Background: The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the global economy, as governments imposed restrictions on mobility and social distancing. As a consequence many businesses shifted their daily activities to remote channels. The urgent shift meant a lack in organizational and workforce readiness to integrate the change in daily routines. Hence, as the majority of organizations adapt remote practices, it is critical to address the fundamental and contextual consequences within the current framework.  Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the shift in organizational hierarchy as a consequence of the implementation of remote work in regards to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Methodology: A quantitative research design was applied, where primary data was collected through surveys. The sample size consisted of 47 participants that were currently employed in Sweden and had experienced a shift to remote work during the pandemic (2020-2022). Moreover, the participants have been employed during the period 2017-2022, as the intention was to compare the perceptions before and after the pandemic.  Findings: The findings revealed that no significant change in hierarchical structure had occurred due to the shift to remote work. Empirical evidence proposed a significant decrease in response times between different departments; nonetheless, the following is not evident enough to support a shift in hierarchical structure. There was an evident shift in one out of six leadership styles, as adaptation of task-oriented leadership decreased. The shift was further explained by a task-oriented approach exemplifying autocratic characteristics, that in turn malfunctioned in times of urgency. Finally, there has been a decrease in satisfaction concerning work environment and social interactions with colleagues. Overall, the study lacked empirical evidence that indicated a prominent shift in hierarchical structures or leadership style.  Implications for future research: The current study found implications on diminishing satisfaction related to the work environment perceptions. Thus, suggestions for future research include a focus on investigating the causations of the aforementioned issues. The underlying reasons for the shift from task-oriented leadership could be further explored, as previous research argues for its benefits in the context of leading virtual teams. Finally, there is development potential in exploring the shift of perceptions from different employment configurations, which might be influential in the context of hierarchical reflections.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Knowledge management is an organisational science field that is viewed by many as a panacea to the challenge of successfully managing knowledge intensive organisations. Knowledge management is marked by a clear departure from traditional management thinking that viewed the ideal organisation as a bureaucracy with a clear hierarchical structure. Much of this has been the natural result of advances in information technology making new ways of working possible, but frequently, flatter structures are advocated on the assumption that knowledge work is necessarily stifled in hierarchical structures. The thesis sets out to show that whilst this assumption might be true, it can also be ideological if based on a naive conception of hierarchy and organisation. This is done by describing various notions of hierarchy that go beyond the pure bureaucratic form. Thereafter it is demonstrated that these more nuanced notions of hierarchy lie at the core of some of the foundational knowledge management theories. The first chapter gives an overview of management thinking; connecting and contrasting scientific management with knowledge management. The case is made for why many assume that knowledge management is inherently anti-hierarchical. The second chapter describes the various notions of hierarchy by tracing the historical origins of the word and exploring how it has found multiple meanings in the context of society and organisations. Four prominent usage contexts of the notion of hierarchy emerge. The first usage is that of control where hierarchy refers to bureaucracies. The second usage examines the use of hierarchy in identifying various organisational cultures (Markets, Clans, Adhocracies and Hierarchies). The third usage applies to organisation sensemaking levels. The fourth usage refers to the use of hierarchy as it applies to organisations as the coupling of systems and subsystems. In the third chapter it is demonstrated to what extent each of these notions of hierarchy informs selected mainstream knowledge management theories. It is argued that there are multiple contexts in which the notion of hierarchy can be used and observed in knowledge management thinking. The fourth chapter concludes by restating the multiple meanings of organisational hierarchy and discussing the implications for knowledge management. The thesis comes to the conclusion that the notion of hierarchy is readily acknowledged and used in knowledge management thinking, albeit in different contexts and in more nuanced ways than merely as control. What is needed is to take these various contexts into account before a claim can be made that hierarchy is bad or good for knowledge management. A better conceptualisation of what is meant by hierarchy shows that such blanket claims are neither accurate nor instructive. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kennisbestuur is 'n veld in organisasiestudies wat deur baie mense gesien word as die oplossing vir die bestuursprobleem van kennis-intensiewe organisasies. Kennisbestuur word gekenmerk deur 'n duidelike afwyking van die tradisionele bestuursdenke wat die ideale organisasie sien as 'n burokrasie met 'n duidelik hierargiese struktuur. Hierdie afwyking is waarskynlik die natuurlike resultaat van voortuitgang in informasietegnologie wat nuwe maniere van werk moontlik maak, maar soms word platter strukture bepleit op die basis van die aanname dat kenniswerk in beginsel deur hierargiese strukture benadeel word. Die tesis probeer wys dat alhoewel so 'n aanname wel waar kan wees, dit ook ideologies kan wees, veral wanneer gebaseer op 'n naïewe verstaan van hierargie en organisering. Dit word gedoen deur verskeie vorme van hierargie, wat verfynings van die burokratiese vorm is, te beskryf en daarna te demonstreer hoedat hierdie meer genuanseerde konsepsies van hierargie baie van die hoofstroom kennisbestuursteorieë informeer. Die eerste hoofstuk gee 'n oorsig van bestuursdenke vanaf wetenskaplike bestuur tot kennisbestuur. 'n Argument word gevoer oor hoekom baie mense aanvaar dat kennisbestuur in wese anti-hierargies is. Die tweede hoofstuk beskryf die verskeie vorme van hierargie deur die geskiedkundige oorsprong van die woord na te spoor en te wys op die vele maniere waarop dit neerslag gevind het in die samelewing en spesifiek in organisasies. Vier prominente gebruikskontekste word geïdentifiseer. Die eerste verwys na hierargie as kontrole in burokrasieë. Die tweede ondersoek die uitbreiding van hieragie as 'n manier om verskillende organisatoriese kulture te identifiseer (Markte, Klans, Adhokrasieë en Hierargieë). Die derde gebruikskonteks het te make met vlakke van organisatoriese singewing. Die vierdie konteks verwys na die gebruik van hierargie in die koppeling van sisteme en hulle subsisteme soos dit in organisasie-denke neerslag vind. Die derde hoofstuk demonstreer tot watter mate elkeen van hierdie gebruikskontekste geselekteerde hoofstroom kennisbestuursteorieë onderlê. Daar word geargumenteer dat daar 'n veelvoud van kontekste is waarbinne hierargie in kennisbestuur gebruik en waargeneem kan word. Die vierde hoofstuk sluit af deur die verskeie betekenisse van hierargie op te som en die implikasies vir kennisbestuur uit te stippel. Die tesis kom tot die slotsom dat hierargie in kennisbestuur erken en gebruik word, alhoewel in verskeie kontekste en in meer genuanseerde vorme as eenvoudige burokratiese kontrole. Wat nodig is, is om hierdie verskeie kontekste in ag te neem voordat afdoende antwoorde gewaag kan word of hierargie goed of sleg is vir die bestuur van kennis. 'n Beter konseptualisering van wat met hierargie bedoel word wys dat afdoende antwoorde in die verband waarskynlik onakkuraat is.

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Background/Problematization: The audit profession and its credibility have been threatenedby audit failures and corporate collapses, and the inability to detect and deter fraud has beenproven costly to audit firms. Regarding the complexity of detection and deterrence of fraud,researchers have suggested the brainstorming session as a fundamental assignment. Where ithas been shown that the brainstorming session seldom is a function of one single individual;it is rather a team effort. Prior researchers within audit team research have investigated teamcomposition in terms of demographic factors whereas other domains of research have movedbeyond this small and narrow view and are now investigating team composition regardingdiversity in soft and hard skills. This is yet to be explored within the audit profession and theresearchers hope to fill this void and provide useful insights through this dissertation. Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation is to explain how a diverse set of soft skills and adiverse set of hard skills affect the efficiency in the brainstorming session and how thisrelationship is contingent on a tall organizational hierarchy. Methodology: The researchers have adopted a positivist research philosophy together with adeductive research approach. The quantitative method has been used to collect data where theresearchers applied the use of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent out to individualswithin the audit profession where the authors aimed for audit associates and senior associates.The response rate was 20 %. The data were further analysed through a Spearman CorrelationMatrix, component principal analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, and hierarchicalmoderated multiple regression analysis. Findings: The findings indicate a positive correlation between diversity in soft skills andefficiency in the brainstorming session where the tall organizational hierarchy has amoderating effect on this relationship.

Mellanchefens roll inom organisationer är komplex. Som mellanchef förväntas du vara den som ska kontrollera den operativa verksamheten, samtidigt som du blir kontrollerad av toppcheferna. Inom managementlitteraturen används begreppet empowerment för att beskriva en individs inflytande inom en organisation. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka mellanchefens empowerment i relation till toppchefen. För att besvara frågeställningen har vi använt oss av en kvalitativ ansats. Intervjuer har genomförts med fyra mellanchefer samt fem toppchefer inom en organisation för att utröna mellanchefens empowerment. Studien visar att mellancheferna innehar ett illusoriskt empowerment då de har en låg grad av strukturellt empowerment trots en hög grad av psykologiskt empowerment. / The middle manager's role within organizations is complex. As a middle manager, you are expected to be the one to control the operational activities, at the same time as you are controlled by the top managers. In the management literature, the term empowerment is used to describe an individual's influence within an organization. This study aims to examine the middle manager's empowerment in relation to the top manager. To answer the question, we have used a qualitative approach. Interviews were conducted with four middle managers and five top managers within an organization to ascertain the middle manager's empowerment. The study showed that middle managers have an illusory empowerment as they have a low degree of structural empowerment despite a high degree of psychological empowerment.

Shortly after the February 2014 Euromaidan revolution which ousted pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Russia orchestrated a rapid and mostly bloodless annexation of the Crimea. Following the removal of Ukrainian authority from the peninsula, the Kremlin focused simultaneously on legitimizing the annexation via an electoral reform in Crimea and fermenting political unrest in the Donbas. As violence broke out in the Donbas, anti-Ukrainian government militias were formed by defecting Ukrainian security forces members, local volunteers, and volunteers from Russia. The Kremlin provided extensive support for these militias which sometimes even came in the form of direct military intervention by conventional Russian forces. However, the use of state-sponsored militias by Russia is not a new phenomenon. Since the end of the Cold War, the Russian Federation has been relying on militias to help stabilize local security environments, and more recently, achieve foreign security policy objectives in the Near Abroad. By tracking the history of Vostok (East) Battalion during its two distinctly different iterations, first as a militia for the Yamadayev family which operated primarily in Chechnya as well as briefly in South Ossetia and Lebanon and then as separatist formation in Eastern Ukraine, my thesis seeks to examine why Russia uses militias. Using the theoretical frameworks of principle-agent relations and organizational hierarchy, my thesis examines post-Soviet military reforms to contextualize the Kremlin's rationale for utilizing militia groups as well as analyzing the costs and benefits Moscow ultimately incurs when it leverages militias as force projection assets domestically and in the Near Abroad. / Master of Arts / This thesis is an examination of Russia’s relationship with its proxy militias. Proxy militias are paramilitary formations comprised of a mix of civilians and military veterans which states use to carry out acts of coercive violence without having to rely on regular military forces. Specifically, the thesis is divided into two case studies of a unit known as Vostok Battalion. Vostok has existed in two distinctly different iterations; first as a Chechen based militia operating throughout the Caucuses and later as a rebel militia fighting the Ukrainian government in the Donbas region. In both cases, Vostok received support and varying levels of guidance from Russia. The case studies of this thesis are attempting to contextualize why Russia utilizes proxy militias and identify the challenges Russia faces when its ability to control them is degraded.