The world in which we live is hyper-dynamic with multiple inputs, outputs and expectations. As it relates to the fast pace of corporate America, customers want products and services within a tighter market window, with no defects and for lower costs. Stakeholders insist that managers do more with less human and financial resources yet more aggressive technological and sales goals. These realities translate into a more complex work environment in that the emotional toll of pending economic outcomes act to motivate or paralyze the very engine designed to produce the desired outcomes the employees. The body of work presented in this dissertation directly addresses the empirical relationship between the perceptions of the work context factors of leadership, task autonomy and social support networks with respect to the positive and negative emotions of the employees of the engineering firm that participated in this study. The empirical results from this research indicate that a positive and significant interrelationship does exist among the factors examined in this study. The employees studied included 249 middle to upper level managers of whom 78.7% were men and 21.3% were women. The range of years of experience for the participants varied from new hire to more than 20 years. Homogeneity of Variance tests confirms the validity of comparative analysis for the segmented data population. Multivariate statistics were used to address the four research questions. The strongest correlations occurred for the subgroups of women and non-managers with respect to the relationship of social support networks and positive emotions. Until now, there has been no empirical research linking the social support networks factor directly to emotions.

Includes vita. / Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 190 pages. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: Modernism is characterized by alienation from one's self and the processes by which one's self gets constructed. Organizational development (OD) is an activity that attempts to address the experience of work and to transform the historical alienation. OD practitioners are often optimistic that this transformation is possible and even is happening in the day-to-day work of OD. A group of critics, mostly academics, are skeptical about whether any real transformation is possible, arguing that OD practices are misguided extensions of modernism. In one thread of the OD literature, authors build an argument for the centrality of issues of identity in achieving this transformation. Proponents of this perspective argue that dialogic processes of reflection and co-construction are vital to participating in the production of one's self. In this study, I used participant-observation and interview approaches to investigate the ways OD consultants make sense of their work. / ABSTRACT: These approaches are managed through a perspective I call "first person," which aligns them with the dialogic principles of immediacy of presence; emergent, unanticipated consequences; collaborative orientation; vulnerability; and genuineness and authenticity. I found among the OD consultants a shared value for dialogue, an appreciation for people who are engaged, a preoccupation with identity boundaries, a commitment to the greater good, an understanding of the personal benefits they receive from their work, and a concern for fear among their clients and in themselves. Many OD consultants have chosen their roles as independent or internal consultants to escape from modern constructions of identity prevalent in organizations. OD consulting is a practice situated among multiple interests, creating complex tensions of identity and action for OD consultants. OD work itself requires consultants to be reflexive about their own and others' processes of identity construction. / ABSTRACT: OD consultants, when contrasted to critics of OD, show a tendency toward what Mikhail Bakhtin calls dialogue rather than dialectic. A dialogic orientation allows the OD consultants to work more productively on shaping the transition to postmodern consciousness. Reflexivity and self-participation are central to the success of an OD consultant. Education and professional groups should support greater understanding, inquiry, and practice of reflexivity and self-participation. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Conference proceeding from the Living the Future 6 Conference, April 5-8, 2006, University of Arizona Libraries, Tucson, AZ. / Contemporary 21st Century libraries face unprecedented challenges. Anticipating appropriate responses depends on activating and extending what organizational members know and how they leverage it. To develop a more 'knowledge-able' workplace, library faculty and staff at California Polytechnic State University employ evidence-driven systems thinking (Checkland/United Kingdom) fortified by workplace information literacy (Bruce/Australia). This knowledge creating approach to evidence-based information practice informs repurposing the library, re-inventing systems, and refocusing personnel. Boundary crossing information exchange and reflective dialogue promote appreciative inquiry and enable collective sense-making. Shared commitment to collaborative participatory design activities ensure consideration of diverse stakeholders’ viewpoints and intensify interactions with student and faculty user communities. In transforming data into evidence through dialogue, relationships, roles, and responsibilities continuously evolve. Intersubjective capacity building promotes ongoing learning among library colleagues and with campus stakeholders. Interactive evaluation and assessment outcomes ensure heightened levels of engagement with the learner and alignment with the institution.

This inquiry sought to answer the question: How can the University of Winnipeg (UW) design a learning and development strategy for its nonacademic leaders that will benefit both the leaders and the university? As higher education institutions experience increased competition and rising demands, senior leaders need to find new ways of developing one of their most important assets, their employees. Using an action research approach, this inquiry sought participants' perspectives through an online survey and a world café. This inquiry puts forward the following three recommendations: develop and communicate a formalized learning and development strategy that is supported by senior leadership, aligned with organizational goals, customized to the unique university environment, and values learner needs; provide diverse professional development opportunities for leaders; and create an environment that improves communication, fosters collaboration, develops competence, and values community. This inquiry adhered to all ethical requirements set by Royal Roads University and UW.

Diss. Linköping : Univ., 2002.

As constantes mudanças que vem configurando o ambiente das empresas têm mobilizado pesquisadores a investigar os fatores que as levam a inovar e alcançar níveis superiores de desempenho. Nesse contexto, a gestão do conhecimento tem sido considerada como propulsora para o desenvolvimento e crucial para as organizações sobreviverem. No entanto, a teoria tem apontado os processos de gestão do conhecimento como antecedentes diretos da inovação e desempenho, mas nem sempre considerando o papel da capacidade absortiva, que permite à organização, avaliar, absorver e empregar o conhecimento da melhor maneira. Com o intuito de preencher esta lacuna, o objetivo geral desta tese foi analisar a relação entre processos de gestão do conhecimento, capacidade absortiva, inovação e o desempenho na cadeia produtiva da maçã a partir dos elos de produção e packing-house. Para validar o modelo e as hipóteses propostas, adotou-se a estratégia metodológica do tipo quantitativa-descritiva, investigado empiricamente através de uma survey, com 166 atores da cadeia produtiva da maçã, dos segmentos de produção e packing-houses dos Estados de Santa Catarina e Rio Grande do Sul. Os dados coletados foram analisados por meio de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais. Os resultados obtidos forneceram forte apoio para as relações hipotetizadas, os quais mostraram que os processos de gestão do conhecimento influenciam significativamente a capacidade absortiva e a inovação, tanto de produto quanto de processo. Também indicam que a capacidade absortiva influencia diretamente a inovação, bem como, medeia parcialmente a relação entre gestão do conhecimento e inovação. Além disso, pode-se constatar que a inovação influenciou positivamente o desempenho das organizações participantes. Quanto aos processos de gestão do conhecimento, validou-se a modelagem a partir da análise por meio de um construto de segunda ordem. Pesquisas futuras podem direcionar esforços para a construção de escalas para os processos de gestão do conhecimento e capacidade absortiva que levem em consideração as peculiaridades do setor do agronegócio. De uma perspectiva prática, as relações testadas fornecem indicações a respeito dos fatores essenciais para se garantir a inovação e sustentar um desempenho superior. As conclusões deste estudo fornecem uma base teórica e empírica que colabora para uma melhor compreensão sobre a importância da capacidade absortiva como uma variável mediadora entre a relação de gestão do conhecimento e inovação para melhorar o desempenho das organizações. / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, CAPES / The constant changes that come by setting the business environment have mobilized researchers to investigate the factors that lead to innovate and achieve higher levels of performance. In this context, knowledge management has been considered as a promoter for the development and crucial for organizations to survive. However, the theory has pointed to the knowledge management processes as direct innovation and performance background, but not always considering the role of t absorptive capacity, which enables the Organization, assess, absorb and use the knowledge of best way. In order to fill this gap, the general objective of this thesis is to analyze the relationship between knowledge management processes, absorptive capacity, innovation and performance in the productive chain of the Apple from the links of production and packing-house. To validate the proposed measurement model and test the hypotheses proposed, adopted the methodological strategy of type quantitative-descriptive, investigated empirically through a survey, with 166 actors of the productive chain of the Apple, the segments of production and packing-houses in the States of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. The collected data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling. The results obtained have provided strong support for hipotetizadas relations, which have shown that the processes of knowledge management influence significantly the absorptive capacity and the product and process innovation. Also indicate that the absorptive capacity influence directly the innovation, as well as, mediates the relationship between partially knowledge management and innovation. In addition, you can see that the innovation influenced positively the performance of participating organizations. As for the knowledge management processes, validated the modeling from the analysis by means of a second-order construct. Future research can target efforts to the construction of scales for the processes of knowledge management and absorptive capacity that take into consideration the peculiarities of the agribusiness sector. From a practical perspective, the relationships tested provide indications about the essential factors to ensure innovation and sustain superior performance. The findings of this study provide a theoretical and empirical that contributes to a better understanding of the importance of absorptive capacity as a mediator variable between the relationship of knowledge management and innovation to improve the performance of organizations.

Educators in higher education are expected by their institutions to enhance their learning and development in order to acquire the requisite knowledge and skills to keep up with the changes being presented by the external environment. Within this environment of change, educators are faced with challenges of professional development. Under certain circumstances, there are educators who will take the initiative to intervene in the learning and development of other educators in the absence of sufficient organisational support. A developmental mentoring approach is presented as a powerful intervention to enhance the learning and development of educators. Action research, utilising a self study approach to enquiry, is used to explore how mentoring practice can, from a developmental perspective, assist in enhancing the individual learning and development of educators in one Vocational Education and Training (VET) educational institution in Botswana. In this study, one mentor and two mentees undertake an innovative mentoring journey to build personal and professional capacity. Action research cycles are used in the collection of data from face-to-face conversations, personal reflective journals and focus group interviews. The findings indicate that the mentoring process contributed effectively to learning and development and enhanced the participants’ capacity to cope with the challenges facing the organisation. The intervention assisted the mentor to improve her mentoring capacities. Overall, the behavioural change that the participants gained through the mentoring process resulted in improved practices that contributed to the learning of the organisation. The value of this study lies in the fact that it provides insight into the learning and development of educators in VET educational institutions through an innovative mentoring experience and highlights how both the mentees and the mentor grew and were empowered by this experience. The individual learning of educators can influence the organisational behaviour of the VET educational institutions using mentoring. The implication of these findings points to the fact that educators need to be proactive and pursue their own professional development by making use of mentoring as an avenue to individual learning and personal and professional development. Educators who engage with more experienced colleagues in mentoring relationships contribute to organizational learning. A recommendation to VET educational institutions in Africa is to embrace mentoring as an organisational development intervention for the continuous learning and development of educators in their institutions. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

Ascending into the executive level of an organization can be considered a crowning achievement in one’s profession. It is usually a position in which those most qualified could ultimately arrive. Yet, some organizations, particularly within the U.S. federal government, claim that coveted executive positions are remaining vacant or are not being filled as readily as has traditionally occurred. Even with programs available for a person to become more qualified for advancement, the positions remain unfilled. The level at which employees traditionally qualify for executive positions is the level at which fewer seem to be applying for those positions. In other words, it appears that potential executive candidates are refusing to advance into executive vacancies, which is often referred to as the progression paradox. An organization unable to promote employee advancement into executive vacancies could potentially inhibit its own progression.The ideas of position qualification and position refusal are two concepts that have not been studied collectively nor received the level of scrutiny that is perhaps needed to answer the fundamental question: Why are gaps in executive-level positions not being filled as expected? Therefore, the researcher utilized grounded-theory analysis to develop a theory into whether adequately defined capabilities freely and clearly enable employee advancement into executive leadership levels. This study delved into the literature and reviewed several inquiries made into the personal perspectives of employees at various levels throughout a Department of Defense agency regarding constructs that could affect ascension into executive leadership ranks. The researcher then built on the findings from these inquiries to create a model of alignment with an organization’s core purpose. Essentially, this research offers an increased understanding into the mask of ambiguity that inhibits progression and identifies the elements needed to assist qualified employees who are refusing to advance into executive vacancies.

<p>My analysis consists of an in-depth study of the experience of a group of development programme participants who were exposed to the use of art and artistic work in organisation and leadership development, resulting in positive effects. My starting point is creativity as a concept according to paediatrician and psychoanalyst DW Winnicott who stresses how important playing and creativity is for us, even as an adult, for us to utilise our full potential. He believes that we have a psychological space – a crossover area – where the outer, objective reality and the inner, subjective reality meet. Playing, creative development and experiences occur in this space. The purpose of my paper is to investigate art and artistic creation to determine if it can be used in the work environment as a means to provide individuals access to the crossover space, thereby developing creativity and the creative power.</p><p>Risks have also been addressed within my paper. Art and culture can be brought down to a level where its use is only justifiable in those instances where value and economic benefits can be shown. In my opinion, this risk must be taken seriously. This does not mean, however, that one should not work across borders. This is about letting art and culture provide value in the leadership and organisation development by concurrently complementing logical and rationale methods, plans, and decision-making with the goal of striving to maintain the integrity and autonomy of the artistic endeavours.</p>

This thesis explores the capacities, challenges and differences of three Swedish environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs). It uses a case study method to examine the ENGOs Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, Friends of the Earth Sweden and Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation. The study will explore what capacities and challenges the organizations have to sustain and develop, using capacity development as an analytical framework. Qualitative methods are used for gathering data. The findings of this study indicates that all three of the organizations have several capacities that is suggested by the theory capacity development, such as monitoring and evaluating the organization, developed communication to donors and supporters, accountability, clear aim and goals, etc. These three ENGOs is well established in the society of Sweden and have been active for a minimum of three decades. However, there are always capacities and strategies that can develop and be more effective, as well as addressing organizational challenges. The challenges founded in this study that all three organizations have in common, is the issues of being dependent on external funding and donations, and the communication between branches of the organizations as well as among members of the staff. Increased communication could better unify the organization and less dependence of external funding and donations could make the organizations more stable as well as sustainable.