Scandinavian Journal of Management Studies最新文献

As a result of a change of government and a period of economic crisis in Sweden, the public and the private sectors changed roles in the eyes of public opinion. The public sector, previously a positive model of social action, became an “ugly sister” of the supposedly more effective and more efficient private sector. This article, based on interviews with the General Directors of Swedish central government agencies, presents the consequences of these events for the self-image, leadership and personnel management within the public sector. The analysis suggests that a vicious circle has been formed: as long as the public sector is evaluated on the basis of criteria taken from the private sector, there is no room for improvements.

Organizational culture and symbolism research are discussed with special reference to and concentration on those aspects of organizational life. It is argued that a large parts of the literature in this field overemphasizes rather insignificant aspects of organizations. Questions regarding the validity problem in studies of the cultural dimension of organizations are also raised. It is suggested that the culture research in many cases would benefit from a more restricted use of the symbol concept. A redirection of focus from the purely ideational aspects, unimportant rites and other symbols, to the social practices connected with the core of the people's work situation in organizations, might increase the value of this important and promising research field in organizational analysis.

Industrial product development is a rather risky investment because of the high frequency of failure. Still, it is generally discussed in terms of normative process models in which one phase follows another in an orderly fashion.

However, elements of doubt can be cast on the models. Assuming that the objective of product development is to increase the competitiveness of the company involved, the number of variables to take into account in such a model are enormous. Analysing product development at a lower level is therefore proposed. It is suggested that such an analysis is useful for reducing business risks as well as focusing management on relevant issues. It is also believed that it will contribute to a better holistic understanding of product development.

An analytical model of control cycles taking place in declining economic organizations is proposed. The main conjecture is that in the face of decline management tends to move from looser to tighter modes of control. Four modes of control are described: coercive control, direct control, ideological control and ecological control. On the basis of existing studies, the differences in reactions of management in various organiations (market-related and budget-related) are discussed. The change of perspective, with unions as the main actor, leads to the presentation of a counter-control cycle.

The analysis suggests that tightening of internal control is a defensive reaction of management, who perceives it as a most obvious strategy in coping with decline. It is suggested that an opposite strategy, i.e. of loosening control in the face of decline, may produce more flexibility and therefore constitute a more functional reaction to decline.

The view is taken that management researchers will need a somewhat detached attitude to the immediate problems of practitioners. Close cooperation with business practitioners is often a prerequisite for good management research, but this does not mean that the practitioner's criteria for evaluating research should supersede more independent scientific criteria. Some trends in the present methodology and research practice enhance the problem that management research may have little to contribute in terms of integrated theory. In the long run, immediate external validity of research results is an inadequate criterion of progress.

A survey was conducted among 300 major U.S. multinationals to examine their foreign exchange risk management practices. Two-thirds of the respondents, generally the larger ones, had formal written policies for managing foreign exchange risks. Approximately one-third of a firm's exposure to foreign exchange risks was covered through hedging operations. The vast majority of firms were using techniques such as intra-corporate netting of corporate transactions, and speeding up or delaying remittances, accounts receivable, and accounts payable. Minimal utilization of interest arbitraging indicated that very few firms were actively involved in speculating in foreign exchange markets. The results of the survey provided a basis for discussing some normative guidelines for managing foreign exchange risks.

A change in control in an organization may be a means to find and decrease slack. We claim that during the economic recession of the 1970s, the change of control in the states of Sweden and Finland has been different from the changes within the firms of these countries. Firms appear to have reacted to the declining demand by increasing centralization of authority. In the public sector, on the other hand, there seems to have been an increasing decentralization to the level which controls the implementation of welfare, that is, the municipalities.

We discuss the different strategies of the states and the companies. We also touch on the possible impact these different strategies can have on municipalities. Special attention is paid to the impact on the municipalities dominated by firms which are units of big companies with their main interest located elsewhere.