To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Agency theory.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Agency theory'
Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles
Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Agency theory.'
Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.
You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.
Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.
1
Temel-Candemir, Nurcan. "Agency theory : an extended conceptualisation and reformation." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2005. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16188/1/Nurcan_Temel_Candemir_Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
The theory of Agency, specifically that developed by Jesen and Meckling (1976), will be the subject of examination. Agency theory has been the subject of extensive research since its introduction in modern form by Jensen and Meckling (1976). The generality of the theory of Agency appears unquestionable and it has been widely adopted. Surprisingly, however, the model correctly predicts particular phenomena under investigation in only the simplest of instances, and even in the simplest of instances there are cases where the simple agency model has limited success.
Possible reasons for this failure may lie in the assumed universalist foundation and in the common formulation regarding agent behaviour, that all agents are self-interested rationalists seeking to maximise their own utility to the disregard of their principal's interest. While the hypothesis of self-interested rationalism may be apt in some contexts it may be misleading or inadequate in others. This is especially so when the narrow interpretations of self-interested rationalism are used. Human beings are more complex in their totality than can be represented in any parsimonious model. This is particularly a problem when model predictions are not empirically supported. Aspects omitted in a model may be a source of the misfit between prediction and observation.
An extended conceptualisation and reformulation of agent behaviour is presented. An approach is developed that addresses the context of agent behaviour, the socio-environment within which the agent interacts. The context particularly refers to the institutional affiliations and interactions that influence agent behaviour through their belief structure (i.e., their Belief-Desire-Intention, BDI, model of rational action). Through the use of an institutional framework contextual analysis is incorporated into the theory of agency and ultimately agent behaviour. This agent is termed a socio-environmental rationalist agent (SERA) which is contrasted with the self-interested rationalist (SIR) agent in the existing agency literature.
This research utilises an object-oriented approach to develop a simulation of the extended conceptualisation and reformulation of agent behaviour. Simulations investigate agent behaviours and outcomes at the micro (specifically through individualised SERA and SIR formulations) and macro (specifically through a multi-agent SERA community formulation in the context of the EU financial accounting harmonisation process) levels. Netlogo is the simulation tool through which this is attained.
The simulation demonstrates how alternative formulations of rationality lead to different outcomes and these differences are evident at both levels. Importantly the extended model has outputs that are more in tune with current empirical evidence. The analysis thus demonstrates the plausibility of the extended conceptualisation and reformulation and the need to incorporate the context of behaviour more fully within the analysis of the principal-agent relationship.
Through this extended examination of agent behaviour further theoretical and practical insights regarding the understanding of agent behaviour, the principal-agent problem and relationship, multi-agent communities, and of business and society in general may be attained. This dissertation provides one step in advancing our fundamental understanding of the principal-agent problem. The scope and power of agency analysis can be substantially extended using the approach and methods outlined, particularly beyond that present in existing Agency research.
2
Temel-Candemir, Nurcan. "Agency theory : an extended conceptualisation and reformation." Queensland University of Technology, 2005. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16188/.
Full textAbstract:
The theory of Agency, specifically that developed by Jesen and Meckling (1976), will be the subject of examination. Agency theory has been the subject of extensive research since its introduction in modern form by Jensen and Meckling (1976). The generality of the theory of Agency appears unquestionable and it has been widely adopted. Surprisingly, however, the model correctly predicts particular phenomena under investigation in only the simplest of instances, and even in the simplest of instances there are cases where the simple agency model has limited success. Possible reasons for this failure may lie in the assumed universalist foundation and in the common formulation regarding agent behaviour, that all agents are self-interested rationalists seeking to maximise their own utility to the disregard of their principal's interest. While the hypothesis of self-interested rationalism may be apt in some contexts it may be misleading or inadequate in others. This is especially so when the narrow interpretations of self-interested rationalism are used. Human beings are more complex in their totality than can be represented in any parsimonious model. This is particularly a problem when model predictions are not empirically supported. Aspects omitted in a model may be a source of the misfit between prediction and observation. An extended conceptualisation and reformulation of agent behaviour is presented. An approach is developed that addresses the context of agent behaviour, the socio-environment within which the agent interacts. The context particularly refers to the institutional affiliations and interactions that influence agent behaviour through their belief structure (i.e., their Belief-Desire-Intention, BDI, model of rational action). Through the use of an institutional framework contextual analysis is incorporated into the theory of agency and ultimately agent behaviour. This agent is termed a socio-environmental rationalist agent (SERA) which is contrasted with the self-interested rationalist (SIR) agent in the existing agency literature. This research utilises an object-oriented approach to develop a simulation of the extended conceptualisation and reformulation of agent behaviour. Simulations investigate agent behaviours and outcomes at the micro (specifically through individualised SERA and SIR formulations) and macro (specifically through a multi-agent SERA community formulation in the context of the EU financial accounting harmonisation process) levels. Netlogo is the simulation tool through which this is attained. The simulation demonstrates how alternative formulations of rationality lead to different outcomes and these differences are evident at both levels. Importantly the extended model has outputs that are more in tune with current empirical evidence. The analysis thus demonstrates the plausibility of the extended conceptualisation and reformulation and the need to incorporate the context of behaviour more fully within the analysis of the principal-agent relationship. Through this extended examination of agent behaviour further theoretical and practical insights regarding the understanding of agent behaviour, the principal-agent problem and relationship, multi-agent communities, and of business and society in general may be attained. This dissertation provides one step in advancing our fundamental understanding of the principal-agent problem. The scope and power of agency analysis can be substantially extended using the approach and methods outlined, particularly beyond that present in existing Agency research.
3
Kervoas, Gael. "Thomas Reid's theory of agency." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.369629.
Full textAbstract:
The Essays on the Active Powers of Man are Thomas Reid's last major work, where the Scottish philosopher presents an original theory of human agency. This thesis is a critical reconstruction of Reid's theory, showing how it completes his earlier Essays on the Intellectual Powers. It is argued that Reid's theory of agency must be understood as uncovering the essential aspects of the actions of human persons, and therefore that it provides an understanding of the nature of personality and of the agency proper to persons. If Reid's arguments often appear as negative responses to philosophers that have preceded him, Locke and Hume in particular, what underlies these criticisms is in fact a positive and coherent conception of man. The metaphysics of personal identity and agency thus constitutes the framework in which Reid develops a moral psychology in a naturalistic spirit, as well as an analysis and defence of the possibility of free agency, what he calls man's "moral liberty". By virtue of their natural constitution, human beings are able to exert their voluntary abilities according to particular reasons. They are thereby free from necessity and capable of self-government, as moral and responsible agents. Reid's theory of action and morality reveals important aspects of human nature, and especially the irreducibility of human agency and personality. The Essays on the Active Powers then constitute an essential part of his philosophy, whether it be understood as a "science of man" or as a "philosophy of common sense".
4
Ghalamchi, Parastoo. "A tri-modal theory of agency." Thesis, Brunel University, 2016. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/13550.
Full textAbstract:
This study aims to determine the relationship between agency and freedom and it has developed a Tri-Modal Theory of Agency that explains an agent’s decisions with a focus on freedom. Here, based on Berlin’s (1958) ideas we have conceptualised positive and negative sides of freedom with a focus on agency. Meanwhile, agency is defined and measured in three following modes: (A) the conative mode is developed based on Sen’s (2007) capability approach, (B) the cognitive mode is conceptualised based on Weber’s (1993) rationality types and Bakhtin’s (1935) dialogism, and (C) the affective mode is developed based on Weiner’s (2010) attribution theory of emotion. A Tri-Modal Theory of Agency is tested and developed in five empirical studies that include 21 in-depth interviews, two surveys on career choice of 1063 employees and a university major selection of 4086 students in Iran, and finally the theory is applied to one case study that explains an entrepreneur’s agency-freedom relationship after a business failure. In summary, the Tri-Modal Theory of Agency establishes that freedom matters but having agency to give up freedom in pursuit of one’s values ought to be the primary aspiration. This study can be exploited in the field of social psychology, appraisal psychology and organisational behaviour to understand an agent’s decisions in a social context with a focus on her freedom.
5
Cardoso, David Emanuel Cruz Poço Ressurreição. "Contributions on Real Options Agency Theory." Master's thesis, Faculdade de Economia da Universidade do Porto, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10216/57177.
Full text
6
Cardoso, David Emanuel Cruz Poço Ressurreição. "Contributions on Real Options Agency Theory." Dissertação, Faculdade de Economia da Universidade do Porto, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10216/57177.
Full text
7
Aguilar, Jesús H. "Agency and control." Thesis, McGill University, 2003. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=82814.
Full textAbstract:
The main objective of this thesis is to defend an account of the control that agents possess over their actions from the perspective of the causal theory of action, that is, a theory that sees actions as events caused by internal states of their agents. The explanatory strategy that is employed for this purpose consists in addressing three interdependent and fundamental problems concerning the possibility of this type of control. The first problem arises from the possibility of controlling an action that is itself transitively caused by previous events. The answer given to this problem is grounded on a careful description of basic actions and on an identification of the internal states that function as the sources of control. The second problem emerges from a variety of causal deviance, namely, a conceptually possible scenario that satisfies the requirements for a bodily movement to be under the control of its agent without this movement being intuitively under the control of its agent. The answer given to this problem comes from the examination of the sources of the intuitions associated with causal deviance and from the recognition of the causal contribution of epistemic features present in the antecedents of an action. The third problem results from the possibility of producing an action that can only be partially controlled. This is problematic if one accepts that producing an action entails controlling it, as is suggested in this thesis. The reply given to this problem adapts an intention-based account of action guidance to the needs of an account of degrees of control, while remaining compatible with the proposal that producing an action is sufficient to control it.
8
Jones, Paula Satne. "Kant's theory of motivation and rational agency." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.498792.
Full textAbstract:
It is clear that Kant's theory of motivation plays a central role in his ethical theory' as a whole. Nevertheless, it has been subjected to many interpretations: (i) the 'orthodox' interpretation, (ii) the 'Aristotelian' or 'Humean' interpretation and (iii) the 'rationalist' interpretation. The first part of the thesis aims to provide an interpretation of Kant's theory of rational agency and motivation. I argue that the 'orthodox' and 'Aristotelian' interpretations should be rejected because they are incompatible with Kant's conception of freedom, defending an account of Kant's position that goes along the lines of the rationalist interpretation. I show that Kant's theory of motivation is committed to a form of cognitivism, that is, the cognitive aspects of a motive are always the active factors in motivation.
9
Peterson, John. "Intentional actions| A theory of musical agency." Thesis, The Florida State University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3681760.
Full textAbstract:
Studies of musical agency have been growing in the field of music theory since the publication of Edward T. Cone's book The Composer's Voice (1974). Indeed, recent publications by scholars such as Robert Hatten and Seth Monahan demonstrate that musical agency continues to be a topic worthy of investigation today. These authors tend to explore the function of agents within a piece, virtually ignoring the way agents arise in music. In this dissertation I work toward a solution to this problem by developing a theory of musical agency that explores the following questions: (1) How do virtual agents emerge in music? (2) What is the relationship between agency and narrative? (3) Can virtual agents influence music at levels deeper than the surface?
I propose that the concept of musical intention provides music theorists with a possible answer to this question. Action Theory, a robust subfield active in philosophy and sociology, views intentionality as a focal point in research on human agency—research that deserves more attention in studies of musical agency. Following assertions by action theorists Donald Davidson and Alfred Mele, I argue that an entity only attains the status of an agent when it performs an intentional act. With respect to music, then, I outline six categories of intentionality that can offer support to an agential hearing: gesture, contradiction of musical forces, unexpected event, conflict, repetition/restatement, and change of state. Further, I suggest that certain passages of music can be interpreted as intentional acts performed by virtual musical agents.
I begin by reviewing the literature surrounding Action Theory in philosophy and sociology, and Agency in music theory in Chapter One. After defining each category of intentionality in Chapter Two, I investigate how the categories of intentionality interact with recent theories of musical narrative and Schenkerian analysis in Chapter Three. To demonstrate how my insights apply to analysis, I examine Beethoven's Bagatelle Op. 126, No. 2 and Mendelssohn's Song Without Words Op. 30, No. 6. These two analyses also serve as an introduction to the way in which my methodology is applied in analysis. In Chapter Four, I use the categories of intentionality in combination with both narrative and Schenkerian analysis to develop an agential reading of Schubert's Piano Sonata in A, D. 959. My agential analysis adds nuance to Hatten's (1993) and Charles Fisk's (2001) readings of the work. I suggest that two agents are present at the beginning of the movement, and I investigate how these agents act throughout all four movements of the piece. In the first three movements, the two agents are in conflict with one another, and by the end of the fourth movement the two agents achieve a synthesis that resolves their conflict. Not only does an understanding of intentionality in music clarify earlier work on musical agency, but it also provides opportunities for richer interpretive analyses. To conclude my dissertation I suggest possible avenues for further investigation, and I briefly apply my methodology to a passage of post-tonal music.
10
Joyce, Daniel W. "A phenomenological-connectionist theory of computational agency." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.342641.
Full text
11
Josyula, Darsana Purushothaman. "A unified theory of acting and agency for a universal interfacing agent." College Park, Md. : University of Maryland, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/3279.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2005.Thesis research directed by: Computer Science. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.
12
Mason, Daniel Scott. "Agency theory and athlete representation in professional hockey." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape8/PQDD_0007/NQ39564.pdf.
Full text
13
Chaddad, Fernando Ribas Bettis Richard Allan. "Agency theory, potential for operational engineering and buyout activity." Chapel Hill, N.C. : University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2009. http://dc.lib.unc.edu/u?/etd,2887.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2010.Title from electronic title page (viewed Jun. 23, 2010). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Kenan-Flagler Business School." Discipline: Business Administration; Department/School: Business School, Kenan-Flagler.
14
Ainley, Kirsten. "Rethinking agency & responsibility in contemporary international political theory." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2006. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/332/.
Full textAbstract:
The core argument of this work is that the individualist conceptions of agency and responsibility inherent in the contemporary ethical structure of international relations are highly problematic, serve political purposes which are often unacknowledged, and have led to the establishment of an international institutional regime which is limited in the kind of justice it can bring to international affairs. Cosmopolitan liberalism has led to the privileging of the discourse of rights over that of responsibility, through its emphasis on legality and the role of the individual as the agent and subject of ethics; this has culminated in the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC, described by its supporters as the missing link in human rights enforcement, is a result of changing conceptions of agency and responsibility beyond borders – normative discourse has moved from state to individual, from politics and ethics to law, and from peace to justice, but I argue that it has not yet moved beyond the dichotomy of cosmopolitan and communitarian thinking. I contend that neither of these two positions can offer us a satisfactory way forward, so new thinking is required. The core of the thesis therefore explores alternative views of agency and responsibility – concepts which are central to international political theory, but not systematically theorized within the discipline. I outline models of agency as sociality and responsibility as a social practice, arguing that these models both better describe the way we talk about and experience our social lives, and also offer significant possibilities to broaden the scope of international justice and enable human flourishing. I end the research by considering the implications of these more nuanced accounts of agency and responsibility for ongoing theorising and practice.
15
Elder-Vass, David John. "The theory of emergence, social structure and human agency." Thesis, Birkbeck (University of London), 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.430776.
Full text
16
LE, DONNE ALESSANDRO. "THE COMPLEX LINK BETWEEN INDIVIDUAL AGENCY AND ECONOMIC THEORY." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Genova, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/11567/1082636.
Full textAbstract:
Every economic theory is structured starting from general assumptions about human nature and the behavioural patterns of people. As stated by Davis , the mainstream economic theory does not really explain the individual, and what is believed to be a realistic description of the human being in economics is actually an abstract conception that represents the various subjects indiscriminately parts of people, countries, organizations, animals, machines – indeed anything to which a maximizing function might be attributed. However, today it is well-accepted the refusal of a rapacious and a-social individual, determined solely by the pursuit of personal advantages within a context of unbridled social Darwinism. With respect to this point, heterogeneous approaches have developed with interesting proposals and new leading research programs such as, for example: game theory, behavioural economics, experimental economics, evolutionary economics, neuroeconomics, complex adaptive systems theory, and the capability approach .
The purpose of this thesis is to discuss the link between individual agency and economic theory from a perspective of the history of economic thought. The common ground that connects the three papers presented is the reflection upon three different theoretical approaches concerning human conduct in the complex economic world.
The first paper is related to the approach to political economy represented by Sraffa’s price equations. As is known, in Production of commodities by means of commodities Sraffa’s results not only do undermine the marginalist concept of capital and its theory of value and distribution, but have also the purpose of revitalizing the old standpoint of Classical political economy. The goal of the first paper is precisely to show how the Classical Sraffian approach can be a valuable point of departure for the discussion of the behaviour of individuals or groups in the economic activity.
The second paper analyses the thought of Destutt de Tracy, founder of the French liberal group of Idéologues. His observations seem to be the result of the intersection between the making of economic theory and the passionate attempt to find a system of moral philosophy that describes the individual as bearer of a plurality of passions.
The third paper deals with Analytical Marxism, which attempts to interpret the heterodox ideas of Marx by means of the intellectual categories of neoclassical economy. In particular, I focus on the relevance given by Analitical Marxism to the action of the individuals, under the influence of psychological factors, in order to strive for the possible realization of a “just” society.
Philosophical issues are inherent in economic theory and play a role behind the scenes. It emerges that, from the adopted point of view, the development of economic theory poses fundamental epistemological questions. We can conclude that the proper dialogue between economics and philosophy can bolster the meaning and relevance of economic theory.
17
Sage, Adam J. "Attributing Deflections to Explain Agency." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1259181941.
Full text
18
Picard, E. Kezia. "A radical relational agency : Foucault, complexity theory and environmental resistances." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2010. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11450/.
Full textAbstract:
The aim of this thesis is to examine a radical relational agency, applied to contemporary environmental resistances, that incorporates both the thought of Michel Foucault and complexity theory. While Foucault’s thought, following from his argument that power is a relation, implies a relational agency, it does not, however, account for the agency of nonhumans and environments. Because power is a relation and not a possession, it can no longer be viewed as an attribute of individual subjects. Similarly, a relational agency is defined as an aspect of power relations. Complexity theory, on the other hand, acknowledges that humans interact with nonhumans and environments, but does not acknowledge that all relations are relations of power. In addition to Foucault’s explanation of power relations, complexity theory explicitly describes the processes of self-organization through which individual and diverse agents interact and change can emerge. Thus, a radical relational agency is defined as an aspect of the power relationships between many diverse agents. Change, according to both Foucault and complexity theory, happens nonlinearly. As a result, it often occurs unpredictably. However, change within complex systems is also limited by previous historical emergences. In this sense, both possibility and risk are inherent in the relationships between humans, nonhumans and environments. Indeed, I argue that a radical relational agency occurs because there are both possibilities and risks generated within ecological relations and relations of power. Therefore, I argue that any environmental action must account for the unpredictability inherent to the complex interactions between humans, nonhumans and environments.
19
Townsend, L. "A critial exploration of Philip Pettit's theory of group agency." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/3664.
Full text
20
Herissone-Kelly, Peter N. "Situations, incentives and reasons : Kant on rational agency and moral motivation." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2008. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/20647/.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis aims to address two problems that appear to attach to the model of rational agency that underlies Kant's moral philosophy. These I call the problem of experiential incongruence and the problem of misdirected moral attention. The former problem arises because the central elements of Kant's theory of action (the possession of and action upon maxims; the subjection of maxims to moral assessment through the Categorical Imperative's universalisability test; our supposedly perennial consciousness of the moral law; and so on) seem not to square at all with our lived experience of agency. The latter problem, on the other hand, is a result of Kant's apparently claiming that when an agent 11s from duty, her reason for 4Ling is just that the maxim of tILing can simultaneously be acted upon and willed to be a universal law, while its contrary maxim cannot. This picture seems, as Philip Stratton-Lake notes, to place the good-willed agent's attention in the wrong place, namely, on the nature of her own policies of action, rather than on the external world of "concrete considerations". In order to show that Kant's practical philosophy is able to sidestep both problems, I first develop and argue for a particular account of what I call "the traditional model," or that picture of rational agency that can be gleaned from Kant's writings, expressed in the terms that Kant himself uses. I then go on to offer a novel interpretation of that model, according to which (1) all the central concepts of Kant's theory of rational agency are shown to be entirely compatible with our experience as agents, and (2) the Kantian good-willed agent is shown to be centrally concerned with, and motivated by, concrete considerations.
21
Lê, Patrick Lâm. "Does Clark Kent tweet ? Structure, Agency and Materiality in Institutional Theory." Thesis, Jouy-en Josas, HEC, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015EHEC0001/document.
Full textAbstract:
Cette thèse examine deux questions de recherche: Comment l’adoption des technologies en ligne impacte-t-elle le comportement des acteurs et leur reproduction des institutions ? Quels rôles jouent la structure, l’agence et la matérialité dans ces changements ? Ma principale conclusion est que les acteurs font preuve d’une forme d’agence pratique en tirant avantage d’une situation émergente qui est caractérisée par de nouvelles conditions matérielles. La thèse s’articule autour de trois essais. Le premier essai examine comment les normes professionnelles et les caractéristiques matérielles de Twitter guident la gestion des rôles endossés par les journalistes. Le second essai analyse les dynamiques de la construction de sens et leur relation au contexte institutionnel. Le troisième essai consiste en une revue de littérature systématique portant sur la méthode de l’ethnographie en ligne. Dans le dernier chapitre de ma thèse, après avoir présenté ses limitations et des pistes pour des recherches futures, je souligne les implications pratiques de mes travauxThis dissertation examines two main research questions: How does the adoption of online technology impact actors’ behavior and their enactment of institutions? What roles do structure, agency and materiality play in this change? Its main conclusion is that actors mostly exhibit a form of practical-evaluative agency by taking advantage of an emergent situation which is characterized by new material conditions. The dissertation is articulated around three essays. In the first essay, I investigate how professional norms and the material features of Twitter guide journalists’ online boundary management behavior. In the second essay, I examine the dynamics of meaning construction and their relation to the institutional context. In the third essay, I systematically review online ethnography and its boundary challenges. Finally, in the last chapter of the dissertation, after presenting its limitations and avenues for future research, I highlight the practical implications of my work
22
Lucas, Sarah Drews. "The Primacy of Narrative Agency: A Feminist Theory of the Self." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/15896.
Full textAbstract:
Current debates in feminist theory struggle to retain a robust concept of agency in light of the rejection of an independent and sovereign subject. The purpose of my project is to articulate a feminist concept of agency for a self that is relational and non-sovereign (i.e. one that does not equate agency with autonomy) and yet one that remains committed to a conception of the self as both powerful and unique. Narrative agency, which I understand as the capacity to say 'I' over time and in relation to others, meets the challenge of attending to both the inter-relational and the individually empowering aspects of action. The identity of the ‘I’ is a fleeting configuration of narratives that differs from moment to moment; but the capacity to say ‘I’ is constant. This definition of agency is able to account for the extent to which a subject may be constituted by power relations but is still invested in the subject’s unlimited emancipatory potential. In other words, a subject, even at the most basic level, may not be free to choose the content of certain identity-determining narratives, such as gender narratives; however, she always has the capacity to confront and change those narratives. This project draws on the work of Hannah Arendt to provide a feminist politics based on this account of narrative agency. Arendt’s political theory is chiefly concerned with appearance: agency, for Arendt, involves appearing to another member of a plurality through speech or action. This basic schematic is relevant to the analysis of several key aspects of a feminist theory of narrative agency: especially identity, mutual recognition, solidarity, and judgment. For Arendt, identity is not reducible to a series of markers such as race or gender but is, instead, indefinite—composed of a mutable set of interests, or narratives. A subject is constantly negotiating the articulation of these interests, and yet she appears to, and is recognised by, others as a unique being. Solidarity, by these lights, arises not through pre-determined similarities but, rather, interests actively held in common. Conversations about these shared interests allow individual agents to articulate and negotiate judgments and opinions. Bringing together these resources from Arendt and reading them alongside problems of contemporary feminism allows me to endorse mutual recognition, solidarity, and conversation as vital attributes of an emancipatory feminist politics.«br /» «br /»
23
Castillo, Valencia María del Pilar. "Economics theory of political kidnapping : theory and evidency for the case of the FARC in Colombia." reponame:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRGS, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10183/132922.
Full textAbstract:
O objetivo desta tese é explicar a redução nas taxas de sequestros políticos na Colômbia nos últimos anos a partir da análise do comportamento estratégico dos criminosos. Pontos de vista convencionais explicam a diminuição dos sequestros como o resultado exitoso da política de segurança democrática do presidente Álvaro Uribe Vélez. No entanto, até agora, tem sido desconsiderada a busca de explicações alternativas à já existente, que bem poderiam ser encontradas a partir da perspectiva de análise dos dilemas organizacionais produzidos pelos sequestros nas FARC – Forças Armadas Revolucionárias da Colômbia –, da sua interação estratégica com o governo e, em particular, de seus efeitos sobre sua atividade global e na decisão de pôr fim a essa ação criminosa. O interesse dos três ensaios que compõem esta tese é estudar as motivações deste grupo rebelde, sob o enfoque da teoria da agência, dividindo sua estrutura organizativa entre líderes (principal), que tomam as decisões estratégicas, e os combatentes (agentes), que as realizam, em um contexto de informação assimétrica, para tomar decisões racionais. Cada ensaio desenvolve a partir de diferentes perspectivas, mas tendo como base o enfoque racional de principal-agente, as razões que levaram a organização a renunciar a uma de suas atividades criminosas, considerada no princípio como uma ação estratégica eficiente que obrigaria o governo colombiano a negociar. O primeiro ensaio está focado em mostrar os custos de transação que gerou essa estratégia para os agentes e o principal. Esta análise faz uso dos mesmos instrumentos analíticos empregados para analisar os custos de qualquer transação econômica que leva a cabo uma organização legal. Mostrando que os custos dessa atividade foram altos, expressados, primeiro, em um conflito de interesses entre o líder, encarregado de esquematizar e designar tarefas, e os agentes, responsáveis por sua execução. A divergência entre estas duas partes teve origem em uma mudança nas expectativas dos agentes, que preferiam mais atividades de combate às relacionadas com o sequestro, em um contexto de perseguição constante do exército colombiano. O segundo ensaio estuda como essa mesma estratégia afetou o contexto no qual os agentes definem suas preferências. Através do uso de três enfoques diferentes da teoria econômica se expõem três interpretações diversas da mudança nas preferências dos agentes: a) uma mudança no risco; b) uma divergência entre as preferências subjacentes e induzidas; c) a presença de dimensões motivacionalmente salientes. E o terceiro ensaio apresenta um modelo formal para estabelecer um sistema de compensações eficiente que o principal oferece ao agente para atenuar o que sobre seu comportamento gerou o sequestro. Os resultados mostram que, considerando que os recursos das organizações armadas ilegais são escassos, quanto maiores são os incentivos oferecidos aos agentes para evitar que desertem, menor é a capacidade da organização para penalizar os desertores e menor a utilidade do principal. Simulando o modelo para um conjunto específico de parâmetros se conclui que a incorporação do mecanismo de autocumprimento (self-enforcing) dentro da função de utilidade do principal aumenta seus custos e propicia o baixo esforço do agente e seu comportamento oportunista.The objective of this thesis is to explain the reduction in the rate of political kidnapping in Colombia in recent years by means of analyzing the strategic behavior of its perpetrators. This is the basic question addressed in this thesis. Conventional views interpret the fall in the kidnapping rate as an outcome of President Álvaro Uribe’s democratic security policy. I will argue, however, that this is not the whole story, since political kidnapping led Farc [for its acronym in Spanish, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia] into an unprecedented strategic situation that induced a breach between leader (principal) and combatant (agent) concerns with strong effects on its overall activity and its decision to stop that criminal action. The focus of three essays making up this thesis is on studying FARC’s motivations from the perspective of agency theory, by splitting its organizational structure into principals and agents who are acting on a setting of asymmetrical information. Each essay develops, from different perspectives, the reasons that led the organization to give up that criminal activity due to the substantial political and organizational risks involved. The first essay is focused on the transactions costs generated by the kidnapping strategy both for agents and principals. This analysis is based on the same theoretical tools used to study the costs held by any legal organization. I found that the costs of kidnapping were high, expressed first in a conflict of interest between the leader –responsible for designing and assigning tasks—and the agents in charge of its implementation. The divergence was due to a shift in the expectations of agents who preferred combat activities over the menial tasks associated with kidnapping, in a context of heavy pressure by the Colombian Army. In contradistinction to legal organizations in which such type of divergence can be solved, in part, by paying higher wages to agents in order to extract their best effort, this alternative is not feasible for FARC, for those who joined the organization are supposed to have an ideological and political commitment. The second essay studies how the kidnapping strategy affected the preferences of agents and their behavior by means of using three different approaches from economic theory: (a) a change in risk, (b) a divergence between underlying and induced preferences and, (c) the presence of salient motivational dimensions. The third essay examines, through a principal-agent model, the nature of the trade-off between incentives and enforcing mechanisms that the leadership of an Armed illegal organization offers to its agents. Using a MATLAB’s optimization tool-box, I computed the optimal transfer system for a given parameterization of the model, and analyzed its properties. The numerical analysis shows that the inclusion of a self-enforcing mechanism on the leader’s objective function increases the costs for the principal and could lead agents to choose low efforts and engage in opportunistic behavior.
24
Le, Borgne Eric. "Institutions, politics, and macroeconomic performance : on incomplete information in political agency games." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2001. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/52262/.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis analyses the interactions between politics, institutions, and policy outcomes using a political agency framework with incomplete information. After an introductory chapter, we develop a political agency model that is consistent with the empirical evidence on politically-induced fiscal cycles, and especially budget deficit cycles. We find that electoral concerns create, on average, a rising budget deficit prior to elections. The net welfare effect of elections is ambiguous: although they give rise to a deficit bias, they increase the quality of office-holders. The next chapter uses this microfounded model to study the incentive and welfare effects that the imposition of fiscal constraints has on policy makers' decision to create excessive deficits. Three types of constraints are investigated: deficit ceilings, a Golden Rule of public investment, and a balanced-budget rule. We find that constraints are effective in reducing excessive budget deficits - although at the expense of unconstrained instruments. Only one can yield higher welfare than the fully discretionary case. No appropriately designed fiscal constraint can achieve the first-best. In Chapter 4, we show that two key results in the political agency literature are not robust. The first is that a cutoff rule followed by voters in re-electing an incumbent always motivates the latter. The second is that this cutoff rule is an optimal incentive mechanism. Under symmetric incomplete information, the first result can be reversed since elections can reduce the experimentation effect of office-holders (i. e. the incentive to raise effort so that performance becomes a more accurate signal of ability). This reduction may more than offset the positive effect of elections on effort. When incentives to stand for office are modelled, result two can be overturned since a revealing equilibrium at the candidate entry stage can always be designed. This screens out low-ability citizens from policy making and therefore eliminates the adverse selection problem. If this latter is more important than moral hazard issues, the cutoff rule at the policy stage is no longer an optimal mechanism. In Chapter 5, we investigate in more details whether relevant (private) information about citizens' competence in political office (ability, honesty, etc. ) can be revealed by their entry and campaign expenditure decisions. We find that this depends on whether voters and candidates have common or conflicting interests; only in the former case can entry be revealing in equilibrium. We apply these results to Rogoff's (1990) Political Budget Cycles model, allowing for candidate entry: as interests are common, low-ability candidates are screened out at the entry stage, and so there is no signalling via fiscal policy. In a variant of the Rogoff model where citizens differ in honesty, rather than ability, interests are conflicting, and so the political budget cycle can persist in equilibrium. The final chapter concludes the thesis.
25
Postlewait, Mariah A. "Miniatures Matter: Agency and Affect in Photographs by Lori Nix." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1395676896.
Full text
26
Junker, Lukas. "Equity carveouts, agency costs, and firm value /." Wiesbaden : Dt. Univ.-Verl, 2005. http://www.gbv.de/dms/zbw/497325225.pdf.
Full text
27
Beveridge, Aaron Kyle. "(Inter)Active Rhetoric: The Ethics of Agency and Praxis." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1208837955.
Full text
28
Mohd, Napiah Mohammad Deen. "The theory of the contract of agency (Al Wakalah) in Islamic law." Thesis, Glasgow Caledonian University, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.295029.
Full text
29
Rich, Sylvia. "The moral agency of corporations and its implications for criminal law theory." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:7f7531a2-7631-40ad-bbf8-9db688becb70.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis analyses the corporation, a business entity, as a form of group agent and considers its treatment under criminal law. I use group agency theory, drawn from the philosophy of action, to explain how a corporation can be a rational, moral agent with an existence separate from its individual human members' existence. Sceptics about corporate entity often tie moral agency to emotional capacity, something that many theorists, including many who defend the existence of corporate agency, find that the corporation lacks. As against this, I argue that corporations are indeed emotional entities, drawing group-level emotional states from the emotions of various members. Critics of corporations also argue that there are structural reasons why corporations are essentially immoral, or bad moral agents. As against this, I argue that while there are strong reasons why corporations tend to do bad things, they are structurally neutral. In the second half of the thesis, I use the conceptual framework of the corporate moral agent to attempt to bring clarity to various problems within the criminal law as it applies to corporations. While corporations can be brought up on charges of committing acts that require a mens rea element, the law and legal theorists have long struggled with how to locate mens rea within the corporation. I build on collectivist theories of mens rea to explain a form of corporate recklessness, as an instance of corporate mens rea. The applicability of excuses to corporations is also an undertheorized area. I show how, in very limited circumstances, a corporation may be able to make out the excuse of duress, though that excuse relies on the accused acting from the emotion of fear. Finally, I consider the applicability of various theories of punishment to the corporation.
30
Nwokora, Zim G. "Do the candidates matter? : a theory of agency in American Presidential nominations." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2009. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:2271ba3b-447f-4b1e-bfe2-ec473c87189b.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis develops a candidate-centred conception of American presidential nominations. Candidates' choices in nomination politics remain under-theorised. The literature on nominations has tended either to downplay the role of candidates' independent influence or to suggest that the impact of their choices is too idiosyncratic to theorize about. I reject both of these positions; and instead develop the basic elements of a theory in which candidates are the principal agents of change in nomination contests. I argue that candidates make distinct identity, tactical, and management choices, and I show that this simple frame can be used to connect aspirants' varying goals to their choices and actions. In my theory, candidates' prospects remain relatively stable unless a shift occurs in their competitive setting in response to an unexpected event - for instance, a surprising election result. These shifts, or critical junctures, define a candidate's path to his party's presidential nomination. I argue that the rival candidates' choices dominate the development of these critical junctures and, therefore, that candidates' choices are crucial to nomination outcomes. Structural factors, the actions of non-candidates and the effects of exogenous events, account for a minority of critical junctures. In the empirical chapters of this study, I examine the Democratic and Republican nomination contests in selected years before the McGovern-Fraser reforms (1912, 1924, 1932) and in post-reform cases (1972, 1976, 1980) to demonstrate the pervasive influence of candidates' choices in contrasting institutional settings. These cases confirm my basic claim about the centrality of candidates' choices and also suggest significant ways in which candidates' choices have changed between 1912 and 1980.
31
Morgan, Caitlin Bradley. "Expanding Food Agency: Exploring the Theory and Its Scale in Philadelphia, PA." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2016. http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/661.
Full textAbstract:
Our contemporary American food system has created complex environments for decisions and actions around food, and those decisions have implications for culture, health, natural resources, social relations, and the economy. And yet, as scholars, we do not understand the particulars of how people actually cook for themselves and their families. This study explores how race and socioeconomic class interact with individual experience of "food agency," or personal capacity to plan and prepare meals within one's food environment. It is one stage in a multiphase project developing a comprehensive theory of food agency, applicable in any context; a scale for measuring that agency; and a cooking pedagogy for increasing it.
This research was based on an explanatory sequential mixed methods design: a qualitative follow-up to quantitative research (see Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). It is an in-depth qualitative investigation with low-income participants of color, a population that had previously not been included in the development of food agency theory. The study's population was a mix of Drexel University students and community residents of Mantua, in Philadelphia, PA, and was recruited from Drexel's Healthy Cooking Techniques summer course. Data collection included semi-structured interviews and survey administration, and also utilized food agency scale survey responses. Analysis and results are divided into two papers, one narrative, and one a comparison between quantitative components of the food agency scale and corresponding qualitative data.
Narrative analysis reinforces the notion that food agency is incredibly complex and self-referential. People with high self-efficacy around food may feel like they have a high level of agency, even if they can identify ways that societal structures impede them. Mixed-methods analysis reveals aspects of food agency that are not reflected by the scale: specifically, strategies for procuring food; environmental and financial impediments to that procurement; and aspiration for greater self-sufficiency and healthfulness in preparing food.
Participants are intentional and skillful in resisting economic and environmental obstacles to feeding themselves. They want to be supported in building skills for that daily endeavor. The food agency scale does not gauge many of the strategies with which they resist obstacles, and therefore might be better cast as a cooking action scale, rather than a measure of comprehensive food agency.
32
Serries, Christoph. "Die Bedeutung der intrinsischen Motivation in Prinzipal-Agent-Beziehungen am Beispiel der Beratungsstellen kirchlicher Wohlfahrtsverbände." [S.l. : s.n.], 2005. http://www.gbv.de/dms/zbw/483693596.pdf.
Full text
33
Wang, Isobel Kai-Hui. "International Chinese students' strategic vocabulary learning : agency and context." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2013. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/58842/.
Full textAbstract:
During the past thirty years, a large body of second language research has targeted vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) from a cognitive perspective and most of this research tends to treat them as de-contextualised phenomena. In order to develop and broaden the scope of the current VLS research, I explore strategic vocabulary learning from both cognitive and sociocultural approaches and focus on its dynamic, complex and contextually situated nature. The present study, based on a multiple-case study design, investigates the processes of strategic vocabulary learning of six Chinese students who were from a pre-university course in three British universities, using three data collection methods: classroom observations, interviews and VOCABlog (including photovoice and diaries). The analysis of these six student cases shows that they managed their strategic vocabulary learning in relation to their particular settings, milieus and the British culture; they tended to select and deploy a number of strategies rather than individual strategies to improve their learning, and various types of strategy combinations were found; they appeared to operate their strategic vocabulary learning as a dynamic system and this was particularly supported by the findings about their varying degrees of consciousness, the inconsistencies between their strategic approach and their strategy use and the changes in their strategy use. Theoretical contributions for the VLS research and some practical recommendations for vocabulary learning are also provided.
34
Skott, Anton. "Group Agents and Moral Responsibility : An Analysis of the Theory of Group Agency Given by List and Pettit." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Avdelningen för filosofi, historia, konst och religion, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-174686.
Full textAbstract:
In this essay I discuss if groups can be morally responsible agents over and above the responsibility of their individual members. I consider an important collectivist theory given by List and Pettit arguing that groups can be responsible over its members. I offer some desiderata that a collectivist theory should fulfil and argue that the List and Pettit theory fail to fulfil some of these. Primarily I argue that their theory could come into conflict with a basic ethical and legal principle and that it fails to give a unified account of agency. I draw two conclusions. First, the List and Pettit theory fails to provide a satisfactory collectivist account. And second, a satisfactory collectivist theory ought to give a unified account of agency explaining how the agency side and normative side of responsible group agents fit together.
35
Colbert, Calvin. "Job Satisfaction in the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2961.
Full textAbstract:
Approximately every 20 years, a new generation is born and eventually dominates the workforce; although changes occur with each new generation, the importance of job satisfaction remains constant. Research within the U.S. Intelligence Community is lacking with regard to changing trends of job satisfaction levels. The purpose of this study was to explore job satisfaction levels between Generation X and Generation Y workforce employees at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The central research question addressed how job satisfaction differed by generational differences in the workforce. A quantitative method was used to assess survey data. A structural equation modeling technique was used to simultaneously test the plausibility of variable relationships to include the following: independent variables—compensation, environment, advancement, performance, training, supervision, motivation, demographics, leadership; and the dependent variable, job satisfaction. Regarding theoretical construct, the McGregor theories X and Y was used to address 2 fundamental approaches that affected job satisfaction levels exclusive to Generation X and Y. Full time NGA employees from the Analysis and Production Directorate completed a survey to assess whether generational differences affected employees’ job satisfaction. Key findings indicated that Generation X employees associated job satisfaction as a measure of respect for their positions within NGA and Generation Y employees viewed job satisfaction as a measure of advancement and performance. The implications for positive social change include combating generational policy biases in the U.S.
36
Tollert, Daniela. "Die Provisionsgestaltung im Affiliate Marketing eine Analyse auf der Basis der Prinzipal-Agent-Theorie." Stuttgart Kohlhammer, 2009. http://d-nb.info/994206917/04.
Full text
37
LaVecchia, Christina M. "Toward a Relational Theory of Invention." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1529330376530125.
Full text
38
Averett, Paige. "Parental Communications and Young Women's Struggle for Sexual Agency." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/30091.
Full textAbstract:
This qualitative study examined how 14 young women's sexual desire and agency was influenced by the messages communicated from their parents and the quality of the parent-child relationship. Previous research results were supported, such as: parents do not communicate about sex frequently, or only about limited topics; mothers communicate more frequently than fathers, and peers communicate more sexual information. Utilizing a postmodern, feminist position, themes of parental transmission of patriarchal social controls were found, such as: fear of being viewed as a slut, gender roles that demand female passivity, sex is scary, and young women are not to have sex, or only in the context of committed relationships. Implications for parenting practices and the importance of developing sexual agency are discussed.Ph. D.
39
Boyle, Jon. "Working "Faster, Better, Cheaper": A Federal Research Agency in Transition." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/28231.
Full textAbstract:
This research study explored the theoretical underpinnings of implementing government reform in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), specifically focusing on a management philosophy called Faster, Better, Cheaper (FBC). It is situated within the broader context of Government reform efforts that attempt to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of government organizations in their delivery of products and services to the public.
This study employed the Grounded Theory qualitative research methodology that concentrates on a central phenomenon and generates a theory from a category or construct-oriented approach. The objective is to generate a substantive-level theory that describes the practice of FBC within NASA and is grounded in the data collected from the organization. The following research questions guided this study:
1.What is the meaning of Faster, Better, Cheaper for Public Professionals in the NASA organizational environment?
2.What are the interrelationships between concepts of faster, better, and cheaper?
3.How does the technical and cultural structure of NASA influence the implementation of Faster, Better, Cheaper?
4.What are the required workforce capabilities to perform Faster, Better, Cheaper in NASA?
The theoretical sample for this study consisted of interviews scheduled with NASA personnel involved in Faster, Better, Cheaper projects. NASA documents and reports were analyzed to saturate the initial 29 provisional categories. A representation of the phenomenon of FBC was developed following the data analysis, including causal conditions, strategies, environmental conditions and context, and consequences. Several findings addressed the meaning of FBC, the interrelationships between the concepts, the impact of organizational infrastructure, and required workforce capabilities. Topics for future research are the nature of risk in public organizations, tools for aligning and measuring public policy alignment and implementation, leadership of public sector teams, and generalizing the findings to other organizations.Ph. D.
40
Williams, Tyne Ashley. "Children as Neglected Agents in Theory and Post-Conflict Reintegration." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/78144.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate the current state of literature surrounding childhood and child agency, and how dominant notions of these concepts result in practical implications pertaining to the nature of the participation of former child soldiers in post-conflict reintegration programmes. As the literature and practice surrounding children in post-conflict environments currently stands, there is a recurring preoccupation with traditional notions of childhood which uphold notions of innocence, vulnerability, and dependency, with only minimal attempts to conceptualise child agency as a crucial factor once the guns have been put down. This ultimately results in former child soldiers being dealt with as objects to be secured, as opposed to fully-fledged participants and agents in their own reintegration processes. This research thereby seeks to answer the question: “How would the formulation of a normative framework of child agency alter the orientation of post-conflict reintegration programmes in the future?”
The researcher will engage the matter of child agency in post-conflict reintegration through a critical lens, both in terms of the literary and conceptual foundations contributing towards current narratives, as well as the current state of reintegration programmes as they target former child soldiers in northern Uganda. The qualitative approach of a critical literature review, followed by a critical analysis of the case of northern Uganda, will be employed as the key methods of this research. The literature to be used will be purposively sampled secondary sources. This mini-dissertation upholds the position that, in order for post-conflict reintegration programmes to be successful in their endeavour to reintegrate former child soldiers, children should not be rendered as peripheral actors in these processes. Rather, they should be present as key participatory agents in their own right.Mini Dissertation (MSS)--University of Pretoria, 2020.
Political Sciences
MSS
Unrestricted
41
Brown, Stephen P. "The theory and practice of managing organisational redesign within a public sector agency." University of Southern Queensland, Faculty of Education, 2009. http://eprints.usq.edu.au/archive/00006180/.
Full textAbstract:
This folio explores the theory and practice of managing organisational redesign within a public sector agency— the 'Out of School Services‘ provided by an education jurisdiction, Fraser Cooloola district, within Education Queensland, Australia. The objective of the project and research was to develop and implement an approach to organisational redesign that derived from Limerick et al.‘s (1998) Fourth Blueprint theory (particularly their concept of metastrategy), and to measure the impact of the redesign process on selected organisational operations within the education jurisdiction. In the context of this study, Limerick et al.‘s metastrategic management cycle (1998) is defined as an approach to strategic management that is constituted of four elements— (a) founding vision (b) identity (c) configuration design and (d) systems of action (Limerick et al. 1998, p 152).The concept of metastrategy is revealed by the research as having clear potential for application in public sector settings. That is, the study captured its successful application to the task of leading a process of organisational redesign within an education system and uncovered complex subtleties of that application. The study also revealed that organisational redesign to bring about sustained cultural change in a public sector setting is difficult, complex and subject to threat by political decisions. In leading and managing the process of organisational design in an educational setting, eleven key leadership skills across three distinct domains - individual leadership capacity and action; conceptual development and organisational implementation - were found to be significant: The leadership skill areas are: (1) developing clarity regarding professional values, the nature of the design task and how a leader might undertake the task; (2) developing a set of options informed by a synthesis of local priorities, the broader organisational direction and relevant, organisational theory; (3) undertaking engaged and purposeful communication aimed at creating greater knowledge of the design or adding value to the intended design and the quality of its implementation; (4) creating a common language as a platform for engaging stakeholders; (5) leading in a manner that encourages creative difference and distinctiveness; (6) displaying a capacity for reflective appraisal; (7) acknowledging pertinent ethical considerations; (8) Identifying, engaging, managing and leading key stakeholders; (9) assessing important leverage points; (10) identifying relevant networks and (11) setting and implementing governance arrangements. These eleven skill areas complement and extend Limerick‘s metastrategic management cycle with its four basic elements of: - founding vision; - identity - configuration design; and - systems of action Each of the above four elements generally align with two of the three domains developed to capture the nature of critical leadership skills required to lead organisational redesign in an educational setting—inner circle or domain-individual leadership capacity and action and middle circle or domain. The leadership skills captured in the outer domain entitled 'organisational implementation‘ extends on the metastrategic cycle by giving focus to the processes that need to be considered when applying the metastrategic management cycle.
42
Sarour, Enas O. "The moral agency of family and consumer sciences teacher candidates a grounded theory /." [Ames, Iowa : Iowa State University], 2007.
Find full text
43
Smith, Kim. "Teacher education in England undone : developing teacher educator agency through theory and practice." Thesis, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2016. http://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/618072/.
Full textAbstract:
UK government rhetoric and action has progressively altered the landscape of teacher education in England and marginalised the role of the university. This has impacted the professional lives of university-based teacher educators in particular ways. Significantly, they have needed to adjust their practice in partnerships with schools in relation to a shifting professionalism within the field of teacher education. The thesis provides a critical application of various theoretical lenses to one university teacher educator’s professional journey through this landscape over a 20 year period. It researches the question of how she has developed agency to effect positive change in teacher education in the policy context. In so doing, articles first published by the author as university teacher educator are re-examined using readings in a contemporary setting to reflect upon thinking and practice during successive policy enactments. The discussion begins with a retrospective consideration of the use of principles of reflective practice in student teacher development and raises the question of social theorising and a psychoanalytical approach for players in teacher education. Particular focus is given to a critical discussion of the author’s earlier use of Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital in social relations governing prescribed subject knowledge development of student teachers in the field; an apparent disconnect between use of the concept and explicit psychoanalytical approaches based on the work of Lacan is revealed. Significantly, the author’s later professional experience of tutoring and researching on the employment-based Graduate Teacher Programme is explored specifically in relation to Lacan’s four speech discourses. These are used to develop theoretical understanding about the positioning of student teachers and the university teacher educator in teacher education. It is argued that professional agency derives from the intersect of informed academic, analytical action and response between players engaged in the field. Furthermore, such professional agency is required to provide sustainable teacher education of quality able to serve schools and their wider communities in troubled times.
44
Noronha, Gregory Mario. "Industry characteristics, agency theory, and the interaction of capital structure and dividend policy." Diss., Virginia Tech, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/39752.
Full text
45
Deng, Xiangwei. "Does agency theory explain dividend policies of China's listed companies? : an empirical test /." View Abstract or Full-Text, 2003. http://library.ust.hk/cgi/db/thesis.pl?ECON%202003%20DENG.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (M. Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2003.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 36-39). Also available in electronic version. Access restricted to campus users.
46
Chang, Danny, and 張書源. "Agency Theory of Discretion Account." Thesis, 1998. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/33576084864368449263.
Full textAbstract:
碩士國立政治大學
國際貿易學系
86
This study applies agency theory to assess the appropriateness of the regulatory framework of discretion account proposed by the Taiwan SFC (Securities and Futures Commission) which mainly imitates from Japan. This study considers investor as the principal and delegated investment company as the agent. Since the effort level of agent is unobservable, plus the interest conflict existing between the principal and agent, a rational agent would have moral hazard. If we plan to have an effective regulation of discretion account, it is necessary to design an efficient contract for eliminating or reducing agent’s moral hazard. This study hypothesizes that Holmstrom’s second-best agency contract could be the one for establishing an efficient regulatory framework of discretion account. Therefore, this study uses the propositions developed by Holmstrom (1979) to establish a proposed efficient regulatory framework for the business of discretion accout, including disclosure system and an incentive mechanism.
47
Ssu-JuChang and 張似如. "Agency Theory on the Relationship between User company and Employment Agency." Thesis, 2013. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/79307036470039747356.
Full textAbstract:
碩士國立成功大學
企業管理學系專班
101
Building on the agency theory, this study attempts to explore the human agency practices and develop a conceptual framework with regad to the relationship between user enterprises and agency workers. First of all, having reviewed on agency theory, this study found that, in an interactive process of user enterprises and agency workers, information asymmetry and goal inconsistent might be the key antecedents of agency costs. Secondly, according to the relevant literature on human resources outsourcing this study considers incentive mechanisms and trust as the potential moderators for that they may reduce the agency costs and have positive effects on the increased organizational performance. This study sent out 47 pairs of questions to 38 companies in Taiwan. The empirical results show that agency problems were positively related to agency costs. In addition, the incentive mechanisms and trust had partial and positive moderating effects on the relationship between agency problems and agency costs. Agency costs also partially mediated the relationship between agency problems and organization performance. The implications of the findings and suggestions for future are correspondingly provided.
48
Lo, Hsin-Jung, and 羅心榮. "International Technology Licensing: Agency Theory Explanation." Thesis, 2000. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/82171132923923063816.
Full textAbstract:
碩士國立暨南國際大學
國際企業學系
88
Agency theory has spawned a large amount of recent research in accounting, finance, marketing, organizational behavior and so on. But agency theory hasn’t been applied to international technology licensing, so, based on agency theory, this paper attempts to explore the keys of international technology licensing model. This paper chooses Taiwanese firms to verify the model utilizing statistics method, multiple regression. The result shows that the complexity of the licensing technology, the licensee’s dependence of key resources on the licensor, the licensor’s belief in the licensee, the licensee’s belief in the licensor and the organizational culture difference between the licensor and the licensee are the key factors in the international technology licensing model.
49
Chen, Fulwood, and 陳復伍. "Agency Theory Approach to the Recent Crises." Thesis, 2013. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/90527164936290695967.
Full textAbstract:
博士國立臺灣科技大學
財務金融研究所
101
A succession of financial crises has done great damage to global economy. A sharp rise in unemployment and gloomy economic performance have make people suffer so much. After each crisis, people extend effort as much as possible to explore why the chaos breaks out and take corrective measures with a hope to stave off future crises. But history still repeats itself again and again. Most studies on financial crises focus on economic conditions and some institutional factors governing how the economy works, but they ignore the role of economic agents who have great influence on economic outcomes. The focus of this dissertation is to address the subprime mortgage crisis and sovereign debt crisis from the perspective of agent behavior, providing an alternative thinking of how these crises evolve. Some suggestions are also submitted with aim at strengthening the economic fortress against the attack of future financial turmoil. The first chapter explores the subprime mortgage crisis from the aspects of CEO behavior. Agency theory is combined with the asset-pricing model to explore factors affecting CEO risk aversion. Apart from wealth and effort, the two main factors influencing the agent’s risk preference, we also add a measure of CEO career concern to the model. Increasing peer pressure, high-incentive compensation structure, and declining market power diminish CEOs’ alertness to risk, resulting in a departure of CEO actions from firm interests. For reining in CEOs’ excessive risk taking and aligning both interests of firms and CEOs, we suggest that the emphasis of the pay schedule should be adjusted according to market conditions, the relative performance evaluation be embedded into executive compensation, and the time span for performance evaluation be lengthened. The role of the board of directors and the function of risk management units should also be intensified. Governments are expected to could play a stabilizing role when the economy is in trouble, but recently they are the source of chaos. The cause behind the sovereign debt crisis is too much debt far exceeding a government’s ability to repay. Why those governments of debt-ridden countries lose the sense of risk that unlimited accumulation of debt would sink their countries to the brink of insolvency. Economic factors alone can not provide a complete explanation. Chapter 2 combines agency theory with studies on public finance to develop a model to elucidate why a government fails to deal with the fiscal problem. The research result shows that too much political concern underlies irresponsible fiscal polices. Enhancing the independence of budget offices and intensifying the transparency of public finance can be prescriptions to contain the reoccurrence of sovereign debt crisis. Agent behavior generates certain economic outcomes, some of which might diverge from the interests of the majority. As shown in this dissertation, CEOs of financial firms seek their gorgeous pays and higher social status at the cost of firms’ interests. Governments lose their stabilizing role in the economy and become the source of chaos just for maintaining their ruling position. It deserves more attention from financial academics to study agent behavior, from which a clearer picture of economic activities can be obtained and some economic disturbance arising from agent self-interest can be detected and precluded.
50
Chi, Ting-chu, and 姬亭竹. "Corporate Governance and Diversification: The Agency Theory." Thesis, 2007. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/05614484755452015249.
Full textAbstract:
碩士國立成功大學
國際企業研究所碩博士班
95
Diversification is becoming a trend these days. Investigating the relationship between diversification and firm’s performance over 2001-2005, this paper indicates that diversification impairs firm value. We would like to know why management pursues this value reduction strategy, especially focusing on the agency cost theory. From the empirical evidence, we find the level of diversification is negatively related to managerial equity ownership and to the proportion of outside directors. Besides, there exists no relationship between CEO duality and the magnitude of corporate diversification. Holding double positions of board of directors and CEO has no significant influence on firm’s diversification strategy. In conclusion, these findings suggest that agency problems are responsible for firms maintaining diversification. Finally, the study reveals that CEO’s compensation will increase as the level of diversification increases because of CEO entrenchment and ability matching.