An Ecosystem Called University

This book is dedicated to the university as a protagonist of change. Its purpose is to see the university as a place where the lines between organization and system are fluid, where the whole is more than the sum of its parts, and the product is knowledge as an end, a means and a way of developing the individual (critical sense) and its interaction with the environment (instrumental reason). The book seeks throughout to foster the image of the Ecosystem University as being a producer of novelty, where the only certainty is uncertainty. The university undergoes a process of permanent spiral growth - the spiral of knowledge without any control of causality - and creating, through its environment, responsible citizens, and free-thinking persons. The Ecosystem University is undeTTast that is assumed in the present. Our work to rediscover the natural feel of an ecosystem embedded in the university and the rich experience of community will take us by the hand and lead us, proud professors, to the purest origin of human knowledge with a flair of joie de vivre: the refreshing purity of the new and the authentic value of ingenuity that will allow us to be ourselves in that very moment: a community that self-organizes, builds projects of life and culture, and determines its own destiny

Learning in strategic supply networks: A multiple case study on learning environment, mechanisms and outcomes

The development of a theoretical approach that sees any given economy as a vast array of interconnecting bonds between participants has come to identify the existence of firms’ networks. A fact that has been accompanied by the increasing importance of procurement, and supply management is the strategic function seeking to harness its full potential; to this regard the learning aspect of inter-organizational relationships should be carefully fostered when dealing with suppliers as a powerful mean to the attainment competitive advantages. The theoretical part of this research presents supporting arguments regarding the importance of a network approach towards procurement, while bridging it with an inter-organizational learning framework to produce a standpoint attempting to demonstrate the importance of the strategic supply network in terms of inter-organizational learning. The theoretical framework produced was applied to conduct the research using a case study method in three firms in the area of Vaasa. The main purpose of the study was to analyse the learning process within the strategic supply network of the firm through the views and behaviour of a hub company towards its main suppliers. The results indicate that learning is present in the relationship with what can be considered strategic suppliers; favourable conditions are present in the environment and the mechanisms implemented contribute to its achievement. However, learning and its outcomes seem to be diluted in the whole of the relationship, a fact that requires a deeper analysis to conclude that within strategic supply relationships two types of learning can be pointed at, learning as the overall performance of the supply relationship, and learning per se.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Effects of Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series Standard and Organizational Learning on Core Competencies Building

This thesis investigates the effects of an occupational health and safety management system and organizational learning to core competencies building; to be precise, OHSAS 18001:2007 and knowledge creation in a typical industrial setup. Theories employed are OHSAS 18001:2007 and the five phase model of organizational knowledge creation process. - Knowledge spiral. Essentially, it employs the Serpentine module of Evolute research tool for enquiry, data collection and analysis of the levels of safety culture and knowledge interaction. Interviews as well as observations to ascertain the extent of applicability of these theories are also presented. Herein suggestions and proposals are given for factors that need improvement through management initiative and direction. The idea is boosting capacity through sustainable employee wellbeing and core competency building programs; - the human factor. In this way, the effects of institutionalizing a vibrant policy as proposed in an industrial environment to productivity of the company can be realized. The writer hopes that by implementing these proposals of the study, there would ultimately be a breakthrough in the dynamic capability of the firm. The case study is a company that has been in existence for almost a century and currently the global leader in provision of thermal processes supplies.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Self-Organised Schools

Self-Organised Schools: Educational Leadership and Innovative Learning Environments describes the results of the research we carried out at fourteen Italian schools that highlight how there is a positive correlation between the capabilities of school self-organization and the innovativeness of learning environments: in other words, the more self-organized schools are, the more innovative learning environments are. The results of this work are part of the strand of research of bottom-up emergency and self-organization, an extremely fruitful trend as shown by Sugata Mitra, the founder of the Self-Organized Learning Environments, according to whom, "education is a self-organized system where learning is an emerging phenomenon". This book gives new insights on self-organization studies, and most of all, to the idea that change - organizational and educational innovation - sparks from the bottom. This book is aimed specifically at school principals of all levels, scholastic reformers, educational scholars, organisation and management consultants who want to innovate learning and management of learning. These actors will benefit drawing useful examples from more than thirty different learning environments worldwide, fourteen examples of schools that self-organize, two frameworks - and two ready-to-use questionnaires - measuring the innovativeness of a learning environment, and the capability of a school to self-organize. Self-organization is the most fascinating future of innovative principal

Management Development Through Cultural Diversity

This stimulating, clearly written and well-structured text is a comprehensive introduction to the principles of management and organisational behaviour, as well as a corrective to the eurocentric bias of most management texts. It develops a trans-cultural perspective which draws on insights from across the world to examine different management styles, cultures and stages of business development. Contents include: * Orientation * Primal Management - Western including America * Rational Management - Northern including Scandinavia * Developmental Management - Eastern including Japan * Metaphysical Management - Southern including South Africa * Developing yourself as a manager Each section examines core management theory and literature, cultural orientation and related prominent theories. The numerous case studies use appropriate examples from a wide range of international organisations. The uniquely wide-ranging perspective make this a valuable text for all those interested in general management, international business, organisational behaviour and corporate strategy

Understanding the Importance of Ambition in the Workplace

Though a common term, ambition is a multifaceted concept that is vastly under researched despite it being labeled necessary for success in the workplace. Of even greater irony is that several sources indicate a significant majority of the reason that employees leave organizations is due to a perceived lack of career development or opportunity, a problem that speaks directly to talent management practices. In light the costly nature of this problem and the presence of sophisticated talent management professionals in large and medium-sized organizations which comprise half or more of the workforce, it causes one to question the assumptions that ambition is indeed valued in the workplace. This constructivist study seeks to understand from both an employee and a managerial perspective how ambition is valued in the workplace. It leverages key theoretical constructs such as social cognitive theory and social cognitive career theory to understand aspects of the expression of ambition. Sixteen diverse working professionals with an average of over 20 years of work experience and nearly 10 years of managerial experience were interviewed about their lived experiences of how ambition is expressed and valued. Universally, participants agreed that ambition contributes to organizationally desirable outcomes including higher performance and increased retention as well as some participants noting other potential outcomes including increased innovation and even inclusivity. Despite this, the expression of ambition is highly attenuated by elements of organizational structure, the disposition of the proximal manager, as well as other variables including the gender expression of ambition. Findings imply significant potential impact for talent management professionals and organizational leaders as they work to attract and retain talent in an increasingly competitive marketplace as well as suggest myriad other avenues for further inquiry

An Inquiry Into The Nature Of Analysis.

Increases in the complexity and uncertainty of corporate activity indicate that the time is now appropriate to review the analysis process. This proposition forms the central theme of the thesis, i.e. to explore the nature of analysis. Initial research concentrated on the field of hard system methods, to provide a theoretical foundation for conducting analysis. However, from observations undertaken as a reflective practitioner it became clear that, even with theoretical advances, hard system methods could only make a marginal contribution to the analysis process. Hard system methods foiled to account for the feet that experts had an uncertain knowledge of the domain on which they were expected to pronounce. Contemporary literature from the fields of strategic management and organisational behaviour pose fundamental challenges to the accepted origin and nature of requirements for change. Complexity theory, however, offers a new theoretical foundation to ease the plight of the domain expert, i.e. pattern recognition. However to ensure that patterns reflect the cognitive strategies-and priorities of the domain expert, it is necessary to explore the field of cognitive psychology to appreciate the significance of the metaphors selected to construct patterns. Finally, knowledge management claims that the value of knowledge is under endless assault and argues for the domain expert to be engaged in a virtuous cycle of perpetual knowledge creation. The thesis seeks to integrate these themes to redefine the analysis process based on methodological pluralism. The key to methodological pluralism proved eventually to be the introduction of generic ‘behaviour accentuated’ patterns of analysis at the core of the selected techniques. The nature of analysis has changed radically over the last decade and significant research is required to develop themes raised in this thesis. Moreover, further work is required to disseminate the themes to the practitioner community

Management Development Through Cultural Diversity

This stimulating, clearly written and well-structured text is a comprehensive introduction to the principles of management and organisational behaviour, as well as a corrective to the eurocentric bias of most management texts. It develops a trans-cultural perspective which draws on insights from across the world to examine different management styles, cultures and stages of business development. Contents include: * Orientation * Primal Management - Western including America * Rational Management - Northern including Scandinavia * Developmental Management - Eastern including Japan * Metaphysical Management - Southern including South Africa * Developing yourself as a manager Each section examines core management theory and literature, cultural orientation and related prominent theories. The numerous case studies use appropriate examples from a wide range of international organisations. The uniquely wide-ranging perspective make this a valuable text for all those interested in general management, international business, organisational behaviour and corporate strategy

Interaction: 'Samhandling' Under Risk

The authors of Interaction: ‘Samhandling’ Under Risk. A Step Ahead of the Unforeseen elucidate new views on emergency-preparedness management and understanding the unforeseen in society and learning processes by introducing the concept of ‘samhandling’, a Norwegian term that connotes interaction, collaboration and cooperation in one word. What are the basic structures of the concept of ‘samhandling’ under risk? How can ‘samhandling’ be created when conditions are unpredictable? These questions served as the springboard for 28 research studies, the results of which are now presented in this anthology, organized in four parts: Educational, Organizational, Operational Samhandling Structures and Theory Construction and The Way Forward. The book conveys new knowledge that forms the basis for a new view on strategic, emergency-preparedness management, and understanding of the unforeseen in society and in learning processes. The approach is interdisciplinary but has a particular focus on disciplines such as pedagogy, psychology, military science, health sciences, and organization and management, applied in various industries and sectors related to practical examples, experiences and challenges. The book’s primary target group is the scientific research communities within these disciplines