Formal Organizational Structure Research Articles

Organizational visualization of electronic commerce

In the age of electronic commerce, the development of new network organizational forms has brought into practice transaction cost economics, inter-organizational collaborations, and strategic alliance. The development and management of network organizations are assisted by organizational analysis. This paper proposes an organizational visualization method for organizational analysis. The organizational visualization method is comprehensive in modeling a formal organizational structure for electronic commerce. It can be a practical technique for structural and process approaches to organizational development for electronic commerce.

Working the boundaries in the motor industry

Improving product development performance, through changes in organizational structure, has been an important goal for many researchers, organizational development consultants and industrialists in the 1990s. The challenges of the twenty-first century business environment will require a radical re-think of old ideas about formal organizational structures and their impact on company achievements. Perhaps it is time to question whether the choice of any one organizational structure over another is really conducive to improvements in product development performance. The ‘Working the Boundaries’ Project will undertake an investigation into the feasibility of a boundary-based view to product development in the automotive industry. This paper sets the research context and presents some preliminary research findings in the form of a ‘tentative theory’ that suggests the importance of the informal organization based on the network of interrelationships between product developers.

The contours of the network society

This article identifies contemporary society as a network society made possible by new information and communication technologies which are both a necessary condition for, and inextractable dimension of that society, and pose complex results and challenges. The prevalence of networks means that we have entered a new technological paradigm and new form of organizational structure having shifted from vertical to more flexible and adaptable networking forms of activity in economy, society, politics and culture. Historical problems of networks are overcome by the new network technologies. In the network society, the integration of the core of global financial activities works through causal interactions and the ability to assess and change the value of any security in the global market. This is only made possible via telecommunications and powerful information systems which assess risks and provide alternatives. Characteristics and consequences of the new economy are outlined as are patterns of governmental power. Current processes of globalization have diminished the capacity of the nation state to control the processes of cultural, economic, political and social dimensions and the network state is emerging in a world of different kinds of networks of which governmental networks is one. The main conclusion is that the network society of the contemporary, or post‐industrial, age is centrally organized around new information communication technologies which have enabled, rather than technologically determined, extraordinary changes in the social structure.

Reinforcing Ethical Decision Making Through Organizational Structure

In this paper I examine how the constituent elements of a firm's organizational structure affect the ethical behavior of workers. The formal features of organizations I examine are the compensation practices, performance and evaluation systems, and decision-making assignments. I argue that the formal organizational structure, which is distinguished from corporate culture, is necessary, though not sufficient, in solving ethical problems within firms. At best the formal structure should not undermine the ethical actions of workers. When combined with a strong culture, however, the organizational structure may be sufficient in promoting ethical conduct. While helpful, ethics training and corporate codes are neither necessary nor sufficient in promoting ethical behavior within firms.

Software engineering: community and culture

Ideas and techniques from the social sciences can improve the theory and practice of the software engineering discipline. To illustrate the contributions this cross-pollination has made, the authors focus on the nature of paradigms and software quality management systems. Their studies underscore the importance of community in how new technical ideas become accepted, how despite software engineers too often prefer polemic to evidence, and the primacy given to the local guru that transcends formal organizational structures.

Specific intermolecular structures of gases confined in carbon nanospace

The role of the nanospace of activated carbon in molecular and surface sciences is described with relevance to the role of the graphite surface in surface science. The reason why the carbon nanospace is effective for the control of gases is explained using molecular potential theory. The following examples of organized structure formation of gases confined in carbon nanospaces, which were determined by in situ X-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, and molecular simulation techniques, are given. Helium forms a high-density structure in carbon nanospace at 4.2 K; the adsorbed density is nearly twice that of the bulk liquid density. Even at 300 K, sufficient amounts of supercritical Xe can be adsorbed in carbon nanospace through cluster formation. Supercritical NO can also be adsorbed at 303 K in carbon nanospace in the form of the dimer and the highly concentrated NO decomposes rapidly into N2, even at 303 K. The solid-like ordered structures of confined water and C2H5OH are shown. The solid-like structure of confined water is confirmed by the temperature dependence of the electron radial distribution function.

Application of Photoacoustic Spectroscopy to Studies of Thin Olive Oil Layers on Water

Thin layers of oil spread on the water surface were studied by photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) methods and discussed in terms of their structural and thermal properties. Signatures of the depth profiles derived from the signal amplitude-phase data point to the sharp phase separation at the interfaces and suggest the formation of organized structures (lamellar, inverted lamellar micelles) of surfactants dissolved in a non-polar (oil) medium.

Unbundling European operations: regional management and corporate flexibility in American and Japanese MNCS

Empirical research on the European operations of 19 American and Japanese multinational companies (MNCs) suggested, first, that the strategic importance of the region did not translate into an enhanced role for regional headquarters, and second, that American and Japanese MNCs are “unbundling” their European operations as a means of enhancing their flexibility. American MNCs preferred to carve up regional tasks for delegation to local subsidiaries, with coordination assured increasingly by “councils” bringing top European managers together. Japanese MNCs have not altered the formal organizational structure; but the recent internationalization of basic research labs in Europe has forced them to modify their previously monolithic approach to European subsidiaries.

The Development of Innovatory Production Systems in Turbulent Environment

In the last ten years several new conceptions for the design of production systems have been developed (Lean Production, Fractal Factory, Business Process Reengineenng, Virtual Factory etc.). As a country in transition Croatia is at the turning point between the planned economy and the market-based economy. It is therefore necessary during the process of privatization to restructure the existing enterprises and to introduce new organization structures. These structures must be adapted to the present situation regarding culture, the levels of education and technology, and other conditions. The paper describes the results of research performed so far regarding the new forms of organizational structures, as wsll as the research being planned for the future.

Public v. Private Perceptions of Formalization, Outcomes, and Justice

Public v. Private Perceptions of Formalization, Outcomes, and Justice

Staying Out of the Lifeboat: Sustainability, Culture, and the Thermodynamics of Symbiosis

ABSTRACT Many authors state that sustainability is purely a matter of the management of scarce and ever‐diminishing “negentropy,” while others still pretend that unlimited exploitation of the environment is possible. Either view rests on fundamental misunderstandings of ecosystems. Ecologically, sustainability must mean a mutualistic symbiosis. It is useful to understand symbiosis from a thermodynamic point of view. Many organisms—including humans in principle—are able to modulate large flows of free energy, directing it into the formation of organized structures, while expending a proportionately small amount of free energy in the process. They are thus able to capture useful energy for their ecosystem as a whole. Ecosystems can thus maintain a high degree of internal coherence and, just as can individual organisms, apparently defy the Second Law of Thermodynamics within their own boundaries. The breakdown of ecosystem coherence we observe in the world today is thus a symptom not so much of the “Law of Entropy” but of the undermining of the ecosystem’s autopoietic capacity by human parasitism. A guarded optimism about the possibility of sustainability is thus possible, so long as we grasp the particular way in which humans can contribute to ecosystem vitality. Even very subtle features of human culture may contribute positively to the physical vitality of the ecosystem.

Communication Networks in the Diffusion of an Innovation in an Organization1

Research on decision‐making processes and the diffusion of innovations in organizations has been focused on the influence of formal organizational structures. Since the successful implementation of most innovations requires the cooperation of employees, it is important to investigate how employees' knowledge, opinions, and individual decisions concerning an innovation are influenced by other employees. The present study investigates how information acquisition and adoption decisions of employees are influenced by the quantity and strength of their informal communication ties in the organization, and how strong this influence is in comparison with influence from formal communication sources. Results indicate that formal communication sources contributed more to the process of information diffusion, whereas informal communication sources (especially the employees' strong ties), were more influential on attitudes and adoption intentions.

In Their Own Words: How Hospitals Present Corporate Restructuring in Their Annual Reports

Hospitals operate in an environment with strong institutional pressures, in which legitimacy is critical to an organization's access to resources. In such an environment, organizations can increase their legitimacy by engaging in activities or discussing them in a manner that signals that the organization adheres to values held by its costituents. One important symbol of organizational actions or intentions is the formal organizational structure. When hospitals began to adopt a corporate structure in the early eighties, the way in which they presented this decision to the public was as important as the technical merits of the decision itself. This study investigates, through an analysis of annual reports, what hospitals signaled about their adoption of a corporate structure. The findings suggest that through restructuring, hospitals signaled that they were in line with practices advocated in the industry and literature (e.g., adhering to business values, protection of assets, or increasing patient services). By presenting multiple reasons for restructuring, hospitals could signal their attention to the needs of various constituents, and by touching only briefly on each reason, they could ignore the potential conflict between demands such as lower hospital cost and increased services. The findings also suggest that the first hospitals to adopt a corporate structure sought to educate constituents about restructuring by devoting a greater share of their annual report to the topic than later adopters and by enumerating a larger number of anticipated benefits from the structure, which would have enhanced the innovation's legitimacy in the early years.

Stacking phenomena in polyaromatic compounds

Solid–liquid equilibria (SLE) and formation of films at the air/water interface were investigated for binaries formed with 1-pyrenecarboxaldehyde (PCA) or fluorenone, mixed with pyrene or phenanthrene. In all systems studied, the components are non-miscible in the solid phase. Two eutectic points and the formation of a solid compound is observed in the diagram. The aggregation phenomena occurring in presence of water can lead to the formation of organized structures, similar to those observed in the case of surfactant/water systems. The results obtained suggest that these polyaromatic molecules have a tendency to stacking and agglomerating.

A tale of two (low prevalence) cities: social movement organisations and the local policy response to HIV/AIDS

In the field of HIV/AIDS, social movement organisations (SMOs) have been identified as powerful potential catalysts for change through their impact on formal organisational structures and the policy process. In addition, they have the capacity to be important providers of services in their own right, through the community resources they are capable of mobilising. In the United Kingdom, however, their role in policy formation is disputed. Previous studies have concluded that they have been most influential at national policy and ward level. At the level of local policy making, their influence has been found to be patchy and confined largely to securing recognition of HIV as an issue. Most previous research has, however, been conducted in high prevalence, metropolitan settings with functional SMOs. This paper presents the results of a comparative case study of two neighbouring provincial low prevalence district health authorities (HAs) in England. We describe the changing national policy context from 1986 to 1995 and use a strategic change model to analyse the local development of care and treatment services for people with HIV/AIDS, in particular the relationship between SMOs and HAs. Despite being demographically, socioeconomically and epidemiologically similar, and sharing an identical national policy framework, the two districts demonstrate completely divergent organisational responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We conclude that the level of prior social movement mobilisation and the degree of receptivity for change within the HA are the key variables for explaining variations in the scale of strategic change observed in the two districts.

Effects of water and cross-linkage on the formation of organized structure in the hydrogels

Abstract Moderately water-swollen hydrogels with different degrees of swelling ( q ) were prepared by copolymerizing acrylic acid (AA) and acrylic monomers having various kinds of hydrophobic long alkyl side groups: n -stearyl acrylate (SA), hexadecyl acrylate (HA), and 16-acryloyl hexadecanoic acid (AHA). Their short- and long-range structures have been studied by using X-ray diffraction and DSC measurement. Effects of water and cross linkage on the formation of the ordered structure have been discussed. It was found that the presence of an appropriate amount of water in the gel increases the crystallinity, presumably due to an enhanced hydrophobic interaction between long alkyl side chains. It was also found that the cross-linking suppresses the formation of ordered structure but there exists an optimum cross-linking density that leads to the most clear transition in Young’s modulus upon change in temperature.

The Role of Language and Formal Structure in the Construction and Maintenance of Organizational Images

When members of organizations use expressions like team, business process reengineering, or TQM (Total Quality Management) as latest buzzword or flavor of the month, what do they mean? And how do members of organizations respond when confronted with expectations from shareholders, customers, or higher-level managers to implement the latest buzzword? We will use such buzzwords to discuss organizational processes associated with the construction and maintenance of organizational images,1 by examining the role of language within the formal structure of organizations. In particular, we examine the following questions: 1. What is the process by which organizations construct and maintain positive organizational images for their key internal and external publics? 2. How does an organization's formal structure interact with language in order to contribute to the construction and maintenance of organizational images?

Altruists or Egoists? Retention in Stipended Service

AbstractThis study examines stipended volunteers—those volunteers who engage freely in a helping activity within a formal organizational structure but receive some type of remuneration for their services. Based on a sample of AmeriCorps members from three states, we identify several motivational, demographic, and individual factors that affect retention of stipended volunteers. We conclude that retention depends more on instrumental career‐related factors than on altruistic motivation or meaningfulness of the service.

Chaos has no plural—trying out a holistic approach to organizational learning

The Open University's ‘New Directions’ programme deliberately created a ‘chaotic’ space for random communication across organizational boundaries—so that the organization can begin to learn as a whole and respond faster to change. New Directions began as a series of workshops in 1993, with a random cross-section of the OU's 3500 staff sharing their views of the OU's future. From this, the programme developed outside formal organizational structures and participative mechanisms. The process has raised questions about formal and informal communications in the organization, and has contributed to reframing of some of our strategic priorities. This is an ‘action research’ project, which draws on theories about organizational learning and the mathematics of complexity. We have been able to observe how people, given agreement on what they need to do and some simple guidelines/directions, can organize themselves to do it without needing detailed plans. We have also observed some of the constraints on this self-organization. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Interbilayer interaction and deuterium–proton exchange in thin films of phosphatidyl serine

Thin surface films of dimyristoylphosphatidylserine (DMPS) and of bovine spinal cord phosphatidylserine (SCPS) deposited on the surface of Ge or of KRS5 prisms were investigated by FTIR attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy. Identical spectra were observed in all cases when the films were dry. However, upon incubation of the multibilayers with H 2O or D 2O under conditions that prevent spontaneous vesiculation, the spectra change: the rates of change increase with temperature, and are considerably faster above the phase transition. The spectral changes include sharpening of the head group absorption bands, indicating organized structure formation with concomitant increase of amplitude of some bands in relation to others. The sharpening of the ν asCO − 2 band around 1640 cm −1 reveals δ as NH 3 band at 1610 cm −1. The ν as CO band at 1738 cm −1 becomes split and peaks begin to appear down to 1717 cm −1, presumably due to perturbation by hydrogen bonding with ammonia groups of juxtaposed polar layers. The change in dichroic ratio of the different bands, resulting from this structural reorganization, is rather small. The formation of an organized head group structure is accompanied by a decrease by many orders of magnitude of the rate of exchange of proton by deuterium or vice versa in the ammonium residue. The proton deuterium exchange was inferred from the shift of the serine CO − 2 asymmetric stretching band ν as 1640 cm −1 in the vicinity of N +H 3 and 1620–1625 cm −1 when NH 3 is replaced by N +D 3 and from the disappearance of NH 3 bending band at ∼1520 cm −1. The results are consistent with hydrogen bonding between the ammonium groups of one polar layer with phosphates, carbonyls, and to some extent, also carboxylates in the juxtaposed layer formed in the course of the annealing process. X-ray diffraction experiments suggest that this process may involve intermediate states with an enlarged surface area for the hydrated headgroups accompanied by a transient tilting of the hydrocarbon chains.