Organising the process of knowledge integration: the benefits of structural ambiguity

In this article we examine how loose coupling between units and people can benefit a firm's ability to combine and recombine knowledge-based resources continuously in a creative and flexible way. An in-depth study of Oticon A/S suggests that loose coupling can be deliberately brought into the design of the organisation by introducing a certain structural ambiguity into the configuration of role systems and authority relationships. In the first part of the paper, we show how loose coupling among units and people is a distinctive feature of the way Oticon organises its administrative activities. In the second, we explore the structural properties of a loosely coupled arrangement. We develop the concepts of multipolarity, fluidity and interconnectedness and we show how these properties conduce to an increase in the effectiveness, efficiency and flexibility of the processes of knowledge integration. Structural ambiguity is thus proposed as a viable design principle for organisations operating in hypercompetitive environment, where flexible knowledge integration represents a critical condition of survival.     

对知识员工的薪酬管理体系研究

作者通过对知识员工的特点及其薪酬管理现状的分析,来探讨如何建立知识员工的薪酬管理体系,提出了对知识员工的长短期激励相结合等基本薪酬原则,实施全面薪酬战略,薪酬结构宽带化,以及团队薪酬等薪酬策略。     

基于知识员工的KPI设定原则探讨

文章指出了对知识员工进行绩效管理时存在的困难,分析了KPI的概念及其确定过程,并着重探讨了针对知识员工KPI的设定原则。     

Human resource strategies for managing knowledge workers: an Afro-Asian comparative analysis

We use the model of culture fit to determine the human resource (HR) strategies for managing knowledge workers in two socio-culturally different countries: South Africa (SA) and Singapore. The national culture of SA is ethnically more diverse. Enterprise environment, such as institutional factors, particularly ownership, organization size and industry type, has more HR impact in Singapore than in SA. We found that there were convergent effective HR strategies used for motivating and retaining, but practices were divergent for attracting knowledge workers. When most frequent and ineffective strategies were studied, there were divergent practices. This knowledge of effective strategies being transferred to the two countries from more developed economies is in line with similar HR research.     

Endogenous incompleteness of financial markets: The role of ambiguity and ambiguity aversion

Incompleteness of financial markets has been widely questioned in the literature, but traditional research has been mainly focused on the role of transaction costs and asymmetric information in determining such incompleteness. This paper, instead, focuses on agents’ preferences, showing that the introduction of ambiguity and ambiguity aversion may induce investors to restrict their trading to a simpler set of assets, relative to which they are less likely to make errors.     

Spacing identity: Unfolding social and spatial-material entanglements of identity performance

In this paper, we analyze how architectural design, and the spatial and material changes this involves, contributes to the continuous shaping of identities in an organization. Based upon a case study of organizational and architectural change in a municipal administration at a time of major public sector reforms, we examine how design interventions were used to (re)form work and professional relationships. The paper examines how engagements with spatial arrangements and material artifacts affected people’s sense of both occupational and organizational identity. Taking a relational approach to sociomateriality, the paper contributes to the further theorizing of space in organization studies by proposing the concept of spacing identity to capture the fluidity of identity performance.     

The entropies: Some roots of ambiguity

Entropy concepts have developed in four general contexts—thermodynamics, communication theory, statistical information theory and social and life sciences. These concepts have five distinct mathematical forms. Ambiguity and complexity in utilization of the concept has been heightened by this multi-faceted heritage. Effective utilization may be strengthened by a sharper articulation of entropy through combinations of literal, mathematical and graphical modes of expression. Geography and planning as user disciplines have important responsibilities in enhancing cross-disciplinary communication of this important adisciplinary concept. Implications of these arguments for the social sciences include the need for caution in drawing social analogies from the ambiguous entropy concepts of statistical mechanics; and an indication of the potential benefits of social science models based on the unambiguous entropic constructs of statistical information theory.     

The components of career capital for knowledge workers in the global economy

The impact of globalization, demographic changes and technological advancements among other factors, have been driving new forms of organization, new ways of working and new characteristics in individuals and employees (Ohmae 2001). The purpose and direction of a knowledge worker's career is no longer confined to a single employer boundary and is seen to be the responsibility of the employee. Therein lies the opportunity for individuals to understand, manage and leverage this dynamic context for career progression and growth through the accumulation and implementation of relevant and valued career capital. This research investigated empirically the components, formation, differentiating features and interplay between the components of career capital. A de facto model of career capital emerged from the research that represents an integrated view of the components of career capital that are recognized in the new global economy, thereby validating the literature review and contributing new insight. The outcome of this research could facilitate knowledge workers in enhancing their career capital and could provide a platform for the management of knowledge workers.     

Causes and consequences of psychological contracts among knowledge workers in the high technology and financial services industries

As organizations shift the central focus of their competitive strategy away from value appropriation towards value creation it is to knowledge workers that they will look to provide the innovation to fuel their continued development. The state of the relationship between the knowledge worker and the employer - the psychological contract - will determine whether this source of innovation and creativity is released. In this study, we developed and tested a causal model of the causes and consequences of psychological contract. Over four hundred participants who were knowledge employees drawn from eleven leading edge companies in the high-technology software, manufacturing and financial services sector participated in the study. We found support for the hypothesis that the psychological contract and those organizational processes relating to procedural justice would have a direct effect on two critical organizational outcomes, namely, employee commitment and intention to remain with the organization. We also found support for the hypothesis that psychological contract variables mediated the relationship between organizational processes and employee commitment and intention to stay with the organization.     

Predicament of identity in Iran: a qualitative meta-analysis of theoretical and empirical studies on identity

Identity is regarded as a theoretical and practical problematic issue constituting a large range of literature in social planning, political activities and cultural policy-making in the last decades. Thus, this study is to Meta-analyze three sorts of studies on identity in a distinctive perspective. These are: universal theories of identity, theoretical studies of identity in Iran and research studies on Iranian identity in Iranian academic sphere. The findings demonstrate that the sociological theories are more effective to discuss identity than other scientific fields. While the theoretical studies focused mainly on national level of identity, the empirical ones highlighted the sub-nation and global dimensions of identity. Most of studied researches employed constructivist approach. According to literature review of identity studies in Iran, the main sources of identity are the Persian language, Shiite religion, Islam, Oriental Culture, Oriental Mysticism, Modernity and National History. Generally, the sources of identity are diverse. The results indicate that the constitution of Iranian identity portrays a hybrid and synthetic texture in all levels.     

Incomplete markets, ambiguity, and irreversible investment

The problem of irreversible investment with idiosyncratic risk is studied by interpreting market incompleteness as a source of ambiguity over the appropriate no-arbitrage discount factor. The maxmin utility over multiple priors framework is used to model and solve the irreversible investment problem. Multiple priors are modeled using the notion of κ‐ignorance. This set-up is used to analyze finitely lived options. For infinitely lived options the notion of constant κ‐ignorance is introduced. For these sets of density generators the corresponding optimal stopping problem is solved for general (in-)finite horizon optimal stopping problems driven by geometric Brownian motion. It is argued that an increase in the set of priors delays investment, whereas an increase in the degree of market completeness can have a non-monotonic effect on investment.     

Interpretations of stress in institutions: the cultural production of ambiguity and burnout

This ethnographic study of interpretations of stress among hospital social workers reveals concrete ways in which institutional systems take form in the mundane actions and interpretations of individuals embedded in these systems. It also reveals how organizational cultures reflect and reinforce institutional conditions that have been negotiated in the interactions of individuals. Here, the institutional systems of medicine and social work come together in the everyday work of the social workers and result in two patterns of cultural dominance. Within these distinct types of culture emerge two forms of stress experience, including a dominant form, consistent with medical ideology, and a marginalized form, consistent with social work ideology. Some surprising patterns of interpretation emerge, including interpretations of ambiguity and burnout as normal, social, and desirable when the social work ideology is dominant. This institutional analysis of stress has theoretical, practical, and epistemological implications.     

Narrative and organizational control: corporate visionaries,ethics and power

The purpose of this paper is to explore the language of corporate visions with particular reference to its strategic persuasiveness, the ‘narrative’ of the visions. It explores the nature and content of vision discourses to identify the main dimensions of visions with regard to strategic decision making, to the legitimation of business objectives and to motivation, and relates the vision phenomenon to the literature of narrative and social control. While the futurist elements to visions, their attempts to restructure the relationship of the organization to the environment, and the intuition on which individuals claim that their visions are based are all recognized as essential to the visionary narrative, the key dimension of visions is argued to be their ethical appeal. It is this appeal on which the power to motivate those towards whom the visions are directed is based. The paper concludes by considering the significance of the status of visionary discourse in the understanding of strategic decisions. We can either take visionary discourse on its own terms, and recognize the ethical dimensions of visions and their legitimate role in transforming the organization's relationship with its environment; or we can see them primarily as a further dimension of control which needs to be integrated analytically into the way we view the identification of strategic issues. Either way, visions call upon and reflect power in a significant way.     

关系嵌入对服务创新绩效的作用机理研究：学习能力的中介作用

随着全球化的深入,企业间竞争不断升级,企业间关系也呈现出鲜明的时代特征。一是通过服务创新实现差异化成为企业建立与维持竞争优势的重要途径。二是通过产业内与产业间的合作进行网络化创新则是企业创新的重要实现方式。本文旨在研究企业与合作伙伴的关系嵌入对服务创新绩效的作用机理以及学习能力在其中的作用。通过对相关理论的回顾与梳理,本文提出了关系嵌入与学习能力关系以及学习能力的中介作用的概念模型,并对我国企业的服务创新提出了建议。     

Social identity,inequality, and conflict: correction and extension

This paper corrects and extends the analysis in Social Identity, Inequality, and Conflict by James Robinson (Economics of Governance, 2(1), 2001). For conflict along class lines, Robinson finds the total impact of mobility on conflict to be ambiguous. Contrary to his result, I show that, under his assumptions, the effect of social mobility on class conflict is unambiguous. Higher mobility always decreases conflict. In my extension to Robinsons model, I explore mobilitys impact on class conflict in a society where the tax rate is not fixed. I demonstrate that if the tax rate is proportional to the population of the group in power relative to the total population of the society, then the effects of social mobility on class conflict are indeed ambiguous.Submitted: February 2002, Accepted: July 2003,I am grateful to an anonymous referee and Amihai Glazer for their comments. I would also like to thank Herschel Grossman for his help along the way.     

Temporary workers: Employee rights and employer responsibilities

As the number of temporary workers in the U.S. has increased dramatically over the past ten years, so, too, has social policy concent over the rights of temporary employees in the workplace and the responsibilities of employing organizations to them. This article first reviews the extent to which temporary workers can be considered “employees” of organizations and thereby be extended the same rights and protections as permanent, full-time employees. Then, the article reviews the current state of case law on the most salient legal issues pertaining to the treatment of temporary workers: discrimination, pay and fringe benefits, worker’s compensation, occupational safety and health, and union activity. The article concludes with the managerial implications of current labor law for compliance with legislative and judicial mandates.