Describes the organisational consequences of differences in perception of building owning and non‐building owning space users. It explains the “threshold” at which facilities…
Abstract
Describes the organisational consequences of differences in perception of building owning and non‐building owning space users. It explains the “threshold” at which facilities management (FM) becomes viable. What FM does and the cost centres it targets are reviewed. This article is aimed not so much at facility managers – preaching to the converted – but at directors of organisations who have not yet taken FM on board.
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This paper briefly describes problems in the methodology of a 1994 World Health Organisation Study of Building Health in office workers. The advantages of the Works Canada Office…
Abstract
This paper briefly describes problems in the methodology of a 1994 World Health Organisation Study of Building Health in office workers. The advantages of the Works Canada Office User Satisfaction Survey instrument are described. The Works Canada Survey’s application to 16 regional Queensland Government offices is described in relation to its ability to target building maintenance and refurbishment related to occupant satisfaction and productivity. The article describes modifications made to the Works Canada instrument to adapt it to Australasian conditions, and also to introduce Building Health parameters. The paper describes its application to benchmark the performance of four of the University of Auckland’s office accommodation buildings. The benefits that facility managers can make from such a survey methodology are discussed.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe the application of a new method using instruments with increased ability to objectively assess and quantify the performance impacts on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the application of a new method using instruments with increased ability to objectively assess and quantify the performance impacts on office workers in built environment settings.
Design/methodology/approach
A Distractibility Index (DI) was calculated for sample employees, who then used a computer‐based instrument in two settings to evaluate cognitive impairment
Findings
There was measured cognitive impairment in higher distracting work environments. There is potential to use DI to predict performance detriments and aid better workplace design/management.
Research limitations/implications
The study employed only a small sample size. The level of noise and other distractions in the settings studied need to be measured objectively. There is a need to differentiate between various sources of distraction in terms of their impact on cognitive impairment.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper can help to improve workplace performance, with less reliance on physical design solutions.
Originality/value
Workplace performance evaluations typically use subjective measures and self‐assessments. Modern work is increasingly cognitive, and hence new computer‐based and more objective tools are required. The tool used in this research has been highly validated in other applications.
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The following is an introductory profile of the fastest growing firms over the three-year period of the study listed by corporate reputation ranking order. The business activities…
Abstract
The following is an introductory profile of the fastest growing firms over the three-year period of the study listed by corporate reputation ranking order. The business activities in which the firms are engaged are outlined to provide background information for the reader.
Simon Friis and Ezra W. Zuckerman Sivan
The purpose of this theoretical chapter is to rework a promising but limited theory of the foundations of reciprocity. Reciprocity is often attributed to an “internalized norm of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this theoretical chapter is to rework a promising but limited theory of the foundations of reciprocity. Reciprocity is often attributed to an “internalized norm of reciprocity” – a deeply felt moral obligation to help those who have helped us in the past. Leifer's theory of local action develops a radically different and compelling foundation for reciprocity – one in which the impetus for reciprocity is a thinly veiled battle for status. We rework the theory to offer a new one that addresses its limitations. The key idea is that the impetus for reciprocity is the desire to signal that one intends to create joint value rather than to capture it from the counterparty.
Approach
Our analytical approach rests on close examination of a puzzling and underrecognized feature of social exchange: people who initiate social exchange routinely deny giving anything of value (“it was nothing”) while the receiver inflates their indebtedness to the giver (“this is too much!”). We refer to this negotiation strategy as reverse bargaining and use it as a window into the logic of social exchange.
Contribution
We develop a more general theory of how people manage the threat of opportunism in social exchange that subsumes local action theory. The key insight is that people who initiate social exchange and seek reciprocity must balance two competing objectives: to ensure that the person receiving a benefit recognizes a debt she must repay; and to mitigate the receiver's suspicion that the giver's ulterior motive is to capture value from the receiver.
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Seeks out whether technical performance indicators may be challenged by perception data thereby forcing a paradigm shift in building assessment. Reports the development of a…
Abstract
Seeks out whether technical performance indicators may be challenged by perception data thereby forcing a paradigm shift in building assessment. Reports the development of a conceptual framework and thereby justification of methodological approaches for a currently undertaken research project. Employs a subjective approach, based on inhabitants’ perceptions of their own environments. Concludes the measure of productivity used herein may be questionable but the use of productivity as the performance variable (against cost) is recognition of peoples’ importance as occupiers and their views equally so.
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Rotem Rittblat and Amalya L. Oliver
In this paper, we examine the roles of innovation experts in organizations as part of a new and evolving field of knowledge. In our examination, we integrate two fields of study…
Abstract
In this paper, we examine the roles of innovation experts in organizations as part of a new and evolving field of knowledge. In our examination, we integrate two fields of study: the rise of new experts in organizations and the development of role identity. Our main goal is to map the epistemological processes these new experts go through coupled with their perceived identity, roles, and duties. Based on interviews with 33 innovation experts in profit and nonprofit organizations, we analyze the role expectations, the complexities associated with this role, and the unfolding identity processes. The analysis is based on three analytical lenses for understanding the identity processes of innovation experts in organizations: “becoming,” “doing,” and “relating.” Our findings are that identity work is needed to facilitate adaptation and reduce ambiguity in the work of innovation experts.
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Gavin Melles, Neil Anderson, Tom Barrett and Scott Thompson-Whiteside
Design thinking has become something of a buzz word in innovation discussions and has recently also invested occupied education spaces. In this chapter we briefly compare design…
Abstract
Design thinking has become something of a buzz word in innovation discussions and has recently also invested occupied education spaces. In this chapter we briefly compare design thinking to problem-based learning (PBL) and enquiry-based learning (EBL) approaches to problem solving in education before focusing on the approach itself and current debates about its meaning and significance. This chapter focuses particular attention on the problem finding aspect of design thinking and its integration of creative methods for solving a range of tame to wicked problems in a variety of spaces. We ground our analysis in three environments of design thinking and five specific cases of application across education sectors from primary through to university. The examples focus on the generative potential of design thinking for all students and especially those from non-design disciplines. It is this capacity of design thinking to complement existing pedagogies and provide inspiration for change and innovation that is the strength of the model.
This article notes the growing attractiveness of concepts “borrowed” from chaos theory in organizational studies. Many of these interpretations display sentiments broadly…
Abstract
This article notes the growing attractiveness of concepts “borrowed” from chaos theory in organizational studies. Many of these interpretations display sentiments broadly congruent with a “postmodern” approach to organization. Indeed chaos theory itself is presented as part of a similar postmodern shift within natural science. However, these sentiments have been subject to stinging criticism by scientists. Here, the deterministic underpinning of chaos theory is used to show that chaos theory is an entirely modernist enterprise. In this case the indeterministic messages taken by organizational theorists are something of a misunderstanding. Consequently, I discuss whether this is enough to threaten the interdisciplinary status of chaos theory, particularly when it is used in a self-consciously ‘metaphorical’ fashion.