Susan Albers Mohrman

Doing Research that is Useful to Practice a Model and Empirical Exploration

Drawing from literature on knowledge transfer and cognition, we develop a theoretical model for conducting research that is useful to practitioners. We explore the potential of this model by examin...

Total quality management: practice and outcomes in the largest US firms

The application of TQM practices has rapidly increased in US organizations over the past six years, particularly in organizations facing severe competitive pressures. A survey of the 1,000 largest companies shows that these practices fall into two main categories: core practices and production‐oriented practices. Companies perceive benefit in three areas: improvement of work performance, company competitiveness and profitability, and employee outcomes. Service organizations experience these benefits primarily from implementing core practices more extensively. Competitiveness and profitability in manufacturing organizations are positively affected by the implementation of the production‐oriented practices. Analysis of financial outcomes suggests that core practices are positively related to market share for manufacturing companies. Production‐oriented practices are positively related to return on equity and collaboration with suppliers in quality efforts is positively related to total factor productivity i...

Demographic Dissimilarity and Workplace Inclusion

This study examined the relationship between individual demographic dissimilarity from co-workers and three indicators of inclusion by an organization: decision-making influence, access to sensitive information, and job security. Data from 345 individuals in eight work units showed that individual dissimilarity in race and gender were negatively associated with inclusion, and the effect of race dissimilarity was more pronounced for whites than for non-whites. In contrast, individual dissimilarity in tenure and education level were positively associated with inclusion, and these effects were more pronounced for those with greater tenure and greater education, respectively. Overall, the results suggest that whether being different hinders or helps organizational inclusion may depend on whether that difference is visible and whether it reflects job expertise. Further, they suggest that, when being different is a hindrance, it may be hardest on those who have traditionally been the majority in organizations.

The Role of Networks in Fundamental Organizational Change: A Grounded Analysis

Utilizing a grounded-theory approach, this study examines 8 organizations and finds that social networks make a difference in the capability of organizations to implement fundamental organizational change. Specifically, this study examines whether networks enable the learning required for local units to develop the new schemata—understandings, behaviors, and interaction patterns—required to adopt and appropriate planned organization-wide change. A mixture of organization-wide and local learning networks in organizations successfully implemented change, whereas the unsuccessful organizations relied primarily on hierarchical change implementation networks. In accelerated change units compared to those that are lagging, a greater abundance and diversity of networks, strong and weak, internal and external, and across system levels were found. These network connections facilitate change implementation not only by sharing information but also by providing the capabilities to exchange and combine knowledge and by enabling local self-design.

New Boundaries for School-Based Management: The High Involvement Model.

A major challenge facing reformers who are demanding high levels of performance from the educational system is to enable schools to make changes in the way they deliver services to create high performance. This article examines the utility of school-based management (SBM) as a means for generating school improvement and applies a model of high involvement management, developed in the private sector, to determine what makes SBM work and under what conditions. The analysis illustrates the importance of expanding the definition of SBM to include aspects of organizational redesign, beyond the traditional boundaries of shared power, in order to create the capacity within schools to develop high performance.

Quality circles: After the honeymoon

he strengths and weaknesses of quality circles, a widely practiced approach to improving organizational performance, have appeared in numerous articles. Both critics and proponents agree that quality circles are typically characterized by a successful start-up or honeymoon period; the initial circles are characterized by high levels of enthusiasm and tend to produce a number of good suggestions. Problems with quality circles typically develop after they become an organizationwide activity, when an effort is made to sustain them over several years. We’re going to review several reasons why quality circles typically are difficult to sustain and then look at approaches that deal with the institutionalization and maintenance problems associated with quality circles.

An empirical model of the organization knowledge system in new product development firms

Abstract A structural equation model of the knowledge system for new product development (NPD) is derived from a sample of 1200 engineers in 10 technology firms, and validated on a hold-out sample. Core to the model are knowledge work behaviors that: (1) expand knowledge relevant to NPD by focusing on the performance of the organization as a system; (2) increase knowledge available by linking knowledge sources with needs; (3) access procedural knowledge by using systematic processes; and (4) generate knowledge by trying new approaches and experimenting. We examine the organizational antecedents of these behaviors, and their impacts on knowledge outcomes and organizational effectiveness.

Participation in Decision Making: A Multidimensional Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the importance of treating participation in decision making in a multidimensional manner. Ques tionnaire results indicate that participation in different decision domains is differentially related to teacher satisfaction. A practical implication is that efforts to increase teacher influence should focus on particular kinds of decisions. Allan M. Mohrman, Jr., is on the Faculty of Management Science, College of Administrative Science, The Ohio State University; Robert A. Cooke is a Study Director at the Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan; Susan Albers Mohrman is a graduate student in the Organization Behavior Depart ment of the Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.

Organization Studies as Applied Science: The Generation and Use of Academic Knowledge about Organizations Introduction to the Special Issue:

The relationship between theory and practice has been discussed in the social sciences for generations. Academics from management and organization studies regularly lament the divide between theory and practice. They regret the insufficient academic knowledge of managerial problems and their solutions, and criticize the scholarly production of theories that are not relevant for organizational practice (Hambrick 1994). Despite the prevalence of this topic in academic discourse, we do not know much about what kind of academic knowledge would be useful to practice, how it would be produced and how the transfer of knowledge between theory and practice actually works. In short, we do not know how we can make academic work more relevant for practice or even whether this would be desirable. In this introduction to the Special Issue, we apply philosophical, theoretical and empirical perspectives to examine the challenges of studying the generation and use of academic knowledge. We then briefly describe the contribution of the seven papers that were selected for this Special Issue. Finally, we discuss issues that still need to be addressed, and make some proposals for future avenues of research.

Generating Curriculum and Instructional Innovations through School-Based Management

This study examined how schools utilize school-based management to introduce curriculum and instructional changes. It builds on previous research which concluded that school-based management can be more effective when the conditions associated with high-involvement organizations-namely, the decentralization of power, knowledge and skills, information, and rewards-are in place. In the present research, we assessed the extent to which these four conditions along with three other factors-an instructional guidance system, leadership, and resources-facilitated the implementation of four categories of curriculum and instructional innovations. Data from seventeen schools in eight locations supported the premise that higher levels of reform take place when higher levels of more of these supporting conditions are present at a school Furthermore, all of these conditions, with the possible exception of resources, appear to be instrumental in facilitating these innovations. A number of avenues for future research are suggested.