Thesis (D. Min.)--New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1994. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-171).

Many start-ups fail or never achieve their full potential due to founder’s resistance to delegate. Yet our understanding of delegation in entrepreneurship is limited to research on later events in the organizational life cycle with a key focus on succession and exit. Moreover, the existing research focuses on single entrepreneurs; however, many new ventures are created by teams and decisions around delegation of authority are critical, even amongst the founding entrepreneurs within the venture team. Accordingly, the purpose of this dissertation research was to understand when and how delegation occurs in modern new ventures, and how it enhances or undermines new venture survival and growth, with a particular interest in exploring the role of psychological ownership in delegation practice. To understand the phenomenon of interest, I conducted a qualitative study, involving in-depth interviews and non-participative observation, in five growing technology start-ups. In doing so, I utilized the existing literatures on new venture growth, founder delegation, psychological ownership/territoriality and management control systems that more or less address delegation in entrepreneurship. As well, I incorporated other literatures based upon the emerging findings, namely entrepreneurial leadership and agency/stewardship theory. To my knowledge, this work is one of the first of its kind to examine early delegation activities in new ventures. It has the potential to make a number of significant and multi-disciplinary contributions. First, it fills in the gap of knowledge in new venture growth literature, the school of dynamic growth models in particular, where empirical evidence that addresses people management challenges at critical transition points is rare and needed (Phelps et al., 2007), by elucidating the occurrence of new venture delegation. Second, it contributes to psychological ownership and territoriality research being among the first to empirically explore psychological ownership over dynamic objects like business ideas and new ventures, as well as the impact of psychological ownership and the territorial behavior associated with it on delegation in entrepreneurship. This study extends our understanding of psychological ownership and territoriality and facilitates future research on many important organizational phenomena related to psychological issues in entrepreneurial contexts. Third, it enriches founder delegation research by expanding its focus onto the critical delegation events before entrepreneurial succession/exit, since the experience that founders gain through early delegation activities significantly influences their departure decisions, which is recognized as the most critical event in most firms (Hofer & Charan, 1984; Carroll, 1984). In addition, I identify the application of the theories regarding management control systems and agency/stewardship theory in early delegation in the context of entrepreneurship. / Graduate / 2019-07-31

The aim of the study was to conceptualise psychological empowerment as perceived in a South African context in terms of the dimensions and contributing factors. The study was conducted by means of quantitative and qualitative methods. The sample included employees from different geographic areas, genders, races, level of education and positions in organisations in different sectors. Relationships between demographic variables and psychological empowerment were determined. To determine to what extent South Africans are psychologically empowered, according to Spreitzer’s (1995) model, means and standard deviations were calculated for the four dimensions (meaning, competence, self-determination and impact) and overall psychological empowerment (PE) and a percentile table was utilised to establish a norm and compare it with a norm established in previous research. Management practices were found to be significantly related to PE. However, when regression analysis was done, only the practices, motivation, delegation and job and role clarity significantly predicted PE. Perceptions of empowerment were investigated and it appeared that economic empowerment is emphasised in the media, while the majority of interview respondents seemed to have a balanced or positive view of empowerment as enabling. The psychological experiences of employees were explored and dimensions of psychological empowerment that are similar to what was found by previous research emerged. Some characteristics were found to be unique given the present context. Dimensions and characteristics that emerged from the study were resilience, sense of competence, sense of achievement, sense of control, sense of meaning, making a difference and empowerment of others. The theoretical frameworks proposed by Menon (2001) and Zimmerman (1995) were investigated, which confirmed the importance of a goal orientation and pro-active behaviour in psychological empowerment. These theories were evaluated and compared to cognitive theories as suitable frameworks for the study of psychological empowerment. Contributing factors that emerged from the qualitative study most prominently were opportunity and recognition. Locus of control emerged as a possible intrapersonal factor and it was explored further as a contributing factor. Together with the significant factors from the quantitative survey, these factors were employed to recommend a strategy for the development of psychological empowerment with the dimensions of empowerment as outcomes. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Bakgrund och Syfte: Tidigare forskning visar att delegering ökar känslan av empowerment hos medarbetarna. Mer forskning önskas kring hur delegering av schemaläggningen påverkar empowerment hos medarbetarna. Syftet med denna studie är att öka förståelsen för hur delegering av flexibla arbetstider till medarbetarna påverkar medarbetarnas upplevda empowerment. Metod: Studiens grund är av ett hermeneutiskt och socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv. Forskningsansatsen som använts är en abduktiv forskningsansats. Studiens insamlingsteknik är av en kvalitativ metod. Den empiriska informationen har samlats in med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Den teoretiska referensramen har tidigare forskning som grund. Den empiriska informationen som framkommit under intervjuerna har kategoriserats och sammanställts i ett kapitel. Analysen av studien är framställd utifrån den empiriska samt teoretiska informationen som presenterats i studien. Slutsats: Studien tyder på att delegering av flexibla arbetstider påverkar medarbetarnas upplevda empowerment, i form av kompetens och självbestämmande. Flexibla arbetstider har även en större påverkan på medarbetarna än själva delegeringen i sig. Studiens bidrag: Studien visar på att delegering av flexibla arbetstider påverkar upplevd empowerment. Ur ett praktiskt perspektiv ges rådet till ledarna att med fördel delegera flexibla arbetstider till medarbetarna för att öka upplevd empowerment i form av ökat självbestämmande och kompetens. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Till vidare forskning finns ett behov av att undersöka kopplingen mellan flexibla arbetstider och empowerment på ett mer grundligt sätt. Vi föreslår att detta syfte studeras med medarbetare som varit anställa en kort tid och att syftet studeras med andra geografiska utgångspunkter. / Background and Aim: Previous research shows that delegation increases the sense of empowerment among employees. More research is requested about how delegation of scheduling affects empowerment among employees. The purpose of this study is to increase understanding how the delegation of working hours to employees’ affecting employees' psychological empowerment. Method: The basis of the study is of a hermeneutical and a social constructivist perspective. The research approach that has been used is a deductible research approach. The study's collection technique is of a qualitative method. The empirical information has been collected using semi-structured interviews. The theoretical frame of reference has earlier research as a basis. The empirical information found during the interviews has been categorized and compiled in a chapter. The analysis of the study is based on the empirical and theoretical information presented in the study. Conclusion: The study suggests that delegation of flexible working hours affects employees' psychological empowerment, in terms of competence and self-determination. Flexible working hours also have a greater impact on employees than the delegation itself. Contribution: The study shows that delegation of flexible working hours influences psychological empowerment. From a practical perspective, the advice is given to leaders to delegate flexible working hours to employees to increase psychological empowerment in the form of increased self-determination and competence. Suggestions for further research: For further research, there is a need to examine the link between flexible working hours and empowerment in a more thorough way. We propose that this purpose be studied with employees who have been hiring a short time and that the purpose is studied with other geographical starting points.

Traditional economic theory assumes that individuals are self-interested. They only care about their own well-being and disregard the impact of their actions on the others. However, the assumption of selfish individuals is unable to explain a number of important phenomena and puzzles. Individuals frequently engage in actions that are costly to themselves with no<p>apparent reward. Behavioural economics provides plausible explanations for these actions.<p>Individuals can be “boundedly rational" (Simon, 1955, and Kahneman et al. 1982) and/or can be driven by altruistic, equity and reciprocity considerations (see for an overview Fehr<p>and Schmidt, 2006). Over the past decade, researchers have applied behavioural economics<p>models to the study of organisations and how contracts should be designed in the presence<p>of non-standard preferences and asymmetric information or incomplete contracts (see for<p>an overview of the literature Köszegi, 2014).<p>In my current research, I try to be at the forefront of these new behavioural economics<p>applications into traditional industrial organisation and contract theory themes. The usual prescriptions of standard models can be misleading if potential differences in the agents' preferences are overlooked. Behavioural economics can make great progress if it takes into proper accountmarket and organisational features. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Este trabalho tem como objetivo propor um modelo econômico para os determinantes da alocação de autoridade em cadeias franqueadas no Brasil no setor de alimentação fora do lar - food service. Baseando-se no aporte teórico da economia neoinstitucionalista, especialmente na linha teórica desenvolvida por Claude Ménard (2004; 2010) para o estudo das formas híbridas, foi aplicado um estudo de múltiplos casos com foco em uma hamburgeria, uma pizza delivery e uma cafeteria, em que se procurou discutir a hipótese de que um aumento na complexidade no ponto de venda (lojas que demandam grande esforço operacional) levaria à descentralização do arranjo franqueado. Observou-se que a complexidade no ponto de venda realmente influencia a alocação de direitos de propriedade dos arranjos, mas no sentido contrário ao esperado, ou seja, no sentido da centralização. Tal centralização foi caracterizada por uma integração de determinadas tarefas básicas e pelo aumento do controle efetivo exercido pelas franqueadoras sobre as tarefas que continuaram sendo compartilhadas com as lojas franqueadas. / This work intends to propose an economic model reflecting the determinants of authority allocation on food service franchise chains in Brazil. Drawing on the New Institutional Economics framework and, in particular, on the hybrid forms approach by Claude Ménard (2004; 2010), a multiple case study has been conducted on a hamburger fast food restaurant chain, a pizza delivery chain and a special coffee shop chain, discussing the hypothesis that: the more outlet complexity increases (stores that demand high operational effort), the more decentralized the chain should be. Results show that outlet complexity is indeed a determinant of the allocation of property rights, although in the opposite direction, i.e. towards centralization. Such centralization was characterized as a mix of: vertical integration over key tasks and of an increase in the effective control over the remaining tasks that kept being shared with franchisees.

Problemformulering: Att ha kontroll över sin arbetstid har visat sig ha både positiva och negativa effekter för återhämtning. Återhämtning har central betydelse för att minska arbetsrelaterad stress som uppskattas vara ett av de största arbetsmiljöproblemen i Europa. Det saknas dock forskning kring hälsa och verksamhetsanpassade arbetstider och även kring delaktighetens påverkan på uppfattningar om ledarskap. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka uppfattningar om förändringar i ledarskap, samt för- och nackdelar med arbetsprocessen, hos chefer, resursplanerare och medarbetare i en större svensk offentlig myndighet efter en genomförd arbetsplatsinriktad intervention för att öka delaktigheten vid planering av arbetstider. Metod: Tre chefer och tre resursplanerare valdes ut genom ett målstyrt urval och sex medarbetare valdes ut genom ett obundet slumpmässigt urval. En kvalitativ ansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer och en fenomenografisk analysmetod användes. Huvudresultat: Resultatet består av följande huvudkategorier; likartat ledarskap, utvecklat ledarskap, större förståelse på arbetsplatsen, mer dialog på arbetsplatsen, bättre balans mellan arbetsliv och fritid, högre faktisk och upplevd möjlighet att kunna påverka och mer arbete för resursplanerarna. Slutsats: Resultatet tyder på att det ur ett arbetshälsovetenskapligt perspektiv kan vara positivt med medarbetarinflytande över schemaläggning och arbetsplatser med schemalagt arbete kan därför med fördel låta medarbetare ha inflytande över sin schemaplanering. / Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate how managers, resource planners and employees, in a bigger swedish public authority, perceive changes in leadership, and advantages and disadvantages with the work process, after a workplace-oriented intervention to increase participation in planning of working hours. Mehods: Three managers and three resource planners were selected through a targeted selection and six employees were selected through a random sampling. A qualitative method with semi structured interviews were used to collect data, and a phenomenographical method was used to analyze the interviews. Main results: The analyzed data resulted in the following descriptive categories; unchanged leadership, strengthened leadership, greater understanding at the work place, more dialogue between different work roles, better work-life balance, higher actual and perceived opportunity to influence and more work for the resource planners. Conclusion: Employee participation in schedule planning can be positive from an occupational health science perspective. Workplaces with scheduled work can therefore advantageously let employees participate in schedule planning.

The managers are important persons for easygoing operation of companies. That is why I am concerned with their skills and abilities in this dissertation. Thank to these skills and abilities can managers help companies to come through the market or not. I will try to suggest solution for three managers after analysis of their personalities. This solution can be helpful for development of companies, where they work in.

Ein entscheidender Erfolgsgarant für die Abwicklung von FuE-Projekten durch ein internationales Projektteam liegt in der Kombination des Wissens aller Mitarbeiter. Manche Unternehmen können das spezielle Know how ihrer Mitarbeiter noch stärker nutzen und Entscheidungsbefugnisse für bestimmte Projektaufgaben delegieren. Zu empfehlen ist dies z. B. für die Innovationsaufgaben: Erstellung des Gesamtentwicklungskonzeptes und Ideenfindung. Unterscheiden sich die Unternehmenskulturen der beteiligten Projektmitarbeiter stark voneinander, ist die Erstellung des Gesamtentwicklungskonzeptes durch das Team nicht mehr sinnvoll. Die Aufgaben: Suche nach Projektmitarbeitern und Auswahl der Zulieferer sollte der Geschäftsführer aufgrund seiner besseren Zugangsmöglichkeiten zu anderen Unternehmensbereichen und externen Einrichtungen überwiegend selbst ausführen. Generell ist es ratsam, dass international agierende Konzerne individuelle Partizipationsmodelle gestalten und Probleme, die durch unterschiedliche Kulturausprägungen entstehen, verhindern bzw. beseitigen.

ABSTRACT This study examines the implementation of the education decentralisation process and its effect on secondary schools in Botswana in the case of the South Central Region. This topic was chosen against the wide-scale adoption by African countries of the international policy of educational decentralization, which takes different forms in different purposes. Literature on decentralization and school monitoring and support was consulted as well as evidence from different African countries. The study uses a qualitative approach and case study of a region to collect data through interviews and document analysis. Purposive sampling was used to select participants from the Ministry of Education headquarters, national Secondary Education Department and the South Central Region Office. Six Secondary Schools were sampled for the purpose of illustrating the impact of the regional administrative decentralization on different kinds of schools. The research findings reveal that Botswana has adopted the particular form of regional administrative decentralization for the purpose of administrative efficiency and the improvement of its school monitoring and support functions. The study revealed that some benefits, such as speedier response to teachers’ welfare matters, facilitation of distribution of resources in particular, learner- support materials and teachers, did occur. However, contrary to expectations, it surfaced that the process was ridden with more problems than solutions, mainly because many of the preconditions necessary for effective administrative decentralization were not present. For example, there was a lack of common understanding of the form and extent of decentralisation, human and other resources, role clarity and proper accountability lines, resulting in duplication of effort and tension between the regional and national offices as well as misaligned decentralization functions within the education bureaucracy. The main recommendations of the study are that the Ministry of Education should revisit the strategy to take on board and empower the regions to effectively execute their mandate of monitoring and supporting secondary schools in their jurisdiction. This will require increased capacity and resources as well as strategic leadership on behalf of the region.