Proefschrift--Rechtsgeleerdheid--Leiden, 1981. / Résumé en néerlandais. Bibliogr. pp. 456-484. Index.

Proefschrift--Rechtsgeleerdheid--Leiden, 1979. / Résumé en néerlandais. Bibliogr. p. 308-326. Index.

While research in the area of strategy is diverse and widely diffused across different areas of interest within the domain of strategy, the academic interest in the process of strategy-making still remains current (Szulanski, Porac and Dos, 2005:xiv). Some researchers deem the amorphous boundaries and inherent pluralism in the field of strategy as benefiting scholars and practitioners to thrive as a community without being constraint by a dominant theoretical or methodological ‘straight-jacket’ (Nag, Hambrick&Chen, 2007:952). It became evident from the literature review that academic discourse on the process of strategy-making renders little academic agreement and is explained in diverse and opposing ways. This study endeavored to unite various views into a single description of strategy-making processes. A continuum of diverse strategy-making approaches is crystallized from literature. Various and divergent views on strategy-making are grouped together and associated with extreme views in this range of approaches to strategy-making. These extreme views represent the rational planning approach to strategy-making on the one end and the emergent approach to strategy-making on the other end. Issues influencing the choice of strategy-making approach, hinging on the perceived advantages and disadvantages of these approaches, are also investigated. The study set out to describe the dominant approach/es to strategy-making followed in South African organisations. This is done through qualitative and quantitative research exploring the research questions and hypotheses. Furthermore, defying critique on research methodology typically followed for strategy research (with dominance of qualitative research methods), this study made use of mixed method research. This enabled quantitative data (from questionnaires) to be corroborated with qualitative data (from interviews). Results were also quantified and a spread of data analysis techniques applied to provide the most reliable and valid results and conclusions. This study describes, applies and tests an array of strategy-making approaches categorised according to extreme views. The study therefore shows that reflecting only on one aspect or extreme of strategy-making to the exclusion of other views when conducting strategy research, training on strategy or practicing strategy distorts the truth and reality of strategy-making and cripples the application of strategy in general. / Thesis (DCom)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Business Management / unrestricted

No

No / The Leverhulme Trust (UK), the Spanish Psycologists’ Association (Consejo Nacional de Colegios Oficiales de Psicólogos, COP-CV and COP’s Division on Work, Organizations and Personnel Psychology), the Valencian Government (Conselleria de Educación, Generalitat Valenciana), the University of Valencia and the European Association of Work, and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) for their kind funding contributions

This research is undertaken in response to the need to offer fresh insights to the number of models of organisational bureaucracy. The main aim of this thesis is to explore the bureaucratic factors related to governmental organisations that may influence their performance. Through conceptual and empirical research, several key factors have been identified which link organisational performance to social responsibility, job satisfaction, motivation, and decision quality. To support this research, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions were used in connection with the performance dimensions and the bureaucratic factors. In this context, the case study design used multiple sources of evidence in a triangulation strategy to contribute to developing a perspective on bureaucracy and its impact to government organisations in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Thus, a conceptual framework has been developed and proposed as part of the study. This research adopted a semi-structured interview research design in order to elicit the views of individuals and in-depth qualitative information. The findings in the context of this research confirmed that Bahrainis are highly rule-oriented, risk averse and do not readily accept change. In addition, they have a high preference for avoiding uncertainty thus they maintain rigid codes of belief and behaviour. The results of the empirical investigation have therefore enriched the growing literature of bureaucracy and performance of government organisations not only in the Kingdom of Bahrain but also in the global setting it used the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. The result of this research may be of help to a range of human resource managers, public administrators, employees and other stakeholders in bureaucratic organisational context.

The study examines the importance of competitive advantage and change in a dynamic environment. The purpose of the study is to explore how AAI could remain relevant and competitive in the market and examines how regularly changing its approaches to programme delivery could be used to meet needs of the community. The study also focused on the impact of AAI’s pace of change and how the pace impacted on the organization’s effectiveness and quality of programmed delivery. AAI relied on its past successful programmes to address the need of communities in many new countries. However, previously successful programmes did not prove popular when rolled in new markets. AAI programmes are suffering substantial withdrawals from beneficiaries. Beneficiaries are withdrawing from AAI programmes, complaining that the programme delivery approaches were not competitive and innovative. Many new organizations being formed are competing not just for beneficiary markets, but for financial resources (funding), skills and new ideas of delivering programmes. Traditional government type donors are being overtaken by a new crop of donors that is in favour of funding competitive and innovative organizations. Traditional aid organizations are losing market share to smaller agencies. The organizational structure of AAI appears not to support effective and efficient delivery of programmes. With no senior manager at the helm of the department, coordinating activities, sustaining competitive advantage and managing change within the programme department remained a challenge for the organization. A frastruated staff compliments exacerbated the situation. Employee turnover at the key and tactical levels resulted in the department operating without adequate staff and key personnel. This made coordination and cooperation amongst units very difficult. Various programme units operated in silos and mixed messages were sent to community resulting in the community being unhappy with AAI. Community felt that AAI did not consult with them when deciding on how to meet their needs. Community members felt that AAI was taking unilateral decisions and did not care about their feedback and the quality of the programmes delivered. This study further examines how AAI has suffered due to its inability to respond to the needs of community and its failure to adapt to the changing business environment. It reveals how innovation and adaptability is critical for retaining competitive advantage. It reveals how capabilities once built can be eroded by competition through copying. It concludes by revealing the importance of dynamic capabilities in sustaining competitive advantage as well as the need to change in response to the market. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / (M.B.A.)

This thesis is a case study of six organisations and two pilot organisations to investigate the implementation of strategic planning in small charitable organisations in the voluntary sector in Edinburgh. The case studies utilised semi-structured interviews, observations and questionnaires on multiple occasions over a two-year time period. The data collected provided insight into the financial management systems utilised by these organisations and the training level attained by the financial person of each of the organisations. The findings supported the concept that the more developed the training of the financial person, the more developed the level of planning attained and the more complex the funding arrangements accessed by that organisation become. The research also supported the position that the barriers to planning were the same barriers that have been previously noted in the literature as indigenous to the voluntary sector: time, money, resources, and communication. In addition, the research developed evidence to support a listing of characteristics which are indicative of when an organisation is ready to plan more strategically. These include such items as a teamwork approach, knowing the staff and their backgrounds, knowing and planning for the training needs of staff, supporting the staff, and developing in the staff the feeling that they can talk to their supervisor. The research also developed that there are certain general characteristics, such as being aware of changes in the law, having, and being perceived to have, fair and up to date policies and procedures as being indicative of an organisation which is ready for the changes intrinsic in the implementation of strategic planning models involving continuous improvement such as the EFQM Excellence Model®. Although the organisations are not opposed to planning in general and strategic planning in particular, the need for survival by conforming to the requirements of funders takes precedence over longer term planning. Part of the impetus for this behaviour is the evocative behaviour of supporting 'the cause' for which they were founded. Frequently in the voluntary sector, 'the cause' also involves working with vulnerable groups of people. The limited progress observed in their strategic planning indicated that the period of time available for observation was too short and the measurements needed to be taken too soon.

Through an exploration and analysis of the roles of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) in education policy reform particularly at the Basic Education level in Zambia, this thesis argues that over the past few decades, NGOs have become increasingly visible. Indeed, since the 1990s, many NGOs supporting education have entered the arena of advocacy and policy dialogue with government; yet the success of internationally recognised goals - such as Education For All (EFA) – seem as remote as ever. To address the concern regarding the role of NGOs in education policy, qualitative methodological approaches were utilised. These included interviews, participant observation, focus group discussions and documentary analysis. This research finds that the participation of NGOs in Basic Education Policy Reform in Zambia needs to be “reformulated” to end problems concerning access, inequity and quality in education. Although NGOs are involved in policy through their roles as service providers and policy advocates, the majority depend on foreign donor funding which creates tensions between government strategies and donor priorities. Due to their dependence on international funding NGOs in Lusaka province appear to have made a limited contribution to educational developments. The government of Zambia, because of its indebtness, has accepted neo-liberal policies in education which are frequently tied to conditionalities in aid packages. Therefore, it has been found that NGOs have helped the neo-liberal agenda of donors rather than the needs of local communities and schools. The conclusion one must draw, is that if NGOs are to contribute to minimising educational problems, they need to support policies that are indigenous that put educational needs of all children, especially the marginalised and vulnerable, first.

<p>The Swedish National Rail Administration, Banverket, has the overarching sector responsibility for Swedish railways, including a responsibility for implementing and managing the government decision for an ecologically sustainable development. In support of achieving ecologically sustainable development and fulfilment of the national environmental objectives and environmental legislation, Banverket initiated the implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS) in 1998. The overall aim of this thesis is to examine the EMS applied at Banverket with regard to the identification and monitoring of environmental aspects at the administrative Railway Regions of Banverket. The analysis is based on a qualitative approach comprising questionnaires, interviews, document analysis and participating observations.</p><p>Areas for potential improvements are identified. A more stringent use of the EMS is needed in the organisation. Furthermore, a link between activity, aspect and impact when identifying environmental aspects would improve the procedure. Like in other public organisations, the monitoring of environmental aspects at Banverket is insufficient. Introducing indicators and integrating different Government requirements for environmental monitoring into one system, using EMS as a tool would make the system more effective. In the thsesis a framework is proposed for the identification of environmental aspects pertaining to operation and maintenance at Banverket. This framework has an input–output perspective and provides a clear connection between activity, aspect and impact. Furthermore, by establishing the framework on a system used mainly for environmental performance evaluation, a better connection between the identification and monitoring of aspects is created, possibly improving both processes. The framework for the identifica-tion of environmental aspects, as proposed in the thesis, could also be modified and applied in other organisations.</p><p>A major conclusion of the study is that the EMS applied at Banverket, in its present form, is not an effective environmental management tool for achieving ecologically sustainable development within the rail sector. Adapted methods for identification and monitoring of environmental aspects for public organisations such as Banverket would facilitate the application of EMS and increase its effectiveness as an environmental tool.</p>