An organisational approach to meta-governance: structuring reforms through organisational (re-)engineering

This article outlines an organisation theory approach to meta-governance by illustrating how public organisations may organise policy change and reform by (re-)designing organisational choice-architectures. First, it outlines an organisational approach to meta-governance and, second, it offers an illustrative case of meta-governance by examining how public innovation processes are shaped by organisational designs. Two arguments are proposed: (i) first, that public meta-governance is an accessible tool for facilitating policy change, and (ii) second, that meta-governance may be systematically biased by organisational structuring. Examining conditions for meta-governance is important since governments experience frequent criticism of existing inefficient organisational arrangements and calls for major reforms of the state. The contribution of this article is to suggest how an organisational approach to meta-governance might both explain meta-governance and make it practically relevant for solving societal challenges in the future.

Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting: Problems and Prospects

The objective of this paper is to define the theoretical basis and clarify the fundamental concept of the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting (CFFR). This is because the theoretical basis for CFFR has not been properly defined, and the articulation of the fundamental concept in the document does not correspond to its actual meaning. In clarifying, we will analyse these attributes from a critical perspective and propose an alternative articulation. We apply a research method widely used in the USA based on semiotics, which construes accounting as a business language and requires analysis of the key accounting concepts from three viewpoints: syntactic, semantic an pragmatic. Two different theories form the theoretical basis for CFFR: the organisation theory and the residual equity theory. We further propose that the articulation of the fundamental concept of “objective of financial reporting” is self-contradictory, which is aggravated by the fact that the document deals with users of financial reporting and their objectives. We identify major drawbacks in both theories. The organisation theory requires specific financial reporting which is incompatible with standardisation, and the residual equity theory is extremely difficult to understand and is not completely satisfactory for any of its user groups. These drawbacks and inaccuracies occlude understanding of CFFR and financial reporting.As a result, we propose that it is advisable to do the following when developing the next version of CFFR: • define the uniform theoretical basis in CFFR clearly;• use the proprietary theory as the uniform theoretical basis;• the definition of financial reporting oriented to informational needs of company owners should be the fundamental concept of CFFR. This will enable CFFR and financial reporting to be simpler understand and the primary needs of all user groups will be satisfied.

Psychoanalytic organisation theory and identity: a psychosocial framework

In this article, the author explains a contemporary framework for psychoanalytic organisation theory and identity. In doing so, he assumes a post-Kleinian object relational approach. This orientation to understanding the complexity of organisations and organising takes advantage of the ideas of Winnicott and Ogden. The notion of organisational identity and the process of identification are viewed from experiential, relational and intersubjective psychodynamics. Organisational members are engaged in three modes of organising: depressive (containment versus control); paranoid-schizoid (division versus fragmentation); and autistic-contiguous (integration versus isolation). Finally, the discovery of organisational identity depends on the collection of psychoanalytic data that involve the observation and interpretation of intersubjectivity rooted in the experience of organisational membership.

Organisational learning in Serbia during the transition: The legacy of Bozidar Cerovic and his contribution to transition research

In this paper we address the issue of organisational learning in Serbia during the transition, based extensively on the research work of Bozidar Cerovic that was published in his conference papers, academic journals, books, and edited volumes from the 1990s onwards, as well as in our joint research. We delineate three generations of organisational learning in the post-1989 transformation, which correspond to the transition periods comprehensively analysed in Cerovic?s work. We discuss each of these generations of organisational learning as characterised by the specific learning context, shaded by macro-level determinants and distinctive learning antecedents, nature, practices, and outcomes, and provide a theoretical framework using institutional organisation theory to highlight the specific issue of organisational learning in Serbia during the transition of South-Eastern Europe.

James March in Irvine: A history of the ahistorical in organisation theory

James G. March, one of organisation theory’s most influential scholars, died in September 2018. From 1963 to 1969, he was the founding Dean of UC-Irvine’s School of Social Sciences where he led a unique and influential experiment in organisation, pedagogy and social scientific inquiry. This article gives an account of that experiment and also reflects on March’s memory and legacy. In line with contemporary enthusiasms, March believed that social phenomena could be modelled using sophisticated mathematical techniques, and that this should inform both research and pedagogy. These techniques were necessarily ahistorical. He also celebrated innovation and interdisciplinarity, and so assembled a heterogeneous group, many of whom were not mathematical modellers. In retrospect, the School was an important node in the development of new and influential streams of research, such as situated learning, ethnomethodology and conversation analysis. Significantly, these approaches were also ahistorical. The experiment provides an important historical setting for understanding how, where, and when these fields emerged and illustrates the contextual nature of knowledge in organisation theory. It also helps explicate how history and theory have come to be differentiated from one another in organisation studies and contextualises attempts to integrate the two domains.

Managing the unexpected in megaprojects: riding the waves of resilience

Purpose Risk management and uncertainty in megaprojects is a flourishing topic in project management, while the unexpected is still a neglected matter. The purpose of this paper is to offer conceptual clarifications of the unexpected based on second-order-cybernetics and systems theory. While transferring findings from organisation theory to project management, the article provides fresh insights into managing the unexpected in megaprojects. Design/methodology/approach Being grounded on constructionism and systems theory, the conceptual paper explores selected research approaches from organisation theory: research on high-reliability organising, organisational resilience and organisational improvising, on contributions to managing the unexpected in megaprojects. Using the framework of meaning i.e. the factual, social and temporal dimensions, challenges of handling the unexpected are analysed and (effects of) decision-making structures for such projects are defined. Findings This paper argues that classic project management, while neglecting the fundamental distinction between risk, uncertainty and the unexpected, sticks to a planning-and-controlling approach. But the unexpected cannot be planned; however, organisations and managers can prepare for the unexpected. This requests a balance between structure and self-organisation in planning, communication, hierarchy and organisational culture. Understanding the contradictions inherent in managing megaprojects allows for smart decision-making when riding the waves of resilience. Originality/value The study adds to the literature on complexity and uncertainty in project management by enhancing the view to include the unexpected. While rejecting the universal applicability of rationality-based risk and controlling conceptions, shifting to second-order cybernetics and integrating elements of resilient organising increases the understanding of handling the unexpected in megaprojects.

Organisation Design Seen through Systematic Design

Organizations seeking to improve their performance, like Corporate Social Responsibility targets, face a key organisational design challenge. Designing the key components of the organization and their layout will have major impact on performances, and needs thus a robust design process. Organisation theory provides several models and methods to answer that need. Yet this design process has not been confronted to design methods literature, such as systematic design. The aim of this paper is to provide a synthesis of multiple theoretical elements coming from organization sciences, confronted with a classical engineering design model, to reveal similarities, differences and lacks of current literature on organization design. Our analysis of the available literature on organisation theory, organisation design and change management showed that this design process is close to systematic design, but we also highlighted several breaks in the design process, such as the lack of functional approach.