Browsing Department of Organization (IOA) by Author "Strandgaard Pedersen, Jesper"
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What does it mean for business educators?Mazza, Carmelo; Strandgaard Pedersen, Jesper; Alvarez, José Luis (København, 2003)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In the last decade, scholarly interest has been mainly attracted on the nature of knowledge, mechanisms of knowledge production and the transformation of the institutions diffusing knowledge. Most of these studies share the underlying hypotheses that management knowledge "travels", as a package, from producers to passive receivers. A few exploratory attempts have envisioned an alternative perspective based on the idea of "knowledge consumption". Managers are active receivers of institutionalized knowledge in the course of enacting their organizational roles. Building on this last perspective, first we try to outline the process of knowledge consumption. We describe how sources of knowledge are selected, knowledge is acquired and consumed by assuming that managers are active consumer of management knowledge. Then, we construct the process linking the flows of management knowledge in organizations and the flows of action performed by managers. We sustain that knowledge has to be first dis-embed from the context and artifacts it is in to be translated into a portable form—a standardized artifact, a logic of action, etc. Then, specific courses of action are required to re-embed knowledge in new artifacts, practices or routines (e.g. a budgetary procedure, an organizational process, etc.). So, to re-embed knowledge in new contexts, managers have to mobilize resources and build consensus on the specific courses of action. By assuming this process, two consequences are derived: first, the dis-embedding/re-embedding process is not the outcome of conscious planning; it goes back and forth, allows for controversial or "hypocritical" moves, at least in the short run. In any case, once management knowledge is translated into logics of action, managers have to use their imaginative power to share these logics to mobilize constituencies on priorities and undertake specific courses of actions This supports the idea that the managerial role is intrinsically political. Second, management education cannot simply deals with managerial recipes and rules of thumb. It is increasingly asked for providing non-technical knowledge to help managers exert their political role. To mobilize constituencies and create consensus on controversial decisions, technicalities could be less relevant than business-unrelated knowledge. We hold that has a relevant impact on both the institutional settings and the content of management education. The paper is structured in three parts. First, a framework is proposed to describe management knowledge consumption. Second, we outline the process linking consumed knowledge with actual managerial action. Third, the impact of this perspective on the structure of the institutions diffusing knowledge and on the idea of what is needed to make managerial decisions are explored. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6671 Files in this item: 1
dokument 14.pdf (287.5Kb) -
Boutaiba, Sami; Strandgaard Pedersen, Jesper (København, 2004)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In contemporary society, it is believed that things are changing at an increasingly rapid pace. We see this in newspapers, books, or every speech we listen to that modern (business) life is a race towards new horizons, or towards newness tout court. No matter which standpoint one engages vis-à-vis the rhetoric of change and the accompanying need to innovate and be creative, it is important to reflect upon the way one presents oneself vis-à-vis important stakeholders, including the most invested stakeholder – oneself. It is also within the strong rhetoric of change, that we witness an often-mentioned observation that economic transformation and globalization continue to alter how organizations and employees view work, and that these transformations require that workers and managers understand and adjust to major changes in definitions of and approaches to work, organizational structures, and relationships within and among organizations. Social scientists like Caves (2000) and Florida (2002) argue that creativity, as a resource, is critical for long-term economic development and that creative industries, in particular, act as agents of change that help drive economic development. In fact, creative industries are experiencing rapid growth, both in Denmark (Kultur- og Erhvervspolitisk Redegørelse, 2000; Regeringen, September, 2003) and globally (Pine and Gilmore, 1999), and it is generally believed that there are important lessons to be learnt from the "cultural, creative motor". Yet, they are little understood. Caves (2000) notes that, ‘economists have studied a number of industrial sectors for their special and distinctive features’, but have largely missed ‘the creative industries supplying goods and services that we broadly associate with cultural, artistic, or simply entertainment value’ (Caves, 2000:1).2 What researchers of creative industries have yet to examine, is not only how organizations within the creative industries operate and how the organizational members define and manage work, but also how the very meaning of being a creative company is performed, for example in a process of narrative identity construction. Thus, the purpose of this study is to identify and understand the narrativeforms and processes through which creative enterprises organize and manage their symbolic communication and, in the process, attempt to balance creative-artistic and commercial interests. In this paper, we shall focus upon Zentropa, a filmmaking company that has generally been accredited with the etiquette of ‘creative agent of change’ vis-à-vis the Danish film industry. Thus, Zentropa is recognized as a creative player that has made a difference and it is to this narrative of Zentropa as a creative company that we direct our attention. More specifically, we propose that it matters what narrative is told about a company, and how a specific narrative is enacted, changed, and challenged during the course of a specific development. For a company like Zentropa, for whom the modern mantra ‘there is more identity in deviation than in conformity’ (see e.g. Bauman, 2000; Giddens, 1991; Sennett, 1998), it seems vital to represent and identify themselves as anti-establishment and a rebel with a cause in its way of being a film company in the Danish film field. The very concern with deviation, with being different, seems to force Zentropa to engage in ongoing reflections as to their own narrative identity. In a more general vein, we contend that there is a great need to come to a better understanding of the dynamics of identity (as also pointed out by Albert et al., 2000:14) in a society that appears restless in its infatuated praise of speed, innovation, and change. These are values with consequences for the way we make sense of ourselves and relate to others. Moreover, these are values that seem embodied by the exemplary case chosen in this project, namely Zentropa, an organization that seems almost exhibitionistic in its constant involvement in dialogues in the public space. Thus, Zentropa seems an exemplary case to study the narrative concern of being innovative, as Zentropa has become widely renowned for being innovative and for having contributed to a long-overdue renewal of the Danish film industry, as important characters in the story of Zentropa have narrated themselves as a ‘Maverick’ (Becker, 1982) within the high-framework filmmaking and is generally recognized as a remarkable example of innovativeness in Denmark (Kultur- og Erhvervsministeriet, 2000). This paper focuses more specifically on the way in which Zentropa performs an identity in interaction with one of its very significant others, namely the written press. This paper is in particular interested in studying how organizations through different forms of interaction and communication with the business media present and get their enterprises represented. Communication is obviously not a one-way street, thus this study will focus on the complex interaction between the creative enterprise and the business media. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6720 Files in this item: 1
forside 19 working paper.pdf (156.6Kb) -
Fredslund, Hanne; Strandgaard Pedersen, Jesper (København, 2004)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In recent years, intervention studies have become increasingly popular within occupational health psychology. The vast majority of such studies have focused on interventions themselves and their effects on the working environment and employee health and well-being. Few studies have focused on how the context and processes surrounding the intervention may have influenced the outcomes (Hurrell and Murphy, 1996). Thus, there is still relatively little published research that provides us with information on how to evaluate such strategies and processes (Saksvik, Nytrø, Dahl-Jørgensen, and Mikkelsen, 2002). This paper describes how organisation theory can be used to develop a method for identifying and analysing processes in relation to the implementation of work environment interventions. The reason for using organisation theory is twofold: 1) interventions are never implemented in a vacuum but in a specific organisational context (workplace) with certain characteristics, that the organisation theory can capture, 2) within the organisational sociological field there is a long tradition for studying organisational changes such as workplace interventions. In this paper process is defined as "individual, collective or management perceptions and actions in implementing any intervention and their influence on the overall result of the intervention" (Nytrø, Saksvik, Mikkelsen, Bohle, and Quinlan, 2000). Process evaluation can be used to a) provide feedback for improving interventions, b) interpret the outcomes of effect evaluation and c) replicate interventions in other settings minimising the number of pitfalls associated with a given intervention (Goldenhar et al., 2001). URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6663 Files in this item: 1
11 process evaluation - method.pdf (72.32Kb) -
towards optimal distinctivenes in European film makingAlvarez, José Luis; Mazza, Carmelo; Strandgaard Pedersen, Jesper; Svejenova, Silviya (København, 2003)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Abstract. This paper advances a micro theory of creative action by examining how distinctive artists shield their idiosyncratic styles from the isomorphic pressures of a field. It draws on the cases of three internationally recognized, distinctive European film directors - Pedro Almodóvar (Spain), Nanni Moretti (Italy) and Lars von Trier (Denmark). We argue that in a cinema field, artistic pressures for distinctiveness along with business pressures for profits drive filmmakers’ quest for optimal distinctiveness. This quest seeks both exclusive, unique style and inclusive, audience-appealing artwork with legitimacy in the field. Our theory of creative action for optimal distinctiveness suggests that film directors increase their control by personally consolidating artistic and production roles, by forming close partnership with committed producer, and by establishing own production company. Ironically, to escape the iron cage of local cinema fields, film directors increasingly control the coupling of art and business, hence forging their own "iron cage". "[T]he unusual and paradoxical place that Pedro [Almodóvar] has been able to find: we are within the industry but we preserve our peculiarity." (Agustín Almodóvar, 2001). Optimal distinctiveness: "social identity is viewed as reconciliation of opposing needs for assimilation and differentiation from others." (Marilynn Brewer, 1991). URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6672 Files in this item: 1
papers in oraganization, no.49 2003.pdf (302.8Kb)
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