Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-117).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-123).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Administrative Studies. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 472-489). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNR11590

<p> The leadership styles and behaviors of African American women executives across multiple economic sectors were studied using an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach. Senior leaders from six of the following sectors Academia, Business, Government, Law, Military, and Nonprofit were surveyed using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) to quantitatively assess their leadership styles and behaviors. A subset of survey respondents from each sector were interviewed one-on-one to provide contextual details regarding their MLQ results, and to elicit additional perspectives on leadership styles in general and the development of their individual style in particular. </p><p> The preponderance of the relatively limited published studies on the leadership attributes of African American women have involved one or more of the following design methodologies: (a) use of qualitative methods, (b) focus on a single sector of the economy, (c) inclusion of a range of leadership positions from middle to senior management within their sample size, and (d) exploration of the obstacles and barriers encountered by the women during their journey to leadership. </p><p> The purpose of the present research augmented the scope and results of the previous work. MLQ data from a numerically significant sample of executives, coupled with the interview narratives, potentially provided the necessary quantitative and qualitative underpinnings to support and/or reshape findings from the past studies. Expanding the scope to include leaders from different sectors furnished insight into potential sector-specific influences on leadership styles; and tightening of the sampling process to include only senior-level leaders in organizations reduced experimental variability and insured a pool of participants with extensive leadership experience. The obstacles and barriers facing African American women leaders received the most attention in prior studies and therefore is not a key focus of this work. However, salient information gleaned from interviews concerning their impact on leadership styles have been reported.</p><p> It is expected that the data and information from this study has yielded a more comprehensive evaluation of the leadership styles and behaviors of these African American women executives in particular, and potentially enabled meaningful comparisons with previously published findings on such leadership characteristics in general.</p>

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Organizational Knowledge Creation is a core activity of Knowledge Intensive Organizations. In the area of Knowledge Management, a number of theories have been developed about organizational knowledge and how this knowledge is developed and leveraged. The majority of these theories share a taxonomic approach to organizational knowledge and usually describe the various kinds of knowledge found in organizations and how these different kinds of knowledge interact. These descriptions represent the mainstream view of Knowledge Management and typically a contingency argument is made for matching types of knowledge with a particular organizational design, management style, or strategy for managing the various kinds of knowledge content. Parallel to the development of Knowledge Management theory is the development of Organization Theory likening organizations to interpretation or sensemaking systems. Knowledge also stands central in these theories of organization, but knowledge is viewed as a collective accomplishment intertwined with organizational practices. It is therefore clear that the Knowledge Creation perspective belongs to a different worldview from the Sensemaking perspective regarding organization. The thesis seeks to bridge the divide between these two different views of organization by describing the Knowledge Creation process in terms of the Sensemaking worldview. It accomplishes this by critically reviewing the mainstream theories of Knowledge Creation. Next organizational Sensemaking is described, focusing on the context of everyday organizational Sensemaking and in particular on Arguing as a Sensemaking process. It is proposed that Arguing is a process that creates new knowledge. Viewing Knowledge Creation through the lens of Sensemaking as Arguing addresses a perennial issue in the mainstream Knowledge Management theory, namely the justification of newly created knowledge to ensure that it is robust, without giving up on a pluralist epistemology in favour of an objective view of knowledge. Arguing is a site where claims are made, challenged, and defended. The Sensemaking process of Arguing therefore provides a description of the Knowledge Creation process which includes knowledge justification. In addition, a Sensemaking view of Knowledge Creation takes as its model social interaction, rather than linear product development and is therefore much closer to the everyday process of innovation as incremental improvement than the radical innovation process that inspired most theories of Knowledge Creation in the Knowledge Management literature. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Organisatoriese kennis-skepping is ‘n kern aktiwiteit van Kennis-intensiewe Ondernemings. ‘n Aantal teorieë is ontwikkel in die veld van Kennisbestuur wat handel oor organisatoriese kennis en hoe hierdie kennis ontwikkel en benut word. Die meerderheid van hierdie teorieë deel ‘n taksonomiese benadering tot organisatoriese kennis en beskryf gewoonlik die verskillende soorte kennis wat in organisasies gevind word en hoe hierdie soorte kennis verband hou. Hierdie benadering verteenwoordig die hoofstroom-siening van Kennisbestuur en lei tipies tot ‘n kontingensie argument vir die pas van tipes kennis by spesifieke organisasie ontwerpe, bestuurstyle, of strategieë vir die bestuur van verskillende soorte kennis-inhoude. Parallel tot die ontwikkeling van Kennisbestuursteorie het daar in Organisasie Teorie ontwikkelinge plaasgevind wat organisasies benader as interpretasie— of singewingsisteme. Kennis staan ook sentraal in hierdie teorieë van organisasie, maar kennis word gesien as ‘n kollektiewe totstandbrenging wat verweefd is met die praktyke in organisasies. Dit is dus duidelik dat die Kennis-skeppingsbenadering en die Singewingsperspektief organisasies met verskillende wêreldbeelde benader. Die tesis poog om die kloof tussen hierdie twee wêreldbeelde te oorbrug deur die proses van Kennis-skepping te beskryf vanuit die perspektief van Singewing. Dit word gedoen deur die hoofstroom Kennisbestuursteorie krities te beskou. Daarna word Organisatoriese Singewing beskryf deur spesifiek te fokus op die alledaagse konteks van Organisatoriese Singewing en spesifiek op Argumentering as ‘n Singewingsproses. Daar word aangevoer dat Argumentering die proses is waardeur nuwe kennis geskep word. ‘n Singewingsperspektief op Kennis-skepping het ‘n aantal voordele. Die fokus op Argumentering spreek ‘n leemte in Kennisbestuursteorie aan, naamlik die proses waardeur nuutgeskepte kennis geregverdig word om te verseker dat dit robuust is, sonder om die pluralistiese epistemologie van Kennisbestuursteorie te laat vaar. Argumentering is ‘n proses waardeur aansprake gemaak, uitgedaag en verdedig word. Die perspektief op Singwing as Argumentering bied dus ‘n beskrywing van Kennis-skepping wat die regverdiging van kennis insluit. Verder neem die Singewingsperspektief op Kennis-skepping sosiale interaksie as basismodel eerder as die lineêre produk-ontwikkelingsperspektief. Dit is dus nader aan die alledaagse prosesse van inkrementele verbetering as die radikale innovasie-prosesse wat die inspirasie vir hoofstroom Kennis-skeppingsteorie is.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In order to achieve strategic and economic goals in a post 1994 South African economy, organisations have to apply their human resources to the full, leadership must be developed and companies should aim to benefit from organisational citizenship behaviours (oess). oes refers to voluntary employee behaviour that is not prescribed by formal job description, it is beneficial to the effective functioning of the organisation and employees are not formally rewarded for these behaviours. The aim of this study is to research the relationship between transformational leadership and oess. The main hypothesis is that transformational leadership has a positive relationship with oess. This positive relationship is (a) indirect through employee trust in their direct supervisor, or (b) indirect through firstly perceived fairness within the organisation (on both structural and interactional levels) and secondly trust in the leader. Procedural justice and trust act as mediators in these relationships. An ex post-facto design was used and data (collected from the South African Banking Industry) was analysed using LISREL. The results indicate that transformational leadership has a positive, significant relationship with OeBs. The hypotheses were corroborated that transformational leadership has a positive relationship with procedural justice; justice has a positive relationship with trust in the leader and trust has a positive relationship with OeBs. However, transformational leadership does have a significantly, positive relationship with trust in the leader directly. The conclusion can be drawn that organisations can foster oess by developing transformational leadership, increasing perceived procedural justice and fostering a trust relationship between employees and their direct supervisors. This will greatly benefit organisations, as oess are vital for productivityand organisational performance. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ten einde strategiese en ekonomiese doelwitte te bereik in "n post-1994 Suid- Afrikaanse ekonomie, moet organisasies hul menslike hulpbronne ten volle benut, leierskap ontwikkel en voordeel trek uit die verskynsel van organisatoriese gemeenskapsgedrag (OGG). Laasgenoemde is vrywillige werknemergedrag wat nie deel van formele posbeskrywings is nie; dit is voordelig vir die effektiewe funksionering van die organisasie en werknemers word nie formeel vir hierdie gedrag vergoed nie. Die doel van hierdie studie is om die verband tussen transformasionele leierskap en OGG te ontleed. Die hoofhipotese is gestel dat transformasionele leierskap "n positiewe invloed op OGG het. Hierdie positiewe verband is (a) indirek deur die vertroue wat werknemers in hul direkte toesighouers het, of (b) indirek deur eerstens waargenome billikheid in die organisasie (op strukturele en interaktiewe vlakke) en tweedens vertroue in die leier. Prosedurele geregtigheid en vertroue tree as mediators in hierdie verwantskappe op. "n Ex post facto ontwerp is gebruik en die data (wat uit die Suid-Afrikaanse bank industrie versamel is) is deur middel van LISREL ontleed. Uit die resultate blyk dit dat transformasionele leierskap wel "n beduidend positiewe verband met OGG toon. Die hipoteses is bevestig dat transformasionele leierskap "n positiewe verwantskap het met proseduriële geregtigheid, geregtigheid "n positiewe verwantskap het met vertroue in die direkte toesighouer en vertroue "n positiewe verwantskap het met OGG. Transformasionele leierskap het egter nie "n direkte positiewe verwantskap met vertroue in die toesighouer nie. Die gevolgtrekking is dus dat organisasies die verskynsel van OGG kan bevorder deur te verseker dat transformasionele leiers ontwikkel word, geregtigheid in die organisasie waargeneem word en "n vertrouensverhouding tussen werknemers en hul direkte toesighouers ontwikkel word. Organisasies sal groot voordeel hieruit trek, aangesien oess krities vir produktiwiteit sowel as die algehele funksionering van die organisasie is.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Central to this study is the transfer of knowledge in organisations. The aim of this study is to ascertain how the concept of Knowledge Transfer (KT) is represented thematically in the three journals MIS Quarterly, Organization Science, and Management Science. It reviews the growth and development of KT in the context of organisational management and determines the historical and emerging themes and trends thereof. The study focuses on articles that listed any of the following concepts: ‘knowledge transfer’, ‘knowledge sharing’ and ‘knowledge flow’ either in the abstract, as a keyword, or in the title of the paper. A total of 146 articles were identified and analysed through the use of bibliometric and content analysis research methods. The results show that there has been a gradual increase of articles addressing KT related issues in organisations. The historical themes identified include contextual factors, mechanisms, geographic factors, business context, areas of study, agents, flow of knowledge and different knowledge types. From the historical themes, knowledge transfer is a growing literature with many different theories and models, contexts and goals, practices and measures. It is an active process and not a simple act of imitating an example of good practice from one organisation to another. Practices need to be modified to fit new contexts and cultures and authors find that the very process of transferring knowledge, if not implemented properly, has a severe impact on organisational efforts aimed at knowledge management. The emerging trends include organisational performance, organisational learning, organisational change, innovation and change and knowledge networks. From the emerging trends, the clear result is that knowledge transfer is conducted by organisations in order for them to maximise profits and work efficiently. It is in the emerging themes that authors are questioning the popular view of knowledge transfer as a mechanical process. Emerging themes reveal that knowledge transfer is a complex process, involving many different players and factors that must be addressed before a successful transfer can occur. These include, motivating the employees, creating an enabling environment in terms of organisational culture and structure. The study concludes that knowledge transfer as a notion of management in organisations must be re-examined in order to clarify it and establish the relationship it has with other managerial concepts. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sentraal tot hierdie studie is die voorstelling van kennisoordrag in die literatuur. Die doelwit is om te bepaal hoe die begrip “kennisoordrag” in drie tydskrifte naamlik MIS Quarterly; Organization Science en Management Science begryp word. Die studie bied ‘n oorsig van die groei en ontwikkeling van die begrip binne die konteks van organisatoriese bestuur en identifiseer die historiese en opkomende temas en tendense daarvan. Die studie fokus op artikels met die terme ‘kennisoordrag’, ‘deel van kennis’ of ‘kennisvloei’ in die opsommings óf titels van artikels. ‘n Totaal van 146 artikels is geïdentifiseer en ontleed met behulp van bibliometriese- en inhoudsanalitiese navorsingsmetodes. Die resultate van die studie toon ‘n geleidelike toename in artikels rakende kwessies rondom kennisoordrag in organisasies. Die historiese temas wat geïdentifiseer is, sluit in kontekstuele faktore, meganismes, geografiese faktore, organisatoriese konteks, studie areas, agente, kennisvloei en verskillende tipes kennis. Volgens die historiese temas is kennisoordrag ‘n groeiende literatuur met talle teorieë en modelle, kontekste en doelwitte, praktyke en maatstawwe. Dit is ‘n aktiewe proses en nie bloot die nabootsing van goeie praktyke tussen organisasies nie. Praktyke moet verander word om nuwe kontekste en kulture te pas. Outeurs het verder gevind dat die proses van kennisoordrag ‘n ernstige impak op organisasies se kennisbestuur pogings het. Die opkomende tendense sluit in organisatoriese prestasie, organisatoriese leer, organisatoriese verandering, innovasie en verandering en kennis-netwerke. ‘n Ontleding van opkomende tendense toon dat kennisoordrag in organisasies plaasvind met die oog op ‘n toename in wins en doeltreffendheid. Outeurs bevraagteken die gewilde siening dat kennisoordrag ‘n meganiese proses is. Die opkomende temas toon dat kennisoordrag ‘n komplekse proses is wat verskillende faktore behels wat aandag moet geniet voordat suksesvolle oordrag kan plaasvind. Hierdie faktore sluit in die motivering van werknemers en die skep van 'n gunstige omgewing met betrekking tot organisatoriese kultuur en struktuur. Die studie sluit af met die oogpunt dat kennisoordrag as ‘n inisiatief van ‘n organisasie se bestuur herevalueer moet word in ‘n poging om dit verder te verduidelik en die verhouding daarvan met ander bestuurskonsepte te bepaal.

The research presented in this thesis is an exploration of readiness for change within a municipal energy supplier. The literature review revealed a particular gap of the concept of organisational readiness for change in the context of public sector companies with specific characteristics that may impede change. With a high rate and intensity of change due to radical changes within that industry, especially energy suppliers are under increasing pressure to adapt. Increasing forces for change combined with little change experience created an extreme context for the research presented. The concept of organisational readiness was chosen as the research focus with the aim to account for these characteristics and environmental specifics. The work of key authors in this field, including Armenakis and collaborating authors (Armenakis & Harris, 2009, 2002; Armenakis, Bernerth, Pitts & Walker, 2007; Armenakis & Bedeian, 1999; Armenakis & Fredenberger, 1997), Holt et al. (2007) and Mossholder et al. (2000) provided the main theoretical basis for the research. The research objectives were to gain a richer understanding of managers’ and other employees’ perceptions and beliefs concerning Stadtwerke Bielefeld’s readiness for change and key issues for successful change implementation. I adopted a constructivist paradigm with the focus on meanings and understanding using a qualitative approach and a local knowledge case study as the research design. The main element of the data collection was semi-structured interviews with a sample of senior managers identified as key informants, in order to interpret the phenomena in their unique setting. This was complemented by a questionnairebased survey of non-managerial employees’ assessments of readiness for change. The focuses of the applied content analysis were the context and the understanding of the situation as a whole. A striking finding among the management sample was a predominant focus on the rational side of leadership and a lack of acknowledgement of emotional aspects of change and its implementation. While in broad terms the non-management employees generally shared the managers’ confidence that change could successfully be implemented, there were significant and thus enriching differences at the detail level between the perceptions and beliefs of the two groups. The research makes a significant contribution to the understanding of change in public sector organisations. A methodology for change readiness assessment and analysis for these companies is proposed and successfully implemented during the research project. A notable finding was the very different and sometimes contradictory perspectives of managers and employees regarding readiness for change, which demonstrated the value of conducting research within two different groups of organisation members.

In the late 1970s, China’s party leaders realized that China was not able to develop in isolation. Their aim of “learning from advanced countries” also implied bringing change to China on all business-related levels. However, both Chinese and Western practitioners and scholars agree on the inappropriateness of any change approach alien to Chinese specification. To bridge this void, this research directs its interest towards a substantive theorizing upon the Jesuits’ Accommodation approach in China (1583-1742). To do so, Hermeneutic Phenomenology, rooted within the Utrecht School and following Max van Manen, establishes a renewed contact with the Jesuits’ Accommodation experience outside its traditional research environment. Grounded in an exhaustive description of the Accommodation phenomenon along its meaning-units, a reflective analysis into the structural aspects of the Jesuits’ lived Accommodation experience allows eight essential themes to be abstracted. Becoming the building blocks of a substantive Theory of the Unique, these themes summarize all requirements that are reflected in, and/or concern Context, Course, and Content of any Sinicized change approach able to in-culturate/accommodate (foreign) persons|change-agents, (unfamiliar) ideas|concepts, and (alien) approaches|international bestpractices into a Chinese environment. As a result, research into the Jesuits’ Accommodation approach provides Chinese and Western management practitioners and scholars with one new substantive approach to act towards the Chinese Others with thoughtfulness and tact in a fresh and systematic way. Further conceptualized and Sinicized, applying The Chinese Change Concept—The 3C-Approach in a contemporary Chinese organizational environment finally allows to effectively manage change in Chinese organizational settings today.

<p> In this two-part quantitative and qualitative descriptive study, the phenomenon of being engaged at work by physicians currently employed by health care organizations (HCOs) was explored. A purposive sample of eight physicians practicing medicine in the US in a variety of specialties and at seven different HCOs participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences of work engagement. The job demands-resources (JD-R) model served as the theoretical framework of the study. The JD-R model was developed to describe factors associated with both work engagement and burnout, indicators of positive and negative employee well-being, respectively, with implications for individuals and their employing organizations. This study focused on identifying antecedents of positive experiences of work engagement rather than on the negative state of burnout. </p><p> Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data and identify those main job demands, job resources, and personal resources that were described as associated with being engaged at work by employed physicians. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES)^&copy; was used to assess physicians&rsquo; relative levels of work engagement, a three-dimensional construct which included vigor, dedication, and absorption. The most commonly identified patient-care-related job demand was patient volume, while the most commonly identified HCO demands were RVUs/financial targets and work pressure. The only job resource theme found across all participants&rsquo; interviews was their physician colleagues, while the personal resource theme of self-efficacy was common to all participants. Job resources and personal resources, individually and in combination, lead to work engagement according to the JD-R model. Implications for physician work engagement and well-being in HCOs include improved quality of patient care, safety, and satisfaction.</p><p>