Imaginary Interventions?

The purpose of this study is to explore how managerial agency is constructed through three relational strategies: i. between self and institutional context, ii. between self and social context, and iii. between self and oneself. The empirical source is a database of assignments by some 270 students, participating in a one year Personal Leadership Development course within a Master of Public Governance 2009 – 2012. The context of the study is the accelerated changes in Danish Public Sector, and how these changes impact managers and their organisations under dominant management discourses, New Public Management and New Public Governance etc. The empirical analysis – initiated in this paper - explore if a žižekian approach can make sense of the managers ‘fantastic’ reliance on leadership and management tools and concepts to complete the (likewise) fantastic promises of organisational change brought in from the above. The originality of the project (in total) stems partly from the unique and rather massive data material, partly from the introduction of žižekian concepts into leadership research

Strategiske kompetencer for offentlige organisationer

I artiklen søges det strategiske kompetencebegreb udvidet fra primært at vedrøre produktions- og markedsforhold til også at vedrøre evnen til at håndtere politiske spil om ressourcer samt sociale kompetencer til at indgå i relationer med borgere og kunder m.fl. Artiklen har sit afsæt i den moderne offentlige organisation som stilles overfor tre grundlæggende krav, nemlig kravet om at kunne levere faglige serviceydelser på markedsvilkår, dvs. af høj kvalitet til en effektiv kostpris; kravat om at kunne forvalte sin myndighedspligt på en social og human måde, som skaber både tryghed og autoritet og endelig kravet om at indgå i politiske kampe omkring tildeling af ressource til netop deres organisation. Disse krav og tilhørende kompetencer må ledere af offentlige organisationer eksplicit tage stilling til i formuleringen af deres organisationers mål og strategier, i takt med at den enkelte offentlige organisation bliver stadigt mere selvstændig. I artiklen opstilles rammer for formulering af strategiske kompetencer på hver af disse tre områder

Strategiske kompetencer for offentlige organisationer

I artiklen søges det strategiske kompetencebegreb udvidet fra primært at vedrøre produktions- og markedsforhold til også at vedrøre evnen til at håndtere politiske spil om ressourcer samt sociale kompetencer til at indgå i relationer med borgere og kunder m.fl. Artiklen har sit afsæt i den moderne offentlige organisation som stilles overfor tre grundlæggende krav, nemlig kravet om at kunne levere faglige serviceydelser på markedsvilkår, dvs. af høj kvalitet til en effektiv kostpris; kravat om at kunne forvalte sin myndighedspligt på en social og human måde, som skaber både tryghed og autoritet og endelig kravet om at indgå i politiske kampe omkring tildeling af ressource til netop deres organisation. Disse krav og tilhørende kompetencer må ledere af offentlige organisationer eksplicit tage stilling til i formuleringen af deres organisationers mål og strategier, i takt med at den enkelte offentlige organisation bliver stadigt mere selvstændig. I artiklen opstilles rammer for formulering af strategiske kompetencer på hver af disse tre områder

A Sociological Approach to Managerial Technoloy

The relevance of technologies in management and organizational analysis is well accepted in theory, if not by managers themselves. But the way technologies allow us to observe has not yet been explored. This is because many accounts of technologies neglect, if not the constitutive nature of technologies, then at least their observational potential. In particular, this article argues, technologies work by setting the scene of observation for the manager. In order to handle that challenge, management must be a matter of `managination`, that is, second order observation. Keywords: management, observation, reproduction, steering, technology

branding af nationer, regioner og byer

De seneste årtier har brand management og branding strategier fået større og større prioritet for organisationer i deres bestræbelser på at positionere sig på markedet. Det gælder først og fremmest kommercielt drevne organisationer, men i stadig større grad er også politisk styrede organisationer blevet opmærksomme på vigtigheden af at have et stærkt brand. De seneste år har branding imidlertid bevæget sig ind i andre politiske felter, nemlig branding af steder, som byen, regionen og nationen – ja, selv en supranational størrelser som EU bliver brandet. Byer, regioner og nationer indretter sig i stigende grad efter markedets krav om på den ene side konkret organisering af for eksempel arbejdskraft og økonomi, og på den anden side fortællinger om oplevelser, værdier og erfaringer som knytter sig til disse steder. Derfor er disse territoriale enheder begyndt at formulere sig selv som attraktive brands, der profilerer stedernes særlige kvaliteter. Nærværende paper forsøger at analysere profileringen af steder som en praksis der balancerer mellem bordering og branding som to parallelle logikker. Det er hypotesen, at forholdet mellem disse logikker kan aflæses i den måde, som forskellige brands fremstiller steder med både sentimentalitet og ironi. Anvendelsen af dette perspektiv indbærer, at der tænkes en direkte sammenhæng mellem de former for organisering, som præger nationer, byer og regioner, og den måde som disse steder symboliseres gennem brands. Paperet falder i to sektioner: én om vilkårene for branding som symbolsk praksis under det globale, og én om den reelle organisering, som de bestemte symbolske former er udtryk for

Performing a Transnational Region - The Importance of “Open House Strategy”

This paper discusses the transnational regionalization in the Öresund area, where the ambition and will to regionalize has existed ever since the late fifties. However, from being futurism it has during the nineties turned into a huge project with many actors and resources organized around the very idea of creating a transnational metropolis. This regionalization process has some interesting properties, which this paper will elaborate upon discussing organization within the frame of “Open House-strategy” using events and concepts as vehicles for the process. With these vocabularies I intend to reflect on a strategy process, which has not very closed boundaries, but is like an invitation for participation, and how concepts and events are very important social arrangements in organizing the “Open House”.Transnational regions; Øresund area

Early Career Opportunities and Strategies in Academia:and how Universities create career-supportive systems that match a larger context than academia

Purpose: While universities as research organizations have adapted to the competitive environment for external funding and the global market of people having academic career dreams, the career system within academia has yet to adapt to these circumstances. Postdocs with no tenure track, e.g., are vulnerable in these dynamics since universities produce an increased overload of postdocs strategizing for an academic career. Therefore, rethinking the academic career system to become a career-supportive system that opens the inflow and the outflow of talented people to the broader knowledge and innovation ecosystem is paramount. We present findings from a career intervention at xx University, where 33 early career academics focused on their career strategies and opportunities within a larger career framework than academia. Design/methodology/approach: The paper combines a theoretical discussion with a case study using mixed methods of observations, notes, questionnaires, and written feedback.Findings: We demonstrate that moving young researchers from a state of frustration and inaction to a state of agency and motivation is not only doable; it is also achievable with relatively few changes to the opportunity structure, indicating the path to a more permanent and culturally embedded change of the career system.Research limitations/implications: Both the theoretical discussion and the empirical case take a point of departure in a Western European context. Originality/value: Introducing a productive, organizationally based framework for career thinking and showing how to implement change in the academic career system practically.Keywords: early career strategies, career thinking, motivation, knowledge production.Purpose: While universities as research organizations have adapted to the competitive environment for external funding and the global market of people having academic career dreams, the career system within academia has yet to adapt to these circumstances. Postdocs with no tenure track, e.g., are vulnerable in these dynamics since universities produce an increased overload of postdocs strategizing for an academic career. Therefore, rethinking the academic career system to become a career-supportive system that opens the inflow and the outflow of talented people to the broader knowledge and innovation ecosystem is paramount. We present findings from a career intervention at xx University, where 33 early career academics focused on their career strategies and opportunities within a larger career framework than academia. Design/methodology/approach: The paper combines a theoretical discussion with a case study using mixed methods of observations, notes, questionnaires, and written feedback.Findings: We demonstrate that moving young researchers from a state of frustration and inaction to a state of agency and motivation is not only doable; it is also achievable with relatively few changes to the opportunity structure, indicating the path to a more permanent and culturally embedded change of the career system.Research limitations/implications: Both the theoretical discussion and the empirical case take a point of departure in a Western European context. Originality/value: Introducing a productive, organizationally based framework for career thinking and showing how to implement change in the academic career system practically.<br/