ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND EFFECTIVENESS: CAN AMERICAN THEORY BE APPLIED IN RUSSIA?

This paper examines the link between organizational culture and effectiveness for foreign-owned firms operating in Russia. Beginning with a model of organizational culture developed in the USA, the paper presents a multi-method analysis of culture and effectiveness in a transition economy. We argue that effectiveness in Russia relies more on adaptability and flexibility than in the USA. Furthermore, the legacy of the communist era forces firms in Russia to deal with a workforce with a unique time perspective and a unique set of sub-cultures that often undermine attempts at coordination and integration. We first explore these ideas using survey data on 179 foreign-owned firms operating in Russia and compare the results to those obtained for firms in the USA. We then present four case studies designed to ground the results in the Russian context, and to document cultural dynamics not captured by the model.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39984/3/wp598.pd

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND EFFECTIVENESS: CAN AMERICAN THEORY BE APPLIED IN RUSSIA?

This paper examines the link between organizational culture and effectiveness for foreign-owned firms operating in Russia. Beginning with a model of organizational culture developed in the USA, the paper presents a multi-method analysis of culture and effectiveness in a transition economy. We argue that effectiveness in Russia relies more on adaptability and flexibility than in the USA. Furthermore, the legacy of the communist era forces firms in Russia to deal with a workforce with a unique time perspective and a unique set of sub-cultures that often undermine attempts at coordination and integration. We first explore these ideas using survey data on 179 foreign-owned firms operating in Russia and compare the results to those obtained for firms in the USA. We then present four case studies designed to ground the results in the Russian context, and to document cultural dynamics not captured by the model.Organizational Culture, Effectiveness, Russia, Transition Economies

Tablet computers in assessing performance in a high stakes exam : opinion matters

The authors would like to thank Dr Craig brown, University of Aberdeen for assistance with data analysis.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Effect of Benzene and Ethylbenzene on the Transcription of methyl-\u3cem\u3etert\u3c/em\u3e-butyl Ether Degradation Genes of \u3cem\u3eMethylibium petroleiphilum\u3c/em\u3e PM1

Methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and its degradation by-product, tert-butyl alcohol (TBA), are widespread contaminants detected frequently in groundwater in California. Since MTBE was used as a fuel oxygenate for almost two decades, leaking underground fuel storage tanks are an important source of contamination. Gasoline components such as BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) are often present in mixtures with MTBE and TBA. Investigations of interactions between BTEX and MTBE degradation have not yielded consistent trends, and the molecular mechanisms of BTEX compounds’ impact on MTBE degradation are not well understood. We investigated trends in transcription of biodegradation genes in the MTBE-degrading bacterium, Methylibium petroleiphilum PM1 upon exposure to MTBE, TBA, ethylbenzene and benzene as individual compounds or in mixtures. We designed real-time quantitative PCR assays to target functional genes of strain PM1 and provide evidence for induction of genes mdpA (MTBE monooxygenase), mdpJ (TBA hydroxylase) and bmoA (benzene monooxygenase) in response to MTBE, TBA and benzene, respectively. Delayed induction of mdpA and mdpJ transcription occurred with mixtures of benzene and MTBE or TBA, respectively. bmoA transcription was similar in the presence of MTBE or TBA with benzene as in their absence. Our results also indicate that ethylbenzene, previously proposed as an inhibitor of MTBE degradation in some bacteria, inhibits transcription of mdpA, mdpJ and bmoAgenes in strain PM1

Gene \u3cem\u3emdpC\u3c/em\u3e Plays a Regulatory Role in the Methyl-\u3cem\u3etert\u3c/em\u3e-butyl Ether Degradation Pathway of \u3cem\u3eMethylibium petroleiphilum\u3c/em\u3e Strain PM1

Among the few bacteria known to utilize methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as a sole carbon source, Methylibium petroleiphilum PM1 is a well-characterized organism with a sequenced genome; however, knowledge of the genetic regulation of its MTBE degradation pathway is limited. We investigated the role of a putative transcriptional activator gene, mdpC, in the induction of MTBE-degradation genes mdpA (encoding MTBE monooxygenase) and mdpJ (encoding tert-butyl alcohol hydroxylase) of strain PM1 in a gene-knockout mutant mdpC−. We also utilized quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR assays targeting genes mdpA, mdpJ and mdpC to determine the effects of the mutation on transcription of these genes. Our results indicate that gene mdpC is involved in the induction of both mdpA and mdpJ in response to MTBE and tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) exposure in PM1. An additional independent mechanism may be involved in the induction of mdpJ in the presence of TBA

Distributed leadership, trust and online communities

This paper analyses the role of distributed leadership and trust in online communities. The team-based informal ethos of online collaboration requires a different kind of leadership from that in formal positional hierarchies. Such leadership may be more flexible and sophisticated, capable of encompassing ambiguity and rapid change. Online leaders need to be partially invisible, delegating power and distributing tasks. Yet, simultaneously, online communities are facilitated by the high visibility and subtle control of expert leaders. This paradox: that leaders need to be both highly visible and invisible as appropriate, was derived from prior research and tested in the analysis of online community discussions using a pattern-matching process. It is argued that both leader visibility and invisibility are important for the facilitation of trusting collaboration via distributed leadership. Advanced leadership responses to complex situations in online communities foster positive group interaction and decision-making, facilitated through active distribution of specific tasks

Electron correlations, spontaneous magnetization and momentum density in quantum dots

The magnetization of quantum dots is discussed in terms of a relatively simple but exactly solvable model Hamiltonian. The model predicts oscillations in spin polarization as a function of dot radius for a fixed electron density. These oscillations in magnetization are shown to yield distinct signature in the momentum density of the electron gas, suggesting the usefulness of momentum resolved spectroscopies for investigating the magnetization of dot systems. We also present variational quantum Monte Carlo calculations on a square dot containing 12 electrons in order to gain insight into correlation effects on the interactions between like and unlike spins in a quantum dot.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure