provide significant support to organizations of small and medium-size forms of ownership in order to increase their competitiveness, which can be carried out by establishing regional marketing centers, the main task of which is to provide assistance in conducting a situational analysis of the organization’s activities, in particular the macro – and micro-environment of the organization, and determining strategic areas of activity. Equally important is the assistance in the preparation of business plans, in particular, the possibility of obtaining funding for the implementation of state program activities, training in the aspects of conducting effective activities, organizing contests, exhibitions and other events.

Strategic planning: shaping an uncertain future

2008 ◽  
Vol 46 (9) ◽  
pp. 6-10
Author(s):  
Doug Zuckerman ◽  
Stu Personick
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Planning ◽  
Uncertain Future

Incongruity of Nationalisms? Interactions between Korean National History and American Historians of Korea, the 1910s to 1980s

2021 ◽  
pp. 397-425
Author(s):  
Vladimir Tikhonov
Keyword(s):  
Vantage Point ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Korean History ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Korean Nationalism ◽  
The World ◽  
Analytical Perspective ◽  
Current Article ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Historical Trajectory

The heuristic starting point for this paper is a critical approach to the enterprise of modern historiography per se, based on the understanding of it as inherently bound by teleological epistemology. While “Korean nationalism” is the usual vantage point for the critique of modern Korean historiography, the current article attempts to reverse this analytical perspective and re-assess a number of attempts to write on Korean history by US-based historians of Korea in the 1910s–1980s as reflections of inherently self-centric picture of the world. In this Eurocentric picture, traditional Korea was locked into a historical trajectory via which “modernity” was unachievable.

Managing the Risk of Knowledge Transfer in Outsourcing Organizations

2010 ◽  
pp. 239-262
Author(s):  
Stavros Ponis ◽  
Epaminondas Koronis
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Knowledge ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Organizational Analysis ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Risk Sources ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Negative Side Effects ◽  
To Come ◽  
Outsourcing Strategies

The rhetoric of outsourcing as well as the importance of organizational knowledge have both been popular issues thoroughly examined in contemporary business literature. Still, combinatory studies on the effects of outsourcing, positive or negative, on the creation and maintenance of organizational knowledge and the related risks and consequences of outsourcing, remain scarce. Given the popularity of both fields of organizational analysis we consider the lacking of combinatory studies as striking. In this paper, we present the findings drawn on a multiple case study analysis of four medium size pharmaceutical companies, all of them having implemented outsourcing strategies. The chapter attempts a categorization of risk sources during the outsourcing initiative, proposes mitigating actions and organizes the findings of the research on the case companies by proposing a model of ‘vicious cycle’ suggesting that outsourcing, if not managed successfully, eventually leads to the addiction of the organization to ‘buy’ expertise and knowledge in spite of knowledge acquisition. While we identify the conflicting strategies and rhetoric, we also attempt to come up with a set of guidelines, which could help organizations avoid the knowledge negative side effects of outsourcing.

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