The impacts of different cultures on leadership effectiveness

The objective of this research is to find out the main impacts of cultural differences and how they affect the process of doing business and managing in terms of leading. Describing the characteristics of leadership, leadership styles, cultural differences, identifying the factors that affect leading style and defining the difficulties of working within another culture also come under the scope of the study. Leadership is an important issue in any organization and various studies have demonstrated the increasing importance of leadership. According to many authors (Harris, 2004, Schein, 2004 and Adair, 1999) the first step in managing cultural differences effectively is increasing one’s general cultural awareness and leaders must understand the concept of culture and its characteristics before they can fully benefit from the study of cultural specifics. A vast number of businesses and companies work outside their country of origin and must therefore take into consideration the views, ideas and culture of foreign employees, suppliers and clients. Leadership is related to motivating, interpersonal behaviour and the process of communication (Mullins, 2007). This highlights the, critical need for leaders in international organisations to use their leadership skills to transform any differences in the cultures of their employees towards the benefit of their organisations. This study includes a review of literature and a field survey. With regard to the field survey, a sixth of the interviewees conducted face to face and a quarter was e-mailed directly to managers who are working outside their home cultures in an overseas market. Field surveys also covered questionnaires which conducted by these managers employees. Ninety two employees questioned in order to analyzing research questions. A third of the questionnaires were conducted face to face and two thirds were e-mailed directly to managers who are working outside their home cultures in an overseas market. The study will assess the level of understanding of cross-cultural leadership and examine the main impacts on a number of specific cultures of leadership effectiveness

DePICT : a conceptual model for digital preservation

Digital Preservation addresses a significant threat to our cultural and economic foundation: the loss of access to valuable and, sometimes, unique information that is captured in digital form through obsolescence, deterioration or loss of information of how to access the contents. Digital Preservation has been defined as “The series of managed activities necessary to ensure continued access to digital materials for as long as necessary” (Jones, Beagrie, 2001/2008). This thesis develops a conceptual model of the core concepts and constraints that appear in digital preservation - DePICT (Digital PreservatIon ConceptualisaTion). This includes a conceptual model of the digital preservation domain, a top-level vocabulary for the concepts in the model, an in-depth analysis of the role of digital object properties, characteristics, and the constraints that guide digital preservation processes, and of how properties, characteristics and constraints affect the interaction of digital preservation services. In addition, it presents a machine-interpretable XML representation of this conceptual model to support automated digital preservation tools. Previous preservation models have focused on preserving technical properties of digital files. Such an approach limits the choices of preservation actions and does not fully reflect preservation activities in practice. Organisations consider properties that go beyond technical aspects and that encompass a wide range of factors that influence and guide preservation processes, including organisational, legal, and financial ones. Consequently, it is necessary to be able to handle ‘digital’ objects in a very wide sense, including abstract objects, such as intellectual entities and collections, in addition to the files and sets of files that create renditions of logical objects that are normally considered. In addition, we find that not only the digital objects' properties, but also the properties of the environments in which they exist, guide digital preservation processes. Furthermore, organisations use risk-based analysis for their preservation strategies, policies and preservation planning. They combine information about risks with an understanding of actions that are expected to mitigate the risks. Risk and action specifications can be dependent on properties of the actions, as well as on properties of objects or environments which form the input and output of those actions. The model presented here supports this view explicitly. It links risks with the actions that mitigate them and expresses them in stakeholder specific constraints. Risk, actions and constraints are top-level entities in this model. In addition, digital objects and environments are top-level entities on an equal level. Models that do not have this property limit the choice of preservation actions to ones that transform a file in order to mitigate a risk. Establishing environments as top-level entities enables us to treat risks to objects, environments, or a combination of both. The DePICT model is the first conceptual model in the Digital Preservation domain that supports a comprehensive, whole life-cycle approach for dynamic, interacting preservation processes, rather than taking the customary and more limited view that is concerned with the management of digital objects once they are stored in a long-term repository.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Corporate Governance and the Shareholder: Asymmetry, Confidence, and Decision-Making

In the decade following the ten-plus percent stockmarket collapse of 2000, regulators enacted a myriad of regulations in response to increasing angst experienced by U.S. capital market retail investors. Systemic asymmetric disclosures have fractured investor confidence prompting many commentators to characterize the relationship between Wall Street and the investment community on main street as dire. Though copious works exist on the phenomenon of corporate behaviors, especially matters of shareholder welfare, weak boards, pervious governance mechanisms, and managerial excess, current literature has revealed a dearth in corporate governance praxis specific to the question and effects of asymmetric disseminations and its principal impact on the retail/noninstitutional accredited investor\u27s (NIAI) confidence and decision-making propensities. This phenomenological study is purposed to bridging the gap between the effects of governance disclosure and the confidence and decision-making inclinations of NIAIs. Conceptual frameworks of Akerlof\u27s information theory and Verstegen Ryan and Buchholtz\u27s trust/risk decision making model undergirded the study. A nonrandom purposive sampling method was used to select 21 NIAI informants. Analysis of interview data revealed epistemological patterns/themes confirming the deleterious effects of asymmetrical disseminations on participants\u27 investment decision-making and trust behaviors. Findings may help academicians, investors, policy makers, and practitioners better comprehend the phenomenon and possibly contribute to operating efficiencies in the capital markets. Proaction and greater assertiveness in the investor/activist community may provide an impetus for continued regulatory reforms, improved transparency, and a revitalization of public trust as positive social change outcomes

Social psychological aspects of third party intervention in industrial disputes

The thesis examines the nature of third-party intervention in industrial disputes, from the perspective of bargaining and negotiation. It challenges the common view of the third-party as encouraging a conciliatory approach to the dispute. Experimental simulation provides evidence that a silent third-party affects the nature of agreements reached by negotiators, in this case favouring management. The third-party was regarded as an evaluative presence, encouraging greater intransigence and emphasising the inter-party dispute, at the cost of a more cooperative, personally-oriented approach. An observational field study of third-party intervention in public and private sector disputes examines the functions and process of industrial arbitration, through the British Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service, for relatively inexperienced and experienced participants. Arbitration is traditionally regarded as a semi-judicial, evaluative process, which is distinct from negotiation. It is argued that this public image is necessary, in order to maintain the credibility of arbitration as a method of dispute resolution, but that the actual process is best understood in terms of the social context of collective bargaining. The process of arbitration is compared and contrasted with the processes of problem-solving and negotiation and two different models of negotiation (‘concession convergence’ and ‘formula-detail’) are used to explain the different roles adopted by the arbitrator or board in simpler and more complex disputes respectively. A descriptive account of a group of ad hoc arbitrations highlights the effects on inexperienced participants of the evaluative image of arbitration and reaffirms the distinction, identified in the public sector disputes, between simpler and more complex cases, requiring different styles of chairmanship

The purpose of stating the faith: an historical and systematic inquiry into the tradition of fundamental articles with special reference to Anglicanism

Stating the faith in the form of fundamental articles has, historically, provided an important strategy by which the identity and continuity of the Church has been expressed. The issue underlying this ecclesiological context of fundamental articles concerns the truth of the one-in-Christ bond in Christianity. However discussion of fundamental articles of the faith has, from the Post-Reformation period, tended to occur as somewhat disconnected from wider concerns to do with the belief, discipleship and mission of the Church. One result is that important issues and motives implicit in the attempt to articulate the fundamental articles of Christianity remain undisclosed and undeveloped. By means of a multi-level approach - contemporary relevance (Part One), historical development (Part Two), case studies (Part Three) and systematic inquiry (Part Four) - this thesis develops an understanding of fundamental articles which shows how the theme is enmeshed within and contributes to the dynamic of Christian faith in the Church. The resources for this inquiry are drawn from an extensive, but hitherto largely unexamined treatment, of the theme of fundamental articles in Anglicanism. The Protestant tradition of speaking about fundamental articles of faith is found to offer an important medium through which the reality of being one-in-Christ can be identified, communicated and strengthened. In this way the tradition proves a valuable means for uncovering and examining the purpose(s) of stating the faith. The problematic role of fundamental articles in Anglican self- understanding reveals itself as an instance of a more general, controversial and unfinished task in theology to state the truth of God’s creating and redeeming love. The thesis thus draws attention to the significance of fundamental articles for expressing the nature and form of ecclesial faith and discipleship. A positive rationale emerges for a more intensive and discerning engagement with the fundamental articles tradition as a strategy by which theology can serve the mission of the Church