Specific Organizational Structures Research Articles

The resource-making state: liquefied natural gas production networks and state strategies for domestic market development in Indonesia

Abstract In this paper, we suggest that Global Production Network (GPN) scholars have yet to deal more substantively with how nation-states, often in alliance with firm actors, actively work to create markets for resources in global production networks. We argue in this paper that GPN scholars should be better attuned to both resource-making interventions and the governance of market development. Resource-making highlights the heterogeneity of the biophysical characteristics of physical entities which entails that certain natures are not readily made available as commodities in markets, but require specific infrastructures, technology, and organizational structures for commercialization. When private capital fails to create markets for resources on its own initiative, states may intervene by facilitating resource-making and governing market development through configurations of ownership, commodification, and risk allocation. In this paper, we explore how the relationship between resource-making and market governance shapes the possibilities and limitations for state strategies in global production networks. Our discussion in the paper is informed by an empirical case study of failed plans by the Indonesian government from 2016 to 2019 to draw upon public-private partnerships to create markets for LNG in the peripheral regions of the country. Despite Indonesia’s status as a globally significant LNG exporter, we find that the interorganizational structures and infrastructure needed to deliver natural gas to markets in peripheral regions contradict with the configurations of ownership, commodification, and risk allocation through which the Indonesian government has sought to realize state strategies, thus resulting in the underdevelopment of liquefied natural gas markets in Indonesia.

New development: Public managers between a rock and a hard place—social-financial sustainability in local government

IMPACT The article sheds light on the intricate trade-offs encountered by public managers when coping with competing priorities and navigating between social and financial sustainability. For public managers, the key takeaway lies in recognizing that achieving social–financial sustainability necessitates specific strategies, organizational structures, and tools in public organization. These elements must be integrated, for instance, into performance goals combining social–financial sustainability. As trade-offs are made in budgeting and financial management processes, participatory and collaborative approaches are essential for desired social–financial sustainability impacts. By identifying and highlighting these trade-offs, the article initiates a dialogue where various stakeholders—each with distinct roles, goals, and values—can converge.

Effective co-production in local government networks: A story of structure

This research examines whether the extent of citizen involvement as co-producers in a local government network helps explain the relationship between a network’s structure (density and cliques) and its effectiveness. We developed a model and hypotheses based on the combination of two theories: Provan and Milward inter-organizational network theory and Ostrom’s polycentric theory of co-production. Our main premise is that specific organizational structures enable more citizen co-production which in turn enhances network effectiveness. A sample of 565 participants from 64 Israeli networks in a nation-wide youth at risk program demonstrates that the degree to which the network is divided into subgroups (cliques), not the network’s density, enhances the extent of citizen-users’ co-production, which increases network effectiveness. Theoretical and practical contributions are discussed.

Cybersecurity Framework for Ensuring Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability of University Management Systems in Bangladesh.

In an increasingly interconnected and technologically advanced world, the efficient operation of University Management Systems (UMS) is essential for the proper functioning of educational institutions. However, with the rapid digitization of processes, the risk of cyber threats targeting these systems has also grown significantly. This research presents a comprehensive Cybersecurity Framework tailored to the context of Bangladesh, aimed at ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of University Management Systems. The proposed framework is designed to address the unique challenges and requirements faced by universities in Bangladesh, considering factors such as the evolving threat landscape, resource constraints, and regulatory environment. Drawing upon established cybersecurity principles and best practices, the framework encompasses a multi-layered approach that encompasses preventive, detective, and responsive measures. Key components of the framework include the identification and assessment of potential vulnerabilities within UMS, the implementation of robust access controls and encryption mechanisms, continuous monitoring and threat detection, incident response planning, and user awareness training. The framework's adaptability allows universities to tailor its components to their specific organizational structures and risk profiles, thus promoting a proactive and dynamic approach to cybersecurity. The research further evaluates the effectiveness of the proposed framework through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, including system assessments, penetration testing, and stakeholder surveys. Results demonstrate the framework's ability to enhance the security posture of UMS in Bangladesh, contributing to the preservation of sensitive data, the prevention of unauthorized access, and the sustained availability of critical services.

Stigma and discrimination and its homeless and health system contexts in south London: an ethnographic case study

BackgroundStigma and discrimination are widely recognised as core social determinants of health. There is a gap in understanding how to intervene at societal and systems level to address stigma. This study aims to theorise how particular care and support systems shape experiences of stigma as it relates to homelessness, and to then develop systems-level interventions. MethodsWe present findings from an ongoing longitudinal ethnographic study, which started June 2022, in south London. Data collection included interviews with people managing, delivering, and using homelessness services (n=41 interviews, two focus groups); participant observation across a range of service settings (>70 h, principally in five sites), and documentary analysis. Participants and research sites gave informed consent. The study was framed by Bourdieu's social practice theory, which structures data collection and analysis around the power and resources individuals have within particular social contexts. We did the analyses using thematic and grounded approaches to qualitative data. FindingsWe found that across homeless and health services there was in-depth awareness of stigma and discrimination, but that, collectively, we are “stuck in a rut” in responding to stigma. A proximate challenge was limited clarity and agreement across systems on the nature of the issues involved. A deeper analysis also suggested specific organisational structures and ways of thinking within homelessness and health systems that limit collective discussion and agreement on social and systemic responses to stigma. We also collected data on how stigma was experienced, delineating different forms of stigma and discrimination and where and how they take shape, focusing on enacted, anticipated, and internalised stigma. We also explored how stigma was actively managed and overcome, and how different intersections of systems of inequality produce varying forms of stigma and discrimination. InterpretationOur study provides insight into how stigma and discrimination could potentially be addressed systemically within homelessness and health systems. The existing collective awareness of stigma and discrimination offers specific opportunities for generating systemic change. Study limitations include the focus on one geographic area of the UK, although we reflect on how our findings could be generalised to other settings. FundingUK Research and Innovation.

Predictors of Clinical Nurse Leader implementation success across a national sample of settings: A Bayesian multilevel modeling analysis.

The Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) care model is a different way of organizing frontline nursing care delivery in contrast to the traditional "staff nurse" model and is increasingly being adopted by health systems across the United States and abroad. However, variability in implementation and outcomes has been noted across health settings. A recently validated CNL Practice Model provides an explanatory pathway for CNL model integration into practice. The purpose of this study was to identify and compare patterns of empirical correspondence to the CNL Practice Model and predict their influence on implementation success. We conducted a secondary analysis of a 2015 national-level study with clinicians and administrators involved with CNL initiatives in their health system. A psychometrically validated CNL Practice Survey was used to collect data measuring the presence (0%-100%) of the five domains of the CNL Practice Model (organizational readiness, CNL structuring, CNL practices, outcomes, and value) and one measure of CNL implementation success. We modeled the complex hierarchical structure of the data using a Bayesian multilevel regression mixed modeling approach. A zero-one-inflated beta distribution, a mixture of Bernoulli distributions for the minimum and maximum responses and a beta distribution for the responses between the minimum and maximum, was used to fit success ratings in the model. A total of 920 participants responded, 540 (59%) provided success scores. The model captured ratings skewed toward upper bound, while also adequately modeling data between the minimum and maximum values. The Bayesian model converged and gave estimates for all hierarchical parameters, which would likely have failed to converge in a pure maximum likelihood framework. The variability around success score across CNL Practice Model element ratings was greatest at the component level, 0.29 (0.18-0.48), compared to either the domain level, 0.16 (0.01-0.54), or the item level, 0.09 (0.01-0.17). The components most predictive of implementation success were (a) consensus CNL model can close gaps, (b) organization level implementation strategy, and (c) alignment of empirical CNL microsystem level structuring to the model's conceptualization. Findings provide further empirical evidence to support the explanatory pathway proposed by the CNL Practice Model and identified specific organizational readiness and CNL workflow structures that are critical antecedents predictive of CNL practice manifestation and production of expected outcomes. Findings indicate actionable implementation evidence that can be successfully adopted across real-world healthcare settings to achieve safer and higher quality patient care. CNL integrated care delivery is a frontline nursing care model that is being increasingly adopted by health systems across the United States and abroad. However, variability in CNL implementation and outcomes has been noted across health settings, limiting its evidence base. Findings of this study contribute a better understanding about the variability of CNL practice and outcomes found in the literature and contribute empirical and conceptual clarity about the relationships between modes of CNL implementation and successful adoption in healthcare settings.

Hospital Organizational Structure and Information Processing: An Entropy Perspective.

Organizational structure enables organizations to achieve their goals. The chosen organizational structure determines, to a large extent, the flow of information streams and the manner and extent to which roles, power, and responsibilities are delegated and coordinated to achieve the organization's goals. In this study, we applied information theory with entropy as the central concept to assess the effectiveness and costs of an organizational structure and its coordination processes. Entropy was used to measure the amount of uncertainty associated with probabilistic events. In the context of organizational design, entropy values can be assigned to specific organizational structures to gain insights into the factors that lead to delays in decision-making. We used Shannon's entropy theory to quantify Galbraith's organizational structure and coordination process as applied to the perinatology care system of Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. Our entropy analysis provided insights into how departments should be partitioned and which coordination mechanisms should be used to achieve organizational goals, such as minimizing delays in decision-making. Particularly, two types of entropy appear to be important: positional entropy and task allocation entropy. These are different dependent variables on the organizational design scenarios. Our analysis shows that entropy is one method to determine optimal organizational structures and coordination processes. Entropy can be used as a concrete way of assessing the effectiveness of organizational design given the level of uncertainty of the environment and the required speed of decision-making.

External policy of the European Union as a late-Westphalian political innovation

This article looks at the European Union’s external policy as a late-Westphalian political innovation. The article assumes that the external activity of the European Union goes beyond the classical framework of foreign policy, which is usually considered an attribute of the state, and the EU itself, as a hybrid entity, formulates and implements external policy. The latter has a normative and functional character, which means that the basis of the EU’s presence in the world is a set of specific rules, tools and organizational structures allowing for actions that not only complement the foreign policy of the member states but also go beyond its framework. European Union’s late-Westphalian external policy is based on three pillars – multilateralism, normative plasticity, and hybridism, which when considered collectively create an image of the EU’s activity beyond the model of classical diplomacy and interstate cooperation.

Organizational cultures in the Swedish restaurant business and the risk for sexual harassment

Abstract Background The hospitality sector has the highest level of sexual harassment incidents compared to any other sector. The negative consequences of sexual harassment at the restaurant workplace are not limited to the health of the victim alone as it also affects the organization as well as the health of a society. The organizational context is a fundamental determinant of sexual harassment and we need to increase our understanding of organizational cultures that affect such behaviors in order to develop and implement effective interventions in the restaurant business. The aim of this study was to give a comprehensive picture of organizational cultures that increase the risk for sexual harassment in the restaurant business. Methods Individual interviews with twenty-nine employees in the restaurant business (e.g. waiting staff, chefs, bartenders, managers) were conducted during 2019-2021. Thematic analysis was used to analyze organizational cultures that increase the risk for sexual harassment in the restaurant business. Preliminary results show a complex web of intersecting cultures such as a toxic macho culture, a weak leadership culture and a close relational culture that cooperate at different hierarchical levels and increase the risk for sexual harassment. The results also show how organizational factors such as workforce demography, unsocial working hours, staff turnover and understaffing are interacting with the organizational cultures in the creation of a hostile environment that increases the risk for sexual harassment. Conclusions The results elucidate why traditional interventions such as training or bystander interventions are inefficient in the restaurant business. The results can be used to develop interventions that focus on macho-cultures in restaurants, the leadership culture and the specific relationship culture that develop due to the specific organizational structures in the restaurant business. Key messages • There is a need to focus on organizational factors in order to work against sexual harassment in the restaurant business and is a prerequisite for developing efficient interventions. • Sexual harassment affects many people in working life and is a serious public health problem. Also, sexual harassment at work maintains gender-based inequalities that exist at a structural level.

Interreligious Dialogues in Switzerland

Abstract Due to the federal structure of Switzerland, interreligious activities are also strongly influenced by cantonal contexts. Based on published material as well as on semi-directive interviews with key protagonists, the article analyses three cases of interreligious dialogue – two cantonal cases from the German-, or respectively French-speaking part of the country and the more general case of a women’s network. In the cantonal cases, interreligious dialogue is strongly linked to state-religion relation and serves as a tool for inclusion of new religious communities and for social cohesion. In each of the two cases, there are specific forms and organisational structures of dialogue. In contrast to these examples, the third case is more independent of political interests and often adopts a critical stance. Thus two types of interreligious discourse and relationship with the state can be identified which can also be seen as complementary: either a more critical voice keeping distance from power, or a collaboration with political structures strengthening the religious communities’ influence within the system.

Rice Loans and People’s Organisations in the Rural Philippines

This descriptive study introduces community-managed rice loans, as implemented by people’s organisations in the rural Philippines. Projects addressing low income and food shortages are by no means new to the development sector. Development agencies, nonprofit organisations, and local governments have implemented such projects to address immediate food shortages and threats of hunger. Less explored, however, is the potential of rice loans as intermediate solution, not only in terms of food provisioning but also in strengthening communities’ organisational structures and capabilities. This study explores such possibilities by focusing specifically on community-managed rice loans as implemented in the Philippines’ regions of Nueva Ecija and Isabela and supported by a local nonprofit, Outreach Philippines Incorporated (OPI). It discusses how rice loans provide communities with an alternative option for accessing affordable food and how these rice loans operate in the context of community development. The analysis of programme proposals identified three components integral to rice loans’ implementation and ongoing operations. These include specific organisational structures, clear operational processes, and well-defined policies and systems. We argue that these components are the building blocks of not only successful project implementation but also the strengthening of participating organisations’ project implementation and management capacity.

Vom holistischen Bauprinzip zur modernen Montageindustrie? Produktionssysteme im Schiffbau und der «Wandel der Arbeit» bei der Bremer Vulkan AG nach 1945

Abstract From the holistic construction principle to the modern assembly industry? Production systems in shipbuilding and the «change in work» at Bremer Vulkan AG after 1945 The article discusses the interrelation between production technology, organisational restructuring and working conditions in shipbuilding after 1945. The Bremer Vulkan – one of the largest shipyards in Germany during the period – functions as a case example. The article tackles three main questions: How and in which entrepreneurial context did production systems change during the second half of the 20th century? Under what circumstances were changes developed, planned, and implemented? What kind of debates can be traced that give insight into the negotiations that accompanied the technological and organisational change within the company? Shipbuilding has undergone a fundamental change during the second half of the 20th century. The immediate post-war era was marked by a long period of production increase and heavy investments in the context of the so-called tanker boom. A clear shift can be traced from the 1970s onwards, which is characterised by a gradual departure from merchant vessel production throughout Western Europe and a focus on higher value ships. Each of these changes necessitated specific production regimes and organisational structures that had the main aim to increase pre-production and reduce the inherently complex single piece production. At the same time, the 1970s show a significant shift in the debates surrounding these changes. The negative consequences of new productions technology and organisational restructuring for working conditions became a virulent topic.

Indymedia legacies in Brazil and Spain: the integration of technopolitical and intersectional media practices

The Indymedia network is recognized for its open-editorial platform, as well as its prefigurative combination of technological tactics and organizational strategies. In this article, we discuss the legacy of Indymedia in countries not often focalized in the network or in the scholarly literature, namely Brazil and Spain. These countries were chosen to address gaps in the literature regarding Indymedia-influenced adaptations of horizontal media practices established in peripheral spaces such as Latin America and the so-called ‘Global South of Europe’. This research is based on data sets from two empirical research projects comprised of 37 semi-structured interviews in Spain and Brazil. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and comparatively analyzed using NVivo. Media activist practices challenge the reductionist binary that situates information and communication technologies (ICTs) as either deterministically revolutionary or intrinsically complicit with capitalism. In this context, using Midia Ninja in Brazil and XNet in Spain as case studies, we argue that Indymedia has had an impact on technological innovations adopted by contemporary intersectional social movement media projects in the global south, critically analyzing ways in which media activist projects have resisted exogenous and endogenous intersectional inequalities through developing specific organizational structures and practices. We find that intersectional practices related to the anti-capitalist technopolitics of Indymedia have both shaped and been shaped by specific dimensions of digital technologies. We argue that in alternative media practices, intersectionality and anti-capitalist technopolitics have emerged together as intertwined legacies of Indymedia.

Profesionalizacija kroz dalje obrazovanje - međunarodno poređenje neformalnih obrazovnih programa za nastavnike u obrazovanju odraslih

Professionalism is a core topic in international discourse on adult education. Its importance is due not least to the need for professional self-assurance given the heterogeneity of the field of adult education, which is characterised not only by a wide range of working conditions, employment forms and responsibilities but also by the different qualifications and professional backgrounds of adult educators. Therefore, further education programmes for adult educators could be one important pillar in the professionalisation of adult education. At the same time, however, heterogeneous personnel structures make the seemingly simple question of further education for adult educators increasingly complex. While at the international level there is particular emphasis on professionalisation by means of academic degree programmes, the focus of the present paper is on non-formal further education for adult educators. It compares similarities and differences using country-specific examples of non-formal further education programmes for adult educators and seeks to explain them. The results are obtained using an international comparative research methodology. The cases (non-formal programmes) from Latvia, Brazil, Germany and Nigeria are examined by focusing on their target groups, structures, content and aims. The degree to which they are embedded in specific organisational and institutional structures and (national) policies also plays a role. The starting point for a critical reflection is the question: How can non-formal further education programmes contribute to the individual professionalisation of adult educators?

Digital transformation: A multidisciplinary reflection and research agenda

Digital transformation and resultant business model innovation have fundamentally altered consumers’ expectations and behaviors, putting immense pressure on traditional firms, and disrupting numerous markets. Drawing on extant literature, we identify three stages of digital transformation: digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation. We identify and delineate growth strategies for digital firms as well as the assets and capabilities required in order to successfully transform digitally. We posit that digital transformation requires specific organizational structures and bears consequences for the metrics used to calibrate performance. Finally, we provide a research agenda to stimulate and guide future research on digital transformation.

Coesione territoriale e coesione interna nelle Aree Interne: questioni di governance d'area

The 2007 Lisbon Treaty stimulated new discourses related with the concept of territorial cohesion. The importance of adopting a place-based approach to such policies emerged, putting people living in places at the center of the discourse. As a consequence, not only multi-level governance, but also the complex internal organizational structures of communities (local governance) do matter. In the framework of the Italian cohesion policy, specifically within the National Strategy for Inner Areas, this article discusses the governance structures of an experimental area, the Simeto Valley in Sicily, arguing the importance of adopting specific organizational structures and processes of local learning for successful outcomes of place-based cohesion policies.

Analyzing the effect of location, communication regime, and demographic faultline on team cohesion

Purpose Building on the Lau and Murnighan’s theory of fault line strength, Flache and Mäs (2008b) proposed a computational opinion dynamics model to explore the effect of demographic fault line strength on team cohesion. This study aims to extend the Flache–Mäs (FM) model to incorporate geographical location and the dyadic communication regime in opinion formation process. More specifically, we make spatially proximate agents more likely to interact with each other in the dyadic communication regime. Our results show that when agents update their opinion after each pairwise encounter, opinion polarization is lower at steady state compared to when they update their opinion after interacting with all agents. In addition, if nearby agents are more likely to interact with each other, we see greater polarization compared to the FM model with the dyadic communication regime. An immediate policy implication of this result is that organizational managers should design work space in a way that encourage wider communications between members of a team and avoid geographically local communication. Design/methodology/approach We introduce our computational models to study the effect of location and the dyadic communication regime on team performance (as measured by agents’ opinions on various work-related issues) in the presence of a strong demographic fault line. Our models are extensions of the FM model. For clarification purposes, first we describe the FM model and then elaborate our extensions. Findings The most important finding of this paper is that the timing of interactions plays an important role in steady state of opinion space in a given population. The reason can be traced to the path-dependent nature of social systems, in which initial adopters of a certain opinion or an ideology can significantly change the final configuration of a population. For example, if an early adopter of a given work-related issue in an organization has an extremely positive view toward that issue, and s/he interacts with nearby employees who have similar demographic attributes, we would expect to find an extreme opinion cluster with respect to that issue after a while. However, depending on factors that affect the timing of interaction between individuals, we would expect different outcome in the same organization. If, for instance, more extreme people are more likely to interact, the results would be different compared to when moderate agents are more likely to interact. Originality/value One immediate policy implication of the results of this paper is that organizational managers should design work space in a way that encourage wider communications between members of a team and avoid geographically local communication, if they are to temper the negative effect of a strong demographic fault line. However, they should be cautious and take other related findings into account to avoid undesirable outcomes. For example, according to Flache and Mäss’s results, managers can also initially encourage discussion within demographically homogenous groups and avoid controversial work-related issues. In addition, previous studies showed that more contacts between agents may increase opinion polarization. Our results provide no evidence for more complex and modern organizational designs where individuals or teams do not have a fixed location or stable geographical pattern. For instance, in a modern car manufacturing shop floor, it is possible that workers have to move with cars, or operational engineers have to move between different sections and places. Furthermore, there may be a flexible and dynamic work schedule for workers such that they share a same work station but in different time, which requires a more complex model than what we presented in this paper. In this sense, the geographical setting analyzed in this paper should not be generalized to all organizations or companies. We also have no evidence about other critical factors that might affect the communication and activation regime of individuals. For example, one could imagine a case that workers with the same level of skill in a specific work-related issue are more likely to interact with each other. Moreover, some specific organizational structures could impose additional restrictions on who can/should interact with whom.

TALENT MANAGEMENT AS A FACTOR DETERMINING THE PROCESS OF MODELING THE COMPETENCES OF THE CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATION

The evolving labor market determines the level of innovative knowledge necessary for the activities of a modern enterprise. An important factor of market competitiveness is the role of particularly talented individuals operating in specific organizational structures. Optimal targeting of their talents is an important factor in the company’s situation. Competence management thus becomes a key item in the structure and company strategy. This article presents an outline of the issue of the essence of talent management quantifying competence management and may be an introduction to the discussion about modifying the competency management model. It is also an attempt to answer the competitive variability of the market and new requirements of the environment in terms of the potential of talented and effective implementation of employee organization goals.

Moving the school forward: Problems reported by novice and experienced principals during a succession process in Chile

This article identifies the main problems faced by two groups of Chilean principals involved in a succession process. Problems reported by novice public school principals (n = 94) were compared to those reported by their more experienced peers (n = 120). Data were gathered through an online survey and eight in-depth interviews. Findings showed that groups did not differ in the overall pattern of responses when problems were categorized at the system level (45%), interactions with people (33%), at the school and territory levels (15%), and within themselves (7%). Differences were observed when comparing the extent to which each group reported problems managing up (interactions with the municipal department of education and Ministry of Education) and managing down (initiating changes in the school’s culture and structures). The high frequency and types of problems reported at the system level indicate the need to align policy reforms addressing leadership practices at intermediate and school levels. The findings also suggest guidelines for the professional development programs that extend beyond normative practices for effective school leadership, by also responding to country specific social and organizational structures.

The X chromosome in space.

Extensive 3D folding is required to package a genome into the tiny nuclear space, and this packaging must be compatible with proper gene expression. Thus, in the well-hierarchized nucleus, chromosomes occupy discrete territories and adopt specific 3D organizational structures that facilitate interactions between regulatory elements for gene expression. The mammalian X chromosome exemplifies this structure-function relationship. Recent studies have shown that, upon X-chromosome inactivation, active and inactive X chromosomes localize to different subnuclear positions and adopt distinct chromosomal architectures that reflect their activity states. Here, we review the roles of long non-coding RNAs, chromosomal organizational structures and the subnuclear localization of chromosomes as they relate to X-linked gene expression.