• Developing effective leadership behaviours: the value of evidence-based management.

      Hamlin, Robert G.; Sawyer, Jenny (Association of MBAs, 2007)
      This article presents the findings of an HRD Professional Partnership study of effective and ineffective managerial and leadership behaviours exhibited by executive leaders within the UK business of a large international telecommunications company, and describes how the research has challenged various aspects of the organisation’s company-wide competency framework and its executive leader development programme. Additionally, the article reveals and discusses the extent to which the results are generalised to the findings of several managerial and leadership effectiveness studies carried out in other UK private and public-sector organisations, and the contribution of this research to current debates concerning the universality of management and leadership, and the concept of evidence-based management.
    • Emotion: the missing part of systems methodologies

      Wang, Catherine L.; Ahmed, Pervaiz K. (MCB UP Ltd, 2003)
      This conceptual paper first examines the critical evolutionary stage of systems methodologies – from hard systems to soft systems, and elaborates their different focuses. This paper further explores the granularity of the “softness” of systems methodologies, and identifies a missing part: emotion. The emotional aspect of systems is associated to various soft elements of systems methodologies, such as value, perception, human well-being, creativity and learning. Unfortunately, existing literature does not demonstrate a sufficient consideration of the role of emotion in systems methodologies. This paper incorporates the emotional aspect and discusses the role of emotion in effective systems methodologies.
    • Measuring groupware effectiveness using ordinal questionnaire data with AI/fuzzy mathematics and correspondence analysis treatments

      Hassall, John (University of Wolverhampton, 1999-09)
      The results of a longitudinal study of groupware technology carried out over a 2 year period within a single organization is presented. The results of ordinal data derived from a questionnaire employed to determine user judgements of the usefulness of the technology for business task are analysed using a novel "best hypothesis" approach. This treatment uses formulations based upon AI and fuzzy mathematics and correspondence analysis.
    • Organisational change and its dysfunctional effect on managers in large organisations.

      Worrall, Les; Cooper, Cary L.; Mather, Kim (London: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 2007)
      This book: A work exposing the phenomena of the dysfunctional workplace is long overdue. This fascinating work does just that, uncovering the subversiveness, counter-productive behaviour and unspoken ‘issues’ that management struggle with on a daily basis. It considers the symptoms of distress, illness, absenteeism, and inefficiency that point towards behavioural disorders and system-wide malfunction – those deemed to be the cause are often referred to as ‘successful psychopaths’. From personality disorders to wars over ‘territory’, this book chronicles, unravels and reveals the true nature of problems at work. So what can be done? International experts from diverse disciplinary backgrounds (including management, psychology and economics) provide lively discussion of and practical solutions for a whole range of dysfunctional phenomena in organizations.
    • Relationships between innovation stimulus, innovation capacity, and innovation performance

      Prajogo, Daniel I.; Ahmed, Pervaiz K. (Wiley InterScience, 2006)
      This paper examines the integration of the human and technological aspects of innovation management by modelling the innovation stimulus – innovation capacity relationship in determining innovation performance. The research framework developed in this study was tested amongst 194 managers of Australian firms. The survey responses indicate that both the relationships between innovation stimulus and innovation capacity and between innovation capacity and innovation performance are significant and strong. However, innovation stimulus does not show any direct effect on innovation performance, suggesting that its effect is mediated through innovation capacity. The overall practical implication that can be drawn from the findings is that to achieve high innovation performance, organizations first need to develop the behavioural and cultural context and practices for innovation (i.e. stimulus), and only within such conducive environments is it possible for organizations to develop innovative capacity in research and development and technology so as to more effectively deliver innovation outcomes and performance.
    • Strategic analysis: a scientific art

      Worrall, Les (University of Wolverhampton, 1998)
      The word “analysis” is relatively uncontroversial and involves the decomposition of complex phenomena into their component parts as a first step in the better understanding of issues and problems - it requires an essentially reductionist stance. While defining analysis is relatively easy, it is somewhat more difficult to define the concept of strategy as there are many interpretations and misinterpretations which pervade the academic literature. However, the phrase which best encapsulates my own view of the word strategy is “the deployment of resources to achieve organisational objectives”. If we were to put these two components together - with some additional embellishments - my definition of the term “strategic analysis” would be: “developing a theoretically informed understanding of the environment in which an organisation is operating, together with an understanding of the organisation’s interaction with its environment in order to improve organisational efficiency and effectiveness by increasing the organisation’s capacity to deploy and redeploy its resources intelligently”.
    • Systemic effector conceptual model in groupware implementation

      Hassall, John (University of Wolverhampton, 1999-09)
      Network software systems and groupware within organizations differ from other information technologies, requiring individuals to 'design' their own use. Users and groups can choose how to engage with these systems (Hassall, 1998), and use is dependent upon existing technological framing (Orlikowski, 1992). Groupware provides opportunities to study interaction between technological and organizational potentials. The action and structure duality of structuration theory (Giddens, 1984) points to the need for systemic understandings. Moreover, deconstructive schemes (e.g. Dudley and Hassall 1995,1996) demonstrate a plurality of overt and ulterior motivations in use. The Systemic Effector Model has been developed based upon longitudinal research in groupware implementation. This abstracted perspective relates choice of facility and design of action to important motivators at the individual and systemic levels. The genesis and explanatory power of the model is explored through survey and case study data.