Search results for "Organizational Structure"
showing 10 items of 56 documents
What does computer support for cooperative work mean? a structurational analysis of computer supported cooperative work
1992
Abstract Technical developments in electronic communication and computing coupled with new understanding of relationships between computers and work processes has given impetus to a significant amount of research in the area of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). Much of this work, however, lacks strong theoretical foundations, and there is no clear definition of CSCW, the major research questions of the field, or appropriate strategies for research. In this paper we suggest Giddens' theory of structuration as a conceptual foundation for CSCW research and propose a formal definition for CSCW. We conclude by discussing seven implications of the framework for future research into: (a)…
Innovation, organisation and governance in Spanish universities
2001
The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of changes introduced to improve efficiency and effectiveness on the way Spanish universities function. Information and opinions collected systematically at a representative sample of Spanish universities are used to study if they can be employed to implement improvements in their organisational structure and management. The obstacles imposed by current regulations and the effect of existing incentives for change in universities’ socio-economic environment is also examined.
Managing mergers – governancing institutional integration
2016
- Despite striking similarities, the adoption and implementation of policy shifts regarding higher education governance vary considerably across the globe, suggesting a mixed picture of diversification and isomorphism both within and across national higher education systems. By unpacking one particular structural reform process, this paper focuses on mergers as both a governance tool and a governance result in higher education. The paper analyzes the strategic decisions taken by Norwegian higher education institutions during 2014 in the light of a proposed national reform to merge institutions in order to enhance quality in higher education. The empirical basis of the paper consists of anal…
From the blogosphere into the parliament: The role of digital technologies in organizing social movements
2019
Abstract In this paper, we present a process model exploring the roles played by digital technologies (DTs) in the organization of collective action (CA) of social movements (SMs) at different points in their lifecycles. The process model, which is based on an exploratory case study of the Italian Five Star Movement, relates the environmental conditions to the working logic, structure and use of DTs at three different stages of the SMs. We explain how these choices are adopted at each stage to address internal and environmental challenges and how they create further challenges to be addressed to pass to the next stage. We further explore the dynamics between the logic of connective and coll…
High involvement work practices and firm performance
2009
During the past two decades the chain of three links organizational strategy – human resources practices – organizational performance has been deeply analysed. However, the mediator role of organizational structure in the first link of this chain remains relatively uninvestigated. In this article we analyse a model of relationships among organizational strategy, organizational structure, human resources practices, and organizational performance. Through a structural equation methodology applied to a sample of 183 Spanish companies, we will try to confirm that organizations with differentiation strategies are more likely to implement high involvement work practices. As a novelty we will intr…
The combined use of quality management programs and work teams
2006
PurposeThe main goal of the work presented here is the study and comparative analysis of the changes that take place in the structure of organizations when managers decide to establish work teams in the context of quality management. It can be observed that team characteristics change and adapt to evolving management programs.Design/methodology/approachThe authors selected a qualitative research method, in particular the case study methodology. The comparative analysis of organizational changes was analyzed in three different business units that had implanted advanced quality management programs using work teams.FindingsThere is a relationship between the quality management approach and the…
Exploring Collective Action Dynamics in Online Communities from a Critical Realist Perspective
2016
Scholars have been increasingly studying Online Communities (OCs) for a variety of purposes, focusing on issues like individual motivation, knowledge sharing, and governance structure. Few studies focused on the entanglement among technology, people, and organizational structures that support working dynamics within OCs. This paper addresses this issue by exploring causal mechanisms sustaining the collective actions of OCs through a retroduction process. Based on the study of the OC of an Italian political movement, the Five Star Movement, the concept of affordance is involved to describe the generative mechanisms and new affordances are identified on collective action within OCs. Our work …
“Doing-ethnicity” – Tamil educational organizations as socio-cultural and political actors
2015
The article focuses on Tamil schools abroad that are part of the Tamil Education Development Council (TEDC), and on their construction of ethno-national belongings. By presenting the TEDC geographical, contextual and organizational structures, the article explains how education organizations form a transnational space where the organizations reinforce and recreate ethno-national orientations and belongings, which in turn reconstructs the Tamil diaspora itself through processes of standardization and homogenization.
Two Cases from Central America: Attitudes of Political Elites in Panama and Guatemala
2020
Panama and Guatemala represent two very different political experiences in the Central American region. Also their political elites show different patterns. The disparities in their recent histories, their economies, and their formal and informal institutions have impacted on their representation and composition of their elites. Both countries are characterized by the influence of economy on politics. However, while in Panama the wealth of the canal has contributed to political stability, in Guatemala the old oligarchies have preserved its power by preventing the strengthening of institutions. Nonetheless, in spite of the issues that affect each country, there may be some similarities. One …
Advances to the study of international Public administration
2016
As an area of research, specifying crucial conditions under which international public administration (IPA) may enjoy independence from member-state governments has become an increasingly vibrant research area. This collection responds to three as yet unresolved research tasks: (1) systematically comparing IPAs by offering large-N data across cases; (2) taking organization seriously by identifying how the organizational architectures of IPAs affect decision-making processes and subsequently the pursuit of public policy-making; and (3) examining the varied consequences of the autonomization of IPAs, notably for member-state public sector governance and for the integration of transnational re…