Abstract not available

This study was aimed at achieving an understanding of the role of knowledge and commitment in the process of innovation. To do that, the study confronted several intractable problems of innovation research that have created barriers to knowledge accumulation. Theoretical models were developed based on organizational knowledge and commitments and aimed at overcoming the shortcomings of the traditional research models. Theoretical models of organizational change were investigated through multiple case studies of innovation projects that compared organizations of different types and size, and change processes of both technological and administrative character. A conclusion from this research is that innovation research should learn to live with the dialectic that innovation is unrelated to knowledge or outcomes. This would help to focus research attention on the means by which knowledge is transformed into action, the central problem of the management of innovation. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The quantity of emerging literature on the subject of leadership testifies to the urgency that is felt in these times for understanding it. The phenomenon of leadership is a subtle one and each author is at pains to justify their particular slant on its nature. This thesis shifts away from trying to find essential qualities of leadership that are generically applicable and instead considers leadership as it is experienced. It therefore examines leadership as a personal phenomenon regardless of the position held. The phenomenon is recognised through the experience of those who are present to its influence. This includes the practitioner, in any role or job, for whom the experience of leadership is necessarily personal and its expression evolving rather than static. I have chosen the method of conversation to identify the presence of such a phenomenon. This provides an expansive format which, because it is a lived experience, provides access to people’s experience of leadership, both their own and that of others’. I have used reflexive and imaginative writing processes to express and develop theory and praxis. Through these means, I have examined leadership as an engagement and used myself as a presence in order to develop insight. The thesis draws on the philosophical tradition of Goethe, Husserl, Bohm and Varela to understand the nature of experience and change; qualitative researchers like Van Manen, Crotty and Reason to develop reflective tools of inquiring; and leadership thinkers such as Senge, Jaworski, Scharmer and Mintzberg to find more vital ways of considering the very human experience of leadership in these times of rapid change. The thesis showcases an evaluation of leadership in a medium-sized industrial organisation in Western Australia. The task of the study was to assess the change in leadership in the whole organisation as a result of management attending a leadership program. For this purpose, phenomenological research methods were used to provide an in-depth and experientially based methodology. Narrative analysis offered the ground for capturing the presence of leadership through expressing the whole spectrum of voices in the organisation. Further, first-person methods brought relational sensitivity and researcher engagement, immersion and leadership. The evaluation resulted in a confronting report that enabled new ways of hearing between management and non-management and the organisation was enabled to take its next steps forward consensually. The study is followed by three exploratory chapters that deal with: How does the ‘new’ get dreamed up? What are the big issues of leadership that challenge the establishment? What does change actually imply and why is this so important to leadership? I protest the flippancy with which organisational consultants and leaders confuse structural change with the change that people really desire. The crystallisation of my exploration into the phenomenon of leadership transpires through a synchronous event. This was a personal experience of leadership. I apply a classical philosophical phenomenological analysis to my story as a narrative. This results in a new theoretical framework which I have called confluential leadership: the interaction of the constellations of synchronicity, clarity of intention and co-creativeness. The appreciation of these influences within one����s role is a meaning-making or enhancing process. This can result in greater engagement with one’s role or perhaps the realisation that one is in the wrong job! The centrality of my own engagement, a feature of the research conducted through this thesis, has resulted in the development of a passion for the subject of leadership and an enthusiasm for the possibilities of advancing and applying many of the ideas introduced. I have found that in order to find leadership, one has to bring leadership and the quality of that intention determines what one finds. Similarly, when leadership is experienced in a workplace, others are influenced to present the best of their own leadership. There is always the possibility for each person to enhance their own experience of leadership to become more integrated, wholesome and passionate about their work. The potentiality of this excites me. Confluential is my own word and is a combination of the words consciousness and influence. It is the conscious influence of the three constellations of synchronicity, clarity of intention and co-creativeness. Each of these has been very specifically defined; their meanings are carefully discussed in the body of the thesis. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Becoming a Learning Organization (LO) is widely recognized as a process through which organizations can develop characteristics that enable them to be competitive in an increasingly competitive business environment. While there is an assumption that LOs have the ability to manage change, few empirical studies are available to prove whether an organization with strong LO characteristics also has a high level of change readiness. In developing itself into an LO, an organization seems to gain possession of relevant characteristics through knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and knowledge utilization. There is, however, a lack of clarity on what LO characteristics are developed at each of the three stages. The relationship among these stages is also confusing. The purpose of this research is to confirm whether organizations with a high level of LO characteristics also have a high level of readiness-to-change. It also attempts to verify the relationship among the LO development stages of knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and knowledge utilization. A questionnaire has been designed following an extensive review. It incorporates "an Inventory of LO Characteristics" to measure the level of LO characteristics formed in an organization. There are also questionnaire to gauge the level readiness-to-change. The questionnaire has been distributed to employees in two leading mobile phone service companies in Thailand. The industry is selected because of its changing business environment. Thailand has been chosen for as the location for the research because few studies in LO have been conducted outside the more developed economies. The findings demonstrate two major insights. Firstly, the correlation coefficient between the six categories of LO characteristics - cultural values, leadership commitment and empowerment, communication, knowledge transfer, employee characteristics and performance upgrading - and readiness-to-change confirms that if an organization has a high level of LO characteristics, it will also have a high level of readiness-to-change. Secondly, the correlation coefficient between the three LO development stages - of knowledge acquisition, knowledge sharing and knowledge utilization - and readiness-to-change, support the hypothesis that they follow a sequential order. Results of the research are analysed and discussed, providing valuable contributions to both research and practice in the area. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Adelaide Graduate School of Business, 2004.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 208-221). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M. P. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dept. of Economics and Dept. of Sociology/Criminal Justice & Criminology. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2005. / "A dissertation in economics and social science." Advisor: James I. Sturgeon. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed March 12, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-149). Online version of the print edition.

Humor is usually associated with trivial or non-serious banter; it is however a significant factor in the construction of organizational culture. This work provides an experience based organizational account of how organizations are produced and reproduced, as well as how organizational interaction is coupled with structure. This dissertation is based on two ethnographic studies: the first, a year-long study of a hotel kitchen, and the second, a three-year study of a private boarding school. This long term examination of an organization??s interaction is used to illustrate how organizational interaction produces the duality of organizational structuration overtime. An ethnographic communication-focused approach provides methods for recognizing multiple sites and levels of the Structuration process. As a result, this approach provides a major contribution to understanding the process of Structuration through agents?? actions in the context of their organizational culture.

<p>This study has been executed at the Public Employment Office, an institution that has been</p><p>subject for much debate during the last couple of years. The government has instructed the</p><p>Labour Market Board to change the Public Employment Office toward a more effective</p><p>organization. This study examines one of the Public Employment Offices that are included in a</p><p>pilot project that aims to improve and develop work methods with the objective to become a</p><p>more service minded organization. From this starting point we have investigated which effect this</p><p>organizational change has had on the employee within this organization and within the pilot</p><p>project. In addition we investigate whether attitudes of the unemployed has an effect on the</p><p>staff´s work situation. In connection to this we seek to produce proposals of how to improve the</p><p>work situation for the staff. The purpose of the study is thus to map out the staff´s experience of</p><p>the work situation within the pilot project. Our intention has been to comprehend the complex</p><p>reality of an agent at the Public Employment Office. To create a basis for our analysis and to be</p><p>able to answer the questions at issue, we apply theories regarding organizational change, learning</p><p>and health. The main results of this study indicate that learning has increased at the workplace.</p><p>The results also indicate that the new, more service minded work methods increase the demands</p><p>on the agents to be able to handle social relations with unemployed and with colleagues. Finally</p><p>we find that though agents have a high workload they find their work to be stimulating.</p>

Today’s business environment is becoming increasingly dynamic, complex and socially aware. One sustainable competitive advantage in contemporary, rapidly changing organizations is competent management (Waldman, Ramirez, House, &amp; Puranam, 2001). The behaviors of organizational leaders directly influence actions in the work environment that enable change (Drucker, 1999). Leaders in complex organizations are now responsible for creating and nurturing conditions which will enable fast, innovative adaptations to change. Indeed, leaders and managers are responsible for change strategy, implementation, and monitoring, thus they function as change agents (Kanter, Stein, &amp; Jick, 1992). However, they must take into consideration that there is a part of unknown, which they will never control. As a result, the challenge of managing change is one of the most essential and enduring roles of leaders (Ahn, Adamson, &amp; Dornbusch, 2004) while current rapid organizational changes has made effective leadership more imperative. Resistance to change is a dead-end street. In today's business world, organizations that support and implement continuous and transformational change remain competitive (Cohen, 1999). Many researchers have attempted to explain why change is so difficult to achieve, and develop models to manage the change process. Despite the numerous theories, models, and multi-step approaches, leaders continue to lack a clear understanding of change, its antecedents, effective processes or the ability to successfully implement organizational change and how to engage members in change initiatives (Armenakis &amp; Harris, 2002). The purpose of this study is to explore leaders’ effectiveness in implementing organizational change and the processes, skills, abilities required for such effectiveness. My reference to leaders implies all leaders and managers within an organization. The literature review that follows explores change implementation processes, current complex environment and the leadership behaviors associated with successful change.