Ruth Alas

Manufacturing strategies and choices in cultural contexts

Although any firm operates in a local environment, which includes specific economic, social and cultural contexts, there is still a lack of studies connecting culture and values with operations strategies and practices. This paper attempts to explore a look at how cultural dimensions are connected with manufacturing strategies and choices. The current article is based on data from the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS) project and the GLOBE study. Advanced mass production is more common to countries with high assertiveness, power distance and uncertainty avoidance. The model of manufacturing strategies and choices in cultural context is developed based on empirical results of the study.

The impact of organisational culture on organisational learning and attitudes concerning change from an institutional perspective

Empirical research in 44 Estonian organisations has indicated the impact of institutional environments on how orientations of organisational culture influence oranisational learning and employee attitudes toward change. Aspects of organisational culture influencing organisational change - task orientation and relationship orientation - have a different impact on the formation of attitudes toward change and organisational learning depending on the level of institutional development at the time that people commenced their working life. The authors propose a model for highlighting the impact of aspects of organisational culture on organisational learning and attitudes toward change in the institutional context.

Cultural practices and values at the societal level in Estonia in comparison with neighbouring countries

The research question in this paper involves comparing the differences between the actual regional societal culture (cultural practices) and the desired regional societal culture (cultural values) in Estonia with cultural practices in neighbouring countries Russia and Finland. Practices at the organization level are compared with practices and values at the societal level in Estonia. An analysis of results from the GLOBE research project have indicated that Russia and Finland have both had an impact on Estonian culture and practices. Similarities with Finland stem from the shared genetic background and appear in Estonian values. The Soviet heritage can be seen in Estonian societal and organizational practices, which are closer to Russian than Finnish indicators. Change in practices takes time and starts from within and among organizations, but over time this may also spread to the society.

Implementation of organizational changes in Estonian companies

Both the popular press and academic literature tend to consider organizational change as a step‐by‐step process leading to success. This paper examines the suitability of the theory that guides the implementation of change at company level for organizations in countries in transition. The authors surveys, conducted in 137 Estonian companies in 2001 and 121 in 2005, show that the main focus of Estonian managers has been on initiating change and much less attention paid to assessing the process of change and making modifications and consolidating improvements. A process model of change for countries in transition has been proposed.

The Triangular Model for Dealing with Organizational Change

Abstract Purpose: This paper investigates, to what extent the theories developed in more stable environments are suitable for analyzing organizational changes in turbulent environments. The aim is to provide a model for analyzing organizational changes in transition economy. Methodology: Structured interviews about the implementation of organizational changes were conducted with members of top management teams twice: firstly in 2001, in 137 Estonian companies; and second in 2005, in 106 companies. Changes which took place in the 1990s, during a period of social transience in Estonian society, were compared with changes implemented in the 21st century. The interview questions were similar during both interviews. Content analysis was used to evaluate the results. Findings: The results indicate that the types of organizational change are connected to institutional environments. During societal transience, transformational changes, deepest by scope, took place in most companies. During more stable institutional stages, organizations faced a decreasing number of transformational changes. There is a mutual interdependence between the three main building blocks of the triangular change model: the type of change, the readiness to change and the process of change. Research limitations/implications: In order to draw broader conclusions, it could be necessary to conduct further empirical research in other countries. Practical implications: Managers of international firms with subsidiaries in countries in transition could consider different things: first, the institutional and cultural context: structural institutions, values and norms. Values and norms in this country determine the activities required in the preparation and implementation of changes as well as the steps to be taken in the change process. Originality/value of paper: The author connected four types of reasearch about organizational change – content research, process research, contextual research and readiness research – into the triangular model.

Organizational changes in Chinese companies: a resource‐based view

Purpose – In recent years, resource‐based theory has emerged as one of the most promising theoretical frameworks in the field of management. In this paper, the authors aim to explore the application of a resource‐based view when implementing organizational change in Chinese organizations. The problems associated with change are explored from the perspective of human resources (HR).Design/methodology/approach – Structured interviews were conducted with top or middle managers in 160 companies in several large cities in the northern part of China: Beijing, Tianjin, Jinan and Zibo.Findings – From the perspective of HR, the main problems faced when implementing change in Chinese organizations include the following: bureaucratic regulations and strict orders remain the core features of the process of implementing changes in Chinese companies. Meanwhile, the intrinsic values and emotions of employees were neglected and coercion and manipulation was frequently used as a strategy to overcome resistance to change. ...

The employees' attitudes and their connections with the organisational culture in the process of change in the Estonian organisations

Purpose – Estonian companies have been in a continuous state of change for the past 15 years, and there is still a lot to be done to achieve welfare levels comparable with developed countries in the European Union. The crucial question is how to achieve employee commitment to organisational change. The aim of this research is to highlight employee attitudes toward organisational change and how organisational culture can influence these attitudes in a rapidly changing environment.Design/methodology/approach – A model showing the connections between organisational culture and employee attitudes in the organisational change process has been developed as the theoretical conceptual frame for the study. The empirical study was conducted by the authors in 26 Estonian organisations with 412 respondents. A tool for measuring employee attitudes in the process of organisational change and a questionnaire for measuring organisational culture were developed by the authors.Findings – Under the conditions of economic tr...

Converging human resource management: A comparison between Estonian and Finnish HRM

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to participate in the convergence‐divergence debate related to the trends in European human resource management (HRM). The paper evaluates the converging vs diverging implications in Estonia and Finland by comparing HR strategies, policies and practices between the two countries in the context of HRM in the Nordic and EU‐15 countries.Design/methodology/approach – The research is part of a large international comparative HRM project (CRANET), which covers over 30 countries. Empirical data were collected by a survey questionnaire mailed to large private and public organisations employing over 200 employees. The Estonian survey data involve 69 organisations and the Finnish data 269. The data cover private companies and public sector organisations.Findings – The comparison of HRM in Estonia and Finland revealed a few interesting empirical observations: First, in spite of Estonias short history as an independent Baltic state, HRM has stabilised its position at both strat...

Job related attitudes and ethics in countries with different histories

This article compares people from different countries according to their job related attitudes and ethical values based on empirical data from 15 countries. The results indicate that countries with a socialist past have to deal with the satisfaction of needs at a lower level than traditional capitalist countries and this consequently influences attitudes and expectations toward society, organisations and work. Attitudes toward society and facets of job satisfaction predict ethical values differently in countries with a different history as well. In traditional capitalist countries ethical values were influenced by attitudes toward society and almost not connected with facets of job satisfaction. In former socialist countries facets of job satisfaction better predicted ethical values of employees than in traditional capitalist countries.

The impact of the values of top managers upon their Subordinates values

Abstract Psychologists, sociologists, economists, management scholars, as well as other researchers from other disciplines have been attempting to find answers to two fundamental questions how to get better result out from people so that these people themselves would appreciate the methods used to manage/lead them and would be happy to act in their owners, managers/leaders favour. One key factor, which has been talked about, is values and especially shared values. If the employees and their managers have common/shared values the working together would be at least emotionally easier.