Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Calgary (Canada), 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Peninsula Technikon, Cape Town, 2004 / Organizational identification has been regarded as a new control strategy for modem organizations. High levels of organizational members' identification result in various benefits to organizational performance. Among organizational theorists there exists a strong school of thought, which sees organizational culture as the antecedent to organizational identification. Culture, and therefore also organizational culture, is a complex and integrative phenomenon which encompasses the values, assumptions, interactions and behaviours within a particular group. As point of departure, this research adopted Martin's (2000:26) argument that culture is best studied through the cultural artefacts, being the most visible manifestations also of deep-seated values and assumptions. Previous studies on organizational culture-related organizational behaviours have been conducted mostly in a Western-cultural context. It was hoped, by this research, to fill the theoretical gap by establishing a link between organizational culture and organizational identification in Chinese organizations. The relationship between organizational culture and organizational identification was investigated through a survey conducted in three Chinese organizations representing a cross section of industry. The six organizational cultural dimensions, as identified by Glaser, Zamanou, and Hacker (1987: 192-193), formed the basis for the survey instrument, the purpose of which was to establish if, and to what extent, organizational culture, IV as reflected in these dimensions in their positive manifestation, were seen as contributors to organizational identification on the part of employees. The data analysis and interpretation showed that Chinese employees viewed all six cultural dimensions as having a positive influential power on organizational identification. This could be accepted as proof that the theories that organizational culture enhances organizational identification (Kunda, 1992; Ray, 1994; Tompkins and Cheney, 1985; Trice and Beryer, 1993) can be applied both in the Westem-cultural context and Chinese-cultural context. By applying the Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests it was established that, among the six cultural dimensions, 'Morale' and 'Supervision' were the most influential dimensions of culture according to the responses of Chinese employees; 'Information Flow', 'Teamwork' and 'Meetings' were the least influential dimensions. As indicated, the study was limited to a survey of employees as regards the six dimensions of organizational culture. Further research would be required in order to provide more concrete and extensive proof of the role played by organizational culture in nurturing employee identification and concomitant commitment.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / Within China's the hotel industry, they are known as expatriate managers and. on behalf of parent multinational hotel corporations, provide an element of control and co-ordination within local operating units. On average, organisations spend over two and a half times more money to send an employee on an expatriate assignment than they would if they hired employees locally. Expatriate managers have been faced with new and complex organisational cultures and work practices. In order to avoid expensive failure costs and to manage suci:essfuJly, an exploration of the issues that face international hotel managers in China. is both timely and relevant A qualitative case study approach was used for this thesis, while secondaIy dala was obtained from private, as well as public sources. Primary data was collected via questionnaires from hotel managers comprising both locals and expatriates. whilSt specific questions were exclusively posed to expatriate managers. Through collection and analysis of infonnation and data, and a thorough understanding of the research problem, this study provides a useful reference for expatriate hotel managers who are confronled with the issues of managing Chinese employees, as well as basic Chinese cultural, ethical and business valUes. Primarily this research examines challenges, which mostly arise from cross-cuIturaI differences between Westem and Chinese values, as well as a range of diverse organisational cultures and management styles within China's hotel industry. South Africa has become China's the biggest trading partner within Africa, while an increasing number of South African companies invest in China. The research is paramount to any foreign organisation that wants to conduct business in China.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / Business / Master / Master of Philosophy

by Wong, Wang-tai, Fergus. / Thesis (M.B.A.) -- Chinese University of Hong Kong. / Bibliography: leaves 69-74.

The interaction of the personnel boundary in inter-firm relationship management is viewed as particularistic in China instead of universalistic as in many Western cultures. Specifically, guanxi networks, the Chinese system of inter-personal relationship, have strong strategic implications for business interactions. The practices of guanxi and the social norms associated with guanxi are complicated. On the one hand, guanxi practices can be traced back to Confucianism; on the other hand, guanxi???s significance has been changing in line with China???s economic reform. In this research, we have attempted to find what presently constitutes good guanxi in inter-firm relationship management against this dynamic backdrop. Additionally, from the transaction cost economies (TCE) perspective, we provide an analysis that guanxi-based business practices offer transaction cost advantages as an alternative to market-based practices. We argue that such advantages partially result from guanxi???s effect on the reduction of opportunist behaviors. Backed up by 97 questionnaire responses from firms in Shanghai and 15 semi-structured interviews, our study confirms that, in inter-firm relationships management, trust, affection and long-term orientation are features of close guanxi. To enhance guanxi quality, familiarization by self-disclosure and the presence of mutual benefits are also necessary, providing practical implications for business practitioners in China. Our study also indicates that guanxi business partners are expected to be obligational in business and flexible in contingencies. Opportunistic behaviors can be mitigated by adopting guanxi practices, supporting the TCE logic. In an absence of a rationalized legal system, guanxi may fill the gaps in the enforcement of the written contract.N

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration