No / Great Writers on Organizations presents succinctly each of the contributions made by 80 of the most prominent management thinkers to the understanding of organizational behaviour and managerial thinking. Among those included are early theorists such as Henri Fayol, Frederick W. Taylor and Max Weber, classical writers such as Alfred D. Chandler, Peter Drucker and Frederick Herzberg, through to modern thinkers such as Oliver Williamson, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and Charles Handy. New writers included in the Third Omnibus Edition are: Lex Donaldson, Stewart Clegg, Richard Whitley, Michel Foucault and Kathleen Eisenhardt. The volume is an indispensable resource for academics, students and managers on what the great writers have to say about the key managerial tasks of how to organize and motivate.

This dissertation examines the challenges of organizing in times of global displacement in three different studies. The papers are based on an ethnographic case study of an international aid organization and its operations in Rwanda. Each paper investigates a distinct aspect of responding to one of society's most pressing global problems, gradually unpacking how current organizational responses form a key part of the problem. The first paper explores the challenges of representing multi-sectoral contexts, as global crisis and grand challenges cut across multiple different sectors and domains. Drawing on pragmatist ideas, the paper conceptualizes multi-sectoral contexts by focusing on practical effects that differ in terms of visibility, comparability and timeliness. It further advances the idea of useful, rather than truthful, representation of complex contexts. The second paper examines the shift to participation and downward accountability in refugee crises. It outlines how downward accountability realizes its moral responsibility in an acute crisis, but betrays it over time as displacement prolongs. We conceptualize the dynamics of downward accountability as inclusive as well as exclusive, suggesting that participatory practices of downward accountability might reinforce refugees as marginalized others as displacement prolongs. The third paper follows this more critical stance by examining how the predominant solution to refugee crises, encampment, enacts and intensifies displacement over time. Contributing to the notion of wicked problems, this paper specifies the underlying practices of such problems' inherent intractability, referring to temporal and spatial containment. The paper however also sheds light on dynamics of temporal and spatial diffusion that assist in de-intensifying global wicked problems. The dissertation concludes with two overarching contributions that sketch opportunities for future research and reflects on the impact and implications of research on today's global social challenges.

Trots många års larmande av den rådande arbetsmiljön för socialarbetare har inte kommunerna agerat tillräckligt, vilket har lett till svårigheter att rekrytera och få personal att stanna kvar i socialtjänsten. Detta har bidragit till att konsulter inom socialtjänsten har ökat markant de senaste åren. Den här studien handlar om konsulters erfarenheter av sina nya arbetsvillkor då de valt att stanna kvar och arbeta i socialtjänsten inom Individ- och familjeomsorg (IFO). Syftet med studien är att öka kunskapen om vilka positiva och negativa faktorer som konsulter erfar med sina villkor i sitt arbete. Vi har utgått från en kvalitativ design och gjort semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex konsulter. De teoretiska analysverktyg vi använt oss av är rollteori, organisationsteori samt push-and-pull modellen. Dessa analysverktyg ger olika synvinklar på konsulters villkor inom IFO och lyfter fram olika faktorer i deras arbetsvillkor samt förklarar hur det är att stå utanför socialtjänsten som organisation samtidigt som de arbetar i den. I studien har vi kommit fram till att konsulternas förändring ger både positiva och negativa erfarenheter i deras arbetsvillkor som konsulter i IFO. Positiva faktorer som konsulterna erfor i sina arbetsvillkor var: Den ökade lönen, tidsbegränsningen i uppdraget, den minskade tid för antalet obligatoriska möten som genererade i ökad tid till klientarbete. De erfor mer självständighet och personlig utveckling. Det dubbla chefskapet från arbetsplatsen och konsultbolaget kunde upplevas positivt med exempelvis uppskattning och stöd i gränssättning av arbetsmängden från konsultchefen. De negativa faktorerna som konsulterna kunde uppleva i deras arbetsvillkor var ensamarbete och för höga förväntningar på prestation samt att konsulterna fick en mindre påverkningsmöjligheter i organisationen. Vi tolkade även att det kunde bli en större anpassning från konsulten till hur chefen vill att arbetet ska utföras. / Despite many years of alarming environment within the current workplace of social workers the municipalities have still not acted accordingly, which have caused hardship in recruiting as well as keeping people in the social services. This has also lead towards a large growth of consultants within the social services under the last few years. This study is about consultant’s experiences of their new work conditions when they have chosen to stay within the Individual- and family care sector (IFO). The purpose of the study is to further increase the knowledge of which negative and positive aspects consultants experience within their work conditions. We have worked with a qualitative design and made semiconstructed interviews with six different consultants. The theoretical analysis tools we have used during this study is roll theory, organization theory and the push-and-pull model. These analysis tools give different viewpoints of consultant’s conditions within IFO and brings forward the factors in these conditions, as well as describes how it can be to stand on the outside of the social services as an organization but at the same time work in it. We have concluded that these changes have caused both positive and negative experiences in consultants work conditions within the IFO. The positive factors that the consultants described were: Increased pay, limits in the assignment, the reduced time for obligatory meetings which resulted in more time for client based work as well as feeling more of a personal development. Having two employers was described as being positive with examples as appreciation and support in setting limits for a reasonable amount of work from the consulting firm. The negative aspects we found that the consultants could experience was feelings of working alone and expectations on high performance as well as having less influence in the organization overall. We concluded that the consultant was more influenced by their employers in how their work should be performed.   Keyword: consultant, social worker, profession, social service, roll theory, organisation theory, push-and-pull-model.

This thesis studies the performance of a cohort of French firms between 2006 and 2009 using a theoretical framework developed for this purpose. This framework is based on the author’s entrepreneurial experience and conviction that firm performance is dependent on solving a managerial problem with two components: (i) an entrepreneurial component which focuses on creating market power with respect to customer wants, resources, means of production, and technology and (ii) an organisational component aiming to implement adequate labour division and coordination and motivation mechanisms in the firm. Solving both aspects of the managerial problem in firms is expected to increase frim performance over time. This book describes the origins of the managerial problem in the economic literature, studies its dual organisational and entrepreneurial aspect, and measures its effect on firm performance.:INTRODUCTION PART I: LITERATURE REVIEW, RESEARCH QUESTION, AND RESEARCH PLAN CHAPTER 1 : LITERATURE REVIEW CHAPTER 2 : RESEARCH QUESTION CHAPTER 3 : RESEARCH PLAN PART II: THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 4 : THE PROCESS THEORY OF ORGANISATION CHAPTER 5 : A MODEL OF FIRM PERFORMANCE CHAPTER 6 : LEVERAGES ON FIRM PERFORMANCE CHAPTER 7 : THE MANAGERIAL PROBLEM PART III: EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS CHAPTER 8 : BUILDING A MODEL TO ASSESS FIRM PERFORMANCE CHAPTER 9 : ENTREPRENEURIAL ABILITY AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS CHAPTER 10 : ORGANISATIONAL ABILITY AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS CHAPTER 11 : THE IMPACT OF MANAGEMENT ON FIRM PERFORMANCE PART IV: OUTLOOK APPENDIX A: THE AUSTRIAN SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS AND ITS EVOLUTION APPENDIX B: A CALCULATED EXAMPLE OF FIRM PERFORMANCE WITH NESTED PROCESSES APPENDIX C: ON STRUCTURING AND DRIVING THE FIRM APPENDIX D: LANDMARKS TO UNDERSTANDING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PROCESS APPENDIX E: DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS APPENDIX F: MODEL SPECIFICATION REFERENCES

The purpose of this study was to highlight cyber-bullying and its place in today’s schools. Our aim was to research how schools with bullying prevention programs are equipped to handle and take action against cyber-bullying. Furthermore this study focuses on whether or not schools are responsible for cases of cyber-bullying. We also aimed to present teachers’ general views and knowledge regarding this phenomenon. In order to emphasize these issues we have asked the following questions: How do teachers’ perceive the existence of cyber-bullying in school? What do schools do to prevent and take action against cyber-bullying? Who is responsible for taking action against cyber-bullying? As a method to obtain answers to these questions we have used five qualitative interviews. Our informants were various educators involved with bullying prevention programs in their respective schools. Socio cultural, organisational and judicial perspectives support our theoretical framework. Our results show that although the schools in our study may be capable of dealing with traditional bullying, they are not suitably equipped to deal with cyber-bullying. In general the educators are in agreement that they are inadequately informed about cyber-bullying. All informants were prepared to further educate themselves in order to prevent and combat this new phenomenon. Finally in order for our schools to be able to act effectively on cyber-bullying there must be clear laws put in place.

The recent global financial crisis, regulatory and compliance requirements placed on organisations, and the need for scientific research in the project portfolio management discipline were factors that motivated this research. The interest and contribution to the body of knowledge in project portfolio management has been growing significantly in recent years, however, there still appears to be a misalignment between literature and practice. A particular area of concern is the decision-making, during the management of the portfolio, regarding which projects to accelerate, suspend, or terminate. A lack of determining the individual and cumulative contribution of projects to strategic objectives leads to poorly informed decisions that negate the positive effect that project portfolio management could have in an organisation. The focus of this research is, therefore, aimed at providing a mechanism to determine the individual and cumulative contribution of projects to strategic objectives so that the right decisions can be made regarding those projects. This thesis begins with providing a context for project portfolio management by confirming a definition and providing a theoretical background through related theories. An investigation into the practice of project portfolio management then provides insight into the alignment between literature and practice and confirms the problem that needed to be addressed. A conceptual model provides a solution to the problem of determining the individual and cumulative contribution of projects to strategic objectives. The researcher illustrates how the model can be extended before verifying and validating the conceptual model. Having the ability to determine the contributions of projects to strategic objectives affords decision makers the opportunity to conduct what-if scenarios, enabled through the use of dashboards as a visualization technique, in order to test the impact of their decisions before committing them. This ensures that the right decisions regarding the project portfolio are made and that the maximum benefit regarding the strategic objectives is achieved. This research provides the mechanism to enable better-informed decision- making regarding the project portfolio. / Computing / D. Phil. (Computer science)

This thesis studies three major reforms in the public sector of Norway. The sectors studied are the police, higher education, and primary schools. The main motive for studying these reforms are of a theoretical nature, the reason to study them is to produce general knowledge about reforms. The study aims to answer two main questions. One is about the possibilities and limitations contained in using reforms to change organizations. The second is about how organizations can promote the ideals of representative democracy. In its efforts to attain answers to these questions the thesis blends empirically-oriented research with aspects of organization theory and political theory. The thesis is divided into four different parts. First, there is a descriptive presentation of the three reforms. Secondly, there is a discussion of various theories of reforms and organizations. The primary aim of this analysis is to illuminate and explain the empirical data, but this discussion should also provide its own answers to the main questions asked in the thesis. Thirdly, these theories are applied to analyze data from the three reforms. And finally, the study concludes with a summary of what general insights about the reforms we are left with after studying the Quality Reform, The Police Reform 2000, and the Knowledge Reform. The study shows that reforms have both policy and content aspects, and that it is important to distinguish between the two in order to analyse and understand them. The policy aspect is that reforms are a strategy for change - they are tools for implementing change in organizations. The content aspect is that reforms have a specific content - they have certain objectives that they want to realize. The study concludes that in order to understand this complex and fascinating phenomenon, we need to understand reforms both as instrumental tools, institutional adaptations and symbols.

In the lead up to the Year 2000 dot.com crash of publicly traded high-technology equities, Information Communication Technology (ICT) Companies proudly displayed inter-firm allegiances on their newly created websites. These collaborative relationships were in reality licensing agreements to develop or market new products internationally. Phenomena associated with ICT product development - collaboration, innovation, and internationalisation - are the core tenets of the accompanying dissertation. Leading scholars have suggested these phenomena challenge conventional economic theories of the firm. This study commences with tracing the evolution of trade and production theories from absolute advantage through to competitive advantage and introduces the concepts of non-adversarial collaborative advantage. Within the framework of the technology cycle, this dissertation then seeks to answer why firms engage in international collaborative innovation. The cycle of technological innovation is investigated and this leads to postulating a period of technological overlap and its implications for collaboration. One of the shortcomings acknowledged in the literature is the generic application of the term collaboration to cover a wide scope of inter-firm agreements. Within the literature this is referred to as a problem of multidimensionality. A model is developed in this dissertation that identifies the choices available to the firm and addresses the problem of defining collaboration. The choices provided in the developed model are more complex than simply choosing between external and internal intermediate markets. As a separable form of industry organisation, the success rates of alliance collaboration are compared to Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) to validate issues of sustainability before examining the impact of location on innovation and collaboration. Again, theory is tested by recent events that require explanation. These events include the relocation of early stage foreign R&D to both developed and lesser-developed nations. The final chapter assesses the findings throughout this study and identifies separate and distinct roles for large and small firms in the international and collaborative commercialisation of new innovations. This central conclusion requires empirical validation and suggests the need investigate how firms shape the cycle of innovation from a reflected vantage point to the evolutionary perspective taken in this study. Further research is warranted because the literature on international innovation and collaboration is at an early stage and gaps in understanding remain.

The recent global financial crisis, regulatory and compliance requirements placed on organisations, and the need for scientific research in the project portfolio management discipline were factors that motivated this research. The interest and contribution to the body of knowledge in project portfolio management has been growing significantly in recent years, however, there still appears to be a misalignment between literature and practice. A particular area of concern is the decision-making, during the management of the portfolio, regarding which projects to accelerate, suspend, or terminate. A lack of determining the individual and cumulative contribution of projects to strategic objectives leads to poorly informed decisions that negate the positive effect that project portfolio management could have in an organisation. The focus of this research is, therefore, aimed at providing a mechanism to determine the individual and cumulative contribution of projects to strategic objectives so that the right decisions can be made regarding those projects. This thesis begins with providing a context for project portfolio management by confirming a definition and providing a theoretical background through related theories. An investigation into the practice of project portfolio management then provides insight into the alignment between literature and practice and confirms the problem that needed to be addressed. A conceptual model provides a solution to the problem of determining the individual and cumulative contribution of projects to strategic objectives. The researcher illustrates how the model can be extended before verifying and validating the conceptual model. Having the ability to determine the contributions of projects to strategic objectives affords decision makers the opportunity to conduct what-if scenarios, enabled through the use of dashboards as a visualization technique, in order to test the impact of their decisions before committing them. This ensures that the right decisions regarding the project portfolio are made and that the maximum benefit regarding the strategic objectives is achieved. This research provides the mechanism to enable better-informed decision- making regarding the project portfolio. / Computing / D. Phil. (Computer science)

Standardisation of professional work is a major policy concern to ensure quality and efficiency of services and a number of hospitals are now focusing on the use of clinical pathways as an important tool to standardise their work. This study sheds light on the processes set in motion when notions of standardisation meet local practice. In order to gain insight into what clinical pathways mean for professional work in mental health care, the focus of the study was to explore the contexts in which standardisation by “rule production” takes place. Two empirical cases from Norwegian mental health care show how dedicated professionals are in charge of carrying out the standardisation work, strongly influenced by a steering framework of defined governmental policies where employee involvement and responsibility ensured loyalty to the idea.  Along with a “package” of ideas, new bodies and techniques, clinical pathways contribute to the institutionalisation of prima facie knowledge in demonstrating that evidence basing is linked to steering and control of employees. Thus, professional autonomy is threatened in an insidious way: through the institutionalisation of evidence-based knowledge as ‘prima facie’ knowledge in combination with professionals who standardise and control their own work. The thesis therefore concludes that the control of professional work has now become a complex and sophisticated process where professional work is “controlled by knowledge”.