The decentralization of social care in the Netherlands has had a major impact on the professionals working in this field. This dissertation examines this impact by specifically focusing on the... Show moreThe decentralization of social care in the Netherlands has had a major impact on the professionals working in this field. This dissertation examines this impact by specifically focusing on the cognitive uncertainty experiences of social care professionals. It shows that cognitive uncertainty is a multi-faceted concept that covers different domains of the work and can have multiple sources. Contrary to the frequently expressed view in the literature on bureaucracy, this dissertation shows that rules do not reduce cognitive uncertainty. Leadership of team leaders, in contrast, can reduce cognitive uncertainty experiences of professionals.Moreover, leadership plays a key role in managing cognitive uncertainty. When properly managed, cognitive uncertainty can prove highly valuable as it can spur innovation and thus contribute to achieving the goals set in the decentralization of social care in the Netherlands. Show less
Widespread developments in organizing affect how leadership is embedded in public organizations. The link between leadership and formal positions in the hierarchy becomes less straightforward,... Show moreWidespread developments in organizing affect how leadership is embedded in public organizations. The link between leadership and formal positions in the hierarchy becomes less straightforward, since collaboration across organizational boundaries and flexible arrangements parallel to bureaucratic structures are increasingly common. Leadership is further complicated by the typical reality of unclear or competing goals, tasks, and stakeholder interests. Since navigating in such an ambiguous and complex context often requires a variety of leadership behaviours, this dissertation introduces a comprehensive perspective on leadership as a repertoire of behavioural options. Based on four empirical studies, this dissertation examines how leadership behaviour repertoires take shape in public organizations. By adopting a repertoire perspective, this dissertation underlines that leadership behaviour takes on many forms and is used in a variety of directions in relation to multiple stakeholders – by both managers and non-managerial employees – and indicates that use of the leadership behaviour repertoire can be explained by variation in situations, organizational context, and individual attitudes and experiences. These insights contribute to contemporary challenges for leadership in public organizations in theory and practice. Show less
This research revealed the role of leaders in relation to incident prevention in organisations. The acquired data showed that Dominance-oriented leaders have a negative influence on safety.... Show moreThis research revealed the role of leaders in relation to incident prevention in organisations. The acquired data showed that Dominance-oriented leaders have a negative influence on safety. Relation-oriented leaders appeared to be friendly people with no real influence on safety. Production-oriented leaders are real achievers, committed to meeting production targets. A new character emerged during our research: the Process-oriented leader. This leader proved a dedicated safety minded leader, who fulfils his production duties in a responsible way, taking care of the reliability of production without compromising the safety of his team members. Also, we developed a Risk Reduction Cycle, showing the risk reduction process. This model revealed that the recognition of risks and implementation of remedial actions are the weakest links. In conclusion, we argue that this research revealed that the effectiveness of incident prevention depends predominantly on the individual behaviour of their leaders. Consequently, in order to foster Process-oriented Safety Leadership, we recommend not to focus on operational safety practices to be carried out by the workforce. Instead, we deliberately emphasise the influential power of their leaders, and propose a set of Process-oriented Safety Leadership Principles, directed at the board room level of organisations and three external parties. Show less
Managing cutbacks has been an important task for many public managers. Given that demands for high-quality public services are ever-present and public organisations cannot simply choose to stop... Show moreManaging cutbacks has been an important task for many public managers. Given that demands for high-quality public services are ever-present and public organisations cannot simply choose to stop their services, public managers are often asked to find ways to “do more with less.” This dissertation examines what public managers do when they are confronted with cutbacks. In this dissertation, different public management perspectives are applied to study managerial behaviour during cutbacks. The perspectives are used to analyse how public managers, during cutbacks, manage upward to their political superiors, downward to their employees, outward to external stakeholders and, finally, how values of public managers manifest themselves in cutback decision-making. The results shed light on the enormous task that public managers face when having to manage cutbacks. Show less
This dissertation shows how diversity management and leadership relate to inclusiveness in public organizations and individual employee and team outcomes. Inclusiveness is about team members... Show moreThis dissertation shows how diversity management and leadership relate to inclusiveness in public organizations and individual employee and team outcomes. Inclusiveness is about team members feeling they belong to the group, while they can have their own unique identities. Inclusive leadership stimulates this by encouraging diverse team members to value, exchange, discuss and learn from their different backgrounds, perspectives and ideas. Inclusiveness in turn contributes to employees’ organizational commitment and involvement. This is particularly required in a changing society demanding of public organizations to be adaptive and responsive. Show less
What motivates people, and when do they perform optimally at work? In this dissertation, a regulatory focus perspective is taken (RFT, Higgins, 1997) to provide answers to these important questions... Show moreWhat motivates people, and when do they perform optimally at work? In this dissertation, a regulatory focus perspective is taken (RFT, Higgins, 1997) to provide answers to these important questions. The results of multiple studies, conducted in complex organizational environments are reported. In many of those environments, there is a clear preference for promotion oriented employees and leaders. Yet, many jobs contain both promotion and prevention tasks. The results show that the use of the prevention orientation contributes importantly to both individual and organizational performance. Show less
This is the definitive biography of one of the most influential, yet relatively unstudied, leaders of the civil rights movement: SNCC-worker Robert Parris Moses. Uniquely written with his rare... Show moreThis is the definitive biography of one of the most influential, yet relatively unstudied, leaders of the civil rights movement: SNCC-worker Robert Parris Moses. Uniquely written with his rare personal cooperation and based on new primary source material, it fills the gap in historical knowledge concerning his activities, leadership, and legacy. In doing so, many myths are not only shattered about Moses__presenting him in an entirely new light__but also about the movement in general. Employing the case study of Moses__ daily activism between 1960 and 1965 and the organic and cosmopolitan influences that shaped his work, it goes beyond current academic interpretations of the movement and top-down and bottom-up leadership by illuminating the interaction between Moses and the grassroots movement in Mississippi. By doing so, new insight is obtained into the process, or the nuts and bolts, of how __facilitating ind igenous leadership__ worked in practice, as well as the role that SNCC__s singular organizational culture and Moses__ leadership style played in its impact. This clarifies how the interrelation between a leader and the self-negating organizing approach that SNCC embodied helps explain how social change was generated by the 1960s civil rights movement. Show less
After four decades of M&A experience most M&A still fail to deliver on their promise. The reasons often lie in the social, psychological and cultural challenges of the post merger process.... Show moreAfter four decades of M&A experience most M&A still fail to deliver on their promise. The reasons often lie in the social, psychological and cultural challenges of the post merger process. Why is it that corporations so often do not seem to get the grasp of this important and popular company strategy? And what is the part of the Chief Executive (CEO) in such projects? In a seven-year empirical research project in Germany and Switzerland on CEOs in international post-merger situations, this thesis uncovered some of the powerful learning inhibitors these executives face in their complex and challenging global integration endeavours. The author identifies three generic types of executive behavioural patterns – the Cartel, the Aesthetic and the Videogame Executive – and proposes a taxonomy of leadership behaviours that seem particularly propitious to post-merger performance. Seven impressionist tales of typical post-merger situations – a bank, an airline company, a car manufacturer, an IT company, an industrial conglomerate, a life sciences group and a large public event – are described and discussed in a first ethnographic research loop. In the second part of the study the actors themselves, 20 CEOs and top executives of global companies speak up and candidly share with the reader how they go about solving problems, how they struggle between art and science in their thought processes. Their rich insights are a valuable contribution to the academic and practical discussion of the Chief Executives' role in the management of international combinations. Show less
Het einde van de Koude Oorlog betekende niet noodzakelijkerwijs het einde van de dienstplicht in Westerse democratie_n. De reactie van verschillende landen op het einde van de Koude Oorlog (of: de... Show moreHet einde van de Koude Oorlog betekende niet noodzakelijkerwijs het einde van de dienstplicht in Westerse democratie_n. De reactie van verschillende landen op het einde van de Koude Oorlog (of: de val van het IJzeren Gordijn) wordt gekenmerkt door een grote mate van variatie. Nederland en Zweden hebben ten opzichte van elkaar zeer verschillend gereageerd ten aanzien van de dienstplicht. Terwijl Nederland al in 1993 besloot de opkomstplicht op te schorten (wat de facto de afschaffing van de dienstplicht betekende) houdt Zweden tot op de dag van vandaag aan deze militaire institutie vast. De empirische vraag van dit onderzoek luidt dan ook: Waarom heeft Nederland de dienstplicht (vrij) snel na de Koude Oorlog afgeschaft en Zweden niet? De veronderstelling die in deze studie centraal staat is dat na de Koude Oorlog grote legers voor de landsverdediging overbodig werden. Dit stelde de defensieorganisaties voor grote uitdagingen. Daarom wordt het onderzoek in de bredere context van crises en hervormingsliteratuur geplaatst. De vraag is hoe de actoren binnen de organisaties op de veranderende veiligheidsomgeving hebben gereageerd. Het is de verwachting dat de beantwoording van de empirische vraag nieuwe inzichten verschaft in complexe hervormingen en beleidsveranderingen binnen consensus democratie _n. Een bijzondere rol binnen deze veranderingsprocessen wordt hierbij aan leiders toegeschreven. Het argument luidt dat de relatie tussen politieke en administratieve leiders een belangrijke factor is voor de timing, snelheid en omvang van hervormingen in de defensiesectoren van Nederland en Zweden. Bovendien wordt verondersteld dat de meeste leiders voor een conservatieve strategie kiezen. Dat wil zeggen dat zij de status-quo en de integriteit van een institutie zo lang mogelijk willen bewaren en hooguit incrementele verandering nastreven. Het onderzoek concentreert zich op de vragen waarom leiders hervormen, hoe zij het doen en wat de uitkomsten zijn, met betrekking tot beleidsveranderingen en de effectiviteit van crisismanagement. Show less
