The concept of ignorance has been unfairly stigmatised in research and practice, and consequently has not received the attention it deserves as a powerful motivator of behaviour in organisations. To understand the role of ignorance, it must be examined as a productive force rather than a shameful weakness, an achievement instead of a failure. This thesis develops an understanding of how ignorance is achieved and why it is perpetuated in the context of managing the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, a series of worldwide mega-events that are popular with proponents of urban development, but which have experienced persistent organisational problems in the form of cost overruns, schedule delays, and scope creep. To do so, this research draws on literature about ignorance from the disciplines of philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and organisational theory, to motivate an embedded case study of Games Organising Committees (OCs) in six host cities around the world. These OCs, which were actively planning the Games during the research, are studied through qualitative research, to develop a dynamic understanding of the role of ignorance in planning the Games. The findings and analysis are presented from two perspectives: the structure of the ‘Games system’ and of the OC; and, the substance of Games planning in the areas of cost, time and scope. While other studies have focused on ignorance as necessary, strategic, and inadvertent, the original contribution to knowledge of this thesis is the proposal of a theoretical framework that focuses on the functional and detrimental outcomes of ignorance. This framework is also shown to be useful in understanding why ignorance persists between organisations, and suggests three basic principles for further research: ignorance as a productive force in management; structure as a scaffold for ignorance; and budget, time and scope as catalysts for ignorance.

This thesis investigates the factors influencing the internationalization of firms through a multi-layered analysis grounded in international business. It addresses the following questions. First, in what ways does the institutional environment facilitate or hinder the growth of start-ups? And in what ways does institutional diversity across countries affect internationalizing firms? Second, in light of the variety of internationalization patterns, what modifications are necessary to the theories of internationalization? Third, how do rapidly internationalizing firms explore and exploit capabilities? And in what ways does capability development differ between firms that realize early, rapid internationalization and those firms that do not? Answering the first set of questions involves recasting the comparative institutional analysis of national political economies. This thesis demonstrates that: 1) when national institutions are in transition, business entrepreneurs can bring about institutional change, or else act to avoid or adapt specific institutions for their own use; and 2) international institutional diversity seems to be less influential in determining the expansion pattern of rapidly internationalizing firms. Next, to address the second question, this thesis examines the factors influencing the speed of internationalization. The proposed models point to a larger role of entrepreneurs’ perception and the relevance of the resources factor, and better accommodate a wider variety of internationalization paths. In order to answer the third set of questions, this thesis investigates the early stage development of firm-level capabilities among internationalizing firms. The result points to: 1) the faster transformation of individual capabilities to firm-level routines; 2) a wider variety of routines for exploring external capabilities; and 3) a higher ability to exploit ordinary routines, among more rapidly internationalizing firms. Finally, this thesis discusses how each of the three levels of analysis relates to the other levels. The overall analysis demonstrates the value of multi-layered approach in investigating the firm’s internationalization.

The objective of this thesis is to design the appropriate parking management for downtown of Jindrichuv Hradec. The theoretical part is focused on the traffic problem and its negative effects on environment of cities in relation to increase in private car transport in recent years. In the next chapter, parking management and its specific strategies are described as instruments solving problems with urban transport including its static and dynamic part. Practical part includes description of current traffic conditions and accessibility of the town centre of Jindrichuv Hradec. The description results from information obtained by personal mapping of location and measuring of parking occupancy. The proposed solution of certain parking policies that result in more efficient use of parking resources with minimized traffic impacts on historical centre of town follows.

The thesis is dealing with the methods of management of an enterprise and its information system. The main goal of this thesis is to depict the ties of those methods. The other goals are derived from the main one. They are structuring management methods and evaluating the appropriateness for managing IT in the small and medium enterprise. The first step for thorough mapping of the ties is structuring the methods into clearly defined approaches. The criteria gained from the systematic approach to enterprise are used for the analysis of the management methods. The mainly used management methods which have the impact on operational activity and distinct innovative character enter the analysis. In the next chapter, the basic ties of the approaches to the department of business informatics, information system and to the methods of business informatics are set. Subsequently the outputs relevant to business informatics management are extracted. The main contribution of the thesis lies in the systematic approach to methods of management which enables further research of ties to information system and its management. The second more concrete contribution lies in basic definition of the conclusions for the needs of business informatics.

This thesis is concerned with accounting for the brand management function. Two distinct perspectives are taken: the first derives from aspects of organisational and behavioural accounting research, and the second concerns organisational implications of brand valuation. Both perspectives were initially approached by means of exploratory interviews and a literature review. Hypotheses pertaining to the first perspective were analysed via survey data collected in nine strongly-branded, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. Propositions concerned with the implications of brand valuation were developed and used as the basis for measuring attitudes to brand valuation. A questionnaire concerned with brand valuation attitudes was administered to senior-ranking officials in strongly-branded, FMCG companies. The final methodological phase, for both perspectives, involved a case study conducted in a strongly-branded, FMCG company. Significant findings arising from this study include: 1) Managers who see their company as being short-termist, hold more positive attitudes to brand valuation. 2) Marketing-orientated managers are more favourably disposed to brand valuation than accounting-orientated managers. 3) Organisational benefits arising from brand valuation are more strategically, than operationally, orientated. 4) Brand manager budget participation is significantly negatively-related to job-related tension, and positivelyrelated to trust in superior and attitude to reliance on accounting performance measures. 5) Budget participation is more effective in reducing jobrelated tension in situations of high, compared to low, task uncertainty situations. 6) Reliance on a brand manager's accounting performance is positively related to brand manager performance and motivation, and negatively associated with job-related tension.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-148).

Zugl.: Konstanz, Univ., Diss., 2004

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1993. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-148).

The aim of this task is to find out the present role of the middle nursing management in the human resource management and also to suggest a new plan of graduate training in the terms of adaptation process. In the end it is necessary to analyse its asset from the nurse managers{\crq} point of view. Questionnaire technique of information gleaning was used for the survey. First survey body was formed by nurse managers. There were 25 questions in the questionnaire. A part of the questionnaire was a plan of graduate training. These graduates had to be educated as state registered nurses or with university degree, either Bachelor or Master. There were 18 closed questions and 7 half-open ones. Second survey body was formed by graduates of nursing colleges and universities. There were 8 questions in the questionnaire and there were 8 answers in each question. All the answers were used for assessment of level education dependence on motivational needs. There were four hypothesis in the survey which should confirm or disconfirm the interest of nurse managers in further education, its providing by hospital managements, the dependence of motivation needs on education level (only graduates) and evaluation of adaptation process provided by nurse managers. The first hypothesis confirmed that the nurse managers are interested in further education connected with human resource management. The second hypothesis confirmed that hospital management offers the possibility of human resource education to nurse managers. The third hypothesis confirmed that motivational needs, which influence graduates´ job choice, change with the level of education. The fourth hypothesis confirmed that setting up ``The Adaptation Process for Graduate Training{\crqq} positively evaluates nurse managers. Considering positive survey results it would be suitable not only to set up the adaptation process with graduates but also to use the questionnaire of testing needs which can help the middle management to nominate graduates with certain posts. There is a great significance in it and it is very important for career and integrating in work teams. The results of the survey could be lent to hospital management as an instrument of human resource optimization.

Knowledge management consists an emerging subject, relevant to the organizational context, especially those organizations that envision maintenance, growth, competitiveness and innovation in the market. Nowadays, it is unnecessary talk or put in question the importance of knowledge management for organizations. Studies about how to become more tangible and, in some way, facilitate and leverage the use of this relevant resource are still been sougth. The objective of this study was to determine which tools are used to support each step of the process of knowledge management in organizations: identify, obtain, distribute, use, create, share, sustain and dispose, relating management style: dynamic, passive, people-oriented and systems oriented. To support the research model studies were considered De Sordi (2008) that presents a model of knowledge management containing defined stages, and studies of Choi and Lee (2003) related style of knowledge management. The method of research used a multicase study, a qualitative approach, where the data was collected through direct observation, document analysis and semi-structured interviews with eight respondents in four organizations working in software development. As a result the study finds that innovative tools to bring to light practices used by organizations in each stage of knowledge management, other words, routine actions that allow the maximum possible utilization of knowledge relevant to the internal context of the organization. Thus, the study points to the contributions from both academia as details some intrinsic aspects addressed by theorists who describe steps to the process of knowledge management, and for the professional context serve as a parameter to organizations who feel the need to better manage knowledge in their surrounding environment and have no examples for this effective management. Also concluded that knowledge management can be effective regardless of the direction the company has about the management style, but style needs to be noted at the time of creating tools or means to manage knowledge. / A gestão do conhecimento constitui-se num tema emergente e relevante ao contexto organizacional, principalmente àquelas organizações que vislumbram manutenção, crescimento, competitividade e inovação no mercado. Nos dias de hoje, é dispensável discorrer ou colocar em questão a importância da gestão do conhecimento para as organizações. O que ainda se busca são estudos que tornem mais palpáveis e, de algum modo, facilitem e potencializem a utilização deste recurso tão pertinente na atualidade. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi verificar quais ferramentas são utilizadas para sustentar cada etapa do processo de gestão do conhecimento nas organizações: identificar, obter, distribuir, utilizar, criar, compartilhar, sustentar e descartar, relacionando-as ao estilo de gestão: dinâmico, passivo, orientado para pessoas e orientado para sistemas. Para dar suporte ao modelo da pesquisa foram considerados os estudos de De Sordi (2008) que apresenta um modelo de gestão do conhecimento contendo etapas definidas e, os estudos de Choi e Lee (2003) relacionados ao estilo de gestão do conhecimento. Quanto ao método da pesquisa utilizou-se um estudo multi-caso, de abordagem qualitativa, onde a coleta de dados ocorreu através de observações diretas, análise de documentos e entrevistas individuais semiestruturadas com oito respondentes em quatro organizações que atuam no desenvolvimento de softwares. Como resultado constata-se que o estudo inova ao trazer à luz ferramentas práticas utilizadas pelas organizações em cada etapa do processo de gestão do conhecimento, ou seja, ações rotineiras que permitem o máximo possível de aproveitamento do conhecimento pertinente ao contexto interno da organização. Assim, o estudo aponta contribuições tanto ao meio acadêmico uma vez que, minudencia aspectos intrínsecos pouco abordados por teóricos que descrevem etapas para o processo de gestão do conhecimento, quanto para o meio profissional podendo servir de parâmetro para organizações que sentem necessidade de gerir melhor o conhecimento que circunda em seu meio e não dispõem de exemplos para esta efetiva gestão. Do mesmo modo concluiu-se que a gestão do conhecimento pode ser eficiente independentemente da orientação que a empresa possui quanto ao estilo de gestão, porém o estilo precisa ser observado no momento de se criar ferramentas ou meios para gerir o conhecimento.