Wie den strukturell bedingten Herausforderungen des Internen Coachings begegnet werden kann

Out of strategic considerations, companies offer their employees coaching as an internal method of personnel development. A wide range of organizational forms can be taken into consideration for those internal coaching offers. As coach and client belong to the same organization, specific areas of conflict can arise in the coaching process. Those will be briefly described. Thereafter it will be discussed how the anticipated conflicts arising during the phase of contract formation can be dealt with. Furthermore it is shown how organizational implementation of internal coaching offers can mitigate the assumed conflicts.     

Understanding the Participation of Critical Task Specialists in Strategic Decision Making*

This paper explores the role of critical task specialists in strategic decision making and presents a theoretical model relating critical task specialist participation in decision making to the organization's overall strategy and the nature of the decision. This exploratory study examines scope and intensity of physician participation in hospital decision making. Intensity of critical task specialist participation is explained by content of the decision and by the organization's strategy, while scope of participation is explained by decision content. The findings suggest the need for more complex models of participation than are normally used in decision-making research. The findings also suggest that executives, in managing strategic decision-making processes, should pay attention to questions of both scope and intensity of participation. The results suggest that critical task specialists play a different role in the decision process, depending on specific decision content and organization strategy.     

The role of vertical conflict in the relationship between leader self-enhancement and leader performance

Although studies have shown that inflated self-perceptions of transformational leadership behavior negatively affect leader performance, insight into the underlying processes explaining this relationship is lacking. The current study addresses this gap by identifying vertical conflict between leaders and subordinates as one such underlying process. Using a sample of 52 leaders supervising 259 subordinates, it was found that leader self-enhancement of transformational leadership behavior is significantly and positively related to vertical conflict about both task and relationship issues. Results further indicate that vertical task conflict rather than vertical relationship conflict mediates the negative relationship between leader self-enhancement and leader performance.     

Diverse effects of diversity: Disaggregating effects of diversity in global virtual teams

Global Virtual Team (GVT) member diversity provides many advantages but also poses many challenges. Diversity comes in different forms that each has different effects on GVT dynamics and performance. Past research typically explored the effect of only one type of diversity at a time. Using multi-source, multi-wave data from 5728 individuals working in 804 consulting project GVTs, the present study is unique in that it explores and compares the effects of different forms of team member diversity on different aspects of GVT effectiveness in a single sample. It proposes a refined theoretical model that differentiates between the effects of personal versus contextual diversity and articulates how these distinct forms of diversity affect different aspects of GVT effectiveness (i.e., task outcomes versus psychological outcomes). The results reveal that (1) team member diversity in general has a substantial effect on GVT effectiveness; (2) contextual diversity has a positive effect on task outcomes; and (3) personal diversity has a negative effect on psychological outcomes. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Unitary, Divisional, And Matrix Forms As Political Governance Systems

In this study I reassess a set of fundamental organization forms (unitary, divisional, and matrix) as agenda-setting and political governance systems. My method of analysis is based on how political scientists study agendas in committees. Specifically, I first recount that moving from a functional (unitary) to a product-line (divisional) structure increases the types of conflict referred from lower to higher levels of the hierarchy, but does not increase the amount of conflict referred. I then show that moving from a product-line to a matrix structure increases the amount and the types of conflict referred to higher levels of the hierarchy; that it is possible in matrix forms that no conflict is resolved at the lowest levels of the hierarchy; and, that accountability is reduced for those who are able to refer conflict. The study reveals implications for matrix forms that derive from this view of organizations as agenda-setting and political governance systems. This analysis fits with the recent history of matrix forms in a variety of organizations.     

Triaging overflow: A case study of the ‘Gateway Assessment’ in the UK Citizens Advice Service

This article explores the impact upon the work of the UK Citizens Advice Service of the ‘Gateway Assessment’ system, a ‘triage device’ rolled out across Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales from 2007 onwards designed to deal with an overflow of client needs.The paper addresses the history of ‘triage’ as a method for dealing with an excess of problematic bodies, before describing how a demonstrable need for systems to organise an overflow of advice needs within Citizens Advice Bureaux led to the emergence of triage as a ‘technique of government’ that would re-shape the advice process. Yet, as an attempt to regulate ‘from above’ the front-line of the Citizens Advice service, it met forms of resistance as existing practices of advice work and local situations fell into conflict with the inflexibility of the Gateway Assessment Process. The paper describes how implementation of the Gateway Assessment involved acts of compliance and acts of resistance, followed by a jostling between actors and a reshaping of the spaces of regulation, resulting in the ‘Gateway Plus’ model in which triage can slip into advice where necessary. We argue that this process displayed a conflict between a framing of overflow as an excess of countable bodies and one of problem-bearing subjects, the latter being derived from the relational and voluntary practice of advice.     

供应链同步化实施策略研究

供应链作为一个概念和现实存在,已远远超出了单一组织的范围。它是一个包括即期收益、组成部分不断重组、适应技术与组织结构等因素不断改进的动态流程。在知识经济信息化时代,建立成功的供应链困难重重,各个企业及组成部分之间的相互作用十分复杂,相互的信任关系难以建立。但是他们别无选择,因为供应链的建设、发展与完善是提高工商企业竞争优势的必然趋势。本文对建立和完善供应链同步化、工商企业供应链策略联合计划的实施、供应链潜在价值的挖掘、以及如何选择正确的供应链和实施联合计划等问题进行了论述。     

Overcoming the dark side of task conflict: Buffering roles of transformational leadership,tenacity, and passion for work

Drawing from the job demands–resources model, this study considers how task conflict reduces employees' job satisfaction, as well as how the negative task conflict–job satisfaction relationship might be buffered by supervisors' transformational leadership and employees' personal resources. Using data from a large organization, the authors show that task conflict reduces job satisfaction, but this effect is weaker at higher levels of transformational leadership, tenacity, and passion for work. The buffering roles of the two personal resources (tenacity and passion for work) are particularly salient when transformational leadership is low. These findings indicate that organizations marked by task-related clashes can counter the accompanying stress by developing adequate leadership and employee resources within their ranks.     

Conflict in the boardroom: a participant observation study of supervisory board dynamics

We develop a conflict-oriented model of board task performance and argue that a common framework, that is, a shared understanding of its role, helps boards to perform well. Conflict is the mediating effect through which this plays out. We posit that a common framework increases board task performance because it reduces intragroup relationship conflicts, increases task conflicts within the board, and reduces conflicts in the relationship between board and CEO. We explore the model through a comparative participant observation study of 11 supervisory boards in action. The results show that while low levels of relationship conflict are typically considered a sign of a well-functioning board, the avoidance of relationship conflict negatively impacts board task performance and may lead to ‘cognitive blindness’. Boards of directors should manage—rather than avoid—relationship conflict. Based on our findings, we suggest an extended model of conflict in boards that takes into account the negative effect of conflict avoidance.     

Management Control Systems: One View of Components and Their Interdependence1

Professor Robert Anthony's statement that ‘control is the process of assuring that the organization does what management wants done’ implies that systems for management control must be broadly conceived. This paper takes the view that a comprehensive view of control systems should include at least five components: performance measurement, strategy, organization structure, direction and motivation. Each of these components reflects management choices, but those choices have implications for the other components. A strategy of dynamic new product development for example, requires a flexible structure, and should have performance measures that relate to the structure and the desired achievements for that strategy. As what is measured signals what is important, the measures provide direction and the basis for incentives and rewards. The interdependence of the components is seen as a key factor in control system design. When the components support each other, the interdependence is a source of strength; conflict or even absence of support among the components can be a source of weakness. This paper describes the components and illustrates ways in which the design of control systems needs to recognize their interdependence. The process of system implementation is also reviewed, as process choices can be independent of design choices. The framework is related to prior research and writing, showing that the components are themselves complex and have been the focus of extensive study. Finally, several teaching cases are decribed in order to show how the design issues may appear in practice and how the framework can be used to help teach management control systems.     

How project strategy is used in project management: Cases of new product development and software development projects

Project strategy is an emerging concept in the research literature on project management. Many authors suggest that such a strategy should be used by a project team as a guideline for effectively performing project activities. In this study, we explore how project strategy is used. We found that the project teams applied various forms of project strategy, namely, Product Superiority, Customer Intimacy, and Time-to-Market strategies. A combination of these strategies was also used. This study contributes to the literature in the area of strategic alignment and strategy implementation. It also helps practitioners better understand how to implement project strategy.     

Renegotiating health care. Interview by Richard L. Reece

Richard L. Reece, MD, interviewed Leonard Marcus, PhD, on May 21, 1999, to talk about his book, Renegotiating Healthcare, Resolving Conflict to Build Collaboration, and the Program for Healthcare Negotiation and Conflict Resolution he directs at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Marcus discusses conflict management and negotiation in an industry besieged by change . He says, "we are, in effect, renegotiating the very assumptions and premises that have guided the health care system over the last few decades." In such a turbulent environment, it is crucial that all stakeholders can move to higher ground and resolve their differences instead of escalating the war. The key, Marcus says, is providing options through interest-based negotiation and mediation, so that the parties can look at the bigger picture and reconnect with what they are all committed to accomplishing in health care. While conflict can be destructive, it also can provide opportunities for people to look at where there are problems, to identify and correct those problems, and achieve something even better than what they began with through the process.     

The Strategy and Management Control Systems relationship as emerging dynamic process

In this paper we discuss the Management Control Systems (MCSs)–strategy relationship in the light of an empirical analysis. We debate the attention to the fit of MCS and strategy at given moments in time which is typical of a contingency approach, and we search for an understanding of the dynamic evolution of the company over a continuous span of time. We deploy a diachronic analysis which involves a vertical and a horizontal conception of dynamics. We show that instantaneous fit between formal MCS and deliberate strategy is not helpful in illustrating evolution, nor is able to explain success. Conversely, the fit is to be played continuously on MCS and strategies at the level of practices. We also show the role of misfit between MCS and strategy: ambiguity implies the definition of blurred constraints for action which is freed. In this sense, we conclude that in the design of the MCS or strategy, attention does not have to be focused on the reciprocal fit, but rather on the ability of both (MCS and strategy) to support the exploration of new directions of evolution. Our case offers the intuition that identities, beyond practices, account for success in this case, as they embed both practices but also a way of being that, as a set of basic principles, directs behaviour when practices are missing, i.e., in the face of the new.     

An expanded typology of conflict at work: Task,relationship and non-task organizational conflict as social stressors

This study investigated the roles of three types of conflict at work – task, relationship and non-task organizational – in predicting employee strain. These conflict types refer to disputes over issues that are, respectively, work-task specific, driven by emotionally charged interpersonal animosity or rooted in more broad organizationally relevant issues. Findings from a sample of 260 working adults from various organizations in the United States supported the notion that the three types of conflict function as social stressors and are related to a variety of psychological, behavioural and physical strains. They extend previous research based primarily on relationship conflict. Non-task organizational conflict emerged as a key predictor across strain criteria, thus highlighting the importance of including a more complete conceptualization of the conflict construct in social stress research. The results for task conflict are at variance with findings that it can be beneficial, and suggest that its negative relationship with well-being may be due to its co-occurrence with the other forms of conflict. These findings provide support for an expanded typology of conflict.     

The influence of cultural intelligence and emotional intelligence on conflict occurrence and performance in global virtual teams

The role of different types of intelligence in the occurrence of conflict in global virtual teams (GVTs) has largely been overlooked in the literature. As suggested by the theory of multiple intelligences, this study explores how cultural intelligence (CQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ) influence the occurrence of interpersonal, task and process conflicts in GVTs. Furthermore, by drawing on the contingency theory of task conflict and performance in groups and organisational teams, we examine the impact of these different types of conflict on the performance of GVTs. Utilising multilevel analysis, we tested the research model using a sample of 810 graduate and undergraduate business students from 38 different countries who worked in 232 GVTs. The results show that the CQ and EQ of the team members reduce the occurrence of the three different intragroup conflicts in GVTs. We also demonstrate that process conflict negatively affects GVT performance. We discuss the implications for research and practice.     

风险集聚类邻避冲突事件随机演化情景分析

随着中国现代城市管理社区制的推行，由公共设施引发的社区冲突逐步凸显，其中，风险集聚类邻避设施成为引发社区冲突的主要诱因。邻避冲突事件演化过程的复杂性和随机扰动要求现有研究不应局限于确定环境下事件的分析，而应在更加真实的不确定环境下对冲突本身展开探讨。鉴于此，本文以演化博弈论为理论基础，引入高斯白噪声随机干扰项，构建风险集聚类邻避冲突事件中营建企业与周边民众两类群体的随机演化博弈模型，对比分析在无政府监管与政府监管情景下群体策略选择行为的随机演化过程，并利用Matlab进行数值仿真。研究发现：（1）无政府监管情景下，当营建企业采取强硬策略收益小于成本，且周边民众采取抗争策略成本大于收益时，（合作，妥协）是其演化均衡策略组合；营建企业与周边民众策略选择演化速度与初始策略选择概率密切相关。（2）政府监管情景下，当政府监管力度大于营建企业采取强硬策略收益与采取合作策略收益之差，且政府监管力度大于周边民众采取抗争策略收益与采取妥协策略收益之差时，（合作，妥协）是其唯一策略演化均衡点；政府监管力度对营建企业策略选择有显着影响，而对周边民众策略选择无显着影响。（3）随机因素对风险集聚类邻避冲突中营建企业与周边民众策略选择行为产生干扰，但随机模型演化趋势与确定性模型相一致。研究结果表明，政府完善监管机制，赋予公民参与权利，企业建立"柔性"冲突协调机制，民众合法表达利益诉求，推动风险集聚类邻避冲突治理框架的构建。     

Foreign direct investments in manufacturing by district firms: evidence from the Italian chair district

Manufacturing internationalisation is a phenomenon that currently involves several industrial districts. While the literature on industrial districts is wide, few works analyse the (manufacturing) internationalisation dynamics. This study tries to fill this lack by analysing forms, motivation, obstacles and results of the foreign direct investments carried out in one of the most important Italian districts. The research shows how some of the district leading firms have recently combined local presence with a strategy of internationalisation that also involves manufacturing activities through foreign direct investments. The readers can comprehend the main features of the international manufacturing path that is involving one of the most important Italian industrial districts, i.e. the chair district. The research offers a contribution to an area rather neglected in literature – the district (manufacturing) internationalisation dynamics.     

On studying leadership in the strategy field

This article is primarily concerned with the study of leadership in the strategy field. It argues that as our perspective on the strategy process itself changes so too must our perspective on top leadership and our approaches to studying it. From a review of the literature the article identifies some of the current issues and challenges in studying leadership and strategy and argues for more dynamic and contextually-sensitive approaches than those that have dominated up to now. It presents and develops a framework for the future study of leadership based on three main foundations: Mintzberg's (1978) concept of strategy formation, Pettigrew's (1985) contextualism, and the author's empirical studies to date. The framework focuses on the process of leadership and its role within the more inclusive process of strategy formation. This process-within-a-process perspective, it is argued, potentially opens the way to gaining fresh perspective on leadership by inviting attention to such underexplored issues as how and why leadership effectiveness varies with time and context, how the symbolic and substantive aspects of leadership interact to produce outcomes of strategic significance, and how successive leaders and their tenures are connected in the strategy formation process over time. At a time when the field of sociology is showing an increasing interest in the concept of strategy, there appears to be great scope for a more serious infusion of the sociological perspective in the opposite direction, and frameworks, such as the one presented in this paper, may help to get such a movement underway.     

Strategy implementation: A review and an introductory framework

Effective strategy implementation is a critical component of organizational success and a potential source of competitive advantage. However, despite many calls for increased attention, research on the subject remains a disparate constellation of recommendations, case studies, and empirical work that provides insight but lacks a cohesive framework. As a result, strategy research most often treats implementation as a black box and overlooks sources of performance heterogeneity derived from differences in strategy implementation effectiveness. To improve our understanding of the strategy implementation process, and to promote its inclusion in strategy research, the authors systematically review and synthesize findings in the extant strategy implementation literature to abductively derive an integrative framework comprised of three components: (1) actions through which managers influence the implementation process, (2) conditions necessary for strategy implementation effectiveness, and (3) the underlying dynamic managerial capabilities to create the best possible combination of conditions by enacting the most appropriate managerial actions. By explaining the relationships among these three components, we provide an introductory foundational framework on which to build future knowledge about this important field of inquiry.     

Changing Strategy Processes and Strategy Content in Public Sector Organizations? A Longitudinal Case Study of NPM Reforms’ Influence on Strategic Management

New Public Management reforms have been argued to intensify the use of strategic management in public organizations, but there is a need to understand how reforms influence specific aspects such as strategy processes and strategy content. The NPM reforms are expected to formalize and professionalize strategy processes and strategy content towards greater competitiveness, but this may counter cooperation between organizations, which is essential in many areas for overall service provision. Research has provided little empirical knowledge about the simultaneous competition and cooperation in the public sector. This study offers such knowledge via a panel case study of five Danish upper secondary schools over a ten‐year period during a large NPM reform. The study includes three rounds of interviews with school principals before, during and after the reform, combined with secondary data. The study shows that, during reform implementation, strategy processes become more formalized and professionalized, and that teachers, in particular, lose influence. Regarding strategy content, the authors find an increase in external focus and competition, though schools maintain a focus on cooperation. The results suggest that NPM reforms can significantly change strategic management in public organizations, and that this is not necessarily at the expense of cooperation, at least in the short run.