KSU Percussion Ensemble Spring Concert

A performance by the KSU Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of John Lawless.You may attend the live performance, or live stream it from the comfort of your home.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/2433/thumbnail.jp

Thinking about growth : a cognitive mapping approach to understanding small business development

School of Managemen

What we talk about when we talk about "global mindset": managerial cognition in multinational corporations

Recent developments in the global economy and in multinational corporations have placed significant emphasis on the cognitive orientations of managers, giving rise to a number of concepts such as “global mindset” that are presumed to be associated with the effective management of multinational corporations (MNCs). This paper reviews the literature on global mindset and clarifies some of the conceptual confusion surrounding the construct. We identify common themes across writers, suggesting that the majority of studies fall into one of three research perspectives: cultural, strategic, and multidimensional. We also identify two constructs from the social sciences that underlie the perspectives found in the literature: cosmopolitanism and cognitive complexity and use these two constructs to develop an integrative theoretical framework of global mindset. We then provide a critical assessment of the field of global mindset and suggest directions for future theoretical and empirical research

A four phase development model for integrated care services in the Netherlands

Background. Multidisciplinary and interorganizational arrangements for the delivery of coherent integrated care are being developed in a large number of countries. Although there are many integrated care programs worldwide, the process of developing these programs and interorganizational collaboration is described in the literature only to a limited extent. The purpose of this study is to explore how local integrated care services are developed in the Netherlands, and to conceptualize and operationalize a development model of integrated care. Methods. The research is based on an expert panel study followed by a two-part questionnaire, designed to identify the development process of integrated care. Essential elements of integrated care, which were developed in a previous Delphi and Concept Mapping Study, were analyzed in relation to development process of integrated care. Results. Integrated care development can be characterized by four developmental phases: the initiative and design phase; the experimental and execution phase; the expansion and monitoring phase; and the consolidation and transformation phase. Different elements of integrated care have been identified in the various developmental phases. Conclusion. The findings provide a descriptive model of the development process that integrated care services can undergo in the Netherlands. The findings have important implications for integrated care services, which can use the model as an instrument to reflect on their current practices. The model can be used to help to identify improvement areas in practice. The model provides a framework for developing evaluation designs for integrated care arrangements. Further research is recommended to test the developed model in practice and to add international experiences

Strategic thinking in family businesses

Abstract: This practitioner orientated paper seeks to understand better how management knowledge is created, shared and disseminated in family businesses (FBs). It outlines the initial findings from an exploratory study with senior managers of 20 FBs and FB experts that sought to examine the extent to which FB directors engage in strategic thinking, the issues that are considered part of strategic thinking, and the processes and tools driving strategic decision making. The results indicate that strategic thinking is not consistent across generations of FBs, as second generation (SG) firms tend to focus on operational issues whereas third generation (TG) firms have a more strategic focus. While all generations have to balance the ‘business’ and ‘family’ issues, it is likely that the ‘family’ element will have greater complexities in third generation businesses due to business maturity and extended family involvement. Results also illuminate that certain strategic issues and challenges relating to financing and capital structure, amongst others, are thought of differently in family businesses. Our findings indicate that FBs have differing management strategies, control systems and means of operating that impact on the extent and shape of strategic thinking. Finally, we contend that the present volatile business environment is the ideal time to focus on the development of sound strategic thinking to inform strategic planning which focuses the firm on the changing external environment and encourages a realistic appraisal of possible responses, dealing with threats before they become insurmountable

The influence of top management team attention patterns on global strategic posture of firms

Drawing upon the managerial cognition and the upper echelons perspectives, this study proposes that the cognitive capabilities of top executives significantly affect globalization efforts. Specifically, the study suggests that managerial attention patterns or the cognitive processes of [noticing and constructing meaning] about the environment influence strategic posture of firms. Based on a longitudinal sample of U.S. firms operating in technologically intensive industries, the results indicate that firms were more likely to develop an expansive global strategic posture when their top management paid attention to the external environment and considered a diverse set of elements in this environment. On the other hand, firms led by top management that paid more attention to the internal environment were less likely to be global

Leaders' sensemaking under crises:emerging cognitive consensus over time within management teams

When facing a crisis, leaders' sensemaking can take a considerable amount of time due to the need to develop consensus in how to deal with it so that vision formation and sensegiving can take place. However, research into emerging cognitive consensus when leaders deal with a crisis over time is lacking. This is limiting a detailed understanding of how organizations respond to crises. The findings, based on a longitudinal analysis of cognitive maps within three management teams at a single organization, highlight considerable individual differences in cognitive content when starting to make sense of a crisis. Evidence for an emerging viable prescriptive mental model for the future was found, but not so much in the management as a whole. Instead, the findings highlight increasing cognitive consensus based on similarities in objectives and cause-effect beliefs within well-defined management teams over time

CSR and related terms in SME owner-managers' mental models in six European countries: national context matters

As a contribution to the emerging field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) cognition, this article reports on the findings of an exploratory study that compares SME owner–managers’ mental models with regard to CSR and related concepts across six European countries (Belgium, Italy, Norway, France, UK, Spain). Utilising Repertory Grid Technique, we found that the SME owner–managers’ mental models show a few commonalities as well as a number of differences across the different country samples. We interpret those differences by linking individual cognition to macro-environmental variables, such as language, national traditions and dissemination mechanisms. The results of our exploratory study show that nationality matters but that classifications of countries as found in the comparative capitalism literature do not exactly mirror national differences in CSR cognition and that these classifications need further differentiation. The findings from our study raise questions on the universality of cognition of academic management concepts and warn that promotion of responsible business practice should not rely on the use of unmediated US American management terminology

Probing two chief executives' schematic knowledge of the US steel industry using cognitive maps

Bibliography: p. [16]-17