Structural Characteristics Of Organizations Research Articles

When and Why Do Employers (Re)Hire Employees Beyond Normal Retirement Age?

Abstract Older workers are increasingly being encouraged to work beyond normal retirement age (NRA). Given that employers generally control opportunities for employees to work beyond NRA, better understanding their motivations, attitudes, and experiences in (re)hiring employees to work beyond NRA is vital. To date, however, research investigating employment beyond NRA has primarily focused on the perspective and experiences of employees. In this study, we analyzed data from a 2017 survey of 1,214 Dutch employers to examine whether workplace social norms, employers’ concerns related to workforce aging, and structural organizational characteristics were related to whether or not they employed working retirees. We found that workplace norms about working beyond NRA, concerns about career opportunities for younger workers, and structural characteristics such as organizational size, sector, and proportion of female and older workers in the organization were significantly associated with whether or not organizations employed workers beyond NRA. In the second, exploratory, phase of our analysis, we investigated attitudes and approaches toward workers beyond NRA among those who had previously employed such workers. Most employers agree that they mainly (re)hire workers with unique knowledge or experience to work beyond NRA and that employees usually take the initiative in prolonging employment. Employers’ opinions on whether employees working beyond NRA should accept a pay cut or block the progress of other employees are more mixed. Insights gained from the current research can help guide future research and policy to support longer working lives, from both employee and employer perspectives, even beyond normal retirement age.

The influence of modifying nanoflower and nanostar type Pd coatings on low temperature hydrogen permeability through Pd-containing membranes

Methodsof modifying the surface of Pd–23%Ag alloy films have been developed in order to increase the rate of hydrogen permeability and to produce palladium-containing nanostar and nanoflower type coatings. Modifying coatings have been synthesized by electrolytic deposition at a reduced current density compared to classical methods. Low current densities affect the formation of pentagonally structured surface modifiers. The low deposition rate of Pd and Ag particles on a thin palladium-silver film allows them to line up in clearly defined structures, probably due to the properties of the surfactant used. The methods developed for modifying palladium-containing membranes makes it possible to create palladium nanostructures not only with a well-defined surface structure, but also with morphologies that have never been achieved by other approaches. Modification of the membrane surface makes it possible to measure the permeability in the temperature range up to 100°С. Membranes modified with nanoflower and nanostar type pentagonally branched crystallites show a hydrogen flux of up to 0.008 mol s−1 m−2 and up to 0.01 mol s−1 m−2 at a pressure of 0.3 MPa in the low temperature range (<100 °C). The hydrogen flux for membranes modified by such coatings is twice as much as the flux of hydrogen through membranes modified by the classical palladium black method, despite the fact that the latter is slightly more developed. The results obtained during the experiment may indicate that the contribution to the increase in activity and consequently the increase in the hydrogen permeability rate through the membrane that is in a stage of surface limitation by surface effects is made not only by the increased surface area but also by the structural organization characteristics of the membrane modifying layer.

Countering Overseas Power in Global Value Chains: Information Asymmetries and Subcontracting in the Plastics Industry

Abstract Resource Dependency Theory (RDT) and Global Value Chain (GVC) analysis have been deployed in the strategic and international management literatures to address questions of power in dyadic relationships and global production networks, respectively. This paper integrates the two theoretical approaches in order to expand RDT, using insights from Hirschman's exit/voice model to show the options available to some firms but not others. Using the relationship between buyers and contract manufacturers from GVC analysis, we find a correlation between firm size and choice of strategic action in response to contract manufacturers' dependence on buyers. Large firms follow an acquiescence strategy while small manufacturers follow an avoidance strategy, able to use both exit and voice strategies. Enabled by scale or control over information, both of these approaches successfully reduce uncertainty and provide a source of sustained competitive advantage. Using a study of the production chain in consumer plastics manufacturing in China, we show how dependent firms respond to GVC induced pressure. We find that based on the size of the contract manufacturer, the range of strategic responses to power is constrained by the nature of the dependency in global value chains. This opens important insights into the role that structural characteristics of organizations (like size) play in determining strategic freedom.

Conflicts between healthcare professionals and families of a multi-ethnic patient population during critical care: an ethnographic study.

BackgroundConflicts during communication in multi-ethnic healthcare settings is an increasing point of concern as a result of societies’ increased ethno-cultural diversity. We can expect that conflicts are even more likely to arise in situations where difficult medical decisions have to be made, such as critical medical situations in hospital. However, in-depth research on this topic is rather scarce. During critical care patients are often unable to communicate. We have therefore investigated factors contributing to conflicts between healthcare professionals and family members from ethnic minority groups in critical medical situations in hospital.MethodsEthnographic fieldwork was done in one intensive care unit of a multi-ethnic urban hospital in Belgium over 6 months (January 2014 to June 2014). Data were collected through negotiated interactive observation, in-depth interviews with healthcare professionals, from patients’ medical records, and by making notes in a logbook. Data were analysed by using grounded theory procedures.ResultsConflicts were essentially related to differences in participants’ views on what constitutes ‘good care’ based on different care approaches. Healthcare professionals’ views on good care were based predominantly on a biomedical care model, whereas families’ views on good care were mainly inspired by a holistic lifeworld-oriented approach. Giving good care, from the healthcare professionals’ point of view, included great attention to regulations, structured communication, and central decision making. On the other hand, good care from the families’ point of view included seeking exhaustive information, and participating in end-of-life decision making. Healthcare professionals’ biomedical views on offering good care were strengthened by the features of the critical care context whereas families’ holistic views on offering good care were reinforced by the specific characteristics of families’ ethno-familial care context, including their different ethno-cultural backgrounds. However, ethno-cultural differences between participants only contributed to conflicts in confrontation with a triggering critical care context.ConclusionsConflicts cannot be exclusively linked to ethno-cultural differences as structural, functional characteristics of critical care substantially contribute to the development of conflicts. Therefore, effective conflict prevention should not only focus on ethno-cultural differentness but should also take the structural organizational characteristics of the critical care context sufficiently into account.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13054-015-1158-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Time-of-night variations in the story-like organization of dream experience developed during rapid eye movement sleep.

This study aimed to investigate the cycles (2nd/4th) and duration-related (5/10 min) variations in the story-like organization of dream experience elaborated during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Dream reports were analysed using story grammar rules. Reports were provided by those subjects (14 of 22) capable of reporting a dream after each of the four awakenings provoked in 2 consecutive nights during REM sleep of the 2nd and 4th cycles, after periods of either 5 or 10 min, counterbalanced across the nights. Two researchers who were blind as to the sleep condition scored the dream reports independently. The values of the indicators of report length (measured as value of total word count) and of story-like organization of dream reports were matched taking time-of-night (2nd and 4th cycles) and REM duration (5 versus 10 min) as factors. Two-way analyses of variance showed that report length increased significantly in 4th-cycle REM sleep and nearly significantly for longer REM duration, whereas the number of dream-stories per report did not vary. The indices of sequential (number of statements describing the event structure developed in the story) and hierarchical (number of episodes per story) organization increased significantly only in dream-stories reported after 10 min of 4th-cycle REM sleep. These findings indicate that the characteristics of structural organization of dream-stories vary along with time of night, and suggest that the elaboration of a long and complex dream-story requires a fairly long time and the availability of a great amount of cognitive resources to maintain its continuity and coherence.

The Relationship Between Structural Characteristics of Organization and Followed Business Strategy: An Application in Denizli

Over the years, strategy and structure have represented two important constructs that captured the interest of researchers in the business field. This research explores the relationship between organizational structure and business strategy. We hypothesized that several dimensions of organizational structure (centralization, formalization, size, and complexity) would influence perceptions of prospector, defender, analyzer and reactor strategy. We retrieved the data used in this study from the Denizli Chamber of Commerce and Industry. We collected data through a survey and tested the hypotheses using some analyses.

The Ties that Bind: A Network Analysis of Human Rights International Nongovernmental Organizations

Much scholarship concerning human rights international nongovernmental organizations (HR-INGOs) focuses on the central role they play within transnational advocacy networks. Despite this theoretical focus on networks, there has been scant empirical attention on the characteristics of the HR-INGO network or on whether the network characteristics of a HR-INGO matter for its advocacy output. Introducing a new relational dataset on 681 HR-INGOs, this article finds that the HR-INGO network is somewhat like a public good and that the organizations who utilize it benefit in terms of their international advocacy output. Other findings focus on how the structural characteristics of organizations can influence their propensity to connect to each other and how ‘free-riding’ can limit the benefits organizations receive from the network.

Study of Impact of Material on Three-Dimensional Design

As a basic material element of the three-dimensional shape of the material plays an important role in the three-dimensional shape, material determines the structure of the three-dimensional shape, texture, texture, color, and other psychological performance, as well as a means of processing, technology, connection, and connection strength. Characteristics of the texture of the material itself, the volume characteristics, and it may produce structural organizational characteristics have a direct impact on the shape.

A Role Engineering Framework to Support Dynamic Authorizations in Collaborative Environments

ABSTRACT With the increasing availability of networks and the advancements in their underlying infrastructure of mobile devices, access control and authorization issues will be enablers of future technologies in collaborative environments. Recent works demonstrate efforts to dynamically authorize users without prior knowledge and with no security configuration attributes or roles previously assigned to them. Moreover, current role-based engineering approaches construct role hierarchies without reflecting the organizational structure, since they do not take into account structural organizational characteristics. In this paper we propose an innovative role structure, not solely dependent on naming methods but also that takes into account organizational as well as functional characteristics to provide a practical role assignment methodology between organizations in a collaborative environment. More specifically, we argue that beyond the fact that a role represents a job assignment to perform certain function(s), it is also a composite element representing several organizational characteristics such as organizational function, organizational domain and level of authority. The proposed role structure enables role-to-role assignment as external nonlocal users request access in a particular information system (e.g., people on the move, users logged in from a collaborative organization) and acquire local role(s). A clear advantage in the proposed framework is its flexibility in the role assignment process, since the proposed role decomposition does not require an exact match of predefined credentials. The methodology is autonomous, as no prior trust establishment is required between interactive organizations, expendable as new organizations can join the collaboration without affecting the existing ones, flexible as it does not affect the local access control policy, scalable as the collaboration can increase arbitrary and efficient as the comparison methodology guarantees the selection of the appropriate local role, if such one exists.

The Knowledge Base of Products: Implications for Organizational Structures

This paper investigates the impact of two dimensions of product knowledge bases on organizational structures. The first dimension, knowledge breadth, measures the complexity of a product. The second dimension, knowledge depth, measures the extent to which the knowledge embedded in the product can be used in different contexts. An agent-based simulation study is carried out to analyse the structural characteristics of organizations that emerge when self-interested agents select partners to combine their expertise and produce together. Agents learn from their interactions, which shapes their choice of partners in the future. The results reveal that multi-product companies with fewer inter-firm relationships emerge when products are complex and knowledge is highly reusable in different contexts. A network of specialized firms is a dominant organizational structure when products are complex and deep. The results are demonstrated through a brief case study of the history of the computer industry.

Structural organization characteristics of the DIP1 gene in Drosophila melanogaster strains mutant for the flamenco gene

Molecular cloning of the DIP1 gene located in the 20A4-5 region has been performed from the following strains with the flamenco phenotype: flam SS (SS) and flam MS (MS) characterized by a high transposition rate of retrotransposon gypsy (mdg4), flam py + (P) carrying the insertion of a construction based on the P element into the region of the flamenco gene, and flamenco +. The results of restriction analysis and sequencing cloned DNA fragments has shown that strains flam SS , flam MS considerably differ from flam py + (P), and flamenco + in the structure of DIP1. Strains flam SS and flam MS have no DraI restriction site at position 1765 in the coding region of the gene, specifically, in the domain determining the signal of the nuclear localization of the DIP1 protein. This mutation has been found to consist in a nucleotide substitution in the recognition site of DraI restriction endonuclease, which is transformed from TTTAAA into TTTAAG and, hence, is not recognized by the enzyme. This substitution changes codon AAA into AAG and is translationally insignificant, because both triplets encode the same amino acid, lysine. The DIP1 gene of strains flam SS and flam MS has been found to contain a 182-bp insertion denoted IdSS (insertion in DIP1 strain SS); it is located in the second intron of the gene. The IdSS sequence is part of the open reading frame encoding the putative transposase of the mobile genetic element HB1 belonging to the Tc1/mariner family. This insertion is presumed to disturb the conformations of DNA and the chromosome, in particular, by forming loops, which alters the expression of DIP1 and, probably, neighboring genes. In strains flamenco + and flam py + (P), the IdSS insertion within the HB1 sequence is deleted. The deletion encompasses five C-terminal amino acid residues of the conserved domain and the entire C-terminal region of the putative HB1 transposase. The obtained data suggest that DIP1 is involved in the control of gypsy transpositions either directly or through interaction with other elements of the genome.

Molecular mechanisms of regulation of the activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca-release channels (ryanodine receptors), muscle fatigue, and Severin's phenomenon.

In this short review of the literature and our own data the characteristics of structural organization of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca-release channels (ryanodine receptors) in different types of muscles, the participation of other sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins in excitation-contraction coupling and Ca-release channel operation, and the regulation of the channel activity by endogenous low molecular weight compounds are analyzed. Special attention is given to changes that occur in muscle cells during exhausting work and to the role of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca-release channels in the loss of muscle contractile activity during the development of fatigue. It is concluded that the protection of muscle fibers against fatigue in the presence of the histidine-containing dipeptide carnosine, called in the literature "Severin's phenomenon", is primarily connected with modulation of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca-release channel activity by carnosine.

Collaboration in community based rehabilitation agencies.

One of the strategies which non-government organizations (NGOs) involved in Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) use to develop their organizations and maximize their impact is through collaboration with other partners. A survey conducted by the International Centre for the Advancement of CBR identified collaboration styles, concerns, opportunities, and barriers among NGOs working in disability. Discussion focuses on differences between collaboration in industrialized and less developed countries; on resource dependency; and on structural characteristics of organizations that influence their interactions. The limited public concern for disability issues is viewed as a principal reason for the broad collaboration patterns which are seen in this field.

Structural Analysis of a New Cryptic Plasmid pAR67 Isolated fromRuminococcus albusAR67

The complete nucleotide sequence of a new cryptic plasmid pAR67 isolated from a rumen bacteriumRuminococcus albusAR67 has been determined. The plasmid pAR67 was 3419 bp in size with a 45% GC content. Two open reading frames, ORF1 and ORF2, encoding potential polypeptides of 285 and 165 amino acids, with limited sequence similarity to replication and mobilization proteins, respectively, were identified within the sequence. The region upstream of ORF1 had an AT-rich (80%) segment followed by four 19-bp direct repeats, which is similar to the structural organization characteristic of replication origins of some bacterial plasmids.

Pathways to scaling-up in community based rehabilitation agencies.

Scaling-up is the expansion or development of organizational activities to achieve a greater impact. Scaling-up among non-government organizations (NGOs) involved in community based rehabilitation (CBR) is a recent phenomenon. Case study materials from NGOs in India, Canada, and Indonesia are used to illustrate four pathways to scaling-up in CBR and the use of collaboration strategies in these efforts. Discussion focuses on differences between scaling-up in industrialized and less developed countries and on structural characteristics of organizations which influence their pathways.

Genomic structure of the human retinoblastoma-related Rb2/p130 gene.

The human Rb2/p130 gene shares many structural and functional features with the retinoblastoma gene and the retinoblastoma-related p107 gene. In the present study, we have cloned and partially sequenced the gene coding for the Rb2/p130 protein from human genomic libraries. The complete intron-exon organization of this gene has been elucidated. The gene contains 22 exons spanning over 50 kb of genomic DNA. The length of individual exons ranges from 65 to 1517 bp. The largest intron spans over 9 kb, and the smallest has only 82 bp. The 5' flanking region revealed a structural organization characteristic of promoters of "housekeeping" and growth control-related genes. A typical TATA or CAAT box is not present, but there are several GC boxes and potential binding sites for numerous transcription factors. This study provides the molecular basis for understanding the transcriptional control of the Rb2/p130 gene and for implementing a comprehensive Rb2/p130 mutation screen using genomic DNA as a template.

When it comes to product innovation, what is so bad about bureaucracy?

In theory, bureaucracy is said to be “bad” for innovation. Yet large bureaucratic organizations often need to be both adept at innovation and capable of ongoing routinized production. Unfortunately, little is actually known about how bureaucracy hinders innovation, since research on the relationship of structural characteristics of organization and innovation is ambiguous. This study attempts to illuminate the specific relationship between bureaucracy and innovation so as to permit progress beyond the innovation-bureaucracy stalemate. Building on an interpretive rather than structure perspective, we analyzed 134 people's experiences with product innovation in 15 large bureaucracies. We found four patterns of bureaucratic thinking and acting that systematically inhibited effective action in defining, organizing, evaluating, and staffing the innovation effort. These patterns are described and illustrated at some length. Then, drawing on Weber's original theory of bureaucracy and other classics of innovation, we theorize that it is an interpretive system of instrumental rationality, not only a bureaucratic structure, that creates and maintains these patterns. From this insight we speculate on how large bureaucracies can become more innovative without losing their efficiency.

Structural characterization of the complete human perlecan gene and its promoter.

The complete intron-exon organization of the gene encoding human perlecan (HSPG2), the major heparan sulfate proteoglycan of basement membranes, has been elucidated, and specific exons have been assigned to coding sequences for the modular domains of the protein core. The gene was composed of 94 exons, spanning > 120 kbp of genomic DNA. The exon arrangement was analyzed vis-à-vis the modular structure of the perlecan, which harbors protein domains homologous to the low density lipoprotein receptor, laminin, epidermal growth factor, and neural cell adhesion molecule. The exon size and the intron phases were highly conserved when compared to the corresponding domains of the homologous genes, suggesting that most of this modular proteoglycan has evolved from a common ancestor by gene duplication or exon shuffling. The 5' flanking region revealed a structural organization characteristic of housekeeping and growth control-related genes. It lacked canonical TATA or CAAT boxes, but it contained several GC boxes with binding sites for the transcription factors SP1 and ETF. Consistent with the lack of a TATA element, the perlecan gene contained multiple transcription initiation sites distributed over 80 bp of genomic DNA. These results offer insights into the evolution of this chimeric molecule and provide the molecular basis for understanding the transcriptional control of this important gene.

Quasi-elastic and electrophoretic light scattering studies of the reorganization of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine vesicle membranes by poly(2-ethylacrylic acid)

Quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS) and electrophoretic light scattering (ELS) measurements have been used to investigate the pH-dependent structural reorganization of phospholipid vesicles suspended in aqueous solutions of poly(2-ethylacrylic acid) (PEAA). The average radius of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) vesicles suspended in aqueous PEAA was reduced within 1 h from approximately 600 to 60 nm upon acidification. Size distribution analysis revealed narrow single peaks far from the pH at which the reorganization occurs but bimodal distributions in the transition region. The transition pH was shifted from 7.0 to 6.5 as the ionic strength of the sample solutions was increased from 50 to 500 mM. The conformational transition of PEAA from an expanded form at high pH to a relatively compact coil in acidic solutions was also observed by QELS. ELS measurements showed that, as the pH is lowered from 8.0 to 5.5 in the presence of PEAA, the electrophoretic mobility of DOPC vesicles passes through a minimum at the transition pH. At pH lower than that of the transition, vesicle mobility is greater in PEAA solutions than in simple buffers. We believe the increase in mobility is due to adsorption of PEAA on the vesicle surface. We infer that as the pH is lowered, the collapsed PEAA chain provides a hydrophobic site for solubilization of the phospholipid hydrocarbon tails and in so doing disrupts the structural organization characteristic of the pure phospholipid.

Intense Loyalty in Organizations: A Case Study of College Athletics

We would like to thank Jean Blocker for help during the data-gathering portion of this research and Charles Gallmeier, Peter Manning, John Van Maanen, and the editors and anonymous ASO reviewers for their comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Address correspondence to Dr. Peter Adler, Department of Sociology, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208. In this paper we examine a type of organizational loyalty, intense loyalty, that is more profound than the type of organizational loyalty traditionally portrayed as a rather mild attachment of individuals to a group, based on their satisfaction with their economic rewards, authority relations, or occupational self-fulfillment. Using data gathered over a five-year participant-observation study, we use the case of college athletics to illustrate this previously undiscussed form of organizational loyalty. We suggest that there are five elements essential to the development of intense loyalty in organizations: domination, identification, commitment, integration, and alignment. Through their experiences with each of these organizational dimensions, athletes develop feelings that lead to the development of intense loyalty. We conclude by contrasting the structural characteristics of organizations that generate intense loyalty with those of more ordinary work organizations.'