It has been assumed that there are disagreements as to the role of the office manager in different types and sizes of organizations in the U.S.A. and Bangladesh. It has also been assumed that there are deficiencies in the techniques of office management in the Bangladesh Sugar mills corporation. This thesis has been undertaken to determine those deficiencies in the techniques of office management used in Bangladesh sugar mills as compared to those used in the U.S.A.In addition, the thesis discussed the extent of variation in the use of organization charts, the extent of central lines of promotion, and the extent of unionization of the clerical force between these two countries. Explanation of the variations have also been given.

Many companies are confronted with the problem of creating xed master routes for a period of more than a day either for geographically dispersed sales representatives or for eets of delivery vehicles which operate from a single depot. This involves the assignment of the company's customers to the sales reps/vehicles as well as visit pro les. For the problems de ned herein, these allocations of customers to a service group must remain xed for the duration of the planning period. A pro le represents a valid combination of visit days for a customer as well as a proportion of distributable workload (time for sales reps or mass for delivery vehicles) for each visit. For the sales rep problem, there is the option to solve for the optimal number of salesmen and their home locations if they are not known. Also, routes for the salesmen may include a new feature, sleep-outs, which are governed by rules indicating possible combinations of nights spent away from home as well as sleep-out locations. These combinatorial optimization problems are solved using exact and heuristic branch-and-bound algorithms which also assists in de ning the problem complexity. A genetic algorithm hybridised with problem speci c heuristics (i.e. a memetic algorithm) is also applied to problems which cannot be solved exactly in a reasonable amount of time. This evolutionary programming metaheuristic technique uses natural multi- level data structures and problem-sensitive genetic operators.

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Does an organization's competitive strategy influence the design and use of its management control system? Research methods based on selective interviewing, questionnaire data from 91 Canadian manufacturing firms, and multivariate statistical procedures are used to test hypotheses related to this question. / Major findings are discussed by considering individual design attributes of both operational and management control systems. The major conclusion of the study is that organizational strategies and controls are linked in systematic ways. The effects of two complex sets of competitive strategies on management accounting and control systems are discussed. Additional findings related to the effects on control systems of technology, external control, and firm size are also reported. / Based on the findings of the study and a detailed literature review, implications for managers and researchers are discussed.

Previous research has concluded that individuals develop relatively invariant problem solving 'styles' which cause them to be more comfortable and effective in certain task environments. / This study of management consultants, employing a self descriptive questionnaire, found that fifteen measured attributes clustered onto three factors: a line/staff orientation, a grounded/ungrounded approach to problem conceptualization, and a rational/instinctive approach to conclusion drawing. Attributes were analyzed by functional area, consulting firm, task effectiveness, potential to become a partner, etc. Task performance ratings and personality assessments were provided by supervisors. / It was found that many of the attributes studied did not correlate with task effectiveness ratings, but did with other assessments made by the supervisors. Many predicted behavioural characteristics were confirmed. Certain attributes were found to cluster by function and firm. Some claims made for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Kolb Learning Style Inventory were confirmed.

Global environmental deterioration demands the involvement of the academic community. Ecosystem management is a discipline within ecology that is especially concerned about doing interdisciplinary research in order to solve environmental problems. However, it is not clear what interdisciplinary work means, what its purpose is, and how it is practiced among ecosystem management researchers. The research presented in this dissertation has the goal of understanding ecosystem management researchers perspectives and practices concerning interdisciplinarity. It uses a pragmatic framework and a sequential mixed-methods research design to accomplish three particular objectives. First, it investigates the use of the term interdisciplinarity in the ecosystem management literature by evaluating citations and abstracts of 129 peer-reviewed, English language, journal articles via bibliometric analysis. Second, it explores the definition of interdisciplinarity among ecosystem management researchers by surveying 119 individuals using on-line questionnaires. Finally, it examines interdisciplinary perspectives among ecosystem management researchers by interviewing 15 key informants using semi-structured telephone interviews. Results show that ecosystem management researchers share a common understanding of what interdisciplinarity is. However, they are not especially concerned about discussing theoretical considerations of the concept of interdisciplinarity and its practice. In the context of the opportunities and challenges interdisciplinary work presents for the ecosystem management field, the research discusses the role of a deeper engagement with theories of interdisciplinarity. It encourages theoretical discussions of interdisciplinary work among ecosystem management researchers in order to enhance effective interdisciplinary research efforts and promote further contributions of ecosystem management to solving environmental problems.

The primary objective of this thesis is to examine the relationship between job control — that is, the amount of discretion a worker exercises at his job — and bargaining strategies. The relationship between income and bargaining strategies is also examined, and the joint effects of income and job control are analysed. In addition, attention is given to the association between social interaction rates among workers with job control levels held constant, and bargaining strategies. The main argument associates job control with replaceability and with marketability of skills; these with bargaining strategies; and, consequently, job control with bargaining strategies. Hypotheses are stated which link low job control to the low incidence of individual bargaining, low income, willingness to join unions, and union membership. An argument then links low job control to passive behavior, and consequently to low individual bargaining, and low rates of participation in union activities. Survey research, involving interviews with white-collar workers in 43 commercial firms in British Columbia, was undertaken to test the arguments. Tests consisted of percentage comparisons between workers with differing levels of job control, with respect to specific questions and responses. Data was examined separately for men and women. Support was found for the predicted associations between job control and individual bargaining, and job control and Income. For women, but not for men, support was found for the predicted associations between job control and willingness to join unions, and job control and union membership. For men, but not for women, limited support was found for the predicted relationship between job control and participation rates in union activities. An analysis of the relationship between income and strategies revealed that low incomes are associated with willingness to join unions. When job control levels are held constant, income continues to be inversely associated with pro-union responses. Similarly, when income levels are held constant, an inverse relationship is maintained between job control and pro-union responses. High income tends to decrease the effects of low control, and high control tends to decrease the effects of low income. The two variables also interact, such that a combination of low control and low income is strongly associated with pro-union responses. It is suggested that the evidence justifies further examination of relationships between job control and bargaining strategies, but that this examination should take into consideration more detailed information regarding specific populations engaged in given skill areas, and the employment opportunities available to them. An additional argument associates low interaction rates of workers and management personnel with pro-union responses and union membership, and high interaction rates of workers and co-workers with pro-union responses and membership. The argument is stated with respect to the opportunity workers have for engaging in discussion of bargaining positions, defining the employer as an opponent, and organizing collective energies. This section of the theory was generally unsubstantiated. It is suggested that white-collar workers have higher interaction rates than manual workers, and differences in rates do not have a substantial influence on organization potential. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate

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