Browsing Department of Management, Politics and Philosophy (MPP/LPF) by Year Published
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A History of Danish School Governing from 1970-2010Grønbæk Pors, Justine (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In Denmark, as in many other welfare states, we strongly believe that problems within the public sector can be solved by means of better management. For quite some years it has been assumed that management leads to more control over and better quality of welfare. Politicians and public servants have therefore been concerned with how the individual hospital, nursing home and school can develop its management. This has created a somewhat strange problem: How is it possible from a position at the top of a governing hierarchy to create management capacity from below? This thesis is about how Danish local government, municipalities, have developed understandings of governing relations between themselves and the public school over the last 40 years. The thesis tracks how municipalities have gradually assigned organizational independence to the individual school and increased their expectations of its self-management.... URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8355 Files in this item: 1
Justine_Grønbæk_Pors.pdf (4.586Mb) -
Førsokratisk informeret, ny-aristotelisk ἦθος-tænkning hos Martin HeideggerMoesby Jensen, Tommy (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Afhandlingens tematiske sag er en genvindelse af Heideggers tænkning og tænkevej som en før-sokratisk informeret, ny-aristotelisk ἦθος-tænkning og dette som en rekonstruktion af antik selv-ledelses-tænkning. I Komposition, referencer, oversættelser og forkortelser udvikles blandt andet en særlig forbindelse mellem referentialitet og afhandlingens komposition, under inspiration fra Heideggers egen brug af inter- og intra-tekstualitet, og vigtige kilder og formalia præsenteres. Kompositionen og dermed afhandlingens enkelte §’er er tænkt således, at en række temaer gennem afhandlingen ofte forbinder sig med tidligere udviklede temaer, som nu sættes anderledes i spil og ind i nye sammenhænge, og herved oplyses det tidligere og det senere udviklede i en gensidighed. Sagt på en anden måde, så vil en lang række forberedende behandlinger finde en senere udfoldelse, og dette angivet som en tendens i kompositionen....... URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8028 Files in this item: 1
Tommy_Moesby_Jensen.pdf (2.160Mb) -
Studier i den biopolitiske ambivalensCarnera, Alexander (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This rather substantial summary will encapsulate what is the meaning of Performance Society. This work consists of three thesis elements touching on politics, economy and art that confront the question of biopolitics. The work describes a power over life (biopower) and will follow a twofold logic: the first is expressed through state administration and management technologies; the second is expressed as localized in life itself as subject [zoe] in new modes of production of work through the power of imagination, self‐creation, and affectproduction within Art and Culture. The summary is organized around three different themes. Each of these themes constitutes my contribution to the field of biopolitics..... URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8019 Files in this item: 1
Alexander_Carnera.pdf (7.796Mb) -
Relasjonen mellom virksomhetsledelse og kontraktshåndtering, belyst via fire norske virksomheterSimilä, Jan Ole (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Why do we focus on the internal arrangements of the contractual process from a leadership perspective? Through empirical research where we have asked questions about the internal organizational arrangements, what kind of knowledge the organization need, and how institutional arrangements affect the contract process, we have tried to answer the main research question. We have also carried with us a question of if the organization's attachment to the public or private sector affects the arrangements. I have conducted a comparative case study where data has been generated from two public sector organizations, The National Road Administration, Helsebygg Midt-Norge, one private sector organization, Siemens, and one hybrid organization, NTE. Data was primarily generated from the governance system of the different organizations, and informant interviews. The analysis was carried out by two steps; first an empirical analysis, then a theoretical analysis, based on contractual theory, of the empirical findings. The empirical analysis shows that the organizations share the same thoughts on how to organize the contractual work; the division between the line and the project organization, the distribution of decision-making authority, and the institutionalization of a specific governance system. The organizational processes are formalized, and the governance system gives the clear recommendation on desired actions. The empirical data gives a clear understanding that the contract process is dominated by one profession — the engineers. Regarding the question on knowledge, I found the organizations to be interested foremost on problem solving competencies (engineering competencies). Other competencies, for example economic or legal competencies, where viewed as support competencies. We also found that personal skills in handling the complex and difficult processes and attitude toward ethics seemed to be of importance. On the question on how institutional elements in the organizational environment affected the contract process, we found that the overall interest of the organizations was stability and predictability. We also found that the market mechanisms cause the organizations some worry. In the end, the empirical findings did not give us any strong reasons to differentiate between public sector organizations and private sector organizations in how to deal with contractual work processes. The theoretical analysis has been carried out within classical and relational contract theory. The analysis shows that the empirical findings, to a great extend, can be explained through classical contract theory. It also gives us some ideas on what areas of the theory, especially relational contract theory that should be improved. Regarding the main research question, the conclusions indicate a need to establish a comprehensive approach to the contract process, to ensure a good balance between different partial processes. There also seem to be necessary to work on improvements on contract theory to increase the applicability of the theory, especially the relational contract theory. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8011 Files in this item: 1
Jan_Ole_Similä.pdf (2.216Mb) -
Change management challenges in the Danish police reformDegnegaard, Rex (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Since its commencement in January 2007, the Danish police reform has been a hot topic in the media, at universities, dinner parties, and in waiting rooms. The general perception of the police reform is that it is a failure. During 2008, the reform has been subject to much public debate, which has linked many unfortunate cases of police neglect with the police reform. Furthermore, the public debate has created a picture of a police not in control and with the reform to blame. Given this troublesome context of the police reform, the question which everyone is asking is: why did it go wrong? Along with the question of: whose fault was it? The current thesis does not provide one single answer to the chaotic situation surrounding the police reform. Neither does it place the responsibility of the unforeseen consequences of the police reform. Rather, this thesis focuses on unforeseen consequences of the reform in regards to change management and organizational implications. This thesis is submitted as a doctoral thesis at Copenhagen Business School in completion of a three-year Ph.D. study. The thesis is the result of a longitudinal research study on change management challenges in the Danish police reform. The study rests on a multi-sited methodology compromising an array of research methods such as interviews, field studies, presentations, meetings, written document studies, etc. over the course of the three years’ duration of the study. The study draws from different strands of literature, primarily change management literature and institutional literature, including resource dependency theory. The research question, which guides the thesis, is as follows: What are the change management challenges and the organizational implications of introducing a reform, which has a functional-rational logic of modernization and efficiency to the Danish police, which is a strongly institutionalized organization? The research question has been answered through the analysis, which is divided into three sections: - Change management in the reform, - Content of the police reform, and - The external control of the police. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8008 Files in this item: 1
Rex_Degnegaard_endelig.pdf (4.848Mb) -
Flexibility, performance and commitment in work-life managementRaastrup Kristensen, Anders (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This thesis offers a critical contribution to the theories of work-life balance. Within the contemporary theoretical perspectives on work and life the individuals are constructed as being responsible for work-life balance by turning it into a problem of the personal behaviour, decisions, psychological traits and family condition of the human subject. In this sense the everyday problem of balancing between work and home is reduced to be primarily an individual problem and decision. When the problem of work-life balance is raised in this way, it is difficult for companies to offer managerial and organizational solutions that do not automatically exclude this as an individual problem. It might be possible for managers and organizations to help the employees in achieving work-life balance, but it is fundamentally a challenge that the individual employees must solve. The thesis offers a different perspective on the relation between work and life. This perspective is not based upon the individual employees’ perception and hence constitution of work-life balance. Instead, it is argued that the constitution of the relation of work and life is to be found in its effects. These effects are not established in the constitution of the boundary between work and home, but are rather recognized by how the employees determine and define activities and tasks as work. For example, is it work to send email in the evening? Is it work to read an article at the weekend? Is it work to update a profile on Facebook? The question is therefore ‘what is work?’ and not ‘what is the boundary between work and home?’ URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7973 Files in this item: 1
Anders_Raastrup_Kristensen.pdf (4.374Mb) -
Public debate as the solution to controversies about science and technologyHorst, Maja (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Developments in biotechnology have sparked a number of social controversies during the last decades and it has been common to understand public debate as a necessary prerequisite for the ability to deal with these controversies. This is particularly true in the case of Denmark, where public debate has been taking place for more than 25 years, and the paper uses the Danish example to argue that controversies about biotechnology intersect with fundamental political discussions about order and control in today’s knowledge society. Inspired by cultural theory and the work of Mary Douglas, it is proposed that arguments about biotechnology are justified by reference to particular articulations of social order. Her four notions of social order are identified in the analysis of a sample of arguments from four major Danish newspapers. On the basis of this typology, the paper examines the broad discursive consensus in favour of public debate and participatory exercises regarding the social responses to biotechnology. It does, however, simultaneously point to inherent tensions in the expectations towards public debate and its role in the creation of solutions to controversies over science and technology. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8270 Files in this item: 1
Horst 2010.pdf (131.9Kb) -
On Consensus, Consensusing and False ConsensusnessHorst, Maja; Irwin, Alan (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In response to the recent troubled history of risk-related technological development in Europe, one institutional reaction has been to advocate public deliberation as a means of achieving broad societal consensus over socio-scientific futures. We focus on ‘consensusing’ and the expectation of consensus, and consider both their roots and their performative consequences. We argue that consensus should be seen not simply as the absence of disagreement but as a particular political and ideological formation. We consider and explore the Danish model based on the folkelig concept of the common good, before turning to the wider European movement towards consensus-building. As presented here, consensusing becomes a focus for political contestation but also for nation- and institution-building. Rather than evaluating deliberation solely in terms of its short-term instrumental effects, consensusing should also be understood as performative of national and inter-national identity. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8268 Files in this item: 1
Horst og Irwin 2010.pdf (120.8Kb) -
Kampagnestyring i Velfærdsstaten: En diskussion af trafikkampagners styringspotentialeSpeiermann, Sabrina (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
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Et mixed method studie, der belyser læringskonsekvenser af et lederkursus for et praksisfællesskab af offentlige mellemledereMoesby-Jensen, Cecilie K. (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The English title of this dissertation, which in the outset was an integrated part of a larger intervention study on the effects of team manager training, is: Social learning and shared practice. A mixed method study showing the learning consequences of a training course for a community of practice of public middle managers. Due to the growth of the elderly population in Denmark and, simultaneously, the fact that a large part of Danish health care workers soon face retirement, in addition to the challenge regarding the recruitment and the holding on to employees in the public health care sector in Denmark in the coming years, this sector is confronted with the task of creating and sustaining sought-after workplaces and one way of doing this is by organizing the work in a efficient and attractive way for the employees, for instance in compliance with the idea of teamwork. This entails change, education and learning, and this dissertation investigates, in a case-study, the social learning consequences of a training course for middle managers in the Danish health care system, and thus poses the research question: What are the intended and unintended learning consequences of the training course ”Managing teams”?.... URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8049 Files in this item: 1
Cecilie_Moesby-Jensen.pdf (3.331Mb) -
Raffnsøe, Sverre (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: L’événement joue un rôle central peut-être un peu sous-estimé chez Michel Foucault. Dans cet article on essaierait de combler cette lacune, en rendant compte du rôle de l’événement dans la pensée de Foucault pour jeter un jour nouveau sur les traits de l’événement en général et le rôle de l’événement dans le livre The Music of Chance de Paul Auster en particulier. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8176 Files in this item: 1
Sverre_Raffnsoe_WP_1-2010.pdf (178.5Kb) -
The art of creating sociality. Key note presentation at the conference: Entrepreneurial Societies and the English-speaking World: Cultures, Contexts, Perspectives, Paris, September 16-18th, University Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 3.Hjorth, Daniel (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
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Abstract: The thesis is a thorough empirical study of discourses, fantasies, and patterns of interaction in highinvolvement knowledge work. My interest in the issue was sparked by a fascination with the intensity and contradictory nature of working life for many high-skilled workers. I was curious about the ambiguities and paradoxes existing within the same dynamic, and I was puzzled by the fact that such tension-ridden and precarious machinery could keep functioning despite its constant episodes of breakdown – be they emotional or organizational. My intention was to find a gaze and a language which could capture these ambiguities and tensions, rather than insisting on classical dualisms such as profit versus meaning, instrumentality versus authenticity, power versus freedom, and influence versus vulnerability...... URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8061 Files in this item: 1
Susanne_Ekman.pdf (2.207Mb) -
Sløk, Camilla; Ryberg, Marie (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Denne rapport undersøger, hvordan strategisk ledelse bliver beskrevet i kvalitative interviews med 22 skoleledere fordelt over størstedelen af landet. Dvs. kommunerne Odense, Fåborg-Midtfyn, Assens, Nyborg, Fredericia, Syddjurs, Skanderborg, Mariager Fjord, Silkeborg, Frederikshavn, Aalborg, Ringkøbing-Skjern, Varde, Fredensborg, Rudersdal, Lyngby-Taarbæk, Frederiksberg, Haderslev, Gladsaxe og Køge. Baggrunden for undersøgelsen er OECD’s kritik (2007) af, at der foregår for lidt strategisk ledelse i folkeskolen og for meget pædagogisk/faglig ledelse. Formålet med undersøgelsen var gennem interviews at skabe forståelse for, hvordan skoleledere selv 1) forstår og 2) arbejder med strategisk ledelse, når man giver dem ordet i en interviewundersøgelse. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8271 Files in this item: 1
Strategisk_ledelse_i_folkeskolen.pdf (745.4Kb) -
Hvidbog om international forskning inden for skoleledelseRatner, Helene (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7953 Files in this item: 1
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A study of the pathologies of performativityJohnsen, Rasmus (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Temaet for denne afhandling er en undersøgelse af tre historiske ’formationer’ organiseret omkring en ’ting’ i kroppen i melankoliens brede og farverige historie i et forsøg på at skabe baggrund for en filosofisk undersøgelse af sammenhængen mellem patologi, arbejde og performativitet i samtiden. I denne forstand er der tale om et stykke filosofisk grundforskning, der forsøger at etablere og åbne et felt for mødet mellem de klassiske, filosofiske discipliner, og temaer i organisationsteori og ledelsesfilosofi. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7929 Files in this item: 1
Rasmus_Johnsen.pdf (1.060Mb) -
In search of micro-foundationsKnudsen, Line Gry (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The aim of this thesis is to improve the understanding of how collaborative R&D capabilities come about and how they are jointly determined by individual and organizational level factors. I argue that despite the fact that a surge of interest in inter-organizational collaboration has been witnessed in research fields as diverse as strategic management, economics, sociology, and organization theory, we know very little about the micro-foundations of collaborative R&D capabilities. Processes going on internally in collaborating firms are treated like a ‘black box’ in many strands of research. How, we may ask, does openness towards external knowledge sources lead to enhanced R&D performance? What are the internal organizational mechanisms that facilitate the collaborative processes? How are specific collaborative capabilities developed to ensure collaborative success, and—most importantly—what is their composition in terms of organizational and individual level factors? In this thesis these and related questions are addressed by means of empirical as well as theoretical analyses. It is argued that studies of strategic alliances and R&D collaborations have suffered from being mainly conducted on large datasets and with little attention to individual level factors that may be key drivers of alliance success. The case-study methodology is emphasized as a useful complementary method as it entails the option of learning from the employees engaged in the formation and operation of collaborative arrangements. Three narrative studies are undertaken with the aim of identifying the micro-foundations of collaborative R&D capability in the firms. This is done to provide an explorative overview of the determinants rather than to evaluate the degree to which the capabilities have been implemented successfully leading to better performance. The objective is thus to challenge the existing theories in the field of strategic alliances and to qualify them by joining theoretical knowledge about firm level benefits of R&D alliances with theories on individual level work motivation, and behaviors in connection to R&D collaboration. The study is focused on knowledge intensive firms (as distinct from ‘supplier dominated firms’, ‘specialized equipment suppliers’ or ‘scale intensive firms’). It is stressed that even core knowledge used in the various R&D or innovation processes does not necessarily need to stem from sources internal to the firm, but is likely to originate externally. R&D collaboration has become an important means to foster opportunities to learn, and to access, transfer and utilize knowledge to create innovative solutions But very high failure rates are shown and between fifty and seventy percent of all alliances do not justify the expectations. This vindicates a better understanding of collaborative R&D capabilities. A study of the micro-foundations of these capabilities is both timely and warranted. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7925 Files in this item: 1
Line_Gry_Knudsen_1.pdf (1.469Mb) -
On the Vulnerability of Diversity ManagementMuhr, Sara Louise (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Denne afhandling handler om mangfoldighed og etik. Mere specifikt sætter den spørgsmålstegn ved mangfoldighedsledelsens etiske fundament. Mangfoldighed ønskes ledet med det udgangspunkt, at det er et etisk anliggende. Det er etisk korrekt at sørge for ligestilling, at tilgodese minoriteter og dermed at opbygge en arbejdsplads, der er social ansvarlig. Dette etiske ønske betvivler jeg ikke, men jeg sætter spørgsmålstegn ved det etiske grundsyn. Mangfoldighedsledelse beror på etiske retninger som utilitarisme, deontologi og dydsetik. Denne afhandling argumenterer derfor for et skift mod en nærhedsetik, der tager udgangspunkt i Levinas’ lære om respekten for den Andens uendelige andethed. Derved argumenterer denne afhandling, at når forskelligheder på denne måde tydeliggøres og kategoriseres, øges fokus på forskellighederne—oftest negativt—i stedet for at tilgodese dem for hvad de i virkeligheden er. Afhandlingen konkluderes ved at sætte fokus på skrøbelighed. Først på den skrøbelighed i mangfoldighedsledelseslitteraturen, som ’kalder’ på etisk afbrydelse, derved på skrøbeligheden i den Sydafrikanske situation, og til sidst på den skrøbelighed jeg som forfatter har overfor min egen tekst. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7736 Files in this item: 1
Sara_Louise_Muhr.pdf (1.458Mb) -
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Abstract: Dette historiske essay angående en afhandling af den store mediciner Galen fra Pergamon (c.129-200 e.Kr.) udgør anden del af en serie om filosofiske grænseområder i den senhellenistiske periode hvis første del består i en oversættelse med filosofisk kommentar til Lukian fra Samosatas (c.120-180 e.Kr.) Filosofiske leveveje til salg.* Men hvor digteren Lukians dialog fraskriver sig stort set al filosofi som frugtesløst for menneskelivet i bred og praktisk forstand, peger Galens tekst i stedet på hvordan medicinen må og skal inddrage den filosofiske tradition hvis den skal evne at forsvare sig imod en tvivlsom mekanistisk naturfilosofi som i Galens tid trængte sig ind på både lægekunst og -videnskab og truede med at nedbryde dem indefra. Ligesom Lukians satire giver også Galens tekst et særegent indblik i diskussionen mellem flere af antikkens etablerede filosofiske retninger – såvel platonisme, aristotelisme, epikuræisme og stoicisme som »atomisme« og »vitalisme«. Samtidig fremstiller Galens tekst også en omtolkning af arven særligt fra Platon og Aristoteles hvor disse forfatteres grundlæggende »psykologiske« lære om menneskekroppen tildeles en mere »fysiologisk« prægning der på sin side synes at pege i retning af senere tiders dualisme. Endelig præsenterer teksten et af verdenshistoriens første naturvidenskabelige eksperimenter, men indenfor helt andre rammer end dem der langt senere formuleres i og med den naturvidenskabelige revolution i det 17. århundrede: Hos Galen vendtes eksperimentet imod en mekanistisk og almindeligt eksperimentel naturforståelse i et forsøg på at vise hvordan naturen egenhændigt kan fortælle og fremvise sin egen omfattende sandhed. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7907 Files in this item: 1
WP1-2009.pdf (238.5Kb) -
Key note présentation at the ESU Conference, 2009, Benevento, Italy, September 8th – 13thHjorth, Daniel (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]