Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Breslau, 1928. / Includes bibliographical references (p. i-iii).

No description available.

This study emerged from professional practice into a critique of the notion of empowerment: a generative inquiry into the lived embodied experience of individuals, the ‘nitty-gritty’ of people in time, in particular locations, across different employment sectors. It focuses on the conjunctions and disjunctions of these employees, the voices of front-line practitioners, in making choices, as well as the dilemmas that they face in doing this, both from inside and outside of work. Competing discourses are identified shaping, and being shaped by, the managers of the three companies at the heart of this research inquiry. Moreover, this research uncovered systemic issues arising from where such empowerment rhetorics derived and what they are acting upon in terms of people’s lives within these complex systems. This has resulted in distinctive action at an individual and organisational level through the utilisation of critically reflexive action research. This study is not purely a linear progression. A cyclical, critically reflexive methodology, my own ‘story’ of being empowered and disempowered whilst participating with others in this inquiry, has both deepened and enriched the perspectives offered. Therefore, this research offers an alternative perspective of empowerment as well as in relation to writing about empowerment, a complexity of perspectives explored through the use of literary, artistic and analytical forms that display the depth and richness of participant experience. My research therefore moves beyond the ethnographic studies of management to embrace the shifting sense of lives beyond the workplace, and the complexity of choice making through individual narratives across different sectors. At the same time it is centred in the embodied sense of lived experience that is missing from the critique of management offered by Alvesson and Wilmott [1992,1998], and others [Knights, 1992. Leetz and Mumby, 1990] of the critical management tradition

Policy-minded legislatures have a number of tools to implement policy at their disposal. On the one hand, they can write specific legislation and ensure that their policy wishes are accurately carried out. On the other hand, legislatures can delegate this authority to administrative agencies, and, with broad authority, allow them to formulate policy in a manner consistent with the preferences of the agency. This "delegation game" has received significant scholarly attention, and scholars have noted that the political context within which legislatures make this decision affects whether or not delegation will occur. Scholars have also examined the role that interest groups play in this game, yet studies at the interest group level are few in number. Interest groups are strategic actors that formulate strategies of lobbying in a manner that maximizes their potential influence per their resources. As such, interest groups should formulate lobbying strategies that take into consideration the delegation game that legislatures play when formulating policy. In this paper, I develop a game-theoretic model of legislative delegation and examine interest group lobbying strategies within that context. The equilibria from the game that I present: (1) Confirm previous studies of legislative delegation that argue legislatures delegate in a strategic manner given differing political conditions and (2) Suggests that indeed interest groups are strategic actors who develop lobbying strategies based on the expected actions of the legislature.

Decentralization is a prominent policy strategy for transferring power from an elite to grassroots actors or from the government to the private or nonprofit sectors. In many developing countries, decentralization has been the policy of choice for improving chronically low performing education systems. This report examines decentralization in three developing countries; Colombia, Indonesia, and South Africa, which are seeking to address their longstanding educational problems. The case studies suggest that effective decentralization depends on creating a clear and measurable vision and a robust strategic plan to achieve it. The studies further revealed the importance of community participation in active school governance, which led to practical solutions to school financial and administrative problems. This research is an attempt to pay attention to problems that could be raised during the journey of policy implementation, as well as to offer guidelines for effective, sustainable change. The discrepancy between policy and practice is a great dilemma, as Cohen said, particularly with the lack of sufficient experience in implementing the new political movements such as decentralization. This report seeks to identify the key components of an effective decentralization plan by tracing the successes and shortcomings of the three case studies. It concludes that a successful education system not only needs a clear vision and effective community participation but also an effective and practical organizational transformation to achieve progress in implementing decentralization. Changes in the educational hierarchy should occur at both the local level and the central level, and should entail more than just a change in the names of positions without changing the tasks themselves. / text

Zugl.: Leipzig, Handelshochsch., Diss., 2006.

Zugl.: Münster (Westfalen), Univ., Diss., 2007

Thesis (J.C.D.)--Catholic University of America, 1929. / Biographical note. Bibliography: p. 140-144.

No description available.

Delegation research has traditionally focused on delegation as a whole—how much or how little a leader or supervisor is willing to allocate tasks to their subordinates. Although past research has indicated the importance of delegation for team performance, it has often overlooked one of the main aspects touted by practitioners, choosing the right person for the job. In an effort to provide a more nuanced view of delegation and if the right person is being chosen for the job, this dissertation integrates the theory of work design with delegation while introducing the concept of matched delegation: delegating a task to the individual whose abilities most closely match the demands of the task where individuals receive decision-making authority for tasks that neither exceeds nor discounts their abilities, but rather most closely matches the extent of their abilities. With this, I propose a model whereby two work characteristics (i.e., physical propinquity and psychological safety) influence matched delegation decisions of team leaders and where matched delegation positively impacts team performance. Hypotheses were tested using a sample of 519 primary care professionals (PCPs) and their surrounding team members (i.e., a registered nurse, a licensed practical nurse, and an administrative associate) from patient centered medical homes from the Veteran’s Health Administration (VHA). Results showed that neither physical propinquity nor PCP psychological safety significantly influenced matched delegation of tasks to any of the three team members; however, team performance was significantly enhanced by matched delegation to some roles. Although these results provide some indication as to the importance of matched delegation, the mixed results might be due to the unwillingness of PCPs to give up control of tasks. I discuss the theoretical and practical implications, as well as the limitations and directions for future research within the VHA as well as for research studying delegators’ decisions and team processes and performance.