Download or read book Understanding Management Control and Organisational Sense making written by Dr Krister Bredmar and published by Chartridge Books Oxford. This book was released on 2016-07-29 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Summary This book centres around three different areas; management control, organisations and information systems - in order to understand what is actually going on and to make sense of management control questions. Management control techniques used today could in many cases be traced back to industrialisation. With the help of computeraised information systems, the speed and detail with which a manager could get a hold of important information has increased. Today, it has become even more important to be able to choose what information to work with and that the context in which it should be used is understood. Organisational sense-making is in many ways an interesting and important path to take in order to do this. When working with the management control function, it is important to understand the organisation where the work is undertaken. One important part of the function is planning and another is control. Both are needed in order for the management control function to work. Performance is often a key ingredient when trying to find out what is working in a plan and what is not and here the understanding for information becomes necessary. Since the work is done within an organsation, both by managers and employees, it is also crucial to find ways to work with not only models, methods and techniques but also people and social dimensions. Key Features Managers and employees want to act in a meaningful way in general. The way planning and control is undertaken in an organization is to a large extent dependent on the way a manager interprets information about the organisation. Decisions and actions can be traced to the interpretation of a situation in the past and present. Since organisations are built on people, it is important to try to understand why they act in a certain way and how their understanding of the organsiation is evolving. Management control has in many ways been described as a function that is dependent on different techniques and methods; however, it can also be described as a social process, focusing on decisions and actions. Informations systems have come to play a crucial role in managing an organisation, especially when it comes to tracing performance. The demand for responsible and accountable management has led to an increased emphasis on meaningful decisions and actions. The Author Dr Krister Bredmar is associate professor at Linneaus University in Sweden. He has for more then 20 years worked with management control and organisational sense-making, both in theory and in practice. His research has been published both in academic journals and in books. Readership Scholars, students and practitioners. Contents The accounting heritage Corporate epistemology Thinking ahead The essence of management control Understanding performance The control concept in management control Reports, communication and stakeholders The essence of sense-making Organisations as a set of social relations Information systems and management control Individuals and organisations Organisational structure A social perspective A decisions context Techiques and functions Thinking and acting strategically Accounting tools Information and knowledge The performance paradox

Download or read book Sensemaking in Organizations written by Karl E. Weick and published by SAGE. This book was released on 1995-05-31 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The teaching of organization theory and the conduct of organizational research have been dominated by a focus on decision-making and the concept of strategic rationality. However, the rational model ignores the inherent complexity and ambiguity of real-world organizations and their environments. In this landmark volume, Karl E Weick highlights how the `sensemaking' process shapes organizational structure and behaviour. The process is seen as the creation of reality as an ongoing accomplishment that takes form when people make retrospective sense of the situations in which they find themselves.

Download or read book Safety and Reliability Safe Societies in a Changing World written by Stein Haugen and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2018-06-15 with total page 4379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Safety and Reliability – Safe Societies in a Changing World collects the papers presented at the 28th European Safety and Reliability Conference, ESREL 2018 in Trondheim, Norway, June 17-21, 2018. The contributions cover a wide range of methodologies and application areas for safety and reliability that contribute to safe societies in a changing world. These methodologies and applications include: - foundations of risk and reliability assessment and management - mathematical methods in reliability and safety - risk assessment - risk management - system reliability - uncertainty analysis - digitalization and big data - prognostics and system health management - occupational safety - accident and incident modeling - maintenance modeling and applications - simulation for safety and reliability analysis - dynamic risk and barrier management - organizational factors and safety culture - human factors and human reliability - resilience engineering - structural reliability - natural hazards - security - economic analysis in risk management Safety and Reliability – Safe Societies in a Changing World will be invaluable to academics and professionals working in a wide range of industrial and governmental sectors: offshore oil and gas, nuclear engineering, aeronautics and aerospace, marine transport and engineering, railways, road transport, automotive engineering, civil engineering, critical infrastructures, electrical and electronic engineering, energy production and distribution, environmental engineering, information technology and telecommunications, insurance and finance, manufacturing, marine transport, mechanical engineering, security and protection, and policy making.

Download or read book X Teams written by Deborah Ancona and published by Harvard Business Press. This book was released on 2007-05-17 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do good teams fail? Very often, argue Deborah Ancona and Henrik Bresman, it is because they are looking inward instead of outward. Based on years of research examining teams across many industries, Ancona and Bresman show that traditional team models are falling short, and that what’s needed--and what works--is a new brand of team that emphasizes external outreach to stakeholders, extensive ties, expandable tiers, and flexible membership. The authors highlight that X-teams not only are able to adapt in ways that traditional teams aren’t, but that they actually improve an organization’s ability to produce creative ideas and execute them—increasing the entrepreneurial and innovative capacity within the firm. What’s more, the new environment demands what the authors call “distributed leadership,” and the book highlights how X-teams powerfully embody this idea.

Download or read book Countering Mission Drift in a Faith based Organization written by Peirong Lin and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2019-09-27 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents the case study of World Vision as a useful contribution in the discussion of mission drift, a common phenomenon facing faith-based organizations. Mission drift has been categorised as a drifting away from the organization’s founding mission, purpose and identity. Practical theological interpretation is undertaken in this case study. There are four phases involved in this approach: design, collection, analysis and recommendation. In the first phase, design, the key terms of the dissertation are explicated. One key model used is the identity formation model of organizations. In the second phase, collection, the actual collection of the empirical research is documented. Empirical research was done in two separate locations where World Vision worked in: Papua New Guinea and Nepal. In the third phase, analyzing, the findings of the empirical research are analysed firstly using the identity formation model, and more normatively, through the use of the normative practice model. In the final phase, recommendations are made in light of the analysis. These recommendations are also framed using the identity formation model with content and process recommendations given.

Download or read book The Handbook for Teaching Leadership written by Scott A. Snook and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2012 with total page 601 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Supports the growing demand for courses in leadership and ensures that such courses and instruction are developed with multiple considerations and best practices in mind.

Download or read book Understanding Organizations Through Language written by Susanne Tietze and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2003-09-09 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: `The book is extremely clear in its explanation of how language works.... The authors treat their readers as curious, intelligent and concerned to find new and powerful tools to come at the workings of organizations from a lateral and newly illuminating perspective' - Virginia Valentine, Semiotic Solutions, London Offering a viable alternative to `functional' approaches to communication based around the metaphor of `webs of meaning' and using semiology as its theoretical bedrock, the authors provide examples and argue how and why this approach is useful in understanding communicative processes. This approach is applied to areas of interest, including: metaphor, story-telling, discourse, gender, leadership and electronic communication.

Download or read book Projects as Business Constituents and Guiding Motives written by Rolf A. Lundin and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of Projects as Business Constituents and Guiding Motives is to describe and analyse the roles that projects play in business. The editors, authors and researchers are convinced that projects are of significant importance at virtually every level of society, even though companies are the focus of this book. Projects are not merely conspicuous components of businesses, they in fact signal what businesses are all about. As you will see from some of the contributions to this book, these signals come in different forms and have different effects. Thus the various contributions to this book also mirror a kind of uncertainty as to what this phenomenon that is called project is all about. Rather than trying to define what it `really is', the editors have opted for the alternative, namely to let some of the variation be replicated in the different contributions. One important reason for the variations is that each author wants to stress a different aspect of projectisation. The editors illustrate some of the variations as they appear in the minds of researchers and in the minds of those who work with projects every day. They believe that they do greater justice to the field by taking this stance at this stage in the evolution of project management. The book is structured in four sections. The first section includes four chapters elaborating on various aspects of the roles projects play for shareholders, for management, for the global scene, and for the more or less continuous reorganising efforts that characterise most industries at the present time. The second section deals with how projects fit in with traditional business processes and the challenges that face project management as well as the generic business procedures. The third section brings forward some of the most essential matters when it comes to the future of business organisations. Innovation projects have a completely different character compared to traditional projects, and when entire industries go through thorough transformations, attending to project matters will be part of that change. One of the most often-repeated statements in business is that people matter; in the last section that statement is scrutinised in a projectised environment. This volume has a wide international selection of authors. Eight different nationalities are represented. The collection is relevant to academics in business administration, project management and organisation behaviour. It should also appeal to a significant secondary audience: professionals in project management, business strategy and organisation.

Download or read book Knowledge Management in Organisations written by Lorna Uden and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Role of Management Accounting Systems in Strategic Sensemaking written by Marcus Heidmann and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-03-13 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marcus Heidmann explores the role of management accounting systems (MAS) in strategic sensemaking. Based on cognitive theories, the author defines strategic sensemaking as a learning process with observation, interpretation, and communication as the relevant process steps on the individual level. He illustrates the impact of MAS on these cognitive processes by an exploratory multiple-case study design.

Download or read book Making Sense of Change Management written by Esther Cameron and published by Kogan Page Publishers. This book was released on 2015-03-03 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive, bestselling text in the field of change management, Making Sense of Change Management provides a thorough overview of the subject for both students and professionals. Along with explaining the theory of change management, it comprehensively covers the models, tools, and techniques of successful change management so organizations can adapt to tough market conditions and succeed by changing their strategies, structures, boundaries, mindsets, leadership behaviours and of course their expectations of the people who work within them. This completely revised and updated 4th edition of Making Sense of Change Management includes more international examples and case studies, emerging new thinking and practice in the area of cultural change and a new chapter on the interrelationship with project management (PM) and change management. It also covers complexity models, agile approaches, and stakeholder management along with cultural sensitivity and what to do when cultures collide. Making Sense of Change Management remains essential reading for anyone who is currently part of, or leading, a change initiative. Online supporting resources include lecture slides, making this an ideal textbook for MBA or graduate students focusing on leading or managing change.

Download or read book The Practice of Adaptive Leadership written by Ronald Abadian Heifetz and published by Harvard Business Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A hands-on, practical guide, "Practice of Adaptive Leadership" contains stories, tools, diagrams, cases, and worksheets to help managers develop their skills as leaders who are able to take people outside their comfort zones and address the toughest challenges.

Download or read book Strategic Management Control written by Fredrik Nilsson and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-06-30 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Strategic management control differs from traditional management control in several important respects. First, it supports both strategy formulation and strategy implementation. Second, it is to a large extent based on non-financial information. Third, it deals with both the long and short term and supports not only tactical, but also strategic and operational decision-making. Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, strategic management control is designed for, and adapted to, each organisation’s unique strategies. In this context, the book emphasises the importance of dialogues. The authors argue that it is unwise to assume that decisions taken at the top of the organisation will automatically be executed and obeyed throughout the organisation. Instead, they highlight the importance of dialogue and collaboration, both between hierarchical levels within the organisation and between actors in the network. Such communication is essential to making management control processes both strategic and successful. The book follows a clear structure, from the design of strategies to the everyday evaluation and discussion of performance and results. Though primarily intended for professionals working in strategy and management control at organisations, it will also benefit students and academics interested in strategy and management control.

Download or read book Sensemaking written by Christian Madsbjerg and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2017-03-21 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on his work at some of the world's largest companies, including Ford, Adidas, and Chanel, Christian Madsbjerg's Sensemaking is a provocative stand against the tyranny of big data and scientism, and an urgent, overdue defense of human intelligence. Humans have become subservient to algorithms. Every day brings a new Moneyball fix--a math whiz who will crack open an industry with clean fact-based analysis rather than human intuition and experience. As a result, we have stopped thinking. Machines do it for us. Christian Madsbjerg argues that our fixation with data often masks stunning deficiencies, and the risks for humankind are enormous. Blind devotion to number crunching imperils our businesses, our educations, our governments, and our life savings. Too many companies have lost touch with the humanity of their customers, while marginalizing workers with liberal arts-based skills. Contrary to popular thinking, Madsbjerg shows how many of today's biggest success stories stem not from "quant" thinking but from deep, nuanced engagement with culture, language, and history. He calls his method sensemaking. In this landmark book, Madsbjerg lays out five principles for how business leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals can use it to solve their thorniest problems. He profiles companies using sensemaking to connect with new customers, and takes readers inside the work process of sensemaking "connoisseurs" like investor George Soros, architect Bjarke Ingels, and others. Both practical and philosophical, Sensemaking is a powerful rejoinder to corporate groupthink and an indispensable resource for leaders and innovators who want to stand out from the pack.

Download or read book Positive Organizational Scholarship written by Kim Cameron and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 2003-08-09 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scholarship establishes a new field of study in the organizational sciences. Just as positive psychology focuses on exploring optimal individual psychological states rather than pathological ones, Positive Organizational Scholarship focuses attention on optimal organizational states --- the dynamics in organizations that lead to the development of human strength, foster resiliency in employees, make healing, restoration, and reconciliation possible, and cultivate extraordinary individual and organizational performance. While the concept of positive organizational scholarship encompasses the examination of typical and even dysfunctional patterns of behavior, it emphasizes positive deviance from expected patterns. Positive Organizational Scholarship examines the enablers, motivations, and effects associated with remarkably positive phenomena --- how they are facilitated, why they work, how they can be identified, and how researchers and managers can capitalize on them. The contributors do not adopt one particular theory or framework but draw from the full spectrum of organizational theories to understand, explain, and predict the occurrence, causes, and consequences of positivity. Positive Organizational Scholarship rigorously seeks to understand what represents the best of the human condition based on scholarly research and theory. This book invites organizational scholars to build upon and extend the positive organizational phenomena being examined. It provides the definitional, theoretical, and empirical foundations for what will become a cumulative body of enduring work.

Download or read book Mainstreaming co operation written by Anthony Webster and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2016-09-22 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After decades of flying beneath the radar, co-operation as a principle of business and socio-economic organisation is moving from the margins of economic, social and political thought into the mainstream. In both the developed and developing world, co-operative models are increasingly viewed as central to tackling a diverse array of issues, including global food security, climate change, sustainable economic development, public service provision and gender inequality. This collection, drawing together research from an interdisciplinary group of scholars and co-operative practitioners, considers the different spheres in which co-operatives are becoming more prominent. Drawing examples from different national and international contexts, the book offers major insights into how co-operation will come to occupy a more central role in social and economic life in the twenty-first century. Mainstreaming co-operation will be of interest to students and academics studying economics, business studies, history, politics and international development, but also to policy makers interested in co-operatives and mutuals as a viable alternative to conventional models of social and economic development.

Download or read book Making Projects Critical written by Damian Hodgson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2006-04-20 with total page 437 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Making Projects Critical is an edited collection contributed by a range of international scholars linking the area of project management with critical management perspectives. Challenging recent debates on inherent problems in project management, the text considers project management within a wider organizational and societal context.