STRATEGY MAKING IN PRACTICE: THE CASE OF CRETAN HOTEL MANAGERS

This study investigates how managers contribute to the strategy of their firm, specifically focusing on an occupational group of hotel managers. Following the call of the Strategy-as-Practice (S-a-P) research community for heightened awareness of the managers' role and contribution to strategy, and based on the observation that strategy formation is context-specific, it attempts to generalise about the managers' contribution within a specific context. Generalising about the practitioners' contribution to strategy is problematic, however, requiring a conceptual linkage between managerial activity and organisational strategy. Drawing upon the S-a-P literature and the literature on managerial work activity, this study suggests that the managers' response to uncertainty provides that integrative link. This is supported by a simplifying assumption, namely the unitary view of organisation, whereby the central role of the managers within a firm is assured, assuming that power is concentrated upon them. The research inquiry itself spans levels of analysis: the level of the individual manager, the organisation, and the organisation's context. In turn, it requires breadth to account for the reciprocal influence among those levels of analysis. This need is accommodated by a case study approach. Nine independent hotels from the island of Crete were chosen as the sample for the study, while the data collection methods used included observation, interviews and document analysis. The results show that the hotel managers' contribution focuses on developing valuegenerating strategies for their firm; a necessity as they are at disadvantage: they are fragmented, in a saturated sector, equipped with an undifferentiated product, and ultimately reliant upon their suppliers to reach their markets. Value-generating strategies are developed through the management of the intangible resources of the firm and by building a positive history of collaboration with the suppliers. In addition, the managers' contribution is inextricably linked to their everyday activity, which supports the development of value-generating strategies. It is argued that an activity-based view of strategy can unearth some otherwise unobservable constructs that become apparent only through its micro-analytic approach. A focus on practitioners and their contribution can also be an additional level of analysis in strategy research, perceiving strategy formed through the practitioners' activity. As such, strategy can be redefined as an outcome, formed at multiple levels, with strategy practice (or the practitioners' activity) to partly account for that outcome. Generalising about the managers' contribution to strategy requires a trade-off, a choice between content and context specific generalisations. This choice ultimately depends on the reference group of practitioners in question, which delineates the boundaries of the context. In pluralist organisational contexts, that reference group is confined within the organisation's boundaries. On the other hand, unitary organisational contexts allow the selection of wider reference groups. In either case, only local generalisations can be made, taking into account the bounded nature of strategy formation. The study concludes with an analysis of its contribution to the existing body of knowledge, its limitations, and further proposes potential avenues for future research

Theoretical perspectives in accounting textbooks : the case of Lesotho and South Africa.

Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Accounting Education) University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban,2017.This is a study about the representation of theoretical perspectives in accounting textbooks used in the last phase of senior secondary education in Lesotho and South Africa. The study examined the use of language in the construction of meaning. The systemic functional linguistics transitivity model was, therefore, used to analyse the selected text from the sampled textbooks. In addition, the social semiotic approach was applied in analysis of the accounting schematics. The findings show that representation of processes is dominated by material and relational processes and that material processes represent economic activities undertaken in business and professional accounting processes. Material processes are mostly realised in agentless passive voice. Consequently, the medium dominates representation. In a few cases, generic agents in the form of institutions, institutional structures, professionals and professional bodies are represented. The participants of the relational clauses are realised in long complex nominal phrases involving embedded finite and non-finite clauses. In addition, some of the participants are realised by nominalisation and nominal groups formed through grammatical metaphors. These grammatical structures are used to build technical terms and theories in the field. The findings also show that the grammatical metaphors and nominalisation are used to construct nominal groups to which values can be attached. Since financial accounting focuses on the financial aspect of the economic transactions, the nominalised processes allow for formation of entities that can be quantified. The quantified entities related to each other in terms of cause effect relationships. The relationships in turn are functional in building taxonomic relations, which were found to be commonly represented in the accounting schematics. Based on the above findings the study concludes that, although functional, the grammatical structures realise meaning in generalising, abstract and complex terms. The dominant passive and the relational clauses indicate that the accounting phenomenon is represented from the perspective of the entities and the accounting processes. ii The implications of the findings are that decisions on teacher educations programmes and school curriculum policies must take into account the nature and structure of the subject matters as constituted in disciplines of knowledge and as represented in the programmatic curriculum, namely, the textbooks

The role of error factors in teaching

This thesis describes a wide-ranging enquiry into the nature, identification and treatment of pupil error. It takes, as its main point of departure, the work of Harlow on the role of 'error factors' in learning and it was undertaken in the belief that educators could considerably enhance the effectiveness of their teaching by making more insightful appraisals of the learning obstacles, (or error factors) of their pupils. Harlow first introduced the concept of error factors following his research into 'learning set' formation. Lewis and Pask subsequently incorporated Harlow's ideas in their own work, 'and laid particular stress on the significance of error factors which give rise to whole classes of errors. The concept of error factors and the role of error factors in teaching, is examined in this thesis in both psychological and philosophical terms, because the two approaches are mutually illuminating. Despite scant literature in this sphere the entire topic is opened up to systematic examination. Hypotheses are presented concerning the role and nature of error factors, and novel strategies are proposed for treating them. A special diagnostic framework for error factors has been formulated, an. 1 its effectiveness investigated in a series of Case Studies and pilot experiments, culminating in a major experimental investigation concerning the overall role of error factors in teaching. Strategies for error factor prediction and prevention are presented and examined, including the use of algorithms. Major consideration is given to the exploitation of error factors as powerful tools to enhance learning. There is a detailed theoretical discussion at each stage, so that the full significance of the findings can be assessed. Inferences concerning the role of error factors in teaching are examined in conjunction with methodological and other implications arising from the experimental findings. A number of weaknesses of current teaching strategies are identified, and the thesis concludes with various speculations (e. g. to do with the use of computer assisted instruction in this context) which have been prompted by this investigation

Imaging physiological brain activity and epilepsy with Electrical Impedance Tomography

Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) allows reconstructing conductivity changes into images. EIT detects fast impedance changes occurring over milliseconds, due to ion channel opening, and slow impedance changes, appearing in seconds, due to cell swelling/increased blood flow. The purpose of this work was to examine the feasibility of using EIT for imaging a gyrencephalic brain with implanted depth electrodes during seizures. Chapter 1 summarises the principles of EIT. In Chapter 2, it is investigated whether recent technical improvements could enable EIT to image slow impedance changes upon visual stimulation non-invasively. This was unsuccessful so the remaining studies were undertaken on intracranial recordings. Chapter 3 presents a computer modelling study using data from patients, for whom the detection of simulated seizure-onset perturbations for both, fast and slow impedance changes, were improved with EIT compared to stereotactic electroencephalography (SEEG) detection or EEG inverse-source modelling. Chapter 4 describes the development of a portable EIT system that could be used on patients. The system does not require averaging and post-hoc signal processing to remove switching artefacts, which was the case previously. Chapter 5 describes the use of the optimised method in chemically-induced focal epilepsy in anaesthetised pigs implanted with depth electrodes. This shows for the first time EIT was capable of producing reproducible images of the onset and spread of seizure-related slow impedance changes in real-time. Chapter 6 presents a study on imaging ictal/interictal-related fast impedance changes. The feasibility of reconstructing ictal-related impedance changes is demonstrated for one pig and interictal-related impedance changes were recorded for the first time in humans. Chapter 7 summarises all work and future directions. Overall, this work suggests EIT in combination with SEEG has a potential to improve the diagnostic yield in epilepsy and demonstrates EIT can be performed safely and ethically creating a foundation for further clinical trials

Qualitative meta-analysis of propensity to trust measurement

In a rapidly changing and dynamic world, individuals’ propensity to trust is likely to become an increasingly important facet for understanding human behaviour, yet its measurement has mostly been unexplored. We undertake the first systematic qualitative survey of propensity to trust scales using qualitative meta-analysis methodology to review the literature (1966–2018) and identify 26 measures and their applications in 179 studies. Using content analysis, we thematically organise these scales into six thematic areas and discuss the emerging implications. We find that while most of these scales reflect propensity to trust in terms of a positive belief in human nature, other themes include general trust, role expectations, institutional trust, cautiousness and other personality attributes. We reveal significant methodological concerns regarding several scales and argue for more considered selection of scales for use in research. We examine the case for multidimensionality in measures of propensity to trust used within organisational research. Rather than treating a lack of generalisability of findings in existing organisational studies as purely a problem of measurement design, we instead outline an agenda for further conceptual and empirical study