Few can surely doubt that Korean industry and the Korean economy is now competing on the world stage and winning. Whether its Samsung Electronics or Kia automobiles, in terms of technology intensive industries, the Korean rise to the top of the class has been impressive. While the large conglomerates or chaebol have been successful the Korean SME sector has not. The Korean government is aware of this situation and has introduced a range of measures to address this entrepreneurship and small firm weakness. One of these schemes is the Inno-biz certification programme. This paper examines entrepreneurship within the SME sector in South Korea and investigates the strategic orientation of innovative small firms. It presents the findings from a survey of 426 firms in Korea that have been registered with the Inno-biz certification programme. This Ph.D research project investigates the characteristics of Korean technology intensive small companies. In particular it investigates the relationships among technology orientation, market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation and business performance in the South Korean context. The empirical findings of this research suggest that the appropriate interrelationship actively provide an organisation with the ability to achieve and maintain competitive advantage. Market and technology orientations do not directly affect business performances. However, it turns out that market and technology orientations can positively affect business performances but only through entrepreneurial orientation. The implication here is that for Korean technology intensive small firms, market and technology orientations can improve business performance only when it is combined with entrepreneurial orientation. The research contributes to our understanding of how SMEs can improve their business performance (Hakala, 2010). It shows that to achieve and maintain a positive business performance, it is vital that a firm is able to possess an organizational structure that integrates and incorporates all three of these areas into a coordinated framework that allows innovative activities to take advantage of the benefits that all three of these orientations allow. It is hoped that this research and the findings stemming from it can aid future research into the area of improving managerial practices, and to open the door to further research that looks further into these three constructs and the respective interrelationships that exist between them.

Globalisation has significantly added to diversity in the workplace, requiring leaders to acquire new skills to negotiate and operate in international environments; this is especially true in the case of multinational corporations where relationships can be complex and mono-cultural management styles can fuel conflict. The proximity of individuals from different cultures raises consciousness of difference; therefore, leaders must be able to deal with the reactions of those with different backgrounds to themselves. Awareness of cultural diversity informs the way leaders define their roles and responsibilities and requires them to carefully apply themselves to team management. This study proposes a theoretical model to address team-level concerns and examines how social identity strengthens the relationship between leadership behaviour and effective leadership. Accordingly, this study evaluates two styles of leadership: charismatic (Conger and Kanungo, 1998) and ethical leadership (Masuda, 2005); it relates them to two aspects of social identity (team identity and leader prototypicality). Propositions are developed concerning how these styles of leadership would be expected to influence leader effectiveness. It is also hypothesised that team identification and leader prototypicality moderate these relationships. This means that social identity and leadership behaviour can interact to create a more effective leader, which may reduce conflict, increasing group cohesion and affective commitment to the organisation. This research utilises a quantitative approach to achieve its objectives. The research participants were selected purposively from the study population, Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) due to its successful implementation of cultural diversity. Paper questionnaires were distributed to 500 employees and 100 team leaders; 351 employee questionnaires were collected and these employees were taken from different groups covering 90 separate leaders. A multilevel modelling analysis was used to test the study‟s hypotheses regarding the relationships and interactions between specific variables. This study contributes to the existing literature on leadership and social identity by providing empirical data regarding the significance of two leadership styles (charismatic and ethical) for increasing leader effectiveness; this effectiveness is strengthened when team identity and leader prototypicality moderate these relationships in private organisations in a culturally diverse context. The study findings have meaningful implications for leadership training and development.

Theory development in the field of sales is relatively limited compared to other disciplines, particularly since sales managers have lower rates of participation in academic studies than other professions. By exploring in depth the perceptions of sales managers about their resourcing choices, this study brings rich linguistic data to bear on the “make-or-buy” question in sales, which could be further tested by quantitative means. It is the first comprehensive approach to the topic in the sales function, exploring constructs across three theoretical schools – transaction cost economics, the resource-based view and real options theory. This study explores how UK sales managers perceive that they make their sales resourcing decisions, focusing particularly on the resourcing option of using third parties such as “contract sales organisations” rather than recruiting employees. Given the lack of research about the sales function to date, and in particular the lack of research on outsourcing in the sales function, the resulting model of the make or buy decision in the sales function is a significant contribution to an emerging body of literature, discerning antecedents from two levels of moderating factors, and accommodating exceptions as well as probable scenarios. This study posits that, depending on context, cost, access to skills or speed to respond to the market are important antecedents of resource changes and resourcing decisions in the sales function; desire to control on the basis of reputational risk is a primary moderating factor, and ability to manage third parties together with availability of suitable suppliers are secondary moderating factors. The primary research in this study involved in-depth telephone interviews with an under-researched managerial elite - senior sales managers and sales directors. It adds to the recent evidence that telephone interviewing can be successful in gathering large quantities of data from respondents without loss of rapport or emotional emphasis.

Thailand’s automotive industry has grown steadily since the 1960s making Thailand one of the world’s largest vehicle producers. Indeed, when it comes to Pick-up trucks, Thailand is the main manufacturing base for the following firms: Mitsubishi, Ford, Isuzu, Toyota and Nissan. While this may seem impressive, what remains unclear is whether these improvements have been matched with similar levels of technological capability development within Thailand. This study examines the growth of the Thai automotive industry and the influence of government policy from 1960-2009 on this industry. For the past 49 years the Thai government has encouraged and helped to develop an automobile industry within its borders and it has deployed a range of industrial policies to enhance the technological capabilities of local auto part firms. It is against this background that this study examines the level and extent of technological capability development within the Thai automobile industry. To this end, the study initially identifies the key concepts, ‘organisation & organisational learning’, ‘international strategic alliance’, ‘technology transfer’, and ‘innovation strategies’, as well as their related factors, and uses them to create the study’s conceptual framework. The important role of government policies is later added as a key concept in the conceptual framework. Evidence is presented from a survey of over 300 Thai automotive firms and in-depth elite interviews through three phases of research. The key findings of this study are that while the production figures in Thailand’s automotive industry have grown, these improvements have not been equally matched by similar levels of technological capability development. The other key finding is that the ten factors related to the key concepts mentioned above have an effect on the development of technological capability in the Thai automotive industry. The study contributes to the existing literature by developing an innovative conceptual framework called the Model of Technological Capability Development for the Automotive Parts Industry in Thailand. In addition, the research provides suggestions on how the Thai automotive industry can develop a technological capability strategy based on data obtained from the executives of automotive firms. The key findings of this study provide policy implications for the automotive industry and government bodies. It was also found that this study can be generalised to other ASEAN countries.

Successful adaptation to organisational changes may start with individuals’ successful adaptation to change at the task level. This study suggests that the success of employees’ adaptation to task change may depend on the quality of the relationships between them and their managers. Within the broad area of organisational leadership, leader-member exchange (LMX) theory has evolved into one of the more interesting and useful approaches for studying hypothesised linkages between the exchange relationships between employees and their managers, and employee outcomes. The current research adopts an integrative model which is based on a review of the body of literature relevant to LMX, leadership behaviour, and employees’ work-related behaviour and attitudes. The literature review revealed a dearth of rigorous academic research using the leader-member exchange (LMX) approach in the Saudi organisational context, and the need to validate a model of the exchange relationships based on this approach in this context, specifically during times of organisational change. The research contributes to the current body of knowledge by bridging this gap in the previous literature, conducting the research in King Abdul Aziz University (KAU) using the LMX approach. The research design was largely derived from the Methodological Fit Concept for Mature Theory (Edmondson & McManus, 2007). For the purpose of testing the mediation hypotheses, the employees’ data was analysed at descriptive and explanatory levels using the macro introduced by Preacher and Hayes (2008a) for Multiple Mediation Analysis. The most exciting results of the current research are regarding the employees’ evaluation of LMX overall, and that the values for LMX dimensions were high. Interestingly this has been supported by the employees’ views about the significant effect of multidimensional LMX, firstly as mediator and then regarding the independent influence of its dimensions in predicting task change-supportive behaviours and attitudes in the Saudi organisational change context. Based on these results, the research suggests areas and tools for development related to the criteria and mediator variables that need more attention from KAU management.

The thesis examines the enactment of workplace equality through an analysis of HR generalist talk. The primary data is contextualised by a review of the literature on HR, equality and diversity, and the regulatory terrain. The study is based on interviews with HR practitioners from 40 UK organisations of different sizes/sectors in 2014. The methodology underpinning the analysis is informed by a form of critical discourse analysis which considers lived experiences in their broader contexts (Edley, 2001). The findings indicate that operational HR practice in respect of equality and diversity is constituted mainly of compliance to the equality legislation. HR practitioners enact a ‘legal guardian’ (Wright & Snell, 2005) role, seeking first and foremost to protect their organisations from the threat of litigation. Legal guardianship is delegitimised by the dominant discourses of strategic HRM and diversity management. Nonetheless, the legal guardian role is orientated to mainstream HRM expectations of ‘contribution’ whilst also incorporating a more covert employee advocacy role, which is accomplished through various proxies. The level of complexity and breadth of HR practices associated with the achievement of equality compliance challenges perspectives of equality law as providing a low threshold of rights in the employment relationship. The findings and discussion further challenge the neat demarcation of HR from personnel management in the literature, presenting a perspective of HR practice that is both nuanced and relatively consistent across sectors. The thesis considers the means by which a regulatory role for HR is unintentionally ensured by the dominant HRM discourse. Talk of the HR/line manager relationship in the enactment of equality highlights that roles are relatively stable and that the HR function retains considerable control of processes and outcomes whilst demonstrating a commitment in talk to the principle of devolution. The thesis thereby problematizes the ongoing predication of ‘successful’ HRM on the devolution of operational people management to line managers, and the perspective that continuing devolution is the trajectory of practice. HR practitioner talk indicates the processes by which the equality legislation is given meaning and highlights the significance of the (thus far under-acknowledged) employment lawyer/HR practitioner relationship to understandings of HR and the enactment of equality.

This whole research project evolved to ultimately understand how and why human resource practitioners across several industries discover, adopt or implement certain human resource management trends into their industries and organisations. Since the explosion of information technology and the effects of globalisation it was interesting to explore and discover intimate knowledge from various human resource management experts. Through exploratory research, a series of in-depth interviews were set up with several human resource (HR) directors and managers across various global companies and industries in South Africa. This research investigated the views of these human resource experts and how various human resource trends impact and influence the human resource practitioner in this ever evolving global economy. The outcome of this research can facilitate human resource practitioners in enhancing their knowledge and understanding in the human resource field with regards to making them more competitive in attracting, maintaining and retaining talent for their organisations, by certain human resource management trends. Furthermore, the research may provide an insightful understanding of how and why certain human resource management trends become disseminated into various organisations for the human resource manager. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The purpose of this study was to describe and explain working adult undergraduate students' perspectives on persistence in college in order to address the applicability of retention theory to a specific group of college students. Retention of college students is a major concern in higher education where persistence rates have continued to decline for the last 16 years and changing student demographics have influenced enrollment patterns. A qualitative research design was used. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with nine working adult undergraduate students. The participants were selected to include diversity in age, race/ethnicity, family roles, career/work levels, college majors, and educational histories. Triangulation was performed on data from the interviews, participant data forms, and a research journal. Open and axial coding were used to generate emerging themes. Member checking was used to verify the interpretation of the participants' perspectives. A peer reviewer corroborated the data analysis. Three major themes emerged from the data which explained how the students stayed motivated, engaged in learning, and managed the institutional aspects of college. Five conclusions were drawn from the findings of this study. First, working adult students described their core experience of college as both positive and negative, creating tensions and often conflicts that influenced their persistence. Second, persistence factors associated with working adult students included personal aspects, such as having clear career/life goals, self management skills, and supportive relationships; learning aspects, such as interactive teaching methods, connections to prior learning, and relevance to career/life goals; and institutional aspects, such as customer service orientation of staff, flexibility of policies and procedures, and convenient access to information. Third, current retention theory was applicable to working adult students. However, working adult students described their experience of academic and social integration differently from that of traditional college students found in the literature. Fourth, findings from this study supported the developmental components of the Adult Persistence in Learning model (MacKinnon- Slaney, 1994). Finally, the study findings indicated a clearly active role required of the institution in the persistence of working adult students by providing flexibility and accessibility in procedures and services.

There is a pharmacist shortage in British Columbia that is considered particularly acute in rural and remote locations. As a result, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia has increased enrolment from certain geographic areas, assuming that students will return to these areas on graduation. The main objectives of this study are to determine where pharmacy graduates take their first jobs and the factors that influence their selection of job location. Survey methodology was used, with a written questionnaire being administered to the Class of 2007 after a validation process involving volunteers from the Class of 2006. Mean values of responses on rating scales were compared to assess for statistically significant (p≤O.O5) effects of location size and the demographic variables of age, sex, marital status, and ethnicity. Of 93 respondents who reported both a primary home town and ajob location, only 33(35%) planned to take jobs where they grew up and only 42 (45%) were taking jobs in the same area of the province. The most common migration patterns were from smaller to larger communities and from all over the province into Metro Vancouver. Those who grew up in Metro Vancouver did not leave. However, the majority of those who did take jobs in other areas of the province had lived there previously. The strongest influences on job location were familiarity with the location, ability to get an enjoyable job, pace of life, proximity to significant others, and career and relationship plans. Smaller community size, ability to practice in the manner desired, and pace of work were more important, and access to cultural, entertainment, and/or social activities were less important to those taking jobs in rural rather than urban areas. There were no findings of practical significance associated with the demographic variables examined. The selective admission into 12 specially funded seats in the program of students from geographic areas other than the province’s one large urban centre is modestly effective in ensuring a supply of pharmacists for these areas. However, the use of geography as a criterion for all seats and an increase in the total number of seats would ensure that the student body is more representative of the provincial population and would address both supply and demand aspects of the pharmacist shortage. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

Thesis (Ed.D>)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The purpose of this study was to develop a model for the evaluation of training programs offered within corporate settings most often focused on the management staff. The study is based on the notion that in order to claim success, a training program first must meet a set of criteria that allows it to be called a "program". This means that a "training program" must be able to establish that the claims it makes about its outcomes (rules of success) are in fact achieved through some specified activity in the classroom (rules of action). The study attempts to answer the question; Can an evaluation process be developed and implemented that will allow training managers to make informed policy decisions without depending solely upon on participant reactions? Further it sought to shift the methodology to process of evaluation from an inductive one to a deductive one. That is, rather than drawing generalizations about program success from specific reports of outcomes alone it sought to arrive at specific conclusions by viewing a program as a total mechanism, with both inputs and outputs clearly delineated. Finally, the study attempted to provide a number of working tools to practitioners who might be engaged in the evaluative process employing this methodology. Procedure: This study was conducted over. a period of two years in a working corporate training environment. During the first six months the model presented in this study was developed and tested and over the subsequent eighteen months it was implemented in actual corporate training sessions. Four tasks were accomplished. First, a logical matrix was created intended to be used by evaluators to link each stated program objectives to the specific classroom activities designed to achieve them. Second, a series of activity focused worksheets were developed whose purpose was to assist the evaluator in that phase of the data collection effort. Third, a participant reaction questionnaire was developed that would be completed at the end of the program. And fourth, a follow-up instrument was developed to be administered in the working environment at intervals of 30, 90 and 120 days after the finish of the course. CONCLUSIONS: From the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn. 1. It is possible to construct a deductive model for program evaluation that allows trainers/policy makers to reveal how the structure of a program to determine its effects. 2. The deductive model provides a level of infrastructural detail required but often unable to achieve through traditional methods of training program evaluation. 3. Coupling a detailed structural model with superordinate feedback permits the long term "take and "use" of a training program to be more precisely measured. 4. The methodology of this evaluation model is cost competitive with other procedures. 5. The findings indicate that the rational of this deductive model is more acceptable to corporate trainers/policy makers. / 2031-01-01