Error reframing: studying the promotion of an error management culture

In the organizational behaviour and organizational psychology literature, individual errors are considered either as sources of blame (error-prevention culture) or as sources of learning and something to be encouraged in order to promote innovation (error-management culture). While we can assume that a third perspective exists somewhere in between, error management is usually considered as the best solution. Yet scholars have tended to neglect the planned and directed transition from a pure error-prevention to an error-management culture. We thus examine to what extent and under what conditions an organization can culturally transform the representation of individual errors through its business leaders. To answer this question, we conducted a qualitative study on the case of a French insurance company. We portray a realistic image of the promotion of an error management culture, pointing out certain limitations and constraints, while nonetheless identifying some conditions for successful error reframing

ZMIZ1 Preferably Enhances the Transcriptional Activity of Androgen Receptor with Short Polyglutamine Tract

The androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-induced transcription factor and contains the polyglutamine (polyQ) tracts within its N-terminal transactivation domain. The length of polyQ tracts has been suggested to alter AR transcriptional activity in prostate cancer along with other endocrine and neurologic disorders. Here, we assessed the role of ZMIZ1, an AR co-activator, in regulating the activity of the AR with different lengths of polyQ tracts as ARQ9, ARQ24, and ARQ35 in prostate cancer cells. ZMIZ1, but not ZMIZ2 or ARA70, preferably augments ARQ9 induced androgen-dependent transcription on three different androgen-inducible promoter/reporter vectors. A strong protein-protein interaction between ZMIZ1 and ARQ9 proteins was shown by immunoprecipitation assays. In the presence of ZMIZ1, the N and C-terminal interaction of the ARQ9 was more pronounced than ARQ24 and ARQ35. Both Brg1 and BAF57, the components of SWI/SNF complexes, were shown to be involved in the enhancement of ZMIZ1 on AR activity. Using the chromatin immunoprecipitation assays (ChIP), we further demonstrated a strong recruitment of ZMIZ1 by ARQ9 on the promoter of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) gene. These results demonstrate a novel regulatory role of ZMIZ1 in modulating the polyQ tract length of AR in prostate cancer cells

‘Curiouser and curiouser!’:organizations as wonderland – a metaphorical alternative to the rational model

The metaphors in Morgan’s (1986) Images of Organization largely imply order, rationality, stability and manageability. This reflects that the text is concerned with facilitating the design and management of organizations. This article draws on Lewis Carroll’s (1865) novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to propose Wonderland as an alternative metaphor that places at centre stage issues such as absurdity, irrationality, uncertainty and disorder. Rather than a marginal or temporary aberration, it is argued that such conditions need to be understood as an everyday experience for many. This metaphor is important because those who are tasked with managing organizations may find it stressful and puzzling that they are so inept, when they compare their experiences and achievements with the rational model. In this sense, it offers both comfort and perhaps encouragement, but it should also foster humility and caution in terms of what those at the top can achieve. Likewise, those on the receiving end of irrational decisions or who reside in absurd worlds can gain solace from knowing that they are not alone, whilst those concerned with resisting such conditions can find strength in the knowledge that those in positions of authority are not omniscient/omnipotent

CELL SHAPE AND HEXOSE TRANSPORT IN NORMAL AND VIRUS-TRANSFORMED CELLS IN CULTURE

The rate of hexose transport was compared in normal and virus-transformed cells on a monolayer and in suspension. It was shown that: (1) Both trypsin-removed cells and those suspended for an additional day in methyl cellulose had decreased rates of transport and lower available water space when compared with cells on a monolayer. Thus, cell shape affects the overall rate of hexose transport, especially at higher sugar concentrations. (2) Even in suspension, the initial transport rates remained higher in transformed cells with reference to normal cells. Scanning electron micrographs of normal and transformed chick cells revealed morphological differences only in the flat state. This indicates that the increased rate of hexose transport after transformation is not due to a difference in the shape of these cells on a monolayer. The relation between the geometry of cells, transport rates, and growth regulation is undoubtedly very complex, and our knowledge of these relationships is still very elementary. In a recent review on the influence of geometry on control of cell growth, Folkman and Greenspan (1) pointed out that the permeability of cells in a flat versus a spherical state may indeed be very different. The growth properties of cells on a surface and in suspension have been compared often (1-5). However, with one exception. little is known about the changes in transport properties when cell shape is changed. Foster and Pardee (6) demonstrated that the active transport of a-aminoisobutyric acid was reduced 2.5 times in suspension cultures of Chinese hamster cells with respect to the cells grown on a coverslip. They attributed this to the smaller surface area of suspended cells. While it is not clear why active transport should be dependent on the surface area available, it is possible that once the cells assume a spherical configuration, the carrier proteins are redistributed in such a way as to make them less accessible to the substrate. What happens to facilitated and nonmediated diffusion when cells are placed in suspension has not been determined. The transport of hexoses into animal cells in culture has been shown to occur by facilitated diffusion (7). In chick embryo fibroblasts in culture, there is more than one component to this transport system: a saturable carrier-mediated transport with a Km for 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) of about 1-5 mM (8-1 1) and a nonsaturable component which may include a low affinity transport site and/or nonmediated diffusion (8, 10, 11). It was shown previously (1 1) that growth rate, cell density, glucose deprivation, and virus transformation may alter not only the overall transport rate but also the rate of transport of one mode relative to the other. The rate of the nonmediated uptake, at least, is dependent upon the surface area available, and in addition total level of transport is dependent on the available water space (which in turn is roughly related to cell volume). Since it is estimated that the surface area may change as much as tenfold when cells go from a flat configuration to a spherical one (I), it is apparent that the cell shape could play a role in overall transport characteristics of cultured cells. Using glucose analogues, 2DG and 3-0-methylglucose (3MG), we compared the transport properties of normal and virus-transformed cells in suspension and on monolayers. It was found that both the rates as well as the total levels of transport were decreased after the cells were placed in suspension, with the nonsaturable component being most affected. Nevertheless, a difference in the initial rates of transport between normal and transformed cells remained, indicating that the difference is independent of cell shape