The Infancy and Childhood of Organizational Theory

In the following article, the author tries, first, to make the point on the major contributions on organizational theory. He explains, after that, why he thinks this is still in about the stage of infancy, by underlining the need for a new spirit towards all those theories, where they may be going and what perhaps they will be able to do for us in the not-too-distant future.INTRODUCTIONCe qu'on peut écrire de nos jours sur la théorie de l'organisation devient périmé en très peu de temps. La raison en est que les développements viennent habituellement des gens qui exercent la tâche de direction des organisations et que la signification théorique de ces développements n'est saisie que plus tard par les académiciens et les chargés de recherches. C'est probablement la raison pour laquelle Elton Mayo se référait aux sciences de l'organisation humaine comme « aux sciences de l'insuccès ». La théorie de l'organisation n'en est, à mon avis, qu'à ses premières expressions réelles. Pour en témoigner, j'essaierai donc de vous dire ce que cette théorie a été à date, où elle peut vous conduire et peut-être ce qu'elle pourra faire pour nous dans un avenir assez rapproché.QUELQUES DÉVELOPPEMENTS THÉORIQUESMax WeberMax Weber est considéré comme le père de la théorie de l'organisation. Il a souligné la rationalité et les problèmes d'autorité qui surgissaient dans ces nouvelles formes corporatives d'organisation et qui étaient uniques à la bureaucratie.Théories sur les aspects informels d'une organisationLes recherches subséquentes ont mis en doute la complète rationalité des organisations et ont accordé une plus grande valeur aux rapports informels existant à l'intérieur d'une organisation.«Scientific Management »Une autre approche majeure à la théorie de l'organisation est représentée par cette école de pensée que cherche à promulguer des « principes d'organisation ». Ces personnes ont cherché à tirer d'expériences vécues des principes applicables à une variété de situations organisationnelles.La contribution de Burns et StalkerAprès une étude de plusieurs compagnies britanniques, Burns et Stalker ont conclu que les compagnies qui réussissaient le moins fonctionnaient selon un type d'organisation qu'ils ont qualifié de mécanique, tandis que les compagnies qui réussissaient le plus fonctionnaient selon un type d'organisation dit organique. Le système « organique » se distingue de l'autre par sa plus grande flexibilité, les responsabilités et l'autorité de chacun n'étant pas clairement ni définitivement établies et les gens s'associant ensemble dans des permutations ou combinaisons les plus appropriées aux circonstances.La contribution de JasinskiLa distinction établie par Jasinski entre l'axe vertical et l'axe horizontal d'une organisation se situe un peu dans le même ordre. L'axe vertical représentant les notions de pouvoir et d'autorité, l'axe horizontal représente la notion de biens et services, les insistances sur l'axe vertical amène donc dans l'organisation une plus grande rigidité.POUR UN NOUVEL ÉTAT D'ESPRITComme le souligne Joan Woodward dans son livre,Industrial Organization : Theory and Practice, il n'y a aujourd'hui aucun principe d'organisation qui peut être appliqué comme dans les sciences physiques, chimiques ou médicales. Il y a certainement du bon dans tous les principes émis et les conclusions auxquelles sont arrivés tous ces maîtres de l'organisation sont certainement encore utiles aujourd'hui, dans certaines situations. Mais j'insiste sur le fait qu'il faut inciter les gens à utiliser leurs capacités naturelles de résoudre les problèmes plutôt que de les inciter à appliquer servilement des principes qui peuvent avoir constitué une recette à quelque autre phénomène.De plus, l'emphase sur le changement ne doit pas nous faire oublier que la routine et la répétition constituent une part importante de tout travail et qu'il va continuer vraisemblablement à en être ainsi dans l'avenir prévisible.IMPLICATIONS DES CHANGEMENTSIl faudra veiller de plus en plus à ce que l'utilisation des systèmes électroniques pour l'obtention et la transmission de l'information serve, non pas à établir des monarchies hautement centralisées mais plutôt à établir des opérations décentralisées et organiques qui tiennent compte des meilleures caractéristiques d'une gérance participante.Il est à craindre qu'avec ces systèmes électroniques, les gens de la haute direction choisissent un comportement où des masses de gens fonctionnent comme des automates, ceci non à cause de la technologie elle-même, mais plutôt parce qu'on aura appliqué une théorie de l'organisation du 19e siècle à l'administration d'une technologie du 21e siècle. Heureusement, il y a aujourd'hui des forces sociales qui peuvent lutter contre cette tendance.CONCLUSIONLe modèle d'organisation du futur est, selon les principes émis plus haut, déjà en existence. Cette organisation est la N.A.S.A. Le concept de base est celui d'un groupe de personnes travaillant ensemble sur des projets, ayant l'autorité d'aller où ils ont besoin d'aller, d'obtenir l'aide dont ils pensent avoir besoin et d'effectuer le travail qu'ils sont chargés de faire. Ceci inclut le libre accès à toute information considérée nécessaire.C'est donc aujourd'hui sur des individus capables, plutôt que sur une théorie de l'organisation en tant que telle, que nous devrons faire reposer notre environnement présent et futur. Faisons donc en sorte que les organisations qui composent cette société fassent tout en leur pouvoir pour favoriser, plutôt que frustrer, la croissance et le développement de tels individus

Robust Chemical Sensors for Environmental Analysis and Process Control

Conventional analytical instruments are generally neither sufficiently robust nor adequately portable for field measurements in environmental applications or process analysis in industry. The requirements for these applications are ideally fulfilled by selective chemical sensors for the species of interest. New approaches in the design of these devices are often needed in order to realize their potential benefits. In this article, examples of electrochemical and optical sensors for the determination of gases and ions for a range of environmental and industrial applications are presented

Enzymatically modified isoquercitrin improves endothelial function in volunteers at risk of cardiovascular disease

A higher intake of food rich in flavonoids such as quercetin can reduce the risk of CVD. Enzymatically modified isoquercitrin (EMIQ®) has a bioavailability 17-fold higher than quercetin aglycone and has shown potential CVD moderating effects in animal studies. The present study aimed to determine whether acute ingestion of EMIQ® improves endothelial function, blood pressure (BP) and cognitive function in human volunteers at risk of CVD. Twenty-five participants (twelve males and thirteen females) with at least one CVD risk factor completed this randomised, controlled, crossover study. In a random order, participants were given EMIQ® (2 mg aglycone equivalent)/kg body weight or placebo alongside a standard breakfast meal. Endothelial function, assessed by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery was measured before and 1·5 h after intervention. BP, arterial stiffness, cognitive function, BP during cognitive stress and measures of quercetin metabolites, oxidative stress and markers of nitric oxide (NO) production were assessed post-intervention. After adjustment for pre-treatment measurements and treatment order, EMIQ® treatment resulted in a significantly higher FMD response compared with the placebo (1·80 (95 % CI 0·23, 3·37) %; P = 0·025). Plasma concentrations of quercetin metabolites were significantly higher (P \u3c 0·001) after EMIQ® treatment compared with the placebo. No changes in BP, arterial stiffness, cognitive function or biochemical parameters were observed. In this human intervention study, the acute administration of EMIQ® significantly increased circulating quercetin metabolites and improved endothelial function. Further clinical trials are required to assess whether health benefits are associated with long-term EMIQ® consumption

Vegetable diversity, injurious falls, and fracture risk in older women: A prospective cohort study

The importance of vegetable diversity for the risk of falling and fractures is unclear. Our objective was to examine the relationship between vegetable diversity with injurious falling and fractures leading to hospitalization in a prospective cohort of older Australian women (n = 1429, ≥70 years). Vegetable diversity was quantified by assessing the number of different vegetables consumed daily. Vegetable intake (75 g servings/day) was estimated using a validated food frequency questionnaire at baseline (1998). Over 14.5 years, injurious falls (events = 568, 39.7%), and fractures (events = 404, 28.3%) were captured using linked health records. In multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models, women with greater vegetable diversity (per increase in one different vegetable/day) had lower relative hazards for falls (8%; p = 0.02) and fractures (9%; p = 0.03). A significant interaction between daily vegetable diversity (number/day) and total vegetable intake (75 g servings/day) was observed for falls (pinteraction = 0.03) and fractures (pinteraction \u3c 0.001). The largest benefit of higher vegetable diversity were observed in the one third of women with the lowest vegetable intake (\u3c2.2 servings/day; falls HR 0.83 95% CI (0.71–0.98); fractures HR 0.74 95% CI (0.62–0.89)). Increasing vegetable diversity especially in older women with low vegetable intake may be an effective way to reduce injurious fall and fracture risk

Familial Infiltrative Fibromatosis (Desmoid Tumours) (MIM135290) Caused by a Recurrent 3′ APC Gene Mutation

Desmoid tumours are generally very rare but occur about 100 times more frequently in the colorectal cancer predisposition syndrome familial adenomatous polyposis (MIM 175100), being represented in about 10% of patients. In addition to desmoid disease occurring in familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) there exist familial infiltrative fibromatosis (MIM 135290) kindreds where there is no evidence of FAP. Previously we have described a kindred with familial infiltrative fibromatosis (FIF) in which desmoid tumours were associated with nonpolyposis colorectal cancer. FAP is caused by mutations in the APC gene and various genotype-phenotype relationships have been defined including reports that colorectal polyposis is less severe with mutations 5′ to codon 157 and that the risk of desmoid tumours is high in FAP patients with APC gene mutations between codons 1444 and 1598. There is relatively little information on the phenotype of APC gene mutations 3′ to codon 1598; however, one large family has been reported with a mutation at codon 1987 which presents with a highly variable phenotype which includes desmoid disease. We screened our original FIF kindred and three further families with a similar phenotype for mutations in the APC gene. A 4 bp frameshift deletion in codon 1962 was identified in the original FIF kindred and two further apparently unrelated families. Haplotype analysis suggests a common origin for the APC mutation in all three families. Affected individuals had no evidence of congenital hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium. Colorectal polyposis was variable, and most affected patients had either none or a few late onset polyps. These findings demonstrate (i) that FAP and FIF are allelic, and (ii) that APC gene mutations which truncate the APC protein distal to the beta-catenin binding domain are associated with desmoid tumours, absent CHRPE and variable but attenuated polyposis expressio

Food-derived opioid peptides inhibit cysteine uptake with redox and epigenetic consequences

Dietary interventions like gluten-free and casein-free diets have been reported to improve intestinal, autoimmune and neurological symptoms in patients with a variety of conditions; however, the underlying mechanism of benefit for such diets remains unclear. Epigenetic programming, including CpG methylation and histone modifications, occurring during early postnatal development can influence the risk of disease in later life, and such programming may be modulated by nutritional factors such as milk and wheat, especially during the transition from a solely milk-based diet to one that includes other forms of nutrition. The hydrolytic digestion of casein (a major milk protein) and gliadin (a wheat-derived protein) releases peptides with opioid activity, and in the present study, we demonstrate that these food-derived proline-rich opioid peptides modulate cysteine uptake in cultured human neuronal and gastrointestinal (GI) epithelial cells via activation of opioid receptors. Decreases in cysteine uptake were associated with changes in the intracellular antioxidant glutathione and the methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine. Bovine and human casein-derived opioid peptides increased genome-wide DNA methylation in the transcription start site region with a potency order similar to their inhibition of cysteine uptake. Altered expression of genes involved in redox and methylation homeostasis was also observed. These results illustrate the potential of milk- and wheat-derived peptides to exert antioxidant and epigenetic changes that may be particularly important during the postnatal transition from placental to GI nutrition. Differences between peptides derived from human and bovine milk may contribute to developmental differences between breastfed and formula-fed infants. Restricted antioxidant capacity, caused by wheat- and milk-derived opioid peptides, may predispose susceptible individuals to inflammation and systemic oxidation, partly explaining the benefits of gluten-free or casein-free diets

Seasonal variation in daily patterns of social contacts in the European badger Meles meles

Social interactions among hosts influence the persistence and spread of infectious pathogens. Daily and seasonal variation in the frequency and type of social interactions will play an important role in disease epidemiology and, alongside other factors, may have an influence on wider disease dynamics by causing seasonal forcing of infection, especially if the seasonal variation experienced by a population is considerable. We explored temporal variation in within- group contacts in a high- density population of European badgers Meles meles naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis (the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis). Summer contacts were more likely and of longer duration during the daytime, while the frequency and duration of winter contacts did not differ between day and night. In spring and autumn, within- group contacts peaked at dawn and dusk, corresponding with when they were of shortest duration with reduced potential for aerosol transmission of pathogens. Summer and winter could be critical for transmission of M. bovis in badgers, due to the high frequency and duration of contacts during resting periods, and we discuss the links between this result and empirical disease data. This study reveals clear seasonality in daily patterns of contact frequency and duration in species living in stable social groups, suggesting that changes in social contacts could drive seasonal forcing of infection in wildlife populations even when the number of individuals interacting remains similar

Dietary nitrate intake is associated with muscle function in older women

Background In younger individuals, dietary nitrate supplementation has been shown to improve short‐term vascular and muscle function. The role of higher habitual nitrate intake as part of a typical diet on muscle function in ageing has not been investigated. A cross‐sectional study of relationships between dietary nitrate and measures of muscle function in older community‐dwelling Australian women (n = 1420, ≥70 years) was undertaken. Methods Participants completed a semi‐quantitative food frequency questionnaire assessing dietary intake over the previous year. Total nitrate from vegetables and non‐vegetable sources was calculated from a validated instrument that quantified the nitrate content of food recorded within the food frequency questionnaire. Handgrip strength and timed‐up‐and‐go (TUG) were assessed, representing muscle strength and physical function, respectively. Cut‐points for weak grip strength (kg) and slow TUG (\u3e10.2 s) were selected due to their association with adverse outcomes. Linear and logistic regressions were used to examine the relationship between total nitrate intake and muscle function measures. Results Mean ± standard deviation (SD) total nitrate intake was 79.5 ± 31.2 mg/day, of which 84.5% came from vegetables. Across the unadjusted tertiles of nitrate intake (P= 0.027) and faster TUG (per second, β −0.27, P = 0.001). The proportion of women with weak grip strength (kg) or slow TUG (\u3e10.2 s) was 61.0% and 36.9%, respectively. Each SD higher nitrate intake (31.2 mg/day) was associated with lower odds for weak grip strength (OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.74–0.95, P = 0.005) and slow TUG (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.76–0.98, P = 0.021). Compared with women in the lowest tertile of nitrate intake, women in the highest nitrate intake tertile had lower odds for weak grip strength (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.49–0.87, Ptrend=0.004) and slow TUG (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.53–0.97, Ptrend = 0.044). Conclusions This investigation highlights potential benefits of nitrate‐rich diets on muscle strength and physical function in a large cohort of older women. Considering poor muscle strength and physical function is associated with a range of adverse health outcomes such as falling, fractures, cardiovascular disease, and mortality, increasing dietary nitrate, especially though vegetable consumption may be an effective way to limit age‐related declines in muscle function