This thesis examines how quality social economy organisations reproduce their organisational values. The `social economy' sector is of growing importance in the European Union for employment and as a deliverer of public services. Others see social economy organisations as an important component of civil society: as advocates for the disadvantaged, as critics of social injustice, and as innovators of social changes (Korten 1990; Putnam 1993). These organisations are seen as distinctive in being independent of government and commercial enterprise, and because they are value-based. This study examined a crucial issue for social economy organisations: how they reproduce their distinctive values. The research examined six social economy organisations in the voluntary and cooperative sector in the UK using an exploratory case study strategy. Semi-structured interviews, documentary evidence and group discussions were used to illuminate the understandings of organisational actors. Organisations were chosen in a range that stretched from a worker co-operative operating in commercial markets; through to social enterprises using a mixture of public, private and charitable income streams; to charities using grants and government contracts. The study assumed a realist ontology. It drew from institutionalist and management culture theories informed by the not-for-profit research literature. The argument has been that economically orientated value-based organisations will face inevitable degeneration in the face of market pressures with a loss of their distinctive values (Webb 1930). A parallel argument has suggested that charitable organisations face threats to their independence from statutory funding regimes particularly with contracts for welfare services (Taylor 1990). This study suggests that a decline of values may occur, but that it is not inevitable, and shows some of the processes operating in social economy organisations which can enable and encourage the reproduction of values. These included integrated organisational structures which gave space to embed values in practise and enabled key values to influence decision-making processes.

A challenge facing many not-for-profit organisations (NPOs) is that of financial sustainability; an organisation’s ability to remain sustainable despite the rules that govern NGOs, environmental challenges faced and demands placed on the organisation by that of their donors. This paper explores the challenges faced by NPOs in the South African context and possible models that could be used by NPOs to become sustainable. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / (M.B.A.)

This study linked the management activity of planning with Alexander et al.’s (1977) concept of pattern languages developed within architecture. Since the 1990s the concept has been expanded in the information systems discipline to document software development practices. Moreover, uses of the patterning concept have focussed on software from a technical aspect; however, authors such as Coplien and Harrison (2004) have moved beyond the purely technical aspects and have used the concept of patterns to discuss issues of organisational structure. Similarly, within the discipline of management, process management tools are used to manage, track or simplify core processes by recognising patterns that can be replicated to produce more effective and efficient structural systems. Whether practitioners seek continuous improvement through control of business structures, inputs or processes, planning of desired outcomes is critical. Practical implementation difficulties continue despite a plethora of independent planning tools/applications available to managers. Consequently, a focus of this study was to explore human processes of planning in organisations, using Manns et al.’s (2001) definition of patterns to determine whether identifiable underlying patterns existed. There is a dearth of literature and practical resources related to the concept of management patterns. However, identifying flexible patterns in planning would provide a direct link between the theory of management planning, its practical implementation or both. / Qualitative research was conducted by means of within case and cross-case analysis of interviews of senior planning personnel in public and private organisations. At a general (macro) level, planning performances in all participating organisations indicated a strong relationship to Alexander’s concept of patterns; i.e. an underlying pattern that represented actual planning practices has been identified. Participating public sector organisations demonstrated some common themes in their planning, usually due to government accountability demands. In participating private sector each organisation undertook very different processes, largely because there was no internal or external accountability. The major conclusion in this study was that the reported practice of planning in participating organisations exhibited underlying patterns that matched Alexander-type patterns at the general (macro) level. Other original outcomes generated in this study included identifying, at the specific (micro) level, evidence of common indicators and categories of planning, development of individual case maps displaying pattern indicators, design of a planning component model using information that emerged from the interview data and within case analysis, amendment to that model after cross-case analysis and linking of the findings to the literature. Overall, the findings led to a revision of the conceptual model devised from available literature on planning and the concept of patterns.

Through a heuristics approach, the author began an exploration of the meaning, both intellectually and emotionally, of personal experiences in organisations. Change and learning was focused on, and how continual rounds of restructuring impacted on the writer as a participant/observer. The lack of spirituality in organisations, how we hide our hearts and souls and how we seek certainty using static models, theories and plans became underlying themes through the work. The findings of the research include outputs such as the development of an organisational model of complexity, but more so outcomes that were the intuitive insights that were gained during the research process / Master of Science (Hons)

« Sport » ! S'il est un concept aux significations multiples, aujourd'hui, c'est bien celui-là. Les ligues et fédérations sportives, en charge du sport organisé, sont confrontées à cette polysémie mais également à un environnement pertinent en constante évolution. La question se pose de savoir si elles sont en mesure de répondre à cette évolution, voire d'anticiper les changements qu'elle impose. Le sciences sociales et de gestion offrent différentes méthodes de recherche pour répondre à cette question. Le choix a été fait de recourir à l'approche configurationnelle des organisations. Elle prend en compte leurs structures, les relations qui s'établissent entre leurs acteurs, leur environnement pertinent, leurs missions, leurs valeurs et leurs stratégies, et les place dans le contexte d'un cycle de vie des organisations. Notre thèse applique l'approche configurationnelle à un échantillon de ligues et fédérations belges, tant en Communauté flamande qu'en Communauté française de Belgique, dans le but d'en cerner une typologie configurationnelle (1), d'éclairer le processus de changement qui s'y exerce (2) et de dégager des propositions de pilotage qui soient connectées sur la nature des changements observés (3). En produisant un cadre de référence qui réponde aux deux premiers objectifs, elle ne peut prétendre à une classification de l'ensemble des ligues et fédérations belges. Elle offre cependant un cadre d'analyse qui puisse fonctionner comme un "espace de convergence" des regards des dirigeants. Nous espérons contribuer, de la sorte, à une convergence des diagnostics. Conduire une politique passe par cette première étape qui reste, de toute façon, bien évidemment, ouverte à la discussion et à la critique tant méthodologique que théorique. Les propositions de pilotage ont été cadrées selon cinq axes (les missions, l'organisation, les relations entre bénévoles et salariés, l'offre d'accompagnement et la gestion de la relation à l'environnement) et s'adressent aux acteurs de l'environnement pertinent, aux ministres en charge du sport et à leurs administrations et aux acteurs de la structure de la ligue ou de la fédération. Si les grands dessins et les projets visionnaires ont leur place dans la transformation des systèmes sportif nationaux, des clefs pour comprendre les éléments qui structurent le quotidien dans le fonctionnement des organisations sportives sont également nécessaires. C'est à cela que cette thèse a souhaité contribuer.

Diss.--Essen, 2001. / Bibliogr. p. 321-337. Index.

Diss.--Kassel, 2001. / Bibliogr. p. 329-354.

Habil.-Schr.--Universität Dortmund--Dortmund, 2000. / Bibliogr. p. 279-337. Index.

Diss.--Cambridge, 1994. / Bibliogr. p. 259-266.

Diss.--Chapel Hill (N.C.), 2005. / Bibliogr. p. 202-212.