ABSTRACT THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL PASTOR: NAVIGATING THE CULTURE OF AN ESTABLISHED CHURCH BY IMPLEMENTING ANTHROPOLOGICAL TOOLS AND RESOURCES Christopher Eric Turpin, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2016 Chair: Dr. George H. Martin This dissertation explores anthropological tools and resources and their potential usefulness in navigating the culture of an established church. The application of the principles contained herein can be used for church revitalization, pastor transitions, and established church leadership. These principles can also be applied to business and organizational cultures. Chapter 1 presents the research question that serves as the investigative guide for the dissertation. This dissertation argues that the pastor(s)/elders, and/or potential pastor(s)/elders, of established local churches, should know and implement many of the tools and resources of cultural anthropology within their ministry context in order to enhance understanding and communication between the pastor and his congregation, resulting in healthier pastor-congregation relations, healthier churches, and greater Kingdom effectiveness. Further, this chapter proposes an amalgamation of the research from the fields of anthropology/missiology, relevant organizational culture literature, and church leadership materials. Chapter 2 serves as a survey of much of the relevant literature surrounding the study of anthropology/missiology, church leadership, and relevant organizational culture literature. This literature review traces an overview of the development of anthropological thought and the value of anthropological tools and resources. The review then demonstrates how anthropology is being discussed in church leadership materials, but without significant interaction with anthropological resources. Due to the scope of this research, the author narrows his interaction with church leadership material to materials that include sections that seem to recognize that each established churches exhibit culture. Chapter 3 presents the author’s findings from anthropological research most relevant to the work of a local church pastor. Paul Hiebert’s book Anthropological Insights for Missionaries serves as a blueprint for the outline of the chapter. The chapter continues to look at available anthropological tools and resources, the ways they are understood and implemented by others, and potential applications toward established churches. Chapter 4 examines church leadership literature resources that consider established churches to exhibit culture. Aubrey Malphurs’ book, Look before You Lead serves as a blueprint for the outline of the chapter. The primary objective of this chapter is to demonstrate the fact that church leadership authors interact very little with the writings, research, paradigms, and tools of anthropologists or missiologists. Chapter 5 presents the author’s findings and conclusions. The focus is on developing the field of congregational cultural anthropology for the purpose of equipping pastors to understand and work through established church cultures. The author introduces a rapid assessment process (RAP) for understanding and navigating congregational culture. He concludes with an adaptation of Paul Hiebert’s method for engaging in critical contextualization, but for the purpose of transforming congregational culture. He also proposes the development of a field handbook for rapid assessment processes among established churches and an expansion of the field of congregational cultural anthropology.

Changes in workforce demographics, employee sentiments, and working conditions have increased attention on employees' needs to balance the demands of work life and family life. Despite apparent growing interest among companies to be responsive to these needs, the number of companies demonstrating high levels of work-family responsiveness is relatively small. The frameworks of resource dependence theory and institutional theory were used to develop a model to explain differences in work-family responsiveness among for-profit companies. The theoretical models were tested on survey data collected through a stratified random sample of 692 for-profit companies. The data were further enhanced with secondary data sources. While the institutional model explained more variance in work-family responsiveness than the resource dependence model, a model combining both theories best explains work-family responsiveness among for-profit companies. High industry-region diffusion of family-friendly benefits was one of several strong predictors of work-family responsiveness. Also, the greater the proportion of professionals in a company's industry, the greater was the level of work-family responsiveness. Companies that measured effectiveness outcomes were more likely to offer family-friendly benefits. The same was true for companies with more positive assessments regarding the impact of their family-friendly benefits. Organizations that were large, publicly traded, or had human resource departments also demonstrated greater levels of work-family responsiveness. Future research should include variables introduced in this study and should expand the range of variables as to include other theoretical perspectives. Policy makers for companies, advocacy groups and government leaders will find the results of this study beneficial. Companies operating in environments characterized by strong diffusion of family-friendly benefits among similar companies will be well served by developing policies and programs that conform to these norms. Advocates and government leaders should understand that recent interest in work-family responsiveness is unlikely equally benefit all sectors of employment.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 250 employees are the category of firm which accounts for the majority of businesses worldwide. In spite of their strategically important role as 'engines of economic growth', scant research has been devoted thus far to the underlying owner-manager learning processes in SMEs. In the literature on learning, little distinction is made between micro, small and medium-sized businesses in terms of company size or ownership structure. The literature also provides few reference points for the question of how ownermanagers learn in start-ups and small family firms as their businesses develop. The investigation of both types of owner-managers in small firms enriches the research context. The research main aim is to explore the learning of founding owner-managers ('founders') and initial successor owner-managers ('successors') in small family firms in greater depth, focusing on both content and process which lead to the growth of start-ups and small family firms, taking into account the development of Human Capital (HC). The social and contextual integration of owner-managers into the business environment is also considered. The research interest and emphasis are directed at analysing the learning of owner-managers on the basis of their understanding and interpretation of critical events during the development of the firm within its business and social environment. In order to capture these learning processes of the individual owner-managers, a phenomenological research paradigm is adopted. To fulfil the research aim, extensive literature research was carried out on the themes of entrepreneurial learning, learning at the workplace, Intellectual Capital (IC) and HC as well as the development of small and family firms. In order to explore these themes in the context of entrepreneurial development in the Rhine Valley, the research topic was extended to include regional business and training development in this geographical area (with its bordering countries Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland). The research sample with a multiple-case study design encompasses six owner-managers, founders and initial successors of technology-based small firms with fewer than 50 employees in the Rhine Valley region. The empirical data collection was based on a pilot interview phase with the owner-managers, followed by two interview phases in autumn 2008 and spring 2010 as part of a longitudinal study. The iterative data analysis integrates several systematic approaches to code, analyse and compare these six case study firms to identify the learning approaches of the owner-managers. The key findings obtained are described with the aid of the developed 'Hexagon Framework'. This model visualises the dynamics of continuous learning for ownermanagers, founders and successors in small firms. The knowledge contribution of the thesis lies in the identification and analysis of the different learning trajectories of the owner-managers, who either founded a start-up or took over a firm as initial successor. The findings make a significant contribution towards an enhanced understanding of the dynamics of continuous learning processes for ownermanagers in small firms during development phases. In addition, the developed framework of the owner-manager learning continuum contributes to entrepreneurial learning theory.

With the increased globalization and expansion of the markets worldwide, companies have to struggle with increased competition. Therefore, organisations have begun to offer advantages such as a personalisation of products to potential customers. Market conditions and legal policies can make it challenging to predict whether those ad-vantages can be realized. Project managers are often in the position of having to fulfil these requirements; in continuously changing influencing factors that make tasks diffi-cult to manage. These circumstances create complexity. Frequently, managers are una-ware that complexity has created problems in a specific project. Often, the traditional standards of project management no longer provide a sufficient support to managers of complex projects. This research investigates how current standards of project management address com-plexity, and whether a supplement is necessary. Complexity strengtheners are investi-gated. One standard Project Management Institute (PMI) is selected as an example to analyze the influence of strengtheners on PM-processes. A funnel model is developed based on these research findings. This is aimed to help managers in their daily practice and support them in categorizing the complexity of their projects. Based on this model, managers should be able to recognize the actual strengtheners of complexity and which processes of their project are affected. Finally, a possible adaption of the standard is re-searched. A proposition for a new comprehensive guide is designed to support manag-ers carrying out complex projects. The key managerial implication of this research is the development of a five-step model for handling complexity in projects: forming, storming, norming, performing, and ad-journing. Furthermore, the intent of this thesis is to make a valid contribution to the management literature. For handling complexity the new funnel model should close the gap between the recognition of complexity in a project and underlying causes. The new five-step model thus provides project managers helpful guidelines for handling complex projects. This research applies a mixed method, consisting of a survey (quantitative method) and focus interviews (qualitative method) with experts of project management (PMI) in Germany. There are approximately 4.900 PMI certified project managers in Germany; more than 170 participated in the survey (3.6%). This is considered sufficient to provide reliable results for this research. Further, three focus interviews deepen the knowledge and validate the results of the survey: Complexity is an actual problem in project man-agement. Existing standards are sufficient for project management, but complexity can-not be standardized. This thesis proposes to help project managers to resolve project complexity by providing guidelines for navigating through complex projects.

This thesis investigated the approaches concepts and techniques concerning Training Evaluation within organisations as a means of contributing to the assertion that training and development can provide added value for an organisation in a non-western context. In light of this the HRD policies and strategies available and the barriers which can exist to these strategies in those countries in the Arab world, like Libya, where considered. Additionally the paradigm that in transitional countries emphasise should be placed on encouraging training and improving performance is investigated. An interpretive research philosophy was applied and led to a qualitative design being chosen for this research as it required the creation of researchable questions which were salient to target respondents. The case chosen to be studied is the Libyan Iron and Steel Company (LISCO). An exploratory study was carried out involving a review of documentary evidence acquired from LISCO which included a survey of employees’ views on training within the company. The questioning of respondents to this study involved the use interviews managers of departments and professional training staff in the company were asked for their views to compare with those of the employees. In this study certain factors were grouped into themes, Arab Culture and the difficulties facing many transitional economies given the nature of the national and organisational culture in countries like Libya show that Western developed models of training and training evaluation cannot be universally applied. Organisations in Libya are typically state controlled and operate on strict hierarchical basis. This study proposes that in the current level of economic development Libyan organisations would benefit from a training evaluation model that focuses on a performance improvement perspective. The Training evaluation for transitional countries model proposed contributes to knowledge because it comes from the Libyan context. Any model of training evaluation considered for Libya or any transitional economy must combine the positive attribute of Western theoretical models with new elements specific to countries environment. This thesis is unique as it contributes to our understanding of models of HRD, and Evaluation practice by exploring their implementation and barriers to their use in an Arabic country that is in transition from a centralised economy to a more privatised one. Furthermore it investigates the transferability of western training evaluation practices to the Libyan environment A conclusion reached from this study is that any national policy that is introduced by the new Libyan government needs to include some radical reforms at national, sectoral and local levels. The Training evaluation for transitional countries model, although only a theory will serve as a guide to others embarking on similar research.

M.A. ( Information studies) / Information and knowledge are the new wealth of our time. Knowledge is a resource that is valuable to an organisation's ability to innovate and compete. As every business has to operate in an increasingly competitive and dynamic environment, business managers should base all decisions on their competitive standing in the world economy and the competitiveness of their knowledge competencies. The ability of a company to mobilise and exploit its intangible and invisible assets has become far more important than investing and managing physical, tangible assets ...

This study examines the emergence of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in white collar occupations. Recent BPO practices are compared to the offshore outsourcing of production in the context of the shift from Fordist to flexible production. The study considers BPO in light of Harry Braverman's theory of work degradation and whether or not BPO extends the traditional division of labor between conception and execution to higher skilled white collar occupations. An exploratory qualitative approach comprised of informant interviews, a focus group, and literature review was used to analyze how BPO occurs, why it happens, and where it takes place. I discuss the role of politics and corporate culture in outsourcing white collar jobs and examine the practice of transitioning workers from client to BPO service providers. The study concludes with a skill-based typology of BPO services and suggestions for policy and future research.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to analyse the influence of corporate culture to the chosen personal activities within the international company. The first part is related to the theoretical definition of two important personal activities as hiring and adaptation of employees. In the second part, there is a definition of a culture, national culture and especially the corporate culture. The third part presents the chosen international company, defines the elements of its corporate culture and the tools how to strengthen and broaden its culture. The following part describes the process of the hiring, orientation and adaptation in the company with the results of employees satisfaction with these processes. In the final part there are mentioned the results of individual interviews relating to the influence of the corporate culture to the adaptation of employees. There are presented the proposals how to increase the efficiency of the above-mentioned processes so that they are in accordance to the defined corporate culture.

The subject of this diploma thesis is the corporate culture, its application and the possible influence caused by economy crises. Two companies from IKEA Group has been chosen, IKEA Hanim s.r.o. and IKEA Česká republika s.r.o. represented by Prague store IKEA Zličín. The related questionnaire has been created and used for mapping of the implementation and use of the corporate culture in these organizations. Different internal materials and interviews with employees has been analyzed and proceed. It has been shown that both companies are facing much higher pressure to achieve the result than before the outset of the economic crises. Also the contact with the management is insufficient in both organizations. The differencies has been discovered in the area of sharing the own opinion. In comparasion with the employees at the store the employees of IKEA Hanim s.r.o. feel that they can express freely. The employees of IKEA Hanim s.r.o. consider IKEA as a good employer. 42% of store employees do not agree with this statement.

A South African university has obligations to societal stakeholders. One dimension of these obligations is research productivity. The extent to which these societal obligations can be met is a function of how innovative research outputs are, and of the extent to which constraints to research output, or productivity, are known, and can be managed. An extensive body of literature, including the Global Leadership and Organisational Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) studies, have demonstrated the influence of organisational cultural values on organisational outcomes. Hofstede’s cultural values research studies have also demonstrated the influence of societal cultural values on societal outcomes. However, despite this body of literature, there is a lack of knowledge of the influence of organisational culture on the research productivity of academic fields. This research attempts to address this lack of knowledge through a qualitative and a quantitative study of the relationships between organisational culture and research productivity. This analysis is undertaken at the level of the academic field, which is proxied in this study as the level of the academic school. A corresponding analysis is also undertaken at the individual level. The relationship between individual values and research productivity is also investigated, to provide a holistic perspective of the relationships between both organisational cultural, as well as individual values, and research productivity, differentiated by level of analysis. On the basis of the qualitative analysis, a model of context-specific individual-level factors is also derived, which are predicted to influence research productivity. A qualitative study of research-productive academics from the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Cape Town, the University of Johannesburg, the University of South Africa and the University of KwaZulu-Natal was used to develop theory for testing quantitatively. The quantitative study, which sampled the University of the Witwatersrand, was used to test the theory and the propositions that were developed in the qualitative portion of the study. In the quantitative study, at the level of the academic school, relationships between organisational cultural values and research productivity predicted by GLOBE organisational cultural values theory were tested quantitatively. At the individual level, relationships between individual motivational values theory and research productivity that were predicted by Schwartz’s values theory were also tested quantitatively. The model of factors that were predicted by the qualitative analysis to contribute to research productivity was also tested quantitatively. The iii qualitative and quantitative results of the study are taken to support Kuhn’s argument; that academic research outputs are not necessarily innovative, and do not necessarily represent innovative knowledge creation in this context. Findings also indicate that particular values configurations may constrain research productivity. Specifically, configurations of values associated with lower levels of innovativeness might constrain specific non-peer reviewed forms of research productivity. The results reveal a context dominated by a conflict between two societal needs, one associated with increasing enrolments of students that are not necessarily matched by infrastructure increases, or a process of massification, and the other associated with the need for more research productivity. The conflict between these two needs was found to correspond with differences between individuals that relate to the extent to which they derive their primary job satisfaction from research versus teaching. Teacher-satisfied individuals were found to be signficantly less research productive. On the basis of the research findings, recommendations are made to improve research productivity in this context. On the basis of these and other findings discussed in the main text of the thesis, recommendations for practice and for futher research are made. It is concluded that specific value configurations appear to constrain research productivity in this context and that individuals and the academic institutions for which they work need to take the potential effect of such value configurations into account in their management of research productivity.