Implementing change in organisations: key challenges

A VUCA world (described with four attributes: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) and the resulting need to implement changes continuously in almost every area of organisational activity have enhanced the awareness of organisations with regard to searching for skilful managers/leaders of change and building up competencies in change management amongst their staff. At the same time, however, quite a large proportion of changes fail. The paper aims to identify major challenges faced when implementing significant changes in an organisation using two case studies as an example. The first case study concerns a change to the Agile approach in an organisation’s operations, while the second one – the implementation of the Design Thinking concept in the work of project teams. The obtained results have become a starting point for more in-depth studies on change management focused in particular on factors contributing to organisational change success or failure and the role of individual stakeholders in the process

Prostacyclin Synthesis and Prostacyclin Receptor Expression in the Porcine Myometrium: Prostacyclin Potential to Regulate Fatty Acid Transporters, Cytokines and Contractility-Related Factors

Although prostacyclin (PGI2) has been well described as a regulator of smooth muscle activity, limited data are available concerning its role in the myometrium of pigs. The present research aimed to examine profiles of PGI2 synthase (PTGIS) and PGI2 receptor (PTGIR) expression and 6-keto PGF1α (a PGI2 metabolite) concentrations in the myometrium of gilts throughout the estrous cycle and during early pregnancy using qPCR, Western blot, and/or ELISA methods. Furthermore, myometrial explants were exposed to iloprost (a stable PGI2 analog) to investigate the effect of PGI2 on the mRNA expression of factors engaged in smooth muscle contraction, nutrient transport, prostaglandin synthesis and action, and inflammatory response. PTGIS mRNA expression was greater in cyclic than in pregnant gilts on days 11–12 after estrus and was accompanied by greater concentrations of 6-keto PGF1α detected in cyclic than in pregnant animals on days 11–20. Iloprost stimulated fatty acid transporters and contractility-related calponin 1 and caldesmon 1 mRNA expression and decreased interleukin 1β and tumor necrosis factor transcript abundance. The obtained results indicate a physiologically relevant role of PGI2 during the estrous cycle in the porcine myometrium with its importance for regulating the expression of contractility-, nutrient transport- and inflammatory response-related factors

A Detrimental Effect of Acetonitrile on the Kinetics of Underpotentially Deposited Hydrogen and Hydrogen Evolution Reaction, Examined on Pt Electrode in H2SO4 and NaOH Solutions

The present paper reports AC impedance spectroscopic/Tafel polarization and cyclic voltammetry study on the influence of acetonitrile concentration on the kinetics of UPD of H (underpotential deposition of hydrogen) and HER (hydrogen evolution reaction), examined on polycrystalline and polyoriented single-crystal sphere Pt electrode surfaces in 0.5 M H2SO4 and 0.1 M NaOH supporting solutions. The resulted data provided confirmation of the destructive role of Pt surface-electrosorbed acetonitrile on the kinetics of underpotentially deposited hydrogen, as well as cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction. The above was exclusively elucidated through evaluation of the associated charge-transfer resistance and capacitance (and complementary exchange current-density and Tafel slope) parameters, derived comparatively on Pt for pure and acetonitrile-modified acidic and alkaline electrolytes

The Influence of Solution pH on the Kinetics of Resorcinol Electrooxidation (Degradation) on Polycrystalline Platinum

Electrochemical oxidation of resorcinol on a polycrystalline platinum electrode was investigated in five different solutions, namely 0.5 and 0.1 M H2SO4, 0.5 M Na2SO4, 0.5 and 0.1 M NaOH. The rates of electrochemical degradation of resorcinol were determined based on the obtained reaction parameters, such as resistance, capacitance and current-density. The electrochemical analyses (cyclic voltammetry and a.c. impedance spectroscopy) were carried-out by means of a three-compartment, Pyrex glass cell. These results showed that the electrochemical oxidation of resorcinol is strongly pH-dependent. In addition, the energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy technique was employed for Pt electrode surface characterization. Additionally, the quantitative determination of resorcinol removal was performed by means of instrumental high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) methodology