Generic Process Transformation Model: Transition to Process-based Organization

The competitive global market climate of the new millennium has raised awareness of business processes as the most important management paradigm (Levi, 2002). Consequently, process elements, as well as process-based organizational solutions, have become an emergent need. However, the question is how companies should transform themselves to become more process-oriented? Many attempts under the helm of Business Process Reengineering movement were not successful in reaching benefits of lateral orientation, what additionally emphasizes the delicacy of business process transformation. Concerning the literature, there is a lack of clarity and presence of organizational change models which could provide managers with guidance for process transformation. The models are mostly focused on the transformation generally, and they do not address the specificity of a change from traditional to process paradigm. Furthermore, they are mostly single-oriented, either on the organizational elements or steps which should be taken during the change, thus only partially answering the dilemma. The purpose of the paper is to present an overview of existing transformation models which could be relevant for taking a process journey, as well as propose a Generic Process Transformation Model which should be able to ensure smooth transition, with emphasis on specific problems related to process transformation. Although the proposed model is theoretically and logically based, without empirical evidence, it represents a first step in convergence of process transformation concepts to business world. Ultimately, only its usage in a real world would or would not prove its severity.process transformation, process-based organization, organizational change, transformation models

Rethinking the transition process in Syria: constitution, participation and gender equality

A just and sustainable peace for Syria can only be attained through the equal participation of women\u2019s rights defenders at the negotiation table and throughout the transitional process. Understanding the legal framework within which such participation takes place \u2013 and the challenges of promoting women\u2019s rights through a gender-responsive constitution \u2013 is crucial. This publication, resulting from a collaboration between Euromed Feminist Initiative and the University of Padova, builds on the knowledge of academics and advocates, shedding new insights on those challenges. It aims at supporting institutional efforts being made to guarantee women\u2019s participation in the Syrian reconstruction, as well as advocacy initiatives carried out to ensure women\u2019s participation in political and economic decision-making in the country\u2019s future

European Union - Reforms - Hungarian interests. What kind of European Union would we like?

The lecture deals with broad topics. First, it addresses some questions related to the current state of the EU integration regarding institutions and common policies. Second, it discusses the continued importance, the main results and hindering factors related to the Lisbon Programme, with a special emphasis on the educational system in Europe and Hungary. Third, the lecture deals with some possibilities in changing the EU’s rather limited external relation models to more flexible instruments

Please mind the gap: students’ perspectives of the transition in academic skills between A-level and degree level geography

This paper explores first-year undergraduates’ perceptions of the transition from studying geography at pre-university level to studying for a degree. This move is the largest step students make in their education, and the debate about it in the UK has been reignited due to the government’s planned changes to A-level geography. However, missing from most of this debate is an appreciation of the way in which geography students themselves perceive their transition to university. This paper begins to rectify this absence. Using student insights, we show that their main concern is acquiring the higher level skills required for university learning

Transitional Justice’s Expanding Empire: Reasserting the Value of the Paradigmatic Transition?

Cada vegada més, els estudis sobre la justícia transicional s'apliquen als processos de veritat, restauració i responsabilitat en contextos molt allunyats de les transicions paradigmàtiques des de l'autoritarisme o la guerra a una democràcia relativament liberal en què aquest camp de recerca es basava inicialment. En un moment en què la justícia transicional s'avalua amb un rigor més gran, resulta preocupant que les valoracions de la seva vàlua es puguin veure excessivament afectades per la dependència de circumstàncies no transicionals de democràcies establertes, conflictes en curs o l'autoritarisme. La comprensió empírica sistemàtica del valor de la justícia transicional es veu esbiaixada quan es posa un pes excessiu en els mecanismes que tenen lloc en contextos favorables en què les circumstàncies polítiques o econòmiques són tan avançades que els mecanismes tenen molt poca importància causal per a un procés en curs de reforma política, civil i (possiblement) econòmica, o bé en contextos massa adversos per a res que pugui portar a una conclusió liberalitzadora o de construcció de la pau (per exemple, quan hi ha una guerra en curs o sota un règim autoritari). Tot i que aquest article accepta que és possible utilitzar els mecanismes de la justícia transicional per a millorar les condicions sota un règim autoritari o en contextos de guerra i per a potenciar l'imperi de la llei, el desenvolupament i els drets humans en estats ja compromesos amb la democràcia liberal, l'impacte de la justícia transicional en aquestes circumstàncies no paradigmàtiques es veurà limitat a causa de la debilitat del compromís de l'estat per millorar les condicions societàries en el primer cas i a causa de la força preexistent del compromís en el segon. Manté que cal distingir entre la justícia transicional i l'ús dels mecanismes de la justícia transicional.Transitional justice studies increasingly apply to processes of truth, restoration and accountability in contexts far removed from the paradigmatic transitions from authoritarianism or war to relatively liberal democracy on which the field was initially based. At a time when transitional justice is being evaluated with greater stringency, it is worrying that assessments of its worth might be unduly coloured by reliance on non-transitional circumstances of established democracies or ongoing conflicts or authoritarianism. A systematic empirical understanding of the value of transitional justice is skewed when undue weight is given to mechanisms applied in favourable contexts. This may be where political or economic circumstances are so advanced that the mechanisms have little causal significance to an ongoing process of political, civil and (possibly) economic reform, or in contexts too inimical to anything approaching a liberalising or peace-building conclusion (e.g. when it takes place while war is ongoing or within an authoritarian regime). The article accepts that transitional justice mechanisms can be used to improve conditions under authoritarianism or war and can augment the rule of law, development and human rights in states that are already committed to liberal democracy. However, its impact in these non-paradigmatic circumstances will be limited because of the weakness of the state’s commitment to improving societal conditions in the former and the pre-existing strength of the commitment in the latter. It argues that there is a distinction between transitional justice and the use of transitional justice mechanisms.La erudición de la justicia transicional se aplica cada vez más a procesos de veracidad, restauración y responsabilidad en contextos muy alejados de las transiciones paradigmáticas del autoritarismo o la guerra a la relativamente democracia liberal sobre la que se basó inicialmente el campo. En un momento en el que la justicia transicional se está evaluando con más rigor, es preocupante que las valoraciones de su valor puedan estar excesivamente afectadas por la dependencia de circunstancias no transitorias de democracias establecidas, conflictos actuales o autoritarismo. El conocimiento empírico sistemático del valor de la justicia transicional está sesgado cuando se concede un peso indebido a mecanismos que se producen en contextos favorables en los que las circunstancias políticas o económicas son tan avanzadas que los mecanismos tienen poca significación causal para un proceso en curso de reforma política, civil y (posiblemente) económica, o en contextos demasiado hostiles para cualquier cosa cercana a una conclusión liberalizadora o de construcción de la paz (por ejemplo, cuando tiene lugar mientras la guerra está en curso o en un régimen autoritario). Si bien en el artículo se acepta que los mecanismos de justicia transicional pueden usarse para mejorar las condiciones bajo el autoritarismo o la guerra y pueden aumentar el Estado de derecho, el desarrollo y los derechos humanos en estados que ya están comprometidos con la democracia liberal, el impacto de la justicia transicional en esas circunstancias no paradigmáticas será limitado a causa de la debilidad del compromiso del estado a la mejora de las condiciones de la sociedad en el primero y de la fuerza preexistente del compromiso en el último. Sostiene que hay una diferencia entre la justicia transicional y el uso de los mecanismos de la misma

R&D and Technology Spillovers via FDI: Innovation and Absorptive Capacity

Two faces of R&D (innovation and learning) and technology spillovers from FDI (foreign direct investment) on a firm's productivity growth are examined in this paper. Using firm-level panel data on Czech manufacturing firms between 1995 and 1998, I find that: (i) the learning effect of R&D is far more important than the innovative effect in explaining the productivity growth of a firm, (ii) there is no evidence of technology spillovers to local firms from having a foreign joint venture partner, (iii) positive spillovers from FDI are found in electrical machinery and radio & TV sectors, which are also active investors in innovative R&D.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39733/3/wp349.pd

Trust, Organizational Controls, Knowledge Acquisition from the Foreign Parents, and Performance in Vietnamese International Joint Ventures

Successful adaptation in strategic alliances "calls for a delicate balance between the twin virtues of reliability and flexibility" [Parkhe 1998]. On one hand, the joint venture must be flexible enough to respond to the uncertainties of competitive business environments because it is not feasible to plan for every possible contingency. Yet, on the other hand, unfettered flexibility invites dysfunctional behavior, such as opportunism and complacency. This delicate balance accompanies a parallel balance between trust and control of the joint venture. The primary goal of this study is to empirically examine this relationship in the context of Vietnamese international joint ventures (IJVs) by building on the model of knowledge acquisition and performance in IJVs established by Lyles and Salk [1996]. This study makes three major contributions to the literature. First it confirms several findings of the original Lyles and Salk study [1996]. Second, we strengthen Lyles and Salk's original model by incorporating multiple measures of both interorganizational trust and control as independent variables. Finally, this study represents one of the first in-depth examinations of business in the emerging Vietnamese economy.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39713/3/wp329.pd