Development of Managerial Reporting for a Pulp and Paper Technology Supplier

Työn tavoitteena oli yritysjohdon käyttämän sisäisen raportin kehittäminen vastaamaan paremmin johdon tarpeita. Teoriaosuuden tarkoituksena oli selvittää kirjallisuuden avulla sisäisen raportin käyttöä johdon työkaluna, hyvän raportin vaatimuksia ja yleisiä raportoinnin periaatteita. Empiirinen osuus toteutettiin haastatteluiden avulla ja analysoimalla case-yrityksen sisäisiä raportteja. Empiirisen osan tavoitteena oli selvittää aiemman raportin ongelmat, löytää ratkaisut näihin ongelmiin ja laatia uusi raportointimalli, joka palvelee paremmin raportin käyttäjiä.Teoriaosuuden perusteella voidaan päätellä, että raportoinnin kehittämiseen vaikuttaa eniten raportin käyttötarkoitus ja henkilöt, joiden työväline raportti tulee olemaan. Raportin kehittäminen on jatkuva prosessi, sillä raportin tulee mukautua liiketoiminta- ja organisaatiomuutoksiin.Työn empiirisessä osassa esitetty uusi raportointimalli palvelee case-yritystä monella eri tasolla. Se tukee johdon työskentelyä ja tarjoaa yritystasolla välineen kustannusten parempaan hallintaan ja seurantaan.

Making Sense of Women Managers’ Identities through the Constructions of Managerial Career and Gender

This doctoral thesis is about gendered managerial identity construction of women managers. Finnish women managers have been researched from the viewpoints of equality and discrimination issues, careers, and women’s overall positions in work life. However, managerial identity has remained as an unexplored territory. The phenomenon is approached discourse analytically; an interview material that is gathered from 13 women managers in the South-Karelian region is in focus. By studying discourses it is possible to open up understandings how meanings are given to experiences. Women managers’ identity construction is examined from the perspectives of managerial career, managerial practices, and gender. Gender is a meta-concept in this research, as it so profoundly affects our sense of being and acting, although the meaning of it often remains undervalued, invisible, or even denied. This research shows that gender becomes highly visible in managerial contexts, when it is used for some specific purpose, that is, treated as a strategy. By studying women managers it is possible to demystify often so abstract managerial ideals, and open up their taken-for-granted masculine subtexts. It is argued that from the point of view of conducting managerial work, the meaning of self-knowledge appears as critical.

Managerial Careers in the IT Industry: Women in China and in Finland

This research focuses on the career experiences of women managers in the IT industry in China and Finland, two countries with different cultures, policies, size of population, and social and economic structures regarding work-life support and equal opportunities. The object of this research is to present a cross-cultural comparison of women’s career experiences and how women themselves understand and account for their careers. The study explores how the macro and the micro levels of cultural and social processes become manifested in the lives of individual women. The main argument in this thesis is that culture plays a crucial role in making sense of women’s career experiences, although its role should be understood through its interrelationship with other social processes, e.g., institutional relations, social policies, industrial structures and organizations, as well as globalization. The interrelationship of a series of cultural and social processes affects individuals’ attitudes to, and arrangement and organization of, their work and family lives. This thesis consists of two parts. The first part introduces the research topic and discusses the overall results. The second part comprises five research papers. The main research question of the study is: How do cultural and social processes affect the experiences of women managers? Quantitative and qualitative research methods, which include in-depth interviews, Q-methodology, interpretive analysis, and questionnaires, are used in the study. The main theoretical background is culturally sensitive career theory and the theory of individual differences. The results of this study are viewed through a feminist lens. The research methodology applied allows new explorations on how demographic factors, work experiences, lifestyle issues, and organizational cultures can jointly affect women’s managerial careers. The sample group used in the research is 42 women managers working in IT companies in China (21) and Finland (21). The results of the study illustrate the impact of history, tradition, culture, institutional relations, social politics, industry and organizations, and globalization on the careers of women managers. It is claimed that the role of culture – cultural norms within nations and organizations – is of great importance in the relationship of gender and work. Women’s managerial careers are affected by multiple factors (personal, social and cultural) reflecting national and inter-individual differences. The results of the study contribute to research on careers, adding particularly to the literature on gender, work and culture, and offering a complex and holistic perspective for a richer understanding of pluralism and global diversity. The results of the study indicate how old and new career perspectives are evidenced in women managers in the IT industry. The research further contributes to an understanding of women’s managerial careers from a cross-culture perspective. In addition, the study contributes to the literature on culture and extends understanding of Hofstede’s work. Further, most traditional career theories do not perceive the importance of culture in determining an individual’s career experience and this study richens understanding of women managers’ careers and has considerable implications for international human resource management. The results of this study emphasize the need, when discussing women managers’ careers, to understand the ways by which gendering is produced rather than merely examining gender differences. It is argued that the meaning of self-knowledge is critical. Further, the environment where the careers under study develop differs greatly; China and Finland are very different – culturally, historically and socially. The findings of this study should, therefore, be understood as a holistic, specific, and contextually-bound.

Managerial decision-making style : India, Bangladesh, and Finland : cultural side of the game

Julkaisumaa Intia 356 IN IND

Business intelligence viewpoint on managerial decision-making : Ill-structured problems and decision support systems

Vaikka liiketoimintatiedon hallintaa sekä johdon päätöksentekoa on tutkittu laajasti, näiden kahden käsitteen yhteisvaikutuksesta on olemassa hyvin rajallinen määrä tutkimustietoa. Tulevaisuudessa aiheen tärkeys korostuu, sillä olemassa olevan datan määrä kasvaa jatkuvasti. Yritykset tarvitsevat jatkossa yhä enemmän kyvykkyyksiä sekä resursseja, jotta sekä strukturoitua että strukturoimatonta tietoa voidaan hyödyntää lähteestä riippumatta. Nykyiset Business Intelligence -ratkaisut mahdollistavat tehokkaan liiketoimintatiedon hallinnan osana johdon päätöksentekoa. Aiemman kirjallisuuden pohjalta, tutkimuksen empiirinen osuus tunnistaa liiketoimintatiedon hyödyntämiseen liittyviä tekijöitä, jotka joko tukevat tai rajoittavat johdon päätöksentekoprosessia. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen osuus johdattaa lukijan tutkimusaiheeseen kirjallisuuskatsauksen avulla. Keskeisimmät tutkimukseen liittyvät käsitteet, kuten Business Intelligence ja johdon päätöksenteko, esitetään relevantin kirjallisuuden avulla – tämän lisäksi myös dataan liittyvät käsitteet analysoidaan tarkasti. Tutkimuksen empiirinen osuus rakentuu tutkimusteorian pohjalta. Tutkimuksen empiirisessä osuudessa paneudutaan tutkimusteemoihin käytännön esimerkein: kolmen tapaustutkimuksen avulla tutkitaan sekä kuvataan toisistaan irrallisia tapauksia. Jokainen tapaus kuvataan sekä analysoidaan teoriaan perustuvien väitteiden avulla – nämä väitteet ovat perusedellytyksiä menestyksekkäälle liiketoimintatiedon hyödyntämiseen perustuvalle päätöksenteolle. Tapaustutkimusten avulla alkuperäistä tutkimusongelmaa voidaan analysoida tarkasti huomioiden jo olemassa oleva tutkimustieto. Analyysin tulosten avulla myös yksittäisiä rajoitteita sekä mahdollistavia tekijöitä voidaan analysoida. Tulokset osoittavat, että rajoitteilla on vahvasti negatiivinen vaikutus päätöksentekoprosessin onnistumiseen. Toisaalta yritysjohto on tietoinen liiketoimintatiedon hallintaan liittyvistä positiivisista seurauksista, vaikka kaikkia mahdollisuuksia ei olisikaan hyödynnetty. Tutkimuksen merkittävin tulos esittelee viitekehyksen, jonka puitteissa johdon päätöksentekoprosesseja voidaan arvioida sekä analysoida. Despite the fact that the literature on Business Intelligence and managerial decision-making is extensive, relatively little effort has been made to research the relationship between them. This particular field of study has become important since the amount of data in the world is growing every second. Companies require capabilities and resources in order to utilize structured data and unstructured data from internal and external data sources. However, the present Business Intelligence technologies enable managers to utilize data effectively in decision-making. Based on the prior literature, the empirical part of the thesis identifies the enablers and constraints in computer-aided managerial decision-making process. In this thesis, the theoretical part provides a preliminary understanding about the research area through a literature review. The key concepts such as Business Intelligence and managerial decision-making are explored by reviewing the relevant literature. Additionally, different data sources as well as data forms are analyzed in further detail. All key concepts are taken into account when the empirical part is carried out. The empirical part obtains an understanding of the real world situation when it comes to the themes that were covered in the theoretical part. Three selected case companies are analyzed through those statements, which are considered as critical prerequisites for successful computer-aided managerial decision-making. The case study analysis, which is a part of the empirical part, enables the researcher to examine the relationship between Business Intelligence and managerial decision-making. Based on the findings of the case study analysis, the researcher identifies the enablers and constraints through the case study interviews. The findings indicate that the constraints have a highly negative influence on the decision-making process. In addition, the managers are aware of the positive implications that Business Intelligence has for decision-making, but all possibilities are not yet utilized. As a main result of this study, a data-driven framework for managerial decision-making is introduced. This framework can be used when the managerial decision-making processes are evaluated and analyzed.

Before internationalisation : reflections of lateral rigidity on managerial decision making

The purpose of the study is to analyse lateral rigidity in the framework of pre-internationalisation to find out its reflections on managerial decision making. The interest of the study lies in the intersection of the meaningful but relatively stagnant concept of lateral rigidity, and the pre-internationalisation phase of companies that has received only a limited amount of research attention. The theoretical basis for the study is drawn from managerial decision making and internationalisation literatures. Firstly, the study aims to define the concept of lateral rigidity in order to secondly find out how it influences managers’ pre-internationalisation decision making. The study is theoretical in nature, and is based solely on literature examination. Concept analysis method is used to determine the attributes of lateral rigidity for the purpose of recognising the concept in the pre-internationalisation framework. The attributes that are found to comprise lateral rigidity are culture, know-how, uncertainty and attitude. Furthermore, these attributes are more specifically found to consist of environmental, personal and operational matters. Through the analysis of the pre-internationalisation literature it is discovered that all the attributes appear there, and present a variety of influences on pre-internationalisation decision making that can be characterised as being negative. The study finds that culture influences managers’ decision making via subjective reasoning and behaviour that stem from a domestic inclination, and via unfamiliarity with foreign markets. Against assumption, home cultural factors, e.g. values and customs, do not appear to have an influence. Know-how is found to influence decision making via managers’ previous experiences, subjective abiding perceptions, and the usage of previous operation patterns. Uncertainty, then again, influences managers’ risk perception, unfamiliarity avoidance, and the scope of potential international operations. Attitude is found to have a robust influence on managerial decision making via the usage of familiar processes and decision regimes, subjective preference of convention, and plausible results of operations. Ergo, the effects of lateral rigidity on managers show to represent an encumbrance in the pre-internationalisation phase; even though internationalisation would take place, the related decisions and actions are highly constrained. Especially the subjectivity of managers is seen to have a meaningful role in the decision making process.

Matrix Mind : on managerial reframing in multidimensional problem solving

Det är inte ovanligt att man i organisationer ställs inför problem som inte kan hanteras inom befintlig organisationsstruktur. Skälen kan vara att frågorna har många – ibland konflikterande – dimensioner och perspektiv som samtidigt måste beaktas. I den här avhandlingen studeras vilka tankemönster och föreställningar som fanns när grupper av chefer försökte lösa komplexa problem, som inte hade en naturlig organisatorisk hemvist och hur de omsatte dessa tankemönster i handling. Vad kännetecknade det ledarskap som utövades under problemlösningsprocessen? Avhandlingens empiri hämtas från ledarutvecklingsprogram i två internationellt verksamma företag i Sverige, och omfattar 14 verkliga affärsproblem i dessa företag och den process varigenom de löstes. De 14 seminarierna utgör exempel på hur mångdimensionella frågeställningar framgångsrikt hanteras utanför den befintliga organisationsstrukturen. Studien ger, genom att adressera frågor kring tankesätt och ledningsprocesser, en djupare förståelse för förutsättningarna för detta, och lyfter särskilt fram betydelsen av ett ledarskap som inbegriper begreppen intervention, förmåga och omtolkning. Som ett samlat begrepp introduceras bilden att utöva ledarskapet utifrån ett matrix mind. Att påverka strukturer (i vid mening) och därigenom de förmågor som utvecklas, är del i detta ledarskap. Det sker genom interventioner (ingrepp som påverkar relationer i t ex en grupp) och baserades i den aktuella empirin på uppfattningar om värdet av problematisering, erfarenhetsutbyte och av ett språk, som både beskriver och anger inriktning för aktiviteter. Interventioner i strukturer (och till dem knutna processer) beskriver dock bara delvis detta ledarskap. Att leda med ett matrix mind innefattar också ett nyfiket och kreativt förhållningssätt, och att utifrån detta leda omtolkning av problem. I empirin finns flera exempel på detta. Avhandlingen avser att ge ett bidrag inom såväl organisations- som ledarskapsteori.

Managerial Risk-Taking and CEO Excess Compensation

This paper examines risk taking and CEO excess compensation problems in U.S firms to determine their impact on shareholders wealth. Literature suggests a positive effect of CEO incentive risk and strong corporate governance on CEO risk taking. Furthermore, the strong governance mitigates excess compensation problem. Controlling for governance quality and incentive risk, I provide empirical evidence of a significant association between risk taking and CEO excess compensation. When I also control for pay-performance sensitivity (delta) and feedback effects of incentive compensation on CEO risk taking, I find that higher use of incentive pay encourages risk taking, and due to a high exposure to risk CEOs draws excess compensation. Furthermore, I find that the excess compensation problem is more serious with CEOs taking high risk than with those taking low risk. Finally, I find that CEO risk taking also has structural impacts on CEO compensation

Letter from the Secretary of War, transmitting a report of the unsettled accounts in the office of the Accountant of the War Department and the Paymaster of the Army, (1814)

13th Congress, 2nd Session, 1813-1814.

Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Governance, And Managerial Risk-Taking

This dissertation investigates the association between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and managerial risk-taking, as well as the differences in governance structure that affect this association. Using a sample of US public firms from 1995 to 2009, we find that firms with strong CSR records engage in higher risk-taking. Furthermore, we find that this relationship is robust when accounting for differences in governance structure and correcting for endogeneity via simultaneous equations modeling. Additional testing indicates that performance in the employee relations dimension of CSR in particular increases with risk-taking, while high firm visibility dampens the association between CSR and the accounting-based measures of risk-taking. Prior literature establishes that high managerial risk-tolerance is necessary for the undertaking of risky yet value-enhancing investment decisions. Thus, the main findings suggest that CSR, rather than being a waste of scarce corporate resources, is instead an important aspect of shareholder value creation. They contribute to the debate on CSR by documenting that corporate risk-taking is one mechanism among others through which CSR maps into higher firm value.