The Interplay of Organizational Demography and Institutional Change

Our paper analyzes the interplay of organizational demography with the propensity to adopt an innovative practice. In particular, we examine how the demographical composition of professional German football teams influenced the adoption of the chain-defense-system (?Viererkette?) as well as the success of implementing this system. In doing so we strongly believe that the underlying relationship between organizational demography and the innovation diffusion process is not only relevant for football teams: Other smaller organizations or profit centers whose team structures seem comparable to those of football teams might be subject to similar processes. We hypothesize that a high level of team heterogeneity leads to a greater propensity to change. We also hypothesize that homogeneous teams are more successful in executing a new practice once they have overcome their skepticism. Our results support the hypotheses on change, but do not provide final support for our hypothesis on performance. --Organizational Behavior,Economics of Sports,Innovation and Invention,Diffusion Process,Duration Analysis,Performance Analysis

Standard Operating Procedures and Organizational Learning

We report results of a study on processes of Organizational Learning (OL). Changes and suspensions of organizational rules are taken as indicators for OL. The empiric analysis is performed with personnel rules of a German bank. The aim of our study is to identify factors that have an impact on rule changes and suspensions and thereby on OL. These influence factors are, on the one hand, variables that reflect experiences of organizational members with rules and, on the other, variables which capture organizational and environmental shifts. An important finding of this study is that the processes of rule change and rule suspension follow quite different patterns. The changing of a rule is mainly influenced by experience variables. Two basic modes of experiential influences could be shown: habitualization and working one's way out of a failure trap. Experience variables also play a role in the process of rule suspension. The negative influence of rule age on the suspension process suggests that the habitualization of rules over time increases reluctance to abolish a rule. It could also be shown that the positive version age effect on the suspension rate, which indicated an obsolescence process during the existence of a rule version when no additional variables are controlled, is explained by ecological shifts. Organizational and environmental shifts hardly display any significant effects on the rate of rule change. On the other hand, these shifts represent distinct influences on rule suspension. When the environment of a rule changes the need for an abolishment of this rule rises. The attention towards rules which are no longer appropriate seems to be stimulated by these environmental and organizational shifts. These findings suggest that OL can consist of a type of learning which is rather independent of certain ecological triggers and it can also consist of a type of learning which is maintained in order to adapt to certain changes within and outside the o

Limited Rationality, Formal Organizational Rules, and Organizational Learning (OL)

In spite of a broad agreement among researchers in organizational theory on the importance of rules for the functioning of organizations, most theories of OL neglect or tend to underestimate the role of organizational rules in processes of OL. However, there is one important exception: James G. March, his cooperators and his students. He and Richard Cyert (1963) developed a theory of OL long before this concept became a management fashion. And since that then he and his group have continuously revised and developed this theory. These theories provide fundamental insights into processes of OL, although, so far, they have not yet received adequate recognition in the more popular management literature. These theories assume that complex organizations learn by the ways in which individuals experiment, form inferences and code the lessons of history into rules. OL is based on routines. It is history-dependent and target-oriented. To a large extent OL depends on the relation between observed organizational outcomes and the aspirations set for these outcomes (Levitt and March, 1988: 320). In this article we try to give an introduction into the theories on learning in the March school and link it with our own conceptual and empirical work.

Standard operating procedures and organizational learning

We report results of a study on processes of Organizational Learning (OL). Changes and suspensions of organizational rules are taken as indicators for OL. The empiric analysis is performed with personnel rules of a German bank. The aim of our study is to identify factors that have an impact on rule changes and suspensions and thereby on OL. These influence factors are, on the one hand, variables that reflect experiences of organizational members with rules and, on the other, variables which capture organizational and environmental shifts. An important finding of this study is that the processes of rule change and rule suspension follow quite different patterns. The changing of a rule is mainly influenced by experience variables. Two basic modes of experiential influences could be shown: habitualization and working one's way out of a failure trap. Experience variables also play a role in the process of rule suspension. The negative influence of rule age on the suspension process suggests that the habitualization of rules over time increases reluctance to abolish a rule. It could also be shown that the positive version age effect on the suspension rate, which indicated an obsolescence process during the existence of a rule version when no additional variables are controlled, is explained by ecological shifts. Organizational and environmental shifts hardly display any significant effects on the rate of rule change. On the other hand, these shifts represent distinct influences on rule suspension. When the environment of a rule changes the need for an abolishment of this rule rises. The attention towards rules which are no longer appropriate seems to be stimulated by these environmental and organizational shifts. These findings suggest that OL can consist of a type of learning which is rather independent of certain ecological triggers and it can also consist of a type of learning which is maintained in order to adapt to certain changes within and outside the organization

The economic consequences of ISO 9000 Certification in East and West German firms in mechanical engineering industry

A central argument of new institutionalism is that organizational success depends not only on efficient coordination and control of productive activities, but on conforming to institutionalized expectations. There is a dearth of empirical studies which analyze the effects of the adoption of institutionalized elements. In our study, we examine the effect of ISO 9000 certification on resource inflow of German mechanical engineering firms. Our findings suggest that organizations are actually rewarded for complying with institutionalized expectations and implementing ISO 9000 standards. Our findings also show that the readiness to comply with institutionalized norms led to different economic consequences in East and West Germany.Ein Kernargument der neoinstitutionalistischen Organisationstheorie besagt, dass der Erfolg einer Organisation nicht nur von der effektiven Steuerung der Arbeitsaktivitäten abhängt, sondern auch von der Organisation institutionalisierten Erwartungen genügt. Nur wenige Studien liegen bislang vor, in denen die Auswirkungen der Übernahme institutionalisierter Strukturelemente untersucht wurden. In der vorliegenden Arbeit analysieren wir die Auswirkungen einer ISO 9000-Zertifizierung auf den Ressourcenzufluss von Unternehmen in der deutschen Maschinenbauindustrie. Unsere Befunde zeigen, dass Organisationen, die den institutionalisierten Erwartungen entsprechen und ein Qualitätsmanagementsystem gemäß der ISO 9000er Normen übernehmen, belohnt werden. Unsere Befunde zeigen auch, dass die Bereitschaft, sich institutionalisierten Erwartungen zu fügen, unterschiedliche Auswirkungen bei ost- und westdeutschen Unternehmen hat

The Interplay of Organizational Demography and Institutional Change

Our paper analyzes the interplay of organizational demography with the propensity to adopt an innovative practice. In particular, we examine how the demographical composition of professional German football teams influenced the adoption of the chain-defense-system (?Viererkette?) as well as the success of implementing this system. In doing so we strongly believe that the underlying relationship between organizational demography and the innovation diffusion process is not only relevant for football teams: Other smaller organizations or profit centers whose team structures seem comparable to those of football teams might be subject to similar processes. We hypothesize that a high level of team heterogeneity leads to a greater propensity to change. We also hypothesize that homogeneous teams are more successful in executing a new practice once they have overcome their skepticism. Our results support the hypotheses on change, but do not provide final support for our hypothesis on performance

Limited rationality, formal organizational rules, and organizational learning (OL)

In spite of a broad agreement among researchers in organizational theory on the importance of rules for the functioning of organizations, most theories of OL neglect or tend to underestimate the role of organizational rules in processes of OL. However, there is one important exception: James G. March, his cooperators and his students. He and Richard Cyert (1963) developed a theory of OL long before this concept became a management fashion. And since that then he and his group have continuously revised and developed this theory. These theories provide fundamental insights into processes of OL, although, so far, they have not yet received adequate recognition in the more popular management literature. These theories assume that complex organizations learn by the ways in which individuals experiment, form inferences and code the lessons of history into rules. OL is based on routines. It is history-dependent and target-oriented. To a large extent OL depends on the relation between observed organizational outcomes and the aspirations set for these outcomes (Levitt and March, 1988: 320). In this article we try to give an introduction into the theories on learning in the March school and link it with our own conceptual and empirical work

Recurrent patterns of DNA copy number alterations in tumors reflect metabolic selection pressures.

Copy number alteration (CNA) profiling of human tumors has revealed recurrent patterns of DNA amplifications and deletions across diverse cancer types. These patterns are suggestive of conserved selection pressures during tumor evolution but cannot be fully explained by known oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Using a pan-cancer analysis of CNA data from patient tumors and experimental systems, here we show that principal component analysis-defined CNA signatures are predictive of glycolytic phenotypes, including 18F-fluorodeoxy-glucose (FDG) avidity of patient tumors, and increased proliferation. The primary CNA signature is enriched for p53 mutations and is associated with glycolysis through coordinate amplification of glycolytic genes and other cancer-linked metabolic enzymes. A pan-cancer and cross-species comparison of CNAs highlighted 26 consistently altered DNA regions, containing 11 enzymes in the glycolysis pathway in addition to known cancer-driving genes. Furthermore, exogenous expression of hexokinase and enolase enzymes in an experimental immortalization system altered the subsequent copy number status of the corresponding endogenous loci, supporting the hypothesis that these metabolic genes act as drivers within the conserved CNA amplification regions. Taken together, these results demonstrate that metabolic stress acts as a selective pressure underlying the recurrent CNAs observed in human tumors, and further cast genomic instability as an enabling event in tumorigenesis and metabolic evolution

Inhaled Nitric Oxide Treatment for Aneurysmal SAH Patients With Delayed Cerebral Ischemia

BACKGROUND: We demonstrated experimentally that inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) dilates hypoperfused arterioles, increases tissue perfusion, and improves neurological outcome following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in mice. We performed a prospective pilot study to evaluate iNO in patients with delayed cerebral ischemia after SAH. METHODS: SAH patients with delayed cerebral ischemia and hypoperfusion despite conservative treatment were included. iNO was administered at a maximum dose of 40 ppm. The response to iNO was considered positive if: cerebral artery diameter increased by 10% in digital subtraction angiography (DSA), or tissue oxygen partial pressure (PtiO(2)) increased by > 5 mmHg, or transcranial doppler (TCD) values decreased more than 30 cm/sec, or mean transit time (MTT) decreased below 6.5 secs in CT perfusion (CTP). Patient outcome was assessed at 6 months with the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). RESULTS: Seven patients were enrolled between February 2013 and September 2016. Median duration of iNO administration was 23 h. The primary endpoint was reached in all patients (five out of 17 DSA examinations, 19 out of 29 PtiO(2) time points, nine out of 26 TCD examinations, three out of five CTP examinations). No adverse events necessitating the cessation of iNO were observed. At 6 months, three patients presented with a mRS score of 0, one patient each with an mRS score of 2 and 3, and two patients had died. CONCLUSION: Administration of iNO in SAH patients is safe. These results call for a larger prospective evaluation

A large ungated TPC with GEM amplification

A Time Projection Chamber (TPC) is an ideal device for the detection of charged particle tracks in a large volume covering a solid angle of almost . The high density of hits on a given particle track facilitates the task of pattern recognition in a high-occupancy environment and in addition provides particle identification by measuring the specific energy loss for each track. For these reasons, TPCs with Multiwire Proportional Chamber (MWPC) amplification have been and are widely used in experiments recording heavy-ion collisions. A significant drawback, however, is the large dead time of the order of 1 ms per event generated by the use of a gating grid, which is mandatory to prevent ions created in the amplification region from drifting back into the drift volume, where they would severely distort the drift path of subsequent tracks. For experiments with higher event rates this concept of a conventional TPC operating with a triggered gating grid can therefore not be applied without a significant loss of data. A continuous readout of the signals is the more appropriate way of operation. This, however, constitutes a change of paradigm with considerable challenges to be met concerning the amplification region, the design and bandwidth of the readout electronics, and the data handling. A mandatory prerequisite for such an operation is a sufficiently good suppression of the ion backflow from the avalanche region, which otherwise limits the tracking and particle identification capabilities of such a detector. Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM) are a promising candidate to combine excellent spatial resolution with an intrinsic suppression of ions. In this paper we describe the design, construction and the commissioning of a large TPC with GEM amplification and without gating grid (GEM-TPC). The design requirements have driven innovations in the construction of a light-weight field-cage, a supporting media flange, the GEM amplification and the readout system, which are presented in this paper. We further describe the support infrastructure such as gas, cooling and slow control. Finally, we report on the operation of the GEM-TPC in the FOPI experiment, and describe the calibration procedures which are applied to achieve the design performance of the device.Peer reviewe