A Proposal for System Performance Evaluation for an ERP Knowledge Extraction Model

Much has been researched and discussed in the importance played by knowledge in organizations. We are witnessing the establishment of the knowledge economy, but this "new economy" brings in itself a whole complex system of metrics and evaluations, and cannot be dissociated from it. Due to its importance, the initiatives of knowledge management must be continually assessed on their progress in order to verify whether they are moving towards achieving the goals of success. Thus, good measurement practices should include not only how the organization quantifies its knowledge capital, but also how resources are allocated to supply their growth. Thinking about the aspects listed above, this paper presents an approach to a model for Knowledge extraction using an ERP system, suggesting the establishment of a set of indicators for assessing organizational performance. The objective is to evaluate the implementation of projects of knowledge management and thus observe the general development of the organization.

Knowledge management and strategic orientation: leveraging innovativeness and performance

Purpose - The aim of this study is to investigate whether knowledge management (KM) contributes to the development of strategic orientation and to enhance innovativeness, and whether these three factors contribute to improve business performance. Design/methodology/approach - A sample of 241 Brazilian companies was surveyed, using Web-based questionnaires with 54 questions, using ten-point scales to measure the degree of agreement on each item of each construct. Structural equation modeling techniques were applied for model assessment and analysis of the relationships among constructs. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and path analysis using the technique of structural equation modeling were applied to the data. Findings - Effective KM contributes positively to strategic orientation. Although there is no significant direct effect of KM on innovativeness, the relationship is significant when mediated by strategic orientation. Similarly effective KM has no direct effect on business performance, but this relationship becomes statistically significant when mediated by strategic orientation and innovativeness. Research limitations/implications - The findings indicate that KM permeates all relationships among the constructs, corroborating the argument that knowledge is an essential organizational resource that leverages all value-creating activities. The results indicate that both KM and innovativeness produce significant impacts on performance when they are aligned with a strategic orientation that enables the organization to anticipate and respond to changing market conditions. Originality/value - There is a substantial body of research on several types of relationships involving KM, strategic orientation, innovativeness and performance. This study offers an original contribution by analyzing all of those constructs simultaneously using established scales so that comparative studies are possible.

Organization Performance Evaluation Using System Thinking: A Study in Brazilian Chemical Organizations Models

System thinking allows companies to use subjective constructs indicators like recursiveness, cause-effect relationships and autonomy to performance evaluation. Thus, the question that motivates this paper is: Are Brazilian companies searching new performance measurement and evaluation models based on system thinking? The study investigates models looking for system thinking roots in their framework. It was both exploratory and descriptive based on a multiple four case studies strategy in chemical sector. The findings showed organizational models have some characteristics that can be related to system thinking as system control and communication. Complexity and autonomy are deficiently formalized by the companies. All data suggest, inside its context, that system thinking seems to be adequate to organizational performance evaluation but remains distant from the management proceedings.

Financial performance drivers and strategic control: The case of cancer treatment centers

Strategic control is defined as the use of qualitative and quantitative tools for the evaluation of strategic organizational performance. Most research in strategic planning has focused on strategy formulation and implementation, but little work has been done on strategic performance evaluation particularly in the area of cancer research. The objective of this study was to identify strategic control approaches and financial performance metrics used by major cancer centers in the country as an initial step in expanding the theory and practice behind strategic organizational performance. Focusing on hospitals which share similar mandate and resource constraints was expected to improve measurement precision. The results indicate that most cancer centers use a wide selection of evaluation tools, but sophisticated analytical approaches were less common. In addition, there was evidence that high-performing centers tend to invest a larger degree of resources in the area of strategic performance analysis than centers showing lower financial results. The conclusions point to the need for incorporating higher degree of analytical power in order to improve the tracking of strategic performance. This study is one of the first to concentrate in the area of strategic control.^

Performance in healthcare organizations: The quality dimension

In the context of a healthcare organization, such as a hospital that provides medical care to its community, performance cannot be measured without special attention to quality. Indeed, quality is as important as finance not only in measuring performance for the organization, but also in securing the organization's viability and competitiveness in the long run.^ Yet quality today is not adequately understood and managed. An inductive framework for integrating finance and quality for purposes of organizational performance measurement as well as strategic planning is proposed in this dissertation. Future areas of research are discussed.^

Organizational perspectives on the management and evaluation of large -scale multicenter controlled clinical trials: An exploratory study of participation in the beta -blocker heart attack trial

A review of literature related to appointment-keeping served as the basis for the development of an organizational paradigm for the study of appointment-keeping in the Beta-blocker Heart Attack Trial (BHAT). Features of the organizational environment, demographic characteristics of BHAT enrollees, organizational structure and processes and previous organizational performance variables were measured so as to provide exploratory information relating to the appointment-keeping behavior of 3,837 participants enrolled at thirty-two Clinical Centers. Results suggest that the social context of individual behavior is an important consideration for the understanding of patient compliance. In particular, the degree to which previous organizational performance--as measured by obtaining recruitment goals--and the ability to utilize resources had particularly strong bivariate associations with appointment-keeping. Implications for future theory development, research and practical implications were provided as was a suggestion for the development of multidisciplinary research efforts conducted within the context of Centers for the study and application of adherence behaviors. ^

Management are aliens! Rumors and stress during organizational change

Rumors collected from a large public hospital undergoing change were content analyzed, and a typology comprising the following five broad types of change-related rumors was developed: rumors about changes to job and working conditions, nature of organizational change, poor change management, consequences of the change for organizational performance, and gossip-rumors. Rumors were also classified as positive or negative on the basis of their content. As predicted, negative rumors were more prevalent than positive rumors. Finally, employees reporting negative rumors also reported more change-related stress as compared to those who reported positive rumors and those who did not report any rumors. The authors propose that rumors be treated as verbal symbols and expressions of employee concerns during organizational change.

When in Rome ... ?:Human resource management and the performance of foreign firms operating in India

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to examine the kind of HRM practices being implemented by overseas firms in their Indian subsidiaries and also to analyze the linkage between HRM practices and organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach: The paper utilizes a mixture of both quantitative and qualitative techniques via personal interviews in 76 subsidiaries. Findings: The results show that while the introduction of HRM practices from the foreign parent organization is negatively associated with performance, local adaption of HRM practices is positively related with the performance of foreign firms operating in India. Research limitations/implications: The main limitations include data being collected by only one respondent from each firm, and the relatively small sample size. Practical implications: The key message for practitioners is that HRM systems do improve organizational performance in the Indian subsidiaries of foreign firms, and an emphasis on the localization of HRM practices can further contribute in this regard. Originality/value: This is perhaps the very first investigation of its kind in the Indian context. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

How innovation can alleviate negative consequences of demanding work contexts:The influence of climate for innovation on organizational outcomes

This study examines climate for innovation as a method by which negative organizational consequences of demanding work may be lessened. It was expected that a climate for innovation would enable employees to develop coping mechanisms or improved work-related processes which counteract negative consequences of work demands. Extending the job demands-resource model (Karasek, 1979), we predicted and found that among the sample of 22,696 respondents from 131 healthcare organizations, organizational climate for innovation alleviated the negative effects of work demands on organizational performance. Thus, this study informs climate theories and guides practitioners' efforts to support the employees. © 2007 The British Psychological Society.

The impact of performance measurement in strategic planning

Purpose – To investigate the impact of performance measurement in strategic planning process. Design/methodology/approach – A large scale survey was conducted online with Warwick Business School alumni. The questionnaire was based on the Strategic Development Process model by Dyson. The questionnaire was designed to map the current practice of strategic planning and to determine its most influential factors on the effectiveness of the process. All questions were close ended and a seven-point Likert scale used. The independent variables were grouped into four meaningful factors by factor analysis (Varimax, coefficient of rotation 0.4). The factors produced were used to build regression models (stepwise) for the five assessments of strategic planning process. Regression models were developed for the totality of the responses, comparing SMEs and large organizations and comparing organizations operating in slowly and rapidly changing environments. Findings – The results indicate that performance measurement stands as one of the four main factors characterising the current practice of strategic planning. This research has determined that complexity coming from organizational size and rate of change in the sector creates variation in the impact of performance measurement in strategic planning. Large organizations and organizations operating in rapidly changing environments make greater use of performance measurement. Research limitations/implications – This research is based on subjective data, therefore the conclusions do not concern the impact of strategic planning process' elements on the organizational performance achievements, but on the success/effectiveness of the strategic planning process itself. Practical implications – This research raises a series of questions about the use and potential impact of performance measurement, especially in the categories of organizations that are not significantly influenced by its utilisation. It contributes to the field of performance measurement impact. Originality/value – This research fills in the gap literature concerning the lack of large scale surveys on strategic development processes and performance measurement. It also contributes in the literature of this field by providing empirical evidences on the impact of performance measurement upon the strategic planning process.

Organizational climate and climate strengths in UK hospitals

In recent years, researchers have paid increasing attention to the idea of “climate strength”—the level of agreement about climate within a work group or organization. However, at present the literature is unclear about the extent to which climate strength is a positive attribute, and is concerned predominantly with small teams or organizational units. This article considers three theoretical perspectives of climate strength, and extends these to the organizational level. These three roles of climate strength were tested in 56 hospitals in the United Kingdom. Positive relationships were discovered between two of three climate dimensions (Quality and Integration) and expert ratings of organizational performance, and a curvilinear effect between Integration climate strength and performance was also found. Very high or very low Integration climate strength was less beneficial than a moderate level of climate strength. However, there were no interaction effects discovered between climate and climate strength. Implications for future climate strength research are discussed.

Managing people and performance:An evidence based framework applied to health service organizations

People and their performance are key to an organization's effectiveness. This review describes an evidence-based framework of the links between some key organizational influences and staff performance, health and well-being. This preliminary framework integrates management and psychological approaches, with the aim of assisting future explanation, prediction and organizational change. Health care is taken as the focus of this review, as there are concerns internationally about health care effectiveness. The framework considers empirical evidence for links between the following organizational levels: 1. Context (organizational culture and inter-group relations; resources, including staffing; physical environment) 2. People management (HRM practices and strategies; job design, workload and teamwork; employee involvement and control over work; leadership and support) 3. Psychological consequences for employees (health and stress; satisfaction and commitment; knowledge, skills and motivation) 4. Employee behaviour (absenteeism and turnover; task and contextual performance; errors and near misses) 5. Organizational performance; patient care. This review contributes to an evidence base for policies and practices of people management and performance management. Its usefulness will depend on future empirical research, using appropriate research designs, sufficient study power and measures that are reliable and valid.

The impacts of market orientation and corporate social responsibility on firm performance:evidence from China

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the joint effects of market orientation (MO) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on firm performance. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via a questionnaire survey of star-rated hotels in China and a total of 143 valid responses were received. The hypotheses were tested by employing structural equation modelling with a maximum likelihood estimation option. Findings – It was found that although both MO and CSR could enhance performance, once the effects of CSR are accounted for, the direct effects of MO on performance diminish considerably to almost non-existent. Although this result may be due to the fact that the research is conducted in China, a country where CSR might be crucially important to performance given the country's socialist legacy, it nonetheless provides strong evidence that MO's impact on organizational performance is mediated by CSR. Research limitations/implications – The main limitations include the use of cross-sectional data, the subjective measurement of performance and the uniqueness of the research setting (China). The findings provide an additional important insight into the processes by which a market oriented culture is transformed into superior organizational performance. Originality/value – This paper is one of the first to examine the joint effects of MO and CSR on business performance. The empirical evidence from China adds to the existing literature on the respective importance of MO and CSR.

Diversity faultlines, shared objectives, and top management team performance

Faultline theory suggests that negative effects of team diversity are better understood by considering the influence of different dimensions of diversity in conjunction, rather than for each dimension separately. We develop and extend the social categorization analysis that lies at the heart of faultline theory to identify a factor that attenuates the negative influence of faultlines: the extent to which the team has shared objectives. The hypothesized moderating role of shared objectives received support in a study of faultlines formed by differences in gender, tenure, and functional background in 42 top management teams. The focus on top management teams has the additional benefit of providing the first test of the relationship between diversity faultlines and objective indicators of organizational performance. We discuss how these findings, and the innovative way in which we operationalized faultlines, extend faultline theory and research as well as offer guidelines to manage diversity faultlines.

Why organizational and community diversity matter:the emergence of incivility and organizational outcomes

Integrating sociological and psychological perspectives, this research considers the value of organizational ethnic diversity as a function of community diversity. Employee and patient surveys, census data, and performance indexes relevant to 142 hospitals in the United Kingdom suggest that intraorganizational ethnic diversity is associated with reduced civility toward patients. However, the degree to which organizational demography was representative of community demography was positively related to civility experienced by patients and ultimately enhanced organizational performance. These findings underscore the understudied effects of community context and imply that intergroup biases manifested in incivility toward out-group members hinder organizational performance.