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Article
Publication date: 9 January 2017

Christian Busch, Simon Weber and Reinhardt Schneider

The purpose of this paper, an R&D project, is to select Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS)-unclassified white solid lubricants for…

201

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper, an R&D project, is to select Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS)-unclassified white solid lubricants for formulating special lubricating oils, greases and pastes to prevent tribological systems against fretting wear.

Design/methodology/approach

The scientific methodology reads as follows: market research to select appropriate additives according to the purpose of the R&D project; screening tests to determine the technical performance of the additives; advanced technical studies and tests to validate the technical performance of the lubricating additives; determination of the reaction layers; and clarification of the build-up mechanism of the reaction layers (practical tests).

Findings

The findings of the R&D project can be summarized as follows: the selected white solid lubricants perform in lubricating oils, greases and pastes highly effective against fretting wear. The performance could be shown on the basis of representative test results and highlights its advantages compared to the state of the art.

Research limitations/implications

The research team faced some challenges during the R&D project – the unsuitability of standard test measurements as well as DIN, ISO and ASTM test parameters led to limitations and increased effort.

Originality/value

The motivation and main target to conduct the R&D project was to increase the consumer and operator safety by using unclassified (GHS) high performance lubricants. The findings of the project show clearly that the tasks could be fulfilled. Special, unclassified (GHS) selected white solid lubricants are able to form a reaction layer on metal surfaces and separate effectively the surfaces within the tribological system. No fretting wear accrued. The consumer can gain substantial benefits on the economical side as well as on the ecological side.

Details

Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, vol. 69 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0036-8792

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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1968

J.G. WILLIAMS

Chester Barnard's insistence that authority rests on the consent of the subordinate is difficult to reconcile with the opposing reality that superiors do have the last word…

395

Abstract

Chester Barnard's insistence that authority rests on the consent of the subordinate is difficult to reconcile with the opposing reality that superiors do have the last word. Resolution of this dilemma is unlikely to bo found by prolonging discussions of the legitimation of authority, which may have reached a point of diminishing returns. Co‐existence of coercion and consent may be more satisfactorily explained in terms of Simon's concept of the subordinate's zone of acceptance of authority and the resulting distinction between two different sets of decisional premises, one at the boundary of this zone and the other inside the zone. An addition to Simon's theory of the concept and analysis of compliance proposed by Etzioni gives further insight into the interdependency of superior and subordinate in the authority situation.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

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Article
Publication date: 12 September 2016

Josh Bendickson, Jeff Muldoon, Eric W. Liguori and Phillip E. Davis

By revisiting the agency theory literature, this paper aims to both incrementally advance historical viewpoints and reveal four prominent influences on agency theory: Weber and…

11325

Abstract

Purpose

By revisiting the agency theory literature, this paper aims to both incrementally advance historical viewpoints and reveal four prominent influences on agency theory: Weber and Simon, The Great Depression, Cooperation and the Chicago School. This is critical given that understanding the history behind the authors’ major theoretical lenses is fundamental to using these theories to explain various phenomena.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a plethora of archival sources and following the influence-mapping approach used by other management history scholars, this manuscript synthesizes historical accounts and archival information to provide a clearer picture of the major historical influences in the formation of agency theory.

Findings

We shed light on four areas related to management history that helped propel agency theory. Whereas past scholarship has not recognised them as influencers, we find and show how the industrial revolution, unionization, the stock exchange and other management approaches all played a role in the development of agency theory’s core tenants.

Originality/value

We extend upon the influential people and events that shaped agency theory, thus providing a fuller understanding of the theory’s usefulness. Moreover, we fill in gaps enabling scholars to better understand the context in which the core tenants of agency theory were developed.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 22 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

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Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

Mohamad G. Alkadry and Ronald C. Nyhan

The rational organization has long been an important tool in public administration (Weber, 1968; Simon, 1964; Alkadry, 2003). It is often identified with positive characteristics…

74

Abstract

The rational organization has long been an important tool in public administration (Weber, 1968; Simon, 1964; Alkadry, 2003). It is often identified with positive characteristics such as objectivity, expertise, efficiency, fairness and formalization. However, these same positive characteristics can contribute to a “darker side” of rational organizations. Hummel (1994) articulates this as a “bureaucratic experience” resulting from the interaction between administrators and bureaucracy, while others articulate it as the “organization man” experience. In this article, a conceptual model of the relationship between organizational rationalization and administrator experiences is developed. This model is tested using a survey of front-line administrators and a structural equation model of the relationships between these two concepts. The article concludes with a discussion of alternatives to technical rationality.

Details

International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1093-4537

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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1999

Mark R. Rutgers

An ancient, and most influential, concept in management thought is the idea of rationality. Criticism with regard to a rational approach to management seems to focus on the…

4746

Abstract

An ancient, and most influential, concept in management thought is the idea of rationality. Criticism with regard to a rational approach to management seems to focus on the importance of value issues. It is argued in this article that from a historical‐philosophical perspective values and rationality are not simply each other’s opposites, but closely related. The article sketches the conceptual development of the idea of rationality in philosophical thinking. The adopted focus is to consider the major changes in the meaning of the idea of rationality, and the kind of criticism the idea has encountered. Schematically, the article approaches the conceptual development of a current‐day comprehension of “rationality” by using four episodes: ancient thinking towards wise leadership; the Greek idea of logos; the nineteenth century modernist belief in positivism; and the twentieth century “postmodernist” debate which culminates in Habermas’ “communicative” rationality. An assessment of the meaning of rationality in management thought is undertaken by an initial appraisal of the roots of management thought prior to the emergence of rationality as an idea. This illustrates the often neglected normative basis of management thought, and stresses the importance of managerial “values”. It enables a perspective on the ancient Greek development of meaning for logos, which is the classical precursor for modern day rationality. By appraising the development of rationality as a particular conceptual type, rather than a specific philosophical idea, the non‐normative approach adopted in modernist management writings emerges as being a severely constrained concept. From a philosophical perspective, a reduction of rationality to some kind of “goal‐oriented” action is inadequate. This is because rationality and valuation have traditionally been, and remain, closely linked. As such, the three Es of goal‐rationality (economy, efficiency, and effectiveness) acquire a counterpart that refers to value‐rationality ‐ ethics.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-252X

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Article
Publication date: 5 April 2012

Adli Abouzeedan and Thomas Hedner

The impact of the e-globalization combined with staggering costs for R & D across industries has resulted in the call for new approach to innovation where openness and…

4220

Abstract

Purpose

The impact of the e-globalization combined with staggering costs for R & D across industries has resulted in the call for new approach to innovation where openness and interconnectivity is the role. This new approach is designated as “open innovation”. The new paradigm calls for the sharing of knowledge and resources in conducting innovation activities within and among organizations. As such, one needs to re-orient the structure of the organization to meet these new requirements. On the conceptual level, it becomes a significant undertake to try to grasp how our traditional understanding of the organization can be fitted within the requirements of the open innovation when the environment of the e-globalization is taken in consideration. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the question of how organization structure theories can be coupled to the open innovation paradigm. Out of that analysis the authors propose a new theoretical framework of organizational analysis that takes both the classical knowledge and the new economic context of e-globalization.

Design/methodology/approach

The contemporary period is recognized by the term “new economy”, as a replacement for the “old economy”. Another term of importance is “globalization”, which is coupled to the issue of economy categorization. Humanity launched the modern age of globalization some decades ago, but we are going through a new type of globalization, e-globalization. In the e-globalization, processes are induced basically by the impact of the new tools of communication and information technologies. These dynamic processes have forced a re-thinking of the traditional innovation practices. In the paper, the authors reflect on the changes in relation to the traditional knowledge about organization structure, using a deductive approach and textual analysis and relate that to the requirements of an open innovation paradigm. In the process, the authors introduce the basics of the “theory of internetisation dynamics” as a new potential organizational theoretical framework.

Findings

From the analysis, it was found that some traditional concepts about organization structure and organizing mechanism theories are responsive to the needs of the open paradigm settings while other theories are not. However, each of these is able to contribute to one of the five components of the theory of internetisation dynamics.

Originality/value

The authors argue that by using the correct framework for the analysis of the organizational structure, one can propose a set of strategic steps which would help the companies to re-structure. That would save time and effort for policy-makers and managers of firms, as well as researchers active in this field of organization and organizing processes, who are focused on the open innovation transformation requirements of the firms. Running this analysis would add some input into organizational re-orientation in troubled sectors such as in pharmaceutical industries.

Details

World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-5945

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Article
Publication date: 1 February 1999

Neal Ryan

This paper examines the prospects of developing rational policy processes. The approach taken is to examine two components of policy processes. First, the paper analyses the way…

4268

Abstract

This paper examines the prospects of developing rational policy processes. The approach taken is to examine two components of policy processes. First, the paper analyses the way in which rationality has been applied to three different models, or modes of public administration: Weberian bureaucracy; market or rational actor political behaviour; and managerialism. The analysis suggests that “rational” approaches to public administration are inherently value‐laden, emphasising norms such as institutional integrity, representation or efficiency. Second, analysis is undertaken of policy implementation which is one phase of the policy process. The paper examines “top‐down”, “bottom‐up”, institutional and statutory‐coherence approaches to policy implementation. Contrasts amongst these competing models of policy implementation reinforce previous findings that there appears to be little prospect of achieving policy rationality because of the inability of the current approaches to policy analysis to enable reconciliation of fundamental normative assumptions underpinning the approaches. The current methods utilised by policy analysts do not appear to be able to provide either the tools or the structures required to achieve instrumental rationality in policy sciences.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-252X

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Article
Publication date: 1 December 2000

Heine Andersen

The existence of hierarchies based on reputation in modern science is indisputable. A set of common scientific journals is often assumed to be instrumental in the formation of…

874

Abstract

The existence of hierarchies based on reputation in modern science is indisputable. A set of common scientific journals is often assumed to be instrumental in the formation of these hierarchies. However, the character of the hierarchies, how monolithic/pluralistic they are and the functions of this differentiation have been discussed and caused controversy. The article brings together results from a survey of 788 Danish researchers, mainly from the social sciences, concerning their assessments of the most influential researchers and most important journals. The rankings indicate a pluralistic picture and only a moderate degree of consensus among researchers. Comparisons with (the few) other surveys and with citation data do not suggest this to be a peculiarity of Danish social scientists, however.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 56 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

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Book part
Publication date: 2 December 2013

Seth Abrutyn

A synthesis of the various strands of macro-sociology that is commensurate with a more robust theory of evolutionary institutionalism.

Abstract

Purpose

A synthesis of the various strands of macro-sociology that is commensurate with a more robust theory of evolutionary institutionalism.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing from what may be conceived of as classical institutionalism and from neo-evolutionary sociology and other related traditions, this chapter endeavors to provide a general theory of evolutionary institutionalism as an overview of institutions and institutional autonomy (along with the underlying forces driving the process of autonomy), to present a theory of institutional evolution that delineates the relevant units of selection and evolution, the types of mechanisms that facilitate institutional evolution, and a typology of the sources of variation.

Findings

The chapter constitutes the attempt to provide a theoretical framework intended to engender an improved historical-comparative institutionalism inspired by the works of Max Weber and Herbert Spencer.

Research limitations/implications

The purpose of the theoretical framework presented should not be misconstrued as a general, “grand” theory for the discipline of the sociology as a whole, but rather understood as the model of a common vocabulary for sociologists interested in macro-sociology, institutions, and socio-cultural evolution designed to complement other available models.

Originality/value

As a synthesis, the originality of the theoretical framework presented lies in (1) elucidation of the idea that institutional autonomy as the “master” process of institutional evolution, (2) more precise delineation of the link between meso-level institutional entrepreneurs and institutional evolution, and (3) combination of a body of complementary – yet often loosely linked – bodies of scholarship.

Details

Social Theories of History and Histories of Social Theory
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-219-6

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Article
Publication date: 1 October 1999

Sun Hyung Park

For nearly two decades, in the field of educational administration, Bates’s critical theory has been one of the most vigorous challenges to the value neutral approach of…

2132

Abstract

For nearly two decades, in the field of educational administration, Bates’s critical theory has been one of the most vigorous challenges to the value neutral approach of traditional theories. He has been a key voice claiming that such theories are ideological and mainly concerned with protecting vested interests and class divisions in society. Despite their theoretical endurance and practical implications, the main ideas advocated by Bates’s critical theory have not been examined seriously in the field. This paper analyses the main ideas of Bates’s critical social theory in three ways. First, the major intellectual influences that shaped Bates’s theory are examined. Second, those areas where Bates and Greenfield shared similar views yet took different approaches are considered. Finally, the main arguments that critics raised against Bates are examined and evaluated.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 37 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

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