Management Of External Relationships Research Articles

Use of technology in relationship management

Technological innovations have changed many aspects of public relations practice, andpublic relations is believed to have entered the “fourth wave” of technological changein the field. To achieve its ultimate objective, namely to build and maintain beneficialrelationships, thus contributing to achieving organisational goals, it is pivotal to explorethe impact of technology on the profession and practice of public relations. Knowledgeof the impact of these innovations will equip public relations with the required knowhow to contribute to the overall objectives of an integrated communication approach.While technology in itself cannot build or destroy relationships as maintained by Kent& Taylor (1998:324), the way in which technology is used can influence organisationpublic relationships, hence emphasising the need for public relations professionals tocome to terms with new technology and the opportunities and challenges it holds.An exploratory study was undertaken to provide new insights into the impact of newcommunication technology on the profession and practice of public relations in SouthAfrica. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the availability and use ofnew communication technology by South African public relations professionals forinternal and external relationship management. It comprised a theoretical and conceptualanalysis of public relations practice and models, dominant business approaches andother concepts related to the objectives of this study. The literature study wassupplemented by a pilot study concerning the availability and use of technology byPRISA-accredited public relations practitioners. This article reports on the findings ofthe empirical section of the study

Organizational Innovation Implications for Manufacturing SMEs: Findings from an Empirical Study

Building on the theories of organizational innovation and reconciling structural and procedural perspectives of organizational and managerial processes, this study assesses the impact of organizational innovation practices on organizational performance. An empirical study of more than 600 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from various industries was conducted to investigate the role of cross-functional teams, quality management systems, workplace organization and outsourcing, and external relationship management within sustainable innovation management strategies. Based on the empirical results, suggestions for further research and recommendations for SME leaders and practitioners are made. This study proposes insights that contribute to theoretical and practical discussions on promoting the systematic management of innovations in SMEs.

Refugee recruitment and workplace integration: An opportunity for human resource management scholarship and impact

AbstractEmployment underpins the successful resettlement and integration of refugees, and human resource (HR) professionals are integral to successful employee–employer relationships. Until recently, research has largely overlooked the role of HR professionals in the recruitment and integration of employees at work. Reviewing the literature on refugee employment through an HR lens, this review offers insights and practical solutions that contribute to the effective recruitment and workplace integration of refugees. We identify strategies such as onboarding programs, job enrichment and internships that offer realistic job previews, and the opportunity for people from a refugee background to validate and demonstrate their credentials. In addition, we describe the benefits of organisations’ engagement in external relationship management to champion changes in industrial relations and foster cross‐sector partnerships that aid refugee employment. In the discussion, we describe the practical implications of our review, and highlight directions for future research that addresses different stakeholder needs and priorities.

Determinants of employee trust during organisational change in higher institutions

PurposeThe researchers in this study aim to understand the impact of a recent merger between two high performing institutions, on employee trust and well-being. The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively test the relationships between communication initiatives, human resource management initiatives, and cultural congruence and their impact on employee trust during organisational change.Design/methodology/approachTo empirically validate these hypothesised relationships, 139 employees of the organisation were surveyed; the data were analysed using structural equation modelling.FindingsThe results indicate that HR planning and successful communication by the organisation are vital if a merger is to achieve the gains envisioned at its inception.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research may explore longitudinal study to establish time of how employee trust are affected from the early merger announcement stage, during the merger-related activities and most importantly the post-merger period. The researchers are of the opinion, that understanding the impacts of change and how employee trust is affected during change is vital. The scope of this study permitted only three independent variables, consideration should be given for further research to explore the influence other activities may have on trust such as policy, government restraint, governance and internationalisation.Practical implicationsThese results further establish the need for educational and commercial organisations to focus on internal and external relationship management and on communication strategies that can affect employees before, during and after a merger.Social implicationsUnderstanding factors that will influence employee vulnerability is important for any organisation as it is possibly the first step to understanding what planning needs to take place to foster change and consider contingencies pre, during and post-merger related change. Considerable thought and planning should be given to the re building of culture and regaining of lost trust post-merger.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical research that quantitatively test the relationships between communication initiatives, human resource initiatives, cultural congruence and their impact on employee trust during organisational change in higher academic institution. This particular study has further add value to change management research, particularly from New Zealand perspective where there is little literature on the current Institute of Technology and Polytechnic sector merger.

The role of the project manager in relationship management

Relationship management is recognized as a focus of the next generation of project management. As a major sector, the construction industry has increasingly embraced the concept of project-based relationship management. On the other hand, project managers have grown steadily in prominence. This research explores the contribution of construction project managers to relationship management through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Project-based relationship management can be either internal or external. This research identifies 18 roles of project managers in internal relationship management (IRM) and 18 roles in external relationship management (ERM). As a result of data analysis, they are categorized into six internal role groups and five external role groups, respectively. In addition to role identification and categorization, this research provides evidence for the change in construction from traditional project management that concentrates on planning and control to new project management that highlights the importance of people and working relationships.

Organizational problems of non-governmental organizations (NGOS)

The non-governmental sector is a growing worldwide phenomenon. Organizations across the globe account for growing and impressive figures in employment, revenue, services provided and sheer numbers. Whereas the past years have seen quite a few insolvencies and collapses caused by management failures. NGOs concerned with development face the management of a complex and diverse range of issues. NGOs face internal management issues, for example questions of strategic planning, budgeting, staffing, and the governing structure of the organization, growth and change within the organization. NGOs also face the management of external relationships, relations with government, the private sector, other NGOs and with their target communities. All of these come to bear on the possibility of NGOs managing development. The effectiveness of NGOs as actors in development and change depends on successful engagement with both internal and external management questions and also on the successful articulation between issues of internal and external management. Although NGOs share many individual characteristics with other sorts of organizations, the various collections of characteristics that are observable in many NGOs create a package that is quite different from most for-profit organizations (FPOs). Some scholars argued; legal constraints, revenue sources, types of personnel, and the nature of governance in NGOs make them unique. There is a growing debate within the non-governmental management literature and the community of non-governmental about whether NGOs should become more business like.

Governance Mechanisms and New Venture Performance in China

Despite increasing attention have been paid to the role of external relationship management, some studies have been concerned about established firms’ relationship management; however, only few studies have explicitly discussed the role of relationship management for new venture performance in a transition economy. Trust and contracts are two kinds of governance mechanisms to manage external relationship. This research focuses on trust and contracts and examines their impacts on new ventures’ performance. Moreover, we argue that resource acquisition mediates the relationship between governance mechanisms and new venture performance. By using survey data from 188 questionnaires, this study finds that trust and contracts are positively associated with relationship performance and economic performance. New ventures also obtain more relationship and economic performance through resource acquisition. In addition, trust and contracts are substitutable that affect economic performance, but the interaction is not associated with relationship performance. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Constructing Commons in the Cultural Environment

This Essay considers the problem of understanding intellectual sharing/pooling arrangements and the construction of cultural commons arrangements. We argue that an adaptation of the approach pioneered by Elinor Ostrom and collaborators to commons arrangements in the natural environment may provide a template for the examination of constructed commons in the cultural environment. The approach promises to lead to a better understanding of how participants in commons and pooling arrangements structure their interactions in relation to the environment(s) within which they are embedded and with which they share interdependent relationships. Such an improved understanding is critical for obtaining a more complete perspective on intellectual property doctrine and its interactions with other legal and social mechanisms of governing creativity and innovation. We propose an initial framework for evaluating and comparing the contours of different pooling arrangements with an eye toward developing an understanding of the institutional and structural differences across arrangements and industries as well as the underlying contextual reasons for such differences. The proposed approach would draw upon case studies from a wide range of disciplines. Among other things, we argue that a theoretical approach to cultural constructed commons should consider rules pertaining to membership criteria, contribution and use of pooled resources, internal licensing conditions, management of external relationships, and institutional forms along with the degree of collaboration among members, sharing of human capital, degrees of integration among participants, and whether there is a specified purpose to the arrangement.

Models for allocating public venture capital to innovation projects: lessons from a French public agency

This paper identifies the variables which structure the analysis carried out in a French public venture capital organisation (ANVAR), which makes decisions regarding the funding of innovation projects at early stages of development. Our observations gathered through the elaboration of cognitive maps, concern the processes and routines used by this organisation in supporting innovation and diffusion of emerging technologies especially information/communication technology and biotechnology. We study in particular the capacity to appropriate rents from innovation, the factors limiting profitability, and the nature of risks (as recommended by Martin and Scott, 2000). In terms of technology management, the main implications are that three managerial tasks are crucial for passing the selection barrier: management of intellectual property assets; management of external relationships of the firm; management of knowledge or human capital.

Integrierte Versorgungssysteme in Kalifornien - Erfolgs- und Misserfolgsfaktoren der ersten 10 Jahre und Impulse für Deutschland

Since the coming into effect of the Health Care Modernization Act (Gesundheitsmodernisierungsgesetz) the conditions for integrated health care delivery are favourable in Germany. However, comprehensive approaches are a long time in coming. In contrast, integrated health care delivery as an integral part of the spreading of managed care entered a further stage of development, which enables health care decision makers to draw conclusions regarding the further development of integrated health care delivery in Germany. Based on case studies integrated delivery systems in the San Francisco Bay Area have been analyzed with the objective to evaluate pitfalls and successful strategies for integrated health care delivery. The major pitfalls refer to an insufficient local focus, a lack of actual integration and the application of per capita reimbursement (which is a key subject on the political agenda in Germany as well) within integrated delivery systems. On the contrary, successful strategies include achieving a dynamic tension between centralized and decentralized coordination, internal and external relationship management, well organised human resource management including a well-defined corporate policy and a comprehensive implementation of information technology. Based on US experiences with integrated delivery systems implications for the design of integrated health care delivery in Germany are discussed.

External Relationship Management: Health Care Implications and Future Digital Desirability

The Year 2000 problem can be broadly divided into internal and external activities. For many businesses, internal activities have received the majority of time and attention. Given the complex and interdependent nature of Aetna’s business relationships, management of its external relationships (ER’s) has proven to be a key success factor in taming its Y2K problem. As a service-based business for more than 150 years, Aetna is a quintessential example of what many today would describe as a “value web”—an organization that thrives on its ability to rapidly deliver services within a highly interdependent set of relationships. In this paper, Aetna’s Y2K ER management strategy and its evolution from A.T. Kearney’s Y2K risk mitigation model are discussed. Reviewed in detail are Aetna’s business landscape and an aggregate ER risk-rating approach. Aetna’s medical provider network is used to exemplify its ER management strategy. As a result of Aetna’s ER strategy, a new dynamic for the health care industry centered on contingency payment plans is highlighted. Looking forward, the concept of “digital desirability” and the applicability of Aetna’s ER strategy in the digital era is explored.

Applying the lessons learned from 27 lean manufacturers.: The relevance of relationships management

This paper deals with the challenges posed by lean production principles for operations management. A multiple case study approach was used to explore how the lean production model has been adopted by 27 excellent firms operating in international markets and to recognize the areas characterized by major problems and difficulties. A research model, able to accurately define and operationalize the lean production concept, was developed in order to carry out this empirical study. The model represents a conceptualization of lean production as consisting of a number of improvement programmes or best practices characterizing different areas of the company (i.e. process and equipment, manufacturing planning and control, human resources, product design, supplier relationships, customer relationships). Results from this study would suggest that for a full implementation of lean production principles, the most critical factor appears to be the management of external relationships rather than internal operations. The challenge, today, is how to integrate the different organizations into the value stream in order to ensure excellence in final products and services and, also, how to integrate customers into the organization. This calls for a change in the perspective of analysis: the focus must move from operations management to relationships management. In the light of this, suggestions for future research, indicated by the empirical findings, are offered.

Budgetary process in uncertain contexts: a study of state-owned enterprises in Bangladesh

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the budgetary process is used to manage technical and institutional environments. The study was carried out in two state-owned organizations in Bangladesh. The conditions in Bangladesh are such that all state-owned enterprises face a bureaucratic environment. However, the two organizations were selected to provide examples of higher and lower uncertainties in this context. The findings suggest that in conditions of high uncertainty budgeting is more oriented towards the management of external relationships with significant institutional actors than with the management of the organization itself. Budgets are relatively uncoupled from detailed aspects of the organizational task. In more moderate conditions of uncertainty, budgeting appears to be more functionally implicated in the management of the organizational task.