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This thesis sets out to examine contemporary organisational restructuring. In particular it documents and examines the role of engineers and systems analysts in designing and delivering new technologies and work systems. On the basis of fieldwork observations and detailed cross sectoral interviewing of over three hundred personnel in over sixty organisations, the thesis documents the kind of restructuring that is taking place and who is involved in the process. Whilst examining the role of trade unions, management and engineers within this process of restructuring the key focus is systems analysts - who hitherto, have remained a largely uncharted and under-researched group of workers. Through fieldwork, interviews and literature reviews the thesis highlights who systems analysts are and what is involved in the process of systems analysis and design. The thesis, First, documents and offers a critical assessment of the process of business restructuring and some of the key attempts to theorise this process. Second, it documents and examines a series of methods, values and techniques which constitute a design culture, or referral point, from which engineers and analysts interpret what is in the organisations interest, make sense of their own work, pass judgement on their designs and assess their relationships to others involved in the design process. Third, through an analysis of the tools and techniques used for systems analysis and design the thesis demonstrates that there is a profound contradiction between, on the one hand, attempts to develop tools and techniques to more accurately embody the social in the technical and, on the other hand, the influence which prevailing property relations and configurations of power have on the tools and techniques used in systems design. This influence is manifest in the continued existence of a software bottleneck and in system failure and user dissatisfaction. Fourth, the thesis highlights the nature of union involvement in the design process and demonstrates some of the key issues and concerns unions face in the 1990s. Finally, the thesis assesses a number of key attempts to analyse the class position of' intermediate strata' and demonstrates, on the basis of fieldwork studies and interviews the class position of engineers and systems analysts and how this influences the types of technologies and systems these groups design.

In delivering Safety in systems it is not only essential to ensure that each part of the system is safe but that account is taken of the interrelationship between the components of the system and the relationship with its environment. When viewed from a System Engineering perspective safety is often "pigeon-holed" into non-functional aspects, while, when viewed from the standpoint of Engineering Management it is considered in terms of organisational culture. In reality, both views must be considered.

In the last three decades, a growing body of research has suggested that using a mix or system of human resources management (HRM) practices can lead to superior organizational performance. These practices (such as selective recruitment and hiring procedures, performance-based compensation systems, employee participation, and training and development) have been referred to as high performance work systems (HPWS) and originated from the study of strategic human resource management (SHRM), where researchers have examined the impact of these systems on organizational performance outcomes. The relationship between HRM and organizational performance has received increasing interest from scholars and practitioners in the field of public administration. Scholars strive to identify the effects of HRM practices on organizational performance based on the notion that these practices will lead to enhanced attitudinal outcomes, such as organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and motivation, which will have positive impacts on organizational performance. This study contributes to further our understanding of the impact of management on performance in public organizations through empirical evidence drawn from theories of HRM. The growing interest among scholars in understanding the effects of management on performance presumes that the adoption of best practices will lead to improvements in organizational performance. The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to examine the effects of HPWS practices on individual worker attitudes in international governmental organizations (IGOs) by reporting the results of a staff survey and follow-up interviews conducted on a cross-section of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) employees. The UNRWA is an international relief and human development Agency with a quasi-governmental role, delivering essential public services to over five million registered Palestinian refugees. UNRWA services include education, healthcare, social services, and emergency aid. In 2006, the UNRWA began a comprehensive reform program to strengthen its management capacity. Accordingly, one of the main achievements of the reform process is the deployment of new HRM systems that included recruitment strategies, performance appraisals, training and development, and compensation and rewards systems. The underlying message of the reform process has been adopting HPWS practices, which is the object of this study. Since the 1990s, the UNRWA has become increasingly interested in policy analysis and organizational research. Especially because of recent changes in the Agency’s management style, the UNRWA has become more focused on integrating knowledge and management research into its work. Therefore, when the researcher sought permission to examine the effects of the newly adopted HPWS practices on employee attitudes, the staff and upper management were very collaborative and co-operative. Surveys and interviews were conducted with program administrators, operations directors, and field staff, representing employees from different countries with varying lengths of service as well as an extensive range of levels of education and professional backgrounds. A total of 505 questionnaires were distributed in seven service departments and a total of 234 usable responses were obtained. In addition to questionnaires, a total of 10 face-to-face interviews were conducted to explore the data obtained from questionnaires and to understand further the implications of applying HPWS practices in an IGO context. Statistical analysis of the survey data and interviews provided a representation of the effects of four bundles of HPWS adopted by the organization (independent variables), on four worker attitude measures (dependent variables). The four independent variables are the HPWS practices that are the most common and most accepted in the HRM literature: staffing and recruitment, compensation and rewards, performance appraisal, and training and development. The four dependent variables are employee commitment, job satisfaction, motivation, and intention to quit. Preliminary statistical analysis consisted of descriptive statistics for all study variables, as well as Cronbach’s alpha for measuring the internal consistency reliability coefficients for all the survey subscales to examine its internal consistency. Four research hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analyses and Pearson correlation coefficients in an attempt to estimate the net effect of each of the independent variables and understand the relationship between study variables. The bivariate relationships between the dependent and independent variables have shown that the relationships are in the anticipated directions. One of the main conclusions regarding the effects of specific HPWS practices in an IGO context is that some practices, such as training and development, outperform other practices, such as staffing and recruitment. These findings are consistent with previous research on multinational corporations operating in different national contexts, and other studies comparing the effects of HPWS in different industries. The results also indicated that HPWS practices have synergistic and complementary effects on each of the employee attitudes that exceed their individual effects. Therefore, in order to expand our understanding of the effects of HPWS on organizational performance, different variables need to be considered such as national context, industry, and other organizational factors may moderate the HRM–performance relationship. The findings of this study support previous studies in this stream of research. The qualitative data were used to verify quantitative data and provide insights that were difficult to gain from surveys alone. The qualitative data indicated that more effective implementation and administration of HPWS practices would lead to better employee outcomes. In other words, the newly announced austerity measures negatively influence perceptions towards the newly implemented HPWS, which may also have influenced employee attitude outcomes.

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Sammanfattning Bakgrund: High Performance Work Systems (HPWS), kan definieras som ett system av HR praktiker med intention att skapa en miljö som ger de anställda mer ansvar och skapa större organisationsengagemang. Anställda ses och behandlas som värdefulla tillgångar. Det ökade organisationsengagemanget gör i sin tur det möjligt för organisationer att skapa och upprätthålla konkurrensfördelar för att kunna uppnå organisationens mål, de anställdas mål sätts i linje med organisationen vilket gör att alla arbetar åt samma håll. Den största anledningen till att organisationer implementerar HPWS är att öka företagets effektivitet och produktivitet. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att kartlägga anställdas arbete med individuell målsättning, erfarenhet av prestationsstyrning samt välmående på arbetsplatsen i en HPWS miljö, samt undersöka dess relationer. Metod: En kvantitativ studie utförd på data insamlad via enkäter i Teams Forms från en icke slumpmässig urvalsgrupp bestående av personer med anställning i en organisation med implementerad HPWS. Data har statistiskt analyserats i PSPP och resultaten presenteras i tabeller, figurer med tillhörande deskriptiva text. Resultat: Resultatet visar att anställda i en organisation med implementerat HPWS har en hög grad av självbestämmande, möjlighet att vara med och påverka, de värderar sitt arbete som kompetenshöjande och meningsfullt samt har en god work-life balance. Slutsats: Studies resultat gör det rimligt att anta att HPWS skapar en miljö som har positiv påverkan på den anställdas arbete med individuell målsättning, erfarenhet av prestationsstyrning samt välmående på arbetsplatsen. Resultatet visar även tendenser på skillnader mellan män och kvinnor, där kvinnornas medelvärde är något högre än männens. Baserat på den tendensen, föreslår denna studie att förslag till framtida forskning att undersöka vilka variabler som påverkar kvinnors upplevelse av HPWS positivt. Nyckelord: HPWS (High Performance Work Systems), individuell målsättning, prestationsstyrning, välmående på arbetsplatsen / Abstrakt Bakgrund: Högpresterande arbetssystem kan definieras som ett system av HR-metoder som skapar en miljö i en verksamhet som tillåter en anställd större engagemang och ansvar. Anställda ses och behandlas som värderade tillgångar. Det ökade engagemanget i verksamheten gör det möjligt att skapa och bibehålla konkurrensfördelar tack vare medarbetarnas engagemang för att hjälpa verksamheten att lyckas. Den främsta anledningen till att anta HPWS är att öka företagets effektivitet och produktivitet. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att kartlägga medarbetares arbete med individuell målformulering, erfarenhet från performance management och deras välbefinnande på jobbet i en HPWS-miljö, samt granska relationerna mellan de tre. Metod: En kvantitativ studie med resultat baserade på statistisk analys utförd i PSPP baserat på data som samlats in via Teams formulär frågeformulär från ett icke-slumpmässigt urval av personer som arbetar i organisationer med implementerad HPWS. Resultatet presenteras i tabeller och figurer med beskrivande text associerad. Resultat: Resultaten från denna studie visar att anställda i en organisation med implementerat HPWS har en hög grad av autonomi, stor möjlighet att påverka beslut, de värdesätter sitt arbete som meningsfullt och kompetenshöjande och har en god balans mellan arbete och privatliv. Slutsats: Resultaten från denna studie gör det rimligt att anta att HPWS skapar en miljö som har en positiv inverkan på medarbetarnas arbete med att sätta individuella mål, erfarenhet av performance management och välbefinnande i arbetet. Resultatet visar tendenser till skillnader mellan män och kvinnor, där kvinnor får högre poäng jämfört med män. Baserat på denna trend är förslaget till ytterligare studier att undersöka vilka variabler i en HPWS-miljö som har en positiv inverkan på kvinnor. Sökord: HPWS (High Performance Work Systems), individuell målsättning, performance management, välbefinnande på jobbet

[pt] Os eventos organizacionais dos últimos 10 anos - outsourcing, downsizing, reengenharia, aquisições, fusões, etc - estão desafiando os departamentos de Recursos Humanos tradicionais e as práticas executivas estabelecidas desde a metade dos anos de 1970 (John P. Morgan, 2001). Como conseqüência destas mudanças surgiu, em meados da década de 1990, uma abordagem inovadora conhecida como HPWS (High Performance Work Systems ou Sistemas de Trabalho de Alto Desempenho): Conjuntos de práticas de alto desempenho com a finalidade de selecionar, desenvolver e reter a força de trabalho, com habilidades, conhecimentos e competências superiores e motivá-la à aplicar seu know-how no local de trabalho. Verificou-se, entretanto, que o resultado da aplicação destas práticas poderia variar em função: da indústria, da cultura da organização, dos valores dos empregados, da estratégia da empresa, etc. Considerou-se razoável, então, observar a teoria sobre Contratos Psicológicos de Trabalho como uma das ferramentas necessárias à maior compreensão do tema. O entendimento das bases de um Contrato Psicológico traz a possibilidade de compreensão dos acordos implícitos da relação empregado/empregador, o que pode ajudar no estudo da influência destes em uma aplicação tradicional de HPWS. A razão da escolha, como cenário de estudo, de uma operação de consultoria é simples: operações de consultoria são, por sua natureza, ambientes complexos e possuidores de uma cultura forte e singular onde a utilização de HPWS é uma prática bastante conhecida, reunindo, portanto, todas as variáveis necessárias à observação do fenômeno. O objetivo principal desta dissertação, é, portanto, ratificar que os consultores pesquisados percebem a aplicação de cada HPWS de maneira distinta. Esta verificação é metodologicamente fundamental para que se possa seguir na busca de possíveis relações entre: a importância que cada consultor dá aos HPWS, os tipos predominantes de Contratos Psicológicos e a Cultura da Organização; objetivos secundários desta dissertação mas não por isso menos importantes desde o ponto de vista do autor. / [en] The organizational events of the last 10 years - outsourcing, downsizing, reengineering, acquisitions, joint ventures, etc - are challenging the traditional HR and established executive practices since the decade of 1970 (John P. Morgan, 2001). As a consequence of these changes, an innovative approach was developed in the middle of 90´s, the HPWS (High Performance Work Systems): a group of high-performance practices with the objective of select, develop and retain the work-force with superior skills, knowledge and abilities, motivating them to the use of this know-how in the workplace. Although, verifying that these implementations could present different results, impacted by the industry, the organizational culture and strategy, etc, was reasonable to accept the theory about Psychological Contracts at Work as a necessary instrument to a deeply comprehension of the subject. To understand the basis of a Psychological Contract helps the comprehension of the implicit agreements built between the employer and the employee, what can help the study of the influence of these agreements in a traditional HPWS implementation. The reason of the choice of a consulting operation, as the environment of the survey, is simple: consulting operations are complex environments with a strong organizational culture where the utilization of HPWS is a usual aspect, resuming all necessary variables to the observation of the phenomenon. So, the primary objective of this dissertation is to verify if this evaluated group perceives the implementation of each HPWS in a different way. This verification is, methodologically speaking, a fundamental step to the search of possible relationships between: how important is each HPWS for these consultants, what is the predominant Psychological Contract in place and the typology of organizational culture, all secondary objectives of this dissertation but, from the point of view of the author, as important as the primary one.

In the times of globalization, informationization, rapid changing knowledge economy, corporate are facing intensive challenges. Management team knows that they should not only focus on competitive landscape but also enhance human capital in order to strengthen competitiveness and rejuvenate the organization. Accordingly, employees are motivated by every kind of intentions. They regard the degree of support of their work in the organization, the more they satisfy, the more they feel interested with the job, which might commit themselves to meet the organization¡¦s goal and be proud to be one of the whole team. This research is to test if employee perceived organizational support has an mediating effect to high performance work systems and employee¡¦s job change intention. This study collects data along with a 2- phase questionnaire, which were filled out by first-line servicing employee, with a total of 260 valid samples. In phase I analyzed high performance work system measurement result, phase II started 2 weeks after phase I questionnaire in order to prevent common method variance, which collected perceived organizational support and employee¡¦s job change intention. In this study, the result shows that high performance work systems have a significant impact on employee perceived organizational support, and have the negative impact on employee¡¦s job change intention. Moreover, employee perceived organizational support has a negative impact on employee¡¦s job change intention while it has the mediating effect between high performance work systems and job change intention. Keywords¡GHigh Performance Work Systems, Employee Perceived Organizational Support, Employee's Job change intention

<p>Working conditions are increasingly unpredictable, complex, and ungovernable creating severe health risks for employees and negative economic consequences for both corporations and society. Considering the growth in understanding human psychology and sociology, and the progression in measuring working conditions and health, this phenomenon is most perplexing. The enigma has yielded interest in a field known as sustainable work systems, where the challenge is to organize work in a manner that is both beneficial for the business and for its employees.</p><p>In an attempt to shed light on the growing issue, this dissertation outlines the features of a model intended to capture conditions of organization where learning is of paramount importance, and where organization is conceptualised using interaction as the foundation. One central question concerns which forms of interactions and co-operations replace traditional structures in organizations. Another relevant question, linked to the former, concerns the way in which these structures shape conditions of organization, learning, efficiency, and effectiveness.</p><p>A combination of research methods has been employed to provide an enhanced picture of this inquiry. Four corporate sub-units have been subject to a cross-sectional study. These sub-units were chosen by middle managers of a corporation because they excelled in an organizational reform that was initiated two years prior. During 2004, a survey was constructed and distributed to all employees in these four sub-units. Data regarding the sub-units’ efficiency and effectiveness has been collected; and, interviews with managers leading the organizational change have been conducted.</p><p>The two papers included in this thesis disclose four distinctly different approaches to organizational design. All four sub-units have separate conceptions of function and organization, although the guiding principles prescribed by top-management were identical for each of the four first-line managers who were leading the change. Three of the four sub-units have made more pervasive change efforts, and have a higher degree of learning and development, efficiency and effectiveness.</p><p>The results of this thesis suggest that interaction serves as a vehicle for shaping organizational conditions and outcomes. As a consequence of the chosen design, interaction varied between sub-units, thus influencing conditions of organization, learning, efficiency and effectiveness.</p> / QC 20100616