Managementtool for InfiniBand / Managementtool für InfiniBand

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This study of women in management was initiated to explore, through women managers themselves, the barriers they thought were hindering their progress up the management hierarchies in BT. To facilitate this study the first former utility organisation to be privatised was approached to be the case study. At the time the organisation, which was undergoing a major organisational change programme aimed at taking it from the utility provider it had been to the dynamic private company it wanted to be, was gaining a reputation for enlightened equal opportunity policies. It had a vigorous gender champion and an equal opportunities department that had ensured circulation of the organisation's equal opportunities policies to all members of staff. BT employed a large number of women managers in different functions, working in different locations throughout the UK and in a number of positions in the management hierarchy short of the most senior management or director levels. It therefore presented a unique opportunity to study women in the management pipeline from across a broad spectrum of jobs and backgrounds, women who were not being promoted in the same proportions as their male counterparts. To examine their circumstances a mixed methodology was used drawing on aspects of feminist, positivist and pragmatic models because each offered an essential element of the mix needed to satisfy the requirements for undertaking the study. As the researcher was both a manager employed by the case study organisation and a woman there were elements of feminist methodology that guided involvement and personal interest in the study. The culture of the case study organisation was such that it was driven by the quantitative measures offered by positivism. An implicit element of the agreement between researcher and case study organisation was therefore that elements of the findings should reflect this requirement. Finally, a pragmatic approach to undertaking the study underpinned the dialogue between researcher and case study organisation as ways were explored for carrying out the investigation. While it cannot be assumed that the same barriers to progress for women managers found in the case study organisation exist for women managers in other organisations, the findings of this study have nevertheless highlighted issues beyond the borders of the organisation. Firstly, they confirm the conclusions of previous research that women have been both horizontally and vertically segregated in areas of organisations from which progress into top management positions is more difficult to achieve. Secondly, the study casts new light on the pressures that women face when trying to reconcile the needs of work and caring responsibilities. Women's ambitions are still tempered by their place in the home as carer and partner and many are prepared to subordinate their career opportunities to the needs of their family. Most crucially, the study highlights the extent to which women's aspirations are bounded by their work experiences. It has been assumed that organisational cultures have been becoming more sympathetic towards the inclusion of women managers and more prepared to encourage women to progress but the evidence of this study is that this operates at the level of rhetoric instead of action. The organisational structures and management styles presented barriers that flattened the ambition of women and exposed them to bullying, intimidation and harassment. Nurtured by an uncompromisingly macho company culture underpinned by an old boys' network, the barriers that women encountered served to suppress initiative and detain them at lower levels of management. Many women felt that because of this they were stifled, inhibited from improving their own or the organisation's performance. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the nebulous nature of these insidious discriminatory practices renders them almost impenetrable. Just as BT shares a history and culture similar to several other former utility organisations so it is probable that these practices are mirrored in other organisations. Finally, the assumptive base of some recent analysts question the ways in which women are likely to progress in management. It has been assumed that the excellent educational achievements of women in recent years will automatically translate into increased opportunities for high office in organisations. However the findings of this study show that the organisational climate in which women find themselves has a larger impact on their progress. In this study the women with the highest qualifications were clustered in the lowest ranks in the division of the organisation that showed most resistance to gender diversity. Therefore while education may enhance a woman's opportunities, it does not automatically position her for higher office. The other assumption that women are increasingly limiting their own career opportunities by making positive decisions to remain at the lowest positions in the management pipeline, through positive lifestyle choices, are challenged by the findings here. It was only when women found themselves hampered and unlikely to progress or thought that the harmony of their home lives was threatened that they decided to limit their options. Otherwise, many of them stated, they would have relished the challenge of higher office. As this study shows, it would clearly be a disservice to these women managers to confuse their forfeiture of ambition because of the prevailing hostile organisational climate or for family reasons, with their positively deciding to limit their careers.

Critical scholars have written about the ‘squeezed middle' and the new labour process of front line and middle managers generally, but there is a gap in the literature relating to both how changes to managerial work have affected those subjected to them and how individuals and organisations have attempted to respond to, and cope with, public sector cuts and challenges. Much of contemporary HRD writing on change management suggests that leadership development has a privileged role in adjusting the ‘worker' to the situation. However, given the implicitly unitarist nature of much HRD writing, this thesis argues that insights from such literature is inadequate or incomplete because it fails to consider the interests of managers as employees. The focus of this thesis is on middle managers' (MM) ability to overcome the public sector challenges associated with work intensification; control and skills adaption via learning and development initiatives. This qualitative research comprises a data set of 17 in-depth interviews and 34 complementary semi-structured questionnaire's with middle managers in the Hong Kong Civil Service. Thematic analysis revealed that whilst managers and the organisation benefit from leadership development in terms of human capital development, power differentials and structural impediments limit the capacity to benefit from social capital and networking opportunities provided. As such LDP cannot compensate for work intensification, leading to a stressed-out, disempowered, squeezed middle management cadre, which in turn impacts on public service delivery.

La gestion des aéroports a connu durant les trente dernières années de profondes évolutions. En effet, les enjeux de forte croissance du trafic aérien ont progressivement conduit à une logique d'amélioration qualitative. En outre, l’arrivée de nouveaux modes de gestion privés et de partenariats publics privés a renforcé le besoin de transparence.Dans ce contexte, les régulateurs sont devenus fortement responsables de l'organisation des aéroports. Ils doivent faire en sorte que les objectifs de service public soient pris en compte, en particulier dans leur nouvelle composante qualitative et doivent informer l'usager.La maîtrise des aéroports par les régulateurs est cependant rendue difficile : le déséquilibre d'information avec le gestionnaire, l'existence d'un oligopole ou encore la situation de monopole naturel sont autant d'éléments qui viennent affaiblir la position du régulateur. A la lumière de la théorie des contrats, l'analyse de modèles internationaux montre que les limites du mécanisme concurrentiel obligent à envisager une régulation plus poussée pour les aéroports que dans d'autres services publics.La mesure de performance par des indicateurs portant sur les résultats financiers et extra-financiers est un outil propre à améliorer cette maîtrise de la gestion par les régulateurs. En introduisant des mécanismes de circulation d'information, elle permet de mieux appréhender les évolutions de chaque service, mais aussi de les comparer entre eux. L'incitation par pseudo-concurrence peut ainsi s’appliquer efficacement, quel que soit le mode de gestion. Les indicateurs vont aussi servir à définir la qualité attendue dans la phase précontractuelle, puis à suivre et à piloter les résultats du service en phase d'exécution. Ils permettent enfin une communication vers les clients, rendant ainsi plus visibles des progrès du service qui restent souvent cachés. / Airport management has undergone profound changes in the last thirty years. Indeed, air traffic strong growth issues have gradually led to a goal of qualitative improvement. Besides, the arrival of new private management methods and public-private partnerships has strengthened the need for transparency.In this context, the regulators became strongly responsible for the organization of airports. They should ensure that public service objectives are taken into account, especially in their new qualitative component and must inform the passengers.However, managing airports is complicated for regulators due to several factors. Indeed, imbalance of information between the regulator and the airport manager, existence of oligopoly or even natural monopoly are elements that weaken the position of the regulator. In light of the contracts theory, the analysis of international models shows that the limits of the competitive mechanism force us to consider a further regulation for airports than for other public services.The performance measurement through indicators based on financial and extra- financial results is a tool to improve the control of airports management by regulators. By introducing mechanisms for flow of information, it helps to understand the evolution of each service, but also to compare them. The incentive for pseudo-competition can be applied effectively, regardless of the mode of management. The indicators will also be used to determine the quality expected in the pre-contractual phase, and to monitor and pilot the results of the services during the implementation phase. Finally, they allow communication to customers, making more visible the improvement of the services, which often remain hidden.

Cette thèse s'intéresse à l'utilisation de techniques numériques par approximation sous forme de séries et de techniques de simulation pour l'approximation de la queue de distribution de sommes de variables aléatoires à variations régulières. Le calcul de la probabilité que la somme soit plus grande qu'un seuil donné est important en gestion des risques. En particulier, ce calcul est utilisé pour définir le besoin en capital des sociétés d'assurances ou d'autres institutions financières. Le premier chapitre constitue l'introduction de la thèse. Il explique les principaux résultats et présente les outils mathématiques qui sont développés dans la thèse. Le second chapitre est basé sur le travail : ”Series expansions for the sum of the independent Pareto random variables”, article rédigé avec le Professeur Christian ROBERT, directeur de la thèse. Cet article est soumis à publication. Il propose un algorithme de calcul pour déterminer la queue de distribution d'une somme de variables aléatoires de type Pareto non nécessairement équidistribuées. Il propose une approximation sous forme de série de la fonction de survie de la somme. L'algorithme utilisé pour calculer l'approximation est simple, facile à implémenter, et offre de très bons résultats numériques. Le troisième chapitre de cette thèse est basée sur l'article : ”New efficient estimators in rare event simulation with heavy tails”, publié dans Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, et co-écrit avec le Professeur Christian ROBERT. Il s'intéresse à l'approximation par simulation de la probabilité que la somme de variables aléatoires indépendantes à variations régulières soit plus grande qu'un seuil élevé. Des estimateurs efficaces ont déjà été introduits dans la littérature associée à la simulation d'évènements rares. Nous proposons de nouvelles techniques de simulation qui sont plus efficaces que les méthodes précédemment proposées. Le quatrième chapitre poursuit l'analyse de la simulation d'évènements rares du type ”la somme est plus grande qu'un seuil”, mais cette fois-ci il s'intéresse à des situations où les variables aléatoires sont dépendantes. Il se focalise sur le cas où la dépendance est donnée par une copule archimédienne. Ce chapitre est basé sur l'article en relecture : ”Efficient simulation of tail probabilities of sums with heavy tailed random variables and Archimedean copulas”. Les équivalents asymptotiques de la probabilité de dépassement de seuil ne sont connus que dans des cas particuliers et ils fournissent en général des approximations très médiocres de la vraie valeur. Les techniques de simulation sont donc très appréciables pour obtenir rapidement des approximations précises. Nous proposons quatre estimateurs et quatre techniques de simulation associées. Nous montrons que les erreurs relatives sont asymptotiquement bornées pour presque tous les estimateurs. Les simulations montrent que certains estimateurs sont plus précis / This thesis aims to study computation and simulation methods to approximate tail distribution of the sums of regularly varying random variables. The paper proceeds as follows: The first chapter provides the general introduction of the thesis. The second chapter is essentially constituted by the article ”Series expansions for the sum of the independent Pareto random variables” which was co-written with Professor Christian ROBERT, actually submitted for publication. It deals with the problem of estimating tail distribution of the sum of independent Pareto variables. This problem has been studied for a long time but a complete solution has not yet been found. In this section, we acquire an exact formula, a series expansions, for the distribution of the sum of independent Pareto of non-integer tail indices. Not only is this formula simple and easy to apply but it also gives better numerical results than most of existing methods.The third chapter rests on the article ”New efficient estimators in rare event simulation with heavy tails”, co-written with Professor Christian ROBERT, currently published on ”Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics 261, 39-47” in 2013. Practically, efficient estimation for tail distribution of the sum of i.i.d. regularly varying random variables is one of widely researched problems in rare event simulation. In this context, Asmussen and Kroese’s estimator has performed better than other works. This part will introduce a new way to approach the sum. Our obtained estimator is more efficient than Asmussen and Kroese’s estimator in the case of regularly varying tail. In other cases, combined with techniques of conditional Monte Carlo and importance sampling, our estimator is still better. In the fourth chapter, we continue to study the tail behavior of the sum of regularly varying variables, with additional assumption that the dependence follows an Archimedean copula or an Archimedean survival copula. This section hinges on the article ”Efficient simulation of tail probabilities of sums with heavy tailed random variables and Archimedean copulas” which is under consideration for being published. Almost all previous studies on this problem used asymptotic approaches which are hard to control the errors. Therefore, techniques of simulation to calculate the tail probability of the sum are presented. Though some of our estimators have bounded relative errors while the others do not, all of them give favorable numerical performances for such a challenging problem

User resistance to information system (IS) change is an important issue in the IS literature. However, despite a large body of user adoption literature, there is far less literature addressing user resistance to IS change, especially in organisational contexts. Moreover, there are still left a number of open questions regarding the why and how resistance takes place. Particularly, previous research failed to explain these questions for two reasons. First, none of the previous research explained the reasons for IS resistance from a multilevel perspective. Second, previous research, with few exceptions, was empirically conducted after IS had been implemented in organisations. Hence, it can be considered to be observations made on downstream results of the upstream resistance process. The two reasons above were used as drivers for this research at the AlphaBank during the preliminary phases of its core banking system (CBS) upgrading project. The ultimate purpose of this study is to develop a framework which will be of use to practitioners for understanding and managing resistance to IS change. Given the complexity of the resistance, explanatory theories guiding the study were argued, discussed, and developed. These guiding theories were based on the open system theory, the political variant of the interaction theory, and the status quo bias theory. The study employed an interpretivist philosophical standpoint and a collaborative practice research (CPR) was adopted. During the study, different methods were designed and conducted including informal discussions, documentation, semi-structure interviews, staff meetings and workshop. In total, twenty eight participants covering different levels of the bank’s hierarchy were involved in the study. Based on the findings, it was concluded that comprehending resistance from a multilevel lens helped the AlphaBank’s managers move beyond a search for a simple explanation of this phenomenon and enabled them to create more meaningful and actionable solutions. The findings contribute to knowledge in a multilevel model for understanding and managing resistance to IS change.

De décisifs et puissants enjeux d'innovation ainsi que de renouvellement del'identité des objets bouleversent le monde industriel. De telles aptitudes créativessont usuellement associées aux designers industriels. Cependant, ces professionnelsne sont actuellement pas intégrés dans les processus numériques deconception.Afin de décrire ce paradoxe, nous formulons l'hypothèse que, l'omniprésencedans l'industrie de modèles de la conception de type séquentiel, qui juxtaposentcréativité et développement produit, entrave l'intégration des designers industrielsau sein des processus industriels. En effet, en compartimentant la conceptionen silos, ce type de modèles généralistes inhibe les méthodes spécifiquesdes concepteurs créatifs. Bien plus, les outils numériques adjoints au modèle séquentielétant calqués sur sa logique, ils reproduisent et les inconvénients d'unetelle structuration.En mobilisant quatre disciplines académiques qui traitent des outils numériques,à savoir les sciences informatiques, cognitives, de gestion et les théoriesde la conception, nous élaborons un nouveau modèle «dit stratifié». Ce dernierrévèle les modes de raisonnement empruntés par les concepteurs créatifs ainsique la nature des produits élaborés dans les environnements logiciels. A ce titre,l'entreprise Dassault Systèmes ainsi que la suite CATIA se sont révélés un substratde recherche idéal. Comme attendu, notre nouveau modèle propose desassertions inédites qui sont validées au cours de notre travail. Nous avons alorsdémontré que :1/ Certains ateliers de conception favorisent simultanément robustesse et générativité.Nous qualifions cette nouvelle propriété d'«originalité acquise».2/ Les avatars dans le logiciel ne résultent pas d'un raffinement progressif del'objet mais sont plutôt l'instanciation d'une base de règles paramétrée.3/ Les designers industriels requièrent des outils distincts de ceux employés parles artistes 3D ou les ingénieurs, de par la nature de leur conception. Plus exactement,ces professionnels génèrent des modèles conceptuels selon une logiquede singularité de masse.Ces résultats offrent ainsi la perspective engageante de l'émergence d'unenouvelle génération d'outils numériques de conception. Ces outils inédits serontaptes à intégrer les designers industriels et à proposer de l'innovation à la de / Many studies show that industrial design is key to triggering, fostering andsustaining innovation. However, the unique capacities of creation and innovationof industrial designers make it challenging for them to thrive within industrialenvironments.The challenge for companies is to create the optimal work environment forthose professionals, while ensuring their work can be integrated smoothly intothe existing industrial design processes. We assume this dilemma is partiallystemming from the intensive use of sequential design models in the industry.Design tools were developed on the assumption that creative front end andproduct development should be separated.We introduce here a new model, aiming at depicting accurately the reasoningmodes and the nature of the object being designed with the digital ComputerAided Design (CAD) suites. This model is the result of the joint mobilization offour academic fields : computer, cognitive and management science and designtheories. Dassault Systèmes and their CATIA software have proven to be an excellentresearch environment for such questions. As we have been thinking, thenew model (laminated) makes three new hypothesis. Those unheard assertionshave been suggested and validated with this thesis :1/ Some specific design workshops are able to provide simultaneously robust andgenerative design capacities. We call this characteristic «acquired originality».2/ The object representations within by the software are not the result of successiverefinements but derive directly from a parameterized set of rules.3/ Industrial designers have specific requirements for CAD tools, different fromtheir engineers and artists counterparts because what they design is fundamentallydifferent. IDs generate conceptual models using a mass singularity technique.Those results sketch the emergence of a new generation of CAD tools forindustrial designers and able to foster innovation.

L’objectif de ce travail doctoral est de mieux comprendre la participation des internautes au crowdsourcing d’activités créatives, souvent employé dans le marketing pour générer de nouvelles idées d’innovation et de communication. Après avoir défini et conceptuellement délimité le terme de crowdsourcing, nous proposons une revue de littérature au sujet des participants et de leurs motivations de participation. Nous présentons ensuite les résultats de trois études exploratoires visant à compléter notre compréhension du profil des participants et des facteurs influençant leur participation sur une plateforme de crowdsourcing. La revue de littérature et les résultats de nos études exploratoires nous permettent ensuite de proposer et de tester un modèle théorique, basé sur la Théorie du Comportement Planifié (TCP), grâce à un questionnaire envoyé aux membres de la plateforme eYeka. L’analyse de 1 261 réponses et le croisement avec des données secondaires révèlent que l’intention de participation est prédite par l’attitude envers le brief (qui est elle-même expliquée par l’autonomie perçue) et l’attitude envers la plateforme, mais pas par l’attitude envers la marque initiatrice du concours. La pression des proches est également positivement et significativement liée à l’intention de participation, mais les variables culturelles n’ont pas les effets modérateurs que nous proposons. Finalement, nous trouvons que l’intention de participation prédit positivement la participation effective, et ce lien est modéré par la situation professionnelle de l’internaute. Nous terminons notre travail par une discussion des résultats et des propositions de recherches à envisager dans le futur. / The objective of this thesis is to better understand the participation of internet users in creative crowdsourcing activities, which is often used in marketing to generate new innovation and/or communication ideas. After providing a definition and a conceptual delimitation of the term, we propose a literature review about the participants and their motivations to contribute. We then present the results of three exploratory studies which help us better understanding who these participants are and what influences their participation on a crowdsourcing platform. This literature review and the results of our exploratory studies then allow us to propose a theoretical model based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and to test it with a questionnaire sent to eYeka community members. The analysis of 1,261 responses as well as secondary data reveals that participation intention is predicted by the members’ attitude towards the brief (which is, in turn, best predicted by the task’s perceived autonomy) and the attitude towards the platform, but not by the attitude towards the brand which sponsors of the contest. Peer pressure is another antecedent to be positively and significantly correlated to participation intention, but the hypothesized moderating effect of cultural variables is not verified. Finally, we find that participation intention positively predicts effective participation, and that this relationship is moderated by the professional status of the individual. We end our work with a discussion of our results and by outlining future research proposals for academics to consider.

This research explored the potential influences on team functioning, from the perspective of adult attachment theory. Attachment styles are seen to reflect internal working models of self, others, and relationships, and influence individuals’ motivations, abilities, and perceptions as regards relationships. The research question explored what the role and influence of an individual’s global and team attachment style may have upon an individual’s experience of a work team. It sought to explain engagement with an individual’s work team, what is the subsequent influence of this on performance and how attachment style contributes to this. The key issues of Team Member Exchange and Team Identification were explored as areas of team functioning. These are the variables used to study and understand an individual’s team experiences, their engagement with the team, and the relationship with their performance ratings. The research found that both adult global and team attachment styles were negatively associated with Team Member Exchange (TMX), Team Identification, job satisfaction, performance ratings and Organisational Citizenship Behaviours (OCB). Using mediation analysis, team avoidant attachment was consistently and strongly associated with the study’s dependent variables and emerged as the key explanatory variable in this research. When all the attachment styles were analysed simultaneously to determine the unique effects of each attachment style, team avoidance style was the most useful in understanding both TMX and Team Identification, job satisfaction, OCB and performance measures. Those with avoidant team attachment styles felt that the experience of team was negative with lower TMX and Team Identification reported. The research has added new insights to the team and attachment literature with the important contribution of team avoidance attachment to TMX and Team Identification.