Changes in the organisation management system

Modern business operates in a new reality – the dominance of information technology and changing forms of organisations. Against this backdrop, the crisis of the management system, its inability to effectively deal with business issues, has clearly manifested itself. The COVID-19 epidemic has significantly complicated the situation in the management. The aim of the study is to outline ways of transforming the management system to help enterprises emerge from organisational stress. The state of governance is analysed over time: 1) the situation before the pandemic is considered; 2) the current changes since the pandemic began, in the face of both constrained business activity and a worsening crisis, are noted; 3) а forecast is given for business and management organisations for the coming post-pandemic period and regarding conversion to the new format of operations in which remote management and networked organisations have a strong place. A desk study was used and data from nationwide surveys of management employees was used. The research resulted in tactical and strategic decisions to improve the management system in organisations and proposals for changes in the theoretical and methodological basis of management, proposals for changes to the theoretical and methodological basis of governance.Management should be based on the laws of development of socio-economic systems rather than on precedents from business practices. Interaction management, trust management, real-time strategic management are paramount and require organisations to be adaptable, flexible, integrated and self-organised. Using the possibilities of digitalisation, it is necessary to improve the accuracy of management, ensuring that management decisions are calculated and learn to measure not only the results of activities, but also the state of the economic system. The philosophical foundations of management must be changed, based on the development of science, education and culture.

SMEs during the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis. The Sources of Problems, the Effects of Changes, Applied Tools and Management Strategies—The Example of Poland

Purpose: The aim of the theoretical deliberations and empirical research conducted is to determine the basic sources of problems in the SME sector of enterprises in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, and to present how enterprises are responding to external changes and adapting to these changes. The consideration of four types of enterprise strategies in the context of a large scale and a strong influence of external conditions on their activities is the leitmotif of the undertaken research. Design/methodology/approach: The research work used the analysis of the literature of the subject within the research methods of social studies with respect of the analysis and criticism of literature, as well as for logical analysis and structure. The empirical part applied desk research which concerned quantitative methods in the form of a survey. The survey was conducted among SME sector firms, that is micro-, small-, and medium-sized business entities whose economic activity was registered in Poland. The detailed information on sample sizes (based on three report sources) was given in the methodological part of the article. The research period is related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The statistical data presented in the paper primarily include the period of 2019 and 2020. Findings: The research revealed the basic sources of problems that SMEs in Poland struggled with during the COVID-19 pandemic in the period 2019–2020. The article presents the effects of changes related to the bankruptcy and restructuring processes of enterprises, expressed in an increase in their number in the compared years. In particular, the negative effects of the COVID-19 reality were experienced by SMEs conducting service activities. The paper also shows ways of responding and adapting to the turbulent reality of the studied enterprises, indicating the transformation and adaptation types of the actions taken. Originality/value: The presented research into SMEs is an original combination of theoretical issues related to business management during a crisis and distinguished strategies of responding to changes in the conditions of uncertainty, and the actual picture of changes in those entities in the days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The value of the research is manifested in the uniqueness of linking theoretical references of problems of management studies with respect to organisation management in the strategic aspect to specific research findings in firms defined as the core of the national economy, namely small- and medium-sized enterprises under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

Fooling ourselves and others: confirmation bias and the trustworthiness of qualitative research – Part 2 (cross-examining the dismissals)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe and critique ways in which the threats from confirmation bias have been rejected.Design/methodology/approachDismissals of the existence of, or threats from, confirmation bias are identified from a review of literature across a very wide range of disciplines. The dismissals are robustly examined.FindingsThe dismissals are categorised as: (1) radical scepticism (2) consequentialism: and (3) denial. Each type of dismissal, it is argued, is flawed.Originality/valueThe three-fold structuring of confirmation bias dismissal is novel. In addition to drawing from organisation, management and wider social science literature, the article also uses arguments and examples from the creative arts.

A Hybrid Neutrosophic-Grey Analytic Hierarchy Process Method: Decision-Making Modelling in Uncertain Environments

The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is recognised as one of the most commonly applied methods in the multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) literature. In the AHP, encompassing uncertainty feature necessitates using suitable uncertainty theories, since dealing efficiently with uncertainty in subjective judgements is of great importance in real-world decision-making problems. The neutrosophic set (NS) theory and grey systems are two reliable uncertainty theories which can bring considerable benefits to uncertain decision-making. The aim of this study is to improve uncertain decision-making by incorporating advantages of the NS and grey systems theories with the AHP in investigating sustainability through agility readiness evaluation in large manufacturing plants. This study pioneers a combined neutrosophic-grey AHP (NG-AHP) method for uncertain decision-making modelling. The applicability of the hybrid NG-AHP method is shown in an illustrative real-case study for agility evaluations in the Iranian steel industry. The computational results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed method in adequately capturing uncertainty in the subjective judgements of decision makers. In addition, the results verify the significance of the research in group decision-making under uncertainty. The practical outcome reveals that, to become a more sustainable agile steel producer in the case country, they should first focus on the “organisation management agility” as the most significant criterion in the assessment followed by “manufacturing process agility,” “product design agility,” “integration of information system,” and “partnership formation capability,” respectively.

THE INCLUSIVE ORGANISATION: MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF EMPLOYEE-DRIVEN INNOVATION (EDI)

The purpose of this study is to explore the inclusive involvement of non-R&D and non-managerial employees’ in processes of innovation. It answers a contemporary call for research to investigate a wider scope of organisations in the quest for understanding the interaction between employees and managers in employee-driven innovation (EDI). Based on a qualitative research study of two global corporations, this paper poses the following research question: How does the EDI approach manifest as a new management practice and thereby influence the interaction between employees and managers? By applying a critical discourse analysis, findings reveal that the production, distribution, and consumption of the EDI discourse are pervaded by a dynamic tension in the power relation between the top-level management and employees. While management enforces the impression that the EDI process is inclusive and engaging, employees remain critical to the contrasting way it is communicated.

Reporting practices in situations of conflicting institutional logics: the case of a German federal authority

Purpose This study aims to understand how reporting practices act as drivers of change in situations of conflicting institutional logics in a public sector organisation. Design/methodology/approach The findings are based on a case study of a German federal authority, where management accounting reports were introduced as part of a “new” managerial logic of control. Findings In the case organisation, management accounting reports were intended to change the behaviour of executives but were still guided by an “old” logic of justification. Nevertheless, over time, the addressees of the reports used the reports and reconciled different logics. This documents a process from decoupling to compromising and, finally, reconciling different institutional logics. Originality/value By examining the practices of management accounting reporting, this study elaborates the tensions placed on individuals by conflicting institutional logics and provides insights into how organisational practices are used to handle and reconcile conflicting logics in a public sector organisation. Therefore, this paper contributes to the discussion on how organisational practices act as drivers of organisational change.

Empowering Spiritual Leadership in Organisations

This chapter attempts to examine spiritual leadership in the digital age. The elaboration of featured characteristics from the hikmah (wise-based performance) will be conducted referring to the several literatures critically in line with the main subject of related topic, such as from journals, chapters, proceedings, and also monograph works. The finding reveals that expanding the pathway of spiritual leadership together with hikmah distinctive feature is drawn into the particular attention through divine governance, responsible integrity, and caring consistent awareness in a properly good organisation management. The implication is that spiritual leadership with hikmah offered the continued consistency of emphasising the service mutually in line with the wide-ranging standpoint in the workplace atmosphere. This chapter is expected to contribute to disseminating the knowledge understanding of spiritual leadership in line with hikmah-based performance.

Research in the Field of Enterprise Management

The need for a competitive enterprise to comply with the requirements of a market economy obliges it to constantly improve both technologically and organisationally. The basis of organisational innovation is the study of organisation management systems – activities aimed at the development and improvement of management in accordance with constantly changing external and internal conditions. Improving the management of modern dynamically developing enterprises, as socio-technical systems, requires the study of their properties, which is associated with solving the problem of performing research at a high scientific and methodological level. The article is devoted to the principles, methods and problems of these studies.

Sustainable management and organisation of the work environment in the context of flexibility paradigm

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to analyse the quality of the human – work system in the context of modern organisation management paradigms focused on theoretical aspects of sustainable growth in which flexibility gets the crucial condition to meet each company’s objectives specified by this growth. Design/methodology/approach: It is an opinion article, the attempt to interpret the correlation between the high quality of work environment indicated by the goals of Agenda 2030 and the organisation flexibility dimensions presented in literature which imply the growth in efficiency and effectiveness of work potential management. The study was developed on the basis of the regular and critical literature analysis. Findings: The considerations presented in the article indicate that the achievement of high efficiency and effectiveness level in organisation in the era of postglobalisation and Coronavirus is only possible when the high organisation flexibility is guaranteed, and the flexible initiation of innovative changes depends on optimising the management of work potential. The need of flexibile creativity in the company, being a reaction to the radical redefining the human functioning in an organisation, is required on all levels of each company functioning arising from the view that the general organisation flexibility is conditioned by partial flexibilities. Originality/value: The value of this paper is theoretical. The possibilities of obtaining various kinds of flexibility by a company were determined in the context of developing the human – work system and its influence on the total growth of organisation abilities. It was presented that the flexible organisation competences guaranteeing the proper organisation processes, condition the increase in flexibile skills in a positive way, which contributes to the more flexible activities adapted to the permenent and turbulent changes in the company external surroundings. This article is addressed to the people interested in the multiaspect problematics of the academic issue, the obtained results may be the inspiration to further research.