The Estonian organizations - the subjects of transformation

Estonia stayed fifty years under the communist regime. This paper explores the transformation of Estonian organizations within the framework of the Leavitt's model of change where the process is analyzed from the perspective of four organizational elements: people, organizational goals, structure, and technology. In respect with the people the role of individuals is emphasized as well as the polarization of mindsets is discussed. The new era forced to clarify the organizational task because of market economy. The organizational structure does not change as fast as the other elements do and hierarchy considered being important. The formalization tactics (personnel selection and training) have gained new meaning in the process of transformation of organizations. The technology has varied due to the twofold possibilities- advantage to introduce the new informational technology and the usage of the old fashion machinery. Change of the society led to the change of organizations, which had the transformational nature. There was shown that all the elements of the organizations had the pressure to find new forms of existence

THE IMPORTANCE OF VALUE HONEST: DETERMINING FACTORS AND SOME HINTS TO ETHICS

Honesty is deemed as crucial ground for ethical behaviour in various respects. The aim of this paper is to explore to what extent and in what ways the individual value honest signifies in the organisations of Baltic States and Russia and to draw some managerial implications on the basis of our findings. The subjects of study had different cultural background (Estonians from Estonia, Russians from Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) and they were asked to rank their own terminal and instrumental values, including the value honest as well as to speculate how their co-workers would rank the same list of values. Consequently, there were two lists of terminal and instrumental values for every respondent and the following analysis focuses on the comparisons of the importance, impact of other values and socio-demographic characteristics (i.e. gender, age, organisational position, and country of residence). One of the most important findings of our study is that the assessment of peer’s value honest tells the most how important honest is for the focal person. Results reveal also the role of some other personal values as well as the country of residence in respect with the importance of value honest.ethical behaviour, honesty, personal values

Organizational Culture through Orientations and Metaphors: Some Hints to the Tacit Knowledge

The main goal of our study is to examine the possibilties to lead tacit through a lens of organizational culture assessed by orientations and metaphors. Organizational culture may open important issues because this phenomenon evolves values, assumptions etc which also play significant role in the tacit knowledge transfer. Metaphors intermediate the unconscious levels of organizational culture. Empirical survey among 75 participants was conducted in two industrial enterprises from Saint-Gobain Group in Estonia. The triangulation of different methods was used and a combination of questionnaire and interview was applied for the measurement of organizational culture. Position, education and tenure have important effect on estimations to task orientation. Gender, position and education have important effect on estimations to relationship orientation. The estimations on both orientations are connected to whether the organization is characterized through metaphors to be organic or technocratic. The results are discussed and the consequesnces for tacit knowledge are proposed.tacit knowledge; organizational culture; organizational orientations; metaphors.

Personality Traits Attributed to Estonian School Teachers

The aim of the article is to find out what personality traits are attributed to Estonian school teachers by members of society compared with the teachers’ own personal assessments and the characteristics of the entire Estonian population. Data was collected between 2003 and 2010 from 460 members of the general public and 467 teachers in 67 Estonian schools. The results showed that in general the public perceive teachers’ personality traits similarly and in accordance with the teachers’ self assessment, but there are also some differences in opinions on the basis of the year respondents graduated from school and the nationality of the respondents. These results can be used to improve communication between stakeholders and to prepare training programmes for teachers.school leadership; teachers’ personality traits; communication of school stakeholders.

The Impact of Family Members and Friends Habits on Youths Smoking Behaviour: Consequences for Social Marketing

For implementing more effective social marketing programmes for preventing youth’s smoking more information is needed about the backgrounds of their behaviour and choices. The goal of the article is to find out what is the impact of family and friends’ habits on youth’s smoking behaviour and make suggestions for the social marketing. The sample consisted of 582 secondary school pupils, the participants ranged in age from 14-19. For data analysis the logistic regression was used. The results show that certain people from family and friends in combination with each other have especially large influence on youth’s smoking behaviour. Family members and friends influence young people’s behaviour simultaneously and the influence is cumulative. Knowing what combinations are the most powerful can be considered by preparing tobacco prevention programmes for youth.social marketing; smoking prevention; youth behaviour; social environment.

Global cultural governance by Investment Arbitral Tribunals:the making of a Lex Administrativa Culturalis

The protection of cultural heritage is a fundamental public interest, closely connected to fundamental human rights and deemed to be among the best guarantees of international peace and security. Economic globalization has spurred a more intense dialogue and interaction among nations, potentially promoting cultural diversity. However, this phenomenon may also jeopardize cultural heritage. Foreign direct investments in the extraction of natural resources have the ultimate capacity to change cultural landscapes and erase memories. Foreign investment in cultural industries can induce cultural homogenization. However, international investment law constitutes a legally binding and highly effective regime that requires that states promote and facilitate foreign direct investment. Does the existing legal framework adequately protect cultural heritage vis-à-vis economic globalization? This Article investigates the distinct interplay between the promotion of foreign direct investment and the protection of cultural heritage in international law, addressing the question of whether a lex administrativa culturalis, or cultural administrative law, has emerged. In particular, this Article questions whether international investment law and arbitration can be a tool for enforcing international cultural law and whether arbitral tribunals can promote good and effective cultural governance

¿Un castillo de destinos cruzados?:La gobernanza cultural global por los tribunales económicos internacionales

La globalización económica y la gobernanza económica internacional han estimulado intensos diálogos entre las naciones, promoviendo potencialmente la diversidad cultural y proporcionando fondos para recuperar y preservar el patrimonio cultural. Pero estos fenómenos pueden suponer también amenazas para el patrimonio. La inversión directa extranjera en la extracción de recursos naturales es capaz de cambiar los paisajes culturales y borrar la memoria; el comercio de bienes culturales puede inducir a la homogeneización cultural. Al mismo tiempo, regímenes jurídicamente vinculantes y altamente efectivos exigen a los Estados la promoción de la inversión directa extranjera y el libre comercio. El artículo investiga las distintas relaciones entre la promoción de la integración económica y la protección del patrimonio cultural ante dos sistemas internacionales de arreglo de controversias: los tribunales arbitrales de los tratados de inversión y el mecanismo de solución de diferencias de la Organización Mundial del Comercio, analizando si prestan la debida atención a la protección del patrimonio cultural, contribuyendo a la unión de discursos coherentes y principios generales del derecho emergentes Economic globalization and international economic governance have spurred a more intense dialogue among nations –potentially promoting cultural diversity and providing the funds to recover and preserve cultural heritage. However, these phenomena can also jeopardize cultural heritage. Foreign direct investments in the extraction of natural resources have the capacity to change cultural landscapes and erase memory; trade in cultural goods can induce cultural homogenization. In parallel, legally binding and highly effective regimes demand states to facilitate foreign direct investment and free trade. This article investigates the distinct interplay between the promotion of economic integration and the protection of cultural heritage before two separate international dispute resolution systems: i.e. investment treaty arbitral tribunals and the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Mechanism. It addresses the question as to whether international economic ‘courts’ pay adequate attention to the need of protecting cultural heritage, contributing to the coalescence of consistent narratives and emerging general principles of la