This study set out to explore the strategising practices of middle managers and thereby expand the body of knowledge in terms of middle management practices in strategising in general, and makes an original contribution at the frontiers of middle management practices in a university context in South Africa. Although some research has been done on middle managers and strategy, a knowledge gap still exists, especially regarding strategising in emerging economies, such as South Africa. More specifically, the actions of middle managers at universities are open for exploration. Universities are increasingly exposed to new challenges in a competitive environment due to declining state funding, changing student demographics, new technological developments and increased market pressures. The sustainability of universities is also threatened by changes inside the universities, such as the drive for corporatisation and a changing internal focus. The way universities respond to and pre-empt dealing with these challenges will influence the sustainability and competitiveness of the university and subsequently the nations it serves. However, very little is known about the university managers who are powerful in terms of the administrative systems and decision processes. In order to understand strategy work viii and to know what enables or constrains it, it is necessary to look at middle managers at universities. This research puts forward three main arguments: firstly, strategy is dispersed throughout the entire organisation and includes middle managers’ strategising activities. Secondly, a need exists for practically relevant research founded in the organisational realities. Thirdly, universities present a relevant context within which to study strategising practices. An exploratory qualitative case study was followed to answer the research questions. Findings indicate that university middle managers, who operate within a machine bureaucracy, create systems within systems in order to cope with the organisational demands. Middle managers are mostly responsible for strategy implementation and the support role of university managers is prominent. Findings also indicate that the strategy loses its meaning and in an environment where the strategy textual artefacts and talk are abundant. In such an environment compliance takes precedence over buy-in. Finally, this study identified the enablers of and constraints on the strategy work of university middle managers. This research confirmed that strategy and strategising are human actions and confirmed that knowledge of what people do in relation to the strategies of organisations is required. / Economics / D. Com. (Business Management)

Диссертация посвящена анализу и внедрению инструментов стратегического управления вузом на основе проектного менеджмента в системе высшего образования. Автор проводит теоретический разбор стратегий университетов и корпоративного управления проектами. Проведен анализ внешних и внутренних факторов, которые способствуют внедрению проектного менеджмента в университете, таких как: изменения в области государственного управления и молодежной политики, реализации национальных проектов, деятельность научный фондов и т.д. Выполнен разбор проблем, часто встречающиеся в управлении вузом, которые можно избежать, благодаря стратегическому принципу управления. Автор приводит примерный портфель проектов, который необходим для современного университета. Делается вывод о плюсах и минусах использования стратегического управления с применением проектного менеджмента в вузе. Исследователь приводит методологические подходы к организации стратегической деятельности. В итоге был разработан ряд рекомендаций и предложений по созданию управления стратегического развития и проектного менеджмента для регионального вуза. При разработке данных рекомендаций был подробно описана методика создания такого структурного подразделения, определяющая основные цели, задачи и функции, его права и обязанности, что имеет, несомненно, практический эффект. / The thesis is devoted to the analysis and implementation of strategic university management tools based on project management in the higher education system. The author conducts a theoretical analysis of university strategies and corporate project management. The analysis of external and internal factors that contribute to the introduction of project management at the university, such as: changes in the field of public administration and youth policy, the implementation of national projects, the activities of scientific foundations, etc. The analysis of problems that are often encountered in the management of a university, which can be avoided due to the strategic principle of management, is carried out. The author gives an approximate portfolio of projects that is necessary for a modern university. The conclusion is made about the pros and cons of using strategic management with the use of project management at the university. The researcher gives methodological approaches to the organization of strategic activities. As a result, a number of recommendations and proposals were developed for creating a strategic development and project management department for a regional university. When developing these recommendations, the methodology for creating such a structural unit was described in detail, which determines the main goals, tasks and functions, its rights and obligations, which undoubtedly has a practical effect.

The Digital Twin (DT), a tool dedicated for decision-making and management, has recently started making its way into today’s digitalized world. It is described as a digital representation of a physical object, system, or process, mimicking its physical counterpart using real-time data and monitoring which can be used for decision-making, optimization, and designing (Singh et al., 2021). Not only can DTs be used for a single object, but can also be implemented on whole cities generating valuable insights improving a city’s management, operability, and realization. However, due to the infancy of the concept, further research is required to presuppose accurate city DTs. This can be done by exploring the implementation of DTs in the different sectors of a city (Shahat et al., 2021). Therefore, this report aims to identify areas in which an university in Sweden could benefit from the implementation of a DT, contributing to the knowledge gap regarding DT implementation in the education sector and furthermore the city DT development as a whole. To identify areas in which the university could benefit from a DT, semi-structured interviews were held with chief positions at the university. The aim of the interviews was to identify the university’s main challenges, and then map the challenges to DT solutions in literature and previous research. The identified challenges at the university were Decision-making processes, Recruitment procedures and forecasting, Quality assurance, and Unclear action plan on becoming a sustainable campus. The challenges Decision-making processes and Recruitment procedures and forecasting were mapped to the Digital Twin of an Organization (DTO). This kind of DT can help organizations with, for instance, responding to changes and delivering value for customers (van der Aalst et al., 2021). The last challenge, Unclear action plan on becoming a sustainable campus, was connected to a DT that can help the university in enhancing its energy management.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T16:44:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Claudio Luiz de Souza Silva.pdf: 624448 bytes, checksum: 6747492cc35b7d9403254701436d3285 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-10-08 / The technological evolution extended connections, made a big quantity of information available and revolutionalized knowledge, creating new possibilities for storage, management and transmission. The drawbacks concerning adaptability of the organizational traditional structures related to College Education institutions to the new challenges, are leading the organizations to break up with traditional patterns of management and structure, which are still attached to the industrial society of development pattern. The quest is for the lessening of the gap between the technological transformation speed and the changes in the organization, in a new society coined as the knowledge society. This article, besides being a circumstantial description, aims at accurately analyzing an experience related to exploiting and constructing a new methodology of management. It looks forward to bringing light on a tension generated among the new social environment - caused by higher density of knowledge in productive processes-, and transformation difficulties in universities. This study was put forward through documental analysis, questionnaires and interviews with professors, coordinators and the board of directors of the Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Santos campus. Conclusions point to the possibility of reasoning the proposal to a new pattern of management, according to an aspect shown by the study, as peculiar to Unifesp Santos proposal, as follows: flexible organizations work better in the knowledge society, since decisions can be made at the end or at any point of the net. Hierarchical organizations work better during periods of constant and stable markets, despite being totally inadequate during periods of flow, like the one that identifies the society of knowledge. Its managerial procedures are way too rigid to adapt to quick changes under market conditions / A evolução das tecnologias ampliou as conexões, tornou disponível uma grande quantidade de informações e revolucionou o conhecimento, com novas possibilidades para sua estocagem, gestão e transmissão. As dificuldades de adaptação das estruturas tradicionais de organização das Instituições de Ensino Superior aos novos desafios estão levando as organizações a romper com os tradicionais modelos de gestão e estrutura, que ainda atendem ao modelo de desenvolvimento da sociedade industrial. A busca é pela diminuição crescente no vão entre a velocidade da transformação tecnológica e das mudanças na organização, numa nova sociedade cunhada como sociedade do conhecimento. Este trabalho é uma descrição circunstanciada e uma análise apurada sobre uma experiência de exploração e construção de uma nova metodologia de gestão. O objetivo é trazer esclarecimentos para a tensão gerada entre o novo ambiente social, em função da maior densidade do conhecimento nos processos produtivos, e as dificuldades de transformação das universidades. Este estudo foi realizado por meio de análise documental, questionário e entrevistas junto a professores, coordenadores e direção do campus de Santos da Universidade Federal de São Paulo. As conclusões indicam que é possível fundamentar a proposta de um novo modelo de gestão no seguinte aspecto, apontado pelo estudo como característico da proposta da Unifesp Santos: na sociedade do conhecimento funcionam melhor as organizações flexíveis, em que a decisão pode ser tomada na ponta ou em qualquer ponto da rede. As organizações hierárquicas funcionam melhor em períodos de mercados constantes e estáveis, mas são totalmente inadequadas em períodos de fluxos, como o que caracteriza a sociedade do conhecimento. Seus procedimentos administrativos são rígidos demais para se ajustar às rápidas mudanças nas condições de mercado