Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2010. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 27, 2010). Advisor: William Acar. Keywords: theory evaluation; higher-order construct in theory evaluation; important theories; informativeness; multi-dimensionality of theory evaluation; publication quality; novelty; extendibility; practicability; consistency; falsifiability. Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-112).

D.Com. (Human Resource Management) / In this study strategic human resources management in the armaments industry is investigated. Strategic management is treated as a management-of-change instrument. In the theoretical chapters the position of strategic human resources management within the entire management process is discussed. Existing strategic concepts and approaches are analysed in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses as they occur in current practice. In this way the strengths can be utilised and the weaknesses can be eliminated from the strategic human resources management of South Africa's armaments industry. Strategic management is discussed as a system that comprises two main elements, namely strategic planning and strategy implementation. In this dissertation an analytical survey method was employed. Two different questionnaires were distributed: one was aimed at managers, and the second at supervisors and workers on the shop floor. The aim of the survey was to determine the status quo and to identify the defects in human resources strategic planning in the armaments industry. A total of 1444 questionnaires were distributed, of which 1 216 were returned. Four different statistical analyses were done, namely: The identification of specific problem areas that occur amongst managers and non-managers by way of hypothesis testing. The analysis of specified perceptions amongst managers and non-managers by way of the CHAID analysis (in order to identify significant predictors) and by way of model-building (log linear modelling). The comparison of perceptions in private companies with those in Armscor affiliates by way of model-building (loglinear modelling). The analysis of specified perceptions in the armaments industry as a whole by way of model building (loglinear modelling). The two most significant defects in the strategic human resources planning process that were identified during the investigation are: * A lack of communication between the members of armaments businesses at different organizational levels. A lack of strategic planning in general, and of strategic human resources planning in particular. In order to eliminate the defects that have been identified, the author suggests that * businesses follow a participative management approach; (This includes combined planning.) Middle-level managers become more involved in strategic planning and that they be granted the authority to implement strategic decisions; * management information be updated constantly and that this information be used for analysing the environment so that scenarios can be developed and analysed; strategic management must be accepted as a way of life and must not be associated with specific time intervals; * specific provision be made for two-way communication at all levels in armaments businesses; human resources processes must be treated as a system; (The interaction between the different human resources processes must be borne in mind in strategic human resources management.) productivity should receive special attention; and that the elements of strategic management, as summarised in Figure 37, serve as a structure for strategic human resources management.

M.Com. (Business Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This dissertation expands the logic underlying Weiner's (1985a) achievement-motivation model, and applies this logic to the justification of unethical behavior. A conceptual model is developed in which causal attributions linked to anger and shame are predicted to increase the degree to which unethical behaviors are seen as justifiable. Conversely, attributions linked to guilt and frustration are predicted to impede the justification of unethical behaviors. Results of two scenario-based studies are reported. Study 1 tests the conceptual model using a sample of undergraduate students, whereas Study 2 samples a population of practicing physicians. Results provided only limited support for the hypotheses, but did indicate that both attributions and emotions are related to justification in some situations. Implications of these findings for the study of ethics and attributions, as well as for promoting ethical behavior, are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2006. / August 10, 2006. / Ethics, Attribution Theory, Emotion, Attribution Style / Includes bibliographical references. / Mark J. Martinko, Professor Directing Dissertation; David B. Paradice, Outside Committee Member; Gerald R. Ferris, Committee Member; Stephen E. Humphrey, Committee Member.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Historically organisations have had the "luxury" of being able to anticipate future developments and respond to them in good time due to, firstly, the comparatively slow pace of change and, secondly, the past being a relatively good predictor of the future. The second half of the 20th Century bears witness to some of the most dramatic changes and developments experienced by mankind. Most notable of these were globalisation,de-regulation, the emergence of the information/knowledge economy and, perhaps most significant of all, the changes brought about by the Internet. The underlying assertion of this report is that, given the current, complex, dynamic and sometimes volatile nature of changes in the external environment, in order to ensure a sustainable competitive advantage, organisations will be forced to consider carefully the dynamics of the environment in which they operate and to build their plans around these dynamics. This report briefly traces the evolution of strategic planning to its current status prior to providing a detailed analysis of the nature of environmental scanning and its applicability to strategic planning. The report provides a theoretical overview Qf environmental scanning and a discussion of some of the tools and techniques of environmental scanning. Within this context the report provides a brief indication of the extent of the practice of environmental scanning within the financial services sector of South Africa. The conclusion assesses the findings of the current state of the practice of environmental scanning against the theory, with the view to providing an insight into the extent to which environmental scanning is applied in South Africa Possible future directions of research and development of the practice are also identified. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Histories gesproke, het instansies oor die "luukse" beskik om toekomstige ontwikkelinge vooruit te kon waarneem en betyds op hulle te reageer, eerstens weens die betreklike stadige pas van verandering en tweedens, omdat die verlede 'n betreklike goeie voorspeller van die toekoms was. Die tweede helfte van die 20ste eeu getuig van sommige van die mees dramatiese veranderinge en ontwikkelinge wat deur die mens ondervind is. Die mees uitstaande was globalisering, deregulering, die verskyning van die inligting/kennis-ekonomie en, dalk die mees uitstaande van almal, die veranderinge wat deur die Internet teweeggebring is. Die onderliggende stelling van hierdie verslag is dat, gegewe die huidige, komplekse,dinamiese en soms onbestendige aard van veranderinge in die eksterne omgewing, om 'n mededingende voordeel te verseker, sal instansies geforseer word om die dinamika van die omgewing waarin hulle werk, versigtig te oorweeg en om hulle planne om hierdie dinamika te bou. Hierdie verslag speur kortliks die ewolusie na van strategiese beplanning tot sy huidige status gevolg deur 'n omvattende analise van die aard van omgewingsondersoeke en die toepaslikheid daarvan op strategiese beplanning. Die verslag voorsien 'n teoretiese oorsig tot omgewingsondersoeke en 'n bespreking van sommige van die instrurnente en tegnieke van omgewingsondersoeke. Binne hierdie konteks voorsien die verslag 'n kort aanduiding van die omvang van die uitvoering van omgewingsondersoeke binne die finansiele dienstesektor van Suid-Afrika. Die slot som die bevindings op van die huidige toestand van die praktyk van omgewingsondersoeke volgens die teorie, met die oog op voorsiening van 'n insig in die mate waartoe omgewingsondersoeke in Suid-Afrika toegepas word. Moontlike toekomstige rigtings van navorsing en ontwikkeling van die praktyk word ook geidentifiseer.

With today's rapidly changing business environment, more and more businesses are using competitive intelligence to improve planning efforts, identify threats and opportunities and help avoid unpleasant surprises. However, to be effective, this intelligence must be gathered and communicated between managers. Two research questions will address these issues: (1) can a representation of competitive knowledge be developed that reflects managerial thought and (2) will a graphical computer tool based on this representation elicit a more complete representation of competitive intelligence knowledge in a more efficient manner relative to traditional methods? Various studies have shown managerial thought to be represented in several ways, e.g., conceptual groupings, hierarchically, and causally. However, by proposing that managers represent information about competitors in a story structure and integrating this proposal with the literature from competitive intelligence and strategic planning, a more complete conceptual model results. To validate the proposed conceptual model, an archival case study of three competitors in the computer workstation market was conducted. Following that, interviews were conducted with six MBA students with experience in competitive intelligence and with six managers. The transcripts from these interviews have been analyzed and the conceptual model has been modified based on input from this content analysis. A prototype was developed using the ConceptBase platform, an X-windows tool that provides both graphical and textual access to concepts and their relationships. The prototype will allow managers to create a graphical representation of their competitive knowledge. This representation will allow managers to locate gaps in their knowledge and to communicate their information to others. The prototype was validated by two different groups of MBA students by asking them to represent a given competitive situation. One group used pencil and paper while the second group used the prototype. Both the number of uncategorized concepts and the number of relationships differed significantly. This indicates that a more complete representation was created using the prototype. The two main contributions of this research are: (1) a model of competitive intelligence knowledge based on managerial cognition, and (2) a prototype that will facilitate the elicitation of competitive intelligence knowledge in a graphical and understandable manner.

No description available.

M.Comm. / Vision and mission are often incorrectly seen as synonyms. In this study the vision and mission are defined separately. A vision is defined as a dream of an ultimate goal of the organisation in the future. This must be a clear and specific image or word picture that requires imagination. The vision must become ideology and summarise the core values of the organisation. A mission is defined as the type of business that the organisation is carrying out. It says why the organisation has a right to exist and the immediate goal of the organisation. A vision and a mission have definite advantages for the organisation. Some of the advantages are an ultimate and an immediate goal to strive for. A vision helps employees to decide if its actions are correct or incorrect. A mission gives employees responsibility and the employees' performance can be measured against it. There are certain requirements a vision and a mission have to meet. The joined requirements are it must inspire, motivate and energise the employees. Secondly, management with the input of the employees must formulate it. Thirdly, the vision and the mission must be shared with all the employees to ensure goal concurrency. Fourthly, the vision and mission must be positive. Lastly, it must encourage employees to think long term. Vision specific requirements are it must be a leap in the future, specific and understandable to all the employees, unique and original, timeless, something worth the organisation's while, make sense in the market and create a environment of risk taking and experimentation. Mission specific requirements are it must describe the type of business clearly, must be in line with the external environment, state the right to exist, help with the allocation of resources, lead by the vision of the organisation and persuade employees emotionally to achieve the mission. The mission should include a ten to thirty year goal against which employees performance can be measured...

"December 2001" Includes bibliographical references : (p. 31-32) Simons (1990) notion of interactive controls has been used in the literature to examine the role of management control systems in facilitating strategic change. The implications of strategic change for routine diagnostic feedback mechanisms have received less attention. Drawing on interview and archival data from a single case study of an Australian pump manufacturer, we examine the way diagnostic controls are used in the immediate period following strategic change. The changes in diagnostic controls are shown not only to align the organization in a self-regulating way to a new strategic direction, but also to promote learning, co-operation and culture change which are integral to, rather than an outcome of the strategic change process.

There is a Chinese saying in The Doctrine of the Golden Mean: ¡§planning leads to success; lack of planning leads to destruction¡¨. Individuals, families, businesses, and nations all have to plan, execute, control, and analyze ¡§strategies¡¨ and ¡§budgets¡¨ to realize future dreams. Budget is a form of financial planning that can realize and quantify the future operation plans and performances of businesses. It is also a form of financial accounting helping management control costs, realize goals, and create future. Implementation of budget management can help improve business performances and enhance business competitiveness. Through planning, implementing, control, and review of budgets, a business can prepare itself in advance for the uncertainties and find solutions. Businesses can properly use their limited resources to accomplish their goals.