Dissertations / Theses: 'Changes in business environment'

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Shaaban, Sarah, and Sumera Magsi. "Digital business strategy : The driver for change in internal and external business environment." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för ekonomisk och industriell utveckling, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-159938.

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Title: Digital business strategy - The driver for change in internal and external business environment Authors: Sumera Magsi and Sarah Shaaban Advisor: Andrea Fried Master thesis, 30 credits Background:The effects resulting from a more intense use of digital technologies in companies is visible in the integration between business and IT strategies which creates an urge for digital business strategies to emerge. Thesis aim: The aim is to investigate the current state of digital business strategies which includes highlighting benefits and challenges. By doing that we also are aiming towards answering, in what way ITBA can be questioned due to DBS. Methodology: A qualitative research based on a multiple case study by conducting semi- structured interviews. All the selected case companies are using digital business strategies as a part of their internal and external business environment (IEBE). The respondents have a role in the chosen case companies of being responsible for the implementation and use of strategies, digital business strategies and digital technologies. Findings: This study identifies that their exits a linkage between business strategy and ITBA. The main finding about the current state of DBS involves both internal and external DBS activities. Further findings show that benefit of digital business strategy to be the opportunity to levering costumers and challenges to be connected to the different IT maturity levels of the employees. The way that digital business strategy can question ITBA is based on that it is the driver for change for the case companies.

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Zhang, Abraham. "Impacts of business environment changes on global manufacturing supplychains: a study of the GPRD trade-production-logistics system." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2011. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B46583294.

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Piraino, Stephen J. "Logistics business practice changes for the managed care environment : inpatient consumable supply cost capture by patient, provider, and DRG /." Thesis, Monterey, Calif. : Springfield, Va. : Naval Postgraduate School ; Available from National Technical Information Service, 1994. http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA293605.

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Hedlöf, Carina, and Ulrika Janson. "How to cope with a turbulent environment." Thesis, Linköping University, Department of Management and Economics, 2000. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-567.

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Background: Due to constant changes and unpredictability in a turbulent environment, the traditional way of planning does not seem to work anymore. Therefore, new approaches to the external and internal conditions need to develop in order to cope with the environmental turbulence. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to define a turbulent environment and identify how an organisation can cope with this environment. Procedure: We have developed a frame of reference mainly consisting of theories regarding a turbulent environment and change. In addition, we have selected eight guiding factors, which we have used when studying, systemising, and comparing how contemporary literature suggests that an organisation can cope with a turbulent environment. Results: The conclusions we have come to are that with a definition of the environment as being fast-changing and of chaotic nature, where the changes are continuous, emergent, small, big or somewhere in between, and where paradoxes play an important role, it is necessary to develop an organisational structure, leadership, human resource, and corporate culture, in which the objective always is to create dynamics and to build in an acceptance of change.

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Rimita, Karen. "Leader Readiness in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) Business Environment." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7727.

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Organizational leaders in the 21st century face relentless changes in the business environments in which they operate. The diversity, intensity, and rapidity of these changes create volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), which challenge leaders on ways to lead effectively as existing methods prove inadequate. The problem in this study was that of inadequate leader preparedness to lead and win in VUCA environments. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of 15 Nigerian corporate executives about their VUCA business environment and the strategies they employed for VUCA-readiness and success within the manufacturing sector. The research question guiding the study related to the lived experiences of corporate executives in manufacturing companies in Nigeria regarding VUCA-readiness and succeeding in a VUCA environment. Chaos theory and complexity leadership theory were used to frame the study. Data collection occurred through snowball sampling to interview 15 participants who are senior executives in large manufacturing corporations in Lagos, Nigeria. Data was analyzed through Ricoeur’s theory of interpretation and member checking. As a result, 4 key themes that emerged were business agility, strategic workforce and demand planning, recovery management for organizational resilience, and conscientious and value-based leadership. The study findings may contribute to positive social change in providing strategies for organizational sustainability, business readiness, responsive leadership, and enhanced employee well-being in VUCA. Recommendations include VUCA training for preparedness and organizational resilience.

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Sebhatu, Abiel. "Deregulation of the Swedish Audit Industry and Changes in the Competitive Environment : Conflict, Imitation, and Innovativeness." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Handelshögskolan vid Umeå universitet, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-45182.

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This thesis investigates the deregulation of the audit industry in Sweden, the changing competitive environment and innovativeness, a research gap that has not yet been bridged. This paper raises the question of how the innovativeness of firms within the audit industry have changed after deregulation. The ambition of this research is to have both theoretical and practical knowledge contribution. The theoretical framework constructed for this research is rooted in the literature review of three areas: strategy and competition, deregulation, and organizational innovativeness. These three streams of research are used in order to examine the expectations that the industry has on the changing strategic landscape. Four perspectives and schools of thought in strategy and competition literature are reviewed: the competitive forces, strategic conflict school, resource-based school, and dynamic school. These schools are then put into two categories that are substantial opposites of one another; market power and efficiency. The need to consider these perspectives are addressed as follows: the perspective of competitive forces allows for understanding the industry structure, the strategic conflict school – to analyze the moves and interactions between competitors, the resource-based school – to understand firms resources, and finally, the dynamic school – to understand firms processes and capabilities. Summarizing and integrating these perspectives formed a hypothesized understanding that reflected the effects of deregulation and organizational innovativeness. In order to avoid modest pattern of deregulatory effects that could emerge by observations made in the early stage of deregulation, a methodological point of departure that is socially constructed and the production of knowledge that is based on interpretations and narratives were argued for. The research is furthermore based on a mix of deductive and inductive approach. The discussion with an industry member led to an interesting research context chosen as unit of analysis, which included the emerging tension between auditors and accounting-consultants. While the auditors’ believed in negative effects from the deregulation, the accounting-consultants had the opposite perception. Case-study approach with semi-structured and open-ended interviews were conducted on representatives from six firms, half of which represented the auditors and the rest the accounting-consultants. The presentation of results followed the structure of market power, efficiency, and organizational innovativeness. The analysis of the results shows how firms within the audit industry had changed during the transition towards post-deregulation era. It shows how the previous construction of the audit-industry, characterized by homogeneity, has been decomposed and transformed to become more heterogeneous, by the new attractions and alternatives that now exist on the market. These attractions and alternatives creates incitement for decreased interaction between competitors that causes firms to engage in conflicts, and to redistribute their resources in order to imitate each others processes, which in turn creates new organizational innovativeness. The findings of this research also shows how the resources that were possessed by the firm before the deregulation tend to determine how the firm utilize the innovativeness in relation to the market after the deregulation.

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Ignell, Caroline. "Exploring changes of conceptions, values and beliefs concerning the environment : A longitudinal study of upper secondary school students in business and economics education." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för pedagogik och didaktik, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-147639.

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This thesis examines students’ understanding of economic aspects of global environmental problems. The first aim is to identify and characterise changes in business and economics students’ conceptions of negative environmental effects and pricing goods and services. The second aim is to identify and characterise changes in students’ values, beliefs and personal norms regarding effective solutions to climate change problems. Three studies were carried out with students in Swedish upper secondary schools. The first study used an open-ended questionnaire and is presented in Article I. The second and third studies drew on a longitudinal study, using both qualitative and quantitative research methods and results are presented in Article II and Article III. Article I shows that students’ awareness of environmental issues varies in relation to the type of good. Some goods are seen as more harmful to nature than others, for example, jeans were not perceived as environmentally negative while beef burgers and travel services were to some extent. This indicates that environmental references are often characterised through perceptible aspects of goods’ production i.e. being more expensive because of environmentally friendly production. Furthermore, some understanding of negative externalities was revealed. Interestingly, when value aspects of how prices should be set students more frequently refer to environmental impact. Article II describes changes in students’ price and environmental conceptions over the course of a year. It identifies the fragmentary nature of students’ every-day thinking in relation to productivity, consumer preference and negative externalities. Differences in conceptions of how prices are linked to negative impact is characterised in terms of basic, partial and complex understandings of productivity as well as basic and partial understandings of consumers’ influences. Partial conceptions are seen as students’ conceptions in a process of change towards a more scientific understanding of price and negative environmental impact. Most interestingly, the results show that more than one aspect of environmental impact and pricing are simultaneously relevant. This is highlighted by a change from views putting productivity at the centre for how prices are set to include consumers’ preferences when judgmentally describing how prices should be set. The results conclude that students show a broader content knowledge regarding pricing and the environment when including normative preferences. Article III explores changes in students’ value orientations, beliefs regarding efficient solutions to climate change and norms for pro-environmental actions. Small changes are observed regarding the three constructs. Value changes are reported in terms of a small average increase in importance of altruistic, biospheric and egoistic orientations while common individual changes are shown in shifts between weak and strong values. Beliefs regarding efficient climate change solutions are taxes and legislations while changes in market prices are perceived as being least effective. The findings show no direct relations between values and norms hence change in norms is associated with values through changes in beliefs. At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript.

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Hunt, Andrew John. "Exploring the identity of an embedded micro-consultant in an organisation change environment." Thesis, University of South Wales, 2009. https://pure.southwales.ac.uk/en/studentthesis/exploring-the-identity-of-an-embedded-microconsultant-in-an-organisation-change-environment(cef51d13-5ec4-48a4-bf94-6ddb4d98c9b6).html.

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Micro-consultants are from small independent consultancy practices; who sometimes work directly with a single client on embedded assignments. Embedded microconsultants operate within the ambiguous and fragmented environments of their client’s. Micro-consultants have to quickly make sense of their client’s working environments; adapting their operations and identities within these, to ensure appropriate advice and support is provided. When embedded, micro-consultants are usually expected to represent their client; whilst also retaining their independence. Consequently, micro-consultants can sometimes be unsure who they represent (themselves or their client) and which identity aspects they should be promoting. Identity is the sum of, lifestyle, experiences and knowledge of an individual which is developed over time, and provides awareness and guidance for future activities. To some extent micro-consultants can choose which aspects of their identity they wish to promote or suppress. However, some groups can enforce aspects of their identity on their members which can contradict the micro-consultant’s base awareness and guidelines which can lead to dilemmas and uncertainties. This research explores the interactions, changing identities and ensuing tensions of a micro-consultant during a long term embedded assignment with a single client. The ethnographic study uses authoethnographic narrative, along with participant observation techniques and reflective practices, to provide insights on the key influences and other factors which can affect micro-consultant identities. This thesis also provides an indication of the complexities and ambiguities faced by a micro-consultant working on an embedded assignment. The research also highlights some of the many dilemmas and uncertainties facing a micro-consultant in this environment; focussing on identity related dilemmas. These lead to a number of identity related paradoxes for the micro-consultant; including assignment success, relationships and the provision of knowledge. There have been many corporate ethnographic studies examining different parts of organisation behaviour, including consultancy houses and organisation change environments. However, this is the first study to provide detailed insights into the world of a micro-consultant change management specialist, his operations interactions and dilemmas; providing a significant contribution to the world of management consultancy and organisation behaviour.

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Kohn, Christofer. "Centralisation of Distribution Systems and its Environmental Effects." Licentiate thesis, Linköping University, Linköping University, Department of Management and Engineering, 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-2990.

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Many believe that the current application of modern logistics solutions in general and centralisation of distribution systems in particular is damaging from an environmental perspective. The reason for this claim is that when a distribution system is centralised, products need to be shipped over greater distances. This causes an increase in transport work, which in turn is believed to cause an increase in emissions. Further, the decision to centralise distribution can be characterised as a structural decision and earlier research has helped illustrate how such decisions have greater impact on the overall performance of a distribution system than decisions taken at subsequent levels (tactical and operative). The reason for this is that structural decisions help create new opportunities to make other logistical decisions that are beneficial for the performance of a distribution system, as measured in terms of costs and service.It is also acknowledged that there is a lack of research illustrating the actual environmental effects of centralisation. This area is the theme of this thesis and the overall purpose is to describe and analyse how centralisation of a distribution system can affect the environment. This purpose has been divided into two research questions, where the first one reads:- How does physical centralisation of a distribution system influence the environment?This question aims at investigating what effect centralisation has on the amount of emissions that are caused by transport in a distribution system. One of the main advantages with a centralised distribution system is that emergency deliveries are expected to decrease. This type of transport is often performed by airfreight, which is a mode of transport that is regarded to cause the largest amount of environmental stress among the four most commonly used transport modes. The argument that is made is that even though centralisation causes an increase in transport work, this must not necessarily mean that emissions increase.As indicated above, earlier studies on structural changes in distribution systems have shown that this type of decision creates new opportunities to make other decisions that are beneficial for the performance of a distribution system, albeit in terms of costs and service. The aim of the second research question is consequently to study this issue, but from an environmental perspective. This question therefore reads:- How do structural decisions in logistics create new opportunities to improve on the environmental performance of a distribution system?The results of the study show that it is not sufficient to only consider transport work and emergency deliveries when the environmental effect of a centralisation is to be evaluated. It has also been concluded that centralisation creates an opportunity to make improvements within the distribution system that can prove beneficial from an environmental perspective. In summary, three characteristics besides transport work and emergency deliveries were identified as being of importance when considering the environmental effects of a centralisation. These included centralised flow, modal change, and bargaining power.This model (see full pdf) does not aim to include all characteristics that can be relevant in an environmental evaluation of a centralisation, but rather those that have been found significant in this study. However, the model helps illustrate that there are many aspects that need to be considered in such an evaluation and that depending on the characteristics of the distribution system at hand the results can vary quite extensively.

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Thorburn, Robert H. (Robert Henry). "Towards the new company : proactive corporate ethics in a globalised business environment." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/50202.

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Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The corporation is fast becoming, or may already have become, the prevalent structure in human society. As such, its successes and failures impact heavily on society as a whole. This study will endeavour to examine past shortfalls in corporate thinking and practice, explaining much of this by referring to lag between societal and corporate change in their respective responses to globalisation. It is furthermore argued that this change is still far from complete( d), if indeed it ever will be complete( d) with a fixed end. This global change, has to a large extent, caught corporations off guard, with their old management styles no longer providing results - with civil resistance to corporate activity resulting in some instances. The central aim of this study is to not only understand this situation, but also to explore potential remedies. In so doing two unique ideal states, namely the old and the new company, will be developed. With the old company representing corporate structure and thinking that no longer functions effectively. The new company, on the other hand, is not a present state but a future one. Thus it is the destination of the societal and corporate changes examined within this thesis. Consequently, the main subject examined will be a move away from the old company. Finally, it will be shown that dealing with problems within the corporate context no longer requires the heavy hand of yesteryear. Instead, a proactive approach should be adopted, both for financial and ethical reasons. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Dit kan geargumenteer word dat korporasies binnekort die dominante struktuur in menslike organisasie kan wees, indien dit nie reeds die geval is nie. As sulks, het die suksesse en mislukkings van die korporasie 'n merkbare impak op die menslike samelewing. Gevolglik beoog hierdie studie om voormalige tekortkominge in korporatiewe denke en praktyk te ondersoek en te verduidelik, grotendeels met verwysing na die verskil in tempo waarmee beide die samelewing en korporasies reageer op die nuwe uitdagings wat gepaardgaan met globalisering. Dit word verder geargumenteer, dat hierdie proses van verandering geen voorspelbare einde het in die klassieke sin nie. Juis daarom het die voortdurende verandering oudmodiese bestuurstyle en tegnieke onkant betrap, met nagevolge wat strek tot by burgerlike verset. Sentraal aan die ondersoek van hierdie situasie is nie net die intensie om dit te verstaan nie, maar ook die soeke na strategieë om dit reg te stel. Om die onderneming te fasiliteer word twee ideaal state, naamlik die ou en die nuwe maatskappy ontwikkel. Die ou maatskappy verteenwoordig uitgediende strategieë en bestuurspraktyke, terwyl die nuwe maatskappy 'n toekomstige staat is en dus nog nie gerealiseer is nie. Die fokus is dus op die beweging van die ou na die nuwe maatskappy. Laastens sal dit ook aangetoon word dat uiters outoritêre bestuurstyle en strategieë nie meer van pas, of suksesvol is in die hantering van korporatiewe probleme nie. Alternatiewelik word 'n proaktiewe benadering, op beide etiese en finansiële gronde, aanbeveel.

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Mukhuty, Sumona. "An empirical study of the role of emotional intelligence and effective leadership in a workplace environment of change." Thesis, University of Hull, 2013. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:7182.

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This thesis investigates the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI), leadership styles and outcomes of leadership, within the workplace environment of the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK; which is endemic with change (Allen, 2009; Iles & Cranfield, 2004). The broad question posited is: Within the context of change, what is the nature of the association between EI, leadership styles and leadership outcomes, from the perspective of both leaders and their followers? There is a dearth of published research on EI and leadership within the context of change which makes this study particularly timely. The study employs two different models of EI that have evolved from ‘ability-based’ (Palmer & Stough, 2001; Mayer & Salovey, 1997) and ‘personality-based’ (Bar-On, 1997; Higgs & Dulewicz, 2002) theoretical perspectives. This is the first substantive study to have embraced both models and the intention here was to identify similarities and differences between the two perspectives in the context of organisational change leadership. Although there is extensive research on leadership, there still exists an acute need for EI and leadership research based on follower perspectives (Lindebaum & Cartwright, 2010; Notgrass, 2010). This study addresses this gap by investigating both leader self-perceptions and follower-perceptions of their leaders. This study has been conducted in two phases. Phase 1 focuses on leader self-perceptions. Phase 2 focuses on the combination of leader self-perceptions and follower-perceptions of their leaders. In Phase 1, this thesis postulates that within dynamic environments such as the NHS, different types of linkages can be argued between EI and the different leadership styles (Transformational Leadership, Transactional Leadership and Laissez Leadership) while suggesting that EI will predict Transformational Leadership. Furthermore, this thesis postulates that EI and Transformational Leadership will have a positive impact on leadership outcomes. In Phase 2, this thesis considers both leader and follower perspectives and identifies leaders who overestimate, underestimate or are in-agreement with followers, in evaluating their own Transformational Leadership capabilities. Based on this, the leaders are classified into self-other-agreement categories of overestimators, underestimators, in-agreement/good and in-agreement/poor leaders. Thereafter, this thesis postulates varying levels of leader EI and Outcomes of Leadership (depending upon their self-other-agreement categories) as adjudged by their followers. Similar differences across the self-other-agreement categories of the leaders are predicted in terms of the linkage between EI and Transformational Leadership as perceived by the followers. The ontology of this research is realist and the epistemology is positivist (Burrell & Morgan, 1979). Data has been collected in two phases - from leaders in the NHS and then their reporting staff. Phase 1 target population was identified as NHS staff in leadership positions involved in implementing change management initiatives. Phase 2, target population was identified as the direct reports of phase 1 participants. Phase 1 entailed purposive judgment sampling followed by random sampling. Phase 2 adopted convenience sampling. Both phases were completed through surveys. In phase 1, leaders completed a self-report of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, the Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test (SUEIT) and the Higgs & Dulewicz Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (EIQ). The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale has been employed to check for possible response bias. Self developed research items were employed to obtain information regarding the extent and nature of the respondents’ involvement with change. Leaders, who consented to participate in phase 2, identified 3 to 5 reporting staff for participation. In phase 2, reporting staff completed rater-forms of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and the EI 360 degree questionnaires. A number of qualitative interviews have been conducted with leaders to obtain contextual data regarding the nature of the changes, impacting upon the lives of NHS staff. Phase 1 findings based on self-ratings of leaders indicated a strong positive relationship between EI and Transformational Leadership, and between EI and one factor of Transactional Leadership (contingent reward). Contrary to the hypothesis, a negative relationship was found between EI and Laissez Faire Leadership. Regression analysis revealed that both the EI models significantly predicted Transformational Leadership. Furthermore, both EI and Transformational Leadership demonstrated a strong positive relation with Outcomes of Leadership. This study also reports higher Transformational Leadership scores for females and higher EI scores for females according to one of the Swinburne University EI model. Supplementary findings showed that; while predicting Transformational Leadership, the Higgs and Dulewicz EI model had incremental predictive validity over the Swinburne University EI model. Phase 2 findings based on follower perceptions confirmed the postulation that overestimators demonstrate lower EI and Outcomes of Leadership than other leader categories. Underestimators were perceived as manifesting higher EI and higher Outcomes of Leadership. The link between leader self-ratings of EI and follower-ratings of their leaders’ Transformational Leadership across the self-other-agreement categories was also examined. Findings supported arguments that EI and Transformational Leadership will be significantly associated for overestimators but not for underestimators. Some contradictory results were generated for the in-agreement/good/poor categories in terms of EI and Transformational Leadership correlations. These contradictory findings may be attributable to the difference in the factorial constitution and psychometric properties of the two EI models. More research is also recommended on the in-agreement sub-categorisation of focal leaders as good/poor. This study provides empirical evidence suggesting that EI predicts Transformational Leadership, effective in the context of change. EI also positively correlated with aspects of Transactional Leadership, helpful in successfully leading change. Therefore, investing in training and development of leaders’ EI has the strong potential improve the ability of change leaders. Underestimators were rated by followers as the highest on EI and Outcomes of Leadership, while overestimators were adjudged as the lowest on EI and Outcomes of Leadership. Therefore, underestimating leaders are arguably most suited to effectively lead dynamic change, as in the NHS. Female leaders manifested higher Transformational Leadership and also higher EI on one of the EI models. This provides some justification to enhance leadership responsibilities of women within transformational environments like the NHS. The clear indication that high EI predicts Transformational Leadership and high EI relates to lower Laissez-Faire Leadership can have recruitment and selection implications favouring the appointment of individuals with high EI in the NHS facing endemic change. However, there is a need to exercise caution and not simply use EI measures alone for placements and recruitment/selection. Nonetheless these results and the measures of EI and leadership could be beneficial in self development, career counselling and other social contexts in the National Health Services.

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Alinvi, Fatima, and Maira Babri. "Customers' Preferences of Insurance Services : How could insurance companies enhance their ability of meeting the constant changes in customers’ preferences in an increasingly competitive environment?" Thesis, Umeå University, Umeå School of Business, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-1531.

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With the presumption of change as an inevitable phenomenon, the aim of this study is to explore ways in which insurance companies can enhance their ability of meeting the constant changes in customers’ preferences in an increasingly competitive environment. In order to conduct this study, we have used a qualitative research strategy to gain a better understanding of young customers’ preferences about the services provided by insurance companies. Based on these preferences we provide useful suggestions for insurance companies. Existing theory suggests that customers change their preferences according to their life circumstances and while certain preferences are well-defined others can be inconsistent. In an increasingly competitive environment, where insurance companies fight for the same customers, having a customer-oriented culture is extremely important not only to retain customers, but also to acquire new ones. This study presents various theories on the changes in customers’ preferences as well as theories regarding organizational strategy and change.The empirical data has been collected through two focused group interviews with students under 28, in Västerbotten, Sweden and through a group interview with leading representatives of a dominant insurance company in the county. The findings suggest that young consumers’ preferences regarding insurance services are based on their life situation. Price is a decisive factor in the choice of insurance company and their services. The results also showed that many of the respondents are skeptical towards the intentions of and services provided by insurance companies. The complex nature of insurances and the intangibility of services in general, can be possible explanations. Strengthening the evidence in existing studies, we also conclude that there is a vast amount of information insurance-takers would like to have access to before, during, and after purchasing insurance. Additionally, customers would like flexible insurance bundles with the possibility to add and subtract components as life situations change. Finally, based on these results, we suggest how insurance companies could turn these findings into opportunities. We suggest how and when to meet the customers, and how to build long lasting, trust-based relationships which could lead to increased customer loyalty over time.

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Fellbrant, Johanna, Emma Fridén, and Clara Ohlsson. "Well, that escalated quickly... : Exploring how leaders have managed the rapid change of leading a group of people in a physical environment into a digital environment due to Covid-19." Thesis, Jönköping University, IHH, Företagsekonomi, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-52971.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has not only affected people's health seriously around the world, but it has also forced people to change the way they live their lives abruptly. The pandemic has had a significant impact on how people communicate and interact, and changed our normal working routines to a digital setting. Leadership is more important than ever during a time of crisis, hence, this phenomenon must be investigated further. The pandemic has created new changing realities for organizations and individuals. Considering constant changes in the world, one can argue that leadership also changes with time and thus indicates the need for updated research on the subject. Therefore, leadership is an important subject to investigate constantly despite its complexity. The purpose of this paper is to deepen the understanding of leaders' and employees' experiences of leadership within a time of crisis that has created new, digital, working conditions for organizations. This thesis will also contribute to the psychological philosophy of change management theory with new valuable insights.

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Fallström, Sarah. "Leadership during change : A study of leadership within the rapidly changing transaction banking environment." Thesis, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Företagsekonomi, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-38806.

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Transaction banking is changing in a fast pace due to digitalization, changes in regulation, new competition in the market etc. This acronym VUCA describes this environment; Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. Due to changes in technology, politics and economics strategic renewal is critical to ensure long term survival. Middle managers play a vital role within strategic renewal and leadership behavior is important to be able to perform strategic renewal. This study uses a single case study with a qualitative and inductive approach and five middle managers from different functions within transaction banking were interviewed. The interviews were conducted by semi-structured open-ended questions to be able to get an in-depth understanding. Based on the interviews it was possible to draw conclusions on the middle managers role within the strategic renewal process and connect their behaviours to the different leadership behaviours. Strategic renewal consists of four renewal journeys and in transaction banking there is an ongoing transformational renewal journey. It was found that Middle managers within transaction banking will best perform transformational renewal with a leadership behaviour that is transformational rather than transactional.

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Dittberner, Kajsa, and Emelie Åström. "The complexity of operating in a country rich in resources, yet constrained by its core : A qualitative case study of the South African business environment and how Swedish SMEs establishment are affected by economic and political changes." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för marknadsföring (MF), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-86000.

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Since 1994, South Africa has undergone comprehensive political and economic changes in a positive direction, however, the country’s business environment still constitutes of corruption and inequity. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how South Africa’s business environment affects Swedish SMEs establishment in the country. The methodology chosen for this research was a qualitative multiple case study with an abductive approach. The theoretical framework was established based on various theories related to business environment, internationalization and risk management, these theories was interlinked into a conceptual framework. In the empirical chapter, the primary data gathered from four cases was presented and thereafter analyzed together with the conceptual framework. The research concludes that the South African business environment affects the Swedish SMEs business activities in the country differently, depending on the firm’s size. The last decade’s political changes have generated in a more cautious approach among Swedish SME and their establishment in the country. Lastly, limitations of the research and recommendations for further research is outlined.

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Söderström, Patrik. "Mobile Communication within Healthcare Environment : A Case Study at Danderyds University Hospital." Thesis, KTH, Industriell Management, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-211063.

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Organizations within the healthcare industry are under a constant pressure with a continuousgrowth, resulting in a larger number of patients in need of attention and an increased demandfor healthcare services. The pressure put on the different departments at hospitals challengesthe communication channels within the organization. This in turn prevents the employeesfrom driving change efficiently where a perceived lack of information flow and fragilecommunication is the cause. To facilitate a transition, ICT is acting as a fundamental driverfor a transformation, where emerging technologies are changing the workflow inorganizations. It has contributed with mobile applications to work as solutions to enhancecommunication by improving connectivity and facilitating information flow. Therefore, thepurpose of the report was to investigate how a mobile application could help to enhance theinternal communication in the healthcare sector.For the master thesis, the investigation has been realized by conducting a descriptive casestudy at the infectious disease department. Findings were derived from observations, threeinterviews with representatives from the management and a pilot study consisting of thirteenpeople. The process was to observe existing communication channels, obtain a needs analysisfrom the management regarding improvement factors as well as implement and evaluate amobile application as a new communication channel based on their requirements.From the initial observations and interviews it was possible to identify a gap between themanagement’s information distribution and the employees’ information receiving. This wasaddressed by implementing, testing and evaluating a mobile communication channel in orderto make the information more accessible. It was discovered that by dividing employees intosmaller groups with their own specific purpose, it was possible to direct information andprevent information overload. By establishing a mobile communication channel the workflowat the department could be improved with a facilitation of transmitting information as a result.

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Brooks, Brad Walton. "Automated Data Import and Revision Management in a Product Lifecycle Management Environment." Diss., CLICK HERE for online access, 2009. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/ETD/image/etd3182.pdf.

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Mason, Roger Bruce. "An investigation into how marketers cope with an environment of high complexity and turbulence, with special reference to the South African environment." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003873.

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This study investigated relationships between marketing success, the level of external environmental complexity and turbulence, and marketing mix tactics. The literature suggested that more successful companies in simple and stable environments use stabilising marketing tactics, while more successful companies in complex and turbulent environments use destabilising tactics, regardless of industry habits, management preferences or market sector. A marketing mix model for the different environments was developed using a chaos and complexity theory perspective. The study was exploratory, using a qualitative, case study technique. Data was collected via depth interviews and document analysis from four companies in the information technology (IT) and packaging industries. These industries were identified as, respectively, the most complex and turbulent, and the simplest and most stable, South African environments. Two companies from each industry were chosen to reflect more successful and less successful companies. The more successful company in the complex/turbulent environment was found to use destabilising tactics, as did the more successful company in the simple/stable environment. Therefore, contrary to expectations, it appears that destabilising tactics contribute more to success than stabilising tactics do, regardless of the environment. It was also found, contrary to expectations, that stabilising tactics were used by both the less successful companies. The research concluded that destabilising tactics are related to more success and stabilising tactics to less success. The lack of clear differentiation between the two industries may be because the whole South African environment is complex and turbulent, because the packaging industry is not sufficiently simple and stable to differentiate it from the IT industry or because packaging industry managers perceive their industry to be complex and turbulent and act accordingly. Despite these uncertainties, the research showed the marketing mix model to be reasonably accurate for the complex/turbulent environment, and therefore of potential value to South African companies. To overcome the equivocal findings, further research is recommended in different industries, in countries with different levels of complexity and turbulence and into specific marketing mix tactics. Research into managers’ perceptions of environmental complexity and turbulence and into co-evolution of marketing tactics and external environments would also be of value.

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Atwater, Craig A. "SURVIVING SURPRISE: HOW FIRMS WERE AFFECTED BY - AND RESPONDED TO - UNEXPECTED, DISRUPTIVE, DISCONTINUOUS CHANGE IN THE MARKETING ENVIRONMENT." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2010. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/98176.

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Business Administration/Marketing Ph.D. Changes to the marketing environment occur in numerous ways and with a wide range of characteristics. This research examines the effects of - and responses to - surprise, which is defined as disruptive, discontinuous events that result in unexpected changes to the environment. Some authors have suggested that organizations have tended to overestimate their ability both to predict and to control calamitous environmental events, resulting in relatively little attention being paid to environmental surprise in the marketing literature (Cunha et al, 2006). Indeed, much of the research in this domain has focused on improving organizations' ability to recognize - or even anticipate - such events, thus rendering them not surprises (Ansoff, 1975; Lampel & Shapira, 2001). But, as Cunha and associates respond, "... researchers should investigate how organizations might deal with unanticipated events," not just how to avoid them (2006, p. 320, emphasis added). This research addresses a portion of the identified gap. Just as there is a range of possible changes and change types, organizations' responses also vary. Depending on the nature of the environmental event(s), the appropriate form of strategic response can be quite different. Therefore, how organizations respond to environmental change is a critical element of their marketing strategies. Remaining properly aligned with their external surroundings has repeatedly been shown to produce significant benefits in terms of marketing performance and financial success (Venkatraman & Prescott, 1990). Barney and associates state that "... to the extent some firms in a rapidly changing environment are more nimble, more able to change quickly, and more alert to changes in their competitive environment, they will be able to adapt to changing market conditions more rapidly than competitors, and thus gain competitive advantage" (2001, p. 631). Study 1 What happens when firms are confronted by a strategic surprise - defined as "sudden, urgent, unfamiliar change" (Ansoff 1975, p. 22) - such as the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001? Numerous studies have examined how strategic change, in the aftermath of a significant environmental event, contributes to organizational survival and success. But, is strategic change the appropriate response to unexpected and disruptive environmental change? And is there a preferred trajectory for change, such that certain strategies are better suited than others to the post-surprise environment? This exploratory research examines whether or not strategic change is an appropriate response to strategic surprise by considering the actions of motor carriers in the aftermath of 9/11. The data evidences significant disruption to the trucking industry following the event; for example, among the sample, mean operating ratios declined by more than 50%. But while nearly 40% of the carriers studied changed their strategies in the post-9/11 environment, this did not guarantee better performance. In fact, all carriers fared worse following the attacks, but those carriers that changed strategies actually performed significantly worse than those that persisted with their pre-9/11 strategies. Study 2 In Study 2, a scoring model of strategic resilience is developed that enables motor carriers to assess their likelihood of withstanding disruptive environmental change. Supply chain resilience is an emergent research stream that considers the ability of a supply chain network to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to significant environmental risks in the form of disruptions and unanticipated events (Ponomarov & Holcomb, 2009). This study examines the ability of motor carriers - a critical and essential component of most supply chains - to survive such events. Using variables identified in Study 1, together with those from numerous previous studies in the prediction-model research domain, the second study considers which factors are significant and contribute the most utility to an overall resilience score. In addition, this study approaches the model-building process using a proven methodology (conjoint analysis) which previously has not been applied to this type of research, while examining an especially broad range of possible alternatives. The resultant model provides firms in the motor-carrier industry with a "resilience score" that suggests their likelihood of survival in the post-event marketing environment. The resilience model enables motor carriers to self-assess their ability to withstand disruptive events in the marketing environment, including strategic surprises such as 9/11. Motor carriers with weaker scores (i.e., less than 600, on a scale from 300 to 900) are more likely to exit - though clearly are not guaranteed to do so. This model correctly identified nearly 70% of carriers that ultimately exited from the industry. In addition, the model provided evidence of where motor carriers should focus their attention in a post-disruption marketing environment. Six factors emerged as most significant to carriers' resilience as evidenced by the model. These elements are recommended as the metrics to which carriers themselves - and dependent supply chain network members - pay most attention following an environmental disruption. Temple University--Theses

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Reading, Jessica. "Initiating and sustaining social projects in a college environment." Miami University Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1240930356.

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Rodrick, Manel. "Corporate Social Responsibility - a contributor to evironmental and socital change?" Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Ekonomihögskolan, ELNU, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-14083.

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Abstract Disclosing how business practice can be regarded as a contributor to several forms of sustainability, this thesis is based on a minor field study enlightening how this contribution may be possible through Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR.The thesis provides the response and opinions of people who in some affirmation are engaging in or are related to social responsibility; either it may be from the academic works and earlier conducted research related to the CSR topic, or it may be from those who perform social responsibility and are the participant actors of this minor field study. These people last mentioned have all had their opinions spoken through semi – structured interviews and other data have been collected based on the methodology of Actors Approach; all empirical data is structured according to Aspers’ (2007) model of “meaning” including the tools text, visuals and practice.The analysis is divided into three parts; articulation, reconfiguration and cross-appropriation as a way to create understanding of how the study’s phenomenon can create style change (Spinosa et al 1997). Conclusions drawn from the field study are businesses implementing social responsibility do create a style change in environmental and societal aspects. Yet to what extent may differ depending on in their situation, their views of the concept, how long they have been using and promoting the concept and further in what ways their work contributes to a societal and environmental change through CSR practice. The field study has been conducted within the municipality of Kathmandu, Nepal

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Yu, Jieqiong, and 余洁琼. "The effectiveness of extended producer responsibility in motivating eco-design changes: perspectives from China'selectrical and electronics industry." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2010. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B47185934.

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Extended producer responsibility (EPR) as a holistic approach to product stewardship has been increasingly incorporated into environmental policy agenda in the last two decades. One major expectation of EPR is to prevent environmental problems at source by providing appropriate incentives for product eco-design changes. However, available studies empirically examining the actual influence of EPR on eco-design are limited. This research therefore aims to fill the research gap by evaluating the effectiveness of existing EPR programmes in driving eco-design changes from the perspective of China’s electrical and electronic (EE) industry, and shed some light on the prospects of EPR development in China. Based on the analytical framework developed from reconstructed intervention theory, three intensive empirical studies have been carried out. The first study examines the perception and responses of 50 China’s EE manufacturers regarding the EU EPR programmes (i.e. the WEEE and RoHS Directives). The second study investigates the responses of 36 China’s EE manufacturers to the Chinese EPR programmes (i.e. China WEEE and China RoHS legislation) and identifies possible factors that exert causal impact on the occurrence of eco-design. In order to gain a deeper insight into the practical manifestations of effective EPR implementation in the private sector, three company case studies have been conducted in the third stage of the research, serving as an important supplement to the first two studies. The three studies show that EPR programmes in a stringent regulatory approach focusing on products’ environmental properties such as substance bans can exert strong influence on design changes. However, mandated recycling legislation seems to have little driving effect for companies to change product design. The research points to the weakness of collective producer responsibility that is currently adopted in many EU Member States for WEEE implementation in achieving continuous eco-design improvements. It highlights the significance of realising the principle of individual producer responsibility in EPR programmes for achieving this goal. Based on an attributability assessment, the research further shows that there are a number of factors that influence the adoption of eco-design in China, and the link between legislative EPR programmes and eco-design is complex and evolving. Not only may the EPR programmes have different existing, anticipating and potential effect on the incorporation of eco-design, but they may have very different driving influence on environmental laggards and leaders. In this regard, this research suggests that there is no one-stop solution for EPR in China. A mixed mechanism that integrates various policy instruments such as administrative, economic and informative instruments, in conjunction with cooperation and infrastructure facilities, would be the most effective means to implement EPR in the context of China, thereby achieving the goal of sustainable production and consumption. published_or_final_version Kadoorie Institute Doctoral Doctor of Philosophy

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Darendeli, Izzet Sidki. "AN INVESTIGATION OF FIRM RESPONSES TO RAPID VS. CONTINUOUS INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE: DYNAMIC VIEW OF FIRM PERFORMANCE AT POST-ENTRY." Diss., Temple University Libraries, 2015. http://cdm16002.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p245801coll10/id/333881.

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Business Administration/Strategic Management Ph.D. This dissertation consists of three essays broadly centering on external changes and how organizations respond to these change by altering themselves. My investigations focus on knowledge transfer and innovation related firm responses with an emphasis on firms’ especially, Multinational Enterprises’ (MNEs) market strategies such as ownership, governance and location choices and their non-market strategies such as political networking and stakeholder management. I'm particularly interested in emerging countries and the changing institutional environment in those contexts. To study changes occurring in different speeds and varying firm responses to them, I have hand-collected longitudinal datasets for different industries and employed both qualitative and quantitative methodologies: my datasets covers both moderately-dynamic industries such as multinational construction and retailing and as well as more knowledge-intensive industries such as multinational pharmaceutical, electronics and computer & software industries. Chapter 1: MNE Legitimacy in the Eyes of the People: Insights from Libya about Surviving Association with an Overthrown Regime In the first chapter, I investigate how firms respond to changes that are less-anticipated and takes place in a rapid fashion. Differentiating between the learning that MNEs accumulate at the host-countries and related learning they transfer from similar locations, this paper is built upon and extend theories about how MNEs, cope with institutional voids and transitions in relation to their political connections, corporate social responsibility strategies and interactions with stakeholders in the emerging countries. In order to do so, I conducted an in-depth qualitative study on how different MNEs with different interaction levels to the Gaddafi Regime, society, tribes and the new government in Libya were affected by the Arab Spring. In this paper, using the Arab Spring as a natural experiment and employing Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Fuzzy-set methodology, we build new theory on how MNEs can survive and even thrive during times of fast institutional transitions. We introduce “the legitimacy of the government” as an alternative measure of host-country political environment assessment and suggest that MNEs that deepened, broadened and expanded their political connections and strategies to multiple political actors and complemented them with CSR related activities fare better major institutional changes at the host countries. In addition, the results suggest that host-country only specific learning can lock-in MNEs not to see the changing “tea leaves” if they don't complement it with their recent related experiences from their operations other countries. Chapter 2: The Effect of Different Post-Entry Experiences on Changing Market Entry Choices The second chapter focuses on post-entry operations of multinational retail firms that are required to offer a standardized service for an effective knowledge redeploying, but also need to recombine their HQ knowledge with the knowledge that the subsidiaries possess, to ensure adaptation to the local conditions at the same time. The change, now being the multiple uncertainties related with multinational retail chains’ internationalization into different locations, I first analyze how these firms decide on efficient firm boundaries and positioning after their entry into the host countries, and then investigate effects of these post-entry choices on their performance at the host-countries. Constructing a novel data-set of MNEs post-entry commitments in the host countries, my study reviews MNEs’ behavior after they have entered a foreign country and individually tracks their alteration of its ownership and retail format changes over time within that country starting from 1975 and until 2013. This paper provides a more process-based understanding of MNEs’ choices and strategies at the host countries, which extends the scant literature on mode-dynamics. The empirical results show that; MNEs are more likely to change their governance modes after the negative initial performance rather than after the positive initial performance, however, they tend to act completely in the reverse fashion for their decisions regarding changing their initial format choices at post-entry. I also show that the MNEs that change these initial market entry choices regardless of the initial performance have higher probability of survival at the host countries at post-entry, controlling for the dissimilarity between the home and the host countries and after taking into consideration of the possible selection effect of initial market entry decisions. Chapter 3: Differential Effects of Local, Foreign Firms and Supra-National Institutions on the Pace of Institutional Change in Developing Countries In the third chapter, I track changes in local innovation process and IP regime at the same time in the knowledge intensive patent areas such as pharmaceuticals, computer, software and electronics in developing countries. My focus is on Trade Related Intellectual Property Standards (TRIPS) agreement which was signed between developed and developing countries that made it compulsory in emerging countries the protection of product patents along with the process patents. Developing countries were given a 10-year allowance until January 1, 2005, in order to bring their patent system into line with TRIPS obligations as well as other flexibilities. Interestingly, while some of the developing countries such as India used these flexibilities and waited until the end of the 10-year allowance, some countries such as Brazil, Korea and Turkey ratified the TRIPS agreement and put the new regulations into action right away. We explain the variation in developing countries’ rate of TRIPS compliance by new institutionalism and co-evolutionary perspectives, by presenting a framework that shows effects of different actors within innovation systems on different trajectory and rates of institutional change. The results indicate that higher composition of local firms result in slower change of the IP Regime in developing countries, while higher the Advanced Country Multinationals, faster the change. I also find that supranational institutions such as IMF moderate this relationship. Temple University--Theses

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Miller, Daniel, and Simon Schaller. "A Leader’s Challenge – Are Environmental Frindliness and Business Compatible? : An investigation of eco-friendly managerial behaviour in Swedish and German small and midsize enterprises." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Ekonomihögskolan, ELNU, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-19446.

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Due to the global warming, the increase in greenhouse gases and the resulting threat for the environment, not only private households have to rethink their behaviour towards the environment, but also companies and organisations have a responsibility towards their environment. Therefore, we investigated several small and midsize enterprises in order to understand their way of implementing strategies of eco-friendliness and thus contributing to the ‘green revolution’ which is apparently in progress. The managers and company leaders provided us with their personal experiences in implementing environmental certificates and Environmental Management Systems. We learned that the trigger point for the implementation of certificates or management systems is often a stakeholder demand. Therefore, our theoretical framework presents our personal understanding of leadership, an example of the relationship of leadership and eco-friendliness, the conflicts of interest within different roles leaders are often captured in, the presentation of personally chosen environmental certificates and stakeholder theory.

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Evrard, Nicholas. "When does it pay to be carbon neutral?" Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80783.

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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. Companies produce carbon and GHG emissions in the course of doing business. Climate change issues and the impact of global warming affect business conditions. Companies need to deal with these issues and to introduce procedures for their mitigation. They can also aim to formulate strategies to enable the company to achieve a sustainable future. This study was designed to evaluate the motivation for South African businesses to voluntarily invest in becoming carbon neutral and to assess the payoff when adopting such strategies. This study has defined the concept of carbon neutrality, the opportunities of pursuing such a strategy and the risks of not doing so for the purpose of understanding the motivational drivers. An adapted framework was developed to assess whether or not such strategies are attractive. The empirical study examined four companies in terms of motivation. The exploratory case studies were compared to the descriptions and the frameworks discussed in the literature review. The study should serve to inform other companies of the possible opportunities and risks of lowcarbon initiatives. Exploring the methods leading to carbon neutrality should also serve as a tool for companies willing to participate in such projects.

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Tuglu, Nil. "Lived Experience of Activity Based Working : An explorative study of the change of workspaces at IKEA to an activity-based environment." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för organisation och entreprenörskap (OE), 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-67373.

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Backgroud: This master thesis is about discovering the concept of ‘Activity- Based Working (ABW)’ and its application to the specific case of IKEA. ABW is a phenomenon in office design and management. From a physical perspective, it discards private offices, desks and desktop computers assigned for individual’s permanent use (Parker, 2016). Instead, the office space is rearranged with various areas tailored for different work tasks, such as hubs for teamwork, meeting areas, cubicles, phone booths, workshop areas and more (Parker, 2016; Ditchburn, 2014). The application of ABW involves in the behavioral environment in addition to the physical one. The behavioral environment is aimed to encourage collaboration, creativity, team work and flexible working (Koetsveld & Kamperman, 2011). The concept of ABW is yet under-researched. The existing literature presents the driving factors of open-plan and partially activity-based workspaces from an organizational perspective. The driving factors and expected outcomes of ABW are steered by the work-related needs by the practitioners and scholars. The needs identified by scholars, which are leading companies to take an action towards ABW are mainly organizational needs. The empirical studies reveal positive and negative outcomes of activity- based way of working, affecting physical and behavioral environments of employees, without building a relationship between the work-related needs and the outcome. In addition, these studies are very limited and they do not cover the reflections of driving factors on employees. Addressing this gap, I want to add to the literature on office space by presenting an empirical case of IKEA, which combines the rationales and experiences of employees shortly after their workspace has been transformed to ABW. My purpose is not to point out the positive or negative experience, but to reveal employees’ interpretation of the new workspace and how they experience it. Research question: How do employees interpret the rationales around the transformation of their office space into ABW and how do they experience the ABW environment? Purpose: To investigate the lived experience of IKEA employees in a physically and behaviorally changing workspace and to problematize the relationship of the rationales and experiences of employees. Method: This research is an explorative case study. The data presented in findings is collected through semi-structured interviews. Thirteen interviews conducted in three different locations of IKEA. Conclusion: The study concluded as the lived experience of employees is not mainly parallel to the rationales of organization towards changing to an activity-based environment. The findings revealed a tension between the driving factors and the lived experience. Driving factors reflect what is planned by the organization; whereas the lived experience do not directly show the impact of driving factors on the outcome. The lived experience brings the attention to the social needs of employees to be considered in workspace.

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Roopwichet, Phetcharee. "Towards improved 'quality of working life' in Thai business organisations: The identification of priorities and principles for staff development in Thai business management." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2001. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/36654/1/36654_Digitised%20Thesis.pdf.

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This dissertation documents an investigation into the management styles of several business organisations in Chiangmai, Thailand. The investigation sought to better understand the nature of Thai business management styles - their assumptions, values and practices, and thereby contribute indirectly to the improvement of working conditions in such organisations. Out of this better understanding, eight key principles have been developed for guiding both external stakeholders (academics, consultants and staff developers) and stakeholders who are internal to such organisations. This is in keeping with the rationale of a professional doctorate, that is, the research conducted within the program should be directed towards the improvement of conditions of practice in a field with which the researcher is familiar and in which the researcher does professional work. In this case, the researcher is a native of the geographical area in which the research was conducted and has been associated with many of the stakeholders through her previous work as a business consultant. The study draws for its rationale on the well-documented fact of Thai business collapse in the economic crisis of July 1997 and afterwards. With on-going problems including increasing unemployment, large numbers of business closures and foreign business take-overs, there is clearly a need to focus more squarely on the capacity that exists within Thai business organisations for self-direction. The term self-direction, as used here, refers to self-directed organisational change by means of developing a workplace learning culture. This is in keeping with the thrust of Thailand's Eighth National Plan (1997). How current stakeholders perceive this capacity in terms of the current strengths and weaknesses of business management styles in one area of northern Thailand is the focus of the study. The investigation proceeded as a qualitative inquiry. This was held to be more suited to the task of increasing understanding, given the importance of cultural sensitivity and cultural nuance in identifying individual perceptions of local priorities for learning in the workplace. With respect to the matter of cross-cultural ethics, the research was informed by the concerns of anthropological writers (see for example Hobart, 1993). This ensured that any attempt to impose generic principles on local stakeholders would be refused in favour of a respectful and culturally sensitive engagement with the ideas expressed by local stakeholders within their local contexts. Nineteen stakeholders agreed to act as subjects of an in-depth interview in relation to their perceptions of the Chiangmai business management styles. Interview participants selected on the basis of their age, background and role either within or outside Chiangmai organisations. The cohort of interviewees represented a spread of people across these categories. The fact that the researcher was able to interview in the local languages (Northern Thai, Central Thai and Chinese) meant that it was possible to mitigate cultural misunderstanding of the sort that can occur when generic processes are used to investigate specific people doing specific tasks, or when language is 'translated' with insufficient sensitivity to cultural differences. Data that were forthcoming from these interviews were analysed in terms of the degree to which they confirmed or refuted the extant literature on Thai management practice. The analysis showed that, while there seem to be some aspects of local management styles that are predictable from the literature, other issues had not received sufficient attention. They include: the importance of nonrational matters in business transactions; the low status of working conditions; the minimal nature of business planning and financial management; and the implications of 'face-saving' for budget and client-driven matters. When the data analysis is cross-referenced to the literature, eight principles are demonstrated to emerge. They are: 1. The owner or employer/manager should understand him/herself to be a learner. 2. Learning opportunities need to be generated within the business, with the full endorsement and support of owners. 3. Learning support should be observable in tangible resources made available in the workplace. 4. The importance of practical links between workplaces and educational institutions should be acknowledged. 5. External stakeholders can only have a limited role in preparing organisations to be changeready, should be recognized. 6. There is a need to recognise that personal, familial relationships are a two-edged sword in Thai workplaces. 7. It should be understood that health and safety need to be seen as productivity and job satisfaction issues. 8. In Thai business workplaces, investment in personal luxury is a face-saving issue, not simply an issue of self-gratification. It is proposed that these eight principles should underpin the strategies developed by Thai businesses to respond more positively to the changing demands of business management in a globalised economy.

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Ganzevoort, Boto Wybrand. "Leveraging connectivity to innovate for a differentiated customer experience : a study into the management of interaction between financial services organisations and their external environment to enhance the innovation process for the delivery of a differentiated customer experience." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/50008.

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Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The high degree of extant commoditisation of organizations and their value propositions in the financial services industry has necessitated organizations in the industry to seek differentiation from the competition. Innovation has generally been accepted as a way for organizations to create differentiation by adding value to the organization. Until recently the focus of innovation activities has been limited to the product or the service of the organization. Recent emphasis has however shifted the innovation mandate to more holistically consider the total experience the customer has when interacting with the organization. This study concerns itself with the organizational activities required to innovate the customer experience. The main argumentation adopted by the thesis suggests that organizations need to constantly leverage their connectivity, forward and backward in value systems, across organizational boundaries to enhance the customer experience innovatively. Leveraging the organization's connectivity creates advantages for both radical and incremental innovation management to thereby improve and sustain the organization's profitability. The study commences by critically analysing the total customer expenence and then describing how the customer experience can create differentiation for the organization. The second part of the study scrutinises innovation literature to gain an understanding of how and where organizations can benefit in the management of innovation. The third part of the study reveals multi-channel management as a method that can be utilised to deliver the customer experience innovatively and benefit the organization in the continuous innovation of the customer experience. The study culminates in a preliminary model that conceptualises the leveraging of connectivity in the innovation process necessary within the organization for the innovation of a differentiated customer experience. Limitations of the study are described, and recommendations are made for both further research and the application of the study to the business environment. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ondernemings in die finansiële dienste industrie ondervind huidiglik dat hul waardeproposisies relatief maklik in kommoditeite verander. Dit noodsaak ondernemings in hierdie industrie tot toenemende innoverende differensiasie om daardeur 'n voorsprong op konkurrente in die mark te verkry. Innovasie word algemeen aanvaar as die manier waarop organisasies waarde kan toevoeg om sodoende differensiasie te bewerkstellig. Tot onlangs was die fokus van innovasie-aktiwiteite beperk tot die produk of diens van 'n onderneming. Die moderne tendens is dat die klem in die innovasiemandaat verskuif om die totale ervaring in die interaksieproses tussen onderneming en kliënt holisties te benader. Hierdie studie konsentreer op die organisatoriese aktiwiteite wat benodig word in die innoveering van die kliënt se ervaring. Die hoof argument wat deur die tesis aanvaar word, beklemtoon dat ondernemings deurlopend hul konnektiwiteit voor- en terugwaarts in die waardesisteem, moet hefboom oor organisatoriese grense heen, om daardeur die innovasieproses van die kliënte-ervaring te bevorder. Om die onderneming se konnektiwiteit op hierdie wyse te hefboom, skep voordele vir beide radikale en inkrementele innovasie bestuur waardeur die onderneming se winsgewendheid volgehou en verbeter kan word. In die aanvang van die studie word gepoog om die totale verbruikerservaring krities te analiseer; daarna word uiteengesit hoe die kliënte-ervaring vir die onderneming differensiasie kan skep. Die tweede deel van die studie ondersoek literatuur wat betrekking het op innovasie om daardeur te verstaan hoe en waar ondernemings voordeel kan trek uit die bestuur van innovasie. Die derde deel van die studie stel multikanaal-bestuur voor as 'n metode om die beoogde kliënte-ervaring te weeg te bring, maar ook as 'n manier om die onderneming te bevoordeel in die deurlopende innovasie van die verbuiker se ervaring. Die studie resulteer in 'n voorlopige model wat die hefboom van konnektiwiteit in die innovasie proses vir 'n gedifferensieerde kliënte-ervaring konseptualiseer. Ten slotte word die beperkings van die studie omskryf en aanbevelings word gemaak vir beide navorsingsdoeleindes, en die toepassing van die studie tot die praktiese sakeomgewing.

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Kanellis, Panagiotis Nikolaos. "Information systems and business fit in dynamic environments." Thesis, Brunel University, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.320217.

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Knowles, Kathryn. "A holistic framework for environmental change: socio-environmental cohesion for sustainability." Thesis, University of Hull, 2010. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:4918.

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Research purpose: Environmental issues have become a regular debate within social, business and political arenas. The need to combine social, environmental and economic systems to achieve a sustainable future (Triple Bottom Line), is gaining prominence within many international development projects. The study of traditional business Environmental Management Systems (EMS) leads to the observation that such systems place primary emphasis upon economic and environmental factors. The project begins with the proposal that an EMS built by an organisations employees' has a greater potential to identify practical environmental impacts and reduce social resistance to change.Methods: This thesis details the development of a seven-stage framework for environmental change referred to as Socio-Environmental Cohesion for Sustainability (SECS). The framework is trialled within a case study organisation (OrgX) using an interpretivist philosophy of social constructionism to guide the research. An action research project is conducted with the researcher acting as an observing participant of the change process. The developed framework follows a multimethodology design of organisational engagement, with strong emphasis placed upon the social values that can drive environmental management practices. The combination of cybernetic and social tools of organisational analysis is shown to provide a unique approach to environmental strategy design; Viable Systems Model, Team Syntegrity, Cultural Analysis, Social Network Analysis.Results: The Cultural and Social Network Analyses provide evidence of an informal environmental network (EWG) contained within OrgX, and identify the core social environmental values of the employee group. A Team Syntegrity workshop is performed and develops a bottom-up participatory approach to environmental strategy designs between the EWG and business management. Following the workshop, OrgX is shown to implement 56% of the developed environmental strategy within eight months. The Viable Systems Model is used to diagnose the organisations structure, which is then combined with the Social Network Analysis to establish the outreach of the EWG.Conclusions: The recognition of the informal environmental network as an official management committee, improvements to operational efficiency and practical benefits to onsite biodiversity, indicates that the SECS framework is capable of addressing all aspects of the Triple Bottom Line.

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Allemeier, Jodi. "Developing a vulnerability reference framework for Cape Town International Airport in the context of carbon uncertain futures." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80778.

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Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. In recent years there has been a growth in literature from multiple disciplines on the potential effects of climate change and a corresponding growth in literature on potential mitigation and adaptation response strategies, including multiple means of shifting to a low-carbon future. Multiple assessment techniques have been developed to understand the potential vulnerability to, and impacts of climate change. At the same time, there is a lack of methodology to understand the potential vulnerability to, and impacts of, responses to climate change on a micro level. This research report describes the development of a reference framework to be used to monitor the vulnerability of the Cape Town International Airport to changes in carbon pricing and/or a shift to a low-carbon future. A theoretical approach was taken, which reviews existing techniques and proposes an integrated framework approach which was then applied to the case study of Cape Town International Airport. Existing literature on what is understood by a low carbon future shows that there is uncertainty about what mitigation and adaptation approaches will be adopted on various scales, and, similarly, uncertainty on what this means for a low carbon economy. Existing scenario development, vulnerability assessment, risk assessment and impact assessment methodologies were then reviewed, revealing a dearth of integrated approaches and an emphasis on the direct impacts of climate change, with a lack of attention to the impacts of responses to climate change. Finally, an overview of what are considered key driving forces in airport feasibility is provided in order to identify potential areas of vulnerability that require attention in any assessment of an airports’ vulnerability to different futures. Building on the various methodologies reviewed, and the understanding of key airport drivers, a reference framework is developed with special focus on the Cape Town International Airport and its current financial structure and planning framework. The final section of the paper discusses preliminary findings as illustrative of the approach, concluding that the framework can be applied via multidisciplinary collaboration, but that further work would be required both internally and externally in order to better manage uncertainties.

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Haskins, Craig Ian. "Impacts of climate change : some economic considerations for decision-makers in the City of Cape Town, using Langebaan Lagoon as a case study." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/50366.

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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2005 ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Strong scientific evidence suggests that global warming is altering the world's climate and that this phenomenon is being accelerated as a result of human activities. Climate change is affecting weather patterns and, in addition to demonstrated sea-level rise, these in turn have and are likely to continue having significant, mostly negative, impacts - both economic and loss of life - on governments, industries and people. Ocean levels rose between 15 and 20 centimeters in the 20th century, mostly as a result of melting glaciers and thermal expansion of the oceans. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2001a: 16) in its 2001 estimate suggests a potential rise in average sea level from nine to 88 centimeters from 1990 to 2100. Areas of risk in the City of Cape Town are residential property, infrastructure and beaches in low-lying areas. These areas are likely to be impacted as a result of increasing sea-level rise and increasing severity and frequency of storms. This study seeks to • demonstrate that sufficient evidence exists to compel decision-makers in the City of Cape Town that climate change and the impacts of sea-level rise and increasing frequency and severity of storms need to be considered in development planning; and • test cost-benefit analysis (through climate change impact analysis) as a tool for decision-makers to consider adaptation measures, using Langebaan as a case study. The research comprises a comprehensive literature study of the impacts of climate change, particularly with respect to coastal areas. A case study based on the eroding beaches at Langebaan is used to test cost-benefit analysis as a tool for decision-makers in dealing with the impacts. Despite the uncertainties associated with the impacts of climate change (time, place and extent) the issues of sea-level rise and severe storms seem to warrant further investigation, especially at a local level. This study provides local context to a global problem and makes recommendations for decision-makers in the City of Cape Town. Climate impact analysis (incorporating cost-benefit analysis) is suggested as a tool to quantify avoided damages at vulnerable coastal sites in the City of Cape Town. In conclusion, the impacts of climate change are a complex and multivariate problem. However, there are a number of identified vulnerable areas along the coastline of the City of Cape Town and using tools like climate impact analysis and cost-benefit analysis may assist in identifying, costing and managing these economic risks before the problem becomes unmanageable - a case for quantifying avoided damage. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sterk wetenskaplike bewyse bestaan dat globale verwarming besig is om die wêreld se klimaat te verander en hierdie verskynsel word versnel deur die mens se handelinge. Klimaatsverandering affekteer weerpatrone en bykomend tot gedemonstreerde stygende seevlakke, sal dit waarskynlik 'n langdurige en meestal negatiewe impak - beide ekonomies en lewensverlies - op regerings, industrieë en mense hê. Seevlakke het in die twintigste eeu met tussen 15 en 20 sentimeter gestyg, meestal as gevolg van smeltende ysberge en hitte uitsetting van die oseane. Die 'International Panel on Climate Change' (IPCC, 2001a: 16) het in hul skatting 'n waarskynlike seevlak styging van tussen 9 en 88 sentimeters voorspel vir die tydperk 1990 - 2100. Risikogebiede in die Stad Kaapstad is residensiële gebiede, infrastruktuur en strande in laagliggende gebiede. Hierdie gebiede sal ge-affekteer word deur stygende seevlakke en groter en meer gereelde storms. Hierdie studie poog om • te demonstreer dat voldoende bewyse bestaan om besluitnemers van die Stad Kaapstad te oortuig dat weerveranderinge en die impak van seevlakstygings en toenemende storms in aanmerking geneem moet word in ontwikkelings beplanning; en • koste-voordeel analises (deur klimaatsverandering impak analises) te beproef as 'n hulpmiddel vir besluitnemers om aanpasbare maatreëls te oorweeg, deur Langebaan as 'n voorbeeld te gebruik. Ten spyte van onsekerhede wat saamgaan met die impak van klimaatverandering (tyd, plek en omvang) regverdig die problem van stygende seevlakke en erge storms verdere ondersoek, meer spesifiek op plaaslike vlak. Hierdie studie gee plaaslike konteks aan 'n globale probleem en maak aanbevelings aan beplanners van die Stad Kaapstad. Klimaat impak analises word as hulpmiddel voorgestel om vermybare skades by kwesbare kusgebiede in die Stad Kaapstad te kwantifiseer. Ten slotte: die impak van klimaatsverandering is 'n komplekse probleem met baie fasette. Nietemin is daar verskere sensitiewe areas langs die kus van Stad Kaapstad, en klimaat impak analises en koste-voordeel analises kan help met die identifisering, kosteberekening en bestuur van hierdie ekonomiese risiko areas, voordat dit onhanteerbaar raak.

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Manns, Helen. "The environmental manager as organisational change agent." Thesis, Northumbria University, 2017. http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/36211/.

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The long term profitability and sustainability of organisations is inextricably linked to the health of our natural environment (Redekop, 2010) yet their actions continue to both directly and indirectly impact upon the environment and the services it provides. Organisations need to ensure that they have access to the skills, competencies and knowledge needed to operate within the constraints that the environment imposes and to change their business practices to respond to challenges that are inevitable in the future. However, skills and attributes to initiate and support organisational environmental change remain ill defined (Quinn and Dalton, 2006; Van Velsor, 2009; Willard et. al., 2010; Christie et. al., 2013). This study addresses this research gap by evaluating the factors that influence the success of environmental manages as change agents within their organisations. Using semi-structured interviews with environmental managers in the Northeast of England, the study explores the mechanisms used by practitioners to bring about change, the barriers and enablers they experience and the skills, attributes, behaviours and values they believe to be important for success. In so doing, the study provides a practitioner perspective on organisational environmental change. Findings highlight the context specific nature of environmental change but point to a strong degree of commonality in the characteristics likely for success as an environmental manager. The importance of personal environmental concern, strong communication and people skills, a pragmatic approach to organisational change and strong organisational knowledge alongside environmental knowledge, are identified as important. The findings of the study have implications for the ways in which the environmental managers of the future are educated and supported through their professional development. Additionally, the study highlights the need for further effort by professional bodies to raise the profile of the environmental manager role and to promote the robust validation of competencies within the profession.

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Upadhyay, Aditya. "Strategic Decisions to Increase Performance Band in Carbon Disclosure Project Reports." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2901.

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In 2014, only 48% of S&P companies scored high-performance band B ratings and above in their Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) reports to attract the interest of institutional investors holding U.S. $92 trillion plus assets under management. This multiple case study explored the business leaders' strategic decisions to improve the performance band ratings in the companies' CDP reports. The conceptual framework for this study was stakeholder theory, which suggests that businesses should incorporate the interest of institutional investors to minimize the climate-related risks that could affect their investment decisions. The target population for this study was business leaders from S&P 500 companies in the eastern United States who have experience in making strategic decisions to improve performance band ratings in the CDP reports. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with 4 business leaders and an exploration of company archival documents related to carbon management. Using Yin's data analysis method 5 themes emerged: governance, risk management, target and initiatives, measurement and verification, and transparency and disclosure. These themes highlighted companies' governing strategies for better carbon management, which are essential in achieving better performance band ratings in the CDP reports to attract the interest of intuitional investors. Better carbon management by S&P 500 companies will facilitate a positive social change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions that are detrimental to human health and well-being of its stakeholders.

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Armanto, Elina, and Maja Cassel. "Institutional Pressure & Industrial Wisdom : How industrial wisdom in the Swedish car dealer industry has been affected by the 1400/2002 motor vehicle block exemption." Thesis, Jönköping University, JIBS, EMM (Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Management), 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-9698.

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The implementation of a new motor vehicle block exemption began in 2002, and affected the car dealer industry in Sweden. Before this new regulation, a general agent distributing cars to dealers had the ability to restrict car dealers’ behavior much more. Nowadays, dealers have the right to sell different brands from the same showroom, even if there are strict rules about how the different brands should be presented. The new block exemption have also given car dealers possibilities to establish in other places within EU were selective distribution is applied.As the environment changed (by the block exemption), dealers faced new information that required interpretation. In this thesis we have focused on industrial wisdom; a reasonable and consistent, yet subjective, sense-making of reality in an industry. This sense-making is a way to understand and justify company behavior; resulting assumptions are considered so basic that they remain unquestioned by industry participants. However, interpretations depend on who makes them; different persons interpret things in different ways.In the light of the car dealer industry and the motor vehicle block exemption 1400/2002, this thesis investigated if change due to institutional pressure can affect industrial wisdom. Further, what does this process look like.To fulfill our purpose we conducted a qualitative research by interviewing 19 Chief Executive Officers from the car dealer industry in Sweden. The sample was designed by a maximum variation sampling technique, in which we as researchers used our own judgment to pick cases that were extra informative. Before we conducted the interviews, we reviewed literature to gain a general understanding of the industry and relevant issues.From our research we know that industrial wisdom can change due to a shift in institutional pressure and we observed that the car dealer industrial wisdom was changing. There are some new perceptions and aspects of wisdom, which suggest that the industry has moved away from previous equilibrium. Nevertheless, perceptions are diverse in a number of areas and thoughts have not been translated into action, which leaves much potential for further change. Naturally, this is a slow and difficult process since cognitive maps are embedded in a mindset that relies on previous experience and automatic interpretations. If wisdom changes more depends a great deal on if/how dealers (continue to) act.This thesis resulted in a model (The Loop of Wisdom) that explains how a change in institutional pressure affects industrial wisdom. New information enters the company, gets interpreted, acted upon and feeds back out to the environment, which affect other companies and the industry as a whole.

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Nilsson, Andreas. "Projektledning i korta projekt : Observationer av projektledares arbete i multiprojektmiljö." Licentiate thesis, Umeå universitet, Samhällsvetenskaplig fakultet, Handelshögskolan vid Umeå universitet, 2004. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-61254.

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As most of the project management models were developed for larger projects, there is a lack of understanding of what project managers in short duration projects do. Short-duration projects are projects in multi-project environments lasting for a number of weeks rather than a number of months. Even if they are common today, short-duration projects have not yet attracted the interest of project researchers. The present study aims to analyze what the project managers in short duration projects do and to develop a method for studying the project managers at work. A theoretical framework is built on earlier studies of managers’ work, suggesting three areas having impact on the project manager’s work. The impacting areas are the project, the project manager’s experience, and the organizational context of the project. The project manager and the assisting project manager were studied while managing a sub-project in a greater telecom system project. The project managers were studied one week each using participant observation and interviews. The findings indicate that much of the time at work was spent in meetings of different kinds, to deal with change, and to guard the production teams from being disturbed by changes in the environment. It was also found that studying a multi-project environment from the sub-project’s perspective gives a different view on multi-project environments that have earlier been presented as the project managers in the short-duration project constantly have to adjust to changes, inputs and demands from the surrounding projects and functional organizations. In the end some proposals on directions for further studies of managers of short-duration projects are made.

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de, Oliveira Maria Elizabeth Faria Real. "Managing the environmental change process : how to use waste minimisation as an effective tool for business improvement." Thesis, University of South Wales, 2000. https://pure.southwales.ac.uk/en/studentthesis/managing-the-environmental-change-process(b57e996f-9d1f-46af-a19d-68ae2a0efe90).html.

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In the business sector there is increasing pressure for organisations to embrace Sustainable Development - but what does it really mean for the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Sector? While this concept has received considerable attention in the academic literature, legislation and common language, it has perhaps inevitably lost some of its precision. Within business ventures in the industrialised world, sustainable development has only been applied in a few bigger enterprises. Given that Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) make up the majority of manufacturing capacity in industrial economies it is -worthwhile to examine the concept in order to assess its relevance to the specific needs of SMEs. The author proposes in this research that a very successful way for SMEs to contribute positively towards sustainable development and indeed to survive in a highly competitive environment is to embrace waste minimisation. The author reports that smaller businesses appear to see waste minimisation as peripheral rather than integral to sound and competitive business practice. She argues that waste minimisation can in fact be the key driver for sustainable change within the Small and Medium-Sized sector. The author reports upon her participation in two European Regional Development-funded projects, namely the Environmental Enterprise Project, and the Environmental Mentoring Project, assisting SMEs to establish waste minimisation programmes. These projects served the purpose of gathering raw data for analysis. The projects spanned 3 years and, during that time, a novel -waste minimisation methodology was developed -which generated cost savings and environmental benefits. The principal findings of this research are (i) the waste rninimisation methodology can be effectively used to achieve cultural change within the organisation, (ii) defining waste as "anything that doesn't add value to the customer" enabled the companies to more readily understand waste and thus positively contribute to business improvement.

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Khan, Imran. "Environment-induced changes in biomedical polyurethanes." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.620709.

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Rangiaho, Melina. "Senior management's influence on the contextual components of an organisation that affect creativity : a case study of a New Zealand manufacturing company." Diss., Lincoln University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/351.

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Organisations are under enormous pressure to become more innovative in all areas of their operations if they are going to continue to compete successfully (Leavy, 2003). The first stage of successful innovation is ensuring that creativity, the generation of novel ideas, is achieved (McFadzean, et al., 2004). With regards to an organisation's creative environment, theory has suggested that the basic orientation of a company's support for creativity comes directly from the behaviours of the highest levels of management (Amabile, 1996). Despite this proposed relationship, little empirical research has been conducted that examines the role that senior management of an organisation play in influencing a work environment that stimulates creativity. A research model has been developed that illustrates the possible relationships between the functions of senior managers and the creative work environment of an organisation. Essentially this model is be utilised as a framework to examine how do the management functions create the stimulants and impediments of an organisation's environment that affect creativity? The method used to investigate this research question is a qualitative investigation of two manufacturing plants that operate in a larger New Zealand food processing company. This entailed gathering information through semi-structured interviews with employees from the senior management to lower level employees. In addition, direct observations at the plants and archival data in the form of company reports, articles and prior studies were used to gather further information. From this research, three key findings were established. (1) Amabile, et al's., (1996) theory that a number of variables stimulate creativity, while others impede it, was supported. (2) Trust was found to be the key intervening variable, the foundation, upon which a creative context can be built. (3) The Senior Manager, in the case of this research the Operations Manager and Production Centre Manager, played a crucial role in providing the contextual variables that facilitate creativity. As this research suggests, organisational creativity is complicated by the fact that it is affected by the social dynamics operating between key parties within an organisation. Consequently, it is characterised by informal relationships, freedom and resource allocation that ultimately requires that a level of trust exists between key parties. It is senior management's responsibility to ensure that such a work environment is created. These managers are only able to build trust within their organisations by acting with benevolence, integrity and demonstrating that they are committed to employee creativity.

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Persson, Cecilia, and Victoria Jonsson. "The Change Process Towards an Activity-Based Flexible Office : A Qualitative Study Regarding the Perceptions of Managers and Employees at Skellefteå Municipality." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Företagsekonomi, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-172753.

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Change is a constant factor in today's society and an important factor in the success of organizations. As a result, it is highly important that organizations learn to manage change in order to stay competitive and keep up with the rapidly changing market conditions. Change Management has therefore been a highly emphasized area within Business Administration. As new trends arise on the global market, it is important for organizations to be able to adapt. One of these trends is the implementation of the Activity-Based Flexible Office (A-FO). An Activity-Based Flexible Office consists of different areas with closed, half-open or open zones. The areas are created in order to match employee needs and the requirements of each work activity that needs to be conducted. As a result, no one is assigned a personal workstation, instead the employees move between different areas depending on what type of work activity they need to accomplish. Even though Change Management has been thoroughly investigated and A-FOs have been researched to some extent, no previous research has been found regarding the change process of implementing an A-FO. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the difference in managers’ and employees’ perceptions regarding the change process towards an A-FO. As a result, a deeper understanding of change management as well as of the effects of the A-FO will be provided from the viewpoints of managers and employees. This leads to the research questions: “How does the perception of the change process concerning activity-based flexible offices differ between managers and employees? What do managers and employees perceive as essential factors of the change process and A-FO implementation and how do these perceptions differ?”. The Theoretical Framework mainly consist of previous research models and theories regarding change management literature, work environment and activity-based flexible offices as well as employee satisfaction. Communication has also been chosen as an important factor as it has been stated to be vital in both change management and within the A-FO. Furthermore, in order to fulfil the purpose of the thesis and answer the research questions, the chosen research method for this study is qualitative with an exploratory research design and an inductive approach. Therefore, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven respondents from a department at Skellefteå municipality who were chosen based on a combination of a purposive and snowball sampling method. After the interviews were transcribed, the empirical findings were analyzed and presented by using a thematic analysis. The findings show that when conducting an A-FO change process, managers’ and employees’ perceptions often differ. Managers often focus on the practical aspects of a change, while employees emphasized on “soft values”. Employees were also more skeptical towards the change in the beginning, compared to managers, and seemed more aware of possible disturbances in the A-FO. Furthermore, both managers and employees were highly satisfied with the change process and the implementation of the A-FO, but emphasized on different factors resulting in increased satisfaction. To conclude, since managers’ and employees’ perception regarding the A-FO change process often differ, but can also coincide, it is important to take both aspects into consideration when conducting this type of change. By involving everyone in the change process, it is more likely to be successful.

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Saenz, Delgado Santos. "Environmental economic regulations and innovative capability| The clean development mechanism." Thesis, Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Mexico), 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3585551.

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This dissertation takes on the debate of whether environmental economic regulations hamper or incentivize firm performance, aside from their objectives of pollutant reductions. Research has shown mixed results regarding this matter. This dissertation proposes that the reason for these mixed results is the omission of the capacity of individual firms to assimilate and respond to these regulations, regarded here as signals from the economic and institutional environment. These signals from the environment come in the form of technological change as environmental economic regulations impose limits to the products, processes or services, which are pollutant intensive, or provide pollutant reduction technologies. Therefore the capacity that firms must possess in order to respond to these signals from the environment must be technology related. It is proposed here that the innovative capability can allow for firms to respond, in a performance increasing way, to these signals from the environment, as it entails the capacity of developing or adopting new technologies. The theoretical approach that this dissertation follows is to frame the economic environmental regulations under a classical regulatory framework, with the diverse mechanisms such as taxes, caps-and-quotas, and subsidies which are regarded as economic environmental regulations, and as signals external to the firm, which act upon it. The innovative capability will be addressed under the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities approach, as this research is under a strategic management perspective. Here the innovative capability is regarded as part of a firm's dynamic capabilities, and it is the means through which firms can assimilate and respond to changes in the environment. Performance relates to the outcomes of the interaction between environmental economic regulations and the innovative capability, and it is expected that the previously mentioned interaction has an effect over the firm, whether it can be beneficial or not, regarding market access or expansion, or earnings/revenues. In the present research project performance is taken as the efficiency rate, and the earnings/revenues of a project of the Clean Development Mechanism or CDM under the Kyoto Protocol (UNFCCC 2013). The institutional environment will be addressed from North's (1990) new institutional economics perspective of institutional theory, which highlights the capability for firms being moderated or mediated by the external environment and vice versa. To operationalize environmental economic regulations this dissertation will reach out to the aforementioned Kyoto protocol, an international agreement for emissions reduction. These emissions reductions are achieved through various mechanisms that allow for different entities to reduce their said emissions, separated by what the Protocol has called commitment countries of the Annex I; and non-Annex I countries with no quantitative commitments. The clean development mechanism (CDM) is one of these mechanisms and it is targeted at firms located in countries of the Kyoto protocol that have no reduction commitments, all of which are emerging economies. The CDM provides firms with pollutant reduction technologies that allow them to transform their pollutants into less harmful emissions, while yielding carbon credits with which they can further trade. These technologies differ in their degree of innovativeness, and each project chooses which technology it will be implementing. The innovative capability dimension will be operationalized as the capacity of firms to select and implement projects with high innovativeness levels. Performance will be operationalized as the particular efficiency rate of each CDM project included in the sample. This is a ratio between the expected and the real number of carbon credits yielded by each CDM project. It also might be reflected in economic variables such as the revenues generated by the project which is the difference between the investment of the project and the revenues obtained from the sale of the carbon credits. The CDM allows for analyzing a single environmental economic regulation across different countries, regarded here as different institutional environments. The effect of these different institutional environments on CDM projects will be assessed by analyzing the effect of their different characteristics, such as country's abatement potential, institutional capacity, investment climate, and geographical or regional characteristics. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

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Windsor, Jeremy S. "Electrocardiographic changes in the high altitude environment." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2015. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/19877/.

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Objective: This thesis sets out to identify the rate, rhythm and morphological changes that occur in the ECG’s of healthy lowland residents who are exposed to hypoxic conditions at sea level and high altitude. Methods: Three separate ECG studies were performed on healthy lowland residents. The first was conducted on 16 members of the Caudwell Xtreme Everest Expedition (CXE) during a stay at Mt Everest Base Camp (EBC) (5300m). The second was conducted on 37 members of the Team Everest Expedition (TE) during an ascent to EBC. Finally, a group of 10 participants were studied whilst breathing a range of hypoxic gas mixtures (12-18% oxygen) at sea level (AHS). Results: Rate - CXE - The median resting heart rate increased following ascent to Mt Everest Base Camp (EBC) (5300m) (P < 0.05). TE - The mean resting heart rate of male and female participants increased following ascent to Namche Bazaar (3500m) (P < 0.05). Rhythm – CXE, TE and AHS: No significant difference was observed in the incidence of atrial or ventricular ectopics following ascent to Mt Everest Base Camp (5300m). Morphology – CXE: The sum of P wave amplitudes in II, III and aVF increased at EBC (P < 0.05). The T wave amplitude in V1 decreased at EBC (P < 0.05). QTc (Bazett’s and Fridericia’s) increased on arrival at EBC (P < 0.05). TE: QTc (Bazett’s and Fridericia’s) increased on ascent to high altitude. QTc (Bazett’s) increased following ascent from Namche Bazaar (3500m) to Gorak Shep (5200m) (P < 0.05). AHS: QTc (Bazett’s and Fridericia’s) increased in hypoxia (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Significant changes in rate, rhythm and morphology occur in healthy lowland residents who are exposed to hypoxic conditions.

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LEMAIRE, Mathilde. "Climate Change Leadership in the eyes of Business." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Tema Miljöförändring, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-167426.

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In 2015, the COP21 creates a new hybrid mode of multilateral governance, which aims to make the action of non-states actors a bridge between the political commitments and the government’s actions. The business world is one of these actors with ambitious new roles to implement the Paris Agreements and its NDCs. Yet it seems that nobody has yet questioned whether companies can also act as leaders at their level or at least help their country/organisation to take the lead. To understand how business perceived their roles in the governance landscape post Paris-Agreement, several questions were asked to see what kind of leadership themselves were looking for. Who are the designated leaders for business when it comes to climate leadership? How have them evolved ? Why are they recognized as such? And what is the role of business in delivering Parties' NDCs in the post Paris-Agreement area? Thanks to a unique data collection of questionnaires distributed on COP22 to 25, it appeared that European leadership is not only the most consistent but also the most recognised, although the other EU partners in the BIG3 are far from demeriting. As the issue is particularly political, it was found that the recognition of leadership is not only due to certain leaders but also to many laws, which create and restrict many opportunities for business. The history and culture of the countries concerned also provided many answers. Finally, it seemed unanimous that a cooperative work between governments and business would allow a better and faster reach of both NDCs and SDGs.

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Wang, Kang, and 王康. "Engaging business with environmental change: an analysis of impediments and incentives in Chinese textileindustry." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2005. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B45014413.

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Wang, Kang. "Engaging business with environmental change : an analysis of impediments and incentives in Chinese textile industry /." View the Table of Contents & Abstract, 2005. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B3508537X.

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Kongsamutr, Navatasn. "Airline key change drivers and business environmental analysis in the Southeast Asia : strategic planning perspectives." Thesis, Cranfield University, 2010. http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/5727.

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This thesis is involved with exploration of key changes drivers and market phenomena in the Southeast Asia and the development of new conceptual frameworks for business environmental analysis of airlines. The research is constructed under the phenomenology paradigm which adopts a coherentism approach and mainly takes airline industry’s publications, statistics, and executives as units of analysis. Hermeneutic phenomenology, a single-embedded case study, concurrent triangulation mixed method, and grounded theory are all used as methodologies. Methods using document reviews, interviews, and questionnaires are applied to surface the key changes drivers, market phenomena and the perceptions of the importance of changes factors. The collected data are analysed by content analysis, thematic analysis, cognitive mapping analysis, constant comparative analysis and descriptive analysis to classify, generalise and develop into proper forms. The research reveals that ‘market’, ‘competition/strategy’, ‘regulation/policy’, ‘infrastructure/resource’, ‘cooperation’, ‘distribution’, ‘technology, and ‘broad’ factors are discovered as key change drivers. Their different importance levels are measured by occurrences, density, centrality, and tail occurrences as root causes of changes. The characteristics of their interrelationships are based on directional and influential dimensions. There are 16 emerged changes/market phenomena and 11 generalised conceptual frameworks and 3 newly developed frameworks for analysing the airline business environment. The quantitative findings from content analysis are evaluated by inter-coder analysis which achieves kappa coefficient = 0.87 indicating high reliability of the analysis. The qualitative findings are qualified through ten criteria assessment of research quality. The deliverables provide both theoretical and methodological contributions. The research limitations are found in some sources of collected data and findings which are caused by scarce data availability and three types of biases. The recommendations for future research into financial performance, changes’ leading indicators and comparative in-depth study in other ASEAN countries and regions are made.

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Christelis, Theodora Anita. "An analysis of the state of green business in the South African retail sector." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16841.

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'Green' business is claimed by some South African retailers even though they lack well-founded and integrated sustainable, social, and environmental commitments. This is because no standards of greening exist for retail in South Africa. The purpose of this study is to explore, 'What constitutes green retail in the South African supermarket sector?' This required investigation into the sustainability of the companies' green business processes, social component of sustainability, and the existing state of the green retail sector. The five dominant supermarkets were selected to answer a questionnaire based on different environmental variables and principles. Interviewee responses were supplemented with publicly available company reports and these were then critiqued by allocating a level of commitment to sustainability of companies' green business processes, social considerations of sustainability, and establishing the current state of the green retail sector. Results show that within business processes, sustainable procurement is becoming increasingly accounted for through eco-labels and enterprise development programs. Distribution processes assist in verifying green claims and production. Various international and local sustainability programs are used to validate green efforts in the lack of national standards. Best practice frameworks are being utilised in the absence of local green standards and where limited, some are creating their own innovative solutions. Sustainability is a core focus at an executive level to some to ensure full integration of sustainability. Retailers may not necessarily pursue trends, but they have similar pressures that are often variably addressed. Although retailers' attempts to green their operations may not be standardised, the retail industry in South African has almost privatised sustainability and socio-economic development as they have superseded legislation to contribute to society and transform communities. It is an opportunity for retailers to take responsibility for their operations and in doing so create innovative solutions that address South Africa's environmental and social issues, in spite of the lack of green standards and governmental regulation, and in doing so become leadership companies that are accountable to their consumer base.

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Wright, Pamela A. "Perceived structure of the environmental/conservation organization market /." The Ohio State University, 1992. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487760357823173.

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McGrath, John Anthony. "Intervention, organisation design and change management : the role of the principal, as change agent, within the environmental context of a college." Thesis, Birkbeck (University of London), 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.297213.

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Mozūriūnaitė, Skirmantė. "Urban mutations affecting the Changes of historical urban Environment." Doctoral thesis, Lithuanian Academic Libraries Network (LABT), 2013. http://vddb.laba.lt/obj/LT-eLABa-0001:E.02~2012~D_20130116_152907-30116.

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The dissertation explores the peculiarities of changes of functional mutation phenomenon. The subject of research covers mutations and transformations in the functional structure of downtown areas of Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda in the period of different social orders (1960 2009) and technological inventions. Urban functions are an important element in the urban structure reflecting problems of the structure and factors influencing them. The detailed research based on the case study of Vilnius city reveals the issue of complexity and multiplicity of functions. The main objective of the dissertation is to evaluate the peculiarities of mutations and transformations formed in the functional structure of the downtown parts of Lithuanian cities (Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda) and their determining factors. The dissertation also aims at disclosing the regularities of urban functional structure, mutations and transformations. The dissertation consists of an introduction, three chapters, conclusions, lists of bibliography and the author’s publications on the dissertation subject, as well as addenda. The introductory chapter introduces and discusses the research issue and relevance of the work, describes the research subject, formulates the purpose and tasks of the work, defines the research methodology, scientific novelty of the work and theses to be defended. By the end of the introduction, three author’s articles on the dissertation subject that have earlier been published in peer... [to full text] Disertacijoje nagrinėjami funkcinių mutacijų reiškinio kaitos ypatumai. Pagrindinis tyrimo objektas – Vilniaus, Kauno ir Klaipėdos miestų centrinių dalių funkcinės struktūros mutacijos ir kaita skirtingų visuomeninių santvarkų bei technologinių atradimų laikotarpiu 1960–2009 m. Urbanistinės funkcijos yra svarbus urbanistinės struktūros elementas, atspindintis urbanistinės struktūros problemas ir jas veikiančius veiksnius. Detalus tyrimas Vilniaus miesto pavyzdžiu atskleidžia funkcijų kompleksiškumo ir daugiafunkciškumo problemą. Pagrindinis disertacijos tikslas – įvertinti susidariusių funkcinės struktūros mutacijų ir transformacijų centrinėse Lietuvos miestų (Vilniaus, Kauno ir Klaipėdos) dalyse ypatumus ir jas lemiančius veiksnius. Disertacijoje taip pat siekiama atskleisti miesto funkcijų struktūros, mutacijų ir transformacijų dėsningumus. Disertaciją sudaro įvadas, trys skyriai, išvados, naudotos literatūros ir autoriaus publikacijų disertacijos tema sąrašai bei priedai. Įvadiniame skyriuje pristatoma ir aptariama tiriamoji problema, darbo aktualumas, aprašomas tyrimų objektas, formuluojamas darbo tikslas ir uždaviniai, aprašoma tyrimų metodika, darbo mokslinis naujumas ir ginamieji teiginiai. Įvado pabaigoje pristatomos autorės paskelbtos publikacijos disertacijos tema recenzuojamuose leidiniuose, skaityti pranešimai konferencijose ir disertacijos struktūra. Pirmasis skyrius skirtas literatūros apžvalgai. Jame nagrinėjama urbanistinių mutacijų samprata. Šiame skyriuje... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Changes in business environment'

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