No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The author has written a bachelor thesis on the subject of leadership and stress with the aim of finding differences and similarities of stress handling in the French respective Swedish armies.  The methods used when gathering data for the thesis have been interviews with eight officers and cadets from the French Army and Écoles de Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan and a participant observation of a stress-exercise in the terrain of Camp Coëtquidan, where the author accompanied a platoon from the fourth battalion at École Speciale Militaire.  The analysis is split up into four questions, which serve the author the means to reach the aim of the thesis. The questions are: -        What defines leadership in military settings? -        How is leadership affected by stress? -        Is stress useful? -        Are there differences in stress handling? Comparing a Swedish view with a French one. After each analysis question is finished the author draws concretised conclusions, aiming to draw even closer to the core of the answers. Lastly the author closes in on the subject of leadership and stress, granting himself the permission to freely discuss the results of the thesis as a whole. A more profound view is given, as to why there is a need for further research into the matter of leadership and stress in the French Army. This is offered along with suggestions that [French Army] experience-based research can contribute to the training of future officers and leaders of soldiers in the French Army. / <p>Erasmus</p>

The thesis reports a research programme designed to answer two research questions. These are concerned with improving the practice of Visual Interactive Modelling in the context of an Operational Research activity and the potential contribution of Visual Interactive Modelling towards overcoming certain long term concerns which the Operational Research community has regarding the service it provides. The literature of Visual Interactive Modelling is reviewed, as is that of wider aspects of Operational Research concerned with the paradigm used by its practitioners and researchers. Two series of experimental studies are undertaken to collect data to help answer the research questions. Action Research is used for a series of six studies of Visual Interactive Modelling cases. The second series is more laboratory based to gain a type of data which is not available from Action Research. Results are presented in three forms. A 'body of experience' is collated from the data collected during the studies. This will form a base for future researchers in the Visual Interactive Modelling field. Secondly, a series of guidelines is tentatively proposed which could be used by practitioners as a basis for good practice in Visual Interactive Modelling. Finally, in the light of the data collected and reviews of the literature, a new way of considering the contribution of Visual Interactive Modelling to the Operational Research process is proposed. Suggestions for further research are offered.

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The study is concerned with perception and management of risk by decision makers in the competitive bidding sector of the British Construction industry. The purpose of the study was to demonstrate that, contrary to the implicit assumption of earlier research on this subject, perception and management of risk in decision making is not an exclusive preserve of buyers alone, but that sellers also perceive and manage risks in their selling decision making process. The study was concerned mainly with seller organisations. However, customers were also included so that comparisons between the views of sellers and the buyers could be made on a limited number of issues in order to reinforce particular points of view. In spite of the exploratory nature of the study, three hypotheses, based on the literature review, were examined. After a careful consideration of relevant factors, 200 construction companies of different sizes, operating in the competitive bidding sector of the industry, and 150 customers representing nine different sectors, were selected at random for the main and the subsidiary samples respectively. A questionnaire, with a covering letter, was mailed direct to the Managing Director or Chief Executive of each of the organisations included in the samples. From the main sample, 63.5% responded, out of which 47.0% of the replies were usable. In the case of the subsidiary sample, 67.3% responded, out of which 56.0% of the replies were usable. Data analysis indicated that, (a) most construction companies - the sellers - perceived and managed risks in their contract selling decision making process; (b) in spite of the relevance of the marketing concept, most traditional marketing methods were not effective in the competitive bidding sector of the industry; and (c) a careful evaluation of the critical phases through which a contract decision process evolved was essential for effective management of risks inherent in construction contracts.

This thesis contains the findings of a study undertaken in the field of medical decision-making. The Glaserian approach to grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Glaser, 1978) was used in order to build a theoretical representation of this area. Four phases of data collection were used, the first to develop initial theoretical sampling points and obtaining permission to approach medical practitioners. Following this, 12 personal in-depth interviews were performed to collect the primary data. A period of secondary data collection was then performed and finally an appraisal of the draft theory. Trading Off emerged from the constant comparative method as the core category explaining how pharmaceutical decision-making (as a form of medical decisionmaking) is performed. Sub core categories that were integrated within the Trading Off process included Focusing as the initial period of analysis, Self-Referencing and Surrogating reflecting sources and use of information and the Shiftin g that occurs as physicians develop expertise. In order to develop and frame the contribution of this theory within relevant literature, an number of areas of decision-making and medical decision-making research were reviewed. Expertise and its development were also examined. The main conclusions and recommendations of this research are that physicians Trade Off levels of confidence held in behaviours and aspects of the behaviour in order to decide on a course of action. Trading Off can used to direct the efforts of pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers in order to modify pharmaceutical decision-making and reduce the large volume of prescribing errors. These efforts should be based on an accurate analysis of the individual decision environment and involve a wide view of possible influencing factors. It is recommended that actual patient case studies supplied from clinical trials are used in these efforts and that an opinion leader should perform the delivery where possible.

The senior-level decision-making process of a large organization undergoing a turnaround in financial affairs was examined and the factors which were found to best describe its decision making were found to be the movement between phases, the way the members of the Committee involved themselves in the process, and the leadership activity of the chairman of the Committee. The phases of the process were described as five: presentation, identification, familiarization, formulation, alternative assessment, and choice. In each of these phases information was processed in distinct ways and each phase appeared to present a task to accomplish before the process moved on to other phases. Movement was found to cycle amongst phases as choices were made. Members of the Committee involved themselves in the process through various activities. Many of these activities concerned the way personal perspectives were presented and separated along with, or apart from, more objective information. The leadership of the process had considerable influence in shaping its direction. As the leader, and president of the company, instituted discipline, enforced accountability and directed the "pace and direction of the process, he shaped organizational values, and influenced the outcome of decisions. The most significant event in the life of the company was its turnaround from near bankruptcy to profitability. The decision process was seen to have considerable influence in bringing this about, as well as factors related to the content of decisions, and the context within which the organization was set.