Dynamic capabilities, creative action and poetics

Research on dynamic capabilities explores how businesses change enables enterprises to remain competitive. However, theory on dynamic capabilities still struggles to capture novelty, the essence of change. This study argues that a full understanding of strategic change requires us to sharpen our focus on real people and experiences; in turn, we must incorporate other faculties, which almost always operate alongside our logical ones, into our theory. We must pay more attention to the "non-rational" sides of ourselves-including, but not limited to, our imaginations, intuitions, attractions, biographies, preferences, and aesthetic faculties and capabilities. We argue that all such faculties, on the one hand, are central to our abilities to comprehend and cope with complexity and, on the other hand, foster novel understandings, potential responses, and social creativity. This study introduces the possibility of an alternative form of inquiry that highlights the role of poetic faculties in strategic behavior and change

Strategy Workshops and Strategic Change

Despite the attention that strategic change as a topic of research has received, there remain considerable difficulties in conceptualizing the actual sources of strategic change. Strategy workshops represent one obvious and explicit research site since organizations often use such events as a means of effecting or initiating strategic change. This paper examines empirical data from ninety-nine strategy workshops in ten separate organizations to address the research question: Do strategy workshops produce strategic change? The paper concludes that workshops can produce change but that one-off workshops are much less effective than a series of workshops. The data presented indicates that the elapsed duration of the entire series of workshops, the frequency of workshops, the scope and autonomy of the unit concerned, and the seniority of participants have an impact on the success or failure of the venture

Strategy Workshops and Strategic Change

Despite the attention that strategic change as a topic of research has received, there remain considerable difficulties in conceptualizing the actual sources of strategic change. Strategy workshops represent one obvious and explicit research site since organizations often use such events as a means of effecting or initiating strategic change. This paper examines empirical data from ninety-nine strategy workshops in ten separate organizations to address the research question: Do strategy workshops produce strategic change? The paper concludes that workshops can produce change but that one-off workshops are much less effective than a series of workshops. The data presented indicates that the elapsed duration of the entire series of workshops, the frequency of workshops, the scope and autonomy of the unit concerned, and the seniority of participants have an impact on the success or failure of the venture.Co-production of Knowledge; Engaged Scholarship; Strategic Change; Strategy as Practice; Strategy Workshops

The co-design of organizational artifacts and their role in articulating the aesthetics of organizational culture

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the field of organisational aesthetics from a design management perspective. To do this, this paper will provide rich insights into the role design plays in understanding, shaping, and reinforcing organisational culture, in a way that helps organisations build and sustain their innovative capacity. By describing a range of case studies, which form part of a 3-year research project entitled “Creating Cultures of Innovation”, this paper will i) outline “formally designed” organisational artefacts, which could be viewed as an expression of the formal culture of an organisation; ii) describe how co-designed organisational artefacts developed during this innovation research project can be seen to uncover and shape a changing organisational culture that encourages an innovative mindset pertaining to the company’s organisational development; and iii) how recognizing this activity as design could help organisations capitalize on design’s role in innovation. For example, from this study, the formally-designed artefacts that currently exist in the organisation (e.g. organisational charts, business cards, job descriptions), and the co-designed artefacts which were formed as a result of collaborative design interventions (e.g. the Yarn Journey , collage, learning spaces) give management and staff the ability to better understand current culture, develop strategies for innovation, and embed an innovative culture in their organisation, moving forward. In addition, if designers and managers are able to better articulate design’s value, this could help designers better bring this benefit to businesses, and help businesses “ripple out” this behavior so that it permeates the organisation and gains support

Capacidades dinâmicas, ação criativa e poética

Research on dynamic capabilities explores how businesses change enables enterprises to remain competitive. However, theory on dynamic capabilities still struggles to capture novelty, the essence of change. This study argues that a full understanding of strategic change requires us to sharpen our focus on real people and experiences; in turn, we must incorporate other faculties, which almost always operate alongside our logical ones, into our theory. We must pay more attention to the “non­-rational” sides of ourselves—including, but not limited to, our imaginations, intuitions, attractions, biographies, preferences, and aesthetic faculties and capabilities. We argue that all such faculties, on the one hand, are central to our abilities to comprehend and cope with complexity and, on the other hand, foster novel understandings, potential responses, and social creativity. This study intro­duces the possibility of an alternative form of inquiry that highlights the role of poetic faculties in strategic behavior and change.Estudio sobre capacidades dinámicas explora cómo cambios en negocios permiten que las empresas se mantengan competitivas. Sin embargo, la teoría sobre capacidades dinámicas aún lucha por cap­turar la novedad, la esencia del cambio. Este estudio sostiene que una comprensión plena del cambio estratégico requiere que agudicemos nuestro foco en personas y experiencias reales; por nuestra parte, debemos incorporar otras facultades, que casi siempre operan lado a lado con nuestras lógicas hacia nuestra teoría. Debemos prestar más atención a los lados “no racionales” de nosotros mismos, incluyendo, pero sin limitarnos, a nuestras imaginaciones, intuiciones, atracciones, biografías, pre­ferencias y facultades y capacidades estéticas. Sostenemos que todas dichas facultades, por un lado, son centrales para nuestras habilidades de comprender y lidiar con la complejidad y, por otro lado, fomentar entendimientos de novedades, respuestas potenciales y creatividad social. Este estudio pre­senta la posibilidad de una forma alternativa de indagación que enfatiza el papel de las facultades poéticas en el comportamiento y cambio estratégicos.As pesquisas sobre capacidades dinâmicas exploram como as mudanças nas empresas permitem que elas permaneçam competitivas. Entretanto, a teoria sobre capacidades dinâmicas ainda tem dificuldades em captar a novidade, essência da mudança. Este estudo argumenta que uma plena compreensão das mudanças estratégicas exige-nos aguçar nosso foco sobre pessoas e experiências reais; isso, por sua vez, exige que incorporemos em nossa teoria outras faculdades, as quais quase sempre operam em paralelo a nossas faculdades lógicas. Devemos prestar mais atenção aos lados “não racionais” de nós mesmos – inclusive, mas não somente, nossa imaginação, intuições, atra­ções, biografias, preferências e faculdades e capacidades estéticas. Argumentamos que, por um lado, todas essas faculdades são centrais para nossas habilidades de compreender e lidar com a comple­xidade e, por outro lado, favorecem novas compreensões, respostas potenciais e criatividade social. Este estudo introduz a possibilidade de uma forma alternativa de investigação que destaca o papel de faculdades poéticas no comportamento e mudança estratégicos

Human Resource Planning in the Army

Human resource planning in the Army follows a system of regimental and staff appointments, i. e. line management and administrative appointments, interspersed with progressive education and training up to the rank of lieutenant colonel. This covers the first twenty years of a successful Army officer's career and his first nine or ten appointments