Differing managerial responses to change in Poland (original) (raw)
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Since 1989 the Polish work market has been subjected to a variety of cultural changes, affecting virtually every sphere of the contemporary work organization. Those changes – radical in form and content – have been the unique consequence of the merging of three major forces transiting the Polish work culture: introduction of the free market economy, large scale offshore investments in Poland and radical technological development on a worldwide scale. The forces unleashed by the combination of those factors have led to a multicultural and dynamic environment, shaping the landscape of todays Polish business culture.
Managers in Polish Organizations - the Results of Empirical Research
European Journal of Economics and Business Studies, 2016
Today we are dealing with unceasing changes that are not without influence on the functioning of the organization and its subsystems; and managers, who are specific moderators of all activities in the organization, in the face of the volatility of the environment, need to acquire new competences and roles, and realize relevant functions. It seems that the manager's role may be dependent on organizational characteristics such as the type of organization (for-profit, non-profit), the industry in which the organization operates and its size. These features can determine the roles and functions of the persons responsible for the management of organizations. Taking this into account, the aim of this article is to present the role of managers in Polish organizations, depending on their industry and size based on the results of empirical research. The study was conducted in 2015 among 289 organizations in Poland. One of their objectives was to identify a modern role of managers, depend...
The 'divided self' of the Polish state owned companies: Culture and environment
In the course of the current transition to a market economy, Polish state-owned enterprises are expected to change their functioning very quickly in order to 'adapt' to the new rules of the game. Nevertheless, adaptation to market principles is hampered by old cultural mind frames, which the actors adopted to cope with communist governance. The reasons behind this cultural 'lag' are examined in this paper. It aims to develop a model of the culture of organizing enacted in big consolidated state-owned enterprises, to show how the old cultural patterns emerged. Currently, their existence hinders change.
Management science in transition period in South Africa and Poland, eds. J. Teczke, N. Terblanche, ISBN 978-0-620-56866-1 (RPA), ISBN 978-83-937642-0-4 (Polska), ss. 243-255, International Management Foundation, Cracow Uniwersity of Economics, Cracow – Stellenbosch, 2013
The objective of the article is just the description of cultural change from the perspective of four paradigms that dominate in social sciences. The concept of change differs depending on the assumed management paradigm, and naturally, there is no agreement among researchers about which classification to use. Some opt for linking change management with the schools or currents of organisational thought, which would be an image of enriching the theory and methods over the last century. Other researchers look for paradigms, characteristic mostly of change management, an example of which can be the dichotomy between evolutionary (continuous) and revolutionary (radical) changes105. There are also attempts at an integrated approach to change management, which would include different cognitive perspectives106. Another interpretation, used in this article, is pointing to the relationships between change management and the social sciences paradigms, which means looking for the widest possible point of reference.
Polish sociological traditions as an inspiration for a historical approach in management
International Journal of Contemporary Management
Background. The article draws readers' attention to the potential significance of works of selected Polish sociologists for the historical approach in Management and Organizational Studies (MOS). The reasons for the lack of interest in history, which is typical of management scholars (except for business historians), are outlined, and the phenomenon of "historical turn" in MOS as a counterpoint of the mentioned phenomenon is discussed. Research aims. The central theme of the article is constituted by the thesis that the "historical turn" cognitively corresponds to the earlier conceptions which were developed by Kazimierz Dobrowolski. The article also highlights the internationally renowned works of Jerzy Zubrzycki and Aleksander Matejko, which are deeply rooted in the Polish historical experience. Methodology. The analysis was based on studies of literature on the subject and the publication of selected sociologists. Key findings. The article shows that that the works of mentioned sociologists offer an integral method assuming a holistic nature of social reality, postulating a combination of functional and historical approaches as well as the use of materials obtained through field research and document studies.
The Experiences of Polish Managerial Staff
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authors have adopted the disciplined perspective of management sciences. The aim of the research presented in the article is cognition of the meaning of authority assigned by Polish managers and identification of activites being done by the managerial staff to shape their professional authority. The realisation of this aim had involved carrying out the questionnaire study among the representatives of the managerial staff. The study sample numbers 60 people, therefore this is a pilot research and the results are treated as a ground for wording the hypothesis for further and developed research. Psychological interpretation of authority of a manager as a person with specified abilities and mental qualifications who commands respect and trust dominates among Polish senior management. They identify the authority more as source of managerial effectiveness than personal power. They strongly combine it with ability to build and support On the one hand the respondents identify the authority ...
Managers in the command economy: Case studies from Poland, 1956-1970
Business History, 2019
In the Soviet-type centrally planned economies the enterprise was an element of a centralised hierarchical structure, where managers faced pressures for the fulfilment of the plan. The plan could be interpreted as a kind of contract inside the hierarchical organisation; therefore, this study applies the contractual approach to examine the strategies of socialist managers in Poland, showing that their behaviours were similar to those of mid-level managers in U-form corporations. It is also stressed that managers preferred safe strategies, moving on to more risky ones only when it was necessary in order to fulfil the plan.
Management and Production Engineering Review
The dynamics of the processes taking place in an environment, which is rendered in the altered perception of the character of this environment, induces a need to find answers to the following questions: (1) How do managers perceive an environment in the dimensions of stability/ changeability and friendliness/unfriendliness? (2) Is there a correlation between the stability/changeability and friendliness/unfriendliness of an environment, i.e. if an environment is more stable, is it perceived as more friendly, and if an environment is more changeable is it perceived as unfriendly? (3) Does environmental stability/changeability as well as friendliness/unfriendliness exert any influence on organizational effectiveness? In an attempt to answer the above quoted questions, the article's objective has been defined as a discussion on the interdependencies perceived by managers between an environment's dimensions of stability/changeability and friendliness/unfriendliness (analysed in terms of institutional categories) and the organizational effectiveness of Polish enterprises. The managers evaluated the legal environment as the least stable. In their opinion, that milieu was also more intimidating than friendly. Concurrently, a technological environment was perceived by the respondents as the most stable and favourable. The results of the effected research allow forming a conclusion concerning the existing correlation between the friendliness and stability of particular categories of an environment, at the same time pointing out to the occurrence of correlations between stability/changeability and friendliness/unfriendliness of some categories of an environment and the organizational effectiveness of the examined enterprises.
Change of Organizational Identity in Polish Enterprises1
Abstract This chapter is based on an empirical study of 186 Polish enterprises (mainly in the metal and textile industries) in 1998–99. The study focused on changes in organizational identity–that is, the set of characteristics that distinguish a given firm from others in its organizational environment. The chapter considers factors that affect organizational identity, such as privatization, the economic situation and leadership.