Instrument development for organisational health

This study establishes the factors influencing Organisational Health (OH), leading to the development of an empirical measurement instrument.Despite the fact that a few firms have understood the significance of measuring health, they mostly do not know precisely what to measure, because of an absence of understanding of what constitutes a set of organisational health dimensions.This study used a mixed method through literature review, expert opinion and a quantitative pilot survey with 123 supervisory staff from a telecommunication company in India. The instrument was further tested for standardisation in Malaysia, Bangladesh and Indonesia.The study identified an OH measurement model consisting three constructs such as Change Capacity, Goal Alignment and Competitive Advantage.There are 29 items which collectively influence the degree of OH in an Organisation. By proposing, creating, and validating a multi-dimensional, operational measure of the organisational health, and by showing its viability in enhancing organisational performance, the present study gives practitioners a handy instrument for assessing the extensiveness of their current OH initiatives.The experts while interacting for the study expressed a uniform opinion regarding the OH constructs and its factors.We believe that developing an objective measurement instrument for organisational health is a significant contribution to the body of knowledge

Electronic nematic order in the normal state of strontium ruthenate

Despite significant achievements in characterizing the properties of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ over the last three decades, the precise nature of its electronic ground state is still unresolved. In this work, we provide a missing piece of the puzzle by uncovering evidence of electronic nematic order in the normal state of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$, revealed by ultrafast time-resolved optical dichroism measurements of uniaxially strained thin films. This nematic order, whose domains are aligned by the strain, spontaneously breaks the four-fold rotational symmetry of the crystal. The temperature dependence of the dichroism resembles an Ising-like order parameter, and optical pumping induces a coherent oscillation of its amplitude mode. A microscopic model of intra-unit-cell nematic order is presented, highlighting the importance of Coulomb repulsion between neighboring oxygen $p$-orbitals. The existence of electronic nematic order in the normal state of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ may have consequences for the form and mechanism of superconductivity in this material

Anticipatory competence building: Towards a measurement model

Identification of resources that will be a source of competitive advantage is not a simple task for today’s firms, since many of the characteristics attributed to them can only be intuitively perceived. The available competence frameworks capture the competence requirements for a family of clear and present jobs.In a fast moving business world of new products and technology, companies are grappling with the requirement to generate, acquire and internalize newer competence required for future products. This study examines Anticipatory Competence Building (ACB) as an essential moderator between Technology Competence Obsolescence (TCO) and Organisational Health (OH) in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector.In this paper, we argue that ACB can be developed into a measurement model with five distinct dimensions, namely Competence obsolescence, Future competence, Technology research, Market orientation and Competence renewal.The data is consolidated using the Delphi technique with the opinions of experts from diverse fields within Malaysia. The study ratified an ACB model consisting second order constructs with 17 factors which collectively influence the degree of TCO and OH in an Organization.These factors are itemized to convert the model into a survey based instrument of measure.The model gives practitioners a refreshed look at the current competency framework to be wary about the imminent and essential future competencies

Impact of innovation capacity and anticipatory competence on organizational health: A resource based study of Nokia, Motorola and Blackberry

Analysts cite several reasons for the decline of Nokia, Motorola & Blackberry which include wrong product strategy, market mis-alignment, improper customer orientation, untimely investment etc. However, looking at from the Resource-Based View (RBV), the researchers identify few catalytic elements, which arguably augmented an unfavorable situation for these companies to be decimated gradually by the quick and the smart in the marketplace.The study was conducted through the analytical research of the literature available on the three companies.From the RBV perspective, the researchers identify Collective Competence Deficiency (CCD) as a common factor in the companies which resulted in decline of the organizational health.The study acknowledges the role of disruptive technology in making internal competence obsolete faster than the usual in Information and Communication Technology sector. The researchers further explore the moderating role of Innovation Capacity (IC) and Anticipatory Competence Building (ACB), in defining the degree of competence deficiency created by the fast changing technology.Through the case studies of Nokia, Motorola and Blackberry and from the content analysis of literature around technology companies, there emerge the measurement models of IC and ACB.Researchers consolidated 7 dimensions and 21 factors for IC and 6 dimensions and 17 factors for ACB. HRD practitioners and scholars should further explore these relationships, especially in the high tech industry sector where the competition drives out established companies from the marketplace for want of innovation and competence, a right mix of vitamins to maintain theOrganizationalHealth (OH)

Strain-Engineered Ferroelastic Structures in PbTiO3 Films and Their Control by Electric Fields

We study the interplay between epitaxial strain, film thickness, and electric field in the creation, modification, and design of distinct ferroelastic structures in PbTiO thin films. Strain and thickness greatly affect the structures formed, providing a two-variable parameterization of the resulting self-assembly. Under applied electric fields, these strain-engineered ferroelastic structures are highly malleable, especially when a/c and a/a superdomains coexist. To reconfigure the ferroelastic structures and achieve self-assembled nanoscale-ordered morphologies, pure ferroelectric switching of individual c-domains within the a/c superdomains is essential. The stability, however, of the electrically written ferroelastic structures is in most cases ephemeral; the speed of the relaxation process depends sensitively on strain and thickness. Only under low tensile strain - as is the case for PbTiO on GdScO - and below a critical thickness do the electrically created a/c superdomain structures become stable for days or longer, making them relevant for reconfigurable nanoscale electronics or nonvolatile electromechanical applications

Atomic-Scale Mapping and Quantification of Local Ruddlesden-Popper Phase Variations

The Ruddlesden-Popper (An+1BnO3n+1) compounds are highly tunable materials whose functional properties can be dramatically impacted by their structural phase n. The negligible differences in formation energies for different n can produce local structural variations arising from small stoichiometric deviations. Here, we present a Python analysis platform to detect, measure, and quantify the presence of different n-phases based on atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images. We employ image phase analysis to identify horizontal Ruddlesden-Popper faults within the lattice images and quantify the local structure. Our semiautomated technique considers effects of finite projection thickness, limited fields of view, and lateral sampling rates. This method retains real-space distribution of layer variations allowing for spatial mapping of local n-phases to enable quantification of intergrowth occurrence and qualitative description of their distribution suitable for a wide range of layered materials