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This paper investigates the impact of organisational structure and corporate governance on reinsurance decisions in the U.S. property-liability insurance industry. Our evidence shows that mutual insurers, mutual-owned stock insurers and stock insurers whose ultimate parent is publicly traded are likely to purchase more reinsurance from non-affiliated reinsurers than stock insurers closely held by managers. We also find that corporate governance significantly influences reinsurance purchases; specifically, CEO/chairperson duality is associated with lower reinsurance purchases while the percentage of independent directors on the board is positively (negatively) related to reinsurance purchases from non-affiliated (affiliated) reinsurers. Higher audit quality is associated with lower (higher) reinsurance purchases from non-affiliated (affiliated) reinsurers. Moreover, many interaction terms between organisational structure and corporate governance have significant effects on reinsurance decisions. Finally, we provide evidence that the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (SOX) has a substantial effect on the relation between organisational structure (corporate governance) and reinsurance decisions. The overall effect of SOX on reinsurance purchase from non-affiliated reinsurers is negative, implying that better investor protection results in higher risk taking and less risk shifting to outside reinsurers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enforcement of competition law in digital markets will take some time to evolve and there are still many options for creating the most effective new national competition rules for digital markets. Keywords: competition authority; digital markets; new technologies; organisational structure; new technologies unit EN competition authority digital markets new technologies organisational structure new technologies unit 330 333 4 12/27/22 20221001 NES 221001 This country report discusses the latest information on the New Technologies Unit being lately established in the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. Application of Competition Law in Digital Markets in Poland Currently, digital markets in Poland are the subject of a number of antitrust and consumer protection proceedings. [Extracted from the article]

South Africa post-1994 had to undergo numerous structural and governance reforms to realise the democratic utopia it imagined for its diverse societies. Societies are characterised by inequality, social ills, and the lack of services that are an aftermath of the separate development and apartheid design of the previous regime. While the core mandate of service delivery and development is attached to local government, for the past 28 years, this sphere has been synonymous with the brunt of negative and undesired outcomes of corruption, maladministration, non-delivery of basic services, and lack of leadership. The purpose of this article is to examine organisational change and its models as a method of achieving governance transformation for the betterment of local government, using the case of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province. The study employed a qualitative approach and relied on secondary data collected through a thorough examination of literature, government records, and other secondary sources. It used an explanatory case study design to better investigate organisational transformation in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The study findings reveal that organisational change is important and relevant in the government structure and transitional process, especially in the local sphere of government, to ensure continuity and that service delivery is not compromised. In conclusion, the study makes recommendations and offers an organisational change hybrid model for governance transformation in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last ten years have seen a plethora of organisational studies related to nonprofit organisations (NPOs). Regarding performance measures, the initial approach of NPOs is to adapt models and processes developed in a for-profit context. The NPO performance measurement literature suggests that these models fail in addressing the unique characteristics of NPOs relating to their dynamic and complex environments. The research presented in this paper focus is on organisational performance related studies, and it covers private companies' foundations, technological and professional institutes, and public or government agencies and departments. Ten cases were studied, and the results could not be generalised for NPOs but could be understood in the three different contexts and organisations studied. Foundations are strongly connected to their private supporter, and they are responsible for actions in terms of social responsibility and accountability. Independent institutes are project-oriented organisations that serve specific purposes that are defined by multiple stakeholders, and strongly influenced by the context in which they operate. Public service and government institutions have their operations ruled by an office term period institutional planning framework that deploys government programs and produces performance reports as they have high demands for transparency and accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in South Africa face the serious problem of knowledge-unfriendly organisational cultures, structures and human resource management (HRM) practices that hinder the reduction of the risks associated with tacit knowledge loss. Objective: The article examines the role of HRM in facilitating knowledge-driven organisational cultures and structures for the reduction of tacit knowledge loss in South African SOEs. Methods: The study deployed an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design to examine the role of HRM in facilitating organisational cultures and structures that are supportive of knowledge management (KM). In the qualitative phase, data were collected through interviews with 20 purposively selected HR managers in nine SOEs. In the quantitative phase, a questionnaire was distributed to 585 randomly selected employees in three state-owned companies. The instrument was considered reliable with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.94 and a response rate of 25%. Results: The research findings revealed that a majority of organisational cultures and structures in SOEs did not facilitate or assist to propel and support KM activities, behaviours and practices. On a positive note, human resource managers acknowledge that they have a crucial role to play in influencing culture management and structural designs in their companies to boost KM activities, behaviours and cultures. Conclusion: Numerous SOEs did not exhibit certain knowledge-driven behaviours and cultures because of a lack of structures to drive KM. Human resource managers did not exert their role in driving and influencing such knowledge-based behaviours, cultures and structures to lessen potential tacit knowledge loss.

Summary: The competency-based undergraduate curriculum reform at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Faculty of Medicine (UMP-FM) is detailed and reviewed in reference to the instructional and institutional reforms, and enabling actions recommended by the Lancet 2010 Commission for Health Professional Education. Key objectives are to: revise the overall 6-year curriculum to be more integrated and competency-based; reinforce students’ knowledge application, problem-solving, clinical competence, self-directed learning and soft skills; develop a comprehensive and performance-based student assessment programme; and establish a comprehensive quality monitoring programme to facilitate changes and improvements. New features include early introduction to the practice of medicine, family- and community-based medicine, professionalism, interprofessional education, electives experiences, and a scholarly project. Institutional reform introduces a faculty development programme, joint planning mechanism, a “culture of critical inquiry”, and a transparent faculty reward system. Lessons learnt from the curriculum reform at UMP-FM could be helpful to medical schools from low- and middle-income countries considering transitioning from a traditional to a competency-based curriculum. Funding: This work receives no external funding.

The marketisation of higher education is a global phenomenon in the new millennium as the universities are facing intense competition to manage their financial resources and maintain their academic growth and reputation. Pakistan is also influenced by the globalisation of higher education. In this context, this study is a genre analysis of the introductory pages of prospectuses o Pakistani universities. Through Bhatia's model of Applied Genre Analysis, a six‐move generic structure has been identified in the introductory pages of prospectuses to establish it as a complex hybrid promotional genre. The most significant communicative purposes are welcoming, informing, and persuading. The universities appear to borrow discourse from genres like accounts, advertisements, management, and the tourist industry. The analysis reveals that marketisation is deeply rooted in today's higher education in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Alternativas: Cuadernos de Trabajo Social is the property of Alternativas: Cuadernos de Trabajo Social and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Doxa Comunicación is the property of Fundacion Universitaria San Pablo - CEU and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The library at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden is unusual because it is fully integrated within an academic department, the Department of Communication and Learning in Science. This guest editorial explores the opportunities and challenges of integration and offers observation on the learning from establishing this integrated model.

There is little research on health-promoting workplace settings focused on people with an intellectual disability. There are a range of supported and open employment workplaces where people with an intellectual disability work, and this is an important setting that can influence health and wellbeing outcomes. The health promotion research that has been conducted with people with an intellectual disability has been programmatic in focus and lacks a broader settings and ecological perspective. This paper reports on analysis conducted across four organisations that employ people with an intellectual disability and included 47 in-depth interviews conducted with staff and supported employees. The aim was to examine the organisational characteristics, structures, and cultural elements that contribute to positive wellbeing. The key elements were offering a diversity of roles and opportunities, customised training and task matching, a flexible approach to work rosters, offering a range of workplace environments (e.g., busy versus calm environments), and providing holistic and tailored support. The results illustrate that providing positive wellbeing outcomes in the workplace for this cohort cannot be considered from a program perspective but as a whole of organisation design and culture. With the current movement towards more opportunity in open employment, it will be important that these features are replicated in all workplaces where people with an intellectual disability are employed. Further research and policy work is required for this ambition to be realised.

Many firms have started Industry 4.0 (I4.0) initiatives in recent years, without having a sound understanding of the effects generated by the technologies introduction. This research provides indications of what to expect from the implementation of two key technologies for I4.0: big data analytics and manufacturing execution systems. The study explores the relationships between these technologies' implementation and a set of performance effects. Additionally, it analyses the influence of the organisational structure. A set of hypotheses derived from literature builds the basis for the quantitative analysis of an industry survey with 116 participants from German-speaking countries. The results show that these technologies have distinct, partially unexpected, performance effects. Furthermore, this research provides evidence that the organisational structure of technology implementation plays no significant role in the attainment of higher technology implementation levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in South Africa face the serious problem of knowledge-unfriendly organisational cultures, structures and human resource management (HRM) practices that hinder the reduction of the risks associated with tacit knowledge loss. Objective: The article examines the role of HRM in facilitating knowledge-driven organisational cultures and structures for the reduction of tacit knowledge loss in South African SOEs. Methods: The study deployed an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design to examine the role of HRM in facilitating organisational cultures and structures that are supportive of knowledge management (KM). In the qualitative phase, data were collected through interviews with 20 purposively selected HR managers in nine SOEs. In the quantitative phase, a questionnaire was distributed to 585 randomly selected employees in three state-owned companies. The instrument was considered reliable with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.94 and a response rate of 25%. Results: The research findings revealed that a majority of organisational cultures and structures in SOEs did not facilitate or assist to propel and support KM activities, behaviours and practices. On a positive note, human resource managers acknowledge that they have a crucial role to play in influencing culture management and structural designs in their companies to boost KM activities, behaviours and cultures. Conclusion: Numerous SOEs did not exhibit certain knowledge-driven behaviours and cultures because of a lack of structures to drive KM. Human resource managers did not exert their role in driving and influencing such knowledge-based behaviours, cultures and structures to lessen potential tacit knowledge loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the association of organisational structure, strategic posture, level of differentiation, and integration with the external environment. The unit of analysis of this study is small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in stable and dynamic environments. The study findings showed that the external environment shapes organisational structure, strategy, and level of differentiation and integration. Additionally, the findings of the study revealed that small and medium-sized enterprises work on the same mechanism as large complex organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The library at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden is unusual because it is fully integrated within an academic department, the Department of Communication and Learning in Science. This guest editorial explores the opportunities and challenges of integration and offers observation on the learning from establishing this integrated model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Doxa Comunicación is the property of Fundacion Universitaria San Pablo - CEU and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: The productivity of healthcare institutions is impacted by the nursing workforce and plays a vital role in the provision of effective and efficient patient care. Knowledge management plays a vital role in nursing practice. This study seeks to extend the frontier of knowledge by addressing the paucity of literature on knowledge management in nursing care delivery in Nigeria. Objectives: The study empirically identified crucial knowledge management enablers from extant literature and investigated their influence on patient care in clinical nursing. Method: A cross-sectional survey design using a stratified sampling method was employed. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from 196 registered nurses in a selected teaching hospital in South West Nigeria. A total of 186 valid responses were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Result: The result of this study indicated that there is a direct and significant relationship between information technology (IT) and patient care. Organisational structure and organisational culture did not directly affect patient care. However, together with IT support, the knowledge management enablers were found to significantly affect patient care in clinical nursing. Conclusion: There is a need for nursing management to develop a flexible organisational structure and knowledge friendly culture including the implementation of functional technical infrastructure, to leverage knowledge management effectiveness in patient care in teaching hospitals in order to facilitate and strengthen service delivery by nurses.

The organisational structure of the United Methodist church shares many features with the early catholic institutions. Increased institutionalisation, that is, authority connected with office, is the clearest sign of Early Catholicism. By the late first century, the titles of bishop (ἐπίσκοπος), elder (πρεσβύτερος) and deacon (διάκονος) denoted specific leadership and service functions in the church. This study stresses the ethical qualifications and diaconal duties of these office bearers, applying it to the duties and responsibilities of United Methodist pastors, district superintendents, bishops and laity. It is argued that candidates for ordination should be aware of their calling to the divine ministry and their calling should be authenticated and recognised without a test of authenticity by the Church. In the Early Catholicism period, qualified leadership was established to preserve faith and combat false teaching. This must also be the case in the United Methodist Church.

Purpose: Globalisation and the increased complexity of organisations create the need for alternative leadership approaches that can harness the collective intellectual capital that exists within the dispersed employees of organisations. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative study explored how shared leadership can be facilitated in internationally dispersed non-formal teams through increased team connectedness, leader humility, empowering leadership, participative leadership and quality leader-member exchanges. The study explored the perspectives of 12 purposively sampled internationally dispersed team members, who represented three different functional nonformal teams. Findings/results: As dispersion of teams increases, some traditional leadership approaches become less effective. Shared leadership, however, has greater effects on team performance when team dispersion increases. Practical implications: The study offers a theoretical framework of leadership in internationally dispersed non-formal teams, which serves as a basis for future empirical research. It provides leaders of teams and organisations, as well as human resource practitioners with guidance on how to achieve the benefits of shared leadership of teams in this context. Participants represented nine nationalities, dispersed across eight countries, on four continents. Originality/value: Studies into shared leadership have increased over the past decade; however, the antecedents that facilitate shared leadership are still not exhaustive, and the majority of studies have been in co-located and formal teams. This study provides insight into how non-formal leaders can facilitate the emergence of shared leadership in the context of dispersed, non-formal teams.

Copyright of Economics & Environment / Ekonomia i Środowisko is the property of Fundacja Ekonomistow Srodowiska i Zasobow Naturalnych and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Over the past decade, media labs have become an increasingly visible structure to create, catalyse and diffuse innovation within, and beyond, journalism. In this article, we offer insights into the multiple forms media labs can take, and how innovation in the media field is being organised through labs. As such, we focus on innovation processes and practices rather than innovative outcomes. Drawing on 45 semi-structured interviews with media labs around the globe, conducted between 2016 and 2018, this exploratory study explores the multifaceted nature of the media lab concept across academia, legacy media and independent structures. To help better understand the many different manifestations of the media lab construct encountered in our study, this article adopts a purposefully interdisciplinary approach spanning open innovation, institutional and social theories to illuminate and sense-make the global lab phenomena. First, we unpack the media lab construct by detailing the where, what and how of the media labs surveyed in this study. We then suggest that the many forms and functions of labs reveal a complex and nuanced picture of an innovation landscape. We trace this across the ways in which media labs perceive their own roles, and how they relate to wider networks and ecosystems that they engage with, specifically the extent of the openness of their activities. Ultimately, we suggest that media labs are in part shaped by mimetic, coercive and normative isomorphism: media labs are a replicated structure and signifier for innovation but do not exhibit absolute replication: they still retain local variation and mutation, which is influenced by localised factors or influences that are unique to them. They take myriad forms, are located across industry and academia, open, interdisciplinary and, for the main, focus on immediate innovation using user-centred innovation approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite many studies that examined the relationship between organisational learning and organisational culture, none examined whether the levels of learning differ within a given organisation and if so, what factors lead to this difference. This article is based upon a study on organisational learning and investigates the relationship among organisational learning, culture and structure. Quantitative research was conduct on organisational learning practices in 17 medical departments of a large hospital in Israel. Three main categories of variables were examined: mapping the learning mechanisms, characterising the organisational culture and examining the organisational structure of various departments. Organisational learning was measured by means of a set of organisational learning mechanisms used in each medical department. Because data were collected from individuals, it was necessary to control and overcome self-report and common method bias. Reverse scoring of items, the use of variation in wording of items and guaranteeing anonymity to respondents helped control common method bias. As expected, it was found that those departments do differ one from the others by the extent to which organisational learning mechanisms are systematically used. The article further presents and discusses the effects of some structural and cultural factors upon levels of organisational learning on those departments. Both the method and the results of this research differ from previous studies of organisational learning; thus, the article sheds a new light on the concept of organisational learning. The study points to the importance and need of organisations to adopt a culture that encourages use of these organisational learning mechanisms to create effective and ongoing organisational learning. Increasing awareness among hospital departments of organisational learning as an essential process for coping with environmental change is also an important practical contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study objective was to examine the temporal macrocultural changes in Olympic sports in the United Kingdom and what regulates these changes. We carried out this study integrating grounded theory and action research in a 16-month longitudinal design. We collected data from eighteen interviews with participants from governing sports organisations (n = 6; GSOs) and NGBs (n = 3). came from ethnography with one national governing body; ten focus-groups with athletes, coaches, parents, and NGB personnel; and eight interviews with stakeholders. We found that political will had shielded Olympic sports from societal changes. However, macrocultural changes to social standards and the power of athletes highlighted that the organisational culture was increasingly deficient and required radical changes. GSOs used their systemic power to dictate appropriate avenues for change. Athletes used their reinforced position by speaking out about aspects that challenged the welfare of athletes and others working in Olympic sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the vital factors that prevent institutional child care homes from ensuring optimal wellbeing to the children, from becoming development friendly for the children and a real alternate to family system in India. Child care homes are socially and legally constructed rather instituted. They are designed not only to provide a roof to the destitute children, but are expected to contribute significantly for their personality and overall development in the absence of a biological family. Very often institutional care homes are criticised for their failure to provide adequate care and support to the children. In this context, the present study aims to unravel the challenges faced by institutional care system which prevent them from performing their core functions and becoming delivering in character. The study is conducted by the authors in five care homes in the state of Odisha, a state in the eastern province of India. Three care homes are government sponsored while two care homes are managed by private trusts. The researchers have used personal interaction and have administered a semi structured interview schedule to collect the information from the five studied care homes. A tripartite objective has guided the study i.e. to probe into the objectives, organisation and operational strategy. The paper notes that institutional child care homes till date though adhere to some common objectives and organisational structure, fail to have a standardised operational strategy which is basically due to the financial crunch and poor financial management and priority fixation. So, the paper recommends the development and administration of a common guidelines to manage the care homes' functioning, to keep a surveillance on their capital use and their goal setting and goal attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article contributes to the discussion on the validity and ways of simplifying modern organisations. There is an increasing focus on simplifying organisations, especially their organisational structures. However, the environment of contemporary organisations is increasingly complex, dynamic and uncertain. Therefore, the postulate of simplicity seems to question Ashby’s law stating that one kind of variety must be balanced by a different kind of variety. To cope with the indicated discrepancy, it is assumed that the simplification of some elements of an organisation is only possible due to the excessive complexity of others. The paper aims to verify the concept of organisational simplexity developed by e Cunha and Rego, which postulates the fit between simple structural solutions, complex workforce and complex environment. However, organisational performance is a factor verifying the legitimacy of the fit. The literature study explored the contradiction inherent in the postulate on the simplification of modern organisations. The contingency theory provided a major framework for the study. The research hypothesis was developed and empirically verified. The empirical study targeted 1142 organisations operating in Poland and Switzerland, different by their industry, size and the form of ownership. To verify the hypothesis, a statistical analysis was carried out, and the multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) method was used. The main result of the critical literature analysis is the finding that theoretical indications for simplifying modern organisations are fragmented, mainly focused on simplifying selected elements of an organisation, not considering the contradiction inherent in the postulate of simplicity related to environmental features and not verified empirically. The notion of the simplexity has been adopted, and it treats the simplicity and complexity as interrelated issues conditioned by situational factors. According to the empirical research results, the fit has been revealed between the degree of structure simplicity, the workforce complexity and the environment features.

This article analyses Finnish in-house translators’ experiences regarding physical location and organisational position. We examine how translators are positioned in the organisational structure of their workplace; where they are physically situated; and how satisfied they are in these respects. We also study whether the statutory status of Swedish as an official language is reflected in the results as compared to other languages translated in-house. The data come from a 2018 survey with 185 respondents. The analysis combines quantitative and qualitative methods. The results indicate that organisational position and physical location are intertwined. The respondents mostly work in the same location as their organisational unit and find their position optimal. Satisfaction with position was particularly high with translators placed within a communication related unit. The results show variety in whether the respondents prefer working close to other translators or to internal commissioners or other experts. The degree of telecommuting varies, with some in-house translators working entirely from home. The results for Swedish are in line with overall results for government translators. Lastly, we suggest further enquiry into topics such as office plans vs. job satisfaction, the motivations behind telecommuting, and links between translator status and agency and organisational position.

Understanding the impact of efficient utilization of firm resources and capabilities is important to achieve and sustain strategic performance. This paper examines firm resources, strategic analysis capability and the moderating role of organisational structure in the relationship between firm resources, strategic analysis capability and strategic performance. The study adopts a survey method to collect data from 105 employees on managerial levels of the four multinational firms operating in the mobile telecommunication sector in Nigeria. The results suggest that human resources, financial resources, strategic analysis capability has a positive and significant relationship with strategic performance. Additionally, organisational structure moderates the relationship between human resources, financial resources, strategic analysis capability and strategic performance. The authors concluded that by recognising the impact of organisational structure on human resources, financial resources and strategic analysis capability, managers/executives can significantly enhance strategic performance.

Purpose: Innovation implies change that causes disruption. Ambidexterity is required to balance disruption and change with the counter side, stability, to enhance efficiency. This study set out to understand how the leadership of an organisation can ensure a focus simultaneously an explore logic, required for innovation, and the exploit functions that are needed for efficiency. Design/methodology/approach: This research sought to shed new light on how leaders manage the structural changes required within an organisation to support ambidexterity. It fits into the inductive research approach. A qualitative, exploratory study through semi-structured interviews was completed to enhance the understanding of this understudied phenomenon. Findings/results: The research builds on the current understanding of ambidexterity, different operating models, integration mechanisms and possible organisational structure to enable simultaneously explore and exploit. Respondents were able to suggest how organisations can utilise the ambidexterity continuum as a vehicle to understand the current organisational change logic and required future strategy. Practical implications: Based on the research findings, a model was conceptualised, which included the leadership capabilities required to deal with both existing core business and new venture processes and structures, as well as the integration of these disparate elements. Originality/value: The literature is not clear as to how leaders engender the changes required within the structure of organisations to enable ambidexterity. The research provides a framework that describes how organisations can balance the explore and exploit functions concurrently, as well as leadership capabilities required to achieve this.