KNOWLEDGE AND THE THEORY OF ORGANIZATIONS: ORGANIZATIONS AS ACTIVITY SYSTEMS AND THE REFRAMING OF MANAGEMENT*

Recent developments in the theory of knowing and doing contrast with conventional rational-cognitive assumptions about management and organization. This, and the emphasis that is currently being placed on the importance of esoteric knowledge for business success, suggests that a review of the relationship between knowledge, organization and management is timely. Activity theory offers a way of synthesizing and developing relevant notions. the approach has its origins in Russian psychology which endeavoured to avoid the dichotomies between thought and action and between individuals and society which have characterized Western theory. Activity theory examines the nature of practical activities, their social origins, and the nature of the ‘activity systems’ within which people collaborate. Modifications to Engestrom's contemporary presentation of the approach are suggested, and a theory of organizations as activity systems is offered. the theory reframes management by modelling the recurrent and embedded nature of human activities, by revealing the tentative nature of knowledge and its action orientation, and by highlighting the opportunities for individual and collective development that engagement and dilemma can provide. the article concludes by reviewing implications for the management of knowledge work, organizational capabilities and organizational learning.     

WILLIAM HUSKISSON AND THE RHETORIC OF FREE TRADE

The British economy was wedded to protectionism at the turn of the nineteenth century, and the disruptive impact of the Napoleonic Wars served to bolster the case for duties on foreign imports. Notwithstanding this unpropitious climate, major strides were taken in the march towards freer trade in the 1820s. This article underlines William Huskisson's significance in this transition, ascribing particular importance to the manner in which he presented his economic reforms and, relatedly, his intellectual legacy in the decades after his death.     

走出知识产权和标准之争的阴影

中国有多少生产厂家,还记得2002年那尴尬而又屈辱的一幕? 一份由互联网实验室新近公布的<中国高科技标准战略研究报告>全面反思了中国的高科技发展之路.该报告让人们自然地回顾起2002年那次堪称教训的专利纠纷.当时,在欧洲口岸,多家中国DVD播放机因生产厂商涉嫌未支付专利使用费,而被扣留在国外港口.     

THE BROKEN WHEEL: THE INSEPARABILITY OF AUTONOMY AND CONTROL IN INNOVATION WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS

There is an ambiguity at the centre of our understanding of innovation in large, specialized organizations. The literature is split as to whether individual autonomy or hierarchical control leads to an increase in innovative activity. In this article, I argue that this uncertainty is the result of an inappropriate conceptualization. In my view, autonomy and control are inseparable aspects of managerial action, not independent empirical phenomena. Innovation in an organization requires the simultaneous regulation of autonomy and control in order to promote creativity and experimentation but still produce results that can be manufactured and marketed or institutionalized. I develop an interpretive concept of culture to analyse the relationship between autonomy and control, and I apply this conceptual framework to managers and engineers in an electronics company as they attempt to innovate. Four general conclusions emerge. First, autonomy and innovation can never be ends in themselves but always depend on a context of control for their relevance to the organization. Second, under conditions in which innovation is required and autonomous behaviour is important, general management control is needed as a sort of switching station to regulate interaction and set and enforce priorities. Third, when control and autonomy are not in balance a vicious circle can develop which undermines commitment to an organization's goals. Fourth, innovation in organizations requires participants to have a highly developed sense of the legitimate possibilities of autonomy in organization.     

THE ADMINISTRATIVE COMPONENT OF ORGANIZATIONS AND THE RATCHET EFFECT: A CRITIQUE OF CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDIES

When growth and decline are examined with regard to the administrative component of organizations, an apparent dichotomy exists between crosssectional designs and within organization longitudinal studies. The results of longitudinal studes indicate the existence of a ratcheting effect of the administtrative component which cannot be explanined by the size construct alone. Therefore, an analysis of the ratchet effect is presented and a conceptual model of factors influencing the growth and decline of the administrative component is propsed.     

OWNERSHIP, CONTROL, FINANCIAL STRUCTURE AND THE PERFORMANCE OF FIRMS

Abstract. The notion that the separation of ownership from control may create a divergence of interests between managers and shareholders has led to a large number of studies which investigate the influence of ownership structures upon a firm's financial structure and its performance. The purpose of this paper is to review and critically evaluate the literature that empirically analyses the effects of ownership and control structures on both the financial structure and the performance of the firm. In addition, further consideration is given to the dynamic relationships between ownership, control, financing and firm performance.     

SOME FACETS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONSULTANTS AND CLIENTS IN ORGANIZATIONS

Although frequently represented as a critical aspect of consultancy, the relationship between consultants and their clients and its relevance to the achievement of successful outcomes are subjects to which few writers have devoted serious attention. In an earlier piece of research, the author concluded that an ‘interdependent’ relationship was likely to be an important factor in successful consulting assignments. He identified eight facets of this type of relationship. This paper describes how that theory was tested when three consultants, together with a number of their clients, explained why they thought their work together had been successful. The cases illustrate both the ways in which the relationships were built and the extent to which they were perceived as having been important ingredients in the outcomes achieved. The relationships described were characterized by high levels of mutual trust and interaction as well as contingency on the part of the consultants. In several respects the relationships were seen as interdependent. A feature of this study was that the extent to which the consultants found the research useful in a personal sense seemed to depend on the quality of the relationship between the author and the consultants. In the cases described the exercise seems to have been mutually beneficial. In another example this seems not to have been the case and the explanation seems to lie at least partly in a lack of interdependence.     

MANAGEMENT CONTROL SYSTEMS IN FAMILY FIRMS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND DIRECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

Family firms play a significant role in the global economy. Although family firm literature has devoted much time and effort to investigating topics concerning corporate governance, leadership, ownership and succession, accounting issues have received relatively scant attention. In this paper, we assemble and critically review extant literature on the choice of management controls. This is an essential topic for firms as management control systems (MCS) are used to make sure subordinates behave in function of the goals of the firm. Family firms, however, have distinct features, such as differences in governance structures and goals, which can have a significant impact on whether and how MCS are used. We conclude this review paper by providing avenues for future research that can advance our understanding of both the determinants and the outcomes of the choice of MCS.     

STRATEGIC DECISIONS IN ORGANIZATIONS: RATIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL VIEWS

Various models or lenses have been used to predict and understand strategic decisions in organizations. This article examines four classes: (1) the unitary rational; (2) the organizational; (3) the political; and (4) the contextual. They are conceptualized as stemming from different assumptions about goal congruency and co-ordinative efficiency. the contextual view is especially highlighted, as it is a relatively new perspective, both organizationally and cognitively. A brief discussion is offered of disciplines and findings that either support or refute some of these models. Possible syntheses and reconciliations of the four views are explored, focusing on: (1) assumptional fit; (2) level of analysis; (3) cost of fashioning collective rationality; (4) information processing limits in organizational design; and (5) the role of adaptation lags and disequilibrium. the article concludes with a call for a meta-theory that places the various perspectives in a larger framework.     

THE IMPACT OF THE AFFILIATION OF VENTURE CAPITAL FIRMS: A SURVEY

The aim of this paper is to review the theoretical and empirical literature on the impact of the affiliation of venture capital (VC) firms with a particular focus on the differences between Europe and the US. A main characteristic of VC firms is their high level of involvement in the management of funded firms. However, the VC industry is composed of heterogeneous actors. The literature has studied to a great degree the independent funds that dominate the US market. Yet, there also exist VC funds affiliated with banks or with industrial firm, which can benefit from synergies with their parent corporation. Several studies have highlighted significant differences between these types of VC firms.     

VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS IN ACTION: STRATEGY IN THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR

Organizations in the voluntary sector have received relatively little attention from researchers in the field of organizational analysis. In particular, the strategy of organizations in the voluntary sector has been assumed to be passive, concentrating on a co-operative role with commercial or public agencies. This article argues that such a picture is not necessarily accurate and examines the strategies of four leading British voluntary organizations. Data suggest that co-operation is but one of many strategies pursued by some voluntary organizations. Two of the sample organizations deviate markedly from the stereo-typical image of co-operation, and variation in their strategy choice is argued to emanate from dependence relations created by organizational links. The paper argues that the influences which shape the choice of strategy in voluntary organizations are primarily those created by inter-dependence, and that aspects of task and ambiguity are secondary sources of influence.     

'A LUTA CONTINUA' (THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES): REJOINDER TO WATKINS

It is unclear why Watkins ignored a fundamental point of my article: education for the poor can be financed by the state or through private means, by those who are not poor so affordability of education need not be an issue. The fact that the poor are willing to pay fees when alternative state education is free is an indictment of state education in developing countries. The poor simply cannot wait in the hope that the state might provide better education. Their needs are urgent and can be met by private schools.     

ON THE STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF SOME SMALL, UK-BASED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FIRMS*

The paper reports on the discovery of some small but successful information technology firms. These firms, which are geographically and structurally highly mobile, were found in a recent survey of information technology firms in the north-west of England. Detailed investigation of the firms as case studies, revealed that they have many distinctive and interesting properties. Eleven distinguishing characteristics in addition to small size are identified; among them being lack of hierarchy, pervious boundaries, and extreme mobility including growth by replication. In the discussion, some differences in the organization of the firms are identified, it being argued that although all the firms lack hierarchy and tend to adopt very extreme forms of matrix organization, they do this to a greater degree the less they are dependent on technology for the creation of their products, and/or on the extent to which they retain proprietary products in their range. the paper concludes with a consideration of other work on new technology firms and argues that these findings are not unique. However, it is also argued that small firm researchers have not been very creative in their use of the available frameworks to account for the existence of the firms analysed in this paper, or to understand that it is the contingencies they face which allow them to be highly mobile and adaptable.     

MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT IN NON-BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS: A DESIGN AND ITS EVALUATION

A management training design for non-business administrators is described which incorporates programmed instruction, case studies, experiential exercises and brief lectures in eight two and a half hour sessions. The design accommodates a wide range of participants and demonstrates high content acquisition and retention.     

IMAGES IN PRACTICE: VISTAS, TIME AND CAUSALITY IN ORGANIZATIONS

The article reports on a study of the way people conceive the organizations in which they work, what characterizes their conceptions, or images, and how they evolve. Images of organization from a single work organization are described and analyzed in terms of space, time and causality. Managers’ images are compared to those of other employees. The study shows that the work role influences the way in which an organization is perceived. The time orientation of the images develops by way of action, which also has an impact on the way causalities are conceived. Actions are directed towards the structure of the work organization. People’s images evolve as a result of structural changes and/or of changes in an individual’s position within the structure. As a possible starting point for further research, a typology of six different types of image and their relation to action theories is developed.     

EVOLUTION AND REVOLUTION: A QUANTUM VIEW OF STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN ORGANIZATIONS

There may be hidden costs in making prompt incremental and piecemeal changes to organizational structure to cope with a new strategy or environment. We shall argue that changeless stable intervals punctuated by infrequent but revolutionary periods of ‘quantum’or multifaceted structural change may sometimes be the most economical strategy. Incremental structural changes may create severe and costly disharmonies as they destroy an integral structural configuration. These costs might outweigh the benefits of adapting structure to changes in strategy and environment. Because such costs may be high it might be necessary to delay changing until they can be justified. Such delays can require subsequent revolutionary structural changes. The applicability of this view of change for different contexts will be discussed.     

ENTERPRISE WITHOUT UNIONS: THE MANAGEMENT OF EMPLOYEE RELATIONS IN NON-UNION FIRMS

Employee relations in non-union settings remain largely uninvestigated by industrial relations researchers. This article examines the management of employee relations in establishments in high technology industries in the Southeast of England - a sector and locality frequently identified with high levels of non-unionism. Moreover, high technology firms are frequently seen as exemplars of new human resource management techniques designed to substitute for unions. Our data from postal and interview surveys of 115 establishments suggests that HRM is only one, and by no means the dominant, approach to managing employee relations in high technology establishments.