Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Sociotechnical Approach To The Study Of Semiautonomous Work Group Communication In Technical Organizations, Elizabeth B. Varnes

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The sociotechnical aspects of group communication in semiautonomous technical work teams were investigated to understand how team members define "effective" group communication and what impact technical tools have on the group communication process. A team of workers with various technical backgrounds was selected for study. The study involved videotaped group sessions, a group training educational briefing and individual group member questionnaires. The results indicate that group members believed sharing information among group members was critical to successful communication and that certain technical tools could be effective during group meetings. The findings are congruent with the general theory that group communication …

Diffusion Of Total Quality Management: An Organizational Self-Production Perspective, Baizhong Zhao

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

American industries are in the process of a quality revolution. Most companies are busy implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) programs. However, the experience of both Japanese and American companies indicates that successful TQM implementation depends on an understanding of implementation processes, which itself relies on an understanding of organizational self-organizing, for it is through this process that TQM gets diffused and becomes a core component of an organization's culture. Self-organizing is a so-called process-oriented approach, based on theory from cybernetics (Ashby, 1962; Steier & Smith, 1985; von Foerster, 1960), dissipative structure theory (Prigogine & Stengers, 1984), and chaos theory (Gleick, …

Cultural Transposition: Exploring Meanings Of And Strategies For Cross-Cultural Transfer Of Organizational Practices, Yongming Tang

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The research objective is to study the phenomenon of transferring organizational practices which are conceptualized in one culture to another different culture. The purpose of the study is (1) to understand how cultural values and beliefs are manifested in behavior; (2) to explore how the Western organizational practices are interpreted and assimilated into an organization in an Eastern culture; and (3) to explore strategies for the fit between local cultural orientations and imported organizational practices. A qualitative, interpretive, and reflexive research methodology was developed to conduct this study.

The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase was designed …

A Comparison Of Minority And Non-Minority Engineering Students On Selected Personality And Program Variables, Thomas Mercer Collier Jr.

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there are common characteristics associated with 226 Hispanic, African American, and White engineering students who persist at predominantly White colleges and universities. A personality profile of minority and non-minority engineering students was developed. Information regarding factors influencing choice of major, university, study, work and extracurricular involvement, possible reasons for withdrawal from college, awareness and satisfaction with student support services and selected academic courses was also compiled. Components of Minority Engineering Programs (MEPs) which are most used or valued by minority engineering students were identified.

Analysis of Variance identified four of the …