Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Organizational Capacity for Change (OCC)'

Despite recent advances in the global electrification rates, increasing from 76% in 1990 to 85% in 2012, the United Nations goal of universal access to electricity by 2030 is still far from achieved, with an estimated 1.1 billion people still without access to electricity. Over half of these live in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a majority in rural areas and extreme poverty. Major challenges are inert with the current electrification path of centralized grid extension, leaving these people without power in decades to come. Microgrids, a decentralized power system consisting of solar power generation, energy storage and distribution technology, has been hailed as the only option to provide life improving and productivity inducing power for rural communities in Africa. However, despite recent hype and development in the sector, the diffusion of microgrids is still incremental due to a lack of viable large-scale operation, required for profitability. This is explained by targeting customers in remote rural areas with low ability to pay, and the task of delivering expensive technology and complex operations needed to manage and operate the grids. No industry blueprint or research on how to operate microgrids at scale or profitably exists. This thesis explores one blueprint, with the promise to increase profitability and allow for a more sustainable scaling. Local Capacity building is a decentralized approach by developing capacity directly in the local communities, through recruiting, skills development and training of people to be employed to operate and manage their local microgrids. The results consist of a framework outlining what local capacity building is, through research propositions that define the key components capturing the complete system of local capacity building is for scaling a microgrid business, along with the challenges and opportunities associated with scaling a business using local capacity building. It has been developed iteratively by application of an action research approach conducted on a small-scale Zambian Microgrid company facing radical growth. The researcher was immersed in the context, at the heart of this change, and in a participatory and interventionist fashion turning every stone to explore what local capacity building is, resulting in a robust study anchored in the field. Because of the contextually embedded nature of the data, this also means that the results are local. It is up to the reader to assess the applicability of the results in another context. The extensive results span multiple areas of the business, capturing the complexity of local capacity building, and contribute to knowledge on a holistic level on what local capacity building is. This blueprint was deemed viable to further develop in the small-scale Zambian microgrid company, specifically because of its potential to lower operating expenses and offer a more sustainable way to scale, and in extension diffuse microgrids in Africa.
Trots en positiv utveckling i tillgång till el globalt, ökandes från 76% år 1990, till 85% år 2012, så är Förenta Nationernas mål om universell tillgång till el till år 2030, långt ifrån att bli uppfyllt. 1.1 miljarder människor estimeras vara utan tillgång till el globalt, där över hälften av dessa bor i Sub-Saharanska Afrika, med majoriteten levandes på landsbygden och i extrem fattigdom. Stora utmaningar finns med innevarande elektrifierings strategin, som handlar om centraliserad elproduktion och distribution genom ett centralt elnät, detta kommer att lämna dessa människor utan el under lång tid framöver. Mikronät, ett decentraliserat energisystem, som kan producera och distribuera el, har lyfts fram som det bästa alternativet för att försörja livsförbättrande och produktivitetsökande elektricitet för samhällen på landsbygden i Afrika. Dock, trots nylig hype och utveckling i mikronät sektorn, så är spridningen av mikronät fortfarande inkrementell, beroende av en brist på genomförbarheten av att driva mikronät verksamheten i stor skala, vilket krävs för lönsamhet. Detta förklaras av den fundamentala utmaningen i att inrikta sig mot kunder i avlägsna områden, med en låg förmåga att betala, kombinerat med leveransen av dyr teknologi, och de komplex operativa strukturerna som krävs. Det finns ingen forskning eller blåkopia i industrin som visar hur man skulle kunna bedriva mikronäts verksamhets i stor skala, eller på ett lönsamt vis. Denna forskning undersöker en möjlig sådan blåkopia, med löftet att öka lönsamheten och möjliggöra en mer hållbar spridning. Utveckling av lokal kapacitet, är ett decentraliserat tillvägagångssätt för att utveckla kapacitet direkt i dessa avlägsna samhällen, genom rekrytering, färdighetsutveckling och utbildning av människor för att bli anställda för att sköta deras lokala mikronät. Resultaten i studien består av ett ramverk som visar vad utveckling av lokal kapacitet innebär, genom forskningsförslag som definierar vilka nyckelkomponenter som krävs för att skala upp en mikronäts verksamhet, tillsammans med utmaningar och möjligheter för att göra detta. Ramverket har utvecklats iterativt genom applicering av Action Research, utförd i ett småskaligt mikronät företag i Zambia som står inför en radikal expansion. Forskaren var fördjupad i företagskontexten, i hjärtat av förändringen, och på ett ingripande och deltagande sätt vänt på varenda sten för att utforska vad utveckling av lokal kapacitet är. Detta resulterade i en robust studie, förankrad i verkligheten. På grund av den kontextuellt inbäddade naturen av datan, så betyder detta även att resultaten är lokala. Det är upp till läsaren att bedöma till vilken grad resultaten kan appliceras i en annan kontext. De omfattande resultaten spänner över många olika områden i företaget, och lyckas fånga komplexiteten i vad utveckling av lokal kapacitet är. Blåkopian som utvecklades, bedömdes värdefull att utveckla vidare i företaget där studien gjorde, specifikt för dess potential att minska de operativa kostnaderna och erbjuda ett mer hållbart sätt att skala verksamheten, och i förlängningen, erbjuda ett mer hållbart sätt att sprida tillgång till el i Afrika.

Healthcare is in a state of continuous change. The estimated failure rates for organizational change of 70% to 80% also exist within American hospitals and physician offices. Change research suggests that failure is not found in the process, but in the lack of consideration for the people during the change. A best practice approach to changing healthcare practices is the redesign of care teams. The transition to high-performing care teams requires renewed skills and behaviors, the willingness and ability to continuously change, and the belief that it can be successful. Self-efficacy, the belief in one’s abilities to perform a specific task or action, and group-efficacy, the belief in one’s group’s abilities to perform a specific task or action, have been used in research on individual health behaviors, and have not been studied with team work in the primary care setting. This cross-sectional, quantitative study explores the relationship between self-efficacy and group-efficacy, and their relationship to organizational change capacity in a primary care setting. Individuals with higher self-efficacy are likely to expend effort and persist at a task, and tolerate with adverse experiences. Teams of individuals with higher group-efficacy exhibit increased effort and perseverance to the group task, including a higher level of resilience to group experienced adversity. Both self-efficacy and group-efficacy are generative, providing opportunity to develop these as capabilities within primary care teams. Exploring these relationships provides insights for leveraging the limited and valued resources of primary healthcare in achieving successful change.

In response to reductionist neoliberal approaches to organizational change that have been prevalent in American education since the 1980s, some educators have begun to employ a whole-systems approach to improving student learning. These approaches, based in complexity sciences, recognize the nonlinear, unpredictable nature of learning and the interconnected relationships among myriad factors that influence the teaching/learning that occurs in schools. In the summer preceding the 2011-2012 school year, a cohort of educators from California Unified School District participated in a 10-day training regarding human systems dynamics (HSD) and complexity thinking. Their goal was to build adaptive capacity throughout the district in the pursuit of improving student learning. Through analysis of the interviews from seven target participants from this training, this study investigates what target participants report regarding their use of HSD methods and models in their work in schools across the 2011-2012 school year. Findings indicate that target participants displayed distinct arcs of use of HSD methods/models. In addition, findings suggest that target participants’ need for support in learning and implementing HSD methods/models, the influence of systemic and individual history, and the role of agency affected their “arcs of use.” This study illuminates the ways in which HSD methods/models support both organizational change efforts and the ways in which teaching/learning occur in the classroom, including the applicability of HSD methods/models in building collaborative cultures and in helping students develop the kinds of thinking required in the use of 21st-century literacies.

The primary aim of this thesis is to explore, through organisation development (OD) consultants' accounts, the meaning of 'capacity building' in the South African development context. The need for theory development in this area is apparent from two interrelated vantage points. Firstly, while 'capacity building' is an increasingly espoused development approach, it is seen to be a confusing and ill-defined concept, for which there exists no adequate theory. Secondly, there is an growing call within the OD field to perfonn 'recOIlllaissance' (Weick,1990) on OD as it is being practised in different socio-historical and organisational contexts, so as to discern future trends for this discipline. Due to the lack of documented debate which grounds OD issues in the South African development sector, OD practitioners' 'capacity building' interventions were seen to provide suitably unchartered terrain for this study. Given that theory generation was intended, the general epistemological principles provided by Glaser and Strauss's (1967) 'grounded theory' methodology were adopted. As a way of avoiding some of the criticisms and limitations of this approach, this thesis followed later conceptualisations of this method, in particular its reframing within the social constructionist idiom. In accordance with this perspective, this study directed attention to the ways in which OD consultants, in a non-governmental organisational (NGO) sector known as 'intermediary' NGOs, accounted for their 'capacity building' role in this development context. The results, based on in-depth interviews with ten OD consultants, indicate that 'capacity building' is an elusive and inchoate concept with more than one meaning for the participants. Their narrative account variously constructs 'capacity building' as value-driven OD process facilitation; funder and market regulated service provision; and people-driven product delivery. As a result of this multi-vocal construction, the participants' accounts reveal that OD consultancy in this sector is primarily concerned with 'managing the tensions' of the consultants' ambiguous and contradictory roles. By examining how the tensions articulated by the consultants inhere in their relationship to the environment in which they operate, this thesis firstly explores how the contradiction and anlbiguity attached to this concept can be traced to different stakeholder expectations of 'capacity building'. Secondly, it exanlines how these different stakeholder discourses conflict with each other and with an OD perspective. Thirdly, through an explication of the core category of 'managing tensions', it explores the image of OD consulting as a 'shifting and inconstant balancing act'. Fourthly, it shows how there exist wider contextual forces operating in the development sector which serve to throw these consultants 'off balance' and into delimited and 'received' service provision roles which run counter to their raison d'etre. Finally, the research examines new ways of approaching the 'capacity building' question and of understanding the nature of OD consultancy. It concludes with an attempt to respond to a conceptual aporia in OD literature by examining possible alternative images and metaphors for the role of the OD consultant.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2006.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Non-profit organisations play an increasingly important role in our society as they often represent community interests. The ability of the non-profit sector to perform effectively has become more critical. In order to maintain their value and effectiveness they require continuous renewal. The increased demand placed on this sector as it partners with government to deliver basic services to the community has amplified the need for this renewal process. The non-profit sector is constantly required to develop new ways of building its capacity in an attempt to meet its challenges. Despite the emphasis placed on the importance of capacity building, the term itse~ is frequently too expansive to be meaningful to decision makers. This paper attempts to develop a working definition of capacity building and assess the capacity building levels of TB Care Association. TB Care Association, founded in 1929, provides a service to tuberculosis patients and their families. Over the last decade, the organisation has moved from being a welfare organisation to a developmental health promotion organisation. The survey conducted on TB Care Association indicates that the scores obtained by the organisation coincide with the organisation's stage of development according to Korten (Mukasa, 2003). The results further revealed that fund raising, over dependence on government funding, lack of succession planning and human resources strategies are potential issues that could impede organisational growth and development.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nie-vir-wins organisasies speel 'n al hoe meer belangrike rol in ons samelewing deurdat hulle die belang van die gemeenskap op die hart dra. Die vermoe van hierdie sektor om effektief te wees raak dus al hoe belangriker. Om voortdurend die vlak van waarde en effektiwiteit vol te hou vereis voortdurende vernuwing. Die toenemende vereistes wat gestel word aan hierdie organisasies deurdat hulle met die regering saamspan om basiese dienste te lewer aan die gemeenskap, het die nodigheid van hierdie vernuwende proses beklemtoon. Die nie-vir-wins sektor moet gedurig nuwe maniere vind om kapasiteit te bou om hierdie uitdagings die hoof te bied. Ten spyte van die klem wat geplaas word op kapasiteitsbou, is die term self gereeld te wyd om betekenisvol te wees vir besluitnemers. Hierdie verslag poog om 'n prakties-georienteerde definisie van kapasiteitsbou daar te stel en om die kapasiteitsbou vlakke binne die TB Sorg Vereniging te bepaal. Die TB Sorg Vereniging, gestig in 1929, bied 'n diens aan tuberkulose pasiente en hul families. Oor die laaste dekade het die vereniging beweeg van 'n maatskaplike rol tot die van 'n vereniging wat fokus op die bevording van ontwikkelingsgesondheid. Die opname by die TB Sorg Vereniging toon dat die tellings behaal deur die instansie ooreenstem met die fase van ontwikkeling soos voorgestel deur Korten (Mukasa, 2003). Die resultate toon verder dat fonds-insameling, oor-afhanklikheid van regeringsfondse, 'n tekort aan opvolger-beplanning en menslike hulpbron strategiee moontlike knelpunte kan wees wat organisatoriese groei en ontwikkeling kan belemmer.

Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) is a national program developed by Cooperative Extension’s federal partner, Cooperative State, Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES). In collaboration with its federal partner and in concert with state extension systems across the nation, UVM Extension conducted an organizational change survey in 1998, 2000, and 2004 with a selected sample of UVM Extension professionals to determine the organization’s capacity to address issues of CYFAR. Findings from these three surveys showed that Extension had not substantively altered its organizational practices in alignment with the goals of the national program. In order to stimulate new strategic planning for the program, this study set about to assess the capacity of staff from UVM Extension to promote organizational learning. Grounded in the literature of organizational learning, this study administered a 43 item survey instrument called the Dimension of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) to Extension employees. As a strategic planning tool, the survey identifies organizational learning opportunities at the individual, team, and organizational level. Following the Total Design Method, the web-based survey was launched September 2006, with a response rate of 68% (n=63). Findings from the new survey continue to indicate limited organizational capacity to meet national goals for CYFAR program. Interestingly, nearly 70% of survey respondents reported participation in programming for children, youth and families at risk, a percentage greater than those formally assigned to CYFAR activities. Regardless of formal assignment, however, CYFAR employees and non-CYFAR employees did not significantly differ in their survey responses across a variety of organizational measures. Prior training to develop organizational capacity in line with national goals appears to be falling short of expectations. Implications for these shortcomings are discussed and used to frame an action plan for development of this program.

Absorptive capacity plays an important role in the organizational adaptation process. Prior research on absorptive capacity focuses on its role in organizational outcomes such as financial performance, innovation, new product development, etc. Recently, scholars have called for research on factors that influence absorptive capacity. Because absorptive capacity plays a vital role in achieving organizational outcomes, it behooves us to improve our understanding of absorptive capacity and its antecedents to serve both researchers and practitioners. In this investigation, strategic thinking is posited to be a key antecedent of absorptive capacity. Capability theory suggests that strategic thinking is a metaphysical (higher order) capability that influences an organization's absorptive capacity. Combining this argument with Miles and Snow's typology of organizational adaptation process, it is posited that the relationship between strategic thinking and absorptive capacity can be clustered into different "groups." Prospectors, defenders, and analyzers, characterized in Miles and Snow's typology of firms are viewed as distinctive groups that exhibit different relationships between strategic thinking and absorptive capacity. Results from an empirical examination suggest that strategic thinking is positively related to absorptive capacity. The results also suggest that the relationship between these two constructs is different between these groups and that the strategic thinking of prospectors has a weaker relationship with absorptive capacity than other type of firms.

This study aims to identify the relationship between management styles and the factors that facilitate or hinder organizational changes. Therefore, has been carried out a descriptive and quantitative character survey, through a case study on a company of road implement sector. As a theoretical and data collection basis had been used two instruments with already validated scales: (i) Assessment Scale of Managerial Style (EAEG) - (Melo, 2004), and (ii) Instrument of Organizational Capacity for Change (Neiva, 2004). It was obtained the participation of 307 (three hundred and seven) employees of the company under study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlations. Regarding the management style of managers, has been analyzed the styles oriented to the task, the relationship and the situational style, and it was found that, as perceived by the employees, most exercise a task oriented management. When investigating the organizational capacity to change, it was found that, in general, the company has low capacity to change. In turn, the analysis of the standardized mean of the factors that facilitate or hinder transactional change revealed that the organization under study presents levels classified as low for all constructs that comprise these factors, highlighting Bureaucracy and Organizational Continuity and Autonomy of Units and People as factors of high and low level, respectively. Analyzing the average of the factors that facilitate or hinder transformational change, stands out the most significant average, of Turbulence in External Environment, and the very low average of Supportive Coalitions of Change. The investigation of the relationships between management styles and factors that facilitate or hinder organizational change showed that all correlations were significant, positive and moderate, where: among all the management styles investigated and the factors that facilitate change transactional, the associations were of greater intensity with the construct Direction, Flexibility and Reliability in Performance Management; and, among all the management styles and factors that facilitate or hinder transformational change, the associations were of greater intensity with the construct Information Flow. The results allow to infer that the management styles relate to the same constructs of the factors that make up the organizational capacity for change. In other words, regardless of the focus of the manager be oriented to the tasks and results, interpersonal relationships or suitable to the context situation, the influence on the capacity to change is the same.
Este estudo busca identificar a relação entre o estilo gerencial e os fatores que facilitam ou dificultam as mudanças organizacionais. Para tanto, realizou-se uma pesquisa de caráter descritivo e quantitativo, valendo-se de um estudo de caso em uma empresa do setor de implementos rodoviários. Como base teórica e de coleta de dados utilizou-se dois instrumentos com escalas já validadas: (i) Escala de Avaliação do Estilo Gerencial (EAEG) (Melo, 2004); e (ii) Instrumento de Capacidade Organizacional para Mudança (Neiva, 2004). Obteve-se a participação de 307 (trezentos e sete) colaboradores da empresa em estudo. Os dados foram tratados por meio de estatísticas descritivas e correlações. Com relação ao estilo de gerenciar dos gerentes, analisaram-se os estilos orientados à tarefa, ao relacionamento e o estilo situacional e verificou-se que, segundo a percepção dos colaboradores, a maioria exerce uma gestão orientada para a tarefa. Ao investigar a capacidade organizacional para mudança verificou-se que, de modo geral, a empresa possui baixa capacidade para mudar. Por sua vez, a análise das médias padronizadas dos fatores que facilitam ou dificultam a mudança transacional revelou que a organização em estudo apresenta níveis classificados como baixos para todos os construtos que compõem estes fatores, destacando-se a Burocracia e Continuísmo Organizacional e Autonomia de Unidades e Pessoas como os fatores de maior e menor nível, respectivamente. Analisando a média dos fatores que facilitam ou dificultam a mudança transformacional, destacam-se a média mais expressiva, de Turbulência no Ambiente Externo e a menos expressiva de Coalizões Apoiadoras da Mudança. A investigação das relações entre os estilos gerenciais e os fatores que facilitam ou dificultam a mudança organizacional demonstrou que todas as correlações foram significativas, positivas e moderadas, sendo que: entre todos os estilos gerenciais investigados e os fatores que facilitam a mudança transacional, as associações de maior intensidade foram com o construto Direção, Flexibilidade e Confiança na Atuação Gerencial e, entre todos os estilos gerenciais e os fatores que facilitam ou dificultam a mudança transformacional, as associações de maior intensidade foram com o construto Fluxo de Informação. Os resultados permitem inferir que os estilos gerenciais relacionam-se com os mesmos construtos dos fatores que compõem a capacidade organizacional para mudança. Ou seja, independentemente do foco de atuação do gerente ser orientado às tarefas e resultados, voltado para as relações interpessoais ou se adequar conforme o contexto da situação, a influência sobre a capacidade para mudar é a mesma.

This thesis analyses how societal adaptation processes in public and private sectors at the regional to local level in Sweden are enacted. The thesis pays particular attention to critical factors that constrain or enable adaptation by focussing on: who are the stakeholders, how do different stakeholders perceive their capacity to adapt, and the role of stakeholder interaction in facilitating adaptation processes A combination of two analytical perspectives is used where one is based on key concepts within adaptation literature, and the other draws on boundary crossing and transdisciplinary knowledge production (stakeholders, adaptive capacity, and science-based stakeholder dialogues). The study is conducted within the scope of two overall case studies of local adaptation processes within an urban region, and a land-use based sector, the private forestry sector. The cases are setting the scene for the collection of empirical material which is achieved through qualitative methods, primarily focus groups discussions with local and regional, public and private stakeholders with an interest in, and responsibility for adaptation. The focus groups meetings are organized as a series of meetings to which different participatory techniques are applied. The study also builds on a comprehensive stakeholder mapping. First, the results suggest a systematic method for identifying stakeholders in adaptation research, policy, and planning applicable in both sectors and regions that combines top-down knowledge with experience and knowledge based on bottom-up processes. Second, the analysis of perceived adaptive capacities reveal several facilitating and constraining factors that relates both to the characteristics of climate risks, experience of climate variability and extreme weather events, and responsibility- and decision-making structures. Third, the analysis of the interaction between local experts and scientists show that there is potential for the boundary spanning function of science-based stakeholder dialogues in facilitating adaptation through stimulating questions and sharing different knowledge bases and experiences among the participants. However further attention needs to be taken to the institutional environment and the role of so called anchoring devices that help local experts to contextualise, discus and thus anchor scientific knowledge in their own decision-making context. In conclusion, there are both commonalities between adaptation processes in the two case studies and some marked differences, e.g., regarding the concept of adaptation, what type of adaptation actions that are identified, the perceived opportunities for adaptation and degree of complexity.
Denna avhandling analyserar hur klimatanpassningsprocesser inom privata och offentliga sektorer på regional till lokal nivå i Sverige initieras, utvecklas och genomförs. Avhandlingen ägnar särskild uppmärksamhet åt identifiering av vilka intressenter (”stakeholders”) som är involverade i att underlätta och genomföra anpassning, uppfattningar om anpassningsförmåga samt vilken roll interaktion mellan olika intressenter kan ha för att underlätta anpassning. En kombination av två analytiska perspektiv används som bygger på tidigare forskning om klimatanpassningsprocesser samt transdisciplinär kunskapsproduktion. Studien genomförs inom ramen för två övergripande fallstudier av anpassningsprocesser i en urban region samt den privata skogssektorn. Fallstudierna utgör grunden för insamlingen av det empiriska materialet som bygger på kvalitativa metoder. Den främsta metoden är fokusgruppsdiskussioner med lokala och regionala, privata och offentliga aktörer med intresse av, eller ansvar för klimatanpassning. Fokusgrupperna organiseras som en serie möten där olika deltagandetekniker tillämpas. Studien bygger också på en omfattande intressentkartläggning. I avhandlingen utvecklas och ges förslag på en stegvis metod för att identifiera intressenter för anpassningsprocesser som kan användas inom forskning och praktik. Studien analyserar också hur olika intressentgrupper upplever förmågan att hantera klimatförändringar. Ett antal möjliggörande och begränsande faktorer identifieras så som karaktären på de upplevda klimatriskerna, erfarenhet av klimatvariationer och extrema väderhändelser, samt ansvar- och beslutsstrukturer. Slutligen, analyseras om och i så fall hur interaktionen mellan lokala experter och forskare som deltar i intressantdialoger (”science-based stakeholder dialogues”) kan underlätta anpassning. Resultaten visar att det finns potential genom att deltagarna ges möjlighet att ställa frågor tillvarandra och dela med sig av sina olika kunskapsbaser och erfarenheter, samt utforska olika anpassningsalternativ. Däremot behövs vidare studier för att undersöka betydelsen av det institutionella sammanhanget samt hur olika verktyg (”anchoring devices”) kan bidra när det gäller att förankra och omsätta kunskap om klimatförändringar i olika beslutskontexter. Avslutningsvis visar denna studie på att det finns både likheter och skillnader i hur anpassningsprocesser kommer till uttryck bland de olika aktörsgrupperna inom fallstudierna, t.ex. när det gäller hur begreppet anpassning används, vilken typ av anpassning som identifieras, upplevda möjligheter för anpassning samt graden av komplexitet.

This paper analyzes the relevance of having an environment that encourages critical reflection in a way to enhance organizational learning capacity. It focuses particularly on the organization's ability to deal with organizational cross-cutting issues (human resources, information technology, innovation, etc.) on a state-owned enterprise, the Development Bank, in Brazil. Although the bank has a culture of collegiate decisions, it´s possible to say that this feature is not enough to have an authentic and public reflection environment due to the power relations influence in the organization's ability to reflect, innovate and learn.
Dissertação (mestrado) - Lancaster University, Reino Unido, 2015.
Bibliografia: p. 67-69.

Thesis (MPA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The post-apartheid era in South Africa has been marked by a whole range of important changes. At local government, these changes have been manifested by, among other things, the change in strategy from regulatory to developmental local government. Interms of the open systems approach to organisational change, changes in one part of an organisation need to be complemented by matching changes in other parts of the organisation. This is the premise that forms the basis of this study. It is argued particularly that the success of developmental local government hinges, to a large extent, on complementary changes being made in other departments of a municipality. The study focuses on one of these departments, namely the human resources (HR.) department of a municipality. It investigates Endumeni Municipality, and researches whether it has the necessary HR capacity to cope with the new strategy of developmental local government. This is subsequently followed by recommendations derived from the findings. HR capacity is defined as the combination of the following key variables: strategic partnership between the HR function and other functions of a municipality; integration of HR policies, systems and competencies with the developmental mission of a municipality; coherence among the different components of the HR strategy; flexibility of the HR strategy; and Alignment of the culture of a municipality with its developmental mission. The study is descriptive in character. It makes use of a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of investigation. The qualitative method comprises interviews with key informants and an analysis of official documents. The quantitative method, on the other hand, consists of a questionnaire that is administered to the Councillors of the municipality. The study came to a conclusion that Endumeni Municipality lacks the HR capacity to carry out its developmental functions. To remedy this situation, the following recommendations have been suggested: (i) The current role of the HR section has to be reviewed with the view to elevate it to the level of a strategic partner. (ii) The HR competencies, policies and practices of the municipality are still embedded in the outdated system of regulatory local government. These must also come up for review so that they can be re-aligned with developmental local government. (iii) There is generally lack of co-ordination among the various components of HR strategy. These must be re-aligned so that they can complement each other. (iv) The municipality is currently finding it difficult to discard the old HR strategies, a point which suggests rigidity on the part of these strategies. Inorder to cope with the changing environmental conditions, the municipality needs to have some flexibility in its HR strategies. (v) Finally, the prevailing culture still shows elements, which support the old system. This has to be addressed in order to create a new culture that is consistent with developmental local government.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die post-apartheid era in Suid-Afrika word gekenmerk deur 'n reeks baie belangrike veranderinge. Op plaaslike regeringsvlak word hierdie veranderinge, onder andere gekenmerk deur die verandering in strategie van regulerende na ontwikkelende plaaslike regering. Volgens die oopstelselbehadering tot organisatoriese verandering moet veranderinge in een afdeling van 'n organisasie aangevul te word deur soortgelyke veranderinge in ander afdelings van die organisasie. Hierdie stelling vorm die basis van hierdie studie. Daar word geargumenteer dat die sukses van ontwikkelende plaaslike regering in "n groot mate rus op aanvullende veranderinge wat gemaak word in ander afdelings van die munisipaliteit. Hierdie studie fokus op een van hierdie afdelings, naamlik Menslike Hulpbronne (MH). "n Studie word gedoen om te bepaal of Endumeni Munisipaliteit oor die nodige MR beskik om die nuwe strategie van ontwikkelende plaaslike regering te ondersteun. Dit word gevolg deur aanbevelings wat spruit uit die bevindings. MH - kapasiteit word gedefinieer as "n kombinasie van die volgende sleutelveranderlikes: n strategiese venootskap tussen die MR-funksie en ander funksies van "n munisipaliteit; inskakeling van MH-beleide, stelsel en - vaardighede met die ontwikkelingsmissie van' n munisipaliteit; samehorigheid tussen die verskillende komponente van die MR - strategie; aanpasbaarheid van die MR - strategie; en gerigtheid van die kultuur van' n munisipaliteit op sy ontwikkelingsmissie. Die studie is beskrywend van aard. Dit maak gebruik: van "n kombinasie van kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe metodes van ondersoek. Die kwalitatiewe metode behels onderhoude met belangrike informante en ontleding van amptelike dokumente. Die kwantitatiewe metode, aan die ander kant, behels "n vraelys wat versprei word onder ampsdraers van die munisipaliteit. Die studie kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat Endumeni Munisipaliteit nie oordie MHkapasiteit beskik om sy ontwikkelingsfunksie uit te voer nie. Die volgende aanbevelings word gedoen, om hierdie probleem op te los: (i) Die huidige rol van die MH - seksie moet hersien word om dit uit te lig na die vlak van "n strategiese vennoot. (ii) Die MR - vaardighede, beleide en praktyke van die munisipaliteit verteenwoordig steeds "n uitgediende stelsel van regulerende plaaslike bestuur. Dit moet hiersien word en in lyn gebring word met die ontwikkelende plaaslike regering. (iii) In die algemeen is daar min samewerking tussen die verskeie komponente van die MR - strategie. Hulle moet in lyn gebring word sodat hulle mekaar kan komplimenteer. (iv) Die munisipaliteit vind dit moeilik om ontslae te raak van die ou MH - strategie, "n punt wat die onbuigsaamheid van hierdie strategieë bewys. Om by te bly met die veranderende omgewingstoestande, moet die munisipaliteit buigsaamheid in sy MR - strategie hê. (v)- Ten slote, die huidige kultuur toon steeds elemente wat die ou stelsel steun. Dit moet aangespreek word om "n nuwe kultuur te ontwikkel wat in ooreenstemming . is met ontwikkelende plaaslike regering.

L’analyse de la littérature traitant du changement organisationnel montre l’existence de plusieurs processus explicatifs du changement (processus planifié, processus politique, processus interprétatif, processus incrémentiel et processus complexe). Les résultats empiriques de recherches antérieures montrent l’existence de combinaisons différentes de ces processus pour comprendre et expliquer les changements observés selon les cas, objets de ces études. Motivés par la compréhension de ces résultats, nous mobilisons l’apport des travaux traitant de la capacité de changement des organisations. L’objectif de la présente recherche porte sur l’étude de l’influence de la capacité de changement d’une entreprise sur les processus explicatifs du changement. Pour cela, une étude qualitative par étude de cas longitudinale est menée au sein de Basic Bank, établissement bancaire leader sur le marché tunisien, afin de relever les composantes de la capacité de changement influentes pendant la conduite du projet (P24). A cet effet, nous avons découpé le processus de changement induit par le projet (P24) en trois phases : phase de lancement du changement, phase de sa mise en œuvre et phase de sa consolidation. Les résultats montrent que la capacité leadership, la communication, la reconnaissance du personnel, le recrutement et l’apprentissage organisationnel, composantes de la capacité de changement de Basic Bank, influencent les processus explicatifs du changement induit par (P24). Toutefois, l’étendue de cette influence diffère selon les phases de changement analysées
The analysis of the literature on organizational change shows the existence of several explanatory process of change (planned process, political process, interpretive process, incremental process and complex process). The empirical results of previous studies show the existence of different combinations of these processes to understand and explain the changes observed depending on case studies. Motivated by the understanding of these results, we mobilize the contribution of works dealing with the capability to change of organizations. The objective of this research is to study the influence of the capability to change of a company on explanatory process of change. To achieve this goal, a qualitative study by longitudinal case study is conducted in Basic Bank, the leader of the Tunisian market bank, to identify the influential components of capacity of change during the conduct of the project (P24). To this end, we split the process of change induced by the project (P24) in three phases: phase of launching change, phase of its implementation and its consolidation phase.The results show that the leadership capability, communication, staff recognition, and organizational learning, components of change capability of Basic Bank, influence the explanatory process of change induced by (P24). However, the extent of this influence varies according to the phases of change analyzed

There is enormous pressure on organizations that they need to change to become more efficient, andmany changes are related to IT. Tougher competition in the market forces organizations to beinnovative. Being innovative does not necessarily mean that you have product innovations but also thatyou best can take advantage of new knowledge. In recent years, many companies have replaced itslegacy systems with a fully integrated ERP system. Majority of these organizational changes, due to theimplementations of ERP, fail.It is one of the reasons that many researchers have been interested in identifying factors critical forsuccessful change. In this study are the most common critical success factors, according to previousstudies, set in contrast to the change process that was carried out on Axfood. Many people havehighlighted the change process in Axfood as a successful example and it is therefore interesting to see ifwe can draw some lessons from the successful example that may be of benefit to other companies.In addition to previous research on the subject, I use the theories of Change Management andAbsorption Ability as a theoretical frame of reference.The study shows that the work of change management and the work of strengthening the organization'sabsorption capacity were two parallel ongoing processes that are to be regarded as interdependent foroptimal success. Corporate management's commitment is also considered a critical success factor. Workwith change management is considered by the respondents to be essential for all organizational changes.The respondents emphasized the importance of not neglecting the work of continuously strengtheningthe organisation's absorption capacity. The respondents believe that the continuous work to strengthenAxfood's absorption capacity was what permeated the entire change process and is the key to successwith the change work.
Organisationer måste anpassas och därmed förändras för att fortleva. Flera av dessa förändringar ärrelaterade till IT. Ett ökat konkurrenstryck på marknaden har resulterat i organisationer förväntas varainnovativa. Att vara innovativ behöver nödvändigtvis inte innebära att man har produktinnovationerutan också att man på bästa sätt kan tillvara på ny kunskap. På senare år har många företag ersatt sinatidigare system med ett övergripande affärssystem. Med övergripande affärssystem menas att systemetger kontroll och översikt över hela verksamheten. Många av dessa organisationsförändringar, till följdav implementeringar av affärssystem, misslyckas. Misslyckas på så sätt att implementeringsprocessendrar över den planerade tiden och den tänkta budgeten, missnöje bland anställda uppstår och väsentligaffärsnytta drabbas. Många företag går in i en implementeringsprocess utan att riktigt veta vad de har att ståinför. Det är en av anledningar att flera forskare har varit intresserade av att identifiera faktorer som ärkritiska för en framgångsrik implementering av ett nytt affärssystem.Flera har lyft fram implementeringen av affärssystemet SAP på Axfood som ett framgångsrikt exempeloch därför är det intressant att se om vi kan dra några lärdomar från det som kan komma andra till del.Förutom tidigare forskning i ämnet, använder jag mig av teorierna Förändringsledning ochAbsorptionsförmåga som en teoretisk referensram. Av studien framgår att arbetet medförändringsledning och arbetet med att stärka organisationens absorptionsförmåga var två parallelltpågående processer som är att betrakta som ömsesidigt beroende för optimal framgång.Företagsledningens engagemang betraktas också som en kritisk framgångsfaktor. Arbete medförändringsledning anses av respondenterna som essentiellt för alla organisationsförändringar.Respondenterna framhävde vikten av att inte försumma arbetet med att kontinuerligt stärkaorganisationens absorptionsförmåga. Respondenterna menar att det kontinuerliga arbetet med att stärkaAxfoods absorptionsförmåga var det som genomsyrade hela förändringsprocessen och är nyckeln tillframgång med förändringsarbetet.

Advances in medical technology have altered the need for certain types of surgery to be performed in traditional inpatient hospital settings. Less invasive surgical procedures allow a growing number of medical treatments to take place on an outpatient basis. Hospitals face growing competition from ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). The competitive threats posed by ASCs are important, given that inpatient surgery has been the cornerstone of hospital services for over a century. Additional research is needed to understand how surgical volume shifts between and within acute care general hospitals (ACGHs) and ASCs. This study investigates how medical technology within the hospital industry is changing medical services delivery. The main purposes of this study are to (1) test Clayton M. Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation in health care, and (2) examine the effects of disruptive innovation on appendectomy, cholecystectomy, and bariatric surgery (ACBS) utilization. Disruptive innovation theory contends that advanced technology combined with innovative business models—located outside of traditional product markets or delivery systems—will produce simplified, quality products and services at lower costs with broader accessibility. Consequently, new markets will emerge, and conventional industry leaders will experience a loss of market share to “non-traditional” new entrants into the marketplace. The underlying assumption of this work is that ASCs (innovative business models) have adopted laparoscopy (innovative technology) and their unification has initiated disruptive innovation within the hospital industry. The disruptive effects have spawned shifts in surgical volumes from open to laparoscopic procedures, from inpatient to ambulatory settings, and from hospitals to ASCs. The research hypothesizes that: (1) there will be larger increases in the percentage of laparoscopic ACBS performed than open ACBS procedures; (2) ambulatory ACBS will experience larger percent increases than inpatient ACBS procedures; and (3) ASCs will experience larger percent increases than ACGHs. The study tracks the utilization of open, laparoscopic, inpatient and ambulatory ACBS. The research questions that guide the inquiry are: 1. How has ACBS utilization changed over this time? 2. Do ACGHs and ASCs differ in the utilization of ACBS? 3. How do states differ in the utilization of ACBS? 4. Do study findings support disruptive innovation theory in the hospital industry? The quantitative study employs a panel design using hospital discharge data from 2004 and 2009. The unit of analysis is the facility. The sampling frame is comprised of ACGHs and ASCs in Florida and Wisconsin. The study employs exploratory and confirmatory data analysis. This work finds that disruptive innovation theory is an effective model for assessing the hospital industry. The model provides a useful framework for analyzing the interplay between ACGHs and ASCs. While study findings did not support the stated hypotheses, the impact of government interventions into the competitive marketplace supports the claims of disruptive innovation theory. Regulations that intervened in the hospital industry facilitated interactions between ASCs and ACGHs, reducing the number of ASCs performing ACBS and altering the trajectory of ACBS volume by shifting surgeries from ASCs to ACGHs.

This thesis addresses the capacity development needs of white-collar employees within large organizations. Common employee problems of violation and diminishment of potential are ignored by mainstream organizational theory and management practice. Because these problems are unarticulated in any formal sense they lack legitimacy in the mainstream discourse. I label such problems, that result from unequal social relations, as problems of "disempowerment". This labelling re-conceptualizes the large organizational context as a political community with an institutionalized capacity to disempower employees, stunt their personal, social and political development, and inhibit any challenge to the existing privileged arrangements. The re-labelling of common employee problems in this way positions the research challenge in the political domain, stimulates the capacity to redefine problematic social relations in creative ways and opens the way for different possibilities and different solutions. An analytical examination of multi-disciplinary scholarship reveals articulation of a common theme that can be viewed as facets of the problem which I identify as one of disempowerment. The main body of the thesis examines these disciplines and collates the literature of concern into a structured argument. The main thrust of the argument is that the alternative debate to mainstream organizational theory and management practice has been marginalized and lacks legitimacy. This situation allows the orthodox view, with its focus on technical problem solving and efficiency, to ignore the more humane aspects of organizational life that demand the socio-political development of employees in order for them to make a meaningful contribution. Although there is a rhetoric of empowerment in organizational development thrusts, these do not address the political challenge of organizational life. The thesis suggests that employees, in collectively picking up the challenge of their own personal, social and political development, can transform organizations into becoming more humane ones that promote capacity development as a common benefit. This initiative would require the institutionalized support of academe in legitimizing and disseminating an alternative debate.
Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

Demands for increasingly more responsive education systems have caused some higher education institutions to reconsider their original missions and envision new futures. This is particularly true with land grant institutions whose mandate it is to be the people's university. The purpose of this study was to explore the first year of a change project at a land grant institution to determine first attempts to prepare for and catalyze systemic change. The literature review supported the position that change was seldom enduring in higher education organizations, and to effect systemic change an organization needed to embrace the concept of learning. This study sought to make sense of organizational change through the experience of an innovative vision-driven, participant-centered change process. Data were analyzed using multiple sources including interviews, fieldnotes, project documents and participant observation. Three themes emerged from the analysis representative of participant experience: Learning How to Change; Developing a Change Design; and Collaboration and the Paradox of Partnership. The themes represented primary areas of learning for participants in the first year of the project. Stories of participant learning were expressed through key events experienced during the 12-month inquiry. Outcomes of this study reflected the centrality of learning in the beginning months of the change project. Change agents needed opportunities to learn how to change before enlisting others in the process. Active learning, reflection, and the value discovered through an expanded capacity for change created deeper ownership in the project for many participants. These aspects of the change process were also identified as attributes of a learning organization. Another significant research outcome addressed partnering efforts in the project's initial months. First attempts to build collaborative relationships with the State's community colleges were ineffective due to low levels of trust and highly competitive cultures.
Graduation date: 1997

Against the backdrop of the challenges that confront our business organizations today, it seems that the concept of organizational learning has passed the sell-by date. Against the backdrop of entrenched underdevelopment in certain sectors of our communities, the inadequacy of the necessary structures to deal with these challenges, and the lack of required competencies for systemic development, challenges are posed on the Higher Education Sector, in general, and the so-called Historically Disadvantaged Institutions, in particular, for their role to alleviate the prevailing situation. With organization development as a strategy, the study employed the models of impact assessment and sustainable development to reflect and evaluate the Tertiary Education Linkages Project (TELP) programme on Academic Development at the Eastern Cape Technikon. The research study was aimed at assessing the extent to which the Technikon responded to the programme especially on issues of impact and sustainable development. The action research study, designed and conducted parallel to programme management, would also reveal issues of practice-theory both in organization development, the intervention strategy, and in academic development, the field of practice. The study yielded the following 3 major outcomes: The value of ensuring impact and sustainability development in the capacity development efforts that are characterizing HDls. The value of academic development as the mechanism for enhancing organizational learning in the higher education sector. The value of organization development in capacitating the institutions of higher learning to deal with the challenges of transformation. The following constituted the main conclusions: Against the background of structural and historical challenges that confront Historically Disadvantaged Institutions today, intervention strategies should promote the critical and the humanistic issues of awareness, emancipation, action, self-determination, autonomy, and social responsibility. There is an urgent need for demonstrable and visible leadership at all performance levels for sustaining the results of organizational interventions.
Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

碩士
國防大學管理學院
資源管理及決策研究所
99
Decisions aimed at resolving problems, and decision quality of an organization’s member is critical to the organization’s success. In recent years, the military actively promote organizational change, leading to frequent personnel changes, when the member of an organization changes position, the member will face new job such that the adsorption ability of the organization is critical to the decision quality of an organization’s member. Thus, this research explores the relationship among satisfaction of job characteristics change, organizational knowledge absorptive capacity and decision quality. This research uses the military voluntary officers as samples. There were 560 samples sent and recalls 547 and deduct an invalid samples 70, 477 samples were valid, the effective recovery rate is 87.2%.We distinguish the valid samples into the individual level and organizational level, and then analyzed by hierarchical linear model(HLM), the results show that : (1) individual level of satisfaction of job characteristics change is positively related to the individual level of decision quality; (2) organizational level of organizational knowledge absorptive capacity is positively related to the individual level of decision quality;(3) organizational level of organizational knowledge absorptive capacity plays moderating effect on the relationship between the individual level of satisfaction of job characteristics change and decision quality.Finally, based on the findings, this study provides practical implications, and suggestions for future research.

This qualitative study investigated the influences of psychosocial meta-capacities on learning capacity development in a foreign government agency that is undergoing extensive organisational change. The data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with seven participants, who are employees of a foreign visa-processing unit based in South Africa. The participants shared their experiences during the organisational change process, and how different aspects impacted on their learning capacity development. The study highlighted self-efficacy and emotional intelligence as key meta-capacities that can be enhanced to aid learning capacity development. Furthermore, the study recommended that organisations intending to introduce significant changes should be aware of the psychosocial meta-capacities that can be exploited to enhance employee learning capacity development, thereby ultimately ensuring organisational success. This study seems to suggest that the positive influences on learning capacity development are: self-efficacy in the form of self- beliefs about one’s performance ability; the ability to take initiative; and learning orientation - for example, a sense of exploration; emotional intelligence in the form of self-awareness in relation to what needs to happen, and the positive impact of social support systems, for example, supervisors, role models and fellow colleagues. Negative influences on learning capacity development seem to include the following: the inability to manage performance anxiety; high levels of self-doubt, the lack of technical expertise, and learning paralysis in the form of procrastination and the lack of self-motivation.
Industrial and Organisational Psychology
M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)