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.

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

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.

Perception of negotiation partner: cultural differences from perspective of estonians

Negotiations are a means for entrepreneurial communication and the manner how participants in negotiations treat each other is very much influenced by their cultural background. Cultural background pro¬vides individuals an understanding of their partner’s role from various perspectives. Several cultural orientations have been proposed by different authors to measure cultures. Cultural orientation is considered a relative phenomenon and thus the way other cultures are perceived depends largely on the perceiver. Estonia is a small country which was ruled by various powers but Russian and German impact is mentioned the most often. Both of these countries also play an important role in Estonia’s economy and hence it is interesting and valuable to gain better understanding of how Estonians perceive them in the framework of entrepreneurial communication. The aim of the study is to draw some implications for entrepreneurs by way of studying Estonians’ views on Germans’ and Russians’ negotiation behavior. The study was based on the framework of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions using qualitative research method. The findings, along with other issues, bring up three aspects for entrepreneurs to consider when dealing with international negotiations. Limited experience and the perception of differences may lead to generation of stereotypes among entrepreneurs. Therefore, education and thorough investigation would be beneficial for acquiring efficient negotiation behavior.negotiations; entrepreneurship; national culture; Hofstede’s dimensions; perception of partner.

The Possibilities for Appraising Teachers’ Performance in the Perspective of Educational Policy and Organisational Culture

With the view to raising the effectiveness of Estonian educational system, new course concerning schools’ and pupils’ individual development must be taken. It can be achieved through performance management, which also generates the need to appraise schools’ and teachers’ performance. The purpose of this article is to bring out the opportunities for appraising schools’ and teachers’ performance in Estonian general education schools in a perspective of organizational culture and educational policy. On the assumption of teachers’ main activities the authors grouped evaluation criteria into activities connected to school management and activities connected to educational process. Teachers’ appraisal criteria a brought out in three main themes: teachers’ personal characteristics, learning process and learning environment and school management and development. The authors also debate over the Estonian educational policy

Management Techniques in Estonian Organizations: Learning Organization and Business Process Reengineering

AbstractThe aim of the current article is to establish the types of management techniques used in Estonian organizations and the connection between the implementation of these techniques and other indicators within organizations. Special attention has been focused on Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and Learning Organization (LO). Results indicate that the most popular management technique in Estonian organizations was BPR, LO was ranked sixth. Although BPR had the strongest impact on other indicators within organizations. As these areas were enhanced by the implementation of LO, the authors suggest that LO be implemented complementary to BPR

EUROPE AND JAPAN: EMBRACING A MULTIDIMENSIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR THE FUTURE: RELATIONS BETWEEN EUROPE AND JAPAN

Over time, Europe and Japan have fostered multifaceted relations across various domains. These encompass trade, investment, security cooperation, sustainability, and education. This article aims to shed light on the enduring ties forged through trade, cultural exchanges, and collaborations across diverse domains within the context of geoeconomics, geopolitics, international relations, and sustainability concerns. By leveraging these established ties, a robust foundation can be laid for enhancing cooperation in multiple sectors in the future. Moreover, these conceptual spheres are interconnected, and it is crucial to facilitate their mutual reinforcement going forward. This dynamic significantly influences EU-Japan relations and their role on the global stage, underscoring the paramount significance of collaboration among likeminded nations

Õppejõud ja üliõpilane: Rollikäsitluse vaade

Üliõpilased ja õppejõud- need on pika ajalooga rollid, mis kõrgkoolide ning ühiskonna kui terviku arengu tõttu on pidevas teisenemises ühelt poolt; teiselt poolt, neis on midagi aegade jooksul olemuslikult muutumatut. Kui üliõpilane alustab oma õpinguid või õppejõud oma tööd, siis peavad nad mõlemad looma kujutluse miks, mida ja kuidas nad teevad ning seejuures arvestama vastandrolli ootusi. Selles protsessis on väga põimuvad indiviidi, organisatsiooni ja ühiskonna tavad ning arusaamad ja seda võib pidada keerukaks, mistõttu pole osapoolte vahelised pinged haruldased. Käesolev uurimus seab eesmärgiks välja selgitada millised on õppejõudude ja üliõpilaste rolliootused ning rollikujutlused, et nende alusel teha ettepanekuid kuidas rollide ebaselgusest tulenevat suhete pingelisust vähendada