Organizations in a Non-Linear, Unpredictable World

Globalisation, new information technology, universal networking, the nonlinearity of things, and environmental turbulence have changed strategies of managing and succeeding. This paper examines nonlinear phenomena and their practical consequences especially from an organizational perspective by using three concepts: Malcolm Gladwell’s tipping point, Ilya Prigogine’s self-organization, and Algirdas Greimas’s semiotic square. Tipping points occur at all system levels, e.g. such as determining for instance how fashion trends catch on, how health campaigns succeed, and how new ideas spread like wildfire. Self-organization refers to the kind of consciousness, action and intelligence that is manifested in the community’s rather than the individual’s actions, such as swarm intelligence in the animal world. Insight into the dynamics of change is supplemented by the semiotic square, which sheds light on how organizations can succeed. They must have buffers, a surplus of resources to which they can resort whenever something unexpected happens, and they must be attuned to change and have access to tools that promote open, confidence-building communication.Peer reviewe

TQM – lisää laatua opetukseen

The author examines the advent of TQM (Total Quality Management) in the 1980s into the education sector and its appropriateness there. The article is based on the views of Edward Sailis, quality researcher and developer in the field of education, Frank Bett's systemic thinking, B.H. Banathy's criteria for continuously developing educational establishments, and Amitai Etzioni's thoughts on spontaneity and planning in relation to results. Quality is seen as a direction. lndeed, the idea behind TQM is in that the educational establishment itseif is capable of creating a system enabling the continuous development of quality. Nevertheless, TQM should be applied in education an imaginative manner: the definition of quality cannot come from without the establishment itself. Quality and its assessment are firmly anchored to the general value base of life, and thus requires the making visible of the values in the background.Kirjoittaja tarkastelee TQM:n (Total Quality Management) tuloa 80-luvun lopulla kasvatusalalle sekä sen soveltuvuutta sinne. Artikkeli pohjaa opetusalan laadun tutkijan ja kehittäjän Edward Sallisin ajatuksiin laadusta, Frank Bettsin systeemiseen ajatteluun, B.H. Banathyn esittämiin kriteereihin jatkuvasti kehittyvästä oppilaitoksesta sekä Amitai Etzionin pohdintoihin spontaaniudesta ja suunnitelmallisuudesta suhteessa tuloksiin. Laatu nähdään suuntana. TQM:n idea onkin siinä, että oppilaitos kykenee luomaan systeemin, jossa laadun jatkuva kehittäminen on mahdollista. TQM:ää ei pidä kuitenkaan soveltaa kasvatusalalle kaavamaisesti: laadun määritelmä ei voi tulla oppilaitokseen sen itsensä ulkopuolelta. Laatu ja sen arviointi ankkuroituvat tiivisti elämän yleiseen arvoperustaan ja vaatii siten taustalla olevien arvojen tekemistä näkyviksi

Oppiva organisaatio – menestyksen ehto

Kun yritykset sopeutuvat muuttuviin markkinoihin ja talouden vaatimuksiin, ne joutuvat organisoimaan uudelleen sekä toimintansa struktuurit että prosessit. Tässä työssä – aina kun tavoitteena on joustavuus ja laatu – yrityksen oppimiskyvystä tulee tärkein onnistumisen kriteeri.The Lerning Organisation (1993

Saraloiden oppiva organisaatio – teoriaa vai käytäntöä?

Oppiva organisaatio – oppimisen, laadun ja tuottavuuden yhdistäminen, Urpo Sarala ja Anita Sarala, Tampere (1996

Compassion—A key to innovation : What promotes and what prevents innovation in organizations?

Innovation is crucial for the survival and wellbeing of organizations in volatile, rapidly changing societies. However, the role of profound human capability, compassion, and innovation has not been adequately investigated. This article sets out to explore the factors preventing and promoting innovation in organizations, asking how compassion is connected to these factors, and how compassion could boost innovation. We approach innovation as a complicated multilevel phenomenon, emerging from interactions between individuals and the work context. Our view of compassion includes both compassion and copassion-responding both to the suffering and joy of others. Our material was collected from nine focus group interviews, organized in Finland in 2017, in private, public, and third-sector organizations. The material was analyzed by two researchers, using an adapted grounded theory methodology. We found four core factors capable of either promoting or preventing innovation: (1) the strategy and structures of the organization, (2) resources, especially time, (3) working culture; and (4) the dynamics of interaction between individuals and the community. Our key conclusion, fruitful to theorizing both innovation and compassion, is that for innovation to flourish, compassion is to be cultivated throughout an organization. It is not a single variable or practice, and it is in many ways in a key position regarding innovation: the existence of it promotes innovation, but the lack of it prevents innovation. Thus, organizations aiming for innovation should seek multifaceted understanding and skills in compassion.Peer reviewe

Vaikuttava tiede on osaamislaji

Globalisaatio, väestömuutokset ja teknologian edistysaskeleet muuttavat maailmaa. Kestävän kehityksen haasteet, työn muutokset ja aineettoman pääoman kasvava merkitys ovat tuoneet omat vaikutuksensa viimeaikaiseen kehitykseen. Ekologisuus ja ympäristövastuullisuus siirtävät kulutusrakenteita tavaroista palveluihin sekä nivovat kulttuurin ja talouden lähemmäksi toisiaan

Morbid obesity and type 2 diabetes alter intestinal fatty acid uptake and blood flow

Aims: Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment to tackle morbid obesity and type 2 diabetes, but the mechanisms of action are still unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of bariatric surgery on intestinal fatty acid (FA) uptake and blood flow. Materials and Methods: We recruited 27 morbidly obese subjects, of whom 10 had type 2 diabetes and 15 were healthy age-matched controls. Intestinal blood flow and fatty acid uptake from circulation were measured during fasting state using positron emission tomography (PET). Obese subjects were re-studied 6 months after bariatric surgery. The mucosal location of intestinal FA retention was verified in insulin resistant mice with autoradiography. Results: Compared to lean subjects, morbidly obese subjects had higher duodenal and jejunal FA uptake (P </p