Developing an Understanding of Theory in Organisational Change

Author(s):  
Lindsay Nelson

Management literature related to globalisation and the need for organisations to gain a competitive advantage has grown in prominence over the past two decades (Caves 1982; Porter 1985, 1990, 1991, 1998; Barney 1995; Peteraf 1993; Barner 1996; Duncan, Ginter & Swayne 1998; Thomas, Pollock & Gorman 1998; Zahra 1998; Zahra & O'Neil, 1998; Gupta & Govindarajan 2001). Concomitant with globalisation and competitive advantage are issues related to achieving successful organisational change, since it logically holds that any activity to increase an organisation's effectiveness necessarily involves some sort of change. Much of the research attention in the past has focussed on strategies for implementing change, including overcoming resistance, rather than developing theories which lead to a greater understanding of the processes of change. Early research (Coch & French 1948; Ginzberg & Reilly 1957; Lewin 1951) reflect the historical concentration on how best to implement change; this tradition is more recently exemplified by Carnall (1999) who examines practical techniques for achieving change in organisations. However, literature relating to the theory of change remains fragmented and inconclusive.

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-43
Author(s):  
Lindsay Nelson

Management literature related to globalisation and the need for organisations to gain a competitive advantage has grown in prominence over the past two decades (Caves 1982; Porter 1985, 1990, 1991, 1998; Barney 1995; Peteraf 1993; Barner 1996; Duncan, Ginter & Swayne 1998; Thomas, Pollock & Gorman 1998; Zahra 1998; Zahra & O'Neil, 1998; Gupta & Govindarajan 2001). Concomitant with globalisation and competitive advantage are issues related to achieving successful organisational change, since it logically holds that any activity to increase an organisation's effectiveness necessarily involves some sort of change. Much of the research attention in the past has focussed on strategies for implementing change, including overcoming resistance, rather than developing theories which lead to a greater understanding of the processes of change. Early research (Coch & French 1948; Ginzberg & Reilly 1957; Lewin 1951) reflect the historical concentration on how best to implement change; this tradition is more recently exemplified by Carnall (1999) who examines practical techniques for achieving change in organisations. However, literature relating to the theory of change remains fragmented and inconclusive.


2021 ◽  
pp. 145-181
Author(s):  
Veronica Schmidt Harvey ◽  
Raphael Y. Prager

“Developing Learning Agile Behavior: A Model and Overview” focuses on how the development of learning agility creates a competitive advantage for leaders and their organizations. This chapter summarizes theories relevant to learning agility that have evolved over the past 50 years and the factors likely to influence learning agility development. An integrated learning agility model is proposed, the Learning Agile Process, consisting of (1) identifying the need for change, (2) planning for change, (3) implementing change, and (4) regulating and monitoring change. The model also outlines Learning Agile Behaviors that enable leaders to navigate this process: (1) observing, (2) doing, (3) connecting, (4) thinking, and (5) mobilizing. Thirty practical, learnable strategies for increasing learning agility are also provided. The chapter concludes with questions that remain to be answered in understanding the behaviors that contribute to agile learning.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Blessing Mabate ◽  
Chantal Désirée Daub ◽  
Samkelo Malgas ◽  
Adrienne Lesley Edkins ◽  
Brett Ivan Pletschke

Fucoidans are complex polysaccharides derived from brown seaweeds which consist of considerable proportions of L-fucose and other monosaccharides, and sulphated ester residues. The search for novel and natural bioproduct drugs (due to toxicity issues associated with chemotherapeutics) has led to the extensive study of fucoidan due to reports of it having several bioactive characteristics. Among other fucoidan bioactivities, antidiabetic and anticancer properties have received the most research attention in the past decade. However, the elucidation of the fucoidan structure and its biological activity is still vague. In addition, research has suggested that there is a link between diabetes and cancer; however, limited data exist where dual chemotherapeutic efforts are elucidated. This review provides an overview of glucose metabolism, which is the central process involved in the progression of both diseases. We also highlight potential therapeutic targets and show the relevance of fucoidan and its derivatives as a candidate for both cancer and diabetes therapy.


1987 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-236

The Committee on Historical Studies was established in the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in 1984. The Graduate Faculty has long emphasized the contribution of history to the social sciences. Committee on Historical Studies (CHS) courses offer students the opportunity to utilize social scientific concepts and theories in the study of the past. The program is based on the conviction that the world changes constantly but changes systematically, with each historical moment setting the opportunities and limiting the potentialities of the next. Systematic historical analysis, however, is not merely a diverting luxury. Nor is it simply a means of assembling cases for present-oriented models of human behavior. It is a prerequisite to any sound understanding of processes of change and of structures large or small.


2022 ◽  
pp. 174165902110591
Author(s):  
Kjetil Hjørnevik ◽  
Leif Waage ◽  
Anita Lill Hansen

Despite the strong relationships evidenced between music and identity little research exists into the significance of music in prisoners’ shifting sense of identity. This article explores musicking as part of the ongoing identity work of prisoners in light of theory on musical performance, narrative and desistance and discusses implications for penal practice and research. Through the presentation of an ethnographic study of music therapy in a low security Norwegian prison we show how participation in music activities afforded congruence between the past, the present and the projected future for participants by way of their unfolding musical life stories. Complementing existing conceptualisations of music as an agent for change, our study suggests that musicking afforded the maintenance of a coherent sense of self for participating prison inmates, whilst offering opportunities for noncoercive personal development. We argue that research into musicking in prison offers fruitful ways of tracing how the complexities inherent in processes of change are enacted in everyday prison life, and that it can advance our knowledge of relationships between culture, penal practice and desistance.


Author(s):  
Kaushik V. Pandya

In the past decade, or so, sustainability has become important for businesses. It is not just the preserve of the private sector anymore. Sustainability has been followed by organizations in all industrial sectors. This is not because it is a buzzword, but because it offers genuine competitive advantage to private organizations and green credentials to other. This is true especially to SMEs where, in the current economic climate, their survival relies on any advantage they get, no matter how small. In this chapter on sustainability, various definitions are offered. A discussion is undertaken on the consequences of not considering sustainability as part of strategy and/or operations in an SME. These are not just green, but extended to economic as well. It is proposed that sustainability be part of SME’s strategy, with details of potential benefits. A discussion on the performance indicators for the implementation is shown. It is considered that an agent would be most appropriate to lead the implementation as s/he would be ideal in considering the stake holders requirements. In the chapter, regular questions enable the readers to link the issues in the paper to their organization of work or an organization they are familiar with.


Author(s):  
G. Scott Erickson ◽  
Helen N. Rothberg

Knowledge management (KM), intellectual capital (IC), and competitive intelligence are distinct yet related fields that have endured and grown over the past two decades. KM and IC have always differentiated between the terms and concepts of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom/intelligence, suggesting value only comes from the more developed end of the range (knowledge and intelligence). But the advent of big data/business analytics has created new interest in the potential of data and information, by themselves, to create competitive advantage. This new attention provides opportunities for some exchange with more established theory. Big data gives direction for reinvigorating the more mature fields, providing new sources of inputs and new potential for analysis and use. Alternatively, big data/business analytics applications will undoubtedly run into common questions from KM/IC on appropriate tools and techniques for different environments, the best methods for handling the people issues of system adoption and use, and data/intelligence security.


Author(s):  
María Rosa Llamas-Alonso ◽  
Ana Isabel Jiménez-Zarco

As competition and the cost of acquiring new customers continue to increase, the need to build and enhance customer relationships has become paramount for businesses. The building of strong customer relationships has been suggested as a means for gaining competitive advantage (Mckenna, 1993) so, in today’s marketplace, a growing number of firms seek to develop profound, close and long-lasting relationships with their customers since it is much more profitable to keep and satisfy current customers than to manage an ever-changing customer portfolio (Reinartz & Kumar, 2003; Ross, 2005; Llamas-Alonso et al. 2009). This one is a consequence of many paradigmatical changes in the marketing field during the past decades, such as a transition from a focus on the product, transactional marketing, acquiring clients (responsive marketing approach) and market share towards a customer centric approach, relationship marketing, two-way communication, retaining customers (proactive and holistic marketing approaches) and share of customer. Thus, in this fastmoving and highly competitive scenario Customer Relationship Management (hereafter referred to as CRM) emerges as a business philosophy devoted to enhance customer relationships and consequently create value for both the company and the customer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 380-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Wallerstein ◽  
John G. Oetzel ◽  
Shannon Sanchez-Youngman ◽  
Blake Boursaw ◽  
Elizabeth Dickson ◽  
...  

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) and community-engaged research have been established in the past 25 years as valued research approaches within health education, public health, and other health and social sciences for their effectiveness in reducing inequities. While early literature focused on partnering principles and processes, within the past decade, individual studies, as well as systematic reviews, have increasingly documented outcomes in community support and empowerment, sustained partnerships, healthier behaviors, policy changes, and health improvements. Despite enhanced focus on research and health outcomes, the science lags behind the practice. CBPR partnering pathways that result in outcomes remain little understood, with few studies documenting best practices. Since 2006, the University of New Mexico Center for Participatory Research with the University of Washington’s Indigenous Wellness Research Institute and partners across the country has engaged in targeted investigations to fill this gap in the science. Our inquiry, spanning three stages of National Institutes of Health funding, has sought to identify which partnering practices, under which contexts and conditions, have capacity to contribute to health, research, and community outcomes. This article presents the research design of our current grant, Engage for Equity, including its history, social justice principles, theoretical bases, measures, intervention tools and resources, and preliminary findings about collective empowerment as our middle range theory of change. We end with lessons learned and recommendations for partnerships to engage in collective reflexive practice to strengthen internal power-sharing and capacity to reach health and social equity outcomes.


Author(s):  
Jiming Wu ◽  
Hongwei Du ◽  
Xun Li ◽  
Pengtao Li

Over the past decade, the rapid proliferation of knowledge management (KM) has been one of the most striking developments in business. Viewing KM as a key driver of competitive advantage, we attempt to provide managers with important guidance on how to create and deliver a successful KM strategy. Specifically, we develop a framework of three factors that are vital to KM success: top management support, a culture of organizational learning, and effective measures of KM performance. To offer a better understanding of the factors, their multiple facets are further investigated and discussed.


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