The purpose of the present study is to analyze the upper-middle management perceptions of leadership style and organizational climate among American corporations in the U. S., American subsidiaries in India, and local corporations in India in like industries. The selected industries in the sample were pharmaceutical, consumer goods, and heavy engineering.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / Organisations of every industry are changing continuously. A pervasive response to this experience is some form of downsizing. Chew and Horwitz (2002) state due to globalisation, organisations have increasingly adopted cost/ competitive measures to increase performance. Organisations inevitably seek to survive these pressures by downsizing. According to Tzafrir, Mona- Negrin, Havel and Rom Nagy (2006), downsizing is known to be defined as a company trying to increase its competitiveness, efficiency and productivity by decreasing the number of workers in the organisation. Drummond (2000) states that there is extra pressure put onto the remaining workers for productivity after the layoff process. It must be acknowledged that managers should be seen as both an employee and a supervisor. Managers therefore have to implement the change when the process occurs and deals with the reactions of him/herself and that of the subordinates (Wiesenfeld, Brockner, Petzall, Wolf & Bailey, 2001). To gain a competitive advantage, organisations must pay attention to their managers who are responsible for driving organisation’s processes and outcomes. Rana, Garg and Rastogi (2011) state that organisations need to attend to factors that influence managers’ performance and job satisfaction, such as perception of organisational justice. Managers’ perception of organisational justice is imperative, as subordinates mimic the behaviours and attitude of their managers (Wiesenfeld et al., 2001). The aim of this study is to investigate what impact the downsizing process had on the perception of organizational justice of survivor middle managers. The differences between middle managers’ age, gender, year of service or tenure, marital status and education level were taken into account. The study was conducted in different departments of a large Automotive Retail organisation where downsizing has taken place. A biographical questionnaire and a questionnaire designed to measure perceptions of organisational justice after downsizing (Niehoff and Moorman Organisational Justice Questionnaire), was administered to gather the data. The sample of one hundred and forty-four respondents consisted of male and female middle managers. Convenience sampling was utilised to select the sample. Statistical analyses involved both descriptive and inferential statistics. ANOVA and T-Test were the tools that were used to analyse the data. Findings indicates that there was a statistical significant difference in middle managers’ perception of organisational justice based on gender, age, tenure, marital status and education level in the Automotive Industry.

Organisations need to foster continuous innovation in order to effectively compete in today’s global marketplace. Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) can be seen as an effective strategy in ensuring organisation performance and sustained competitiveness. It is common understanding that top management guide and shape strategy however very little understanding exists on the role that middle managers play in its execution. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences/similarities in middle management perceptions of the internal CE environment within four South African industry sectors. A further aim was to identify the effect of biographical variables within the middle management level on the perception of CE. The eight-factor 34-item solution for the Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (van Wyk & Adonisi, 2011) was used to collect data from 172 respondents. This study identified significant differences and similarities in middle manager perceptions on CE within the four industries. It becomes evident that understanding the economic sector constraints on organisational culture plays a crucial role in determining organisational CE environment. It was also discovered that biographic variables such as age, tenure and gender play no signifficant role in determining middle manager perceptions of CE. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

Magister Commercii - MCom / Middle managers play an important role in contemporary organisations, particularly in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Research on middle managers in a HEI environment suggests that their roles, work practice and identities are under-researched. Middle managers occupy a central position in organisational hierarchies where they are responsible for implementing senior management plans. In HEIs in SA academic middle managers/heads of departments (HODs) face many challenges that are not commonly found in conventional organisations. In this qualitative study the contribution is based on the participants’ experiences in relation to an increasingly diverse workload and responsibilities. Using a fluid conceptualisation of identity and subjectivity, the researcher argues that academic middle managers are engaged in ethical and political practices through demands in the workplace. Drawing on theories on ethics put forward by Foucault, Levinas & Critchley, various aspects of ethics of ‘the self’ and ethics of ‘the other’ in relation to academic middle managers’ identities and practices are discussed. A case study was used with a cross-sectional research design to gather the data on academic middle managers in a single faculty in a South African HEI. Information gathered particularly focussed on the implementation of ethical practices. The findings show that middle managers’ work practices were dependent on their ethical goals and aspirations.

The purpose of this exploratory study of adult learning was to investigate the lived experience of 15 employees who encountered a significant job loss event (an unplanned loss of employment with no immediate replacement of employment—coupled with an unintentional and tangibly significant reduction in income), and how the resultant fear(s) from that event affected their navigation through unemployment in order to become successfully reemployed. This study used two theories in the field of adult learning—Transformative Learning (TL) and Learning From Experience (LFE)—with an aim of uncovering how the principles and methods of TL and LFE were relevant to the participants’ job loss episode and self-assessed, perceived workplace performance. TL offers adults a path for reframing a job loss episode. LFE can help advance an understanding of how the cumulative set of life events develops and shapes coping capacities (ways of learning) and skills relative to job loss episodes. This study was conducted using qualitative research methods, predominately exploratory participant interviews. The participants were 15 U.S.-based employees: five Black males, nine White males, and one White female. The participants were largely but not exclusively middle management staff. Through a series of one-on-one interviews, the research process captured the participants’ perceptions and learnings with respect to how they experienced their job-dismissed event, navigated unemployment, and applied learnings from their job loss episode. In addition, given the availability of five Black participants, discussions related to how race permeated the study were pursued when surfaced. Findings from the study indicated that participants experienced manifestations of fear from losing their job; used their intervening period of unemployment in a constructive, action-based manner; and saw themselves differently as a result of their job loss event. Several conclusions were derived from the study: (a) the job dismissal event is unlike onboarding—employees generally feel kicked out without care or warning; (b) navigation through unemployment requires self-awareness, self-determination, and both social and financial support; and (c) the richness of experience from a job loss episode can offer improvements to perceived workplace performance.

Face à la dynamique et la complexité de l’environnement, les middle managers des filiales sont souvent soumis à une double pression, d’une part de leur filiale et d’autre part de la maison mère. Ainsi, ils n’arrivent pas à gérer les différents objectifs imposés qui sont souvent contradictoires surtout quand ils s’inscrivent dans un processus de changement continu. En effet les middle managers acteurs et destinataires du changement, n’arrivent pas à donner du sens à leurs actions quand ils sont face à des évènements ambiguës, nouveaux et critiques.Ainsi, l’étude qualitative et longitudinale menée dans une filiale française appartenant à un groupe Allemand analyse et décrit le rôle des middle managers dans l’interaction et la création du sens « sensemaking » consistant à faire partager ce sens (« sensegiving ») en vue de son appropriation et de son déploiement sur le terrain. En proposant une analyse multi-niveaux,l'étude de cas permet de comprendre les évènements qui impactent l’interprétation et la création du sens dans le cadre d’un changement imposé par la société mère. / Faced with the dynamics and complexity of the environment, the middle managers of the subsidiaries are often subject to a double pressure, on one hand of their subsidiary and on the other hand of the parent company. Thus, they cannot manage the different objectives imposed that are often contradictory especially when they are part of a process of continuous change. Indeed, middle managers, actors and recipients of change, cannot make sense of their actions when faced with ambiguous, new and critical events.The qualitative and longitudinal study carried out in a French subsidiary belonging to a German group, analyzes and describes the role of the middle managers in their interactions and their sensemaking and “sensegiving" for purpose of appropriation and implementation on the ground. By proposing a multi-level analysis, the case study enable to understand the events that impact their interpretations and sensemaking in the framework of change imposed by the headquarters.

Syfte: Tidigare forskning har konstaterat att det finns svårigheter att verkställa organisationens styrning. Vår studie belyser de bakomliggande processerna i hur mellanchefer förmedlar och skapar förståelse för organisationens styrning. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur mellanchefer genom meningsskapande aktiviteter konstruerar förståelse bland medarbetarna för organisationens styrning. Metod: Studien utgår från ontologisk konstruktionism och har en hermeneutisk kunskapssyn. Kvalitativ metod har använts och datainsamlingen har skett genom tio semistrukturerade intervjuer med mellanchefer i varierande branscher. Studien har ett induktivt synsätt i förhållande mellan teori och forskning och grundas i de två huvudsakliga teoretiska dimensionerna konversera och konceptualisera. Resultat & slutsats: Vi har identifierat sex teman vilka ger en bild av hur mellancheferna konstruerar förståelse bland medarbetarna. Temana identifierade under dimensionen konversera är:  kontextskapare, verksamhetens nav och ständigt pågående interaktioner. Temana under dimensionen konceptualisera är: systematisk uppföljning, gemensam riktning och framtidsblickande. Slutsatsen är att mellancheferna genom dessa teman utövar meningsskapande aktiviteter vilka har till syfte att konstruera förståelse bland medarbetarna för organisationens styrning. Examensarbetets bidrag: Vår studie har kartlagt de bakomliggande processerna i hur mellanchefer förmedlar och skapar förståelse för organisationens styrning. Studien har bidragit till en djupare inblick i mellanchefens vitala arbete som förståelse- och meningsskapare inom organisationen. Vi ger både bidrag till de teoretiska ämnena verksamhetsstyrning och sensemakingteorin. Studien bidrar även till de praktiskt utövande mellancheferna i den mening att de kan ta tillvara på slutsatserna och applicera i sin vardag. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Vi ser med fördel att vidare forskning utifrån våra resultat fokuserar på att undersöka skillnader i meningsskapande i förhållande till vilken nivå inom ledningssystemet som mellanchefen verkar. En ytterligare potentiell aspekt att forska vidare på är att undersöka hur effektiva metoderna som belysts i denna studie fungerar.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how middle managers attempt to enhance internal innovation processes with digital usages. To do so, this research aims to open up an internal innovation process improvement ‘black box’ by looking not only at issues related to digital delivery but also at elements related to innovation culture and leadership. Design/method/approach To fulfill this purpose, this qualitative research develops a case study employing the lenses of middle managers to generate empirical data based on an interpretative approach and an in-depth semi-structured interview methodology. Findings Middle managers' attempt to enhance internal innovation processes with digital usages involves major elements related to influencing people’s mindset, motivating and embracing ideation, as well as collaboration across units leveraged by digital usages. Nonetheless, the core element of the attempt stands for the ability to root the digital tool usages not only at the individual or team level but also at the innovation process level. Contributions This study mainly contributes to theory extension by putting the individual at the heart of the organization's innovativeness culture and enlightening the leadership role of middle managers to influence innovative behaviors to embrace digital tools in the line of the organization’s strategy with major demands for change management. Originality/value By integrating the perspective of middle managers to the conceptual, this case study brings an additional piece to the puzzle of how digital tools nurture the internal innovation processes.

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Masters of Commerce / Middle managers play an important role in contemporary organisations, particularly in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Research on middle managers in a HEI environment suggests that their roles, work practice and identities are under-researched. Middle managers occupy a central position in organisational hierarchies where they are responsible for implementing senior management plans. In HEIs in SA academic middle managers/heads of departments (HODs) face many challenges that are not commonly found in conventional organisations. In this qualitative study the contribution is based on the participants’ experiences in relation to an increasingly diverse workload and responsibilities. Using a fluid conceptualisation of identity and subjectivity, the researcher argues that academic middle managers are engaged in ethical and political practices through demands in the workplace. Drawing on theories on ethics put forward by Foucault, Levinas & Critchley, various aspects of ethics of ‘the self’ and ethics of ‘the other’ in relation to academic middle managers’ identities and practices are discussed. A case study was used with a cross-sectional research design to gather the data on academic middle managers in a single faculty in a South African HEI. Information gathered particularly focused on the implementation of ethical practices. The findings show that middle managers’ work practices were dependent on their ethical goals and aspirations. This is crucial to achieving success in a HEI. The findings indicate that many academic middle managers engaged with the multiple demands of their positions but attempted to form and shape their identities and practices in the higher education system in response to their own ethical value systems. Thus, academic middle managers created and fashioned new and personalised hybrid identities based on their ethical values to cope with multiple demands. The recommendation is that academic middle managers receive contemporary management training (such as intrapreneurship, leadership, management, administrative etc.) on how to cope and manage the multiple demands within a higher education environment. It is further recommended that they be given more space and freedom to rely on ethics in dealing with their functions rather than following strict guidelines on what they ought to do within their respective departments