Enterprise architecture (EA) is an integrated strategy, business, and information systems approach for analysis, governance, and information technology (IT) alignment. It is a comprehensive blueprint ...that requires the careful planning, documentation, and analysis of all the operations of an organization. Employing EA helps companies achieve strategic goals with the support of business activities and information systems. However, some large corporations avoid EA frameworks and methodologies owing to their implementation difficulties or the presence of conflicting frameworks and business needs. The goal of this paper is to increase large organizations’ awareness of enterprise architecture best practices (EABPs) and methods of EA framework implementation. Thus, this research has developed an EABP capability matrix to measure companies’ capacities to implement EABPs and provided lessons based on how 17 organizations implemented EABPs. Based on an analytical literature review, the developed matrix includes eight critical EABPs categorized under four themes: EA framework and methodology, strategic practices, business activities, and information systems. As practical and theoretical contributions: (1) This inclusive approach was not found in the EA literature as most past research focuses on only one of these themes. (2) The EA matrix can be used as a measurement matrix research methodology to measure the extent to which cases adopt EABPs, making it beneficial to EA researchers and practitioners. (3) EA practitioners can also use it to practically determine and rectify the weak points of EABPs, thus taking advantage of EA frameworks. The findings indicate that many large organizations implement EABPs as business-as-usual practices without EA frameworks and methodologies. However, those that adopt an EA framework use the open group architecture framework and rely heavily on enterprise resource planning in the implementation of EABPs.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discover the types of HR outsourcing processes employed by Australian organisations and their relationship to outsourcing outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
...This paper is based upon the results of a survey of medium to large Australian organisations. The survey data were analysed using quantitative analysis to extract the types of HR outsourcing processes, outcomes, and their relationship.
Findings
The analyses identified three types of HR outsourcing processes: screening and selecting, strategic fit, and managing and monitoring. The “strategic fit” process exhibited the strongest relationship to the HR outsourcing outcome followed by the “managing and monitoring” process. The “screening and selecting” did not correlate with HR outsourcing outcome. For each type of HR outsourcing process no correlation was found with the outsourced HR functions. It was found that the most important criteria for selecting an outsourced service provider were trustworthiness, reputation in the industry, cost structure, and history with the organisation. The least important criteria were the service provider’s financial position and cultural similarity with the organisation.
Research limitations/implications
The research design acquired information from a single participant from each organisation which may result in a one-dimensional view. In addition, the data were collected from Australian organisations limiting its generalisation globally. Environmental and political factors were not included in the study. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to consider the influence of these factors on the HR outsourcing process.
Practical implications
The discovered HR outsourcing processes, although different from the generic HR outsourcing model, can be used by organisations to outsource HR functions in a more efficient and effective manner within the Australian context. The research results also indicate the importance for service providers to develop a good reputation and establish trust.
Originality/value
This study is the first quantitative research that determines the specific HR outsourcing processes and how they related to the HR outsourcing outcome in medium to large Australian organisations. The identification of these process types is unique and useful in validating and refining HR outsourcing knowledge within the Australian context.
This article provides a case study of a UK university working in close partnership with Parker Hannifin Corporation (PH), a Fortune 500 U.S. manufacturing company, to develop new innovation ...practices. We discuss how industrial design has been introduced as an in‐house function to one of the company's divisional headquarters, in Gateshead, UK, through a collaborative research partnership over three years. Case material from four projects is presented, which illustrates a progressive, negotiated adoption by the company of the capabilities of industrial design as an essential component of a customer‐centric innovation approach. It has involved developing the organization's own confidence about the value and fit of industrial design through a series of projects and regular reflection on what is working well and not so well and what is raising concerns. The approach described provides an alternative to attempting to develop and implement a preformulated grand plan for design.
Transforming into agile ways of working in large organizations can be performed in different ways. Many organizations choose a defined large-scale agile software development framework but how the ...transformation is carried out could be based on different sorts of logics. This paper investigates institutional logics at play in large-scale agile transformations. By studying two case organizations, the paper aims at improving our understanding of large-scale transformations by viewing software development as an institution. The findings displays diverse impacts due to two differing institutional logics when transforming into large-scale agile software development by implementing the Scaled Agile Framework. One contribution of this paper is to show the possibilities of using two institutional logics, Agile toolbox logic and Agile rulebook logic, for analyzing impacts of agile transformations.
This study explores the extant state of art of Public Relations and Corporate Communication as profession in Italy. More specifically it aims to evaluate to what extent large organizations in Italy ...attribute strategic value to the function of communication, with a particular focus on the degree of its institutionalization and the strategic contribution provided by Italian CCOs to organizational competitiveness and success. To this end, an inquiry was conducted via a quantitative survey that addressed and outlined Communication department features and CCOs’ profile in 300 largest organizations operating in Italy. According to our findings, PR function has established itself within organizational structure, and Italian CCOs have become increasingly involved in strategic organizational decision processes. In their role CCOs serve as strategic advisors to CEOs and other Chief Officers. Additionally, within the most innovative organizations, communication seems to play an extremely pivotal role and is exemplified by CCOs’ high level of involvement in decision-making process. Our study allows us to outline a precise description of current trends within large organizations in Italy in terms of communication function and its role. Thereby the study underlines weaknesses and strengths of Italian CCOs’ role as well as it pinpoints areas that need improvement. Furthermore this study enriches the stream of research concerning institutionalization of PR and strategic communication as well as it provides practitioners and scholars with precise insights into the strategic role of communication and its link with innovation.
Purpose
– Fostering employee engagement in large organizations is a formidable problem that gets even more challenging in a sluggish economy, when the standard lever of monetary incentives are not a ...viable option for boosting employee engagement and motivation. As the organization gets larger, building emotional connectedness or bonding becomes challenging as teams expand to operate in different time zones. The overwhelming pace of work in the modern workplace can also hamper bonding. Yet emotional connectedness, when present, serves as a catalyst in driving superior performance and employee loyalty. The culture of many large organizations discourages innovation and out-of-the-box thinking because their institutional structures encourage risk aversion. Even though large organizations are best positioned to absorb the ups and downs of intelligent risk-taking, their talent processes enforce conformity, legitimize mediocrity and penalize failed attempts at innovative thinking. Performance appraisals tend to promote employees who take the path of least resistance. Managers, of course, help perpetuate this risk-averse cycle of mediocrity. Either they have been conditioned to think only in a linear fashion or organizational systems perpetuate managerial insecurity at all levels. This insecurity manifests in several ways: managers may take credit for the work performed by a subordinate; shoot down ideas a subordinate may have; or deflect opportunities that a subordinate may get. Survival in such an environment is based on being average and staying within the system. As a result, the spirit of entrepreneurship is lost. The authors designed a creative and playful contest called “Maverick” to tackle employee engagement in large organizations. The contest deeper goals include: shifting culture and behavior, talent discovery, brand building and meaningful engagement. The impact of the program on a broader organizational culture parameters were assessed through a survey. The survey results validate the impact of the program.
Design/methodology/approach
– The paper develops a conceptual approach that underlies the design of the Maverick program. Surveys were deployed to determine the perceived impact of the program on the broader culture.
Findings
– The secret ingredient in employee engagement is gaining the “emotional share of wallet” of employees to drive meaningful, enduring organizational change. Emotional wallet share is the sweet spot that lies at the intersection of employees’ skill sets, their aspirations and the value they generate for the organization. Proactively identifying the sweet spot empowers an organization to capture employees’ emotional wallet share to identify enablers and catalysts that can unlock motivation and performance. The survey results indicate that the Maverick contest was perceived to have a positive impact on all the identified attributes. This is a testament to the program’s success as a pivotal driver of a positive organizational culture. Further, it validates that the Maverick contest identifies several levers that leaders can use to positively influence organizational culture.
Research limitations/implications
– The organizations can adapt the proposed conceptual framework in designing meaningful programs to tackle employee engagement and motivation.
Practical implications
– The paper provides a meaningful framework to tackle employee engagement in large organizations. The Maverick approach is of interest to leaders of large organizations that are struggling to increase employee engagement with limited resources and that wish to foster creativity to drive innovation. The program offers a compelling way for talented professionals to meaningfully contribute to their organization that is agnostic to their position in the hierarchy. It gives employees the freedom to strive without being paralyzed by fear of failure; the chance to build their personal brand and pride; and a safe environment in which they can question received wisdom and attempt an unconventional approach to problem-solving. It creates a playful environment to bust stress, foster innovation and encourage an entrepreneurial mindset.
Originality/value
– This paper offers a superior alternative to the standard gamification solutions that are routinely applied to business situations. Gamification mechanics work effectively in roles that are transactional, instead of roles that demand autonomy, mastery and a sense of purpose. Maverick program is designed while being mindful of the intrinsic motivation of the professionals.
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to address the nature and importance of crises management in large organizations. The paper highlights factors that lead to complacency in large organizations ...and the dialectic relationship between complacency and crises. Design/methodology/approach - The paper reviews current crises, especially at General Motors. It refers to recent debates on the state of management crises and the failure of some large corporations to tackle these crises effectively. Findings - The paper differentiates between complacency and crisis and clarifies how the first leads to crisis. The paper, too, underscores that crisis should not only be viewed from an economic perspective. Rather, its social cost in today's world must also be considered. Originality/value - The paper provides unique perspectives on the link between complacency and crises and explores avenues to prevent crises or neutralize their impact should they take place.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify reasons for the Enterprise Systems adoption, their relevance to the Indian organizations and their relationship with industry and size among the ...Indian Organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
Through the content analysis of twelve research papers reasons of Enterprise Systems adoption have been identified. With the resultant framework of variables, 288 Indian cases have been scanned to identify and contrast adoption reasons in India with other countries. Also through chi-square test their associations have been studied with respect to industry and size among Indian Organizations.
Findings
All the adoption reasons are present in Indian Organizations. All the adoption reasons are indifferent to the industry of organization. Similarly it is found that all the adoption reasons but one is indifferent to the size of organization. Only Organizational Change is found to be significantly related with the size.
Research limitations/implications
The scope of study is limited to the Indian organizations that have implemented Enterprise Systems software. All the manifest variables have been marked with only two values 0 for absence and 1 for presence while omitting the information on relative strength. There is potential possibility of bias towards ES implementation benefits and relative comfort in implementing the target vendor’s product. This research has utilized secondary data that might not have been created to address the current problem therefore may be limited in relevancy and accuracy.
Practical implications
Adoption motivations are a good starting point to see the need for the ES. Occurrences of adoption motivations advocate the change in the Application infrastructure. Following 12 motivations for the adoption of ES have been identified in the literature review. Moreover they haven’t varied much with respect to the size and industry of the organizations. However some factors are showing stronger presence in Indian context than the global counterparts and some are showing weaker presence.
Originality/value
Content analysis of the literature review has resulted in twelve reasons for the Enterprise Systems adoption after three iterations. These variables have been explained with the help of literature. Second component of this research studies the relationship of these variables with Industry and size among Indian organizations. It is established that Enterprise Systems are being adopted globally for the identical reasons. These reasons are also almost uniform with respect to industry and size of the Indian organizations.
Despite the growing attention being paid to talent management in the literature, little empirical research has been conducted on applying talent management in various organisations, particularly in ...small and medium-sized enterprises. Therefore, our empirical survey examines talent management practices from the perspective of different sized enterprises in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The findings are based on data collection from 174 enterprises in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Overall, the survey indicates that talent management is not of primary concern to most organisations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. These findings are not particularly surprising, as talent management is not a key issue for most organisations, particularly SMEs. Nevertheless, we argue that talent management is a crucial challenge for all organisations aiming to enhance their competitive advantages. This study's major findings prove that enterprise size is a relevant determinant of approaches to talent management and its practice within the enterprises. Several important differences between SMEs and large organisations were found. First, SMEs adopt a more exclusive approach to talent than do large firms, where an inclusive approach dominates. Furthermore, SMEs' strategic approach to talent management is limited, with most adopting an ad hoc approach to talent management practices. Thus, the shift towards holistic and strategic approaches to talent management constitutes one of the most important challenges for those organisations. The research survey raises a number of important issues that should be considered by enterprises when they engage in talent management. The survey has added to our understanding of the talent management implementation in different types of enterprises.
During the last two decades leadership has become the main focus of intense interest and research by scientists and theorists. A large number of leadership models has been developed in order to ...define and enable the certain level of business flexibility that is crucial to survive in a new business environment which is characterized by frequent market change, growing global competition and technology development together with demographic changes of employees. The purpose of the paper is to determine the dominant leadership style as well as the advantages and disadvantages in medium and large organizations in Šibenik-Knin County. For the purpose of this paper, empirical research was conducted with the goal of defining the leadership styles of top and middle management based on medium and large organizations. The research was based on the leadership model developed and established by Likert Renis which is the most used and recognized model for diagnostic determination of the dominant leadership style. The Likert model is based on six components: leadership, motivation, communication, decision making, goals and control which determine the four leadership styles: extreme authoritative, paternalistic, consultative and participative leadership style.
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