The Ministry of Education of Turkey changed the national education programs in accordance with recent approaches in education as part of the educational reform that covers basic and secondary levels of schooling in 2005-2006 academic year. This educational reform that was proposed to change the formerly traditional, behaviorist, and teacher-centered programs into constructivist and student-centered programs will obviously have effects on millions of students, educators and families. Its long-term influence is expected to be seen on the whole society in coming years. The purpose of this study is to describe how school culture, values on professionalism, perceptions on the new programs, and organizational structure and leadership of schools will ease or impede with the implementation of the new national educational programs. A pure qualitative research design was used to study this problem. Multiple case study was carried out with semi-structured, face-to-face interviews as the method of data collection. The data sources for the interviews were teachers and administrators from four schools of different socio economic regions in Istanbul, one of which was a private school. Some of the official documents of the Ministry of Education were also used as supportive evidence to the data collected through the interviews.

Today, computers and communications have changed the relationship among firms, the structure of some existing companies, the advancement of information technology (IT), and increased competition among enterprises. IT plays an important role in enterprise. IT Managers face global competition, and therefore, must be prepared to respond to abrupt changes. They need to ensure their capabilities and resources are sufficient to cope with the environmental challenges that arise. Therefore, this research will concentrate on investigating the relationships among empowerment, leadership style, personality of IT manager and IT department performance. The moderating effects of organizational culture and organizational structure on the relationship between IT manager characteristics and IT department performance are also considered in the study. The result shows four major findings. First, empowerment of IT manager has a significant positive effect on IT department performance. Second, the presence of a transformational leadership style of IT manager has positive effects on IT department performance. Third, IT managers classified as Internal LOC have significantly higher departmental performance than IT managers classified as External LOC. Finally, organizational culture and organizational structure were shown to have no moderating effect between empowerment of IT manager and IT department performance. The findings of this research can serve as a reference for organizations to improve selection of managers with potential for improving department performance.

<p>BACKGROUND: The general comprehension of the populace is that the continent of Africa is very deprived. However, South Africa, the economic powerhouse in the Southern African region, has a stock exchange that rates amid the twenty largest in the world. With a well-developed infrastructure as well as democratic political system, the area has become increasingly more unwavering for companies disposed to invest. Reasons are cheap labour and availability of natural resources where South Africa has an abundant supply. However, there are also drawbacks to consider before investing in South Africa. Examples can be high criminality, high HIV-prevalence, lack of skilled workers and huge socio-economic disparities. Increased foreign direct investments and developed international trade can be means for South Africa to accelerate growth and employment and thereby contribute to a changed distribution of wealth and income in the country.</p><p>PURPOSE: The purpose with this thesis is to explore entering strategies of Swedish-related manufacturing companies that have entered South Africa. As a purpose extension our intention also includes exploring the organizational structure used in the subsidiary and whether any cultural circumstances affect the business climate.</p><p>METHOD: In our thesis the method chosen is a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews of people in, and associated to, Swedish-related manufacturing companies in South Africa. An interpretivistic and abductive perspective is used throughout the completion of the thesis.</p><p>CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that motives for investing in South Africa are merely on behalf of market penetration and utilization of the nation as a springboard towards the Sub-Saharan market. The entering strategy most frequently used is acquisitions and the organizational structure is multinational with an ethnocentric staffing approach. No cultural divergences between Swedes and South Africans interfere in the day-to-day business environment according to our study.</p>

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk., 2003.

Diss. Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2005.

Bakgrund: Idag läggs ofta stor vikt vid att effektivisera organisationer för att de ska kunna ha en chans på den globalt växande marknaden. Designen av organisationens struktur kan ses som en viktig metod för effektivisering, däribland en struktur innehållandes ett Shared Service Center. Ett Shared Service Center ses som en typ av centralisering och innebär att företag samlar koncerngemensamma processer i en enhet. Vid implementering av en sådan enhet står företaget framför flertalet utmaningar däribland en förändring och utveckling av samverkan.    Syfte: Studiens syfte är att beskriva och öka förståelsen av samverkan mellan ett Shared Service Center och organisationen som helhet utifrån medarbetarnas perspektiv.  Metod: Ur ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv har vi genomfört en kvalitativ fallstudie. Vidare ligger semistrukturerade intervjuer och dokumentstudier till grund för det empiriska materialet.  Slutsats:  Flera faktorer, både positiva och negativa, kan ses ha en påverkan på samverkan i organisationer som har implementerat ett Shared Service Center. Nya arbetsprocesser har ställt högre krav på medarbetare där samverkan har hindrats av opersonlighet och brister i personkemi. / Background: To have a chance in the globally growing market, companies need to be maximally effective. The design of the organization’s structure can be seen as an important method to improve its effectiveness; one example of such is a structure that incorporates a Shared Service Center. A Shared Service Center can be viewed as a form of centralization and implies that the company collects group-wide processes into one unit. When implementing such a unit, the company faces several challenges including a change and development of its interactions, which in turn can affect the efficiency. Aim: The aim of this study is to describe and enhance the understanding of the interactions between a Shared Service Center and the organization as a whole from the perspective of the employees.   Methodology: The study is a qualitative case study from a hermeneutical perspective. Furthermore, semi- structured interviews and document studies form the basis of the empirical material. Conclusion: Several factors, both positive and negative, can be seen as having an impact on the cooperation in organizations that have implemented a Shared Service Center. New ways of working have increased the demands on the employees where the cooperation have been distracted due to unpersonal relations and flaws in the personal chemistry.

Submitted by Paulo Junior (paulo.jr@fgv.br) on 2011-04-18T17:56:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Clarise Lacerda Avilés.pdf: 1104514 bytes, checksum: eaf0d20a785b8c97f3653f9c830a294c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Paulo Junior(paulo.jr@fgv.br) on 2011-04-18T18:20:11Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Clarise Lacerda Avilés.pdf: 1104514 bytes, checksum: eaf0d20a785b8c97f3653f9c830a294c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-02T18:18:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Clarise Lacerda Avilés.pdf: 1104514 bytes, checksum: eaf0d20a785b8c97f3653f9c830a294c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-10-08 / The aim of this study is to analyze the profile of today’s manager, according to the classical management literature, working on internationalized higher education institute. This paper draws together knowledge about the manager’s profile in a corporate environment and how it can be appreciated in a higher education institute all of this taking into consideration the environment that nowadays exists in these institutions. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, with professors of the Fundacao Getulio Vargas, more specific on their Public and Business Administration School (EBAPE), which had active roles on its development, internationalization and during some point in time their management. The findings obtained where analyzed under the perspective brought by the theoretical reference framework, and, based on this approach is represented the manager whom could have a better perspective to administrate a higher education institute.

The purpose of this study was to broaden the knowledge about organizational change towards an agile organization through exploring how the faktors; structure, culture, agility och psychosocial work environment interacts during this process and how the relationship manifests in practice. To achieve the purpose, the fowling questions guided the way: • In what ways can older organizational structures and organizational culture affect agile organizational change? • What effects on the psychosocial workplace environment may an organizational change towards agile organization generate. This qualitative study with deductive approach was based on an organization where the implementation of the agile form was conducted three years ago. The collection of data was based on three semi-structured interviews with representatives from HR, the union and the research team witch also has conducted a study of the organization. Content analysis was use as a method of preparing the data for the analysis, which was done so though a model based on the theoretical  starting points and previous research that have founded this study. The conclusions drawn by this study shows that parts of the organizations older structure an culture still are present inte the new organization and that they inhibited the anchoring of the new approach and way of working . The same situation applies to the opportunity of improved psychosocial work environment where the dominance of the older organizational form resulted in the opportunities remaining just that - in the areas of the organization where it wasn’t impaired. / Syftet med denna studie är att bredda kunskapen om den agila organisationsförändringen genom att undersöka hur faktorerna; struktur, kultur, agilitet och organisatorisk och social arbetsmiljö interagerar med varandra under processen och hur detta kan te sig i praktiken. För att uppnå syftet användes följande frågeställningar: • På vilka sätt kan äldre organisationsstruktur och organisationskultur påverka en agil organisationsförändring? • Vilka organisatoriska och sociala arbetsmiljökonsekvenser kan en agil  organisationsförändring få? Denna kvalitativa och deduktiva studie utgick ifrån en organisation där tidpunkten för implementeringen av det agila låg tre år tillbaka i tiden. Genom tre semistrukturerade intervjuer med representanter från HR, fack och det följeforskningsteam som också studerat organisationen, samlades det empiriska materialet in. Innehållsanalys användes som metod för bearbetning av materialet inför analysen, vilken gjordes utifrån en analysmodell baserad på de teoretiska utgångspunkter och den tidigare forskning som lagt grunden för arbetet. De slutsatser som kan dras av denna studie visar att delar av organisationens äldre struktur och kultur fortfarande lever kvar i den nya organisationsformen och att dessa hämmat hur väl de nya arbets- och förhållningssätten har förankrats. Detsamma gäller möjligheten till förbättrad organisatorisk och social arbetsmiljö då den äldre organisationsformens dominans gjort att möjligheterna förblev just bara möjligheter - i de delar där denna inte blev direkt negativt påverkad.

The organizational structure and the internal environment are considered important predictors for the development of innovation in the organizational literature. Yet, few researches analyze the relation between these issues. Based on this gap we aimed throughout this study to better understand how the dimensions of the organizational structure influence on the development of an work environment for innovation in the area of research and development of the 3M Company in Brazil. The research methodology follows a descriptive and explanatory approach based on qualitative and quantitative data collection. A case study was used as the investigative method, which was carried out in a company well renowned for its innovative style: The 3M of Brazil. The data collection was taken through in depth interviews with eight managers, as well as the application of questionnaires to 39 collaborators of the company s corporative laboratory. The results obtained from the qualitative research show the company follows a matrix structure, decentralized, with a medium level of formalization and highly integrated. The internal environment is focused towards innovation with a number of policies and practices to encourage organization members and support leaders. There is integration and share of ideas among teams which are constantly challenged to break paradigms and innovate. People hold autonomy and freedom to perform their jobs; they have access to all necessary resources and have a strong sense of entrepreneurship reinforced by the company s innovative culture. The quantitative results of the research point out that some specific organizational structure dimensions influence the internal environment towards innovation. The results highlight that the level of communication influences positively leadership support and people s perception that resources implemented at work are sufficient. It was also observed that the level of formalization and standardization has a negative effect on encouraging leaders to innovate and on the level of challenges at work. Results also show the higher the centralization and hierarchy dependency the higher the pressure people feel performing their jobs. As the main study s implication we come to the fact that a work environment for innovation must be supported by more flexible organizational structures: decentralized structures that encourage autonomy and entrepreneurship; informal structures favoring people s freedom to execute their tasks; integrated structures that allow for a high level of communication flow and team diversity. / A estrutura organizacional e o ambiente interno são considerados na literatura organizacional como importantes preditores para o desenvolvimento da inovação. Apesar disso, há poucos estudos que relacionam esses dois temas. Com base nessa lacuna, buscou-se compreender neste estudo como as dimensões da estrutura organizacional influenciam o desenvolvimento do ambiente interno de inovação da área de pesquisa e desenvolvimento da empresa 3M do Brasil. A pesquisa é classificada como descritiva e explicativa quanto aos seus objetivos. Quanto à abordagem, caracteriza-se como qualitativa e quantitativa. Como método de investigação foi utilizado o estudo de caso, o qual foi realizado em uma empresa reconhecidamente inovadora: a 3M do Brasil. A coleta de dados ocorreu por meio de entrevistas em profundidade com oito gestores, bem como pela aplicação de questionários a 39 colaboradores do laboratório corporativo da empresa. Os resultados da pesquisa qualitativa demonstraram que a empresa possui uma estrutura matricial, descentralizada, com um nível médio de formalização e altamente integrada. O ambiente interno é orientado à inovação, com inúmeras políticas e práticas de encorajamento organizacional e de apoio dos líderes. Há integração e compartilhamento de ideias entre as equipes, que são constantemente desafiadas a quebrar paradigmas e a inovar. As pessoas possuem autonomia e liberdade para a execução do seu trabalho, acesso aos recursos necessários e um forte senso de empreendedorismo, que é reforçado pela cultura de inovação da empresa. Os resultados da pesquisa quantitativa apontaram que algumas dimensões da estrutura organizacional influenciam dimensões específicas do ambiente interno de inovação. Pode-se destacar que o nível de comunicação influencia positivamente o suporte das lideranças e a percepção das pessoas de que os recursos utilizados no trabalho são suficientes. Verificou-se também que o nível de formalização e padronização influencia negativamente o encorajamento dos líderes à inovação e o nível de desafio no trabalho. Os resultados demonstraram ainda que quanto maior é a centralização e a dependência da hierarquia, maior é a pressão que as pessoas sentem no trabalho. Como principal implicação do estudo, conclui-se que o ambiente interno de inovação deve ser apoiado por estruturas organizacionais mais flexíveis: estruturas descentralizadas, que incentivem a autonomia e o empreendedorismo; estruturas informais, que favoreçam a liberdade das pessoas na condução de suas tarefas; estruturas integradas, que concedam um alto nível de fluidez na comunicação e na diversidade das equipes.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:51:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2325.pdf: 1159614 bytes, checksum: a893012114a6a02e5ba8c80bcb379270 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-02-18 / This work analyses the organizational arrangement isomorphism of graduation course coordination of the university center institutional model. This model has been regulated in the higher education since 1996 with the new Law of Guidelines and Basis of Education (Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação). Taking into account that the educational institutions submit to the authoritative force of the legislation determined by the Educational Ministry, the course was taken as a referential to describe the structure framing facing the legal demands. This is the main focus of preoccupation of the university center because it is through this framing that teaching is transmitted. To achieve the target of this work a bibliographical research has been carried out on the institutional theory, on the new institutionalism and on bureaucracy characteristics and types of organizational structures. In addition to it, a case study has also been carried out with the courses of Administration and Social Communication Publicity and Advertisement in four university centers (three private institutions and one public institution) in the country of São Paulo State. One chairperson of each institution was interviewed, as well as the coordinators of the courses above mentioned, in a total of twelve researches. The isomorphism of the organizational arrangement in the graduation course coordination has been identified specially on the issues pre-established by law. Comparing the same courses, it has been observed that the courses of Administration are more isomorphic than the courses of Social Communication Publicity and Advertisement. Besides, a flexibility trend of the organizational structure of the institutions has been verified and this is meant to conform to the environmental uncertainties, that is to say, the existence of a mechanical structure (inheritance of the departmental framing) together with an organic structure. This factor also reflects on the difference between the form of course management where coordinators under the same internal regimen orientation print on the course their identity and their way of managing. / Este trabalho faz uma análise do isomorfismo do arranjo organizacional coordenação de curso de graduação do modelo institucional centro universitário, modelo este regulamentado no ensino superior a partir de 1996, com a nova Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação. Sabendo-se que as instituições de ensino estão sujeitas à força normativa da legislação definida pelo Ministério da Educação, tomou-se como referencial o curso para descrever o enquadramento da estrutura perante as exigências legais, sendo este o principal foco de preocupações do centro universitário, pois é por meio dele que o ensino é propagado. Para tanto, foi realizada uma revisão bibliográfica sobre a teoria institucional, sobre o novo institucionalismo, bem como sobre as características de uma burocracia e os tipos de estruturas organizacionais. Além disso, foi realizado um estudo de caso com os cursos de Administração e Comunicação Social Publicidade e Propaganda em quatro centros universitários no interior do estado de São Paulo, sendo três privados e um público. Entrevistou-se um dirigente de cada instituição e os coordenadores dos cursos, totalizando doze entrevistas. Identificou-se, por fim, o isomorfismo do arranjo organizacional coordenação de curso, sobretudo nas questões pré-estabelecidas por lei. Na comparação entre mesmos cursos, observou-se que os cursos de Administração são mais isomórficos que os de Comunicação Social Publicidade e Propaganda. Além disso, verificou-se uma tendência de flexibilização da estrutura organizacional das instituições, para adequar-se às incertezas ambientais, ou seja, à convivência de uma estrutura mecanicista (herança da estrutura departamental) e orgânica, fator esse que também se reflete na diferenciação da forma de gestão dos cursos, aos quais coordenadores sob a orientação de um mesmo regimento interno, imprimem a sua identidade, sua forma de administrar.