Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) is a national program developed by Cooperative Extension’s federal partner, Cooperative State, Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES). In collaboration with its federal partner and in concert with state extension systems across the nation, UVM Extension conducted an organizational change survey in 1998, 2000, and 2004 with a selected sample of UVM Extension professionals to determine the organization’s capacity to address issues of CYFAR. Findings from these three surveys showed that Extension had not substantively altered its organizational practices in alignment with the goals of the national program. In order to stimulate new strategic planning for the program, this study set about to assess the capacity of staff from UVM Extension to promote organizational learning. Grounded in the literature of organizational learning, this study administered a 43 item survey instrument called the Dimension of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) to Extension employees. As a strategic planning tool, the survey identifies organizational learning opportunities at the individual, team, and organizational level. Following the Total Design Method, the web-based survey was launched September 2006, with a response rate of 68% (n=63). Findings from the new survey continue to indicate limited organizational capacity to meet national goals for CYFAR program. Interestingly, nearly 70% of survey respondents reported participation in programming for children, youth and families at risk, a percentage greater than those formally assigned to CYFAR activities. Regardless of formal assignment, however, CYFAR employees and non-CYFAR employees did not significantly differ in their survey responses across a variety of organizational measures. Prior training to develop organizational capacity in line with national goals appears to be falling short of expectations. Implications for these shortcomings are discussed and used to frame an action plan for development of this program.

This dissertation synthesizes and analyzes an emblematic sample of three prevalent psychological approaches to organizational change and learning, giving particular attention to the conception of cognition and emotion. It also explores some of the philosophical and psychological assumptions undergirding these approaches. A web model depicting various epistemological influences is offered as a tool for exploring influences on the psychological research within and beyond this study. A second conceptual model is also offered as a tool for considering the hierarchical treatment and preferential placement of cognition over emotion theory and practice. The project draws on general philosophy, psychology, evolutionary theory, and multiple other disciplines in the effort to understand why cognition is afforded a hallowed place while emotion is treated as an unruly subject. Dewey’s experiential, evolutionary psychology of emotion is repositioned as an alternative to what might be considered a Jamesian depiction of the relationship between cognition and emotion. Some of the implications of Dewey’s pragmatic reading and application of Darwinian naturalism are explored to raise awareness of the way that various interests are served through the rigid classification of human experience. Finally, an organizational fable is offered to help connect the project to the genuine problems that the reader brings to the text.

The study is based on the hypothesis that there are forces of influence that push a group from extremism to terrorism. While not all groups make the shift to terrorism, there are inherent forces within the radical group that influence the course of action undertaken by groups. The study examines 10 radical groups in Indonesia and explores the question: How do ideology, leadership and group dynamics play a significant role in the radical groups in Indonesia? The study explored groups within a broad cross-section of terrorist and extremist groups that have either been in operation or are currently in operation in Indonesia The groups examined were Lashkar Jihad (LJ), Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), Darul Islam (DI), Front Pembela Islam (FPI), Negara Islam Indonesia (NII), Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HT), Majelis Mujahideen Indonesia (MMI), Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT), Al Qaeda Indonesia (AI) and Mujahideen Indonesia Timur (MIT). The study highlights that groups are able to sustain themselves on the path of terrorism if there is a unique confluence of a politicised ideology, presence of influential leadership and group dynamics. Based on 124 interviews and questionnaires of terrorist and extremist leadership and cadre, the study sheds light on unique dynamics within these groups in Indonesia. In an examination of the 10 radical groups, this study shows that the very factors that often influences the radicalisation of individuals on the pathway of terrorism – ideology, charismatic leadership and community affiliation through group dynamics also in turn influence the course of action of groups as a whole.

Information and communication technology is rapidly transforming the world of business. It in particular has played a significant role in globalisation, the ramifications of which South Africa can ill afford to ignore. A key facet of emerging innovative technologies and globalisation is the environmental uncertainty, complexity and turbulence it has engendered. Traditional strategic management paradigms and practice are largely founded on the assumption of environmental predictability, a reality that is rapidly being eroded. This thesis attempts to determine to what degree strategic management theory still correlates with contemporary strategic management practice. Various levels of environmental uncertainty are defined in order to gain clarity as to strategic management processes that are best suited for dealing therewith. Three key determinants are identified as having a significant impact on the strategic realignment of business institutions within a global business environment, namely information and communication technology, business systems, and change management. A central tenet that emerges from the study is the need for a framework to integrate the first two mentioned determinants at strategic and operational levels, while taking due cognisance of the human resources implications involved. Human emotions, feelings, relationships, fears, values, beliefs and aspirations collectively assume relevance as dimensions that can either inhibit or facilitate the strategic realignment process. These dimensions are analysed with reference to the concepts “emotional intelligence” and “organisational culture” in order to gain a greater understanding of the role they play in strategy formulation and implementation. Leadership is also identified as being business critical in managing strategic realignment. The findings of this study serve as a source of reference for researchers and practitioners who are attempting to formulate and implement strategy within contexts that are best described as being uncertain, complex and subject to discontinuous change. / Prof. N. Lessing

Organisations are born from and grow through creative ideas and innovative endeavours. For much of the twentieth century efficiency within organisations tended to be emphasized as the most important business focus with innovation as second choice. However, recently innovation has been cited as the primary way in which organisations can create and ensure long-term stability, shareholder satisfaction and industry leadership with a sustainable position. Subsequently, organisations realised that if they harnessed creativity and innovation correctly, it could lead to competitive advantage. Hence the question, what constitutes innovation? This research study endeavoured to determine the building blocks of innovation in a state-owned enterprise within the transport industry to facilitate the consistent adoption of innovation and its practices, by presenting the findings in a conceptual framework. As innovation is a multi-faceted and complex topic to study, a qualitative approach was chosen to identify concepts depicting the building blocks of innovation and the relationships between those concepts to enhance corporate functioning. Therefore, the method chosen had to support a qualitative and inductive research approach. Grounded Theory, as a qualitative method, ensured that innovation would be understood from the perspective of the participant. This in turn would ensure that the final result, the conceptual framework of building blocks of innovation, would be suitable to the environment from which it was generated. Through the empirical research, the state-owned enterprise’s approach towards innovation, that would influence the adoption of innovative practices, has been identified. Furthermore, barriers to innovation have been identified that might hinder the adoption of innovative practices. Finally, the enablers of innovation within a state-owned enterprise were identified and captured into a conceptual framework that depicts the building blocks of innovation. / Prof. Gert Roodt

Syftet med denna uppsats är att belysa hur intern kommunikation påverkar ett förändringsarbetes utfall. Med studien vill vi bidra med ökad kunskap om varför bristen på kommunikation ofta leder till misslyckade förändringsarbeten. För att genomföra studien har 19 vetenskapliga artiklar analyserats och diskuterats och en kvalitativ fallstudie har även genomförts med relevanta respondenter för att komma fram till en slutsats. Teorin som presenteras i uppsatsen beskriver hur viktig kommunikation är inom en organisation och speciellt under förändringsarbeten. Vi beskriver organisationsförändring och kommunikation som egna ämnen och diskuterar även dess egenskaper men även bristen av kommunikation. Empirin utgår ifrån intervjuerna som beskriver hur ett förändringsarbete har gått till i organisation X och hur kommunikationen har använts under förändringens gång. Det vi har kommit fram till efter att ha studerat ämnena samt förändringen i organisation X är att det finns många saker att ta hänsyn till inom detta område. Några viktiga faktorer att ta hänsyn till är att inkludera medarbetare i processen, vara tydlig i sitt budskap och att hålla kontinuerliga dialoger. Detta för att bland annat undvika missnöje och minskad produktivitet. I företag Xs fall även för att kunna behålla den företagskultur som alltid präglat företaget. Om bristen på kommunikation till övriga medarbetare beror på att kommunikationen mellan ledarna inte fungerar så måste organisationen först och främst fokusera på att behärska det. Ifall det dock råder god kommunikation mellan ledarna så är nästa steg att kommunicera bättre till yrkesarbetarna. / The purpose with this study is to highlight how the internal communication affects the outcome of organizational change. We would like to contribute knowledge to why lack of communication often leads to unsuccessful organizational change. To execute the study we analyzed and discussed 19 scientific articles and also six interviews were carried out with essential respondents to reach a conclusion. The theoretical part that is presented in our study describes how important communication is in an organization and especially during organizational change. We describe organizational change and communication as separate subjects and we also discuss their characteristics. Our empirical part of the research contains interviews which shows how organization X dealt with their organizational change and how they used their internal communication during the change. After we studied the organizational change in organization X we reached the conclusion that there are a lot of factors to consider in this area. Some of the important factors to consider are to include everyone in an organization in the process, to be distinct with the message that is communicated and to continuously hold dialogues. The reason for this is to avoid dissatisfaction and reduced productivity. It is also important for organization X to keep their organizational culture that has been prominent for their company from the start. If the lack of communication in the organization stems from the fact that the communication between the leaders is not functioning properly, the organization has to focus on controlling that first. If the communication between the leaders is functioning, the next step is to communicate in a better way to the other co-workers.

M.B.A. / The paper industry and, more specifically, Sappi Fine Paper, has not been achieving the levels of innovation required to meet rapidly-changing market needs, especially when compared to manufacturers like 3M. The industry is therefore losing value and not achieving optimal returns on investment. The reasons for this lack of innovation are not known. This study aims to investigate these sub-optimal levels of innovation, and to define some of the possible reasons for it. The study begins with an examination of corporate culture and its impact on innovation. In this regard, a cultural audit was done on a selected group of Sappi employees involved in product development from manufacturing, and sales and marketing. The questionnaire used was aimed at measuring and quantifying innovation and creativity influencers, and both perceived and preferred dimensions of culture were recorded. A gap analysis was then undertaken between the two, and perceptual charts plotted for each of the research groups. The audit revealed that Sappi Fine Paper does, indeed, have a creative culture, but the gap analysis revealed that in certain dimensions there are large gaps between the perceived and preferred profiles. The most critical gap affecting innovation was the one in the “risk profile” dimension. This revealed a tendency for the company to be risk averse, while the expressed preference of staff is that it be more open to risk taking. The literature review also highlights the importance that risk taking plays in innovation. The conclusion drawn is that, in order to achieve improved levels of innovation, Sappi Fine Paper needs to support existing creativity with a greater openness to risk taking resulting in higher levels of innovation.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfument of the requirements for the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce. November, 1996. / Increased competition from globalisation is having an increasing impact on competition within the South African market. This coupled with the exterrial pressures from international banks (globalisation), the emergence of non traditional players, higher demands from customers for a better deal is placing pressure on the bank's traditional means of earning income. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version] / AC2017

The implementation of Horizontal Monitoring (HM) in Austria represents a shift in the prevailing command-and-control paradigm towards enhanced cooperation between taxpayers and tax authorities. In the present paper, we assess how HM is perceived by different stakeholder groups when it was introduced as a pilot project embedded in the "Fair Play Initiative" launched by the Austrian Ministry of Finance. We collected quantitative and qualitative data from tax auditors and staff of tax offices responsible for large-scale enterprises who were either directly involved or not involved in the HM pilot project, from employees of participating enterprises as well as from employees of enterprises which did not participate in the project. Results show that representations of HM were most positive among employees from HM companies and tax officials directly involved, whereas participants from the tax administration who did not take part in the project were skeptical at the beginning and remained skeptical over time. As shown in organizational change studies, the acceptance or resistance regarding the paradigm change represented by HM may originate from uncertainty and misperceptions of its goals and strategies and from speculations, particularly by poorly informed members.

Os objetivos centrais do presente estudo são caracterizar a dinâmica de adoção do padrão normativo ISO 9000 e analisar seus impactos em aspectos internos e externos da empresa. Utilizando informações e dados fornecidos por empresas selecionadas da cadeia de valor de embalagens PET para bebidas instaladas no Brasil, investigaram-se, de um lado, os principais indutores da adoção de tal padrão (motivações e necessidades), dificuldades enfrentadas durante sua implementação, lacunas identificadas e iniciativas similares ou complementares adotadas após a certificação; e, de outro, as mudanças decorrentes de natureza estratégica, gerencial e operacional mais importantes, e, sobretudo, nos relacionamentos com fornecedores e clientes diretos no que tange às funções Tecnológica e de Produção. A investigação dessas questões envolveu o estudo de dois casos - os maiores produtores nacionais de resina e pré-formas/garrafas PET -, bem como análises comparativas de ambos os casos, destes com empresas de outros setores industriais localizadas no país (autopeças e móveis) e em outros países (instrumentos cirúrgicos e outros). A análise individual dos casos revelou, em geral, diferentes perfis de adoção do padrão ISO 9000 e impactos decorrentes, excetuando-se o fato de que se concentraram na esfera produtiva. Uma explicação encontrada para tal resultado está ligada à existência de um programa de qualidade que ultrapassa o escopo e os limites da ISO 9000 e de um ambiente e uma cultura para a qualidade mais disseminada por toda a empresa no caso do fabricante de resina, mas não no do fabricante de pré-formas/garrafas PET. Outra, refere-se à intensidade e diversidade da atividade cooperativa dessas empresas, significativamente superior no primeiro caso relativamente ao segundo. E uma terceira, diz respeito à atuação de vários fatores intervenientes ambientais e setoriais, tais como a nacionalidade da matriz, que representa a influência dos modos de gestão e operação da qualidade nesta unidade sobre a que foi investigada, e o elo a que pertencem as empresas, que, tendo em vista a estrutura de governança da cadeia, afeta a dinâmica de adoção e, conseqüentemente, os impactos decorrentes. As comparações nacionais e internacionais com empresas de outros setores industriais permitiram verificar, em caráter exploratório, semelhanças (com o setor de autopeças) e diferenças (relativamente ao setor moveleiro) quanto às questões investigadas, confirmando que fatores setoriais interferem na relação entre adoção das normas ISO 9000 e suas implicações para a empresa. As comparações internacionais mostraram que, a despeito de existirem variações associadas aos distintos contextos socioeconômicos e infra-estrutura institucional de apoio entre os diversos países, não existem variadas “versões" de sistemas de gestão construídos com base na ISO 9000, mas, em virtude de distintas dinâmicas de adoção, interferentes setoriais, micro e macro-ambientais, os impactos organizacionais percebidos podem divergir. / The main purposes of this study are to characterize the dynamics of the adoption of ISO 9000 normative standards and analyze their impact in internal and external aspects of companies. By assessing data and information provided by selected packaging companies working with PET bottles in Brazil, it was studied, on the one hand, the main causes (motivations and needs) for the adoption of such standards, the difficulties faced throughout the implementation process, identified gaps and similar or complementary initiatives adopted after certification; and, on the other hand, the main strategic, managerial and operational deriving changes, mainly those concerning the relationship with direct suppliers and clients as to Technological and Productive functions. The investigation of these questions involved the analyses of two cases — the largest national producers of PET resin and PET bottles — as well as comparative analyses of both cases and of the two selected cases with companies from different industrial segments located in the country (autocomponents and furniture) and abroad (surgical instruments and others). The individual analyses of each case revealed, in general, different profiles in the adoption of ISO 9000 standards and in deriving impacts, except for the fact that they concentrate on the productive realm. One possible explanation for such finding is the one related to the existence of a quality program which surpasses the scope and limits of ISO 9000 and of an environment and culture of quality that is spread throughout the company in the case of the resin producer, but not in the case of PET bottle manufacturer. Another explanation refers to the intensity and diversity of cooperative activities in those companies which are significantly higher in the first case if compared to the second case. A third explanation concerns the effect of various environmental and sector-related interfering factors such as the nationality of the holding company which represents the influence it has on management approach and quality culture in the local branch studied; and such as the chain link the companies are part since their dynamics of adoption, and consequently the deriving impacts, are influenced by the governing structure of such a chain. National and international comparisons with companies from different industrial sectors enabled us to observe and verify similarities (in the case of the autocomponents sector) and differences (in the case of the furniture sector) about the issues analyzed, confirming that sector-related factors interfere in the adoption of ISO 9000 standards and may cause implications to companies. The international comparisons showed us that even though there are variations associated with distinctive socioeconomic contexts and institutional support infrastructure in different countries, the management systems based on ISO 9000 do not have varied “versions", but since the dynamics of adoption are different, and there are sector-related, micro and macro-environmental interferences, there may be diverging organizational impacts.