Numerous factors are likely to influence response patterns to situational judgment tests, including agreeableness, leadership style, impression management, and job and organizational experience. This research presents background information and research on situational judgment tests and several constructs hypothesized to influence situational judgment test responses. A situational judgment test and manipulations to influence response patterns were developed and piloted with a small sample of management professionals and undergraduate students. Larger samples of management professionals and undergraduate students participated in the experimental research. Participants were asked to imagine that they are applying for a job. Each participant was presented with background information about a fictitious company, describing a company as either highly Participative/Supportive or highly Directive/Achieving in its leadership culture. A third description provided no information about leadership culture to serve as a control. Participants responded to a situational judgment test consisting of some commercially developed items and some new items. Then participants responded to an inventory comprised of items that measure the factors hypothesized to influence response patterns, specifically Agreeableness and Experience. Significant differences in response patterns were determined to be attributable to the Agreeableness and Experience variables, and the Leadership Culture manipulations, as well as the interaction between Experience and the Leadership Culture manipulations. No significant differences were clearly attributable to the Agreeableness by Leadership Culture interaction. The ramifications of these findings are discussed and recommendations for future research are presented.

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What do executives do, and how do their actions impact on the company’s results? Questions such as these are constantly targeted in leadership research. Despite thousands of reports in the field, there is no consensus on what the concept of leadership entails. Nor can companies and organisations be said to have a clear idea of what executives actually do. Nevertheless, the investments in leadership development seem to indicate that executives are considered vital to the company’s results. The vague notions about what executive work entails, together with assumptions concerning their importance to the company or organisation, lend a certain magical aura to their work. In this study, executives are regarded as a professional category, and are consequently examined with a qualitative method whereby the professionals begin by reflecting in writing on their skills, and then take part in a group discussion on their skills based on their written reflections. This method, known as the dialogue seminar method, has been used on other professional categories with good results. Since executives have not previously been studied in terms of their skills, the results have been compared to leadership research. Leadership studies with a gender perspective have shown that gender impacts on the likelihood of obtaining and practising executive positions and skills. Therefore, the results of this study have also been analysed from a gender perspective. The skills of executives and other staff are described as the capacity to follow rules, i.e. interpreting rules and then applying them in concrete situations. A rule says nothing about how it should be followed, however. If the way in which a rule should be followed were to be described in a rule, another rule would be needed to describe how that rule should be followed, and so on, ad infinitum. Thus, rules must be interpreted as something that requires access to an “archive” of examples. One specific executive skill consists of developing co-workers’ rule-following skills. For executives, following the rules involves making decisions based on tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge, in turn, is based on an inner vision of what is taking place right now in the organisation, and what is crucial to customers, employees, the organisation and the world at large. It also includes understanding people’s urges, thoughts, needs, wishes, and what they are saying. Tacit knowledge develops in the interplay between reflecting over examples and taking strategic action. Decision-making situations can often be unclear and contradictory. Therefore the executive’s skills must include the ability to handle uncertainty in three different ways. The first is by being honest about the fact that all decisions cannot be made, and that some decisions take time. The second is explaining to employees that an organisation cannot be entirely regulated by guidelines, and that judgement in the form of reflected experience is therefore a crucial element in all action. The third is coping with the fact that an executive position does not automatically entail being able to make the right decision. Thus, the executive must accommodate uncertainty in the world at large, the employees’ uncertainty, and his or her own uncertainty. Empirical analysis also highlights another aspect of executive skills. Executives need to be fast, not merely in the sense of having a high work capacity, but in the sense of never saying no or questioning deliveries. Above all, comparisons with leadership research reveal differences in the interpretation of empirical data. The way in which executives follow rules, for instance, is also described in research on leadership, but only as a phenomenon linked with unusual situations, as when executives need to take emergency action in unforeseen circumstances, or make decisions in cases that are not covered by the general rules, rather than as a day-to-day occurrence. Similarly, there is a difference in perspectives on handling uncertainty. In leadership research, this is described as the executive dealing with something that has gone wrong and putting it right. In the study at hand, the concept is expanded, to demonstrate that the executive’s actions can involve accommodating the worries that this uncertainty breeds within the organisation. Empirical data do not show any differences in the descriptions of the executive skills of women and men. Women and men practise these executive skills similarly. Men’s tendency to identify themselves with senior management, however, is interpreted as a sign of homosocial structures in the organisation. The fact that men are more ambivalent than women faced with the opportunity and responsibility of promoting change consequently indicates that admittance into a homosocial structure restricts their freedom of action. There is a difference, however, between the executive skills of women and men in that women, unlike men, have to relate to the issue of their own gender. Their approach to this can vary between two leadership discourses; one that is gender-neutral, and one where gender is significant. Women’s knowledge of how gender is constructed in organisations, in leadership and in other structures and processes, is thus included in the tacit knowledge that comprises their skills. Keywords: executive, manager, management, leadership, gender, skills, tacit knowledge, follow rules, breaking rules, rules, decision-making, accommodate uncertainty, homosocial structures. / Vad en chef gör och vilken betydelse chefens agerande har för företagets resultat är frågor som ständigt sysselsätter ledarskapsforskare. Men trots många tusen studier finns det inom forskningen inte någon gemensam uppfattning om vad begreppet ledarskap innebär. Inte heller inom företag och organisationer finns någon tydlig bild av vad chefer egentligen gör. Däremot visar till exempel satsningar på ledarutveckling att cheferna uppfattas som mycket viktiga för företagets resultat. Otydligheten i vad chefers arbete innebär tillsammans med föreställningen om chefens betydelse för företag och organisationer resulterar i att bilden av chefers arbete får inslag av magi. I den här studien ses chefskap som ett yrke och undersöks därför med en kvalitativ metod som innebär att yrkesutövare först skriftligt reflekterar över sitt yrkeskunnande och sedan i grupp diskuterar yrkeskunnandet utifrån de skriftliga reflektionerna. Metoden som kallas dialogseminariemetoden har använts i andra yrkesgrupper än chefer med goda resultat. Eftersom chefers yrkeskunnande inte tidigare undersökts som yrkeskunnande har resultaten jämförts med ledarskapsforskning. Att kön har betydelse för förutsättningarna att få och att utöva chefskap visas i ledarskapsforskning med könsperspektiv. Därför har även studiens resultat analyserats ur detta forskningsperspektiv. Yrkeskunnande för såväl chefer som medarbetare beskrivs som regelföljande det vill säga att tolka regler och därefter agera i en konkret situation. En regel säger ingenting om hur den ska följas. Om följandet av en regel skulle beskrivas i en regel skulle följandet av denna regel behöva beskrivas i en regel och så vidare i all oändlighet. Istället måste regler tolkas något som kräver tillgång till ett ”bibliotek” av exempel. Ett specifikt yrkeskunnande för chefer är att utveckla medarbetarnas yrkeskunnande i form av regelföljande. För chefer innebär regelföljande att fatta beslut utifrån tyst kunskap. Den tysta kunskapen bygger på en inre bild av vad som händer just nu i verksamheten och är viktigt för kunder, medarbetare, organisation och omvärld. Samt en förståelse för vad människor drivs av, tänker, behöver, önskar och säger. Den tysta kunskapen byggs upp i ett växelspel mellan reflektion över exempel och ett strategiskt agerande. Ofta är beslutssituationerna otydliga och motstridiga. Det innebär att chefens yrkeskunnande innebär att härbärgera osäkerhet på tre olika sätt. Det första genom att stå för att alla beslut inte kan fattas och att vissa inte kan fattas snabbt. Det andra genom att tydliggöra för medarbetarna att verksamheten inte går att fullt ut styra med regelverk och att omdöme i form av reflekterad erfarenhet därför är en viktig del i allt handlande. Det tredje genom att hantera insikten om att chefspositionen inte automatiskt innebär att det går att fatta rätt beslut. Chefen härbärgerar således omvärldens osäkerhet, medarbetarnas osäkerhet och den egna osäkerheten. I analys av empirin framkommer också en annan aspekt av chefers yrkeskunnande. Chefer måste vara snabba, inte bara i betydelsen att ha hög arbetskapacitet utan också som att aldrig säga nej till eller ifrågasätta leveranser. Jämförelsen med ledarskapsforskning visar framför allt på skillnader i tolkningen av empirin. Chefers regelföljande beteende beskrivs till exempel även inom ledarskapsforskningen. Men där beskrivs det som något som sker ibland, att chefen gör en brandkårsutryckning när något oväntat händer eller fattar beslut i de fall som inte hanteras av regelverken, inte som något som sker ständigt. På samma sätt finns en skillnad i synen på hanterandet av osäkerhet. Det beskrivs inom ledarskapsforskningen som att chefen hanterar det som gått fel och ställer allt till rätta. I denna studie utvecklas begreppet genom att visa att hanterandet för chefen kan innebära att härbärgera den oro osäkerheten medför i organisationen. Empirin visar inte några skillnader mellan kvinnor och män i beskrivningarna av chefers yrkeskunnande. Kvinnor och män utövar chefskap på samma sätt. Männens identifikation med högre chefer tolkas dock som tecken på homosociala strukturer i organisationen. Att männen är mer ambivalenta än kvinnorna till både möjligheten och det egna ansvaret för att driva förändring innebär då att upptagande i en homosocial struktur begränsar handlingsutrymmet. Däremot finns det en skillnad mellan kvinnors och mäns yrkeskunnande som chefer på så sätt att kvinnor till skillnad från män måste förhålla sig till sitt kön. Kvinnorna väljer att hantera detta genom att växla mellan två ledarskapsdiskurser; en könsneutral och en där kön har betydelse. Kvinnornas kunskap om hur kön görs i organisationer, i konstruktionen av ledarskap såväl som i övriga strukturer och processer, är således en del i den tysta kunskap som utgör deras yrkeskunnande. / <p>QC 20120514</p>

Livssituationer præget af mange komplekse psykosociale og helbredsmæssige problemstillinger fordrer en anden grad af tværfagligt samarbejde i social- og sundhedssektoren. En samtidig øgetfokusering på forebyggelse og sundhedsfremme har øget behovet for udvikling af kundskaber og kompetencer, som kan matche disse udfordringer. Målet med studiet er, at identificere mulige mønstre vedrørende erfaringer med udvikling af fælles kundskaber og kompetencer i tværfaglige team som arbejder forebyggende og sundhedsfremmende. Der er tale om et kvalitativt studie, som bygger på fokusgruppeinterview med deltagelse af 25professionelle fra ni team inden for social-og sundhedssektoren. Otte faggrupper var repræsenteret.Der blev anvendt en memoreret temaguide til interviewene. Grounded theory blev anvendt til dataanalyse. Studiets overordnede kernekategori blev defineret som: ”sociokulturel organisation sætter dagsordenen for udvikling af kundskaber og kompetencer”. Der fremkom yderligere tre hovedkategorier som relaterede sig til kernekategorien: ”det nødvendige professionelle fundament,”den forebyggende og sundhedsfremmende diskurs”, og ”de tavse kundskaber og kompetencer”. Konklusion: Hovedfundet i studiet viste at sociokulturel organisation har væsentlig indflydelse påtværfaglige teams muligheder for at udvikle kundskaber og kompetencer i det forebyggende og sundhedsfremmende arbejde. Skabes der ikke lærings- og refleksionsrumi praksisfællesskabernereduceres mulighederne for, at den ”tavse” kundskab sættes i spil med den eksplicitte kundskab / Situations of life characterised by numerous complex psychosocial and health problems demand another extent in interprofessional co-operation in social and health service. At the same timeincreased focus on prevention and health promotion have raised the necessity of knowledge andcompetence creation that is able to deal with these complex challenges. The aim of this study is to identify possible patterns of experience with creation of shared knowledgeand competence in interprofessional co-operation with focus on prevention and health promotion.The studyis based on qualitative interviews in focus groups and memorized theme guide was used.The analyzing process was based on grounded theory. 25 professionals represented eight occupationgroups from nine social and health service teams. The overall core categories emerge as: ”social cultural organization sets the agenda for creation of knowledge and competence”. Three additional overall categories related to the core category definedas: ”the needful professional foundation”, “the discourse of prevention and health promotion” and“the tacit knowledge and competence”. Conclusions: The overall findings pointed out the essential influence of the social culturalorganization on the possibility of the interprofessional co-operation to create shared knowledge in the prevention and health promotion. If space for learning and reflection in community of practice is not created the feasibility of meetings between tacit and explicit knowledge will be reduced / <p>ISBN 91-7997-099-0</p>

The aim of this study was to conduct a thorough theoretical study on the relevant aspects involved in knowledge management and organizational learning, and thence assess the level of organisational learning within the ferrometallurgical industry. From the outcomes of the assessment, recommendations to improve the state of affairs were to be made. Knowledge can be defined as actionable information. The creation, acquisition, sharing and leveraging of knowledge in today's industries are critical. Knowledge is now termed the fourth productive resource, and some authors claim, with some justification, that the widespread knowledge within a company is the only source of sustainable competitive advantage. With this in mind, it is obvious that companies need to nurture knowledge creation and effective utilisation thereof in order to meet organisational goals. Knowledge can be codified if it is explicit, but needs to be transferred using personalisation if it is tacit. Implicitness of tacit knowledge further confounds the issue. Knowledge management practices underpin the process of organisational learning. The level of organisational learning within the ferrometallurgical industry in South Africa was assessed, using a survey questionnaire obtained from the Harvard Business School. The results show that the industry lags behind the medians in the ten constructs measured, and much work will be required to significantly improve the situation. Key areas of concern are in the areas of psychological safety, time for reflection, education and training, and collection of information. As a consequence, a practical strategy for improving the state of knowledge management and organisational learning in the ferrometallurgical industry was developed. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

The aim of this study was to conduct a thorough theoretical study on the relevant aspects involved in knowledge management and organizational learning, and thence assess the level of organisational learning within the ferrometallurgical industry. From the outcomes of the assessment, recommendations to improve the state of affairs were to be made. Knowledge can be defined as actionable information. The creation, acquisition, sharing and leveraging of knowledge in today's industries are critical. Knowledge is now termed the fourth productive resource, and some authors claim, with some justification, that the widespread knowledge within a company is the only source of sustainable competitive advantage. With this in mind, it is obvious that companies need to nurture knowledge creation and effective utilisation thereof in order to meet organisational goals. Knowledge can be codified if it is explicit, but needs to be transferred using personalisation if it is tacit. Implicitness of tacit knowledge further confounds the issue. Knowledge management practices underpin the process of organisational learning. The level of organisational learning within the ferrometallurgical industry in South Africa was assessed, using a survey questionnaire obtained from the Harvard Business School. The results show that the industry lags behind the medians in the ten constructs measured, and much work will be required to significantly improve the situation. Key areas of concern are in the areas of psychological safety, time for reflection, education and training, and collection of information. As a consequence, a practical strategy for improving the state of knowledge management and organisational learning in the ferrometallurgical industry was developed. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

In this dissertation, I study the use of tacit and explicit business heuristics in decision-making in small and medium Canadian businesses. I confirm the use of heuristics in business decision-making, present some common business heuristics identified in the study, and propose methods of making the application of heuristics more useful for better decision-making in various business situations. Although business decision-making has been a subject of research in big corporations, investigating decision-making using tacit and implicit business heuristics remains limited in small and medium businesses. A method for organizing and compiling various forms of decision-making using these types of business heuristics can deliver significant benefits to small and medium businesses. I define a heuristic (sometimes referred to as rule of thumb) to be a description of an informal or formal problem-solving process, not necessarily 100% reliable. Some examples of business heuristics include "Apply 5 times sales for business valuation," and "Ensure the client is given a meaningful and prompt response." The first heuristic contains enough information for a competent business executive to make a business decision; I call this first type of heuristic an explicit business heuristic; the second heuristic requires additional knowledge to make a business decision; in particular, the decision-maker needs to know what "a meaningful and prompt response" entails in order to make the decision. I call this second type of heuristic a tacit business heuristic. My research involved a group of Vancouver Island executives participating in an online survey on the use of heuristics in business decision-making. Two main conclusions resulting from this research are that executives apply extensively various forms of business heuristics when solving business problems, and that the heuristics they use are both tacit and explicit. A review of heuristics scholarship and my 25-year business experience as a senior executive with small and medium Canadian companies support these results. I propose a set of what-how rules that can assist in converting tacit business heuristics into explicit ones by expanding their information content. Finally, I recommend follow-up research for the development of tacit knowledge transfer methods using business heuristics.

The wave of knowledge loss that organisations are facing on account of layoffs, retirements, staff turnover and mergers gave rise to this research. The main research aim was to identify the organisational and behavioural factors that could enhance or impede tacit knowledge retention. A multidisciplinary approach focusing on knowledge management, organisational behaviour and organisational development was followed. The nature of knowledge in organisations was explored by following a contextualised theorybuilding process, focusing on epistemology, and the appearance and application of knowledge. Knowledge in the context of this research is the knowledge and experience that reside in the minds of people. It is not easily documented, and is referred to as tacit knowing. A theoretical model was developed that revealed the factors that could influence tacit knowledge retention. The model focused on human input factors taking into account knowledge loss risks, strategic risks and behavioural threats that could cause knowledge loss.The main purpose of the empirical research was to operationalise the theoretically derived knowledge retention constructs, determine statistically the enhancing and impeding factors that influence knowledge retention and develop a structural equation model to verify the theoretical model. A quantitative empirical research paradigm using the survey method was followed. A questionnaire was compiled, and a survey conducted in the water supply industry. The principal component factor analysis postulated nine factors. A composite factor, knowledge retention, as the dependent variable was compiled. The questionnaire was found to be reliable, with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of .975. A structural equation model development strategy produced a new best-fitting knowledge retention model based on the new constructs postulated in the factor analysis. The model indicated that there is a direct causal relationship between strategy implementation and knowledge retention and between knowledge behaviours and knowledge retention. The regression analysis showed that most of the intercorrelations are significant, thus confirming the theory. The research contributed towards a comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence tacit knowledge retention. The questionnaire and the new knowledge retention model could assist organisations in determining the extent to which knowledge is retained and where to focus in developing and implementing a knowledge retention strategy. The study encourages practitioners to take cognisance of the fact that organisations are different and that the enhacing and impeding factors of knowledge retention are to be considered. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

I denna vetenskapliga essä beskriver jag två möten med personer som drabbats av stroke. I reflektion kring dessa möten redogör jag för dilemman i min yrkesvardag. Jag försöker att beskriva vikten av att förståelse uppnås mellan mig som sjukgymnast i neurologisk rehabilitering och de personer jag möter. Detta för att rehabiliteringen ska bli bra. Mitt ansvar är att göra personen engagerad i rehabiliteringen och personens ansvar är att aktivt delta. Problem uppstår när personen på grund av sjukdom inte har autonomi och därmed inte kan ta ansvar för sig själv. Kring begreppen praktisk kunskap, möte, ansvar och reflektion redogör jag för filosofers och andra författares tankar och reflekterar vidare kring dessa begrepp kopplat till de möten jag beskriver. Min slutsats är att jag behöver både teoretisk kunskap och praktisk kunskap i mitt arbete. Den praktiska kunskapen är ofta tyst kunskap. Reflektion är viktig för att jag ska kunna utföra mitt arbete så bra som möjligt och samla erfarenhet och praktisk kunskap. Trots att jag försöker att göra etiska val i min yrkesutövning ingår att jag ibland misslyckas. I reflektion och besvikelse över dessa misslyckanden bygger jag mer erfarenhet. / This scientific essay depicts two encounters with individuals who have suffered stroke. While reflecting about these encounters I describe dilemmas in my professional everyday work. I try to describe the importance of understanding between me as a physiotherapist working with neurological rehabilitation and the individuals I encounter. The purpose is achieving good rehabilitation. My responsibility is to make sure the individual feels invested in the rehabilitation and thus actively participate. Problems arise when the person as a result of disease do not have autonomy and consequently is unable to take responsibility. Philosophers’ and other authors’ thoughts and opinions about practical knowledge, encounters, responsibility and reflection as well as my own thoughts about the encounters I have had are described and analyzed. My conclusion is that both theoretical and practical knowledge are needed in my work. The practical knowledge is often tacit knowledge. Reflection is essential for me to be able to do my work as well as possible and to earn experience and practical knowledge. Even though I try to make ethical choices in my occupation I am not always successful. It is when reflecting and feeling disappointed about these failures that I emerge a more experienced professional in my field.

En undersökning av estetiska projekt i skolmiljö. I undersökningen intervjuas en musiklärare, en förskoleklasslärare och en musikterapeut som representanter för olika yrkesgrupper som arbetar med estetiska projekt i skolmiljö. Studiens syfte är att undersöka vilka påverkansfaktorer och kvalitetskriterier som beskrivs i forskning eller av studiens informanter. Perspektivet är musikpedagogiskt men även estetiskt verksamhet med andra estetiska uttryck än musik undersöks och skillnader och likheter diskuteras. I analys och diskussionsdelarna används bl.a. Anne Bamfords och Tomas Saars forskning för att förklara och sätta in informanternas utsagor i ett större sammanhang.