In collaboration with the University of Ottawa, a toot has been produced to evaluate the Competitive Intelligence Process exercised by a practitioner/team/corporation. Accepted principles of CI (as determined by extensive literature review and consultation with CI experts) have been incorporated into a survey and used to quantify the process as a whole, as well as break down the process into manageable parts and identify specific areas of strength and/or weakness. Face validation of the tool has been demonstrated through its application on four large firms (a sample of convenience) operating in the telecommunications industry. Analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the firm's CI process were highlighted and summarized in a concise report. The capability of the tool for industry characterization was demonstrated, as well as the potential for effective benchmarking against best CI practices. Finally, areas of future focus and development have been highlighted.

Abstract Not Available.

Cette these a comme objectif de demontrer les consequences du passage a la production post-fordiste sur les possibilites d'integration des PMA a l'economie mondiale. L'argument defendu affirme qu'en reaction a la crise du fordisme, les FTN et les acteurs politiques dominants du systeme mondial entreprennent des actions conjointes et coordonnees ayant pour objectif une restructuration de l'economie mondiale. Il en decoule une liberalisation repondant aux interets des FTN. Nous croyons que cette dynamique perpetue la marginalisation des PMA de l'economie mondiale. En vu d'effectuer cette demonstration, la crise de la production de masse et le passage subsequent a la production flexible sont tout d'abord etudies. Par la suite, une ideologie dominante qualifiee de liberalisme transnational est definie, est il est demontre comment une liberalisation repondant aux interets des acteurs economiques prives est mise en place a travers le monde. L'insertion des FTN--en tant qu'acteurs economiques principaux de l'economie mondiale--a cette dynamique est alors etudiee. Il est vu que les celles-ci ne s'aventurent pas tellement au-dela des frontieres de la Triade dans leurs activites de production, de vente et d'investissement. Ce fait mine fortement les possibilites de developpement des PMA, qui dans un contexte de liberalisation en viennent a deprendre des FTN pour tenter de s'inserer au sein de l'economie mondiale. Il est finalement vu que le post-fordisme erige en trop grand nombre de barrieres a la participation des PMA a sa dynamique pour que nous puissions envisager, a court ou a moyen terme, une integration des PMA a l'economie mondiale. A ce niveau, le post-fordisme ne se distingue pas tellement du fordisme.

The objective of this research was to broadly study the topic of non-equity strategic alliances in the high technology sector. The a priori assumptions were that non-equity alliances were different, and that treatment of non-equity alliances in high technology firms was different from other industries. The objectives of the study were to understand: (a) why are non-equity alliances chosen in the high technology sector; (b) what roles do strategy and core competencies play in the choice of non-equity alliances; and (c) what role do technology and market factors play in high technology alliances? This study investigated twelve alliance formation decisions among three firms in the Ottawa-Carleton Region, in Ontario, Canada. The firms in the sample ranged in size from $150 million in annual revenues, to more than \$10 billion. The partner organizations reflected an international scope with headquarters in Japan, Europe and North America. The sample covered non-equity strategic alliances formed from 1990 to 1996. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Leadership is a critical component of organizational effectiveness (Smith, Carson & Alexander, 1984), and often has the potential to impact on the success or failure of an enterprise. This study was designed to examine managerial leadership perceptions and values using an integrated theoretical approach in the context of Canadian National Sport Organizations (NSOs). The framework used, Yukl (1989), encompasses five primary components: leader traits, leader skills, leader behaviours, power bases for leadership, and transformational/charismatic leadership characteristics. Results indicated that there appeared to be a relatively high degree of agreement or harmony between senior staff leaders and staff members as to what "ideal" leadership ought to be in effective sport organizations. Some organizations showed a high degree of congruence between the leader "ideal" and the staff "actual" values, whereas others showed disagreement in responses. The same pattern of results was obtained when comparing "actual" and "ideal" leadership perceptions by staff members. Results also showed that congruence or incongruence in "actual" and "ideal" leadership values was generally consistent among staff members within each organization. This led the researcher to conclude that managerial leadership in these organizations appears to be contextual and organizationally specific. Additional findings were revealed from an analysis of ranking the data. Leader self-confidence, honesty, and willingness to assume responsibility appeared to be important for leader effectiveness. Conceptual and human skills were also ranked highly. The importance of a people-oriented style of leadership was emphasized. Knowledge appeared to be an important source of leader power, and the development and use of a vision appeared to be fundamental for managerial leadership effectiveness in sport organizations. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

La globalisation des marches et l'intensification croissante de la concurrence a tous les niveaux, exigent de la part des entreprises, qui veulent garder une position sur le marche, la recherche d'un avantage comparatif en ce domaine par rapport a la concurrence. Cet avantage pourrait etre un avantage relie a la qualite, au cout, a la flexibilite et a variete de leurs produits et services ... Cette realite incite les entreprises a ameliorer et a remettre en cause de facon dynamique leurs methodes de travail. Chaque composante du cycle de production devrait etre soumise periodiquement a une analyse afin de detecter la possibilite d'ameliorer la qualite de son execution ou d'en reduire le gaspillage, que ce soit en temps ou en materiel. Cette conception evolutive et dynamique constitue la base des nouvelles approches de production et de gestion comme le Juste-a-Temps et la Gestion Integrale de la Qualite. D'autre, part, la reussite de ces nouvelles approches suppose le changement du systeme comptable et du systeme de mesure de performance. En effet, les informations rapportees par la methode traditionnelle de la comptabilite du prix de revient ne sont plus adaptees aux exigences des systemes de remuneration dans un milieu de Juste-a-Temps et de Gestion Integrale de la Qualite. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

The purpose of this study was to examine the governmental organizations in charge of sport in Belarus (Goskomsport Belarus) and Canada (Sport Canada) from a comparative perspective. Data were collected in both Russian and English. Results of the study suggested that the sport organizations have a number of common elements, notably their complexity and formalization. Granted their instable, complex and heterogeneous environments, both Sport Canada and Goskomsport Belarus are heavily influenced by political and economic factors and are confronted with budget reductions and re-structuring. It was found that Sport Canada had a more flexible structure, less centralized decision making, and more advanced technology than Goskomsport Belarus. Results also suggest that Goskomsport Belarus operates in a more instable and complex environment, with a proportionally smaller budget, but that it is more aggressive in terms of its quest for a political power that would allow it to maintain its operations, and for corporate partners that would bring revenues from sources other than the traditional state contributions. The environment's high degree of instability and complexity in Canada and in Belarus was perhaps the main factor affecting the two focal organizations. Environmental turbulence demands a lot of flexibility and adaptiveness on the part of organizational structures for the latter to allow an organization to be effective. In the case of Sport Canada, better structural flexibility (because of the matrix system), lesser structural complexity, lesser formalization and more decentralized decision making processes made the organization apparently better equipped to adapt to the changing political and economic situation. In brief, Sport Canada had a structural arrangement that was more suited to the contextual situation than was the case for Goskomsport Belarus. This may explain why Sport Canada seemed to be more effective than Goskomsport Belarus in an unstable and dynamic environment. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Although the organizational size literature has doubled in each five year period for the last twenty years, evidence on the effect and relationship of organizational size and organizational structure has been inconsistent and inconclusive. Do differences exist in organizational structure that reflect the differences in the size of the organization? The purpose of this study was to investigate the above question through examination of a set of homogeneous organizations. The organizational units investigated are the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology. The general theoretical framework for the study was derived from Weber's bureaucratic theory (1947), the Aston group's contextual and structural variables (1968), and Reimann's framework of structural dimensions (1973). Based on this general framework, the study examined the relationship between organizational size and dimensions of organizational structure. In particular, the research investigated (a) the measures of size, (b) the size-structural relationship, (c) organizational size as determinant of organizational structure, and (d) the dimensionality of structure. As was predicted, a significant relationship existed between size and certain structural dimensions. Size was found to be positively related to specialization, delegation, vertical span, supervisory span (subordinate ratio), and was negatively related to centralization. A marked exception to the predicted relationship was the small negative correlation between size and formalization. A secondary question answered in this study has to do with the dimensionality of the structural variables. Principal component analysis indicated that the structural variables were reduceable to four independent structural dimensions. The multidimensional concept of structure was supported. Suggestions for further research included: (1) analysing the effect of structural adaptation to size on the overall effectiveness of the organization; (2) isolation of other of the contextual variables and studying their effect on structure; (3) relating organizational size, organizational complexity, and organizational structure; (4) relating organizational size, organizational differentiation and organizational structure; (5) a longitudinal study of organizational size and organizational structure in the Ontario colleges.

Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.