Organizational Philosophy Research Articles

Strategic Plan for a Processed Foods Company Using Megaplanning and Balanced Scorecard

This article presents a case study for a strategic plan developed using a megaplanning model approach, as well as the balanced scorecard proposal, for a company that produces processed foods in the southern state of Sonora in Mexico. The strategic planning process began with the ratification of the business mission and vision in an internal analysis of the company with the help of its employees in a dynamic participatory workshop in which they discussed perceived strengths and weaknesses. The next step was to perform the external analysis of the environment surrounding the company. Both analyses of the SWOT matrix immediately identified strategic objectives and strategies, as well as the scorecard, and concluded with a project proposal. The most significant results fall under the scope of two key strategies. The first regards innovation in business models; and the second, the expansion into new markets, which, along with the organization's philosophy, guides the future of the company. The main lessons learned are presented in the developmental stages of this case study, so it is important to emphasize that a special development in the results section, which can be useful for similar studies using the proposed methodology, be carried out. Finally, a strategic planning–oriented approach focusing on megaplanning represents a vision on how to add value to society, seeking to create interest among stakeholders to meet performance indicators that have a positive impact on the communities where the company is located.

Possibilities of Usage of Strategic Business Intelligence Systems Based on Databases in Agile Manufacturing

Organizations must have the ability of responding quickly to predictable and unpredictable changes in the market. Organizations’ ability to adapt to the fast changing conditions depending on the differing requirements of the customers, depend to a great extend on their ability to become agile. Since change and ambiguity always exist and always will in future, the necessity of the organizations to understand these changes in environment conditions quickly and to be able to respond gains importance every passing day. This requirement provides the wide spreading of agile manufacturing philosophy in organizations. Organizations, due to agile manufacturing, will be able to have the chance of turning the ambiguities in the environment to possibilities. Today, accessing correct and more detailed information became possible however another problem has arisen. This problem is the management of large numerical data stacks and their becoming meaningful. The work of turning raw data into information or making them meaningful can be made with data warehouse and business intelligence tools (data mining, inquiry-reporting, OLAP). At the stage of quickly accessing and using data which will form the basis of agile manufacturing work, creation of data warehouses and using them by integrating into organization information system will be useful. In this work, information is tried to be provided with the literature scanning about the possibility of usage of data warehouse and data base architecture during agile manufacturing process and with business intelligence tools.

EFFECTS OF A CHANGING ORGANIZATIONAL ECOLOGY ON RACIAL DISPARITIES IN INFANT MORTALITY

For a seven‐year period, the disparity in birth outcomes between Blacks and non‐Hispanic Whites in one Wisconsin county closed for reasons not epidemiologically explainable. Examination of the ecology of organizations offered promise for considering the environmental factors influencing African American mothers and birth outcomes during this time. Qualitative analysis of interview data from representatives of health, social service, and advocacy organizations in the county focused on three themes: organizational and network change, organizational philosophies and orientations, and organizational coordination and competition. Results suggest that organizations collaborated variably during this time as adaptations to a changing ecology of funding, political influence, and dominant philosophical orientations. Peak levels of organizational collaborations fostered systems‐level orientations to relational, community‐centered work and coordinated, holistic service provision for underserved mothers and families. Ecological factors promoting collaboration among organizations, and the development of an interorganizational collaborative in particular, influenced further system changes with implications for birth outcomes. Additional analyses discuss systems‐level implications for interorganizational endeavors from the lens of organizational ecology.

Walter Lippmann: Public Economist, by Craufurd D. Goodwin

Walter Lippmann: Public Economist, by Craufurd D. Goodwin. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2014. viii, 414 pp. $35.00 US (cloth). His long career dedicated to the history of economic thought, Craufurd Goodwin has written a stimulating policy biography of the most prominent public intellectual of the twentieth century. Walter Lippmann learned about unemployment, trade, monetary policy, and fiscal issues from the likes of Keynes and Hayek. A voracious reader and active correspondent, Lippmann passed on his knowledge through books, articles, reviews, columns (most famously, Today and Tomorrow), and speeches. Teaching the public was his cardinal objective. Lippmann linked economics to larger political, even philosophical, constructs of American life, such as free markets and democracy. It was his job as a journalist to translate esoteric concepts to a public tuned out to national policies and subject to superficial politicians but which, he believed, could choose wise leaders if only it had the facts. Lippmann provided the lay public with such direction. The focus is not on Lippmann the person, as Goodwin cursorily mentions his failed marriage, various residences, and social life. A short bibliography includes some general, contextual works and writings related directly to economics. For an exposition of Lippmann's ideas on economics, however, this book is indispensable. Present at many creations (post-World War I peace planning, the advent of Keynesianism in America, advocacy for a council of economic advisors), Lippmann learned on the fly and changed as circumstances dictated. He remained above the professional and political fray, reluctant to join groups that might want to use or bias him. Goodwin focuses on the period 1931-46, though he sets up the story in Lippmann's formative years and finishes it with the twenty postwar years in which he focused on foreign affairs. This truly public economist dealt with the roots of the Great Depression and ways to avoid a recurrence after World War II. But economics was more than just numbers; it provided the basis for a philosophy of governance, social organization, and national interests. Lippmann moved from being a socialist to an advocate for the New Deal without becoming an acolyte of Franklin Roosevelt, and then evolved into a confirmed Keynesian (well before FDR and JFK adopted that view). Government regulation was the price to pay for avoiding leftist regimentation or rightwing authoritarianism --and the capitalist class's affinity for reckless speculation--and preserving freedom. As the country adjusted, therefore, so did Lippmann. What generated his economic concerns? He obsessed over the preservation of the market capitalist system by good government. He profoundly believed that free markets undergirded freedom, liberty, and democracy, but that laissez-faire thinking was unreasonable. Those who preached free markets actually undermined them by their own selfish, monopolistic interests. Thus, wise government regulations would protect capitalism from itself through countercyclical spending and saving, decent wages, and encouragement of the entrepreneurial spirit. Lippmann liked balance, reason, and principles tempered by pragmatism (that is, true liberalism). …

Sustainability‐oriented Innovation: A Systematic Review

This paper is intended as a contribution to the ongoing conceptual development of sustainability‐oriented innovation (SOI) and provides initial guidance on becoming and being sustainable. The authors organize and integrate the diverse body of empirical literature relating to SOI and, in doing so, develop a synthesized conceptual framework onto which SOI practices and processes can be mapped. Sustainability‐oriented innovation involves making intentional changes to an organization's philosophy and values, as well as to its products, processes or practices to serve the specific purpose of creating and realizing social and environmental value in addition to economic returns. A critical reading of previous literature relating to environmental management and sustainability reveals how little attention has been paid to SOI, and what exists is only partial. In a review of 100 scholarly articles and 27 grey sources drawn from the period of the three Earth Summits (1992, 2002 and 2012), the authors address four specific deficiencies that have given rise to these limitations: the meaning of SOI; how it has been conceptualized; its treatment as a dichotomous phenomenon; and a general failure to reflect more contemporary practices. The authors adopt a framework synthesis approach involving first constructing an initial architecture of the landscape grounded in previous studies, which is subsequently iteratively tested, shaped, refined and reinforced into a model of SOI with data drawn from included studies: so advancing theoretical development in the field of SOI.

Investigating organizational core values in NCAA athletic departments

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to survey National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I administrators (N=437) in the USA to identify the organizational values that are deemed as having the highest priority by administrators when carrying out the mission of their athletic department. Design/methodology/approach – The research utilized an online survey to examine the organizational values within NCAA athletic departments. The surveys were distributed during a one-month time period. Findings – The data demonstrated that academic excellence, student-athlete experience, and health/safety were rated as the organizational values with the highest priority in athletic departments. In addition, the study also illustrated that that the priority level of the individual values varied when focussing on the different levels of administrators. Originality/value – The understanding of value systems within sport organizations and proper implementation of value-driven leadership can enhance organizational efficiency through providing guidance to practitioners in decision-making processes and strategy development, and through providing consistent organizational philosophies that can influence employee behavior. Additionally, this paper builds upon empirical research exploring values within the intercollegiate athletic industry in the USA through a variety of theoretical frameworks including Schein’s organizational culture model (2010), Fishbein and Ajzen’s theory of reasoned action (1975), and Collins and Porras’s vision framework (2000).

Implementation of integrated therapies for comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders in community substance abuse treatment programs.

The high prevalence of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) presents a number of treatment challenges for community treatment providers and programs in the USA. Although several evidence-based, integrated therapies for the treatment of comorbid PTSD/SUD have been developed, rates of utilisation of such practices remain low in community treatment programs. The goal of this article was to review the extant literature on common barriers that prevent adoption and implementation of integrated treatments for PTSD/SUD among substance abuse community treatment programs. Organisational, provider-level and patient-level factors that drive practice decisions were discussed, including organisational philosophy of care policies, funding and resources, as well as provider and patient knowledge and attitudes related to implementation of new integrated treatments for comorbid PTSD and SUD. Understanding and addressing these community treatment challenges may facilitate use of evidence-based integrated treatments for comorbid PTSD and SUD.

Entrepreneurship and innovation initiatives among Asian multinationals

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to analyze the level of innovation and entrepreneurial culture among Asian multinationals, especially as they face intense competition from large global companies. Past practices and the sense that Asian companies are followers rather than innovators have resulted in the persistent belief that these companies are not sufficiently innovative and do not support or promote an entrepreneurial culture. However, given the rapid development in Asian economies in recent years, it is useful to analyze whether such traditional views and practices are changing and whether employees in these organizations view innovation as a necessary tool. Design/methodology/approach – The data for this study came from a survey of 193 executives (32.2 per cent response rate). The statements in the survey instrument were designed to measure aspects of three factors, namely, organizational philosophy, corporate support and human capital, for the practice of entrepreneurship and innovation in th...

Psychological Empowerment of Frontline Police Officers in Response to Social Service Role Strain in China

Provision of social service is one of the most significant roles of the police. A review of the related literature in policing seems to reveal that empowerment holds significance for frontline officers who are largely responsible for social service delivery. This study examines the possible relationships between police social service role strain (PSSRS) and police social service psychological empowerment (PSSPE) among frontline police officers in China. This study adopts a two-phase (quantitative and qualitative approaches) sequential explanatory design. In the first phase, a questionnaire is used to collect data from a sample of 200 frontline community patrol officers in Shenzhen Public Security Bureau, China. After conducting the quantitative analysis, the author uses in-depth interviews to explore the nature of PSSRS and PSSPE from 12 selected interviewees’ insights. According to the results of the survey and in-depth interviews, the participants report a comparatively high level of PSSRS and a low level of PSSPE. It has been found that there are significantly negative correlations between PSSRS and PSSPE in the Chinese police organization. The Chinese police force is suggested to provide effective interventions for individual experience of psychological empowerment by continuously committing to the organizational philosophy of community policing in response to the PSSRS among frontline police officers.

Engaging dads: Enhancing support for fathers through parenting programmes

Parenting programmes purport to improve the parenting capacity of both mothers and fathers; however it is predominantly mothers who participate. Father participation is important because fathers have a positive impact on both child development and behaviour, and out- comes for children are enhanced when both parents participate in parenting programmes. This article draws upon a study (via an online questionnaire) that explored the views of social workers about the issues affecting fathers’ participation in parenting programmes. The results showed that participants considered the qualities of the programme leader, the programme content and the philosophy of the service delivery organisation to be the most important issues impacting on father participation. From the perspective of change, qualities of the programme leader and organisational philosophy were considered the most feasible to address. The sample comprised three times more female than male participants and there was an evident difference in viewpoint according to gender on issues including the gender of the programme leader and the gender make-up of the group.

Organisational consciousness: a new paradigm for sustainable change management

Ever evolving global environment especially the transformational advancements in technologies and globalisation have made business environment extremely complex. The organisations must also evolve internally to match the external complexity, changes in hard-structures like upgrading of technology can be adopted by organisations easily when compared with the soft-structure that control the processes and culture of the organisation. Balogun and Hope Hailey (2004) have calculated a failure rate of ∼70% of change programs introduced in organisations. Burnes (2004) suggests that what is presently accessible to practitioners is an extensive variety of contradictory approaches. The review of literature also indicates that there is a need to further contemplate organisational philosophy and explicate the internal dynamics that influence change in organisations, indicating that there is a need to unfold the associations between various organisational constructs to offer meaningful abstraction of reality for decision makers to initiate sustainable organisational change.

Cloud Computing and Agile Organization Development

In the 3rd millennium economy, defined by globalization and continuous reduction of natural resources, the economic organization becomes the main actor in the phenomenon of transformation and adaptation to new conditions. Even more, the economic environment, which is closely related to the social environment, undergoes complex metamorphoses, especially in the management area. In this dynamic and complex social and environmental context, the economic organization must possess the ability to adapt, becoming a flexible and agile answer to new market opportunities. Considering the spectacular evolution of information and communications technology, one of the solutions to ensure organization agility is cloud computing. Just like the development of any science requires adaptation to theories and instruments specific to other fields, a cloud computing paradigm for the agile organization must appeal to models from management, cybernetics, mathematics, structuralism and information theory (or information systems theory).Keywords: Cloud Computing, Agile Development, Enterprise Architecture, Project Management, Agile Methodologies, Information and Communications Technology (ICT)Objectives1This analytical-methodological and theoretical-practical endeavour constitutes an original scientific incursion into the philosophy and theory of cloud computing from the perspective of turning it into a real framework for ensuring agility in the development of economic organizations. Also, theoretical approach is supported by highlighting practical aspects regarding cloud computing market and the influence big actors of this market may have on the success of a cloud computing paradigm for organization development. The original approach brings forth the emergent production factors of the knowledge society, digital economy and globalization phenomenon. They include information, organization culture, and enterprise architecture in terms of business, information and technology.2 Cloud computing philosophyIn the spring of 2001, in Claremont, California, Peter F. Drucker - considered one of the founders of modern science of management by business specialists and academics - talking about the challenge ahead, said may almost certainly say that the challenges we will have to face in the tomorrow 's conditions are of management nature and concern the individuals. ... those tasks cannot be performed by the state, but only by individual organizations - lucrative enterprises and nongovernmental non-lucrative organizations - and individuals [1]Tomorrow's economic conditions invoked by Dmcker are visible even today and the socialeconomic entities mentioned are indeed the economic organizations and the individuals. The management philosophy of the contemporary organization includes both global market agility and modern paradigms that target directly the human resource (as primary production factor), like the anthropocentric model. Even more, when the agility approach is supported by the use of information and communications technology instmments, cloud computing becomes its stmctural foundation.Cloud computing is a relatively modern ICT concept and represents an aggregation of distributed services for computation, applications, data access and storage. The cloud computing philosophy assumes that the entire ensemble is hidden to the user, which does not know the location and physical configuration of the systems that provide the services. Terminologically, cloud computing derives from a symbolic graphical representation of the global network as a cloud, used when technical details of the internet may be ignored (Figure 1).In other words, cloud computing represents one of the significant tendencies of ICT evolution, bringing a new model for provision, management and security within the organization. Currently, there is no universally accepted definition of cloud computing. The national Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) present a base for the definition, describing cloud computing as a model that provides access on demand, through a network to an array of shared configurable information resources (like networks, servers, storage space, applications and services). …

Personal Values as Predictors of Donor- Versus Recipient-Focused Organizational Helping Philosophies

Variations in endorsement of organizational philosophies of helping as a function of the personal values of prospective helpers were explored. Composite ratings from prospective helpers revealed two distinct philosophies: short-term, donor-focused helping (SDH) and long-term, recipient-oriented helping (LRH). Despite their moderate overlap, LRH and SDH proved to be differentially related to personal values: LRH was positively related to self-transcendence values and negatively related to self-enhancement values, whereas SDH seemed congruent with affirming one’s personal power and preserving the status quo. SDH also predicted self-reported prosocial behaviors (financial contributions and/or volunteering) in response to the 2010 Haitian earthquake, whereas LRH and personal values did not.

Reinventing International Development NGOs – The Case of ICCO

The need for international development NGOs to reinvent themselves in light of contextual changes and increasing challenges has been brought forward with increasing vigour. In-depth empirical research on the topic has remained scarce. This study contributes to the small number of in-depth empirical studies on international development NGOs by analysing the change process undertaken by one of the largest Dutch development NGOs (ICCO) in the period 2004–2010. By adding a specific focus on the changes in ICCO’s beliefs, values and accompanying practices, it shows that ICCO’s change process, while appearing to be a major overhaul, in many respects turned out to be a continuation of the existing organisational philosophy. The study not only shows the importance of culture in processes of organisational change, but particularly of cultural continuity.

A Comparative Study on the Business Philosophy of Representative Merchant Organization in Korea, China and Japan

지금과 같이 교통과 통신 수단이 발달하기 훨씬 이전부터 물자 수송 및 판매 기능을 담당했던 유명한 상인들이 전 세계 곳곳에서 맹활약을 펼쳐왔다. 대표적인 상인으로 베니스상인, 아랍상인, 유대상인 등을 들 수 있는데, 우리나라와 중국, 그리고 일본에도 이에 버금가는 상인들이 존재했었다. 우리나라의 개성상인(開城商人)과 병영상인(兵營商人), 중국의 웬조우상인(溫州)과 신안상인(新安商人) 등10대상인들, 일본의 오우미상인(近江商人)과 이세상인(伊勢商人), 그리고 오사카상인(大阪商人)들이 대표적인 상인이라 할 수 있다. 본 연구는 이러한 한·중·일 3개국 상인들 가운데 대표적인 상인으로서, 우리나라의 개성상인, 중국의 웬조우상인, 일본의 오우미상인을 대상으로 그들의 경영철학을 비교분석하여 공통점·유사점과 상이점을 찾아낸 뒤, 시사점을 제시하는데 있다. 이러한 연구목적을 충족시키기 위해, 우선 본 연구주제의 핵심 키워드에 해당되는 ‘상인조직’과 ‘경영철학’에 관련된 선행연구들을 살펴보았다. 상인조직에 연관된 용어로는 ‘상인’과 ‘조직’, 경영철학과 관련된 용어로는 ‘경영철학’에서부터 ‘경영이념’, ‘기업이념’, ‘상도’, ‘상인정신’, ‘상혼’, ‘기업가정신’에 이르기까지 다양한 용어들의 개념을 살펴보았다. 그 결과 ‘상인조직이란 원칙적으로 2사람이상의 구성원들로 조직화된 형태로 상행위를 하는 집단’이라는 제한적 의미로 정의를 하였으며, ‘경영철학이란 상거래와 관련된 일체의 행위에 대한 상인조직 경영자들의 신념이자 사상이며 가치관’이라는 제한적 개념으로 정의하였다. 그리고 논리적 간결성을 확보하기 위해 경영이념, 경영사상, 상인정신, 상도 등과 같은 유사용어 들을 이러한 경영철학에 통합하여 사용하기로 하였다.다음은, 본 연구의 분석틀을 설계하여 연구를 진행하는데 있어서 논리적 간결성과 타당성을 확보하기위해 3가지 연구전제를 제시하였으며, 이어서 본 연구의 범위와 논리적 전개방향을 명확하게 하기 위해연구의 분석틀을 설계하였다. 그 결과, “상인조직은 자신이 속해있는 국가와 지역사회의 지리적 요인, 정치·사회적 요인, 인적 요인 등을 배경으로 등장하여 상거래 활동을 전개하면서 생존과 성장을 위한 상권의 확대와 관리의 효율성 확보 등을 목적으로 점점 조직화된다. 그리고 이러한 상거래 활동을 전개하는과정에서 다양한 시행착오를 겪으면서 경험하고 학습함으로써, 스스로 지키고자 했던 장사원칙들을 찾아내게 되는데, 본 연구에서는 이러한 사업원칙들로부터 당해 상인조직의 경영철학을 도출하여 비교 분석함으로써 유사점 및 상이점을 찾아내고 역사적 시사점을 제시한다.”는 것을 본 논문의 분석틀로 설정하였다.이러한 분석틀을 바탕으로, 먼저 각 상인조직의 등장배경과 활동현황 등을 정리하여 소개하면서 현재까지 기록에 남아있는 여러 가지 장사원칙들을 살펴본 뒤, 각 상인조직의 장사원칙들에서 나타난 경영철학을 분석하였다. 그 결과 개성상인 조직의 경영철학은 공동체주의(communitarianism), 신용주의 (creditism), 실리주의(utilitarianism), 실천주의(activism)라는 특성을 가지고 있다는 점을 알 수 있었다.그리고 웬조우상인의 경영철학에는 실리주의(utilitarianism), 대화주의(dialogism), 경험주의(empiricism),실용주의(pragmatism)라는 특징이 나타났다. 또한 일본의 오우미상인 조직에는 공동체주의(communitarianism),실리주의(utilitarianism), 실용주의(pragmatism), 신용주의(creditism)라는 특성이 나타난 것을 알 수 있었다. 따라서 3개국 상인조직 모두에게 공통적으로 나타난 공통·유사점은 실리주의 경영철학이었으며, 2개국이 공통적으로 가지고 있는 경영철학에는 공동체주의, 신용주의, 실용주의가 있었다. 그리고 3개국 가운데 나머지 2개국 상인에게는 나타나지 않은 상이점으로, 한국의 개성상인에게만 나타난 실천주의 경영철학과 중국의 웬조우상인에게만 나타난 대화주의 경영철학과 경험주의 경영철학이 있다는 것도 알게 되었다. 끝으로, 본 연구를 통해 알 수 있었던 역사적 시사점으로는 첫째, 개성상인과 웬조우상인, 그리고 오우미상인까지도 모두 실리주의를 추구했다는 점이며, 둘째, 고객이나 (지역)사회에 대한 공헌과 도덕성도 배려하면서 장사를 하였다는 점이다. 그리고 셋째, 3개상인 모두 외부지향적 활동을 전개하였다는 점이었다. 본 연구의 결과는 한국, 중국, 일본 상인조직의 등장 및 활동이나 그들의 경영철학과 관련된 내용을 학습하거나 연구하는 학습자나 연구자들에게 유용한 정보를 제공해 줄 것으로 기대한다. 그러나 3개 상인조직이 각국을 대표하는 상인조직이기는 하지만, 그 밖에도 여러 상인조직들이 있기 때문에 본 연구결과가 각국 상인조직에 대한 대표성과 논리적 일반성이 떨어진다는 한계점을 가지고 있다. 이러한 한계점은 대상 상인조직수의 확대와 연구방법의 정치화(精緻化) 등을 통해 차후 보완해나가기로 할 것이다.

Towards a philosophy of organisation sciences

Purpose – This study aims to investigate a declaration of the principles of the Société de Philosophie des Sciences de Gestion/Society for the Philosophy of Organisation sciences (SPSG). Organisation sciences still need to be questioned and rendered more complex, even mistreated, and the concepts they apply have yet to be clarified, mastered and organised to go beyond management ideologies that obscure the project to develop a genuine science, with pseudo-rationalisation replacing real thought. Design/methodology/approach – This task could be accorded to a philosophy of organisation sciences that should be understood as a “philosophy of science of organisation sciences”. Findings – The aim of such a philosophical programme is twofold: to expose the presuppositions and predispositions of organisation scholars and to analyse and clarify their scientific theories and concepts. Originality/value – The ambition of the SPSG is to contribute to the development of that philosophical programme.

Marketing Management - Introduction/Conceptual Overview

The concept of marketing is neither complicated nor original. ‘The customer is always right’ is a view that has been cited ever since the Industrial Revolution. Marketing acknowledges consumer sovereignty and this has now developed into a management discipline. The subject of marketing as a management discipline originated in the USA in the 1950s, but its origins go back further. America was the birthplace of modern marketing, but in terms of its earliest practice, it was applied much earlier in Europe.Marketing as an organisational philosophy and activity is applicable to almost all types of organisation, whether profit-making or not-for-profit activities. We have to understand basic of marketing which include Meaning and importance of marketing; The different concept of marketing; The modern marketing concept.The social marketing concept.

Software Agents for Management Dynamic Inter-Organizational Collaborations

The globalization, modern markets, as well as new organizational management philosophies and advances in Information and Communications Technologies, encourage organizations to establish collaboration networks or inter-organizational collaborations. In this paper we propose a technology solution based on software agents which allows supporting the management of collaborative business processes in environments dynamic inter-organizational collaborations. First, we propose a software agent platform that integrates in agent specification's the notions of Belief-Desire-Intention agent architecture with functionalities of process-aware information systems. The platform enables organizations to negotiate collaborations agreements in electronic format to establish dynamic inter-organizational collaborations and define the collaborative processes to be executed. Second, we propose a methodology that includes methods based on Model-Driven Development, which enable the generation of executable process models and the code of process-oriented agents, derived from conceptual models of collaborative processes. This methodology and methods are implemented and automated by software agents that enable the generations of these implementation artifacts, at run-time of the platform. Therefore, the platform enables the automatic generation of the technology solution that requires each organization to execute the agreed collaborative processes, where the generated artifacts are built and initialized in the platform, allowing the implementation and execution of these processes. In this way, the proposed agent-based platform allows to establish collaboration among heterogeneous and autonomous organizations focusing in the process-oriented integration.

Kaizen as a business philosophy in sport organizations

The success of any sports organization, in addition to possessing optimal contingent and quality of all the necessary resources, is conditioned by the proper management systems. By applying appropriate business philosophy (in line with the shape and the specific characteristics of sport organizations) the management seeks to achieve its objectives, particularly sportingones, which are the basis for all other (business) goals of the organization. Kaizen, as a modern business philosophy, was said by its founder (Masaki Imai) to be a continuous work on how to be a better man. Simply saying 'better' is not a precise definition. Kaizen is primarily a daily and continuous improvement. When it comes to sports organizations, one can also talk about the realistic possibilities for the application of kaizen philosophy in their business processes and activities. Seeing as in business organizations the kaizen system requires involvement of all employees (of course, respecting the specific position, role and responsibilities of individuals in the organizational set up) it is quite logical that the sports organization and this approach may be completely acceptable. Essentially the paper, deals with the explication of the determinants of Kaizen as a business philosophy and its possible applicability to sports organizations; as well as a possible model for creating organizational change in them.

The Philosophy of Language and Knowledge Organization in the 1930s: Pragmatics of Wittgenstein and Ranganathan

The Philosophy of Language and Knowledge Organization in the 1930s: Pragmatics of Wittgenstein and Ranganathan