The purpose of this study was to examine the governmental organizations in charge of sport in Belarus (Goskomsport Belarus) and Canada (Sport Canada) from a comparative perspective. Data were collected in both Russian and English. Results of the study suggested that the sport organizations have a number of common elements, notably their complexity and formalization. Granted their instable, complex and heterogeneous environments, both Sport Canada and Goskomsport Belarus are heavily influenced by political and economic factors and are confronted with budget reductions and re-structuring. It was found that Sport Canada had a more flexible structure, less centralized decision making, and more advanced technology than Goskomsport Belarus. Results also suggest that Goskomsport Belarus operates in a more instable and complex environment, with a proportionally smaller budget, but that it is more aggressive in terms of its quest for a political power that would allow it to maintain its operations, and for corporate partners that would bring revenues from sources other than the traditional state contributions. The environment's high degree of instability and complexity in Canada and in Belarus was perhaps the main factor affecting the two focal organizations. Environmental turbulence demands a lot of flexibility and adaptiveness on the part of organizational structures for the latter to allow an organization to be effective. In the case of Sport Canada, better structural flexibility (because of the matrix system), lesser structural complexity, lesser formalization and more decentralized decision making processes made the organization apparently better equipped to adapt to the changing political and economic situation. In brief, Sport Canada had a structural arrangement that was more suited to the contextual situation than was the case for Goskomsport Belarus. This may explain why Sport Canada seemed to be more effective than Goskomsport Belarus in an unstable and dynamic environment. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Although the organizational size literature has doubled in each five year period for the last twenty years, evidence on the effect and relationship of organizational size and organizational structure has been inconsistent and inconclusive. Do differences exist in organizational structure that reflect the differences in the size of the organization? The purpose of this study was to investigate the above question through examination of a set of homogeneous organizations. The organizational units investigated are the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology. The general theoretical framework for the study was derived from Weber's bureaucratic theory (1947), the Aston group's contextual and structural variables (1968), and Reimann's framework of structural dimensions (1973). Based on this general framework, the study examined the relationship between organizational size and dimensions of organizational structure. In particular, the research investigated (a) the measures of size, (b) the size-structural relationship, (c) organizational size as determinant of organizational structure, and (d) the dimensionality of structure. As was predicted, a significant relationship existed between size and certain structural dimensions. Size was found to be positively related to specialization, delegation, vertical span, supervisory span (subordinate ratio), and was negatively related to centralization. A marked exception to the predicted relationship was the small negative correlation between size and formalization. A secondary question answered in this study has to do with the dimensionality of the structural variables. Principal component analysis indicated that the structural variables were reduceable to four independent structural dimensions. The multidimensional concept of structure was supported. Suggestions for further research included: (1) analysing the effect of structural adaptation to size on the overall effectiveness of the organization; (2) isolation of other of the contextual variables and studying their effect on structure; (3) relating organizational size, organizational complexity, and organizational structure; (4) relating organizational size, organizational differentiation and organizational structure; (5) a longitudinal study of organizational size and organizational structure in the Ontario colleges.

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La présente thèse vise à combler un manque de connaissances lié à la compréhension de la relation de dépendance entre les pratiques de ressources humaines (RH) et la performance des entreprises. Nous vérifierons si le fait d'organiser les pratiques de RH de façon cohérente vis-à-vis elles-mêmes (configurational perspective) et vis-à-vis la stratégie de l'entreprise (contingency perspective) produit un effet significatif sur la performance selon le cycle de vie des produits/services de l'entreprise. Contrairement à nos attentes, les résultats démontrent que les entreprises ayant des produits/services en phase de croissance possèdent des pratiques plus cohérentes comparativement aux autres entreprises, et que, plus la cohésion de leurs pratiques de RH est forte, plus leur performance organisationnelle augmente. Comme nouvelle piste de recherche, nous proposons un modèle théorique qui présente le concept de souplesse organisationnelle en tant qu'élément pouvant prédire le degré de cohésion des pratiques de GRH et influer sur la performance organisationnelle.

Different approaches to corporate responsibility can be identified throughout the business ethics and corporate responsibility literature. Stakeholder theory, one of these approaches, has emerged in recent years as the most prominent. This approach calls for a shift from the supremacy of economic interests of stockholders and attempts to derive alternatives for corporate governance that include and balance the interests of all those affected by corporate conduct. This thesis consists of a review of relevant literature to identify three major contributions stakeholder theory brings to the CR debate: (1) it implicitly introduces the organic model into the CR debate and thereby forces a fundamental change in the way corporations are conceived within ethics frameworks; (2) in recognition of the expanding ethical sphere of corporations, it extends corporate responsibility beyond economic performance, the owners of the corporation, expertise, and the law and government regulations; and (3) it provides a foundation for identifying what responsibilities corporations do have.

This research intends to inform policy discussion on the subject of Aerospace and Defence sector procurement strategies at Industry Canada (IC). Specifically, this research explores procurement strategies in terms of a real option pricing model that move toward a novel use of Industrial and Regional Benefits (IRB) policies in promoting sector-specific, innovation-driven growth. It is further hypothesized that IRB obligations can be better tailored to encourage value adding activities within prime contractors' supply chains (typically small and medium enterprises in this sector). This research focusses on the novel development of a decision support tool using a theory of option pricing for derivatives whose returns fluctuate according to a power law distribution. This tool is shown to provide guidance to assist in adequately rewarding prime contractors who invest in innovative activities while fulfilling their IRB obligations.

The present study proposes a conceptual framework for investigation of how various dimensions of proximity (i.e. geographical, cognitive, organizational) and management interventions influence knowledge transfer and innovation in technology M&A This research objective is achieved through a qualitative multiple case study, which included three M&A cases involving technology-based companies. Evidence supports the links between various dimensions of proximity and knowledge transfer, and subsequently, between knowledge transfer and innovation. The study also confirms the importance of management interventions, especially in retaining key employees to preserve and transfer knowledge. The study contributes to the literature by illuminating the relationship between various dimensions of proximity and M&A knowledge transfer, which so far has not been well researched and established by prior studies, and by providing a new perspective to view cognitive proximity. In addition, it provides directions for managerial practices to select M&A partners and to manage post-M&A knowledge transfer.