Organizational Structures Research Articles

Navigating Mergers and Demergers in the Technology Sector: A Guide to Managing Change and Integration

In the dynamic landscape of the technology sector, mergers and demergers have become pivotal events that significantly impact organizational structures, strategic directions, and operational efficiencies. This guide delves into the intricacies of navigating these complex transitions, focusing on managing change and ensuring effective integration. The technology sector's rapid evolution necessitates a nuanced understanding of how mergers and demergers can be strategically orchestrated to achieve desired outcomes while mitigating potential risks.The process of merging or demerging involves numerous challenges, including cultural integration, alignment of business processes, and harmonization of technological systems. Successful management of these transitions requires a comprehensive strategy that encompasses clear communication, meticulous planning, and robust execution. This guide outlines key strategies for managing change during these transformative periods, emphasizing the importance of leadership, stakeholder engagement, and the adoption of best practices.

Navigating Mergers and Demergers in the Technology Sector: A Guide to Managing Change and Integration

In the dynamic landscape of the technology sector, mergers and demergers have become pivotal events that significantly impact organizational structures, strategic directions, and operational efficiencies. This guide delves into the intricacies of navigating these complex transitions, focusing on managing change and ensuring effective integration. The technology sector's rapid evolution necessitates a nuanced understanding of how mergers and demergers can be strategically orchestrated to achieve desired outcomes while mitigating potential risks. The process of merging or demerging involves numerous challenges, including cultural integration, alignment of business processes, and harmonization of technological systems. Successful management of these transitions requires a comprehensive strategy that encompasses clear communication, meticulous planning, and robust execution. This guide outlines key strategies for managing change during these transformative periods, emphasizing the importance of leadership, stakeholder engagement, and the adoption of best practices.

Tacit knowledge sharing in a Lebanese family business: the influence of organizational structure and tie strength

PurposeThis study explores the influence of organizational structure on relationship formation and tacit knowledge sharing within a family business context.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing a single case study approach, data were collected through interviews and questionnaires from 12 participants at a family-owned advertising and communication firm in Beirut, Lebanon.FindingsThe research highlights the critical role of organizational structure in enhancing organizational effectiveness through knowledge transfer. It underscores how both intraorganizational and interorganizational ties influence knowledge sharing processes and demonstrates the varying impacts of tie strength on tacit knowledge distribution.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature by examining the interdependence between organizational structure, tacit knowledge transfer and tie strength in family businesses. By analyzing these elements across internal and external boundaries, the study offers a fresh perspective on network dynamics. The research highlights that traditional definitions of network ties may not fully capture the unique environment of family firms, where structural nuances impact knowledge sharing and performance. Practically, the findings provide actionable insights for managers to design organizational structures that optimize tacit knowledge flow, fostering innovation and competitiveness. This work challenges existing frameworks and offers guidance for improving knowledge management in family businesses, supporting sustainable growth and success.

A (Dis)orderly Progression: The Lasting Impact of Pandemic on Community-Based Organizations

ABSTRACT Community-based organizations (CBOs) serving older ethnic minority adults, especially older immigrants, are vital to satisfy their complex social, health, and behavioral health needs. This study uses organizational theories and a case study approach to examine how the organizational responses to the multifaceted impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and progress beyond the pandemic-related responses. Four CBOs serving older Chinese immigrants in New York City were examined. Results indicate that driven by unmet psychosocial needs of older Chinese immigrants and public health measures, CBOs modified practice protocols and established (or strengthened) collaborative relationships with medical providers and other CBOs. COVID-19 responses include CBOs’ transformations in organizational structures (e.g. collaboration) and operational activities (e.g. telehealth). Successful transformations of CBOs were primarily due to prior adaptiveness to integrated care reform and assured needed resources before the pandemic; the transformation reflected orderly organizational progress rather than a temporary management strategy.

Nested Randomized Controlled Trials in Large Databases: An Opportunity for Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

Although randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard for investigating the efficacy and safety of interventions, they present major operational challenges due to their complexity, time-consuming nature, and high costs. To address some of these difficulties, RCTs nested in cohorts (RCTsNC) have been developed to enable patient enrolment and randomization from existing databases. RCTsNC is an emerging trial design, which has been successfully utilized across several medical disciplines but not inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This narrative review outlines the principles of RCTsNC and discusses the numerous advantages it affords for IBD, including harnessing longer-term longitudinal data for safety and efficacy assessment, and enhanced recruitment and follow up processes. Leveraging pre-existing cohorts and their organizational structures improves patient acceptance and is more economical compared to traditional randomized trials. Observational data for IBD, derived from research (cohort and case-control studies) and non-research sources (electronic health records and registries), provides access to comprehensive records for a large number of IBD patients. It permits researchers to address knowledge gaps in IBD where traditional RCTs have had a limited role, such as specific sub-populations typically excluded from pivotal trials, or assessing the effect of environmental exposures on disease course. This review also details caveats of this study design that include the risk of selection bias and constraints related to comparisons with placebo. In conclusion, RCTsNC offers a promising opportunity IBD research given the challenges of the current IBD RCT landscape.

Subjective career success among new graduates and the role of personal factors

PurposeFlatter organisational structures and nonlinear career trajectories mean intrinsic value and subjective career success are increasingly important for motivating, guiding and rewarding contemporary workers. While objective measures of career success have been well explored, more research is needed to understand the dimensions of subjective career success, their relative importance to graduates and potential variations by personal factors. This is critical for supporting graduates’ transition into work and for organisations to attract and retain graduates amid global talent shortages.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on assertions of the power to understand how what one seeks in a career affects career achievement, this study investigated the importance and achievement of subjective career success among 324 recent graduates from two Australian universities.FindingsResults include a notable emphasis on financial security and work-life balance, particularly among mature individuals, underscoring the value of adaptable work arrangements. Results suggest shifting priorities, with reduced importance placed on opportunities for innovation and assisting others, potentially indicating a move from collective to more individualised goals. Distinct graduate profiles emerged, showcasing diverse priorities and achievements in subjective career success, spanning from “humanistic” to “self-made” success.Originality/valueResults underscore the significance of higher education embedding program-wide career development plans across the curriculum, including value-based assessments, labour market analyses and career planning and review processes. Comprehensively supporting students in career development will empower them to explore, understand and actively pursue their career goals in alignment with their values and motivations, enhancing their person-organisation fit, career satisfaction and organisational commitment.

Transfer Efficiency and Organization in Turbulent Transport over Alpine Tundra

The exchange of momentum, heat and trace gases between atmosphere and surface is mainly controlled by turbulent fluxes. Turbulent mixing is usually parametrized using Monin–Obukhov similarity theory (MOST), which was derived for steady turbulence over homogeneous and flat surfaces, but is nevertheless routinely applied to unsteady turbulence over non-homogeneous surfaces. We study four years of eddy-covariance measurements at a highly heterogeneous alpine valley site in Finse, Norway, to gain insights into the validity of MOST, the turbulent transport mechanisms and the contributing coherent structures. The site exhibits a bimodal topography-following flux footprint, with the two dominant wind sectors characterized by organized and strongly negative momentum flux, but different anisotropy and contributions of submeso-scale motions, leading to a failure of eddy-diffusivity closures and different transfer efficiencies for different scalars. The quadrant analysis of the momentum flux reveals that under stable conditions sweeps transport more momentum than the more frequently occurring ejections, while the opposite is observed under unstable stratification. From quadrant analysis, we derive the ratio of the amount of disorganized to organized structures, that we refer to as organization ratio (OR). We find an invertible relation between transfer efficiency and corresponding organization ratio with an algebraic sigmoid function. The organization ratio further explains the scatter around scaling functions used in MOST and thus indicates that coherent structures modify MOST. Our results highlight the critical role of coherent structures in turbulent transport in heterogeneous tundra environments and may help to find new parametrizations for numerical weather prediction or climate models.

From Parliament to Party: The Gender‐Sensitive Parliamentary Group

Gender-sensitive parliaments are an emergent international norm. Research primarily focused on parliaments as gendered workplaces functioning with formal and informal rules and routines that either constrain or promote gender equality. We shift the focus to parliamentary groups and parties in public office as key actors in achieving a gender-sensitive parliament. We argue that they play a crucial role in many parliamentary systems and can actively contribute to gender-sensitive transformations. Building on the gender-sensitive parliament literature, we first explore the potential of parliamentary groups to improve parliamentary functioning across four aspects: representation, policy-making, engagement with societal interests, and groups as gender-sensitive workplaces. Secondly, we delve into the broader parliamentary and party contexts, recognizing how factors such as the diversity of parliamentary systems, organizational structures, parties in central office, and political dynamics shape parliamentary groups’ room for manoeuvre. We conclude by calling for further empirical, but especially conceptual, research to develop intersectionality-sensitive parliaments which we suggest are crucial for dismantling existing power hierarchies based on social markers.

Factors Affecting Maternal Mortality Rates in Nigeria: A Review of Challenges and Potential Solutions

Maternal mortality is a significant public health issue in Nigeria, accounting for approximately 23% of global maternal deaths. This review explored the main factors affecting maternal mortality rates in Nigeria and proposed potential solutions. Accurate data collection on maternal health in Nigeria, especially in rural areas, remains challenging. Aims: this paper aimed to identify the key factors contributing to maternal mortality in Nigeria and proposed solutions to address this issue. Study design: A qualitative analysis of literature review narration was employed taking into account the research methodology, instrument interpretation, and data analysis in order to avoid bias and misinterpretation of result findings. Methodology: The methodology was designed to systematically gather, analyse, and synthesise data from multiple sources, including the peer-reviewed academic literature, government reports, and NGO publications. To ensure rigor and reproducibility, in the literature search were utilised several databases and search engines beyond Google, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar, and Research Gate. 50 published papers and articles from credible sources were reviewed in the study, identifying the key issues such as inadequate healthcare infrastructure, socio-economic challenges, cultural and behavioural practices, as well as political factors. Results: The findings revealed that the major causes of maternal mortality in Nigeria included haemorrhage, infection, unsafe abortion, hypertensive diseases of pregnancy, and obstructed labour. There were cases of socio-economic factors such as unavailability of electricity, transportation delay, the lack of skilled medical personal and cultural factors such as traditional beliefs. Despite various interventions, progress in reducing maternal mortality has been limited. Conclusion: This paper emphasised the need for continuous investment in maternal and child health, improvements in healthcare infrastructure, education, and effective policy implementation. A holistic approach that integrates organisational structures, technical expertise, human experiences, and patient needs is essential for effectively reducing maternal mortality rates.

Social innovation for sustainable and equitable transport: the case of Commons Cargo Bikes

Socially innovative civil society initiatives are seen as promising to address societal and environmental problems such as those encountered in the transport sector. However, many social innovators struggle when it comes to growth and achieving broader system-level impact. These problems are often ascribed to challenges associated with organizational structures. This paper investigates the scaling process and organizational development of a European social innovation in the transport sector, Commons Cargo Bikes. Empirically, the study primarily builds on two quantitative surveys with initiatives and users as well as qualitative interviews with spokespersons of an overarching network. The results indicate that social innovations can provide important complements to technological and market-based innovations by providing alternative solutions that reach geographical regions and users not typically addressed by traditional services. Furthermore, the study highlights that rather formal structures can be necessary for successful social innovation networks at a certain point. As the present case study indicates, tensions associated with organizational changes might, however, be anticipated and addressed proactively by combining different organizational archetypes in one structure.

Transforming University: digital transition and future challenges for Higher Education

Introduction: When considering future learning environments in formal, non-formal, and informal domains, it is crucial to acknowledge the influence of the infosphere in which we are deeply immersed. Methodology: This study is focused on the concept of "circularity" between theory and empirical research. It uses a combination of research methods to carry out an exploratory and comparative analysis among six case studies/universities from five European countries. The analysis takes a multi-perspective approach and applies the translation model to study the complex translation process in supranational, national, and local policy practices. Results: The research highlighted the similarities and differences between the analyzed cases, and subsequently provided valuable recommendations for political decision-makers and academic institutions to guide the digital transition. Conclusions: From the analysis of dimensions, it is clear that the university system needs to reassess its teaching methods, organizational structures, management strategies, assessment processes, relationships, and competence frameworks in the teaching and learning processes. Discussion: This process can be enhanced by exploring new research paths to propose guidelines and direct political planning, organizational strategies, and teaching practices in the future European Higher Education space.

Assessing the Impact of Effective Internal Controls in Fraud Prevention in Zambian Beverage Companies, a Case of Falls Beverages Zambia Limited

Internal controls encompass policies, procedures, and organizational structures designed to provide reasonable assurance that a company achieves its business objectives and prevents or detects undesired risk events, whether initiated by management concerns or compliance requirements. The study aimed to evaluate how effective internal controls impact fraud prevention, using a survey to collect data from 109 employees, including an internal auditor. Findings revealed that existing internal controls significantly aided in preventing major fraudulent activities and ensuring measures were in place to detect and deter fraud. Over 50% of respondents confirmed effective monitoring and implementation of internal controls capable of uncovering fraudulent behaviors within the company. The study emphasized that fraudulent activities adversely affected company operations and recommended measures such as fostering better management-staff relations, strengthening the audit department, offering incentives for fraud reporting, and implementing stringent controls. In conclusion, improving internal controls was identified as crucial for preventing fraud and safeguarding Falls Beverages from financial losses and resource mismanagement. Keywords: Internal Controls, Fraud Prevention

Psychologists aspiring to leadership positions in public sector health care.

Psychologists are well-positioned to take on leadership roles in health care systems as a result of the broad-based skills included in doctoral level, professional training programs. These include knowledge of evidence-based practice, extensive training in applied research and clinical practice, emphasis on critical thinking in scientific methods and hypothesis testing, teaching, supervision, team consultation, and continuous learning (APA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice, 2006; Korman, 1974; McFall, 2007). Formal opportunities to learn how to apply these skills in leadership and organizational management roles are, however, limited during graduate training. There have been recent efforts within the American Psychological Association to foster interest and readiness for leadership roles among psychologists. These efforts have included a leadership development fellowship, on-demand webinars, and online learning for continuing education (American Psychological Association, 2023). The content of these training opportunities is typically general in nature so that it can be applied to all types of organizational settings. Psychologists interested in leadership positions within public sector health care organizations are likely to benefit from information that aligns more specifically with the mission and organizational structures of such systems. This article presents a conceptual framework to prepare psychologists aspiring to leadership positions in public sector health care. Leadership theories and models from organizational management science are outlined which capture the context and organizational goals of such programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Valorization of ladle furnace slag and functional enhancement of post-adsorption materials

Carbonating metallurgical slags plays a pivotal role in achieving efficient mineral CO2 sequestration and waste valorization.This research introduces a novel integrated approach that combines the carbonation of Ladle Furnace Slag (LFS) with the simultaneous degradation of Methyl Orange (MO) in synthetic water. The comprehensive characterization of LFS was conducted using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The adsorption experiments reveal the high LSF capacity for MO degradation (149.25 mg/g) following pseudo-second-order kinetics (R2 = 0.99) and Langmuir isotherm (R2 = 0.98). The adsorption process was primarily governed by chemical and electrostatic interactions. Analysis of LFS-loaded MO indicated a reduction in Ca(OH)2phases, responsible for CO2mineralization and the formation of calcite (CaCO3). Furthermore, the study explored the reusability of LFS-MO composites through chemical and thermal modifications. Pyrolysis of carbonated LFS with KOH impregnation exhibited potential for regenerating Ca(OH)2phases, while thermal modification induced significant mineral and microstructural changes, creating new active sites at various temperatures. Additionally, the Fenton-like reaction followed by thermal modification resulted in a highly organized and microporous LFS structure with enhanced surface area and porosity. Moreover, modification with ZnSO4followed by thermal activation promoted the formation of ZnO nanoxides on the LFS surface. This research proposes an innovative carbonating approach for metallurgical slags and wastewater treatment, extending their utility and enhancing industrial sustainability. Carbonated LFS-MO composites hold promise for applications in construction, CO2capture, and wastewater treatment, thereby fostering sustainable industrial practices with ongoing research and development efforts.

Promoting ovalbumin amyloid fibrils formation by cold plasma treatment and improving its emulsifying properties

The potential of cold plasma (CP) treatment to promote the formation of amyloid fibrils (AFs) of ovalbumin (OVA) was evaluated relative to acidic heat fibrillation condition (pH = 2, 85 °C). Results indicated CP exhibited significant potential for promoting the formation of AFs of OVA, as evidenced by higher Thioflavin T (ThT) fluorescence intensity of AFs for CP-treated OVA (POVA) during the fibrillation process compared to AFs for native OVA under acidic heating conditions (NOVA). Long, curved and worm-like fibrils of CP-treated OVA with 2 min (POVA-2), which were thicker (3 nm in height) and longer (majority length ranging from 300 nm to 400 nm), were observed after 8 h of fibrillation, while irregular, short, worm-like fibrils of NOVA were detected. Unlike NOVA, which was only hydrolyzed into small peptides, the backbone of POVA-2 was cleaved into small peptide fragments, accompanied by the generation of dityrosine cross-linked aggregation/oligomer during fibrillation process, as evidenced by SDS-PAGE and dityrosine analysis. The result of hydrophobic, sulfhydryl and disulfide bonds, and dityrosine analysis showed hydrophobic interaction and dityrosine cross-links could be the main force driving the assembly and stacking of cross-β structures, leading to the formation of organized fibrillar structures for POVA-2, while only hydrophobic interaction was involved for NOVA. Additionally, analyses of emulsifying ability (EAI) and stability (ESI) of NOVA and POVA-2 displayed that both EAI and ESI of them were significantly improved, with POVA-2 exhibiting superior EAI compared to NOVA. Therefore, this study demonstrated CP is a promising technique to promote the generation of protein amyloid fibrils in a more efficient manner.

Disentangling the socio-technical impacts of digitalization: What changes for shop-floor decision-makers?

With the diffusion of Industry 4.0 technologies, firms can decentralize operational decisions, fostering a data-driven Digital Transformation (DT) across all organizational levels. Digitalized shopfloors can leverage an unprecedented availability of data for better and faster decision-making, resulting in enhanced operational performance. However, limited research has investigated the organizational and individual implications for those who run the manufacturing lines: production managers, supervisors, team leaders, and workers. By adopting a socio-technical framework, this study aims to disentangle the effects that digitalization has on shopfloors’ organizational structures, decision-making processes, and individual competencies, as well as the interdependencies among them. An exploratory approach was adopted, based on an empirical cross-country study involving 34 semi-structured interviews conducted in the Italian and Spanish automotive sectors. Analyzed through the lenses of information-processing, knowledge-based, and dynamic capability theories, our findings reveal through five propositions how digitalization induces a “polarization” of operational decision-making: shopfloors are run by knowledgeable data-empowered production managers and autonomous information-processing team leaders on the front line, with a reduced importance of supervisors. Upskilling needs appear for team leaders but not production workers, whose involvement, however, emerges as a key factor for a successful digitalization and overall performance in initial DT stages. This study contributes to literature on digitalization by exposing managerial tensions and dynamic capabilities, along with a deeper understanding of the micro-foundations of DT in terms of implications for shop-floor decision-makers. Managerial implications are directed at creating awareness about the centrality of production team leaders, and future research avenues are proposed.

The organization of pyridazine adsorbed on Au(1 1 1) electrode in sulfuric and perchloric acids – As probed by in situ STM

The adsorption of pyridazine (PD) on a gold electrode served as a model to study the orientation and arrangement of an organic adsorbate bearing a heterocyclic molecular structure at an electrified interface. Because the two N-ends of PD could interact with a Au electrode, the acid-base equilibrium of PD at an electrified interface can be different from that in a solution phase. Unprotonated and protonated PD interacted with the Au electrode differently, leading to dissimilar spatial structures on the Au(111) electrode. Moreover, having a large dipole moment of 4.22 D, PD adopted different adsorption configurations, as the Au potential was modulated. The indispensable anion present in the supporting electrolyte can compete with PD for surface sites on the Au electrode. Since the potential of a charged conductor is established by the physical contact with an electrolyte, the study of the adsorption of PD on a Au(111) electrode calls for the use of an in situ tool, such as a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), which provides sub-nanometer information of the interface in real-time and real-space. Different phases of adsorbed PD molecules on an ordered Au(111) electrode were revealed as a function of potential, pH and anion. The most notable event for PD adsorbed on Au(111) is attributed to the sharp transition from a disordered state to highly organized structures in 0.1 M H2SO4 and HClO4. The obtained STM images enabled a direct measurement of the spacing between PD admolecules, from which the molecular reorientations on the Au electrode were inferred. PD admolecules flipped from the horizontal to the upright configuration, tethered to Au substrate via the two N-ends, at positive potentials. Different ordered PD structures seen in H2SO4 and HClO4 imply anions were coadsorbed with PD molecule on the Au electrode. The acid-base equilibrium of PD at the Au electrode was examined with STM in pH 1 and 3 media.

On the Occurrence of Domain Boundaries and Defects in Self-Organized Ordered Porous Anodic Alumina Systems.

The formation of domains and defects is a part of every self-organized structure without prepatterning which evolves from the electrochemical oxidation of valve metals like Ti, Al or Ta. Defects and domains, especially in highly ordered porous alumina films (PAOX), are one of the most studied phenomena in the current literature. The focus is on understanding their formation in order to find parameters to minimize their amount for applications that require the most highly organized structures. In this letter we give a solution to this problem by showing that the occurrence of defects and domains is an unavoidable consequence of the underlying self-organized process due to the simultaneous impact of the minimum (MINEP) and maximum (MAXEP) entropy production principle. As a consequence, experimental procedures to manufacture defect-free PAOX-films from a self-organization process face a fundamental limitation.

Exploring intrinsic and extrinsic sources of academic well-being among university teachers through Q methodology research

PurposeThis paper investigated the intrinsic and extrinsic sources of academic well-being among university teachers at one university in Qatar, to understand how different factors influence their well-being within academia.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on systems theory, this study employs Q methodology research. Data were collected and analyzed using 35 statements (Q-items) related to academic well-being. Twenty-one university teachers participated in the study, providing a range of perspectives on the factors that influenced their academic well-being.FindingsThe analysis revealed two distinct perspectives among the participants concerning the sources of academic well-being. Factor 1 (F-1) emphasized workplace conditions as the primary source of well-being, whereas Factor 2 (F-2) highlighted individual conditions. Additionally, a significant portion of participants did not align strongly with either factor, indicating diverse and individualized sources of well-being that suggest a complex interplay of various elements affecting academic well-being.Research limitations/implicationsThe study’s sample size is limited to twenty-one university teachers at a single institution, which may affect the generalizability of the findings. Future research should consider a larger, more diverse sample to explore the universality of the findings across different academic contexts.Practical implicationsThe implications for university teachers, researchers, leaders and policymakers include a better understanding of the sources that contribute to academic well-being and the need for adopting systems thinking in addressing these sources.Originality/valueThis study employs a unique application of Q methodology within a systems theory framework to explore the sources of academic well-being among university teachers. Unlike previous research that has primarily focused on anxiety, stress and burnout, this study provides a holistic perspective by capturing the complex interplay between organizational structures and individual identities.

The Impact of Digital Transformation on Enterprises

Digitization, a key aspect of Industry 4.0, presents a dual-faced scenario for traditional business models: it poses significant challenges but also offers opportunities for complete transformation. This dichotomy is particularly evident as numerous businesses acknowledge the imperative to digitize yet grapple with the question of where to initiate this process. Addressing this gap, the current study introduces a comprehensive methodology aimed at facilitating the onset of digital transformation in businesses. This methodology not only confronts the various challenges and complexities associated with digitization but also emphasizes a cycle of continuous development. Central to this approach is the integration of triggers for both creative and technological thinking within organizational structures. This aspect is crucial as it fosters an environment conducive to innovation and technological advancement, key drivers in the digital era. The practical applicability and effectiveness of this model have been demonstrated through its successful implementation in the German service industry. This validation not only underscores the model's relevance but also its potential as a blueprint for digital transformation in various business sectors, aligning with the evolving demands of Industry 4.0.